Conversation in an Auto Rickshaw

Today while traveling back home with Paul (Aniruddha), I had an interesting conversation on how he started his career and his perceptions of the city. I am not too sure with sharing his biography here, (without his consent), but I shall definitely like to put down his perceptions of the cities he has been closely associated with over his life by far. I shall try to objectively put them down here:

Aniruddha was born in Jamshedpur, studied in Kolkata, did his postgraduate studies in Delhi and has been practicing in Mumbai since the last 20 years. Thus he has extensively spent time in all these cities. Talking of them one by one he says

"Jamshedpur was a fairly cosmopolitan city, due to the presence of Tata Industries. The city was fairly well developed and you had everything around. Wilderness edged the city so outsikirts was a perfect place for recreation. It has one of the best ICSE schools in the country. Infact, students were so competitive. Competition was like madness. Most of my friends went to IIT or did IAS. Although many of them may not be pursuing engineering now. But competition is so high that everyone wants to end up in engineering or medical. There is nothing else that they look at..."

"I studied in Kolkata, and although it was an industrial city because of jute and other, people there are extremely laid-back. The leftist ideology of labour class has not allowed them to grow. The labour there does not believe in working. They don't work hard. They are not motivated, even if you give them more money, they are not willing to work.Most people want to get work done through political connection."

"When I first came to Mumbai, I liked the city, because I felt the same kind of cosmopolitanism as in Jamshedpur. I had come here earlier for an internship. That time, I had liked the city. There is some kind of positive feeling with this city. You get a feeling of emancipation. People have aspirations and the positive will to achieve them. For example, each person you meet has a desire, and he works towards it. You can find people discussing their desires in trains, roads - even when you travel by an auto. The rickshaw driver strives to go to the next level of life. The street hawker wishes that he will have his own hotel one day. And many of them realize these dreams too. There is this positive emancipation of Mumbai. The best aspect of the city is that it respects your work. People are ready to work for more money. You can get more work out of people if you are willing to give more money. The city is professional. I like this city...I can not stay in any other city, I start feeling uneasy if I am out of Mumbai for too long..."

"Delhi is a horrible city - its a city of cheats. In Delhi, people don't believe in working, they believe in networking. They can not just see you working harder. I don't like Delhi at all - it is contrived. It is a very hard city - in its comparison, Mumbai is really soft..."

Somewhere in his discussion on Mumbai, he mentioned something that I felt was quite interesting. He said, "I have seen that mobility makes people human. Movement makes a space acceptable. It gives you a kind of access to things. There is a feeling of palpability through movement..."

I am not exactly able to remember his ideas on the last aspect in detail. However, I am glad I was able to know so much about how one synthesizes and analyzes cities. These impressions are valuable and I think they come with age. That is one reason again, why I perhaps like growing old. I am a collector of my experiences and I can't wait enough to be able to put them in a perspective that allows me to negotiate my life across space and time.

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Aniruddha Paul is the Dean of Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture.
The conversation above has been recorded purely to suggest one of the many opinions people have on cities and is in no way meant to demean any city or people staying in these cities. The above chat was informal and is to be taken light hearted-ly.

Response from the Chief Manager, BEST on my complaint

I was surprised to have a response from the Chief Manager of BEST today in my mail box. This in in reference to my earlier post on Complaint to BEST Buses:

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Sir,

This refers to your mail to us. In this connection we have to state as follows

Sr no 1:- The conventional seats are replaced with new design plastic moulded seats considering the new technology concept and the viability factor. The broken / torn seats are being repaired by our bus contractor.

Sr no 2 and 3:- Those seats which are having loosened / broken head rest are in the process of being replaced with metallic head rest which are more safe and comfortable from commuters safety point of view.

Sr no 4:- Your suggestion is noted.

Sr. no 5:- The LED indicators are introduced as an innovative concept. Arrangement for defective LED indicators is being done.

Sr. no 6:- You may send report on the irregularities committed by the bus conductor / driver  with details such as date, route no, bus no, time , direction, copy of ticket etc so as to enable us to take suitable action against the erring staff.

Yours Faithfully

Chief Manager (Tr)

The Aesthetic of Dirt

draft link

A random opinion

Is cursing and abusing the only way to express your dislike towards any subject? Till some time, perhaps I would have done that too. But only till I attended Mithu Sen's interview. I have written about her earlier on this blog. What Mithu does is finds creative ways to channel her angst into her works. (Mithu's website) This gives strength to her work and makes her work more meaningful. It makes her work sharp, provocative and different from the rest.

That is why I always keep resisting protests. Protests only say that you don't agree / dont like a certain action, thing etc. But what about it? You make big banners, placards, hold rallies, destroy things and end of it. Then you slowly immunize yourself, make laws. Laws that are most uncreative, most limiting and degenerating factors of life. Laws that don't grow themselves, and dont allow you to grow. Then we protest against the laws. Its a silly cycle.

Interestingly, I think reactions to systems are what allow us to articulate a theoretical position. In this situation, it is important that we react. And it is more important that we realize that we are reacting. Further analysis of such  reaction would help in elaborating a theoretical position. A position helps set a perspective and allows us to appreciate others' perspective. Many a times, understanding and appreciating others perspectives help us in strengthening and expanding our own position. 

Why am I writing all this? I am fed up of seeing cynical abuses by people of their own professions. It seems no one, doing their respective studies are happy with what they are doing. How can it be so? Students of architecture say their field is most disgusting, which engineers rant about engineering, doctors complain about their chosen profession and CAs crib that their field is stressful. Who then is happy? I guess, in today's liberal world, very few students choose fields against their liking. How then, can they not give their 100% to a field of their choice, irrespective of faculty, infrastructure or guidance. 

It has perhaps become a fashion to denigrate one's own field. Every one from a respective field would suggest another to 'not' do that course. Architects wont promote architecture and engineers would not promote engineering. 

If people would be more conscientious, they would see value in all things around them. And I think people would start valuing their own fields if they value themselves more, instead of waiting for others to recognize their talent.

The Ass and the Frogs

Aesop's Fable
copyright Anuj Daga

Stipplers

Ideas for stippling instruments.
copyright Anuj Daga

My first letter

My mother says this was my first letter to her when I was away from her at my native place.
Dated: 28th April 1994,
During Summer vacations.

I was in Class 3. Hindi wasnt officially a subject then. It was home-taught.

A translation:


Dear Respected Mummy and Papa,

Warm regards. I hope you are keeping well. I remember you a lot. The pain in my tooth has receded. Now I don't need to take any medecine. I am keeping well here. I and Lalu (my brother) reached Dhanbad on the 27th. Here, I go to the temple with Bai (my grandmother) everyday. Lalu, Keshav and Harsh (my cousins) play a lot of mischiefs. Here, in Dhanbad too, they have taken a fridge. In Calcutta, we were put up at Mandir Talla. In Calcutta we visited Soni House, B. K. Pal, Shivpur and at Giriraj bhaiya's place. Sushil mama (uncle) brought us here to Calcutta. In this letter, you will find a lot of mistakes.

Yours
Anuj.


(the last line says: 
इस  पत्र में आपको बहुत गलितयाँ नजर आएगी .

meaning 

"In this letter, you will find a lot of mistakes - Although I guess I wasn't referring to the content, but the amount of strike-offs as mistakes)

And for a change,
this time the archivist was my mother :)

On Satyamev Jayate

After about 3 weeks, I have begun to understand possible ways responding to Aamir Khan’s new show Satyameva Jayate. Amidst and after a lot of entertainment shows that have taken artistic talents to new status, emerges a show called Satyameva Jayate – meaning Truth Triumphs. With a serious talk show format, the host Aamir Khan presents every week a well researched social problem. The methodology of the show has primarily been ethnographic, in which people are called and asked to narrate that part of their lives that concerns the show. The other method they use is case study based, depending on other already existing material on the topics raised.

When a show  like Satyamev Jayate introduces itself on its website as follows:

“What you will see is the truth. The truth that lives alongside us all… in the house down the street, in the next room, on your pillow, in tomorrow’s breakfast.
The truth in all its facets – beautiful, inspiring, thought-provoking, stark.        
We believe that Satyamev Jayate is not afraid to look the truth in the eye, take its hand and embrace it. After all, it belongs to all of us. And when we recognize the truth, when we discover that it is part of us, part of the things we cherish, then what? Then we know it Is time to think – perhaps to act.”

They almost proclaim themselves as the torchbearers of truth.

By far, the program has had 3 episodes focusing on female foeticide, child sexual abuse and dowry. All the episodes were presented quite well – they were researched quite extensively and presented very plainly, but strategically. Critical reflections at the mood that the show has created by far in three weeks shall bring me a lot of criticism for this post. However, at the risk of inviting more serious and provocative dialogue, I shall continue to write.

My problem is that instead of talking about the issue that the host presents, people talk about the show – its success and failure. This success or failure is attributed to the channel, presenter and the show. This in turn is talked about as TRPs, popularity and brings in more money in the form of more work to the channel or the host. That is the case with almost every show that is aired. My proposition is that it would be rather fruitful if people discuss the issue and instil in them the value that the show talks about than Aamir Khan.

We could assume the same for "Kaun Banega Crorepati" – more than concentrating on the positive aspect of knowledge dissemination, people want to see and participate in it because of their affinity for Amitabh Bachchan. In such cases, I feel is the failure of the shows for the society. It is the image at work, and not the message. If not that, how would KBC not work as good, when Shahrukh Khan would host it? However, a show like KBC was meant for entertainment anyway.

But it's a different ballgame if Satyamev Jayate falls into the same trap. You can draw a lot of audience for the show through a celebrity, but there is a risk of overshadowing the concern that you are trying to raise. Try changing the host for just two episodes and I wonder if it would perform as good as now. People are more interested in seeing Aamir Khan on the small screen, not as much as the issue that is discussed. If that was so, people would regularly tune in to the various talk shows that appear on Lok Sabha channels and Rajya Sabha proceedings that on a daily basis screen proceedings of the Parliament or air people who actually have the power to change policies. There are so many unpopular channels that bring extremely well structured and much intense and beautiful topics which  are only seen by a handful of people. There are extremely well designed shows on Zee Marathi or other regional channels that talk of a selected issue more closely, but non flamboyantly. How many of us know about them? Rather, how many of us would be interested in watching non-glamorous low budget productions like those? And the fact remains that these are all free, non paid channels, airing much relevant and localized content. 

The truth is that we like polished products. But I want to assert that this show is not about how perfect Aamir Khan is or how he is right every time! To evade such notions,  I want to mention that the issues that the channel has chosen by far already have a decision – there is nothing for you to decide...(you have no choice to make really)! You are made a mere spectator to clap at the end of every show. The more pressing issue lies somewhere else.

To give an example in relation to the marriages and dowry episode, my cousin who recently got married, fought a lot with his parents for a court marriage instead of a flamboyant one. He almost stopped talking, resisted eating food for 3 days, persisting on his idea of a no-frills wedding. It was his parents who wanted to have a ‘big’ thing, to show off to the society. It didn’t matter whether they could or could not afford the arrangement. The societal code was much more pressing. Finally he succumbed to their decision. The moral choice he had to make was between a plain wedding and keeping his parents happy...

The show has to bring up such moralistic issues which are anomalous, ambiguous; to be really able to change the society. We as middle class citizens agree with the values expressed as positive on the show, but we are not able to execute it in our day to day lives due to various other pressures that exist (like the example above). That I believe, has to be the area of concern.

However, what I like about Satyamev Jayate is that the production house has managed to screen it on Doordarshan as well as Star Channel  together and at the same time (I believe it's screened at the same time over 15 channels). This aspect of Aamir Khan is commendable. The second appreciable aspect of the show is that it acknowledges research and published items on the same topic by other channels and other people. The non existence of ego in such matters is a quality I appreciate.

On the other hand, the show has only brought up issues that are very popular – dowry, child sexual abuse and female foeticide - issues which have been in media for a long time. The show does open up really interesting grey areas without focusing on them. To cite an example, in the first show, it was able to identify a nexus of doctors and instrument producers that see a ‘business’ in female foeticide. In the latest show, they identified the irrational aspiration of the average Punjabi boy to move to a foreign country. Such issues, which are purely a capitalistic byproduct need to be addressed more sharply. I believe that if the reason behind the issue at hand is attacked than the issue itself, results would be much more tangible (like the ayurveda system of medication instead of allopathy which works bottom up, rather than top down). Mr. Khan shall keep on working towards making laws - but laws often become static and redundant.

What shall happen otherwise is that we shall develop absolutely binary outlook to all such social issues that are presented. There is an inherent bias already in all issues present at hand. What shall help address such issues is a historical perspective, which the show got in the first episode – the history of the family planning policies. That to me is more interesting, because it brings the critical undesired patterns that policies can manifest. To us, what should be more important is that we foresee such manifestations of policies or laws that we construct. The show generates an extremely strong ‘good’ &‘bad’ or ‘positive’ &‘negative’ or ‘this is to be done’ &‘this is not to be done’ with every episode, creating strong moral stances, even without explicitly expressing them on the show. With evolving societies, this can be problematic, just like the female foeticide. We would go ahead and make laws based on assumed morals that the show silently constructs for us. But we have to be more aware of how, in future, we anticipate the society to evolve, such that our laws remain sustainable and don’t creep up as negatives in future (like the family planning drive).

Truth, as the show dictates otherwise, is not singular. There are many truths, and their channels are to be understood. Truth is cultural. Culture is multifarious. There appears a strong undercurrent of desire and capitalistic nature of humans in evolving social problems. We need to understand the value of money more seriously; otherwise it would become a serious trouble eventually. I guess, soon, in schools we shall have a subject called ‘Domestic Economics’ where students shall be, rather should be, explained the importance and manifestation of the quantum of money that they have and use. I guess that will not only be beneficial, but shall become necessary to make students empathetic towards those who may not have luxuries to afford otherwise.

Lastly, it would be so much more beneficial if people talk about the issues instead of posting ‘likes’ on facebook. We remain passive admirers of such shows. All such shows are reduced today to facebook likes and google likes and number of hits or TRPs. In such sense, I appreciate more, the dance and music talent shows which are atleast able to circulate some money into the talented, by virtue of providing them the much needed opportunity by means of exposure...(such is one of the positive developments of globalization and, my subject of image culture).

Nevertheless, I look up to the show. Only if we see positive developments in our society in future through this show, shall I truly respect it. After all, a lot of people have already spoken about it previously. Why should the entire credit then go to Mr. Aamir Khan?

aspects and language of this post has been revised on 23rd May 2012

Observations and Complaints against BEST Bus Infrastructure and Services

Date: 17^th May 2012

To,The Chairman,BEST,Mumbai.

Subject: Observations and Complaints against BEST Bus Infrastructure and Services

Dear Sir,

I am a regular traveller in Mumbai since birth (1985) and I use the BEST buses daily to commute in and across the city (Mumbai & Navi Mumbai). I am writing to you to bring to your notice the extreme changing condition of the BEST buses and other related affairs in the past few years.

Before I begin, I must introduce myself as an architect – only to be able to assert that I have keen understanding of how people interact with objects in their surrounding environment, and adequate knowledge of design to critically reflect upon urban infrastructure. However, it may not even require a designer to point out the issues below, since they are very basic and every-day. I have found multiple discrepancies in these very aspects of BEST services over the last few years. Let me enlist them one by one.

1. While initially the best buses had seats made up of steel framing and had enough steel rods to hold on to, they have been replaced by plastic ones reinforced by steel rods. The quality of most of these seats is extremely poor. Most buses have deformed seats which don't even remain fixed to the bus floor. Moreover, the leather of these seats gets torn more frequently than the earlier ones.
2. The plastic framing of these seats, which also doubles up as handles we hold on to during sitting or standing come out due to bad quality. Such a situation exposes the reinforcing metal hollow sections. These exposed sections are extremely dangerous since one can hurt oneself due to jerks in the bus and rough roads. Since the plastic is of poor quality, it develops cracks which can hurt public.
3. I want to say that sharp metal corners that remain exposed all around in the interiors of the bus are extremely dangerous. All commuters are extremely vulnerable to fatal mishaps because of the rash best drivers and extremely bad state of roads in our city. There are multiple times when my family members and I have experienced bruises due to sharp pointed edges of the bus and torn our clothes do to unexpected jerks by the driver or extreme crowd in the buses.
4. According to me, the earlier windows that opened upwards were far better than the ones that slide sideways. Apart from being ugly, they do not allow a clear view of the outside from within, since there are far too many framing members that obstruct our vision.
5. The red LED indicators seem fancy but we can't figure them out in the sun. One has to rationalize this kind of frantic 'digitization' and upgradation. In many buses, I have also found these LEDs to be frequently non-functional and thus, rendering the flashing text unreadable. A clearly legible painted text earlier (which was white on black), now fragmented into red flashing dots is extremely difficult to read.
6. Lastly, I want to bring to your notice the extreme carelessness that the conductors and drivers display at bus stops. Many drivers or conductors do not stop at the bus stops even if the buses are absolutely vacant. They don't wait for all passengers to board properly. I have seen small children, middle-aged and old ladies slip and fall down multiple times because bus drivers start the buses before passengers are completely in the bus. Sometimes we are not even able to board the bus because they do not stop. When we argue, they are almost indifferent and don't take any responsibility of the event. This is a direct question to the kind of recruitment and training you offer them. I hope you will look into this matter since it directly affects the well being of the people using and paying for your services.

I could actually go on with this list; however I only feel it may be wise to stop here owing to the time constraints you may have to respond to this letter. It is my sincere request that you understand that matters of design have become important in urban environments for the well being of people. The above matters are all utilitarian & functional. I have taken special care to not point out any matters concerning visual aesthetic of BEST facilities.

BEST infrastructure has not remained the same as it was before. I wish to have the older spirit of BEST buses back in Mumbai. Although I appreciate the networking and connectivity initiatives that BEST has undertaken in the past few years, basic quality of infrastructure must not be compromised upon. I have not taken a majority poll on the above issues for two reasons: I hear people complaining and taking about the above issues all the time and secondly, I believe people in this city are far too busy to write an official note like this and pursue a complaint.

Looking forward to an earnest reply and some constructive action.

Anuj Daga

Architect, Mumbai.

anujdaga1@gmail.com

a.daga@aoamumbai.in

+91 98191 41118

201, Hill View Society, Yashodham, Film City Road, Goregaon (East), Mumbai – 400 063.  

People and Places

Just Travelling in the city can fill you up so many questions of where, whats and whys. These days I am doing rounds of te city to fin out information about scholarships and loans. Buildings that seemed everyday and were overlooked in the precinct of old Mumbai have become suddenly important now. Statues around the city and in the buildings that seemed useless seem important because you realize that they built the city and are still pumping in money.


But apart from that, these historical buildings suck you into a completely different space. The quality of light, the smells of offices and the scale of spaces you encounter fill you will a sense of pride and certain lavishness. You breathe deeper and walk with an air of control. Such feeling makes one ponder of the lives which lived in these buildings.

Apart from all these, I have encountered several people, a similar kind of people I must say in these places. Firstly, making a list of scholarship trusts and then visiting them one by one has made me realize that most of them are Parsis - Godrej, Tata, Netarwala, Davars...all are actually Parsis. Then, the buildings in which they are housed also have a distinct Parsi feel - orderly, quiet, not necessarily neat places. However, the most noticeable of all Parsis is their distinct way of greeting and welcoming:

1. The space itself quietens you down. If not, the Parsi ladies or gents will sneakily look at you hinting you to sit down. If you look impatient, they will order you to sit down. Making you sit down is almost ritualistic. 
2. After you compulsorily sit down, you will be asked to wait. 
3. When the waiting time is over, you shall be asked to put your plea. 
4. Then you will be given an answer, almost as if you posed it to an answering machine. You wont know whether to feel scared or elated. 


Most Parsis / people in Parsi setups whom I have come across for official purposes in their offices behave in a very typical manner - under a strong code of conduct stipulated for them presumably by their forefathers. They transcend you into a different world - mystical and magical. But their quintessence is something that is also adorable. As they talk to you with so much promptness, you feel they almost know your future and are just exactly expecting you to say what you would say anyway. Their expressions are exaggerated and they use every muscle on their face to express amusement. All this makes interaction with them really interesting. 


Suddenly a thought came: whether it would have been different if I didnt have to encounter Parsis for all such affairs. But this led to another big question - how are most philanthropic institutions parsis? Where did parsis get so much money from? Who left them so much money? Why hasnt it exhausted yet?


With this I am reminded of Ranjit (kandalgaonkar's) project on philanthropic institutions and trust buildings in Mumbai. I shall ask him how is it so...?