We have read an interesting book, India Unbound by Gurcharan Das. First written in 2000 and revised in 2002, Das examines how the economic reforms of 1991 have led to a huge increase in entrepreneurialism and a rising middle class in India. Here are some quotes from the book, which have given us much fodder for discussion. We hope you find them interesting too:
“The theme of this book is how a rich country became poor and will become rich again. India had more than a fifth of the world’s wealth and a quarter of the world’s trade in textiles in 1700. It has seen its share decline to less than 5% of world income and less than half a percent of world trade in 1995. It may not have become poorer in absolute terms but compared to the rest of the world, it did get left behind. We have gotten so used to the inequalities between rich and poor countries that we the astonishing truth that living standards around the world were roughly equal in 1750 –everyone was poor. Even in 1850 things were not very different. Today the average person in the developed world is ten to twenty times richer. This happened …because of the capitalist breakthrough, which began in England between 1760 and 1820 with the invention of the cotton gin and the steam engine, followed by waves of technological innovations…railroad, steamship, steel…electricity…the automobile…the chip and computers. With the emergence of Japan and the Far East in the last quarter century, the world became a global economy.
India did not participate in this great adventure. We grew up believing that our “mixed economy” …though not as efficient as capitalism, was better because it cared for the poor. It was better than communism because it preserved political freedoms. But its problem was of performance, not of faith. If it had worked, most of the third world would be more prosperous today. Indians have learned from painful experience that the state does not work on behalf of the people. More often than not, it works on behalf of itself.” P.348-9
“In Hindu society the Brahmin (priest, teacher) is at the top of the four-caste hierarchy, followed by the Kshatriya (variously landholder, warrior, ruler). The Vaishya or bania (businessman) comes third, and the Shudra (laborer, artisan) is last. Below the four are the casteless “untouchables” and tribals. The three upper castes constitute roughly 15% of India’s population, and have ruled the country for 3000 years. About half of India is laboring or Shudra caste, divided in turn into hundreds of subcastes. Some are occupational-cobblers and carpenters, for example- others are geographic. More than 20% of the population are the casteless or “untouchables” and tribals for whose uplift Mahatma Gandi worked all his life. The remaining 15% of India belongs to other religions: 11 % Muslim, the rest Sikh, Christian, Parsee, etc.” P. 140
“It was estimated that in the mid 90’s the middle or consuming class was 32.5 million households. Since there are roughly 5 persons in a household, this means that the middle class was 169 million or 18% of the population. This household income is between Rs 45,000 and Rs 215,000 (US$ 1,000-5,000) and typically owns a TV, cassette recorder, pressure cooker, ceiling fan, bicycle and wristwatch. Two-thirds of this consuming class owns a scooter, color TV electric iron, blender and sewing machine, but less than half own a refrigerator.
(Of course, the penetration of TV’s, bicycles, radios and fans goes far beyond the middle class-TV’s are in over 62 million homes, bicycles in 80 million, wristwatches in 125 million and fans in 50 million homes.) Most striking is this consuming middle class appears to have tripled in 10 years. This middle class is projected to reach 91 million households by 2007, or 450 million people. “ P. 287
“Poor teamwork is pervasive in India…. I asked my cousin, Usha Kumar, if it had something to do with the Indian personality. She is a trained psychologist and she pointed me to Sudhir Kakar, the author of the Inner World: A Psycho-analytic Study of Childhood and Society in India. Kakar said that it begins with the Indian bride, who is not fully accepted into her husband’s home until she produces a male child. She is so grateful when a son is born that she indulges him to excess. As the boy grows up he remains close to the mother and distant from the father. The end result is that the boy grows up narcissistic and has a weak ego.
The adult Indian male personality that emerges from various psychologists’ accounts has a weak sense of self, one that needs the support of authority figures. He is less comfortable on his own. He needs appreciative, older, hierarchical figures, even late in his professional life.
It is difficult to say how valid this hypothesis is in the absence of broad socio-psychological data. Never-the-less, there seems to be near-universal agreement about this Indian personality among professionals.” P. 43
“Years later, my grandfather admitted that he was a little sad to see the British go and said “It is certainly nice to feel the fresh breeze of freedom, but you must remember, my son, that India had been the best-governed country in the world for a hundred years. Why, Britain itself was not as well ruled because it was, after all, a messy parliamentary democracy, and it was not run by the Indian civil service…. Yes, the English were arrogant, but it was a cheap price to pay for a hundred years of peace, good government, railways, irrigation canals, and the best law and order in the world. You may call me antinational, but this is how I feel.”” P. 52
“In my highschool in Washington I was surprised that we had to attend a class called “shop”. We learned to repair a window, make a table, or unclog a sink. At the end of the year, we had lost our fear of technology. We had understood Bronowski’s dictum that the world is understood through the hand, not the mind-the hand is the cutting edge of the mind. It explains why many Americans are “tinkerers”. This is a powerful idea for India, where we have traditionally had contempt for manual labor because of our caste system.” P.71
“I have found it frustrating that Indian intellectuals and political leaders are so anti-American that they are unable to perceive the qualities of America. The American education system has many flaws, but it is far fairer (and more creative) than most systems.” P. 80
“Although Americans think of themselves as individualistic, they have historically had a rich civil society…They have a dense network of voluntary organizations: churches, professional groups, charitable institutions, neighbourhood clubs and so on. (However, this rich associational life has weakened in the last generation as family life has deteriorated.) In contrast, the social life of Indians revolves around the family or caste. It does not encompass the whole community. Perhaps this is why our streets are dirty when our homes are spotlessly clean.” P. 81
“After the abolition of untouchability in 1950, the most dramatic development relating to caste occurred in 1990. Vishwanath Pratap Singh, the aristocrat turned politician (and able finance minister under Rajiv Gandhi), needed an electoral platform to differentiate himself from other politicians. Socialism had run out of steam. Mrs. Gandhi’s populism had been discredited. Singh looked for a gap and found it in the “backwardness of the “other backward castes” (OBC’s). These were the laboring Shudra majority, fully half the country’s population-barbers, carpenters, cobblers, goat herders, other artisans, and farm labor-who had lacked a political voice. In comparison, the Dalits had already found a voice in politics and there were programs in place to lift them, and the upper castes had always looked after themselves nicely for 3000 years…. The OBC movement spread like wildfire in the north Indian heartland. The upper castes were horrified. Suddenly another 50 % of the government jobs and places in colleges might be denied to them. With 20% of the jobs already reserved for the Dalits, they realized that if the OBC demand succeeded only 30% of future seats would be available on merit. It was an invitation for a caste war. And it came… The logic of the ballot box was too strong. Singh, as Prime Minister of a coalition government, tried to fulfill his election promise, but his attempts to increase reservations became mired in the courts. However, the succeeding Congress government of Narasimha Rao seized the opportunity to win the OBC vote. It enacted legislation raising the reservations of OBCs to 30%. Thus 50% of government jobs and seats in colleges are today based on criteria other than merit.” P.146
Das quoting a childhood teacher and the wisdom he imparted to him. “There are three kinds of knowledge: Knowledge of the world, of the self and of God.
Knowledge of the world came through reason and physical sciences. Knowledge of the self came partially from psychology and the social sciences. But for the knowledge of God one had to turn to the Gita. The Gita taught that knowledge from books was not enough-it had to be combined with action and it had to be experienced.” P. 294
Das commenting on remarks by Public Policy Specialist- Francis Fukuyama about prosperity in the modern, western world.
“There is also a bleak side to Fukuyama’s generally sunny vision. It is that bourgeois life tends to become consumerist, lonely, banal and unheroic. The irony of liberalism is that it gives the individual free space in order to fashion his life, but he is unable to cope with the free space and fills it with trivial objects. Without a God or ideology, bourgeois life is reduced to the endless pursuit of cars, VCRs, cell phones and channel surfing. The reference point is self, and the individual becomes self-absorbed in a world of physical security and rational consumption. Even when it comes to sport and exercise, one prefers to jog rather than play team sports. Without a higher moral purpose, there are no heroic acts to perform. Is this the life that India has to look forward to in this century?
Although India may compress the economic timetable and become prosperous in the next 25 years, I believe it will not lose out o religiosity quite as rapidly as the west and Far East. Religion has a powerful place in Indian life, and the persistence of God will be its strongest defense. However, the challenge will be to keep religion a private matter.”
P. 309
Gurcharan Das is the author of three plays and a novel, A Fine Family (1990). He is also a columnist for the Times of India and other newspapers. He graduated from Harvard College and attended Harvard Business School. A former CEO of Procter & Gamble India, he is currently a venture capitalist and a consultant to industry and government. He lives with his wife in New Delhi.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Varanasi by Steve
Varanasi is said to be the oldest living city and our friend Krystina says it is the place she feels most alive; our experience most certainly has been of a city full of life. After the relative peace and quiet of Kerala and the out-of-the-way, rural places we visited, the rush, and crowds and noise and congestion of Varanasi seem ten times more vibrant and exciting and scary. Everywhere is teeming with life. The lanes are jammed with people, bicycles, cycle rickshaws, scooters, and as this is the holy city, everywhere there are cows and water buffaloes. To add to the confusion, the old city is made up of tiny, winding lanes hemmed in by countless stalls selling everything from chai to silk saris to bicycle tires to coconuts and flower garlands for religious offerings.
The famous Ghats, which are stone steps that Hindus use to get into the River Ganges for a ritual bath, stretch out for over a mile of shoreline. Walking along the Ghats one sees religious devotees ranging from fat Brahmin priests in crisp white dhotees, to skinny sadhus in saffron robes with dreadlocks smeared with ashes, to middle class families from Bombay wearing jeans, to mourning families hunched around the burning corpse. The constant noise of horns and bicycle bells is punctuated by the shouts from touts offering rickshaws, boat rides, visits to their silk shops, guest house, hashish… Yes, Varanasi can be a sensory overload.
The original plan had us staying in Varanasi for three days but that was extended to six days as we couldn’t get on the flight we wanted. Although I was keen for the family to experience the incredible energy of Varanasi, I find that the cities are tough to visit with the kids, what with all the traffic, crowds and other hazards so I feared that six days would be too long. However, thanks to our friends, Krystina and her brother Mark, our stay was very relaxing. They arranged an apartment for us in a residential neighbourhood, showed us some of the key sights and recommended some great restaurants. We ended up spending lots of time shopping and eating. Our favourite hang out was a lovely place called the Open Hand which served excellent fair trade coffee and fresh fruit salad in a charming atmosphere created by beautiful silk cushions, curtains, table covers, all of which were for sale. Since coming to India we haven’t really done much shopping as I always said I didn’t want to haul heavy suitcases on and off trains for a month. Well, our train travel was over, and once we knew we were allowed 30kg of baggage on the flight to Kathmandu, there was no stopping us. As well as the silk, we spent a couple of pleasant afternoons at a material and tailor shop getting fitted and selecting colours for shirts, pants, and skirts to wear for the next stages of the trip.
Leaving Varanasi we had another set of extremes. Our 9:30 am taxi was late and we took forever to get through horrible traffic jams so we were late getting to the airport, and the crowds were lined up out the door, so I was a bit tense. However, my cousin Joe’s connection in Delhi had arranged business class tickets, so we zoomed straight up to the special counter where the agent got us the best seats for the views of the mountains and an hour later we were sitting in extra wide seats, sipping drinks served on starched white napkins, gazing at the snow capped Himalayan Mountains where we will soon be trekking.
The famous Ghats, which are stone steps that Hindus use to get into the River Ganges for a ritual bath, stretch out for over a mile of shoreline. Walking along the Ghats one sees religious devotees ranging from fat Brahmin priests in crisp white dhotees, to skinny sadhus in saffron robes with dreadlocks smeared with ashes, to middle class families from Bombay wearing jeans, to mourning families hunched around the burning corpse. The constant noise of horns and bicycle bells is punctuated by the shouts from touts offering rickshaws, boat rides, visits to their silk shops, guest house, hashish… Yes, Varanasi can be a sensory overload.
The original plan had us staying in Varanasi for three days but that was extended to six days as we couldn’t get on the flight we wanted. Although I was keen for the family to experience the incredible energy of Varanasi, I find that the cities are tough to visit with the kids, what with all the traffic, crowds and other hazards so I feared that six days would be too long. However, thanks to our friends, Krystina and her brother Mark, our stay was very relaxing. They arranged an apartment for us in a residential neighbourhood, showed us some of the key sights and recommended some great restaurants. We ended up spending lots of time shopping and eating. Our favourite hang out was a lovely place called the Open Hand which served excellent fair trade coffee and fresh fruit salad in a charming atmosphere created by beautiful silk cushions, curtains, table covers, all of which were for sale. Since coming to India we haven’t really done much shopping as I always said I didn’t want to haul heavy suitcases on and off trains for a month. Well, our train travel was over, and once we knew we were allowed 30kg of baggage on the flight to Kathmandu, there was no stopping us. As well as the silk, we spent a couple of pleasant afternoons at a material and tailor shop getting fitted and selecting colours for shirts, pants, and skirts to wear for the next stages of the trip.
Leaving Varanasi we had another set of extremes. Our 9:30 am taxi was late and we took forever to get through horrible traffic jams so we were late getting to the airport, and the crowds were lined up out the door, so I was a bit tense. However, my cousin Joe’s connection in Delhi had arranged business class tickets, so we zoomed straight up to the special counter where the agent got us the best seats for the views of the mountains and an hour later we were sitting in extra wide seats, sipping drinks served on starched white napkins, gazing at the snow capped Himalayan Mountains where we will soon be trekking.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Varanasi Robert
Varanasi est sale et rempli de vehicles, de gens et de la poussière. Nous habitons le troisième étage d’une maison dans un secteur résidentiel. Nos amis Kristyna et son frère Mark ont un magasin à Varanasi. Krystina connaît Varanasi très bien et elle nous a fait un tour. Ensuite, nous sommes allés à son magasin où j’ai fait faire une chemise pour moi. J’ai bien aimé choisir le tissu et les couleurs moi-meme.
Varanasi est un site touristique et religieux parce que la croyance Hindu dit que si tu te baignes dans le Gangies avant le lever du soleil, c’est très bon pour l’âme. Si un homme meurt à Varanasi il peut attendre Nirvana.
La rivière Ganges a une centaine de Ghats. Les Ghats sont des immenses escaliers avec des noms comme Assi Ghat et Sivala Ghat. En se promenant sur les Ghats nous avons vu beaucoup de choses intéressantes. Il y a des mendiants religieux, des Sadhus, qui ne porte rien, mais sont couverts de cendres. Plusieurs Sadhus construisent des abris sur les ghats dans lesquels ils vivent pendant les grands festivals.
Varanasi est un site touristique et religieux parce que la croyance Hindu dit que si tu te baignes dans le Gangies avant le lever du soleil, c’est très bon pour l’âme. Si un homme meurt à Varanasi il peut attendre Nirvana.
La rivière Ganges a une centaine de Ghats. Les Ghats sont des immenses escaliers avec des noms comme Assi Ghat et Sivala Ghat. En se promenant sur les Ghats nous avons vu beaucoup de choses intéressantes. Il y a des mendiants religieux, des Sadhus, qui ne porte rien, mais sont couverts de cendres. Plusieurs Sadhus construisent des abris sur les ghats dans lesquels ils vivent pendant les grands festivals.
Varanasi Kathleen
Varanasi est très pollué mais très belle. Ici à Varanasi on reste au troisième étage d’une maison où on a une belle vue sur cette ville, qui est très occupé. Varanasi a beaucoup de poussière dans les rues parce qu’il y a beaucoup de bicyclettes et de rickshaws à vélo.
Quand on était à Varkala, on a rencontré une sœur et frère, Kristyna et Mark, du Toronto. Kristyna a une entreprise à Varanasi où elle fait faire des jupes pour vendre à Toronto. Maman a choisi une et parce qu’il n’y a pas des grandeurs pour des filles, j’ai choisi le tissu moi-même et le couturier a fait une sur mesure pour moi. Je l’ai déjà et je l’adore!
Ce matin, on est allé au Café Open Hand. On est déjà allé, mais on a retourné parce qu’on l’a tellement aimé. En attendent nos repas, on peut magasiner. Robert et moi, nous avons choisi des coussins pour nos chambres.
Quand on était à Varkala, on a rencontré une sœur et frère, Kristyna et Mark, du Toronto. Kristyna a une entreprise à Varanasi où elle fait faire des jupes pour vendre à Toronto. Maman a choisi une et parce qu’il n’y a pas des grandeurs pour des filles, j’ai choisi le tissu moi-même et le couturier a fait une sur mesure pour moi. Je l’ai déjà et je l’adore!Ce matin, on est allé au Café Open Hand. On est déjà allé, mais on a retourné parce qu’on l’a tellement aimé. En attendent nos repas, on peut magasiner. Robert et moi, nous avons choisi des coussins pour nos chambres.
Varanasi Facts
Things we learned while walking the Ghats along the Ganges in Varanasi.
The word Varanasi is an ancient name meaning the city between two rivers- the Varuna and Assi, both of which flow into the Ganges. It has been a center of learning and civilization for over 2000 years, and claims to be one of the oldest living cities in the world.
The city of Shiva on the bank of the sacred Ganges, Varanasi is one of the holiest places in India.
Hindu pilgrims come to bathe in the waters of the Ganges, a ritual that washes away all sins. It is believed that if you die in Varanasi, and have your funeral pyre on the banks of the Ganges and your ashes scattered in the Ganges, it ensures a release from the cycle of rebirths (reincarnations) and an instant passport to heaven.
The Ganges water is thought to be the purist holy water there is. At the edge of the water on the city’s famous ghats (steps which lead down to the river), the most intimate rituals of life take place in public. It is used for daily ablutions, bathing, washing clothes and for religious pujas. The water is thought to cure many illnesses. However, a water sample tested showed a fecal coliform rate 250,000 times higher than the WHO safe maximum!
Achieving enlightenment allows one to escape the cycle of reincarnation and attain Nirvana.
In the Hindu religion women are not able to reach enlightenment. The reason they cannot reach enlightenment or become a Sadhu (a wandering religious ascetic who gives up all material possessions to enter the fourth stage of the ideal Hindu life) is because women are said to be unable to give up attachments, principally their children.
Instead, women who die along the Ganges in Varanasi, hope to be reincarnated as a man and therefore come one-step closer to reaching enlightenment.
Varanasi is famous throughout India for silk fabrics and saris.
We will leave Varanasi on March 3rd, one day before is the Indian New Year called Holi, which falls on March 4th. This is one of the most exuberant Hindu festivals, with people marking the end of winter by throwing colored water and gulal (powder) at one another. On the night before Holi, bonfires are built to symbolize the destruction of the evil demon Holika. This is mainly a Northern festival as there is no real winter in the south.
Another interpretation we have been given is that people celebrate the New Year by cleaning themselves, getting rid of their old clothes and putting on new ones. In the morning of the 4th people throw colored water and powder on each other while wearing their old clothes before changing into their new clothes and joining family and friends to share a celebratory meal. This way they will start the New Year with a fresh beginning.
For the poor, the Holi festival is particularly important because it is the one time of the year that they make a real effort to have new clothes. Often it is the only time during the year that this happens as they can sometimes wear this same outfit until Holi day comes up again.
Steven and Kathleen took an hour-long bicycle rickshaw ride to pick up our airline tickets for Nepal and they were amazed at the shops full of people preparing for their New Year celebrations.
The word Varanasi is an ancient name meaning the city between two rivers- the Varuna and Assi, both of which flow into the Ganges. It has been a center of learning and civilization for over 2000 years, and claims to be one of the oldest living cities in the world.
The city of Shiva on the bank of the sacred Ganges, Varanasi is one of the holiest places in India.
Hindu pilgrims come to bathe in the waters of the Ganges, a ritual that washes away all sins. It is believed that if you die in Varanasi, and have your funeral pyre on the banks of the Ganges and your ashes scattered in the Ganges, it ensures a release from the cycle of rebirths (reincarnations) and an instant passport to heaven.
The Ganges water is thought to be the purist holy water there is. At the edge of the water on the city’s famous ghats (steps which lead down to the river), the most intimate rituals of life take place in public. It is used for daily ablutions, bathing, washing clothes and for religious pujas. The water is thought to cure many illnesses. However, a water sample tested showed a fecal coliform rate 250,000 times higher than the WHO safe maximum!Achieving enlightenment allows one to escape the cycle of reincarnation and attain Nirvana.
In the Hindu religion women are not able to reach enlightenment. The reason they cannot reach enlightenment or become a Sadhu (a wandering religious ascetic who gives up all material possessions to enter the fourth stage of the ideal Hindu life) is because women are said to be unable to give up attachments, principally their children.
Instead, women who die along the Ganges in Varanasi, hope to be reincarnated as a man and therefore come one-step closer to reaching enlightenment.
Varanasi is famous throughout India for silk fabrics and saris.
We will leave Varanasi on March 3rd, one day before is the Indian New Year called Holi, which falls on March 4th. This is one of the most exuberant Hindu festivals, with people marking the end of winter by throwing colored water and gulal (powder) at one another. On the night before Holi, bonfires are built to symbolize the destruction of the evil demon Holika. This is mainly a Northern festival as there is no real winter in the south.Another interpretation we have been given is that people celebrate the New Year by cleaning themselves, getting rid of their old clothes and putting on new ones. In the morning of the 4th people throw colored water and powder on each other while wearing their old clothes before changing into their new clothes and joining family and friends to share a celebratory meal. This way they will start the New Year with a fresh beginning.
For the poor, the Holi festival is particularly important because it is the one time of the year that they make a real effort to have new clothes. Often it is the only time during the year that this happens as they can sometimes wear this same outfit until Holi day comes up again.
Steven and Kathleen took an hour-long bicycle rickshaw ride to pick up our airline tickets for Nepal and they were amazed at the shops full of people preparing for their New Year celebrations.
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