A thought for the mind ....

THE DRIED PETALS

2020-04-09T01:02:00.000-07:00

THE DRIED PETALS

The dark pink for the Tamil marriages,

The bright orange for the Telugu weddings,

The Kannadigas liked the glowing yellows.

There were many types of whites for all the fellows.

And the reds were loved by all.

Chosen and tended were we, with stems thick and tall.

We were symbols of the good times,

Never bothered when ignored and thrown,

The rolling bad times were waited out to be gone.

But the Crown of viruses has only left us to mourn,

Seems like the bad times have no near end in sight.

It is paining to be uprooted with no one to hear the plight.

Petal by petal the flowers have dried,

So have the flori farmers, who have really tried.

Are they just tired or have they died?

_________________________________________________________________________________

ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆ ಮುಹೂರ್ತಗಳಿಲ್ಲ!

ಪ್ರತಿ ರೀತಿ ಮದುವೆಗೂ ಆರಿಸಿ ತಂದಿದರು ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು,
ನೋಟಕ್ಕೆ ಸ್ನಿಗ್ಧವಾದ ಕೆಂಪು,
ತಿಳಿ ಬಿಳಿಯ ಮನದಾಳದ ಮೌನದ ಕಂಪು.

ಸೂರ್ಯೋದಯಾಸ್ತಗಳನ್ನು ಭುವಿಗೆ ತಂದ ಹರಿಶಿಣ ಮತ್ತು ಕಿತ್ತಳೆ ಬಣ್ಣ.

ಆ ಚೆಲುವಿನ ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಬಣ್ಣ ಸೆಳೆದಿತ್ತು ಎಲ್ಲರನ್ನು,

ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಶುಭ ಘಳಿಗೆಗಳ ದ್ಯೋತಕವಾಗಿದ್ದೆವು ನಾವು.
ಶೂನ್ಯ, ಆಷಾಡಗಳು ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಭಾಗಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ,
ರೋಗ ಕೀಟಗಳು ಬಾಧಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ,
ಇಂದು ಶ್ರಾವಣದ ಶುಭ ಘಳಿಗೆಲಿಲ್ಲ,
ಕರೋನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಿಂದ ಜಗತ್ತಿಗೆ,
ನಮ್ಮ ಚಂದದ ಅರಿವಿಲ್ಲ,

ಹೂದೋಟದ ಮಾಲೀಕರಿಗೆ ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆಯ ಮುಹೂರ್ತಗಳಿಲ್ಲ!

Dedicated to all the Floriculturists especially the cut flower farmers who have taken loans and built polyhouses but only to know that the parties have stopped and they have been left to pay the bill.

We don’t even have an organized market and we sell on the foothpaths in the morning and that too when its free, but now even that seems distant.

It is an appeal to the authorities & government to consider the plight of these farmers who are often ignored and forgotten.

It’s the Corona Surprise test and we have the failed in the Agriculture paper

2020-04-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

It’s the Corona Surprise test and we have the failed in the Agriculture paper!

Vaibhav B S

vaibhavbs@gmail.com

The corona virus has announced the surprise test to the whole world, of how prepared they are and the top countries have started to shudder and their papers are filled with red marks. For all the crowns and laurels that India is the emerging super power, it was provided the paper fairly late and yet it was found wanting for preparation. India prepared for the healthcare paper but it has been served the Agriculture paper along with the healthcare paper and in the opening test India has failed the agriculture paper!

An economy or the social resilience of a country is tested by how quickly it has been able to respond and support the weakest link in the chain of its social structure. The war waged by Covid-19 has exposed India’s preparedness in the agriculture supply chain and value addition. The lock down has been a lock down of the farms with the perishable produce also locked inside and the rot is killing the farmers. The most disappointing aspect has been the silence of the Agri startups and their eco systems especially the startups who were promising to bring changes in the agri supply chain. Of course, there have been few startups who have transformed quickly to address the need to the consumers of urban area but that’s easier of the problems to address and its impact is just a blip in the cauldron of problem faced by the real victim of the crisis – the farmers. The hour of crisis should have been seen as an opportunity by the agri – startups to display their flexibility to manifest and deploy their resources and solutions but instead the startups have either behaved just as any big corporate with no flexibility or like an evanescent entity that go missing during the hour of need.

The surprise test has exposed India’s priority and planning in the agriculture and horticulture sector during crisis. During the crisis hour, the District magistrate of each district becomes de-facto power center to handle the crisis but amongst all the standard operating procedures, supporting agriculture supply chain seems to be missing. The government planning should be relooked to make agriculture/ horti sector as top sectors during crisis. It is to be remembered the end of the German Blitzkrieg in to Russia during World war 2 was brought about by Russians farmers (who burned their field and emptied their food storage in the path of the German troops). Every crisis/ internal strife in the country is linked to the agrarian crisis.

The most effected populace due to Covid 19 is not the patients – they have been cradled by the government, not the traders who have the higher negotiating power, not the input suppliers, not the wholesalers, not the retailers, but the farmers whose crop has come to harvest but has no market to be taken in to. The worst effected, even amongst farmers are the farmers of the products with lower shelf life. The private supply chain has forsaken these farmers and it has left them to the ex – gratia of the government to help. The government which planned for the patients, municipal utilities, PDS, essential supplies through its network had forgotten about these farmers. When news started pouring about the plight of the fruit & vegetable farmers and how the urban consumer base is getting restless without these suppliers, the governments started reacting. Even the reaction couldn’t yield great results for the farmers as the government’s own setup doesn’t have the infrastructure and planning for addressing the supply chain of the agri products during the crisis and that too on an immediate basis. Instead of considering the farmers’ product movement as priority, restrictions have been placed for people and material movement.

The government with the help of other stakeholder such as FPOs, farmers, trader associations, food processors, Agri startups and agri linked industries should be planning the following at the earliest:

Ø Resource Assessment and mapping: Mapping of all the agri and horti related resources including farmers, laborers, land diversity, roads, agri transport related transport, shandies, local markets, APMC yards, processing industries, input dealers, government offices, raitha samparka kendras, government horticultural farms, etc. available in the hobli, taluk and district levels for planners to have the clear understanding of the resources available.

Ø Season wise assessment: Season-wise mapping the crop wise & village wise agri zones and the likely area productivity and the total yield. This data can be updated by the revenue authorities (through RTC data) in consultation with the agriculture, horticulture and agri -marketing departments. Based on the state level and national level intelligence the farmers should be advised on the crops to be considered for production.

Ø Variation assessment: With the help universities, ICAR institutes, experts and agri startups the authorities have to be advised on the likely factors which will be affecting the productivity like disease, environmental factors, etc. for each season. The collection of data can be made real time with the available software and hardware of the agri startups. A prediction model has to be put in place for predicting the likely yields and to take corrective measures.

Ø Gap assessment: This will be most important aspect to be taken up after the above factors. After mapping the present resource and likely effect on the income of the farmers, a gap analysis has to be done in terms of the infrastructure either to help the farmers to achieve the threshold productivity and the likely infrastructure required to market and process the product thus produced. After understanding the gaps either in terms of basic infrastructure, marketing infrastructure, processing infrastructure etc. government could setup the infrastructure or incentivize the private sector to develop the infrastructure.

Ø Resource allocation for bridging the gap: The government budget should be allocated to the bridge the gaps and thus help the best return of the investment for the government budget allocation.

Ø Minimum Production returns: The farmers’ production activity should be considered a social activity taken up for the benefit of the society thus a minimum production fee has to be given to the farmers in case of the price drop due to the market vagaries or due to vagaries of the weather.

Ø Development Cooperative structure or FPOs: To increase the farmers’ capabilities and negotiating power the Government has to stay invested in the FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations) or cooperative structures. Despite of the many failures there is no alternative to this as any other alternative may not be inclusive. The following problems of the FPOs should be addressed through the course of time:

1) Lack of expertise and lack of resources to hire expertise.

2) Lack of product specific focus and long-term vision and thus no quality and quantity-based planning.

3) Lack of Marketing and supply chain infrastructure nor Government support for larger out reach

4) Lack of priority-based procurement by Government from FPOs

5) Attrition of skilled work force

6) Lack of financial strength or credit worthiness for establishing large infrastructure for processing and manufacturing

7) Land conversion laws restrain the commercial activity in agriculture lands

8) Lack of Government laws to minimize the land related issues

9) Internal Politics among board of directors

10)Feudalistic mind set of village level politics decreases the inclusiveness

The above planning has to be made available for the disaster management team to address the immediate problems of the farmer. For example: during the present crisis if the district authorities had the list of the processors and their capacities, they could have directed the farmers to take their produce directly to the processors and allowed the processors to procure at a threshold price. Further, essential supplies could have been allowed to the regulated markets and also allowed the last mile retailers and wholesalers to procure. The rest of the produce could have been moved towards storage and released based on the requirement and expiry. However, no such resource map was available to the decision makers and thus leaving the authorities to scamper for helping the farmers.

The Covid 19 exam is still not over and the Agriculture paper is going to be re- presented, with a whole new set of low shelf products coming to harvest, the next test will be tough and the failure in the up coming test will be unforgiving for all the stakeholders including the government.

Anubhava to Bhava

2017-10-22T09:09:00.002-07:00

12^th Century of Karnataka were surreal times, the most successful Rulers of those time Chalukyas of Kalyana had gone down but were not completely out but their absence from the main stage had created space for their Commander in Chief to take over as the King. This has been described by historians as the Kalachuri Interregnum and the King who ruled during this interregnum was Bijjala. Interregnums are times of confusion; the King and the ruling class are always confused and are looking for any opportunity to establish their authority through any of kind of support and legitimization. Amidst this chaos rose a positive force which was encouraged by the king himself as it seemed the right and the popular thing to do. Basaveshwara – Basavanna - The Basava – the bulwark of the social and spiritual revolution was that positive force which gravitated all positive forces of those days under one roof and created an institution which was live and alive in functioning.

Basaveshwara was the Treasurer and then the Prime Minister of the interregnum. He used his stature for positive reinforcements all the goods of society which existed then. The institution that The Basava created was the Anubhava Mantapa – the House of Experiences. Anubhava Mantapa was the water shed of all the positive forces of those days and flagbearer of all the knowledge which had no language barrier, no caste barrier, no religion barrier and no gender barrier. It was pure and it was experiential. The experience that the Sharanas had were written down for futures to come as Vachanas. When watershed reached its threshold, the bulwark of this institution – The Basava moved ahead of the times he lived in – he caused a sudden revolution – The Kalyana Kranti. The ruling class and the challenged class were threatened by this sudden upsurge, the King was ill advised that Basavanna was becoming a political force who will challenge him. When the ruling class is threatened they do what’s obvious, they use their weapon of power even on the positive forces around them…. Kalyana Kranti turned in to Chaoas …. Anubhava Mantapa and The Basava were attacked and the institution … the Sharanas and their Vachanas got lost in this chaos … The King – Bijjala Deva was killed … the name used for legitimization of his killing was that of The Basava – but it was obvious for a political observer to understand that killing was for Political Gain and The Basava had nothing to do with Politics.

Kalyana – the capital of those days may have descended to chaos and utter confusion but the river of positive energy that Basava created through Anubhava Mantapa never vanished. Philosophers such as Plato have always conceptualized a perfect Society and the rule in that society was that of a Philosopher King. Basava did what all the philosophers of the world couldn’t do at that time – to actual develop a society which was based on a firm yet positive philosophy where artificial and selfish divisions weren’t allowed. He developed a society based on social and spiritual justice. The ruler who delivered this Justice was the Philosopher King which the Anubhava Mantapa recognized as Shoonya Simhasana – The Throne belonged to that man/ woman who had achieved nothingness or spiritual absoluteness. The only Philosopher King that the Anubhava Mantapa could experience was Allama Prabhu and the force behind the throne was Basava who stood as a Bulwark for its social existence.

The house of Experiences was the house of feminism, social equality, unbound spiritual enlightenment which had no entitlements. It was a spiritual movement which had Shiva at its Heart and the tenets of Veershaivism as its core path. The concept of Shiva became a loved concept as Shiva was one among the trinity, the deity of death, deity of complete nothingness, the feminist who gave half of his self to his better half, the god who lived in cremation grounds unbound by the rules of society, the deity of all creeds who knows no threads of entitlements, the rebel of the untruth and the destroyer of the evil, the warrior who image inspires even the dead, the ever forgiving divine, the fountain head whose dance moves the cosmos – Shiva, The Shankara – The lord of all positivity in the cosmos. The idea of Shiva had always existed but Anubhava Mantapa made the concept of abstract Shiva a personal philosophy for each human through the Ishta Linga … it broke the barrier of the large temples which were the chosen places of worship and made the idea of Shiva more important that the methods and physical form of worship. It makes human (Manushya) to attain Godliness (Mahesha), the path from Manushya to Mahesha is the path of continuous empowerment enabled by a guru. This path doesn’t require being averse from reality or regular family life. It’s a path which takes everybody towards spiritual enlightenment.

The ideas of Anubhava Mantapa weren’t new even for those days. Those ideas existed amongst best in what is called Hindutva of today – or general way of life of those days, the ideas followed were majorly from Veerashaivism – a philosophy of Hinduism which kept Shiva at its center and the Guru and Shishya parmapara as the method of learning – which was crudified as Lingayatta (The bestowing of ishta/ personal Linga/ philosophy of god by the Guru). However, the Anubhava Mantapa made these ideas the center of its philosophy and broke the barriers of caste/ gender entitlements to gain through these philosophies. People from so called untouchable communities sat as equals in Anubhava Mantapa and were celebrated for their stature and enlightenment. The stature of women was first time seen in the same light as any men. The records of the discussion between Akka Mahadevi and Allama Prabhu is probably the best feminist literary classics which was far ahead of its times and is relevant for the future as well.

Basavanna is amongst the best social forces that the world has ever seen. He had a sense of Divinity is all his activities. He used his position and wealth to augment the positivity in the society. His work and the work which he enabled through the Sharanas of the Anubhava Mantapa would transcend thousands of years and inspire millions through the generations. He understood the core solution to break the caste barriers of the society was in marriage and his act of enabling a marriage between getting a lower caste boy to marry and higher caste girl became a triggering point for the King who had already been suspicious of the growing popularity of Basavanna. The solution that Basavanna took (i.e of inter caste marriages) may have been the most effective method of breaking the caste system but it was erroneous of not taking the King into confidence and taking measures against the caste hierarchies to protect the Anubhava Mantapa. The chaos which followed Kalyana Kranti sent the Sharanas and their vacahans in to hiding and their energy got scattered as they were being hunted down by the ruling class.

Despite the scattering of the vacahanas, the Shoona Smpadhane (collection of vachanas) activity taken up during the Vijayanagar empire period ensued that the knowledge was not completely lost. The ensuing movement of Veershaivism/ Lingayatism made sure that the philosophy of the Sharanas was promoted as a way of life through the Mutts (religious institutions) and being a movement, which was opposed to many regular ways of the lives, it was both defensive and aggressive in many fronts and it took a form of a caste under the Umbrella of Hindhuism instead being a living alternative philosophy under the Hinduism. Further, given the nature of humans some of the Lingayats and Veerashaivas took their professions and their forefather’s professions as more important for the society and started claiming superiority and thus leading to further segregation as sub castes. These are the ills of any Human groupings, we always find differences to segregate and form groups for our own immediate benefits. However, if the tradition of Anubhava Mantapa would have been alive through this course the number of selfish indulgences/ groupings would have been relatively controlled.

Cutting back to the present reality the - 21^st century, the Democratic era, these are days where political interregnums are more of a rule than an exception. The political ruling class often comes to power based on unsustainable means and thus are often in fear of being eliminated. When a Monarch such as Bijjala Deva tries to align with all the backward forces to legitimize his power in times of uncertainty, then we can’t expect broadmindedness from electoral Politics of the present day where every day is a day of uncertainty and each leader has a parochial base. In an unenlightened society, the politicians are narrow minded enough to interfere in the fabrics of the society and break the tranquility for their power needs. However, the socio/ religious leaders in the society are supposed to resist such interferences and hold the fabric of society together. But given the times we leave the socio/ religious leader such leaders of Mutts and such other institutions are bereft of the Philosophies that have transcended time.

Today there is a growing call for recognizing Lingyatism as separate religion. The fight is for a minority status and there are wild promises being spread amongst the people regarding the advantages of being declared a minority. The fight has become a ridiculous one with dictionaries and pictionaries taking the forefront of whether to declare this minority as a Lingayat or a Veerashaiva when there is no difference between either. However, what is being skipped is the question of How can an advanced way of life based on the very ideas of Hinduism or its way of life be declared a different religion? Shiva the core of Lingayat way of life is one among the trinity conceptualized in Hinduism. Would these new claimants for minority status claim for a Patent on Shiva or ask him to divorce his family and join this new madness for minority status? Would they claim a patent towards the path to Parashiva or Parambrahma? The Advaita, Vishistaadvaita and the Shakthi Vishistaadvaita may all make same claim because they all have the same path in spirit but described in different words….. It will be time to play the dictionary game all over again!

The Mandal brand of reservation has brought in a bad culture of easy division politics. The easy path of every political party is to augment some of the castes/ sects based groupings is to promise a reservation or elevation in their reservation by declaring them more backward. The Lingayats/ Veershaivas are relatively a large group of political significance and have achieved certain level of development due to their stress on education and educational institutions. However due to adoption of backward imagery politics by other caste groupings who are similar in status and size these have been declared backward and have taken up few more public offices due to the reservation both at Central and state level. Due to the Judicial Interference it has become difficult for better developed communities such as Lingayats to gain higher reservations thus a new trend has been ensued by few people of this community to find some unknown difference and bring them to fore and then seek Minority status. This is a new argument in minority politics and will not be the last one.

The Lingayats / Veershaivas can’t be blamed for such a parochial argument because other communities with similar politicking have achieved public offices through such arguments. However, the background of this new argument has been based on Election Politics which is aimed at splitting the Lingayat vote and thus benefitting from it. This is dangerous and condemnable by any standards of the politics. When this is done by the government in power, it’s becomes an anti-thesis for democracy itself. Fringe voices who are heads of unknown mutts have become forerunners in this argument and the government aided elements have created stages for this hate politics. Forums have been created to enhance and viralize the argument for minority status. The owners of educational institutions are going to benefit from minority status and they are standing as support for minority status. Unfortunately, this support also means supporting fringe elements of the community and castigating the nay Sayers. The critics for this movement are classified as Veershaiva or Hindutva people and branded as traditionalists who are not part of the community. The history itself is being re-written at the convenience of the so called propogandist of Minority status.

Politics for seeking more legitimate benefits for group of people is acceptable in democracy. However, this new brand of minority politics is an artificial demand for a minority which doesn’t exist. It will bring the fraternal relations that the Lingayat/ Veershaiva community has with the general Hindu Populace to a friction. The social confluence which is at the core of Lingayat movement will be first casualty to the minority status. Lingayat have similar tradition like of any Hindu community and their practices which require deep study and understanding. However, any ignorance or blatant laziness to understand their traditions is termed as Basava Tatva and this ignorance is being celebrated. There are Basavanna’s statues measuring in 100s of feets being built which is a dishonor for a man who abhorred blatant and blind statue worships. These are acts of people who don’t have any understanding and they are merely seeking popularity under the stature of Basavanna. The movement for minority status is popularizing such voices who are proponents of ignorance.

A Lingayat has the freedom to seek every avenue for his/ her next level spiritual upliftment. He can do what the Sharanas may not have promoted as long as it is a path towards spiritual upliftment. The Vachanas are a classic literature which if followed are paths to an enlightened person but these are not religious scriptures. If these vachanas, written by various sharanas are boxed as a religious scripture then it will be an anti-thesis to the individualistic spirit of the sharanas. Minority Status is being claimed based on the ideas of these vachanas which would be an artificial creation and blatant misuse of a poetic creation. To impose scriptures and rules where none exits, is nothing but an act to rob an individual of a Spiritual liberty which is the core of Veerashaivism and Hindutva

I’m a trying Hindu and a trying Lingayat and a trying human. I use ‘trying’ deliberately because although I’m born with these aspects as my immediate social associations, I feel these are qualifications which we should qualify in to. I as an individual have the liberty to choose my path of spiritual upliftment. My social identity can’t at the mercy of a loud group supported by a government which is looking for votes in the next election. My spiritual liberty can’t become a sacrificial lamb for the trivial benefit of a Minority status. The minority status on paper today will grow up to a big wall tomorrow and will sacrifice the social fraternal fabric of my country tomorrow.

The path from Anubhava (Experiential) to the Bhava (existential) needs can’t usurp my spiritual Identity.

Enriching Cricket……..

2012-10-08T01:41:00.003-07:00

Picture this – A semifinal match between two equal teams facing up to the challenge and also crumbling under pressure with 6 run outs, the match runs down to the one run from one ball equation. Another encounter between a reluctant team and another an enthusiastic bunch – the reluctance is smudged all over the score card with only a lone run out of the bat. There were jumping jacks with extravagant styles of bowling and there were the leg laggards. There were ladies with delicate bat grips but yet playing an exciting innings and there were stylish batsmen who needed no attention by the scorer. Paradoxes paramount, it was true sense of sport, waking up the laggards and exploring new dimensions of mind & body – well that was AOL Cricket League.

Arranged in the caged arena, the rules of cricket had been dwarfed but not the spirit. Every match was eagerly awaited and watched. Minds bowled and played like professionals but the reality was close to the practice that each team had. The stout surprised with their vigor, the short leaped to raise a few eyebrows, the lean played mean and the ladies surpassed all expectation to take the final bow. The exceptional performances came from unexpected quarters, well it was spirit of cricket that was celebrated.

A carnival went by us and how colorful it turned out to be. With some fancy and cheesy names they came and put on a show of fabulous games. Cricket was the theme and it stood enriched with every game. There were the unwilling Morning Ryders who had to be woken up to make an appearance! The Super Stormers left all the storm in the name but the Insightful Inswingers left all insights in their play as they successfully started their bid for Mattamana (meaning useless in Tamil) team’s name. There were the Unique Visitors who popped out without making a repeat visit to the semifinals along with the Gully cricketers who felt left out of their gully in the fenced quadrangle. The AOL Avengers were standing by and finally got a reason to avenge as the Predators (PET) whisked past. What prevailed at last was the spirit of the unlikely dark horses running from behind, a team of Extras (as they call themselves – Team EX) and the team which had trouble to Shout (The Silent Shouters) but had the final laugh!

But the final applause has to go to Chanpreet, Prashant and their team of pioneers who brought us this show. There was an eye capturing every moment on the field for us to have a laugh later, a special thanks to Shubha and Srikanth for the captured memories.

Nilesh was judged the best bowler, Nithin the best batsman, Chanpreet the player of the tournament and Silent shouters the best team but it was whole of AOL which deserves the applause for YOU have made cricket a winner!

Vaibhav B S

“Welcome to the garden city….”

2012-05-21T05:32:00.001-07:00

“Welcome to the garden city….”

It’s a Sunday morning routine for me and my father to go out for a long walk. In most occasions we would trail down the forest path (yup! a forest path!), which is close to our house but when we find ourselves low on humor, we take a ride to the city. After adding more carbon to the atmosphere than the oxygen we intake, we take a walk in the green zone in the centre of the city. Well we excuse ourselves of doing the 'intelligent' thing of ‘driving to walk’ by looking at our fellow carbon debtors (walkers) who do this on a day to day basis.

As we start the walk we start getting the right reasons for the all the effort we have taken to reach this humor zone. In the first round we are enthralled by the early walkers and their free style walking. The dearth of green spaces in Bangalore becomes evident in the first round itself. It will seem like half of early risers of Bangalore have landed up there. Walking here is a real good exercise, after all it’s an obstacle race! People of every speed, shape and mood take their turns to make you lose the damned monotony of rhythmic steps. Those who keep their ear drums busy with music, miss a lot here. Even the passing voices are like an index to an open source Wikipedia. If this is boring then you have the pleasure of seeing the disco parade of the walkers with their limb movements in every possible direction. The good part of the disco parade is that they make other walkers to participate in the parade once in a while– otherwise the walkers risk being hit by one of the free flowing limbs.

As the walk continues, if your glance easies out to the sides, you are in for a treat. A man with a packet of sugar, moving around sprinkling it, will catch your eyes and if you take a jovial guess of what he is up to, you will not be wrong – he is actually feeding the ants! Well we can’t be too nosy about this man’s activity, there are others waiting to amaze us. Along with the ant feeders there are crow feeders, dog feeders and such others who dot the walking path.

There are zones for each activity but being amidst the botanical wonder it’s easy to forget the cultural dimension – ‘The Hindu Sprit’! Our ancestors being the brainy chaps, they made sure that every aspect of nature is respected and conserved and thus every flora and fauna found its association with the gods. This spirit is celebrated here, thus don’t be surprised to see a peepal tree being decked up affectionately! Don’t be baffled if a fellow walker deviates and starts going around a tree, that’s their path of walk for the day!

Then there is a breed of intense observers who will be concentrating on a small dew on a small petal – they are the early morning lens men with their shutter open to catch the theme of early morning – ‘freshness’. As the cameras click away in leisure, it’s a busy morning for a vegetable vendor as he reminds the walkers that kitchen at home needs ammunition for the day and just beside him is a young chap ushering the walkers to a stall that he has established to sell a green juice which he claims is a remedy for all the medical challenges! Well, each one has its takers and thus they show up without a break at the break of dawn.

Every step of every walker has a story of its own, there is a dragged step bogged down by the spirit it carries, there is a lethargic step still coveting a good bed, there is a spirited step of a bogged down body but an awakened mind, there is a step seeking health, there is a step eager to meet somebody. Although the romantic dribbling steps of couples are rare in the hour we visit the green heaven, but the carvings on the trees give enough clues of the sumptuousness of the steps at a different hour.

There are several serene locations here and the morning sun paints a picture in the lake which is amidst this green haven and walking by it, is an experience of its own. It’s a lonely surge amidst nature and as soon as the lake is out of sight the sprouting population of walkers comes to our senses. For the regular visitors to this Eden garden, the inner zones or the ‘addas’ are the real attraction. These addas become debating clubs, cult meets, in law bashing zones and many more depending on the choice of the birds that flock together. The groups that are most noticeable are the laughing clubs. The laugh starts like a Mexican wave and grows infectiously (at least enough to make you smile)!

As the walking hours draw to a close and the walkers pack off, a new bunch would have already descended – the leisure Sunday picnic gang. Their hour is announced by the aroma of the Biryani carried by the Muslim folk who are regulars in this garden commissioned and completed by the Muslim sultans who ruled around these areas. The Sultans of the yester years knew well to create public places for leisure and social intercourse, this is where the society breathes afresh.

If Bangalore were to be challenged for its title as the garden city of India due to its growing contribution towards garbage, the only cards it can throw out to win the bet will be the two dazzling beauties in the heart of the city – Lal Bagh and Cubbon park. They are the two lungs that still make the city come alive and the more enriched amongst these twins is the Lal Bagh – our Sunday escape, the Eden of walkers, the paradise amidst the crumbling blocks… the space which imparts sense to the sign boards that call out ……“Welcome to the garden city of India!”…

We the Gaggers….

2012-05-20T11:21:00.003-07:00

We the Gaggers….

Source: https://www.facebook.com/IndiaToday

105years is a long time and being a Pontiff of a lingayat math in Karnataka for most of those years, is an unparalleled experience that none can aim to achieve. This astounding achievement of Sri Shiva Kumara Swamiji of the Siddaganaga Math near Tumkur was being celebrated that day when the dynastically empress of Congress had flew down to make sure that her party wouldn’t lose more votes from the dominant communities that follow the Mahatma, who has now seen more than 104 revolutions of the Earth round the Sun.

Politics was the actual theme of the celebrations – but this isn’t a point of concern; every public organization will be part and parcel of such a process for its own good or bad (especially the religious orgs) but what took me out my seat (while watching the program on TV) baffled was an incident that happened out there in the function itself. As her ladyship rose up to deliver her written script, the arranged silence was broken by a protesting lady with a black cloth in her hand. With her meek yet shrieking voice she was waving the black cloth as a protest for not providing a sub reservation for a dalit caste in Karnataka and was demanding that it should be provided. Then started the great muzzling and gag show which has become so common now days.

A bunch of policemen (not women) caught hold of the protesting woman and tried shutting her up (I mean literally) but she was too much to handle thus they caught her by her hair and dragged her and when another woman protested this action, she met with the same fate. Then they delivered these women to the waiting police women at the other side of the barricade and they took their turn to trash these women. What wrong did these protesters do? ‘Damn women! You have tried to use your right of free expression in front of the great empress of the dynastical party! What a terrible sin!!’ They forgot that our country is still feudal!

The dragging of those women out of that gathering by holding their hair, epitomized the era we live in – It’s the Dritharashtra’s hall of Mahabharatha repeated all over again – As the leaders stand blinded by the pedestal they seek or stand on, the empowered Dhushanas serve the purpose of the Duryodhanas (power mongers) by disrobing the helpless citizens (genders no bar). Where are the fundamental rights that our sacred constitution promised? What a damned citizen I’m… the real question I should be posing is – Where are the leaders who know that we have a constitution in the first place!

I’m not a believer in the cause that the women were protesting for, in fact I have been a victim of senseless reservation but I’m a firm believer in their rights to express it. Of course, the police were supposed to maintain the decorum, but what constitutes decorum? The police may not have been wrong in maintaining or moving away the unpleasant voices but the method they chose was horrendous. This makes all the difference in a democracy – they were not a terrorist gang to be neutralized at the first place, they were protesters and they are the first signs of a democracy. There was no attempt for a dignified exist. We the common people don’t deserve the dignity as we vote for dynasties!

How’s the voice of the empress of the Dynastical party more important than those women? This will be a difficult question to answer but for sure the person who will ask these questions, will be made to shut up! When a systematic attempt is done to shut down social networks then this incident just counts as one among the plenty. In a hierarchical society of castes, families based on dominance (either by age or gender) and when the daily theme of our lives is submission - then a parallel theme of gagging is bound to thrive.

I think it’s time to change the euphemism of our constitution which starts with the words ‘We the People….’ to ‘We the gaggers..’ after all our freedom exists where those gaggers chose to let go!

Vaibhav Sarvesh

Singapore Potpourri

2012-03-29T02:09:00.000-07:00

A rendezvous last week end has left me wondering and bumbling with one word - SingaPura. Before my visit to this city state, when some folks used to acclaim it as the modern day wonder, I used to dismiss them as people who are prone to exaggerations like the Sanskrit poets to whom we owe our literary heritage. But when I witnessed the country in the first person, I was awe stuck! It is definitely a prototype of modernity and urbanization.

When I say Prototype of modernity, I really mean each word. It’s a prototype because Singapore looks like a result of an ordered experiment with extreme controls. It’s modern because it’s a carefully arranged city with every element chosen for its refinement and utility. It’s a city built for the view and stay of the few! But for a person coming from a country, which almost gives the same (in some cases more) rights to domesticated animals on the roads as the humans, landing up in a country which has ordered the domesticated fauna out of the country - it’s a perplexing feeling miffed in a paradox of admiration (Oh! They can do that?)and suffocation (Would it just stop with our 4 legged counterparts?).

The ideal State….?

With a sea port and a benevolent weather (although a bit too hot for a Bangalorean) and a limited population, it actually comes close to the ideal city state concept explained by Aristotle. But what fails it is that it’s not a prototype which is self sustained. With no major production (including agriculture to automobile) under its belt it’s still a model with lot of cables running from outside to keep it up and running. But in a world which lives by the day and is perplexed by the tomorrow, Singapore can walk away with the prize for being the epitome of Urbanization (at least for the moment).

It’s a city built for the view and every modern concept has found a house in this city. When the world is going bonkers with the global warming phenomena, Singapore seems to have got in tune a long time ago. Although having a high per capita utilization of automobiles, the city has made sure that it drives the higher end Euro engines which ooze less emission and the even stricter enforcement agencies which are feared. There is a conspicuous presence of greenery in every lane and the concrete jungle has been concentrated in few packets and greenery has been allowed to be in a free flow in large domains. It’s an aesthetically beautiful city when sun glows and a dazzling chandelier by the night.

The State of the State….

The contours of the main city are a point of wonderment and the Singapore Flyer confidently strides up the visitors to portray it. Every building seems to have added to the chorus and in fact they have been ordained to do so by the State. The state controls every piece of land even when it is privately registered and the fancy towards the Feng Shui is ominous with each building being ordered in a particular zone. The ‘Fountain of Wealth’ in the center of the city, springs up the Feng Shui inclination and behind each building’s modern exterior there holds a traditionalistic core.

There is nothing in this city that can’t be touched by the state, every voice can be heard and every step is seen. Machiavelli’s words of advice can be heard in the actions of the government here “It’s better to be feared than loved”. The citizens fear the state’s long arm and they love the result of this fear – an ordered life. Despite of the ordered urbanity, there is a sense of involuntariness in the city and for an Indian like me this is a bit suffocating thus we have a zone for breathing a familiar air as well. The thought of eternally presence ‘rule of law’ takes a mild deviation in the zone called the Little India but it’s not a mess, it’s a celebration of the Indianess – a bit careless, a bit relaxed and the willingness to test the sensitivity of the law!

Much of Singapore’s way of life can be captured in the Universal Studio attraction that it houses. It’s a city set up to dazzle and enthrall but yet everything is under control. The city is so urban and modern that it’s brinks in the zone of being artificial like those studio setups. But when the show’s over and the screen has dropped, the people behind are real and there is life like anywhere on the planet.

The New Expressway

2012-01-09T02:20:00.000-08:00

Rome wasn’t built in a day, of course, considering the nonexistence of mass production of bricks then, it was probably built slowly brick by brick. However the brick & mortar structures are still evolving around us and are yet to reach their climax for transition to a new format. Look around, isn’t it true about the retail world of India, the evolving formats of “How” and “why” of shopping? Slow but evolving! Just as these brick & mortar structures rise up, there is a parallel format which is drilling its way up through the mortar. It’s a ‘virtual challenge’ but also a supplement in many ways. It’s the format that the business pundits termed as ‘e-commerce’ through the 90’s and also in the early 2000’s till the .com crash came our way and the skeptics gained supremacy to call it the ‘e- con merce’! After losing the unnecessary flab and it’s now back and it’s back with a bang and its known as etailing alias ‘Social commerce’.

The Social Commerce:

The fragrance of the Jasmine revolution from the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa have shown us the power of Internet, to be more specific the online social media flexed its muscles and the governments toppled like a pack of cards. The world now socializes, gossips, flirts, shops on the social media and in fact its life is virtually, virtual! The Facebook, which has been the face of this new trend, has more than 800 million active users today (the only competition for the Indian Population!).

In a world which is reeling under the spell of economic downturn, the virtual world is being looked up as the next big thing and this time, its gone mobile! With a 100 million internet users India should logically be in the forefront of the revolution but as with every trend, Indians are still testing the water and the big plunge is still awaited.

When it comes to socialization, how can Indians be left behind? It’s a virtual party for Indian on the Facebook, 33 million Indians had visited Facebook in the midst of 2010 ( as per July 2010, comScore) and now there are more than 28 Million active users from India in 2011 which is almost 1/3^rd of all the active Internet users in India. Adding more flavor to these stats is one estimate which suggests that India is likely to be the 2nd most populous base for Facebook in 2012!

“What does all this mean for a marketer?”

It means that the marketing budgets only wouldn’t be the critical Unique selling proposition anymore! Internet and social media in particular is largely democratic and the active user on these media is a participative consumer who will thrash you if you not deliver value but will put you on the top if you appease him/ her.

Social Media isn’t limited to Facebook and in fact that’s the unique feature of this new trend, there is no structural limitation for movement on the net (until the government decides to clamp on it!). Online service providers like Google have come out with a complete proposition to help business (especially SME’s) to create a virtual platform for marketing online. Google’s Hubspot is a case in point for this, with features like shared videos about the business, presence on the Google map, website building tools, blog creation and enhancement features etc.; it’s showing where the virtual world is going. In fact it is going all the way to equip the marketers, especially those who are based out of SMEs.

Most of the big boys especially the tech players have made their presence formidable on the social media but given the economics, SMEs should take up this opportunity to catch the wind with their sails up.

In the modern times, not all roads lead to Rome but every computer with an internet connection has an express way to your virtual showroom!

Who will fit in her basket?

2012-01-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

On a bright Monday morning Manikchand Lal stood overlooking a deserted street. On any other working day the street would have been jingling with commercial activity, but not today. All the retailers on that street had decided to shut shop for the day in protest of an impending policy decision by the central govt to allow FDI in multiband retail. Maniklal owns one of the biggest shops in that street, which is the hub for every grain merchant and he was for every practical reason a Retailer’s retailer- a wholesaler.

Just as the press arrived the waiting retailers rose up in loud protests “Don’t sell the country to a new East India Company” and Maniklal was standing right in the front with a sign board reading “Wal-Mart is a death Trap”. A motley crowd was following these protesting retailers, just behind Maniklal stood a young man who worked for Maniklal but had a detached look on his face. His father once owned a shop on that street, until Maniklal had come on the scene with products which were cheaper and better. Maniklal had put the young man’s father out of business with his superior negotiating and sourcing skills. For the young man this protest seemed to bring the memories of his father who had perished in the new wave of those days.

The rally of protesters had reached a new building down that street which housed a super market and just then a small commotion ensued amongst some retailers in the group. The super market had affected many of the retailers but it had failed to be failed to deliver complete value for all class of customers that the protesting retailers served. It was nevertheless a new wave and profit of many of the traditional retailers had seen a dip as customers embraced new standards of goods and goodies that the supermarket offered.

The rally suddenly lost its enthusiasm as the press cameras started to move away towards a press conference called by the minister to explain the rationale behind the FDI decision. Now the entire media mela had shifted to a sprawling ministerial bungalow. Sipping their hot beverages the media crew focused their cameras on the practiced statement of the minister, who explained that the FDI in retail is only an inevitable progress in the policy of liberalization. The press conference reached the crescendo with the minister declaring that this decision was one more step that the government had taken against inflation!

As all these happened, in a nearby APMC yard a farmer sat on a pile of onions stacked up in gunny bags. He had brought his produce with a hope of getting a decent rate for his effort but it seemed like even his transport cost wouldn’t be recovered that day. The onion prices in the local market near his village had crashed and the local merchants had started to play a waiting game to bring down the prices further. The farmer wanted to break the monopoly of these local merchants by accessing the tertiary market, but his ego and confidence had just got buried under the pile of onions he sat on. There were 100 more farmers like him there and the merchants there were worse than their counter parts near his village.

Just as he had decided to leave his produce to rot in the yard along with his confidence, a group of eternally protesting ‘facsimile farmers’ were going on yet another protest against the FDI in retail. The onion farmer didn’t know what the protest meant for him. He didn’t know that a FDI in retail means a chance of bringing an alternative to the local merchants but he was told that it means that he will have to compete with a farmer in Brazil to sell his onions. He was told stories of a demon retailer personified as Walmart which gobbles up every poor man in its way. His frustration had just found a channel, he joined them in protest.

In midst of all the loud protests a house wife had walked out of a supermarket with a paltry of purchase and had walked straight to a kirana store just beside the supermarket for more shopping. She wasn’t worried about Manikchand lal, who had also once come as an alternative and was now fighting against a new alternative. She wasn’t mesmerized by the decked up supermarket. She unfortunately did not see the farmers who had been betrayed by the skewed market forces. At the end of the day, her basket was filled with an eye on her purse. At her convenience she would chose between the neighborhood kirana store and the super market with a balanced detachment. If the foreign retailer is allowed to set shop, she will treat him/ her with the same disdain and it is she who will decide who survives. In the mean time her daughter is teaching her the use of the virtual world of internet and convenience of taking her basket to the virtual world. Who will fit her basket is her choosing!

The story Lane

2011-10-31T04:07:00.000-07:00

There is a typical narrow 'Bangalore route' in which I travel every day on my way to office. It’s probably one of Bangalore's most densely populated areas, which is having a bit more concrete to qualify as a slum and tad too much chaos to be called a residential area. But it never fails to grip my attention for the entire stretch. I have a habit of reading news paper during the long traffic filled travel to office but as we approach this area the stench and cars speed indicate to me that we have arrived at ‘that’ stretch and from then on I simply can’t look or think about anything else than what the road presents me.

When we look at a posh area, the mansions overwhelm us, the roads are smooth so you are whisking past the structures, the gardens, the beautifully clad people and the glance isn’t enough to grip you to it. This isn’t so in this narrow painted lane of mine, it’s a reality show of a different sort. While chugging along these lanes, every reeking corner and the gleeful children there or a shopkeeper lost in thoughts, has a story waiting to be heard. This is a scene you wouldn’t like to have as a painting in your home but it’s a painting you can never ignore.

These areas aren’t those old parts of the city which have remained like antique collections inside your house. These are unsought and almost forgotten domains which have become destinations for convenient settlements. Evidently there are very few formal permissions which are sought and desperation is the paradigm which is conspicuous in the way the buildings have been raised. The shopping area hasn’t been designed to create visual appeal nor for the pleasure of the customers. The haphazardly thrown displays lay just next to a slush filled road and the smell reeks of the over flowing sewage beside it. Despite of all these there is a flowing enthusiastic crowd with their curious eyes seeking those meager offerings of those shacks. Adding to this visual is the cosmopolitan nature of the crowd. Probably desperation has an inbuilt nature to seek out a heterogeneous population in the periphery of the society!

In midst of the slush, stench and desperate clustering there is sense of novelty. Every eye seems to hold a deeper story, every animal on the road seems to convey something new and every shop seems to have a deeper connection to somewhere else than its neighborhood. There are small manufacturers busy with their tools, making something small which will be a part of something big which they will never own and sometimes not even see! These are the busiest people who stand in contrast to the lazy shopkeepers who are busy yawning in front of their bargaining customers. No one wins the bargain as each is waiting for some thing better to come by.

There are two bucks in front of a butcher shop who are busy competing for dominance. They compete in oblivion even as the freshly cut meat of their friend who was hanging around with them is now hanging in front of the shop. There is a young boy loading up his bicycle with more than what he can handle, then he mounts his sister on the pillion seat and then decides to maneuver his bike in the traffic. One moment he is up in pride and the second moment he’s flat on the road. All seems like a mirror to our own lives.

Suddenly the road is split by even narrower bylanes and it enthralls more, as stories seem to emerge from nowhere. It’s a never ending story lane …..

The ‘Paan’ Learning!

2011-10-07T04:10:00.000-07:00

The ‘Paan’ Learning!

This week has been an interesting week for me. After being out of the corporate world for long I have taken up an employment in a corporate giant called HP! Joining a large corporation wasn’t the most interesting part of the week but joining a large corporate celebrating a week of micropreneurship certainly was! This week has been called the ‘Joy of Giving week’ and it involves an attempt in to philanthropy where the employees also get to show their generosity with in the corporate framework. Amongst all the college like hush and gush for this Joy of giving, what the organizers have unknowingly done is far more than what they expected – they have made every ‘involved’ soul, empathize.

Every day of this special week has been distributed amongst different teams in the organization and thus the common spaces like canteen, sport arenas can be used by these teams for organizing their events to raise money for giving away for philanthropy. Thus most teams decided on game and food melas but what I experienced in the process was something unique. It was unique not because it was novel but because an old idea which is often spoken just sunk in… at least for me!

How does it feel to be street vendor selling a short shelf life offering? We just understood how it feels! My team had decided on a food stall selling Paans, salads, colas & dhoklas along with some fun games which could be played by paying a small sum. It was a basic street side microneurship but in a sophisticated corporate surrounding! Being a new entrant I was on the sidelines assisting and observing. My team had collected a decent capital for investing in to this ‘micro venture for a day’. As the ball started to roll there was a new understanding of what ‘Short shelf life’ really meant!

The sale of the paans was a story worth quoting. None of the ‘competing’ teams (you see we were competing for the same palate!) on the canteen had this unique proposition of a delicious paan but the no. of Paan seeking consumers was limited and that too with only one flavor on the cards our target audience was even less. As the lunch time approached we realized that even if we force our acquaintances to buy, it had to be after they had their sumptuous meal and a paan didn’t suit all kinds of meals! So with a postponed timetable we waited for our limited customers but as it turned out the time for a Paan purchase was a volatile one! As the clock turned past 3, the crowd in the canteen had dimmed out and the new set of people entering the canteen were seeking a good tea or coffee and paan is not something that goes with it. Thus the short shelf life had been really chastened and shortened. Forget the profit, with every passing minute we were counting the paans that was needed to break even!

Of course we did make a some profit at the end of the day, thanks to our other ‘cash cow’ offerings but if this is the state of sophisticated micropreneurs like us who were provided capital, place, an AC facility and most importantly the marketing support of the event organizers, imagine the state of that street vendor who is literally having nothing but the ground for a support and sky for a cover above him! Along with the clicking clock the whole world will seem against him. The local money lender with his strong men, who distribute microcredit for the day with a sky high interest rate, will be high on his mind because he would have lost a tooth or two for skipping repayments before. His real estate space (a sophisticated term for his shack) would be under the grace of these strong men and he has everything to lose by upsetting them. If the local police turns rogue his overhead cost goes up and the eyes of his starving children along with the yelling of his eternally upset wife becomes more and more real for him. Probably, it’s even criminal for me to compare our sophisticated attempt to a real life micropreneur but I certainly realized that I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes!

It will be utter falsehood if I claim to have this enlightenment selling paans to my fellow mates in office but it did make me think and thus came the realization. The next time I stand up against the vegetable vendor to beat him in bargaining or arguing about a pittance with a micropreneur, I will think twice, I shall probably think about the ‘right to life’ that a street vendor has rather the nuisance he/she creates by occupying the pavement. All, thanks to the organizers and my team mates in the ‘Joy of giving’ event who let me stay on the side lines and learn. The small profit which we recovered because of the events could have been easily raised if we had forced more contribution from each member and this would have been easy but my team chose the harder way, thus the 'Joy of giving’ isn’t event occasioned but an eternal feeling…..

A New Culture for Agriculture

2010-11-12T08:23:00.000-08:00

For a country with extraordinary emphasis on agriculture, it’s ironical that agriculture sector has not been treated nor considered like a normal business domain as any other industrial domain, which is manned by entrepreneurs called farmers. This lack of entrepreneurial culture that is required to run this sector, has been the one of key factors for the decline in the quality of lives of the key stake holders in this industry. Since, this is not overtly visible as a direct factor, its often ignored forgetting the overwhelming undercurrent of hopelessness it creates and the vicarious effects that causes the domino effects in the key sectors of economy and society.

This is no advocacy of any sort of corporatism in agriculture, in fact on the contrary it is the advocacy of greater efficiency in the farm management by the individual farmers. It is a very populist stand to project the farmer as a poor impoverished individual with a subsistence as his aim, but it’s one of the key reasons for the decline of the sector in India. Despite of reflecting the current staus of affairs, this assessment is a very depressing and backward looking projection which fails to create any beneficial effect. There is a urgent need to influx a new enthusiasm in this sector for any kind of change to occur in the positive direction. In more specific terms, there is an urgent necessity to influx a new culture, an entrepreneurial culture - which will enthuse the stakeholders especially the farmers, to go in search of paths of greater hope.

Business surplus and not subsistence should be the aim of the Entrepreneur and the acceptance of continuous innovation is the requirement of the hour. This may seem like a theoretical ramble but the transformation of culture is a pertinent need - the spirit of the time, which has to be imbibed. The importance of this augurs emphasis more in the agricultural domain as the industry itself is private sector driven i.e. most of the agri production is from the farms owned privately by farmers. Thus the mention of the entrepreneurial spirit is not an analogy but a direct reference to the farm entrepreneur called the farmer. The essence of any private driven industry is based on the entrepreneur’s ever increasing quest for value creation and it’s this individual ‘will’ which cumulatively drives the industry. Unfortunately due to historical and structural reasons this spirit in not all pervading in the agricultural domain. The lack of this spirit is one of the reasons for slow (or no) adoption of new technologies and failure to incorporate any new innovative changes which has had a cascading effect after the green revolution.

The Capital Drive...

If the analysis of the agri production is done on the other industrial production parallels, amongst the 4 factors of production i.e. land, labour, capital and entrepreneurial skills the last two factor attract vivid attention, due to their conspicuous under development. Considering the fact that these 2 factors have a critical influence on the land & labour mgmt, it makes their importance increase further and their absence even more intriguing. Despite of the recognition of the critical importance of capital in the life of the agri-entrepreneur, the lack of specific structures, which are available to a normal entrepreneur all through the course of his business cycle, has not only hindered progress but also regressed the growth. Since the discussion on entrepreneurial skill development will require an expansive view, this article is going to specifically concentrate of the capital in agricultural production or the lack of it.

Agricultural credit is definitely not a new concept to India and certainly not a novel concept for the grass root level farming communities as well. However what is glaring is the insufficiency and the lack of greater penetration of such a vital facility. All most every structure that been introduced for agricultural credit (from the agri- credit coops to the kisan credit cards) have failed to be effective in dissuading the farming community from approaching the local money lenders. In effect what has happened is that the credit has become ineffective in prepping the agri- production and also has blocked off any sort of the governmental intervention in case of emergency. Almost every failing credit structure has spoken out loudly about the lack of repayment or non profitability as the reason for the collapse.

If this is the basic nature of this target market, then is the agricultural community in its entirety, undeserving of any credit? This diligent question has been resoundingly answered by the micro credit organizations or Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), which have created value in the bottom of the pyramid in a very surprising way. They have in fact beaten all their sister sectors and surpassed even the most sophisticated domains of the financial sector. Working on a simple logic the MFIs have created wonders and have in effect become the official arm of the banking sector in dispersing the priority sector lending mandated by RBI. The flexibility of their structures, convenience (retail positioning), community based pressure approach for repayments and the social objectives have made them an effective mechanism to be studied for agricultural credit needs.

Any direct government interventions (even via regular banking structures) have proven to be very rigid and ultimately benefiting only the privileged section of the farming community. The vicious circle of asset based credit worthiness assessment and regular non-servicing of the loans by the farmers due to the vagaries of the business, has to be broken. This can be done only when there are vividly recognizable structures which create a regular trend among the framers to seek credit for deploying it in an economic activity and also a mechanism through which government can intervene (ex- loan waiver) in more effective terms i.e. by helping the most disadvantaged groups. Government intervention or superfluous loan waivers can only be a exception to the rule than being the trend itself. It is ultimately the direct interaction of the farming entrepreneur and the financial institutions that can transform the system.

The trend which is proposed above, seems easy but in practice it gets complicated to such an extent that it ultimately ceases to exist. However, considering the flexibility in the MFI structures even a minimum level of government's facilitation can have profound effect. A simple hyphening mechanism that links the MFI to the farming entrepreneurs at the right place, can be a good place to start with. Creation of credit facilitation benches that are recognized by government at the grass root agricultural extension offices (such as Raitha Samparka Kendras in Karnataka), is a credible idea that can be implemented at the least cost to the government.

Creation of the credit facilitation benches which recognizes credible MFIs that can deal with the farming community is vital to be created at the grass root level as these are also extension offices or in business terms - retail points, which facilitate inputs distribution (such as seeds, mechanization etc). Thus instead of the handing over the credit to the farmers there can be direct cash transfer (in form of credit to the farmer) at the point of purchase from MFIs to the retail centre. This can avoid the improper utilization of the credit for uneconomical purposes (which has been one of the main reason for rural indebtedness). This is the vital working capital loan that the farming entrepreneur needs at the critical point to production. The rest of the mechanism of collection or servicing of the loan should be dealt by the MFIs themselves with out unwanted intervention from the governmental agencies (other than the general regulation).

Any overt public claims for the introduction or success of this mechanism from the political class of the government should be averted as the mechanisms of the MFIs don’t augur well with the populist loan distribution melas, which is what the political class will drive up to, to satisfy the populist demands. The interest rates and collection mechanism (which have come under question off late) should be regulated by institutions like NABARD or RBI as they have the requisite machinery to understand, as well as control the high cost and the complexity involved with the small loan servicing.

Some of the models developed for linking MFIs with the agri credit, have often suggested that the MFIs have to go in for the buy-back mechanism at the minimum support price and thus keep the system afloat. These models suggest that the ultimate profit should be by the sale of the agri produce at a higher price by the MFIs. However, considering the complexities of the contract farming in general, it is unwise to suggest the involvement of non-specialist organizations like MFIs in the buy- back arrangements. The marketing aspect of the agricultural produce is a very specialist domain and has to be dealt by different strategies and agencies.

If the support structures are in place and the environment augurs an entrepreneurial culture, it will be foolish to deal with the farming community as though they are gullible novices. There is an entrepreneurial drive in the agricultural community of India which has been proven from time to time. Whenever there has been an innovative structural support in place (ex- Dairy coops), the farming community has always delivered value. With a little nudge the unassuming dhoti clad farmer will prove to be a greater entrepreneur than the best that the country has seen before. It’s time to see beyond the normal and give the call for the revolution to begin……….

Painting the RED, WHITE!

2010-04-26T00:35:00.000-07:00

Max Weber’s definition that the State is the only ‘legitimate source of violence’ is the most pragmatic definition of the bare minimum qualification of a state. Unfortunately today even the most advanced states are struggling to qualify in to this definition. This is a truth which has become conspicuous in countries like Pakistan, Somalia. Afganisthan and the list is becoming bigger by the day. This is one such ‘state monopoly’ which even the best of the free trade experts can't object to. However, today it’s being challenged in India like never before and is brewing in to a breaking point.
This kind of challenge is not new to India, in fact it has been a reality through out the independent history of India, if not before it. But the brazenness of the current challenges is unprecedented. The challenge that I’m talking about is not a geographically limited (like the insurgencies in Kashmir) or defined by ethnicity (like in North east India) or religion based (like the Khalistan movt or Jihadi terror). The nature of this challenge has been widely defined and it seeks legitimacy under the banner of an established political ideology. It's has a romantic history which has blossomed in our own land and it's often designated by its place of origin as 'Naxlism'.

With an expandable base of the poor & neglected masses, who have been forgotten in the economic map of India, the RED TERROR under the cover of Marxism or Maoism or Naxalism, will be a predicament that India will face for a long time to come. It is a great contradiction that the Indian State which is directed by its constitution to be Socialistic in its bend, is being challenged by the same masses whom it seeks to serve. There is definitely a compelling reality that has forced this challenge but to believe that the entire challenge is born out of this reality would be foolish.

Like any movement, even Naxalism or Maoism is being run by a small elitist group and the truth is that they are no different from any manipulative politician in regular politics. The unfortunate fact about Marxist ideology despite of its concern for the poor masses is that it can be easily used by a group of ill willed elites to gain legitimacy. Most movements across the globe which have claimed to be Marxist have brewed new classes who are more exploitative than their predecessors. Marxism ultimately legitimizes every gun bearing scoundrel under pretext of revolution. Of course there will be a subgroup amongst these elites who will strongly believe that they are actually fighting for a cause. These are the ‘Romantic fools’ who are in the hegemonic control of the manipulative elites like the Polit bureau in case of CPI (maoist) in India and they will ultimately be sacrificed in the pyre of the so called Revolution.

This isn’t a new analysis that has dawned on the world. In fact even the tribals, untouched by civilization, understand this basic human power politics. But when there is nothing to loose in a perpetual state of neglect, being swayed by the infatuation of the gun is easy. It does give a false sense of power and direction. Of course this will be a small sporadic group of infatuated followers driven by desperation and an Utopian vision built up by the manipulative elites. It’s hard to believe that such committed cadres can’t capture power in a democratic way to make the changes that they want to bring by the gun. But democracy is a long drawn game, how can it stand up to the enticement of having a romance with the 'Gun'?

It’s a delusion to believe that these are revolutionaries in the first case. When stories of an undercover ‘Extortion Industry’ come to light the ‘real colour’ of the RED MAFIA is out in the open. An investigation has pointed to a well established extortion economy worth more than Rs1500 crore in the forested RED corridor. This extortion is coming directly from the mining, plantation and other industries which these Maoist blame as the root cause of underdevelopment. With a flourishing drug industry running under the protection of Maoist how different is it from Under World mafia? In fact this isn’t any revolution but a RED Mafia on the rise and it's all black!

In the Marxist language people like me will be defined as a petty bourgeoisie, a structurally limited middle class satisfied by meager materialistic gains from the skewed society, who will never be able to empathize with the suffering of the tribes in midst of the mineral rich land which is never there for their taking. There is no running away from the demographic reality but lack of development and forced changes which are against the free will of individuals is a reality in every part of our society. This is deplorable but the Maoists are hardly an answer. In fact they are the byproducts of the problem and their survival depends on the perpetual continuation of the problem.

The killing of numerous security officials and more specifically the massacre of 76 CRPF Jawans is a deeply painful fact but it doesn’t indicate that Maoists have gained legitimacy amongst the people that they claim to represent. However it is an indication that they have acquired better strategies and fire power, which also indicates that their Mafia business is flourishing. It’s high time that the Home ministry adopted a prudent strategy which is more than just a linguistically well designed press release (that too in English written in the local script!) and followed by a speech on development which has been packed off to an oblivion till now!

The RED corridor is in deep trouble which can’t wait for democratic consensus amongst political parties who are many a times Maoist sympathizers due to electoral compulsions. If at all there is any appropriate situation to use of Article 356 it is now and get the errant state governments to fall in line and go for the complete kill. Only then will the development have a chance. The ‘grey hound’ way despite of its lacunae is the best way to reestablish the state’s monopoly on the gun! Let the ‘mis-placed’ Human rights advocates (the organic intellectuals in Garmsci’s terminology) rant. Maoism at the end of the day is a self-induced cancer and it requires a surgical removal for a healthy state of development!

Climate Change - A binding argument...

2009-12-07T04:41:00.000-08:00

What has been termed as the most important negotiation in the history of the modern civilization, has started in Copenhagen. Like any other global level negotiation, these talks have also started of a war b/w the North and South (read developed and developing) worlds with out realizing that its the same world that we share. India is likely to take a stand which will reflect the views of 'some' emerging nations (BASIC nations). Its the best political stand that a country like India can take to counter the developed world which refuses pay for its misdeeds, yet I wouldn't draw my hands for a full applause for the Indian stand!

Despite of my strong support for 'Polluters Pay' and 'per capita estimation of emission'principles, I have to admit that I'm in favour of legally binding cuts for all. The reason for this thought is a mix of realism and ideals as well.

Lets face it, climate change is for real and there is no going back on that. India being a monsoon oriented country, the effect on our lives will be drastic. 75% directly and 100% (indirectly) - of our population will face disaster if the same state of affairs go on. Himalayan glacier shrinkage is a civilizational question, these glaciers have been the roots for the growth this country. The revered rivers that draw their main energy from these milky ice lakes feed millions. Their withdrawal can only be compared to the withdrawal of life support systems from a critical ill patient.

If US or any western countries are vacillating they are doing so at their own peril but they don't understand it like us as they are not as closely in tune with nature like us. Their present stand is born out of arrogance against poorer nations and nature herself drawing pride in their urbane achievements. If countries like India have to bring them to terms, they have to do so by showing their seriousness. If this is done voluntarily rather than western induced methods then India will be taking the wind away from the western boats which are looking for a excuse to run away from the table.

Moreover the cost which most countries are talking about is a short term effect. This definitely has to be cushioned but converting our economy in to a sustainable one is for our own good. The present models of production are western imitations but the present turn of events have provided us a chance to tweak the economy in our own terms. In my estimate this will create more jobs despite of reducing the pace of the GDP growth which at present is a jobless growth. Every aspect of production will be realigned and in a globalized world this will create more opportunities for a cost effective country like India.

It is interesting to note that the short term effects of the transition will effect the capitalistic class more than the poorer classes in this country of disparities. It is no wonder that the association of capitalists are jittery even to the thought that India may agree for any kind of binding cuts. A status quo will help them continue their western aped nature's exploitation without a jolt. The eternal truth of life is that manipulation of nature effects the poor more than the rich who live in an artificial world of ACs and tall raised building with access to safest modes of life(oblivious to sustainability)!

A Concept called ‘India’

2009-08-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

The other day I was catching up with an old friend from my college days. It was a very casual evening and I had chosen to meet him near his office. My friend had brought along with him his colleague from work and within matter of no time we had settled down in a restaurant nearby. My friend’s marriage had been fixed recently and thus the evening promised to be a nice occasion to catch up with this fellow before he lost his bachelor tag! My companions for the evening had sipped in a couple of pegs of their favorite spirit and we had slowly transcended to some serious topics, which turned to be a total surprise to me.

Somehow the ‘spirits’ had taken us to a very unique domain of debatable topics and each of us on the table had some very concrete views. My friend disturbed the hornet’s nest and described to us his observations on some of the currencies that he had been collecting lately. He pulled out an American dollar and asked me whose face I see on the note; it was George Washington – the first president of USA. Then he told us his observation on the Mongolian currencies, they had Ghengis Khan on their currency: he is the first leader of that country to have a recorded history. Then, he pulled out an Indian currency and pointed out Gandhi’s picture, undoubtedly India’s finest leader but only from the modern era of India’s long history which runs in pre-historic era! ‘Why is this?’ he questioned, when relatively younger countries are proudly representing themselves with leaders from all eras why does a country like India have representation from the modern era only? Do kings like Ashoka, Harsha, Pulakeshi, the cholas or any leader from the ancient era have no significance in the present day or have we divorced them from our modern ethos or are we shy of portraying this league of kings and leaders as they don’t appease the egos of the pseudo secularists? A very intriguing discussion was brewing, I thought to myself.

The discussion furthered and the other gentleman i.e. my friend’s colleague, joined the us with seemingly rightist views. He argued that the modern historians and leaders had buried many aspects of history so as to appease the minority and keep them in the fold of the one nationhood. The argument ventured on to question the very authenticity of the present day history that we read from various sources. He was on a rampant mood, he dashed out to say that the very concept of India as a single nation is flawed in many sense. The differences in culture, language and interests are too deep and they are only getting deeper, he argued. The aspects of regional divide came in to question and both my companions for the evening had taken some extreme views, which perplexed me and disturbed me a lot. This was not the first time I had heard such arguments but this coming from the minds of the educated deep thinking youth, who have worked all over India was disturbing. I tried giving my point of view but only in vain as my clock had ticked past ten and I left the table with a promise of writing this article.

I have always wondered what conceptualizes a nation; obviously there must be some kind of common ground where the citizens can meet and feel the oneness, but what is the basis of this common ground. What does this grouping of people in to a nation-state achieve at the end of the day? In the first case, is this to be evaluated by the ends that the nation-state has to achieve or is it some kind of spiritual entity, which is an unquestionable precondition to human existence? After a deep thought I feel it’s in fact all of this at a certain level. A nation in its basic essence has to be a vehicle for good life for the citizens who constitute it. If the 'material' well being is not achieved, any association in social life becomes defunct resulting in its demise and a nation-state is a no exception to it. However a nation-state cannot be merely defined as an association; it is much more than that having an organic tinge to it, which makes it closer to the minds of the people who constitute it. This oneness may be because of the theocracy or language or economic s or political compulsions etc, but history has shown that the nations with strong cultural connections have better cohesion, although this alone is not enough.

Cultural connections or shared culture however strong they may be, they will have some variations. It is when these differences gain primacy that the sense of oneness is lost. However what requires attention and appreciation is the process of creating the oneness, which is not only difficult to create but even more of difficult to sustain. For long kings, conquerors and warriors have created large empires like Ghengis Kahn or even our own Ashoka, but even the most tactical conqueror has not been able to conqueror the minds of people and make them believe that they are part of one nation or even kingdom. It was always a split house waiting for the sword to weaken. The modern era has not been an exception to this.

A clear foresight always points that whole human kind or for that matter the entire universe is basically bound by a sense of oneness. There is commonality, which is all pervading. This fact might seem too idealistic and impractical for human existence in a world of limited material resources. Thus we tend to group ourselves in to associations, which best cater to our needs and interests and one of these mega institutions born out of Human imagination is the nation state. It is a superior concept as it requires a broad minded outlook, to see commonness in wide diversities. This is not a task for narrowly individualistic minds but rather a mark of a matured community. India as a concept is an epitome to this broad vision.

Despite of its long history India was never a single political entity, in fact the concept called India didn’t exist in the minds of the people of this land. It was the entire process of National movement, which sowed the seed of one nation in the minds of the people and made them see the common elements in their fellow men. It gave them hope that they will be able achieve greater material success by this cohesion and thus be able to create a ‘tryst with destiny’, which they will choose for themselves. The ideals that blossomed during this movement were weaved in to a beautiful entity i.e. concept called India, which was imbibed & aspired by even the so called commoners. The chief architect of this process was the great Mahatma Gandhi – who truly deserved the title ‘Father of the nation’. He not only helped create this nation in the minds of the people but defined the direction of its growth as a nation through his principles, which still today stand as vision statements. Thus India as an entity was solidified during this period, which was only formally celebrated on the 15^th August 1947.

The land, the resources, the people, everything associated with this country called India had been permanently reoriented towards a more beautiful horizon. The journey from then on as expected, has not been a flowered path way. Today we stand at a point of time where the concept of India is being questioned by a disarrayed micro minority and the disillusioned majority is just watching, but hasn’t spoken its heart, which is still deeply fixed to the Vision called India. This is not new nor is it the first time that a disarrayed mass is trying to develop in to a political force with parochial objectives. The country’s nation building process hasn’t been so weak that its youth will be swayed by some directionless demagogues.

Of course through this course we haven’t forgotten the contributions from the ancient times. It is pretty much part of this nation in its every root. But each element has been redefined and given its new place so as to contribute to the entirety. The word to mark here is ‘entirety’, which the concept called India embodies. Thus any ‘feudal’ or any narrow representatives from the past or present cannot represent the entirety called India. This might seem like a ‘please all image’ but in its true sense is has to be so, whether it is achievable or not is a different question. A country should be a vehicle of change and empowerment for all its citizens and that is the reason for which that any country exists. India as it stands today might not have lived up to the vision for which it came in to existence, but that cant lead to disbanding of the vision itself. India is still alive and it is the paramount duty of every citizen of this entirety to strive and at least try to live up to the vision, which will stand as a reminder through annals of time like a beacon light.

Leaders with Imagination....

2009-02-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

'Leader' is a very attractive and powerful adjective that most people would like to associate with, but is there any thing significant about it or is it just a mystified 'superfluous' position merely taking the limelight? This in fact is a very odd aspect to ponder over. On the face of it, it may seem like a trivial question with an obvious answer! However, this isn't a plain query, there is a huge undercurrent which actually defines a leader and at a certain level it subtly defines many aspects of our society as well. No matter how much I try to convince myself that it is the masses that actually drive this world and not mere bunch of elites called as leaders, more I find contradictions in my thoughts. In fact a peep in to the history points out how leaders have been inevitable, like the masses, to the progress of man kind. The general aura of these elites have united people for causes, which might be alien to them as individuals. Leaders mobilize and synergize the energy of the masses towards a direction visualized by them. This phenomena is not alien to the current realities, it is in fact more evident today by its absence and more often by its perverted presence in the dynamics of the society.

A leader is not defined by the position which demarcates him/ her as a leader, it is the process of the making of the leader which defines him/ her. They may be inevitable circumstances or opted choices, but the factors that mould the leaders will always be a companion for life. They build up the decision process in the minds which rarely can be shattered. Any thing contrary to these factors will only entangle until it scuttles all possible growth.

Leaders are not extra ordinary individuals who are infallible, but what makes a good leader is his ability to invoke his best at the right time. Most of the images that we perceive of the leaders is usually an inflated personality almost like a powerful imagination transmitted to the minds of the masses. This is not a negative aspect as it becomes a necessary tool to energize and move masses. Especially when in times of trouble an powerful image of a leader becomes a motivating force that can inspire millions. The 'belief' that Obama has been able to inspire in the minds of the recession haunted Americans is a classical example. With an almost unaltered political institutional setup, unchangeable capitalistic economics, a foreign policy which cannot be altered at will and a world which is sceptical of a hegemonic super power, Obama has been able to give hope to a number of Americans. 'Hope' is the key word, in fact it is the first and foremost word in the dictionary of a leader. It is a panacea for an economic upsurge as it creates a positive psyche, which is of paramount importance in economics.

Obama is a one among of the many leaders who have have an inspiring aura about them and yet have a positive dimension in their outlook. We usually remember people like Gandhi, Martin Luther, Nehru & Mandela when we hear the word 'leader' but we tend to forget that the same word encompasses people like Mussolini, Hitler, Edi Amin and a number of perverted fascists as well! They are also inspiring, but to what end is a question that will leave us perplexed. It isn't to be forgotten that even the present day demagogues are also leaders for their followers. In fact it is these bunch of leaders who usually have infallible images portrayed about them.

What differentiates leaders is their own imagination and fore thought. Power to unite masses as one group, who believe in shared destinies is a very important role of a leader and this is exactly where most leaders falter. The fascists and demagogues try uniting masses (usually against some other group) based on some trivial similarities like caste, race, religion, region, tribe and so on. The real objective of these leaders is 'power' and what ever symbolizes it. The individual destinies of their followers will only be curbed and sacrificed in their run for power. Power is a critical factor in the road of progress but if vested in the hands of unimaginative leaders it can only create a stagnant society with rotten ideas.

The real problem of present day India is the lack of what is called 'Imaginative leadership'. The national movement gave enough opportunities for some positive personalities to occupy the center stage and they did not miss the opportunity to inspire the masses in the right direction. The groupings were usually based on realities that change the lives of the ordinary. However the conditions have changed, most realities of those days have become irrelevant today. With the realities even the quality of leaders has faded.

It is true that there is no progress without division in world of limited resources, but these divisions should be rational and inspired with a holistic approach. It is also imminent to know that no division is permanent, there has to be regrouping with elapse of time and this dynamics has to be consistent to the cause of common good.

What has plagued the Indian leaders is their inability to break the shackles of the past and move out of easy & lazy methods. The classical power of division by caste and religion was probably a very imaginative way of creating common good in a very primitive society, but using the same system, which is now corrupted by irrational relations, shows the dearth of imagination amongst the leaders of today. The present leaders have given up the freedom to imagine, right from the beginning of their march towards power. The first relationship they acquire today is based on trivial factors like caste, religion, region etc and from then on they are permanently married to their past with no power to divert without loosing what they have gained. They start appealing through myths and irrational emotions, which they can hardly control. They gain power but with no control. Its like the what Satyam's tainted founder called ' riding on a tiger with out knowing how to get off without being eaten by it'!

If there is any solution for this problem then it can only be in an incentive form than a Gandhian idealistic method. Despite of its appeal it is difficult to sustain Gandhian methods with consistency. However if only materialistic incentives can inspire leaders then one can never restrain him /her from mounting the tiger! The power to influence the future comprehensively can be the only agreeable incentive that can be bestowed to push individuals to access leadership imaginatively. This is easier said than done but a general conceptualization of leadership in the society in benevolent ways, can drive individuals to more innovative paths of attaining leadership.

Honors for the Ugly!

2009-01-12T23:47:00.000-08:00

I started keying this thought after reading an article written by Hasan Suroor in the Hindu about the themes that were portrayed by Slumdog Millionaire and White Tiger, which have been in the center of the news lately. In the article Suroor goes on to exclaim that it is the reality that the acclaimed works have painted, which had been clouded in the euphoric and yet false claim of Incredible India! It was interesting for me to read this article as I happened to read the book and then see the movie in quick succession and the similarity between the themes selected seemed to loom large on me. To be very frank, I was not totally amused by White Tiger which actually had left a bitter taste and the movie only seemed to have heightened the bitterness!

Despite my disappointment I’m not trying to mark the two acclaimed works as false denotation of a contrary reality, of course there is bitterness in our society, which has plagued us for generations now. However this isn’t the complete truth as well. Life as portrayed in any drama or writing is not always in the black and white areas rather they are always in the ‘dynamic grey zone’. India is not all about its stagnant and rotting poverty along with the stinking rich standing only as a contrast. As many other nations, India is a country on the move and in my feeling it is pretty much on a very flexible and relatively positive direction despite of the slowness.

My disappointment with SDM and White Tiger is because these works are not extraordinary in their domain to be awarded the honors that they received. In my opinion as a reader and an unbiased film viewer, there have been better presented and better narrated works, which probably have not been even considered for the honors. Although I have not seen or read all the other works which were competing with SDM and white tiger, but it is quite difficult to be believe that no other work was good enough to beat these ‘just above average’ works! Thus it leaves me in a doubt whether the so called judges for such awards are looking for a portrayal of negatives as the most positive aspect for getting the award!

The even bigger disappointment is that this is probably the first time that a film with such strong Indian content has been recognized in such a big way at an international forum and unfortunately it is a tale of the ugly side of India. In my view a piece of art should be in context of its time and should have a positive epitope to inspire its seekers. The tale of rags to riches as only a ‘matter of luck’ (or destiny!) and a murderous path way to Success (that too addressed to Wen Jiabao!) is neither inspiring nor worth noting. There are more astounding paths and stories in this country that would be worthy to grab the attention of the world and even more so when it is presented as a fiction!

Religion Ltd.

2008-12-16T05:50:00.000-08:00

“God is one of the greatest inventions of man” – when I first read this statement I found it a very funny statement and wondered at the level of atheism that the statement denoted. Through the course of my experience, I have moved from disagreement to complete agreement with this statement and then moved on to a pragmatic balanced thought. Before I explain this course of my experience and evolution of thoughts, I wish to share a few thoughts about the aspect of ‘spirituality’, which has enticed the human mind from time immemorial. The domain of spirituality has been one of the most experimented and variedly explained areas in the history of mankind. At the basic level most of us associate spirituality with religion and further hold our induced perception of ‘god’. In fact these aspects become so important that they become the way and pursuit of life for many. Although these are non conflicting aspects when construed in a perverted sense, the so called religion can create mystic paths that more often confuse than convince people about divinity and spirituality. Thus we give room for critics to make statements like “God is one of the greatest inventions of man”.

Religion and spirituality are domains which are interlinked and some time synonymously used, but it is important to know that there is an ocean of difference between the two. Religion is an aspect, which can be termed as a social thought born out of a synergy of many evolving thoughts, which define the relationship between man and the so called almighty and thus maintaining the sense of morality in humans. In a broader sense religion ‘should be’ a refined set of ideas that can inspire individual to the more pervasive area of spirituality. Now, spirituality is an aspect which has to be dealt separately, but what is to be remembered is that the religion cannot take over the aspect of spirituality which is completely an individual domain and no ‘religious dogmas’ can claim a complete manifestation of this. This is the aspect which creates conflict for a thinking mind because more often than not religion and its interpreters in form of gurus, priests, missionaries, ulemas try to put forth religion as the sole bridge between the individual and almighty. This is manifested in different imaginations of gods which play a central role in every religion and emphasized with the numerous rituals and stricture like procedures, which are supposed to appease these gods! While these are pushed down to the individuals through formidable channels of society one simple question is often ignored. The question of why the creator or the almighty would require any kind of appeasement from his own creations?

It becomes even more complex when religion surpasses its role and starts dictating the material aspects of lifelike social interactions, political and economic life. When religion, which runs on dogmas, having no room to evolve start dictating every aspect of life, then it will be literally surrendering to a ‘ghost of the past’. However I’m not negating the importance of religion, but I’m merely indicating that religion should and can have only a limited room of influence in our life.

As Gandhi mentioned religion is very important in social life to preserve and inspire the sanctuary of morality in an individual. But inspirations should not try encompassing every domain which will jeopardize the balance of society acting like a dam stopping a flowing river and thus creating uncontrollable floods moving in all the perverted directions. It is when these perverted notions start developing that religion becomes a instrument to control masses, which is what most religions across the globe have turned in to. Every irrelevant aspect is brought under the domain of religion to gain legitimacy and thus the so called religion become rotten rag used to bundle all the ills of the society. No wonder the sacred sanctuary keeper called religion become the ‘the opium for masses’, which is rationed out by those who wield power.

2007-12-02T03:45:00.000-08:00

I was studying a book on International relations and this thought just passed by. The more I thought about it, more sense seemed to wing the thought. It's a common knowledge or a perception that human action is usually guided by the past and this past also includes his/ her society's past which has left imprints in the the culture and traditions followed by the society . Try mapping human actions and the decision tree behind those actions......... it more often than not will tend to run in to a trend which he/ she may not have exclusively created for themselves. Some of the basic decisions though may seem logical but the logic behind the direction adopted or the risk taken will seem to have been influenced by some thing more then just the individual personality. I started by saying 'International Relations' and why am I talking about human decision making the influence of the past and culture ? Although these two aspects seem totally unlinked there is a great relation which exists between them. After all it is the individuals of the society who make make up nations and the governments, which deal in the international arena. In other words the imprints of the past which guide an individual will be the same set of factors which will ultimately influence the behavior of a nation in the international arena as well........

(This is all I had time to write today ...will keep on adding to this when I find more time)

A thought for the mind ....

THE DRIED PETALS

THE DRIED PETALS

The dark pink for the Tamil marriages,

The bright orange for the Telugu weddings,

The Kannadigas liked the glowing yellows.

There were many types of whites for all the fellows.

And the reds were loved by all.

Chosen and tended were we, with stems thick and tall.

We were symbols of the good times,

Never bothered when ignored and thrown,

The rolling bad times were waited out to be gone.

But the Crown of viruses has only left us to mourn,

Seems like the bad times have no near end in sight.

It is paining to be uprooted with no one to hear the plight.

Petal by petal the flowers have dried, So have the flori farmers, who have really tried. Are they just tired or have they died?

ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆ ಮುಹೂರ್ತಗಳಿಲ್ಲ!

ಪ್ರತಿ ರೀತಿ ಮದುವೆಗೂ ಆರಿಸಿ ತಂದಿದರು ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು, ನೋಟಕ್ಕೆ ಸ್ನಿಗ್ಧವಾದ ಕೆಂಪು, ತಿಳಿ ಬಿಳಿಯ ಮನದಾಳದ ಮೌನದ ಕಂಪು.

ಸೂರ್ಯೋದಯಾಸ್ತಗಳನ್ನು ಭುವಿಗೆ ತಂದ ಹರಿಶಿಣ ಮತ್ತು ಕಿತ್ತಳೆ ಬಣ್ಣ.

ಆ ಚೆಲುವಿನ ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಬಣ್ಣ ಸೆಳೆದಿತ್ತು ಎಲ್ಲರನ್ನು,

ಹೂದೋಟದ ಮಾಲೀಕರಿಗೆ ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆಯ ಮುಹೂರ್ತಗಳಿಲ್ಲ!

Dedicated to all the Floriculturists especially the cut flower farmers who have taken loans and built polyhouses but only to know that the parties have stopped and they have been left to pay the bill.

We don’t even have an organized market and we sell on the foothpaths in the morning and that too when its free, but now even that seems distant.

It is an appeal to the authorities & government to consider the plight of these farmers who are often ignored and forgotten.

It’s the Corona Surprise test and we have the failed in the Agriculture paper

Anubhava to Bhava

Enriching Cricket……..

“Welcome to the garden city….”

We the Gaggers….

Singapore Potpourri

The New Expressway

Who will fit in her basket?

The story Lane

The ‘Paan’ Learning!

A New Culture for Agriculture

Painting the RED, WHITE!

Climate Change - A binding argument...

A Concept called ‘India’

Leaders with Imagination....

Honors for the Ugly!

Religion Ltd.

Petal by petal the flowers have dried,

So have the flori farmers, who have really tried.

Are they just tired or have they died?

ಪ್ರತಿ ರೀತಿ ಮದುವೆಗೂ ಆರಿಸಿ ತಂದಿದರು ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು,
ನೋಟಕ್ಕೆ ಸ್ನಿಗ್ಧವಾದ ಕೆಂಪು,
ತಿಳಿ ಬಿಳಿಯ ಮನದಾಳದ ಮೌನದ ಕಂಪು.