By : SHANTANU PAKNIKAR

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Thank you Shantanu for your contributions to make our roads safer.  We hope that our readers internalize the message and bring about the change to avoid distracted driving themselves, and to avoid distracting other drivers.  Note that even hands-free is not risk-free. Apart from the eyes and hands, the brain plays a very important role in processing information and making decisions when driving. The hands-free call takes your mind and your attention off the traffic and the road.  Take a pledge to make our roads safer by driving cell-free! 

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I was one of the many people in Bangalore, India, who attend (teleconference) calls while driving, using a hands-free device. For many of us, speaking on the phone while driving is such a commonplace occurrence that we now even make regular 1-1 calls (with team members, colleagues, boss, anybody) while driving. I have not only answered calls, but also dialed out to people while driving, texted while driving, and so on. Hopefully some of you might relate with what I am saying here. I guess this should be the case with people in other cities in India as well, and perhaps in some other parts of the world?

I remember there have been times when I’ve driven from point A to point B, while on a call, and don’t recollect how I got to point B. This disturbed me at times, since I have a fairly sharp memory otherwise. I realized that these ‘memory black outs’ were primarily because I was so engrossed in the conversation on the phone that my driving was on automatic. However, I rationalized it by telling myself that it’s a hands free device, both my hands are still on the steering wheel.

Until the 9^th of September, 2014.

I got the news of the death of a friend’s niece, in a road accident. I didn’t know his niece, but this particular friend is like family to me. I remember meeting his niece when she was a child, along with her mom, my friend’s elder sister. I couldn’t figure out what to do. Was there any way I could help? No. I wondered about calling up his sister – then thought, let me not intrude on the family at this time of grief.

I spent the day busy at work, with thoughts interrupted by my mind coming back to what my friend’s family must be going through, and especially his sister. That evening, on the way home, I started my car and was about to switch on my hands free device. And then I thought to myself, “Not today. Not in the mood for conversations.” As could be expected, I was extra careful while driving – and not being on my usual phone calls helped as well.

The next day, I experimented again – no hands free, no phone call while driving. It was not easy. I was so used to speaking on the phone with the hands free device, and closing work transactions while driving, that it was almost difficult to concentrate on driving when that was the only thing to do. However, I got through the day fine. With every passing day, it became easier till I stopped carrying my hands free device with me at all.

Mindfulness is the ability to be in the present moment, and be attentive and aware of everything around us. Earlier, whenever I spoke on the phone while driving, I could see things: road, route, traffic, other vehicles, pedestrians. Once I stopped using the phone while driving, I realized that I could be mindful of them. Stopping the car and letting pedestrians cross became just a bit easier. Slowing down at the orange light (instead of accelerating) became easier as well.

I could now notice the number of people who talk on phone while driving, many of them even without a hands free, and with the phone to their ear, one hand on the steering wheel. I noticed people on two wheelers, speaking on the phone while riding a bike. I couldn’t help but notice the young girl, around twenty, crossing the road while speaking on her phone. And another teenage pedestrian, checking her smartphone while walking on the side of the road, with vehicles passing within touching distance. I wanted to shout, “Watch out” – but the words caught in my throat. What I could see earlier but was not mindful of was that our roads are not as safe as we assume them to be. We always feel, “Nothing’s going to happen to me – no need to worry”. That worries me.

Some days later, I heard the horrific news of the death of three colleagues in a road accident. It strengthened my belief that road safety is something that every one of us needs to start taking really seriously. Some days later, I got a call from another very close friend, who speaks regularly on his hands free while driving. I explained to him that I would speak with him after he got home and not while he was driving – I could not stand the thought of something happening to him. He understood. I would have done the same even if he hadn’t.

Am I overreacting? Perhaps. But here’s what I am discovering since that day of September: our roads are not safe. Your phone is a great device – however it has the potential to suck away, into that 4 inch screen, a significant portion of your alertness, attentiveness, and mindfulness. These will be critical in that fraction of a second which can make a difference to your own life or somebody else’s. That teleconference, answering that call, making that call, closing that transaction, that text message, that social media post – is just NOT worth it while you are on the road.

Today, I was on the road most of the day, in client meetings. I missed several calls. I have no regrets. Just the hope that I can continue to refuse to answer the phone while driving. And that the people who care will understand why.

Dear reader, I leave you with this message. Do not use your phone while driving. Do not use your phone on the road, even as a pedestrian. Keep our roads safe for yourself and people around you. And to my dear friend’s sister with whom I started this post, if you are reading this: I cannot even comprehend the grief you must have gone through. I thought of you every day but could do nothing except this little gesture. I am aware of your mission to make our roads safer, in the memory of your daughter. I am with you. It won’t bring her back, but might perhaps be enough to save somebody else.

***

Shantanu wrote this soon after Aru’s accident in 2014. This was the prequel to the  blog that he recently posted on our site. See also : road-safety-one-starfish-at-a-time

Here is an infographic that tells you why hands-free is not risk free. “The activity in the area of the brain that processes moving images decreases by upto 1/3 when listening to, or talking on a phone”

1 Sep 2019

Ganapati Bappa arrives home tomorrow. He is the remover of all obstacles, but we thought we would make the road smoother for him to come home 🙂 Along with our friends at Wings, and with the help of Pothole Raja, we fixed 17 potholes on Cambridge Road – from Canara Bank to Rakhra Sports to Siddhanth Medicals.

Saurabh Sahu, COO Pothole Raja, had come over a week before to assess the spots and the nature of fix required. Accordingly, he came armed with the read-to-use cold asphalt mix, gravel, and the tools. We had a heartening response from our friends at Wings : 10 of them were up and ready before 0630! Pothole Raja Prataap Bhimsena Rao, and Shubham Sahu also joined.

A few of potholes were big and deep.
The one near the Adarsh Commercial building took 2 bags of gravel, and 4 bags of bitumen.
The one next to Cakehouse required to be packed with stones and gravel first. We added a couple of bags of bitumen there.
The one near Rakhra Sports required several bags of bitumen.
Between Canara Bank and Siddhanth Medicals, we used several bags of bitumen.

We noticed that in several spots, the inlets to the storm water drain have been blocked. In some places, it is cemented over. In others, it is blocked by debris, stones, plastic waste. Since these are blocked, the water tries to find its way on the road. This can lead to weakening of the road, and potholes! It’s apparent that we need to provide a proper path for the water!
Remember the old poem, “For want of a nail, a shoe was lost … ”
Well, we could say “For want of an inlet, the water was lost (i.e. it found its way on the road) … ”

Near Cambridge Hospital, we cleaned up the inlets to the storm water drain. Ms Kumari – our pourakarmika – helped us. She took the mud and filled it in a shallow pothole nearby!

A good turn begets another. Mr. Sriprakash and his wife Bharati saw us and brought us some home-made laddoos! It was a great energy boost! Mr. Sriprakash is an ex-PWD engineer. We discussed with him the water stagnation that is happening near Siddhanth Medicals. One of the reasons for this is that the inlets to the storm water drain have been blocked. He took note of it, and has taken the responsibility to create a proper path for the water. It is heartening when the public also join in and helps take these small steps.

A hearty breakfast together with our friends made this a memorable Sunday!

9 Sep will mark 5 years since we lost our beloved Aru. Every single day, we remember her. Sometimes, it is a completely spontaneous reaction to a word that is said, or read, or an event, or a sight, or …. And, as we have said, we try to remember her in deed as well. Such was the case today. We hope that the fix lasts for several months!

Thanks to our ever-supportive friends : Arati, Anita, Anuradha, Ajit, Ajay, Vinay, Raghav, Shruthi, Gauri, and Ira. And, of course, Prataap, Saurabh, and Shubham. You all made it easy for us!

Here are some pics from the event.

By SHANTANU PAKNIKAR

A loud honk, a screeching of brakes, and a sudden sideways movement and jerk to the vehicle jolted me out of my reverie. I was on my way to office in the morning. My cab had narrowly avoided a two-wheeler who had suddenly cut across the road in front of us. Muttering curses to the rider who was anyway out of earshot by now, my driver resumed his phone conversation on his hands free. And I resumed my thoughts on the story of the little child throwing starfish back into the sea. You might have heard that story before? My favourite version is that of a little girl who is picking up starfish washed up on the shore and is throwing them back into the sea one by one to save their lives. A grown up passing by observes this and says “Sweetheart, there are thousands of starfish here, how could you possibly make a difference?”. To which she picks up another one, throws it back into the water, looks up at him with a determined expression, and says “Made a difference to that one.” Depending on which version you are familiar with, the grown-up might (or might not) have joined her, with others following.

Looking at the chaotic traffic around me and looking at my cab driver chattering away on his hands free while driving, I remembered why I had been thinking of that story. I had given up speaking on the phone while driving a couple of years earlier. Of late, I had given up driving to office and started commuting to and from my office primarily by cab. I couldn’t help noticing that most of the cab drivers appeared to have the same addiction that so many drivers do (me included at one point in time): non-stop phone conversations while driving. I remember requesting them, during the initial days that I started commuting by cab regularly, not to speak on the phone while driving. In some cases, it worked, and the driver graciously agreed to my request and put away the phone. In some other cases, I got the response “I am using a hands-free, so what’s the problem?”. And in a few cases, the driver got aggressive and suggested that I could step out of the car if I had a problem. I began to ask myself, “Why am I wasting my time? Forget cab drivers, every second driver these days speaks on the phone while driving, including most of my friends. Can I, alone, really make a difference?” And that was when the little girl of my imagination, picked up another starfish, threw it into the water, smiled at me, and said the same thing again: “Made a difference to that one too!”

I saw the way now. At the end of the ride, my mobile app asked me to rate the driver. I selected three stars, upon which the app asked me to select a reason from a list. Not surprisingly, my reason (driver speaking on phone) was not listed. I selected “My reason is not listed” and in “Leave a comment” I typed out “Driver speaking on phone while driving”. I tapped on “Submit” and thought “One starfish back in the sea.”

That evening, I took a cab from a different provider back home. Different provider, different driver, same incessant phone conversations. Again, the app asked for a rating and this time I selected four stars. In “What could be improved?”, again as expected there was no specific option, so I selected “Other” and told myself “Another starfish”.

I also realized that driver ratings were likely to affect whether they got to continue being on the cab aggregator platforms or not. Therefore, to be fair, over the next few days, whenever a driver did not use the phone while driving, I made it a point both to compliment him verbally for not speaking on the phone while driving and also give him the highest rating. In one app, I started choosing 5 stars and when prompted for a compliment, I chose “6-star service” and left a compliment “6 stars for not speaking on phone while driving”. In the other app, I started choosing 5 stars and in “What went perfect for you” I started choosing “My reason is not listed” and in “Leave a comment”, started typing the text “5 stars for not speaking on phone while driving”.

And so, the months have passed. Each time when I have wondered, “What’s the use of providing the feedback? None of the companies are going to bother to listen or act on it”, the starfish story has kept me going.

And last Friday morning, after a ride when I tapped out four stars on my app for the driver rating, I got a pleasant surprise: In “Why wasn’t this a great ride”, I saw an update to the default options with a new entry. “Using phone while driving” was now listed as one of the reasons for this not being a great ride! I selected that, tapped on “Submit” and congratulated myself.

“Looks like I made a difference,” said a voice in my head, the voice of hope.

But the voice of doubt was nearby as well. This one whispered, “Cut out the self-congratulations, Mr. Wise Guy. Remember the news article last month which said that the government has introduced heavy penalties for speaking on the phone while driving? The change is due to that and has nothing to do with your feedback.”

I thought to myself, how would the little girl have reacted? This time, I was the grown up in the story. I visualized myself on the seashore, chatting with her and explaining the situation. And she looked down at the starfish in her little hands, thought for a moment, threw the starfish in, smiled and looked straight at me with bright, sparkling eyes. “So long as the starfish live, does it really matter who threw them in? C’mon, help me and let’s keep going.”

6 Aug 2019 : Sanjay, Anuj and I conducted a Road Safety Awareness Session at Primus Public School, Bangalore.

We were thrilled to have an attentive and interactive audience. Two hundred and fifty students of classes 10 to 12 participated in this awareness lecture. Not only were the children attentive and participative, many of them came forward to ask for internship opportunities and a desire to do something to propagate the message on Road Safety.
The children gave us feedback on how we can further improve on our presentations. We will surely incorporate their valuable suggestions.

It was indeed a emotional experience when 250 students took the pledge on Road Safety.

These are the youth that will soon begin driving vehicles on our streets, and therefore the need to make them aware of the tenets of Road Safety.

We would like to thank Principal Ms Anuradha Krishnan, Vice -Principal Ms Mini Adhikari for their support and Mr Srinath for co-ordinating the event.

We would like to share a few messages we received from the students.

We have received the following messages from some students.
‘You had recently visted my school,Primus and I was truly touched by your story and wanted to see if I could help by interning with you’
Divyan Srinivas

‘I am a student at Primus Public School. I am writing this email to first thank you for taking time and coming to educate my friends and I. I must say that I’ve learnt quite a lot from today’s talk and my friends and I would also like to express our deepest condolences to you and your family. After hearing the speech I was truly moved and have made a pledge to myself of never compromising on road safety.
Thank you very much
Warm regards’
Dushyant Anil

‘Hi, my name is Kavya Ramanathan and I am a class 11 student at Primus Public School. I came to know of you through your recent session at our school and was truly touched by your cause. Road safety is a huge concern these days and the magnitude of this problem only seems to grow. I would like to contribute in any way possible in raising awareness about this situation. I’m interested in the internships that you offer and was hoping to know more about it. Would you be kind enough to let me know if there are any opportunities of working with you?
Sincerely,’
Kavya

Here are a few photographs of the event.

The Arundhati Foundation launched the first Safety Ambassador program with Shishu Mandir School on the 21st Of November 2018. The vision was to teach and train a few students the importance of safety on our roads, homes and society. These students in turn carry this message across to other students in their own school and schools in other parts of our city.

We must say, we are thrilled with our first batch of Safety Ambassadors. These 30 school children, from classes 6th to 9th, have carried out various programs in their own school, passing on the message of safety not only with fellow students, but also among the parents.

They have created awareness by making posters and enforcing the use of helmets among the parents and senior students. They were laughed at, but they stuck to their stance and ensured that the message was taken seriously.

The Safety Ambassadors have had workshops on safety which includes not only road safety, but also electrical and fire safety. One child said, “I only knew about using water or fire extinguisher to put out fires. Here I learnt about the different causes of fire, and how it is not right to use water in some cases. It can cause more damage – for example, in electrical fires”

As ambassadors, we are preparing them to spread the message of safety in their peer circles, and their friends/families. In preparation for this, they presented their own views on road safety.  They advocated not to drive without a proper license.  One said, “we can’t just blame government. We should take interest, and ask for better infrastructure in our neighbourhood”.  Another said “First of all, only if I follow the rules can I tell others”.

They also expressed their creative skills and presented a skit on road safety.

Recently, along with @Walnut Knowledge Solutions, The Arundhati Foundation had organised Qshala program for these students. Besides learning social skills and communication skills , these children learnt about fire, electrical and road safety in a fun and engaging manner. These were presented to them through quiz questions and assignments. It was absolutely wonderful to see their enthusiasm in learning and actively participating in the Qshala workshop.

Thank you Anagha Shridhar and Walnut Knowledge Solutions for a precious partnership which , we, at the foundation have no doubt will be sustained for years to come.

Thank you Shishu Mandir, co- ordinators Ms Sandhya, Ms Preethi , MsKavitha and Safety Ambassadors! May you grow and help grow the concept and vision of Safety Ambassadors.

Ms Sandhya who was the Supervisor from Shishumandir said that she felt lucky that she was chosen to coordinate this program, for she herself has learnt a lot.

Sharing a few pictures of these sessions.

25 Jan 2019: Safety Quest 2019. This time in Goa.
Thanks to the initiative by the Fire and Security Association of India (FSAI), Goa Chapter, and with tremendous support from Mr. Ashok Menon, Director, Directorate of Fire and Emergency Services, Goa, the Safety Quest 2019 this time went 600 km across to the state of Goa!
This time we had 230 students from 45 schools across Goa! The Menezes Braganza Hall in Panaji was packed. FSAI had organised buses to bring them over from 6 different centres in Goa. We cannot thank the students enough for this whole-hearted participation! And, their teachers – whose support made the difference

After a safety announcement, Shubhangi kicked off the proceedings, and urged the students to enjoy the quiz while learning from it, for there is science and common sense behind safety.

Our chief guests for the opening function included Mr. Ashok Menon, and Smt. Neela Mohanan, Secretary, Board of Education, Goa.
Smt. Neela Mohanan talked about the passion that she had seen when Shubhangi met her with the organizers is Sep 2018. She asked all the children to participate whole heartedly, and with the spirit of competition.
Mr. Menon posed a quick question to the children checking if they all knew the phone number to call in case of Fire. The children responded in unison “101!!

Then, the quiz master, Raghav Chakravarthy from Walnut Knowledge Solutions took over and conducted the preliminary round of 20 questions. To give you a quick glimpse of some of the questions:
• Which is the deadliest animal – responsible for most human deaths in a year? This data comes from the World Health Organization, which ranks Man as the second-most dangerous! The snake is third in the list. The answer is The Mosquito! It is responsible for the spread of viruses that cause deadly diseases – Malaria, Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika and Japanese encephalitis
• An audio clip was played – a famous sportsperson and former MP – exhorting pillion riders to wear helmets. Most children answered correctly – this was Sachin Tendulkar. When the video clip was played, Raghav asked the children, “What did he not do properly?” – and they answered, “he was not wearing seat belt”
• A video was played: Puncturing a cellphone battery will produce anything from a little bit of smoke and a terrible smell, to a full-blown explosion. This is because _______ in the battery reacts to both oxygen and _____ in the air. And the reaction is rapid. The answer is Lithium ( a highly combustible metal ) and Water!
While the answers were being checked, Dr. Rajesh Dhume, Senior Psychiatrist, Dept. of Health Services, engaged the children in a very interesting and interactive discussion on substance abuse. This was under the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) of the National Health Mission. Dr. Rajesh, who is also a follower of the foundation, urged the children to stay away from addictive substances because they alter the brain circuits in a way that medicines cannot fix.

We had a short break where snacks were served to all.
This was followed by the finals contested by the top 6 six teams. There were 5 rounds, the last 3 on the buzzer. There were ups-and-downs as the teams vied for the top place. The team from Loyola High School upped the ante in the last round and came from behind to finish 3rd. The ultimate winners were Yuri Naidu and Srijan Kumar from Sharada Mandir High School, Panaji. They stayed calm through the quiz, and scored consistenty in each round. Sharada Mandir had another team that finished 2nd.
A few samples of the questions in the finals:
• What connects Class B (oil), C (electrical), D (combustible metals), K (cooking oil and grease) fires? The answer : Do not use Water to extinguish any of these. Water is heavier than flammable liquids, and cooking oils / fats – it will cause a fireball. Water is a good conductor of electricity – using it with electrical fires will endanger the firefighter.All combustible metals react violently with water – can cause toxic gases and explosions.
• In 2018, when Crystal Tower in Mumbai caught fire, 10-year old Zen Sadavarte alerted her neighbours and family. Using a technique that she learnt as part of her disaster management project, she helped the people breathe in the presence of smoke. What did she use and how was it effective? The answer: A wet towel ! Cloth held over the nose and mouth will provide protection from smoke particulates; If the cloth is wet, it will also absorb most of the water-soluble toxic gases
• The inspiration behind one of the new helmet designs is the skull of a bird. It has spongy tissue that allows it withstand tremendous shock. Which bird? The answer : The woodpecker! Woodpeckers hammer their beaks into trees at the astonishing rate of up to 22 times per second, creating impacts 100 times larger than a human brain can withstand
The prize distribution was graced by Dr. Muktesh Chander, IPS, DGP, Goa, and Dr. Jose D’Sa, Deputy Director of Directorate of Health Services, Goa.
Dr. Muktesh Chander asked the audience a KBC-style question : “What does the helmet protect? Your options are (A) the elbow (B) the rear-view mirror (C) the head”. He was very passionate in asking the children to influence their parents to use helmets, and to follow traffic rules.

At the end of the event, the children were given packed lunch, and the buses took them back to their centres.

We received very good feedback from the audience – the students, the teachers, some parents, and even our partners!
FSAI’s comment was that we should make it a yearly event in Goa, and do it on a bigger scale, with regional rounds followed by a grand finale.
One of the parent’s commented “I came to drop my daughter, and thought I would stay for some time. However, it was so interesting, that I stayed through the whole event”.
One teacher has gone on record to say that she has been neglecting wearing helmets, and has now vowed to wear it.
Coincidentally, my cousin, Kiran Nagapurkar from Thane was in Goa, and since he came to know about the event, he landed up at the hall. At the end, he told me “the only feedback I have for you is that this event should be done in Thane”
We are glad that the message as well as the medium for delivery is resonating with the people.
A big Thank You to all our esteemed guests. Despite their busy schedules, they came to the event on a working day, and gave us their support. We have also submitted a small document “Ideas for a Safety Curriculum” to Smt. Neela Mohanan, hoping to work on it to improve the safety awareness from the school level.
One of our biggest gains was the partnership with FSAI. The men who made things happen need a special mention: Kulashekar Kantipudi, Prem Nadar, Sameet Manerkar. FSAI volunteers from engineering colleges did tremendous groundwork to reach out to all the schools and mobilise the participation. They managed all the logistics : the fund raising, the transportation, food, event arrangements, trophies and mementos. It was on their shoulders that we rode this event. Their effort and dedication was just superb! Many thanks and kudos to the team.

Also, a shout out to our Knowledge Partners : Walnut Knowledge Solutions. They spent many hours iterating through the content and revising it to get the right message across. And Raghav conducted the quiz with great panache.

Lastly, we would like to acknowledge our key sponsors :
* Deccan Fine Chemicals
* Directorate of Health, Goa ( RKSK Program of The National Health Mission)
* Mr. Caesar Menezes
* Mr. Bhaskar Nayak
* Seascan Maritime Foundation
* Dr. Ramesh Dhume
* Mr. Pramod and Mrs. Ahilya Sabnnis

Thank you all for your contributions, participation, and effort to make this event successful.

3 Jan 2019 : At Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Architecture, Pune

My buddy Ajit Joshi put me in touch with Rajan Gorhe – Chairman of the Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Sanstha.  Rajan was keen to move forward immediately. The MKSSS has over 26,000 students in various institutes. We finally decided to do one session, and picked the college where we would have students who have started driving.  Dr Kashyap – Principal of the college – got in touch with me to plan the event. Unfortunately, both Rajan Gorhe and Dr Kashyap had prior commitments, so they were not present for the event. However, they managed all the coordination in the background to ensure that it was successful.

We had over 300 students in the auditorium, some sitting on the floor. All in the age group 17-21 years.  This is the age group that we most want to reach out to.

When Shubhangi talked about the background – about Arundhati and how her accident led us to shed the fatalistic attitude – there was pin-drop silence. Shubhangi’s words connected deeply.

The students had a limited time for lunch before their next lecture. But they stayed on to sign the pledge.

We also got feedback from a few students which was very encouraging. Here are a few comments from the students:

“We are grateful to the college for bringing forward such an important issue. It was truly a heart touching session. Thank you so much”

“Thank you for arranging the lecture … it was really worth attending for all of us”

“It was a very inspiring talk. They both spoke fervently, and from the depths of their heart”

Mr. Nitin, a faculty at the college, is currently doing a project on the streamlining of traffic on Bajirao road. We would certainly like to collaborate with such ventures to make our roads safer.

We intend to take this further with Dr. Kashyap and Mr Gorhe. We will take a more comprehensive view and draw up a joint plan.

We had the good fortune to visit the original “karma bhoomi” of Maharshi Karve. This was the hut where he started his mission of educating women, beginning with 4 widows. The institute now has 62 branches, educating over 26,000 girl students.  See https://maharshikarve.ac.in/about-us/about-mksss/

Next to this is the “Sampada Bakery” where the senior students are encouraged to “earn and learn”. We talked to two such students, and both of them are also shining in their academics!  It is obvious that they have a lot of pride towards the work they do. Equally notable is the work of the staff who ensure that the work is managed smoothly while allowing for the time required by the students for their studies / exams / etc.

It is also remarkable that the institution that Maharshi Karve founded has continued to flourish and continued to make such a large impact after his active involvement ceased. We, at The Arundhati Foundation, have a lot to learn from the MKSSS.

A special thanks to Mrs. Sangita Mohokar who helped us conduct the session at the BNCA.

29 Dec : At The Greens, Thergaon, Pimpri-Chinchwad.

My childhood friend Prasad ( Pranav ) Dasnurkar  had been after me for a long time to visit him, and also to use the opportunity to reach out to the people in the neighbourhood.  Prasad also lost his sister in a road accident in 2012. His mother has been in touch with us – she understands our grief fully and has been very supportive.  I had promised Prasad that we will do a session in 2018, and I am glad that we could do it before the end of the year.

I was extremely pleased to see a few young people in the audience; young Manas led the rest of the folks in reading out the pledge at the end.

One person remarked that it is annoying and distracting when the passenger in the front seat is talking on the phone. My suggestion is that if the driver is getting distracted, the driver should speak up and tell the passenger that it is distracting.  I have picked up an interesting perspective from Alan Alda’s  interview by Shankar Vedantam on “The Hidden Brain”. Alan says that he makes the first move with the taxi driver and asks “where are you going?” .. the little bit of empathy gets taxi drivers to respond better! Similarly, when talking about a driver who was a bit rough, Alan said “It’s affecting me”.  If we try to tell the driver how to do his job, he will take offence. Instead, shift the angle: what’s it doing to me.  Others respond better in such situations.

We also met Mr. Jatkar – a resident of Greens who works at Syngenta. He helped us with the audio-video setup. Mr. Jatkar mentioned that Syngenta regularly conducts safety sessions in the company, and these are mandatory for the employees. I was very pleased to hear that some organizations are being proactive in this regard.  Mr. Jatkar has requested me for my material for he thinks that he can use it in Syngenta to make a bigger impact. We are very happy to partner with Mr. Jatkar to spread the message.

Another tidbit : my son  shared this with me at the end of the session. There were two senior citizens who “strayed” into the presentation. They did not know what it was about, but they said to each other “let’s see if it’s interesting”. And they stayed through the full hour of the presentation. Maybe we are doing something right in how we present, if it is able to hold the attention of a stray participant.

A special thanks to Sandhya and Shirish Bhatawdekar who helped in coordinating the logistics for the event.

27 Dec 2018 : It was quite an honour to be at this premier institution. We had over 300 cadets and sailors in attendance – mostly in the age group of 19-25 years. There were a few cadets from overseas – Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. There were a few families as well, and, of course, the officers from the institute. All in all, it was a packed house at the Menaka auditorium!

As we go forward on our journey of creating awareness on road safety, we learn along the way and grow. This time we took time to understand the traffic situation in Pune and places around Pune and realized that in Pune, the accidents have seen a 9.5% increase from the past year
Since visuals have a higher impact, we added a few videos :
o Distracted driving is akin to driving blind
o How a slower speed would have stopped the car before the accident
o How a seat belt is effective in preventive fatal injuries
Sure enough, these have a powerful impact on the presentation.

The motto of INS Shivaji is “Karmasu Kaushalam” : Skill in Action. I drew the parallel to their profession and stressed on the need to be totally alert and on-guard on the road. Proactive driving = alert anticipation.
Towards the end, Shubhi walked up to the stage to talk about why we do what we do. She was very collected and I could see that what she said made an impact.

So when the time came to take the pledge, all the cadets stood up, stretched out their hand, and took the pledge together! This gave us goosebumps. There is something quite powerful in a simple pledge – a call to action – and it gets amplified when so many sincere cadets say it in one voice.

I believe we made a positive impact. Commodore Srinivas who felicitated us said that he would recommend this to other training bases. And sure enough, a few days later, we have received a request from INS Kattabomman, Tirunelveli.

This is the first time that Shubhi and Anuj have attended the session I do for seniors. On the way from the auditorium to our room, our son Anuj said “Good job. I am proud of both of you”. That means a lot to us.

I must thank Mrs Fanny Chakrabarti for her initiative. She got in touch with us in November requesting for a road safety session. Her husband is the officer-in-charge of the Centre of Marine Engineering Technology (CMET).

The team of Cdr Pawandeep Singh, Lt Nitin Sharma, and Sub-Lt Aditya Katoch who helped coordinate the entire event did a wonderful job. Our sincere thanks to them.

Thanks to the hospitality of INS Shivaji, we also got to see a few places in Lonavala and the 2000-year-old Karla caves.

Every year on the 21st of November, Aru’s birthday, we strive to launch our new programs with various partners. This year, we are proud to announce that we have launched the ‘Safety Ambassadors’ program with Shishu Mandir.
Shishu Mandir (www.shishumandir.org) and my family go back 12 years when we shifted to our house in Ulsoor. Looking out of our balcony, we would see tiny tots running around on the lanes behind our house, merrily playing with young European Students. Curiosity aroused, Aru and I made inquiries to find out that it was a home for sick and poor children from not so fortunate families. There were orphans being cared for too. We learnt that Shishu Mandir was founded by Ms Hella Mundra, a German, married to Dr D. D Mundra who ran Ashok Nursing Home. Shishu Mandir now operates from its beautiful facilities at Virgonagar.

My awareness talk on Safer Roads, Safer India- Our dream for the Future on the 21st was attended by students from Standards 5 to 10. As always, we seek to make improvements in our sessions. This time, we introduced several pictures which had both safe and risky behaviours. The session was interactive and hence the children learnt a lot more. They were curious and sharp. I was impressed and amazed by their knowledge and awareness about Road Safety.
The children have experienced personal losses and there were at least seven children in the audience who had lost near and dear ones in road accidents.

As it was Aru’s birthday, the session which is always a challenge, proved to be even more difficult. But I It was even more important to me to reach people that day because, she could not celebrate her birthday only because of the accident.

The lunch was sponsored by the Foundation and it gave me solace to see that all the children in the school could eat lunch to celebrate Aru’s birthday.

The next day, the teachers followed up and asked the children to jot down what they had learnt – very briefly. It was extremely heartening to see the teachers and children respond in this manner. I will be sharing the narrative of one of the students who lost two brothers in accidents.

Kudos to the Founders, Mr Anand and the teachers for doing a fantastic job. Thank you Ms Stella for co-ordination and Principal Ms Rani Tandon for organising the event. Moreover, to the children of Shishu Mandir you are all very inspiring.

At Shishu Mandir , Liberation is indeed Awakening.
Sharing a few pictures of the event !