बिबवेवाडी रस्त्यावर पादचाऱ्यांचे हाल

नुसत्या बिबवेवाडीत नाही, तर पुण्यात इतरत्रही हीच परिस्थिती आहे. हा विषय खरंतर खूप महत्त्वाचा पण तेवढाच दुर्लक्षित आहे. त्यामुळे फार पाल्हाळ न लावता फक्त मुद्दे लिहित आहे.

काय दिसतं बिबवेवाडीत?

• वाहनांची बेसुमार वाढ. १ नोव्हेंबर (पुणे बस डे) ह्या दिवशी पुण्याच्या काही भागात रस्त्यावर वाहने कमी दिसत होती पण बिबवेवाडीत मात्र दुचाकींचा समुद्र होताच.
  वाहनांची प्रचंड ये जा असल्यामुळे गर्दीच्या वेळी रस्ता ओलांडायला काही मिनीटं थांबायला लागतं. वाहनांच्या संख्येबरोबरच वेगही भरपूर. त्यामुळे तरुणांनाही रस्ता ओलांडणं कठीण जातं, तर ज्येष्ठ नागरिक, लहान मुलं, गरोदर स्त्रिया यांची काय अवस्था होत असेल? अपंगांनी विचारच करु नये! वैतागून काही पादचारी घाईत किंवा धावत रस्ता ओलांडतात – जे धोकादायक ठरू शकतं. ज्येष्ठांची अगतिकता तर बघितल्यावरच समजेल! ह्यामुळे अनेक ज्येष्ठ मंडळी रस्ता क्रॉस करणंच टाळू लागली आहेत.
• उलट चालवणाऱ्या (wrong side drivers) वाहनांचा सुळसुळाट. त्यामुळे रस्ता ओलांडताना चौफेर बघत आणि जीव मुठीत धरुन चालावे लागते. उलट चालवणाऱ्यांची प्रमुख ठिकाणं - भारत ज्योती बस स्टॉपसमोर, टाकळकर क्लासेससमोर, कॅनरा बॅंकेसमोर. संख्या सांगायची तर १० मिनिटांत ५० वाहने उलटी जाताना मी मोजली आहेत. वाहतुक खात्याने कृपया नॊंद घ्यावी.
• पदपथावर ठिकठिकाणी अतिक्रमण. भाजीवाले, पथारीवाले, कार ऍक्सेसरीज, दुचाकी मेकॅनिक असे अनेक. ह्या अतिक्रमणामुळे पादचाऱ्यांना अर्ध्या वेळेला रस्त्यावरुन चालावं लागतं. के.के. मार्केट ते बालाजी नगर चौक ह्या रस्त्यावर पादचाऱ्यांनी चालूच नये अशी 'व्यवस्था' असावी.
  एक नवीन प्रकार म्हणजे शुभेच्छांचे फलक आजकाल पदपथावर पार खालपर्यंत आलेले दिसतात. महेश सोसायटी चौकातला फलक अनेकदा डोक्याला लागतो. जोशी स्वीट्ससमोरचा तर एकदा पार पायापर्यंत आला होता.
• महेश सोसायटी, देनालक्ष्मी सोसायटी (आणि इतर अनेक सोसायट्या) इथे रस्त्याच्या लेव्हलचे पदपथ (?) बांधलेत त्यावर वाहनेच पार्क केलेली दिसतात.
• सिग्नलजवळ वाहनांचे झेब्रावर अतिक्रमण. उदाहरण: महेश सोसायटी, चंद्रलोक हॉस्पीटल चौक. वाहतुक पोलिस उपस्थित असतानासुद्धा झेब्रावर वाहने उभी असतात.
• रस्त्यातले दुभाजक चांगले आहेत पण जिथे छेद आहेत तिथे झेब्रा आखलेले नाहीत किंवा पुसून गेले आहेत.
• सिग्नल चालू नसतात तेंव्हा पादचाऱ्यांची अत्यंत गैरसोय होते, कारण वाह्ननं अशा वेळेला वाट्टेल तशी हाकली जातात. पादचाऱ्यांच्या सिग्नलला वाहनं चालू पडतात किंवा पोलिसही त्यांना जाऊ देतात. मग वाहनचालकांना ह्याची सवय होते आणि ते नेहमीच हे करायला लागतात.
• पादचारी सिग्नल बऱ्याच ठिकाणी चालूच नाहीत. चालू असतीलच तर रस्ता ओलांडायला पुरेसा वेळ देतच नाहीत.
• पदपथावर व सायकल ट्रॅकवर अतिक्रमण: पुष्पमंगल चौक ते उत्सव चौक इथे दोन्ही बाजूंनी चालत फिरुन बघावे. अजून काही लिहायची गरज नाही. उत्सवच्या मागेच पालिकेचे क्षेत्रीय कार्यालयही आहे!

काही कारणं

• पादचारी हा रस्त्यावरचा प्रमुख घटक आहे, असायला हवा ही जाणीव यंत्रणांमधे नाही. प्रत्येक बाबतीत वाहनांना प्राधान्य. प्रत्येक नागरिक हा 'कधीतरीच' चालक असतो, पण नेहमी पादचारी असतो हे विसरले जाते.
• पालिकेकडून अतिक्रमण हटवताना समान वागणूक नाही. भाजीवाले, पथारीवाले यांना हटवले जाते. धनदांडगे किंवा हितसंबधी बरेचदा तसेच राहतात. एकदा फेरी मारली तर पटकन कळेल कोण हितसंबंधी आहेत.
• वाह्तुक नियम न पाळणाऱ्यांना फक्त स्वत:चाच स्वार्थ दिसतो. आपल्या बेशिस्त वागणूकीमुळे दुसऱ्याला इजा होऊ शकते, एखाद्याचा जीवही जाऊ शकतो ही भावना नाही.
• दुकानदार/पथारीवाले यांची पादचाऱ्यांच्या बाबतीत बेफीकीरीची वृत्ती. म्हातारे-कोतारे, लहान मुलं जातील कशीतरी वाट काढत, आपल्याला काय त्याचं?
• पादचारी संघटित नाही, तसेच चांगला पदपथ मिळणे हा आपला अधिकार आहे ही जाणीव नाही त्यामुळे रस्त्यावरचा सर्वात दुर्लक्षित घटक बनला आहे.

काही उपाययोजना

• वाहनचालकांनी लक्षात ठेवायला हवे की तुम्हीही कधीतरी पादचारी असताच. तुमचे आईवडिल, आजी-आजोबा, मुलं हेही चालत रस्ता ओलांडतात. दुसऱ्या कोणीही सांगायला न लागता वाहतुक नियम स्वत:च पाळावे. आपली चूक असेल आणि कोणी दाखवून दिल्यास उद्धट उत्तर देणं नक्कीच टाळावं. सिग्नल सोडून इतर ठिकाणी असलेल्या झेब्रावरुन जाताना वाहनाचा वेग कमी ठेवावा.
• बारीकसारीक कारणांसाठी 'गाडी'वरुन जाणाऱ्यांनी कधीतरी 'चालावे'. आरोग्यासाठी चांगले, पर्यावरणाला हानिकारक नाही आणि पादचाऱ्यांच्या समस्याही कळतील!
  बसचा किंवा कारपूलचा वापर केल्यास रस्त्यावरील वाहनांची संख्या कमी ठेवायला मदत होईल.
• पादचारी सिग्नल असताना ट्रॅफीक पोलिसांनी पादचाऱ्यांना आवर्जून मदत करावी
• वाहतुक नियोजन खाते: एखाद्या रस्त्यावर उलट दिशेने होत असलेल्या वाह्तुकीची कारणे समजून घेवून हे होऊ नये यासाठी वाह्तुकीत आवश्यक फेरफार करावेत
• बिबवेवाडी रस्त्यावर किमान दोन ठिकाणी गरवारे पूलाप्रमाणे कमी पायऱ्या असलेले सबवे करावेत. असे सबवे जास्त परिणामकारक असतात हे सिद्ध झाले आहे.
• पालिका अधिकाऱ्यांनी पोलिसांसमवेत आपल्या भागात किमान ६ महिन्यातून एकदा पाहणी करावी
• मोहल्ला कमिटी/शेजार गटांनी आपल्या भागातील पथारीवाले/दुकानदार यांच्याशी बोलून पदपथ रिकामा ठेवण्याची विनंती करावी
• चालणाऱ्यांनी पदपथांवरुनच चालावे, झेब्रा वा दुभाजकामधल्या छेदावरुनच रस्ता ओलांडावा, तसेच चौकामधे पादचारी सिग्नल हिरवा असतानाच रस्ता ओलांडावा
• आर.टी.ओ.: वाहन परवाना देताना पादचारी सुरक्षा या विषयावर वाहनचालकांना प्रश्न विचारावे

वरील उपाय अमलात येतीलही कदाचित. पण आता पादचाऱ्यांनीच एकत्र येवून आपले प्रश्न मार्गी लावण्याची वेळ आली आहे.

Ekla chalo re

Watched Kahaani over the weekend and came out saying WOW. Replace the Indian characters with Americans, change the locale to

Chicago instead of Kolkata, and this will easily pass of as an A-grade Hollywood thriller. Well, I'm impressed. I don't watch too

many Hindi movies but do read reviews regularly so I know what's going around. And it's the first time I have come across a

bollywood thriller that's gripping, fast paced with edge-of-the-seat excitement right up to the end.

Lack of songs, item numbers and mass dances is an added attraction. Oh but the only song, by Amitabh Bachchan none-the-less is a

feather in the cap. Stay till the very end - beyond the credits - to enjoy this Bangla-Hindi-English beauty of a song, based on the

poem by Ravindranath Tagore.

There are very few loose ends - which is probably why some reviewers gave the film 3 stars. But hey, for one of the few attempts in

Bollywood at a thriller, Sujoy Ghosh - the director - has done pretty well to keep us engrossed right till the last moment. With

excellent cinematography around Kolkata locales and superb acting by everyone, I would give this movie 4.5 stars.

Sujoy-babu, way to go! Ekla cholo re!

Guys, go see the movie.

Shop act licence renewal - Pune

Office timings: 10 to 4 (Best to land up there at 10:45)
Location: In Wakdewadi, opposite Shoppers Stop.
When you enter through main gate, go to the right and find a barrack at the end.

Treasury counter timings: 11 to 2:30
Location: SBI building next to the Collector office, near Pune station

Steps to renew your license

• Take with you: Original + photocopy of current valid license + cash (about Rs. 800 per employee in your shop/organization)
• Before entering the gate, go to the photocopy shop on the right side and get Form B plus 3 payment challans from the shop.
• Fill up the simple form B. Also fill up Name, Address & renewal period in challans. Renewal period is typically 3 years.
• If you are paying less than Rs. 300/-, then they accept cash in this office itself. For more than Rs. 300, you need to pay the amount at Treasury
  PS: The amount Rs. 300 may not be valid any more as rates have increased. Check first point above.
• Take Form B, challans and original license inside the barrack. After entering the barrack, go towards right and show form B to any officer sitting along the left side.
• They'll calculate the license fees. You need to write the amount on the challans. The officer will then sign the challans.
• Get the challans stamped at the counter near the entrance. Officer's signature and the stamp are important. Without that your trip to treasury will be wasted.
• Now go to treasury. The security will guide you to one of the cash counters. Depending on the queue, be prepared to wait for up to an hour. Here, they'll accept the fees in cash, and give you 1 copy of the challan - stamped by them.
• Come back to the license office. Get a photocopy of stamped challan for your own record. Now pin together: Form B + License photocopy + 1 challan. Hand over this and the original license at a window outside the barrack. The guy will keep the pinned docs and will make a new entry on the original license before giving it back. The new entry on original license is the most important part. Do verify it shows number of years for which the licence is renewed.
• Take the original license and get it signed by the officer who sits in front of the main door to the barrack.

That's it, your license is renewed!
The whole procedure took me less than 2 hours and.. ZERO Rupees in bribes!!

Solar baked cookies!

Finally, got my own cookies done. No electricity, no gas. Only a couple of hours of the abundant sun-power!!



I've been experimenting with baking cookies for the past 6 months now (inspired by the workshop conducted by Organic Initaitive last year). Was using an old, stove top oven all along. With my philosophy of starting-out-frugal, there was no way I was going to buy expensive equipment first!
But the result was hours of burning LPG and burnt-bottom cookies - that only I was eating 'cause I couldn't bear to throw them away. Well, over time, the cookies started coming out OKAY, with reduced baking time and less carbon at the cookie bottom :-).

Then the monsoon got over and Sun started shining again. Time to try the solar cooker for baking! The first batch of cookie dough went in on a bright Saturday afternoon. One and a half hour later, like an anxious kid I took them out, let them cool for half an hour and took the first bite. They were crisp, not at all burnt and JUST RIGHT. I almost cried.

This was too good to be true. Just mix the usual dough, pop it into the solar cooker, let out the steam after half an hour, but essentially forget it for a couple of hours, and voila, you have perfectly done cookies, with no fuel burnt!



Okay, so here's the recipe for those who'd like to try:

Btw, I got the original recipe from http://fastindianrecipes.com/atta-biscuits-whole-wheat-cookies/2010/05/02/ but have made some variations, and am consistently getting good results by mixing Ragi (Nagali/Nachani) flour with Atta.

1 cup atta (whole wheat flour)
5 tbsp butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder (OR 1 tbsp Cocoa powder if you mix Ragi flour with atta)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cold milk

1. Mix butter and sugar in a bowl. Beat really well till it turns light and fluffy.
2. Sieve together atta and baking powder. Mix in cardamom powder.
3. Mix this in the butter-sugar mixture. Knead into soft dough. If the dough is difficult to knead, add more milk. Keep it aside for a while. I refrigerate the dough for 15 mins (some "bakers" recommend half hour).
3. Keep the solar cooker in the sun with glass lid closed for about 15 mins.
4. Form small balls from the dough and flatten them between your palms. Line a baking tray with cookie sheet and lightly grease it.
5. Place atta biscuits on the tray keeping a little distance between them. Put them in the cooker and close the lid tightly. After about half an hour, open the glass lid to let out some steam. This may have to be done once or twice. For me, the cookies get done in about 1.5 hours in February, in Pune. This time may vary though depending on your location and intensity of sun.
6. After 1.5 hours, take out the tray and keep in shade for 5-10 minutes, then transfer the biscuits to wire rack or something similar to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

That's it. Pretty simple. Go try your own!!

Give up or fight like hell

"LaTrice, am I going to pull through this?"

"Lance, I hope someday to be just a figment of your imagination. I'm not here to be in your life for the rest of your life. After you leave here, I hope I never see you again. When you're cured, let me see you in papers, on TV, but not back here. I hope to help you at the time you need me, and then I hope I'll be gone..."

Lance Armstrong, an American cyclist, was diagnosed with cancer at 25. After surgery and at the end of chemotherapy, the above dialog took place between him and his 'angel' nurse.

16 months after discharge from hospital, Armstrong entered the Tour de France, a gruelling bike race, and won, in the fastest ever time. He went on to win the race 7 consecutive times, setting a new world record.

"It's not about the bike" is an inspiring story of the fight with cancer that Armstrong won! The fight that taught him many things and transformed him as a person.

Do read!

Unbowed - Wangari Maathai

Just finished reading this inspiring book that I thought I must share with you.

Unbowed, is the story of a tenacious woman, about growing up in the hills of Kenya, getting educated in a missionary school, starting the Green Belt Movement, her 3 decade long fight with the oppressive Government of President Moi, finally coming out a winner, and receiving the Nobel prize!
I especially enjoyed reading the first part of the book about growing up in rural Kenya, about the immense part the nature played in their lives. For those of us who have experienced life in Indian villages, a lot of Kenyan customs or habits sound familiar.

Do read below a few quotes/extracts from the book:

"Trees have been an essential part of my life and have provided me with many lessons. Trees are living symbols of peace and hope. A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded, and that no matter how high we go it is from our roots that we draw sustenance. It is a reminder to all of us who have had success that we cannot forget where we came from."
"...our power and strength and our ability to reach our goals depend on the people, those whose work remains unseen, who are the soil out of which we grow, the shoulders on which we stand."

"Many people assume that I must have been inordinately brave to face down the thugs and police during the campaign for Karura Forest. The truth is that I simply did not understand why anyone would want to violate the rights of others or to ruin the environment. Why would someone destroy the only forest left in the city and give it to friends and political supporters to build expensive houses and golf courses?"
... "What people see as fearlessness is really persistence. Because I am focussed on the solution, I don't see danger. Because I don't see danger, I don't allow my mind to imagine what might happen to me, which is my definition of fear. If you don't foresee the danger and see only the solution, then you can defy anyone and appear strong and fearless."

"Throughout my life, I have never stopped to strategize about my next steps. I often just keep walking along, through whichever door opens. I have been on a journey and this journey has never stopped. When the journey is acknowledged and sustained by those I work with, they are a source of inspiration, energy, and encouragement. They are the reasons I kept walking, and will keep walking, as long as my knees hold out."

"What I have learned over the years is that we must be patient, persistent, and committed. When we are planting trees sometimes people will say to me, "I don't want to plant this tree, because it will not grow fast enough." I have to keep reminding them that the trees they are cutting today were not planted by them, but by those who came before. So they must plant the trees that will benefit communities in the future."
... "I have always believed that, no matter how dark the cloud, there is always a thin, silver lining, and that is what we must look for. The silver lining will come, if not to us then to the next generation or the one after that. And maybe with that generation the lining will no longer be thin."

[Oct. 8, 2004: After receiving the call that she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize]
"I thought of the long journey to this time and place. My mind went back and forth over all the difficult years and great effort when I often felt I was involved in a lonely, futile struggle. I didn't know that so many people were listening and that such a moment would come."

"As women and men continue the work of clothing this naked Earth, we are in the company of many others throughout the world who care deeply for this blue planet. We have nowhere else to go. Those of us who witness the degraded state of the environment and the suffering that comes with it cannot afford to be complacent. We continue to be restless. If we really carry the burden, we are driven to action. We cannot tire or give up. We owe it to the present and future generations of all species to rise up and walk!"

After a long gap...

Came across info about 2 products today that I thought should share with you all.

First one is a 3-wheeler gas-electric hybrid called VentureOne (http://www.venturevehicles.com/) which is scheduled to be launched in I think 2008. Pretty cool looking and sleek vehicle! Do check out the artist's renditions!!

Second product is an interesting way to send files - without using email - at least that's what they claim. Check out the site - http://www.filesfrom.com/ to learn more.


Well, that's all for today!

Bande me HAI dum!

- Lage Raho Munnabhai -

First, hearty congratulations to Vidhu Vinod Chopra for bringing out this boldly humorous movie. His mission - to boldly go where very few movie-makers dare to venture - is successful! The whistles and the applause in the theatre at the right junctures confirms it.

There are a few instances where the sequels are better than prequels, but that's in Hollywood. In Bollywood most of the first parts, so to speak, aren't encouraging enough to think about foraying into a second enterprise. But with LRM, the bar has been raised - beyond expectations.

With help from none other than.. Mahatma Gandhi, VVC has crafted this very enjoyable movie experience 'with a message' but without it sounding like one! RDB too gave a message but with a little pomp, glamour and violence; all the 3 of which VVC avoided and achieved a better result nevertheless. Full marks to him on this count. It seems so hard (well, apparently not so hard for everyone) these days for the message-mongering-movies to be non-violent. In that light directors like VVC and Ashutosh Gowarikar certainly stand out.

My idea here is not to write a movie review, but to thank VVC for giving us this gem. Hey, this movie even gives us a new tool to use (even before invoking the Right To Information act) against bribe-takers... Heh heh!

Enough words folks, go see the movie.

Vande Mataram!

मराठीत लिहिण्याचा पहिला प्रयत्न. तुम्हाला मराठीत दिसते का अवश्य कळवा.

Pune deserves bad roads!

The roads in Pune are in a pathetic state. Period. So much has been written in the newspapers over the past few weeks on the potholes in Pune, that it will surpass the coverage on fodder scam, bofors and salman khan - combined. We could actually call this the pothole scam! This scam has certainly been a fodder for some creative thinking and action too. Like Naushad Forbes (CEO, Forbes Marshall) dashing off a stinker to the PMC commissioner. Another bigwig wrote a poem about the pothole-ridden Harris bridge. Vivek Velankar and others performed a pooja and aarti of khadda-deo (pothole god) in front of the PMC office. Vivek, incidentally is a one-man crusade against PMC's apathy towards the roads in Pune. Now the famous veteran Shri. Mohan Dharia has also started his own crusade.

Anyway, all this brouhaha got me thinking about a letter I had written to Times of India 2 years back about traffic conditions in Pune. Unfortunately, I was told so many times by TOI to reduce the article in size to fit the column, that I lost interest. Now that I have switched to Indian Express (not because of THAT episode, but due to other very valid reasons - which is a topic for another blog :-), and noticed how IE has some very good initiatives and coverage of relevant topics, I thought I should try writing again. And I have more experiences to add too!

So after coming back from US, where traffic rules are followed 99% of the time, where you learn the right of way by heart and follow it, where you actually READ the driving instructions manual and so on, it is an attitude reversal driving in India, especially Pune. There is only one word to describe traffic here - MAYHEM.

Now where should I begin? Alrighty then, it will be my favorite one - driving on the wrong side.

Item 1: Driving on the wrong side
I don't really know about other cities, but this seems to be a favorite item in Pune. I haven't seen this in Mumbai. Let me explain the technicality first. Typically, you drive on the left side of the road while the traffic moving in the opposite direction is on your right. In Pune, however, there are 2 more distinct directions. About 5% of traffic moves in the opposite direction on your LEFT too. These are the short-cutters or the cut-cornerers. They typically want to travel a short distance toward the right, but are too lazy to follow the normal flow. So they take the quick route. Some of them have gotten used to this technique so much that they do it even over longer distances.
Now it's not just the 2-wheelers who do it. 3-wheelers, cars and surprise surprise, trucks do it too.
Now who are the wrong-siders? Pretty much anyone. Middle aged folks kind of know they are doing wrong, so they don't look you in the eyes if you honk or glare at them (like I do. Now I have started giving them a thumbs-down too!). Teenage boys love to do it, they have that gleam of revolt in their eyes. For them it's not a short-cut, no convenience, it's a revenge against the society :-O. For teenage girls, riding their Honda Activas (which are too oversized for them), these sweeties have no clue they are doing anything wrong. Hey, they have grown up watching their aai, baba, dada, boyfr.. shhh, doing it all the time. My wife gave one lady a thorough scolding for dashing against a walker while driving on the wrong side and who had the nerve to shout at the walker instead.

This has become such a menace on roads that some senior citizens I know are terrified of crossing the roads in the evening, beacuse you never know where a vehicle will come from. So the new road-crossing rule is: look left, then right, then left and finally right. Hope you survived! Remember the game 'Frogger'?

Item 2: Traffic signals
First, a quote from a rikshaw driver: "PMC is only wasting electricity on these traffic lights". Hah. I think that pretty much sums up what I have to say. Rikshaw drivers probably think they are doing a duty to their customers by not waiting for the traffic lights to turn green. They need to get the customers home as quickly as possible. They must have watched James Bond in Octopussy! It's mostly the rikshaw drivers who do not obey signals. However, they are surreptitious in doing it. Not so with 2-wheeler riders. They take great pride in doing it - at least some of them. So you are all waiting at a light peacefully humming your favorite remix tune. A rider gets impatient OR someone weaves his way through, quickly looks around to make sure there is no cop (he skips this step at a no-cop-ever junction) and proceeds without even glancing at others. It's his victorious way (see how I do it!). A few riders follow him meekly. These were sitting on the fence (jau ki nako, jau ki nako..) until the torchbearer came along.

It hurts most however to see PMT drivers disobeying traffic lights. I think they should be penalized double than normal. Unfortunately my no-confrontation attitude comes in the way when I'm riding on a bus and the driver does not stop at red light. Hopefully one day I'll boldly walk up to the guy and tell him bluntly - 'babare, asa karu nakos'.. :->

Item 3: Helmet compulsion
I've never seen such a relentless campaign against helmet anywhere but in Pune. Some people have actually made it an aim of their life to vehemently oppose this particular law. So you have a "helmet-sakti virodhi aandolan", helmet burning.. no I'm kidding.
There have been so many arguments, so many articles in newspapers on this issue that it's mind boggling and I wonder why people still don't understand the safety aspect. Actually I'm a fence-sitter on this issue. I believe it should be left to the individuals to protect themselves. However, considering how the Indian mindset works, we need the law to tell us what to do. I wonder if people in US ever protested against wearing seat belts!

Here's my actual view on this. Make wearing helmets a law. Just like obeying traffic rules! People who want to break the law will do it anyway. Penalize them. Let's not spend energy arguing on the issue.

Item 4: Looking while merging
"LOOKING? What's that?" ..is what an average Punite would probably ask. Hey, when you drive you don't LOOK, you get from point A to point B. You do this like Abhimanyu - break the chakravyuha; you do this like Arjun - one goal, bird's eye!! Okay, there are exceptions to not looking, especially when an interesting specimen is riding in front of you...
Most 2-wheeler riders don't look when they are merging onto a road. There are no exceptions. It doesn't matter even if you are merging from a tapari gully into a major road. Never look back. Take the turn at the highest speed possible. Somebody honked? Cool! You did it!! Taste success.

Item 5: Lane system
This is the best part. This has nothing to do with Pune, you can see it on any Indian road.

They have freeways in US. But in India, all our roads are free-ways. In US, if a freeway has 4 lanes, then there are 4 vehicle flows. That's it, and you call it freedom! In India, we don't have lanes marked (that's so dumb). We CREATE lanes. Think customized roads. You know what size vehicle you are driving, so you create a lane for yourself. Bigger the vehicle, more the customization! On the other hand, smaller vehicles can dictate their own speed limit. So that's not too bad.


I think it's high time we had 2-wheeler training schools (of course they should TEACH you the traffic rules, not just GET you a license).

My conclusion is: For all this irresponsible driving (if you call it driving), we Punites deserve the connected potholes, I mean, the roads!


Guys, I would like to invite your views on improving the traffic-less situation. Let's generate some ideas. If we get some good ones, maybe I can dash off a letter to Indian Express, cc Pune RTO.

What they teach you in a red light area!

Not the nicest looking topic to start a blog, but since this event jolted me out of my middle class goody-goody life's slumber, I do want to share it.

It started with Renutai (Gavaskar) calling me last week about a website she wanted for the organization she works for. I was aware that she worked at an outfit working with children of prostitutes. But I had no clue about what this outfit was. Anyways, I thought this was a nice opportunity to work on an NGO website again, so I accepted the offer. (muktangan.org was the first. I have done a website for a very non-conventional school from Kerala too but it hasn't been reviewed yet [website, not the school :-)] so I can't disclose the URL yet).

This morning I drove over to the red light area in Pune. 10:30am was still a little early for 'business' so fortunately for me, there weren't too many 'vendors' around. Actually, from what is still to come, my references above are in a bad taste!

After riding thru' a multitude of bylanes and asking at least 3 people, I finally found the school in a non-descript alley. The school's called 'Nutan Samartha Vidyalaya'. Climbing the narrow staircase, I just stumbled into a small class with 15/20 noisy kids. Somebody said Renutai was upstairs. So a couple of more flights of stairs and walking thru' 2 more classes, I went up to where Renutai was chatting with some teachers. Renutai is a middle aged woman. I know her since my Muktangan project. She used to be a regular resource person there, counselling the addicts with well-crafted stories. That was the time when I learned the importance and efficacy of conveying your message thru' stories!

Renutai welcomed me with a bright smile. She was about to go to a class where the kids were going to talk about their recent field trip and asked me to join. So I went and sat on the front bench. All the classes have plain benches, no back rests, no writing desks. Renutai told me later she was soon getting funds to buy desks!

After we sat down, the kid sitting behind me asked me for my name and I obliged - even telling him the meaning. I asked their names, turned out there were 2 "Sagar"s and one "Arun". A fourth kid brought a drawing book - belonging to one of the "Sagar"s. I was surprised. How many times you see a kid showing his friend's drawing book - proudly?

Let me tell you, since I arrived at the school like 5 minutes ago, I was scanning the faces of the kids around me. My mind had put a stamp on them as "kids of prostitutes". I don't know what my eyes were looking for, but I didn't find anything unusual. They looked liked kids from any municipal school. One of the visiting teachers - from Dnyan Prabhodini, who had accompanied the kids to Raja Kelkar museum, asked the kids what they liked at the museum. All of a sudden, the class was transformed into a bunch of enthusiastic-looking kids, their minds racing thru' the Kelkar museum, trying to remember what they liked. I felt very emotional at that moment. No matter where they are born, no matter what hell they are going thru' each day, kids will always be kids when you give them the opportunity. And this class was no different from some of the others I have seen before, in more elite or at least well-to-do schools. After everyone had a chance to talk, and after watching the 3 teachers in front of me listening to the kids, I
felt reassured that the world still has teachers WHO CARE.

At the end, Renutai introduced me to the class. We then went downstairs and sat in the principal's office. I told her I wanted to know all possible info about the school to represent it on the website. So she started. For the next half hour or so, she told me enough to make me feel ashamed of being a man!

The school was started by late Shri. Dnyaneshwar Vyavahare in 1926. Budhwar peth was a red light area even then. The school catered to the kids of prostitutes and traders. They only taught, and still do, up to 7th standard. I don't recall Renutai mentioning when it started, but I guess in the last few decades, people started thinking that their kids should learn English better, so the trader community started sending their kids to the English-medium schools. Kids of prostitutes had no option. In fact, considering their living conditions, schooling itself is the biggest luxury in their lives - forget the medium of instruction.

Initially, Renutai went around asking the mothers to send their kids to school. The condition of most of the rooms that are called houses is so deplorable that Renutai found it hard to believe that human beings can actually live there, forget about kids studying in those places. There is the omnipresent stink of alcohol and paan. Clients spit everywhere. The women have unusual working hours. Business starts at around 1pm and can go on throughout the night. The kids also sleep at odd hours and get up late in the morning. Initially, when kids came to school, they used to be unfed and hence lacked concentration. So the school started giving them food when they arrived. Now with help from Venky's hatcheries and Johnson and Johnson, the school provides snacks 3 times in a day. Renutai showed me a boy who she says is bright. He likes being number one in the class and manages it every year. Unfortunately, he gets an almost daily beating for this. You see, he gets up at 6am to study, but for his mother this is way too early and she takes out her frustration on him. This boy often asks his teacher - "Why was I born?"

Renutai mentioned she specially invites socially inclined men to talk in the classes. This is to instil confidence among the girls that men are not just 'clients'.

When the school was running out of funds, the administration thought of charging fees. But when Renutai went around the area, she found that the women were making very little money. The asking rate starts at Rs. 50 and not too occasionally goes down to Rs. 10 when the pangs of hunger start biting hard. Then there is the commission! Paying school fees is thus out of question.

Some kids have never seen a printed book. When Renutai showed a book to a kid, he exclaimed that her handwriting was so good! Some kids get so much beating and abuse that they become very quiet all of a sudden. They don't talk or even respond. In the meeting for parents, she requests the mothers not to hit their kids on the head or not to hit their head against the wall (literally), but to hit them on the legs below the knees. A few kids in the class are HIV positive and this is another challenge for the school. A challenge of the modern times.

The prostitutes themselves are in a very bad state. A lot of them are sold off to brothels by their own kith and kin. So even if you rescue them, most of the times they end up going back to another brothel. This is because their own relatives won't accept them back in the fold. The politicians, police, people don't give a damn to this community. It's like we don't want this part of the world to exist. But it does exist, and at certain times of the day, it is thronged with men. There is booze, swearing and fights all around. Police tend to look the other way.

There was the case of a kid who used to work at a chai-stall. One day he told the teacher he was quitting school because he got a 'promotion' as a waiter in a dance bar in Mumbai. And he was darn serious when he said that. Renutai feels this can change only through education.

Renutai comes from Ekalavya Nyaas. She is trying hard to relocate the school to an actual school campus less than a kilometer away where there is a playground and real classes. She is also trying to arrange a residential campus (at Hadapsar) for a few kids. The plan is to ferry kids from the campus to their homes everyday so that their mothers won't think they lost the kids. It's an interesting relationship. The mothers want their kids because they feel they have somebody of their own. But the frustration that they cannot provide anything to the kids and the nature of their work is such that they end up beating and abusing their own kids!

All these stories were making me dizzy. We then talked about what could be posted on the website. I feel we should put some of these stories on the front page. According to Renutai, more than the funds the school needs people who understand. People who can give time for the kids. When the kids go back home after school, the only 'people' that they come across are their abusive mothers and their clients, and maybe the so-called fathers. Most of the women prefer to have these 'fathers' around because of all the
fights that take place in the neighbourhood. However, these 'protectors' drink and abuse the women most.

Renutai has promised to compile a 'story' for the website. On the way back, I kept thinking about how we live in our ivory towers and TALK about the rampant corruption, decreasing social values and bringing in a social change. Well, people like Renutai DO something about it.

I think all our self-proclaimed intelligence is useless until we can at least bring a smile to a deprived child's face.