I write this post from Peaceful Puducherry - the land of the French in India right from pre-independence days till date.It is a 48 hour train journey from Udaipur (my home town) and whichever way I look at it, that's 48 hours too many. So I fly to Ahmedabad from Madras - and even though the airfares available are cheaper now - it ends up more than twice as expensive as 2nd a/c.
That wasn't how it was supposed to be - budget airlines were supposed to make flying just a little more expensive than "luxury" train fare. Leave aside Air Deccan's few cheap tickets (which, like rail must be booked months in advance).
Flying within India remains an expensive proposition - and yet more of us are doing it today - not just for business, but pleasure and in fulfillment of social obligations.
Why fly
We're doing it because time is money. And time spent in trains watching the scenery go by is not just boring but wasteful.
But, more fundamentally, there is a new breed of Indians who just can't stand personal discomfort. Not to say that flying is absolutely stress-free - it's not, especially given the state of our airports. But the maximum you'll spend trapped with an irritating co-passenger is 2 hours.
Railways are a different story. You are trapped in a compartment with a medley of people. If you're travelling alone you'll invariably have to 'adjust' and exchange seats so Bablu and family can all sit together. If you don't get there early you'll have to wage war to get suitcase space.
There are those who eat non-stop and those who talk non-stop (even after lights go off). Then there are kids who wail and uncles who snore. And of course using the loo in the morning...
The scene I am describing is of the Indian Railways with hordes jumping in without reservation along the way.
Yet, I find in the last one year since I took the Great Mental Leap ('what the heck, let's fly') it's become increasingly difficult to contemplate a long distance train journey.
Attitude Shift
The train --> plane shift is increasingly being made by customers in search of 'fluxury' or functional luxury. Which is different from those who buy something because it confers them 'status'.
I happily wear a cheap though funky plastic watch - not a Tag or Esprit - because a watch is a watch is a watch. The 300 buck one tells time as well as the 10,000 one - and you can throw it away and get a new one every 6 months.
Similarly, a 'fluxury' seeking customer will upgrade his or her mobile phone in search of certain features - like a Blackberry or PDA and not just for its 'flaunt' status - or cool looks.
I could be wrong, but it seems like much of young India is thinking this way. It's therefore harder to sell on the strength of 'labels' alone in this country.
Young people are happy to wear the cheaper substitute - and without embarassment. You see this particularly in the case of say, jeans. Yes, I need to own a couple of well known brand name pairs but beyond that junta shops for specific styles. Most important, if it fits well, it will sell.
The Road Ahead
Getting back to the question of train vs plane, the Railways have enough Indians still clamouring for tickets to miss my custom. And with our large population - will continue to do so.
But assuming the grand plans for more airports - and also better, high speed roads - actually bear fruit... As far as young and upwardly mobile India is concerned - 20 years from now - trans-India railway journeys will be romantic relics of the past.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Raat baaki
"Indians are sleeping less" - according to a recent cover story in India Today.
A study by AC Nielsen reveals that 46% of Indians sleep less than 6 hours a day. And 64% apparently wake up prior to 7 am - among the highest in the world.
Well, I belong to the 64% group happily. Not as extreme as Ekta Kapoor - she apparently sleeps only after 4 am and that too for just 5 hours. But yes, I do love my nights.
Night is when I get to watch TV/ surf the net/ read in peace. And write, too. It's when I feel a sense of space and freedom in a house - and life - I share with my wife.
The late shift
When I was in school, I remember 10 o'clock was standard bedtime. 11 o'clock was considered LATE. There was an alarm clock- cum-radio next to my bed and sometimes I'd lie awake till 11.30 - till Vividh Bharati's last transmission - and feel quite cool.
Today, kids are routinely awake till 11 pm in many Indian homes. Parents come home late from work, for one. If you leave at 8 am and return at 9 pm - when will your child see you at all, if he sleeps by old English timings?
Then there's 24 hour TV - you stay awake to watch inane movies or just randomly channel surf. For young people, late night is about the only time the remote is in their independent possession. Because prime time means saas bahu serials for moms and NDTV/ CNBC for dads. And not many homes - yet - have two TVs.
If you're the kind who now works for a living, late night TV viewing is kind of like unwinding. You hope - in those 100 channels - something will seduce you, reduce the mental exhaustion of the day gone by.
Ditto for net-surfing.
Nights are for man-made pleasures like clubbing while early mornings are for natural ones like walks in parks. You may not be the partying type, but if you're a young person - chances are you prefer the buzz of the night.
This, of course, may not be a matter of choice for many of the kids who are in an engineering or MBA hostels where nobody sleeps before 2 am.
Bottomline: There is a mysterious, somewhat kinky pleasure to staying up late. Ask yourself, why did India awake to light and freedom at the stroke of the midnight hour... Not 6 am?
A study by AC Nielsen reveals that 46% of Indians sleep less than 6 hours a day. And 64% apparently wake up prior to 7 am - among the highest in the world.
Well, I belong to the 64% group happily. Not as extreme as Ekta Kapoor - she apparently sleeps only after 4 am and that too for just 5 hours. But yes, I do love my nights.
Night is when I get to watch TV/ surf the net/ read in peace. And write, too. It's when I feel a sense of space and freedom in a house - and life - I share with my wife.
The late shift
When I was in school, I remember 10 o'clock was standard bedtime. 11 o'clock was considered LATE. There was an alarm clock- cum-radio next to my bed and sometimes I'd lie awake till 11.30 - till Vividh Bharati's last transmission - and feel quite cool.
Today, kids are routinely awake till 11 pm in many Indian homes. Parents come home late from work, for one. If you leave at 8 am and return at 9 pm - when will your child see you at all, if he sleeps by old English timings?
Then there's 24 hour TV - you stay awake to watch inane movies or just randomly channel surf. For young people, late night is about the only time the remote is in their independent possession. Because prime time means saas bahu serials for moms and NDTV/ CNBC for dads. And not many homes - yet - have two TVs.
If you're the kind who now works for a living, late night TV viewing is kind of like unwinding. You hope - in those 100 channels - something will seduce you, reduce the mental exhaustion of the day gone by.
Ditto for net-surfing.
Nights are for man-made pleasures like clubbing while early mornings are for natural ones like walks in parks. You may not be the partying type, but if you're a young person - chances are you prefer the buzz of the night.
This, of course, may not be a matter of choice for many of the kids who are in an engineering or MBA hostels where nobody sleeps before 2 am.
Bottomline: There is a mysterious, somewhat kinky pleasure to staying up late. Ask yourself, why did India awake to light and freedom at the stroke of the midnight hour... Not 6 am?
Porn Free
Did you know that 90% of cybercafe clients visit porn sites.
And, that 50% of them are minors?
That's what the Asian Age reported, quoting a survey conducted by media consultant N Ravindran which covered 65 cybercafes in Mumbai.
"Of the 350 students we interviewed, most were students between the age of 9-14."
Apparently the younger kids come in groups while those above 15 prefer to watch porn by themselves. Cybercafe owners turn a blind eye because - well, it's good business!
So much for closure of dance bars.
Girls just don't wanna...
An important point to note is that "only a handful of girls watch porn, compared to boys".
I'm not surprised, because the 'blue film' industry is primarily geared towards men.
I guess I'm too old to be disgusted... just puzzled that people (read men) will pay money (more than once) to watch this freakshow.
Strangely enough, a quote from staid old 'Readers Digest' I read last time hits the nail on the head.
Says Dr Phil (of Oprah fame): "Men fall in love with their eyes. Women fall in love with their ears." The same, I think, is true of lust!
And, that 50% of them are minors?
That's what the Asian Age reported, quoting a survey conducted by media consultant N Ravindran which covered 65 cybercafes in Mumbai.
"Of the 350 students we interviewed, most were students between the age of 9-14."
Apparently the younger kids come in groups while those above 15 prefer to watch porn by themselves. Cybercafe owners turn a blind eye because - well, it's good business!
So much for closure of dance bars.
Girls just don't wanna...
An important point to note is that "only a handful of girls watch porn, compared to boys".
I'm not surprised, because the 'blue film' industry is primarily geared towards men.
I guess I'm too old to be disgusted... just puzzled that people (read men) will pay money (more than once) to watch this freakshow.
Strangely enough, a quote from staid old 'Readers Digest' I read last time hits the nail on the head.
Says Dr Phil (of Oprah fame): "Men fall in love with their eyes. Women fall in love with their ears." The same, I think, is true of lust!
The IIT Bubble
"An academic institution should not be known just for its undergraduates. It should be known for the kind of knowledge base it creates, the quality of research that it does. We need to really pull up our socks otherwise it will be not long before the IIT bubble bursts."
This is what S G Dhande, director, IIT Kanpur had to say in an interview to Tehelka, the people's paper (issue dt Apr 09). He couldn't have put it better.
Although I don't think the 'bubble will burst' - because the goodwill its graduates have earned over the last 4 decades is formidable - certainly IITs have a long way to go. IITians who go to MIT for PG courses excel as individuals but IIT as an institution is nowhere near an MIT in terms of original research.
Dhande believes the spark of creativity and originality of thinking needed for top quality research is missing because IITians are given a completely unidimensional education.
"Knowledge is increasingly becoming inter-disciplinary... Biology is the flavour of the century. We need to delve into all these areas even though we call ourselves a technology institute".
The director relates the story of a faculty member at IIT asking the first year students which novel they had read in the past one year.
There was a stunned silence.
"Where is the time to read novels?" they asked.
Dhande's answer is to start exposing students to design and art, as well as set up a TV studio on campus, a community based FM radio station and start a journalism club. Sounds like fun - with official sanction.
Curiously, in August 2004, IIT Bombay witnessed a sudden cancellation of all cultural and sports activities. The Performing Arts festival and Socials (a theater event) were scaled down to reduce the number of man hours spent on them... The Dean expressed his concern over the the new bodies and clubs cropping up and demanded a 'vision' behind all these activities".
I don't know what the situation is right now, but obviously there is difference of opinion among the powers-that-be in the IIT family!
Jo JEEta wahi...
According to tehelka, at a March 5 meeting of the standing commitee of the IIT council, it was agreed that the present level of JEE is so high that students have to undergo strenuous coaching - which can be as long as 4 years. A proposal to change the examinations pattern is being considered.
Most likely, JEE will revert to from the current 2 stage process which was introduced a few years ago, to one examination from 2006-7. It was also felt that the exam should be 'more simple' and based on class 12 syllabus.
Well and good. However this bit is disturbing: "Performance in the Board exams may be used as criteria for determining eligibility."
Would this mean only those who score above 85 or 90% can attempt JEE? When will they give the exam - after their results are out?
No doubt the current situation sucks. A single coaching institute - Bansal classes in Kota - sent 827 students to IIT (I kid you not - that was their success rate in the year 2004).
Getting into Bansal (which calls itself 'modern gurukul for IIT JEE) itself has become so tough that someone will need to start a coaching class for that. Maybe there already is one?
But determining eligibility via Board Exams - that can't be the answer. Maybe the JEE should be based more along the lines of the SAT - where basic aptitude/ IQ is measured. But of course in colleges abroad the SAT is used along with subjective criteria like essays, recommendations and student's past academic and extra curricular record.
Which is unlikely to happen here.
Bottomline: At least serious thought is being paid to these issues - even if there is no magic solution. Which is better than IITs just sitting back and feeling complacent about being 'world class'.
Bonus: If IIT truly gets multi-disciplinary, they may - someday- transcend the image ingrained in the public mind - that of the Ultimate Nerd!
This is what S G Dhande, director, IIT Kanpur had to say in an interview to Tehelka, the people's paper (issue dt Apr 09). He couldn't have put it better.
Although I don't think the 'bubble will burst' - because the goodwill its graduates have earned over the last 4 decades is formidable - certainly IITs have a long way to go. IITians who go to MIT for PG courses excel as individuals but IIT as an institution is nowhere near an MIT in terms of original research.
Dhande believes the spark of creativity and originality of thinking needed for top quality research is missing because IITians are given a completely unidimensional education.
"Knowledge is increasingly becoming inter-disciplinary... Biology is the flavour of the century. We need to delve into all these areas even though we call ourselves a technology institute".
The director relates the story of a faculty member at IIT asking the first year students which novel they had read in the past one year.
There was a stunned silence.
"Where is the time to read novels?" they asked.
Dhande's answer is to start exposing students to design and art, as well as set up a TV studio on campus, a community based FM radio station and start a journalism club. Sounds like fun - with official sanction.
Curiously, in August 2004, IIT Bombay witnessed a sudden cancellation of all cultural and sports activities. The Performing Arts festival and Socials (a theater event) were scaled down to reduce the number of man hours spent on them... The Dean expressed his concern over the the new bodies and clubs cropping up and demanded a 'vision' behind all these activities".
I don't know what the situation is right now, but obviously there is difference of opinion among the powers-that-be in the IIT family!
Jo JEEta wahi...
According to tehelka, at a March 5 meeting of the standing commitee of the IIT council, it was agreed that the present level of JEE is so high that students have to undergo strenuous coaching - which can be as long as 4 years. A proposal to change the examinations pattern is being considered.
Most likely, JEE will revert to from the current 2 stage process which was introduced a few years ago, to one examination from 2006-7. It was also felt that the exam should be 'more simple' and based on class 12 syllabus.
Well and good. However this bit is disturbing: "Performance in the Board exams may be used as criteria for determining eligibility."
Would this mean only those who score above 85 or 90% can attempt JEE? When will they give the exam - after their results are out?
No doubt the current situation sucks. A single coaching institute - Bansal classes in Kota - sent 827 students to IIT (I kid you not - that was their success rate in the year 2004).
Getting into Bansal (which calls itself 'modern gurukul for IIT JEE) itself has become so tough that someone will need to start a coaching class for that. Maybe there already is one?
But determining eligibility via Board Exams - that can't be the answer. Maybe the JEE should be based more along the lines of the SAT - where basic aptitude/ IQ is measured. But of course in colleges abroad the SAT is used along with subjective criteria like essays, recommendations and student's past academic and extra curricular record.
Which is unlikely to happen here.
Bottomline: At least serious thought is being paid to these issues - even if there is no magic solution. Which is better than IITs just sitting back and feeling complacent about being 'world class'.
Bonus: If IIT truly gets multi-disciplinary, they may - someday- transcend the image ingrained in the public mind - that of the Ultimate Nerd!
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