Have you being to Delhi? Have you checked out the street food? No, then you have certainly missed something.
It cannot be conveniently said that street food in Delhi is hundred percent hygienic. But if you haven’t tried out gol gappas and other spicey stuff then you have certainly missed something. Each region of Delhi has its own variety, and its own specialty. Go to Nehru place, one of the largest computer markets in Asia, you would certainly relish the Biryani and cholle chawal. Go to Chandni Chowk in the Old Delhi, well then you are at the mecca of street food. Karol Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Connaught Place, Darya Ganj, ITO, you name them and they have their own specialty.
Today I am writing about the meal I had at Shankar Market, near the outer circle of Connaught Place (or Indira Chowk, if you go by the government nomenclature), last Sunday. This shop does not have a name, but for thirty years, it’s providing delicious food North Indian food to its customers the employees at the adjoining office complexes. Every afternoon the place is thronged by people, from every walks of life, office goers, college students for their lunch, clerks for packing lunch for their bosses, other people who came to Connaught Place for some work and cannot afford its pricey restaurant. For them it is a Mecca of afternoon. You can even find some BMW or a Merc standing by and owners inside with their plates.
The shop primarily provides for types of North Indian dishes, quintessential ‘Rajma Chawal’, ‘Curry Chawal’, ‘Cholle Chawal’ and ‘Puri Chawal’, sometimes every ‘palak paneer chawal’. Quantity of food in a single plate is enough for two; a plate will have apart from the main course, salad, raita and papad. But there is a catch, do not expect them to serve, you fetch the plate and everything will be mingled in them and there is no sitting so try to get yourself a better place to stand or sit. The food usually gets exhausted by 4 PM during weekdays. Since I went there on Sunday 3 PM, there was no problem. But if you go there on any weekday, brace yourself for the queue and crowd.
Thirsty! Then there is water vendor just on the premises itself or there are other shops to get ‘bisleri’. And even if you don’t like going there, there is always a McDonald, Nirula’s, Rodeo’s, Wimpy’s, Pizza hut or any other restaurant nearby. But this place is surely a try. I have being there since my college days, it has never disappointed me, even when it sweltering May, the food has being always good. But you always have right to your own opinion and tummy.
© Tarun Mitra
Last Friday my grandfather suffered a stroke in the morning. He felt dizzy, and fell down, unconscious and defecated. His eyes rolled over and we almost thought, but with repeated massage he regained some consciousness. He began to wheeze, a sign that his only working lungs in overstretched. Somehow we were able to make him stand, and after cleaning him up we gave him the emergency medicines. He recovered soon enough but due to the fall he pulled his back.
We thought it would be preferable if his doctor would examine him. Since the doctor has a busy schedule and has stopped carrying his cell phone I decided to fetch him from his clinic itself. My mother called the clinic first just to confirm the availability of the doctor. As I went there the compounder told me the doctor would not be available for home, better get the patient to the clinic. Since that was not possible, I decided to stay and have a talk with the doctor. When we finally met, we had a brief chat, he told me fetch me tomorrow, same time. I bode him good bye and left for home. I didn’t fetch him on Saturday. Grandfather had recovered since then.
But the pertinent question remains, are doctors easily available. It is the situation with a doctor in the metropolis, now think about their availability in the rural areas. My doctor was busy with other patients, who came earlier, rightly so, it’s first come first serve. But when there is a case in case of emergency what is to be done. Nothing, I suppose, if you are lucky enough then you will survive.
The problem is not isolated case, and there are two causes to this, greed and scarcity. With the acquired knowledge and huge experience it’s anything but possible to seek for some more resources. The Hippocratic Oath they take gets drowned in the hypocrite considerations. And surge in popularity means more money and more opportunities. Adding on to it, doctors are limited, according to latest statistics the country produces 30,000 doctors a year, whereas requirement is of around 110,000. Fewer doctors mean the more pressure on the existing stock, and if any one proves too good, then he has got the Midas touch. After some time this Midas asks some more for his touch, eventuality one has to pay and dance to his wishes. Scarcity and greed works in tandem.
My grandfather is doing fine, except for the pain at the back which is bothering him. After that we didn’t bothered to take him to the doctor. It was known what to expect from the ECG, and he himself doesn’t wants to be hospitalized. The matter for us is settled but the question remains, why doctors are not easily available?
© Tarun Mitra
He never knew it would come to this. Ever since recession struck the Indian shores he knew that his job was in danger. Last January his company Asian operations lost 800 people, they never admitted they had lain off. The thunder stuck in month of April when his Connecticut based manager asked him to leave. He was given only 3 months advance salary as per his contract and no other benefit. No farewell was accorded to him, the best employee of Asia region in last year itself.
Ever since then he is at home 24/7. He has changed his home since. From the 3 bedroom mortgaged house in an upscale metropolis to his father’s old two rooms flat at middle class colony in an old city. He has already sold off his car. He stopped using the air conditioner when he faced the frequent power failure. He has changed his lots of old habits. He now gets up early, fills up water for his home, does some house work and always eats at home. Although he has increased smoking but has shifted to low cost brands. Now is only drinks local whisky.
He hasn’t got any job since then. Every time he applied he was told that he was over-qualified and under-experienced. He has plethora of degrees and qualifications to boast. But he was still in his mid-twenties, which hasn’t helped. Although he has lowered his salary expectation considerably, but it still cannot comfort them, after all who wants an over-qualified junior. He now secretly laments that he has little too much of qualifications. All his friends have deserted him. They only talked to him whenever he calls them; they make tall promises but are short of actions. Sometimes they even don’t pick up his call. He leads an almost lonely life. Almost nobody visits him, and he also has no one to visit. He spends most of his time on the computers. Searching for job or satisfying his carnal self. He can still afford a cheap broadband connection.
To kill his time he decides to write. But it occurs to him that he hasn’t written anything informal for a long time, in short he cannot write. He remembers that he used to write poetry when he as in love. But when his love left him his writer had died within him. Thinking of his love he wanders into past, into his college days when he was going in for multiple degrees but still had had time pen a few words. He feels the shivering feeling that used to emasculate him when he used to see her. He loved this weakness. He loved to lay his head on her lap and he loved the way she uses to kiss his forehead. He still remembers the events of the day when she left him. On that day he was cold, and showed no emotions, it was a shock, he was able to hide his emotions.
He mind then wander onto his father; A municipal employee, before that he has dabbled his hands in singing. He has a love hate relation with his father. He still feels the warmth of the cold mornings of his childhood when his father use to take him to long walks, to movies, fairs and plays. But he also remembers him as sour man who has ruined his mental peace during his teenage, after his mother died of cancer. When he was in college he urged him to take a job in the city council, he has refused as he was already working part time with an advertising agency. This saw a flared up temper in his house, and exchange of angry words. The other day he left his home. He was 19 then and only visited his father on weekends.
He is 26 now, and has lost his job after spending two years in the company. Before that he had a lot of part time experience. When he return to his father’s two room flats, his father was bearing the attitude of I told you so. Though he didn’t shared much words with his father, but he can see from his face what he meant “You and your degrees are useless, you should have taken the job of clerk right after school. You could be head clerk now. With a stable income, you would have being much happier.” He hated his father, but he had no other option. He has also promised his mother.
A gentle shock of slipped elbow from his chair wakes him up. He has being day dreaming. He looked at the image of the naked woman in his monitor. But he was in no mood now. He changed the webpage for his email. He didn’t have any, except for some spam and few free subscriptions. He changed it to the porn site again. His desktop has being strategically located, beside the window with monitor facing the window. Nobody can have a clue of what he is doing until he or she is able to push himself between the table and window. Outside the window no one can see his monitor, he is using the protection.
He looks outside the window. With rampant illegal construction in search of more space and privacy, has left nothing but lack of individual privacy. He can easily peep into many bathrooms now, and see what is going on inside them. An empty mind is devils workplace. He tells himself, but still he cannot stop himself from seeing the same women, whom he calls aunties or ‘bhabhis’ or some newly married women taking bath in their bathrooms. He has become a pervert. But he doesn’t care anymore. When he was good, he was fired, now what worse can be in store for him?
He lights his cigarette. His eyes kept moving outside. They were waiting for someone. ‘Ah! There she comes’ he tells himself, looking at a middle aged woman recently shifted to their colony. He examined her more clearly. He wants to meet him once, but he can’t she was married with kids. Secondly his reputation will be hammered. He looked at him intently, and then she moved inside. Now he was in mood. He went to bathroom. He came back after few minutes. He lights up another cigarette.
He wonders, was he always like this. Working his way out his graduate and post graduate and finally his permanent job, he only had one serious affair. That was in college. After that he has dated many and slept with few, but he was not serious. But he had never being a frustrated guy looking at anyone lasciviously. He was smart; he can be seductive but not lascivious. What had he done to come to this?
His thoughts are again broken by the knock at the door. A courier boy has just delivered a package. It came from his former office. Some documents has arrived in his name, they had delivered it to him. That the least they can do for him, he thinks. They were his subscription of magazines and bank statements. He returns to his computer.
He again dwells into his unanswered thoughts. He has always being a good employee and helpful friend. Even in the college, he has helped many in getting some part time job. In employment he has helped many of his colleagues without any expectations. He was hard worker and was awarded best employee for the year 2009. But it never had come to this. Why me? Breaking into laughter he suddenly remembers the reply or Arthur Ashe to this question.
He has a share of his good times. After he left his father’s house, he stayed at a rented accommodation with his 6 friends for 4 years. Every night was almost a party night; they worked hard, studied hard and partied hard. Amongst them he was only one who got more than two qualifications, landing himself straight into the middle management of Indian operations of an MNC. All others were well employed. After joining he bought his new house, the 3 bedroom flat, a new car, plasma TV and all other luxuries his money can buy. Flat, car and TV came on loan, others were outright purchases. He has developed a taste for single malts, imported cigarettes and cigars. He went to disco every second night. Good times seem never to end. But then it stuck.
“Shhhaaa…” he wheezed, he was thinking about one thing again and again, the thought. He goes through the same cycle also every day. He shuts down his computer and decides to go for walk. It was noon; with delayed monsoon streets were hot and humid. He walked till the nearest market, unable to bear the heat, he returned. His thoughts again take him over. Why does father treats me like this? Why does he blame me for everything wrong in his life? Am I really responsible for my mother’s death? Again a gentle tremor wakes him up. What he is thinking and why so? He decides to read.
Reading the hindi newspaper was again new to him. He last student the subject in his higher secondary. But now he has to content himself whatever his father buys. Turning through the pages he shuffles through the news of murders, crimes, rapes, prices, illicit relationships and every other thing but not anything about jobs or economic condition. A cheap newspaper, he shrugs. It was lunchtime, but he didn’t want to repeat the cycle now. He decides to give lunch a miss. He decides to stay hungry.
His cell rang up at 3 PM. It startled him; the call was from an unknown number. He took the phone and talked. When he kept the phone, he was happy and bewildered. The girl whom he loved once wants to meet him, how did she got his number, he wondered. And why again she wants to meet him? Wasn’t she married? Why she remember him after long 6 years? Since he has nothing more to do, he had said yes.
He left the keys to his next door neighbors. She told him that she would pick him up. Many questions were going in his mind. At 4 PM sharp she came in her car along with her driver. They picked him up, she instructed the driver to drive towards their old college. For some time they cannot talk, silence seemed to have crept into their lips. Adjusting his thoughts, he spurted out, “Hi! How are you, so long, how did you got my number..” he ate up many words as he tried to speak them at once. Regaining her composure, she began to reply, to what he has asked and what he had supposedly asked. She wanted to meet him ever since she came to know about his job loss. She got his number from their common friend. She is still living with her husband. She had indirectly followed his career, and was shocked to know about his job. The car came to a halt at the backside of his college.
She opened her door and got outside. He wanted to come outside but she stopped him. She wants to see off her driver. She wants to spend some time together, alone. Her driver also got out. She escorted him towards the main road. Again alone, he looked towards the wall which he had jumped many a times. He remembers his first kiss. How he and his friends used to smoke here. All his memories were going around in his head. He was feeling happy, after many months someone actually wants to talk to him.
He was lost in his thoughts, suddenly, his car received a jerk. He saw a battery of policemen encircling the car. They pulled him out of the car and handcuffed him. Shocked, he asked the reason. They told him he is being accused for murder and stealing.
The trunk of the car has a dead body. He is accused of murdering him and stealing his car to dispose off his body. He furiously refuted the charges, but was taken to lock up immediately. Circumstantial evidences were against him. At the lock up he heard a woman testifying against him. He had heard her voice before. She was his former girl friend. She was it he thought who bought the car at the first place.
He slowly went through what she had said.
She called him for consoling him for his job loss. But he insisted on meeting her. She then sent a car for him. The car was driven by her friend, who was also at the scene of crime. He came, and began to argue with her. Her husband, who had just return home at that moment overheard it and asked him to leave. In fit of fury he held his neck and broke it. Then holding him as booty he took the car, put the body into the trunk and fled. Her friend, who bought him there, was also attacked by him at the first place. Then she contacted the police.
Bag of lies, with his eyes wide open, he began to shout. But there was no one to listen to him. Police was used to such shouting. He wanted to cry. He cried whole night. Next day he was presented before the magistrate. Magistrate handed him 14 days of custody. That day was not his usual day, he can at least smile for that, he thought. But there was no trace of his father. Why hasn’t he come, after all it’s his son who is in jail. He asked a policeman. He coldly told him, the moment your father came to know you are arrested, he packed his bags and left. He left no note. He was stone cold. He has now lost the person who loathed him and who he loves to loathe.
He was again thrown back into his cell. But that evening he has a visitor.
His former love visited him, along with her driver. He can recall his face. But the manner they held each other hands suggested something else. He shouted, on seeing her, what the hell is this. Smiling, she first introduced the guy, apparently he was a friend to her late husband, and then she told him, ‘sorry honey, but you were the only one free. At least I am able to rescue you from your daily boring routine. I needed to get rid of this man. But I have to weave a solid tale, when I came to know about you, I got the man I wanted. Frustrated and alone, without family or friends, you were alone, doing nothing. I decided to do you a favor; in jail you won’t be alone.”
‘But why me?’ he shouted.
She replied, ‘well dear, you fitted the bill, an old lover, recently unemployed, talks to love, gets passionate and kills, no one will have doubt about it, after all unemployment can be heartbreaking. Isn’t that you learn in business, to use people effectively and efficiently. Secondly if you don’t want to go to jail, I can do you another favor, they’ll prove that you are mental patient and then you will be thrown at an asylum. At least that much I can do for my old love. Isn’t that generous on my part? Think it over.’
Then she left. Leaving him alone.
He was seething in anger, but only question he can ask is the question he can ask to god only. It was the only question he kept murmuring.
“Why me?”
A grey area seems to have emerged in SEBI (Substantial Acquisition and Takeover) Regulations, 1997 or simply takeover code. This area is specifically relates to hitting of trigger point by acquiring 15% or more shares in the form of Depository receipts.
The case relates to the exemption application filed by Bharti Airtel and MTN to acquire 36% of shares in Bharti by MTN, Bharti on the other hand according to this complex cross border deal will acquire 49% shares in MTN. In the given case MTN is acquiring 36% shares by subscribing to the GDRs of Bharti. Technically takeover code is only applicable to Indian companies and shares held in India, it excludes the Depository Receipts which are held outside India and are subject to the regulations for the foreign regulator, even though the underlying deposits are of Indian shares.
The SEBI has given the exemption to the MTN to acquire 36% share without hitting the trigger point, which is, not making a public offer to acquire a further 20% shares in Bharti. Since the shares are in the forms of GDR, SEBI has asserted that they are not shares held in India per-se. This decision puts into light a glaring loophole, now investors fear that cross-border acquisition now can be done by skirting the open offer clause. Effectively this decision could facilitate sidestepping of the takeover code itself.
It should be the high time for plugging this loophole.
© Tarun Mitra
Reference
The data has being take from “Dangerous Exemption” appeared in July 20, 2009 issue of The Businessworld magazine.
While studying economics at graduate level, we all had studied how money begets money. That is, how credit creates more credit and money flows in the market; a way by which a single rupee can create ten rupee.
No, I am not going to explain that simple yet difficult theory again. But yet the implications of the theory are what we have felt and are still feeling for the last two years. Credit created credit, and more innovative solutions were found to give more credit. But when derivatives with underlying credit collapsed as creditors defaulted on their credit, the world economy simply fell like house of (credit) cards. Repercussions were felt by almost everyone.
All these events give us a new insight of what a modern man does. Quoted by US politician Earl Wilson, it is important to dwell upon his quote.
“The modern man drives a mortgaged car over a bond-financed highway on credit-card gas.”
© Tarun Mitra
The photos of Ambi Mall in Gurgaon fist picture is of the ceiling, second one is the four floor of retail space, third one is picture taken at evening, and last one is seven floor tower.
