Mumbai's unaffordable housing

Recently, we decided to go apartment shopping. We were looking for a 3 bedroom in the suburbs. It started by checking out the various websites. We now have several websites that provide housing ads and information online. The 3 we checked were www.makaan.com, www.magicbricks.com and www.99acres.com.

And this in when we got our first shock Housing prices seemed to have gone through the roof. Even in suburban areas which were in the middle of nowhere and not very convenient. In most places the rates were upwards of Rs. 10,000 per square foot. And the housing market was not happy with just that. This was per square foot of what they creatively called “Sell-able Area”. And this was in most cases 50% higher than the actual carpet area. What this meant is if you were getting 1000 square feet of carpet or usable area, the sell-able area would be depending on the builders between 1500 and 1700. And then you would be expected to pay an additional Rs. 500,000 – 800,000 per parking. A small 3 bed room apartment ended up by costing more than Rs. 20 million (US$ 450,000). And this was even before you started doing it up.

What is strange is that the prices are not only not reducing, they seem to be on an upward trend. What I find difficult to understand, is who exactly can afford these apartments. All of these are middle class neighborhood. And the current salary structure of middle class India, just does not seem to allow for affordability of any of these places. So it begs the question, Who exactly are purchasing these apartments ? And where does all this money come from. It definitely cannot be the ubiquitous Indian middle class.

However, the rental market is extremely affordable. You could get a Rs. 20 million apartment for rent at as little as Rs. 30,000 per month. These houses have an outgoing or monthly maintenance fees upwards of Rs. 5000. This means that the realizations is just Rs. 300,000 annually or 1.5%. So the only way it makes sense to purchase a house is if you expect the asset value to significantly appreciate. Else, renting wins.

However, the biggest issue with renting is emotional. Most people, especially Indians love assets. It gives us a sense of security. That’s why Indians are the largest consumers of Gold and now I guess, real estate.

Now that I had concluded that unless I win a lottery, I wasn’t going to be able to afford a house in Mumbai, I decided to look elsewhere. 

And guess what. I’ve realized that I can afford not only an apartment but even a nice house, with its own garage and basement and garden. Close to the station and buses. A couple of blocks from shopping malls, great schools. 15 – 20 minutes travel from the city. Great neighborhood. Great parks, awesome area, and everything phenomenal.

Just 1 small problem. The city, New York.

Are developed countries more honest than the developing countries ?

Its assumed by most people on bot sides, the developed and the developing that normal people are more honest in the advanced countries. The question is how true is this ?

The rationale used is that in all of these countries, everyone honestly purchases tickets on public transport, don’t break traffic laws, and so on.  They don’t litter, pedestrians wait for the lights to change and all in all are much more disciplined.

I agreed with the fact that all of this was true and visibly so, in all developed countries, such as in US, Canada, Singapore, Europe and several others. The part I was not sure about was the honesty or more disciplined bit. How could human beings in 1 part of the world be so different from another part. Could it be genetic ?

So I decided to check out in whatever small way I could whether this could be validated 1 way or another. Since the US and Singapore were 2 places I visited frequently, I decided to use these to check out the perception. And I came across a few very interesting facts.

In the US, all travel is 100% checked and monitored. What this means is that you pay and enter, or a ticket inspector will check the ticket of each person. Hence the question of honesty or dishonesty does not arise. In India, the commuter has a choice. Since limited checking is done, a person could travel and take a chance at not being caught. Law of averages, some will get caught, sometimes.

The 2nd check was traffic violations. Yet another interesting fact got thrown up. The fines and associated point system were extremely expensive. An average of $ 150 which is more than 3% of the earnings of an average driver. And additional impact of having points docked, additional insurance premium and even having to do social service. In India, its Rs. 100, which is less than 0.4% of the earnings of an average driver. And no additional impact. Also the number of police and associated technology used to regulate offenders is huge. Once again, a question of not being able to break the law.

And finally, lets evaluate littering and discipline. The fines for littering are huge. $1000 and enforced. In Singapore, which is got an extremely strict disciplinary government, they were unable to stop gum from being thrown everywhere. So much so, that gum is banned in the country. So once again it seems like the system has been designed to encourage compliance and severely penalize non compliance.

Based on all of this, ts my belief that people have similar attitudes and behavior across. However what differentiates their behavior as socially friendly and positive or socially negative is based on the system design, and of course implementation.

In other words if we would like to see India as honest, clean and disciplined all we need to do is make it unaffordable to be non-compliant. And hopefully, this will happen in the very near future.

Resume Writing !

On Saturdays we held interviews for software trainees. Around 35 people showed up. Our process includes a MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) set of 3, IQ, Aptitude and Technical. Those who clear this are given a short subjective paper of a couple of questions on simple coding. And those who make it go through a personal interview.

It is during the personal interview that the interviewee, peruses the candidates resume. I went through 20 resumes. And just as I went through each and thought that it couldn’t get worse, I was proven wrong.  It seems very strange that potential candidates will spend hours reaching the interview, but will not spend any time on doing up their own resume.

Believe it or not, a resume without a typo is a rarity. Some even misspell their own names. The fonts are all over the place, there is no structure, no beginning and no end. Its said that the most important is the first impression, since that makes a lasting impression. It would seem to me that a resume is what makes the 0^th impression. And that is probably as important if not more critical than the first impression, which is when you meet the interviewer. On many occasions, it may even decide whether or not you’ll get an interview.

It's actually quite simple to make a good resume. That's because since most people don’t care about their resumes, even a slightly above average resume will stand out. Here are 10 Tips to create an impressionable resume.

1. Make sure that you have no typos. Spell-check isn’t enough. Read and check. Then recheck.
2. Have a first page that is a summary. Summarize in 1 or 2 paras what makes you special.
3. In your work experience, for each job, talk a little about your role and anything interesting you did.
4. Use color. Laser printouts are affordable (Rs. 10 per page).
5. Don’t have a signature column, and a “Its true” declaration. If you’re selected the company forms will take care of that.
6. If practical, have a formal photograph.
7. Put basic information last. Your date of birth or address is not likely to be what the interviewer is looking for. 
8. Don’t use a standard line about how you want a professional organization that offers challenging opportunities. Instead state what you’re really looking for, such as “An opportunity to work at a product development company”.
9. Customize your resume to fit the company you’re applying to. Mention the company’s name.
10. Make it unique and interesting.

Oh my GOD !

Currently the world is glued to the greatest sporting event that comes along every 4 years.The FIFA World Cup, football or soccer as called in some countries such as the US where football is a completely different game. Apparently over 1 billion viewers are watching the event.

We have now reached the knock out stage of the tournament where 16 teams are just 4 matches away from lifting the most sought after prize, the World Cup. The stakes are phenomenally high, yet for some strange reason, FIFA, the governing body of the sport refuses to embrace technology.

A few hours ago, Germany defeated England. Historically, in every single encounter between Germany and England some abnormal event has always taken place. And this encounter was to be no different. Whilst Germany were leading 2-1, England shot a goal. Except that the referee did not think so. The ball hit the top bar, landed 2 feet behind the goal line and bounced back out. Less than a sec. later, a billion people knew a mistake had been made. Except for the 3 people who mattered. The on-field officials. And the game went on. Legitimate goal disallowed.

And what did the referee do, as soon as he say the replay. He exclaimed "Oh my God.". But God could not help either him, or England, who went on to loose the game 4-1. A game that could have been a lot different if the half time score read 2-2.

What possible reason could FIFA have for not allowing technology to reduce if not remove errors. The standard answer is that using technology would corrupt the game. How could reducing mistakes corrupt a game ? How can ensuring a fair game corrupt a game. How can allowing skill and talent play a greater role than luck corrupt a game ? But then I guess just like on the field the only thing that matters is what 3 wise men think, off the field FIFA or the people who run FIFA think, matters.

Several games had a similar point of view not so long ago. 2 games that come to mind, Tennis and Cricket. In both of them for the past 5 - 10 years, technology is being used to determine close calls. And errors have become virtually non-existent. Not only have both the games not been corrupted, they have become more competitive and more enjoyable.

My guess is that the issue that FIFA has is an issue most of us have in life. It has nothing to do with new technology, or corrupting the game or any of the much touted but baseless and meaningless reasons. It has to do with Change. Humans hate change and are most comfortable in their known comfort zone. And FIFA, keeps coming up with small changes that while head in the right direction, are typically too little, too late. As an example, this year, there is a 4th official, who assists the referee from outside the field, but cannot overrule or change decisions. Apparently in the next World Cup, 2 additional officials are being introduced at the goal line.

Wouldn't it just be simpler to introduce and allow technology. The coaches of either team could challenge any decision a fixed number of times, say 2 or 3. If the decision is reversed, which means the challenge was correct, then the challenge does not reduce the no. of allowed challenges. This way, in addition to the referee, you have several others monitoring the match very closely and ensuring that almost all decisions are accurate and fair.

And then in this years World Cup qualifiers, France sneaked in by a hand ball goal, which should have been disallowed but wasn't. And Ireland, who would have qualified, got left behind making room for France. The fact that France got eliminated in the first round isn't likely to cheer any of the Irish. And lets not forget the famous "Hand of God" goal by arguably one of the world's greatest footballer of all time, Diego Maradona, against England. The whole of England was up in arms, but Argentina went to win the World Cup.

Isn't it time we allowed God to attend to more important work, whilst we used available resources to prevent travesty of justice ?

Eagles – Rediscovering the fountain of youth

On June 10th, I went for a concert of the “Eagles” at the New Meadowland Stadium in New Jersey. Yes, the Eagles are still alive. And yes, they can play and sing.

I went for the concert with my brother Frank, and his friends Hanit and Klaus. Getting there was a nightmare. We were scheduled to get there at 6. But finally got there at 8. We missed the first act by Kieth Urban, but managed to get the final part of the Dixie Chicks. And they were real good.

Finally at around 9, the Eagles came on. Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Timothy Schmit and Don Henley. And they were really, really good. They were 1 of the leading bands, whose music we grew up with, including the ever popular, “Hotel California”. They sang all of their popular numbers, including “One of these nights”, “Tequila Sunrise”, and many others. They ended with their classic “Desperado”.

At this concert, I discovered a very interesting aspect of life. The fountain of youth. Since it was the Eagles group, the crowd was on the older side. Being on the wrong side of 40, qualifies me as old, but in this crowd, I qualified as young. Luckily for me, Klaus too happened to be older than me. And I was feeling young again. This was strange. At most concerts, the one and a half that I’ve gone to, I was feeling old, even though I was much younger then, and here I was feeling good. And enjoying the concert. And life.

I started thinking about this strange phenomenon. What exactly is young ? And what’s old ? I guess its all in the mind. We are what we believe. And what we believe is driven by our surroundings.

So all you need to do to rediscover the fountain of youth is to drink at the fountain of youth. Do fun stuff with people you can have fun with. Like they say, Life’s short, have an affair. But unlike Ashley Madison recommends, affairs need not always be of the physical variety. And I guess the most enjoyable affairs are with the things you love most.

So tomorrow I set off on taking my first golf lesson. And if I’m difficult to get hold of, that’s because I’m having a few new affairs.

Mumbai to New York

I was flying Air India from Mumbai - New York on Sunday. It was a non-stop 15+ hour journey and was convenient albeit tiring. And guess what? My beautiful wife dropped me to the airport. Actually she never bothered for the first 14 years of our marriage. But lately she’s been kind enough to insist that she drop me. Like a friend pointed out, either she’s becoming insecure or wants to make sure that I’m leaving, happy to be rid of me, albeit for a short period. Either way, “Thanks Ivy”, I love it when you drop me and say goodbye.

I have had a strange love-hate relationship with Air India. I love to hate Air India. And love to fly them especially on their non-stop flight to New York’s JFK. The fact that they provide some of the cheapest tickets helps the decision making process.

Of the 10+ times I've taken this flight my personal entertainment system has worked only once. On all other occasions there was some glitch or the other. This time was not to be 2nd. The remote control did not work. Luckily for me, the touch screen did, with some amount of force and pressure. It required a certain precise kind of combination and by the end of the 15 hours, I was able to get it right in 1 out of 2 tries. Which I guess isn't too bad.

I had booked an aisle seat and was hoping that the other 2 seats would be empty, making my economy ticket effectively into 1st Class. But that was not to be. A pretty lady occupied the other aisle seat. And I was looking forward to making 1 more (oops, I don’t have any) pretty friend. But like all of the other things, that was not to be either. She turned out to be as introvert as I was, and I’m willing to bet that 2 people who would have loved to spend some time exchanging thoughts and becoming friends ended up in wondering “What could have happened ?”

The flight was over 30 minutes late in taking off. After all but 3 passengers had boarded almost an hour before the scheduled take off. And no one bothered even keeping the passengers informed. It was with great difficulty and after a few hundred passengers asked what the problem was, a kind air-hostess informed that there were 3 missing passengers who we were waiting for. Wouldn't it have been so much nicer if they had bothered to make an announcement informing passengers of the issue? And that’s the number 1 issue with the airline. Communication. Even when they talk to each other, they talk via the media and via strikes.

We finally took off.  The food was as decent as airline food can get. And the service was as nice as Air India service can be. Which by the, way is pretty good by international standards. The air-hostesses actually listen in case you need or want something. The movies were few but luckily, I found a couple I had not seen. And the flight pretty much uneventful. Which is what I guess you’d like a flight to be.

Interestingly the only time we heard the pilot speak was at take off “Cabin Crew, take off stations”, and after landing, “Crew, disarm doors and report.” Why the pilot couldn’t spend a few minutes after take off, and before landing in speaking to the passengers is another one of those Air India mysteries. Maybe they weren’t being paid their “Speak to passengers allowance”, which as per their union, should be over and above the fancy salary they get for being obnoxious. Another one of the mysteries of life is how these very same pilots find their voices and are sweet as honey, when they join private airlines.

We landed at JFK about 45 minutes late, which was not too bad. But the immigration line was. It took me an hour to get to the counter, and I was 1 of the lucky ones. Now if this were to happen in any other country, they would have been the center of criticism. But I guess since the US is the destination of choice, they pretty much get away with anything.  I guess the US is trying to give their guests and visitors a message, “We don’t want you and we certainly don’t need you.” And this is probably true. But life has a funny way of changing things. Wonder how long before, they want us, and who knows maybe even need us.

Schools can be nice

Schools are a dreaded place.  Ask any parent. If you want admission for your child, and you go to any school, chances are you’ll get thrown out by the watchman. There would be a notice saying, “Meetings with Appointment Only”. And guess what, you can’t get an appointment. You call and you’ll get a voice recording that basically gets you to push in a sequence of numbers, before throwing you out. Exactly like the watchman.

Recently we wanted to change my daughter’s school, due to subjects she wanted to take, not being offered at her current school. We (actually Ivy), visited several schools. And got the usual expected treatment. With 2 surprising exceptions. In this piece I’ll talk about one of them “Prime Academy” at Marol. (http://www.primeacademy.net.in/)

The Director of the school Mrs. Joshi met us even without an appointment. She listened patiently, explained the various facilities of the school, how they would manage my daughter and so on. We met her on several occasions, including once with my daughter.

They were professional, knowledgeable, and most important friendly. They treated us like parents of a potential student. Given the treatment meted out by most other schools, this was to put it mildly, refreshingly pleasant.

That’s not all. You’d expect that the school would be pushing o selling hard to give admissions. On the contrary they were realistic and more concerned about the child. They were very clear, that they would only give the child admission, if the child was happy and wanted to join them.

Finally we did not take the admission at Prime Academy, because of changed circumstances.  Nevertheless if we had to ever recommend a school, I would have no hesitation in recommending this school.

I guess a comment made by Mrs. Joshi summarizes her philosophy well. “I want our children to learn, and have fun learning.” Thank you Prime Academy and Thank you Mrs. Joshi, for being so nice. And understanding. And kind. And professional. And …

We’re confident that with people like you playing a pivotal role in the education system, we can look forward to an education system that will be something all of us can be proud of.