Shared shuttle/van services in Chennai - hard to find!

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I recently moved to a new job and my office is in Thoraipakkam, now. For the last 2 weeks, I have been desperately looking at various commute options to work. Right now, I'm driving my own car and I end up spending approximately 2 hours on the road everyday. The following are some options that I'm exploring:

Also read: Self-adjusting traffic - a miracle on Indian Roads

1) Employing a driver - Costs approximately Rs.10,000 a month. However, the driver wouldn't have anything to do during the day time and he would just idle around in the car park. Moreover, I don't want him to sleep in my car or switch-on the A/C (i.e., engine) when the car is not in motion. I'm afraid of the problems that may come with the driver :)

2) Renting a driver - Renting a driver to and fro also costs approximately the same money. There are a number of "call a driver" services in Chennai. They charge approximately Rs.250 for 4 hours. However, I do not want different drivers to drive my car everyday. Moreover, I'm worried about 'how they would handle' my car and the safety aspects (Since, they are typically paid by the hour, I'm afraid that they may drive fast)

3) Using Call Taxi services - This option works out to be very expensive for now. I am thinking of considering this as a last resort.

Also read: Driving on Indian roads - pleasure or pain?

4) Bus Services - There are indeed a few Chennai MTC buses connecting my home with my office. However, getting a seat in the bus is not guaranteed and I can't imagine standing with my laptop and lunch bag for an hour :)

5) Shared shuttle services - A number of IT companies are running their own shuttle services for employees. They subsidize the transportation cost for their employees. I do see a number of private vans/vehicles carrying passengers on the road in the morning and in the evening. However, an Internet search doesn't reveal any of those services. I did get a couple of leads through my contacts, however they are not operating from Choolaimedu/Nelson Manickam Road to Thoraipakkam. I am still on the lookout for Shared Shuttle/Van/Cab Services. If you know of any, keep me informed :)

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Gemini Circus, Chennai - Not worth it !

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"Let us go to Gemini Circus, today". When I said this, my daughter got very excited. I took my family to Gemini Circus in Chennai, today. We were hoping to have a stellar experience. However, I was totally disappointed by the end of the show. In fact, after an hour into the show, my daughter asked "Dad ! When are we going back home?".

(Also read: Drive through McDonalds in Velachery)

Here is the list of things that I liked about Gemini Circus:

• The tickets for the show was available at various price ranges - Rs.50, Rs.100, Rs.150, and Rs.250 (affordable for everyone).
• Uniformed men were selling snacks throughout the show - popcorn, biscuits, chocolates, cool drinks, cotton candy etc., 
• The gymnastic performance was very good. I was quite impressed by circus crew's potential.
• Time management was perfect - the show began and ended on time (kudos to the folks who did the back stage management)
• The background music was great
• Car parking rate was just Rs.40

(Also read: Vandalur Zoo - Infrastructure is world class, but people are low class)

Here is the list of things that I hated about Gemini Circus:

• The floor was uneven and filled with rubble and debris
• They had plastic chairs for everyone, which were put on top of the rubbles (Imagine, how stable the chair would be)
• There was no proper ventilation. There were a few pedestal fans. However, it was not adequate for 2000+ people
• Nothing has changed in the last 20+ years. In fact, it has gone for the worse. I remember the days when we used to have wooden railings for people to sit. It was very convenient. I hated those plastic chairs.
• There was no proper parking space - we have to park the cars over the debris
• Crowd management was poor - after the show, it took about an hour for us to come out of the venue
• No lion/tigers/elephants/monkeys were involved during the show (Though I was happy that animals were not disturbed, my daughter was very disappointed :))
• No online booking (you've to stand in the line to get tickets). They do have a website.
• No proper signage near the venue. We had to stop in between several times to find the place.

"Will I go to Gemini Circus again in Chennai"? The answer is a STRONG NO. I would rather watch recorded circus programs in my TV.

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Plastic Ban in India - Gaining momentum !

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In the last few months, plastic ban in India is gaining momentum. Government has taken a number of measures to promote environment awareness and friendliness among people.

I visited Vandulur Zoo after nearly 3 years. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that the government was strictly enforcing Plastic Ban in Vandalur Zoo. The officials had setup a booth at the entrance of the park. All the visitor's bags are checked and their plastic covers/bags are taken out and trashed. Visitors were not allowed to carry plastic bags inside. You cannot even carry a unopened biscuit pack. They provide you with newspapers (free of cost) and cloth bags (for Rs.5 I guess!). You have to remove the wrappers of the biscuit pack and use newspapers to pack them. If you are carrying a plastic bag, you've to switch to a cloth bag. I'm sure this exercise will improve the awareness of plastic ban among our citizens. In addition, this exercise will also educate them about the harmful effects of using plastic in a zoo (including the death of rare/precious wild animals).

(Also read: Vandalur Zoo - Infrastructure is world class but people's behavior is still local class)

In addition, the government has setup a number of warning signs inside the Vandalur Zoo that educate the users about the plastic ban.

Despite all of the hard (& smart) work of our officials, I noticed some plastic covers/bottles inside the Vandalur Zoo. The restaurants set up inside the park sell snacks/cool drinks in plastic bags/containers, respectively. Our people just throw the plastic bags/containers on the road, after use - though there were a number of trash cans, dustbins available inside the park.

(Also read: 15 things that I liked about Vandalur Zoo)

Plastic ban is quite visible in our day to day life also.

• Chennai Metro is experimenting source segregation of wastes. You can separate plastics from other wastes and they'll be collected separately by the person who picks-up your trash.
• Shops are banned from using "low quality" plastic bags which cannot be recycled  Several premium shops have switched over to "cloth" bags. 
• Customers are encouraged to bring bags from their home. This will help in either re-using existing plastic bags/containers or in promoting the use of cloth bags. 
• Customers have to pay the shop to get a plastic bag. It is not free of cost anymore.

Personally, I have done my best to bring down the use of plastic in our home. In fact, we started doing all of these things several years ago ! I told my parents that the use of plastic will result in "Cancer". That is the easiest way for me to enforce plastic ban at home :)

(Also read: A ban on spitting in public places - who enforces it?)

We did the following simple things:

• Switched from plastic water containers to a stainless steel water storage dispenser
• Installed a water purifying system at home, instead of buying can water
• Stopped using plastic plates, cups and bowls. Switched to glass or stainless steel utensils
• Switched from plastic water bottles to aluminium / stainless steel water bottles
• To the extent possible, we try to re-use/recycle plastic bags. We carry cloth bags to shops

Minimizing the use of plastic will not only help in saving the environment, but also helps in keeping the city clean. Whenever you go outside of your house, you can see lots of plastic bags/containers floating in the air and in the streets. When you get rid of plastics, you can also maintain a clean environment.

(Also read: If I don't care, who'll care)

My BIG THUMBS UP for plastic ban !

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Vandalur Zoo - Infrastructure is world class but people's behavior is still local class

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I visited Vandalur Zoo last week with my family. Vandalur Zoo is one of the BEST and well maintained zoological parks that I've seen in the WORLD. Our Tamilnadu government has done a fantastic job of keeping the place clean. I had several interesting experiences and observations during my recent visit and I thought I would share it with others.

(Also read: 15 things that I liked about Vandalur Zoo) 

We spent the entire day going around the zoo and having fun. In the evening, we visited the children's park in Vandalur Zoo. There were a number of play structures for kids - including swings, monkey bars, sliding structures, horizontal merry-go-rounds, and climbing structures. Kids were having lots of fun. While kids living in USA get access to these kind of structures almost in every street, good public play areas for kids is still not a common thing in India. You can see them only in newly built private communities. Government has been trying best to improve the conditions of existing parks and some of the parks are maintained really well.

While I was admiring the well maintained play structures at Vandalur zoo  I was shocked to see certain things happening inside the park. I saw a number of adults / youngsters playing on the play structures that were meant for kid. when I see someone doing harm to government properties, my adrenalin gushes; my nerves bulge (people who have watched the Tamil movie Ratchagan can understand what I'm talking about).

I made an effort to tell the adults who were using the play structures, to stop using them. Almost everybody listened to me and nobody "protested". However, I did get some interesting responses/remarks from some of them:

• "I have seen a number of adults using these structures and nobody stopped them at that time. When I start to play on these structures, you are complaining"
• "If I stop playing on these structures, will the people who are going to come tomorrow won't do the same thing?"
• "Ask government to build some play structures for adults too"
• "No kid is using this swing right now and hence, I'm using it"

(Also read: Skywalks in train stations - what are they for?)

Thankfully enough, I didn't get the usual responses that I've gotten in other parks (where I've tried to do the same thing!). They are:

• "Who are you to ask?!"
• "I'm also paying tax like you. I have EQUAL RIGHTS"
• "There is no sign board that says - adults should not use these play structures"
• "Where is the sign board that says - only kids should use these play structures"

There were a group of youngsters (college students!) who are trying to use the swings. I told them the reasons why adults shouldn't be playing with the play structures:

• Government has spent lots of money in building this play area. However, they don't allocate enough funds to maintain them. Once broken, it will take a number of weeks and even months for government to fix them
• We keep complaining that "Government does not create good infrastructure" for us. However, when they do create good infrastructure for us, we don't use them wisely
• The play structures are meant for kids. They aren't sturdy enough for adults to use. If the swing lasts for a few 1000 swings if a kid uses it, it will last only for a few 100 swings if adults use it
• It is OUR responsibility to maintain the structures well. Government cannot supervise each and every thing.

(Also read: A ban on spitting in public places - who enforces it?)

In fact, I encouraged all of them to STOP other adults who may be using the structures. The guys nodded their heads and I thought they won't use it again.

A few minutes later, I left the kids play area. I noticed that the youngsters started using the swings immediately after I left.

The first thing that came to my mind was - "Oh! My God?! How am I going to persuade these youngsters". This time, my adrenalin gush brought me anger. I ran to the park and on seeing me coming, the guys got out of the swings. I asked, "Will you follow the instructions only when you are given a SLAP on your face. Didn't I patiently explain to you why we shouldn't be using the swings meant for kids. Can't you understand? I really don't know how I can explain this to you guys. Do let me know if there are better ways by which I can persuade you. See... I cannot police this 24x7. You guys are future citizens of India. You are the Government. If you guys are not taking care of this in a responsible way, who else will do it?". They said, "We are very sorry Sir! We won't do it again".

I'm not sure whether those guys kept the promise or not. But, one thing kept ringing in my ears for the whole evening "You cannot maintain a world class facility if people continue to behave like local class".

I think our government should consider placing "clear sign boards" that warn adults from using kids' play structures. I have seen in other countries, where they have a scale for kids to measure their height. Only if you are within the maximum height limits, you can use the play structures meant for kids. We should consider installing this in places like Vandalur zoo,  Anna Tower Park, and Semmozhi Poonga Park. I have noticed adults/youngsters using the play structures meant for kids in all these places and I have tried my best to stop them. In fact, I complained to the administrative officials in Semmozhi Poong Park and they said "they'll look into it". In the worst case, they should have a watchman there policing the adults who use kids' play structures.

It is so sad to see that our people are not good at maintaining public property well. It will be hard for Government to manage these facilities if citizens do not take ownership. How can you maintain a world class facility if your people continue to behave like local class?

(Also read: A ban on spitting in public places - who enforces it?)

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