Anti-Constitutional Technologies

This evening in the Rajya Sabha, the Leader of the Opposition Mr. Arun Jaitley started a short duration discussion on the politically motivated telephone tapping scandal and the 2G spectrum auction related telephone tapping by the IT department. Other than cornering the government for big-brothering the system, Mr. Jaitley, an eminent lawyer also brought the usual civil liberties angle to the debate. But deviating from the expected 'sanctity of personal privacy' rhetoric, he hinted at an idea that certain technologies could make the constitutional protections irrelevant:

"... And you are now going in for a technology which has a complete mismatch to this entire constitutional scheme and guarantee. And the mismatch is, well I have got a technology which does not respect India's Constitution, which defies the entire constitutional protection that I have, and that technology, when it drives around the country is in a position to bug everybody else's telephone."
- Mr. Arun Jaitley, MP Rajya Sabha

I am sure the lawmakers can legislate on almost any subject, so if a technology gets out of hand they will find a way to limit and prohibit its usage, just as they do with Nuclear Energy. But what if a new technology comes along that can really make it a nightmare for anyone to regulate its usage - a suicide bomber scenario in technology regulation. At that point, the futility of the laws will be clear for all to see.


Now I don't know if Mr. Jaitley has seen The Dark Knight but the "too much power for anyone to have" premise that he alluded to is also seen in that film's climax. The movie version is a fictional cellphone sonar technology that can basically locate anyone in Gotham city. Batman's ally Lucius Fox raises similar apprehensions as Mr. Jaitley does, although for more philosophical and less political reasons. But in the movie as long as the good guy uses it, its all cool. So the question is if we see the Government of India as the good guy.

Links:
Rajya Sabha Proceedings, 29th April 2010 (Read from Pg 12 onwards): http://164.100.47.5/newdebate/219/29042010/16.00pmTo17.00pm.pdf
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article417847.ece?homepage=true
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lobbyists-phone-tap-revives-2G-scam-row/articleshow/5870446.cms
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/news/2008/07/bat_gadgets

Government's Algebra: A Symbol for the Number

The Nandan Nilekani chaired Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) on realizing that its name was not very uniquely identifiable had to go in for a makeover. They found a new name "Aadhaar" (meaning either Foundation or Support) and had a competition for a new logo last month - an adult version of the summer painting competition.

Of all the entries, they found a winning design by one Mr. Atul S Pant of Pune and gave him an amount of Rs. 1,00,000 - a fraction of what a professional design firm would charge. Then came the task of explaining their new logo. And here we go:


“It represents a new dawn of equal opportunity for each individual, a dawn which emerges from the unique identity the number guarantees for each individual. The sun symbolizes a promise that shines on all residents equally — the number would enable access to services and resources for everyone, including people who have long been disadvantaged, such as marginal groups, migrants and women and children. The fingerprint within the sun indicated that the promise of AADHAAR stems from its uniqueness.”

Unlike the cattle, they try to convince us to get ourselves branded and numbered.

Update: 29th April 2010, The Mint's take- Left vs Right of UIAI Politics:
http://www.livemint.com/2010/04/29201314/Against-insecurity.html

Links:
http://uidai.gov.in/documents/uid_logo.pdf
http://www.livemint.com/2010/04/27213047/Getting-India-to-sign-up-for-A.html?h=B
http://advice.cio.com/v_k_singh/10186/aadhar_project_of_india_is_unconstitutional

Assured Replies

For those who missed it in The Hindu this morning, the Hyderabad Traffic Authorities are seeking suggestions:

"... the city traffic police are eliciting suggestions of citizens to improve the traffic situation in the capital that has about 20.49 lakh vehicles. Citizens can either call: 90102 03626 or send emails to website: www.htp.gov.in and trafficpolicehyderabad@yahoo.co.in. And the assurance is replies will be given to all queries."

So if you want to go down the activist road then stop grumbling and call them. Honestly though, I think this suggestion business was always there, its just that they publicize it from time to time. Each time they conduct one of these citizen participation drives in reality all they undertake is yet another Public Relations exercise. I suspect that these authorities in reality suppose that the public's suggestions lack feasibility and are mostly either rants or whines but by and large simple minded and naive. But they still have to keep us engaged!


Follow-up: 27th April 2010

"Dial a Cop" - In the gossip columns of the Times of India:
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIH/2010/04/27&PageLabel=2&EntityId=Ar00201&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

Links:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/26/stories/2010042657990100.htm
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Shop-owners-to-be-booked-for-parking-rule-violation-/articleshow/5857535.cms

The Eyes Have It

Today the only remaining form of visual art that is truly accessible to the general public is the movie poster. They are everywhere, in the cities they occupy all vertical surfaces within eyeshot, in the more rural areas they are seen up on those kaccha walls. Within the limits of a few square feet of space the poster has to convey an idea to the viewer that should tickle him into spending time and money on the movie - the job of designing these posters is as much a challenge as making the actual movies.

A recent poster that caught my eye was of Mahesh Manjerekar's City of Gold. The intended emotion of dispossessed anger that the filmmaker wants to convey comes through clearly in the posters.


The subject matter of the film is about the shutting down of the textile mills of Bombay in the 80s to make way for real estate developers to erect structures that form the current skyline of the city thus resulting in the destitution of mill workers. Incidentally the producers of the movie, DAR Motion Pictures are themselves into real estate development.

Links:
http://www.marchingants.net/home.htm
http://www.impawards.com/designers/marching_ants.html

The 3-Way Shake

One thing that no leader can do without in forging an alliance is the actual physical handshake. But hands are normally shook a pair at a time and that can be a problem in situations where there are multiple parties involved. To combat the challenge of maintaining parity in the special case of a three way alliance, especially in international relations where appearance is everything, leaders have successful come up with the 3-way shake.

Getting it done:

- The 3 leaders start by forming a rough triangle while making sure that none of their backs are turned to the cameras. Note: Cameramen must necessarily be arranged as a single short line and not be allowed to encircle the leaders.

- Now all 3 leader grabs each other's hands while maintaining a lefthand to lefthand & righthand to righthand pairing between them. At this point its a good idea to check for any loose hands. Observing schoolgirls play their games will help here.

- After all the 6 hands form 3 neat pairs of simultaneously shaking hand, the leaders have to again adjust themselves to face the cameras while not seeming ungainly.

- An important last check at this point is conducted by making sure that each leader has both his hands crossed across his torso to perform the 3-way shake. This eliminates the possibility to shaking one's own hand.

How it isn't done:

In this picture from 2007, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India, Former South African President Thabo Mbeki and the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attempt a 3-way shake with disastrous results. Although the South African and Brazilian Presidents perform their part of the maneuver commendably, the Indian Prime Minister clearly breaks the 4th rule and the 2nd rule of the 3-way shake and is seen here possibly trying to shake his own hand. Bravely though the three leaders try to hush up the glaring faux pas which had thankfully gone unnoticed until now.

True Worth

The grotesqueness of an eyeball fueled money hunt that is IPL is too much for some to handle. As Gordon Gekko said "Greed.. is Good". But it shouldn't show.

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/455783.html

In an unassuming manner, Mr. Ashok Malik here brings out some of the factors at play when a player really starts to appraise his skills for every conceivable Rupee that can be squeezed.

Nodding Along

About a year ago I read a tiny book called 'A Very Short Introduction: Machiavelli' by Quentin Skinner. The subject of the book is famous for his unique take on politics and statecraft. Even if they didn't read Machiavelli, every politician does what he wrote about. The section of the book that interested me was the opening section that covered the reasons which led to Machiavelli writing his most famous work - 'The Prince'.

It revealed that while writing this definitive textbook on the cut-throat world of state intrigue and power-grabbing, Machiavelli was simply trying to prove his credentials. Thus for such a monumental work, all that motivated Machiavelli was the idea of impressing one of his readers - the ruler of Florence, to such an extent so as to secure employment for himself. Did he really then believe in all he wrote? Who's to say.

This is the way most creative projects function, without a patron there are no artists, musician or writers. And a patron could be any person who supports or appreciates the endeavor. So most times the works that are regarded as masterpieces are considered so because the viewer (or consumer) perceive them to be great, this view may not necessarily be shared by the creator of the piece.

Since the tastes of the viewer and the creator may differ, today the prior endorsement of the consumers is procured in all the big ticket creative fields. Movies are screened to a test audience before release and books are professionally vetted by the publishers to ensure that the patrons like the 'product'. So creative pieces should not be uncomfortable in being classified as products, because that's what they are - they are in fact the only products that human beings can claim complete ownership of. Therefore if the product needs to be okayed by the consumer, then it is the job of the artist to make sure they get that approval. Otherwise we all would be artists of note.

Take a look at this Bruno interview where he satirically tears apart a fashion designer's work and presents a sorry image of what can be dressed up to be creativity. Sadly though this is the case with most people making a living on being creative, they are just out there to please.



Links:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/REVIEWS/710180306
http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/453685.html

Fear and Loathing in Hyderabad

My day yesterday was spent racing through some of the newly expanded riot-hit areas of Hyderabad. All very exhilarating but also extremely annoying at the same time. Communal rioting has returned as the current flavor of the city and all the regionalists of yore seem to have missed the latest bus of political hooliganism. Politics just as fashion, is fickle.

The social engineering required to generate and sustain mobs is an art that cannot be taught. In these scenarios the street coordinators and leaders show great creativity, adaptability and fortitude. But for such mob-making, a cause is necessary. In India there exists a sometime latent, sometime blatant communal antipathy where the biggest reason for the existence of peace is not common understanding but pathetically, plain survival. In such a context, the instigators are squarely labeled as the villains of the piece every time there is a break down in this delicate peace.

Here I propose an alternative. I say that the villains of the story are in fact each and every person who holds dear thoughts that allow that person to be instigated. Therefore if you hold views that are derisive, condescending, hateful/fearful, discriminatory or bigotry then you are part of the problem. This holds even in the case of such privately held opinions - despite the fact that you may be a fair individual, yet you set yourself up to be a candidate with that 'potential'.

The conspiracy regarding who benefited and who instigated are matters that pale in comparison to the kind of long-term antipathy that these incidents create. People's experiences shape their outlook. So when someone goes through a full blown riot, a glimpse of the barbaric and animal nature of man is observed. This generally brings about a de-evolution of behavior on part of the victim too, who waits then for his turn to play his hand. Thus the language of violence is what perpetuates the relation.

In all this, being secular is no help either - candle light vigils cannot extinguish hatred. Instead, providing for a designated field of battle might actually get better results than wishing the issue away from the confines of a sterilized quarantine that is secularism. The cold nature of secularism, where the religious identity held by the people is brushed under the carpet, is in fact a major cause for conflict. The Indian version of secularism is on the one hand embarrassed by its religious subjects but is proud of the diversity of this embarrassment.

Links:
http://www.thehindu.com/2010/03/31/stories/2010033161350100.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%282004_film%29
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/us/25mobs.html?scp=1&sq=flash%20mob&st=cse

Essential Delusions

Imagining forward and projecting into the future is a difficult thing to do. Only the very brave or the very reckless venture to spell out what is not yet there. Having a vision therefore is a motivational strategy to coax others into acting, sometimes even against their better judgment or will. Selling these delusional visions hence becomes very important. There are various methods of selling these delusions, indeed there are many different delusions to be sold:

The Personal Variety:
A more confident, rich, popular or better looking future-you. This is the generic illusion through which the individual should end up buying the products and services advertised. Thus a brighter future for you is what the manufacturers predict (only if their production-line goods are bought). Hence even the most disturbing insurance products try to tempt you into cheerfully betting on your untimely death in order to experience a windfall gain - here your future is great even without your presence in it!

The People Variety:
The populace is made to believe that they will collectively be transported to the "promised land". This is the domain of the government, politicians and leaders. In this future everything surrounding the individual is better. There will be freedom from want and there will be nothing to fear. The developments of science & technology are shown as signs of things to come. We are left to extrapolate the progress graph of civilization to see what the future holds. Glories of the past are reaffirmed and emulation is seen as possible.

The Other Worldly Variety:
The future here is seen from some transcendent place. This is the bastion of non-rationality. The concern for the future is replaced by a concern for something beyond (or beneath) normal explanations. The delusion sold here is that the destination to be arrived at in the future is already known. The organized religions are the main peddlers of this fantasy and their tools vary from inspiration to fear mongering.

A combination of these and other delusions are the essential fuels to the keep the engine of human endeavor running. Ultimately though it has to be recognized that the buyers and the sellers in these transactions are inevitably the same.

Mythical Precedence

Today the Supreme Court of India has cited the mythical Krishna-Radha non-conjugal live-in arrangement as a precedent in cases of such understanding between consenting adults. Thereby a more liberal definition of what constitutes a household is now upon us in India. But it is of peculiar interest to note the use of mythology in this case as a tool of understanding a moral dilemma.

On the other extreme, this also reminds us of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's statement from 2007 on the Ram Setu issue where he brazenly noted the absurdity in the use of mythological elements in making a point. But in today's pronouncement it is understandable that the Chief Justice would use myths to counter moral muddles - they do speak in the same language and tone.

A judge's life must be interesting - to sit in judgment on matters that may constantly questions his character, beliefs and convictions. Such a line of work must allow for little or no self-doubt. I am not sure therefore if any judge would concede that a particular judgment is beyond his moral capabilities.

But in life some questions are simply beyond answering. To sustain themselves in their profession, this fact has to be denied or suppressed by the adjudicating authority. As an aid in such cover-ups is where folklore and anecdotes find their place in judgments. By citing such precedents one can deflect to the past (both mythical and factual) answers sought for the present.


Links:
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_no-offence-in-pre-marital-sex-live-in-relationship-says-supreme-court_1362499
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/where-is-proof-ram-built-bridge-asks-karuna/217566/

Neither and Both

From Mr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi - here is a view on how developments such as the recent Women's Reservation Bill in the Parliament of India are taking the nation in a new and uncharted direction:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/our-wonderful-quotocracy/590788/0

He may or may not be off-target on his 'quotocracy' thesis but the trend is here with us and needs to be understood. As he points out, the question is one of identity but not as one sees oneself, instead how others (read - governments) identify citizens.

We could adopt a hardcore view of individual equality under all circumstances and blindfold ourselves to the disparities. Or we could open our eyes only to see through the tinted glasses of discrimination and subliminality. Either positions are heavily fortified and come with irrefutable arguments. In attempting to solve such a Dharmasankat (moral quandary): India has chosen neither and both.

No Favor

The state of Assam in India is about to assign healthcare as a basic right for its residents. The matter is not voted on yet but the papers seem to hint that this bill will soon be law. This is a first for India and it will open the floodgates which will force the rest of the states to follow suit. The skepticism regarding feasibility and the more sinister search for the benefactors kept aside, this is a brave piece of legislation which will lead to some good.

The government in the state in pursuit of whatever political mileage points has taken up the burden of affording its citizens access to some form of public healthcare. Mind you, they are doing no one any favors. Under Article 47 of the Constitution of India's Directive Principles of State Policy the state is required to do exactly this:

Article 47:
"The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties... "

There are other such Directive Principles in that document which are equally revealing about the state's responsibilities, a pity that none of them are binding on the state. No court can force them to do the right thing, for that they have to grow a conscience and by 'they' I also mean we.

All the legislators everywhere are really our mouthpieces, its called upward delegation in a democracy. They play a game where they try to guess what would please us and go about doing it - like a child would in trying to impress a parent. When the game gets too hard and it becomes difficult to ascertain public taste or mood some get distracted and go and do what politicians are cursed for doing.

But once in a while they get their act together and either by accident or plan actually do their job of lawmaking diligently. And when they do, it is important to note that these lawmakers are only an instrument of enforcing public will, nothing more. So acknowledge their contributions but there is no need to feel grateful.


Link:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-a-first-Assam-to-guarantee-right-to-health/articleshow/5673849.cms

Someone Has To Do It

Yesterday we had a get together on account of a friend's belated birthday party - had lunch, saw a movie and drove around. One of the guys was here from Bangalore for the weekend so we drove to the Kachiguda Station to put him on the train. As we made our way onto the platform, at the station's entrance there was a police jeep with a pale skinned labrador panting away in the back with two safari-suit clad policemen sitting in the front. These men were scoping out the place and probably waiting on orders. We didn't make much of the scene.

While the guys waited for the train, I had to take a leak and made my way to the nearest lavatory. On rejoining the platform's bustle I noticed that one section of the crowd just past the lavatory were moved away and formed a rough semi-circle opposite the wall with a 20 foot radius. The three characters from the jeep were in the middle, all staring at an old blue suitcase placed on a window ledge. Everyone around who understood the scenario was getting into a pre-panic mode - trying not to act stupid by smiling or laughing while quickly calculating the odds but also in order to satiate their curiosity weren't moving away either.

By the time I got there and realized the parameters of the situation, the dog had already done its sniffing around and its handler had moved it and himself back by 6 feet from the window. All the while the other man remained right next to the window with an airport security-type frisking device that he hovered over the suitcase for a couple of times. Then he took a step forward, put his hand on the suitcase's latch and in one move yanked the lid up. Like always, it was empty.

The situation quickly defused and the crowd dispersed, only now allowing themselves a smile. I started walking back towards the coffee shop where my friends were waiting, thinking I had a story to tell. But I stopped after a while and looked back to see what they did with the suitcase, it remained where it was found and the safari-suit squad was moving towards me. I waited for a while and when the man who opened the suitcase was nearing, I held out my hand. In bemusement he shook my hand and I told him the first thing that came to my mind:

"Itlanti pani cheyali ante chala dhayryam kavali sir!"
("To do this sort of work, a lot of courage must be necessary sir!")

He smiled and went on his way.


Also Interesting:
Review: "The Hurt Locker"

And the Blue Signifies..

The Central Vigilance Commission of India (CVC) which is the apex body for the prevention of corruption in India some years ago in 2003 suddenly felt the urge to up its branding. Unlike the US government, the Government of India doesn't assign any seals to its agencies, so the CVC went out and hired a graphic design consultant and bought themselves a logo like any respectable department should do.

Thus far the CVC was within its rights to want a symbolic representation of their righteous crusade against corruption. But then they just couldn't help themselves. In an apparent effort to set an impossibly high benchmark in transparency on trivial issues that most agencies would avoid emulating out of sheer embarrassment, the CVC never the less went ahead and elaborated at length the true meaning of their beloved logo on their website:

" The Central Vigilance Commission has adopted a logo. The logo consists of a graphic representation of an eye encased within the letter “C”. The eye represented in a pleasing blue colour is symbolic of the collective determination of the community to be vigilant against any erosion of rights through illegal and improper actions of public servants. Encased within the letter “C” the eye represents the Commission overseeing the vigilance administration in all public organisations and helping in arriving at quick and logical decisions in all vigilance cases. The logo has grouped positive and negative elements within it and the deliberate choice of the blue colour signifies an active, ever vigilant but positive and friendly Central Vigilance Commission. "


http://www.cvc.nic.in/cvc_logo.htm

Role Reversal

Here is a quotation on courage I came across today:

Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
-William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act II, sc. ii

Okay, an instance after you read this quote and agree with it, the reasoning turns on its head. You realize that the 'cowards' are now the real 'valiant' ones since they endure 'deaths' many times.

Catch: This somersault only possible if these cowards know that they are seen as cowards.

An Iconic Amount

Rs. l crore for information leading to the capture of the perpetrators of the German Bakery Blast incident in Pune this week is what the government is considering. This public expression of the financial measure of the government's resolve has been reported by every paper this morning. In the same papers there is a half page advert taken out by the Home Department pleading with citizens to " be our eyes and ears". For the same end different means are sought here - only sensible considering the gravity of the situation.

We would like to think that internal security is the burden of the police with every responsible citizen aiding them. But in reality the yoke is also balanced on a network of individuals of ambiguous morality - the informants. For them to perform their "duty" they need monetary reminders. Hence the Superintendent of Police of every district in India has access to a large fund that goes towards paying for intelligence - a fund subject to no audit. This mechanism has always been in place and is vital to the maintenance of law and order, even in the most peaceful of nations. It is a nod to the idea that the state is an imposed structure precariously perched on top of a social milieu which the state doesn't quite understand.

Now for an incident like the one in Pune which captures headlines everywhere, cracking the case assumes greater significance. Therefore the gathering of intelligence becomes that much more critical, hence instead of seeking information from the established informant networks alone , the authorities need new sources. The reward for such information has to correspond to the risks involved. The home ministry surely must have its logic in arriving at a figure in a manner which is routine yet awkward. After considering the urgency, cost-benefit and demand-supply the figure arrived at is Rs. 1,00,00,000 - an iconic amount.

Perhaps it is insensitive to talk of this tiny detail in view of the bigger picture but I believe that people already have entrenched opinions on the incident and the trend and therefore my voice may well already be represented in this regard by some section.

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2010/feb/280210-kingpin-khabri-mumbai-underworld-gossip.htm

Veena Rhapsody

These guys are just having fun with it!



Musicians wear the most bizarre expressions on their faces when they are in their element.

If interested in the original version, found out that it is a cover of "Raghuvamsa Sudha" - a famous Carnatik song.

Boneheaded

While feeding the dog this month, I noticed that some of the pellets of the "Pedigree's Adult Dog Food" were crafted in the shape of bones. On first sight all seems very logical - dogs are known to love their bones hence shaping food in that shape should increase its appeal to the dogs. Except that the pellets are tiny (less than an inch in length) and my dog doesn't seem to appreciate the aesthetics of its meal - it just gobbles.



Realization dawns that the shape of the pellet is designed to appeal to the human customer and not necessarily to the canine consumer. The dogfood people do their jobs: massage our egos to get to our wallets. And I have come to appreciate the crucial role product design plays in the the overall marketing strategy.

Update: 1st Feb - Article on Steve Job and Apple's approach to Product Design:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/weekinreview/31lohr.html

Barber Shop

Went in for a haircut in the morning at the usual place. People present: me in the understudy barber's chair, the understudy barber, the head barber, a patron waiting for his turn and a patron getting a shave. The following takes place:

Scene:

Guy walks in, grabs a paper sitting down on the bench and talks to whoever is listening.

Guy [Enthusiastically]: Ivala bandh anta.. university lo Telangana kosam kalchukunaru
(Today, a strike is called..someone self-imolated in the univeristy for the cause of Telangana)

Patron getting a shave [Curious]: Abayaa Amaayaa?
(Boy or Girl?)

Guy: Abay kalchukuni chachadu
(Boy died of his burns)

Patron getting a shave [Frustrated]: Chavalsinnolu chavaru!
(Those who are supposed to die, don't die!)

After a beat

Head Barber [Dispassionate]: Edhi aythe enti..holiday ayindhi.. girak aythadhi
(Whatever it may be..today is now a holiday..there will be business)

Media Induced Morbidity Syndrome: They named it!

Mr. Anant Maringanti's brave attempt at understanding the absurdity of the mutant Telugu Language Media's macabre instincts for propagating mass hysteria (from Business Week):

http://kafila.org/2009/12/18/media-induced-morbidity-syndrome-anant-maringanti/

Scheduled to Stay

In light of the political developments in the state of Andhra Pradesh, a central question has been that of identity. There have been domiciliary claims based on dialect, culture, lineage, property, migration and so on.

But if the question of "Sons of the Soil" is explored to its logical conclusion, then the first inheritors of that title should be the ancient tribes of the region who date back their origins to time immemorial in the hills and forests of the realm.

Here is a fascinating anthropological documentary with footage from around 70 years ago on the tribes of this territory. While we inhabit and claim for ourselves various provinces today just as so many unsuccessfully did before us, as always by not playing our games, these tribes quietly focus on outlasting all other claimants.

Mobs of Mysore

This morning's 'The Hindu' newspaper has a story on a hit and run incident that took place in Mysore yesterday. But what is of greater interest to the paper is the context within which the incident took place. The context being that the accident took place on a contentious stretch of road lined by 200 trees on either side which has been the subject of repeated petitions on the issue of felling of those trees for road widening. Therefore the article concentrated on the happenings after the accident - a flash mob gathered and cut down 25 of those trees.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/10/stories/2010011050020100.htm

On further googling I understand that this is a story with a history. There are a number of players involved - The city corporation & other officials, environmental activist groups, forest department, the courts and finally irate pedestrians. There are accusations and counter accusations, a mix of ideology, pragmatism and activism. Now it seems there is frustration and antagonism. The newspapers too have taken a keen interest in the developments over the past year or so.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/save-mysore-trees

Civic issues are a microcosm of political activity in the country. When things go out of hand with vested interests, disinformation and vigilante justice prevailing at this basic level of government, it doesn't augur well for governance at every higher tier.

Use of the Rule

"If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?" - Anton Chigurh from the film 'No Country for Old Men'

The above mentioned line is delivered by a philosophical, albeit psychopathic hitman before killing someone in the movie. Violence is a draw at the movies, people are always curious. Everything that has anything to do with conflict, be it mental or physical, arouses our interest. Scripts are written on the three act formula. Exposition, Confrontation and Resolution. The stress is inevitably on the confrontation.

While we all try to avoid conflict in our lives, all the while we are aware that smooth sailing is a relative concept - there will come a time to face up to circumstances where one might come up short. This abrasive nature of existence is not lost on our subconscious. Our search in stories of conflicts is a search for a prism through which to look for clues as to how to deal with such dire situations. In the heat of the moment, we hope that our learnings will help us find a way out.

What happens on reflex is common to all creatures, the responses that set us apart are the ones that are voluntary. Hence the stories that are retained and repeated by society are the ones which at their core are instruction manuals for behavior when faced with crisis. Ancient mythological epic adventures of every culture form a part of these tried and tested guidelines. A case in point - Bhagavad Gita.

The realization of the fact that inaction cannot be a valid response when faced with those crunch moments is the start point for the development of a crisis encountering mechanism by an individual. With a gameplan now in place to face any eventuality, one can go about life without hesitations and second thoughts as long as one keeps to the rules drawn up for survival.

But eventually the walls crumble and you sail towards your terminal confrontation knowing that the endgame is imminent. At that point of final settlement one last contention remains: "If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?"

Robbery by Consent

Along with millions of other users, I too got an SMS from the merry folks at Airtel (my cellphone service provider) dated 30th Dec 09 at 9:35AM. Here is the content:

"Kindly note your discounted SMS tariff will not be applicable on 31 Dec 09 & 1 Jan 10. All SMS sent on this day will be charged @ Rs.1 as per the normal tariff."

In any case, the situation in the state as it is with all the bandhs and mild disorderly behavior, I am betting there won't be a large number of "Happy New Year!" greetings flying around. Though I can't say the same for the rest of the country who'll have to pay the whole rupee for each message.

Update, Jan 2nd 2010:

2 Billion SMSes sent on New Year's eve in India. The service operators made a killing, put together they made around Rs. 1.5 billion with the varying tariffs across plans and geographies. Seems some Airtel packages offered messaging @1 paise (Rs. o.o1) per SMS. By that measure they must have my profile up their in the "sucker" category who would be happy to pay a premium of a 100 times for the exact same service.

In the spirit of consumer awareness, I therefore was eagerly awaiting the "Mobile Number Portability" scheme that the telecom regulatory authority was to introduce on January 1st across the various service providers at a nominal rate of Rs. 19 . The cartel though had the last laughs by successfully delayed its implementation yet again, this time by atleast 6 months.

Survival as Victory

Reading a bit of history this week, I came across an amazing story. Very apt for a big budget movie adaptation in the genre of Lawrence of Arabia. It is the story of the half-dead Dr. William Brydon of the British East India Company who in 1842 was the sole survivor out of a party of 16,000 during the 140 km retreat east from Kabul to Jalalabad in the first Anglo-Afghan war. There is war, intrigue, history, tragedy, endurance and in the end there is survival.

Here is Dr. William Brydon's first person account from the archives of The Times newspaper dated 7th April 1842 of the happenings of that week in January. The randomness of survival in such circumstances is a striking feature of his matter-of-fact report. A painting by Elizabeth Butler - "The Remnants of an Army" furthered the legend of the event and that of Afghanistan in those times (below).


For the nearest cinematic experience of similar times and occurrences, watch "The Man Who Would Be King" which is based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling who surely must have been aware of this tale.

More Info:

1. http://www.theestimate.com/public/100501_dossier.html
2. http://afpakwar.com/blog/2009/09/16/pictures-of-war-can-carry-more-moral-meaning-than-thousands-of-words/
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brydon
4. http://www.britishbattles.com/first-afghan-war/kabul-gandamak.htm
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbreakable_%28film%29

Natural Ability ++

Tiger Woods has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. A carefully crafted sculpture has been turned into an effigy. One of the less intriguing dirt dug-up on the golfer is the revelation that he might have undergone a "blood spinning" procedure. The procedure itself is not banned by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) as it is claimed only to help athletes recover from injuries, but the question is if it constitute an unfair advantage.

In the lead up to the Beijing Olympics, the story of Oscar Pistorius, a South African sprinter came to light. Although he couldn't qualifying for the event, even if he did he might not have gone to China. That's because Oscar doesn't have feet of flesh and bone, he has carbon fibre prosthetic ones. IAAF, the governing body for athletics did not know what to do in the case and were only spared by the fact that he marginally missed qualifying for his national team.

IAAF's predicament is understandable. It was a situation where for once inferences are stumped by completely alien circumstances. It is interesting how we condemn authority figures (in this case, IAAF) for holding hypocritical views while our own views in private are no different. No one in all honesty expects a man with artificial legs to be a match for the real deal.

The real problem is with the notion of fairness. Boxing divides fighters into weight categories to adhere to the principle of a "fair fight" but some boxers have a greater natural reach than others. As technology improves while we hold on to our archaic egalitarian ideas, the future in sports could see procedures to lengthen limbs or reduce pain. Already there are stories of baseball batters getting eye surgeries done to enhance vision.

The Amateur Sports Movement with its "sports for the sake of sports" has long since reached its demise. Now as professional sports merges with entertainment the rewards for performance come from outside the sporting fraternity. Such rewards sometimes may not honor the same qualities that sporting peers approve of. Therefore for the sake of the viewing public (and their money) sportstars of tomorrow will have to botox their abilities even if it shames them.

More Links:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/dec/16/tiger-woods-dr-anthony-galea
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/sports/othersports/15runner.html
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19971024/REVIEWS/710240303/1023
http://www.ossur.com/?PageID=13462
http://www.time.com/time/reports/heroes/foot.html

Decapitated State

Andhra Pradesh

Of the happenings in the state in the last few days, there are so many opinions that anything I say would be wrong. Instead here is a video that might act as a metaphor for these times.




Reality Check: This is just a reminder of what India is under its skin.

Related Link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8406456.stm

HR Nightmare: Ninja Assassin

In the urge to get a fill of movie violence, I made my way to "Ninja Assassin" recently. Blood hit the ceiling and walls regularly and the body count was high. Any semblance of logical coherence was neither expected nor delivered. But surprisingly there is a story (all be it unintentional) hiding behind all the limb-dicing and blood letting. And this story finds resonance with the most far removed profession from martial arts i.e. - human resource.

Premise
Raizo the protagonist and the namesake of the title, is a member of one of the deadly and ancient clan of Ninjas. Ninjas are the traditional Japanese professional assassins-for-hire. The whole of the story of "Ninja Assassins" is encompassed by the two words in the title - Raizo turns on the clan and starts assassinating Ninjas. Very straight-forward and no nonsense.

The HR interpretation
First, Raizo was kidnapped and brainwashed as a young child by the Ninja clan. As a strategy the kidnap and indoctrination method of external recruitment is extremely effective, the armed forces come very close to this in their cadet system although they don't exactly kidnap children. The possibility of dissent is almost eliminated and hence there is no challenge to the organization and methods until Raizo's rejection of his surrogate community in the film shows up the importance of self-identity for an employee. Also the lack of internal recruitment (like say - heredity) means that the ninjas deal with an unknown commodity each time they recruit.

Second, the training through discipline and punishment keep the trainee ninjas on a tight leash. We see that Raizo's love interest, Kiriko is not convinced by the direction of the training and rebels leading to her execution. After that Raizo develops a grudge against the system which inevitably leads to his departure from their fold. The lesson here is to not alienate trainees through unreasonable practices.

Next, the incentives and perks should be designed to provide motivation to the employees. The ninjas demand of 100 pounds of gold per hit should normally be a great inducement for them. But the movie shows the ninjas leading an almost ascetic life in the mountains where wealth seems to be of little consequence to their personalities. Although Raizo is informed time and again that he would take over from his master, the prospect of promotion is not a resource retaining incentive for Raizo and the clan fails to recognize this.

Finally, the non existence of an exit strategy is the main personnel issue within their system. The conflict between Raizo and the ninjas can be put down to the lack of a proper means of amicable severance where everybody lives. The bad blood between Raizo and the ninjas leads to Raizo ganging up with the enemies of the ninjas i.e. law enforcement, resulting in the climatic battle thus dooming the clan. Interpretation - Poaching is a major issue in ninja land too.

Extra Reading:

1. India's Ninja Version: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggie
2. India's pride? Behram, World's Top Assassin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_prolific_murderers_by_number_of_victims

An Alternative Approach

"Shubh Muhurath" means an auspicious time. In Hindu tradition there is an auspicious time for everything. It's scary to think that some points in time are discriminated against by God. But that is exactly what the astrologers say and hence people get busy rearranging their lives around that supposition. As things stand, no one wants to rub the almighty the wrong way and especially so when seeking the optimal time for getting married. After a week of attending Hindu weddings and engagements, it has come to my attention that past December 2nd 2009, the next window of nuptial opportunity opens up only around 4 or 5 months into 2010 (or so in Andhra).

We are told that all this winter the planetary alignments are unfavorable for weddings. Therefore November has seen a rash of weddings and engagements all across India - a mad rush to beat the calender. The wedding industry is at fever pitch and the prospect of waiting has caused the prices to shoot up. Although the idea of waiting for the right time might look to be archaic and superstitious to some but there are a few positives for the Government of India here.

In a crude and non-scientific manner the logical conclusion of no/less marriages in the 1st quarter of 2010 means there should be a dip in the babies produces in the last quarter of the year. Or in the least there ought to be fewer first-borns among Hindus in that period. Thus paradoxically birth control finds an unlikely ally in superstition. Again, there is a parallel argument that the spike in weddings pre and post the dreaded time will offset the missing babies. But this small 4 month baby-buster period still remains.

Ignorance and illiteracy have always been seen as India's shame and in most respects along with poverty they are the root cause of many evils in the society. But the lessons from the "auspicious time" syndrome is that everyone irrespective of education and sense will avoid actions which the society frowns upon. This attitude can also be good news for policy makers i.e. by exercising control over people's beliefs, desired behavior can be cultivated. Although this may border on exploitation, but so long as the end justify the means, little harm is done. Also by not shoving rhetoric down the public's throat, the government can avoid popular resistance. Therefore in the case of the impending inauspicious period for marriages, the authorities could publicize the perceived "bad timing" to prevent and postpone weddings now with the hope of reducing birth rates later.

Disclaimers:
1. May not apply to the whole country
2. Not well researched

More reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomer

Being Certain

Buying insurance for my bike is a question hanging over my head for a few months now. The old policy expired around march and for various reasons I have not bought a new policy. Factoring in a 10% depreciation over the last years value owing to wear and tear, the annual premium would come to around Rs. 1100. More than the amount, I have not been able to convince myself of its need. Ofcourse if I get caught on the roads on that bike, I will be fined for not currently being covered.

Insurance is a science with its origins in human psychology, it is a materialistic method of dealing with uncertainty as opposed to the spiritual method - religion. In this regard insurance today is a powerful force leading people away from simply having "faith". Instead of ignoring its corrosive effect on religion like most other religions do, Islam is one faith that deals with this threat to belief with tact. Therefore Sharia law permits "Takaful" as form of basic insurance. This provision is useful in circumventing the contradiction between a benevolent God's omnipotence and human effort to mitigate perceived uncertainties. Yet the primary form of insurance that Islam prescribes is the goodwill of fellow believers.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" - Hebrews 11:1, The Bible


Insurance is an area where psychology, statistics, marketing, finance and economics converge, perhaps even a bit of metaphysics. But the pessimistic, morbid and cold approach insurance adopts towards its subjects is what puts off most people from trying to understand its need. The statistics behind life insurance is the use of actuarial tables which ascertain the probability of the subject's demise before his next birthday, hardly a cause for cheer. Therefore according to the World Health Organisation's actuarial tables for 2006 in India for a 24 year old male, there is a 1.3% chance that I would not make it to the age of 29 (assuming average health).

Coming back to my bike, my reasons for not buying insurance are more mundane. Firstly, the risk of theft. For this threat, I have a simple safeguard mechanism - my dog. Blacky guards and sometimes even chews on parts of the bike as it would a toy and hence I am assured of the bike's safety. Next, damages - with the kind of policies that are on offer for motorcycles, it is practically impossible to get insurance to pay for damages to the vehicle. It becomes too tedious and the amount paid up is paltry. Third party coverage - with the decreased use and shorter trips that I take these days on the bike, third party involvement is a remote possibility. Hence the only good reason for me to get auto insurance is that the law requires me to do so if I plan to use public roads.

More reading:
1. http://www.vakilno1.com/bareacts/MotorVehiclesAct/S146.htm
2. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Excerpt_from_CDC_2003_Table_1.png
3. http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l264-Third-Party-Insurance.html
4. http://www.slowpokecomics.com/strips/insuranceinsurance.html

Devil / Deep Blue Sea

Today is poll day in the Hyderabad Municipal Elections. For those who are not convinced, here is an option: Not to record your vote. It is allowed in the system and as strange as it may seem it can be done through Section 49-O of the Conduction of Election Rules, 1961.

How such an exercise of one's franchise enhances democracy is still a question. Maybe it is similar to walking away when nothing on menu is desirable, but the problem of hunger remains.


Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 -

Section 49-O: Elector deciding not to vote.
-If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.


Update, 11:30 AM, 23rd Nov 2009, Jubilee Hills, Ward No: 109, Hyderabad:
On inquiring the returning officer about the provision for casting a "not to record" vote, I was told that it was not possible and that I had to either choose among the candidates available or go home. This time I did walk home unlike the last general elections.

At the cost of seeming to promote anarchy, I can atleast claim to have no part in the sins to be committed in my name. A la Pontius Pilate?

The Romantic Weapon

Here is a piece of communication which sends mixed signals. I can't understand the language and the bad date music seems out of place in a weapon sale pitch. No wonder the shooter has those earmuffs on!



The Belgian made FN P90 is one of the weapons that is used by the Special Protection Group (SPG) in India. The SPG in India, like the US Secret Service is charged with the protection of the Prime Ministers (present and former), their families and top officials. My guess is that the SPG guys would need similar ear protection around that crowd.


Related Links:
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_P90
2. http://www.spg.nic.in/

Greater Good

Civic bodies being the oldest form of government have a special place in human societies as opposed to the governments of the state. They exist to act, there is less of a deliberative or legislative function. Citizens cannot avoid interaction with the workings of this last tier of government and the result of large scale apathy can lead to what game theorists call the Tragedy of the Commons. This situation is illustrated in the photograph taken near KBR park in Hyderabad today : What happens when each person leads his Buffalo to graze in public parks?

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Election will be held on the 23rd of November. The last election was held way back in 2002, the council was dissolved after the expiry of its 5 year term. The Corporation was run by the state government through the Commissioner for the past two years until the courts forced the government's hand, hardly a beacon of democracy. The spectacle of mini-rallies are now suddenly seen around the city and suddenly we have "leaders" on every street corner. Post general elections all this seems like comic relief.

Although local body elections are of lesser consequence than state and national elections in the Indian scenario, yet after the 74th Constitutional Amendment of 1992 there is renewed focus on municipal and panchayat elections. Consequentially there is more politicizing of issues which are essentially of a resource distribution and service delivery nature. Therefore there is a huge police bandobust around the city and residents see more security forces out and about than after a bomb scare. All the 5000 licensed weapon holder are directed to surrender their arms during the elections and history sheeters are to be monitored.

Issues that plague Hyderabad are infact no different from any city of a similar size and class around the world - electricity, safe water, roads, affordable housing, sanitation, taxes and so on. What is different though is the composition of the new corporation, GHMC has been expanded to include vast tracts of land (and people) around the city and hence is all the more powerful. With the expanding role of the local media as an extortion agency, the small time politicians too have more mouths to feed before they get their piece of the cake.

GHMC's annual budget of around Rs. 31 billion is controlled by 150 corporators. If done right, the corporation could in theory be looted for about Rs. 200 million per corporator each year (if swindled to 100% efficiency). Therefore the citizens of Hyderabad have to hope that there might yet be some progress on the civic amenities front since attaining such a high hit ratio by the politicians is improbable due to lack of coordination, incompetence, prevalence of individual over collective greed or simple guilt.


More Reading:
1. Indian Express: 20% of Licensed Gun Owners yet to be deposited arms
2. GHMC 2009 Elections Link
3. The Hindu: Media greed during elections causes serious ethical questions
4. Science Magazine: Tragedy of the Commons by Garrett Hardin, 1968

Ramayana and The Searchers

It is interesting to juxtapose stories from different cultures and times to observe the varying conclusions drawn from very similar circumstances. These conclusions serve as a mirror of the values held dear by the different cultures and help us understand how we view the same world from different places. Here is an exercise in this endeavor.

Ramayana
The ancient Indian epic by Valmiki is centered around the abduction of Rama's wife Sita by Ravana of Lanka. The word "Ramayana" mean Rama's Journey. It narrates the tale of Rama's search for his wife. In this search Rama is aided by his brother Lakshmana and disciple Hanuman. The posse set out to ascertain the abductor's identity and then make the journey to Lanka to confront and defeat Ravana. On rescuing Sita, Rama asks his wife to prove her chastity after which he accepts her.

The Searchers
The Searchers is a 1956 western movie starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford. The story is about Ethan Edwards whose young niece Debbie is abducted in a Comanche raid by Scar. Ethan then wanders the American West along with his kin Martin Pawley for years to find Debbie . On finding her, they kill Scar and after initially trying to kill the now Comanche-raised Debbie, Ethan has a change of heart and accepts her.

Commonalities
The common threads running through them are of violation, abduction, retribution and redemption. The stories are primarily told through the eyes of the wronged man and not the woman who was the target of the act. Both Ravana and Scar are seen as savages, one as a demon king of Lanka and other a wild Native-American Comanche chief. The abductor in both stories have a back story which explains their actions and project them in a new light of moral ambiguity. In a more primal sense, they depict an innate fear of dispossession. Finally towards the end, the main characters of Rama and Ethan are shown up to be less than impeccable and fighting demons of their own.

Contrasts
Given the similar situations encountered, the tales do diverge in many aspects. Sita never accepts her fate and believes that her husband will come to her rescue while Debbie is forced to live her new life as one of Scar's wives. Rama is portrayed as someone who can do no wrong yet on succeeding in his quest he doubts his wife. Rama's behavior though is regarded as somewhat understandable by both the characters in the story and the audience at large. Whereas in The Searchers, Ethan is an outlaw and the motives of Ethan's search turn from finding his niece to killing her within a few years with the realization that she must have turned more Comanche and less "civilized". His fellow searcher, Martin does not approve of Ethan's intentions and this disapproval is reflected by the audience. Therefore we see Ethan as a character more true to his beliefs irrespective of others' approval as opposed to Rama.

Another point of contrast is the climactic transformation. Rama has historically been seen as an avataar of God, hence all character flaws have been brushed aside. Throughout Ramayana, even when asking Sita to prove her chastity Rama does not doubt his own actions. Whereas Ethan with his sure intention of killing, when finally facing his now Comanche niece has a change of heart. Ethan goes from a man who is sure of his action to a man doing the right thing - an antithesis of Rama's Dharma.

Interesting Readings:

1. Review of The Searchers : http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20011125/REVIEWS08/111250301/1023
2. Read the Plot of The Searchers here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Searchers_%28film%29
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana
5. "Epic Proportions" by Ethan Gidsdorf : Contemporary themes and interpretations of Epics

Opportunities in the Indian Setup

Here is an interesting Times of India article narrating a blow-by-blow account of Mr. Madhu Koda's activities as the Chief Minister of the State of Jharkhand between 2006 and 2008 (the story is still unfolding , so the narrative may be incomplete).

Beyond the scale of corruption, it is an interesting story of a man's rise and now presumably his fall . Yet there are bigger fish in the country, it's a shame that so many times it is left to our imagination to assimilate their stories of plunder and adventure.

Nuvvu or Meeru

My mother tongue is telugu and after listening to (without always understanding) many Indian languages, I realize that most Indian languages are copies of each other. Any unique feature of a language is immediately plagiarized and presented to its new consumers as original. The syntax is all that varies while the semantics finds parallel in other languages.

This process works so long as the feature that is adapted can locate a void that is to be filled in the linguistic and cultural context of its new host language. After many centuries of this process of assimilation, we see that the mythology, folklore, songs and more recently movies have such close resemblance in the various linguistic cultures that these linguistic communities become parallel mirrors of each other.

So it is that although we have been constantly informed of our linguistic diversity, we find that the talk in these Indian languages is about the same things. All this comes as no surprise. But with a foreign language such as English in the midst of these native tongues, the translations tend to get interesting. The prevalence and acceptance of a foreign language in India too can be explained through the paradigm of a sibling rivalry among the native languages that could only arrive at a truce wherein the lingua franca was foreign, hence everybody lost but no one complained.

But in the bargain, we forget the quirks of our native tongues that define each of our identity. One such central character in many non-western language (or atleast in telugu) is with regard to addressing others (the 2nd and 3rd person singular). The practice of using the plural grammatical number when referring to a single person denotes reverence or submissiveness or respect towards the listener, sometimes a salutation is also used.

e.g: "Nuvvu" and "Meeru" in Telugu (both singular for "you", but the 2nd one uses the plural form).
This is similar to "Tu" and "Aap" in Hindi for "you". But it is taken to another level in hindi/urdu when the singular 1st person is sometimes referred to as "Hum" meaning "We".

Therefore when using an Indian language to address a listener, the speaker looks to pick up clues on background and status so as to accurately place the prospective listener on the social ladder. All the while, the speaker himself tries to project verbally and non-verbally his own perception of self-worth to the listener, so that he is not mistaken for a lesser being. Ofcourse, there is an opportunity for explicit course correction (singular to plural or visa-verse) when this complex dance fails and the judgment is inaccurate but that just shows up the lack of social faculty of the speaker.

This feature is by no means unique to India or even the continent. But to be able to use this single feature, the speaker has to possess vast amounts of social knowledge and skills. It is difficult to always identify where to use the straightforward single grammatical number and where to use the tricky plural grammatical number while faced with a situation demanding a conversation with a random person. Thus the grammatical demand for social information about the listener forces the speaker to get more involved in the society and its hierarchy resulting in better communication.

Birdbrained

This was on Page 9 of today's Sunday Times (25th Oct 2009) in Hyderabad.


Don't think the newspaper allowed it to be placed in the obituary section so the "Family & Friends" must have bought this advertising space instead.

Tales of Heads

The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati, India is the richest and the most visited temple in the world. Devotees from far and wide make the pilgrimage and the folklore of the temple is well known throughout India. Although insignificant in comparison to its religious importance yet there is one other reason for temple town's fame - Tirupati is the world's largest producer of human hair, infact enough to make India the world's largest exporter of hair.

One of the traditions at the temple is the tonsuring of millions of devotees' heads as an offering to the Gods. The hair thus donated finds great value in the international market. The temple's trust - Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam is charged with the management of the shrine and consequently also auctioning the tonnes of hair to generate revenue for the temple.

The current accepted notion of beautiful hair is very close to the Indian variety. The average Indian woman's head is not accustomed to the cosmetic torture that the western woman puts herself through and hence the quality of the export is better. Therefore the hair goes into making hair extensions, wigs and other cosmetic products consumed in a culture very different from the producer's. Here is an example of harmonious trade among nations where everyone comes out a winner, well almost. Although there are no complaints about the trade practices but it escapes most of us that the business is based on a uniquely uneasy issue - beauty.

Both beauty and the beholder's eye are functions of culture. The dominant culture or race in a society dictates the standards of beauty which generally resemble their own physiology. Therefore in the US where African-American women are a minority in all respects, it becomes harder to sustain their idea of beauty against the onslaught of the establishment's ideas, especially regarding African hair. This is the subject of a recent movie/documentary by the acclaimed African-American comedian Chris Rock - "Good Hair", he even came down to Tiruapti to follow the fake hair trail to its origins.

While the devotees in Tirupati are oblivious to the role their hair plays in the psychological battle overseas, at home they are subject to a very similar barrage with regard to skin colour. The cosmetic industry in India has been steadily picking up on the idea of fairness of skin as a desirable trait and has been eating away at the minds of Indians for years in order to sell their products. The harm that such ideas do to a population is inexcusable and the effects of such campaigns on children are especially horrendous. Ultimately though such ideas only survive because of our tacit support no matter how harebrained they may seem.

Update - Chris Rock's visit to Tirupati:

Interesting Readings:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,536349,00.html
http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/movies/09hair.html?scp=1&sq=good%20hair&st=cse
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/14/world/a-religious-tangle-over-the-hair-of-pious-hindus.html?pagewanted=all
http://seedofdevotion.blogspot.com/2008/12/liberation-at-21.html
http://www.godammit.com/2009/03/14/the-ethics-of-hair-extensions/

Diwali Dilemma

As Diwali approaches, so do the campaigns and calls for a "Clean", "Green" and "Humane" celebration. They say we are to avoid crackers which are polluting and noise making, curtail excessive consumption & spending and even try and understand the plight of the animals on the night.

All of these calls are very noble except this sensitive side of some sections of the population seem not just naive but also misplaced expressions of political opinion in the marketplace, as this article explains: Boycott Minus the Pain by Anand Giridharadas. The use of consumption as a political platform is not new in India - the swadeshi movement of the pre-independence era was a forerunner of a lot of the boycott movements of today.

But the trend of limited-liability politics currently seen, although new is not totally desirable. Campaigns like the Lights-Off campaigns at the designated "Earth Hour" which are token environmentalist movements only end up obstructing the achievement of their own objectives by using up the public goodwill in meaninglessly trivializing their cause. Therefore just as there is a dip in the grid consumption of electricity for the hour, at the end of the hour there is also a massive spike in the consumption while the production remains constant. Everyone feels a little more saintly but as an employee of the electricity distribution board will tell you - electricity is not petrol.

There is no "saving" of electricity through non utilization, only thing saved is the bill amount. Electricity is like rainwater which ends up in the drain if unused. In reality the only way to save power is by planning out consumption patterns and coordinate with various players in a complex jigsaw operation to have optimum utility. Surely too many details for the instantly gratified do-gooder.

The fact is that India being a poor country, we have to pollute more to develop. Pollution is the pound of flesh to be paid for progress and there is no getting around that. It will not be pretty or morally justifiable. And it is not out of ignorance that we deny climate change and other environmental concerns but through our knowledge of greater concerns. The sacrifice we make is that future generations might not get the best possible environment but these sacrifices are made with the hope that we can avoid passing on to them the miseries of our lives.