The Pencil Sharpener

The Pencil Sharpener and Lessons from My Temptations

Our company launched a campaign in collaboration with an NGO called Goonj which works in the social sector. The idea was to collect some old discarded household items and then gift these to the economically poor in the tribal areas. I also tried to participate. I searched for some old clothes that had remained with me, and I also motivated some other personal friends to donate. I carried these items with me to my office. I had to deposit these anonymously in a collection box. I had a feeling that I was not doing enough, and hence I decided to buy something else to donate. I decided that pencils for children would be the best. If I donated some other new items, those may be sold / stolen; and the fact that mainly children use pencils made me feel good about it. I went to a shop to buy some packets of pencils on my way. There was a surprise for me there. It seemed the funny guy from TV who used to hit a sixer at the last ball in Nataraj Pencil Ad shouted from somewhere: “Nataraj Pencil ke har pack ke saath ab ek pencil sharpner aur ek eraser bilkul muft!” Now since I got many pencil sharpeners and erasers for free, I though I would keep one pencil sharpener with me and would gift remaining in the collection box. While I left the shop with that lone pencil sharpener in my pocket and remaining in the poly-bag, something chanced upon me all of a sudden…

“Why was that I wanted to keep that one pencil sharpener with me?” Gifting something for the cause was not compulsory as such, and many colleagues were not contributing. So it was not about being selfish. I already had a pencil sharpener with me personally – it meant I didn’t require another one as such. Then I realised I was not happy with my old pencil sharpener. Why? Because it was old! This new one was such a shining one and a red one and a bigger one! Ok, so it was attraction! Was this attraction justified? I thought if I didn’t keep that pencil sharpener with me, then it would definitely go to some tribal area and some very poor kid would use it some time. Also, I don’t use pencils very often and I don’t remember the last time I had to use a sharpener! I now wondered if my decision to keep that one piece with me was shameful… Taking a decision, I took that lone shining, red and big pencil sharpener out of my pocket and kept it along with other items in the bag…

I then tried to understand why I was so attracted towards that pencil sharpener. If I tell this event to anyone else, s/he would laugh at me and would call it childish! Yes, it was definitely childish - because whenever I remember a pencil sharpener, the first image that comes to my mind is my instrument box (pencil box) from my school days. Secondly – I sharpening my pencil, and some times the graphite point of the pencil would break. Some sharpeners would be misaligned and they would keep breaking the pencil points. Some times I would also use an old shaving-blade to sharpen the pencil. I would always keep a pencil sharpener in my pencil box – that would make me feel a proud and prepared student. When I would go to exams others would always forget theirs and would ask it from me. Now that so many images start coming in my mind, I got to understand that it must be some unfulfilled desire from my childhood – to have many shining, red, and big pencil sharpeners with me – and that would have made me get attracted to the pencil sharpener even now. I recalled that my childhood was not spent in scarcity by any standards and the wish to have ‘many’ and ‘more’ stationary items with me is actually the wish of every child. When I realised all this, I thought it was only fair if I allow another child from some remote tribal area to share the same pleasure that I cherish – of keeping a nice pencil sharpener with me…

Very often, some selfish, wrong, weird, or even shameful thoughts come to us. Those thoughts don’t prove that we are bad or corrupt. Having a strict control over our thoughts is not easy – but we can very well control our actions. This is what I did – discarding my thoughts of childish cravings for having that pencil sharpener, I allowed some other child to enjoy the same…

(Rahul)

Durga Darshan

Durga Puja at Tembi Naka, Thane West

The picture attached with this article is one of the most vibrant images of Durga Ma I have ever seen. Recently when a friend sent this picture to me as Durgapuja greetings, I asked her if she could find out where this Durga idol was situated at. She said it was in a Puja Pandal near Tembi Naka in Thane West. I didn’t believe her – I thought this beautiful idol must be installed in some very big temple. An internet search didn’t give any clue and hence I decided to visit this place itself, to see Ma Durga there…

It so happened that I couldn’t go to Thane even on the day of Durga Navmi. It would have been a journey of more than an hour to reach there – and I was not sure if I will find this very idol of Durga ji there. Afternoon of Dashmi – and time was running fast. Suddenly, I felt it was now or never. Seeing this very idol of Durga ji was my dream – and I decided to take chance.

This place is called Tembi (or Tembhi) Naka in Thane West. It is not far from the railway station and buses reach this place from most of locations in Thane. Another landmark here is a big Jain Mandir which I had visited some years ago with a friend. The roads were very crowded – much more than non-festive days. I got down near the Puja Pandal, and became part of the group of devotees watching and praying to Her. It’s a huge arrangement, decorations done on a grand scale, and everything was very systematic. I saw Durga ji from a distance, and kept looking at her to be sure if she was the same :). Now what I witnessed, I will never forget in life. A yagya was under process. The sacred fire in the hawan kunda was rising very high. A couple was presiding there, with the man wearing dhoti–kurta, and the lady had put up bright saree and traditional ornaments. More than a dozen Brahmins were chanting Vedic mantras and the whole atmosphere was full of positive energy and vivacity. They kept putting offerings in the hawan kunda and Agni Devta took all of those; in turn producing heat, light, dhoop and smoke which purified the whole environment. Durga ji’s idol was installed far away at a higher platform and it seemed she kept watching all of us…

Durga Shakti is the divine energy – the beginning of this whole universe – the reason of all that ever happens – she is the cosmic energy – the sacred force – the feminine creative power – the great divine Mother in Hinduism…

India is the land of festivals. Hindu festivals, representing their unstoppable fervour and unmatched spirit of liveliness, are not invented with any particular purpose – they are simply part of our life. Just outside Her temple, the same life and energy spread itself in the form of countless colourful shops. On both sides of the road, there was a fair like situation. It attracted children with plenty of toys and items to splurge on. (I found an office of Anand Sangh there, though I couldn’t find out if this organisation was behind this puja organisation too.) Very nearby, an organised formal fair (mela) was running. I entered, remembering the mela, fair, circus, and pradarshini (exhibitions) that our hometown used to sport every year when we were young.

There were lines of shops selling toys, gol gappe, laddoos, and fashion accessories. Then there were stalls offering sports and games – use the airgun to shoot balloons – or throw rings to win the items kept on table – I never imagined we could enjoy gaon ke mele ki masti here too! There were merry-go-rounds and big jhoolas: one of them had motorbikes on which a baby boy sat in style but started crying when the speed got higher. Little girls, some times troubling their fathers with their demands, looked around curiously. Then, one of the STAR attractions – The Magic Show! The magician’s name was Jadoogar Bhairwi! And the name of the show left me rolling in laughter – it was called ‘Dil-bahaar Mayajaal’! :) Jadoogarni Bhairwi was on the stage with her eyes closed with a black mask. She hit another girl with a long knife – aiming at the apple that this bichari girl had kept on her belly while she lied on a table. And she was perfect – she hit the apple and escaped the girl! The artificial clapping applauded her with great sense of magic! :)

This area is just adjacent to Talao-pali (Masunda lake). This is a lake in which boats take the merrymaking families on the rounds. In the midst of the pond lies an island while the closed lake is surrounded by a circle with seating arrangements. A great festive environment indeed…

If you happen to be around this place during the next Durga Puja, do visit the Tembi Naka in Thane West. There is something there for each one of you… Soulful bhakti and heartfelt masti, if that’s the spirit of festivals in India, then its alive here in all its elements…

(Rahul)

Want to be like them?

Last evening it had rained abruptly and most of us came back home a little wet. Some of us who lived nearby got fully drenched because we took the chance of walking in the rains. Those who lived a far away were luckier. But not all of them…
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Today while we exchanged morning greetings waiting for the elevator, one of our colleagues had an interesting story to tell. Last evening he had gone out in the rains but had to stop by the nearby road seeing the ferocity of the rains. He works in middle management and commutes in a scooter. While he stopped there, he saw many of our senior management colleagues leaving for their homes in their cars. This poor chap expected them to stop and give him a lift. But he was shocked to see that one after the other; they kept fleeing without any of them stopping for him! He is a popular figure in the office because of his humorous nature and his head is totally bald, so people won’t do mistakes in recognizing him. The matter was of status-consciousness.
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While all of us laughed with a clear heart at his miserable condition :), we saw him changing now. May be it was the elevator which had made him feel light, or the comfort of privacy inside six surfaces. He declared: “I have made a vow that I will also buy a car like those senior managers and I then I will also equal to them!”
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Nothing wrong in this, but from somewhere, one colleague asked a question: “And when you will become like them, will you also become like them?”
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In the chaos of we getting out to get to our respective cubicles – there was a silence…
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How often, in the over enthusiasm to compete with and leave behind the bad guys, we ourselves become just like them?
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(Rahul)

Do you also want to be like them?

Wave like a kid does!

The bus had stopped at a traffic signal. I gave a casual glance outside the window. There was something special in that black car! A young kid of around 2 was waving at the bus! I tried to read him and found he was looking at someone in the front seats. He kept waving his hands with a cute chuckle. I moved and tried to find the person he was waiving at. I found it was another kid in the bus! As time passed, the kiddo in the car looked harder and harder as if trying to recognise this boy and he kept waiving and waving his hand. The boy in the bus was slightly older, may be of around 5. This boy was also waiving at the other kiddo, this was the kids’ way to say hi to each others, and these two kids were perhaps in another world!

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The cute kid in the car was from a well-to-do family. He was in the pink of comfort along with his parents in the car. The boy in the bus was also in his mother's lap - but his and his mother's looks told they were from an economically struggling family. But their personal rapport seemed very instant and natural. Indeed children know no economic or class divide - and these two kids proved that in front of my eyes... After a while the traffic started and the car zoomed away. The two kids kept waiving at each other until they lost their line of vision... I sat with moist eyes and a touched heart; while the poorer boy's mother pulled him closer to herself. May be she had noticed him and wanted to divert his attention. (Will their mothers wave at each other like they did?) Indeed, children are unbiased and pure at heart…
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Now what if we, the adults, happen to be unbiased and pure at heart? People call us – childish! I wonder if being childish is a bane or a virtue…

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This world will try to corrupt you. Stay childish.
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And, wave like a kid does!

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(Rahul)

Accidental Findings….

Yesterday I witnessed an accident.

I was walking back to home along with another colleague. It was an after-office rush on the road and the road had become in bad condition after the rains. Suddenly we heard a huge sound of a crash. A motorbike rider had fallen and he scratched on the road along with his bike for about 70-80 feet. Behind him we also saw another young boy fallen on the ground along with his bicycle. It seemed the motorbike had accidentally collided with the bicycle moving in the same direction and both had lost balance. The motorbike rider had suffered a lot, so people rushed to see him.

The place was very near to a tea stall where a lot of boys and grownups also kept hanging on for smoking. At that time a group of layabout guys were hanging on there – and naturally they came into action. I will call these guys as tapori guys – because this is their best description in Mumbai :) These tapori guys picked up the motorbike wallah and made the bike stand. The guy seemed to be ok, as he stood up on his own. He was around 28, well educated and from a good family. His bike was the powerful Pulsar. By this time people had picked up the young boy and took him to the footpath. The boy was of around 12, good looking and chubby :) Now this boy had not suffered any visible injury as such. (May be this is because young children fall a lot but are flexible enough not to sustain serious injuries) But by that time the crowd had reached the size of around 50-60, and everyone was worried for this boy’s safety, and hence he looked nervous. He sat down on the footpath while people worryingly crowded around him with worries. Someone asked to check his head for any injuries, while someone asked him to lie down. Some ladies stopped walking and reached out to see him. Now something strange and very touching happened.

The bike rider came to this side of the road, walked through the crowd to reach the young boy and checked his wellbeing. When he got confirmed that the boy was alright, he turned back to go to the other side of the road where his bike was standing. I watched in horror – his jeans had tore off at his left knee - and his knee and the jeans around it were wet. I realised it should be blood… By this time he felt pain each time he raised his left leg in order to walk…. Everyone was busy with the young boy and almost no one was looking at this guy… He walked to the other side of the road. Then he realised that he was in pain and couldn’t ride his bike to the hospital. He waived for some auto-wallah to stop but there were none. Then a tapori guy who was very worried for him realised that time was critical. He started the bike and asked him to get on as the pillion rider. Then the guy and the tapori guy left on his bike for a hospital…

Now when I look at the incident, what do I remember? The public had stopped their work to see them, while people believe Mumbai never stops. Then the guys whom I call tapori guys in fun, and we most often ignore them as good-for-nothings – they were the ones who helped both the guys. And the most touching part was when the guy with injured leg walked up to reach to see the wellbeing of the young boy… He should be a very nice person…

If I think about it then the biker rider was without his helmet. Imagine something more serious could have happened than his injured leg. Then we also realise how unsafe it is to ride a bicycle in Mumbai. And the worst part is the condition of the roads. Barring some particular localities, roads in Mumbai are worse than many other smaller towns and cities.

Many a time we come to know of a person’s real character at the time of crisis. By this incident I came to know about three people and their true characters – the sensible and caring biker rider, the concerned and helping taporis, and the simple and kind Mumaikars…

People are good…

(Rahul)

Accidental Findings….

Yesterday I witnessed an accident.

I was walking back to home along with another colleague. It was an after-office rush on the road and the road had become in bad condition after the rains. Suddenly we heard a huge sound of a crash. A motorbike rider had fallen and he scratched on the road along with his bike for about 70-80 feet. Behind him we also saw another young boy fallen on the ground along with his bicycle. It seemed the motorbike had accidentally collided with the bicycle moving in the same direction and both had lost balance. The motorbike rider had suffered a lot, so people rushed to see him.

The place was very near to a tea stall where a lot of boys and grownups also kept hanging on for smoking. At that time a group of layabout guys were hanging on there – and naturally they came into action. I will call these guys as tapori guys – because this is their best description in Mumbai :) These tapori guys picked up the motorbike wallah and made the bike stand. The guy seemed to be ok, as he stood up on his own. He was around 28, well educated and from a good family. His bike was the powerful Pulsar. By this time people had picked up the young boy and took him to the footpath. The boy was of around 12, good looking and chubby :) Now this boy had not suffered any visible injury as such. (May be this is because young children fall a lot but are flexible enough not to sustain serious injuries) But by that time the crowd had reached the size of around 50-60, and everyone was worried for this boy’s safety, and hence he looked nervous. He sat down on the footpath while people worryingly crowded around him with worries. Someone asked to check his head for any injuries, while someone asked him to lie down. Some ladies stopped walking and reached out to see him. Now something strange and very touching happened.

The bike rider came to this side of the road, walked through the crowd to reach the young boy and checked his wellbeing. When he got confirmed that the boy was alright, he turned back to go to the other side of the road where his bike was standing. I watched in horror – his jeans had tore off at his left knee - and his knee and the jeans around it were wet. I realised it should be blood… By this time he felt pain each time he raised his left leg in order to walk…. Everyone was busy with the young boy and almost no one was looking at this guy… He walked to the other side of the road. Then he realised that he was in pain and couldn’t ride his bike to the hospital. He waived for some auto-wallah to stop but there were none. Then a tapori guy who was very worried for him realised that time was critical. He started the bike and asked him to get on as the pillion rider. Then the guy and the tapori guy left on his bike for a hospital…

Now when I look at the incident, what do I remember? The public had stopped their work to see them, while people believe Mumbai never stops. Then the guys whom I call tapori guys in fun, and we most often ignore them as good-for-nothings – they were the ones who helped both the guys. And the most touching part was when the guy with injured leg walked up to reach to see the wellbeing of the young boy… He should be a very nice person…

If I think about it then the biker rider was without his helmet. Imagine something more serious could have happened than his injured leg. Then we also realise how unsafe it is to ride a bicycle in Mumbai. And the worst part is the condition of the roads. Barring some particular localities, roads in Mumbai are worse than many other smaller towns and cities.

Many a time we come to know of a person’s real character at the time of crisis. By this incident I came to know about three people and their true characters – the sensible and caring biker rider, the concerned and helping taporis, and the simple and kind Mumaikars…

People are good…

(Rahul)

The Gimmick of Austerity Drive

“Austerity is good”; but this is not a universal truth. It depends on the time, place and the manner in which it is done. Remember: one man’s medicine is another man’s poison.
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I think whatever the central government does has a tremendous impact on the nation’s economy. I am not against tokenism per se, and hence I didn’t immediately discard INC’s and Nehru/Gandhi dynasty’s recently founded love for austerity. But let us judge if this tokenism in its right place and at the right time?
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In general, nations go on austerity drives when the fiscal deficit goes unmanageable. It is the last step which helps them repay loans and it sends the right message to creditors. Now let us look at the situation that we are in. Yes, our fiscal deficits have gone wide. But, is it the right time for austerity as a policy? Particularly when we are still fighting an economic recession?
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One of the major solutions and action plan that global leaders thought of fighting global economic meltdown and recession was through increased government spending. Now think about this austerity drive in this light. Does it hold water?
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If our (UPA) government was so serious about spending less and austerity as a policy, it would rather go big bang. Look out at their big spends. Even look in their backyard. Government of India gives subsidy of more than Rs 900 Crores every year to make Indian Muslims do their religious pilgrimage to Mecca. How many bucks Rahul G will save if he takes a train instead of a plane, to cover this loss to the exchequer? In anyway austerity as a government policy is not working. If Dr. Manmohan Singh is an economist, (we are growingly realising he is more political than an economist) I wonder how can centre’s policies like giving tax cuts to the public, cheap loans, increasing government sector pay scale and big hiring by public sector banks gel with an austerity drive? Even beginners would know that austerity and increased government spending can’t go hand in hand. Doesn’t it make it so clear that this austerity drive is merely a political gimmick?
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Tokenism is not bad as such. But Congress/UPA is taking it too far. I think the plan is to show that Rahul G is a real leader. Last time they had done it by sending him to spend one night in the house of a so called Dalit. But the gimmick this time may send a very wrong message to the masses. And this is why I would even call this drive evil. Spending less is good for individual citizens and customers in hard times. But government reducing spending and even asking the masses to spend less is extremely wrong at the time of economic recession that India is still fighting on. Either the govt doesn’t understand economics or it is too driven by lust for power and image building for the dynasty to care for it.
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Do we, as an educated citizenry, understand this simple design?
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(Rahul)

Live Show by Spy Camera!

There have been many Pakistan sponsored terrorist attacks over Mumbai, but the November 2008 attack was perhaps the most shameful. In an unforgettable episode, we watched with horror how our cops tried to pacify armed terrorists with bare hands, wooden sticks and even by throwing chairs at them. There were instances where terrorist’s bullets had pierced the bullet-proof-jackets of our anti-terror-squad members. (Perhaps these were the reasons why the state govt had leadership decided to hide the Pradhan Committee report). After the dust settled, the state government and Mumbai Police took some ‘strong’ measures to prevent such attacks from happening again. It was politically obvious that the measures had to be 'visible'; otherwise how would they regain voters’ support? So a lot of 'visible' measures were taken and our CM, HM, PM and the real M made a lot of 'audible' noises about how they had used this unprecedented setback for setting their houses in order. It seemed they were really working, when I saw some closed circuit cameras installed in the BEST buses (Mumbai’s city bus service).

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These were supposed to be ‘spy cams’. Cameras had come in ‘fashion’ in terror-stricken Mumbai after we had watched almost all of the terror attacks on the live cameras and video footages of CCTVs. So the bus wallas also decided to install the cameras. But I wonder if the cameras were installed for gathering intelligence and prevention of crime, or to do effective 'post-mortems' and making better documentaries? My cynicism is because of what I saw some days afterwards…
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Many of BEST buses had installed flat screen TV sets which used to show some pre-recorded programs and advertisements. This was for entertainment as well as for extra revenues from advertisements. Now one fine morning, I found that the TV screen in my bus was telecasting live coverage of what the spy camera was recording! It showed us the people who were getting into the bus and were settling in. Within next 10 minutes, I could naively understand the 'range' of the intelligent camera and could know exactly which portion of the bus it didn’t cover! I wondered why they were 'giving away' their secrets. Are not spy cameras to remain a secret? I thought it was happening by mistake! But the next day again the same thing was happening! TV screens telecasted what the spy camera was recording! I witnessed this about a month ago. This Sunday again, I saw the same thing! I wonder what the ‘plan’ is!
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Is it not that terrorists and criminals 'plan' their adventures? Of course they do; and if any one of them decided to board a public bus for some bomb blast, they would now be able to know the manner in which to board the bus so as to avoid the spy camera! With TV set telecasting the recordings live, the spy cameras have become useless! After realising this, I became too ashamed at Mumbai Police, or at whoever was responsible for the decision to 'train' the terrorists on 'how to avoid' spy cameras…
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Or is it some other design? Is it that the Police wanted us to 'know' that they had installed 'spy cameras' and if they didn't telecast what the camera was recording in front of us, perhaps we would never know that they had installed a camera? This is more logical. Of course this realisation is worse. What do we expect next? Another terror attack and another ‘post-mortem’? I realise now…
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A vote is more precious than the voter’s life.
(Rahul)

Life can Smile - Even in Scarcity

It was yet another rainy evening in Mumbai. As my bus stopped (or may be moved too slow) as the rush hour traffic snarled through a particular locality, I saw some hutments made on one side of the road. They were perhaps nomads who had settled there for some months. I glanced through their men, women and children who were carrying on various activities of their household. Suddenly something caught my attention. Or someone…

He was an old man, perhaps in his later 60s but looked like in his 80s; near skeleton, but had long hair with beard flowing over his clothes which were grey – all proving nothing but an abject poverty. Why did he catch my attention? Oh, there he was… He was raising both his hands up to his shoulders and smiling! Not only smiling, but he was like blessing someone! I looked in his line of sight – and I found two younger strong and obese men walking on the road. They were returning him smiles in a gesture. So the old man, who was a portrait of paucity, still had the heart to bless someone richer than himself raising both his hands like Lord Brahma and with such a broad smile! In second thoughts, I found it must be something with the way India is – here people are respected just because of their age!

Just ten meters away from him, I caught another breath stopping sight. There was a kid of about five, lying on his aaram kursi. It was an old style chair, with a reclining seat made up of cloth, which were more popular in the past as resting chairs. This chair was a small one, specifically made for children. As the boy rested on it, he was bending towards one side and watching something on the ground, may be some insects or birds. He seemed to be lost in his world, and I imagined him singing a song. Such a desolate condition of his wandering family, and yet they had cared to keep this kid entertained. On his aaram kursi the boy must be feeling like a prince! Or a baby Krishna for sure…

I also remember another scene from a traffic signal. Some street-children were playing in between doing their beggars job. At one place I saw three kids of around 5-10 years, perhaps they were siblings. One boy and one girl were decorating another girl. They had made her wear bangles in her arms, had kept a piece of clothes over her head like an anchal, had pleated her hair to look nice and balanced, and then there was something which touched my heart… The boy had found a piece of ornament (of course artificial) which is used by Indian women to put over their mang (parting of the hair). It seemed that they were playing dulhan-dulhan and the siblings were trying to decorate their youngest sister as a bride! I wondered if these kids have really dreamt of nice wedding for their sister as it happens in the homes on both sides of the roads! Still, their happiness to see their little sister look like a bride, though in whatever condition clothes and ornaments happened to be, was wonderful beyond comparisons…

When I think about it, I smile at myself. For some time I had wondered if the scenes that I witnessed told me how even the poorest of the poor in India carry part of the same culture and share similar values with the rest. I don’t think it was only this much. I think the scenes proved in front of my eyes – that Life can Smile – even in Scarcity.

(Kumar Rahul)

Whose Population Control needed?

I read a news item just now which made me search for similar reports from different newspapers. It’s about our Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad addressing the World Population Day function in New Delhi. As part of his speech, he provided two solutions for population control in India. First one was in a lighter vein, “If there is electricity in every village, people will watch TV till late night and then fall asleep. They won’t get a chance to produce children. When there is no electricity, there is nothing else to do but produce babies.” And secondly he also seriously suggested that we should promote late-marriage where boys and girls marry over the age of 30. Then he commented that Naxal problem in India was because of over-population. I wonder what would happen if we pass some of his unlearned personal opinion as government's official stand.

The Indian Express has come up with an article which is mind-blowing [Link]. It is not only brutal yet constructive in its criticism, but also is highly learned and informative. If they write newspaper articles like these, bloggers will become unemployed :)

Here it goes:

Azad’s ‘TV pill’ gives city health experts heartburn
Express News Service; First Published: 13 Jul 2009 10:45:38 AM

HYDERABAD: Even as Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad explained that his ‘family planning’ comments were in lighter vein, his Population Day speech is being seen as insensitive by many. The Minister’s remarks were the talk of the day with several regional channels dissecting his speech in discussion programmes.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, while addressing a gathering on World Population Day, advocated TV as a ‘birth control pill’. Azad said that if every village had electricity, people would watch TV till late in the night and fall asleep. “They wouldn’t get a chance to produce babies,” he said.

His statement that the Naxal problem was also due to population explosion has been criticised by many. “The fight in the future and at present is between the haves and have-nots. The Naxalite movement is a result of this,” Azad said on Saturday.

As part of his speech, the Union Health Minister also advised that couples in the country should delay their marriage till the age of 30-31 so that population growth is curbed. Health experts beg to differ.

“At a time when rural India is suffering due to lack of power and basic infrastructure, it is gross insensitivity and lack of awareness on the part of the Minister to advise them to watch television in order to check population growth. This one statement mirrors the elitist attitude of the Minister,” said G Ramakrishna, who works in a Legal Process Outsourcing firm.

Azad’s dismissal of the Naxal movement as the product of an overpopulated nation has foxed many. “The Naxal movement in some States is a burning issue, which sprang out of social and economic inequities.

Azad did not make any sense when he referred to the population issue as the root cause for the differences between sections of the society,” said a Knowledge Manager in the Centre for Good Governance.

He also opined that it is politically incorrect to promise electrification to villages for the sake of watching TV, as a population control measure.

“Instead of disseminating population control awareness messages to rural areas of the country, it is unfortunate that Minister advises rural people to watch TV.

Statements like these reveal the lack of commitment of the Health Ministry to implement family planning and population control programmes in the country,” said Sarath Kumar Baral, who has worked on family welfare awareness programmes in a UNDP-funded programme.

Azad’s statement advocating late marriages for population control were not spared either. Health experts felt that delay in marriages was bad for women. Child-bearing after the age 30 would prove to be dangerous during the gestation period. “We need to strive against child marriages, there are no second thoughts about that. But delay in marriages is not advisable as stated by the Health Minister. Late marriages would result in lot of complications during pregnancy, which could sometimes be fatal,” informed Dr C V Ravi Kumar. He felt said that statements of this sort would send wrong signals to the younger generation and result in serious consequences.

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It is clear that the standard of our Union Ministers has come down drastically, while our journos are getting better. Or may be the population of unlearned politicians is increasing. I think we need some ‘selective population control’ now :) It should work in democracy.

The 100 CC Strategy – flip-flop or tactical?

Many a time I have wondered why business leaders say any particular thing in the interviews. Why do they reveal much of their business strategies? Haven’t we read the MNCs talking about their ‘India plans’ in the newsprint, or Mahindras announcing their strategy for commercial vehicles? Is it that they really think revealing their strategies would help them in some ways?

After a while I put on a little skepticism – may be they want to fool their competitors by misguiding them about their strategies; may be they just want to give a push to the falling share-prices; may be they want moral boost up for their partners or see it as an advertising strategy; or may be simply the Big Boss needs a little ego-high some times. A lot can happen – business is a bad world after all.

In 2007, Bajaj had decided to exit 100 cc segment of motorbikes. [Link]. At that time their CT 100 had done well and then Bajaj Platina was not doing bad either. But they had reasons for taking this decision. The profit margin in 100 cc segment is very low and their main competitor Hero Honda takes almost the whole cake (55% of segment in 2006). So Bajaj decided to remain only in the higher capacity segments – 125 cc and above - where their margins were higher and they had good brands like Discover and Pulsar.

But now, Bajaj has done a flip-flop and has announced to reenter the 100 cc segment [Link]. The company is launching 100 cc Discover (with DTS-Si engine) by the end of this month and it will counter 100 cc Splendor and Passion from Hero Honda.

So what happened to much hyped Bajaj strategy to focus on premium and higher end bikes only and exit the entry level 100 cc segment? Is it because the recession has eaten into the buying powers of customers who now prefer lower cost bikes? Or was the company really not able to read the markets and went on a wrong strategy which it has corrected now?

I agree with Rajiv Bajaj that the company has not ‘changed’ its strategy really. May be it kept the ‘original’ strategy hidden and sent a wrong note of comfort to Hero Honda by telling that it would exist the 100 cc segment and hence Hero Honda should take it ease and become complacent. In the meanwhile they kept working on the higher-end Discover platform to come up with its variant of a 100 cc bike! Seems like a really good strategy!

I think it is also about brands. Bajaj’s Discover and Pulsar have been fairly successful bikes and have good brand names. A CT-100 from Bajaj had become to be seen as a bike for rural areas, while customers in even the semi-urban areas preferred the Hero Honda bikes for their trusted brand names and reliability. When Discover established and became to be seen as a reliable brand, it was in the interest of and convenient for Bajaj to extend the Discover brand even in 100 cc segment. I don’t think this move will erode the Discover brand.

This 100 cc Discover with DTS-Si engine will have a mileage of 80 kmph and is being promoted as ‘long distance bike’. This bike will be in the ‘premium entry-level’ segment and would fill the gap between entry-level 100 cc Platina and 135 cc Discover. The positioning and targeting of the bike seems to be alright.

Overall, I congratulate Bajaj for this tactical move. I don’t see this case of prior decision of exit and then the reentry as a strategic flip-flop. But some challenges would remain to see through that the strategy delivers results. Rest all is in the hands of customers.

(Rahul)

A Guide to Bihar Vs Bengal – History and Politics

It is said history some times gets repeated. The mystery is: which part of history will get repeated and when.

Railway Budget 2009-2010

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee presented Railway Budget 2009-10 for India on 3rd of July. While the budget has many good schemes which can be termed pro-people and non-profiteering, it also made a specific pointer in being pro-Bengal and anti-Bihar.

Extraordinary Gifts to West Bengal

Nineteen (19) new Express Trains are started in West Bengal, while some new railway tracks, a new railway Coach Factory, a Mega Power Plant, extension of Kolkata Metro, these are all provisions made particularly for West Bengal. It doesn’t end here – several of the state’s railway stations are to be improved, a special super fast Parcel Express train will run from Howrah to Delhi, a Railway run sports complex is to come up, and Railway will revive one sick-for-decades railway factory. This much has never been done for any single state of India. Earlier, the minister had shifted the ministry of Indian Railways from New Delhi to Kolkata, so that she could manage the upcoming state assembly elections well.

Punishing Bihar for Lalu

Our railway minister has also specifically made sure that Bihar loses out because it was the state from which previous Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav hailed from. So Patna has been ‘dropped’ from the list of 50 railway stations which are to be converted into world-class stations. One Diesel locomotive plant at Marhaura and one electric locomotive factory at Madhepura which were to come up as planned by the previous minister have been put on hold. If we find out what all are for Bihar in this union budget, we would get only 4 new trains to the state, an increase in frequency of three existing trains, and gauge conversions of two rail sections. To make her intentions clear, the minister announced a fact-finding analysis of last 5 year’s of performance of Indian Railways, casting doubts if Railway’s turnaround from a vehicle of loss to the most profit making ministry was really so.

UPA needs Mamata and hence her fancies are policies now

Reading the lists of new projects announced for the state of West Bengal makes us wonder if this was the railway budget of India or the state of West Bengal! 19 new express trains, one mega power plant, one new coach factory, revival of one sick factory, and the list goes on. The sole purpose behind all these ‘gifts’ to Bengal were appeasing state-based voters for the upcoming assembly elections where her party TMC will fight elections against the Left parties. The central government led by Congress gave her free hand because the party depends on her for the assembly elections. Also, Congress and Nehru dynasty would get a kind of sadistic pleasure out of punishing Lalu and people from his states, because he had accused Congress of being responsible for communal riots during last general elections.

Railway ministry has always been used for building vote banks

As such, Bengal was never starved for Railways. Abdul Gani Khan Chaudhary (from Congress) was another railway minister from WB in 80s who played the same regional card, and he brought so many project to the state and to his constituency Malda that he should be called a benchmark and a trend setter in ‘using’ Railways for creating vote-banks and making regional vote-heavens.

Afterwards, almost all railway ministers used the department to make them popular. When Madhav Rao Scindia became the railway minister, he announced two new trains connecting his own election constituency of Gwalior to Bombay and Calcutta. CK Jaffer Sharief brought a large wheel-and-axle factory to his Bangalore. When Suresh Kalmadi became railway minister, he started four new trains two/from Pune. Then Ramvilas Paswan set up a air-brake wagon workshop in Barauni. Nitish Kumar as Rail minister got three bridges made over Ganga in Bihar. And when Lalu Yadav was railway minister for 5 years, 52 new trains were started in Bihar.

Even then, all these largesse look small in comparison to what Mamata Banerjee has done in one year for her home-state this time. We could even then forgive her for all this, but can she be pardoned for what she has undone for Bihar?

Bihar after partition of Jharkhand

In independent India, Bihar was one of the states which had abundant natural resources and minerals, but had one of the poorest people. North of Bihar, which was the same one which supported Ganga civilisation, had one of the most fertile lands in India, while South of Bihar had plethora of mines and minerals under its surface. There were lots of industries particularly concentrated in the Southern part, like Bokaro, Jamshedpur, Sindri, Dhanbad, and Ranchi. But when Jharkhand was created, Bihar lost all its mineral deposits and almost all of its manufacturing industries. All that remained was agriculture.

While agriculture could still support the uneducated and unskilled workforces for the bare minimum living standards, there were hardly any opportunities left for the well and highly educated. Also, there were no opportunities in the state for the skilled workforces which could work in factories.

Bihar needs manufacturing jobs

It is said that one job created in manufacturing sector produces many others in the services sector. The job creation potential of manufacturing sector is what has given China this much progress. Could Bihar still do something? There was a silver lining. While it was very difficult to persuade private companies to set up shops in the state because when it came to financial profitability, there were many more attractive options for them, the public sector companies and government controlled enterprises could still do something. This is what the previous railway ministers were trying to do. And this is what still needs to be done.

When government comes to decide where to invest money, political clout works more than anything else. Are not almost all politicians from Maharastra big industrialists? Maharastra, the most successful states of India, along with Gujarat, is not only rich, but there are reasons for its richness, starting for the political clout its regional leaders enjoy in centre. Bihar, on the other hand was always neglected in post-independence period too. (Symbolically it produced first President of India who had no real political powers, while the state of UP which produced the first PM remained on the centre stage for beyond its fate and still gets Sonia/Rahul Gandhis’ special attention.

In Bihar, post-independence period of neglect resulted in coming up of some of the worst criminal and corrupt politicians we had ever seen in India. But after a period, people gave power in the hands of an honest government under the leadership of engineer Nitish Kumar.

Why railway is more than railway in Bihar

Each new manufacturing project coming up in the state of Bihar would be like God’s gift to the state. It is the only way to prevent heavy outward movement of Biharites from the state to industrial cities all across India. It will not only provide jobs to the poor who will now have option to become skilled and earn more, but also to the thousands of engineers and technicians from the state who pass out every year from universities all across India. Since private companies won’t be interested in investing in the state, the only way left is for the government to do so.

Since Biharites are settled in large numbers in all parts of India for livelihood, they some times face ire of regional-chauvinist violence. Every time there is such regional violence, like that happened in Maharastra or which keeps happening in Assam, our intellectuals and media ask why not Biharites be provided jobs in their own state? Even though their arguments can be seen as one with regional-lobbyist intentions, there is no doubt that we have to stop talking and start working. It is in the interest of our nation that we spread the India growth story to Bihar also, which remains one among the poorest. Still, when one ministry like railways start one project like locomotive plant, there are other regional leaders who oppose it.

History of Decline of Bihar and Rise of Bengal

Bihar has an unmatched rich historical and cultural standing. Remember Magadh empire, birth of Buddhism and Jainism, the Gupta dynasty, the Mauryan empire, the Patliputra, the world famous Nalanda and Vikramshila universities, or the Great Ashoka from Bihar who has been the greatest ruler in the history of India.

The decline of Bihar started when Muslim invasion under Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khilji destroyed Magadh kingdom, burnt down Nalanda and Vikramshila universities, and massacred thousands of Buddhist monks in 12th century. Again Bihar rose under the rule of Sher Shah Suri – one of the brilliant Muslim rulers, and maintained under Mughal emperor Akbar. And then, Bengal’s rise was Bihar’s loss…

With the decline of Mughal rulers, Bihar passed under the rule of Nawabs of Bengal. This medieval period under Nawabs of Bengal brought anonymity for Bihar. Though this was the period when Bihar produced the last Sikh Guru – Guru Gobind Singh – one of the greatest sons of India.

After the battle of Buxar in 1764, British East India Company obtained diwani rights over Bihar along with Bengal and Orissa. From here after, Bihar remained a part of the Bengal Presidency of the British Raj. This period of anonymity remained till 1912 when Bihar was made a separate province by the British. Bengal on the other hand gained because Calcutta was the Capital of British Raj (until 1911).

While the capital of Bihar is the same Patna which was earlier the Pataliputra – the capital of the great Magadha Empire, and has unmatched bright past, the capital of Bengal Calcutta or Kolkata, rose mainly because the British Raj made it its capital! In the past, all lands that are named as Bengal were part of the Magadh empire. A very bright part in the history of Bengal was during the Pal Empire, the capital of which was again Pataliputra.

While Kalidasa the greatest poet ever, lived during the Gupta Empire (Kalidasa meaning servant of Goddess Kali, which the Bengalis worship like no other in this world), the Gupta empire had its capital in Pataliputra or Patna. On the other hand, Bengal produced, of course in much recent past, Rabindra Nath Tagore whose English-inspired surname tells all the success that he achieved, though we know he was a great poet. I can go on. The history of decline of Bihar and rise of Bengal also tells us what all that is wrong in India. We lost our soul to make muscles. Centres of pride of our heritage are in humiliating conditions while those created by the British are being appeased.

This history makes us wonder how Bengal has been eclipsing Bihar in the recent past. The need of this chapter from history was needed because if politicians like Mamata Banerjee have slightest chauvinist feelings, they need to be shown how hollow is their pride.

Bengal’s problems are indigenous – politics and work culture

To think that all problems of West Bengal will be solved if two manufacturing projects can be shifted from Bihar to Bengal is naïve. West Bengal sits over plethora of defunct industries which became sick due to the communist sponsored trade union politics and red tapism. The state has championed in inculcating a work culture in factories which itself is a sure shot to disaster. And to top it, the entire state comes to halt every time a bandh is organised to protest something and everything. The problems of Bengal are unique. And solutions have to come indigenously.

West Bengal has many options for taking its poor out of poverty-line. From petrochemical industries to mines to sea ports – the advantages towards creation of a developed Industrial state are many. It is not heavily dependent on government’s support to promote industries; in fact govt interventions are what have harmed the industry. Bihar, on the other hand has very limited options for creating a manufacturing base – and railway is one among the few.

Politics should be kept out of Union Budget and Prime Minster is responsible

The decision of our Railway Minister to put the two railway projects in Bihar on hold is not only partial and political in nature, but also is plain regionalism. It is sad to see that each union ministry works in isolation and according to the fancies of the individual minister, while our super-economist Prime Minister sits in comfort. There already have been demands by state of Bihar for the status of a special state, so that development works can be done with priority. A healthy and developed Bihar is very much needed for a prosperous India – but neither our PM nor our central government is looking any serious about creating a way towards a brighter Bihar.

Can we expect the central government not to do any more harm to the state if it can’t do something positive?

One India – One Nation – Say no to Regionalism

Cicero said this in ancient Rome, 42 BC: “

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not traitor, he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared."

(Rahul)