PIKU: REFLECTION, INTROSPECTION AND REALIZATION

June 1 is celebrated as World Parents Day, a day dedicated to the two most important people of our lives.  Just finished reading a book on Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, where he has expressed the importance of the role played by his parents in moulding his personality.  Now I am almost done with the fictional ‘Game of Thrones’ book, which is a vicious attack to the whole concept of parent-children relationship. In the west, children once become 16, leave their parents’ house and are on their own. They have no obligations towards their parents while the parents don’t lose their sleep over their children’s education, tuition fees and job.  Now coming to the quintessential point of writing this article- I was completely assuaged and possessed by the recent movie ‘Piku’, which is an honest reflection of the prevalent societal nexus in our country.  It might pertain to villages and towns, but it has portrayed the modern urban city lifestyle. It was a pleasant, feel good movie, augmented by the angularities of the three protagonists. The movie should be watched by both the parents and their children together.

A country that is so obsessed by the so called ‘demographic dividend ’(youth centric),  Amitabh Bachchan’s portrayal of Bhaskor  Bhattacharya mirrors the elders’ deep seated fears and insecurities.  Mr. Bachchan’s superb acting, his candour depiction of the character’s preoccupation with his bowel movements is highly symbolic in nature.  Bhaskor is highly relatable to the elderly in more than one way.  Bhaskor refuses to become irrelevant and scuttled into oblivion. His recalcitrant insinuations to make himself as much impossible as possible, is a mere reflection of the various impediments faced by today’s elders.  So one must realise that the whole intractable and sclerotic behaviour, harbours from the insecurities that ‘they’ have in their minds. Age brings with it the licence or the immunity to liberate oneself from all kinds of inhibitions. ‘They’ become frank, which at times may appear unpalatable.

In our country, the elders have been subjected to the youth hegemony for quite some time now. There are umpteen number of TV channels that pivot around the youth, youth centric movies, a young Indian cricket team, ‘an aging China and a young India’, etc. which have occupied a space in our sub conscious mind.  For most of us living far away from our parents, seeing the movie, it brewed an unsettling concoction of sadness, guilt and regret. It made us introspect of what we have left behind in the pursuit of happiness. Unlike some, whose lives revolve around the imaginaries and eccentricities of their old parents, we flew the coop when ‘they’ needed us the most. For families settled in cities and metros like Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore, they can still live with their parents. But for most of us, who are from towns or small cities, where there is dearth of career growth and opportunities, it becomes inevitable to move into the big cities.

I would like to share my own experience here. I have resided in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, but I love Bhubaneswar a lot. As compared to these hustling- bustling metros, Bhubaneswar has a characteristic innate tranquillity. It boats an envious infrastructure- wide roads, less traffic, good educational institutes, a decent night life, etc. But once we finish our education, we are indelibly dragged into the corporate rat race. We espouse a life style that is goal oriented and career driven.   Our minds are marred by a myriad apprehensions- “ In order to climb the corporate ladder, I need to be present at the thick of the action (metros).  What if these comforts and opulence are ephemeral and that I would eventually get bored”. When your friends are all working outside, it becomes a matter of indignation staying in Bhubaneswar with your parents (albeit you stay in a bungalow and drive a big car, while ‘they’ travel in public transport and put up in a grumpy flat). But the question remains, weren’t we brought up by our parents to achieve every bit of this? We were sent to the best of schools and colleges so that we would reach a point where we are right now.  Success always comes with a price tag, and one cannot hanker for a bargain if one wants it desperately. The price is leaving behind people who once meant the world to us, and for whom our phone calls and occasional visits become the greatest pleasures.

The ‘empty nest syndrome’ which was once associated with the west, is a depressing reality in India today.  Parents have got used to it; they even bang their chests accentuating their children’s accomplishments in the corporate world. There is also the reality that parents stubbornly refuse to move in with their child in different city, in spite of knowing that living together would make life easy for all of them.

The ‘young India’ has little space for the elders. Well past their prime to contribute to the growth story, they guard the nests in the hope that someday the children would return.  There are no easy answers or quick fix solutions to this problem.  But ‘Piku’ might stir someone’s conscience; inspire a kindred soul, to come home before it’s too late.

NET NEUTRALITY: CONCERNS OF A COMMON MAN

The issue of ‘net neutrality ‘ created a lot of furore in the latest past and even our own Rahul Gandhi brought up the issue in the Parliament. The western world, the Bollywood industry joined the bandwagon to accentuate the magnitude of intricacy in the whole issue. In India, the issue got highlighted by the Flipkart-Airtel Zero deal.  But the common man needs to know what exactly it means, since he is a stake holder here. Net neutrality is akin to Land acquisition, where the big corporations, through the government, are encroaching the space of civil liberty of the common man.  It has ballooned into some kind of fight dreaded between the ordinary folks and the corporate honchos.

Net neutrality in simple terms means all websites should be equally accessible; at the same speed; and one should pay the same amount for the said data irrespective of the content. Why should we be bothered then? There are fast lanes (paid) and slow lanes (free) of internet traffic. Elucidating further, it implies that big companies such as YouTube and Skype can dig down their deep pockets and pay for higher speed internet access. Hence people would obviously prefer them over other companies. Smaller start-ups will inevitably be decimated and innovation will cease to exist. The choices before the consumers will get reduced. As proposed by the Father of Economics August Comte, the ‘invisible hand of market’ (that balances the implicit forces of market) gets amputated. This could eventually lead to Oligopoly or even Monopoly.

The second issue is that of ‘control’.  Information available at the disposal of public could be twisted, tweaked and manipulated. Suppose one is looking for the reviews of a movie that he plans to see, but finds only the positive reviews. This takes place because the producers and the distributors of the movie have paid the internet provider to block all the websites that have negative reviews of the concerned movie. Hence through this, the perception of the people can be moulded to benefit certain companies.

The third issue may be that the internet providers in the future may charge you for preferential access. It means that the heavy users of YouTube, Skype, etc. may be charged more to get access to the same data as before.

The Airtel Zero Issue

Now having seen one side of the coin (people’s perspective), it’s also important to know the other side too (companies’ perspective).  It is quintessential to admit the fact that every company enters the market to earn money. So certain companies have competitive advantage vis-a- vis  others due to their resources in terms of infrastructure and technological superiority. Now let me explain you what exactly happened. Airtel Zero is a platform for any website to join. What Bharti Airtel did was, it passed the cost of surfing from the subscriber to the website. Initially the subscriber would pay for the surfing certain websites, which now will be paid by the website itself. For Bharti Airtel, it is an accounting issue; money that used to come from the subscribers will now come from the websites. Hereby, the subscriber will get a lower bill, while the expenses incurred by the websites will be higher. But for the website, it’s not a cost, but an investment to create more traffic. It is akin the toll free number that we use to order a pizza, the cost of which is borne by the pizza company.  It’s like the discount offered by certain companies like e-commerce websites. These are normal business practices that companies use to attract more customers, and hence cannot be deemed as discriminatory or unethical. This would amount to ‘crony capitalism’ if this is used as a tool to control the market forces or if certain websites are blocked to enter the Airtel Zero platform.

People who speak about net neutrality advocate equal net access for everybody. This is a noble intention, but is plausible only in a utopian world. The net accessibility depends upon three things- the hand set, the data plan and the spectrum. To have equal net experience, all the Indians should have the same aforesaid trilogy.  But is it ever possible?

THE MALICE OF DRUNKEN DRIVING

The cynosure of the entire Salman Khan ‘hit and run’ case has been the vicissitudes of whether justice has been delivered or not. But in this sabre rattling, we have ignored the deep seated subaltern issue of ‘drunken driving’. Everybody maintains a silence on whether he or she has ever driven under the influence of alcohol. The Blood Alcohol content (BAC) legal limit in India is 0.03% alcohol in 100 ml of blood. Hence a couple of beers, a few shots of vodka or two solid pegs of whiskey and you simply cross the permissible limit. Almost everyone of us who indulges in the habit of drinking, gets behind the wheels. For guys, it’s a case of ‘chauvinism’ and chivalry, to demonstrate the control that one has over oneself in such ‘high’ circumstances. For the girls, it’s their ‘why should boys have all the fun?’ obsession. In India people drive heavy commercial vehicles after drinking copious amounts of alcohol. This is the very cause for the astonishing statistics when it comes to road accidents. 16 children die on Indian roads daily. There is one death every 4 mins. In which other country would you find alcohol outlets all along the highways? Trucks and cars are parked outside these shacks selling alcohol, without any confirmation of the legal age. In today’s scenario, it’s not the truck drivers but the middle income group as well as the upper class, who indulge in the “aaji raati re basiba”  culture. Men find it humiliating to allow their wives to drive even when they are aware that they are beyond the legal limit. Wives and partners dare not suggest that they would rather not risk their family’s lives by travelling in a car driven by a drunken driver.

An educated person realises the impairment caused to one’s senses due to drinking. The ability to make a judgement of stopping when seeing a moving object is seriously impaired after a few drinks. Reaction time, muscle co ordination decreases with every sip. Self control and reasoning ability is impaired with every peg. In India, where people don’t cross roads at zebra crossings, the repercussions of drinking and driving are far reaching. India is a young country, and specifically in a state like Odisha, people tend to become emotionally charged up at every possible opportunity. The propensity to ‘let your hair down’ by riding their bikes at a high speed and show stunts has taken a lot of young lives. Consumption of alcohol reduces inhibition and promotes aggressive behaviour. Jumping lights, making U-turns, turning right at only straight signs are some common enough violations. And these can lead to fatal eventualities if the person behind the wheel is not alert. Driving requires undivided attention; chatting, texting and alcohols are various deterrents to that. The spur of the moment or the thrill of the situation can often manoeuvre your decision making, but the implication of loss of a human life is far more seminal.

Hence it is high time that awareness programmes regarding the dangers of drunken driving are conducted in schools, colleges and even offices. Along with the parents, wives and children also have a bigger role to play in influencing the decision making process and sedating the egos of men.  Statistics show that in India, 70% of fatally injured drivers have excess alcohol in their blood. Hence ask your friend to drop you home or call a cab. Exercise any of these options, instead of driving under the influence of alcohol. Every life matters, if not to you but to a lot of others!!!

DISCREPENCIES OF SIMULTANEOUS ASSEMBLY-PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

2014 witnessed the general elections, which put the BJP at the zenith point in Indian politics. The general elections were followed by assembly elections in major states like Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, etc. Also let’s add UP and Delhi assembly elections to the bandwagon. During the general elections, the electronic, social and the print media clamoured around the halo effect of Narendra Modi. The point here is to make the voters aware of the huge difference between the nature as well as the ‘necessity’ of parliamentary elections and the assembly elections. India is a ‘union of states’ and the federal structure takes care of the centre-state relations. Now that the social media has become all pervasive in nature, and the news channels being 24*7 medium, there is this constant quest for new stuff. Elections provide ample substance to these news channels, which prey on them through exit polls, news hour debates, etc.

Whenever there is an assembly election taking place in a particular state, the various aspects and paradigms of that state, which are indigenous factors, are showcased and brought to the forefront by the media. In states such as UP and Bihar, the elections get a lot of mileage and coverage (not only due to the huge no of seats) due to the varied nature of demography. Then you have the sensitive state of Jammu and Kashmir, which elicits a conflict between nationalistic and separist sentiments. Coming to the south, you have the state of Tamil Nadu, which accentuates the indelible poignant issue of ‘hindi’ to the forefront. Maharashtra has ‘Hindutva’ issue lingering in its pipeline.

As illustrated above, the politics in every state is driven by a ‘cause’ or a political ideology of the political parties and the voting pattern is subservient to either of them. One evening, as I was sitting in my living room and watching TV, many news channels were covering even states like Himachal Pradesh elections intensively. It was an eye opener for me since many unknown aspects were being discussed which played a major role in the elections. This brings into the picture the unfathomable agenda of bifurcating the assembly elections from the parliamentary elections in Odisha. The only justifiable reason for the simultaneous elections would be that of curtailing state expenditure since elections are costly affairs.

The state of Odisha has always been seen condescendingly, as a land of destitute and poverty. The squiggles of a precocious nature, viz the super cyclone, the pertinent floods, the ‘red menace’ keep the state in the news (all for the wrong reasons). For every person who resides outside Odisha, assuaging such unscrupulous embargo is a big ordeal. How does one explain the fact that Odisha is not all about floods, tribal people and naxalites, but it’s much more than that. How does one explain the wide roads and the glittering street lamps in Bhubaneswar that can make any Mumbaikar or a Delhite envious?  How does one explain the huge pool of talented youth, who are exemplifying excellence in each and every sphere?

So how does bifurcating the elections help in subsiding these prejudices? When assembly elections  take place, it provides the quintessential fodder to the ‘watering news channels’, which in turn draws the attention of the entire nation towards the state. Many MLAs and MPs, highly educated with a real purpose to serve the society, have been working incessantly for the upliftment of the masses. All such people deserve equal recognition, as the politicians of other major states.  The election coverage by major news channel will inevitably portray the real picture at the grass root level; the issues(poverty, religion, caste) and the ideology(secularism, radicalism) on which elections are fought, thus ‘selecting the grain from the chaff’. Naveen Patnaik has the mandate of the people since the last 15 years, but his popularity has been slackened of late by the coal scam, chit fund scam, etc.  Many of his Ministers have been nabbed by the CBI sleuths. The coal scam (which came to light before the 2014 elections) obliterated the Congress party at the centre, but failed to touch Patnaik. The reason may be multifold- the plethora of welfare schemes (using the central funds), or the ‘money power’ used during the elections (the reason given by the opposition), or the lack of a credible opposition. A vibrant democracy means that the people should have ‘options’ to choose from, but here in Odisha, the opposition has been completely decimated by the shrewdness of the ruling party.( The Leader of Opposition in the house joined BJD days before the elections)

Hence the nation should get to know the real reasons behind BJD’s success in the state. The state shouldn’t get obscured by simultaneous assembly and parliamentary elections. By conducting the elections simultaneously, the ‘real Odisha’ is prohibited to come to the cynosure. People get confused and vote for the same party in both the forms, which produces far reaching implications. BJD being a non-UPA and non-NDA party, won 20 out of 21 parliamentary seats. This huge margin makes no rationale at the national level and hence peoples’ voting pattern should be based upon a clear demarcation of state and national consequences.  To have a credible opposition, BJP and Congress should start taking Odisha seriously, since a major chunk of 21 seats can make a significant difference. And from peoples ‘perspective, democracy in its pristine form may prevail.