Breakdown: What are we seeking as a Society? Fear or Hope?

In the light of the release of the juvenile convict of the 2012 Delhi rape case, we have seen the rise of a lot of angry voices, and rightly so. An individual, a prime accused who is convicted of brutal rape and murder of a girl, has been set free after only 3 years. It understandably enrages many. But the punishment that was served was only a reflection of the course of existing law on juveniles, i.e., Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000.  So there’s no point in blaming the courts for doing their jobs (Read no point in criticizing the Delhi High Court for refusing to give a stay order)

However, many people have been rightly criticizing the sorry state of democracy in the country where no bill has seen the light of the day in the past two sessions in Rajya Sabha. Thanks to the strong political ethics (yes, that’s sarcasm) followed by the top two most parties of India, some much needed bills are biting the dust of the shelves of Rajya Sabha. (The story of Congress vs BJP tug of war in Rajya Sabha is a story for another day)

One of those bills stuck in the Upper House happens to be an amendment to Juvenile Justice Act, introduced by the Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi.

According to the bill that was passed in Lok Sabha, “The new proposed Act provides that in case a heinous crime has been committed by a person in the age group of 16-18 years it will be examined by the Juvenile Justice Board to assess if the crime was committed as a ‘child’ or as an ‘adult’. Since this assessment will take place by the Board which will have psychologists and social experts, it will ensure that the rights of the juvenile are duly protected if he has committed the crime as a child. The trial of the case will accordingly take place as a juvenile or as an adult on the basis of this assessment” (source from: PBI)

It is here that the debate rages, from people from all quarters throwing their arguments and counter arguments.

On one hand, I believe that the very idea or the principle behind law, other than giving justice to the victim, is the concerted belief of the society to drive in a sense of deterrence and a fear of conviction into the society at large from committing a similar crime. In that light, to see a prime accused escaping the cusps of stringent laws just because of the convenience of falling under age by a mere couple of months can indeed act as counter deterrent. So, by that logic, do we allow the breeding of 17 year old murderers, rapists? Of course not. But our laws are indirectly implying, or at least have paved a path for that. So yes, I do believe that there is a need to amend it.

But where do we draw the line? Where does a child end and an adult begin? Can there ever be a generalized acceptance worldwide?

On these lines, the counter argument has been that, amending law for a one off incident is nothing but a knee jerk, highly emotional, reaction. Especially considering that the law pertains to children, and that greater care need to be given to detail in case of any change. They say that a child, anyone less than 18, needs reform and not prison, and deserves a best chance at life by undergoing rehabilitation to ease back into the society.

But my question is that can we categorize a rapist and a murderer as a child anymore? It is tough. It is extremely tough. Sure, large sections of the civil society too gulp down here but are ready to take the bullet for larger interests.

The entire argument is very precarious to say the least, it’s deterrence vs reform, in its essence. What do we choose?

There has been an internal battle within me that is struggling to take sides. But when I sit back and do look at the amendment, there is a semblance of balance in it. It aims to strike a balance between these arguments by leaving it to a team of psychologists and social experts to determine if any accused, in the age group of 16-18, be treated as a child or an adult, based on the crime.

So that way neither all who are between 16-18 would be treated as adults nor all accused rapists would be treated as children.

I think this arrangement is an ideal set up where it should pacify people from both sides of the argument. While the ones from deterrence side are already championing this, the ones from reform are skeptic of the practicality of it.

Will the JJB (Juvenile Justice Board) be fair and free while determining whether an individual should be treated as a child or adult? What if there is case where a 16 year old from lower caste elopes with a girl from higher caste and later is framed for rape? Can the JJB, examining those circumstances, be able to carry a free and fair trial even if it obtains high pressure from the opposite party involved in the case? These are the contentious issues for many. It is here that many compromise for the larger interests by criticizing the amendment.

But this drags the argument into the ifs and buts too. There would be too many ifs and buts behind any law. I think that this amendment is the best bet to curb the rising juvenile crimes as validated factually by the data of National Bureau of Crimes records which indicated at a sharp increase in the number of heinous crimes committed by juvenilles in the last three years. So it becomes that much more important to iron out finer details for smoother implementation of this law and to nullify any contentious clauses.

But any which way I see, I don’t think there is even a remotest of remote possibilities of this law being passed in Rajya Sabha in the next few days to be able to be applied to the Nirbhaya (or Jyothi Singh! As her mother asks us to refer to) case as long as the accused is still in period of appeal. With only last three days to the winter session of parliament, there is no way this could be passed.

And even if it does get passed in the next session, in my own amateur understanding of law, I don’t see this law prosecuting the accused here, as it might directly fly under two clauses of article 20- article 20 (1) which states that a person cannot be persecuted retrospectively (i.e a law cannot be applied in reverse) and article 20 (2) the principle of double jeopardy stating that a person shall not be prosecuted or punished for the same offence more than once. While I do know that, as long as it is within the period of appeal (as it is now), there is a scope of hope for the deterrence arguers and the Supreme court’s stand in this regard would be momentous once again tomorrow. I’m not a student of law, nor have a superior understanding of it otherwise either, but if any of you reading this article have clarity on this last aspect, do drop a comment and let me know! And also do share your opinion of where you stand on this argument. Are you on the deterrence wagon? Or do you believe in hope, change, reform, giving that one greater chance?

May the Justice be within us all! Peace out!

My first theatre experience: Between the lines

And I fell in love with theatre. Truly!

I have, for a very long time, wanted to go to a play but thanks to my procrastination I never actually did. Until of course this unsuspecting lovely Friday evening of August that I drove through the haze of polluted chemicals, beating my long time friend, procrastination, to go to a play, partly because I wanted to try something new and partly because I was bored of movies and partly because of the artistic brand associated with the name ‘Nandita Das’, the director and actress of the play ‘Between the lines’.

And as much as I hate living in cities for the pollution, I love everything else that they have got to offer, especially the many art forms that converge here that one could indulge, explore and get lost in. And this visit to a theatre to witness a play for the very first was a very conscious effort on my part to explore in that regard. I walked in to Ravindra Bharati with my friends with very high expectations of something that has always been told very highly of. A play. As I took my seat and looked down onto the stage from the gallery, everything felt perfect: The lighting, the set, the stage and the buzz of a capacity audience. I knew it was going to be something special.

It’s a shame that it took me 20 years of my human existence to witness an art that existed through the ages, far older than what our history could take us back into. And to make up for the delay, I now realize I am going to watch many more of these, because this was an experience that will be cherished by me. I write about movies, I review them, because the stories told are more than stories. They are an expression of a being told through the eyes of an actor, the string of a musician, the vision of a director and the passion of the crew. And the play that I watched today was an embodiment of all that, but it felt much better than watching a movie because I got to witness live acting of absolute class.

The play wasn’t just about the ambiance inside or my juvenile excitement of it but it was rather the plot itself that was engaging. The play was about a husband and wife, Maya (played by Nandita Das) and Shekar (played by Subodh Maskara), who are lawyers who accidentally take a case which pitches them against each other. Shekar, a reputed criminal prosecutor who doesn’t lose cases usually, is up against his wife, Maya, who takes up her first ever criminal case, as a defense lawyer, after a long gap, which eventually blurs the line between their professional and personal lives. The play reflects upon finer intricacies of the feminine struggle that is existent even in a modern day couple. The little things, the little actions that cannot hide the male chauvinism is up on the fore and the dialogues aren’t written in a way that is a propaganda for feminism but they were rather a repartee that was witty. Frankly, there wasn’t a dull moment for me.

The ingenious single set which was convincing for the two locations of the play, the simple yet perfect props that served for both home and court acts, the great cast that comprised of only two but who played four characters, the endearing background score, the phenomenal acting, the realistic nature of conversations, the deep thought provoking plot that makes you want to read between the lines, together makes up one enjoyable 80 minute ride. Frankly I wished I could watch this play immediately again. I enjoyed it so much. And I want to watch many more of such plays. Hopefully they come along.

As I have not seen any other play, I do not have a comparative scale as such to know for sure if it was in fact a gem of an act. But the fact remains that for me it simply was. And if this play is the pinnacle of plays, I would want to watch plays, and if this play isn’t the pinnacle and there are better ones around, then I would obviously want to watch them even more. Anyway I have found a new love in theater art. For now, that would do. Better late than never. 

PS: I heard there is a really good play tomorrow too called "2 to Tango, 3 to jive" (i.e on August 23^rd, 2015 at Ravindra Bharati) as part of The Hindu Theatre fest. See if you can catch it :)

A touchdown

Last week has seen the release of three reports in India- MDG (Millennium Development Goals) report, SECC 2011 (Socio Economic and Caste Census), and RSOC (Rapid Survey of Children).  The data contained in these reports are to an extent reassuring but to a greater extent disappointing. And it is disappointing only because numbers don’t lie.

MDG report 2015 shows that India has halved its incidence of extreme poverty from 49.4% in 1994 to 24.7% in 2011 (Limit of extreme poverty has been set for those living for less than 1.25$ a day). And as halving the extreme poverty by 2015 was one of the targets of Millennium development goal in 2000, we should be fairly satisfied with these numbers, as we have reached a goal.

However, in the same period, poverty reduction achieved by our poorer neighbors Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh is higher. I am not implying anything, but only stating what I have read in The Hindu. Not to compare apples and oranges, let us move on.

The MDG report also says that,

1.       India is on track to achieve its hunger targets as well

2.       But it is still home to

·         One quarter of world’s undernourished population

·         Over a third of world’s underweight children

·         Nearly a third of world’s food insecure people

When we go through the highlights of these reports, we realize how much of the real India is behind the veil of curtain drawn across by our ignorance and pride of a number that only shows our GDP growth because, recently, I came across facebook posts which were pitting our GDP growth against China’s GDP growth, that took pride in the prediction that ours would out do theirs in lesser than a decade. I am not being a spoilsport to the dance of Incredible India  (again, sorry for generalizing the general public) but am only asking a touchdown of our flight of pride, if we are aboard one, because some of these numbers should in fact make us crash that flight.

Coming back, there are positives in terms of the drop in infant mortality rate (No.of deaths per 1000 live births-88.2 deaths to 43.8 deaths) and maternal mortality rate (No.of deaths of mothers per lakh live births- 560 to 190) from 1990 to 2012. But the report says that the annual progress has been slow.

RSOC (Rapid survey on Children) by UNICEF, on the other hand, had data that was a touch more cheerful. The report shows that both child stunting levels and underweight children in India had fallen to a historic low but then almost all states have performed poorly in reducing the number of underweight adolescent girls. Gujarat, a perceived developed state, is the only state to perform worse than the national average in reducing the number of child stunting case and underweight children (An awkward sheepish moment for all the “Gujarat model” propagators may be?)

And coming to the last one, SECC 2011 (Socio Economic and Caste Census) released only this week, data for rural households revealed that

1.       In over 90% of households, the main earning member makes less than Rs. 10,000/- a month

2.       Over half the households are landless

3.       Over half the households rely on casual manual labour for the larger part of their income.

4.       Out of a total of 17.4 crore households, 1.8 lakhs households are engaged in degrading work for a livelihood (i.e manual scavenging). Saying that, it is a significant improvement from the 35 lakh such households back in 1961.  

These numbers are not something that are seriously looked upon as the foundation from where “real development in India” has to begin. Because these numbers are not too grim that they could set the alarm bells ringing or could start an up roar in the parliament (in fact, who would up roar? Each of those parties had formed governments in the past two decades and the data today is only a reflection of the policies of the different governments in different periods spread over the last two decades). But yet considering our population, the percentage would wind up to staggering numbers and that all of them live in a country that I too live in is disturbing. I cannot be proud of the high building rises of my cyber city or the investment rains of my state, or the growth of my country, until the rural society too sees some proportional development in tune with urban society.

There is no point in pointing fingers at any parties, or any individuals for the inadequate policies or policy implementation, because all that matters now is how all these data are taken by the present government. What matter is how do we go forward from here? How much of those numbers would reflect in the policies and reforms? It’s not just the politicians but also the bureaucrats, who are at the other end of implementation chain, who have to buckle up and be pro active in cutting down such numbers in data. A true leader does not only talk loudly, or act popularly, but someone who recognizes the ‘less fancier’ true base of a country and propels it forward. And can NaMo be that leader? Only time will tell.

Source: Data is from The Hindu
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Can you come over to India, please?

To those of you who think who have never seen or heard about a “John Oliver”,

give me the opportunity to correct you, because most of us, Indians, have definitely come across this video of “Last Week Tonight” talking about Narendra Modi’s visit to US: (Those who get butt hurt easily, please don’t continue with this article, or this video, or LWT)

And if you had never really come across this video of John Oliver before, then my sincere apologies for stereotyping you! My bad!

If you look up John Oliver in Wikipedia, you will see that he is listed as a stand-up comedian, actor, writer, television host, voice actor, political satirist and a media critic! Phew! That’s a lot!

But what if I tell you that there is still one more description about him that is not listed there in wiki, that I and many of his admirers have come to associate him with?

A JOURNALIST!

Let me tell you, I have read a few of his interviews, where he has said that he is anything but a journalist, but as someone who follows his work, I know. You are lying there John! You are a freaking journalist! And a kickass one at that! I am like a fan boy of his show “Last Week Tonight” and if this article sounds like an excited 15 year old girl writing about twilight, well, damn you! I wasn’t going for that.

I am probably his biggest fan from the sub continent and I consume almost any 

video of LWT that I could lay my hands on because of the presence of three most binding elements he has going for himself in Last Week Tonight:

1.       Sarcasm

2.       Sarcasm

3.       Sarcasm

And add to it tons of research on a topic, presented with statistical analysis, quotes from the bureaucrats, politicians, public and also media and then followed by a tear down of those quotes in the most hilarious ways with analogies that would make you roll on the floor.

He essentially carries out his own form of journalism, of course duly supported by many people working for the show behind the scenes, with proper research but it is about the way he presents it! He does it in a way in which he almost doesn’t want you to take him or the show seriously, but packs a punch that will make you really take him seriously! Consider this video in fact that he had posted couple of weeks ago on the problems being faced by poultry farmers in the US:

Or those who are inclined towards football, this:

Or those who want to know about ‘Civil Forfeiture’, this:

Yes, most of his videos deal with American issues, but if you are a global citizen with no boundaries to tie down your mind, you may enjoy his show.

Also it’s not just about his 15-20 minute takes, it is even more so about his 3-4 minute takes, where you know he is only fooling around to crack you up, but yet, somewhere, in the beginning or the end in a ‘blink and you miss’ statement, he delivers the punch in them too.

Like this video on Climate change debate:

Or this video on US intervention in middle-east, wrapped thoroughly around Peru!:

Or this down-right hilarious one on Tony Abott!

Or this on UK Labour Party:

There’s just something about john oliver’s content delivery that you know has the perfect blend of humor and seriousness. Sometimes we want to take things easy, see it in a lighter way, and yet are concerned about it, and John Oliver is a true reflection of ourselves in that way.

I only wish he could do a season in India (he’ll probably have shoes thrown at him after one episode) but there are many of us who want to smear things down with some humor. So, John, can you come to India, please? 

PS: You can't miss this video of Stephen Hawking! 

Dear Sister

Dear Sister,

Happy Birthday! This is as gloomy as birthday letters and wishes can ever get, but I can’t think of a better time to write and share it with you.

I have recently come across a professor who taught us about the term “male chauvinist”. And that professor after explaining the meaning of it with subtle examples, asked all the male students who thought of themselves as male chauvinists, at least to some extent, to raise their hands. Half of the class did. Half of the class didn’t. He laughed and said that those who raised the hands, are obviously, clearly, male chauvinists, while those who did not raise their hands are the same too but are yet to realize it. Everyone laughed but it did not escape us that behind that laugh were words which he meant. While he might be a tiny bit wrong about generalizing everybody, he sure has got a point.

Before you wonder where exactly I am going with this open letter to you, I want you to understand that this is a culmination of inhibitions, fears, reflections nestled deep inside of me, and I am sure of many other brothers.

The professor told that male chauvinism is not just synonymous with the antonym of feminism, but rather refers to something very simple in all our cases. If you google the word, you would find the meaning of it to be “a male who patronizes, disparages, or otherwise denigrates females in the belief that they are inferior to males and thus deserving of less than equal treatment or benefit.” In simple terms, taking for granted the role of a woman, he also said.

In the light of what has been said about by one of the accused in 2012 Delhi gang rape case in the documentary ‘India’s Daughter’, what the professor said in the class becomes that much more significant. It was the remorseless, inhuman, justified outlook the accused had on his doings that slapped me awake from the slumber I was in. It should have had the same effect on others by now. Death Penalty is not going to be enough. The male chauvinistic behavior is one that is deep rooted in our culture in varying degrees inherited from ancestors of bygone years, and aggravated by the social status of poverty today.

If there was one thing that every man or woman that saw him talk who finally, with a sinking feeling, realized was that, capital punishment or hanging them is not the solution for rapes nor the justice in this case. Soon after the incident, when I had read the JS Verma Committee’s suggestion against the capital punishment in rape cases, I remember tossing about the newspaper in my ignorant anger, disregarding the panel members as old fools with self centered righteousness. And two years, down the line, it took me to hear it from the accuser’s own mouth to finally comprehend the Committee’s suggestion.

In the accuser’s words “The death penalty would only make things even more dangerous for girls. Now when they rape, they won’t leave the girl, they will kill her.” And that is absolutely true, because it not only endangers the girl’s life but doesn’t even fulfill the masses wish of instilling fear among the rapists, as it is now clear that it is not lack of fear but the basic male chauvinistic attitude that is the cause

And if you haven’t watched the video yet (as it would soon be taken down by government anyway, and that is another argument altogether), this is what the accused had said,

“You cannot clap with one hand. It takes two hands to clap. A decent girl won’t roam around at 9 o clock at night. A girl is far more responsible for a rape than a boy. Boy and girl are not equal. Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night, doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes.”

“We were teaching them (Nirbhaya and his friend) a lesson” He went on to add.  

And when all of this slowly sinks inside, we realize the horror that we, as a society, are today in. The problem here isn’t lack of fear. The problem here is their belief in their ideologies that justify their heinous acts. And their ideologies are only a manifestation out of their backward and poor existence. So when I look at the big picture, I realize we are only shooting arrows in the dark in the name of justice and solutions.

With my own understandings taking hold of me, I couldn’t be anything but be scared. These are self employed, ill taught, ill disguised, extreme male chauvinistic pigs brandishing their right of protection of a perceived culture for Christ sake! I am of course scared! To cure this would require a witch, magic and a wave of wand that could clear minds, or more pragmatically mass campaigns to change the principles of the certain societal structures, that could not be changed without addressing poverty alleviation and other such issues at the core. Everything is so inter-connected and messed up that the cure for this is nowhere, absolutely nowhere in sight, in the path that we, as a country, have so far taken.

Governments with their cravings for landmark law changes and populist statements that could strengthen their urban vote bank, would never be able to address this issue in its basic form. It would, to put in simple terms, require mass advertising campaigns like that against female feticide, polio eradication that our country took up an age ago through Doordarshan. But what would today’s campaign shape be? Is the issue simple enough to convey and brain wash masses through a simple enough advertisement? And what about the simultaneous poverty eradication programmes? Would everything work in tandem to ensure the safety of girl child from birth to death? It would take a leader, who is visionary in its truest sense to address this whole messed up web of sick morality.

I, as a brother, feel like it’s a game of probabilities and chances that decides the next victim. And with you working far away from where I am, makes it tougher for me each night, to know for sure that you are safely home or at least with two or three of your friends around you who are safely accompanying you. One call that goes unanswered by you at the designated time makes my heart rate silently go up. And the scarier fact is the realization that my fears would hardly have subsided had you been with me in our own city, because you would still be traveling alone more often than not, returning from work later than usual, and there is nothing much I could do to personally ensure your safety then either. There is nothing much any brother, mother or father could do to ensure your safety without compromising on your freedom.

I want you to be like any other person. I want you to be independent, which I am proud to say, you already are, do things that you want to do, and I would stand by you no matter what, talking up, reassuring mom and dad that you would be fine, everything there is fine! After all, it’s only my fears, and our parent’s fear. And we have to deal with it. All the brothers have to deal with it. All the fathers have to deal with it. But none shall ever put a bar on your freedom just because of their own fears. You deserve to fly high, fly free like everybody else, and it is upon us to ensure it. And what do we do to ensure it? Continue the belief in the goodness of humanity (without of a choice), that no matter how grim the situation looks, things would eventually take a turn for the best. At least that thought gives me, and the other brothers, the energy, the hope.

I know I don’t need to make promises to you, because you know I will always be there for you, standing guard of the every word written in the constitution of our country protecting your freedom.

Love
Brother

You are wrong there, Sire!

Just today, one of my faculties, in the dying stages of his class, was giving out not just a terrible analogy, but a very ignorant one. His analogy went something like, “Just like the Narendra Modi’s government has brought about the decrease in petrol price, your engineering exposure too should make you less stupid (or more grown up)”, which was in reference to one of my friends making a ruckus while the guy was taking attendance.

Well, don’t judge him on this analogy, because more often than not he makes sense in his class, and he makes an effort to make them interesting too. But this analogy right here, made me wonder. If somebody who is as educated, even though not in political sciences but in engineering, as him, could have such an ignorant grasp of the reality, then surely, there must be many more? Certainly the ones who put up duck faces and click selfies all day, and still participate to argue about the political order in debates with friends, acting like the condescending Sheldon Coopers? Well these stereotypes are everywhere.  

Anyway, I am not trying to belittle the ‘Good Governance’, here, all I am trying to say is to give credit when the credit is due, or in this case, the opposite!

The phenomenal fall in petrol price over the last few months has got nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the new government’s governance, but rather is a continuum of the global fall in the oil prices. Global Fall!

While there are a few reasons that led to the global fall in petrol price, but the simplest reason being a classic case of Supply and Demand, where the demand is far too less than the supply.

*United States domestic production has nearly doubled over the last six years, pushing out oil imports that need to find another home. Saudi, Nigerian and Algerian oil that once found a home in the United States is suddenly competing for Asian markets, and the producers are forced to drop prices.

On the demand side, the economies of Europe and developing countries are weakening and vehicles are becoming more energy-efficient. So demand for fuel is lagging a bit (SOURCED OUT from Times of India)*

You can read that entire article here:(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/Oil-prices-at-5-year-low-What-is-behind-the-drop/articleshow/45866129.cms?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=TOI)

Sometimes, it is not about knowing the right reasons, but about ruling out the wrong reasons. And I think, in today’s world, it has become increasingly necessary for us, voters, to be at the top of our game. We cannot let our guard down, and let ourselves be drowned in our own puddle of ignorance, however briefly it might seem. 

You Are Probably Getting Robbed There

We Indians have got our own ‘little’ problems stretching from the form of Indian cricket team to the bad roads in our neighborhood. While as much as we enjoy to point them out, criticize, and cry, we are also pretty well endowed not to bat an eye of acknowledgment to anyone or anything (or any government) when something counter-nauseating happens to a larger mass (Not to one individual, mind you. We are very patriotic and proud that way), like the fact that road accidents in our city have decreased significantly in the last year, or that the petrol price has decreased considerably in the past few months (whatever be the reason, it has decreased for gods sake!!)

So, upholding that proud tradition, I would like to completely ignore the positive aspects of my previous line and cry about something else that has bothered me.

Dishonesty. In general. And the ones at petrol bunks in particular.

While dishonesty about our new look or shirt or dress is quite welcome, it is not so much the case when we are trading our Gandhian notes for services.  What I am about to say might sound familiar if you have a two or four wheeler (or even a three) and if you take that out to your nearest petrol bunk for refilling. If it doesn’t sound familiar, well, it is all the more reason to continue reading this.

So, has it ever happened that after refilling your tank with some amount at a petrol bunk, you notice the pointer on the petrol indicator just lying there, lazily dwelling the pits instead of springing up?

You know that you did not fill it with such a less amount that it wouldn’t have made a difference to the pointer. You wonder if the indicator is malfunctioning but that too would seem relatively less plausible after a while. You might then suddenly remember reading about the recent crackdown on petrol bunks, and wonder if it was a classic case of tampered dispenser unit, but those raids pertained to dispensing a shortage of hardly few milliliters. And also, you might be just too proud to believe that you were taken for a ride. So you pass it off.

OR else, you are not ‘too’ proud and relatively sensible, and slowly come to the striking, sinking realization that you have paid tax for your lack of attentiveness (or for the over dose of shyness/innocence) by just getting robbed, swiftly and efficiently.

While this happened to me once, a while ago, when I was too naïve to think of the world otherwise ( and also when I had just started using a two wheeler), I am now a self taught expert on recognizing the rampant conning at petrol bunks and would hence like to pass on this knowledge to other ‘once-me’ beings out there.

So how can one get robbed at petrol bunks?
Simple. You pay for innocence.

And how does this happen?

By the three common attention diversion tricks that ‘they’ employ:

Trick 1 You are poor at math or too stupid:

You say “bhayya ‘500’”

He has listened, and you know it. He takes the fuel dispenser, pumps out 200/- petrol and stops. He acts cool, and puts his hand forward to take money, and you are puzzled as you said ‘500’ and not ‘200’. And you convey the same.

He smiles. Makes eye contact, covers you up from the digital indicator of the petrol dispenser and says “Did you say 500? I heard it as 200”. And casually laughs (or can frown too, depends on the style of actor), and walks back almost whispering, in a way that you just hear it, but are not sure of what he said exactly, “I am putting it to zero, see” (it, here, means the digital indicator of the fuel dispenser unit)

And he doesn’t actually let you see it as he takes two steps directly in the direction of your field of vision and you are too shy to bend your neck and look at the indicator, or too kind to insult an unknown  random person’s honesty. Hence unable to recognize the obvious, you just end up putting your faith on the brighter side of human race. He pumps the petrol, clears your view of the indicator after about few seconds and shows you the indicator approaching 300/- mark.

But what he in fact does is, to just continue from the 200/- mark but fill it slowly from 200 to 300 in those few seconds, and then speed it up as it approaches the 300/- mark just as he clears the view for you, fooling you by acting as if he has started over from zero. This is expert stuff. Even though it is easy to recognize this immediately as the time taken to fill 300 rs worth of petrol is different from that of 100/-, one cannot confront now, thanks to self doubt.

This trick can be carried out for other denominations of say 250 (where they break at 50/- mark and continue from that and stop at 200, feigning a simple “initial 50+ final 200= total 250”) or at any other denomination depending on the gullibility of the customer and the talent of the one dispensing. 

2: The Card Trick

Just as you say “500” or “200” or even “100”

Gullible-me

He would make eye contact, and say, “cash or card?” (seriously card for 100 bucks?)

You would say “cash”.

And he would stare down right into your eyes as if you have spoken something blasphemous, and say “there is a 5% cashback on so and so card”, all the while going back to the dispenser unit and acting like setting it to zero and coming back to stick it into your fuel tank.

He continues blabbering about the card for a few more seconds if you have failed to break the eye contact and starts dispensing the petrol, and before you realize it, he has swiftly continued dispensing the petrol from where he left off with the last customer and NOT from ‘zero’.

And if you do move or break the eye contact, or refuse to make eye contact before he dispels the petrol, he would either set it to zero beforehand or give a sheepish grin and set it back to zero the second time acting as if the indicator was strangely acting of its own accord.

3: Give me some money

This seems to be a newly developed trick where two guys con. One handles the dispenser, one the money. The guy collecting the money is the key here as he asks the money from you, simultaneously as the other one is busy adjusting the dispenser indicator (acting as if setting the indicator to zero, but in fact he just leaves it unchanged from where the previous customer had left) and sticking the dispenser into your fuel tank.

And at this moment, if you are not attentive and are busy taking out notes from your wallet, then god bless! Extra paying time!

So, all these tricks are relatively easy to fend off, if only, one is neither too innocent nor stupid.

Considering my roots, I would like to conclude this “the engineering” way.

Hence,

Precautions:

1.       Do not fall into the initial trap of making eye contact. Be attentive and make sure the indicator of the dispenser unit is set to ‘zero’.

2.       Don’t be shy. Speak out. Confront.

3.       Don’t wear your dim wit hats

4.       Attention is key

5.       Pay only after you fill the tank with petrol.

Source: Friends and live observations.

Thanks! And Peace out!

PS: Special Thanks to all those who have found and read this post through indiblogger! ^_^ 

A Simple Promise

From shock to grim hope, from grim hope to anger, from anger to more anger, and from more anger to much much much more anger, from that much anger to the unfruitful (or fruitful) sojourn for justice, and from that, may be, acceptance. May be not. Not for everyone, definitely.

That journey from shock to acceptance, that for most of us, is the toughest journey. It varies. Some of us take dwindling paths that envelope us, some of us set out on a lifeboats trying to cross the Atlantic, and some of us roll dead down on the slope from top to the bottom of a mountain.

But somewhere, in between or after that journey, we crave for justice. Because we deserve it. At least my friends do.

We want justice, because we believe in the fact that "everything" could have been avoided, if only those responsible were 'responsible' enough (Am I pointing at the dam officials who failed to give a siren? or the HP government who could not put a single caution board? Yes).

And as this craving for justice rages on, I am duly aware of the beautiful system that would hear our plight. Its not that I don't believe in it (as a matter of fact, I don't), it's just that Justice is something that is served rather very cold and in less quantity in India. (Remember Uphaar Cinema fire? Read this: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/uphaar-fire-victims-kin-demand-law-to-hasten-justice-540863 )

And I wonder. "Who are the people that we are really fighting against?"

Aren't we fighting a Cinema Manager? A construction engineer? A regular middle class dam official (or high end one)? An operator of a Siren? an officer in charge of patrol? Or even official(s) of the state government? 

Are these people, not one among us? Oh wait! sorry, "Were" this people not one among us once upon a time? Haven't time and ill disguised education took them from "one of us" to "one of them", "Convicts", "irresponsible humans who do not weigh any value to human life"?

Well, we know. They were, definitely (and hopefully), once, one of us: A student.  

Is it too much to ask this from each one of us?

In a similar way, I am pretty sure that students of today, would have their share of education, success and money and go on to become a manager or an engineer, or an official, or a public servant for some government. We could very well "be" in some of 'their' shoes in time.

And it is then, when few of us really make it to those places, that we have to remember what it takes to be on the wrong side of someone else being irresponsible, what it takes to feel helpless, what it takes to crave for justice. If we just promise to be careful and responsible in whatever we do tomorrow, wherever we are, however we are, we are delivering justice, we are at least avoiding someone else's cry for justice.

It is about us being true to ourselves each and every day. It is about avoiding this. It is about putting value to human life. It is about upholding our 'duty'. It is all about remembering this moment, and our friends.
It is about us making a simple promise today: We will never be one of them.  

Take care.

#JusticeForThe24     

The byproduct we all approve

I vaguely remember that moment when we were little kids, me and my sister hung a pair of socks in the living room, the night before Christmas. It was the first time we tried that owing to some high level tip off that my sister got through her friends in class. And to say that we were excited at the prospect of some gifts springing up from the socks was an understatement, and it also goes without saying that disappointed flooded us the next day.

And when I look back at that incident as I write this, I am all smiles. Well, because, I am sure if my mother knew about our trials of Santa calling, she would have put something there. But putting that bitter-sweet memory behind, now I do realize what a cheerful, exciting and fun filled festival Christmas actually is. Even though I could be taken for a complete novice as far as the customs related to it are concerned, I know enough that it is so much about cakes, new dresses, little gifts, huge gifts, pretty dresses, cool shirts, family gathering and friends gathering, in short the recipe of not just Christmas, but most of the festivals.

They actually happen to be the only by product, of the world wide paranoiac phenomena called religion, that I actually approve of. I feel like it is one of those moments when religion rubs it in an atheist’s face showing off the rare piece of cool stuff that it has up its sleeve. And well, yes, if you think about it, it is really cool. Christmas propagates the idea of joy of giving. The greatest joy is not in buying for ourselves but for presenting and receiving from others. Be it on the pretext of love, while deep down its tradition, we give.

People for once- well, 20 times in most of the religions here- every year have got the license to celebrate irrespective of the highs and lows of one’s life. If you have achieved something personally (or money’s rotten up there in the attic), all the much more merrier, but if things are as they always are, or things aren’t as they ought to be, these days give us a reason to forget all those chains of disappointment hanging off our shoulders for once.

If the rich live the Christmas big, the poor too have it big, for once, in their own spaces. And for me that’s what Christmas is all about. It is a reason to celebrate.

We could imagine a world without religion. (Seriously, How wonderful would that be?!?!?!?)

But would we be able to imagine a world without festivals?
Probably Not. (I would personally miss all the free cake pieces)

Merry Christmas!!!