DRIVING AROUND DELHI AND NCR ( 2 )

DRIVING AROUND DELHI AND NCR  ( 2 )

We last had an overview of national highways and major roads originating from central parts of Delhi, and moving out towards various directions, connecting the neighbouring cities of NCR, and then going further towards other parts of the country. Here, let us discuss a little more of this subject.  
First about NH 1, popularly known as GT Road, which effectively originates at ISBT Kashmeri Gate, and after crossing Azadpur, goes to Sonepat, and finally goes deep right up to the nation's frontiers.

The original GT Road, also known as GT Karnal Road, passes through Baraf Khana, Sabzi Mandi Ghantaghar, Shakti Nagar, and Azadpur. Now we have an alternate in the form of a well built bypass road along Yamuna River, which meets the old GT Road at Mukarba Chowk, on Outer Ring Road.  An alternate to this road is Ring Road section between Kashmeri Gate and Azadpur, via Civil Lines.

Next, we have NH 2, which effectively originates at India Gate and goes south towards Faridabad, Mathura, Agra, Gwalior, Bhopal, Indore, and finally to Mumbai. For travelers within the city, an alternate route is Ring Road section between Pragati Maidan up to Ashram Chowk. For visiting Mathura & Agra, a new suitable alternate is Yamuna Expressway (Toll Road) via Greater Noida.

One more major highway is NH 24 going east towards Ghaziabad, Hapur, Moradabad, Lucknow and beyond. It has four alternate routes. The most popular being Hapur Bypass originating at Nizamuddin Bridge over River Yamuna, going past Akshardham, Indirapuram, etc. One branch of this road connects NOIDA & Gr Noida, and leads to the new Yamuna Expressway (Toll Road). The second route is Vikas Marg via Lakshmi Nagar, ISBT Anand Vihar, etc. Third alternate being the road originating at ISBT Kashmeri Gate and going towards Shahdara, Mogan Nagar, etc. This road also connects with NH 58 going towards Meerut, Saharanpur, Haridwar, Dehradun, Rishikesh, etc. Another route is Loni Road crossing River Yamuna at Wazirabad, and goes via Yamuna Vihar, etc.

One more highway is NH 10, also known as Bahadurgarh Road. This road originates at Karol Bagh and goes towards Rohtak via Punjabi Bagh, Nangloi, Tikro Border, Bahadurgarh, etc. This is major road connecting Delhi with parts of Haryana , southern parts of Punjab and also North Rajasthan.

The next major highway is NH 8, which has become one of the most important roads of Delhi. It originates at Dhaula Kuan and leads to Gurgaon, Japiur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai.

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance"

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance"

Some great person has rightly said, "if you think education is expensive, try ignorance". What the good soul implied was that being educated (having gained learning) is far better than being ignorant.

For some readers, from well off sections of society, the topic might look like rhetoric, but sadly it is still relevant in certain societies where people are still not able to get education as freely as may be case in much of the world. It is all the more pertinent to the poor people of underdeveloped nations.

Imagine a society without schools and colleges ! Impossible, right  ? No matter how much we hate waking up early for school or studying all night for those tests and exams, we all know that education is very important. Now, I am not saying that an uneducated man has no chance of being successful or an educated man will surely do well in life.  Exceptions are always there. However most of us will agree that an educated person gets better opportunities in life. It is easier for an educated person to  be successful and realize his/ her goals and dreams as compared to someone who is uneducated. Other than success and prosperity, there are other reasons too why education is utmost necessary.

If one wants to lead a happy life and enjoy the good things the world has to offer, one certainly needs to get educated. A good job or vocation, a social recognition, well being, etc., are few of the many benefits of being educated. Education is a must for a promising and secure future and a stable life.

Education teaches us that superstitions are baseless, useless and may affect one's life negatively. Illiterate and uneducated people often tend to hold certain superstitious beliefs.  Education and awareness are the best ways to combat superstitions and replace such beliefs with reason and logic.

We live in an ever changing world. New technologies keep coming up and if you don’t want to be left behind, you must keep up with the world which is moving really fast. Without education it will be really difficult for you to adapt to all these changes. An educated person is much more aware of the latest technologies and all the changes that are taking place in the world. For example, an uneducated person may not know about the benefits of the internet whereas an educated person uses this gift of technology regularly for work as well as for entertainment.

मेरो मन अनत कहाँ सुख पावे ? Where would I find peace ?

मेरो मन अनत कहाँ सुख पावे ?

Where would I find peace ?

Great poet Surdas wrote these popular lines and a lot more :

मेरो मन अनत कहाँ सुख पावे।
जैसे उड़ि जहाज की पंछि, फिरि जहाज पर आवै॥
कमल-नैन को छाँड़ि महातम, और देव को ध्यावै।
परम गंग को छाँड़ि पियसो, दुरमति कूप खनावै॥
जिहिं मधुकर अंबुज-रस चाख्यो, क्यों करील-फल खावै।
'सूरदास' प्रभु कामधेनु तजि, छेरी कौन दुहावै॥

Roughly, it translates in English, as under :

Where would I find eternal peace ? (But at the feet of my beloved Lord Krishna).
I am like the bird flying from a ship, which has to came back to the same ship time and again.
Whom should I worship but the Lotus Eyed (Lord Krishna) and I can not think of any other deity.
I would not think of digging a new well, when I already have the Sacred River Ganga (Ganges).
Why shall I even think of eating berries, when I already have the sweetest mango fruit to eat.
O Lord Krishna, I, Surdas, would not think of milking a modest cow, as I already have Kamdhenu.
(Kamdhenu is the divine cow mentioned in the old texts, which has powers to fulfill all wishes).

You Might Need A Hug :

You Might Need A Hug :


A tagline on an internet website randomly asks a a question, "Do you need a hug?..."  And then it goes on to answer the same question with an affirmative answer, and says, " Yes, if you're trying to ward off colds and the flu this winter — and who isn't? — the answer is 'yes'....."

News report further says, according to a study by researchers released, and scheduled for publication in the renowned journal of Psycholgical Sciences, the apparent protective effect of hugs may be attributable to physical contact itself or to hugging being a behavioral indicator of support and intimacy,"  A professor of psychology, associated with said research and his team write. "Either way, those who receive more hugs are somewhat protected from infection and illness-related symptoms."

Looks like Dear Doctor Munna Bhai, famous for "Jadoo Ki Jhhappi", was absolutely correct.

The study was actually an attempt to determine how much protection social support provides against stress and the physical vulnerability it creates, in this case to colds and flu. As expected, the researchers found that people who perceive that they have strong social support networks enjoyed a degree of "buffering" against stress and those physical ailments.

STORY OF THE WISE CROW, SCIENCE ALSO SAYS IT IS AN INTELLIGENT BIRD

STORY OF THE WISE CROW, SCIENCE ALSO SAYS IT IS AN INTELLIGENT BIRD

During our childhood, we have all read the story of the wise crow in our text books. The thirsty one who found some water in a pitcher but its level was too low for him to drink with ease.

Not the one to give up, the wise crow used his intelligence, collected pebbles and threw the same in to the pitcher, thus forcing the water level to come up and he was able to quench his thirst. Nice moral story indeed.

But now science too says that the crows brain can solve human problems. This is all over internet.

Looks like, story tellers of homegrown tales narrated in "Panchtantra" knew it well, all along.  

For example, the crows might have to choose two same-sized circles rather than two different-sized circles when the sample displayed two same-sized squares.

What surprised the researchers was not only that the crows could correctly perform the relational matches, but that they did so spontaneously, without explicit training.

"That is the crux of the discovery," said corresponding author of the study, who is said to be a psychology professor at one University in USA. Crows have the brain power to solve higher-order, relational-matching tasks and they can do so spontaneously, the findings showed.

The findings suggest that birds are much smarter than previously thought. "The results shatter the notion that sophisticated forms of cognition can only be found in our 'smart' human species ....

WHY DID WE KILL OUR SACRED RIVERS

WHY DID WE KILL OUR SACRED RIVERS

People living in and around Delhi know about the pathetic condition of River Yamuna. What was once a mighty river, now looks no better than a large drain, as it passes through Delhi.The condition of the Holy River Ganga (Ganges) is no better as may be seen near Kanpur.  Various authorities and even courts have been making efforts for reviving these two sacred rivers (and the other rivers too) but nothing seems to be working even after thousands of crores of rupees have reportedly been spent for this purpose during the last few decades.  As may be seen easily, the basic reason for this condition of our rivers, be it Sacred Ganga, Yamuna, or other rivers, is the fact that their entire water has been diverted for irrigation.  Nothing wrong with having a network of canals, but why are we not giving any thought to the simple fact that these rivers will not become lively clean rivers again until and unless there is regular and continuous availability of a certain minimum quantum of water round the year.   Most people taking their holy dip at Hari Ji Ki Pauri at Haridwar fail to realise that it is canal and not river. The fact is that all the water of Ganga is diverted to canals here and whatever water remains in the original river is diverted again at few more places downstream. Hence,  seeing even a small amount of water flowing in Ganga at Kanpur is pure surprise. Likewise, water of Yamuna is diverted at Hathinikund and Tajewala and it is completely dry thereafter. One can verify this while traveling by road between Yamuna Nagar and Saharanpur.  The courts should worry about the fact that much of the water seen in Yamuna at Wazirabad is nothing but waste water emptied in to the dry riverbed by the drains coming from Panipat.   Amicus curai appointed by court may consider to see and videograph the difference in water level of Yamuna before and after it is joined by Chambal in Bundelkhand, near Etawah. After having seen Yamuna at Delhi and Agra and Ganga at Kanpur, it was soothing to see a free flowing Chambal in Rajasthan. Please visit the historic city of Dholpur to see it for yourself.  At times, I wish all of India was dry desert like Rajasthan, because only facing the scarcity of water can teach us Indians to learn the value of water and the importance of our rivers. Reviving the rivers is essential if we have an iota of concern for our future generations.  

SAT-CHITT-AANAD

SAT-CHITT-AANAD

Dear Friends, a friend sent it and I feel like sharing it here... please, read on and be happy. 
A group of about 50 persons was attending a seminar. Someone was speaking on joy and happiness. Suddenly, he stopped speaking and started giving each one a balloon. Each person was asked to write his / her name on the balloon using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room.

Now the delegates were let in that room where balloons were kept and each one was asked to find the balloon with his / her name written on it, within 5 minutes.

Everyone was frantically searching for the balloon with his / her name, in the process colliding with each other, pushing around others and there was utter chaos in the room.

At the end of 5 minutes no one could find his / her own balloon.

Thereafter, each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had his / her own balloon.

The speaker spoke again - - - "exactly this is happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness for self all around, (similar to balloon). You will get it when you give happiness to others (give balloons to others)". 

Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness; you will get your own happiness. And this is the purpose of human life. Our soul is Sat-Chitt-Anand.

It is full of happiness as it comes from the infinite source of happiness - The God.

Give this happiness to others and you will be filled with immense satisfaction and a great sense of fulfilment. I am sure you agree with the rule of this balloon game..........let us try so that everyone has his / her own balloon.........always.......with immense satisfaction and a great sense of fulfillment.

Some might have read it earlier but is there any harm in reading it again.....none at all.

India's Public Sector Banks

India's Public Sector Banks

Dear Readers, recently there were reports that a large number of bank officers, recruited in 1970s & 80s, soon after banks' natonalisation, are going to retire in next few years and it is going to create a huge talent deficit in India's PSBs. Someone opined that it is scary.

However, in my view, it is not scary ; it looks like just some unnecessary hype. There is hardly any substance in this kind of reports. Bank officers retire all the time and are replaced by new ones. Only difference this time is that the number is likely to be higher than usual but then there would be proportional fresh hiring too, if not exactly equal due to the flawed notion of down sizing.

Number of retirees is higher because there was mass intake during 1970s due to rapid spread of branch networks after bank nationalisation initiated in 1969, and also the process of recruitment was made simple and somewhat democratic. Thanks to Late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ji for that.

Also, we can not say that retirees are all so highly talented that people still working in banks and new recruits together would not be able to meet the so called talent deficit. As such, second generation is usually smarter than the last.. betters the outgoing one....

As I see it, talent deficit occurs when people working in key areas requiring specific skills (and some experience too) leave while they are still in active service........ as had happened in 1990s when new private banks were coming up........were spreading their branch networks.. ...and the existing PSBs were their natural targets for human resources...and in some cases.....even the book of instructions.....

New banks were essentially looking for working hands with basic knowledge of banking, its systems & processes. The idea was not to hunt for talent. New banks knew that while machines make things easy but also that the machines too need workers to operate. 

In 2001, banks were enticing employees to quit by offering lucrative package. Thankfully, some people in SBI, the largest PSB, still had their heads in the right place, and they curtailed the scheme a bit, making it applicable to officers above the age of 55 years . I have often wondered as to why no one in PSBs thought (in 2001) that deploying computers would require more working hands and thus, rather than reducing numbers, they need to go for fresh recruitment of techies - in addition to skill enhancement of oldies. 

The loss of workers (numbers - not talent necessarily) to VRS of 2001 pushed back the PSBs and gave a walkover to the new private banks - at least in urban centres - and the realisation dawned (in PSBs) only towards the end of the decade (2010) when growth rate started falling .. ..  and thus, fresh rounds of mass recruitment are now in vogue.....and are being announced rather proudly.

An area that amuses me the most is that the idea behind VRS of 2001 was to reduce costs, and to improve business & profit per employee; but top honchos of PSBs have since realised that human resource is still the cheapest. Also, human resource can be bullied easily.

PSBs know now that the collective cost incurred in upkeep of human resources is far lower than the capital cost as well as the recurring cost involved in purchase, maintenance, replacement, novation, renovation, up-gradation, and even disposal of old computers, and such technological support systems etc, is far far more higher than the cost of maintaining their human resources.

However, the ones against use of technology in banks should see reason and should realise that PSBs have been laggards in this area. In the present day scenario, no one can imagine a bank without computers / technology.  Actually, if one were to talk to some youngster today of the era of loose leaf ledgers and assorted kinds of registers etc., that were being used in PSBs right up to early 2000s, it would appear to the younger ones that this guy has arrived from somewhere like Jurassic Park.
 
One good outcome of these mass retirements would be that the young generation of today would have an opportunity of getting reasonably well paying employment in these PSBs.

DRIVING AROUND DELHI & NCR

DRIVING AROUND DELHI & NCR

Dear Friends, you might have read much about Delhi / New Delhi / NCR and its chaotic traffic and also about the unfortunate incidents of road rage. Here, let us discuss how to make it easy driving here. We may begin with Connaught Place, hub of National Capital Territory of Delhi / New Delhi. Imagine a wheel, say wheel of a bicycle, with its hub, multiple spokes, and the rim, the ring roads.


As may be seen in map below, there are at ten (10) major roads originating from central parts of Delhi, going towards all directions. Five are national highways, first being NH 1, going northwards to Sonepat, Ambala, Chandigarh, Simla, Amritsar, and Jammu. Second major road is NH 2, leading southwards to Faridabad, Mathura, Agra, Gwalior, Bhopal and Indore. Third major road is NH 24 going east towards Ghaziabad, Moradabad and Lucknow. Next major road is NH 10, going westwards to Bahadurgarh, Rohtak, and parts of Haryana and Punjab. Also, there is NH 8 going southwards to Gurgaon, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The five other major roads are Vikas Marg, Loni Road, Mehrauli Road, Najafgarh Road, and Hapur Bypass (NH 24).  Then, we have two ring roads - Ring Road and Outer Ring Road, circling the entire city.

India, China, USA & World Around Us

India, China, USA & World Around Us

Dear Friends, too much is being said these days about India taking over China in growth. Recently, I read one such 'opinion' and had a brief smirk - not a good laugh. Basically, the comparison is flawed, illogical, almost absurd. Unless, off course, it is about growth of population where we are more likely to be the number one country - the most populous state on the globe in not so distant future.

To sum it up, we may recall that the then, US Prez Nixon visited China in 1974. While it is doubtful if USA benefited much by engaging with China but it is certain that the visit did much good to China. For long, USA was in need of a regular supply chain for goods of daily use which its industry was producing at prohibitive costs, mainly due to higher wages / lack of manpower. Another concern was emerging consciousness about pollution caused by industry. USA wanted to use the poor labour of China for producing cheap goods for its markets and also to preserve its environmental resources. At the same time, Chinese junta needed global recognition and also jobs for its growing populace, which was living in penury. China needed resources to maintain its Red Army and loads of Nukes.

Initially, everything appeared tailor made for USA. It had good arena for profitable investments, mass production of goods with cheap Chinese labour was helping its economy as well as its environment. 

But it made a grave mistake in granting unfettered access to Chinese goods in its markets and at the same time, it allowed its small scale industry to whither away which is hurting it today so sharply.

China benefited immensely because its people got jobs and it had a regular source of foreign funds.
Gradually, tables turned in favour of China and started going against USA, Europe and their global allies like Canada and Australia, etc..In due course, Europeans followed USA.

Moreover, the greatest benefit China obtained was that it was recognised as a global citizen so much so that it was made permanent member of UN Security Council replacing Chinese Taipei - Taiwan.

China utilised the opportunity to its best advantage. Its industry belligerently copied western products and brought out cheaper versions of goods to flood the global markets and succeeded to kill a large part of the competition. Off course, some good work too was done and today, it is even the leader in heavy / hi-tech machinery segment, having beaten even the time tested Germany's high tech industry.

In another smart move, Chinese kept investing a large part of export proceeds in USA itself, and now China controls almost 30% of global debt of USA (invested in Fed Bonds and like) Today, USA is so week that its President will think few times before making even a small comment on China's actions, and China has become so strong and arrogant that it hardly cares to listen to what anyone else says. The concept of copyrights and IPRs is of no concern to Chinese. They just do not care.

I remember having written once in a mail to my friends," you may call them slit eyes but a few pairs of them did look farther than the most ". We may bear in mind that when Nixon visited China at a time when both USA & USSR were realising the futility of Cold War. Drift was towards achieving a genuine 'detente' - which was unfortunately broken in 1979 when USSR invaded Afghanistan.

All along, China was careful to not to exhibit any partiality towards USA and nor hostility towards estranged Communist Brother USSR. Later, USSR disintegrated and the World realised that all the show of prosperity and advancement of Communist regimes was a sham. The mood today is that of despair due to recession, global terrorism, conflict, chaos, and almost anarchy prevails. UN has lost its credibility and the third world neutral blocks like NAM have since disappeared.

Chinese junta does not care much about dogmas. Its leadership has shown pragmatism by doing business efficiently with the West and at the same time it continues to deal with its populace in the most strict manner reminding one of the era of Stalinist Russia. Yet another anniversary of 1989 Tienanmen Square Massacre just went by without as much a word by Western drummers of liberty.

In the present case, a visit by Modi to Beijing (which he will need to undertake in next couple of years) will be essentially a business trip too but it will be laden with ghosts of the past ranging from border dispute and hostilities on border/ line of control, China's seething ire at India's patronage of Dalai Lama and their anguish at anti China activities of Tibbetans living in India, India's growing concerns at China's meddling in India's neighborhood, China's growing naval presence near our oceans, tinkering with our common water resources - the reported plan to divert Brahmputra waters to Chinese hinterland, their undue objections to our search for oil in Vietnam sea, and such issues.

Yet, there is growing realisation in the global leadership that cooperation and collaboration can only bring prosperity and peace in the world. There is much more need for such cooperation since the world today needs leadership. West has already dug itself too deep in to recession and profligacy that it seems to have lost the zeal to fight and middle east seems to be destined for a long haul of conflict.

Looking from that angle, we should hope that one day, India, China, and possibly Pakistan too, will not just start behaving with each other with some sanity but would really provide the leadership take the globe forward, and I am in favour of giving them a chance.

FRIENDSHIP

FRIENDSHIP

Friends, here is a short write-up on friendship that I came across through a friend's mail and thought like sharing it. Hope, you would like it as much as I did. 

It happened in a battlefield during World war I.

Horror gripped the heart of a young soldier, as he saw his long time friend fall in battle. Caught in a trench with continuous gunfire whizzing  over his head, the soldier asked his Lieutenant if he might go out into  the "no man's land", between the trenches, to bring his fallen comrade back.

"You can go," said the Lieutenant, "but I don't think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your life away."

The  Lieutenant's words didn't matter, and the young soldier went anyway. Miraculously, he managed to reach his friend, hoist him onto his shoulder and bring him back to their company's trench.

As the two of them tumbled in together in to the trench, the officer checked the wounded soldier, then looked kindly at his young junior, "I told you it wouldn't be worth it," he said. "Your friend is dead and you are mortally wounded." 

"It was worth it, Sir," said the soldier.

"What do you mean, worth it?" responded the Lieutenant. "Your friend is dead."

"Yes Sir," the private answered, "but it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive and I had the satisfaction of hearing him say .... "Joe....., I knew, you would come...."

 

Many times in life, whether a thing is worth doing or not, really depends on how one looks at it.  

It would be worthwhile to take up all the courage and do something your heart tells to do, so that you would not regret not doing it later in your life ... .