Why #IAmCapable is not feminist?

We, in this modern age of easy access to information and opinions, have come a long way from what we all were a decade back. Ignorance and illiteracy had kept us away from what happened on the other side of the globe. With social media now offering internet as Free Basics, the web has spread deep amongst us. The question is – are we mature enough to grasp the gist of the trends that are catching up.

Feminism, in my very frank opinion, is one of such trends. There are no two ways about the much needed gender equality, absolutely not. But feminism is not gender equality. In fact, in my opinion, feminism has done more bad than good in the case of gender equality. Feminism is exactly what is wrong with Deepika Padukone’s video or Priyanka Chopra saying ‘I need a man only for the sperm’.

I see the poor side of feminism in every relationship I come across. Let us take the case of marriages. The ladies want a man that is successful, rich, older and taller and can take good care of the lady. This is totally acceptable and if the girl is pretty, that can be her only achievement in life for such demand. But if a guy says I am looking for a girl who earns more than me, is fairer and an inch taller than me – he is labelled a loser, gold-digger, a good for nothing twat.

I see women justifying reservations for them, a bogie in the locals, seats on the bus, education and what not. Yes, it is a male dominated society and we guys can’t help because we are born into it. And if you ask for reservation, you are going to be looked down upon because you get it without deserving it. We all hail Darwin for his theory of evolution and the theory of survival of the fittest. We use it to add weight to our arguments at the high teas, the card clubs and the kitty parties. But we fail to understand what lies beneath.

Survival of the fittest is the nature’s law for self-improvement. It means that the weaker species or weaklings in a species are wiped off the radar so that the world grows into a fitter tomorrow. If we ask for reservation, the first thing we give out is the lack of ability. And then if you talk about equality you can imagine what kind of a hypocrite you turn yourself into. The women today can very much run conglomerates and probably in a better way. But this is not a game of one-upmanship for the genders. This game of one-upmanship has been running since forever and the results are here to be seen.

The want to prove that you are at par itself defies the claim of being equal. The equality has to be felt within and not spoken or written about. If you feel inferior, that is not because of physical ability but more of a mental block. Men feel inferior to other men and even women too and that may be because of stature, status, personality, strength or ability. And if a woman feels inferior, there has to be one of these reasons only. Attributing it to one’s gender makes you more sexist than you can think.  

The idea of feminism should ideally be replaced by individuality. You have to fight for your own sake, take your own decisions and make your own roads. Blaming your generation older parents or society will not help you anyway. They have been brought up that way and the change you want will not happen overnight. The mentalities will change over generations. And imbibing individuality in the coming generations will turn fare much better than feminism.

Imagine your kids learning ‘We all are equal’ and ‘Women are as capable as men’. Your choice here will define our future, the future that #IAmCapable wants.

5 things that are wrong with trucks in India

Main Nikla, o Gaddi leke,

O raste par, wo sadak pe,

Ek mod aaya,

Mai utthe truck chhod aaya.

What? Something’s wrong, isn’t it?

Well, this is what most truckers go through quite often in their life.

We all curse those laggards occupying the fast lane, crawling along the tarmac at sub-zero speeds. We shout at them for slowing us down when we are out on a leisurely drive in our air-conditioned cabins replete with touch-screen systems playing the music of our taste through the iPods. We despise them for ruining our triple-digit speeds as we sip on the Starbucks coffee that we proudly shared over social media for the red cup!

Well, I am not making a white-collar uber-rich and largely liberal and tolerant demon out of you. What I am going to bring to you is the plight of those truckers that bring to you that red cup, that iPod, the fuel that you tanked up in the morning. I am still one of you, albeit a little bit changed, after my brother handed me over the keys of our brand new 40ft trailer truck, the first one for our logistics start-up. Though I still curse them under my breath, I feel their pain. The pain the tablet wielding generation would feel when they are given a Nokia 3310 as their first phone instead of the iPhone 6S.

Truckers drive the economy yet are the people that have been conveniently excluded from the benefits of a growing economy. They drive our roads, bad roads, no roads or whatever to bring to you your daily supplies. Trucks, almost till the last decade, were being built on the designs drawn before independence. Even the driving seat was not any more comfortable than the most basic bar-stool.  

We need trucks that drive well. Yes, we do. They should have better pulling power. While I am a crusader against over-loading, better pulling power of the truck will improve the in-traffic behaviour of truckers. Even the travel times may come down or at least offer more time for the poor truckers to rest.

Which brings me to the in-cab convenience. These truckers travel millions of miles an year, living in the cabin more often than not. A nice spacious cabin that would take in their fatigued backs would be welcome. Bottle holders to store their water, an entertainment system to keep them cheered up and a fully functional dashboard that tells them much more than the speed they are doing. The cabin has to be nice cozy home for them.

The law of averages is a bitch and catches up with you every time. With the number of miles these truckers clock, they are much more prone to mishaps and accidents. Though they are sitting high up there, with so much of metal around them, they do get injured quite a bit. A lot of trucks do nto even have a proper driving seat with a seat-belt! Driver safety has to be one of the most important points for the Indian companies that build trucks.

When I drove that 40ft trailer truck within a yard for ten minutes, I knew how difficult it was to get this thing around. Also, being perched up so high, it is humanly impossible to keep an eye out for anything that may come perilously close to these humongous machines. You need to have mirrors or cameras around the truck to aid the manoeuvrability of the mammoth in tight places especially with people ready sneak in right under your nose.

Maintenance! The sword that is always dangling in the truck driver or the owner! With so many miles to churn out to make ends meet, you cannot afford your machine to break down often or to be taken out of the churn for service. Modernity in automobiles these days means more electronics and gadgetry. The essence here is to keep your equipment as crude as possible while making it as useful and modern as possible for the trucker or the road side mechanic to mend it in case of a breakdown.

I think I just went overboard with my automobile engineering, my frustrations of the ten-minute truck drive and the plight of the truckers. But being the people whose opinions may count, it is our collective responsibility to create a better tomorrow and we all know who is going to drive us into the tomorrow – the greasy old trucks. Not.

8 things to avoid for #ResponsibleTourism

1. Do not litter. Carry a litter sack or at least a spare plastic bag if you gonna be munching.
2. Do not deface. Nobody gives a fuck about that heart you drew on the wall of that 200 year old monument.
3. Do not unnecessarily touch things. Apart from saving yourself from getting a million unknown bacteria on you, it also slows the wear and tear of your surroundings, especially for delicate ecologies or monuments.
4. Do not click pictures of hot chicks. Yes this is for you guys out there. Sure there are a lot of hot chicks around. The max you can do is have a good look at them and jack off later in the day. No clicking or even an attempt to touch.
5. Do not break rules. No, it is not macho to break rules. You are a jerk if you do that. These days girls like boys who have a head on their shoulders, not a dick.
6. Do not stay holed up in your hotel. You are touring for experiences. Feel the air, heat and the spices and local delicacies. No five-star property can give that to you.
7. Do not cause trouble/confusion if you cannot help. Listen, analyse, wait for a moment and react.
8. Do not dress like you are walking a ramp. Not because you are not awesome, but because you are not walking a ramp. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Don't do the Romans!

Hazaaro khwaishein aisi!

Hazaaro khwaishein aisi,
ki har murad ke liye dum tod du,
Hazaaro mushkiley aisi,
ki har mod par dum tod du!

Hazaaro sapney aise,
ki aankhein moond kar hi rakhu,
Hazaaro vikalp aise,
na jaane kise na rakhu!

Hazaaro mannatein aisi,
kis kisko yaad rakhu,
Hazaaro manziley aisi,
kya jaane kise sahi kahu!

The Curious case of BJP in Maharashtra

I have religiously supported Narendra Modi for quite some time now and I think the central government is slowly and steadily working towards changing the way India has been working for decades. The systematic effort to shift the paradigm towards accountability and governance is clearly visible if you can look beyond the highly opinionated and skewed media reports that have become a norm these days. While the fourth pillar of democracy is crying out loud that they are being fair, the three pages of advertisements before the first page of today’s Times of India is evidence enough that it is more of business than journalism. The charisma of the NaMo, the face of BJP, has ensured that the party has been a front-runner in most of the elections after sweeping the elections last year.

Now let us take the case of Maharashtra. Maharashtra politics is probably more tangled than the Indrani case (I could have said ‘why Indrani Killed Sheena’ but I don’t believe in Media trials). BJP riding on the Modi wave, went in to the state elections alone as against partnering with Shiv Sena, their natural ally. I am not sure if it was the pride of the UP win that went into their heads or the unreasonable ambition of a local pot-belly, but, breaking the traditional alliance seemed to be out of greed to repeat 2014. After the post poll fracas that continued for a long time is where BJP lost all its credibility for the Marathi manoos. The talks of partnering with Sharad Pawar, the epitome of shrewd politics, just to be in power and not wilt to the mounting pressure of public sentiment and their natural ally has spoken volumes about the priorities of Maharashtra BJP.

Finally, after a lot of unnecessary arm-twisting, BJP formed an alliance government with Shiv Sena. If this volte-face was not enough, the BJP tried to mimic NaMo style of functioning – authorative and autocratic. The most important thing that lacked here was the vision and ability of the state leadership. Nobody knew Devendra Fadnavis until his name propped up for CM. After the mysteriously timed death of Gopinath Munde, the power centre in Maharashtra shifted to Nagpur. For a person with no known credentials to be handed over the reins of one of the most dynamic states proved to be a political master-stroke.

Maharashtra is now reeling under a number of bans. But that is not of any concern to me. Because the bigger news has been smartly sidelined by the secular media. The Fadnavis government has resorted to tax terrorism, as a short term solution to filling up the drying government coffers. The drought tax is draconian and has to be opposed and defied more than the beef and liquor bans. The unilateral decision making of the BJP led government has had the people as well as the allies fuming.

BJP has lost every bit of sympathy they had garnered in the general elections with its headstrong and cocky politics. Rural Maharashtra - the age-old Congress and NCP bastion – had opened up to the idea of a different leadership. But the government policies devoid of field facts and on-ground experience have ensured that they would never get another chance. The CM taking it on his ego to win the Kalyan-Dombivli elections is proof enough of the lack of vision for the government.

There have been reports of horse-trading where a municipal corporation ward seat has gone for as much a 75 lakh for tickets that are almost sure to be won. The Fadnavis government also tried to get the 27 villages that wanted to be a part of the corporation to break away to form a new corporation because they knew that the Shiv Sena holds sway in these wards.

Looking at the way the Fadnavis govt has performed since their arrival in office, it seems the Maharashtra BJP needs a reality check and a wake-up call. Failure, they say, is the best teacher and being a staunch follower of Narendra Modi, I hope the BJP lose their upper hand in the KDMC elections. Playing second fiddle should remind them that they were chosen as an option to Congress-NCP corruption and not because the BJP had promise. May be then, the government will be knocked back to senses and start working with the people. A government that is at loggerheads with its own people cannot be successful no matter what they do!

Dear PM, No - I won't give away my subsidy - because that is all I have got!

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

Being from a family that had a take on political scenarios and involvement in attempting to do good for people, politics was something that I grew up with. The damning ten years under the Congress rule, I had seen the society and the economy being crippled by the unscrupulous crony capitalism and favouritism. The KG basin reserve prices quadrupled in less than a decade, the coal blocks were allocated to family and the exact land was bought just before it was to be acquired by the government for plum projects. It was the resentment of the entire nation that flushed the Congress out and not the genius of the BJP. You were chosen by the rule of elimination and I think you already know that.

The promise of the persona of Mr. Modi – the talks of development and the right-wing inclinations – was something that the majority fell for after the decades of loot and selective appeasement and it is not their fault too. I also agree to a major extent to the efforts you have already put in to driving a much needed change. The angry government officials speaking ill of you are a testimony to the biometric attendance that is making them come to work every day if not on time – it is a beginning of a change in due course. I appreciate the compulsory annual declaration of family assets by government officials – something that can be used as an indicator of the corrupt. Your efforts to project India as a progressive nation, the inspired logo of Make in India and a sincere effort to make business easy deserves an applause. There may be a lot of other things that I am unaware of and a big thank you for all of those.

BUT

This does not give the BJP any right to tell me what to eat and what to drink. I am particularly appalled by the beef ban in Maharashtra and the vine of liquor ban. I do not eat Beef – the only Hindu thing about me – and I still am completely against the Beef ban. You may be wilting under the weight of the Brahmin RSS ideology – I am a Brahmin too – but you being the government have to pull yourself up and stand tall. Are you listening Mr Devendra Fadnavis? I am an ardent follower of the RSS too – family you see – but what is wrong is wrong. The RSS has been monumental in keeping the nation together and stemming the evangelist rot to retain the ‘hindutva’ of this nation – but then agreeing to everything that they have to say shall ruin us.

Remember the essence of ‘Hindutva’ it is the collegium of wisdom of ideas of saints/scholars that have run down over millennia as against the single headed jargon of the newbie religions – it is this difference that has kept us sane and not made fanatics out of us. Let us take the example of the honourable Father of our Nation. One man headed our freedom struggle and his followers shunted the others out if they were an inch close to possibly steal his limelight. See what we have now – a Pakistan and a Bangladesh – progenies of the same land and yet perpetually at war. People were fooled for the next 60 years at least by people who only carried his name and claimed the legacy for the power of rule. You have to reign in your zealous commanders to strike a balance that is much more essential for the nation – for you to stay in power and continue doing good for the country.

Mr PM, I – the upper caste middle class common man, have been suffering from the socialist measures drawn under the garb of concern for the less fortunate for ages. I pay taxes from my nose for the politicians who waste crores of rupees for the parliament sessions doing nothing but passing a resolution for a pay hike for themselves while chewing subsidised rotis, driving in cars and fuel paid for by us and living in airconditioned palaces maintained by us. And we do not find it funny at all when someone like a Vadra or a Pawar applies for a farmer or declares assets less than 10 crore year after year. We do not find it funny when the service tax is increased by 2% to cover for national debt when there is billions of dollars of unaccounted money here in India – forget about Seychelles and Mauritius and Swiss banks. We eat in to ourselves to save our pennies and then you levy a tax on the fixed deposit interests. Are we supposed to never grow? Or just start evading tax like most to add further tax burden on those who pay?

Mr. PM, I particularly get angry when you in your soothing voice you request us to give up our gas subsidy for the less fortunate. No – I will not ever give it away even if I am earning a million rupees a day. You first justify why I have to study in a tier-2 institution after scoring 99% marks when someone with a caste certificate and a score of 40% gets admitted to a tier one institute? Tell me why his fees too are waived off (paid by the government)? Why don’t they get to choose from one - concession in marks or fees? Thousands of engineering, medical, management seats are going vacant – why can’t they study there free of cost? And if they want to opt for a concession of aptitude they should be made to pay. Why do we have to pay both ways – just because we are from a supposedly superior caste?

After 60 years of independence and decades of reservation – the supposedly lower castes have been fast forwarded to being in top positions on most government institutions and we all see how mediocre these institutions have become. I am not being racist – but you cannot have a concession for aptitude as the decision making then affects a billion people. Reminds me of a head of a national institute giving an interview on Cloud Computing and having reservations about the functioning of the system when it rains!

Mr. PM, none of your dreams will bear fruit if you have such people at the helm – there can be no substitute to capability – not money, not caste. So, the next time you would want to appeal to us to give away our limited privileges – be prepared to be abused to the core and not because we hate you. Because, we think you can bring about the change – the right change and not a right-winged change.

https://www.change.org/p/prime-minister-narendra-modi-remove-the-caste-based-reservation-system-1df7feb1-fac9-4a98-b361-4f7ca71f4e10?recruiter=368226652&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

Organised Chaos = LiveLodgycal ???

While we are busy looking for logic in everything that is done,

the moments of absolute mirth are the ones with dearth of logic.

Having said that, it is that want of Logic in everything is what is keeping us from becoming ISIS !

So when someone comes up with a product ‘Lodgy’ and drives the campaign around ‘Live Lodgycal’, you know for a fact that a lot of logical arguments have been already shown the door :P ;)

Anyway, the Renault Lodgy is something that will logically appeal to most people of the country. We are still a far way away from the West where a family is a man, a woman and kids of the two. Except when we travel for office, we have a fleet of people called ‘family’ waiting to get into the car. If not family, at least your old neighbour would want you to drop him to the next block even if you are embarking on a thousand mile drive and you can’t say no because ‘Sanskar’!

Well, even Alia Bhatt is appealing for me. So what if she comes across as dumb as Rahul Gandhi? But is she logically right for me? That would be something like buying a Rolls Royce by selling your only house for the down payment and raising the rest in loan. (I am sure it is technically impossible but then you can’t explain logic without explaining illogical). So what I meant with all these words was that is the car Value for Money? And I think it is. It has two head lamps and two tail lamps. It has three seating rows, three outlets for AC, three 12V charging points. It has four wheels, four power windows, four decent speakers and a four cylinder highly efficient diesel engine.

It has five doors for you to get in and shove your luggage, six gears in the 110 PS car and an option to seat seven or eight people.

The equipment, features in this car are at par with the competition but it loses out a bit on power, especially when you talk about the 85PS. It is a downer again with those quirky French looks but that’s where it ends. It is almost as spacious as the Innova – something that people in India swear by. 

Where it starts winning is when you talk about ride and handling. It is not really Ferrari fast but then that is okay because you can’t go 7/8 people in a Ferrari. It brakes okay and can be chucked into corners where it will stick and not scare you with humongous body roll like most boats in the market do.

It has got a touchscreen system if you are ready to spend like a good fifteen lakh or else you will have to be happy with quirky looking system. It has cruise control at the top end, but unless you are driving on the Yamuna or Mumbai-Pune Expressway, you will not be able to use it for more than two minutes at a stretch. The Multi-Information Display gives you the trip log and any other information you want on the go.

I am not going to say only good things about the car because Renault and Blogadda hosted us at a super luxury property in Goa for two days and treated us like royalty. For me the car is value for money except for my reservations about Renault service back up. If I am buying a diesel people mover, I am expected to travel and if my car spares are not going to available readily, I would certainly be really pissed off. Also, a slightly bigger clutch pedal would keep our wet, muddy or just worn our soles from slipping off making it slightly more comfortable.

Yes and for the next face-lift, please rope me in for the design of the tailgate!

For the Detailed Review : The Renault Lodgy First Drive
For Detailed Information : The Renault Lodgy Features