Should an auto driver take you with what meter reads?

"Bhaiya ! Will you go to Defence Colony ?", said the girl with a couple of big bags in her hand while coming out of Select City Walk, Delhi's one of the best shopping mall.

"Madam 80Rs. !", replied the auto driver.

"Are you insane, it is not more than 60Rs.", replied the girl. Making different faces she moved on to next auto.

"She must have spend 5000 Rs. on shopping but she is not ready to pay 80Rs, which is a reasonable price", murmured the auto driver.

This is a very common scene when we take an auto in Delhi. Sometimes auto drivers ask too much and sometimes we are so ignorant that we don't try to understand the reason why is he not taking us by meter.

I have been trying to dig this for a long time and a couple of months back I realized, its not just auto drivers' fault but the whole system is forcing them to break the law and ask more than what meter reads.

Let's go back a couple of years. In June 2010 CNG was at 21.9 Rs./kg and was increased to 27.5 Rs./kg in July 2010 and at that time the revised auto fare was set at 19 Rs. for first 2 km and then 6.5 Rs./km for every additional km. Current CNG rate is 38.5 Rs./kg, which means fare raised by 11 Rs. in last two years but there is no change in auto fares, they are still the same.

Do auto drivers get subsidy in buying vegetables or healthcare or education or rising home rent in Delhi? All these prices have changed and each item has seen a new high in last two years. On an average, our salary increases by around 10% every year. But who cares about auto drivers, private security guards, peons and many more in such types of jobs.

This is just one part of the story. The other part is far more shocking. In Delhi you need to pay a bribe of around 2 lakhs to 3 lakhs to get an auto license. So, the cost of an auto in Delhi is not less than Rs.5 lakh and may go upto 6 lakh. And after this bribe and all, every auto driver has to give something between 100 Rs. to 200 Rs. everyday as a bribe to different policemen. If we think that this is driver's fault and he is giving bribe, then I feel we are wrong. It's the system that we have created and not just the driver, we all are equally responsible for this. When we all are using that auto, why don't we share the bribe ? (I know you might find this vague but that the truth) Why should the driver bear it all ?

Do we ever think all this while taking an auto ? Do we think that most of the auto drivers are on a rented auto, for which they pay 300 Rs. for one shift ?

Then how can an auto driver take you with what meter reads ?

The Journey of Youth Alliance

Dear Friends,

Hope you all are doing great ! I came to Delhi last year in May with a vision to work with young people and make Youth Alliance a place where young can dream of a better and happy India. First person I explained all this in Delhi was Divya (met in Jagriti Yatra, now a TFI fellow), we started the ground work, sat for hours to discuss the plans. We launched our Campus Ambassador program and met Vibhuti in July. Vibhuti has been an integral part of the organization since then, she has seen the whole team growing and moving forward. Eventually came Shivang, Udit & Akanksha (these were three who stayed with us from the 20 who came for our first Campus Ambassador meeting in August). Now we were a strong team of 5 who were working on ground to make things happen. We launched Samarpan (Volunteering Program), it went on well, we got good no. of applications but we failed to channelize them and keep them engaged.

By the end of August we started preparing for Come Alive '11. Everyone liked the idea and started working towards it, on the event day we had around 40 people who turned up for the event, although we have reached out to more than 500 during marketing in Campuses. Everyone enjoyed it, energy went high, team became stronger, a working group turned into a friend group. All this time Samarpan was moving at snails pace and we were unable to figure out how to go about it. 

For the month of November, December, January Youth Alliance worked like a government organization. I was struggling on whether to continue with my job or quit, if I quit how will I manage my daily expenses etc. but finally I left job in November and traveled for December. By then the team was low on energy, they used to push me to start the work and not be so lazy. A couple of them later shared they also thought to join some other NGO. They really used to call me and say,"YA ko kya ho gaya hai, hum kuch krte kyun nhi hain, humare organization ki image kharab ho rahi hai." (Why are we not doing anything, the image of our organization is being damaged). 

December and January the months after leaving the job were really tough. At this time my team, Shefali(my school friend and my strength), Kishan Bhaiya (my roommate during TFI and my biggest supporter), Ashita (my co-voyager in journey of life) and my family especially my brothers were my biggest support and they all used to encourage me a lot. Finally the plan of "Lead The Change" came into being (I was in Goa, when we finalized the name). Met many people with that plan, it got changed every time I met a new person. Swapnil (Jagriti Yatra) and Anshu Bhaiya (Goonj) were the biggest support in refining the idea. On Valentine's Day Anshu bhaiya got a hint from my face (I really dont know how, I didn't even talk about funds) and gave me a cheque as his love for the initiative.

Finally we launched application for LTC in February '12 and got whopping 270 applications and finally 18 Changeagents on board. The journey started on 12 March and since then we have never looked back. LTC 1 went really great, it strengthened our believes in each other, in the cause. LTC one was a real success and the best thing was that, it gave us committed and passionate young people. LTC made our team even stronger with the likes of Angna, Subhash, Ajay, Seema, Shashank and all the other members.  During LTC, I met Ravi Bhaiya (Manzil) and he was someone I came in sync with, someone I can relate to. His simple and pure thoughts have been a great support since then, a small chat with him energizes me to the core.

While things were moving ahead, finances were a big problem(it still is : ) ) and it was even hard to support myself. Neeraj (a two decade old friend), Anish(school friend), Dishant (college friend) and many more friends supported both me and Youth Alliance. By this time Kishan bhaiya and Subhashini (my lovely friend at NIIT and TFI fellow) had become the key part of our team. As the season changed we launched our next program Gramya Manthan, which was a huge challenge both logistically and financially. It was a National Program which attracted people from different states and finally we had 30 people from 11 different states. Again there were many small small stake-holders, someone sponsoring first two days, someone giving his ambulance for free, some cash donation and finally we pulled it across and big thanks to the people from LTC 1. Those sleepless nights of preparation and then sleepless mornings of reflection during the program. During the program we used to get up at 5:30am and work till 11:00pm, then sleep by 2am or 3am. Organizing GM was one of the best phase of this journey, being with such an amazing bunch of individuals in scorching Kanpur heat. Again we came up with some amazing plans, amazing people who became part of our team.

One thing was sure, where there is a will, there is a way ! (One of the most famous saying in YA @Shivang/Udit ). Back in Delhi we launched LTC 2 in July and the group was learning, YA was learning, making new friends, I was growing as a person and my team was taking responsibilities which are not easy. In August this year Vibhuti shared that lets make Come Alive a huge event this year, I replied, go do it. I was all busy with LTC 2 interviews and did not pay much heed to what she is saying (I really wanted her to take the lead on this). But Vibhuti was determined and she started working on it, shared idea with her friends, made a team, mobilized resources and I wasn't aware of much. I came to know a couple of weeks back that Vibhuti, Mohika-Neha (her college friends), Angna, Seema, Shashank and few others are working really hard on it. 20 days to go and the venue for 2nd October was not yet final and leaving all this undone, I left for London to attend a conference. I was pretty sure that they will put things in place and manage something and the same happened. When I called Vibhuti from London, she told C.P. is almost done, I was surprised because that was a dream location for us, later they shared all the struggles they had to face. But here also we got an angel in NDMC who supported us, good people are everywhere : )

Finally 2nd October came, last year there were 40 people, I expected around 100 this year. The program started after few glitches and when it started the amphi- theatre was jam packed with around 1000 people. I was in shock and over excited, this was like a dream come true. I was like the happiest person on earth, dancing, singing, flying kites, giving hugs doing (pulling legs of team members) and literally doing everything. They have made it large, more than any of us has imagined. One thing is sure now that the team has grown, they have taken the ownership and they are ready for larger roles and responsibility.

The journey has just started, we have to walk together, need more friends, more stakeholders. We have to work harder, plan for LTC 3 to be launched on 21st October and Learning Center to be launched by December in Tishti village. 

Yes, it is the time to celebrate the opening of our first livelihood center "Swaraj" in the village we are working and for the amazing work team has done on 2nd October !!

Will end with one line, " None of us is as strong as ALL of us" : )

Love you all !

The Beauty of London and its People!

One thing that stands apart about the English is that they respect their culture. They follow their culture not for the sake of following but they actually love it. They feel proud of their rich culture and heritage. The city has very well maintained its old monuments and respected the emotions behind each one of them. 

As I walk down the street in Central London I can witness how beautifully the 16^th century city has embraced the modernity of 21^st century.  One side I see the Big Ben, watch the city and on the other side of mighty river Thames I see the modern London Eye which keeps a close watch on cities movement. Both are equally important and beautiful and attract hundreds of tourists like me every day.

If I go back to my country India, I see a strong contrast. We want to become like the western people but are far away when it comes of respecting the space we live in. We don't even relate why they do, what they do or why their lifestyle is like this? What we do is that, we just try to imitate it without any logic. For example the logic behind wearing a coat throughout the year, is that here it is really cold and the wind in the evenings is really chilly, whereas in our country it is so hot in summers but we still put on a coat to go to offices. There are many such thing that I can relate back to my country now and it is astounding to see what we do in India.

As we move forward we need to understand the context before just applying things as they are. We have our own great things and we need to keep them safe and cherish them.The more we love our culture, the more we will feel proud of it. But this doesn't mean that we should be anti-west, use what is good for us and discard the things that are old  rotten in our culture. Gandhi seems a very good example here, he was very smart in analyzing things and choosing the best for him and our country.

Will keep you posted on more learning !!!

A small tribute: "Happy Friendship Day"

Friendship is a very strange word. It has different meaning for everyone. For me friendship is a very strong bond, a connection from heart to heart, a relation to rely on, a relation where emotions can be shared by emotions. Friendship has no age bar, you can find a friend in your 70 year old Dada ji or 5 year old nephew. Some people have many friend but they still struggle to have that one person with whom they can pour out their heart and on the other side some have one and the best ever.

Coincidentally my work exposes me to hundreds of young people and I get a lot of opportunity to come across this relation and also witness friends working together, young people have often come up to me sharing their individual personal stories of friendship. Sometimes we take our friend for-granted but then this is what friendship is.

I really feel myself fortunate to have some amazing buddies from home to school to college to TFI to YA Team. Today I take this opportunity to thank all my friends for supporting me in my small journey of life. It is you who has made me what I am, it is you who has supported me in every walk of my life, it is you who has taken up the pain to hear my endless, meaningless talks. It would have been impossible for me to do the small things I am trying to do without the support of you all. You all gave me the confidence that what I dream is possible, you all stood by myside that yes go ahead we are with you, you all have helped me take tough decisions of my life.

Thank you all for being with me, understanding me, loving me so much, supporting me, believing in me and of course bearing my endless talks : )


Love you ALL : )


- Yours
Ranu/Prakhar/Neta/Sarkar/Mishra/Babu/Bhaiya/Kaka

Team Anna: The Political Alternative and its Consequences

Finally the fasting will end on tenth day and with this begins the time for preparation of "General Election 2014". If everything goes as what is shown to common man 2014 will be different but what we often see is not the true picture.It is true that people like Arvind Kejriwal should be part of system and try to bring the change from within. But the big question is, "How will they go about it?"

Alternatives:

• Floating a New political party
• Going with Baba Ramdev's Party
• Supporting existing political party
• Starting Small with few people from their team contesting 2014

If they feel that they can launch a new political party and contest from all the seats and win, then this would be over estimating your potential. The better alternative would be selecting few corruption free people (better would be the team people) and lobbying for them in elections. Would like to bring in picture, the by-elections of Haryana last year where Team Anna supported few candidates and all those lost badly. 

If they go by supporting Baba's political party and contesting from all the seats then coming to majority would be a dream but yes they might get few seats like Haridwar. Baba has always been a questionable figure and everyone has seen the rift in the team when he became part of it. This seems to be a tough alternative but if it comes into force the loss would be more of BJP than congress because of its common vote bank with that of Baba's.

Supporting another political party takes them close to BJP but still the picture is not very clear because BJP is also full of corrupt politicians but for sure less sycophants and sometimes sycophants are more harmful than corrupt people. One thing is very clear whatever they do BJP would be at larger loss than Congress because due to anti-incumbency the votes were to swing BJP's side and with an emerging Anna options votes would be divided. It will be hard for Anna to win but it will become harder for BJP and this will surely help Congress  to take dividend from this vote division and it might emerge as UPA-3 with lesser vote percentage than what they have got in UPA 2. For sure if Congress has done the damage to the country, BJP has done larger by not being a worthy opposition and the choice country has been looking for.

It seems a tough battle in front of Team Anna, on which way to go. Politics has always been a tough game in our country. All the things have to be kept in mind because these are the things that make Nation, one decision by a man in power can change the course for future generations.

Jai Hind !!

Where did Team Anna miss this summer ?

Last year when this agitation against corruption started it started with a great support, August 2011 was a big success for not only Team Anna but entire country. Country saw a hope in the movement, all were in support, be it common man, youth or media.

But over the last one year Team Anna has lost its credibility be it because of internal fighting; Anna's statements; their alliances; their disrespect to others; their abusive language and the biggest damage was made due to their fights with media. Anna ji has come out to be a mixed of both Gandhian and Bhagatian, he embraces both non-violence and violence depending on situation.  All these things damaged the credibility and the result was low turn out in Jantar Mantar this year. Last year more than Anna's movement it was media's movement, this year media was out and so was common man.

They keep using Gandhi's name from the stage but they forget that Gandhi was never against individuals he was against system. He always maintained that if Indians can he happy and get equal rights under Britishers rule than he is fine with British ruling here. In this movement they maintained this but they started abusing individuals and more than changing the system it looked as if they wanted to shift individuals. The approach became that if you are with me then you are on right side because all other are the wrong sides. Their way has become more of dictatorial the reason can be the over-whelming support they got last year and they forgot it was due to many more reasons and not just because of the people sitting on stage.

Honorable President....non-political dilemma !

First of all heartfelt congratulations to Pranab Da for taking up the new post of President of India.

One of the few parliamentarians respected by all the parties. He has been the savior of government and specially Congress in the recent trend of Indian politics. Often called as man behind the mask, the man who has been running UPA-2 in worst of its times.

He was the one who deserved to be the PM but he was someone who can't be moderated and controlled. And this freedom loving habit of his kept him away from PM's post because in congress the top post remains with the family or someone who has excelled in the habit of nodding his head. Here is where he lacked.

Finally he is rewarded for his loyalty towards both family and then party.

Now, the big question is how will he maintain the authenticity of the top post by being non-political. President is a non-political post but in India its only on papers. If we dig in the history most of our Presidents have been from political parties, leaving a few like Mr. Kalam during Vajpayee's government.

How can a man who has been associated with one party throughout his life, has been the savior of government till a week before taking up the post of President be non-political. Its a huge challenge for Pranab Da. It takes a day to get over the jet-lag after a 20hr. flight, here its like a jet lag of a lifetime. If we go in the Hindu mythology, the Gods have been partial to their loved ones, be it Vishnu taking an identity of a dancer and serving "Amrit" to other Gods or Krishna helping Arjun on battlefield of Mahabharat. The Gods have failed but Pranab might not.

How will you be impartial "Pranab Da" ?

Its a challenge but in true spirit we hope that you will be impartial and be a non-partisan President.

Where are we heading ?

Bharat mata ki, Bharat mata ki
Tum jai bolo jai Bharat mata ki jai
Bharat mata ki, Bharat mata ki
Tum jai bolo jai Bharat mata ki jai
Sone ki chidiya, dengue Malaria
Gurr bhi hai gobar bhi Bharat mata ki jai.


These are the lines from one of the bollywood film, Shanghai and they really depict the condition of our country. One side we feel proud of our glorious past, our developing economy, our metro train but what about the majority and other half. People are dying, living a miserable life, just a square meal is not enough to say that we are developing. I am privileged to have an expensive laptop, access to internet and write this small piece. What about the people who don't have access to proper sanitation, girls who don't have sanitary napkin or even undergarments to support them ?


We talk about education, infrastructure, mobile phones but what about Human Dignity, which is dying in our country. There is so much that we don't know about our own country, the problems of tribal people, the problems of naxalities, the problems of farmers. Are they not the citizen of this country ? If yes, then why are we so ignorant about them ? Why do we don't know about them or their rights ?  Why is there huge gap between someone living in a metro and someone living 100 km. away from them ?


Just think ! Where are we heading ?


There is huge moral deficit in our country. We are not bothered about things happening around, it's just that our life should be happy and healthy but why we tend to forget that we can't be happy until our neighbor is happy. We can't change the whole government system or the entire political class, we need to do something with the existing system. Something that lasts long and is sustainable. We need to reflect on our daily actions and think how did it effect others.  Little more disciplined approach, compassion, self-accountability and action oriented life style would change a lot. Small shift in our approach of putting the blame on others rather than being accountable is required. These things are hard to follow but once we bring them in practice it is possible, one small act at a time, one focus area on self transformation will change us as a person and eventually society as a whole.


At this point of time India needs 100s of local role models in our country. Someone we can rely on, someone we can think of, relate to because its difficult to turn the history pages and follow the role models of past. History books can be our reference point but not something we can rely on and close our eyes. India needs role models, who can lead us by example, who live what they say. 100s of ideal teacher, 100s of trustworthy policemen, 100s of honest judges, 100s of patriotic politicians and 1000s of true citizens.


That role model can be you, me or anyone !!

Innocent, Hopeful, Supportive...Learning from Gramya Manthan

As a kid I used to visit Ganga Deen Nivada for two months every year, it was more of fun and enjoyment. As the years passed by problems there started troubling me from inside. I always thought of coming back and working there but never had enough courage to come back.

When I was in Teach For India I worked with "Expansion Committee" on TFI Rural model. I believe without working in rural India it would be impossible for us to bridge the growing gap between two India's. No doubt its not easy to go and work in rural parts, the conditions are so different, luxuries are a rare commodities, sanitation and electricity is a problem. 

Gramya Manthan came in as a blessing for me. It has actually helped in understanding rural India or the real Bharat in a better way. No matter how much I have lived there, it was first time that my thoughts were more towards holistic growth of these areas. It was first time that I understood and tried hard to reach the roots of the problems. Before this I really used to propose the solution without actually understanding the problems. 

In rural parts you can't address one problem and ignore others, things are so inter-connected that education can't be addressed with thinking of livelihood, agriculture can't be made easy without thinking of energy. 

If I list down my major learning from the program, I would list them like this: 

• I feel more connected with my people
• I feel more responsible toward the plight of my people
• I have to be one among them to solve their problems
• My belief in Gram Swaraj has strengthened
• Rural India needs a holistic development plan
• Education can't be addressed without addressing livelihood and health/sanitation problem
• Agriculture problems can't be addressed without thinking of alternative source of energy
• Life is much better in rural India
• People in rural parts are looking forward and ready to accept the change, they want to come out of poverty and   lead a better life
• People are more Innocent, Hopeful & Supportive in rural India
• It strengthens my belief that YOUTH is the biggest hope and there are many young people who want to work for rural India
• For being a catalyst of CHANGE one must be ready to die and take re-birth
• Farming teaches you the essence of life
• How government system is made dysfunctional ?

It is first time in my life that I can understand the pain of a farmer because of delay in monsoons as I have seen  Ramdaas Chachcha struggling for twice a meal, Himanshu running from school after mid-day meal, Pankaj wasting his energy in his mid 20's.

I feel my-self responsible for many of these problems because when they were toiling in Sun I was enjoying in a metro and enhancing the huge gap between us !! It's never too late and I feel proud that today I am ready to work for rest of my life in Ganga Deen Nivada a village in U.P. with a population of 260 people and still without electricity.

Debut in Test Matches...Gramya Manthan !!

With so much T20 around people have forgotten the real cricket i.e. Test Matches. The long five day matches in which the winner is one who has patience, perseverance and right attitude and technique. Nevertheless it is becoming our life reality, we are also trying to play T20 to have quick success and earn good money.

Coming to our life, if we think back it has also become a T20, we are running in order to earn good money. The definition of success has changed drastically, ethics and values have taken back seat. I personally feel frustrated seeing the conditions around me, I feel morally responsible for it. Its hard to maintain your value system and follow your ideals but I have been trying to do this since last few years.

As in the Test Match there are very few spectators while the T20 stadium is full of people. Similarly there are very few people ready to work for society and even fewer who want to work in rural India. Rural India has always been the neglected one but it has been at the core of my heart.

Its been nearly two months planning for Youth Alliance's next project "Gramya Manthan" and the final day when all the "Changeagents" will come together has come. Exploring villages, meeting people, knowing there problems, thinking of solutions, talking to role-models its been a pleasant, touching and a very emotional experience for me.  I have learned so much about the villages and the life there in past 15 days, this was first time when feasible solutions came to mind.

I would surely work with my full heart and witness some changes in the villages. Its a 5 year project and there are good chances to show a significant impact here. I am poised, so is the team and participants, the responsibility is huge and we will not leave any stone un-turned.

At the end of the day my patience, perseverance and right attitude will define whether I am a Test player or a T20.