Guldasta

A bouquet of flowers picked along the way ….

India. How rich? OR How poor? September 8, 2007

Filed under: Ethics and Values,India,life,wealth — gurdas @ :

In the wake of our recent economic successes, it is common for Indian dailies to have headlines that scream “India now has 1000 millionaires” or “the stock market added/removed 1000 million dollars to/from investor’s wealth”. Great, right? That will set a few thousand of my countrypeople hurrying towards their million milestone. As if not getting there is some sin. And all this time these millionaires or their lesser cousins, the wannabe millionaires, remain oblivious to news like “India has 220 million people below the poverty line”. Bereft of big brother phrases, it simply means that 220 million people in India struggle to get clean water, recommended dietary input and a roof on their head. Let us not even mention stuff like education and respectable employment. And if you are naive enough to mention justice and equal opportunity, be warned that it will generate a donkey like reaction – motionless & silent or wild kicking of limbs accompanied by hee-hawing; depending on who is listening to your ‘stupidity’.

Here are some facts to slap-end the starry eyed, all is hunky-dory view of India which majority of city dwelling Indians posses (like some genetic disease):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_India
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0626/p01s02-wosc.html
http://www.pon.nic.in/open/depts/ecostat/census/HOMEPAGE.HTM
http://www.censusindia.net/results/

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So, what is the official definition of “poverty line”?
It is based on a 1970s criterion of money required to buy 2400 calories of food!! So, as per today’s figures, if you earned above Rs. 600/- per month, you are not considered below poverty line. Shockingly, the government assumes all your money is spent on food. Based on these assumptions we say that 22% of our population is below poverty line. If we were to be more realistic, the below poverty line figure could be 90% of our population. What does that say about us?

Links to poverty line definition and some number crunching:

A post on the krishworld blog
http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/mar/ddz-povline.htm
http://mospi.nic.in/compenv2000_appendix%206.htm
http://alternativeperspective.blogspot.com/2005/10/being-not-poor-in-india-what-does-it.html
http://www.wakeupcall.org/administration_in_india/poverty_line.php

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And how do we compare with say America? Well, the 1999 data for US says they have 12.6% (37 million) people “living in poverty”. While there is no justification to being comfortable with one’s misery simply because the person beside you is also miserable, I am sure reading that 37million figure made the Indian poverty look not-so-bad. But wait, poverty in America is not the same as poverty in India.

A poor American is described as “has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a VCR, a microwave, a stereo, and a color TV. He is able to obtain medical care. His home is in good repair and is not over-crowded. By his own report, his family is not hungry, and in the last year he had sufficient funds to meet all his essential needs.”!!
Read this for more:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_20_51/ai_56220678
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1941247.cms

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While we continue to pat our backs with statements like “India has arrived on the world stage”, let us stop and ponder on whether we are asking the necessary questions.
The din created by people asking “How rich are we?” is matched by the eerie silence of the question “How poor are we?” Statistics, true to its image of being the devil’s whip, will hardly give the complete picture. We are so bombarded by numbers that there is no time to ponder over what is not stated and the effect of the missing.

To arrive at the right answer it is imperative that we ask the right question. Asking “how rich are we?” serves the vanguard of India’s rich. It glaringly leaves out the poor. Keep looking and working on the front and middle lines and you are bound to leave the trailers far behind. In other words, the rich-poor divide will increase. Asking “how poor are we?” does help focus on trailers and move their kind ahead, but only so much. End result – we will become a society of mediocres.

The preferred path is doing both at an optimum mix. For a country like India, it definitely means doing the “how poor are we?” more frequently than “how rich are we?” Simply because it is far more important to get water to a thirsty mouth than getting Pepsi into the refrigerator. Sadly, the equation is opposite in India.

 

The Art and Nomenclature of potholes on India’s roads September 6, 2007

Filed under: Automobiles,India — gurdas @ :

Driving on Indian roads presents a unique unsurpassable joy – courtesy potholes. No, this is no sarcastic remark. Once you have adjusted to the idea of potholes, the whole thing suddenly metamorphoses into a game. And our clever road department has potholes for all levels of ‘players’. Infact, I am pretty much sure, though I am yet to verify this, we have a Special Purpose Task Force (STF) for potholes in India. This group works within the larger framework of road transport ministry. But lest you think otherwise, the pothole STF is not for greenhorns. Only the very best potheads get to work in it.

Below I present a handful of the many gems crafted by our industrious pothole STF.

First on the list is the easy to create and innocuous looking, but very naughty, ‘Jalapeno Miss Daisy’ pothole. It is found bang center of the fast lane and takes by surprise anyone new to the road. There is no way you can miss it unless you knew about its existence and changed lanes well in time. The formula is – create a pothole with diameter greater than the width of the widest production car and with lesser space on its sides than the width of the narrowest production car. Veterans NEED to be respected and this pothole gets you loads of respect from the rookie. Also, given the impossibility of missing it once you enter Daisy’s suction zone (like a black hole), this is also a great way of punishing the incorrigible honker. The idea is simple – keep the honker on your tail and have him getting so hot in the head that he is ready to carve a sunroof in his car. Then just before you enter the suction zone, sidestep into the slow lane and give the ‘please pass me’ sign. The honker, senseless with rage, will finally see victory and rush to fill the gap created by you; flooring the accelerator until he realises the trap. Too late. Plump Miss Daisy gives him a nice rap on the knuckle. To add insult to injury, if you are the violent types, look into the honker’s eyes (he will be looking at you) and smile as you cut back into the fast lane while he is still in the pothole. Justice delivered.

Then there is the ‘Scotch Bonnet Sandwiched One Tyre Passby’ pothole. Here you have two potholes so placed that the only way to avoid them is to put your tyre in the space between them. And the space between them is always equal to one tyre width (tread arc width for the technically inclined). For newbies this pothole is great fun. Because of the opportunity to learn steering precision control without too much punishment. The more your tyre overlaps the space, the less you feel the pothole. A perfect fit means you cheated the pothole of all its poison. It is not uncommon to see drivers pump their fists in jubilation when they do a perfect score on Scotch Bonnet. Now where in the world other than India do you get that kind of fun?

The next level is ‘Red Savina Sandwiched One Tyre With Swerve Passby’. Same as above, only that you cannot drive straight through the gap zone (gap refers to parts where the road exists!). Once you reach the periphery of the first pothole you need to swerve just enough to keep the tyre on the road and yet avoid one of your tyres (usually rear) entering the next pothole. Great fun! Who cares what happens to traffic on the other side? Maybe you just drove an old uncle into the pavement or worse, killed his chance of winning his own pothole battle. Don’t you fret one bit. Everyone’s a student on Indian roads because the potholes keep changing shape, size, location and number. I tell you, our roads department knew about road games before the word got coined. Are Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft listening?

Then there is the ‘Dorset Naga One Tyre Salsa Passby’. Derived from Red Savina but then you have three potholes and have to swerve twice to keep your car from getting dunked. Unless you are an expert on Red Savina, do not try this. Novices tend to overestimate their skills and jump into the Salsa action. Only to find their skills not matching the challenge and end up in one big mess at the third pothole (which is almost always the largest and deepest of all three). They either have to take their car to a garage or worse, take another road occupant to the hospital.

If you have mastered the above three types, welcome to the club of ‘front tyre masters’. Members of this club can put any one front tyre into any possible line. Even if most of them failed their colouring lessons in school because they could not keep the crayon inside the line. Infact most of them have failed art classes.

Next in line is the ‘Bhut Jolokia Front And Rear End Double Jiggle’ pothole. A deadly variation of above types but with the potholes spaced at distances less than the car wheelbase. Now when you swerve to keep your front tyre on the road, unless you keep within tolerance, your rear tyre will enter the pothole the front tyre just escaped. Not many front tyre masters realize the exponential challenge this represents until they have failed a couple of times. Power steering comes in handy here. And you really have to know how not to give a damn to other people right to the road. Basically, the rear end of your vehicle will twist such that Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie will look like an American cowboy practice session.

A unique kind is the ‘Capsaicin Meteorite Sucker’ pothole. Easiest to create – just dig up the whole road section. This is the mother of all potholes and will suck you in come what may. A true scorcher and amazing Zen teacher it is. There is no way you can avoid entering it unless your vehicle has an E.T. staring out over the dashboard. The only way to negotiate the Sucker is to enter slowly and exit slowly. Smart Alecs who come in fast, never leave. The Sucker is deep and dangerous and they take a day’s rest with broken axles, ankles and ego. Lately, I have seen some players managing to beat the Sucker. It is unfair outplay since they drive in the lane of the opposite direction traffic. But the road guys are catching up fast. Last Sunday, Mr. Patel, our local roadie (as we lovingly call our road planners), announced that the Sucker will now cover lanes in both directions. Take that.

Remember all this pothole fun is possible only when you have 4 lane roads with a divider to physically separate traffic into two opposite directions. In other words, potholes are signs of our growing infrastructure and justify our demand for a seat in the UN Security Council. Also, I wonder why we still do not have temples to pay homage to our roadies. Especially when they are responsible for so many people getting close, real close, to God.

Non-Indians will never understand how vital these potholes are to upholding democracy in India. Like when they decided to level all roads in the locality I live. It was mayhem on the roads. People accustomed to potholes went berserk, and started seeing imaginary potholes and drove their vehicle into the pavement, lamppost and what-not. A vote was held and people turned out in large numbers to vote for moonscape roads. The road department relented and came up with a new pothole plan. That has kept people busy and away from their frightening selves.

Last month, however, we were faced with a new challenge to our pothole democracy. Bajaj Tempo, the ultimate symbol of fast moving Indians, requested F1 central committee to give India a circuit and also introduce potholes to increase the excitement. Before a healthy debate could be had, the old boys (Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, Renault, etc.) shouted foul and the request was buried. Cowards! they knew that with potholes introduced they stood no chance against Bajaj Tempo’s 3-wheeler entry. Man, we learn how to handle potholes at the age of 7. Remember standing in the space between dad and the headlight of your Bajaj Chetak and driving (in your mind) as your dad did the pothole routine? So, while the Schumachers of this world were learning to tie their shoelaces, Srivastavs of this world were negotiating potholes at the speed of scooter.

I hope to have brought some respect to our potholes and help you realise they are works of art.

Feel free to let me know if you have more pothole types or pictures to add.
Or maybe you have a pothole story worth telling…..
– – – – –

Just in case you were wondering about all those fancy pothole names:
http://www.slashfood.com/2007/02/20/guinness-names-worlds-hottest-pepper/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20058096/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale
http://www.thescarms.com/hotstuff/pepperfacts.htm

 

When I see a beggar August 29, 2007

Filed under: Ethics and Values,India,life,love — gurdas @ :

In India, beggars are more visible than honesty. And it seems I have come a full circle on how I view beggars. Long back I used to give generously, then I held back ferociously and now I give selectively.

It is not uncommon for people to see beggars as a nuisance. They are not to blame fully since we have this sea of beggars. They can be found at traffic lights, outside shopping malls and temples amongst other places. But surely we can do better than getting agitated at the very sight of a beggar? Not all of them deserve our anger. Remember, we see more beggars in India because we have created more beggars in India. Decades of government apathy, social boycott and lack of opportunities have led to their creation. Agreed, many beggars are cheats who chose to take the easy path of begging rather than toiling.

Some of us have been duped by beggars who extracted money by concocting lies about hardship, hunger, and even death of a relative who needs to be cremated. Once in a while the dirty beggar’s lie is exposed. Then we return from such incidents promising never to give alms. But how does that change anything for the old crippled beggar who has reached a point where only mercy can keep him breathing? When I see such a beggar I feel ashamed thinking of how little my country and I do to better their lives.

Yesterday, while coming out of a multiplex, I looked into the face of aged, wrinkled beggar. I saw exhaustion, sorrow, and despair in her face. With cars honking for way, I could not stop and ask if she needed anything. Maybe I could have parked somewhere ahead and walked back. But my little self chose to do otherwise. Her face remained with me for quite sometime. I failed to make the right decision.

And I now find myself begging for answers.

Let me ask you: When you are approached by a beggar who deserves your help and you chose to look the other way, who is the lesser beggar? The one who is begging or the one who is refusing? Because the only reason to refuse, IMHO, is when you are a greater beggar and need help more than the beggar in front of you.

 

Lessons from Life : Sai Baba Episode August 7, 2007

Filed under: India,life — gurdas @ :

In October 2004, work took me Nasik, a city I had never visited. To reach Nasik from Baroda, I preferred going through Mumbai. A direct rail connection was not available and 12 hour travel by bus is not my idea of safe and relaxed travel. So, I decided to take a night train from Baroda which would drop me at Dadar (a locality in Mumbai) at 4:30am. And from Dadar take the 6:30am bus that drops me at Nasik 4 hours later.
 
I left office at the eleventh hour and rushed to Jyotsnaben’s residence. Jyotsnaben runs a meal service and I have been eating at her place for the last few years. Her food might waver in quality on occasions, but she invariably more than makes up with a healthy dose of affection. Truly, she serves more than one can pay for. Even with a fortune. As I rushed through my dinner, I was telling her of my travel to Nasik and she happened to mention that since I am going all the way to Nasik, I should also plan to visit Shirdi and pay homage to Sai Baba. I replied to Jyotsnaben’s suggestion with haste and maybe even some disaffection. I said something like “who has the time for a visit to Shirdi?” Something inside me shouted “mistake!” but since she did not react, I too kept silent almost wishing she had given me an excuse to undo that thought.
 
Food over, I proceeded to the railway station and boarded the train. I was asleep in no time and was woken by the clamouring of passengers eager to get down at Dadar. I hurriedly collected my senses and belongings and soon found myself yawning and stretching on the platform and proceeded towards the exit that would take me to the bus stop.

The early morning air was balmy and one could feel a lightness and life in it. Mumbai probably never sleeps and true to this image there were people scrambling about even at this early hour. There was a certain bounce in my walk, helped by the idea of travel and the wonderful FM music on air. What else could I have asked for? Hardly aware of the luggage I was carrying, in no time, I reached the spot where I was to board the bus. My eagerness to be on the move made waiting a less than exciting idea. Or maybe it was because I wanted to walk some more? But the salubrious morning had plans of which I had no clue. I looked around for a place to settle down because the bus was due only 2 hours later. As I scanned the area, my eye caught sight of a small inviting structure with stairs in front. It was under a tree, unoccupied and ideally located along the walkway. That means a ring side view of people as they hurry about their morning. Perfect!

The absence of natural light prevented a clear view of what the structure contained. Upon reaching the spot I could make out that it was some kind of temple. I settled down, stretched my legs and continued to enjoy the FM music. The DJ was wishing good morning in her honeyed voice. Good morning! I replied, almost aloud. She went on to feed details of the water pipe that had burst and how it was causing hardship to residents of that locality. My attention moved on to the hawkers who had appeared to take their negotiated places on the walkway. The shop nearest to me belonged to a paan-wallah and it was fun to see him arrange his wares with military precision. In no time, red, blue, green, and yellow boxes announced he was ready for customers. Out came the betel leaves, the spittoon and with that ambled along his first customer. Mumbai was ready to receive another day of spittle trajectories, I thought, and giggled. Beside the paan-wallah appeared the newspaper-wallah. The rainbow effect of the paanshop now starkly contrasted with the almost Black&White newspapers. And it just wasn’t about colour. While the paan depicts an ancient India, the English dailies portrayed our new ambitions. India and Indians had truly arrived at the world stage. Lock, stock, paan and barrel.

To add to my joy, the morning milieu added a tea vendor to its order. Tea! I said to myself, sprang to my feet and crossed the road eager to sip some of that invigorating liquid. The first cup disappeared in no time and I needed a second to relish the indescribable joys of a well brewed cup of tea. Cup in hand I ambled back to my rest and heaved onto the stairs with my eyes focused on balancing the tea in the cup.

Many more vendors appeared to occupy the walkway. One had shirts and scarves on sale. Another had footwear. I passed the next thirty minutes juggling my thoughts catalysed by the drama around me and the DJ’s sweet banter and love marinated songs. Soon the sun had peeked through the darkness and there was a cozy light around. The need for a third cup of tea made itself felt. I got up and crossed the road. This time the tea vendor smiled, recognising me as good business. I smiled back, paid for the cup and hurried back to my spot.

The shock came when I reached to the stairs which had been bearing me for the last 60 odd minutes.
 
The stairs and the structure was a temple of Sai Baba.
 
For a few seconds I just stared. And in those moments, I was grounded into dust. My Self felt washed away and in some strange manner loved. My nonchalance of the last evening flashed by and I rarely felt ‘smaller’ in my life. Once I got through the shock, a smile broke upon my lips. A silent thank you was said somewhere within my being. Not only for the generosity contained within the universe but more for its utterly unique and impressionable style of teaching a lesson. It is said there is no teacher greater than life. I agree.
 
After this episode I made another two visits to Nasik. On each occassion I sunk into the pleasure of sitting on the same stairs. Each time I was reminded of my lesson. Each time I felt loved and wanted. Each time I felt truly connected and belonging to the universe. Time did not permit me a visit to Shirdi. Hopefully, I have still been lucky to realise a truth and be blessed.

Each of us, every single day, is touched and caressed by Life. One need not read any book if one can read the book of life.

 

Sanjay Dutt gets “Punishment” July 31, 2007

Filed under: Ethics and Values,India,life — gurdas @ :

 The breaking story on all news channels is the 6year jail term handed out to Indian film star Sanjay Dutt. The drama called justice left me thinking on what justice is all about. From the way things go these days and from the choice of words of news reporters, it seems justice is all about punishment. That is something I am very uncomfortable with. I believe society needs to do away with punishment courts and bring in reform courts. Justice should be about healing, reform and correction. Punishment should be an option only when the accused refuses to follow a path of reform or simply refuses to cooperate in a manner beneficial to society. And there is no reason whatsoever to give someone a life sentence. Let us hold that until we know more about life and death, shall we?

Lets take the example of Sanjay Dutt. Without doubt he committed an offence by possessing an AK-56 (amongst other weapons) during the days following 1993 riots. But is that all to it? Who takes responsibility for the failure of law and order leading ordinary citizens to feel threatened and helpless; which leads to them taking desperate measures? Will the government stand trial and will the state chief minister go to jail for not attending to his/her responsibility? I am not trying to justify the crime committed by Dutt, just trying to explain.

Having proven his guilt, one must ask what are the options before us for Sanjay Dutt? The usual option is to hand out a punishment – some jail term. I ask, what purpose does this punishment serve? Does the society and the country benefit by Sanjay Dutt going to jail? Then there is the question of message to aspiring criminals. How about Dutt coming on TV, saying sorry to the country and telling us how much his action cost him in terms of peace of mind and grace? Isn’t that a better message? Hardened criminal minds in any case will not be affected by the punishment given to Dutt. But the “criminal due to drastic circumstances”, such as the Mumbai riots of 1993, will get the message.

How about Sanjay Dutt receiving a punishment that says “you will build an orphanage for children who lose their parents in riots and also build a hospital that attends to trauma patients”. That will benefit society, give Dutt a chance to reform, increase his love for society and increase society’s love and patience with people who are fundamentally good but just happen to commit an anomalous crime.

Possessing a weapon does not make Sanjay Dutt a criminal. He is not a threat to society. And his serving 6 years in jail will not benefit society.

So why are we sending him to jail? Why are we pushing him into a dark cold cell where his spirit will slowly die while he could have been so much more beneficial to society by staying outside? To satisfy our age old dusty notions of justice? An idea being carried forward from the days of monarchs and autocrats; that the criminal must be punished with no concern to the human life which, instead of being reformed, will be destroyed?

And Dutt is only an example I use. There are hundreds and thousands of such people in India who are not criminals but end up being jailed for years simply because out of the millions of moments in their lives, they lost control once. And behind nearly every such crime is the basic failure of the government to create a welfare state. Unfortunately, the government does not stand trail. It is a shame that we forget the hundreds of times these people have been good citizens and human beings. And sending them to jail probably stifles the good more than correct the bad. How sad.

Recent news stories increasingly give the impression that society is becoming intolerant. A fact highlighted by the many police brutalities in the form of lathi charge at protestors. I cannot forget a particular scene in which a policeman is shown holding up the face of a 70 year old man while he boots his cheeks. Repeatedly. The old man was minimally dressed and you could count the bones of his rib cage. And similar pictures are flashed every other month. What are we doing? Is punishment so desirable that we become animals?

I recollect another case which is an example of why our present system of justice is doing no justice to society. The case was of Salman Khan going hunting for Chinkaras – a protected species of deer. His crime is proven without doubt. And the justice system gives him some jail term. How does that help the Chinkara? How about this – ask Salman Khan to contribute 5 crore rupees to a Chinkara protection force and have him serve 3 months in a national park. That will help better the status of Chinkaras and give Salman Khan a path to reform. With each such reform judgment there is the potential to win the momentary criminal and turn him/her into a better human being. Since the “punishment” calls out to the goodness within each of us, people will come to love the idea of justice because it helps them become better humans.

Both Dutt and Khan are not criminals. They did not go murder someone in cold blood or rape someone or burn someone’s house. They are people like you and me who just happened to momentarily go astray.

Why do we call our code as Indian Penal Code? Look up the word ‘penal’ in a dictionary and this is what you get – “Having as its object the infliction of punishment, punitive; prescribing the punishment to be inflicted for an offence” – from the Shorter Oxford Dictionary. Does this sound like something nice? Not to me. Maybe we should have Indian Reform Code.

Am I wrong in sensing that since in India it is very hard to bring a true criminal to justice, the few people who get caught in our legal nets (and who are sometimes nice individuals) get treated to the anger and frustration of our society? At any given time, there must be a few thousand people in Bihar who carry illegal weapons. And they go around shooting people with these. And the government is fully aware of these people. So, what are we doing about them? Nothing. They kill, rape, burn for years and decades and nothing, absolutely nothing happens. But a Sanjay Dutt, gets caught and dragged. We vent all our anger on him. He is punished for being a nice person who made a mistake. Had he been a hardcore criminal, he would have gone scot-free.

Someone on NDTV was saying “the courts cannot be emotional” and I find it very funny. What is wrong about being nice and humane? Is emotion not an integral part of being human? Does that mean the courts are/should be inhuman? How can a momentary error become cause for years in jail? How are we going to account for the goodness done by an individual? If it is hard facts that courts live by, then let us get ALL the facts about an individual. Not just facts relating to a particular case against the individual. Because we will be punishing the person and not just a part of him/her. Let us account for every moment of goodness, every act of kindness that the accused has done. And then let us sum up the good and bad parts and let the result decide the nature and quantum of sentence.

If Sanjay Dutt has been a good citizen otherwise, has contributed to NGOs and has been kind and loving to people around him, then those are also FACTS which must be taken into consideration. Specially in a country like India, where it is particularly difficult to be nice and kind because the system does everything possible to make you angry and frustrated.

I vote for Sanjay Dutt to be set free. Because there are no facts that prove he is a danger to society (while some of our parliamentarians definitely are) and thus needs to be kept behind bars. Infact, sending him to jail is the only real crime in this case.