Bombay Dosti

Human Rights is Variable, I see?

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:38:00 +0000

Yesterday, I lost it. Another WTF moment. If it was just another 'third rate journalism' as a friend calls it, I would not have bothered so much. But this was the limit. The trouble is, if not curtailed now, I am not sure, what it would turn into, in the future.

News9 is a bangalore based English 'News' Channel and of course, it is a 24 hr channel. This channel does give a lot of local news which may be useful to the city residents. This channel often has programs which shows a highly biased moral stand. When possibly half the population has such a point of view, it is possible that a channel could thrive on that. After all, our soaps are not different.

But, what made me angry, was the latest bit of breaking news that the channel released yesterday.

News9 made a sting operation and found that a service apartment in Bengalooru was being used for prostituition by a Russian lady. The channel team member posing as a prospective customer discovered this fact. Had they stopped with that, I would have not bothered, thinking it was another sting operation. But what followed was a gross violation of human rights.

After confirming that she was indeed in the business of selling sex, the team returned with a camera. They broke open the apartment and started recording. Apparently she was with a customer. What followed reminded me of what happened on a New Year Eve in Mumbai and what happened in the Mangalore pub.

What gives these journalists the right, to violate the rights of a woman, even if she were a sex worker. She was wearing a two piece suit, when they broke open and the channel had the audacity to force her to reveal her body. She was trying to cover her breasts and her face with her hands. Two men pulled open her hands to reveal her body and face on camera. WTF!!!!!

Later, the police was called to take action and probably take her into custody.

By what stretch of imagination, can we accept this?

Even if I were the worst criminal in this world, and even if I was of the loosest character possible, you have no right to violate my body , without my consent. PERIOD.

There has always been a debate about this moral judgement even in the case of rape. In some countries, even the law mandates that a rape victim's sexual habits should not be questioned. Her sexual habit, should not come in the way, of delivering justice to her.

Its similar in this case as well. Does her, being a sex worker(that too alleged) deny her the right to human dignity? And who decides? News9??????????

To put it simply, the channel must be taken to task for having abused her physically and for having tortured her mentally. This is Violence instigated against a woman. Whether she is a sex worker or not is not a matter of consideration. This channel had obviously no right to do to her what they did. By the way, why am i talking about their rights?

They were doing things against the law. How else should I describe a man forcing a woman to reveal her body on camera? If this is not violation, what is?

Sorry, an apology will not do. The channel was violating the law and they should be answerable. Now, it would be great to see them report that! Would be a good dose of local news!

The sad part is, even a local news channel has a lot of influencing power. It they shout stupidities for an hour and show the same stuff, people watching it will be programed to think in that direction as well. It was a live phone in program, and many people calling in, were talking about how the Police is not taking action and how the Police is involved in such sex rackets.

Oh ya, blame the system.

But in that process, we are letting this mind poisoning devil into our living room. I really need some air!

UPDATE : Looks like violation happens even through bigger media houses. Tvmtalkies writes a post on the how Media wantes to legally violate a prostitute. He writes , "I was more outraged when “The Madras Union of Journalists condemned B.Lenin’s arrest and blocked traffic in Marina”. If these protests meant their creed is like (only), then civil society has an immediate enemy at hand – Media. The Third Rate Media."

Choices

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:18:00 +0000

Several times in this blog, have I written about liberation and freedom. Like many others, I too abhor it when someone tries to impose upon me a 'choice'. Its funny, but I can identify at least a few of my own choices, which were made as a rebellion against the perceived imposition. For those choices, life might have been different, but I doubt if it would have been happier. My guess is, each one of us has a threshold for happiness too. I can complicate the simplest things in life, and lose out on much of the 'possible' happiness. I dont think I would even want to change that.

Recently, a friend asked me, what I would like more? Pursuit of happiness or Pursuit of truth? I did not take too long to choose - It shall be truth, and that would be the meaning that I seek in my life.

This post is generally about choices, that people make or are expected to make.

Recently, I have started questioning some of my own 'strong beliefs'. As I wrote in the beginning of this post, I have almost always believed in individual liberty and the freedom of choice. I have always tried not to link age with that freedom. At times, I find myself rethinking that.

This had particularly struck me, when I was thinking of two specific situations. A few years back, I would have criticized both these situations to be highly repressive. Today, I might as well give it a thought.

1. Censorship of smoking/drinking in movies and bars
By no means, am I advocating censorship of showing smoking and drinking in movies. We live in a society where people drink and smoke and therefore, the same would get reflected in movies. When Anbumani Ramdas, suggested censorship in a NDTV show, "We the People", I heard a lot of young people state that, they know what choices to take. The young people in the studio said that they were mature enough to identify their choices.
Frankly, I am not sure of that.
Are our choices, truly our choices?
To say that, we can make choices as free individuals is a mirage. When movies, increasingly show people with a cigarette and alcohol, it does slowly become the norm within our minds. Its not as if people imitate the hero, although, in some parts of the country, that too happens. Influence happens even without our conscious knowledge.

Almost every guy I know, has bought an Axe Deodorant at least once. Wondered why?

Ramdas, could have had other agenda for raising this issue. One can decide whether to give him so much airtime for that agenda. But I had to think about what he said. Whether directors can show some restraint and think twice about the smoking scenes in their movies is a valid question.

btw, I liked Dev D and cannot imagine it without the smoke,alcohol, drugs, swear words and the brothel.

2. Sexual freedom
Its a topic close to my heart. I have always hated the fact that moral standards have been set very high for women alone. Therefore when it comes to this, I have almost always taken the most liberal view possible. I would consider sexual freedom as liberation and for her, a choice.

A few things come to mind in this regard. These are mostly, the conflicts in my own mind. You will see me swing from one end to the other in each of these situations...

For e.g. I have never been able to say, legalise prostitution. There are people who argue that, even prostitution is a choice. I have not been able to accept that till now. Can and should prostitution be a choice? Even if it were to be legalised, would the women come in as a matter of their choices or their situation? I am prone to believe that in a poor country like India, a legalized prostitution business would be an easy solution to poverty and chances are that more women in the families would be forced to choose this.

Whenever I see 'virginity' drives in colleges, in magazines, I have almost scoffed at them. I still would not participate or appreciate an initiative of that kind. I know the reason too. Almost all of those drives are women centric. The suffocating importance given to virginity is a big factor for the kind of oppression that is practiced against women. Therefore, more than getting attracted to the possible healthy benefits of the same, I get put off by the generic patriarchal undertone of the initiative.

Recently a feminist friend visited me. She explained how I cannot think about this as simplistically, as I had. If as a result of this sexual liberation, people were thinking about sex too casually, would I still blindly support the same? Coming from her, I had to stop and think. A few days back, my brother and sis expressed, that they were a little uncomfortable with the number of emergency contraceptive pills advertisements. They wondered if that establishes that this is norm. My view, at that point was, people anyway do it, I'd rather not have unwed mothers.
Seriously I don't have the answer.

The truth is always in the grey. I do like the way Obama has articulated it :

" I want young people to show more reverence towards sex and intimacy, and I applaud parents, congregations and community programs that transmit that message. But I am not willing to consign a teenage girl to a life time of struggle because of lack of access to birth control"

These are times of choices. Whether I like it or not, the choices are for each one to take.
For me too.
Tomorrow, I might take another choice, but I guess, I would be better off to realise that even that may not be a free choice, as I might consider it to be.

The Missing Maharaja

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:44:00 +0000

Its funny, that I am writing a consecutive post on a similar issue and probably giving the opposite point of view in this situation. A friend accuses me, of seeing 'people' in every issue rather than the issue by itself. I cant argue much! Because, a large part of my 'opinion' in these two similar issues is quite influenced by what I think about the people involved - Naresh Goyal and Arvind Jadhav.

When the termination letters were sent to Jet employees, one night, Naresh Goyal was heard saying on the next day, that he was not even aware of it. To worsen the situation, he said something to the effect that his employees were like his family members. Leave aside the morality of the issue, but to say the least, he undermines my intelligence. Therefore, when his employees went on strike, I did not feel much. To me, it was a business man trying to make profits,who may have different views about people management. The CEO does not deal with people directly, but what he considers important will be taken seriously. It was, but evident that managing his people with fairness and empathy was not one of his concern areas. That too can happen in business. The exact state of issues for the pilots is also not known. Pilots striking for reinstating three other pilots, only means, there is insecurity and that happens when they don't trust the management. Can happen in business. I don't blame the employees, too. A very possible stand off.

When I read this interview of Arvind Jadhav, the CMD of Air India, I was at first a little uncomfortable at the bluntness and his choice of words. But I was bowled over by his genuineness. His straightforwardness is so much easier to handle than Mr. Goyal's tears.

From what this interview tells me, Air India does have a very heavy cost structure. He says that his revenues are around Rs 14000 Crs and his cost is around Rs 19000 Crs. Employee cost, being the second largest cost after fuel, it is quite possible that the same is being targeted. It does make perfect business sense. When there are layoffs happening everywhere, pay cut is quite a possibility for turning around the business. There have also been other steps which have been taken to cut costs and to improve efficiency. If pilots are drawing salaries more than 5 lakhs per month, ahem... I think a bit of cut can be borne to ensure oneself a job. When 1500 Crs of the total 3600 Crs of people's salary is being spent on incentives of these pilots, and that too, in a non performing airline, I do not see how cost cutting measures can leave this cost untouched.

A colleague was making fun of the Chairman' where in AI's inhouse magazine Swagat, he has promised that AI would be on time from 'now onwards'. His argument was, "being on time" is the minimum required thing for an airline. How can he say that he would ensure that 'from now onwards'?

I consider transparency as the most important aspect of any turnaround, both to the employees and to the customers. Well, I see that honesty here. He does not mince words. He is quite transparent as to how he intends to turn around AI as well. I guess, he must have even expected the strike.

And of course, the biggest influence for my 'opinion' is that Mr. Jadhav is not a business man, who is trying to maximise his wealth. He is a bureaucrat trying to set things right.

John Elliot says

His career in the Indian Administrative Service has been based in the state of Karnataka, where he was principal secretary in charge of sorting out Bangalore’s creaking infrastructure among other things for a year before joining AI. Aged 53, he was previously chief vigilance officer at GAIL, the government’s successful gas corporation, which gave him experience of how public corporations operate, and before that spent several years in the power ministry. In the mid-1990s, he ran a state minerals company in Karnataka.

Therefore, I really do not have many reasons to doubt his motive ;-)

However, could this have been handled with more tact? I guess, it could have been. Were the employees told about the debt and the sorry state of financial affairs in Air India? As per NDTV, one of the Pilots' Union was involved in Turn Around Committee set up earlier. Were these set of striking pilots included in the turn around committee?

Communication is as vital as the strategy. A turn around is possible if people are with you. Jadhav has an interesting job. But he cannot do it alone. He would have to take his people along. However, I do believe that the strategy and the intent is in the right direction. It would be wonderful to see the Maharaja earn his crown again!

I cant end this post without my usual disclaimer. The truth would be in between. However, recently I have been realising that its important to be cognizant of that fact, and still take a stand. Therefore, for today, let this be my opinion :)

Jet Set Goyal

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:44:00 +0000

The Jet story, is an interesting case study for a HR professional.
As I look everywhere, I see the passenger's woe being raised, and rightfully so. I have also read in many places, how both the pilots and the management are insensitive to the passengers.

As I observe the incident like a neutral observer, I see a different story. One, in which there are insecure employees in an economy which is at its low, in a sector which is not doing that well.

Having worked in a company, which truly believes in the right of association for employees (its caught on me as well), I cannot make a sweeping generalisation that Unions are bad. Of course, there is research to say, that these days, most people do not perceive Unions as something that adds value to business. Personally, I do believe that employees have a right to association. Sometimes, its a reaction to an external influence(often considered as 'bad' with other motives) but that influence becomes easily possible, because employees are insecure.

In this case, this is also a reaction to the economic downturn in the world. For a long time, the employee was a powerful person. Retaining each employee was considered important. Every individual was a Union by himself/herself. Demands were made by each person. If they were not met, he would leave the organisation to join another which would give him the demand he made. He had choices. However in this economy, the employee does not have too much of a bargaining power. Its the employer who has the power to demand these days - or so I thought. This insecurity could lead to associations. When bargaining power reduces, its obvious that only association will give them that parity in the power game. Earlier, a bad manager meant attrition; in a bad economy, it would mean, a step closer to association and unionisation.

Therefore, engagement with employees becomes equally important at these times as well. Many companies would be going in for a lot of cost cutting measures and layoffs could be a way of life. It is important that the company should be perceived as fair and caring. I am not advocating that layoffs should be banned but i am defenitly advocating that layoffs be done with a heart.

Another aspect of this pseudo strike in Jet takes my attention to another important piece. I did like the fact that the Govt did not interfere in the internal affairs of Jet. However, what stands out through this incidence, is the lack of legislation in employee rights in the knowledge segment. Some people believe that the Knowledge industry is based on relationships and therefore people may not resort to legalities. However, it is in a downward economy that the lack of legal clarity becomes paramount. In the absence of clear legislation, only chaos would emerge. As I said earlier, when there are no choices outside, they will fight for rights inside.

In many a channel have I heard people say that Labour Legislations in India stand in the way of faster business transactions. Could be true, that the implementation of the labour laws gives scope for a lot of intervention from Govt Officials which make it either slower, or corrupt. But for every layoff in a factory, the monetory entitlement of the employee is very clear.

If in a software firm, a layoff happens, whats the employee's right? In some companies, its one month salary (whether it is basic or gross, is debatable), and in some others three months. In some, there just would not be anything. The employee himself would be asked to resign, leaving no scope for the concept of layoff itself.

I have often heard of people take examples of American companies, stating that if they could survive with Hire and Fire and create successful companies, why not us? Taking bits and pieces of a system is dangerous. If the US follows the firing policy, they also have a good social security system; they have a severance package negotiated at the time of recruitment etc.

I am not able to take a stand with respect to NAG or any other Union formation, as to whether it is good or bad for business and employees. There are stories to prove either ways. In this case, especially because the pilots did not claim to be on strike! Jet says they would have a consultive body consisting of employees and management to discuss matters of concern. Even the CEO is a part of that body! I guess thats what happens, when employee engagement gets delayed!

I would rather have a consultative body discussing business and employee issues at an industry level, and proactively inlfuencing the Govt to fill the gap in legislations with respect to this set of people.

Another of my Phd topic!!

Hmm

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:01:00 +0000

A year from now, I am going to look back at this year, and truly wonder.
I dont think I will ever be able to explain it.

But i am amazed at my intuition

I think, the leap year, caught up, with the times.

Dont bother to read this post. It makes no sense.

The moment I say this,a friend comes to mind; who would have reminded me, that this apology implies, that I consider all my posts to be highly sensible!
I guess, I just miss my friend.. calvin is welcome

377

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:12:00 +0000

Not much more to say, than what is said in this post by Falstaff
But then I found this video and it sounded like a logical step in this direction.

But it is indeed interesting to watch the news these days. The fact that channels are debating education reforms and gay rights, a friend tells me, is an indication of a democracy's maturity.

Absurd

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:58:00 +0000

"The world has become so complicated that we're all bluffing our way through the business day, hoping we're not unmasked for the boobs that we really are. I see the world as a massive absurd endeavor populated by people who struggle every minute to rationalize the silly things they do.

At work, we think everyone should be guided by logic and rational thinking. Any absurdity in the business setting stands out like a dead nun in a snowbank.

I find great humour in the fact that that we ever take ourselves seriously.

I proudly include myself in the idiot category. Life is just too complicated to be smart all the time.

It's useless to expect rational behaviour from the people you work with, or anybody else for that matter. If you can come to peace with the fact that you are surrounded by idiots,you'll realise that resistance is futile, your tension will dissipate, and you can sit back and have a good laugh at the expense of others . This can be a very healthy book. "

- Excerpts from THE DILBERT PRINCIPLE - Scott Adams in no particular order.

When did I start liking Dilbert? Hmm, have started losing it :(

I met an entrepreneur once, for an interview. What he told me, at that point of time, recently came back to me with rejuvenated force. I guess, I had not completely got it at that point of time. In our conversation, I had spoken about my ideals/beliefs/philosophy in life, which he understood.

Well, the question that stumbled me was, What have you done about it?

I guess, I will never forget what he told me, why that question mattered to myself :

"You are highly idealistic. Your beliefs are in one direction and you are traveling in another. It would not have mattered even if you did not have those beliefs. It would have been much better that way.But in this manner, in some years, you will become a cynic, because you will stop believing because you never tried."

He found this organisation named Illumine.

I became a cynic.

Self

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 04:11:00 +0000

One way to maintain sanity above the uncertainties of life, is to have a higher purpose. A purpose, which would make us believe that all that is happening is irrelevant and just another route to the place that we intend to reach. Lack of purpose can be tiring, because, one will then have to justify every action. It's terrible to be in a position where we dont understand ourselves, and we dont see, the purpose anywhere close by.

This has always been the concern with complexity. There is a way of living one's life. The straight way. Its like an "IF THEN" statement in an algorithm. If this is done, then one will be happy.There is certainty about the way, life can be. Even when it is uncertain, there shall be explanations what caused the change in landscape. Because in the land of straight logic, there is a reason for everything, and a justification for every action.

For those who give the space for complexity, unhappiness has its own forms. Was it Tolstoy who said, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. "

Well, its not an option either to live the way one wants.

You are designed to be of one of the kinds. You are programmed either to question all the straight methods, and increase complexity. Or you are made to look at life like a logical flow of events, such that, for every deviation, there is a solution or a reason.

I come back to purpose. For the complex creatures, purpose is a possible way out. But, finding one's purpose, is a complex process by itself.

Or there is something even better.

A dear friend, introduced me to the concept of Nirvana. The beauty of Nirvana is that, it can neither be the purpose nor the destination. Its nothing. If one can understand that, the irrelevance of the complexity would be so liberating. Then, even purpose can be viewed with detachment. Detachment is the word. To complexity, to action, to purpose, and to one's emotions. Its not about not knowing what one is feeling. Its about knowing , and not getting affected.

I know very little, to write about Nirvana. The closest I came to, was when I read Siddhartha. A spiritual journey, that one can travel only by listening to oneself. Quoting Siddhartha,

“It was the self, the purpose and essence of which I sought to learn. It was the self, I wanted to free myself from, which I sought to overcome. But I was not able to overcome it, could only deceive it, could only flee from it, only hide from it. Truly, no thing in this world has kept my thoughts thus busy, as this my very own self, this mystery of me being alive, of me being one and being separated and isolated from all others, of me being Siddhartha! And there is no thing in this world I know less about than about me, about Siddhartha!”

Isn't it obvious, that this journey, can be one of the roughest ride, that one can embark?

Signs

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:51:00 +0000

I can do this ;-)
Pic Courtesy:http://www.flickr.com/photos/music4mix/1782672345/

Oscars 2009

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:50:00 +0000

It was indeed nice to see A R Rahman taking two of those awards home. It looked like he was not prepared with a speech, but the few things he said, were nice.
One, that all his life, he had a choice between love and hate, and he took love, and that he is there. It was even better to watch him say, "Ella pukazhum iraivanukke" - All praises to God.
Like always, humility, is a good thing. As far as ARR is concerned, its a journey, well traveled, from his jingles to the Oscar stage. When I watched the oscars today morning, I guess, I was happy that Indians were winning awards.

But I was happier still to have friends, who could see art above country. They both preferred Milk! You can read one here.

There was another pending argument that I have with one of them- whether Humanism is above Nationalism. Its Tagore's idea, and read Guha write on it.

For me, what was overwhelming was the kind of passion that filled the room.Documentary directors speaking about the trust that their subjects had put on them. It was quite a good morning!

A World View - HR

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 12:32:00 +0000

I have around five posts sitting in my draft, and none of them are complete, nor coherent. I guess it reflects my state of mind. I tried writing about one issue or the other. However, I am not able to settle down on a complete post.

Last February, I wrote about my learning and the churning in my job. Now, I come back to the same place,in the new role. Only this time, there is lot more of churning, than I could have asked for.

I have friends, who can compartmentalise their work and life. They have passions beyond work. They have things important to them beyond work. Their expectation from work is pretty low. Therefore, work is not defined as boring, or uninspiring. Work is work, which needs to be done, and will be done. This is not to say, that they do not perform well. They do really well! Atleast, one of them, I know, is a workaholic himself. Yet, he does not burden his job, with his expectations.

Well, to me, work cannot be just work. As always, I am emotional about work too! When I joined my institute, I was not sure of exactly what I was going into.When I was learning my subject, I realised, that I truly enjoyed what I learnt. I still do. For one, HR to me, is one positive aspect of Business! Or rather, it was those positive aspects of HR that drew me to it.

Many times, in this blog, have I mentioned, that my view on HR is very conventional. What I am going to say, might land me, a lot of brickbats from hardcore, HR professionals. Let me therefore, say, that this is just my view, of what HR means to me, and therefore drew me to it. Today, there are several specialisations of HR and this is not valid to all aspects of the function.

Like I have done before, I always, like to see the organisation, in the light of a family. I do agree, that it is very simplistic to say that. In a family, the role that parents play is what I truly believe the Human Resources Function to be. I would have said mother, but I could be termed chauvinistic ;-)

Well, then what role do my parents play? For one, my personal value system, comes directly from my parents. When my dad made me stand up whenever, there was an elder in the room. When my mother rebuked me when I did not do my homework on time. When my mother refused to accept an unreasonable comment made by anyone on anyone else. When my dad says to us, to see the human being behind every person who works for us. These value systems, are the foundation stones to my life. They are important to me, and they were set by my parents. In an organisation, its the leadership who define the value system and to me HR has a role, in ensuring that every employee of the company in inducted into this value system. Of course,the buy in of the leadership is inevitable. Our parents not only tell us about the value system. They also rebuke us when we do not follow it. So must HR.

Then comes our development. Is there anyone, in the world, who has take more care than, our moms to ensure that we learn, and develop? It is based on the whole hearted belief that the child's development is the most important aspect of their life. This was the one thing that truly attracted me to this function. That this function, is about development - which is the most positive thing in the world. Even a marketeer will wish that someone else, lose his market share. In HR, I dont have to wish for anyone's downfall, just work for development.

But, it is here, that large organisations and Jack Welch come and play the spoil sport.

What I woudl have wished to do in HR, would have been total development. When you learn HR in a social sciences institute, development is for the most downtrodden of them all. Isn't affirmative action, all about that? When you learn and internalise HR as something like that, a corporate HR role can be slightly paradoxical. Corporate HR believes, that development must be for the best of the lot. Differentiating performance is the key to a high performance culture. No corporate would invest in everyone's development equally. But, you will have to speak about development to everyone. Thats one of the paradoxes!
(Thats not to say that our HR profs in the institute, did not teach us differentiation. We were taught. But who said, education, happens in classrooms alone)

In the government sector, there is absolutely no way, a good performer is going to rise above the senior performer. There is absolutely no differentiation in performance. Anyone who works, works, because they want to. With this constraint, isn't it a wonder that some of the biggest service organisations in India are from the Govt. sector. Even as much as we crib so much about everything slightly related to the Govt, isn't that the life line of the country today?

I deviate from my point, actually.

This is that part of my job,that I detest. These are things that I may have to do, out of my character. Every company says that we need to follow the normal curve in differentiating talent. There can only be a x% of high performers, y% of the core performers and again , a x% of low performers. My job is to ensure that this be done in the organisation. The logic is that, the good performers need to be rewarded differentially i.e. they must be rewarded much more than the others - which is fair! But the trouble is, in organisations, that too, large ones, where a percentage is mandated, the force fitting of talent into the normal curve eventually happens. Managers, will have a tough time explaining to their people, why someone was rated low. That is when, managers will either, say that this is an organisational mandate, which they dont agree with but have to comply, or they will use jargons to explain the differentiation. Either way, they lose authenticity in the eyes of their people.

I have always believed that money is just a hygiene factor, rather than a motivator. Therefore, sometimes, I wonder about the underlying assumption of rewarding differentially, in the first place. Moreover, I think, people get more hurt by the label of the rating, rather than the dissatisfaction about the money receieved. The non performers need to be dealt with. There is no question about that!But forcefitting people as non performers ... hmmm.

So, that is the stage of my career that I am in. Where I wonder, at the processes I am supposed to be driving. Especially, in a large organisation, processes and surveys are done from a very high level, that the people at the unit, rarely feel the impact. Moreover, the constraints of standardisation, leaves much less flexibility at the unit level.

Explaining things about which you are not totally sure of, to people, is sometimes an occupational hazard! This explains it better.

Thats basically what is running through my mind these days.
Whether, what drew me to HR, is still true.

150 things people did before 30

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:47:00 +0000

Its been a long time, since I did a tag, kind of a thing. I found this list on a friend's blog. Like her, I found the list interesting, and it would be nice to see, what all I have done, and what all, I want to do from this. Sorry, dewdrop, its perfect piracy!

The ones in green and bold are the ones I have done
The ones in orange and bold are the ones I wish I do

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink

02. Swam with dolphins

03. Climbed a mountain (kinda)

04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive

05. Been inside the Great Pyramid

06. Held a tarantula

07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone

08. Said “I love you” and meant it

09. Hugged a tree

10. Bungee jumped

11. Visited Paris

12. Watched a lightning storm at sea

13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise ( that too on a train)

14. Seen the Northern Lights

15. Gone to a huge sports game

16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa

17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables ( Don't mind assisting, though ;-) )

18. Touched an iceberg

19. Slept under the stars

20. Changed a baby’s diaper

21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon

22. Watched a meteor shower

23. Gotten drunk on champagne

24. Given more than you can afford to charity

25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

27. Had a food fight

28. Bet on a winning horse

29. Asked out a stranger

30. Had a snowball fight

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can - but it was not enough!

32. Held a lamb

33. Seen a total eclipse

34. Ridden a roller coaster

35. Hit a home run

36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking

37. Adopted an accent for an entire day

38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment

39. Had two hard drives for your computer

40. Visited all 50 states

41. Taken care of someone who was drunk

42. Had amazing friends

43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country

44. Watched whales

45. Stolen a sign

46. Backpacked in Europe

47. Taken a road-trip

48. Gone rock climbing

49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach

50. Gone sky diving

51. Visited Ireland

52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love

53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them

54. Visited Japan

55. Milked a cow

56. Alphabetized your CDs

57. Pretended to be a superhero

58. Sung karaoke - and i suck at it!

59. Lounged around in bed all day

60. Played touch football

61. Gone scuba diving

62. Kissed in the rain

63. Played in the mud

64. Played in the rain

65. Gone to a drive-in theater

66. Visited the Great Wall of China

67. Started a business

68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken

69. Toured ancient sites - but could do more!!!!

70. Taken a martial arts class

71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight

72. Gotten married

73. Been in a movie

74. Crashed a party

75. Gotten divorced

76. Gone without food for 5 days

77. Made cookies from scratch

78. Won first prize in a costume contest - some prize, i guess... long time back

79. Ridden a gondola in Venice

80. Gotten a tattoo

81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an "expert"

83. Gotten flowers for no reason

84. Performed on stage

85. Been to Las Vegas

86. Recorded music

87. Eaten shark

88. Kissed on the first date

89. Gone to Thailand

90. Bought a house

91. Been in a combat zone

93. Been on a cruise ship

94. Spoken more than one language fluently

95. Performed in Rocky Horror

96. Raised children

97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour

98. Passed out cold

99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country

100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking with the windows open

103. Had plastic surgery

104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived

105. Wrote articles for a large publication

106. Lost over 100 pounds

107. Held someone while they were having a flashback

108. Piloted an airplane

109. Touched a stingray

110. Broken someone’s heart

111. Helped an animal give birth

112. Won money on a TV game show

113. Broken a bone

114. Gone on an African photo safari

115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears

116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol

117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild

118. Ridden a horse

119. Had major surgery

120. Had a snake as a pet

121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period

123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States

124. Visited all 7 continents

125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

126. Eaten kangaroo meat

127. Eaten sushi

128. Had your picture in the newspaper

129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about - I guess!

130. Gone back to school

131. Parasailed

132. Touched a cockroach

133. Eaten fried green tomatoes

134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey

135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read

136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

137. Skipped all your school reunions :(

138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

139. Been elected to public office

140. Written your own computer language

141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream

142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

143. Built your own PC from parts

144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you

145. Had a booth at a street fair

146. Dyed your hair

147. Been a DJ

148. Shaved your head

149. Caused a car accident

150. Saved someone’s life

Wow! That was easy! But I am not sure, why there are things like cause an accident, and get a divorce, but its just a fun thing :) Maybe these are 150 things people have done, and hence the title:)

World View

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:27:00 +0000

Ever heard of the word, world view?

I heard about this a year back. It was a discussion, where one of my friends 'realised' that I had a world view different from him! I am not sure of that, with regards to him, but I thought the term was pretty interesting to explain, why some opinions, or patterns of opinions seem to be much beyond one's understanding.

As I think further on the topic, I guess, world views can be regarding several subjects. It could be possible, that one would have a liberal view on one subject while maintaining a very conventional or orthodox world view on another. I am sure, I do. I do live in a mirage that I am generally a liberal person, but I guess, its because I view it through a particular subject.

Come to think of it, I have often realised, that my close friends, have a similar pattern in our world views, which makes life easier, between us. It is possible, that we have different views on issues, but we generally come from the same space. I can understand where they come from, which makes it easier, for me to understand them.

Another aspect of world views is that, we evolve. Depending on the several influences, like the books we read, the movies we see, the places we travel, the schools we study, the people we meet, and situations that we experience, our world view also evolves.In some cases, we travel a full circle.

Today, I was thinking about one such circle that I was traveling. I realised, the meaning of 'perception is reality'. One tends to act in coherence with the world view that one has, at present. Things are right and wrong, depending on the world view with which you judge the action. Being non judgmental is also a world view, I guess. Some call it insensitive detachment. The challenge, I am facing in this journey, is that I am evolving/trying to evolve into a different world view. It can be difficult when the action belongs to one world view, and the rules belong to another!

There are subjects, in which I feel that my views are evolved, and clear. In some I am confused, and in some, I am no where close to an answer. I am going to try and articulate my 'world view' on some of the subjects. Feminism, and gender would be one in which my views will be well articulated. Faith would be the confused view. Morality would be another confusion. Regarding my political ideology, I am no where close to an answer. My world view, on HR is pretty conventional - its not clear but its not too confused either, and in that, I am clearly evolving. My view on Humanity and Love, will be the most hypocritical post in this blog, I'm sure!

Then, why this post? I tried writing one post on all the above, but I guess, it would do me good to articulate each one in a different post. It might give me some answers after all.

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:27:00 +0000

I was searching for a year end, post!
I found it here. I could not have said it better!

When 2008 began, I entered into the new year, with this constant nag that leap years have been bad for me. I think, I continued with that fear for the entire year. There were times, that I was so happy, that I thought, it was too good to be true. It was surprising, that I was happy and genuinely happy for such a long stretch of time. Happiness was a luxury in the past few years. I was waiting for the strike. I was almost sure, that the leap year would do it to me.

But this leap year, spared me. Or so, I think.

When December began, it was another feeling, that indulged me. That of hope.
Of a new year, that too, an odd one at that! Till yesterday, that is.

Today, I am scared, of my expectations. My optimism, can sometimes, blind me from the truth. But my guess is, 2009, will be the year, when I will have to face it. I thought, I faced it once, and was done with it.

Truth, has a habit of coming back and haunting you.It comes in different forms.Sometimes, it even makes you happy.You might think that you are comfortable with it, and that you have done all possible things to deal with it but sometimes, it just does not let you.It keeps coming back, and expects you to deal with it, again and again. I thought I had become numb, but I guess it knows its way around.

The truth is, 2009, has no significance. Its just another year. The uncertainty of the times will be there, till truth wishes to reveal itself. And even then, it just would not have been over!

So its Neruda for now!

What hope to consider, what pure foreboding,
what definitive kiss to bury in the heart,
to submit to the origins of homelessness and intelligence,
smooth and sure over the eternally troubled waters?

What vital,speedy wings of a new dream angel
to install on my sleeping shoulders for perpetual security,
in such a way that the path through the stars of death
be a violent flight begun many days and months and centuries ago?

Suppose the natural weakness of suspicious,anxious creatures
all of a sudden seeks permanence in time and limits on earth,
suppose the accumulated ages and fatigues implacably
spread like the lunar wave of a just created ocean
over lands and shorelines tormentedly deserted

Oh, let what I am keep on existing and ceasing to exist,
and let my obedience align itself with such iron conditions
that the quaking of deaths and of births doesn't shake
the deep place I want to reserve for myself eternally.

Let me,then,be what I am, whatever and in whatever weather,
rooted and certain and ardent witness,
carefully,unstoppably, destroying and saving himself,
openly engaged in his original obligation

- It means Shadows

Nevertheless, Happy New Year!

Weakness

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:31:00 +0000

I've always been enamoured by weak heroes. I feel they are far more real. Their misery, sometimes, due to their own weakness, is so real that I never miss the feeling. In this blog, I have written about strong women. Its ironical, that I am now writing about weak men ;-)
Thats just one of my biases!

My first relationship with the weak hero began with my once favourite, "The Class" by Erich Segal.Although, there is not much misery, I loved it, that the hero, writing in first person, praises every other character in the book, for either their courage, intellect or talent. Even when you reach the last few pages, its only when the author reminds you, that you realise that this 'ordinary man' was so important to all those great men.

I guess, I have grown a bit from there.

My favourite, weak hero, will be from the malayalam novel, "Oru Sankeerthanam Pole" written by Perumbadavam. I don't read a lot of malayalam, but I am glad that I read this. The novel is about 2 weeks in the life of the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevosky(I got the spelling wrong again! Thanks to Wiki) In this small period, he meets Anna, who later becomes his wife. She is his stenographer, typing out his novel, one which he is under pressure to complete due to his financial concerns. My words just fail to convey the emotional turmoil that Dostoevosky goes through.His weaknesses, his gambling, his poverty and his inability to write on some days. I will always remember my heart travelling the heroes crests and troughs.

The trigger to this post, is the latest book, I read - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. In this, I am not sure, if it was the hero or the author that I am in awe of. The book is again written in first person. Its about guilt. The guilt of a little boy, and even that guilt arises from his weakness, his lack of courage. In a blogpost, one may write, not to be brave is not a crime. I guess, only the coward will know the pain behind cowardice. I am not sure, if I have read another author who made me feel so much, for a coward.

The fact of the matter is, we have cowards all around, and we love them too. I am serious here. Because noone, can be brave all the time. These are times, when we speak high about the police officers and the commandos, and you would understand that I dont mean that alone, when I speak of bravery.

I think I read the most "unchauvinistic"(if there is a word like that) in The Kite Runner. It read like this:

"I cringed a little at the position of power I'd been granted, and all because I had won at the genetic lottery that had determined my sex"

I think thats why I like weak heroes. When I say, weak, I mean people who are conscious of their weaknesses. Everyone has weaknesses, only some are aware of this. I guess, only a man, who is aware of his weakness can be graceful enough to realise that the supremacy of a gender bestowed upon him by the society, is so very superficial. That, for a lovely, world, there is no need for supremacy. I did not believe a friend, when he said, that I liked Hosseini only because he agreed with me. I guess its true.

But I also liked him for his non judgemental self. When you read this novel, not for a moment, will you feel that any one is wrong. Its always a situation. I always admire an author, who can be non judgemental even when he is emotional.

There is a scene where Amir, the hero, tries, to argue with an officer in the emigration office why he must let him adopt his nephew, Sohrab. The officer disagrees, stating that adopting a Afghani child is near to impossible as there would not be enough papers to prove that the child is indeed an orphan. Before leaving, he confronts the officer with a "Do you have children? They ought to put someone in your chair, who knows what its like to want a child"
As Amir storms out of the room, the scene goes like this, where he calls out to the secretary,

" "Your boss could use some manners", I said. I expected her to roll her eyes, maybe nod in that, "I know, everybody says that." kind of way.Instead she lowered her voice.
"Poor Ray.He hasn't been the same since his daughter died." "

An author, who must have feelings for the dismal state of affairs of his homeland, has made space for another individual, and his situation. Yesterday, I was talking to a friend, and I was telling her, that both of us, were probably the most self centered individuals, I knew. That we almost, never had space for anyone else's feelings. I think I loved Hosseini, for something that I lacked.

Then of course, I loved Amir's views on morality. The Afghan clan is also not free from social distinctions and culture. As Amir's father says, "The man is a Pashtun.He has nang and namoos." Nang.Namoos. Honour and Pride.
Amir falls in love with Soraya, who tells him that she has a past, where she runs away with another guy and spends a month with him, before returning home. But it needs a different frame of mind to be ok with it. I wonder, how Richard Gere, in Pretty Woman can be a great hero, when he tells Julia Roberts, "I never treated you like a prostitute".

In the book,

"
"She smiled and took my hand.
" I am so lucky to have found you. You're so different from every Afghan guy I've met"
"Lets never talk about this, okay?"
"Okay"
I kissed her cheek and pulled away from the curb. As I drove, I wondered why I was different.Maybe it was because I had been raised by men; I had never grown up around women and had never been exposed first hand to the double standard with which Afghan society sometimes treated them.Maybe it was because Baba had been such an unusual Afghan father, a liberal who had lived by his own rules, a maverick who had disregarded or embraced societal customs as he had seen fit.

But I think a big part of the reason I didn't care about Soraya's past was that I had one of my own. I knew all about regret "

I dont know, why I am typing out the book all over again. This book is about the life of man who has regrets, who feels guilty for being afraid. This is a story of a weak man.

I feel, only a weak man, can see beyond the futlity of power, even that of moral high grounds. Therein lies the power in weakness.

Camera Running - Emotions, anyone?

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:23:00 +0000

Yesterday I went to see Vaaranam Aayiram. The commando operations in the movie, failed to make any impact in my mind. After seeing two days of continuous coverage of the Taj, Trident and Nariman House operations on TV, the scene in the movie seemed far too amateur. Well, what was real, was the empty theatre hall on a Friday evening in Bangalore for a new movie.

Like many of you, I have been switching channels trying to make some sense out of this chaos. I dont think, I have managed to do that. The violence, the young terrorists, the hate and the loss of innocent lives, just fails to make any sense, in my mind. My ignorance!

It would take some time, for me to forget Sabina Sehgal's husband. For a husband, who had received the last sms from his wife, which said , "they are in my bathroom", he did not betray his emotions. I dont think he had much hopes, even when he was waiting for her outside, for he had seen flames coming out of her room.

Barkha, that was sad enough for me.

Please do not sell his tragedy. I dont think, your TRPs are worthy of that. If I want to entertain myself with basic instincts, Roadies 6.0 has begun this saturday. I can watch that. Thank you very much. Breaking news and Flash news are a part of our daily life. We are now immune to that. But, at this time of tragedy,

how justifiable, is it to ask a son..

“Your father is trapped inside. How are you feeling? What is it that is taking you forward? Is it the support of friends or is it prayers? You seem to be looking very calm, how are you doing this? I saw that you were sitting inside the car waiting rather than being there"

Or to a wife
"How are you feeling? You seem to be a strong woman.What keeps you together at this time, of difficulty?"

Maybe, I can help you with the answer, Barkha, its called helplessness!

It was defenitly not the right time to joke with her that she would not fight with her husband again.Never have I felt this angry at the misuse of any word. Barkha, you dont necessarily have to make them speak about their 'feelings' to know what was going on in their minds. In fact, if your were aware of that, maybe, you would not have asked them these questions. Maybe, you forgot your sensitivity at the studios.

Barkha, I cant imagine, how you can ask people to say something to their 'husbands' and 'wives' on camera. This is no awards ceremony, where people can kiss and thank people. For heaven's sake, stop creating news with people's emotions. What were you expecting them to say, by the way? This is no reality show, where tears are shed over doctored suspenses.

Of course, Barkha described the family members to be stoic. She did not get enough emotions, that she would have liked. The family members were busy being anxious. Please excuse them, Barkha.

Today, NDTV news is about how politicians are fishing for votes in this tragedy. Not very differently, media is fishing for TRPS.

Enough is enough, says NDTV.

I feel like showing it to Barkha.

(This is not to undermine the tremendous hard work put in by journalist, Barkha included, for informing us, promptly about the events that happened in Mumbai. NDTV, particularly, is one of the channels which maintains, some code of content. But then, please.. some sensitivity)

Empowered Women of Kerala - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:59:00 +0000

Blog Action Day is an annual no profit event that aims to unite the world's bloggers , pod casters, video casters to post on the same issue on the same day. The aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. This year the topic is Poverty.

Muhammad Yunus,Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, 2006 (Grameen Bank) says in his book,

"Relatively speaking, hunger and poverty are far more women's issues than male issues.Women experience hunger and poverty in far more intense ways.Being poor is tough but being a poor woman is toughest of all"

At the same time, there is enough research to prove, that when the woman earns, it raises the quality of life of the household and of the society at large. When the woman of a family works, 100% of the money flows into the well being of the family.

During my postgraduation, I had the most beautiful experience of writing a research paper, on a topic that was close to my heart. The paper was about Women Entrepreneurs associated with SHGs. For some time now, that has been my enriching learning experience. These were women who were associated with a Poverty Alleviation Program of the Kerala State Govt named Kudumbashree based on Microfinance.

On this Blog Action Day on Poverty, I cannot but write on Microfinance and its role in Poverty Alleviation because,

1. I saw it in Action
2. Its about Women
3. It is based on my favourite management jargon - participative governance

The model in India is based on the assumption that poverty would be reduced if the fruits of growth, which initially go to the rich would trickle down to the poor.

It might be good to see an observation in this context.
Amit Bhaduri's article says that in contrast to earlier times when less than 4% of growth was associated with 2% of employment, India is experiencing 7-8% of growth in recent years, but the growth in regular employment has hardly exceeded 1%.

Microfinance is a trickle up model of growth.
Microfinance (mF) is a financial service of small quantity provided by financial institutions (FI) to the poor. These financial services may include savings, credit, insurance, leasing, money transfer, equity transaction, etc, that is, any type of financial service, provided to customers to meet their normal financial needs: life cycle, economic opportunity and emergency. with the only qualification that (i) transaction value is small and (ii) customers are ‘poor’. So far as microsaving services are concerned, the advent of self-help group (SHG) movement has been a very successful tool in the process.

One post is too less to dwelve into the topic of Microfinance. But let me go personal again :) While putting down this research as a researcher, I had to atleast try to be as objective as possible. In this blogpost, well, I can once again, express my feelings, when i think about the people and women I met at Kudumbashree.

Kudumbashree is the Poverty Eradication Mission of the Keral a Govt. All details in their website.

Around ten - twenty women from a Neighbourhoods get together to form a group. This group known as the NHG(Neighbourhood Help Group) would discuss their problems, mobilize thrift, administer need based learning,maintain accounts, venture into small microenterprises, initiate action against social evils. Through the active involvement of the women in this process, the women from poor families are facilitated to learn new lessons to tackle multiple dimensions of poverty.

Microfinance model was initiated to help the poor tackle poverty. One of the major disadvantages that the poor used to face was the non availability of cash in the form of loan. Banks were extremely cautious in lending to the poor as they felt that the poor would default on the loans and they would have no collateral to be able to administer the same. Another disadvantage that the Banks had was that, they would not know the people locally and did not have any understanding of their lives. This is where the local money lenders came to picture. They knew the local people well, and used it to their advantage. They lend out at high interests, and the poor were forever caught in the cycle of loans.

That is where the Mcrofinance model came as a great breakthrough. The members in a NHG, would put in their money into the central pool as their savings. At times of need, the group would give out the loan to the person in the group. The group would administer itself, in terms of repayment and also determining the need of the person. They are neighbours! Who would be in a better position to determine their need, their ability to repay and their discipline to the group.

Sometimes, these NHG would upgrade into forming a microenterprise, and the bank's collateral would be the group itself. This would be facilitated by Kudumbashree. The bank is spared of the microlevel monitoring as well. It was also found that repayment pattern of women were also good!!

Swarna Jayanthi Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) is an anti poverty program/scheme launched by the Central Govt. for eradicating powerty in urban areas.
How many people do you think will know about them?
Kudumbashree plays an important role in facilitating these entrepreneurs. Kudumbashree takes the schemes to them, upgrades their capablility and even develops some of them into entrepreneurs!
And today, in Urban Areas, the SJSRY has helped form 1345 Group and 15382 Individual Units across the 58 Urban Local bodies of the state, thus benefitting 28889 families. In Rural areas, 1268 Individual enterprises and 3893 Group enterprises have been formed benefitting 24,906 people.

I go nuts over self governance! Can you imagine a group of women, probably, managing a professonal set up for the first time, and all on their own? They would elect their President, Secretary and Treasurer. These roles would be rotated among the members too. They would have their own rules, in their group. Of course, its not a smooth ride, as they also have their set of conflicts.

In my earlier post, I had spoken about the three dimensions of empowerment.
- Economic
- Social
- Political

The Microfinance model, strives to empower women holistically.
It all began with their Economic Empowerment. They get access to money, their savings are kept safely within the group and it is their money!

Socially, this group discusses their issues and concerns. Its like they have a group of women supporting their concern. For a group which has started an enterprise, the kind of exposure that they get would be very empowering. In a savings group, the challenge would be to always ensure that they spend time discussing their concerns too. In some cases, the group meetings can end up as just a money calculating exercise, especially in a savings group! This would be a major forum to incresase their Social Empowerment. The power of the group, is immense!

Kudumbashree has a three tier model, starting from the NHG, ADS (Area Development Society) formed of 10-15 NHGs.At Panchayat level, a CDS(Community Development Society) is a registered body formed by federating several ADSs. All these bodies, have elected Presidents from among them.

When I was doing the research, the CDS President was also the elected Panchayat President! Do I need to say more, regarding their Political empowerment? Its not done yet. I know that. All I am saying is that this is a great forum, for atleast developing their political involvement.

Kudumbashree has its set of challenges too! It was never going to be easy! When I was there, I got to meet a group of highly inspired people. It began from the Executive Director, T K Jose,IAS to the District Program Coordinators. The team has changed but I hope the spirit is still the same.

I had the opportunity of meeting three groups of women involved in three micro enterprises.One was a restaurant in Edapally, Ernakulam. The other was an IT unit in Trivandrum, called Technoworld, and the last, and the enterprise, which had the Panchayat President was the Garbage Collecting Enterprise, by the name, Clean Kerala.

Well, on this Blog Action Day, a request from my end. In case you are living in Kerala and you come across any of the micro enterprises set up by these groups, from Kudumbashree, maybe you could look again and buy their products/services!

They are an awesome set of women!

Empowered Women of Kerala - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:14:00 +0000

Outlook says that Kerala is No 1 in Women's Empowerment.

Social Indicators have been highly favourable to Kerala. Therefore it came as no surprise to see Kerala in the top ranks in different parameters.

Sex Ratio :
Kerala : 1058 India: 927

Literacy:
Kerala: 88% for women India : 54% for women

Life Expectancy for Women:
Kerala: 73.1 India: 65.4

Maternal Mortality per 1000
Kerala: 1.3 India: 5.7

Child death rate/1000
Kerala:14 India:73

Birth rate/ 1000
Kerala: 16 India: 27.2

Age of marriage:
Kerala: 22 India:18

The Outlook article measures Women's Empowerment by three parameters:
FemaleLiteracy, Sex Ratio and Fertility Rate.

Kerala has seen the benefits of a literate female population which in turn has lead to better health care awareness, and I am glad it is so. Sex Ratio of the state is 1058 which is the highest in the country. Happy & Proud.

But look a little more deeper, and there could be a bit more truth in there.

Sex ratio of the state in the 0-6 age category is a meager 962. I am worried at this.
This has been an important indicator of HDI of any country/state. The point I am making is that, I see a reverse trend in this indicator.
This trend tells me that, sex selective abortion could be practised in Kerala.

UPDATE: Read about the debate on whether the reverse trend is indeed because of the increase in sex selective abortion here
Therefore, the above statement is just a speculation.
In Kerala, when people are aware of their legal issues, it would be very difficult to prove it, even if it were happening. So, this is only to say that, we could be alert to this.

Without undermining the other indicators, I am forced to ask, whether these parameters alone signify Women's Empowerment?

To me, holistic empowerment would mean, economic, social and political empowerment.

1. Economic Empowerment

a. Work Participation
Though Kerala ranks high in literacy, the work participationsex ratio shows a deviation. The higher literacy is not a sufficient condition for equality at work. The female work participation rate in Kerala declined from 16.61% in 1981 to 15.85% in 1991.It further declined to 15.28% in 2001. The national average is 22.38%.
When literacy does not translate into jobs, are women economically empowered?

Along with low work participation, rates of unemployment and gender differentials in the labour market persist across the society and are prevalent in Kerala too.

Biases in the employment originate with the educational system, in which women are typically limited to the generalised liberal arts education and are seriously underrepresented in vocational and professional courses.

b. Relatively unequal Property Rights

Women hold only 23.18% of the operational holdings in the State. Women own only 17% of the total area under operational holdings (Economic Review, Kerala State Planning Board)

The above two are linked. Women dont work and hence dont own property.

2. Social Empowerment

a. Dowry
The declining sex ratio is only an indication of a big social evil, that of dowry. Kerala was known for its simple weddings but not anymore. Watch a Malayalam channel for an hour, and you shall see ewellery houses taking over a big chunk of the time. The heavy jewellery that the bride adorns on her special day, to me, is not the best part of the wedding.

b. Increase in instances of gender based violence against women
There have been increasing instances of gender based violence, particularly domestic violence against women in Kerala. A study conducted by INCLEN and ICRW on domestic violence in Kerala found that as high as 62.3% and 61.61% of women were subjected to physical torture and mental harrassment as compared to 37% and 35.5% at the national level.

3. Political Empowerment

Take a look at the State wise participation% of elected women panchayat representatives in the three tiers in 2002 at this website

In Gram Panchayat, Kerala has a participation of 36%
In Intermediate Panchayat, Kerala has a participation of 38%
In District Panchayat, Kerala has a participation of 34%

In the three tiers, Karnataka has a participation of 45%, 42% and 38% respectively.
Of course, Bihar, Delhi, UP, Mizoram, Nagaland etc have no representation.

We are not bad! But for a state which has majority of female population, is this representation good enough?

When it comes to empowerment, you can never say enough.
I am happy for the No1 slot but I am not too sure.

This is not to say, that things are doomed in Kerala. This is only to remind ourselves, that we still have some way to go!

This is the first part of the post on Women's Empowerment where we analyse some of the negative indicators. In the second part, we shall take a look into a movement of a different kind, which can play a role in changing these indicators positively.
That post would be a part of the Blog Action Day Post on Poverty.

References:
Poverty and Young Women's Employment :Linkages in Kerala : Pradeep Panda (EPW, Sep 20, 2003)
Sakhi Kerala

Girl :)

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:53:00 +0000

Do visit http://www.girleffect.org

****************************************************************

http://www.girleffect.org

Make a wish, take a chance, make a change and breakaway.

hmmm

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:21:00 +0000

Needed to read this, now!
Dont ask me what I searched for when I found this ;-)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=896041
Have a great week ahead :)

zoooooooooooooooooom

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Now, I have the answer to the question for a tag, "Which was your first car?"

I got my first car :) Bangalore does it for me!

My friend tells me, I have started my middle class journey.
Next, I shall get my housing loan, he says.
The icing, was the last step.
He tells me, "You are so middle class. After all this, you will get married, and emotionally hype that you got married with your own money." He almost puked!
See, why i love my friends?

According to him, I should finance his movie. I said, "make a movie on gender(more specifically, my brief was that it should be a female oriented movie), and show me the script".
He puked again!! On second thoughts, he might make porn!

I have full faith in his movie making abilities, though not on the subjects that he could choose ;-)

Coming back to my car. Yep, i got myself a car.
The fun part was, when family came into picture! Mom said, I should get the car delivered on 15th September as, from the next day, the new month was beginning and it was not that auspicious.
Well, if its difficult, take the car delivered on Wednesday, but try for Monday, was her request.

So, i convey that to my sales man from Maruti. He agrees at first, and then calls back to tell me that they may not be able to deliver it on Monday. He said , it was not possible to get it registered at the RTO that day, as there were many cars to be registered and for the same reason.
Well, I insisted.
There are not many opportunities where I do what my mom asks me to!
So, we got the car delivered. This was "pooja delivery".
That means, you get the car without the registration, so that you can believe that the delivery happened on a good day, "as per records" ;-) No registration means, no insurance!
So, we took the car and drove it to the temple and did the "pooja".

That basically meant, that, for good luck for my vehicle, and for my well being with the car, i put the vehicle on a far more unsafe situation, by taking the car out without registration nor insurance.
It happens only in India!!!

Hmm, brother tells me, that i was acting as if i did not believe in the pooja.
No! I am not a rebel or anything. Just that when the priest was doing the pooja, i was reminded of the thousand poojas that we used to do in my Dad's office, home etc. According to whatever happened, Dad would interpret it as a "good sign" or a "bad sign". If the coconut that we broke, was bad, it was a bad sign. If the lamp got lit in the first instance, it was a good sign. After all these years, those symbolic interpretations have ceased to make sense.
Well, I liked one thing about the pooja,though.The priest gave us a receipt right in the beginnning even without us, asking for it. It said, "Car pooja : 101Rs"
I like it when priests or anyone, proactively give me the receipt. Thats what i call, a good sign.
I must also say, he did a nice and simple pooja.

The most important point, however, is that I must learn to drive without anyone beside me!!!!

Left Right or Center

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 09:19:00 +0000

It was during one of those Political Sciences classes during my post graduation, that I first discussed the term Ideology. I was too much of a CP (Class Participation) person and therefore would have spoken quite a bit in class, but looking back, I don’t think, I really knew what I was speaking about. Not that I would today, just that I may not speak as much thinking that I don’t know. But then, this is my trouble with me today. I am paranoid about the truth in my sentences.

I am digressing from the topic, but this too was an interesting observation by a friend. He made two observations about the above statement, in two different contexts. One, that it was because, I was taking myself too seriously that I was too worried about the essence of what I said. Nothing is to be taken blindly, but this statement was refreshing!

Another aspect of the above statement was when we were talking about intellectuals. I was reading Amartya Sen’s The Argumentative Indian. Find the review here. I had liked it, even when what the above reviewer says is true. Then we had this discussion about intellectuals. In the world of governance the bureaucrats are the intellectuals. They do the analysis, evaluate and suggest what the government should be doing. His argument was that many of the game changing measures, especially in the plane of social development that politicians had taken would not have happened if it had been left to the intelligent bureaucrats. He said, leaders would take populist measures for their people, and it may not sound logical to the ones in search of the right answers. It could be another post on how this ‘search for truth’ works.

Of course, there is only one thing I can say. I don’t know.

My exposure to the political scene was pretty minimal. I was more comfortable in the clichés of “politicians are corrupt, politicians are bad”. I could barely distinguish between left and right. Taking a stand is no way near.

A lot of these thought processes were kindled by some posts, some comments on some other’s posts and some valuable discussions.

The first exposure that I had to the Left was SFI in my Engineering College. The few people with whom I have spoken to about their inclination could not educate me on the Left ideology and if there were people who could, they might have been too busy. I was voting for those individuals, rather than any party. I liked those people. That was it. There were other friends who were part of ABVP because they felt that SFI was having too much clout in the campus. Therefore, there too, there was not too much ideology to discuss. As far as ABVP was concerned, the only thing that I knew was that, I was not a great fan of anything that propagated the saffron agenda.

Then there were these odd conversations that used to happen in journeys with some stranger who would tell us the tale of the Trade Union set up in Kerala because of which his company had to stop work. Then the conversation would lead to how, the communists in Kerala were not letting industry develop in the state, and how this state survives because people leave and go to other states where industry has flourished. That was the Left to me. There would also be jokes around how the poor middle class salaried man had to pay the unloading/loading union to unload his own luggage..

I shall be quoting a few blogs in this post but it is only to say that these posts kindled a certain thought in my head. This blog is one which truly makes me sit up and look at the same picture with a different lens. Take a look at this post. As I read that article by Amit Bhaduri, I felt it was yet another push down of the development that could be possible. But check this comment by Madhukar, where he says,

“Unfortunately, all optimistic figures about employment are invariably future “projections” and “potentials” - on the other hand, all surveys since mid-90s, actually show a decline in employment creation. Like many “developed”, India has also fallen into “Productivity trap”…”

And what Bhupinder himself says, “I guess the jury is out on the reforms every 5 years (or sooner) since the so- called reforms were launched. Each time, the ruling party has been ousted. While manufacturing statistics is easier- so much so that it can become self- delusional as in BJP’s Shining India campaign- the general elections is where the verdict is clear. This is Bhaduri’s starting pointing in the article.”

The article by Amit Bhaduri also says about Jobless Growth.

“First, in contrast to earlier times when less than 4 per cent growth on an average was associated with 2 per cent growth in employment, India is experiencing a growth rate of some 7-8 per cent in recent years, but the growth in regular employment has hardly exceeded 1 per cent”

Read this post by Madhukar on India’s Rural Energy Security

I was comfortable in my own world of development in the midst of same old responses.

What can I say again? I don’t know.

I have been built too much in the belief that growth will lead to development which in turn would lead to overall development.

It was probably the nuclear deal which brought ideologies to the forefront again. There were a few bloggers who wrote about the break up of the alliance. Find it here and here and here .

Both of them have blamed Manmohan Singh for the fall out. However dirty the clash between these personalities might have ended up, in the parliament, it was to me, a clash of ideologies. As much as Karat had an ideology guiding him, so did Manmohan. I like to believe that both men had intended it well. It has however turned into a bitter personality fight with each of them taking a partner with doubtful credential about their political principles. You could ask me how I made this judgment. What do I know about Mayawati or Amar Singh? I don’t. I am just giving in to what a few columnists said in Economic Times.

You know, what I will say. I don’t know.

I have often thought about the role of activists in society. As a student of a very prestigious social sciences institute, I knew some social work friends who went to sit in solidarity with Medha Patkar in front of the Coca cola factory in Plachimada as part of their study tour. It was another story that there were some students who were themselves consumers of Coke. But we need activists, to remind us.

After all, profit making is the only motive of corporates. There are several examples of corporates developing new policies and being more careful in utilizing natural resources and in contaminating the environment. Many of them were lessons learnt from the noise made by these activist groups. Even in such situations, what I would prefer would be a dialogue. The idea should not be to close down the industry; neither should the corporate be blind to the concern raised. Interaction between the two groups would lead to more responsible industries.

The Left ideology also plays that role according to me.

But even this is so simplistically put. There is so much more truth hidden below the base.

What is the truth behind this violence? What is the truth behind this text book?

Hahaha, I of course, don’t know.

Congress was a safe choice. At least their ideology (a friend says, their only ideology is governance) spells out secularism, in the sense that I understand.Aam aadmi is not a foreign word to them- Kamal Nath speaks about livelihood at WTO talks in Geneva. I am once again in search of truth regarding the pros and cons of liberalization. Once again, I have been programmed to think that it was good for India and that it has to be attributed to Manmohan Singh.

Is Congress truly secular? Is it difficult to find situations and people in the Congress who would beat its ideology?

The combination of both was something which was a good blend which I look forward to as a citizen.

You might ask me, so what my point is by the way?

It was what I began from. If you ask me, to define what my ideology is, I find myself lost in this complicated maze of truth. I end where I began. I once again, begin my search for truth. Thankfully, those who have been elected are free from this search. They either do not have an ideology or are blindly given to one. Their energy is spent in acting in the way they have defined for themselves. I hope.

I end with this news item. At all times, I love the idea of Love.

Women in Love

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 03:16:00 +0000

Its not my favourite of DH Lawrence.

I like Sons and Lovers more. But the subject title of this post, is what this post is about. I really hope that my language does not betray me while I put this down, because I am writing about one of the most beautiful feelings in the world, that of love. The passion that accompanies this emotion, has no equals, atleast with some people.

And believe me, its not personal:)

It was a nice sunday morning. I finally got myself to go for an early walk. I love listening to "Kal Ho Na Ho" during my walks. Its beautiful in the background. When I came back, it was time for nostalgia, and old photographs in my laptop beckoned. With orkut,some of my friends, upload their photographs. If they are really cute, as some of them are, I save them, so that, in beautiful mornings like these, they give me company.

Have you seen couples posing for photographs? I am talking about Indian couples here, especially within a few years of their wedding. The man, encircling his arms around the woman's shoulders, and the woman probably holding him around his wasit. This is quite a universal pose. Notice, and you will find it. Its cute.

Then i noticed some other friends! I am actually talking about two close friends of mine. Two very strong women. Passion is their second name. Compromise is foreign to them - in love and life. I mean it! In love and life. They are so true to themselves, that its painful. They know that, more than anyone else, and yet they cant be otherwise.

This is not to tell you about their life story. Just that I am amazed.

What caught my attention was that even their photographs tell me a different story, so different from the others. Their photographs tell me about their love, their expression. Their individuality strongly defined, even in their expressions of love. They are not shy. They look at their loved ones, with passion and confidence. If they did not love, they would not look.

Courtesy

Oh , these women in love! The sight is beautiful.

Words fail me! My language is too tame to explain to you, what these women represent. They are extra ordinarily sexy. I tried searching for some character in books or in movies, which could come closest to these women. A passionate woman, so much in love and yet so strong and her man loves her for that! Hmm, am not too sure, if there are many. Even Wuthering Heights, which is said to be the benchmark of a love story tells us nothing much about Catherine's love. Bronte had brought the confusion in her mind brilliantly, but I did not see Catherine's passion in that. Its so full of Heathcliff. Love in the time of Cholera is about Florentino Ariza's passion. Suhasini in Sindhu Bhairavi, in theory represents a strong woman passionately in love with a married man. But the characterization does not let the woman evolve fully.The film tells us explicitly that she is like that, but the character does not display that. The evergreen, Clara, in Thoovanathumbikal(Padmarajan), although does not betray her passion, is the closest that I could find. We know, she is strong, and we know she is capable of such passionate love. Passion and Individuality - its a combination that I have not seen popular art explore much. Its either an extreme situation like in Susanna(TV Chandran), or even Clara. I am happy, atleast that these characters are there. But I have still not come across a character, so among us, and yet so intense. If you have any examples, please do share it.

Any feeling that resides in their heart, is of far greater intensity than you would normally know. It comes from the element of the woman. Its not represented in their actions. It is them. They cannot be tamed. Courtesy

The trouble is that, the society is not used to such women. Even they themselves are not used to it. Therefore, I have seen them feel so out of place in a world that believes that compromise is the way of life. Its a tough fight for them.

If they are like this, the man standing beside them, is no ordinary one either. You cannot love this woman, if you are insecure. She is so strong, believe me, that an ordinary man, will not be able to handle her passion.

I have always loved Linton, in Wuthering Heights. It requires courage to love and let go. Even in today's Hindu, Shashi Deshpande, suggests that Heathcliff's passion is powerful. Is love only in expression? What love is it, which does not let the woman lead her life in peace, oh the little peace that she finds rarely? If what Heathcliff showed was love, i hate love!

One of the explanations of a particular star sign in Linda Goodman ends thus,

" She will never take the train when she can fly.She'll never be silent when she can speak.She'll never turn away when she can help.She'll never walk when she can run.Her mind is so full of thoughts and her heart is so full of so many hopes, she may need a computer to sort it all out. Or does she need someone who can run beside her and toss dreams with her - from here to tomorrow?"

safari

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:02:00 +0000

There's just a long road.The trouble is, I don't know if i am travelling into or away from the destination! I guess the trick is to enjoy the safari. It was a beautiful forest, by the way.

Have you locked the door?

noreply@blogger.com (bombay dosti) — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:36:00 +0000

Its just another hyped case. The news channels have got something to shove into our face. We've heard these stories all along. No big deal.

But I am afraid. When I see that locked door, to my bedroom, I have to try hard not to think of some unknown man behind it. When I see the driver outside my door in the morning, who asks for the bucket to wash the car, I cannot help think, whether I must try to keep my engagement with him as minimal as possible. Basically, I am freakingly afraid.

The fact is that, we have always had dangerous servant boys/men. These days, the newspapers tell me about maid servants too. I keep reading about a number of murders which have the servants take to weapons. And its not about any particular city. I read it all over. I hear about mugging in Bangalore.I hear about this Arushi case in Noida. TOI, Mumbai has all these stories about maid servants killing and saving and what not. In Kerala, I had a close relative killed for her jewellery by some unknown goons.

For years, I was afraid of the unknown, call it ghost or whatever ( I still am) But more than anything, today I am afraid of that man or woman. I dont trust anyone. My mom tells this maid servant who used to come to my brother's place, that her daughter will be alone and that she has to take care. I used to find it amusing once. Not anymore. The first thing that crosses my mind is whether, she really needed to know.

My company has this thing called "Authorised service providers". These are service providers who have been approved by the company for driving our cars or for making our tickets or for carrying our luggage. Most companies have that. There could be issues with that as well. They are usually safe, rather, the maximum I can hope to have.

I think, the time has come for authorised service providers for domestic help as well. Some company that takes the pain to do the reference check for every maid whom they allot to a house. I would not mind paying the sky for a maid servant who would come with an identity card, medical check, and police record check done. For me, the male maid servant is a big no-no. Biased? Maybe! I am not letting anyone inside. Its the fourth time, I'm checking if the door is locked.

UPDATE:

On an after thought, think I was going a little overboard. Its not that bad actually. As much as these menaces exist, maybe hype like this is not needed.