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Deal with it

How about a library for slum children?

Artist Sharmila Samant’s ‘Nidus’, a mobile library for slum children, will provide free books for those who can’t buy them.
by Nidhi Qazi

Sharmila Samant is truly a people’s artist, and a very humble one, to boot. In fact, she refused to share pictures of herself, asking us instead to focus on her current project – she is building ‘Nidus’, a mobile library in Annabhau Sathe Nagar, a slum area in Mankhurd.

Sharmila is an artist who got involved with the Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao (GBGB) Andolan in 2005. At the time, the last thing she had thought was that her association would last so long; not only has it lasted till date, and with several projects to her credit, she is back to doing what she does best – making people’s lives better through the arts.

And now, Nidus, The Mobile Library is waiting to start.

Nidus – the word literally means ‘seed’, but Sharmila’s plan is to make it a seed of learning – will serve the children living in the slum and “will operationalise as soon as possible,” says Sharmila. “I am in talks with the inhabitants of the area and they have been receptive to the idea. The kids of the volunteers of the GBGB Andolan have also welcomed the idea of a mobile library van as they do feel the need for a library.”

How did she come up with the idea? “The problem is that BMC school kids get free books till Class 10, but once they are through, they have to buy books. Now that for most is not affordable, so we have kids dropping out of academics. Identifying this gap, I thought of starting a library which would stock books – both academic and non-academic,” she says.

The mobile library will run inside a van and will be full of windows and displays. Sharmila is also involving other artists in her brainstorming for the design of the mobile library. She has started getting books for the library, most of them being contributed by the people she networks with. The books will be for academic purpose and leisure reading.

“A mobile library is a beautiful means of sharing of knowledge which transports and then transforms people,” adds Sharmila. Looking for funding, she is also in search of a team to run the initiative. In her words, she needs both – insiders, i.e. community people as they can provide proper need-based analysis, and outsiders as they can provide resources and help to implement the idea effectively.

Sharmila adds, “There has been a lot of emphasis on roti, kapda and makaan but what about shiksha? Had education been given due focus, the former three essentials could have been easy to acquire.”

The ultimate success of this initiative is its closing down, feels the artist. “I want that one day, the kids of the area should take control of this library and eventually it should close down. That day I will feel I have succeeded.”

Prior to this, Sharmila has designed the very innovative ‘bag desk’, which is a bag-desk: it is a  bag that unfolds into a desk for the classroom, and a charpoy at home.

“The proceeds received from Busan Biennale helped me manufacture the product I had designed.  Around 45 such bag desks were made and distributed to the students free of cost,” says Sharmila. Busan Biennale is an international arts festival intended to present contemporary art in a more accessible way to the general public.

The bag desk also had adjustable legs of aluminium, which could be adjusted according to the seating a student took; i.e. from low floor to a height. Are students using these desks still? “From what I heard, many parents sold the aluminum legs of the product to as that would have fetched them good money,” says Sharmila.

Her other project was the ‘well lamp’ in 2010, which she successfully sold at the Kala Ghoda Festival and used the proceeds to address the problem of lack of fresh water. She helped people dug up four wells and the water thus generated could be used for daily chores. “The initiative came at a time when politicians were busy wooing the vote bank. Thus the positive outcome of the initiative was that the BMC came up with as many as 150 taps for the people to use. Our project ended its utility, paving the way for better drinking conditions for the community,” says Sharmila.

To help Sharmila with her mobile library project for the children of Annabhau Nagar Slum, send us an email at editor@themetrognome.in and we’ll ask Sharmila to contact you.

(Pictures courtesy Sharmila Samant. Featured image is a file picture)

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Achieve

‘Onida devil’ creator felicitated

Maharashtra State Government felicitated veteran ad man Gopi Kukde yesterday for his contribution to Advertising in 53rd State Art Exhibition.

For several years starting from the 1980s, Onida TV sets were synonymous with the devil. The devil featuring in their ads, that is. Apart from the catchy ‘Neighbours envy, owner’s pride’ tagline, the devil really made the product stand out amongst its peers back then.

The creator of the Onida devil, Gopi Kukde, also dabbles in ceramics. Taking into account his immense contribution to the field of advertising, the Maharashtra Government felicitated him yesterday at the 53rd edition of the State Art Exhibition. Gopi was felicitated at the hands of the Minister for Higher and Technical Education, Rajesh Tope.

Every year, the Government of Maharashtra conducts a competition within the art circle of the State, in two categories – professional, and student. The awards ceremony felicitates a senior artist from any of art disciplines – Gopi was selected this year.

Gopi has worked with such ad agencies as Everest, Clarion, JWT and Chaitra, and also founded ‘Advertising Avenues’ in 1982. He has worked with such brands as Asian Paints, Glaxo, Paan Pasand and Hawkins. The tagline he created for Paan Pasand, “Shaadi, aur tumse? Kabhi nahin!” became an instant hit in the country. He is currently a Committee Member on the Communication Arts Guild and owns and runs a ceramics studio in the city, named Useless Ceramics.

(Picture courtesy livemint.com)

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Guest writer

‘Go Commando on vehicular lawlessness’

An annoyed Mumbaikar declares that the lawlessness on Mumbai’s roads has corrupted his driving discipline. Read on to know how.
by Rohan Naravane

I firmly believe the people of our country are responsible for corrupting my driving discipline. When I started learning to drive on the day of my 18th birthday, I had said to myself that I wasn’t going to be one of ‘them’, where ‘them’ refers to the unlawful sons-of-guns that you come across on the roads of Mumbai (probably many Indian roads, too).

These are the people who will break a signal after a quick glance to see if there aren’t any traffic cops around. Some of them even have the audacity to honk if you’re in front of them and trying to follow the law during low traffic hours. If that wasn’t enough, some even give you a “bloody law-abider dimwit” look as they overtake you.

Pedestrian signals are the biggest jokes I’ve seen in the city. If you ever see a green pedestrian light, brace yourself and keep an eye out for cars. On both sides. You might just find them coming at you from the opposite side – they’re trying to save U-turning at the next crossing.

With all this unlawfulness on the roads, it’s not too long before you subconsciously start breaking some rules yourself. If trucks or other cars keep driving at slow speeds on the fast lane, isn’t it instinctive for us overtake them from the left? ‘Slow is the new fast lane’ has become the unwritten law of this land. It is a vicious cycle, where one group of people breaks the law, frustrating the other group, thereby making them reciprocate in a similar way. When cars don’t have any consideration for the pedestrian signal, why would the latter respect their right of way?

And if you’re ever feeling courteous at a crossing to let other cars pass first, snap out of it. You might just be stuck there for an eternity! People are so impatient; it’s as if all of them have in-the-throes-of-labour pregnant women in their backseats at all times.

This impatience even goes beyond driving on the roads. Unless there is no designated marker that suggests forming a line, first-come-first-serve is a natural instinct. We’ve been reading boards that say, ‘Please let passengers alight the train first’ in our Mumbai locals since we started using the trains. But ever been to a point of origin (like Borivali, for example) during rush hours? It’s funny to see people who are wanting to alight, standing at the end of the other side, having the same look in their eyes that poultry does when it’s about to be slaughtered.

Then there’s the time I’m in my car, waiting in line to fill air in the tyres at a petrol pump, and almost every time I see two-wheelers callously driving past me, because their two tyres take half as long as my four.

If I kept writing on this subject, I could publish a book documenting such instances. The time to act is right now. It’s time to go Commando on vehicular lawfulness. The next time you see a slowpoke thinking he owns the fast lane, keep honking and flickering your lights till he gets the message. Slam down the accelerator the moment the signal turns green, scaring anybody who, wrongly so, is in your way. Show the finger to anybody behind you who honks, prompting you to jump the signal. Let’s uphold law before the line between right and wrong gets blurred right out of our minds.

And don’t think that this is an over-population problem. China has more people than us, but they’re doing just fine.

Rohan Naravane is a technology blogger based in Mumbai. When he’s not writing about technology (http://wherethegadgets.at/author/rohan/), he likes to talk about it and will ramble on if he finds you remotely technological. His other recent endeavours include getting back in shape, marathoning TV shows and movies. 

(Featured image courtesy conversation.cipr.co.uk)

 

Categories
Deal with it

Only ‘patrolling’ now for couples’ safety on seashores

But cops insist that the move is for the couples’ safety and not to infringe on their privacy. Okay, then.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

If you’re looking for some ‘quiet time’ with your partner at one of the city’s beaches, don’t look for a spot away from the crowd. You might as well mill about with others and go home early, because couples sitting at isolated spots are soon going to have the cops breathing down their necks and shattering any privacy they might have hoped to get.

Recently, Thane was rocked by reports of how policemen were rounding up couples out of doors after dark or meeting in relatively isolated places, before taking them to the police station and calling their parents. Just when the outrage over those incidents was dying down, the Mumbai Police announced its plan to remove couples sitting alone at the city’s beaches.

Following protests against this move, however, Mumbai Police Commissioner Dr Satyapal Singh changed the plan from summarily ejecting, to merely increasing vigilance on couples spending time alone on seashores or isolated inlets.

However, they still insist that this is not moral policing but a move to ensure safety for couples. Dr Singh has still not elaborated on what the police will do in case they see people sitting far away into the sea – if the couples are not asked to leave, will the patrolling cops wait and keep vigil till the couples leave?

“The seashores of Girgaon, Worli, Marine Drive, Bandra Bandstand and Juhu attract a lot of people. Couples generally visit these places and sit on the rocks when the sea is at low tide, for privacy,” a press release from the police says. “Such couples sitting in isolation may encourage criminals to target them and assault them for money or valuables. There is also the fear that girls may be sexually assaulted in such cases.”

However, it seems that though the recent Delhi gang rape case may have spurred the Mumbai Police into providing security to the citizenry, the cops seem more worried about the after-effects of such an incident occurring in Mumbai and causing law and order issues. “In view of the Delhi gang rape case, if such an incident were to happen in Mumbai, the citizens of Mumbai would feel insecure and the resulting protest demonstrations would cause a law and order situation in the city. To prevent this, the numbers of policemen keeping vigil along the seashores of Girgaon, Worli, Marine Drive, Bandra Bandstand and Juhu are being increased,” the cops say.

Like we said, don’t move away from the crowds unless you want some quiet time with the cops.

Is this move aimed at policing criminals or is it designed to keep a watch over couples? Tell us what you think.

(Picture courtesy tasveerz.wordpress.com)

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Deal with it

Delhi gang rape spurs purchases of CCTVs

Chinese CCTVs are imported the most; all metros and major cities in India figure in the just-released ASSOCHAM survey report.

A major news event can have off-shoots in several other places. Following the brutal gang rape and subsequent death of a 23-year-0ld medical student in Delhi last month, a survey reveals that the import and demand of Chinese closed circuit television (CCTV) and surveillance cameras have dramatically shot up.

According to a survey released by Associated Chamber of Commerce (ASSOCHAM) yesterday, which was carried out over a period of a month starting from December 20, 2012 and involved interactions with about 200 stakeholders in security (traders, manufacters, etc.), “Over half of the traders said that there is negligible manufacturing of CCTV cameras in the country and thus they import the same from countries like China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Israel and also from the US and Europe, as their products are not only cheap but these countries being leading hardware manufacturers, their products are based on latest technologies and thus are more preferred by the customers over domestically manufactured CCTVs.”

“The need for safety and security in almost every walk of life has fuelled an overwhelming demand for CCTV cameras and more so after the Munirka gang rape incident, as hostels, paying guest accommodations, hotels and places alike in cosmopolitan cities are installing surveillance gadgets to keep a check on the movements of both inhabitants and potential stalkers,” said DS Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM.

The survey was carried out in the metros of the country and big cities – Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Lucknow and Pune, as these State capitals and cities comprise a large number of men and women “from various tier II, III cities, districts and rural areas in search of job opportunities, which also makes these centres prone to crime.”

A majority of respondents are said to have claimed that even most of the indigenous enterprises import all the components of surveillance equipment from abroad, assembling them and selling them under their brand names. In terms of sales, the Chinese CCTVs sell the most. “Respondents said their sales have increased by over 60 to 70 per cent during the course of last one month itself,” the survey says.

Lack of government support, absence of regulatory framework, large investments and outdated technology are key reasons holding back domestic electronic companies from venturing into the CCTV domain leading to increased dependence upon imported material, highlights ASSOCHAM. According to their analysis, the video surveillance and CCTV market in India is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of about 30 per cent, and is likely to cross Rs 2,200 crore by year 2015.

Asia accounts for nearly 35 per cent of the global CCTV market with a share of over Rs 27,000 crore.

The CCTV camera industry is set to emerge as a huge market in the next few years in wake of rising demands from sectors like the hospitality industry, services, healthcare, retail and transportation. Currently, parts of northern India account for maximum number of security installations, followed by west, south and east India.

(Picture courtesy 2mcctv.com)

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Guest writer

Back from Bharat bhraman

Two Mumbai men toured India, wishing to plant trees in all 35 States and UTs. Hari Chakyar tells the story.
by Hari Chakyar

It’s been two days since we got back from our ‘Bharat bhraman’ (the duo were out on their pet project, Project 35 Trees). I have been treating my weary traveller’s stomach to some ma ke haath ka khaana and sleeping in my own bed. It feels good to be back.

When we set out on October 10, 2012, the dream was to plant trees in all the 35 States and Union Territories of India and to encourage young Indians to do the same. Now, almost four months later, we are happy to announce that we have managed to do that in 32 states and Union Territories. The three that are left are Mumbai, Arunachal Pradesh and Lakshadweep.

We’ll do the Mumbai leg of the session soon. Plus, we’ll identify locations and guardians and plant a lot of trees in Mumbai and Pune.

We tried going to Arunachal Pradesh twice but both plans got squashed thanks to the Arunachal Pradesh Students Union elections. No host, no rooms in hotels or lodges, struck up public transport systems and no contact person; it didn’t seem like a risk we could take with expensive crowd-funded and crowd-sourced equipment.

The next ship to the archipelago of Lakshadweep leaves on February 27… that i,s if you take the tourism department’s package. Alternatively, if someone from the island invites you over with an attested letter that goes to the administrative office in Kochi, you can go on an official visit. We had neither the invite nor the time to wait till the next ship. Even if we did, there is no way one can break away from the package and do their own thing. One can take a flight to Lakshadweep too but would you really spend 17,000 rupees per head one way if you were us? We decided we would rather plant trees worth that much in places that need them the most.

Technically, we did not achieve what we had set out to do but then we feel we’ve got a lot more done. We feel fitter, probably from the regular routine of lugging heavy bags around. We’ve greater respect for time…we realise there is so much to do in life but there’s so little time. We met a lot of amazing people who are doing amazing work. We saw the country we call our own on every Republic Day and Independence Day, but which we had never seen with our own eyes. We heard languages never heard before and vowed to return when we could speak some of them.

We loved every moment of it. Now, while I can sit back and think of the amazing India tour, Anthony and team will be working on the film part of the project.

Honestly, I can’t wait to do this again!

Hari Chakyar and Anthony Karbhari left on their tour, which they call Project 35 Trees, on October 10, 2012. Read about the project here.

(Pictures courtesy Hari Chakyar)

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