Making Road Safety in India a Priority

'Two cops killed as drunk cabbie hits barricade.'
'18-year old Delhi University topper run over by a speeding car.'
'Noida biker dragged to death by a speeding car.'
'DTC buses cause 239 accidents in 5 years due to rash driving.'
'Hit on head in road rage, man in coma.'

Headlines such as these are a regular affair for us. Open any newspaper on any given day, and you will find news on similar lines filling up the city section. In fact, if I were to be brutally honest, I will say that there are times when headlines such as the ones I have mentioned above fail to leave any impact on our hearts and minds. We just glance through them - untouched, unmoved, indifferent - and move on to other bits. Or may be sometimes if the accompanying image is grotesque enough, we might let out a shudder or two, and lament about fate to the unfortunate victim in passing, and then move on. The point I am trying to put across is that - we just move on, we never learn from them. Do we?

No, you are wrong if you think drinking and driving is the only mistake one can do.  Or that besides drunk driving, speeding on the road causes accidents. Many other big and small negligences on the road can not just cause accidents but also cause great inconvenience to others on the road.

High time we learn some driving etiquettes 

Road rage, cutting corners, overtaking, unnecessary honking, jumping traffic lights...and yes, Yo Yo Honey Singh blaring out of those rolled down windows. High time we learn some driving etiquettes and make road safety a priority. Here are some steps that can go a long way in helping with road safety:

1. Buckle Up! Always, always, always wear your seatbelt while driving. Even if you are just taking a short trip down the road. One cannot emphasize the importance of a seat belt enough. And now just the driver, ensure that everyone in the vehicle is buckled up!
2. Indicate Your Intentions! Always use indicator to make fellow motorists aware of your next move on the road. But of course, use them judiciously, and not just to justify your sudden/rash decision to take a turn or stop in the middle of the road.
3. Feeling Drowsy? Take a a Break. While on long drive, if you are feeling even a wee bit sleepy while driving, please take a short break to refresh yourself. You can also opt to go off the road and take a short nap, before resuming your journey.
4. Do not drink and drive. This sounds rhetorical, but we all know many a gory accidents on the road were result of a tipsy driver behind the wheel.
5. Keep that phone away. Many a terrible accidents have been a result of that quick and easy text/whatsapp message one wanted to send, or that innocuous phone call one wanted to take or make.
6. Following lane discipline is another must. Many unpleasant incidents on the road can be avoided if people use some common sense and follow lane rules. If you wish to change lanes, please use the relevant indicator to let the vehicles behind you be aware of your intentions.
7. Say a big NO to tailgating. Always maintain safe distance from the vehicle in front of you so that there's enough room between the two vehicles in case the vehicle ahead has to brake suddenly.
8. Go easy on the horns please! We are a country obsessed with honking! Whether there is space enough to allow us to pass, irrespective of the fact that the red signal has caused the traffic to halt...we honk. One annoying habit we most definitely need to get rid of.
9. Be courteous on the road. Since we all know good gestures on Indians roads are hard to come by, whatever little comes your way, acknowledge them. And yes, please return the favour too. This will help make Indian roads a happy, or rather a less angry place.
10. Please obey ALL traffic rules. Yes, all. It's very tempting to jump that red light in the middle of the night, when you see that straight empty road ahead of you, and say to yourself - 'oh, how does it matter, there's no traffic at this hour,' but then you never know on which empty road another such vehicle, ignoring similar red lights will come down to meet you head on. 

There are several other measures that can help reduce unfortunate incidents on the road, but even if follow the ones listed above with diligence, it will go a long way in ensuring safe driving experience for us all. So let us promise ourselves to do our bit in ensuring that Indian roads are a safer place for us to drive on. 

While the onus of learning and following traffic rules and driving etiquettes to the tee lies on us and us alone, the Nissan Safety Driving Forum (NSDF) initiated by Nissan Motor Company Limited, has taken up the exemplary task of sensitising people about road safety measures. Under its Blue Citizenship CSR umbrella, NSDF works to build awareness of safe driving in India. Let's us hope that a combination of our own efforts and the expertise and guidance from NSDF helps us make road safety not just a temporary concern but a permanent habit.

About Nissan Safety Driving Forum

The Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., conducts the Nissan Safety Driving Forum (NSDF) in India as part of its safety driving promotion activities. The program began as an annual activity in 2012. In its initial phase it covered three main Indian cities – New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai – and since then has gradually expanded to several additional cities across India. This year, NSDF would reach 8 new cities – Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Jaipur, Vadodara, Nagpur, Chennai, Mangalore and Kochi. In addition to sensitisation of wearing seatbelts, NSDF also conducts live simulated experiences to understand how safety features function through a simulated car crash. A 360-degree turn over highlights the use of seatbelts, while sessions on road safety emphasises on road etiquette to stay safe.

This post is a part of Nissan Safe Driving Forum campaign in association with Indiblogger.
Photo courtesy: Zee News

Blogging to Help Feed a Child

The ubiquitous looking kid working in the dhaba I had stopped at was done serving tea to the table assigned to him, and sat in a corner with a forlorn look in his eyes. I kept looking at his sad face for a while, and then got lost in the maze of travel photos I had in my phone albums. The reverie only broke when I suddenly had a feeling of someone peeping at my phone from behind my shoulders.  It was that same kid, now giving me a sheepish grin at having been ‘caught’.

What a heart-warming grin it was, lighting up his face, bringing many a twinkle to his eyes.  Still grinning, he commented how ‘badhiya’ the photos were, prompting me to pull a chair for him and asking him to sit and check out more of the ‘badhiya photos’. In between showing him the travel photos, I learn that his name is Suraj and his parents are daily wagers working on a road maintenance project down the same highway.  With pride in his eyes he shares that he has studied till class 2 and that there were two peacocks and 5 rabbits in his school.

School was fun for Suraj, but unfortunately it did not last long, for his parents could neither afford the school fees and stationary expenses, nor could they earn enough for the family of 4 to have three square meals daily. And so the school had to be abandoned for the sake of stomach.

The desolate and bereft look was back on his face.  All of 11 years old, he was working full time now, at the dhabha, doing miscellaneous  tasks all day long – all for a salary of Rs 500 per month and free food.  How incredibly sad is this. While we pause not a second before doling out cash for that sumptuous meal, or that overpriced donut, there are kids who go through such relentless struggles to just stay afloat. School is nothing but a fanciful idea for them.

While this incident I have written about presents a bleak picture about hunger winning against education, the Akshaya Patra Foundation is making ‘the fanciful idea of school’ a happy reality for kids like Suraj. This NGO runs school lunch programme across the country, with the vision – No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.

Hunger has eliminated the word classroom from Suraj’s world. Can we all not come together and help remove the word hunger from every classroom and every less privileged student’s heart and mind? Yes, we can, and here's how -

• By being conscientious and thoughtful in how we spend money.
• By not wasting food.
• By donating to the noble cause of eliminating classroom hunger. 

You'd be surprised to know that Akshaya Patra feeds a child for one whole academic year for Rs. 750. Isn't that incredible, the fact that the amount you would probably spend on your one restaurant bill can help a child stay in school for one year. Hope this inspires you to donate for this worthy cause. And yes, I am doing my bit too - for every post I write, Blogadda will sponsor meals for an Akshaya Patra beneficiary for an entire year, as a part of Bloggers Social Responsibilty. It's a happy feeling to know that the words you are weaving will help feed a hungry child, and will help her stay in school for another year.

I am going to #BlogToFeedAChild with Akshaya Patra and Blogadda.

Movie Review: Bhopal - A Prayer For Rain

A poignant retelling of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, a sombre reminder of government's indifference

Runtime: 1 hr 36 min
Language: English
Director: Ravi Kumar
Cast: Rajpal Yadav, Martin Sheen, Kal Penn, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Joy Sengupta, Mischa Barton

Bhopal - A Prayer for Rain is emotionally overwhelming. It's one thing to read about the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and quite another to see the dramatized version of the catastrophe unfold in front of your eyes. The film is a poignant retelling of the events leading up to one of the world's worst industrial disasters, when over 40 tonnes of lethal methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, leaving more than 10, 000 dead and thousands maimed.

A scene from the film
Photo Credit: Bernard Coughlan/Film website

Bhopal's devastating true story is brought on screen through the fictional character of Dilip, a rickshaw puller (played brilliantly by Rajpal Yadav) who lands himself a job at the Union Carbide plant, despite not being qualified for the role. He cannot thank his stars enough, for this job will not only give him a chance to make ends meet but also save up enough for his sister's marriage. Only he cannot see the writing on the wall - there's been no rain and the farmers don't need the pesticide that the plant produces. The demand for pesticide has declined, and so the company is cutting corners to save up on the cost of running the plant. There are warnings that the plant is a ticking time bomb and going easy on safety measures will prove fatal. But neither Warren Anderson (splendidly portrayed by Martin Sheen), the CEO of Union Carbide, nor our well fed, and well bribed politicians give two hoots about the warnings and it's implications on the lives of the over flowing 'Third-World' junta.

While the people who matter turn a blind eye to the danger that the Carbide plant poses, Motwani, a local journalist (played by Kal Penn) doggedly goes about his efforts at exposing the safety irregularities there. But given Motwani's penchant for 'tabloidesque' journalism, nobody pays any heed to his stories about the 'disaster-in-the-making' Carbide plant. So when the disaster eventually strikes one ill-fated night, it's too late for the neighbouring slum dwellers to attempt an escape. Thousands die writhing in pain, out on the streets and in the government hospital, while the doctors figure out the antidote for the poisonous gas. Those who survive are in for a fate worse than dying, for their lives are wrecked forever. Maimed by the deadly gas, they are left in the hands of a callous and corrupt government that goes all out to protect CEO Anderson, who on his part refuses to take accountability for the disaster.

The films ends with a montage of the dilapidated Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal, abandoned, but still a nightmare for those living around it. The end credits enlightens the audience about how 'Union Carbide has never apologised' and that it offered 'only $2,000' compensation per victim. Presented as a docu-drama, Bhopal - A Prayer for Rain is grim and hard hitting. Both Rajpal Yadav and Martin Sheen are remarkable in their respective roles as the country simpleton and the hard-nosed firang industrialist, and outshine the rest. The other actors too gel well with the film, but for Kal Penn, whose heavily accented Hindi makes him look the odd one out in the ensemble cast. 

The film's worldwide release on 5th December marked the 30th anniversary of the tragedy. Unfortunately, 30 years on, the deaths from this man-made disaster still stand devalued. Bhopal continues to suffer from the after-effects of MIC poisoning, and the families of the victims still await justice and compensation. Apathy remains the only constant in their lives - from then to now.

Will You Shave...Please?

This post is in response to blogger Nandini Deka's tag for the #WillYouShave campaign. Her humorous take on shaving, or rather, not shaving gave me giggles galore, and I could not help but laugh imagining God, the almighty, wringing his hands in exasperation as all the not-so-eligible womenfolk dump the idea of marrying an unshaven God, and decide to head back to earth instead. God's grand swayanwar, which was planned as a heavenly event turns into a dumb squib instead. 

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In my last post about the importance of shaving and grooming, I had written about a true incident where a so called blind date borne out of a matrimonial website goes awry when the groom-to-be Sarthak turns up unshaven, sporting a shabby stubble. The bride-to-be Snigdha is clearly not impressed and this first impression leaves her in doubt about how to proceed  further regarding this matchmaking effort by her parents. 

Now many of you would say how important is shaving in determining how good or bad a person is. Indeed. But imagine going out for a formal meeting, employing extra efforts in putting your clothes and looks together, only to find that the other person has a pretty lethargic and casual approach towards what you considered formal and important, so much so that he does not even bother to get rid of his unkempt stubble before dragging himself down for the meet.

Stubble trouble

So our lady Snigdha was naturally dejected that Sarthak came in looking so ungroomed, and this showed on her face. Sarthak too could sense something was amiss, the chemistry they had developed over phone calls was missing now when they sat facing each other.

The small talk between them too sounded forced, and this got Sarthak thinking.
'Is something wrong, Snigdha? Am I missing something?' he asked in a concerned voice, since he had taken a liking to the lovely looking girl sitting in front of him.

'Umm...nothing...just that your beard is...well, do you always keep it this way?', she asked in a matter-of-fact tone.
'Errrr...no, not at all! I prefer the neat, clean shaven look! This is just for an amateur play I am performing in. It's scheduled for Saturday evening.'
Snigdha heaved a sigh of relief! 'Thank God! You will look much more handsome without this stubble! Once the play is staged, will you then shave it off please?' she laughed, her cheeks blushing a deep red.

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at Blogadda, in association with Gillette.

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I tag my blogger friends –

Nandini Deka, who writes at Nandini Speaks,

Swarna Rao, who blogs at Swarna's Diary, and
Khushboo Motihar, who writes at Munni of all Trades to share their take on #WillYouShave activity. The word limit is 300 words. When you write, please mention that you picked the tag from me.

Here are the suggested prompts for the write-ups –

For men - 

• Missed chances - Stories or instances where you missed out on an opportunity because of a non-shaven face.
• Luck of confidence - Will you leave your fate in the hand of destiny or will you step up and say yes to a well-groomed face to be your best every day.

For ladies - 

• An instance when stubble came in the way of a man's chance to make a good impression.
• An instance when a well-groomed look ensured that they stuck gold on an opportunity given to them.

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at Blogadda, in association with Gillette.
Photo Courtesy: www.etsy.com