Modi, Li and Manmohan Singh

  Li's turn to try the Modi, Manmohan juggling trick

The history and development of economic thought and practice is littered with those propounding how the individual and the state should spend and earn money; from Plato to Adam Smith, the Mills father and son duo, Marx and Engels, to Keynes and numerous Nobel prize winners, there is no shortage of economic theory on the topic.These people were also teachers and had the ears of those in power. Chanakya and Confucius gave counsel to their respective kings. Confucius, whose philosophy was based on ancestor worship, equilibrium and respect for a central authority, was also a well-respected administrator who travelled to other minor kingdoms to share his expertise.

Understandably, much economic theory has been based on man's position and role in society and also the meaning, role and function of society. Most theorists have remained just that, unable to implement their theories. This was left to either the king or in more recent times the government.

Religion, too, touched on economic thought and practice. Islam had zakat, riba and many other concepts, while Jesus had many a parable to do with money and spoke against the tax collector and what he represented.

Sanatana Dharma, now known as Hinduism, had Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, who is also depicted as Shakti, the divine female creative power. Lakshmi is also the consort of Vishnu, the supreme being.

Maybe ancient thinkers from what we now know as India wished to indicate that wealth either manifests itself as power or sits at the same table as power. This imagery still besots, influences and guides Indians who regard wealth as the great solution and its acquisition as the goal.

With economic liberalization, people have greater opportunity to convert their thoughts into actions. Theorists' economic models and resulting policies are stamped with their names, giving their economic paradigms a human face.

Modinomics
Take for example Narendra Modi, chief minister of India's Gujarat state since 2001 and the poster boy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it prepares itself for elections, due to be held early next year.

The BJP is a right-wing political party known for its use of religious identity, which colors its economic policy and is sold by them as aimed at bringing back "Ram Rajya", the kingdom of Rama.

What Modi is touted to have done for Gujarat in his more than decade-long control of the state has drawn plaudits from the business world and from lay people, both forgetting the concerns voiced by many in India, including respected industrialist and parliamentarian Rahul Bajaj in 2002 in the aftermath of riots in Gujarat between Hindus and Muslims when Narendra Modi was chief minister.

Many Hindus today live with a sense of diminished pride and of being wronged by history - the destruction of the holy temple in Somnath by Mohd of Ghazni centuries ago, being ruled by Mughals and finally the Partition that lead to the formation India and Pakistan are seen as incidents that robbed their land of its true historical and geographical stature. Thus these Hindus constantly attempt to regain their pride, which in many instances implies playing with Muslim sentiments.

This is exacerbated by the belief amongst this set of Hindus that in independent India political parties like the Congress give handouts to the Muslims at the cost of the Hindu majority. The resultant animosity is a socio-religious tinder box that results in regular conflagrations. It was in such a backdrop that a group of Muslims murdered right-wing Hindu activists on February 27, 2002, at the railway station in the town of Godhra in Gujarat.

Those murdered were returning from a visit to the disputed Babri Masjid, where an unused ancient mosque had been destroyed by Hindu revivalists in December 1992 in a warped attempt to undo history and regain lost Hindu glory. Modi, as chief minister, is alleged to have given permission to parade the bodies through the streets against the advice of the state police. He is supposed to have told the police to "let the Hindus vent their anger". This resulted in the riots of 2002 and they remain a shadow over his potential rise to the country's leadership.

Against that, there has been much hype about the economic growth in Gujarat under Modi. The state's economy has certainly grown strongly over his tenure, in the past six years notching up annual increases in its gross domestic product of between more than 9% to just below 14%. However, those rates are surpassed by several other states, such as Bihar and Uttrakhand to name just two, but that fact, for some reason, never makes it to the headlines.

To create an aura around Narendra Modi, there is a lot of hype about his "golden touch" that supposedly turbo-charged Gujarat's economy during his time leading the state. His candidature to be prime minister is based largely on this ability. According to a Planning Commission document released in October this year, under "Real Growth Rates of States - GSDP % [change in gross state domestic product] at Constant Prices", Gujarat's growth in the six financial years ending in March 2012 was 10.13% - trailing the growth in Tamil Nadu (10.30%), Sikkim 18.48% and Uttrakhand (13.15%) - and those other states have done better without Modi and with the added bonus of not beating their chests to boast of their their economic success.

The annual investors' meetings in Gujarat see businessmen promise millions in investment and media trumpet the event. However, other states too receive foreign investments. Between 2006-2010, Gujarat was able to sign foreign direct investment agreements worth 5.35 lakh crore rupees, or US$119.3 billion, which has the potential of creating approximately 600,000 jobs. However, the state of Maharashtra has been able to get more bang for its buck - 4.20 lakh crore rupees, or $93.6 billion in investments in the same period, but with the potential of creating more than 800,000 jobs. [1]

It would seem that Modi may be a creation of a lot of marketing hoopla and fanfare as much as he is an economics wizard. APCO, the PR firm hired by his government, has done an outstanding job.

Modi's economic philosophy can be encapsulated by his mantra "P2G2" formula or "minimum government, maximum governance". This philosophy can be better understood by the fact that Narendra Modi holds 11 portfolios in his government. His government website makes it more clear, stating that Modi looks after "All Policy Matters and Ministries not allotted to other Ministers".

Over the past few months, many newspapers in India have discussed the glaring disparity in urban average daily wages between those working in Gujarat and the rest of India. According to the National Sample Survey Organization, the average daily wage in Gujarat is 44.52 rupees, [2] or US$2.65, against 170.10 rupees, or $3.12, for the rest of India.

Could these low wages be a reason for high malnutrition rates recorded among women and children in Gujarat? A recent Comptroller and Auditor General report states that 66% of children in Gujarat are underweight. Though the government of Gujarat disputes these figures, the state's own Women and Development Minister has in a written reply to the Gujarat State Assembly said that at least 600,000 children in 14 districts are malnourished - data for the remaining 12 districts were not available to her. A 2011 survey of more than 100,000 children across India by the Nandi Foundation found that 42% were underweight.

Christophe Jeffrelot, senior research fellow at CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris and Professor of India Politics and Sociology at King's India Institute, London writes in an article titled "No model state", (Indian Express, September 16, 2013) that Gujarat's progress is due to handouts to industry at the cost of the state exchequer; the state gets another hammering because its progress is fueled by large-scale debt, which stood at 45,301 crore rupees in 2002, or US$9.3 billion at the then exchange rate, and is now at 1,38,978 crore rupees, or $25.5 billion at the current exchange rate, for a population of around 60 million. [3]

Uttar Pradesh has a similar debt, of $29 billion, despite a vastly larger population of 199.6 million, and West Bengal, population 91.3 million, one-and-a-half times as big as Gujarat, has debt only slightly larger at $35.3 billion.

Jeffrelot explains his concern saying "In terms of per capita indebtedness, the situation is even more worrying, given the size of the state."

According to a report by rating company ICRA , Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab were relatively more indebted in 2010-11 (21.5%, 23.2% and 31.4%), respectively, as a proportion of gross state domestic product ... as compared to the consolidated average debt/GDP ratio of the Indian States (20.3% of GDP)."

Could Modinomics be leading to a decline in the well being of the average citizen of Gujarat and of the states' financial well being?

Linomics
Linomics, propounded by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, goes in a slightly different economic direction. He has put in place policies to reduce environmental pollution and wants to decrease his country's wealth gap. He shared his economic vision with the World Economic Forum: "We need to spread the fruits of reform and development to the whole population ... increasing spending in some key areas, such as western regions, social welfare projects and smaller firms."

Confucian thought, though initially vilified in early Communist China, has found varying interpretations in today's Chinese economic policy and governmental control. The Communist Party uses the idea of respect for central authority to maintain its hegemony - although others view Confucian thought as focusing on soft power and less government. In the policy direction chosen by Li, there seems to be an effort at creating balance. Is Confucian influence on the premier's economic policy creating Linomics?

This policy seems to be a culmination of what began with Mao's Big Leap Forward followed by the Cultural Revolution, the Gang of Four and finally the economic reforms that began in the late 1970s.

That being said, one wonders whether this is another experiment conducted with the Chinese population as guinea pigs, which was what all the above eras were - everything from creating communes to the horror of tattling on parents by children during the Cultural Revolution to the One Child Policy (and hence a generation of Little Emperors - spoilt Chinese children), to high levels of pollution and suppression of protests. A certain brutalization was accepted, but it was not only people and cultural history that were taken for granted in this march of progress; the environment also was given short shrift.

Though it is still too early to see the impacts of Linomics, some things have not changed - crackdowns on free speech and executions. Premier Li, like his predecessors, is also focusing on people to give the economy a push. His idea is to create a bigger home-grown consumer base, with less focus on exports, credit and investment. Thus once again people are being used to further Chinese economic policies.

Manmohanomics
Back in India, one of the astounding bits of information that comes out of the 2012-13 Annual Economic Survey is that pre-liberalized India was growing at rates similar to Asian economies such as South Korea, China and Indonesia that had already "taken-off", the per-capita income hovered around $90 (at 2000 figures).

After India's take off (1991), the pace of economic growth declined and the country was able to keep up only with Indonesia. According to Indian government figures, the average GDP growth rate between 1980 and 1995 for India, China, Indonesia and Korea was 5.6%, 11.1%, 6.6% and 8.7% respectively.

The annual survey points out that for 2010-11, India's Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, was 36.8, lower - that is, there was less inequality - than countries like South Africa, Brazil, China and Israel, but India's Human Development Index ranking was lower than these nations - that is, the people's circumstances and possibilities were worse than in those other countries. What that means is that even though there is less income inequality in India today, Indians are either not able to access, on their own or through the government, a range of social and medical facilities that would improve their lives.

This all began with the liberalization of India's economy now stamped with the sobriquet "Manmohanomics". Today, 22 years after then finance minister and now Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opened up the Indian economy with his neo-liberal policies, many are left wondering why the country's economy is not roaring ahead. GDP grew at 9.3% in 2010-11, however current growth rate is approximately 4.8%.

As finance minister, Manmohan unshackled the industrial licensing regime and created the financial markets this lead to a spate of companies selling their stake to the public. This lead to the rise and fall of people such as stock broker Harshad Mehta who manipulated the stock market in 1992 creating a $770 million fraud.

Since then, the economy has had its share of scams; seen the birth and rise of the services sector along with the decline of agriculture as a share in the country's gross domestic product; and witnessed an increase in migration from the countryside to the cities. Though policies have now been tempered with efforts at social inclusion leading to better access to education, sanitation and financial services, many Indian citizens claim that what the government gives with one hand it takes with the other. Many want the process of liberalization to continue.

Each of these three people are at different junctures of their public life - Modi is the prime ministerial candidate for the right wing BJP, Manmohan is prime minister and may hold on to this position if the ruling United Progressive Alliance retains power in 2014, and Li is a relative newbie wishing to make a mark in China.

In spite of their differences, they have each been able to go beyond economic theory and create an agenda that has changed the economic environment of their constituencies. These people are recognized globally because their policies have gone against the norm.

It would not be wrong to say that the highly marketed Modi, with his economic policies, is where Manmohan was in 1991. But the real question is whether the 2002 riots were the foundation on which Modi's economic policy of Gujarat was laid - the peace and quiet since the riots is sold as an incentive to potential investors. Today Manmohan and Li are trying to juggle social well-being with liberal economic policies and find that it is like trying to fit a circle into a square.

Thus, even though each economic paradigm may seem distinct because of it having the personal stamp of an individual, they have one thing in common - the human angle; either because their policy is bereft of any consideration for the population or because now their policies consider the needs of the broader population in an attempt to rectify mistakes made in the past.

Note:
1. Using an exchange rate of USD = Rs 44.85/-, the average of exchange rates between 2006-10 calendar years.
2. At an exchange rate of US$1 = 54.4 rupees for the fiscal year to March 2013.

3. US$1 = 48.5993 for 2002 calendar year; US1$ = Rs 54.4 for FY 2012-13. 

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/SOU-01-231213.html

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Lookout for my forthcoming travelogue '1400 Bananas, 76 towns and 1 Million People'

The Jodhpur Blues

Elitism and the Jodphur blues

 The more than 1 billion people who now identify themselves as Indians have the British to thank for this identification. It was only after the British got the sub-continent under their thumb that its people were forced to see themselves as one.

Until then, the people had identified themselves by the various kingdoms they lived in and swore allegiance to the kings who ruled them. A king's fortunes and realm waxed and waned according to their ambition, greed, governing skill, military power and the weakness of their neighbors. Thus some kingdoms extended to what is now Afghanistan while others existed because of treaties with other powerful kingdoms.

There was a very identifiable social structure, which in most cases was designated by the situation to which one was born to. This caste system, which some today argue was a form of division of labor much before Henry Ford thought of it, was insidious because this form of discrimination did not allow anyone to cross over to another caste, and so it perpetuated generational victimization and subjugation.

The king was top dog though he came from the warrior class, which was below the brahmins or priests. This problem was circumvented by identifying the royal lineage with the sun or to other forms of divinity. The priests, though of the highest caste served the king as advisers on religious, philosophical, political and other issues,in society they were the go-between the gods and the common person and so ensured that they themselves were well cared for.

Below them were the warriors, the business class and finally serfs of various kinds. Each knew the other's social status not only by the wealth and power displayed but also by the names one had and the place of residence. This impermeable stratification was a fact of life in the times of monarchy; it ensured the acceptance of a ruling class, the unquestioned servility of others, and a stable workforce plying their family vocation.

In 1947, when India became a democratic country, the 565 princely states and their rulers who still existed because of British expediency acceded to the new Independent nation. One would have imagined that this social stratification, which fed off and was fed by the monarchy, would disappear.

It hasn't, and this social differentiation is still the norm in India though it has morphed to keep up with the times.

The reason for the blues
Jodhpur, a town in the desert state of Rajasthan in India, is known for the blue that coats its houses - that is why it is also known by the nom de plume "Blue City". The town got me and my friend down on arrival. It wasn't that I don't like this color or associate it with being down in the dumps. I, just like the others - be it Pink Floyd who used blue in Wish you were here, or Irvine Berlin in his classic Blue Skies from the play Betsy - associate this color with a warm openness accessible to all.

Our hotel was chosen for its proximity to the ancient Meharangarh fort, most recently in the news for it being a back drop to Dark Knight Rises. On reaching our hotel, we realized that it was meant for foreign backpackers.

The rooms did not reflect the ancient splendor of the maharajahs even though the asking price of a 1,000 rupees had suggested so. What spoilt it for us was when the owner, a lovely lady who was the elected representative of the hotel association there said that we were the first Indian nationals to stay in her rooms.

Her going off the beaten track in our instance could be put down to the email communications in English, which painted a rather white and foreign picture of us to her. She did not let out her rooms to people of her color - ie those of her country - nor did she serve them in her restaurant. She explained her actions as stemming from the Indians' disrespectful behavior towards her staff, a common form of class and economic chauvinism. This was further exacerbated by their complaints at the tardy food service and their unquenchable desire to get a good bargain.


We were shocked at this blatant discrimination. We also found it hilarious that she assumed our mentality would be at the genteel levels of those of the backpackers - later we proved that it wasn't by demanding a discount on the rooms.

It takes two hands to clap
What was interesting was that the owner had built her successful business on the frugality of the backpackers. Her austere rooms kept their prices down, but she squeezed the foreigners in terms of food prices. The backpackers on the other hand were taking advantage of her desire to make her hotel tangibly and intangibly attractive to them by staying for long periods in her restaurant with a soft drink marked way higher than its retail price.

So it was a win-win for the Indian owner and backpackers. The regular Indian tourist does not travel like this. She wants a little more than just a spartan room. She does not want to pay exorbitant prices for vague food in a restaurant with a few tables, where service is based on the principle of extreme unobtrusiveness harboring on near delinquency and where the servers are chatty. She is not moved by the incredible view provided by the restaurant which she cannot enjoy because she does not have the luxury of time to "soak" in the city in this manner.

In such circumstances, the landlady's circumspection vis-a-vis Indian tourists would be valid to an extent. But to not have any Indian tourist staying in her hotel in the 10 years of its existence, and shooing away potential Indian diners, was a form of business eugenics, pure practical tradecraft.

The fall-out of such discrimination was that it trickled down to the foreign guests staying there, I came to realize that, for them, the presence of any native could only mean that the native was working at the hotel. An American wanting to order food and finding me sitting in the empty restaurant soaking in the view naturally asked me whether I worked at the restaurant. He later told me that he was a professor at a university in New York.

Jodhpur - a mix of the old and new
The town of Jodhpur basks under the shadow of the solidity and benevolence of the Meharangarh fort and its present owner whose forefathers ruled the region of Marwar. From the hotel, one can sometimes see a fine layer of smog forming a light shroud over the town. The auto-rickshaws, whose shape brings to mind the camel, the narrow dirty and crowded streets of the old part of town form a minuscule part of the kaleidoscope that also includes examples of modernity like the bar/restaurant "On the Rocks" with its confused interiors and male clients at the bar.

At respectable distance from this hustle and bustle stands the Umaid Bhavan palace, a gargantuan structure built in the early 20th century by the then king to provide employment to the people of this region during a famine. It was the residence of the king before India's independence but now the descendants live in a portion of the 347 rooms and have given part of the palace to a many starred luxury hotel chain.

The festival, its audience and discrimination
We had gone to enjoy the Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF) held in Jodhpur. Its a three-day festival that is not only an international stage for Rajasthani folk artists but also draws international performers - Manu Chau was one of the performers this time.

Events go on through the day and well into early next morning. Things begin to get lively in the evenings.

The audience at the RIFF in the evening consisted of old and young members of Marwar's feudal system, local residents and tourists of all hues. Young princelings being groomed for their future roles in society walked around the festival - with a sense of entitlement passed down the generations - looking dandy in their simple but expensive clothes eyeing women of different shades.

Modern in their communication, these to the manor born would suddenly engage in recidivist behavior on seeing others older to them or of higher station - they would make the motion of touching the seniors' feet. Some of the young blue-bloods had man-fridays, walking respectfully a few paces behind them, holding their drinks and other goodies as they stalked the festival area. 

It was difficult to ignore the liveried turban-wearing helper carrying a tray with water and a tiny spittoon, following a few paces behind the "Maharaja" Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur - who would have been king if the circumstances were different - as he went to check on the various facilities.

People would touch his feet or bow with arms folded as he walked. This continued when he sat too - but those who did it then seemed to be of a paler stock of blue-blood because they would then sit in the next row or a few chairs away from him in the front row. One would imagine their choice of seat was a reflection of their distance from the erstwhile royal family in the feudal structure.

The seating arrangements varied depending on the venue and the size of audience. As most of the events were in the fort, seating was on the floor. For the bigger events, held in the open grounds of the fort, chairs were laid out facing the stage. The organizers had arranged special seats for Singh. Keeping in mind his lineage and those of others, the front row of chairs in the bigger event were reserved for him and others who belonged to different levels of royal hierarchy.

Interestingly, though there were no "Reserved" signs to indicate that these seats were meant for the privileged, no one sat on these chairs. However, on one occasion, a group of Indians went up and sat in the reserved row with only an aisle separating them from Singh, who was sitting in the same row but on other side of the aisle.

On noticing the social intruders, he leant across the narrow aisle to tell them something that one could imagine was that they were in the wrong social set. They did not seem to hear or understand; then another person from the second row sitting directly behind them told them to get up and leave - and they did so with alacrity.

Singh beckoned to a turbaned helper and silently castigated him for not keeping that row empty. After some time, a group of young foreigners, clearly not of royal stock, went up and sat in the front row. The person in the second row did nothing, while the king reached across the aisle and told them something - but they remained in their seats.


Is discrimination a necessity?
To any Indian of common stock, royalty would have to do with being blue-blooded and not with the color of one's skin. Indians realize that skin is easily whitened with creams sold by one of India's Bollywood icons, Shah Rukh Khan, and other dream merchants. There is no way to buy oneself into a blue-blooded lineage. So why were these foreigners allowed to keep their seats?

There is no doubt that the royal heritage of Rajasthan is being used as its "unique selling point" to draw tourists with a range of spending capacity. The rich tourists pay through the nose to get a taste of the lavish and resplendent lifestyle (many would ascribe the word decadent to it) of the erstwhile maharajahs. The common Indian tourist gets a peep into the excesses, splendor and tradition of the people who ruled this region, something which they only study in school or hear about.

But does marketing a heritage also need that the archaic feudal system to perpetuate and impact the lives of those around it? One can argue that because of centuries of living under a monarchy this system is deeply embedded in the ethos of the region and its people, so it would take generations for its effects to wear off. A natural question would then be - where does Indian democracy stand in all this?

Though many Indians decry dynastic politics, no one seems to be against the continuing hold that dynasties of erstwhile royalty have on their former fiefdoms, nor is there concern over the continuing rigid social structure that lives off this and has tremendous influence in these regions. Even though royal titles have been abolished, brochures for RIFF had "HHM Gaj Singh II, Maharaja of Marwar" printed on the front page, introducing him as a patron of the festival along with "Sir Mick Jagger".

There is no doubt he is doing a lot to preserve the heritage of Jodhpur and even Rajasthan, and must be a good man and therefore well respected and held in high esteem. It would be fair to assume that he and other people would agree that this respect should be more to do with what he is doing for the benefit of society today and not for being born with a golden spoon in his mouth, which he had no control over. 

This respect can be shown in ways that acknowledge India's constitution and laws and not through an archaic system that marks a man according to his lineage.

It seems that for India to grow up as a democracy there is need to be mature enough to choose what was good from the past and to then carry it into the future. There is need to question the maintenance of a discriminative system, no matter how informal today, that existed to ensure the subservience of others and the continuation of the hereditary privilege that few enjoyed. More importantly, Indians as a nation have to have the courage to desist from this display of subservience that goes as a socially recognized and accepted form of respect.

While Jodhpur uses its royal past to market itself using modern methods, a part of the population continues to live in that past, standing on the shoulders of their forefathers and creating a bubble of blue-blooded elitism and entitlement.

If there has been any social progress, then it has to do with how this classification is now used by lesser mortals, creating a new form of privilege adjudicated by people such as the proprietor of our hotel that has to do with attitudes and color of one's skin. In fact, this lady's business model is no different from that of a king bestowing privilege on commoners. It would seem that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
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Look out for my soon to be released travelogue 1,400 Bananas, 76 Towns and 1 Million People

Comparing Mumbai, Banguluru and Delhi

A Tale of Three Cities

I am a habitual train traveller. One thing I have noticed in these journeys is that as the train enters a city the passing scene prepares you for its individuality that slugs you in the face. For example entering Mumbai in the mornings one sees people unconcernedly defecating on the tracks, the other sight is of the chawls and slums in which a majority of the city’s population resides. These vignettes prepare you for some basic facts about this city. The first is that the people of Mumbai have been forced to develop a cloak of indifference that allows them to function as humans; the second is that the city is filthy and the minority that is rich are the only ones who are seemingly able to escape the filth.

In the case of Delhi, trains originating from the South pass by walls of factories, large houses and even hutments as they enter into the city and chug to the railway station. Passengers get to see advertisements for quacks solving problems that range from sexual dysfunction to piles. Though one could argue that these advertisements indicate the oneness’s of the city, the fact is that it only mirrors the image of Delhi being the rape capital of the country with a cuisine that is rich and spicy that goes by the sobriquets of Punjabi and Mughlai.

The train tracks that guide trains into Banguluru do not prepare their passengers for the mess that is Banguluru today. One gets to see open green fields and a glassy glint in the distance that could just be the end of the rainbow – but nothing else.

From the air the story is very different. An aeroplane gives a macro view of things unlike a train the tunnels you into the very heart of the city. The first thing that comes to view as one enters in Mumbai airspace to land are the variety of colours – the blue/green/brown sea the colour depending on the distance from the shore, the brown air that hovers above the city and the swathe of blue coloured plastic sheets that protect the tiny shanties from the rains, interspersed among the shanties the tall multi stories, these as if signalling the soaring unbridled ambition of the city’s denizens. In Delhi too one flies through a brown haze – called smog-in the winters. At night one can see the capital’s secular arteries and veins lit on which zoom and trundle a variety of vehicles – everything from Lamborghini’s to bicycles. One descends into shades of green fields of Bangaluru.

The thing is, though I now have to live in Delhi, given a choice I would not like to live in any of the three cities. There are some common reasons – for example the traffic in these three cities would drive a Zen monk crazy. It is not only the energy and time wasted in being part of traffic jams that drives one up the wall, it is seeing the selfish desperate audacity of others breaking rules to get ahead of the jam and in the process causing greater confusion that is  frustrating. It is also the callous consumption of the residents in these cities that has resulted in a problem that now seems insurmountable – increasing air pollution, waste and increasing density of vehicles.

Mumbai a place to learn the meaning of turning a blind eye

One thing that gets my goats is the annual ritual that Mumbai has just before the monsoons. The media like the municipality gets into tizzy about the metropolis’s preparation for the rainfest. Everyone from the politician to the bureaucrat promise deliverance from the problems caused by the rains and the media faithfully transmit it to the Mumbaikars.
 

But every year the story is the same – floods, overflowing drains, cancelled trains and photos of long lines of commuters walking on railway tracks through sheets of rain. For a city that is the home of the dream industry – the parrot like annual repetition of this scene is very depressing.

One cannot fathom the resilience and the power of hope that gives the aam Mumbaikars the fortitude to travel for hours in crowded compartments to get to work and return home for a few hours. Nor can one imagine how the population can live with a stench that is a mix of rotting garbage, fish, the sea and human detritus. It would seem that Mumbai gives us the true meaning of the term ‘turning a blind eye’ – the rich live as if there are no poor and suffering, the politicians choose to forget the promises they make, the poor in their efforts to survive are oblivious of the sacrifices they are being made to endure, and the aam admi just trundle along not seeing anything beyond their noses.

Though one could argue that the city has a rich repository of culture and that the city is alive, a question – at what cost? A city where the majority of population live in slums, where one cannot escape the rich-poor divide which does not seem to shrink, where those governing the city have not yet been able to find a solution to the monsoon problems is no place for anyone.

Delhi the capital of testosterone

Delhi has always wanted to become the Mumbai of the North. In the last few years it has finally succeeded. The roads get flooded in the monsoon resulting in jams and delayed metro services. But Delhi has another thing which I have issues with it – the testosterone that everybody seems to be carrying around. It is not only seen in the rapes that happen in the city, it is also the road rage that one is forced to deal with. 

On the subject of roads this is one of the few cities where I have noticed that official cars with government officers in them don’t stop behind the zebra crossing at a signal, where policemen on motorcycles drive on the wrong side of the road with sirens on full blast but in no hurry to catch any wrong doer.

To tell you the truth I have stopped both policemen and other people breaking traffic rules. The policemen have been kind enough to hear me out and then proceed with what they were doing; the chauffeurs of babu’s and the rich have told me to move on, even as their mistresses, or masters for that matter, perused their files or phones; the common person on the other hand has threatened to beat me up.

Bangaluru cosmopolitanism at a price

I would be the first to say that Bangaluru has a very cosmopolitan section of society easily visible by their sense of style. I won’t be wrong in saying that Bangaluru has some of the most stylish and beautiful women in the country. It also has a vibrant night-life that ends at around mid-night; but till that time one can savour a variety of cuisines, try out artesian beer and dance to various genres of music. The best downer that the city provides for its revellers after a night carousing about town is dealing with rickshaws that charge an arm and a leg or just refuse to accept you as a charge. There have also been instances of conscientious citizenry (who are not the police) trying to preserve their idea of India and its culture, thrashing people in these places.

Conscientious citizenry is the other thing that is common to these cities. Where Delhi has full throated young blood trying to soothe or boost their fragile egos by bludgeoning their male counter-parts or by molesting girls, Mumbai and Banguluru have hordes dedicated to protecting a myopic, conservative and mythical concept of Indian society. These types of citizenry in Mumbai and Banguluru are more organised, they have leaders who espouse narrow political and moral beliefs. The followers of these leaders are happy to share these views with others, communicating them through violence or threats thereof.

Cities and their food

Each of these cities have their institutions for food; Mumbai everything from Baghdadi or Bade Miyan and Zunkha Bhakri to the restaurants in the rarefied environs of multi-starred hotels. Delhi with its history laced cuisine and the restaurants that swear they carry on those traditions to those offering international cuisines in rustic surroundings of villages within the city and in air-conditioned edifices of malls and five stars. I am going out on a limb when I say that though Bangaluru has its MTR and Vidyarthi Bhavan it does not have a cuisine identified it, that is why Bangaluru has gone in a different direction with independently run restaurants offering a range of cuisines and a population willing to risk their taste buds and open their wallets for the experience.

But these cities have their traditional foods that would satisfy any gourmand – the vada pavs and vegetable sandwiches of Mumbai, the chole khulche of Delhi and the food in the many small stand-up eateries called Darshini’s of Bangaluru, these that cater to the common man are what keep the cities going. And this is what makes these cities special to me. Based in Delhi I realise the value of the chole khulche stall not only for me but also for the everyday people. My trips to Mumbai are made easier with the ubiquitous vada pavs and sandwiches, or crunching through the multi-stories of a vegetable sandwich makes Mumbai more habitable. There is always a plan for at least one breakfast and lunch at a Darshini closest to where I put up in Banguluru; the world seems manageable as one tears off a piece of oily crispy dosa standing inside these small eateries that open onto the chaos of an overflowing road.

Reasons why some Indians love Narendra Modi

A 'Modi'-fication' of Indian politics

 The first time the world heard of Narendra Modi was following a 2002 religious pogrom in Gujarat - he was then, as now, the chief minister of the state. It is alleged that he fanned the flames of hatred by permitting the bodies of brutally slain members of a fundamentalist Hindu group to be paraded, and that he told the police to "let the Hindus vent their anger" on Muslims.

Modi had of course taken an oath to uphold the Indian constitution, which includes the principles of protecting life and property.

The next time Indians heard of Modi was in 2010 when he was called in front of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) looking into the riots. He hummed and hawed for some time before presenting himself to the SIT. His mien was that of someone going on a Sunday picnic, the only people who looked a bit uncomfortable were his highly trained security.

Then there were the annual investors summits which drew in investors promising millions of dollars in investments to the state of Gujarat. The scene at such summits was reminiscent of those in Mumbai dance bars where men throw money on their favorite dance girl. Newspapers would announce the many deals swung in by the Gujarat government while Modi would look on benevolently like an omnipresent god.

In the last few years, Modi gained prominence for the much touted economic performance of Gujarat, and for unhinged attacks on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the ruling Congress party.

As the man has grown from strength to strength his fan following has followed the same trajectory. Everyone from the top echelons of business to youth are in a state of awe, all hypnotized by his oratory skills which promise a better tomorrow - but make no mention of how. There is no doubt that as an orator he is in a class of his own.
 

 Tall tales and untruths
But that aside, there is a new aspect to Modi - his ability to tell tall tales. The Pinocchio side to Modi is slowly revealing itself both in the case of his economic policies and also the yarns that he has been spinning. The web of deceit spans the current to the past ie from Gujarat's socio-economic health to India's history.

For a state given as a glowing example of good governance, economic growth and openness to industry a recent Comptroller and Auditor General report stating that one out of every three children in Gujarat is underweight leaves one wondering what lies beneath good governance and economic growth. Even Gujarat's Women and Development Minister has stated that at least 600,000 children in 14 districts are malnourished, while data for the remaining districts were "not available".

Christophe Jaffrelot, professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at King's India Institute, London, recently wrote in an article titled "No Model State" that Gujarat's progress is because of the freebies handed to industry at the cost of the state exchequer. It adds the state's progress is fueled by huge debt which has grown from 45 billion rupees (US$8.39 billion) in 2002 to 1.3 trillion rupees today.

Then there is the case of the recent Modi fib that India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, did not attend the funeral of India's first home minister, Sardar Patel funeral. This was made at a public speech - and there was nary an apology when he was caught out nor was there any public outrage that a prime ministerial candidate could lie so barefacedly.

The man of the hour moved on nonchalantly to his next move. Modi's penchant to emulate Pinocchio does not seem to have affected his credibility because there have been no consequences - the affliction of a longer nose for every lie.

Maybe people know Modi lives in La La land but they don't seem to mind. The fact that he comes up with tales involving living people too which are actually figments of his imagination seems to indicate this - he recently said that he, the chief minister of Bihar - Nitish Kumar and the prime minister were at a meal together where Nitish refused to eat. Nitish clarified that such an event never occurred.

The business of Modi love
This does not seem to bother even the CEOs. One does not quite understand the love the business world has for Modi given the fact that if there was a scandal of the malevolent and Machiavellian proportions of the 2002 riots it is the CEO who would have to step down - because the buck stops at his desk.

There may be an iota of truth when one says that these scions of business wish that this "Modification" in politics trickles into the business world so that they are absolved of the irregularities and scams which form part of their business repertoire. However, it would be highly presumptuous to think that this is potent enough to sully their clear thinking. There must be something deeper that makes them align themselves to Modi.

Maybe they believe that with him in power there will be ease of doing business. However, this ease of business makes other people in his state uneasy. Though compensation for acquisition of agricultural land for industry is high in the state, farmers not willing to sell of their land are forced to sell at a lower price for not accepting the 'Consent Award' which is first offered. This form of land acquisition by the Gujarat government has got certain sections of farmers up in arms - most recently in the case of Maruti.

The CEOs could be besotted with another fact in Gujarat: the average pay is lower than the rest of India. According to the National Sample Survey Organization average daily wages for men and women in Gujarat are 276.48 rupees and 213.10 rupees respectively. The national average is 332.37 rupees for men and 253.02 rupees for women.

This is why business loves Modi - no demands for better compensation and higher wages. There is not a peep for higher wages - one wonders why? Is this what one means by creating a sound business environment which our business leaders hanker for?

One is not even going into the current spate of bloopers that are emanating from Modi - he recently got the name of Mahatma Gandhi wrong; earlier he got the names of past right-wing ideologues mixed up with those of respected and well known thinkers of a more liberal bent. This goes to show that Modi does not do his home work which seems to be a habit and could have major ramifications if he comes to power.

The common Indian's love for the man
Therein lies the issue - we humans are willing to sidestep issues of social morality to safeguard our future and herald a new personal dawn. Business is one side, there is then the individuals who seem to have made up their minds.

Modi symbolizes the freedom from and irrelevance of morality and personal accountability. This is the philosophy that draws the crowds - you may be a bigot and culpable of various crimes but if you are able to keep a section of people happy then nothing else matters.

This is an attractive proposition because it allows people to be two-faced or be a modern version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. They may be vicious rapists or murders or unscrupulous financiers, but if they seemingly maintain a socially accepted facade or observe the law on other small matters, then everything else becomes a non-issue.

Such a social concept is very Bollywoodian in nature - the hero may harass the heroine and even browbeat her but he still remains the hero and she still falls in love with him.

So taken in are the common people by Modi's oratorical skills and bikinied statistics that they transform into frogs of a tiny pond who know nothing of the wider world. Their belief in him does not stem from "there is still good in the man". This fact is easily recognizable because these people don't hold him guilty or even culpable for the Gujarat riots.

They are not concerned about basic socio-economic fundamentals of Gujarat that point to Modi's lies. To them these and the Gujarat pogrom are a non-issue, what is important is what he represents - standing up to authority and thumbing a nose at it; not being accountable even when facts demand otherwise and being able to strip those in positions of authority of all dignity with aplomb.

Worse still, the supporters of this man come up with the specious and wholly indefensible argument that members of other political parties have taken part in riots too; inadvertently giving the game away and pointing to his culpability.

Modi is a personification of what most Indians aspire to - being able to climb out of fetid waters smelling of roses; and having the gumption to mock those in power knowing that they can't reply in kind because of the position they hold.

This is the kind of freedom Indians seem to yearn for after being in servitude of monarchies and colonial powers. Modi represents a kind of freedom that is not guaranteed in the Indian constitution but what some Indians fantasize about - power without responsibility and accountability.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/SOU-02-271113.html

Darkness rising in Syrian opposition

 
The latest reports on the Syrian tragedy suggest the fundamentalists are gaining the upper hand - not only are they acting like a black hole, drawing in secular rebels, they are also using drugs to fund their war.

There was an earlier time when the saga of the internal strife in Syria was different, as seen in the various email petitions and updates sent to millions of people by the Syrian opposition at the time.

The struggle, now spiraling into uncontrolled violence, was quite
different then. In 2011, an email petition for donations towards Syrian activists was sent which had the following lines: "The Syrian regime is laying siege to whole cities, and is willing to annihilate them to crush the peaceful democracy movement. ... [D]espite this unimaginable terror, the Syrian people refuse to be silenced, and are committed to a non-violent path out of this nightmare."

However, as events worsened on the ground the contents of the petitions and news began to change. These not only reflected the altering scenarios but could also be seen as the changing position, if not hardening stance of the petitioners. These examples from January 2012 appeared on their website:
"Helping incredibly brave Syrians document regime abuses and broadcast their footage to the world media. But now our network of peaceful activists is disappearing. If enough of us urge the EU to enforce tough sanctions and an arms embargo now, we can help fracture the regime, encourage defections in the army and sustain demonstrators risking everything.

"Six hundred and seventy Syrian students currently study in UK higher education institutions. Many have been threatened by their universities with immediate expulsion - some have already been expelled - if either they or their sponsors can no longer pay for their tuition fees, due to the conflict in Syria."

And then, as we come into January 2013: "In two days, donor countries will meet to finalize plans to give $1.5 billion in humanitarian aid to Syrian people suffering inside Syria and to refugees. This would be great news, but all documents show that 500 million of these dollars will be managed by government ministries. It would be an outrage to even consider giving Assad ministries control of this aid package.

"Driven by Assad's terror machine, 2.5 million Syrians have fled their homes, 65,000 have been killed, and everyday we hear stories of rape and child torture."

What we are reading about is the spread in collateral damage. Activists within Syria disappearing, then students studying in the UK sponsored by the Syrian government or by their families finding themselves cut-off from their funding.

The deliberate use of terms like "Assad's terror machine" vilify the government of a nation which was, until recently, recognized by all countries and seen as a progressive state. The message in the petition indicates in no uncertain terms who the bad guy is and thus what needs to be done with him.

The last example which is about aid, begs the question whether those living in government controlled areas are going to be left high and dry when it comes to access to humanitarian aid. Even if it goes through agencies would the government permit these aid agencies to function everywhere?

Do these petitions support something as simplistic as supporting a group of people claiming to fight for democracy against a supposedly authoritarian state? Is a subjective moral compass guiding the petitions which support these groups and helps them in their fight against the state?

In this context, one needs to question the silence of the monarchies of the Arab world and the archaic monarchical systems of the Arab world, where peaceful protest is dealt with a heavy hand. What is astonishing is that though both the autocrat and the monarch use almost similar tools to keep control, one continues to be treated with kid gloves while the other is overthrown.

In Syria, when the petitions began to bolster the efforts of the peaceful activists was there a realization that there would soon be non-peaceful "activists" who would come from other parts of the region and espouse concepts like jihad? Was there an appreciation of the possibility that in the process of trying to get rid of Assad, there would be use of chemical weapons - allegedly by both sides?

Did the impact of petitions during the Arab Spring which is supposed to have helped in deposing entrenched regimes result in a similar tactic being used in the case of Syria? Conventional wisdom suggests that no two situations are the same, no matter how similar the circumstances and the ingredients that go into making it; and, more importantly, no matter how much we wish it to be so.

The following suggestions would seem idiotic but they do serve a purpose: start a petition demanding the fundamentalists get out of the fight. Maybe they won't but the world would realize that there is a real chance that rebels aligning with al-Qaeda could form the next government and it may not be in the best interest of the people and the region. Another petition should be to the Free Syrian Army and others asking them to lay out their plans on how they would protect the rights of the minorities and other citizens, if they win their battle. This petition would start a discussion on respect, rights and equality - which is what this fight is about.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-02-071113.html

Jodhpur

Jodhpur from the hotel. That is Umaid Bhavan in the background

The local Hotel Association had organised an event for foreign tourists. There was a turban tying competition too, plus a tug-of-war

Mooch nahin tho Kooch nahin.... I think this guy is always on call to unwind his mooch which is curled on his cheeks

I had asked the shopkeeper if I could get a taste of this which looked like it was made of sugar. He said no. Its called 'Karva' and is part of the offering made by women on Karva Chauth.

There was also a Marwar Festival going on at the same time - organised by the government. The venue was used to promote voter registration.The 'Sarod Brothers' played' Later overhead a comment 'they played to the crowd' Whats wrong with that?

India's education system

Death Penalty, ideology and other such things

The Financial World Sept 27 2013

The poor food for politics

 The Financial World 21 Sept 2013

The music of peace and love

The Financial World 12th September 2013

People pave way for progress

The Financial World 7 Sept 2013

Lets lead India towards clean environment

Pain for some is gain for others

Financial World  20 August 2013

When I watch Namo speaking - - - - -

Courtesy -

http://media.newindianexpress.com/article1486632.ece/alternates/w460/Modi2_PTI.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesy - http://underneaththestairwell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Gesch5.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesy - http://newstrack.outlookindia.com/images/modi_speech20130627.jpg 

 

 

Courtesy - http://www.logoi.com/picture-movies/img/hitler_02.jpg

Courtesy - http://www.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Modi-Feb6-PTI1.jpg

Courtesy - http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/ww2/waving.jpg

Courtesy  - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-19815800,width-300,resizemode-4/Modi.jpg

Courtesy - http://library.thinkquest.org/10927/hitler.jpg

Choices reflect our persona

Once bitten but not twice shy

 Finally on the 23rd of June I was able to get back to my routine of going for a run in the morning. So at 5 am I hit the road at a slow trot. The humidity in Delhi was oppressive and bore down as a heavy weight on my shoulders, but nothing could diminish the joy of waking up to an early morning run.

From my residence I passed the Saket Mall where I was greeted by a pack of dogs. Nothing usually happens, but that morning one of the dogs was as surprised as I to find my right leg in his jaws. He trotted away shaking his head in disbelief, I too stood there incredulous. The pain was inconsequential when compared to the shattered camaraderie that I felt for the canine species in general. I felt betrayed and I am not ashamed to say that I chased the animal not in an attempt to pursue the well written remedy of biting the dog in return but of getting closer so that the stone, which had found its way into my hand by then could reach its intended target.

I now realise that this relationship that I felt I had with these stray canines was no different from that of the many TV presenters on 'nature channels' believed they had while they man-handled animals in their attempts to de-mystify them for viewers many miles and time zones away.

I was treating the strays not only as kindred spirits but also as 4 legged anthromorphs. I had assumed that my predilection towards dogs combined with the strays living in close proximity with our species would result in better understanding if not appreciation of each other.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten that the main difference between a domesticated animal and a wild one is one of being able to curb one’s animal instincts. Domesticated animals are able to curb their animal instincts because of training. However, stray dogs are not domesticated. They are in fact wild animals living in a concrete jungle. They have adapted their ways to survive in a hostile environment. So instead of recognising the danger that they pose to us humans I had enveloped them in a warm blanket of concern, empathy and marvelled, like many others, at the canines ability to live off the land.

I had mistakenly fallen for the pithy 'proximity breeds familiarity', which even we humans avoid in some of our intra species interactions, to assume that my relationship with these animals was one of mutual bonhomie.

The fact that strays are not solitary but live in packs, something which their forest dwelling relatives do, indicates that they recognise the urban environment as wild. The only reason they do not hunt is because humans inadvertently feed them with the waste generated in daily life.

This waste also breeds a variety of other creatures everything from, flies and mosquitoes to rats and cockroaches, who we see as pests. So even while we try to exterminate them, our hearts bleed for the street dog, we feed them and we clothe them, we have no problem with them lolling around our hospitals and we go to untold lengths to avoid confrontation with them.

Why so?

The answer is easy and it goes beyond the philosophical and the treat all animals with respect trope. We have extended our feelings for the canines in our homes to the strays. We have gone to such an extent that we have even got court rulings to help the strays live safely.

There are rulings on where and how to feed the unlucky critters and even on how many meals a day should they be fed.

This is a double boon for these animals, first they feed off the waste generated by humans; next humans go out of their way and make 'home deliveries' to feed and protect the strays.

In the wild would sensible people brook any man-made interference to the lives of the animals there? There is a reason why zoo's and wild life areas have 'dont feed animals' signs. Its not only for the safety of humans and animals, its also recognition that man is not master of all he surveys and more importantly it is necessary for nature to take its course.

Should we adopt the same form of behaviour for dogs that live with us and dogs that live on the street? There is a difference between ensuring strays are not ill-treated and treating strays like kings. The former is akin to ensuring that peacocks are not hunted down or tigers are not poached while the latter is similar to feeding animals in the wild. We should do the former and not the latter
Most will not consider stray dogs to be vermin like other creatures living off the waste of the land. However, the way we show our concern for them is putting a spanner in the works of their interaction with the urban environment.

Spaying and vaccinating the dogs for rabies is touted as a way to solve the problem of strays. But one doesnt really know how well the programme of sterilisation and vaccination of the strays has been going on. For example in Delhi, in 2008, a MoU/agreement was signed between the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Animal Welfare Board of India for 'Humane Stray Dog Population Management', which included sterilisation and anti rabies vaccination for which a Society for Stray Canine Birth Control was jointly created by the MCD and AWBI. Its budget was met equally by both organisations.

This money was to be allocated to 10 NGOs working on Animal Birth Control. According to the agreement the NGO's were given a target of number of animals to be controlled per locality for which the NGO's would get a certain amount of money. However, in 2011 there was news that the MCD was going to set up its own sterilisation units.

Reports of a recent survey indicate that there has been an increase the number of dog bite cases in the city, 30608 dog bite cases in North Delhi alone in 2012-13 while in the previous year for the whole of Delhi it was 17634? One needs to make mention that there was no clear differentiation given between bites from strays and from domesticated canines.

When I went to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital today (26th June), for the day three injection in the anti-rabies treatment series there were three others who had come for the same treatment, and I was in the 'injection room' for not more than five minutes. One can appreciate the preponderance of dog bites by the fact that rabies shots are kept filled in their syringes at the ready on the injection tray. This is of course unhygienic and may just reduce the efficacy of the dose.

While trying to get more information on this issue, I came across a website of an NGO dealing with strays. They say that they mark spayed and vaccinated strays by tattooing the inner thigh, they mention other NGOs brand or cut into the ear of these animals. Collars don't seem to be an option even though they are the best form of visual recognition and verification. I wonder if this is because putting a collar on a dog means that there is need for regular monitoring of its welfare (replacing collars etc) that would go beyond the mandate of the NGO, also it is cheaper to brand/tattoo/cut the dog, the issue of cruelty can be swept aside as the animal is under anaesthesia.

Stray dogs attacking and or biting humans is a form of man-animal conflict which needs some thought on how it should be dealt with. We need to come clean on what we want to do with the strays. Do we want to ensure that they are not ill-treated by other humans? Or do we want to make their life comfortable or in other words interfere with the natural process of living in an urban jungle? If it is the latter then there must be more responsibility than just feeding, providing warm clothes to these animals. It goes without saying that spaying and vaccination are programmes that have to continue.

I thought I was smart enough to recognise that the mongrel pup who entered home when I was 7 years and was baptised Snooty and who lived with us to the age of 15 is very different from her kith and kin that continued to live in the boondocks.

I made the mistake of not respecting the difference between the life in her adopted home and the life that she left behind. There were no territorial ambitions at home, there was no threat from other species or canines, food wasn't a cause of anxiety, further my father trained her, all this curbed her natural instincts. These very same instincts are needed in a jungle for a stray dog to survive. This is something we need to realise and then accordingly frame a programme that ensures both strays and humans can live together in peace.

Published in http://www.powerpolitics.in/Issues/August2013/page64.php 

Another one bites the dust!

Even as there is another Dodo in the making, one realises that technology becoming redundant is a prime example of the human's god like abilities – innovating, creating and then finally disposing.

I went to the CTO on Saturday to bear witness to another technology getting off our life support system. I wasn't alone, there were many like me. Most had never been inside before nor had they ever received what it spewed out. Some journalists from radio, print and TV had come to record this farewell, they captured faces and quotes and another moment of history that would soon be forgotten.

The crowd was young, you could have counted the grey hair in the hall on your fingers. The one grey spot among them reminisced, to anybody interested, how this technology had connived with others and got him married, sent him to the eastern front in the 1971 war and seemed to have served as milestones in his life. 

The other side of the counter was a different matter. There was grey everywhere and it was noticed. The young who had come to bask in the glow of something that was being propelled into the black hole of history saw those with the grey in the same light as the technology that was operated by them.

They both were irrelevant, their soon to be obsoleteness made all the more apparent by this sudden and short burst of interest.

Terms like VRS, inept,  unnecessary, waste of government money, were mouthed not as foul language but as hard reality of the young world they seemed to inhabit. These were of the generation that understood that bits and bytes and 0s and 1's made a language, they had never experienced the world of dots and dashes. They all clutched more than one telegram form sending messages to friends and family with things like 'congratulations this is your first and last telegram'.

Through the dark humour of reality it did not come to them that the grey that
they see today was jet black once. That both the human and the technology operated 24x7 sending and receiving messages that not only brought the world closer but also changed it.

This technology did keep up with the times. The 0s and 1s of the computer age replaced the dots and dashes, the key board replaced the Morse Code Machine, and so the telegram found a little corner of relevance in the world.

But today in India where more people have access to a cell phone than a toilet the relevance of the telegram has finally come to an end.

Soon people will forget that CTO meant Central Telegraph Office, it could come to mean Check This Out or Click To Operate, and by then another queue would form to catch a glimmer of another fading star.

 Web Based Telegraph Service

 The queue at CTO

CTO Janpath New Delhi

The Old and the New

Telegram Messages

 Inside the counter