Disabilities; All in the Attitude

This was published in Sunday Herald

Immersed in our busy lives, we take our abilities for granted. To see and hear and speak coherently, to sprint across busy roads or dash up a flight of stairs, to think clearly and grasp what we read; we do it all without a second thought. Yet there are millions among us for whom these activities are impossible dreams. I recently fractured my knee, and experienced life in a wheelchair.

Taking even a few steps became excruciatingly painful. During the long process of recovery, routine daily tasks seemed as challenging as climbing the Himalayas. Taking a bath; crossing roads jammed with Bengaluru’s legendary traffic; balancing painful steps on uneven and often non-existent footpaths; ordinary tasks posed stiff challenges.

How do people muster the courage and determination to contend with such handicaps lifelong? How have severely disabled persons like Stephen Hawking and Helen Keller overcome impossible odds to become iconic inspirational figures for all of humanity?

Crippled by a rare disease, British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking lost control over his body and gradually became completely paralysed. He is celebrated as one of the most brilliant living scientists. American author and activist Helen Keller became deaf and blind in infancy from scarlet fever.

She was a terrified little child imprisoned in dark, silent and complete isolation. Her dedicated teacher Anne Sullivan painstakingly taught her to speak, communicate in sign language, and read books in Braille. Helen Keller travelled to many countries. She campaigned for the rights of women, workers and disabled persons, and other social causes.

The brilliant scientist Albert Einstein had learning disabilities as a child. In his early years, he was slow in school. Today he is celebrated as one of the world’s greatest scientific minds. They demonstrate the immense talent and potential of disabled people, and the importance of assisting them to integrate into mainstream life.

Disabilities in seeing, hearing, speech and movement have long been recognised. But problems of the mind are only recently emerging from under the carpet. Mental retardation, mental illness, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, and issues such as autism and depression are only recently being acknowledged and tackled. New advanced treatments and therapies are being formulated. Growing public awareness is slowly lifting the veil of secrecy and stigma in which mental issues are shrouded.

India’s official Census 2011 shows 2.68 crore people in India as suffering from some form of disability. Disabled persons comprise 2.21% of the total population of our country. That huge number is larger than the entire population of many countries! Government’s efforts to generate employment and enhance skills are bearing fruit.

However, there’s a long way to go before all persons with disabilities (PWDs), rich and poor, from urban and rural areas, enjoy universal accessibility to essential facilities. Access to equal opportunities in education, transport, employment and a non-discriminating and disabled-friendly workspace and living environment is vital.

Only then will our society become fully inclusive. This is critical for enabling them to gain equal opportunity, live independently with dignity and participate fully in all aspects of life. Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 provides for non-discrimination in transport, non-discrimination on the road and non-discrimination in built environment respectively.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a signatory, casts obligations on the governments for ensuring to PWDs accessibility to information, transportation, physical environment, communication technology and accessibility to services as well as emergency services.


Individuals and associations are also pitching in to make this world a more comfortable place for our disabled fellow citizens. Several years ago, I was invited to a special camp organised by the Rotary Club in Bangalore. Doctors, paramedics and technicians had been brought all the way from Rajasthan to fit needy amputees with the miraculous Jaipur Foot.

Wheelchairs and other vital items were being distributed to grateful recipients. After some speeches, three men leapt up on the dais to dance and sing. Neither slickly dressed nor noticeably good-looking, they danced surprisingly well to Bollywood tunes. Their verve and enthusiasm was infectious. And then, the dancers transformed into magicians. They rolled up their trousers as they danced, revealing artificial legs strapped below their knee stumps.

Dancing on a single leg, the men then unbuckled their prosthetic legs and twirled them in the air to overwhelming applause. After the dance, they got down to work as technicians of prosthetic legs for other PWDs like themselves! This was the miracle of the affordable and easy-to-fit Jaipur Foot. Designed in India by Dr Ram Chander Sharma in 1968, it is benefitting countless people. A famous beneficiary is the brilliant dancer and actress Sudha Chandran.

Compelled to have her foot amputated at the age of 16, Sudha Chandran continued her career with tremendous effort and the help of the Jaipur Foot.
People with disabilities, both mental and physical, are now doing well not just in their jobs but also in life.

Thanks to improved health services and other support, PWDs are now emerging from seclusion to live longer and more fulfilling lives, and enriching the society with positive contributions. Famous inspirational disabled persons are many. There are also remarkable PWDs all around us.

Former Army officer Navin Gulia was a fighting-fit young man of 22 when an accident during military training forced him into a wheelchair for life. Spending another 22 years paralysed below the shoulders with restricted arm and hand movement, he continues to glow with infectious enthusiasm.

“I’ve never felt sad in my life,” he says. “Definitely not for myself. People tend to sink into depression, brooding ‘Why me?’ I say, ‘Why not me? Even Jesus Christ and Gandhiji suffered. Am I so special that I should be spared? What will I gain by being sad?”

Self-pity and negativity are not an option for this lifelong fighter. “The miracle is in being alive. If I ever meet god, I will thank him for what I have. The right attitude helps you deal with life. My self-esteem is high. I consider myself equal to others. After my accident, my sense of humour kept me going. I focused upon what to do with the rest of my life. I went on to earn my Master’s degree and studied Gandhian philosophy.” He has also authored a book, In Quest of the Last Victory, an inspirational story of his perseverance, fighting spirit and persistent efforts to achieve higher goals by stretching beyond his limitations.

Taking up the mantle of Directing Worker of ADAA (APNI DUNIYA APNA ASHIANA) came naturally to Navin Gulia. ADAA is an effort aimed at helping, assisting and guiding the lives of underprivileged, orphaned, abandoned and differently abled children in the weaker sections of society. “I wanted to give back something to society,” Navin Gulia says. “I connect very well with children and believe in doing the right thing, not to get attention and popularity, but because I want to be true to what I do.”

“Writing is such a powerful way to release emotions,” says Arundhati Nath of Guwahati, Assam, whose articles on travel, culture, parenting, current affairs and women’s and children’s issues are published worldwide.She’s even penned a book for children and trained in Hindustani classical vocal music while attending to her duties as an employee of State Bank of India. The first time I met her, it took me a while to accept that this charming young girl had just 25% residual vision, had been through multiple eye surgeries, and will need another one in 2018. She, along with her dignified and gently concerned parents, embodied courage and positivity.

Integrating productively into mainstream life wasn’t easy. “Apart from insensitive or sympathetic remarks about my eyes from people, I initially felt I was inadequate when I couldn’t even read the blackboard from the first bench in school. I never had a proper ‘aim in life’ like my classmates who wanted to be doctors or astronauts. I wasn’t confident of my abilities and loved music, science and literature equally, which is still a contradictory mix for higher education in India. In spite of scoring 98% — the highest marks in science in my Class 10 boards, I was discouraged from choosing the science stream because of my visual impairment. I still feel frustrated, but I’m thankful that there are plenty of wonderful books, websites, journals and videos which can take me back to the marvellous world of science. I do not have a degree in science or literature (as I’m a commerce graduate), but I’ll continue to learn more about both of these disciplines.”

“The incidents at school looked like trifles as I grew older,” Arundhati Nath shares. “Depression often reached its peak; and I went back to listening to music and Tedx talks on YouTube, and taking writing courses. I’ve been able to overcome my negative feelings because my parents have relentlessly supported and believed in me, introduced me to books and music very early, and have allowed me to take my decisions independently.I’m indebted to my school teachers: Aparajita Dutta, Ajit Kumar Misra, Rashmi Borkakoty, Mahua Das, Geeta Dutta and Bipasha Deka.In the growing up years, I took solace in music, reading children’s books, and writing stories and poetry.”

It’s all in the mind

Mental health issues have traditionally been treated with silence and denial in Indian society.Trouble and tensions smoulder under the surface. Many silently suffer or see others suffering in isolation, and would benefit from open discussions. Government and voluntary agencies as well as dedicated doctors and hospitals are providing valuable services to sufferers and their loved ones. They strive to bridge the practical and objective gaps regarding treatments and care facilities.

Meanwhile, Indian writers are trying to shed light and spread awareness on the subjective experience of mental illness. Authors Jerry Pinto in his book Em and the Big Hoom, and Amandeep Sandhu in Sepia Leaves, have artistically rendered the emotional alternate realities they have personally faced with their own suffering near and dear ones. Jerry Pinto has also edited A Book of Light, with pieces written by various authors, offering fictionalised or autobiographical accounts of dear ones with mental illness. These stories shed “light on the dark areas of pain and guilt and utter helplessness.” The family is our shelter from the pain, dangers and heartbreaks of the world outside. “But what if it is your mother who is wounding you and then soothing you by turns? What if it is your father who seems distant or desolate, living in a dark tower that you cannot enter?”

In his story in A Book of Light, Madhusudan Srinivas writes of the pressures to appear ‘normal’ regarding his own differently abled son. “Most of our children haven’t demanded anything of us, ever. It’s we who end up demanding a hell of a lot of them in our endeavour to meet society’s norms. To make the differently abled as non-different and as indistinguishable as we can” for the sake of gaining social acceptance.

Annabelle Furtado says, “There is no shame in telling my story. If it can help others understand that a breakdown doesn’t mean you are dysfunctional, I stand to be heard.” She points out something we all need to understand. “No one is merely crazy. We just don’t know how to describe or treat the illness. The lines between normal and abnormal are often so personal. What may seem normal to one may be abnormal to another.”

Such books help all of us understand the pain of coping, of suffering in isolation, the helplessness and lack of peace faced by the sufferers among us, and their caregivers. They spread awareness and sensitivity, and can enable us to better support and appreciate those around us of ‘a different mind’.

PWDs are shining and inspiring us in every sphere of life. Shekar Naik is aT20 Blind Cricket World Champion and has 32 centuries tohis name. Arunima Sinha lost her leg when miscreants pushed her out of a moving train. She became the first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest. PWDs have the potential to excel despite odds. They do not want pity and to be looked down upon because of their handicaps. They can overcome their physical limitations with the help of a strong will. It is up to each of us to support them by boosting their morale and determination.

Motivation and optimism are the key. “If I had a choice to go back in time,” Arundhati Nath adds, “I would change my attitude and belief in myself. That would have eased so much heartache much earlier. It’s our own attitude that ultimately matters.”

Amandeep Sandhu has the final word on disability — “Life can sometimes be hard, but we can resist being crushed.”

International Women's Day

She's an Eagle When She Flies

(This was first published in Deccan Herald)

On International Women’s Day 2017, the spotlight is on women’s progress. New initiatives are being launched to help forge a better world, where men and women will be truly equal. This annual focus on women has indeed triggered awareness and positive action. Organisations and individuals as well as governments, have been making sustained efforts to help women achieve their full potential.

Disparities and injustices entrenched since the dawn of civilisation cannot vanish overnight. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report tracks the intensity of gender disparities and the progress made. The 2016 Report covering 144 countries in the crucial sectors of health, education, economy and politics, predicts that the gender gap will not be fully bridged until 2186. We are unlikely to see complete equality for half of the human race within our own lifetimes.

However, the progress is impressive. Complex intellectual realms are welcoming more women, and they are shining with unparalleled brilliance. Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani became in 2014 the first woman and the first Iranian to be awarded a Fields Medal for “her outstanding contributions to the dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces.” The Fields Medal, awarded once in four years, is widely regarded as the Nobel Prize for mathematics.

Women today are flying higher, and the sky is no longer the limit. In November 1997, India born Kalpana Chawla shattered barriers to fly into space aboard the US space shuttle Columbia. A decade later, Sunita Williams became the second woman of Indian origin to conquer space when she flew aboard the US shuttle Discovery. Today, Canada-born with Mumbai roots Shawna Pandya is shortlisted after gruelling selections to fly with eight other astronauts in space missions planned by 2018.

Closer home, ISRO’s women scientists have helped build India’s spectacular Mars Orbiter or Mangalyaan project. Rocket science is part of the day’s work for ISRO’s Minal Sampath, Anuradha T K, Ritu Karidhal, Moumita Dutta, Nandini Harinath, Kriti Faujdar and N Valarmathi. These dedicated women teamed up with their male colleagues to set ISRO’s world record by launching an amazing 104 satellites in one shot. Breaking gender stereotypes, these wonder-women earned the applause of every Indian. 

India’s women are rising to the highest echelons of the corporate world. State Bank of India is among the elite seven Indian corporates to rank among the world’s leading Fortune 500 companies. This gigantic Indian multinational is headed by a woman, Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya. She is listed as the 4th most powerful woman in Asia Pacific by 'Fortune' and as the 30th most powerful woman in the world by 'Forbes'.

Indian women are taking centre stage in the world of sports. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Sakshi Malik fought heroically for a bronze medal in wrestling. P V Sindhu earned a brilliant badminton silver. Dipa Karmakar won the nation’s heart by finishing 4th, missing a medal by a whisker. She became the first Indian female gymnast, and the first Indian in 52 years, to compete in the Olympics. Wrestler Vinesh Phogat stormed valiantly into the quarterfinals, but missed a medal because of an injury.

To appreciate the changes in our own neighbourhood, I spoke to talented and motivated Bangalore women from diverse professions and experience levels. Rashmi Misra is founder and chairperson of VIDYA, an NGO providing quality education and uplifting boys and girls from the poorest sections of society.   Founded 32 years ago, VIDYA has seen 3.5 lakh people pass through and benefit from its systems. VIDYA currently has around 45,000 young beneficiaries enrolled in its 57 projects spread over five states.

Annabelle Manwaring, Pro Vice Chairman, Delhi Public School Whitefield and Delhi Pubic School Mysore Road, has guided a stream of promising young girls and boys emerging from her schools.

Prof. Sahana Das, Head, Dept. of Communication Studies, Mount Carmel College, has mentored numerous brilliant young women to follow their dreams.

Madhulika Dant, VP and Head – Corporate Search, Daedalus Consulting, deftly matches a growing stream of highly qualified professionals with suitable jobs.

Megha More, Co-Founder and COO, Trueweight, balances the challenges of building a start-up while mothering a lively toddler.

 With a fresh masters degree in International Relations from S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore, Shibani Mehta is currently working at the Military Affairs Centre of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in New Delhi. Like many of today’s girls, Shibani received full family support to go abroad, and enter a career of her choice.

These women see growing awareness and social support for women to realise their potential. Madhulika Dant’s professional career began three decades ago. “Having given up my career with the Tatas to bring up my children, I can see that husbands today are more supportive at home, in the kitchen and parenting. Equal importance is given to both careers.” Megha More agrees. After marriage, she went to the US to join her husband, but a formal job did not satisfy her. She wanted to give her best to an enterprise she could call her own. She and her husband agreed that he would remain in the US, while she went to a new city and founded her enterprise along with a friend. He wanted her to be happy, and to follow her dreams. He joined her two years later, when both were sure of their choice to return to India. By then, Trueweight was flourishing with around eighty people on board. Having a child was also a joint decision, and they share the duties and joys of parenting their lively three year old. “Today’s men are becoming naturally more supportive, and are active partners at home,” Megha says. “Improved support systems such as good daycare facilities, helps women make better life choices.”

“While we used our education for financial stability and social identity, my students aspire to be free,” says Sahana Das. “While my generation balanced home and career, the girls today include their individual passion into their profession.” Sahana is proud of her students like Vaishali Dinakaran, who was passionate about racing as a sport. Today she is a leading writer on Formula One racing. “Another very bright but restless girl said she liked to walk. And she walked… Across the Himalayas! Today Shikha Tripathy has written for Planet earth and Nat Geo and is a travel blogger who organises treks and runs an eco-friendly resort in Uttarakhand.”

“The negative attitude towards marriage and family is changing, and there is less gender rivalry among adolescents,” says Annabelle Manwaring. “Girls today no longer feel that marriage and family will curb them. Youngsters don’t feel that some careers are inferior or better than others. Whether they opt to be homemakers, chefs, entrepreneurs or artists, they want to choose their destinies and give their very best. They see themselves less as boys or girls, and more as seekers of knowledge and self-fulfilment.”

Shibani Mehta is inspired by a Minister sharing how “her gender played little role in her rise to power. She never used her gender as either a crutch or a privilege. That is something we need to consciously and constantly remind ourselves,” Shibani says. “I find these reminders everywhere. A young mother, my boss juggles vaccination appointments and review meetings while fulfilling the commitments of a senior research scholar. I admire my landlady, who at 78 plays golf and drives her own car. Women are each other’s best inspiration.”

2016 saw steady advances in gender parity. The CRPF sent a path-breaking team of 135 women commandos to tackle Naxalite insurgents in the forests of Jharkhand. More Indian women are donning uniforms to fly military planes, and actively serve in our armed forces. Policewomen are visible everywhere, and women Indian Police Service officers are no longer rare. More women are making their mark in the prestigious Civil Services.

The highly demanding field of medicine has a growing number of Indian women doctors. Karnataka’s elite Bangalore Medical College (BMCRI) alone has produced several young women Plastic Surgeons and Orthopaedic Surgeons in recent years, proving that women can take on the most skill and knowledge intensive challenges.

Indian girls next door are conquering new bastions. Surekha Yadav steered a Mumbai local train in 1988 to become India’s first woman train driver. In 2011, she became Asia's first woman to drive a major passenger train, the celebrated Deccan Queen. Other women are following her footsteps. On the streets of our major cities, it isn’t unheard of to encounter capable, business-like women auto drivers, bus drivers and bus conductors.

 “There’s gradual and positive sea-change,” adds Annabelle Manwaring. This optimism is trickling to the most deprived women, feels Rashmi Misra. In rural Haryana where girls rarely go to school, Rashmi has helped ghungat smothered mothers emerge confidently from VIDYA centres knowing English and driving. Her underprivileged youngsters have excelled in Board exams and computers. In one of her schools in Delhi, 100 kids scored IQ of over 120. “Given facilities and exposure, these children are capable of anything, she says. Boys are learning to treat their sisters equally. Not looking down at each other as rivals, they are becoming friends. These girls as well as boys have the capacity for crystal clear thinking, and are shining in the national robotics championships, Maths Olympiads and Mock UN.

The dedicated efforts of countless women spanning several generations, is building up this change. As a young girl in Delhi, I was fortunate to be inspired by trailblazers in women’s education. Smt. Kamala Sengupta, retired Principal of Delhi’s Lady Irwin School, and Prof. Bina Dasgupta retired Principal of Indraprastha College, shared their experiences with me. In the early Twentieth Century, a few such remarkable Bengali women ventured into northern India leaving their homes in undivided Bengal. Armed with impressive degrees from distant Dhaka University, they helped start schools and colleges for girls in Delhi, where nothing existed. On International Women’s Day, let us celebrate this spirit of women who led the way, those striving for excellence today, and for future generations.

The price of genius

“Make your child a genius!” This hoarding on a Bengaluru bus grabbed my attention. The advertisers promised to make your kid, anybody’s kid, a master of general knowledge, elocution, creative writing, art, dramatics, fashion designing, film making and heaven knows what esoteric else. A universe of knowledge and talent, stuffed into your kid in just six weeks for a fancy price. The savvy promoters knew that busy people like us will refuse to waste our time to think. Can talent and genius be bought like potatoes or chappals? Who cares as long as we can keep up with boastful neighbours? Superficial glitz can readily be bought and cobbled together. No wonder they score over hard-earned substance. We ourselves are busy scrambling up the slippery ladder to ‘success.’ Who has time to nurture their own children these days? The problem is not with training courses and camps, which can indeed be useful. The problem is with our own attitude. By forcing our children into countless extra-curricular programmes, we expect them to become multi-faceted geniuses overnight. Buying talent, genius, all-round development and sundry mind-blowing intellectual accomplishments for our precious darlings, seems to be the latest craze in shortcut privileged parenting.

Heavy schoolbags and endless exams are no longer enough to satisfy ambitious educationists and parents. A lady proudly shared how her child, enrolled in an exclusive school, even had library exams! What on earth is that? The sixth standard student did not know or have the energy left after a deluge of edifying activities, to care. She simply ticked random choices and submitted her paper to the teacher. Children fare best in extra-curricular activities if they pursue them out of interest, and not external pressures. A rigid and compulsive approach kills any natural curiosity and joy of discovering fascinating and fun activities. A hollow sham of all-round development is the end result.

Many Indian children are denied even primary education due to poverty. A global report tracking nutritional status of children worldwide, states that half of Indian children below five years are stunted. One fifth of Indian children are wasted, and a large number of them don’t even get ORS when suffering from diarrhoea. On the other hand, privileged Indian children are denied childhood joys and holistic growth by having an avalanche of curricular and extracurricular activities shoved down their throats .While pouring money to buy such education and accomplishments for our children, we seem hell-bent upon turning them into mindless robots and dysfunctional, disgruntled future adults.

Educated urban Indians like us are a hard-nosed, materialistic lot. Our houses, cars, clothes and other possessions certify our ‘success’ in life, which in turn defines our sense of self-worth. We live vicariously through our children, projecting our own unfulfilled ambitions on them even before they have grown out of diapers. Modern Indian parents strive to buy education as a commodity for their children .The more privileged ones vie to also buy every sort of accomplishment for their precious darlings. This begins when children are starting to walk and speak a few words. We push them into play homes, prep schools and tutorials before they can remember their own names. In the good or bad old days, Indian kids bent under schoolbags heavier than themselves. Youngsters routinely took their own lives, unable to cope with the pressure of eternal exams, and the compulsion to get that vital half mark more than the next kid. That’s now become an accepted part of ordinary Indian life. Meanwhile, people like us strive to rise above the average herd by pushing our children into a bottomless quagmire of structured extra-curricular activities. We insist on regimenting every moment of their residual time after academics, and drag them into courses, camps and classes to hammer all-round intellectual development into them.

Vacations are when tiger dads and lion moms go on the rampage. We enrol children into swimming and horse-riding camps, followed by Bharatnatyam and sign language classes. We won’t allow them to waste a precious second, for there’s also coaching for singing and dance contests on TV.  To meet the skyrocketing demand, creative coaches will soon launch courses for mushroom cultivation, sand grain carving and grave digging.  We ensure that the miserable young ones are given no breathing space. God forbid they should have choices or a few moments to reflect and ask uncomfortable questions.

To meet the growing demand from well-heeled, busy parents, a new crop of fancy schools promise fast-track all-round development of the child.  I’ve written books for children, among other things. Times were when committed librarians and teachers invited me to interact with their students, taking care to familiarize themselves with my work. Together we encouraged students to read and enjoy books of their choice, and freely explore many ideas outside the academic curriculum while having fun. It was an exciting experience for youngsters to actually meet and talk to someone who had written a book they enjoyed. Such breaks from the routine helped recharge the children’s’ spirits and excite their curiosity.

Times are changing. During a recent visit to a posh school, the teachers’ demands dampened my excitement. I had to teach the kids to become authors in the space of a half hour session! I spent many years improving my writing and working on those books, and I still feel there is much more to learn. I began my journey as an avid reader. Even as a pre-school toddler, my parents left me free to choose my favourite picture books. But my experiences were irrelevant here. These children from privileged backgrounds had no time for books, the teachers explained. They only needed to learn to become authors themselves. They had far too many enlightening and personality building activities to keep them busy, and dazzle the world with their accomplishments. Meanwhile, their guardians and instructors saw no sense in allowing them time to understand, absorb or enjoy any of it. They were so busy manufacturing budding geniuses, neither the students nor most of the teachers even knew who I was! I realized how my presence was part of a marketing gimmick. The parents would be informed of the school’s efforts to expose children to experts in various fields. And this would justify a hike in school fees. Since many among us earn a living by providing various goods and services, we will appreciate this innovative concept of selling Mt Everest to busy parents with no time to bring up their children. Parents are squarely to blame. Genius shops are selling what they desperately want to buy. Something that cannot be bought. But we try to overcompensate for our own lack of involvement, by pushing our hapless children into an endless whirlpool of activities.

Research by scientists is confirming what wise parents have known all along. Babies and young children have immense potential for learning. Findings by Carolyn Rovee-Collier, a psychologist at Rutgers University, suggest that "even at two and a half months, an infant's memory is very developed, very specific and incredibly detailed." Language skills and emotional responses to the world around them, also begin developing early. Early and sustained nurturing is vital in shaping intelligent, balanced, and emotionally healthy adults of the future. Parental involvement is essential for a child’s ongoing development. Parents are the first and most important teachers long before a child begins school. The sincerest teachers in the best schools have to deal with many children. They cannot give each child individual attention like the parent. Yet a growing number of educated young Indian parents are too busy to spare enough quality time and attention for their children.

Helping children to develop their intelligence and skills does not mean tossing textbooks of Medieval History and Trigonometry into the cradle to produce precocious geniuses. Nor is enrolling kindergarteners into the friendly neighbourhood creative writing school likely to manufacture many bestselling Nobel laureates. We need to adopt the right attitude and not allow ourselves and our children to get trapped in rigid and unimaginative training programmes. As caring and concerned parents, we need to carve time out of our busy schedules to enjoy watching and participating in activities that interest and stimulate our children. Reading aloud, for example, is a joy shared by both parent and child. And you don’t need to pay hefty fees for it. Far from being a waste of time, reading encourages children to explore and learn. When parents read to their children during the first three years of life, the foundation is laid for a lifelong interest in learning. While vital for building brains, reading to young children while they cuddle up to a loving parent or elder also nurtures children emotionally, and lays the foundations for trusting and close emotional relationships as adults.

Reading books to children opens their mind to new things and places in the outside world. When children learn that books contain exciting stories and pictures, they want to read more. They do far better in school, as books are not something to be dreaded, but a thing of joy. They can understand their textbooks better, and organically improve their vocabulary and writing. As the child grows older, reading expands their horizons of knowledge. Children who are allowed to spontaneously enjoy and take interest in reading, painting, music and other activities, become independent learners and thinkers. They can attend their school work with minimum help, and entertain themselves when they are alone. Once a child enjoys such an activity of her choice, the habit will serve her well for the rest of her life. A child who can think independently will be more competent to deal with the challenges of adult life.

Studies and life haven't become harder these days. It's the attitudes that have changed. Kids habitually cram lessons, and go to private tutors for spoon-feeding of fixed notes. Then parents and schools herd children into activities such as film appreciation, chess or piano playing, without taking their choices into account. If we allow children to play, to think and decide for themselves, then they will derive maximum joy and benefits from extra-curricular activities. Extra professional coaching certainly is helpful, but parents and teachers need to motivate the children first.

Unstructured play time is also essential for children. As parents and educationists, it’s up to us to allow young people some time to breathe freely, and even play in the mud if they wish to. When children explore something that interests them, they learn more quickly and readily remember what they enjoyed learning. By allowing children choices, we can help nurture important skills such as making decisions, solving problems and forging healthy bonds with others. By encouraging children’s questions and curiosity, we can boost complex thinking.

Pushing children into strictly regimented activities is a reflection of our own fear of failure. We all need to overcome that fear of falling and getting dirty, of failing, if we are to ultimately succeed. Success cannot come quickly simply from unimaginatively planned, one-size-fits-all tutorials forced upon exhausted children. We cannot buy our way into genuine achievements, or expect our children to become perfect at one shot.  Let’s take a tip from American author Toni Morrison, whose impressive awards list include the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature. “As a writer, a failure is just information. It’s something that I’ve done wrong in writing, or is inaccurate or unclear. I recognize failure—which is important; some people don’t—and fix it, because it is data, it is information, knowledge of what does not work… then you have to pay very close attention to it, rather than get depressed or unnerved or feel ashamed. …What you do is you identify the procedure and what went wrong and then correct it.” Even for such a towering, world-renowned literary figure, success and confidence came with time, introspection and constant effort. Who are we, then, to bamboozle our children into camps and courses with the ambition of turning them into TV stars or authors overnight?

Are we turning our children into intellectual bonsais by dumping our unrealistic expectations upon their tender shoulders? Is it so difficult to appreciate our children for themselves? Do we have to push them into endless courses and camps in order to transform them into star performers overnight? It would be better if we try to bring light and joy into children's lives. If only we could allow them some space to play freely, let them figure things out for themselves and guide them to activities they find interesting and refreshing. 
This is published in Sunday Herald

It's a rich man's world

In today’s world, humanity is evolving into advanced new avatars — the rich, and those who fear or worship them. Step out onto any of our pothole-riddled, garbage and sewage-swamped streets, and you will encounter pinnacles of the evolutionary process. Yes, we’re talking of those magnificent Indians in cars broader than roads, costing more than the annual GDP of a typical tehsil. Our progress is stupendous indeed, for such affluent Indians are more commonplace than public toilets or parks.

Money is today’s new religion, and the focus of our existence. It gives us a reason to live, defines our place in society, and inspires us with a sense of purpose. Best of all, more people are now making more money than ever before.

Society today is growing more open and inclusive. Control over wealth is no longer confined to ruling aristocrats who enjoyed traditional privileges and status due to their noble or ignoble pedigrees. In the bad old days, royal and aristocratic dynasties controlled military and political power. Their wealth came mainly from the control of fertile land, and the labour of expendable peasants and slaves. Those retrograde snobs zealously guarded their wealth and privileges. They ostracised the poor populace and upstarts who chanced into wealth.

As civilisation evolved, a new breed of entrepreneurs rose from among the masses. They refined the techniques of transforming riches into power, and power into more riches. They discovered the truth that continues to govern our world. Anyone with enough money can gain prominence, influence and supremacy over others. These innovative people discovered how to channelise available resources into profit-making ventures, which in turn generated more wealth. Modern market economies evolved from this basic principle. You no longer need to be a blue blooded aristocrat to aspire to live in grand mansions, flaunt grand clothes and jewellery, acquire businesses or win popular votes. Let’s sing praises to our democratic polity where anyone can be elected to power. People like us, too, can hope to become leaders and make a fortune. If we are too squeamish to mastermind scams, we can at least follow the frugal example set by a former chief minister who reportedly had her official residence fitted with 31 ACs, 15 desert coolers, 16 air purifiers, 25 heaters and 12 geysers. 
Modern day demigods of wealth defy nature and turn age-old conventions on their heads. Why bother to work so hard to change the world? They use their money wisely to transform themselves instead. They boldly reconstruct ugly noses, and pay surgeons to remove excess fat caused by gluttonous gorging. It’s passé to simply buy high-funda educational qualifications to get that stamp of intelligence. The super-rich will buy up engineering or medical colleges, and print their own degrees instead. Kickbacks, bribes, buyouts, embezzlement and corruption on colossal scales, need true guts and grit to pull off. Plotting mega scams is challenging work, and only for the superior and daring elite. When pitted against these ‘best’, the ‘rest’ of us lesser mortals can only cower in awe and terror. How they go forth proudly, as though they own the roads, and even the country, with its floundering economy! 
Wealth equals success and commands respect in public perception. In these progressive times, even ordinary crooks can dream of reaching a holier-than-others status with the help of riches. All one needs to join the privileged club is the cunning and gumption to make megatons of money.
As the rich are getting richer than ever before, the standard of living of lesser mortals is also rising. Personal cellphones are a necessity rather than an undreamt of luxury for domestic helpers, carpenters and their ilk. Neighbourhood vegetable and milk vendors now do their rounds on motorcycles instead of going on bicycles or on foot. However, while the rich are becoming wealthier, the gulf between them and the poorest sections of society is increasing phenomenally. While economic activity is growing and more wealth is being generated in the world, it is not being equally enjoyed by everyone. As Pope Francis so aptly observed, “It is increasingly intolerable that financial markets are shaping the destiny of peoples, rather than serving their needs, or that the few derive immense wealth from financial speculation while the many are deeply burdened by the consequences.” 

Growing divide
This divide between the haves and have-nots is defined by the huge difference in their respective quality of life. Those with more money obviously live better and more fulfilling lives, enjoying superior homes, healthcare, education and luxuries. But the presence of many poverty-stricken people around us affects us all. Poverty leads to malnutrition, diseases, drug addiction, crimes, illiteracy and domestic violence. People mired in such distressing conditions find it difficult to rise up, and this in turn leads to more poverty. The side-effects spread beyond the miseries of these unfortunate poor souls. Property prices are reduced by the proximity of slums. Poverty leads to an increase in crimes, and this fuels the need for more policing and jails. Slums breed diseases, which can spread to those living nearby in posh settlements as well. More public money needs to be spent on doles, and to maintain order and provide basic amenities among the growing numbers of poor people. Poverty breeds social unrest and political upheavals, and can threaten democracy and stability. In the course of history, Tsars have been exterminated, and kings and queens beheaded, as fallouts of popular uprisings. The cadres of Naxalites and other militants in rural India are often driven into anti-social and anti-state activities because of poverty. 
These unfortunate poor people are born with as much innate intelligence and capabilities as their more privileged neighbours. Sadly, poverty holds them back from improving their education, and ill health dogs them because they cannot afford nutritious food or optimum healthcare. They are thus unable to make the best use of their inborn human potential, and the hidden cost to society as a whole is beyond all measure.

The inequality between the urban rich and the poor slum dwellers has been continuously rising in India’s cities. Now, the rising gap between the rich and poor in rural India is surprising economists. This chasm is growing, despite increased government welfare programmes in villages. Inequality levels, computed from the National Sample Survey on Household Consumption Expenditure for 2011-12, shows that though the proportion of the poor declined between 2004-05 and 2011-12, the divide between the rich and the poor increased for the first time in rural areas in almost 35 years. This gap also peaked to an all-time high in India’s cities. 

Points to ponder
Why is it that in this nation of over one billion, only a tiny percentage of people benefit from a major chunk of the income? Why do a handful of people enjoy palatial homes with every conceivable luxury, while innumerable migrant labourers living in the shanties around them consider modern sanitation and plumbing, clean toilets and pure drinking water as luxuries? 

One reason for the growing divide is the ongoing migration of rural people who seek better opportunities in the cities. They do earn more in the cities than they may have as landless labourers or marginal farmers in their own villages. Unfortunately, that money is not enough to get them decent food, housing or education for their children in the expensive big cities. 

Inflation is another reason why poor peoples’ money buys them less and less. Many of them end up sleeping on footpaths, or setting up homes under plastic sheets propped up on poles. The prices of food items too are shooting through the roof, making even basic essentials like potatoes, onion and milk unaffordable for the poorest Indians. Thanks to inflation, the government’s treasuries are being emptied on doles and sops. The same concessions which were affordable a year or two ago, are now being cut back. Reduced government subsidies have led to higher prices of cooking gas and petrol. This has directly and indirectly hit the poorest people the most. Funds which could have been used for building infrastructure are now being spent to somehow maintain the poor at their present level.

Another problem is corruption, which compromises the government’s welfare measures. Funds meant for the poor are too often siphoned off into the pockets of middlemen, and corrupt officials at every level. Though colossal sums are allocated by the government for welfare schemes, corruption prevents benefits and doles from reaching those who need them most. 

Advances in technology can hit the poorest of the poor the hardest. The middle classes have the time and money to master computers and new technology, and this knowledge increases their earning capacity. The poorest of the poor are too busy struggling to get a roof over their heads and food to fill their bellies. They have no time, energy or means to improve their education, and have to confine themselves to less skilled, menial jobs which pay less. Meanwhile, technological advances enable machines to do more of these menial jobs, and there are fewer such jobs to be had. This is how the poor continue to lag behind because they are less educated and skilled. 

We are too ready to blame the poor for their miserable plight, just as we rush to worship the rich for their wealth and status. We harshly dismiss the poor for their shiftlessness and lack of enterprise. After all, isn’t wealth the reward reserved for only those who strive tirelessly to gain it? Others among us make snap judgements against the rich. Would the poor be so miserable if the wealthy were less selfish? If only the wealthy were more compassionate, and made more efforts to help the less privileged! However, such ideas are too simplistic. They do not take into account the importance of sound government policies for all-round growth and development at the macro level.

Ethic of reciprocity

Various religions have attempted to explain these gross inequalities. Many have offered solace by saying that it is the natural order of things ordained by higher powers. But is it our fate or past karma alone that defines our wealth and worldly comforts, or the lack of it? Conversely, religions also advocate the virtues of compassion, charity and benevolence towards all less fortunate and privileged than us. Visionaries and saints have always urged rulers to mitigate the plight of the poor and to govern according to the principles of justice, impartiality and altruism. 
The fault does not always lie in our stars, but also in our own attitudes. Making easy money, not struggling to earn it, is today’s success mantra. In our rush to keep up with the rat race and acquire material wealth, we neglect our spiritual and human sides. Our greed and increasing lack of moral scruples to get rich quick makes us forget that money is not an end in itself. 

Misery is sure to overwhelm us, if we allow money to rule our lives. Money, when used wisely, is a good servant. But it can be a terrible master. People who are slaves to money study courses not because they are interested, but which they hope will make them rich. Money rules their choice of career, life partner and their friendships. They constantly compare themselves with others, lack confidence in themselves, and are jealous of anyone they perceive to be doing better. Their lives are ruled by inflated egos, avarice, and discontent, and all joy and mental peace is banished from their dismal, self-absorbed lives. The overriding compulsion to make money makes them blind to the immense joys of family, friendships, good health, peace of mind, and the beauty of nature. There are some people so poor that all they have to call their own in this world is just money.

When we spend more and more money on our personal desires, the returns diminish. Owners of several cars or mansions are unlikely to grow proportionately happier if they acquire many more of the same things. True joy can come if we also use our money to spread sunshine among those around us. A gold biscuit stashed away in a vault will bring less real happiness than spending the same sum on a holiday with loved ones, or sponsoring the education of a poor child. When we have enough for ourselves, sharing and helping those less fortunate can bring us priceless spiritual rewards. It is next to impossible for ordinary people like us to radically change the world. But we can make a difference by devoting some of our time, energy and resources to help others who are less fortunate. As a wise person rightly said, there is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.

My essay is published in Sunday Herald

The great Indian herd mentality

Are we as a society guilty of herding together within the confines of mainstream mediocrity?

Don’t we, like the proverbial crabs, pull down anyone who dares to be better, back into our shallow intellectual buckets? 

Did an eminent Indian hit the nail on the head by reportedly stating that 90 per cent of our countrymen are idiots?

Is it true that average Indians do not have the perceptiveness or determination to rise above casteism, corruption, communalism, rigged exams and everything else that prevents us from being a more advanced and prosperous society?
 We happily delude ourselves into believing that ‘we are like this only’. Poverty, garbage, farmers’ suicides and bribery are unquestionably accepted as part of our existence. 
We prefer to do what everyone else does, and uphold the status quo. 
It’s socially unacceptable to make optimum use of our intelligence, or strive to radically improve our circumstances.

Change is scary, and therefore taboo. Safety lies in siding with the majority, and crouching in our self-created ruts.

We rush to worship mediocrity, and are suspicious of anyone with superior abilities. We pin our hopes on good-looking young ‘leaders’ from prominent lineages, glossing over their lack of intrinsic merits and accomplishments. 
We hero-worship match-fixing cricketers and can’t have enough of B-grade movies or pulp books patched together by hack writers. This is how things are, and this is how we are convinced things will continue to be.

If someone dares to push for genuine change and improvement, we systematically close ranks to shut him out, or gang up to stifle his voice. If one from among us shines in any field, our collective herd reaction shows the depths of pettiness to which we can sink.As friends and neighbours, we raise our claws and fangs to belittle the achievements of our former friend.We then either socially ostracise him, or show him off hoping some of the glory will rub on to us. If we can’t snuff them out, we pretend superlatives cannot exist.

But, does popular appeal alone justify commonplace mediocrity?There’s nothing wrong in being average, which simply means normal or usual. The problems arise when we are content to mindlessly follow the herd without applying our own normal talents and intelligence for growth and change.

We need to remember that ‘normal’, ‘average’ or ‘usual’ are not absolute and ironclad.Once upon a time, it was perfectly normal for Indian widows to be burnt on the funeral pyres of their husbands. ‘Witches’ were routinely burnt on the stake in ‘civilised’ Europe, and the Spanish Inquisition was an accepted part of life. Average citizens of ancient Rome frequently enjoyed the spectacle of gladiators being mauled to death by hungry lions. Slavery, plagues, apartheid and famines were normal and usual experiences of average people in various times and societies.

In several respects, today’s normal and average is definitely an improvement over that of the past. 
Daily life for ordinary people has improved because of the efforts of pathbreaking thinkers, scientists and leaders. 
The unsung efforts of ordinary people like us has also contributed to our evolution, and improved the average quality of life in the course of time. 
When India gained independence, the average Indian did not live beyond his 40s. Today’s average Indian can expect to live well into his late 60s or 70s.A few decades ago, India’s hungry multitudes depended on food grains supplied by developed nations.While hunger continues to exist among today’s Indians, our average middle class citizens are eating well to the point of obesity.

Humanity has slowly but surely progressed since the dark ages, and we can look forward to a better tomorrow. 
But our dream of a rosier future will become reality only if each of us tries our best to make it come true.

Follow the crowd

The Great Indian Herd Mentality is a major factor pulling us all back into the mediocre and substandard dung heap. 
We consider ourselves to be far more intelligent than fellow bipeds, quadrupeds, arthropods, amoeba and other creatures that populate our planet. Yet, like other animals, when we superior Homo sapiens see a crowd moving somewhere, we blindly plunge in and do what everyone else is doing, without bothering to understand why.

Everyone cheats, so we also try to cheat when we think we can get away with it. Students cheat at exams, while teachers cheat students by not taking classes and diluting the quality of their lectures.
Housewives haggle and undercut vegetable sellers, and vegetable sellers inflate prices and cheat housewives. Property owners and entrepreneurs undervalue their assets to cheat the government by paying lower taxes. 

Shiftless and bribe-loving babus, spouses cheating on each other, corrupt netas, shady businessmen, unethical journalists, job aspirants with fake certificates; we all cheat and lie in some way or another. No wonder we are a corruption-riddled nation.
Our herd mentality pulls us down in many other ways.
We staunchly believe that what’s good for our neighbours, brother-in-law or boss, must be good for us too.This drags us neck-deep into many a pot of soup or sambhar.Parents shove their offspring into engineering and business schools simply because their friends are doing it. They don’t care about the child’s individual talents or aptitude.They don’t care that some of our engineering graduates end up being unemployable, or that all MBAs, even those from IIMs, don’t inevitably get plum campus placements.We are so obsessed with somehow grabbing prized qualifications for our children that we pay astronomical sums to buy them that coveted piece of paper from teaching shops of dubious repute. Who cares if such doctors or commercial pilots do not get adequate training?The distant threat of botched up surgeries or plane crashes don’t bother us as long as the victims are people we don’t know.

The Great Indian Herd Mentality shines through when Ponzi scheme promoters conjure up one magical money-minting scheme after another.People like us race to deposit their life savings, only to lose all to the next big scam.Whenever the stock markets move up in an upward cycle, everyone wants to grab a piece of the action and make as much easy money as they can.Smart investors cash in while the going is good, while gullible followers of the herd enter the market at high prices and incur losses. Then they blame the government for everything that goes wrong in their lives.

Hard-nosed businessmen don’t always fare better than the aam janata in the herd mentality department. 
One start-up comes up with a winning idea, and dozens of copycats follow suit with nothing new to offer. So we have droves of ‘me too’ matchmaking portals, travel websites, social networking sites and more. Mall after mall is constructed and then shut down in our city. 
Then the recently built building is demolished to construct yet another mall in the same location.
Many such ill-conceived commercial ventures are bound to fail when promoters mindlessly follow the trend.
Precious money and resources are thus thoughtlessly wasted by blind followers of the herd.

We are social beings, and it is but natural for us to reach out and associate with others. But when we abandon good sense and reason and are guided by fear of social censure, we can end up committing grave mistakes. 
The fear of what others will say and think of us; the fear of being left behind; the fear of being isolated or singled out for ridicule; these fears can push us into dangerous paths. 
We try our best to stick to socially sanctioned behaviour, values and norms. 

We often do not ask enough questions or raise appropriate doubts, even if we have them in our minds.
Hitler used this to bend the masses to his will. During his rallies, he would plant groups of his own lackeys among the audience.These people would raise huge cheers and clap, inciting others around them to do the same. When these speeches were broadcast, the thunderous applause could be heard by an even wider audience.Huge numbers of listeners were thus led to believe that since so many people were cheering, Hitler was indeed a great leader propagating noble ideas.

The electronic media has taken the herd mentality to unprecedented levels.All sorts of subversive and provocative posts do the rounds. Some of these have only tentative basis in facts.Fake photos and misleading quotes deliberately taken out of context are widely circulated. Videos of molestations are put up on YouTube without a care for the poor victim’s safety and mental peace.We, on our part, ‘like’ and forward these posts, and bask in the glow of self-righteousness for having done our good deed for the day.

It’s so easy to delude ourselves that we are making a difference, when all we do is click the mouse or swipe our smartphone screens before moving on to the next hot item of the day. Our insensitivity and indifference as individuals gets social sanctity because we are part of the herd.

We Indians are bogged down by our class snobbery and our urge to safeguard our hereditary privileges at all costs.Our society too often collectively pushes persons from privileged backgrounds without concern for their intrinsic merits. We are brought up to believe that only the children of doctors can be capable doctors and only the offspring of thespian families can be successful actors. The scions of established business enterprises are bred to head them.Why, then, do we criticise netas for perpetuating dynastic rule and filling up plum positions with sundry friends and relations? 

One of America’s greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, came up from humble origins. 
He is celebrated by his people for his great ideas and achievements, and his undying spirit in the face of overwhelming adversities is admired and respected to this day. Yet an Indian leader has recently been lampooned by some groups for having risen from the ranks of railway tea stall boys.

Why are we so ready to condemn initiative and herd together to support mediocrity? Are we afraid of exposing our own shortcomings? Are we afraid we shall fail if we try to improve our lot? Why do we hate the rare individual, who with his own strength and capabilities achieves feats beyond our dreams?
Is it because we feel small and mean before others with superior intelligence and accomplishments?

While people mindlessly following the herd can be dangerous, there is a flip side to the coin. 
The fact is, even ordinary people like us can make a positive difference.
A group of ordinary like-minded people can work together to make an even greater beneficial impact.
For this to happen, we need to think before we rush to endorse a cause, make assumptions, or draw conclusions on any issue. 
The power of well-reasoned individual votes can snowball to elect new leaders with strong popular mandates.Popular movements and pressure from large groups of concerned citizens can be agents of positive change. Our freedom struggle is an excellent case in point.Even today, strong public pressure can bring corrupt officials to book, and prevent upright officials from being victimised.Ordinary citizens have successfully formed social activist groups to help revive our city’s lakes, clear neighbourhoods of garbage and help uplift the underprivileged around us in various ways.The collective voice of a group is more powerful, and therefore a stronger agent of positive change when used in the right way.

If herd together we must, the way forward is for each of us to nudge the herd towards improvement. People like us, no matter how ordinary, can exercise some affirmative influence on our peers. Inspiration is all around us, and each of us is capable of creative and original thought.But nothing will happen if we sit and wait for someone or something to change on its own. If we keep our minds and hearts open to fresh ideas, we can work together for the common good. 

We need to step out of our comfortable ruts, think more and make choices. The simplest way to change our lives is to change the way we perceive things. Change will happen when we really want it to, and when we are ready to accept it.Simple, decisive actions taken by each one of us in daily life can add up to a palpable improvement in society as a whole. We need to get over our urge to make excuses, and point fingers at everyone else, and the Government, for all that ails us. We sit around waiting for another Gandhiji or some new godman to come and rescue the world. We don’t care what happens to others, as long as we ourselves are not affected. This dithering and indifference drags us down. Walk through any of our city streets. Mountains of piling garbage pull down our aspirations to world class luxury. We complain tirelessly about it, but that stinking garbage is dumped on the public roadside by ‘people like us’. We strongly prefer the easy way out by shirking responsibility. 

If things are to change, the onus is on us. Initiative must come from within each of us.
As Martin Luther King Jr so rightly said, we must never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. 
Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.

This essay is published in Sunday Herald

Heroes around us

In the good old days, our heroes were towering personalities such as Sardar Patel, who focused on strengthening our newborn nation with single-minded conviction. Gandhiji inspired us through a non-violent revolution, wanting the bare minimum for his personal needs, and striving for everything worthwhile for his fellow Indians. Gandhiji was a simple man, yet he heroically brought the mighty British Empire to its knees. Their followers have since gone the way of dodos and dinosaurs. New breeds of heroes have evolved, taking their hallowed predecessors’ ideals to fresh and previously unimagined directions.

Humanity has always needed heroes as role models to guide their lives. Our heroes are changing along with our value systems. The primary aim of Indians today is to somehow make as much money as possible. Everyone worships money, from government officials drooling over bribes, to private manufacturers pushing shoddy products with deceptive advertising and indifferent customer service.  Scamsters are today’s heroes, because they make the most money. They pursue this aim with the single-minded devotion of the heroes of yesteryear, striving to excel as faster, stronger and bigger crooks. Our leaders of yore preached the equality of all, irrespective of caste or creed. Modern scamsters treat Peter, Shanta Bai, the government or Rahim equally, for they see everyone as suckers to be duped. Nothing matters as long as their Swiss bank accounts fill up.

No wonder, so many of our netas who lead the nation have also been involved in colossal scams! The more prominent and powerful the neta, the bigger the alleged scam that temporarily knocks him out of action. These scam-tainted netas have the die-hard determination and resilience of a Sardar Patel or Gandhiji. No ignominy can suppress their invincible spirit. They return to contest elections, reclaim their gaddis, and set an example of courageous determination before the aam aadmi. A hero deliberately and bravely overcomes hurdles without regard to personal consequences. Scam-tainted netas are true heroes and leaders, for they brave all odds to pull off mighty scams. True heroes are selfless people who strive for the good of others. Today’s monstrous scams benefit many. After all, the loot is shared with sundry kinsmen, chamchas, and their neighbours and in-laws. Jai ho, heroic, die-hard scammies!

What’s the use of heroism, if nobody notices, or forgets in nanoseconds? A new breed of popular role models are perfecting the art of being constantly seen and heard, even though we aren’t quite sure why they deserve to hog the limelight. Glamorous fashion models, Bollywood stars, meteoric stars, wannabe stars and other motley celebs are another category of heroes perfect for our times. What makes them so wildly popular?

Well, most of us are mediocre, and we relate best with our own kind. We may pay lip-service to the Sardar Patels and Gandhijis. But we know that it’s next to impossible to reach their sky-high standards. We adore glamour because flaunting expensive possessions and slathering cosmetics can make us, our milkman, and our domestic help glamorous too. Even if we don’t win the Miss Solar System or Mr Asteroid Belt title, we can still aspire to be Miss Palace Guttahalli or Mr Kalasipalya and flash our booty on Page 3. The film industry can make a hero out of anyone. Filmmakers have absolute power to make their world of fantasy seem real. Film actors, who are ordinary people, become heroes of this fantasy world created by the imagination. Glamour, therefore, is an egalitarian and accessible aspiration for anyone and everyone, in the best traditions of Gandhian philosophy.
...
Fake show and empty-vessel hoo-ha dominates our world. Yet a few Indians continue to do their best and make a difference despite setbacks. They do the right thing, shoulder responsibility, and facilitate change without making a show, because it comes to them naturally. Real heroes of today are upright and sincere people like Dr Verghese Kurien, who strived against vested interests and organised the milk co-operatives in Gujarat into the iconic AMUL. From being deficient, India is now the world’s largest producer of milk. ...

Why do the names and achievements of such modern heroes flicker so briefly in the public eye before being eclipsed by the screaming glamour brigade? Simple. Their unassuming, unglamorous personalities cannot promote toothpastes, piles ointments or other commercial products. How will the media afford to give them more visibility, if they cannot earn enough ad revenue to sustain the hoopla? As shopaholic consumers, we perpetuate this trend. We feel that by owning products advertised, we can be like the glamorous people glorified in zillions of ads. We try to escape from our mediocrity by becoming ‘heroic’ through the cult of consumerism. It’s easier to buy stuff with that ‘feel-good factor’ instead of struggling to genuinely excel at anything.

Another reason why true achievers with bona fide credentials do not always get the appreciation they deserve is because they make us uneasy at a deeper level. Sincere people who naturally strive for excellence without hankering for publicity are constant reminders of high standards which we may never be able to reach. Rather than follow their example and drive ourselves to excel, we try to ignore them. We usually praise them with brief obituaries only after death, when they are no longer able to make us feel inadequate and guilty by their superior presence.

If we look past superficial glamour, we will find true heroes all around us, among ordinary people. These heroes have human imperfections, but they rise above difficulties to accomplish something positive. They are not showy, but have the quiet courage to do the right thing. They have the mental and moral strength to face adversities, and fearlessly walk the talk. Haven’t we all, at some stage, benefitted from the depth, knowledge and generosity of a parent, teacher, friend or mentor? It’s time we stepped forward to encourage such unassuming heroes, and to make a conscious choice to support the right values. In this way, we can spread courage and support those around us as we face the trials of life. Each of us can be a brave hero by becoming disciplined and resolute in our own hearts. It’s true that we can’t all save the world, but each of us can show bravery by standing up for our principles. True heroism is to be genuine, to quietly and firmly persist in doing the right thing despite opposition or taunts from others.

Read my entire essay published in Sunday Herald

Homeland and Beyond

  As we celebrate the 66th anniversary of India’s Independence, many of our compatriots are clamouring for divided identities. The issue of separate statehood for Telangana has reached a feverish pitch, giving a boost to similar demands elsewhere in the country. The cry for Bodoland has resurfaced, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha supporters are calling for a separate Gorkhaland, while the Codava National Council is gearing to press for an autonomous Codava Land. Will the call for a division of Uttar Pradesh build up? When everyone and their neighbours seem to be staking their claim for distinct identities, where will we stand as Indians? Will we support increasingly narrowing sub-divisions and fight among ourselves for shrinking patches of home turf? Or, shall we transcend constricted allegiances and boundaries to become not only Indians, but true citizens of the world? What defines a homeland? Is it ethnicity, language, religion, customs and beliefs? Are we Indians simply because we happened to have been born as citizens of this sovereign republic? Deep inside, do we identify ourselves more strongly as Kannadigas, Punjabis or Marathis, or according to our religious affinities? Where do we really belong?

In recent times, humanity has made rapid strides towards a global community. Yet, today, Indians are flying to foreign shores in droves, not always to open themselves to other cultures, but often to cocoon themselves within ‘little Indias’ overseas. Many prefer seeking out others from their own community and linguistic groups instead of mingling with the locals. Even within the boundaries of our own country, we prefer to associate with members of our own religious and linguistic communities. This can often happen at the exclusion of other groups.

Read my take in full in Sunday Herald

Sab chalta hain to hum bhi age badhte hain

Despite the challenges of rampant corruption, disorganisation, bureaucracy and inefficiency, India manages to keep going. We Indians seem to have excelled in making our lives work. We survive, and even thrive, in adverse conditions. We deserve a pat on our back for our determination and resilience.

Recent personal experiences forced me to think deeper about our attitude to life. As a reader of my published essay suggested in response,  "we have to change the attitude of indian sab chalta hain to yeh sab nahi chalega..."
But do we really need to change our attitude of acceptance, and of continuing to perform our duties without stressing upon expectations, foreseen rewards, or brooding over the grass being greener on the other side? After all, isn't this attitude of ordinary Indians like us, keeping us alive and moving forward despite all odds?

India is a land of contrasts and contradictions. We’re colourful, confusing, wonderful, and at times, simply obnoxious. We are like this only, but what makes us so? How have we maintained our character, spirit, and that intangible but unique Indian identity amid all the chaos? Daily life in India is rife with challenges. Rapes, robberies, murder and mayhem make lack of law and order the order of the day. Yet India manages to keep functioning. Tenacious people have found a way to keep things limping, if not running. Indians somehow make their lives work. They survive, and even thrive, in adverse conditions. ...
Our ancient philosophical heritage of tolerance and acceptance has been distilled into today’s catchphrase ‘sab chalta hai.’ This philosophy makes us unique in our acceptance of the most outrageous and harsh aspects of life. Powers above us have decreed how life must be. It is not for us to challenge, but to accept and continue to do our duty without expectations. We take in our stride man-made and natural adversities, put behind us the gravest injustices and crimes, and get on with our lives. It is this shared attitude that binds our mish-mash of ethnic, cultural, regional and linguistic identities under a broader identity as Indians. Scams, scandals, bribes are happening everywhere. Everyone has a finger in the pie. Why waste our time and energy fighting what fate has willed? ‘Sab chalta hai’. Let’s accept it and continue with the business at hand, rather than wallow forever in the muck.

I personally experienced the unifying nature of our common philosophy recently. I also realised its positive and constructive aspect. I lost my father, and had to do the mandatory rounds to get the death certificate. An official helpfully offered to spare me the bother, if I would pay him an advance of Rs 800 for his services. I promised to think it over. I then directly approached another office, to which the papers had been forwarded. There, after several fruitless visits, I felt as though I was chasing wild geese. “Nonsense!” said other applicants waiting with me in queue. “The certificate is issued on the same day. They must be after money, but don’t tip more than the going rate of 80 to 100 rupees.”
“Why don’t you flaunt your press connections and jolt them into working,” advised a friend. Easier said than done. In a world which refuses to look beyond appearances, I cannot live down the impression I give of a soft-spoken, muddle-headed eccentric with hair like a bird’s nest. A relative offered the most pragmatic advice. “Put yourself in the official’s shoes,” he said. “The poor fellow has to pay under the table to put his kid through school and college, get the garbage in front of his home cleared, and even just to stay undisturbed in the same job and not get transferred to Huliyurdurga or Periyapatna. With salaries being low and disbursements often getting delayed, how else can he make ends meet?”

‘Sab chalta hai’

When I see things your way and you see it my way, there’s a chance that we can work things out without conflict. This is at the heart of our national character. Like most of my compatriots, I’m tolerant, peace-loving and somewhat shiftless. I firmly stand by our time-honoured philosophy of live-and-let-live, simply because it’s the path of least effort and resistance. “Sab chalta hai,” I said to myself with a shrug, hinted at a ‘little something for his trouble’, and got the certificate promptly. I could have troubled the overburdened Lokayukta with a formal complaint and the headache of dispensing with yet another petty case. But, being a typical easygoing, tolerant Indian, I chose to expend my limited energies constructively on writing this essay instead. See how our ‘sab chalta hai’ philosophy can bear positive fruits? I left the office with my certificate and a feeling of comradery towards the man who had at once seemed to me to be an enemy of the people.

Our ‘sab chalta hai’ mantra is a rallying cry that binds our radically diverse country. The gaping chasm that divides the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’, differences of ethnicity, and a multiplicity of religion and language, are all bridged by our attitude of acceptance. We have retained our myriad differences whilst evolving a national identity which accepts our diversity under its fold.

My complete essay is published in Deccan Herald