Movie-Going Experience

Last week, after a long time, we went to see a movie at a theater, not multiplex screen but at a good old theater. It was a very nostalgic and at the same time a disturbing experience.

We went to Sapna theater in Abids. Abids, for non-Hyderabadi readers, was an upper-class shopping area. When we were kids, it was an area we went to window-shop, couldn't afford to buy anything. The road used to be wide and neat. Sparse traffic and no hustle bustle as seen at Koti or General Bazaar. The stretch of road extending from GPO to Lepakshi and back. We used to stroll along without worrying about bumping into fellow shoppers, bikes, autos or cars. Have a fresh fruit juice, rarity in those days, and return home. Now with the advent of malls, it has lost its significance and importance.

Now, imagine a theater in the middle of this posh area. Huge ornate gates, trees in the complex and people waiting for the doors to open. That was Santosh and Sapna. Mostly, hindi movies used to play there. I remember seeing Baazigar with friends, Saudagar with my brother and 10 Commandments with my mother. These three movies stand out prominently in my memory, I am sure I have seen numerous other movies there. We would go and wait in queue for the ticket counter to open. No on-line bookings, and advance bookings only at 11am. There would be separate queue for ladies and usually less crowded. Another advantage with ladies queue was that one could buy more tickets. While men were allowed to buy 2-4 tickets at a time, for ladies the number was flexible. So we ladies were treated royally by our family members/friends accompanying us.

Once we get tickets and proceed to the lounge, the walls were filled with snap shots from the current movie and some coming attractions. Then the popcorn, samosa and cold drinks. Inside the theater, look for seats and settle down for the treat.

Last week, when we went it was a total let down. The road did not have any of its past grandeur. The wide road did not seem wide enough now, with so much traffic. The gates and the tree were intact, but the building looked forlorn.  Not much of a queue, hardly any one was there to watch the movie. Inside it was dark and dingy. Walls were empty. Inside the hall was also dark, just few lights were switched on, energy conservation. As we occupied the seats, only select fans were switched on. The attender made a round, yelling at people to be careful with the seats as they were new. The entire scenario literally brought tears to my eyes. Samosas were cold and dry, cold drinks not cold. Movie was a disaster, not worth watching. And the screen, seemed so far away. The sound was average, at times drowned by the noise of the fans.

Where was all the pomp and show? Earlier movie-going experience was just that. Now it is shopping-cum-dining-cum-games-cum-movie experience. Multi-tasking has crept into our daily experiences. I miss those days of simplicity and relaxation. 

Woes of IIT Aspirants

The latest news is how students from AP are getting cheated of their rightful place in IIT. All because of weightage given to Inter marks and the marks equalisation scheme introduced by CBSE. Students who scored high in the entrance exam got a lesser rank because of their performance in Intermediate exam.

Craze for engineering and medical courses has always been the crux of every family in AP. Every parent wants their child to be an engineer or doctor. This has resulted in heavy competition. Entrance exams were introduced to select worthy candidates. Growth in the number of engineering colleges in the state resulted in increase in the intake for engineers. Coaching centers have cashed in on this opportunity. Where it was an insult to have tuition, now getting into a coaching center has a become prestigious issue. Some colleges converted to college-cum-coaching center mode. The teaching format changed from understanding the concept to rote learning.

Another trend that emerged was colleges finishing the Inter syllabus as early in the academic year as possible, devoting the rest of the time to preparation for entrance exams and revisiting Inter syllabi just before board exams. This resulted in the feeling that Inter is of no consequence. Since it is a qualifier for all engineering courses, one has to pass, marks do not matter neither does the content. There have been cases where students got ranks in EAMCET but failed in Inter. To cater to such cases instant exams came into picture, student gets a chance to rectify their marks without loosing an year of study. I feel that adding weightage to Inter marks in engineering admissions is a very sensible move. The basics are being getting neglected for long in AP. It is like ignoring the oil change in your vehicle since you filled it with petrol in abundance. Both are equally necessary.

Coming to the second aspect, marks equalisation. The war of boards has been on since their inception. ICSE syllabus was supposed to be tough, AP state board very high scoring while CBSE was very low scoring. I have known students shifting from CBSE to AP board when they come to Inter saying Inter standard is better, but the actual reason for the shift was easy score. CBSE has always been given step-motherly treatment in AP. This is all common knowledge, so why create a ruckus now, when the education board is trying to set things right? Trying to bring all education boards on par is the first step towards educational equality. Percentile system is not a new concept. All management courses adopt it. So what is the problem, now?

Change is never accepted with open arms, even when it is for the betterment of society. People are not realising the effects of bad foundation. Look at all the failures around us. Buildings collapsing, roads crumpling, bridges snapping, airline accidents. Everyone blames corruption. If engineers are confident of their skills why would they be tempted to make easy money? Because they lack basic knowledge, they want to make maximum of the opportunity presented to them before they are exposed. Wouldn't it be better if we can produce good quality engineers and improve the society, instead to looking for ways to mass produce low quality engineers and suffer consequences?

Tryst with Network Provider

Recently, I tried changing my pre-paid connection to post-paid connection. The reason for change was the efforts of a persistent telemarketer. She had the perseverance which would have put Vikramaditya (of "Vikram and Betaal" fame not Ravi Teja) to shame. She called me continuously for three days till I said yes. My main concern was time taken for the process. She assured me that it would be done within a day and the package details were also good. So I went ahead with it.

First, their sales executive came home to collect my signatures on form, one id proof and one address proof.  That was a Saturday. He gave me a new post-paid sim. He said there will be an sms indicating the de-activation of service, at which point I was to switch the sim cards. Then dial an id verification number, give them the details and within 15mins my post-paid connection would be activated. Sounds simple, right? Well, my woes had just begun.

The day passed and the next, with no sms. I was worried. Since I was getting a post-paid connection I did not recharge my pre-paid card and the balance was running low. I was at home the first two days and had access to landline, hence no problem. But then come Monday, I was to go out. I had to recharge my card. In the meanwhile, there were three calls verifying my details. I should have taken the hint and cancelled the entire process.

On Tuesday, I happened to be at home, when another guy from airtel came to confirm my address. He asked details of my employment and my husband's. On prying I came to know that he was ascertaining the fact that I was capable of paying the bills. On Wednesday finally my pre-paid card got de-activated. I changed the sim and called the verification desk. They asked for my house address, the one I rattled off didnt match the one on their records. What next? She said she will pass it on to another department and let me know. Nothing till evening. I call again, and go through the entire process and get the same assurance. I loose my cool. It seems their data entry operator entered the address wrong and for that I have to wait couple of more hours for anything to happen.

I decided nothing is going to happen on the phone. I go to the airtel office to see what can be done. I reach early and find it not busy yet. But as my luck would have it, the minute I sit the system stops responding and I have to wait for the technician to fix the glitch. Finally my record comes up and the address has a / instead of a 1 in the house number. I was carrying the address proof and showed it to them. The solution, I was asked to call the verification number and give them the wrong address and get my cell activated !!!!!!!! I was already too tired and frustrated to argue, just caved in and obliged. Got my connection within half hour.

I had often wondered at the pre-processing that happens when you try to create an account, whether it is a bank account or a mobile network account or a gas connection. And always was given to understand that it was to minimise all the misuse that takes place, but still misuse happens. And how, I came to know it first-hand. There are so many ways of bypassing the rules and regulations !!!!!!!!!

Compassion Day

Times of India had been going on and on about compassion and culminated it with compassion day on the 28th of June. I decided to do my bit towards it. They defined compassion as knowing about your daily help more, like their names(!), family details etc. etc.. I already knew the life history of all the domestic help in our complex, might be a bit too much to the comfort of my purse. So how do I make a difference?

I was driving that day and suddenly I decided to be compassionate on the road. Bad idea, you say? Well, let me give you a first-hand account of what happens when you are compassionate on the roads of Hyderabad. I started off by deciding not to honk. For those outside India, this might not seem a big deal, but it is in India. I managed couple of minutes. Then, suddenly the bike next to me started veering into my lane without a glance in my direction. I had to honk to let him know of my presence. Phew, a major disaster averted. Well, it was not my fault that I had to honk, right? So I am not breaking my pledge, right?

Next, there was a pedestrian trying to cross the road. Time for my second act of compassion. I stopped to allow her to pass, but she wasn't even looking in my direction. She was in the middle of the lane and not even looking at the traffic coming her way!!!!! The vehicles behind me got angry at my unscheduled stop. I had to move trying to avoid the pedestrian, by honking!!!

Then, there was this junction manned by a traffic cop. He stopped our lane and was in my line of vision. I gestured encouragingly at him, trying to be compassionate. He stared at me and started moving towards me, I think he wanted to write me a challan. I didn't wait for confirmation, just drove away.

So, roads of Hyderabad are not the place to be compassionate. I went shopping and tried to be nice to the shopkeeper, but he looked at me suspiciously. I think he thought I was out to steal or cheat him of something. Every place I went and tried to be friendly and compassionate, I was met with either blank stares or suspicious looks. It made me think, might be the city is not ready for compassion.