A Tale of Two Metros

This has been on my mind since morning when I travelled on the Kolkata metro after seven years. The last memory was blurred with images of the Kolkata suburban 'local' trains, and today I realised why. For Delhi metro rail travellers, the Kolkata metro rail is like a local train - there are no electronic displays, no advertisements anywhere on the train (and I don't think even on the station there are any) and no airconditioning. What there are, instead, are fans and the dull, steely look that reminded me of those movies in which I saw prisoners transported from place to place. But to be fair to the Kolkata metro, it was built under a completely different set of constraints than in Delhi, and hence in this post I attempt to compare the two.

1. Indigenously built (Kolkata) V/s. Most Imported (Delhi)

The Kolkata metro was almost entirely an indigenous effort - right from the coaches, equipment to the funding. The Delhi metro, in contrast, was constructed using imported coaches and equipment and foreign aid from Japan. In this regard, the Kolkata metro was tougher. But ask any economics student, and they'd let you know it's not much of an excuse. The Kolkata metro, by being constructed almost entirely in India, might have created some jobs in the short run, but because it was essentially inefficient, it is in the long term draining the taxpayer's money by making losses repeatedly. If professionalism comes by importing stuff from abroad, so be it. Yes, the Delhi metro cost a bomb w.r.t the Kolkata metro, but it served its purpose efficiently and hey, makes an operating profit!

2. Alternative transport systems

A major reason for the 'failure' of the Kolkata metro was the easy availability of alternative transport, such as buses, taxis and suburban trains, which are much cheaper in Kolkata. In Delhi, in contrast, the only 'economical' alternative are the buses, which are irregular and quite inefficient in themselves. Hence, Delhi had there pockets of high-density traffic that the metro could utilise. No such 'corridors' existed in Kolkata, and hence the Kolkata metro was killed by the very competition that it sought to complement.

3. Subsidy

All said, the Delhi metro was heavily subsidized by the Central and Delhi Government. However, as a welfare measure, the Delhi metro does have to get subsidies from the Government. Plus, if you come to think of it, with an operating ratio of 1:1.95, the Kolkata metro makes expenditure of 1.95 unit for every 1 unit of revenue. Isn't that a form of subsidy in keeping this metro system running?

4. Safety

Most Kolkattans felt proud of their metro when the Delhi metro was beset by a series of accidents. True, the utmost safety standards have to be met, and there can be no condoning of any lapses on this part. The Kolkata metro has a much better safety track record, so let us be sure of that. However, the accidents took place while construction was on, and not during operations. the Delhi metro, too, has impeccable operational safety.

Finally, some news snippets:

(1) Around 100,000 passengers are reported to be using the Kolkata Metro daily without tickets, as the ticket-checking infrastructure is in a shambles

(2) the underground Kolkata Metro was constructed at a cost of just over Rs 100 crore per km as against the first phase of the Delhi Metro — with a 13.01-km underground corridor and a 52.10-km elevated track — that was completed at the average cost of Rs 162.63 crore per km.

(3) While the Delhi Metro system pays a subsidised Rs 3 per unit for its power, the Kolkata Metro has to do with a non-concessional industrial rate which hovers around the Rs 4 per unit mark.

Defending Economics as a Science

This entry was a long time in the coming. After countless arguments with many physics, maths and chemistry guys on why economics is a science, I should really put it down together.

The main grouse people have against economics is that there are too many assumptions. "If everything but prices are kept constant, and prices are dependent on quantity, then how does quantity demanded change" is what Aashik asked. Yes, a brilliant question that had me perplexed for some time. To be honest, I myself had this grouse against economics, but it all got sorted out once I heard Ritwika speak at the VC Memorial debate. Economics is an abstraction away from reality that will help explain reality.

For example, just today morning while I was thinking about the motion of a pendulum. In a real world, there is the wind speed, the the friction and so many things. However, what we learn in classes is a simplified version where there are no externalities at play. Why do we do that? So that we can have a basic framework over which we can then go on to add the other externalities.

Exactly what economics does. We take a phenomenon, we strip it down to the basics, analyse the basics, and then try to put back everything. For example, did you know that over 95% of the food grain production in India can be explained by a Cobb-Douglas function using barely five or six variables, which does not include the monsoons? That is amazing accuracy for something as unpredictable as agricultural output. The result? That agricultural output depends significantly on availability of credit and net sown area. Both are stagnating in India, hence alarm bells need to go off and hence we really need to work on this. Hence, for our future to be secure, we need simplifications and models such as these.

The second argument leveled against economics as a subject is 'how can you rationalise human behaviour?'. Well, the idea is the same as above. You take something complicated (such as the human mind), you strip it down, then understand it, and then build in the different layers. Intuitively beautiful ideas such as the multiplier effect are such beautiful examples of this 'rationalisation' process at work. True, the size of the multiplier in the real world is much smaller than what it is in theory, but there are economic arguments for that too.

Yes, to the detractors one must give one argument - economics is not a science in the same mold as physics and chemistry (I do not include mathematics, because mathematics is the language of science, rather than a science itself). Honestly, that is not what economics aspires to be, either. To think of it, I'm sure it's easier to discover secrets than to, proverbially, rationalise the human mind. Economics sits on a very exalted position of being a bridge between the arts and the sciences. We put together psychology and differential equations, history and optimisation in a beautiful manner.

Whatever happens to the 'real' India

It has been some time since I've wanted to write a piece on the Indian media. For an institution that probably takes itself a little too seriously at times, the Indian media is actually very unrepresentative of 'real' India. No, I'm not talking about India TV and their 'bangley mein bhoot' kind of stories. I'm talking about serious journalism here, of CNBC TV18, Times Now, Aaj Tak and the like.

Okay. Let's first really get rid of my frustrations at Arnab Goswami. The media is supposed to be unbiased and informed. However, Mr. Goswami has a clear tendency to take things to rhetorical pitch and then to force his viewpoint on the guests on his show. He has a tendency to cut those who don't agree to him, and give more screen time to those who do. In short, Mr. Goswami's coverage is centered around himself, in which case what he propagates is essentially his viewpoint and not what 'news' is supposed to be.

But let's get back to the larger malaise of which Mr. Goswami is but a symptom. The english media suffers from an urban-myopia. All talks of 'youth of India' going to multiplexes, moving over Ayodhya (which I don't dispute) and the like is pathetically city-centric. It is kind of sad imagining that over 60% of India still lives in villages, and that supposedly 80% of India earns below Rs. 20 a day. No, this is not run-of-the-mill leftist arguments. I don't say distribute foodgrains for free. Not by far! All I say is that news should cover these 'silent' people too. That the kind of audience that is portrayed on our news channels should be expanded to cover these people.

Yes, there are administrative cost constraints. But then, next time you say that it is 'new India', it is nothing but a shallow claim. Because this 'new India' is not representative of India at all. It is representative of a small urban population (again, the problem is that even this 'urban' would not cover cities such as Gorakhpur, Asansol etc). So, the plea in the end is to make journalism more inclusive. To give the rustic India and small-city India a voice and a platform on the national media. Let, literally, truth prevail!

First Term, Second Year

Oh well, it's been an entire term since I last wrote an entry and so much water has literally flown under the bridge (what with the Yamuna overflowing). So much has changed, and so much change is in the offing. To be honest, it was a depressing term, but through this depression, and keeping in line with my tradition of professional success in times of personal crisis, I came out of the term triumphant professionally, but ruined personally.

So, to begin with, college politics. Aditya Kiran Kakati stood for president. A good man, yes, but with a team that, for me, consisted of many power-credit hungry parasites. And that is why I refused to support his campaign. The only reason for me to support him was by process of elimination, and that is why I finally voted for him. Then there was the Students' Council elections. The Students' Council has been a defunct body and thus, the elections are a means for people to prove their popularity in college. However, I wanted to change that, but was unsure whether I'll be able to. But I thought, might as well try. So, I stood and I won (despite my entire class not turning up to vote because of no classes). And now, as I sit back at home, I have to think of ways to work and make the council work. Unfortunately, the Union (and hence, the Council) are still very much caught up in the shackles of red-tapism and hence, it is tough, almost impossible, to get things moving. Yet, I will try, not because I want credit or benefit out of it, but because I want personal satisfaction of having made a defunct body work.

Then, let me turn to a round-up of the societies. The Economics Society is surprisingly such a free society in second year. I can nearly do anything I want to, and I am exploiting this creative freedom to the maximum extent. It gives me liberty to do things that I've always wanted to do, and hence came the M S Excel Lecture Series (now known as M S Excel Workshops), the Microfinance Seminar, the V C Memorial Debate among others. Yes, Karan seems to feel that I like ecosoc more. But hey, F&I's National DreaMerger was the defining moment of my college life in first term. And now with a bundle of ideas I approach the second term.

But the happiest moments of life in first term has been to discover new people in the form of juniors. Not that I had many good friends in the third years (except for Karan), but when my immediate seniors pass out, I'll really miss people like Vedant, Pallavi, Sanjay among others. Hence, it feels nice to have a new bunch of friends from first years.

Finally, I realised that life is actually a huge constrained optimisation problem. There are a million constraints, primary among them energy and time, and we have to optimise joy in that time. Doing 'new' things has really been the joy of first term, second year, and I hope that the rest of the year too will be a wonderful ride.

Of leadership and motivation

Leadership. It's a thrill like nothing else, and a responsibility too. That brings us to the question about what are the responsibilities of a leader? For one, to be able to lead from the front, in that you take most of the criticism that comes your group's way, and you also are able to guide your team. The second, and in my case the more important one, is to be able to inspire others around you, and to be able to create sustainability in the organisation/endeavour, so that the organisation/endeavour lives on even after you go.

That is where I think my failure as a leader emanates from. For example, while I was the President of ECONOX, I was unable to effectively delegate work to my colleagues in the society. Now, a part of it can be ascribed to the fact that (1) DPS, R.K. Puram's societies function more as CV-building exercises than anything else (2) the level of bonding between dipsites is abysmal at most. True, that does not account for all my insufficiencies in this regard, but most other societies also functioned in that way. Kritika and I ended up doing most of the work. So, yes, I was able to inspire Kritika (and she was able to inspire me) and then Sneha did a lot of work during ECONORM week and we sailed through as a fairly successful society. However, I always felt I had been a bad leader. My juniors at school, those to whom I could talk later on, told me that I was indeed a very good President, and that those who succeeded me had not been able to either involve or inspire others. In this regard, familiarity with your colleagues becomes of exceptional importance. Some call it 'networking', but I guess this familiarity is absolutely essential for leadership.

Then, coming to college and working with individuals, in societies and otherwise, I realised how tough it sometimes gets to coordinate with people, to get them to do their part of the work on time. A part of this can be ascribed to my own hyper-activism as far as it comes to work, but seriously, there has to be a reason why those working with me procrastinate so much. Well, to be honest, I've seen everybody procrastinate, and I at times do it myself. That's it about discipline in life. It depends on the way you grew up, your upbringing, and your experiences in life. I like to do things fast, because I generally do things the way I like them. True, I won't get this liberty later on in life, but as long as I am enjoying it, it's fine.

So, why are others not able to keep pace. There are two possible reasons (1) they don't feel as strongly about the goal as I do (2) they are not able to discipline their minds enough. By 'disciplining the mind', I do not refer to any yogic exercises, because I've seen yoga practitioners procrastinate too; I mean it in an extremely professional sense - i.e. do work as fast as you can. One day Aditi Bajpayi told me, 'asap means whenever you can, in a day or two', which it literally does, but for me, asap means immediately, it's like a red sign to get working. I still haven't found the key to inspiration and motivation, as I have not found the key to several problems in life, but I shall keep trying as much as I can to perfect this art. Hopefully, that will not involve giving up on my own enthusiasm for things.

Counting Academics in Numbers

Before I write this, I must clarify something. I have utmost respect for people who score well. This is not meant to be a biased tirade against the mode of education in our educational system, but it is meant to present my opinion about what is the ultimate importance of scoring in examinations.

Most of us find it hard to find a balance between academics and co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. I have seen many students so engrossed in debating and 'MUN-ing', that it is almost a sickening sight. Then there are also those who are so thoroughly into their books, that it is a sickening sight in itself. Now the problem is this, that people often do not reveal themselves entirely. So, for example, even if somebody studies a lot, he/she might not be willing to accept it publicly because to study a lot (higher input) raises expectations for better results (higher output), and hence greater scrutiny on your performance. That is something most of us don't like, so we avoid. In this situation of information asymmetry, to make valuations about people becomes a rather difficult job.

However, let me be honest about what I like and what I respect. I like to put together things, to connect things. For example, I like to use statistics and mathematics that I study in my first year Economics (H) syllabus to problems presented in my principles of economics papers. Or another example where I like to apply what I learn about valuation of stocks in finance to the performance of MicroFinance institutions in India. Or as I've already mentioned on this blog before, how I used trigonometry back in class 10th to calculate the area of Tamil Nadu. Fairly simple all these things were, but it just gives me a high to connect things and disciplines in this manner. Makes my education seem much more holistic.

Now to what I respect. Firstly, i respect an independent thinking and innovation. For example, I don't see merit in conditioning the mind to think on pre-specified lines. This is what happens many times in our examination systems, JEE included. There has to be scope, and incentive, for innovation, at least at the undergraduate level. Yes, path-breaking research is not to be found at the undergraduate level, but a small beginning can be. Second what I respect is self-confidence. Fine, if you want to be a scoring maniac, be it, but do it confidently. You have to be, in short, sure of what you want to do. You have to be able to justify your actions to yourself.

It's true that I probably am sounding very confused, because I am really, when I talk about this. I want the good grades, yes, the best grades in fact. But why do I want them? Do I want to trade doing the work I'm doing now (which I really enjoy) for the best grades? I don't know, probably no, I won't. I suppose the problem is one of limitless ambition - I want to have this and I want to have that. A lot of it probably owes it to the passive pressure of being 'Delhi Topper', people let this expectation build into them. I tried to impress this upon people several times last year that i'm not a brilliant student, I'm just mediocre. But the expectation didn't go away. Hopefully, it will go away this time (that's one of the best things about the results) and hopefully not manifest itself in taunts.

What I once told a couple of friends of mine was then. Let's just visualise and think everything is ideal, and then work accordingly. We won't get to ideal, but we'll come closer. What is my ideal? I want to contribute to others' lives, academically and otherwise. I want to see St. Stephen's College contribute more (academically) to a student's life than what it currently does. Okay, the ideal is there. What's the plan? The plan is to start in a small way, to start with helping people around you, your friends. Does that pre-suppose superiority? No. There are things I might be better at (currently) and there are things they might be better at and this is a simple give-and-take thing.

So, yes. That is what I want to be my ideal life and that is the assumption under which I shall hopefully be spending the next year of my life.

Some Newspaper Clippings

The Times of India

Times of India (Kolkata Edition)

Hindustan Times

A Bengali Newspaper