When will our boys learn to accept "NO"...

I had been thinking a lot about it for quite some time but what prompted me to write about it finally was the gruesome incident in Delhi where a young girl of 21 years of age was brutally stabbed 22 times and killed in full public view...

That no one intervened is another story of apathy which grips this city but now I am more worried by the cause which resulted in this incident.

The reason why that man/ beast killed the girl was a simple one...

He could not take 'NO' for an answer and that too by a girl!

and he is not the only one...

We are raising a whole generation of entitled boys who can NEVER take NO for an answer.

It begins when they are too young to understand and they snatch a toy or anything they want from another kid and they are not told they are wrong...

It begins when they demand something which some other kid has and the other one is asked to give it as this boy makes a lot of trouble...

It begins when if the other one doesn't give it, he hits him/her but still he is not SLAPPED HARD ENOUGH to make him understand he is wrong... 

All because we go by those bookish parenting rules which says kids should not be hit or scolded and it goes on and on...

I am really scared to imagine what these entitled boys will grow up into, when right now they hit others, be it sisters, cousins, friends without any fear of repercussion if their demands are not met!

I might be called conservative, old fashioned but I can safely say our parents were much better parents than us and that the boys they have raised are much better citizens today than what this generation raised by us will grow up into...

And yes Thank you Amitabh Bachchan sir for the movie Pink which has brought this discussion again in our drawing rooms!

And a message to my daughter & all girls out there to say NO if you want to without any fear and be firm on it...

An ode to my Alma Mater

An ode to my Alma Mater – An Engineering marvel, on Engineer’s Day

Roorkee University as we called it, now IIT Roorkee, was earlier known as Thomason college of Civil Engineering.

One just needs to take a leisurely stroll in the campus & the Roorkee town to soak in the engineering design mastery done more than 150 years back!

MAIN BUILDING

The manner in which main building, its lawns & steps are designed taking into account the natural slope of the land is amazing to say the least. The building slowly unravels itself as one walks up the steps along the central median, almost the same way as one sees the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Rajpath. That too 150 years back with whatever surveying tools they had!

BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF MAIN BUILDING 

HANGAR/ CONVOCATION HALL

One look at a few buildings around the campus….

And not just the campus, the Roorkee town itself is witness to such great engineering feats…

Ganga Canal or Solani Aqueduct…

built in 1856 and still standing after 150 years…

1856

2012

TWIN STATUES OF LIONS GUARDING THE CANAL

Planned as an engineering college for Britishers in India who were mainly responsible for building canals for irrigation purposes, gave us such wonders of engineering which are to be preserved and also learned from.

Such is my Roorkee…

Though I myself am an architect but still this place makes me a proud alumni and hence this small ode to the place which has been giving engineers to our country since 1847…

Happy Engineers day!

Comedy Nights & Days of Corruption...

Comedy Nights & Days of Corruption

So this one tweet has brought corruption into our lives?

https://twitter.com/KapilSharmaK9/status/774040562450178048

It seems we did not have to deal with corrupt officials before Kapil Sharma made it public! And is it only BMC?

No way! One can easily say that corruption is a way of life in India. I see even my maid paying my guard some money so that he can suggest good houses for her to work in…

The security guards at main gate of society take money from vendors for letting them in…

And so it begins!

Schools – so called temples of learning ask for thousands as donations and it is an open secret…

Police constables don’t even need to ask for it when they come for verification for passports! It is for granted that one has to pay Rs. 1000 per visit…

So the point is we Indians have to deal with corruption at each and every step and we have become quite immune to it.

So when a Kapil Sharma points it, we outrage…

Yes he is wrong as he has encroached on land which not his & done some illegal construction, but who hasn’t!

Being in construction industry for more than a decade now I can vouch for the fact that one can find NONE who has never encroached upon any land which is not his or complied 100% to the prevalent building byelaws.

Many reasons for it, of which few are as follows:

• ·         Our greed because of which we are never satisfied with what we have hence even if only two persons are residing in a 2000 sqft house, they will still try to encroach upon more of the common land. This is prevalent in most of the upper middle class & higher societies.
• ·         Now for those who have lesser means & thus lesser land say 1500 sqft or less and people living in it exceeds 6or 7 sometimes 2-3 families… The bye laws are such that you are supposed to leave 25% of open space & 10ft x 10ft open space inside the house too…

How does one expect them to follow the byelaws?
So what happens is for everybody’s benefit. Plans are approved by giving bribes, then construction is done as per necessity and again bribe is given to get completion certificate.

My question is why make such laws which people are forced to break or bypass thus leading to corruption!

And such building byelaws are all over India…

They are supposed to be updated regularly but no thought is given to such archaic provisions. Basically they should give a broad guideline which should lay more importance to building safety & how it impacts the neighbours not on how much space is left inside…

Of course yes, this doesn’t diminish the illegality done by Kapil Sharma & many others who despite having the means still opt for ways to bypass laws!

INDIAN HANDLOOMS, SKILL INDIA, MAKE IN INDIA & THE CONSUMERS

Well, I had been thinking a lot about this for days now but what prompted me to write today is the MoU between Textile ministry & a handloom company promoted by none other than NDTV and the anger of almost all BJP supporters towards it…

What made me think about it was a casual visit to a local market nearby and while just browsing through the house hold furnishing items displayed which looked handmade like crochet table covers, jute mats etc, was surprised to know that all the items were from China. Of course the price was also very lucrative, none exceeding Rs. 500/- that too without bargaining.

Compare these with any of the ‘Handmade’ stuff we get to buy, either at the mahotsavs, shilp melas, Dilli Haat, emporiums or the last resort – FabIndia!

The difference in pricing is humongous! Starting from almost double to what one can’t even imagine to pay for simple household furnishings…

And if one asks why the price is so high, the simple reason always given is “It is handmade!”

What I want to request the Textile Minister, Skill India people, Make in India people to do is make these handmade, handicrafts,handloom items available at reasonable pricing to common middle class salaried people, who want to buy them but end up buying mostly Chinese stuff & keep these as mere souvenirs to be displayed during Diwali time.

Also important is to maintain the standard of items as it is generally seen that “Made in India” products lack the finish & perfection of even chinese products despite being costlier. All of us are aware of our typical Indian mentality of “chalta hai’ attitude. This needs to be countered to make “Make in India” really successful.

Till the time this is not done, the ministry's tie ups with NDTV or its allied company will not make any real difference. The customers will again be the same ‘FabIndia’ crowd who will have another such high priced avenue to spend their ‘hard earned money’…