Westernization and Modernization

Taco-Bell opened in Bangalore. There is a this cool Italian restaurant and this awesome Chinese restaurant in Gopalan mall. Check out this rock music band. People need personal space, parents should not live with children. Of-course, booze is cool. Lets have a live-in relation. Casual sex. One should try weed before he/she graduates.

These are some of the new buzz phrases or in twitter language; the trending topics of the new age India or the "modern" India. We are no longer shut out from the Western world. We are no longer slaves to our tradition and our rotten culture. We are no longer THAT India described by Mark Twain : "India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only."

In Economics, analysts often mistake that if two events A and B occur simultaneously, they are related. We see the same mistake propagating in Indian society today. There is this growing illusion and confusion amongst educated and new generation youth that westernization IS modernization since western world; for past 200 years or more has been the cradle of modernization [and funnily, our old generation thinks that west doesn't have a culture; which is other end of the spectrum].

We seem to have created a web of inferiority complex around anything that is Indian. Anyone who is proud of Indian culture is considered as either radical or fundamentalist; or in the very least; an uncivilized moron. We lack self-confidence and pride. If someone is abroad, he is considered modern; he is considered well-off. Lots of marriage proposals come with a condition that the guy should not relocate to India. On the other hand, if someone can't speak English, he is uneducated; he is uncivilized; in Indian society. Almost every-time I spoke and ordered in Kannada in posh restaurants in Bangalore; I was stared at by concerned hotel employees; not because they didn't understand the language but because I was probably not civilized enough for the restaurant [which motivated me to not speak in English more !!]. Should I be really surprised that we were indeed ruled for 10 centuries by foreigners ?

Yes, There are lots of good things about western culture and I would love to see it being imbibed in our culture [check one my old blogs : http://guftugu-e-hayaat.blogspot.com/2009/09/culture-in-dream-land.html]. But what pains me to no end is the blind worshiping of western culture. When I see my grade 9 cousin tells me that he spends his 'play-time' in front of facebook and/or tv, I know that its not the India I grew up in. Its not the India, I want it to become.

I am often told that I am not modern since I don't try western cuisines often by my other vegetarian friends. Lets see. Most often, what-ever cuisine I eat, ends up being a catastrophe(Yes, there are exceptions and I do eat them often) and they hardly have veggie options. And anything good we eat; we end up comparing them to Indian food - Veggie Burrito to rice-rajma, Veggie Gumbo to rice-rasam. Citing a personal example; one of my friends said a few days back : "Lets go to Ethiopian restaurant. What they serve is very similar to Dosa[South Indian food]". Why not try Dosa itself instead then ? Oh wait; its Indian. It ought to be bad; probably not modern enough; not cool enough [For the record, I did enjoy Ethiopian food for it was indeed very similar to Dosa]. I am not averse to Italian or Mexican food. I am averse to the fact that most Indians want to eat non-Indian food because it makes them sound cool; look modern. Well, look Western.

I was listening to a commentary by a western economist about China just about couple of hours ago. He says that one of the main reasons for china's growth is its "cultural integrity" and how they are proud about their culture. Why is it that we Indians are not proud of our culture ? Why are we eternally ready to drop our identity and become sycophants of other cultures ? And no, chinese culture is not superior to our Indian culture. In words of Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA: "India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border."

It has equally become a fashion to dismiss anyone and everyone who stands for our culture as a radical and/or moron. It is similar to almost being a staunch Hinduism follower in India these days in the views of some politicians - you are a non-secular. It is a classic case of everyone is entitled for an opinion; until it is agreeable to the opinion the media holds or promotes. Beauty, they say, lies in the eyes of the beholder. How-ever, the beauty of India, lies in its tradition and its culture. And It looked equally beautiful to the eyes of Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, Max Mueller, Will Durant and to many other scholars from various countries. Now, we are on the verge of destroying it. Completely. All in the name of modernization; or illusion of modernization.

"When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous." - Albert Einstein

"India - The land of Vedas, the remarkable works contain not only religious ideas for a perfect life, but also facts which science has proved true. Electricity, radium, electronics, airship, all were known to the seers who founded the Vedas." - Wheeler Wilcox

Haage Summane..

I am posting my latest Kannada poem. Let me know if there are any corrections to be done. Give in a shout if you have any; your thoughts are definitely welcome :)

Nanna prati vondu haadigu nalle ninnade prerane..
Ee nalumeya lokadali ninna hrudayave nanage aramane..

Naa ninna neneyalu priye nee nayanadeduru barabaarade..
Nudiyalli nadeyalli nageyalli ellellu bari ninnade kalpane..

Ninna gungali silikiruve.. hora tandu ulisu nannanu..
Hagalirulu prati kshanavu chaluve; nanage ninnade yochane..

Prati usirali hesraagi, prati miditadali nudiyaagi besediruve..
Atmadellede bari tumbihudu; ninagaagi volumeya bhaavane..

Hrudaya tumbi premadali nanage jeeva toreyalu nee korabaarade..
Haatoreyutiruve aa ninna madilalli prana bidalu; haage summane..

Translation and Thought
This poem is basically about a guy trying to tell his lover how-much she means to him..

In the first two lines, he says that she is the inspiration behind all his songs and her heart is a palace for him in this world of love..

Line 3 and 4 : He wonders if she could come infront of his eyes every-time he thinks of her. He says that he remembers her in conversation, smile, stroll and basically everything..

Line 5 and 6 : He says that she is stuck in her thoughts and begs her to come and save him. He says that he worries only about her day and night; every second..

Line 7 and 8 : He says that her name is there in every breath; and she is the sound of every heart-beat.. He goes on to say that his entire soul is filled with feeling of love for her..

Line 9 and 10 : In the final two lines; the guy wonders if she could ask him with love to give his life for her.. He says that he is waiting desperately to die in her arms; just like that..

Nannanu Nodalu Baruvaaga Sakhi

After quite a long time, I penned a Kannada poem. I am not sure how good or how bad it has come out to be. For some reason, I felt there might be some mistakes. Let me know if there are any corrections to be done. Give in a shout if you have any and your thoughts are welcome.

Nannanu nodalu baruvaaga sakhi ninna nadugeyali aaturaveke..
Hrudaya bicchi ninna haadiyali haasiruvaaga ee vayyaraveke..
Ravi jothegoodi kirana bhuvi belaguvante nannodane koodiruve..
Manasugala milanavidu; ninage vanchaneya bhayaveke..

Nannanu nodalu baruvaaga sakhi ninna moghake srungaaraveke..
Nanna hrudayadellade ninnade chitra tumbiruvaaga ee alankaaraveke..
Samudradolu tere beretu mohisuvante nannolu beretiruve..
Hrudayagala milanavidu; ninage chanchalateya bhayaveke..
[tere == wave]

Nannanu nodalu baruvaaga sakhi ninna nayanadali kaaturaveke..
Nanna prati usiralu ninnade hesariruvaaga ee tallanaveke..
Nudiyolage pada-gunja seri artha taruvante nannolage seriruve..
Aatmagala milanavidu; ninage agalikeya bhayaveke..

Translation and Thought:
This poem is by the guy to his lover trying to remove the fear she has in her mind.

He notices that she is moving fast [fearing that he might have left] when she comes to see him because she is scared that the guy might be deceiving. She tries to be stylish so that the guy is hooked to her. He tries to soothe her telling that they are combined like sun and light which together remove earth's darkness.

Similarly, she comes with make-up and making herself look pretty so that the guy doesn't get attracted/diverted to other gals. He tries to soothe her by telling that they are inter-twined like sea and sea-waves; which makes a beautiful sight to watch.

The guy also sees that she is anxious when she comes to meet him because she is afraid of separation from the guy. He tries to soothe her by telling that just like words combine to give meaning to a language, she gives meaning to his life.

Tanhai Se Bachnaa He..

This would probably be my last ghazal post for a long time to come. Though it seems like a decision taken for the greater good of humanity and hindi/urdu; its mainly because I am not enjoying writing ghazals as much as I would like to. Anyways, as usual, any grammatical error/s is poetic license :)

Ya khuda koyi duwaa dena mujhe; is tanhai se bachnaa he..
Kho gaya hoon kahi; ek baar aur zindagi se milnaa he..

Har raat uski yaadon mein roke suukh gaye hein aakhen..
Bataade koyi tarqeeb; mujhe raat-bhar sonaa he..

saare ghum mitaade mere; mein yeh nahi maangutha..
Bas muskuraana sikhaado; ek baar ayne mein dekhnaa he..

saare rishte thodke, ghum ke saahil pe akele baitha hoon..
kuch saath dena mera; ab mehefil mein mujhe lautnaa he..

ishq mein jalaa tha dil; yuhi zindagi bhi phighal gayi..
kuch roshini dena; mere wujuud ko mufiid banaana he..
[mufiid : meaningful]

safar-e-zindagi mein yuhi chalthe chalthe thak gaya hoon..
bas ek baar usse milaana; uski baahon mein dum thodnaa he..

Ya khuda koyi duwaa dena mujhe; is tanhai se bachnaa he..
Kho gaya hoon kahi; ek baar aur zindagi se milnaa he..

Har raat uski yaadon mein roke suukh gaye hein aakhen..
Bataade koyi tarqeeb; mujhe raat-bhar sonaa he..

One of my friends likes to give an insight about what his thinking was while writing the poem. I thought I was kind of a cool idea. So, here it goes.

This ghazal starts off with completely positive tone. Its about a guy wanting to come out of the misery. Until the last mukhra. In the last mukhra, we can see a completely different tone where he wants to die in the arms of his love. Misfit ?

Now, if we go back and look at the entire ghazal, we can understand that actual tone and thought was indeed negative throughout.. For Ex : kuch roshini dena; mere wujuud ko mufiid banaana he : means to say that meeting her and to die in her arms is the way to make his life meaningful.. Bataade koyi tarqeeb; mujhe raat-bhar sonaa he : means to say he wants to die [sleep for ever]..

Feel free to drop in your suggestions, comments and corrections in comments' section.

Saaku hrudayagala ee antara...

My latest Kannada Poem. I wouldn't probably rate it as one of my best but hopefully it ain't that bad either.

One of my friends asked me sometime back : "why are all your poems hell-bent on creating suspicion amongst your female friends ?"... For some reason, I find it almost impossible to avoid using sakhi, gelathi or one of its synonyms while write a Kannada Poem.. Here is one more to that list.

Sakhi, hope you are reading :)

ninna prati vondu nenapu hrudaya geeteyaagi moodutide..
premada sarigama indu manavu hrudaya tumbi haadutide..
Sakhi, saaku hrudayagala ee antara, indu vondaagona baa..
nanna haaDige ninna haaDanu berasi merasi haaDona baa..


prati vondu kshanavu ninnade nenapu, ninnade kanasu..
ninna jothe-goodi jeevana saagisalu tudiyutide ee manasu..
Sakhi, saaku hrudayagala ee antara, indu vondaagona baa..
nanna kanasige ninna kanasanu berasi merasi saagona baa..


nanna payanake haadiyaagi, baalige deepavaagi nee bandiruve..
usirolage hesaraagi, dehadolage aatmavaagi nee beretiruve..
Sakhi, saaku hrudayagala ee antara, indu vondaagona baa..
nanna usirige ninna usiranu berasi merasi baalona baa..

P.S : Like usual, any grammatical mistake is poetic license :)

Someone Save IPL

It all started with ICL; trying to capitalize on failure of BCCI cricket team. ICL replicated the model of EPL. But hardly anyone took notice of ICL. Not even when they created a Pakistani team and probably planted trolls to waive THAT flag with pride in India. But then, entered Lalit Modi. Entered BCCI. Within a blink, IPL had arrived in a big way.

The stalwarts of India queued up to have a bite in the franchises. The players were for the first time treated as professionals. Markets for the first time, decided, what the value of a player is. All of a sudden, the mythical 'Vibrant India' took real shape.

The controversies followed IPL right from the beginning. The communist guns started blazing at the "sale of players" and the "fat pay checks" they were offered. Media had a problem with IPL because a private company set its own norms for coverage. Moral Police had a problem because people liked the idea of cheer-gals. Purists had a problem because they saw the death of ODIs and/or Tests because a dumb common-man like me would embrace IPL. Still IPL steam-rolled. For the first time, Indians had a league which was comparable to EPL, NFL, MLB etc in its aura. India had arrived on the sports map, finally.

IPL drove ahead because it was backed by market; backed by people. Heck, it was a success even when it was forced out of India, in its second edition itself. The amount of revenue it generated had some corrupt politicians vying for more control of it. But unfortunately, the rich and influential were party to it. IPL could stand up against anyone. It did. Lalit Modi did. Almost.

It is no secret that many people loathed the idea of a team from Cochin. It didn't make much cricketing sense. Neither did it to Lalit Modi. But truth is they won the franchise fair and square, PROBABLY. Then there was this "Rendezvous" with Taroor. Modi Tweeted; Taroor retaliated; Sunanda sweat'ed. The opening to control IPL presented by itself. And have they not taken it with both hands ?

TAROOR FORCED TO RESIGN
Most people who know me would vouch how much I despise politicians. But, Shashi Taroor is one of the very few politicians I respect. Congress wanted a young, suave face to appeal to urban and urbane India. Mr. Taroor was their choice. His rise rubbed many people the wrong way. Then, there were many media created issues out of thin air regarding cattle class, five-star hotel stay, stance against passport amongst others. He was fast becoming a liability. The moment media started attacking Taroor regarding Sunanda Pushkar getting sweat equity, Congress snapped. Taroor is history, for now.

What was wrong with Sunanda Pushkar getting sweat equity ? For all I care, she might have been presented 99% of the ownership. Unless, it isn't proved that she got the money because of a shady deal, how can media try her ? How can Taroor, a junior external affairs minister have a "conflict of interest" with a private company which is franchise for a private league ? What did media try Sunanda and Taroor for ? Like Sunanda Pushkar apparently report according to a report, she was projected like a slut overnight. Taroor's gone; uneducated to rule us again. But Innocent, until proven otherwise, anyone ?

MODI MANIA
Does media have any hatred with the "modi" name ? First, it was the Modi from Gujrat. Now, Modi from Rajasthan. Modi had a drug related case against him 25 years back. What has that got to do with his involvement in IPL ? Modi's X relatives' Z son's Y daughter has a stake in some franchise, APPARENTLY. Why not prove that Modi did insider trading or until then shut the F up ? There were many such ridiculous media coverage. The award from my side goes to this bit of "news" : Modi knows some "bookie" and hence he is involved in match fixing. This is probably one of the worst articles I read and my computer was lucky not to get banged. When did betting and match-fixing become synonymous ?

THE GREAT INTERVENTION
The Modi-Taroor fiasco let way to the great political intervention. Yes, there were politicians involved before. But that was a "necessary evil" for IPL. But this fiasco has created an opportunity for complete take-over. IPL is being politicized. What is better than a medium which reaches almost every Indian to send across your message ? What is better to corruption than a company which is making millions of dollars and is growing 200% every year ? There are IT sleuths who are raiding the crap out of IPL and its franchise owners. Everything ugly is being associated. IPL is being methodically dismantled as a private company. Its image is being thrashed. Eventually, this all points to government taking it over. Sob.

Everyone related to politics is coming out and giving a statement. Its a issue in Parliament. They want a Joint Parliamentary Commission to probe it. Apparently, IPL was under the scanner for some time now. Then, what exactly was IT department waiting for - A tweet-buffet? [Anyway, concept of forced taxation doesn't makes much sense to me]. Some-one went to extent of telling that IPL should be dismantled. Why exactly ? What is the crime they have committed ? Fodder Scam, sir ?


ALGUIEN SALVA IPL
Andrew Flintoff noted before IPL-3 that some players would be earning more through IPL than John Terry, skipper of Chelsea would, through EPL. IPL is one of the top sporting companies of 2009. IPL is a phenomenon.

And like always, corrupt people have smelt money bleeding from IPL too. They are now out in the wild, waiting to hound and siphon IPL. Hopefully, it wont happen. Hopefully it will remain a private company. Hopefully, IPL comes out of this unscathed; to give us cheer leaders for many more decades to come. Hopefully. SOMEONE SAVE IPL. ALGUIEN SALVA IPL.

I have a sense of humor. A Disclaimer. This is JUST my view of IPL and how I believe IPL should be. Article is based on my analysis only. I do not claim to know truth behind the curtains :)

Let Hockey Die

Once again, India apparently lost in Hockey. The same Hockey which is our national game. The same Hockey which we apparently were pioneers long time back, probably when American car-makers were making profits. Once again, we see people criticizing companies for sponsoring only cricket, some of them criticize "babus" [ government officials ] for corruption, some people asking for more funds to be allocated for Hockey, increasing players' salary etc. I say, Let Hockey Die.

SPONSORSHIP FOR HOCKEY
I am not a fan of Hockey. I have never played it in my life and hardly have watched it a few times. But thats not the point. Well, actually that is the point. The reason why cricket is popular is not because sponsors are ready to sponsor the game. But it is the other way round. More people like cricket, get entertained by cricket and are ready to part with their money for cricket. There is a market for cricket. Yes, market is the operative word for sponsorship unless have a personal gain to act likewise. The people asking companies to sponsor Hockey is similar as me asking you to take Person-X to Aragawa for lunch every day. I wont complain neither will Person-X. Will You ?

SUCCESS AND FAILURE QUOTIENT
People attribute lack of funds to fall of hockey and fall of hockey to lack of funds. The dreaded vicious cycle, you know. Well, India was never a top-dog in world cricket until recently. It was only in 2000s that a certain Sourav Ganguly captained Indian Team to a whole new level. Why did cricket survive until then ? English are foot-ball crazy but they are never that top-team in the world. A more obvious example is Africa where people are crazy about football. Their national teams are definitely no where near the best. Yes, success can bring people but that doesn't mean, success alone would bring people to watch a sport. How many of us actually have watched even one game of Vishwanathan Anand ? or Pankaj Advani ? Maybe, even behind every successful sportsman, there is a woman. But not viewers and market.

GOVERNMENT FUNDING HOCKEY
The very reason why Hockey doesn't generate enough funds is because people are not interested. Any government intervention would ONLY result in re-allocation of funds: from what people desire to what they are forced to have; which in this case is watching Hockey ! It is very similar to passing an ordinance tomorrow according to which all the money that people spend on onions would be taken away and will be used to for development of Hockey. Food without onion ? Bad Idea, me says !

QUALITY OF PLAYERS
Some people ask why Indian Hockey was successful previously and not now. There might be various contributing factors. Cricket might have taken away the funds and talent away from Hockey. Other Teams might have improved. The way hockey is played might have changed. People might now be more interested in becoming lawyers or engineers than Hockey Players. Or simply, there might have been better players by chance before. Most often people assume that lack of money in a particular game would inevitably result in sub-standard players. If that was the case, then we would not be having Vishwanathan Anand, Pankaj Advani, Clint Dempsey etc.

CONCLUSION
Lets allow the market and hence people to decide whether Hockey should survive in India as a sport or not. If people are not interested in Hockey, then so be it. Let it die - Deje a Hockey Morir. Else, I would want funding of Indian American-Football Team. Go Gators, errrr, Go Indians.

Agree or dis-agree with my views ? Drop in your shout in comments section.