A morning with the flute maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia

When I got a phone call from the Principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya, ONGC, Ahmedabad; I tried to recall if I missed any meeting of the members of Parents-Teachers Association!  But no, there wasn’t any such meeting scheduled. The call happened to be a very pleasant surprise - an invitation for the SPIC-MACAY program scheduled next morning at 08:30 am in KV campus in which the flute maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia was to give lecture-demonstration under SPIC MACAY VIRASAT 2011, scheduled at Ahmedabad, between 18 to 27 Feb 2011. I immediately confirmed my attendance.

The next morning I was there in the school at 08:15 AM, to ensure that I get a front seat! School kids were already lined up in colourful traditional attire with rose petals in their tiny hands to shower on the maestro, as welcome gesture. And next moment he was on the stage gracefully attired in dhoti-kurta with a big flute in his hand, accompanied by his team of violinist, taanpura-player and the tablaa-player.

He didn’t waste a minute. To engage the kids in his magical performance, he started by greeting them and asking a few questions like how do they begin their day? About himself, he said he does it by playing flute in front of goddess Saraswati. He sat meditatively, holding the flute. And then started his prayer, playing the flute. The morning sun which was lying low, started rising and shining bright!

As the music started gathering momentum with the accompaniment of violin, tabla and the taanpura; the audience got deeply immersed in the divine music of his flute, eyes closed and ears resonating with the soothing raagas. The shadow on the stage, slowly gave way to the sunshine and it lit the serene face of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, which shone bright and brighter with every passing moment. It was an experience, beyond expression. It was divine!

At the end of the prayer he discussed about the raag that he had just played, it was Raag Ahir Bhairav, which is played and sung in the morning time. And it really set the day for me and certainly must have had the same effect on everyone in the audience. It was a perfect start of the day for me, that day.

Performance on flute was followed by the question answer session, an interactive session between the maestro and the audience- primarily the school students. Some of the kids also got opportunity to show their skill in classical music, which was duly appreciated by him. And this is the very purpose of SPIC MACAY - The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth!

But, that morning a few things did leave me a bit disturbed. Firstly, from the responses of the school kids, I could make out that barring a few exceptions - most of us do not encourage our kids to go beyond the text books. It is true that every one can’t shine like Hariprasad Chaurasia or Zakir Hussain, but certainly the interest and participation in such forms of Art would certainly add immense value to the kid and the society at large. Secondly, from the self-introduction of a teacher during the question-answer session, who himself is a trained graduate in Music but teaches Spoken-English there; I could guess that it is not easy to make a living by music alone!

I hope, this changes for good and more and more people get associated with our rich culture and tradition. May the various traditional art forms become such an important part of our lives that we do not mind spending a little of our time and money on them and in the process enrich our lives. Doing this will help greatly in preserving our rich traditional art forms and will also ensure that the saadhaks of art and music can follow their passion without the tension of – rozi and roti!

Madhukar Mohan

Why is it so!

I keep pondering, why corruption is so rampant in our country? Hardly there is any sphere of Indian life which doesn’t stinks of a scam! From ticketless travel to fake educational degrees, selling of already sold out plots to companies maintaining fake manpower, players fixing matches to adulterated food products, businessmen evading taxes to selling onions at Rupees hundred per kilogram, defunct judiciary to dead administration and...the list is endless.

We too grew up aiding and abetting corruption. We ourselves have been a part of it; knowingly or unknowingly, like bribing the TTE in train for a berth or buying movie tickets in black. And instead of feeling bad, we felt happy and relaxed after getting the berth or the movie tickets. This is because, it all was happening around us during our growing days and we felt that it is all normal, nothing wrong in it!

Curious to know about the reasons, that what actually is responsible for corrupting us Indians, I turned to the internet. It threw many interesting opinions, some of them as a result of serious research and some are just an expression of individuals’ perspective. Many of us might be well aware of the reasons; still I would like to share them with you in very short:

i.                     Political Patronage – From this fountainhead of corruption flow various streams of corrupt practices which plague the political, economic and social activities in the country. It is said that, turning a blind eye to the corrupt practices of his colleagues, Pandit Nehru gave legitimization to it; though he himself never benefitted from it (ref. www.sunilsondhi.com). And the trend of corrupt practices for electoral and personal gains.

ii.                   Cumbersome and dilatory administrative procedures and practices are another major cause of corruption in India.

iii.                  The various regulatory Acts that we follow are age old – Indian Penal Code was enacted in 1860, Indian Police Act in 1861, Indian Evidence Act in 1872,  the Indian Telegraph Act in 1855- which regulates the control of air-waves and licensing of broadcasting facilities – when wireless was not invented! Yup!

iv.                 The British had designed the legal system to strengthen a regulatory colonial administration, based on distrust of the ‘natives’ i.e. we Indians! It has inbuilt provision for delays, prolonged litigation and evasion. It suited them to rule, we follow it still! It suits our present day political leaders and administrators, but certainly against the common man.

v.                   Corruption has found an acceptance in the social psyche and behavior. We respect the rich and powerful, despite knowing very well that it didn’t come the right way!

This was all on serious note. On lighter side, I would like to share one response to the query – What is the main reason for corruption in India? Any guesses! The answer was –‘Women prefer wealthy males...so males want to be wealthier than others...this leads to corruption’!!

Anyway, it is high time that we wake up to the stark reality of corrupt practices around us. Let us say no to it, let us object to it, and let us protest it in whatever way we can. Further, let us impress upon the intelligentsia, the NGOs, the media and most importantly our political leaders the need to revisit the various age-old Acts and frame it from the point of a free democratic nation, so that policies favour the common man and helps in wholesome growth of the nation. Sooner it is done, better it would be for the country and the common man!

Madhukar Mohan

Who will win?

Cricket World Cup 2011, the biggest cricketing extravaganza, has begun. With this begins the 49 days & nights of non-stop cricket and its analysis - to be beamed live across the world. By a rough estimate, about 0.35 billion people in India alone would watch this event, on day to day basis.  Even if they do not remain glued to their TV sets or view the score cards on the office PCs for the full length of the game, still, more than a billion hours of productive work time would go in watching, gathering score information and discussing nuances of cricket! However, the good thing is that the common man will at least be able to divert his mind, for some time, away from all the negativities of scams, loots, inflation, etc.

It is said that war unites the citizens of a country. People also come closer when there is sense of insecurity and helplessness due to disasters like earthquakes or hurricanes. Cricket is one more thing, in India, that brings us together! No other sports or event is able to generate so much passion for the country. That is the beauty of cricket, and hence, it is not important whether one understands Cricket or not!

It has been a long time since India won this cup in 1983. It was June, and I was a free bird after passing Class XII, with no worries of studies and exams. We had no TV at home, so I had to take permission from parents to allow me to watch the match finals at a friend’s home. They had a Black & White TV, a great luxury in those days! I still remember the butterflies in my stomach during the match, as if I myself was there on the field! Though, I have a reasonably good TV now, I won’t be able to follow every match; but I would certainly like to feel the same way, on April 2^nd , 2011, sitting along with my wife and children, glued to the TV set, cheering for India!

Today’s win in the warm up match against Australia, though doesn’t guarantee future wins; but it should help Team India in bolstering itself, in moving forward with a firm grip on the ball and the bat with springs under their feet!

Good luck to MSD and his team! Indiyaaaaa..., Indiyaa!

Madhukar Mohan

Healthy Decision of a Poor Nation

I came across a very interesting data on distribution of Gross National Income (GNI) of our country. We have around 1,20,000 ‘super’ High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) – who comprise mere 0.01 percent of the total population, but they own 30 percent of India’s GNI! Remaining 99.99 percent of us share the remaining 70 percent, which looks better. But, if we take top 10 percent of High Net Worth Individuals, then for the remaining 90 percent of the individuals – hardly anything is left to share! In the list of per capita income with 170 countries, India is listed down at #128 with per capita income of 441 USD only. With the rising inflation, especially of food and commodity items, it is difficult to imagine that with such low income how our countrymen are surviving? Further, India has about 16% of world population, whereas expenditure on healthcare in our country is only 1% of Global expenditure. Out of 175 countries surveyed by WHO, we rank at rock bottom 171 in terms of percentage of GDP expenditure on healthcare.

For becoming a world leader and sustaining the fast economic growth that our country is aspiring for, it is very important that the common man is vastly benefitted by involving them in large numbers in the success story of India. Some of the recent policy decisions by the government in this line have been really good. For instance, Jawaharlal Nehru Rozgar Yojna and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act2005 (MNREGA) guaranteeing 100 days of employment to rural household has been a good step in this direction. Instances of misuse of funds under this scheme too have come to light, but more or less these schemes are achieving the aim of enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas.

It is learnt that government is all set to launch world’s biggest pilot project in health sector in which more than 20 crore people will be screened for various diseases including cancer, diabetes and cardio-vascular diseases in 100 remote and inaccessible districts and in 33 cities in next 14 months! Data card also would be issued to all people who will be screened in this pilot project. This scheme, if executed with sincerity and without the involvement of the money guzzlers, would certainly put life into the country and bring cheer on countless faces. Let us hope that the government develops a mechanism to trace each and every paisa spent on the scheme, selects the individuals and organizations with transparent and honest intent, and keeps tab on the entire program like a time bound project.

I am very much optimistic about the success of government’s decision for the mega health check-up program. It would be first of its kind and let its success enthuse the government to cover all the countrymen who have no access to healthcare. It is understood that post health check up, treatment is also covered; else mere diagnosis is not going to cure the illness.

While the government does its job, let us ensure that we encourage the needy poor people in our vicinity to go thru the medical check-ups in the nearby medical camps which would be organized in different parts of the country. And before we do that, let us also think about ourselves and family members – when did we last go for a health check up? It is time now!

Wish you health and happiness, always!

Madhukar Mohan

Justice is in the interest of the stronger…

 ‘Might is right, and justice is in the interest of the stronger… The different forms of government makes laws, democratic, aristocratic or autocratic, with a view to their respective interests; and these laws, so made by them to serve their interests, they deliver to their subjects as ‘justice’, and punish as ‘unjust’ anyone who transgresses them’. These words written by Plato ( in The Republic) sometime around 380 BC concerning the definition of justice and the order and character of the just city and the just man – truly represents India of the 21^st century.

The above definition of justice is more relevant today; post Kalmadi’s CWG scam, A Raja's 2G Spectrum Scam, Yeddyyurappa’s land scam, Koda’s mining scam and countless other scams which together robbed the unsuspecting tax payers and the government exchequer of lakhs of crores of Rupees. The world knows that wrong has been done, but since wrongdoers are all strong men with money and muscle power, they have the potential to pull down the government; hence, they cannot be punished. As eyewash, A Raja has been arrested by CBI under opposition pressure, but sooner than later he would walk out free – because of lack of evidence, the most likely reason. In extreme condition, he would be shifted to a comfortable hospital - citing some acute health related issues.

On the other hand, Dr Binayak Sen, a community physician who dedicated his life to working in primary healthcare among mine workers and indigenous communities in Chhattisgarh state, was sentenced by a local court on charges of "sedition"! This is how the government works! Are we not living in the era of Plato, in 380 BC?

The protests against the arrest of Dr. Binayak Sen have been reported from different parts of the country and abroad, but it is yet to gain the desired momentum. Only we can provide it, by coming out in large numbers and voicing our open support for his release. If we want justice, we need to be stronger.

Madhukar Mohan