All in the name of the poor farmer

This is a message that I received from another group. I was impressed with its clarity and decided to post it on CLEAR FUNDAS. There is plenty of food for thought - if not for the farmer's plate.

"With monsoon failure and farmer suicides back to hogging the media headlines, once again it is time for the ever proverbial doles to farmers . Every arm chair socialist suddenly develops bleeding heart for the 'poor farmer in distress' . Every rural marketing project which was shelved for long , suddenly resurfaces with the tagline - to benefit the poor Indian kisan (farmer)'.

Most people know very little of rural India, or are too scared to speak on such a 'touchy' topic lest they be seen as anti-social. Being a 'social entrepreneur' at least the least we can do is to rip the face masks off such pseudo measures.This post is dedicated to the thousands of people who have benefited 'in the name of the farmer'. I hope by end of this post, even if one of them develops areal conscience , we would consider our expose a small step in right direction ;-)

Rip off number 1 : Farmers are poor and this justifies loan waivers

Well, that depends on whom you consider as a farmer. Recently there were media reports of Amitabh Bachhan claiming to be a farmer in UP , and a Union minister who waived off loans for farmers , resulting in his own mother in law claiming how much he himself gained from such a write off ! Even after land ceiling acts , there are several BMW farmers in our midst ! Most real farmers in India who are poor do not own any land - they operate on lease or work as labourers and hence cant keep land as collateral for loans.

Rip off number 2 : Green revolution has increased our yield

Well, if you call importing rice, wheat, Australian grapes & Chinese water melons as REVOLUTION ! Our home grown Simla apples are hardly to be seen in our shelves . Our Elakki bananas are a lost species. And then the same 'fathers of Indian agriculture' hold conferences to protect global bio diversity after completely wiping out our own local horticulture products.

Answer this simple question O father who knows all - 'if we had a green revolution, then why are we IMPORTING even staple items which are very much available in India ?'

Rip off number 3 : The farmers need more cold storages to store their yield and get better prices

Well, if you think cold storage is a big size fridge . But people fail to realise that even the smallest of fridges need POWER SUPPLY to keep things cool. Now , with even large metros struggling to maintain sustained power supply, and most rural areas under 12 hour shut downs , tell me if we even can assure our farmers that we can provide energy to run even a SMALL FRIDGE ? With rising cost of diesel, do you think they can run off generators ??

In fact several multi crore cold storage projects have been quietly bitten to dust owing to poor utilisation. Ask SAFAL/SNX , Cochin airport authorities and the several agri food parks dotting our country sides ... you'll be surprised at the number of cold storages that have actually been built and are rusting today for want of electric power supply !

Rip off number 4 : Farmers are under clutches of money lenders. Micro finance will save them !

Well, provided the people who run micro finance agencies are angels with hearts of Mother Teresa. What is attracting hordes of bankers like flies to flame are the high interest rates in MFI - often close to 30-40% . But what they Don't realise is that the money lender often lives IN the village and always there- Not a casual annual visitor , who stays in a five star hotel , and drive around in SUV, and reads Harvard case studies on alleviating poverty !! The money lenders not only finance the farmer's production, but also any incident in his family - death of his family members, his children's marriage , or even for booze !! Now which MFI has those in their loan agreements ;-)

Mohammed Younus and Grameen bank was an innovation because it grew out of active social projects. Ask even the best of MFI's to really show how their money has been utilised , you will find them dodging the question. Recently, one MFI claimed to be funding millions of farmers across TN, we asked them if we could source from their farmers communities as it would improve the prices and repayment capability- and we never got a call back !!

Rip off number 5 : Indian farmers need to reach global standards and target export markets to get better prices.

Well, that's true if you skipped right through history class in high school. remember Mohanjadaro & Harappa having granaries & modern agri tools ? Read about the silk route and Chinese travelers who wrote tomes on India's richness ? Read about our Kings sending out naval ships laden with best of peppers & spices ? every conquering army from Moghuls to the British came in attracted by the richness of our agricultural products. And ironically, America was discovered 'by mistake' as Columbus was trying to chart a route to INDIA !!

And to think these same westerners are back in new garbs , stating that we are POOR in EXPORT quality !! Here's a gentle reminder note to our western readers : "Dudes - our forefathers ran the granaries of the world civilisation when your's were hanging from trees !!"

Then why this sudden gap in 'global gap' standards ? Firstly, we feel that there is nothing Global about these Global gaps. These are promoted by few dominant retail giants like Tescos & Walmarts of the world who have a rather skewed picture of what is the 'right fruit' - To extend their own racist backgrounds , the items have to be 'white , bright , shiny & spotless' - who cares what is inside , as long as it sells ! These standards are set again by developed nations , who mostly are 'meat eaters' , where vegetables & fruits are used for salads & table decoration.

With more than 1.4 billion domestic customers and another millions global diaspora of NRIs, we don't even need to look beyond our own kin for a target audience.

Rip off number 6 : We need to invest in more agri research and dissemination to farmers

Crores are being spent on research projects on how to increase the yield and productivity. But strangely nobody seems to do much to reduce the 'wastage' which is almost 50% of the yield ? Lets put this in perspective. Suppose you are working hard to earn for your family , and your wife cooks a grand meal and then your kids throw half the food into garbage everyday and claim they are not fed , what would you do ? Will you : (1)go and start working OVERTIME in office to earn MORE money so your wife can cook MORE food and bring to table and occasionally borrow from neighbours? OR (2) SPANK your kids to start respecting the food already ON THE TABLE ??

Well, if you were a normal person you would choose option 2. But if you happen to be an agri researcher or a government official in agri department , option 1 IS the obvious choice ;-). well, I think you would have got my point by now. Money saved is money earned - similarly less wastage is equivalent to more production . What research are we doing to reduce wastage ? To start with - do we even have demand/supply data with us ?

Stop chasing the light at end of tunnel - because every researcher wants to 'discover' this silver bullet solution to solve world hunger. Often the problem is , they are facing the wrong end of the tunnel !!

Rip off number 7 : GM crops are a boon to Indian farmer v/s Organic/Natural farming is the solution to restoring natural balance v/s Organic farming doesn't have enough yield

Funny , that these concepts are ALL originating from the west . All these statements are backed by research and consulting agencies and expensive certifications . GM crops which have been banned in western countries are openly flouted as 'god's gift' to Indian farmer. And on the same note, we see the government claiming that Year's of abuse of fertilisers & chemicals has destroyed yield and promoting organic/natural farming. We have saying in Tamil ' pinch the kid and rock the cradle'. Dear Agricultural minister - when you are not busy between IPL cricket match schedules and posing with cheer leaders - can you please resolve this little dilemma ?

Rip off number 8 : India doesn't get enough rain to do farming owing to repeated monsoon failure

Well, yaaawwwn .How long are we going to hear this same sob story ? Is it that the rain gods are ONLY angry with India and rest of the countries are all well taken care of ? Global climatic change is a pretty worldwide phenomenon by now . What others have done is anticipate this, and taken measures to plan, protect and allocate their natural resources wisely . For example, China doesn't do boo-hoo over poor rainfall ? Is lord Indra leaning towards communism

India's agri planning & water resource planning has 'malfunction' written all over it. between politicians, environmentalists, naxals and NGOs , all the waters we get either get lost to ocean or results in skewed flood/drought combinations that when we look at macroscopic picture, we have to admit - even God helps only those who help themselves . best of weather satellites and Abdul Kalams not withstanding, our rain & water management is just PATHETIC . With a slightly more stronger central govt. we hope at least this time our prime minister can wield a stronger stick amongst the state governments to cooperate better - or else !

Rip off number 9 : Information technology can rescue the farmers

Well, after they manage to rescue themselves ;-) Given the global meltdown, and scams that have tarnished the much glorified IT incs. Yes, technology definitely can aid the millions of India's poor. But problem is the business houses have always more tuned to working with HNI's and $$ customers, that the huge mindset shift which is required to adjust to Indian customers and that too those BPL is too vast for now. India's IT companies have built the backbone of the worlds leading supply chains & agri businesses, but look within and we just about have put a cell phone in every person's hand. There is a LOT that can be done in this sector , provided one knows where to start ad how to go about.

Rip off number 10 : We need to create rural hubs - provide commodity futures trading, health care, insurance and FMCG products to improve farmer's lifestyle and needs

Well, if you ask any farmer he will tell you he has already discovered such a hub - it is called the 'CITY' - duh ? Just like any city bred middle class man always dreams of going to the West & settling down in land of opportunities , the villagers also harbour dreams to coming to our cities ! They want to drive cars (maybe not Tata's Nano - but the swankier Camry's) , live in high rise apartments , and send their kids to private school and get treated in Apollo hospitals. You think I am joking - just look at any village today - you won't find any youngsters - they are all in the city , powering the BPO & call centres. Attend any rural job fair and the single point requirement is to 'settle down in the city'. Even the farmers are pushing their kids to move away from their villages The real estate boom has increased land values to such levels in last few years that it is lot more lucrative to sell the land and live off its riches than toil on it.

Our great minds in planning commissions assume the farmers to be 'village idiots' - but the jokes are on them now. The pace of change in rural India is so drastic and the migrations to city so rapid , that most of these Utopian projects like 'farmer's hubs' are becoming ghost towns. people have always tried to 'sell' things to farmers, without actually realising that they haven't done much to 'buy' things from them ? Every village now has one rupee sachet shampoos which have become success stories in rural BOP marketing, read by generations of MBA graduates - but go to any wholesale Mandi near the city and look at how vegetables are sold - in crude gunny bags and open crates !!No case study there Mr. IIM professor !

The city dweller may cherish this dream of fresh air, green fields and swinging by the Babul tree - but the villagers are just bored ... they would rather see all that in a multiplex . Mr. Gandhi, had he been alive would have rephrased his statement - "India lives in villages .. but the villagers are living in our metros ". Well, shocked ? upset ? dazed ? So are we... lot of the myths which have been built around us about villagers are breaking every day . The more we think we know about rural India, the farther we seem to be from truth .

What is written above is but a small pebble.. we need more pebbles, and more throwers ... lets stop romanticising about the farmers . There is NOTHING romantic being an Indian farmer today . If you can't genuinely do anything for them, at least stop raping them and telling them that you are doing a great service to them. As Michael Jackson would have put it - "if you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a ... CHANGE"."

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Good News

Friends, I am happy that all editions of Times of India on August 9th carried my article "The religion of Reason" - in their Sunday column "Mind over Matter". It is based on a blog written earlier on CLEAR FUNDAS. As suggested by the editor, I expanded the original blog - you can access this version at the following link.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA5LzA4LzA5I0FyMDIxMDA=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

This is the second time in the last few months that something written on CLEAR FUNDAS has been published in TOI. The last occasion was on March 26th, 2009 when my blog on 'Maximizing Happiness" was published in THE SPEAKING TREE on the editorial page (this one had to be abridged and was given a different title).

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The last blog on "improving curiosity quotient" produced a spate of responses - most of which were sent to me by e mail instead of posting them on the blog - site.

Let me first tackle the two questions that I had left un-answered.

Why do we give a red carpet welcome?

Suman Bose (his comment has been posted on the blog-site) is absolutely right. Red happens to be the colour of our blood - the most precious thing that we possess. So when we welcome somebody with a red carpet welcome, it signifies the importance we attach to that person and to the act of welcoming him / her.

Why do cell phones have no dial tone?

In land - line phones, 48 Volts DC voltage is provided to the telephone instrument by the "central exchange" of the telephone company. This voltage can be used to produce any audio signal. Telephone companies all over the world choose one of the standard audio signals (we call this the dial tone). You must have noticed that on important days (like the New Years Day for example) the telephone company many a times, provides standard greeting messages (on lifting the receiver of the phone) which keep on repeating themselves. In such cases the greeting message is itself the "dial tone". It stops the moment you start dialing. Since there is no voltage provided as an input to the cell phone instrument from the central exchange of the service provider, there is no "dial tone" in a cell phone. One could of course use the battery of the cellphone to produce an artificial "dial tone" - but this would serve no particular purpose and in fact would drain the battery faster. The wireless signal received by the cellphone instrument from the tower is a good enough confirmation of connectivity.

Since readers have shown such acute interest in these "tellmewhy" questions, let me ask a few more, this week ( for all of you to chew on).

• How did the expression "back to square one" originate?
• Can someone die of a "broken heart" [induced for example by a girl/boyfriend jilting you)?
• Why does only 'February' have 28 or 29 days?
• What is the difference between a marriage and a wedding?

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Improve your CQ (Curiosity Quotient)

Psychologists are unanimous that THINKING OUT OF THE BOX (TOB) considerably improves the "success percentage" of a person, irrespective of the vocation that he or she is pursuing. To improve the ability to think out of the box, one needs to acquire two skills: [1] An innovative approach to problem solving & [2] Developing sharp curiosity.

Let's see how sharp your curiosity is? Now be truthful and assess yourself on the following questions.You do not have to read any text book in order to answer these - they aren't from any academic syllabus. Your IQ may be high but do you possess a matching CQ? If you do, nothing can stop you from reaching the "Mount Everest" of whichever profession you are in.

Here are the questions!

[1] Why do we use the term 'by-heart' when the information that we memorize resides in our brain?

[2] Why are communists called 'leftists'?

[3] Why can't we tickle ourselves?

[4] Why is a drawing room called so?

[5] Can animals commit suicide?

[6] Why do we say touch wood?

Now check your answers and give yourself one mark for every correct answer (& a zero for an incorrect one). If your score is 5 or 6, congratulations - your CQ is above average. If it is 3 or 4, well - you need to be more curious, so keep asking questions about everything that is happening around you. If you score 1 or 2, maybe curiosity is not your cup of tea.

At the end, I have asked 2 more questions - Do send me your answers to these!

[1] In our everyday language, we speak of the brain as the center of our faculty of reasoning and of the heart as the center of emotions and personality traits. The idea about our heart being an emotional decision maker is of course not true - it has been floated & nurtured since times immemorial by poets and literateurs in spite of clear proof that the brain itself has two halves that take rational and emotional decisions respectively. We somehow continue to attribute activities performed unconsciously to the heart (since activities involving conscious efforts or reasoning are attributed to the brain). Therefore when a person memorizes something, he is said to have learnt it "by heart" though the information is stored in the brain.

[2] In ancient times, there used to be three divisions in the British Parliament. RIGHTISTS : those who believed in GOD & religion. LEFTISTS: those who did not believe in GOD. CENTRISTS: those who believed in a secular government. The terminology has continued since then.

[3] Research has proved that an element of surprise is essential in order to feel "tickled". When we tickle ourselves, we anticipate our own actions and the element of surprise is missing. This is not so when someone else does it to us.

[4] In the olden days, while males and females in Britain used to have meals on the same dining table, the men wanted the women to leave, once the dinner was over, so that they could have their cigars and wine. The women used to then "withdraw" to a certain room to allow the men to do so. The room was thus originally called "withdrawing room" for many decades before the "with" got dropped (as so often happens to words) and it started getting referred to as the "drawing room".

[5] Psychologists say that the act of suicide means destroying self identity. Since animals have no self identity (and hence an ego) they cannot set about to destroy it. Hence animals cannot commit suicide.

[6] The expression has its origin in Christianity. It has been derived from the wooden cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. "Wood" was therefore considered holy and was thought to possess divine capability to protect your good luck. .

2 more questions for you: I await your answers.

• Why do we give a "red" carpet welcome? (& not a "green" or say "blue" carpet welcome)
• Why doesn't a cell phone have a dial tone?

C h e e r s !!!!!!!

You ought to know this

For those of you who asked me to recommend good books - please click on My library to browse through a list of my all time favourites. Out of the thousands that I have read, I have posted (& keep updating) book - titles and brief comments / ratings of those books that I have tremendously enjoyed. At present there are 69 titles in my list.

R K Narayan (elder brother of cartoonist R. K. Laxman & famous for "Malgudi Days") is an author whose books I just love to read. I specially like the way he re- tells stories from Indian mythology. In his own words, he remains faithful to the original text without commenting on the happenings. Today, I intend to share with you, ( in R K Narayan's own words), the mind boggling assumptions and time frames on the basis of which all these epics have been created.

[1] Brahma, the four faced GOD and creator of the universe, rests on a bed of lotus petals in a state of contemplation and by mere willing, creates everything. He has his own measure of "night" and "day". In the 12 hours that he is awake, he creates the Universe. When Brahma falls asleep, there is total dissolution of everything. Brahma sleeps for 12 hours, then wakes up & the business of creation begins all over again. Please remember, one hour in the life of Brahma is different than what it is for us mortals.

[2] Brahma himself is mortal (now that surprised me no end) and his life span is equivalent to 311,040,000,000,000 human - years at the end of which he is dissolved and nothing is left of the creation or the creator.The sun & stars are put out and oceans rise in gigantic waves that close over the earth. Ultimately even the waters from this deluge evaporate & a tremendous darkness and stillness take over. That is when the supreme GOD emerges. He is called Narayana or Ishwar. The entire cycle of creation and dissolution of the universe is equivalent to just one twinkling of the eye for Narayana.

[3] The universe created by Brahma always passes through four well defined yugas. Each yuga lasts for 1 crore and 8 lac human years. These yugas, as you probably know, are: [a] Kritayuga: Righteousness prevails universally in this yuga. [b] Tretayuga: Righteousness is reduced by one-quarter but sacrifices and ceremonies are given greater emphasis. There is a gradual decrease in austerity and men act with material objectives - no longer doing the rites with a sense of duty. [c] Dwaparyuga: Righteousness is now diminished by one-half. Ceremonies are multiplied, goodness declines, diseases and calamities make their appearance. Some study all four Vedas, others only three, some two and some none. [d] Kaliyuga: Righteousness, virtue & goodness completely disappear. Rites & sacrifices are abandoned as superstitions. Anger, distress, hunger and fear prevail. Rulers behave like highway robbers - seizing power and riches in all possible ways (sounds like the time we are presently living in)

Now that's as grand as anything else I have ever heard.

Friends, what do you think? Should all this be believed or dismissed as flight of imagination? I await your verdict.

Atheist Bus Campaign

An event which surprisingly has not been prominently reported by Indian newspapers or by our news-hungry-'anything will do' - TV channels is the exponentially growing support that the "Atheist Bus campaign" is getting in UK, USA, Canada and Europe.

What is this campaign?

Various associations of Atheists in UK decided to advertise their viewpoint (just like the church does - exhorting the faithful to follow religious rituals) by purchasing advertisement - space on municipal buses in London. Appeals were sent out to non - believers to coin interesting slogans and also to individually contribute whatever little they could, to finance the campaign.

Richard Dawkins - the famous biologist, admirer of Charles Darwin, author of the best seller "The GOD Delusion" and a self proclaimed "campaigning atheist" announced a matching contribution to the money that was collected from the public. The fund raising had a modest target of Pounds 5000 through public donations. What followed surprised everyone including the organizers. A collection in excess of Pounds 1,00,000 was a clear pointer towards a chord that the appeal had struck. Instead of carrying out the campaign on 40 buses, it was eventually carried out on 200, much to the chagrin of the church who opposed the idea tooth and nail. The church even complained to the advertising authority about how the campaign was in bad taste and would hurt the religious sentiments of many. The adjudicating authority rejected the complaint saying "freedom of expression" was more important. For your information over 80% of the population in UK comprises of believers. (The figure is close to this in USA where in addition, over 90% of the population believes in "miracles". Do you know that USA is the only country which prints "In GOD we trust" on their currency notes?)

We have to give credit to our present government about the way it has handled (till now) the issue of "gays"and section 377. It appears that we as a nation are finally 'coming of age" - but I am sure that if this bus campaign ever comes to India, no municipal corporation would ever take the risk of their buses getting burnt because of such blasphemy.

What were the Slogans?

The two slogans used till now are as follows:

[1] There is probably no god! Now stop worrying and enjoy yourself.

[2] You can be good without god.

The campaign has now spread to USA (Chicago), Canada (Toronto) and threatens to enter Europe and Australia in spite of bitter opposition from the church and local governments.

Thinking logically, the campaign should be welcomed by Hindu majority India because Hinduism is one of the very few religions in the world that officially accepts atheists in its fold (Brahaspati is the presiding deity of atheists, according to Hindu mythology).

Can I have a prediction from all of you about the fate of such a campaign, if it indeed comes to India?

Can you figure this out? (Edition 4)

The series of "Can you figure this out" always gets the maximum reactions from readers - here's the fourth edition। The previous three can be accessed from the archives (Nov 9th 2008, March 22nd 2009 and April 5th, 2009).

• Why is our religion called "Hindu"? Most people to whom I asked this felt that the word must have come from the "Hindu-Kush" mountain ranges in the North - some felt that it has its origins in "Hindi" or even "Hindusthan". The fact is that all these words have been derived from "Hindu" and not the other way around. The real story borders on the comical. Apparently when the Persian army had camped on the banks of river "Sindhu" before invading India, Alexander asked his General the name of the river. Now in Persian (फारसी) language , स is pronounced as ह . So the General promptly told his master that they were on the banks of river "Hindu" - and then it was decreed that people who stayed in the land that lay beyond river "Hindu" were HINDUS.


• How did India get its name? Once again many feel that the name is derived from Indus which is the anglicized version of "sindhu". Our country was named India much before the British started their rule. It got its name because the country was the largest exporter, of the colour "indigo".


• Did you know that Lord Hanuman had a son? Ramayan tells us that Lord Hanuman had actually fathered (unknown to himself), a son - मकरध्वज. Apparently when Hanuman was in flight, his perspiration fell into the open mouth of a crocodile lazing below in the water. The perspiration was so potent that it impregnated the crocodile and unknown to Hanuman, a son was born. Later, when Hanuman was sent by Ram to save Lakshman who had been captured & kept in the netherworld (पाताल ) by Ahi Ravan, Makardhwaj who was guarding the entrance to the kingdom fought so valiantly with Hanuman that the latter was perplexed how anyone could survive the onslaught of his might. After defeating Makardhwaj with great difficulty, Hanuman was mightily pleased that it was his son who had so stoutly resisted him। Lord Hanuman howerver continues to be the most favourite GOD of the "bachelors".
• Did you know that the epic "Mahabharata" contains reference to every conceivable situation except a "divorce"? It has tales of men with many wives (Arjun), a woman with many husbands (Draupadi), women who have sex before marriage (Kunti), women who are unfaithful to their husbands (beheading of Renuka), women who need a man only to have children (Uloopi), women who want men only for pleasure (Urvashi), men who dress as women (Brihanalla), men who force themselves on women (Jayadrath), husbands who are comfortable with their wife going to other men (Pandu), men who become women (Bhangashavana), men who have mistresses ( Dhritrashtra) but none where men have divorced their wife। Does this mean that the concept of divorce is alien to Indian culture? Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata proudly claims that "what is not there in Mahabharata is not there anywhere"
• Why did anti-women practices like Sati, Dowry and now female foeticide take root only in India? Its not as if other religions or cultures have not had their gender biases - the church for example burnt 60,000 women on the stake - branding them as witches. Islam continues to treat women as second class citizens. Since it is men who have written religious codes of behaviour, it can be understood why they institutionalised the secondary status to be meted out to women. While Sati was nothing short of murder (induced through religious fervour), female foeticide is a direct result of the bizarre Hindu belief that it is only a son who can give you मोक्ष by lighting your funeral pyre. What pains me is the fact that none of our so called saints ever proclaim that these practices are wrong.

Stay alive after death!

According to a recently published news item, the Supreme court felt that while deaths could be homicidal, accidental or suicidal in nature, the Indian legal system also recognises the concept of CIVIL DEATH, which can apply to a person who is alive and kicking. The judge explained that as per Hindu laws and customs, a hale and hearty person who performs his own last rites during his lifetime after renouncing the world & taking "sanyas" is legally deemed to be dead.

Now this could indeed lead to very interesting situations. Instead of declaring insolvency (which is such a legal pain) businessmen not wanting to pay their creditors could just cease to legally exist by taking this sanyas - the law surely can't punish the "dead".

A person could now have two death anniversaries - one legal and the other, real. Followers of important national leaders could try and prevail upon their ageing leaders to take "sanyas" since it would eventually lead to two national holidays - making the leader even more popular.

Since this civil death is based on a ritual, a "re-conversion" to normal life would also be possible by another ritual which will soon get invented - if it does not already exist. Now what would happen if such a "sanyasi" returns back to normal life? Could he be officially designated as a ghost? To further complicate matters, what happens if this re-converted sanyasi marries and has children? Would the offspring be known as baby ghosts and would their passports be the first official 'ghost-passports' ever issued ?

We have all heard of married Hindu males getting converted to Islam in order to marry a second time without attracting the long arm of the law (rermember Chand and Fiza). Resorting to 'civil death' could become very popular with income tax evaders. Imagine the income tax defaulter telling the leader of the raiding team that he just "died" an hour ago and then producing the original death certtificate. Shastris performing the ritual of 'sanyas' would be in great demand for they would be the only ones empowered to sign the 'civil death' certificate. Looking at the rush to acquire this qualification, every university will have a AICTE approved post graduate degree to confer upon its students the title of a 'shastri' recognised to prescribe and conduct the process of this 'sanyas'. Leaving IIMs and IITs far behind, this course will acquire a premium of its own and a tough new Joint Entrance Test (JEE) will have to be created to fill the limited seats available. Coaching classes will then overnight spring up at Jhumritalaiya (which will be called the Kota of this JEE) and other places promising a golden future.

It is not difficult to predict that the scheme of such a "death" would eventually become so popular that there would be separate colonies where these persons would stay, raise families (though this is forbidden in 'sanyas', can anyone stop these social and biological urges) work, elect representatives for their parliament, have their own police force, hospitals, schools, judiciary and maybe reservations for different castes (caste certificate issed by the original society will be accepted as sufficient proof) in government and private sectors and have all the other trappings of a normal society except that all this would be for those who have renounced the 'normal' society in which we presently live. Who knows,one day the supreme court of this "parallel community" might announce that it is possible for Hindus to perform religious rites on themselves to once again acquire the status of a person who is alive.

How good a devotee are you?

 Yes, we are indeed talking about devotion to GOD! 

Most of us would equate devotion with prostrating before an idol of our favourite GOD or then keeping a "fast" (say on करवा चौथ ) or going to a temple on predetermined days or then carrying out a सत्यनारायण   पूजा   or going to holy places like Shirdi or  attending religious orations (the ultimate fashion these days) . Do you think this is what real devotion is? 

(1)    Are you confusing devotion with rituals? 

 All religious rituals are supposed to create the right mental ambience to enable more effective communication with GOD. So, if you are a good devotee, don't feel satisfied at just following the rituals - keep track of the ultimate goal; that of communicating with the ALMIGHTY. 

(2)    Shouldn't Communication with GOD be strictly personal? 

Every individual has to have a personal equation with GOD. This is not something that can be done collectively.  Community Projects which require tangible assets  (money, clothes, crutches etc.) need to be done collectively because the demand for these far outstrips the supply and a single individual, howsoever rich, will never be able to provide these. Praying to GOD is not a community project - it is an individual and a strictly personal activity and therefore should be done singly. The joint singing of devotional songs (आरती ), consuming the महाप्रसाद  and doing जागरण  can by no means be classified as PRAYERS.  They are at best, group exercises. The moment you realise this truth, you will also realise that praying does not need to have a fixed time or day. There is a permanent hot line of your own, available to you all the time and always at zero cost. Haven't you heard that a first rate mind always thinks alone! A first rate devotee always prays (communicates) alone. 

(3)    Do you follow religious practices, out of fear of the unknown? 

Devotion is not the monopoly of persons who are "religious" by nature. I conducted a small survey (which may not have a statistical significance, but which does indicate a trend) in which the following five questions were asked. Why don't you rate yourself on the same queries? Be truthful, though! 

•      गणेश , the elephant GOD "likes"  मोदक (sweet eatable made out of sugar and grated coconut). For a change, will you be comfortable offering श्रीखंड  पूरी  on the day of गणेश  चतुर्थी , this year? 
  
•     You perform the पूजा  everyday, in your house. Will you be willing to give it a weekly holiday? 
  
•     Your family has been performing the traditional (nine days) नवरात्रि  पूजा  at home, since the days of your forefathers. This year, can you agree to donate an equivalent amount to an orphanage, instead of celebrating this traditional पूजा? 
  
•     You go to the शनि  मंदिर  every Saturday.  The coming week, can you go there on a Sunday, instead? 
  
•     There are two sets of pundits (पुजारी)  - those who perform the auspicious "पूजा " and others who perform the religious rituals after a death. Are you willing to invite one of the latter groups to solemnize the marriage in your family? 
  

An overwhelming percentage of respondents were unwilling to do any of this and could not explain why. Ask yourself if you are a good robot or a good devotee? 

(4)  Are you the type who prays to ask for a favour ? 

We sometimes put GOD in an impossible situation. We either want to strike a deal with HIM (I don't know why GOD is always considered male) or want to leave everything to HIM or want to berate HIM for favours supposedly denied. A good devotee prays because he feels "peaceful and contented", after doing so. This state of mind ultimately leads to better performance in whatever you do and these could be the real benefits of devotion. 

(5)  Do you make it a point to "understand" the philosophy behind the rituals that you carry out? 

You will be surprised, but most of our children (and adults too) do not know the full meaning of our own national anthem. Imagine them singing something that they do not fully comprehend. How can we expect them to be filled with pride for the country, if they do not even know what they are uttering? This has been the bane of our education system. Parents do not help their children to understand what they insist the children must compulsorily learn to say (आरती  or श्लोक  for example), because they were never helped by their own parents to find these meanings. My survey says that more than 60% of the people who sing the most common गणपती  ची  आरती  in Marathi (सुख करता , दुःख  हरता …) do not know its meaning. Good devotees recite only what they understand and conversely, first understand what they want to recite.  

In conclusion may I remind you of that pearl of wisdom from Mahatma Gandhi? 

It is not those who do not have eyes who are blind! 

Blind are those who inspite of having eyes refuse to 'see'

Is our attitude towards youth, fair?

Most elders (say above 45) look towards young people with "coloured glasses".  Many of our pet theories about what is wrong (note the negative connotation) with these youngsters can be traced to this attitude that we harbour against the young ones.  I can't fathom what happens to us as soon as we step into this side of adulthood. We start being critical of the beliefs and behaviour of the young - fully forgetting that we ourselves, not so long ago, resented this trait in our elders.  I am sure that if we bring about a change in our attitude, the younger generation will cease to appear as a bunch of rebels - as it presently does to most of us.  Let us examine some of these typical mind-sets that we adults possess:

 1)  Youth as a Problem versus Youth as an ASSET.   Biologically, younger people are stronger and this sometimes builds up a psychological resentment amongst the elders.  With rapid progress that science and technology has made, elders sometimes become "obsolete" in their own homes (remember how efficiently your children handle the computer or video games and how sheepish you feel when you can't do it). The oldies react by "downsizing" the young ones just because they can't stomach getting "overshadowed". So, don't rush to the conclusion of youth being a problem.  Try to make use of their superior strength and smartness so that they are an asset to you.  This change in attitude will do wonders for both. 

2)               Youth as UPSTARTS and breakers of traditions versus youth as harbingers of change. Nothing is permanent except change.  The dynamism and energy that the young ones possess make them try out  various alternatives to a given problem (in a short time) and we sometimes interpret this as disrespect for the traditional approach adopted by us.  No risks - no gains, they say.  Many path-breaking discoveries have come about only because somebody decided to try something new.  We all agree that without change, our society will wither.  Why not think of the young ones as harbingers of change instead of berating them as upstarts?  Try this change in attitude--it will do wonders for both. 

3)                  Youth as morally corrupt versus recognition of the fact that moral standards could have changed. If you read history and literature written down the ages, you will realize that every generation has condemned its youth as morally corrupt.  At this rate, the youth of today should be corrupt beyond all limits.  But if you look at this from a different angle, you will realize that every succeeding generation has had slightly looser definition of moral standards of behaviour.  With the onset of AIDS, this trend seems destined for a reversal.  Soon, each succeeding generation will be more prudish. The “pendulum” of social norms would have then come back a full circle.  Someone has said in a lighter vein that parents are not so concerned with why norms of moral behaviour changed but about why this happened so late? 

4)                  Youth as selfish versus youth as responsive to only problems concerning themselves. A large percentage of adults feel that the young ones are selfish and show interest only if something concerns them.  Being selfish is not a vice though being excessively so is not a virtue either.  We must realize that a young mind lives in the immediate "present" and is more concerned with what's happening "here and now", as against "there and then".  It is natural that it gets involved with its own problems rather than those of others.  Later in life it realizes that solving others' problems leads to a greater satisfaction.  Surely we can't blame the youth for immaturity -after all they are young.

5)                  Youth as disrespectful versus youth as more knowledgeable. All generations have complained about the young ones being disobedient and disrespectful towards their elders.  It is difficult to digest that  the younger mind is better informed and would not want to respect those elders who clearly appear less knowledgeable.  Before accepting this theory, I would request all of us to truthfully assess whether in a given situation, we indeed are being confronted by a better informed mind.  If it is so - let's not blame the whole generation.  Respect is earned and cannot be demanded.

            So my dear fellow - oldies! Let's resolve to stop looking through these coloured glasses and re-examine our pet attitudes and biases before forming an opinion about the young.  Remember, the younger we are, the more we want to change this world; the older we get, the more we want to change the young.  Let's remain perennially "young" in our thoughts.

        I came across these unbelievable videos shared by Arvind Virmani, my IIM batchmate. They are symptomatic of the power of youth that we are talking about though frankly there is no age bar when it comes to befriending lions.  E N J O Y...