Warning: Railway Food Ahead.

If you happen to travel in railways and have their food you might as well be in need of some assistance later. Indian rail pantry catering which has been dishing out mediocre food for God knows how many years is a pain for the passengers particularly for those travelling on long distance journeys. While the passengers have to trust the pantry (sometimes with no other option) for food, the contractors and the concerned authorities stick to their old inefficient ways. All this happens under the so called watchful eyes of government. The food has always remained a problem with railways and little has been done to improve the taste.

There is no doubt that food in railways (even in trains like Shatabdi) tests your ability to digest. The food charges do not commensurate with the quality that is put on board. Soup looks like a watery stuff; obnoxious rolls are called chapattis and smelly daal are some of the items on the menu in Trains. Most of the time the Tea and coffee remain the sole attraction in the entire trip. There have been frequent instances of presence of cockroaches, flies and other insects in the food. The pantry is as unclean as the garbage truck. If the food is judged purely on the basis of taste and leaving out the hygiene and other such criteria then also it is far from being appreciated. There was a scene in the movie ‘Aparichit’ which aptly showed the kitchen used for making food for passengers.

The problem which has plagued the railways’ catering department is the same as faced by our country and that is corruption. The rampant corrupt practices and the endless administrative inefficiencies have made life worse for passengers. The contractors who are awarded contracts do not fulfill the conditions of the contract which has been observed many times in the past. They assert their monopoly and try to squeeze in some more money by using stale veggies bought at prices lesser than actually shown in registers. Lack of accountability is another reason for which the concerned authorities haven’t been able to crack down on carelessness. Every material used is of sub standard quality and coupled with inefficiency it manufactures one of worst kind of food. Actually calling it as food is already an insult to other consumables. 

Few things need to be done to get it corrected. One of them is throwing away the pantry cars. Government very recently has decided this and will set up 250 kitchens across the country to prepare about six lakh meals and snacks per day. Pantry cars will be used to store meals. Proper cleanliness needs to be ensured. More wash basins in pantry cars will only help. Sanitation of cooks and workers remains a concern which also needs to be looked after. More surprise checks from the government’s side will help to keep the catering department on its toes. Sometimes there is also dearth of people with good man management skills so to address that recruitment should be done keeping the requirements in mind.

Above all this, if cleanliness along with efficiency and honesty is maintained then there is no reason why railways can’t produce sumptuous food.

Where do dreams and aspirations stand in a country obsessed with marks and grades?

Beta, what do you want to do in the future’? Every student has faced this question and most of them find it uncomfortable. Some of the celebrated career choices for the stereotype parents and uncles still remain Chartered Accountancy, Engineering, and Medical studies or may be MBA in recent times. A kid at a very tender age is forced to go for the choices selected by his/her parents or any elder in the family. Very rarely it happens that he/she is asked about their choices or allowed to pursue the career of their interest. Dreams and aspirations are still looked upon as overly ambitious.

We, Indians have this fascination for creating security for ourselves, family and to make that happen dreams are traded with other things. The era of cut throat competition in education for marks and grades has not helped the matters. Even if a student harbours a dream, the competition and the external environment brings the intensity of pursuing the dream down. Traditional career choices still attract popularity because of the security of the job which it brings with it, while following dreams and aspirations look risky to many.

Cut throat competition and the rat race have meant more pressure to perform and deliver than ever. But there can be many reasons for this system of not going for dreams. One of the significant reasons can be financial security. For a kid with a weak or moderate economic background simple education and a job after that assumes a lot of importance than say following interests. In this scenario, a life free from economic constraints after facing a lot of those in earlier stages of life is a huge achievement itself. Another reason can be social status and image in the society. Parents force their wards to go for career which would enhance their prestige. Upbringing of kids also has an effect on the mindset of students. If the parents themselves subscribe to the theory of following dreams and aspirations then it’s relatively easy for those kids to go for the career of their choices.

But, times have changed these days with more and more students going for their own thing rather than following a stereotype life. The trends and the mindsets have changed and this is always a positive sign. There won’t be any regret in life if one goes for the choice he/she aspires to go for. Also, following your dreams brings out passion and enthusiasm which is simply unparalleled. And with that there is also the sense of satisfaction which brings a lot of joy and pleasure to both; for the individual and his family. In this situation, there is no burden to perform whatsoever which in the process brings out the best in any individual. It’s just about expressing oneself and many times brings out the uninhibited nature of the person. Going for your dreams also fosters innovation with new thoughts and belief systems.

But over and above this the parents and Teachers have a very significant role in nurturing the dreams of young kids. Many times it has been seen in the past that parents force their kids to submit to their choice. This should not happen. Being open and candid with kids about their career will not only ease the pressure of students but will help to improve the bonding between parents and children. Teachers at any level need to explain their students the necessity for developing and nurturing those dreams with sincerity. They also need to motivate the students and show them the way. A more positive and an approach which promotes art and extra-curricular activities from teachers and the school will help. And if Teacher-student relationship is open then it can work wonders for the student.

 
At the end of the day it's the student call to go for dreams or not. It is very difficult to go for dreams especially if you and your family are not on the same page regarding career choices. But the happiness of achieving what you dream of is unmatched. The path is full of hardships but the result will bring smiles and much more.

'Happy Birthday' Rahul Dravid

So, Rahul Sharad Dravid turns 40 today. And even after his retirement the admiration, respect and love refuses to die down. It is difficult or rather impossible for us - the fans to move on to life after Rahul Dravid.

There are persons whom you fall in love with instantly and certainly Rahul Dravid was one of them. March 9, 2012 was that dreadful date on which he announced retirement to which I felt a bit hollow from inside as if a part of me was going with him. The announcement was so typical of the man himself: no farewell tour, no grand celebrations. It was a day I would like to forget for the obvious reasons. 

He has been my sole reason for watching cricket way back in late 90s and early 2000s to 2012. I was never concerned whether Sachin Tendulkar broke any record or not but even a Rahul Dravid half century made my day. There was some sort of connectedness beyond the cricket stadium which made our hearts beat whenever he came on the ground for any reason. 

One of the reasons that made people to love him was his simplicity, willingness to accept anything for the cause of team and what not. I loved Rahul Dravid for what he did and still love him for whatever he his doing right now. I was a little kid  when I first saw a glimpse of him. It was in 1999 World Cup in England. He amassed runs at will which was contrary to the wrong perception which people had that he was not 'suited' for limited overs cricket. His double hundred at Adelaide was special so where his rest 35 test hundreds. He was my equivalent or parallel to cricket and got me glued to the game. Very quickly he became my reason to enjoy and love the game of cricket. 

The perfection with which Dravid played cricket reminded me of the musician plucking each note carefully, an artist working hard to raise levels constantly. He epitomizes a hard working India full of humility, dignity, perfection, dedication and did his job without ever creating any fuss. Always a charming man with one of the best smiles, he never said no to anything; kept wickets, opened batting and I remember he has fielded at challenging positions like silly point, short leg.

Even his speeches were a delight to listen. The Bradman oration speech was as eloquent as one can get with words. He has always been very polite but that speech gave him the tag of a well articulated man. He was one of the rare gentlemen left in the gentleman's game. He was not "The Wall" to me because Walls only defend you in the times of crisis and Dravid was much more than that he was and is India's best No.3 with a beautiful cover drive, gorgeous flick and a glorious pull shot that could inspire poetry.

The greatness of Rahul Dravid is still etched in the memories of millions of fans and he richly deserves everything and even more than that. Thank you so much for giving us all those beautiful memories along with unbound joy and pleasure. 

Happy Birthday - Rahul Dravid.

Insensitive Government in serious need of large scale changes

The recommendations of various panels, committees of Government look very impressive on paper but those suggestions would remain meaningless and utterly useless if even basic things like filing First Information Reports(FIRs) remain a problem for citizens. The Government and politicians have always been reactive to change rather than being proactive to change and this is always a big hindrance for developing economies like India to flourish.

The major feature of a political party(which is hard to ignore really) is the abuse of power and laxity,ignorance shown towards the interests of 'aam aadmi' for ages but time is catching up with these parties. The recent gangrape and death of a 23 year old student in Delhi has forced the government to act but still only speeches and interviews are being heard and the ground reality has remained the same. 
It took our 'silent' and 'shy' PM 7 days to issue a public statement and not to mention with a gaffe. 'Theek hai' at the end of his speech managed to incite humour at the various Social networking sites. 

An excerpt from his speech says like this :
" I am a father of three daughters so I can understand the pain."
I want to ask our PMji is it like if you have a daughter you only understand the pain and for the rest of the public it is very easy to swallow? The incident was horrific even for an orphan to think of.

Sushil Kumar Shinde went one step ahead in this race and compared students with Maoists. May be Mr Shinde has forgotten to enlighten us the reason for this comparison which would put even Digvijay Singh(a very experienced person in giving headaches with his stupid remarks) to shame. The number of members of this All India Insensitive Club is increasing day by day with the likes of Sanjay Nirupam and Abhijit Mukherjee, Asaram Bapu(MD of the club) along with some others across the political spectrum joining in.

A broader view of the picture reveals that there is a lack of efficiency among the Policemen, bureaucrats which can be attributed largely to political pressures. And the fact still remains that men have got away with murders, rapes and other crimes. Police ask uncomfortable and ridiculous questions to rape survivors. Cases run for years and some more years. And this is the situation with this Government. 
The political leadership encourages, incites and incentivises disorder and lawlessness. One conference and a commission or two seeking suggestions from State Governments and the public on what changes need to be made to the law and the administration to handle crimes like rape, is necessary but it is inadequate. The reason I say that because the changes needed for effective governance have to start with the politicians who need to get out of their comfort zone and bring in some efficiency, transparency and accountability.

Also, there is no way recommendations by a commission, is going to make change happen, because the fact of the matter is that the States invariably run the police force as per their political requirements. Many times Police refuse to register FIR and these instances go unrecorded just like the untold cases of rapes and abuses of many women and girls. 

There is a dire need to inject a mechanism in the police and the judiciary departments to work more efficiently, honestly and effectively towards any case. The CMs of various states along with Ministry of Home Affairs need to work together and seize the initiative or just wait for the feelings to die down and go back to old inefficient ways.