Lost & Found - A piece on "Columns"

Note: As I was hunting for something else in my "Writings" folder, I chanced upon this piece titled "Columns" that was quite decent and almost complete. I decided to complete it and post it. But I wasn't able to style my writing and content to sync up with the already present text. So I decided not to mess up the decent piece and post it as it is with just a line or two added to create an illusion of pseudo-completeness. So here it is:

Columns

With regard to columns, I have come a long way from the days I was literally scared of the centre page of the esteemed The Hindu. It was with The Hindu I was introduced to columns, way before I learnt they were called “Columns”. The very look of the columns and opinions page was stern with the cartoon not doing enough to lighten the look and feel of it. I treated it as a drab part of the paper and assumed people rarely read it (which I guess is indeed true with most people).

After a while, I started thinking about why somebody would add a couple of pages to an already bulky newspaper if those pages aren’t read or somehow worthwhile. I was puzzled and tried to read them to figure them out. I was put off more by the content than the language. I did not comprehend the issues being discussed. I reattempted the columns when I went to college. I had no patience for long monologues, and often cynical ones at that, then. I impatiently brushed them off as plain cribbing and whining and again decided they were a waste of print space.

Later, towards the end of my college education as I followed one election campaign closely I got another opportunity to read columns. Having a number of them on the election issues helped me relate to them better and comprehend them easier. I slowly realized they are interpretation of the news and that the columns, political ones, are a vehicle of public opinion. These columns enlighten the public, de-jargonise the statements, budgets, reports, etc. And the columnists being members of the society after all, the varying opinions get voiced and discussed. This was a very significant realization for me.

Columns are probably one of the strongest tools in the media arsenal. Many popular columnists have an almost hero-worshipping following. The columns become a part of people’s life. They discuss the affairs that are close to home. An effective columnist can sensitize the people on issues of public interest and mobilize public opinion.And there are of course columns that are no way related to current affairs, economics or politics - healthy living, pets, gardening, etc. I slowly got to know about these columns as well. The columns on Art, Science, Book Review columns, Sports, etc cater to specific audience. And these put together are probably read by more people than the serious columns.

Columns are not so popular in India as they are in the West. The US print media is all about columns. And here is what I think is the reason. The columns are a way for people to relate to each other. In India, people live in close proximity, they interact with people all through the day –at home, on the way to work, at work, at the children’s school as they pick up at the kids, at the grocer’s, etc. They are in constant contact with the society. They can feel the societal fabric. And they share experiences and exchange thoughts and opinions. An overcrowded bus will spark a discussion on the fuel prices, the Metro rail, traffic woes, latest demands of the transportation workers union, etc. Women exchange recipes and housekeeping tips over lunch. Men discuss Sports while they commute.

In the teeming cities of the US and even the sparse suburbs, where famously people hardly know their neighbours, columns are a way to relate to each other – the reason of columns in every newspaper, local or national.

I digress way too much. This was supposed to be about the significance of columns not an analysis of the popularity of columns. Ok, getting back on track….

Columns can be very educative as the columnists are often from the field they write about and are profoundly knowledgeable on the topic. Yeah, they can be annoyingly opinionated at times but then, that is what they are paid to do :)

With the trend of the Internet Media, the columns have not died down, but they have shot up. Every newsite has numerous columns. But the fact that news stories are hard to distinguish from columns in another thing. Every Blogger is essentially a columnist of the WWW. But with the said explosion of columns, the content has become a little scarce. Nevertheless, the online columns and blogs have the potential to link up and engage educated people in meaningful dialogue that has gone missing from day-to-day life.

Some refreshing learning

Today I got to attend a good (really good) workshop on High Performance Computing for Science and Engineering. It was really refreshing. It was a really cool way to get to know the latest cutting edge research in fields as diverse and intensely intriguing such as material design, biomolecular research, genome sequencing, etc. More than the “Ah” factor of the Teraflops of computing power required, number of years it takes to solve some equation, blah blah, the fascination for me lay in understanding the problems being tackled today in pure and applied sciences and engineering. Of course, the stated objective of the workshop - understanding the computing challenges was met by most presenters, I am just giving my perspective of what made it interesting for me.

While I did not know anything beyond the terms such as “molecular dynamics”, “weather research”, “material design”, “drug therapy”, it helped me gain a decent understanding of the area and the problems being worked on. The talks also gave an idea of some of the convergences that were happening in some of the fields and potential convergences in the offing. It helped that the idea of the workshop was to discuss and understand the challenges the research problems posed in terms of computing. So all the presentations provided a rounded picture of the work, the achievements so far, the “where-we-are” pitch and the challenges faced in terms of computing, often in the form of simulation and modeling.

The workshop turned out to be an eye opener in more ways than one. As I listened to the various lectures, I had many a dejavu moment. I saw a term that invoked in me a “Ah, I know that!” thought. But, embarrassingly, I found that I was unable to place it exactly or explain that term properly. It was seriously disappointing that I was unable to explain something as basic as “van der Waals force”. So, the dejavu moment was followed by a few moments of depression before I got caught up in the lecture and forgot about my disappointing near nil recollection of my science subjects. The blissful state would last for a few minutes before I encountered another dejavu-depression sequence. Now and then, there came by a term for which I was to recollect an explanation satisfactorily, giving me a little consolation.

But for all my little disappointments, the workshop left me with a lot of feel good factors. I had understood the basics of a number of fascinating research domains. I got some reassurance that good research did happen in India. And last but not the least, I left with a resolution to brush up on my science.

Poor Ganesha...

Come September, it is time for the festival of the first of Gods – Vinayaka. Vinayaka, Ganesha, Vignesh, Ganapathi, so on and so forth, his names are numerous. And for the record, I refuse to prefix Ganesha’s name with a “Lord”, he is not a knight of the British empire for God’s sake! And I am pretty sure he is happy with devotion with which we address him rather than a fanciful title.

Ganesha, is the first deity to be invoked before one commences any task – enterprise, travel, studies, wedding, religious ceremonies. But for all that, he is the most unassuming of all the Hindu Gods. From the most magnificient of temples to the most humble of adobes, Ganesha is happy to grace every nook and cranny and bless every soul and scrap. He is probably the only one of India’s multitude of deities who literally does justice to the adjective “omnipresent”. For his special day, he doesn’t demand elaborate rituals and festive food. He relishes kolukattai of course, but apart from that, he hardly demands anything. Simple prasad and a regular aarti is enough to please him on Vinayaka Chaturthi.

The unadulterated Vinayaka Chaturthi of, say, a decade back, meant simplistic devotion, good food and fun. Ganesha idols in sizes ranging from fit-in-a-child’s-palm to magnificient 10 foot-high statues, that reflected the might of the elephant god, adorned homes and streets. A handful of clay or turmeric moulded into a conical shape and adorned with sindoor sufficed for an idol in homes.

The festival of Vinayaka Chaturthi in its present form was conceived by Balagangadhar Tilak to promote unity and harmony through worship and cultural fanfare. He advocated setting up of Vinayaka idols in public places and community worship. Vinayaka statues made from clay, representative of nature, was to grace the occasion for a few days and then be submerged in water, to be returned to nature, thus symbolifying the cycle of birth and death and oneness with nature. And for people with a scientific bent of mind, an analogy to the law of conservation of mass or conservation of energy, can be drawn. In Vinayaka's benevolent smiling presence, cultural programmes would be conducted to bring together the masses and provide a respite from the monotony of life. It was very similar to the temple festivals celebrated once a year in almost all temples. The temple festivals fell at different times and had elaborate rituals, and not everyone was involved in organising them. Vinayaka Chathurthi was to unite people in worship and friendship all over India at the same time. As Vinayaka would go back to blend into nature at visargan, chants of "Ganapathi Bappa Morya, Pudhachya Varshi Laukar ya" meaning "Come back soon next year", rent the air.

The simple charm of the festival is now lost, it has deteriorated to a divisive affair that divides people and neighbourhoods into competing entities, rather than bringing them together. The simple festivities have deformed into a gaudy affair of blaring music and vulgar dancing.

Ganapathi idols prop up every few feet, all over Bengalooru. This is no sign of great devotion, people want to have their "own" idols. Neighbours refuse to mingle and for every few houses have their own pandal. And there are, of course, groups of individuals forming umpteen number of "youth" organisations. They put up banners a month ahead "welcoming"(?!?!) people to the Vinayaka Chaturthi festivities. Then comes Vinayaka Chaturthi, and therein lies the irony - there is no Ganapathi idol yet. OK, there are many, but some of these "welcoming" youth groups have not set up their idols yet. Wondering why? Well, even if you put up idols every few feet, there are only so many idols you can put up simultaneously. So, Ganapathi comes in installments, or phases, or... well, I don't know to phrase it. He keeps coming for another month. As one Ganapathi goes for visargan another takes his place.

Each idol stays in place 2-3 days, loudspeakers blare music, music like, to give an example, "Ava enna enna thedi vantha anjala..". No offense to the song, I like it as well. But I am not very sure, that is Ganapathi's favourite slokha. Idols come up next to wine shops. Very convenient, I guess, for people to raise a toast to Ganapathi. And if the presence of Ganapathi in the pandal coincides with a weekends, god forbid!

OK, take the Ganapathis present in their respective pandals on Chathurthi day, does anyone feel like going to the pandal and praying there? There is rarely a priest and often no devotees, there are only the "youth" organisation members. You are foolhardy, if not plain brainless, if you step up to pray there. As Ganapathi leaves for the visargan, he is not sent off with dignity either. The vulgar music reaches a crescendo and drunken dancing holds forth. I am pretty sure he is glad to leave and does not anticipate with pleasure, returning next year. This goes on and on for a month after the chaturthi.

And to make things worse, these idols are made of plaster of paris and coated with synthetic paints that are unsoluble in water and toxic. Atleast on that front, the government's efforts seem to be making some headway. It is estimated that about 50% of the idols this year were made of clay and used environment friendly paints.

All said and done, it cannot be denied that there are some bright spots. In the Ganapathi temple in our neighbourhood, Ganesh Chaturthi festivities were conducted in traditional fashion. Ganesha made his appearance a day before Chaturthi. The priest did the puja everyday. Two days after Vinayaka Chathurthi, the procession took place heralded by folk dancers and drummers. It was a sight to behold indeed.

Reading Nani Palkhivala - contd

I seem to have been bitten by the writing bug(I didn’t think it had any liking at all towards me, whatsoever), I can’t seem to stop writing or raving about Palkhivala for that matter. That is why you find me sitting at my desk at work after a weeklong vacation… and writing!

I have completed devouring “We, the people” by Nani Palkhivala. The title “We, the people” is the first words of the Preamble of our Constitution that seeks set out the vision set for the Republic of India under the auspices of the Constituent Assembly. So, true to the title, the book is a collection of Nani’s thoughts, assembled as a compilation of his speeches and writings(already published in newspapers/magazines) on what we have managed to make out of our noble Constitution. True that what we have made of it can be summed up in one word – “mockery”, yet Palkhivala goes beyond. He pulls apart the curtains of darkness we have put upon ourselves and reaches deep within to grasp the shining fabric of our civilization, and exhort us to realize our potential. His voice throughout the book beckons “We, the people” to relate to “We, the people” who framed our Constitution and their vision.

An eminent jurist, who has contributed vitally to safeguarding our Constitution through the Kesavananda Bharati case, he talks passionately to look at the Constitution as an enduring body, not to be interfered with at every step and stumble. On the ever-running conflict and debate on the supremacy of Fundamental Rights vs Directive Principles of State policy, he captures the essence in a few words(not quoting verbatim), – “Directive Principles of State Policy are indeed the end goals, the Fundamental Rights provide the means by which to realize the ends. A determined government can achieve the ends while observing the limits on the means”

On problems of governance, especially centre-state relations, he urges us not to fall into “the fallacy of legal solubility”, but to develop conventions that align with the constitutional spirit, and the discipline to abide by the conventions.

The book is not for people who are looking for a narrative of sorts. It is a bundle of thoughts in various contexts – speeches delivered in convocations, business forums, articles written in magazines, etc. As a package, it is resonant of the heartbeats of the first decades of the Indian Republic. It touches upon the numerous issues that faced a very young modern republic – some of the issues have been firmly resolved, some have faded into insignificance in the evolving world, and some, have compounded over the years.

The book is not an easy read either – the versatile genius of Palkhivala requires work to comprehend in entirety. Personally for me, it has been the single most informative and insightful book on India after independence.


P.S : This short piece took me over three days to complete. I had to put it on hold minutes after I started writing. I had completed more than half the content in those few minutes, but I could never get the flow quite right again and it took me over three days and many aborted attempts to finally complete it :( That teaches me to try to write at work.

Reading Nani Palkhivala

The last two days having been nothing short of agony. I was itching to write about a book I was reading, yet unable to put the book down long enough to write. Then when I finally sat down to write, my mind was whirring with numerous ideas, thoughts, phrases, quotes and maxims that I was unable to establish a coherent line of thought essential to writing.

Reading Nani Palkhivala’s “We, the people” has been sheer ecstasy - the language is mesmerizing, thoughts stunning and the passion palpable. Writing on everything from the deplorable political scenario in the late sixties and seventies(what would he have to say of now, I wonder), taxation laws, economic policies, constitutional law and judicial independence, the expanse of his interests is mind-boggling. It has been a long time since I was last tempted to pepper my sentences with adjectives, but this time around I can’t seem to help it.

Nani Palkhivala, doesn’t need an introduction to the generation that grew up anytime from the sixties to eighties. For the benefit of our generation, which had the misfortune of missing him, here is a short introduction (even though there is a wikipedia link earlier, it doesn't hurt does it?). Palkhivala’s columns in the Illustrated Weekly, the Times of India were an important, if not defining, part of the public opinion of those days. A lawyer by profession, an economist by passion and Indian at heart, he was an intellectual who blurred the boundaries of various disciplines of social sciences and was able to bring out the linkages between them in human society. He argued some of the landmark cases of Independent India, ensuring the fundamental rights of the citizens and the constitutional principles were upheld in the courts of law. Further, his budget analysis every year was listened to in rapt attention by scores in Bombay, surpassing the attention paid to the Finance Minister’s actual budget proposal. The newspapers reported these budget analyses in more detail than they did the obfuscated jargon in the Finance Minister’s speech. He was Indian Ambassador to the United States and held a number on important positions in the public arena.

Palkhivala stresses over and over again, one basic law – the laws of economics cannot be repealed. He infuses an understanding of human psychology to economics, which ensures the laws of economics are applied in the right context. His thoughts on economics are simple yet compelling. Civilization is driven by man’s motivation to work, and where man lacks the incentive to work, civilization stagnates. This single idea encapsulates human psychology, sociology and economics. He spoke and wrote relentlessly over the decades to stress the exorbitant rates of personal income tax takes away the motivation to work and save. On another side, excessive corporate tax coupled with cheap borrowing by the government meant less and less capital for new ventures by the businesses thus stifling enterprise. He called for coherent and comprehensible economic policy and stability in fiscal policy before looking forward to fiscal stability in the economy. He reiterated that businesses and investors need stability in policy to plan for their business development activities. He thrashed at the mistaken notion of socialism taken to simply mean dilution of wealth. The section of the Union budgets titled “A supreme ironic procession” is an enlightening read that captures the themes of economic policies followed from the late 1950s to early 1980s.

Moving on the section on democracy and education, his central theme recurring through his speeches, writings and his entire life is explicitly visible. His belief is singular – “Indians are an exceptionally gifted people”, and his lament, he notes with disbelief and despair, the mess we have made of our “tryst with destiny”. He acknowledges the achievement of remaining a functioning democracy, but refuses to compromise with just that. He sets the yardsticks and urges us to rise to our potential. He is never cynical and holds on firmly to his belief in the abilities of Indians.

Talking about various personalities – judges, teachers, lawyers and leaders, he writes so as to urge us to take inspiration from them. And it is through this book that I got my first real introduction to some personalities, whose names I have heard or read in the passing earlier, but had no idea of their achievements and contributions to our country.

Palkhivala quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson, Disreali, Robert L Stevenson, Lincoln and many others. He quotes not just fancy lines but also meaningful verses. But it is Palkhivala’s own words that hold the greatest charm for me. And my favourite is,

“You must not desert the ship because you cannot control the winds.”

All this before I have delved into his real forte – law. Having glimpsed at the width of his knowledge, now I am set to dive into the depths and details – the sections on law and constitutional issues.

Bestsellers, Flashy Bookstores and the Rare Intellectuals of today

The “Bestsellers”, “Must-read” and “Catch-of-the-week” sections of bookstores appear to be so very predictable these days. “Critic’s choice” sections seem to have disappeared or have metamorphosed into clones of the “Bestseller” section. The so-called bestsellers are the ones that are often very superficial, create that dejavu feeling when the reader can relate some aspect of the book to his life and have a sense of cynical humour. My main grouse with these bestsellers is that they are rarely enlightening, they neither add much to the reader’s knowledge nor provide any food for thought. They all seem geared towards satisfying the ego of the reader that he knows rather a lot about something. High in rhetoric and low in substance is how I can sum up these so-called bestsellers.

Talking about Bestseller sections, it isn’t as if the other sections are great either. Sometimes I venture into a store and I am shocked to see the entire Books section is about 300 sq ft. I say “Books” section in particular because accessories, home décor and gift items take up space in thousands of square feet. Given the limited space, the titles hold no surprises, they are the same over and over again. See a new title? Now, don’t get too excited, take a closer look, it is probably a new title by a “best-selling” author cashing on the success of his previous (or last but fifth) book which made it to the best-seller lists. Oh, on another note, I am forgetting the fancy lighting in these bookstores that makes it a pain to read even a few paragraphs. Well, who wants you to read the book, just pick it up and bill it! (Don’t believe me? Check out the Odyssey bookstore in Bangalore and if you can read two pages before your eyes start to burn, you have such extraordinary eyes that you could possibly walk in the Antartic in summer without goggles and not suffer from snow-blindness.)

Reading these days is focused on these so-called bestsellers and people rarely develop an interest in any subject or theme in particular. This again creates more of these superficial bestsellers and the vicious circle continues creating a whirlpool, which is fast sucking into it any leftover knowledge in print and creating a vacuum of bestsellers.

OK, I am being too harsh, it is not that no good books get published these days. I know a good many volumes of scholarly writing do get published, but who reads them? A very select handful with an interest in the subject. The bestseller lists of yesteryears always showcased a wide variety of themes. Our grandfathers, dads and uncles were extremely well read and could discuss at length on contemporary thoughts and issues. The arguments were not based on any rule of thumb and blind emotions, they were informed discussions that captured the topic in all facets. Knowing the issue as completely as they did, they did not feel a compulsive inclination to take sides and argue senselessly. They could capture succinctly in a few words the dilemmas, delicate balances and tangled issues that presented no easy solutions. And they were just not jack of all traders, each had a special interest, and read and researched on it in detail. How many of us can boast of that? Intellectual activity today appears, at best, limited to discussing on the Vidu Vinod Chopra vs Chetan Bhagat.

To compound the problem, the fancy bookstore chains seem to have done away with knowledgeable bookstore-wallahs as well – exception being perhaps the Sapna bookstore in Bangalore, where the attendants seem to know the titles in their section, or atleast, have the common sense to refer to the computerized catalogue to say if a volume is in stock or not. This helps the knowledgeable reader who wants to read a book in particular but it cannot help a fledgling reader to develop an interest in any subject.

Next come the pseudo-scholarly books which over-simplify the subject and the reader ends up thinking he has a rounded knowledge of the subject when he has just skimmed the subject with a dash of the author’s opinion to garnish it.

Sometimes I think, the days are not far off, when one has to write to a publisher to get a scholarly book. And you might even get a reply expressing regret on the book being out of print (the one that was published last year?!?! Yes sir, we printed only about a hundred and fifty) and suggesting you could get a printout of the book in spiral binding for a fee. God Forbid!

I am not a fan of doomsday prophecies, but this page seems to be full of them, doesn’t it? :) Sorry, but the picture looks so dismal that I just couldn’t help it.

After Ratan, who?

The business sections of the newspapers, the general news and the conversations in coffee shops and streets alike are abuzz with discussion on this question – after Ratan Tata, who? Those who are old enough to know, remind us of the early 1990s, when the reign of JRD Tata was coming to an end and the discussion centred around if Ratan Tata will be able to step into the mammoth-sized shoes of JRD.

Ratan’s period at the helm of the Tata Group has been short compared to the reign of Jamshedji and JRD, but he has nevertheless created as deep an impact as his illusory predecessors. Ratan’s quiet demeanour, dignified conduct of himself and his affairs and the able steering of Tata group laid to rest doubts on the little-known Ratan of the 1980s. True to his name, he has both been a gem and a Tata. The most recent example of the dignity with which Ratan Tata held himself and the Tata group is the Nano project at Singur. As his dream project ran into troubled waters stirred by political ambitions, Ratan Tata with a cool head worked out a practical solution to the problem. He focused on his business and refused to be stirred by the political currents swirling around the issue.

In his unique style, he has now stated that ability and not blue blood of any sort will be the consideration deciding upon his successor. The interest in the successor to the Tata group is largely due to the Tatas being a pride of India. People want someone not fancy or flashy, but someone they can trust to carry forward the shining legacy of the Tatas. And one cannot blame people for wanting a Tata to be the successor, for that is the name they have come to trust and love. They are justified in believing the humility, philanthropist mindset and devotion to the motherland that has always set the Tatas apart cannot easily be matched by an outsider. They would very much prefer a Tata groomed with the same qualities in the family to take the baton from Ratan Tata.


Noel Tata, who is touted to be leading the race faces a different scenario from what Ratan faced in 1991. Ratan’s entry was watched with suspicion, even bordering on disdain, while Noel Tata’s possible reign is being welcomed already. After Ratan established his credentials of being an able “Tata” confidence seems abound that a Tata would indeed be the best-suited for the job, and hence Noel Tata would carry forward the legacy well.

All the talk about the search committee doesn’t impress me much or inspire me with great confidence. I would very much prefer Ratan Tata sat down to think and came out with the person best-suited. But the man in question apparently prefers an all-round assessment and discussion of merits/demerits of candidates by more than one head. Frankly, speaking for myself, I am not very happy with the names making the rounds as possible successors – Indra Nooyi, Arun Sarin, etc. I hope it is just a figment of the media's imagination(very limited one at that, at times).

Steering a group as big and diversified as the Tata Sons requires, above all, setting the vision, preparing the ground to some extent and delegating the responsibility to the right man arming him with all necessary authority. And none of the names seem to me that they can create a vision – for a vision here means much more than profit margins and market share. The vision of the Tatas has always been centered on Indian society not just the Tata Sons. And delegation is as important, one should know when to step back and handover charge, for one can do only so much when managing such a diverse range of interests. For instance, someone concentrating on Steel production cannot focus on Chemical business at the same time and do justice to both with ease.

Knowing the right mix of direct and indirect leadership is the key. And I cannot but feel only someone who has firsthand experience with the Tata group can do that effectively.

As for the Parsi question, though Ratan Tata hastened to dismiss that, noone really minds a fellow Parsi succeeding him, for they would look to the Parsi values to guide the successor. And I doubt anyone will actually accuse the Parsi community of wanting to keep the Tata reigns within their community.

All said and done, a head, that is disproportionately small to the large feet to fill the huge shoes, is what will complete the definition of the Captain of the Tata ship.