Beyond The Obvious

RABINDRA BHAVANA

2012-01-17T16:01:00.002+05:30

‘Yet one solitary tear
Would hang on the cheek of time...’
Rabindranath Tagore

This year marks the sesquicentennial birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore and the songs, dances, theatre and the re-reading of Tagore is a jubilant celebration that will probably culminate with the centenary of Tagore winning the Nobel Prize next year. The fervour of the festivals may be hollow or worse obeisance to a habit of carefully remembering anniversaries of luminaries. Unaware of the hype, I began my journey in search of the splendid old man who gave ‘Kabuliwallah’ to my class six reader. Mini is every Indian girl of that uncorrupted simple Indian life and Kabuliwallah is the personification of the imaginary friend from strange lands that a girl ought to have. When I saw the standard Tagore picture in all Indian text books of the splendid old man, I only became convinced of the veracity of the story. I always knew old men could be trusted; I still wrote to Santa and heard stories from toothless grandfathers of the gramam. When I graduated to ‘Thakurda’ in my adolescence the pervading pathos saddened me like Kamala Das and R.K.Narayan. Finally when I had some time to go to the ghats of Bengal to understand the ebb and flow of his poetry, the rhythm of riverine Bengal that inspired his stories, the grand voyages that helped the solitary sane voice speak of a new humanism, he is a ripe 150 years old. This is not a tribute; it is an investigation- a curious 10 year old can have her revenge now.

A Rebel
I first wanted to name this article ‘Timeless Tagore’. But my research left me aghast as I copiously read the disparaging idolising of the poet by the Indians as much as the stoic criticism from the Westerners (thankfully only after reading Rabindranath’s works). For all non-Bengalis it is only hovering at the gates of a grand haveli trying to divine the regal splendour within. Even then for an Indian, it is relatively easy to understand the images, idols and ideals that his oeuvre is replete with. We risk losing the music of the language, the deflections, the easy onomatopoeia; but we can still derive some pleasure in reading his lyrics, for his words are inherently musical and his poems buzz and hum in your heart. This difference in understanding him has led the Bengalis to call him Rabindranath while his western audience always know him as the anglicised Tagore. So I decided not to write a panegyric that I had planned but an introduction- an attempt to understand the literary oeuvre of the genius ‘Rabindra Bhavana’ which the poet himself thought his jiban debata inspired.

Rabindranath wrote in Bengali- the language was for him both love and the lover, inspiration and the poem, the muse and its offspring. He used the language in novel and original forms finally taking it beyond the literary uses to which he made use of her. He wrote scientific treatise in Bengali and held a staunch view that the language should be used in legal and other aspects of public life as well. Bengali is the air he breathed, his sigh, his scream and his song. This aspect rather distanced him from all outsiders as what was essentially him was lost in the translation. The enthusiasm that W.B.Yeats and Ezra Pound showed in his Gitanjali that lead him to win the Nobel Prize waned and there was a time when a critic wrote “perhaps the time has come for us to forget that Tagore was ever a poet and think of his more intelligible achievements.” The extra-ordinary charisma he wielded with his followers was contrasted by the flak he received in equal measures or sometimes more. In his own words he received ‘blame and praise in the proportion of water and land on earth’. Such impish wit coupled with a deeply sensitive disposition is one of the many contradictions of the person and consequently the artist. Rabindranath could be effortlessly humorous after he tired himself out of being deeply hurt. The complexity and contradiction that baffle the student of the artist is because primarily he adorned different roles as a poet, playwright, story writer, painter, composer and an activist trying to express an essentially multilayered philosophy that yearned for a whole. This herculean task, he tried to attempt with the light wings of an amateur. A lifelong truant, he dropped out of a formal education at the age of thirteen and educated himself ever since. “My ignorance combined with my heresy turned me into a literary outlaw,” he said. His rebelliousness essentially made him an outlaw everywhere as he played dumb to the rules of form and structure and roamed the literary landscape of a turbulent India whispering his songs of deep passion and devotion. In his pantheism he is close to Wordsworth searching for the golden thread of Unity in all creations, in his romanticism he sings like Keats paying his odes and in his ethereal dreams of other worlds he is Coleridge telling us narrative poems of the sinning mariner and the fallen albatross. The glorified amateur wrote ninety stories, 2000 songs and played with his muse, peerless. Yet 3000 of his paintings are locked away in a museum in Bengal. As William Radice poignantly remarks, “...the apparent impishness, their revelry in the odd, the grotesque and the meaningless...” is the signature mark of his works and this makes him an obscure artist, understandably embarrassing to his supporters.

The Oeuvre
I have a modest ear for music that prevents me from commenting on the main chunk of his works- his songs. My appreciation of painting is rather amateurish. This excludes two major areas of Rabindranath’s oeuvre. I can only lay claim to his words translated in English. On this tenuous notion of knowledge, I share some of the works that I enjoyed. There is an excellent edition of his ‘Selected Poems’ edited by William Radice brought put by Penguin India. It covers selected poems period wise beginning from the fertile debonair to the spiritual saint that Rabindranath was. The themes of love and longing, betrayal, the deeply religious spirituality that nature aroused in him are all present in his early poems on love, its renewal and death. Post Nobel (a churlish classification, yet for convenience) he writes his famous poems Flute-Music, Deception and a Grand-father’s Holiday full of the elusive abstract called love and pathos. In the last section, the recurring themes of leaving, waiting, sick-bed and renewal are a presage of things to come.

For the story lovers, there is a companion book ‘The Postmaster’ edited by the same scholar. An eclectic selection from Rabindranath’s prolific 90 stories brings out the stories of false hopes, wishes granted and taken away, single nights, last serenades, the serfdom of an unjust society based on land relations and the sceptre stories thrown in to make it interesting, instructive and unputdownable. The crisp stories end abruptly and the sad ones just long enough to melt you down like a sad Sindhubhairavi. The serene Padma that flows, the torrential rain that disrupt, the Ghats that remind you of leaving and parting on the banks of Padma that flows...it is a beautiful cycle of “the human world of happiness and sadness, meeting and parting, longing to rove freely in a world of unfettered beauty” as the introduction aptly describes.

Delve into the words that tease and pray, that sings and sighs- try to work out the whimses of Rabindra Bhavana. The best you can do to the genius that was freedom bound, the lone tear on the cheek of time.

Notes
1.The famous story of Tagore
2.The protagonist, a six-year girl of the story Kabuliwallah.
3.The village commune in south India
4.A famous Short-story by Tagore
5.Popular Indian writers who wrote in English. Kamala Das was a poet and R.K.Narayan wrote stories of his idyllic imaginary Indian village Malgudi. Both were known for their works rich in pathos.
6.Bungalow, a sign of affluence. Tagore was a land owning Zamindar and hence the reference.
7.Life Giver (The Muse)
8.The western writers who introduced Tagore in England
9.His seminal work that fetched him the Nobel Prize.
10.Tagore described this ideal as ‘Purnata’.
11.A classical Indian raga.

NEAR FAR

2012-01-10T13:12:00.003+05:30

“To be reconciled to the inevitable with good grace is wisdom”
- Rabindranath Tagore

Like the inky blue blanket of the night wraps the fiery red of the day and puts it to a deep, dreamless sleep, Tagore’s poetry washes me over at the end of a tempestuous year. Like a soothing balm, it is mellifluous and beautiful and is slowly giving me things like hope and calm. Poetry never offers something outrightly brazen like courage or strength; it gives a squishy melting feeling deep down and makes you believe in love. Poetry is impossible without love just as life is improbable without hope. These are abstract indefinable good feelings that make us move on. In such turbulent times, when idealism is laughed at and professional people manage the world so well, I chose to stray with Tagore who believed that heavens still touched the earth in its horizons. To be talking like this is a self destructive confession of a romantic but perched on the tail fin of the year, some of you may be looking forward to living life next year; not simply managing it as though it were a difficult child.

In giving this message, Tagore is the most useful. As a student of literature, what applies to me when I learn Tagore’s oeuvre can be extended to ‘life’. There is no use sitting at the feet of his poetry or life for that matter looking for wisdom. It makes fools out of us all. Instead as each day progresses, rhyme, sense and rhythm drops; days stretch themselves out as undecipherable lengthy lines of a poem, embellishments seem incongruent. What bothers us so much in the beginning- the structure – seem so difficult to maintain in the end. As we try to make sense, we have to rewrite it and read it a different way. It is a gradual process progressively leading to stark naked exposure.

In the process of creation of a poem, I always begin with the set of rules I abide by. As lines expand, commandments falter and wings sprout on their own. A poem always leaves me at a different place than I imagined at the outset. This is the principle that holds true for all works of art and learning about them as well. Wherever there are too many variables, I approximate. My vision is certainly skewed, I call it subjective- it is far from how things really are. But here like everywhere else, I comfort myself with the importance of the journey rather than focussing on the impotency of my mind.

As a new year unfolds, I hope you find the novelty, balance, contrast and rhythm to make life bearable. Lock away the dissecting microscopes, open your eyes, shut away the cameras and open your mind- you are the most precious recorder of your life. At the end of the year, you can sit with the shards of moments trying to figure it all out- like playing an impossible jigsaw. Do not care about the logic- children still play with coloured pebbles and we still facebook our frustrations. It is always in the hope that there is a unifying larger meaning to the unreasonableness in us and the unpredictability of life.

Before the Gods snatch it away, drink it! Happy 2012!

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

2012-01-02T15:49:00.004+05:30

“Wind to thy wings, light to thy path, dreams to thy heart.”

I have always had an immense desire to study in the best Universities of our times. Where I study has been as important as what I study because it is in the best institutions of higher learning that ideas are conceived, imagination is appreciated and horizons are widened. I value the education in the lap of life and culture as much as the learning in the cradle of a University. Therefore during my Master’s in English language and literature, I chose to learn a foreign language.

France is the largest country in Western Europe with a rich heritage and a unique culture. The passport to France is really the French Language. There are 16 Alliances Françaises in India imparting French language courses and they organise cultural programmes to give Indians a taste of their life. It is an immensely rewarding achievement to master any foreign language, especially French as it can be converted into great educational and employment opportunities not just in France but in key positions of diplomacy, Politics, International Relations, Journalism or even corporate sector across the world.

My odyssey with the French language was exciting. It was an adventure with a new language, culture and a way of life. I mastered the language slowly and succeeded in passing the French Diplômes with flying colours. The director of Alliance Française de Pondichéry came up with the idea of ‘the Best Student Award’ to be given to one student who will be flown to France to continue learning French language at Eurocentres, the premier Institute to learn foreign languages in Europe. I was thrilled when I won the award after my candidature was scrutinised by a panel of Jury for my education, French language level and motivation to study the language.

In France
Eurocentres where I was going to study was a specialised language school head quartered in Switzerland. It had three branches in France and I was put in the one at the beautiful coastal town of la Rochelle in south west France. I stayed with a French family to immerse myself completely in the French way of life. I spoke French with everyone, ate dinner with the family French style with entrée, plat and dessert including the famous ‘fromage’ or cheese(France has more than 1200 varieties of cheese) and wine. Fashion and food are integral to French life as they value their quality of life the most. They make the most delicious cheese, wine and chocolates, they are à la mode (always up to date in fashion) and their perfumes are truly famous across the globe. The richness of the French life is a symbol of their appreciation of life. I found that they are one among the most health conscious people in the world.

At Eurocentres, I had to pass an entrance test to determine my level and I was put in a class which was truly international in its composition. The classes were very demanding and creative and we were given a clear chart of the syllabus and reference books which were available in the médiathèque( media library). We had all the facilities that we required including internet, tutorials, cultural and sports programme and excursions to the nearby islands. Any programme that would help us integrate into the French culture was not spared. We had feedback forums through interviews and tutorials and all genuine concerns were immediately addressed.
My experience at the school helped me understand the incredible opportunities that great ‘grandes écoles’ and Universities in France offered to International students. It is an incredible country with people who are genuinely warm. I hope that at least some of you will begin to think beyond the conventional destinations of Indian students abroad and tap the potential of other wonderful greener pastures.

(This was published in THE HINDU, 2nd January, 2012)

Arts, Literature, Philosophy: The Ailing Branches of Learning

2011-11-27T12:46:00.004+05:30

“Mental slums are more dangerous than material slums”
- Dr.S.Radhakrishnan

It is with deep regret that I read about the closing down of the Department of Philosophy at the Middlesex University, U.K (The HINDU EDUCATIONPLUS, November 7, 2011) for the lack of interested students. Philosophy is one of the oldest subjects in which Man took an active interest. But today, we face a crisis of lack of interest of the present generation in such subjects which are pure, basic and natural to Man. India produces more than five lakhs engineers and thousands of management graduates every year. In the recent times, this statistics has coincided with the desertification of the classrooms of Humanities and Arts and the mushrooming of engineering colleges and management institutes. Many departments in our Universities are likely to go the Middlesex way.

I am second to no one in appreciating the importance of science and technology. Five hundred years ago, Science was the falcon that showed us the power of a soaring imagination, the possibility of meeting infinity and remodelling the concept of divinity. The spirit of never losing a holy curiosity stormed our imagination with gorgeous visions of the worlds to conquer. Nevertheless, greater velocity of moment and giant saltatory leaps do not make progress. We need not just experiments but experience to complete education. Sending a man into the heart of his past is as ennobling as sending him to the depths of the Universe. Universities are the hallowed portals that should provoke and stimulate imagination and animate the spirit of the young to create a better civilization than their own, through language and literature, philosophy and religion, art and thought.

The purpose of education
Goethe says that the purpose of education is to form tastes and to not simply communicate knowledge. Culture is born on the meditation of the living past and the appreciation of the continuing spirit. This requires an openness to accept the unusual, a flexibility to accept the multiplicity and the imagination to understand the nature of truth. It is this pursuit of truth that education encourages. Our estimate of the prospect of learning a subject depends on the employability it offers, which is dictated to us by gigantic nefarious forces. I have heard most of the engineering students absorbed into the corporate sector sheepishly admitting that the job that they do had nothing to do with what they studied. This mindless cherry picking of engineering and management graduates to mould them into corporate puppets insults these respective subjects and puts a death seal into the aspirations, more humane. It leaves an entire generation disillusioned and unfulfilled. The singularly servile attitude of the intellectually timid youth makes them play safe and go with the majority. As Dr. Radhakrishnan remarks, “The bad employer, the unjust law, the corrupt leader and the false teacher thrive because they have never been challenged”. He goes on to add that “Education has failed you if it does not develop in you a love of severe and sustained thinking and resistance to popular sentiment and mob passion”. To make an original choice and be true to oneself we need strength of character besides what Mathew Arnold calls sweetness (of temper) and light (sanity of outlook). The power of education is the power to make that choice.

Need for a Renaissance
Having been bred in a system that stifles individuality, our stagnant spirits produce polluted thoughts. The business of learning deals not only with solemn facts but the vast vicissitudes of human life. As Tagore says, we are gifted with a mental sense that finds its object not by analysis but by apprehension. We have to learn to appreciate both the story and the narration, both the external impulse and the internal self unfolding. We have to re-discover our pure instinct of sympathy and fellow feeling. Our life is not just a matter of science but of social ethics as well. Civilizations cannot be sold in exchange of commodities. Pressing a button and flapping huge mechanical wings might provoke a mild interest of the distant future. But our conscience and ideals alone can be inherited. “Tejasvinav adhitam astu” May our learning impart light.

Light from many Lamps

2011-10-28T13:56:00.004+05:30

“Every generation enjoys the use of a vast hoard bequeathed to it by antiquity, and transmits that hoard, augmented by fresh acquisitions, to future ages”- Thomas Macaulay

We are all inheritors by birth- inheritors of a name, an identity that affirms our belonging to a family, a race, a religion and a nationality. This inheritance also implies a legacy of beliefs, faith, legends and loss. To study our history would be to study all men before us, to know what they believed their story was. Unconsciously we are History’s secret keepers for long after the legends are forgotten, habits last and we pass on our nameless fear and prejudices, the sacred and the sanctimonious to the next generation. India is an abode where layers of centuries rest still to be awaken every year to be celebrated. We celebrate and venerate our antiquity by following their habits and believing their beliefs. I suspect this is tradition.

India with its immense size shocks us but with its immense history humbles us. We stumble over history in space and time- in its hallowed forts, tombs and ruins, in edicts on stone pillars and holy days and nights, on full-moons, new moons and eclipses. With a mindboggling number of religions, sects and sub-sects, every day of the year should be remarkable- for the holy and the unholy warrants prayers; thus the shores of the Indian minds are washed over by divine chants and distant refrains every day.

There is a festival of colours and flowers, there are festivals before and after harvests and like any ancient culture there is time for the new born and the dead- we celebrate every stage of life. One of the most spectacular festivals in India is ‘Deepawali’ that literally means a row of light (lamps). Whether it is the defeat of Ravan at the hands of Ram or the defeat of the demon Narakasura at the hands of Krishna, Deepawali is the celebration of the triumph of the good over the evil.

Post-spring, as the North-East monsoon tumbles down in a roaring downpour in most parts of the country, people celebrate light and its warmth in defiance of the grey, cold and the silent. The ray of light that illuminates our homes and our hearts are the strands of love, goodness, knowledge- in a way, we light the way to happiness. The wisdom of the ages in lighting up lives rings a deeper meaning as darkness envelops us in the form of new demons in our times- fear of hatred, fear of strangers and fear of having less are really fears of communalism, terrorism and poverty. All kinds of fears in Man are essentially the fear of Man. Now more than ever we need light.

There is a beautiful hymn that the nuns of a Catholic congregation sing in my hometown- “Lead kindly light, amidst the encircling gloom, lead thou me on.” As shadows lengthen, we should bring light out of the little selfish pots where we have hidden them and show them fearlessly that the light still burns and life is alive. Today standing up and speaking out- or any action that brings you out of the faceless crowd can be a threat to life.

In a world that is fast shrinking both due to the technological advancement and the recession of kindness and the magnanimity of spirit, idealism is out-dated and morality is unwanted. Countries collapse like a pack of cards, then disappear and appear after reshuffling. It is the cruel version of the old magician’s trick that I once enjoyed; but it terrorises me when I know that the hand that dealt the cards are always hidden. People call it the new spring but ironically it is the spilling of blood and the drying up of lives.

I never thought that it was possible to disintegrate with the speed of light and explode magnificently but silently like a decaying star. That kind of destruction is also light- a silent light that takes away life. I have heard teachers explain that life begins and ends with water but I realise it is the same with light as well.
In these days and times, I cannot but contextualise the beautiful festival of light. When I see strangers in neighbours and doubts in friends, I have to be political. We need ‘the thoughts that can breathe and the words that can burn’; we also need Man who can love, live and learn. May this Deepawali bless you with the light from many lamps, burn your fears and warm your spirits. May we all be lightened and enlightened. A very happy Deepawali to all my brothers and sisters.

Award from Alliance Française

2011-10-16T11:13:00.004+05:30

Report from THE HINDU dated 26 September 2011

Alliance Francaise has emerged as one of the leading schools for French, not only in India, but across the world, according to French Consul General to Puducherry Pierre Fournier.

Speaking on Saturday at the Alliance Francaise at the award ceremony for the best student for the year 2010-2011, who was awarded a trip to France, Mr. Fournier said he was happy that the institution was giving out such a prestigious prize, which would help both the institution and the students.

Addressing the gathering, the Director of Alliance Francaise Fabrice Mongiat said by awarding a trip to France, he hoped to develop the language centre of AF. He had three aims for the centre – to improve the quality of the course, to improve the environment and to encourage students to stick with Alliance for a longer time. This prize would definitely help achieve these goals, he said.

He expressed his hope that more sponsors would come forward to continue this prize in the years to come, he said.

In his speech at the function, President of Alliance Francaise V. Nallam said awarding a trip to France would create a good reputation for the institution and he hoped they would continue it in the coming years.

Principal of Lycee Francais de Pondichery Eric Compan said he was very pleased with this prize, which would encourage more people to learn French. He also offered all the prize winners a chance to use the library at the Lycee.

The best student for the year, K. S. Deepa won a two-week trip to La Rochelle in France and a chance to study 20 hours of French at the Eurocentre there. She was awarded this prize based on a jury decision, which took into consideration performance in the DELF (Diplôme d'études en langue française), class performance and other criteria. There were 30 students who applied for the prize, according to Mr. Mongiat. During the function, nine other students also won prizes for excellent performance in the course.

An Everlasting Bond

2011-07-27T16:42:00.003+05:30

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
-Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Something captures the imagination of every generation- the war, the Beetles or say Harry Potter! The genie that J.K. Rowling unleashed in 1997 enthralled my generation who grew up with Harry fighting the demons of our lives. Why did the life of a strange boy in the wizarding world thrill every child and the child-like across the world (for Harry Potter was translated into 67 languages and read by millions)? It was because Harry’s world was for us a ‘Mirror of Erised’ which showed our deepest and most desperate desire of our hearts. In it, we found a place for the holy and the blasphemous, the brilliant and the ordinary and most importantly acceptance of the exceptional.

The uniquely weird among us would have found a Harry in us. Orphaned and estranged from the world he inhabits, Harry finds himself belonging to wizarding world- a place with its own rules and laws that muggles (non magical people) will never understand. Harry finds a home in the magical world and with it comes friendship, love and belonging. Harry has his sweet revenge at the non-magical foster home by being himself- a wizard! This is the dream of every child- to find another world in the dusty cupboard of our homes, to discover that your pet can talk to you, to fly, to be a pirate hunting treasures or simply refuse to grow up. Peter Pan stayed in the enchanted forest, Alice slipped through the rabbit hole and Lucy discovers the wintry Narnia through a cupboard.

The seven books of Harry are simply the seven steps of realising oneself. In Book 1, Harry is introduced into the wizarding world and he realises that he is both different and special. In Book 2, we understand that the loneliest among us are the most vulnerable like Ginny. Book 3 sees the coming of a god-father, who completely understands what Harry really wants. Book 4 is the crowning of champion, Book 5 begets disillusionment when Harry realises his actual destiny, Book 6 is a moment of darkness and Book 7 is the book of acceptance of one’s true self.

I have stood glassy-eyed before an angry father who exploded like a cauldron on seeing my marks. He kept on asking me how I managed such low scores despite reading late into the night. He was not aware of the time I spent indulging in under age wizardry with Harry when I should be studying for my exams! I have wished to transfigure many a provocative class-mate into a ferret. I classified my teachers as the McGonagalls, Snapes and the Lupins (teachers at the Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry). I have tried studying the particularly obnoxious subjects with a memory charm. If only, I had Runes instead of Mathematics, Herbology instead of Botany and Potions instead of Chemistry how gladly I would have studied! In short, I have lived the life of an incurable, unspeakable Potter Fan like many of you.

I think that this saga will not end as long as there are children in the world. Every child who comes into this world with wide-eyed wonder is not allowed to stand and stare and make friends with the invisible creatures of never never land. For those who are pushed into a dreary dismal dungeon of rote-learning and mindless competition, Harry will be a solace. For after all, from Potter we learn that we all fight our boggarts (our biggest fears) but there are patronus charms that dispel the darkest despair of our lives. Ultimately it is the lingering lesson that there is hope and a lasting bond with Harry that helps us to believe so.

REQUIEM TO THE AVANT GARDE

2011-06-13T10:01:00.002+05:30

‘Ut pictora poesis’ (As is painting, so is poetry)
-Horace, Ars Poetica

The great painters and poet philosophers drink from the same Helicon; if one moulds the human mind through visual images in space, the other, strives to move us with verbal images in time. The wisdom of all ages lies in art and poetry. India is one of the oldest civilizations which embraced its glorious rebels and mendicant sons with the nonchalance and pride of a wise mother. It is a blot on our cultural heritage that the father of contemporary art in India, M.F. Hussain passed away in exile, longing for his only love, India, which was in his blood and being. India was to him the Muse, the eternal spring of inspiration and he wandered as a prodigal son adorned with the crowns that we bestowed without the kingdom.

Nation states are habitual offenders in crushing exceptions and thwarting genius. Yet in ancient Greece, Epicurean philosophy flourished and Diagnose preached Cynicism. Both were not banished from their countries. Milton with his rich verbal tapestry lashed out at the irrational censoring of his time through his ‘Areopagitica’ and Swift wrote the mock epic ‘Battle of the Books’ to tease the Puritanism of his age. Satire is the antidote to supercilious Puritanism and it is only fair that le mot juste (the right word) defends l’image juste (the right picture). In India, irreverence has never been sacrilege. From the ancient temple images that depicted nudity and sensuousness we matured into a modern India which refused to ban Nabokov’s Lolita. Freedom of expression was guaranteed as a Fundamental Right in our Constitution and Supreme Court’s verdict that ‘where art and obscenity are mixed, the artistic, literary and social merit of the work in question outweighs its obscene content’ was in compliance with contemporary mores and National Standards.

But later on, we grew strangely insecure with James Laine, Rohinston Mistry, Joseph Lelyveld and M.F. Hussain. Whereas the former were not present in India, the latter had made India his home and his large canvas. Bellicose Puritanism drove out benign purity. Censoring films, burning books and curbing artists was a way to ensure conformity of thoughts. When dissent was suppressed, democracy was maimed. When we opened schools of mediocrity to dispense a monotonous cultural credo, the enigmatic artist who evoked vast lovely poetic and pleasurable spaces became unbearable. Did not we bottle the sorcerer who unleashed the genie of a thousand magical nights? The profligate and the profound Hussain, with the swiftness of a winged horse, created an empire of memorable images which mirrors India through the millennia. Akin to an image the great writer Italo Calvino evokes, Hussain like the Greek God Mercury, with his winged feet light and airborne, connected Universal laws with individual destinies. He captured our imagination to communicate to us of another world.

To understand the oeuvres of Hussain is to understand the simultaneous co-habitation of the ambiguous and the alternative with the accepted norms. While displaying a sumptuous fiesta for our eyes, he teases our vision. Playful and profound, his deft strokes belie the sincerity, the penetration and humanism of the artist and the man that he was. He was as Carlyle remarked of great souls, ‘always loyally submissive, reverent to what is over them.’ Those among us who cannot winnow the chaff from the grain are lost to the meaning of his greatness and the melody of his works.

(This article was published in The HINDU dated 12 June 2011)

MANGO SHOWERS

2011-05-01T19:55:00.004+05:30

I stood before the imposing façade of the Victorian building. In the deafening silence, the chirpy birds and squirrels were sonorous and their playfulness was out of place. A giant egg-headed Humpty Dumpty perched on top of the entrance, oblivious to his fall that was imminent. I stared at him a moment too long before I was ushered into the room. A nun with a severe face gave me an unforgiving look and thus began my odyssey.

That day would remain forever etched in my memory. I was the diffident girl in a blue frock clutching my father’s hand and my mother’s sari1, who went in for my school admissions with the feeling of being taken to the gallows. What followed was a half-hour rendezvous in rapid convent English. My Pidgin English and my wide eyed wonder did nothing to improve my chances of being taken into the most prestigious private school in my home state. It was the first important step in my life- my entry into education which my mother told was the only gateway to a bigger, better and a brighter life. After the harassing ordeal, the verdict was pronounced- I was not up to the mark because my English was poor.

The first steps were faltering and the first plunge was scary. But it was nothing compared to the first rejection. It broke my heart to know that the hard and difficult English had to determine how good I was. It was very difficult to remember two names for everything, one in Tamil2 and the other in English. My mother tongue Tamil seemed far easier and meaningful than the pointless English. I had so much wanted to be like the pretty convent girls in a blue pinafore with stockings and black pointed shoes speaking in musical English and giggling softly like a flowing cascade. It was my mother’s story that showed me the first rainbow colours. She simply wouldn’t let me cry defeated.

My mother then told me that life was like the seasons that we had in Kerala3. In my home state Kerala in the south of India, there were only three seasons- summer, spring and the monsoons. We never had winter; none of us had seen snow in our entire lives. We also did not witness the landscape turn golden and trees denuding themselves in autumn. We had the scorching tropical summer in the first five months of the year when the landscape turned a faded yellow with drooping leaves. Then the monsoons came and with a magical touch of a sorcerer, the landscape metamorphosed into brilliant indescribable shades of green. Then we had the beautiful spring when our fields looked like a maiden just after a shower- luscious and juicy. We had a short spell of October Rains with thunder and lightning when the village became eerily dormant. Then it was summer again! But even in the middle of the summer, as if to relieve us from the unbearable heat, we had the mango showers - light drizzles that made the ripe mangoes fall down in April. It was summer vacation for all the schools and we would go picking up mangoes in the rain, wildly climbing trees and come home all roasted brown in the evening. The rains defined our seasons by neatly compartmentalising our idea of the seamless continuum called time into small manageable intervals; I think rains made life bearable and our people really optimistic. My mother and her never say die spirit have been the cornerstone of my life. And she attributed her optimism to the mango showers! My mother told me that everybody was fighting a hard battle; but we also had the unexpected ‘mango showers’ to deliver us from our frustrations. She asked me to look out for the ‘mango showers’ in my life.

I laboriously mastered English, sat for the second round of interviews and made it to the convent. I became the first girl in my family to be enrolled in an English medium school! Being born into a Tamil Brahmin4 family, the girls were largely confined to the inner chambers of our palaces without an education and an idea about the world. When men were sent out for education and jobs, women like frogs in a well, had neatly defined horizons that suffocated their free spirits. My mother, the ultimate rebel, finished high school and became the most educated woman in the family! My grandmother was not formally educated at all. When my mother had a daughter, she promised herself that her child would be educated in the best schools and colleges in her country, even if it meant fighting against all the traditions of her orthodox family and caste.

My entry into a Catholic school raised a few eye-brows. ‘Oracles’5 predicted that we were degenerating as we had defied the custom to opt out of religious education. But my mother was determined that I would prove everyone wrong by coming out of my convent education in flying colours. She would not let my double barrier come in the way. I was still struggling with my English and I was the only Tamilian in a class full of Malayalam speaking natives. That meant I could not answer my teachers well and I could not even share a joke with my friends. I remember two incidents in my early childhood that I could overcome only because I had my mother. I remember coming home to my mother and crying to her one day.

“Amma, the teacher asked us to speak on what we all wanted to be in our lives.”

“And what did you say, Deepu?”

I wanted to say that I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to tell others stories just like you tell me. I thought about everything. But I couldn’t say it in English. I was the only one...”

My mother’s warm bosom enveloped me so that I did not have to say the hardest words. She was determined to make me proficient in English. To teach me, she would learn the lessons first and when I came home from school, she would feed me and then we would study together. Thanks to my mother, I have never gone for special tuitions in my life as my mother thought that she was competent enough to educate me single-handed. She would tame the truant in me by patiently sitting with me and explaining one word at a time and giving me meanings of ideas and truths that transcended the barriers of an alien language.

To be a Tamilian speaking another language and having funny names for simple things were difficult for me at school. My crude Tamil could never compete with the mellifluous Malayalam6 of my class-mates. I was the loner and the weirdo in the class. Every after-noon the girls would smuggle Malayalam Comics and read it in turns, the wonderful stories in it. I would sit far away trying to understand the story and the jokes. I didn’t know enough Malayalam to be in the group, but I had enough imagination to fly with them to magical lands. When my mother came to know about it, she immediately subscribed for a copy of the weekly Children’s Comics in Malayalam and would sit with me every Friday afternoon to read it out after school.

As I began grow up, I became better and slowly grew beyond my mother. I was learning sophistication and my mother let me go. My horizons were growing farther and farther, my dreams lay beyond the greener pastures on the other side in distant lands and my mother was preparing herself to be left behind. From the lisping four year-old, I had graduated to a confident young woman who challenged my contemporaries in auditoriums for debates in the University. My mother was never so happy as when she heard that I would speak to an audience on stage. Till date, my mother has never heard me speak to an audience, but I later learned from my neighbours that she described in detail how I would speak fiercely, logically and in English! Every trophy I brought home was cherished, she ordered for a ‘show-case’ to be made in the drawing room to exhibit the story of my success. The last time I went home, I was stunned and slightly embarrassed to see the trophies and cups that I won in the last twenty years, proudly displayed. Many a times I would plead with her to keep only the important ones if she really wanted them displayed and she would reply obstinately, “All of them are important! I am keeping them for my grand-children.” The day I passed my Bachelor’s topping the University, I rang up my mother and told her the news first, maybe a little carelessly as I had future plans weighing me down. By the time I reached home, I learned that my mother had distributed sweets to everybody in the streets. She was celebrating the graduation of the first woman in the family and there was no stopping her.

By a strange twist of destiny, I passed a degree in Communicative English and went on to become a Rhodes scholarship semi-finalist from my country. The day I was selected for the semi-finals of Rhodes, I could listen to the muffled sobs of my mother on the other side of the telephone. I was 600 kilometres away from home conveying the biggest moment of my life. Then one fine day, I simply told my mother that I was leaving everything behind to be a writer. My mother stood like a rock beside me when I was going through the most difficult years alone in another city amidst erratic pay-checks and rejections. She reminded me of ‘mango showers’ but I was too depressed to be consoled. When my poem was first accepted to be published in the United Kingdom, my mother had a triumphant chuckle. She told me, “Twenty years later, you are accepted for your English by Englishmen!” I have been the youngest and the first to pass many milestones in my life as a girl from my community, but of all the things that I have done, my mother thought that being a writer was the most important decision of my life. She told me, “To tell the most beautiful stories from your country and culture to the world must be thrilling. You know that I always wanted to be a dancer. A bad bout of a childhood disease had left me with a limp throughout my childhood. It was humiliating for a dancer to limp and be maimed when I wanted to be air-borne in a beautiful rhythm. I wish and pray that your pen never stops, but grows from strength to strength.”

The most defining moment in my life was to see my mother in a hospital-bed after being operated for a major surgery. I was with her that night beside her bed in the silence of the night when unwelcome groans of pain disrupted my own silent screams of agony. One of the few things that you cannot accept is to see the strongest person in your family lying helpless on a hospital bed. It is such an oxymoronic scene, the irony of ironies and an unacceptable reality. Like a frightened kitten, I put on a brave visage, but sat whimpering amidst the most horrendous nightmares. The thoughts of “What if she didn’t make it...” kept haunting me. And when the doomsday predictions inside my head became unbearable, I slowly got on the bed beside my mother and in the warmth of her bosom, in the rhythm of her even breathing; I found the most soothing lullaby. I found sleep. I found assurance. And I also walked down the alleys of memory of my childhood there and paid my deepest gushes of gratitude to my unconscious mother in deep sedation.

The word for mother in my language is ‘amma’. It is a palindrome that always reminds me that you can read amma anyway you want and you get the same thing. She is a wonder to me, a sorceress and my fairy God-mother. She has put on a charm on me and has given me invisible keep-sakes; she is my past, my history and my legacy. Even my house is named ‘amma’. It is a strange name for a home. People keep asking me curiously why I have named my home ‘amma’. It is really simple- my mother and my home are the same thing. They feel the same to me giving me the same re-assurances.
My mother’s story is made of the stuff that miracles are made of. I kept looking for mango showers in my life only to go back to my roots for consolation. She is the violin of my thoughts and the rainbow of the most beautiful part of my life. She taught me to read and write, dream and fly- she gave me my wings, my first strokes of imagination. And now that I have written about her, I would read it out to her someday. She would not understand much as it is in English. But we will sit together, one word at a time trying to decipher a meaning that transcends an alien and a difficult language. We would overcome English together once again...

NOTES
1. Sari is the traditional attire of an Indian woman.
2. Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken in the south Indian state of Tamil-Nadu.
3. Kerala is the southernmost state of India. It is described as God’s own country, a reference to its natural beauty. It has socio-economic indices comparable to the developed countries.
4. Tamil Brahmins are people following Hinduism as religion and Brahmanism as their caste. In India, caste is an important mark of social identity.
5. Oracles are men assumed to have divine powers found in the temple. They predict the future.
6. Malayalam is a south-Indian language spoken in Kerala.

STANDING ALONE

2011-04-18T10:01:00.002+05:30

‘No man can be grateful at the cost of his honour,
No woman can be grateful at the cost of her chastity
And no nation can be grateful at the cost of its liberty.’
-Daniel O’Connell

1 February 2011
It is the Ernakulam-Shoranur passenger, a local train running between two districts in Kerala, a state in the south of India. The train is nearly empty after the stop Thrissur1 and it is evening. A barely 23 year old young woman is alone in the compartment reserved for the ladies. She is returning home after work. There is no railway police or guard in the compartment. It is like any other long day after work for the working Indian woman- work away from home, long hours of commuting, lonely journey back home late in the evening. But what is about to happen to her is the worst nightmare of any woman. A one armed young man enters the compartment and tries to rob her off her bag and mobile phone. She attempts to resist and as the moving train gathers speed, he tries to sexually assault her. In her frenzy she screams, runs away and jumps out of the trains 400 metres from the station. The predator jumps after her. She lies on the track with grave head injuries. He rapes her and runs away with her bag and her mobile phone.

Inside the train the people who heard her scream debate on whether to pull the chain. A young man in deep conflict asks the advice of the fellow passengers. They decide that it is the private affair between a couple and it is rude to interfere. A railway guard intimates the police that a woman has jumped off the train. The police arrive at 9.30 and rush her to the nearest hospital. She dies five days later. The minister offers condolences and money to the grieving family, there is a 12-hour strike in the state, a film is hurriedly made on her life.

23 March 2011
It is the Ernakulam- Shoranur Passenger again. A woman is returning home from work. She is in the general compartment with other passengers, both men and women. A man in an inebriated state hauls abuse at her and tries to assault her. She gets off at the next stop. The passengers after deliberations decide to inform the railway police. There is no police action for hours. Finally they arrest the culprit hours and stops away. Because no one was raped and killed, the news is relegated to page 4 of a newspaper. No strikes, no apologies, no films this time. In fact, the man could be safely roaming the streets if he has paid the fine.

A case study and its conclusion
If I am aspiring to be a lawyer or a reporter in my country, I could spend my life being a ‘crime against woman specialist’ and retire blissfully have done this one thing, winning an award or two for meaningful work with a never exhausting material to work on. A century from now, my work would be relevant. A woman is raped every 30 minutes in India, a statistics that I have used since the beginning of my career safely assuming that it holds true for now and forever. My articles on crime against woman will never go out of date. It does not matter that we react out of anger, sadness, grief, exasperation or all of it combined. The fact of life that we are unsafe in our own neighbourhood with our countrymen and it is not going to change anytime soon. Even then, I will write.

In my country, more and more women are being educated. That means more girls out on the streets on their way to schools and colleges. More and more women go for work. That means more women travelling alone, at the work place for 10 hours, staying in a new city all by themselves. More and more women are involved in relationships- marriage, live-in, friendships. That means more wife beating, girl friend beating, friend beating. It happens to all of us- sweepers, clerks, teachers, students, officers, actors, diplomats and police officers. Abuse is a universal experience.
In my country, more women are there in the road, in the bus, in the trains, in schools, in work place. They are subjected to lewd stare, whistling, X-ray scanning, intentional unwarranted bumping, cheap gestures, suggestive songs, molestation, rape and murder. In a curious coincidence, it is always the men who do this to women. It comes from any of them- sweepers, clerks, teachers, students, officers, actors, diplomats and police officers.

In my country women are abused by men. There is a provision in the Constitution that guarantees us a right to live. High spirited learned men say that it means living life with dignity. Ignorance of law is not an excuse. Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code states that a word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of women is an offense under the criminal laws of the country. Section 294 says that obscene acts or songs to the annoyance of others are punishable offence under the law. Section 354 states that assault or criminal force with intent to outrage the modesty of a woman is a grievous crime. There are rape laws and laws to deal with murder, violence and assault. And yet the crime rate against women on and off record remains unabated.

In my country women Gods are worshipped. Mothers are venerated. Girls are the symbols of prosperity. Yet when a woman is subjected to an assault on her right, the society is impassive and confused at the best. They debate and discuss on what to do. May be the fault is at both ends. Women provoke men, it is human to have weaknesses. The sari reveals too much so it invites men, the skirts flirt, the jeans conceal too much and invites men. Besides, is it appropriate to intrude in a man and woman thing? Look away, stare in dumb nervousness, call the police and refuse to come to courts if you have to. Women cases are not good for our reputation. Ask the girl to keep quiet, marry her off, put her in her place, protect her and escort her.
In my country women do not talk about bad things. We learn about sex, its implications, its importance and its misuse accidently after marriage or after abuse. There are no self defence classes, counselling, support from family and friends, legal awareness or openness to talk about it. Openness and accessibility to the world are not for all; a woman always has her limits and limitations.

In my country, we have a wonderful solution. There are problems that you have to face. So always go in groups, do not talk to boys, listen to your parents, do not take up jobs outside of your city, do not study too much and too far away, marry young, dress appropriately. Follow the culture, do not bring disgrace to the family. If you think freedom is a thing of mind and a state of being, if you think internalised fears and cultural attitudes have to change, if you are asking us to change, it is an inconvenience. You are standing alone.

INDIA’S CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED (A Tribute to Uncle Pai)

2011-03-26T12:42:00.006+05:30

A fact about children’s books is that many adults read it. Being an adult is not necessarily growing out of childhood completely. The child in you is safely tucked somewhere inside so that you can visit it at your leisure strolling through the garden of childhood where it is always spring. We never tire of hearing stories and distracting ourselves. Our life is perhaps a series of digressions and stories are the rapturous relief and impossible dreams of our naïveté. I still take long train journeys in hot summers in India to read Tinkle and Amar Chithra Katha; India’s Classics Illustrated. To be in a train in summer reading Tinkle is for me is being a child again. So when I heard that Uncle Pai, the invisible storyteller of my childhood had passed away, it was as if a friend had died. It was as if a beautiful voice had stopped singing.

It is incredible for me to think that there was a time in India when children grew up without comics. That was the time before Anant Pai. Born in the southern state of Karnataka in pre-independent India, Pai lost his parents when he was two. That did not deter him to take a dual degree from Bombay and start his career in the books division of The Times of India group. It was a time when there was no television, cinema had just graduated as a possibility of entertainment in the hearts of Indians and English was the language of Indian elites. More than half of the country was illiterate and the Indian Publishing Industry had to focus on the abysmal minority who devoured on the British literary legacy. English meant Britain, The Americas meant dollars and as a result the English speaking children read Enid Blyton, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, P.G. Wodehouse- all strictly British. The mythology and legends they learned were Greek, the humour British, the story English, the characters western so much so that when school children studying in the English medium who had never left Bombay were encouraged to write stories in English, the protagonist was a village boy in Birmingham who was trying to escape to London!

The sad story of a generation of lost Indians reached its predictable climax when in a quiz show on National Television, Indian children answered questions on Greek Mythology and fumbled on the question, ‘In Ramayana, who was the mother of Rama?’ The conscientious Anant Pai left his job and began a project to write Indian stories in English, an oxymoronic venture even in his times. The best publishing books rejected his impractical idea and he decided to write, edit and publish himself. The empire of Indian comics was born in what proved to be a milestone in the Indian publishing history. In the beginning, selling the idea was as hard as selling copies that Pai gave free copies to school libraries and they ended up as his subscribers in a few days. Pai took the role of an educationalist so seriously that he made the provision of annual subscription to provide a continuity of reading in children. It was the first time in India such an idea was put forth.

The stories were loved by children and adults alike. In a famous anecdote, when Pai was in Delhi, he overheard two men debating heatedly on a point in Ramayana. To solve the crisis, they decided to check a copy of Amar Chithra Katha. Pai was moved by this incident that he began to take meticulous care in writing stories giving special care to accuracy and sensitivity of readers. A specialist was invited to illustrate the series on Guru Nanak to accurately portray the beard and the turban of the Sikh characters. Pai also founded India’s first Comic and Cartoon syndicate ‘Rang Rekha’ and India’s first comic strip Tinkle in 1980. By the time, Amar Chithra Katha was enlisted in UNESCO publications list.

Today the empire of children’s publishing that Anant Pai founded are run by media giants. 100 million copies have been sold till date in English and 20 Indian languages. Pai who was dearly known as ‘Uncle Pai’ by the children of India succumbed to a massive heart attack this February. It is said that as he had no children of his own, he wanted to give lasting values to all the children of India through entertainment. He always believed in the dictum ‘satyam brūyāt priyam brūyāt ma brūyāt satyam apriyam’. And he did follow it precisely- ‘to speak the truth, to speak the pleasant and never to speak the unpleasant truth.’ This is the wisest lesson from Indian mythologies and legends that he tried to teach us. The two generations of Indian children you taught thank you, Uncle Pai. You will always remain, like your stories- Amar.

Notes
1.Tinkle is the first and the most well known comic strip in English in India
2.Amar Chithra Katha is the Indian equivalent of the Classics Illustrated
3.Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikh Religion in India
4.Amar in Hindi means Immortal

SPIRITED AWAY

2011-03-12T21:35:00.003+05:30

In Japanese, ukiyo-e means pictures of the floating world. These were paintings on blocks of wood that a common man could afford to enjoy when the richest among the Japanese could patronise real art. Japan itself was the picture of a floating world to us far away- an enigmatic geisha wrapped in the kimono of a strange but charming culture and colours. The Japanese always had a unique way of looking at not only the contours but the spaces between them. For them, what was invisible was as solid as the warm colours of the visible world. This is evident from Ikebana that celebrates harmony between the seen and the unseen. Their temples were made of wood- a fragile perishable house for the eternal spirit. In more subtler nuances of their everyday life, the resilient and the brave Japanese valued the spirit that soared immortal even when they fought the trembling earth, spewing mountains and the ground beneath them literally gave away.

As history cruelly repeats, a horrifying earthquake batters the isles once again and a hungry sea swallows them alive. A nuclear plant explodes and invisible rays gasses thousands to death. When this article was being written, 9300 were unaccounted for, according to the CNN Reports. There have been black outs, dead phones and a communication shut down. The infrastructure has crumbled and people have disappeared. The footage on the televisions and the pictures on the newspapers look like the unbelievable unfolding of an unimaginable tragedy. As we gape at the helplessness of monstrous proportions, we cannot help wondering why people and places were simply deleted from the face of the earth in a moment’s fury. How can you return to life when the familiar faces, voices and years of your meticulous savings are wiped off in a moment when you were not looking and you were asked to begin from the beginning? How will you remember what you wanted to say when you were cruelly cut off in the middle of a sentence?

I do not understand why the cherry in full bloom and smiling faces should be frozen memories. But as the murderous sea lashes at the shores of many isles in the Pacific, we know that the living have to be saved. Even as we mourn for the untimely and unreasonable deaths and our hearts go to those in mourning, the living millions remain our priority. Celebration of life overtakes funeral, the living always conquer the dead, life washes over memories. The brave Japan will once again rise in the East.

Life begins as a grand novel that shrinks into a haiku*

Old pond
A frog leaps in
Water’s Sound.

And as water rushes in, life is spirited away...

*Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry

EXILE

2011-02-06T12:13:00.003+05:30

“In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express.”
~Joseph Addison

My father tells me that the most memorable moment of his life was when he saw me for the first time- pink, ruffled and irritated because he was staring at me. I must have howled and he must have gently put me down. You could never help smiling when you see the tiny lump with the smallest possible eyes, mouth and nose. I think no father can forget the first sight of the first born. At that moment, I think he felt weak-kneed and weird, totally inadequate for the grandeur of the moment. I think it gave him sleepless nights and he was terrified that something so preciously unexpected was given to him. My father has been a different man since, so my mother says. While my mother sat back and enjoyed watching me grow up, my father sat with creased fore-head and a thoughtful far-away look. When I was four, he decided that he would send me to medical school and when I was six, he began saving for my marriage. When I fell down, he was the first one to come and fuss; when my mother said that it was nothing, he called her irresponsible. When the doctor said that it was nothing, he called him an idiot. The whole world seemed frivolous and flippant when my father was bringing me up. And now that I have grown up, I take decisions. My father is not very sure that I am grown up. He tells so to my mother. Sometimes during a fight, he inadvertently blurts out, “But you are a CHILD!”

A doting father takes care of your education, your scholarships, your first job and eventually your marriage. Giving your hands in marriage to a young man for him is like handling over a million dollar Stradivarius to a gorilla. Fathers all over the world are like that. But in India, we ‘arrange’ our marriages; we arrange falling in love with the approval and close monitoring of our families- sometimes even when you do not want to. I have never understood this. They have not understood me.

When a girl is doing her undergrad school in my home state, she finds a new way to spend her week-ends- entertaining her prospective in-laws. She dresses up, parades her culinary skills (which will earn her brownie points) and sings classical music in front of the patriarch and the matriarch (Carnatic music is equated with a good cultural bringing up at least in my community; the other communities have their insane customs of torture). You have not even seen the groom yet. The family short-lists all the girls they have seen in a month and if the horoscope matches (The stars, besides the grand-mother have a huge say in a girl’s life), they send the pictures of the lucky top-ten to the high command (the groom) in the US. Between a software job, late-night parties and a girl-friend, he might log in and approve one. Then the girl who is selected drops out of her college or hurriedly finishes her course. If she has a job, she immediately resigns to get ready for marriage. Two months later, you win an NRI husband, envious girlfriends from college and a bankrupt but happy father. In a year’s time you are a proud mother and a home-maker blogging about the new recipes you have tried at home.

Can our lives be any different? I have a straight question to ask the parents of daughters especially the fathers. You put us in the best of schools and ask us to top the class, you were proud when we sang, danced and painted pictures. You had tears in your eyes, when we won a scholarship, you kissed our fore-heads when we graduated. You had those inevitable sad eyes, when we bought you a very expensive shirt and took you out to dinner when we got our first salary. We did all that and yet you asked us to stop dreaming. Why?

Why do you ask me to stop flying even when you know I like to be air-borne? Why do ask me to stop playing and come back and let my brother play as long as he wishes? Why is my time up so early? If it was to cook and clean and be a mother at 23, why did you let me dream to be a scientist? Why didn’t you cut me short when I was telling you that I have a long way to go? You remained silent and I thought you were there for me always. Even when all those strangers tried to strangle my ambitions, I thought you would come and call them irresponsible idiots like you did twenty years ago. I was there with you when you retired, helping you find something new to keep you young and happy. And you asked me to retire early and grow old. And now when you see my contorted pink angry face, do you still feel week-kneed and inadequate?

I know I am in exile- from my house, from my happiness and from myself. And now, I have to find new dreams on my own.

(I have written this article as a first person narrative addressed to my father. It is in fact addressed to all fathers. I have seen so many sad girls pushed into early marriages. I am pained at the compromise. I have a request to all dads- please don’t kill your daughters, so young.)

AT THE ROAD’S END

2011-01-30T19:42:00.005+05:30

“I have no desire whatsoever to conceal from this court the fact that to preach disaffection towards the existing system of government has become almost a passion with me.”
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

I have no desire whatsoever to conceal the fact that disappointment towards the existing government has become almost a matter of concern with me. Gandhi was fighting a foreign government; we are fighting the internal maladies of a democracy. After Raja, Radia and ominous acronyms like CWG and 2G, we got a promise that the people at the top would get the chops through a Cabinet Reshuffle. It was to gently remind us that maybe a game of musical chair would make the problems less hideous or more confusing. The new guys would not have to answer the tough questions. Like kids who dropped to school mid way during the year, at least for some time they can be in the game without the blame.

Manmohan Singh’s ministerial make over presented to the country a new game called ‘circular swapping’. Unlike musical chair, not one person leaves the game. People are just given another chair and more people are invited to take part in the game as the music goes on. Nobody is left out, everybody gets a chair, the viewers lose the game and you end up having more people than when you began the game! Maybe this is what is meant by an ‘all inclusive policy’. Mediocrity, underperformance and lack of commitment seem so trivial a case for a person to be dismissed from an office in this country. We have corruption, black money and scams that can rock the conscience of some who can afford to be shaken by scams and financial fraudulence of such humungous proportions. The other 95% of the country is shaken by food inflation and petrol prices. By moral standards, I should not even be taking up this issue.

But consider the points and hear me out. The Cabinet is full of white hair and grey beards, the induction of young blood has been postponed and a suspect pack of cards have been shuffled. Vilasrao Deshmukh was indicted recently by the Supreme Court for abusing his authority when he was the chief Minister of Maharashtra. By his illegal intervention in a case of a usurious money lender, he actually cost Maharashtra Government a fine of Rs10 Lakh. The gentleman actually got a promotion in the recent reshuffle. From heavy Industries to Rural Development where the crucial MNREGS is. Murli Deora, Kamal Nath and Virbhadra Singh who did not exactly make a grand spectacle with their port folio were not shown the door but only mildly reprimanded by giving them other ministries. The asset stripped plague ridden Aviation portfolio was temporarily handed over to Vayalar Ravi and if political equations after assembly elections fall into place will go for DMK. The high command does not believe in the one-man-one-job dictum. For example, the workaholic Sibal will handle HRD, Communications and IT and Science and Technology. The last regular Governor of Rajasthan who died in harness in 2010 has not been replaced. In short, the government cannot be rushed into induction the same way as it cannot be forced into elimination. It stands precariously at the precipice of People’s trust like a giant elephant about to fall off a cliff.

Dr Singh did not face the disturbing question ‘How to lead an efficient government sans controversies’ when he lead the Government in his first term. But with official obfuscation of financial losses due to spectrum allocation and Commonwealth Games, the stubbornness not to comply with a JPC, Adarsh Scams, Radia Gate, a controversial CVC and some corrupt coalition partners have proved that personal loyalties and cronyism are bigger virtues. More than six decades ago, Gandhi was gunned down this day. The pointless exercise of timidity and the sheer lack of political will have gunned down the essence of democratic governance today. We are at the road’s end. And there is no better time to introspect why.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR- VII

2011-01-30T19:08:00.005+05:30

The HINDU, 30 January 2011
The article ‘End of Childhood?’ (23 January) raised some pertinent questions. I do not know how many of us have ever observed the gradual disappearance of the blossom and the butterfly in our child - the process of dreams freezing, hopes vanishing and the onset of a stony silence. We give our children a good second look, when it is too late and wonder whatever happened to that little bundle of joy. We do not let them dream; we even deny that they have wings. Children are for us our own anxiety personified and sometimes our perpetual regrets too. As a teacher, I have seen this too many times to forget. It is time we paused and gave a sincere thought on the wonderfully apt lines of Kahlil Gibran “You may give them your love but not your thoughts/ For they have their own thoughts.”

The HINDU, 25 January 2011
The article ‘A Boring Subject?’ (23 January, Open Page) was timely and relevant and is applicable to all the subjects especially Science. As a student I was eternally terrorised by Chemistry as mastering all the reactions by rote learning was impossible and seemed pointless to me. My Chemistry teacher coaxed, persuaded and coerced me into learning it and I finally passed and vowed never to learn the subject again. Years later as a teacher, I realised that Knowledge and Comprehension were the lowest levels of understanding in Education. Application, Synthesis, Analysis and Evaluation which were the summum bonum of real education were never tested in my exams. I regret the time lost and the effort unspent on really learning the subject well. A challenging syllabus and an inspiring teacher can make the most difficult subject interesting and meaningful.

The New Indian Express, 22 January 2011
The Cover Story on Dr V.S. Ramachandran was fascinating. It reminded me that poets, philosophers and scientists are the crusaders who shed light about the enigmas of life. Dr Ramachandran is an extraordinary combination of all the three. His incredible journey to the unknown by studying the exceptions to understand the rule of Science makes him the intrepid detective of the uncharted. Though Science has made saltatory leaps in the last one century, we have not understood how the human mind works. The contemplations of this doctor show us a new light and a new beginning.

The New Indian Express, 10 January 2011
The Cover Story ‘The Cradle of Performing Arts’ brought out the rigorous and rich tradition of Gurukula followed in the Kerala Kalamandalam. It is the discipline and mental prowess demanded of the students that set Gurukula Sampradayam apart. The art form is practised in its pristine form that upholds the dignity of the art and the artist. It is the lifetime of dedication of the masters that chronicles our rich heritage. It is a pity that the young generation go through the agonising western education blissfully ignorant of the spirituality of our Gurukula and its traditions.

The HINDU, 12 October 2010
The article ‘Teachers, then and now’ (10 October, Open Page) made an interesting read. Teachers are revered and honoured because their influence lasts long after we have left our schools. I am thankful to my teachers who let me be myself and allowed me to ask stupid questions and give stammering answers, to argue and debate to my mind’s content to finally find out my own truths, to speak and write a lot of nonsense, to act, to sing and play, to those who with their disappointed faces made me realise my first lessons of right and wrong- I am thankful to my mentors who loved me inspite of myself and cared to acknowledge that I was important and I would be somebody in life. Today when I adorn the mantle of a teacher, I realise that I have an immense power to change lives.

THE DIVINE LIGHT AND DEATH

2011-01-18T16:18:00.003+05:30

“India- monsoon and marigold, dung and dust, colours and corpses, smoke and sand- is a cruel and unrelenting place of ineffable sweetness”

‘India is the best show on earth, the best bazaar of human experiences that can be visited in a lifetime. It has been said that there are 330 million gods in India, and there are at least that many varieties of experiences available, religious or otherwise.’ Thus spoke the account of an awe struck foreigner when he visited my country. Our sage philosopher Sri Aurobindo has accurately remarked that calling us Indians a gentle dreamy fatalistic people describes only the effect and not the cause. We believe that a splash and bath at the holy Ganges is equivalent to cleansing our bodies on ten million solar eclipse days. And cleansing your body on a solar eclipse day purifies you a hundred fold more than the daily soap and water routine. Straddling the mundane and the fantastic, an average Indians take care that he does not step into the wrong house of the wrong God by consulting his almanac. The westerners may consult something as commonplace as a map; but an Indian traverses a road inhabited by the divine and the exotic and needs superhuman instruments and supernatural intervention to help him find his way.

This is a country where four religions were born. It is natural that a sea of humanity goes in search of the Omnipresent to inaccessible hillocks and in the isles in the ocean. Fifteen million take a collective dip at Holy Ganges at the Maha Kumbh that comes once in a dozen years in Allahabad, millions go to visit the Vaishno Devi Temple in Kashmir that it is the second most visited shrine in India after the Tirupati Balaji, the ailing and the elderly embark on the sacred journey to Mount Kailas in the Himalayas 18000 feet from the sea, Christians go to Velankani walking hundreds of miles and over 10 million people come to visit Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala in my home state Kerala.

Sabarimala has its unique ethos and attracts pilgrims from across the country. Men prepare themselves after a rigorous 41 day religious observances and begin one of the hardest journeys of their lives. The God sits atop the holy eighteen steps in an inaccessible hillock in the Western Ghats of Kerala. The climactic ecstasy of the Pilgrimage is witnessing the Divine Light or Makara Jyoti that shines from across a hill. This year as 2.5 lakh pilgrims supervised by an unbelievable 4 policemen were waiting for the Makara Jyoti when a stampede tragically killed about a hundred people among whom five were children and injured more than fifty.

This is the biggest catastrophe in the history of the annual pilgrimage, though not the first. In the recent past there was a similar tragedy in 1999 killing 53 people. Sabarimala has its own unique geographical features that make it a logistic nightmare for crowd management experts. Moreover, the measures by the Government to improve crowd management have been largely nullified by the phenomenal increase in numbers of pilgrims in the recent years. But a close look at the incident warrants us to apportion a large part of the blame on the Government. This year inadequacies of infrastructure was glaringly evident that traffic hold up at one point was for 45 kilometres along the access routes. Several pilgrims were forced to take the unsupervised routes along the nearby Periyar Tiger Reserve where there was no lighting or regulation of movement. A wayward vehicle set off the tragedy in the dark evening of 14th January.

The Justice T Chandrasekhara Menon Commission that looked into the 1999 Stampede and the 10th Legislative Environmental Panel headed by A.V.Thamarakshan had categorically stated that the Government needed to provide basic facilities to the pilgrims. Several practical recommendations were suggested. Measures to ensure their safety in the forests were conveniently sidelined by various ministers in the state. The suggestion from the Kerala High Court to spread the pilgrim season throughout the year went unheeded. The Justice Chandrasekhara Menon Commission’s recommendation that an administrative set-up similar to that of the Tirumala Devasthanams also was not implemented. The Administrative Committee, a statutory body with representative from the Union Ministry of Environment, Chief Conservator of Forests of the State, a nominee from the royal family of Pandalom, the tantri or the temple priest and representatives of the devotees was never set up. Instead a single additional Chief Secretary was vested with the charge of managing the operations this year. The areas available without tree growth like Pulmedu (where the tragedy unfolded) could have been utilised to provide facilities for the burgeoning crowd. Instead, the fact that the alternative routes were not even brought under the insurance cover shows the heights of irresponsibility. Similarly, e-registration could have been affected for pilgrims everyday and ‘Yatra Slips’ could be given as in the case of the Vaishno Devi Temple in Kashmir which handles the second largest crowd in India, to keep account of the number of Pilgrims.

The real challenge for Sabarimala lies in maintaining the ecologically fragile environment while expanding infrastructure. The population of devotees will expand into incredible figures in the coming years, but will the Government be caught in the wrong foot again? What is the status of the proposals in the Master plan for Sabarimala? The Kerala Government has been caught napping. Now it has to wake up and give us the answers.

THE REBIRTH OF DREAMS

2011-01-01T10:22:00.003+05:30

“To everything there is season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to be born and a time to die...”
Book of Ecclesiastes

The sands of time has once more gone through the hour-glass even as we worked savagely or simply stood staring by. Dreams bloomed, spirits soared high and hope gushed in the year gone by. We were beaten down by a furious heat that left us dry and parched and the rains then lashed at us with a vengeance. Sometimes we were stripped off our last golden leaf and then showered with a green abundance when we were least expecting it. We had all the seasons and all the colours. Now as the last Christmas cheer fades off, a New Year sets in almost immediately leaving us no time to miss the year, the Christmas and its mistletoes.

Like Defoe’s ‘Memoirs of a Cavalier’, we are left to chronicle great times through the humble journey that a human life is. We began with resolute resolutions and this space was resplendent with our ideas and ideals. This blog became the fulfilling continuum that connected our world with yours. We brought you stories that we thought you should hear. Every story had a beginning in a desperate discomfort in our minds that had to be purged out as words. Our words have been the voice of unseen faces with remarkable lives.

We have received kind words of appreciation, silent approvals and sceptical confusion. Your feed-back has been our encouragement. After 62 articles, we did sweep all the way by being nominated for The Blogger’s Choice awards and winning them hands down. For the votes and the support, we thank all our readers. A year older with a readership from 160 countries, we are determined to bring out more. Watch this space in 2011.

We wish and pray that 2011 be the rebirth of all your dreams and resurrection of lost hopes. We wish you a very Happy New Year!

GREY SPACES

2010-12-13T20:55:00.006+05:30

If only we could paint the stony space between people grey and the uncomfortable silences black, we would see the emptiness in our lives like a solid immovable rock. Only the rarest of poets with their unusual lyricism and deft strokes of imagination, can paint the patterns of our sadness with such panache. Rummaging through the new crop of writing in India, I found the unusual poet in a young woman who glided over unseen people to bring out their unheard stories. She named them beautiful things and painted them with colours of life. I read her books overnight. I found Sonia Faleiro. And I call it Serendipity.

Faleiro’s recent work ‘Beautiful Thing’ was described as the new hope of narrative non-fiction, contemporary Indian writing had seen for a long time. It is about the infamous dance bars in Mumbai and the lives of over 75000 ‘raat ki ranis’(night queens). Faleiro speaks the truth as it is, through the life of nineteen year old Leela, the protagonist who is at once the hyperbole of a thousand voices. The story moves as a piece of fiction which compellingly evokes uncomfortable questions and pokes at the convenient half-truths. Reflecting the thorough groundwork that the author has undertaken right from getting introduced to a barwali, to spending five years with the bar dancers, their pimps, their lovers, the hijras- Faleiro weaves a magnificent narration that brings out the complexities and contradiction that human life is. Essentially, it is a human story of a girl who is at once a naïve teenager with adult experiences that she was commanded to face when she was all of thirteen. The ignorance and the helplessness of being exploited, labelled and shunned by the immediate society, Leela escapes from a small town to Mumbai only to be squeezed into the ugly bijniss of life. Demure and luring, explicit and subtle, Faleiro never permits unwarranted sympathy or swift conclusions and judgements from the reader. It is a story to be read and you end up with more questions at the end of the book to which there are no easy answers. It is a story that explores human life through sexuality and morality- the cudgels with which we ward away all the things unpleasant by the simple act of looking away. For having the courage to go to the streets and look at the lives of the leelas of the world with dispassionate compassion, to understand that their sadness and loneliness is as terrible as our own and to realise that they too have dreams and hopes in the horizon they may never have the strength to attain, to look into their lives and see the longing for love and life- I believe Faleiro deserves to be appreciated.

To have such conviction and the determination to go through with the project, Faliero deserves to be understood. And finally, to have had the compassion to bring out such a beautiful story of beautiful people, Faleiro deserves to be read and reread.

TRYST WITH DESTINY- MY QUEST FOR PEACE IN A DIVIDED LAND

2010-12-01T18:18:00.004+05:30

On the banks of the serene Sabarmati, stands the Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi. A pilgrimage to the ashram of the Mahatma is taken by every Indian with religious punctiliousness. Standing awed before the black bust of the great soul as a school girl, little did I know that I would return once again to the land of Gandhi to witness the aftermath of an unspeakable tragedy. Despite solemn guarantees of rights in the Constitution of India and the proud and incandescent legacy of Gandhi, Gujarat was ravished and burned down by the raging inferno of communal hatred eight years ago. By the time I visited, all relief camps were closed and government insisted that the riot affected people had been rehabilitated. A few miles away, I saw the brave men and women who faced the tribulations with resolute dignity now in despair and wistful longings to return to their villages. Men spent day after day in hopeless search of paid work they would never find. I asked a little Muslim girl playing with a rag doll near a pile of garbage, “Do you hate the Hindus?” After a long pause she sobbed and ran away.

It is from the tears of this little girl that my quest for peace begins. My country had been partitioned once with a careless scratch of the pen of an Englishman, who failed to understand the multi hued ways of shared living that our civilization had crafted over millennia. India is a land of belonging than of ties of blood. It is the birthplace of four major religions, 22 languages and 22000 distinct dialects. We are a melange of culture that has lived in great amity with unquestionable solidarity. I knew that the partition in our souls will be worse than that in the soil. My fellow countrymen have lived with persisting insecurity and ambiguous rights for a long time. The engines of dangerously suppressed anger had been brewing. Feelings of injustice and deprivation real or imagined gives rise to conflict. The ferocity of feelings coupled with intense propaganda is a deadly cocktail that breeds home grown terrorists. For years, the powerful have unscrupulously indulged, promoted and even exported terrorism of this kind. Mere strategies and tactics will only lead to temporal settlement of the conflict. To seek peace, we cannot prepare for war. We need to remove the spiritual darkness and human apathy that so repugnantly evoke bestiality in Man.

My idea of peace is shaped by the Indian concept of ‘Ahimsa’ that roughly translates to non-violence. In its positive form, it means the largest love and the greatest charity. Peace is not the passivity of the weak, but the purpose of the strong. The world is weary of hate; the dignity of Man requires obedience to a higher law. As Gandhi said those who believe in the justice of their cause must have boundless patience. For those who have been wronged, the way to peace begins with reconciliation.

Mutual respect is the key to the realisation that there is a universal desire for happiness and avoidance of suffering. Love and compassion are the moral fabric for peace. My vision for ensuring peace begins by unearthing old tradition and revitalising it for our times. Periods of discontent and frustration are the best times for fresh perspectives. Thousands of years before Marshall McLuhan presented his theory of global village, Indian Upanishad spoke of ‘Vasudeva Kutumbakam -the world is one family. India’s polytheism retains the kernel of one truth and its manifestation in the Universe. Grappling with economic deprivation and insensitive development, religion has removed itself from the immediate concerns of the people. It is time to couple spirituality and social action. I want to work with the youth on this project of renaissance. We can disseminate progressive ideas through advocacy and intense lobbying. Our schools must focus on humanistic education and inculcate a culture of peace. The first lessons of life are learned from our mothers. The most effective antidote to most of our problems lies in educating girls. I have taken up writing as my vocation to bring these ideas to as many people as possible. We need more kindred souls- bureaucrats, politicians, academics and ordinary citizens to have a sense of responsibility.

My quest for peace is a noble target but the desire for domination has old roots. Delirious fanatics and religious murderers surround me. But truth needs to be repeated as long as there are men who disbelieve it. The Global war on terror must be against the collective distorted memory of falsehoods and deliberate half truths. Faith and forgiveness have to take the place of false hopes and fragile dreams. There is no way to peace; peace is the way.

BLOSSOMS AND BUTTERFLIES

2010-11-14T02:22:00.002+05:30

Every year, children’s day is celebrated on 14th November to celebrate the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru in India. Nehru was an iconoclast, a man who lived decades ahead of his times. It is befitting him to associate his birthday with hope for the future- the children of India. Children go to school in wonderful colour dresses for once shedding their dreary uniforms. They sing, dance, play and eat sweets at school. They fondly remember Chacha Nehru. Then they all get back to school and their routine the next day only to be children next year. It is just one day a year when they are allowed to be themselves.

In the hyper-realist view of life, we always find practical difficulties to be ourselves and be peaceful. In our race against time, we will not let our children stand and stare. We will not let them dream and giggle over nothings, to fall asleep and yawn loudly, drag their feet and splash in the puddle. We will not let them find their colours; we even deny that they have wings. They are for us our own extension, our future, our anxiety personified and sometimes our perpetual regrets too. I am not generalising; I have been fortunate to be born to two wonderful human-beings myself. But I want to stop, pause and remind us that often we leave our children to the company of loneliness and neglect. The big issues are too hard to miss- we do have poverty, child abuse and child labour. These are problems that loom like a dark cloud fogging our future like an ominous premonition. But here in the space of a few words, I want to focus on small things.

Small things are always easily missed- like the sadness and emptiness in a child’s eye, its silent scream for attention. I do not know how many of us have ever observed the gradual disappearance of the blossom and the butterfly in our child, the metamorphosis of our fluttering butterfly into an unbreakable façade- the process of dreams freezing, hopes vanishing and the coming of a stony silence between us. We give our children a good second look, when it is too late and irreversible and wonder whatever happened to that little bundle of joy.

Children are not born, they are brought into the world. They are joyful beings, it is sadness that takes some education. They arrive in the spring and look around the world in great awe, with great expectations. They smile and laugh for no reason, their tinkling laughter is brought to us to shake us out of our own stupor and see our life in a new light. They are the blossoms that bring the angels back and by angels I mean the human capacity to believe in irrational, impossible things; to be mad once again! The purity of a child’s thought is the beginning of all poetry. I believe whenever Man has done great things, it is only when he went back to the beginning and captured an image or a thought in all its purity and thought as if he were a child.

It is heart-breaking to see a drooping flower about to disappear and a butterfly about to die. I have only seen it too many times to forget. This November 14th, can we all celebrate Children’s day? Can we all celebrate the child in us? Will it be too much if I ask you to remember the happiest thought as a child and find the old chord and play the music once again where you left? It may be hard, but it is worth a try. And all those who are blessed with your little angels, do take care of them. They are the only blossoms and butterflies of this lonely planet...

TRIBUTE TO THE LIVING LEGEND JUSTICE V.R KRISHNA IYER

2010-11-11T13:03:00.009+05:30

Dear Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer,

It is with the excitement of a child that I am writing to you. There have been too many childhood fantasies that now lie in some dusty alleys of memory- whimsical moorings and yearnings that have remained unfulfilled because I hesitated. I have thought of writing to you so often, but a dreary uncertainty like how to pen down my thoughts have always remained a persistent obstacle. Now on an impulse, I am embarking once again through the familiar lines that I have always left half-way.

You have lived more than three score and ten years and you have touched so many people’s lives wandering in many worlds- as a lawyer, jurist, minister, writer and public activist. I am one among those thousands who have jealously guarded your words and ideas. I have kept your idealism and socialistic outlook as an invisible keepsake that guides me to stand by my convictions. For a small boy from an obscure village in Kerala to have grown up to adorn the mantle of a teacher is an honour. In all my moments of hesitation, your inspiring words have given me strength and courage. Towering personalities of your generation have left us a legacy and a message that the purpose of life is a life of purpose. The miracle of life is not to fly but to walk on earth. To wipe a tear and to bring a smile have been your mission in life. These are the simplest of the things, but the most difficult too. To fill what is empty, we have to empty what is full; as the Bible says, ‘If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth.’

As a young Indian, I have dreams for my country and my country-men. Though I understand no country is perfect let alone a country like ours of gigantic proportions. I dream of a happier India that belongs to all. It is simply unacceptable that 400 million go to bed hungry every day and only about 3% children make it to post-graduate level education. The nouveau riche is in a stupor from which they do not want to wake up. The ones in the squalor are crying hoarse yet we build our edifice of development razing down the hovels of the poor to conquer the earth and beyond. A partition in our souls will be more dreadful than the partition of our soil and an India that belongs to only a few will easily become an India that belongs to none.

I am doing what I can to make a difference in the lives of those around me. As a teacher, I am privileged to mould the minds and as a writer I wield my mighty weapon to fight a lonely battle. In an era of idealism fading away, your presence is an assurance and an inspiring example of never retiring from being human and humane.

On this wonderful occasion, I also pray that you be the beacon of hope and spread joy around as you have always done. Let the drop of light that you spread through your words and actions multiply into a thousand fire moths igniting the spirits around you. May you be blessed with the serenity of spirit and the turbulence of action. May you have a joyous Birthday and many more!

God Bless!

Warm Regards,
Francis Kuriakose

The Article was a letter sent to the Honorable Justice Shri.V.R Krishna Iyer,Former Judge of the Supreme Court of India,a legal luminary, a profound jurist, a prolific Author and a renowned Human Rights Activist on the occasion of his 95th Birthday on 1st November 2010

THE IDEA THAT IS INDIA

2010-11-01T11:12:00.005+05:30

“Only those species survived which collaborated and improvised.”
- Charles Darwin

The Ayodhya Verdict came as a birthday gift to Gandhi. For a man who witnessed the partition on the soil of India and souls of Indians, a tri-partite dissection of a piece of land in the name of religion must have been an unsavoury gift. Gandhi used to say that Muslims and Hindus were blood-brothers as they were born of the same mother. He asked the Hindus to cultivate eternal bonds of friendship with Muslims and perish with them in order to vindicate the honour of Islam. Ironically, in the 63 years of Independence, we have spent 61 years trying to determine ownership of a piece of land on communal lines. The Pyrrhic victory of the statesmanship like verdict may have acted as a balustrade preventing emotions from running high, but the cinder of chauvinism that communal elements thrive on is still alive. That a brazen defilement and razing of a Holy shrine took place in a democratic and secular India would always remain the blackest memory in our past. But we cannot alter the past to justify politics of the present. Now is the time to re-visit the platitudes and truisms about us and find a better dream for a brighter future.

The Idea of India
Nations have been founded on varying impulses and assumptions. What united one group of people invariably made them distinct from others. But as Ernest Renan remarked ‘historical amnesia is an essential part of Nation building’. But Indians lack a well developed sense of historicism as their past often lives in their present. We find solace in the vast catacombs of our history. But to move forward, we need to forgive and forget; we have to make new footprints in the sands of time. We are a nation of mind-boggling diversity. We are the homeland of 4 major religions of the world, 35 languages and 22000 dialects. In India, language changes every 400 miles and with them the customs and culture too. We are an incredible fantasy and a colourful pageant to the rest of the world. We are one Nation that has defied the norms of nationhood. As Shashi Tharoor rightly remarked the idea of India was created by shared history and sustained by a pluralist democracy. We are a land of belonging rather than blood. Sanatana Dharma was a value that was intrinsic to us. Ours was a shore that welcomed all races and cultures; for the Indian soul the whole world was one family. It was a poor epilogue to our great history that our independence was won by dividing the land.

We are now a secular democratic republic. Our Flag binds both saffron and green together with the white of peaceful co-existence. The faintest manifestation of the raucous self-glorification on communal identities and division is not acceptable in our country. Mosques have been demolished but not faith; temples have been raided but not trust. The Ram in our hearts and the Rahim in our souls reveal the same truths. We are not a country of incompatible Gods and impossible dreams. Indians make India. To modify Eugene Debs, while there is a lower class we are in it, while there is a criminal element we are of it. We are part of the meanest and the greatest. It is by accepting and sometimes forgiving history that we move forward. To create a better India for a better world is our tryst with destiny.

THE SICKLE AND THE CUCKOO*

2010-10-22T21:02:00.005+05:30

Malayalis welcomed the Jnanpith Award to God’s own country the same way they invite the monsoons every year- as a shower from the heavens long overdue. ONV Kurup is the fifth Keralite to bring the country’s highest literary honour home. ONV is what his songs are to a Malayali- he lovingly fills the thirsty chalice of the soul with the wine of his poetry. The rich tapestry of words that the sorcerer has weaved remains the violin of thoughts of the Malayali mind. It is little wonder that he received the state’s best lyricist award for a record 13 times besides all the other honours and accolades that a literary figure could possibly be bestowed upon.

Honours rest like peacock feathers in the golden parchment of his life. His words are the hushed whisperings and sweet nothings of memories that we yearn for, a pack of invisible keepsakes that make shadows come alive. Evoking a strong sense of nostalgia and heightened pathos, a Malayali mind has always been too happy to be kidnapped and trapped in the rhyme and rhythms of ONV’s metres. The song of the black bird began as a drop of light that multiplied into a thousand fire moths consoling the hunted soul. His nonsense alphabets have been pieces of bangles in which we learned to see the rainbow colours. His blue eyes were the oasis in which we loved to be lost while we fell down in the meandering desert called life. The songs of O.N.V were the hunting grounds for new meanings when the rest of the world took their petite sieste in the afternoons of their country’s history. The poet who sang a dirge for the earth has remained the salt of Malayalam and its lamp too. The alphabets that have flown out of his pen have taken the revenge of the sickle with the song of the cuckoo. The swayamvara of reason and romance in his poetry gave the reader an experience of a pilgrimage to Ujjain or a holy dip in the Ganga. May the sonorous Drum of the Bhairava be heard for eternity! May each rhythmic stroke of his poetic wing carry us many miles forward.

*The words in Italics (including the title) are the Translated poetry of ONV Kurup that is available in English

INDIA'S NEW CAPITALISTS

2010-10-16T09:48:00.003+05:30

Rarely does one come across a work of Economic History and Contemporary Sociology that is highly readable and evokes and captures the interest of readers. Harish Damodaran has come out with a richly insightful and a serious piece of scholarship on the business communities of India in his magnum opus ‘India’s New Capitalists’. The evolution of the business class in India is beautifully discussed in detail in the 9 chapters of the book. Beginning with the Old Merchant Communities , the book moves on to the Brahmins, Khatris and Babus, Kammas, Reddys and Rajus, Kongunad Naidus and Gounders, Nadars and Ezhavas, Patidars and Marathas and on the farming communities of the North. Damodaran’s book also makes a seminal contribution to understanding the link between diverse entrepreneurial capital and the development of societies. In tracing the modern-day evolution of business communities in India, this book is the first social history to document and understand India’s new entrepreneurial groups. Perhaps this compelled Nandan Nilekani to remark that this book should be read by all those who wish to understand the evolution of Indian business, and what it portends for the future of South Asia.

BEYOND THE OBVIOUS

2010-10-05T11:37:00.003+05:30

Our Blog has completed one year of eventful existence. It is amazing to look back at the unbelievable journey with our blog. We still remember the first words written for our blog. It was a spontaneous ejaculation of our disillusionment and disappointment. Through the thoughts poured out on a rainy evening on 2nd October last year, our blog was born. Seldom did we realise that we were giving a physical form and structure to our thoughts and that it would be felt and received warmly all across the globe. Little did we know that what we thought and felt mattered very much to those around us. The blog soon became an instrument, a purpose and a dream all at once. We have given our whimsical musings, angry rhetoric and hope-filled longings to our blog. We have laughed and cried, have reached out to strangers, have formed new friendships, have fought for our convictions- we have tried to think the obvious and beyond.

More than 50 articles on myriads of topics now adorn our Blog. Our words have come from our hearts; yet they went on to be something on their own. Our articles have made us immensely proud of ourselves, giving us one great pat of encouragement whenever we hesitated. Our blog has given us readership from 131 countries in all the continents of the world, 4 nominations for the Best Blog Award and a bouquet of wishes from wonderful people through their comments and feedback. Our blog has also given us various publishing opportunities the world over. We take a moment to thank everyone who always had a good word for us. A special thank you to all those who voted for us in the The Blogger’s Choice Awards.

Many happy returns ‘Beyond the Obvious’! May you always remain the violin of our thoughts!

BABEL

2010-09-26T08:35:00.003+05:30

It is in the fear of losing that we learn to love and protect all things precious. It has been that way with Man for centuries that he recklessly squanders away in good times and hastily and desperately tries to save his treasures moments before an apocalypse. Sadly, the world of languages is on a perilous journey to extinction. A language disappears every 14 days and half of those spoken today may vanish by 2100. Today is an important landmark to motivate us into action before it is too late. Today is the European Day of Languages.

The limit of one’s language is the limit of one’s world. A language is the near perfect art through which Man communicates his thoughts; a language is an inexpensive luxury and a compelling necessity. Without words, Man would die in the claustrophobic chamber of his own thoughts and be crushed under the inertia of his imaginations. Words make worlds move by building bridges and bonding hearts. A new language is a new vision of the world, the strange sounds and hieroglyphics of men all over the world utter the same lyrical notes of love, agony and ecstasy. We are a world of 6 billion people in a lonely planet speaking 6000 languages to communicate the same feelings and share the same needs.

It is an astonishing fact that 96% of world’s languages are spoken by 4 % of the people. Of these, Europe is a homeland to about 225 languages (only 3% of world languages). Of the Europeans, nearly half of the population do not speak a language other than their mother tongue though the European Union has recognised 23 official languages and 40 regional tongues. At the initiative of the European Council, linguistic diversity has been recognised as a tool for better intercultural understanding and plurilingualism is connected to worker mobility. It is no wonder that the European Union spends more than 30 million Euros per year for promoting European languages and encouraging young children to learn at least two foreign languages.

Since the declaration of The European Year of Languages (2001), 26th September has been celebrated as the European day of languages with great fanfare. The countries nominate National Relay Persons for this event and language workshops and conferences are conducted throughout the Continent to promote a multilingual environment and inculcate a lifelong passion for languages. A city like London can boast of a language diversity of 300 spoken languages from its cosmopolitan population. In fact, plurilingualism is the norm than monolingualism. Between two thirds and half of the world’s population are natural bilinguals. It is generally a second language that paves the way for learning more languages. A 21 year old person would have uttered 50 million words and would have an active vocabulary of 50,000 words. Even then individual speakers speak only a fraction of the vocabulary of the language. Bilinguals are generally more confident and have a greater sensitivity and understanding after having experienced two cultures in an intimate manner.

The effort of the European Union is laudable and stands as an example worthy of emulation. This brings me to my country. In India, language changes every 400 miles of the landscape. We have 23 official languages (as many as the entire Continent of Europe) and 22000 dialects. From classical languages like Sanskrit, we have a sumptuous feast of language varieties on our platter. An average Indian is a natural polyglot who seamlessly floats from two to three languages without being aware of it. My grandmother, an illiterate woman in the South of India spoke chaste Tamil due to her origins in Tamil Nadu and haggled in Malayalam with the vendors by virtue of being in Kerala and religiously read Ramayana in Sanskrit owing to her religious upbringing and surpassed herself by learning to speak pidgin English in her eighties from her convent educated granddaughters. We spoke at least two languages before we were ten; it was an effortless and natural accomplishment. In such a country of mind boggling diversity, it breaks my heart when I read about the obituary of another rare language. That we carelessly pay homage to our treasure is a sad tribute to our fertile heritage. I hope that a few hundred out of the billion Indians would pay attention to preserve what is being eroded from our collective consciousness.

Building a population out of such a diversity of races, each at different stages of Evolution is a Herculean task. But the wisdom of our ancient civilization teaches us that it is this heritage that lets a hundred flowers bloom and a thousand thoughts to contend. This bewildering Babel of languages is the voice of our forefathers, the memory of Humankind and its message too.

BETWEEN A STORM AND CALM

2010-09-19T07:50:00.003+05:30

“Everything in nature is lyrical in its ideal essence, tragic in its fate and comic in its existence”
-George Santayana

Calamity is Man’s true touchstone, a mighty leveller. There are moments in life when you cannot walk away; when you see the lives of others falling apart before your eyes. All disasters trivialise human existence to a fragile parody. A catastrophe beyond comprehension struck Pakistan in the middle of the year. Like the rats that quickly disappeared before the bubonic plague, the floods tiptoed unnoticed and swallowed one fifth of a country. The cold figures of the flood stand out as a disturbing mathematical constant that we cannot wish away- more than 2000 died, 1 million rendered homeless and 21 million injured; an economic impact of 43 billion USD. The land that was mutilated by terrorism was unkindly washed away. Plunging the Pakistanis into darkness, the floods inundated their lands, pushing them into a vulnerable uncertainty.

The scene from the floods was something that looked like a painting of Dante’s hell in motion. In water containers, mothers place their babies before they are cruelly drowned. The situation is so chaotic that women sell sex for food and fathers steal food for their children. Children live amidst hunger and strife, hoping for their normal lives to return someday. The woeful tales of loss are nearly identical; they are about tragedy, desperation, courage and determination.

The floods are the result of an anomalous monsoon and its unprecedented manifestations. ‘Freezing of the jet stream’, a phenomenon that caused the heat waves and wild fires in Russia and floods in U.K. in 2007 is responsible for the tragedy of mammoth proportions exceeding the 2004 Asian Tsunami, 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the Haiti earthquake combined. Karakoram Highway linking Pakistan to China has been cut off like many other routes of communication. Literally, thousands are stranded waiting for their ‘Titanic’ to sink. The second wave that has arisen in the mounts can engulf densely populated areas. A country with 4% growth per annum may nosedive into negative growth under the unimaginable damage the disaster can bestow. The unexploded mines and shells in the mounts in Taliban stronghold is feared to have been deposited in the low lying areas posing as an ominous unavoidable tragedy waiting to happen.

Given the gigantic scale of reconstruction and the tardy performance of a fragile civilian government, the threat of the powerful military’s grip on the power structure will be smooth. That the military has a better toolbox for the immediate aftermath than the inept government is plainly and painfully clear. In the foreseeable future, a dispute is likely over the disbursement of aids on a nasty ethnical, regional and political note. An immediate reallocation of finance towards short term relief from long term goals is in the offing. The Pakistani coffers are empty and the International purse strings need to loosen up.

The rehabilitation will be physically and emotionally draining. In 2010, we had a devastating earthquake in Haiti, Chile and the Chinese Province of Qinghai. The fact that natural disasters are recurrent was demonstrated once again with Pakistan. This holds an important lesson for South Asian Nations especially India to increase their resilience and readiness in National Development. Too often, critical care facilities are noticed only when headlines focus on damage. Equipping human settlements to cope better with extreme natural events is a continuing process that the short lifespan of headlines in the news cannot sustain for longer. As headlines fade away, so does memory and the huge responsibility of rebuilding. We pumped in humungous sums for financial recovery from a man-made catastrophe that arose out of our own frivolousness. We need to do more for the escalating hazards of nature.

This is not the time for historical prejudices and misleading platitudes. This is Pakistan’s hour of need. Now is an opportunity to give hope, turn a new tide and reach out to our brethren stranded in the mounts of the North West, for human stories are woven with the same rich tapestry of unpredictable joys and unimaginable sorrows. It is in times like these, that the worst in us is chipped off and the best in our beings is stirred into action. It is between a storm and calm that a human being awakes.

NEED FOR A SPORTS LAW IN INDIA (Published in 'YOJANA' ,September 2010)

2010-09-12T12:26:00.004+05:30

From a mere source of entertainment and personal recreation, Sports has grown into a highly competitive industry with global pervasiveness. It is one of the largest revenue generating industries in the world comprising 3% of the world trade. It has also metamorphosed into an important and inevitable political and social activity. The Beijing Olympics did more for the Chinese soft power in three months, what diplomacy could not do in three decades. The successful bidding to host an international sporting event is a unique opportunity for developing countries to showcase their progress, development and their world standing through their soft power. India will host The Commonwealth Games this October, a sporting fiesta with 5000 competitors from 85 countries, more than 1.2 million spectators and an estimated 26000 crore rupees invested to make Delhi the cynosure of the sporting world. Such an event of mind boggling proportions entails problems unique and complex related to infrastructure, licensing, sponsorship, media rights and ethical sporting practices. It is an appropriate moment to analyse the need for lucid legal provisions pertaining to sports in India.

Need for Laws
The Sporting World has been plagued by scandals and controversies in the past few decades. The Olympic Games Bidding Scandal, the recent IPL scam and allegations of sexual harassment by the Indian Women’s Hockey Team have rocked the nation. From six gold medals in a row from 1928 to 1956, the Indian Hockey team hit an all time low failing to qualify for the 2008 Olympics. This incident exposed the maladministration and insularity of a defective system that drained our resources. Even the Gentleman’s Game Cricket has been marred by match fixing and payment from bookies. All these incidents expose the dark side of a highly competitive world.

The mechanism of the economics of the sporting world was taken up by Simon Rottenburg in his seminal work on professional sports. He analysed professional sports with the paradigms applicable to any other economic activity and came to some brilliant conclusions. He defined the sporting competition as a joint product and a collective effort of a number of factors. He said that no single sporting team or player could offer an interesting and independent product of value in sports. Thus a sporting spectacle required a Competitive Balance and the ordinary rules applicable to a pure market had to be modified here. Even though competition was the core value that promoted sports, one needed Competitive Balance or Equality of competitors to some degree for the success of the event. Revenue was generated by the excitement offered by teams more or less evenly matched. Thus the principle that public interest is best served by the unrestrained free markets did not apply here. The second pillar on which the sporting world thrived was the unpredictability of outcome. These two factors defined the mechanism on which sporting industry worked.

The major problems that the sporting world faces can be broadly categorised as follows.

1.Labour Issues: Players and owners have to negotiate mandatory issues relating to hours, wages and working conditions. The agents entrusted to conduct business on player’s behalf have to be loyal and ethical serving the best interests of the game. The problem of performance enhancing drugs is an integral aspect of drug policies. Drug testing, list of banned drugs, penalties, privacy issues and right to appeal must be clearly stated by the nodal agency concerned.

2.Tort laws: Tort Laws were once not a part of the landscape of sports laws. But intentional tort pointing to a criminal act of assault needs to be penalised. Similarly right to publicity has to deal with the defamation of a person’s character and reputation.

3.Laws on accountability: There is a need to check corruption and ensure accountability in conduct and monetary deals of the government bodies and other agencies entitled to supervise the portfolio. Tenure caps of office bearers of federations and age restrictions of the office bearers are long overdue. Agreements that are exclusionary and therefore contrary to the Trade Practices Act should not be encouraged. Denial of essential facilities indispensable for the rivals to compete in an event must be severely dealt with. This is especially applicable to our country where the organisation of administration is pyramidal with a dominating agency at the helm of affairs.

4.Broadcasting Rights: India’s Competition Act 2002, holds void any agreement that is likely to cause an appreciable adverse impact on competitiveness. Yet the BCCI has been selling broadcasting rights to exclusive partners for a long time. The principle sustaining the interest of the general public to watch sports has been the fact that sports is an ephemeral product. The element of unpredictability of outcome and that a live event cannot be substituted. Concentration of rights in a few agents will seriously hamper the prospects of fair play in media rights.

The magnitude of the problem and its nuances makes it clear that a sports law will no longer be an applied law or an amalgamation of laws under some jurisdiction, but a law in its own right. Entry 33 in the seventh schedule of our Constitution has provided a provision for the State as well as the centre to make and enact laws on regulation, registration and recognition of associations involved in sports. Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh are two of the states where there is a functional sports law at present. In India, the provincial sports bodies work under non profit making organisations under the Company Law Jurisdiction. Rules and regulations like statutory orders act only as secondary legislations supplementing laws. The Competition Law (2002) promotes Competition advocacy, forbids abuse of dominance and anti-competitive agreements. But a comprehensive law on Sports must aim at a broader ideal and vision. The law makers should provide and disseminate the idea and information on various issues related to sports and encourage the exchange of a variety of perspectives through conferences before embarking on the mission.

Vision of a Comprehensive Sports Law in India

•The Law should establish and promote rules of ethics and spirit of sportsmanship among competitors and the bodies involved in decision making. Ethical solution to legal issues in sports is the core idea behind the vision. This will enhance the morale of the players by improving contractual dynamics among them and the administrative bodies. Contracts must clarify expectations and commitment from the players and agents.

•Consultancy services must be provided to the sports bodies and players. Co-ordination of the legal fraternity and the sporting community is a pre-requisite for such a healthy interaction.

•National identity and the spirit of representing India must supersede political decisions. It would be highly advisable to include a former player of a game at the helm of affairs rather than a mere administrator or politician with vested interests.

•To check corruption, tenure caps and age restriction on office bearers of federation must be brought in. Denial of essential facilities and exclusionary policies that are intentional at a player or a rival organisation should result in the termination of the services of the administrator concerned. Misuse of authority must be severely dealt with.

•Salary caps on players and teams should be brought in. Practices that create a barrier for new entrants, draw out the existing players and lead to the foreclosure of a competition must not be tolerated.

•A greater sensitivity and legal support must be provided for women players. Perpetrators of harassment and discrimination should be severely punished.

•Research of excellent quality must be encouraged in the area of sports through continuing education.

The area of sports law is relatively new and at the nascent stage of conception in our country. Nevertheless, it is an area of study that is worthy of definition and in depth academic inquiry and practice. A well planned exhaustive competition compliance programme can be of great benefit to all enterprises. A fresh perspective, an independent authority and a comprehensive law is the need of the hour.

A TRIBUTE TO THE MASTERS

2010-09-05T09:39:00.001+05:30

5th September is Teacher’s Day in India in memory of the greatest educator, philosopher and the second President of India, Dr.S.Radhakrishnan. There are many definitions to a great teacher; but I believe an exceptional teacher is one who encourages us to fulfil one of the most fundamental needs of a human being- the need to communicate. I remember a lot of teachers who have taught me through the years and I must say that the outstanding and the inspiring were the exception than the rule. Those who have been educated in India like me would know how life at school is. We do remember teachers who like hungry dragons swept on us for talking, dragging our shoes and not being able to answer a question as given in the text book. I was a truant and I was constantly in the black list of my mentors, the disciplinarians cast a severe look on me the very first day of the academic year and the gentle souls gave me a kind smile hoping someday I would indeed improve. But the teachers whom I love to this day were the ones who let the best in me out and never kept me suppressed. Irrespective of the subjects they taught, they asked the sleeping bird in me to realise that it had wings and asked me to stretch it and fly up above. They let me soar high above the platitudes and truisms to find my own Neverland. The best in Man is his ever fantastic imagination; you need a thriving imagination to live happily and be yourself. Hard work does follow, but work without imagination will make life dreary. I am thankful to those who let me be myself and allowed me to ask stupid questions and give stammering answers, to argue and debate to my mind’s content to finally find out my own truths, to speak and write a lot of nonsense, to act, to sing and play, to those who with their disappointed faces made me realise my first lessons of right and wrong- I am thankful to all those who loved me inspite of myself and cared to acknowledge that I was important and I would be somebody in life. For you who corrected my mistakes with love, for you who encouraged my passions with love, for you who pulled me up with love, I owe all that I am to you. You have proved that you can make something useful of every little soul that comes your way. My love from the bottom of my heart to you, my Teacher!

LETTERS TO EDITOR- VI

2010-09-05T08:59:00.006+05:30

The HINDU, 15 August 2010
The article 'Our Pride and Shame' (8 August) candidly brought out the true story of India shining. The gleaming new image of India galloping towards an incredible future will be true only when we weed out the diseases within our country. Dressing up a sick India in bright colours to show the world is like painting a crumbling edifice to make it brand new. We are all guilty of sending 400 million to bed hungry every day. At a time India is going to celebrate its 63rd anniversary of Independence, hungry Indians, dying children and illiterate women remain a dark shadow over the jubilations.

The HINDU, 8 August 2010
Harsh Mander’s article ‘Workers in a world –class city’ (1 August) was a poignant depiction of the other side of Incredible India. Hosting an International Event is an excellent opportunity for developing nations to showcase their soft power. Beijing Olympics did more for China in three months than what three decades of diplomacy could. 8 billion pounds was spent on environment plan and 65000 old buses and taxis were taken off the road in China. Commonwealth Games exemplifies what India could aim to be: beautiful, functional, forward thinking and a model for future development. But greed and corruption has made a potential superpower to super poor. The mansions that we erect on the bellies of the hovels of poverty, as the author rightly pointed out, will be a veneer cast on a hideous imposing edifice.

The New Indian Express, 7 August 2010
Kudos to Zeitgeist for bringing out the unknown story of conservation by the British Naturalists in the Indian Army (31 July). Being a student of Botany and keenly interested in arts, I found one such treasure trove during my college days in the University library. A comprehensive collection on Indian Flora with accurate colour paintings by the unsung heroes of the erstwhile Indian army! With over 15000 species of plants in the subcontinent with hostile and unfamiliar landscape and climate, it must have been a Herculean task. Only a deep love for the subject would have prompted such careful and systematic study. At a time, when the number taxonomists of quality are on a southward dip, such stories deserve to be retold.

Outlook Magazine, 19 July 2010
This is with reference to the article ‘Counting Backwards’. To eliminate inequality of status and invidious treatment, we need a society that takes minimal account of ascriptive ties. Changes in caste agglomerations, caste-occupation nexus and the mix of the sacred and the secular dimensions introduce ambiguities in the perception of caste. If population is enumerated with caste data, it is sure to be vitiated by vote bank politics and may lead to distortion of vital information on other socio-economic figures. The centralised census is not the appropriate method to study something as complex as caste.

The HINDU, 18 July 2010
Kalpana Sharma’s article ‘Just let them play’ (11 July) was timely and relevant. There is a large amount of compelling evidence that reflect the relationship between sport participation and social integration and social inclusion of women and girls. Women who participate in sport and physical activity exhibit higher self-esteem as well as improved self-perception that is associated with enhanced feelings of accomplishment, perceptions of improved physical appearance and commitment to exercise. Organised sports activities helped to enhance girls’ sense of agency, self-empowerment and personal freedom. They also allow women and girls access to safe social spaces in which they may exercise control and ownership. Gender equity in sports will lead to gender equity in social space.

The New Indian Express, 17 July 2010
This is with reference to the article ‘Right to Strike’ (10 July). The inordinate delay in the outcome of verdict in India is appalling. The judicial system is too slow for a common man to get justice in his lifetime. The lawyers add to the woes of the litigants by abstaining from work. Harassment of a common man by public authorities is socially abhorring and legally impermissible. It may harm him personally but the injury to society is far more grievous. Nothing is more damaging than the feeling of helplessness.

The HINDU, 12 July 2010
This is with reference to the Editorial ‘Kashmir Politicians must Act’ (10 July). The feeling of deprivation and injustice of the past are the engines of suppressed anger among the youth reflected in street violence. In the absence of democratic politics and convincing answers from the political leaders, extremist fill in the vacuum and direct the thoughts of the young. The valley has become a land of delirious fanatics who have propagated a collective distorted memory of falsehoods and deliberate half truths. Firepower cannot eliminate the angry voices; the Kashmiri youth need answers. Only genuine introspection and honest reparatory measures from the political class are going to yield results.

The New Indian Express, 12 July 2010
This refers to the article ‘Dalit Studies must in Casteist India’ (5 July). A quintessential Indian’s life is dissected by caste from his birth to death. The idea of India has suffered colossal pressures from communal and other forces of disintegration for years now. Specialised study on Dalit issue may help to understand the realities better. At the same time, if the youth are to be genuinely sensitised to the forms of oppression around, field trips to different parts of the country should be the part of regular curriculum. Education in the real sense should broaden the periphery of thinking and relieve us from the den of ignorance.

The New Indian Express, 10 July 2010
The points raised in the article ‘REDD in Amazonian Rain Forest’ (3 July) merits attention. Carbon credits are a key component of national and international attempts to mitigate the growth in concentrations of greenhouse gases. But allowing market mechanisms to regulate the commercial ventures towards low emissions alone is not an answer. For a sustainable and green future, we should reduce emission of fuels drastically. Every responsible citizen can leave a better carbon footprint by judiciously using the resources.

The New Indian Express, 6 July 2010
This refers to the article ‘Politics of fuel price hike’ (30 June). All the essential commodities are already out of the reach of the humble aam aadmi. The hike in fuel prices at a time the country is reeling under inflation is unacceptable. The government should have asked the oil companies to cut down on pilferage and maximise efficiency instead of burdening the common man.

JAI HO MY INDIA!

2010-08-15T08:44:00.002+05:30

I know the price of freedom; it is not an extravagant claim. I did not fight the British to make India free. It had all been done four decades back by men of extraordinary fortitude who resented and fought an alien rule with their lives by the time I was born. Both my grandparents are freedom fighters and they told me that the price of freedom was your life as they gave us an old crumbling ruin with what would once have been an imposing edifice. India was free but the two centuries of plundering had left her a badly bruised and deeply scarred and burned nation. It was as though they had rescued her from a raging inferno. But unlike the famous quote on Italy that goes ‘Now that we have created Italy all we need to do is to create Italians’ Nehru did not have to create Indians. India and Indians had been there for thirty five centuries; we just had to reassert our identity. But forty years after resurrecting India, I realised the price of freedom by nearly losing it.

My India is an ever ever land. It is a palimpsest of incredible thoughts and impossible dreams of men over the centuries. It is a land of belonging than of blood. It is a wonderland where the past lives in the present. The hubristic claim of Mahabharata is befitting for my India (as Mahabharata itself means ‘Great India’) - ‘Whatever is here is nowhere else, whatever is not here is nowhere’. The best of the east and the west have gone through an active Indian mind at some time or the other. Indianness is an idea that is fully and fantastically dreamed. You cannot take anything for granted in our country. The singular thing about India as Tharoor remarked is that it can only be spoken of in the plural. Every one is a minority here; all of us have multiple identities. I am an Indian, a Malayali and a Roman Catholic at the same time, but my identities flow in one continuum well anchored in my Indianness. Despite this incredible diversity, we chose to be a democratic nation. To the west this may seem mind boggling. Here, language changes with every 400 miles of landscape. The languages of the south are Indo American in origin similar to the Australians, Sri Lankans and the ancient Mayans. The languages of the north stem from Indo Iranian roots and are similar to those in West Asia. We have 23 languages recognised in the constitution and 35 languages spoken by more than a million people besides 22000 dialects. My friend from Germany laboriously learned Hindi to come to India and to her shock found that Chennai understood as much Hindi as it understood Finnish. India was not formed based on any language; we are Indians inspite of them.

You may be amidst lush greenery in lazy backwaters or sun bathing in the golden sands under the azure sky or spluttering under heavy rains in mountains with bad roads or scorching in a hot oven depending on where you are staying in India. The topography and terrain of the sub continent is uneven and unpredictable. The geography divides India into a jumbled jigsaw of many hues. India is home to four major religions of the world and a quintessential Indian is born into a complicated web of religion, caste, sub caste, clan and sect. Two Hindu neighbours who have been in the same street for decades will turn out to be distinctly different species if categorised according to the taxonomic chart. Thus religion, place of birth, language, ethnicity, culture and cuisines are all subsets of one great identity of being an Indian, but India is more than the sum of its parts.

A country of such humungous proportions will face problems unique and unprecedented in the history of Mankind. India is also a land of inconveniences and some uneasy truths that stare at us from dark alleys. 400 million Indians go to bed hungry everyday and some less fortunate mothers have to feed mud crusts to their children crying hoarse of hunger. 42% mothers who give birth do not get medical help and nearly 45% children are malnourished. Out of 1 billion people, 7 million children go to school; only 2.84% of the Indian youth finish post graduation in India. We produce an abysmal 5600 PhDs a year. It is the very few Indians who make it amidst all adversities who bring the refreshing, galloping potential super power image of India to the world. The wealth of the four richest Indians combined will be more than what any other country can fathom. Sadly, the developing India is denied to millions. Ultimately an India denied to some of us will be an India denied to all of us. And it is in fighting these everyday battles of hunger, poverty and even hatred with my fellow Indians that I realised the price of freedom. If half of India cannot live the life of their dreams with basic human necessities, then it means we have to win a more compelling war of freedom today. The great meaningless wars that nations wage for a reason that they have long forgotten seem like an absurd farce when we see the daily battle burdening the weak shoulders of the children of lesser India. Their tears are blood of martyrdom for they are giving up their lives in their struggle for freedom in this independent India.

I have seen that India and it is unacceptable to me. Hunger is an abstract concept to a fully fed man; that is why most of us face the other way when we confront such uncomfortable truths. Communalism and the venomous hate of men based on tenuous reasons will not hold the same meaning for us as it holds for the inconsolable father who mourns the death of his only son killed in carnage. Poverty brings unimaginable humiliation that I see in the frail old woman begging at the end of the street of plush bungalows and indifferent rich people. Her moist eyes that betray a person once loved haunts me every day. I feel that I am waging a battle against different demons in my India and in my moments of frustration I feel that we are nearly losing the battle.

I am tired of looking at the far end of the charts that come out every year educating the world about socio economic indices to read my country’s name. I am exhausted at the 7 digit figure that portrays the deprived Indians in these pieces of official information. I know well that there are millions more who are invisible to the severe eyes of the economists. It is for these invisible souls and unheard voices that I hope my India will have a meaning of something real someday. Towards that dream, my Lord, let my country awake. Jai Hind!

VIVE LA FRANCE!

2010-08-05T18:13:00.003+05:30

Familiarity breeds comfort, it is the beautiful feeling of feeling at home. I love the first splash of the monsoon, the first odour of the raw earth crawling into my nostrils, I love the azure sea that I see from my rooftop, the golden platter called moon rising in its full splendour; I even like the fecund and burned earth here in summer that symbolises to me human resilience in such a hostile environment. India is a seductress, but you must visit her when she is in her good mood. But often, I have fallen in love with the things that I have never seen or experienced. The unheard melodies are sweeter, the unseen dreams more seducing. I have never seen snow, for instance, by the virtue of living in the south of the subcontinent. But I have always read with great astonishment that snowflakes fall in geometrical shapes. I would love to touch snow, eat a snowflake and feel it melt in my mouth and bury my foot deep down and leave a footprint transiently. Or see the rouge and gold of autumn and take a dry leaf of maple and keep it for memories sake.

I have always pictured Europe with such unfamiliar colours, moods and seasons as compared to my tropical India. It is with the curious eyes of an outsider that I began to explore the beautiful enchantress of Europe- France. France seems to me like a wonderful dream from which I never want to wake up. With their vineyards and chateaux, she is a beautiful painting in motion. One of the best ways to see and know about France is through her cinema. She is a mistress of all things beautiful; but the celluloid brings out her life and colours that will amaze you. I have given my choices of the best French movies that I have seen; not necessarily famous but definitely ingenious in the art of cinema, masterfully crafted and beautifully set. For Indians unfamiliar with France, these movies will undoubtedly be a visual fiesta as well.

One of the first movies that I saw was ‘Chocolat’ that has two of my favourite actors and my lifelong obsession for a title. The movie by Lasse Hallstrom is an adaptation of the 1999 novel by Joanne Harris. It is the story of a young mother Vianne (Juliette Binoche) who comes with her six year old daughter Anouk to the fictional village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes along with the north wind and sets up ‘La Chocolaterie Maya’. Her chocolate shop seduces the villagers and enrages the puritans as she opens her shop in the month of Lent. Her magical recipes allures a couple to each other and enlivens their marriage, encourages an elderly man’s love, emboldens an awkward woman to leave her abusive husband and brings a wilful grandmother to her estranged grandson. The Mayor, Comte Paul de Reynaud plots against the immoral provocateur Vianne, but her sinfully delicious Chocolat mellows even the most conservative man in the village. How Chocolat brings life to a sleepy village and leads Vianne to her love, Roux (Johnny Depp) forms the heart of this beautiful story. Watch this movie to see the beautiful hills and valleys of Burgundy and fine performances by the artists.

I recommend ‘The Horseman on the Roof’ (Le Hussard sur le Toit) for its excellent cinematography. The story is about a valiant Italian soldier Angelo Pardi (Olivier Martinez) who is in hiding in rural France from Austrians who are hunting for Italian revolutionaries. The film is set in a time when Italy was trying to free itself from the Holy Roman Empire under the Austrians. At a time of war and cholera, Pardi is unexpectedly helped by a countess (Juliette Binoche) who is searching for her husband. How he vows to save the countess from the army and cholera even while repressing his love forms the rest of this story. The picturesque setting of rural France along the Mediterranean is an awesome visual treat.

The third film is an unusual war movie called ‘Officer’s Ward’ (La Chambre des Officiers) by Francois Dupeyron. It is a masterful adaptation of the novel by Marc Dugain. A young officer Adrien (Eric Caravaca) is unexpectedly it by a bomb during World War I. Just before going to the battle field, he spends a desperate and passionate night with his love Clemence. After being hit, for the next 35 minutes, Adrien’s face is shown through the shock, disbelief and disgust of the other characters of the movie. Lonely, shattered and heartbroken, the badly disfigured Adrien tries to kill himself after seeing his face on a window. With the tender care of his nurse Anais, he convinces himself that he is worthy to live. How he helps the other inmates of the ward to recover from their tragedies, how he loses his love and his best friend to the curious twists of life and war and how he finally comes home after nearly two years forms the story. This is one of the few war movies where the battlefield is never shown but the horrors of war are tackled in a hospital room. This brilliant movie makes a monumental statement with its beautiful script and moving performances.

The fourth film ‘Vatel’ is set in the pre Franco-Dutch war period. Francois Vatel (Gerard Depardieu) is the master of art and pleasures in the palace of Prince de Conde. He finds beauty in harmony and contrast that he sees around. His patron is financially delicate and awaits the King Louis XIV to pass three days there. The film showcases three days in the Prince’s Palace. Vatel is a man of great honour and talent, but of low birth. He is asked to do menial and absurd tasks by the Royalty. He defends himself, rebels against humiliation and tries to restore his dignity. The Prince sells him away to the King after losing at a game. Vatel also falls in love with Anne de Montausier (Uma Thurman) who reciprocates his love but makes it clear that they cannot continue the liaison due to their incompatible social standing. Defeated by the people he loves, he ends his life. This movie is worth a watch for those who enjoy History in celluloid. The film accurately depicts the life of unimaginable splendour and extravagance the Bourbons lived even while France was suffering from war and poverty.

The appropriate finale for this collection would be the film ‘Bleu’ that comes from the genius of the Polish Filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski. It is the first film that forms the trilogy “Trois Couleurs” (Three Colours). The films are named after the three colours of the French Flag and made on the themes of the French Revolution ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’. Bleu deals with the emotional liberty of a woman Julie Vignon (Binoche) who deals with the death of her husband and her daughter by isolating herself from the rest of the world. But her past and her present frequently intervenes in her isolation and solitude. The things that she ran away from pull her back to life. Dealing liberally with death and loss, betrayal and music this film is an anti tragedy. A powerful film made with considerable restraint and brilliant performances.

I hope you appreciate the beauty of France and the spirit of the French from their beautifully made films. A love affair with France is always for a lifetime. So Vive La France!

*‘Vive La France’ means Long live France.

AN UNEASY EXAM

2010-08-01T21:05:00.004+05:30

There are a few important exams in a student’s life that is a portent of his future. Indubitably every exam is important as it opens one more door towards our dream. Qualifying examinations can be the lifelines of many students. The UGC has devised the NET/JRF exams to ensure that only qualified students enter the hallowed portals of teaching and research. Thousands of aspirants await the exam twice a year in June and December. The last NET/JRF exam was conducted on 27 June. For an exam of such large scale and significance, it faced some avoidable glitches.

The exam consists of three papers of which the first two are objective in nature. Candidates have to pass the threshold limit if their last paper is to be evaluated. The last paper is the student’s chosen subject for which NET/JRF is awarded. For an exam of high competitiveness, every mark can make or break your chances of success. Till last year, negative marks were awarded for every wrong answer in the first two papers. From this year onwards, the UGC scrapped off the negative marks. This vital information was updated in the UGC website just a day before the exams. Needless to say, many students who were in the last stages of preparation failed to know about the significant change.

To add to the confusion, diverse opinions went around the exam centres. When the question booklet was distributed it was printed that there would be no negative marking. Ten minutes into the exam, in St.Mary’s GSS, Aluva, Kerala the invigilators informed the students that there would be negative marking this year. They assured the students that they had contacted the authorities of the UGC on the matter. The students who had already started answering panicked and redefined their strategies and marked only a few answers in the objective papers. To their shock, they realised their mistakes only after coming out of the centre and contacting their friends who gave the exams from other centres.

Remya Krishnan, who was a first rank holder throughout her Graduation and Post Graduation in Economics, expresses her anguish. “I had prepared well and I hoped to clear the exam this time. The supervisors told us that there would be negative marking. They even said that they had contacted the UGC. I attempted only 35 questions. If I had known otherwise, I would have surely attempted more,” she ruefully explains. Many students from the centre share her opinion. Some angrily remark that it is unfair. People who wrote from big cities like Trivandrum had no confusion over the issue. They say that it is always the small town that suffers.
Ashwathy, a post graduate of Commerce from Kerala University had pinned her hopes on the exam this time. She was preparing for the exam in a coaching centre for the last six months away from her home. Now she has to wait for another six months to take the exam once again.

The UGC has given stringent guidelines that appointment of Assistant Professors in various Universities will be based on their qualification in the NET exam. At a time when our Universities are facing paucity of qualified professionals to teach, one fails to understand the flippant way in which notifications regarding important changes pertaining to the exam are updated on web sites. Even more appalling is the irresponsible manner in which the invigilators handled the situation. There is no accountability in such aspects and students have no option but to take the test again.

A lot needs to be changed before coming December when the next Exam comes. There must be clarity, transparency and accountability in disseminating information and conducting such important examinations.

THE COMMON MAN, AN UNLIKELY HERO

2010-07-25T21:56:00.002+05:30

‘God must love the common man, he made so many of them,’ said Abraham Lincoln. I did not believe in the power of the common man- the humble ordinary being with a perpetually bewildered look and a super human capacity to endure. I thought that the common man with common thoughts, who leads a common life, is an unlikely hero and a silent spectator of the absurdities of circumstances. I did not realise that he would have extra ordinary situations to prove his valour and mettle. I did not realise that God must indeed love him for he comes closest to the Divine; going by the degree of perfection he has reached in tolerance and endurance. I do not know where the believers find Him but my guess is that all the divine virtues are broken into a million shards and are housed in the hapless, helpless common man who has a hundred Goliaths to defeat in his lifetime.

This painful truism was first revealed to me when I turned eighteen. There is never a good time to be eighteen; to come of age and apply for a hundred documents to prove that you are who you think you are. At every step, the behemoth of the powerful sneer at you, challenge and harass you till you are close to admitting that you do not exist. But we all survive the ordeal to tell the story. I am going to share my story that the wise old men will agree with and the young must be prepared to face.

My unfortunate ambition to study abroad took me to the portals of the passport office. Braving the merciless thunderous monsoon, I reached there early in the morning to see a humungous crowd of frantic people deluging the destination finale. After what seemed like an eternity, I was in the hallowed sanctum sanctorum. But the token number that I received drained the colour in my face. But I did use the long hours of waiting to observe my fellow characters in that theatre of the absurd. The young and the old, men and women, the rich and the poor sat next to each other with glazed looks trapped in a forced parody that made all of them equally helpless. We were all waiting for Godot.

My whole body quivered with exhilaration when my turn came at the counter. But the woman at the counter was ‘la belle dame sans mercy’. When I thought I was so close to my goal, I was directed to meet the Passport Officer. I knew that if I made it to his office beginning at the rear end of a line twice as long as the reticulated Python, I could nurse the other impossible dreams of my life. Such is an optimism that a day at the government offices can do to your soul. Alas! The final lap is always the most arduous, the longest and the most delusionary. It gives you false hopes like you will pass it in no time.

As I inched closer, I was pushed farther away by the ominous bell for the lunch break. One moment I was staring at passport officer’s office, the next moment I was staring at the security guards outside the passport office! To watch the boorish guards and the arrogant officers having desultory conversations when you wait without food or hope can be disorienting. The weather was hot and sultry; the mass of people from all sides that squeezed me felt as heavy as my empty hopeless spirit that weighed on me. Yet we found the courage to ogle at them with blank faces though our hearts were raging infernos.

But a common man is a hero because he is powerless to fight but is tough enough to endure. The happy climax to the story is that I did get to meet the passport officer half an hour before the office closed. I came out haggard and forlorn but having accomplished the impossible feat. My fellow brethren were less fortunate and I could make that out from their envious look at my triumph.

That one day changed my life forever. I had discovered the hero in me and in every ‘aam aadmi’ like me.

HIGHER EDUCATION-QUEST FOR EXCELLENCE

2010-07-11T09:54:00.003+05:30

“Here stands the fine monument of India, representing India’s urges, India’s future in the making. This picture seems to be symbolical of the changes that are coming to India,” remarked Jawaharlal Nehru at the first convocation address of IIT Kharagpur. The foundation for the system of higher technical education for independent India was set up by Sir Jogendra Singh of the Viceroy’s executive council way back in 1946.Independent India was fortunate to have a panoply of visionary institution builders pave the way for India’s future in the years to come. Nehru himself held the portfolio of Science and Technology and was largely responsible for the Scientific Policy Resolution (1958). He described Science as “the very texture of life” and established premier institutes of higher learning like AIIMS, IIMs, IITs and envisioned JNU. He once optimistically declared that "science alone . . . can solve problems of hunger and poverty, of insanitation and illiteracy, of superstition and deadening customs."Indian education grew up on the shoulders of men like Nehru, Bhabha and so on. Six decades later, the quality of higher education in India is lamentable. How did the hallowed portals of higher education become the ‘great ailing child’ of India?

THE AILING SYSTEM
A university is a repository of scholarship, dedicated to teaching and research in the spirit of free and critical inquiry, tolerance of diversity and a commitment to resolution of difference of opinion through dialogue and debate. A university is a melange of ideas, a gateway to the borderless knowledge based world. Ideas rule the world, impart vitality to the society and help civilisations to evolve and bloom. A society bereft of ideas is on its death bed, doomed to stagnation and decay.

Before going into the diagnosis of the problem, we need to examine some facts and figures. Indian government has allocated Rs 3280 crores for setting up 12 Central Universities in addition to the existing 18. There is also an ambitious plan to create 30 “world class institutes” including 8 IITs and 7 IIMs in the next few years. This may seem huge but India actually spends only less than 1% of its GDP in Research and Development. China has overtaken Japan as the second largest investor in R&D just behind the US with $ 136 billion (2006), Brazil has recently submitted an annual R&D budget of $4.1 billion. The entire spending on R&D in India could be about that in a large US State University. The OECD report shows that the number of science researchers in China has grown by 77 per cent between 1995 and 2004, reaching 926,000. This is not far behind the 1.3 million researchers in the United States. India has about 1.5 lakh core researchers; that comes to about 156 researchers per million of the population. A Chinese University (Tsinghua University) has 4600 faculty for 26500 students including 5000 PhD candidates. India educates only half many young people from the University age group as China and ranks behind Latin American and middle income countries. In the ranking of top notch schools by Academic Ranking of World Universities (2007), none of India’s 348 Universities ranks in the top 100. IISc and IIT Kharagpur ranks in the 301-400 slots. In the Times Higher Education Supplement (2006) India has just 3 Universities in the top 200 slot where as nine Asian Universities outside China, Hong Kong and Japan have made it. It is clear that India exhibits a unique problem at the highest levels of education. With a few notable exceptions, outstanding institutes of research and excellent Universities are rare in the country.

THE GREAT HURDLES
The first great hurdle is the oppressive sclerotic bureaucracy that India is notorious for. The wheels of decision-making grind slowly in an exasperating pace. Permission is mandatory from the higher rungs of hierarchy for almost everything. Such feudalistic framework kills the incentive of earnest academics to innovate. Institutions with a relative degree of autonomy have always succeeded. It is instructive to note the exceptional visionaries like K.N.Raj, who built the Delhi School of Economics into one of the finest schools for economics in the country, went in pursuit of excellence instead of the rule book. It is impossible to build world class institutes within a bureaucratic set up that is accountable to no one.

The second problem ailing the system is that it is wedded to mediocrity. Indians are rewarded for their longevity rather than productivity, conformity rather than creativity. A career in academics is a slow and arduous climb upwards and one is rewarded and elevated by default as years roll by. The proportion of publications by Indian academics in international journals has taken a southward dip. One who teaches should never cease to learn. Ironically, settling down with an academic profession is a death knell to your academic pursuits in this country if you were not immensely self motivated. Without deep structural changes in the way institutes are governed, creating centres of excellence will remain a distant dream.

Corruption is the hydra-headed monster prevalent in all institutional systems in this country without exception. Favouritism in appointment to faculty positions, admissions, cheating in examination, plagiarism in thesis and questionable coaching arrangements plague the system. Paucity of funds and excellent academics is a major setback. World class universities require a salary structure compatible with world standards for the teaching community if we are to attract the best in the field to train young minds.

THE PRUDENTIAL STRATEGY
All decisions should be based on meritocracy. Quality should never become the casualty. Our universities need to hire the best professors and reward the brightest talent generously. Bold thinking must be applauded and risk takers must not be shot dead. “New idea fund” started in the mid nineties in CSIR, schemes like INSPIRE set up by IISER and the recently instituted awards for excellence by INFOSYS are excellent examples of an innovative eco-system to nourish creativity. We can thus address bottleneck of ideas. Quotas and rigid frameworks have to go if we have to rise to global standards. The second most important thing is that our universities need to be research centric; our academic culture has to change. We need to focus on two areas here- both knowledge intensity (amount of knowledge per graduating student) and technology intensity (transformation of existing knowledge into new knowledge). The concept of internationalisation of education has transcended geography and has created a borderless world. The President of Yale University, Richard Levin rightly remarked that “creating a global university is also a revolutionary development- signalling distinct changes in the substance of teaching and research, the demographic characteristics of students and scholars, the scope and breadth of external collaborations and the engagement of university with new audiences.” There must be a realisation that research in any part of the world cannot be fully understood in isolation. Merely inviting foreign universities to our soil even before we are ready to collaborate and compete can have disastrous consequences. Before undertaking the plunge, we need to change the student profile, adopt best practice bench marks and discard the unimaginative curricula. Democratisation of access and secularisation of ideas should be ensured. Onus on scholarships and financial benevolence to meritorious students will help. In the US, the total endowment of the top 50 universities is over $160 billion; it is almost a third of India’s GDP! John Harvard, Leland Stanford, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie and Elihu Yale contributed generously to set up what are indubitably world class institutions. “Private Universities in public service” should be the motto.

Great civilisations have flourished due to the vibrancy of ideas. As Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman noted,” the difficulty is often in escaping the old ideas”. A certain degree of irreverence to established customs is required to solve the problem. Just pumping money into a fundamentally broken system of universities will not work. Nor will scattershot spending or aping the western model. What we require is vision and originality of thoughts. A system oppressed under its own ossified rituals and epistemological and pedagogic constraints can never survive for long. We can leverage an overhaul by introducing innovative eco system for education, great organisational values and imaginative curricula. We have to free the system from the penumbra of incompetence. We have to discover the hidden ‘Ramans’ and ‘Ramanujans’ in our country.

A BITTER AFTERTASTE

2010-07-05T18:19:00.002+05:30

I have been trying to put down some of these thoughts in black and white for some time. A trenchant analysis of the present day Indian writing in English in ‘The HINDU’ Literary Review triggered the spark and the dam of emotions burst unexpectedly. Tasty and pregnant ideas always stimulate something deep within. So I begin with a humble disclaimer that at the risk of sounding like a high brow critic, I am proceeding with a cudgel at the publishing industry of Indian writing in English.

Every bibliophile unabashedly devours on the rich tapestry of words that his alcove stores. Then once in a while, you taste some book sceptically and it leaves a bitter aftertaste. When you inadvertently take a large bite off such unwholesome confection, you become sick. I have found that the rule applies to food and bad books. After being voraciously addicted to books, you become very demanding. It is not enough to read good books, but the best ones. I have always believed that if you invest your time and effort at comprehending any kind of an art, it has to leave a good aftertaste. Every book need not engross us with its many layered depths; shallowness is not the hallmark of the commercial. And the commercial is not strictly an anathema to the literary. The sublime can be found in the mundane. You can win the hearts and the minds of people with a good work. My only crib with the new breed of writers that I am about to throw brickbats at, is that they are so good at producing predictable stories that happens to every other person with not an ounce of imagination. I need not dwell on the bland language. The obvious can be obnoxious sometimes. You read you shut, you curse and you forget. Memorable books are like Lutetium; they are a rare breed.

When Chetan Bhagat arrived seven years ago, I was deeply sceptical. I knew it was a presage of things to come. He is quite a phenomenon and an unsavoury one at that; at least for the serious reader. He got a large portion of India to switch from their languorous lives to turning a page. It does take talent of a kind to make non readers read. I have seen young people who have looked upon reading with sacrilegious contempt being absolutely hooked to Bhagat who was telling them their story at affordable rates. Bhagat is not resplendent; but he was revelatory. He had the nerve to sell our story to us. I know that Bhagat will simply loom above us; too dominant to ignore and too déclassé to embrace. When he connected with the ‘Youngistan’ he was all set to change the prosody of the publication industry. His own publisher claims that ‘he is not a literary writer, but more importantly he is a popular and successful writer.’ I cannot tolerate this malarkey that the commercially viable has to be intellectually insufferable. Needless to say, the unprecedented success of the Bhagat Phenomenon has led to a string of trash including Parul Mittal, Karan Bajaj, Bhavana Chauhan and a list of forgettable authors producing painful books in a non-existent genre called ‘Easy to read fun books.’

Why are these books offered to us? Indubitably, the clamour for such books is high. In sheer numbers, the section of non-readers who are the serious readers of such books is in mammoth proportion compared to habitual readers of fiction. Moreover, the latter are not organised enough to push the market forces in a particular way. That is actually the good news. Habitual readers are diverse in their preferences and one strong current unites them- They all go for a book that leaves a good aftertaste.

To bridge the gap between the commercial and the literary, publishers are going for the cross over books. In their attempt, they are strenuously striving for mediocrity. I am left with an autumn feeling beside an old ruin. The last original book that I read by an Indian author was of a brown skinned Brit. Can we upend this cliché? We need to exorcise the good books from the sarcophagus of stubborn editors and publishers. We need to kill the kitsch. Will something zesty and delectable come my way? I need a better aftertaste.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR- V

2010-07-05T17:44:00.002+05:30

The HINDU, 5 July 2010
The cartoon published in The Hindu (3 July) was an accurate depiction of the sad state of Indian politics. The creed of sly Indian politicians has made it their credo to stoke the flames of caste to fuel their own political future. The common man may reel under inflation and unpredictable prices of essential commodities. But whether we are counted and labelled in neat sections of caste in the files of National Census seems a more compelling problem that requires emergency meetings and discussions from the highest level of politics.

Indian Express, 2 July 2010
The Editorial ‘Anti Frees’ (1 July) was trenchant in its analysis. Indefinitely subsidising petroleum products is unsustainable economics. But I would like to raise another point. The hike in the fuel prices have come at a time the nation is reeling under the effects of inflation. Most of the essential commodities are already out of the reach of the common man. Before hiking the prices, the government should have asked the oil companies to cut down their wasteful expenditure and pilferage and maximise their efficiency to minimise the accumulated loss. The least the government can do now is ensure immediate regulation of prices of essential commodities. We the consumers can come out of this impasse by using fuel judiciously. One remains sanguine that hard times will evoke responsible use of our precious resources.

Business Line, 1 July 2010
This refers to the article ‘PM needs better advice on agriculture’ (30 June). India has the dubious distinction of attaining self sufficiency in food but not food security. This was mainly due to problems in the public distribution system. There were years when we had grain mounts in the granaries but not enough on the bowls of the poor in the country. There can be no better illustration of the dictum ‘India is rich but Indians are poor’. However, agricultural growth rate declined by about 5.2% in 2002 and since then has been stagnating at 1.7% for some time.

There is a genuine fear that agriculture may show negative growth rates in the near future. Scrambling for measures after a crisis has struck will be a case of too little too late. We need audacious measures to bring agriculture back to health. As Jawaharlal Nehru said ‘Everything else can wait but agriculture.’

Indian Express, 1 July 2010
The points raised in the editorial ‘The Professoriate’ (30 June) merits attention. The recent UGC notification makes it mandatory for professors to clock in 40 hours of work per week and a minimum of 6 hours of research work. An absurd clause also suggests that they must be physically available for at least five hours a day in the campus. The UGC has been lambasted for bringing in guidelines that are unlikely to be efficacious. At a time when the 342 odd universities are languishing in poor academic standards and paucity of qualified professionals, we need to raise the bar qualitatively. Drastic measures and saltatory leaps are required to fill in the gaps in numbers and quality of faculty. Creating an academic culture of research and publication should be the backbone of academics; not merely a pre requisite for promotions and perks. One cannot remain sanguine unless audacious measures are taken with a long term vision.

The HINDU, 29 June 2010
The article ‘When you pen a letter, you put life into it’ (28 June) was a well written article with a timely message. Letter writing is a traditional art that is fast dying out among the new generation. Words marry abstract thoughts to give concrete utterance. Reliance on social networking websites and mobile phones for communication has led to ignorance of the language, grievous spelling errors, grammatical mistakes and confusion over punctuations. The effort of writing a letter involves pouring over our thoughts for a while, choosing the best words and putting them in the best way possible for our loved one. The tapestry of words woven by our hands on paper brings boundless joy to the receiver of the letter. Quick fixes like the procrustean text messages cannot evoke the nostalgia a letter brings.

The New Indian Express, 26 June 2010
This refers to the article ‘Inhaling Injustice’ (19 June). I agree with the author that Indian authorities are to be blamed for handling the case in an insensitive manner with a cavalier attitude. The tardy arrival of the verdict after 23 turbulent years made a mockery of the horrendous suffering of the victims. That the government still remains apathetic and unwilling to commiserate with the victims is appalling.

Business Line, 25 June 2010
This is with reference to the article “Changing corporate governance practices” (Business Line, June 24). The OECD Code on Corporate Governance has a clause that says the system should ensure timely and accurate information about a firm's financial situation, performance, ownership and governance. All the stakeholders should question intelligently, debate constructively, challenge rigorously and decide dispassionately.

In the Indian case, we need the same best practices with high moral standards that will foster growth and stimulate investment. A dual board system, with executive and supervisory arms, will lead to easy functioning of the company and ensure accountability.

Business Line, 24 June 2010
This refers to the article “Conscienceless on Aviation Safety” (Business Line, June 23). The article was trenchant in bringing out the woeful inadequacies in the country's aviation sector. The Mangalore tragedy was a result of total disregard for safety regulations and basic civil aviation norms. Commercial considerations must give way to high moral and professional standards. Strict flight and duty limits for the pilots must be observed. One fails to understand why expatriate pilots who are not well versed with the terrain are brought in.

A total of 12 accidents in seven years involving foreign pilots ought to have been considered an unacceptable number long before it reached that number. One hopes things change and Mangalore is the last such incident in the unwholesome story.

Indian Express, 24 June 2010 (Won the Letter of the Week Award)
I completely agree with D.L. Sheth's contention that the brouhaha about the caste-based census is highly political ('Caste in the right mould', IE, June 23). The Constitution has used the word "caste" only twice in Articles 15 and 16 to forbid the state from practising any discrimination on the basis of caste. To eliminate inequality of status and invidious treatment, we need a society that takes minimal account of ascriptive ties. Changes in caste agglomerations, caste-occupation nexus and the mix of the sacred and the secular dimensions introduce ambiguities in the perception of caste. If population is enumerated with caste data, it's sure to be vitiated by vote bank politics and may lead to distortion of vital information on other socio-economic figures. The Centralised census is not the appropriate method to study something as complex as caste.

The HINDU, 21 June 2010
This refers to the article ‘Bhopal Gas Leak Case: All is not lost’ (19 June). What followed the untold tragedy of Bhopal was incorrigible. The insouciance of the Indian Government in handling the case in a cavalier manner was appalling. The victims received only one twentieth of what an American citizen would have received as compensation. Discrimination against the hapless poor makes justice risible. The tardy arrival of the verdict after 23 turbulent years proved to be a travesty of Justice. The Indian Government did not have the guts to call this bluff. What it can do now is to commiserate with the victims with genuine sympathy and speedily disburse the proposed amount. What is morally long overdue cannot be denied any more.

The HINDU, 17 June 2010
This refers to the article ‘Why this Obsession with colour’ (13 June). The Indian obsession with fairness is legendary. It is quite common to find an average Indian resentful of his skin colour. One look at the matrimonial column reveals that fair skin at least is a secular space. Irrespective of caste and social status which are major determinants of alliances, everybody wants a slim, fair and homely girl and every prospective groom is tall, fair and handsome. Dark men and women actually prefer to call themselves wheatish fair. There are many fair skinned westerners who would love to have our skin colour. ‘Tan’ is their idea of a lovely skin colour. This shows that human beings are obsessed with a thing they adore but do not have.

TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD

2010-06-18T10:49:00.003+05:30

Before the laws were made, despotism ruled the world. To prevent Man from fixing rules arbitrarily, the first legal text ‘The Law of the Twelve Tables’ were written. Did we ever assume that laws on stone tablets and old parchments would actually help man from man? It was after the laws came that the despotic powerful began their reign. The heavy hand of law crushes the unwanted, the meek and the timid but its proud Olympian self serves the mighty. Its punctiliousness is only for the wretched; its iron hand is to kill the mocking birds.

This familiar story took a macabre form with the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Verdict recently. This is a complicated story of a mass murder, delayed justice and the intricacies of the game the powerful play to appease the more powerful.

On a Wintry Night
On a wintry night 26 years ago in a sleepy town in Central India, death pounced stealthily on the unsuspected. The people inhaled a rich toxic cocktail of Methyl Isocyanate that leaked from the Union Carbide Pesticide Factory nearby. Some vomited violently, went into convulsions and fell dead. Others lost their sight and were frothing at the mouth. Nearly four thousand people from the nearby slum died a painful death from multiple organ failure. All because of a runaway reaction in a tank in the factory that did not adhere to safety standards and the impunity of a man who approved the design unflinchingly, signing the death warrant of the entire neighbourhood.

Bhopal is the worst industrial disaster known in human history, more horrendous than Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Dozens of tons of poisonous methyl iso cyanate gas (MIC) leaked out from the Union Carbide India limited killing 3000 immediately and about 35000 till date in the aftermath. The company had prior warnings about the dangers involved. On December 25, 1981 a phosgene leak killed one worker and severely injured two others. On January 9 1982, 25 workers were hospitalised as a result of another leak at the plant. On 2 December 1984 none of the plant’s six safety systems were functional. The plant siren had been turned off. Company officials were aware of the hazards in the faulty technology at the Bhopal Plant. 30 Major hazards were identified through a safety audit. But operations manuals were rewritten, crucial refrigeration unit decommissioned and maintenance supervisor was eliminated from most work shifts as a cost cutting measure.

On the fateful night, a valve defect diverted a ton of water into a storage tank of the factory that contained some 42 tons of the poisonous MIC. This resulted in a huge chemical implosion that burst the tank open and released its contents into the atmosphere. MIC is a toxic gas that can choke life if it exceeded 21 parts out of a billion. Around 42000 kilograms of MIC was in the air that night turning the area into a mass graveyard. 3800 people died immediately, some 15000 people who inhaled the less poisonous gas died miserable deaths in the next two decades and 5,00,000 people, almost half of Bhopal’s population is living an impaired life till date.

What followed the untold tragedy was even more gruesome to recount. Union Carbide India Ltd. was a subsidiary of the American Giant Union Carbide Corporation. Once the tragedy occurred, the parent company disowned the subsidiary. In March 1985, the Indian Government declared itself the sole trustee of the victims in legal proceedings. Eventually, the US Courts where the cases had been filed initially showed the door to the litigants. Now they had to fight the battle in the Indian courts. As a sole trustee of the victims, the Indian Government made a claim of $3.3 billion on UCC. The UCC counter offered almost one tenth of it. The Government settled for the paltry sum of 470 million (14.24% of the original demand). It was less than five percent of what UCC paid to similar victims in the US. Applying the rates in the US, the victims were entitled to a settlement of $10 billion. That would have been Rs 21 Lakh per head. But what the victims got was Rs15000 per head. The life of the average American is 21 times more precious than that of an Indian. The Supreme Court of India mediated this claim.

The Central Bureau of Investigation slapped Section 304 and 326 of the Indian Penal Code on UCC. They were charged with culpable homicide. In Civil law, the act of an agent automatically makes the principal liable. In criminal laws, this is possible only if there is an evidence to show that the principal abetted in the crime. An opportunity for a probe was effectively sealed when the Supreme Court of India reduced the charge on UCC to causing death by negligence. On the day the criminal charges were dropped, the share price of UCC jumped 5%. Warren Anderson, the then Chairman of UCC, who was arrested was flown in a state plane to Delhi and was sent off to the US on an agreement that he would never return to India.

26 years later, after 19 judges examined 178 witnesses and 3009 documents, the verdict is out. The eight Indian level operation managers were found guilty and were sentenced to two years imprisonment or a fine of Rs 25000. Anderson was not mentioned during the trial. After the turbulent two decades of waiting for justice, those who committed mass murder due to dereliction of duty were awarded what would be given for traffic offenders in India. The worst industrial disaster thus became a traffic accident in the annals of Indian history. Even as the victims screamed ‘Hang them’ outside the Indian courts, Anderson continues to reside in a plush mansion in the suburbs of New York.

Adding Insult to Injury
It is in this background that the government presented the most reprehensible legislation in the Indian Parliament. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill goes a long way to aid the business interests of foreign reactor builders at the expense of the Indian taxpayer and encumber the rights of any victim of a radioactive release. The bill proposes the following clauses.

•The bill ensures that the victims of a disaster involving foreign reactors will not be able to sue them in their home country or even in Indian courts.

•The legal liability of a foreign reactor in case of an accident is only a financial compensation of a maximum of Rs500 crore, however far reaching the impact may be. This is 23 times lower than what is provided under the equivalent US law. Also, the bill makes the dubious distinction between the operator, the supplier and the government. In the Indian case, The Union Government owns all foreign built reactors and runs them through the operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. Even if an accident were triggered by the wilful negligence on the part of the foreign supplier, the case will be filed against the Indian state. The NPCIL will then try to recover a measly Rs 500 crore from the foreign supplier.

•All nuclear damage claims will be dealt with by a Claims Commissioner and any award made shall be final and cannot be appealed in any court. In Contrast, the equivalent US bill allows lawsuits against the builders in any court of law in the US.

•The right to claim compensation will extinguish if the claim is not made within 10 years from the date of the incident. Since nuclear radiations cause genetic damage, it takes longer to manifest in humans. Review of the extent of damage within a decade will not yield the real impact.

•The US is pushing India to join the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC), an organisation that it helped to convene under the auspices of IAEA. Only four countries have acceded to the convention so far. The victims of an accident could potentially draw upto $500 million from an International Fund. Before India could get even a cent, we have to first pay up 240 million SDRs to the fund.

The entire saga of the verdict and the proposed bill reminds us that Macaulay’s justice of Victorian vintage is still ruling India, as Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer aptly remarked. Discrimination against the hapless poor makes justice risible. The tardy arrival of the verdict proved to be a travesty of Justice. India does not have the guts to call this bluff; Indian Justice is for the powerful. It does not see the dark hovels beyond.

MARRIAGES AND MORALS

2010-06-13T13:15:00.004+05:30

‘The real act of marriage takes place in the heart.’
-Barbara de Angels

The article ‘An Alien Culture we can do without’ (The HINDU Open Page, April 18) deified the institution of marriage and abhorred live-in relationships. However, only one side of the issue was presented. Live-in relationships are a reality in today’s India and viewing it through the prism of morality will prevent us from seeing the unique pros and cons that come with it. It is commendable that the Supreme Court of India, in an appropriate and candid manner stated that “when two adult people want to live together, what is the offence?” and expanded it by reiterating that living together is a right to life and is a question of personal view. Jolted by the verdict, brouhaha about the sensitive issue has been going rounds and needless to say it has fomented the ire of the puritan moralists.

The concept of premarital togetherness is not alien to our culture. Our Gods set the trend aeons back. Our mythologies are replete with broad hints of premarital co-habitation, polygamy, polyandry and so on. In ancient India, there were eight different types of marriages of which the father giving away his daughter was only one type. It seems that our forefathers were more broad minded as the bride could choose the husband of her choice when she came of age. The legendary Shakuntala and Draupadi are portrayed as powerful women along with the tradition bound Sita.

Perception of sexual morality is constantly changing in our society. Those who paint the moral picture on live-in relationships are thoroughly disconnected with the realities of the present. When the lifestyles of people have changed in the last few decades, the views of prudes seem outdated and out of sync with changing times. Society must grow up to respect the rights and decisions of consenting individuals with mutual understanding in matters of personal choice. Morality is highly subjective and is not a bundle of dry positives and negatives alone. Rather, man’s rational valuation of realities must be given precedence.

Marriages make families and have social approval and blessings. This has been the custom that was evolved through the years. As customs are man-made practices, they have to change with the changing times. It is really unfortunate that our society is not open enough to accept single mothers, life partners, inter- caste marriages and homosexuals. Free thinking individuals who follow their heart over the social dictates are victims of disapproval, dismay, distrust and even disgust. Straddling the lines between the traditional ways and the unconventional ones are fraught with dire consequences. Khap Panchayats rule over our Constitution, skewed morality chokes individual freedom.

We can blame the ‘evil’ influences of the west, chic literature and American sitcoms for all we want. The increasing pressure of that the young generation face to succeed has pulled them away from the cocoons of the family into long drawn hours in their offices. The need for companionship may bring two like-minded people together. Mutual compatibility will nourish the relationship than matching horoscope and social approvals. The increasing economic independence of young people emboldens them to go for live-in relationships. This comes with its unique pros and cons. Live-in relationships are for individuals who take complete responsibility for their actions. Here, there is no scope to hide behind social customs and take your partner for granted. As two individuals have committed to live together, they have to face the odds together too. The sense of responsibility and accountability is between the partners. There is a greater commitment and effort put by the individuals to make the relationship work. Also, there is a good sense of living when you get an opportunity to check out your preferences and compatibility. These relationships maybe without vows, but they have values. It is wrong to assume that these couples are afraid to take the plunge into marriage. It is a decision they voluntarily choose and it requires a strong character and determination to make such relationship work.

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 equates long term live-in relationships with marriages. In India, live-in relationships have legal sanction; what remains is the social sanction.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR- IV

2010-06-13T12:27:00.005+05:30

The HINDU, 13 June 2010
Harsh Mander’s ‘Humanising Mental Hospitals’ (6 June) was poignant. People with mental disabilities are entitled to human rights and humane treatment in mental health care centres. But the Indian experience with institutionalisation has not been edifying. The mental hospitals are ‘dumping grounds’ for the families who wish to abandon the ill member. The living conditions in these hospitals are deplorable and the inmates are forced to live a life of incarceration. The important intervention has to be community based. We have to overcome deep stigmatisation and embrace the disabled into mainstream society.

The New Indian Express, 9 June 2010
This is with reference to the verdict in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Case. The long and arduous wait for justice that spluttered for a quarter century, has resulted in travesty of justice. Bhopal Gas Tragedy has been an endless nightmare for its victims who breathed the toxic cocktail and were doomed for the rest of their lives. Traces of toxins are found in breast milk twenty five years after the tragedy. The government adopted a one-size –fit-all policy that doled out a meagre compensation for the hapless victims. The powerful people who were responsible for the apocalyptic damage were not even mentioned during the trial. It seems that our country is becoming a home of lost causes and forsaken beliefs.

Business Line, 8 June 2010
This is with reference to the article ‘Unrealised Demographic Dividends’ (7 June). Unemployment will persist as long as the giant wheels of the economy move our world towards prosperity and wealth creation. Poverty is there not because we do not have sufficient means, but we do not distribute the fruits of the labour sufficiently. Unemployment is nothing but an offshoot of such unequal distribution of wealth and poverty. There is no magic cure to such material problems. Even the giant hands of government cannot wipe off the tears of every eye. Therefore alternative methods of wealth creation and employment have to be a part of the solution in addition to the government interventions and market mechanisms.

Youth entrepreneurship holds a promising avenue for growth and development especially in the developing countries with a favourable demographic dividend like India. Innovative ideas need to be nurtured, risk taking to be encouraged and a favourable environment for sustainable development has to be ushered in. The new capital is the human capital and investment is on ‘Ideas’. The onus today is not on merely earning wages but creating wealth.

The New Indian Express, 5 June 2010
Kudos to Zeitgeist for bringing out 'Temples of Bio-diversity' (29 May). The article is timely and relevant as it came out just a week after The International Day for Biodiversity which was observed on 22 May. India has been bestowed with a treasure of wildlife and plants, yet we mindlessly exploit and destroy our resources. We should remember the adage that we do not inherit the future from our ancestors but borrow it from our children. Only true awareness and compassion can turn these biological hot spots to happy spots. We must do what we can to conserve them.

India Together, 31 May 2010
I believe that the post of Information Commissioner is a one that requires impeccable integrity and moral commitment. Selecting eminent personalities and public activists who have stood for the cause of democracy would be appropriate than choosing a candidate from the general public.

Similarly, the post of the Chairman of The National Human Rights Commission has remained vacant for the last few years due to a provision that only former Chief Justices can hold the post. In the absence of availability of former CJIs, provisions should be made to accommodate eminent Judges or Human Rights activists to adorn the chair.

India Together, 30 May 2010
The article is timely and incisive, The irony of modern times is that 'Human Rights' had to be invented only when those rights were grossly violated. Now, human beings have to learn to be humane as well. Ethics is not an anathema to Economics; we need Economics to survive but Ethics to co-exist peacefully. If wilful mass murder is genocide then indifference to innocent lives in a war is collateral damage.

Business Line, 28 May 2010
The article 'Dealing with a Rising China' (27 May) was trenchant. China has grown at double digit rates for the last 15 years. The sophistication of design of Chinese products have come as a technical surprise where as the speed of production has been a strategic surprise. China is an ambitious developing economy that utilises any situation to the saltatory advantage of the nation.

In order to understand the Chinese psyche, we need to mentally note the following facts. The Chinese populace and the government are extremely sensitive to sovereignty and to give foreign firms property and open commercial rights. To this day, symbolic lessons are given to their students on the historical foreign exploitation that China was subjected to. It is without realising this dictum that our Minister made the unfortunate comment.

Also, China is a country that has few qualms about copyright and intellectual property rights. It is a common procedure in China to buy foreign made products, reverse engineer it and make it 'Chinese'.Proper understanding of the Chinese Psyche will be in order in the future when we may need to co-operate and compete with China on various issues.

Business Line, 24 May 2010
The Mangalore air crash that killed about 160 people has shocked the nation. It seems that it was a tragedy waiting to happen. Indian aviation sector is experiencing a crunch in manpower and makes up for the shortfall by recruiting experienced expatriates. But the regulatory oversight of safety standards is poor and training standards are deteriorating. Additional training requirements are needed for table-top runways like the one in Mangalore. Another area of concern is the resting hours for pilots. 78% of fatal crashes are caused by pilot fatigue. Issues regarding the standard of the runway and the effectiveness of rescue operations of crash tenders need to be addressed. India needs an independent air safety board and an independent regulator. Punctilious observance of regulations is the need of the hour.

The New Indian Express, 24 May 2010
This is in reference to the rendezvous with Parul Mittal in ‘Love Science @IIT’ (17 May). Mittal does not mince words and it is clear that girls who score very high in the prestigious entrance exams to get into the elite institutions face discrimination because of the gender. That the faculty remain silent partners in perpetuating prejudice is abominable. Anyone who survives the rigour of the academic culture of IITs and IIMs needs to be lauded. Also, focus should be on academic excellence and not on pointless competition that stresses the bright minds.

India Together, 20 May 2010
That outdated medieval practices like keeping women out of places of worship exist even today is a matter of shame. The rules of social life were formulated by men in a patriarchal society relegating women to a secondary position. Now we have to undo the damage by being more open and inclusive. Customs have to change with time if they are to remain relevant. The concept of purity based on caste and gender is nothing short of human rights violation.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN A KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY (Published in YOJANA, a Journal of Information & Broadcasting Ministry ,Govt. of India,June 2010)

2010-06-08T13:08:00.007+05:30

‘An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.’
- Benjamin Franklin

Historically, economic development of nations has occurred in different stages- from mechanising agriculture to industrialisation and post-industrialisation enterprises. Economies progress from factor driven low end sectors to investment driven middle end and innovation driven sectors at the high end. Many countries like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have followed this linear pattern of development. But there are exceptions. As Mr. Michael Porter of Harvard University explains development is unique to each nation and is approached by organising resources around its strengths.

India, a developing nation still hovers around the factory driven stage of development. As experts suggest, aggressive automation of the manufacturing sector with Foreign Direct Investment can set the stage for development in the middle end sector. But India’s inefficient port and road infrastructure will not be able to handle the high volume rigours of such dramatic progress. Therefore the salient approach would be to push for the innovation driven stage as India shows vibrancy in the knowledge sector. This is corroborated by the Global Competitiveness Report. We should exploit the large pool of skilled workforce by investing in Human capital and focus on innovation driven economy with knowledge based industries. Superior knowledge resources have tremendous growth opportunities. How we manage our human resources in a knowledge based economy will define our future. It is in this context that knowledge based economy assumes significance.

What is a Knowledge Economy?

‘Knowledge is the most democratic source of power.’
-Alvin Toffler

Alvin Toffler in his seminal work, ‘The Third Wave’ has divided human history into three waves or periods- the first wave was that of agricultural revolution, the second that of industrial revolution and the final and the most important wave that swept mankind off its feet was the information revolution. This was possible post war with the commercialisation of the communication technology. A Knowledge economy encompasses capabilities of people than those of machines. It centres on Human capital. Accessing and sharing knowledge globally has become a reality thanks to networking and connectivity. In short, knowledge has become an integral component of all products and services. It has become an entity independent of time and space and has led to economic growth in terms of both volume and revenue. Adequate man power supply and information infrastructure will increase the information literacy of our citizens and will reflect positively on the e-readiness of our country.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Information and Communication Technology can be an important tool for empowerment. It can be used for the successful implementation of social welfare programmes, ensure better governance, eradicate poverty and illiteracy. This potential was envisaged by our former President Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam when he proposed PURA-Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas. Coherent knowledge and resource distribution would lead to Physical connectivity through roads, electronic connectivity through communication networks and knowledge connectivity through training centres. Village Knowledge Centres or Community Information Centres are the epicentre of information dissemination. Such a project can be successful using Public- Private Partnerships. Government to citizen interfaces like Gyandoot, Akshaya (Kerala) and Bhoomi (Karnataka) have been successful.

National Knowledge Commission, 2005 explains the different components of a Knowledge system.

1.Access to knowledge- This can be facilitated through open access literature, open software and by strengthening libraries and information infrastructure.

2.Knowledge concepts- This includes Professional skills and independent capabilities

3.Knowledge creation- This encompasses independent research capabilities and self sufficiency in knowledge

4.Knowledge application- This involves maximum benefits from intellectual assets to enhance productivity

5.Knowledge Services- This involves coherent knowledge dissemination that makes government functioning more accountable.

An important ingredient that integrates all the unconnected components is human resources.

The Role of Human Resources

A Knowledge Economy requires success at three levels- sensing, mobilising and operationalising. The combination of competencies required is called organisational capabilities. Human Resource Management (HRM) is required to create organisational capabilities in a knowledge economy. In this new environment, a human resource management has to step out of the traditional mantle and assume new and dynamic role of managing capabilities that people create and relationships that people must develop. More flexibility is required to facilitate adaptations and adjustments. The responsibilities in Human resource management in a knowledge economy will be the demanding role of

1.Human capital Steward, who accumulates and conserves collective knowledge

2.Facilitator, who encourages learning, sharing and rewards knowledge accumulation

3.Relationship Builder, who creates synergy through cross cultural team work

4.Rapid Deployment Specialist, who is versatile in evolving flexible HRM architecture

Power, prestige and money flows into indispensible intellectual property. Intellectual capitals are bought and sold in Human capital markets. Knowledge, rather than goods and services are the crucial components of the new world economies. As Don Tapscott (1996) rightly pointed out, added value is created by brains rather than brawns. Knowledge Economy has spawned a global knowledge based organisation transforming the world into a single homogenous market. Human Resource Management is the epicentre of such profound transformation. As it is drawn into greater prominence, it can create greater impact. Human Resource management should tap into the innovative pulse of the nation and build networks and communication to ensure competence.

WAITING FOR A RENAISSANCE

2010-06-01T18:01:00.004+05:30

‘What is the village but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow mindedness and communalism?’
Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Constituent Assembly debate, 1948

Every now and then our smug belief that democracy has taken its roots in the country for good is shattered by gruesome and medieval instances that prompt us to re-examine the tenuous thread that holds the nation together. This time it took a ghost straight out of 14th century India very much alive amidst us to rudely wake us from our habitual slumber. The barbaric writs of the Khap (caste) Panchayats, its parallel judiciary, kangaroo courts and Taliban styled verdicts have sent a shiver across democratic India. Back in 2006, The Supreme Court of India described honour killing as ‘barbaric and shameful acts of murder committed by brutal feudal minded persons who deserve harsh punishments.’ Yet after five years, Additional Sessions Court had to pronounce death sentence for five people who committed cold blooded murder to defend the honour of their castes.

The incidents are too brutal and appalling to believe. Khap Panchayats have become all powerful entities that can annul marriages by declaring them incestuous, null and void. They forcibly separate husband and wife and ask them to live as siblings! They ostracise and excommunicate families of the rebel bride and groom by socially boycotting them. Practising violence as a credo they summarily suppress people who cross the forbidden ‘lakshman rekha’. The tragedy of young Ved Pal who was lynched by the mob in his village for violating the marriage code, the father of the groom in Khedi Meham who had to stand before the village holding a shoe in his mouth, the inferno that burned down 20 houses of dalits in a village – all of them represent the gory face of this feudal set up. It is not just marriages and morals for the Khap. In 2007, the Daadan Khap banned watching cricket in 28 villages as it found that youngsters were going astray. Another Khap in Rohtak, Haryana banned DJs from marriage parties as dancing led to women being amoral!

After you have got over the initial disbelief, I would like to remind you that this is very much happening in 21st century India. As always, our country unfurls in a series of paradoxes. In a country where the police and democratically elected Panchayats remain dumb witness and mute spectators, the Khap Panchayats have become law unto themselves. Thanks to the consistent genuflection of political parties, these bodies get political patronage and passive consent from the state. In September 2009, just before the by-elections in Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda brazenly remarked that community councils are still a part of Haryana’s tradition. Obviously, to say that Haryana is still very much a part of democratic India will not have fetched him votes! A former police chief of Haryana declared his unflinching loyalty to the community councils. Unfortunately, the DGP conveniently forgot that his unflinching loyalty has to be primarily with the Indian Constitution. When the watch dogs become silent partners of crime, rule of the law is strangled and hooliganism reigns.

Why are caste community councils prevalent in some parts of the country with popular support? The answer to the million dollar question of how such barbarism could survive in the modern world is non-linear and complex. Khap Panchayats are an array of self proclaimed array of caste lords who have legitimacy, authority and social sanction from the caste group concerned. They are guardians of the age old tradition, they have vowed to keep culture intact and perpetuate brotherhood. They have unwritten laws which are faithfully followed; they have a free reign to defend the honour of the caste. Needless to say they have a say in the social affairs of the villages that form the same caste. Usually, 84 villages are included in a Khap. They are widely prevalent in North Western India especially Haryana. Though Haryana is geographically small, it is culturally heterogeneous. It is the state that has the second largest per capita income in the country and one of the lowest sex ratios (827 females per 1000 males). As female infanticide is rampant, they have reached a situation where brides are secretly sourced from far away states like Jharkhand. The feudal and Patriarchal set up has seized all social relations as its prerogative- labour, marriage, caste, inheritance and gender relations. Thus such Khap organisation is a logical outcome of the archaic social relations in the community.

The Khap Panchayats have taken on the custodianship of honour onto themselves to maintain the cohesiveness of the community. The warped logic of caste makes women the repository of honour. Their skewed logic implies that women bring dishonour to the clan through shameful conduct. The dubious notions of honour have helped them to perpetuate strict endogamy and purity of castes. The interesting thing to note here is that the system of patriarchy that stigmatises women with outdated notions of purity and chastity has controlled women’s sexuality to make sure that property remains within patriarchal caste domains. Haryana is a glaring example of this point. The caste communities are prevalent in areas where propertied classes like the Jats thrive.

These reactionary elements had the temerity to demand amendments in The Hindu Marriages Act, 1955 to include ban on marriages from the same village, gotra and derecognise marriages instituted by Arya Samaj. This faintly resembles the picture of 19th century India when socio economic movements were beginning to take form. India appears to be in the throes of pseudo modernism- on the one side there is blind consumerism and westernisation; on the other there are deep rooted feudal values that go in the name of tradition. We have to go a long way before the laws of the land and the social reality are on the same page. How long can the state remain blind and the courts provide solace to the aggrieved? We need a social reform movement to bring ‘medieval India’ to the modern. India is waiting for a renaissance.

A BEAUTIFUL SYMPHONY

2010-05-25T00:08:00.003+05:30

This is such an elegantly written book that I simply didn’t want it to end. They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but to be honest, that is what first drew me to this book. And I wasn’t disappointed. It has a gorgeous cover and the story it contains is just as beautiful.

The winner of Commonwealth Writer’s Prize this year, Rana Dasgupta’s Solo is a kaleidoscopic novel about the life and daydreams of Ulrich, a one hundred year old man from Bulgaria. Before he lost his sight he had read a story in a magazine. A group of explorers came upon a community of parrots, speaking the language of a society that had been wiped out in a recent catastrophe. Astonished by this discovery, they put the parrots in cages and sent them home so that linguists could record what remained of the lost language. But the parrots, already traumatised by the devastation they had recently witnessed, died on the way.

Wondering if unlike these hapless parrots, he has any wisdom to leave to the world, Ulrich embarks on an epic armchair journey through the twists and turns of his country’s turbulent century and through his own lifetime of love and failed chemistry.

Set in a country that has belonged sometimes to Asia and sometimes to Europe, Solo is a book about lost roots, broken traditions and wasted ambitions- and the way human beings overcome these failures.

One of the best work of fiction that I have ever come across, Solo is a must read for beginners and bibliophiles. This is what Salman Rushdie; one of the greatest writers of contemporary literature had to say on Solo, “A Novel of exceptional astonishing strangeness, Solo confirms Rana Dasgupta as the most unexpected original Indian writer of his generation.”

Solo is a beautiful symphony of the real and surreal.

VOX POPULI, VOX DEI

2010-05-19T15:28:00.003+05:30

‘In a government of responsibility like ours, where all agents of the public must be responsible for their conduct, there can be but few secrets. The people of this country have a right to know every public act, everything that is done in a public way, by their functionaries'

The Supreme Court of India
[The State of UP Vs Raj Narain Case]

When the government of India passed the Right to Information Act in 2005, they should have added a statutory warning- Citizens trying to use the act may find it extremely injurious to their well being! The architects of the act did not realise the unimaginable proportion to which the seedling of empowerment would grow. In five years since its conception, the government is honing its axe to cut down the genie it unleashed, to manageable size. An unfriendly apparition in the form of a benign letter has been sent to an RTI applicant who sought to know the details of the proposed amendments of the act. Needless to say, the changes proposed in its scale would make the act a provision without real teeth. The obfuscations and fiddling of government officials in the pre-RTI days alone should empower every citizen in the country to save the miracle from becoming a faint dream of the past.

To understand why saving the act is important at this stage, we need to understand what the act actually did to the empowered Indian psyche and democracy in the country. We need to examine what the act could potentially do for the humble aam-aadmi. More importantly, what will the proposed modifications do to the act that made gladiators out of every Indian against the behemoth of the elites in power. A few years back, it would be unthinkable for the common man to question a government official. Any nodal agency of the government would get into lather if anyone raised a query. Mired in secrecy the goings on the other side of the wall was forbidden for our eyes and ears. Our demands would be stonewalled and our voices would be smothered. It is this indestructible opaque wall that the RTI glasnost has bombarded. The zealots of information with their remarkable panache have compelled the officialdom to push the envelope and uphold transparency. In effect it has opened the door to good governance. What was a secret in the past is open information today. The transfer of power has truly taken place at the grassroots level. A poignant story often repeated by the Chief Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi stands testimony to this. An old man came up to him and said how the man at the ration shop in his village used to treat him like dirt. After he filed an RTI once, the same man offered him a chair and tea in a new found respect. Power of information gives a new timbre to your voice. It is precisely the same reason why efforts are on to choke this voice- a voice of a parvenu that is propitious to usher in a new era of enlightened democracy.

The queries through the RTI have unearthed a can of worms. Questions on public spending, largesse distribution, governance and decision of awards have given embarrassing answers. The act has been used to reveal the entire list of persons considered for the Padma awards in 2010 including the 1163 names considered by the committee and the ‘secret’ letter President Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam wrote to the then Prime Minister regarding the norms on recognising awardees. This was after certain discrepancies crept in the way names were nominated for the prestigious national honours. Similarly, wealth and assets of judges, the expenses of their travel and appointment of judges came under the purview of the act. This has led to the extra ordinary phenomenon of one judge after another voluntarily declaring their assets. The unprecedented case of the Supreme Court of India appealing to itself against the Delhi High Court ruling over a common man’s plea is a sterling moment unseen in any other democracy in the world. The entire Naveen Chawla-N.Gopalaswami Correspondence and that between the President and the Prime minister was cleared by the Chief Information Commissioner to be revealed to India. India has seen a mind boggling 21500 appeals and complaints in 2009 alone of which 19500 were disposed of.

The Presidential address to the Parliament on 4 June 2009 raised a storm when the word ‘amend’ was used with RTI. The brazen proposal to arm twist the act by the government was a presage for the things to come.

A careful analysis of the proposed amendments would reveal the truth.
1. Regarding the secrecy of file notings- The official decisions were previously called file notings. Under paragraph 118 of Manual of Office Procedure, all Central Government Offices are required to keep the file notings and its authors, a secret. The RTI has been a tool against the tendency to obfuscate governmental proceedings other than those of the Cabinet, the defence forces and foreign relations sensitive to national security. Section 8 of the act that specifies exemption to the act is proposed to include certain areas of decision making completely beyond the common man’s eyes.

2. Regarding ‘frivolous and vexatious’ applications- Section 7 of the act says that ‘frivolous and vexatious’ applications would be shown the door within 15 days of its filing. This curious phrase is an umbrella term to cover those applications that seek too much information or old information. Obviously queries on proceedings if deemed unsatisfactory will be vexatious to the officer concerned. Such dangerous proposition to decide what is frivolous may rest with unscrupulous Public Information Officers and appellate authorities. This proposal is a death knell to the spirit of the act.

3. Full immunity to the CJI- An exception to the dictum, a man however great is nonetheless not above the law. An erudite legal luminary should be a shining beacon of integrity as well. One fails to understand the rationale of such an honourable chair hiding behind the shrouds of secrecy in a democracy.

4. Disallow single commissioner Information Commission benches- The real success of an act is when justice is delivered sooner. Preventing single commissioner benches will lead to a humongous backlog of cases that will make the law ineffective.

5. The only positive proposal to amend the act seems to be the one dealing with additional fees. To file an RTI, you need to pay a sum to every additional page you inquire about in your query. The proposal has been to charge a lump sum for a bunch of pages instead of individual charge. This is likely to reduce the financial burden on the complainant.

No information commissioner has so far complained of the overburden of cases. There is no evidence to prove that government functions have been hampered by the disclosure of decisions and records of process. One fails to understand why the government is going the extra mile to protect the whistleblowers. The act, so far has been the home of lost causes, forsaken beliefs and unpopular names and impossible loyalties to phrase Mathew Arnold. But now Vox Populi is no longer Vox Dei. The Voice of God seems to rest with those in power.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR-III

2010-05-16T07:58:00.004+05:30

The HINDU, 16 May 2010
Harsh Mander has brought out the poignant realities of manual scavenging in our country. (Burning baskets of shame, May 9). The socio-economic realities of India unfold in a series of paradoxes. It is a matter of national shame that Mahatma Gandhi's India has not learned to clean its own toilets. Gandhi raised the issue of manual scavengers in a congress meeting in 1901 and it took 90 years for his India to enact a law to prevent this obnoxious act. Manual scavenging is a sanitation issue; more importantly a health issue. It takes an epidemic like plague for the government to sit up and smell the sewage. The state governments were complicit in perpetuating this degrading and dehumanising practice for years. It is high time that we gave back dignity to our fellow beings caught in a vortex of exploitation.

Business Line, 11 May 2010
This refers to the article “Doha Round in limbo” (Business Line, May 10). The Doha Round came in with a long list of ambitious targets and a short list of deadlines to achieve them. Now, it finds itself at the crossroads. One needs to understand the dynamics of the trade rounds. Issues have to mature to a point where all negotiating parties agree to make offers and concessions.
So far, by playing long and hard, the developing countries have access to cheaper anti-retroviral drug, a deadline to the worst of European agricultural subsidies and access to the markets of developed countries.
Developing countries such as India and Brazil are the new negotiating force. Both the developed and developing nations need to realise that the greatest gain from the talks is the potential of fair trade to overcome poverty.

The New Indian Express, 10 May 2010
The cover story ‘Of the students, by the students’ (May 3) was awe inspiring. That the students worked with single minded devotion to complete the project against all odds deserves appreciation. Our country aspiring to be a front runner in space technology needs such bright stars to realise its dream. The story would inspire many students to take up challenges and work as a team towards greater success.

The HINDU, 10 May 2010
This refers to the timely and well-researched article, “Khap panchayat: signs of desperation” (May 8) by Jagmati Sangwan. As we move away from the National Capital, the law of the land seems to change with the changing landscape. A section of our population has unquestionable faith in the justice of the khap which delivers even death sentence in one sitting. The police and the democratically elected panchayats passively consent to the savage and barbaric writs of the khap. Worse still, these kangaroo courts seek legal sanction to their medieval practices.
Khap panchayats and their Taliban-style verdicts have no place in a democratic country.

The New Indian Express, 7 May 2010
In a landmark judgement the Supreme Court of India has declared Narco analysis on individuals without their consent to be illegal. The impugned test is conducted by less trained personnel. The court has upheld a fundamental Human right of right to privacy without intrusion. Forcible interference with a person’s mental process is in conflict with the right against self incrimination.

The New Indian Express, 6 May 2010
This is in reference to the article ‘Hazards of govt neglect’ (3 May).It is shocking to realise that the government does not have the time or inclination to provide safety requirements against radiation hazards. With laboratories working in such close proximity to densely populated areas, precautionary procedures most essential for public safety must be their primary concern. With toxic chemicals leaks of the likes of Bhopal tragedy and hazardous radiation freely slipping out, one wonders whether it is safe to reside in the country.

Business Line, 5 May 2010
The article ‘Lifting the inhuman veil’ (4 May) has made an interesting point. Freedom to practice religion can be a tricky idea as many age old traditions are in conflict with the modern notions of human right. Relegating women behind hideous black curtains often against their wishes is a medieval attitude that has no place in the present. Faceless mass of such women remain opinion less entities.
The outrageous justification of such inhuman practices in some old parchment of religious texts is abominable. If at all there is a need for religion, it should be to liberate human spirit. Everything that goes against this dictum is anti-human and therefore anti-religious.

Business Line, 29 April 2010
The article ‘Cash in on Normal Monsoon' (Business Line, April 28) has brought out some pertinent facts. Monsoon showers are critical in our country, where agriculture accounts for one-fifth of the economy. A good monsoon will put agriculture on a sound footing. Well-distributed rainfall is crucial to bringing down food inflation which shows no signs of abating. The Government can focus on increasing kharif pulses through area expansion and improved productivity.
Activities under the NREGA should include watershed programmes in rain-fed areas. Care should be taken to ensure that fertiliser prices do not go up and seeds are not in short supply. Past experience shows that monsoon projections are not always reliable. The Government should be prepared to face any eventuality.

OPEN LETTER TO JAIRAM RAMESH,MoS, MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS

2010-05-06T19:21:00.002+05:30

Sir,

We are very happy to have such a pro-active minister with a long term vision serving in the most important ministry of our country. You are indeed our defence minister as well; for if we destroyed all our resources what else is there to defend?

Your valiant fight for the cause of the humble egg plant was historic. It was a genuine effort to carry the public opinion along with your official decisions. An issue like Bt brinjal that has long term consequences cannot be treated in a light vein. With your decision on moratorium, you have upheld the humble aam-aadmi’s right to choice and the silent egg plant’s right to bio-diversity. That which does not inspire public confidence must be debated; it is the very essence of democracy.

You are a man on mission. You have shouldered the responsibility of the Herculean task of saving the planet from turning into an inhabitable hot oven. The issue of global warming has more sceptics than supporters and with each controversy, people are moving farther away. As a representative of one-sixth of humanity, your voice will be reckoned with. It is an ominous task to convince the world that we are all in the same boat and if the vessel sinks, those standing on the deck will not be far behind.

You come from a country where brave, illiterate women allowed themselves to be killed rather than let a tree fall down, two centuries back. Unfortunately, today India has only 20% of its geographical area under forest cover. We cannot tonsure our beautiful country. Conservation should become a habit. Awareness programmes have to take off in a big way. Every day should be a National Environmental Day.

Our country also houses biological hotspots with incredible diversity. Much needs to be done on the documentation of the rare species residing there. Endemic species of amphibians, Asiatic elephants, tigers and freshwater fishes live in this ecological paradise. Data on taxonomic diversity is incomplete. Not one post graduate course in India specialises in Taxonomy. We are running short of taxonomists of merit. We implore you to look into the situation.

Your enthusiasm to save the big cats in the country is a step in the right direction. There is a huge survival pressure on the big cats as their habitats lay scattered. We really hope your efforts to save the striped beauties bear fruits very soon before the National animal becomes a notional animal! We would also like to bring to your attention how rampant clandestine activities of poaching are in our sanctuaries. In a documentary on Kaziranga on Nat Geo we were stunned to see that the guards were ill equipped, thoroughly de-motivated and helpless as they witnessed the slaying of one animal after another. Just as Mr. Chidambaram equips men to fight terrorists, you must equip these men with weapons, knowledge and an indomitable spirit.

It is in the nature of your job that there will be moments of frustration and voices of dissent may strangle you. Working for our planet is not a way to get rich but be rich. By profligate practices and excesses, we are stealing our future from posterity. The planet should not be used as a warehouse to serve humanity’s selfishness. In all moments of disappointment, as a tide of selfish fellow beings rise against you, when your sane voice is drowned in their mindless squabble, remember that you are not a one-man army. Behind you there is a sea of conscientious citizens, dumb and mute trees and voiceless wildlife giving their silent, grateful approval.

BELATED TRIBUTE FROM A BIBLIOPHILE

2010-05-02T00:12:00.005+05:30

There are too many days to celebrate every year- one for mother, father and when you have run out of every possible relation real or imaginary, turn to more magnanimous themes like earth, environment and world peace. In a way, it is good. It makes man think of so many things left undone. It gives an excuse to sit and talk with your mother, wife, friend or think about a way to be less catastrophic to the mute and dumb environs. If every day were to stand for something and we cared about those things, we would not take any day for granted. Every day in purposeful service- that is like a dream.

I do not stand for so many things. I come to know about many International days only after they are gone by. But I do remember a few days in a year- important days associated with the people and things that I care about. One such quiet day passed by. An important day was simply forgotten. When so many people could be vociferous about everything under the sun, I was sad that a tribute to our dearest friends slipped our memory.

April 23 is The International Day for Books. April 23 is very special in so many different ways. Cervantes and Shakespeare passed away on the very day and Vladimir Nabokov was born. It is a day of remembrance of so many literary luminaries. This day also marks St George’s day and in a place called Catalonia, a rose is gifted for every book sold on the day. I have not seen a single piece of write up on the day and its importance. As a saying goes, if you think a good book has not been written yet, write one now yourself. I decided to speak up for them.

When I was a child, there was one line of a poem that kept haunting me, ‘For Whom Does The Bell Toll’? I would mindlessly sing the line again and again much to the consternation of my parents. For years I sang the question out loud. Years later, when I began to write the question made sense to me. Who does the bell of words toll for? Whom does the words of a book belong to? Have you felt that when you go near a bookshelf, books beckon you, choose you to listen to its astonishing stories? When you touch the leather back of a book it is cold and stiff at first but after repeated caressing becomes warm. Do you smell the old yellow bark of a book and feel it is really old? Some books are affable, friendly and easy going. Some of them are facetious like Huckleberry Finn. Some stories are written to haunt like The Picture of Dorian Gray. Some of them tear up your ego; they just expose your prudes and pompousness. Bernard Shaw puts us to shame by making fun of us and relentlessly teasing us with his rapier wit. Some of the books regale us with wonderful stories of magic with rich imageries that need copious imagination to enjoy it to the fullest. Shakespeare does that beautifully; I still love the way the brute Caliban bibulously speaks of the riches of his island in The Tempest.

You could simply go on and on about books. To light up a lamp and sit with an ancient text and converse intimately with the old masters and argue with them is delightful. To lose all the arguments bitterly, go to sleep exhausted and then begin the day as a new wiser man is something to be experienced. There is not a book which does not teach you something. To lose oneself in another man’s mind and by doing so in oneself is a revelation. Books are a cloistered refuge from the vulgarities of the world. The only salubrious place to live in is amongst books. A book does not reveal something outside of us; it exposes something in us. We find some words written unmistakably for us. So the profit of the book is according to the sensibilities of the reader. A book needs a companion with an equal mind to understand it.

Every day, I share something with a book and the book shares something back with me. But as this is a special occasion to remember them by, the best tribute to them would be to share with you the biggest lesson that they taught me. They taught me one of the finest things- how to read them, understand them. They taught me to swim in the sea of words. They taught me that the bell tolls for thee, the reader...

Most of you would have missed this April 23. But there is a good way to make up for it. You can welcome the next anniversary with bundles of books read and neatly stored in your crania. If you have been following the blog, you would remember that in an article on Reading, posted in January this year, we had promised to come up with something on books soon. Well, here it is.

9 Great Picks from our list

1. Bookless in Baghdad, Shashi Tharoor-We begin the list with a book on books. It is a delightful collection of the thoughts of a man with a voracious appetite for reading. Tharoor had completed 365 books a year reading on an average of one book per day. Tharoor describes with élan some of his favourite authors like Naipaul, Rushdie, Neruda and Octavio Paz.

2. Wanderings in many worlds, V.R.Krishna Iyer- This man is a living legend who has authored more than 70 books! Most of them are kept in libraries in the US and are not available in the country. The autobiography is an exploration of more than three scores of life lived as an adventure. You must read the book for two things- primarily to understand and appreciate just a colossal giant and to enjoy his English which is remarkable for its felicity.

3. A Better India, A better world, Dr. N.R.Narayana Murthy- Dr. Murthy is not just a business man but a visionary. A man who defined corporate social responsibility in the country. The book is a collection of speeches that he delivered across the globe. Great book of ideas and the truly inspirational story of an underdog millionaire.

4. Fear and Forgiveness, Harsh Mander- A civil servant, an epitome of integrity leaves behind his robe of power to go to the ground realities and rediscover his country barefoot. The book is about the first hand experience he had while touring Gujarat immediately after the 2002 pogrom. Mander leaves it all bare for us to see and often we cringe at the horrendous truth that is so carefully buried in our country. For every Indian who cares about the idea of India, this book will give you new perspectives.

5. The Old Man and His God, Sudha Murty- We know her as the first woman engineer of TELCO and as a part of INFOSYS. She is also a writer with panache. Through simple language, she conveys, powerful stories. The book is an anthology of real life experiences laid bare. Engaging and insightful.

FICTION

1. The Kite Runner, Khaled Husseini- This is a gripping story of unflinching loyalty and betrayal, love and hate, magnanimity and cruelty that simultaneously resides in man. What happens in a single day in the lives of two best friends changes their destinies forever. Set in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime, it is the story of how a friend comes back to undo his mistake and redeem his friendship.

2. The Enigma of Arrival, V.S. Naipaul- The semi autobiographical masterpiece is the story of a singular journey, a young man takes from the Caribbean to Britain. Written with candour and compassion, Naipaul ennobles the bucolic life of his protagonist.

3. The Enchantress of Florence, Salman Rushdie- Like all Rushdie’s novels you would want to go and read it again and again. The playfulness, sensuousness and erudition make it immensely rich. A wild novel that is mesmerising and captivating set in Mughal India.

4. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, Roddy Doyle- Do not be misled by the title. Despite the puerile title this book is profound. It is the story of a 10 year old boy who sees everything but understands less and less of what he sees. The setting is redolent of a Mark Twain adventure. It is coruscatingly brilliant. Winner of 1993 Booker Prize.

That is quite a handful. We have kept our promise. Now you have to read them, s’il vous plait!

OPEN LETTER TO THE RESIDENT EDITOR,TIMES OF INDIA,CHENNAI

2010-04-28T19:43:00.005+05:30

It is with deep pain that we bring to your notice certain egregious trends creeping into your esteemed newspaper. We have been regular reader of The Times of India for the last few years. Of late, it is unfortunate that we are painfully witnessing the deterioration of the hallowed portals of journalism in general and your newspaper in particular.

A report of our former President Dr. Abdul Kalam was printed as an exclusive news report in your paper sometime in March 2010 alleging that Dr Kalam was draining the exchequer by his frequent foreign trips. Within 10 days, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement clearly stating that the Indian Government did not spend even one rupee on Dr. Kalam. The foreign Universities that invited him fully funded his trips. Such erroneous allegation amount to defamation when it is based on fancies and not on facts. Scurrilous and otiose comments besmirching a person of impeccable integrity like Dr Kalam are nothing short of mendacious reports. That your paper did not deem it fit to probe the veracity of the report before publishing it stands as a blot on your journalistic ethics.

There is another ominous trend that we have observed that is perhaps unique to your newspaper. In the second week of April after the Maoist attack, two reports came under different titles side by side in the same page with the same content. Earlier in March, an entire page, the Times Trends was repeated word by word for two consecutive days. Errors while publishing have to be duly acknowledged; otherwise it degenerates into irresponsible journalism. We are yet to witness a statement of regret from you on such grievous carelessness.

We are also appalled by the miniscule space you give to your readers to express their views. Newspapers are vibrant pillars of democracy that should strive for public enlightenment. Your newspaper is engaged in a monologue and we readers remain mute witness to it. Such imperial attitude does not augur well for the most widely read English daily in a vibrant democracy. We request you to open up the space for readers and make it more democratic reflecting the genuine opinion of the readers when burning issues engulf the nation.

Finally, we are totally lost as to why we should open a newspaper to find semi clad women every day. Such daily dose of distractions is fit for tabloids of another kind. A newspaper primarily deals with news. A paper of your stature need not resort to such low standards and vile tactics to increase circulation. Such irreverence does nothing honourable to your predecessors who began the newspaper as a biweekly more than eight score years ago.

A decent national newspaper must resort to dignified reporting not to defamatory vilification campaigns. India is a country with a proud tradition of honest and courageous journalism. The Indian National Congress took its first baby steps under the guidance of scribes. The first four resolutions of INC were made by G.Subramania Iyer of The Hindu, a journalist from Poona and Dadabai Naoroji, a journalist of high reputation. Nehru founded the National Herald; Gandhi wrote prolifically in four papers, Tilak brought the British Empire to its knees with the might of the pen. The great legacy continues to this day where newspapers strengthen our democracy with honest, fair and courageous journalism.

The four tenets of ethical journalism are
1. Seek truth and report it
2. Minimise harm as your subjects are also human beings who deserve respect and dignity
3. Act independently- You are free of obligation to anyone other than your readers.
4. Be accountable to your readers

The degeneration of an illustrious newspaper is a presage of the times to come. The trend that prevails today is that everything is up for sale. This is the coup de grace of ethical journalism. Such attitudes cannot be condoned in a democracy. We are tired of the raucous voices and banal words. We need intrepid travellers to bring out the truth with an impartial eye. Red Herrings and mendacious reports are poisoning our minds. It would be a great service to our nation if you make a choice now- to redeem the past glory or to make an honourable exit.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR- II

2010-04-27T07:15:00.003+05:30

Business Line, April 27, 2010
This refers to the article ‘‘Are BRIC and IBSA of any use?'' (Business Line, April 26). Regional groupings of countries will be effective only when they adopt the three-pronged strategy of economic integration, multi-lateral diplomacy and agenda on issues of common interest such as security and environment. An example of a successful regional group is ASEAN that is over four decades old.

BRIC and IBSA have to make themselves relevant by involving actively in global politics and economy. Goldman Sachs has predicted that in the next 50 years, the combined GDP of BRIC countries will encompass 40 per cent of world GDP. BRIC has a huge potential to be a powerful bloc and an effective counterbalance to the US dominance. The countries involved should take more proactive measures such as free trade and commitments on energy security. Political resolves from the leaders is the need of the hour.

The HINDU, April 27, 2010
The delightful article ‘From Srirangam to Mumbai- a tale of three generations’ (Open Page, 25 April) brought out the fault lines between the old generation and the new. Every generation whose time is past laments the innocence and purity of a hallowed past only because it cannot cope with the demands of the changing times. The new generation is at crossroads; caught between a ménage of cultures and lifestyles. They need sympathy and understanding from the elders; not rebuke. Being a single child and growing up with video games for company is traumatic. Moreover, this lifestyle is imposed on them in this dog-eat-dog world; it is not a choice. Instead of yearning for a fantasy that is difficult to realise, we must try to bond with each other in the little time that is left in our personal lives.

The HINDU, April 25, 2010
The observations made by the Supreme Court of India on live-in relationships and pre-marital sex are laudable as they are in-sync with present-day realities. If two people under mutual consent decide to live together without the stamp of marriage, no third person has the right to interfere with their freedom. It is unfortunate that in the name of cultural ethos, individuals have to face the sneers of society in such personal matters. Those who opt for live-in relationships must be responsible for the consequences of their choice. Those who apply the moral paint on it are ignorant of the realities of life. Also, morality is not a set of dry positives and negatives. It is entirely subjective and cannot be imposed on others

Frontline, April 24- May 10, 2010
The Cover Story (Frontline 10 April) was trenchant and incisive. It was shocking to realise that around 400 million Indians go to bed hungry every day. As Verrier Elwin once said,’ Poverty is hunger, frustration, bereavement and futility. There is nothing beautiful about it.’ That there are millions of fellow Indians who are denied their basic right to food, six decades after independence is a matter of national shame.

The New Indian Express, April 20, 2010
Shashi Tharoor’s resignation comes as a disappointment to the people of Trivandrum who voted to elect him. It is rare to find such men of intellectual panache, commitment and integrity in the murky world of Indian politics. That is why he won with the biggest majority in the last thirty years from Trivandrum against all odds. Yet, he was harassed by the Indian media and a section of Indian politicians from day one. Even now, the cruel tabloids take undue delight in humiliating Tharoor and shout him down. Even an accused criminal has the right to defence in this country. One wonders why Tharoor was not given a fair chance to clear his name. Tharoor has been sacrificed at the altar of Indian politics. And wily breed of Indian politicians involved in all kinds of scams and criminal activities are comfortably seated in the ramparts of power.

Business Line, April 19, 2010
This refers to ‘‘Learning from a fall'' (Business Line, April 17). The scientists have done a commendable job developing indigenous cryogenic technology. Even the most advanced countries with vast resources at their disposal failed many times before mastering the nuances of this complex technology. Our PSLV, with an impeccable record of 14 consecutive flights, failed in its very first flight in 1993. Chandrayaan 1, despite its premature termination, was able to shed light on valuable information.

This shows that failure is nothing but an opportunity to learn and rectify our mistakes. We should not demoralise our scientists by harping on failure. A comprehensive review of the manufacture assembly and pre-flight testing of all liquid propellant engines will ensure reliability of GSLV in future endeavours.

The HINDU, April 19, 2010
Murky dealings, tax evasion and concealed freebies have drained our pockets and patience. In a poor country like ours, the buying and selling of sportsmen is nothing short of unabashed display of corporate greed. When the glamorous IPL literally bathes in the limelight, the common man gropes in the dark due to power cuts in scorching summers. As avid cricket lovers, we are deeply pained that a great game has become a commercial nightmare.

The New Indian Express, April 17, 2010
The article ‘The Asian Jumbo Puzzle’ (April 10) brought out the stark reality of the struggle for survival between the endangered animals and poor people. The Indian elephant is running out of living space and poor mothers are feeding mud crusts to children. A solution that helps man and the beast to survive seems notoriously difficult. Relentless work by animal lovers like Mark Shand helps us remain sanguine that a solution that benefits all is possible.

THAROOR REACTS

2010-04-20T16:32:00.002+05:30

Dr. Shashi Tharoor’s comments on the Article

“Thank you so much for these generous-spirited words at a time of trial. It means a great deal to me that you reached out to me at this time.

Today marks a new beginning for me and I am heartened by the love, friendship and loyalty I have received. I am determined to continue to do my best for India and for the ideals that brought me back here.” - Dr. Shashi Tharoor, via email.

THE GREAT INDIAN GAME

2010-04-19T17:40:00.003+05:30

Indian politics has finally scaled great heights. Shashi Tharoor has quit as the Minister of State of External Affairs. Those who were baying for his blood can finally raise a toast. For some days now, the Indian media (there are of course the honourable exceptions) has milked the issue for more than what it is worth. The enthusiasm for infamous expose that the media took with a vengeance has paid a rich dividend. Thanks to their one sided coverage of the story, Tharoor has finally quit, Lalit Modi continues as the emperor of the new East India Company in the country. That story is not what we are interested in. But one can’t help but realise that it has not been a fair deal. This is not a hagiographic account of Tharoor but another perspective which is worth understanding.

That Tharoor entangled himself with IPL which was ill reputed for its murky and opaque dealings and shady investors is unfortunate. But ever since he landed in the country after his UN stint, he was unnecessarily hounded by the media and the political fraternity alike. Tharoor was one unlucky man who would be subject to the hawkish eyes of Puritans whether he comes in a three piece suit or a humble ‘mundu’. Either ways, he was labelled an outsider. For a person who has spent his growing up years in the glorious Indian cities and who has brought India to the global map, the tag of an outsider is nothing short of an insult. Our desi politicians from Kerala were hell bent on ‘Americanising’ him. I remember a wonderful short story that he has published in his book ‘The five dollar smile and other stories’ on a typical agrarian family in Kerala. The verdant greenery, the life in a typical ‘tharavaadu’ and the feeling of pathos that the story evokes is something only a true Malayali can identify. It is remarkable because it seems like the reminiscences of a Keralite born and brought up in Kerala; something that Tharoor could not have experienced himself! A man who could so proudly speak about Malayali Chauvinism (Tharoor’s column in The Hindu) and invited the wrath of both Keralites and non-Keralites alike should be very much a Keralite deep down. That we will accept only the puritanical version of Indianness is against our traditional mores and cultural ethos. In Tharoor’s own words, we are all minorities in India. It is important to listen to another Indian’s idea even though they may be contrary to what you have known and experienced. For every truism in this country, there will be an opposing and equally strange contradiction. India is a melange of various hues and there is no definite version of a typical Indian. To persecute all those different from us as outsiders is an anathema and an insult to our heritage. Tharoor is an unfortunate scapegoat at the altar of the cruel breed of chauvinism that is choking the concept of India.
I cannot help but wonder what if a person of Tharoor’s stature was born in some other country? To have steadily risen to the top through sheer determination and hard work and to command an international stature is no ordinary feat. Any other country would have honoured such an illustrious citizen and flaunted him off as a prized possession. But the first thing that we do to a successful Indian educated abroad is strip him of his Indian identity. It is an atrocious misunderstanding widely prevalent among the saffron and red brigade that anyone who has even accidently set foot in the US is an American stooge. I bring to the reader’s attention to such unfortunate persecution that our present Prime Minister Manmohan Singh faced almost two decades back. Apparently Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Sam Pitroda were western spies who were planning to drag India down. It is no wonder that both of them left frustrated, shocked and disillusioned only to be brought back again later, which is another story.

The point is that there is such an amount of jealousy targeted at our more successful brethren that should put us to shame. It is very difficult for an Indian to truly appreciate success in another. As a person who had the vantage point to have witnessed the last General Elections from Tharoor’s constituency, I am aware of the petty politics and vendetta that were targeted against him. Despite all odds, he won with a mind boggling margin, the kind of victory that Trivandrum had not witnessed in the last three decades.

After becoming a minister, controversy dogged him like an eerie shadow that pounced on him when he stepped out of the traditional ‘lakshman rekha’. Cattle class and Holy cows were blown out of proportions and became quite a storm in a v cup (to borrow Siddharth Varadarajan’s famous phrase). To use English idioms and expression in India can be extremely hazardous to your political career. For the ineptitudes of the scribes, brouhaha was created. An outspoken and honest man, not to forget a biographer of Nehru, could not make a statement which every professor teaching India’s Foreign Policy would casually utter twice a day is ridiculous. I do not know how many people have read Tharoor’s book on Nehru. It is a delightful book on Nehru replete with Tharoor’s own quirky take on India’s first Prime Minister. That he made an honest, harmless comment as the mediator in an intellectual forum should be seen as what it was. Tharoor’s gallant escapade from the ‘Interlocutor episode’ was another misadventure.

The man was clearly misunderstood, misrepresented and misused by the media on several occasions. It was then that the IPL controversy came in. From what has come out of the reports, one realises that the IPL and Lalit Modi seem to have a rather colourful past than Tharoor’s actual financial involvement in it. Allegations of corruption if proved is a serious offence of breach of public trust. The interesting thing is whether Tharoor’s financial involvement is proven beyond doubt? When Tharoor came out with his side of the story in Barkha Dutt’s interview many wrote eloquently on Tharoor’s diplomatic skills. Tharoor was shouted down by an unholy opposition in the Parliament. Our ramparts of power (read Parliament) have 150 MPs with criminal charges, 70 of them with serious charges including multiple murders. A nobleman from Gujarat tops the list with 16 charges and continues to represent the hapless common man and ‘serve’ him. The day IPL fracas came out in the front pages of a National daily; there was another telling report of CBI having conclusive proof of Mayawati inappropriating illegal money. Fodder scam has made Laluji a winsome figure in Bihar, BJD’s goondas roam and torture adivasis in Orissa. An honourable Chief Minister of a State who ordered the goriest genocide of recent times sits securely administering the state for a record third term stint. We, Indians seem to have a penchant for criminals and a soft corner for dacoits. But these are uncomfortable if not foolish things to reveal. Remember, our media partners with every successful business venture. After all, big buck is a secular, truly Indian space sans political affiliations.

No hard core Journalist has delved too much into the big bad world of IPL itself. If you do some upright journalism, it will hurt. To begin with patrons of the IPL are long time residents of the Forbe’s Millionaire list. One of them is the title sponsor. Our scribes know when not to push too much as IPL had too many media partners and there was too much to lose. But a harmless fun game was to hound an insignificant Junior Minister who will make great front page news for a week.

The truth behind this confusing drama is yet to come. But it is really a new low for our country that refuses to study both sides of the story before coming to a hasty unjust conclusion. For one, Tharoor was one of the few ministers who was transparent and approachable through his website, tweets and mail. When most of us are not even aware of who is dealing with what in the central cabinet, this man thought it worthwhile to connect with his people and actually report to them almost on a daily basis. Tharoor’s website and tweets stand testimony to this. From Kerala, we have two cabinet ministers, and a few MoS. Most Keralites do not even know what these privileged MPs are doing. Tharoor was different; he killed the cliché. Perhaps that was the problem. Indian politics is a whole new game altogether. Here there is no place for pro-active politics, outspoken attitude and a transparent policy. Tharoor was a great academic and a diplomat; but he was a misfit in Indian politics. May be this is the biggest compliment that I can give to him. He is a far bigger war horse to be tied down to the petty stables of Indian politics.

CAUGHT BUT NOT OUT YET!

2010-04-18T21:34:00.004+05:30

IPL was perhaps aptly defined by P.Sainath as Indian Paisa Loot. With shady investors, murky dealings and freebies signed out of public money, today the pockets and patience of the common man has drained. In a poor country like ours, there is no place for unabashed display of riches at the cost of the aam aadmi. To begin with, permanent residents of the Forbe’s Billionaire List from our country are given super comforts with open and concealed write –offs and freebies out of public resources for IPL. Cheap land leases, stadia rentals don’t come cheap. In scorching summer in India, one fails to understand why the bollywood version of cricket has to be played in full glares. For those interested in common man’s affairs, please note a few points. In almost every city, power cuts have become a nightmare. Children of India have been graciously given the right to education, but not a right to education with electricity. Why should we bear 12-15 hours of power cut for an event we don’t even get to watch? Long silences are the resounding answers to pertinent questions in India.

Somehow, apart from M.S.Gill, nobody seems to have noticed that cricket as you and I know is slaughtered in the din of its hyper commercial version. The true cricketing spirit that is ‘a splendour too exciting and versatile to be beyond any turf adventure’ is feebly moaning. Great players are auctioned like cattle for unbelievable sums. Apparently the real worth of this big business cannot even be described in terms of the humble Indian rupee. Opaque dealings of such mind boggling sums in a country with mind boggling poverty debts as well. Sinister allegations of corruption among the elites are going rounds.

Mired in secrecy, bathed in unabashed display of avarice, IPL is an anathema to the true Indian cricketing spirit. If only politicians stayed in politics and businessmen went about their business, bollywood stars blasted box-office and cricketers played cricket, we could have said, all iz well!!

LESSONS FROM A MASSACRE

2010-04-18T15:11:00.002+05:30

‘If Nation states are going to survive, people in power must earn and keep the trust of the governed.’
William Lind

The gory massacre of 75 jawans of the CRPF is the single largest loss for Indian counter insurgency operations. It was the inevitable death sentence of an ill trained and ill equipped force on a tactically unsound mission. India has been trying to tackle the hydra headed monster of insurgency for a few decades now. But the Maoist menace has spread like malignant cancer striking at the heart of Indian democracy itself. It is worthwhile to ponder the nature and ingredients of the problem and find out meaningful solutions.

What went wrong?
What makes a group of our citizens think of the state as an enemy to be vanquished? The plight of people in the seven worst hit areas has the same heart wrenching story. These people have lived with poverty, underdevelopment and neglect for decades. There is nothing beautiful about poverty. Poverty is when mothers feed mud crusts to hungry children, 10 year olds take up rusted rifles to defend their villages, the government becomes deaf and blind and a common man stands unarmed before arrogant officials. Unless the government does some soul searching and come up with sound administrative practices, guns will be planted instead of grains in these villages.

Having said that, ruthless slaughter based on skewed extremism is not to be tolerated in a democracy. To restart developmental activities, we have to regain areas captured by the rebels and restore civilian administration. The US inspired ‘clear, hold and build’ model has not worked so far. This is because our central forces are untrained in jungle warfare, and work in text book fashion without independent intelligence capabilities. On the other hand, the Maoist can match our paramilitary forces bullet for bullet and have a deadly edge with devious weapons like IEDs. They have effective infantry tactics and fire discipline and the advantage of the element of surprise that helps them to outnumber and outgun our security forces most of the time. The ambush in Orissa and Chhattisgarh within 24 hours and the spectacular attacks at Nayagarh illustrate their capabilities. It is against these forces that the central government has pumped ill trained man and saturated the grounds. These battalions are easy targets for rebel attacks and are unable to match their opponents in aggression and tactical planning. Delayed reinforcements and gruelling lives in their camps where their basic needs are not met further aggravate the situation. These jawans do not have specific evacuation plan for encounter operations. For instance, Chhattisgarh has 20 battalions of CRPF, 6000 policemen and 5 helicopters with no mobile trauma care and no dedicated medical hospital. New Delhi has pumped 23000 men to protect 446 million people living in 1.6 million square kilometres.

The Prudential Strategy
Left extremism is a political plan to secure power through bloodbath. Besides invoking article 355 to empower the centre to suo motto deploy central forces, the government should concentrate on improving the level of governance, build capacity and raise the legitimacy of the political class. Stricter norms for movement and transportation of explosives for mining and industrial purposes should be brought in. Rigorous course of orientation for officers to lead their men from up front keeping their honour and welfare of their battalions would be appropriate. Every sub inspector should be trained in anti naxalite operation and IPS officers should be posted in Naxal hit areas before promoting them as SPs. The counter insurgency wing should be given sophisticated weaponry, night vision equipment and improved human intelligence. Help of people should be sought through a system of rewards and incentives. Specialised forces that execute intelligence led precision strikes are required to tame this menace. We need long term strategy of counter insurgency operations. A viable coherent alternative vision should be spelt out clearly. Deep and hard reflection and a fresh unblinkered thinking is the need of the hour.
We need men of iron will and steely determination to lead us out of this quagmire. Mock Churchillian rhetoric and high sounding assurances will not suffice.

CONTACT US

2010-04-18T13:47:00.027+05:30

Deepa Kylasam Iyer (Deepa K.S.) is a Writer, Researcher, Playwright and a Published Poet. She has published in Kritya, Muse India, Cyclamens and Swords, Voicesnet Poetry, Yojana, Kurukshetra, The HINDU and the New Indian Express. Her poem ‘Tryst with Destiny’ was included in the Anthology of poems ‘Journeys’ that was released at the Birmingham Book Fair U.K in October 2010 and she has been a finalist in the Voicesnet Poetry Contest for three consecutive times. Deepa is also a polyglot who speaks 8 languages including French and Spanish and has written and directed a play, ‘The Dream Machine’ in English and French for the Alliance Française, Pondicherry in September 2010. She won the prestigious CIPE International Essay Contest 2010 by emerging as the winner among entries from more than 80 Countries. Deepa was the Contributing Editor at an International Web Portal (www.pio-indians.com) based in Paris for the People of Indian Origin (PIO) worldwide. Presently she is a Community Manager with Vitalia Food and Healthcare at Paris, France.

Deepa has University degrees in English Literature and French Language and Civilization from University of Madras, Alliance Française and Eurocentres, La Rochelle, France.

Francis Kuriakose is an Assistant Professor of Commerce & Management and a Human Rights Activist. He worked at Mar Ivanios College, Kerala State Civil Service Academy, Mahatma Gandhi University and University of Kerala. He is a Motivational Speaker and leads seminars and talks on Poverty and Development, Human Rights & Socio-Economic issues of India across the country. The commitment to his causes and ideals comes out through his published papers in national and international magazines and journals. In addition to his work as a faculty, Francis serves as an Expert Advisor to Educon Global, an Education Consulting Organization based in New Delhi.

Francis has University Degrees in Finance, Public Administration and Human Rights Law from University of Kerala, University of Madras and National Law School of India University, Bangalore.

Readers' feedback and reviews are welcome. If you wish to bring any issue to our attention, please contact us at francyge83@yahoo.co.uk or deepa_7ki@yahoo.co.in

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

2010-04-13T12:48:00.003+05:30

Poverty line (BUSINESS LINE, April 13, 2010)
With reference to the article ‘Behind the inclusive growth rhetoric' (Business Line, April 12), poverty line benchmarks have caused more deprivation than entitlements. In a targeted system of welfare provision, vulnerable sections of the population remain excluded, outside the pale of the most basic social security net. Poverty line is now estimated by focussing exclusively on food consumption, ignoring expenditure on health and education. Second, the NSSO estimates are at a great variance with that of National Family Health Survey.

Errors of wrong exclusion in targeted programmes are due to the absence of a reliable and feasible method of combining estimation and identification of poor. In a country with such mass poverty as that India, universal social security system is the most effective tool to ensure livelihood security.

Venki’s Story (The HINDU, April 10, 2010)
Kudos to The Hindu for publishing a delightful two-part autobiographical essay of Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (Op-Ed, April 8 and 9). As the unassuming scientist relived his experience of staking all in his quest for knowledge, the readers got a glimpse of his single-minded focus, dedication, hard work and intellectual panache. A remarkable life indeed. It was nothing short of a pilgrimage in search of truth. It is sure to inspire millions of young, vibrant minds.

Forgetting the Past (The New Indian Express, April 10, 2010)
It was instructive to know that a US court has summoned one of our Ministers in connection with the Sikh Riots, based on a civil law suit filed by a National Human Rights advocacy group. It reminds us how low we have sunk as a nation, that relentless passage of time erases dark memories from our national consciousness. Even after the wilful execution of 3000 innocent Sikhs 25 years ago in the national capital, the perpetrators roam free in our country with no qualms. That nobody is held accountable for criminal dereliction of duty in times of communal violence is a matter of national shame.

Nuclear Liability Bill (Frontline April 10-23, 2010)
Praful Bidwai’s article ‘A Flawed Bill’ (March27-Apr 9) was trenchant and incisive. The Nuclear Liability Bill is a blatant violation of the ‘Polluter pay Principle’. Bringing the compensation to a trivial Rs2300 crores is less than the scandalously paltry sum paid to the victims of Bhopal Gas tragedy. The domestic laws on nuclear liability of developed countries are not as sordid as the one the UPA government is trying to table in the parliament. Even the US has a corpus fund of $10.7 billion. As Barack Obama rightly said, ‘A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good sentence; or a good piece of music. Everybody can recognize it.’ And what is presented as Nuclear Liability Bill is downright immoral.

Moral right (The HINDU, March 28, 2010)
Kalpana Sharma's article “Thank You, Mulayam Singh Yadav” (March 21) was incisive. The Women's Reservation Bill is an important piece of legislation long overdue. Now it has to survive the thickets of male chauvinism. The alarming decimation of male power is a nightmare for the wily breed of Indian politician who has stoked an appetite for power as this historic bill will overhaul the entrenched system of political patronage in our country. It is time we gave women what is their due. What is morally right cannot be politically wrong.

Ignored Issues (The HINDU, February 28, 2010)
The article was incisive. It is true that Shiv Sena and its ugly variants have kidnapped our rights and the act of defiance from the people was welcome. But, we were appalled by the blow-by-blow account of the issue in the media 24x7. The pathetic squabble in politics, stand- off between our Bollywood heroes and politicians are material for prime time. Real issues like soaring food prices do not make good television. It matters little that every day about 2,000 farmers quit agriculture in India. As Sainath has rightly pointed out, the ABC of Indian media roughly translates into Advertising, Bollywood and Corporate power.

True Secularism (The HINDU, January 10, 2010)
Harsh Mander's “Songs of shared living” (January 3) was a touching tribute to the extraordinary and luminous acts of courage and compassion of the least privileged. The intuitively respectful ordinary man is the robust defender of India's freedom. The unashamed and careless chauvinism of the drawing room conversations of the elites stem from judgements and preconceived notions about others who are different from us. We frail humans are at one time capable of the greatest good and, at the same time, capable of the greatest evil. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. As we enter a new year and a decade, our deepest wish is what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. remarked years ago: “a dream of a nation where all our gifts and resources are held not for ourselves alone, but as instruments of service for the rest of humanity; the dream of a country where every man will respect the dignity and worth of the human personality”.

Winter of Austerity (The HINDU, October 9, 2009)
P. Sainath’s article reminds us of the former President, K.R. Narayanan’s address to the nation delivered on the eve of the golden jubilee of our Republic. “The unabashed, vulgar indulgence in conspicuous consumption by the nouveau-riche has left the underclass seething in frustration. One half of our society guzzles aerated beverages while the other has to make do with palmfuls of muddied water. Our three-way fast-lane of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation must provide safe pedestrian crossings for unempowered India so that it could move towards equality of status and opportunity.” It would be well if the nouveau-riche of our country realised the true meaning of austerity.

Against women (Frontline September 12-25, 2009)
THE article “Crime Spiral” (September 11) brought out some shocking facts about violence against women. Strong state action against these crimes would act as a deterrent. More importantly, the mindset and beliefs that nurture the male ego have to undergo a transformation. We need to learn to cope with assertive women and their individuality.

A CALL FROM THE PAST ( in fond memories of my childhood spent with my Grandfather)

2010-04-13T09:49:00.007+05:30

I grew up in cities wherever my father’s job took us, far away from our roots. I had only fleeting glances of my grandfather during those hasty visits in summer. He was very far from us, so I clung onto the little I could get of my Kicha (as I used to call him). I remember a toy that he bought me when I was four, a rubber cat with green eyes. For years, I would play with it and then as I grew up I would simply place it on my study table. It was a reassurance that he was close by.

Years rolled by and when I was in college, I heard a long forgotten voice. Kicha had come to our place, all of a sudden. He wanted to spend some time with us, he said. It was like a dream for me. I began to greedily devour the little time I got with him in the weekends. I was in my last year of my college, burdened by record works and tons of things to study with less than a month for the exams. But I was not going to let any of that come between me and my Kicha. I wanted to make up for the lost time; he seemed to think along the same lines. We began where we had left, a four year old girl and an old man suddenly brought together by the currents of fate. I pestered him to tell me stories; we went out to buy boxes of toffees from the small shop nearby. We wanted to do all that we would have done sixteen years ago if we were closeted under one roof as one family. People around us thought it was just vestiges of childishness in both of us.

And then one day, back from college, I heard that Kicha was planning to leave. The secure feeling in the catacombs of the old man’s heart was what kept me going. I felt that suddenly I was once again uprooted. My hot tears blinded me as I went into Kicha’s room. I sat down beside him. Our silent tears communicated; best friends did not need to talk always. I did not ask him to stay back. I knew he couldn’t. He simply wiped away my tears even as his own face was drenched with the dews of anguish. Some incomprehensible medical jargon had separated us. Kicha was suffering from brain damage; that much I could fathom. He had refused to take medication and now it was really beyond....I ran away from my father who was trying to explain; as though reasons could expiate suffering.

I had secured admission in a top University for my higher studies. Once when I settled down, I rang up Kicha. “Hello, Kicha?”A pause. Then a familiar voice considerably weakened, ‘Hello, Hello, Hello. Who is it?’ ‘Kicha, it’s me, Deepa, Kicha...’ ‘Hello, who is it? Who is it?’ I could carry on no more.

Kicha is in another world now. No, I have not lost him completely. My family back home tells me that he cannot remember much. He cannot cry and laugh like us, he cannot brighten up when he sees a familiar face. For him, no face is familiar. Mostly he sits with a child-like curiosity examining the incomprehensible objects around him. And then closes his eyes in all knowing comprehension. May be he is searching for that one beautiful memory, some familiarity that eludes him when he opens his eyes.

A WALK DOWN THE MEMORY LANE ( a tribute to Prof.Jacob Thomas who retires this year after more than 30 years of exemplary service in Academics)

2010-04-06T12:03:00.005+05:30

‘Oh! So you are the man! We were discussing your case. You will soon join us. Promise me that when you leave you will make us proud.’ I mumbled something. That was all that I could manage to do before the stern eyes of the man standing before me. I was just seventeen, right out of my school, with something close to sixty percent in my mark list. And that score meant death knell to rising ambitions and a fabulous future. You will literally amount to nothing in the top colleges where something less than a modest eighty percent is frowned upon. But I made it as the last man in the prestigious grand old college in Kerala. I was the very last man to be let into its hallowed portals. Dazed and diffident, I could not utter a syllable when Prof. Jacob Thomas reminded me that I owed it to them.

And that was the beginning of my passport to life. For the boy from a small town, who did not have the nerve to dream big, life was just unfolding. And one man was the epicentre of inspiration- my Professor. He would walk in and write lines after lines of the most complicated part of the lesson for one hour without even a scrap of paper in his hand. How anyone could store such gigantic amount of information in one’s cranium was beyond me. And he would write in the most beautiful hand writing- well formed and assertive. I used to work hard to emulate him; I would try to be half as good.

By the end of the first year, I was into extra-curricular activities. My presence in classes became rare; I was found more on stages than anywhere. My ascent to a rewarding career in debates and extempore took me all across the state of Kerala. I was competing, organising and my winning streak continued. My absence in classes were never emphasised by Prof. Jacob Thomas, my class teacher. I was given a free hand; even encouraged by his silent approvals and a smile. Three years flew by, exams were over and results came. Firmly clutching my mark list, I ran wildly into my Professor’s room. I gasped, ‘I have kept my promise.’ I had topped the college. For one last time, his eyes shone. I knew he was proud of me. I knew that he always believed in the last man...

Years have rolled by and the unlikely last man has adorned the robe of a teacher. When I stand before eager faces, words come out of me. But I wonder whether I am merely re-iterating something I once heard from some voice from the past, when I was a boy, gazing intently at the immaculate professor in front of me. History has a strange way of intruding into your life.

This year my professor will embark on a new journey, taking off the mantle of teaching which he so gracefully adorned all these years. He has moulded myriads of young, bright men. Among them, this last man has succeeded too. And the last man owes it to him completely.

AN ODE TO HAPPINESS

2010-03-21T18:47:00.005+05:30

“Happiness is that which everyone longs
but so few of us actually get
Happiness is that which rights all wrongs
and leaves us without regret”
-Lucy Loughlin

Is feeling happy a choice or an acquired skill? Is it permanent or situational? Is it success or contentment? Is it an illusion created by our ‘selfish genes’? What is this intangible, elusive yet much coveted happiness that we so completely feel but cannot really explain?

THE SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS
Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology at Harvard has written in his incisive book ‘Stumbling on Happiness’, what the business of happiness really is about. Human beings seem to value so many things from the mundane to the sublime- from the everyday miracles to higher abstractions like truth, justice and so on. So, is life more than a pursuit to happiness? No, says Dan Gilbert. All human behaviour is essentially about attaining happiness, albeit in different amounts. And this difference in the degree of happiness makes us feel that what we experience is actually two different emotions. He brings this about more lucidly with the example of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’. He says that ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ are not really two different things but simply two manifestations of different amounts of molecular motions. So, what appears different is actually two degrees of the same thing. Eating your favourite chocolate, getting a promotion and saving a life- all bring happiness in different degrees, thought the first act requires no effort , the second conscientious hard work and the third chivalry.

GENES Vs CULTURE
The great Indian adage says that ‘happiness dwells within you’. It does- in our genes. But some of the notions about happiness are reinforced by our culture. For instance, we believe that so many things make us happy- like having money, having kids and so on. Is it possible to unlearn these notions and imagine a different future for ourselves? According to Tim Wilson and Dan Gilbert, human beings are not really good at deciding what will make them happy. Apparently, we do not seem to learn much from our experiences as we think. Positive or negative events do not hit us as hard as we imagine. We vastly overestimate the hedonic consequences of these events. Both retrospections and future simulations share so many biases that reinforce each other and give us a distorted view of how we may actually feel. This makes us lousy at future predictions.

NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
Is it good to be happy all the time? Research and experience tells us that negative emotions have an important role to play in our lives. The feeling of fear and anxiety actually prevents our worst fears coming true. Anxiety can be debilitating only when it is extreme. Otherwise, it ensures that we take the appropriate actions to deter us from crises. To be happy and complacent all the time can be harmful. That extra bit of adrenalin rush when we are anxious makes us alert and smart. As Prof. Gilbert lucidly puts it, ‘Emotion is a compass that tells us what to do, and a compass that is perpetually stuck on north is worthless’. So much for our fairy tale wish to be always happy!!

THE GREAT HAPPINESS INDEX
In this one race, Mankind seem to be united-to attain happiness. Our former President Dr. Abdul Kalam gave a wonderful formula for National Prosperity Index as a genuine indicator of our well being. Bhutan measures its prosperity in terms of Gross National Happiness. In a world where neo-classical economics and sophisticated technology give birth to financial crises and global warming, some people believe that going down that path of primal innocence is the only way to salvation. Is happiness to be found in the garden of such childish delights? We remain sanguine that the path to everlasting happiness lies in embracing reason and knowledge and not to dwell on some long lost fantasy of primordial times. Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow may never be ours. The best time to live is now.

CURRYBASHING IN AUSTRALIA (Published in ZOOM Magazine,Puducherry)

2010-03-21T10:09:00.004+05:30

When A.R.Rahman performed at the Sydney Festival earlier this year, he opened the concert with the phrase ‘Long live the India- Australia relationship’. We need such a heartfelt prayer in these difficult times as things has definitely taken a southward dip with a chain of incidents of Indian students crumbling down at the hands of street thugs in Australia. Indians call it racial; Aussies prefer the term opportunism. But the spate of attacks continues, innocent lives are being lost and emotions are running high. It is timely to look into the issue and re-ignite the debate.

The rabid claws of these gruesome attacks mauled 21 year old Nitin Garg that numbed the nation. Sravan Kumar Theerthala, Baljinder Singh and Suketu Modi were mugged and stabbed. 20 cases of racial attacks on Indian students have been reported in January in Sydney alone; about 100 cases reported in New South Wales and Victoria in 2009, 500 cases have been logged in the last 6 months in Australia. Indians make up the second largest population of foreign students with 19% of the total foreign student population and that comes to more than 120,500 in numbers. With a typical annual fee of $ 40,000 and living costs of $18000, higher education industry in Australia has come up as the third largest export, valued close to $15 billion. Needless to say, visa applications from Indians to Australia have plummeted by 46%.

To begin with, the issue was badly handled officially. Indians felt that they were racially targeted, the media whipped up a jingoistic hysteria and Indians felt outraged. The Foreign Minister in-acting Simon Crean’s remark that such incidents happen not only in Melbourne but in Delhi and Mumbai added insult to injury. Soon, the Melbourne police paternally advised Indian students to ‘moderate their social behaviour’ and not to display conspicuously, any symbol of wealth that may provoke or invite the seething frustration of the local Neanderthals onto themselves. A helpline was introduced to assist victims of racial attacks. It took almost a month for the Foreign Minister Stephen Smith to reluctantly admit that the attacks ‘appeared to be racist in nature’. A reaction wrapped around denial and insensitivity is poor consolation and bad diplomacy.

Are Indians soft targets?

External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna hit the nail on head when he expressed shock to find Indians doing courses in Australia that they could have easily done in India. In a despair to escape our country in search of greener pastures, prospective students grabbed whatever course came their way in recently set up institutions. Tempted and misled by agents, these students end up in an alien country without having the means to pay for their stay and their tuition. They work in double shifts, earning money and live in shabby and often dangerous neighbourhoods where the rent is low. Often they use public means of transport at nights and early morning hours (when the sensible locals would use their cars) and become the easy targets at the hands of drunken hoodlums. With the economic downturn, the frustrated, jobless Aussie finds the ‘geeky brownie’ stealing what is his due. Many Indians do not even report assault cases for fear of being denied a Permanent Resident status. Nor do they take adequate measures to ensure personal safety. This attitude has made Indians ‘passive and naive’ in the eyes of the west. Indians are also found to have the ‘ghetto’ attitude. In the west, your public behaviour determines your social identity. To cluster around in groups and not joining the mainstream is a sure way to get noticed and even picked out.

It appears that our youngsters prefer a hardly-heard-of course in a lesser known University abroad to any course in our own country. They pay dearly for this grave error in judgement, sadly with their lives. Having said that, the recent spate of attacks is simply unjustifiable and condemnable. Australia has built its reputation as an attractive educational destination by offering a variety of courses, good value of money and the promise of a friendly environment. Now, it has to live upto its promise.

THE GREAT NUMBER GAME

2010-03-09T18:40:00.006+05:30

‘I have left the girl I’m supposed to be and someday I’ll be born.’
- Paula Cole

The unprecedented bedlam that rocked the Upper House of our Parliament on International Women’s Day turned what would have been a historic day into the blackest day of Indian democracy. With all the tokenism around Women’s day, it was an anti climax when the lack of nerve and half-hearted determination of our government stood exposed. An important piece of legislation long overdue, could not survive the thickets of male chauvinistic opposition. Parliament is a forum for debate and discussion; but decency, decorum and niceties of Parliamentary behaviour was thrown out of the window and pandemonium prevailed. Will the Parliament have erupted into an uproar if a constitutional amendment was issued? What is real reason behind this brouhaha?

The Power Game

Fear is the key, if you understand how the numbers stand. There are 544 seats in Lok Sabha, out of which 122 are already reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Take 181 seats for women and men will be left with just 282 seats. In this open general category, women too can contest if they so desire. This alarming decimation of male power is a nightmare for men who have stroked an appetite for power and a lucrative career in politics. The 108th Constitutional Amendment Bill goes one step further. Out of the 4109 seats in the State Assemblies, it will snatch away 1370 seats besides the 1167 seats reserved for SC/ST. Once again, men are left with a meagre 2942 seats. This means the chances of clamouring into politics is reduced by a whopping 33%. The concept of rotating reservation will have serious consequences for the age old system of political patronage in our country. So far, mostly women who have been projected as candidates were relatives of ambitious men. They were merely faces on the wall; the real power was wielded by deft hands from behind. With this one piece of legislation, everything is set to change. The game is the same, but the rules have changed. The wily breed of Indian politician has realised this and this has shook him up. The power structure is going to topple and the odds are not in his favour.

Facts and Fiction

The UPA government in its second term dared to think the unthinkable. Mustering courage, it decided to throw its weight behind a bill which lay buried for over a decade. Will ushering in such a bill improve women’s participation significantly? Again we turn to numbers. Reservation to ensure fair representation of women is more a norm than an exception. Globally, about 100 countries have some form of quota reserved for the fairer sex. India seems to be in a minority group of 20 countries which has taken no legislative measure to ensure a gender-balanced national legislature. The widely accepted global ideal benchmark for women in Parliaments is 30%, the global average hovers around 18%. India’s abysmal 11% is way below both these marks. Rwanda leads the group with 56% women in Parliament, the only country in the world where women outnumber men in the law making bodies. Our neighbour Pakistan can proudly claim a 22%, thanks to a quota policy that reserves 17.5% seats for women. Interestingly, China also has a 21% representation without any system of quotas. It can be safely concluded that a majority of the countries that reached the global benchmark followed some form of proportional representation; having strict legal sanctions for contravention of electoral quotas will help bridge the gender gap. The 15th Lok Sabha has 58 women MPs, the highest number in six decades. But they took part in fewer debates, put forth fewer questions and tabled fewer bills than their male counterparts. Even once elected, women are not able to play a prominent role in the proceedings of the house. It is hoped that by ensuring a strong lobby of women, they will turn out to be a voice to reckon with.
It is time the government gave Indian women her due. What is morally right cannot be politically wrong.

DUBAI SNEEZES, WORLD MARKETS CATCH COLD

2010-03-04T22:31:00.002+05:30

Anxiety over Dubai’s economic health has shaken world markets after Dubai World, the fulcrum of the Emirate’s economy, announced that it would delay repayment of some of its debt. Dubai has huge debts. The state has borrowed $80 billion to finance construction designed to reinvent it as a centre for finance and tourism. Although the economy of Dubai, like those of its neighbours, was originally built on oil, currently oil revenues account for less than 6 percent of its total revenues. In any case Dubai’s oil reserves have diminished significantly and are expected to run out within the next twenty years. Dubai’s strategy has been to diversify its economy away from exposure to oil, and shift to trade, tourism and finance as engines of growth. It did that by encouraging its state run conglomerate, Dubai World, to buy up companies around the world and inviting multinationals to use Dubai as the Middle Eastern base for their activities in Asia and elsewhere.

Dubai World, the state’s main holding company, which owns assets ranging from the Palm Island to Barneys department store in New York, a stake in Las Vegas Casino Company MGM Mirage and ports around the world, owes some $59 billion. The official estimate of the UAE’s sovereign debt is $80 billion, but some analysts say it is much more and could be even twice that amount. European banks are heavily involved: according to the Wall street journal (using data from the bank for international settlements) European banks alone have almost $84 billion in exposure. U.K banks (including HSBC, Standard Chartered, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland’s ABN Amro) have by far the largest exposure at $49.5 billion, while the French and German banks are also implicated.

Among the Indian banks, Bank of Baroda has an exposure of about Rs 5,000 crore in Dubai, which accounts for half of its loans in the UAE and the state bank of India has an exposure of about Rs. 1,700 crore. Several Indian companies (Nagarjuna Constructions, Larsen & Toubro, Punj Lloyd, Voltas, Omaxe, Aban Off-shore, Spicejet and Indiabulls Real Estate) have investment and business exposure in Dubai. But the most direct impact in India is through workers. Most of the 1.5 million Indians in Dubai are blue collar workers in construction or low grade services, who typically have temporary contracts and have to live in rooms housing six to ten other workers. In a country with no unions, it is easy for companies to lay off workers. For that reason alone, it is hard to estimate the extent of job loss after the crisis, but it is estimated that tens of thousands of workers in the construction and the real estate market alone have lost their jobs over the last few months. India also needs to worry about its inbound investment from Dubai, especially in ports. Dubai world’s subsidiary, DP World, is an important player in India, and its $500 million investment plan for the country might be affected. The larger lesson for India relates to the risks of opening up its financial markets with reckless speed and without building in regulatory safeguards.

Why have investors got so frightened?

The worry is that this could be the alarm bell that heralds a new round of financial chaos. History shows that crisis often starts in the most unexpected places. The South-East Asian financial crisis of 1997, which engulfed Indonesia and South Korea, started in Thailand. In 2001 it was Argentina and last year’s problems first bubbled to the surface in Iceland and Ireland. The extent of investors concern about the news from the emirate, pushed Britain’s leading stock market index down 3.2 percent, the biggest fall in nearly nine months.

Why has there been a property bubble there?

Dubai was the epitome of the cheap credit property boom, with developers using inexpensive loans to finance grandiose building projects. Its plan to become a centre of finance and tourism pulled in millionaires and second home buyers, who were enticed by the homes on offer and rapidly rising prices- which fuelled the boom further.

Why do so many celebrities live there?

The sun, the sea and the shopping. And very low tax rates for permanent residents. Dubai wooed many big names, including England soccer stars Michael Owen and David Beckham, super model Naomi Campbell and Denzel Washington, to acquire palatial villas on the Jumeirah Palm (a man-made island stretching into the ocean which is to serve as the base for luxury hotels and villas and the world islands, a series of islands shaped to represent a map of the earth) which is seen as a status symbol.

And for the tiny Dubai, the present crisis has come as a crude shock.

( With Inputs from 'THE HINDU' and 'BUSINESS LINE')

REDISCOVERY OF INDIAN EDUCATION (Published in ZOOM Magazine,Puducherry)

2010-03-01T22:05:00.002+05:30

“He who opens a school door, closes a prison,” said Victor Hugo. Today, the hallowed portals of learning in our country can be better described as ‘dismal dungeons’ and closed prisons. Where dynamism and vibrancy of ideas have to flourish, we see young minds sagging with the weight of cramped up information. There is no room for creativity. The students are expected to be one among the herd and excel at it. The ‘summum bonum’(the highest good) of education apparently is to make a living. What is crushed in this mindless race and thoughtless exercise is the human spirit.
The old Indian adage says ‘thamasoma jyotirgamaya’- light dispels darkness. True learning liberates us from the shackles of ignorance and leads us to the path of self realisation. Being educated means we are assuming responsibility in society- responsibility to show fairness to the less fortunate, to be the voice of the voiceless and the hope of the hopeless. As India’s best known technocrat Dr. N.R.Narayana Murthy says, “It is about raising one’s confidence to think of a worthy dream and the ability to translate that dream to reality by high-performance action. It is about opening up one’s mind to accept new ideas, evaluate them and use them for progress. “

It takes a certain degree of irreverence and nerve to think different, question the answers and sometimes the questions themselves! But a student who raises questions against the accepted theories is snubbed and condemned. He who cannot fill his cranium with the thoughts of other men in history will fall back in the race and will fall low in the eyes of others. Exams are nothing but memory tests; here there is no place for synthesis and analysis of ideas or originality of thoughts. The prevailing system induces an unhealthy competition at the colossal cost of burning out the natural desire to learn in millions of students. Marks can make or break your life and your marks are at the hands of your teachers. Teaching is the noblest of all vocations. We can never say where the influence of a teacher stops. A teacher should be a friend, philosopher and a guide. He should be an abode of knowledge, a walking encyclopaedia. He is the best sign post available to his students and so he must lead by example. He must be both accessible and approachable to his students. When he was going to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, Dr. C.V.Raman wrote to the President of India that he could not be present in Delhi to accept the honour as he had to help a PhD scholar submit his thesis! For the great teacher, his students always came first. But today, it is not uncommon to see young men and women who take up teaching by accident or when they run out of other options. They are doing a great disservice to the next generation by such choices.

India boasts of a 7% growth and dreams of double digit growth. It is an important power that will steer the destiny of the world in a few decades. The ambitious Indian government has labelled the eleventh five year plan as the education plan. Our Prime Minister has called the coming decade, a decade for education. India has earmarked Rs.3280 crore for the mammoth undertaking of establishing world class universities on recommendation of the National Knowledge Commission. The government plans to create 12 new Central Universities, 8 new IITs and 7 new IIMs in the next five years. Just pumping money and resources into a fundamentally broken system is not going to work. Education is the ailing child of India. Education can hardly nurture the mind when it is oppressed under its own ossified rituals. Sclerotic bureaucracy, unimaginative curricula and uninspiring teachers and a highly resistant attitude to reform remains to this day. Favouritism in admissions and appointment of faculty positions, questionable coaching arrangements, plagiarism and corruption destroys research culture. All decisions have to be based on quality; our system should be deeply meritocratic. The best teachers and the brightest students must be rewarded. Spending large sums scattershot will not work neither will the copying of the western model. We have to do some serious introspection to cure the sick child of India and transform it into the fine monument of India, representing India’s urges and its future.

REDISCOVERING NEHRU: PART II

2010-02-20T14:31:00.003+05:30

This is an afterword to my first article on Nehru in which I would introduce the sources of my quotes and recommend a few books for readers who are interested in further investigating the subject. I have quoted extensively from Sarvepalli Gopal’s magisterial three-volume study on Nehru, Dr. Shashi Tharoor’s highly readable work and Mani Shankar Aiyar’s seminal work on secularism. There was no original research involved and the intension was to reinterpret the available materials.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Sarvepalli Gopal, Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography
Volume one: 1889-1947 (Delhi: oxford university press, 1975)
Volume two: 1947-1956 (Delhi: oxford university press, 1979)
Volume three: 1956-1964 (Delhi: oxford university press, 1984)

2. Shashi Tharoor , Nehru; The invention of India( New Delhi: Penguin, 2003)
3. Mani Shankar Aiyar, Confessions of a Secular Fundamentalist (New Delhi: Penguin,2004)

WORKS BY JAWAHARLAL NEHRU

Soviet Russia: Some Random Sketches and Impressions
Glimpses of World History
An Autobiography
Letters from a Father to a Daughter
Towards Freedom
The Discovery of India
A Bunch of Old Letters
Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, first and second volumes
India’s Foreign Policy: Selected Speeches
Selected Speeches, September 1946 to April 1961

OTHER RECOMMENDED WORKS

M.J Akbar, Nehru: The Making of India (London: Viking, 1988)
Frank Moraes, Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography (New York: Macmillan, 1956)
Rafiq Zakaria, ed., A Study of Nehru (Bombay: Times of India, 2nd rev. ed., 1960)

REDISCOVERING NEHRU

2010-02-19T19:45:00.004+05:30

‘You don’t change the course of history by turning the faces of portraits to the wall’- This treatise on Jawaharlal Nehru is an objective assessment by a critic turned admirer, intended to examine this global statesman of the twentieth century whose impeccable stature is often buried among the scathing criticisms on his lifestyle and various policy decisions. As sufficient literature is available on the early life of Jawaharlal (‘precious jewel’), his classic Victorian upbringing and of his family, I would deal with a few instances which helped me rediscover this ‘moody reserved aristocrat’ who is often known as ‘a man of contradictions’.

Jawaharlal was often described by his critics as the last Englishman left in India. Some British journalists went ahead even further and called him ‘the last Viceroy’. It’s a known fact that Nehru was a pampered child surrounded by every imaginable creature comfort. (‘not only did he have electricity and running water in the house,-- both unheard-of luxuries for most of his compatriots—but the family home was equipped with such unusual perquisites as a private swimming pool and a tennis court’. It is said that his father, Motilal Nehru, ordered the latest toys for him from England, including the newly invented tricycle and bicycle). He attended the prestigious British public school Harrow, (the same school which educated Winston Spencer Churchill), Trinity College Cambridge and then completing law from London School of Economics(LSE) in 1912. By Nehru’s own admission as a young man, “I had imbibed most of the prejudices of Harrow and Cambridge and in my likes and dislikes I was perhaps more an Englishman than an Indian... And so I returned to India as much prejudiced in favour of England and the English as it was possible for an Indian to be”. But in reality, ‘he was the finest product of the syncretic traditions to which a twentieth century Indian was heir’. Merely belittling his achievements on the basis of these resentments would be a grave injustice to a man ‘who could converse with a Punjabi peasant as naturally as with a Cambridge Professor’. A close observation into his life reveals that Nehru was not second to anyone in his patriotism and devotion to the nation.

‘TRYST WITH DESTINY’

It is quite surprising to know that the future ‘Light of Asia’ and the’ Jewel of India’- who rose to be the keeper of the national flame upon the Mahatma’s assassination- never exhibited any signs of extraordinary success and had an undistinguished school and college life. He had to work hard to overcome his shyness in public (which of course he did) which later paved way for his oratorical prowess leaving an indelible mark on the minds of humankind. At midnight on 14 August, Jawaharlal made one of his most movingly appropriate speeches and, in the process, coined an undying phrase:

“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity”

On hearing the death of Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru rushed to the Birla house, bent his head down and wept like a child. But within a few hours of the murder, pushed by Mountbatten in front of his microphone, Nehru made another touching speech mingling his heavy sense of loss with thanksgiving and a fresh call to duty:

“...the light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere...the light has gone out, i said, and yet I was wrong. For the light that shone in this country was no ordinary light...that light represented something more than the immediate present, it represented the living, the eternal truths, reminding us of the right path, drawing us from error, taking this ancient country to freedom... A great disaster is a symbol to us to remember all the big things of life and forget the small things of which we have thought too much. In his death he has reminded us of the big things of life, the living truth, and if we remember that, then it will be well with India...”

Nehru is often misunderstood as the man behind the Partition of our country resulting in mass violence, killing and rioting which uprooted the lives of some seventeen million people and changed their fortunes forever. Recent research throws light into the minute details of the instances which led to this unavoidable tragedy and the major reasons can be best summed up in Mani Shankar Aiyars’s words,” ...the Congress unwittingly left the field entirely to its opponents when all its leaders went behind bars in the Quit India movement (1942). Nehru himself emerged from a three year incarceration only months before the elections that commenced in December 1945 and continued into 1946. Second, the transformation of the Muslim league under Jinnah from a party merely pleading for protection and the privileges for the Muslim minority in the Hindu-majority India into a party demanding an independent and sovereign homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent. And third, the unbending will, the inflexible determination and ineffable charisma of one man: the Quaid-e-Azam” (Muhammad Ali Jinnah). The speech Jawaharlal made on 3rd June 1947 along with Jinnah and the Sikh leader Baldev Singh, broadcasting the news of their acceptance of partition brought out the best of his intentions: “We are little men serving a great cause, but because that cause is great something of that greatness falls upon us also. Mighty forces are at work in the world and in India...It is my hope that in this way we shall reach that united India sooner than otherwise and that she will have a stronger and more secure foundation... The India of geography, of history and tradition, the India of our minds and hearts, cannot change”. So ‘to see him as the wrecker-in-chief of the country’s last chance at avoiding partition is, therefore, to overstate the case’. As his biographer, M.J.Akbar put it, “Pakistan was created by Jinnah’s will and Britain’s willingness’ and not by Nehru’s wilfulness”.

AT THE HELM OF AFFAIRS

World affairs had always been Nehru’s favourite subject and ‘from the days when he drafted resolutions on international affairs for the annual sessions of the Congress, he enjoyed an unchallenged standing in the country as the maker and enunciator of policy. His broad-mindedness, foreign travels and contacts, and astute judgement of the world situation meant that Jawaharlal had no serious rivals within the congress party on international questions. Gandhi, whose own concerns were primarily domestic, was content to leave the field of foreign affairs entirely to his protégé ‘.In one analyst’s words, ’Nehru’s policies were India’s, and vice-versa’. It is said that, Indian foreign policy emanated largely from the head and heart of one man. Nehru reached the zenith of world influence by 1953-54 travelling widely, forming a policy of nonalignment (along with the Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito and the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser), addressing the Commonwealth prime ministers conclave, arranging for the Afro-Asian Bandung conference in 1955. Nehru was always in the forefront raising his voice against explotation, colonialisation and imperialist tendencies thereby assuring the support of India to the destitute nations of Asia and Africa.

FROM PEDESTAL TO PITFALLS

Declaring a cease-fire and taking the Kashmir issue to the United Nations as against the advice of his Home minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel, pursuing a socialist economic policy that led India to the abysmally low GDP growth rate (the Hindu rate of growth, which was less than 3 percent) when the other developing countries of Asia were growing at a much faster pace at 10-12 percent and undermining the threat from China which led to the war in 1962 where India was defeated in humiliating terms, are the three major pitfalls that we observe when Nehru was at the helm of affairs. Regarding the Kashmir issue, ‘from the Indian nationalistic point of view this was a gross error, since it converted what was thus far a domestic Indian problem, into an international dispute. Jawaharlal’s decision to appeal to the UN was a blunder that snatched diplomatic stalemate from the jaws of imminent military victory’. The Kashmir dispute hung over India’s head like the proverbial sword of Damocles and the issue continues to ‘bedevil relations with Pakistan’. It is also sad to know that a man of Nehru’s intelligence and stature in world affairs was easily carried away by the words of flattery showered on him by the Chinese Leaders and thus could not anticipate the imminent threat.
Much has been hyped about Nehru’s relations with women especially Edwina Mountbatten. In the words of the much respected historian and Nehru’s most comprehensive biographer, the late, Sarvepalli Gopal,” Many women, drawn by his charm or driven by snobbery, made claims on him and, especially after Kamala’s death (in 1936), sought to thrust themselves into his life; and he did not always firmly resist their gross ardours. Yet, despite occasional dalliances, Kamala was the only woman who ever meant anything to him; and he kept her image unsullied”.

NEHRU: THE ENIGMA

To a whole generation of Indians ‘Nehru was not so much a leader as a companion who expressed and made clearer a particular view of the present and vision of the future’. The combination of intellectual and moral authority was unique in his time. ‘If Gandhi imbued the national movement with a moral tone, Nehru gave the first strivings of free India a noble purpose’. Nehru described science as ‘the very texture of life’ and literally gave a free hand to great visionaries and institution builders like Homi J Bhabha, thus laying the foundation for the great era of Indian Science to come. ‘He consolidated a nation, trained it for democracy, constructed a model for economic development and set the country on the path of growth’. A man who nearly spent ten years of his lifetime in eight different jails(a grand total of 3262 days), the incorruptible visionary, a politician above politics, the reserved aristocrat who had a deep emotional bond with the masses, ‘a person who wished to confront problems with the heart of Mahatma and the hand of Lincoln’(on his desk Nehru kept a golden statuette of Mahatma Gandhi and a bronze cast of the hand of Abraham Lincoln, which he would occasionally touch for comfort)- Jawaharlal Nehru lived up to the expectations envisioned by the Greatest man of this century and proved to be his worthy successor. Though, as Dr.Shashi Tharoor observes,’ the principal pillars of Nehru’s legacy to India— democratic institution-building, staunch pan-Indian secularism, socialist economics at home and a foreign policy of non-alignment – stands fundamentally contested today’, Nehru’s impact on India is too great not to be re-examined periodically. I end this analysis with Tharoor’s words,” His legacy is our’s, whether we agree with everything he stood for or not. What we are today, both for good and for ill, we owe in a great measure to one man”- and this is Nehru’s story.

BRINJAL BYTES

2010-02-18T23:23:00.003+05:30

There are several issues that arouse the civil society in India into action these days- the case of Ruchika’s death, Shah Rukh Khan’s inadvertent comment on IPL and its unfortunate consequence and now the humble eggplant!! The great furore started when GEAC (Genetic Engineering Approval Committee) gave thumbs up sign on October 14 last year for the genetically modified variety of our desi brinjal. Minister for Environment was under a lot of pressure and he held discussions extensively. Finally the government has opted for a moratorium on the issue. Simply put, we can be assured that Bt brinjal will not find its way into our dinner tables anytime any soon. Most of us would have just paid a cursory look as the issue filled up the columns of news. It is always a little tedious to decipher such issues out of the argots of science. So, here is the whole saga simply put. At the outset, a humble disclaimer that this is not a lecture on biology. Rather, it is about the pet topic of all civil societies- it is a matter of choice!

The eggplant has its origin in India. It has been cultivated for the last 4000 years! It has grown and evolved into more than 2000 varieties. There are local varieties as well as hybrids with desired qualities. The area under cultivation is 5 lakh hectares and the total production stands at 82 lakh metric tonnes. In short, the diversity of this plant in our country is huge and it is economically important too. In the last two decades, a particular pest has infected the plant in most places and has caused huge economic losses. By 2000, Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company) came up with the idea of producing Bt Brinjal. Bt Brinjal has a gene from a bacteria inserted to it that will prevent the plant from contracting the disease caused by the shoot borer pest.

The questions that we have to ask are:
1. Is Bt Brinjal the only option out?
2. Is it safe? Does it have any deleterious effect on health and environment?
3. Is it cost effective?

Bt Brinjal is not the only option out, In fact our farmers are more familiar with other organic/ mechanical aspects of farming through which pest management is effected, i.e., mass uprooting of affected crops and so on.

The second one is the big question. As it is an edible product, long term assessment on effects on farming, health and environment need to be taken. When you release such a modified crop out in the fields, it will outbreed with other varieties locally. This will definitely affect the biodiversity. Also, small and marginal farmers will not be able to provide the minimum 200 metres for seed planting area to prevent out breeding. Moreover, the result of research on health does not say much about long term effects. The plant has not even been grazed upon by animals. Our earlier experiences with Bt Cotton had adverse health effects on men and cattle and so did Bt corn, when it was introduced in Philippines. Our Ministry of health has to conduct independent research with institutes and study on this issue.

The third question pertains to the economics of the story. The company has offered a pricing principle based on cost-recovery principle. This cost will be high as it covers the cost of research as well as aggressive marketing. Earlier, the company had taken its right to pricing to the court in the case of Bt cotton. It is difficult to believe that it will be any different this time.

Finally, it is the simple matter of choice on the part of our farmers whether they want to cultivate this crop or not. GM crops cannot be simply foisted on unwilling, ignorant and bewildered masses. So, until clarity on the research comes, let us munch on baingan masala- the home grown variety- desi style!!

DEMOCRACY MAULED!! (Published in the 'HINDU' on 21 March,2010)

2010-02-17T14:05:00.007+05:30

Sixty years ago, in the land of impossible diversity and incompatible gods, a democracy was established. There was always a raging doubt as to whether such a democratic set up would thrive here. India proved herself; as long as we agreed on how to disagree, we could amiably live within a civic society in democratic India. Here, there was no fear of the majority hijacking the minority because as Shashi Tharoor famously remarked, we are all a minority in the incredibly diverse India. We did have our moments when we fell down, when the more powerful tried to gag the rest, but India passed that litmus test too. Here, there are no actors, only matinee idols to be worshipped; cricket is not just a game but a religion. Indians have long since adopted an Englishman’s game as their own, enjoyed with rapture their hero’s triumph over evil; appalling the world outside and enjoying their simple life; most of which is spent in a far away fantasy land. Indians were the ultimate consummate dreamers and they lived in a land that the outside world found impossible to decipher. All the while, the Indian had the power to choose or so we believed until our precious democracy was mauled by tigers!!

The tiger brigade has kidnapped Mumbai’s imagination, ravished its openness and with its various ugly variants dictated terms to us- on what we should think and do. They have forcefully taken away the only thing that an average Indian takes to his humble abode every day- his choice. They have decided for us what we should see or not see. Deepa Mehta’s ‘Fire’ with a story based on lesbian sentiments was degrading in the eyes of Indian sensibilities and her film ‘Water’ apparently portrayed Hinduism irreverently. So, the only thing left to do was vandalise and terrorise people and prevent the film from being screened. It seems the censor board is a non entity when the brigade finds something derogatory. And when it finds something derogatory, the brigade itself produces an action flick for maha entertainment in our streets. Lights, camera, action- sena on the streets, vandalising, terrorising, torching. Cut! Perfect shot. Nothing works like flexing the muscle!!

Anybody who had enough nerve to speak his mind has not been spared whenever they did the unpardonable in the Sena’s eyes. Sachin Tendulkar could not say that he was an Indian first and foremost, Karan Johar could not use the word Bombay in his film ‘Wake Up Sid’ (thank God! Mani Ratnam made his film years ago), Zee TV had to pay a hefty price when they screened the skit “Uncle, protect me” at an award function. James Laine risks arrest for writing his take on Shivaji and our own Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute had to bear the brunt for giving access to Laine to do his research. And in this savagery was lost something profound – the timeless literature that stood testimony to our civilisation and what remains of it now. The brigade vandalised the pitch of the stadia where India- Pakistan matches were to be held- first in Wankhade and then in Ferozshah Kotla in the last decade. Thanks to them, Mumbai is as unsafe as SWAT as far as Pakistani or Australian cricketers are concerned. The Sena is listed as a terrorist outfit in Pakistan!

Unfortunately, some of the Indian’s themselves aren’t safe in Mumbai. Those who have committed heresy have to undergo the humiliating process of apologising for hurting the marathi pride and prove his patriotism. And patriotism means show a robust hostility to Pakistan, put Marathi first, India second- strictly in that order. And Shah Rukh Khan did not clearly know this rule. So he had to face the wrath. I am not saying that Shah Rukh knows about the nuances of India’s Foreign policy when he said,”...they (Pakistanis) are very good neighbours”. I am also giving space for Laine’s inaccurate description of history and his irresponsible scholarship. These things are for experts to decide. But as differences crop up, we need to discuss, debate and understand that there is possibly more than one truism in this country.

What silenced the roar of the tiger was the mass action of solidarity exhibited by us- the people. We did not come out to support Shah Rukh because we concurred with his ideas. We did not defend his ideas; we defended his rights to put forth his ideas. Earlier the sena described Shah Rukh and Aamir as two idiots. Now they have made themselves the third!!

MERCHANTS OF DEATH

2010-02-10T22:07:00.002+05:30

I recently stumbled on Harsh Mander’s seminal book on the aftermath of the Gujarat pogrom, ‘Fear and Forgiveness’. An upright IAS officer, Mander left his illustrious career of twenty years when he witnessed the macabre drama of death that was played out in Gujarat in 2002. Then, he embarked on a pilgrimage in search of truth and justice.

I have never visited Gujarat and I have never witnessed anything close to a communal riot. I realise that I have passed a larger part of my life in a safe cocoon, oblivious to the raging inferno of hatred and violence that is a constant presence in my fellow countrymen’s lives. I have never bothered about surnames, never noticed the vermillion paste or the burqas of the people around me. But I realised that it was precisely one’s name, beliefs and faith that made an entire community outcast and impure and their villages, unkind abattoirs. We all have multiple identities- we are so many things at the same time. We choose to emphasise some and live by our convictions. I am a Hindu,an Atheist, with roots in Kerala and Tamilnadu, a woman, a polyglot and Indian- I do not have to explain why I am all this. I believe my fellow Indians by virtue of being different in each of the above mentioned affiliations- political and religious- are still Indians. They do not have to explain why they are so either.

It was heart wrenching to hear a young girl describe rape as stripping women naked and burning them; to think of her interrupted childhood and her innocence snatched away from her. For the survivors, life is a battle against forgetting. Forgetting the fact that their neighbours devoured on their women, the kids who grew up with their own children pushed the dagger into their loved ones, they burned and looted their dreams and their hopes. These sons of a lesser God saw their lifetime crumble before their own eyes; their future frozen forever. I do not know how much a human being can forgive and forget.

The spectre of death dances before my eyes, I can hear screams inside my head. It makes me angry with my own country to think that the perpetrators roam free even today. The mastermind behind these gruesome killings was elected barely six months after the pogrom to power, he was the best performing chief minister three times in a row according to a magazine and is also likely to be a National party’s Prime ministerial candidate in the next general elections. Here, it is instructive to note that Hitler was democratically elected. The man in question proudly displayed his 56inch chest (chappan chchatti) a symbol of macho masculinity. He openly challenged any higher authority to send him to the gallows if they dared. As the Tehelka tape (an example of brilliant investigative journalism) exposes a Hindutva worker actually said that when hungry men go on a rampage, they may devour on fruits (referring to the rape of Muslim women). The chief minister of this state is still referred to as an incarnation of Lord Ram by none other than administrative officers in the highest echelons. A district collector actually touched his feet before accepting a fund for development from him. Since when did Indians start worshipping marauders and murderers?

As Harsh Mander succinctly points out, no riot situation can go on after the initial few hours without the connivance of the administrative and police machinery. Not only did the vanguards of security turn a blind eye, they abetted the crime by encouraging the mad brigade. The executioners came with computer print outs of the name and address of the prospective victims. The genocide was pre planned; the ethnic cleansing was complete.

The great raging inferno has engulfed many lives. Forgiveness cannot be imposed on those living. As Mander says, “Forgiveness to be authentic and genuinely healing has to be voluntary, informed and empowered choice of the survivors.” It is in this context that his unique concept of Nyayagrah needs to be appreciated. It is basically a fight for justice with the simple dictum “sach bolo, saaf bolo” (speak the truth and speak it clearly). Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can. Here, there is no way to peace; peace is the way. As fellow Indians, we should never regret the singular deficiency of courage to speak up when life demands that. And this is the moment. Our voice should speak for the voiceless, our pens should fight for them. In the end, we remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. And we cannot remain silent now.

MISTRESS OF TALES

2010-02-05T21:48:00.003+05:30

Many of you may have heard the story of Scheherazade- how she captivated the Sultan by weaving enchanting tales for 1001 days. Recently I stumbled upon the story in Shashi Tharoor’s delightful book,” Bookless in Baghdad”. It took me back to my own Arabian nights. As a child, I was truant and my mother had given upon me. The most onerous task was to get me to eat. I would simply pick out potatoes and yam as I did not like tubers. I detested the tang of tomato and the mucilage of okra. Onion and chillies brought tears into my eyes, leafy vegetables made me feel as though I was eating grass. Pumpkin was too sweet and bitter gourd too bitter. My mother had drained her resources (to creatively cook sabji) and patience. There was only one way to make me eat- call in the Great Dame to regale me with stories.

And thus began my Arabian Nights for Breakfast! There was a little less than twenty minutes in the morning to make me have my breakfast before packing me off to school. Every morning, the perfunctory story telling would begin like a ritual. Sometimes, it was the story in the jungle-not the ones we all read in The Tinkle about the lion king and the wicked fox. Each story was to be found only in her head. She would tell me fables of her own making- about the greedy sparrow who could not drink payasam, of the wicked daughter-in-law who drove her poor mother-in-law out only to find that she was blessed by angels, of the ignorant dehati who went to sleep under a kalpavriksha and so on. Then at other times, she would tell me a children’s version of Chilapathikaram. When she had finished with all the mundane stories, she would begin her masterpiece- a children’s version of Ramayan- how a dacoit turned into a sage and how the Gods came down, about the selfish Kaikeyi, wicked Mandara, Sabari and Guha, Marich and Jatayu. The tale of the brave Bali, doughty Hanuman, Jambavan-panoply of characters would fleet past before my eyes. I would gape when she came to the odious Shurpanaka and Kumbhkarna. I would giggle when I heard how they woke up the sleeping giant and how a monkey wreaked havoc in Ravana’s kingdom. Ram was only a part of it-Ramayan to me was the most wonderful fairytale –complete with love, promises, betrayal and resplendent with loads of magic. Her stories were never evanescent.

When I could decipher the loops and doodles on paper as words, a gateway to a wonderful world was opened to me. In the school library, I searched for stories-enchanting tales with loads of magic. I travelled with elves and pixies, goblins and fairies. I read with open eyed wonder- the story of Rip Wan Winkle who forgot to wake up (it was the west’s Kumbhkarna). I loved the fairy tales because they had beautiful pictures as much as they had beautiful stories. I woke up into a dream of stories. Then, I graduated to Enid Blyton and snooped in Kirrin Islands with the famous five sleuths. I lapped up the Bobbsey twins, Hardy boys and Nancy Drew. I burned the midnight oil travelling with Hercule Poirot; I could never sleep properly in those nights for fear of dying.

I envied Tom sawyer wondering how he could get away with his pranks while I was always admonished. The Invisible man haunted me for some time as I thought he was actually there in our dark store room. I cried after reading little women, I could not go after the first few pages of Jane Eyre (as I thought she lived in an unkind world). I loved Cathy of the Wuthering Heights and repeatedly roamed the moors with her and Heathcliff. I could not understand why Hardy’s stories began only half way through the book. I have travelled to arid deserts and snow clad mountains among Afghans and Russians, who spoke English to me.

I have travelled very far from the Arabian nights of my life. But even today, I look through reams of paper to find a captivating tale. To me, every story has magic in it. Life without stories is an arid desert. The ebullient great dame was not just a cornucopia of stories- she actually gave me wings and stoked my capacious imagination. I still fly to my magic world whenever I open a book. And I still like my breakfast with spoonfuls of Hosseini or Rushdie. I don’t like sabji.

*The Great Dame is my paternal aunt who brought me up.