NOTE
This was written for my employer's house journal. It was published in September 1971 issue of GBJHP NEWS of the Refineries & Pipelines Division of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. The Editor's comments on this piece are given below.
EDITOR'S COMMENTS :- Shri R N Desai is the one for asking inconvenient questions. But he knows how to get away with them, with the magic that he weaves with his words around the swift stabs of his hard, cold facts. His views may be challenged by both "the Management" and "the Unions". So, let it be. The columns of GBJHP NEWS are open to all.
SHOULD WE BUILD TOWNSHIPS ?
A question like this is bound to shake fellow Civil Engineers if not others as well. In these days of Science and Technology however, we have to constantly question ourselves whether what we have been traditionally doing continues to be right in a given set of circumstances.
I do not know the cost of other townships in the GBJHP family (GBJHP was an acronym used for Gauhati, Barauni, Jawaharnagar, Haldia refineries and Pipelines). Our own Haldia township is however estimated to cost Rs. 2.5 Crores for a total of 730 residential units of various types with the attendent facilities. This gives an average cost of Rs. 34200/- per unit.
Townships have been criticised as a drag on the public sector finances. a capital of Rs.2.5 Crores blocked in the townships involves us in interest charges of Rs.22.5 lakhs per year. Add to this the maintenance cost at the rate of 1 per cent of the capital. This amounts to another Rs.2.5 lakhs p.a. Add the salaries of the maintenance staff and overheads. The total recurring expenditure excluding depreciation, would exceed Rs. 27 lakhs.
Divide this amount by the number of employees accommodated to give you an expenditure of Rs. 3700/- p.a. or Rs. 310/- per month per employee. No doubt, the employees pay rent but the average rent could be taken to be only Rs. 30/- p.m. In other words, our Company subsidises us to the extent of Rs. 280/- p.m. in the matter of housing. Do we count this blessing when we recount our woes ?
My aim in writing this article, is however not to extol the munificence of the management. The point that arises is whether we can afford it. Must be, since we are still making profits ! But isn't there some way by which we can cut down on this expenditure apart from saving Rs. 2.5 Crores for productive invesiment elsewhere ?
The distinguished scientist-cum-industrialist -cum- lately turned government servant, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai has pointed out that every public sector enterprise must determine the mainstream of its activities and concentrate on it. Our mainstream of activities is obviously refining and selling oil. Should not every paisa available to us for investment be put in this mainstream ?
The question that comes up next is, how are we to house our employees ? The answer is simple. Let them live in their own houses ! It was already shown in an earlier article ( How not to lose Rs. 750/- p.m. ? published in March-April 1971 issue ) how advantageous it is for an individual to build his own residence. But where is the initial capital to come from ? Obviously, the employees barring a few, can not invest their money in building houses even if they have the necessary amount. The money must come from organizations whose mainstream of activities is to lend money. The LIC and the nationalized banks already have a scheme in this regard. For those of us who have put in more than six years of service, our Company has already decided to give 80 % of the cost of a house as a loan.
The instalments for the repayment of the loan would be heavy - on an average about Rs. 295/- p.m. and beyond the reach of most employees. But then can the Company not spend a part of the subsidy of Rs. 280/- p.m. that it is now spending on house rent allowances ? Say, Rs. 265/- p.m. could be paid as HRA which together with Rs. 30/- p.m. would make Rs. 295/- p.m. In any case, we have rules by which house rent allowance is paid to the employees who stay in their own houses.
What would be the Company's role in this scheme of things ? The Company would have to act as a catalyst. It would acquire the land, develop it, prepare a town plan, build roads,water, sewer and power lines, divide the land into plots and lease them out to the employees. Proportionate cost of these common services would be charged to the employees. It would initially run the municipal services and later hand over this function to a committee of employees. The Company would also build public buildings such as hospitals, schools, clubs, cinemas etc. out of welfare funds. A few quarters would have to be built for the small number of construction personnel coming to the site. These would later, be utilized for the small percentage of employees who are subject to transfers. Space would also have to be left in the township for later entrants who replace personnel retiring from service.
If we ponder further over this matter, it should be possible to make out a scheme that is mutually advantageous to the Company as well as the employees.To summarise, the advantages of adopting this scheme are as follows :-
1) The Company sticks to the mainstream of its activities. A capital of Rs. 2.5 Crores would be released for increasing the refinery capacity.
2) Recurring expenditure of Rs. 27 lakhs per year apart from depreciation could be reduced.
3) Every employee would be a house owner. He would have a stake in the refinery. He would become more responsible as he would have been exposed to a sort of entrepreneurship.
It would obviously not be possible to change the scheme of things already decided upon in the case of Haldia Refinery except for any further quarters that we may require for expansion. We could, however, give a thought to this matter for our future requirements and formulate a scheme as a sort of pilot project for the next refinery that comes up.
This is one small way in which we can put into practice democratic socialism that many are talking about !
The article ends here
The Editor in a footnote added as follows :-
IT IS A MATTER OF RS. 8 CRORES AND MORE
The bare cost of building the refinery townships at Gauhati, Barauni and Jawaharnagar adds upto over Rs. 551 Lakhs plus. The breakdown of the total cost in respect of the three townships and the number of units that the said cost represents is given below :-
Gauhati - Rs. 150 Lakhs for 641 units
Barauni - Rs. 295 Lakhs for 1487 units
Jawaharnagar - Rs. 106 Lakhs for only 932 units the refinery has.
The cost of additional units and that representing additional related expenditure has not been included in the above figures.
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As anticipated, a Letter to the Editor arrived and was published in the Nov.-Dec.1971 issue of the same journal. It is preceded by the Editor's comment on it.
Editor's Comment :- By many accounts, Shri R N Desai is the most - read writer of the GBJHP family. Here is some further testimony, but of a kind which may not be relished by the ever-growing tribe of Desai fans.
xxxxxxxxxxx
A LETTER
OUT CIVIL ENGINEERS ? EH !
DEAR SIR,
I was grossly amused to read Mr. Desai's seeming homily on building townships.... er... I mean not building them. On reading it, I was reminded of the story of Kalidasa, the ancient poet, who was one day found sitting pretty on the branch of a tree and merrily hacking away at it where it forked - apparently oblivious of his imminent peril. Unless of course, mr. desai is training his eyes on a cushy job in the Planning Commission, i do not know why he should deal such a heavy blow to his own tribe. An unfortunate band that finds its role shrinking in this bouncing Oil Industry - a Chairman from the clan notwithstanding. ( An allusion to the fact that our then Chairman Mr. Ramabrahmam was a civil engineer.)
Mr. Desai must have meant it as a joke. How else could he - a brilliant mind that he is - overlook these points. The township planned at Haldia at a total cost of Rs. 250 Lakhs is meant for 600 refinery personnel and 130 (approx.) from Marketing, Pipelines, Excise etc. Since people from the last named departments and about 100 from refinery will be holding prospect of frequent transfers, houses for them will have to be built by the Company. Now the division of capital expenditure on township is Rs. 207 Lakhs and Rs. 43 Lakhs for others.
The estimated expenditure of Rs. 207 Lakhs includes the cost of a hospital, a school, a club, a community centre and a guest house, totalling nearly Rs. 20 Lakhs. As the author suggests that these social amenities should be provided by the Company, I also excluded them from my computation. Hence for housing 600 personnel of the refinery, the Company is spending about Rs. 187 Lakhs. Since 100 persons out of that 600 will be transferred in and out, it leaves us with us with the housing problem of 500 only who can be given the benefit of Mr. Desai's revolutionary idea. Let us examine it in detail.
The unproductive expenditure on the houses and ancillaries construction for 500 stationary personnel at Haldia Township will be 5/6 x 187 = Rs. 152 Lakhs (say). The payback period of the refinery has been worked out to be 8 years. If this amount of Rs.152 Lakhs is to be paid back in 8 years, we will illustrate position after the 4th year to get an idea of the average yearly commitment of the Company on this score.
Position in the 5th year
1. Repayment instalment 152/8 = 19 Lakhs
2.Interest @ 9 % on half
the capital as the other
half has already been paid 152/2 x 0.09 = 7.86 Lakhs
3.Maintenance @ 1.5 %
including the
emoluments of the maintenance
personnel 152 x 0.015 = 2.28 Lakhs
4.Land rentals for 45 acres 0.81/29.95 Lakhs
Less return as rent @ Rs.30
per month per capita for 500
persons only 1.81/28.15 Lakhs
TOTAL ( say ) Rs. 28 Lakhs
Mr. Desai recommends in the name of democratic socialism that Company should subsidize @ Rs. 255 per month per capita. That works out to a yearly burden of 500 x 12 x 250 (say) = Rs. 15 Lakhs on which there is no return. Deducting this amount from the average yearly commitment as worked out earlier, we find that the Company is spending nearly Rs. 13 Lakhs on 500 employees for their accommodation for the first 8 years only. The commitment adds upto 104 Lakhs in 8 years' time. This amount of Rs. 13 Lakhs is equal to only one day's production of the refinery whose sale receipts for the first year is estimated to be Rs. 36 Crores. Now an expenditure of less than 0.5 % of the annual turnover on housing is negligible.
But the latent returns in the form of better industrial climate and higher productivity as a result of conducive environmental psychology is incomputable. Who can say that the sparkling and consistent performance of our boys at Baroda (reference is to our refinery at Jawaharnagar at Baroda or Vadodara in Gujarat) has not been due to the wonderful living conditions at their township. In one single year, they earned enough profit to pay back the initial cost of their township 5 times over. ( Figures in the Editor's footnote above indicate that the cost of Jawaharnagar township per residential unit was the lowest !)
Now back to calculations. After the 8th year, the Company is spending nothing, except may be the amount it would have earned as interest on the extra 104 Lakhs it has spent over preceding eight years towards employees' accommodation. from 9th year onwards the Company would be saving an amount of Rs. 6 Lakhs (15.00 - 9.00) by building its own township, expenditure on land rentals and maintenance expenses being offset by rent collected. That is by 25th year, she (it) would have wiped out the unproductive initial investment of Rs. 104 Lakhs and thence in comparison, mr. desai's idea would be a constant drain on the Company's resources, with added headaches in finding new plots of land, developing, leasing out to employees (and the attendent troubles) etc. once in nearly every 20 years. And finally mr. Desai props up his figures by a tangential reference to depreciation on which he does not dwell elaborately, leaving the reader to make his own guess. Here is the catch.
Only in his last article, he had shown us how we were losing Rs. 750 p.m. by not building a house. The burden of his article was the innocent assumption that a property in an urban area appreciates to 10 times its initial value in twenty years' time. That way the township in Haldia (which is destined to become a major port city) now being built at a cost of Rs. 2.5 Crores will be worth 25 crores in 20 years' time, a favourable element which i have kept out of my calculations.
Now, come Mr. Desai, "Heads I win and tails you lose" is too old a gimmick to carry even temporary conviction. Your facts are quite cold but unfortunatrly they are not hard enough.
Yours etc.
An Admirer
(Some Admirer - Ed.)
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My response to the Admirer's letter to the Editor
OUT CIVIL ENGINEERS ? EH !
Dear Sir.
I have read with interest the letter with the above caption from " An Admirer " (sic). The 'Admirer' appears to have shed a lot of tears on behalf of Civil Engineers. This would lead one to believe that he is one of that tribe. It seems however that the tears have been wasted.
The Civil Engineer was once likened to a donkey by a former chief of mine - himself a Civil Engineer. Donkeys, he used to say, are the beasts of burden and till the advent of mechanized transport, did a lot of carriage work for the Civil Engineer. A Civil Engineer's status, in the old days therefore, was measured by the number of donkeys working on his site. His main reson for the analogy however, was that the Civil Engineer, like the donkey, could be kicked by anyone - even by a housewife. And like the donkey, he remains insensitive to any kicking or flogging. To him, it is just one of the routines of life. He plods along his own way, come hail or high wind. If a donkey is a happy animal, a Civil Engineer is a happy human. He becomes either a crook or a philosopher. (Even in our Company, he either gets retrenched - with full benefits to be sure - or he becomes the Chairman. God, my former chief used to say, does not worry himself over only two species - the donkey and the Civil Engineer !
Some would agree with this statement on the assumption that the Civil Engineer would, like the brother-in-law of a king, make himself comfortable for himself, even if assigned to count sea - waves ! (Apparently he stopped all fishing and shipping in the area as it interfered with his royal duty of counting sea - waves. For any exceptions that he made, he charged personal levies. Our present day royal hangers-on have found any number of reasons for personal levies !) .
Frivolity apart, I do not agree that employment of Civil Engineers would decrease by adoption of the scheme suggested in ' SHOULD WE BUILD TOWNSHIPS '. It may even increase. How ? Well, it is a CIvil Engineer's secret ! When winds of change blow, it is wise to bend rather than get uprooted. The ingenious Civil Engineer will, I am sure, bend and find a way.
Coming to the statistics quoted by my admiring Confucius (or is it Confusius ?), he deducts the figure of Rs. 15 Lakhs p.a. from the recurring cost of Rs. 28 lakhs p.a. Actually, these costs are mutually exclusive, being comparative. If I take into account depreciation, the annual recurring costs would be 28 + 250/20= 28+12.17 = 40.17 Lakhs p.a. as against rs. 15 Lakhs p.a. in the form of house rent allowance to the employees, making my scheme even more attractive. There is thus no catch anywhere. Even if as statistically contended, the Company could make up the investment in 25 years' time, there are perpetual headaches in maintenance, allotments etc. which are much more troublesome than finding additional land space once in 20 years.
Thus the the contention that the total extra expenditure is only Rs. 104 Lakhs is not correct. The extra expenditure is Rs. 25.17 Lakhs per year which in 8 years' time, would, amount to Rs. 201.36 Lakhs. To wipe out this amount of Rs. 201.36 Lakhs, it would take infinite number of years ! The interest charges on this amount alone would be Rs. 18 Lakhs as against a house rent allowance of rs. 15 lakhs per year.
Finally, the ' Admirer ' is afraid of the Company is afraid of the company losing the increment in the value of the township over a period of years. To this, the question is - Will or can the Company sell the township ? Will or can the Company raise the rents ? No, it would not even if it could. And the value of a property is judged by these factors. However for the individual employee, the value would increase as he has no such limitations. Hasn't someone said about something being good for the goose not being necessarily so for the gander ?
---R N Desai
P.S. :- Isn't it a good thing for all concerned that the "Admirer" has refrained from saying whom or what he is admiring ?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EPILOGUE
It is 40 years since the above was written. Following my own advice, I had built a house then for myself on a 5000 Sq.Ft. plot costing a total of Rs. 42000/- (Forty two thousand only) at Vadodara in Gujarat. Today, I am told that it can be sold for Rs.1,50,00,000/- (One Crore and fifty Lakhs only) . The Company did not accept my scheme (of not building townships) due perhaps to the then existing mind set. I do not know what is the position in other Indian Oil townships but I am told that about 400 quarters are lying vacant in the Jawaharnagar township at Vadodara (Baroda) in Gujarat. They are not known to have been sold. A large number of employees have built their own houses and have an experience similar to mine. Many out of towners and even Non-Gujaratis among the employees have built or bought houses/flats here. In general, all over India, a house building spree is still on. Civil Engineers, once almost wholly dependent on the government/public sector for jobs, after a short period of glut, are today in great demand again in both public and private sector as judged by the rush for admissions to Civil Engineering discipline.
Showing posts with label Ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ideas. Show all posts
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
THE ROLE OF THE REWARDS SYSTEM IN AN EGALITARIAN SOCIETY
NOTE :- This article was written over 35 years back. It is for the readers to opine whether it is workable, especially in today's cicumstances.
During the twenties, thirties and forties, Mahatma Gandhi prepared the human infrastructure in the country for taking over the rule when independence came. During the fifties and sixties, Nehru prepared the physical industrial infrastructure and induced a scientific temper in his countrymen who till then had been an obscurantist lot. Unfortunately, the industrial culture was not developed simultaneously, with its concommitant industrial infrastructure.
The fabian socialism with its heavy dependence on materialistic outlook created the condition of rising expectations as against limited resources and limited capabilities. The latter half of the sixties therefore saw an upheaval in the country which is continuing.
While not discarding socialism, we have to look at the rewards system in a slightly different angle. The rewards to a person are to be seen in the light of total happiness to a person. A man with a lot of money but with no job satisfaction or an unhappy family or sex life or with uncongenial social surroundings is not likely to be a happy man. A minister with a lot of pomp and prestige may, in a democracy, have only nominal power and freedom of movement. He just can not saunter out like an ordinary citizen in the evening to buy himself a paan (betel leaf). The glamorous film stars need able bodied escorts to take them around. They hardly have any privacy.
This is not to suggest that film stars or the ministers are an unhappy lot. May be their condition suits their temperaments. What we have to find therefore the temperament of each person engaged in any field and give rewards to him/her in such a manner as to increase his/ger total happiness rather than harping on monetary rewards alone. This is not to suggest that monetary rewards do not count or that money is not important. It only means that the marginal utility of money as a reward decreases after a stage and other factors become more important to a person. Once the role of money is devalued, it should be possible to lay the foundation of an egalitarian society.
Both communism and capitalism are trying to reach the goal of an egalitarian society. Communism is getting more liberal and the old fears of infiltration of other ideas or cultures are going away as witnessed by the introduction of the fiat car or the Pepsi Cola into the Soviet Union. On the other hand, moreand more statism is being resorted to in the free market economy countries as witnessed by the recent disclosure about C.I.A. operations within U.S.A. itself.
India and other similar uncommitted countries have an excellent opportunity of taking directly to plutocracy or anarchy as suggested by Marx. Skipping the intermediate steps of a two party democracy or a single party democracy professing socialism, we can take the road of plutocracy straight away After all, pursuit of happiness is the professed goal of the U.S. A.'s constitution. How much happiness has been achieved by them despite their wealth ? Communism has changed the face of Russia in material terms. Why then did Solzhenitsyn leave the country ? Something is obviously lacking there too.
Every system creates its own vested interests and very often, the original purpose of creating the system is lost sight of in pandering to the vested interests. it is extremely difficult to crush these vested interests. It can be done either by a continuing revolution as advocated by Mao-tse-tung or by so cleverly manipulating these vested interests that they destry each other. Another alternative is to create new vested interests which could help in furthering the original aims. In developing countries, where the scope for everyone exists on account of lack of saturation, this last alternative appears to be feasible.
It is important however to have a self regulating machinery which would oversee the whole process. It should ensure that the aims are not lost sight of and that the pawns do not become masters. This machinery should consist of faceless people who are at the top in various fields. They would constitute the ruling establishment. These persons, apart from having specialised knowledge and experience, should also have a general picture of other fields as well. It goes without saying that total happiness should be ensured for them.
Of course, these persons, even without help from others, would be capable of becoming totally happy. To the others, the rewards would be to a lesser degree. Persons who do this are found to become useless in the worldly sense and have to undergo considerable suffering at the hands of the society. They are therefore forced to become thinkers. Some of their work could be taken over by computers.
The rewards system would be in accordance with our Varnashram. Shudras had more physical work. They were comparatively speaking, recent converts to the human form from the animal one. They led more or less a physical life. Vaishyas produced greater wealth and enjoyed a greater part of it than others. Kshatriyas protected the people and to rouse the protective feeling in them, their ego was massaged. Brahmins, teachers and upholders of Dharma, led a spartan, meditative life, doing only as much physical work as necessary to provide a diversion and balance their exertions by physical exercise. Research and development work was done by them. Today's perception of the Brahmin is one of a conservative and outdatedness, which is largely true. The original Brahmin was a continuously evolving being.
I know that hackles will be raised when I say that our rewards should be based on an Indian model such as the Varnashram rather than an impoted model. The major difference in the old and new Varnashram will be that Varna will not depend on birth. It will depend on temperament - aptitude. Left to themselves, people will migrate to professions that they enjoy. The society's job is to create enough opportunities rather than the rationing culture fotered nowadays.
There is nothing better than our own indigenous ideology. What went wrong was that we harped too much on the rituals rather than the spirit and pandered too much to the vested interests created by the system. In the process, substance was forgotten. As a result, the baby had to be thrown out with the bathwater. Let us not repeat this mistake in every system that we create.
During the twenties, thirties and forties, Mahatma Gandhi prepared the human infrastructure in the country for taking over the rule when independence came. During the fifties and sixties, Nehru prepared the physical industrial infrastructure and induced a scientific temper in his countrymen who till then had been an obscurantist lot. Unfortunately, the industrial culture was not developed simultaneously, with its concommitant industrial infrastructure.
The fabian socialism with its heavy dependence on materialistic outlook created the condition of rising expectations as against limited resources and limited capabilities. The latter half of the sixties therefore saw an upheaval in the country which is continuing.
While not discarding socialism, we have to look at the rewards system in a slightly different angle. The rewards to a person are to be seen in the light of total happiness to a person. A man with a lot of money but with no job satisfaction or an unhappy family or sex life or with uncongenial social surroundings is not likely to be a happy man. A minister with a lot of pomp and prestige may, in a democracy, have only nominal power and freedom of movement. He just can not saunter out like an ordinary citizen in the evening to buy himself a paan (betel leaf). The glamorous film stars need able bodied escorts to take them around. They hardly have any privacy.
This is not to suggest that film stars or the ministers are an unhappy lot. May be their condition suits their temperaments. What we have to find therefore the temperament of each person engaged in any field and give rewards to him/her in such a manner as to increase his/ger total happiness rather than harping on monetary rewards alone. This is not to suggest that monetary rewards do not count or that money is not important. It only means that the marginal utility of money as a reward decreases after a stage and other factors become more important to a person. Once the role of money is devalued, it should be possible to lay the foundation of an egalitarian society.
Both communism and capitalism are trying to reach the goal of an egalitarian society. Communism is getting more liberal and the old fears of infiltration of other ideas or cultures are going away as witnessed by the introduction of the fiat car or the Pepsi Cola into the Soviet Union. On the other hand, moreand more statism is being resorted to in the free market economy countries as witnessed by the recent disclosure about C.I.A. operations within U.S.A. itself.
India and other similar uncommitted countries have an excellent opportunity of taking directly to plutocracy or anarchy as suggested by Marx. Skipping the intermediate steps of a two party democracy or a single party democracy professing socialism, we can take the road of plutocracy straight away After all, pursuit of happiness is the professed goal of the U.S. A.'s constitution. How much happiness has been achieved by them despite their wealth ? Communism has changed the face of Russia in material terms. Why then did Solzhenitsyn leave the country ? Something is obviously lacking there too.
Every system creates its own vested interests and very often, the original purpose of creating the system is lost sight of in pandering to the vested interests. it is extremely difficult to crush these vested interests. It can be done either by a continuing revolution as advocated by Mao-tse-tung or by so cleverly manipulating these vested interests that they destry each other. Another alternative is to create new vested interests which could help in furthering the original aims. In developing countries, where the scope for everyone exists on account of lack of saturation, this last alternative appears to be feasible.
It is important however to have a self regulating machinery which would oversee the whole process. It should ensure that the aims are not lost sight of and that the pawns do not become masters. This machinery should consist of faceless people who are at the top in various fields. They would constitute the ruling establishment. These persons, apart from having specialised knowledge and experience, should also have a general picture of other fields as well. It goes without saying that total happiness should be ensured for them.
Of course, these persons, even without help from others, would be capable of becoming totally happy. To the others, the rewards would be to a lesser degree. Persons who do this are found to become useless in the worldly sense and have to undergo considerable suffering at the hands of the society. They are therefore forced to become thinkers. Some of their work could be taken over by computers.
The rewards system would be in accordance with our Varnashram. Shudras had more physical work. They were comparatively speaking, recent converts to the human form from the animal one. They led more or less a physical life. Vaishyas produced greater wealth and enjoyed a greater part of it than others. Kshatriyas protected the people and to rouse the protective feeling in them, their ego was massaged. Brahmins, teachers and upholders of Dharma, led a spartan, meditative life, doing only as much physical work as necessary to provide a diversion and balance their exertions by physical exercise. Research and development work was done by them. Today's perception of the Brahmin is one of a conservative and outdatedness, which is largely true. The original Brahmin was a continuously evolving being.
I know that hackles will be raised when I say that our rewards should be based on an Indian model such as the Varnashram rather than an impoted model. The major difference in the old and new Varnashram will be that Varna will not depend on birth. It will depend on temperament - aptitude. Left to themselves, people will migrate to professions that they enjoy. The society's job is to create enough opportunities rather than the rationing culture fotered nowadays.
There is nothing better than our own indigenous ideology. What went wrong was that we harped too much on the rituals rather than the spirit and pandered too much to the vested interests created by the system. In the process, substance was forgotten. As a result, the baby had to be thrown out with the bathwater. Let us not repeat this mistake in every system that we create.
Friday, August 26, 2011
FUTUROLOGY
Futurology is a dangerous science. One who tries to study it, becomes a very unhappy person unless the society around, supports him. It appears that there is a belief that the more unhappy you make a man, the more the knowledge you get out of him. this is a false belief. After all, the future that he studies is not going to come all of a sudden. So if he studies it gradually, heavens are not going to fall, at least not immediately.
Unhappiness comes to him because of the "ARDHADAGDHA" (literally meaning half-burnt) people who pass on their own unhappy thoughts to him by the thought transmission process. These half-burnt people seek to create a communication gap because of their foolish notions. When such elements succeed, it is the start of the collapse of a civilization, as the really wise are unable to communicate their thoughts to the panic striken half-burnt people.
The really wise are those eho have lost their vitality through dissipation and have become wise after onset of inability to do anything. Their advice is not credible in view of their past. The other set of really wise are the young who simply act without being communicative. Often, they do not know why they are doing what they are doing. Then, there are those who pretend. Thinking themselves to be wiser, they try to fool others. The really wise are those who ignore all such people who take things at face value without reading too much into them.
It is through a maze of all such people that a futurologist has to pass. Finall, he comes to the conclusion that an ignorant stone age man came to. Live your life today, why bother about tomorrow ? In other words, the world will go on, with just a few changes here and there. If you get dark thoughts, it only means that you are getting older. If you want to regenerate yourself, think and act young. That is the only remedy. Leave futurology strictly alone. Take care of yourself and the future will take care of itself.
Some people want a return to the jungle life in the mistaken belief that they would have a better time. This is a mistake yhat has been made in the past by others. Where would they find themselves then ? In the zoo or in a circus where they are at the ring master's beck and call ? When brute power can not be opposed, the weak become intelligent and resort to trickery. Nature has its own way of administering justice and it does so ruthlessly albeit after giving a long rope to the power drunk.
In precisely the same way, when the once weak, become powerful, they too, for a time, behave exactly like those they loathed earlier. There is a scramble for power amongst them. Then either they have a hierarchical democracy or the so called peoples' democracy i.e. Communism. All sudden changes have their impacts which are never very savoury. This does not apply to politics alone for that is only one part of society. When either form of democracy takes over, a person or two or even a group of people isolate themselves from the mainstream (far from the madding crowd as it were) and start thinking independently rather than in the herd mental;ity way. They also slowly begin to gather strength. The society , in course of time, actually helps them to do it. According to the Kalakrama (cyclical nature of nature), the society needs a change, demolish the vested interests that inevitably crop up who resist the change. In this process, the power drunk themselves, consciously or unconsciously, work for their own downfall.
A mature system is one that persists with whatever it has in vogue making only such changes as are absolutely necessary and that too when its hand is forced. The maturity lies in making adaptations, modifications in a timely manner to suit the purpose for which the system is built. However when a drastic change is required, it does not stick to the outmoded system. Crisis situations require crisis solutions. As soon as the crisis is over, the system prevailing hitherto is automatically reverted to.
The important thing is to ponder over the energy problem. Energy comes from fossilized animals or fossilized vegetation. As this fossilization takes place over a very large span of time, it is necessary to leave sufficient space for them i.e. for forests. As this is not possible due to increased population, it is necessary to control population.
Of course, the oceans are there to provide at first the fossilized fuels and then hydrogen for fuel purposes. Once you start using up the oceans, the world topography would change as in the past. Mountains would come up where oceans existed and viceversa. The world would go on. There is no need to worry about energy resources. Failing everything, the Sun is always there. Difficulties would be faced by man during transition but it is futile to worry about them and make our present life miserable. prophets of doom have been active for the past 2000 years but that doom has yet to come.
Unhappiness comes to him because of the "ARDHADAGDHA" (literally meaning half-burnt) people who pass on their own unhappy thoughts to him by the thought transmission process. These half-burnt people seek to create a communication gap because of their foolish notions. When such elements succeed, it is the start of the collapse of a civilization, as the really wise are unable to communicate their thoughts to the panic striken half-burnt people.
The really wise are those eho have lost their vitality through dissipation and have become wise after onset of inability to do anything. Their advice is not credible in view of their past. The other set of really wise are the young who simply act without being communicative. Often, they do not know why they are doing what they are doing. Then, there are those who pretend. Thinking themselves to be wiser, they try to fool others. The really wise are those who ignore all such people who take things at face value without reading too much into them.
It is through a maze of all such people that a futurologist has to pass. Finall, he comes to the conclusion that an ignorant stone age man came to. Live your life today, why bother about tomorrow ? In other words, the world will go on, with just a few changes here and there. If you get dark thoughts, it only means that you are getting older. If you want to regenerate yourself, think and act young. That is the only remedy. Leave futurology strictly alone. Take care of yourself and the future will take care of itself.
Some people want a return to the jungle life in the mistaken belief that they would have a better time. This is a mistake yhat has been made in the past by others. Where would they find themselves then ? In the zoo or in a circus where they are at the ring master's beck and call ? When brute power can not be opposed, the weak become intelligent and resort to trickery. Nature has its own way of administering justice and it does so ruthlessly albeit after giving a long rope to the power drunk.
In precisely the same way, when the once weak, become powerful, they too, for a time, behave exactly like those they loathed earlier. There is a scramble for power amongst them. Then either they have a hierarchical democracy or the so called peoples' democracy i.e. Communism. All sudden changes have their impacts which are never very savoury. This does not apply to politics alone for that is only one part of society. When either form of democracy takes over, a person or two or even a group of people isolate themselves from the mainstream (far from the madding crowd as it were) and start thinking independently rather than in the herd mental;ity way. They also slowly begin to gather strength. The society , in course of time, actually helps them to do it. According to the Kalakrama (cyclical nature of nature), the society needs a change, demolish the vested interests that inevitably crop up who resist the change. In this process, the power drunk themselves, consciously or unconsciously, work for their own downfall.
A mature system is one that persists with whatever it has in vogue making only such changes as are absolutely necessary and that too when its hand is forced. The maturity lies in making adaptations, modifications in a timely manner to suit the purpose for which the system is built. However when a drastic change is required, it does not stick to the outmoded system. Crisis situations require crisis solutions. As soon as the crisis is over, the system prevailing hitherto is automatically reverted to.
The important thing is to ponder over the energy problem. Energy comes from fossilized animals or fossilized vegetation. As this fossilization takes place over a very large span of time, it is necessary to leave sufficient space for them i.e. for forests. As this is not possible due to increased population, it is necessary to control population.
Of course, the oceans are there to provide at first the fossilized fuels and then hydrogen for fuel purposes. Once you start using up the oceans, the world topography would change as in the past. Mountains would come up where oceans existed and viceversa. The world would go on. There is no need to worry about energy resources. Failing everything, the Sun is always there. Difficulties would be faced by man during transition but it is futile to worry about them and make our present life miserable. prophets of doom have been active for the past 2000 years but that doom has yet to come.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
IS ALL MYTHOLOGY A MYTH ?
The other day, during a discussion with my tee-aged son, I quoted an example from the ' Mahabharat ' to drive home a point. " It's all right, but that is all mythology " , he rebutted. Well, I was floored. I remembered a similar discussion that I had with my father in my younger days. I too had used the same argument and had floored him. A poetic justice.
But then, this set me to thinking. How could I explain to him ? Well, here goes an effort. It has been established now that the human brain is a complex electronic computer-cum-control room besides being a few other things. There is an electronic circuitry in the brain that helps us to see, hear, smell and so on.
A television set at helps it to catch a program from waves emitted by a television transmitter. How did the circuit in the human brain come to be formed ? We do not know as yet for certain. But we know for certain how the television circuit was evolved. Now, is it impossible to imagine that human brain can have the same circuit as the television in addition to the present circuit ? After all, by the same evolution by which the present circuit was evolved, the additional circuit could also be evolved. What would then happen is that a human being can switch on his own brain's T.V. set and witness a program being beamed.
It is this quality that Sanjay of the Mahabharat is said to have had. Perhaps, another person at the site of the battle had transmitter ability. This myth is a possible scientifically acceptable or at least understandable matter. Similarly, other myths may be explained in other ways if one gives thought to them. The probable reason why such qualities were lost is that miuse was made of them. Besides, nature has shown a better way, the present way.
Now that we have televisions, it is not necessary to have such a circuit in the brain. However when such prevalent gadgets are not available, the creatures on earth may, possibly possess the properties of such gadgets. Now-a-days only what is scientifically accepted is considered to be truth. Do we however pause to think that there is a fourth dimension - Time ? What is true today, may not be true tomorrow. When was it proved that the Earth moves round the Sun ? Long time ago. Have we been reviewing this ? may be, at a particular time in the evolution process, the reverse takes place. The Sun gives us energy today. May be, when it is exhausted some billion years hence, do the rest of the planets return the energy ?
We can check this by sending up rockets powered by solar batteries at intervals of time. So long as the rockets get burnt out, the Sun has excess energy. When it is able to land, the reverse has taken place. If so, that is the time when the dark ages descend. That perhaps explains Pralaya or the Deluge. During such ages, if a cave man tells his son that there used to be gadgets like Televisions, Aeroplanes, Space rockets and so on, he would smirk and say, " Oh ! Dad ! That is all Science ". May be such things happen at any one time in only parts of the earth but there may be a time when the entire planet is engulfed.
We should not, therefore, reject mythology as utterly outmoded and incorrect. That is not to plead for obscurantism either. All that I would say is that the present is important. Past and future, though not to be neglected, are less important. nothing is useless. What is animate today may be inanimate tomorrow and vice versa. Everything is useful. Evolution, change is the order of nature and those who aid this process, benefit in the long run. That is why it is important to create. If nature destroys it, we have rebuild. If Pralaya was to come, is it any reason not to build ? Construction is the job of the animate. It is for nature to destroy so that the inanimate get a chance to be recycled into the animate. Man can also aid in this process destroying obsolete things and building new things.
Importance given to certain persons and certain activities at a particular time is only for that time and that place, it being the need of the hour. They should not bother about the past or the future. They should enjoy whatever is available at any given time, not sparing any efforts to make themselves happy.
Call it religion, call it science, call it nature study, or even call it even Marxism. They are all the same. They all change. They all evolve. In the ultimate analysis, a philosopher is either a fool or a student or a senile. Wise men act regardless of the past or the future.
But then, this set me to thinking. How could I explain to him ? Well, here goes an effort. It has been established now that the human brain is a complex electronic computer-cum-control room besides being a few other things. There is an electronic circuitry in the brain that helps us to see, hear, smell and so on.
A television set at helps it to catch a program from waves emitted by a television transmitter. How did the circuit in the human brain come to be formed ? We do not know as yet for certain. But we know for certain how the television circuit was evolved. Now, is it impossible to imagine that human brain can have the same circuit as the television in addition to the present circuit ? After all, by the same evolution by which the present circuit was evolved, the additional circuit could also be evolved. What would then happen is that a human being can switch on his own brain's T.V. set and witness a program being beamed.
It is this quality that Sanjay of the Mahabharat is said to have had. Perhaps, another person at the site of the battle had transmitter ability. This myth is a possible scientifically acceptable or at least understandable matter. Similarly, other myths may be explained in other ways if one gives thought to them. The probable reason why such qualities were lost is that miuse was made of them. Besides, nature has shown a better way, the present way.
Now that we have televisions, it is not necessary to have such a circuit in the brain. However when such prevalent gadgets are not available, the creatures on earth may, possibly possess the properties of such gadgets. Now-a-days only what is scientifically accepted is considered to be truth. Do we however pause to think that there is a fourth dimension - Time ? What is true today, may not be true tomorrow. When was it proved that the Earth moves round the Sun ? Long time ago. Have we been reviewing this ? may be, at a particular time in the evolution process, the reverse takes place. The Sun gives us energy today. May be, when it is exhausted some billion years hence, do the rest of the planets return the energy ?
We can check this by sending up rockets powered by solar batteries at intervals of time. So long as the rockets get burnt out, the Sun has excess energy. When it is able to land, the reverse has taken place. If so, that is the time when the dark ages descend. That perhaps explains Pralaya or the Deluge. During such ages, if a cave man tells his son that there used to be gadgets like Televisions, Aeroplanes, Space rockets and so on, he would smirk and say, " Oh ! Dad ! That is all Science ". May be such things happen at any one time in only parts of the earth but there may be a time when the entire planet is engulfed.
We should not, therefore, reject mythology as utterly outmoded and incorrect. That is not to plead for obscurantism either. All that I would say is that the present is important. Past and future, though not to be neglected, are less important. nothing is useless. What is animate today may be inanimate tomorrow and vice versa. Everything is useful. Evolution, change is the order of nature and those who aid this process, benefit in the long run. That is why it is important to create. If nature destroys it, we have rebuild. If Pralaya was to come, is it any reason not to build ? Construction is the job of the animate. It is for nature to destroy so that the inanimate get a chance to be recycled into the animate. Man can also aid in this process destroying obsolete things and building new things.
Importance given to certain persons and certain activities at a particular time is only for that time and that place, it being the need of the hour. They should not bother about the past or the future. They should enjoy whatever is available at any given time, not sparing any efforts to make themselves happy.
Call it religion, call it science, call it nature study, or even call it even Marxism. They are all the same. They all change. They all evolve. In the ultimate analysis, a philosopher is either a fool or a student or a senile. Wise men act regardless of the past or the future.
THE TENTH DIMENSION
All of us are aware of the three dimensions viz. length, breadth and height. It has now been accepted that there is a fourth dimension which is Time. According to me, the fifth dimension is the energy level. A good balance of energy in various parts of the earth, whether in the active form such as heat, light, electricity, wind etc. or potential form such as trees, coal, petroleum or uranium etc., ensures that no sudden changes would occur. This is also a known fact as witnessed in phenomena such as earthquake, eruption of volcanoes etc. A detailed study of the extent of energy imbalance causing cataclysms, their complete mathematical analysis etc. is still to be done.
The sixth dimension would be planetary positions. The gravitational pull, interactions between planets, significant events on any particular planet affect events on the earth. Astrology is a rudimentary science in this direction. It takes into account planetary positions but does not take into account significant events on each of the planets which could affect its movement or trigger similar or other events on other planets. The reason why many astrological predictions go wrong is that they are based on empirical observations rather than any detailed analysis. A thorough and detailed scientific study has yet to be done. Why a particular prediction went wrong is never done. Monitors placed on various planets could give us more accurate account of events taking place on them.
The seventh dimension is the solar activity. Storms and flares in the Sun can affect events on the earth. At present, observation of these is done from the earth alone which means from one particular direction only. This has to be by monitoring stations placed on the various planets as well. Even then, this would still be only a remote sensing arrangement which means that time gap would affectt judgementt, A way has yet to be found by which solar activity can be monitored from the Sun itself. Perhaps such monitors already exist in the form of meteors but then, these were detached long back from their parent bodies.
The eighth dimension would be equipment of the human brain with getting automatic knowledge about such activities without using any monitoring devices. One problem in this matter is the time gap involved. The ninth dimension would be the ability to act in accordance wiyh the requirements of that particular time on the basis of thr information available. But the most important and the tenth dimension is to remain totally unaffected by thes phenomena and to carry on life, enjoying it fully, without any fears or apprehensions, without caring for life or death. This means strong will power, so strong that it makes the person very soft.
The sixth dimension would be planetary positions. The gravitational pull, interactions between planets, significant events on any particular planet affect events on the earth. Astrology is a rudimentary science in this direction. It takes into account planetary positions but does not take into account significant events on each of the planets which could affect its movement or trigger similar or other events on other planets. The reason why many astrological predictions go wrong is that they are based on empirical observations rather than any detailed analysis. A thorough and detailed scientific study has yet to be done. Why a particular prediction went wrong is never done. Monitors placed on various planets could give us more accurate account of events taking place on them.
The seventh dimension is the solar activity. Storms and flares in the Sun can affect events on the earth. At present, observation of these is done from the earth alone which means from one particular direction only. This has to be by monitoring stations placed on the various planets as well. Even then, this would still be only a remote sensing arrangement which means that time gap would affectt judgementt, A way has yet to be found by which solar activity can be monitored from the Sun itself. Perhaps such monitors already exist in the form of meteors but then, these were detached long back from their parent bodies.
The eighth dimension would be equipment of the human brain with getting automatic knowledge about such activities without using any monitoring devices. One problem in this matter is the time gap involved. The ninth dimension would be the ability to act in accordance wiyh the requirements of that particular time on the basis of thr information available. But the most important and the tenth dimension is to remain totally unaffected by thes phenomena and to carry on life, enjoying it fully, without any fears or apprehensions, without caring for life or death. This means strong will power, so strong that it makes the person very soft.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
HOW NOT TO LOSE Rs. 750 /- PER MONTH ?
NOTE :- This was written nearly 40 years back. The amounts mentioned in it are out dated. The principle of the advantage in building your own house at the beginning of your career rather than towards the end however still holds true, notwithstanding the builder-government nexus in raising the cost of your shelter.
A friend of mine once asked me whether he should build a flat in a multi-storeyed building in a metropolitan city. It was a three bed-roomed flat priced at Rs. 50,000/- only. After some calculations, I told him that he should immediately buy the flat as he was losing Rs.750/- per month by not buying it. I can see that you are not believing this statement. My friend too did not. At least till he saw my calculations. So here goes............
For a flat of Rs. 50,000/- you need to make a down payment of Rs. 16,667/- . For the balance, Rs.33,333/- , either the Life Insurance Corporation or the State Housing Finance Corporation would give you a loan.
You would have to pay approximately Rs. 290/- per month towards repayment of the loan for a period of 20 years. In addition to that, you would have to pay a house tax to the Municipal Corporation, the rate for which varies from place to place. For the purpose of this calculation, it is taken to be Rs. 60/- per month. You would also have to spend on an average about Rs. 30/- per month towards maintainance of the flat. Thus, you would be spending about Rs. 290+60+30=Rs.380/- per month.
As against this, you would get about Rs. 500/- per month as rent. If you are staying in the flat that you now own, you would be saving the same amount that you would have paid as rent, had you been living in a rented accommodation. So you are already getting Rs.500-380=Rs.120/- per month or Rs. 1440/- per year even when the loan is being repaid. This works out out to a return of about 8.6 % per year on the amount of Rs.16,667/- initially invested by you. One can not deny that this is a fairly good rate of interest.
The loan would be repaid within 20 years and thereafter the net return that you would get is about Rs. 500-60-30= Rs.410/- per month or Rs. 410x12=Rs. 4920/- per year. This is without considering any increase in the rent during the period of 20 years. The return after 20 years, thus works out to be 29.5 % per year on the amount of Rs. 16,667/- initially invested by you. Not bad ! eh !
However, this return is not the crux of the issue. The main point is that you would have to pay about Rs. 200,000/- for the same flat after 20 years, since the cost of land as well as cost of construction would have gone up 4 times judging from past experience as well as the current rate of rise in price index. Apart from this, you would get a house farther away from the centre of the city as the city would have expanded hugely in the span of 20 years.
Thus, by buying now, when you are still earning, you get a house for Rs. 16,667/- for which you would pay Rs. 200,000/- after 20 years. So you have saved Rs. 200,000-16,667=Rs. 183,333/- over a period of 20 years. This would work out to Rs. 9000 per year approximately or Rs. 750/- per month. You are surprised. Aren't you ? well, work it out for yourself, if you still do not believe me.
So, gentlemen, book a flat this month and stop losing money at the rate of Rs. 750/- per month !
P.S.:- If I had told you that by building a house, you would help solve the nation's housing problem or that you would help in holding the price line or that every generation must build a house for the succeeding one, you might have taken me for a politician in power. Hence, I have put this to you in terms of hard chips. If you do pay heed to my advice, you would also be doing these things apart from preventing the loss of your money.
P.P.S.:- Don't tell me, charity begins at home........ I have already built one. While the data was still valid !
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
There was a letter to the Editor on the above article delineating the usual objection that comes up almost reactively rather than reflectively whenever a new idea is mooted, which is reproduced below.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A LETTER
While Mr. Desai should be congratulated for writing an excellent article ( SAVE Rs. 750 P.M. - May 1971 issue ) , a point may be raised against the profitability of the proposed investment.
In calculating the monthly expenses after buying the flat, he has not considered the so called "Opportunity Cost". Here the appropriate opportunity cost would be at least the interest that could have been drawn on Rs. 16,666.67 from Govt./Bank securities at the rate of say seven and a half per cent and the income tax ( minimum 11 % ) that could have been avoided on this. Unlike the income from the flat, the interest on Govt. securities would be tax free ( within limits ).
On calculation, this comes to Rs. 1250 and Rs. 140 per year i.e. Rs. 116 per month. So the actual monthly cost adds upto 290+60+30+116= Rs. 496 per month and the immediate advantage of such an investment is negligible. The balance sheet, of course, changes after 20 years , when the investor will possess valuable flat ( Rs. 2,00,000 ?) instead of securities worth Rs. 16,666.67, should he choose this alternative. Moreover, I feel, for such investment calculations, one should not overlook the time value of money.
S. Ray Chaudhari
A.E. Barauni
This letter was replied to as follows:-
SIMPLE WATER
Dear Editor,
I was happy to read Shri ray Chaudhari's letter in the June issue for one reason. It is better to be contradicted than to be ignored ! Pardon me, if I am unable to reply with as much jargon as used by him. I am one of the simple types who term AQUA PURA as water.
The "opportunity cost" that Shri Ray Chaudhari talks about is an euphimism for comparative return on the capital. As for income tax, is it not avoidable ? My calculations may not have taken these into account , but I have also not taken into account the increased rent that may accrue with the passage of time. In my opinion, the omission of 'opportunitycost' and income tax is more than balanced by this increased rent.
To illustrate, the flat which carried a rent of Rs. 350 p.m. in Delhi till 1967 was leased to me on Rs. 400 p.m. and in 1970 when I left it, the next tenant paid Rs. 500 p.m. Let me cite another case, this time of a smaller town. The ground floor portion of a house that I know, fetched a rent of Rs. 80 p.m. in 1957. Today it fetches Rs. 200 p.m. The rental value of the balance two floors occupied by the owner was Rs. 120 p.m. in 1957 and is Rs. 300 p.m. today. The house was purchased for Rs. 26000 in 1957 whereas some time back, a sum of Rs. 65000 was offered for it. By the way, the title of the house being in the name of a lady who has no other income, there is no payment of income tax involved.
These are, of course only two instances but it is not difficult to find many more such examples. The point is that neither investment nor the income from Government securities or similar investments appreciate in value. In the case of a house, both do. Actually in terms of purchasing power, the value of the return as well as the investment in Government securities depreciates.
Then, there is, what my scientifically minded friend would like to call as a " purpose cost". The working man, for whom this article was written, has as his highest ambition, the ownership of a house on retirement. In my article, I had tried to advise him how he can fulfill this ambition while in service and save some money in the bargain. Text book advice on investment is meant for industrialists, businessmen and others of their ilk.
- R.N.Desai
Haldia.
EPILOGUE
This was originally published in my public sector company's house journal. Some doubting Thomases had raised objections which were effectively rebutted. Many of my colleagues took my advice seriously and built houses or bought flats. They are all happy today. Some of the doubters took 10 years to understand and paid a much higher price at that time. In course of time, the company itself started giving house loans to employees. Many other companies followed suit. Some of them use house loans partly as an employee retaining strategy. The down side is that a builder lobby has sprung up which corners land and tries to raise costs with or without help from corrupt bureaucrats/politicians. Despite their machinations, the concept outlined here still holds true. The housing boom across Indian cities and towns testifies to it. A lot of jobs in the construction industry as well as in the financial institutions have been created. The difference between highly intelligent but not so sagacious people and those with a moderate intelligence but some earthy wisdom is perhaps the difference between negativity and positivity.
A friend of mine once asked me whether he should build a flat in a multi-storeyed building in a metropolitan city. It was a three bed-roomed flat priced at Rs. 50,000/- only. After some calculations, I told him that he should immediately buy the flat as he was losing Rs.750/- per month by not buying it. I can see that you are not believing this statement. My friend too did not. At least till he saw my calculations. So here goes............
For a flat of Rs. 50,000/- you need to make a down payment of Rs. 16,667/- . For the balance, Rs.33,333/- , either the Life Insurance Corporation or the State Housing Finance Corporation would give you a loan.
You would have to pay approximately Rs. 290/- per month towards repayment of the loan for a period of 20 years. In addition to that, you would have to pay a house tax to the Municipal Corporation, the rate for which varies from place to place. For the purpose of this calculation, it is taken to be Rs. 60/- per month. You would also have to spend on an average about Rs. 30/- per month towards maintainance of the flat. Thus, you would be spending about Rs. 290+60+30=Rs.380/- per month.
As against this, you would get about Rs. 500/- per month as rent. If you are staying in the flat that you now own, you would be saving the same amount that you would have paid as rent, had you been living in a rented accommodation. So you are already getting Rs.500-380=Rs.120/- per month or Rs. 1440/- per year even when the loan is being repaid. This works out out to a return of about 8.6 % per year on the amount of Rs.16,667/- initially invested by you. One can not deny that this is a fairly good rate of interest.
The loan would be repaid within 20 years and thereafter the net return that you would get is about Rs. 500-60-30= Rs.410/- per month or Rs. 410x12=Rs. 4920/- per year. This is without considering any increase in the rent during the period of 20 years. The return after 20 years, thus works out to be 29.5 % per year on the amount of Rs. 16,667/- initially invested by you. Not bad ! eh !
However, this return is not the crux of the issue. The main point is that you would have to pay about Rs. 200,000/- for the same flat after 20 years, since the cost of land as well as cost of construction would have gone up 4 times judging from past experience as well as the current rate of rise in price index. Apart from this, you would get a house farther away from the centre of the city as the city would have expanded hugely in the span of 20 years.
Thus, by buying now, when you are still earning, you get a house for Rs. 16,667/- for which you would pay Rs. 200,000/- after 20 years. So you have saved Rs. 200,000-16,667=Rs. 183,333/- over a period of 20 years. This would work out to Rs. 9000 per year approximately or Rs. 750/- per month. You are surprised. Aren't you ? well, work it out for yourself, if you still do not believe me.
So, gentlemen, book a flat this month and stop losing money at the rate of Rs. 750/- per month !
P.S.:- If I had told you that by building a house, you would help solve the nation's housing problem or that you would help in holding the price line or that every generation must build a house for the succeeding one, you might have taken me for a politician in power. Hence, I have put this to you in terms of hard chips. If you do pay heed to my advice, you would also be doing these things apart from preventing the loss of your money.
P.P.S.:- Don't tell me, charity begins at home........ I have already built one. While the data was still valid !
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
There was a letter to the Editor on the above article delineating the usual objection that comes up almost reactively rather than reflectively whenever a new idea is mooted, which is reproduced below.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A LETTER
While Mr. Desai should be congratulated for writing an excellent article ( SAVE Rs. 750 P.M. - May 1971 issue ) , a point may be raised against the profitability of the proposed investment.
In calculating the monthly expenses after buying the flat, he has not considered the so called "Opportunity Cost". Here the appropriate opportunity cost would be at least the interest that could have been drawn on Rs. 16,666.67 from Govt./Bank securities at the rate of say seven and a half per cent and the income tax ( minimum 11 % ) that could have been avoided on this. Unlike the income from the flat, the interest on Govt. securities would be tax free ( within limits ).
On calculation, this comes to Rs. 1250 and Rs. 140 per year i.e. Rs. 116 per month. So the actual monthly cost adds upto 290+60+30+116= Rs. 496 per month and the immediate advantage of such an investment is negligible. The balance sheet, of course, changes after 20 years , when the investor will possess valuable flat ( Rs. 2,00,000 ?) instead of securities worth Rs. 16,666.67, should he choose this alternative. Moreover, I feel, for such investment calculations, one should not overlook the time value of money.
S. Ray Chaudhari
A.E. Barauni
This letter was replied to as follows:-
SIMPLE WATER
Dear Editor,
I was happy to read Shri ray Chaudhari's letter in the June issue for one reason. It is better to be contradicted than to be ignored ! Pardon me, if I am unable to reply with as much jargon as used by him. I am one of the simple types who term AQUA PURA as water.
The "opportunity cost" that Shri Ray Chaudhari talks about is an euphimism for comparative return on the capital. As for income tax, is it not avoidable ? My calculations may not have taken these into account , but I have also not taken into account the increased rent that may accrue with the passage of time. In my opinion, the omission of 'opportunitycost' and income tax is more than balanced by this increased rent.
To illustrate, the flat which carried a rent of Rs. 350 p.m. in Delhi till 1967 was leased to me on Rs. 400 p.m. and in 1970 when I left it, the next tenant paid Rs. 500 p.m. Let me cite another case, this time of a smaller town. The ground floor portion of a house that I know, fetched a rent of Rs. 80 p.m. in 1957. Today it fetches Rs. 200 p.m. The rental value of the balance two floors occupied by the owner was Rs. 120 p.m. in 1957 and is Rs. 300 p.m. today. The house was purchased for Rs. 26000 in 1957 whereas some time back, a sum of Rs. 65000 was offered for it. By the way, the title of the house being in the name of a lady who has no other income, there is no payment of income tax involved.
These are, of course only two instances but it is not difficult to find many more such examples. The point is that neither investment nor the income from Government securities or similar investments appreciate in value. In the case of a house, both do. Actually in terms of purchasing power, the value of the return as well as the investment in Government securities depreciates.
Then, there is, what my scientifically minded friend would like to call as a " purpose cost". The working man, for whom this article was written, has as his highest ambition, the ownership of a house on retirement. In my article, I had tried to advise him how he can fulfill this ambition while in service and save some money in the bargain. Text book advice on investment is meant for industrialists, businessmen and others of their ilk.
- R.N.Desai
Haldia.
EPILOGUE
This was originally published in my public sector company's house journal. Some doubting Thomases had raised objections which were effectively rebutted. Many of my colleagues took my advice seriously and built houses or bought flats. They are all happy today. Some of the doubters took 10 years to understand and paid a much higher price at that time. In course of time, the company itself started giving house loans to employees. Many other companies followed suit. Some of them use house loans partly as an employee retaining strategy. The down side is that a builder lobby has sprung up which corners land and tries to raise costs with or without help from corrupt bureaucrats/politicians. Despite their machinations, the concept outlined here still holds true. The housing boom across Indian cities and towns testifies to it. A lot of jobs in the construction industry as well as in the financial institutions have been created. The difference between highly intelligent but not so sagacious people and those with a moderate intelligence but some earthy wisdom is perhaps the difference between negativity and positivity.
IS KNOWLEDGE AN OUTCOME OF SIN
Mr. Mistry was our class teacher in the IXth class in a moffusil town. An old widower with no issues, he was good as a teacher. He knew his facts and had a fairly good delivery. He spoke slowly, in measured terms. Even though his accent was colloquial, his language was pretty good.
Being an old man, he was apt to ignore the boys' pranks. He rarely punished anyone. Once I was caught spinning a top in the class. The only punishment that he gave me was to ask me to sit on the girls' bench. This was a punishment that was not unpleasant to me even at that age.
A classfellow known to the entire world as Jatiya was respectfully addressed as Jatashankar (His real name) by Mistry Sir. Jatiya, apart from being the class monitor was also Aide-de-Camp to the teacher. He helped the old man in household chores. True to the Guru-Chela tradition, Jatiya was always prepared to do any bidding from Mistry Sir, be it cooking a meal, doing shopping or even massaging the Guru's feet.
It was therefore natural for us to make fun of Jatiya. Inwardly however, we feared him. Inspite of his pre-occupation with the teacher's household work, Jatiya was a fairly good student. Those of us who were competing for the first rank in the class were certain that none but Jatiya would get the coveted first rank. The teacher can not but help being partial.
The results were declared and partiality was indeed shown, though not of the kind expected. I was declared first, my close friend and rival Prabhakar, second and so on. Jatiya's name did not appear anywhere. He had actually failed !
In the evening, I ran into Jatiya. while sympathising with him, I expressed my surprise at his failure. Had he enquired from Mistry Sir about it ? Jatiya was reticent at first but finally gave me the gist of the teacher's explanation. The teacher' words were :-
" Jatashankar ! I expected you to understand but it appears that you have not grasped the meaning of your result. All knowledge comes out of committing sins. The more sins you commit, the more knowledge you get. Having known this, how can I sentence you, my dear boy, to commit more sins for gathering knowledge ? "
Ever since, whenever a colleague is superseded, I tell him to treat his bosses as
so many Mistry Sirs and shrug off the event.
Being an old man, he was apt to ignore the boys' pranks. He rarely punished anyone. Once I was caught spinning a top in the class. The only punishment that he gave me was to ask me to sit on the girls' bench. This was a punishment that was not unpleasant to me even at that age.
A classfellow known to the entire world as Jatiya was respectfully addressed as Jatashankar (His real name) by Mistry Sir. Jatiya, apart from being the class monitor was also Aide-de-Camp to the teacher. He helped the old man in household chores. True to the Guru-Chela tradition, Jatiya was always prepared to do any bidding from Mistry Sir, be it cooking a meal, doing shopping or even massaging the Guru's feet.
It was therefore natural for us to make fun of Jatiya. Inwardly however, we feared him. Inspite of his pre-occupation with the teacher's household work, Jatiya was a fairly good student. Those of us who were competing for the first rank in the class were certain that none but Jatiya would get the coveted first rank. The teacher can not but help being partial.
The results were declared and partiality was indeed shown, though not of the kind expected. I was declared first, my close friend and rival Prabhakar, second and so on. Jatiya's name did not appear anywhere. He had actually failed !
In the evening, I ran into Jatiya. while sympathising with him, I expressed my surprise at his failure. Had he enquired from Mistry Sir about it ? Jatiya was reticent at first but finally gave me the gist of the teacher's explanation. The teacher' words were :-
" Jatashankar ! I expected you to understand but it appears that you have not grasped the meaning of your result. All knowledge comes out of committing sins. The more sins you commit, the more knowledge you get. Having known this, how can I sentence you, my dear boy, to commit more sins for gathering knowledge ? "
Ever since, whenever a colleague is superseded, I tell him to treat his bosses as
so many Mistry Sirs and shrug off the event.
Monday, August 22, 2011
SOMA, THE UNUSUAL MAN
Soma was a farm labourer who fell in love with his master's daughter. Unlike in Hindi films, there was no hitch and he married her. In fact, his story is so unlike hindi film stories that I am tempted to narrate it as a story. For men like Soma are these days found in stories alone.
After marriage, he did not consider it fit to continue his job with his father-in-law. He therefore moved to a nearby town. He found a job with the Railways. As was the practice in those days, he was chosen to be attached to an officer of the Railways to do the latter's household work. Being directly attached to the boss was considered to be a prestigious position. When my father was posted to that town, Soma began to work for us. It was a spacious bunglow with a large compound. The bunglow had servants' quarters in which Soma lived with his family. He had a son and a daughter by the time we moved to that bunglow. His aged father too lived with him.
Soma's duties included all the household chores such as cleaning utensils, washing clothes and sweeping and mopping the floors. We were a large family. Apart from my parents and grandparents, we were six siblings. As was the practice in those days, one or two cousins too lived with for their schooling. In addition to the duties outlined earlier, one of his duties was to walk with us to the school which was a good 5 K.M.s away and non-availability of any public transport. Apart from all these, Soma's love for farming and gardening impelled him to look after our garden. We grew our own vegetables, fruits and flowers. There was one more servant to share his burden. His wife also lent him a hand.
One sunday in a month saw Soma turn into a barber. He dressed the hair of all the male members of his family. Twice a week, he shaved his father's beard apart from attending to his own on a daily basis. Twice a year, Soma would turn into a tailor and stitch clothes for his entire family with the help of a sewing machine borrowed from my mother. He believed in complete self reliance and practised it in toto.
The way he started training his son Vitthal was remarkable. Vitthal used to come to school along with us. As soon as Vitthal mastered the three 'R's to Soma's satisfaction, he was taken off from the school. He would have come to the secondary stage, had he continued. the boy was hardly ten years old. We all protested but Soma did not flinch. According to him, he did not want his son to become a softie with a lot of gas in his head.
Vitthal was first apprenticed to Soma's brother-in-law who hawked newspapers at the Railway station. On our way to school, Soma would explain to us his logic. The boy, he said, must first learn to speak boldly to strangers and learn how to deal with public. He must also learn to handle money and keep accounts. As the amount involved on a daily basis was not large after the departure ofa train, loss if any, would not amount to much. In the time interval between one train and the next, he would read the newspaper and keep himself abreast of what happened in the world around him. Once he formed a habit of reading the newspaper, for the rest of his life, he would remain uptodate with the latest information.
Vitthal picked up and did his job so well that his uncle-cum-boss gradually started leaving all work to Vitthal. Hardly a year had passed and Soma took Vitthal off that job. His employer protested vehemantly, even offered a share in the business but Soma stuck to his guns.
Next, Soma apprenticed Vitthal to a tailor, a barber, a mason, a carpenter and so on. He would explain to us that the boy should become deft with his hands and be able to look after his and his family's requirements himself. He can then choose any of the trades that he had picked up as his profession. He would never lack for work as he would be an asset to any employer. If he chose, he could even be an entrepreneur himself. The concept of multi-trade was taught to me by Soma. Vitthal, I realized, would never join a trade union as he would never have grievances. If something did not suit him, he could easily switch over.
Soma's wife became pregnant and Soma acted as the midwife without any fuss. We knew of the child birth only because Vitthal did not go to work that day and took care of his younger siblings. On being pressed, Vitthal gave out the story. Even such an event did not make much difference to his routine work He merely adjusted his timings. Later, he explained to us how he learnt the work of a midwife. For the birth of his first child, a midwife was hired on the condition that Soma would remain present during delivery and learn all about it. During the second child's birth, the midwife was hired not for the actual delivery but for monitoring Soma's performance. For the third delivery, he did not need any help.
The only incident that I remember in connection with Soma that had some excitement was when Soma's wife complained to him that a neighbour's servant had insulted her. Soma flew into a rage and ran after the offender. We were afraid Soma would have taken some weapon along, but no ! Soma had just gone off like that. After a chase, Soma caught hold of the man by his hair, shook him, slapped him on both cheeks and told him how to behave with women. When Soma came back, he was his usual self and without a moment's delay, continued with what he was doing earlier.
It is now nearly half a century since I set my eyes on Soma. This is a belated tribute to you, Soma, the unusual man ! I am sure, you would have been happy wherever you have been, since you know how to be happy by yourself. No Gurus or psychiatrists for you !
After marriage, he did not consider it fit to continue his job with his father-in-law. He therefore moved to a nearby town. He found a job with the Railways. As was the practice in those days, he was chosen to be attached to an officer of the Railways to do the latter's household work. Being directly attached to the boss was considered to be a prestigious position. When my father was posted to that town, Soma began to work for us. It was a spacious bunglow with a large compound. The bunglow had servants' quarters in which Soma lived with his family. He had a son and a daughter by the time we moved to that bunglow. His aged father too lived with him.
Soma's duties included all the household chores such as cleaning utensils, washing clothes and sweeping and mopping the floors. We were a large family. Apart from my parents and grandparents, we were six siblings. As was the practice in those days, one or two cousins too lived with for their schooling. In addition to the duties outlined earlier, one of his duties was to walk with us to the school which was a good 5 K.M.s away and non-availability of any public transport. Apart from all these, Soma's love for farming and gardening impelled him to look after our garden. We grew our own vegetables, fruits and flowers. There was one more servant to share his burden. His wife also lent him a hand.
One sunday in a month saw Soma turn into a barber. He dressed the hair of all the male members of his family. Twice a week, he shaved his father's beard apart from attending to his own on a daily basis. Twice a year, Soma would turn into a tailor and stitch clothes for his entire family with the help of a sewing machine borrowed from my mother. He believed in complete self reliance and practised it in toto.
The way he started training his son Vitthal was remarkable. Vitthal used to come to school along with us. As soon as Vitthal mastered the three 'R's to Soma's satisfaction, he was taken off from the school. He would have come to the secondary stage, had he continued. the boy was hardly ten years old. We all protested but Soma did not flinch. According to him, he did not want his son to become a softie with a lot of gas in his head.
Vitthal was first apprenticed to Soma's brother-in-law who hawked newspapers at the Railway station. On our way to school, Soma would explain to us his logic. The boy, he said, must first learn to speak boldly to strangers and learn how to deal with public. He must also learn to handle money and keep accounts. As the amount involved on a daily basis was not large after the departure ofa train, loss if any, would not amount to much. In the time interval between one train and the next, he would read the newspaper and keep himself abreast of what happened in the world around him. Once he formed a habit of reading the newspaper, for the rest of his life, he would remain uptodate with the latest information.
Vitthal picked up and did his job so well that his uncle-cum-boss gradually started leaving all work to Vitthal. Hardly a year had passed and Soma took Vitthal off that job. His employer protested vehemantly, even offered a share in the business but Soma stuck to his guns.
Next, Soma apprenticed Vitthal to a tailor, a barber, a mason, a carpenter and so on. He would explain to us that the boy should become deft with his hands and be able to look after his and his family's requirements himself. He can then choose any of the trades that he had picked up as his profession. He would never lack for work as he would be an asset to any employer. If he chose, he could even be an entrepreneur himself. The concept of multi-trade was taught to me by Soma. Vitthal, I realized, would never join a trade union as he would never have grievances. If something did not suit him, he could easily switch over.
Soma's wife became pregnant and Soma acted as the midwife without any fuss. We knew of the child birth only because Vitthal did not go to work that day and took care of his younger siblings. On being pressed, Vitthal gave out the story. Even such an event did not make much difference to his routine work He merely adjusted his timings. Later, he explained to us how he learnt the work of a midwife. For the birth of his first child, a midwife was hired on the condition that Soma would remain present during delivery and learn all about it. During the second child's birth, the midwife was hired not for the actual delivery but for monitoring Soma's performance. For the third delivery, he did not need any help.
The only incident that I remember in connection with Soma that had some excitement was when Soma's wife complained to him that a neighbour's servant had insulted her. Soma flew into a rage and ran after the offender. We were afraid Soma would have taken some weapon along, but no ! Soma had just gone off like that. After a chase, Soma caught hold of the man by his hair, shook him, slapped him on both cheeks and told him how to behave with women. When Soma came back, he was his usual self and without a moment's delay, continued with what he was doing earlier.
It is now nearly half a century since I set my eyes on Soma. This is a belated tribute to you, Soma, the unusual man ! I am sure, you would have been happy wherever you have been, since you know how to be happy by yourself. No Gurus or psychiatrists for you !
THE URGE TO MANAGE
When Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden, there was peace and tranquility everywhere. The asp could not stand this and whispered something to Eve. She tempted Adam with an apple and as if that was not enough, donned a fig leaf in a strategic location. Eve thus became the first manager. the term 'manager' is apt for nothing ages more than a woman.
Then came Abel and Cain. Cain slew Abel for fear that he would inherit only half the earth. Thus when a lack is felt, a manager springs up. Insecurity is an important causative factor in a person's need to dominate his fellow beings. Just as it is very difficult to be idle for a long time or to sit consciously without thinking, it is very difficult not to dominate, not to manage.
The urge to manage is a "Rajasi Guna". Though not a "Tamasi guna", it is not a "Satvik Guna" either. One can not be saintly so long as one has a compulsive need to manage others. One who has this urge is basically a weaker person than his fellow beings. You do not envy managers, you merely sympathise with them.Love good managers as you love good women. Do not hate bad managers as it does not behove a man to hate woman.
The extent to which we wish tomanage others, bears a fair co-relation to the extent of feminity in a person. No man is all masculine barring the mythical Arjuna.
Now, the point is how not to manage ? Management schools take two years to teach people how to manage even though the motivation to do so is present in most weak men. i shall tell you how not to manage. Like all habits, trying to kick the habit can cause repressions. Do not therefore try suddenly not to manage. The best way to cure yourself of this habit is to manage fully to your heart's content till you reach the highest position on the earth if not the universe. Fear of being dominated by others will take you higher and higher.
Once you have reached your level of incompetence, you would rise no further. You might have become the Chairman of a company but you would chafe under the glare of president of a bigger and mightier multinational company.
Once you have managed everything, the downgrade would start. However hard you try, you may not succeed. If you have been the President of the United Nations, you might have to be satisfied with merely the Presidency of a country.
On the contrary, if you try to avoid managing even what comes to your lot, you would find yourself a harassed man. If you do nothing, you may find yourself managing a lot more than you did when you were active.
a realization would then dawn on you that happiness in totality is the same for everyone. You would then do whatever comes to your lot with happiness and all that Gita or for that matter, any religious scripture preaches, would come naturally to you to practise.You would enjoy managing those to be managed by you and enjoy being managed by those who can not help managing yoYou might well ask me if I am not trying to manage the managers by writing this. The answer is yes and no. Yes, to those who however hard I try, are not going to believe me. No, to those who would believe me, when I say that I wrote this primarily for my enjoyment. If you too enjoy it, I would have reason to respect you !
Then came Abel and Cain. Cain slew Abel for fear that he would inherit only half the earth. Thus when a lack is felt, a manager springs up. Insecurity is an important causative factor in a person's need to dominate his fellow beings. Just as it is very difficult to be idle for a long time or to sit consciously without thinking, it is very difficult not to dominate, not to manage.
The urge to manage is a "Rajasi Guna". Though not a "Tamasi guna", it is not a "Satvik Guna" either. One can not be saintly so long as one has a compulsive need to manage others. One who has this urge is basically a weaker person than his fellow beings. You do not envy managers, you merely sympathise with them.Love good managers as you love good women. Do not hate bad managers as it does not behove a man to hate woman.
The extent to which we wish tomanage others, bears a fair co-relation to the extent of feminity in a person. No man is all masculine barring the mythical Arjuna.
Now, the point is how not to manage ? Management schools take two years to teach people how to manage even though the motivation to do so is present in most weak men. i shall tell you how not to manage. Like all habits, trying to kick the habit can cause repressions. Do not therefore try suddenly not to manage. The best way to cure yourself of this habit is to manage fully to your heart's content till you reach the highest position on the earth if not the universe. Fear of being dominated by others will take you higher and higher.
Once you have reached your level of incompetence, you would rise no further. You might have become the Chairman of a company but you would chafe under the glare of president of a bigger and mightier multinational company.
Once you have managed everything, the downgrade would start. However hard you try, you may not succeed. If you have been the President of the United Nations, you might have to be satisfied with merely the Presidency of a country.
On the contrary, if you try to avoid managing even what comes to your lot, you would find yourself a harassed man. If you do nothing, you may find yourself managing a lot more than you did when you were active.
a realization would then dawn on you that happiness in totality is the same for everyone. You would then do whatever comes to your lot with happiness and all that Gita or for that matter, any religious scripture preaches, would come naturally to you to practise.You would enjoy managing those to be managed by you and enjoy being managed by those who can not help managing yoYou might well ask me if I am not trying to manage the managers by writing this. The answer is yes and no. Yes, to those who however hard I try, are not going to believe me. No, to those who would believe me, when I say that I wrote this primarily for my enjoyment. If you too enjoy it, I would have reason to respect you !
PREETY, OUR HOUSE MANAGER
Preety, our daughter is a spastic. I might enlighten all those of you who do not know what a spastic or a patient of Cerebral Palsy is.
A spastic is an individual who is fully developed mentally. In some respects, they are perhaps even more developed than average human beings.The word spastic owes its origin to the word 'spasm' or jerky movement. Muscular co-ordination is lacking in spastics. Their movements are jerky and quite often they can not make the smooth normal movements of their feet or hands or for that matter any of their limbs including the tongue.
Our brain has many departments. Some control our vision, some smell, some memory and so on. There is one that controls the co-ordination of voluntary muscles. We have voluntary muscles and involuntary muscles. Involuntary muscles are those, for example that come into play when we instictively withdraw our handswhen we accidentally touch a hot object. Voluntary muscles are those that we use consciously for carrying out some task. The centre of the brain that co-ordinates our voluntary muscles i.e. the one that makes the limbs to do what we want them to do is the one that is affected in the spastics. It does not work properly. As per present knowledge, when this function is paralysed due to one or more of any number of reasons, the person becomes a spastic.
My guess is that they either belong to a different species than the ones from which the present day human beings evolved. It is also possible that they are humans belonging to a different time scale, something on the lines of extra-terrestrial (ET) beings. We may call them extra-chronological (EC) beings.
Whatever it be, Preety is a spastic. She can not stand up, walk, sit up properly, eat or dress by herself. She can not even speak. Communication with her is by gestures or by asking questions whether this is what she means. By shaking her head she indicates yes or no. We have to find out what she wants by the reductio ad absurdum method!
She is either in bed or in a wheel chair all the time. She is fond of current Hindi film music, likes to listen to the radio or watch TV. Her reactions to films shown on TV are quite normal for a girl of her age. She likes the company of girls of her age, is extremely fond of her brothers and makes no bones about being partial to our elder son.
Whenever anything is misplaced in the house, we only ask her and as she observes everyone in the house, she is able to tell us where the misplaced article is. When a particular maternal aunt of mine visits us, she immediately instructs her mother to bring tea and Paan. Similarly, when my paternal aunt visits us, she is never allowed to go without partaking of a meal. The reason is that the aunt like her own self is a daughter of the family and traditions must be observed. She recognizes the steps of my elder brother on the staircase and makes a sound reserved only for him.
We can not scold anyone younger than her as it is her prerogative. the hierarchy must be maintained. If we intervene in any quarrel between her and her brothers, even if we take her side, she turns against us. she makes use of all the tricks at her command to see that her brothers study.
She remembers the birthdays of everyone in the family and begins planning the guest list, the menu and so on much in advance. The birthday boy or girl as the case may be must be kept out of all the planning as the celebration and the birthday gift must be a surprise. The gift has to be handed over by none other than herself.
Her sense of timing is very good as if a watch is implanted in her brain. She asks us to switch on the radio or the TV for her favourite programs without looking at the clock and is always right when she says that it is time for a particular program.
Previously she tried to manage the entire household whether it was cooking or looking after the guests. gradually, it has come down and now she tries to manage only those activities that are relevant to her. her every action tells us that she has perhaps been a manager in a previous form or birth.
Sometimes I wonder if our present day managers or leaders in any walk of life or for that matter our politicians would become spastics in some future birth. Think over. Similarities are many.
In reality, she is like a piece of modern abstract art. Only the painter knows what it is and that too at the time of painting it. In her case, God, our maker alone knows or knew while making her. It surely is not common to be a common man.
A spastic is an individual who is fully developed mentally. In some respects, they are perhaps even more developed than average human beings.The word spastic owes its origin to the word 'spasm' or jerky movement. Muscular co-ordination is lacking in spastics. Their movements are jerky and quite often they can not make the smooth normal movements of their feet or hands or for that matter any of their limbs including the tongue.
Our brain has many departments. Some control our vision, some smell, some memory and so on. There is one that controls the co-ordination of voluntary muscles. We have voluntary muscles and involuntary muscles. Involuntary muscles are those, for example that come into play when we instictively withdraw our handswhen we accidentally touch a hot object. Voluntary muscles are those that we use consciously for carrying out some task. The centre of the brain that co-ordinates our voluntary muscles i.e. the one that makes the limbs to do what we want them to do is the one that is affected in the spastics. It does not work properly. As per present knowledge, when this function is paralysed due to one or more of any number of reasons, the person becomes a spastic.
My guess is that they either belong to a different species than the ones from which the present day human beings evolved. It is also possible that they are humans belonging to a different time scale, something on the lines of extra-terrestrial (ET) beings. We may call them extra-chronological (EC) beings.
Whatever it be, Preety is a spastic. She can not stand up, walk, sit up properly, eat or dress by herself. She can not even speak. Communication with her is by gestures or by asking questions whether this is what she means. By shaking her head she indicates yes or no. We have to find out what she wants by the reductio ad absurdum method!
She is either in bed or in a wheel chair all the time. She is fond of current Hindi film music, likes to listen to the radio or watch TV. Her reactions to films shown on TV are quite normal for a girl of her age. She likes the company of girls of her age, is extremely fond of her brothers and makes no bones about being partial to our elder son.
Whenever anything is misplaced in the house, we only ask her and as she observes everyone in the house, she is able to tell us where the misplaced article is. When a particular maternal aunt of mine visits us, she immediately instructs her mother to bring tea and Paan. Similarly, when my paternal aunt visits us, she is never allowed to go without partaking of a meal. The reason is that the aunt like her own self is a daughter of the family and traditions must be observed. She recognizes the steps of my elder brother on the staircase and makes a sound reserved only for him.
We can not scold anyone younger than her as it is her prerogative. the hierarchy must be maintained. If we intervene in any quarrel between her and her brothers, even if we take her side, she turns against us. she makes use of all the tricks at her command to see that her brothers study.
She remembers the birthdays of everyone in the family and begins planning the guest list, the menu and so on much in advance. The birthday boy or girl as the case may be must be kept out of all the planning as the celebration and the birthday gift must be a surprise. The gift has to be handed over by none other than herself.
Her sense of timing is very good as if a watch is implanted in her brain. She asks us to switch on the radio or the TV for her favourite programs without looking at the clock and is always right when she says that it is time for a particular program.
Previously she tried to manage the entire household whether it was cooking or looking after the guests. gradually, it has come down and now she tries to manage only those activities that are relevant to her. her every action tells us that she has perhaps been a manager in a previous form or birth.
Sometimes I wonder if our present day managers or leaders in any walk of life or for that matter our politicians would become spastics in some future birth. Think over. Similarities are many.
In reality, she is like a piece of modern abstract art. Only the painter knows what it is and that too at the time of painting it. In her case, God, our maker alone knows or knew while making her. It surely is not common to be a common man.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
THE TAJ MAHAL SPEAKS OUT
It was a hot summer night, moonless and dark. No breeze, no sounds except those of people squirming in bed like me.Just when it seemed that sleep had overtaken me, I awoke and envisioned a white spectre. An amoeba like thing, changing shapes. it made many frightening shapes at first, then took to dancing about, sometimes on the ground, sometimes in the air. it would come very near me and then dash off. as if sort of challenging me to catch it. i remained unmoved, watching fascinated though.
Soon it changed itself into a woman, white, curves all over,shining with jewels and she spoke.
" Spook ", I said, staring at it squarely in the face.
" I am no spook ", she said.
" Spook or not, you are not human "
" You are right there, I am not a human ", she agreed.
" Who or rather what are you ! then ?"
" I am what you know as the TAJ MAHAL ".
" You mean Mumtajmahal, emperor Shahjehan's royal consort ?"
" No 1 No ! she is my daughter".
" Then, you are an Iranian "
" No. I am a Rajasthani. it appears, young man, you have not understood me. Look at the name of Mumtajmahal. She is the one whose Mum is Tajmahal. The child is back in my womb".
" Oh ! You mean, you are Tajmahal, the monument ! But then you are in Agra. How did you come here ? "
" I have not come here. I am still in Agra. All I have done is to emit some rays to touch your optical and auditory nerves. you are therefore able to see me in a form that is easily intelligible to you ".
" All right. You may be Taj Mahal or God almighty for all I care. Come to the point. What do you want from me ? "
" I understand that you work for a company that is building an oil refinery at Mathura "
I pleaded guilty. I knew what to expect. Pollution. Damage to the Taj. Stopping the refinery construction and eventual sacking me from my job. I steeled myself in anticipatory defence. No blows came, however.
' Relax, young man! I have read your mind. Your job is safe. You go ahead with your refinery ".
" Thank you, dear lady. but how are we to convince these pollution control people ? They are making such a big hue and cry '.
" Ignore them ".
It's all very well for you to say so. but this is a democracy. We can't very well ignore them. We have to convince them and the public. we have to take everyone along".
" That is precisely why I have come to you. You tell them on my behalf that i want this refinery thing to come up. Now let us begin at the beginning. Tell me, who built me ? "
" Shah Jehan, the Mogul Emperor ".
" How ignorant you are ! Shah Jehan was merely a tool. He was motivated to build me. It was I who built myself. I have the power to destroy myself and re-create myself in another form. I do it by motivating lesser folks like kings, emperors, corporates, architects, engineers and so on. Now I have started ageing and I need some - what you call them - vitamin shots. My origins are from this area which was once upon a time an ocean. As some of my body elements get worn off, I need their replacements. And they have to come from Rajasthan - as it was then or from areas now similar to Rajasthan as it was then. Your refinery will do just that. If you chaps think that you are building the refinery, you are mistaken. Like Shah Jehan, you too are merely my tools. What does that fellow Krishna say in the Gita - Nimitta. Yes, you are only a Nimitta, the destined one ".
" I can very readily and somewhat eagerly understand your message since it could save me my job but what about the critics, the public ? After all, the refinery effluent might affect river life and the bird sanctuary".
' Now, who are these critics ? One is a fish-man, the other is a bird-man and the third is my make-up man, the one you know as the Archeological Survey chap. They owe their origin to fish, bird etc. By protesting against the refinery construction, they are merely being loyal to their species of origin as they existed when they became humans. They are not aware that the fish and the birds of today are a lot tougher than hitherto. They can take the refinery effluent in their stride of course after an initial period of some unsettled conditions. In any case, you are planning to treat the effluent so as to make it almost equal to normal water ".
" But what about this initial period ? Wouldn't the fish and the bird die during this time ? What about the bird sanctuary ? Would it not have to be shifted ? "
" well, they can migrate. Nature has therefore given them mobility. I, on the other hand, can not migrate. The birds, in any case, have any right to protest, considering that they have been defecating all over me for the last 300 years ! Would you not try to get a public convenience situated right next door to your home shifted away ? "
" Well, from what you tell me, the refinery effluent is some kind of a medicine for you even if it be poison for some other beings".
' That's right ! Don't you have a saying about one man's food being another man's poison ? "
" But what about these cancerous signs on your body ? There are reports about similar signs on European monuments too ! "
" My dear fellow ! These are mere side effects consequent to taking a rather strong medicine ".
" Then, you are quite sure that this refinery poses no threat to you and that in reality it is a boon ? "
" Of course, you talk of democracy and yet you seem to be ignorant of nature's democratic ways. If a thing happens, be sure that nature, with all its diversities, confusion, chaos and contradictions, willed it. The refinery is happening. Therefore it is right. Now, you had better straightaway convey my message to all concerned, or else, I shall take you apart limb by limb and re-create you ' she said menacingly before disappearing.
Not being in a particular hurry to be re-created, I am complying with Madame Taj Mahal's desire.
Soon it changed itself into a woman, white, curves all over,shining with jewels and she spoke.
" Spook ", I said, staring at it squarely in the face.
" I am no spook ", she said.
" Spook or not, you are not human "
" You are right there, I am not a human ", she agreed.
" Who or rather what are you ! then ?"
" I am what you know as the TAJ MAHAL ".
" You mean Mumtajmahal, emperor Shahjehan's royal consort ?"
" No 1 No ! she is my daughter".
" Then, you are an Iranian "
" No. I am a Rajasthani. it appears, young man, you have not understood me. Look at the name of Mumtajmahal. She is the one whose Mum is Tajmahal. The child is back in my womb".
" Oh ! You mean, you are Tajmahal, the monument ! But then you are in Agra. How did you come here ? "
" I have not come here. I am still in Agra. All I have done is to emit some rays to touch your optical and auditory nerves. you are therefore able to see me in a form that is easily intelligible to you ".
" All right. You may be Taj Mahal or God almighty for all I care. Come to the point. What do you want from me ? "
" I understand that you work for a company that is building an oil refinery at Mathura "
I pleaded guilty. I knew what to expect. Pollution. Damage to the Taj. Stopping the refinery construction and eventual sacking me from my job. I steeled myself in anticipatory defence. No blows came, however.
' Relax, young man! I have read your mind. Your job is safe. You go ahead with your refinery ".
" Thank you, dear lady. but how are we to convince these pollution control people ? They are making such a big hue and cry '.
" Ignore them ".
It's all very well for you to say so. but this is a democracy. We can't very well ignore them. We have to convince them and the public. we have to take everyone along".
" That is precisely why I have come to you. You tell them on my behalf that i want this refinery thing to come up. Now let us begin at the beginning. Tell me, who built me ? "
" Shah Jehan, the Mogul Emperor ".
" How ignorant you are ! Shah Jehan was merely a tool. He was motivated to build me. It was I who built myself. I have the power to destroy myself and re-create myself in another form. I do it by motivating lesser folks like kings, emperors, corporates, architects, engineers and so on. Now I have started ageing and I need some - what you call them - vitamin shots. My origins are from this area which was once upon a time an ocean. As some of my body elements get worn off, I need their replacements. And they have to come from Rajasthan - as it was then or from areas now similar to Rajasthan as it was then. Your refinery will do just that. If you chaps think that you are building the refinery, you are mistaken. Like Shah Jehan, you too are merely my tools. What does that fellow Krishna say in the Gita - Nimitta. Yes, you are only a Nimitta, the destined one ".
" I can very readily and somewhat eagerly understand your message since it could save me my job but what about the critics, the public ? After all, the refinery effluent might affect river life and the bird sanctuary".
' Now, who are these critics ? One is a fish-man, the other is a bird-man and the third is my make-up man, the one you know as the Archeological Survey chap. They owe their origin to fish, bird etc. By protesting against the refinery construction, they are merely being loyal to their species of origin as they existed when they became humans. They are not aware that the fish and the birds of today are a lot tougher than hitherto. They can take the refinery effluent in their stride of course after an initial period of some unsettled conditions. In any case, you are planning to treat the effluent so as to make it almost equal to normal water ".
" But what about this initial period ? Wouldn't the fish and the bird die during this time ? What about the bird sanctuary ? Would it not have to be shifted ? "
" well, they can migrate. Nature has therefore given them mobility. I, on the other hand, can not migrate. The birds, in any case, have any right to protest, considering that they have been defecating all over me for the last 300 years ! Would you not try to get a public convenience situated right next door to your home shifted away ? "
" Well, from what you tell me, the refinery effluent is some kind of a medicine for you even if it be poison for some other beings".
' That's right ! Don't you have a saying about one man's food being another man's poison ? "
" But what about these cancerous signs on your body ? There are reports about similar signs on European monuments too ! "
" My dear fellow ! These are mere side effects consequent to taking a rather strong medicine ".
" Then, you are quite sure that this refinery poses no threat to you and that in reality it is a boon ? "
" Of course, you talk of democracy and yet you seem to be ignorant of nature's democratic ways. If a thing happens, be sure that nature, with all its diversities, confusion, chaos and contradictions, willed it. The refinery is happening. Therefore it is right. Now, you had better straightaway convey my message to all concerned, or else, I shall take you apart limb by limb and re-create you ' she said menacingly before disappearing.
Not being in a particular hurry to be re-created, I am complying with Madame Taj Mahal's desire.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
WHEN TO DIE ?
NOTE:-
This was written 40 years back. It shows how the bureaucracy can make a show of favouring you while doing the reverse. Making a show of welfare while giving a farewell to your hard earned money.
TO BE OR NOT TO BE was a dilemma faced by Hamlet. We non-heroes do not come across such situations in our humdrum existence. we all have to die sooner or later. Which is better ? Sooner ? Or Later?
The other day, this question arose. I was going through the Family Pension Scheme, 1971. It seems, a lot of effort has been put into this document by a lot of intelligent people. It is therefore but natural that a dim-witted individual like me would have to put in a still greater effort in understanding the various "whereas-es " and " subject to-s " of this stout document. I have put in this effort now.
The idea seems to be to provide for your family in case you die before you retire. You get various benefits from this scheme depending on when you die. In my case, if I die after 7 years after having irrevocably and finally committed myself to this scheme, my wife would get a sum of Rs. 300 per month for a period of 7 years and Rs. 150 per month thereafter upto the time I would have reached my age of retirement of 58 years, if I had lived. In addition to this, she would get a lump sum of Rs. 1000 on account of the authorities failing in their assurance to her that I would live upto my age of 60 years. ( It appears that the authorities do not expect me to live more than 2 years after my retirement )
The above benefits are to be multiplied by a factor depending on my age at entry to this " Welfare " scheme. Those of you who avoided Mathematics in your school may be happy by the mention of this multiplying factor. You are having visions of huge sums of money coming into your wife's hands every month. Let me deflate you therefore. When the multiplying factor is less than 1, the amount gets reduced. And if you are older than 25 years, the factor is invariably less than 1. In my case, for my age of 35 years, it is 0.67 only.
So, in short, here is what my wife would get if I die after 7years, 15years, 20 years, 23 years and so on. I forgot to mention earlier that there is a quid pro quo to be given by the employee in return for this largesse from the government. The government's contribution to my Provident Fund woiuld be reduced by Rs. 25 per month. This means that I am partly or perhaps fully or God forbid more than fully contributing to this supposedly benevolent measure of the Sarkar Mai - Baap.
If I die after 7 years :-
For the following 7 years, my wife would get @ Rs. 300x0.67 per month. The total amount to be received by her during this 7 years would amount to 7 x 12 x 300 x 0.67 = Rs. 168000.
FOR 11 Years thereafter, assuming that my wife would survive that long, the total amount to be received by her @ Rs. 150 x 0.67 per month would amount to
11 x 12 x 150 x 0.67 = Rs. 13200.
Life assurance benefit would amount to 0.67 x 1000 = Rs. 670.
The total benefit thus would be Rs. 16800 + 13200 + 670 = Rs. 30670. as against this, my Provident Fund would be reduced by an amount of rs.25 per month, assumung that there is no increase in my pay. During the 7 years that I would have lived, the amount reduced would be Rs. 25 x 7 x 12 = Rs. 2100. Adding to this the compound interest @ 6 % p.a., the cumulative amount to be reduced would be Rs. 2520.
So, a benefit of Rs. 30670 as against a loss of Rs. 2520 ! Good !
Now, if I die after 15 years, what do I get ?
I, of course, get either Heaven or Hell. i.e. before getting a rebirth to atone for my sins of this birth or reap the fruits of the good deeds done by me in this birth. But my wife would get,
For 7 years, 300 x 0.67 x 7 x 12 = Rs. 16800 plus
For 3 years, 150 x 0.67 x 3 x 12 = Rs. 3600 plus
Life Insurance benefit of a sum of Rs. 670, totalling Rs. 21070 in all as benefits.
As against this, the amount that would be reduced from my Provident Fund would be,
Rs. 25 x 15 x 12 = Rs. 4500. Including interest, this amount would be Rs. 6975 approximately. So, Rs. 21070 benefit against a loss of Rs. 6975. Not bad !
Now, if I die after 20 years, these amounts are Rs. 12670 benefit and Rs. 11160 loss.
In case of my death just before 23 years, they are Rs. 5470 benefit against a loss of Rs. 14400.
And if I die only after my retirement, the benefit is a grand sum of Rs. 2690 as against a loss of a mere Rs. 14400 !
I have thus found an answer to the question that I had posed at the outset and I am drafting an application as under :-
To,
HIS SUPREME SELF, The GOD
Address :- HEAVEN
Dear God,
Having come to know through reliable sources that you decide as to when a person should die, this is to request you to take me off before the expiry of 20 years from now. Otherwise, you see, my poor wife would get less money from the Family Pension Scheme 1971, than what she would have got from my Provident Fund. Of course if you can make it earlier, it would be better. But not earlier than 7 years from now, please. Because than she gets nothing.
You may be receiving applications and even recommendations for a longer life. You may even be receiving lesser but full of entreaty from terminally sick people. However an application for ensuring life upto 7 years from now and thereafter terminating it between 7 and 20 years might be a rarity. The bureaucrats under you might not have drafted rules for such an eventuality and your hands may be tied.
In that case, please dear God, kindly consult your book keeper Shri Chitragupta ( to whom a copy of this application is being endorsed ) and let me know the date when I am scheduled to come to your lotus feet. Please do not, I repeat, do not ask me to consult astrologers. They are not reliable in this matter, at least. They, had, you see, consistently failed in their predictions about my date of promotion.
O ! Divine ! I know that you are very busy these days with the large number of people that our neighbours across the borders have kindly despatched for the salvation of their souls to you recently. But I have to say YES or NO to the Family Pension Scheme within the next 15 days. So kindly treat this as urgent.
Yours Faithfully,
Ramesh Narendrarai Desai
P.S. :- And please dear God, see that my wife lives for another 25 years. Otherwise, you see, the whole exercise would be a wate.
P. P. S. :- I know that people of India have to pay Chai-Pani or Dasturi or Speed Money to you for any favours sought from you. I shall deposit that at any of your branches located in the nearest Temple / Mosque / Church / Gurudwara / Jinalaya /Agiary in the hands of your priestly agent.
FOOTNOTE :-
I do not know who is better at leading you on a garden path ? The Bureaucrat or the Politician ? Both talk of welfare but appear to make you give a farewell to your hard earned money. These so called public servants seem to be under the impression that all the money that the public earns actually belongs to them. It is their goodness that they allow the public to spend some of it.
This was written 40 years back. It shows how the bureaucracy can make a show of favouring you while doing the reverse. Making a show of welfare while giving a farewell to your hard earned money.
TO BE OR NOT TO BE was a dilemma faced by Hamlet. We non-heroes do not come across such situations in our humdrum existence. we all have to die sooner or later. Which is better ? Sooner ? Or Later?
The other day, this question arose. I was going through the Family Pension Scheme, 1971. It seems, a lot of effort has been put into this document by a lot of intelligent people. It is therefore but natural that a dim-witted individual like me would have to put in a still greater effort in understanding the various "whereas-es " and " subject to-s " of this stout document. I have put in this effort now.
The idea seems to be to provide for your family in case you die before you retire. You get various benefits from this scheme depending on when you die. In my case, if I die after 7 years after having irrevocably and finally committed myself to this scheme, my wife would get a sum of Rs. 300 per month for a period of 7 years and Rs. 150 per month thereafter upto the time I would have reached my age of retirement of 58 years, if I had lived. In addition to this, she would get a lump sum of Rs. 1000 on account of the authorities failing in their assurance to her that I would live upto my age of 60 years. ( It appears that the authorities do not expect me to live more than 2 years after my retirement )
The above benefits are to be multiplied by a factor depending on my age at entry to this " Welfare " scheme. Those of you who avoided Mathematics in your school may be happy by the mention of this multiplying factor. You are having visions of huge sums of money coming into your wife's hands every month. Let me deflate you therefore. When the multiplying factor is less than 1, the amount gets reduced. And if you are older than 25 years, the factor is invariably less than 1. In my case, for my age of 35 years, it is 0.67 only.
So, in short, here is what my wife would get if I die after 7years, 15years, 20 years, 23 years and so on. I forgot to mention earlier that there is a quid pro quo to be given by the employee in return for this largesse from the government. The government's contribution to my Provident Fund woiuld be reduced by Rs. 25 per month. This means that I am partly or perhaps fully or God forbid more than fully contributing to this supposedly benevolent measure of the Sarkar Mai - Baap.
If I die after 7 years :-
For the following 7 years, my wife would get @ Rs. 300x0.67 per month. The total amount to be received by her during this 7 years would amount to 7 x 12 x 300 x 0.67 = Rs. 168000.
FOR 11 Years thereafter, assuming that my wife would survive that long, the total amount to be received by her @ Rs. 150 x 0.67 per month would amount to
11 x 12 x 150 x 0.67 = Rs. 13200.
Life assurance benefit would amount to 0.67 x 1000 = Rs. 670.
The total benefit thus would be Rs. 16800 + 13200 + 670 = Rs. 30670. as against this, my Provident Fund would be reduced by an amount of rs.25 per month, assumung that there is no increase in my pay. During the 7 years that I would have lived, the amount reduced would be Rs. 25 x 7 x 12 = Rs. 2100. Adding to this the compound interest @ 6 % p.a., the cumulative amount to be reduced would be Rs. 2520.
So, a benefit of Rs. 30670 as against a loss of Rs. 2520 ! Good !
Now, if I die after 15 years, what do I get ?
I, of course, get either Heaven or Hell. i.e. before getting a rebirth to atone for my sins of this birth or reap the fruits of the good deeds done by me in this birth. But my wife would get,
For 7 years, 300 x 0.67 x 7 x 12 = Rs. 16800 plus
For 3 years, 150 x 0.67 x 3 x 12 = Rs. 3600 plus
Life Insurance benefit of a sum of Rs. 670, totalling Rs. 21070 in all as benefits.
As against this, the amount that would be reduced from my Provident Fund would be,
Rs. 25 x 15 x 12 = Rs. 4500. Including interest, this amount would be Rs. 6975 approximately. So, Rs. 21070 benefit against a loss of Rs. 6975. Not bad !
Now, if I die after 20 years, these amounts are Rs. 12670 benefit and Rs. 11160 loss.
In case of my death just before 23 years, they are Rs. 5470 benefit against a loss of Rs. 14400.
And if I die only after my retirement, the benefit is a grand sum of Rs. 2690 as against a loss of a mere Rs. 14400 !
I have thus found an answer to the question that I had posed at the outset and I am drafting an application as under :-
To,
HIS SUPREME SELF, The GOD
Address :- HEAVEN
Dear God,
Having come to know through reliable sources that you decide as to when a person should die, this is to request you to take me off before the expiry of 20 years from now. Otherwise, you see, my poor wife would get less money from the Family Pension Scheme 1971, than what she would have got from my Provident Fund. Of course if you can make it earlier, it would be better. But not earlier than 7 years from now, please. Because than she gets nothing.
You may be receiving applications and even recommendations for a longer life. You may even be receiving lesser but full of entreaty from terminally sick people. However an application for ensuring life upto 7 years from now and thereafter terminating it between 7 and 20 years might be a rarity. The bureaucrats under you might not have drafted rules for such an eventuality and your hands may be tied.
In that case, please dear God, kindly consult your book keeper Shri Chitragupta ( to whom a copy of this application is being endorsed ) and let me know the date when I am scheduled to come to your lotus feet. Please do not, I repeat, do not ask me to consult astrologers. They are not reliable in this matter, at least. They, had, you see, consistently failed in their predictions about my date of promotion.
O ! Divine ! I know that you are very busy these days with the large number of people that our neighbours across the borders have kindly despatched for the salvation of their souls to you recently. But I have to say YES or NO to the Family Pension Scheme within the next 15 days. So kindly treat this as urgent.
Yours Faithfully,
Ramesh Narendrarai Desai
P.S. :- And please dear God, see that my wife lives for another 25 years. Otherwise, you see, the whole exercise would be a wate.
P. P. S. :- I know that people of India have to pay Chai-Pani or Dasturi or Speed Money to you for any favours sought from you. I shall deposit that at any of your branches located in the nearest Temple / Mosque / Church / Gurudwara / Jinalaya /Agiary in the hands of your priestly agent.
FOOTNOTE :-
I do not know who is better at leading you on a garden path ? The Bureaucrat or the Politician ? Both talk of welfare but appear to make you give a farewell to your hard earned money. These so called public servants seem to be under the impression that all the money that the public earns actually belongs to them. It is their goodness that they allow the public to spend some of it.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
IS THE INDIAN SOCIETY ANTI - PRODUCTIVITY ?
NOTE :- This article was originally written about 4-5 years before the so called Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation in 1991. India is the only country here public servants proudly declared that they had become liberal to their masters - the people and that too in an ingratiating manner ! Two decades after the event - now demurely called Economic reforms - and GDP growth rate increasing from around 3 % to over 8% it is time whether we continue to be anti-productivity in another guise. The footnote to this article will do that.
Is the Indian Society Anti - Productivity ?
Persons engaged in economic pursuits can be divided into two broad categories viz, :
1) Those engaged in production of goods and
2) Those engaged in providing services.
The second category can be further sub-divided into :
2a) Those engaged in services contributing to production and
2b) Those engaged in providing regulatory services such as i ) the government, be it in the bureaucracy or in the political wing or ii ) religious bodies which tend to regulate the social norms by which people ought to live.
We have one category in addition to the above two which is not pursuing any economic activity except for consumption. They are the aged, the children and the beggars. The aged are being compensated for their past contribution. The children's consumption is our investment in expectation of their contribution to production at a later date. The beggars, especially the able-bodied ones are socially criminals. Even among beggars, there are the honest ones and the dishonest ones who collect donations for various stated purposes but use the money for their personal use. In India this category has a larger population than in other countries.
Any society which is pro-productivity and therefore flourishing, gives far better rewards to persons engaged in category 1) as compared to to those in category 2). Even among category 2) those in category 2a) have better rewards than those in category 2b).
The Indian society has traditionally rewarded the producers badly. In the old days when agriculture was the main productive venture, rewards to the agriculturists were much lower whether in economic terms or in terms of social status than to persons of the regulatory classes such as landlords, religious priests, government servants and so on.
The copndition after independence and industrialization has not changed. We tend to give too much importance to the regulatory personnel whose contribution to productivity is at best marginal if not on the negative side. Look at our political and social set up. The party, the prganization or the individual who can put the wheels of production to a more complete stop by means of strikes and bandhs is considered to have a bigger sway on the masses. Terrorism is only an accentuation of this coercive method by a section of the people to get their demands accepted by the people as a whole. The days of constructive work as a means of reaching out to the masses and influencing them by rendering actual help, empowering them to become self reliant, are over. In the same way, the bureaucrat who can put more spokes in the wheels of production is more fawned upon if not also more empowered. People who can incite violence and let loose terror, are wooed by the ruling establishment. Like the givernment, religion too has a regulatory role in a society. Religious leaders are also given too much importance as compared to their contribution to productivity. Even the media give too much coverage of non - productive activities of politics and religion. Both are luxuries which only a productive society can afford. We, Indians, tend to behave like a post - wealth generation society while still being in a pre - wealth generation phase. We forget that everything has a time and place.
In fact, in our country, rewards to persons in category 2b) are the highest, followed by persons in category 2a) and the least beneficiaries are persons in category 1). - exactly opposite to the desirable situation. It has resulted in the dignity of labour being forgotten and making blue collar infra dig. This is the main reason for our continued backwardness.
In view of the fact that a reduction in prices or at least stability in prices despite increasing demand is mainly dependent on an improvement in productivity, it is imperative that Indian society as a whole, nhould sit up and change its attitude and perspective. It is useless to expect only one section of the society viz. the regulatory personnel ( i.e. the bureaucratic and the political classes ) to do anything in this regard since any change for the better hurts their own self interests in terms of reduction of power and control not to speak of the rent collection.
A case in point is the procrastination, prevarication and finally outright rejection by these classes to concede a higher or even an equal dearness allowance to productive personnel of the public sector as compared to what is given to the government's own regulatory personnel. The government can merrily go on taking anti - productivity steps. Its personnel especially those in the lower rungs with whom the common man deals the most, are compensated fully for any consequent price rise. They care, therefore, the least for any price rise that takes place. Even its personnel in the higher rungs are compensated to the extent of 70 % of any price rise that takes place, the balance 30 % being taken care of by the power that they wield over the destiny of any productive personnel who dare to improve productivity and profitability. The regulatory personnel have thus no stake in improving productivity. The political class depends on donations and other similar sources of income which increase with price rises. The brunt of the burden of the price rises has therefore to be borne by the productive personnel while others who outnumber them in terms of numbers, income or influence can merrily take anti - productivity steps. Even the service personnel like doctors, lawyers, the trading classes can hike up their prices at their own will.
It may be argued that I have painted a picture that is gloomier than reality. However the fact remains that given the attitudes and perspective of the Indian society and our experience of the last 40 years and the results emanating therefrom, there appear to be only black clouds looming on the horizon on the productivity front.
Whenever any industry in the private sector is able to increase its profitability by an improvement in productivity, it is immediately more heavily taxed in the name of mopping up surpluses for " public good " . A case in point is the capital gains tax. Industries therefore find it easier to improve their profitability by oiling the appropriate regulatory wheels which can, by suitable variation in taxation and osuch other measures, do the trick. The world bank have also commented on these lines in a recent report published in the newspapers.
Mahatma Gandhi's idea of Swaraj was for a minimum of dependence on the government whether it was an alien one or an indigenous one. Since indepedence, we have gone in the opposite direction. We have become such slaves that perhaps very few activities such as death are not in government's control. Is it therefore any wonder that the common man expects the government - the so called Sarkar Mai-Baap to do everything for him without any contribution on his part. The addiction of the government is so strong that even while cursing it, he is unable to kick it off. In Transactional Analysis terms, the government has become the controlling parent and the common man , an adapted child. Surely not the freedom we fought for !
We can even say that we have by now imprisoned the Swaraj along with any possible improvement in productivity. The two go hand in hand. Creativity flourishes only in in an atmosphere free of throttling controls that regulate every activity. We have firmly locked up Swaraj and Creativity. Opinion leaders in all walks of lifemay like to ponder over the issues raised here and create the necessary climate for producing a "Shatalin Plan" of our own for regaining Swaraj. Or shall we wait to be fully imprisoned a la Eastern Europe or a la Pakistan before we break free ?
Improvement of productivity in all spheres of life, busting of the " Protection Racket " for our Private Sector are the crying need of the hour. the protected atmosphere in which the private sector operates has become an addiction. Unless we take all steps to improve productivity, we as a society, are heading for a runaway inflation of the type faced by the Germans in the 1930s and by the Chinese in the 1940s and what is staring the Eastern Europe at present. A change in the attitudes and perspective of the Indian elite as well as the masses is urgently called for.
FOOTNOTE:-
Within 4-5 years of writing the above article, the economic reforms came. As is normal with us Indians, they were forced on us by force of circumstances. Remember the pledging of our gold when only 15 days' worth of foreign exchange was left with us and cosequent launching of economic reforms? What are the pluses and the minuses of the economic reforms twenty years down the line ?
The pluses according to me are:-
1. Foreign exchange position is comfortable, perhaps far too comfortable. We are in fact contributing to the financial bail out of some European countries - a reversal of the situation pre reforms.
2.Our exports have increased manifold.
3. Our GDP growth rate has gone up from the " Hindu growth rate " of around 3 % to over 8 %.
4. Salaries have gone up, whether in the private or the public sector.
5.Disposable income has gone up, resulting in higher savings rate.
6. Waiting period for cars, scooters, telephones and other such largesse wheedled out of government functionaries at great cost of time, money and effort has been reduced to the time required for a telephone call. The spread of vehicles and telephones has perceptibly gone upto the lower strata of the society in this 'capitalist' era than in the earlier 'socialist' era. It is not uncmmon in cities now for a domestic servant to ring up on his mobile if he is going to be late for work as he is attending to a puncture on his moped wheel.
7. The rationing mentality caused by scarcity of goods of all descriptions has now been turned into a problem of which brand to choose due to a glut in the market. The quantity of old goods and variety of newer goods has gone up. The craze for 'phoren' goods has gone down.
The minuses according to me are :-
1.Corruption has gone up in intensity even as areas with scope for corruption have gone down judging by the scams coming out serially.
2. The salaries of regulatory personnel have gone up. Even the MPs have voted their own pay hike.
3. The expected reduction in government employees' strength has not taken place.
4.Inflation has reared its head as in the field of agriculture, no improvement has taken place.
5. The control and power mind set has not changed. This is a big hurdle in the path of eradication of corruption.
6. An attitude of service on the part of the public servants is not yet visible. They still behave as the masters of their " Ryots ".
7. The government's control on the life of the common man has not gone down. Least government is the best government. We must have more and more of self-regulation than a rigid but subject to correction by corruption governmental regulation. We must reduce the size and scope of government.
Is the Indian Society Anti - Productivity ?
Persons engaged in economic pursuits can be divided into two broad categories viz, :
1) Those engaged in production of goods and
2) Those engaged in providing services.
The second category can be further sub-divided into :
2a) Those engaged in services contributing to production and
2b) Those engaged in providing regulatory services such as i ) the government, be it in the bureaucracy or in the political wing or ii ) religious bodies which tend to regulate the social norms by which people ought to live.
We have one category in addition to the above two which is not pursuing any economic activity except for consumption. They are the aged, the children and the beggars. The aged are being compensated for their past contribution. The children's consumption is our investment in expectation of their contribution to production at a later date. The beggars, especially the able-bodied ones are socially criminals. Even among beggars, there are the honest ones and the dishonest ones who collect donations for various stated purposes but use the money for their personal use. In India this category has a larger population than in other countries.
Any society which is pro-productivity and therefore flourishing, gives far better rewards to persons engaged in category 1) as compared to to those in category 2). Even among category 2) those in category 2a) have better rewards than those in category 2b).
The Indian society has traditionally rewarded the producers badly. In the old days when agriculture was the main productive venture, rewards to the agriculturists were much lower whether in economic terms or in terms of social status than to persons of the regulatory classes such as landlords, religious priests, government servants and so on.
The copndition after independence and industrialization has not changed. We tend to give too much importance to the regulatory personnel whose contribution to productivity is at best marginal if not on the negative side. Look at our political and social set up. The party, the prganization or the individual who can put the wheels of production to a more complete stop by means of strikes and bandhs is considered to have a bigger sway on the masses. Terrorism is only an accentuation of this coercive method by a section of the people to get their demands accepted by the people as a whole. The days of constructive work as a means of reaching out to the masses and influencing them by rendering actual help, empowering them to become self reliant, are over. In the same way, the bureaucrat who can put more spokes in the wheels of production is more fawned upon if not also more empowered. People who can incite violence and let loose terror, are wooed by the ruling establishment. Like the givernment, religion too has a regulatory role in a society. Religious leaders are also given too much importance as compared to their contribution to productivity. Even the media give too much coverage of non - productive activities of politics and religion. Both are luxuries which only a productive society can afford. We, Indians, tend to behave like a post - wealth generation society while still being in a pre - wealth generation phase. We forget that everything has a time and place.
In fact, in our country, rewards to persons in category 2b) are the highest, followed by persons in category 2a) and the least beneficiaries are persons in category 1). - exactly opposite to the desirable situation. It has resulted in the dignity of labour being forgotten and making blue collar infra dig. This is the main reason for our continued backwardness.
In view of the fact that a reduction in prices or at least stability in prices despite increasing demand is mainly dependent on an improvement in productivity, it is imperative that Indian society as a whole, nhould sit up and change its attitude and perspective. It is useless to expect only one section of the society viz. the regulatory personnel ( i.e. the bureaucratic and the political classes ) to do anything in this regard since any change for the better hurts their own self interests in terms of reduction of power and control not to speak of the rent collection.
A case in point is the procrastination, prevarication and finally outright rejection by these classes to concede a higher or even an equal dearness allowance to productive personnel of the public sector as compared to what is given to the government's own regulatory personnel. The government can merrily go on taking anti - productivity steps. Its personnel especially those in the lower rungs with whom the common man deals the most, are compensated fully for any consequent price rise. They care, therefore, the least for any price rise that takes place. Even its personnel in the higher rungs are compensated to the extent of 70 % of any price rise that takes place, the balance 30 % being taken care of by the power that they wield over the destiny of any productive personnel who dare to improve productivity and profitability. The regulatory personnel have thus no stake in improving productivity. The political class depends on donations and other similar sources of income which increase with price rises. The brunt of the burden of the price rises has therefore to be borne by the productive personnel while others who outnumber them in terms of numbers, income or influence can merrily take anti - productivity steps. Even the service personnel like doctors, lawyers, the trading classes can hike up their prices at their own will.
It may be argued that I have painted a picture that is gloomier than reality. However the fact remains that given the attitudes and perspective of the Indian society and our experience of the last 40 years and the results emanating therefrom, there appear to be only black clouds looming on the horizon on the productivity front.
Whenever any industry in the private sector is able to increase its profitability by an improvement in productivity, it is immediately more heavily taxed in the name of mopping up surpluses for " public good " . A case in point is the capital gains tax. Industries therefore find it easier to improve their profitability by oiling the appropriate regulatory wheels which can, by suitable variation in taxation and osuch other measures, do the trick. The world bank have also commented on these lines in a recent report published in the newspapers.
Mahatma Gandhi's idea of Swaraj was for a minimum of dependence on the government whether it was an alien one or an indigenous one. Since indepedence, we have gone in the opposite direction. We have become such slaves that perhaps very few activities such as death are not in government's control. Is it therefore any wonder that the common man expects the government - the so called Sarkar Mai-Baap to do everything for him without any contribution on his part. The addiction of the government is so strong that even while cursing it, he is unable to kick it off. In Transactional Analysis terms, the government has become the controlling parent and the common man , an adapted child. Surely not the freedom we fought for !
We can even say that we have by now imprisoned the Swaraj along with any possible improvement in productivity. The two go hand in hand. Creativity flourishes only in in an atmosphere free of throttling controls that regulate every activity. We have firmly locked up Swaraj and Creativity. Opinion leaders in all walks of lifemay like to ponder over the issues raised here and create the necessary climate for producing a "Shatalin Plan" of our own for regaining Swaraj. Or shall we wait to be fully imprisoned a la Eastern Europe or a la Pakistan before we break free ?
Improvement of productivity in all spheres of life, busting of the " Protection Racket " for our Private Sector are the crying need of the hour. the protected atmosphere in which the private sector operates has become an addiction. Unless we take all steps to improve productivity, we as a society, are heading for a runaway inflation of the type faced by the Germans in the 1930s and by the Chinese in the 1940s and what is staring the Eastern Europe at present. A change in the attitudes and perspective of the Indian elite as well as the masses is urgently called for.
FOOTNOTE:-
Within 4-5 years of writing the above article, the economic reforms came. As is normal with us Indians, they were forced on us by force of circumstances. Remember the pledging of our gold when only 15 days' worth of foreign exchange was left with us and cosequent launching of economic reforms? What are the pluses and the minuses of the economic reforms twenty years down the line ?
The pluses according to me are:-
1. Foreign exchange position is comfortable, perhaps far too comfortable. We are in fact contributing to the financial bail out of some European countries - a reversal of the situation pre reforms.
2.Our exports have increased manifold.
3. Our GDP growth rate has gone up from the " Hindu growth rate " of around 3 % to over 8 %.
4. Salaries have gone up, whether in the private or the public sector.
5.Disposable income has gone up, resulting in higher savings rate.
6. Waiting period for cars, scooters, telephones and other such largesse wheedled out of government functionaries at great cost of time, money and effort has been reduced to the time required for a telephone call. The spread of vehicles and telephones has perceptibly gone upto the lower strata of the society in this 'capitalist' era than in the earlier 'socialist' era. It is not uncmmon in cities now for a domestic servant to ring up on his mobile if he is going to be late for work as he is attending to a puncture on his moped wheel.
7. The rationing mentality caused by scarcity of goods of all descriptions has now been turned into a problem of which brand to choose due to a glut in the market. The quantity of old goods and variety of newer goods has gone up. The craze for 'phoren' goods has gone down.
The minuses according to me are :-
1.Corruption has gone up in intensity even as areas with scope for corruption have gone down judging by the scams coming out serially.
2. The salaries of regulatory personnel have gone up. Even the MPs have voted their own pay hike.
3. The expected reduction in government employees' strength has not taken place.
4.Inflation has reared its head as in the field of agriculture, no improvement has taken place.
5. The control and power mind set has not changed. This is a big hurdle in the path of eradication of corruption.
6. An attitude of service on the part of the public servants is not yet visible. They still behave as the masters of their " Ryots ".
7. The government's control on the life of the common man has not gone down. Least government is the best government. We must have more and more of self-regulation than a rigid but subject to correction by corruption governmental regulation. We must reduce the size and scope of government.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
PROPOSED REFORM IN LAND ACQUISITION
There is some talk these days of reform in Land Acquisition Act. I fully agree that what suited colonal rulers does not suit a more eqitable society. I am however against going 180 degrees from the present position. Before I go into this question, let us lay down some facts.
1. The Society is supreme.
2. Governments are structures created by the society for regulating some aspects of its functions. Let us not mistake the part to be the whole - the servant to be the master - the government to be the society.
3. The society can not and should not delegate all its responsibilities to the government especially to one that is capable of transmitting only 15 to 17 paise out of a rupee spent for the purpose intended ( as per the admission of no less than a person than a former Prime Minister. )
4. One peculiar Indian structure - the N.G.O. has fared no better. In fact, it has fostered what I call crony parasitism on the same lines as crony capitalism.
5. Forms of governance - Monarchy, Dictatorship (whether benevolent or otherwise), Socialism, Communism, Democracy, Plutocracy and so on are again created by the society to fulfill its needs at a given time and given circumstances. No form of governance is sacrosanct. If it does not fulfill the needs of the society, it gets changed, however slow the change may be. We just have to look at history of the past centuries of the various countries of the world to realize this.
6. There is no panacea for all our ills such as poverty, ill health, illiteracy and so on for all of India which is a multi - religious, muti - linguistic, multi - ethnic society. Different paths, different methods are required for eradicating these ills. What is true for Gujarat or Maharastra or Panjab is not true for the south or for that matter the east. Some principles followed by Mahatma Gandhi are however relevant even today.
7. We need to accept that the maturity level of the Indian society is not uniformly distributed. This is much more disturbing than the inequitable distribution of wealth or incomes. You can not for example, equate Kerala with say parts of India which kill their own offsprings for the crime of being the unwanted gender or for the crime of marrying a person not in consonance with parental idiosyncracies. One can imagine what can happen if the principle of grass roots democracy is unifdrmly applied throughout India right now.
8.Perhaps if Mahatma Gandhi had his way, he would have preferred Indians to become self - reliant and independent economically, socially, educationally, healthwise and so on before becoming politically independent but the overwhelming majority of the then existing lower rung leadership was too impatient.
9. Consequently, politics of service to the society was replaced by the politics of power over the society. Both the crony capitalism and the crony parasitism are the products of this phenomenon.
All those wanting to give 26% of profits of enterprises to the project affected people are only wanting to create a new class of zamindars - a new class of parasites. No doubt, those uprooted have to be rehabilitated, each according to his/her potential but they should not be withdrawn from productive workforce. A part of the profits must be kept aside - it could be even more than 26% - for the purpose. It must however have a time limit - till such time as rehabilitation is complete. We have not yet eradicated the old zamindari completely. Let us not create a new set of parasites. Uneducated masses with a steady unearned income and idleness could lead to evils such as drinking, gambling, womanising and so on - all at the expense of their womenfolk. I appreciate the good intentions of the proponents of the idea of profit sharing but they must not create new problems. I have given up on the political parties with their votebank politics to carry out social reforms. Those whom I would have thought as being capable of doing so appear to be muddle headed, if I may use this rather strong term. We all need to concentrate on removing social evils while simultaneously striving for economic self - sufficiency of the masses. Subsidies are the worst drugs - worst narcotics devised by our politicians to keep the poor perprtually poor and thus under their control. They can then keep on shedding crocodile tears over them while quaffing whiskey. Monarchy bred zamindari as a bulwark - a second line of defence. Our modern day rulers want to create a similar institution by withdrawing a sizeable population from the workforce. This will have long term baneful repurcussions. Same goes for our misguided intellectuals. They are adopting the agitational path in stead of going over to the villages and helping the masses to become self - reliant. Both the masses and the intelligentia are behaving like children. One hopes to please the Sarkar Mai - Baap while the other wants to coerce the Mai - Baap by throwing tantrums and creating a ruckus. All those who wish to better the lot of the dispossesed, had better become proactive, engage themselves in rehabilitation activities, train the victims in alternative trades and professions, taking help from a fund created for the purpose. The hand of the victims certainly needs to be held till they become self - sufficient. Mahatma and not Mao is our ideal.
1. The Society is supreme.
2. Governments are structures created by the society for regulating some aspects of its functions. Let us not mistake the part to be the whole - the servant to be the master - the government to be the society.
3. The society can not and should not delegate all its responsibilities to the government especially to one that is capable of transmitting only 15 to 17 paise out of a rupee spent for the purpose intended ( as per the admission of no less than a person than a former Prime Minister. )
4. One peculiar Indian structure - the N.G.O. has fared no better. In fact, it has fostered what I call crony parasitism on the same lines as crony capitalism.
5. Forms of governance - Monarchy, Dictatorship (whether benevolent or otherwise), Socialism, Communism, Democracy, Plutocracy and so on are again created by the society to fulfill its needs at a given time and given circumstances. No form of governance is sacrosanct. If it does not fulfill the needs of the society, it gets changed, however slow the change may be. We just have to look at history of the past centuries of the various countries of the world to realize this.
6. There is no panacea for all our ills such as poverty, ill health, illiteracy and so on for all of India which is a multi - religious, muti - linguistic, multi - ethnic society. Different paths, different methods are required for eradicating these ills. What is true for Gujarat or Maharastra or Panjab is not true for the south or for that matter the east. Some principles followed by Mahatma Gandhi are however relevant even today.
7. We need to accept that the maturity level of the Indian society is not uniformly distributed. This is much more disturbing than the inequitable distribution of wealth or incomes. You can not for example, equate Kerala with say parts of India which kill their own offsprings for the crime of being the unwanted gender or for the crime of marrying a person not in consonance with parental idiosyncracies. One can imagine what can happen if the principle of grass roots democracy is unifdrmly applied throughout India right now.
8.Perhaps if Mahatma Gandhi had his way, he would have preferred Indians to become self - reliant and independent economically, socially, educationally, healthwise and so on before becoming politically independent but the overwhelming majority of the then existing lower rung leadership was too impatient.
9. Consequently, politics of service to the society was replaced by the politics of power over the society. Both the crony capitalism and the crony parasitism are the products of this phenomenon.
All those wanting to give 26% of profits of enterprises to the project affected people are only wanting to create a new class of zamindars - a new class of parasites. No doubt, those uprooted have to be rehabilitated, each according to his/her potential but they should not be withdrawn from productive workforce. A part of the profits must be kept aside - it could be even more than 26% - for the purpose. It must however have a time limit - till such time as rehabilitation is complete. We have not yet eradicated the old zamindari completely. Let us not create a new set of parasites. Uneducated masses with a steady unearned income and idleness could lead to evils such as drinking, gambling, womanising and so on - all at the expense of their womenfolk. I appreciate the good intentions of the proponents of the idea of profit sharing but they must not create new problems. I have given up on the political parties with their votebank politics to carry out social reforms. Those whom I would have thought as being capable of doing so appear to be muddle headed, if I may use this rather strong term. We all need to concentrate on removing social evils while simultaneously striving for economic self - sufficiency of the masses. Subsidies are the worst drugs - worst narcotics devised by our politicians to keep the poor perprtually poor and thus under their control. They can then keep on shedding crocodile tears over them while quaffing whiskey. Monarchy bred zamindari as a bulwark - a second line of defence. Our modern day rulers want to create a similar institution by withdrawing a sizeable population from the workforce. This will have long term baneful repurcussions. Same goes for our misguided intellectuals. They are adopting the agitational path in stead of going over to the villages and helping the masses to become self - reliant. Both the masses and the intelligentia are behaving like children. One hopes to please the Sarkar Mai - Baap while the other wants to coerce the Mai - Baap by throwing tantrums and creating a ruckus. All those who wish to better the lot of the dispossesed, had better become proactive, engage themselves in rehabilitation activities, train the victims in alternative trades and professions, taking help from a fund created for the purpose. The hand of the victims certainly needs to be held till they become self - sufficient. Mahatma and not Mao is our ideal.
Friday, August 27, 2010
HOW TO COPE WITH INDIA’S ANTI-VIAGRA?
A few years back, an old couple was murdered in Saket area of New Delhi. There was a furore and the Governor and the Police Commissioner visited the area. Police patrolling started. A few days and a couple of murders later, the police said that they did not have enough men for the job. The private security guards ( who would not have been employed by the citizens if they had faith in the police ) were to blame. The public is also perhaps to blame. What business do they have to get murdered? Do the police not have enough on their hands to protect the VVIPs and the lesser VIPs?
Who is more important? The public or the public servants? The Masters or the Servants? Of course the servants! We are Indians. We deify even our servants! We build palaces or swanky furnished apartments for them and they can decide to raise their own monetary and other compensation three to four times whenever they wish. The state has no money or men left after protecting such worthies for doing the primary job viz. that of protecting the society that created a structure called the state for the purpose. A naughty question sometimes arises in my mind. How many of these worthies would actually get killed if their security were withdrawn? Would the loss be irreparable except, of course to the sycophants and the beneficiaries of the slain VIP / VVIP? In any case, security itself was the cause of the assassination of one Prime Minister and lack of adequate security was the cause of a former Prime Minister’s murder. Security or no security, VIPs or VVIPs get killed if they are fated or targeted to be killed. Then, why oh! Why, are we made to shell out so much money? Money perhaps would not matter much but what hurts is that it is at the cost of the security of the very people who foot the bill.
The security chaps are helpless. Impotent is a strong word, but to a limited extent, it is not very wrong either. The Chief Minister of Delhi is helpless since like her two predecessors of a different party, she has no control over the police. Inwardly perhaps all the three are happy that they do not have to find a more difficult excuse. All of them are helpless, impotent, if you please.
The population of India has grown. So have the number and severity of the Railway accidents. Railway ministers, irrespective of party labels, are helpless. Either there is not enough money or the staff is careless or there is a systemic failure or if nothing else, there is of course the sabotage by the political opponents. Neither the political classes nor the bureaucratic classes are to blame. The blame always lies elsewhere. Those supposedly responsible are invariably helpless or impotent.
The local police in the states, when free of the onerous duty of collecting their earnings, both due and undue and harassing the by and large law abiding public, are helpless. How to cope with AK 47 wielding smugglers, extortionists or terrorists? How could they cope with militants of various hues? Central forces or the army are required. Each organization pleads its helplessness in tackling law and order problems. Somebody else is to blame. Everybody sagely nods to this, so long as they are themselves not held up for blame. The media make noise, taking care not to hurt anyone in a permanent sort of way. Law and order is the primary duty of any government – a structure created by the society for the very purpose. But the state is helpless, impotent. Even the judges are helpless in the face of mounting pending cases. When there is too much noise about something, authorities use an earplug in the form of a committee or a commission. This august body functions in a laid back manner and gives its report after a few extensions, usually when the noise has died out on its own.
The economy goes into a recession or there is a runaway inflation. The Finance minister is helpless. Scams after scams take place. CBI is helpless. Those who interfere are to blame. A department of a state government overdraws money year after year. Everybody, the department head, the auditors, the Public Accounts Committee, the vigilance people, the courts, the media et al make suitable noises but they are helpless. All actions are taken except to recover the money. The whole state is “like that only”. What to do?
The onion prices go up. Those in authority are helpless. A severe drought happens one year. Inflation goes into double digits. The sensible step of importing the shortfall, is not taken despite a more than comfortable foreign exchange position. Gods – Rain Gods are to blame. What can mere mortals do in the face of the mighty Almighty? In case there is a good monsoon and food prices come down despite the best efforts of the authorities, promptly people in power can claim having mastered the devil of inflation.
The people are helpless. They change their rulers, giving a chance to everyone but the situation does not change. What is the cause of this helplessness – this impotence? The answer is very simple. Responsibility. Make an Indian responsible for any task and he promptly becomes helpless, impotent for the task on hand, whether he is a Babu or a Neta, a judge or a journalist. In case, if anyone succeeds, there is a question mark. Is he not an Indian as in the case of Vishwanathan Anand? Or has he flouted the elaborate structure created to make him fail? Modi whether of the Narendra or Lalit variety have commited the ultimate sin. They seem to have not only succeeded but done so somewhat spectacularly. That is intolerable. They are not the norm. The ilk of Kalmadis are. If any task is to be accomplished, it must be done after raising blood pressure. We must procrastinate when there is ample time and when everybody is scared, then to rush things at breakneck speed and at a huge cost that helps line up the pockets of those who matter.
The West prides itself for having discovered Viagra as a cure for impotence. Our ancient civilization and Bharatiya culture laughs at it. We did that long back. We have now found a cure for potency. Make a man responsible for any task and he promptly becomes impotent. That is our Anti – Viagra. Akin to the Anti-Missile Missile. Aren’t we more advanced?
Whether it is a Police sub-inspector or a Health inspector whose job is to prevent epidemics, a Railway permanent way inspector in charge of maintaining Railway tracks or an opposition politician, the moment they get power, they become impotent in respect of their duties. They are however only selectively impotent. They are quite potent when it comes to harassing the public for wanting to do things legally or out of the way. The impotent Biradari or brotherhood has excuses ready for trotting out to the lay public in case, an outcry on any scale. takes place.
This phenomenon gives us a unique place in the world. Elsewhere power is an aphrodiasic. In India it is our own Swadeshi pill for impotence. We can be as proud of it as we are of our Mahatma Gandhis or Amartya Sens. While we can leave our rulers to gloat over this unique phenomenon, we, the ordinary people, the hoi pollois, need to think of a way to cope with this Anti-Viagra. There does not seem to be much use trying to change persons or parties. Whether it is the “Garibi Hatao”wallas or the “Ram Rath “ wallas, the situation worsens instead of improving with every change. Even bigger problem is the bureaucracy. To the ordinary man or “Aam Admi” as he is referred to, government is encountered in the shape of a Thanedar, or a revenue clerk or a railway booking clerk. They do not change. Running after a Neta is like running after a mirage. Very few realize that a Babu can make or mar a Neta in actual practice.
We have , therefore to think of an innovative solution. Our neighbours have tried to get the Army to rule. They were not successful. Don’t their Army brass belong to the same stock of people? Therein lies a clue Sonia Gandhi does not belong to the Indian stock genetically. We can try her. There is one snag though. She has been the Bahu of the Nehru-Gandhi household for around forty years. Has she not been Indianised enough?
We ought to try the genuine imported stuff. Old timers say that the British ruled rather well. Of course they were costly, but aren’t our present ones as costly after the recent hike of our parliamentarians? Perhaps at 68 times the per capita income of an Indian according to one estimate, they are not as yet, as costly but we can depend on the likes of Lalus and Mulayams to make up the difference. Under the British, law and order was very well maintained. They built the original infrastructure in the country, whatever their motivations. They were the people to introduce modern education, sanitation, scientific temperament and democratic spirit as against the authoritarian and perpetually outdated regimes that proliferated before them. Thuggy and suttee were abolished. Thuggy, however seems to have been reborn in the form of extortionists of Mumbai or the kidnappers of the cowbelt.
I am not suggesting that we bring the British back. Perish the thought! But we can, may be, ask that nation of shopkeepers to take a contract for managing a district or a metropolis. It can be on a 5 year contract with built in stiff penalties for every crime that takes place. An unsolved crime would attract the stiffest penalty. For example, the moment a theft takes place, the total value of the theft would be deducted straightaway from the contractor’s safety deposit. When the thief is caught, 10% of the deducted amount would be refunded, when he is convicted in a court of law, a further 20% would be refunded, when the stolen property is recovered and restored to the owner, a further 60% would be refunded. However the balance 10% would remain deducted as the theft took place under their management.
Democracy is supposed to mean accountability. In practice, in India, the remedy for public sector ills has been given to be freedom from this accountability. The parliamentarians are themselves a law unto themselves. How can anybody be accountable to those who are themselves accountable to none? This gives an idea of how effective this accountability is. But if we have this type of carrot and stick approach in terms of contracts, payments and penalties, we might get a better accountability.
In any case our government thrives on contractors and suppliers, dalals and chamchas. A departmental construction on the lines of various housing boards fails to deliver the goods. A contractor, even if pricey, delivers the goods. We can therefore, float global tenders for various districts and municipal bodies. Good management may earn an extension of the contract. Even more districts could be awarded to them. We may then have a British managed district, a German managed municipality, a French managed department and so on.
The moment, you have global MNCs, our Swadeshi brigade would complain of a non-level playing field. They may be placated by inviting them to bid for the districts on the condition that they form joint ventures with approved foreign partners for the purpose. Unlike other projects, here we may stipulate a minimum rather than a maximum foreign component. Good management can earn them a lesser foreign component.
Our leftist friends are now likely to rise in consternation. What about the unemployment caused by this mindless privatization? I have an answer for this. We can grant the existing bureaucrats as well as the political class, a compensatory pension for life, to be reduced to half for the next generation, to one fourth for the third generation and then abolished altogether for the succeeding generations. The pension amount would be fixed depending on their present earnings. We have figures for their legitimate ( if I may be allowed to say so) earnings. We have, however no figures for their undue earnings. To obviate any difficulties in this regard, we may ask them to file a declaration under a Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme ( VDIS ). Their declared undue earnings have to be added to their legitimate earnings to arrive at the basis for fixing their pension.
Once we pension off these people, our leftist friends would be satisfied, at least partially. They are never going to be satisfied fully. After all, they have not as yet, been given an unfettered, extra-constitutional opportunity to misrule all of us! They have, however themselves given us this idea. A fertilizer factory in an eastern state governed by them has been paying wages to its employees for a number of years without producing any fertilizer. They should therefore agree to this idea. The granting of pensions is based on a precedent. In the government, precedents are very important. We had granted privy purses to the erstwhile rulers of princely states at the time of transfer of power. We are therefore not departing from our tradition of effecting a harmonious and peaceful transition from one type of rule to another. The Babus and the Netas should also be happy as they would no longer have to invent excuses for non-performance. They would, no longer be required to stay for a major portion of their tenure in their headquarters. A couple of our cabinet ministers have, with foresight, been already exercising this right. Another advantage to our political class would be that they will be perpetually in opposition – that hallowed condition of power without any responsibility!
The public may groan. They are doing this now also. There is however one qualitative difference. In future, they would groan only for the excessive price for the services. They would however be assured of getting service. Accountability would return in practice. Some question may be raised about double expenditure. But aren’t we already bearing it in the form of employing private security, paying bribes, extortionists, kidnappers, thieves and dacoits in addition to paying taxes?
Any takers for this idea? I mean for Surajya rather than Swaraj of the present variety.
STOP PRESS: I received my passport from Ahmedabad Regional passport office, sitting at my home in Vadodara on the 17th day of my applying for the same. Pray to God that the RPO, Ahmedabad is not punished for this unseemly haste and betraying the age old norms set by his predecessors or hounded by the CBI on one or the other charge.
A few years back, an old couple was murdered in Saket area of New Delhi. There was a furore and the Governor and the Police Commissioner visited the area. Police patrolling started. A few days and a couple of murders later, the police said that they did not have enough men for the job. The private security guards ( who would not have been employed by the citizens if they had faith in the police ) were to blame. The public is also perhaps to blame. What business do they have to get murdered? Do the police not have enough on their hands to protect the VVIPs and the lesser VIPs?
Who is more important? The public or the public servants? The Masters or the Servants? Of course the servants! We are Indians. We deify even our servants! We build palaces or swanky furnished apartments for them and they can decide to raise their own monetary and other compensation three to four times whenever they wish. The state has no money or men left after protecting such worthies for doing the primary job viz. that of protecting the society that created a structure called the state for the purpose. A naughty question sometimes arises in my mind. How many of these worthies would actually get killed if their security were withdrawn? Would the loss be irreparable except, of course to the sycophants and the beneficiaries of the slain VIP / VVIP? In any case, security itself was the cause of the assassination of one Prime Minister and lack of adequate security was the cause of a former Prime Minister’s murder. Security or no security, VIPs or VVIPs get killed if they are fated or targeted to be killed. Then, why oh! Why, are we made to shell out so much money? Money perhaps would not matter much but what hurts is that it is at the cost of the security of the very people who foot the bill.
The security chaps are helpless. Impotent is a strong word, but to a limited extent, it is not very wrong either. The Chief Minister of Delhi is helpless since like her two predecessors of a different party, she has no control over the police. Inwardly perhaps all the three are happy that they do not have to find a more difficult excuse. All of them are helpless, impotent, if you please.
The population of India has grown. So have the number and severity of the Railway accidents. Railway ministers, irrespective of party labels, are helpless. Either there is not enough money or the staff is careless or there is a systemic failure or if nothing else, there is of course the sabotage by the political opponents. Neither the political classes nor the bureaucratic classes are to blame. The blame always lies elsewhere. Those supposedly responsible are invariably helpless or impotent.
The local police in the states, when free of the onerous duty of collecting their earnings, both due and undue and harassing the by and large law abiding public, are helpless. How to cope with AK 47 wielding smugglers, extortionists or terrorists? How could they cope with militants of various hues? Central forces or the army are required. Each organization pleads its helplessness in tackling law and order problems. Somebody else is to blame. Everybody sagely nods to this, so long as they are themselves not held up for blame. The media make noise, taking care not to hurt anyone in a permanent sort of way. Law and order is the primary duty of any government – a structure created by the society for the very purpose. But the state is helpless, impotent. Even the judges are helpless in the face of mounting pending cases. When there is too much noise about something, authorities use an earplug in the form of a committee or a commission. This august body functions in a laid back manner and gives its report after a few extensions, usually when the noise has died out on its own.
The economy goes into a recession or there is a runaway inflation. The Finance minister is helpless. Scams after scams take place. CBI is helpless. Those who interfere are to blame. A department of a state government overdraws money year after year. Everybody, the department head, the auditors, the Public Accounts Committee, the vigilance people, the courts, the media et al make suitable noises but they are helpless. All actions are taken except to recover the money. The whole state is “like that only”. What to do?
The onion prices go up. Those in authority are helpless. A severe drought happens one year. Inflation goes into double digits. The sensible step of importing the shortfall, is not taken despite a more than comfortable foreign exchange position. Gods – Rain Gods are to blame. What can mere mortals do in the face of the mighty Almighty? In case there is a good monsoon and food prices come down despite the best efforts of the authorities, promptly people in power can claim having mastered the devil of inflation.
The people are helpless. They change their rulers, giving a chance to everyone but the situation does not change. What is the cause of this helplessness – this impotence? The answer is very simple. Responsibility. Make an Indian responsible for any task and he promptly becomes helpless, impotent for the task on hand, whether he is a Babu or a Neta, a judge or a journalist. In case, if anyone succeeds, there is a question mark. Is he not an Indian as in the case of Vishwanathan Anand? Or has he flouted the elaborate structure created to make him fail? Modi whether of the Narendra or Lalit variety have commited the ultimate sin. They seem to have not only succeeded but done so somewhat spectacularly. That is intolerable. They are not the norm. The ilk of Kalmadis are. If any task is to be accomplished, it must be done after raising blood pressure. We must procrastinate when there is ample time and when everybody is scared, then to rush things at breakneck speed and at a huge cost that helps line up the pockets of those who matter.
The West prides itself for having discovered Viagra as a cure for impotence. Our ancient civilization and Bharatiya culture laughs at it. We did that long back. We have now found a cure for potency. Make a man responsible for any task and he promptly becomes impotent. That is our Anti – Viagra. Akin to the Anti-Missile Missile. Aren’t we more advanced?
Whether it is a Police sub-inspector or a Health inspector whose job is to prevent epidemics, a Railway permanent way inspector in charge of maintaining Railway tracks or an opposition politician, the moment they get power, they become impotent in respect of their duties. They are however only selectively impotent. They are quite potent when it comes to harassing the public for wanting to do things legally or out of the way. The impotent Biradari or brotherhood has excuses ready for trotting out to the lay public in case, an outcry on any scale. takes place.
This phenomenon gives us a unique place in the world. Elsewhere power is an aphrodiasic. In India it is our own Swadeshi pill for impotence. We can be as proud of it as we are of our Mahatma Gandhis or Amartya Sens. While we can leave our rulers to gloat over this unique phenomenon, we, the ordinary people, the hoi pollois, need to think of a way to cope with this Anti-Viagra. There does not seem to be much use trying to change persons or parties. Whether it is the “Garibi Hatao”wallas or the “Ram Rath “ wallas, the situation worsens instead of improving with every change. Even bigger problem is the bureaucracy. To the ordinary man or “Aam Admi” as he is referred to, government is encountered in the shape of a Thanedar, or a revenue clerk or a railway booking clerk. They do not change. Running after a Neta is like running after a mirage. Very few realize that a Babu can make or mar a Neta in actual practice.
We have , therefore to think of an innovative solution. Our neighbours have tried to get the Army to rule. They were not successful. Don’t their Army brass belong to the same stock of people? Therein lies a clue Sonia Gandhi does not belong to the Indian stock genetically. We can try her. There is one snag though. She has been the Bahu of the Nehru-Gandhi household for around forty years. Has she not been Indianised enough?
We ought to try the genuine imported stuff. Old timers say that the British ruled rather well. Of course they were costly, but aren’t our present ones as costly after the recent hike of our parliamentarians? Perhaps at 68 times the per capita income of an Indian according to one estimate, they are not as yet, as costly but we can depend on the likes of Lalus and Mulayams to make up the difference. Under the British, law and order was very well maintained. They built the original infrastructure in the country, whatever their motivations. They were the people to introduce modern education, sanitation, scientific temperament and democratic spirit as against the authoritarian and perpetually outdated regimes that proliferated before them. Thuggy and suttee were abolished. Thuggy, however seems to have been reborn in the form of extortionists of Mumbai or the kidnappers of the cowbelt.
I am not suggesting that we bring the British back. Perish the thought! But we can, may be, ask that nation of shopkeepers to take a contract for managing a district or a metropolis. It can be on a 5 year contract with built in stiff penalties for every crime that takes place. An unsolved crime would attract the stiffest penalty. For example, the moment a theft takes place, the total value of the theft would be deducted straightaway from the contractor’s safety deposit. When the thief is caught, 10% of the deducted amount would be refunded, when he is convicted in a court of law, a further 20% would be refunded, when the stolen property is recovered and restored to the owner, a further 60% would be refunded. However the balance 10% would remain deducted as the theft took place under their management.
Democracy is supposed to mean accountability. In practice, in India, the remedy for public sector ills has been given to be freedom from this accountability. The parliamentarians are themselves a law unto themselves. How can anybody be accountable to those who are themselves accountable to none? This gives an idea of how effective this accountability is. But if we have this type of carrot and stick approach in terms of contracts, payments and penalties, we might get a better accountability.
In any case our government thrives on contractors and suppliers, dalals and chamchas. A departmental construction on the lines of various housing boards fails to deliver the goods. A contractor, even if pricey, delivers the goods. We can therefore, float global tenders for various districts and municipal bodies. Good management may earn an extension of the contract. Even more districts could be awarded to them. We may then have a British managed district, a German managed municipality, a French managed department and so on.
The moment, you have global MNCs, our Swadeshi brigade would complain of a non-level playing field. They may be placated by inviting them to bid for the districts on the condition that they form joint ventures with approved foreign partners for the purpose. Unlike other projects, here we may stipulate a minimum rather than a maximum foreign component. Good management can earn them a lesser foreign component.
Our leftist friends are now likely to rise in consternation. What about the unemployment caused by this mindless privatization? I have an answer for this. We can grant the existing bureaucrats as well as the political class, a compensatory pension for life, to be reduced to half for the next generation, to one fourth for the third generation and then abolished altogether for the succeeding generations. The pension amount would be fixed depending on their present earnings. We have figures for their legitimate ( if I may be allowed to say so) earnings. We have, however no figures for their undue earnings. To obviate any difficulties in this regard, we may ask them to file a declaration under a Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme ( VDIS ). Their declared undue earnings have to be added to their legitimate earnings to arrive at the basis for fixing their pension.
Once we pension off these people, our leftist friends would be satisfied, at least partially. They are never going to be satisfied fully. After all, they have not as yet, been given an unfettered, extra-constitutional opportunity to misrule all of us! They have, however themselves given us this idea. A fertilizer factory in an eastern state governed by them has been paying wages to its employees for a number of years without producing any fertilizer. They should therefore agree to this idea. The granting of pensions is based on a precedent. In the government, precedents are very important. We had granted privy purses to the erstwhile rulers of princely states at the time of transfer of power. We are therefore not departing from our tradition of effecting a harmonious and peaceful transition from one type of rule to another. The Babus and the Netas should also be happy as they would no longer have to invent excuses for non-performance. They would, no longer be required to stay for a major portion of their tenure in their headquarters. A couple of our cabinet ministers have, with foresight, been already exercising this right. Another advantage to our political class would be that they will be perpetually in opposition – that hallowed condition of power without any responsibility!
The public may groan. They are doing this now also. There is however one qualitative difference. In future, they would groan only for the excessive price for the services. They would however be assured of getting service. Accountability would return in practice. Some question may be raised about double expenditure. But aren’t we already bearing it in the form of employing private security, paying bribes, extortionists, kidnappers, thieves and dacoits in addition to paying taxes?
Any takers for this idea? I mean for Surajya rather than Swaraj of the present variety.
STOP PRESS: I received my passport from Ahmedabad Regional passport office, sitting at my home in Vadodara on the 17th day of my applying for the same. Pray to God that the RPO, Ahmedabad is not punished for this unseemly haste and betraying the age old norms set by his predecessors or hounded by the CBI on one or the other charge.
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