To be or not to be - That is the big question - Contentious Indian advertisements!

Advertisements are supposed to reflect the society and it is interesting to see that they are changing. first it was the Cadbury cricket ad of the nineties that was remade with a completely new gender bend. The hero turned heroine and the supportress turned the supporter. Cadbury cricket was a huge success and there was appreciation all around. 

But what Kwality Walls and Dabur did with their latest advertisement is quite contentious. The Kwality walls Advertisement shows a disapproving lady who is hostile to her new (may be gay/homosexual) neighbour couple. 

Her husband cajoles her to enter the neighbour’s house and viola Kwality Ice-cream melts the lady and her misconceptions about same sex couple living together. 

There is a definite deliberate awkwardness in the advertisement. It was a deliberate attempt to hint at something “THAT ÏS DIFFERENT”. So much so that even Asish Vidyarthi who plays the role of the disapproving lady’s husband remarked about the awkwardness in his social media post. The post is shared as a screen shot! 

The second advertisement that is stirring a storm in a tea cup is the Dabur ad. Dabur has shown two women (living together) fasting who see each other through a sieve! Dabur have shown Karva Chauth with a difference. Karva Chauth Is a festival of wives fasting and praying for the health of the husband and they see the moon through a sieve after a day’s hard fasting!  The advertisement has since been withdrawal by Dabur!

So far so good. As usual it is the Hindu customs/festivals that are taking a beating. Is it alright if Diwali and karva Chauth are used to display our liberal thinking? If the same was done with any other religion, would they be silent? Are the Hindus too silent and too accommodating? Just a thought process!

Hyderabad Metro's Suvarna Offer - 2021!

 

The art of observation has taught me many things. I got an SMS from HMRL and I was curious to know about the Suvarna offer. HMRL uses digital technology liberally and all smart cards are linked with the commuters’ mobile number.

Most regular commuters like me charge their cards with recharge worth excess of a thousand rupees. Earlier a loss of a smart card meant a loss of all the unused recharge amount. But now the minute a smart card is lost/stolen the commuter can immediately complain at the neatest metro station. Through an OTP driven authentication, the remaining value on the recharge of the lost/stolen will be transferred to a new card and HMRL will only charge Rs 50/- for the purchase of a new card.  

In a welcome move Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited introduced Suvarna offer on 18^th October 2021. Wanting to cash on the festival season, picking up of the passenger traffic, improved customer sentiment and increased footballs HMRL came out with two unique schemes under the Suvarna Offer. Under the first scheme regular commuters can opt for “pay for 20 trips and get 30 trips”.

In simple terms 20 trips for an individual  trip worth Rs 55/- can be bought for Rs 1100/- but for Rs 1100/- recharge the commuter gets 30 trips. Each trip cost comes down to Rs 37/- (33% discount).

This would mean a discount of Rs 550/- for 15 days and 1100/- for a month. This is very highly appreciable in time when energy costs are literally going through the roof. Allaying fears of a fare rise, HMRL has infact delivered a festival bonus to the commuters making metro fares equal to the cost of a bus travel.

But the catch is any travel irrespective of the distance would be considered as a trip. This would be a boon for regular travelers who travel between fixed station very day.  Regular travelers can utilize the get 30 trips for 20 offer by buying an additional card (for 50 rupees extra) and use it exclusively for their daily fixed office trips. The existing card can be used for unplanned trips.  

So, what does HMRL get from the scheme? It generates lots of good will which will/might lead to commuters commenting in the social media (like I am doing), posting about it and telling their friend, relatives and acquaintances.

The almost similar pricing of metro fares and bus fares might push the bus travelers to shift from bus travel to metro travel. The increasing petrol and diesel prices might make more personal vehicle users move to metro travel.

Regular travelers get a benefit of concessional travel. Finally, the biggest take could be a massive spurt in ridership due to cheaper fare could see increase in revenue through fares and this could lead to HMRL getting better revenues from its advertising, rental and other related income streams.

The only trick that HMRL is missing is a “travel as much as you can” card. Very popular in Delhi Metro, a travel as much as you want is a daily card that can be purchased for Rs 200/-. Commuters especially tourist would prefer a daily fixed fare card and this could mean brisk business on Saturdays, Sundays and on all public holidays. HMRL should definitely look into introducing a travel as much as you can card with a day’s validity.

Under the second scheme travelers in the green line can travel anywhere from M.G. bus stand to Jubilee Bus Stand for fares ranging from Rs 10 to 15/-. Suvarna offers’ validity is from October 18^th October, 2021 to 15^th January, 2022!

Memoirs of a Metro Man (Not E. Sreedharan’s)

 

These are the memoirs of another man, me who qualifies as a common Man in a Metro. Right from its inception in 2017, I have been a great fan of the Hyderabad Metro service. I am proud to say that I frequently use Hyderabad Metro and am fascinated by its convenience, speed, connectivity, and lack of frequent traffic jams that are quite prevalent in the other, modes of public transport.

Metro is convenient for me as we stay close to Miyapur station, one of the terminal points. This ensures that I always get a place to sit when I start my journey. My return journey station, Moosaram Bagh too is very close to the other terminus, LB Nagar and I am ensured comfortable seating on both sides of the journey. My wife jokes “you move from a drawing-room (house) to an Air-conditioned Office (My workplace) courtesy, Hyderabad Metro”.

I call myself an MMTS traveler using a Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS). Metro train, Bus, Auto, Cab, Car, walking are all means of traveling for me. The following are some of my observations about Metro Travelers.

1) “Eating and drinking are banned in Hyderabad Metro”. This might surprise many travelers but it is true. Unlike a regular railway system where eating and drinking non-alcoholic beverages is permitted, eating and drinking are not permitted in Metro trains. Most don’t drink or eat, but in few cases, it has been noticed that people munch on snacks (Kurkure, Chips, Frankie’s, Samosas and drink water (permissible), and in some cases I have seen travelers drinking Coke/Pepsi. But it is undeniable that most people don’t eat or drink as the journeys tend to be short, maximum 10 or 15 minutes.

2)  According to the Hyderabad Metro Website, taking photos is also banned. But this too like eating and drinking this is never enforced. There are no signboards about prohibiting eating, drinking, and taking snaps and selfies. Commuters can’t be blamed for indulging in these activities as most might not even be aware that these activities are banned.

3)  Most commuters don’t believe in queuing up while entering the train or when they are disembarking. It’s a free for all and even at terminal stations there is pell-mell and people simply rush in like stampeded cattle!

4)  No respect for women, people with special needs, or senior citizens. Except for the reserved ladies section where only women sit, all other seating area is occupied by young men and women who give scant notice to others with special needs. Even in places reserved for the senior citizens have to ask for people to vacate the seats. No one voluntarily gets up and offers a seat. The other day, a senior citizen demanded a seat. The man sitting had an interesting reason not to get up. He said, “Ask those youngsters (pointing to some teenagers) to get up. I am older than them”. This defeats the entire purpose of reserving the seats. The seats are meant for senior citizens and people sitting have to vacate without putting any preconditions!

5)  During the four years of my travel in Hyderabad Metro, I have some interesting insights. No one reads printed matter of any sort! Apart from me (I read novels and magazines), Once I saw a young girl reading a novel and on another occasion, I saw a young man reading a newspaper. That is all! 99% of the travelers are joined to their umbilical cord, the omnipresent cellphone. Most people listen to music (loudly), talk incessantly (again loudly), see videos (movies, serials, comedy shows) at high decibel levels. It is a cacophony of sounds. Very few people use headphones or earphones. I am told that in Japan there is pin-drop silence in metros and most if any all travelers use headphones and earphones and text instead of talking to avoid disturbing others.

6)  Commuters' backpacks are a big nuisance. The unwieldy backpacks often swing in all directions and hit other standing travelers or brush the faces of the seated travelers. I often think of the pack backers as being pregnant on the wrong side. Most of the backpacks look like full-term pregnancies. It looks as if the baby inside would pop out at any time. Hyderabad metro should use its train audio system to advise commuters to put their back backs on the floor and not take up additional space and assault the others.

7) Women tend to converge both at the first and the last cars (compartments). The last car had a women-only section which now allows all passengers but women still prefer the first and the last cars.

8) Staircases are not very popular and only around 5% of travelers use the staircases. Most use the escalators and the lifts. Lifts are meant elderly and travelers with special needs but most ignore the instructions posted at the lift entrance.

9)  No respect for personal space. Due to Covid, Hyderabad Metro has made it mandatory that travelers sit only on alternate seats. But this is not enforced and all seats are occupied. The travelers in the allowed seating make seating difficult in the restricted seats by spreading their thighs and making sitting unconvertable. But alas, the hardy Hyderabadi Metro travelers squeeze themselves and slowly but surely make the unwilling next eat person sit properly (with thighs close together).

10)   In spite of repeated requests by the Hyderabad Metro personnel there is too much crowding at the front part of the train. The metro personnel plead and request the commuters to move back but to no avail. There is a tendency to get into the train from the front part and then move back. Common sense says that the last compartment is least preferred. It is less crowded and there are more chances of getting seating space.