20 years on, revisiting the Uphaar Tragedy – How the System failed its people

(Prakash Singh/ Hindustan Times File photo)

The Uphaar cinema tragedy that took place on June 13, 1997, claiming the lives of 59 people and injuring over 100 was one of the worst fire incidents in Indian history. The incident that took place in the midst of the matinee show screening of ‘Border’ has also gone down the annals of legal history in the country as being the cause behind the filing of the landmark civil compensation case by the families of the victims through their organization, AVUT (Association of Victims of Uphaar Fire Tragedy). 

In this exclusive interview, Sourya speaks to the President of AVUT, Mrs. Neelam Krishnamoorthy, whose 17-year-old daughter Unnati and 13-year-old son, Ujjwal, were also among the victims of the incident. 

Sourya (S): Please paint a word picture for us of the fateful day of 13th June 1997 and how tragedy broke out.

Ms. Neelam Krishnamoorthy (NK): It was the month of June 1997, vacation time for the children. On Friday the 13th June, Unnati and Ujjwal planned to go watch a movie. They were very excited about watching the much-awaited and controversial new movie “Border”. The tragic day started off normally. Unnati asked me to book tickets for the matinee show of Border on the day it hit theaters. The four of us had lunch together. Naturally, none of us knew or imagined that it would be the last meal we would have together as a family. After lunch Unnati planted a loving kiss on my cheek; I forgot to wipe off the mark her lipstick left on my skin. I had no clue that this would the last time Unnati would ever kiss me. Soon we also left for work. After work, we went to look up my brother –in - law who was admitted to the hospital. I gave a call at around 7.30 pm, to check if the kids had reached home, but there was no response.We rushed home, to check if the kids had returned, but they had, not. The house was in darkness and I quickly went to my puja room and lit a lamp and prayed to god asking for the well-being of our children. I tried calling up Uphaar Cinema but could not get through to their number. I also tried AIIMS but the number did not get through. Just then one of Unnati’s friend called us and inquired about her. When I told him about our predicament, he informed us about the fire in the Uphaar cinema. We rushed to Uphaar cinema and on the way informed all our friends about the fire. Throughout the way we were praying for the well-being of Unnati & Ujjwal. We could not enter the Uphaar cinema as the entire area was cordoned off and we were asked to check at AIIMS or Safdarjung hospital. On reaching AIIMS neither we could locate our children nor were their names in the list of injured. We were taken to the OPD where we saw the bodies of Unnati & Ujjwal lying on a stretcher. Our lives came to a dreadful standstill. This nightmarish turn of events destroyed us completely and changed our lives forever. 

The fire had originated from the Delhi Vidyut Board transformer at 4.55 pm, which was located in the parking area of the cinema complex on the ground floor. The “B” phase cable detached from the bus bar and fell on the fin of the transformer as result the oil from the fins leaked and caught fire. The fire came in contact with a car parked illegally right in front of the transformer room. The fire spread to the other cars parked in the area. The smoke entered the hall due to chimney effect through the staircase and air-conditioning ducts. Soon the cinema hall turned into a gas chamber.

The 750 patrons sitting on the first floor of the auditorium escaped immediately thanks to the properly spaced exits. The staff in the basement and the tenants on the ground floor, those closest to the fire, along with those in the third and fourth floor, all escaped.

As smoke and carbon monoxide engulfed the balcony, the patrons began to suffocate and there was complete pandemonium. Despite the fact that a fire had broken out, the projector operator was not instructed to stop the film; neither were the patrons informed of the accident nor were they given instructions on how to leave the auditorium and the balcony. When the electricity failed completely it became even more difficult for those in the balcony to make their way out. 302 patrons in the balcony were trapped due to non-availability of gangway and exit. 

The gangway was blocked to accommodate additional 52 seats in violation of the statutes to make extra profit. The exit gate on the right side was blocked by erecting an eight seater private viewing box for the comfort of Ansal’s family. The basic fire safety provisions such as exit light, foot lights, emergency lights and public address system were non-functional. The cinema management abandoned the patrons and ran out of the cinema hall. 59 people were asphyxiated to death due to carbon monoxide poisoning and, over 103 were grievously injured.

(S): When did you decide to, gather all other victims and their relatives and form the Association of Victims of Uphaar Fire Tragedy (AVUT)

(NK): After performing the thirteenth day rituals for our children, Shekhar and I went through each and every paper that came out on 14 June, and then every single day after that, to try and figure out what exactly happened. As per the newspaper reports the deaths occurred only in the balcony due to violations and deviations of the statutes. Additional seats in the balcony were accommodated by the management by blocking the gangway and exits. We decided to take legal recourse. We were advised by a good friend to seek a legal opinion from senior advocate K.T.S. Tulsi. Mr Tulsi had strong views on those who seemed responsible for the tragedy. He told us that since the Ansals were part of the powerful builder lobby, we should fight this legal battle collectively. He suggested that we contact other affected families and form an association.

We did not know any of them personally. We took the initiative and contacted members of the victims’ families. Some were downright dismissive of our efforts, but a few of them listened to us very patiently. Ultimately, nine families responded positively to us and we proposed a meeting. The Association was formed on 30th June 1997 . AVUT was born out of terrible rage and endless grief.

(S): There were charges against the family of the accused, of trying to cover up the matter during the initial investigation. How reliable had you found the initial investigation conducted by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police? Was the Association of Victims of Uphaar Fire Tragedy' (AVUT) relieved when the investigation was handed over to the CBI instead? 

(NK): The initial investigation into the Uphaar Cinema fire was handled by the Hauz Khas Police Station. The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged on the basis of a complaint made by the security guard of the hall. The Delhi Police lodged the FIR under section 304 (II), i.e. culpable homicide not amounting to murder with a punishment of up to ten years in prison. Considering the gravity of the incident, the investigation was then transferred to the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police. Initially, the investigation conducted by the Crime Branch seemed to be reliable. After almost over a month Sushil Ansal and his son Pranav Ansal were arrested from Mumbai on 22nd July 1997, but however, Gopal Ansal was absconding. We were assured by the Crime Branch that they would file the charge Sheet by August 1997. The Association was satisfied with the progress of the investigation that was being conducted by the Crime Branch, Delhi Police. But, to our utter shock and disbelief, the Government of India took a suo moto decision to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 23 July. AVUT never made any representation to the Government to transfer the investigation to the CBI. 

It was our belief that this was done with the motive of delaying the filing of the charge sheet and, in the process, making it possible for the accused to seek and obtain bail. Our apprehensions were proved right when CBI filed the charge sheet on 15th November 1997, charging Sushil & Gopal under a lesser offense i.e 304 (A) death caused due to rash and negligent Act, contrary to what Delhi Police had charged them.

(S): The Prosecution, the Judiciary or the CBI – who among these would you blame for the unreasonable delay caused in this case despite, in your instance, the Delhi High Court rapping the lower court for the slow proceedings in the case.

(NK): I would blame the defense counsels who sought frequent adjournments and moved frivolous application which delayed the proceedings considerably. The courts too accommodated the defense counsels by giving frequent adjournments sought by the defense counsels. Since I was present in the court for each and every hearing, I ensured that the Prosecuting agency does not delay the proceedings by seeking adjournments.

AVUT had to approach the High Court thrice during the trial to expedite the proceedings. But for the intervention of the higher court the case would have been still in the session court.

(S): What was your reaction when you heard that the initially Delhi High Court had granted compensation of 18 crores? At that moment did you have hope that the Justice would ultimately be served and the accused sent to jail for a long time?

(NK): After going through the judgment pronounced by the Delhi High Court on 24 April 2003 wherein the court held that the fire had originated at the DVB transformer due to negligence in its maintenance. The fire would not have been so tragic had the cars not been parked right outside the transformer room and the exits not blocked to create a private box for the owners. The court also observed that had exits been located on both sides of the balcony, precious lives might have been saved as the patrons could have made their way outside the theater quickly. The licensee (the owners) had committed statutory violations in order to obtain illegal profits. The licensing departments of the Delhi Police, Delhi Vidyut Board and Municipal Corporation of Delhi were all found guilty of contributory negligence due to their apathy and indifference to the critical matter of public safety. After such detailed and comprehensive judgment, we were hopeful that in the criminal case Ansals would be convicted and would be incarcerated for a long time.

(S): What was your reaction when on 19th August 2015 the Supreme Court let off the Ansals directing them to pay Rs 60 crore for a trauma center and the subsequent order in the review filed by AVUT & CBI?

(NK): The Ansals were convicted on the 5th March 2014, the bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court differed on the quantum of sentence after concurring on their guilt under Section 304A of Indian Penal Code for negligent acts.The bench referred determination of sentence to a three-judge bench.

The matter was listed after seventeen months that too after AVUT & CBI had moved applications for early hearing. The matter was finally listed on 19th August 2015.

The SC verdict of 19th August 2015 left me distraught and disappointed. The Judgement was pronounced without giving the Petitioner or the Special Public Prosecutor any chance of meaningful and effective hearing. We were appalled when the judges pronounced the operative portion of the verdict, sentencing the Ansals to the period undergone and directed them to pay Rs 60 Crore to the Delhi Government for a Trauma Centre in lieu of a sentence.

Aggrieved by the judgment a review petition was filed by both CBI &AVUT since it suffered from serious errors which were apparent on the face of the record. The review petition was heard in an open court on 14th December 2016 and the judgment was pronounced on 9th February 2017. The court sentenced Gopal Ansal to one-year imprisonment; however, Sushil Ansal was allowed to walk free. His sentence of imprisonment was reduced to the period undergone.The court also held that there is no provision under the IPC for substitution of the sentence by fine. Hence Sushil & Gopal Ansal were sentenced to a fine of Rs 30 Crore each for a Trauma Centre.

With this judgment, the message was loud and clear that the law of the land is not the same for the rich and powerful. I realized that I had made a mistake of going to the courts to seek justice for my children. I should have rather shot those responsible for the death of my children. By now I would have finished serving the sentence as well. Such a judgment will only embolden the owners of public spaces to violate safety rules and compromise on safety, with no thought of endangering human lives.

(S): What according to you, would be been Justice?

(NK): Looking at the gravity of the offense the Ansals should have been convicted u/s 304 (II) IPC (Culpable homicide not amounting to murder). But since they were convicted u/s 304 (A) (Rash and Negligent Act) the Supreme Court should have given maximum sentence of 2 years to send a strong message to the society.

(S): Despite the system failing you, do you have hope that the evidence tampering case pending against the accused might bring about some redemption?

(NK): The conviction in the evidence tampering case will bring some redemption unless the same magnanimity is shown to Ansals as in the main Uphaar Case taking their age into consideration. After all, they are growing older and not younger anymore.

(S): Throughout the last 20 years you have faced some of the worst’s sides of litigation and judiciary in the capital. You have also faced a lot of trauma, harassment, and hardships from the Counsels of the accused. In the opinion of a citizen and a victim, do you belief that lawyers have any moral right to consider themselves to be a part of a “noble profession”.

(NK): The behavior and the attitude of the defence lawyers representing the Ansals has been a cause of great pain and agony for us. While we hold no malice towards them for representing the Ansals, and we also understand their professional commitment towards their clients, we cannot forgive them for the personal attacks they made against us repeatedly. 

Lawyers are expected to be the guardians of rule and law. They are the officers of the court and hence, cannot play its spoilers. It does not behoove members of the bar to glorify themselves over hapless victims and litigants who are constrained to visit the court on the dates of hearing, hoping for justice.

The entire legal fraternity cannot be painted with the same brush though. We have also come across some deeply committed lawyers who have shown immense conviction in the case and have stood by our side in this epic battle for justice.

(S): You, along with your husband, wrote a book “Trial By Fire” detailing your experiences during the trial. Did somewhere, the process of writing the book, lessen the pain and the burden?

(NK): The process of writing “ Trial By Fire” was challenging. We had to come out of our comfort zone to narrate the personal tragedy we had undergone. It neither lessened the pain nor the burden. 

(S): Beyond this case has AVUT gone beyond into policy making sphere to make sure such a horrible incident never happens again. Could you please tell us about that.

(NK): We at AVUT could not comprehend how man-made disasters could be treated merely as a rash and negligent act. Hence we made a representation to the government to bring about a new law to deal with man-made disasters. AVUT presented the petition for a proposed legislation to prevent man-made tragedies in public places to the then President, Pratibha Patil, the chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, Sonia Gandhi, and the then law minister, Veerappa Moily. In 2009, the law ministry forwarded our petition to the Law Commission, directing it to come out with a law to deal with such disasters on a priority basis. We had several meetings with the chairman of the Law Commission and gave him many inputs, illustrating how such cases were dealt with in other countries. In 2012, the Law Commission published a consultation paper dealing with man-made disasters, which we are sure is collecting dust in an obscure corner of the ministry.Maybe the Government will bring in a law when a VVIP’s kith & kin are victims of such a man-made disaster.

(S): Does AVUT have plans to file a curative petition against the discharge of one of the accused? And what action is AVUT planning to take to counter the mercy petition filed before the President for the other accused? 

(NK): Yes, AVUT would be filing the curative petition at the appropriate time. As regards mercy petition filed by Gopal Ansal, the same was forwarded by the MHA to Lt. Governor and the Delhi Government for their opinion. AVUT gave representation to both Lt Governor and the Chief Minister not to consider the mercy plea filed by Gopal Ansal since using discretionary powers to provide mercy for the rich and powerful is sure to send a wrong signal to other wrongdoers who will doubtless be emboldened by any mercy shown. Hence, we requested to reject the blatantly undeserving mercy plea filed by a convicted mass murderer.

The Lieutenant Governor and the Delhi Government have given their recommendation to reject the mercy petition.

[From Arguendo: We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Advocate Kinnori Ghosh for coordinating this interview and making the same possible.]

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Interview with Team Periferry-Providers Of Equal Employment Opportunities To Transgenders

PeriFerry is an equal opportunity job consultants for Trans person; that is PeriFerry provide alternative job solutions for them. Accessing the untapped talent pool, and bridging the gap between an inclusive employer and a deserving candidate is their forte. 

Sourya (S): How do you generally introduce yourself? Social activists? Entrepreneurs? Crusaders?

Neelam (N): "Social Entrepreneurs"

(S): What is the story behind the name PeriFerry?

(N): The name actually comes from the word “Periphery” which means the edge. We thought that was a word we could relate to the people who are living their lives on the edge - and how we could, as facilitators, probably act as a ferry and help them get to their desired destinations.

(S): How did this idea germinate?

(N): Doing something for the Trans* community has been on my mind for a long time, ever since college days. Mainly because I'd never really hesitated talking to them whether it was in Trains or beach or anywhere else and I really understood their stories. So during my stint at Goldman Sachs, I had to come up with an idea for an initiative which would have a social impact as part of an internal competition. I came up with the idea of an inclusive workplace focusing on the transgender community. My team in Bangalore and I happened to develop this project along with Solidarity Foundation. Eventually, I realized I was passionate about this cause and so quit my job to start working on this idea.

(S): Neelam, was your family open to the idea of your quitting your job at Goldman Sachs for this? 

(N): I am where I am only because of my family. My parents have taught me from a very young age to take my own decisions and also have, in the process, made me strong enough to face the brunt of bad decision making. That's the only reason I could take such a big step and never regret it. I also have two older siblings, sister, and brother who are also particularly supportive of the things I do. 

(S): Do you think most workplaces can be considered safe and/or equipped for transgenders?

Nanditha (Na): It differs from one workplace to another, to be honest. Fortunately, quite a lot of companies seem to focus on diversity and inclusion these days, which means they are more welcoming towards the third gender. However, not a lot of them are equipped to have them in their offices, when it comes to having inclusive facilities. We are trying to meet these needs through our sensitization workshops.

(S): Have you ever faced trouble convincing potential employers to give transgender/transsexual citizens a fair chance of employment?  

(Na): Yes, most of them think of hiring Trans* community only as a societal initiative so dismiss us thinking we are trying to sell something out of sympathy. What they don't realize is that they're equally or more skilled and sometimes possess great education qualifications as well. They can help a team become much more diverse and also bring new perspective and viewpoints in a team. We have to make them look at the business objectives when they hire them.

(S): How does PeriFerry sensitize a workspace to make sure it is easier for the employee to fit in?

(Na): We take on a two-fold approach for this. One is to ensure the employee is given personalized training for him/her to fit in a corporate environment through skills development and training. The other is to sensitize the existing employees in a workplace to ensure they know how to be inclusive through their communication, the facilities they offer and the benefits they extend to the third gender.

(S): Does PeriFerry periodically follow up with both employees and employers? 

(Na): Yes, we have the policy to follow up consistently until the first six months of placement to make sure things are going smooth. Also, take feedback through the lifetime of the placement. 

(S): What would you consider to be the proudest/defining moment of PeriFerry yet?

(Na): Well, naturally when we made our first placement. Our candidate had struggled for a really long time in getting a job despite having good education qualification. She had gone door-to-door at different companies all rejecting her only because she was a trans-woman. And seeing someone as deserving as her get an opportunity through PeriFerry made it worth the effort. 

(S): Where do you see PeriFerry in a year? 

Team: We ourselves covering all the major cities in India, in terms of employment opportunities. Also, our objective is to see a less transphobic and homophobic society through our awareness programs. 

(S): Have companies been generally receptive to transgender/transsexual employees?

(Na): Definitely! In fact, the team was overwhelmed by the response we received from them after we launched. We had so many employers reaching out to us expressing interest in collaborating with us or even to just appreciate us for our initiative. It was indeed heartening.

(S): In case there is a potential employer reading this, could you briefly describe the process via which someone could employ a transgender through PeriFerry?

(Na): We would request them to fill out a form on our website www.periferry.com We would then reach out to them, understand their requirements or profile they are hiring for and put them in touch with a client who would be suitable for the role. In the meantime, the team would conduct sensitization workshops in their company. If our client gets placed in that company, we would ensure we follow up with the employee and the employer as well till the client settles down in the workplace.

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Through the Lens of a Lawyer - Interview with Rajdip Ray, Filmmaker & IPR Attorney

Sourya: How do you generally introduce yourself to people who don’t know you? A lawyer, a filmmaker, or both?

Rajdip Ray: A factotum. I was working as an IPR lawyer till earlier this month. Currently, I'm assisting the director of a feature-length independent film. Next month, I'll probably be doing something else.

Sourya: Was Kolkata, with its rich heritage of art and theater, where you first discovered your passion for filmmaking? Or did your love for movies come at a later stage of your life?

Rajdip Ray: My love for films developed considerably late. Maybe when I was in Class 11 or 12. I went to the cinemas and watched films on weekends, but that's what pretty much every regular kid does. Sometime in high school, I watched The Pianist by Roman Polanski. For the first time I appreciated cinema for the beautiful medium that it is to tell a story; and not merely as a means of entertainment. DVDs were in fashion then. Especially, pirated ones which were cheap and came in 5-1 or 6-1 combos. That's how I ended up watching Satyajit Ray, Hitchcock, Woody Allen. By then, I was hooked on to how a film could be used as a medium to tell a story.

Calcutta, of course, had a part to play. It's a city with a soul. But it was more towards developing an intellectual and scientific temperament, and sense of culture overall, rather than film in particular.

Sourya: What influenced your decision to join a Law school?

Rajdip Ray: I studied humanities in school. Chemistry I believe is one of the worst things to have happened to mankind. Nuclear weapons and atom bombs would not have existed if no one pursued chemistry. I was a decently good at studies; but horrible at chemistry. So science was never an option.
And I did not want to be a commerce student.  So arts. And law was one of the more prominent career options. That was also the time I had started reading John Grisham and had read each and every single book he had published till then. And no one writes courtroom dramas like Grisham. Since I was a debater and liked talking, one thing culminated into another, and before I knew it, I was writing law school entrance exams.
I did try studying media immediately after college, but that turned out to be an utter waste of time and money.

Sourya: Were you involved in theater/filmmaking etc even during your Law school days?

Rajdip Ray: I started filming at the end of my first year in law school. I had bought a DSLR and wanted to put it to use. I had been writing stories for a while, so I attempted to write my next story as a script. And then I shot it, with a handful of people as part of the cast and crew. My first film, 'What She Said' was made on a budget of 600 bucks, which included a drink we had to buy at CCD since it was required for a shot.
It got selected by Shamiana- Asia's biggest short film club and was screened in Mumbai, Pune, and Kolkata, along with some Oscar nominated shorts. The Mumbai screening was at Eros Cinema in Churchgate. And it was really thrilling. The Bombay people really loved it. Especially when they found out about the budget in a post-screening QnA. In Bombay, 600 bucks will buy you one drink at a bar. Two, if they have happy hours.
That was the first time I watched a film I had made on the big screen. It was the most exciting thing to happen to a nineteen-year-old. Growing up, making your film and watching it in a cinema hall always seemed like a dream which seemed a bit too far-fetched. Like driving a Formula 1 car. Or playing cricket for India with Dada and Sachin. Every kid dreamt of it. But very few thought they might actually they get to live it.
That prompted me to go ahead and make my second film - Keu Eshe Bolechilo / Images - which was my first film to compete at national film festivals, and won a couple of awards while it was doing the rounds.
And once the film bug bites, it keeps itching forever. So I kept filming till the end of law school whenever I got the time. I had to give up on some prestigious internships which would have made my legal resume shinier, in order to keep filming. And given the opportunity, I'd do it again.

Sourya: At any point during your law school years, did you ever consider dropping out of law and making movies?

Rajdip Ray: Every single day.

Sourya: Tell us about your experience as the Associate Director of The Other Way.

Rajdip Ray: In 2012, two of my close friends, both twenty-year-olds, decided to make a feature-length documentary film, an absolutely ludicrous idea at the time. And they chose "independent films and their making in India" as the subject for the doc. The three of us were also actively writing for dfuse.in, a counter-culture e-zine, where I handled the films beat. When I figured there was a chance for me to get involved, I jumped in. Because of budget constraints, the directors themselves couldn't travel all over the country. So I helped out with some of the Calcutta and Bombay shoots. And it was a brilliant, brilliant experience for a young film enthusiast. Here I had filmmakers like Onir, Q, and Sandeep Mohan in front of the camera, people who I admired and idolized, with me behind the camera.
One particular incident stands out in my head. After shooting with Q till 3 am in the morning when we were wrapping up the shoot, Q pointed out that the sound recorder hadn't been turned on. I was the one handling it. I had pressed the "Record" button, but it needed to be pressed twice in order to start recording. It was a rookie mistake, and I kept cursing myself thinking I had messed up the entire shoot. Thankfully, we had shot indoors at night with minimum ambient sound, so the camera sound was ultimately used. Since then, I keep checking multiple times whether both camera and sound are rolling before calling a shot.

Sourya: You also have your own production house known as Alt Ray Films, what would you say is it that you want to capture and show the world through the lens of your camera?

"Crash" which won at the Bangalore International Short
Film Festival

Rajdip Ray: Alt Ray Films is for my own directorial ventures, produced independently. So that's four short films so far, and I want to venture into feature filmmaking soon. I think while telling a story, you need to touch a chord with your viewer. All the films I have loved have touched that chord within me- whether that's Offside by Jafar Panahi, or Masaan by Neeraj Ghaywan. I've also tried making films on topics that bother me- lack of governmental attention to street children, increasing number of fatalities due to road rage. I hate being preachy. But if I can make people aware of realities through fiction, and make them think for 30 seconds after my film ends, I'd like to believe I've done decently.

Sourya: The success of which project/short film would you consider having been your proudest moment till date?

Rajdip Ray: As pretentious as it sounds, I have enjoyed being on shoots and the filming process, more than the end product being successful. All my shoots have been managed on a minuscule budget with a 2 member or 3 member crew at best, and it's a huge task to get it right and realizing the original vision that you had in your head. So while it's been tremendously challenging, it's been a hell of a lot of fun, and extremely satisfying, every time I have ended up with a complete film!

Sourya: Has being from a Law school influenced the way you view the world through your lens and/or the way you tell your stories?

Rajdip Ray: Of course. One of my professors had once said "In every profession, you learn everything of something. In law, you learn something of everything." And as a storyteller, you need to observe everything around you. The more you observe, and the more you know, the better your chances of presenting something truthfully and earnestly to the viewer.
Also, law school, and subsequently working at an IPR firm has given me a fair knowledge of copyrights, which is essential for any individual creating original content.

Sourya: How difficult is it, balancing a full-time job as a Trademark Attorney and chasing your passion of telling stories for people to see?  

Rajdip Ray: Very difficult. Both are full-time commitments and require your undivided attention. And it's pointless to do either of them half-heartedly.

Sourya: There would be numerous people around us, who may be stuck in Law school despite having the passion for something else. Writers, actors, singers etc, stuck in classroom chasing good grades and a high paying job instead of chasing their dreams. Would you have any word of advice for such souls?

Rajdip Ray: I am terrible at any kind of advice. So instead I'll leave you with a quote from a letter written by one of my favorite writers, Charles Bukowski.

“My dear,

Find what you love and let it kill you.

Let it drain you of your all. Let it cling onto your back and weigh you down into eventual nothingness.

Let it kill you and let it devour your remains.

For all things will kill you, both slowly and fastly, but it’s much better to be killed by a lover.

~ Falsely yours"

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Interview with Vandita Morarka: Policy & Legal Officer, Safecity & Founder PenPal Inc.

Q) The most obvious question first, did you choose law or did it choose you?

I can truly say Law chose me. I have single-mindedly wanted to pursue Law in one of its varied forms as a career option from as far back as I can remember.

Q) You have been involved with numerous initiatives and organizations throughout your law school life. How do you balance the already hectic law school life with your other activities?

I find that being involved with other organizations and initiatives helps me streamline and focus better when it comes to Law school. In terms of balancing, on most days it’s touch and go. But I think its manageable if it’s truly what you want to be doing

Vandita (Center) with participants of a Gender Workshop in Ryan,
Goregaon

 since if you’re dragging yourself without enjoying the learning process – you often find ways to create imbalance yourself. I am also pursuing an MA (Hons.) in Public policy, so the additional work here stimulates my interest and keeps Law school from being monotonous. Since a lot of my work is related to law or policy work, work itself becomes a constant learning process for me. In fact, other activities have helped my understanding of Law more deeply than the LL.B. course or Law school itself may have.

Q) Tell us about your experience with EXAP.

The EXcellence in Arts Program (EXAP) at Sophia College for Women has been an unforgettable experience. It’s an immersive, selective program that one undertakes alongside their regular BA course. For me, it opened up a world of knowledge that I had had no idea about. EXAP is brilliant also for the mentoring it provides you, in close contact with senior professors and academicians while giving you the freedom to develop your own thinking process. Beyond research, we were taught diligence, integrity and a social consciousness oft missing from our regular formal education structures.  I’m sure I speak for my EXAP cohort when I say that we take ahead all that we learnt in EXAP each day and it continues to reflect strongly in our work and personal life.

Q) You were part of a team which conducted a research study of the Third Gender community in Mumbai. How was your experience and what motivated you to take up that specific cause?

We had to decide on selecting a research topic soon after the NALSA judgment. What worked as the deciding factor for us was how much silence these issues were shrouded in. We wanted to bring them to the forefront and engage people and communities while at it. This motivated us to understand on-ground perceptions, histories and gaps in awareness and acceptance of Third gender persons to help better implementation of the law in India.

My experience was interesting, as it exposed several in built prejudices and biases within me and taught me to re-examine my approach towards development work completely. My favorite part of our research was the case studies of Third gender persons. I think that brought forth the human factor behind the need to address issues that Third gender persons face and that is often lost behind fancy research terminology. This has also stayed with me and has motivated me to create awareness on Third gender issues and continue research on similar issues: most recently having completed a research paper on “Inclusive Education for Third gender persons in higher secondary and college education”. The research study has been an unmatched learning experience.

Q) What awareness and changes do you think  are necessary in India to properly integrate the Third Gender as an integral part of the society?

I am still learning the struggles and challenges that everyday life brings to Third gender persons.I do realize that while societal perceptions must change and evolve to accept gender as a spectrum and not a binary, we must work alongside to develop institutional structures that protect and promote the interests of those that lie outside the gender binary. Key focus areas, in my opinion, must be addressing educational gaps, creating employment opportunities, providing healthcare access and devising strategies to address gaps in societal status. I am of the belief that the best answer to this question can be given by Indian Third gender persons themselves. It would aid policy immensely if more emphasis was given on giving voice to a larger number of third gender persons when creating solutions designed to benefit them.

Q) Please tell us something about PenPal Inc. How did you come about with that idea?

PenPal Inc. was an idea born out of a 2 am conversation between myself and a friend from Pakistan. Our friendship had shown to each of us a different side of the other’s country (India & Pakistan). This is when I thought it would be fun to give other people a chance to explore something similar. We aimed to use conversation and civilian dialogue between people to bridge gaps between nations and that’s how this idea came about!

Q) You have been associated with Safecity as a Youth Outreach Coordinator and a Policy and Legal Officer. What is Safecity about and what drew you towards them?

Safecity aims to make cities safer by encouraging equal access to public spaces for everyone especially women, through the use of crowdsourced data, community engagement and institutional accountability.

I had worked with Safecity when I was heading Students for Social Reform Initiative at Sophia College. I loved how they were seamlessly integrating technology and new age ideas to tackle the everyday issue of sexual harassment in public spaces. Apart from that, it seemed like and has been a great place to learn, for self growth and some brilliant mentoring.

Q) Please share some of your experience of working with Safecity?

In the year that I worked as the Youth Outreach Coordinator, I had a large number of volunteers and interns reach out to me post our workshops, activities or even on a personal level to tell me how much Safecity’s work had touched their lives. I have had young individuals share stories of battling their own issues of sexual harassment and finding in Safecity a safe place to talk about the same. These stories have given me hope of building a better and safer future. It was through that work, that my current work profile has emerged, as a Policy & Legal Officer. I have worked on projects that aim at more institutional and policy level corrections in our systems that aid this harassment. My experiences of working with Safecity have shown me how the work of a few people can touch so many lives. Professionally it has helped me learn immensely and apply skills I have gained through my education through practical real life experiences. In all, it’s been fabulous!

Vandita (3rd from the right) during SafeCity's 16 Days of Activism

Q) If you had to remember one moment, which can be categorized as a defining moment of your life, which one experience would you remember?

I think this was back in 2013, while I had been inclined towards development work – this incident somehow always comes to my mind when I think of the ‘why’ of my work today. This was when I was with Students for Social Reform Initiative. We used to conduct football training for the young children of the Agripada slum area in a tie up with OSCAR Foundation on weekends. Post one of our events I remember buying a bottle of water to drink and the children all gathered around me excitedly to have some of this water. They were so excited to be drinking water! In all of my life, I have never felt the privilege I was born into more acutely. This moment taught me why we must all in our lives strive to create systems and institutes that foster more equality. I never want for even one child to be excited  at the prospect of bottled drinking water while I know so many who would use that same water carelessly . This experience defines for me the need for a more just and equitable world and pretty much set the course of my life thereafter.

Q) Where do you see yourself in your future after graduation?  

That is by far the most difficult question. Though I do have an idea of what I want to be doing in 10, or maybe 15 years down the line. I want to work in the development sector and I’m using these years before graduation to feel out various sectors that interest me: rural empowerment, gender justice and youth capacity building have emerged as key areas of interest. I hope to be working in empowering these sectors through varied avenues of work, be it law or policy. At some point I hope to teach law, policy and gender to young students (like myself currently!) while working on personal initiatives to take gender equality training and awareness and the need for inclusive policymaking to classrooms across the country. 

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Climate Change, Resilience & Our Cities

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines resilience as an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. So what do cities – those commercial and teeming urban sprawls – need in the face of climate change, especially in the populous and rapidly urbanizing South Asian context? Some working definitions follow:

Cyclone Vardah uproots trees in India. Photo from 99 acres.

“Urban resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, despite issues such as high unemployment, inefficient public transportation systems, endemic violence, chronic food and water shortages, natural disasters or terrorism.” — 100 Resilient Cities (100RC)

“A Resilient City is one that has developed capacities to help absorb future shocks and stresses to its social, economic, and technical systems and infrastructures so as to still be able to maintain essentially the same functions, structures, systems, and identity." — ResilientCity.org

Chennai and Climate Change – Living Through Extreme Weather

Challenges to resilience experienced in Chennai, the fourth most populous metropolis, which is part of the 100RC experiment, include: aging infrastructure and its failure; economic inequality and poverty; extreme weather events; overpopulation, pollution, environmental degradation and civil unrest. Other Indian cities part of this effort to make urban centres sustainable are Bangalore, Jaipur, Pune and Surat.

Weather in Chennai which used to be classified laughingly as ‘hot, hottest, & hot and wet’ has now deteriorated with extreme variations within 24 hours. Add to this confused seasons. It’s now hot in ‘winter’, raining in summer and our monsoon alternatively floods or fails the city as well as India. We just got through the Tropical Cyclone Vardah which flooded streets, crushed city landmarks and uprooted over a 100,000 trees.

People wade through flood waters in rain-hit Chennai. (PTI Photo)

Our city’s lungs have been devastated even as air pollution reaches the winter peaks pushed up by burning cyclone’s debris. Drought is staring Tamil Nadu in the face as an unequal monsoon failed many states plunging them into drought and driving farmers to suicide.

Another joke about our city is that the minute the municipal authorities or road works decide to dig or lay a road that’s when there’ll be a cloudburst. Even with an underpar monsoon that urban legend lives on. Even the most moderate rains disrupt the city and its traffic. But when it’s heavy as witnessed during the Chennai Floods of November-December 2015 (which was the most rainfall in over a century) and the December 12th 2016 cyclone we have flooded homes and streets. The Chennai Floods damages were valued at $3 billion. So what we need is pre-emptive programmes similar to Lent, The Netherland’s 2006 “Room for the River” project which may have cost implementing a €2.3billion then but have saved the city from disaster payouts.

Hemmed in by the Bay of Bengal and three rivers – the Adyar, the Kosasthalaiyar and the Cooum – Chennai evolved and survived extreme weather because of its wetlands, canals, marshes and multitudes of lakes, temple tanks and ponds. There were natural water ways in place to channel flood runoff and absorb it into the water table for the dry season. Now the marshes have become landfills and the wetlands and water bodies been built upon schools, colleges, luxurious gated communities, the canals such as the Buckingham Canal which once was completely navigable has been choked by garbage and become synonymous with slums.

The concrete jungle that my city has become is perennially thirsty — exploitation of the water table and water quality is often brackish or worse. With the natural recharge venues choked and the water table sucked dry Chennai suffers from subsidence and has become more vulnerable to earthquakes. Past mistakes are repeated in this automotive industry hub by cycle of exploiting natural resources wherever it spreads to.

A repeated sentiment in various climate adaptation arenas and events is the fact that cities need to be at the fore of battling climate change. As Michael Berkowitz, the 100RC president puts it “After big disasters there are windows of opportunity,” and the time is to build sustainable cities not just smart cities.

Urban waste and water management, carbon decoupled transport and infrastructure, planning and having a vision for a sustainable future are key to urban resilience in Chennai and across South Asia. Training city planners and architects in the sustainable path could be the tipping point in reversing climate change.

What’s Essential for a Resilient City?

“The foundation of building resilience into a city will be the close working of the government and the civic society in developing capacities to deal with threats. I live in the city of Chennai, we the people here have set the benchmark in coming together — Government, youth, celebrities, business community, religious outfits, etc. – and coordinating efforts in dealing with the floods in 2015 and the cyclone of 2016.”

— U. Sudhir Lodha, Tamil Nadu State Minorities Commission Member

“The fundamental ingredient in building a resilient city is to resort to renewable energy and to rely on indigenous systems that do not augment the extent of pollution and exacerbate the impact of climate change. Making buildings capable of rainwater harvesting, installing solar panels, sensible disposal of garbage and relying on terrace gardens in an urban city can create resilient systems. Carpooling so that there are fewer cars on the road, reducing the use of air conditioners and relying on strong disaster management responses can go a long way.”

— Kirthi Jayakumar, Founder & CEO, The Red Elephant Foundation, Chennai

“Cities should ideally be supported by a social, economic and political framework that’s flexible in nature to support changing needs. With land as a prime resource in cities, high-dense housing is concentrated without taking adequate measures to check the availability of water, electricity, services, etc. Since haphazard development occurs without adequate planning, most South Asian cities provide bad living environments for people. Further, urban sprawl results in the creation of an unsustainable suburbia, the failed Western concept that is being tested in Indian cities currently. The sprawling populations that commute to the city centre in their private vehicles not only contribute to fuel exhaustion but also create massive traffic jams. Resilience comes from the ability to support massive change. The secret to build resilience into a city lies in the creation of a holistic infrastructure system; this includes providing effective public transport improving connectivity throughout the city, anticipatory planning of consumption of everyday resources and prevention of inhabitable slums in neighbourhoods. This can provide better life within cities.”

— Sivagami Periannan, Student, Masters of Architecture (Urban Design), Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad, India

Dhaka City. Photo from Daily-Sun

“Dhaka is a bustling city of nearly 17 million, the third most-densely populated in the world. Part of the world’s largest river delta, Bangladesh is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Confused seasons and monsoons have exacerbated desertification in more arid regions while the nation’s capital faces unprecedented erosion leaving what should be vibrant tropical flora and fauna chronically dust-covered and riders of CNGs and rickshaws getting a mouthful of dust in every ride, particularly in the winter.

To make Dhaka resilient, reduction of cars by provision of a public transportation system like an MRT and capacity-building of the related infrastructure could be one route to counteract climate change. Additionally, once in use, safety, particularly of women and girls needs to be ensured. In the developing world, building community trust for institutions is also critical to any efforts toward a sustainable economy and environment. The people of Bangladesh are a resilient lot, without a doubt, so hopefully once given the necessary resources, the present degradation in biodiversity and environment can be halted and reversed."

— Mehvish Ally, Law Student and Red Elephant Foundation volunteer, American expatriate currently residing in Dhaka, Bangladesh

“Barcelona, Spain and Copenhagen, Denmark come to mind when I hear the term ‘resilience’.

Barcelona is known for its good urban plan.

A truly resilient city needs a responsive administration that plans for tough conditions in order to address the worse rather than getting directly affected. … small-scale sustainable planning strategies can be adopted to lower the risks and improve resilience. Setting up small-scale addressable goals and large-scale achievable goals at the start of every term of administration. There should be continuity in resilience planning when there is change in administration – a proper handover. It has to be associated with local government bodies and international partners.”

— Viswanathan S., Student Architect, Chennai, India

“It is important for civic authorities to engage in climate risk analysis and understand the likelihood of various hazards due to changes in the climate and engage with the different communities to adopt a more inclusive and integrated planning approach. This allows the government as well as the communities to understand the potential losses and plan adequate measures and interventions to potential risks. Thus, empowering communities with information and engaging with them to develop interventions from their experiences is key. Engage, educate and empower is central in making cities and communities resilient.”

— Sharda Vishwanathan, Volunteer, The Red Elephant Foundation, Atlanta, USA

“It’s really planning that’s strikes me as most essential, whether it’s to build a new ‘resilient’ city or to make an existing city more resilient. The only problem that lies in placing planning as a priority is that it is up to the planners to decide on what is a risk. But so long as a risk is not rejected out of hand, proper planning is the key to resilience. From determining the potential risks, to carrying through to making the necessary preparations, or just deciding on a course of action to take in the likelihood of the event occurring, all add a level of resilience. Only the planning aspect will show the scope of the problem, and it’s the first and essential step to be taken before considering any large project or social intervention as a measure of resilience.”

— Rukshan De Mel, PhD student, Disaster Management [critical infrastructure’s resilience to extreme weather events], Colombo, Sri Lanka

“The biggest issue in South Asia is the rate of urbanization. Considering the speed with which population in South Asia urbanizing providing incentives to bridge the urban-rural gap would provide resilience to stop infrastructure from failing.”

— Anam Zeb, Research Manager, Climate Tracker, Islamabad, Pakistan

About the Author:

Raakhee Suryaprakash has a Master’s degree in International Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry but is passionate about writing and researching ideas that change the world for the better. She was one of 15 South Asia Fellows in 2016 with Climate Tracker. An associate member with the Chennai Centre for China Studies, she also volunteers with the storytelling wing of the Red Elephant Foundation. Raakhee is in the process of launching a social enterprise SUNSHINE MILLENNIUM that aims to help India’s off-grid rural areas achieve the Millennium Development Goals by setting up of solar-powered millennium development centres. Her work has been widely published both in print and online media.

[This article has been republished with the prior requisite permissions from here]

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