Guldasta

A bouquet of flowers picked along the way ….

Just Jazz – learning with my 8 year old niece September 22, 2007

Filed under: Children,conversations,Ethics and Values,family,fiction+fact cocktail,life,love — gurdas @ :

Me: Jazz, look at the untidy pile of books on your shelf! You can do better than that.
Jazz: Hmmm, ohh..hmm… listen, that is my shelf. (followed by the most authoritative look possible from a 8 year old).
Me: I am not denying that. But 15 years ago it was my shelf and looked far better than this.
(Jazz now visibly on the backfoot, her pride at stake)
Jazz: You had fewer books!
Me: Wrong, I had twice as many.
Jazz: Show me then. (Throw a demand that cannot be met. How did she learn it at such a young age?)
Me: They are all gone now. Though some might still be in the storage under that bed.
Jazz (excited and showing her irregular teeth): Let us get them out!
Me:  And where do you suppose you are going to keep them?
Jazz (still excited): I can clear up…. (starting to throw the pile onto the floor)
Me (alarmed): What are you doing? Show some respect to the books.
Jazz: Wait … (she has this amazing monosyllable answer when she does not want you to interrupt her great labours)
I wait. In no time the contents of the shelf are on the floor.
Jazz: Let us open the bed and get your old books out!
Me (pointing to the pile on the floor): And sweetheart where are you going to keep these?
Jazz is visibly puzzled. She clearly had not thought of that part of the problem.
Jazz: The space beside Dad’s reading table?
Me: No way. He will throw the stuff out and probably you along with it.
We giggle. Like we are in the possession of some exquisite knowledge.
Me: I have a better idea. How about me giving away some of these to a friend who runs a school for poor kids? Those kids probably cannot afford books such as yours and they will be very happy.
Jazz (sounding not at all enthusiastic): But these are my books.
Me: I know love. That is why I am asking you. Wouldn’t you like to give something to those kids?
Jazz: NO. They can buy their own books. These are mine.
Me (now fully aware of the challenge): But they are not as lucky as you. They do not have a house like this or a daddy who can buy books. When they get these books and know who sent them, they will smile and say thank you.
Jazz (pleased with herself): Where are these kids? Who is your friend? How do you know him? Was he in your school?
Me: My friend’s name is Anurag. We used to play together until school years. He was in a school different from mine. Hey, infact he was from your school. This Thursday I will be going to meet him.
( I missed her first question but true as kids are she keeps a good record of it)
Jazz: Where do the kids live?
Me: In the villages close to that school.
Jazz: Is it a big school?
Me: No. It is far smaller than your school. Remember it is for poor kids.
(she weighs upon the information now available, her hands on her waist)
Jazz: OK, I will give some of my books. But first you must promise to open the bed and get your books out.
Me: I promise.
Jazz (now sounding chirpier): Which of these books will they want? No, wait! I will decide what books to give away.
Me: Sure love. Those are your books.
(she spends almost a minute staring at her pile, clearly at a loss on what to give away)
Jazz (picking the least inviting book): Take this.
I accept that book and wait.
Jazz (not looking at me): hmm.. that is all. I need the other books.
Me (sounding both angry and unhappy at the same time): Just one book? And it has the last few pages missing!
Jazz: You need more?
Me: Sure I do. You have so many books. Try and give a few more.
Jazz: OK, just two more. OK?
Me (eager to move ahead): OK!
Jazz: Quickly picking up two volumes of Amar Chitra Katha and handing them over.
Me: Thanks. (did I have a disappointed look on me? I will never know..)
Jazz: Maybe I can give some more.
Me (perking up): That’s like my girl! The more you give the more space you get for new books.
(Ugghh, did I just fast sell? Did she buy that?)
Jazz: And I have read all of them a few times over.
Me: Right.
(she goes into a drive and the best thing I can do is stand aside. Her collection is spread all over the floor as she ponders over each volume for its give-keep ratio.)
Me (wanting to let her have her space): I’ll go get some water while you decide?
Jazz (not looking up): OK
(I return after 5 minutes to find two heaps, both equally high.)
Me (a little unsure): Done?
Jazz: Yes.
Me: So where are the books to give away?
Jazz (pointing to one of the heaps): All those.
(Now I am a little stunned. The heap she is pointing to had no less than 15 books, out of her collection of maybe 35).
Me: Jazz, you want to give away all those?
Jazz: Yes.
Me (bending over to see what is in that heap): OK, thanks!
(I find some really nice books in the ‘give away’ heap. Clearly she had not segregated them by their cost, size or condition)
Me (picking up an extremely expensive looking copy of Cinderella): You want to give this? Where did it come from?
Jazz: Tina massi brought it from the US. I have read it a few times.
Me: Hmmmm…
Jazz (pulling out another two equally beautiful volumes – Snow White and Rapunzel): She also gave me these.
Me: Those kids will be very happy to have these books. Thanks, love.
Jazz: All those books I have read many times. You can take them.
Me: And what is in the other pile? You haven’t read those?
Jazz (looking at me suspiciously): I have read them but only once. Those I will not give.
Me (defensively): No, no. I am not asking for them. I was just wondering if you have read them.
Jazz: OK, listen (her fave phrase). I want you to buy me two thick volumes of fairy tales. The ones with big pictures on each page. OK?
Me (a little emotional now): Done!

I did get her the two volumes she asked. I also gave her the unabridged Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton. She is too young to read that though. But I loved that series so much I needed an excuse to read them again.

I hope Jazz grows up into a kind and sensitive lady. Like all kids, she is born beautiful. The onus is on society to ensure she carries that beauty to adulthood.

This episode cements what many of us know – children are no less sensitive or sensible than grown ups. They seem kiddish to us because their priorities are different from ours. Seven out of ten times when I have approached a kid as an individual capable of thinking and deciding, I have received a response that upheld my belief. And that is way better than what adults manage to score.

 

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/

.. 

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

..

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

..

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.

 

Folk’s Lore – the seven coloured squirrel September 7, 2007

Filed under: conversations,family,fiction+fact cocktail,life,love,nostalgia — gurdas @ :

I (with a glint in my eye): Dad, I was thinking about that seven coloured squirrel you saw in the jungles of Gua. Do you remember the colours?

Dad (with no idea of the trap): Hmmm… (staring hard into infinity) they were very much like the rainbow. Ya, I am sure that was it.

I (glancing at brother, he winks back): So, you mean to say if this squirrel were to move blazingly fast it will appear white?

Dad (catching up): You pay attention to your food and stop thinking about the squirrel.

I: But this is important, I am intending to do a true story report for my school task. I want more details to make it a winner.

Dad (a little alarmed): But it was so long back. You weren’t even born then. Really, I have only a faint recollection of that squirrel.

(which is quite a reversal because he always had details… though they kept changing with passing years)

Brother (shifting into a more alert position than his usual satiated python pose): We could help with the recollection.

Dad: Why don’t you tell the full story then?

Brother: Dad, if I tell, it will sound like a BBC report. If you tell, it will sound like a CNN report. At school, CNN wins.

Dad (looking around for support and finding none): What is this school report about?

I (now a little cautious): We need to write about an amazing wildlife creature.

Dad (seeing some hope): Aha, well then why write about the squirrel? Maybe the Peregrine Falcon or Electric Eel or why even the ordinary Elephant can be quite extraordinary.

I (sounding alarmed): Dad! everyone knows about these. Maybe three other people are writing about the same creature.

Dad (now starting to enjoy his hold): Err… how about Sherlock? He his amazing!

(Realising the slipping advantage I squirm at the mention of Sherlock our dog)

I (vigorously): Don’t be a spoilsport! Nobody is interested in knowing about Sherlock. I will be booed. The creature must evoke amazement, wonder…

Brother (as if suddenly realising his role): He is right! You must help him!

Dad: You shut up. Why are you so supportive of him today?
Dad: Listen, I am not even sure I saw this squirrel. I think I had seen it but then it was 15 years ago. (Looking a little dreamy eyed). Hmmm… the jungles surrounding the ore mines of Musabani and Gua…

 

Creating a paradise on Earth August 31, 2007

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

I was wondering what it will take to create a paradise on Earth. The answers I got were that the notion of Paradise is nothing but peace in all its myriad forms. And here is what I truly believe can lay the foundation of everlasting peace on Earth:

.

Total eradication of hunger
Safe drinking water for all
Education for all
Employment for all
Love and respect for fellow humans
Love and respect for our planet and all its inhabitants

.
I have placed them in a logical order on what needs to be tackled first. To me, a man dying of hunger is, arguably, the greatest shame on humanity. Which is why I placed eradication of hunger at the top of the list.

Seeing the list, what strikes me most is that nothing on the list is beyond human reach. Infact, all of it is human creation. If we have the will, it will not take more than 10 years to establish the first four list item as ‘achieved’. That does not mean there will not be the occasional hiccup. But what it means is that the deviation will be rare and will be handled such that peace is not disturbed permanently.

So, the agenda will change from establishing temporary peace to maintaining permanent peace.

As we move down the list, I believe, we will see peace taking form. Conflicts arise when one of these core needs is disturbed. Wars are fought for one or more of the list points. Not all wars will be nullified by the list. The extremists will continue to find reason for war. But they will be so outnumbered that the only real choice will be to let go of their position and embrace peace.

Sounds Utopian, eh? But let me ask, is there a second choice?

Maybe I am just greedy. I don’t want a paradise after death. I want it while alive.

 

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.