Keep walking

R Edwin Sudhir
31 March 2014, 02:08 PM IST

It's been an interesting week for walking. On the sunny Sunday morning gone by, too close to sunrise for my liking but there really wasn't much of a choice, a motley group of people gathered at Mysore Bank Circle in Bangalore. For those unfamiliar with the city's topography, it's a landmark like few others. It marks the beginning of Avenue Road, a road like few others in this city. But more of that later.

There we were, coming in ones and twos, and marking our attendance to the Intach guide for the day. For, this was a Parichay, one of Intach's programmes to give people a deeper insight into various historical delights of the city through walks. Latha, our guide for the day, welcomed us briskly and once the entire contingent of about a baker's dozen had assembled and after a brief round of introductions, led us to the temple next door.

That was the beginning of a whirlwind tour of several temples on and off Avenue Road. We walked from one to another, with Latha leading the way and pausing to let the laggards, which included me trying to fend off waves of sleep, catch up. She's an Indologist with an academic's passion for history that comes across in the erudite description of temples, deities, and local lore.

I quickly lost count of the number of temples we visited, and all I knew that the interiors of the temples provided cool relief from the blazing sun outside. And everywhere, the priest blessed us so, by the end of the tour, we had accumulated enough divine protection against anything the world would throw at us.

But there was no protection from the stench from the rotting piles of garbage at virtually every intersection of this amazing maze of interlocking lanes and bylanes. The BBMP compactor trucks and crews tried to clear away the mounds of festering food and garbage but they were fighting a losing battle. Surprisingly, the residents of the neighbourhood (many of them quite wealthy going by the cars which slid by in slow motion thanks to the jampacked traffic on narrow roads) seemed to have come to terms with their spotlessly clean houses and disturbingly dirty neighbourhood.

Participatory civic action sounds great in theory but it clearly doesn't find many takers here.

That was the downside of a perfectly wonderful morning, with the walkers learning a lot about the temples of Avenue Road. The ten temples, I think, we visited were living jewels of religiosity and may they remain that way. The crisp breakfast and piping hot coffee at a darshini were the icing on the cake and rejuvenated our flagging energy levels.

There are more walks on the same theme on the anvil, and, to be sure, I'll try to be there.

The other interesting that happened on the walking front was coming across an online reference to the book 'Wanderlust' by Rebecca Solnit. It's a history of walking and I hope to read it over the next few weeks.

I'm rediscovering the joys of walking in a virtually unwalkable city.

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India’s Stake in Crimea

TK Arun
31 March 2014, 01:27 PM IST

India has a vital stake in supporting Russia that goes beyond friendship, solidarity with an old and valuable ally and stability of arms supplies: multipolarity of the world order. India is right to oppose sanctions against Russia over Crimea.

Crimea hosts the base of the Russian navy's Black Sea fleet. It is of vital strategic interest. Would the US allow a similar situation to develop next to its border? The 1962 Cuban crisis was about a sovereign country, Cuba, deploying missiles supplied by its ally, the Soviet Union.

Cuba, as a sovereign nation that respects past treaty obligations to the extent of coexisting with a US base in Guantánamo, a part of its own territory, had the right to deploy defence mechanisms of its choice on its own territory. That did not mean that deploying nuclear missiles a stone's throw away from the US mainland was an acceptable development for anyone with any interest in maintaining world peace.

The situation in Crimea is similar. Having an anti-Russian government control Crimea would erode Russian security and thus stability of the world order, in which the US has overwhelming military superiority but not total. It is in the interest of countries that seek autonomous space for their own development to shore up, not weaken, the countervailing poles of power that exist, such as they are.

This is the strongest reason for India, China and other such countries that neither receive nor cherish a place under the sprawling security umbrella of the mighty US have for supporting Russia in its current stand-off with the West over Crimea. In reality, this logic holds for all of Ukraine. So, what is intriguing in the current developments in Ukraine is Russia's apparent willingness to make short-term gains in Crimea at the risk of alienating Ukraine per se.

For, unless a civil war in Ukraine in which Russia intervenes, attracting global opposition of a kind that would have real bite, unlike the growls of protest over Crimea, and brings up a pro-Russian regime, Ukraine has been handed over to the West. Once the current Crimean contretemps gets over, it is not unlikely that Putin's success is written down as a Pyrrhic victory.

Common Roots

Ukraine, Belarus and Russia share a common cultural and historical heritage. In the 10th century, Viking Oleg established an empire called Kievan Rus, of which Kiev was the centre of power and whose realms embraced what today would be called western Russia, besides Ukraine, Belarus and parts of Poland and other regions that now fall in assorted east European nations. This flourished till the 13th century when Mongol hordes put paid to centralised authority.

Later, the centre of power shifted further east to Moscow, from which the next Russian empire grew. Vladimir, who embraced Christianity, replacing polytheistic Slavic paganism as the state religion across Russia, did so in Crimea.

The Red Army fought some of its fiercest battles with Hitler's forces in Ukraine. Of the 20 million Soviet war dead at the end of the World War II, a sizeable contingent came from Ukraine. Strong bonds of history, culture and blood tie Russia and Ukraine together. Which is why the current bout of hostilities seems to be the result of particularly inept policy on Russia's part.

The Tatars were a large presence in Ukraine, including Crimea, till they were forcibly exiled by Stalin, whom comrades of the CPI(M) still celebrate as a great master on the subject of nationalities and their peaceful coexistence. Some have returned, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and constitute sizeable minorities, as in Crimea.

Crimeans Creamed Ukraine

It is not clear whether they voted to join Russia or stay with Ukraine in the Crimean referendum of March 16. But there is little reason to doubt the validity of the vote that saw 96% of those voting choosing to join Russia. The international community has conveniently chosen to rule the referendum invalid. In any case, in Crimea, 76 per cent of the population voted in the referendum. There are no reports that any force was used to intimidate anyone into not voting. If there were any hint of anything like that, the world would definitely have heard of it. That means an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voted to join Russia.

Silent on Referendum

New Delhi, on its part, will not be keen to cite the right of a people to determine their own national affiliation or autonomy, thanks to Kashmir. You can't say this particular right is good for the people of Crimea but wholly inappropriate in Kashmir.

Kashmir is another place where millennia of past historical and cultural association has not prevented the emergence of extreme alienation and where migration, forced and otherwise, has changed the composition of the population.

Migration raises questions over correspondence between the timeframe that is valid for determining national belongingness and the population that is called on to make the choice about belonging. But India's case for siding with Russia is in terms of the world order it wants, not anything else.

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Why cholera alone?

Veeresh Malik
31 March 2014, 04:02 PM IST

 

Regularly, a notice is placed in the newspapers, about shutting down of  street food and fresh fruit and juice stalls due to the fear of diseases and deaths - especially due to cholera. This happens all over the country, here is a copy of the one issued in Delhi.

A closer look reveals that this is on the basis of proper rules laid down on the risks therein of such food items to the citizens of Delhi and environs. The risks of death, illness, sickness, and more.

Fair enough, and we are all very grateful at this concern, though it is not known how many people have died of cholera in and around Delhi in the last few decades. And also whether cholera is caused only by fresh fruit and juice or also or largely because of miserable sanitation and lack of clean potable drinking water or worse, open sewage mingling with all facets of our lives.

Right in front of my house, about 50 metres away, a stretch of pavement has collapsed. Below it run sewer lines and fresh water lines. Both these lines co-mingle. The pavement collapses about once every 4-6 months. In front is a hospital.

But even that is not the only real issue.

All over Delhi and the rest of the country we have stalls openly selling soft-drinks which are often if not always transported and stored in the open. It is a known fact that the chemical and other constituents of these soft drinks, whose exact formulations are a trade secret, suffer changes due to exposure to heat and light and plastic.

However, we will never see notices banning the sale of these soft drinks, even when they are sold through open soft-drink dispensing fountains. In and from shops that are open to the streets, with no dearth of dust, flies and more.

All this is hidden behind fancy packaging and marketing, no doubt, so you can't even tell when it goes bad - if it ever was good for you in the first case!

On the other hand, fruit comes in the world's best and safest packaging known - it's own skin. This skin is cut and served fresh or the juice pulped or the juice is removed in some cases even with the skin on. If stored in the open or in the sun, these fruits only riped, and if they go bad, the packaging tells you the story.

But out authorities, in their intelligence, will ban what is healthy and good for us, and openly encourage the sale of sheer disease in well-packaged bottles.

Governance should be spending time, effort and money on educating purveyors of cut fruits and fresh fruit juices on how to serve up safe and clean products to consumers looking for good health. Instead, they ban what is good for us, and promote the garbage in fancy bottles that ruins our health.

And then they build more hospitals with our taxes!

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Around the world in photos: Mar 23 - 29

Team TOI
30 March 2014, 04:24 PM IST

Every week, we bring you a roundup of the best photos from around the world. Let us know which is your favorite in the comments section and check again next week for new images.

Two dromedaries bask in the sun at Berlin's Tierpark zoo. (AFP PHOTO / JOHN MACDOUGALL)

Hands reach out to receive a bucket of water as vendors, police and firemen work together to put out a fire at La Terminal, the largest and most important market in Guatemala City. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Mushon, 45, a Sumatran Orangoutang plays with a piece of bamboo and a tin can in the Tel Aviv Ramt Gan Zoological Center near Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, file)

A woman poses in a installation created in a special 3D-technique during a press preview in the exhibition 'You Are The Art' ('Du bist die Kunst') by a Chinese artist group at Augustusburg castle, Germany. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men dance at a yeshiva, a rabbinical seminary, during Purim celebrations in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

A protester displays a placard during an ongoing demonstration against a trade agreement with China, in front of the Presidential Palace in Taipei. (AFP PHOTO / Mandy CHENG)

Phil Robathan (L) and James Preston (C) hold hands as a guest (R) reacts during their wedding ceremony in Brighton, southern England. Gay couples across England and Wales said 'I do' as a law legalising same-sex marriage came into effect at midnight, the final stage in a long fight for equality. (AFP PHOTO/LEON NEAL)

In this photo a flamingo braves the low temperatures at the zoo in Frankfurt, central Germany. (AP Photo/dpa, Boris Roessler, File)

A boy takes a bath along a pavement in Chennai. (REUTERS/Babu)

This photograph shows baby green turtles crawling to the sea after being hatched and released at a turtle sanctuary on Sukamade island in Banyuwangi regency, East Java province. Indonesia, at the crossroads of important migration routes next to the Pacific and Indian Oceans, is home to six out of seven of the world's turtle species. (AFP PHOTO / SONNY TUMBELAKA)

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Why anti-green agenda wins the day

This Lok Sabha election should have been fought on a green plank in Kerala. But both UDF and LDF are competing against each other to make it an anti-green campaign to ensure that they get the maximum number of seats.

Dr Kasturirangan is a reviled man in Kerala. So is Madhav Gadgil. Implementing Gadgil report or even the milder version, Kasturirangan report, would have been beneficial for the state's environment in the long run. Villages that are part of the Western Ghats in Kerala--123 of them-- need to be given special care. Without upsetting the lives of settler communities, conservation of environment is possible. But rabble-rousers---ranging from the Catholic church to communist parties, Congress to K M Mani—are against protecting the Ghats.

That only a few understands the implications of the Kasturirangan/Gagil report is clear. But is the anti-green agenda such a vote-catching issue? How many will be affected especially after Kasturirangan committee removed cash crop plantations such as rubber, agricultural fields and settlements from the eco-sensitive zone?  

Two parliamentary constituencies where the issue is highly emotive are Idukki and Wayanad. Vadakara and Kozhikode, too, have significant number of settler voters, who may use it as a handle at the polling booth. So what about the rest of Kerala?

It is important to note that the Catholic church, Congress and CPM have been competing among each other to incite settlers and farmers citing customary rights, nameless fears and lack of alternative employment if the green report is implemented.  

The green plank is not only about the Western Ghats. In an ironic twist, the Congress leadership does not see it fit to play the green card in Aranmula, where the party is all for an international airport instead of wetland. Sadly, opposition against Aranmula airport has been turned into a right wing attempt to preserve cultural and religious ethos and is supported unstintingly by CPM. Whether the poll agenda in Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency is green or anti-green is anybody's guess.  

In an age when green politics should have been the Left's natural agenda, CPM has gone for easy options. In its manifesto issued on Thursday, the party has paid lip service to green cause but junked Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports. CPM has promised a new expert committee to map the Western Ghats, an absurd tactic from a party that is not in a position to influence policy making at the Centre anytime soon and the gesture symbolises the pussyfooting that its secretary Prakash Karat is renowned for.

A wider green agenda for Kerala should include conservation of its rivers and farm land, desirability of new hydel power projects, responsible quarrying, tackling of industrial pollution and effective waste management. And what a travesty it is that the only green agenda the political class excited about is the solar one!

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Taking the low road

Santosh Desai
30 March 2014, 07:11 PM IST

In a report carried by this newspaper about the current health of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, we learnt that one of those that called to ask about his health regularly was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The act of calling on one's ailing predecessor might ordinarily be seen as nothing more than a simple act of courtesy, but in today's environment where politics has become an arena of hate enacted loudly, this too becomes a rare sign of grace, a harking back to an earlier time. 

It is natural to feel a little nostalgic given the tenor of the current election campaign. We have had name-calling of the worst kind from all sides as well as threats to dismember rival leaders. What makes this surprising is that this time around, the elections are almost certainly about a deep desire for change. The discontent runs deep, and is not limited to the quality of administration provided by the last regime- more fundamental questions about the meaning of democracy have been systematically raised in the last few years.

The two main faces of change in India are currently locked in a direct combat in Varanasi. Although Arvind Kejriwal is by no stretch of imagination a contender for the top job, he is very much the person around whom both hopes and fears about a new kind of politics rests. Over the course of the last couple of years, he has stirred urban India in a way not seen recently, and has asked questions of the system that hadn't been articulated so far. He speaks to the need for a radical cleaning up of the system, an idea that produces great resonance with a significant part of India. Narendra Modi comes from a very different side of the political spectrum, but his appeal too lies in the need felt for effective leadership that has a plan for the country. His promise has been dazzling for many, and the kind of passionate loyalty he evokes is unusual at a time when most politicians are surrounded by cynicism. A significant proportion of his support base support him without expecting any narrow returns in turn- they sincerely believe that he holds all the answers that the country needs today. 

Given the hope that surrounds both these new forces in Indian politics, it is striking that in their own way, both have chosen to take the low road when it comes to the setting the tone of their respective campaigns. Kejriwal's style has always been confrontational, and he understands the need to have an enemy to work  against. But even by his own yardstick, his national campaign has substituted invective for substance. His earlier attack on corruption and the complicity of the political establishment was equally strident in tone but at least it rang true and was of relevance to the electorate. His current diatribe against large business houses might be rooted in some truth, but it has been articulated crudely; besides it is simply not an issue of great interest to his constituency. In today's India, it is the politician who is the enemy, not the industrialist. Also, attempts to contrive outrage all the time compromises his fundamental premise, and makes it seem like an exercise in expediency. The AAP seeks to take the high ground, but does so in a manner that is increasingly not very high-minded. 

Narendra Modi's campaign is by all accounts doing very well. In part the aura of strength that he radiates needs him to be unsparing in his criticism of his rivals. But increasingly his speeches are taking on the appearance of bad advertising copy. The AK49 coinage was illustrative of the level at which his campaign is being pitched. To label Kejriwal a Pakistani agent is ridiculous enough and to do so on the basis of Prashant Bhushan's statement (which Kejriwal has publicly dissociated himself with more than once) and a map put up on the party website reeks of desperation that Modi has no business feeling. Criticism of this kind is dishonest; if the Modi campaign feels it necessary to attack Kejriwal on this front, someone other than Modi could have been put up to it. 

Worse, the desire to convert everything into populist sound bites is now reaching epidemic proportions. There are only so many slogans a voter can remember, and dreaming up 5 new 'coinages' in every speech has the danger making the speaker sound juvenile. Modi's success in connecting with a national audience is based in part on his ability to convert abstract policy issues into emotionally resonant promises, but there comes a point when the simple becomes the distressingly banal. 

In a larger sense, Modi's challenge is to start looking not just like a strong challenger but as someone who looks and feels like the leader of the entire country and not just of his own fan base. This means being able to cope with criticism, and being open to dissenting voices. This is no longer an optional virtue; it is increasingly a basic necessity, given the diversity of interests that need to be juggled at the national level. There is no question that the current honeymoon that he enjoys with the national media is not of a permanent nature. The Gujarat model of manufacturing silence 'by unanimous consent' is unlikely to work nationally. The instinct to deal with opposition by eliminating it, as he is doing within the BJP may be a useful one right now, but it is not a viable long term strategy. Modi has striven to evolve his style as his ambitions have changed; it is time now to evolve some more.

As things stand, India may get a strong leader and at least symbolically, one that offers radical cleansing, but there is no statesman anywhere on the horizon. Perhaps everything cannot change at the same time

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Make your vote count

Sanjeev Ahluwalia
29 March 2014, 05:18 PM IST

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, only 60% of the 714 million voters bothered to vote. We don't know how many, who did vote, were aware that the direct and indirect cost of each vote was at least around Rs 7500. Had voters been aware of the value of their vote, they might have given more thought to their vote. After all this is equal to the monthly salary of an aam admi.

This back-of-the-envelope valuation is based on the Rs 150 billion directly spent on the election plus 1% of the GDP over five years which is the conservatively assumed economic leeway available to a government. This means we assume that good governments can enhance GDP and bad governments can reduce GDP, by at least around 1% per year over five years.

This time around, more than ever before, we need to think before we vote. We cannot afford a rerun of the previous five years of lost opportunities and drift.

Unfortunately, bad news comes in triplicate. It seems our luck has run out.

Our new warships and submarines are sinking into the sea; our air-force falling out of the sky and our generals focusing on electoral politics.

Our government is so desperate for revenues that it will raise a tax demand retrospectively or inflate the demand unreasonably on hapless corporates and citizens, thereby enhancing regulatory uncertainty. The ongoing salary review of public officials (7th Pay Commission set up suspiciously close to the elections) will add to the existing fiscal burden of a fat and unaccountable public sector by at least 1% of GDP. More money for them means less money for us.

Pink slips in industry are on the rise. Spending on consumer durables is down. Housing stock lies unsold. The rupee see-saws between an artificial strengthening on the back of returning Indian hot money stashed abroad, partly to finance the estimated Rs 300 billion (US$ 5 billion) election expenses and the counter pull of a likely body blow as the US treasury reverses its easy money policy over the next six months. 

At home, elections and the prospects of a Khichdi Sarkar (coalition government) raise the specter of continued executive indecisiveness and policy paralysis.

With two weeks to go for the first votes to be cast, the prospects of a clear winner are dwindling. Modi, the long-time favorite, faces incredible odds with lukewarm support from the BJP/RSS brass and in the face of a growing coalition of political parties with a single objective: block Modi from winning. His meteoric rise within the BJP; his charisma; his flair for independent rather than "group think" and finally his executive effectiveness make him a perfect target for the crabs to pull him down…and they are pulling mighty hard. Of course, it does not help that Modi has been unable to dissipate the ghosts of Godhra and reach out to the Muslim voter. For all the smiles, Modi is running now on only a single leg and it is likely to show.

Meanwhile, the ray of hope for the aam admi, on which Kejriwal rode to power in Delhi, has dimmed. The mechanics of electoral politics has polluted the freshness of Kejriwal's appeal. Party infighting will mar his prospects. The speed with which his government started working in Delhi was breath taking. But like an inexperienced marathon runner, he spurted too early and lost speed in the first lap itself. His voluntary capitulation from governing Delhi has diluted his credibility and commitment to stay the course; deliver on his mandate and solve governance problems. Voters expect solutions for their every-day problems from a government, not more legislation and protests.

It is a sorry political spectacle out there. But are there things the politically aware voter can do to help pull India out of this morass? Yes there are.

First, in a parliamentary democracy like ours, please vote for a party not a particular candidate for MP. Nandan Nilikeni is a spectacularly good MP candidate and would make a great minister for IT but vote for him only if you want to return the Congress to power. You may find Modi iffy on inclusion and social conscience, but vote for the BJP if you think the party works best for you. Nitish performed well in a Bihar, systematically degraded by Lallu, but does he have a party to support him? In our system individual candidates matter less than the party. A lone, brilliant individual in the Lok Sabha cannot achieve substantive change.

Second, India is deeply concerned about the criminalization of politics. The Mumbai based, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)  is doing signal service by sharing information on the declared assets and pending criminal cases for each candidate in a KYN (know-your-neta) format. Many voters may find themselves faced with a conundrum if their favorite party has put up a candidate in their constituency with pending criminal cases. Apparently around 15% of candidates, in the first phase of polling, are in this category. What should one do? If you have personal knowledge of the crime the answer is self-evident. Shun such netas. If your favorite party makes a habit of fielding criminally disposed netas, you need to think again about your party affiliations.

But remember often pending criminal charges are not an adequate indicator of criminality. Conversely, a clean record does not confirm probity. Consider that lodging an First Information Report (FIR) can be extremely easy or horrendously difficult depending on who you are. Ditto for getting the police to investigate your FIR and lodge an appropriate charge sheet in court. Lastly, getting the court to frame charges and start proceedings can be an uphill battle for the poor and poorly connected, but easy for a more forceful litigant, especially if the accused is a marginalized person.

Third, please remember MPs are not responsible for cleaning drains. That is the job of your municipal corporator. Please do not vote on the basis of who built your neighborhood road best. MPs are meant to approve national policies and enact supporting legislation. Vote for the party whose track record in your state government, or in the national government, has served your interests best.

The national government actually has a fairly narrow role. Be aware of the limitations of the national government. Consider that if the national government was so critical for outcomes at the local level, there should not be that much difference in the growth and development indicators of different states. After nearly seven decades of independence, inequality across states has grown, not decreased. In our system, despite the hoopla, it is the state government which matters most for your well-being.

National policies are crucial for determining (1) the rate of economic growth; (2) the cost of loans; (3) the availability of banking services; (4) the price of food and basic commodities; (5) the availability of jobs; (6) the quality of inter-state infrastructure (highways, ports, airports, railways, electricity, petro products and irrigation); (7) national defence and (8) promotion of our trade and investment interests overseas.

National policy is also key for ensuring the integrity of India and the right of every Indian citizen to travel, migrate or live securely in any place in India and access public services at their choice of residence. Around 25% of Indians do not live in the place of their birth and there can be no better indicator of nation building than the choice to migrate within India.

Assess the record of your favorite party against this simple metric because this is all that the national government can reasonably do for you. The rest is all done by your state government, including implementing the rule of law, ensuring your personal security, protecting your property, educating your children, curing the sick, providing clean water and sanitation and developing markets, workplaces and habitats.

Make your vote count. Just think how much market research and soul searching you do before buying a microwave, planning your week-end or buying a present for your khas-am-khas friend. Your vote is at least as important.

Please don't waste your vote by not voting or by adopting the NOTA route. Life is a forced choice exam. Do well and make sure the ink doesn't run.

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Purab Kohli, Jal and Water

Abhijit Bhaduri
29 March 2014, 08:23 AM IST

The next war will not be for oil. It will be for water. 780 million people still lack access to clean drinking water. The world celebrated Water Day on 22 March to raise awareness about the crisis that is waiting to happen. Just 2.5% of the world's water is fresh water and 29% of it is underground. By 2025, there will be a billion more mouths to feed with a trillion cubic meters of water needed for agriculture alone. In the midst of this we see ads for buildings which boast of a swimming pool in each balcony, yes…

 

It is hard not to be preachy if you want to build awareness about water conservation. That is why the idea of a film based on a water-diviner Bakka played by Purab Kohli appealed to me. In the film Jal (releasing on 4^th April 2014), the audience is asked to make a choice. In a parched land, birds and humans compete for water, who has a greater claim? Why?

 

I asked Purab about his experience of playing the lead in Jal with Tannishtha Chatterjee and Kirti Kulhari. The film has some breathtaking visuals that have been shot over a month and a half in the Rann of Kutch and two weeks in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. It is always fascinating to know how much of themselves actors have to give up to become the character they are depicting.

 

Abhijit Bhaduri: How did you go about preparing for the character?

Purab Kohli: Two months before we started shooting, I spent a week knowing the locals and immeresed myself into their lives. I ate their food, slept in their homes, attended their weddings, went to their markets...etc. I spent 2 days in a forest with camel herders learning to ride a camel without a saddle. "Raja" was the lead camel of the herd and he dropped me twice before I could manage to ride him without toppling. Then I came back to Mumbai and started to construct the character. I grew my moustache and picked up the exact accent of the character by working with a local theater actor.

 

Abhijit Bhaduri: What has been easier for you - being a VJ or movies or modelling? How does each one challenge you? 

Purab Kohli: You can't really say which one is easier. They all come with their challenges. While hosting a TV show, the challenge lies in being comfortable in front of a camera. You have to treat it like a person, but one who does not speak to you. Modeling is not about you at all. It is all about the product your modeling for. It is about looking good and not putting too much thought into emoting, which is a challenge if you are used to acting. Acting in movies also requires an element of modelling and requires you to work with the director to create a unique character.That character becomes your medium to display emotions that are required by the character on screen.

Abhijit Bhaduri: What will be the most endearing element of Jal for the audience? Is it the visuals, the story or the characters?

Purab Kohli:  Girish Kohli (Director) has created very strong, memorable characters and used simple emotions to tell a story which takes the audience through an interesting journey. The visuals are breathtaking. "A Breathtakingly Photographed Tragedy of Shakespearean Proportions" is what The Hollywood Reporter quoted after seeing the film at the Busan International film festival. Why don't you see the film and tell me what you found the most interesting.

 

Abhijit Bhaduri: Now that the film is over, what do you wish would be differently done? 

Purab Kohli:  As an actor you always feel like doing it all over again when you see the final film. After the post production, you see the film with a brand new perspective. That's when you wish for an opportunity to do things differently and polish it one last time. But overall, as a film, I think 'Jal' works well.

 

-----------

Talkback: Do you think a film like Jal can build awareness about water conservation more effectively?

Leave your answer in the comments below.

 

Join me on Twitter @AbhijitBhaduri

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Judging people’s mood, a gamble Chandy cannot afford

John Cheeran
29 March 2014, 05:28 PM IST

Any adverse remark from a court of law during an election campaign has the potential to damage the prospects of those who are at the receiving end, considering the reverence that voters have for the legal system. The Kerala high court's scathing remarks against chief minister Oommen Chandy in a land grab case that allegedly involves his former office staffer and gunman is likely to put the CM on the back foot.

So far, the Lok Sabha election campaign in Kerala has been searching for an issue that could become a focal point. It is here now.

There was none, not even the row surrounding the implementation of Kasturirangan panel report had energized the campaign especially when both the leading political formations, LDF and UDF, are anti-Kasturirangan, thereby leaving no option for the voter on that issue.

The HC's observations that the office of the Kerala chief minister has been turned into a den of criminals should sting the UDF in this election. All the more so, when Chandy had upped the ante earlier by saying the elections would be a referendum on the performance of his government and he would be solely responsible for Congress's and UDF's show. That bold gambit may boomerang on him now.

For LDF, HC's remarks are a godsend. Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan has branded Chandy "shameless" and CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has called for the resignation of the chief minister.

What has stunned Chandy is not the HC verdict of handing over the Salim Raj land grab case to CBI. In fact, the CM can claim that the government had told the court that it was in favour of a CBI investigation.

But the court's remarks that "recent incidents have raised serious questions on the functioning of the chief minister's office for which the chief minister is answerable to the state" have put him clearly on the defensive. These have the potential to damage Chandy politically a great deal. That the CM had to sack Salim Raj and a few other aides from his office staff when struck by the Solar Scam lends weight to the court's remarks.

Simply put, on Friday, Chandy was blindsided. Elsewhere in India, Chandy would not have had much trouble brushing aside HC's remarks in a case where he has not 'committed' any offence. Not in Kerala. Chandy owes an explanation to the people other than saying his life is an open book, or else they would judge him harshly at the hustings. That would be a verdict without an appeal.

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Banking on Modi

Rajeev Deshpande
28 March 2014, 03:46 PM IST

There has been a flood of comment about BJP centering its campaign totally around Narendra Modi with rivals accusing the party of having little else to offer and analysts wondering whether a personality cult is replacing organisational goals.

The view in some quarters is that Modi's emergence signals a ruthless sidelining of other leaders and a subsuming of the party organisation with loyalty to an individual replacing belief in ideological values.

The sudden concern for inner-party democracy in BJP is interesting given that for years the party was criticised for being rudder-less with an unclear pecking order encouraging unrestrained factionalism.

What has happened is that BJP has found a leader. Whether this is for better or worse remains to be seen, though opinion polls indicate Modi has made a huge difference to a party that not long ago resembled the gang that could not shoot straight.

In fact, some of the turmoil in BJP, from veteran leader L K Advani's tantrum over his Lok Sabha seat to former foreign minister Jaswant Singh's revolt on being denied the Barmer seat, are a direct fallout of organisational decline due to lack of an authoritative central leadership.

In an imperfect world, BJP and RSS leaders have made the best available choice, weighing Modi's attributes as an orator and his development claims as chief minister. They have also responded to the sentiments of the BJP cadre.

It is not that BJP leaders backing Modi are unaware that the chief minister will be targeted for the Gujarat riots and the perception that he is an individualist. But they calculate he can best tap the UPA's incumbency.

As for the BJP organisation is concerned, it has been increasingly peopled by unelectable functionaries who represent factional compromises intended to protect the ruling dispensation's interests.

This has begun to change with BJP chief Rajnath Singh recognising that without enuring Modi's primacy, the party was likely to hurtle to a third straight defeat.

Modi's critics, including in-house ones,  insist that anti-incumbency, and not a Modi wave, is driving up BJP's stock. Though elections are never easy to predict, BJP may feel betting on Modi is a risk worth taking.

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Travel log: Dharamsala in winter

Alisa Schubert Yuasa
28 March 2014, 05:38 PM IST

The first thing I noticed stepping down from the bus on a foggy Friday morning was the smell. A refreshing mix of burning pinewood, mountain air, rain and something else indefinable, it made me gulp it into my lungs like a drowned man. The second thing I noticed was the lack of noise. The sound-absorbing fog, combined with the natural stillness of the place left my ears blissfully silent after Delhi's unrelenting buzz. The third thing I noticed was the numbing cold, seeping into my fingers and toes due to my unprepared attire.

2,082 metres above sea level, McLeodGanj is a backpacker's paradise, retaining a sense of rustic authenticity despite being a tourist hub. Only about a kilometer walk in any direction, McLeodGanj – with a population of about 10,000, including his Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama – is a jumbled mix of shops, restaurants, hotels and cafes strewn along steep winding alleyways. During winter there is a distinct lull in tourist traffic. If you can brave the cold – which can go down to 4 degrees Celcius in February, it is well worth traveling there during winter. The whole town is subdued, the inhabitants quietly going about their business in the (frequent) rain and snow.

The real jewel of McLeodGanj is just outside the small town. Walk north of the village along Dharamkot road and you will soon find yourself along a 4km hiking trail towards Dharamkot village, and past that to Naddi village, which boasts a stunning view of Dhauladhar range. What I enjoyed most was getting lost, meandering through the small farms that clung to the mountainside and taking any path that caught my fancy. The locals were wonderfully helpful and friendly, so finding my way back was easy.

Do not miss going to Bhagsu waterfall, by foot if you have the time. A pleasant 3km walk from McLeodGanj, the final strenuous uphill hike is well worth it. In winter the waterfall – Tibetan prayer flags hanging overhead – pours into freezing crystalline waters that flow down the steep valley. Covered with snow, the sight is breathtaking. By the time I reached the top, wet and cold, friendly locals at the top had chai and a hot fire to sit next to. The few Indian tourists who braved the slippery hike up threw snow at each other like children and made snowmen. "February can have snow, but it's a bit late in the year", assured one of the locals. I was glad that I was able to see it. During summer adventurous tourists and locals swim in the freezing pools. I assure you it is a refreshing, yet numbing, experience.

In order to get to Norbulingka Institute, which is somewhere you should not miss, you must first brave a 10-kilometer trip down in the snow and ice to Lower Dharamsala. From McLeodGanj I took a small taxi, and because I caught it halfway when there were already passengers I only had to pay 20 rupees instead of the normal 180. The trip down was frankly terrifying, with the snow and the sheer precipice just a meter away. I survived the trip, thankfully, and caught a local bus from Lower Dharamsala heading towards Palanpur. To Norbulingka it cost 7 rupees. From there it was a 20-minute walk through farms and small shops.

The Institute is an unassuming place along the street, but it was immediately identifiable by the beautiful façade at the front gate. If you ask you can get a free tour. A friendly Tibetan exile walked me through rooms where artists worked on Tangka paintings, sculptures, wood and metal work. The workrooms, temple, and garden all gave a sense of tranquility. There were barely any tourists, and I could linger in the workshops without feeling like I caused a disturbance.

Dharamsala in winter is an experience quite distinct from summer months. The lack of heavy tourism and the chill, snowy environment gives it a romantic sense of quiet seclusion. If you walk a little outside McLeodGanj you are quickly surrounded by a sense of being the only person there, which for someone who comes from New Delhi's hustle and bustle is a welcome change.

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How to save IPL & T20 cricket

Amit Karmarkar
28 March 2014, 06:41 PM IST

Let me confess that I'm not a fan of T20 cricket. I entirely agree with Michael Holding that it's not cricket.

The basic problem is that it's not a contest between the bat and ball; it's a marriage between hungry TV audiences and TV channels, ambitious administrators; "outwardly charitable" franchise owners and cricketers who are always in some financial and opportune 'plight'. Of course, with some exceptions.

Any sporting contest becomes fair and refined when two rivals are equally interested and fearful of something. e.g. A batsman afraid of losing his wicket; and a bowler afraid to give momentum to the batting team; a batsman wanting to keep the scoreboard ticking and a bowler wanting to take a wicket. Or a batsman looking for boundaries and a bowler highly motivated to bowl a 'dot' ball. But such things hardly happen in T20 cricket because it's too batsmen-friendly; and batting team friendly.

Of course, my have got crystalised after reading these two fascinating articles from Kartikeya Date.

Links here:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/blogs/content/story/730319.html

http://cricketingview.blogspot.in/

Being a shorter contest than desired, having wickets in hand is a huge advantage in T20; and the last three-four overs are far more important then first 16. This phase is quite ridiculous. You consistently get wickets in this phase despite not bowling well; and you consistently score runs with a huge slice of luck accruing from field restrictions, inside edges, wickets in hand etc in this phase. So, these last three-four overs become equivalent of golden goal in football without playing the full 90 minutes; or a penalty shootout after unequal and far fewer than 45 minutes on either side. Or the equivalent of playing tie-break in tennis at 2-4 (you read it right) instead of 6-6.

Batsmen can throw their bats around and get 30-35 runs in the last three overs with luck on their side and thereby win the contest (It's like giving you a set 7-6 if you serve four aces while serving at 2-4). Similarly a bowler can end up taking wicket in this phase without intending to do so. 

In other words, the good performances in T20 cricket, nay largely lottery, are largely measured by its success and not effort or process behind the execution of a skill-set. A good outswinger is not necessarily a good ball here; a good attempted yorker may end up with edged four and will turn the contest decisively in batting team's favour. A bowler can't even set the batsman up because he bowls one-over spells!!

In the current form, T20 cricket is nothing short of gambling and not surprisingly, leads to gambling.

But hey, I'm not going to complain excessively about T20. For, it needs to survive to win a 'real' audience (those who throng the grounds despite fixing scandal are 'no audience'. They are tamasha seekers). Cricket should be more interested in the 'existing' refined audience. That means those guys who can't watch the match these days largely because it's too long. We need to give purer cricketing entertainment to these real fans. And not bother much about 'tamasha' fans. To those who want to see fours and sixes, WWF is a good choice.

Now, to the real part. How to change T20 and make it a real contest between the bat and ball?

Like batsmen's swing, here are some wild suggestions.

Six wickets all out: Going by the reduced number of overs vis-a-vis 50-over game, four wickets should be all out. But that would be too farcical. Six wickets could be just right. Any seven of the playing XI can bat. It will ensure that batsmen will put a price on their wicket (the threat of all out will be there even if you have lost just one or two wickets by the 13th over). And since four players per team won't be allowed to bat, the team will have to think hard about the role of bits and pieces players. For, you may not need to pick a bowler because he bats a bit.

Bowling restrictions: No restriction on the number of overs per bowler. But a minimum four bowlers should be used in a completed innings. So,the distribution of overs among bowlers could well be 9-9-1-1 or 10-8-1-1. It will ensure that we will get to see quality bowlers operating. And since six wickets is all out and there are no field restrictions, unskilled batsmen cannot hit such bowlers out of the attack. It means bowlers will have chance to set the batsman up. Clap for a real contest.

Field restrictions: Not much. As applicable in Test cricket. Principle: runs and fours have to be earned; not begged for in the guise of entertainment.

Incentive during the first innings: If a bowling team gets three wickets in space of 12 balls, they can ban one opposing bowler when they come out to chase! (So,if MI take three RCB wickets in 12 balls, they can say one of Rampaul, Starc and Albie Morkel cannot bowl!) And, if a batting team scores more than 16 runs in a sequence of six balls, they can ban a batsman while defending a total (So, if MI score 16 runs in an over against RCB, they can ban Chris Gayle during the RCB chase! In that case, a substitute batsman among those four non-batters can be allowed to bat). Please don't argue.... it's an entertaining thought. An effective batting sequence can take out an opposing batsman of your choice; and an effective bowling sequence gives you a right to take out an opposing bowler of your choice. 

Match intention with execution: There should be two such overs per innings. A bowlers goes at the top of his run-up after setting up his field. He tells a match ref, TV audience and the batsman what he is going to bowl through a wireless device. The batsman will tell the ref, bowler and the audience what he is going to do to that particular ball after listening to the bowler's plan. Of course, scoring will be complicated to decide upon. But the intention is to reward intentional excellence in those pre-determied two overs of the innings. Intentional excellence is horribly lower in cricket as compared to other quality sports despite cricket. Yes, that makes cricket closer to life: you try to do something; but end up doing something else. (But that will be applicable for 18 overs anyway). Despite being a linear sport; and not positionally flowing one with other bodies obstructing you like in football, cricketers get too frequent rewards for edged runs, unintentional movement of the ball and so on. Two high-fidelity overs in 20 will be a nice, short beginning to introduce this facet. And it will be thrilling for TV too because they will hear batsman and bowler's intention before the ball is delivered.

These are just ideas and principles to make T20 a skill-oriented fair contest between the bat and ball, far far away from tamasha, gambling, lottery... you decide the name.

Of course, these ideas can be polished further keeping the same principle in tact.But that's the only way to turn gambling into calculated skill-show of real cricket with just rewards for good performances and not too harsh a punishment for bowlers (boundaries due to excessive number of wickets in hand and other circumstances) and high rewards to bowlers (free wickets when a batsman is forced to try out something over-adventurous having wickets in hand) for average performance.

Anything logical for a three-and-a-half hours package (the basic intention behing the T20 game) should be tried out!

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Copper Crochet: Ruth Asawa

Uma Nair
27 March 2014, 03:52 PM IST

Christie's offers a Best of Best exhibition in Hong Kong that promises to showcase sterling quality works of art from the Asian fold and Ruth Asawa is a phenomenal discovery. Asawa transformed inert materials into dynamic physical constructs, co-opting paper, wire, clay, concrete, fiber, steel, and bronze to express her extraordinary vision. Her graceful biomorphic forms engage in a play with light creating shadow configurations which extend the range of each work from sculpture to environment or installation. Her sculptures and her career trajectory have been compared with those of Lee Bontecou and her artistic influence continues to be seen today in this selection of works from the early 50s and 60s.To look at an Asawa creation is to look at the melding of art and aesthetics-a finer feeling for what the delicate nuances of detail can bring to the trained eye.

Asawa was born in 1926 in Norwalk, California, and lives in San Francisco. Following her internment in Arkansas during WWII Asawa attended Black Mountain College where she studied with Josef Albers and Buckminster Fuller from 1946-49. As well as being a practicing artist, Asawa was instrumental in developing art education in San Francisco. Her work is included in important private and public collections nationally and in 2006 received recognition in the form of a major retrospective at San Francisco's de Young Museum (which traveled to the Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, California).

For the past forty years, Ruth Asawa has pushed paper, wire, clay, concrete, fiber, steel, and bronze into forms that not only taught her about the different medium, but also honed her skills in the art-making process.

Obviously she hungered for something distinctive and different- ordinary paint and paper failed to exactly express her vision, so she brought in "material" reinforcements, changed core elements, or moved the work into a different dimension all together. This willingness to utilize unusual media and experiment with insights of a process led Asawa to surprising places. In one example what started on a sheet of paper as a two dimensional drawing of organic plant patterns became a three-dimensional wall sculpture of tied and crocheted wire. Transformation - changing inert materials into dynamic physical forms—became a signature of Asawa's unique vision.

Ruth Asawa's wire sculptures transform inert materials into dynamic physical constructs, co-opting paper, wire, clay, concrete, fiber, steel, and bronze to express her extraordinary vision. For over forty years, she pushed her materials in directions that challenged not only their physical attributes but also their traditional dimensional placement on pedestal, wall, and floor - ultimately hanging or suspending the works to activate the spaces surrounding them. Her graceful biomorphic forms engage in a play with light creating shadow configurations which extend the range of each work from sculpture to environment or installation.

 

 

Asawa considered these sculptures three-dimensional drawings. Instead of the lines moving across the paper, the lines move through three-dimensional space. "I was interested in it because of the economy of a line, making something in space, enclosing it without blocking it out. It's still transparent. I realized that if I was going to make these forms, which interlock and interweave, it can only be done with a line because a line can go anywhere." If you could see these sculptures in person, you could view them at different angles and observe how they continuously change depending on your viewing angle. 

Asawa learned the basic technique for making these sculptures in Toluca, Mexico in 1947. The Mexican villagers used a crocheting technique to make egg baskets from galvanized wire. The outside form of these sculptures comes from patterns that she drew as a young child on the farm. "We had a leveller," she explained. "It was pulled by four horses. Any bump in the rows made it impossible to irrigate. The rows had to be even so every plant got watered. I used to sit on the back of the leveller with my bare feet drawing forms in the sand, which later in life became the sculptural forms that make up the bulk of my sculptures." As the leveller advanced, Asawa swung her feet out and brought them closer together, so that the two lines in the sand diverged and converged and diverged again. The basic shape she drew in the earth can be seen in the hourglass form of her crocheted wire sculptures. And the two works at Christies are bound to turn heads and invite contemplation.

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Have we lost the vocab of hope?

Pritish Nandy
27 March 2014, 01:04 PM IST

Every election has its own vocabulary. Words that are carefully chosen to reflect the hopes, dreams and aspirations of those going out to vote. Politics taps into that vocabulary and creates memorable slogans for change and transformation. Few of those promises are ever fulfilled.

But the vocabulary remains, a reminder of what we could have been if only politicians kept their word. History is a series of such missed opportunities that we lament in retrospect. They remain as keepsakes to inspire us long after the elections have come and gone, as dreams we had once dreamt and then cast aside in the hurly burly of everyday politics.

The weirdest promises are made at election time. The most bizarre abuses are coined then. The most pompous claims are made. The biggest and most shameless lies are told. Curiously, we are expected to believe them. If we cannot trust our politicians in normal times, how are we expected to believe them at election time when, we all know, truth's the biggest casualty?

Yet we pretend to do so because every election is a time to reassess our achievements, reaffirm our goals as a nation. What we want to be. What we want to be remembered by history as. What we eventually achieve is not evaluated. The mark sheet of history is signed by the future. We are only judged by our power to dream for that eventually defines what we want to be.

The funny thing is it's not truth the electorate is looking for. Long before the dates are announced, people make up their minds who they want to vote for or, rather, against. I would like to believe 90% votes in India are cast against a party or a person, not for anyone. So, those who spend a fortune on campaigning are wasting their time and money. It's simpler, quicker and smarter to just pick on the frailties of your opponent and go for it. Even the editorial coverage will come free.

The job is easier because people are ready to believe the worst of our politicians. Long before a DNA test proved Rohit Shekhar was ND Tewari's son, India knew it. Months before the world media broke the Agusta Westland chopper story, India knew that all such defence deals have a dark, sleazy underbelly of corruption and crime. In fact, we even know who the arms dealers are, who they share their bribes with.  

Long before media broke the story that corporate India was backing Modi, everyone knew the Congress was in the doghouse. Individual candidates may still get some funding from old patrons but that's more out of compassion than the desire to see them back in power. Big business houses may still pretend to donate to everyone. But we all know exactly who each one is backing, and why.

The people who vote know everything. They are cunning, perceptive, incorruptible. Even when they take money or booze or free saris and TV sets, they go and vote as they want. Their mind is made up long before. Spend billions if you want. It won't make the slightest impact. It will get you some publicity, true and you can bask in its warm sunshine for a while. But the outcome will be the same. 

As far as vocabulary goes, this election till now has been awfully dull. It's being fought from the trenches, we are told. But not a single exciting idea of India has emerged from it, not a single evocative phrase has been coined that will be remembered. There were more verbal aerobics in earlier elections even though there were no hashtags then. No likes either.

I guess the nature of electioneering has changed. I hear some very clever communication experts from all over the world have arrived to bring American-style campaigning into play. Ticketed dinners are happening. Movie stars have not only promised to join the campaign; they have actually joined the fray. Social media is no longer a hidden persuader. It's out in the open. And so is the wooing of the business frat, till now a heresy in our socialist politics.

Even parties like AAP are saying they are not against capitalism; they are fighting crony capitalism. That's a clear shift. And the BJP, leading by a mile in all opinion polls, has promised that in their regime the right will have the right to be heard. Only the Congress is still trapped in Jurassic Park, hoping its lack of words will be more than compensated by their skills in post election deal making.

Interestingly, the official Scrabble Dictionary updates this year after a decade. Fans are fighting over which new word will enter. Selfie and and hashtag are running neck to neck while Miley Cyrus has made the twerk impossible to ignore. But the amazing evolution of language has bypassed the world's biggest election. Calling someone a shehzade or staking a claim to aam aadmi is just too banal. As for Snoopgate, it has long lost its sting.

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Has individualism gone too far?

Mrutyuanjai Mishra
27 March 2014, 03:27 PM IST

Demographically speaking, European countries are literally heading for disaster. The number of children born is decreasing year after year. Southern European countries can hardly reproduce themselves, and if it was not for the immigrants, the numbers would dwindle even further. I am thinking of countries like, Italy, Spain, Greece, etc, which are torn by the economic crisis, and where young people are more concerned about getting a livelihood rather than starting a family.

Education comes first, then work, and if all things go well, family will be the next choice.

Let us take the concrete example of Denmark. According to the Global Peace Index Denmark topped the list of the most peaceful countries in the world. Yet, in spite of the serene conditions, with the possibility to let your children sleep outside the home in prams, the willingness to get children has drastically decreased.

2013 turned out to be the year when the least number of children were born in the last 27 years. Politicians are getting worked up in Denmark, and making proposals for raising the fertility rates. Indian politicians do not have to reel under the pressure to make this an issue in election 2014.

Take another fact into account. All parents in Denmark have the right to receive money from the state, irrespective of their income, an amount that equals 10,000 rupees a month, for straight 18 years for each child. Yet, in spite of these economic incentives it is extremely difficult to get young people to prioritize the family.

Who is to blame? Why are the most generous societies on earth not able to reproduce themselves? Europe is turning grey. People are living longer, having fewer children and blaming the Indians and other Asians for over reproducing.

When I lecture, people often ask me when India will introduce the one-child policy like China. And I counter question, how they are going to survive in a few years when the burden of old people keeps increasing. In the near future the number of people in the age group 50 to 65 will be historically high compared to those in the age group 20- 49.

Well, I guess the bottom line is that societies in Scandinavia have become secularized, and even, what is more mind-boggling, that compared to India, these societies are extremely individualized. While waiting at a railway station, I fell into conversation with an old Danish man. He told me that the number of individuals who are singles has reached record high figures. Sweden and Denmark top in the number of people who prefer to live alone. It is all about being individuals and not having to make compromise. Try that in a suburban train, or anywhere in Mumbai. Where will we get apartments for those exploding numbers of singles?

And then, if I may ask this embarrassing question:  Isn´t living as singles, not wanting to marry, protracting one's teenage lifestyle until one turns half a century, a contributing factor to the low number of child births registered? Will the Scandinavian societies dare to ask this question, whether there probably is a virtue in being together, in forming families, in sharing thoughts, apartments, sorrows and joys that come along? 

Economic incentives alone would not work. And the anti-immigration party is extremely worried that immigrants actually come here to get money by making a lot of babies. So they want to give the money for child support only to those who have a Danish passport.

The European countries in general and the Scandinavian countries in particular have been extremely lucky to have enjoyed consistent economic growth, stability and prosperity. All this can be a matter of the past if two things do not change. One is that more babies are born, who will eventually share the burdens in society, and secondly, that they encourage the integration of immigrants, who eventually take up the work that their own citizens do not want to do.

Believe it or not, India´s surplus has become Denmark's deficit.

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The commercialization of religion

Alisa Schubert Yuasa
25 March 2014, 08:24 PM IST

It has been 14 years since I was last in Pushkar, back in 2000 and still a child. For 5 weeks my family stayed in the small town. I remember skipping along the ghats, meeting fellow travelers, and admiring the women in brightly coloured saris that bathed and cast reflections in the rippled water. For more than a decade my happy childhood memories of Pushkar has subtly changed my image of the town into a romanticized ideal. I craved to go back.

Due to this, it should come as no surprise that I was ecstatic to return to Pushkar. I reached the hotel late at night and the next morning I was running to the water's edge, too giddy to walk. With baited breath I arrived at the ghat, already trying to connect my scattered memories to my surroundings. Had I stepped down these exact steps? Danced on this ghat? Was that the place where I remember feeding the pigeons? However, my thoughts were interrupted by a man thrusting a few flower petals in my hand, followed immediately after by another man who introduced himself as a Brahmin.

He asked me to follow him to the waters edge, squat down, and then immediately jumped into reciting a puja. Suddenly I remembered being warned about the Brahmins in Pushkar and how they push for money and, upset, I stopped him mid-sentence and explained that I did not want to perform the puja. To which he replied, "If you do not perform this puja and give a donation, it is extremely disrespectful to the gods". As I saw it, he had first taken away my choice by not explaining what he was doing, and second he had resorted to emotional blackmail by telling me that I was being disrespectful to his culture by not paying him. I walked away from him.

I pushed away two other Brahmins before a fourth forcibly grabbed my arm and dragged me to the water's edge, already loudly reciting the puja and refusing to listen to my protests. Supremely uncomfortable and upset for being pushed into the situation against my will but at the same time unwilling to be actively rude to a Brahmin, I suffered through the puja and paid a 100 rupees before walking away. The man was furious and yelled something rude in Hindi, for he had demanded at least 500 rupees.

It got under my skin. It disgusted me, to see how religion was being commercialized in Pushkar. As many people have told me, Hinduism is not meant to be so forceful and obnoxious. Yet for tourists only visiting for a brief period of time that is the image they receive. The girl from Holland who traveled with me was made to pay 1,600 rupees, which the Brahmin shoved unceremoniously into his pocket. A few tourists I met admitted they paid 6,000 rupees. The man had aggressively stood an inch from their faces and pressured them until they felt threatened enough to pay the sum he demanded. All of the people I talked to agree that the pressure from the Brahmins to donate was not only uncomfortable but ruined the stunning experience of being in Pushkar. It is a business to them, pure and simple. 

I feel that the actions of these holy men does not only tarnish what Hinduism represents; commercializing the religion and exploiting it for money cheapens it. What kind of image will tourists take home with them after being in Pushkar and being exploited by the Brahmins there? It sickens me to think that visitors who have not spent much time in India will only have this one image of Hinduism. They will not leave the country having experienced the countless beautiful and intricate facets of Hinduism. They will leave with stories of being robbed of money in the name of religion.

I, however, left with a better impression than most. After receiving the string tied around my wrist that showed that I had performed the puja, I sat by the water's edge, unmolested. Two saried Indian women sat next to me and performed a puja of their own. They placed flowers and offerings into the water and chanted a prayer. After they finished one woman then turned to me and, smiling, asked in broken English if I wanted a tikka on my forehead. I accepted and thanked her, and left the ghat feeling much happier and content.

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The quest challenging British chefs to get a zest for Asian food

Zoe Perrett
25 March 2014, 08:06 PM IST

With the popularity of primetime programming like 'Masterchef', 'The Taste', and the 'Great British Bake Off' on British television, you'd not think there was a shortage of willing culinary talent waiting in the wings;  sharpening their skills along with their knives. And, in fact, that might well be the case where fine French food or baking cakes is concerned.

When it comes to Asian cuisine, though, the constellation of emerging stars is substantially smaller. The British youth might be out and about merrily munching complex Indian curries and scoffing sizzling Sichuan specialities, but too few are attempting to unlock the secrets and master the skills of myriad Asian cuisines for themselves.

Certainly on a professional level.  It's one thing to try something new for a Saturday supper with friends, or share an attempt to recreate a recipe from a celebrity chef's cookbook on social media; quite another to consider a career in the Asian restaurant industry as a perfectly possible prospect – particularly if the cuisine you'd choose to pursue is not part of your personal heritage.

That stigma may be somewhat silly, but the fact remains that it's all too easy to shatter the fragile ego of a fledgling culinary talent with a disparaging remark from a discerning diner. An aspiring chef's worry that their efforts will be disdainfully dismissed simply because they haven't been raised from birth on the cuisine they're cooking can prove a destructive deterrent.

Then there's the fact that Britain recognises its Asian establishments far more rarely - and with rather less fanfare - than their European counterparts. Michelin stars are by no means out of reach, as evidenced by Indian venues including Quilon, Rasoi and Amaya. But, if a young chef is in it for the accolade, the Asian restaurant sector isn't necessarily the quickest route to recognition.

Add to all that the political policies on immigrant workers and the fact that many young Asians are leaving family-run food businesses, and  it's little wonder there's a shortfall of skilled chefs in the sector. For all these reasons, it's especially necessary that initiatives like the just-launched 'Zest Quest Asia' exist to excite and entice cooks of all backgrounds into Britain's industry.

Formerly known as the 'Asian Junior Chefs Challenge', 'Zest Quest Asia' is a very healthy competition indeed – one which fosters and nurtures emerging talent in order to ensure the Asian restaurant industry remains in rude health for the future. Together, the Master Chefs of Great Britain and chef Cyrus Todiwala have thrown down the gauntlet, asking entrants to create something great.

The contest is open to chefs from culinary colleges countrywide irrespective of background - and, interestingly, age. With the economy seeming to be endlessly ailing, many established professionals are seeking an entirely new profession, and entering this culinary competition could provide both a brand new prospect and a solid opportunity to change one's career course.

'Zest Quest Asia' certainly involves Indian food, but is in no means restricted to specialities of the subcontinent. Teams will be required to mastermind a multi-course meal which could also come from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, or the Philippines. Along with a splendid supper, judges also expect each student to serve up a hearty helping of Asian food knowledge.

It's little surprise that Cyrus Todiwala is this cause's key champion. The chef has long been committed to improving the reputation of Indian and Asian food in the UK; leading by example with his own restaurants; working with students at Westminster Kingsway College; even setting up the much-mourned Asian & Oriental School of Catering in East London.

The top prize of a culinary tour of Asia is undoubtedly alluring, but it's the invaluable accolade afforded to the 'Zest Quest Asia' champion that makes the challenge really appealing. Long after the trip is over, the winner will be left with a legacy that's far more enduring. With this culinary contest, the very best benefit is the helping hand in getting a foot in the door that leads to a bright future.

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Amoral India

Jug Suraiya
25 March 2014, 10:30 PM IST

Hats off to Kiran Bedi. She's openly said what a lot of people in the country might be thinking right now but can't bring themselves to be upfront enough to put into so many words.

Speaking to Times Now, the former police officer, who has made public her support for Narendra Modi as prime minister, said with reference to the BJP taking 'tainted' poll candidates into its fold: "Let's compromise on corruption for a stable India." This is refreshing – and surprising – candour from a luminary who was not long ago at the forefront of the anti-corruption movement launched by Anna Hazare and his then chela, Arvind Kejriwal.

Kiran Bedi's U-turn on the issue of corruption – which in effect says that if stability of governance is to come at the cost of moral compromise, so be it – is a rare and honest response to India's ingrained culture of bribery and graft. Corruption has become endemic to the country, as has the hypocrisy that accompanies it. All of us – from netas to common citizens – publicly denounce corruption as the greatest besetting sin of our body politic, but privately we accept it as being part and parcel of our daily lives, almost as indispensable as the air we breathe and the food we eat.

After five years of UPA-II – a tenure which witnessed rampant corruption matched with not just policy paralysis but policy retrogression in matters like taxation with retrospective effect which scared off potential investors, both foreign and domestic – the country is in desperate need of not just political stability but also political efficacy. India wants not just a government that works, but also a government that will allow the innate spirit of Indian enterprise to work for itself as well.

This is widely felt to be not just a desirable end, but the only end that matters. And the means of attaining that end – as borne out by Kiran Bedi's statement, which a lot of her fellow citizens will endorse, if not explicitly then at least implicitly – don't matter very much at all.

If morality is an obstacle to our achieving the necessary objective of having a stable, workable government then let's dispense with morality, or at least dispense with the pretence that this commodity is capable of existing in our public life. The pre-poll political merry-go-round of which we have a ringside view, whereby candidates and would-be candidates switch from one party to another, shows that there is no longer any politics of ideology – if ever there was such a creature – but only the politics of expediency.

The newly-formed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accuses the two mainstream parties – the Congress and BJP – of being indistinguishable from each other, like Tweedledum and Tweedledee, in that they both turn a blind eye to corruption.

A valid point. But how incorruptible is AAP iself? Arvind Kejriwal and his party members might well be free of the taint of bribery and graft. But to paraphrase an old saying, power corrupts and even a little power can corrupt little by little. AAP's response – or lack of it – to its law minister's midnight raid on African women in Delhi and Kejriwal's threat to 'lock up' media reveals that the teflon party is not immune to the corrosive effect of corruption through power.

If everyone is more or less corrupt, corruption becomes a non-issue, as Bedi has pointed out. What's important is 'good' — read 'effective' — governance.

The total morality of Mohandas Gandhi's 'Ram raj' yields to the total amorality of what might be called today's  'haram raj'.

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The curious case of Jaswant Singh

Rajeev Deshpande
24 March 2014, 06:18 PM IST

In 2009, BJP senior Jaswant Singh got chucked out of the party for his book containing sympathetic references to Muslim League founder M A Jinnah and for arguing that Sardar Patel went along with Jawaharlal Nehru on Partition.

At the time, the decision — and the manner of its execution — came across as excessive and lacking grace, a verdict shaped by strident voices demanding Singh's excommunication for the crime of heresy.

In 2014, Singh is on the verge of expulsion again, ending a brief reunion brought about by BJP veteran L K Advani intervening in his favour. This time, a parting of ways may well be permanent.

On the face of it, Jaswant Singh's case shows BJP in bad light. After all, he has been at the core of BJP's decision-making, close to Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and a leading light of the 1999-2004 NDA government.

If Jaswant Singh had got the Barmer ticket, he may even have won given a pro-BJP mood in the state. Denied his wish to contest his last election at home, he denounced the BJP leadership as duplicitous.  

But the issue is not about a 76-year-old's desire to fight his last election at home, but Singh's refusal to recognise how his demands might be a complete imposition on the BJP.

For one, reports suggest that he had become rather unpopular in Darjeeling, the seat he holds and did not want to re-contest. 

Then, chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who has emerged as the dominant voice in BJP's Rajasthan affairs, felt Jat leader Sona Ram, a recent import from Congress, is a better choice.

The BJP leadership went with Raje's calculations that a Jat candidate suits the party's political calculus. Sona Ram is also tough on rhetoric, an attribute seen as useful in the border area.

In rebelling, Jaswant Singh might have hurt son Manvendra's prospects too. Despite Singh's past differences with Raje, she had batted for Manvendra's MLA ticket at the cost of an RSS-backed claimant.

Everyone is entitled to holding a high opinion of himself. But if the gap between reality and self-image to too large, it leads to a tragic realization that one may not be indispensable after all.

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Apple Almond Muesli Verrines

Deeba Rajpal
24 March 2014, 05:23 PM IST

Apple Almond Muesli Verrines

Desserts served in glasses are always fun. They look pretty, can be made ahead and serve individual portions.This layered apple dessert is fun to set up. It's also quick to put together. Apples, almonds, muesli and cinnamon make it a healthy option too. Use a mixture of 1/2 quark 1/2 cream if you want an even healthier option, or go for a vanilla Greek yogurt instead! For an interesting flavour kick, consider adding some Calvados, an apple brandy, to the apple after preparation.

 Serves 6
Ingredients Toasted honey muesli 100g muesli 15g unsalted butter 15g honey 25g roasted almonds, chopped Apple layer 4 apples 25g unsalted butter 45g brown sugar 1 tsp cinnamon powder Cinnamon Cream 200ml low fat cream, chilled 20g powdered sugar ½ tsp cinnamon powder ½ tsp vanilla bean powder Method Toasted honey muesli Place butter and honey in a large heavy bottom pan {you can use the same pan for apples after the muesli is done}. Add the muesli and almonds, stir well to coat. Roast for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove to a metal plate and allow to cool completely.  Gently break up with your i. {This can be made 3-4 days ahead and stored in an airtight jar} Apple Layer While the muesli is cooling, make the apple layer. In the same pan, add the butter, sugar and cinnamon powder. Heat gently on simmer to allow it to come together. Stir in the apples to coat well, simmer for about 5 minutes until slightly soft {but not overcooked mushy}. Take off heat and allow to cool completely. Chill for about 30 minutes. {These can be made a day or two ahead}. Cinnamon Cream Place all ingredients in large bowl and whip to soft-medium peaks. Taste and adjust sweetness if required. I like the cream mildly sweet. Assembling the verrines Take 6 serving glasses. Put a heaped tbsp of the apple mixture at the base of each glass. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp of muesli, followed by about 1 ½ tbsp of cinnamon cream. Repeat layers. Sprinkle the remaining muesli over the tops. Chill until ready to serve. Note: If apples are not in season, use fresh berries like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries ... or a combination of all three. Skip the cinnamon if you are using fresh berries.

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MH 370 - More questions than answers

Sharmila Ravinder
24 March 2014, 07:29 PM IST

The MH370 mystery is probably the most baffling one to solve in aviation history. With more than 26 countries going around in circles to determine the fate of the 777 jet, it has opened more possibilities, theories, wild guesses than ringing in any form of conclusions. Every day there is a new tangent in which the case seems to be diverting itself into. The expanse of the possibility theory is as much as the search area in the deep Indian Ocean that the Chinese, the Australian and the French teams are scouring. They are trying to find a needle in an Ocean. The latest twist to the MH 370 saga has been an unidentified call from a mystery woman made to the Captain of MH 370 using a sim purchased with a fake address. The sightings in the dark and dire swirling waters have not led to anything concrete. Our hearts go out to the passengers, the crew, their families and friends even as wild theories of hijack and suicide float in an ocean of mystery.

 But, there are so many questions that remain unanswered in trying to solve this aviation riddle of gargantuan proportions. First of, in today's digital day and age is it possible for a 777 200 ER with a wing span of almost 200 feet and 209 feet in length vanish without a trace? Yes. MH 370 has proven exactly this. What is more perplexing is the conflicting news that came in the first few days after its disappearance about its supposed route after last contact, thereby resulting in search teams scouring what is now deemed to be the 'wrong' sea. The South China Sea in this instance. Second, there is an indication that the transponders have been purposely switched off. This naturally raises another question, why should there even be a provision to switch off these transponders and the ACARS manually? After all, is it not these very systems that would be the most vital link between the plane and land in case of things going dastardly out of whack aboard the plane? Why would one make it even manually possible to turn it off? History proves it the only reliable link given that the satellite pings received several hours after take off have been rather inscrutable in determining the plane's exact position at the time of the last ping. Third, assuming that a non-crew member hijacked the plane, how did this person get access to the cockpit? If this was a crewmember, then where both the pilots in collusion with one another given that there were no 'alarms' raised at any point by either one. What about the other crewmembers? Assuming that nobody besides the pilot / pilots were involved, was it impossible for the other crew members to raise any form of alarm? Or was there no realization until it was too late of the supposed hijack? The scheduled flight between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing was 5 hours 49 minutes, the last ping was received approximately 7 hours 30 minutes after take off, after the plane had overshot it's scheduled flying time did the cabin crew not notice anything amiss and try to raise any alarm? There was no availability of the CAN aeromobile network on this particular flight, so it would have been virtually impossible for passengers and cabin crew to use the airline's network. Fresh reports coming in now indicate that the plane dropped from an altitude of 35,000 feet to 12,000 feet after making a sudden turn, albeit it is still unclear how long it took for the plane to descend to this height. This is a vital clue. Was there a mechanical problem that led to this descent that was tracked by military radar? Dailymail reported- 'Radar tracking shows the aircraft changed altitude after making the 'intentional' sharp left turn as it headed toward the Strait of Malacca, a source close to the investigation said.The anonymous official, who is not authorized to speak to the media, told CNN that flying at 12,000 feet in the heavily trafficked air corridor would've kept the missing jet out of sight of other aircraft. Mary Schiavo, an aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation, told the international broadcaster the new information was 'highly significant'. She said: 'It explains so many pieces that didn't fit together before.' Now, if we have a scenario where something happened, the plane made a dramatic turn and dropped from 35,000 feet to 12,000 feet, this scenario would fit what a pilot would do in the event of a catastrophic on-board event, such as a rapid decompression, a fire, an explosion.'That's what you would have to do, descend, get down and turn around and try to get back to an airport that could accommodate an ailing plane.'

 It is possible that the sudden decompression blew out the transponders and vital communication links. The possible decompression led to oxygen deprivation which rendered both the crew and the passengers to pass out while the plane literally kept flying for several hours until it ran out of fuel and crashed into the deep Indian ocean. These jets can glide for sometime even after fuel runs out and engines fail, the 777 ER could have made a neat entry into the ocean and now czzzxprobably sits on the sea bed somewhere, who knows. It makes sense at this time to pay a bit of attention to a directive issued by FAA late last year. SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 777 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of cracking in the fuselage skin underneath the satellite communication (SATCOM) antenna adapter. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections of the visible fuselage skin and doubler if installed, for cracking, corrosion, and any indication of contact of a certain fastener to a bonding jumper, and repair if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking and corrosion in the fuselage skin, which could lead to rapid decompression and loss of structural integrity of the airplane.

 There needs to be a closure for the families and friends of those who boarded MH 370 and one hopes that the search efforts are conclusive, however tragic that conclusion may be. The Chinese and Australian search planes have reported sighting debris. White floating objects and strapping belts have been reportedly spotted. Satellites have captured larger images. Yet, there is difficulty in pinning any of these to MH 370. If the plane crashed due to mechanical failure, then the pilot was but doing his job heroically, till the last. The bottom line is, nobody has any idea what went wrong with the plane and who did what to that ill-fated plane. Will the plane ever be found? Nobody knows. In today's digitally advanced times, one thing is clear, man does not know it all and its time to trim the arrogance factor.

Follow Sharmila on Twitter @supershamz

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AAP's candidates define its activist agendas

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VS or the art of having a happy funeral

John Cheeran
22 March 2014, 02:49 PM IST

VS Achuthanandan has seen the writing on the wall. It's every man's right to have an honourable funeral. And there is no harm in trying to ensure that it takes place appropriately. The veteran CPM leader's recent rethink on his position within the party and, largely, in Kerala civil society makes it clear that he wants to say his farewell as a good, disciplined CPM member, if not as politburo member, and not as a good communist, an epithet he used to describe the slain rebel T P Chandrasekharan. Those who were waiting all these years for VS to leave the CPM fold and lead the revolutionary charge have been left disappointed. The unkindest cut has been in describing Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) as the tail of the Congress.

But how can VS be blamed for realizing that there is little time left for grand posturing and giving shape to the perfect communist party in the world? It's remarkable that VS has revisited his controversial positions regarding the party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan's "incorruptibility" at a time when an even greater ex-communist came knocking at the CPM door, almost pleading for re-entry. K R Gowri, when she was expelled from CPM, was even a bigger star in 1994 than VS is now. The difference was the absence of television news channels. At 95, Gowri has come back to the party (no pun intended). And VS has qualified his comrade's return by saying it was wrong to expel her in 1994. But why has it taken such a long time for VS to realize the party's mistake, and his own? In fact, the intent is quite clear. VS does not want to end up as Gowri, in political wilderness. All, it seems, VS wants now is to have a honourable farewell in the age of television.

Sadly, the only parallel that can be drawn to the dinosaur will be to the career of Congress stalwart K Karunakaran. The Congress leader was both a fool and a political realist. He was a fool to rail against Sonia Gandhi and leave Congress but a realist to return to the party to die as a Congressman. VS, however, is smarter. He never left the party.  

VS's falling in line with the party leadership, in theory, should boost CPM's fortunes in the Lok Sabha elections. CPM wears the look of more 'unified' party than ever before. Even Berlin seems nearer to AKG Centre now, if not Onchiyam. But those dissenters, without a banner within the CPM, may be hard to be consoled and may take a right turn.

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Postcard from Dutch cricket fan

Amit Karmarkar
22 March 2014, 07:33 PM IST

We have participated in four ODI World Cups: 1996, 2003, 2007 and 2011. We also played Champions Trophy in 2003 in Sri Lanka.

We didn't play the 1999 World Cup. However, we hosted one match in the tournament: between South Africa and Kenya at VRA ground in Amstelveen (pic at the bottom). Both teams went on to co-host the next World Cup in 2003.

We hosted that World Cup match without qualifying for it. India hosted the 2010 hockey World Cup and qualified as hosts.

We have won two games in World Cup: vs Namibia in 2003 and vs Scotland in 2007.

In the 2007 World Cup, we won as many games as India. They beat Bermuda; we defeated Scotland. They lost two games, we lost two games.

India hosted the first World Cup outside England in 1987. We hosted the first ICC Trophy outside England in 1990.

Our women's team have played one Test vs SA at Rotterdam in 2007. But we lost badly (all out 50 in the second innings chasing 211) and were not given another Test match since.

Indian men's team were given a wild card entry in the Champions Trophy hockey of 2012 with the format guaranteeing a knockout berth even if you lose all matches. We have qualified for Super 10s in World T20 on playing merit, and we are not guaranteed to play a knockout game.

You made a nice imaginative movie Chak De India. We made a documentary of a real story: the triumph of our women's hockey team at XXX. (The movie can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkfdqPhMwTs). Our women's hockey team has won the World Cup six times since 1974. Your women's team has played five World Cups from 1971 to 2010.

Let's not get into comparing men's World Cup teams of two countries.

Before you laugh at our cricket team as underdogs, please remember that we are not underachievers: neither in cricket nor in hockey.

Photo caption: MVP of the 1999 World Cup Lance Klusener field in a shade at VRA ground in Amstelveen during South Africa's group game against Kenya. Yes, we do have a tree on the outfield. (credit: Getty Images).

PS: After the change of hockey rules, India cannot concede a goal in the 70th minute. The game itself is reduced to 60 minutes only! And yes, Indian coaches inspired by SRK's dialogue "Yeh Sattar Minute" have to change it to "Yeh Saath Minute." If my postcard has hurt you, I'm sorry. But please don't sit on the past laurels or misuse the monetary power. We respect your contribution to both cricket and hockey. You also know how to play. But please, dream high in hockey and try to set high benchmark for youself.. but not without hard and honest work. All the best! And yes, we also need all the best in Super 10 phase of World T20. Adios.

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