Significance of Raksha Bhandan

Note: This is a rough translation of my write up for a talk on significance of Raksha Bandhan at Samskrutotsava conducted by Mythree Samskruta Samskruti Foundation on Shraavana Poornima, Durmukhi Samvatsara (18 August 2016)

Security is of utmost importance to every living being. In ‘Prakriti’ (nature), the weak do not have security. ‘Prakriti’ knows only one law – “Matsya Nyaya”. Big fish devour the smaller fish; stronger animals kill the weaker ones. Man, in his wisdom, attempts to break free from this law of nature and establishes ‘Sanskriti’ (culture) where even the weakest of the weak can have some sort of protection.

In ‘Sanskriti’, friendship and mutual trust is essential amongst all beings that are living together. From trust, co-operation increases and from co-operation, comes progress; we would not be able to progress this far unless we felt secure and co-operated with each other for the greater good. As we progress further, the self-esteem of each and every member also increases.

However, human beings are yet to forgo all their animal instincts. Over time, the fundamental principles (trust, co-operation and self esteem) on which ‘Sanskriti’ was established are being overlooked and we are relapsing into “Jungle Raaj”.

Today is Shraavana Poornima. On this day, Raksha Bandhan is celebrated across Bharata. This is a time to reflect on the fundamentals and progress as a society. The thread that we tie on our wrists is symbolic of the mutual trust, co-operation and self esteem on which our ‘Sanskriti’ survives.

Just as every strand of the ‘Raksha’ thread is interwoven, we should remember that each one of us is also tightly interwoven into the fabric of our society. Irrespective of how capable each one of us are individually, only when we are one with the society will we achieve strength, respect, beauty, security and fulfillment. Mutual respect, trust, harmony and co-operation are our society’s life lines and brotherhood is a beautiful amalgamation of all these qualities.

Come, let us tie the “Raksha” on each others hands and strengthen the bonds of brotherhood. By building a strong society, let us make Bharat a strong and prosperous nation.

Jai Hind!

PS: I have constructed this talk using text from various sources. I wish to thank all of them through this post.

Misplaced priority?

On the 25^th of April, 2016, the day he took charge as BBMP Commissioner, Mr. N. Manjunatha Prasad stated that one of his priorities was to “fill potholes before monsoon”. But so was it with the previous BBMP Commissioners; each of them made filling potholes a priority at various points of their tenure. Yet, in spite of the efforts of such illustrious officers, the condition of Bengaluru’s roads remains the same. Why is it so?

Filling potholes is like using makeup to cover blemishes on the face. The makeup hides blemishes for a while and everything feels good. Similarly, filling potholes makes citizens, contractors, officers and politicians happy for a while and forget what is really wrong. Unless the underlying problems are addressed, the health of our roads will continue to be bad and we will have the same problems yet again. What can we do to go beyond quick fixes?

Let us get down to the fundamentals. It is common knowledge that water is the biggest enemy of bitumen (tar), the most widely used binding agent during preparation of our roads. When water seeps into the road, it breaks down the binding and dislodges stones, one by one, leading to a pothole!

Then how can we avoid water from seeping in? Water can seep in if there are cracks in the surface of the road. These cracks occur if the road is not laid properly for example, by use of insufficient tar.

Water may also collect on the surface of the road if there is no mechanism to drain it. The collected water may percolate down and dislodge the layers beneath. To avoid this, roads should be designed and built with a slight slope to drain off the excess water towards the sides and not allow the water to stay on the surface for long.

Once water is drained from the surface, it should be removed away from the edges as water can seep in from the sides too! For this, we need an effective storm water drainage system that effectively removes excess rain water from the streets.

If we are serious about fixing the problem of potholes, action should be taken to tackle the problem at the root and ensure that potholes are reduced to a minimum. The Commissioner and his team should ensure that contractors use the best material and do not resort to shoddy work. This is possible if the onus of maintaining the road is on the contractor and he is penalized if the road is not maintained as per pre-defined standards. Payment for work done should be linked to the quality of the work and disbursed in three or four yearly installments subject to proper maintenance. Finally, tender agreements should be amended to include these clauses and then enforced strictly.

Having an effective storm water drain system will also ensure better roads. BBMP should take up work to clear the existing drains and ensure that all the water on the streets is drained out. The storm water drain system can be made more effective by linking it to the underground water table thus mitigating the water crisis too to some extent.

None of the solutions suggested are new. What BBMP lacks is the ability to think of problems in its entirety and devise solutions keeping all aspects in mind. In such a situation, as a leader, it’s the responsibility of the BBMP Commissioner to step in and guide his officers in a new direction. Let us hope the new Commissioner takes on these problems head on instead of resorting just to quick fixes and leaving it to the next Commissioner to prioritize “filling potholes” yet again.

Ban the Constitution!

Disclaimer: I respect the Constitution of India and the ideals expressed in it. The thoughts expressed in this post are not an attempt to actually push for a ban on the Constitution. It is just an attempt to help fellow citizens realise the power they have.

Scenario 1

Uber, a taxi booking company operating in India, provides a platform to connect commuters and taxi drivers. Thousands of cab drivers use this platform to get more rides and make a living. One of the drivers commits a heinous crime on one of his passengers. The driver in question is arrested and Uber (along with other such companies) is banned for failing to carry out adequate background checks.

Scenario 2

Our Constitution provides a platform that allows citizens to participate in governance through their representatives. The representatives are an elected (“elite”) group of people who sit in an Assembly or Parliament and we call such a place “temple of democracy”.

As citizens, we conduct a background check and review their performance periodically before electing them to office. We pay our representatives salaries and perks. We pamper them with official residences and vehicles. We trust them to take the country forward when we are busy leading a normal life. In short, we have done everything possible to “hire” the right people!

Yet, based on statistics for Karnataka available from filed affidavits, 34% of this “elite” group of people has criminal cases against them. 17% of them have serious criminal cases like attempt to murder, kidnapping, dacoity, assault against women etc. 5 of them have declared (YES – in a sworn affidavit) that they have murder related charges against them.

If you thought they might mend their ways after entering the “temple of democracy”, just look at the gain in assets of representatives who are re-elected. The average gain in assets over a five year period is Rs. 17.57 crores or nearly 3.5 crores per year. In short, the situation just gets worse every time we re-elect someone. So, who is to blame?

Should we blame the Constitution for giving us democracy, universal adult franchise and allowing everyone to have a say?

Should we blame the Election Commission for not stopping such people from contesting?

Should we blame the political parties for not allowing only the best of the best to represent the rest of us?

Should we take the blame ourselves for our disinterest in politics and for not doing a thorough background check before electing them?

Fortunately, we don’t have to think much. The Union Home Ministry has set a precedent in the Uber case - ban the platform provider, arrest the driver and do nothing to solve the problems of the end user.

A similar knee-jerk reaction is probably needed to jolt us – ban the platform provider (Constitution/political parties), arrest the driver (elected representatives) and do nothing to solve actual problems of the citizens.

So, just for today, let us all join hands as “the people of India” to push for a ban on our Constitution – the only document we have given to ourselves and hence the only one on which we have any degree of control.

It surely solves nothing, but once in a while it feels good to wield the power we have. Ah! Now I understand how the Union Home Ministry feels…

Honest, selfless and efficient society?

Recently, I had an unpleasant experience on a BMTC bus which got me thinking about the larger problems in our society. 

I took a bus to office on Friday. The board at the front of the bus clearly mentioned that the bus was going towards HAL. But, when I asked for a ticket to Leela Palace (on the way to HAL), I was surprised to hear from the conductor that the bus was not travelling on that route. He told me that there was another board (behind the board?) which mentioned that the bus was going towards Ulsoor and so I had to get down midway. 

Since I had boarded the bus, I had no option but to buy a ticket. The conductor quietly pocketed Rs. 5, returned the change and did not issue a ticket. When I asked him for a ticket, he said that I dont need one since I was getting down at the next stop!! When I persisted, he asked me to pay Rs. 2 extra for the ticket which I did after some argument :(

So, what did I learn?

1. As a community, we don't take care of small things that could make a huge difference. Customer service is clearly ignored by most public utility service departments. The mistake was clearly the conductor's. He should have put a proper board which would have saved me time and money! If every person does his job honestly and efficiently, society as a whole will be a better place.

2. Most of us think of short term wins like the conductor. He tried to coax me into travelling without a ticket which would help him pocket the money without paying it to BMTC. This is small change compared to the crores that some politicians make, nevertheless this is a malady. How can we expect people in power to be honest when the people who vote them are corrupt themselves? In the long run, it will come back and haunt us in some way or the other.

3. Lastly, we tend to forgive and forget easily. In the situation that I was in, it made sense to register a complaint with BMTC against the conductor on two counts - negligence of duty and corrupt practices. Isn't it our duty to ensure that such situations do not arise again? Are we too busy or just indifferent?

Well, I did not register the complaint and that guilt probably made me write this blog. So the next time you face such a situation, do take time to register a complaint and have faith in the process :)

The power of gamification

Gamification is a concept wherein you can apply the basic elements that make games fun and engaging to things that typically aren't considered a game (like real life scenarios). Gamification at it's core is about fun, rewards and social connections. It has the opportunity to connect people and influence their behaviour in ways never seen before.

So, how can we use gamification to find solutions to some real world problems. Look at the problem of power shortage in Bangalore. Traditionally, the government has been blamed for not generating sufficient power to meet the demand. How can we approach this problem from a different direction? Can we influence consumers to change their behaviour and use less power? Is it possible to create a mechanism that induces households and entire cities to reduce their consumption voluntarily over a period of time?

Let us begin by analyzing the present situation. The electricity bill contains, among other things, the number of units consumed by a household in a month and the amount to be paid. One of the goals would be to reduce the number of units consumed by each household which cumulatively reduces the amount of units consumed across the city.

The first step in this direction is to provide more information to the end customer and this is where the power of digitizing all bill information comes in. BESCOM can use its existing database to come up with some simple comparisons to create a 'dashboard' or 'leaderboard'. For example, a new modified electricity bill may contain:

1. A section that analyses a household’s usage over the previous three months.
2. A report card comparing previous month’s usage with the ward, area and city level averages (competition).
3. A smiley at the right corner of the bill if consumption is below all averages or a sad face if consumption is above the average (fun element).

The next step is to announce incentives to households whose consumption is below the city average and also shows a certain percentage (say 10%) of reduction in consumption over a six month or one year period. The incentive could be in the form of reduced tariff, discounts, reduction of taxes etc. If they perform better in the next cycle, the incentives can be increased. The whole idea is to create a sense of competition whereby people voluntarily attempt to decrease power consumption.

The final step will be to publicize such stories where people have performed very well in a cycle. We can go further and institute city level awards or invite people to talk about their success stories.

As with games, adding elements of competitiveness, fun and rewards can go a long way in changing the behaviour of people for the good. As Jane MgGonigal says, "let us make it as easy to save the world in real-life as it is games". So, what else would you like to gamify? I would love to hear your views.