Of taxis and the police

A recent conversation I had with a taxi driver in Kolkata illustrates the principle of give and take pretty well. Justifiably or unjustifiably personnel of Kolkata Police called 'mamus' are pretty unpopular.

The taxi driver said that the police sergeants have targets (like any modern day business, if I may give an example), as in they might be asked to collect such and such amount in the form of fines. Now if the general public follow traffic rules properly there is no way that the policemen can meet their targets. So they occasionally catch hold of the taxi drivers and ask them to take on a small case voluntarily. The taxi drivers also accept. Does this sound strange? Well, there is a reason for this.

According to the taxi driver, legally a taxi is allowed to carry one passenger in the front and three passengers in the back. Thus a total of four passengers (only) are allowed. But occasionally five or six people get into a taxi. On other occasions a person might choose to transport luggage in a taxi, which is not actually allowed. So on these occasions the traffic sergeants turn a blind eye. If the taxi drivers refuse to take on 'voluntary' cases, the policemen will not ignore such violations of rules as mentioned above.

There is another thing I wish to write about today. I have written about the media previously also. This is a small write-up on media hypocrisy. There have been double murders in Noida recently. A girl and a domestic help had been murdered. Arguably, it can be said that the investigation has been swift. There was a telephonic interview on NDTV with a senior police officer. The interviewer had asked the officer if media pressure had had a good effect on the increasing the pace of the investigation. The police officer, instead of supporting her view started ranting against her. He said it was media pressure that caused police personnel to say irrelevant (I don't remember the exact words) things. He said that the media personnel went all over the crime spot thus destroying valuable clues. He was thus ranting on, when suddenly the interviewer said thank you and cut the call short. When the media is unhesitating in criticizing activities of politicians and policemen (among others), it should also be prepared to take some!

A poem

Unknown to this world I have a poet hidden inside me, who makes his presence felt occasionally :) A recent creation of mine. It can be inferred as a metaphorical poem, or it can be taken literally. Either way, I hope it makes sense.

Once there was a lonely knight
tired after a day of war
Behold he could a beautiful sight
a garden lovely from afar

He came to a tree on the land
richly laden which was with fruit
Out he stretched his tired hand
so that his need he may soothe

All of a sudden in front of him
there appeared a beautiful maiden
To her in contrast the sun was dim
oh such was her glow golden

How dare you touch this fruit
she said to the hungry knight
For i am the mistress in truth
of all that is in sight

Know you this my lonely knight
that till the time you have my will
you wil hold your hunger tight
only then can you have your fill

Held back by the lady's words
the knight waited night and day
Made weak by hunger's cords
for the lady's mercy did he pray

Never has come that hallowed day
oh da knight has waited in vain
So da old lore-masters say
their faces painted in pain

He stil waits, they say, the lonely knight
for the word of the maiden golden
For in love he had fallen at first sight
and to her he felt beholden

A 'lil' story

I have had this occasional urge to put my thoughts on paper in the form of a story. Here is a chance to make a beginning :)

Madan was pacing restlessly in his room. One could see the agitation in his face. "Do I tell her or not? Would it not ruin our friendship if I were to reveal my feelings to her?" The reason for his agitation was Pallavi. Of late he had realized he had fallen madly in love with her. But he knew she thought of him no more than as a friend. "Damn all girls, why do they draw a line at friendship?", Madan cursed internally. "Well", he decided, "I can no longer live with this suspense. It's better if she rejected me than to live knowing that I never expressed myself."

He remembered that they had planned to meet that evening. He decided to tell her then. When they met, Pallavi could immediately sense that something was not right. "Oii, what is the matter with you, are you feeling all right?", she asked him. Madan could only mumble a reply, "Ya, everything is ok."

"Well, thank God, I was worried something was wrong. Now wait till you listen to what happened today at work!!...." Madan could only watch with adoration as she continued narrating her day's experiences.

"Pallavi, I love you."

"....., so I was telling him he had written his code wrong, huh, what did you say?", said Pallavi, unsure whether or not she had heard him correctly.

Madan gulped. He realized that he had just spoken out loud what was in his mind. "I have wanted to say this to you all this time. We never knew each other in college and I have known you only for the last one year. Initially I felt you were one of the hottest females I knew". He went red when he said this. "Later on, I realized that I care for you too. Please believe me, what I am saying is the truth." Pallavi was pleased with his words, but she could not come to terms with the fact that he loved her.

"Madan", she began, "I am flattered to hear you say that.."

"Please don't say but...", Madan begged her.

"But, please realize that you are no more than a friend to me. I value your friendship, but beyond that I am sorry." Each word of hers was hurting Madan like a needle directly to his heart. He abruptly turned and walked away from her, unwilling to show her his tears.

Over the next few days, Pallavi received no communication from Madan. She thought, "He will soon recover. He is anyway taking a transfer out of town. That should help." She went to sleep still thinking about Madan and wondering why he had to fall in love with her.

It was six in the morning. Pallavi was an early riser. She was preparing for her GMAT and liked to study early in the morning. One of the first things she liked to do in the morning was to surf the web. She opened her email website when suddenly the door to her house burst open. It had rained heavily the previous night and it was still very windy. She was startled by the sudden noise. She closed the door and looked at her laptop monitor. She had received a mail from Madan. "Ah well, he has finally recovered I hope", she thought. She opened the mail, started reading and froze.

It had only two sentences. "I do not want to live this life without you. I still love you and will always love you, good bye." Her phone suddenly rang. It was Paritosh, Madan's flatmate. He sounded hysterical. "Pallavi, Madan committed suicide yesterday night! I saw an empty bottle of sleeping pills beside him and saw a mail that he had written to you!"

Pallavi woke up suddenly, sweating. "What a frightening dream!" She quickly had a glass of water to calm her nerves and then saw that it was time for her to wake up anyway. She opened her email account, when suddenly the door burst open.....




No brickbats please :)

Food for thought

There is a food crisis facing the world today and the world bank has warned that 100 million(more than 4 Australias) people can be forced into extreme poverty. There have already been food riots in Egypt and the Philippines and a viewer poll on NDTV's 60 Minutes said that these are possible in India also. West Bengal has already seen PDS shop owners being attacked after being accused of hoarding.

What has the government done? It has banned the export of certain items like rice and pulses. The PM has sent out a request to states to check hoarding. What is the agricultural minister doing? He is probably trying to ensure that the upcoming IPL series will receive sufficient media coverage (the media has been threatening to boycott the event due to some restrictive clauses put forward by the BCCI)!! Before the economic reforms of the early 90s India had what is referred to as the 'Hindu growth rate'. Fortunately the same cannot be said to be the case today. But agriculture still is languishing. Farmers are committing suicide on one hand and on the other hand, consumers are complaining of increasing prices. Today agriculture employs more than half of India's workforce while producing less than 20% of the GDP. Steps need to be taken to ensure that the productivity is commensurate with the employment figures. This does not mean indiscriminate use of fertilizers and the likes, which bring their own set of problems. Instead there should be better irrigation facilities, consolidation of small holdings, very importantly, better farmer education etc. When will these materialize?

Some might suggest that privatization is the key. But we have to remember one thing. The main objective of a business organization is profit. As Milton Friedman said, "The business of business is business". Hence it is only normal to assume that private businesses will have an eye on more 'valuable' crops. Whatever they do in their five (or fewer) years in power, governments lose no opportunity to tomtom their 'achievements'. It would be a welcome change if a government actually did something and left the judgment to the masses. This is the land of Annapurna. I wonder how she would feel if the nation which was once the world's most prosperous were to descend into rioting for food!

Attachment and desire

'Greed is good' was the topic for a group discussion I had taken part in. I had actually supported it talking about man's thirst for knowledge and had linked the greed to thirst. But did I actually believe in my points? Honestly, no. A recent disappointment I had reminded me of Krishna's words from the Gita (it is funny that you think of God only when you are down and out, probably people are right in saying that He gives us problems so that we do not actually forget Him). Courtesy of bhagavad-gita.org I found the verse I was looking for -

dhyaayato vishayaan pumsah sangasteshoopajaayate
sangaat sanjaayate kaamah kaamaat krodhobhijaayate (2.62)

(While concentrating on objects of the senses a person develops attachment to the sense objects. From attachment desires are born, from desire anger arises.)

So the next time we feel angry towards someone, we should ask ourselves - is the anger justified? The problem is that such compartmentalization is not very simple. Emotion and rational thinking are not exactly the best of friends. Enter emotion, reason exits.

Arjuna asks Krishna how to control the mind. Krishna concedes the difficulty involved but also says it can be done by practice and detachment from sensory enjoyment. We should also remember that this does not mean withdrawal from the world, but rather maintaining a balance. We are advised to be like the lotus leaf which while standing in water is not made wet by it.

The relevance of the sloka I mentioned in the beginning is apparent in our daily lives also. For example, let us say A loves B. Whether or not there is reciprocity, expectations set in. The attachment of A manifests itself as desire (in any sense of the word). If the desire is not fulfilled, anger sets in. If this is the case when there is reciprocity, we can expect some choppy waters ahead in the relationship. Another example. I attach a lot of importance to a particular task of mine and expect others to finish it on time and properly. If that does not happen, once again I feel angry.

From a simple discussion itself, the Gita seems to be the answer to our daily problems. Is it time people, you and me, paid more attention to its timeless message?

Protection and human nature

Another mixed bag as usual. There is a new ad nowadays on the FM channels for a pill that prevents 'unwanted' pregnancy. The woman in the ad says that she took a pill post-intercourse that prevented her from getting pregnant. Now, imagine that some day in the future the couple decides to have children and the woman gives birth. She holds the new-born in her hands for the first time and is overcome with emotion at the sight of her child. Now what would her reaction be if somebody tells her that she once killed a life-form which would have taken the same form as the baby in her hand? Well, I do not wish to enter a discourse on the ethics of abortion, but still, is it ethical?

The Roman Catholic Church forbids abortion under any circumstance. A similar, if occasionally slightly more flexible stand is taken by other religions. A few popes were of the opinion that the foetus does not possess a soul till it starts kicking inside the womb. If I remember right, according to Hindu belief the soul enters the embryo as soon as fertilization takes place. So well, an abortionist would be guilty of what is called sisuhatya paatakam or sin incurred through child-murder. So should we say, that prevention is better than abortion? This opens up a further debate (which issue in today's world doesn't?) . Islam forbids birth control as does the Roman Catholic Church. I personally feel the prevention route is always better.

There is another interesting thing that I would like to discuss here. This point was once raised in the Andhra Pradesh assembly after Chandrababu Naidu's campaign about AIDS which promoted the use of condoms. A BJP member asked whether the government was encouraging infidelity by asking people to use condoms. His question was why would a guy contract AIDS if he was faithful to his wife? A point to be noted! Is this a general assumption that men are always likely to cheat on their spouses? Is this justified?

(Written with some help from Wikipedia).

Coming to the other topic. In Kolkata there are these private vehicles on certain routes that offer you rides for a small amount. It is better than getting on to a bus but less expensive than hiring a taxi. There is one thing I have observed. Let us say that the vehicle is going from A to B. The driver stops frequently at bus stops asking people if they would come. Let's say a prospective passenger wants to go to D. Though the car does not go there per se, it passes through a location C from where the passenger can take another vehicle. In many if not most cases, the passengers refuse to get on to the car unless it is going specifically to where they want to go. In my opinion they want 'value for their money'. So I am curious as to whether this is a local phenomenon or is this the case anywhere in India or for that matter the world? The passengers don't get on to it probably because they know they will get another vehicle which actually will go directly to D. Well, see what man becomes when he has choice. This is probably one of the disadvantages of having a lot of options, in any aspect of life, people become extremely choosy!

Deserving and demanding

A few days back I was coming back from Rourkela to Kolkata by train. I was lying down in my berth when a person selling pens walked by. He was handicapped and I actually needed to buy a pen, but I did not call him. When he walked back, I asked him to stop and purchased a pen. Immediately he took out an unrecognizable photo and started talking about some treatment for somebody. He was actually proclaiming the fact that he was disabled to sell pens! I said I was not interested and asked him to leave. He only left when I threatened I would return the purchased pen. Some might judge me to be insensitive, but the question is should sympathy be deserved or demanded?

All over India we see children, men and women of all ages and physical abilities begging. I do not know what they were actually doing, but I once saw some children actually restraining a foreigner in Kolkata. Why does the government never do anything about them? There are a few schemes like the NREGS which might seem good intentioned but again are aimed towards garnering votes. If the beggars had been part of a vote bank I am sure that the government would have started schemes for them. There is always a lament against any developmental scheme - about funds. Imagine how much money would be available if only our babus and netas sacrificed their unnecessary perks for the benefit of others! I shall give but one example here. In India the President's post has been a largely ceremonial one, and the less said about our current president, the better. The central government has recently doubled the pay for the president. Why? Because the MPs were drawing a larger salary!

Sikkim is one part of India where you will not find any beggars on the road and the citizens there are rightly proud of the fact. In a lot of cases one only needs the resolve to live with dignity to do so. I once saw a disabled person walking on all fours and selling gutkha and pan masala in a train.
There is a well-known sayin - "Give a man a fish, and you have fed him for today. Teach him how to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime.

Extending the logic a little further, why is there always a knee jerk reaction to farmer suicides? I am in no way comparing farmers with beggars. I am only extending the logic of the saying. The government has decided to write off debts of a lot of farmers after the suicides. But a better alternative would be to ensure that the conditions that cause farmer suicides do not arise in the first place. For this probably one of the most important things to do would be to improve irrigation facilities. Leaving aside the stock exchange slump, the economy is doing well. At least some of the money required for improving the agricultural sector can be mobilized from them. But the question is - what about the political will required?

Cricket, fire and a pain!!

Last post on September 15, 2007. Oooh, that's a long time back!! Well, as all of us know the Indian team has been sent to the cleaners by poor umpiring, the whole nation is reeling under the injustice meted out to poor Bhajji. The scheming BCCI while seeming to support the Indians down under has not provided legal assistance to Bhajji...am I the only one or does anyone else feel there has been an overdose of the controversy?

While the umpiring has been bad, it would do good to the team if it analyzes its own performance without taking into consideration the decisions that have been deemed unfair to it. It has been said that the actual Australian pitch will be experienced by the Indians only in Perth. This has been said by Jadeja and a similar statement has also been made by Wasim Akram. Let us see how it holds up against Australian fast bowling on such a track.

Somebody please tell Mr. Sharad Pawar to be more active in what is actually (I hope I am right) his rightful role, that as the union agricultural minister. He seems to be more active in activities concerning cricket than others. One can only wonder at the state of India's cricket today - a selector thinks it is more important to write columns in a newspaper than to do his actual job, a manager who is media-hungry and who runs and poses with the team members whether or not he has had anyting to do with their victory, so on and so forth.

Another item that has been in the news is the recent fire in Kolkata. I have heard one or two interesting theories about it which I would like to share here. One, shared by a taxi driver is that the promoter wants to construct a new building in place of the existing one. The shopkeepers are not vacating their stores and hence the fire. Another one is that the fire loss will be shown to reduce the tax that needs to be paid to the governement!

Lastly, if anybody wishes to write either GRE or GMAT, please be warned that the post-test application process is a Pain with a capital P you know where. There is a saying in Telugu that only a person who gets into the water can judge how deep it is. Trust me, occasionally you will feel like just bashing your head against anything solid.