Selfish Walk

On the onset, let me just mention that this is the first post of the  the Jaywalker, away from Lucknow. I am writing this from Agra. The second thing I must mention here is that I am writing this post after such a long break for two reasons: One, I was working in Agra for the last almost 20months & 2, while working, I never had the time, let alone energy to contemplate & write. Now for the actual post...

As I go about my daily routine of chores at home and work in office, I have a habit of noticing people around me, not just interact with them. Those who know me, and KNOW me well would be nodding here. Going about thus, I have developed a few theories on human behavior on my own. Now I don't know if these are standard theories of psychology or they  pertain to the paranormal plain that I have in my head but nevertheless, I have come to rely on them broadly in my daily routine. One such observation which has subsequently become a theory is people are selfish. Before you go all sarcastic on me on this trivial revelation, hear (read) me out.

All people are at the core, social people and as thus survive in a community consisting of our peers, acquaintances, friends & family. These social circles not just guide us in our daily behavior, they also keep us sane and secure in many ways. One effect of these circles is that people follow a code of morality & ethics which has been ingrained by the people around them; initially family then friends & peers and so on.. Our values keep changing much like our circles. But if given the right setting, the very people who are virtuous would actually act selfishly. Even when in normal circumstances they act selfish and we take their behavior as normal. Why is that? It is because of the ingrained animal selfishness that we all have subconsciously and use as a survival tool. Let me give you a corporate example: Any negotiation continues until both sides are satisfied that they got the best deal, true? In a bargain, how can both sides emerge winners? One must loose, right? Wrong. In an negotiation the perception of the parties matter and not the outcome. So long as they both perceive that they are gaining from the deal, it is signed, sealed and delivered without any hiccups. Where is the selfish angle to this you ask. Any deal that we make is for selfish reasons. The person pushing the deal forward stands to gain the business & quite possibly a handsome incentive for the closed deal. The person taking the deal stands to profit from the deal by taking and utilizing or selling the offered product. Thus, even though their could have been a better bargain price for the taker, or a higher price for the maker, both arrive at a common midway where both of them are loosing a part of the profit (in economic terms, some opportunity costs too) while still going ahead with the deal.

Let us take another example. In a family, people work out of love and not selfishly. But yet we see people doing selfish things. Here one can say that love itself is the most selfish emotion. We do something out of love because it makes us feel better. Thus, it is a selfish act, when we act because of love.

Through this roller coaster of arguments, you might have lost the point so let me put it forth again; We are selfish at the most basic & core level. Anyone who says he is not selfish is lying (he may be oblivious to the it). The best thing we can do is accept & endorse that we are selfish instead of continuously trying figure out ways around it.

Jaywalking: Politically incorrect.

The Indian political scene is getting from bad to worse, to down right nasty. Achuttanand (forgive the spelling) was crucified for being pro-party (or was it anti party). Mayawati and congress, read Sonia Gandhi, are at loggerheads for a small pie of the most populous state.
Recently, the beaten down BJP has been quite and licking its wounds after being defeated in two elections, back to back. It is the BSP vs Congress battle that is taking center stage right now. CBI is ready to file the charge sheet against Mayawati for disproportionate assest case from 2003. Imagine that Maywati was not even the CM at the time. Now with the construction of a few thousand crores worth of parks, where would the real income of Ms Mayawati stand???
She is trying everything to make life tough for her political rivals, no wait, that is the UP Govt. without any political agenda. From lathicharging (baton charging) the peacful protestors in Amethi, to arresting the UP Congress chief, for commenting against women and communal harmony (she is woman, mind you). It is all holds barred in the political arena today.
As one of my friend says, "I would run for politics, but I would be killed or threatened to withdraw the next day" That is the problem today. There are people who want to make changes, and know how to bring them about. But the current crop of Leaders are relentless to allow anyone who is not their son, nephew, grandson, even grand nephew to take the lead and actually do something.
I don't like any particular party too much, but the move to get one of India Inc.'s honchos, out of Infosys and into the government's ambitious unique id project was really steal. It really signalled that this time the PM is in control and he wants a corporate approach to governance than the psuedo-socialist approach that left out the needy and helped the greedy.
If NREGS is to achieve its actual target, it should employ people to build roads and infrastructure to help develop the country, and not just have the landless farmers dig soil endlessly, just so that he does some work for the day's pay. Most people in the urban India don't even know that NREGS only asks the labours to dig soil, most of the time, to no constructive result.
We are being told is that inflation is negative. While I used to get pulses at an average of about Rs.45-50 in the beginging of the year, today the rates are almost touching 100 bucks. And they say that with the monsoon in its present state, don't expect it to get any cheaper soon. The dal-roti idom is dieing, forget about housing and clothing. If a person can't feed himself, how do you expect them to work to earn their meals, and living. Although India Inc. is happy and hiring again, but India Inc is only about 15% of the 1.25 billion people in this country.
Lastly, I must agree with Shekhar Kapoor (of Mr. India fame). We must do something soon or loose even Water, Gods gift to man, in a country that worships nature as God; God save us all.

Politcal Jaywalk

So far I have refrained myself from commenting on the current turmoil in the political arena but, I feel that every day the politicians are serving out more garbage than serving people. So, here I am with my first Jaywalk into politics. First of all, I would like to clarify that I am not pro-anyone. I am a liberal. With that out of the way, let me begin by saying that the politicians are doing what they do best - Mud Slinging.

Recent spate of politics in India, the largest democracy, and US, the erstwhile free country, has left us wondering WTF! In India, the shoe-gate was toned down, and the religious hate speech by the "other Gandhi" Varun made prime time news. As two widows from the same family fight it out to best their own sons' political carrier, the main agenda is left out in the summer sun, sweating. Let me point out a few things off the top of my mind:

1. Varun would make a better leader anyday than Rahul. Rahul is meticulous and divisive in his ways; agreed. But recent Varun saga puts him in a different league. He knows the pulse of the people more than Rahul does. For those who heard Rahul speak during the no-confidence motion in July last year, did he not remind you of a certain aged RSS champion from the opposition, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It only goes to show that he is not at all ready to step out of his mother's shadow.

2. Sonia Gandhi uses the shadow of Manmohan Singh to do her work as the alternate PMO. What else would justify her choosing an a champion of reforms who has little to with politics even after 5 years as the PM than a first time MLA. Lets hope she would dare the right wing patriots to wear the crown herself; if she comes to power that is.

3. P.Chidambram, the home minister of our country had a Reebok hearld at him, or was it a Nike. The point is that it wasn't him to be blamed for the what CBI did. It was his predecessor if anyone was to be blamed for it. Still, I condemn what happened. The shoe was not thrown at a person, but at the Home Minister of India. It is the saddest thing to happen, and yet, somehow it is an expression of demcracy. The fact that he guy was let off without any charges is also commendable whereas the Bush shoer got convicted and is in prison.

4. If the leaders of today would stop playing regional politics and conentrate more on the economy, or development and upliftment of people. I mean, is there a single man made monument that they can boast of, built after independence? Mamta Banerjee made it about her personally to seige the Tata Motors plant in West Bengal. While states jumped at the project when it shut down, numerous other projects still hang in balance. Posco plant in Orissa, Dadri power project in UP are just 2 examples.

5. The world has great expectations from Obama, but am more skeptical of him than before he got elected. He is a new world president, but he is no better than some of our own politicians at turning around and going back on promises. Opening up Bush era torcher cases against the officials is just one thing on top of my mind. His approval rating is dropping like the Dow Jones did around his election. I think such a young leader of a country like the US is not right, where people start to live their life when they are 40, he still seems to have some way to go on world politics though.

6. I thought political mud slinging was getting too messy in India with even film stars getting their hands dirty until I read about the French President doing it to fellow world leaders. I don't know what kind of leverage he hopes to derive there, but it is in bad taste all the same.

I would write about more such futalities of politics, but I have to stick to my Indian Idealism too (pun unintended).
So go out and vote, and let me know how it turns out.

Jaywalking

I have been wondering what to write about lately, with so many ideas coming to me in the past few days. Then I thought that maybe I should just start and discover where the chain of thoughts takes me. I often find myself just walking around the house, thinking. Not just anything specific, but just like that.
To me, most of my ideas come while I am walking. I often walk to the market with no reason, just looking at people, shopping, street vendors trying to peddle me stuff. But I hardly even hear a word, much less if someone were to call me from across the street. It is my way of mulling over things. I disconnect from my body and venture into a different plane, where I am alone, gliding on the ice of my thoughts, with bare feet. I slide and shift from one foot to another just like my thoughts. During my stint in Delhi, the walk from the office and to my room was as long too, but I never could be disconnected as I can in Lucknow. There, I had to be on my feet, being part of the crowd, and scared to be a target of some insusceptible pick-pocket. But back in Lucknow, I can be alone with my thoughts again. It has embraced me like its lover, welcoming me back.
Some people think over a cup of coffee, some over the newspaper. I have heard people thinking in the toilet as well, but I fail to understand the ideas that they must be getting in there.
Although I have been taking my walks for many years, it is not to say that I have not faced its perils as well. What perils, you may ask, can come from a walk. Well, I was hit by a biker and woke up in the hospital feeling a little woozy and a few teeth lighter. Since then, my sub conscious mind has undergone several rounds of training, not to mention stricter regulation as well. Today, I walk more on the terrace, or the courtyard, and I still fail to understand how the recommended 15 minutes of walk can be avoided by anyone during the day.
I still sometimes take the risks while crossing the street, and often so in life. Just one thing keeping me sane, the fact that I guess keeps all of us sane and going as well, at least in India. That we all live for someone else, and not just selfishly for just ourselves.
Just a thought!