Wall of Shame

You are all by now aware of the change in layout of the new upcoming Mahindra Eminente building and the immense heartburn it has caused all of us. The reason given for this change in layout by MLDL, ( underground soil related issues), sounded unreal the moment it was uttered.

As it turns out, there were ulterior motives in the minds of the MLDL authorities. They had to accommodate a commercial complex next to the club house and hence they had to come up with some cock and bull story as to why the new building orientation had to be shifted.

The residents were promised that all the adjoining area would only be used for amenities. But just the other day we noticed an ugly wall has come up adjoining to the club house which, by the way, doesn't show any signs of getting completed in spite of there being a new deadline of 31st January thrown in. More on that separately.

Apparently, a commercial complex for BMC is going to come up beyond the wall. Just by throwing in BMC, MLDL thinks they will succeed in keeping our mouths shut. The wall leaves very little space for the main clubhouse and is actually hovering precariously over the swimming pool. One can wave good bye to all possible privacy one can expect to have at the swimming pool. The commercial complex that is scheduled to come up will peer over the swimming pool and I think it will be easily possible to take a dive into the pool from the 1st/ 2nd floor of the proposed commercial building.

This is one more example of how MLDL has kept its residents in the dark and shortchanged them.

Whenever wikileaks starts accepting submissions again, I think we should have a section dedicated to MLDL.

More Self-Rule

Below article appeared on Page 2 of Times Of India, Mumbai Edition on 21st December 2010. This may be of interest to readers of this blog, hence is being reproduced here verbatim.


State wants housing societies TO TAKE UP MORE SELF-RULE

Sections included in bye-laws governing child labour, rights of heirs, disaster management & other important society issues

Clara Lewis | TNN 

The state cooperation department has made it mandatory for all housing societies to self-regulate themselves across a range of issues. For example, societies must ensure that no child below the age of 14 is employed on the society’s premises or in any flat.
   

In a series of new inclusions to the existing bye-laws — which govern the internal regulation of a society – the government has made housing societies responsible for the implementation of several regulations.

In case a society discovers that child labour exists on its premises, it must immediately contact the labour commissioner’s office or social service organizations. The labour commissioner can then continue with the case and the guilty party could be penalized with a fine of up to Rs 20,000 and/or a jail term of up to a year. The state’s Model Housing Society Bye-laws have been changed after nearly a decade, with 30% more regulations being included. Lawyer and housing expert Vinod Sampat said the new inclusions were long awaited. “They were to be introduced in 2009, but now it has finally happened. It is a progressive step and requires more participation from the society members in running the society,” he added. The running of housing societies is governed by the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960. With the increase in the number of housing societies in the state – it is estimated that there are around 60,000 societies in Mumbai – the state clearly feels that self-regulation is the best regulation. Societies will have to protect the rights of legal heirs by ensuring that a flat’s nominee does not create third-party rights without paying attention to the heirs’ rights. “This will especially help in cases where a widow could be thrown out of her house. The new clause restricts the rights of the nominee,” said Sampat.

Societies must also prepare their own disaster management plans. Officials said this is necessary because many societies do not maintain basic safety features, like fire hydrants, clear staircases, etc. Each society will have to maintain important telephone numbers, including those of the members and disaster management officials.

The onus of redevelopment has also been placed on societies. “Often, residents realize that the building cannot be maintained, but they refuse to take a call on redeveloping it until it is too late. If it is in the bye-laws, at least people will discuss and debate the issue,” said a source. What was earlier a police circular has now been incorporated in the bye-laws. Societies must inform the police about new tenants.

If a flat owner dies without paying all society dues, these can be recovered from the legal heirs and/or the occupant. With members enclosing open spaces for which the society is charged, the bye-laws say that all members must have access to an open terrace.

Though the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, made it mandatory for women to be on a managing committee, the new byelaws allow for a male member if no woman is willing to be on the committee. “It’s contrary to the Act, so it is surprising such a byelaw is introduced,” said a source. Societies must respond to queries from members within a fortnight.

The New House Rules

Society should ensure that children below the age of 14 are not working on the society’s premises, including in any flat. Maximum fine of 1 year prison and/or Rs 20,000 in fine for the individual hirer Bye-Laws | 49(b) & 153(c)

A flat’s nominee cannot create an interest in favour of third parties without establishing the rights of the legal heirs of the owner Bye-Law | 34

Society dues can be recovered from the legal heirs of a deceased member and/or the current occupant Bye-Laws | 70(b)

A member will not have the right to sell a parking space that has not been purchased by him at the time of transfer of shares Bye-Laws | 77

Amounts above Rs. 1,500 should be paid to the society by accountpayee cheque only Bye-Laws | 138

Monthly honorarium that can be paid to each office-bearer should not exceed 15% of the society’s income or Rs. 2,000, whichever is lower Bye-Laws | 141(b)

If the share capital of a society exceeds Rs. 10,000, then voting has to be by secret ballot at the time of elections in the society Bye-Laws | 108(a)

Pooh-pooh the poo

In the below described observation, readers will find frequently a word of ancient Teutonic origin now regarded as vulgarism. I make no apology for using it. It is "shit". Surely everyone living here in Mahindra Eminente must have come across the sight of well manicured, pedicured and beautified pedigree mutts proudly roaming around the complex while being held on leash by domestic- help. That proud roam is interrupted when that pet decides to take a leak or feels the bowel pang and pulls the dog-walker to nearest lamppost/ flowering plant or if the urgency demands lowers two hind legs right in the middle of the garden promenade. Having relieved, that pet walks away displaying same proud gait and also the pet-handler.

Now superimpose the whole-dog walking scene to some residential complex or a public place in some European or American country or nearby Singapore. The basic rule of dog-walking is Tommy's handler/owner picks up Tommy's shit. Mahindra Eminente residential complex, where BMW, Lexus, Porsche, Mercedes lock horns in battle for parking space - why should dog-handler find it below his/her dignity to pick up dog-shit? Why should he not, like dog-walkers everywhere else, walk with his pockets packed with plastic bags and paper tissues and wear shoes that, in extremis, are stout enough for kicking shit? Most dogshit is well-formed and firm; with the hand inside a plastic bag it is easy to pick up — then reverse the bag, tie the knot and walk on; and if you are observed, then grin at the observer, for it is as neat a way as any for making friends of neighbours. There is no shame in any of this — it is simply the duty of the responsible citizen. If the denizens of Mahindra-Eminente Complex do not show responsible behaviour then we ourselves are choosing to live in the midst of shit.

We all are well educated, well-travelled across the globe, we all usually make right decisions and steer our individual businesses/ organisations through some of the very complex situations, live in plush homes, drive around in plush cars and feel more blessed. At the same time we completely ignore the fact that animal excreta or for that matter any kind of excreta lying around within our supposedly plush residential complex makes whole ambience look so deplorable. Is it because of our Indian mentality that when we go to foreign land we suddenly become law abiding and carefully dispose off even tiny cigarette butt in proper dustbin, whereas, no sooner we land in our motherland, without giving a second thought do aak-thoo with all the pichkari action mouth can generate and start cursing Indian administrative set up for not getting its act together.

As was said by John F.Kennedy – “Ask not, what your country can do for you. Ask what, you can do for your country". Do we ask this question to ourselves everyday? Today lets ask ourselves the similar question applicable to much smaller domain - the domain of Mahindra Eminente Complex. Lets ask ourselves what can be our contribution towards improving overall aesthetic appeal of this complex.

When we bought our home in this complex did we bargain for pets piddling and pooing at their own free will. We proudly showcase the plush interiors of our house to our guests. But do we feel equally proud when our guests see or mistakenly step into faeces. Then we blame it on housekeeping boys, quickly shrugging our own responsibility. We proudly boast of the pedigree and the breed of ancestors of the pets, hire a dog-handler to take care of the pet, then why don’t we instruct the dog-handler to also scoop the poop or do we feel that we are living in democratic free society and we have got license to flout the freedom at our own free will. All of us are grown-up enough to differentiate between right and wrong, then why we always need to be told to do the right thing.

Why do we wait for some punishing rules, fines to be imposed in order to fall in line?

Why don’t we demonstrate leadership by taking that first right step? Instead why we choose to follow the mis-behavioural pattern of another errant irritant?

Are we not capable enough of initiating the change which we are looking for in overall living condition and sanitation standards?

This is a matter of decency and respect for others. Lets do that introspection. Let the pet-owners today decide that pet-poop will be scooped post-haste and let others decide that if we see pet-handler uncaringly walk away we will not look the other way and immediately point out to pet-handler what are  the acceptable norms of social decency.

Hopefully situation will get remedied sooner rather than later so that our social behaviour and social responsibility is worth emulating by our children.

Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne

In recent days there has been lots of video shoots and photo shoots within Mahindra Eminenté Complex, commissioned by Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited to launch new marketing campaign with glossy colourful misleading brochures in their quest to lure more customers into buying sweet home of their dreams, in the new residential tower ANGELICA & ASPEN within Mahindra Eminenté Complex. Same kind of marketing campaign was shown to the customers for buying into blocks VERVIAN & VERONICA.

Companies traditionally & over-zealously use paid-media marketing without really deciphering the  Consumer Decision Journey (CDJ) - four stage journey of consumer(Ref:McKinsey study):

1.     Consider

2.     Evaluate

3.     Buy

4.     Enjoy, Advocate and Bond.

Companies spend exorbitant amount of money to influence customer decision at CONSIDER and BUY stages by showing the prospective customers HD video shoots, digitally enhanced colourful brochures interspersed with sweet talking tie-wearing executives trying to (mis)lead customers on haseen journey à la of Mungerilal depicted in famous TV serial – “Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne” (rosy dreams of Mungerilal) telecasted on Doordarshan, while sipping half-filled cup of chai or coffee. Customers remain optimistic and allow themselves to continue that haseen dream all because of the trust developed by Mahindra brand name over decades, and enjoy the half-full cup of masala chai (spice tea) while making purchase decision. At the same time they refrain to foresee half-empty cup of unfulfilled promises which will stare at them once they carry forward their journey to ENJOY-ADVOCATE–BOND stage.

Companies behave niggardly when it comes to engaging with customers during EVALUATE & ENJOY-ADVOCATE-BOND stages and that is exactly what is happening now with customers who have already moved in buildings- VERVIAN and VERONICA in Mahindra Eminente Complex.

One anonymous reader of the blog had left comment in blogpost- “Nudge Baliye” suggesting to bring the disillusionment of the residents to the notice of Anand Mahindra who is known for his intolerance to mediocrity visible around him. Irony is that he too is well aware of it. We Indians love to raise the finger when we know that the corrective action responsibility lies in the jurisdiction of someone else e.g. Anand Mahindra tweeting about dismal situation at Heathrow airport or the state of toilets in an Indian exhibition, but when it comes to looking within own jurisdiction, like ostrich we bury our neck in the sand and refuse to look. We donate millions of dollars to foreign alma-mater to have our name engraved over there, whereas millions of children in India hardly have access to their first text book of alphabets.

While launching the media blitzkrieg, marketing department must understand that when consumers are pleased with a purchase, they spread the word and bat for it by word of mouth, creating fodder for the evaluation of others and invigorating a brand’s potential. Instead of spending horrendous amount of money for launching media blitzkrieg, they should seriously try to understand the power of word-of-mouth equity.

Because of digital explosion we consumers are overloaded with plethora of information available all around. In such a scenario consumers are very skeptical about lofty claims propounded by traditional company-driven advertising & marketing and increasingly prefer to make purchasing decisions largely independent of what companies themselves tell consumers about products. This tectonic power shift toward consumers reflects the way people now make purchasing decisions. The marketing managers remain oblivious to the fact that now a days customers gather product information from a variety of independent & unbiased sources and decide which brand to purchase. Their post sales experience then influences their own next purchasing decision of the product of same brand and word-of-mouth recommendation to others. 

Word of mouth is not only biggest influencer in making purchase decisions but also wields the power of being most disruptive one. Word of mouth can prompt a consumer to consider a brand or product in a way that incremental advertising spending simply cannot. It’s also not a one-hit wonder. The right messages resonate and expand within interested networks, affecting brand perceptions, purchase rates, and market share. The rise of online communities, blogs, twitter and other form of communication has dramatically increased the potential for significant and far-reaching momentum effects.

Experiential word of mouth is the most common and powerful form, typically accounting for 50 to 80 % of word-of-mouth activity. It results from a consumer’s direct experience with a product or service, largely when that experience deviates from what’s expected. Complaints adversely affects brand sentiment and, ultimately, equity, reducing both receptiveness to traditional marketing and the effect of positive word of mouth from other sources.

It may prove to be more prudent that marketing division, sales division and after-sales-relationship division of Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited work in tandem to make the whole experience of customer association with Mahindra brand name, mutually and perpetually more pleasing & rewarding so that customers are proud of brandishing their loyalty to Mahindra brand name instead of being woken up by stinking reality at the end of haseen sapne (rosy dreams), rubbing eyes in disbelief like Mungerilal.

Also, readers may be interested in reading following blogposts:

1.     Obsession with parrots

2.     Nudge Baliye

3.     Powwow with CEO of Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited.

4.     Deadline is dead again

5.     Bird Bath

6.  Workmanship at its worst

Follow Mahindra Eminente on twitter.

Chameleon water-body alias "Bhaucha Dhakka"

Chameleon is more apt a word to describe the colour of water-body located within Mahindra Eminente complex. Only when there is no water contained within the perimeter of this concerete water- body, that it looks closer to the shade of blue in glossy brochures printed by marketing department of Mahindra Lifespaces Developer Limited (MLDL). No sooner do the Project managers tighten their belt and fill up this water-khadda with water, than it starts changing colour – light blue- dark blue- grey- dark grey- light green- dark green- brown- dark brown- black. As soon as the colour of water starts turning to grey, mosquitoes from nearby swamp get the buzz and shift their base lock, stock and barrel to water-body of Mahindra Eminente and immediately switch to breeding overdrive.

Now it seems that even Bhaucha Dhakka (Coordinates: 19°39'53"N 72°42'42"E.) is better than the water body of Mahindra Eminente. At least that doesn’t change the colour throughout the year. Water at “Bhaucha Dhakka” remains dirty muddy round the year.

We wonder what the project managers have learnt from last unsuccessful attempt at operationalizing the water body, when water was drained after full cycle of colour change. Somehow we tend to get the impression that management of MLDL refuses to learn from mistakes. Doing the right thing first time is a far cry.” We will do it First Time Right”- as written in their policy statement sounds so hollow and worthless.

Is it the best that the project managers of Mahindra Eminente can do with whole lot of knowledge and resources at their disposal.

Even without water whole water body looks so pathetic. Those gargoyles are supposed to be the inspiration from Merlion of Singapore. But look at the Merlion of Singapore and look at the gargoyles in Mahindra Eminente Complex. Compare the whiteness of Merlion and local gargoyles. Looks like Merlion has used FAIR & LOVELY whitening cream and our desi Gargoyle has turned, old ,wrinkled, tanned and is in dire need of “OLAY TOTAL EFFECTS- removes 7 signs of ageing”. Within 1 year Gargoyle has started ageing!!.

Look at that trajectory of water spewing out of Gargoyles- all different. Is the range of this trajectory directly proportional to the age of each gargoyle?

Looks at those pillars of Water body – pathetic looking dirty grey granite. Can’t the project engineers make out the difference and take corrective action pre-emptively rather than sitting quiet and procrastinating the decision-making.

Is the pillar looking same in the marketing booklet?

Who is this landscape designer in Singapore?

Is that the only landscape designer which Mahindra Eminente could afford in Singapore?

Who is that Bhau who approved this design?

Anybody with well focused eyes can tell this is pathetic.

Our desi designers could have done better job than this. But our desi guys from Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited can not manage to keep the water looking blue.

If they can not manage to keep the water blue in this water-body which is supposedly the focus and centre of whole project and must be looking at its best, then one can imagine what will happen to the water of swimming pool which is tucked in another corner of this complex within yet-to-be-ready club house.

Also, you may like to read following blogposts:

1. Deadline is dead again.

2. Duds behind deadline

3. Waterbody or water-khadda? Take your pick

4. Waterbody, cascade water fall area.

5. Obsession with parrots

The Great Divide

Appended below are the pictures of the ugly boundary-wall inspired by Spanish architecture. This boundary wall separates Mahindra Garden and Mahindra Eminente projects developed by Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited of famous MAHINDRA group.

Few points worth raising:

1.     From which side or corner does this wall remind any one of Spanish architecture and is considered by project designers to be a befitting structure to demarcate the boundary of Mahindra Eminente & Mahindra Garden designed by Hafeez Contractor. Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited seems to have copied the design of this wall right from the patented wall design usually used by municipality around garbage dumps, public toilets & next to railway tracks.

2.     Why has this wall  been left incomplete and when will this wall be completed?

3.     As per grapevine doing the rounds, this demarcation wall between Mahindra Garden and Mahindra Eminente societies will not be completed by Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited because its completion will put into jeopardy the Occupancy Certificate (O.C.) for new upcoming building ANGELICA within Mahindra Eminente Complex. This is because if the wall is completed over the entire length, prior to the completion of new building ANGELICA, authorities will not provide Occupancy certificate (O.C) for new building ANGELICA due to this wall being  in contravention of building construction rules of MCGM.

Hence, Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited has chosen not to make permanent clear-cut demarcation over whole plot of land between Mahindra Eminente Society and Mahindra Garden Society. By adopting this path, Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited has created a potentially contentious issue about the ownership of land, wherein both the societies will find it difficult to finalise the conveyance for the clearly demarcated land.

This situation is like two-edged sword: If conveyance is finalized then construction rules are flouted, and if construction rules are adhered to then conveyance of land is jeopardized.

For the sake of their short-term greed and in order to prosper at the cost of their customers & residents of two societies, Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited seems to have deliberately chosen to shove both the societies- Mahindra Eminente Society and Mahindra Garden Society, into a long-term protracted legal quagmire.

Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited may like to take the opportunity to clear the air by coming clean on this issue without any more dilly-dallying, otherwise this will open up can of worms of egregious breaches of business ethics, code of conduct and construction rules.

4.     This issue of incomplete wall was raised in last meeting on 30^th October 2010 between residents of Mahindra Eminente and representatives of Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited .  No concrete answer was given by management of Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited.  Also this point was not included in Minutes of the said meeting.

Is it a deliberate attempt by Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited to throttle the discussion and scuttle uncomfortable questions?

Lets hope that this time again Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited doesn’t come up with some lame story full of smoke and mirrors. 

He Came, He saw, He cleaned again….

HE Came, HE saw, HE cleaned again….

HE is no Alexander, but the above statement summarizes what happened today at so called water-body which has lots of nuisance value except water &  aesthetics which it was supposed to contribute to.

Same obese expert who was made incharge of cleaning and operationalizing it last time after Mr Karkhanis had acknowledged with lots of chest thumping, in the meeting, that they finally have understood how to maintain the water body. So much for the understanding and new gained knowledge of Mr Karkhanis and his team, that one expert was roped in to have the khadda cleaned up and made operational in June 2010.

After 15 days of so-called cleaning up and unsuccessful attempt at operationalizing this, expert ran away with khadda dirtier than before and then Laxmi Singh had no choice but to drain that water and have the bottom scrubbed up in patented Indian ishtyle.

Now one thing is beyond the comprehension of anyone sensible, why the same expert has been brought again to repeat the same behaviour. Why he was not sacked at that time for his abject failure? Whose money is it that Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited is spending so recklessly? The answer is -  This is our money which we have given for maintenance and Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited has no right to waste it so foolishly, so recklessly. The management of Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited is answerable to us for every pice they spend out of maintenance kitty garnered from residents of this society. Its going to be one full year since we have been paying money for the maintenance and now is the time for audit and time to answer some tough questions as to how smartly and how foolishly that money has been spent. If you want to spend money so recklessly and foolishly, spend from the kitty of Mahindra LifeSpaces Developers Limited, so that red ink in the balance sheet reflects true knowledge quotient of project managers.

Take a look at some of the pictures of water body which were added in this blog earlier.

http://mahindra-eminente.blogspot.com/2010/07/waterbody-or-waterkhadda-take-your-pick.html

After looking at these pictures, is there anybody worth his salt who can certify that this piece of khadda adds glamour to the architecture of Mahindra Eminente. Shamelessness has reached to such stratospheric levels that we are told through the minutes of the meeting held on 30^th October 2010, that this water body is the focus and is central to architectural concept. Does anybody living in Mahindra Eminente and in his right frame of mind would like to focus on this body when he gets up in the morning? If this sh@$%y piece of khadda is categorised as the focal point then anybody having peek-a-boo at these pictures can easily reach the judgement that how out of focus are the project engineers and landscape designer hired by Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited.

Focus of Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited is completely blurred and vision suffers from myopia, glaucoma and what not.

Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited has unilaterally set up the deadline of end Nov 2010 for getting the water body in shape and getting its act together. We are waiting to see how miserably they fail, how low down they hang their gardan(neck) in shame, and what new excuse they come up with.

Keep visiting this blog for some more exciting and tantalising piece of information in coming days.

Also, you may like to read following blogposts:

1. Waterbody or water khadda- Take your pick

2. Waterbody / Cascade water fall area

3. Deadline is dead again

4. Nudge Baliye

5. "Gardan" on the block

Chak De

Children's Day was celebrated by residents on 14th November with lots of fun and fervour. Credit must go to all the ladies residing in the building for careful planning, organisation and flawless execution with cheer and enthusiasm visible all around. Children participated in large numbers in various events. Seeing children bundled with boundless energy, adults also participated in large numbers in various events.

Following events were organised:
1. 50 m sprint
2. 100 m sprint.
3. 200 m sprint
4. 500 m sprint.
5. Lemon and spoon race.
6. Button Papa's shirt
7. Hula Hoop
8. Slow cycling.


Credit goes to Mr Anish Gupta for contributing the pictures below: