We need to radically improve!

I am now slowly getting convinced that the sarkari tantra in the country has firmly resolved to maintain status quo and vowed not to improve itself. 

The flood of scams has indeed swept us off our feet and almost everyone has lost the count. 2G when it happened indeed hit the nation hard but the flood witnessed thereafter has brought major scams as close to the common man as minor acts of extortion indulged in by petty government functionaries in each and every single sarkari office in the nation. Scams have indeed lost their sheen unless they are in a few lakh of crores bracket.

The indignity heaped on the nation in the night of the 16^th of December 2012 when Nirbhaya was raped and murdered is again a reminder of the our passion for mere rhetoric and not decisive action. Nirbhaya stands forgotten and the case lingers on the lower courts. The leaders who then made tall statements about fast track justice in this case and deterrent steps have almost vanished. The laws remain the same and so is the slowly grinding machinery of the judicial system.

An organization, state or a nation moves forward by decisive action. A resolve unless translated into action is at best a rhetoric and therein lies the tragedy of this great nation. The bureaucratic tantra is so complex that it is unable to go beyond self sustenance, an act that keeps it fully occupied. The political machinery remains confined to exploiting the harvest to recover many times over the major investment it made in getting elected. The poor citizen is left to fend for itself.

Closer home, the great railways continues to remain the paradise of the mediocre and the corrupt. The system that has evolved with the contribution of nine services of the union places on a high pedestal the non–performer and the bechara. The complexity of the tantra ensures that delivery happens only rarely and corruption does not get eradicated. The complex tantra is indeed a perfect shroud for covert practices.

The bureaucrat has stakes only in non deliverance and self gratification. The recent scams have only taught him to be more careful, yet continue with things as they are.

Hum nahi sudharenge kabhi bhi, seems to be the national slogan.   

The 66th anniversary

Today perhaps for the first time one feels the total absence of patriotic fervor on the streets of the capital that till a few years ago reverberated with the same on the eve of independence day. The eve of the sixty sixth independence day is indeed a moment of deep introspection, where have we gone wrong and is redemption possible?

Yes it is true that India has over time emerged as a member of both the atomic and space clubs and that gives us something to be proud of. The rapidly growing middle class and the proliferation of consumer goods is also a positive sign, yet one wonders whether these limited achievements can offset the failures and the acts of shame that the nation has been enduring with amazing regularity in recent times. Even the latest round of skirmish with our neighbour gives us a feeling of belonging to a soft state devoid of national pride.

Mere rhetoric that the nation is showered with on such occasions is not enough. We have to act and grow in the right direction. We have to bring back the spirituality and love for all creations of God that form an essential part of the philosophy of all religions. We have to revitalize the nation and once again aspire for the glory that the nation once had. .  

There have been many occasions in recent years when we as a society had to hang our heads in shame, but the one single incident that recently shook the collective conscience of the nation was the blatant suspension and harassment of Durga Shakti for an act that should otherwise have commanded admiration and appreciation of the nation. The triumph of evil over righteousness that we had sadly and silently been witness to suddenly acquired a new dimension with the governance machinery brazenly conniving with those who loot and plunder. The uproar has died down and the brazenness continues.

Notwithstanding the rapid downslide of moral values in the fabric of the society, it remains  the duty of the governments to abide by raj dharma, yet it is obvious that self gratification by the powers that be has taken the upper hand over principles of justice and equality.

A recent news item about the prime minister of Norway driving a taxi to assess the pulse of his constituents should indeed be an eye opener for the mandarins of this forever developing nation, the constituents of the sarkari machinery of which regard themselves as rulers and not servants of the society that they actually are. This distorted mindset has to change much before the nation starts changing for the better.

Abject poverty, failed governance, rotting infrastructure, rampant corruption, delayed justice and a rapid downslide of moral values fills the heart with anguish on this eve of the sixty sixth anniversary of the independence day.

The India of today is a nation far removed from the ideals that it held close to its heart while striving for self rule. It is obvious that the system of checks and balances instituted by the british and unfortunately perpetuated even during self rule led to the inspector raj that successfully brought the nation to its knees. The social structure that ultimately emerged is bereft of values of any kind and service, despite the piety it evokes has degenerated to service of the self cutting across the bureaucratic and political spectrum throughout the length and breadth of the nation.

Durga Shakti therefore faced the consequences of her action, an action that would have placed her on a very high pedestal had it taken place in a society that places righteousness above evil. Unfortunately the degeneration that picked pace in the early nineties now runs so deep that far from being considered laudable, such actions are punishable. Yet the inherent strength of her name and the radiance that she exudes gives hope that her resolve to take on illegal activities regardless of the strength of the powers that (mis)rule would indeed get strengthened with time. This case spurred by the media has caught the imagination of the nation, yet there would be many more where honesty is being brutalized. 

My recent participation in a course on Indian art was an eye opener. That till the 5^th or 6^th century Indian art was inspired by love for the divine and all his creations after which it started withering in favor of the sponsors and the rulers was indeed the most powerful message that emanated from the course. The various art forms of ancient times inspired by the divine were true creations of love with every single creation being a masterpiece. This is in stark contrast to the art of the present times that is driven by crass commercial interests and is therefore generally ordinary with only a rare few clearing the masterpiece criterion.

It was also inspiring to learn that the art of ancient times did not permit or promote portraits and the artist remained almost under cover as art was only for the joy it gave to the artist and the masses. The practice of self perpetuation through portraits and projection of the artist however started around the mugal era and has perpetuated ever since then. In the present times, the contemporary Indian art as they call it is chiefly inspired by the love of the moolah and the desire to be known, and therein lies the major difference in the quality of the art.

Perhaps it is the same in all fields. A work performed with crass commercial interests or for the sake of self perpetuation is bound to be inferior to the one inspired by the love and the joy of creation. Be it a teacher imparting education to children, a musician stringing his guitar or even a chief executive of an organization performing his role, a performance inspired by the good of the society and the joy of creation is always far superior.

What a fall, not only in the field of art is a striking thought that comes to mind. Another realization that dawns is the greatness of the Indian nation in ancient times, a nation so developed economically and spiritually that it is a striking contrast with the present day society smug even with depravity and self aggrandizement. Yet this day we all hope and pray that the nation would rise from the ashes and acquire her rightful place in the comity of nations.

Jai Hind!

Greatness gone sour!

Benoy touched the core of the heart of everyone who had assembled at the bhartiya vidya bhawan for the two day course on art history and appreciation the last weekend. The course was also unique as it was attended by a senior cabinet minister Kumari Shailja who was conspicuous by the total absence of the trappings of power that people in her rank have a flair for display. It is rare that one came across a minister who was almost human and humane.

For me the course was also unique in that it was the first class in which my young one sat with me as an equal, for there can never be and should never be differentiation between students.

The course was interspersed with beautiful films produced by Benoy during the course of his travels in search of the Indian art, both in the form of paintings as well as sculptures. That till almost the 5^th or 6^th century, the art was inspired by love for the divine and all his creations after which it started withering in favor of the sponsors and the rulers was indeed the most powerful thought that emanated from the discourse. The various art forms that were created in the early times, inspired by the divine were true creations of love and therefore every single creation was a masterpiece. This is in stark contrast to the art of the present times that is driven by crass commercial interests and therefore most of it is of the pedestrian variety with only a few clearing the masterpiece criterion.

Benoy dwelt at length on the joy of painting and sculpting in ancient times. There were no portraits and never was the name of artist mentioned on the art form. Portraits and the practice of the artist projecting himself however started around the mugal era and has perpetuated since then. In the present times, the contemporary Indian art as they call it is chiefly inspired by the love of the moolah and the desire to be known, and therein lies the major difference in the quality of the art.

Perhaps it is the same in all fields. A work performed with crass commercial interests or for the sake of self perpetuation is bound to be inferior to one that is inspired by the love and the joy of creation. Be it a teacher imparting education to children or a musician stringing his guitar or even a chief executive of an organization performing his role, a performance inspired by the good of the society and the joy of creation is always far superior even to a one that is toned by the latest technology and/or marred by self serving interests.

What a fall, not only in the field of art is perhaps a striking thought that comes to mind after the course. Another thought that comes to mind is the greatness of the Indian nation in ancient times, a nation so developed economically and spiritually that it defies conventional logic when we look at the present times of absolute depravity and self aggrandizement especially amongst the ruling classes. 

The failure of Indian democracy

Today for the first time I felt as if the Indian democratic system has collapsed. The suspension of Durga and the escalation of the political fight over her, not for the cause of justice but for earning brownie points made me sad as never before. Never before, even while witnessing abject poverty, failed governance, rampant corruption and rapid downslide of moral values I regarded them as the failure of the democratic system, yet this single incident crashed the world and hope around us.

I was momentarily transported to those cold wintery days of December 2002 when after having been given the boot from the post of CMD/ITDC, I was reverted unceremoniously to my parent cadre, the railways for having delivered a performance that was regarded as sterling even by my rivals in the hospitality sector. Despite the uproar and the apparent travesty of justice, the government did not budge and went ahead with the sacking even though many in the cabinet expressed their annoyance with the treatment meted out to an officer for turning around a sick public sector organization. Yet the difference remains that apart from the blatantly unfair repatriation, the government did not persecute me like the Durga of today.

The suspension of Durga somehow did not shock me. After all this was what she truly deserved in the India of today, a nation far removed from the ideals that it held close to its heart while aspiring for independence from foreign rule. It is indeed true that the tall personalities who led this nation to freedom would have been unable to visualize the massive drift from human value systems that we are witness to in the present times.

Perhaps our democratic model has been faulty. The social structure that has emerged post independence is bereft of values of any kind and service, despite the piety it evokes has degenerated to service of the self cutting across the bureaucratic and political spectrum throughout the length and breadth of the nation.

Durga Shakti therefore faced the consequences of her action, an action that would have placed her on a very high pedestal had it taken place in a society that places good acts above everything else. Unfortunately the degeneration that picked up pace in the early nineties now runs so deep that far from being considered laudable, such actions have started being regarded as worthy of a severe punishment. Yet the inherent strength of her name and the radiance that her personality exudes makes me confident that her resolve to take on illegal activities regardless of the strength of the powers that (mis)rule would indeed get strengthened with time.

The case of Durga, spurred by the media has caught the imagination of the nation. Yet there would be hundreds of such cases where honest bureaucrats are routinely crushed by dishonest politicos, cutting across party lines. Khairnar was one and Khemka is another. I wonder what would have been the state of affairs had the media not been what it is today.

Sadder still is the race amongst the politicos to adopt a holier than thou attitude in castigating the Uttar Pradesh government, yet following identical norms in territories that they govern. It is also true that the brazenness of the politicos and bureaucrats alike in committing loot or unjust acts is gaining ground in the absence of better alternatives with the electorate. The electoral system is now confined merely to election of the best amongst the worst and this is not what the founding fathers of Indian democracy visualized or what we actually deserve.