Elephant in your bedroom

P. Sainath has aptly said in one of his interviews that invisible India is like an elephant in your bedroom. I visited Jamkhed, a small village at a distance of about 75 Km from Ahmadnagar on last saturday and sunday only to realise the truth behind these words.

Throughout the journey, barring a few islands of development(?) I could only see poverty, despair and systemic failure. The day we reached was a day of the weekly market. Weekly market is an interesting concept, in existance since ancient history. Small time farmers and manufacturers who cannot afford to sell their produce in the city, set up shop in a particular village on a particular day in a week and shift to different locations in the vicinity every day.

We enthusiastically decided to go shopping. To my horror, the agricultural produce was so cheap that we actually felt guilty buying at such throw-away prices(Tomatoes for e.g. were priced at Rs. 2/Kg as against Rs. 10/Kg in cities). I probed more and found multiple reasons for this. These farmers were perennially in debt due to uncertainty of rains, overuse of fertilizers, non-availability of seeds etc. Also, it was not possible for them to either sell their produce in the nearby city or to pay commission to traders. All these factors force the farmers to sell in the local markets. Since the purchasing power in the vicinity is low, the prices are pulled down to such an extent that the farmers can barely meet their expenses(Wal-mart is a classic example in a different context. It pays its staff so low that the staff members are left with no choice but to buy at Wal-mart).

I also went to a couple of other places in the locality and everywhere I found that people have lost hope about their future. There are no perennial resources of water(ironically, Maharashtra has the highest number of dams, check-dams and canals in India). Since people are not willing to continue farming as a profession, they are sending their children to cities such as Pune for education or jobs, creating extra burden on the infrastructure in these cities(Mr. Thakre should take notice of this intra-state migration rather than the inter-state migration). Since these children are not equipped to succeed in cities, they feel uprooted, face depression and even turn to crime.

Can there be an end to this? Yes. If only we start looking beyond 'me, my family'. If only we start realising that India is not just metros, malls or so-called burgeoning middle-class. If only we understand what true development is. Many NGOs are seeking to find out what true development is. They are doing some great work in this area. Micro-credit also holds a big promise and definitely has the potential to change the face of rural India.

We can certainly bring about a change, if only we spot the elephant in our secured, insulated bedroom.

Zen & the art of living

Sitting quietly, doing nothing,

Spring comes and,

Grass grows by itself.

-Zen haiku.

While reading a book, I came across this haiku and was mesmerised by the simplicity with which it delivers the message. (Haiku is a very important form of traditional Japanese poetry. Haiku is designed to convey the essence of an experience in a short format.) Too many a time, we fail to focus on experiencing life just as it is because of our habit to delve in complexities that form a barrier between us and the direct experience of the present moment.

We have forgotten to enjoy simple joys of life. How many times do we experience the setting sun while driving back home? Hardly. Because we are busy focussing our minds on tomorrow's tasks. We do not know what long walks are, we cannot think of moments when we do not think at all. Just the other day, I was driving back home and to my left was the vast expanse of open land. The sun was setting and an array of bright golden, orange, red, yellow, pink, blue and white hues was on display in the sky. I jsu couldn't take my eyes off the sight and pulled the car to the roadside. I later realised that while I spent some 20 minutes watching this grandeur, sadly, not a single passer-by bothered to stop by. (Did you notice the superiority complex in this realisation? Also, this means, my mind too, wasn't free of thoughts while watching the sun set.)

I am not advocating a lazy life. I firmly believe that work is worship and working hard is like serving the God. We must work hard not only for ourselves but also to repay the society which influences a great deal of our personality. However, while working hard to achieve our goals, we must not forget to live our life.

I am reminded of a cartoon in which two monks are sitting. The elder monk tells the younger one, 'Nothing happens next. This is it.' All through our life when we are busy working for a better life, we don't realise that life has passed us by.

Let us vow to slow down a bit.