Remembering 26/11...

Paying homage to 26/11 victims..Putting forth below a poem written in Hindi by Prasoon Joshi named 'Iss Baar Nahi' meaning 'Not this time' on the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks.

Is Baar Nahin

Is baar jab woh choti si bachchi mere
paas apni kharonch le kar aayegi
Main use phoo phoo kar nahin behlaoonga
Panpaney doonga uski tees ko

Is baar nahin

Is baar jab main chehron par dard likha dekhoonga
Nahin gaoonga geet peeda bhula dene wale
Dard ko risney doonga' utarney doonga andar gehrey

Is baar nahin

Is baar main na marham lagaoonga
Na hi uthaoonga ruee ke phohey
Aur na hi kahoonga ki tum aankhein band karlo,
gardan udhar kar lo main dawa lagata hoon
Dikhney doonga sabko, hum sabko khuley nangey ghaav

Is baar nahin

Is baar jab uljhaney dekhoonga, chatpatahat dekhoonga
Nahin daudoonga uljhee dor lapetney
Uljhaney doonga jab tak ulajh sake

Is baar nahin

Is baar karm ka hawala de kar nahin uthaoonga auzaar
Nahin karoonga phir se ek nayee shuruaat
Nahin banaoonga misaal ek karmyogi ki
Nahin aaney doonga zindagi ko aasani se patri par
Utarney doonga usey keechad main,
tedhey medhey raston pe
Nahin sookhney doonga deewaron par laga khoon
Halka nahin padneydoonga uska rang
Is baar nahin banney doonga usey itna laachaar
ki paan ki peek aur khoon ka fark hi khatm ho jaye

Is baar nahin

Is baar ghawon ko dekhna hai
Gaur se thoda lambe wakt tak
Kuch faisley
Aur uskey baad hausley
kahin toh shuruat karni hee hogi
Is baar yahi tay kiya hai...

...Prasoon Joshi, an Indian ad guru and film lyricist


Didn't Forgive. Didn't Forget. Let's move beyond 26/11.

The translated one in English goes like this.


Not this time

This time when that little girl comes to me with her bruises, 
I will not blow gently at her wound, nor distract her, 
I will let her pain grow.


Not this time.

This time when I see pain on faces
I will not sing the song that eases pain 
I will let the pain seep in, deep…. 

Not this time.

This time I won't apply any balm 
Nor will I ask you to shut your eyes 
and turn your head 
While I gingerly apply medicine 
I will let everyone see the open, naked wounds… 

Not this time.

This time when I see difficulty, uneasiness
I will not run to solve the problems 
I will let them become complicated….

Not this time.

This time I won't pick up my tools as a matter of duty
I will not make a new beginning 
Nor will I stand as an example of one dedicated to my job 
I will not let life easily return to normalcy 
I will let it descend into muck, on the twisting paths 
I will not let the blood on the walls dry out 
Nor will I let its colour fade away 
This time I won't let it become so helpless 
That you can't tell blood from paan-spit.

Not this time

This time the wounds need to be watched 
Carefully 
For a long time
Some decisions are needed 
And then some brave moves to be made 
We have to begin somewhere… 
This time this is what I have resolved.

Didn't Forgive. Didn't Forget. Let's move beyond 26/11.

           

Citizen Connect Initiative

I happened to come across this ad in Times of India dated 11/22/09 and it immediately caught my attention. I tried to recollect how many times I have complained about Bengaluru city and it's traffic problems and never once tried to think how can that problem can be solved. The reason was always simple. It's not my problem, it's a problem of the system and government should look into yet. Yes, government might need to own the problem, but as a citizen, I thought we should co-own that responsibility and atleast try to share our thoughts on how it can be improved especially in proper forums where message can be taken to government authorities. An example of such of forum is the recent Citizen Connect Campaign, an initiative taken by Lavasa in association with Times of India.

Having thought about this, I decided I will atleast make an attempt(keeping aside how good or bad the solution is). Unfortunately, I realized that the end date for this is 11/25 and I had very little time for this and I did not want to lose this opportunity like I lost in similar iniatives before, because of timelines. So, what was this initiative about? It was about answering four questions on one of the chosen cities(Bengaluru, in my case) and the four questions were:

• How can the transportation system in your city be made more efficient?
• How can your city be governed better?
• How can technology be used in your city to make your life better?
• How can you improve the cleanliness and the look of your city ? 

Each of the above questions had to be answered in less than 1000 words. At the end, I felt I needed to spend more time on each of these questions but nevertheless I am happy that I was able to attempt. So, here are my answers to the 4 questions:

How can the transportation system in your city be made more efficient ?
-Have mass transit transportation system immediately
-Encourage people to do use public transportation by providing tax benefits(at the beginning)
-Levy peak hour traffic charges if pooling of vehicles is not done
-Take signature of drivers/vehicle owners on paper during RTO registration/license services that they will obey the traffic rules & automate the system to fine the drivers violating traffic rules
-Encourage usage of modern technology & greener vehicles. Offer subsidies & benefits to such manufactures
-Have organizations shift working hours to manage the peak hour traffic
-Have real time tracking of public transportation vehicles & real time bus arrival/departure updates to citizens
-Have convenient vehicles for senior & elderly people,women & children. Reserve seats for them.
-Have stringent rules near schools & take immediate action against those who break the rules
-Conduct regular transportation awareness campaigns
-Invest extraordinary resources & update citizens on a regular basis

How can your city be governed better? 
-Have an honest, sincere and result oriented office who does not hesitate to take tough decisions for betterment of society.
-Have frequent ward/locality meetings to discuss the problems. Use of latest communication channels like twitter, facebook, email & website is also encouraged
-Be transparent, share most of the information with public & ask feedback & suggestions from public.
-Have citizen representatives from each ward to be part of decision making
-Citizens and governing bodies should trust & believe in each other. Criticisms should be taken in constructive manner
-Demonstrate by building a model governing body and then other bodies can follow
-Lot of learnings & research from cities around the world, data collection has to be done before arriving at a decision. Best practices being implemented should be considered

How can technology be used in your city to make your life better?
-Use centralized transportation monitoring system
-Wherever possible, online services can be provided
-Use of technology tools like twitter, facebook, email, internet can be used to communicate
-Speed governors & GPS can be installed in public vehicles and speeds/location of vehicles can be tracked real time
-Real-time arrival & departure timing of public transport can be displayed at each pick-up/drop point
-Automate the street signals to change the color depending on the traffic of vehicles
-Have sensors installed in vehicles to alarm if another vehicle passes very close by
-Use technology to provide services to people who cannot see, cannot hear & cannot talk
-Implement automated billing services(like electrity city bills should be generated without electrical person coming home to take the reading)

How can you improve the cleanliness and the look of your city?
-Paint the walls of public places with paintings of great sports personalities, historic monuments & places to visit in the state so that citizens don't litter them
-Enforce discipline, remind & encourage citizens that it is their duty to keep their surroundings clean by creating awareness through different mechanisms thus imbibing pride for their city.
-Encourage healthy competition among citizens for keeping their locality clean & marketing their locality
-Ask citizens to follow Gandhigiri with those who don't keep the citizen's clean. Advise citizens to walk the talk.
-Expand the ongoing social activities of cleaning surroundings by including small industries, corporates, universities & schools
-Encourage planting of saplings whenever there is opportunity