Discovering India – T.R.Sreejith

                 सहज मिले सो दूध सम, मांगा मिले सो पानी

                  कहकबर वह रक्त सम, जामें अंचातानि

There are flyovers everywhere but not a place to move. The cars ,buses and trucks are jam packed. It was meant to ease the traffic but the problem has only exploded. People lose 4 hours on the traffic when they travel to office everyday.

There are roads being laid out everywhere only being dug every next day.

My first love Mumbai suburban local trains are exploding, there are people on the rooftops on the side gates and on the wheel.

The rainwater enters your dining rooms. The drains get choked during the rainy season. No AI cannot solve this problem not even Chat GPT, I tried.

The slums mushroom on either side of the railway stations and malls.

There are no fresh green spaces. Everything has become a concrete jungle. The garbage dump overflows with tons of garbage on either side of the railway tracks.

So is it so gloomy or are there any silver linings.We have progressed with the certain innovations like UPI. Now not need to stand in the queues to pay your utility bills. The Aadhar has made direct benefit transfer (DBT) foolproof without leakages. So has the opening up of Jan Dhan accounts. Passport offices have become digital. Metro lines are definitely a way forward.



Education:

Primary education still suffers in with dropout, teacher absenteeism rates increasing day by day in the government schools and colleges. Where emphasis should be on teacher training and 360 degree assessment of the students.

In higher education the problem still seems to be on caste based reservations instead of affirmative action ‘’looking for a relative skill’’ as Nandan Nilekani points out in his book Imaging India. The fees of these higher educational institutions seems to be skyrocketing though loans are provided. Still these loans need to be paid back.You need to be a Mukesh Ambani’s son or daughter to be a doctor. It is impossible for an ordinary man to dream his son or daughter to be a doctor in a private medical college. And this seems to be the righteous way by many. They defend saying salaries of the teachers are to be paid and infrastructure has to be created along with private players are for profit organizations. But should it be at the cost and mercy of a child who does not have the means?

Healthcare:

In covid times we did have Covaxin and Covidshield thanks to the efforts of our healthcare workers. The private sector hospital bills rise exponentially. The doctors in these hospitals selfish to the core. The government infrastructure does not match with the needs of the poor and the destitute.

India may be the only country where health issues related to both Obesity and malnutrition coexist, the divide between the rich and the poor so clear. Suicides are now not restricted to the farmers alone even college and school going students are committing them. The mental health issues seems to be rising at an alarming pace.

Livelihood and Employment:

When livelihoods seem to be the problem for some, car parking is the problem for many. The problem of employment is not restricted to the rural area now, very well present in the urban metros too. The no. of unemployed youth is alarming. Students with 90% being unemployed is not a uncommon phenomenon forget about the youth with no skills. Skill India, Start-up India , Digital India seems to be steps in the right direction, but needs to be seen how much of a quantitative difference it has made.

Environment:

The youth seems to be very concerned about the environment today. Along with tree plantation, renewable sources of energy ,electric cars, we ought to reduce the consumption pattern in our daily lives so that we can reduce the carbon footprints.


Religion and Freedom of expression

There has been an overdose of religious fanatism in India in the recent past. There has been protest over films like Padmavaat , Pathan and Stand up comedians like Munawar Faruqui in the recent past. This does take away the democratic pluralism of India. Again the news channels have become so toxic that prefer to listen to pravachan of Murari Bapu.

What is very heartening is that a few religious institutions like the Brahmakumaris are showing scientific temperament and investing time and effort in Solar Powered technologies and Water purification systems that help the common man.




P.S.:The content is Inspired by reading the Book from Nandan Nilekani '"Imagining India"

Woman and its Tryst with Destiny

While clean drinking water seems to be a problem for some, drinking seems to be problem for many. #Girls #India #urbanruraldivide #richpoorgap

Dear Woman,


What is equality to you?

Is it drinking alcohol, doing drugs and smoking cigarettes? Are you trying to impress your men?
Women in the name of equality what are you trying to do, you are just trying to mimic men.


Why do woman need empowerment?
Women very never weak. They were very strong throughout the ages.


In an Indian family, there were two roles. One that of a provider and other that of a nourisher.
The man was the provider, and the women was the nourisher. It was a great responsibility that they did it extraordinarily. They were equal. It’s like comparing a Federer and Messi. Can you? How do you say one is better than the other.


Today women are wanting to have equal participation in all areas, both professional and personal. She is asking for equal pay, nothing wrong with it. I believe she should be paid equally if not more but you still end up being a rat in the rat race.

Mothers used to cook three times a day for their children.Today many children are asked to order from a click of a mobile.

Now there are only deadlines and targets to achieve. Is this the new norm? Ask yourself are you contented? Is this your definition of success? I am afraid how would you face your children.

However man progresses in technology,in AI or Metaverse , he will not be able to get pregnant.(...With Elon Musk around you never know.)

A woman nourishes a baby for the first nine months, so whatever you eat, drink, smoke, read, think or act it will nourish the baby. The Sanskar’s for the first nine months for the baby is definitely inherited from the mother.

Why does a woman need to compete with a man in the first place. She is herself a strong , peaceful and contented soul

Women why are you competing yourself against these bastards, you are drowning yourself.

We definitely don’t want more drunkards, druggists and smokers resulting in more cases of depression, anxiety and stress. We need a world where woman are role models for the world to look up to.

Are you trying to chase success? Or are you trying to copy the west? Aren’t you proud of our rich heritage which you inherited from our parents and teachers?

My role model and inspiration, I draw form my mother is that of survival against all the odds of life put against her and still successfully passing with flying colours. To be raising her children with values against all the stones thrown at her.



Source:
The following article is inspired by the talk of Sister BK Shivani (link below) and a few office parties I attended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4fKDRsJAoo

A Tribute to a universal icon - a legend - Roger Federer

 I can cry as well as him,but I wish I could play as well as him.-Andy Murry

Was it your forehand groundstrokes,

Or was it your backhand crosscourt

Was it your aces

Or was it your dropshots

You had us all mesmerized

 

Was it your aura on the court

Or your charisma off it

You had us all astonished.

 

Was it your cries,

Or was it your smiles

Was it your defeats

Or was it your victories

You had us all stunned.

 

You do not inspire a generation

You do not inspire a nation

You inspire an octa generation (eight Generations)

You inspire an entire universe

 

You taught us more than our teachers

You taught us never to say die until its really over.

You taught us to fight till the end.

You taught us to cry uninhibitedly ,unashamedly and unapologetically

Roger Federer you always gave a breadth of fresh air.

Erosion of Values

Family, like branches in a tree, we all grow in different directions, yet our roots remain as one.

   

The values system which we imbibe are set to be instilled in our childhood by our parents and teachers which we come across. In today’s society we are reaching higher heights but the value system is degrading. They are degrading as a result of both parents working to make ends meet, the destruction of the joint family system and the adherence of the nuclear family system. In olden times there was a lot of emphasis was laid on joint families specifically in the Nair Community. The children meanwhile find their sources of happiness in mobile phones ,pubG,Instagram, fb or television.

On 2nd July 2022 we had a small family reunion in our native place Kidangoor, Kerala in which the three generations of our family met. Around 150 members attended. Many were meeting for the 1st time. Though we could not be a part of it, just seeing the videos and photos gave us tremendous joy.

The happiness of a householder (grihastha) is in meeting ones near and dear ones, in meeting our cousins, relatives and family members. Such happiness cannot be expressed in words. Sex, alcohol and money do provide a momentary pleasure but cannot replace the happiness derived from a family get-together. Neither is such joy found temple visits or saptahams, nor does a brahmachari accustomed to such bonding's.

Though there may be disputes related to property, monetary issues , the family provides a sense of security in times of distress and sorrow. It is said that the blood of the relatives are thicker than others and can fallback on them in times of difficulty.

Watching a movie or a cricket match or reading a book cannot replace the joy of a family reunion.

Such events do help to restore the values to an extent.

Hridayam Review

 Thank you for making me who I am.- Hridayam

                                          

Vineet Srinivasan’s, the god of Malayalam Newgen cinema delivers a flawless movie in the musical retreat and campus romance “Hridayam”.

He extracts exemplary performances from the actors Pranav Mohanlal, Darshana Rajendran and Kalpana Priyadarshan.

Vineet know as the king of emotions,also knows the pulse of the youth which can be felt in the soulful music delivered by Hesam.

The movie though does lack the freshness or moments it had captured in the previous movies like Aanandam.

Overall the film is an musical and emotional retreat and captures the audience with the finest performances.

Pranav Mohanlal has reincarnated himself to deliver a flawless performance.

Reasons for Brain Drain

The reasons for Brain Drain can be classified into 4 major reasons

1.       Money
2.       Opportunities
3.       Aspirational Youth
4.       Better standard for living
5.       Happy and peaceful life

India does not provide the opportunities which a foreign nation does provide. There is a mismatch in the skillset and opportunities available in India. Many aspirational
Indian youth go for higher studies and research and are unable to find suitable opportunities in India to return back.

If like-minded opportunities are provided for the youth, I am sure plenty will want to stay back and also possibly return to India.

Many from IIT and IIM go for higher packages to US and abroad. I think it is a bit immature on their part. India today does provide an entrepreneurial ecosystem for new germination of new ideas.

In Kerala, many migrate to the gulf and other countries in search of job opportunities as there are no opportunities available in Kerala for the literate youth. The government has to do much more of these aspirational youth

 

I prefer to stay in my motherland, India a spiritual country close to my near and dear ones.

Blockchain Technology

It is always a battle between morality and majority - Chandrababu Naidu

                 

Is the answer to our banking woes - Technology?

And better still - Is it Blockchain?

Indian public sector banking is usually in a deep mess due to frequent frauds like Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya.etc. The frauds usually come to light at the time of elections.

People say that it is difficult to moniter each person for being uncorruptable,its difficult have zero political interference in the allocation of loans etc….So guys should it not be replaced with technology.

People will always have an argument that technology is not foolproof.Let it not be, but still it won’t be corrupted like humans. If technology is more honest than humans then I believe it is a more optimal solution.

So let see what are how these frauds go undetected.

For example, a decision on a loan application can be generated based on inputs of customers’ personal information. When a user intends to apply for a loan through an online application system, he/she may falsify some of the personal financial information, such as a fake repayment history, thus increasing the possibility of acceptance. Consequently, financial institutions have suffered tremendous losses due to loan fraud (Kim et al. 2012). As blockchain systems can keep historical transactions records, applicants cannot falsify information to obtain a favorable decision.

May be this is just a drop in the ocean but still it would be a step in the progressive direction for the country.

So the next question - So would humans be redundant? No not at all.

There are many areas where human discretion needs to be applied-may be till we are able to get an appropriate AI-like Amazon echo or Sirri.

I believe human discretion would be required in cases arising of genuine business failures. Also cases like steel and cement sectors, situations where input costs going high.

Solve a real problem. If the blockchain is the best tool, then use it. But never force it. Too many founders love the blockchain and then search for a problem to stick it.- Brayton Williams