The Observer Issue 25 by IIJNM Bangalore

Volume 15 | Issue 25

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Tourists dumped in city limits as state govt courts foreign investors ‘Invest Karnataka’ bans tour buses to ease city congestion Payal Gangishetty Many travellers are stranded in bus depots in various parts of the city due to a ban imposed on private buses. Karnataka Transport Department has imposed the ban on private buses and trucks entering the city limits between 7am and 10pm to reduce traffic flow for ‘Invest Karnataka 2016’, a global investors meet which is scheduled to be held this week. According to travel operators, the move is not only causing commuters a problem but costing fortunes for agents. “At present it is a major problem that we are facing. On one hand we are promoting tourism but on the other hand there are restrictions for the movement of tourism buses,” said B. Chandran, Founder Member of Karnataka Tourism Forum. He added, “I do not see any logic in banning the movement of private tourism buses for few days. It is a great inconve-

Private buses stranded at Kalisipaliam Bus Depot on NICE Road, as traffic police question drivers. nience as we need to book the KSRTC buses from the outskirts. It is an additional cost not only to the travellers but even to the agencies that run it. This is not going to solve the issue. Instead it is an extra expense to the travel agencies.” A public interest litigation was filed by P. K. Naveen, Managing Director of San Travels in

the High Court where he challenged the ban on private buses and trucks entering the city from February 1 to 10. Chandran said, “I hope we get a stay on the petition and this issue is resolved as soon as possible.” “We were not given any notice regarding the ban being imposed. Yesterday we had

five customers who cancelled their ticket. It is a loss to us,” said the owner of Diwakar Travels. He added, “We need to make alternative arrangements through mini-vans for the drop and pick-up of the customers from the city outskirts and that is an additional cost of Rs.15,000 per day. We are facing almost 40 per cent loss in the business.” “Since yesterday evening I have been waiting for a bus to Tumkur. Every time I enquire, they say it will come within half-hour. It has been almost 12 hours and not a single bus has come,” said Waseem, who is stranded at Kalisipaliam bus depot. He was in the city to visit his relative in a hospital. Bus drivers say that a restriction in movement in the city is causing strain to them personally. “Today while coming from Dhramavaram, the passengers in the bus were urging me to drive fast so that I can reach the city before 7am. We have a speed limit set which we are not allowed to violate. We will be held responsible if an accident occurs,” said Laxamiah,

driver of RPG Travels. Dinesh, a travel agent, said, “On a regular basis, the bus would leave the depot full but from yesterday hardly four seats are getting filled which is leading to a loss of Rs.4000 a day.” He added, “We are not able to meet the diesel expense also.” “This ban is only for 10 days and the police department is already taking measure to ensure that there won’t be any chaos during the invest meet,” said K. T. Natraj, Senior Traffic Inspector. He added,” Already the tourism bus operators are given the pick-up and drop points in the outskirts of the city and are not allowed to enter the city after the stipulated time. To ensure this move takes place smoothly the concerned jurisdiction is taking all measures.” When asked about if the manpower is sufficient to handle the situation, he said, “For now we have sufficient staff, but if this move is imposed for a long run then we might face some issue.”

contd. on page 3

Yahoo India staff anxious as job cuts loom Tanay Sukumar The Bangalore office of Yahoo India awaits news on job cuts after reports of an expected announcement today. Yahoo’s Asia Pacific region had seen the worst revenue drop among all regions the previous quarter. If 15 per cent of the workforce is cut as expected, Yahoo will have less than 10,000 employees left globally. The announcement is expected after the release of the Q4 report for 2015 later today according to media reports. In the first hour and half of

trading today, Yahoo’s share price fell to $28.74. Things were much better in terms of stability at workplace before Marissa Mayer became CEO, according to some former employees of Yahoo India. A former employee from the Bangalore office said: “Back then, there was no pressure and the job was never under

threat. Performance was not a great factor, and employees were certain of their jobs. People would join Yahoo for job stability. But with the firing now, people are realizing performance is necessary.” He said: “I worked with Yahoo in 2010. The company was not doing well then revenue-wise. The lax attitude might have led to this.”

Another employee said that if Yahoo were to choose between US and India, they would probably cut jobs in US, because for a tenth of the salaries, they get more work done. The company’s report for the third quarter of 2015 showed that Asia Pacific was the region with the highest yearon-year drop in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

(GAAP) revenue. Asia Pacific revenue went down from $186 million in the third quarter of 2014, to $159 million in the same quarter of 2015. In comparison, the Americas had a revenue rise of 13 per cent and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) dropped by 11 per cent. At the end of the previous quarter, Yahoo had 10,700 employees worldwide, a drop of 14 per cent since the same period in 2014. Current employees of Yahoo India refused to comment and said they have no official information on this yet. Yahoo’s share price has fallen from $44.69 on February 2 last year, by a third to $29.57 at yesterday’s closing.

2 THE OBSERVER

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Olympic Games ‘too big’ to cancel over Zika outbreak; India seeks assurances over safety

State officials say final decision to send Indian athletes rests with Delhi Regina Gurung Reema Mukherjee Whether to send Indian athletes to Brazil for this summer’s Olympics, in the wake of the Zika virus outbreak, will be a decision taken in Delhi, according to state Olympic officials. Over 2000 babies across South America have been born with shrunken heads and the Aedes mosquito is being blamed for infecting pregnant women. The outbreak has been classified by the World Health Organisation as “public health emergency of international concern” on February 1. According to experts here, it is only a matter of time before India has its first casualty. This year’s Olympic Games will be held in the seat of the outbreak, prompting fears that athletes returning from the Brazilian ‘hot zone’ will spread Zika globally. The World Health Organization has said that Zika virus is growing at an explosive rate

in America. It has reached the southern United States region. Twenty cases in the continental US has been reported so far according to the CNN report. A day after Rio de Janeiro’s Sambadrome stadium was sterilized by health workers, Indian Olympics Association received a letter on athletes safety. Brazil plans to make the Rio Olympics safe for the athletes and visitors, says International Olympic Committee in a letter to the Secretary General and Chef de Mission of India. The International Olympic Committee sent a warning letter to the Chefs de Mission on January 29, stating the efforts are being made to monitor the situation with Zika in Brazil. According to the statement, a plan has been put in place to supervise the removal of “puddles of stagnant water”, in order to reduce the risk of exposing the athletes and visitors to the infected mosquito. “We received a letter from the IOC, they are taking care of the Zika virus for a safe Olympic,” said Rakesh Gupta, Chef de Mission of India. Mr. T. Anatharaju, Secretary General of Karnataka Olympic Association said that athletes from Karnataka will be sent to

the centre and it is totally up to the Indian Olympic Association to send them to Rio. “It is not up to us to decide,” he added. Niranjan Ramesh, a coach from the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis said that IOC is to be responsible for athletes’ safety though “The Olympics is too big a deal to compromise.” The World Health Organisation declared Zika, a viral disease, “public health emergency of international concern” on February 1. Following the same, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released guidelines about the disease, which is widely spreading across Brazil and other countries of South America. As part of the declaration, the concern is that it may lead to birth defects because of which pregnant women have been warned about travelling to areas where Zika virus transmission is occurring. Zika virus is linked to microcephaly, a rare neurological condition where babies are born with heads significantly smaller than normal. Arvind Kasthuria, professor at the St. John’s Medical College said:

“The conditions for transmission exist in India. “It is a wild virus; pregnant women are the most vulnera-

ble. Screening people on the basis of symptoms will be difficult because anybody with a fever, or a mild throat pain

Tuesday, February 2, 2016 3

THE OBSERVER

Govt washing its hands of dhobi ghat scheme? Parvathi Benu A scheme to modernise three dhobi ghats in Bangalore is still not working, four years after it was announced. The scheme, which was supposed to provide washing, drying and boiling machines to the washermen enclaves in Malleshwaram, Yeshwantpur and Rajaji Nagar was to be implemented in 2012. Four years later, the Rajaji Nagar dhobi ghat still awaits the arrival of machines, caught in the blame game between the BBMP and the contractor. While they were promised nine machines, they have received only three and do not have the approval for electricity connection by the BBMP. The washermen here still wash all the clothes in the traditional way, by hand. The Yeshwantpur dhobi ghat, where the machines have been delivered, is wait-

ing for the BBMP to approve the electricity connection for the machines to work. The machines function well in the Malleshwaram dhobi ghat. “I don’t know why is there a delay,” said P. Ramanna, president of the Rajaji Nagar dhobi ghat for the past 37 years. “We’re awaiting the delivery of the remaining machines. I hope everything will be fine by April,” he said. S. Suresh Kumar, Rajaji Nagar MLA blamed the contractor for delaying the project. He had called for a meeting earlier this month, where the contractor was asked to deliver the machines by the first week of April. “I have given him a deadline. I’ll make sure that he doesn’t get any more government projects if he fails to deliver the machines by the deadline,” he said. On the other hand, the contractor Ajay Naidu blamed the BBMP for the delay. “There is a space constraint in the dhobi ghat. I’m still waiting for the

Water and chemicals have caused skin infections to most washermen

Shivaraju, a washerman at the Rajaji Nagar dhobi ghat washing clothes by hand BBMP to approve the electricity connection here. The engineers are delaying the project,” he said, adding that the machines will be installed and will start working from the first week of April, if the BBMP approves the papers. He also said that of the Rs1 crore promised, he had received a payment of Rs30 lakh. However, Manjula Vijaykumar, the BBMP councillor of the ward, said that the electricity connection can be given only after the installation of the machines. Constantly dipping hands in water laced with chemicals

has caused skin infections to most of the washermen and washerwomen. They still hope that implementation of the project will bring an end to their hardships. “My wife and I are working here for the past 15 years. Because of the dirty water and chemicals, we’ve been affected by skin irritations,” said Shivaraju, a washerman. While he gets Rs7 for every garment he washes, he claims that his earnings are negligible. “Once the machines get installed, our condition will improve,” he said. But again, the cost of electricity that they

have to bear worries him. Every member pays a monthly rent of Rs300 to the association. Currently, the washermen use electricity only to pump water to the tanks. “After installing the machines, the ghat will have to use around 30 KW more electricity. The bill will be very high,” said Ramanna. “I trust our MLA very much. I’m sure he’ll do something to make the situation better,” he said. The dhobi ghat was set up in 1956 and currently supports the families of 60 washermen. They take orders individually and wash them at the ghat.

Tourists dumped in city limits as state govt courts foreign investors contd. from page 1 M.A Saleem, Additional Commissioner of Police said, “On the first day 4500 trucks were stopped on the outskirts, we are trying our best to make sure that the ban is implemented properly.” He added, “The ban on the private buses entering the city limits will continue tilinvest meet gets over. However, the private buses are stopped in the outskirts onlyfor a stipulated time period.” The three-day-event which is scheduled to commence tomorrow will focus on major sectors like Textiles, Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, In-

frastructure, Manufacturing, Private Industrial Parks and Smart Townships. “We have partnered with eight countries, and the main focus is on these countries for attracting investment,” said Dr. K. Muralidhar, Member Secretary NRI Forum Karnataka. “Bureaucrats from Transport department don’t want to lift the ban before the stipulated date nor is the Commissioner of Transport agreeing to it,” said Vivek, Senior Manager, Operations and Vigilant Karnataka. The hearing of the PIL which was scheduled to be held today has been postponed to tomorrow.

Private buses stranded at Kalasipalaiah during the blockade

4 THE OBSERVER

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

OUTLOOK Does the Coldplay music video stereotype Indian culture?

The world still looks down upon India Akshaya NA

Outrage shows denial of what India is Tanay Sukumar

Video grabs from Coldplay video

British band Coldplay’s music video Hymn For The Weekend has created much debate online for its portrayal of India. Capturing Indian culture through a western perspective, scenes in the video are an example of cultural appropriation. The video clearly distinguishes between the band members and their surroundings. They dress and carry themselves like men of contemporary times, while the locals are portrayed as people from the colonial era: sadhus clad in saffron, a turbaned child holding a bioscope, a man spitting fire and children smeared in colours somersaulting. With peacocks dancing in the backdrop and Beyonce appearing as the exotic Bollywood actress, the video certainly propagates cul-

tural stereotypes about unclear. While the lyrics such representation of India. call for a higher power India in music videos. A The video fails to cap- and giving the singer 2015 video for the song ture the true essence s t r e n g t h to hold on, Lean On showcases viof today’s India. Young suals of majestic places men and women going and dancers dancing on to work are nowhere top of a bus in India. In As India to be seen. Instead, another video of Ausa Bollywood actralian pop star, Iggy tries to break tress is portrayed Azelea, dressed in away from the as a young Ina golden suit apdian princess shackles of its colonial pears on top of an throwing away elephant. past, to portray itself flowers from Art, literature her dreamy and films play as a modern upcoming balcony. As a crucial role in nation, these vivid porIndia tries to shaping the ethbreak away nic and national trayals in the video only from the shackidentity. Hollyreinstate the long les of its colonial wood movies are past and portray a clear example of existing stereoitself as a modern perpetuating stereotypes. upcoming nation, types manifold. In a these vivid portrayals 1984 movie released, in the video only reinIndiana Jones and the state the long existing Temple of Doom, Instereotypes. the video shows dians are seen eating Moreover, this clichéd the band members snakes and frozen monpicturization seems no- wandering through the key brains and insects. where related to the streets of Mumbai, However, as the dawn lyrics of the song, and amused by the sights of the new century arthe message the video they see. rived, the savage and is trying to convey is This is not the first uncivilised representa-

tion turned into that of cab drivers, terrorists and nerdy scientists. Be it Raj in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, the heavily accented Apu in The Simpsons, the West seems to still carry its stereotypical notions subtly. Last month, The Australian published a caricature showing poverty stricken and emaciated Indian men and a woman with a child trying to eat solar panel with ‘mango chutney’. In 2014, New York Times ran a cartoon after the Chandrayaan Mission, featuring an Indian man holding a cow knocking at the door of elite space club. What is quite striking in both these cartoons isthe depiction of an Indian as wearing dhoti and a turban. This stands testimony to the fact that the world still looks down upon India.

Saffron-clad sadhus, glamorous dusky beauties, colourful temples and larger-than-life Bollywood movie posters: Coldplay’s “Hymn for the Weekend” has all that India is perceived to be. A good number of Indians, mainly via Twitter, seem annoyed by the video and feel this is cultural appropriation; that the portrayal comes at the cost of what “real India” is. They feel our diverse culture has been stereotyped and narrowed down to a few traditional markers. But what is the real India? For a clueless Twitter user angry at all things on earth, real India could mean a highly liberal democracy which raises software and tech wizards with no space for disparity.

Or, probably, a counIt’s true that any cul- of art, whether it be try which either lacks tural identity has much Spain’s bull-fighting or a culture or has a cul- more to offer than half Africa’s tribes. ture based inside Twit- a dozen clichéd attriAnd when art does so, ter, without tradition. A butes. But we cannot it depicts, not mocks; it Facebook world without shows what the confestivals, rich cosmosumers love, it does not politan colonies withclaim in any way that Our distinct out villages, temples, art is academia – the holy babas and eletotal picture. cultural aspects gant dance forms. We earn nearly pull tourists in and we $20 billion in forThe outrage, unfortunately, eign exchange are proud of it. reflects either from our toura state of deism industry We leverage the very nial or disannually. Our same clichéd cultural comfort about distinct culturthe embedded markers to earn 3 per cent al aspects pull truths of India tourists in and of our GDP: the same or a total lack of we are proud of awareness. it. We leverage clichés that we do not The hypocrithe very same want Chris Martin to clichéd cultural sy lies in the fact that while discussmarkers to earn 3 leverage. ing these “Indianisms”, per cent of our GDP: pride is the dominatthe same clichés that ing feeling, but it turns we do not want Chris to anger when a white help it; each culture has Martin to leverage. person on “poverty its own idiosyncrasies, Young and urban Intourism” points out the which are historically dia is changing fast, same things. best captured in works and it is fair for us to

want the world to know this and depict that in art, music and cinema. But it takes time for the world to shift mindsets formed long before Jules Verne talked of elephants, princes and processions in Around The World In Eighty Days. Stereotypes have existed as long as diverse human settlements have. If Indians command a certain stereotype, we cannot really help it, except by breaking it. And a stereotype about a culture can be broken only when the whole country works towards it. We inspire certain stereotypes because we have reflected that in the past, and it is essential to accept that uniformly and take it in good humour, not only when it suits us.