Two Issues We Face Today Which Call for Immediate Action

My journeys from home to office and back seem to be overflowing with interesting people and conversations. Today was no different.

On my way back home, I got a lift from Rahul Kulkarni who has been managing a dual existence for the last three years. And boy, he’s been doing it really well. His not so exciting side is that he heads the Creative function for a Shopper Marketing firm. The part which I found intriguing is the other half of him; the one that drags him on a 6 hour long journey every weekend to pay a visit to the farm in his native village.

This farm is not just another farm. It’s a farm with Mango trees interspersed with organic cultivation of vegetables and spices. His story becomes more and more interesting when he begins to describe the efforts he’s put into for the last three years and his vision for the future. When he first started, there was nothing apart from barren lands with occasional Mango trees. For the last three years, Rahul has put in every penny he and his wife have earned into it to get farm thriving. He has yet not earned a penny. Nor does he expect any returns in the near future. The intention is also not to build a commercially profitable organic food supply project out of it.

What he intends to do is to build a couple of cottages for himself and for occasional wanderers: to come and live with him, to plant and cultivate with him, to harvest and eat with him. This is his Retirement Plan in a land hidden in the lush green Monsoon loving valleys of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra.

Sounds interesting right?

Once our discussion progressed, I ended up asking him a couple of dumb questions which had been nagging me for a while. He cheered me up saying that these weren’t dumb questions and then went on to describe how it was one of the biggest issues facing the country. My first question to him was as follows:

I’ve been hearing a lot about these genetically modified seeds and excessive usage of fertilizers & pesticides. My assumption is that more farmers are getting converted into using these methods which lead to better looking varieties of produce. If this trend continues, does it mean that over a period of time, we will be left with no non-modified local varieties of seeds?

He took a deep breath and said that this is one of the biggest issues that the agro-industry is facing today. There are fewer and fewer varieties of local seeds that are available now. Genetically modified seeds produce crops which look better, weigh more, require less water, etc. They lead to a higher yield. But people are still turning a deaf ear to the quality of the yield and the impact it has on their body.

There are two aspects to this problem he feels: the soil and the seed. When fertilizers and pesticides are added to the soil, they destroy almost ‘everything’ in the soil. This includes the essential bacteria and other organisms which help in the process of making the soil alive with their ‘excreta’ and ‘what they breath out’ in the process of respiration. This gets completely lost. This is comparable to trying to grow these plants in concrete. Seeds and plants, in their natural form, develop certain adaptability qualities in their natural setting. When they are genetically modified, they tend to develop certain new qualities (higher yield and easy marketability) but they also suffer from certain defects. Defects include lower nutritional value, prone to diseases more easily.

He also spoke about the politics and the economic privileges which this entire process yields to certain stakeholders which I would not like to elaborate in this piece.

When I asked him more about the key issues facing this industry, he pointed at another trend: reduction of food supply.

With rapid urbanization, people are moving out of villages and moving towards cities in search of better opportunities and lifestyle. They are giving up on the traditional household farms (which used to be a key source for the consumption of the family) and even selling off their land while moving to cities. In some cases, the land continues to be used for agriculture. However, when the land is sold for industrial development and real estate it fetches the best prices. This is leading to a decrease in agricultural area.

This trend is coupled with another trend where the limited amount of agricultural land is being utilized for cash crops over essential food crops.

These two factors when working together point at scary food supply deficit for the future. There is a continuous increase in the size of the population and at this rate there would not be enough food for the ever-expanding population.

Our conversation was killed prematurely since I had reached my destination. I am looking forward to accepting his invitation to visit his farm over one of the weekends to learn more.

Formula Programming - Reality Talent Shows

Why I don’t like watching X-Factor? Simply because I feel that I have seen it many times over. It feels like watching the same movie with different actors playing the same roles. I find it boring just as I find the other shows boring such as: Sa Re Ga Ma, Dance India Dance, Indian Idol, Kaun Banega Crorepati, etc. have. Each of them had a successful first season while and some had more than that. The interest levels dwindled with every subsequent season. While some of these are successful international formulas which have been copy pasted in India, others are indigenous. However, each of them seems to have passed their prime and now require an age lift solution. Unfortunately, there are MANY with contrary opinion, as the television audience in India keeps increasing in volumes much faster than it matures. Thus the admission that the opinions stated in this article are mine. Also, my rants are not limited to X-Factor alone but extend other similar reality shows as well. The only reason I began this article with X-Factor is because it was the last show I saw on air before I penned my thoughts.

Some of the reasons for my ranting above are:

1) The channels become greedy: There needs to be an end to a success story. A happy ending and not one in which all characters take a second life and again have a happy end. And again, and again. Once a formula works for a channel, they turn greedy and keep on pushing it till the last possible limit.

2) They all look the same: A singer can participate in three to four reality shows easily without innovating anything new at all. If he knows how to move his legs, he can add another two three to this list. If not on this show, there is always another one to waiting to be tried out. They are all the same after-all.

3) Huge amount of emotional drama: There is always one participant in each episode who is either an orphan, has some physical disability, has a widowed mother, sleeps on the pavement, drives an auto, is a vendor at the station, sells newspapers, has gone to jail, has never had a teacher, god’s gift in terms of talent but not in terms of monetary benefits, etc. You can predict that after every three contestants, there will be one for whom they would play an AV about the participant showing the inhuman living conditions, the leaking roofs in their houses, the aluminium vessels to eat, the weeping mother, the bed-ridden father, the sister who is of marriageable age, the village which does not even have electricity, etc.

4) Same judges: Might not be the same people each time but again it’s the same formula. Get a woman who will bring in the emotions, a young man to talk the rational bits and an experienced contender to do the summing up. Make the woman cry first, then the young dude and save the tears of the experienced fellow till the elimination rounds later.

5) Humour is from people making a fool of themselves: Most importantly, every episode in the eliminations (and the eliminations go on for a really long time considering the size of Indian population) has this one idiot hell-bent on making a fool of himself. Try as hard as you might, he will ensure that nothing comes in way of his two minutes to fame and your irritation.

6) At the end of it all, nothing happens: Most of the winners, participate in the subsequent champions episodes, become coaches, become judges for the kids season, release their first album, get offers for live shows from across the world, and after some time, are lost in oblivion. They are replaced by new ones, with just as much talent, just as much energy, similar emotionally traumatic upbringing and hopes of millions of viewers who have laughed with them, cried with them, sung and danced with them, sent messages for them, etc.

Nothing remains constant. The channels are wealthier, the brand recalls healthier, the winners popular and the viewers, happier (empathy induced joy I would say).

This is when we (as viewers) start relishing those fond memories of something that just got over. This is when we begin to feel the pangs of separation. This is when we are just about to start missing those participants who entertained us for a couple of months. And this is when we hit the power button to switch on the television craving for more of them.

But what we see is a new promo. From a different channel with the same show. From the same channel of the next season.

A new story begins and develops just like a new relationship would. Unfortunately, it tends to end much faster than what a relationship would. What is left with the audience is the feeling of being heart-broken. Is that what we want?

A ‘saree’ is not just a garment but a rope used by the society

Yesterday, on my way back from the office in a bus, I saw a couple on a motorbike speeding past. The guy was dressed in loose Tees and a pair of jeans and the girl behind him in a traditional Indian ‘saree’. It is a common sight in most parts of the country even today and it somehow sparked a desire for me to look a little deeper to probe if there is anything about the society and culture that we can understand from this.

Sitting sideways is something which we would see in very few countries around the world and it gets necessitated most often because of the kind of garment which is worn. In this case the garment being a ‘saree’. Sitting in this position puts the woman into a world where she has to play a role of double balancing. The first: balancing herself on the seat in a direction perpendicular to the motion of the bike. The second: balancing herself with the bike itself which moves ahead on two wheels. Obviously, it is not an easy task and we have seen them struggle and juggle while in this position. However, most of them are able to perfect this skill – at times with a little help by holding the person in the front. The pros even manage to tuck one kid between the two seats and one on the lap. And, the great Indian family is all set in motion in no time.

What it forced me to think is as follows:

At one level, the ‘saree’ is a traditional Indian garment which has added to the overall sensuality and appeal of women. At a deeper level to me it appears like a rope which is used by the society to tie-up women multiple times, to restrict their movement and also punish them in a manner in which they are forced to perform under physically difficult conditions. Most young women struggle while wearing it and often take the help of others who are more adept at this skill – usually a mother, sister or friend. After wearing it, they find it difficult to walk around with it and also to manage the household chores and responsibilities. In one way, it limits their movement within a secured known boundary. History and family traditions have glorified the ‘saree’ to such an extent that women feel a sense of achievement on being able to carry out household work (however difficult the ‘saree’ makes it for them).

To understand the position of the motorcycle and the scooter in the history of the country is also important here. These vehicles opened up the world to common people who had traditionally been dependant on completely undependable means of public transport. However, what is interesting to note here is that this weapon towards extended geographic exploration and physical convenience had been limited to the men in the society. Women have usually been limited to occupying the rear seat either in the capacity of a daughter, sister or a wife. Whenever a girl was spotted as a pillion with anyone else, it would raise eyebrows and she would be given a lecture on socially acceptable behavior.

What is also interesting to observe here is that whenever the woman got a chance to sit in the pillion, she was expected to play a similar role which the ‘saree’ would make her play at home – that of balancing between the odds managing not only herself but also the family. While the woman struggled herself on this rear seat, there was usually a ‘Bittu’ who would be sitting between the couple and a ‘Guddi’ with a bottle of milk on her lap. She was expected not only to carry out the extreme acrobatic act of double balancing on the rear seat but also ensure the same for the kids. In a nutshell, she was expected to manage the family (‘meri family’ – a term commonly used by men to describe a collection which consisted of his wife and kids) rather than being able to enjoy the thrills of travel.

Today, with the society moving ahead and greater amount of sensitivity prevalent towards the needs and desires of women, there are several changes visible. One such phenomenon is the introduction of the mini-scooters aka ‘scootys’. The manner in which it impacts the society and the lives of women is multifold. It has removed the restriction of the wearing specific kinds of clothes which are required for driving. Women today drive ‘scootys’ even with ‘sarees’. This has also brought the women from the rear seat onto the front seat. It has not only provided them convenience and discovery, but also opened up a world of possibilities for them.

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