Ganeshotsav 2004

As promised, I am back with a update on this year's Ganeshotsav celebrated at TAMU. As usual about 100-150 people attended the puja and aarti and it was a great day on which everything went as per plan. Even the food which consisted of Modaks and Shira was used up optimally and was not wasted. I have posted a few photos at TAMU Ganeshotsav. As and when I get my (digital) hands on more photos they shall be posted on the same page. Enjoy the pics.

What's in a name?

The bard said that anybody or anything does not change it's natural properties or inclinations just because we give it a new name. I am not sure that it is all as cut and dried as he thinks it to be. While a name/nickname initially may not make any difference to a person it does help to shape the way people think about him or her. And this can be put to great use/misuse by an intelligent person/group. The reason I write about this is the recent reports I read about two Iraqi women scientists held in US custody. The US media (maybe at the prompting of US government) referred to them constantly as "Dr. Germ" and "Chemical Sally", to compare her with the infamous Chemical Ali (another nickname). One wonders if the objective is to spread hatred and prejudice against them. They were after all doing research for their country. If they deserve to be nicknamed thus then so do all scientists doing such work for their countries. Maybe we should start calling Robert Oppenheimer "Radioactive Bob". After all he is the creator of the weapon which killed thousands of civilians, women and children in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Maybe the time has come for the US media to label A.Q.Khan as "Proliferator Khan". And I am sure there are many "Virus Toms", "Nuclear Dicks" and "Chemical Harrys" working in US or UK labs.
Such nicknaming of professionals is a serious setback to the cause of justice. It is also an attempt to trick the public and hence a serious issue in a democracy. I am just glad the bard is not alive to witness the insidious use, his beloved language is being put to.

Of Modaks and Mice

Mice generally evoke a reaction of revulsion and hatred from most people. Yet the humble mouse has been adopted by the God of Wisdom himself as his vehicle. Once a year he enjoys great attention as almost every household in India welcomes Lord Ganesh and his vehicle into their house. However the festival of Ganeshotsav is celebrated as a public festival especially in Maharashtra. The reason for this the freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak. He used this festival as a means of getting communities together and get around the ban the British rulers had imposed on public gatherings. In Mumbai, the festival is celebrated in a HUGE way. Traffic along major roads has to be diverted and the people come out in the millions to see the various shows put out by public celebration committees. Every year me and my family used to go on a two day weekend outing visiting various pandals especially in the Parel-Lalbaug area of Mumbai. It is a sight to see and an experience to remember.
Another thing to remember about Ganeshotsav is the Modaks, the favourite sweet of the Lord. People say that the modak represents knowledge which the God of Wisdom partakes of. To me however, the modak represented a filling of shredded coconut mixed with elaichi and melted jaggery (not sugar, jaggery) in a dough covering fried to perfection by my granny (a.k.a the greatest cook in the world).
Of course after coming to the US, I miss all these great things. But a few of us students come together every year and celebrate Ganeshotsav as best as we can. This year it's the day after tomorrow on 18th. And preparations are in full swing from the makhar (the decorative seating for the God), Modkas, Shira to the murti and sundry items required for the puja. It's a way for all of us to make up for the great time we are missing and to feel closer to home than we actually are. Watch this space for pictures of the celebration.

Some reservations about reservations

Since the UPA alliance came to power, the issue of reservations for the backward castes in the private sector has been raised quite a few times. Some state governments, the latest being Maharashtra, in an overzealous fervour (or pre-election desperation) passed laws requiring such reservations. Without exceptions, they have been forced to backtrack. The reasons are quite clear.
The opponents of this move point out that SC's, ST's, OBC's etc have enjoyed reservations in government since independence. The only result of which has been the perpetuation of vote-bank politics often to farcical levels.
The pro-reservation lobby argues that since the Indian government is progressing towards a free economy and privatization, it is only natural that Private Enterprise should now offer job reservations. The only problem with this argument is that private industry operates, indeed survives, on the basis of profitability and will naturally oppose any measure which forces them to hire sub-standard labour at high costs.
Another argument used is the example of the US and it's equal opportunity affirmative action laws. This example is totally wrong and misleading. For one, US laws do not require a company/government department to hire a certain percentage of it's employees from a certain group. The hiring is supposed to be done only on the basis of merit. The laws only protect people from discrimination. ie. they disallow employers from rejecting, not promoting or in any other way discouraging prospective employees on the basis of race, religion etc. Nowhere will a private US company hire/promote a less qualified person over a more qualified one because of his skin color or ethnicity or because they want to fill some quota.
The fact of the matter is reservations only treat the symptoms, not the disease. People think that the disease India suffered from, since medieval times, was the total domination of the upper castes in all walk of life. This is not correct. The disease India suffered from, was the automatic granting of priviledges to a certain people on the basis of their being born into certain castes, whether he/she was worthy of enjoying such priviledges or not. This system was responsible for the weakening of the nation and played a large part in condemning our nation to British slavery. The reservations, under the guise of helping the underpriviledged classes, have just reversed this system. Today, anybody who is born in an SC or ST family enjoys priviledges in education and government jobs, whether he/she deserves it or not. Thus we have replaced one nepotic and disastrous system by another. If our history has taught us anything, it is that when any criterion other than merit is used to evaluate professionals and people entrusted with power and responsibility, it leads to disaster. One can only hope that India pulls itself out of this disastrous path she has embarked on and gets on the path to a meritocracy.

A new definition of Reality

Nowadays whenever I watch TV, there are so many ads for various reality shows. My interest in TV is minimal. Actually, apart from the news, there are only about four or five TV series that I watch regularly. That would be about an hour to a hour and a half of TV a day. In India I used to watch a lot more TV. The reason is because, mostly, I find TV programs here quite irritating if not uninteresting. But the most irritating and vexing kind of TV programming ever produced are the reality shows. The main reason for this is that there is NO REALITY involved in any aspect of the shows. Take for example, the show 'My big fat obnoxious fiance'. What is the probability that a smart, successful woman would fall for the guy shown in the series? The basic premise of the show itself is unreal. Not only are the ideas involved in the shows impractical, there is the customary 'nudging the characters in the right direction' by the producers of the show. Also it is inherently impossible for a person to be his normal self in front a camera. When we know that we are being recorded, we tend to put our best foot forward. Only an actor can act naturally before the camera and 'acting' implies unreality. It was no surprise that an actor was able to squirm his way into a reality show and stay there for several weeks. One can only hope that Reality TV will soon be consigned to the dustbin AND will be replaced by something less vexing.