(Now)here Nirvana!!!

I guess I finally have an answer to the question that has been so often asked ...."A PhD in the area of Science Fiction? Really? Whatever for?!” Some questions have no tangible answers and this to me has always been one of them. I thought I had exhausted them all till today!!! From ‘PKD being my favorite Sci-Fi writer’ to ‘I have been stuck in a time warp of my own’, have given them all! Today is my day of enlightenment….

I am an alien from Pluto and thus my obsession with Sci Fi!!! I have been told (at least from the book titles) that Men are from Mars and Women from Venus. Well, let me break the news to you today… I am from Pluto – the planet whose orbit ostensibly is so extended that it crosses the orbit of another planet. Now presumably that is something you are not allowed to do; especially if you want to call yourself a planet (sic). There is something so offensive about that!!!!!!! I have crossed the line, jumped orbits and guess that also explains the wander lust in me.

So, it all begins with my journey to work today. Have you ever tried to make sense of how people cross the road in India? Well, it’s like nowhere else. The temptation is always to look the other way of the oncoming traffic. The intent is to turn away from disaster! So we have women charging across the road (you can’t growl at their butt) with children on toe with the single minded determination of getting to school on time (you can’t display anger at innocent indifference). Young couples, hand in hand, eye in eye, sailing on the tide of time (your heart bleeds to disturb two people so much in love). Old men and women who strongly believe that the zebra crossing should move with them (senior citizens I guess is the word for them)… and last but not the least the young college student who believe that diagonal is the rule of the land (why why Gen Y?). None of the above mentioned look AT you! I read somewhere that the pessimist is the one who looks both ways (even on a one way street) when crossing the street and the optimist is the one who looks the “other” way when crossing a one way street. We are a land full of optimists. We survive issues, problems, disasters, catastrophes …. We look the other way and do it with absolute confidence and trust in the almighty.

Navigating through the numerous optimists, I walk in to work with the almost quixotic passion that grips me most of the time only to see that someone was “mildly agitated” at a comment I made at a women’s leadership forum. The thought of what agitated her was not as intriguing as the reference to her state of mind. How can one be ‘mildly’ agitated? The law of the binary continues to befuddle me. The thought that disturbed her was my remark that we do not reside in a ‘male dominated society’!  “The notion that a successful woman doesn’t view the society as being male dominated is disconcerting”… or so she quips.  Since she was so sure that my views were contrary to reality, am confused on why she equated my gender and /or my successful career to a notion!!!!

I like pink, fancy expensive underclothes, love diamonds and babies, curious about pornography, do not care if I am objectified, love men, thrive on their attention, like sex and am not career focused. So, yes, I am not a feminist. I do not believe in this tension that so grips most women – the pressure to simulate the “idea of the right essential woman” who is struggling to survive in a so-called male dominated society!

I strongly believe that we (men and women alike) are struggling towards our own definition of self-actualization and in this pursuit tend to give birth to half-truths that have a way of authenticating themselves. Perhaps the world is dominated (at best, statistically speaking) by men. However, that doesn’t make them controlling in its entirety.  And again in this pursuit to prove this half-truth, many women seem to inadvertently become the men they want to marry thereby snowballing the notion of domination. 

We are like the people who I bumped into this morning – crossing the road by looking the other way.  We just need a higher and different perspective to cross over by looking at the oncoming traffic in its eye! 

In another planet’s hell!!!!

I recall reading Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World Revisited during my college days. The language appealed to me for its decisiveness, the semantics for its radical thoughts and the flow for its sensuality. I had just finished with Orwell’s 1984 and followed it with Huxley’s Brave New World. Guess, it was the sequel that triggered the ‘observer’ and the ‘questioner’ in me. Decades later watching the flow of events on and off the television set, in and out of the paper media, and to and from the mouths of elegant and not so elegant conversationalists, sparked off references to Huxley thereby lending it greater clarity…. And the show goes on!

The past few months, the country has been badgered with a political fervor – an inexplicable passion that generates a kind of prolonged remorse that has gripped the very breath of the nation.  We are at the brink of a new government, a new ideology, a new sense of (perhaps and hopefully) of economic freedom and the process to that has been nothing short of a weary crusade. It’s a campaign that promises us an opportunity of maltreating someone, a movement that guarantees the destruction of the nation’s good conscience,  and last but not the least an operation that permits bad behavior under the garb of ‘righteous  indignation’. Day on day, we experience a kind of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats – the Schadenfraude of  all political battle(logues)!!!!

The self-styled justice of voicing resentments permits individuals to equate honesty with a ‘single’ status, level impotency as a source of violence, make perceptive symbolic choices of declining a skull cap to a turban, and to make racist comments. The list goes on. The focus is consistent. We shall single mindedly pursue and appeal to the lowest common denominator. The need to raise the bar and uphold oneself to it is unheard of!!!! The situation in addition to being bizarre is terribly disappointing when the argument submitted is that of ‘dog-eats-dog’ and upheld as the only alternative.  Political ideology as spelt out in the midst of the 2014 election fever is a hypothesis at best, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing . So, it’s ok to indulge in foul language, hate speeches, protests within and without and last but definitely not the least let loose anarchy that none of us ever signed up for.

And in between these ideologies (or whatever one could possibly refer to it as), are the doors of perception – a door that was hinged and then pretty much thrown open by Arun Jaitley! It was good listening to a voice of slanted reason. In the past few months, he has been perhaps one person who makes miniscule sense and attempts to treat the audience with a fair amount of respect.  The miss though has been in his attempt to aptly capture the sentiment behind the reason.

He observed that central government politics in India is bipolar. The numbers say it all. What he failed to ascertain, however, is the fact that the very aftermath of bipolar politics in a supposedly multi-party system is disruptive with its peaks and valleys.  Guess, that was not relevant in a political dialogue with impressionable young minds!!!! We have allegedly paid the price for soft leadership in the last 10 years and hence in contradiction stands out the need for something forceful and apparently strong in the form of Modi. Perhaps so! Modi hence is the normal decisive force in the face of an abnormal soft and kindergarten Congress front. and a whimsical AAP!! Sadly so!!!

The notion of secularism is skirted with the observation that 'conventional political parties have treated the Muslim minorities as instruments of political power'.  Anyone with an ounce of common sense and with an IQ of a single digit will agree with Mr Jaitley’s observation. The point to note though is that in a state that is ridden with bipolar politics, one of them being the BJP, dare I say that they have been hand in glove too! Mr Jaitley…. Symbolism cannot be accorded to that of an individual’s choice; especially in the world of politics. It IS indeed the ONLY test for secularism. It is hence that we use symbolism to depict an individual or a party’s definition of Equality, Security and Progress – the very ingredients that you spelled out as the so-called tests for secularism. People vote for individuals and parties who they most relate to and it is the symbolism that matters. Secularism is NOT an attitude; but moreso a behavior – tangible and experienced. It is ok to swing between left and ring wing ideologies; but to lay allegiance at any given point in time to either the left or the right brain is not just unacceptable but also foolish! The human mind doesn't recall logic or rationale. It recalls the sentiment accorded to that logic.

I could perhaps go on with critiquing the conversation or be overtly critical of the myriad battle(logues) that could sweep anyone off his / her feet. While the political battle(logues) reflect a neuroses that grips a degenerated system,  the conversation with Mr Jaitley reflected the much needed reason and the resoluteness expected from a level headed politician suffering from a tragic loss of sentiment…or to quote Huxley…

“The real hopeless victims of mental illness are to be found among those who appear to be most normal. Many of them are normal because they are so well adjusted to our mode of existence, because their human voice has been silenced so early in their lives, that they do not even struggle of suffer or develop symptoms as the neurotic does. They are normal not in what may be called the absolute sense of the world; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly abnormal society. ”

In this supposedly Brave New World of 2014, we have the abnormally normal creative politician motivated by the desire not to achieve but by the desire to beat others… and therein lies our frustration! Well, at least mine!!!! 

See the Light or Feel the Heat!!!

What is frustrating to me is that a ‘so called democratic action’ is influencing the elections and what we are getting from our so called political leaders is plain simple ‘greenwash’!   The last few weeks have been distressing. Day after day, minute by minute witnessing an unfolding of events, and listening to stories and debates that are essentially taking the electoral nowhere!

I am reminded of Sadegh Ghotbzadeh’s woeful reflections a few days prior to his assassination. A confidant of Khomeini at the start of the Iranian Revolution, a strong and trusted aide who helped mastermind the oust of the Shah of Iran (ironically, referred to as the White Revolution) and eventually replacing him with an Islamic Republic. Ghotbzadeh was executed for allegedly plotting the assassination of the Ayatollah Khomeini and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. In his last thoughts, Sadegh reasons (albeit, a bit too late) … “we knew what we didn’t want –the Shah of Iran. What we didn’t stop to contemplate on was what we wanted in its place”. 

The situation that plagues the politics playing out in India today is not very far off. The Congress doesn’t want the BJP. They are not too sure on whether they do or do not support AAP. BJP doesn’t want the Congress. And let us not forget the AAP whimpering - neither are they looking for support from Congress and nor do they have it. The electoral is reliving painful moments, be it in the form of 1984 or 2002 and is subject to a condition that reflects a total lack of leadership and in so doing governance.  We (supposedly) don’t want the Congress back. We (allegedly), under a secular banner don’t want the orange flag at the helm of affairs. AND, we (seemingly) don’t want a group of political teenagers taking over the parliament.  The troupers are non-cooperative, amusing themselves in the course of the proverbial Game Theory!

With the hope that we don’t need to relive the likes of the Iranian Revolution, the question then is what do we want? Convulsing under a deafening silence, it is but obvious, that the need is for a strong leadership.

Leadership is an essential feature of all government and the abysmal lack of it in the current scenario has routinized governance! Dharna has become routine –a humdrum practice to exact justice by sitting at the doorstep of the (alleged) offender until the demand is granted. And in this entire drama that unfolds, the cause is forgotten. Situations do not define themselves. They are defined by the leader’s insights and sadly accepted by the followers. The dharna is defined and defended. The cause laid to rest.  Racist comments, an unacceptable behavior by a sitting MP, and the Telangana crisis gives way to a debate on the new wave of CMs protesting. The protest prevails over the issue! This is the moment when empirical political science encounters normative political theory and all nonsense let loose.  There are discussions, debates, articles on the lack of governance and to an extent even on the understanding of governance. The electoral is carried on a wave of enthusiastic highly dramatized dialogues until the wave breaks on the rock of reality and finds itself dumped.

There is a fundamental difference between political and corporate leadership. What we are witnessing is a competitive entrepreneurial activity that perhaps (at best!) is synonymous with being ‘Innovative’ in India Inc; however, spells disaster within the political arena and rings out the commonality between political leaders and gangsters. The latter is content to fleece me off my money; whereas the former takes my money, has the effrontery to violate my rights at their convenience and wants gratitude for their dedication to my welfare!!! Whether it is the power crisis in Delhi, the caste based reservation within the Congress party or the flippant remark with the intent to woo the electoral base in Kolkatta (Pranab Mukherjee was denied the PM position in the past), our political leaders have dished out claptrap day and night assuming that the citizens are sufficiently servile with a moronic state of mind!!!!

Can we bring back our discussions to THE fundamental – Leadership! 2014 is about who will provide effective leadership; with the HOPE that good governance will follow. Let us not put the cart before the horse please!

Break Heart Farce!!!!!

 “I have a history of making decisions very quickly about men. I have always fallen in love fast and without measuring risks. I have a tendency not only to see the best in everyone, but to assume that everyone is emotionally capable of reaching his highest potential. I have fallen in love more times than I care to count with the highest potential of a man, rather than with the man himself, and I have hung on to the relationship for a long time (sometimes far too long) waiting for the man to ascend to his own greatness. Many times in romance I have been a victim of my own optimism.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

I have been in love with my country in pretty much the same manner, loved it with a passion, trailed its struggles, and thanked every moment for being a part of it. Listening to our PM, Mr Manmohan Singh yesterday was a moment when I became the victim of my fervor…. a trice that added a wrinkle to the romantic in me, a jiffy that inadvertently (or not) made me question my loyalties to a party (or presumably its history), a split second that marked the beginning of an entropy (that was bound to happen, haphazardly so).  For years, I have held on to the political idea that the Congress Party is the one that reflects the soul of my nation – a party that saw heroes, secularists, nationalists (albeit misinterpreted at times), and tide turners. It was revelry of what mattered most for my country – a forum that would ensure a Sovereign Democratic Republic!

For the Prime Minister to make his third public appearance to the media in 2 terms, as the leader of the largest and the toughest democracy in the world, as an individual who represents a process responsible for the governance of a nation … his idiom was something that shook my faith! I am listening to a man who gives precedence to politics than to governance, to belief than to facts. I am watching my faith sewer through the cracks and crevices of an invisible wall.

The PM sets the stage for a Modi vs Rahul battle for the 2014 elections. Really?  Did he actually say that?  I am not too sure! The leader accents his confidence that the next PM will be from UPA! Whatever happened to the Congress Party?  Did I miss a page in history? Wasn’t the UPA a marriage of convenience way back in 2004? Is it a done deal that we need to go ahead living with this compromise? The UPA was a settlement of terms… a point in history where the emotional political formula was that of a 1 + 1 = 1 ½. Neither of the parties is happy; and we want to continue with this!! There is no win-win in a UPA!!! No age when we can hope that a 1+1 can perchance be a 25, 100… or 1000. We continue to be in a state of 'My way or the Highway’… there never is or never will be a Higher Way. For the leader of a nation to infer that THIS is ALL we are capable of, is a slap to anyone who had romanticized their relationship with this nation. 

Mr PM….. A compromise is a compromise in every sense of the term and aims at the nucleus of a relationship. It is NOT peripheral and does impact the ability of an individual(s) / group / community in any relationship to take decisions that are objective and necessary.

Mr Singh rules out serving a third term as PM and comments that Narendra Modi as PM would be disastrous. Without commenting on whether the latter would or would not make a good leader (irrespective of the quality of the candidature), the reasons given by the PM were based on a public massacre that the entire nation stood witness to. While the mass carnage of innocent citizens in Ahmedabad is a physical representation of cruelty; the mow down of a nation’s expectations that we have witnessed for the last decade by the supposed ‘progressive politics’ of the UPA qualifies for genocide. Framing a political ‘message’ to an entire nation basis the emotions directly experienced in one part of the country is not just emotionally dense but also regressive. The backlash is going to be thought through, rationalized, and opportunistic.  While at one level, it is great to display emotional public and political intelligence; at another, it is idiocy to suggest an over identification in a completely thoughtless manner. It is not inciting, but pacifying a thought that a political agenda is being played out. Communicating a thought that is loaded with boxed in views is indulgent and reflective of failed leadership.

The progressive leader of UPA identifies the best moment of his two terms in office as the signing of the India-US nuclear deal in 2008! None domestic, none local…. Is there no moment/ incident / event representing the reasons that any of us who voted for that you could relate to? The best moments of a relationship is versed outside of it!!!! The potential of commendation laid to rest within the folds of a complicit ‘nuclear’ pact. So, in the last 10 years we have performed well, we have worked through trials and tribulations, lived up to promises…. And amidst your supposedly great performance, I feel a sense of loss. I guess this is what disappointment is – a sense of loss for something I never had.

To walk up a podium, look into the camera and tell the nation that it is UPA and not Congress, “perhaps” Rahul Gandhi, and lay impotent blame on a massacre as a means to subvert attention is not just disappointing but devastating.  The nation today stands a victim of its own optimism, collecting its own thoughts. The relationship with Congress / UPA (am not sure who I am with) has failed and here I am trying to make sense of who next! 

Ajit Pawar vs State of India!!!!!!

It’s been close to a decade now that I have directly or indirectly been involved in managing harassment and / or sexual harassment cases at the workplace.  I am not a lawyer and neither do I understand the intricacies of this role. What I do understand though, is the fact that all laws in India; or for that matter anywhere in the world, that admits a democracy in its true sense, will ensure that they emanate from its constitution.  Is that a fact??? That’s the question that should bother us – trouble anyone who believes in the importance and the integrity to uphold the law in all forms.

This isn’t a story that begins with ‘Once upon a time’ and neither has it acquired the status of a legend! It’s a reality that is now very much woven into our sensibilities. In the early 90’s, Bhanwari Devi, a social service worker, was gang raped by a group of influential, upper class men, because she had attempted to stop the insidious practice of child marriage. She lodged a case against the offenders. However, the case was dismissed and the accused were acquitted in a trial court. This appalling injustice compelled women organisations and NGOs to file a petition in the supreme court under a collective platform of Vishaka (Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan, 1997). They demanded justice and urged action against sexual harassment at the workplace.  The court, for the first time, leveraged the international human rights law instrument, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and drew up guidelines known as Vishaka guidelines. A few years later, the Supreme Court issued notices to the state and the central government to furnish the extent of the implementation of the guidelines. Information was sought from associations like the Bar Council of India, UGC and Association of CA.  In 1998, a code of conduct was developed by the National Commission of Women (NCW), which expanded the scope and definition of harassment / sexual harassment. A draft bill was designed in 2001 and then amended by the Ministry of HRD in 2004 which was finally accepted in the parliament in 2012. Today, we have an autonomous body (Complaints Committee/Employee Relations) in India Inc that is constituted to uphold the promise of a safe, secure and hostile free working environment for ALL its employees!!!!

The courts of Rajasthan recognized the STATE of Rajasthan as the ‘workplace’ for Bhanwari Devi (a social service worker) and therefore, was imperative for the state to ensure that it guarantee her a safe, secure and hostile free working environment. This inference is now a basic requirement, an expectation, from any and all employers. In the last decade, there has been a huge awareness that has swept in on the need to implement this and most organisations have taken steps to do so. And that is the easy part……

Now, if the state of Rajasthan is the ‘workplace’ for Bhanwari Devi (and rightfully so), wouldn’t our country – India- be the workplace for our politicians, parliamentarians and for that matter anyone who is aligned to the state or the central government? And hence by inference (which I believe is an educated guess), shouldn’t any comment, unwelcome gesture, behaviour, words or advances made by the people elected to these positions be treated as harassment / sexual harassment.  

“Harassment is defined as any improper conduct by an individual, that is directed at an offensive to another person or persons in the workplace, and that the individual knew or ought reasonably to have known would cause offense or harm. It comprises any objectionable act, comment, or display that demeans, belittles, or causes personal humiliation or embarrassment, and any act of intimidation or threat”. 

So, when the deputy CM of Maharashtra responds to a farmer “if there is no water in the dam, should we urinate in it?” and then moves on to comment on the load shedding crisis with “I have noticed that more children are being born since the lights go off at night. There is no other work left then.”  - it begs the not so naïve question ‘If THIS is not harassment, then what is?’ The very norms that have been set by the SC, implemented by the Govt (Ministry of HRD) and passed by the Parliament are snubbed by ……. the parliamentarians!!!!

The comments did not go down well with the farmers and what we have a day later is a public apology from the deputy CM.  Now, let’s analyze the situation:

a)      The state of Maharashtra is the ‘workplace’ of the Deputy CM – Ajit Pawar

b)      He was elected to the parliament by the people of Maharashtra (employers?)

c)       The comments made were perceived as objectionable by the employers (in this case the farmers) and now by the nation at large

Given the situation, one fails to understand how a public apology would suffice!!! So, if the rapists of Bhanwari Devi had issued a public apology, would they have been acquitted? Now, what does one need to do to get the legal system and the Ministry of HRD to take appropriate action against the parliamentarian?  Do we need to wait for another Bhanwari Devi – this time someone from the parliament to be violated, for someone to take action? As Ajit Pawar's employer, where and to whom do I go to, to file a complaint? 

This is clearly harassment that is inflicted on another, with self-proclaimed latitude, and in a civilized society!!!!!  What we witness is a law being defied and a constitution scoffed at!  The preamble reads,

“We, the people of India, have solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic and to SECURE to all its citizens Justice… Liberty…Equality….and promote among them all Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and Integrity of the Nation”

There is a reason for the use of the verb ‘secure’ – it takes into gamut safety and safeguard…. ! And I am quite convinced that it wasn’t a typo!!!!  And Mr Pawar, we are not a democracy! We are a Democratic Republic... and it would help if you would take time to understand its essence, importance and the implications!!!! 

India Inc needs a ‘Chief Happiness Officer’

There is a call for an article by TOI in their column Voice of HR on the theme India Inc needs a ‘Chief Happiness Officer’. This is my entry for their space on “It’s My Ascent”. One can only hope that it gets published. If not, my blog is good enough for me…
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The CxO title has been in for quite some time now and it’s time to understand what the CxO actually does and what’s in it for the organisation. Technically speaking, CxO is a way to refer, collectively, to corporate executives, at what is sometimes called the C-level, whose job description titles typically start with Chief and end with Officer (Chief Executive / Financial/ Compliance / Security / Information Officer). Their roles and responsibilities are clearly drawn out. They are individuals taking responsibility for Finance, Internal and External Information Systems, Physical Security and Compliance requirements for their organisation.    Fundamentally, the individual is accountable for corporate leadership, strategy, and concept development in his/her specific area. So then, what exactly would the Chief Happiness Officer be responsible for?  Designing a strategy on how to keep people happy?

I tried to Google to understand this better. Ronald McDonald (essentially a clown character) was officially styled as the Chief Happiness Officer of McDonald’s Corporation. The character was used as the primary mascot of the McDonald’s fast food restaurant chain. The clown inhabits a fantasy world called McDonaldland and embarks on adventures with friends Mayor McCheese, the hamburglar, and the Fry Kids.  Then we have Alexander Kjerulf, who is seen as one of the world’s leading experts on happiness at work, differentiating between job satisfaction and happiness at work.  One might want to listen to him at the TEDx Copenhagen event. We have Tony Hsieh, CEO, now CHO of Zappos.  There is also a CHO Facebook page! Do a search on LinkedIn for CHOs and there will be a list that will unfold. Outwardly, there seems to be a reason for this role to exist; albeit ill-defined.  I do see its relevance in the classic McDonald outlets and perhaps even in the Happy Hours at the local pubs. My struggle though is to comprehend its role within the framework of an organisation! What is certain is that it needs to be cemented with the needs of the organisation’s most important asset – People!!!

People take up jobs for a variety of reasons – money,  growth, identity, social status, success, and a chance to contribute. The underlying rejoinder to one of the above is consistent and collective – Happiness – and it comes with a rejoinder that “What makes one Happy?” is inimitable and personal. So, do we really want to have a CHO making an attempt to reach out to each and every employee? Plainly speaking, a company strategy that guarantees happiness seems a very tough sell. Hence, do we really want to outsource this to one person and have an individual be responsible for it? I guess one word that has been misused for the last couple of decades has been ‘outsourcing’. We started with outsourcing businesses, processes, and then jobs. Now, with a CHO onboard, we seem to be outsourcing our supervisory responsibilities too. Imagine a job description that starts with “Achieve Happy Hours: 9 to 5”! What would the individual’s qualifications be for the job? And more importantly, how would we measure the success of that role?  

The people who know best what makes them happy are the individuals themselves and perhaps their manager. One can hope for a connect between the manager and the employee, that directs a collaborative effort between the two.  Also, I can’t think of one person in our day and age who would want to know the so-called ‘Happiness Quotient’ of an organisation or attempt to understand its underlying Happiness strategy.  There needs to be a ‘collective’ effort to enable individuals and teams to better work with each other, and as an organisation promise and live up to a reality that has been envisioned. “This is who we are … and this is where we want to be”. This is the responsibility of every manager, irrespective of whether he /she is a CxO or not ! India Inc will then not need a CHO!!!!!

  

“Wheels and Lens” – Bandipur, Ooty (Almost there) March 2013

It was another opportunity, an instance to steer towards another destination, feel the power of the long stretched road and the natural greenery of Bandipur forest, for the first time drive through hairpin bends to Ooty and be back in 3 days’ time refreshed, and of having lived my life again! Well, most of it happened; albeit, in an altered way. I just didn’t reach Bandipur. Got waylaid at Mandya, offloaded to Mysore and then back piggy backed to Bangalore…..

So, we started off on a Sunday morning, with the intent to spend three days amidst nature, and of course doing what I love to do the most – driving!!!! The start was good, a 100kms /hour on NICE road, and then down to a nice 50 till we get on to Mysore road only to traffic anywhere between 60 and 80 till we reached Kadamba – and this is where I sulked for the first time. At 10am, the restaurant didn’t have my favorite breakfast! The beginning of a sulk is like testing quick sand. Too much testing can only lead to being sucked into it. It’s an effort to regain balance then. Having regained the much needed composure, I treaded back towards the car to head straight now to Bandipur. A smooth road, a cool interior, and a bright blue sky … what more could one ask for?! And then all of a sudden, I felt the crash, splinters all across and the shocked faces of a dozen or two around me. The love of my life had gone crashing into a Bolero and what resulted was the shattering of the headlights, the engine going kaput, the radiator burst, and the AC getting jammed. Not to miss the breakage of the registration plate, the front bumper in pieces, and the left front door wedged. The sight of the 6 footer sitting alongside me in the front seat struggling to get out was enough to make someone grimace amidst the disaster that one was surrounded by. The crash of multiple cars one into another had damaged enough to ensure a business of close to INR 500,000 across some of the top brands in India. Insurance or no, there was the assurance of a lot of work that technicians would have in the country, thanks to the naïve skills of a young woman exercising her driving dexterities (dare I say) in a Maruti 800, full of kids. One wonders if the need to display her flair of urging her vehicle between spaces that the naked eye could hardly discern was a reflection of her belief in a super power.  And if it was, I wondered if she had turned an atheist!!! 

So, there I had met one more Mad Hatter in this strange Rabbit Hole that we all live in – someone who believes in the red hot pursuit of an easy going empty road, and in the bargain witnessing vanity overtake wisdom and finally plain simple common sense!!!! Driving is like being in a place…

“….like no place on earth.  A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as Hatter”

Lord, give me the strength to be as mad as mad can be. All the best people I have known are bonkers, so, guess, it’s ok to be one! Here’s to going bonkers!!!!

The journey then takes a twist and turn. Now, from leading, we are the led!!! A tow truck lifts our dilapidated selves and we trudge along 30kms to the nearest service station. The AC turned off, the heat turned on, the music shut off, all of us were like a box full of frogs…. Jumping at the smallest and slightest provocation! Now imagine this sight –the car wheels itself into the service station and we are all allowed to step out. A bunch of frogs in self-imposed hibernation leaping out to a frame directed by the wizard of Oz in technicolour! The technician walks towards the car, surveys it, smiles, stifles it and then with regained poise gives us the “I’ll be back” Terminator Schwarzenegger look and disappears into the depths of his garage! This was the followed by an hour long stop at the station and a revisit the next day to get a feel of the extent of the damage.  The minutes turned ‘’curiouser and curiouser’’ (as Alice would say). Guess there is very little that one can say or explain in situations like this.

                “I can’t explain myself, I afraid Sir, because I’m not myself you see” (Alice)

I am waiting to get back to being myself, …. And so is my Innova…. We are both on the bend and mend!!!  I had wanted to experience wildlife in Bandipur. I did, but not in Bandipur. Cats and monkeys, monkeys and cats, all human life is here.   I can go on and on about the 3 days. I choose not to. Reliving it in any form is like participating in a cat and mouse never-ending battle.  Signing off with the understanding that I have joined the circus and I gotta live with the acrobats and jokers!!!!