Life guards on the beach - saving lives or removing fun?

I have very mixed feelings about the strike by life guards in Goa. I became aware of the strike the day after I went to the Calangute beach recently.

It was surprisingly quiet on the beach. I realized the reason when I read about the strike the next morning.

On a visit to the beaches a couple of months earlier, there was an almost continuous whistling by the lifeguards. It appeared as if they did not want the people to get into the water at all.

A life guard seemed to be gesturing towards me to move out of the area though I was at best in ankle deep water on the edge of the beach. It is possible that his gestures were directed towards someone else. However, I just moved further away seeking a quieter area.

In fact, at one place I saw a fight between the guards and some tourists and it seemed like a very likely occurrence. Typically Indian solution. Just don't do it. No explanation or reason for why :(

I want to hear the sound of the waves not whistles on beach.
 

Wealth, Quality of LIfe and Paradise Lost

I was pretty sure that I would retire in Goa. I loved the place. I like the greenery and the beaches. I like the small towns and villages with the comfort of a modern life.

Now somehow Bob Dylan's Things Have Changed resonates. The road in front of my flat now hums with traffic and it is bound to get worse. Taxi services are aimed at tourists who have no other options. With such conflicts, there is little chance of Ola or Uber like services.

If one way taxis from home to point of destination were easily available at reasonable costs, I for example would be happy to use them and not own a car. Who wants to search for a parking place near a beach or in the town?

I can't imagine roads being cleared of parked vehicles anytime soon. We don't need more roads but using the roads more effectively. That too is not going to happen.

I don't see any efforts on changing the mindset of the people. We should expect polite and courteous behaviour on the roads. Discourtesy should be the exception and not the other way around. Try showing courtesy to pedestrians and observe their nervousness!

I don't see any chance of cars being stopped and parked outside the coastal villages. We should move around the beach area by walking or using small electric vehicles like golf carts.

I can expect that we will widen the roads, create new roads. We will not create a society where people do not need to move around so much or need personal vehicles.  We will not be able to manage well with what we have. Growth is the modern mantra :(

In short, Goa is no longer an obvious choice for retirement. The cold and the heat of Chandigarh no longer seems so bad. I can walk to rose garden.

India should stop building roads and spend on autonomous transport

The surprising message for me after hearing this talk Keynote - AltCars Expo was the great reduction in the road space needed.

Assuming that this technology enables us to have a far better movement of traffic with the existing road infrastructure, we in India should be actively pursuing this future rather than building ever more roads. Can we make it work in India?

The cost of NOT doing it is visible in the example of Delhi:

I recall having a sore throat on every trip I took to Delhi by the time I reached my office from the airport. This was on trips to  Delhi prior to the introduction of CNG. The experience after that (2002 onward?) was far better  for some years. Meanwhile, Delhi built more roads, more flyovers, and even a metro, but the net result is that it has achieved the status of the most polluted city in the world!

How can autonomous vehicles share the road space with the current Indian traffic? It just seems impossible when even in the US, humans tend to hit the autonomous vehicles from the rear.

We should start with autonomous public transport, both buses and taxis, and create a legal framework which disciplines the human drivers harshly.

How about legally treating any human driver who hits an autonomous vehicle as attempting suicide. All legal responsibilities of insurance companies would be exactly the same as in the case of a suicide.

We can experiment with such a law today with riders on motor bikes  who are not wearing a helmet. I am pretty sure it will introduce social pressures and modify the behaviour of the riders. It may even help create a market for air-cooled helmets.

Andher Nagari Chaupat Raja - Software to The Rescue

Finally, a closure to closing a bank account! I was reminded of it by the title "Impersonal Government is Good".

I had resubmitted the papers again. I had visited the bank branch two days later before leaving Chandigarh, but the officer concerned was on leave. Obviously, no one else could help.

I hoped the officer would honor the commitment.  What else could I do anyway. She didn't as I found out online a few days later.

Fortunately, I found a form to submit a complaint. It took a few days but I got a call from the branch in Chandigarh asking to speak to my late mother!

After a bit of explanation, I could over-hear her talking to the officer concerned - "But it is in my CRM". Anyway, she told me it wasn't done but will be by next day and it was.

So, may be Manna should indeed be THE solution for Indian public services.

The Stress of Walking - Whats Wrong with Me?

I am walking in Mumbai. I know it as I am reminded by honking every few seconds. The upside is that there is no way that I could get lost in thought and be hit by a vehicle while crossing a road.

There must be quiet areas. We went to Powaii recently. Crossing the road to go to the lake side was an achievement. We didn't walk for long. I suppose it was to be expected. The walkway was nice  but the waters near the shore were filthy. We walked a little further and could no longer ignore a very noticeable odour. The odour was far from pleasant :(

I am walking in NCL Colony in Pune. The nearest post office is in NCL colony. It is wooded and a beautiful campus. Yet, I find that my mind is not relaxed. Whats wrong with me? I become aware of the hum of the traffic on the main road just across the boundary. It may not be visible to the eyes but there is no way that you can ignore the vehicles :(

My flat in Goa used to very quiet even though it is close to an industrial estate. It was quiet except for a year when an industry across our flat had put up a generator, which seemed to be designed to vibrate. I wish I could claim credit but fortunately the factory disappeared and so did the generator :)

However, I can no longer have hope a quiet miracle. The small road in front seems to be going somewhere now. There is a continuous flow of traffic on it. I suppose we will get the pleasure of watching traffic jams as well. Will I opt to forego cross-ventilation and succumb to an air conditioner? Oh, going for a walk - the best option is to take a car ride somewhere :( Reminds me of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

It has become easy for me to empathise with the victims of wind power. I would any day opt for the risk of being blown to bits by the explosion of a nuclear power plant.

Is age making me senile or has our environment deteriorated to such an extent that at least my mind can't ignore the noise anymore?

Update: Took the risk of going to the beach today. The traffic was not too bad and no high beams on the way back :) Walked on the beach. If only the movement of cars could produce the rhythm of the waves!

The soothing sounds of the waves are a great therapy.

Andher Nagari Chaupat Raja - just doesn't end

I returned after about 8 months and decided to check why the money from my mother's account was still not in my account.

As expected, the person handling the closure of accounts was now different. She said that there were no pending papers with her!

She checked the account and found that it was still active. She informed me that there is a 'lien' against the account and it cannot be closed. I was directed to the pension staff.

The person in-charge had no clue of why. He was waiting for a colleague to explain why the lien had been put. I waited and finally left. The first officer I had seen promised to find out about the lien and the missing papers and get back to me.

A week later, obviously, no feedback.

I go again and am redirected to the pension officer. This time his assistant is there and helps him navigate the computer system! The officer himself had put in the lien. It appeared that after my mother expired, the excess  pension deposited in her account had to be re-claimed. He put in the 'lien' as well as withdrew the amount but did not remove the lien.

Today, that problem solved, there remains the problem of missing papers. I have been given the form again with having to go through the same process again.

It is incredible the bank asking for documents of third parties aside from mine to 'prove' who I am when they have gone through all that process when opening my account. The officer's explanation - the other papers are bound and filed. So, I have to submit one more set (for them file and store).

However, I find it very embarrassing to ask for copies of documents from my neighbours which in principle could be used for identity theft. It is pointless trying to explain that to the bank. All I can do is to close the account once the money is transferred and never visit that bank again.

Discovering that I like books more than people

I am euphoric. My father is being transferred to Calcutta. We are in a train - in a first class compartment. So far, I have only traveled by 3rd class. I feel important. Today, though I am deeply embarrassed by my feelings of the time.

I am not going to miss the school in Delhi. Aside from the miserable experience of having to recite poetry, all I can recall is standing at the school bus stop in a blazer wondering if the bus has already gone or am I early.

It is a few months till my father gets a government flat from one the various priority queues. Its location is in the C row, where the flats are for clerical staff except that a couple of flats are kept for special cases like my father's. The class consciousness of the government officials' families was very noticeable. As soon as any of the children knew my address, they would wander off.

I spend my time reading books from the National Library. I read a lot. I have a rather peculiar way of bragging about it. When the exams came, especially the finals, I am bored. I keep up with the studies during the year and just cannot spend much time revising. (I am finally doing well in my studies though my parents never highlighted any of it.) The 60+ in humanities and 80+ in maths and science keep me among the top few students.

During one of the exams, I found Anand Math - a pretty thick and heavy book for a pre-teen but I enjoyed reading it during the classes when we were supposed to be quiet and revising.

Given my attitude, I can easily appreciate now that while my fellow students were friendly with me, there was no closeness with anyone. I miss that today.