Mera Bharat Mahan.....post Independence Day musings

As I was rummaging through an old chest of books I came across a few copies of Blackwood’s Magazine dated 1958. The write-ups were not contemporary, the style was almost archaic you would say, especially after reading Chetan Bhagat’s popular “desi” pulp  and the writers are most probably all dead and gone to the land beyond.

The journal provided short, simple and interesting articles of which one was particularly appealing. It was written by a Scotsman who had been serving in a tea garden in Assam, India. His name was Stephen Hannay.

During one of his long annual vacation, Mr. Hannay decided to visit his home in Great Britain via Moscow. In his literary piece he has written about the Muscovites of 1958 as efficient, friendly and always anxious that foreigners visiting their city should see the right things, read the right stuff and in general enjoy themselves.

What struck me, as I read on, was the patriotism that seemed to burst at the seams of every Muscovite whether a child, teenage or adult. I am not saying that it is absent among us. It is there and it surges forth when our Indian team thrashes any other country( especially Pakistan) in cricket, we go berserk when a man of Indian origin makes a mark in the financial or literary world, when a woman of Indian descent goes to space (she may not have stayed in the country for a day). Wars have brought us together. We saw it during the Kargil episode. Yet our patriotism is fuzzy, unsure, sometimes accusative and definitely selective.

Hannay writes that the Muscovites (1958) were a proud lot and their sense of belonging to their city and state was over-powering. Public property was regarded as their personal property and kept clean and well-guarded. The pronoun "we" stands out in their conversation. “We built this road last year”, “We are working on  educational programs.”

The “we” sounds much better than the amorphous and anonymous “they”. Why do we like to shirk responsibility and utter “They litter the streets’, or “they should do something about it.” Should pointing our fingers at our neighbours and the Government become a matter of habit?

Stephen  Hannay writes that Russian children know a lot about their capital city---its history and geography, its architecture and its leaders. They can rattle off statistics from an early age about the weight of Catherine the Great‘s sleigh, the height of the ministerial buildings and even the length of a road. It may sound ridiculous but these small facts instil pride, pride that will make us forget that only Harijans are to clear the garbage, that scribbling on ancient monuments is not to be condoned and that it is more important to be conversant about the financial health of the nation than that of USA.  How many of our children know when the Saraighat Bridge was built over the Brahmaputra or who the Vice-president of India may be.   Should our children show interest only in statistics that approximate 36-26-36?

As a teacher I had once asked a seventh standard student who had written Gitanjali. “An old man with a white beard” was the reply I got. Does a Noble Laureate deserve such a fate in the hands of a twelve year old?

Why can’t we rise above caste and religious prejudices and unitedly declare “Mera Bharat is indeed Mahan”

IS GUWAHATI LIVEABLE

Is Guwahati  Liveable?

Guwahati has been envisioned as one of the 100 Smart cities of the nation by the Prime Minister of the country. It is an admirable and extremely noble vision which has to be concretized into reality. This is no small task though, what with the gargantuan civic problems looming large as life for everybody to debate upon. Every issue is substantially controversial to call for specialized teams to work upon with dedication, determination and drive.

What do we understand by a “Smart City,” you may ask ? The term is still in a blur; it is in an amorphous stage which is used to mean many things. What we are to understand is that it refers to not only hard infrastructure (bridges and buildings) but also knowledge, communication and social infrastructure. This is required for urban competitiveness, the base for growth and prosperity. It would imply a digital city, where full advantage is taken of the Information and Communication Technology. Citizens will be able to monitor pollution level, water leaks can be detected and rubbish heaps can send an alarm bell once the bins overflow.

Is this wishful thinking for the citizens of Guwahati? The chaotic state that we are in leaves us room to believe that it will decades if not a life time to see fruition of this policy.Given a better alternative many of us would leave the city.

The disarray of the traffic snarls keep all good citizens indoors. Rules are not strictly enforced. Drivers get disoriented with mo-bike riders weaving their way in  their insane frenzy from all directions, helmetless and sometimes shirtless adding fuel to the traffic fire. Zebra crossings are absent which make pedestrians ambivalent in their decisions to cross the roads. The over-worked police man is listlessly having a smoke in some shady corner only to become alert with the arrival of a VIP. The men behind the wheels are equally to blame. In the mad hurry to beat the rush, traffic –sense is abandoned or totally absent among the drivers. Poor road management provide enough reasons to make one crazy. I sometimes wonder how many drivers would actually qualify for a license if rules were strictly adhered. The desire to drive our own cars instead of availing the office car-pool, together with the failure of the authorities to act has added to the problem. Traffic is highest during work hours. Flexible work timings may ease the problem perhaps. A poor public transport option and lack of human decorum has compounded this knotty issue.

Garbage has become a voluminous problem. Unhygienic squalor marks the city, giving out a stench which is unbearable. These dumps are awash during the floods spreading the rot and muck across the city. The authorities during the recent floods did make an attempt to clean up the area but it is so deeply entrenched a problem that the government alone cannot solve it. Citizens must arise as if for a battle against the “garbage giant”, people must be educated to dispose unwanted stuff in the correct manner. Perhaps workshops can be held in educational institutions, clubs and associations on good civic sense. Yes, we all know what is to be done but channelizing our thoughts and gentling reminding the public on the “dos” and “donts”of living a sanitized life I am sure will be appreciated. Countries like Sri Lanka and Myannmar do not fall into the developed category, yet the insanitary grime that we see around us is totally absent in these small countries. Incidentally, in these countries the Human Development Index (HDI) is slowly progressing at a higher rate than in India.

The present water supply and power management has become a looming threat to the concept of a Smart City. A decade ago, water for household needs was not an issue during the monsoons. But recently even when the rains were sweeping across the city drinking water was not available in many so-called called” prime areas” where the price of land is mind-boggling.   Drained by the mighty Brahmaputra, can the people of Guwahati be deprived of the fundamental need of human beings.....water? Isn’t it ironic that with the river flowing within a few miles of your residence there is a shortfall of it? Water resource management and efficient handling of waste water should be given importance. The Guwahati Jal Board has been set up to provide uninterrupted supply of water, but how long it will take to concretise its policies remain unanswered. Only 30% of the population gets intermittent supply of water. The rest depend on ground water which always has the anger of being contaminated.

Environmental capital plays an important part in the growth of a prosperous City. With natural resources dwindling and unemployment increasing we must make full use of our environment to not only attract tourists but maintain a balance in our bio-diversity which indirectly affects our well being.

What has been done for geriatric care? Where are the old age homes or trained personnel for the aged and the infirm? With medical science improving, the average life-span has increased. The demographic change in the elder citizen category, double income lifestyles, emigration of children for better economic opportunities and the growth of the nuclear family has made the need for senior care all the more pertinent. Have we given enough heed to this aspect? Or are we waiting for the problem to take on criminal dimensions. Can the aged lead the winters of their lives with dignity?

 From where does the Chief Minister draw the required talent? What about the mind-set of the citizens which has to completely change if they want a modern metropolis. We have to move with the times and adapt to the changing world.

Speed is the mantra of the Universe that we live in. The world has been wired, as it were, and we get an over-load of information instantaneously. We buy, sell, order, chat, and eat through the digital world. The young and the middle aged have no patience. They want positive results to make Guwahati Liveable.

What the Chief Minister needs to do is whip the lash firmly and bell the cat!!

Teeming Bangalore

This is my 5th visit to Bangalore over the last 35 years. My eye-balls cannot take in anymore. What was a small cantonment town, where we would find a lot of retired officers in cozy and comfortable bungalows, leading a laid-back life, undisturbed and serene has become a 21st century metropolis with all the expected features. The contour of the city, the skyline and the demography has evolved to take on a cosmopolitan and global outlook. Bangalore has perhaps the largest English –speaking middle class out on the streets. Be it in the Malls, metro train or restaurants it’s the young, confident and educated who have taken over. With eateries all over, I often wonder whether they eat home food at all, which makes me worried about their health. With consumerism high, garbage disposal seems to be a humungous problem and this I guess applies to all cities. Where have the aged gone? Do the young have time for them? Or have they become chefs, maids and ayahs to look after their grandchildren while the double income parents go out to work. Bangalore is a great city; let’s hope the seams don’t burst!