Monday, February 28, 2011

MICE and MOTIVATION

Use MICE for MOTIVATION
Musings on Human Resource Management
By
VIKRAM KARVE

Numerous theories of motivation have been formulated, tomes and tomes written, and Management Gurus pontificate to their hearts’ content, on the subject of Motivation, but to put it simply, I feel that, in a nutshell, all the motivators, or motivating factors, can be encapsulated in the acronym “MICE”.

Let’s expand MICEMoney, Insecurity, Cause, Ego.

MMONEY
I:    INSECURITY
C:   CAUSE
E:   EGO

In  today’s world Money is probably the primary motivating factor. Need I say more?

Fear and Insecurity have always been most powerful motivators for ages. Though negative in nature, these are used very often by many organizations and bosses.

Many idealistic persons are motivated for a Cause, ideology, belief, passion, love, ambition, or to realize one’s “life-mission”. This is the highest quality of self-actualization type motivation.

The role of Ego, pride, self-importance, self-respect [“izzat”] and self-esteem as a motivator is significant in some cases. This is a high quality “self-esteem” type of motivation.

MICE and Motivation – they are inextricably linked, aren’t they?

And isn't this motivation theory so breathtaking in its simplicity?

The art of motivation is so easy, isn’t it?

I wonder why we have all those high falutin, esoteric motivational management theories taught at B-Schools, when all you need  is MICE for motivation!

 
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU, Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/default.htm
Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve 
 

Sunday, February 27, 2011

DO YOU WANT TO KEEP A PET DOG

Are you thinking of getting a pet dog?

Remember that it is going to be a genuine long-term commitment and your life will change forever.


The pet dog is going to be a new member of your family.


Before you bring the pet dog into your home and your life it would be worthwhile to read this:

THE TEN PET DOG COMMANDMENTS



1. My life is likely to last ten to fifteen years. Any separation from you will be painful for me. Remember that when you get me to your home and into your life and family.
 
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.

3. Place your trust in me – it is crucial for my well-being.

4. Please don't be angry at me for long, and please don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your entertainment and your friends. I have only you.

5. Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don't understand your words, I understand your voice when it's speaking to me.

6. Always treat me with care and love. I will never forget it.

7. Remember before you hit me that I have teeth that could easily crush the bones in your hands, but that I choose not to bite you.

8. Before you scold me for being uncooperative, obstinate or lazy, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I am not getting the right food, or I have been out in the sun or in the cold too long, or my heart is getting old and weak.

9. Take care of me when I get old. You too, will grow old.

10. Go with me on difficult journeys, especially my last journey. Never say: 'I can't bear to watch it', 'let it happen in my absence' or 'I am tired of you'. Everything is easier for me if you are there. Remember, I Love You.

BOW WOW


If you are thinking of getting a dog into your home, as a family member, remember you are you are making a commitment to that dog for its lifetime, probably even more than your own children.

Dogs are incredibly loyal and are simply happy just being around you and give you unconditional joy, love and friendship. 

 
Your dog is your best friend and confidante, because while you can hide your emotions from another human, you cannot hide them from your dog.

Remember,
your girlfriend or boyfriend may dump you,
your spouse may divorce you,
your children may abandon you,
your parents may disown you,
your relatives may distance themselves from you,
your colleagues may shun you,
your neighbours may ostracize you,
but your dog will always love you, be loyal to you and never leave your side 

(yes, you may try to get rid of your dog, but your dog will always love you and never leave you of its own accord, and your dog will never forget you till his dying day).

So, once the dog joins your family, invest your love and time to build a special bond that only a dog can offer. Build a long-term permanent and unique relationship with your dog. You'll be happy you did.




VIKRAM KARVE

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. He has written a foodie book Appetite For A Stroll and a book of fiction short stories COCKTAIL being published soon and is busy writing his first novel and with his teaching and training assignments. Vikram lives in Wakad Pune with his family and pet DobermanX girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve:
http://karvediat.blogspot.com

 
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
 
Creative Writing by Vikram Karve: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm




© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

DOG QUOTES

MY FAVOURITE QUOTES ABOUT DOGS
By
VIKRAM KARVE

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
-- Mark Twain

My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dog already believes me to be.
-- Unknown

One reason a dog is such a lovable creature is his tail wags instead of his tongue.
-- Unknown

If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience.
-- Woodrow Wilson

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog.
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

No man can be condemned for owning a dog. As long as he has a dog, he has a friend; and the poorer he gets, the better friend he has.
-- Will Rogers

Money will buy you a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of its tail.
-- Henry Wheeler Shaw
A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
-- Josh Billings

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool out of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool out of himself too.
-- Samuel Butler

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.
-- Ben Williams

If your dog thinks you are the greatest - don't seek a second opinion.
-- Unknown

SEXY EGGS FIERY VODKA PASSIONATE KISS - The Meaning of Perception

THE MEANING OF PERCEPTION
Food for Thought and Food for the Belly
A Story and A Recipe
By
VIKRAM KARVE
 
There is a thing called PERCEPTION

Do you know what the word "perception" means? 

It is all in the mind.

First I will tell you a story. And then I will feed you a delicious snack.

First, Food for Thought, and then, Food for the Belly

So here it is - the story and the recipe.

THE STORY : Food for Thought

SEXY EGGS FIERY VODKA PASSIONATE KISS

Eggs, Vodka and a Kiss

I have heard this interesting story, surely apocryphal, about eggs, vodka and a kiss.
 
Taimurlane's wife started to build a magnificent palace for him as a surprise, while he was away at the wars, but when she got word of his imminent return, one arch, the victory arch, the “Arc de Triomphe” still remained unfinished.

She went directly to the architect and begged him to hurry but the architect told her he would complete the work in time only if she gave him a kiss.

“One kiss, one single kiss, just one kiss, that’s all, and I will build the most magnificent triumphal arch in the world,” the architect said to her.
 
Taimurlane's wife was not only very beautiful and very virtuous, but also very clever.

She went to the market, bought a basket of eggs, boiled them hard, and stained them a dozen different colours.

She called the architect to the palace, showed him the basket and told him to choose any egg he liked and eat it.
 
He took a red egg and ate it.
 
“What does it taste like?” she asked.
 
“Like an egg. It tastes like an egg,” he said.
 
“Eat another,” she said.
 
He took a green egg.
 
“What does that taste like?” she asked.
 
“It tastes like an egg, just like the red egg,” he answered.
 
“Try another,” she said.
 
He ate a purple egg.
 
“How does it taste?” she asked.
 
“Like an egg. One egg tastes just the same as any other egg,” he said intrigued by all this.
 
“There you are!” she said, “Each of these eggs looks different but they all taste the same. It's the same with a kiss. So you may kiss any one of my serving women that you like but you must leave me alone.”
 
“Very well,” said the architect. But soon he came back to her and this time he was carrying a tray with two bowls on it, and you would have thought the bowls were all full of water.
 
“Drink from each of these bowls,” he said.
 
She took a drink from the first bowl, then from the second; but how she coughed and spluttered when she took a mouthful from the third bowl, because it contained, not water, but vodka.
 
“See,” he said, “This vodka and that water both look alike but each tastes quite different, isn’t it? It’s the same with love!”
 
Then Taimurlane's wife kissed the architect on the mouth.
The moment the kiss was over, the architect rushed back to the palace and finished the triumphal arch the same day that victorious Taimurlane rode back with his army and banners and his cages full of captive kings.
Taimurlane was impressed with the magnificent palace and the grand victory arch and rewarded the architect.
But when Taimurlane went to congratulate his wife, she turned away from him because no women return to the harem after she has tasted vodka.
And what happened to her and the architect – well that’s another story...! 
 
THE RECIPE : Food for the Belly
 
Now, Dear Reader, here is the scrumptious mouth-watering Recipe which embodies the essence of the story:
 
The recipe for SEXY EGGS 

Now let’s talk of eggs.

In the story we had boiled eggs which looked different but tasted the same.

Now I am going to tell you how to make boiled eggs that look the same but taste different [just like the water and the vodka in the story!].
 
And talking of vodka and eggs, apart from vodka, this snack goes very well with rum-pani, whiskey-soda, chilled beer. You can take my word for it for in the good old days when I did have a drink once in a while, [I’m a teetotaller now], this was my favourite cocktail snack which I prepared when I called people over and was appreciated.
 
Hard-boil as many eggs as you want [at least two per person], plunge into cold running water to cool rapidly, and shell smoothly. Carefully and very delicately cut each egg lengthwise into two halves. Remove the yolks carefully; mash them into a paste, season with a pinch of salt, pepper and red chilly powder, and keep aside.
 
Now, comes the interesting part.

Take some kheema [mince meat] and boil it in water along with finely chopped onions, a piece of dalchini [cinnamon], tejpatta [Bay Leaves], a few lavangs [cloves] and peppercorns [kali mirch dana], badi and choti Elaichi [cardamom], a few cloves of garlic, strips of ginger, one or two fresh green chillies and a bit of salt, and cook on slow fire [to facilitate absorbing of the flavour and aroma of the spices] till the meat is well-cooked, tender and dry.

Now, divide the cooked mixture into two, and in half the kheema, blend in a bit of mashed yolk paste and as per your taste add salt, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, tandoori masala, red chilly powder [depending on how spicy you like it] and grind in a mixer into a smooth paste. In a flat bottom pan, heat oil, fry fine onion strips till transluscent, add finely chopped tomato, then the spicy kheema paste and deep fry till it turns nice and brown and the oil begins to separate.

Take the other half of the kheema and fry it the same way with everything else, all the ingredients, but without adding the mashed egg yolks.
 
You now have two non-vegetarian fillings ready.
 
Now use your imagination and prepare a few more non-vegetarian and vegetarian fillings both with and without the mashed egg yolk paste.
 
Here are some ideas:
 
Mayonnaise, cooked chopped fish, salt and pepper. 

Mayonnaise, chopped peanuts, salt, chilly powder or mustard paste.
 
Soft Butter, Cheese, Chilly, Pepper and Salt or so many combinations of spiced up cheese with finely chopped green chillies and tomatoes, mustard paste, and all the sauces you want to blend in.

Let your culinary imagination run wild.
 
Now carefully stuff in these delicious fillings into the cavities of the eggs in place of the removed yolks and delicately rejoin and press together the two halves so that it looks like a boiled egg.
 
Now you can either:

(a) dip these eggs in seasoned besan paste and deep fry into crisp pakoras and enjoy the appetizing snack nice and hot along with your drink

or 

(b) just chill the stuffed eggs in your fridge and relish them with tomato sauce or green chutney or maybe with a yummy lip smacking dip like a tomato dip or a cheese chilly dip or a green dip which I will tell you about later.
 
Now pull out your rum-pani, whiskey-soda, a beer, or just some good old neat vodka, say cheers, and bash on regardless...!
 
All the eggs look the same but taste different, don’t they...? 
 
Well, Dear Reader, that, in a nutshell, is PERCEPTION :
 
Some things look the same but taste different
and
Some things look different but taste the same
 
It is all in the mind, isn't it?

Cheers and Happy Eating
 
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. He has written a foodie book Appetite For A Stroll and a book of fiction short stories COCKTAIL being published soon and is busy writing his first novel and with his teaching and training assignments. Vikram lives in Wakad Pune with his family and pet DobermanX girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve:
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Creative Writing by Vikram Karve: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm




© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
 
 

WAKAD - Quality of Life - A Wishlist - Six Things Wanted in Wakad Pune

Living in Pune - WAKAD

WAKAD - QUALITY OF LIFE - A WISHLIST

LIVING IN PUNE
SIX THINGS WANTED IN WAKAD
By
VIKRAM KARVE

At present, there is Zero Quality of Life in Wakad.

Life is difficult in Wakad as even day-to-day requirements for a decent living are not available. And just imagine, Wakad is touted as a future “destination” and it is supposed to be a posh suburb of Pune. It is only when you start living here that reality strikes you.

I live in South Wakad, towards the Mula river, definitely the better part of Wakad, where at least the ambience is good, the view from my clean well lighted airy apartment is excellent with plenty of space all around and the air is fresh and unpolluted and there is still a bit of greenery around. I like the charming rustic ambience of the clean, serene, spiritual and well laid out Wakad village and once the connecting road is ready I will be able to walk down to the highway.

I really pity those who stay in North Wakad, on the other side of the Aundh Hinjewadi Road – it is a filthy, polluted, congested concrete jungle choking with traffic and terrible infrastructure. Construction activity is on full swing, with all the noise, dirt, and grime flying around, and there is a perpetual stench due to strewn garbage and debris, stray dogs abound dangerously and hapless people working on the construction sites defecate in the open fields.

Let’s hope for the best, stop cribbing and offer some constructive suggestions to improve the quality of life in Wakad. If anyone is listening, here is a small wish list of things urgently required in Wakad in order to alleviate the difficulties of Wakadkars and raise the quality of life.

I will list just SIX THINGS, six very basic requirements of urban life, to start with:

1. FOOD

There is an urgent need of some good value-for-money restaurants, eateries and fast food joints because, today, there is nowhere you can go to eat out in Wakad. Yes, you do not even get a decent Vada Pav or Bhel or Pani Puri or Misal or Dosa or Idli or Utthapam or Chola Bhatura or Pav Bhaji or a pastry or ice cream or a quality hygienic affordable value-for-money meal in Wakad. You can't even get a decent cup of tea or coffee. If you want to have a snack, dosa, idli or an affordable meal, you have to go all the way to Aundh or to Sadanand in Baner. There are a few expensive hotels and overpriced “dhabas” on the Mumbai – Bangalore highway and on the Hinjewadi Road but what one needs are clean decent family places, like Udipi Restaurants, which are not too much of a burden on the pocket. Let’s also have some good fast food joints, an ice cream parlour, cafes and street food places (pav bhaji, Chinese etc) too. A Khau Galli (planned by PCMC near the waterfront) would be great. There are no sweet shops or halwais out here in Wakad. We require some home delivery restaurants too. Till then the only option is to order a pizza from Domino or a Burger from McDonalds.

2. BANKS and ATMs

There is just one ATM in Wakad - the solitary State Bank of India ATM in the petrol pump premises. Surprisingly there is not a single branch of any well-known bank in Wakad. I wish ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis, SBI and other big nationalised banks open Branches and ATMs soon in Wakad considering the huge customer base.

3. SHOPPING CENTRE and MALLS

Believe it or not!
There is no departmental store, electronic goods store, bookstore, shopping centre or mall in Wakad? There are hardly any shops either. Even to buy the basics you have to go all the way to Baner or Aundh or Chinchwad, which are quite far away. Just imagine the business such commercial enterprises would generate.

4. MULTIPLEX

If you want to see a movie, you go all the way to ESquare more than 12 kilometres away and on holidays, you may not get tickets. Is anyone planning a multiplex for all those entertainment hungry IT Pros living out here in Wakad? Something like ESQUARE - a decent place to spend a day and hang out.

5. LANDLINE TELEPHONES and BROADBAND

Let me tell you something you will probably not believe, incredible but true. You cannot get a BSNL Landline or Broadband in Wakad, the home to IT Professionals. Just before I relocated, I made a request via internet to BSNL for a landline and broadband connection at my new apartment in Rohan Tarang and promptly got an SMS that their staff would visit my place and give the connection immediately. I waited for a few days and when no one from BSNL turned up, I enquired with BSNL. I was shocked when BSNL informed me that it was not possible to give me landline telephone or broadband internet connection as there was no optical fibre cable in that area. Well, I don’t live in an uninhabited desolate mofussil area in the back of beyond or deep within remote uncharted forests and jungles – I live in a most modern township just a stone’s throw away from the much hyped “state-of-the-art” Infotech Park at Hinjewadi in Pune, which is being flaunted as the IT Capital of India. And, by the way, most of the persons living out here are IT Pros. That’s “Cart before Horse” infrastructure development for you!

6. MEDICAL FACILITIES

At serial six of this wishlist for Wakad, last but not the least, we need medical facilities, a hospital, clinics, doctors, dentists, even vets for pets. Right now there are NIL medical facilities in Wakad - even for the smallest of ills one has to rush to Pune City.

I hope for the best. 

Maybe this wish list will be realized and the quality of life in Wakad will be elevated to a decent standard. PCMC must be collecting a huge amount of property taxes from Wakad and I am sure they will plough back some of the money into the development of Wakad and make Wakad a happening place to live in. 


A large number of IT professionals employed by top-notch IT companies like Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, TCS etc located in the Rajiv Gandhi InfoTech Park in Hinjewadi live in Wakad. I trust these companies will also do their bit to improve the quality of life in Wakad as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR. This will encourage more and more IT Professionals to live in Wakad which is very near their workplaces and will reduce commuting time, save expensive fuel costs and also help in alleviating the terrible traffic chaos on the roads from Hinjewadi to Pune City. I think the IT companies must play their role in the development of Wakad as this will ultimately benefit them in the long run.

Until then, the best thing to do is to STAY INSIDE and STAY COOL and enjoy a life of solitude and contemplation! Just imagine that you are not living in Pune but in some rural setting, a back of beyond mofussil area, and plan your weekly trips to enjoy the delights of Pune City.

Dear Readers, especially fellow Wakadkars, please do comment and add on to the list…

PS:

Let me end on a positive note and tell you the best thing I like about Wakad (in addition to the excellent connectivity, which is a well-known fact).

There is a beautiful garden on the banks of Mula where I spend my evenings on the lush green lawns by the waterfront enjoying the sublime spirituality in the air.

I eagerly await the BRTS – once this comes through there will be plenty of space for pedestrians and cyclists like there is on the BRTS Satara Road where one can enjoy one’s walks unhindered. As and when the BRTS sees the light of the day, one can hope to travel in the comfortable BRTS Buses to Pune city, the traffic congestion will ease too, and driving will become pleasurable.

Let's wait and watch - maybe Wakad will become a great place to live in.

To be continued ….

VIKRAM KARVE

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. He has written a foodie book Appetite For A Stroll and a book of fiction short stories COCKTAIL being published soon and is busy writing his first novel and with his teaching and training assignments. Vikram lives in Wakad Pune with his family and pet DobermanX girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve:
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Creative Writing by Vikram Karve: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm




© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

LIFE IN WAKAD


LIVING IN PUNE
FIVE THINGS WANTED IN WAKAD
By
VIKRAM KARVE

At present, there is Zero Quality of Life in Wakad.

Life is difficult in Wakad as even day-to-day requirements for a decent living are not available. And just imagine, Wakad is touted as a future “destination” and it is supposed to be a posh suburb of Pune. It is only when you start living here that reality strikes you.

I live in South Wakad, towards the Mula river, definitely the better part of Wakad, where at least the ambience is good, the view from my clean well lighted airy apartment is excellent with plenty of space all around and the air is fresh and unpolluted and there is still a bit of greenery around. I like the charming rustic ambience of the clean, serene, spiritual and well laid out Wakad village and once the connecting road is ready I will be able to walk down to the highway.

I really pity those who stay in North Wakad, on the other side of the Aundh Hinjewadi Road – it is a filthy, polluted, congested concrete jungle choking with traffic and terrible infrastructure. Construction activity is on full swing, with all the noise, dirt, and grime flying around, and there is a perpetual stench due to strewn garbage and debris, stray dogs abound dangerously and hapless people working on the construction sites defecate in the open fields.

Let’s hope for the best, stop cribbing and offer some constructive suggestions to improve the quality of life in Wakad.  If anyone is listening, here is a small wish list of things urgently required in Wakad in order to alleviate the difficulties of Wakadites and raise the quality of life.

I will list just FIVE THINGS, five very basic requirements of urban life, to start with:

1. FOOD

There is an urgent need of some good value-for-money restaurants, eateries and fast food joints because, today, there is nowhere you can go to eat out in Wakad. Yes, you do not even get a decent Vada Pav or Bhel or Pani Puri or Misal or Dosa or Idli or Utthapam or Chola Bhatura or Pav Bhaji or a pastry or ice cream or a quality hygienic affordable value-for-money meal in Wakad. You can't even get a decent cup of tea or coffee. If you want to have a snack, dosa, idli or an affordable meal, you have to go all the way to Aundh or to Sadanand in Baner.  There are a few expensive hotels and overpriced “dhabas” on the Mumbai – Bangalore highway and on the Hinjewadi Road but what one needs are clean decent family places, like Udipi Restaurants, which are not too much of a burden on the pocket. Let’s also have some good fast food joints, an ice cream parlour, cafes and street food places (pav bhaji, Chinese etc) too. A Khau Galli (planned by PCMC near the waterfront) would be great. There are no sweet shops or halwais out here in Wakad. We require some home delivery restaurants too. Till then the only option is to order a pizza from Domino or a Burger from McDonalds.

2. BANKS and ATMs

There is just one ATM in Wakad - the solitary State Bank of India ATM in the petrol pump premises. Surprisingly there is not a single branch of any well-known bank in Wakad. I wish ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis, SBI and other big nationalised banks open Branches and ATMs soon in Wakad considering the huge customer base.

3. SHOPPING CENTRE and MALLS

Believe it or not!
There is no departmental store, electronic goods store, bookstore, shopping centre or mall in Wakad? There are hardly any shops either. Even to buy the basics you have to go all the way to Baner or Aundh or Chinchwad, which are quite far away. Just imagine the business such commercial enterprises would generate.

4. MULTIPLEX

If you want to see a movie, you go all the way to ESquare more than 12 kilometres away and on holidays, you may not get tickets. Is anyone planning a multiplex for all those entertainment hungry IT Pros living out here in Wakad? Something like ESQUARE - a decent place to spend a day and hang out.

5. LANDLINE TELEPHONES and BROADBAND

Let me tell you something you will probably not believe, incredible but true. You cannot get a BSNL Landline or Broadband in Wakad, the home to IT Professionals.  Just before I relocated, I made a request via internet to BSNL for a landline and broadband connection at my new apartment in Rohan Tarang and promptly got an SMS that their staff would visit my place and give the connection immediately.  I waited for a few days and when no one from BSNL turned up, I enquired with BSNL. I was shocked when BSNL informed me that it was not possible to give me landline telephone or broadband internet connection as there was no optical fibre cable in that area. Well, I don’t live in an uninhabited desolate mofussil area in the back of beyond or deep within remote uncharted forests and jungles – I live in a most modern township just a stone’s throw away from the much hyped “state-of-the-art” Infotech Park at Hinjewadi in Pune, which is being flaunted as the IT Capital of India. And, by the way, most of the persons living out here are IT Pros. That’s “Cart before Horse” infrastructure development for you!

I hope for the best. Maybe this wish list will be realized and the quality of life in Wakad will be elevated to a decent standard. Until then, the best thing to do is to STAY INSIDE and STAY COOL and enjoy a life of solitude and contemplation! Just imagine that you are not living in Pune but in some rural setting and plan your weekly trips to enjoy the delights of Pune City.

Dear Readers, especially fellow Wakadites, please do comment and add on to the list…

PS:
Let me end on a positive note and tell you the best thing about Wakad (in addition to the excellent connectivity, which is a well-known fact).
There is a beautiful garden on the banks of Mula where I spend me evenings on the lush green lawns by the waterfront.
I eagerly await the BRTS – once this comes through there will be plenty of space for pedestrians and cyclists like there is on the BRTS Satara Road where one can enjoy one’s walks unhindered. As and when the BRTS sees the light of the day, one can hope to travel in the comfortable BRTS Buses to Pune city, the traffic congestion will ease too, and driving will become pleasurable.

To be continued ….

VIKRAM KARVE

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VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. He has written a foodie book Appetite For A Stroll and a book of fiction short stories COCKTAIL being published soon and is busy writing his first novel and with his teaching and training assignments. Vikram lives in Wakad Pune with his family and pet DobermanX girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve:
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Creative Writing by Vikram Karve: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm




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