Mumbai Again!

Yesterday’s collision, between a warship and a merchant vessel, off the Sunk Rock, in Mumbai Harbor is a serious affair. More so because it involved an Indian Navy ship the Vindhyagiri, out on a sortie with civilians on board, on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The Director General of Shipping, has ordered an enquiry and in due course you will probably see the following:
1. The Captain of the Vindhyagiri will face a court martial and be crucified. 2. The Captain of the Merchant Ship will probably, have his certificate suspended and his ship arrested. 3. The civilians on board will be so traumatized that many will not sail again. 4. The company that insured the Merchant ship will pay damages quietly.

The seriousness of the situation is that, damage to a warship, is construed as an act of sabotage against the state, unless proved otherwise. Also the warship is going to be out of action for a while undergoing repairs. It is fortunate that the collision did not result in an oil spill. Mumbai has seen serious accidents too often recently to rest in comfort. Last year, apart from the Chitra-Khalijia collision, a coast guard vessel CGS Vivek sank in the port after it was hit by Panamanian vessel Global Purity in March. On August 31, two ships collided at Indira Docks, the largest dock in Mumbai Port.

Considering the location of the accident, the merchant ship should have had a pilot on board and the Harbor Control should have monitored traffic. Why this did not prevent the accident, is a mystery? Consider the fact that traffic through the Straits of Malacca, off Singapore is much heavier, but traffic control is so good that one has not heard of an accident for a great many years, now. Many of these accidents as well as terrorists landing in Mumabi through sea, are serious pointers that all is not well at Mumbai port in terms of safety and security. Considering that Mumbai is still our commercial Capital the economic fallout would be disastrous if the port is not administered with greater care. Having said that, you will in all probability once again see, the small fish being netted, while the sharks get away!The story of our times...............

Brainless Brawn!

Sometimes, I wonder how I got through school, having spent much of the time outdoors playing one sport or the other and in doing so have played for my state, district, school and club teams.
So the other day when my wife asked me if I had played hockey, I surprised myself in saying no, I had not. Surprised because, hockey was played around me and I had avoided the game...........The thought intrigued me. Why was the sport not on my list? On reflection, I can only come up with one reason. Fear of injury. I can recollect many of my friends being terribly hurt, while playing the game, because rules could not be enforced, at that level & brawn ruled over brain. Being a slight kid, I avoided the sport and the danger of being whacked by a hockey stick on the shin or head.
Is this a monologue on hockey? No it ain't.
The other day, an acquaintance from UP told me he had to sell his 'Haveli' for a song. Why? Jungle Law rules and he would have to face all sorts of harassment, if he wanted the right price. Brawn rules.Thugs running wild in a lawless world.
The point is, if brawn rules brain, then people are going to shy away and zero in at safer avenues. Probably the reason why I stuck to cricket which is not a contact sport and brawn can be handled with a piece of wood and my acquaintance settled in Bengaluru, where there is a semblance of law.
Parallels can be drawn to most places. States, organizations and so on!Organizations without a solid enabling & fair culture is a wonderful playing arena for the Machiavellian manipulator who will run circles around the smaller less scheming folk and will misuse power, real or imaginary.
But then do the brainless brawn have the chutzpah to figure that out? The question determines the success or failure of an entity.........

The smell of success!

An aspect of India liberalizing and going global is the availability of exotic perfumes at most shopping malls. What was once easily available only to the foreign returned is now very desi.So much so, you get to smell, a Davidoff or a Burberry more often and even more so as the disposal income of Indian's rises.
The perfume area is my favourite at shopping malls. I stalk the place and sample perfumes at random & end up smelling like a fruit punch.
Interestingly, I get to smell perfume more often at the campus too.Students seem to be quite comfortable dousing themselves with fragrance for a class!
Great, but what's the bad news. One is that, your perfume might have been at the cost of a musk rat or civet cat.More importantly, research has indicated that, male interviewers are not very enamoured of folk turning up for an interview smelling of Calvin Klein................while female interviewers are more accepting and like people smelling like roses.
what could be the reason? Apparently male interviewers think that the candidate is trying to manage an impression or indulging in impression management, while females are more accepting.
The next time, you are due for an interview, try to determine the gender of the interviewer or else leave the bottle of perfume alone, that is if you want the job badly and are prepared to play the game.Success does not necessarily result from smelling good!