Mumbai musings - 4... PM in town...

As soon as I got into my cab for my morning ride to work, the cab driver remarks, "sab aaj koi mashoor doctor saab IIT campus aa rahe hain. Poora road saaf sutara hai aur police laga rakha hai"(Translated to -> Sir, some famous doctor is visiting IIT campus today. So the roads have been cleaned and police enforcements have lined up the roads). This statement got me really curious, and since the IIT campus was on my way to work, I happened to notice a huge banner, with a colorful picture of the visting dignitary, outside the gate with the following wordings:
"A very warm welcome to Dr.Manmohan Singh, the honorable Prime Minister of India". That reminded me of the long road ahead for Indian literacy and awareness.

Mumbai musings - 3... Bureaucracy...

On my first day at work, I was given a rude awakening of the bureaucracy which is prevalent throughout India. I was surprised to find this even in well known hi-tech companies for small things like getting an entry badge. For my 2 weeks of work at this site, I had to get a temporary badge to have access to the buildings. For this, I was asked to get 2 photographs by a good-hearted colleague who was here before me without which, this experience would have been even worse.
So to begin the process I was given a form to be filled which I had to sign and date it first. That form then had to be signed by a department head and a HR person and I had to take this form to a security office at one corner of the campus(10 mins walk one way to this office). The guy at the security office takes one look at the form and said, you need to get one more signature and make sure the department head puts down in writing which building you need access too. So I take this form back to the department head and he puts down the building I need access to but did not know who the 3rd person was to sign that form. So he calls the security person to inquire about it. I was then told that there was no one to sign in that third column and so I have to turn in this form and get another form in order to validate that there was no third person to sign my form. So I go back to the security office and the guy hands me a second form.
I bring back the second form, fill it up and that had to be again signed by the department head and a HR person to confirm that the first form did not need a third signature. I then had to take both these forms back to the security office with 2 photographs. The officer then goes over my 2 forms and instructs me to sign in 2 places in the form and another one in a ledger. He finally took out a badge and started writing my name on it. It was surely a sight for my sore eyes and my tired soul. He pasted one photograph on the form and another on the badge. Just when I thought that the ordeal was over, the officer handed over the badge and the first form and asked me to proceed to an adjacent building(5 mins away) and have it activated by the security control room and bring that badge and form back to him. So there I go again in search of another office and another officer. I managed to find both, got my badge activated and walk back to the first security office. The officer takes the form and the badge, goes over it one more time and hands me the badge and I was finally given a 2 weeks temporary access to one building.
This brought back some vivid memories of my college days where I had to go from one department to another with a sheet of paper and get a signature from every department head and dorm wardens to make sure that I had no dues before I could be issued my final transcripts. Nothing had changed in these 10 years.

Mumbai musings - 2... Roads and roller coasters...

The commute from my hotel to my work place was about an hours drive covering a distance of approx 12 miles. After the incessant rains and floods in Mumbai, the commuters in Mumbai have been blessed with free roller coaster rides as soon as they get on their vehicles. Not knowing this during my first ride to work, I had a sumptuous breakfast in the morning and got into a cab without knowing what was in store for me.
The start was just perfect, just like a roller coaster climbing the first ramp for the nerve-racking ride ahead. As soon as the cab drove out of the hotel, the real ride started for the next 55 mins. Imagine a 55 mins long roller coaster ride with short breaks of relief in between. Whatever I ate for breakfast was in my throat in the first 10 mins of my journey. I still could not fathom how I managed the rest of the journey with my body and internal organs being thrown from one corner to the other and up and down.
I visited my hometown of Chennai in southern India couple of months back and was complaining about the conditions of roads there. After this ride in Mumbai, I imagined how lucky people from Chennai are. I am not sure if the people here take this as a sport but surprisingly, I did not find many people complaining about it. The traffic itself is another nightmare where you put your life in other peoples hands as soon as you get on your car. One thing I did realize here was that, the lesser you travelled the roads in Mumbai, the longer your chances of survival are. God bless the Mumbaikars...

Mumbai musings - 1... Airport pickup...

After 2.5 days of battling with Delta airlines, I managed to land in Mumbai(p.k.a Bombay) tired, worn out and ready to lie down on anything that remotely resembles a bed. The baggage arrived surprisingly early and was out of the airpot within 30 mins after my plane landed(a personal best for me in any Indian airport). As I stepped out of the airport, hoping to find someone holding my name, I was mobbed by about 100+ chauffers waiting for about 200+ passengers. Going through the names in each of the placard brought back memories of looking for my exam results during my college days. I finally gave up looking for my name and approached a gentlemen in the front of the line and gave him my hotel name. In about 5 seconds, the information was transmitted magically to a driver at the end of the crowd who was waiting to take me to the hotel. Bless his soul!!! he neither carried a placard nor was he anywhere where I could spot him.
The chauffer then began to grab my luggage and tried to get out of that place. I wanted to make sure that he was indeed the right guy who was waiting for me. I then saw another gentlemen from my hotel who verified my name to his list and confirmed that this was indeed my driver. A sigh of relief came about and was plesantly surprised to see a brand new Toyota camry waiting for me to drive me to the airport. This was the first time, I saw a Camry on Indian roads. I wonder how long that car can stand "Indian roads", which by the way, will be covered in a different post.