VIZAG matters - Sohan Hatangadi's Blog

Loo Story If we asked a group of Vizagites as to what the greatest inventions in our lifetime were, many would say washing machines, televisions, computers, mobile phones and so on and they would probably be right considering the huge impact that it has had on our lives. However there is one contraption that has really made the biggest difference of all and that is the humble potty in our toilets. Just do the job, press a knob, turn a handle or pull a chain and Abracadabra! The evidence disappears in a magical swirl of water.  The point here is that the humble commode, the “potty”, the “ivory throne”, the “comfort seat” is by far the greatest invention of the 20 th century. You can do without your mobile phone for a day but can you manage without using the potty? Quod Erat Demonstrandum. By the sea Old timers will remember how things were in Vizag in the old days. Most of Vizag went in the open.  Villagers went in the fields. Fisher folk and coast dwellers line...

Vizag's public transport challenge The bulk of city commuters are those who have to go to work or study every day, six days a week. Driving or riding ourselves gives us some flexibility, plus the air conditioning in the car in summer is indispensable. But still negotiating the unpredictable traffic and lack of parking space is a real pain in that point nearest to our centre of gravity. If you take a motorbike or scooter to commute, the cacophony, heat, smoke and the ubiquitous black dust will make you age faster. Who would want to suffer this if good quality public transport was available easily whenever we wanted it? RTC  buses Office goers, factory workers, teachers and professionals from all walks of life use our RTC bus services. Students travelling to schools and colleges get concessions and though the busses are crowded they are transported quite quickly and economically. More than 100 bus routes crisscross our city from six depots carrying lakhs of people each ...

STOP LAYOUTS FROM DESTROYING OUR RURAL LANDSCAPE Ask anyone if they would like to live in a house surrounded by trees. Wherever they live nine out of ten would say “yes”.  Yet layout developers do not seem to understand the modern customer’s preference. As we drive through the countryside admiring the farms and tree-filled rural greenery we come across several brown layouts with great big arches and fancy names. These layouts are generally empty lands crisscrossed with fresh bitumen roads and devoid of trees or character. These layouts take the place of charming farm lands and mixed tree forests. We are losing thousands of acres of farm lands and green cover every year in the name of layout development. Loss of tree cover Developers buy 20 to 100 acres of farm land from farmers in the rural areas. These lands are generally full of shrubs, small trees and a few large ones. Some of the trees are 50 to 100 year old banyan, peepul, neem, tamarind, mango and jackfruit that ha...

VIZAG'S BLACK NIGHTMARE Talk to anyone in Vizag and the single most irritating thing about living here is the ubiquitous coal dust pollution. This fine black powdery substance rises silently, like a ghost, from the port area and spreads its dark tentacles all over our city. It affects all of Vizag, from the densely populated old town in the South to the upmarket areas in the North of Vizag. As homes are swept each morning one can see the black powder accumulating on the floor at the end of the broom and our laundry on the clothes line is streaked brown by the time it dries. It settles on our cars and bikes and on our skin as we drive near the port area. Much of this pernicious dust gives us itchy eyes, allergic sniffles and most seriously finds its way into our lungs making us susceptible to respiratory infection and worse. Historic problem Vizag’s citizens have suffered due to this dirty cargo for years, they have complained, protested, objected, opposed, moaned, groane...

Every time we talk of tourism we want to cram something more on to our beach road. Our beaches are destination for Events. Food joints.  Shows. Sports. Flash dances. Protests. Rallies. Parties. Awareness drives and every other whimsical idea we come up with. Every alternate day there is some idiotic programme on the beach road as if there is no other place anywhere in Vizag. Every week folk like us are impacted terribly by the sound, increased curb side pollution and gridlock on our roads. Our beaches are suffering and the citizens are suffering. I appeal to all to stop this campaign to do more on our beaches. Leave our beaches alone at least from Coastal Battery to VUDA park.

Vizag’s roads are getting crowded by the day and what with frequent VIP visits it is never easy to keep our roads incident free. Our traffic police have a challenging job of keeping control without being overbearing. Generally speaking our drivers too are not over aggressive. They don’t go crazy with road rage, fifteen year old industrialist’s children in BMWs do not rampage around our streets and drunken actors don’t mow down labourers sleeping on pavements. They don’t show the finger, or wave their fists. In fact there is very little abusive language coming out of cars these days - with the air-conditioned and the windows up we just can’t hear them anymore. It is true that we Vizagites have a couple of stiff ones before heading home amiably from the belt shop and pay our fines quietly when caught by the ever vigilant police. While there is no empirical study Vizag drivers and riders are a civilized lot. However our city roads and our motorists have some remarkable eccentricities th...

My article in the Times of India, Vizag edition dated 17th April 2016 MY MALLYA MILES I first started flying Kingfisher Red airlines from Vizag in 2009. Gosh the airlines had fantastic branding. Their counters were bright red and white and that sparkling orange and blue kingfisher bird, with its wings spread, made a terrific impact. At the check-in counter the lady in red had such a sophisticated air that we wouldn’t mind taking the centre seat on the flight if she gave it to us. The bright red coach took us to the ATR aircraft, K-I-N-G-F-I-S-H-E-R was emblazoned in all caps across the length of the aircraft. The first letter K and the last letter R were a little bigger than the rest of the letters. New flyers stopped and took pictures for remembrance and for bragging. And as we climbed up the ramp we were greeted by the ladies with flashing smiles. With their fashionably short red pencil skirts, white blouse and red vests, they looked like models. We took our red seats wit...

HSBC Wall Kalamkari art depicting their CSR activities

This article appeared in the Times of India, Vizag Edition, 3 April 2016 Landing in trouble There is a renewed purpose in the air, the Andhra Pradesh state government’s mission is clear; this is the time for double digit growth! In order to fuel the growth we need plenty of money. A capital is to be built from scratch; infrastructure is required in every segment, airports, sea ports, power plants, highways and myriad government institutions. Where do we get the money to do all this? Obviously from taxes, we must therefore entice industry and business to bring in the revenue. No wonder then that the first priority of governments is to attract private entrepreneurs, the bigger the better.  The inducements for investing in the state are typically, ease of doing business, educated workers, adequate water, guaranteed power supply, roads, rail, ports and most important of all, the magical ingredient in the business mix …LAND! Plenty of LAND! Have land – want industry Who ow...

You've got messages He staggered into the doctor’s clinic. His clothes were wrinkled, his hair was uncombed and his eyes had that glazed lost look of someone who was about to be put in straitjackets and packed off to the mental asylum. He slumped into the patient’s chair and whispered in urgent tones “My smart phone has been taken over by the devil! I wake up in the middle of the night with the intention of relieving my bladder but instead stare at my phone screen. I can’t get back to sleep. Whether my phone is in silent mode or not, I am compelled to see every message, every video and every picture. I wake up in the morning and the first thing I do is reach for my phone!” He leaned forward on his chair and clutched at the doc’s collar “Doctor … help me … I am addicted to WhatsApp!” They have you surrounded Sounds scary? Well it should be. As of February 2016 this popular app has garnered 1 billion users throughout the world. In India it is estimated that more than 80 m...

Temples to be built in agency areas are a matter of concern. Even a decade ago Adivasis worshiped nature. They went to sacred groves to pray. The forest was their spiritual solace and it was naturally protected.  Recently religious competition was introduced. Buildings of different faiths mainly churches sprang up everywhere. The innocence of the tribal is getting compromised. It is becoming this faith against that. Their original respect for nature as a spiritual symbol is vanishing. To top it off thousands of folks from the plains go to some small temple in the ghats and have a huge eating out party leaving the entire area with tons of rubbish mainly plastic but also remnants of goat skaughter and chicken bones. The temple cleans up 10 ft around their perimeter. The left is left in the sun surrounded by dogs and crows. There is no way of removing the garbage and they lie there forever. Forget tribal tourism. The areas around temples are filthy. Now we have religious...

During a recent visit to a wooded area deep in the Eastern Ghats I was awoken early one morning by a strange sound. It was still dark outside. I sat up sleepily. Again that clear sound cut through the early morning fog. I was wide awake! “Oh my God, I have heard that sound before” I thought. But I get ahead of my story. The sounds of the sea As a child my family lived in a house by the sea in old Vizag. So close to the sea in fact, that as the waves crashed on the beach in stormy weather, the salty spray went through our living room like spray from a giant salty cologne bottle. Twenty four hours a day we heard that sound. The ascending roar of waves rushing in; an extended crash as it broke upon the beach and a long fizzy sizzle made by billions of little bubbles bursting  as it withdrew back into the sea again. The funny thing is that when we hear a sound for so long we tend to not listen to them anymore. It goes deep into the temporal cortex of our brains and embeds its...