Ask not what your country...

Bihar, to most of us, serves as a glaring illustration of exactly what is wrong with India. Even more so, at election time.


But can we, the urban 'elite', DO something about it? The answer is - it's never easy, but you can make a difference.

This piece I wrote on ADR (Association for Democratic Reform) shows you what kind of commitment and perseverance it takes. But, pay-offs do come. Of course, the statistics are of 2005, and the figures have increased to a horrible figure or for that matter a sorry figure. A figure which can bring any Indian to shame.

And yes, it is a matter of great pride that the founding trustees of ADR were professors and alumni of IIM Ahmedabad.

A few good men. B-schools are not known for people fighting to clean up politics. But some do.

The political and commercial morals of the US are not merely food for laughter, they are an entire banquet, commented the inimitable Mark Twain. That being the case, the state of Bihar - as it goes to the polls almost every year- would certainly qualify as a public orgy. Affidavits filed with the Election Commission  reveal that one in three candidates fielded by major political parties have chargesheets pending against them.

But there's a story behind the statistics. A story of how a few good men can take on a mighty messed-up system, and make a difference.

The story begins in August 1999, when a group of intellectuals got off their armchairs and formed the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) in Ahmedabad. The 11 founding members included eight professors of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), two IIM-A alumni and a professor from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

The challenge before them: to make the voting public think, and thinking people vote.

ADR decided to start by addressing an issue, which almost inevitably cropped up in the post-prandial conversations on problems facing India: the criminalisation of politics. Public interest litigation (PIL) was the chosen route.

In December 1999, Kamini Jaiswal filed a PIL on behalf of ADR in the Delhi High Court, seeking disclosure on criminal charges faced by candidates, as well as their financial and educational history. The PIL was upheld, but the Congress, Samata Party and the Union of India appealed against the judgement.

In May 2002, the Supreme Court again upheld the PIL and on 28 June 2002, the Election Commission issued a directive implementing the judgement. With remarkable alacrity, 21 political parties met on 8 July 2002 and unanimously 'rejected' the court orders. They decided to pass an ordinance to circumvent the judgement.

Founder-trustee and IIM-A 1984 alumnus Ajit Ranade recalls the tensions prevailing at the time: "A group of them met the then President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and explained the situation to him. Kalam returned the ordinance but the Cabinet sent it back unchanged. He had no choice but to sign it the second time."

ADR and several other organisations moved the court once again. In March 2003, the Supreme Court ruled in their favour, linking its judgement to the citizens' 'fundamental right to know'.

It was a well-earned victory, but even before the formal judgement came in, ADR had initiated its first ever 'election watch'. The battleground: the post-Godhra Gujarat elections of September to December 2002. ADR issued 40 advertisements appealing to the public for information and collected over 1,000 affidavits filed by candidates.

Names of 138 candidates with criminal records were released and widely reported in the print and electronic media as well as disseminated to political parties, bureaucrats and NGOs.

The 'election watch' movement has now spread across the country. In every state, ADR ties up with local NGOs and citizens' groups to help in collecting, compiling and disseminating information among public.

In Mumbai, ADR worked closely with AGNI; in Bihar it collaborated with Lok Samvad, a network of NGOs it has identified and trained. Says Bibhu Mohapatra, ADR's full-time co-ordinator: "The affidavits are written in a language that is gobbledegook to the lay person." ADR's task is to simplify the data and amplify it through the media so that voters can make more informed choices.

Of course, critics argue, many candidates file false or incomplete affidavits. Mere criminality is not a ground for disqualification of candidates and, sadly, criminals often romp home victories anyway. Counters Trilochan Sastry, a founding member of ADR and now a professor at IIM, Bangalore: "But there are many early signs of change." For example, MPs are paying up their electricity and telephone bills as liabilities must be disclosed.

Founder-trustee and IIM-A professor Jagdeep Chhokar believes the idea is to build up pressure on parties themselves to field cleaner candidates and the indication is that "it's happening". Rome wasn't rebuilt in a day, and one thing ADR is not short on is patience.

Fighting long drawn-out court battles, travelling through cities like Bhagalpur and Begusarai and taking on the establishment are not the general domain of IIM professors or alumni. Thinking 'out of the box' is an old management dictum. In this case, the pandora's box that is Indian democracy has actually been opened.

There are indeed many organizations who are working selflessly but are very much publicity shy.
some of the so-called 'thinking class' actually doing something concrete. I think its high time the educated classes stood up and fought for their country instead of the current apathetic attitude on display for generations. The workers will work, the educated classes will pay taxes and the politicians will stay corrupt... too long this has been accepted with the convinient excuse of 'what can a single person do'.


It would be great to actually contribute than be a by-stander all the while!!!  For more info log on to www.adrindia.org

Diwali - then and now

Zamaana badal gaya, as they say. Aur uske saath Diwali bhi.

Ab Diwali greetings ko hi le lo. Greeting cards have gone the Siberian Crane way - they're a rare sighting. Instead it's the Diwali SMS or now, MMS. Aur ismein bhi alag alag type ke log-baag hain.
a) Wholesale variety: These are the folks who message their entire phonebooks, coz after all they're on a 50 p per sms plan - may as well make use of it. Never mind if some of the recipients are clueless about who the hell the sender is...

b) Designer variety: Ordinary 'happy diwali' and 'best wishes for the new year' messages won't pass muster with this lot. They take extra time and effort to come up with something creative. Or, wait for someone else to - and then promptly forward it!

c) Reply-only variety: Yeh log khud message nahin bhejte but if they receive one, will take the trouble to reply.

d) Bhayaanak variety: "Happy Diwali. Have you filed your Income Tax Return for AY 05-06? If not pls file it by 31st Oct 05..." Yup, the I-T dept just discovered the joys of spamming!

Diwali - Then & Now

Other ways in which Diwali has changed for People Like Us...

* Then: Rui ki battiyan, mitti ke diye.
* Now: Wax waale bane banaye khareed liye.
* Then: Ghee waale laddoo-barfi-halwe khaane ke din.
* Now: Chocolate hampers, sugar-free mithai are in.

* Then: Atom bombs, 10,000 ki ladis were cool.
* Now: Anaars, chakris and phuljhadis rule.

* Then: Problem - is saal client ko kya gift bhejna hai
* Now: Solution - Hamari company mein ab gift lena manaa hai!

* Then: Saal mein ek baar bacchon ke kapde aate they
* Now: Ab to har hafte mall visit mein Diwali manaate hain.

Diwali hampers are now made of chocolate sauce, hazelnute coffe powder, oreo cookies and hershey chocolates. So much for Indian DIWALI!

And let's not forget the lights now come from China.
Not only Diwali, all other festivals of India have undergone a drastic change in last 10-15 yrs.

They have become a means to show off. What I feel is that the original message of the festival has been lost somewhere in these years. I still remember, when we used to go to our cousins place and then we would be joined by their neighbours and vice versa. We would eagerly tell them that this year we have purchsed so much of crackers. All of us from the neighbourhood  used to go on cracker bursting spree. So much so that this had become a ritual. Immediately after the "phataka pradarshan", we would jump into having sweets and namkeen and that too besan ka halwa and lehsun ke namkeen.
Now: they're all as far from home as i am , maybe more. Crackers even on Diwali day are few and not too loud.

Then: looking forward to colony aunties who'd come over to give mithais and then getting upset at folks when they repackaged those boxes to forward on to other friends.
Now: on low sweet diet. Both my folks as well as the aunties are fast growing old and missing us kids with the sweets waiting for someone to eat them.

Then: the whole family attended... 10 of us kids fighting over the huge set of crackers.. which never seemed enough.
Now: the crackers are there but few ppl to light them. the elders are there but no noise anymore :(

The only thing that has remained is the paper cards. I insisted to send me cards on all occasions and refused to accept any e- or m-greetings. Unfortunately, my friends prefer not to wish than wishing thru a paper card :(

I'm not nostalgic about the old days - except for the home made mithais and gulabjamuns which sadly, are missing from the Diwali. Mithai ki plates that neighbours exchanged then.

In every other way, now is an improvement on then. And yes, the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' remains. But there is more awareness - more efforts to contribute to charity. More than one yuppie couple I know has taken the trouble to make a donation of toys and sweets to an orphanage.

So things are different - but it's still Diwali
Until next year, wish you peace and khushhaali!

The unholy 'jehadi'

Traditionally, you wake up on a Diwali morning and the first thing you look at is a silver coin or rupee note. It is believed that "Laxmiji ke darshan" on the day of Laxmi puja brings prosperity and luck in the coming year.

Additionally, you wake up on one fine Diwali morning and the papers are full of stories of children who will never see their parents again. Of entire families wiped out by serial blasts. I wonder where the HR activists take shelter during such events ? Where's Amnesty ? What steps do they take to put pressure on governments that have terrorism as a state policy ?

Again, most nations including our neighbour condemn the blasts. Mere condemnation amounts to nothing. This only highlights the impotency of institutions like the UN...then why are we trying for a UNSC seat...would being a permanent member help matters ?

Now I have that fear in mind that before any festival, auspicious day, there is going to be a bomb blast and tears everywhere. It might be a natural cause or a man made one. With earthquakes, tsunamis, train mishaps and bombings, I wonder should we still feel happy about a Festival.

I fail to understand why do we need any symbol of protest from a particular religious group who are as much Indians as anybody else. Heinous acts are to be condemned by everyone. Time and again we should stop expecting a sympathy statement. I am sure that even if a hundred thousand people take to the streets it won't make any difference to the Jihadis who have been brainwashed by the ISI .

I am in favour of getting the POTA back. As for HR Activists they care for the life of one terrorist rather than the hundreds who are victims of the terrorists. The problem of taking stern actions against Jihadis are acts and ordinances like POTA, MCOCA etc. If the Govt. uses it, you have HR activists up in arms saying that these acts violate HR.

Besides, such acts leads to more misuse than use. If the GoI comes up with something like the Patriot Act, you have no idea how much trouble folks are going to be in... I feel that more than the community the country as a whole should take a stand against these acts of JEHAD. The Government should not treat it as another of those JEHADI acts that plague our country. A stern action needs to be taken. A message should be conveyed "No more ruthless acts of violence on the common masses in the name of HOLY JEHAD".

Its high time that someone from this community stands up and says that all this going on in the name of JEHAD will not be tolerated ...enough is enough...everything has a limit and it has been crossed in this case, a probable solution to this problem will be to set a meet of all the important and intellectual members of this community to take drastic steps against these fedayeens , outcast them, penalise them, punish them to give them a strong and stern message that these things will not be tolerated now. Nothing can stop these men except humiliation from their own community.

'Jehadis' plan and execute unimaginably evil acts during the very month of Ramzan when they are enjoined by their God to undertake fasting and penance to purify themselves.

Can the elders, leaders and imams of their community please stand up and declare strongly and clearly, that they will burn in hell? So far I've seen one picture of Shabana Azmi in some kind of protest march and I'm afraid she is not the kind of person whom the average jehadi looks up to for career guidance.

Home 'too sweet' home

The last time we shifted, we found out a fridge magnet which read "A clean house is a sign of a misspent life".

I would partly agree. I mean, sure, you don't want to live in a dirty house but I do so hate picture-perfect living spaces. They look so very unlived in!

So let me modify that to an 'immaculately interior-decorated' home, to me, is a sign of a misspent life.

When I step into a house where everything matches with everything else, not a cushion is out of place - and it's not even a formal dinner party - I feel a small, inward cringe. If the home is truly outstanding, I even feel a little bit like a kid in a china shop.

Growing up, there was one home of this kind in our locality. In a colony of teachers where the prevailing fashions were divans and rexine sofas, this one home had carefully laid out expensive antique furniture. It reminded me of a museum no one ever visited.

The aunty in this house was rumoured to be related to some royal family - no idea if there was any truth in it. The kids were the only I knew outside Enid Blyton books who actually went to boarding school.

The lasting impression I have of this 'lovely' home : cold and unwelcoming. A very personal - and perhaps biased - impression but hard to erase.

Perfection comes not from adding things, but taking them off. Imagine a newly built up house, don't you think it looks better without the furniture than with the furniture? I would say, keep it really simple and neat. The more stuff you add, the more messy it becomes and the more the time you spend on cleaning it up.

Rather, for me it extends to people also. Infact I have difficulty maintaining my place in semi-messed condition, as I find it difficult to decide what should be in place, and what should not... So, for me it starts with a picture-perfect one, stays like this for some time then slowly starts messy.. and gets (and stays for sometime) messier...

I mean it's personal choice, how much time and energy (and money) you want to invest in home decor but I would much rather eat, read or sleep than bother about putting together a living room that could make it to the centrespread of 'Inside Outside' magazine.

But if I really really had to put my passion into a building project (assuming I ever have that kind of money!) - 'Amazing Vacation Homes' (Discovery Travel & Living) would be the way to go. Amen.

Kadwa chauth

'Karva chauth' is a festival which really really gets my goat. I mean why, why in this day and age does it still remain the 'done thing' for millions of women - including the younger generation - in north India?

In India and Nepal, Hindu married women observe a fast on Krishna Chaturthi of Kartik (October-November) . The only aim of this fast is to save the husband from an untimely death and have a long married life.

After taking bath in the early morning, before sunrise, women should undertake a vow for welfare of the husband, sons and grandsons. Shiv, Parvati, Kartikeya, Ganesh and the moon (Chandrama) are worshipped. The fast is broken only after seeing the moon.

The origins of this festival are murky. One story that is always related on this day...A lady called Veeravati broke her fast and her husband died. She preserved the body of her husband and he came back to life the next Karva Chauth. It is believed that a Pati-Vrata woman has the power to confront the God of Death, Yama.

I would have thought that modern young women would gradually lose interest in a festival with such retro contours:

The fast is a rigorous one as the wife does not even drink water on this day. In the evening, all married women, dressed in gorgeous wedding garments and jewelery, undertake worship. As the moon rises, they bow down at the feet of their husbands and give the decorated plate with fruit and other material to their mother in law. This festival deepens the relation between the wife, the husband and the mother in law.

However, interest in the festival has in fact increased.

Bollywood has had several poignant 'karva chauth' sequences (remember Shahrukh and Kajol in DDLJ) and of course beauty parlours and other commerical estabishments have jumped into the fray offering 'full day packages' to keep hungry-thirsty women occupied till moonrise. Especially so in the very dekho-ji-maine-kitne-paise-kharch-kiye culture of Delhi.

Life in the 'fast' lane
Actually I would categorise karva chauth fastees into 3 categories:
a) Sab karte hain: Everyone's doing it, so you do too. This applies especially to those women who live in joint families.

Some of course actually enjoy all the shringar, sacrifice and saas-saheli bonding. Others play along, knowing that resistance is futile in the face of biraadari and expectant mother-in-laws. !

Aur kuch nahin to kuch maal to milega :)

b) 'What if...': This lot is not very keen on the fast but keeps it anyways thinking of it like an annual insurance policy. Just in case something terrible does happen, there can never be any fingers pointed at her for not even keeping 'karva chauth'.

c) 'So romantic'!: Lastly, there is this new breed of women who don't actually believe in pati-parmeshwar but think it's a very cute and romantic thing to do. Many expect the husband - in SRK-DDLJ style - to also deprive himself ("Dear, at least keep a fruit juice fast", they might kindly offer).

This lot expects the fast to be broken over a romantic dinner and/or a special gift. Engaged and 'newly married' types are usually to be found in this category - as u might well expect!

In the 'slow' lane
Kadwa chauth and all other vraths or fast in India or abroad in Hindu or other religions are generally based on pure science related to human health. Neither do people try to decode the facts related to these vraths nor try to understand the value of vraths.

Most of the people accept vraths as ritual and tradition; they observe them according to their belief and leave it without exploring the real facts behind it.

If one wants to find out the truth one will have to experiment with vraths. One must have to keep fast with rational scientific temper.

Keep any fast according to the belief, follow the rituals according to the tradition and find out the results. Without any observation and experiment any one can criticize other's belief and call it misbelieve or superstitions. But when one does this practice of vrath with rational scientific temper it will change completely.

Here I will slightly modify a quote to expose the sexism within it...I think all this fuss about men working at a job is really foolish. It is ridiculous that men even today follow such biased traditions. Why isn't there any tradition of wives supporting their husbands by going out to work for long hours? Why is it that if a woman has a job she is 'so independent' and if a man does he is just normal?

I think all this fuss about KarwaChauth is really foolish. Why isn't there any tradition of husbands fasting for long lives of their wives? Why is it that if a woman fasts she is 'just observing a tradition' and if a man does he is being very loving? Why is it that a woman has to bother about her husbands life and a husband never bothers about his wife's? Isn't marraige a relationship in which both sides gain? So why is the burden of ensuring long life of their spouses on women and men never even dream of it?

Now there is another myth to this extravaganza. The origin of this festival was based on a very sweet and noble idea. Though this idea has lost its true sense as today the whole outlook of this festival has changed. Long time back, girls used to get married at a very early stage, and had to go and live with their in-laws in other villages. If she had any problems with her husband or in-laws, she would have no one to talk to or seek support from. Her own parents and relatives would be quite far and unreachable. There used to be no telephones, buses and trains. Thus the custom started that, at the time of marriage, when bride would reach her in-laws, she would befriend another woman there, who would be her friend or sister for life. It would be like god-friends or god-sisters. Their friendship would be sanctified through a small Hindu ceremony right during the marriage.

Once the bride and this woman had become god-friends or god-sisters, they would remain so all their lives and recognize the relation as such. They would also treat each other like real sisters. During any difficulties later in life, involving even the husband or in-laws, these women would be able to confidently talk or seek help from each other. Thus Karva Chauth started as a festival to celebrate this friendship (relationship) between the once-brides and their god-friends (god-sisters). Praying and fasting for the sake of husband came later and was secondary. It was probably added, along with other mythical tales, to enhance the festival. In any case, husband would always be associated with this festival, because the day of starting this holy friendship between two god-sisters was essentially the day of bride's marriage to him.

Thus praying and fasting for him by his wife during a celebration of her relationship with the god-friend would be quite logical.Thus, originally Karva Chauth is once a year festival to renew and celebrate the relationship between god-friends (god-sisters). It had a tremendous social and cultural significance once when the world lacked the ways to communicate and move around easily. " Neat little categories of people banged into neat little pigeon holes !! And after having done that, the dainty little manouever at the end, "to each her own".

Did you consider the possibility that it may be possible for a girl brought up in the Indian tradition to actually want to fast (not starve, there's a difference you know) on Karwa Chauth ? Many festivals are just a way of expression. Otherwise 'Diwali' by any means releases the lion's share of pollutants which in no way is 'do-good-to-society' types. It's only about preservering what we believe, and for the same reason we tend to observe them in all austerity or tradition or by any other word in that place. It's an ocassion to celebrate. I still believe these things are not the index of portrayal of women as devoted to husbands or something.

The retro-traditions popularised by Bollywood & Indian TV (think saas-bahu serials) are doing a lot of harm, to the extent that even unmarried (although engaged) girls keep these fasts.

In fact, I was schocked to see even an ad for Chevy Optra focussed on this ritual of Karva chauth! In this age of ultra modern urban women, I am more shocked to hear it is still being observed! Most indian customs have a lot of meaning attached to them . Somehow not everybody has a deep knowledge of the customs and traditions. They just see the surface and criticise them.

I look at it as an interesting sociological study..You won't believe how many women look at it from the romantic and traditional angle.. and feel they're actually doing something they were meant to. If this is feminism then this is how it should be. In fact the question here is much broader than feminism: Why do Indians stick to silly notions which do not have a basis or have lost all basis. Tradition and 'cultural heritage' are all good as long as nobody forces it on me.

Its true that otherwise smart people can be stupid when it comes to following the 'stupidities of our medivial ancestors'. There are hundreds of such baseless traditions that are followed. Most are harmless if not taken seriously and played along for fun. It however turns dangerous when people become serious about such observances and don't even mind harming human relationships on the grounds of tradition. Some people need constant reminding that we have gone a long way ahead in terms of scientific understanding of how the Universe works.

In Maharashtra the Vata Paurnima and Hartalika is done on the same lines.

I think fasts are good from a health stand point, if done wisely. Fat women can lose some weight that way. People eat the wrong food and too much of it nowadays anyway. Infact, that's really the reason fasts were introduced in the first place. Its doesn't matter whether the fast is to please a God or for the good health and well-being of a husband. Those are simply excuses to get the common people to fast and to regulate the digestive system.

I don't see how shunning culture and traditions makes someone a *modern*, let alone a practical feminist. I just call that a rebel without a cause (and I mean no offense here).  Well! practically seeing it may seem questionable and may be a futile effort for some but just imagine like this keeping the fast is actually a sweet romantic thing u r doing for ur husband. I mean its just like any other special day when u want to please ur love and wait for him for a special dinner.

It is the way we've been brought up at our schools. We just tend to learn Calculus in Maths, but we do not learn how to use it. Did you ever know that manufacturing a small tin can that hold 500 gms of garbanzo beans, uses calculus to calculate the diameter? Not many of us do. And the reason is we are so used this mugging up stuff at school that we have completely lost the creativity to think. Why to blame women who follow customs without thinking, when they have never been made to think. As for the religious aspect of it, there must be a good reason, and I wouldn't comment on this issue without a proper knowledge of the scriptures. The Chopra's or the Johar's were *not* the one who started this tradition?  The movies and now the television soaps have ensured that this tradition is still on. It has a story behind it and lends a good flavor to a typical desi plot.

Personally I agree that practicality should rule - let each one decide if it is kadwa ya mitha for oneself. If the tradition had something to do with both men and women starving for each other, then it would be different. People may do it for romantic reasons - but it is still the EXPECTED thing to do. The subtext for a majority of married north Indian women is that it makes them GOOD wives. If a man does it - he's being GOD. :)

Why do we romanticize the notion of being cornered by tradition. It's one thing to fast for the spouse's health - it's quite another to be forced to do it and judged on the basis of that. In fact  it was only the gujju's who don't *do* anything for their husbands. Practicality is great. And it sucks that some women make a nautanki off the karwa chauth, but I think for women who have faith in it and sincerely keep the fast : I think it's beautiful.

--everybody is doing it so lets do it.
--its romantic.
--this is what they do in movies.
--another reason for a get together (kitty party of sorts).
-- Cool Mehendi sessions.
-- another reason to wear that heavy saari and jewellery.
-- pampering from husband (in some cases).
-- something different in the routine life.
BENEFITS ARE MORE THAN THE SACRIFICE.

New tamasha to the whole thing is that the husbands too keep themselves starved cause their wives are sacrificing so much for them , but this is restricted to newly or recently married couples category........of course husbands become much wiser as the years progress.

For heavens sake moon is just a satellite to earth ... it will not come to save your husband nor it has any powers to do the same. Imagine, someone going through all that for you. now, that's pressure. and feminism? The less said about it the better. Here is adding another perspective. In an increasingly busy life the Karwa chuath is one of the few occassions for the married to get together and spend some time for just each other. They can just reiterate their commitment to each other. I guess A more sedate version of your "Romantic Reason". Or lets say our own desi version of Valentine's day. 

Over a period of time (read in a more captalistic society) fasts themselves might change meanings & modes. Some of these changes are already visible when we find those fasting devouring the most exotic delicacies made specially for fasters. How about restaurants offering an exclusive "Karva Chauth" evening in a strongly traditional ambience with a early sixties movie thrown in along with a kaurva chauth dinner. Special packages for 10+ couples....

After reading all this I'm sure the word that comes to most readers minds will be: 'feminist'. But you know what, there are more of practical feminists than crusading ones. They pick and choose their own battles.

Bottomline: Each to her own, of course. Some find it a sweet tradition - but for some it leaves more of a kadwa aftertaste.

Here's hoping the moon does peep out on time - for those who feel otherwise!

What is this life...

If full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?

People Like Us, with hectic 'urban professional' lives will nod sagely in agreement with that old school poem.

But, there's a tribe whose profession it is now, to simply stand and stare. I often pass a bunch of them on my way to work, standing on the main roads.

Thin, dark, wiry and sweating profusely - despite the 'free' caps on their heads - these are yet another by-product of our labour-surplus economy: Human Billboards.

OK, so what these young fellows actually do is hold up a placard - a dozen of them standing at 5 metre intervals. The radio channels, which are currently fighting for supremacy in the morning listenership segment, seem to be the biggest patrons of this new 'medium class'.

Yesterday it was 'Fm Rainbow' trying to attract listenership to its morning program where Shruti Hassan was apparently singing live. A couple of weeks ago it was 'BIG 92.7' exhorting us to tune in to Tollywood stars like Tamanna and Asin hosting their morning show.

I feel sorry for those 'human billboards', many of their placards drooping in direct proportion to the mercury rising as the day progresses. On the other hand, in the books of a slum-kid it's probably good money for 'doing nothing'. That kid could be standing crushing stones in a quarry, expending hard physical labour, and still earning far less.

No doubt there is a middleman who 'supplies' these boys and makes the lion's share of it though!

Stareway to Heaven
However, what's more intriguing to me is the rise and rise of these 'stand and stare' jobs. If you are a lower middle class type, with sub-optimal educational qualifications, your 'dream job' today would probably be with a security agency.

Don a uniform, a dull vacant, stare and stand in air conditioned comfort at the local mall. I'm not saying the job isn't necessary - at one particular point it's amazing how many people are still wary of climbing onto escalators or doing so for the first time!

I suppose, most of these 'Human Billboards' are definitely doing it by choice. In fact they are happy that they could find an easy employment instead of doing other menial jobs and getting exploited out there. We educated ones in the society have a habbit of asking people not to do a particular job since we feel they are exploited but do these people have a choice. I have myself seen young kids who wash dishes by choice in Dhabas since they at least earn something there.

I am into recruitment and placement, and sadly I don't do anything better than sit and stare at my monitor. The only difference being, I sit and make more. But we all should respect the fact that someone or the other has to do these odd jobs. If nobody wants to clean the toilets, how will our toilets remain clean? If nobody wants to be hamaalis, how will we move our stuff? But we all seem to have a common goal, fill our stomach.
Not all human billboards are exploited 'child labour'. Many are doing it by choice - and at least in their mid to late teens.

Yesterday a colleague saw a bunch of women standing at a crossroad to promote a new show on Kalaingar TV (can't recall the name). There's even a pic of it in the Deccan Herald. So I guess business is thriving and there is 'equality' of employment opportunity. Although as the 'women' were not visible under the placards who knows what lay beneath :)

I see these often during my visit to Madras. I actually thought it was a better way to employ these kids. Its the same argument about sweat-shops in India-- but would you rather have the kids beg/do drugs or be abused by drunken parents or work 10 hrs a day in a sweat-shop?

I guess none of the options are favorable, but still...it's like a circle. there is no one answer to this question

"...these are yet another by-product of our labour-surplus economy: Human Billboards." A different story out here in Madras. Sun TV advertises on television, requesting viewers to listen to its radio channel.  Oh well, if they had hired me for the job, I would have provided a lot of billboard space - but I guess there is more than enough demand for losers.

But looking at the brighter side these same kids could be the ones begging on the streets, taking drugs around the corner or even worse - in desperation of money resort to crime. These job maybe boring but I think to a poor man who needs to earn his daily living even to buy ONE meal a day anything which can give him money is worth it. So why not this one. and besides, the joy of having a job which you truly enjoy is surely limited a very few, I believe. 

In their race to "win", people have forgotten human values and humanity, itself. Banning such radio channels(which employ child labour directly or indirectly) might help. Would slow the pace at which the world is raging to get to some unknown destination called "success".... But I still think we can do much more than just stare back out of our car windows... The question is how many of us are willing to do that?  And some 'stand and stare' job, the next big thing to a sinecure.

A pathetic state of child labour indeed... As far as malls are concerned, yes you can see the first timers to the emerging malls of India tottering on an elevator or an escalator which reminds me the first time I had to take them myself! It sure is funny!  

What else is a job supposed to be for? Now that may not sound in sync with what most urban people with their highly overpriced education think, but the fact is people work for earning their bread. The adventure, the challenge, the interest are things that one finds while working . . That's not the purpose; the purpose is to make some moolah and take it home so that you can feed yourself and your dependents. We hardly realise how important a difference do these people make to our lives, the house keeping guys for example: One day our cleaner disappears and our lives go upside down. When I was studying you know i used to think what use are these fire alarms and these expensive safety systems we put and advise. . we spend fortunes on them. . now they have a purpose that can not be denied but I used to think that way, are these security guys different, I mean superficially one may think that they are but if you look at closely isn't installing gadgets the same as employing a vast army of employees ? We can not stand another human you know . . We are happier with a silly check that does not allow us in without the swipe in card but a man who recognises no we don't want that. We have been thinking we are making our lives comfortable and doing things creatively but we find that more of us are searching for that abstract thing called peace . . and we have people selling nirvanas and selling gadgets to MEDITATE. . huh. . intelligent marketing and great business sense someone would say. . . What are we doing as a society ? Our problem is that we work for adventure, for fun or for interest. . for challenge, some work for finding an identity. Do we work for working? ? and what we see is all kind of things . . . people doing all kind of things to be on the fourth column on page x of a natinal daily. . we have Gauravs talking about IIPM's and Arindam Choudhuri's talking back to IBM's . . and people resigning. . 

The problem again is that none of them is doing it for earning bread. . We mould the whole thing into a question of the right to free speech and we very conveninetly forget that all freedom has to have a greater responsibility. . Just like we may be free to ride on the road and that does not mean ride as we like. . Free speech . . huh. . I don't know what it means . . We are thrilled by the number of comments on our blogs and the index that judges our creative talent is the controversies that our statements create . . We are driven by the attributes. . thats what the problem is. . All jobs would be boring if we look for adventure and point an interest in them. . These are not things that the jobs have in them by themselves. . These are effects that workers can bring about by commitment to the job. . Every job has that opportunity. . but not when you do it for these atributes. . When you do it with a commitment to the job you find others see all those attributes in that job. 

I remember reading about a shop in one of the malls in Dubai where they kept human mannequins! These people were supposed to stand absolutely still for a period of two hours!!

It's just that the job seems so boring, pointless and routine... But that, I guess is what 90% of jobs in this world are about.

So stand, and stare. No boughs, or sheep and cows, but I'll occasionally stare back from my car window - if that's any consolation.

On 'changing the world'

Hmm, hate to say I told you so but way back in one of my previous posts, I expressed a similar thought. Of course, I merely stated Sania was 'more than a tennis player'. The New Statesman, described by HT as one of the 'most respected political-literary-cultural weeklies in the UK has listed Sania as one of the men and women who will "transform the world".

In his article on Sania, Jason Cowley writes about the “world-transforming potential of a young, attractive, articulate and media-smart teenage Muslim tennis star”. Like it or not the 'M' word has been used. The scarcity of Muslim women in any profession involving wearing of short skirts is glaring enough to lead to that reference.

But this being the NS, the idea is to see Sania — and her sport — as a symbol of a bigger, more sociologically significant phenomenon. “Muhammad Ali, Pele, Evonne Goolagong, Viv Richards, the so-called ghetto Cinderellas Venus and Serena Williams and the Chinese basketball star Yao Ming — these sporting icons, because of their fame, achievement and corporate power, have helped to transform the way mainstream sporting audiences think about race, gender and the old political structures that once controlled the games we play.

“Can Mirza have a similarly transformative effect, not only in India but also throughout the world? She may not have won a major tournament, yet already she occupies a role through which flow many of the most significant intellectual and cultural currents of our times: the clash between secularism and political Islam, the emancipation of women in the Muslim world, the dominance of celebrity, the tyranny of the image, the emergence of India as a world power,” Cowley writes.

Well, I would really like to buy into this - though Sania has a long way to go before she can be compared to Pele and Muhammad Ali in terms of sporting achievement. I personally believe she will get there but even if she doesn't reach the heights of a Serena Williams, I would not crucify her. She's gone further than any Indian woman has gone before in her sport.

And what can’t the media do…… Sania Mirza, the tennis player who can change the world…
If just posing for a few ads, playing tennis and wearing some short skirts can change the world, then why not all of us try? If some people think a girl belonging to a conservative religion playing tennis in a short attractive skirt is revolutionary, then they definitely have got the definition of the word wrong.

Well, just one question – If Sania had been just another girl, dressed in a knee-length skirt (not in minis) and not good-looking, would she have had the potential to change the world? Probably she would, for the mere fact that she went out and fought herself into the international picture, but definitely not according to the media. If Sania played so well and gave her opponents a tough time, but not win, what’s lacking in her? The spirit to put up that fight till the end… And if that’s the case, we will see her putting up a good fight in all her matches and not win a single match . I don’t see how she will sustain herself in international tennis …

Near winners cannot change the world, real winners can try to.

Probably the media can moderate their opinion, good or bad, about Sania or any person .
Unlike when we started winning Miss India, I couldn't think one Sania could have inspired many other girls (or boys) to take up tennis or sports in general. A sporting career requires far too much dedication and commitment! Not only from the player but his / her family!

Glamour on the other hand is a quick fix, you can always fail at acting / modelling but then marry a rich guy with your improved looks :)

Hope I am wrong, but there's just too much hype and some 5 years is the most she'll survive. She will scale some heights, but I feel most of the comments we hear from competitors, commentators sounds like "Wow!! A female tennis star from a third-world country of ONE BILLION people emerges after FIFTY EIGHT years of independence. And she looks good to go on the cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition as well. And she's a Muslim. How amazing!!!". Let's face it. She's good, but just not fit enough for the game. 3 tournaments and a injury. Loads of attitude, which is so good because it's something we Indians in general never show. But I fear, that's just about it. Attitude.

Will be so happy to see her make it to the top...and I mean the TOP because a country of ONE BILLION people so starved of heroes and heroines has to somewhere stop accepting that being in the top 10 is good enough. It's not. #10 means 9 people are better than you. Is it a fair expectation? Maybe not. But for the number of products she's going to endorse very soon (will surely beat Sachin with two more tournament wins), she better make it to the TOP or it will be another case of flattering to deceive. By the way, anyone heard of P.Gopichand after the All England Open win? Or Koneru Hampi or Anju Bobby George? Let's stop going ga-ga about sports(wo)men for giving us something to cheer about, we express our gratitude quite adequately by buying the products they peddle.

Sania has handled all the pressures brought about by the unprecedented hype created by the media! That by itself shows her inner strength and calibre to be a high achiever! Sania Mirza and Koneru Humpy-achievers yet poles apart. Like Sania Mirza, Koneru Humpy is a 'first' for an Indian woman. Born on March 31, 1987, she is a chess grandmaster. Her April 2004 FIDE ELO rating is 2513, placing her as No. 3 in the world for women. Humpy was originally named Hampi by her parents but her father later changed it to Humpy, a more Russian sounding name. Koneru Humpy has setup a new World Record of becoming the Youngest-Ever Woman to achieve the Men's GM Title. Humpy has achieved the Men's GM Title at the age of 15 years , 1 month, and 27 Days beating Judith Polgar's record of 15 years, 4 months and 27 days.

Fellow-Hyderabadi Sania Mirza is only a year older. Since her debut at the US Open, in which she made it to Round 4, before losing to top-seed Maria Sharapova, Sania is ranked No.32 in the WTA rankings. Sania is an icon in India, is grabbing endorsements left, right and centre and has suddenly become the poster-girl of international sports. Where does that leave Koneru Humpy? Literally-nowhere. She's had her moments on national TV and a page or two in national news magazines, but then its zippo.

There is a not-so-subtle difference between the two, you see. Sania is the streaked, midriff-baring , PYT with loads of attitude, huge earrings and a nose-ring to match. Humpy Koneru, in contrast, is the bespectacled, shy, youngster-certainly not one who looks like she can keep pace with Gen X. Is it not enough to be an achiever anymore? Has the age of superficial behaviour reached such mammoth levels that achievers must also be spin-doctored to look and act a certain way? What if Sania resembled Humpy and didn't attend post-match media interactions in T-shirts which say 'I am cute? Not s***.?'
 
We have heard how Sania's favourite colours are red and black, how she likes Ocean's 11 and Brad Pitt and Hugh Grant. Likes listening to hip hop including Eminem, ... also likes playing cricket and swimming ... most admires Rahul Gandhi ... also admires tennis play of Steffi Graf. And we want to hear more. The country and several parts of the world are in the grip of a Sania Mania and no one is denying it, or wanting to anyway. Research and researchers tell us that in society, attractive people tend to be more intelligent, better adjusted, and more popular. This is described as the halo effect - due to the perfection associated with angels. Research shows attractive people also have more occupational success and more dating experience than their unattractive counterparts. One theory behind this halo effect is that it is accurate -attractive people are indeed more successful.

The poignant part would be if beauty takes away from achievement and becomes the new benchmark for choosing icons. But really, in context of the game at large, she is a top 50 player, thats it. To give her the kind of attention she gets (there were huge articles in the newspapers on how her ranking fell from 31 to 32!!) isn't really being fair to her. But then again deifying and expecting the world of our sportsmen and women isn't something new to us Indians. It's almost a national passtime to set them up for a fall. If she has the capacity to be a top 10 player is something that only time will tell but would she be a media burnout before she gets there, that is something that is in the media's control. Will have to agree that she has been a fantastic in how she has handled media and popularity so far. I think the media is largely responsible for giving Sania this 'larger than life' image. I think we in India like to idolize people provided the person fits into a particular profile.

The media has been very unfair at least in the case of Anju Bobby George who is at present ranked no.4 in her sport and has been winning consistently in all the major tournaments and who I believe has achieved much more than Sania has done until now. Of course, the sport nor the athlete is as 'media-friendly' as Sania. Not to take any credit away from Sania, but I believe she needs to go a long way before she can be acknowledged as a 'transformational' material.

Let's give Sania some space and not fire the gun! The 'M' reference might be a subtle reference to the state of minorities in a particular country. I mean, if a Muslim teenaged girl in short skirts is considered an idol in India, then things must be pretty optimistic. Reality might be different but the image sure looks impressive. Its easy to be the second or third best when there is only one strong opponent. Indian Cricket is precisely that. We can take pride on our global achievments in Cricket and Kabbadi only because there are few worth competition. Sania Mirza's victories are much more significant than a Cricket World Cup second.

But still, one cannot say cricketers are far worse performing. Well Sania has till date won just WTA event . She has potential but is not yet in the top league. Cricket is a team game and we do get brilliant individual performances but right now the team isn't clicking . So, unfair to say that Sania is better off . No logical comparison can be made . The silver lining is that Sania is getting as much attention as any of our top cricketers do. And that is a great sign !!!!

Whenever she speaks I'm amazed she still has her young head on her shoulders. Which is more than can be said about our not-so-young (and far worse performing) cricketers.

Also on the New Statesman list: US Prez Barack Obama, Physicist Anton Zeilinger, Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf, Environmentalist Aubrey Meyer, the Emir of Qatar, Kierra Box, "20-year-old politico-prodigy", Net entrepreneur Brewster Kahle, Victoria Hale whose healthcare group brings cheap medicine to the poor, and Mo Ibrahim chief of the fastest growing mobile phone group in sub-Saharan Africa.

Glad to see a list of relatively unknown names... that itself is a welcome change in a run-of-the-mill-celeb-hungry media world!