Going forward

This year is going to end in a couple of days. Year, Month, Day are all measurements and indication of the  time. Time never waits for anybody, it keeps on going and moving on its own way. The time is given to everyone equally. It is how people use it and take it forward is important. 

It reminds me of a book titled "Jonathan Livingston Seagull - a story" by Richard Bach now. This book was referred to me by Mr. Kaushik, my friend and ex-colleague. Presently, he is a Risk Adviser and a Consultant. This is a very good book and everyone must read it. Like the hero Seagull, which is outcast for its trying and going against the crowd mentality, one must try, try, keep on trying and go to the next level in life.

It is time to make New Year Wish as we make every year !!! and I do not know how many people really try hard to make it happen !!! But, it is always nice to think about the bright future which everyone would love to enjoy !!!

I Wish All My Friends and Relatives and their Family and the one who reads this blog now a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year and May All Their Wishes Come True Very Soon !!!

Coming to my wish, among other things, I wish and hope GOD gives me the strength and ability to go for  long drives to visit the touristic/historic/untouched places in Tamilnadu to start with and expand to other places also !!! Let me see !!!

I thought it would be appropriate to mention few verses from Bhaja Govindam by Adi Sankaracharya about the passing of the time & uncertainty of life and the total surrender to the Divine for crossing this life.

Some quotes from Adi Sankaracharya's Bhaja Govindam:

Punarapi Rajani, punarapi divasa                              Again and again this dark nights

Punarapi paksha, punarapi maasa                              Again and again this luster full days

Punarapyayanam, punarapi varsham                         Again and again these months and years

Tadapi na munjityasaamarsham.                                But pride and desire never leaves you forever.

Dhinamapi rajani, sayam pratha                                Daily comes the night, evening and morning

Sisira vasanthou punarayatha                                    The autumn and spring comes again and again

Kala kreedathi gachat yayu                                        every year, Time forever plays with life,

Sthadapi na munjathyasa vayu                                   But desire does not desert this body forever.

Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam                       Again and again one is born And again and again

Punarapi janani jatare sayanam                                 one dies, And again and again one sleeps in the 

Iha samsaare khalu dusthare,                                     mother's womb, Help me to cross, This limitless

Krupayaa pare pahi murare.                                      sea of Life, which is uncrossable, my LORD. 

                                           

AIIMS and Madurai

At last Madurai is getting AIIMS. Thanks to the pressure from the Supreme Court. It was a much awaited one and will be beneficial to all people of South India. They will get high class medical treatment at nil or very nominal price. There will be a medical college also affiliated to that.

But the advantages Madurai as a city will get are  tremendous. The city will grow many fold by way of the growth in other industries. The industries which will benefit are hotel industry, travels and transportation, cabs and auto service, PG accommodation for doctors and other employees working in the hospital, laundry service, and what not. Rental and real estate value of the nearby areas will go up.

Madurai to receive so many things and will grow like anything. Investment of Rs.1,264 crores is really a very huge amount. Allied industries will also grow. Airport will get a face lift. Already modernization of one of the bus stands at the heart of the city has started which will be completed in 18 months. However, it is a much awaited development for Madurai.

When do they take the turn

Every time I cross, the Police Training ground near Avadi, I used to wonder about the kind of training they are given whatever be the climate or the season. They are given very hard and stern training on the ground since morning to whatever the time I do not know. I have also read about the police training in magazines and movies. They all might have been trained for good governance, service to the society, etc., etc. Further, I also believe that nobody joins police with an objective of indulging in anti social activities.

But, I surprise, when do they take the turn and what makes them to take the way to corruption, bribery, taking the power in their hands, indulging in scandals, harassment, atrocity, etc. Even the so called genuine police officials would have taken the power in their hands at times. Every policeman irrespective of the grade, they turn to this dark side at least once in their career.

When and how they turn to this darker side???   Peer / Top Pressure, society, family or is it the power which is given to them, That unknown turning point - where and when does it start ??? Million dollar question !!!



                                        

Shifted the car

I shifted my car from Bangalore both physically as well as spiritually. By spiritually,  I meant change of registration number also !!!

It was a very long journey. It started off with obtaining No Objection Certificate from the Office of the Commissioner of Police at Bangalore. There was a good reception at CP office and I got it within no time. I gave all papers at RTO - KA05 - at Jayanagar for getting an NOC from them. That is the basic document for transfer of the vehicle from KA05 to TN12,  the target RTO i.e., Poonamalee. 

There is a long list of documents which are to be submitted to TN12. Starting from NOC from the Office of the Commissioner of Police - Chennai to taking a photograph of the car in front of the RTO office. Yes, you need to take a photograph of the car showing the owner and the number plate in front of the RTO office. It seems that is the proof that the car has come to Chennai! There are other documents like, Proof of address, Proof of identity, Aadhar, Affidavit from a notary public, copy of the purchase invoice of the car for calculating the Road Tax, et all. oophs, there are so many documents, you will be frustrated. Then you need to patiently follow up with the RTO office in the intervals of days, weeks and months. Finally, one day they asked me to collect the RC book. It is not a smart card, but a big computer printout. Again, it is an example of the primitive stage of traffic system in Tamilnadu.

Now comes the refund of the proportional Road Tax which was paid at Bangalore KA05. Again, application to KA05, follow up and finally I got the refund order from KA05 - Jayanagar RTO. 

I must mention about the kind of co-operation and the support I received from the Jayanagar RTO office. The Personal Secretary (PS) to the RTO at Jayanagar was very, very supportive. She used to take the details and call me up for any details, status of the application, etc. I used to speak in English and she will reply in Kannada. But the support she extended throughout from the initial stage to the refund stage was simply great. Another system which RTO in Bangalore follow is that for any application you submit, they will specify a date on or before that date your document will be ready viz., driving licence, change of address on RC book, etc. They are so prompt that before that that your job will be done.

It is worth mentioning about the support extended at the Office of the Commissioner of Police at both the places. At Chennai also they have a good system for public relations and without any hassles you can get the NOC from the Commissioner's office. RTO (TN12) - Poonamalle was also co-operative, but only problem is that the process was too lengthy. 

Once I was speaking to one Commissioner of RTO at Bangalore. He was mentioning that, the Central Government is planning a system to integrate all RTO offices at all over the country. That time all problems in shifting, refund, modification of details, etc. will be simplified and done without any delay. It was some four years back he mentioned like this. I do not know when will it be implemented, it is like another GST. There it involved income to the government, so they showed interest in implementation. In the case of RTO, it is only a facilitating factor to the general public. So, nobody bothers about that. If that system is implemented, it will really be a boon to the vehicle owners particularly people in transferable job.

I learnt one thing in this process. If one wants to get things done without any involvement of the money i.e., under the table dealings, one has to follow the procedure, submit all required the documents and have patience with persistence follow up with the government office. Then you can get things done without any money. It is a lengthy process.

  

                                                        

Traffic Control System

My observations about the traffic control system prevailing in Bangalore and Chennai as I have seen both.

Bangalore is a small city as compared to Chennai with inappropriate number of vehicles - both two and four wheeler s - to its area. But, it has a very good traffic control system. Most of the main traffic signals are equipped with CCTV cameras. If any vehicle deviates the traffic rules like jumping the signals, etc, those vehicles are monitored and sent a penalty letter to the address of the vehicle owner. He can pay the penalty online also. Otherwise, if the same vehicle is caught for any traffic violation in future, the old dues will also be collected from the owner. Further, all traffic police at the signals are provided with a digital camera. If any vehicle deviates the rules and escapes the police, they take a photo of the vehicle and upload on their website with a penalty to the owner. Such was the traffic system in place at Bangalore. There is a penalty for lane cutting from wrong side also. Wearing of helmet by both rider and the pillion rider and wearing of seat belts in car are implemented strictly here.

But the traffic jam in Bangalore city is being discussed critically in media and by public. One must realize that it is not because of the traffic system, but because of the inappropriate number of vehicles on the road. Government is also trying to take various measures to control the traffic. If people also avoid using their own vehicles and do car pooling or take public transport like bus, metro,etc this may come down drastically.

Chennai traffic system - you just cannot compare Chennai with Bangalore in this regard. There is no traffic control system in Chennai. Cameras are installed at road junctions for namesake only and not for controlling the traffic as they are meant to be. Recently also, they keep on installing hundreds and thousands of cameras at all traffic signals just to identify the culprits in case of any theft or murder happens. But this will be a postmortem only. It is very much doubtful, whether they will be using them for the very purpose of traffic control, to identify the traffic violators and to take proactive actions against them for which they are installed. Chennai traffic controlling system is at a very primitive stage if you compare it with Bangalore.

It is worth to mention about the attitude of the Chennai public on the road also. I can surely say that almost 95% of the people do not follow traffic rules. Yes. It is a very sad truth and I am very much frustrated seeing people who do not follow traffic rules. I bet, go to any traffic signal in Chennai and you can see there will be some kind of violation at all signals and at all times. They do all kinds of possible traffic violations. They do not want to wait for a few seconds more for the traffic signal to turn green. No indicator - nobody cares to give indication while taking a turn, lane cutting from wrong direction is another common violation. Most of the car drivers do not wear seat belts. 

They think that traffic violation is their birth right. Even if others point out their mistake they take a fight with them. 

Recently, there was a big hue and cry for making it compulsory to wear helmet. People along with all political parties made it a big problem against implementation of wearing helmets. This is for their own safety and if they are not following how to make them realize.

There must be severe punishments for traffic violators and implemented strictly. But, there is a problem with police also. Some traffic police do not implement the traffic rules strictly and do not impose penalty on the people who deviate the traffic rules. They simply do not care or just leave them after taking some money. The general public come out with some money earmarked for bribing the police and the police also take money and leave the people. 

The general public must understand the importance of the traffic rules and realize that they are implemented for their own safety and follow them diligently. Without the cooperation of the general public no rule can be implemented. The government must also educate the public on the importance of traffic rules and the consequences of not following them. They must also understand the difficulties of the public before implementation of the rules and come with realistic and practical solution to all of their problems and NO BRIBES. 

Self discipline (by both public and police) is the only solution to make the system strong.

My love for French langauage

I had a liking for the French language from my college days itself. I had been longing to learn this International language which is spoken in many countries. When I was working in Madurai during 2003, I found that there was a Chapter of Alliance Francais at American College, Madurai. I happily joined the class as that was my dream to study at American College and completed level 1 i.e., A1.

After that life shunted me to different places and I came to Chennai. I wanted to restart my French again in the year 2018 after a gap of 15 years. So, I approached Alliance Francaise of Madras at Nungambakkam. I had forgotten most of my French whatever I had learnt in Madurai. I remembered  only few things in French, so I could not join the next level directly. I had to restart from level one (A1) and did level two also (A2). This refers to Elementary. Next two levels are B1 and B2 which refer to Intermediate or Independent. C1 and C2 refer to Experienced levels. There are group activities, role plays, presentations and many things to make the students speak in French. The CDs supplied along with the books also help to understand the spoken French.

The professors at AF-Madras are too good. They have good command over the language. They are very well trained to teach the language. They speak French as if it is their mother tongue and conduct the class also in French. To learn a language one must think in that language. Grammar, Vocabulary and Practice are the three important things to learn a language.

The AF-Madras campus at Nungambakkam has all modern facilities. All class rooms are air conditioned and equipped with smart boards with wi-fi connectivity. There is a big auditorium, a Library with lot of books and CDs and a canteen too.  Students are provided with the text and work books of the level they join and access to the library and can borrow upto 4 books at a time.

I miss the campus and wish I revisit for the next level soon.

Alliance Francaise of Madras
No. 24, College Road
Nungambakkam
Chennai - 600 006
Ph.: 044 28279803 / 1477

                    

My new poem.

Friend

If you were sad, I will be there to console you.
If you were sick, I will be there to take care of you.
If you were crying, I will wipe off your tears.
If you were down, I will be there to lift you up.
If you were happy, I will be the reason for that.
If we were together, we shall move the world.

This poem was written at our French Class at Alliance Francais as a group activity. The English lyrics was given by me and translated in French by my team mates. 

This poem can be referred to Spouse also. So I am dedicating this to my wife on our Silver Jubilee Wedding Anniversary ( 10 th December, 2018 ).

French class ????????    I will write about that soon.....