IS SELF-EMPOWERMENT A FAR CRY?

This Monday, a poor but respectable looking Muslim lady came on grievance at the Block Headquarters of the district. Genteel  and with a look that she has seen better days, she  put forth that she  has been widowed for some years and had no means of leading a respectable life with her children. On grounds of absolute poverty and destitution, she was requesting for some litres of kerosene from the Public Distribution System. Though her problems had nothing to do with me, my curiosity was aroused. I asked her a few details about her family and then I asked her that vital question which was bothering me throughout her piteous narration. Being a single parent is never an easy task and no child/children can be reared in modern times on a few litres of kerosene bequeathed by the Government.  Was she employed and if not, why was she not looking for some avenue of employment to fend for herself and her family? To me, the very idea that a meagre supply of kerosene would provide for her subsistence seemed atrocious.  Initially, the lady was taken aback by this volley of questions. She thought it over and replied that she was semi-literate and therefore, getting a job would be difficult. I further prodded and found that she had some basic skills in stitching.  I volunteered to find her some apprenticeship at a local tailoring shop which she flatly refused.    Again, offers to liaison her with some NGO so that they could help her start some stitching business from home were also dismissed.  My dogged persistence for over another hour to find her some way of earning a respectable earning sadly met with failure. I may be wrong but I conjectured that the lady was not really interested in helping her own lot. Not for her, the sweat and toil and sincere efforts to make use of all her talents and provide well for her family. It all boiled down to bottles of kerosene.

I did feel sad for the lady but even sadder about the fact that after all that we are talking and claiming to do, self-empowerment in the little pockets of India doesn't even exist as an idea. It is not fair to generalize on the basis of one case, but for over a year now, I have been a witness   to scores of able bodied men and women clamouring for government funds to make a hut, get an umbrella and most importantly, to get their hands on  that  alchemist’s stone-BPL card ; which is seen as the solution to al financial issues.  I agree that there is nothing wrong in demanding what is our right but then, from another perspective, would not it be so beautiful if the young and the young at heart people of our country could make use of their hands, feet and those singularly gifted brains to generate their own incomes and make themselves self-reliant rather than wasting their time in waiting for government sops. When we talk of a shining India, maybe we are talking of this kind of scenario only.  What is disturbing is that this scenario seems too far off. Our people simply do not want to put in their hard work and efforts in a meaningful manner. In some instances, there is a lack of sincerity, at many others, a lack of able guidance. They seem to still believe in Karma, cry about their misery and wait for the other to do something for their cause.and nobody seems to tell them that the only person who can better their cause is they, themselves.I believe, in a lighter vein, that the stories of Eklavya or Chandragupta Maurya or even Shankaracharya need to be retold to our children; stories of how brilliant young   minds with no pedigree backing them blazed the trail by virtue of sheer will, dedication and hard work.  

As a part of the administrative system of the country, I do feel concerned about the perpetuation of this ’culture of poverty’. A laptop here and a few hundred rupees allowance there cannot and have not been  able to deal a blow to the endemic poverty afflicting our country. And the persistence of this culture is the reason for a number of socio-economic and financial problems bothering us, not to speak of exponential growth of crime, criminals, anti-socials and the ensuing law and order issues. we are slowly becoming a nation of squatters and shortcut Romeos. What we require and need to cultivate are men and women who are replete with confidence and self-belief  and who are willing and able to rise above their miseries by their own undaunted efforts. Not for them the wasting away of man hours standing in queues begging for some paltry grant. I  believe we all will have a reason to smile and cheer when our folks sweat it out and also enjoy their fruits of hard labour. Till then, gloom prevails.                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                       

ONLY IF WISHES COULD BE HORSES...

   With the number of files and pending work in my office assuming terrifying proportions, of late, I have been besieged by the urge to run away from this madness. I guess it happens to every person once in a while. The hitch is that it has been happening to me pretty often in the last couple of months…I seem to be in a state of flight even in my dreams! Psychologists may dub it a state of escapism…from the realities of the world. Whatever said and done, I must confess that there is actually a burning desire to go away and do all the little things which makes one’s spirits twirl around merrily. In  such a frame of mind, this poem came into being.

                                                                    DESIRE

Desire burns in my heart..every day,

To soar high up to the fluffy clouds

And envelop myself in those snowy blankets.

To dive down that mysterious azure sea

And gaze at mermaids and playfully tweak the huge octopus.

To sit lazily on a rosebud waiting all night

And drink the dew as it mixes with the nectar on that pale red petal.

To be that happy season of spring

And make the trees flower and blossoms break into a jig.

To caress the glowing cheek of the infant

And bask in its dimpled smiles and delighted gurgles.

To travel in a quaint caravan through the sun-painted dunes

And hope to meet a pharaoh looking for his lost treasures.

To trek up those lofty Himalayan peaks

And listen to life’s philosophy at the foot of the mystic whose wisdom the world seeks.

Set me free for I am restless,

The unknown beckons and I must say

I leave now for I wish to explore the world that lay

Beyond these walls….

A world that is exciting and gay.

WHILE THE COUNTRY REJOICES…

The monsoon is increasingly on the wane even though cyclonic depressions persist off and on in my part of the world. As the sky turns grey and gloomy , friends and relatives scattered around are making enthused calls to discuss their plans for the soon-to-arrive festive season. Early birds are booking tickets for travel; enthusiastic shoppers are making the most of the sale season and shopping till they drop- all in preparation to make the most of the holidays in the coming months. And few like me, are looking at the red marked days of the calendar with a fair amount of dread.

It is surprising and even unfortunate that when the entire country is gearing up to celebrate a dozen pujas and festivals which dot the calendar in the coming months, we, the people in uniform, are gearing up for nothing less than a battle. For, in the present context, festivals assume sinister proportions when it comes to the issues of maintaining law, order and peace in the society. In my stints in different parts of the state, I have been regularly observing, much to my discomfiture, that festive season is the opportunity when our people think it is the ripe time to dig out old wounds, flare up tensions and generally disturb a tenuous social fabric. Come the festival season and our police stations are besieged by groups  nursing wounds against their own group or some hostile one, arising out of some inconsequential matter. Yes, we are there to help out but what appears particularly disconcerting is that absolutely regular and otherwise sane people become totally rigid, are unwilling to see reason and sort out the issue amicably. Very often I have wondered as to why these people want to waste their time and act like killjoys. Across caste, creed, religion and race, haven’t we all been taught that festivals are the time to forget all grief and grievances and to rejoice in caring, sharing and giving. Sadly, it is not to be.

Come festivals, and people in the nooks of the country suddenly turn violent, irrational, sectarian and chauvinistic. They are on the lookout for opportunities to settle old scores and even out personal or group grudges. It seems as if the feeling runs strong that the administration is bound to deal with such nuisance with soft hands since it is festival time and so the license to all mischief mongers to run amok. Therefore, what should ideally be a time to make merry actually turns murky. I have often noticed  that  particularly, processions involving idol immersions are actually  open air discotheques for all the drunken hooligans of the area who are also drunk with the confidence that they outnumber the police personnel and the latter would turn a blind eye to most of their wrong doings considering the sensitivity of the situation. Being held at ransom on these occasions leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. One is helpless. Yes, we do take a whole lot of preventive measures but nothing is enough to meet an entire mass bent upon creating and perpetrating mischief.

Having ruminated and deliberated over this issue many times, I feel that our social character and conduct leaves a lot to be desired. As a society, we are increasingly portraying ourselves as an intolerant, impatient mass given to lawlessness at the drop of a hat. Not an image to be proud of. Especially, in an era where the level of progress and sophistication attained by a society is measured in terms of the willingness and eagerness of the people to abide by the law of the land. We blame a whole lot of factors for the present state of affairs but I believe that primarily, as individuals and as members of some group or the other, we are failing to evaluate ourselves. We are failing to introspect, failing to understand that such base conduct does not contribute to our self respect or win the respect of significant others in the long run.

As , we get ready for another festive season, another season where groups of people will be ready to slug it out over some flimsy issues, I go green with envy thinking of my friends and relatives enjoying themselves to the hilt. As they bring out their festive fineries , special recipes and holiday brochures, I try to think of some ingenious solutions to make peace between warring parties so that the coming season is relatively peaceful. So much for our bubbling religious fervor!

ON DOING NOTHING

Every evening, I need to cross a railway check gate in the outskirts of the town to go to the swimming pool. And invariably, the gate is always closed around that time to allow some train or the other to pass through. On all these occasions, it is always a delight to sit inside the vehicle and observe how people around take to this sudden halt to their daily business. Most often than not, I find people fretting, grumbling and complaining about this forced wait. They, after all, have important things to attend to and a wait of 15 minutes is such a criminal waste. Is it?

I habitually find that the betel and tea shops of my small town become abuzz with activity around dusk. Menfolk, irrespective of age, gather around these shops and while away hours altogether. I have nothing to complain regarding this mode of leisure. But yes, I do wonder that as a society, as a country, why do we stir up a fuss of being always so busy, always in a hurry and always so very impatient? Many a times, I have had the strong urge to roll down the windows of my vehicle and tell people at the railway crossing that the skies wont collapse on their heads if they stood still for a few minutes, enjoyed the breeze around and didn’t take pains to dodge below that gate, negotiate themselves and their vehicle through the tracks just to save a few minutes. Sadly, for all the efforts we make to be so fastidious about saving time, we are not exactly known as a nation of time-keepers. We are generally late in keeping appointments, meeting deadlines and are also known to be pretty casual about the sense of time. Then why this artificial hurry..this rushing around like headless chickens. It hardly serves any purpose.

In a similar vein, I find that there is huge peer pressure in my service to profess to be busy and be occupied all the time. So much busy that some colleagues openly flaunt their leave accounts like score cards: they have not taken a leave or gone on a holiday since ages as they are so devoted to their jobs on hand. In the midst of such seemingly career devoted workaholics and time conscious citizens, I get reminded of a beautiful essay I read in college. It was called “On doing nothing”. Herein the author had sung paeans on the pleasure of just lying down on the grass, looking up at the blue sky and just doing nothing. I believe such blissful moments of doing nothing are such an essential part of our existence. For they relax our minds, bodies and spirits and prepare us for the next challenge. I recall my French tutor recounting stories of massive traffic jams in Paris on Friday evenings for everybody wants to holiday over the weekend so that Monday can be looked into the eye with utmost courage. Compare this with our dispensation where an application for leave is met with utmost scorn and the applicant must explain his/her distress in most piteous terms to get the leave sanctioned. And heavens shall fall on the one who dares to take a leave to do just nothing..nothing at all. Yes, the idea seems preposterous to many. But for all this seriousness and dedication, our work productivity is pretty marginal. I am no theorist but I gauge that one of the reasons could be that we are perennially tired and bored. We don’t own it up but the truth is many lose interest in the work at hand. It is the drudgery and the lack of fortitude to own it up which makes us grumpy persons and professionals.

How I wish I could land a copy of that great essay and exhort people to take a break,....do nothing. It wouldn’t turn around our lives around, for sure. But maybe, it would make us a little happier, contended and give us the effervescence to smile during the next closed railway gate or merrily hum around in our offices on a Monday.