Ramblings on Wheels

If you read any book on India, the last minute mad rush finds a place invariably. It is not just students who keep things for the last minute, but everyone in this vast country. Perhaps it is not voluntary, perhaps the mad rush is forced upon them-lack of resources force people to scramble for what little is left-nowhere is it seen more prominently than in the largest railway network of the world. Tickets are sold out minutes after they are open for reservation. All this only provides middle-men and black market ticket agents to prosper hoard tickets which makes it even more scarce and costlier since these resurface few days or few hours before the journey to be bought by the desperate at a huge premium.


I almost feel that the government or whoever is in charge gets a saddistic pleasure watching people frantically try to access the IRCTC site or the conflicts that arise at the ticket counter at 8am each day as it opens for business. I have also seen the mad rush to get normal tickets as people try to not just jump the queue but also obliterate it simply because they cant wait. I saw someone presenting his case to jump the queue from the moment I stood in line and he was fighting even after I got my ticket and I received a mouthful in telugu too!!


Then came the rush to board the train, people hanging on to still unopened doors of the moving train, ladies jumping on board the train as it arrived at the platform. 10mins and the compartment was peaceful with family conversations and earphone conversations. But this was after an immensely chaotic rush to occupy seats and as for me, a healthy 6foot 2inch frame with the fortune of youth had helped me find a place as I watched all this unfold.


Are people good or bad? I can't blame the desperate attempts to jump the queue because they may have got stuck in traffic or perhaps it was just bad scheduling. Can they be called bad or found to be at fault due to what they did, which they might have had to resort to as it was forced on them by circumstance? Should what is right take all of these circumstances and background stories into account or are they to be judged on their actions alone?


What it proves is that when resources are scarce, when the demand for these resources become staggering there is a mad rush that divides people and sparks tensions. I am not sure but it might just be possible that vested interests do not want an equitable distribution of wealth. The recent remarks by real estate developers and also some among the high and mighty that construction costs and food prices are going up since the poor are becoming better betrays their mentality and also the flaws of capitalism. Cheap and exploitable labour is assumed to be their right. The fact that only 50% of NREGA funds are used (out of this another significant portion is siphoned off by false muster names and delayed wage payment) and the centre's attempt to dilute this revolutionary welfare measure by reducing funding show the priorities of our government. Keeping a section poor to be exploited and making resources and facilities inaccessible are perhaps tricks to keep people busy, from what is open to interpretation.


What must be done to make life better for millions is obvious, the money is there since the scams and corruption figures alone are in thousands of crores (if not lakhs, if my MEMORY is correct). Intentionally bankrupting PSUs so that they can make way for private companies or selling them off cheaply for a commision-Air-India will follow this route soon or perhaps after a bailout flushing more taxpayer money down the drain as if looting it wasn't enough.


I hope the government can do atleast something right to reaffirm the public's faith and belief in this nation. It is not just GDP growth numbers that matters, basic goods are going out of reach to a section that is not really benefited by average growth. An inclusive growth is the need of the hour, but we have heard the 'aam admi' slogan too frequently to lose all interest and novelty in it. I would have said that government should do this or do that, but then that would be valid only if they didn't actually know what has to be done, which is not the case. It is merely lack of interest and lack of incentives in doing what is good for the nation that is keeping our country poor

As Time Goes By

There was a time, so long ago that I do not even remember how old I was then, I wanted to play around and work with computers. The only thing I remember about that era is that I was still living in Trivandrum which puts me at less than 10years old. It was at the place of my aunt's collegemate that I first saw a computer-her brother was using it. It was small, was cream in colour, with lots of digits and numbers on the screen in black and white- I did not know it was called a monitor, but knew the word screen from TV screen. There was also a board with lots of letters and it was truly strange and it seemed a device that commanded respect and the word 'Computer' itself inspired awe and wonder in me. In school, I took Computer Classes, went through BASIC, VB and stuff like that and it was a wonderful world. Internet was even more of a wonderland since my forays into them were only at school and my understanding of what it was, made me dumbstruck and overwhelmed. Solitaire, Minesweeper (Yes, it was obviously a windows machine) etc become wonders and fun to play. Playing DOS games (didn't know the term then too) like Prince of Persia, Mario and Racing made me convince I wanted to work this device in my life.

It was at the age of 14 that I got my first computer, it helped me a lot in my quiz preparations and was a tremendous boost through encarta and britannica encyclopedias. Taught me all about MSOffice and a few games like Roadrash,Commando and Deltaforce (the regulars like solitaire still held its charm) and my mother shouting at me to close it and get to sleep during vacation was a regular program too that came with the computer. Years later, when I am working with this device, the only thing I want to do is shut this thing down, go home and read a book and not have to look at this thing at all. The awe and respect that the word 'computer' had is all gone, it is so ubiquitous in my life. I see hundreds of them everyday and I have two on my desk at office and a laptop- an easy to carry, sleek descendant of the small black and white computer that I had first seen years ago.

This change in attitude is also similar to the change that a person working with the computer has undergone. The pioneers, the very first people who worked with it, during the first phase of the IT boom were lucky, they created it, made this work and made it what it is and developed it. Hardcore technology and the lot, I know very little of it, but I and most others working on this are merely using what the users and makers of the first computers have laid down in principles, concepts and creations. We didn't make it, we are merely using it. The growth from powerful computing tool to services to doing everything via the computer, that has meant our lives are on this- and I do not like this. I have never needed spects, but it might happen soon enough. Any compensation for occupational hazards? Can I sue my employers if they don't give me this compensation? I still need this device, to read, study, watch movies and listen to music and obviously to wiki and win more quizzes (hope that happens). Not to forget posting this on my blog. I like the fact that life is easy and we are all connected and communication has become easy, but I just don't want to work with this device in my life, rather, I don't want this device to get me worked up anymore, I just want the good things in life ;)