Water!!

There are talks all around Mumbai on the pressing need for celebrating a dry holi as certain regions of Maharashtra are facing severe drought. Celebrities are urging their fans for the same and several housing societies have issued such a diktat. 

It is good to have such awareness; just that it need not be event or location specific and should not be short-lived. 

Maharashtra Govt. has imposed tax on certain commodities like alcohol, gold to realize revenue for assisting the drought prone areas. While such measures may be required as a one-time, government and public policy needs to be much more proactive on this issue. 

Water scarcity is a problem which is much deeper and severe than we would like to imagine. 22 Mar was celebrated as World Water Day. 

Recently, Mint released this article based on ADB’s report reflecting India’s dismal state in water security (which is what led me to write this blog):

India scores pretty low on all the parameters…..comparison being made to countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan. 

With a huge population as ours and as widely spread, the problem becomes even multifold. 

Lot of things to be done: 

• Can corporates work on this area as part of their CSR initiative? 
• Waste water treatment needs to be mandatory for industrial units.
• Govt. needs to ensure significant penalties for disposing industrial waste in the water bodies. Needs to be taken at the Central level and followed by states. 
• Rain water harvesting mandatory for all new residential, commercial and govt. buildings and if feasible, at the time of renovation 
• My brother did ensure our new house meets this criterion 6 yrs back. 
• At an individual level, could we be more prudent in utilizing water.
• It is high time to realize that just because we are paying for water, power and staying in the big cities, we are not feeling the pinch of the drought, water cut. But it is our moral responsibility towards the folks staying in interiors of India and a duty towards our dear kids that we spare the environment for them to relish its joys. 
• In buildings, townships where there is significant usage of water, drinking water and water for other purposes could be separately provided. 
• Could we boycott people who treat these natural resources at their mercy – recent wastage of water by Asaram Bapu in Nagpur? 
• Can there be a nationwide debate on this topic ensuring all sections of society participate and find solutions. MNRE is celebrating Water Week in April with the same agenda -http://www.indiawaterweek.in/

 It’s time to act now to avoid saying in future, “Water, water everywhere..not a drop to drink.” 

Would like to leave you with these thoughts penned well by my father (srmohata@gmail.com):

 

Welcome your views and suggestions!

Speak Out!

What a society are we living in..where there is no respect for human life. Super wealthy people with power in their minds and law in their pocket don’t pause for a second before abusing, humiliating and if given a gun, shooting people from lower & middle class of society doing their duty!

The case of Jessica is still fresh in our minds and the movie depicted the struggle her family had to go through to get justice. And almost a decade later, things haven’t changed. Probably, the case is a mocking story and inspiration for the spoilt and politically connected children born with a silver spoon in their mouth.

This is shameful for the society. At a premiere toll booth, shouldn’t there be a database for every vehicle passing by, shouldn’t there be good CCTVs, couldn’t the vehicle be tracked and stopped there. Can the Police track the vehicle, the people? Can we send the case for a speedy trial, can we set an example by grossly punishing the culprits without getting entangled in corruption, without getting influenced by their fathers or Godfathers? Can we stand up for justice for a guy whose family might not have enough resources/ courage to fight with the system?

Another story running is that the Government proposes to ban people with criminal records from fighting elections. Is this an amazing revelation and not common sense to pass a bill with immediate effect to stop people with criminal records from fighting any level of Central/ State/ Municipal elections? And should it not be mandatory for a person already in power to step down from his position once he has a criminal case running against him? As bankers, we have stipulations that no person appearing as CIBIL defaulter can be appointed as Director in a company and a Director has to step down in case he is declared as defaulter anytime. As a society, does this rule not apply?

That day morning at Mumbai airport, there was a middle-aged arrogant man, who was shouting and abusing the security lady at the entrance for asking his name as his photo in ID card didn’t seem to match. He kept abusing her till her senior came. This guy couldn’t be in a hurry as he was taking the same flight as I was, which was an hour away. He was simply throwing his attitude at the people he looked down upon. It is people like him who resort to abusive language in a high security airport environment and who may cross all boundaries of civic behavior if given a gun at their own ‘addas’.

There are multiple threads leading to this problem – a society increasingly creating divide between haves and have nots, absolute power leading to absolute corruption, people lacking in civic sense and a lethargic judicial system which delays justice to the extent of denial.

It is time, we, as a society, raise our inner voice and be vocal about such irrational behavior, misuse of power, lethargic judicial system. It is high time we respect each other and punish/ boycott those who fall outside such acceptable behavior.

Windy rains or Rainy winds!!!

It is fourth day in a row and it has been raining continuously…..the sub-urbs are clogged with water, local trains are disrupted and the memories of last year’s flood are at everyone’s top of the mind. You can listen people sharing their experiences of 26/7 and hoping that it doesn’t get repeated.

Rains are expected and awaited in monsoon. But there is more to Mumbai rains than sheer water. It is the winds (‘breeze’ would be too soft a word for that) accompanying the rain that make it special. Letting the umbrella dance with wind and still safeguarding yourself against the rains is surely an art that few people master. The novices, like me, happily manage to get drenched in spite of holding the umbrella. Though it gets bugging at times, it is fun too (especially on retrospection)!

Though as per the news around, heavy rains are still expected for next 12-16 hours, but things should be in order.

Whatever it is, you gotta experience the Mumbai rains to wonder if it is just windy rains or rather rainy winds….and yeah, don’t forget to carry the umbrella, it’s so much fun balancing it and still getting wet.

The clock keeps ticking....

It’s been a month at home…..a month away from XIMB & now, a month away from SBI (gotta join on 22nd May). The clock keeps ticking and we keep moving from one role to another……..with different priorities, concerns….

This one month stay at home began with missing XIMB – the campus, long night walks around beautifully lined up trees dancing in the cool breeze, friends, parties, masti and what not. The 36 hr journey from Bhubaneswar-Delhi-Jaipur passed all delving into these thoughts. A few days at home were also marked by similar anxiety. Then, things got normal….thanks to parties in a row, fun at home with my bro and sis, Mom’s lovely kitchen & teaching assignments that I took.

But there are still times, when suddenly campus memories overshadow all other thoughts and then….it is difficult!

And now, when it’s a month at home….and life’s cool, it’s just few days for another chapter of life to begin. There life would be entirely diff….much more serious, challenging….

The clock keeps ticking..time passes away.

It's over officially!!!

Last class....then last exam and finally last assignment submission.....and this brings an end to this academic life for getting the tag of an MBA (or shall I say PGDBM).

This entire term has been an extended holiday for most of us, with 2 subjects, minimal classes......but yeah, the official holiday begins now.

The scene gets repeated year after year. Last year, for IlluminatiX's newsletter, I had written the following piece in Jan.-Feb., which holds so true for our batch too.

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Whtzzzzzzzuppppppppp….

Funny headline; isn’t it. Well, this is the favorite line of our great seniors right now. After the dream placements and hardly 2-3 electives in the VI term, they’ve become really vella. On this stage of self-actualization (Maslow must be wondering at the pace our seniors have attained that stage), there’s an ongoing quest to look for ways to kill time. So, it’s time for innovating new games like ‘I Haven’t A Clue’ (sounds interesting,right), watching 4 movies a day, pop quizzes and if nothing else than bugging winpop with ‘Whtzzzzzzzzppppppppp’ . And yeah one thing that they really enjoy is giving us strange looks when we poor souls attend 5 classes a day.

Well, every dog has its day.....

But yeah, amidst all this have also started parties, picnics and get-togethers to make these days memorable and more importantly to cherish the friendships that started and bloomed at this home away from home.

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Now, people have started packing up. Some are going to explore the natural beauty in North-east, Uttaranchal, Goa, a few are going home.....and a small chunk is staying in hostel till Convo. Yours truly falls in the last category.

Looking for ways to make these last few days full of masti and enjoyment.......ne suggestions ??

Klub 'D I V A' !!!

Wondering what the title is?? Well, it’s that part of the year when marketing is afloat in the air of XIMB, thanks to MAXIM. Yup, it’s time for Maxinations, the 3-day event that revolves around branding, advertising, brand recall etc. etc.

It starts with giving a fundoo name to your block and portraying the same in the ‘Block Intro’. And so, Klub ‘DIVA’ is the name of our block(RMH or Ladies’ Hostel).

The event is up in full swing…..for even right now, at this time in the morning, an interesting competition ‘Global Gab’(it involves getting into the shoes of certain infamous personalities like Khuswant Singh, Aman Verma and adressing the audience) is going on.

So, to keep an account of Maxinations, keep visiting.

Bonne Nuit! (well that’s 'Good Night' in French…as the exam has just got over y'day, so the hangover remains :) )

HOME away from home..

A 10 days’ break full of leisure time, good food (becomes so imp. after staying in hostel), socializing and relaxing…..for I had been to Kanina, my mother’s maternal grandparents’ place to attend a wedding. And the entire trip was really great.

Here I am, back to this HOME away from home. The last few days here would be full of action…MAXINATIONS, end terms, farewell….so on and so forth.

As we move to the next phase of our lives, the memories will linger. From status messages to the blog posts…..this is what is on everyone’s mind…..how much we’re gonna miss this place!