Cochin, the queen of the Arabian Sea, in Kerala is my hometown and I have always loved this place. It had places to have fun, to relax, movie theatres, the people are nice and the bus rides and travelling in your own vehicle were an experience in itself. In the last 12 months, I have spent only 3 months in this place as I started my college life at BITS-Pilani, Goa Campus. I missed this place a lot as I could come only during Divali for 5 days. But in the 5 days that I stayed in Cochin, something started telling me there was a lot happening in my hometown. I thought it was because I was coming home after 2 months and these where only the inevitable changes that happen to everything on this planet as I believed that change is the only constant in this world although I have had difficulties accepting these changes.
It was christmas when I came home again, another 50 days or so after I had left and this time, I was convinced that Cochin is not the old town that I had known. There was a building spree, which involved residential complexes, shopping malls and several other projects. Infact, during this stay, I met several people, conversing in hindi, of which I initially took no notice as in my campus, I am very much used to it. But then I realised that this was Cochin and the fact that this happened close to my house got me thinking. What is happening? Since the vacation was only for 20 days or so, I spend it trying to meet my old friends and keeping in touch with my new ones and could not linger over that question.
Now, this summer vacation lasts for 80 days and this gave me ample time to mull things over and find an answer to the question that I raised above. An important development was the signing of an agreement between the Goverment of Kerala and a Dubai based company for the establishment of software, Internet and IT related township in my hometown. Along with this, there were several other changes. An International container terminal was going to be built and the inaugration of the project had already been done sometime ago. Both these projects have been hanging in the balance for well over a year, due to political wrangling, protests over land acquisition and the obvious delays in the working of the politicians and bureaucracy accompanied by the fact that
Kerala was a state that had strong communist feelings, which had earned it the tag of an investment unfriendly state.
Cochin has long been the economic and Financial capital of the state of Kerala, something which came as a result of the natural Harbour, where a commercial port along with a navy command post has been established and also boasts of an International Airport, the first private ariport in the country. The two projects that I mentioned in the previous para had the Government playing some part in it, whereas several other changes came about as a result of private players. A software technology park was built in the Cochin Special Economic Zone, christened Technopolis and the biggest office building in Kerala was coming up at Kaloor, the work for which is nearly over now. There was also an explosion in Internet penetration, satellite television channels and Mobile phone connections across my state.
The last one had already happened two years before which now has come to a situation where even 14 year olds had mobile phones which means that there were 3 to 4 mobile phones in each household! If it was for parents to keep in touch with their children, they needn't have used some of the latest models available, which were also costly! I was more than amazed as even now, at the age of 19, I have a basic handset with no Bluetooth, Radio or Camera, something that my juniors do not even consider as a mobile phone! There are now more flats and shopping malls in the city and it is definitey becoming a 'Chotta Mumbai', or 'Little Mumbai'.
More people now own cars and their purchasing power has increased greatly which is clearly evident from the presence of international brands in various outlets across the city. There has been a rapid shift in the culture of the city and the landscape is also changing day by day. The mall culture, until now an unknown quantity is going to spread rapidly as construction of around half a dozen malls are under way and more and more people are living in high-rise apartments! The development has rewritten the concept of Keralites about owning a home as people are moving to flats due to varied reasons like security, no hassles of maintenance and amenities as it is taken care as a common facility, which grants some freedom to those with little time for themselves. The youth are now more exposed to the western world then ever before and they are very much familiar with Hollywood stars and Pop musicians, hang out regularly with friends and have more freedom these days than those in their age had until a few years ago. There has been change in the attitudes, aspirations, dressing style and their outlook.
I do not attribute these to the gradual changes that must take place, but the city is changing at a pace that not many of its residents are realising and with this, the problems that come with development are also on the rise and since the people don’t realise how fast development is happening, they are also unaware of the problems that can come with development and become aware of it only when they experience the difficulties. A small example is the garbage disposal in the entire district, which has been paralyzed and now the stench is spreading. I do not know whether this is the city that I want to live, since it is no longer the city that I loved. With these developments, I am going to loose it to a metropolitan city, with higher aspirations driven by modern technology and modern economy, a city chasing big dreams, big money and bigger oppurtunities where the people will live in apartments kissing the sky.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Hectic World
Consider this-the world on average now sleeps less than 7 hours a day. Compare this with almost 8 hours until a decade ago and almost 9 hours at the end of the 20th century. Why are straining ourselves more? Why do we work more, try to earn more, exert ourselves more and chase our targets with more and more vigour although it is not good for our health? We do it to survive in this world and our efforts are actually to make it a better world for us, Ironically enough, it is becoming more and more difficult to get through each day! Hyper blood pressure, mostly an age related disease is affecting teenagers due to the pressure to perform- to perform in exams, in life and due to peer competition. We strain ourselves more and more each day in an effort to get a good and better life but this pursuit ends up consuming ourselves. We have very little time on our hands and there is a lot to do with the 24 hours we have. We cannot reduce the time we spend at the workplace, infact, we have are working so much more than any of our previous generations that, it forces me to question the purpose behind technological, economical and other sorts of development that we claim to have achieved over our ancestors.
We are doing more work than ever at the office and this requires time. Although there has been an increase in the work we do, there hasn't been a similar rise in the number of hours we have in a day unfortunately. So, where does the additional time we need come from? One of the first things we did was to increase our efficiency and we achieved this with computers and other aids. But that was not enough and we needed more time and this came from our leisure time, the time we spend with our family and from our sleep. All this adversely affects our physical, mental and overall health. We try to cramp more work into less time but corporates being just profit-seekers first and foremost, force their employees to work more. Even in the case of students, life has never been more competitive and hectic and this is especially true in our country. We work more and more than previous generation ever dreamed of, but does that mean that we lead better lives? If we observe it from the financial perspective, there is no doubt that we are better off. But, is it just about money? Shouldn't we take into consideration what amount of effort we put in and what we have lost and what sacrifices we make to gain the money?
For starters, we have very little time to spend with our family and an ad by a
South-East Asian Airline company, which says that booking tickets online will give you more time to spend with your family is a sign of how hectic life has become. There are those who can’t even spend an hour exclusively with their family a week! We hurry to keep our appointments, to make it in time to the office, to finish assignments and projects on time, but we do not hurry when we go home, as there is no pressure to get home early but on all other occasions, we are under pressure to perform in a time bound manner. All this pressure and expectations and competition has resulted in more and more suicides and attempts at taking ones on life are alarmingly on the increase to such an extent that people talk freely about suicide as though it was the easiest of ways to escape and find relief from this world. People are more depressed these days and anti-depressant drugs are taken even by teenagers, as they couldn't handle the peer pressure and deliver the expected academic results. There is no sign of things getting better, infact they are getting worse by the moment.
Life has become a mad rush and is going to remain so unless we do something about. It is our greed that creates this rush. Big corporates exploit and over work their employees for their gains, to such an extent that what the company gains in one day from each employee is what that person gets in an entire month! This is just one of the many instances of giant companies increasing their profits by what is called increased efficiency. But what those at the top of these corporates don't realise is that these men and women too have families
but they are unable to spend time with them and unable to find time for leisure and just sit there and relax. In an article that appeared on the TIME magazine, it says that Asian fathers are struggling to see their children awake even once a day as they go to work before the children are up in the morning and reach well past the their kids' bed time.
We are becoming so career oriented that the concept of family relations is taking a heavy toll and we are simply becoming mechanical in our life and a machine like life is the last thing we want!
We are doing more work than ever at the office and this requires time. Although there has been an increase in the work we do, there hasn't been a similar rise in the number of hours we have in a day unfortunately. So, where does the additional time we need come from? One of the first things we did was to increase our efficiency and we achieved this with computers and other aids. But that was not enough and we needed more time and this came from our leisure time, the time we spend with our family and from our sleep. All this adversely affects our physical, mental and overall health. We try to cramp more work into less time but corporates being just profit-seekers first and foremost, force their employees to work more. Even in the case of students, life has never been more competitive and hectic and this is especially true in our country. We work more and more than previous generation ever dreamed of, but does that mean that we lead better lives? If we observe it from the financial perspective, there is no doubt that we are better off. But, is it just about money? Shouldn't we take into consideration what amount of effort we put in and what we have lost and what sacrifices we make to gain the money?
For starters, we have very little time to spend with our family and an ad by a
South-East Asian Airline company, which says that booking tickets online will give you more time to spend with your family is a sign of how hectic life has become. There are those who can’t even spend an hour exclusively with their family a week! We hurry to keep our appointments, to make it in time to the office, to finish assignments and projects on time, but we do not hurry when we go home, as there is no pressure to get home early but on all other occasions, we are under pressure to perform in a time bound manner. All this pressure and expectations and competition has resulted in more and more suicides and attempts at taking ones on life are alarmingly on the increase to such an extent that people talk freely about suicide as though it was the easiest of ways to escape and find relief from this world. People are more depressed these days and anti-depressant drugs are taken even by teenagers, as they couldn't handle the peer pressure and deliver the expected academic results. There is no sign of things getting better, infact they are getting worse by the moment.
Life has become a mad rush and is going to remain so unless we do something about. It is our greed that creates this rush. Big corporates exploit and over work their employees for their gains, to such an extent that what the company gains in one day from each employee is what that person gets in an entire month! This is just one of the many instances of giant companies increasing their profits by what is called increased efficiency. But what those at the top of these corporates don't realise is that these men and women too have families
but they are unable to spend time with them and unable to find time for leisure and just sit there and relax. In an article that appeared on the TIME magazine, it says that Asian fathers are struggling to see their children awake even once a day as they go to work before the children are up in the morning and reach well past the their kids' bed time.
We are becoming so career oriented that the concept of family relations is taking a heavy toll and we are simply becoming mechanical in our life and a machine like life is the last thing we want!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Point of views...
If you ask ten people, why India lost in the world cup, you are definitely going to get 10 different answers and some ofthem might even be contradictory. One must accept these as different opinions of people coming from entirely different backgrounds, who think in completely different ways and have very little in common about them. It is important not to take only one opinion as correct and the others are wrong. But when it is a situation where only one opinion is correct,we must resolve the situation peacufully by discussion and mutual consultation.
In an argument, we must listen patiently and without bias to the opinions and come to a decision when only one opinion is correct but when there is no definite answer as could be said in the case of whether Technology is destroying more than it's creating or an opinion about a movie, the answer given by each person depends upon the frame of mind of each person and onthe way he/she thinks. Here, there is no definite answer and it is about this case that I would like to discuss. Let us take the example of a movie- one person says he liked an action movie which had great fight scenes enhanced by visual effects and graphic jugglery whereas another person says he liked a love story which he says had a human touch. To an outsider and a neutral person, these represent two individuals with different tastes which makes them like different things and so there is no definite answer to their argument. But there is a chance for a conflict between these two individuals and they would argue their cases agressively with neitherof them conceding an inch. If atleast one of them had the sense to understand what the neutral and unbiased spectator did,we can avoid a possible confrontation. We see these sort of opinion differences always in life- between boys and girls where each of them say they are better than the other or in who is the better actor or the best cricketer or which is the best team in world football or which religion is better. There is no point in arguing as none of the sides are going to admit what they say or believe is wrong. The argument can heat up and lead to violence which provides all the more reasons to resolve the issue amicably by either finding out who is right or by making them realise that both opinions hold because of the reasons that I have stated previously.
If those who do not have the ability or the broad mindedness and the wisdom to accept different views as that of different individuals come to the seat of power, then this could be a recipe for disaster as they might not agree with some other personin a similar position of power and this might lead to conflict and such a conflict between the powerful can have disastrous consequences. While working in a group, all the members will have their own opinions, viewpoints,suggestions and each individual will have his/her take on each issue. If atleast one of them is so stubborn and adamant as not to accept others and wants prime importance to his/her opinion, then the entire groups working can be affected.
For a healthy argument on all issues, we must be patient enough to listen to all the views, make honest criticisms, accept those that are correct and discard those not required. Beliefs, values and ideals are relative as each person defines themin his own way. It is this lack of understanding, acceptance and tolerance that leads to religious conflicts, sectarianviolence, insurgency and even terrorism. The inability of the Palestinian and Israeli government to drop all prejudices,listen to each other patiently and accept each other has lead to the loss of innumerable lives over the decades. The same lack of respect, tolerance, impatience and unwillingness to accept each other lies at the heart of the conflict between Ireland and Britain, between India and Pakistan and several other cases.
This world will have peace, stability and comprehensive development only when all its people, nations, religious groups and sects understand, accept, tolerate and bear with each other patiently leading to the realisation that all of them can co-exist in this world and settle their differences amicably without violence, abuse and the use of force.
In an argument, we must listen patiently and without bias to the opinions and come to a decision when only one opinion is correct but when there is no definite answer as could be said in the case of whether Technology is destroying more than it's creating or an opinion about a movie, the answer given by each person depends upon the frame of mind of each person and onthe way he/she thinks. Here, there is no definite answer and it is about this case that I would like to discuss. Let us take the example of a movie- one person says he liked an action movie which had great fight scenes enhanced by visual effects and graphic jugglery whereas another person says he liked a love story which he says had a human touch. To an outsider and a neutral person, these represent two individuals with different tastes which makes them like different things and so there is no definite answer to their argument. But there is a chance for a conflict between these two individuals and they would argue their cases agressively with neitherof them conceding an inch. If atleast one of them had the sense to understand what the neutral and unbiased spectator did,we can avoid a possible confrontation. We see these sort of opinion differences always in life- between boys and girls where each of them say they are better than the other or in who is the better actor or the best cricketer or which is the best team in world football or which religion is better. There is no point in arguing as none of the sides are going to admit what they say or believe is wrong. The argument can heat up and lead to violence which provides all the more reasons to resolve the issue amicably by either finding out who is right or by making them realise that both opinions hold because of the reasons that I have stated previously.
If those who do not have the ability or the broad mindedness and the wisdom to accept different views as that of different individuals come to the seat of power, then this could be a recipe for disaster as they might not agree with some other personin a similar position of power and this might lead to conflict and such a conflict between the powerful can have disastrous consequences. While working in a group, all the members will have their own opinions, viewpoints,suggestions and each individual will have his/her take on each issue. If atleast one of them is so stubborn and adamant as not to accept others and wants prime importance to his/her opinion, then the entire groups working can be affected.
For a healthy argument on all issues, we must be patient enough to listen to all the views, make honest criticisms, accept those that are correct and discard those not required. Beliefs, values and ideals are relative as each person defines themin his own way. It is this lack of understanding, acceptance and tolerance that leads to religious conflicts, sectarianviolence, insurgency and even terrorism. The inability of the Palestinian and Israeli government to drop all prejudices,listen to each other patiently and accept each other has lead to the loss of innumerable lives over the decades. The same lack of respect, tolerance, impatience and unwillingness to accept each other lies at the heart of the conflict between Ireland and Britain, between India and Pakistan and several other cases.
This world will have peace, stability and comprehensive development only when all its people, nations, religious groups and sects understand, accept, tolerate and bear with each other patiently leading to the realisation that all of them can co-exist in this world and settle their differences amicably without violence, abuse and the use of force.
Just 4 funnn
I just saw a programme on NDTV 24*7 where viewers where asked to vote on whether the Indian public is obsessed with fairnessof skin. The outcome was that 82% of the people felt that Indians are obsessed with fairness. The vote was inspired by the recent Tamil movie 'Shivaji' starring Rajinikanth, because in the movie, the hero's lover turns him down due to his dark complexion. I must confess that I too am attracted to fair colour rather than a dark one and I do think that most people would place complexion as one of the most important factors determining beauty. Being a teenager, it is all the more obvious for me because when a dark coloured girl passes by, I wouldnt care much about it, but when it is a fair skinned girl, I do try to have a second glance(no wrong intentions dear reader!). I do not know whether it is an obsession, but it is a fact that dark skinned people are much less preferred over fair skinned ones in marriage. The case is same regardless of whether it is about a girl or boy.
The programmes also raised an issue whether this bias extended to other fields too. For example, would you take someone more seriously or pay more attention to a fair skinned person rather than a darker person. As far as I am concerned, I have never made such a discrimination in my life, but that could be because I am not old enough for that. I do not know for certain the reasons, but I am sure that I do not care whether a person is dark or fair when I meet that person. But, when it comes to marriage, I wouldnt insist on a fair skinned girl. All I want is someone who doesnt look ugly and not too dark please! And one more thing, when i go out with friends or I am just walking along or travelling, I would try to have a second look at someone who is fair! But even dark ones with a good look is okay with unless it is too dark! This is when I realise when people say 'Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder'. Perhaps, it is because of the difference in the way people define, perceive and enjoy beauty. So all you not too dark, beautiful girls, e-mail me. We could meet up!!!!!Okay, that was NOT supposed to be SERIOUS..... (I am not someone who goes partying and likes to freak out. My greatest fun is when I am with my friends and just chatting with them on any topic from movies to college life and ofcourse GIRLzzz!)
The programmes also raised an issue whether this bias extended to other fields too. For example, would you take someone more seriously or pay more attention to a fair skinned person rather than a darker person. As far as I am concerned, I have never made such a discrimination in my life, but that could be because I am not old enough for that. I do not know for certain the reasons, but I am sure that I do not care whether a person is dark or fair when I meet that person. But, when it comes to marriage, I wouldnt insist on a fair skinned girl. All I want is someone who doesnt look ugly and not too dark please! And one more thing, when i go out with friends or I am just walking along or travelling, I would try to have a second look at someone who is fair! But even dark ones with a good look is okay with unless it is too dark! This is when I realise when people say 'Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder'. Perhaps, it is because of the difference in the way people define, perceive and enjoy beauty. So all you not too dark, beautiful girls, e-mail me. We could meet up!!!!!Okay, that was NOT supposed to be SERIOUS..... (I am not someone who goes partying and likes to freak out. My greatest fun is when I am with my friends and just chatting with them on any topic from movies to college life and ofcourse GIRLzzz!)
Monday, June 18, 2007
S(anctioned) E(xploitation) Z(ones) in India
Special Economic Zones, the new mantra of develpment in our nation, promised to make our nation one of the most investor friendly and one with high rates of development. To say the truth, the SEZs do fulfill these goals. But the cost at which this happens is a worrying factor. The entire concept of SEZs are specially designed to benefit the investor, the investor and the investor alone! The sole reason why the government promotes this is to boost the figures of annual growth percentage, export income, FDI and increase in per capita income.
Our nations recent obsession with SEZs can be attributed to the reasons stated above. The government cannot take any measures of its own to raise the quality of living and so they try to paint a rosy picture of the situation by announcing high growthrates, rise in per capita income and the best and the easiest way to do that is to sanction Special Economic Zones where interested parties and investors are allowed to setup their enterprises without having to pay taxes, the land is provided by the government, labour and union laws are not followed as the workers are not allowed to join a trade union and in short, the company can do as it wishes in the land alloted by the government.
The SEZs help only in creating overblown development figures but do not represent the true situation in the country. The first problem with the SEZs come from the way land is acquired from the occupants. In India, land can be acquired by the government at a price that is decided by the government. But when SEZs are setup, the industrialists need land that has access to resources and amenities like water, roads, electricity ets and in most parts of the country, land with these facilites is used for agriculture. So prime agricultural land is taken up for establishing SEZs and the farmers are removed from their land- their only source of livelihood- to make way for industries. The farmers are left without a source of income once they are deprived of their land and the compensation they get is nothing when compared to what they have lost. It is not just their source of income that has been taken away, but an entire way of life, customs and traditions, as they have been practising agriculture for generations and when one day they are asked to leave, everything that they have held on to in their entire lives is being thrown into jeopardy. The only beneficieries from all these are the ones who get to set up an SEZ as they get the land free of cost, they get cheap labour from those displaced by the SEZ, raw materials are easily available, the government too provides various incentives like electricity at lower rates and they are also exempted from various taxes.
The advantages claimed by the government for establishing SEZs are that they generate employment, increase industrial productivity and output, promote development of our nation and reduce poverty. Well, all these advantages have their own negative effects as well. They generate employment by displacing farmers and so they generate employment by threatening the livelihood of hundreds of farmers, they increase industrial production by adversely affecting agriculture and the claim that they lead to nations development is hollow as they are exempted from taxes and infact increase the number of poor by displacing people from their livelihoods.
The concept of SEZs is a good one as it can, if implemented in the right way, serve the nation and the people. But in our nation, politicians, industrialists and middle-men are all out to make profits for themselves and do not bother what is the price that others have to pay for their greed. The politicians want statistics, to make it seem that they are doing their job and the industrialists exploit this to suit their needs and the common people are the ones affected. The lives lost in Nandigram and the hundreds displaced and remaining to be displaced due to land acquisition for SEZs are calling out for justice and asking us 'why do we have to pay the price for a few people to fill their pockets?'
The government must stop acquiring pristine agricultural land for SEZs and must pay due compensation for all those moved from their lands along with arrangements made for their rehabilitation. SEZs must not become places where the owners can do anything and can get away with it by giving an excuse that it is a special economic zone. The workers must have their rights and the goverment should ensure that the SEZs do only what they have been permitted to do and do not divert the land for other purposes to make illegal profit especially because it is easy to convert the land acquired under the pretext of taking it up for SEZs into real estate hubs and other ventures.
Our nations recent obsession with SEZs can be attributed to the reasons stated above. The government cannot take any measures of its own to raise the quality of living and so they try to paint a rosy picture of the situation by announcing high growthrates, rise in per capita income and the best and the easiest way to do that is to sanction Special Economic Zones where interested parties and investors are allowed to setup their enterprises without having to pay taxes, the land is provided by the government, labour and union laws are not followed as the workers are not allowed to join a trade union and in short, the company can do as it wishes in the land alloted by the government.
The SEZs help only in creating overblown development figures but do not represent the true situation in the country. The first problem with the SEZs come from the way land is acquired from the occupants. In India, land can be acquired by the government at a price that is decided by the government. But when SEZs are setup, the industrialists need land that has access to resources and amenities like water, roads, electricity ets and in most parts of the country, land with these facilites is used for agriculture. So prime agricultural land is taken up for establishing SEZs and the farmers are removed from their land- their only source of livelihood- to make way for industries. The farmers are left without a source of income once they are deprived of their land and the compensation they get is nothing when compared to what they have lost. It is not just their source of income that has been taken away, but an entire way of life, customs and traditions, as they have been practising agriculture for generations and when one day they are asked to leave, everything that they have held on to in their entire lives is being thrown into jeopardy. The only beneficieries from all these are the ones who get to set up an SEZ as they get the land free of cost, they get cheap labour from those displaced by the SEZ, raw materials are easily available, the government too provides various incentives like electricity at lower rates and they are also exempted from various taxes.
The advantages claimed by the government for establishing SEZs are that they generate employment, increase industrial productivity and output, promote development of our nation and reduce poverty. Well, all these advantages have their own negative effects as well. They generate employment by displacing farmers and so they generate employment by threatening the livelihood of hundreds of farmers, they increase industrial production by adversely affecting agriculture and the claim that they lead to nations development is hollow as they are exempted from taxes and infact increase the number of poor by displacing people from their livelihoods.
The concept of SEZs is a good one as it can, if implemented in the right way, serve the nation and the people. But in our nation, politicians, industrialists and middle-men are all out to make profits for themselves and do not bother what is the price that others have to pay for their greed. The politicians want statistics, to make it seem that they are doing their job and the industrialists exploit this to suit their needs and the common people are the ones affected. The lives lost in Nandigram and the hundreds displaced and remaining to be displaced due to land acquisition for SEZs are calling out for justice and asking us 'why do we have to pay the price for a few people to fill their pockets?'
The government must stop acquiring pristine agricultural land for SEZs and must pay due compensation for all those moved from their lands along with arrangements made for their rehabilitation. SEZs must not become places where the owners can do anything and can get away with it by giving an excuse that it is a special economic zone. The workers must have their rights and the goverment should ensure that the SEZs do only what they have been permitted to do and do not divert the land for other purposes to make illegal profit especially because it is easy to convert the land acquired under the pretext of taking it up for SEZs into real estate hubs and other ventures.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Music 2 my Ears..
I was never a fan of rock music but there have been times when I realised its potential to rasies your energy levels and exert a strong influence on your state of mind. Right about now, I was feeling a bit down cast and philosophical and I had a sense of loss and my mind was wandering. I tried listening to songs by U2, but it’s not a rock band, atleast not a pure and complete rock band as The Edge's guitar and Bono's voice can be sweet and it does talk a lot about love, something that I do not want to remember at the present situation. I was listening to 'Hands that Built America', 'Miracle Drug' and 'Yahweh' by 'U2', and all of them had some real strong links with love and so I tried something different.
I tried 'Metallica' and believe me when I say it is working! It simply gave me new energy and brought back my wandering mind to the present and so here I am writing about the whole experience! The influence of music on our state of mind is amazing and it is said that Indian Classical Music can actually increase our appetite! So, the next time you go to a restaurant and you hear Ravishankar's sitar or a Carnatic raga, don't be amazed, but simply realise that it is a way to make you eat more! At the time of exams, it is a tradition of BITSians, and I think of all engineering students, to keep their studies for the night before the exams and it is then that we resort to a procedure called night out when we don't sleep at all and for most people in my hostel at BITS, rock music is what keeps them awake so that they can finish atleast half the portions for the exam! If we had chosen some classical or soft music, I am sure we would have fallen asleep in no time! Its midnight when I am writing this, yet I am not quite feeling sleepy as I am listening to heavy metal right now.
Soft music, especially Hindustani music can really calm your nerves and it can help you relax. There are those, who listen to music when they study (not to keep them awake!) to provide the right kind of atmosphere by listening to slow and soft songs to provide a sense of stability and a calming effect. But using ear phones or I-Pods when we study something new has not helped me, but playing it on a speaker has definitely had it's impact. Perhaps when we use the ear-phone, it directly enters our ears with very little intervening medium and this causes too much of a distraction but when we listen to it from a source from a small distance, the disturbance might be reduced, allowing us to focus on something else like studies or writing. Even religion has it's own strong links with music and most of our prayers and epics are written in verses with a definite fixed tune and meter and when we chant our prayers, it is some sort of music. Bhajans,
keertans and most compositions in carnatic and some in hindustani music are actually prayers and songs about god and his glory. Christianity has choirs in its churches at prayer times and Lord Ayyappa is put to sleep using a composition in his praise.
Remember how your mother put you to sleep when sleep seemed far away to you? She sang a lullaby, which by magic it seem, make your eyelids heavy and slip into the comfort of sleep without even knowing about it. Isn't it strange how some random arrangement of sound can affect the way you feel and affect your mood? That is the power of music and those who can sing, have my immense respect, as I believe that music is a god given gift, and musicians, according to me are truly messengers of god.
I tried 'Metallica' and believe me when I say it is working! It simply gave me new energy and brought back my wandering mind to the present and so here I am writing about the whole experience! The influence of music on our state of mind is amazing and it is said that Indian Classical Music can actually increase our appetite! So, the next time you go to a restaurant and you hear Ravishankar's sitar or a Carnatic raga, don't be amazed, but simply realise that it is a way to make you eat more! At the time of exams, it is a tradition of BITSians, and I think of all engineering students, to keep their studies for the night before the exams and it is then that we resort to a procedure called night out when we don't sleep at all and for most people in my hostel at BITS, rock music is what keeps them awake so that they can finish atleast half the portions for the exam! If we had chosen some classical or soft music, I am sure we would have fallen asleep in no time! Its midnight when I am writing this, yet I am not quite feeling sleepy as I am listening to heavy metal right now.
Soft music, especially Hindustani music can really calm your nerves and it can help you relax. There are those, who listen to music when they study (not to keep them awake!) to provide the right kind of atmosphere by listening to slow and soft songs to provide a sense of stability and a calming effect. But using ear phones or I-Pods when we study something new has not helped me, but playing it on a speaker has definitely had it's impact. Perhaps when we use the ear-phone, it directly enters our ears with very little intervening medium and this causes too much of a distraction but when we listen to it from a source from a small distance, the disturbance might be reduced, allowing us to focus on something else like studies or writing. Even religion has it's own strong links with music and most of our prayers and epics are written in verses with a definite fixed tune and meter and when we chant our prayers, it is some sort of music. Bhajans,
keertans and most compositions in carnatic and some in hindustani music are actually prayers and songs about god and his glory. Christianity has choirs in its churches at prayer times and Lord Ayyappa is put to sleep using a composition in his praise.
Remember how your mother put you to sleep when sleep seemed far away to you? She sang a lullaby, which by magic it seem, make your eyelids heavy and slip into the comfort of sleep without even knowing about it. Isn't it strange how some random arrangement of sound can affect the way you feel and affect your mood? That is the power of music and those who can sing, have my immense respect, as I believe that music is a god given gift, and musicians, according to me are truly messengers of god.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Individuals & Environment Conservation
The previous decade has been the hottest ever since man began to record temperatures and it has also been the decade where mother earth has let us know her anguish and despair at what we have done to her and her inhabitants, with an alarming frequency that can be taken for a warning, a warning that if we ignore, would threaten the existence of all that we see around us and ultimately even our existence. Climate change is for real and it is happening at a speed that has amazed even the most pessimistic of global warming predictions. There have been stronger floods, cyclones, storms and landslides and these have occurred at previously unknown frequencies. The world is getting hotter and we can afford to ignore the facts only at our own peril.
We are mercilessly killing the world through increased emissions of Greenhouse gases, release of CFCs, deforestation and other environmentally degrading activities. There are more cars on the road each day, more people to share our limited resources with, more factories coming up, more people are travelling and more appliances being purchased each day. All this is putting immense stress on the precious little resources that we have. We already have enough environmental activists and climatologists to describe to us what is global warming & its effects which will lead to melting of the polar ice caps, leading to a rise in ocean water levels which will flood many coastal regions and thousands of other after effects of increased temperatures. So, this is an ordinary person's view of the affair and an individual’s effort to contribute towards helping this planet overcome this major threat.
Three simple things can go a long way-reduce, reuse and recycle. Reduce consumption of all resources. For example, it is easy to reduce power consumption without affecting our daily lives or our professions. A little bit of carefulness can go a long way. About 12% of the power we consume is used to keep machines on standby. This means that, we are not actually using the appliances, but power is consumed to keep the machines in a state of readiness. It is not at all essential to keep our TVs, computers, microwave ovens etc on standby for long. If we just turn them off, we can cut down on power consumption immensely. Another major source of power wastage is the incandescent bulbs that we use. They are power sucking devices that have very low efficiency and drink up huge amounts of power to provide the small amount of light they offer, as a huge quantity of power is lost in the form of heat. If we replace these incandescent bulbs with fluorescent lamps, in spite of the high initial cost of purchasing one, they consume far lesser power and provide better light which is also softer on the eyes than ordinary bulbs, which means low post purchase costs. Heating our homes during winter is another area where we can make drastic cuts in the power we consume. If we use an extra layer of warm clothes or insulate our homes in a better way, we can reduce our dependence on heaters and reduce power consumption. Do remember to turn off lights and fans when you leave, as every small step goes a long way towards saving our fragile environment. We can reduce emissions if we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and gas guzzling vehicles. Use more of public transport and, walk or ride a bicycle as it is also the easiest of ways to a better health.
Do not keep the tap running unnecessarily and do not use potable water for gardening and washing your car etc. Remember, potable water is also a scarce commodity and it must be consumed judiciously. Reuse carry-bags, plastic containers and other items before throwing them away as waste. This leads to efficient use of resources and reduces the amount of waste produced. Reduce consuming products obtained from animals, like fur etc as it is a sin to take a life for our own amusement and pleasure. Vegetarianism should be encouraged as it is more eco-friendly and more merciful. It takes around ten times more resources to obtain the same nutrients through meat than through fruits and vegetables. I would consider this wastage of resources and also a disregard for our fellow inhabitants who have as much right as we have to live in this world and utilise its resources for their own survival. But we are threatening their survival by destroying their habitat by deforestation, pollution and killing them mercilessly for various purposes like obtaining meat, skin and even for pleasure.
Recycling also reduces wastage and drastically increases efficiency as the things we discard are converted back into usable products and used again reducing resource consumption, pollution and also creates employment. This leads me to the fact environment conservation should go hand in hand with human welfare. If protecting the environment might affect our development, then no one will be ready to protect our world although in the long run, if we do not protect it, all of us will suffer. If we make environment conservation create employment, and lead to better lives for the people, then our task will become simple. For example, carbon offsetting, although a controversial topic and opposed by many because of the reason that it gives rich nations the right to pollute more and gives them a chance to justify their acts simply giving money to carbon offsetting has the ability to bring together environment protection and economic welfare for the people. If used in the right way, this could be one of those ideas that might just save our planet from total disaster. Carbon offsetting is a way of compensating for the carbon emissions you have done by investing in organisations that work on projects to reduce carbon content in the atmosphere by planting trees and also work on charity projects like providing solar power, potable water and other ecological programmes that compensate for carbon emissions. This generates employment, provide basic amenities like lighting, sanitation etc for the rural and urban poor across the world. We can also compensate for our own emissions by planting trees that use up the carbon dioxide and provide cleaner air.
Storing and using rainwater, will prevent depletion of the limited stock of potable water that we have and also makes efficient use of the cleanest source of water that we have. Governments should provide tax deduction for hybrid cars, fuel cell and battery powered cars that have very little emissions as this will encourage the public to adopt such a mode of transport, which will cut emissions and be the first step towards providing a cleaner air to breathe.
On an individual basis, we must reduce dependence on fossil fuels, consume less electricity which is easily achieved by reducing wastage and unnecessary consumption, stopping usage of animal products, using pubic transport, reusing some of the things that we throw away and recycling. Making efficient utilisation of resources like using fluorescent lamps, are simple steps that all of us can do to protect our environment and conserving the limited resources that we have. This is definitely a case where one person can make a difference and when the efforts of many individuals accumulate, it can definitely have an impact on the world for the good of all inhabitants of this planet. Generation after generation of human beings have lived on this planet in total harmony with the environment, yet it has been in the last few centuries that we have critically damaged our planet. If we do not reverse the trend of leaving a more polluted world for the next generation, a trend that began with the onset of the industrial age, we will be condemning our children, our future and the beautiful world that we inhabit, to decay and destruction. Let us take a pledge to our impact on this planet, to make this world a better place for generations to come and to restore its beauty and glory to the days when there was clean air, water and land and man and nature struck a balance between each of their needs and requirements and duties.
We are mercilessly killing the world through increased emissions of Greenhouse gases, release of CFCs, deforestation and other environmentally degrading activities. There are more cars on the road each day, more people to share our limited resources with, more factories coming up, more people are travelling and more appliances being purchased each day. All this is putting immense stress on the precious little resources that we have. We already have enough environmental activists and climatologists to describe to us what is global warming & its effects which will lead to melting of the polar ice caps, leading to a rise in ocean water levels which will flood many coastal regions and thousands of other after effects of increased temperatures. So, this is an ordinary person's view of the affair and an individual’s effort to contribute towards helping this planet overcome this major threat.
Three simple things can go a long way-reduce, reuse and recycle. Reduce consumption of all resources. For example, it is easy to reduce power consumption without affecting our daily lives or our professions. A little bit of carefulness can go a long way. About 12% of the power we consume is used to keep machines on standby. This means that, we are not actually using the appliances, but power is consumed to keep the machines in a state of readiness. It is not at all essential to keep our TVs, computers, microwave ovens etc on standby for long. If we just turn them off, we can cut down on power consumption immensely. Another major source of power wastage is the incandescent bulbs that we use. They are power sucking devices that have very low efficiency and drink up huge amounts of power to provide the small amount of light they offer, as a huge quantity of power is lost in the form of heat. If we replace these incandescent bulbs with fluorescent lamps, in spite of the high initial cost of purchasing one, they consume far lesser power and provide better light which is also softer on the eyes than ordinary bulbs, which means low post purchase costs. Heating our homes during winter is another area where we can make drastic cuts in the power we consume. If we use an extra layer of warm clothes or insulate our homes in a better way, we can reduce our dependence on heaters and reduce power consumption. Do remember to turn off lights and fans when you leave, as every small step goes a long way towards saving our fragile environment. We can reduce emissions if we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and gas guzzling vehicles. Use more of public transport and, walk or ride a bicycle as it is also the easiest of ways to a better health.
Do not keep the tap running unnecessarily and do not use potable water for gardening and washing your car etc. Remember, potable water is also a scarce commodity and it must be consumed judiciously. Reuse carry-bags, plastic containers and other items before throwing them away as waste. This leads to efficient use of resources and reduces the amount of waste produced. Reduce consuming products obtained from animals, like fur etc as it is a sin to take a life for our own amusement and pleasure. Vegetarianism should be encouraged as it is more eco-friendly and more merciful. It takes around ten times more resources to obtain the same nutrients through meat than through fruits and vegetables. I would consider this wastage of resources and also a disregard for our fellow inhabitants who have as much right as we have to live in this world and utilise its resources for their own survival. But we are threatening their survival by destroying their habitat by deforestation, pollution and killing them mercilessly for various purposes like obtaining meat, skin and even for pleasure.
Recycling also reduces wastage and drastically increases efficiency as the things we discard are converted back into usable products and used again reducing resource consumption, pollution and also creates employment. This leads me to the fact environment conservation should go hand in hand with human welfare. If protecting the environment might affect our development, then no one will be ready to protect our world although in the long run, if we do not protect it, all of us will suffer. If we make environment conservation create employment, and lead to better lives for the people, then our task will become simple. For example, carbon offsetting, although a controversial topic and opposed by many because of the reason that it gives rich nations the right to pollute more and gives them a chance to justify their acts simply giving money to carbon offsetting has the ability to bring together environment protection and economic welfare for the people. If used in the right way, this could be one of those ideas that might just save our planet from total disaster. Carbon offsetting is a way of compensating for the carbon emissions you have done by investing in organisations that work on projects to reduce carbon content in the atmosphere by planting trees and also work on charity projects like providing solar power, potable water and other ecological programmes that compensate for carbon emissions. This generates employment, provide basic amenities like lighting, sanitation etc for the rural and urban poor across the world. We can also compensate for our own emissions by planting trees that use up the carbon dioxide and provide cleaner air.
Storing and using rainwater, will prevent depletion of the limited stock of potable water that we have and also makes efficient use of the cleanest source of water that we have. Governments should provide tax deduction for hybrid cars, fuel cell and battery powered cars that have very little emissions as this will encourage the public to adopt such a mode of transport, which will cut emissions and be the first step towards providing a cleaner air to breathe.
On an individual basis, we must reduce dependence on fossil fuels, consume less electricity which is easily achieved by reducing wastage and unnecessary consumption, stopping usage of animal products, using pubic transport, reusing some of the things that we throw away and recycling. Making efficient utilisation of resources like using fluorescent lamps, are simple steps that all of us can do to protect our environment and conserving the limited resources that we have. This is definitely a case where one person can make a difference and when the efforts of many individuals accumulate, it can definitely have an impact on the world for the good of all inhabitants of this planet. Generation after generation of human beings have lived on this planet in total harmony with the environment, yet it has been in the last few centuries that we have critically damaged our planet. If we do not reverse the trend of leaving a more polluted world for the next generation, a trend that began with the onset of the industrial age, we will be condemning our children, our future and the beautiful world that we inhabit, to decay and destruction. Let us take a pledge to our impact on this planet, to make this world a better place for generations to come and to restore its beauty and glory to the days when there was clean air, water and land and man and nature struck a balance between each of their needs and requirements and duties.
Creativity
There are moments when you have ideas in your mind, when you want to create something,but you just cant make it happen. You know what you want and what exactly you must create, you know how to make it happen and you have the skill to do it. But things are just not falling into place. All the things you need are ready, yet there is something missing. You cant start your creation. Even if you have started, you stumble, there are conflicts of ideas, or perhaps all your ideas which seemed so perfect become pieces of absolute imperfection or atleast, they seem to have become so to you.
It is difficult to create, whatever it is that we are trying to create. It requires a certain degree of skill and the right surroundings. I would like to discuss about the importance of the right kind of surroundings and the role it plays in our creativity. It is well known that aritsts and writers seek solitude and loneliness for giving shape to their works. Writers from Ian Fleming, who sought refuge in Jamaica for making his suave secret agent, to J K Rowling who is supposed to have formed the idea of the teenage wizard during a train journey and also is thought to have written parts of her book at a London coffee shop, have shown that surroundings play an important role in our creations. Our surroundings influence, the flow of ideas, words and brush strokes,it influences the way we look at the world and this in turn reflects in our creations.This is because, I believe that, whoever is the author or painter or poet, derives some sort of influence and ideas from his/her own life. There is a distinct personal element in the writings of each author irrespective of geographical region or the time-period of the creation. J R R Tolkien wrote parts of Lord of The Rings, the more famous of his stories about middle earth during the German blitzkrieg and this definitely reflects in his portrayal of the battles in the book. Another obvious one such series is that of Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is little known the detective, with what it seems to have been super human deduction power and intelligence, had a real life counter-part and that he was the author's teacher at medical school. Getting back to Ian Fleming, he had heard the heroic stories of soldiers ans spies at war during WW1 from his teacher whose husband was in the army. Mario Puzo, who had three children when he writing, had shut himself up in a room away from the chatter and noise of the children and his children recall seeing very little of him those days and even when they saw him, he was always lost in thought.
The field of science and research is also a field that requires creativity, infact it requires more creativity than art or literature. Scientists are totally committed to their tasks and most of them flourish when left to their own devices and do not appreciate any outside disturbance. Our own President, Dr.Abdul Kalam, has remained a bachelor, and the reason is because he had commited himself to tne task of fortifying our defences and wanted no outside interferences. People achieve maximum efficiency when left to their own devices.
The right sort of surroundings can work wonders. It can inspire us and make a poet out of a peasent. One doesnt have to be born with the ability to be creative or artistic or with the ability to write or speak well. It can be developed and nurtured. It is about the right kind of exposure and influence and there is nothing better than the nature and our surroundings to make a creative genius. One must look into one's own surroundings to get ideas and inspirations. The right kind of mind set is also important. A mind troubled by the struggle that is daily life or someone who has barely enough time to relax, someone struggling to make two ends meet etc find it difficult to unleash their creativity. The right atmosphere can make us think in ways that might seem impossible to someone else and these thoughts are the ones that change the world. Our own sages sought refuge in the forests to meditate and to discover the secrets of the world, to discover and understand oneself.
Another important thing that surroundings must provide for someone to flourish is encouragement and the rightkind of criticism. Even if the creation is not that good, one must encourage the person to try and improve his work. The best of artists can be dejected by the first negative response they get to their work and this is most evident in the case of Vincent Van Gogh, who during his lifetime was unfortunate to have none of his paintings create profit and got so dejected by this and the death of his Brother Theo Van Gogh, that he took his life immediately after the completion of one of his most famous works Crows in the Field. Now, his paintings are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, a small consolation for one of the greatest painters who took his life due to depression caused by the lack of appreciation of his work. The right amount of encouragement and support can enhance creativity as it provides the creator with a sense of security which provides the right envrionment to work in. That is the reason why artists, sculptors and others were patronised by the noble families across the world for whom they made some of the best known works of art. The church sponsored artists like Bernini and Michaelangelo and their creations adorn the Vatican and Rome and are considered some of the best works ever. Scientists are also provided support and even now,various universities support and fund their work so that these efforts can bring about a better future for us all.
It is difficult to create, whatever it is that we are trying to create. It requires a certain degree of skill and the right surroundings. I would like to discuss about the importance of the right kind of surroundings and the role it plays in our creativity. It is well known that aritsts and writers seek solitude and loneliness for giving shape to their works. Writers from Ian Fleming, who sought refuge in Jamaica for making his suave secret agent, to J K Rowling who is supposed to have formed the idea of the teenage wizard during a train journey and also is thought to have written parts of her book at a London coffee shop, have shown that surroundings play an important role in our creations. Our surroundings influence, the flow of ideas, words and brush strokes,it influences the way we look at the world and this in turn reflects in our creations.This is because, I believe that, whoever is the author or painter or poet, derives some sort of influence and ideas from his/her own life. There is a distinct personal element in the writings of each author irrespective of geographical region or the time-period of the creation. J R R Tolkien wrote parts of Lord of The Rings, the more famous of his stories about middle earth during the German blitzkrieg and this definitely reflects in his portrayal of the battles in the book. Another obvious one such series is that of Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is little known the detective, with what it seems to have been super human deduction power and intelligence, had a real life counter-part and that he was the author's teacher at medical school. Getting back to Ian Fleming, he had heard the heroic stories of soldiers ans spies at war during WW1 from his teacher whose husband was in the army. Mario Puzo, who had three children when he writing, had shut himself up in a room away from the chatter and noise of the children and his children recall seeing very little of him those days and even when they saw him, he was always lost in thought.
The field of science and research is also a field that requires creativity, infact it requires more creativity than art or literature. Scientists are totally committed to their tasks and most of them flourish when left to their own devices and do not appreciate any outside disturbance. Our own President, Dr.Abdul Kalam, has remained a bachelor, and the reason is because he had commited himself to tne task of fortifying our defences and wanted no outside interferences. People achieve maximum efficiency when left to their own devices.
The right sort of surroundings can work wonders. It can inspire us and make a poet out of a peasent. One doesnt have to be born with the ability to be creative or artistic or with the ability to write or speak well. It can be developed and nurtured. It is about the right kind of exposure and influence and there is nothing better than the nature and our surroundings to make a creative genius. One must look into one's own surroundings to get ideas and inspirations. The right kind of mind set is also important. A mind troubled by the struggle that is daily life or someone who has barely enough time to relax, someone struggling to make two ends meet etc find it difficult to unleash their creativity. The right atmosphere can make us think in ways that might seem impossible to someone else and these thoughts are the ones that change the world. Our own sages sought refuge in the forests to meditate and to discover the secrets of the world, to discover and understand oneself.
Another important thing that surroundings must provide for someone to flourish is encouragement and the rightkind of criticism. Even if the creation is not that good, one must encourage the person to try and improve his work. The best of artists can be dejected by the first negative response they get to their work and this is most evident in the case of Vincent Van Gogh, who during his lifetime was unfortunate to have none of his paintings create profit and got so dejected by this and the death of his Brother Theo Van Gogh, that he took his life immediately after the completion of one of his most famous works Crows in the Field. Now, his paintings are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, a small consolation for one of the greatest painters who took his life due to depression caused by the lack of appreciation of his work. The right amount of encouragement and support can enhance creativity as it provides the creator with a sense of security which provides the right envrionment to work in. That is the reason why artists, sculptors and others were patronised by the noble families across the world for whom they made some of the best known works of art. The church sponsored artists like Bernini and Michaelangelo and their creations adorn the Vatican and Rome and are considered some of the best works ever. Scientists are also provided support and even now,various universities support and fund their work so that these efforts can bring about a better future for us all.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Change and Development in our World
When Darwin framed his theory of evolution, he said that for any individual organism of a species to survive, it must adapt to the changes in its surroundings. In the case of humans, the changes are rapid. Though funny it might seem, it is the only constant throughout our life. If we must survive in this highly competitive world, we must adapt fast to the changes taking place in our world. If we don’t, then we will be trodden underfoot, forgotten and left behind to rot. One who adapts better to the changes ensures his/her survival. Those who don’t adapt, well I think not even god cares about them these days.
It is one thing to accept the change, but an entirely different game to adapt to these changes. One can easily accept the changes, but how he faces the changes and performs under these new conditions brought about by the change determines his survival. It is happening so rapidly that we are left gaping at the distance by which we have fallen short of the times in so short a period. It has gone to such an extent that the gap that can be called ‘Generation Gap’ has fallen to 4 years. Change is taking place so fast, I am forced to comment that one day, change itself will be left behind as a time will come when we predict what the next change is, days or even months in advance.
It throws up one important question- where are rushing towards? To what end and purpose is our journey? What do we intend to achieve with all these changes? What is the need for the scientific, technological, political, economic and sociological development if those who can handle these changes and adapt effectively to these changes constitute only a minor fraction of the entire population? The answer is not known to anyone I am quite sure. We embrace change to survive, but this change itself jeapordises our survival and continual existence. All the advancements in science, technology and other fields are pursued keeping in mind the well being of the people and to provide a better life to all of us. That is the reason given for scientific, technological and political endeavours. But isn’t it ironical that these are the very same efforts that make our life more difficult?
I am forced to question the purpose of development as we have now come to call the changes that we make to our understanding and interpretation of science, technology and economics and also the changes that we bring about in our world. Aren’t these the changes the very same thing that threatens the livelihoods of people and makes life more difficult for them? We discovered radioactivity and put it to the wrong use. We make computers, cell-phones, vehicles, factories but aren’t these that force people to be overworked and under-paid and aren’t these the ones leading to exploitation of the consumers and aren’t their activities damaging our environment? Hasn’t the changes brought about more disturbance than well-being? Wouldn’t we have been better off without these changes? The changes are benefiting only the rich and powerful, which constitute only a small minority of this world and if one argues that this the scenario of survival of the fittest, then I see no point in the so called human rights and the claims that all of us are created equal but gives sound backing to the words that some are more equal than others. Our environment is being polluted- the air we breathe poisoned to manufacture goods, water is being used up by industries reducing availability for our basic needs, land is being polluted by fertilizers and pesticides to satisfy our need for industrial scale agriculture and cash crops.
Laptops, tablets and mobile phones have penetrated our homes and brought offices to our homes. People spend more time at work than with their families, people get to see less and less of their kids and more of their bosses who they don't like. Blood pressure, diabetes and stress disorders are on the rise and this is in a world where there are people dying of hunger of malnutrition in our own country. What this shows is not the inequality but also the purposeless and useless development model that we currently follow.
Equal advancement, opportunities and well being for all was the stated claim for learning more about world which is the purpose of science (the word science comes from the latin word scientia which means to know). The changes all have this same purpose as their stated reason, but clearly, the world has never been more distinctly divided in to the rich and poor, into strong and powerful. So, where is this taking us? Undoubtedly, we are moving into a world more dominated by the rich, and the poor will be left at the mercy of the rich, most of whom, do not have a good reputation of being considerate towards others. What it means is that the rich will become richer and this will come at the expense of the poor, who will be pushed down into greater poverty. A few rich ones will control the and exploit this world for their benefit and they will do this without considering the impact of their actions on the world and the environment. It is clear that, the richest nations are the ones that cause the maximum damage to the environment. This is where the current changes are leading us. We must ask ourselves, is this what we want? No, definitely not. We want a world where there is equality, freedom, liberty and rights as well as duties. Although for centuries these ideals have been talked and incorporated into the constitutions of many countries including ours, it is a matter of concern whether this has been actually implemented in these nations. Utilize advancements in science, technology and other fields to bring about welfare for the masses and this is something called inclusive growth where everyone gets a share of the development.
So the million dollar question is-in what ways can we change ourselves or how can we equip ourselves to survive in this world? I do not claim to present a complete solution or a comprehensive answer to the question that I have raised as it something that my age and lack of experience with the world doesn’t permit me to do. But I do make an attempt at this-
We must be willing to work hard in pursuit of success and our goals
Do have concern for one’s fellow beings and for the environment
One must not hesitate to speak openly and when necessary, should raise one’s voice for the righteous cause
Think differently, think about the world and the issues facing the world and think about the changes that you can bring about in this world
We live in age of information where the information you possess can determine whether you succeed or fail and so be upto-date with the world happenings
Think and act and do things for the common good of all
Fight against or atleast oppose corruption and injustice
Grab the opportunities that come your way and utilise it to the fullest
Teamwork is important. In a team, you have certain skills and you don’t posses all the skills that the team requires. Contribute what you can with what you have and be ready to accept your teammates; remember, if you can’t beat them, join them. Fight against those weaker than you but never against your equals or those stronger than you. Make peace with them for your own benefit.
Most importantly, be the change you want to see in this world.
One can say that these are the ways to survive and compete successfully in any field, but I wish to say that these have special significance in the current scenario, especially the ones about teamwork, grabbing your opportunities and collecting and using the information to one’s advantage.
Together we can make a better world where there is equality, freedom, rights and duties, justice and all are happy. Although this might seem a distant dream, it is with dreams that all change originates and it is with a dream that one man achieved equality for an entire community in U.S.
It is one thing to accept the change, but an entirely different game to adapt to these changes. One can easily accept the changes, but how he faces the changes and performs under these new conditions brought about by the change determines his survival. It is happening so rapidly that we are left gaping at the distance by which we have fallen short of the times in so short a period. It has gone to such an extent that the gap that can be called ‘Generation Gap’ has fallen to 4 years. Change is taking place so fast, I am forced to comment that one day, change itself will be left behind as a time will come when we predict what the next change is, days or even months in advance.
It throws up one important question- where are rushing towards? To what end and purpose is our journey? What do we intend to achieve with all these changes? What is the need for the scientific, technological, political, economic and sociological development if those who can handle these changes and adapt effectively to these changes constitute only a minor fraction of the entire population? The answer is not known to anyone I am quite sure. We embrace change to survive, but this change itself jeapordises our survival and continual existence. All the advancements in science, technology and other fields are pursued keeping in mind the well being of the people and to provide a better life to all of us. That is the reason given for scientific, technological and political endeavours. But isn’t it ironical that these are the very same efforts that make our life more difficult?
I am forced to question the purpose of development as we have now come to call the changes that we make to our understanding and interpretation of science, technology and economics and also the changes that we bring about in our world. Aren’t these the changes the very same thing that threatens the livelihoods of people and makes life more difficult for them? We discovered radioactivity and put it to the wrong use. We make computers, cell-phones, vehicles, factories but aren’t these that force people to be overworked and under-paid and aren’t these the ones leading to exploitation of the consumers and aren’t their activities damaging our environment? Hasn’t the changes brought about more disturbance than well-being? Wouldn’t we have been better off without these changes? The changes are benefiting only the rich and powerful, which constitute only a small minority of this world and if one argues that this the scenario of survival of the fittest, then I see no point in the so called human rights and the claims that all of us are created equal but gives sound backing to the words that some are more equal than others. Our environment is being polluted- the air we breathe poisoned to manufacture goods, water is being used up by industries reducing availability for our basic needs, land is being polluted by fertilizers and pesticides to satisfy our need for industrial scale agriculture and cash crops.
Laptops, tablets and mobile phones have penetrated our homes and brought offices to our homes. People spend more time at work than with their families, people get to see less and less of their kids and more of their bosses who they don't like. Blood pressure, diabetes and stress disorders are on the rise and this is in a world where there are people dying of hunger of malnutrition in our own country. What this shows is not the inequality but also the purposeless and useless development model that we currently follow.
Equal advancement, opportunities and well being for all was the stated claim for learning more about world which is the purpose of science (the word science comes from the latin word scientia which means to know). The changes all have this same purpose as their stated reason, but clearly, the world has never been more distinctly divided in to the rich and poor, into strong and powerful. So, where is this taking us? Undoubtedly, we are moving into a world more dominated by the rich, and the poor will be left at the mercy of the rich, most of whom, do not have a good reputation of being considerate towards others. What it means is that the rich will become richer and this will come at the expense of the poor, who will be pushed down into greater poverty. A few rich ones will control the and exploit this world for their benefit and they will do this without considering the impact of their actions on the world and the environment. It is clear that, the richest nations are the ones that cause the maximum damage to the environment. This is where the current changes are leading us. We must ask ourselves, is this what we want? No, definitely not. We want a world where there is equality, freedom, liberty and rights as well as duties. Although for centuries these ideals have been talked and incorporated into the constitutions of many countries including ours, it is a matter of concern whether this has been actually implemented in these nations. Utilize advancements in science, technology and other fields to bring about welfare for the masses and this is something called inclusive growth where everyone gets a share of the development.
So the million dollar question is-in what ways can we change ourselves or how can we equip ourselves to survive in this world? I do not claim to present a complete solution or a comprehensive answer to the question that I have raised as it something that my age and lack of experience with the world doesn’t permit me to do. But I do make an attempt at this-
We must be willing to work hard in pursuit of success and our goals
Do have concern for one’s fellow beings and for the environment
One must not hesitate to speak openly and when necessary, should raise one’s voice for the righteous cause
Think differently, think about the world and the issues facing the world and think about the changes that you can bring about in this world
We live in age of information where the information you possess can determine whether you succeed or fail and so be upto-date with the world happenings
Think and act and do things for the common good of all
Fight against or atleast oppose corruption and injustice
Grab the opportunities that come your way and utilise it to the fullest
Teamwork is important. In a team, you have certain skills and you don’t posses all the skills that the team requires. Contribute what you can with what you have and be ready to accept your teammates; remember, if you can’t beat them, join them. Fight against those weaker than you but never against your equals or those stronger than you. Make peace with them for your own benefit.
Most importantly, be the change you want to see in this world.
One can say that these are the ways to survive and compete successfully in any field, but I wish to say that these have special significance in the current scenario, especially the ones about teamwork, grabbing your opportunities and collecting and using the information to one’s advantage.
Together we can make a better world where there is equality, freedom, rights and duties, justice and all are happy. Although this might seem a distant dream, it is with dreams that all change originates and it is with a dream that one man achieved equality for an entire community in U.S.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Blogging for me is..
The reason why I started blogging is as an arena for expressing myself, my ideas, my views and thoughts. As a friend of mine aptly said, a blog is your e-mail to the world. You can tell all you want to the world and I also see this as a way of reaching out to the world and integrating myself to this world where views are shared, opinions commented upon and new ideas are formed.
I like to learn more and more about the world, a habit which originated from my quizzing, and so I have built up some database in my brain about certain things and I have also formed my on opinions on what is happening around the world. So far, I have not been able to express these opinions and views and blogging provides me with an oppurtunity for this. For me, it doesn't matter whether someone reads this at all. As far as I am concerned, I have posted my views and it's there for all to be seen.
It is also a method for me to analyze my own work and my own self and makes my mind work sharper and leads me into thinking more deeply. Another reason would be to kill time, although at the point of posting these, I do not have the luxury of wasting a lot of time as exams are going on at my college(BITS-PILANI,Goa Campus).
Well, I conclude by wishing all fellow bloggers all the very best.
Happy blogging everyone.......
I like to learn more and more about the world, a habit which originated from my quizzing, and so I have built up some database in my brain about certain things and I have also formed my on opinions on what is happening around the world. So far, I have not been able to express these opinions and views and blogging provides me with an oppurtunity for this. For me, it doesn't matter whether someone reads this at all. As far as I am concerned, I have posted my views and it's there for all to be seen.
It is also a method for me to analyze my own work and my own self and makes my mind work sharper and leads me into thinking more deeply. Another reason would be to kill time, although at the point of posting these, I do not have the luxury of wasting a lot of time as exams are going on at my college(BITS-PILANI,Goa Campus).
Well, I conclude by wishing all fellow bloggers all the very best.
Happy blogging everyone.......
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
India's Independence vs Africa
An Analysis of the Reasons for the Different
Paths followed by African nations & India after Independence
India was the first nation in the world to achieve Independence from foreign rule through the path of non-violence. It was a unique precedent in the world, as so far in history, only through armed violence had nations freed themselves from the purge of foreign rule. One can only admire and respect the vision and leadership of great men like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dadabhai Naoroji, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, B R Ambedkar etc. It was our good fortune that we had visionaries like these and men of such high magnitude of charisma and ideas, as without them, our nation would have easily slipped into chaos after independence. I believe that the importance of these men lie not only in bringing about our freedom, but also in consolidating our nation’s independence even in the disturbing circumstances that prevailed then and putting our country firmly on the path of development and prosperity.
To further my point, I would like to point out the example of many of the African nations, which, after they gained independence have found the going tough. Africa is in fact endowed with more natural resources than our own country and more diversity in nature than our own. Yet, there are only few African countries that can claim to have a stable government, a comfortable living for at least some of its citizens, employment, minimum wages etc. Instead, nearly all of them have high rates of unemployment, unstable governments, and the people in these African countries are some of the most backward in this world. The problem as I see it, lies in the foundation of these nations. As the saying goes, well begun is half done. Most of these Nations acquired independence through armed revolution or because their foreign occupiers found it too much of a concern to maintain their stronghold in these colonies. These nations where in a state of chaos at the time of independence and there was a huge power vacuum when the occupiers left, which was filled by the armed gangs who took to looting and violent activities in the absence of a strong central governing body. The scenario of a power vacuum arose because there was no machinery ready to take over from the occupiers when they left nor was there a single banner under which the people were organised.
These nations, even after years of Independence have not been able to come to grips with various problems they are facing and are unable to tackle these problems as they are affected by various stumbling blocks like poverty, armed violence, looting and inflation. Although poverty and similar problems exists even India, efforts are on to tackle the situation, unlike the African nations, where it is the international aid organisations that ensure the survival of the people through the distribution food and medicine and it is the International Peace Keeping force that is keeping violence under control in many of these places.
This represents a strong contrast to India where there was a constituent assembly formed to frame a constitution and oversee the handover and there were highly respected leaders, whom the people trusted. There was mechanism in position to take over from the British when they left. Although there was immense bloodshed as a result of the Hindu-Muslim conflict, it did settle down at a gradual pace inspite of the fact that a large number of lives were lost, but considering the violence that took place as the aftermath of independence in various African nations, this was not as huge, because of the numbers and the exact reason of the violence. In India, the post Independence violence took place as a result of the seeds of discontent sown by the British when they left India which divided India and is still the cause of friction between two nations of nearly 1.4 billion people.
We need to thank those leaders who had a vision, a vision of a free and independent India, who foresaw the requirements of a young nation and acted accordingly, who laid the foundation for economic independence and agricultural self-sufficiency, who gave us a constitution that is the most comprehensive in the entire world since it guarantees us all the necessary rights, freedom to elect our government, to speak out, to protect ourselves against exploitation, and bestowed upon us our duties to protect our nation and its people, culture and freedom. These ideals come only with the struggle for our own freedom as we earned our freedom with the blood, sacrifice and pain of thousands of our ancestors who realised the immense value of the freedom that had been gained after years of oppression.
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