Visit to Lakshdweep :heady memories of a cocktail

Being an individualistic and self oriented person a  three day outing to an exotic   Island in group of nine persons with different backgrounds and different linguistic styles,  is not  my perception of  a dream holiday.  At a particular stage in life an outing is meaningful if it helps you in unwinding yourself. An isolated beach bed under the umbrella with periodical dips in the sea and your glass of beer by the side build up the true atmosphere for this kind of experience on an island. Long back when kids were small and we had a great eagerness to see every waterfall and mountain, sunset and sunrise point on the guide map then the outings used to be very hectic and different. But with passage of time we (meaning me and my wife) realised the importance of companion ship and solitude as the sole driving force for a relaxed holiday. But this time the chain of events was just beyond my control so this excursion to Lakshdweep group of Islands  happened to be different.

This  group of Islands located on West Coast of Indian Penisula are scattered in a rather haphazard fashion unlike other islands all over the world which are laid out from North to South. After an hours’ flight in a ten seater Dornier aircraft from Cochin we landed at Island of Agatti  which with presence of Air India and Kingfisher Airlines is  the only Airport in the Islands.  The Island also has a Govt Guest House with AC Rooms and excellent dining    facilities.

Agatti is a linear land mass of about 9 Km length and so narrow that one can see  sea waters on   both sides. One side has clear water and calm sea and the other side has uneven sea bed with     corals scattered all along. An enterprising  member of the group soon discovered the hotspots on Agatti which included a private beach with water sport facilities and boat ride for discovering corals on the sea bed. On this discovery everyone promptly marched to the destination. It was sunset time now and as the sun went down in the sea the skyline was painted with myriad shades of red and blue .Next morning was reserved for the boat ride to watch Corals through the fibber glass bottom of the boat . The half hour  bumpy ride in the   choppy sea was not without thrills. At one stage the motor boat engine stopped  and the operator appeared to be confused. His efforts in comforting us through the  information  that we shall not drown due to life jackets was in fact more frightening. Crisis situation was  however soon blown over and forgotten.

The Island of Kavaratti which has the Secretariat and District level offices and can be accessed through  a Pawan Hans chopper in a matter of 15 minutes was our next destination. Here we understood a bit of history and sociology. The Lakshadweep Islands are said to have been discovered when courtiers of Kerala king named Cherman Perumal ruler of Cannore came in search of the king who had suddenly disappeared from his kingdom. While the king remained untraced the incident opened up the Islands to the rest of the world, at a time even perpetuating an intense struggle for domination between Kings of various ruling dynasties. The Islands had a matrilineal system known as Maru Makkhatayam  for long and were ruled by Queen Arrakkal Bibi  for a long time with a firm hand.  The queen is understood to have prevented domination of other Kings and East India Company The Islands still seemed to have   spirit of the Queen hanging in the atmosphere since we had opportunity to interact with a fair number of dominant personalities from the fair sex. Kavaratti also has an aquarium with exotic fishes and a good fish museum showing collection of some fishes caught over the islands from time to time and some species are really interesting. The island has also started a new initiative for processing the sea water in order to make it fit for drinking by boiling it at low pressure.

Bangaram Island which is a great favourite with foreigners were not in our schedule. The Island is sought after due to water sports facilities and due to the solitude which it offers-the resort with six rooms is beyond the reach of upper end Indian tourists and the facilities for snorkelling and scuba diving are the same way too .Kadmat Island was our destination on the last day. A two and half hour ride in speed boat was a smooth experience in comparison to some disturbing predictions of sea sickness made earlier in anticipation of rough sea. The island does not have a jetty so we had to hop in another motor boat for reaching the destination. Kadmat has some air-conditioned tourist huts and inviting blue waters .However the option of swimming did not appear to be very attractive since there was only one more swimmer in sight and the sand appeared to be sinking below your feet all the time. Weather was really hot and an hours outing appeared to be enough for giving a tanned look even to the fairest members of the group.We returned to Kavaratti in late evening. Next day was our departure to hustle and bustle of city life. In the evening the beach was cool and the sunset was tantalizingly beautiful.

I dipped my feet in cool water and laid down on the sand with closed eyes .I seemed to have dozed off a bit while thinking of the islands past and the divine surroundings. It appeared that the pages of ancient history unfolded to my memory as I found myself with the courtiers looking for their lost king and then the ruler Arrakal Bibi charming but merciless ruling the small kingdom. The colourful pages of history dancing in kaleidoscope of natural beauty had a heady feeling. A once in  lifetime experience definitely.

Public Services Bill 2007: Magna Carta for public servants in India

The Public Services Bill 2007 which is expected to be taken up by the Indian Parliament in the current session is a manifestation of the struggle of the Indian bureaucracy for devising a mechanism which could ensure efficiency and efficacy of public services . The proposed legislation attempts to set up a regulatory and protective framework for making the civil and police officers perform in a competitive atmosphere without interference and without fear of persecution for being upright and impartial. It covers All India Services namely the IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Services. State Govts. have the option to extend it to respective state public services.

The bill visualizes setting up of a Central Public Service Authority as the apex agency responsible for coordination, control and monitoring of various structural changes visualized in the proposed enactment. The matters relating to the constitution of the Central Public Authority are dealt in Chapter VI of the Bill.

The Authority is to be headed by a person of eminence with at least 25 years expertise in dealing with public service matters. However the bill prohibhits appointment of a MP or MLA or a person connected to any office in a political pand India’s arty to this post. The authority shall have between 3 to 5 members in addition to the Chairperson.

The appointment of Chairperson and members is to be done with approval of the President of India based on recommendations of a selection committee comprising of the Indian Prime Minister , Leader of Opposition, and India’s  Home Minister with  the Cabinet Secretary in the Govt. Of India as the convener. The salary and conditions of service of the Chairperson  and the members shall be at par with the Chief Election Commissioner of India and Indian Election Commissioners respectively. The tenure of appointment is proposed as five years or till attaining of age of 65 years.

The Central Govt shall have to compulsorily consult this Central authority on various matters of public services including evolution and monitoring of a Public Service Code and matters relating to ethics in public service as well as the performance management startegy for public services.

The Public Services which shall be covered by the scheme visualized in the Bill have been defined as below:

Public Services” means the All India Services, the Central Services and any other Service and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union notified by the Central Government;

The principles to be followed in the matter of recruitment to public services are contained in Chapter II which highlights that such appointments shall be on basis of merit and open and fair competition.

Chapter II of the bill deals with certain idealistic concepts such as Public Service values and Public Service Codes. Central Services and All India Services have been so far covered by Conduct Rules which have over the years become a patch work quilt of instructions related to behaviour expected of public servants and need restructuring. The bill proposes to reformulate the approach to these matters .

The Public Service Values projected in the new legislation are coined in more poetic language referring to patriotism, and allegiance to law of the nation while simultaneously making reference to other practical aspects such as integrity, honesty,  transparency etc. for the public services.

The bill seeks to ensure preparation of a Public Service Code with the objective of setting standards of good governance for ensuring that public services are carried out with integrity and efficiency. Any breach of public service ethics shall be subject to punishment as per sanctions prescribed in the law.

Chapter IV of the Bill concerns Performance Management and Accountability for the public services .For this purpose a Performance Management Code is to be evolved by the Central Authority .This code will help ensure that the Public Services function as per developmental and management requirements of the State and objective evaluation of performance is facilitated. The code is expected to inject elements of accountability, neutrality , integrity and professionalism of approach in public services.

Chapter V concerns the conditions of service and protection offered to public servants.

The bill proposes to retain the existing jurisdiction and functions of statutory bodies like Union Public Service Commission, Central Vigilance Commission and assigns several responsibilities to cadre controlling authority which include formulation of service rules and a grievance redressal mechanism for public servants.

In course of discharge of it’s mandated functions , the Central Authority can seek public opinion on policy matters . It has to also submit an annual report to Govt. on various functional  issues including cases of non consultation or non compliance of it’s directions.

The scheme of governance conceived in the bill if accepted and sincerely implemented could metamorphose the picture of public services . Besides offering protection and performance based encouragement it could create a mechanism which is committed to deliver while taking away the interference and pressure tactics which reduce the bureaucratic performance. This will mean depriving the politicians of the unfair advantage which they enjoy today. It is to be seen whether the lawmakers would approve of the suggested changes. Let us keep our fingers crossed.

Do all human beings survive on opiates

Recently one of the leading magazines in India published an article which brought out the fact that gossiping was a favourite pastime of most of us human beings and it added to social networking abilities of human race. While social networking may be one the fallouts of this activity the reason for the indulgence into gossip seems to be something beyond this analysis. Close analysis of day to day human behaviour appears to lead to the inference that human brains appear to need regular dose of stimulation in order to keep us in a state of positive thinking and survive against ups and downs of our struggle for survival in a harsh world. Different members of human species have in the process developed our respective opiates on which we depend for doses of happiness   or excitement .

Take the case of cricket lovers. Nowadays since the game is on round the year in one or another part of the world and innovations like the T20 format of  cricket offer instant results, the cricket lovers seem to have  evolved a continous source of stimulation in shape of ball to ball commentary,  accompanying fanfare and analysis . Other joys and sorrows of day to day life have secondary importance in life of a genuine cricket fan whose brain cells are regularly  tickling with the details on tumbling  records and updates on fluctuations in fortunes of teams and the men who toil between the performance of cheerleaders.When it comes to minute to minute account , another breed of human beings are those interested in ups and downs of share market index. Far too many of us keep track of online tradings without having any worthwhile stakes in the share market.The thrill of being a part of speculation keeps a good proprtion of us glued to laptops when life becomes less exciting for a while.

Not close behind in the reliance on stimulants are the human species practising the avocation which is branded as last refuge of scoundrels. Sheltered behind dignified terminology of politicians these men and women need continuos injection of ego inflating monuments and statues which give  them a temporary impression of towering over ordinary mortals. Take away the stonelaying ceremonies and public felicitations from a politician and the person sinks into depression , becomes  social anarchist and tends to attack everything within sight whether it is a railway budget or a photographer taking snaps.

Religion -another widely used source of stimulation offers allurement  of having higher quality of life after death or in rebirth. That keeps so many of us professing different religious beliefs, busy in continous process of offering our prayers to whichever power we consider to be supreme. In practical terms it gets translated to sporting prominenetly one  religious symbol or other and considering religious duties as something which should take precedence over our professional commitments and social responsibilities. But it does surely keep a large chunk of humanity in state of contentment and sometimes also busy in dreams of conquering all other religions to establish a supremacy of our own religion.

This discussion cannot be complete unless we think of those for whom pay revisions , promtions and transfers are the opiates which keep their minds and hearts preoccupied on 24X7 basis. The Govt. servants  of all hue survive   on calculation of pay benefits,  discussion over supremacy of respective service over others  and the unfair treatment meted out to them by the employer . Hoping for a better posting, anticipating release of next installment of DA or awiting the meeting of Departmental Promotion Committee keeps our brother hood in a state of intoxication which makes them tick in a otherwise treachorous environment.

Bloggers have their own galvanising force.When I statred blogging, the first thing which I usd to do in the morning was to check the hit counter and accordingly would feel happy or depressed if hits were too many or too few during the night. For months together I kept analysing the statistical details to find out as to which readers came from where and read which posts. Thank god I ultimately  realised the absurdity of all this analysis and gave up blog writing for a long time in order to become deaddicted to hit counter.Things are back to normal now i.e. I am more preoccupied with routine addictions of Govt. servants mentioned above.

While  opiates certainly seem to have taken a firm grip over our intellectual behaviour, this situation  has thrown up  some complications and  challenges too.  The recent tragic end of a famous Pop star has exposed the risks involved in  taking of too many anti depressants  since the combination produces unpredictable outcomes.The same complication sometimes occurs when a peron gets addicted to more than one  opiate like a govt servant getting interested in politics or a politician becoming deeply religious .The system and society has to then put in extra efforts to survive the mutants.

Some hazards of blogging

Writing a blog appeared to be a simple and harmless activity when I decided to take a plunge about a year back. My son who has some encouraging views on my writing skills goaded  me to continue writing with some regularity so that I could give vent to emotions which sometimes build up on incosequential issues. This exercise I expected would also build up a network of like minded persons and give us a platform for experience sharing .

My wife has been writing a blog for a longer period (in Hindi) and has cultivated a circle of friends over various cities. Her circle includes people of various age groups who share  an enthusiasm for narrating day to day experiences in simple language. I found some narrations of such bloggers , specially those relating to an old friend or a departed family member quite moving . Off course the number of such  blog writers is  less as compared to number of writers merely trying to impress with sentimental and emotional outbursts still they are a close community who share joys and sorrows and sometimes also meet each other while visiting another town where a known blogger resides.

My experience was however quite different on this wordpress blog .While I had started this as a  hobby for writing on any topic of immeadiate relevance to me , the report of Sixth Central Pay Commission became available on CPC website. Every week I used to go through one or two chapters and prepare short notes just for personal record and information .I started posting these short notes on my blog also along with other writings. Since at that time everyone around was also calculating  benefits expected out of CPC recommendations therefore I also made some calculations on Excel sheet and later worked out through the same sheet the benefits expected for others.

As the feverpitch for Sixth CPC report built up this blog also started receiving large number of hits, peaking to eight thousand hits on a day in August 2008. (So far this blog has generated  more than 1.78 Lakh hits). But thereafter a new class of readers completely overtook this blog asking for individual information on pay and pension related matters. I tried to periodically explain to readers that I did not have any intention of running a helpline service .This was also beyond my capabilities and being a working person I had no time for any further resarch on service matters. Moreover I also wanted someone to read and appreciate my so called literary pieces on other matters. In fact in my view popularity of pay commission related writings was  expected to be a temporary phenomenon. However things failed to change , the stream of queries continued . I found that more than 95%  readers came via CPC related writings only. In my frustration over lack of interest in my creative pieces I almost gave up this blog with the hope that my abondenment would discourage the visitors for pay related readings and queries.

After a few months I opened this blogsite and saw some disturbing trends. Some of the readers were quarelling between themeselves over profession related matters in less than acceptable fashion. Some comments were not in good taste.I realised that even blogging needs some policing. If things are left to indisciplined readers the consequences can be disastorous. I have put some regulatory mechanism in place now to restict comments and would be monitoring regularly.My apologies to readers who had a free run in recent months and to those who were at the receiving end . I would also continue to take this blog out of the CPC mania and try to  develop it on originally conceived lines. Let us see how far this  endeavour  succeeds.

Dostana the Karan Johar Film:Having your cake and eating it too

There are some issues which Indian film makers have traditionally preferred to stay clear of.  Same sex relationship is one such contentious issue which has remained untouched even by enterprising film producers and Directors for the reason that one can never be sure as to what would be the acceptance level for such a presentation by the multicultural Indian audience. At least on this count i.e. for venturing in an unexplored territory, the producer and Director of Dostana  need to be complemented along with the two lead players Abhishake Bacchan and Arjun Ramphal. But that is the only count after  which the appreciation ends.

The plot which unfolds in the movie is not connected with the acceptance or rejection of the concept or with  sensitive portrayal of the issue involved. Off course this was not expected in a light hearted comedy film like this one but still the manner in which the issue has been dealt with throws up a host of questions.

As the story proceeds, the two lead male characters have to pretend to be gay for getting to rent an apartment which was open for hiring only for females. The property owner permits them to stay as tenants only after they pretend to be gay (and thereby are considered to be  harmless to other female inmates in the same house and accepted as tenants !).

Countless heroes and heroines have tackled the issue of changed identity for short term gains in HIndi movies. Oldest example being that of Ek Phool Char Kante where Sunil Dutt had to play different roles to impress  the four uncles of his lady love for securing her hand. Close by Kamlahasan came up with appreciative portrayal of a house maid in Chachi 420.

But Dostana overflowing with gloss and glamour but lacking the class and intellectual content of these films while trying  to give one laughter a minute, mauls the subject of same sex relations with an approach which is rather painful for a sensitive audience. After watching the film the question which comes to mind is what right did the film makers have for presenting the same sex oriented males as buffoons, pathetic and despicable characters salivating over male honchos. Is there an awareness over the hurt which the portrayal would cause to the image of males who are trapped in a body which is naturally inclined towards such relationships. . At a time when people are getting bold enough to openly come out with acceptance of this concept, the irresponsible image of same sex relationship   which the film throws up seems  quite out of sync with the changing times.

 On the other hand imagine the plight of that class of audience which has different views and  which finds the concept of same sex relationship  revolting and unacceptable. The film shows similar contemptuous attitude towards this category of filmgoers.

The Director did not wish to let go a single opportunity for giving subtle hints of homosexuality in shot after shot climaxing in the male to male kissing scene between the two lead players . Horribly enough., the suffering of the viewers does not end  even thereafter  as the female lead character Priyanka Chopra asks an absolutely unnecessary question as to whether the two characters developed some feelings for each other after the kiss.

 The movie while trying to cash on the tiltating influence of this sequence on the viewers  for whom  the act might have  been pleasing or comical totally  ignores the viewers with opposite mindset who would be definitely disgusted at the level to which art of film making has declined.

The film shot in foreign settings may have appeal for youngsters or NRIs due to their exposure to such situations .Yet even amongst such viewers the generation which has  grown up with comedy films of Rishi Da  and Gulzar may feel that Indian films churned out by Directors of this genre have nothing to offer for us old men.

 

Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion-a climbedown from Chandani Bar

Since we did not have anything interesting for the weekend we decided to spend the evening in the local theatre showing Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion. Not being a regular Cinema buff the last Bhandarkar movie which I could  recall having seen is Chandani Bar and do also recall having been moved by the sensitivity of the director to the plight of the women caught in the profession of singing and dancing at places of entertainment. Chandani Bar had an interesting storyline with many unpredictable twists and turns which kept the intelligent audience involved throughout the progress of the movie. Besides focussing on the life style of these professionals the film also gave the viewer an insight into the impossible options which confront a criminal trying to reform and lead a settled family life. It also painted a very sensitive picture of sufferings of the innocent youngster who has to carry the name tag of his dead parent who was in world of crime.

But sadly the latest movie  which seeks to reflect the dilemma of the girls from respectable background who aspire to be fashion models has nothing of that sort to offer to a sensitive movie goer. The oft repeated theme of cruel exploitation of newcomers to the world of showbiz and the consequent heartbreaks and depression pushing them in realm of drug addiction has inspired creativity over the ages in fiction and films -remember Valley of Dolls from  seventies . The present attempt by Bhandarker however proceeds on the presumption that the glare of repeated clips of fashion shows would  make the audience forget the need for story line in the movie. The end product is glossary of fashion fare which may bring financial returns  through wide eyed front benchers and teen agers from B grade cities but is sure to leave the intelligent audience frustrated over loss of time and money spent in the theatre.

Every step in the movie from the stage of entry of central character (a chartered accountant turned model from Chandigarh with a Kayastha  surname and an officious looking father) in the fashion world to the “happily lived thereafter ending” has element of predictability. In the first half of the film audience is kept tossing over the fashion shows with big names , the music trying to build an exciting state of mind without much success. The depiction of fashion world which seems to have more than fair share of crooks and exploiters with their eccentric ways may be quite close to reality but it does not offer anything more than the page 3 information which any metro dweller is exposed to as a routine. Since one gets this feeling of crookery right from beginning of the film therefore the sweet smiling guy (excellently portrayed by Arbaz Khan) also appears to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing -which he ultimately turns out to be.

By the time reality dawns on the central character it has already been in and out of three bedroom scenes and thereby generated enough financial prospects for the film by way an adult tag and gate money. Since after first ten reels the movie was still marching ahead in fashion documentary format one wondered whether it would end up as a suicide or with a question mark. But Bhandarkar had no such risky options in mind , so ultimately a handful of good guys and girls joined together to stage a comeback and give an inferiority complex to big bad guys and girls and relief to the tired audience.

In an attempt  give the film a realistic touch  the Director has cornered the incident of falling of model’s top in a fashion show and has incorporated it in his movie. Bhandarkar himself appears in the movie for a few seconds and a character speaks about him sarcastically.  Being impressed by his keenness to keep it close to reality ,we wondered why the Director failed to cash on the beach murders in Goa to give a realistic touch to the death of a drug addict character in his movie. Maybe next time. So let us keep our fingers crossed till then .

 

NANO to the rescue of NAMO

The decision of Tatas to shift the Nano Car project to Gujrat  after the bitter experience at West Bengal has given an opportunity to the State to  have some good cheer  for the festival  season. The Modi Government which has been facing international criticism for it’s human rights violations and for it’s insensitivity to plight of population displaced by ambitious developmental projects has seized the god sent (or Mamta sent) opportunity to tout this development as a tribute to State’s investor friendly climate. So much is the feeling of elation that some fans of Narendra Modi find the similarity between his abbreviated name  (NAMO) to NANO rather exciting .

The State does deserve substantial credit for having facilitated this quick transfer due to decisive abilities of it’s CM. The fact that the State was able to quickly start the process for acquisition for land required for approach roads and it’s ability to mange the same without protest from the affected farmers speaks for it’s management techniques.

an obituary for victims of violence

       On reading the latest news about the bomb blast at Mehrauli in New Delhi many thoughts  came to mind. The first one was  as to how the human mindset changes by recurrence of a particular experience. Another bomb blast in Delhi is not a sensational news item nowadays.The headcounts in the recurring tragedies perhaps only contribute to some statistical notebook in some Ministry or the crime records of some Police Station. For vast majority of the people given the task of running the country the sadness of the events perhaps matters not much more than the loss of a one day match. The pictures of wailing mothers and wives of the persons lost in the senseless violence evoke less emotional response than the loss of a participant in the bigboss or other reality show. Something worth being forgotten by the next morning. For, if this amnesia was not there some of the decision makers would have taken shelter in some distant Himalayan monastry having found it impossible to forget the haunting faces of innocent humans whose lives were snuffed out for the reason that some people in their greed for power consider it necessary to keep the society divided in blood thirsty warring groups.

       Other thought  which struck me was about the metamorphosis which would result in the society  if all the the ultras in the subcontinent joined the mainstream and became peace loving people . Surely for a lot many people such turn of events  would be a tragedy of immense magnitude.  So many TV anchors and talk show coordinators would be out of job and would not be able to aspire for recognition which is conferred as a consequence of their fiery oratorical skills. Absence of bloodshed and tears would certainly be a horrenduos development for those who live by the fire power of anchor’s mike and also for the barons of news paper industry who perhaps secretly crave for a blood spattered front page to make the impact of screaming headlines more commercially viable. 

         And lastly does anyone spare a few thoughts for the families caught in the tragedies, after the initial dust and din is settled. How the children mange after losing parents , how the wives of cops lost in the course of duty manage after loss of the bread winner. Also does anybody try to find out as to what went wrong in the society so that so many  educated young men at an impressionable age were tempted to follow the path of violence instead of a dignified existence bringing up families instead of destroying lives. Does anyone spare a few tears for the mother who had given a healthy and intelligent child to the society ,but to whom the society returned back the coffin of a bullet ridden terrorist. Are we doing anything to change the scenario ?

Sixth CPC Benefits:That sinking feeling

    Since the first round of calculations after notification of Govt. decisions is over, there     is a sinking feeling amongst many of the employees. The Pay Commission benefits      which   appeared to be too good to be true to some at one stage, now seem to be           gradually slipping away after realization of the Income Tax liabilities. Since the tax on   the   entire amount of arrears is to be paid in this financial year and there is no precise commitment about the date by which the balance of arrears would be paid, the picture is a bit despondent. Here are some sample calculations to find out as to how much would be left out to employees. (These are just random sample calculations  which were attempted for sake of having a clear picture . Please do not make requests for advice on individual cases). Since all circulars are available on the net (and some calculators have also been hosted on individual blogs) making individual calculations is not difficult. There is possibility of calculation errors also.If any mistakes are noted,suggestions would be welcome. Income Tax calculations would differ for each case .What is shown here is only approximation.

Sixth CPC Report(xvi):Announcement Regarding Allowances

The Ministry Of Finance has on 29th August 2008 notified the rates of DA and other allowances which are admissible to Central Govt. Employees on basis of recommendations of the Sixth CPC. The details are available on the Ministry website. The revised rates for pension are also available on the same website along with the resolution containing Govt’s approvals relating to benefits for the pensioners.