Harsha Koda and I go back a long way. And for most part of our association, I have known him as a motoring enthusiast. While he and his wife Prabha, another motoring enthusiast, would hit the road for a long trip, they would promote a cause. In 2011, they created awareness about public stem cell banking through what they called The Borderline Drive. The idea was to drive along the borders of Indian states and discuss the issue with whoever crossed their path. When they entered Orissa, their SUV was involved in a major crash which left Praba battling for her life. And in 2012, after she had recovered, the Kodas resumed the drive where they had left it, and completed it.
“That’s commitment, resilience and tenacity for you!” I found myself exclaiming, when I heard about this.
In 2013, I discovered a different side of Harsha. A different form of tenacity. At that time, the traffic police was having a series of consultations with the residents of Old Mahabalipuram Road on how to free up the Sholinganallur junction, and Harsha, a resident of Sholinganallur, played a key role in the discussions.
After an early-morning discussion with the traffic police, Harsha and I were leaving the station in his SUV, when he noticed a cab driver driving on the wrong side of the road. Harsha blocked the driver’s path and then kept on driving so that the driver had to reverse. To get back to the right side, the driver had to reverse nearly 400 metres. By driving on, Harsha ensured the driver reversed all the way. That’s not all — he took photos of the car’s number plate and the driver and also noted down the cab service he belonged to. No amount of pleading from the driver would make Harsha relent: he told the driver that this violation would be reported.
That day, I saw Harsha in a new light — as an activist who would not concede an inch. That image crystallised in my mind.
Recently, when I discussed this column with Hasha, his reaction was: “Activist? Who? Me? I’ve never thought of myself as an activist... just as someone who is pro-active.”
Harsha and Prabha moved to Old Mahabalipuram Road six years ago, buying an apartment at the 56-apartment Sabari Terrace in Sholinganallur. After a while, they expanded their professional horizons. They have been running a graphic design business; they were now foraying into start-up design: besides offering their clients website and graphic design, they would guide them through processes that are necessary to establish a start-up business.
“When we moved to OMR, I was impressed by all the "pass-code" protected doors and “dressed up” security and the “manicured” garden spaces. But, at end of the day, I realised that all these systems are only as efficient as the people who are at the helm of affairs. I asked a few uncomfortable questions at my first Association meeting and everyone pounced on me and made me the secretary they thought the guy who asked all the questions might have all the answers,” laughs Harsha. But, Harsha had to search hard for the answers. He did, and found them through unconventional methods.
“I've learnt things by trial and error and by using tools that are usually not applied for these purposes. For example, I used Google Maps and my car’s GPS system to calculate the elevation difference in our road to design a stormwater drain channel, to help with the flooding. It’s another matter that the idea was lost in red tapism and not implemented.”
Harsha believes empowering people is the first and indispensable step to having out-of-the-box solutions. He believes this thinking has to start at home. So, he first empowered the service providers at Sabari Terrace.
“As the secretary of Sabari Terrace, my first instruction to my staff, which include housekeeping personnel, plumbers/electricians and the security and even the manager was: ‘Never come to me with a problem... tell me, if you were in my position, what would your solution have been?’ In most cases, they come up with interesting ways to approach the problem, some that work and mostly ways that don’t. But at the end of the day, this helps them take ownership of the place they work at. They feel connected with everything happening here to the point that, during the December floods they all stayed back at the apartment complex for over 72 hours, to handle the problems — even though their families were in an equally bad, if not worse, situation.”
Beyond the apartment
From the beginning, Harsha has been encouraging residents of apartment complexes to be involved in larger issues affecting the neighbourhood. He showed them how to.
“Along with a few other committee members from neighbourhood complexes, we approached the traffic police and got some kind of re-routing at Sholinganallur signal that eased the ‘long’ traffic jams to some extent. More can be done. More needs to be done!”
Harsha has been one of the prime movers behind the initiative to bring the residents on to a common platform that would enable speedy and effective resolution of civic issues.
Forming FOMRRA
“About a year ago, a few of us got together to form FOMRRA — Federation of OMR Residents Associations — an apolitical apex body of OMR resident associations. The idea was to stand united and represent the common civic problems and find solutions using a collective knowledge-base drawing from individual experiences to benefit all. The response has been very good. We’ve got over 50 apartment complexes, totalling over 10,000 apartments, on board.”
Harsha Koda can be contacted at secretary@sabariterrace.in or koda@fomrra.org
