When the Building Came Alive

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Kasturi Dhama Apartments — the play area where many evenings came alive. The lights would go out without warning. For a brief second, the entire building would fall silent. Then, from somewhere in Kasturi Dhama Apartments, a chorus would erupt. “Yayyy!” It is difficult to imagine children celebrating a power failure today. But in the Bangalore of the nineties and early 2000s, a power cut did not always feel like an inconvenience. Especially in the late evenings, it felt like permission. Permission to stop whatever we were doing, leave the darkness inside our homes, and step into the building outside. Before Kasturi Dhama became home, we had moved through a few different parts of Bangalore. My family had begun in Srirampuram and Vyalikaval before gradually cementing ourselves in Malleswaram for the next few decades. My earliest memory is of living in a vatara —a Kannada word loosely used for a building or a cluster of homes—on 15th Cross, near Karur Vy...
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The turnaround

After the results of the last Lok Sabha elections, I was sure about one thing. The Indian railways is going to go to dogs. I am sure many of you would have seconded me on this. That, coupled with a possibility of a non-Indian donning the Prime Minister role, was giving almost everyone around a lot of heart aches. All felt that it was one of the darkest periods of Indian history. Nobody had a clear idea of how things would shape up in the future. Laloo Prasad Yadav, the Hon'ble Railway Minister did not sound too good on the Indian resume. We needed people with dynamic skills and definitely Laloo's name did not hit the right chord with the masses.

Times have changed now. The wrong judgement passed on Laloo had to be reconsidered. Reconsidered? It was thrown out without ado. What with the Indian Railways having a cushion of Rs. 11000 crore, who can blame Laloo now? He has passed the acid test that was set upon him a couple of years back, and has really taken the bull by the horns. Laloo, in a period of two years has brought in a revivial within the railways. People are stunned by the figures. How could Laloo achieve this, when so many others had failed miserably. Railways was running at a loss without a sense of direction. Laloo not only has given the Railways direction, but also has propelled it intelligently. Now everyone from Harvard and IIMs to the local B-schools have only one name in their mind. Everyone wants Laloo to give presentations and seminars explaining the turnaround that he has brought about. Even GE was considerably interested in Laloo's ideas and the Chairman of GE had evinced interest in learning how Laloo did the unthinkable. The best part about the cash reserves wasn't observed by hiking the passenger fares, but by careful planning and perfect execution. He realised that Goods carrier was the major way that Railways can make money. He increased the bogies for the goods trains, thus increasing the freight in these trains. More freight meant more money, and the rest just fell in place beautifully. The passengers are happy, the railways is smiling and obviously, Laloo is beaming.

Laloo has turned the tables with very simple ideas, and now the opposition has no way to target the Railway Ministry. What with 11000 crores in the kitty, who can blame the most popular person in the country!

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 18, 2006 at 2:25 AM

    " He realised that Goods carrier was the major way that Railways can make money. "

    the time taken that was 21 days before is now more than 2 months.

    "Hiking the fares".
    There is one executive coach in shatabdi which costs 1K from blore to chennai and is the same as any other coach except this is a way to mint money from ppl in hurry.

    Laloo might have made the money but do u seriously belive he knows any shit abt the indian railways ?
    He is a great politician and great orator and a lucky railway minister with some great brains working for him.

    Just my 5 cents.

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  2. ShubhikaMay 30, 2008 at 10:52 AM

    I had soem how missed this one!!! and know what I enjoyed it. Much as I hate that guy for what he has doen to Bihar, He has done wonders for the railways!! It left me surprised too. Bu then I have to agree he is the most popular man a sof now on the Indian Political scene!!

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