Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Our education is exclusive

The education system in India, especially these days, are producing a miopic, copy-paste generation. There is little scope for imagination and innovation. Forget the cheap goods from China, ever wonder why the expensive kitchen systems and sleek door-closers are imported from Germany, even glassware from Singapore? Be it technology or the arts - we are losing the capability to think for ourselves, even for our own needs.

As far as others' needs go, crossing a street in NJ a few years back was an eye-opener.

There was this pillar with the traffic light in front of me on the pavement. I stood there for a few minutes and the cars kept on passing. Do people don't cross roads here on foot - there were hardly any other pedestrians at the junction! And the cars sped by too fast to try any adventure - India style. Then a man came around, pressed a switch on the pillar, the light turned red and we crossed the road. Felt a little stupid for not noticing the switch but a bell ringing while we crossed the street did not miss my ear. On enquiring I found that the bell was for the blind - they could cross as long as the bell was ringing.

We don't even build a wheelchair ramp in Govt buildings in our country. Nor at Railway stations. Not even at all swanky office buildings. We claim we are the most sensitive race. Who would think of a bell for the blind.

Reproducing an anecdote I came across while reading about Jeeja Ghosh on the net. Moving and thought provoking, to say the least.

" I will never forget the Irish steward on a British Airways flight from Delhi to London who helped me board with my daughter Moy Moy who has severe special needs — as he was leading us to our seats in Economy, he noticed she was drooling and without a moment's hesitation, he wiped her chin for her. As he settled us in our seats, he said, “I don't think you'll be comfortable enough here. Let me see what I can do.” A few moments later, he returned and moved us into Business Class.
The man sitting next to us there, who had paid good money for his fancy seat, could have objected or at least made us feel awkward and unwelcome but instead he did everything possible to help us, including looking after Moy whenever I went to the bathroom.
The steward, I found out later, had a younger sister with special needs. My co-passenger had attended an inclusive school.
Captain Utprabh Tiwari wasn't born wanting to discriminate against Jeeja Ghosh. He was taught to."
"Want to change the world? Start with teaching the children ! "

Napoleon quotation : World suffers a lot ... silence of good people

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Spicejet rapped by SC


The airline known for delays, abrupt cancellation and indifferent attitude towards customers is in the news again. For all the bad reasons, that is.

In Feb 2012 a passenger named Jeeja Ghosh was forcibly deplaned from a Spicejet flight from Kolkata to Goa. Though she was a frequent flyer, Spicejet staff found her unfit to fly - directly contrary to the provisions of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Ghosh sought apex court's direction to the DGCA for enforcement of regulations pertaining to "carriage by Air of Persons with Disability and Persons with Reduced Mobility." The Kolkata based teacher at the Institute of Cerebral Palsy also urged the apex court to direct the airline to adequately compensate her for loss of money and wastage of time, besides the humiliation and the trauma that she suffered in the unsavoury incident. She approached the apex court along with an NGO, Able Disable All People Together, which works for differently-abled persons.

If only this 'cheap' airline could learn to be a little more courteous ... especially to differently-abled women ! Hope Utprabh Tiwari, the 'Captain' of this debacle of Spicejet, is made to appear on national television to apologize !!

Get more (such treatment) when you fly ... Spicejet !

Jeeja Ghosh

References :
  1. Wikipedia on Spicejet ;
  2. SC notice to Spicejet for deplaning woman ;
  3. World News - Apology demanded ;
  4. Jeeja Ghosh - IICP ;
  5. Utprabh Tiwari was taught ...
  6. Ghosh - We have our dignity