Roadside bathing

For every person using his own place to bath, there must be several who perforce bath in the open. Nowhere is the picture so disarmingly vivid than in Kolkata where roadside bathing is a common scene to come across.

This brings into focus the other reality. There are many slums in the city, and people live there without the facility of adequate sanitation and proper sewerage. Many would argue that the slums occupy invaluable space in the city, and are sort of blot on the city’s image.

If that is true, what is also a fact that the slum-dwellers are living there for several decades, and so it is expected that the government will arrange alternative accommodation for them before removing the slums.

To address the issue the government at the center has undertaken the project called Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) to relocate slum-dwellers who live below the poverty line. The project will see equal participation by respective state governments.

In Kolkata too several schemes have been started, though it remains to be seen how long it takes to bring about a visible change in the way the slum-people live.

Meanwhile, here are 2 snaps of roadside bathing in the city.

On the holy trail of knowledge

Consider this. A scientist on hearing that the government has decided to increase grants by 50% to those who do research in laboratories is concerned that with increased money researchers would be inclined to spend it outside laboratories, meaning they would have less time on research. See GS Mudur’s article in today’s TT.

The argument is decidedly ‘pre-historic’, for isn’t less grant one of the reasons why researchers leave in droves for abroad for greener pastures? In fact, given the money even new executives of the corporate world earn, it’ll be a crime to deny researchers better emoluments.

This and the decision to integrate all the libraries, big and small, across the nation through a common network and upgrade them are 3 instances of the present government’s seriousness in according priority to improve the quality of knowledge in the country.

On Jan 12, 2006 the National Knowledge Commission (NKC), started by the Prime Minister in June 2005, in its first Report to the Nation suggested setting up 1500 universities in not-so-distant future in order to expand the knowledge base in the country.

The NKC further suggested allocating 1.5% of GDP for higher education, which as per 2006 estimates amounts to $12 billion. See my article, 1500 new universities.

Now, going by NKC’s suggestion on integration of libraries, the government is putting finishing touches to its plan to start the National Mission on Library and Information Services (NMLIS) in October.

Once this happens, the culture ministry will monitor all libraries — from those in schools, universities and research bodies to the public or private ones. Rs.1000 crores have been earmarked for that with expectation of matching spending by the private sector. Read the TT story.

Never before in 60 years since Independence has the nation seen such a huge plan and outlay of funds in support of education. This will be one of the many hallmarks of the current government that will go down as a pathbreaking initiative in the history of the nation.

Interestingly, this has come from a Prime Minister, who is an educationist to the core, albeit a politician as well. Here is a man who clearly understands what is the best for the country, and is therefore working unhesitatingly to achieve the goal. The nation is singularly fortunate to have him as the PM.

Fruitsellers

They are the poorer lot. They don’t have a permanent place of their own. If today they sit in the front of a saree store, tomorrow the place of hawking may as well be adjacent to the bookbinding shop. They are rarely part of unionized hawkers, and so they lack collective bargaining power.

They however bring the fresh stuff everyday. And given that the city goers prefer them that way, the fruitsellers would usually have their stock sold out before the end of the day.

Just goes to show how a big city can cater to the vast multitude poor vendors who can hope to earn no more than the minimum to keep their hearth burning.

Kadam kadam badhaye ja

This is not to denigrate Netaji’s clarion call. But when I saw the HSBC ad pasted on the tram’s body (picture below), it seemed to me as the most apt.

The city’s trams epitomize the disease that has for long infected Kolkata’s transport service. If anything that must go wrong in the city how excellent the planning may be, it is its transport service. The box-like private buses and mini-buses, the might-is-right state buses, the don’t-give-a-damn 3-wheeler autos, and of course the moribund trams – examples are just too many that speak of sheer callousness on part of the government.

The trams are not many that ply, and their running has no schedule except perhaps the day’s first trip at the crack of the dawn. People find the trams inconvenient not because the noise they emit when they trundle is deafening, but because in most cases the stoppage is in the middle of the road, which means one has to risk life to board or alight from them.

The HSBC ad is reflective of Kolkata’s tram service. It cannot but go only step upon step, heading into what else but a bleak stale future. That is unless the mandarins in the corridors of power can think of some innovative means of springing life into it. But, to be honest, that is too much of asking given the present state of affairs.

Utilities people shun

No one can blame the authorities for not providing utilities for public use. They have planned them, spent taxpayers’ money to build them, but now they are as under-utilized as if their coming up do not make any difference at all to the people.

Yesterday, The Telegraph in its Sunday edition presented 7 least utilized public facilities in the city. Here are 5 of them:

Footbridges

Though a dozen footbridges dot the city at important junctions like Ballygunge, Dhakuria, Darga Road (No.4 Bridge), Sealdah, Rajabazar and two each at Ultadanga and Lake Town, pedestrians hardly use them, preferring instead to court danger by crossing the crowded streets.

CSTC Buses

The ‘international’ bus stand at Karunamoyee, an extreme end of Salt Lake city, wears a desolate look except when half-filled buses leave for Dhaka every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The picture of the bus stand gives a fitting impression of moribund condition of CSTC, the Calcutta State Transport Corporation, a state-controlled body.

According to reports, only about 55% of the corporation’s 1159-strong fleet strength is used. The remaining, including those that are old and infirm just don’t ply.

New Market Parkomat

Parkomat, the costly Rs.32-crore state-of-the-art parking plaza inaugurated by none other than the CM on April 20, has turned into a big joke. Targeted for catering to 1200 cars daily, it serves hardly 40 a day, a ridiculous 97% non-utilization of capacity.

Kolkata Police’s Booths

They are meant for helping people on the road, but few approach the booths. Kolkata Police maintains the very presence of the booths prevents crime in the vicinity. Perhaps. But there is no doubt that they continue to remain under-utilized.

Circular Railway Extension

The Circular railway service from Dum Dum Airport to Dum Dum Metro station is used by not more than 10 passengers in a day either way. It’s so absurd that it defies any logic.

Having stayed in Chennai for a long time, I often used the crowded suburban train service from Egmore to Tirusulam and back while flying off the city and back. Reason therefore for me to feel upbeat when the Dum Dum link debuted.

But that’s not to be. See my post, Missing rail link.

What do you think typically ail the facilities? Where does the disease lie? There is a good cause to feel skeptical, to feel let down by the authorities, though the truth is the people just do not care.

The chemical protest

The story of proposed chemical hub is just about beginning to unfold. In a dispatch in The Statesman, July 28 we’ve a dire warning from leading scientists about ‘disastrous consequences’ of having the chemical hub in Haldia. Here is an excerpt:

In a letter written to the chief minister, the Teachers and Scientists Against Maldevelopment (TASAM) warned that “the proposed hub will effectively become an instrument for providing cheap labour and dumping ground for the toxic material due to the relaxed environmental laws of our country”.

The state government should have consulted the experts before proceeding with the proposal. “The decision taken by the government was solely an administrative one. It should have discussed the matter with researchers and scientists of this field”, said Prof. Partha Sarathi Ray, chemical technology professor at Calcutta University.

Prof. Rabindra Nath Majumdar, another professor at Calcutta University, said that the government’s decision of selecting Haldia to set up the chemical hub was wrong because it is dangerous to set up such a hub in any fertile land or even coastal area. Though the government has publicly announced that the hub would be “environment friendly” and “less polluting”, it has not provided any substantial data to support it.

How the government responds to this ‘newly found fear’ will be watched intently. It is a serious charge that cannot be shrugged off easily.

I say ‘newly found fear’ because several factors weigh heavily favoring the notion that there is a ploy at play behind this sudden concern against the chemical hub. Let’s examine some.

1. We already have 2 heavyweight chemical plants in Haldia, namely Mitsubishi’s PTA plant and IOC’s refinery. So far no complaint has been heard with regard to their polluting the environment. In fact it is IOC, with an impeccable record of running the largest number of refineries in the country that is being entrusted as the main implementation agency of the proposed Haldia hub.
   
   
2. As I’ve mentioned in my previous article, A mandate brings respite, the proposed chemical hub is sort of a requirement in national interest. Other than Haldia 2 more are planned in other parts of the country, and in view of the fact that this project is being directly handled by the PMO, it can be reasonably assumed that sufficient thoughts have gone behind their necessity at the center.
   
   It will be interesting to know if the scientists' body has protested the chemical hubs elsewhere. And if after voicing opinion publicly about Haldia hub it still does not protest the hubs anywhere else in the country, can it not be said that the body is partisan in its thinking, that it doesn’t care two hoots about the effect of chemical pollution in the rest of the country?
   

As far as I know, for an industrial project to happen it is necessary by law to have an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) done and necessary clearances obtained. For all these there are renowned agencies like the CSIR-controlled Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) that have all the expertise to infer upon environmental viability of an industrial project.

Has the scientists' body conferred with NEERI or any other similar institute of repute on Haldia project? If yes, let it come out with the details in public and publish in a website. Let other experts and general public scrutinize their opinion. If not then their outcry will have to be taken with a bucket of salt.

Separating wheat from the chaff is very necessary at this critical juncture of Bengal's industrialization. As much as the government is determined to take it forward, so too is the opposition to scuttle it at any cost.

Which is why the scientists' protest looks tinged with partisan color. But since science is nothing but knowledge of truth, let the protesting scientists openly come out with their objection in a website instead of playing it through the media.

Selling vegetable on street

Kolkattans love their vegetables. Every morning scores of vendors arrive at the city's various markets from the suburbs with their wares, sell them by noon, and go back home by late afternoon. It's the routine they follow every single day except during heavy monsoon when communication becomes difficult.

Incidentally, when the large retail stores of the likes of Reliance and Wal-Mart hit the city, it will be the roadside vegetable sellers who will be hurt the most.

In this picture, taken some months back, the lady-seller is about to start day's business. She is better than an average vegetable seller on the street, and that can be gauged from the array of vegetables she has for sale.

It helps that the adjoining districts produce good amount of vegetables throughout the year, which means the city can enjoy steady supply of fresh vegetables all the time. No wonder, Bengalis are known to eat anything that grows on ground. More on that later.

Hits and misses

The magic of online voting recently engulfed the collective imagination of over 100 million voters across the world to select what is termed as “The New 7 Wonders Of The World”.

In India we have a wonder, the Taj Mahal, and thanks to constant reminders by television channels in the countdown to final announcement and the hype so created, the Agra monument has retained its place of glory in the final 7.

But not all wonders are so lucky. Many awe-inspiring creations like The Acropolis in Greece, the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt or the Ankor Wat temple in Cambodia have not made it into the top 7.

Which is why there has been no let up in controversy as today’s article in The Hindu indicates.

The New7Wonders of the World were revealed in a glittering ceremony in Lisbon organized by the Portuguese agency, Realizar. Anchored by our own Bipasha Basu and the Hollywood stars Ben Kingsley and Hillary Swank, the event took place on July 07, that is 07/07/07.

Incidentally, the reason given by the organizer for choosing the all-encompassing ‘7’ is:

7 Wonders were chosen because the original list of Ancient Wonders, drawn up more than 2,000 years ago, contained 7 and because 7 has been shown time and time again to be the number of things that the average person can remember.

Which are the final 7 manmade wonders? They are apart from the Taj Mahal, The Great Wall of China, Petra, Chichén Itzá , the Statue of Christ Redeemer, the Colosseum, and the Machu Picchu.

Joy or frustration notwithstanding, the new 7 wonders, cutely named N7W, have without doubt catapulted the host, NewOpenWorld Corporation (NOWC) into the high orbit of visibility. How they cash in their newly found fame – let me term it NFF – remains to be seen.


The Pyramid of Giza. © 2005 Nina Aldin Thune. [Image source]

The Acropolis, Athens. [Image source]

Indira Gandhi silhouetted

In early 70s it was the Siddharta Sankar Ray's government in the state, and in that Subrata Mukherjee occupied important portfolios. This was the last non-left government to have ruled from the stately Writers Buildings.

At the center it was the Indira Gandhi led Congress government, and Subrata Mukherjee was perceived as very close to her.

After the state's Congress government ended its term, it has been a long hibernation for the party, which is still continuing.

However, Subrata Mukherjee, representing Trinamool Congress at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation just before the present term of left front, had his share of limelight as city's mayor.

It was during his tenure at KMC that he installed Indira Gandhi's 14-feet high statue at ITC Park opposite Birla Planetarium. The bronze statue was made by famous sculptor Ramesh Pal nearly 15 years prior to its installation.

Incidentally, the statue was unveiled by the Marxist CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in January 2003. We've a picture of the statue magnificently silhouetted against the evening sky. It's taken by photographer Kamal Mundhra.

Happy tidings

If Italian PM Romano Prodi’s 4-day visit to Kolkata in February and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe’s forthcoming visit – both leading high level business delegation – are like music to the ears of the city’s business fraternity, no less is so the commencing of American School since yesterday.

Mumbai, Chennai and of course the capital, New Delhi already have American School. Kolkata’s turn has come late, but that it has come is once again an indicator of foreign investors’ growing confidence in Bengal and the whole of eastern region.

US consul-general in the city, Henry Jardine said as much (quoted from TT):

In addition to meeting the educational needs of expatriate families, I hope the school will also serve as a magnet for foreign businesses as a vote of confidence in the rapid economic growth in this region.

As mentioned in my earlier post, American School, the school has started small in the very campus of US consulate on city’s Ho-Chi-Minh Sarani (an unlikely address for a US consulate given that Ho Chi Minh was a tall communist leader of Vietnam).

Soon however the school plans to shift to a new sprawling campus at an as-yet undisclosed location. It’d cost around $10,000 a year to study in the school, and the MoEA condition stipulates that a student has to have some ‘international connection’ to be eligible for enrollment.

Lemon break - Kolkata style

If there is one characteristic that defines a city, I think it'd be how you eat on road. Why road? Because, of the millions who frequent a city everyday for hundreds of reasons, the majority cannot afford to fill in their stomach in the cool comfort of an upscale restaurant.

On the question of affording, it's not only money that matters. It's also time that can or cannot be spared for the effort.

In Kolkata - and indeed most of India - the all-season favorite drink is tea supported with light snacks if felt necessary. However at times, especially during summer, other varieties like ganne-ka-ras or sugarcane juice are also quite popular.

Cashing in on stock market boom

If you ask me I’d say there are 2 ways to judge where India is heading. I’d rate them as ‘more visible’ and ‘less visible’. More visible are those that are so obvious that you just need to open your eyes to see them.

The roads are choc-a-bloc with more and more cars, number of ‘lowly’ ferrywallahs owning mobile sets have increased, giant malls have come up at places that were dumpyards even 2 years back, crowding at airports wracks your nerves, increasing number of people speak better then chalta-hai English, and of course you find it impossible not to check your mailbox at least once a day.

Well, these are signs of urban affluence – the first lot of population to enjoy benefits when they occur – that indicates India is heading north.

What are less visible signs that too indicate India’s growing affluence? These are those that take somewhat trained eyes to track and make sense of. Take stock market indices for example. They are breaching new highs, the FDI inflows are jumping, and as mentioned briefly in my post yesterday the total market turnover has topped an unthinkable Rupees One Lakh Crore on one single day.

Pundits will tell you stock markets reflect the condition of economy. If you hold that as a gospel, you’ll recognize that the country is at long last on a high growth trail.

If so, what can you do to cash in on India’s growth story? The Americans are fortunate in this aspect. For every situation, whether boom or gloom, their ears are cocked to the only familiar tune they want to hear, which is how to make money. The equity culture is pretty well entrenched, and if the grandma or grandpa cannot withstand the heat of equity investment, there always are the funds to take care of their needs.

In India the few people who invest in stocks mostly prefer the mutual fund route. And here is the irony.

The fund companies in US as well as here have a smallish core group of analysts who pour over an onrush of figures to decide which stocks to invest in, but I suspect their numbers are usually less than those who sell and market the funds to people like you and me.

These people, especially the analysts, make fat income by way of incentives and bonuses other than their salaries, which are essentially money from your pockets. Mind you the analysts’ earnings rarely nosedive even when there is less of shine and more of darkness in the market.

The reason I mention this is because I feel at a time like now investing in funds is a bad investment. Okay you earn decent sum there but perhaps you stand to gain much more if you do direct investment. Why?

Because India today is on the threshold of a virtual take-off from near-sluggish growth all these years. The demand for goods and services will continue to outstrip supply that can be provided, and this is likely to prevail for longer term barring occasional hiccups.

If the overall growth story does seem rosy to you, and you’ve the appetite for equity investment, pray which ones to choose? While I leave that to your considered judgment, here are what I feel 5 safe rules to help you ride the tremendous potential of India’s growth over the next many years:

1. Invest only your surplus money, which you know you won’t need for at least 3 to 5 years.
   
   
2. Preferably buy large cap stocks – even in small quantities – in rising sectors like banking, infrastructure, telecom, realty, IT, and may be retail. These are those that are better positioned to take advantage as the situation develops, and therefore can be expected to witness rapid and prolonged boom.
   
   
3. Let your portfolio be broad-based, not unduly concentrated in few companies or sectors.
   
   
4. Invest regularly irrespective of ups and downs in the market.
   
   
5. Refrain from timing the market whether you buy or sell. That seldom works on a sustained basis.

I agree all these suggestions are old and pretty well known. But then as a smalltime investor and having burnt fingers in the past, I’ve benefited and continue to benefit from them. Hence I’m sticking out my neck to share them with you.

Oh yes, there are 3 more things I feel are necessary in direct equity investing – patience, ability to keep away from the daily buzz, and wearing a thick veil to withstand shocks of bad surprises.

If you feel you’re game with these tips, split your stock market spending 70:30 (or why not 80:20) in favor of equity investment keeping the small portion for funds.

Mint money as long as the going is good. Best of luck.

GE in wagons

The jigsaws of India’s growth story are gradually taking shape. It’ll take long for them to mature and mesh into monumental frenetic activities that are unfolding over length and breadth of the country.

You’ll see I’m using so many superlatives to describe the activities that are propelling India on to higher orbit of growth. Hitherto all we’ve known as visible signs of economic progress are mainly those in the so-called IT sector.

And of late the stock markets are seen skyrocketing with each passing month. Today for example the total turnover of stocks (NSE, BSE and F&O taken together) has topped one lakh crore rupees, unimaginable even few months back.

But now over the next few years, India will see mammoth construction activity both in private and public arena. The Japanese PM, coming next month, is believed to be giving final nod to financial assistance for Indian Railways’ dedicated freight corridor project between New Delhi and Mumbai.

I mention this because it’s a big-ticket investment unheard of so far. And if freight corridors – the second one is planned between New Delhi and Kolkata – come to fruition, wagon manufacturing will not remain behind.

As if that is true, which indeed it is, General Electric (GE), the world’s 2nd largest company in terms of market cap, has bought 15% into JP Chowdhary controlled Titagarh Wagons located at the northern fringes of the city. GE’s investment is expected to bring not only state-of-the-class wagon manufacturing ability in course of time, it will also incorporate its forthcoming VeriWise RAIL asset management technology.

There are quite a few wagon-making units in the northern suburb of the city. Notable among them are Jessop (now the flagship company of Ruia Group) and Texmaco of Birlas.

There is no doubt India’s economic progress will see large volume of freight movements within the country as well as in and out of the country. GE’s entry into wagon manufacturing is a confirmation of that distinct possibility.

Tale of secrets

In his forthcoming book, Kaoboys of RAW – Down Memory Lane, author B Raman, a former bureaucrat in the Cabinet Secretariat, writes that during Indira Gandhi’s reign, the CIA, conscious of her distrust of US activities, could lay hands on sensitive documents through the French intelligence agency that successfully penetrated the Prime Minister’s Office.

Raman also discloses that RAW’s Chennai office had a CIA mole in 1987 to collect intelligence and documents about its activities in Sri Lanka.

He further cites an example of an Australian woman, working on a UN-sponsored project, living with a police officer deputed to RAW in Delhi "without the Counter-Intelligence and Security Division of the organization being aware of it for some time".

Looking at lapses in our country in keeping secrets ‘secrets’, there is no reason to believe that all secrets are destined to meet the same fate. Take for example the actual formula of Coca-Cola, considered as one of the most heavily guarded secrets in the US.

Nobody has so far been able to crack the code despite several claims, and in one case when a Coca-Cola employee allegedly fled with it to handover to arch rival Pepsi, the latter’s lawyers, aware what that might lead to, promptly handed over the person to the police.

It’s the same story at another US multinational, the KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). Its secret recipe, said to be nothing more than a simple batter of flour, sugar, salt, pepper and monosodium glutamate, is nonetheless locked in a vault in Louisville, Kentucky under heavy security. Few who know the recipe are bound by horribly strict confidentiality agreements.

The credit for the most secret operation of recent times however belongs to Bloomsbury, the publisher of the recently released latest Harry Potter book, JK Rowling’s Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows. According to reports, workers who assembled the book editions in factories had to work in near darkness so that they would not be able to read the book’s pages.

Further, when the book copies were transported, the trucks had to have satellite tracking devices installed in them so that none could go astray during the journey.

Obviously the effort worked because prior to the book’s release, all its versions leaked on the net ultimately proved to be false.

Is there a lesson for the Indian intelligence fraternity? You bet.

This story is collated from today’s t2, the TT pullout.

A mandate brings respite

The stake was staggeringly high. Do we need industry or not? Should industry come up on farmland? Should there be a chemical hub in Haldia?

On the face of it these questions have easy answers. We need industry for economic progress and to provide jobs to thousands of unemployed. Industry cannot be avoided on farmlands (see my post, Amartya Sen on industrial Bengal).

And yes, chemical hub is required at Haldia. Mind you, the need for chemical hubs (3 of them in different parts of the country) is being pursued at the highest decision making level in the country, by none other than the Prime Minister himself. Therefore the proposed chemical hub can be said to be a project of national importance.

In Bengal politics however nothing cuts the ice sharper than blind opposition to whatever the government is planning presently for industrial revival. It is therefore no surprise that during campaigning for the Haldia municipality polls the opposition parties have been telling people that the chemical hub will be an ecological disaster like Union Carbide’s Bhopal gas tragedy.

Given the high stake, the failure of the combined opposition to make much dent in Haldia polls brings much needed respite in favor of industrialization.

The polling was without any untoward incident and it saw heavy turnout. Further, it was fought on the sole plank of whether Bengal needs industrialization.

The verdict is unequivocal, clear and loud, notwithstanding what many may say to the contrary.

3-legged rickshaws

Every city has its unique mode of commuting. Kolkata is no exception. Thus one can see hand-pulled rickshaws of the colonial past as well as the newly introduced Volvo buses on the road, not to speak of gleaming luxury sedans that glide by every now and then.

Since all of them share the same road space in a city that has the minimum road length among all the Indian metros, it is no wonder that at certain patches the traffic moves at a pace that would shame even the snail.

For a while there are talks to phase out hand-pulled rickshaws altogether from the city, but once again given the pace things move here it's no wonder that it hasn't happened thus far.

Related reading:

1. Fading rickshaws
2. Hand-pulled rickshaws

The naivety of ‘photography prohibited’

Try taking a snap inside Sealdah station, chance is the security people will come at you hotfooted to tell you that photography is prohibited there. If you manage to hold on to the photograph you’ve just taken, may be you’d have to shell out some cash as a price for that. This is surprising on 2 counts.

First, if you are unfortunate to have suffered loss of valuables inside the station, you may not probably receive the kind of prompt attention as above in spite of your best efforts. And second, why at all the prohibition when a clever photographer can easily take snaps unnoticed in the din at the station!

Old rules, however irrelevant, die hard, which is why even the nondescript small bridge just outside the Sealdah North station has it plastered on it: Photography is strictly prohibited.

What this means is lesser mortals like me who do not want to be rubbed the wrong way by the law-enforcers will refrain from taking photographs where they’re not ‘permitted’.

But what about those who surreptitiously – and easily at that – take photographs of not only the railway stations but also installations of high security? Is there any mechanism to prevent that? If not then are we not facing the danger fraught with ulterior motives?

These thoughts crossed my mind as I was exploring Wikimapia to locate vital locations in the city. An aerial map of GPO, Lal Dighi and Writers Building comes below followed by pictures of Writers Building and GPO, all sourced from Wikimapia.

As I show you the images, let me say I’m not naïve. I know any number of pictures of these places is available on the net – just search Google Images. But then, so are the pictures of White House that houses the world’s most powerful man of whom there are countless enemies.

As far as I know, there is no such thing as ‘photography is prohibited’ outside White House where tourists throng to see for themselves the ultimate seat of power (see White House Tours).

India’s alcohol story

Anything to do with liquids like wine, alcohol, spirit, etc does not find many takers in India. The average Indian considers them an evil that mankind can and should do without.

Which is why India ranking 150th among 184 countries in consumption of alcohol listed in World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Status Report on Alcohol, 2004 comes as no surprise (ref: ToI, Kolkata, Jul 25).

To crunch some numbers, India’s per capita consumption per annum of liquor in the population over 15 years of age is a negligible 0.86 litre. Note the figure is for a whole year.

Contrast this with figures like 19.5 litres for Uganda, 13.5 for France, 12.9 for Germany, 8.5 for US, and so on. Do I hear you say that poor Indians drink country liquors that aren’t usually recorded? WHO has answer for that too.

According to WHO report, even considering traditional alcoholic beverages that normally go unrecorded, the figure improves to 2.6 litres, still not good enough to find a berth in top 100.

By now you’d have rightly thought that I’m all for consumption of liquor. So I am, and I strongly believe that drinking alcohol in healthy doses does in fact do a lot good. See my stories, Drink and walk to live healthy and Is drinking an avoidable evil?

But wait, before you raise your voice in voluble protest, let me say that there is one big reason why liquor is not popular with common people. It is the duty that the government milks on the sale of liquor, specially the IMFL (India Manufactured Foreign Liquor) variety, which is the culprit.

Last November, the EU countries lodged a complaint with the WTO (World Trade Organization) of which India is a signatory and a member country about the prohibitively high duties applied on retail sale of imported alcohol.

After much dilly-dallying, India has agreed to slash the duties on imported spirits early this month from an astonishing 550 percent to 150 percent. Consequently the EU dropped its complaint against India at the WTO.

What this means is that good quality imported liquor can now share shelf-space with Indian varieties at the shops. And hopefully, with a range to choose from that too within affordable limit, people will take to drinking alcohol more often than they now do.

This may also prompt Indian companies to invent more varieties and not just the usual fares. When the necessity percolates down through layers of denials, there will be less reason to look for occasional ‘occasions’ to celebrate with tinkling glasses.

Sishumangal has a new building

Here is where I was born, and here is where my aunt breathed her last in 1993. When I went to see her it was for the first time I set feet there (considering that as an infant I could not possibly have stood on my feet), and after that I haven’t had the occasion to be there.

My birthplace, Ramkrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan – popularly known as Sishumangal – on erstwhile Lansdowne Road (now Sarat Bose Road) over the long 75 years that it’s operating is dedicated for community health services at reasonable charges.

Yesterday, a 7-storey second hospital complex adjacent to the present building has come into being. It will have modern treatment facilities including specialized sections for orthopaedics, ENT and medicine.

Its requirement was felt for a long time in order to cater to improved treatment and also to ease pressure on the frail infrastructure in the old building.

For the new complex the family of Late Adhish Chandra Sinha of Kandi, Murshidabad donated Rs.5.1 crore. On the occasion of its inauguration, the family was present including Adhish Chandra’s brother and the director of Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics at Salt Lake.

The Governor, Gopalkrishna Gandhi inaugurated the complex in the august presence of Swami Gahanananda, the president of RK Math and Mission and other monks.

Hiland Park

Though Udoyan, The Condoville of Ambuja Realty close by is the first signature project of large-format organized housing complex in the city, it is the Hiland Park that showed the ‘vertical path’ for housing. Its 9 buildings tower from being 18-storey (Ridge, Loch, Isle and Glen) to 28-storey high (Peak).

If Hiland Park’s vertical ‘take-off’ is a first for the city, the reason of its being well-known at least among the Kolkattans of the south is the giant retail store Big Bazaar of the Pantaloons Group forming the anchor at Hiland Park’s market complex, The Metropolis.

Big Bazaar along with Fame, the 4-screen multiplex, are such a hit with shoppers and fun-lovers in the entire belt where The Metropolis is located on EM Bypass that on most evenings the area around becomes choc-a-bloc with people and cars making it impossible to navigate even on foot.

Hiland Park will now have strong competition from South City on Anwar Shah Road both in terms of height of the buildings and the mall it will have. With 4 35-storey an 1 15-storey residential towers and at least 4 giant anchors for its mall, South City will easily pale Hiland Park in coming days.

And then there is Ideal Heights coming up near Sealdah with residential towers up to 24-storey high.

Incidentally, ‘Kolkata Property Show’ has reached UK, and currently the city’s reputed real estate developers have congregated there for the purpose. The exhibition is part of India Property Show taking place from 20th to 29th of this month.

Here are a couple of snaps of Hiland Park, the second one sourced from their website.

If Mumbai gets it, why not Kolkata?

After 2 subsequent years’ deluge brought Mumbai to the knees, the authorities there have recently asked for and granted Rs.1500 crore by the center to improve its drainage facilities.

The mandarins at Kolkata thought if Mumbai is given the largesse, why not the center blesses Kolkata too with similar attention! After all, the city can rightly claim the notoriety of heavy waterlogging as all have seen happening 3 weeks back.

To be true Kolkata hasn’t experienced the volume of rains Mumbai received last year July and last month. Had that happened here, the city would have remained floating for days on end. [Image source left]

When the government here approached the center for money similar to Mumbai’s, the latter agreed readily but there has to be some proposal, some planning for the fund to be granted.

Sensing center’s benevolence, the state lost no time preparing a hurried blueprint to overhaul the city’s drainage system. The bill – what else but Rs.1500 crore. The money is meant not only for Kolkata, but also for various municipalities adjoining the city.

Plans have been made that total the full kitty. Talking about that, we’re enriched with the knowledge that the sewage from a city household travels 60 km to reach the Bay of Bengal. Here is how (and I quote from The Telegraph):

The first leg of the journey, about 10 km, is from the household to the pumping station through a network of underground pipes of different diameters. The run-off water is then pumped out to an outflow channel.

After flowing down about five km, it reaches the Bantala lockgates. From there, the sewage travels another 22 km to reach Kultigang at Ghusighata. In the final leg, the run-off has to flow 25 km to the Bay.

For good measure the KMC commissioner adds: Any blockage in this 60-km route from a household to the Bay can cause waterlogging in the city after a heavy shower.

Now that is a revelation indeed!

Russel Street to Race Course

Some time back there was whiff in the air that the government is planning to convert the scantly used race course into a sports complex. The contention was that racing is an elite pleasure/occupation and in any case it is a dying sport in the city.

Though government’s writ cannot run in this case since the race course is owned by the Army, yet no sooner the news leaked off went hands in the air to protest the move. One would say the protest was quite justified because it would be silly to have a structure coming up there blocking the uninterrupted view of the Maidan.

That the proposal was mooted is an indication of bad times at RCTC (Royal Calcutta Turf Club) that controls horse racing at the race course, which indeed it is. RCTC is said to be deep in debts excluding taxes it owes to the government. It is clear that unless there is a fresh infusion of fund to the tune of about Rs.50 crore, RCTC will not be able to manage the race course.

In normal course it’d have been the last epitaph of horseracing history in the city. But then RCTC owns 3.7 acres of prime land on Russel Street, one of the hottest realty destinations. Valued at over Rs.300 crore, the land on which presently RCTC’s dilapidated structure stands can easily make it cash rich. RCTC however prefers not to sell the property.

Instead it will do joint development with a realty partner, which is most likely the Emaar MGF Group that has emerged winner in the tender edging out DLF, ITC and Taj Group. See today’s TT story.

It will be a 5-star luxury address though the format is still not made public. The developer will pay lumpsum upfront and a guaranteed amount every year. RCTC feels once the deal is through there will be sufficient funds in the kitty that can be spent at the race course.

On the cards, other than renovating and improving the facility, is the proposal to increase the stake money in the races, for as Kishore Bhimani, a member of RCTC’s stewards’ body, says, “Unless we can increase our stake money, we won’t be able to bring back the leading trainers and owners to Calcutta.”

From Russel Street then the move begins to bring back the glory of the race course.


[Image source]

Amartya Sen on industrial Bengal

Prof Amartya Sen has done the ruling Left Front a big favor. In an interview given to Sambit Saha of The Telegraph, he has argued that ‘prohibiting the use of agricultural land for industries is ultimately self-defeating’. [Image source]

This is a virtual endorsement of the LF’s pro-industry drive by one of the leading luminaries on socio-economic issues, who is also a Nobel Laureate and associated with renowned institutes of the world. The point is does Prof Sen’s opinion matter?

In hindsight the answer is it does. Prof Sen carries with him an enormous baggage of knowledge, which is so enriching that to hear him speak on a topic is like a gift to be treasured. His strength is in finding meaning embedded deep in a set of collated data, and for that he wouldn’t mind going as far back in the history as the occasion demands.

I’ve had the opportunity to read his book, The Argumentative Indian, which shows the depth and strength of his logic when he deals on a subject. Therefore, in the current context when he says he has studied the Singur phenomenon, there is no reason to doubt that his opinion has the power of his deepest conviction.

If this point is understood it is easy to say that Opposition MLA Sougata Roy’s statement that Prof Sen ought to have visited Singur to gain first-hand knowledge about the situation there before commenting is nothing but a childish retort.

It’s not that other pundits have not said what Prof Sen is now saying. Noted economist Abhiroop Sarkar of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) has for long been saying precisely this in his lucid essays in both Anandabazar Patrika and The Telegraph (see my article, Arundhati Roy and Singur).

A remarkable statement Prof Sen made in his interview is as under:

In countries like Australia, the US or Canada, where agriculture has prospered, only a very tiny population is involved in agriculture.

What this conveys is that for agriculture like any other industry to prosper, there has to be investments for improved technology, be it in crop-produce, harvesting or storage. It is wrong to assume that agriculture is not an industry by itself and that it doesn’t need investment for better crop output.

However, where the land holding is distributed among thousands, investment will not happen simply because to earn commensurate return from it one needs to own a minimum substantial chunk of land area to cultivate.

In other words if agricultural production has to improve, the technology has to improve, which calls for investment, which in turn will come only when there is hope of matching returns, which is not possible if land holding is paltry.

In fact if there is real possibility of high returns in agricultural production, one may reasonably argue that banks will make a beeline to give loans to land holders.

How will per owner agricultural land holding increase? It will only be when there are sufficient industries that can absorb manpower from agricultural sector. If their earnings increase from jobs in industries, the farmers may not be unwilling to sell off their lands to big farmers and farm industrialists who will then find it conducive to pump in money for higher agricultural production.

Pretty much the same has been echoed by ISI’s Abhiroop Sarkar in his writings. This explains why world over industries come on farmlands, and in time increases the quality and quantity of farm produce instead of decreasing it.

Interestingly, the main Opposition leader has not uttered a word on Prof Sen’s interview. Usually she doesn’t perhaps because she knows she has no point to counter the argument.

Does this mean she will refrain from the agitation she is leading from the front? Well, no!

After the brouhaha over Prof Sen’s interview dies down she and her party will again return to the path of opposing industrialization in the state. It’ll again be back to square one.

After Besu, it’s JU

In June 2005 the PM Manmohan Singh constituted National Knowledge Commission (NKC) headed by Sam Pitroda. The broad mandate for NKC is to suggest ways to spread education among the masses of the country with special emphasis on primary education and improving the standard of higher education. [Image source]

The PM being a scholar first, then a politician, who would understand better than Manmohan Singh that the billion-strong India can make rapid economic strides on the back of quality education. Hence constituting NKC has been one of his first decisions after the UPA government assumed power at the center.

In its first report in Jan 2006, the NKC suggested setting up of a massive number of 1500 universities spread over the length and breadth of the country (see my story, 1500 new universities). While this will not only take time, it will also need a huge outlay of funds and determined approach to make it happen.

The point to note is that perhaps for the first time since setting up of speciality institutes like IITs and IIMs post Independence, there is a clear direction from the central government in the field of education.

In the interim, among other initiatives the government has upped the effort of upgrading 7 institutions of repute in the country to the level of ‘Institutes of National Importance’. What that means is that the institutes so chosen will see a quantum jump in grants from the government to improve overall facilities.

From West Bengal, 2 institutes have been included in the list of 7, which are the Besu (Bengal Engineering & Science University) and the engineering and technology faculty of Jadavpur University. In both cases the center has been dragging feet after the announcement of their selection.

Now, after prolonged agitation at Besu (that spilled over in this year’s Book Fair at the Salt lake Stadium), the center has given its approval for the institute’s upgrade to Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology. The mood at Besu is upbeat.

However, for JU the wait is still not over. There is no word of confirmation from the center or the state for that matter as to when it too will qualify as per center’s yardstick. An alarmed VC of JU has written to the authorities to speak out their mind over the matter because such decisions cannot be left hanging for long (read today’s TT).

Tata Centre

One of the most-clicked modern ‘office building’ in the city must be the Tata Centre near Birla Planetarium. I can think of at least 3 reasons for the discretion.

Built in 1963, the Tata Centre is perhaps the oldest skyscraper of its type in the city. It is an important landmark and is located at a very attractive place facing the vast expanse of the Maidan. Also, JL Nehru Road (previously, and still referred to as Chowringhee Road) on which the building stands is one of the busiest thoroughfares and the main connector between the city’s south and its central part.

When the Indian Independence completed 50 years, the Tata Centre was decorated in tricolors for almost a year, looking splendid. It houses nearly all of Tata Group’s city operations except perhaps TCS (Tata Consultancy Services), which has separate building in Salt Lake.

A vantage position for the building means it has been the witness to many historical happenings of the rough and tumble of Bengal politics, the latest ones being series of protests by opposition party over Tata Motors’ upcoming plant at Singur.

The good thing is the building has been able to retain its majestic façade unlike the other skyscraper close by, the Chatterjee International Centre, though oldtimers argue that it no longer has that luster that used to make people from hinterland stare agape at it while visiting the Maidan.

This may be for the reason that many more skyscrapers now dot the city and many more are in the offing. But despite all that Tata Centre continues to be one among the major landmarks of Kolkata, and a pleasure to be clicked at by eager shutterbugs.

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The majesty of Vidyasagar Setu

We the Kolkattans are fortunate to live in a city by which flows the mighty Hooghly. My choice of the word ‘mighty’ is not to mean that the Hooghly is one to be afraid of like the Brahmaputra at Dibrugarh in upper Assam.

The mighty Hooghly river to me is like a motherly entity, an embodiment with a large heart. I suspect the only time the Kolkattans remember the Hooghly is when after the Durga Puja the idols are taken there for immersion. Its splendor notwithstanding, very few poets and artists in the city have immortalized the river through their creations.

The 2 banks of the river are barricaded with ugly-looking buildings at vantage points on either side and they’ve blocked its view so totally that we rarely recall the river as the city’s most important attraction.

Luckily the British had built an architectural wonder, the Howrah Bridge aka Rabindra Setu across the river. This has meant that the future planners have had little choice than to design bridges that match the splendor of Howrah Bridge.

In recent years, sorry decades, 2 new bridges have come up connecting the city with the other side. One is the recently built Nivedita Setu at Dakshineswar, and the other of course is the redoubtable Vidyasagar Setu or the Second Hooghly Bridge.

I don’t suggest the bridges enhance the beauty of the river. I dare not. If however I’m to think of one reason why Kolkata ought to be grateful to the Hooghly river forever, it must be the majesty of the bridges across it.

For had the river been not there, there would never be the occasion of savoring the beauty of Sun kissing the Vidyasagar Setu goodbye before calling off for the day.

Here are a couple of pictures given to me by my friend Sudeep Chakraborty.

EM Bypass - Tomorrow's Chowringhee

Ironically, when the prospect of job and a decent future thereof was a far cry in the state a few years back, there was no shedding of tears for acquisition of land from farmers for developmental projects. The political parties virtually took no notice of government acquiring vast tracts of land for EM Bypass and New Town.

We’re singularly fortunate for opposition parties’ discretion then, for today life seems impossible without EM Bypass. And if New Town had not been planned, hundreds of companies spanning a wide cross-section of industry couldn't be lured with ready availability of land to set up facilities in the city that now provide jobs to thousands of aspirants.

Coming to Bypass, it is clear how badly the thoroughfare was needed for the city. Yesteryears' trickle of vehicular movement on it has now given way to a torrent of road traffic, so much so that at times especially during peak hours, it becomes a nightmare to travel there.

Billed as tomorrow's Chowringhee, EM Bypass has all the elements of turning into 'the destination' in the city in not-so-distant future.

To ease traffic at Parama Island and Ruby Hospital, the 2 critical entry/exit points to the city's south, authorities have decided to altogether remove the traffic islands. They will start the work after monsoon.

Here is a picture opposite Silver Spring and a video, both taken by my son Arka.

Kosha Mangsho

In my zeal to find out the exact recipe for kosha mangsho, I scoured the net for couple of hours. But all my labor bore little fruit as I find to my dismay that there is no such thing as an exact procedure for the item.

The 3 that appealed to me are those from Bawarchi (incidentally a subtle ad for Dhara mustard oil), Lokpriya, and Bardhaman. The first 2 resemble a lot and I suppose they are from the same source.

I set out on kosha mangsho not because it’s a typically Bengali preparation that is best cooked at home, but for the recent news of the fare to be offered through Koshe Kosha’s retail eateries. Now what is Koshe Kosha, you might wonder!

Koshe Kosha is the brainchild of Pradeep Paul, his wife Arunima, and their friends Kunal and Amita Banerjee. Their plot is something like this.

On Independence Day, Koshe Kosha will debut at Sandhya Tara, the food court at the Star Theater. On offer will be the famed kosha mangsho of the Giris’ of erstwhile New Punjabi Hotel (or Golbari of Shyambazar) along with ‘soft ghee-smeared’ chapatti (or ruti if you prefer).

After the first outlet Koshe Kosha has grand plans. Apart from opening about 6 outlets in the city, it will travel to the other metros, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. And, if all goes well, the would-be retail eatery will open chains at London, Birmingham, New York, Los Angeles, Milan, Singapore and Hong Kong. A la Macdonald, that is. Read TT’s story.

With such a grand plan up its sleeve, I imagine Koshe Kosha will be able to build a loyal mass of partakers for its gastronomic delight. And I really wish Pradeep and his gang all the very best (after all how many blue-blooded Bengali ventures are there these days!).

But suppose you’re hell-bent on having kosha mangsho one fine Sunday afternoon and do not want to ride to Koshe Kosha (if and as it debuts) because the late afternoon nap is too precious to miss, what would you do!

Well, you can either try the recipes above or rely on my favorite preparation below. Okay here I go. It’s for 1 kg of goat or sheep’s meat pieced in medium sizes and washed for use. Since it is purely home cooking, I’ll suggest using a pressure cooker to make the preparation.

1. To start with, add about 4 onions (150 gm) sliced in small segments, 25 gm garlic and 75 gm ginger ground into a paste, 150 gm sour curd, 1 teaspoon full each of turmeric and red chili powder, salt as necessary, and 2 tablespoon full of mustard oil to the meat and mix thoroughly. Keep it aside for close to an hour to marinade the meat in the concoction.
   
   
2. Put a pressure cooker on burner and add 1 tablespoon of mustard oil. When hot with light smoke emanating, sprinkle 2 onions cut into small segments and 1 teaspoon of sugar onto it and fry the onion until it becomes golden brown.
   
   
3. Pour the marinated meat into the pressure cooker and sauté it on medium burner flame for nearly 10 minutes. Sprinkle half cup of water (about 4 tablespoon) and put the lid on the pressure cooker.
   
   
4. Cook the meat on low flame until the first whistle. Put off the flame and wait till the steam is let off.
   
   
5. Open the lid and now add half teaspoon of garam masala paste (1 small cardamom and a small piece of cinnamon) and half teaspoon of ghee. Close the lid again and keep that way for 15 minutes before serving.

Depending on whether the meat is fresh, time will vary for it to become soft for eating. If need be, close the pressure cooker lid and cook the meat on low flame for not more than 5 minutes.

Here is a picture of mouthwatering kosha mangsho taken from Ananda Utsav.

Silver Spring

Silver Spring on EM Bypass is fast nearing completion. It's a condominium that has 10 high-rises, 14 to 18 storeys, plus a grand shopping mall right on the main thoroughfare. [Refer their website]

Silver Spring is located at a prime place. It's adjacent to Bartaman's colonial-style office building to the north, and to its south a little distance away is ITC's Sonar Bangla hotel.

The nearly 7-acre KMC plot next to Silver Spring to the south is said to have been acquired by a private party for building a 5-star hotel on it.

Opposite to Silver Spring across Bypass is the road that leads to Dhapa dumping ground that collects all the solid waste the city generates.

Here are 3 photos of Silver Spring taken a few months back.

Another Xavierian for high office

Professor Hamid Ansari, who is presently the chairman of National Commission for Minorities (NCM), has been declared nominee for the post of Vice President by the ruling UPA government. [Image source]

Prof Ansari is a distinguished diplomat and educationist, and is one of the recipients of 1984 Padma Shree award. He has been at the helm of NCM since March this year, and before that he was the Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

Born in the city in 1937, Hamid Ansari did his graduation from the prestigious St. Xavier’s College before moving to AMU for further education. With his nomination for the high office, Prof Ansari becomes yet another distinguished persona having studied at St. Xavier’s to join the list of such luminaries like could-be Nobel laureate Acharya Jagadish Bose, former army chief General Shankar Roy Choudhary, the longest serving CM Jyoti Basu, cricketer Sourav Ganguly, and of course industrialists LN Mittal, the global steel tycoon and Vijay Mallya, the liquor baron and now the owner of Kingfisher Airlines.

In hindsight, Prof Ansari could have been a better choice as President than Pratibha Patil who has been the target of many arrows since her nomination. But then 2 Muslim Presidents at a row is something unthinkable in India.

Should Prof Ansari come visiting his Alma Mater in the city after becoming Vice President, that’ll be an occasion to rejoice at St. Xavier’s.

The death trap of wells

In arid areas of north India people dig wells in search of groundwater at a depth ranging from 100 to 200 feet. Sufficient caution to guard the wells on the surface seems to lack because of which there are often the cases when unsuspecting children fall into them while playing.

Early this month a 6-year old boy fell into one such borewell at Nimeda village in Rajasthan, and when he was rescued after 50 hours of effort he was found dead. A similar mishap occurred some days back at Howrah district of the state when a handicapped youth slipped on the slush amid rains and fell into a borewell. He too died.

Tragic incidents such as above must be a regular occurrence at countryside, but now they’re coming to fore thanks to an agile media on constant lookout for sensational news.

But India is not the only country where these happen. Yesterday at South Carolina in US a teenager, 15-year old Jeffrey Johnson, fell into an 80-feet deep abandoned well in a bush. He however escaped unscathed following a prompt rescue.

Here is a video of Jeffrey after he was rescued.

Viewing the rear

If you drive anything that moves on road in the city, chance is the thing you ride has a rear-view mirror fixed onto it. I call it an instrument, which you cannot do without unless you wish to mess up on the road that may result into unwanted incidents.

Yet for all that it offers, the rear-view mirror is rarely used for hunting pleasure when conditions permit. In my case it is as much a guide while driving as it is for stealing views when my car is not moving such as stopping at red light.

I cannot excuse myself from exploring the vicinity through acute angles reflected from the car’s 3 rear-view mirrors, 2 on either side and one in the middle. I try to figure out how the same view appears in each of 3 mirrors. Evidently they differ and that itself is an exercise for me in silent observation.

Here I present 2 snaps which I took recently as I waited for the signal to turn green.

A career of flying high

Here is a snippet from TT’s front-page story yesterday:

Next time Ratan Tata wants to land in Bengal, he can take off from his group’s private helipad atop a luxury apartment hotel in Colaba, fly over the traffic chaos of Mumbai and board one of his jets at the airport.

The article informs that DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has approved the Tata helipad atop 12-storey Taj Wellington Mews for private use. It is estimated that if the government enforces changed regulations for helicopters, the number of choppers presently in use for civil purpose would jump from 191 to at least 4,000 in just 5 years.

This explains there is a pent-up demand for chopper use among increasing number of those who can afford one or more. The demand story is a mirror reflection of surge in air travel by average Indians that is unleashed by cheap fares and competition among number of players vying for a piece of action.

It’s not a surprise then that many aviation-related institutes have come up in big cities that churn out trained manpower for the sector. One such is Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training, which already has 5 branches in the state – Camac Street, Gariahat, Salt Lake, Barrackpore and Bardhaman. [Image source]

Started in 1993 by KS Kohli, a Supreme Court advocate, Frankfinn produces airhostesses and flight stewards, and the 1-year part-time course it offers is called BTEC (HNC) in aviation, hospitality and travel management. The qualification at the end of the course is awarded by Edexcel of UK.

The institute maintains that it has produced more professionals than all such academies in India put together. Perhaps. But there are other institutes as well like Flying Cats at AJC Bose Road that too offers 1-year Annamalai University diploma in Air Hostess Training & Ground Handling.

The aviation sector looks extremely promising for creation of base-level jobs just like hotel, hospitality, tourism, and retail sectors. The good news is Bengali youngsters do not hesitate any longer taking up jobs that may not be flashy but do offer handsome earnings.

Related reading: Aviation Institutes

Howrah Station going vertical?

Howrah is often called Kolkata’s twin. There is however less similarity between the two except chaos, which is way above the standard that Kolkata maintains.

A city is best reflected at places where many people come and go. Howrah Station, rather its chaotic outside, is a prime example of urban decay that the city suffers from. It gives you a window through which to view the larger ills of the state.

Just outside the station the space between the majestic façade of the station building and the other beauty, the Howrah Bridge, is manned by hundreds of people who occupy every conceivable place to earn living. It is difficult to imagine a river ahead because the entire stretch of riverbank is blocked out of view by ugly looking food stalls and other shops.

To the left up to the bridge, buses, cars and taxis stop anywhere to ferry passengers coming to the station and leaving since there is no effective plan to properly accommodate the flow of vehicular traffic.

The approach to the station building is on most occasions choked with squatting vendors who sell all those necessities you might need for traveling. This leaves very little area for passengers to move about without jostling and perhaps wrestling as well.

Inside the station the scene is appreciably better, and it’s here that you realize that the Railways are indeed doing their bit to make life comfortable while traveling.

I haven’t seen much of a change at Howrah Station in many decades, but now there is hope that things will turn better. The central government has made plans to modernize Howrah Station (along with 20 other railway stations all over the country), which will see it going vertical.

What this means is that the space over the railway racks inside the station premises will be used to build hotels, malls, cineplex, and so on. The railways want the proposed transformation as part of public-private partnership (PPP) in which private companies will build the facilities and maintain them for a specified time before handling them back.

The railways say that the 21 station buildings will become world-class by the time the project completes, which is scheduled before 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi.

The new-look Howrah Station will have separate departure and arrival halls with elevators running between them to help passengers move from one platform to another. Big food plazas and entertainment centers are other attractions.

If Howrah Station spruces up, can the city be left behind! Which is why the state government has drawn up massive fund-flow as part of center’s initiatives to improve the basic amenities. It remains to be seen how much of all these actually translate into providing better facilities to people.

Here is a video of Rajdhani Express entering Howrah Station taken sometime back.

Land for Milon Mela?

The Maidan used to marauded every winter for Kolkata’s myriad fairs among which the most prestigious would be the Kolkata Book Fair. This year it was different. In response to PIL by noted environmentalist Subhas Datta, the High Court decided time has come for the book fair to shift from Maidan.

Post HC decision, the hullabaloo was to be seen to believe. The literati took upon themselves to protest the court’s ‘highhandedness’ and at one stage it seemed that perhaps the book fair wouldn’t take place.

Sane senses prevailed in time, and despite fears on the contrary the book fair has been a resounding success at Salt lake Stadium.

But why wouldn’t the book fair be held at Milon Mela, the supposed-to-be permanent fair ground of the city off Sonar Bangla Hotel? Apparently the space there is less than what the book fair used to enjoy at the Maidan. If that is the case, it’s indeed a pity that the city cannot afford big enough land to have its own fair ground.

Adjacent to Milon Mela is a 10-acre plot under the control of Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE). At a time about 12 years back when Kolkata still looked like an industrial wasteland and the EM Bypass a failed experiment, the city’s municipal corporation (KMC) allotted the land to CSE in expectation of popularizing the place.

The place did become popular, so much so that land in the vicinity has already skyrocketed. Meanwhile though CSE has become almost defunct, derelict and devoid of any hope for survival. Yet it would not let go the land without erecting hurdles in KMC’s way.

At long last the hurdles look like being ironed out. If the land can be freed from CSE’s clutches, at least 5 acres would go to Milon Mela. In which case the latter will have something about 71 bighas under its command, which is a much bigger area than the Maidan space of erstwhile book fair.

There is another creeping fear for Milon Mela, which is that if it doesn’t become functional within a stipulated time then its land will go to Crafts Village. The whole issue is genuinely complex and would need good amount of effort to resolve.

Lets expect Milon Mela doesn’t turn out as another nonstarter after having created all those high hopes.

Rabindra Sarobar

Kolkata is blessed with lakes and waterways like few cities are. But apart from naming them after luminaries, we do precious little to take care of them.

Rabindra Sarobar at Dhakuria is an example. Till a few years back the settlers along Budge Budge railway track used to wash clothes and utensils and take bath in the lake. Now that has been stopped.

But there is still lack of endeavor to properly develop the lakes as a tourist attraction. One hears plans now and then, but very little action on the ground.

Nivedita Setu

On 4th of this month the newly constructed bridge over river Hooghly was opened to traffic. The bridge is named after Sister Nivedita.

A technological marvel, Nivedita Setu is a vital link between NH-2 and NH-6 on Howrah side and NH-34 and NH-35 on Kolkata side. However for all its splendor, Nivedita Setu was not inaugurated the way it was planned initially. See my post, Bridge without fanfare.

That hasn't stopped traffic from plying on the bridge. One hears the bridge will be formally opened at a later date.

Here are 3 photos of the bridge given to me by my friend Sudip Chakraborty. The top one presents a standalone view of the bridge after its completion, while the one at the bottom is an excellent take from the adjacent Vivekananda Setu.

Topsy-turvy stock market

My nephew, a 20-something professional in interior decoration, is lately enamored with stock investing. Not that he has studied much as to why stocks move either way because he doesn’t need to, for stock investing is not his game as he’s pretty much immersed in his trade in which he has earned good name.

But then stocks are booming, some riding so high that they keep you gasping. In times such as this one would hear many success stories that usually go along the line as to how so-and-so has made lakhs in just 3 months by cleverly playing the stocks.

Well, success stories, as much as dismal ones when their time comes, are fairly contagious, and therefore it was no surprise that my nephew somehow managed time to come to me for some hot tips.

Why me? For he knows I’ve been neck-deep in stocks long before one Harshad Mehta changed the stock market scene forever. But I like studying more than being able to afford enough money to bet on stocks. I of course dabbled in stocks to the best of my purse’s ability and have burnt my fingers. But that was way back in early 90s.

Now I’m a long-term investor, preferring only large-caps for my fare. I told my nephew as much, but unfortunately he is not impressed. No fault of his because his heart and ears are tuned to endless hot tips floating around about sure gains in the offing.

And with hot blood running in his veins and arteries, he is blind to the virtues of selecting stocks for the long term, of seeking stocks that have it in them to automatically ride the crest of Indian growth story.

Not surprisingly, his investment has been dwindling of late what with constantly switching from one stock to another trying to time the market for that ever-elusive super gain.

While this I know for a fact, there is no doubt that similar is the fate of countless short-term stock players who harbor no affinity for any particular scrip for apparently no particular reason other than the urge to mint money.

Taking a bird’s eye view, Indian stock market is in strange doldrums. It’s a bull run no doubt. But not each and every company is a participant in it. Gone are days when all the stocks move up en masse in a bull run. Today it is sector specific, or rather company specific in selected sectors.

Thus while telecom, banking and infrastructure sectors are recording highs, the IT, FMCG and pharmaceutical sectors are hardly the current favorites. Which is why one has to be diligent while selecting stocks, and once done stay with them for longish term to reap true benefits.

In a recent cover story, ET (July 13) spells out as much. In a survey it has found that only long-term investors are able to make good money though the market is so volatile that it’s well nigh impossible to predict the future.

Doesn’t seem surprising, or does it?

Fire and after

A place caught in fire is tragic and unfortunate. More often than not, it causes untold misery to people who are directly affected. Something of that sort crossed my mind when the broadband service went kaput late afternoon yesterday because of massive fire at Telephone Bhavan.

I curse the fact that Telephone Bhavan stands of all places opposite Writers Building, its ugly façade blocking forever a majestic 360-degree view of BBD Bag. Yet over time the necessity of having a telephone connection has mellowed me a lot. And though a BSNL telephone is no longer the only choice, I must say its broadband service is thus far above par.

When the fire disrupted the broadband service yesterday, I kissed goodbye to all my writing assignments that are to be sent latest by today. In fact so off-mood was I that I even started visualizing that perhaps 2 weeks it would be before the broadband service comes back to life.

There are reasons to feel concerned. I do writing for offshore clients, and for them no time must be lost in delivering works except in emergencies like natural calamity that are widely reported. Fortunately, the fire at Calcutta Telephones has been covered well in the media (the BBC story for example), which incidentally is a classic instance of Internet’s spread.

However, the bad time didn’t last beyond the night that is just over. BSNL staff literally worked on war footing over the entire night, and so here I am, blogging as intently as I can.

The incident once again proves the adage: competition brings better service. For BSNL, the prospect of lost revenues on account of non-functioning broadband service must have acted like magic. Which is – keeping my fingers firmly crossed – very welcome indeed.

Place for loving

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity.
-: Albert Einstein :-

Loving couples would like this Einstein quote for his take on relativity. What however is more real than the reality of relativity is that in India public display of love is a strict taboo. So, instead of secluded park bench couples would often head for the darkness of movie halls, doing things on the sly and slipping hands to explore body contours.

The good news is moral policing is less in Kolkata than many other cities in India, notably in the north. I just happen to come across this article with the headline: Kissing in Kolakata: India's love capital!. The love-filled author of the post has somehow managed a shot that shows a couple engaged in passionate kissing amid steady drizzle.

I’d imagine it’s the drizzle that prevented prying eyes to take a closer look as to how the lips have locked unto themselves, and where indeed the hands of either rested.

I’m skeptical because it’s a wrong notion that oozing love in public in the city is looked at with favor. Had that been true, the women on the road would have had no unpleasant experience ‘encountering’ the men. Some recent happenings in the city prove the fact that Kolkata is really not safe for women, especially at odd hours.

Be that as it may, no one can deny the city from boasting of some lovely spots for saying love to the nearest and dearest. Perhaps the places are why the spirit of love is wide and awake in the City of Joy, encumbrances notwithstanding. Here are pictures of 2 places (guess where?).

Ultadanga at chaotic best

Bidhan Nagar, aka Ultadanga, is a busy place. Bidhan Nagar is actually the name of Salt Lake, the erstwhile satellite township now integrated into the city. It was named after West Bengal's second illustrious Chief Minister, Bidhan Chandra Roy, who in late 50s had foreseen the need of the township to ease pressure on city Kolkata.

Decades later, Ultadanga, the railway station on Sealdah main line, situated close to western end of Salt Lake was also named Bidhan Nagar. Today the place resembles nothing less than a terrible chaos on road. This is more so during peak hours.

Here are 2 pictures of today's Ultadanga. In the second one at far end to the right just under railway underpass is the place where the chaos reigns supreme.