POOR INSULTED

I do not like the concept of free meal. It is nothing but giving alms. And, perhaps, it has a placebo effect for the highest executive body of this country. Unfortunately all religions encourage poor feeding as it is referred to. During my morning walks, I find women from wealthy families taking out packets of food items and distributing to the poor, who have just woken up from their footpath bed. Those who take the packets have need for it. May be they slept empy stomach or just lying down without sleep because of pangs of hunger. But for those giving away the packets it was placebo effect. It is akin to watching a tragic film and saying to self, ‘ thank god this did not happen to me’.
By distributing free meals to poor students Governmment is doing exactly the same thing. Do you think the parents of children receiving free mid-day meal feel happy? On the contrary, they are sad about their inability to provide food to their children.
Instead of giving alms the Government should work for economically empowering the poor. According to sensus there is no unemployment in our country. The problem is one of wages. If a worker gets wages that can enable him to provide for food, shelter, clothing, education upto high school level and medical care for three members, he will not sacrifice his self-respect to opt for free meals.
There are many schemes for upliftment of the poor. But the benefits hardly reach the poor. Incharge officials of the scheme get richer. It is not enough to just allocate funds. Government should have a mechanism to see that the justice is done. Instead of giving free meals wages should be increased. Democracy is not for just 10% of the population. A handful of people from India coming in the bracket of ‘world’s richest’ is not an achievement, it is infact a matter of concern. When there is hunger, mal nourishment, planning for going to moon is akin to a starving family wanting to buy a colour television.

Merit?

Through out the history of mankind, the previledged sections of society have resisted any social change. There is fear of losing the exclusivity of previledges. That is why the upper caste is resisting reservations for OBCs. They forget two things.
1) When it comes to primary education they send their children to private and very costly schools. In the social circles they boast that their children are in very costly schools. But the same people want Government aided institutions for higher education, where the educationnal expenditure is subsidised by the Government. UGC grants 1000 crores annually to these institutions of higher learning.
2) They talk of merit and quality. What is it? Memorising answeres to likely questions in a very expensive tutorial institute? That is merit.

Hero

Mahatma Gandhi will always be remembered for his fight against untouchability. He was not against caste system. Because of him untouchabiility was officially banned. But even today untouchability does exist. Do you come across any tea stall in any village in India operated by a scheduled caste person?

Ambedkar will always be remembered for his contribution in securing reservations for SCs and STs.

Kanshi Ram will always be remembered for empowering SCs and STs. He made the people outside the fourfold society aware of their political rights. Creating awareness is a great achievement. In my view he is the greatest of the three.

why?

I saw a programme on one of the TV channels that NIIT has established offices in China. As the anchor was saying apart from learning Chinese the staff are also learning Chinese manners. She was shown seated at a dining table and pouring water from a jug into the glass of a person sitting next to her and saying,” in China you have to serve others before you serve yourself”. This was surprising. This is a common ettiquette we were taught when young. The anchor or the scriptwriter is from a generation where they live in very small families and had not had the occasion for informal education. Subjects like Civics, moral science and ‘Deeniyat are missing from school syllabus. Those were the days when elders taught table manners (most of us sat on floor to eat but I am using the word table manners because using ‘floor’ manners does not sound good) to children. Children were taught-not to serve yourself first, do not search for a good piece from a curry etc. Today it is missing.

But, parents do teach children to be competetive even if it amounted to usurping someone else’s right. You have to be one up. And all this in a society, which brands itself ‘spiritual’! Talking of spiriyualism I am reminded of Shri Ravi shankar’s interactions with his desciples. I am quoting from ‘A twist of faith’ by Edward Luce.

Someone asked how she could truly know she was a good person. “You don’t need to be sweetie sweetie, goodie goodie all the time,” said guruji. The audience broke into delighted laughter. Puzzled, I looked around to see hundreds of shining eyes and ecstatic expressions. The next question which came by email and was read out by one of the his followers ended with: “I love you so much guruji.” Someone asked about whether it was always wrong to pay bribes. “You shouldn’t be too idealistic all the time,” he said. “Sometimes you have to make little, little compromises,” he added. Again, the audience erupted in laughter. I was beginning to wonder about the Art of Living’s breathing techniques.
So much for spiritualism! If this is spiritualism what is not spiritualism. Spiritualism has to have social ramifications.
I have many times come across car drivers (I am referring to owner driven cars) trying to overtake a vehicle just in front. They keep blowing horn till the car in front gives way. The quest does not end just here, there is yet another car in front and the same exercise is repeated. He knows that the car in front is in the same pursuit as he and he also knows that the car ahead has hardly scope to give him the way. But! Is this competitiveness? Similar situations are repeated in work life. How can I be second to someone irrespective of my capabilities?

INDIANOIL-weekly 'gup shup'

Why has talking become so unpopular? Talk, we are told, is a poor substitute for action. All too often talk becomes an end in itself. Yet talk is necessary precursor for action. Meetings, conferences, symposia are all necessary. Head Office of a PSU issued an order to all its state units to have weekly meetings of all HODs. The purpose was to review the functioning of each department in the presense of all other department heads to instil competitiveness. But what really happened week after week? It is Monday morning. Everyone who is someone asking every other someone---what time is the meeting? No one knows for sure. There is an air of anxiety. Announcement comes on phone from PA—meeting is at 1530, followed by a personal message to each someone. At 1530 two or three are in the conference hall. The head telephones to find if all have arrived. He too is anxious not because of the meeting agenda but because it is not the first time that there is delay. He enters the conference hall and occupies his chair. Only about 50% attendance! Intercom “silsila” to each yet- to- arrive someone begins. Silsila is given up, as the response is poor.Lunch was over between 1330 and 1400 hrs. Serious managers do not take lunch on time. It probably is one of the unwritten management principles! Back to the conference hall. By 1600 most members are seated. Minutes of the previous meeting are on the screen. First point is taken up. By now each member has in front of him a piece of well-topped pastry and a large samosa. Mouth watering, though the lunch was over just an hour and a half ago. Samosa after all is a great delicacy. The boys who serve the snacks have not had their food. Normally they have after 1600 after they clean up the places where employees have their food. You can see hunger in their eyes as they serve appetizingly topped pastry and alluring crisp brown samosa. Someone says –why pastry every time. Why not khalakhand every alternate week. Good suggestion says someone else.Meeting is on. Third point is being discussed. Meeting did complete with change of dates for action on many points. A couple of new points added.Next meeting is scheduled Monday next.

nationality and citizenship

We in India equate nationality with citizenship. In other words citizenship is synonimous with nationality. One cannot say one is Christian, Muslim or Hindu by nationality and an Indian citizen.

But when it comes to Indians living abroad as citizens of UK, USA, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, we like to think that they are Indian nationals.

Whenever some citizen of USA, who happened to be a citizen of India once, gets an award or goes in a spaceship, we celebrate. Mr. Shashi Tharoor in Sunday Times once wrote that we could even include Mr. Churchill in our list of Nobel winners of India because he spent a few years as an army Lieutenant.

In political science a nation is different from a state. Nation does not need geographical boundaries and soverienty. It is just the population and the we-feeling that makes a nation. Infact we have so many nationalities in India. Each caste is a nation. The bond among Khammas, Reddys, Velamas transcends Indianess.That is OK! But for example if a Roman Catholic were to say he was Vatican by nationality and Indian by citizenship, there would be furore.

By the way does Vikram Pandit hold an Indian passport? NRI should be one who holds an Indian passport but stays and works abroad.

Poets and versifiers

Faber brought out a book on modern poetry but named it faber book of modern verse, though it included works of celebrated poets like Eliot, Pound, Auden, Yeats and many others. May be they were sceptical that many included were mere versifiers.

I came across another anthology named ‘Silver poets’from ‘everyman’s library’. The introduction or the prepace gave clarification why the anthology was named so. It says, “ it acknowledges a distinction between this particular assembly of poets and their more eminent contemporaries----.”

I do not recollect having come across any anthology titled Copper poets or bronze poets. I believe this category does exist. Ofcourse I have not seen a title of golden poets either. I have come across the term lesser poets, whatever it means. On the second thought it should mean versifyers who do not have poetic content even very occasionally.

Atalji, our highly respected politician, is also a poet. Hardly anyone knew him as a poet before he became prime minister. Then there were sycophants not only of his political acumen but also of his poetry. He gave in to sychophancy. He would recite one of his verses on any given occasion or on a slight suggestion to recite one. India TV portrayed it well in their programme ‘gustakhi mwaf’. Only Kaif Azmi could say what Atalji was writing was mere ‘tukbandi’. Celebrated singers offered to sing his poems and they did sing. Composers lined up to give musical score.

Verse is a form, while poetry it’s content. When the two compliment each other it is great poetry. Even the free verse has rhythm. Great prose has rhythm. Great prose also bursts into poetry. I can think of James Joyce and Katherine Mansfield. Poets use ‘measured language of emotion’. A poem is ‘a litarary expression in which words are used in a concentrated blend of sound and imagery to create an emotional response.’

‘In its broadest sense, writing that aims to present ideas and evoke an emotional experience in the reader through the use of meter, imagery, connotative and concrete words, and a carefully constructed structure based on rhythmic patterns. Poetry typically relies on words and expressions that have several layers of meaning. It also makes use of the effects of regular rhythm on the ear and may make a strong appeal to the senses through the use of imagery.’