IRCTC: Myth vs Reality

http://www.irctc.co.in needs no introduction. Each one of us have spent good amount of time just gazing at computer screen for something to happen. But to no avail. All we saw were “Connection Time Outs” and excruciating delays. I have seen people venting their anger on irctc website for failing to get tickets booked using choicest of expletives.

It seems all that is wrong with Indian Railways is just irctc website. It is just the website that hampers us from getting the tickets. And if it is fixed, we would all get tickets. But is it really the case?

Friends, website is just a mirage. All it helps is giving us common people a face to lambast, to vent our anger. The real problem is, we don’t have enough trains, we don’t have enough seats. Irctc is just a portal to book tickets, the tickets that are non-existent.

If a good chunk of a population of 120cr logs in on a website, no earthly power can prevent the crashes. Still with all those login failures and time outs, we see tickets are wiped off within 5-10 mins (more so with tatkal tickets). Why/How?

Try and understand that someone is getting the tickets ultimately. Someone who wants to travel just like us. Its not that the tickets are going waste. The problem is the pie. When pie is very small, the pieces of it would be small too. Here is where touts come in. People blame the ticket agents. You know they stand in ticket line since wee hours or sometime all through the night, to get the tickets booked for their clients. Why to blame them? They just earn a living out of a traversity.

Blame lies on the successive Governments. What have they done to increase the number of trains, increase the number of seats. Not only has our population increased over the decades, the travelling junta have increased manifold. In effect per capita seats (seats/travelling person), have gone down to abysmal stats.

Not much is being done in this regard. When railway gives impression that they are fixing irctc website, they are eliminating touts/agents, it is just a cosmetic exercise to keep people calm, to assure them that something is being done. It’s just a lollypop. The real problem is demand/supply. Unless we spread out the train lines, increase number of trains, this will continue.

India has already borne the brunt of people fighting for their own share of minuscule pies over the years. If something is not done soon enough, add train journey to the list of next social wars in the country.

Take Moral Responsibility and Resign

Wikipedia explains Moral Responsibility as, the status of morally deserving praise, blame, reward, or punishment for an act or omission, in accordance with one’s moral obligations.

He/she should take moral responsibility and resign. Of late I have been reading this statement a lot. This is very common in politics where probity is something which politicians have to abide by due to the public nature of their job. It is much less in private organizations.

This responsibility lies in one’s own moral obligations which differ from person to person. What might be moral obligation for Gandhi, might not be for Godse. I have been reading media reports on how/why head of a particular sports body is asked to resign taking so called moral responsibility. And the concerned person is not ready to.

There is a basic flaw which I find in the moral responsibility argument. When we know a person has done something wrong, it clearly makes him immoral. So in effect we are asking an immoral person to take moral responsibility. Which he clearly will not, as it means relinquishing the power.

On the other hand if a person has done nothing wrong, is honest and moral, the allegations will hurt him/her and in turn he/she will resign. Thus what “moral responsibility and resigning” conundrum does is, it makes moral people relinquish power while immoral people continue enjoying it.

What I feel is society and its pole bearers should get together and throw away the immoral people rather than asking for their resignation. In the particular case of this sports body, the moral people of the organization should get rid of the immoral. But the sad truth is, we are part of a society that celebrates immorality since it beds with power and money. And who would not want it?

Look around, which side would you rather be on? Honestly I would side with power, be it tainted. This is the chilling reality.

Shahrukh Frooti Ad: Meaning of Lyrics

I saw this latest Frooti advertisement featuring Sharukh and simply fell in love with the music, lyrics and concept. Lyrics, though hummable are not entirely clear in meaning.

Aamaletiya stavin crata pile pila,
Aamaletiya merlucchiya pile pila,
Inlorpotamanta tora tut tut tiya,
Less so less in nina amichiya strala,
Aamaletiya stavin crata pile pila – 4
Aameletiya merlucchiya…

I assumed these lyrics are not garbage and tried to de-cypher. What I saw is they are a mix of Japanese, Spanish, Swedish, Hindi, Italian words.

Beautiful and lovely mango, to us highly starving people, you will act as pile of batteries to recharge,
Beautiful and lovely mango, you are partly wicked, you will act as pile of batteries to recharge,
We are salivating greatly agreed, from unpleasant fighting people, we become happiest person in the world,
As it is getting over, like a little girl, it is emitting eternal love,
Beautiful and lovely mango, to us highly starving people, you will act as pile of batteries to recharge – 4
Beautiful and lovely mango, you are partly wicked…

Glossary:
Aam: Hindi, Mango
Letiya: Urban Lingo, Beautiful person, lovely heart
Stavin: Short for starving
Crata: French, might/strength
Pile: Spanish, batteries
Pila: Italian, Pile
Mer: An affix meaning “part”, used in chemistry
Lucchi: Hindi, wicked
Lor: Singapore Lingo, Agree
Pota: Uraban Lingo, Salivating
Manta: Spanish, Great Size
Tora: Japanese, Quarrel
Tut-tut: Urban Lingo, Disapproval
Tiya: Urban Lingo, Happiest person in the world.
Nina: Spanish, Little girl
Ami: Italian, Love
Chiya: Japanese, Eternal
Strala: Swedish, To radiate light

Disclaimer: This is just my view. Chances are, this might be entirey wrong.

बे-बस

थका हारा चढ़ा मैं बस में,

बगल में आकर बैठ गयी वो,

नींद उसकी आँखों में झलकी,

मेरा कन्धा कब बना सिरहाना,

न वो समझी, न मैंने जाना,

उसको उठाने को मन न माना,

मेरा स्टॉप जाने कब निकला,

एक मक्खी परेशां करने लगी,

अखबार से पंखा करता रहा,

टिकट आखिर की ले दी उसकी,

टीटी कहीं उठा न दे उसको,

बस की यात्रा में जिंदगी सजा ली,

सोते में उसके चेहरे पर हँसी,

दिल ले गयी हमारा, कन्धा भी,

जैसे जैसे आखिर स्टॉप आने लगा,

हमारे दिल में टीस सी उठने लगी,

सोचा उठाऊँ उसको, पूछूं नाम,

पर कुछ कर न पाया,

आखिर बस रुक गयी,

आवाज लगी, सब उतरो,

वो उठ गयी, कुछ अनजान,

कंधे से उठी, शर्मिंदा सी,

हम कुछ कहने को हुए,

जो ख्वाब बुने थे बयां करूँ,

वो बाल सही करने लगी,

दुपट्टा भी ठीक किया उसने,

गला ठक रहा था अबतक,

तभी कुछ दिखा हमें,

फलक में शब्द रुक गए,

सारे अरमां खाख हुए,

छुपा हुआ था पल्लू में जो,

हमें दिखा उसका मंगलसूत्र।

Death Crowd

In the middle of the night,
I had a dream,
Out went the light,
I could just scream.

Faint images I remember,
Amidst the fog, couldn’t see long,
Looked like winter of December,
Didn’t hear the chirpy song.

Half dig graves, dead all around,
No one mourn, no one stop,
The path I walked, didn’t seem ground,
So many crowds, silence pin drop.

Beads of sweat, landscape change,
Dead stood up, then burnt to ash,
Couldn’t fathom it, am I derange?
The thing I smoked, was it hash?

Itching inside, burning sensation,
Lots of air, short of breath,
Blood splurge, eyes burst open,
Elements destroyed, taken by death.

Deafening sounds, I cannot bear,
Not from outside, from within,
The sanity says, I am here,
Oracle says, pay for your sin.

Setting changes to serene, lush green,
Through the barren, life break out,
Just then I wake up, cells clean,
All that sticks with me, Death Crowd.

Office Meeting: Sketches

 

युग

दिल झर झर कर क्यूँ रोता है?
औ अँखियाँ सूखी सूखी क्यूँ?
जल भर भर कर वो पीता है,
प्यास है पर बुझती ही नहीं।

हैं सासें चढ़ी चढ़ी सी क्यूँ?
मन बैठा सा क्यूँ जाता है?
लब सूखे सूखे लगते हैं,
तन सावन से घबराता है।

दिन ढला ढला क्यूँ रहता है?
रातों को आँख क्यूँ चुँधियाती?
वो मीलों मीलों चलता है,
पर दूरी है घटती ही नहीं।

चढ़ते हैं रंग न होली में?
फुलझड़ी भी फुस्स हो जाती है।
पकवानों की सजी मंडी में,
मन खाने का न करता है।

वो तारे गिनने बैठा था,
एक हाथ खत्म न कर पाया,
सूरज की घनी तपन भी क्यूँ,
ठिठुरन सी देकर जाती है।

दुनिया की रीत परायी है,
लगता है कुछ अजब ग़जब।
हुआ है एक युग का अंत,
वो समझ न पाता है ये सब।।