My top 10 books...

So this is the latest trend on Facebook. You get tagged by a friend to list down your top 10 books, or books that have stayed with you long after you have turned over the last page. And then you tag few of your friends to do the same. So I duly got tagged by Vikram last week, and since then I realized that I have hardly read anything lately :). Even then, instead of just listing down those 10 books, I thought it would be nice to write a few lines on each as well. This is just to explain why a particular book was/is one of my favourite. This also provided me with a chance to revive (for the umpteenth time) my blog ! :) So here goes..

 

1. A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson

       -  Science was never so enjoyable. In his own inimitable style, Bill Bryson touches on virtually every topic (Universe, Geology, Chemistry, Water,  paleontology etc. etc.) and writes in a manner that even someone who just managed grace marks in Science at school would be able to understand and appreciate. Indeed, I would even go as far as to recommend that this be made compulsory reading in schools !!. I was particularly impressed by Bryson's ability to convert those large and incomprehensible numbers (millions of kms, tens of thousands of particles etc.) into something tangible (e.g. the size of fifteen football fields).

 

2. Mrityunjay - Shivaji Sawant

       - Mahabharat is a personal favourite of mine, and Karna has always been one of my heroes. And this Marathi book (a Hindi and English version is also available) takes you deep into Karna's mind as he battles the injustice that life has always meted out on him. Reading this, one cannot even imagine the pain that he would have gone through. Another book 'Duryodhan' by Kaka Vidhate is also nice.

   

3. The Goal - Elhiyahu Goldratt

       -  Back in the MBA days, if you were wanting to make a career in Operations/Supply Chain, it was blasphemy not to have read this. A concept (Theory of Constraints) was explained in such a simple way, that you wondered : 'Was this not so obvious ?'

 

4. Scott and Amundsen - Roland Huntford

       -  If you like geography and adventure stories, then this one is hard to beat. An account of the 'Race to the South Pole' in 1911 between the two gentlemen mentioned in the title, it transports the reader into the cold and icy wilderness of Antartica. The only thing that works against this book is its length (579 pages).

 

5. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

       -  Normally, a fictional book would not make it here (I hardly read fiction). But this mix of fiction and history (and the hype associated with it at the time) made me pick this up. And once started, this thriller was hard to put down. The reader can almost imagine the streets of Paris as Messrs Langdon and Nevue escape the Louvre that fateful night !

 

6. The Mathematical Universe - William Dunham

        - A slightly odd book to have in one's top 10 list. And that is because Mathematics is not everyone's cup of tea. But William Dunham simplifies it by having an A-Z of Mathematics (A - Arithmetic, E- Euler, G - Greek Goemetry, P - Prime Number Theory etc.). With a fantastic combination of history and maths, Dunham introduces us to the subject's greatest personalities and problems.

 

7. Sholay - Anupama Chopra

        -  A short and sweet account of the making of Bollywood's most iconic movie. While most of us know the movie by heart, it is fascinating to hear the many small anecdotes and stories associated with the making of Sholay. Anupama Chopra brings all of it to life. Of particular interest is the bit on how Amjad Khan got his life's first and greatest role.

 

8. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - William Shirer

        -  History has always been my favourite subject. And the Second World War is one of history's most defining, and saddest, episodes. And if you have to read only one book on WWII, this is it. However, be warned that this is a magnum opus (1000+ pages : I was emotionally drained when I finished it). It is almost like a daily account of WWII and describes Hitler's rise before that in great detail.

 

9. Azhar: The biography - Harsha Bhogle

         -  For a cricket buff like me, it was inevitable that one cricketing biography would find a place in the top 10. Picked it up at a Pune bookstore in 1998. Azhar was my favourite cricketer at the time (even after the match-fixing saga, he still remains a favourite for his batting abilities) and hence reading his biography was a no-brainer. And Harsha, being a contemprorary of Azhar since his early Hyderabad days, provides a great account of his early days as a cricketer.

 

and last, but definitely not the least ...

 

10. Mahabharat - Ved Vyas / Lord Ganesha

         -  Quite simply, the greatest story ever told and the greatest book ever written. Period.

 

A few other mentions:  'Barbarians at the Gate' (the RJReynolds take over battle bought to life) and 'Open' (Agassi's autobiography - an honest book if there ever was one).

 

Cheers

Amit

 

 

Improving Mumbai's lifeline.. Part 2

In this post, I focus more on passenger amenities, some of which, to me, are real low-hanging fruits that can be attempted quite easily. As much as having extra lines, standing coaches, more women's coaches etc. is necessary, it is equally necessary to improve the train-travelling experience for the millions who travel by Mumbai's lifeline every day. Some of things that can be done are:

a. Propagating the use of ATVMs: It remains a big mystery to me as to why the automated ticket vending machine (ATVM) system has not found favour with people. Especially when someone has to spend nearly 10 minutes (more on weekends) in the ticket queue at most stations. I use the ATVM card and have, on more than one occassion, faced the uncomfortable situation of people asking me to punch their tickets on the ATVM (after all, how many people can I help out ?). When it involves paying just 50 bucks as refundable deposit and with a 1-year validity of the recharge (as low as Rs 50 I guess), I cannot understand why people do not opt for it. Even 2 journeys every month is enough to ensure that the recharge is not wasted. Maybe it is due to inadequate propagation of the card's benefits. Railways do need to ensure that the ATVMs are more widely used than today. That would help to cut down the queues (since more ATVMs can be installed).

b. Ensuring that fans in the trains work: It is so frustrating to board a train in peak summer, only to find that the fan in the gangway is not working. And it is not an isolated case. I am sure all travellers would have experienced it multiple times. Is it too much to ask that the fans be functioning at all times ? Surely not.

b. Facilities at stations: It goes without saying that facilities at stations need a face lift. A start has been made with escalators at some stations but it needs to be speeded up. Heights of platforms are a big concern at many stations, and need to be immediately addressed. It may also make sense to have a proper and manned first-aid center at each station just to help out in case of any medical emergency.

And finally, a last word on passenger education. It would help immensely if people have some common sense while travelling. It is so annoying for others when a person boards at Vile Parle during peak evening hours, wanting to get down at Andheri (which is on the opposite side) in a Borivali-bound train (when the next Andheri-bound train is a couple of minutes later). The treatment meted out by Virar-bound passengers to anyone wanting to get down at Borivali is legendary. While I may not always agree with their methods, I sure understand their basic logic. Maybe a bit of passenger education in the form of announcements at stations might work (e.g. announcing that the next train is an Andheri-train and requesting Andheri passengers to wait). Small things like these may go on to make a big difference in the lives of the millions travelling by Mumbai's lifeline.

Improving Mumbai's lifeline... Part 1

This is a post long in the making.

I have been travelling in Mumbai suburban trains (affectionately called ‘locals’) for nearly 20 odd years now. Starting from my engineering days (Matunga Road to Andheri), then when I was in Patni (again Matunga Road to Andheri for a few months) and then as part of my current job (Goregaon to Santacruz). Over this nearly two-decade period, the Mumbai local has become almost a part of me, so much so that I have not been able to (as yet) get myself to use my car (mostly lying unused now-a-days) for the daily commute to work. And over the past few years, there have been, at various points, a lot of thoughts that have crossed my mind as regards improvement of the suburban train system in general. Hence, when the newspaper DNA this week started a campaign inviting reader’s views on ways to improve the travelling ‘experience’ on the Mumbai suburban train system, I thought of this as the ideal time to gather all my thoughts, crystallize them and then put them across. So what follows are some suggestions to make the railways a better place for the nearly 7 odd million Mumbaikars that use them every day. I will be submitting a summarized version of this to the DNA. Note that I have tried to go beyond the usual stuff (e.g. increasing no. of coaches in every rake, extra services or increasing the no. of lines etc.) since there either involve huge, and possibly improbable, changes in infrastructure or are (in case of increased no. of coaches) not sustainable going forward. Your comments/observations are most welcome.

I have divided my suggestions into two main categories:

 

a. Basic changes

b. Passenger amenities and education (this I will cover in the 2^nd post).

Glossary: ‘Rake’ refers to the entire ‘train’ while coaches are divisions of a rake (i.e. 9-coach rake, 12-coach rake etc.). ‘Rake’ and ‘train’ may be used interchangeably.

Basic changes:

a) All-standing coaches: I will start off with the most radical suggestion of all. I firmly believe that there should be at least two, if not three, all-standing coaches in each rake. This is for the benefit of short-distance travellers. In the space currently occupied by six seats (three facing each other) today only 8 people (6 in first class) can sit.  However, if the seats are removed, that same space can easily accommodate 12-15 standees, straightaway an increase in capacity of 50% at least. It will also be easier to move around in such a compartment. People that are travelling over short-distances (say people like me who travel not more than 4-5 stations) should be encouraged to use such coaches whereas the long-distance travellers can continue using the existing coaches. For a journey not lasting more than 15 minutes or so, I would gladly travel in a coach without seats (which would reduce the crowds in the gangway and near the doors). Incidentally, there were a few coaches some years back which had two, instead of three, seats in a row. It was significantly more comfortable than the normal trains (one of my friends referred to it as the ‘garba gaadi’, implying that it had enough space in the aisle to play ‘garba’ J). I wonder why the railways discontinued it.

b) Extra women’s 2^nd class coach in peak hours: While the proportion of women to total no. of passengers would have probably increased over past few years (more women joining workforce etc.), the no. of coaches reserved for them has not increased (in terms of % to overall capacity of the rake). In the evenings, the ladies 2^nd class coaches are a horrible sight from the outside, with ladies clinging on for dear life. Hence, there is a need for an additional half (or full) coach for women during peak hours (8 – 10 am and 5 to 8 pm). If need be, one ladies special during this period can be reduced (there is a world of difference in the occupancy levels of a ladies special and that of the ladies coaches in a normal train).

c) First class coaches to be refurbished: Today, as the popular saying goes, the only difference between 1^st and 2^nd class in Mumbai locals is the odour of those around you. Till recently, first class fares had remained virtually static for many years, which ensured that many more people (as a result of increased income) could afford first-class travel, as a result leading to over-capacity in first class coaches. Case in point, I travel from Goregaon to Santacruz in 2^nd class every morning (even though I have a 1^st class season ticket) simply because I have no way of getting into the 1^st class coach at Goregaon station. Hence, I feel first class coaches should be upgraded in terms of facilities (AC etc. ?) even at the cost of increasing the fares further. Maybe there can be a ‘luxury first class’ coach in each train (along with the two regular 1^st class coaches) with a premium being charged on its tickets. I prefer this to the suggestion of having full AC trains, which too me, do not serve much purpose. Maybe having such luxury first class coaches may also take some private cars off the road?

In the next post, I turn towards the balance part (almost as important) viz. passenger amenities and education.

Regards

Amit

Political theater: AK and the 48-day fling..

Note: Normally I hardly ever voice my opinion as far as politics is concerned (as can be seen from this blog as well as my FB/twitter posts), however over the past couple of months, as I try to make some sense of the political 'theater' in India via newsroom debates, op-eds in various online portals and the likes, I feel a bit compelled to speak out as we in India head towards what is undisputedly the most important general election in the past few decades, maybe since the post-Emergency elections in 1977. And the events of the past couple of days (first in Parliament and then outside it yesterday) have just forced me to put 'pen to paper' (an anachronism if there was ever one !)

So Arvind Kejriwal has resigned as Delhi chief minister. 48 days earlier, he had taken oath at a very public ceremony at the Ramlila maidan. FB and Twitter timelines were abuzz with fervent respect and admiration for the man (I, too, tweeted that he was the real Indian idol). While I was never an AAP fanboy, I had felt that maybe this (swearing-in) was a very real moment in Indian politics, where a party singularly born out of the need to eradicate corruption in this country had actually got into the system to do exactly that (albeit in a small but politically important state). I looked forward to his governance in Delhi and hoped that, if he is able to deliver on at least half the promises that he made before the elections (in an economically sound manner), maybe he will have a great chance at the national level come 2019. Now, as I went back to the newsroom debates and the FB/Twitter timelines yesterday, it was becoming very apparent that those hopes have been shattered. Sure, English channels, Facebook and Twitter can hardly claim to represent the aam aadmi, but it was maybe a sign that Kejriwal is beginning to lose support amongst the urban youth and middle class (atleast outside Delhi).

There are many ways of interpreting his resignation. Two of the most obvious ones which are widely discussed are that a) he realized that he would not be able to make good his promises to the people of Delhi and needed a way out that would also portray him as a martyr and b) he now has his eyes firmly on the Lok Sabha and sees himself as a genuine national contender. I somehow find the first very hard to believe. He may be called an anarchist, rabble-rouser etc etc, but for sure, Kejriwal is a very smart man. He would have known for sure, even before the Delhi assembly elections, of what he was getting into when he offered subsidized power, free water etc as his pre-poll promises. And having been part of the civil service earlier, he surely knew what it takes to run a government. If he believed he could not do it, then why accept the CM's post (especially when you do not have a majority) ?

The second theory seems slightly plausible. After yesterday's episode and the halo of martyrdom, maybe he believes he will get a sympathy wave come May 2014. But even if one were to believe it, what are the AAP's chances, at best, in the Lok Sabha election ? Not many opinion polls are giving them more than 10 seats. Even if you make it 20 or 25, AAP will still be a marginal player at the national level. And, forget the BJP and Modi, even if there is a cobbled up Third front government, they would think a hundred times before even approaching the AAP for any support, such is the reputation that the AAP has now got. So the chance of the AAP being part of any government are next to nil. In which case, do we see AAP continue with their frequent dharnas and press conferences etc ? But then will it serve any purpose ? As someone pointed out correctly yesterday, how will Kejriwal fight Mukesh Ambani and the likes from Ramlila maidan or Jantar Mantar ? Maybe he wants to put his bets on gaining a majority in the re-election in Delhi. But, even if he does so, the very nature of Delhi (part state-hood) means that he will have to work with whoever is there at the center. And if it is the NDA, as widely expected, then it is going to cause fireworks for sure. 

He would have done well in 2019 basis good governance, in Delhi. But, just maybe, he is in a hurry and is eyeing 2014 instead. His style of governance means that he will require a majority to get things done and, surely, 2014 is too early for it. It is going to be interesting to see where AAP and Arvind Kejriwal move from here.