Lockdown: Romantic for some, nightmare for others

By Ayushman Baruah 

The lockdowns and lockdown-like restrictions issued by the governments of various states to contain the spread of Covid-19 could be romantic for some while for others it’s nothing short of a nightmare.  

For one class of society – the rich and those who can afford to work from the comfort of their homes –are mostly enjoying a romantic holiday. Sitting on their comfortable couches and binging on the latest series on over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime accompanied by wine and kebabs is the lockdown norm for the privileged class. Of course, the party lasts until their health is unaffected by the deadly virus.

But even in good health, the other side of the story is gloomy. Life is miserable for those who don’t have the flexibility to work-from-home or work-from-anywhere, as they say. They have to get out of their homes risking their own lives and that of their families for the sake of winning their livelihood. Come what may, life in its pre-Covid form, has to go on, for this section of people.

Since the lockdown of 2020, various sectors like tourism and hospitality have taken a hit, so hard that many people in the sector are unable to bounce back to their normal lives. Various tourist guides stand and stare at the once-buzzing tourist spots which now wear a deserted look. Hotel and restaurant owners and employees stare at the vacant rooms and tables.  

Whether lockdowns are an effective mechanism to combat the coronavirus is yet to be proven. While it may help reduce the spread to some extent, the side effects cannot be ignored. A study examining suicidal behaviour during India’s Covid-19 lockdown by the International Journal of Mental Health Systems has found a 67.7% increase in online news media reports of suicidal behaviour.

The study titled ‘Analysis of news media reports of suicides and attempted suicides during the Covid-19 lockdown in India’ said that there were 369 cases of suicides and attempted suicides during the Covid-19 lockdown compared to 220 reported suicides in the corresponding dates in 2019. This number might have further risen since last reported. 

A foolproof vaccination drive for all citizens seems to be a smarter way to tackle the situation rather than imposing lockdowns and curfews which break the spine of the economy. Citizens should be self-disciplined and follow the safety protocols laid down by the World Health Organization (WHO).   

Currently, the real challenge for everyone is lack of knowledge about the problem as there are no past experiences to learn from. The need of the hour is to quickly get to the root of the problem and understand the novel coronavirus or SAR-CoV-2. After all, it’s far easier to fight a known enemy than the unknown. Meanwhile, let’s pray for the people affected by the virus and ask God to heal the world.  

A tribute to namma Bengaluru

Lockdown gives you some additional time to introspect and so here I am penning down few thoughts on Bengaluru, the city I love, the city that has given me a lot. I came to Bengaluru (then Bangalore) 14 years ago in 2006 to pursue my Master’s degree from Commits. Situated in #7, IV Main, Tavarekere Main Road, Commits, affiliated to Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, has since emerged to be one of the finest media institutes in the city. The faculty of Commits – especially then dean Ms Ranita Hirji and journalism head Ramesh Prabhu have had a lasting impact in my professional career. In my early days, I lived in a PG accommodation in Tavarekere, opposite the famous Oracle building for a little over two years. As my dad dropped me in that PG and finally said bye, I was apprehensive as it was the first time I was living outside home. I didn’t know anyone in the city except my cousin brother Simon who worked in IBM then, and my best friend from school Cyril who was pursuing his BA-LLB from NLSIU, the finest law school in the country. I thank both Simon and Cyril for helping me during those times when I was all alone. I am thankful to Simon for inviting me to his house for lunches during weekends which felt better than any five-star hotel meal for someone eating out each day. I shall forever remain indebted to Cyril for introducing me to the old Bangalore charm – dinner at Koshy’s, beer at Peco’s, coffee at India Coffee House, and reading books at Crosswords and the Magazine store (with Persian cats) are some of the prominent memories. Much of the new crowd in Bengaluru today might not have experienced all of this as some places are non-existent today while some others no longer retain that charm. From knowing just two people, over the years, today I have built relationships and contacts with some of the who’s who of the city and the world. By dint of being a journalist, I have had the opportunity to closely meet stalwarts like Infosys’ NR Narayana Murthy, Wipro’s Azim Premji, and Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar Shaw on several occasions. I have used the Kempegowda International Airport (then BIAL) departure gates to fly to various places around the world including Las Vegas, San Francisco, Macau, Bangkok, Beijing, Penang, and Sri Lanka. I must admit this was only a dream for the Shillong boy who came to pursue his Master’s in Mass Communication with some ideas and self-confidence as his only armour. Today, if my name throws up several search results on Google, it is because Bengaluru has given me this opportunity. Over the years, traffic became obscene; the lakes and greenery are gone along with some of the iconic places mentioned earlier. People became less patient with each other and nostalgia gave way to survival. Despite all its woes, Bengaluru will always remain close to my heart. I hope covid-19 will disappear without further collateral damage and the world will be a much better place. Quiet, green, and tranquil. I hope this is just the beginning of many more fantastic years to come!

Why Bangalore's growth as a knowledge economy is sustainable

By Ayushman Baruah    

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and former chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has highlighted the importance of learning the English language in various intellectual forums. As a journalist, I have seen, heard and met Nandan from close quarters on several occasions. Nandan has often admitted that he is born with a golden spoon. He has had the opportunity to study in the best schools and colleges and things fell in place for him. He is the urban, fortunate, and smart Bangalore boy who speaks good English and understands technology. 

                        

But Bangalore is far more diverse than a single Nandan Nilekani. There are thousands and lakhs of people living in the same city who struggle to earn their daily meal. Then, how is Bangalore’s knowledge economy sustainable? I boldly say, it is, because I observe a huge optimism and confidence in the “other” side of Bangalore too – the side that has always lived in the dark and struggled to make ends meet. This part of Bangalore does not attend Nandan’s intellectual forums but surprisingly, his thoughts have managed to trickle down the bottom of the pyramid.          

I am sharing three separate instances that I have experienced first-hand and which reflects the optimism I just stated. Few days ago, I had gone to buy vegetables from a road-side vegetable vendor near my house in Hosa Road junction. Unlike the more cosmopolitan localities in Bangalore such as Kormanagala and Indiranagar, the shop owners and vendors in this part of the city, do not speak or understand either English or Hindi. But given its close proximity to Electronic City – Bangalore’s IT hub, the area is fast being occupied by people from across India (and the world). So, this is what I experienced. As I went to buy the vegetables, a young girl (probably around 7^th standard) sat beside the vegetable vendor and communicated with me in fluent English as she helped her father sell the vegetables to people like me who do not understand Kannada. The vegetable vendor has been quick to realise the importance of English in a place like Bangalore and ensured his daughter learns the global language.

In another incident, an auto rickshaw driver demanded some extra money from me, which is the norm in the city, especially when it's raining or during the night. This time I decided not to pay upfront but to question his rationale. When I asked him the reason for demanding more than what he is supposed to, he told me that he wants to send his son to an English medium school and make him work on a “computer” job. I understood, he aspired to make his son a software engineer. Though I do not support auto drivers demanding extra money over the meter, the point I am appreciating here is his desire to provide quality education to his son.   

Few days ago, as I was coming to office in a BMTC bus, a young boy in school uniform sat beside me. I promptly struck a conversation with him, hoping to spend my time in the long and tiresome bus journey which is worsening every day due to the horrific traffic conditions in the city. I obviously spoke to him in English and he replied to me in fluent English. He studied in 7^th standard in an International school. As I kept on asking him more, he told me that his father had passed away and his mother goes to work in various households to earn money. Hats off to the mother who is struggling to give the best education to his son.  

The above three instances I have observed in Bangalore is a reflection of how the “other” Bangalore is beginning to think. Bangalore today is one of the most developed places in the world in terms of knowledge in general and technology in particular. Technology is a global phenomenon that needs a global language. Bangalore is already at the forefront of it, and thanks to all those vegetable vendors, auto drivers, and mothers who are working hard to make the growth sustainable and inclusive. 

Not surprisingly, the literacy rate of Karnataka is 75.4 percent, which is better than the overall literacy rate of India at 74.04 percent. The difference really lies in the thinking approach. One approach is to complain and blame others for everything. The other approach is to take control of your own future. The people mentioned in this story have chosen the latter and drive the car themselves rather than blame the driver or the potholes on the road. Clearly, we can all do a lot more if we stop complaining and do our part. As Nandan said in his book 'Imagining India', “We are a nation that has barely scratched its potential.”                              

JOURNALISM V/S CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

In the broader sense, though part of the same word called "media", journalism and corporate communications/ public relations are two opposite sides of the spectrum. Both the jobs are fundamentally different and having experienced both sides of the world, I have observed some interesting/funny differences between how each one functions. I am sure there are exceptions, but by and large, this holds true. The idea is also not to undermine or appreciate one over the other as I can assure you that each one has its own pros and cons. Hope you will be able to relate to some of them, if not all.    

JOURNALISM	CORPORATE COMMUNICATION
You go to office on Monday and start working immediately. No one really cares to ask about your weekend gone by	Monday begins with "Hey dear! How was your weekend, what did you do" and the most common reply is "Awesome"
Editor calls you up at mid night and asks you to finish that article in 1 hour. I don't know the meaning of next month or quarter	Manager does a meeting/concall with you at a planned time slot of the week and says "We need to think about publishing an article in the next quarter or so"
Afternoon: Finish off this work and then that work. The list goes on.	Afternoon: Let's take a tea break, how about some coffee?
Editor: Go and cover the event tomorrow	Manager: We need to think about doing an event soon
Weekend: What is that?	Weekend: Saturdays and Sundays are so much fun. Let's go for an outing
A lot of time is spent outside office but what is an office outing really like?	Let's go out for an office outing, an off-site or a CSR activity
Friday: So what? There's a deadline tomorrow	Friday: What are your weekend plans? Happy weekend
Journalist: But, how does it matter? I am happy, I am the king, I get to do what I like, I also get all the VIP treatment	Corp Comm: I like the comfort of my job but there is no deep satisfaction. It's all part of the work and we have to do it

Once a journalist, always a journalist

Journalism is unlike any other profession. The great Gabriel Garcia Marquez has gone on record as saying a journalist has the best job in the world. I am in complete agreement. It’s a rare profession in which a salary is immaterial. If I were making enough money through other sources, I would be willing to work as a journalist for free. I can’t think of any other profession that one would be willing to do for free. (Sure, there are exceptions to every rule!)

There is a reason why journalism can be, and most often is, a great profession. And I am talking about good journalism here — that’s the assumption I am making throughout this article. Journalism gives us an outlet to voice our opinions and share it with the larger public. As human beings, we all have an inherent desire to express our feelings and be heard and here is a profession that allows us to do so in a professional way with the added elements of style and context. What more can we ask for?

Journalism also keeps you away — mostly — from the corporate rigmarole of preparing and maintaining unnecessary Excel sheets and PowerPoint slides, and attending routine team meetings, which often don’t serve any good purpose. To me, Excel files and PPTs are good-to-have tools in an MBA class. Beyond that, a waste of time and effort. Journalism, on the contrary, is more real and grounded. You write articles based on first-hand interviews with the people you meet and these pieces have interesting stories to tell, stories that often have an impact on the people, the company, or the issue concerned.

During my recent short stint as a corporate communications professional with a software company in Bengaluru, I spent most of my time coordinating and following up with regard to routine tasks such as pending payments and approvals for a press release. To make things worse, I had hardly any control over what I wrote or said, which is the norm for a communications employee in the corporate world: Everything has to be first approved by the company and everyone has to follow a process. Nothing wrong with that, one might argue and I might agree, but if you are a journalist at heart, it will prick you; somewhere it pains.

Not surprisingly, I got out of that role to become a journalist once again. Yes, once a journalist always a journalist. I am hoping I will now write more than coordinate, and use more MS Word instead of MS Excel.

(This has also been published in The Commits Chronicle
http://commitschronicle.blogspot.in/2016/03/no-150.html)

How I got my U.S. Visa

In an earlier blog post, I had written about how I got my passport. Here's another one on how I got my U.S. Visa. It's been a while since this incident occurred but this post has been a long pending one...

Sometimes circumstances leave you confused whether you are lucky or unlucky. Let me narrate a small incident during my U.S visa interview process. I had a small cut in my finger just a day before the visa interview. I had put a band aid to prevent it from further damage.

I live in Bengaluru and so had to travel to Chennai to attend the interview. I reached safely, stayed at The Park, Anna Salai, and went out for the interview at least an hour before my scheduled time which was at 10:30 am. The queue was much longer than expected. About 100-odd people were queuing up at the consulate’s designated “Q” area that extended up to the Anna Salai main road. 

My turn ultimately came and I walked in with confidence, filled up the necessary forms and was sent for the biometrics. Just when I took out my pointed finger to give the biometrics, a lady officer behind the machine, stopped me at once. “You can’t do this, you have an open wound.” I got terrified, thinking what I will do next. I explained to her that it’s just a small wound that has already healed and that I have no problem in removing the band aid and going ahead with the biometrics. She repeated, “You may not have a problem, but others have…I can’t allow an open wound to touch the machine.”

I was sent to the someone in higher authority who probably had discretionary powers in dubious situations like these. Again, it was a lady officer. She asked me “What’s the problem?” I narrated the incident in simple words that I have been denied access to biometrics because of a small cut in my pointed finger, the fact being the wound has already healed.

The officer looked at my Visa category. It was an “I” category visa meant for foreign journalists travelling to U.S on assignment. I was travelling to the U.S. to cover the Oracle OpenWorld event in San Francisco, on behalf of InformationWeek India magazine. To my surprise, she said, “No problem!” She got into further conversations with me and revealed in an excited tone that she had been a journalist too in the past and she loved her profession. She got the biometrics done with all the other nine fingers, barring the pointed finger and directed me the next step. 

The final step is when a senior officer takes your interview face-to-face and tells you on spot whether your visa application has been accepted or rejected. After a couple of basic questions, she told me, in direct words, “Your visa application has been accepted!” Wow!  

For a few minutes at the Consulate, I cursed my luck thinking “why me?” Why did I have to get that small cut on my finger? But afterwards, I realized I was actually very lucky. A house wife, standing in queue just before me was denied the visa, right in front of my eyes. She didn’t get a visa though she didn’t have any wound. I got my visa despite having a wound. That’s luck right!        

     

Professional encounters

With Suresh Vaswani, ex-CEO Wipro and President, Dell Services

With Ashok Soota, ex-CEO Wipro Infotech, founder MindTree & Happiest Minds

With Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN

Interviewing Infosys founder and chariman, N.R. Narayana Murthy 

Read full interview: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/good-better-best.../448607