Wanna be overwhelmed? Then a visit to Peb should be on your bucket list

The hustle-bustle of the city life does put you into a monotonous mode over time. And the craving to seek a getaway to the country roads is what you start to yearn. I found myself in the similar situation and that's when I decided to explore the hills around this bustling city.

Being introduced to the Tatva group by their hardcore fans and frequenters, Shweta and Jeaneatte, I knew where to look for an adventure as I was seeking. After lot of calendar clashes and necessary visits to Goa, my home State, I zeroed in on the weekend on March 18th for a trek with tatva. Unfortunately, the organizers cancelled it. So I had to settle for the coming week's Trek, and that was to Peb Fort, Matheran.

Bought a torch, recharged my batteries, stocked up quick bites and water for the trek, armed with passion and enthusiasm boarded the local to Neral from the VT. Confused on who all around me are going for the trek. I saw a gentlemen who looked geared up for a trek, whether he is going to the same destination as mine, and he answered in a negative. Embarrassed I didn't dare ask anyone else. Though my whatsapp notification kept informing that there was another person in the same bogey as mine. He even asked me to give my location, wave my hand, etc etc, but no avail. Now as to why we couldn't identify each other, 'Keval" woh hi jaane..... (pun intended as his name is Keval) It was the first time I noticed that the fans in the local train are numbered.

As the train approached our destination, it was evident that the bogey was full of people I was gonna trek with. Once alighted at Neral, unfamiliar faces but with the same aim and conviction to conquer the night and the mountain, greeted each other with unease. And then started then the fun began. Armed with torch light, we climbed and climbed and climbed, the serpentine trails of the mountain in the pitch dark of the night. At times hugging the pot bellied boulders, or the over-sized roots of the trees, amidst the peculiar noise of the transmission of the high tension overhead electric wires, we marched forward gazing into the darkness above whether the summit was anywhere near. A rock patch, a loose gravel climbs, ladders, and mighty inclines provided us the perfect dose of the challenges we were geared up for.

Panting for breath and our throats drying due to the conjusey suggested by Lawry for our ration of water, we reached the temple of Devi Peb after almost 4 hours of climb in the dark. I just crashed under the open sky watching the stars above and the city lights below, and in no time my tired body zoomed into sleep.

The cold chilly mountain breeze acted as the alarm clock that announced the arrival of the morning. The mountain tops surrounding the Peb fort started 'Peak-ing' out of the darkness. The moment of watching the mighty mountain range around us come to life as the day light greeted them was fabulous. Out came our DSLRs, to capture whatever we could in our lenses. After greeting the sun after it made its grand entry on the beautiful landscape and the horizon we started to move towards Matheran. The hike here too was interesting. Going up and down the mountain trails, from one hilltop to another, navigating over the edge of the steep valleys, and finally a set of stairs before reached the famous narrow guage rail track of Matheran. Till now, no one was a stranger to another. The experience of together conquering the mountain, cemented the foundation of new friendships and companionship. With promises to meet again, to conquer another mountain trail, we bid goodbye.

Photos of this incredible journey can be found here 

As I bid goodbye to the city, this trek was a perfect way to end my last weekend. If God willing, I shall definitely return to more amazing treks with this lovely group. Viva!!!!!!!

Why is India divided?

For the past few days, my FB wall is flooded with posts of support as well as condemning or trolling a girl who spoke her mind and her ideology. First thing it takes courage to speak out in this country and this girl definitely had the bravado to express her views. Gurmehar Kaur is definitely someone who broke the societal mould and chose to stand for her point. 
Secondly her statement for which she is being trolled by some celebrities, "Pakistan didn't kill her father, War did" is in itself a manifestation of how evolved and mature her thoughts or philosophy is. It is expected that many in this country who are politically charged or challenged will never understand. 
Thirdly, about her political or ideological affiliations can be questionable, but it doesn't take away her right to emote and definitely not to be on the receiving end of trolls and rape and death threats. 

To the question of Pakistan, war and Kashmir, there doesn't exist a convincing answer. In my understanding Pakistan is not a democracy, but a military ruled state, for their democratic fabric is dictated by the military. So it is a section of Pakistanis that is the problem. Secondly war isn't inevitable, when the other side provocatively tries to capture your territory. You definitely can't have a red carpet for them. You retaliate in defense. If peace has to be established it should be from both ends, not just one. 

As for Kashmir, it is a disputed property since independence. Had our leaders then, or even later showed some maturity in handling the issue, this day would have been different. Even today many of our soldiers sacrifice their lives cause of this disputed State. I say disputed because why would the local public pelt stones on its own army? Is it out of their own conviction or are they easily brain washed and why? Whether Kashmir should belong to India or Pakistan or a separate entity under UN, has to be decided once for all and soon. India can't afford to lose another of her sons. 

I would suggest that  a referendum be called out, and all those who were descendants of the place up to two generations down, should have the right to vote. This will ensure all those who left the valley during the exodus also have the say in the referendum. Let voting be held in Kashmir and neighboring states where Kashmiris reside. The whole exercise can be held under the watch of UN to rule out any bias from either side. The outcome  could then be interpreted and used for further policy decisions.  

As I said, the solution to the Kashmir deadlock has to be found soon. The politicians across party lines are misusing the subject in promoting hatred in the name of pseudo-nationalism and pseudo-liberalism. It pains my heart to see people so easily being carried away by the tide. This needs to be stopped now. 

Moments

The clock may stop, but time never does
Its a undeniable reality, some do say
But it does stand still at times
And you never know; why.

Sometimes they make a tear to roll
And sometimes a blush from ear to ear
Some you wanna cherish lifelong
Some you wish never happened.

Some tell you that you belong
To that place, that time or that person
Let this experience never end, you pray
But why doesn't it, you reason.

Moments make you a person are
They do give a direction too
But it's you who has to steer,
To a storm or to waves of cheer.

So catch as many as your can
Create some, let some surprise
And enjoy the feeling of being amazed
For their arrival is seldom announced.

Who shall bell the Cat this elections? #GoaElections

Less than 20 days to the elections in Goa, the picture isn't clear yet, in which direction will the people's verdict be going this time. With alliance talks, import-exports still taking place, the equation is rendered too complex with the many many variables and the numerous constraints.

So does that mean that NOTA is the best option? That's a debatable option as voting NOTA is as good as not voting. (May be in the future The Election Commission may think of implementing it seriously).

Election Commission needs to be commended for their decision to make this election banner-free, clutter-free, noise-free, and forcing the candidates and parties to in-person campaigning. Seriously it doesn't feel that the elections are just two week away. So calm the Goan roads are.

Frankly speaking the Goan Voter today is completely clueless of the political equation that has become highly volatile  every passing day. Even after the nominations are frozen, the likelihood of the equation stabilizing can't be guaranteed. So what does the voter do? Vote for the candidate/party that he was traditionally loyal to, or give a new face a chance or choose the lesser of the evil or choose not to vote at all?

Personally, I haven't made up my mind as I have reservations and apprehension about the intent of the players in the ring. Some of  them, I fundamentally do not agree to their ideologies and vision and some I am not clear what their ideologies and vision are. So at this point my best bet is NOTA. (Let me remind you it's Secret Ballot, so you may never know who I will vote eventually)

But what I am looking for this election is NOT which party will win how many seats, or which candidate will win in the 40 constituencies. I will be more interested and excited to watch the results on 11th March  is where the vote share swayed. The benchmark obviously be the 2012 Elections and 2014 Elections (though 2014 voteshare will reflect BJP-MGP-Independents combine)

2014 Election Voteshare
BJP 53%
INC 37%

2012 Election Vote-Share
BJP:  35%
INC : 31%
MGP : 7%
NCP : 4%
TMC : 2%
UGDP : 1 %
Goa Vikas Party : 4 %
Independents : 17%

It will be fun to watch to see how the battlefield responds to the complex political equation on 4th of Feb. Unfortunately we will have to wait for over a month to know the result, post the Election day.

Bombay: It's a emotion, not a city.

Officially known as 'Mumbai', I like to call it, what most Goans like to call it 'Bombay' or 'Bomai'. Yeah it is not just another city, but an indescribable emotion.

It is called a city of dreams and many do set foot here with hopes of making it large in the city. With hopes high up in the sky and dreams larger than life, many don't even get a place to sleep. The amount of sweat this city demands can't be easily ignored.

Given all that, the city has an important lesson to teach. No matter what, the city never stops. Among all the fanfare and glamour attributed to the city, it has also terrifying tales to tell. However hard it might get, the city always tells you to Get Going my friend!

This city has given me the best of times that I could imagine, but it's the same city where it all ended too. As I travel in the city, it is very hard to keep my heart from wandering in the by-lanes of the past. Considerable time has passed by and a lot have changed since then. But do I regret those times? No. Do just as the city teaches, Do not stop and Get Going my friend!

It is this never dying spirit that you will find in every person you meet in the city. May be it is in his rush to get in the already crowded local or the many people  who dream at the marine drive. It is an emotion that you can only feel but can't describe.

It is BOMBAY: an Emotion and not a city.

Demonetization, its implementation and intent. Will it serve the purpose? Partly Yes and a BIG NO.

On the evening of 8th November, 2016 at around dusk, I withdrew some cash as I was down to the last penny in my wallet. The ATM dispensed all INR500/- notes, much to my displeasure. But that wasn't done for the evening. FC Goa was having a bad day in Kochi, with 2 players red-carded, in a very high octane match. Still it wasn't done. My mobile phone started buzzing with notifications from whatsapp messages announcing that the cash I withdrew few hours ago, will no longer be a legal tender.

It was a very bold move and a step in the right direction. Demonetizing the high value currency denomination meant the system would get into auto-clean mode, clearing out all cash hoardings mostly black dealings, and counterfeit notes. Like most Indians, I too was inconvenienced by this announcement as I had just the 500 rupee notes in my wallet. The banks and ATMs would be closed  the next day and being in a third tier city where most transactions for essential commodities are in cash, meant that I was with no money for the next day.

Any move by the Government to eradicate the menace of the parallel economy, especially this demonetization is highly appreciated, but its implementation could been better. Soon after its announcement people started offloading the 500 and 1000 rupee notes in the market, and before you could realize it, there was no change left with anyone. Purchasing essential commodities became difficult, and not to mention people with emergencies were highly inconvenienced. Though many traders, like my milkman, were sympathetic to their loyal customers, who not only allowed credit, but also shared some of the few hundred rupee notes they had with them.

What could the government have done differently? They could have quietly stopped/reduced the circulation of the higher denomination notes for at least 3-4 days before the announcement without raising any flags around in the market. This could be done at least in ATMs as mostly customers withdraw smaller amounts from the machine.

Next question is whether the purpose of this exercise be fulfilled? My analysis, partly YES, and a BIG NO.

As I said earlier, the system went into an auto-clean drive, clearing all cash hoardings and counterfeit notes. Many tried to convert the black into white by various means. (This is good as the black will enter the white economy).

• Some booked travel tickets with cash and then cancelled them or will cancel them later, to get a refund in white. 
• Some over invoiced.
• Some over purchased in cash (inflated inventory)
• Some showed back dated transactions
• Some distributed it among relatives/friends/workers only to be collected later after it is exchanged. 
• Some invested in commodities like Gold, etc, and some even fuel. 

The exchange facility also has its loop holes. (below is a rough calculation of how much a person can convert black into white)

• A person can exchange INR4000/- at a time in a bank or post-office. 
• He has 50 days to repeat this exercise. i.e. 4000*50=2lakhs. 
• Suppose he is able to visit 10 different banks with different ID cards, he can then exchange 2lakhs*10=20lakhs.
• Suppose he employs 9 other people apart from him, to do the exact same thing then 20lakhs*10=2crores. (without considering commission) 

Instead of this exchange facility, people should have been made to deposit in the KYC compliant accounts, and then shown as withdrawals. Doing this would have ensured that the money could be traceable. Jan-Dhan accounts/Aadhar linked accounts could be used for this purpose. 

Another amusing thing was, that when the government admitted that there is a huge concern of counterfeiting and hoarding of high denomination notes, how they thought of introducing even higher denomination in the supply? As per me, it clearly defeated the purpose of the whole exercise. It is one thing that the current black money or hoarded money will enter the white economy in the next few days, but eventually the new notes of higher denomination will make its way back in the hoarding hideouts. Not to mention, the new entrants of the counterfeit money. Some people say it will not be easy to counterfeit, but let me remind you, it may be difficult for the general public like you and me, but the ones doing the counterfeit business are the organized crime syndicates and cartels.

Introduction of new notes of INR500/- is understood, but introduction of a newer denomination of INR2000/- could have been avoided. Yes, there was a need to replenish the supply of the demonetized notes, and that could be done by introducing the newer denomination lower than INR500/-, say INR200/- 

It is only when people are inconvenienced in transacting in cash, that they would move to alternative payment modes. Introduction of INR2000/- note has made cash transactions of higher value even more easier, in fact double easier.

In my closing remarks, I would say that the Governments effort is very well appreciated and it is rightly receiving all the co-operation from the Indian public. Some pointers or loopholes the government could have been considered for evaluation. I don't see the next demonetization anytime soon as it an hugely expensive exercise. But when next time it happens, I hope these things are considered. 

The mess Indian Politics and Electoral system is in.

 

Politics play an important role in the day-to-day lives of the citizens of any country, and India is no different. Politics can either break or make a country. Some countries fare pretty well in a Sovereignty  or dictatorship, some do well in communistic or democratic systems. But which system suits a country can't be conclusively be derived.

 

India being a diverse country makes it all the more difficult to arrive on a common ideologue. However as practiced today and as known, India is a democratic country. A democracy is where the Republic's Government is chosen by the people, for the people of the people. At least theoretically the power to govern is with the people. More often than not, people still struggle in these systems.

 

How competent is our electoral systems? 

 

Though there cannot be a flawless electoral system any where in the world; ours is plagued with serious issues. This has been exploited by each and every political party that Independent India has seen.

1. The NOTA option has no actual voting effect at all.
2.  A candidate with even 10% votes can win the elections if his opponents have secured less votes than him. It doesn't matter if the majority of the electorate hasn't voted for him. More often, the lesser evil of the lot manages to win the elections.
3. The concept of alliances is misused by most regional parties to hold the government to ransom.
4. The electorate has almost no role in deciding the formation of the government. The elected representatives have the power to decide the leadership [thereby Indirect participation of the electorate].  
5. No standard processes to evaluate and decide upon the eligibility of the candidature of person.
6. Educational and the understanding level of the electorate. Can easily be swayed by the promise of goodies? Inefficient control systems in place at present.
7. Some promises are so wild that have no economic viability or would not add any value to the economy.

How can this be corrected?

 

Now this is far-fetched thought. Firstly, the lawmakers wouldn't mend the current system that is actually proving to their benefit and which they can exploit at their whims and fancies. But yes we can change the system if there is a political will.

 

• NOTA be given the status of the candidate. If NOTA wins let there be a re-election and the contested candidates in the first election can't contest in the re-election. [countering point 1]
• A two-stage elections can be thought of. Let there be preliminaries be conducted to eliminate the non-popular candidates. Only those candidates with 33% more could contest the final elections. The candidate has to have 51% of the total votes polled to be declared a winner. [countering point 2]
• The candidate or the party has to pledge their support before the elections to a particular leader or alliance. If the support is to be withdrawn, then re-election should be held. [countering point 3 ]
• Votes can now be cumulatively be counted to choose the leadership. It will given to understand by the previous points that the leader will now enjoy the absolute majority from the wide electorate. [countering point 4 ]
• If a person wants to contest any elections, then he has to appear for test [overseen by the Judiciary or the Election Commission]  to evaluate his understanding of the duties required of him as a elected representative and of the current health of the economy in their area and the country. The result of which should be made available to the public. Irrespective of the outcome of the test the candidates may be allowed to contest the election.[At least the public will be aware of his competency] Assuming the current process of asset and criminal records declaration is continued and improved. [countering point 5]
• The awareness among the electorate can be brought only through education/literacy. Economics should be thought in middle school along with Civics. It is very much important  that when the 18 year old who goes to vote for the first time makes an informed and educated decision.  The same applies to other voters. We shall dwell on this further ahead. [countering point 6]
• The candidate or the political party should produce a proposed budget along with their manifesto as to how they are going to provide for the goodies they promise in their manifesto. Also explain how the economy is going to benefit by it. [countering point 7]

 Now this will require a complete overhaul of the system, and a lot of resources and energy will be required to design a system like this. Though difficult this is very much feasible. Many will surely have doubts about it.

Awareness among the electorate is very much important. At present the electorate votes on impulse or the emotion. A lot of black money is distributed illegally  during the election season in India. Doling out Free meals, alcohol, household items, clothing, etc is a common scene. We can't deny this fact in any way. So there is a temporary feel good feeling created and the voter votes in favour of their benefactor, least realizing that they will be forgotten till the next election.

Some politicians use issues that are very emotional to the voters. Like religion, caste, citizenship (in Goa), etc. The emotionally charged voter can make a wrong decision when he casts his vote. Some politicians will promise more than what they can deliver, there by creating an illusion of receiving goodies in future. In what we may call greed, the voter makes a mistake that he can't correct till next election.

And this phenomenon is being continued in every election that Independent India has seen.  It is very important that the electorate understands the various economic parameters that play a vital role in their life. If this is achieved, the likes of bhakths, chamchas, and whatever tards will eventually be shown their rightful place. I strongly advocate that the middle-school curriculum should include at least elementary Economic lessons.