First-hand from the field!

Last week, I was provided with an opportunity to accompany one of my office colleagues for agricultural inspection. What began at 11am that day turned out to be quite fruitful at the end, and interesting too, in all aspects.

It was a great learning experience indeed.  Travelling to the interiors of Rajasthan was revealing as we came across state tribals including Gujjars who are known for their apparent detachment from the societal mainstream.

We began the day with meeting one of the high-profile applicants of Kisan Credit Card (KCC). He owns a garment shop in the heart of the Tehsil Atru where he lives and also looks after the agricultural land that he has been inherited by his forefathers. For him, the money that he will get as KCC loan will most probably help in spreading his garment business. Let’s not delve deep into the rules that say a Branch Manager has to ensure that the money resulting out of KCC loan should be utilised for agricultural purposes only.

At around 1pm, we knocked the door of another client. The applicant was not there but his 80-year-old mother welcomed us with utmost modesty. My senior officer and I had a chat on the viability of the loan as the applicant kept juggling from one place to another. But our talk resulted in a resounding yes.

In this bone-chilling winter spreading across the North India and some parts of West India, the afternoon time is a big relief when one can dare to see eye-to-eye with the sun. (Reminding me of dialogues between SRK and AB from the film Mohabbatein).

We completed the formalities there and took the signatures of two villagers for creating the opinion-report of the applicant. While we were contemplating to go to another village, I suggested my senior to have lunch first in the applicant’s terrace. Honestly, I wanted to enjoy the afternoon and the direct sunlight. 

The other officer was reluctant to use space, but the motherly treatment of the old lady made it all easy for us. She offered us water and advised us to sit on the chowki kept at the terrace. We had lunch, some conversations and we moved out, conveying our big Thank You to the Amma there.

While we were penetrating more into the interiors of Rajasthan, we started discussing Rajasthan culture. There were three of us – the senior officer, driver and me.

I was amazed to know that the 18-year-old driver was married when he was just 3. We asked him if he had seen his wife. He said no. I asked again, “Will you seriously marry her?” He said yes, because if he will not, his father will abancon him. The driver added, "Papa ki ijjat ka sawal hai, shaadi to karni hi padegi usse."

Sir asked him, “Teri koi girlfriend hai”. He said chhe-saat hain. And interestingly one is a clerical cadre staff in a nationalised bank. Then he went on and said, "Sir driverri karni padti hai kyunki aajkal ladkiyon ke bade demand hain. Mere mahine mein saat-aath hazar unpe hi kharch ho jate hain.

We purchased guavas from the roadside of another Tehsil. Till date, I had always followed the basic rule of washing any fruit before before eating. But that day, I shunned all the rules for no reasons. I thought for a while to wash guavas, but then I did not, as I wanted to break free from the civilised world, at least for that day. 

We reached to our another applicant. It was 3pm-3: 30pm. The tiredness started seeming on our face. Here, we met the applicant who was not mentally 100 percent sound. One of his close acquaintances took his signature on the form and submitted to the bank. The applicant himself was not even aware that he was applying for a KCC loan.

And, there is a legal reason behind his acquaintant doing so. The laws of Rajasthan say an SC can only sell land to another SC and an ST can only sell land to another ST. The applicant was an ST, so the other person who was an SC could not take possession of the land legally from the ST seller. So what the other person did was he purchased the land in the name of the applicant who is an ST and used it for mortgaging in lieu of KCC loan.

We met another applicant who had a share with his father in their agriculture land. The applicant forcefully took his father’s signature and applied for the KCC loan and wanted to use money for construction of house. We got to know this when we talked to other villagers there.

Then finally it was time to wind up the day. Till this time, my senior and I became friends as the former was just 5 years elder to me. He asked me how old I am. I said I’m 24. He asked me when I would marry. I said soon. He advised me to do it at the earliest to ‘enjoy marital life’. 

He cited his example of how he had five-six girlfriends but then he finally fell in love badly. He added how close he was to his girlfriend and how close they came to each other. But as we have been witnessing in Bollywood films, the groom's father wanted dowry and said a blatant no to his choice. He had to bow down and marry his father’s choice where money mattered more than the girl. But as he accepts his intimacy with his ex is adding woes in his marital life. 

For me, the day did not end with our journey. It kept me thinking of the plight of farmers that I had till now read in P Sainath’s stories. The driver, whose story is a reflection of our society where even today the child marriage is prevalent in most parts of the country. And Sir’s, where words run short of the feelings.

  

A champion, always!

Some years ago, I participated in a cricket quiz and came third among a host of participants. While the top two were awarded with costly cricket kits, the third prize was a book on Sachin Tendulkar, written by Lokesh Thani, one of his close aides. I still believe, and I rejoice even today, that I was the luckiest among the lot, for I came third. Had this not been the case, I would have missed some of the intrigue nuances in the life of probably the most successful cricketer ever born on this planet. When today, I come across many articles published in various newspapers on Sachin’s retirement, and that includes the one from someone as eminent as Sunil M Gavaskar, I am reminded of the various lines of the book because that takes me through the pain that the Little Master had undergone to be what he is today. The last few months have been newsy for stories on and off the ground. If V V S Laxman ‘forced retirement’ created ripples for wrong reasons, same could be said for the Mr Dependable. Even traditionally, we have never feted our champions with memorable farewell. I had heard of stories on how Indian cricket legends - Kapil Dev and Gavaskar – were treated during their final days on cricket field. As a simple cricket follower with basic understanding of the game, I do not want the same to happen with Sachin Tendulkar for everyone’s ‘emotional connect’ with ‘The Don’ of Indian cricket. If at 10, he was the best in Sharda Ashram School, at 40, his records take him to the topmost ladder in international cricket. The crests and troughs are integral part in the career of any sportsman and it is also true that Sachin had seemed patchy against England and Australia this year, but that does not mean that he has to answer every single time to his critics when he dons the pad. For hundredth hundred, the hullabaloo created by the media surely created some amount of pressure on him, and the thrust of this R-word seems writ large on his face now. Everyone knows that the Master is in the last years of his game and he would be history in another one year or so, but even then the noise on his retirement is too loud. With Indian cricket relying on the strong shoulders of talented young players like Kohli and Badrinath, it’s time for Sachin to enjoy his game without the additional ‘burden’ that he had carried in his 23 years of international cricket. And, should we not give him his dues for his service to nation. Yes, he deserves that even if he does not perform ‘according to his merit’ in the next few tests.

Over and over, again!

Three months from now, amidst ‘musical montage’ of the Indian Premier League, the Australian tour would be another ‘forgettable series’.
A Murli Vijay or a Paul Valthaty would come and hit a ton in the 120-ball format and the likes would give us reasons to cheer.
And, in that high-decibel chaos, we would forget what Rahul Dravid said in his ‘Bradman Oration’ real cricket — Test match.
That compels me to put forward a serious question: Are we nurturing a bunch of cricketers who practice lofted shots in nets or we help them stick to cricket basics and let them play a ball according to its merit?
I remember an interview of an IPL centurion, who emphatically stressed on hitting ‘big shots’ in nets during his preparations of IPL matches.
Though, he was successful in a particular IPL edition, but with that India lost a player, who has good enough merit to be a Test opener.
Now, why this question? Take an example of the ongoing India-Australia test match at the SCG.
When the Day 1 came to an end, there was a divided opinion. Optimists believed that India would take couple of quick wickets early on Day 2, and pacers would then restrict Kangaroos to a score not more than 250, conceding a lead of just 50 odd runs.
A section also had faith that SCG would turn to an Eden Garden and some very, very special innings might either level the series or turn it in India’s favour.
On Day 2, the outcome of the test cricket became evident, probably from the very first ball. India were lucky on just one ball out of 540 deliveries they bowled. The scorecard resembled of many occasions of 2007 series. Ponting dismissed by Ishant. The difference was, by then, the Australian right-hander had done his job and not only that he along with Hussey made Indians look ‘awry’.
Two records were noteworthy. Ponting scoring a ton after two years and Clarke hitting his maiden double-century. The big Australian trio of Ponting, Clarke and Hussey were said to be out of form before the series began, but experience played its part and they are now the team saviors.
India, on the other hand, had been preparing well. Says a statement of Dravid from his Bradman Oration, “We have come here more experienced, better prepared.” But, Dravid himself had, after a great 2011, tough times dealing with seaming deliveries.
Except Sachin Tendulkar, who despite of so much hullabaloo over his century’s century producing the best possible bat-ball sound, no Indian batsman looked comfortable.
If Australian selectors were bold enough to pick Ponting over inexperience, despite the noise, their Indian counterpart went a step ahead and dropped Harbhajan, who had been consistent with his off-spin against Australian.
Another point, whether the Virat Kohli or the Rohit Sharma, whom we call Indian cricket’s future, are also loosing their batting charm in the media din.
Can we not have a fast wicket at the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy, where players will practice ‘chin music’? Or, will it be the same story over and over, again?
Many foreign tours will come and we will have the same mixed feeling of optimism-pessimism. Heart would like to see India on the winning side, while the brain would say we are incapable of that.

I- A(A)M (AADMI) ANNA KE SAATH

When Congress Party in 2004 came up with the slogan ‘Congress ka haath, aam aadmi ke saath’, the suasion helped the UPA in battling the ‘India Shining’ sloganeering of then NDA government.
Seven years on, when the same ‘aam aadmi’ (now a little older) seek Congress’s support in weeding out corruption, the oldest Indian party seems fumbling with different takes every now and then.
What troubles me more is when I see some people’s reactions — in newspapers, on the social networking sites and various other platforms — when they criticise the 74-year-old anti-corruption crusader, Anna Hazare.
I understand many, by nature, are obdurate and cynical, but for me the criticism is unjustified.
Let’s be honest, at the age of 74, Hazare has no political intentions and his movement has nothing to do with earning mileage for a specific party.
His team may have amended their own bill for not less than 12 times — as said in the lower house by Sandip Dikshit — but all the changes aim to bring a strong and effective Lokpal bill.
A constitutional expert (we should not get into names here, rather accord priority to the issue) said there were several impracticalities in the bill.
I pose a question to the gentleman — Whether there were no any flaws in the constitution drafted by the genius B R Ambedkar and his team? Why has it been amended so many times?
All bills have shortcomings, but the intention of bringing a bill in the parliament and then enacting it after notification shows that we, as the world’s strongest democracy, are still committed to work for a greater cause of what’s there in the preamble of constitution.
Co-incidentally, Congress party was at the helm of affairs when the Lokpal bill was first presented in the House in 1968 and even today, when the demand of its implementation has taken the form of a mass movement.
The bill came twice — in 1998 and 2001 —during NDA’s regime as well, but no headway was made.
When on Aug 27 (on a non-working day) morning, the incumbent finance minister Pranab Mukherjee stood up in Lok Sabha at around 11am to initiate discussions on the bill, later followed by debate in both the house, it seemed the government is open to listen to ‘commoners’.
Also, watching MPs debating the nitty-gritty of the bill, my belief in parliamentary democracy gets stronger.
Ditto is the case with many, who had lost faith on people (and not the institution) who sit there. Reasons: Cash for vote scam, MPs being accused of taking money for asking questions, many with criminal cases pending against them, and the list is endless.
There could be someone like Lalu Prasad, who is finding it ‘unparliamentary’, but I do not find many takers buying his argument.
As Pranab da said, there are not more than six issues where lie the difference between Team Anna and the government.
It’s high time to reach a conclusion and draft a bill that would help the country in achieving zero-corruption (literally).
With all regards to Anna!

P.S. Mr. Prime Minister, you deserve the credit of what Indian economy is today, for standing firm on nuclear bill. If the world reels with the threat of another recession, we feel safe. But, this issue is no less important. Not anyone can come and dilute your stature by ‘lecturing’ during the zero hour of the constitution.
Sir, the entire country is looking up to you to do something akin to what you did 20 years ago.

A Journey Started

As the time passes by, one starts moulding him/her according to needs. When I decided to join "glamarous" media and communication industry, I never thought of pursuing writing as my career. But with the much talked about recession engulfed the world, people started thinking of alternatives. I being not an exception, although no doubt about my strength, thought of honing my writing skills. So I consider blogging the best way to delve deep into matters.

Lots more in the coming days.....