Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's vision for the nation !!

Picture taken on 20th October, 2008 at  IIIT Hyderabad.

Following is a mail that I could find from digging into my archives. {Reproducing as is} 

The mail is a summary of the class that Dr. Kalam had taken for some of the students at IIIT-H. The pillars mentioned summarize the vision, the great man had, for the future of this country. Let's all work towards those as a tribute to him. We still have 5 years left on our watch.

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Hello everybody,

It is in the common knowledge of us all that Dr. Kalam took a class yesterday. Throughout the class, there was a highly motivating discussion and those who attended the class thoroughly enjoyed it. I was one amongst the lucky "those". For the benefit of those who didn't get to attend the class, I act as a volunteer and here under present a summary of the proceedings in the class.

This was Dr. Kalam's third lecture as a distinguished faculty of IIIT Hyderabad. This lecture was a follow-up of the last lecture in which groups of 6 were formed and an assignment was given to each of those. Each group was given the task of analyzing a pillar out of the 10 pillars visualized by Dr. Kalam in the distinctive profile of India by the year 2020. The groups had to then come up with good suggestions and solutions for the problems in achieving the same. The main stress was on how IT products can assist in the accelerated realization of the 10 Pillars of visualization of the profile.

The pillars are as follows:

1. A Nation where the rural and urban divide has reduced to a thin line.

2. A Nation where there is an equitable distribution and adequate access to energy and quality water.

3. A Nation where agriculture, industry and service sector work together in symphony.

4. A Nation where education with value system is not denied to any meritorious candidates because of societal or economic discrimination.

5. A Nation which is the best destination for the most talented scholars, scientists, and investors.

6. A Nation where the best of health care is available to all.

7. A Nation where the governance is responsive, transparent and corruption free.

8. A Nation where poverty has been totally eradicated, illiteracy removed and crimes against women and children are absent and none in the society feels alienated.

9. A Nation that is prosperous, healthy, secure, devoid of terrorism, peaceful and happy and continues with a sustainable growth path.

10. A Nation that is one of the best places to live in and is proud of its leadership.

There was a healthy discussion and everyone present participated actively and showed a great deal of enthusiasm. The students came up with many ideas during the same, some of them being interesting, others innovative and the rest quite ambitious. Each and every idea that emerged from the enlightened minds was given good thought and was open for discussion to all. A couple of ideas were good and practical and were appreciated by Dr. Kalam.

One of them was in context of the 2nd point mentioned above. Most of the people today remain awake till late in the night and get up late in the morning too. This serves as a double whammy as more electricity in the form of tube-lights, lamps etc. is consumed in the night while they are wide awake, and in the form of air conditioner and fans in the morning while they are still fast asleep. So, the idea proposed was that if people improve their way of living, that is to say if people adopt the early to bed and early to rise policy, then a lot of electrical energy will besaved, paving the way for villages to have adequate access to electricity.

The other was in context of the 7th point mentioned above. The idea was to build an All India Information Network which involves a centrally connected system further divided into 28 sub divisions which in turn, terminating to a computer in every village. Thus, people in any nook and corner of the country will be able to easily register their complaints to the authorities.

Apart from the aforementioned points, many other innovative ideas proposed were appreciated by Dr. Kalam who seemed quite impressed. He promised that the ideas proposed were not just for the sake of discussion and that he would surely try to forward them to the concerned authorities and bring them into implementation.

Following this discussion, Dr. Kalam gave a lecture on “Transformation from Software Powerhouse to Knowledge System Powerhouse”. The highlight ofthe lecture was an illustration of how Indian IT industry can provide a step input for the growth of ICT sector in the next ten years.

This was a sincere attempt on my part to cover the minutes of the class. Hope I have succeeded in the same.

The complete lecture can be accessed at Dr. Kalam’s website.http://www.abdulkalam.com/

If you want to share something in this regard or add anything to the above mentioned points, please mail your thoughts to kalamclass.iiith@gmail.com

Thank You,

Nikhil ******

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PS: I was part of the group that worked on the 7th pillar.

An interesting conversation with an auto rickshaw driver

The other day, I took an Auto rickshaw from office to go home.

The driver was a lean, young person (appeared like a teenager).

He asked, "Kidhar jaana hai?" (Where do you have to go?)

I said, "Vijayanagar Colony, Mehdipatnam se thoda aage" (Vijayanagar Colony, A little farther from Mehdipatnam)

He said,"Zyaada Aage? thodaa aage?" (More farther, less farther?)

I replied, "Thoda Aage, 1km hunga" (Little farther, about 1 km)

He asked, "Kitna doge?" (How much will you pay?)

I said, "200 dunga" (I'll pay Rs. 200)

He was happy with that and just for the formality of negotiation, he said, "210 do". (Pay Rs. 210)

He had that gentle smile which reveals that you are asking for the sake of asking.

I smiled and told, "10 rupay ke liye yeh sab nakko karo aur chalo." (Don't waste time for the sake of 10 rupees and let's go.)

He appeared younger to me and hence I could assert upon him. He agreed with a smile.

Once we started going, he took a turn towards right. There was less gap between the footpath on the left and a car in front. He managed to ride into the small gap and in the process, took the left wheel slightly onto the footpath on the left (it was a sloped footpath).

He then (with boyish pride on his face) said, "Aisa sirf Hyderabad mein chalate honge. Footpath ke side ke upar se gaadi ko nikalana" (I think only people in Hyderabad drive like this. Taking your vehicle slightly onto footpath)
<No, there was no one sleeping on the footpath>

I nodded, "Haan, Baahar aise nahi chalate." (Yes, they don't drive like this abroad.)

I then went on to explain about the lane system and traffic discipline that I have seen during my visit to USA. He was shocked to know that people don't switch lanes if there's a solid line even if the other lane is empty.

I added, "Haan, thode log rules break kar dete hai." (Yes, A few people break rules, though)

He replied, "Idhar ke logan hi honge. Udhar chalare honge. :D" (May be those people are from Hyderabad, India and driving there)

I told, "Hau, Dur se pehchaan sakte gaadi ko koi Hyderabad ka patta chalaara bolke. :P" (yes, we can recognize from far seeing the driving that he may be a fellow Hyderabadi)

We both laughed.

Then he asked, "Konse company mein kaam karte? Talent Hub?" (Which company do you work in? Talent Hub?)

I responded, "Kaunsa Hub?" (Which Hub?)

He points out to a building. "Talent Hub! Udhar hai dekho woh building." (Talent Hub! The one in that building.)

I said, "Nai. Qualcomm bolke ek company hai. Usme kaam kartu." (No, there's a company called Qualcomm. I work there.)

He asked, "Mobile phone mein Chip banane ka kaam karta kya?" (Does your company make chips for mobile phones?)

I was taken by surprise. I did not expect him to know what Qualcomm does. That's because none of my relatives and non-techno-savvy friends know what Qualcomm does. It does not manufacture products for end customer. So, very less proportion of people here actually know what it does. 

I asked, "Tumko kaise maalum?" (How do you know?)

He said, "Aise hi auto mein customeraa chadte bahut company ke. Unse maalum karte rehtun." (Many customers sit in my Auto from different companies and I find out from them about what companies do.)

The day before this, I was interacting with OLA cab drivers about their income and how the OLA cab system works. So, I was curious to know how much this guy makes.

I asked, "Approximately kitna kamaate tum Auto chalaake?" (How much do you earn approximately by driving this Auto?)

"Kareeb 13,000 - 15,000 tak kamaletu, gas ka kharcha nikaalne ke baad" (Somewhere around 15,000 rupees after deducting the gas expenses)

I asked, "Car chalaane aata?" (Can you drive a car?)

He proudly responds, "Hau. Asal mein License toh 4-wheeler ka hai. Auto ka toh hai ich nahi. Woh toh mai aise hi chalarun." (Yes. I actually have license for 2- and 4- wheelers. In fact, I'm driving this Auto without license)

It was a LOL moment.

I asked, "Phir Cab kyun nahi chala lete? Usmein zyaada paisa milta hoga" (Then, why don't you drive a cab? You may be able to earn more that way.)

"Lekin usmein freedom nai rehta. Auto ka kya hai. Apne marzi se chalatun. Jab nai chalana nai chalatun. Ham logon ko din mein 5 baar break lena rehta, namaz padhne ke liye. Cab driver ko itne baar break nai milta na." (But there's no freedom in that profession. In this Auto, I can take passengers whenever I want. We guys have to go for prayers 5 times a day and driving an Auto gives me that freedom. Cab drivers are sometimes not given break for attending prayers.)

I said, "Aisi baat nahi hai. jab nai lena order toh apna phone off kar lena." (It's not that way. You can turn your phone off when you don't want to hire a passenger.)

"Mere Abba Cab chalate, SKYCAB ke. Kabhi 12 ghante ki duty rehti Airport ke paas. Toh namaaz ke liye break nahi dete woh log. Unki Cab chalaake hi seekha mai driving, khud se" (My father works as a Cab driver for SKY CABS. Sometimes he has 12 hrs duty near Airport and they don't give him break for prayers. I learnt car driving by driving his cab.)

I suggested him to rethink about driving a cab because there are more returns these days.

I asked, "Kab liye license?" (When did you take license?)

He replied, "Abhi 2 saal pehle. Us se pehle toh dete bhi nai." (Just 2 years ago. They don't give before that.)

I asked, "Tumhari umar kya hai?" (What's your age?)

He replied, "Bees (20). Tumhara?" (20. Yours?)

I answered, "Pachees (25)." (25)

He asked, "Shaadi ho gayi?" (Are you married?)

I answered "Nahi. Abhi time hai. Jaldi kya hai?" (No. There's time. What's the hurry?)

He was surprised, "Abhi tak nai hui? :-o. Hamare mein 16 saal mein hi kar dete. Us umar ke baad bache idhar udhar ghum (divert) jaate bolke, pehle hi kar dete. Shariat mein likha hai. Ham usi ko follow karte." (Not yet married? We guys get married at the age of 16. Children get distracted after that age. It's written in our Shariat law and we follow that.)

I asked, "Tumhara ho gaya?" (Are you married?)

"Nahi abhi nai hui." (No. Not yet.)

I mocked him, "Kyun? Tum nai ghum jaate? ;) " (Why? Don't you get distracted?)

With his boyish smile, he said, "Woh time ho gaya. 9th class mein hi khatam ho gayi meri story." (That time is gone. My (love) story ended in 9th class itself.)

I asked, "Kyun?" (Why? What happened?)

"Iskool chod diya, toh kahaani bhi khatam ho gayi udhar ich." (I left school (and studies). So, the story also ended there.)

"School kyon chod diya?" (Why did you leave school?)

"Ghar pe kaam karna zaroori tha. Abba ki tabiyat theek nai thi us time pe. Ghar ku chalaane ke liye mere ku bhi kaam mein le liye" (My father was not well and I had to take up work for sustaining the family.)

"Acha. Tum logon mein ek se badhke shaadiyan karte nai...?" (Ok. You guys marry more than once, right?)

"Hau. Ek se zyaada karte." (Yes, we marry more than once.)

"Aisa kyu?" (Why so?)

"Hamare role model prophet hai. Unho hamara hero hai. Unho jo kare, ham bhi waisich karte. Unko follow karte. Unho bole 16 saal mein shaadi karna bolke. Unhone kiya, toh ham bhi karte." (Prophet Mohammad is our role model. he is our hero. We do what he did. We follow him. He asks us to marry after the age of 16. He did and we follow him.)

This was an interesting reason that I've heard.

"Uss time mein, uss zamaane ke hisaab se kiya hoga unhone. Aaj kal ka situation alag hai na..." (He must have acted according to the situation in those days. Today's situations and needs are different.)

He didn't respond.

I asked, "Phir tum bhi karte kya ek se zyaada?" (So, will you also marry multiiple times?)

He blushed, "Hau... Dekehnge.. kya hota ki.. " (yes, Not sure. Let's see...)

We reached my home. I paid him Rs.200 and the extra 10 rupees. He was happy. While walking towards the gate, I turned back and asked, "Tumhara naam kya hai?" (What's your name?)

"Imran. Tumhara?" (Imran. Yours?)

"Adithya"

He smiled and left. I smiled and entered the house.

It is not a normal convention that an auto rickshaw driver is referring to his customer by the words, "TUM". Generally, they refer by the word, "AAP". But this guy refered to me both the times by using the word, "TUM".

(If I am not wrong, there is one sect of Muslims who do this.)

He felt proud of his job. He believed in having freedom. He didn't consider himself less in status. Something to learn about dignity of labor. 

Also coincidentally, just came across this today, "Hyderabad and I-drive-bad sound similar."

Hello to the Real World !

Yesterday, I had taken an Auto Rickshaw to go to office. The driver was an old man, probably in his late 50s or early 60s. After negotiation, we agreed upon Rs.200 to drop me at my office from my home. The talk we had during our negotiation was sufficient for me to assess the nature of the person. He seemed very gentle and not arrogant like a typical Auto driver we encounter.

After about half the journey, he started talking to me.

(In brackets is the English translation of the conversation we had)

"Saab, Thoda help chahiye" (Sir, I need some help)

"Ji, Kaisi help? Mai kya kar sakta hun?" (Yes, how can I help you?)

"Saab, meri beti delivery ko hai. Mujhe thoda madad chahiye." (My daughter is due for a delivery. I need some help.)

I could guess where this was going.

"hmm...Kahan pe rehte aap?" (Where do you stay?)

"Rajendra Nagar, <some colony>"

"Acha" (Ok)

"First delivery hai Saab. Aur aap jaante ki first time delivery mein Maa-baap ko karna hota hai." (This is first delivery and you know that girl's parents have to take care of the first delivery)

"Haan..." (Yes...)

"Navve Mahine mein hai saab abhi. Mera koi beta bhi nahi hai aur sirf beti hai. Bahut takleef mein hun Saab." (She's into her ninth month of pregnancy now, Sir. I don't have a son and only daughter(s). I'm struggling and in dire need of help)

I nodded and kept silent.

"Saab aapko gussa kiya..." (Sir, Have I angered you.)

"Nai, aisi koi baat nai..." (No, Nothing of that sort.)

We kept silent for a while. The case seemed genuine. I kept thinking of how I could help him. I did not personally know any doctors who could help with the delivery for low-cost or for free, considering his poverty.

I reached my destination. I got down.

"Naam Kya hai Aapka?" (What's your name?)

"Hassan Ali"

I recollected the helpless character 'Hassan' of the novel 'The Kite Runner' which I had read recently.

He repeated, "Saab, takleef mein hun saab. Aapka behen Samjhiye. Aapka beti Samjhiye. Kuch madad kijiye" (Sir, I'm in lot of (financial) trouble. Consider as your sister, your daughter, whatever. Please help, Sir)

This was the first time that an auto rickshaw driver, or for that matter anyone, ever pleaded so politely asking to be helped. I just gave him some money and asked him to keep it. I didn't know how else to help him at that time. 

He said, with a gleam of happiness on his face, "Bahut shukriya Saab. Bahut bahut Shukriya. Aapko Dua mein yaad rakhunga. Aapko Naukri mein tarakki mile. Aap bahut bada bane. <Another blessing that I don't remember now>." (Thank you very much, Sire. I shall remember you in my prayers. I shall pray for your promotion in your job and your well-being, etc.)

I keep thinking about how we could eradicate the plight of the poor. I wish I could address the root-cause.