Finally stumbled upon a flaw in the Japanese.

It is really tough to find flaws in the Japanese. They are extremely courteous, patient,
good listeners, very intelligent, punctual, hard-working, drive sanely, accord the utmost importance to cleanliness and very eager to help. I could just go on - there are just too
many desirable traits in them.

During my last visit here, some months ago, I couldn't help wondering whether they do
not have atleast one flaw in them, some behaviour which could be seen as wrong. But no,
could not find even one.

This time around, I seem to have finally stumbled upon something. An important client
was coming over to our office with a couple of his subordinates to discuss about the project
that we were working on for them. I was told that I would need to be there at the meeting
which was scheduled for 11AM. Apart from me, my organisationwould be represented by
our local office manager and another engineer who works at our Tokyo office.

Knowing the Japanese penchant for punctuality, I was in the conference room 5 minutes
before the meeting, making some quick notes about the points on the agenda. As if by magic,
as soon as the office clock showed 11AM, the clients trooped in. To say that I was amazed by
the timing, would be a gross understatement. I have seen their metro trains arrive at the scheduled time, to the exact minute. But this was incredible.

Ofcourse, my deviant Indian mind, could not help thinking, "What if they had arrived some
5-10 mins earlier and were just waiting downstairs, having a smoke or something and then walked in at the exact time? " Even if this were to be the case, it is neither wrong nor does
it take away anything from their penchant for punctuality, because they still took the effort
to be at our place before the scheduled time of the meeting.

Anyway, they troop into the conference room and after the normal introductions and
exchange of business cards, we get down to business. We start of in English, but soon
I see (or rather hear) that they have switched to Japanese to converse among themselves.
So, while the group of 5 are animatedly discussing among themselves, I am sitting there wondering what the heck is happening. All I am able to make out are some tech-jargon
which they have kindly decided to retain in its English form.

I think that it's a temporary thing and that they will switch back to English, but even as
time goes by, I do not see any chance of it happening. If this were to happen in India, it
would be considered seriously rude behaviour. And it was not a one-off thing, because I
saw it happening again.

However, after that first experience, I have wisened up to the act. As soon as I see them
move to Japanese, I excuse myself and tell them that I have to get back to work and will
only be glad to come when I am required. Otherwise, I don't think I will be able to get any
work done here, if I remain in the conference room for hours, wasting my time in a meeting where I am just a mute spectator, and not a contributor that I am supposed to be.

Back again in "the safest city in the world".

Yes, am back in Tokyo for another 3-week visit on work (how I wish I could be here on
vacation). But then, if wishes were horses, software engineers would fly.

Anyway, was looking forward to seeing new stuff and also blogging about them.
But this trip looks like it would be hectic. Am already on the 4th day here and I
am yet to do 3 things that I love and which I usually do when I visit a new place.

In no particular order, they are "walking around the city and taking in the sights",
"photographing anything interesting" and "trying out the local beer". But then I did
not factor in the hectic schedule that awaited me here. Suffice it to say that my
walking shoes are yet to be unpacked, the camera has not been touched and I am
yet to drink even one beer.

Hey Will, if you are reading this, I miss the fun we had during the last visit here, the
trying out various cuisines, the karaoke bars etc.

All I hope is atleast I get to indulge in the three activities during the weekend.
And ofcourse be able to blog once in a while.

A lazy Sunday photo-blog

Had been to Kerala again last week for 4 days. Main reason for the visit to attend a friend's wedding - yes, the friend about whom I had posted here, who wanted only a nurse as his wife. And yes, he did finally get a nurse as his wife.

Since the trip was planned at the last moment, I did not get reservations in the usual train
which arrives at my home-station at a normal 9AM. Instead, had to take a train that would deposit me there at an ungodly 5AM. Set an alarm on the mobile phone for 4:30AM and
went off to sleep. However was woken up much earlier by the ruckus created by passengers who had to detrain at stations before mine. Anyway, reached home at 5:30AM with not much sleep.

Normally I would've just hit the bed, but decided to go for a long leisurely walk through the countryside. The plan was to take a route that I have never taken before. Even though it's
my hometown, there still are lots of places I have never been.

So, off I hit the road with my camera. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I would let
my camera do the talking.

1) Lotus blooming in the field.




2) Don't let the water and canoe misle you into thinking that this is a river.
It's a field that got submerged in the heavy monsoon that Kerala gets every year.




3) People taking the boat to attend Sunday mass. Yeah, like you and me would take the bus or train. :-)

4) The boatman rows across the river to get the next set of people.




5) This young chap was all along watching me with curiosity and was sportive when I asked him to pose for a snap.

6) Nothing to beat some fishing on a Sunday. What say ?

7) Our parish church - awaiting the faithful on a Sunday morning.




All in all, it was worth the time and effort. Should do more of such exploring next time I am there.

How about walking the talk, preacher ?

I was in church last Sunday after a long time. Over the years, I have managed to avoid
Sunday mass, while still remaining a believer. What turned me off was the quality (or
actually the lack of it) in the sermons that are, according to me, the meat of the one hour
(typical duration of a Catholic mass) spent in church.

As far as Catholic services go, the mass will be the same anywhere, line-by-line, with the
sermon given by the priest being the only differentiator. My time would have been spent
wisely on an otherwise lazy Sunday, if the sermon makes me think and does even a tiny
bit to make me a better human being. If it lacks that spark, I would rather stay at home.

At my parish church, we used to have a priest who was not only good with words but also
the content was educative and informative. As long as he was the parish priest, I would religiously attend Sunday mass. He got transferred to another parish and the replacement
did not really get my attention and thus I stopped attending mass for some time. However,
I would still drop in at church during late evenings to spend some time in solitude, conversing with the power above.

The current priest left on a temporary deputation and so we had a new priest as a stop-gap arrangement. I decided to check out the new incumbent, thinking,"What if he is good with sermons ?".

So, I sacrifice my usual late-into-the-morning Sunday sleep and haul myself to church.
When we get to the sermon part, I am impressed by the priest's speaking skills and the
subject he had chosen to speak on. He mentioned about today's mad rush world, with
people busy with work and making more and more money. And in the process they not
only fail to look around them and appreciate the joys of nature, but are also increasingly becoming indifferent to other human beings, including their own family members.

He urged people to take time out to converse with people, to take genuine interest in
those that are suffering from disease or other problems, to spend time with the elderly
who are lonely and to help those that are not as blessed in life like us. Sounded good to
me, given that our daily lives have become so routine and machine-like that we don't
even have the time or the interest to think of others.

I am enthused enough to start making plans of how I could make a difference to others
and think in terms of doing something for charity - maybe visit the orphanage nearby
or try to volunteer some time for an old-age home and so on. So, while the priest continues
with his sermon, I am actually mentally debating what I should be doing.

I am brought back to the church from my mental meanderings by a loud shout. It takes
me some time to understand where the shout came from and at whom it was directed.
It seems that a mentally challenged boy (looked like in his early teens) who was sitting in
the front row, decided that the sermon was getting too long and boring for him. So, he
leaves his seat and walks around near the altar, resulting in the whole gathering looking
at him and whispering amongst themselves.

This seems to have enraged the priest, who till a few seconds ago was talking about caring
for and understanding others, lost his cool and screamed at the poor kid. So much for all
his talk on being considerate to others etc etc. All the time and effort that he spent on
preaching to the audience, was to me a complete waste of time, if he could not himself do
what he preached to others. All he needed to do was walk the talk and the audience would
have got the message, than by his giving an hour-long sermon, which he himself does not
believe in practicing.

Anyway, looks like I would not need to waste time at the Church on a sunday morning
for some time to come. A morning walk should do me more good.

Blood is thicker than water ? Think again.

Read about this lady in a weekly magazine. She is a native of Orissa and had been married
for something like 8 years. Life was good to the couple except for the fact that they were not blessed with a kid. They tried all the usual avenues - gynaecs, fertility clinics etc etc, without any success.

Finally they decided that they have had enough of it and decided to adopt a kid. They got
in touch with an adoption agency and soon were able to adopt a kid. The baby brought joy
to them and gave a new meaning to their life. However, what they had not factored in was
societal opposition to adoption. Her parents, inlaws and other relatives were all against
them adopting a kid and tried their best to convince them against it.

However, they stood by their decision and soon the cute baby turned all its detractors into ardent admirers. All those that had been against bringing the baby home, were now waiting
for a chance to hold the baby and spend time watching its kiddy behaviour.

The kid grows up with love from all quarters and soon no one is even thinking that it is
an adopted kid. Ofcourse destiny has to put in a turn of events to rock the boat. The lady becomes pregnant. To say that the couple are surprised would be putting it real mildly.
All these years they had tried every means to have a kid of their own, without any success.
And now when they had given up hope, they get blessed out of the blue.

The whole family is happy about this development, except for the lady herself who is in
two minds now. While she is happy that she is going to be a mother, she is also worried
that once her biological kid comes, her love for the adopted one would diminish, which
definitely is a possibility given the way normal human behaviour goes.

As days go by, she is more and more agitated about this unexpected turn of events and
tries to get a handle on how the future would look like, when her baby would join the family. Though she feels that she would treat both the kids similarly and fairly, she still cannot rule
out the small possibility of being more closer to her biological kid.

She finally decides that if she indeed happens to love her own kid more than the adopted
one in the future, it would not be fair to the bundle of joy that helped give a new meaning
to their life some years ago, when they were all down due to not having kids.

So, she does something which would be unimaginable for any normal woman in her place.
She terminates her months-old pregnancy. I was purely zapped reading this article and
amazed at the sacrifice that she did for the sake of anotherhuman being who is not even connected biologically to her.

Looks like blood is not thicker than water, as we have been led to believe.

You want who ? A nurse ? OK, get in line.

Was talking with a friend while at Kerala last week. He works in Saudi Arabia (or the 'Gelf'
as any self-respecting Mallu would say) and was in Kerala on a well-deserved 3-month
vacation after some 2 years of slogging it out there. Primary intention of the visit was to find himself a wife.

We meet over a few whiskey-and-sodas and our conversation went something like below :

Me : So, you are having fun at home. 3 months of vacation sounds cool to guys like us, who
have to do with occasional visits of few days.
Friend-1 : Yeah, but even if your duration of stay is less, you get to come whenever you
feel like, while we get to come only once in 2-3 years. So, sort of evens out, doesn't it ?

Me : Thats true. We get to make more frequent trips, though short ones.
Friend-1 : Anyway already 2 months went by so fast. And still no success on getting a wife, even after some 10 bride-seeing visits. I have only 1 month leave left.

Me : Why did none of the 10 girls work out ? You did not like any of them ?
Friend-1 : Well, some of them I did not consider - mainly because they were not working.
And the ones I preferred, the girl's side did not respond after that - maybe they did not like
me or my job or something. Anyway, its been a pain, this bride searching.

Me : What are your priorities when you consider a girl to be your future wife ?
Friend-1 : Well, looks is definitely important, though I am not looking for a beauty queen. Looks compatible with mine should be more than enough. And what is important is
that she should be working, preferably a nurse. I would prefer a girl with a B.Sc. (Nursing)
degree, though if push comes to shove, I can make do with someone having a General Nursing degree also.

Me : In that case, why did you not look around at all the Keralite girls working as nurses in Saudi Arabia itself ? Would have saved you the trouble of going around here looking for a bride.
Friend-1 : Nice suggestion, but there are issues with that. For one, those girls earn big money there (nurses are highly paid in the Gulf countries) and would therefore look only at guys who earn much more than them. And secondly, the good ones would already behitched to someone.

Me : OK, so thats not a viable option. So what is the plan of action for you now ?
Friend-1 : I have some more bride-seeing visits lined up in the coming days. Hoping one of them works out.

Me : Best of luck with your search and hope you find a suitable mate soon.

Since he has to go the next day on another bride-seeing session, he decides it better to
stop after one large peg and pushes off. While I am left alone at our awesome open-air bar,
enjoying my second drink, another friend comes along.

Me : Hey, every other girl in Kerala is a nurse, or so it seems. Then why is it so tough for
guys to get a bride who is a nurse ?
Friend-2 : That's so easy. You know what ? Our guys who work in the Gulf, all want only nurses as brides. But do you know what the nurses are angling for ? They want doctors as husbands. That's the whole issue. :-)

Hmm. Quite logical thinking on our girl's part, right ?

P.S: Have been thinking of a post on our open-air bar for a long time. Should do it soon.

Comments on the blog post on Dr.Jacob and my response

As promised in my previous post, here follows the comment (quoted verbatim) by Viswanthan on my initial blog post on Dr.Jacob Thomas. Be warned that it is going to be a long read.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Viswanthan said...
It is nice to see this blog. As of today what has happened. Where is the author.

Mr. Jacob Thomas IPS was sacked. I think in January this year(or December last year?).
It gained some media attention. But what so. The 'anonymous' shall remain proud to be Indian.

However, I, being a regular customer of Supplyco and a college lecturer was interested in the sudden changes that could be perceived then. I was happy that the public enterprise is going in the right direction. But what so.Who is there to support him. Only powerless public among a few who are aware of the real situation.

But to know the real situation is an onerous task even if one wishes so. Why? Because ordinary citizens are more involved in trivial matters. They also strive to thrive in this world by reaching to get their own rights viz., basic necessities. In between this struggle who has to provide them with the correct information. Sure, it is the elite political class especially in Kerala. Alas, what is the state of affairs of this political class in Kerala. Well. They are increasingly goaded by the hidden philosophy and principles of acquing more money. It would be worthy to note down that the great left politicians who want 'eradication of corruption' played the pivotal role in throwing out him.

Many medias in that time had told about the connections between both the left and right in ousting him mercilessly. Actually, is he who was mercilessly stamped out. No and never. He is an IPS officer, who can very well prove himself and change another bad scenario into good. So the merciless attack was on the common people of the Kerala State. Please read the recent political developments in Kerala where corruption in different fields was highlighted. This would definitely give us an idea of how the recent political class has become classless.

Even the left front who has the history of pro poor has proven to exist so but in words alone. Then who should have had brought the issue to lime light. Yes it was the media. Did media play correct role. No. Why? May be because they have to protect their own interests. Or they were not knowing the actual situation. But are we so naive to assume that our elite media was not knowing the actual situation. No we are not. Media are interested in protecting only their own interests. Isn't it.

I would even say that the media group that had then apparently supported Mr. Jacob Thomas IPS was doing so not because of their love for a corruption free Public distribution system. Instead they were doing that simply because somehow their larger interests were meeting with these.

Will the world ever change. May be. When will we change into a dignified society. God knows. Why these politicians are speaking about 'understanding the reality' now and then so as to highlight their stances to be correct in the existing circumstances. Doesn't they have any role in creating a real situation. In reality, isn't that our own actions lead to reality. Are our political class and the bureaucrats, to a lesser extent, so ignorant and short sighted. Yes. I feel so.

This is an era where people initiate into politics as a career unlike our great past leaders who had dropped their career and entered into politics, raising voice against injustice and fighting brutalities. Then it was not politricks. Now, the political elite - even in the so much acclaimed educated Kerala - are the main perpetrators of injustice. What they all have to show off and cover up is nothing but their own hypocrisy.

Can a Jacob Thomas uproot the rotted system alone. In order to achieve an egalitarian society we need a responsive youth that cannot be bend or mend by political, religious, class, race or any such affiliations. Instead we need, those who values human beings as human beings rather than manipulative objects and who loves their fellow beings, if we have to revolutionise ourselves into an egalitarian society.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And this was my response :

incaRed said...
viswanthan,
I appreciate your comment on my post and more so your concern for the state in which
India is today. I also share your helplessness in being unable to do much to change the scenario.

However, each of us, however powerless we might seem individually, can surely make a difference, if we try to ie. You being a college lecturer can actually do a lot. I have had the good fortune of having teachers who did not just teach stuff from the book, but also inculcated in me ethics and pride of being an Indian.

I am sure you could also deviate occasionally from the textbooks to impart knowledge to your students which would make them a better human being. I on my part would continue trying to bring out to the world gems like Dr.Jacob Thomas who are trying in their own way to make a difference. Apart from walking my talk.

Hoping for a better India.
Thanks.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And this was another comment on the post, which is quoted here only because Viswanthan
refers to it in his comment :

Anonymous said...
proud to say I'm an INDIAN.........after reading this

An update on Dr.Jacob Thomas I.P.S.

I had written here in February 2006, about Dr. Jacob Thomas, who happens to be one
of the very few honest and committed officers that India is fortunate to have. I have had
a few visitors reach this blog searching for "Dr Jacob Thomas I.P.S" on google. However
over time, the interest in Dr. Jacob diminished.

But the last few days have seen a resurgence in interest in him, though I had no clue why.
It became clear when I talked to my people in Kerala. Yesterday, the PDP leader Maudhani
was exonerated for a crime he was supposed to have committed and for which he had been
in jail for the past 9 years or so. I have no love lost for Maudhani or for any one who uses
religion in politics. But, is it fair to have a person put in jail for 9 long years due to political revenge on false cases ? I think not.

Anyway, what is the connection between Maudhani and Dr.Jacob ?
It seems, 9 years ago, when Dr.Jacob happened to be the police commisioner of Cochin
city, the ruling Left coalition at that time wanted him to arrest Maudhani without any
valid reason. Since Dr.Jacob was one who went by the law and because he knew that
arresting a leader who enjoyed considerable support among the Muslim community in
Kerala would lead to serious law and order problems, he refused to arrest Maudhani.

Indian politicians being what they are, they could not tolerate an officer who refused to
do their bidding. So, the same night he was removed from the post of police commisioner
and the government went ahead and had Maudhani arrested by some other pliant police
officer.

Now that the courts have ruled that Maudhani is innocent, Dr.Jacob has been proven right
in the stand he took many years ago. A newspaper in Kerala had published this and thus
the renewed interest in Dr.Jacob.

Anyway, much water has flowed down the Pampa river since my initial post on him
and his work as M.D. of SupplyCo, which prompted me to do this update on Dr.Jacob.
Another thing that prompted me to do this update was a comment on my original post
by a concerned citizen from Kerala (Mr.Viswanthan) who happens to be a college lecturer
and a long time consumer of Supplyco. I will post his comment and my reply in another post.

As I had mentioned in my initial post, Dr.Jacob put in lot of effort and time to streamline Supplyco's operations and to transform it from a government organisation rooted in
corruption to one that actually worked for the people, as it was intended to.

However, along the way, a new Government (left front again) came to power in Kerala.
We, like other people aware of Dr.Jacob's work, expected the communist government to continue giving him a free hand to carry on his good work. After all, communists are
supposed to be for the poor and the down trodden, right ?

But, nothing could be farther from this point of view. The left parties in India today are
just another political party, with most leaders out to line their pockets when they get a
chance in power. They remember the poor and downtrodden only when they need crowds
for their rallies and demonstrations.

So, within a few months of coming to power, they had Dr.Jacob removed from his post
as Managing Director of Supplyco and instead posted him as the head of Kerala State
Film Development Corporation (KSFDC), which clearly was a move to demotivate him
by assigning a competent officer a function where he would not have a chance to put in
use his skills.

When he was moved to KSFDC some months ago, all I thought was that the corrupt
elements who were dislodged from Supplyco would have pulled the strings to have him
removed so that they can get back and enjoy the fruits of corruption which Dr.Jacob had
denied them. But now that we know the Maudhani connection, I would not be surprised
if the lefties had him removed as a revenge for not arresting Maudhani when they were
in power last time.

Anyway, knowing Dr.Jacob, I am sure that he is not one to sit sulking at KSFDC.
He would instead channelise his energy to make that organisation a better one.
Our best wishes to him.

Supplyco's loss would only be KSFDC's gain.

Star sighting at Chennai

Had gone to the basement parking area for a coffee break with colleagues, when I saw a
familiar-looking woman walking to the Suzuki Zen that was parked near where we were standing.

Did not really need to rack my memory to connect the face with the personality, even
though it was a long time since I had seen her. It was Rekha Menon, who at one time
used to host a very interesting quiz programme called FTQ (Family Tele Quiz) on a
Malayalam channel. For all I know, it could still be on TV today.

FTQ used to be pretty big with the Malayalam viewers who could call a phone number
and take the rapid-fire kind of quiz on questions involving general knowledge. I remember trying a lot to get across to that phone number, without any success though.

There used to be some kind of prizes for the winners. But more than the lure of the prize,
I think it was the talent of the hostess (Rekha) that made the show popular. People loved
the way Rekha hosted the program. She was lively and interesting and to top it all, the
highlight was her Trichur accent.

Trichur (pronounced as Trishur) is a district in Kerala, where the people speak Malayalam
in a special way. Actually they seem to sing the language rather than speak it, which has
always been amusing and entertaining for us Mallus from the rest of Kerala.

And ofcourse, she looks good and has a nice Mallu girl look to her, which could have also
worked in her favour. I even know a Tamil friend (I am sure he would read this as he
drops in occasionally to this blog) who used to be a regular viewer of the program
inspite of not understanding Malayalam. I am not sure, but her looks could have
been more of a factor in luring him to the program than interest in quizzing. :-)

Trichur has another claim to fame among Keralites. The girls from Trichur are supposed
to be the most beautiful among Keralite girls. This might be a very broad generalisation,
but somehow all the Trichur girls I know look great. So maybe there is some truth to it.

Anyway, I see her and without realising it, keep staring at her. She notices this
continous stare which makes me turn my gaze away. She might have mentally
made a note, "Another Mallu in Chennai who happens to have seen my program".

And you know what, she looks much better than she actually looks on TV. Infact, she
looked really good in person. Googled for an image of hers to put here and this is what
I came up with. However, this picture does not really do justice to her looks.


Picture courtesy : www.esquareworld.com

So, what was she doing in a complex housing IT companies?

A friend tells me that apart from hosting programmes on TV, she also works for an IT
company at Trivandrum (Kerala), which happens to have a development centre in our
building. So, most probably an official visit to Chennai.

Anyway wish her all success and luck and may her program be more popular with viewers.