The famous coke lady, is back in the papers with her proposal to introduce new ‘technology’ into agriculture. What has Pepsi Co got to do with agriculture in India? There is no ‘food’ as such in their drinks. So they must be talking about potato chips. They will bring new seed sowing techniques to India she says. I am not sure if potatoes grew out of seeds.
This means, Pepsi Co is going to buy lots of poor farmer’s lands. Or they are going to ‘lease’ farmers and their lands to grow potatoes for chips, when we could rather use all the land and the farmers to feed someone their daily meal. Its time we threw these international ‘branded’ foods out off our land.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Vande Matharam - if only they knew
Set in an extremely fetching tune, this Bengali song penned by Bankim Chandra Chatterji is always a pleasure to listen to, more so if you knew the meaning.
For some unfathomable reason this song has always received brickbats. What is so ‘un-secular’ about this song, that some schools want this song to be kicked out of their morning prayers? Many might know that this song lost the poll for the National Anthem to Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana for the reason that it is Hinduistic and hence unfit to be the National Anthem of an apparently secular country.
Except that the two words ‘Vande Mataram’ are commonly seen in devotional songs on Ma Durga, a Hindu Goddess, nothing is ‘Hinduistic’ about this song, that now it should lose its status as the National Song.
For some unfathomable reason this song has always received brickbats. What is so ‘un-secular’ about this song, that some schools want this song to be kicked out of their morning prayers? Many might know that this song lost the poll for the National Anthem to Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana for the reason that it is Hinduistic and hence unfit to be the National Anthem of an apparently secular country.
Except that the two words ‘Vande Mataram’ are commonly seen in devotional songs on Ma Durga, a Hindu Goddess, nothing is ‘Hinduistic’ about this song, that now it should lose its status as the National Song.
Here is an English translation of the song:
Vande Matharam, Sujalam
I bow to thee my mother, you with the pure waters
I bow to thee my mother, you with the pure waters
Suf(ph)alam, Malayaja sheethalam,
the sweet fruits and sandal smelling mountains,
the sweet fruits and sandal smelling mountains,
Sasya shyamalam, Matharam,
clothed in green, My mother.
clothed in green, My mother.
Vande Matharam.
I bow to thee my mother.
I bow to thee my mother.
Supra Jodhsna Pulakitha Yamini
The moonlight shines on you, the beautiful,
The moonlight shines on you, the beautiful,
Pulla kusumitha drumadala shobini
when your scented flowers bloom away.
when your scented flowers bloom away.
Suhasini, sumadura bhashini
Sweetly smiling, you speak the sweetest languages,
Sweetly smiling, you speak the sweetest languages,
Sukadham varadham Matharam,
You are an eternal fountain of good wishes,
You are an eternal fountain of good wishes,
Vande Matharam.
I bow to thee my mother.
I bow to thee my mother.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Ian Rand’s communism
If you read, ‘we the living’, you start understanding how corrupt the communist party was in Russia and what lead to its downfall. Though the story is of a young girl Kira, who only aspires to live a life of freedom with her lover Leo and ends up fleeing Russia and dying in the process, the background of this story describes the atrocities of the communist party. If you read between the lines, you start understanding that it is not communism that is at fault. It is the communist party; the supposed ‘party’ of the laborers nourishes within itself authoritarianism. Bungalows and comforts for the party leaders, special reservations for supporters, you understand that the communist party which was formed to strip off the authority from the capitalists, succeeded in doing so, but only gave birth to other form of capitalists, the party leaders.
The spirit of the protagonist in ‘We the living’ aspires for freedom which is totally put off by the corruption ridden communist party. Though not said so openly in the book, you can understand that communism is not at fault but the authoritarianism that crept up into communist party.
When you read the fountainhead, you find that the author indeed is talking about ‘freedom’ even if she does not use the word. This is what I understand; I can only compare her ideals with the ‘freedom’, spoken of by so many(Peryiar, Gnani, Bharathiar, Gandhi). The protagonist, Howard Roark is a loner, recluse and upholds highest moral (his own not conforming to those of the society) ideals. He is an architect and can be nothing else, meaning architecture is what he eats, drinks and sleeps. He has few friends, those who understand his work and the rest consider him weird and think his designs are totally not upto their taste. You live along with Roark and experience his poverty, living in a world which ignores his talent, being left jobless by a society composed of people with no selfishness – to be precise ‘self esteem’.
All is well, until you see that Roark blows up a building he designed but was not built according to his designs. This is a community living built for the poor. I find this a bit twisted and gory plot. The 600 page story, finally ends up being a mixture a descriptions of various characters and surroundings and more of how not to be an ideal man and the injustice faced by an ideal man.
Rand is talking about ‘man-worship’. She is talking about the human race which made this world we live in possible. She is talking about the quest for the highest ideal in man. She is talking about how everyman is complete in himself and has to realize it. She is an atheist, talks about the authority owned by religion on ethics. She talks about how religions subordinate man to God. She talks about how she awes at human creations more than at nature.
Incidentally, perfectly coinciding with her views are the Marxian, Maoian, Engelian view of religion and self-esteem.
May be Marxism didn’t use the word, but any Tamizhian would know of ‘Suyamariyathai Iyakkam’ (Self-esteem movement) of Thanthai Periyar, an atheist, radical thinker, revolutionary and also a communist by principle. Like the crux of Hindu Philosophy this ‘self-esteem’ is also a very evasive concept. It is very hard to describe with words and often is in conflict with findings of psychology and neuroscience. Sometimes I feel it is the same as the philosophical ‘self realization’. Some people may relate it to ‘self-actualization’.
I seriously don’t understand why Rand insists that her ideal man is possible ‘only’ in a capitalistic society. In my view her idea of an ideal man is possible only in a society that talks about equality and not authoritarianism in any form, where ‘freedom’ is not confined to a democratic government, (its justice, laws, police, and ethics) and a capitalistic economy. Where ‘freedom’ does not mean being able to do what one wants, but means being able to be the man one wants to be, unshackled from authoritarianism of any kind, even his own.
The spirit of the protagonist in ‘We the living’ aspires for freedom which is totally put off by the corruption ridden communist party. Though not said so openly in the book, you can understand that communism is not at fault but the authoritarianism that crept up into communist party.
When you read the fountainhead, you find that the author indeed is talking about ‘freedom’ even if she does not use the word. This is what I understand; I can only compare her ideals with the ‘freedom’, spoken of by so many(Peryiar, Gnani, Bharathiar, Gandhi). The protagonist, Howard Roark is a loner, recluse and upholds highest moral (his own not conforming to those of the society) ideals. He is an architect and can be nothing else, meaning architecture is what he eats, drinks and sleeps. He has few friends, those who understand his work and the rest consider him weird and think his designs are totally not upto their taste. You live along with Roark and experience his poverty, living in a world which ignores his talent, being left jobless by a society composed of people with no selfishness – to be precise ‘self esteem’.
All is well, until you see that Roark blows up a building he designed but was not built according to his designs. This is a community living built for the poor. I find this a bit twisted and gory plot. The 600 page story, finally ends up being a mixture a descriptions of various characters and surroundings and more of how not to be an ideal man and the injustice faced by an ideal man.
Rand is talking about ‘man-worship’. She is talking about the human race which made this world we live in possible. She is talking about the quest for the highest ideal in man. She is talking about how everyman is complete in himself and has to realize it. She is an atheist, talks about the authority owned by religion on ethics. She talks about how religions subordinate man to God. She talks about how she awes at human creations more than at nature.
Incidentally, perfectly coinciding with her views are the Marxian, Maoian, Engelian view of religion and self-esteem.
May be Marxism didn’t use the word, but any Tamizhian would know of ‘Suyamariyathai Iyakkam’ (Self-esteem movement) of Thanthai Periyar, an atheist, radical thinker, revolutionary and also a communist by principle. Like the crux of Hindu Philosophy this ‘self-esteem’ is also a very evasive concept. It is very hard to describe with words and often is in conflict with findings of psychology and neuroscience. Sometimes I feel it is the same as the philosophical ‘self realization’. Some people may relate it to ‘self-actualization’.
I seriously don’t understand why Rand insists that her ideal man is possible ‘only’ in a capitalistic society. In my view her idea of an ideal man is possible only in a society that talks about equality and not authoritarianism in any form, where ‘freedom’ is not confined to a democratic government, (its justice, laws, police, and ethics) and a capitalistic economy. Where ‘freedom’ does not mean being able to do what one wants, but means being able to be the man one wants to be, unshackled from authoritarianism of any kind, even his own.
Self diagnose – are you infected with SLAV1?
Are you a fan of TV shows and movies? You love listening to music? You like coffee, a long drive? You like shopping in big malls? You like watching a great game? You dig some particular brand of ice-cream or pizza? You think a having a good time is hanging out at some bar/pub? You think it ‘uncool’ if someone doesn’t get rid of body hair or not condition their hair? You like some particular brand of shoes? Jeans? You are excited of a brand new model of car or mobile or ipod though you haven’t bought it yet? You like bungee jumping, canoeing, and working out?
If you have some or any of these symptoms then you definitely are bitten by the slavery bug, SLAV1.
This is not a seasonal bug, but seems to be hereditary, if not, acquired and lives like an invisible parasite. Memetologists might call it spread if memes, but beware it only means you are a slave to those memes. You never knew something is wrong about the symptoms you had right? You never thought it was a disease right? That’s what ‘they’ do, make you believe that you are completely alright. This ‘they’ are not bad-guys, they are completely ignorant, nice people like you and me who have no intention of making you a slave, all they are trying to do is gain money and power. No, no, not intentional fooling of people, they have no idea what they are doing is wrong!. That’s the beauty of it.
Still wondering why this is a disease? Then you should read on:
The ‘freedom’, that our ‘democratic’ politics and ‘capitalistic’ (read – free or open) economy has ordained on you and me is an illusion.
You have to watch what is shown in your channels, you have to watch only those movies that are being made. You have to read what’s spat out by the media. You have to buy what’s sold in your market, at the price they are sold at! (MRP – 'Maximum' Retail Price, Inclusive of All Taxes – what taxes and how much?) And why exactly you are being taxed for that produce? Is the tax going to offset carbon emissions? And where is that tax money going? How come you believe that a particular brand name means quality or loyalty or genuineness? Any idea what made you believe that? Even your outdoor entertainment is limited – government guards forests and rivers and mountains and seas, you cant just step in anywhere.
If you want to spend an evening out, you have to go out braving, traffic, pollution and eat food cooked by a stranger at some place run by a stange-face. You spend so much money and time on clothes and cosmetics so that you look good for the society that might otherwise scorn at you. Oh yes, the trend keeps changing, even men should have fair skin, women have to condition their hair, you cant even have wrinkles and grays when you grow old, to look 40 when you are 40 is unthinkable!.
Didn’t you know, you have to keep your hands and home clean of germs! Germless-ness is so necessary (since they say so) and if you didn’t know microbiology, you would definitely believe you can keep your homes and body 99% germ free just by using some soap or cleaner. Poisoning by chemicals in shampoos, paste and dishwashers? No one talks about it! its slow death to us and nature, so why care? There is always science and technology to save the world and keep us living (technology is great you live in the dawn of a new era of incredible science – they say so). Ofcourse I forgot to mention, Nature and Science are two unrelated entities (you don’t drink bournvita? then you cant know this)
‘They’ hang the carrot (modernity and luxuries) in front of you so that you always feel outdated, or middleclass or poor or ugly or unfashionable or unqualified. Oh! yes, I forgot education. MBAs. Oh my!, ‘B schools’, where you go in and study the art of ‘business administration’. Any idea what you learn to ‘administer’ and to whom? Like psychology, an outdated science, that’s still sells, this illusory art of ‘administration’ where you are ‘administered’ the art of ‘administering’ to people things they don’t want and make them do things they never thought they should, also sells, I should rather say sells ‘hot’.
For the simple reason; no actually I must say quirk of fate, that I was born someplace makes me a ‘citizen’ of some country, I have to be proud of this fact, be patriotic towards this country thing and be ready to go and kill other people risking getting myself killed to ‘protect’ my fellow country men (people by their quirk of fate born same place). Doesn’t end there, I cant simply step out of the boundaries of my country (who made them I don’t know, they never asked me) without answering a lot of questions and being ‘permitted’ to.
You still wondering why all this is a problem? You still think that’s the only way a world filled with 7 billlion people can be? You still think you really are ‘free’?
Sorry! then I have no treatment for you. Thanks for diagnosing with us. Hope you come back!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
School drop-out ? No more.
A warm day, in a remote village in Northeast India where no one knows a single word in English, four children were standing in a semicircle around a hole in a wall and around them were another group of 16 children. The noisy group of kids was browsing the internet and playing games on a computer whose monitor and touchpad alone were accessible through the wall. The computer and a whole lot of CDs was left there three month back by Prof. Sugata Mithra,
When he returned he found the children playing games on the computer. The first thing he heard from the children was ‘We need a faster processor and a better mouse’. This is where the CDs came in, he found that the children used more than 200 English words like ‘save’, ‘exit’, ‘back’ although mispronounced but in the right meaning. Not only when using the computer but also in their day-to-day lives. When questioned, they said, ‘you left us with this thing that only talks in English, so we had to learn it’. In other places where he left the children with internet, they were able to open websites from which they learnt the English alphabet, chat, play games, download music, and watch videos, in short what all of us do with the internet. Language seems no barrier, children could teach themselves the language if they needed it.
The availability of resources did not matter as much as we would guess. He calculates that almost 300 children could teach themselves to use a computer and browse the internet in a span of 6 months with one computer. Only one in the group operated the computer surrounded by three who were constantly instructing him, they all would fare equally well if questioned about. The other 16 children around them would also get through an examination if questioned on that subject. Unlike adults children learn as much from observing, they don’t need hands-on all the time. What we have just witnessed is that without adult supervision, 6 to 13 yr olds can self instruct in a connected environment.
The key is they have to be left in groups.
The learning curve of these children was same as children from normal schools.
More interesting facts, that in rural areas more girl children took the initiative than boys and that it is usually the younger children who teach the older ones come out of this study by Sugatha Mithra which ran over 5 years covering rural areas across the length and breadth of India. The main focus of this study was to find an alternative method of teaching where access to schools and teachers was difficult. Mithra calls his find ‘self-organized system of learning’.
Should teachers be replaced? Defenitely not. Although in places where there is no possibility of a school and where no teacher would want to stay for long, we could utilize this form of learning, where we let primary education happen by itself.
How can we take such education technology to remote villages? His answer is that the remote villages should be the first places to receive such new forms of education and the rest of the places later. There is much to be gained when we can get rural illiterate children to browse the internet than when we get the already English speaking urban school kids gain another 3% above their normal 80% score.
The educational ministry, NGOs, teachers, researchers and schools should give a serious thought to this finding.
Professor Sugata Mithra, is a proponent of ‘Minimally Invasive Education’. He is currently professor of Education Technology, NewCastle UK and Chief scientist emeritus at NIIT. The spread of research by this Dewang Metha Awardee is far reaching from energy storage systems, computer networks to human mind and education. His hole in the wall experiment is the indirect inspiration of the Oscar winning Slumdog millionaire.
The availability of resources did not matter as much as we would guess. He calculates that almost 300 children could teach themselves to use a computer and browse the internet in a span of 6 months with one computer. Only one in the group operated the computer surrounded by three who were constantly instructing him, they all would fare equally well if questioned about. The other 16 children around them would also get through an examination if questioned on that subject. Unlike adults children learn as much from observing, they don’t need hands-on all the time. What we have just witnessed is that without adult supervision, 6 to 13 yr olds can self instruct in a connected environment.
The key is they have to be left in groups.
The learning curve of these children was same as children from normal schools.
More interesting facts, that in rural areas more girl children took the initiative than boys and that it is usually the younger children who teach the older ones come out of this study by Sugatha Mithra which ran over 5 years covering rural areas across the length and breadth of India. The main focus of this study was to find an alternative method of teaching where access to schools and teachers was difficult. Mithra calls his find ‘self-organized system of learning’.
Should teachers be replaced? Defenitely not. Although in places where there is no possibility of a school and where no teacher would want to stay for long, we could utilize this form of learning, where we let primary education happen by itself.
How can we take such education technology to remote villages? His answer is that the remote villages should be the first places to receive such new forms of education and the rest of the places later. There is much to be gained when we can get rural illiterate children to browse the internet than when we get the already English speaking urban school kids gain another 3% above their normal 80% score.
The educational ministry, NGOs, teachers, researchers and schools should give a serious thought to this finding.
Professor Sugata Mithra, is a proponent of ‘Minimally Invasive Education’. He is currently professor of Education Technology, NewCastle UK and Chief scientist emeritus at NIIT. The spread of research by this Dewang Metha Awardee is far reaching from energy storage systems, computer networks to human mind and education. His hole in the wall experiment is the indirect inspiration of the Oscar winning Slumdog millionaire.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Betrayal of the worst kind
Eyes red,
Lips parched,
Throat dry,
Skin flaky,
She looked up
Aching for that drop
Of tear He would shed.
He failed her,
He the RainGod.
Flourishing Civilizations have been wiped of by sudden spell of droughts. The Akaads of Eurasia, Mayan’s of South America and the Egyptians all were betrayed to extinction when their RainGods punished them. What their crime was we do not know, but definitely not as bad as industrialization.
Even if the world stood still with zero carbon emissions from today, we would not be able to avert the climate disaster we have brought upon. UN’s IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) predicts that for the next fifty years atleast we would see a huge change in rainfall patterns. Wet areas would be wetter and dry areas drier. And moreover the rains would pour as short spells in those wet areas leading to large scale flooding. And the dry areas (the temperate – near the equator) will encroach into wet areas. Meaning less areas, near the poles are going to receive heavy rainfall in short spells. (Look up: Ferrel and Hadley Cells).
The dry parched Bihar villages, are reporting brawls over drinking water from their starving dwellers.
The water wars would collapse political and social systems.
Meanwhile, South Indians are asking for interlinking of the nation's rivers, so that they can drink the from the sacred and perennial rivers from God’s own head. They better be warned, that those rivers are going to turn seasonal when the glaciers feeding them melt away from the rising temperatures.
But what irony, India’s rice basin has been growing more than 50% of its crops on ground water, letting all the sacred rivers do their only duty of washing sins away.(Worldwatch Institue, Lester Brown’s talk). And bad news is North India’s ground water table level has been falling down by an inch and half every year, looks like a small number, but enough to ring alarms at the UN.
Unaware of all this clamor, the textile, paper and numerous other industries are polluting all the ground and river water we have for now, worried only about the relatively trivial expenditure on Water Treatment Units.
But good news does pop-in now and then, small villages in AndhraPradesh and the drought hit TamilNadu have survived this year’s betrayal (DHAN :Development of Humane Action) they dug up small tanks and ponds and farmed on small scale. Meanwhile farmers worldwide are reporting drought and recession resistance through small-scale community farming.
Small-scaling seems our salvation.
As I write, I remember the words of the old lady in Bihar, thinned to a skeleton, back bent to the scorching sun, digging on her caked field, 'Ram Bharose'.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Best fit?
I was writing my toefl exam and my essay topic was ‘Is technological advance a boon or bane’. That was some writing I did, I could not decide between boon or bane. As my thoughts swung between the two, I started writing them down and put them down as my essay.
The lush evergreen forests are getting depleted to satisfy man’s needs. Or to be precise is it man’s greed?. Well it better be need.
Man is an integral part of Nature, Nature and man are not two separate entities. So like the clay nest of a bee or the house of a bower bird, man’s cities and skyscrapers should also be considered as nature at work.
But no, what we create, looks so queer and ‘un natural’.
Nature spits out what it does not want.
Then Nature will wipe out what it thinks is unfit. If man’s technological progress is progressing towards doom, then nature wouldn’t have let us progress at all.
But man be greedy, then nature will sure throw him out, and continue with her life.
James Lovelock, says the whole world is one single organism , a living world.
Its survival of the best fit rather than survival of the fittest to be precise.
The organisms that do not fit into the ecosystem will only suffer and be wiped out by the rest. So are we a best fit?. Is it too damn late that we are thinking about it? I am not sure.All this technological progress and dirtying of the world has been of the past two centuries. So we are not very late actually.
Why has man thought about nature? Why has he started contemplating conservation?
How do the ants know it has to stock up the rations before the rains?
It is in man’s instincts to preserve for the future. After all we are driven by genetic forces that persevere to establish its progeny. So it will also take care to supply enough for its progeny.
The conservationists, environmentalists and maybe even the minimalists must be Nature's way of getting things in place.
Thats how I ended the essay, and thankfully the evaluator didnt think I was wrong, she rewarded me full!
It’s the thought that we are a part of nature. It’s the belief that we are a part of the ecosystem. It’s the realization of the entire whole. A holistic view, a paradigm shift , a change in values and perception of reality is what we need.
We cannot stop technological advance. To be curious is man. To invent, to classify, to dissect, to analyze and to awe is man. But it is not man to destroy and plunder. That is un natural, in-human, not even the animals do that!
The lush evergreen forests are getting depleted to satisfy man’s needs. Or to be precise is it man’s greed?. Well it better be need.
Man is an integral part of Nature, Nature and man are not two separate entities. So like the clay nest of a bee or the house of a bower bird, man’s cities and skyscrapers should also be considered as nature at work.
But no, what we create, looks so queer and ‘un natural’.
Nature spits out what it does not want.
Then Nature will wipe out what it thinks is unfit. If man’s technological progress is progressing towards doom, then nature wouldn’t have let us progress at all.
But man be greedy, then nature will sure throw him out, and continue with her life.
James Lovelock, says the whole world is one single organism , a living world.
Its survival of the best fit rather than survival of the fittest to be precise.
The organisms that do not fit into the ecosystem will only suffer and be wiped out by the rest. So are we a best fit?. Is it too damn late that we are thinking about it? I am not sure.All this technological progress and dirtying of the world has been of the past two centuries. So we are not very late actually.
Why has man thought about nature? Why has he started contemplating conservation?
How do the ants know it has to stock up the rations before the rains?
It is in man’s instincts to preserve for the future. After all we are driven by genetic forces that persevere to establish its progeny. So it will also take care to supply enough for its progeny.
The conservationists, environmentalists and maybe even the minimalists must be Nature's way of getting things in place.
Thats how I ended the essay, and thankfully the evaluator didnt think I was wrong, she rewarded me full!
It’s the thought that we are a part of nature. It’s the belief that we are a part of the ecosystem. It’s the realization of the entire whole. A holistic view, a paradigm shift , a change in values and perception of reality is what we need.
We cannot stop technological advance. To be curious is man. To invent, to classify, to dissect, to analyze and to awe is man. But it is not man to destroy and plunder. That is un natural, in-human, not even the animals do that!
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