Gandhi but not Gandhi 1.1

I wrote about the Gandhi dream in my last post. This is a continuation of that dream.

From Ritwik’s tutorial, my brain moved to Gandhi talking to a villager in Sabarmati Ashram. Gandhi was passionately describing his concept of an ideal village. The villager then asked Gandhi that why doesn’t he take another tour and spend more time in villages this time.

Gandhi but not Gandhi 1.0

I knew Gandhi wrote a lot but I did not realise that every scrap of paper he wrote on, is preserved. I was reading some texts for the course Gandhi’s Critique of Modernity when I came across this website that has a collection of his letters. These are not just political letters or letters published publicly by Gandhi, these are everyday letters to his sons, Ashram dwellers, and so on. When there is so much material available in his own lucid words, Gandhi should be an easy to understand figure. Alas, that is not to be. He was a prolific thinker and kept grappling with his experiments with truth until the end. 65 years after his death, the reader’s quest is to wade through numerous pages to grasp the essence of what Gandhi said.

I have been so engulfed in Gandhi’s writings that they are cropping up in my dreams now. In last night’s dream, I kept trying to figure out where Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj ideas got sidelined by his larger-than-life image of ‘Bapu’.

Swimming in Ideas

When I saw the course Gandhi’s Critique of Modernity on YIFP curriculum, I expected it to be an extension of Makers of Modern India by Rudrangshu Mukherjee. Gandhi was the only leader whom we did not discuss in that course so I was looking forward to a story-telling of Gandhi’s life and reading some of his writings. Critique of modernity was a phrase for me that did not go beyond what Gandhi wrote in Hind Swaraj. Coming from a non-social science background, my only introduction to such movements has been through Gil Harris and Anunaya Choubey in their courses on Shakespeare and Art Appreciation respectively. So here’s how the cloud of ideas has influenced me so far, where the pivot is learning about modernity.

I am an economist and an engineer by training, so rational thought is like the core of my being. It is surprising that while championing rationality, I never stopped to define or explore what rationality is.

विचारों की यात्रा

डॉ पुरुषोत्तम अग्रवाल
क्रेडिट: बुक लवर 

आज बहुत दिनों बाद हिंदी साहित्य से रूबरू होने का मौका मिला| अवसर था डॉ. पुरुषोत्तम अग्रवाल की पुस्तक के विमोचन का| किताब का नाम है “हिंदी सराय : अस्त्राखान वाया येरेवान”| विमोचन डॉ. कर्ण सिंह द्वारा किया गया जो कश्मीर के महाराजा हरी सिंह के पुत्र हैं और राज्य सभा सांसद भी हैं| अस्त्राखान रूस में है और येरेवान अर्मेनिया की राजधानी है| यह किताब वैसे तो अग्रवालजी की येरेवान और अस्त्राखान यात्रा का विवरण है, पर साथ ही साथ उन्होंने १७वीं सदी में अस्त्राखान में जाकर बसे भारतीयों के बारे में भी बात की है| जिस तरह से उन्होंने इतिहास, संस्कृति और विचारधाराओं को अपनी किताब में कुशलता से बुना है, उसके लिए कई वक्ताओं ने उनकी पुस्तक को मात्र पाँवों की यात्रा का विवरण की जगह “विचारों की यात्रा” का वर्णन कहा|

पहली वक्ता थीं सुश्री मन्नू मित्तल जो जवाहरलाल विश्वविद्यालय में इतिहास ही प्राध्यापिका हैं| उन्होनें एक बड़ी रोचक बात बताई – हम जो कपड़ों में “अस्तर” लगाते हैं, वो शब्द अस्त्राखान से आया है| हुआ यों की अस्त्राखान में कपड़ों का, खासकर फ़र का व्यापार होता था| और पहले कपड़ों में फ़र लगाया जाता था इसलिए वो अस्तर हो गया| संस्कृति के आदान-प्रदान के ऐसे कई सबूत मिलते हैं, जैसे कि कोणार्क के मंदिर में सूर्य देवता स्लाविक जूते पहने हुए हैं जबकि कोई भी हिन्दू देवी-देवता जूते पहने हुए नहीं दिखाए जाते|

From Glory to Dust and Blood: Trajectory of Hyderabad

A researcher is bound by the rules of her craft to remain objective and detached from the subject.  A writer, on the other hand, can give something of herself to the writing. This is clearly seen in the different approaches taken in these two books: Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalisation and The Untold Charminar: Writings on Hyderabad. While the first book is edited by two academicians Laurent Gayer and Christophe Jaffrelot, the second one is by advertising professional Syeda Imam.

Word Picture

At the elemental level, art exists because it appeals. This post is an attempt to capture an oil-on-canvas painting in my words. Will the image I evoke and the real work match?

Cloaks

The girls’ laughter could be heard on the street outside. Young girls dressed in pretty clothes were participating in a feast. It was the ninth day of Navratri, and they were in high demand. This was the third house they were visiting that day. Nine pre-pubescence girls are fed and worshipped at the end of the nine-day fast as they are believed to be avatars of the Goddess Durga. The delicious smells and tinkling sounds brought another girl to the door. But she was so filthy and grimy; it was hard to guess her age. She came with the hope that she would get some leftovers. Maybe they would give the food to her before it went out as garbage; and she would not have to rummage for her meal in a bin again. She stood near the door and waited silently to be noticed. It was not long before a stern woman came to shoo her away from the doorstep. In desperation, the girl clutched at the woman’s sari. The woman screamed, “Satyaanaash, now I’ll have to bathe again”. The sari was quickly extracted from those tiny hands and the girl was chased out of the gate. The sanctity of the woman was soiled by the touch of the low-born urchin. You must indeed be born in the right house to have Devi Durga reside in you. 

I live in a society which places emphasis on how people dress. Especially in times of festivals, there is multi-hued, sparkling splendour in shops and homes, as if stars have descended on the earth. But closets don’t just hold shimmering saris and glittering jewellery, some store cloaks too.

Meri Kahaani 1.2 : Transient yet Eternal 2.0

My cellphone’s shrieking alarm woke me up some time ago. Here I sit, fingers poised above the keyboard, wondering how best to capture the cacophonous, jarring period of Indian history that was the British rule.

Indo-European language family tree

I had to master English in order to function effectively under the British officials. Here again, the script was completely new to me. I had become accustomed to writing from right to left, now reverse gears were required again. The locals treated the English as “pardesi hamlaavar” or foreign invaders. But in my study of languages, I discovered that Hindi and English belong to different branches of the same Indo-European language family. Despite the metamorphosis that happened in both languages, there are some cognates i.e. words with same roots: naam-name, janam-generate, mata-mother, patthar-Peter etc. The study of English opened up a whole new world of literature to me as most of European literature was available in English. I could have read about new scientific inventions too. But this knowledge was inaccessible for me. I was supposed to memorise the name of every king and queen who sat on the British throne but my knowledge of science remained confined to the basics.

Deliberate suppression can make even a rusted spring exert its strength. So it was with me. I thought of what the British gave me but it was not sufficient to quench my soul. When they chanted that their religion and culture was supreme, my ancient pride rose up. While I was studying, I was appalled to hear of the cruel treatment meted out to those who dared to rebel. The heavy handedness kindled contempt within my breast but I did not dare to speak out for fear of retribution. My English mind then created these lines:

Blown from cannon, hung and shot,

Torn in pieces, India to rot,

Bayonets sprouting blood and gore,

Stop the carnage, Please no more.

The sepoy mutiny of 1857 was a violent bloodbath. The Indian National Congress had been set up in 1885 but it only discussed the issues of English-educated Indians. I was heartened by the first flicker of sovereignty when Annie Besant founded the Home Rule League with Lokmanya Tilak in 1916. I had supported Britain in the First World War. After the war was over, Swaraj beckoned. But, it was not granted. I served the British again in World War II. By that time, I was fully supporting the Indian freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. I participated in the demand for freedom, although being a civil servant made that a low-key request. There were some who disagreed with this style of freedom movement. They were dubbed radicals and ultimately they turned to violent revolution in order to overthrow the British Rule. One such individual was Subhash Chandra Bose. He sought help first from Adolf Hitler in Germany and later from Japan to overthrow the British rule. The attempts did not succeed. Also, Subhash Chandra Bose realised that Germany and Japan both were becoming the masters in this alliance. He left Germany for this reason. Even though his Indian National Army took control over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, their administration remained in the hands of Japanese navy. An iconic figure, Bose has been lost in the wild after his alleged death in 1945.

Two years after World War II ended, India got independence in 1947. The farewell given to Lord Mountbatten was India’s last offering to the British rule. After Independence, India has seen its ups and downs while fighting the legacy of its colonial past and rediscovering its ancient heritage. English, given as a tool by the British, became India’s strength in a globalised world. Today, an average Indian whose mother tongue is supposedly Hindi, speaks in a mixture of Hindi, Urdu and English. School textbooks often emphasise the slogan ‘unity in diversity’ for Indian population. But I would say this is not merely unity: It is creation of a new identity where being Indian transcends any single linguistic identity. Children here are born polygots. Today, I can be perfectly understood in India when I write like this:

Viraasat ki neemat lekar, present time ki lagaam pakado

Vartamaan ki seedhi chaddhkar, future ko bright banao

Meaning:

Taking the blessing of your inheritance, catch the reins of your present
Climbing on the stairs of your present, make your future bright

The first part of this story is in the post Meri Kahaani 1.1. If you are wondering what got me started on this track, read Meri Kahaani 1.0

Meri Kahaani 1.1 : Transient yet Eternal 1.0

The context for this story is in yesterday's post Meri Kahaani 1.0
It was a quiet day at the office today. But too much silence perturbs me. Is this the portent of tempestuous times ahead? I looked at the calendar and realised that today is Bhadrapada Shukla Navmi. Many centuries have gone by, but I can never forget that on this day I became a part of the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s court. As a Central Government bureaucrat, I know the approved markings of India’s border. But I also remember the India that was unified for the first time by Akbar. If I tell tales of those times, will anybody believe me?

The Mughal rule began in India when Babur defeated Sultan Ibrahim Lodi of the Delhi Sultanate in the Battle of Panipat in 1526. I was serving Krishnadevaraya at that time. Kannada was the language used most in his court. From there I went to Raja Bharmal’s in Amber. When he married his daughter to Akbar in 1562, I moved again and became a part of Akbar’s court. I had learnt Hindi in Amber and had hoped to use it in Akbar’s court too. However, despite Akbar’s support for Hindu culture and Hindi; being his courtier, I was forced to learn Persian. This was completely different from any language I had learnt before. My knowledge of Sanskrit had always helped me pick up the language of any court in India. Whenever I struggled, I used to remember this shloka:

Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak
presenting Akbarnama to Akbar
(Credit: Wikipedia)

उद्यमेन हि सिध्यन्ति कार्याणि न मनेारथै ।।
न हि सुप्तस्य सिंहस्य प्रविशन्ति मुखे मृग: ।।

Udyamen hi sidhyanti, karyaani na manorathayee,

Na hi suptasya sinhasya, pravishanti mukhe mrigah

This means work gets done only by action, not by thoughts alone. Just like a sleeping lion’s mouth does not get a deer by simply dreaming of it. I used to think of it over and over again, and plough on. But Persian! Even the script of that language is in reverse, from right to left. I really had to put myself to the task to become proficient in it. Just as I had mastered the language, I heard whisperings of a new language in the country. It was called Urdu and was born when Persian and Hindi combined. Another mixing was happening in this melting pot of a nation. However, the courtiers refused to use it. They called it a ‘base’ language, only to be used by the crude and the uneducated.  The Rajputs were proud of their Hindi and the Mughal courtiers wouldn’t dream of diluting their Persian. But languages have a way of sneaking in and Urdu thrived. I changed with the winds and had long lost the concept of cultural purity. At that time I said:

कुछ नई है परिंदों की चहक, कुछ नई है फ़िज़ाओं में महक

है दुनिया की फ़ितरत बदलना, वक्त का तकाज़ा हमेशा चलना

Kuchh nayi hai parindon ki chahak, kuchh nayi hai fizaon mein mahak,

Hai duniya ki fitrat badalnaa, waqt ka takazaa hameshaa chalnaa

Meaning,

There is something new in the chirping of birds, 
there is something new in the smell of the air,

It is the world’s nature to change; 
it is the time’s demand to always move.

I remember a noble ruler who would not dream of giving up his sovereignty to Akbar. Indians revere him to this day for his heroic nature - Maharana Pratap. He was proud of his native Rajput identity and treated the Mughals as invaders and intruders in India. Even after losing the battle of Haldi Ghati, Maharana Pratap kept engaging in guerrilla warfare. So many lives were lost in those battles! Wouldn’t it have been better for him to accept the Mughal rule? He and his population could have lived in peace and comfort while still maintaining their Hindu identity.

Ariel imprisoned in a tree by Sycorax
Credit: Burning Coal

While Akbar, Jahangir and then Shah Jahan were appreciative of Hindu culture, Shah Jahan’s son Aurangzeb enforced strict Islam. He destroyed many Hindu temples. As a courtier, I disagreed with his actions. My rebellion was not taken kindly and I was thrown in prison. I, who had seen centuries of history, possessed knowledge of several kingdoms, was left to rot in a tiny cell. I could not have freed myself: Once I choose a life form, I have to live until the mortal shell dies. Aurangzeb died in 1707 but my imprisonment continued.

A parallel development was happening during my imprisonment which was to be of great significance to Indian history. In 1702, the East India Company was revamped and the United East India Company was formed. In 1757, the Battle of Plassey brought new rulers to this country. I served in a rudimentary capacity to the British rulers until I could master their language. This happened because of one Lord Macaulay, who said in his address to the British Parliament on 2^nd February, 1835:

“The dialects commonly spoken amongst the natives of this part of India contain neither literary or scientific information, and are, moreover so poor and rude .... means of pursuing higher studies can at present be effected only by means of some language not vernacular amongst them ... who could deny that a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia” (Source: Scribd.com)

Alas, this was not enrichment of culture. This was destruction of the kind Aurangzeb wrecked. It was like building a new church with the stones of the fallen temple. But let us leave this tale for another day. I will tell you how I managed under the British rule in my next post. 

Meri Kahaani 1.0 : Ariel's Story

The next three posts on this blog are going to be like a serial novel. It is a fictional, historical re-imagining of The Tempest by William Shakespeare, mapping it onto Indian history from 1526 AD to 2007 AD. The piece contains two posts from the August 2007 archive of Ariel’s blog, Meri Kahaani, which chronicles his life experiences. His blog posts are autobiographical but are considered fictional by the modern scientific world.

Credit: Chest of Books

Ariel is a spirit in The Tempest who does the bidding of a European wizard, Prospero, the displaced Duke of Milan. Prospero comes to live in an island after a coup of his dukedom. Ariel is a native inhabitant of that island. The other Tempest characters which appear here are Sycorax and Caliban. In the play, Caliban is the son of Sycorax, a witch from Algeria who was exiled on the island. Caliban believes that the island rightfully belongs to him and has been stolen by Prospero. He attempts to overthrow Prospero by conspiring with two stranded servants from a ship after the tempest. In the island life, Caliban is forced to serve as a servant to Prospero and his daughter, a position he hates. Ariel also serves Prospero using his own magical powers and longs for his liberty. Unlike Caliban, Prospero has promised Ariel his freedom at some time. 

If you want a summary of the play, you can find it here on Sparknotes. For the text of the entire play, you can check out No Fear Shakespeare. No Fear Shakespeare puts Shakespeare's language side-by-side with a facing-page translation into modern English—the kind of English people actually speak today.

In the re-imagination, Ariel is an immortal spirit who has lived in India forever. His outer form is that of a human who is intelligent and accomplished and, is destined to serve the ruler of the land. He changes forms with each ruler, thus nobody realises he has lived forever. For the purpose of this piece, India in any time period refers to the mainland of Indian subcontinent, even though it was not consolidated until the Mughal Empire. 

Credit: InglesBlog

The superimposition of the play and history was motivated by the question of Ariel’s language. His verses to Ferdinand, the prince of Naples, show that Ariel has a good command over Prospero’s language unlike Caliban who possesses only rudimentary vocabulary. Ariel is a spirit and it can be assumed that the island is his natural habitat. So he is, in effect, a native dweller of the island much before Sycorax arrives there. At the end of The Tempest, while Caliban’s freedom comes with a sense of loneliness, Ariel’s freedom is more joyful as he is free to enjoy the island as he pleases along with his kind, namely the gods – Ceres, Juno etc.

The next post will be up tomorrow. The first blog post written by Ariel.

India Dimming

In the fourth quarter of financial year 2011-12, India’s growth rate dipped to 5.3%, the lowest rate since 2003. On June 22, 2012, rupee depreciated to a record low of INR 57.15 against US dollar. In the same month, food inflation was at 10.81 percent. A country that was termed as the next global super-power suddenly seems to be in a mess. Was India’s success story just a flash in the pan? 

Antidote to Cynicism: Shaheen Mistri

Credit: Careers 360

"To give each child the chance to be where you and I are today" This statement by Ms. Shaheen Mistri, CEO Teach for India, resonated with me because it is the main reason why I want to work for social development. I believe that an accident of birth should not be an obstacle to any individual's progress regardless of age, gender, race or religion. 

At the guest session at YIFP, Shaheen shared her life story in term of significant numbers. She was 12 when she found her calling by seeing the disparity in children's conditions in Indonesia. Shaheen spent her first 18 years outside India and spent every sumemr after age 12 as a volunteer with children's organisations. She quit college after first year in US and came to India to study at St. Xaviers where Akanksha Foundation was born in 1991. She saw slum kids who needed education and college students who had too much time on their hands and decided to bring the two together. Then arose the need for space. She knocked on the doors of 20 well-to-do, convent schools to hold classes in second shift; all refused except the last where she told Father that "My life is in your hands." She didn't want to give him the chance to change his mind, so she told him that classes would begin the next day. Then came the scrambling. She somehow got the students and pleaded with her friends to volunteer until she could find teachers. You can read more about the founding of Akanksha in this article by Anahita Mukherjee. The beginning of her story is simple and endearing but when you look at her, you see the courage and perseverance that has got her where she is today. 

When she moved on from Akanksha Foundation, it was successfully running many centers for education and was involved in municipal schools too. She said that she shifted to Teach For India because her vision became larger. From "To give a little love, have a little hope, make this world a little better", it has enlarged to "One day all children will attain excellent education". But, this was not objective enough for her. So now her revised goal is to ensure excellent education for every child in India in the next 50 years. She knows that TFI fellows alone cannot reach so many students, but she believes that TFI alumni will change the world of education. Her model aims to produce leaders in every walk of life who are passionate about solving the problem of educating the 320 million children in India. 

As a country, we are facing a crisis if nothing is done for provision of education for our young demographic. She also said that as priveleged individuals, "there is a moral obligation to give back to society". This is another of her statements which echoes my sentiments. I feel greatly blessed to have a mother who is a professor and who gave me the best educational opportunities possible. But I was lucky, my maid's children are not. How am I not responsible for ensuring that some day they have a chance too? I agree with Shaheen when she says that let us give them those choices, what they do with those choices is upto them. I believe that every individual must have options and the freedom to choose must never be taken away. 

TFI Fellow Prakhar Bhartiya with students 
Credit: Careers 360

India's formal system of education however, believes in fitting everyone to a mold. Because of this, when a farmer's child goes to school, he is taught mud is dirty. Our pedagogy is such that an average graduate is unemployable and he can't take up his father's trade either because he has a degree. I really appreciated Shaheen's answer when I asked her how does she handle this issue. She said TFI Fellows don't just teach English and science, they develop the children's values and mindsets, nurture their aspirations and show them alternate pathways to success. It is too early to comment whether TFI is meeting its goals, but I think they are doing a great job. Developing children as individuals is essential if India is going to utilise the youth benefit which is touted so much in the media. 

Shaheen's story has recieved a lot of attention in media but she has remained down-to-earth. She can inspire a room of cynics and give the idealists another reason to plough on. One of the idealists among Young India Fellows said "Looking at her, you can tell she's gone through the whole shit". The miracle of Shaheen Mistri is that she makes the  lofty aim believable.

P.S. Applications for Teach for India Fellowship 2013 are open. Please spread the message. To apply check: http://www.teachforindia.org/

Click here to read about the other guest lectures at YIFP: first woman US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright and the founder of satellite TV as we know it, Kay Koplovitz

Related articles

• Satyamev Jayate - The Truth that Lives Within (bloodinkdiary.wordpress.com)
• Indian school education system (jeyaramblog.wordpress.com)
• Report recommends revamp for education system (thebhutanese.bt)
• Why India's Education System Is Failing? (theachiever2011.wordpress.com)

First Week at YIF: People

YIFP aims to groom a batch of 100 fellows each year. The batch of 2012-13 is an amalgamation of engineering with arts, finance and management. Not to forget that we have 3 lawyers too, out to which only one can defend us in court. Talking of defence, we have one guy with an Indian Air Force background too.

When I think of large groups of new people I've met, college comes to mind first. That was an enormous bunch with individual diversity but homogenity in academic choice. Next was Jagriti Yatra, which had 400 incredibly motivated development enthusiasts. The diversity there was amazing - people from all kinds of educational and professional backgrounds, rural and urban areas and also regional and international diversity. In contrast, YIFP has students from great educational institutions of India with hometowns ranging from Meghalaya to Kerala. Most, including me, are urban creatures though a few have strong ties to their rural backgrounds. The common thread here is that they are special. Whether a psychology graduate from Christ University or a mechanical engineer from an IIT, they stand apart from their peers in some way to "reach for the stars".

In the process of knowing who these people are, today was a milestone. We wrote a document called 'Initial Vision' for Dwight's Leadership class which was about our lives so far, what kind of leaders we want to be and strengths and weaknesses.

Learning, not just education

On one wall, there is a crow putting stones in a water-pot. On another, there's a monkey sitting on a crocodile. Where have we reached? A play-school. A Govt. play-school in rural area is called aanganwadi. We are visiting an aanganwadi at Beenjawara village in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh.

Dust and spice

Today I reached the southernmost tip of my journey - Chennai. In the bus from Hyderabad, I could literally feel moving closer to the equator because of the heat. As my third metropolitan city, Chennai stands out as being not cosmopolitan. It could be the areas I've seen are old Chennai because the dressing style of people is quite untouched by western fashion. And plus the crowd is primarily Tamilian, with no mix of races and cultures. It is a dusty city which seems to have clung to its ways.
As being a capital city, it does have its share of chain restaurants and retail outlets. On the ride from CMBT to T Nagar, I saw KFC, Big Bazaar, More, Reliance Fresh etc. Also found a BFC: Bigboy Fried Chicken. It feels good to see that Indian brands have grown as chains. Earlier chains were confined to McD and Dominos.
Since we are talking about food, lets talk about the rava dosai I ate in the evening which came with a daal like saambhar, coconut and green chutneys. The green chutney was tangy as if it had raw mango. It is the first speciality of Tamil Nadu for me. The red garlic chutney of Mysore was also a good experience. After eating versions of Mysore Masala Dosa in BITS and outside Samhita office, the authentic version near Mysore Bus Stand was revealing. In Bangalore and Hyderabad, the south Indian food came from UpSouth and Chutneys respectively. The highlight remains the AP food at a friend's house, home-cooked by her mother.
And lastly, speaking about food, lets talk about chaat. Sadly I missed it in Karnataka. In Hyderabad, the chaat isn't good at all. I ate panipuri in 4 different parts of the city and all of them had soft puris. Of course I am talking about their lack of crispiness before being dipped. Looks like the cooks who make them don't do it well. The chaat ka pani wasn't great either : poor show right from Bikanerwala to the street vendors. Hoping to try Chennai's versions tomorrow.

Maid in India 1.0

"The ‘decimal’ is simply a dot within a number. Its position within a number determines what the number means to us. Just a shift to the right or left changes its meaning exponentially." 

Decimal Foundation, an NGO in Mumbai, cites the above as their inspiration. They serve an omnipresent and yet ignored section of society - domestic help. Do you know when was the last time your maid had a health check-up? Every woman associated with Maid in India gets free medical care every couple of months. To read more about the great work they are doing, and about my visit to their office, read on.