When There Is Nothing Better To Do...

When there is nothing to do, how do you keep yourself occupied? Day dreaming, nose picking, farting, fornicating...? Or do you think of any other 'selfless deed'? Well, if you are in India, there is no dearth of ideas that can keep you 'eternally' engaged!

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During school days when once a teacher failed to turn up and there was no one else to substitute, my bench mate pointed out to his dad's signature on the report card, and said: 'Why don't we make one for us too?' We began to 'design' our signatures. After a variety of curves, slants, strokes and flourishes, we lost interest. My friend then said: 'Hey, why don't we try it out in Hindi?' We had nothing else to do!

The HR Wing (South) of the Life Insurance Corporation of India too hit upon such an infantile idea recently. On the intranet appeared a circular, directing its employees to start signing in Hindi. The 'out of the blue' move was purportedly to accelerate use of Hindi in South India! The circular however had to be summarily withdrawn following protests.

The LIC for reasons incomprehensible, had overlooked a Reserve Bank of India directive on the subject.  While ruling that official documents/correspondence could be signed in any language as the signature was merely a symbol, the Master Circular RBI/2009-10/95 had stated that the signature should be in one script only to obviate chances of confusion or fraud.

Although a signature is generally expected to consist one's name (first, middle or last) or nickname, there is a legal provision permitting a personalized mark or symbol, or even thumb impression instead. The only condition is, whatever be the script, style or form, the signature must be unique.

The rules are thus clear. Common sense makes it even more clear. Still, with nothing better to do, we indulge in wild fantasies. What if we extend the 3 language formula to personal signatures? Each of us will then have a national, regional and vernacular signature! We will also merrily contribute to the spiralling chaos and confusion!

With nothing better to do, what else can we think of?

"Doing nothing is better 

than being busy doing nothing!"

-  Lao Tzu

A Picture Of Things To Come

"I sent him to your country to study. He was harmless, a great child and outstanding student who was constantly busy learning the skills needed for his future and betterment of the world. He was not out on the street to learn how to kill, steal or do other kind of evil..."

Yet, Yannick Nihangaza who turns 24 on the eve of India's 66^th anniversary of independence was beaten up, so savagely as to suffer irreversible brain damage. Since 21 April night, he is in coma.

Yannick came from Burundi, a land of dancers and drummers in Africa. Like any young man, he too had dreams and desires. To fulfil them, it was India that Yannick chose, not Europe, America or Australia.  The reasons might have been several, but among them was undoubtedly his admiration for this country and its people.

A 5000 year old legacy of rich heritage and culture!  It teaches us to be kind, compassionate, generous, humane, tolerant... But to most of us these are merely ornamental! Even ITDC (Indian Tourism Development Corpn.) has as its tag line, an adage from one of the Upanishads which says: 'Atithi devo bhavaḥa' (A guest is god to us)!

Look what we have done to that god! Beat him up mercilessly and left him bleeding by the roadside. It took two letters from the victim's father, diplomatic intervention and media outcry to wake up the administration. By then, one of the accused had conveniently fled the country!

Why is this happening... senselessly, shamelessly, and repeatedly?

Is there no respect, no fear for the law? Is it that with money, muscle and political power, anyone can get away with anything including loot, rape and murder? Or is it a reflection of the moral rot that has set in? Where are we heading to? 

I dread to recollect this George Orwell quote:

"If you want a picture of the future, 

imagine a boot stamping on a human face..."

How far is Niagara from Mullaperiyar?

June 30 1859

A crowd of over 25,000 people is assembled on both banks of the Niagara River to witness a historic event. The mood is skeptical. There is heavy fog, and the wind keeps blowing at 80 kmph. Unmindful, the legendary acrobat Charles Blondin sets off to walk on a tightrope 1200 feet long and two inches in diameter, stretched across the gorge. It takes him 23 minutes to complete the to and fro journey.

Brandishing the balancing pole, Blondin asks, 'Do you now believe I can do it?' The crowd roars, 'Yes.' He continues, 'Do you believe I can do it again?' The crowd roars louder, 'Yes.'

This time, Blondin walks the tightrope without the balancing pole. The crowd cheers. He then walks blindfolded, walks backwards, walks on stilts... The crowd turns delirious.

Blondin asks, 'Do you believe I can carry a person across the gorge on my back?' They shout, 'Yes. You can do it, Blondin. We believe you.'

Blondin says, 'Okay. I will carry one of you across the gorge? Who will be my partner?' The crowd falls silent. No one volunteers. They all believe in his abilities, but not so much as to entrust him with their lives!

Faith apart, there is another aspect to this event. The Niagara River straddles the international border between the US (New York) and Canada (Ontario). Both countries share this resource with perfect reason and responsibility. Together, they also operate a hydroelectric station to harness the power of the Niagara Falls.

The 117 year old Mullaperiyar dam is situated in Kerala, but controlled by the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu under a 999 year lease agreement signed during the British rule that qualifies it to draw the river water for irrigation. Today, the dam lies submerged in a sea of life-threatening disputes!

Look at the irony! Two countries together build and operate a power station to light up a million homes. But, two states in the same country are lighting up a fire of hatred in a million hearts!

 "A nation is the same people breathing the same air,  

drinking the same water, and living the same life."