Essay on inequality

A very thought provoking essay on inequality in our society

Power of the Powerless by Havel

The timeless essay - "Power of the Powerless" by Vaclav Havel.

Safar mein dhoop to hogi

सफ़र में धूप तो होगी जो चल सको तो चलो
सभी हैं भीड़ में तुम भी निकल सको तो चलो


इधर उधर कई मंज़िल हैं चल सको तो चलो
बने बनाये हैं साँचे जो ढल सको तो चलो


किसी के वास्ते राहें कहाँ बदलती हैं
तुम अपने आप को ख़ुद ही बदल सको तो चलो


यहाँ किसी को कोई रास्ता नहीं देता
मुझे गिराके अगर तुम सम्भल सको तो चलो


यही है ज़िन्दगी कुछ ख़्वाब चन्द उम्मीदें
इन्हीं खिलौनों से तुम भी बहल सको तो चलो


हर इक सफ़र को है महफ़ूस रास्तों की तलाश
हिफ़ाज़तों की रिवायत बदल सको तो चलो


कहीं नहीं कोई सूरज, धुआँ धुआँ है फ़िज़ा
ख़ुद अपने आप से बाहर निकल सको तो चलो



A poignant reflection of life by Nida Fazli

On aesthetics

Thoughtful essay on aesthetics and its increasing role in education.

Celebrating our 2nd July's- Time to go beyond

I start with the disclaimer that this topic actually calls for an elaborate essay than a blog post. 

Lets try to see how an individual's progress is typically understood in our society-

• Birth
• Education resulting in Physical, Social, Psychological and Intellectual development
• Employment- Economic success
• Marriage
• Family expansion
• Material milestones- home, vehicle etc
• Professional growth
• Children's education
• Children's marriage
• Retirement from service
• Demise/Voyage

A nation's growth would look like this I guess considering that a nation is more of a concept, a continuum.

• Freedom from any external political hegemony (this is not equivalent to birth since no one one knows when a nation took birth since then we have to go back to development of civilization (not talking in political context here)- One time
• Journey towards Democracy - One time
• Development of Governance machinery- Executive, Judiciary and the Legislature - One time
• Development of institutions of public service- education, healthcare, water, sanitation, infrastructure etc- Continuous
• Design of the economic engine- Continuous
• Constant striving for improvement of public life- Continual
• Protection of rights of people- Continual
• Propagation of peace and amity through cultural discourse with the help of religion- Continual
• Creation of environment that fosters economic and cultural richness for all- Continual
• Establishing the nation in a global context- Continual
• Inclusive growth- Continual
• Establishing an environment that characterises nurturing human enterprise, balance of economic growth and protection of nature, protection of rights, political vigilance on the part of citizens, religious pursuits, cultural development through nurturing art- Continual

 I may have surely missed out on a lot of other aspects in this list but the point is that the birth and growth of a nation is far more complex and also painful than the progress of an individual. The latter becomes complex when the person is economically marginalized or else when the state fails to deliver on several accounts. Also, the journey of individual's growth is characterized by a lot of struggles on account psychological issues, social complexities, at times physical challenges, knowledge gap etc. The other difficulty about the latter is the fact that mostly it is a very lonely journey unlike a nation's journey which entails the commitment and energy of millions of people over a period of time.

At the outset it is difficult to understand how nation's progress can be ensured if you merely look at the individual's growth journey. So how do you map the progress of the complexities of nation building with the conventional line of growth of individuals as expressed above. Probably thats the very reason it calls for countless experiments and human efforts for hundreds of years to reach a mark where it is looked at respectfully by its own citizens first and then by other nations. 

Now where does 2nd July stand in all this? 

Last year 2009, July the 2nd, Justice Shah delivered a landmark judgement to decriminalize homosexuality and to uphold the rights of people people who are different on a specific level. If means a lot for someone who on account of having a different sexual orientation has lead a life of shame and ignominy for long. Gautam Bhan has taken a wonderful perspective on this by bringing to light the importance of upholding Constitutional morality in matters which should be considered purely personal in any civilized society. He has rightly pointed out that our examination of these judgements becomes all the more critical in the light of growing intolerance as being seen through Khap Panchayat idiosyncracies of Haryana and 'honour' killings.

The importance of these days has to be seen in the light of the fact that it takes several years of struggle to bring about a legal change and then probably another several decades to translate that change onto the social reality. Its just like dowry. It may be illegal but still there are instances of dowry related violence that one gets to read on a day to day basis.

Thus if we want to examine the progress of our society, we need to celebrate those moments which can be construed as inflexion points or milestones in the progress of a nation. Such episodes of important judgements or government policies should be included in the curriculum of schools and discussed thoroughly by students if one wants to create a community of people to gauge how one should position one's private growth pursuit amidst the larger pursuit of nation building which would call for several thousands of such changes spread over probably few centuries to see that dawn that makes one feel proud of one's country.

Has talking about 2nd October or 14th November really lead us anywhere?

Ardh Satya- Half truths of our existence

Existence for human being is all about contradictions. The concept of death doesn't exist till we don't accept life. The moment a person takes birth, the end of his life is termed death. Various contradictions affect the way we connect with the world around us. Some of the prominent ones are

1. Life Vs Death - two sides of the same coin
2. Leading a life of Conformity Vs Individualism
3. Outer loud noises Vs the inner garden ('buy this buy that' of Material life Vs Spiritual life)
4. What I am personally inclined to do Vs what will help me survive on this planet successfully 
5. The feeling after having a wonderful meal in a restaurant and the sight of the first hungry child whom one meets on the first traffic junction (Haven't you experienced that?)
6. The freedom of childhood and the responsibilities expected from adulthood (remember the song -' bachpan ke din bhi kya din the, udte phirte titli ban ke')
7. What I am Vs How I want others to perceive me as (my vulnerabilities Vs my persona or image) - Tiger Woods got caught in this contradiction
8. The readings on the all powerful and formless God and the questions on how does he allow injustice to happen unabated? - Should I be an atheist to be on the safe side?
9. The need to be loved by known and unknown people Vs one's own limitation of feelings towards others beyond family members
10. The world I live in Vs the world I would love to live in 
11. The ruthlessness of competition Vs the merit in competition
12. Leap frogging into modernity Vs clinging to what got changed
13. And so on.......

There might be other contradictions that one may encounter on a give day like seeing someone injured in an accident and then wondering whether to attend to him or to rush to one's office.

The more I try to be observant about these contradictions, I experience a sense of capacity to take away one's positive energies unless one is clear about one's own perspectives. I also realize that my happiness lies in understanding the limitation of the human self as it tries to grapple in the midst of choices that are thrown up as a result of these dichotomies of life. The other step is to see what best we can do to alleviate the impact of these tensions as they get created by circumstances.  For example the person who finds himself in a strong position can reach out to the needy at times. Be in a profession that suits one's heart and mind. Similarly if I am able to create the small world around me( which I would ideally aspire to see be all pervasive), I feel better and thus manage that contradiction better. Or when one tries to expand one's own horizon of inclusiveness and tries to be more compassionate towards known and unknown people. The need for that behavior from others fades away when one starts assuming that same quality in oneself that one seeks in others. 

Contradictions to me are intrinsically a nature of life (its property) and the biggest one of this contradiction (Life Vs Death) will consume us all one day.The rest of the contradictions that take birth in the light of this biggest contradiction would keep on challenging our wisdom thereby encouraging us to be better and better with each step into complexities of life. 

The poem in search of its poet

Came across this beautiful poem at the entrance of Research and Development facility of Nicholas Piramal at Mumbai day before yesterday as we went to take kids for a science trip to the facility.

The poet's name was not mentioned. Did some search on the internet and got an indirect reference of this poem by Tagore who stated that this poem was translated from a peom written by a woman from medieval India.  Now to me its like a poem which is unconcerned about the search for its creator.

I salute the Life which is like a sprouting seed,
With its one arm upraised in the air, and the other down in the soil;
The Life which is one in its outer form and its inner sap;
The Life that ever appears yet ever eludes.
The Life that comes I salute; and the Life that goes;
I salute the Life that is revealed and that is hidden;
I salute the Life in suspense, standing still like a mountain, And the Life of the surging sea of fire;
The Life that is tender like a lotus, and hard like a thunderbolt.
I salute the Life which is of the mind, with its one side in the dark and the other in the light;
I salute the Life in the house and the Life abroad in the unknown,
The Life full of joy and the Life weary with its pains,
The Life eternally moving, rocking the world into stillness,
The Life deep and silent, breaking out into roaring waves.

Life has continued to mesmerise people since ages and it will continue to do that for ever. Love the way this mystery envelopes us and also defines our journey on this planet.

Where human weaknesses provide business opportunities

As per Indian philosophy, there are five doshas or weaknesses which mind can fall prey to-

• Moha (delusion)
• Kama (lust)
• Krodha (anger)
• Matsarya (envy) and
• Lobha (greed)

I realize that there are some business models which actually thrive on these fundamental weaknesses.

Moha - expensive art works sold at exorbitant prices;
Kama- Pornography, prostitution, a certain line of cinema for entertainment industry, certain kind of journalism that is gradually gaining vogue; dance bars etc
Matsarya- Luxury goods where an individual rests on the material to define his/her identity; can be jewellery for some, watches for some others;
Lobha- Individuals who enter into any commercial act with an attitude of gambling;

Thus if we look at it intently we realize that several of our businesses actually exist because human beings are imperfect on several lines. Its the human weakness that creates economic value for the society. Which surely implies that one kind of growth (economic terms) is causing damage in human terms which probably no existing system is really too keen to evaluate or is concerned about.

Less is More- An interview

Such clear thoughts on spiritual matters is not common. I experienced a very balmy feeling as I read through this interview