Farrer Farrer, where are you ?

Finally realization dawns on SMRT or LTA that people could really get confused between the "Farrer Park" mrt station in the North East line and "Farrer Road" mrt station in the new circle line !

They are kind enough to put up transit directions now

How many confused tourists and store goers did it take for SMRT to finally realize that ?

If the LTA says that the Farrer Rd station had to have that name because the public knows that place only by that name, I wouldn't buy it. I did a quick check with my friends. Most of them did not even know such a place existed, until this MRT station was unveiled  Singaporeans definitely do not lack creativity when coming up with names! So, the question lingers, why Farrer ?

Letter to the editor

My next letter to the editor was published in the national newspaper on 20th March 2013.

The excitement and motivation levels have risen :)

Writing letters to the editor is a whole new experience compared to writing a memory or a blog post. The article has to have a few characteristics. For starters, the content has to be well thought, precise, have the potential to make the readers/authorities think and as my good friend pointed out, should be constructive.

Thank you my readers and critics for encouraging me to come up with better articles each time.

As published in Straits Times

I know all of you, who are connected with me/Manu in Facebook have read the letter and the reply, even if you don't live in Singapore and this news does not matter to you. You all read that particular artice in the newspaper because I wrote it. Yes, it matters to me :-)
I am writing this post to thank you guys for being happy for me & also for me to read this in future and rememeber how excited I was about this.
You can imagine my happiest face you have ever seen. Add a bouce to my steps and that's how I looked like, when I saw my name printed in tiny blocks in the bottom left hand corner in an article in the national newspaper. :-) Manu brought the copy of the newspaper. I will take a picture and upload it here sometime.
Meanwhile, sharing the online edition

I was reading today's newspaper, and was pleasantly surprised when I came across this reply from Land Transport Authority. 

I do realize that LTA has replied with just a reassurance and not a complete plan. But, I am glad that they are planning to address the issue. I will do further follow ups as well.

Changing Tones

One of my fave topic to write these days are trains and the commute experience.

I do welcome the latest change in the MRT* announcements. Unlike the recent 'Mandarin announcement' trials, I hope this won't be prematurely terminated. A mellower request has replaced the age old stricter ones reminding of the 'offence'. "Help keep our stations and trains clean. Please do not eat or drink in stations or on trains" do sound better than "No eating or drinking is allowed in stations or the trains."
As the saying goes, Singapore is a 'fine' country. Imposing heavy fines for littering, smoking, eating/drinking in trains and buses are just the beginners. Being a PAP policy supporter (most of the time), I have been questioned many a times about the my take on the government decision to stick to ridiculously heavy fines. One reasonable explanation, I could come up with was - From a nation's perspective, a sense of belonging, patriotism and the culture of a population does impact the general crowd behavior. Without this fine system, few decades back, how would the government have ensured the discipline and cleanliness of a newly formed multi-racial, distressed nation with ever increasing immigrants ?

The recent change might be indicating a softening in attitude towards the public. Is the LTA trying to test if we are discplined enough? If this was a move to improve commuter experience, I don't think it helps. It is yet another string of annoyingly repeating, loud announcements.

When would the long distance commuters like me allowed peaceful sleep, without interventions from the MRT lady voice? I look forward to the time when the announcements fade away from existence, or atleast would be delivered at less frequent intervals!


*MRT - Mass Rapid Transit

Fear OR detecting danger - How to distinguish ?

I hail from India, where chaos, uncertainty and unpredictability rules. I love the way how rules, things and people are flexible back in India.
Or should I say, I used to love the way..?

Having lived in India for major part of my life, I had grown to protect myself from many issues a female faces in the society. But, living in Japan and Singapore for a major part of my adult life has subdued that fear considerably. In Japan, I used to ride a bicycle from work, around 1.00 Am, alone, along the same route every night, and never feared that somebody would attack me. I am not bothered if I to be alone in most parts of Singapore after nightfall also. So, I was under the illusion that I have become much fearless.

Something which happened today morning is making me question my stands on the fear in the public.

I usually take bus and train to work. Today, I was delayed on the roads due to the heavy traffic. I reached the train station after peak hours. There were considerably less people in the train. As I stepped into the car, first thing I noticed was 3 unattended luggage on the floor (Yes, even before spotting empty seats). One backpack and 2 bags from department stores which clearly weren't new purchase. I was very uncomfortable seeing the unattended baggage. Honestly, I was scared that the bag contained explosives.

For those who do not know, 'be-vigilant' videos and announcements are continuously broadcast in Singapore public transport systems to be cautious of terrorist attacks.

                                    One of the most common warnings

[ Not long ago, we used to mock the concept and videos so much that for one Halloween I asked manu to dress-up as the SMRT terrorist guy - He just needed a duffel bag, check shirt and cap pulled low! ]

I could see that most of the passengers were equally unsettled. After a while, when I couldn't bear the anxiety any more, I stood up and asked whom does the baggage belong to. Nobody knew for sure and they started asking each other as well. After few moments, a guy came forward and owned up. I requested him to man his bags as it makes people uncomfortable. I could visibly see the difference in the crowd. People started to relax and started concentrating on their own activities, after that. Some even thanked me for putting them out of their worry.

The moment I reached office, I went to the vending machine to buy hot chocolate with extra sugar, just to feel safe and comforted. That is when the impact of the situation hit me! I felt threatened by a guy who had put his few bags at a convenient place where he could keep an eye on them. (Only he can explain the logic behind putting them so far away from himself.) The very thing which I used to make fun of - the overcautious nature of Japanese and Singaporean society has finally caught up with me.

I can’t stop questioning my current level of trust upon the society and strangers. Should I be redrawing my limits, with a higher tolerance level ?

On a related note, my fear could be all because I watched Zero Dark Thirty, last night.