RIGHT & WRONG

Hazare fills the void in corruption battle

Past two weeks back, India was trying to come to terms with a phenomenon they neither understood nor anticipated.

The abrupt emergence of Anna Hazare as the symbol of a largely middle-class outburst against the insincerity of the war on corruption had been puzzling. In many ways, this 71-year-old self-professed Gandhian from rural Maharashtra is a total antithesis of what modern India apparently stands for. He is neither young nor tech-savvy ; he doesn’t talk the ‘development’ jargon of well-travelled NGO activists; and his politico-cultural symbolism — Chhatrapati Shivaji, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Bharat Mata and Vande Mataram—is seemingly at odds with modernist impulses of India’s aspirational classes. Yet, Anna has become the unlikeliest symbol of a movement that may well end up unseating a government, even if it doesn’t succeed in cleansing public life.

Perhaps the lionization of another diminutive man with an infectious smile is an indication that the more India changes the more it remains the same. Nearly four decades ago, professor W H Morris-Jones observed that Indian leadership follows three idioms: the traditional, the modern and the saintly. The last fits uneasily into perceptions of Indian modernity or, for that matter, the caricatured view of its conservatism. But in the past 100 years, the most significant movements for change have been propelled by people who lived in a world of their own imagination and were driven by exacting ethical standards.

Frankly, you had to be a bit crazy in 1919 to dream of unseating the Raj. You also had to be very other-worldly to believe in 1973 — barely a year after Indira Gandhi’s anointment as “Durga” after the Bangladesh war — that the corrupt edifice of the Congress Party could be brought down. Maybe it is too rash as yet to place Anna on par with either the Mahatma or ‘Loknayak’ Jayaprakash Narayan — the two saintly crazies who reshaped 20th century India. Yet, it is important to recognize that being impractical has never been a deterrent to inspirational leadership, at least not in India.
 
There are many features of the alternative Jan Lokpal Bill proposed by Anna and his supporters that are either outrageous or quirky. The belief that a Lokpal appointed by a committee of the great and good should have overriding powers over an elected government is at best utopian and, at worst, anti-democratic. And the proposal of who should constitute the electoral college of the virtuous is, to say the least, eccentric. Why should all those of Indian origin honoured by the Nobel committee in Sweden and Norway and the last two Magsaysay Prize winners — chosen by a committee in the Philippines—be ex-officio members of a desi star chamber. Why not the recipients of the Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna? Or for that matter, why not everyone honoured by the local Rotary Club?

The issue, fortunately, is neither the Lokpal Bill nor even the principle of ‘civil society’ representation in the drafting committee—a characteristically NGO-ish demand. The overwhelming majority of those inspired by Anna’s fast don’t seem all that preoccupied with the minutiae of a proposed legislation. What has excited them is the fact that someone of unimpeachable integrity has chosen to take a stand and confront a decrepit and smug system on the issue of corruption.
 
In 1921, when Mahatma Gandhi asked people to abandon schools, colleges, law courts, and resign from government service in the quest of swaraj in just a year, only a small handful actually did so. Indeed, many of India’s foremost intellectuals, including Rabindranath Tagore, were disturbed by what they saw as Gandhi’s reckless manipulation of impressionable young minds. But Gandhi’s larger moral appeal outweighed the shortcomings of his political strategy. The Mahatma became a national inspiration in the struggle for independence; Gandhism always remained a fad. A similar distinction marked JP, the symbol of resistance to Indira Gandhi’s authoritarian misrule and his woolly ‘Total Revolution’.

In the coming weeks, there will be fierce assaults, not least by rival ‘civil society’ activists, on the implications of Anna’s Jan Lokpal proposals. Some of these will be couched in lofty constitutionalism such as the sovereignty of Parliament ; others will be blended with competitive self-righteousness ; and still others will see Anna as an unwitting tool of the anti-Congress opposition, just as the communists saw ‘fascist forces’ in JP’s movement.

A clinical dissection of what Anna actually represents and the forces backing him will not, however, divert focus from the growing groundswell against corruption. There is a political space for a credible, even angry, movement against the rot in India’s political system. Circumstances have allowed a venerable, gutsy and untainted outsider to fill the void. It’s the sentiment behind his anointment that is relevant, not the fine print of a law to make India virtuous.

INTERNAL SECURITY - Rethink needed in dealing with Naxalite violence

An Expert Group in the Planning Commission calls for a more development-led approach to people's resistance, and a renewed commitment by the State to the democratic system. 

When the Naxalite movement first emerged in the late 1960's, the Research and Policy (R&P) Division of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) produced a report on the Causes and Nature of Current Agrarian Tensions, which famously said that the green revolution would turn into a red revolution in the absence of far-reaching agrarian reforms. 

The MHA has to play a crucial role in the interpretation and assessment of major social and political conflicts in the country and issue guidelines to state governments. The Intelligence Bureau (IB), an 'attached office' and a large and secretive organisation with tentacles spread all over the country, provides basic inputs and analysis to the Ministry. Unhappy with 'over-classification', the then Union Home Secretary L P Singh set up the R&P Division in the 1960's, giving it freedom to prepare independent studies on conflicts situations across the country. The Division did well and built up an impressive and computerised database on communal violence. 

And so its cautionary note on strengthening agrarian reforms should have been heeded by the government. In the event, the said reforms never took place, with entirely foreseen consequences. Now it is officially reported that Naxalism affects 480 police stations spread over 12 states and covers roughly 125 districts. Moreover, the State has preferred to deal with the phenomenon only as a law-and-order issue, and not in terms of development issues. For instance, the Prime Minister, addressing a conference of Chief Ministers on  the Naxalite Violence in April 2006, used a law-and-order terminology that would have pleased any Director General of Police! 

Addressing the same meet the Union Home Minister offered to place 26 battalions of Central paramilitary forces at the disposal of state governments to deal with the Naxalites. In its annual report, the Union Home Ministry spelt out an elaborate police strategy, along with funds, to deal with Naxalite violence in different states, including the encouragement of 'local resistance groups' such as Salwa Judum in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh. 

The government's stance has been consistently myopic. Throughout the country, dalits and adivasis have been displaced in their millions due to development projects, and large numbers of them have joined or support the Naxalites. Further, violence against these communities is increasing, as reported by official agencies themselves. But neither the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment nor the Ministry of Tribal Welfare was invited to the above chief ministers' conference. Nor were the two Commissions on the Scheduled Castes and Tribes. 

Further, neither the Prime Minister nor the Union Home Minister in their addresses, mentioned the special Constitutional responsibility of Governors to provide the central government with detailed reports on the welfare and development of adivasis. Nor did they bring out the special Constitutional responsibility of the Government of India to ensure the protection and welfare of these two deprived and marginalised communities. With the development deficit in these communities totally overlooked, there is little reason to wonder at the continuing growth of the Naxal problem. 

The R&P Division of the MHA, which did much useful work, has now been wound up and a new Policy Planning Division has taken its place. The annual report of the ministry states cryptically that the Division deals with 'counter-terrorism'. No details are given. Further, the Divisions in the ministry dealing with the development of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes have been transferred to new and largely toothless ministries. The Civil Rights Cell set up to prevent 'atrocities' against SC's and ST's no longer exists. The ministry has lost the developmental edge it once had, and has become an increasingly paramilitary agency. 

Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas

But this have proven to be of limited value, and so, every once in a while we are forced to look anew at the old, unaddressed development problems. The most recent example of this is a report of the Planning Commission's Expert Group on Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas (April 2008). Eschewing the dominant thinking, it delineates a comprehensive developmental response to counter the impact of the Naxalite violence in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Rejecting the security-centric approach, it provides a refreshingly ameliorative approach. 

While its terms of reference are quite general, the Expert Group deals essentially with the causes of discontent among the people, that has led to the spread of Naxalite violence in an increasingly virulent fashion. The introductory chapter goes into the socio-economic and political context; the condition of dalits, adivasis and women; access to basic resources including forests and land; special economic zones and common property resources; labour, employment and wages; displacement and rehabilitation; the process of adjudication; environmental degradation; political marginalisation of the dalits and adivasis; statistical pointers; and governance. 

Further, the report notes, the development paradigm pursued since independence has aggravated the prevailing discontent among marginalised sections of society. This paradigm has been conceived and imposed from above, insensitive to the needs and concerns of the poor causing displacement, destroying social organisation, cultural identity, resource base and has generated multiple conflicts undermining their communal solidarity making them increasingly vulnerable to exploitation. There are different kinds of movements and to call them all 'law and order problems' is to find a rationale for suppression. The tensions must be contextualised in terms of social, economic and political background. The people's right to livelihood and a dignified and honourable existence must be brought back on the agenda.

 

And this can only happen, says the report, if the State itself feels committed to the democratic system, and human rights and humane objectives inscribed in the Preamble, Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Rights of the Constitution. The State has to adhere strictly to the Rule of Law, for it has no other authority to rule. The right to protest, even peacefully, must be recognised by the authorities, who are instead inclined to meet even non-violent agitations with severe repression. What is surprising, given this, is not the fact of unrest itself, but the State's failure to draw the right conclusions from it. 

The rest of the report deals with extension of Panchayati Raj to Scheduled Areas (PESA); investigating people's discontent and support for extremists; the State's response; and finally, recommendations. 

Copies of the report have been sent to all the concerned central and state government establishments, including the MHA. It is not clear what the ministry's response would be, in view of its largely repressive approach to popular resistance. The report must be circulated to all police agencies concerned with Naxalite violence, including the IB, which makes a major contribution to the study of the violence in the ministry. Considering the nature and variety of conflicts in different parts of the country and the absence of meaningful information on them in the ministry, it would be necessary not only to revive the R&P Division but set up several interdisciplinary study-and-action groups, consisting of scholars, civil servants and social activists, to go into conflict situations and produce reports for policy action. 

The entire 'Indian police system' needs to read the Expert Group report and imbibe the essence of its contents to begin to provide a meaningful response to Naxalite violence. There is a need to change the mindset in the ministry, which accord low priority to reports on rural violence emerging from agencies such as the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Rural Development as compared to intelligence reports, which are classified and enjoy a mystique and prestige of their own! Ironically, the various recommendations from the state-security apparatus have not made much of a dent on the Naxal problem, but despite this failure, police action appears to be favoured response of the state to all disturbances. That has to change. 

Indeed, more than merely revising the state-security approach to Naxalism, it would also be hugely helpful if long-overdue police reforms are taken up. The Indian police system is a huge, complex and essentially paramilitary one founded in colonial objectives, and while the British may have been justifiably proud of it, Republican India has failed to either change this organisational model with the concomitant repressive legal structure. Dependence on the Intelligence Bureau, which is a police organisation with a highly state security-centric and not a peoples-security-centric approach, is no longer viable, if it ever was. 

The great Indian social network

Article by Chetan Bhagat in the Times of India Dec 19, 2010

It's been weeks since i saw the amazing film " The Social Network" and it still hasn't left me. The movie tells a semi-fictional story about the creation of Facebook (based on the book " The Accidental Billionaires"). Compare this to India's celebrated businessmen. The corporate czars we celebrate (with some exceptions) are second or third-generation tycoons who run huge empires comprising dozens of unrelated businesses. Traditional management theory will wonder how a company can be in food, telecom, power, construction and finance, all at the same time. However, in India such conglomerates thrive. The promoters of these companies have the required skill, which is navigating the Indian government maze. Whether it is obtaining permission to open a power plant, or to convert agricultural land for commercial purposes, or to obtain licences to open a bank or sell liquor – our top business promoters can get all this done, something ordinary Indians would never be able to. This is why they are able to make billions. We load them with awards, rank them on lists and treat them as role models for the young.


While the film is extraordinarily well made, the story it tells is even more amazing. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, at 26, is the youngest billionaire in the world. Six years ago, Mark started Facebook from his college dorm. Today, the privately held company could be worth $50 billion (Rs 220,000 crore). The movie is pathbreaking in that it is about talent, made by talented people and for a country that celebrates talent.

For, only in the USA, can a boy in his 20s, coming from nowhere, create a company worth billions in six years, and the country celebrates him by making a movie on him. Ironically, Mark never cared about making money when he founded Facebook. His main motivation was to do something innovative, entrepreneurial, and most importantly – cool. At one point, he states, "Money, or the ability to make money, doesn't impress anyone around here."




In reality, they are hardly icons. They have milked an unfair system for their personal benefit, taking opportunities that belonged to the young on a level-playing field. Indian companies make money from rent-seeking behavior, creating artificial barriers of access to regulators; thereby depriving our startups of wealth-generating opportunities. None of the recent technologies that have changed the world and created wealth – telecom, computers, aviation - have risen out of India. Yet, our promoters have figured out a way to make money from them, by bulldozing their way into taking their share of the pie, rationing out the technology to Indians, and coming out as modern-day heroes. In reality, they are no heroes. They are the opposite of cool, and despite their billions, they are, in what is known in youthful parlance, as 'losers'.

For if they are not losers, why have they never raised their voice against government corruption? Our corporates don't think twice before creating a cartel to fleece customers. Yet, they never have a cartel to take a stand against corrupt politicians. They scream about the Radia tapes being leaked but do not reflect on their disgusting content. None of our blue chips have the capability to invent technology like the cell phone but being opportunists, they jumped at the chance of making money in spectrum allocation.

International investors already know this, and while they see India's potential, they understand that the Indian corporate-political nexus is actually keeping India poor, not making it rich.

This can be fixed. Quite frankly, it has to be fixed if we want India to be the great nation our forefathers dreamed of. The net effect of this nepotism is high – it's often debilitating for startups in India, vital to the broad-based growth of any economy. If we want to set this right, there is a role to be played by corporates, the government and individuals.


First, the few corporates who really care, have to form a cartel against corruption and nepotism. If promoters take a public stand that their business group will not bribe, it will send a strong message. Compete on innovation, not the ability to bribe. That's what is cool. Meanwhile, the existing billionaires should stop flaunting their money and consider the 57 richest billionaires of America who have pledged to give away more than half their wealth to charity (yes, Mark Zuckerberg included).

Second, our government has to understand the meaning of protecting Indian industry. It isn't to protect the established fat cats, who could frankly do with a dose of healthy competition. Protecting Indian industry means policies that help new Indian companies thrive, an environment where startups are glorified and inherited princes are not put on a pedestal. Innovation is considered cool, not inheritance.

Third, we as individuals have to stop admiring and glorifying the parasitic billionaires of India. They may not be technically doing anything illegal, but there is definitely nothing cool about using connections to get something that you couldn't have if there were fair competition. We should not be celebrating money, consumption and power. We should be celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship.

Yes, these businessmen employ some of us, and we have seen increased affluence amongst some Indians. Maybe we have a million rich Indians now. It isn't enough. With the right business environment, India can be a dramatically different place, offering a better life to not just a few, but all of us. After all, to modify a dialogue from the film, "You know what's cooler than a million rich Indians? A billion rich Indians."

SEXUAL HARASSMENT - Testimonies of harassment

Blank Noise, begun as Jasmeen Patheja's personal reaction to street sexual harassment, has grown to record women's experiences in creative ways. The latest of these is a clothes collection effort to tackle the misconception that women's attire invites harassment. 

22 December 2005 - Jasmeen Patheja, a fine arts graduate from the Srishti School of Art and Design Technology, Bangalore, is collecting old clothes from across the country for her project. Not just any clothes. Clothes that carry with them tales of harassment. Named Blank Noise, Patheja's is a participatory project that addresses the issue of sexual harassment on the streets, or "eve teasing". "It started off as a project when I was in my final year. The project was conceived as a personal reaction to street sexual harassment," the artist says. 

Clothes as testimonies

The latest stage of this project is "Did you ask for it?". Patheja has asked people to send her clothes that they were wearing when they were sexually harassed or threatened on the streets. "Since the common perception is that women 'ask for it on account of the clothing they wear', I want to confront this justification for sexual offence. The clothes will take the form of testimonies that have been witness to an incident. When clothes from different parts of the world are put together, the question can be asked again. This is an ongoing project and I am still waiting for clothes to reach me," she says. 

As a girl grows up, her introduction to the world and its ways are not gentle, but are often rude instead. She realises that her body is changing not when she outgrows the previous summer's frocks, but when someone gropes her in a crowded bus. This is at an age when she does not know what lust is or what pleasure a pervert gets pawing her as she walks by (which no woman will probably understand). Sexual harassment pervades the roads, disguised as "eve teasing". And Patheja is out to confront it, head on. Patheja, who is from Kolkata, moved to Bangalore when she was 19. "The threat of being sexually harassed every time I was out of home and then labelling this invasion of my privacy with an innocuous term 'eve teasing* made me realise that this is an offence that has often been ignored or trivialised. Being in a new city made me feel more vulnerable to the situation where there was no 'home' to run back to," she recalls. 

Picture: An auto-rickshaw hosts an opinion poll conducted by the Blank Noise group in Bangalore. It led to discussions and debate, treating "eve-teasing" as an issue.
 

While it is bad enough that sexual harassment gets labeled the trivial pastime of roadside Romeos, the reaction that Patheja got from her peers was worse. A casual "yes, it happens everyday" or "it's normal". Or more horrifyingly, complete denial: "How come this happens only to you?" 

Nevertheless, realising that it was not just her problem, Patheja asked a group of over 60 girls from Srishti to make a mind map with the phrase "public space". "In three minutes, words such as 'groping', 'fear', 'Vulnerable', 'weak', 'staring' and 'feeling sick' appeared. Then I proposed the project" she says. While 24 of the group members responded positively, the others found the issue "no big deal". In most situations, it is a form of 'wooing', but when does this wooing become offensive and aggressive? When is it not accepted? Who is drawing the line? Do you expect it, therefore accept it?" These are some of the questions Patheja fires back. 

Initial stage of the project

The first phase of the Blank Noise project dealt with victimhood. Patheja began with a series of workshops that explored the public and private identities of nine women. This collective participatory experience evolved into an installation that included video, sound and photographs. With this installation I tried to address the victim, the perpetrator and the silent spectator, Patheja explains. 

After graduating from Srishti the youngster decided to take the project to the next level, namely that of public confrontation. "With a grant from Sarai and support from Srishti, I envisioned Blank Noise as a participatory, public art project where I could take the issue to the streets while including a wider base of participants," she says. In its current stage, the project has a diverse set of participants that includes college students, members of theatre groups and the general public. "We are currently working on public interventions that are performative in nature. This stage of the project has us disseminating and questioning the law — Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with outraging the 'modesty' of a woman," Patheja says. 

Communication for social change

Patheja is also tapping technology to her advantage. Another ongoing experiment deals with the reversal of power where the perpetrator is shot on film with a camera and the pictures are posted on a blog. The blog has also brought together a number of people from across the world, who have prposed to carry out the project in their cities. 

 A demonstration on Bangalore streets by Jasmeen Patheja and her group; the women stood at traffic signals wearing letters on them that spelt out "Y R U LOOKIN AT ME". 

Though activism seems to have come to Patheja as a natural reaction, she chooses not to get labeled an activist, feminist or public artist "I feel that as an artist, one has to play all these roles. I would also like to emphasise that none of these roles can be played in isolation. There are many kinds of artists, and each one of us has something to say, to express. The form and space in which things are addressed leads to its impact," she reasons. 

Also a student of "communication for social change", Patheja stresses that art does indeed play a role in social change. She says, "Artists such as the Guerilla Girls, Peggy Diggs and Gran Fury have been responsible in bringing about a change in societal attitudes through their art. Their art appeared on billboards, posters, milk cartons, wherever it was appropriate. Peggy Diggs was concerned about domestic violence. She printed her message on milk cartons and since all women bought milk for their families, it reached out to them. Gran Fury collaborated with activist groups and created billboards, confronting public with the social stigma attached to AIDS." 

In the future, Patheja says, Blank Noise will be working with more groups, people who function as key authority figures in public spaces. "The idea is not only to get an 'angry' response but to tackle the issue from different dimensions. Who is the victim, who is the spectator, who is the perpetrator?" she asks.

 

Wipe Off The Monster

Street harassment, eve teasing and sexual harassment are the signposts of a cultured society, definitely not …but we can see, hear and feel about the spread of these dreaded tentacles in our day to day life.

Across boundaries of age, sex and locality, crime seems to be penetrating into the veins of my City (the pensioner’s paradise), or at least, that is what the ordinary Pondycherian, who is unaware of the geopolitics of crime and terror, feels. People seem to have become jittery about the happenings. The city news sheet of “The Hindu” or “The Times of India” or any newspaper abounds with reports relating to crime/assault/abuse/theft. Slots on prime time in TV channels have added to the mayhem. Police blame "sensationalism" and "excessive" coverage by media as the reasons for fear psychosis among people. Media seems to focus only on crime because it makes interesting reading and viewing, complain many.

But then there can’t be smoke without fire. I do agree that media makes the presentation a bit more exaggerated but then these incidents of wrong doings do happen and that’s a fact.

Street harassment has become a common activity here these days. The soft targets are college girls, working women, elderly people, call centre and IT/Tech firm employees. For females it is generally mobile phone/chain snatching, which was unheard of a few years ago, now tops the list of crimes reported in the UT. This incident happened with one of my friend’s brother on the night of 25th Nov’10 in Dumas Street. My friend’s brother who works for Wipro was returning late that night from office. He was stopped by a three-member gang who first hit him and then robbed him of all his money and other valuables. The miscreants had covered their faces with masks and were carrying iron rods and crude knives. They threatened of dreadful consequences if he lodged a police complaint and then left the place driving the fellow’s bike. My friend’s brother had cuts and bruises all over his arms and legs, some parts of them swollen. (Note: This was later informed to the police and it had come in the local city edition of TOI. )

The powerlessness to deal with the situation had pushed the individual over the edge. He is a strong man but this incident traumatized him to the extent that he was planning to move out of Pondy and re-locate somewhere else. I could understand the rationale behind his decision as of late his wife, a workingwoman had delivered a baby and for any person the security of his/her family members and near and dear ones is of utmost priority. After going through long hours of thought process he decided to move out and has shifted to Coimbatore.

There's something really scary about the state of public transport here. Few of the bus conductors are also totally evil. The reason this is unnerving is because Pondy offers two modes of public transport to the common man - auto rickshaws, and buses.

Few auto rickshaw drivers are totally evil down to the bottom of their soul, with their primary mission to cheat and loot every customer. Among the many interesting experiences I often have after work-hours, the most intriguing ones are my interactions with the famed auto-wallas. Intriguing because it is kind of a love hate feeling that I have developed towards them. And they represent, to a good measure, of what defines us as human beings as well as proves how we are still a part of the animal kingdom. I had missed to drive back home with my colleague and hired an auto agreeing to "10 rupees extra" for no apparent reason whatsoever. OK, so far so good, mind it,its only 8:30PM now and I am heading towards my house in a locality which auto wallas are fussy to drive to, so the I agreed for the extra amount. On the way I spotted another hapless colleague and asked him to get in as he lives near to my place. We reached our destination and the driver asks double of what I had agreed upon – a part from me and the other part from the colleague. “Bull Shit”, absurd reasoning, now there were two passengers but when we made the deal there was only one, that's me. But my colleague whom I had invited for the ride gave what was demanded from him and left me to deal with the idiot.

There are various incidents that can be cited to make the points as above. All their unethical charges above the meter, absurd, doctored meter readings, the fleecing of newcomers by taking a longer route, asking for one half/double before/after the appointed hour, have grown like horns on their heads shadowing the occasional halo. My point is not all auto wallas behave in that note, but the actions of few leaves an impression in our minds that all belong to the same cadre.

On crowded buses, women are subject to every kind of indignity and invasion of their personal space. And if the numbers of such cases on the city's transport system is low, that is probably because Pondy lacks an effective public transport system like it is in Mumbai and Chennai, forcing regular commuters to depend on two-wheelers or three-wheeled auto rickshaws. A small number use cars to move around. On Dec 13th, 2009, the rape and murder of a call centre employee, a 24-year-old woman Prabha, by a person pretending to be the late night driver of her company transport has sent a chill down the spine of the BPO industry here.

Eve teasing is a term that refers largely to sexual harassment of women in public spaces, thereby constituting women as 'eves', temptresses who provoke men into states of sexual titillation. Considered a growing problem, eve teasing ranges in severity from sexually colored remarks to outright groping. In India, people say that the way a girl/woman dresses is to an extend responsible for drawing the attention good or bad. I feel this is crap reasoning as like males, females do have the right to dress the way they want. More so the females whom I have met and interacted so far in life, all dress sensibly and smartly and feel more than 80% of Pondy does that. I can’t brand a female colleague of mine who comes to office in pants and suit as doing something to grab attention. I had read this article last month as to how Jasmeen, a graduate from B’lore, is collecting old clothes from across the country for her project. Not just any clothes. Clothes that carry with them tales of harassment. 

I feel one of the causes of this horrific behavior is the images being splashed across the media. Indian Movies play an important role in propagating this behavior. Many Bollywood movies depict scenes of eve teasing showing this behavior as a way to win a "mehbooba's" heart. Others show this as a behavior for men to indulge in some 'fun' at a woman’s expense of course.

Many psychologists believe that sex, love or fun is not the only motive that men indulge in this behavior. Eve teasing is closely related to the patriarchal mindset of Indian male. Men are raised to believe that they are more powerful- physically and emotionally than women. They feel that they are doing nothing wrong - having some fun! Women on the other hand are made to feel vulnerable and as the ‘weaker sex’. It sounds so cheap and at times I feel shame that I am part of the same society and what have I done so far to wipe off this malice.

I think the Indian society will be looked upon with skepticism, one with fake values, and highly hypocrytic, if we don’t take corrective steps. India is a place where women are worshipped (in theory) and women don’t have enough security to be on her own (in practice). So how can this change happen? Is it through laws/rules, etc etc, can any law cause a change in mindset? Men have to be sensitized into respecting women as individuals in their own right with the freedom to live on their own terms, earn, be educated and enjoy an existence without fear.


What I think is that, women cannot expect anything from society. Our society is both blind and deaf but is vocally extravagant. The emancipation of women lies among the people itself. The guts and the will power to stand up for one self. Do not even dream of being bestowed with independence, freedom and respect by men. You have to fight and earn for yourself and at the same time support your fellow people, not bowing to society at large. Well society matters, but what if the values held by the society are fake and is practiced hypocrisy.

Make this world a safe place for my mother, my sister, my co-worker, my friend, my colleague, my wife, my daughter, my sister-in-law or for that matter any woman.

Multicultural Outreach from the Swedish Police

A reader has translated an article from an edition of Metro International in Sweden:


AINA Will Attract Suburban “Kids”

Aina is Turkish-Swedish slang, and is an abbreviation of the Turkish slang expression aynasiz that means “without mirror”. The word hints at the police with the meaning that a police officer has no sense of shame and decency and consequently would not dare to look in a mirror. (Source: Z. Adami, Gringo)

A police car with the slang word for police “AINA” is supposed to tempt suburban “kids” to join the police corps. “The police believe they can reclaim the word and undramatize or defuse it. By using the same word as the kids in the immigrant suburbs you are creating a feeling of nearness,” says Zanyar Adami, editor in chief of the paper Gringo.


During the youth festival “Young 10 “ the police unveiled the renamed police car. The objective is to tempt youngsters with different ethnic backgrounds to join the corps for police education.

It is also part of the fight against juvenile delinquency, by investing in tempting new groups to join the police force. “Too many young people are drawn into gang criminality and we must all engage in trying to stop this. On way could be to get more police officers with experience from the suburbs,” says Chief Commissioner Carin Götblad to the Swedish News Agency TT.

Adami believes that the car will draw the attention of the “kids” and create a dialogue between them and the police.

“Is it enough to only show up a car with the word ‘AINA’ to reach suburb youngsters? — No, one PR campaign is not enough, but it shows that the police are receptive. I believe that it can tempt some to enlist,” says Adami.

Photo caption: Chief Commissioner Carin Götblad demonstrates the new police car that will tempt suburban “kids” to qualify as future police. Photo: Land Earthy/Scanpix

The Green Hawks cannot be stopped!

Thanks to "Uwe", the soccer correspondent in Germany, who has brought and translated a number of stories from Germany, including the one about the ...erm...display of national flags in Munich.


The information is that, according to the German newspaper, "Bild Zeitung", the Saudi Arabian team bus for the forthcoming World Cup will have this slogan on the side....

I've never actually heard them call that before. The Air Force aerobatic team used to call themselves the "Saudi Hawks", but then changed their name to the "Saudi Falcons", perhaps with good reason.


You see, the problem with this name is that many Saudi men are habitual hawkers and spitters. Outside, they do it onto the sidewalk. Inside, they look for a waste bin, if they are feeling particularly polite. And, in spite of all official efforts, there seems to be no stopping them. So the slogan is not so much a patriotic team encouragement, as a sad commentary on our lack of mucus-and-saliva etiquette. Especially when the color is....

Let's change the subject. Let's talk about Saudi Boy Racers....

Apologies to all (probably the vast majority) who are not soccer fans, but with the World Cup looming , the temptation of writing about soccer exceeds even that of Mme.. Nicotine. Anyway, thanks to "Uwe", the soccer correspondent in Germany, here is a photo of the official Saudi team coach, complete with ...... the ....

Not this time...

I fell for the Iranian color-coding the Infidels story, and its subsequent retraction, and duly ate humble pie. And this one is definitely someone trying to stir up trouble and give the Muslim Offense Level a real boost.

Ready for the soccer jihad?

It appears that this is some kind of World Cup soccer ball, with the flags of the various participating nations -- including Saudi Arabia.


So what? Well, as you can see, the Saudi flag prominently features the Shahada, the Islamic profession of faith: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger." And...people are going to kick that?

Except this had nothing to do with the 2010 World Cup. It looks like the tacky product of some back-street Third World sweat-shop factory. And the reason it has nothing to do with the World Cup? The flags of Northern Ireland and Israel. They are not in the World Cup. Israel, maybe next time, but come on, Northern Ireland have about as much chance of ever qualifying, as the Imam University team.

This one could rival the Cartoon Jihad. But of course, it is never possible to guess about what will be chosen as the next pretext to stoke the sense of grievance and rage that the jihadists need to garner support and recruits.

 But let's concentrate on the real cases, bloggers, not try and stir up trouble with some tacky fabricated story about a tacky soccer ball.

Khalas

In Memory of the lives of 15 Makkah Schoolgirls, lost when their school burnt down on Monday, 11th March, 2002. The Religious Police would not allow them to leave the building, nor allow the Firemen to enter.

Khalas: (Arabic): enough, no more, finished, that's it, the end.


It is with very mixed feelings that I post this. What about Saudi Arabia?  OK, the now-the-terrorists-are-surrounded-oops-they-got-away saga is over. Also, muslims worldwide will still be getting offended about something, not necessarily cartoons. But overall, I'm afraid, Saudi Arabia won't have changed. So I would just end up trying to say the same-old same-old, but in different ways. Meanwhile, none of us are getting any younger. Carpe Diem. Seize the day.

The blog will remain here for as long as Blogger does. Maybe, millenia from now, extraterrestrial digital archeologists will chance upon it, and wonder about this "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" where half the people wore black and half the people wore white. An earnest Zargian Ph.D. student will expound in his thesis the theory that the land was so inhospitable, only chess pieces could live there. The rules of the game involved moving around a black rock in ever-decreasing circles. He will speculate as to whether, had the rock been in the Southern hemisphere, they would have circulated in the opposite direction.

They will be visible until Haloscan decides to archive them.

The Camel, God's most ingenious creation.

Woman, God's most sublime creation.

Ma'a Salaama.

The politics of public romance

Considering that India is the land which gave us Vatsayana's Kama Sutra, it seems perplexing that when Richard Gere kissed Shilpa Shetty (and only on the cheeks at that) would create a ruckus of indignation throughout the Indian subcontinent.

Perhaps because of Victorian colonialism or Mughal influence, Indians turned conservative when it comes to public displays of affection. Young couples were attacked by the police in Uttar Pradesh for hugging and kissing in a public park. One couple who kissed during their wedding was charged of violating obscenity laws in another case in India.

Kama Sutra aside, it is the current opinion of most people in India, in Asia and in Philippines that public display of affection (hugging, kissing, even holding hands) is improper. Also for Muslims in the Philippines, a man and a woman unrelated must never touch each other. Even a friendly handshake between a man and a woman some Muslims do not countenance. What's acceptable in the West and in Latin America makes most of us squirm here.

How then should one in love conduct oneself in public? While we have every right to express our affection, we must also balance it with a due regard to the sensibilities of other people. After all, there is no social advantage to public displays of affection. If one must really be amorous, one can always retire to the bedroom or, lacking that, rent a motel room. There the possibilities are infinite and we are limited only by our imagination.

My personal beef about public displays of affection is that while I understand those doing it have probably found their one true love and would probably live happily ever after, but must they rub it in our face? Rather than promoting amatory feeling in the world, public displays of affection only breed contempt, envy and finally disgust on the part of the people who aren't in love and are witnessing the display. PDA is probably okay if we can all be in love at the same time. But then again falling in love all at the same time sounds too much like free love, so we may have another set of problems with that.

Public display of affection ?

References have been made to Latin America, and how it is very common to find public display of affection there. In fact, it is apparently an indication of the security of the place!

Sometimes I think it has become "fashionable" to condemn censoring of public affection. People sometimes make statements that India is becoming a medevial society, because we don't allow public display of affection. Why, I also hear that we need to grow up, and move on, because this is okay in other parts of the world. I don't understand this.

Let us take a historical perspective. Years ago, it is said, women used to walk around with few clothes on, they used to bathe in open rivers, and we were still one of the "purest" societies in the world. India is the country where the Kama Sutra was written. India is the land of Khajuraho and Konark, where you find scores of temples with erotic inscriptions. Why, even the Qutub Minar complex in Delhi has a few erotic inscriptions.

As time passed, salwars and bathrooms were invented, and women went back indoors. Somewhere along the line, sex was made taboo, and we began to fear our past. Maybe it was a Moghul influence.

But today, in this great land of Khajuraho and the Kama Sutra, we are still among those who condemn public display of affection. Is it wrong? The answer is that yes, it does make a lot of people uncomfortable. It does make elders uncomfortable to see people "getting it on" in public. That's their culture. That's what they have seen.

India is a country that is developing by leaps and bounds. A satellite channel influence means that the youth of today are becoming more and more foreign in their approach to life. But we should spare a thought for the previous generation, that still lives in a world where man-woman interaction before marriage is not allowed. This change is taking place too fast for them to digest. This change is in every aspect of our lives. And guess what, the lawmakers are still the elder generation.

We must change, I do not deny that. We must become more liberal in our outlook, I totally agree. But do spare a thought for those who condemn change. Change is never easy. Look at yourself. Did you get over your last girlfriend/boyfriend? Do you like your new job? I think that with time, we will all get used to it. But come on guys, give them some time.

LET DIWALI LIGHT UP OUR LIVES BRIGHT

CELEBRATE A PROSPEROUS & A LIGHT-FILLED DIWALI

NDTV on Manjunathan

NDTV had an excellent story on the Manjunathan murder case refering to as the "IIM Murder Case".

The channel visited the petrol pump in the interiors of UP where the killing took place. It even got a witness to declare - on camera - the names of the two people who shot Manjunathan. One of them was the petrol pump owner's son, Monu Mittal.

Ironically, the top story - preceding this one - was also about a man dying simply for doing his job. M R Kutty, 36, was a driver working for the Border Road Organisation (BRO) which was building roads in Afghanistan.

The Taliban ain't too pleased about roads reaching their part of the world - so what do they do? Abduct Kutty. The demand: "BRO, return to India, or else". Kutty learnt the cruel meaning of 'or else'.

His decapitated body was found "dumped by the roadside in Delaram, a district in southern Afghanistan's Nimroze Province".

Dangers ahead
There are apparently 290 employees of BRO still in Afghanistan - and work on the Zaranj-Delaram road project must continue...

Should they stick to their jobs or petition the government to be brought home? What would you advise if someone you loved was in such a dilemma?

We all know the answer...

And Manjunathan's father was on his son's case too. "I often pleaded with him that he should give up this job in that part of north India where the border with Nepal and the forest terrain made mafia operation conducive," Shakumugan told The Telegraph.

"But he would not listen," he sobbed, "and he would say he loved Lucknow which gave him his management degree, and that he was ready to give his life for Indian Oil..."

And he did.

It's not about sex

"If we are accepting pre-marital sex, we are making youths cannibals"
 
"It should stopped, no debate required"
 
"Yeh vaishyavratti hai... videsh se layi gayi gandagi hai. "


These are just a few of the comments SMS'd by viewers which scrolled on the NDTV India ticker during a heated debate on Pre Marital Sex. 

A topic that suddenly became all the more topical with Khushboo's views being attacked and poor Sania Mirza getting dragged into the controversy.

Approximately 40% of NDTV India's viewers appeared violently opposed to the very idea of pre-marital sex, while 60% opined it was an individual choice. Pooja Bhatt, summing up "pro" view, said: "Main apne vichaar aap par nahin thop rahi hoon - toh aap apne vyavhaar mujh par kyun thopna chahte hain."

Let me be free to hold my views - you are free to hold yours. And herein lies the crux of the issue.

It's not about sex, really. And it's not a cut and dried Indian Sanskriti vs Western culture kind of debate either. We are a society in transition. People - and young people in particular - are redefining their personal value systems and the Old Order is feeling threatened.

A decade ago, the 'hip' young Indian was like a Michael Jackson, desperately trying to be White. But we've evolved since then and realised aping the West is uncool.

Someone once coined the term 'coconut' to describe young people of 'Asian' descent in the UK. Meaning they were Brown from the Outside but White from the Inside.

A similar generation of 'coconuts' now exists in India. These are young people who will embrace Indian food, Indian clothes, Indian music. The external and interesting paraphernalia of our culture are gladly accepted.

However the "white on the inside" bit is about being increasingly individualistic. About deciding what is wrong or right for oneself. So in the case of pre-marital sex what most 'coconuts' believe is not that it is inherently right or wrong, but that it is for each person to decide.

On the other hand you have the White from the Outside but Brown from the Inside brigade. Let's call them 'cappucinos'. On the surface they have adopted certain 'Western' things - they will happily wear jeans, not dhotis and wolf down pizzas and burgers.

But beneath the layer of white foamy froth, they are deeply "brown".

In such a value system, the writ of Society or 'samaaj' prevails over an individual choices and desires. And it's not just about pre-marital sex. It's also about who you should marry (ideally someone from your own caste), when you should marry (preferably around 25, definitely by 30!), having children ("arre, shaadi ko do saal ho gaye - koi issue nahin hai?) and so on and so forth.

Whose life is it anyways
The whole debate about pre-marital sex, for example, does not take into account the idea that some people may not want to marry. Or maybe they do but only if they meet the 'right' person and not because they are past their 'sell by' date.

Must such a person promise to remain celibate all their life? "Underage" sex and pre-marital sex are thus not one and the same thing.

And clearly, many of the young people who - in theory - support pre-marital sex aren't necessarily doing it 'without thinking'. At least, they're waiting for the right time, place and person.

According to the Durex Sex Survey 2009 Indians lost their virginity at an average age of 19.8 years as compared to 17.3 years (the average age when people had sex for the first time worldwide).

Another pertinent question in the Indian context may be how many people choose to remain virgins until they marry. These could include both the 'coconuts' and the 'cappucinos'. But the two may make their choices for different reasons.

Coconuts may not have sex before marriage but reserve the right to do, should they meet someone special. The other brigade will, on principle, not have anything to do with 'sex before marriage'.

Sex Surveys
All three major news weeklies (India Today, Outlook and The Week) have annual sex surveys. So do the likes of Durex.

A few points to note - the Durex survey was apparently done through the durex.com website which means it was not a random sample representative of the general population

Then there's the the touching belief that people will answer questions about their sex life correctly. I have my doubts, although the stats regarding India are conservative enough to sound 'real', unlike the surveys by Indian magazines!

Globally, people have had an average number of nine sexual partners. The Turks have had more partners than any other country (14.5), Indians have had the fewest sexual partners (3)

But I also wonder what 'losing one's virginity' means to Indians. Would it necessarily mean going all the way?

I ask this because the term 'proposal' has its own strange connotation. A college student saying "He proposed me" is not about getting married. It's agreeing to be someone's steady gf/bf and go to the movies!

Similarly, there would be plenty of young people who will kiss and cuddle but don't 'go all the way'. In fact the Brown on the Inside brigade will often do everything "but that" and justify to themselves that "I didn't actually do it".

Oh man, there is something seriously wrong with people who think they can abuse a lady because she decided to speak her mind. We need more women like Khushboo (never really enjoyed her movies, but there you go, people surprise you). What friggin law did she break, by the way, that landed her in jail? Shame on the people (the women, especially) who threw garbage at her. To think that a country with some world-class eroticism is in it's heritage would end up in such a sad state of sexual repression. Indians are human too, you know, we have the same needs as anyone else!

I am not sure if it as simple as having a choice and exercising it although, that is not the intent, its more like realist, I would say there really is no choice unless you really really dont care two hoots. Its just a fact. Which you cant overlook. It is a testimonial which at the very least stamps you as being of reasonably good character. Even if we consider an open-minded person so to say, it will still rankle him, especially if he himself has been chaste. Besides, how do you think this works? If you know that you are going to wait forever for the right guy, and your definition of a right guy includes someone who would be objective about this, then good for you. But if unfortunately (or maybe not), you have to go through the rigours of an arranged marriage, when exactly is the right time to tell? During the first meeting, certainly not I would say. During courtship, when you could risk ruining it when all the other logistics seemed to be in place? On the first night- so that you could boast of a 24 hour marriage too? Or some time later on- which could leave you both feeling bitter forever? Or probably never- and risk him finding out through other means, so that you have a la Astitva? Isn't just not 'doing it' so much the easier? In short- my point is I dont know of too many men who would be objective about this, while women might find it just a wee bit easier to forgive because first, they are less likely to find out(!), second they are more likely to consider a host of other factors before calling it off (for their own sake!). And I am not just talking about the average reasonably educated housewife, I am also including the well-educated, can-stand-on-our-own-feet kind of women.

As for the brouhaha over premarital sex, I want to people to ask themselves, one question: Who invented marriage? My answer is simply, mankind. If you agree with me, you must also agree that like all other creations of man, marriage, too is for mankind's convenience and must remain so.

Isn't it ironic that while our society not just sanctions but encourages marriage without/before love, it will get easily disgusted by an expression of love where love actually exists, simply because it is without/before marriage, a man-made convenience.If one disagrees with the premise that marriage was invented by mankind, the only other possible creator could be God. 

We, as humans express our feelings by various means. Sex should be ideally an expression of love, when there is no love, there cannot be a perfect sexual relationship, leave alone the question of Premarital or Postmarital. When one indulges in sexual activity without a pure heartly love for his/her mate, it is inferior to human nature, or rather it would be animalistic. Remember that love finds way beyond sex, it is not love which contains itself in boundaries of this body-mind complex. So in the context of many ancient Indian systems, sex comes in way of ideal love, and lovers pass that phase to find permanent union, which does not require physical union. I hope, it was simple. but simple is the word love. Just start loving somebody, try to be true and you will find you expand yourself beyond limitations, and in that ectasy touches the infinite.

The fact of the matter is this: you are free to exercise your will as long as it does not interfere with someone else’s will. No one likes their free will insulted. Nether can anyone promote anything nor can anyone stop anything. Things are happening. People believe and do what they want to believe and do.

If people debate that thing A is bad, note that people will stop doing it. If people propose thing B is good note that all people will start doing it. Everyone knows what’s good for them. Everything is cyclic. Waves come and go. Things happen to pass. People believe something then they forget. Civilizations rise to fall. Liberals want to become conservative, conservatives want to become liberal.

Parallel you might want to check out the book A Return to Modesty by Wendy Shalit. There are some good insights here towards American values possibly returning to a more conservative focus one day.
Sex is a confusing issue for kids today. A lot of young teens do it to be accepted in their peer group, to be popular or for a variety of other reasons, almost none of which involve 'sex' at all. It's sad and must be confusing for parents trying to deal with it. The point is, you can't ban it away. You can't parade outside an actresses house and hope it helps.

We should recognize that curiosity is normal and provide education on what sex is, and what are good reasons for having sex and what are bad reasons for it. I read a handout given out in school once that said "Don't do it if the two of you cannot laugh about elbows knocking and funny noises".

Should Indian culture be Pro or Anti premarital sex. If pre-marital sex is a personal choice then once married should the girl tell her husband about her having slept with 3 men before sleeping with him now. If the man has never experimented before what would be his reaction? Do you think that this marriage will last?" It might last, depends on the chemistry between the two. I am sure she would want to reveal that (if she will anyway) much before they go to bed together). I guess if the man can't accept that - they will not marry. Otherwise atleast the fact that she slept with four others should not be the reason for broken marriage. Or do you think she should keep it a secret all through her life-what happens if the man comes to know of it mid-way. Same is with the male counterpart.

Who said marriage is not about sex-it may not be ONLY about sex but sex is definitely an important part of marriage. Sex is imortant for a healthy married life. And if there is no sex one can well be sure that there is an extra marital relationship cooking somewhere. Marriage without a healthy sex life is sure of meeting the dead end and if it was not about why would he have the first night right on the first night-cant it wait?

I feel that we have people of all kinds-there are people who lie and people who are honest-it is their choice. But what is right-being honest isn't it? similarly some people may feel that pre-marital sex is okay, some may say it is not okay-they can have individualistic views. But then still -pre-marital sex is not the right thing. "We are increasingly becoming intolerant to the idea of tolerance..."

Not really, it is just that more debate is being generated and the number of people voicing their opinion has increased due to the increase in avenues. Pre-marital sex always existed in India and it exists as of today. It is just that we have begun talking about it now. Thanks to the socialist style of Nehruvian governance, we have been fed a load of BS in a single direction. Now that the communication is getting bi-directional, certain sections are feeling the pressure.

As we go through this debate, it is important to realize that it is a privilege to be able to "protest" and not merely a right. For example, our Kaumi bretheren order a Bharat Bandh as and when they feel an itch in their loins. Try protesting in one of the many Sharia/Communist adminsitered countries and see how it goes.
The discussion of Pre-Marital sex being good/bad/right/wrong is based on the assumption that Marriage is about sex. Is It?

How ironic, that in the country that wrote the book on sex, we cannot have a mature & intelligent discussion without classifying it into mindset categories of Coconuts & Capuccinos. Expected a much much more mature outlook from the people.

It is infact about sex as sex and religion are two of the most politically sensitive issues in our country or any country for that matter... All of us seem to have our own version of rights and wrongs about sex and god and we just cant accept any other point of view...


Someone wise had said, "Humans are the only set of people who can justify whatever they do or do not do." Look around and see how Americans are justifying wars, how Indians are justifying torture in Kashmir and the Naxalite affected areas, how Sania justified what she said, how the Hindus justify going 'saat samundar paar' so frequently and not doing 'shudhikaran' even once. So, when Khushboo said what she had to , she could justify it and so did the other set of people. The point which matters is whether there is going to be any difference in the society or the government . No!Except that at the TV Studios and the press conferences, no one is seriously making an effort to educate the Indians about the sex (I meant sex education:)), HIV prevention ,etc etc.

The moderates and the liberals can be either the coconuts or the capuccinos. I have seen the 're-avtar-isation' of a liberal into a radical and vice versa, when they face situattions. A very dear uncle of mine became a hindu zealot overnight, while his son (M.Tech and Phd from IIT) wanted to marry a Christian dalit ( IIM Bangalore passout), who earlier advocated such intermingling of races and intercaste marriages.
So, it is good that we discuss, but it is very hard to comprehend the realty when the individual faces it in the face.

True, dunno what's the hullaboo all about. As if Khusboo or Sania's stamp would make the youth go ahead with it!! Besides being a very very personal choice, it also highlights the 'pseudo libealisation' of the Indian mindset. True liberalization would have arrived when each one was free to say what he/she wants to. And no, I dont think it'll 'erode our values'.

Getting back to the original issues raised by Khushboo. It's not about advocating what's right or wrong but just acknowledging that people do have sex before marriage - even in India. So if you have made that decision, be safe about it. Better safe, than sorry!

P.S. Please, no Khushboo style protests to this post! On my part, I won't be making any Sania style retractions.

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!

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.