The Taxi Talks

When riding a cab, I usually put my phone away, and strike a conversation with the driver. More often than not they strike a good conversation. Once you adjust yourself to their frequency the range of topics and their insight is always baffling. Over the past weekend while visiting Bangalore, I happened to take Ola and Uber twice each. Some of the interesting and important issues that the drivers, all 4 star and above rated, conversed:

Language: The Ola cab driver asked me if I knew Kannada. In my rudimentary Kannada I replied that I knew a little of it. That was it. Appreciative of people making effort to learn the language he expressed his great anger over residents of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, barring Hyderabad, who according to him do not try to speak other common language.

He then went on to describe how in Chennai there is discrimination against those cars bearing KA registration number. Right from obtaining permit at Bangalore, the harassment continues till Chennai. 

Being a Samaritan: The Ola driver narrated how on several occasions he went to houses of passengers to give them back their belongings if they leave it in his car. This was in response to my raising the matter telling how we lost 2 umbrellas in an Ola and no one bothered to follow it up despite calling the drive and the call center.

But he have had bitter experiences when despite his traveling long distance to return valuables, the passenger refused to pay him extra for that part of the ride. Now he doesn't see an incentive in becoming a good Samaritan yet drops the belongings at Ola office.

Car Loan: The other day getting on to a relatively new car when I inquired about it the driver narrated how a small time driver faces harassment while procuring a vehicle of his own. The guy said he got the vehicle costing about 4.7 lakh by paying a downpayment of 1.5 lakh and the rest from Tata finance. Now the problem according to him is, Tata insurance, unlike bank doesn't tolerate delay in payment of EMI and sends goons to threaten or in worst case take away the car. 

Naturally I asked him why couldn't he get a loan from a national bank. The reason he said was that he hailed from Kolar. The bank over there wanted him to bring documents stating that he is purchasing a car. he was denied that document from the showroom in Bangalore, all this leading to his paying an extra 50 thousand as interest money in 3 years.

Reliance: A certain buzz was in Bangalore about Reliance entering cab business; how they claimed a rate of Rs 4 per KM and huge incentives for drivers. That, both the drivers claimed, would change how things currently are in Bangalore. While an auto charges 13 Rs per KM, they weren't sure how the maths would work for Reliance, but they weren't worried about the Maths. For them important thing was that it would help pay the loan back sooner.

Talking to drivers is a very very interesting task. The variety of people they meet, the various places they visit (a common theme always is they proudly telling how far and wide they have driven to), the strata of society they belong to, makes for really interesting topics being discussed. While there are those 'silent types', roughly 80% of drivers I have traveled with are good at making conversation. So, next time, if the driver is game, strike a conversation. A few minutes of not fiddling with the phone can enrich your understanding of issues and people. After all aren't conversations what we are losing to our smartphones?

Book review: Not Just An Accountant - conscience keeper’s account

 

It can be safely said that most Indians will take CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) synonymous with Vinod Rai. A question seeking former and current CAG names might meet with silence of ignorance. And this is only natural. For the man brought to the fore skeletons from the Indian cupboard of corruption like no other. And those skeletons that shocked a nation beyond belief, shook existing political systems and perhaps proved instrumental in humiliating fall of a regime. Not Just An Accountant (Rupa) is his testimony.

The life of a bureaucrat is interesting and Vinod Rai’s career begins in a tumultuous manner with delay in his cadre assignment. He narrates the tale wonderfully which hooks interest of the reader who gets a firsthand account of how government works. His long stint in Kerala, the various tribulations, the successes have been narrated in a simple and engaging manner.

But the crux of the book lies after that. The reader of this book certainly is looking for Vinod Rai’s version of the scams CAG unearthed, reported and stuck to their reports despite tremendous opposition from the powers that be. 2G, Commonwealth, Coal, Civil Aviation, Natural Gas, the scams that caught public imagination have been described at great length.

Vinod Rai has described these monumental corruption incidences beginning with basics, then going to the technical aspects followed by probing the reader. Though one might have read at great lengths about these scams, Mr Rai’s version is an education. He provides that essential CAG angle and makes it a point in every chapter to validate and laud the effort of this constitutional body which has been questioned. This questioning has been agonizing.

The various incidences that Vinod Rai mentions elicit various responses in the reader. Be it the audacity with which A Raja stuck to following a no auction policy, the creation of a body without any governmental control to seat Suresh Kalmadi, flouting norms to give Reliance more than 7 thousand square kilometers of area for excavation, buying aircrafts and selling them for a 5 times lesser rate, will shock the reader learning about these in detail for the first time.

During the release of the book the mention of role of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s in these scams was a talking point. Vinod Rai has made his observations of the PM’s role very clear. In the 2G scam, he writes how on two occasions, in response to A Raja’s letter, the PM replied with the text “I have received your letter of (date) regarding recent developments in the telecom sector”. A similar stoic silence in the Coal block allotment scam is mentioned. Overall the impression is sent of a PM who has acted like Dhritarashtra of Mahabharat.

The book is interesting for one interested in policy issues. A bureaucrat with 40 years of experience explains concepts of Principal-Agent problem, policy of past, shift in policy and obfuscation of policy. The book is an essential read for those who wish to get a comprehensive view of role of CAG, the technical aspects of scams from 2G scam to Reliance’s role in KG basin excavation, and aspects of an honest bureaucrat’s life.