"Dabba" To The Rescue

Was in Mysore a few days back and as always in the midst of trying to get out of Bangalore before the morning traffic trapped us in I managed to skip breakfast. 5 hours later after finishing 3 meetings and very visibly hungry I happened to spot a Subway outlet and what struck me a deal I got a foot long sub (Non Veg) @ 150. Very happy I carried the parcel to the site office where I sat down with a rather roundish looking person. He had his “BIG” lunch dabba out and pulled out a vast array of food ranging from Rotis to Rasam. I watched him as he managed to slurp his rasam, tucking into the canary-yellow lemon-rice, setting aside the sautéed green curry leaves that had done their flavoring job, pour ghee on his rotis and once you though he was done he signaled for a tumbler and made fresh butter milk from the supply of curd he had. Meanwhile I munched away my sub and wondered who on earth would on this day travel with a huge dabba. Suddenly, as if he had the question all along, the man threw me a question – How Much? What do you mean how much I though. 150 in all I said pretty proud I got a whole sub for that price. But my thoughts were soon broken rather shattered by his reply. You like to buy eat drink and be merry don’t you. I nodded. As if not even bothering to wait for my reply he went on. Youngsters all you want now days is junk food, (what was wrong with that I wanted to ask but he went on), you by and large buy everything including food, pizzas, burgers, steaks and things, all swiped through credit cards with no concern about mounting debt.

Mounting What ?? I began to wonder if the guy was mad. I finished off my last bit of Pepsi to reply to that but he was ready for his parting shot rather Salvo. Carrying around a lunch box may not be cool but you for certain are a bigger fool to have paid 150 bucks for a bun mostly filled with veggies. Saying so he scurried away and the last portion of my sub turned into a lump which just did not go down my throat.

Fast forward to a couple of hours later I was travelling back to Bangalore I happened to ponder over the events occurred during lunch. To my alarming surprise everything the man did say fell into place. Yeah we were going the so called western way of buy eat drink. There are hundreds of such places now. Every mall these days has a food court and most of them are full. Places serving “Fast Food” are on an increase even school kids do not carry “Tiffin Boxes” these days. Much like our Western Friends who would spend seven full dollars daily at the Taco Bell, Deli or Subway round the corner we too are going towards the same mindset. Spend today man for tomorrow we can either Die or Diet.

But seriously whatever happened to the option of cooking your own meals and carrying them around. 30 minutes or else free, the mantra guarantees that food may arrive here quicker than the ambulance. I still remember the days my mom packed up stuff for me to eat on my journeys. Apart from the fact that the food would keep me from eating junk outside what it did mostly was save money. As a student who has spent quite some time studying outside I know the benefit of saving even 50 bucks. Why can’t we have our Gandhi-capped Mumbai dabbawalas for networking glitch-free cylindrical lunch box deliveries across the country? Better still if one is in Bangalore walk into a Darshini for complete hassles free Meal. At a range of 20 to 30 bucks it’s a deal.

What we would not want is to turn into what America is today, overripe on credit. Thought the sub prime has been the main reason, years of swiping of credit cards to buy lunches too have some effect.

Bloody Indians"

For “Indians” the detention of SRK could not have come at a better time. Most of us would have probably slept through the day enjoyed a lazy lunch and just switched on the TV to find news channels covering the issue. Though late in the day the “Patriot” within us awoke and probably slammed the US custom officials with the choicest of words. Bollywood has come out in force with each “Khan” capturing moments of them being detained in the past.

Well the support is good and so are the viewpoints, but then the questions that remains is all the support was aimed at what. Was it for the millions of “Khans” like SRK who probably get detained for hours exceeding 2 as the foreign embassy wont vouch for them, was it for the select people who have been detained for carrying a beard or wearing other “religious symbols”. I guess it was not for we were just plain annoyed that one of our “Superstars” got detained. The case is similar with SRK. He is very well aware of the fact that his name ends with a title which would arise attention in western countries, but then he got pissed because it was “him” who got detained.

The problem of “Terrorism” has prevailed in India since long. The Indian Army has been dealing with it since 15 days of the formation of “Independent India” and still are paying a heavy price for it. Anyone in Kashmir wearing the odd raincoat or a shawl can be pulled up for interrogation. The man/woman maybe innocent but then that is the way over there. After all these years I still do not see a Sikh entry into the SPG (Special Protection Group) guarding the Prime Minister. Mind you the Punjab and Sikh battalions of the Indian Army comprise of the countries premier strike forces.

But post 9/11 Muslims across the world have been subject to prejudice. The west seems to recognize “Terrorism” by tagging it with “Names” and other “Religious Symbols”. But then millions of such people regularly go through such harassment as they are a “nobody” moreover they are out of their country. But then to be fair to the US they take the killing of their own people in a way of seriousness that is required. Post 9/11 there has not been a single “terror” related issue in the US and it is largely due all these efforts, which by the way I do agree is very shameful and degrading. But then it is the duty of a country to protect its civilians from threat no matter what the cost. Look at the countries affected by “Terrorism” in Asia. Look at our own record for that. One just “Sailed In” and took the whole security system for a six. The US and UK both have invested heavily to screen every person that lands on their shores, so high is their efficiency that they did not even let their Celebs off the hook. Metallica front man James Hetfield was reported to have been detained in Luton Airport in UK for his “Goatee” which arose suspicion that he may be a “Terrorist”.

Rather than say he dosnt need a apology what SRK should have done is take steps to see that the whole “Branding” of “Terrorism” done by the west is broken. People need to realize a man having a particular surname of sporting a particular beard has got nothing to do with spreading terror. Religion, be it any where helps rise and keep faith. SRK is a global sign and a few clarifications from him would do well for the millions of other “Nobodies” who get stopped everyday.

But then as it was pointed out the support was not for the other “Nobodies”, it was for the “Baadshah” himself. One can now easily plot the next blog coming up labeled “Tit for Tat”. Stop the “Firangs” and degrade them too. But then we would not even eyeball one and rather lay the “Red Carpet” down for them. Even after 62 years the “Colonial Hangover aint Over”. But then for us “Bloody Indians” that aint the problem.

The answer is “PLAIN BLOODY LETHARGY”. But then we would not mind standing in a mile long line to get hold of “Black” tickets for the “Baadshah’s” latest flick.

“Bloody Indians” someone did paint a very apt picture.

Encountering the Dragon - Hukou

Anyone aware of what “Hukou” is.

So for the benefit of all the UNAWARE it is basically a resident permit issued by the Chinese government, allowing one to stay in China even if you were born there. It is issued on family basis. Every family have a Hukou booklet that records information about the family members, including name, birth date, relationship with each other, marriage status (and with whom if married), address and your employer...

Everyone in China has a Hukou.

Now this booklet is very important. One is expected is stay where they were born and stay there until there demise. One cannot move around. One can travel but then there is no access to jobs, public utility services or food. It is just like visiting other places with a B-1 (business) type of visa - you can visit, but cannot work there (it is illegal), cannot go to school (not accepted), cannot go to hospital (without a hukou, you are not treated). For food, in those old days, you cannot buy food no matter how much money you have. You need to use Liangpiao (The currency for food) with money together to get food. Liangpiao is only issued by the government of the place your Hukou is registered.

The worse is when it comes to travelling, If you travel without a hukou, you don’t exist, you’re a non-person. If you go to Shanghai, or anywhere else, you’re treated as an illegal. No place to stay, no licence to work, no assured pay, even if it’s a few grains of rice a day.

China very rigidly manages the flow of people from one place to another and one cant just travel upto Shanghai or Beijing. He or she would have to have a Hukou.

That then has to be stamped by the local Party commissar in your city and also stamped by someone higher up in the Party in the city you want to go to. Then and only then do you get to move.

All the trouble to move around we Indian’s would have gladly stayed at home, but then China being China passenger rail transport is one of the principal means of transport, with 1.456 billion railway trips taken in 2008.

But we don’t need to have a Hukou to move around in India. The trains keep on moving rather chugging and the bogies are always full. The “mango people” like to travel and we do so with aplomb. Along the journey we ensure that we crib and curse on and at the system which runs the railways. Are we justified to do so, well there does not seem to be a reason for that much of it comes to us as a BIRTHRIGHT.

But lets be kind to the “Mango People” and paint a picture of the so called “Ordeal” of travelling on the Indian Railways. This would include getting into a general compartment, stow your meager luggage, and then hope for the best that you’re not kicked around at three in the morning when you’re trying to sleep sitting on a hard wooden berth shared by four other uninvited co-passengers. And on the upper berth, callused feet, dangling, kicking you around the face.

All this time though people inside would try and wage a futile war to keep the door shut against the tide of people trying to rush in and as always - since the will of the person trying to catch a train than the one inside being more strong – the numbers inside the coach would increase.

The bathrooms in all the bogies always malfunction which seems very strange. Either there is no water or there is a leak in the flush which eventually drains the tanks out into the bogies much to the distaste of the passengers. The aromatic sewage from the loo spilling out and lovingly wetted the pants of the unfortunates crowded there and the curses flowed.

But we would be on the same train the very next time we needed to be. Why so?? Well the answer is simple. This was the cheapest ride back home for the “Mango People”. One did not need a ticket a mere bribe and the stamina to endure the above mentioned would be enough to get you to your destination. AND we did not need to have a HUKOU.

The general compartments’ are filled with our so called “Mango People”, people who would be responsible to take the country forward. The best diamond cutters in Gujarat come from Bengal. Going home, we experienced really free migration first hand: the poorest of the poor, our co-passengers, would do anything to migrate for work to a better place, paying just 10 rupees to the TTE.

To get a Hukou in China is tough mostly so to control the flow of migrating workers. But then the rigidity would not help the Dragon in times of a downturn.

But then “The Mango People” will travel and business will prosper.