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Showing posts from April, 2008

Delhi and the BRT

I'm getting more than a little tired of the media witch-hunt and feeding frenzy on the BRT. Delhi is probably the only one of India's cities where the government is even trying to improve the infrastructure, between all the new roads, flyovers, new airport and the BRT. But since the day the corridor opened, we haven't heard a single bouquet, only brickbats. Yes, there are problems and they do need to be sorted out, but let's not negate the good stuff entirely. And for all the virulent headlines in the media and the snarky comments by the citizens, I'd like an answer to a simple question : What do you do to make things a little better? Do you, as pedestrians, use the zebra crossings and wait for the signal or do you act like Moses and hope the Red Sea will part wherever you happen to want to saunter across the road? Do you as motorists driving any kind of vehicle follow the rules of land and sane driving? Do you stick to the lanes in which you are supposed to drive o

What the Media's Role Should Be

I'm posting an article written by a family friend, outraged at the kind of coverage post the rape of British teenager, Scarlett, in Goa. While I do believe that the teenager's mother showed remarkably poor judgement in leaving a 15-year-old on her own in the care of someone they had known for only a few weeks, that does not make Scarlett culpable in what happened to her. In typical fashion, the politicians and bureaucracy are not only busy covering up matters but also trying to victimise the victim. And media, in particular journalists who are known to be influential and should highlight the objective facts, are too busy making interesting shows that get higher ratings out of it. For Decency’s Sake………… Dear Barkha, This evening, when I got up after seeing your TV Show, “We, The People” on NDTV, I felt very sad. Not merely because of the fact that, as a parent, I went through the agony and pain which Scarlett’s mother must have felt when the whole abominable event took place but