Its Narendra Modi once again

So the psephologists got it wrong, the Congress (I) built castles in the air, while Modi and his multi masked multitude romped home to another win.

There were many cooks to spoil Modi’s broth – there were dissidents, there was the incumbency factor and there was the communal divide. Such was the relief at the outcome that Advani (of the BJP and the Prime Minister in waiting) called it a victory that had repercussions at the national levels, while Kapil Sibal (Minster of Science and Technology ) stated that even fascists come to power.

Political analysts have called Gujarat the laboratory for the right wing. They have been myopic in only calling Gujarat a laboratory – its India that has become a laboratory, it’s the politicians, the judiciary, police, and the common man across who are guinea pigs. The Saffron brigade want to see how far they can go before something happens. Well 5 years have passed and nothing has happened and the party and people under whose rule the genocide took place have retained power.

Which brings me to the question of should these people be actually allowed to vote at all. Yes, yes we are a democracy and all that. But the question is how does one deal with an inefficient democracy and with people who know how to usurp democratic principles for their own benefit. These people have to be re-schooled in the tenets of democracy, of fundamental rights, of respect, of equality and justice.

During the Emergency it was said that the trains ran on time. Media analysts state that Modi retained power because he gave the people of Gujarat a government free of corruption. For the media to repeat this and even agree shows the myopicness of the naiveness of the media. Corruption is not only about transaction of money and monetary profiteering it is also about a government’s high handedness, in this case to get its police to kill people, or to ensure that police do not act during riots, or to provide information and addresses of minority communities to rioters.

The next thing that this election has raised is Modi entering national politics. The BJP and Congress (I) hum and hawed with their answers but the very idea is frightening. Instead of someone belling the cat and stating categorically that this infected person should be quarantined and an antidote found for him, everyone spoke about whether Hindutva would become BJP’s election platform and the Congress (I) happily stated that if the BJP used the Modi model the BJP would loose its allies.

Modi has been called Hitler. This state is like pre-second world war Germany with the Gujarati’s, like the Germans, blinded by the promise of a 1000 year rule and the rest of the country like Chamberlain and others allowing a weed to grow and spread.

Looking back

As the sun slowly sets on 2007, a ritual is followed - time is taken off to complete, end, think back, review, mull and choose memories for the coming year. Much will be written and said (yes this is one of them) about the year and how it could have been improved

One of the things that should be done at the end of each year is to see the choices news papers made in terms of news. There is no doubt that the chicken and egg argument can be made – do newspapers make opinions or reflect the opinions of the masses. The truth is that both feed off each other. Readers can tell off newspapers and newspapers can change mindsets. However, in the end what is printed provides a peep into the nation’s thinking.

For example there were just about three cases of ‘phamous’ Indians who claimed they faced racial abuse in the UK.

1. Shilpa Shetty with her televised cooking and eating habits on Big Brother was not only able to win the reality series but got an award for her work on AIDS (Richard Gere’s on stage kiss put AIDs back on everyone’s radar), she supped with the Queen and also got a university to award her with a honorary doctorate – and the entire saga was put in print. There were no questions about her actual work on AIDs or what induced the university to present her with a degree. But everyone was happy, proud they believed that India was finally being taken seriously.
2. Salman Rushdie claimed he was the target of racial slurs in school in the UK. If this made news in Indian papers then the paper employs people who are far removed from reality or worse still they haven’t been to school. But this was reported too – not too many inches.
3. John Abraham and others who make a living by hamming on the silver screen stated that he and others faced racial slurs while shooting for a movie. The news did not help the movie the box office.

Then there were cases where we proudly made ours what was not ours to have. Sunita Williams is supposed to be an Indian but she was born in Ohio, her colour and name do not make her an Indian, but India proudly adopted her it became worse when she visited Gujarat the BJP and Congress I wooed her as she represented a vibrant Gujarat (click the video) for some and for others an example of an India on the move. The fact that she was not an Indian, but an American, was lost on everyone.

Then a lot of ink was spent on another set of stars that killed or possessed weapons that could kill (yes a car is included). The press trailed them as they went from court house to jail and then home and occasionally traveled in a government car to a shrine in the Himalayas. There were interviews on why the judges should go lenient on them and how these star criminals have transmogrified into better humans. The fact that the courts took years to come to a decision and are still taking time was no where in sight, that time adds a tint of sympathy and forgetfulness was brushed aside.

Later in the year there was the Tehelka Expose about those involved in the riots of Gujarat. The magazine had the murders/rapists and other such people who profess to be the bastions of Hindu morality brag about their conquests. So what were actually confessions was convoluted to a debate on the timing of the expose. Was the expose supposed to hurt BJPs electoral plans in Gujarat or was someone trying to tarnish the image of the Gujarati’s?

The question is everyone and their dog knows what happened in Gujarat so what is the harm if Tehelka used the expose to remove a government (if that was what they were trying to do). Which brings me to the elections in Gujarat and the question whether a people who are blind to a situation in their midst be allowed to vote.

So what we have here is BJP and its Hindutva bandwagon romping all over the place, the Congress I unable to say anything (remember the Sikh riots).

If the Congress I and everyone else really have cojone’s they would hand over those who participated in the Sikh riots to the police, yes it also includes the CPI perpetrators in Nandigram.

Yes there was a lot of talk about the Indo-US nuclear deal.But the actual debate on the false promises and starts of the Indian nuclear industry the need for nuclear energy never made it to papers.

I could just be happy about this deal because it just may ensure that some far away Indian villages in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya are saved from the fate that was handed down to the people of Jadugoda. Right, this actually is quite shortsighted because wherever the uranium is going to come from it would have adversely affected some piece of land and people.

I have a surmise - the social value of a story is proportional to the level of response it gets – Shilpa’s and Richard’s effigy got burned, Gujarat was intellectualized and Modi is being touted to become the CM again and what to say about the Indo-US deal? Hmmmm---

These boots were meant for walking---

One of the things that hit me as I walked through the transit at Charles De Gaule airport were the women --- in their boots.

There were all kinds of women in all kinds of boots, long haired blondes in black stiletto boots to brunettes in velvet boots.

Unfortunately I had to catch a plane to Amsterdam.

And in Amsterdam I got the mother load of boots and what goes in them. I tried to capture those moments but the cheap camera I bought could not take the pressure of the assignment. My friend had a handy camera phone that was put to good use.

It’s cold in Amsterdam and the boots offer protection against the cold. However, what would you call a woman who wore these fabulous pair of boots with a micro mini and no other form of protection – BRAVE.

That’s when the camera failed me and taking no chances I trashed it.

We were passing a beauty school and the lovely ladies were outside smoking I had to induce my friend to whip out his camera phone and click the first set of snaps. We had to almost crawl on our knees to get those boot clusters.

I hadn’t yet given up on a camera so I walked into a shop but hurried out to tell my friend to have his camera ready because another spectacular pair of boots were walking out.

We tried to capture boots on cycles and the closest we came to such a photo was when a pair of boots was unlocking a cycle.

So pretty soon we (my American friends and I) were looking down - as if guilty to check out what the road had to offer. We did not go on the looks of what was in the boots, but focused on the character of the boots. Thus you will notice that there are no faces. we were tempted on occasions but stood fast to our aims. We went to pubs to quench our thirst where the variety beers and boots competed for our attention. And this continued till the lights turned unfriendly.

Mumbai

I survived – another visit to Mumbai. I haven’t come to grips with the city, and I don’t want to. The city is a veritable book of synonyms for the word ‘ostentation’ - of poverty, need, tunnel vision, selfishness.

As the plane makes its approach to land it flies over islands of sky-rises surrounded by slums. In weathers other than the monsoon the rooftops of these little hutments are weighed down by a dull brown of dust. In the monsoon these are covered with fresh blue tarpaulins, actually TV shows that herald monsoons with updates on Mumbai Municipality’s ability to cope with the coming showers by their efforts to remove the last year’s sewage could change to a study of the change in colors of roofs.

Seeing it now, just like any other jungle, Mumbai changes colours for each season.

On Saturday I walked round Nariman Point on work, it was lunch time and therefore was hungry, there wasn’t a single roadside eatery in that area. Mumbai’s street food (ex. Vada pav) is its only endearing quality. A literal buffet of cuisines has been shut down in attempt to keep the city clean and healthy.

Those who got the decision were the rich and ex officials of the municipality – people who never eat in such places. Instead of providing garbage collection facilities for these eateries and safe drinking water they chose the easy way out – take away a source of income and food.

I had the opportunity to meet a very interesting person in Mumbai. Ashok Datar is an urban transport specialist who is trying to promote car pooling as a method to solve the growing problems of traffic congestion and resultant pollution. His idea of car pooling uses the internet and the mobile phone to bring people going in the same direction together. He made a brilliant observation about the growing number of cars he said that the poor are subsidizing the car owners. His argument is that the car owners do not have to pay for parking almost everywhere in the city and the space occupied by a car is same that of a small dwelling in a slum. That space occupied used by the car should be given to the poor or the car owners should be made to pay for it.

One of my colleagues went to shop in Mumbai and immediately fell in love with the city. Okay it wasn’t only the shopping, the sea had something to do with it too. But that’s the whole question how many can actually enjoy the sea, how many can actually enjoy the shopping. Mumbai is a city that provides people with goggles that darkens the glaring reality of inequality.

In transit

The whole idea of going abroad requires a metamorphosis of sorts. One has to get certain facts into ones head – long flights in a cattle car to a place where people don’t speak the same language and don’t look similar (not difficult in India) but still. Forms of such a metamorphosis can be seen in the departure areas of international flights at Indian airports, these areas are silent with airline personal using their lips to smile and welcome instead of warding of irate passengers as in the neighboring domestic terminal. The metamorphosis is very apparent at the international departure where passengers stand in line patiently and silently.

The plane enforces the capitalistic ideology of ‘if you have it we will help you flaunt it’. The first seats in the aircraft belong to those who can really afford -which means that other passengers are accosted by 6 lounge seats for those with exceptionally deep pockets– that’s why the number 6. The seats already have people in it sipping champagne. The frosty chill of the rarefied environs comes down a few notches as passengers move deeper into the plane, in the next cabin there are more chairs per row and therefore more people, but it is still rarefied enough for them to sip champagne and for others to look on in envy. However, there are clear indications of climate change as the number of rows in this area increase. After crossing this, one comes to a scene reminiscent of the early days when people got off the ships on Ellis Island. The image sears the mind - there are as many people sitting as standing trying to stuff their many bags into already stuffed luggage bins – the purser’s here have a look of consternation as they move bags all over the place.

I have a stop over in Paris, I use my French to great effect – everyone recognizes I am an Indian without me having to show my passport. The Charles De Gaulle Airport is swarming with soldiers in camouflage – the camouflage would have worked in the tropics. They don’t stand out because of their guns or fatigues, it is their beret that’s hard to ignore. These caps are really huge; they are large enough to create a brim like solar topi around the head. But they seem immune to what to me is a ridiculous piece of head gear. I don’t think anyone has tried to take them to a mirror and I don’t think any will - think of it like this - what state of mind is a person wearing a strange hat and carrying a gun? The soldier’s prowl the airport as if on a stroll in a park on Sunday, chatting with their buddies as they keep a keen eye on god knows who and what.

Sitting in the transit lounge I come across someone of my color sweeping the floor. Yes, there was a time when one knew one had arrived in Heathrow by the number of Indians sweeping, but at Charles De Gaulle? So I hand out a tentative smile and get one in return. Next I make the universal Indian greeting (no not How!) but saying ‘namaste’. This results in a question from her asking if I am from India ‘oui’ says I, then she floors me with ‘I no speak Hindi only Tamil’. This is nothing strange because one could be from Sri Lanka or she was from Tamil Nadu a state in southern India that has a history being averse to north Indian languages. So, even in a foreign place there is a possibility that when and if two Indian’s meet they are so culturally divided that they do not have a common language to communicate – unless of course it is French.

Election manifestoes as a development index – An Indian study.

In our attempts to study economic patterns, society structure and human development we have created many indices ranging from Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to literacy rates. These indices are ways to compare societies, question decisions, find and question benchmarks, separate the wheat from the chaff and most importantly to learn and find the next step in decision making processes which ultimately affect a large number of people.

As society moves through time, different issues become important or are highlighted. People recognize different things in themselves or in their surrounding environment. Social scientists spoke about Intelligence Quotient as determining a person’s mental capacity, then there was a sudden interest in a new aspect of human psychology that was termed Emotional Quotient – something that determines a person’s capability to withstand emotional/psychological pressure. There was a time when a student’s ambition ended with attempts to become an engineer or doctor; now there are children who dream of becoming ‘successful singers’, ‘dieticians’. A decade ago one hardly saw any women driving scooters/cars and the number of women in the workforce was marginal.

These are examples of how society has broadened its views on stereotypes; education has allowed women to move out from within the four walls of their homes; it has also created an acceptance to such a move. Further, it has also created scope for people to venture into new activities, which means that society (and therefore the economy) has been able to create opportunities.

So what would indicate the health of a society or its state of development? It cannot only be GDP, or literacy rate or the kilometers of roads. Aristotle said in ancient Greece, “Wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking, for it is merely useful for the sake of something else.” Could the Human Development Report suggest the health of a society? The HDR brought out by the UN is a yearly report that covers issues ranging from democracy to structures in communities.

The Human Development Report goes “beyond income to assess the level of people’s long-term well-being. Bringing about development of the people, by the people, and for the people, and emphasizing that the goals of development are choices and freedoms”. This report is an outsider’s perspective of a country. Further the HDR is a kind of feed back form on policies and initiatives undertaken by the state. Thus what it assesses are politico-bureaucratic measures that have been taken. However, there is a distinct gap between what is being done, what was said/promised and what people actually want.

The National Human Development Report – 2001, brought out by the Planning Commission of India states in its introduction that ‘The process of development, in any society, should ideally be viewed and assessed in terms of what it does for an average individual. It has to be seen in terms of the benefits and opportunities that it generates for people and how these are eventually distributed — between men and women, the well off and deprived and across regions. ---often, there is no direct correspondence between economic attainments of a society and the quality of life.’ The NHDR sees the need to go beyond the regular indices to frame such an index that ‘ should reflect the values and development priorities of the society where it is applied. It is therefore necessary for countries like India to develop a contextually relevant approach to human development, identify and devise appropriate indicators to help formulate and monitor public policy.’

In the context of the article, ‘development’ goes beyond socio-economic factors to include broadened awareness, establishment of institutions that cater to the arts, monetary resources spent on things other than basic needs. Development in this context points one towards improving the quality of lifestyle and providing opportunities for overall human growth in non-economic terms.

Could election manifestoes be an index that not only represents a broader picture of the overall economy and society but also a national sentiment of what needs to be done in terms of importance? Further could the argument be made that issues in election manifestoes actually paint a picture of the level of development a country has actually reached.

The manifesto is in-fact a recipe book that takes basic ingredients and suggests methods to come up with an array of interesting dishes. In time the chefs become confident enough to add ‘exotic’ spices to come up with more wholesome meals that have distinct tastes, flavours and aromas. This confidence comes not only with the growing expertise of the chef but also with the clientele’s taste that becomes more discerning and demanding.

Sifting through manifestoes

To discuss the issue, election manifestoes of two of the major political parties the Congress (I) and the BJP are chosen. The reason being that the Congress (I) is one of the oldest parties and the BJP has seen a spurt in political prominence in the past two decades.

The article does not look at basic issues revolving around the economy in these election manifestos; as these issues are based mainly on number crunching and finding new bottles for the old wine. I have looked for the indications of ‘coming of age’ in these manifestos. Over time election manifestos have gone beyond political ideology, economic, infrastructure, defense and regular social upliftment schemes.

Women’s issues

Between 1991 and 2004 Congress (I) raised women’s issues that ranged from clean chullahs, equal remuneration, and laws to safeguard women from sexual harassment in the work place. The 2004 BJP manifesto promised a ‘National Policy on Women's Economic Empowerment’ which would ‘propose strategies to enable women in balancing work and family by introducing a national childcare plan, workplace flexibility’.

Urban issues

It was only in 2004 that any party looked at urban issues besides infrastructure and slum development. The Congress manifesto states that there should be ‘--legal space in the cities and towns for hawkers, vendors, food-sellers and all such informal sector service activities that enrich urban life’. The BJP in the same year states that the bazaar, which has ‘always been at the center of India's social life and played a crucial role in driving the economy’ needs proper systems to remove inefficiencies.

Environment

Both political parties see that environment must not be neglected. The BJP speaks about promoting organic agriculture ‘to reduce soil degradation’ and the need for a ground water regeneration plan.

Governance and NGO’s

The Congress I manifesto promises ‘Swarg on earth but also for Swar—for voice, for full representation in the institutions of governance, for social acceptance and for political power---‘ The party also looks positively at Public Interest Litigation.

The BJP in their manifesto promise a ‘National Council of Voluntary Organizations’

Communalism

The 1999 Congress manifesto theme was ‘Social Harmony’. Both parties speak about communalism according to their political philosophy.

Youth, disabled and senior citizens

The Congress in their 2004 manifesto promised a ‘National Senior Citizen’s Fund’ and schemes to look after street children. The party suggests a scheme that would require youth to spend a year in development projects. The manifesto speaks about the importance of NGO’s in society. It goes further and promises systems to help street children.

The BJP is the only party that promises a policy for the disabled and a scheme to reduce infant and maternal mortality. The BJP manifesto is the only manifesto that states ‘a National Policy for India's Entertainment Industry will be prepared, within six months, to realize its growth potential’.

Comparing issues in national manifestos
Looking at both political parties one sees that not only have issues changed but they have become more broad-based. Both parties see a growing trend of women joining the work force and therefore the need to create an atmosphere that would be conducive to them. Also the parties are looking at empowering rural women so that not only do they become economically independent but they can also increase their household income.

Both parties see the need to look at the environment while driving economic growth. The Congress goes further and speaks about the importance of PILs, while the BJP sees the need for a forum of NGO’s. This is a radical step forward especially when many NGO’s are at loggerheads with the government. Both parties see NGO’s as something positive whose work should be furthered. The idea of proper governance and people’s participation has also become big in the agenda. Could it be a result of people asserting themselves, because they know their rights and know that people in power are accountable?

What is not surprising though is that the issues of communal harmony have not broken rigid party lines. This could be because of vote banks and or internal dynamics. The policy on NGO’s could also be an attempt to co-opt the independent voice of these groups. However the fact that political parties have recognized the importance of such groups and want to do something about it shows a shift in political thinking.

One could argue that the manifesto will finally be a book of empty promises. The point that one is trying to make is that parties see change and therefore incorporate it in their manifestos.

However, India has miles to go especially when one compares these manifestos to the American Democrats manifesto. Even though John Kerry lost the election his manifesto had a certain inter-connectedness which shows not only a better understanding of problems but also an understanding of the direction society is pointing towards. For example Senator John Kerry discusses the role of renewable energy in the economy. On the issues of senior citizens the Kerry manifesto goes beyond a fund to speak about affordable prescription drugs and options for long term needs. On the subject of children the manifesto promises proper labeling of children’s food, prevention of child abuse, quality pre-school care.

One could argue that a lot of these promises are made after a certain level of economic stability. However, economic stability also brings in opportunities for the party in power to further their nation’s outlook, and the willingness to move beyond matters that have come to determine in the narrowest of definitions ‘national interest’.

Questions of whether a study of political manifestos could indicate the direction we as a society are heading towards or whether political manifestos reflect today’s society has an answer – the answer is yes. Women’s rights are now a major issue in Indian society. No one bats an eyelid to see a working girl, while at the same time a woman still has to face harassment. Going further Indians have not come to terms with alternative sexuality, while there are gay right’s groups, they have received no help from the government on legislation and recognition of same sex marriage, and thus this is not an issue in any political arena. Even though there is an Indian tradition to respect elders it was not ever apparent in the political arena. The need to provide care for senior citizens goes beyond any philosophy to actually recognize that families are becoming nuclear and both sexes work and that senior citizens no longer have the support system that was present earlier.

Even though communal harmony has been on the agenda for a long time parties have not been able to go beyond their party lines. We as a society have not yet been able to move beyond caste, creed, region and religion. This reflects in political manifestos. However, there is no doubt that what the Indian political parties write in their manifesto has undergone a sea change. Parties are now looking outside the framework of the economy and their narrow ideologies to other issues of human welfare, equality and mutual respect. This also includes an ability to acknowledge other ideologies and ways of thinking and promote them. These are all attempts to improve the quality of life in non-monetary and intangible terms. Manifestos do reflect changes in society, their aspirations and their broadening horizons.

(An article that did not get to the papers)

----and then there was noise.

Sepultura, Brazil’s heavy metal band has been on my radar– mostly from the t-shirts that heavy metal fans wear. The first time I heard them was in the smoky confines of a pub called Purple Haze, so when I saw billboards advertising their concert in Bangalore I was pretty keen to spend some of my hard earned money on them.

It was less an investment on music appreciation than on another course in social anthropology.

There are a few things that a metal aficionado needs to do when going to a rock concert

• Scrounge for money to get that ‘exclusive’ ticket
• Get a heavy metal t-shirt, preferably with the bands moniker, if not any other metal band’s brand would do
• Roll doobies to take into the show
• Find ways to ensure that the doobies don’t fall into the groping hands of the security. This is also a dilemma for those wanting to bring in alcohol.
• Find the nearest bar a few hours before the concert to tank up.

For those who easily loose their way, the way of finding the route is to

• Follow cars filled with young people drinking to the music of said band
• Follow anyone with a bandanna and a heavy metal t-shirt

The concert was held in Palace Grounds owned by one of the many erstwhile kings who now earn their keep by renting out their estates for all kinds of events. Palace Grounds, of course houses a palace, but also includes a horse riding school, marriage lawns and other things needed by society.

The roads inside the grounds were dark and we followed the others in blind faith. A traffic policeman whistled us to a piece of land that had become the day’s parking spot. We walked to the gates of the concert area passing islands of men-in-black preparing themselves for the concert, interspersed between them were hawkers selling all forms of sustenance. The gates had professional gropers whose main job was to ensure that nothing besides the people with tickets got in.

The grounds were empty barring a black mass congregated right in front of the stage. It was a scene reminiscent to the oft seen one in the wild of Africa where animals of all shapes and sizes congregate at the last watering hole in a drought.

We missed the opening act, but we got in just before Sepultura got on stage. When they began their first song the modern version of a traditional Indian welcome was given. Almost everyone took out their phones, held it above their heads to record the band. It looked like mechanical glow worms emitting blue light.

As I watched this band some things struck me about this genre of music – the drummer has the hardest job in the world. He pounds the skins till they bleat for mercy, he works up a sweat that puts anyone doing aerobics to shame. Further, no matter how much the lead singer tries to obfuscate the lyrics there will be die hard fans who sing along with him. The only word I could recognize was ‘biotech’ in a song called ‘godzilla’ (I think), while those around me gargled the lyrics along with Derrick Green.

One didn’t need to carry personal doobies, it was just enough to breathe to get a high. The crowd in front had created a mosh pit where everyone was being pushed around. Fans were charging into others, though they were trying to do it to the beat of the music it proved to be quite difficult. They were dervishes of a new generation, of a new form of music that preached peace and other such things in a manner that suggested just the opposite.

However it seemed that though the music was violent and the actions of the fans were synchronous to the music they were in effect regular guys. This was just another form of letting their hair down.

And so, it all came to an end at 21.30 which surprised some of the foreigners with us. I could only say that the authorities were slowly transforming us into Cinderellas in their vague attempts to protect us from crime and prevent crime.

More than words - - - - -

With so many Hindi words joining the English dictionary, it would appear that (the) English is once again on a conquest. However, the fact is that Hindi has not been too far in picking English words to suit its purposes.

The first time I noticed this was when someone used the word ‘Colgate’ while speaking in Hindi. He was describing in Hindi how he injured himself while he was doing ‘Colgate’ in the morning. He was using the name of a brand in a generic way to describe morning ablutions.

That’s what got me tuned into this subterranean world of English words.

Bus drivers are called ‘Pilots’ more to give them respect than to describe the speed at which they ply on Indian roads, while bus conductors shout ‘right right’ not because they want him to turn in a certain direction but to egg him on. The word almost sounds like ‘ray’.

Whenever cell phones percolate down to the tiniest village English has not been far behind. The strength of the signal indicated by bars on the screen are described as ‘tower’ well it does look like a mini tower. So if there is no signal one says ‘there is no tower’ (in Hindi off course).

Indians have not only Indianised Chinese but have also improvised on the spellings. ‘Chainese’ is the most seen spelling around, while to cater to the Indian palate a dish called ‘Gobi Manchurian’ (pronounced Manchuri) has been concocted. Gobi, is Cauliflower and has got nothing to do with the abode of the Bactrian Camel. Brightly lit roadside stalls announce brazenly on their small billboards ‘chainese’, while the sidekick offers ‘gobi manjuri, veg fried rice’ (pronounced weg) all in a single breath.

Small eateries in small towns serve a cuisine of their own. The places are small, smoky and dingy, people sit packed into benches sweating reasons being lack of ventilation and the liberal amount of chillies added. Ordering an egg here can be a problem – if you want a fried egg you ask for a ‘half boiled’. Strangely enough in one of the places in the south I heard ‘bulls-eye’ being ordered and it did not end with a bovine becoming blind.

‘Congress’ has less to do with a political party or a gathering of people, in certain areas of the south it indicates free munchies in shady bars. This is usually puffed rice with the odd salted peanut thrown in to add colour, it is served on a piece of paper. Munching these things provide entertainment between sips because one has to protect it from the blast of the fan that blows away the smoke from those smoking. While when you order a ‘cutting’ do not expect someone to snip your hair but to serve you half a glass of tea.

‘Adjust’ is a word that is frequently used, infact it describes an Indian’s mentality. If there is an accident the guilty party pleadingly uses the word ‘adjust’ to beg for a little mercy. While on a train bursting at its seams a passenger will stand next to a sitting person and request him to ‘adjust’ which means that the sitting person sidle up to provide a little place.

One does not have to seek any particular environment to hear/see such things. These things can accost you on the road - if some asks you to ‘hold it’ and gives you nothing, it does not mean s/he is an inmate of an asylum – it’s just a request for you to stop.

If language transcends boundaries, Indians have shown that words transcend meanings.

Was ‘I will survive—‘ inspired by India’s history?

Who hasn’t heard Gloria Gaynor belt out ‘I will survive’. Who hasn’t relived every failure, rejection when she heartily adds ‘I have so much more to give---’. Who hasn’t silently winced at the thought of the time a toe was stomped on when the best foot was put forward.

‘I will survive’ is an anthem that anyone can identify with.

But, what inspired Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris to write these words, what were the incidents that made Gloria sing with so much emotion what was it that makes these words ring true even today?

Me thinks that the lyricists and Gloria were inspired by India’s history. But I am not stopping there I also think that they saw into India’s future too.

The words of this 1978 song trace the course of Indian history. Consider the first six lines of the song (http://www.lyricsdomain.com/7/gloria_gaynor/i_will_survive.html). It speaks about lack of faith in oneself and then the self realisation that metamorphises into self actualisation. These words have to be about India’s freedom movement.

But these words were prescient because they also present a clear picture of the state of India’s politics. Consider how political parties (and even politicians) hop into bed with each other and then hop out. Each such episode ends with a oath to ‘go it alone’ but somewhere in their downside to oblivion parties and politicians come out to the press and state that they are now ready for a coalition on ‘certain terms and conditions’. And so it continues.

Gloria sings lustily ‘I should have changed my stupid lock I should have made you leave your key If I had known for just one second you'd be back to bother me’. Well if this isn’t about India then I don’t know what is. India was attacked innumerable times over the centuries. Some of the known faces who were uninvited guests (frequent at times) and even bad guests were Alexander, Mohammed of Ghazni and the British. The British made this country their little love nest and overstayed their welcome. Thus was borne India’s desire to change the keys of her door.

But even now India feels the need to make her home secure what with separatists in the North and North East baying for freedom.

The second stanza is more about India’s current desire to be recognised as a global superpower. Gloria belts out “and I spent oh so many nights just feeling sorry for myself I used to cry Now I hold my head up high and you see me somebody new I'm not that chained up little person”. Who can forget India’s tryst with nuclear weapons in 1998 and it proudly crowing that she is now a ‘nuclear have’ or for that matter the recent start up of a military outpost in some break away of the former USSR. All these are indications of a change from a third world country with hungry millions to a wannabe first world country with still hungry millions – all in a span of 60 years.

So Gloria, I think you should come out and thank India for the inspiration it has provided you and your lyricists. It is not too late to do so.

I saw this behind an autorickshaw.

Of files, handshakes and office table drawers.

What seems – never is! Maybe that is why India has earned so many accolades as the corruption capital of the world – okay Transparency Internationals Global Corruption Barometer puts India as the 70^th most corrupt nation. Not very encouraging when India is near the bottom half of this list while dreaming of becoming a global super power. But the good thing about this whole thing is that it not only indicates that Indians are very creative, but also very adaptable (look at the country's history) – Darwin would be proud.

Consider the situation of the office of an Indian File Pusher (IFP) – it has a large desk, a chair behind it which is draped with a towel. The wall behind the chair may have a photo of Mahatma Gandhi, the President and the politician in power. There will be a large calendar to keep the IFP up-to-date. The office may have a small shrine with the deity of the IFP.

The desk is unique, on one side two plastic trays (in and out) carry the hopes of millions, while the other has a pen stand with a myriad variety of pens. There may be paper weights on the desk, but these are going out of fashion as air conditioners become the norm. A lidded glass of water stands as a sentinel close by. The desk has drawers on the side where the IFP sits – usually empty.

The drawer serves another purpose. It’s the unofficial collection box. This is what happens - someone comes with an urgent file, the person stands at the side of the IFP in deference while the IFP peruses the file. Some questions are asked which are answered vaguely. As the file is signed the person puts his hand into his pocket and in one deft movement drops a packet of notes into the drawer. This happened in front of me.

Consider the same IFP in a similar office. A file is brought to him - he opens it and out slips a little packet of notes into his lap. The file is quickly dealt with and then the offending packet is delicately put into the draw for later retrieval.

The handshake was always been a form of communication, communicating a greeting, a promise- okay it was also a way to pass information, you know, a crowded station two men in trench courts pass each other under the benevolent eye of clueless cops and as the two men pass one hand slips the other a vital piece of information that saves the world and kills one of them.

In India this has been modified into an art that ensures both parties not only survive but thrive. The parties in such situation are the cops (traffic species in particular) on one side and erring drivers on the other.

The traffic police usually work in teams they operate either from a motorbike or a jeep. What happens is that the lackey does the scouting while the senior person finds a comfortable spot on the parked bike or jeep and waits. The flunky sifts the wheat from the chaff and the manna begins pouring in.

This is how – the lackey flags down an erring vehicle and the first thing that he does is grab the ignition keys. Then he asks for documents from the erring driver and then goes to his boss who is sitting noncommittally on his vehicle – salivating. The boss looks at the documents shakes his head and takes out a form and begins filling it in all seriousness. This performance gives him a black and white picture of what is coming next court visits, vehicle impounded, sheaves of notes flying from his wallet into the hands of the government. The lackey sees these thoughts in Eastman Colour. He takes the erring waif aside provides a solution which is simple and suits everyone. No court, no impounding, no sheaves of money entering government coffers, just a little private monetary transaction.

The erring driver moves a little away and then pulls out his purse takes and out the suggested amount. He folds it into a very tiny innocuous piece of paper that fits neatly in the palm of his hand. The lackey hands over the documents to the driver and in grateful thanks he shakes hands with the lackey and thus passes the money. The lackey puts his hand into his pocket and saunters back to his boss. This process is followed till its time to go home (or the closest bar).

And so that is how Indians have gone ahead and improved and even improvised on age old traditions, they have found new uses for things to ensure that there is a win-win situation.

Indians have added an addendum to Darwin's theory – a win-win situation ensures that everyone thrives.

Perceiving more the second time.

I saw Platoon on a movie channel yesterday. This movie about Vietnam, war and how people deal with it had a surprise for me. At various stages of the movie (before and after advertisements) the channel gave little tit-bits about Platoon. So besides the fact that the entire crew lived like soldiers at location in the Philippines, I also learned that this was one of Johnny Depp’s first movies, and that Stone saw Depp becoming a Hollywood star.

What is quite surprising was not Stone’s ability to sniff out star material but that there was something new to be found in the old. I have seen Platoon many times and I have never recognised Depp nor seen Depp’s name in the fine print of the credits.

I remember, many years back, my father asking me whether I could hear new nuances to familiar music, then I heard music as one great orgiastic human creation. The delicacy of the cymbals in the clash of drums, the off-beat or even the sound of an altogether new instrument was lost in the noise of music.

And this ability to discern is a new phenomenon with me, maybe I am ‘discerning affected’, or maybe now the sum is as important as the parts. I think there is this space created when you allow the world to surprise you. It’s not about seeing things in a different light, its going beyond and recognising that light consists of seven colours.

Its as much about seeing things differently as letting things be seen.

Is milk an unrecognised source of climate change?

I was watching Veer Sanghvi in a programme on “Travel and Living” the programme is about different foods of India, today he was speaking about India’s fetish for milk.

He guided me through a variety of facts – India was the largest producer of milk and yawn and yawn and yawn. I woke up when he began to meander through varieties of milk products – the zillions of sweets, clarified butter, cottage cheese, cheese, yoghurt and so on.

And then it hit me – milk can also be a cause of Climate Change.

No I am not talking about cows farting (http://www.danamania.com/temp/cow-fire.jpg), or about grasslands and all that. It’s all about the processes that milk and its products go through. It begins from pasteurisation, to the boiling of milk to make sweets to finally the process that makes the sugar.

If one were to calculate the number of sweet shops, the variety of sweets, Indians love for sweets and India’s population one would come to a climate change inducing amount of fuel used.

So what can be done to reduce the impacts of Indian sweet making on the climate? The first step for this industry would be to use jargons such as ‘energy efficiency’, ‘alternative fuels’ which every suresh, ganesh, ramesh is using. Maybe another thing to do immediately would be to reduce our consumption of milk. If we don’t do something now then we will have to do something more drastic like cutting on our sweet intake – but that may lead to Indians doing what they like best – burning things (buses, flags, effigies, people etc) which may be the last straw on the camel’s (pronounced climate) back.

Maybe it would be more palatable if everyone switched from incandescent bulbs to CFLs in the interim while the government creates a committee to study the impacts of milk on our climate.

If (with apologies to Rudyard Kipling)

If thinking of you could bring peace, there would only be 'make love'
If thinking of you could fill every pothole, suspensions would breathe easier
If thinking of you could reduce weight, there would be no guilt after a chocolate
If thinking of you could fill my glass of whiskey, I wouldnt have a waiter hovering around me
If thinking of you could give me a cigarette, passive smoking wouldn't be a health hazard
If thinking of you could fill my bike's petrol tank, Bush wouldnt have an excuse to attack Iraq
If thinking of you could clean a house, who would have heard of Cinderella?

If only thinking of you - - - - - - - - - -

Tête-à-tête

Terraces serve different purposes across different regions of India. In the north owners of houses build a suite (called a barsaati) on the terrace to rent out to bachelors. Such places are lovely because they come with a large terrace and sometimes with the owners clothesline too.

The concept of a barsaati is not so prevalent in the south. The terrace is used to hang clothes, put the water tank and dump unwanted stuff.

Occasionally terraces provide space for private conversation.

Childhood

Cycles unlike most times at school were a happy part of every childhood. Cycling to school, slow-cycling races (yes its an oxymoron but we had those too), picnics during summer holidays, or just cruising around the neighbourhood was what we did.

I remember inflating balloons and tying it to the strut of the rear wheel of my cycle so that it rubbed against the spokes. As the wheel rotated the spokes would rub against the balloon and make a god awful sound much like a cruiser without a silencer.

Then we would raise hell through our neighbourhoods until we got shouted out or our balloons burst.

I took this photograph in the evening, there were children around playing but none of them on bikes. Maybe because our apartment complex offered no place for them or maybe their parents refused to permit them to cycle in the by-lanes where vehicles zip by taking advantage of its emptiness.

Owning a cycle for a child has become an empty rite-of-passage.

Heroes to Worship

Every one wants to be linked to someone famous so that some of the glitter gets rubbed off on them – that’s why Pg 3 is doing so well. Here the nobody makes an effort to join the rarefied stratosphere of the somebody.

However in India there is another trend that is being noticed. Nobody's are including somebody’s in their everyday life for the same reasons. A case in point is the twist given to the predicament of Sunita Williams - the US astronaut stuck in space.

School children from unknown villages hold her mugshots and pray for her ‘safe return’ and the newspapers print this snap the next day. Well from this you could say that the Indian government's efforts to make accessible information technology to everyone has been successful but the truth of the matter is that some unknown school gets a photo in the papers by praying for a person lost in space.

No not just another person – a person who was once upon a time an Indian and through no fault of hers was born in the US – blame it on her parents who hoped to find greener pastures across the seas. This need to include famous people who are no longer residents of India into our everyday life stems from the fact that India does not have heroes of her own, that’s another reason why we also harp about the glories of ancient India. It’s easier to draw a connection to someone famous than to ensure a road to success.

The kind of heroes that are chosen also suggest a bias. No body in India holds a candle to Freddy Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara, educated in a school outside Mumbai India, maybe because it was not infra dig then to search for Indian links or maybe because he was a gay rock star who died of AIDS.

The way things are going we will pretty soon be garlanding apes (our forefathers) for having cocked-a-snook at the food pyramid and for staying awake for the dawn of a new civilisation.

Chairs

The bus from Delhi to Chandigarh was a back-breaker. The seats did not recline, though they were at an angle, the angle ensured maximum discomfort. There was not much space between rows so one got the feeling of being in a cockpit and being surrounded by other cockpits.

I found a comfortable position for my back but the neck had a bad time. Not only did the rocking of the bus ensure my neck lolled around but the seats were devious enough not to give any support to my neck. The seat just sat back and watched my neck do bungee jumps whenever I dropped off to sleep which would ultimately end in my being violently plucked out from the land of nod.

The bus stopped for a snack at 1 am on the highway and I saw these chairs lined up on the road. They were made of cane. They all faced the road as if the road provided entertainment during the day.

Is Face-Off a remake of the original Don?

This thought came to me on a bus to Delhi from Chandigarh while being treated to the screening of the new version of Don.

The movie is about a gangster who is killed by a police officer. The officer chances on a down and out look-a-like and sends this double back to the dead Don’s lair to get information about the gang and its operations.

Now India is an underdeveloped country and Don was made in the late seventies early eighties so instead of using technology to change faces, Bollywood did what it is best at -giving people a chance to live surreal lives- and therefore chose to give some nobody to act like a gangster and bring the evil doers to justice.

A few years later Hollywood used plastic surgery to interchange the faces of Castor Troy and Sean Archer and the result was Face-Off.

I have watched ‘When Harry Met Sally’ umpteen times and loved it every time. Meg Ryans role in this and ‘You’ve got mail’ and for that matter in ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ are sure signs of changes in technology and the mindset of people about technology. In the former two movies Meg uses the computer at work, these are more like electronic typewriters with massive screens, in the latter movie she uses a laptop and uses it more for entertainment (its another matter that she finds Tom Hanks).

Chandigarh Part 2

We had dinner in this Hotel called Aroma, its restaurant was called somethingelse. The restaurant had a very high ceiling and a small waterfall. There were these columns that must have been taken from the Coloseum and dipped in bleach that were strategically placed in the huge room.

Maybe they were once part of a Domino set - - - -

By Order!

This is a favourite sign off used by bureaucratic India (unfortunately the photo is not a good example because the ‘By Order here is followed by the name of the authority). Usually the ‘By Order’ is the QED of an order leaving the authority faceless. These signatures are used against the public to ‘cease and desist’ something.

Indians love symbols of authority but they never comply with rules.

‘By Order’ is a perfect example of this mentality – Only higher-ups make orders that become headstones that go unacknowledged by the public. Knowing this the higher-ups would rather not castrate themselves in public by putting their name to an order that everyone chooses to ignore.

Chandigarh

I have heard people rave about this city, so one could imagine my levels of enthusiasm while planning my trip there. I knew that it was what one calls a planned city. Which means that a famous town planner is given a plot of land and given a free hand to allocate land, build and create building laws that ensures his own immortality, the famous town planner was Le Corbusier.

I arrived in a Volvo bus with a dysfunctional AC. The conductor was even more solicitous then an airhostess, at the beginning of the journey he visited every seat to ensure that the personal air blowers faced the passengers under them. Once the AC broke down and passengers began to complain he offered to call a cab for them. No one took up the offer.

Entering Chandigarh I got a certain feeling of spaciousness, the roads were wide, there were no buildings blocking my view and everything was green. But this sense slowly changed to bewilderment as I got further into the city. Even though I had heard that the ‘planned’ meant that the city was broken down into sectors I was not ready for what I saw. All commercial activity was put into these two storey red buildings that ran for a few hundred meters in length. Thus it was not strange to see three hotels situated side-by-side or restaurants in a long chain offering a kaleidoscope of cuisines. Also these complexes were on one side of the road.

These buildings bring a very Soviet era feeling to the place which is diametric to the wealth and ostentation that seeps from its pores.

RSS

Sherlock Holmes is led to Prof Moriarty as he sees a link between supposedly unrelated spontaneous crimes. Holmes sees through the opaque mist and finds the machinations of a vast criminal network. Moriarty’s web of criminal influence is not altogether different to the spread of the RSS tentacles into every aspect of Indian life. This Hindu fundamentalist organization which blamed Gandhi for the partition of India has as one of its idealogical gurus Vinayak Damodar Savarkar also the guru of Godse, who murdered Mahatma Gandhi. The RSS has its agents in every sphere of the government, armed forces and educational institutions. All this is under the guise of protecting the Hindu way of life (which includes Hindu Pride) which off course is selective reading of what ancient India was. This organization, through its tentacles, has instigated riots, killed and destroyed property all in the name of maintaining Hindu pride

I was in Chandigarh and visited the Rock garden and saw this piece of art made of waste. This agglomeration of statues of people in brown shorts and white shirts reminded me of RSS members who wear very loose brown shorts that are heavily starched and white shirts. They meet weekly in public parks where they do exercises. Occasionally they also organise parades with a band playing western musical instruments.

Besides being xenophobic and racist this organisation also shows symptoms of multiple-personality-disorder because it uses aspects of western influence while parallely maintaining a diatribe against it and ‘protecting’ Hindu culture from this very influence. Nothing could be more apparent than what Uwe Parpart, Asia Times Online Editor mentions in his article " Destroying the house that Gandhi built" that the co-founder of the RSS B S Moonje met Mussolini in Rome in 1931 and moulded the RSS according to the Fascist Academy of Physical Education.

Companionship

Got up this morning and saw this pair sitting on a water tank.

Whenever I see crows i think of velociraptors. Maybe Jurassic Park did it to me but I see the way they turn their heads is very similar to these raptors.

Space

Another picture from the terrace of the apartments I am put up in.

What i wanted to do was to get this construction along with the surroundings it is in. But my camera would not allow

Bangalore

This photo was taken from the terrace of the apartments where I am put up. As many Bangaloreans will know this does not show the hideous conditions the roads are in.

Guzzler

I saw this on a garbage truck near my office.

The Aerosmith Show in Bangalore

My colleague could not wait for the Aerosmith concert, he went about telling everyone excitedly what he planned to do - he was going to get drunk and then, once inside, he was going to get stoned. He was more excited about his state of being in the concert than about the concert itself. Its another matter that he came in sober.

The sign that the Smithies were coming were there for all to see – huge mug-shots of ‘THE LIPS’ and his crew stared down at pedestrians and traffic, closer to the day there were directions with ‘RED SECTION, BLUE SECTION’ and arrows pointing to the hallowed ground where the famous five would strut their stuff.

Hindi movies of the seventies always began with two young kids (sometimes twins) getting lost in a fair and then meeting up years later. It seems that that Steve and Mick got separated at birth in a fair in India, though Steve claims he has never set foot here before. Their antics on stage and their LIPS bear more than just a passing resemblance.

The crowds began coming in at 5.30, by 8 it seemed that there were not going to be many people. The crowds pressed to the barricades closer to the stage, it was empty at the back. The innocuous trickle began to have an effect on the ground, the area began to fill up. Soon one could see plumes of smoke coming from various sections. It almost seemed as if these Indians were sending out smoke signals to each, other communicating the number of reefers present.

Petite women with their gargantuan boyfriends began blocking my line of sight, while the stale smell of alcohol lingered after every ‘excuse me’.

I did not know many songs, nor would I have been able to recognise any off them accept for Steve. So whenever I saw a man with long hair on stage I would yell in anticipation.

Finally the show began and the daddies of rock did their stuff. There was one still photographer on stage busy getting Steve in action. The poor photographer was sweating as much as Steve. Maybe Steve was building up a portfolio, the photographer did not pay much attention to the others.

Joe Perry sang a song but before he did he thanked India for the Kamasutra. Later, he spanked his guitar with his shirt and boy did the guitar wail in pleasure. It was quite a performance by the group.

Steve even learned a few words of Hindi – I think I recognised ‘dil’ (heart) a few times.

An interesting way to spend an evening.