Disability Hypocrisy

Yesterday morning, when I picked up the daily newspaper, I was confronted by a full page advertisement inserted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment of the Government of India which was "Greetings to all persons with disabilities and the community working for their empowerment".

Pictures of the prominent persons starting with Indian President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patel, the Indian Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Chairperson of the UPA, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Mukul Wasnik, and Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri D. Napolean, stood out prominently on the page.

I thought to myself about this waste of money to fulfil their own self-glorification egoistic political agenda.

Had any of these eminent persons ever walked down ANY street in India with a physically challenged person and seen the nightmarish existence they face?

Are there 100 or even 10 traffic lights which cater to the needs of the blind in India?

To demonstrate my point of view, I took a short walk in the upmarket area of New Delhi, Golf Links. I walked to one of the most popular and oldest markets in the area, Khan Market.

The pictorial record shows what state the physically challenged would face.



There are no pavements clear enough for a wheelchair to be pushed!





There is a drop of almost 300 cm between the pavement level and the road!



There is usually a gutter in between the two.

Pedestrian crossings run up against a divider with a fence!





Roads are blocked by numerous impediments, mostly man-made, with no thought as to why a pavement exists!





The situation is already a nightmare for persons of sound mind and body, so what would it be for a physically challenged person.

In today's Hindustan Times, I saw that some steps are likely to be implemented to improve the pavements in the city of New Delhi!

Is New Delhi India?

And when is such a plan of action likely to see the light of day?

If in the upmarket area the situation is so bad, can one imagine what it is like in the other areas as where the poor and down-trodden live?

New definition for "Weaving"

The word to weave has some standard definitions in my Apple computer dictionary:

weave 1 |wēv|
verb ( past wove |wōv|; past part. woven |ˈwōvən|or wove) [ trans. ]
form (fabric or a fabric item) by interlacing long threads passing in one direction with others at a right angle to them : linen was woven in the district.
• form (thread) into fabric in this way : some thick mohairs can be difficult to weave.
• [ intrans. ] [usu. as n. ] ( weaving) make fabric in this way typically by working at a loom : cotton spinning and weaving was done in mills.
• ( weave something into) include something as an integral part or element of (a woven fabric) : a gold pattern was woven into the material.
• make (basketwork or a wreath) by interlacing rods or flowers.
• make (a complex story or pattern) from a number of interconnected elements : he weaves colorful, cinematic plots.
• ( weave something into) include an element in (such a story or pattern) : interpretative comments are woven into the narrative.
noun [usu. with adj. ]
a particular style or manner in which something is woven : scarlet cloth of a very fine weave.
ORIGIN Old English wefan, of Germanic origin, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek huphē ‘web’ and Sanskrit ūrṇavābhi ‘spider,’ literally ‘wool-weaver.’ The current noun sense dates from the late 19th cent.
weave 2
verb [ intrans. ]
twist and turn from side to side while moving somewhere in order to avoid obstructions : he had to weave his way through the crowds.
• take evasive action in an aircraft, typically by moving it from side to side.
• (of a horse) repeatedly swing the head and forepart of the body from side to side (considered to be a vice).
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: probably from Old Norse veifa ‘to wave, brandish.’

In the last month and a half, having been driven around in Mumbai, Cochin, Kerala, Kottayam, Bangalore, Karnataka, Mysore, Chennai, Ahmedabad and now New Delhi and Delhi, plus Harayana and Rajasthan - I can confidently add one more definition for the word "weaving".

That is "chaotic driving in India".

Unlike the beautiful and delicate patterns created by textile weaving, weaving in Indian traffic is a nightmare.

Yesterday, while driving back from Nim ka Thane in Rajasthan, we happened to follow a bus belonging to Sabharwal Travels, a travel company operating from New Delhi. The behaviour of the driver was astonishing.

The minute he was in a lane, he would signal that he was intending to move into the next lane. When he got into the next lane, he would signal that he was intending to move back to the lane he had just moved out of. This went on for almost the 40 km we were following him. It was obvious that he was least aware of the utter confusion he was adding to an already chaotic situation through his use of his blinking signals.

Everyone was weaving in and out from one lane to the next, to their own lane in between the lanes, to the verge lane, or wherever the car would fit, in between two cars, a bus and a car.

The horns were used perpetually, as if we were in a dodgem car track in a "Tivoli". The horn was the bumper and body protector.

Coming from a country where the horn is only used in a dire emergency, the constant sounding of the horn to tell the world, much like Enid Blytonäs Noddy: "Hey listen to me folks, I am also here!", is nothing but tragic.

This is noise pollution at its worst, and nobody seems to mind. Nobody even bothers to see that the "SILENCE ZONE" signboard is just up ahead!

If only people stuck to their lanes and drove within the terms as specified by the law, everyone would get to their destinations quicker, and in peace.

What people apparently do not undestand is that this constant weaving, braking, missing another car by a hair's breadth, all has a toll in slowing down the traffic into a metallic mess and causes the traffic to crawl.

Yes, I am sure that the new definition for "weaving" as "chaotic driving in India", is probably the best definition yet!

Check Dam? Check Mate!

Salegram, my driver friend of the last 40 years, arrived at 04:30 am for our trip to Rajasthan. We were a little slow to get ready but we were off by 05:05 am. (I realised how much Salegram knew of my life when he asked me where my Charminars were. I used to smoke 80 per day till I gave up 27 years ago!)

As we drove by, Annikki and I were astounded by the sight of Gurgaon skyline. The development of that part outside Delhi, on the Haryana border, was amazing, but obviously, like in Bangalore, fraught with problems. Unplanned development, not adequate resources provided, and even with 6 lane highways connecting Delhi to Gurgaon, the entire situation is in shambles.

When we had originally planned to visit Rajasthan, the idea was to visit Jaipur and Udaipur, to see the Royal splendour of those cities. But after my talk with Anil Ruia, I had other plans. I wanted to see how the framers in India are surviving and I wanted to see something which would motivate ME!

I can see Palaces and Heritage Sites everywhere, but to get a close-up glimpse of Indian farmers, who makes up over 70 % of the population of this great country, to me, was much more valuable.

Bhupendra Singh, our guide for the day.

Once we were in Rajasthan, we left of National Highway No. 8 and turned off it to Nim ka Thane, where we had agreed to meet Bhupendra Singh, who was to show us the work being done on Check Dams in Sikar District.


A happy farmer who now plans to build a house and get married!

The terrain was harsh with stone and rubble strewn everywhere. Many roads are impassable. Bhupendra Singh had thoughtfully arranged a Jeep to take us deep into the interior of the District. The bumpy dusty roads were indeed the first eye opener to how our farmers are living, far away from our "modern polluted crowded civilisation".

The air is unpolluted and even the harshness of the climate and surroundings is forgotten when one meets the warmth of the genuine hospitality of an Indian farmer.



A Check Dam is exactly what it suggests - a dam built to check the flow of water after the rains so that the water can percolate into the water table slowly and it can be held behind the dam till it is needed. If the rains are too much, the overflow will go on till the next Check Dam, and so on.

The difference between the Check Dams constructed through the assistance of Aaker Charitable Trust, Mumbai, and those built by the Government, is that the farmers who want the Check Dams constructed, indicate where it should be, pay almost half the cost themselves, the other half being met by some generous donor, and the farmers construct it themselves. Hence, the farmers have a stake in their Check Dams and maintain it to the best of their ability, while also using the water exactly how they want to use it.

Yesterday, on a long hot dusty day, Annikki and I visited 8 Check Dams.

1. Kaalakhet ka Check Dam at Gadrata


2. Futtipal ka Check Dam at Laadi ka bas


3. Purani Chadar ka Check Dam at Garnaw


4. Nichli Chadar ka Check Dam at Garnaw


5. Rai ka Check Dam at Kaalakota


6. Khet ka Check Dam at Buja


7. Goyala ka Check Dam at Bujiwala

There was one thing in common with all of them.


A farmer's wife with Annikki


Another farmer's wife with Annikki.


A farmer's 75 year old mother. She firmly told Annikki
to sit on the charpoy and have a hot tea!

Happy farmers.






Another happy village headman.

The farmers, and all their families whom we met, were so happy with the results of their effort. They expressed it in many different ways. One said that the previous year his income had been about Euro 1500, while this year, because of the Check Dam it was already Rs. Euro 9000 - 6 time greater. A second one told us that the acreage under cultivation had increased 30 times because of the Check Dam. A third one told us that he had no loans, his income had increased, and now he could build his new home and get married!

In short, all of them were so happy, and looked it.

They thanked God for their good fortune, as this year, even with just one rainfall, the Check Dams had worked wonders and there was still plenty of water available. The water table during the last two years had come up by as much as 50 feet in some places. In one case an open well, which was almost dry, was full to the brim.



Farmers were cropping new profitable crops as tomatoes, brinjals, onions, and they were getting good prices. They are also planting a wide variety of trees which will provide cover to harsh terrain, preserve water and prevent erosion.

My thoughts ran through what they had and what they did not have. There is so much work to be done still on the social and civic front, on the education and health front, on the communication front, as most of the farmers do not have even radio contact with the rest of India or the world!

But they do have Nokia Mobile Phones. When I explained where we came from, I said whether they knew the name, Nokia. A farmer proudly pulled out his mobile. They were in raptures when I told them it was just the name of a small town in Finland and soon the world would also know the name of their village too!

To them, a visit by Bhupendra Singh, the enterprising young man (an MA graduate from Meerut University) working for the Aaker Charitable Trust and his two assistants, Vinod and Ravi, bring out the best of our Indian heritage - hospitality and the hand of friendship.


Amla Ruia, wife of my classmate, Ashok Ruia.

The very mention of Amla Ruia is as if they have heard the name of their Maataji! But above all they thank God for their good fortune.


The farmers say their thanks to Amla through
this offering to us!.

This is an example of an NGO which has found the right combination. Projects that cannot be shaken by corruption, farmers who are willing to put in the effort, field workers who believe in what they are doing, donors who have hearts of gold to uplift their fellow men and a figurehead who can motivate all levels to give their very best.

Can this be duplicated on a national scale. The answer is a simple YES, but this is only the first step in a long process of rural development. There are many NGOs working in the field and I am reasonably sure all of them have some special features. It is important for these NGOs to learn from each other, cooperate and implement what is the best for the entire rural community.

I do see that the possibility of the Rural Urbanisation concept that Ebbi and I wrote about 30 years ago, could even see the light of day in the next decade! Let us hope!

Visit to my Alma Mater 3

I went to my alma mater, St. Stephen’s College, this morning.



Much had changed and much had not changed. The most important was that it was a no smoking zone! Amazing but simply wonderful. Many buildings had been added, mostly of the same style.

As soon as I arrived I met with four staff members at the gate, all after my time. Then to the Principal’s office. He was not there, but I spoke to him on the phone to get permission to do some unobtrusive photography.

First shot - The Blacksmith, which was now a modern water cooler. However, the significance of the Blacksmith has vanished as water coolers have been installed in all the blocks, making those evening and night visits to it now unnecessary.

The general atmosphere was the same except to see girls trooping around everywhere.

The greatest disappointment was the condition of the JCR.

In 1961-62 the JCR Committee had worked so hard to make the JCR a wonderful place where we could not only enjoy ourselves but feel comfortable in clean and neat surroundings. The place was now in shambles. The small rooms at the back were store houses for all sorts of paraphernalia and one was a carom room. Two TT tables now stood in the main hall. Nothing much else. It just did not feel a comfortable place to relax in during the long evenings.

But the boys there seemed quite contented - so who am I to say what it should be.

I bought a College tie from Balan in the Sports Department. Cost was just Rs. 160, but he could not sell me a college T-Shirt! Meant for students only, I guess!



The cafe had been expanded and modernised. The cane chair s were still there and the fare was a slightly more modern.

I am going back on Monday to attend the Founders’s Day Service. Hopefully I can spend a bit more time looking around.

I rushed back and with perfect timing arrived back just as K. P. Fabian, former Ambassador to Finland arrived at the Guest House. He was looking as sprightly as ever and he is active with an NGO. He also has a great blog where he writes about socio-political issues.

I still remember his wonderful speech at the Oulu University about North - South dialogue, something I should reproduce here on the blog. In today’s context, it has even more significance.

It is 4:30am. Rushing off to Rajasthan now to see the Check Dams Project. So will complete this entry on my return. (more photographs tomorrow.)

My other alma mater is Cathedral and John Connon School, Bombay and here are list of few of those are Alumni of both of these institutions.

Rahul Bajaj, Ashok (Tony) Jaitly, Peter Philip, Sujit Bhatacharya and myself, Javob Matthan. If you belong tonthesectwo Alumni, Please send mecdn email to jmatthan@ gmail.com

Finland: Nokia Only?

Wherever I go in the educated and less educated world, mention of Nokia usually gets a response of Finland! This is unlike old times where the response used to be: Japan?

Also, not so many years ago, Annikki would spend half an hour explaining to the Indian telephone operator where Finland was before they even considered trying to connect her.

One must, however, remember that even before the advent of Nokia and its mobile phones, Finland has been internationally famous for many things: glass, ceramics, paper, wood products, furniture, textiles, paper machinery, mining equipment, diesel engines, architecture, music, the land of lakes and forests and unrivalled beauty, and much more.

A small country of just 5 million people has achieved much in as many fields as they applied themselves.

In the field of ship building, as well as luxury small boats, Finland has been one of the major players.



Today is an auspicious day for Finland, as the world’s largest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas, registered in the Bahamas and owned by Royal Caribbean, makes its maiden voyage between Fort Lauderdale in Florida and Labadee in Haiti.

The ship was constructed in the Finnish town of Turku, the former capital city of Finland. It was built by a company now known as STX Europe, but which used to be known as Aker Yards Ltd. It is a Soiith Korean company now which took on the 3 major shipyardes in Finland as they knew that the quality of Finnish ships would be unmatched by their efforts in South Korea. Besides cruise ships, they also dominate in another field where Finns have been world leaders - Ice Breakers.

Size-wise it is 361 metres long, compared to the Queen Mary 2 which is 345 metres and the Freedom class which is 339 metres. It was ordered in February 2006 and delivered in October 2009.The cost of the ship is estimated at $ 1.5 billion.

The passenger capacity is 5400, but with double occupancy, it can take on 6296 passengers. The Queen Mary 2 takes on just 2620 while the Freedom class, 3634 passengers.

The ship is manned by 2165 staff. The gross tonnage is 225282. It has 16 passenger decks. The height is 72 metres and the maximum bean is 47 metres. The speed is given as 41.9 km/h

The entertainment area has a studio, theatre, nightclub, jazz and comedy shows. It has a central park with natural vegetation, cafe, bar and shops. The broad-walk is a seaside esplanade, an outdoor amphitheatre, two climbing walls, restaurants, bars, public entertainment areas with also a carousel.

The pool and sports section has an aqua park for kids, 4 pools and 16 whirlpools, a tranquil poolside, a solatrium area, 2 Flowriders, sports courts and a mini golf course.

Finland has been into using luxury liners between Sweden and Finland for as long as I can remember + we used one in 1969. It also ran the FinnJet, a turbopowered cruise liner between Travemunde in Germany and Helsinki in Finland. The cruise liners run constantly between Stockholm and Helsinki, Turku and another Finnish port called Naantali. There are smaller ones between other Finnish and Swedish ports. Besides the Finnish holiday makers and corporate users conducting meetings and course, these boats also carry a large number of trucks with goods across from Western Europe to and from Finland. It is part of the E4 highway which runs from northern Finland all the way to the southern tip of Italy.

Of late, smaller cruise ships have been operating between Finland and Estonia.

The number of passengers on this new cruise ship will carry the equivalent of 16 Boeing 747s.

With the experience of operating and making cruise liners, it is no wonder that Finland is the preferred choice of many companies who want to operate them.

I brought the proposal to run cruise liners along the Western and eastern coasts of India way back in 1975, but there were no takers then.

Will there be anyone now?

Bluetooth gives me a red eye

We reached New Delhi on Sunday about noon. Meeting us at the airport were two cars. As soon as the driver saw me, he called out my name. I recognized him.

He had joined MRF, Delhi, as a young boy potential driver in 1963, my last year in St. Stephens College. He served MRF and one of MRF's top executives in Delhi for 42 years till his retirement. Since his retirement he has been driving his own tourist taxi and he had been sent to pick us up. The last time I had seen him was when he had dropped Annikki, the family and me at the airport when we had left for Finland in 1984.

We renewed our old friendship of the last 46 years as he drove us to the Guest House

Although there was internet connectivity at the Guest House, I was unable to enter my computer as for some reason both the Bluetooth Mouse and Keyboard gave up the ghost. So I was unable to reach my readers in the morning.

I went to visit Deepak, who has become such a good friend over the last year. He organised to get me a USB keyboard. But I think he deliberately told his office manager to be slow about it as it gave us the time to really have a chat. -)

And we found that besides our Cathedral connection we had so many common friends. His partner is the first cousin of my dearest of friends, Ajay Verma, who lives in Lund , Sweden and is presently in Pondicherry.

We had another common friend in Balan, who was the brains behind the setting up of the MRF Pace Foundation. And through him I got to two more of my very dear Delhi friends, Krish Veerappen and Nair, both former MRF employees who have started a great company on their own, selling helicopters! these twoguys are so enterprising, and dont I know it!

I am really looking forward to meeting this side of my family!

Deepak and I spent more than 3 hours together.

The life story of Deepak and his time since school was most fascinating. He had me enthralled with my ears glued open till he finished recounting a history of great adventure, worthy of a book in itself!

New Delhi, or at least South Delhi, is as if you are in another country.

So before we give you an assessment of this Indian Capital, let me look at all the facets of this city.

Lunch yesterday was at Pandara Road market, our college days haunt. Evening included a visit to Khan Market. I am getting a feel of Delhi.

Amanpour and the Drones

As we were now finished with all the official work in Ahmedabad, Annikki decided to attend her Sabbath Day church service.



On the way we crossed the mighty Sabarmati river, on which stands 12 bridges from one end of Ahmedabad to the other. Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, the commercial and political capitals of Gujarat, were established on the banks of Sabarmati river. The legend is that Sultan Ahmed Shah of Gujarat, resting on the bank of Sabarmati, got inspired with the courage of a rabbit to chase a bully dog to establish Ahmedabad in 1411. During India's independence struggle, Mahatma Gandhi established Sabarmati Ashram as his home on the banks of this river. (Wikipedia)



The church was located at the other end of Ahmedabad and it was packed. I had to sit outside in the compound.



On our way back, we stopped for Annikki to have a cup of coffee in the now famous Coffee Day, a chain of Cafes started by the present Indian Foreign Minister, S. M. Krishna's son-in-law, who hails from a coffee growing family in Chickmaglur District in Karnataka, a place which has very pleasant childhood memories for me. S. M. Krishna, is of course from Sommanhalli in Mandya District, a place much remembered by Annikki, the children and me!

Then it was time to relax at the service apartment. We decided to watch some TV. Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international correspondent, was talking about the drones, which the American's are using for "targeted killings" or shall we use a mundane group of words - "murder of innocents"!



Whenever the Americans war machine does something, they justify it as if they have the right to do it. I remember the huge fuss when they made when it was suggested that Saddam Hussain intended to use this technology to attack America - I think they called it "a weapon of mass destruction"!

Remember what they found?

The Americans are so stupid, as they have developed another $100 technology which is going to bite them. Based on originally sophisticated, but now common computer game and model aircraft technology, and some common-place solar powered technology, these toys that the Americans have developed as robotic killing machines will, in the not so distant future, be making the rounds attacking Americans on their own soil. Targeted killings, their invisible enemies will shout. Murder, the Americans will yell.

But, of course, when the Americans use it and kill innocent civilians, it is just unfortunate collateral damage.

It is rather unfortunate that in what was otherwise a comprehensive interview, that Christiane Amanpour did not raise this aspect of what would happen when others use this technology.

Just one such drone has to fall into the hands of the enemy. This is not much of a problem, as now these drones are operating out of Pakistan, where security is probably as sound as having this WMD placed in a refugee camp of dissidents!

In July 2009 William Saletan wrote in The Slate, in an article entitled "Troops Out, Drones In - Policing the world with remote-controlled aircraft":

Drones, as I've said before, are the future of warfare. The tactical reason is that they don't bleed. They let us hunt enemies abroad at no risk to ourselves. The political reason is slightly different: They spare us the difficulties of an official troop presence. Pakistan's government doesn't have to approve or explain our incursion into northwest Pakistan on Sunday night, because, strictly speaking, we weren't there.

So when America's enemies use this on Americans - what is going to be the woeful cry, Mr. Saletan, Ms. Amanpour?

Does anyone now remember who bred and armed the Taliban and Al Qaida?

Annikki finally got rid of the biscuit crumbs she has been carrying around since we left Finland. She found a stray dog to feed it to. The dog decided to follow its chums around for the rest of the evening.

When we went for a walk last night, we had an ice cream each at a local ice cream parlour. There was a little child and his father, who was selling balloons, looking hungrily at all the rich enjoying their ice creams and dinner in the pizza parlour next door. At Annikki's bidding, I bought a cup ice cream and gave it to the child's father. First, he told me that the child did not like it. When I insisted he feed it to the little boy, who stood no taller than half the cycle wheel, the child kept opening his mouth for more.

However, before long, the poor man was the target of attack of the waiters of the Pizza place next door as they did not want to have him feeding his child "on the public road" in front of their restaurant! As we left, the waiter came running after us to suggest that maybe we had lost a pocketbook to these poor people!

An act of kindness from Annikki towards a poor hungry little boy - but probably to the poor twosome, a whole heap of trouble! What a world we live in!

Indian Cricket and fitness

I had the opportunity to see a little of Indian cricket with the second test against Sri Lanka. Mostly watched the highlights. Some superb batting by Sehwag, Gambhir and Dravid. And some outstanding bowling by Sreesanth.

Watched comments by Mohindar Amarnath, who used to be one of my favourites. His father Lala Amarnath was an absolute favourite of mine in the 50s.

Mohindar is very reserved, but so knowledgeable about the game and also has an excellent English vocabulary, unlike Kapil Dev, who kept using words like fantastic, and other superlatives, but without much feeling. I do not take credit away from Kapil for knowledge about the game!

It was indeed a good performance by India. I do give Dhoni much of the credit for the win, for he handled his bowling and also his field placings superbly.

The only problem is that most Indian players are not physically fit.

I watched part of the One Day International between England and South Africa last night. The players, every single one of them, are physically fit.

Did not stay up to watch the end, however.

Will probably see some more cricket when I am in Delhi, as I do not have much of an official programme there.

Paras Optic in Ahmedabad

Yesterday, when we were driving back from the City, Annikki noted a shop with the name PARAS Optic.



Paras, in Finnish, means "The Best".

As I had forgotten my glasses in Finland, ie., my short sight glasses, and I had been managing with the glasses I use for looking at my computer, I walked across to this shop in the morning, as it was just about a kilometre away from where we stay.

As I did not have my prescription, I had my eyes tested (only for short sight), chose the best Indian frame available (Rs. 1400 = € 20) and got a glare-free lens (Rs. 2100 _ € 30), all in the space of 3 hours

Cost wise it was 5 times more than Eye Savers, but the choice was much greater, and the speed of service excellent.

Certainly this small roadside optician in Ahmedabad lived up to the Finnish version of their name!

(Note: Parasnath Temple. The highest hill in Jharkhand, towering to an elevation of 4480 feet. The Parasnath Temple is considered to be one of the most important and sanctified holy places of the Jains. According to Jain tradition, no less than 23 out of 24 Tirthankaras (including Parsvanatha) are believed to have attained salvation here.)



On my walk to the Optician, I passed by a camel cart sauntering into Ahmedabad. I woud not have been surprised to see the cart driver using his mobile phone -Is this legal or illegal in India?



I also watched the ladies at work shifting sand on their heads on a building site which will house an ultramodern complex in the near future. The men standing around were, busy, supervising the work.





I saw the gents and ladies of Ahmedabad with their masks astride their motorcycles and scooters. They do not wear the legally prescribed helmets but they rather protect themselves from the air and dust pollution. Which is the more deadly killer - they seem to think it is the pollution.



I also saw the beautiful work of the local roadside potters as they displayed their wares on the roadside. Going for a song!

Some of the streets of Ahmedabad do have pavements, but the condition is just atrocious.



Here is a recently laid pavement, which shows the quality of the work! Wow! Is this the work of trained engineers in 2009?





And I wonder what use is such a pavement where the trees form the centre of it leaving no room for any human to walk on it. Annikki and I are wondering what name should be ascribed to this wonderful concept?



Or take this form of pavement, where every gate to a house breaks it up as their own territory, making it quite impossible to use it as a pavement.

An Indian architect and his future American wife walked into our service apartment to see it as they are getting married in Ahmedabad next January. They were looking for a place where the family of the lady could stay.

We got talking. The architect told me that no one follows any rules as far as building construction is concerned. To each his own. The contractor decides what he will do. So the encroachment of pavements is a matter left to the contractor - and, of course, that means this public land is considered by the house owner as his / her own property to do as he / she wishes.

What is the meaning of town planning? Or have the people ever heard of such a concept?

I understand now why Ebbi and I could not get any progressive plan passed in 1975 about Rural Urbanisation. It appears to be infinitely worse today than then!

I wonder whether it will get better when India is still a democracy and the population reaches 1.5 billion? :-)

Gandhian philosophy

26/11 and I woke up this morning remembering all those who lost their lives last year on this tragic day in Mumbai. Especially, our dearest Ashok.



Annikki and I remembered Madhu and her children, their spouses and her grandchild, who should bring a new breath into Madhu’s life.



In the evening we went to the Kocharab Harijan Ashram to which Mahatma Gandhi returned to after his South African spell. We were given a personal guided tour by a wonderful man, Mr. Ramesh Trivedi, who looks after the place. The minute we mentioned Finland, he proudly pulled out his mobile phone and said "Nokia". He gave us a most refreshing lemon and ginger drink. He would not accept any money from us for anything.

I explained to him the history of Nokia as a small town and its entry into mobile phones and the role of the University of Oulu, Microelectronics Laboratory, in the process in the late 1980s.

It was fascinating to get a personal picture, from Mr. Trivedi, of the life of Mahatmaji, his distrust for the law process and the denial of justice for the common man, much of which has not changed around the world even today.

While discussing Mahatmaji, I asked Mr. Trivedi the question we had posed on the blog earlier today, as to what Act Gandhi would have opposed to draw terrorism to a close.



Mr. Trivedi immediately produced a special invitation for Annikki and me to attend, that very evening, a lecture by Prof. Johan Galtung, the subject being "State Terrorism and Non-State Terrorism; A Gandhian Inspired Action Plan from Violence to Non-Violence".

We were indeed most fortunate to be able to attend this lecture by this Norwegian professor who has been active from as far back as 1959 in peace negotiations around the world - Somalia, Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Basque area of Spain, France, North and South Korea, Sri Lanka, Israel, Palestine, etc., etc.

Prof. Galtung is driven by Gandhian values and for 40 years he has been at the forefront of international peace generating activities. He has written 140 books, translated to 33 languages, and authored over 1500 articles reflecting an original thinking across an incredible broad range of issues including Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy, Non-Violence. Last week, he was talking to the CIA, etc., etc. His a work without an end as conflicts are growing by the hour.

Although Prof Galtung spoke on all the major issues that drive international and Indian domestic terrorism (including suggesting a solution to the Indo-Pak Kashmir issue), he could not come up with and answer to what we had asked on our blog yesterday.

Earlier today, I had a let down in my euphoria about the ICICI Bank. They had been so good in opening the account, but when it came to internet banking, they have far too many glitches for someone who has had a trouble free internet banking experience with Nordea Bank over the last 20 years.

First I discovered that for Fund Transfer to another ICICI customer, I needed yet another password, and that would take almost a week to get hold of. Then this morning, when I tried to log into my account, I was told that for security reasons I would have to log in using my original login details provided by the bank. When that failed, I was told I had two more attempts before my account would be locked. So I used the login details that I had changed as soon as I had activated the internet banking facility. That also failed.

Instead of losing my last attempt, I went to the nearest ICICI branch and explained my problem. The officers had a great deal of problem understanding this simple problem. In their presence and following their instructions, I made my final attempt and it failed, locking me out of my ICICI account altogether.

Luckily, I still had access to my Finnish bank accounts, so I was not left penniless.

It is obvious that ICICI have not thought through their internet banking experience. They can certainly put a lot of people into hot water if their accounts behave the way my account has been locked out. And as they have a very aggressive investment division, pushing people to do this and that, it could lead to utter chaos. And even after this, they could not understand why I had reservations about following their advice!

I have bills to pay and travel money to use, all locked away till I, probably, get access again, next Monday, in New Delhi.

So be wary of any internet banking system with any bank in India, as they may have great software engineers in this country, but they do not have the skills demanded for a site which has extra security demands.

Emails are still pouring in about the views we have expressed about India. But, today, the tide turned dramatically with 100% of the respondents supporting our opinions and views. They all agreed that India is a Garbage Dump, a horrendous one at that.

We do hope that we can bring around those who have been most verbose about this to think positively so that we can do something to make this country better and prevent what we see as a terminal decline!

Respects to Gandhiji

We have been slammed by a few of our regular readers for what we wrote in our last blog entry. Some were disappointed in us for what we expressed. Others were plain angry with us.

But this one comment got a hang of what was in our mind.

A comment on your note "The Garbage Dump - India":

"Annikki & Jacob: This is one of your outstanding articles that I have read. Hope now u know why I keep screaming about shifting base to Finland. Civic sense is short lived. Leave the poor and the people in slums - Even the middle class and well to do have this urge to spit, litter and create a fountain wherever possible. My job with XXXX is to create economic opportunities thru the students for communities. The future is the young students who will make the change provided they join this program and work together. Now u know why "Slum Dog Millionaire" got its award. Jai Ho. A dear Mumbaite friend. "

Behind our luxury temporary home in Ahmedabad, the scenery is this. It has been the same since we arrived last Sunday.



Another writer pointed out that India is a democracy, unlike China, and has a billion people.

We are not comparing India with China or any other country. We have not been to China to make any such comparison.

What we tried to explain is how easy it is if one sets up a code of civic practice and abides with it. What is difficult about that, especially for the educated, who are some of the ones screaming blue murder at us? This is exactly what the Minister said a few days ago.

Also, are there not are many many large democracies who have managed to get their house in order?

And think back. Was it better or worse when India had a population of 750 million? So when the projected population is 1.5 billion, where will this country be? Better than today, or will the excuse be the same that we have a population of 1.5 billion and India is a democracy!

Go back to the fact that Ebbi and Jacob pointed out this scenario over 30 years ago, andsuggested a remedy. But no politician or Industrial Development Corporation sought to take action.

But did the politicians and bueaucrats not take action to give the corporate powers what they wanted for their bottom line, regardless. Double standards?

And who will take the responsibility for the present chaos?

Anybody standing with their hands up?

We have no apology to make for what we wrote. It is a fact. Anyone who takes umbrage with us on this is living with their heads stuck in the sand.

And here, in a posh locality in Ahmedabad, in the middle of the road, the stray dogs get a share of the littered prasadam somebody dropped. The perpetrators did not even have the courtesy to drop it in a nearby garbage bin (if there was one around!).



Is it OK to litter the streets with this?

Annikki prepared to go out this afternoon in Ahmedabad wearing the dress code that most women appear to follow in this city.



The dust, dirt and pollution is so overpowering that women here know that their dress sense must protect them. A sad reflection on what abodes in this once magnificent city.

The situation in an expensive location in Ahmedabad is just the same as near a slum. It is just garbage, garbage, garbage strewn everywhere.

We finally reached the Gandhi Ashram to pay our respects to the man who was responsible for the freedom of this country and also who taught the world that non-violence was an important weapon.

It was almost dark,. Most of the fluorescent lights in the Museum were not working. We finally got to see the depiction of the breaking of the Salt Act.



What would be Gandhiji's reaction be to the India we are witnessing around us today? Would he start a Satyagraha to correct this mindless senseless rape of this country.

We wondered what Act Gandhiji would break to drive this nation back to its senses!

The Garbage Dump - India

By Annikki & Jacob Matthan

The good news of yesterday. Samba Siva, our dear friend from Patni Computers, who used to be in Finland and is now working in Electronic City outside Bangalore, rang Jacob to tell us that his wife has delivered a beautiful baby boy, 2.6 kg. He was off to see them as they are near her parents place in Andhra. I have conveyed best wishes on behalf of our entire Findian community to them.

It is difficult to know how to start this piece. We are not writing this to offend anybody. But we are seeing reality, our way.

Yes, we are in Incredible India.
Yes, we are in Ahmedabad, from where Mahatamaji started a mission.

We are about to try to start a mission or be clobbered by all of you for even thinking of starting it!

It is 10 years since we were last in India. Jacob came back a few months after our visit to his niece, Suchi's wedding, to say his last farewell to his mother. At that time, by some quirk of fate, there was an enormous traffic jam just outside Chennai Airport and it took Jacob about 2 hours to reach his mother’s home. That was an unusual morning.

During that visit he did also make a visit to Bangalore. He noted that the city had exploded. It took about an hour for a journey which used to take him just 15 minutes 15 years earlier. Progress?

Yesterday evening, as we watched Indian TV, there appeared an ad in which someone opened a car window and tossed an empty bottle onto the road in front of a scooter rider and his passenger. The scooter rider picked up the bottle, sped through the traffic, probably breaking hundreds of traffic laws in the process, caught up with the car, knocked on the window. When the window opened, the bottle was tossed back into the car!

Effective ad? Effective message?

When you are living in a garbage dump, shifting the rubbish from Point A to Point B, hardly seems a worthwhile activity. And breaking laws to do that seems even more of a “No! No!”.

This time, for our visit to India, we landed in Mumbai at 02:30 am and were duly impressed by Sea Link, designed just like many of the cable stayed bridges in Finland.



Above is a picture of the Replot Bridge (Swedish: Replotbron; Finnish: Raippaluodon silta). It is a cable-stayed tuftform bridge connecting the island of Replot with the mainland in Korsholm, near Vaasa, Finland. It is 1,045 metres (3,430 ft) long and the longest bridge of Finland. Two supporting pylons are both 82.5 m (271 ft) high. The bridge was inaugurated 27 August 1997 by the president of Finland Martti Ahtisaari. (Acknowledgement: Wikipedia)


Mumbai Sea Link - 2009, the pride of Mumbai.

Our visit to Mumbai taught us that the traffic situation had got worse and even with all best intentions, there would not be much improvement.

Our daily blogging of our India trip, which is reaching many thousands of people in all corners of the globe, has got us some good and interesting comments. One, from a dear friend in Finland, sticks out. He commented how nice it was that we were not writing about all the dirt in India.

We could hardly contain ourselves - Dirt in India?

People in India are living in the largest Garbage Dump in the world. This is what The Honorable Jairam Ramesh, the Environment and Forest Minister in the Indian Government said last week:

If there is a Nobel prize for filth, India will win it: Jairam Ramesh

NEW DELHI: Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh, known for making forthright comments, today said if there was any Nobel Prize for dirt and filth, India would get it.

"Our cities are dirtiest cities of the world. If there is a Nobel prize for dirt and filth, India will win it, no doubt," he said at a function to release a report of TERI.

Ramesh lamented the poor facilities for disposing municipal waste in majority of the cities in the country.

The ministers' comments assume significance as the TERI report on 'Green Indian 2047' says that waste management is not given priority in local bodies.

There is poor compliance with the solid waste management rules.

Dirt and filth could have both the physical and philosophical interpretation! In India, it has both, which are intertwined at the hip.

Mumbai was bad, but on our first few days we were too busy to notice this. Although the stench and dirt was everywhere, we somehow coped with the situation, seeing all the positives.

We then went to Cochin.

In the old days, Kerala was always considered to be the home of the clean.

The very first evening, Jacob needed to buy a camera, so he walked to the shopping centre nearby. It was like walking through a sewer. And this was just metres away from one of the top radio stations in Cochin, a couple of hundred metres away from the local home of one of the largest media conglomerates in India.

Anyone oblivious?

The drive the next day between Cochin and Kottayam confirmed to us that this was not the Kerala of yesteryear. With all the progress, the roads were just as wide as before. The traffic had tripled, quadrupled or x-upled. The entire infra-structure is in shambles,

As we walked around Kottayam, Jacob was amazed how such a clean and beautiful city of his childhood could have become yet another amazingly large rubbish tip.

If Kerala was bad, our next stop, Bangalore, Jacob’s birthplace, was infinitely worse. It used to be referred to as the Garden City as lush green parks, well maintained, were the heart of the town. Beautiful buildings, well laid out roads and avenues, fountains, were all part of the landscape of the city centre.

This is a city which is now in terminal decline. Every nook and corner is filled with rubbish, every road is a metal jungle. there is no such thing as civic sense. Home to the biggest IT giants, these mighty men, who are among in the richest in the world, care two damn hoots for their surroundings, the health and well being of their workers or the people of Bangalore. All they provide is lip service and then point to corrupt politicians. They may know something about IT but they know nothing about urban planning, health or welfare. They know how to stash away their billions, and leave their industrial bases in total and complete turmoil.

In all this, Jacob came upon one little oasis, where the small corporate group run by his friend, 59er Elijah Elias, was trying to keep some degree of sanity in this madness. A losing battle, but it showed Jacob that if one wanted, it was possible to have a sense of civic sense and pride and maintain an atmosphere of dignity for one’s workers.

To our surprise, Chennai, our home between 1969 and 1976, was a welcome change, although the frailty of the system was exposed by the heavy rain which caused much of the city to be flooded, roads to be clogged and traffic to be severely hampered. As we wandered to the far reaches of the city to meet our friends, we found that the civic sense of the new centres was lost, especially once the IT companies moved into a region. The only intention seemed to be to maximise their bottom-line while throwing the rest of the area to the dogs!

Yes, there were plenty of stray dogs around.

Knowing several of the professional chiefs in many of India’s top IT companies, we do hope that they will suggest to the top management and corporate owners that they should change their ways.

The longer subsequent visit to Mumbai revealed to us that opulence is living side by side with filth and dirt on a scale which is hard to imagine.

Yes, the fisher folk in the small hut on the seashore do have a satellite antenna stuck on their roof, but they have no sanitary conveniences or “education” as they foul the rocks daily in full view of the enormous sky scraper world behind them.

Does anyone care?

Some of the worst possible slums in the world are located around the city. They harbour infections, breed diseases and the slum dwellers are the scum of this earth to the surroundings.

As 59er Anil Ruia put it, Mumbai generates 7000 tonnes of garbage every day. Even with 10 tonne garbage trucks to haul this away, it would require 700 trucks moving in and out of the city every single day just to take this rubbish “somewhere”.

Where?

The garbage trucks presently plying the streets are fit only for some metal junk yard, These toy trucks are probably filled by just going down one street. The hydraulics do not work and no compactation is possible. So the streets remain filled with garbage and stink to high heaven.

Over 15 years ago Jacob had written an article “Western Recycling Doomed; A lesson From India”.

He now eats his words, as Incredible India has moved into the darkest of ages, while the rest of the world has progressed in civic sense, concerned about the environment, health and hygiene of the population. India has given up its past ways and now follows neither its old philosophy or the western model - moving the country into chaos surrounded by filth and dirt.

What was an ordered established system that worked has now descended into nothing but hell. Instead of trying to give dignity to the untouchables who did yeoman service to the entire country, they were treated as animals and forced to give up their profession. Instead of uplifting them, giving them the tools of the trade and a salary and honour for the noble work they did in keeping a country clean, they have been denied their right to improve themselves. And there has been no one to take their place.

The Jerrypuranwalas who used to roam the streets gathering the junk, have virtually been done away with, only causing more and more rubbish to be dumped onto the streets around the country. Almost all open spaces are strewn with rubbish.

What a terrible sight. What a health hazard!

But who cares?

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, meeting yesterday the US President Barack Obama, would probably have been better off asking for help in converting the Garbage Dump called India into a habitable country, rather than asking for assistance on the nuclear front!

It is not that Indians do not know what is to be be done and how to do it. But it is greed and rapid expansion of a middle class into existing urban areas, led by an even more greedy corporate leadership, who remain “uneducated” about social values and responsibilities, that is partially responsible for this chaos. The corrupt politician and bureaucrat, a corrupt police force, all lead to the same way - chaos.

About 30 years ago, Mr. Thomas Abraham (Ebbi), a philosophical and brilliant engineer with an equally deep financial sense, the then Managing Director of Southern Investments (P) Ltd., a large construction company operating out of Chennai, wrote a wonderful small book called “The Affluence Machine” about the way cities of the future should be designed. Even then he was not talking futuristically, as all the technologies existed at that point of time to execute his dream.

Based on his book, he and I authored a paper called “Rural Urbanisation” which would take the development away from the existing urban centres and move them into to serial distances away from them which were manageable but would help each centre to benefit the hinterland. The idea was that every two hours away from a metropolis, two hours on a high speed motorway, there would develop a self-generated urban spread, which with the minimum of Government inputs, could be developed into thriving economic power houses, where the people would self generate their wealth.

Just imagine, 2 hours (roughly 150 to 180 km) between every metropolis all around India.

The concept of Mr. Thomas was to have a central core of the city where all the major services would be located, enough to serve the population of that region. The old and elderly would have housing generated near to this city centre and the city would expand along the radial axis. The suburbs would develop to serve the younger local population who were mobile enough to use their own transport. A very efficient public transportation system (futuristic in some sense) would be created for most of their needs. The circular rings would generate areas of economic activity. From the circular rings, high speed transportation, which at that time would have been considered futuristic, would bring the outlying population into the City Centre.

The major traffic would be kept out of the city area as the economic public transport system would be developed to serve each suburban community and link them to the central hub as well as the outer rings.

Facilities such as sports fields, etc, would be on the outer rings, ensuring environmental harmony.

Mr. Thomas, who is a builder of great repute had crunched the numbers. He knew that with the seed capital, this model was a self supporting, self generating one, which he as a builder would have been happy to be part of.

Our joint paper was submitted to many Chief Ministers, but only one showed interest, but he too was out of power before he could commence his intention of following through this model.

In response to a recent email from me, this is what Mr. Thomas wrote yesterday:

It was wonderful to remember those days.

"The Affluence Machine" was the name of my book, which was of interest to just four or five people. I remember that Mr. V. Suresh, the CMD of HUDCO once took a copy for a Minister friend. The report that you prepared was once used by Tamil Nadu industries Development Corporation in their proposal for an industrial township. I have a (not yet moth eaten) copy of that particular report.

After the failed attempt at building new cities, I got into this far out idea that human intuition is a pattern recognition algorithm. I have a website www.intuition.co.in which describes that idea.

More tilting at windmills!

Still, the property development thing is going OK and my son now runs it.

Do keep in touch.

Ebbi

His new website is fascinating. But it is sad that Ebbi moved away from developing a concept which would have avoided the present random development followed by utter chaos.

Take for example the development of Panvel on the outskirts of Mumbai. This would have been an ideal centre to develop the City Model described in “The Affluence Machine”. But presently Panvel demonstrates how one should not allow growth to occur.

The decision to build the new international airport there and the way Mumbai has clogged itself, caused the property speculators to rush into this one paan shop ( biriyani restaurant) town and ruin not only the area, but make it one of the dirtiest centres in India, even before the first stone for the airport has been laid.

And the journey from Panvel to Mumbai is tragedy in itself.

Our visit to Ahmedabad, from where Gandhiji was able to run his mission to free India, was to see how things were shaping in Western India. We were totally disappointed with what we saw. Although not as bad as Mumbai or Bangalore, it is another city which is falling quickly by the wayside.

Gujarat had started its trunk road system way back in the 60s and 70s, making intercity transport fast. But they stopped there and allowed the uncontrolled city growth to happen within existing city centres while not developing the civic services to meet the demands of the expanded population. What now exists, like all the other cities that we have visited, is a junk yard and garbage dump as far as the eye can see.

One wonder what the residents feel like living inside a garbage dump?

Beautiful buildings of the past are no longer visible as hideous constructions as overbridges are developed a few feet in front of them. Beautiful monuments reflecting a glorious heritage are covered in dust and tucked under the rubble of even more monstrous flyovers and approach roads. The left hand does not know what the right hand does. NGOs battling to look after our traditions are left powerless and speechless by the financial muscle of the corrupt politicians and industrialists.

And when you drive along any street, what you see is that every second shop is an eatery, every third house is a “bank”, every fourth house is a mobile phone dispensing centre. Each one is struggling to keep alive. They live together in squalor and spread more. Are these the only industrial activities that we can be involved with? Are these the "industrial activities" which push up the GDP?

We do not want to appear to be purveyors of doom. We still hope to see some of our faith in this country be rejuvenated when we visit New Delhi and Chandigarh. But from what we have seen so far, greed and corruption pervades all.

Constructive suggestions:

1. Road construction:

We give a simple example how in Finland an activity of building a new road or bridge is done. The first step after the designing of the construction is to set up the diversion route which takes the traffic away from the construction site so that there is no disruption to normal life. Once this is constructed and the traffic pulled away from the area, the area is cordoned off so that building work can proceed rapidly. Target dates are hardened, special areas for materials designated, service roads built. Materials move in on a Just-In-time basis and work is done on a 24 hour basis to ensure that the dates are kept, as otherwise severe penalties are imposed on the contractor. Usually the work is completed ahead of time, and the well planned diversion becomes an emergency road, not to be just done away with because the main job is done.

In all this, the normal work of the citizen is hardly affected. Time is valuable - but in India, only the time which affects the pocketbooks of the rich and mighty is considered valuable. The rest of the citizens be damned.

What is more important is that the quality of the work is never affected. The materials are not contaminated, there is little waste, and everything can be done "on time".

2. Household garbage:

Or let us look at how household garbage is handled in our small town of Oulu. Each house is provided with two bins. One is for mixed waste, the other is for bio waste. Every wek a truck comes to the area and collects the waste, just one man with his well equipped truck where he wheels the dustbins onto a loading platform which automatically lifts the bin, empties it into the back of the truck and this is compacted immediately. the whole operation takes hardly a minute and it is clean, neat and with no spill or left overs.

Recylable rubbish, such as newspapers, cardboard boxes, plastics of all forms, glass, metal are kept by home-owners separately. Nearby centres with huge well like dustbins, lined with ultrastrong tarpaulin fabrics are built into the ground. residents take there rubbish there at their convenience and empty them. The special trucks with gear to empty these wells and put fresh storage bags arrive as soon as the bags are filled. being located in strategic places as petrol stations and supermarket complex compounds, it is not much of a problem for residents to take and dispose their recyclable rubbish at these points.

In addition, near every colony there is a large container which is especially meant for newspaper and pure paper waste. No other waste is permitted in this container as it goes directly to the paper mills for making new paper.

In addition to all this there is a huge rubbish centre just on the outskirts of the town. there you can take all your different types of waste like electronics junk, refrigerators, fridges, radios, wood, all metal containers, and dump them into huge containers which are then sent to special recycling centres.

There is a huge mixed waste centre where you weigh your vehicle and trailer when you enter and you can dump this into the tip. You weigh your vehicle and trailer on the way out and pay a small fee for using this tip, as the city has to find suitable means for disposing this. (A biogas centre has now been developed to utilise this waste.)

In addition, any dangerous and hazardous materials have a special section where they can be dumped.

As a result you see no rubbish lining the streets of our town. Once established and the residents educated, this is like clockwork and any rubbish lying around sticks out like a sore thumb.

When, Oh when, will this happen in India?

Incredible?

If India is to survive, it will not be because of the rapid growth of the middle class as an "uneducated" mass which trundles to work regardless. It will be when each citizen can be proud of his or her country. Sadly that vision of that day is receding by every hour that passes.