Bul'let' it run

Finally, there is a hope now that one day we will have bullet train running between Mumbai - Ahmedabad. This will reduce the time of travel from present 7 hrs to 2.07 hrs in case of limited stops and max 2.58 hrs in case it stops at all stations. With a maximum operational speed of 320, we are in for a real speedy treat! It not only promises punctuality (with a deviation of less than a minute), it also comes with a zero fatality record.

It is only once in a while that such game changers come our way. And every time such things enter the market they end up impacting the market they operate in a big way and also things in general. It will do to railways what Mumbai metro did to local transport. People were so frustrated with travelling locally, they started using cabs, pooling with friends etc. Metro brought them back to regular form of transport with the convenience and timely services that it offers. With more phases on the anvil, life of a Mumbaikar will only get easier in future. 

Similarly, people had started using flights for travelling between shorter distances to avoid delays and trains in general. With travel time getting reduced to an average of 2.5 hrs, you will have more people going for the bullet train option over flight as you also end up saving on check-in and check-out time in the process. They are expecting a fare of about Rs.2700-3000, with flights charging around Rs.3500-4000 presently, the airline route between Mumbai - Ahmedabad is certainly going to get a run for its money! Buses charge anywhere between 1500-2000 for the same route, not sure what will happen to them as punctuality and convenience is not something that we associate with them!

Fake it till you make it !

If one were to mention the name 'Datang', we would quickly recollect it as a town in the Zhuji, Zhejiang province of China, popularly known as the 'sock city', responsible for a third of world's total socks production! But the name 'Veles' wouldn't ring a bell unless put in context. Both of them produce something that we use everyday. The only difference being 'Datang' manufactures socks out of something and 'Veles' manufactures 'news' out of nothing! Recently I read some articles about a set of people in this town working tirelessly in producing fake news that had a major impact in US elections results, if these stories are correct. There is also a theory that they are backed by Russia but nothing has been verified as of now. Irrespective of whether this is true or not, just the thought of creating fake news out of thin air that has such drastic effect has all the ingredients to create a bestseller book or a blockbuster movie!

There is no debate about the fact that media forms and influences are opinions about issues in general. And there is so much access to information these days that people are over-informed. Worst part about quick sharing of information is the fact that they go viral so fast that we don't bother to check the facts before sharing, reposting, retweeting etc. And before we know that the news is fake, the damage is already done. 

In a scenario where everyone is trying to attract audiences' attention, the source of news is rarely verified. This combined with our innate desire to read sensational news and share it, feeds all those fake news creators, the fodder that they thrive on. While I write this, we could be reading/watching/sharing something which is completely untrue and we have no idea about it, just this thought can give us chills!

When US elections results were out and much before that, Ms. Hillary Clinton had shared her concerns regarding these fake news media outlets and their impact on voters in general. Eventually, she claimed such fake news as one of the factors responsible for her defeat in elections. It is amazing how one of the most powerful and popular person's fortunes could be influenced by a group of people in Veles, Macedonia, talk about globalization! All this while, we thought she was fighting elections with Donald Trump, not realizing the real challenge for her would come from a sleepy town in Macedonia. 

While i write this, I am beginning to doubt whether this news story is fake or not! One may argue here that all popular media is paid and that they lobby for a certain section of people which could be true also. Not just that, we also sometimes end up influencing people to suit our way of thinking. The only difference being we do it personally, popular media does it professionally on national TV with our permission and these group do it without anyone knowing it most of the times!