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Who is the 'common man'? One thing is for sure, it is not you or me, because he doesn't have access to internet and even a computer. He is not the one who is frustrated with the government for the 2 hour power cut everyday because he cannot run his 5000W speakers, he is the one who is delighted by the news that the government will be providing two hours of electricity everyday to run his 1000W pump for irrigation water. He is not the one standing in the queue outside a multiplex for the latest blockbuster, he is the one standing in the queue outside the local 'kiraana' store for his monthly share of discounted groceries. He is not the one hanging out in the malls with a credit card in his wallet, he is the one going to a 'mela' with his kids and a ten rupee note in his pocket. He is not the one who cried with happiness when Sachin scored a double hundred, he is the one who cried when the monsoons reached his land just on time. All of us have seen him, but only a few have noticed him.
So, a question arises as to how do we relate to him and how does it matter to us? Well, he is the one responsible for growing the food you throw away in the dustbins just so easily. He is the one who guides you to a location totally unknown to you, never receiving a 'Thank you' in return. He is the one doing all the odd jobs of your house you don't even care about. He is the one who is always talked about, but never worked for.
Did you know that about 1/3rd of the world’s hungry live in India? Hunger remains the No.1 cause of death in India, Aids, Cancer etc. come much below that. Over 20 crore Indians will sleep hungry tonight while you complain of a bad dinner. India ranks 66 out of 88 countries on the 2008 Global Hunger Index (GHI)and nearly 66% of the deaths of malnourished children in the world occurs in India. DO you still feel like disposing off what is left on your palette into a dustbin?
Living in an era of consumerism, the common man is the one bearing the brunt for all our misdeeds. Food inflation, fuel price hike and the ever-growing cost of living has posed questions on even his bare existence.He was the one who always gave without reason and regrets, but time has brought him to the receiving end. The hopefuls have turned into cynics and the cheers have changed into remorse. The feeling of satisfaction has eluded out of reach.
Yet, there is a lot the 'uncommon man' can do to help. You and me can make a difference, an everlasting one this time. So, every time you order your cook to prepare some extra food 'just in case', imagine the face of the mother who cannot feed her children and cannot see them hungry too. Whenever you go for a long drive with your friends in your new car, imagine the face of the farmer who could not water his field because of the rising fuel prices. Whenever you run your air conditioner for the whole day because it is just too hot, remember the parents who fan their kids all night with newspapers so that they can sleep peacefully.
Rise up and look up. Wastage is a crime we all commit to the common man everyday, but we are never caught. The common man believes that all his hardships are given by God, but we all know the truth, atleast now. In a country where the 'common man' comprises 60% of the total population, he is the one who is also the most neglected. He has been the one who was always there to help, let us show that we can return the favour too. He has always treated us with respect, its time for us to show that we care for him as well. Let us pledge today to make that smile come back on his face again, for he deserves it a lot, more than we deserve ours.
I never did believe in destiny,
Or on luck, on fate or on irony,
But since I have had you so near,
The whole fate thing has become so clear!
In life, I used to be so serious,
Forgot to laugh, and would always be furious,
Now i dont let that smile go off my face,
Happiness comes in life in so many ways.
The best time i had was when I had you close,
To your eyes, to your lips and to your nose,
Wished to God for the time to freeze,
With just you and me amidst the cool breeze!
I love the glance you give from the corner of your eye,
When you look at me, my heart begins to fly,
For me, you are surely a gift from above,
With this in mind, I present you all my love!!!
You left me alone, and i am growing insane,
From the heavens above, fall the drops of rain,
For some bring pleasure, and for some give pain,
Bringing old memories, all over again!
The best ones I remember was when I was a child,
I would be doing all that was fun and wild,
Would lie on the road, and under the sky,
Things which today I would be too ashamed to try!
The college days are the ones spurring my memory,
The Samosa in the canteen, and the special tea,
We will all enjoy, and will all be happy,
And that is how I always wanted to be!
It is raining now, but I dont give a damn,
All I think about is the water and the traffic jam,
All i want is to reach my home on time,
And not to spoil my clothes, for it would be a crime!
Why did I change, sometimes I do wonder,
For I am the same from deep down under.
I still want to go out, and have all the fun,
But I do not, and for reason none!
रहिमन पानी राखिये, बिन पानी सब सून,
पानी गए न उबरे, मोती, मानस, चुन !!!
Even saint Kabir knew at that time that water is the most precious resource known to man. Sad that only a few of us realize it in the 21st century. It is now a universally accepted fact that the 3rd World War will surely be for water. And still, what does the common man do to conserve it?
We, as Indians, use, or rather waste, water in every activity we do in the whole day. Even ours Gods are no less; they too want their followers to offer them clean, pure potable water! If only God would himself be present in the idol, he would sure be laughing on the stupidity of human beings, needlessly draining away gallons of water without any purpose. And God only knows what blessings the people receive for wasting the most valuable resource given to them.
A single flush in your toilet consumes as much water as would be enough to provide drinking water for a child for a whole day. The amount of water you waste once in a bathtub will provide for the cooking needs of a family of four for a whole month. The watering of your plants everyday takes up as much potable water as used by 12 adults in the whole day. And then there are frequent leaks, spills and bursts in your pipelines and through your taps. Still, if you say you conserve water, then you sure know you are wrong.
Millions of people in the world live on less than 3 gallons per day, while an average American uses 160 gallons every day. 1 in 5 people don’t have access to safe drinking water. A child dies due to a water related disease in every 15 seconds. The rate of increase of water use is double the rate of population increase in the last century. Fresh water on our planet is expected to finish before oil does. Still, most of us would like to keep our taps open while brushing and shaving, and will take 30 minute showers. We would love to wash our cars every weekend, and would be proud to own a house with a personal swimming pool.
The himalayan rivers are the fastest degrading ones in the world according to a survey. Rivers, which are given the status of goddesses in our country, are being drained by industrial and domestic effluents. And what do we do? We would just enjoy having our coffee on Sunday morning, reading in the newspaper about the same and would comment on how much our country is degrading because of the people doing so. Do you even know what part you are playing in the same, and will you ever realize it too?
So, when do you start? I know it is already too late, but better late than never. Even if something is to be done, it has to start right now, whoever and wherever you are. You can start with minimising the wastage of water at home and at workplace. It would be real fun if you try and calculate how much water you saved every day, because I think everyone of us can save atleast the amount of water needed for three people for the whole day, everyday. So, each of us have a golden opportunity to change the lives of three people for the whole life! The next step will be to try and make others change, and is the most difficult. It is very difficult to make people understand and even more so to make them follow.
In the end, I would like to thank you for reading, half of the job is done for you, and the rest is now upto you, to change yourself and others. I would be more than happy if I were able to change even one person by my writing about it, and I want that one person to be you! The biggest source of happiness is making others happy, the biggest source of knowledge is educating others and the biggest source of bringing about some change is changing yourself. I hope you do!
THANK YOU!!!
Some adventurer has so wrongly said,” Take nothing but photographs, Leave nothing but footprints.” I mean, how can a person go to a place and not take a piece of what he loved about the place. You think that is difficult, try doing the next one even once in your life. I mean, there is so much a person has to carry but not retain on a trip. And the joy of throwing a water bottle in the beautiful river, chocolate wrappers on the white snow and empty chips packets on the fine grass is exceptional. God surely had missed something while he created the universe i.e. PLASTIC! But he surely created man to perfect all his imperfections. Happy to Help, God!!
The first things I noticed in a trek were huge sign boards saying “DO NOT LITTER”. Naturally, most of the garbage was surrounded near the same boards. Some eco-friendly creature also had the courtesy to deviate the message to “DO NOT LITTER, ELSEWHERE!” I have travelled a lot, seriously. But there is not a single place in India I have gone to which would be fit to visit back after 10-15 years. Thanks to some highly educated, sophisticated and intelligent beings who try to leave their mark wherever they go. And I do not want to visit any tourist destination just to watch empty water bottles, beer cans and chips packets.
India is a land of diversities. We are a land of numerous religions, cultures, heritage, languages, castes, regions, climates, incomes and perceptions. But there sure is one thing that unites all of us. No, it is not the feeling of Indianness, because I doubt that this feeling is present in not more than 20% of the residents of the country. Yes, it indeed is GARBAGE. From the slopes of Himalayas to the beaches of Kerela, from Gangotri to Kanyakumari, and from Dwarka to Puri, ‘garbage’ is the only thing which never changes. Our rivers have been awarded the status of the most polluted in the world, and the natural beauty of the Himalayas is fast degrading, all thanks to a collective effort by all of us. Now that is called ‘Unity!’
So, what does one do if he has to change it all? Frankly, there isn’t much a single individual can do. We can start with refraining from plastic as much as possible, and disposing it properly after use. And yes, there is a very important thing I learnt from my hostel life. ‘If you are awake, wake up the others before the attendance is too low!’ The ones who know and understand should educate the others. That is how even one man can make a difference.
As for the government, we should put strict norms on the use of plastic for packaging of food items on the respective companies. All these companies, as it is well known, are known to operate at a whopping 600-700% margin, so it should not hurt to alter their bottling and packaging materials instead of spending unnecessarily on marketing and branding. Another bewildering fact I have discovered is that despite all the technological advancements and the presence of such brilliant scientific minds in our country, we have not been able to fabricate even a single inexpensive bio-degradable synthetic material till now. Paper and wood can no longer be used as an alternative to plastic everywhere, or it will turn out to be an even bigger concern for the environment.
So lets us pledge to be the one who makes the difference, to prevent our surroundings and environment from degradation, if not to improve it. Only then will our country be known again as the ‘Land of the Himalayas and the Ganges’ and not the ‘Land of the Garbage and the Sewage’! Do away with plastic, Save paper and Keep it clean!!
WHAT AN IDEA, SIRJI!!
United we stand, Divided we fall! Blessed would be the person who coined out this phrase. But, however great he might be, he was not far-sighted, not as much as the Indian politicians. Or was he not so power hungry as they are? The recent fuss over the Telangana issue has made me wonder and seriously cast doubt on our culture and heritage. Traditionally, we are known to be a peace loving civilization, so much so that it took nearly 200 years for us to achieve our freedom because of the same reason. We would condemn the atrocities done to the Indians in Australia but what about the ones done in India, to the Indians by their own brethren.
Albert Einstein, the scientist, got the Nobel Prize for physics in 1921 for his famous ‘Theory of relativity’. Instead he should have got the award for one of his lesser known phrases,” Two things are infinite, the universe and the human stupidity, and I am not sure about the first!” Do all these people burning the cities, giving dharnas and then ending in the jail really know what they are going to get even if their demands are agreed? No they do not, of course! Because if they knew it, they would not be doing it. They are the ones fighting and suffering for it, but there is no chance they are going to get even a single piece of the cake or a slice of the pizza! :P
If there is one country in the world with real pluralism in its culture, it sure is India. A person can be an Indian, a Rajasthani, a Marwaari, a Jain and a Baniya at the same time. (Yeahh, you guessed it right, that is me!) It is the various languages, cultures, food, dress, art, caste, religions and the incomes of Indian people that make it unique. And also, as marked by Shashi Tharoor too, ‘Whatever you say about India, the reverse is also true!’ We Indians have solved the biggest issues (getting our independence) with non-violence and have had thousands killed for making a mosque instead of a temple. We are home to the largest numbers of billionaires after USA and still 22% of our population lives on less than a dollar a day! We have lived together in harmony for centuries now, then why is it today that we all want to divide our country into numerous interdependent pieces?
Today, a separate Telangana is given, next is what? Bodoland, Gorkhaland, Vidarbha, Maru Pradesh and many more are to come, if only we blindly support the demands of the protesters. And it just not a division and a creation of a state, a whole judicial and legislative vehicle is to be created for a new state. Large infrastructure and facility demand is developed, which sucks up into the country’s much needed resources for the benefit of the few, who never fought, who have nothing to loose, who will not do anything for the people who fought.
So, till when is this supposed to go on? The cynics will say, never! The ruling party will say, ‘in the coming few years’ and the opposition will say, ‘only if the power shifts into our hands’. As for me, it is totally a matter of enlightenment. The faster it comes, so would be the change. People need to think of them as Indians first and then a Punjabi, Tamil or Gujrati. This is a war we Indians are waging against ourselves, wasting our resources on both sides. This is surely worse than the wars we have faced in our short, independent history, because in that case, we atleast knew who our enemies were, whom we have to defeat and what would be the consequences if we lost. It is high time we get up on our feet and realize that whoever wins in this battle, it is India that is going to lose.
JAAGO RE!!!
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It is 26th January,2010. Today, our constitution completes 60 years of existence. Feel proud?? Well, I do not. The fact which is really bewildering and horrifying is that how much has our constitution really changed over this long span of time.
Sixty years, that is nearly the average expectation age of a human being. Age, which signifies growth, development,maturity and decline. But did our constitution also go through these stages in its lifetime, or it is constantly on the decline?. And I am not cynical, just a little critical. Well, I do admire the creators of this wonderful piece of existence at that time. But do the same conditions hold true today too? The articles which were put together sixty years ago were undoubtedly the work of visionaries and revolutionaries vowing to bring a tsunami of change into the Indian society and value system. It is the longest written constitution among all the countries, and is very exhaustive and complete in its approach.( Indians were never known to be men of few words! ) But it is also one of the most confused constitutions of the world. The articles which stood for social equality sixty years ago are now the pillars of social disparity.
I do not want to cite examples here, because i know there are some fundamentalist and oriental parties and people looking forward to such issues to create some chaos. And the amount of chaos they have already created is the maximum India can bear. Riots, lockouts, dharnas, hartals etc give the already lazy junta some more time to relax and enjoy in the comforts of their homes. Simply because they are not among those who are inside the riot, not the ones facing the injustice. What they fail to notice is that they might be the next victims of the same.
Yes, the constitution has indeed had about 94 amendments in the last 60 years, but much of it is still outdated and unnecessary. The amount of stress laid upon the eradication of social inequality and providing for provisions for the same are now no longer necessary. The division of the society on caste has been created by the constitution, which was to serve as the facilitator of equality in the first place.
I know I am no visionary myself, I myself work for an MNC selling products in India and transferring the profits to the French masters. They use Indian designers, engineers, labour, suppliers, managers, machinery and raw materials. And still, the profits go to the French government, simply because nobody from our country will believe in the credibility of 'Indian' products. It is high time we open our eyes and see through the game played by the foreigners on our land, using our resources.
I am not a patriotic either, and don't want anybody to go into the army fighting for the country after reading this article.(It's good if you do, but!) I just want people to think, what we have lost and what more is to be lost.(Who says negative motivation doesn't work?) I want people to innovate and rejuvenate the dying spirit of Indianness.
And, to whom does this task of innovation go to? Naturally, not the politicians, whose eyes are already plagued by voraciously seeking for power and money. They never cared and would never care for an 'India Shining'. This task has to be taken by people like us, the 'Technical class'. The people who can read, understand and comprehend. The people who can see, imagine and demand. The people who ponder, act and illustrate.
With this note, I invite you to be a part of this revolution of 'Technovating India'. Imagine what would happen if for one day, just one day, all the Indians start working for India, their own country. That would be the day when the whole world would recognize our power and we will restore our long awaited respect in their eyes. And that is the day our 'Mother India' would be truly proud of her children, her very own children!
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I have never been a big fan of M.K. Gandhi. And I am pretty sure not many people were before the release of ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’. Personally, the idea of perfect non-violence has never been my cup of tea. Was beaten by mom for not getting up early or not brushing well, by the teacher for scoring low or for not doing homework, by dad for losing money from pockets, by friends just because I was born on that day some years ago. Basically, I have grown up as a victim of violence throughout my life. The first thing I see after I switch on the television is the program “Sansani” where a person who himself looks like a criminal would be pointing out some lesser known (And lesser appearing to be) criminals to people. Then there are murders, feuds, kidnappings, mobs and riots everyday in my so called peace loving country. So, where does this ideal of non-violence stand as of today and what is the need of such a big fuss over it in recent times?
So, what ‘Gandhigiri’ is in today’s context? Is it even real, even applicable in the society of today? From my childhood days, I was taught that (And I know atleast 48% of the population would disagree with me):
Dhor, Gawaar, Shudra, Pashu, Naari:
Yeh sab taadan ke adhikaari!!
(The fool, the illiterate, the ‘privileged’ class (I am not the one who wrote this, so please forgive me for mentioning!), the animal and the female: Have to be beaten in order to make them work or understand!)
So, how does non-violence play its part in the India of today? Not a lot, for sure. I would rather ask you a question, what would you do if you are slapped on a cheek without any fault of yours? If your answer is ‘I would present my other cheek to him, waiting for him to be exhausted after hitting me again and again!’, then you are probably born in the wrong era, after all. In today’s world it is rather, ‘You started it, let me finish it!’ or ‘You punch me, I punch you harder!’
Remember, life is like a flooded river and emotions are like the silt it brings, they may be carried away to the basin and then into the sea, as if they were never there, or they may settle down unyielding at the bottom and change the course of the river. The world is changed by people who stand against the flow, show full resistance not get carried away by it. And if you show positive emotions like love, friendship, peace and harmony then negative emotions like anger, hatred and violence cannot be ignored either.
So, non-violence or Gandhigiri, no matter how attractive as it may seem, will never provide for a solution to all the problems caused by the society today. Can you imagine a world where there is no hatred, no competition, and no violence? Well, it would certainly look like the office of an Indian PSU from the outside, with a real life portrait of the man himself, hanging on the wall. (Most people will disagree with me on this too! What am I doing?) But for me in the world as I live in, it is, ‘Live and let die!’ and ‘You hit me once, You get hit twice!’
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Its 7 am and I am wide awake,
Going to the office for going’s sake,
No leave left in the account to take,
Pleading to God for ‘just’ an earthquake!!
Some would pretend to be so busy,
They would not have even time to pee,
But will take an hour and a half for tea,
And roam about aimlessly, totally free!!
Called for a meeting by the boss to his cell,
In the target review meeting, he would only yell,
The hearts will say,”Life is Hell!”
But from the lips comes out, “All is well!”
It is the 1st of the month, and you get your pay,
And that is really the thing that makes you stay,
This, my friends, is the real corporate life,
It is like fighting with your own, only wife!!!
