Random Musings – 2

Preserving heritage or wasting resources!

Scene 1: A busy road of Kolkata on a busy week day. Standing on one leg inside a jampacked minibus, you are wondering what’s causing the traffic snarl. Is it one of those interminable `michhils’ once again! After a long long wait, the bus starts moving and you get to glimpse your tormentor – a tram – the grand old lady of the Kolkata roads. Apparently, there was a power cut and the tram was stuck.

Scene 2: Sitting inside a car on a holiday, waiting for the signal to turn green, you see a succession of rickety trams lined up on the tram tracks. The voluminous interiors of all the trams have one thing in common – only three occupants – the driver and two conductors each.

The two abovementioned scenarios are so commonplace in the day to day life of the Kolkata commuter that they have ceased to excite any amazement or angry comments. In fact, just the other day – 15th of August to be exact, I witnessed a scene similar to what I have described in Scene 2. Five trams were standing back to back on Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road , near a traffic intersection - needless to say, totally bereft of passengers.

Every time I see these amply endowed grand old ladies – the Kolkata trams on the extra narrow roads of our city, I simply can’t help wondering as to what purpose they are serving! Why so much of the taxpayers’ money is spent on a mode of transport which is more hindrance than help! Why the traffic choked roads have to make way for the empty trams lumbering along on their pointless journey from one depot to another!

Trams are no doubt a part of the heritage of our city - a slice of its glorious past and thus every effort should be made to preserve this heritage. But then, couldn’t we limit their run to some peaceful part of the city! Can’t they harmoniously co-exist with the heritage `ghoda gaadis’ that run near the Maidan! Well maintained, brightly painted tramcars can be a big draw for the tourists and for the families on their days out – what say u!!

If you have any better plans please share it with me here or on any other fora. Do spare a thought for the poor old trams (who deserve better) and the hapless Kolkata commuter. Till then, every tram carrying ghost passengers, holding up traffic will make me wonder if we are preserving heritage or wasting resources!

Random musings 1

Just Wondering about the current recession

Have been hearing about the `recession’ for more than a year now. The able successor of ‘the great depression’ of the thirties - equally grim, equally terrifying. By all accounts, the US of A is the worst hit, the biggest sufferer, quite naturally, as this is the country which has given birth to this nightmare. One hears sobering tales of privations from the land of milk n honey - rampant retrenchments, widespread unemployment, forced sabbaticals, beastly cost cuts and what have you. It seems the average American citizen nowadays is forced to live life like many of his underprivileged third world brethren. What a shame!!

But apparently the monster of recession hasn’t affected the great nation’s appetite for philanthropy. The handsome hand outs are still there for all those nations who are out there with a begging bowl. You only have to howl and big brother is there with his goodie bag to ply you with all manner of goodies.

Wonder, where this dough comes from! If the US exchequer has so much greenbacks stashed away somewhere, why are its citizens and millions across the globe are losing sleep over their unstable jobs and uncertain future!

Have they somehow got hold of the mythical `Draupadi’s pot’, which never runs dry! But then, the same nagging question raises its head again… Well, well, well, just wondering….