ஏழாம் உலகம் (Ezham Ulagam) - Darkness personified.

Ever since I saw the movie Nan Kadavul I wanted to read Jeyamohan’s novel Ezham Ulagam.  Nan Kadavul is a movie that had left a lasting impression in me, it changed my perspective towards movies, that is when I realized that not all movies need to be entertaining, there is a lot more to it.  Having read the novel, I am finding it extremely difficult to express how I feel, it would be a gross understatement if I plainly say ‘I enjoyed reading the book’, and hence the blog.

  

Ezhan Ulagam is a novel that documents the day to day lives of beggars and racketeers who ‘own’ them, yes they are owned.  It was extremely hard for me to digest the fact that they too live in the same world that we live in, death would be the obvious choice for fortunate people like us, if we have to live their life even for a day.  More than once I simply closed the book and started to stare the skies without uttering a word, I just went blank, my thought process was empty, it was difficult for me to pick the book again and continue reading, such was the heaviness.  The author has tried to explain the point that humans will still be humans even in the worst living conditions, they don’t become animals, and their willingness to endure explains the human tenacity to survive even in a world that is unimaginably dark and ugly.

The story is quite descriptive about the way beggars are bought and sold, it reinstates the fact that human slave trade is still pertinent, in fact prominent, despite the social, cultural and economic change that we have all witnessed over the years.  Muthammai, a conspicuous character in the story is described as a heavy women with only one breast, dysfunctional legs, one arm, eyes that are almost covered by the thick flesh that hangs from her forehead and an inconceivable gory face.  Muthammai cannot move an inch on her own, she has to be carried.  She is forced to have sex with similarly handicapped ghastly beggars with an intent to produce more such filthy creatures, which are eventually sold or used as a tool for begging.  She refuses to breastfeed her 18^th newborn which is yet another grim that is terribly handicapped, she is ruthlessly kicked by Pandaram, the one who owns Muthammai  and subsequently forced to feed.  

 

The shockwave started there and continued till the time I completed reading the book.  Beggars are transported like garbage from one place to another, the organs of a relatively healthy beggar Thorrapu is sold to a hospital, a female beggar Errukku who has a broken spine is picked and brutally raped by policemen and thrown out, she is picked from the streets by an NGO, Murugan an employee of the  Pandaram fraternity, ties knot to make the officials believe that she is his wife, only to make her beg on the streets again, yet she considers him as her husband from then on. 

The author also takes us through the other side of their miserable lives, they laugh, they cry, they love, crack jokes and make fun.  They even feel sorry for their shabby boss Pandaram when his daughter runs away with a local goon, they console him, overlooking all his brutalities.  They seem to live a content, happy life in spite of being fed only once a day that too with leftover rotten food sourced from local hotels and made to stay in conditions that we can’t imagine of.  Regardless of all the ugliness, they still continue to live as humans with all emotions like that of those in the normal world.  It was an overwhelming experience to read about their happiness.

Pandaram, who makes his living by managing a gang of ill-fated beggars, is a staunch devotee of Lord Muruga, his day begins with the darshan of his favorite deity.  Pandaram absolutely has no regrets nor guilt for making money at the cost of sufferings of the hapless beings.  On the contrary, he happens to be a loving husband, a caring father of three children.  He travels all the way to nearby town to buy bangles in the middle of the night to make his daughter happy.  From his perspective, he is a god fearing, honest and humble person.  He does not even consider the beggars as human beings, hence turns a blind eye to their sufferings and leads a guilt free life.

Over the years  Pandaram sells all the 18 babies of Muthammai, but still her love for her kids never fade, she once says to Errukku that while breastfeeding a newborn, she feels as if the baby is trying to say something to her.  Her only wish in life is to have sexual intercourse with a ‘normal’ man and give birth to a healthy baby with no abnormalities.  The story begins with Muthammai giving birth to her 18^th dislodged kid and ends with her being brutally raped in a marshland by another disfigured beggar bought by Pandaram for the lone reason, who unfortunately happens to be one of her own 18 kids that she had given birth to.  She identifies the man to be one of her own children (hunch back, blind and one finger in the place of the hand).  Her screams and scrambles fall into deaf ears and the story ends..  Heaviness in my heart as I write this, I was dumbfounded, it took me 2 to 3 days to come out of the intensity.

Ezam Ulagam is a novel that has to be read by everyone, the only hindrance while reading this book is the colloquial Tamil in which the book is written, author has extensively used Kanyakumari slang which is a blend of Tamil and Malayalam, it makes it difficult for an average Tamil reader but we get used to it after the initial chapters.  Please do not restrain from reading this book just because of its dark and intense content.  After reading this book, there is bound to be a change in our individual perspective towards life, you feel blessed and start to realize the value of life.  My biggest takeaway after reading Ezhan Ulagam, “someone out there is a lot more happy with a lot less than what you have”, appreciate what you have rather being unhappy over things that you don’t. 

A change within us becomes imminent after reading Ezham Ulagam.

Our obsession with Western lifestyle and its consequences

I would like to start this post with Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman’s quote “Much of the past 30 yrs of study in Macroeconomics was spectacularly useless at its best and positively harmful at its worst”. 

The word ‘Globalization’ has been misunderstood by almost all of us.  Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG) does not necessarily mean that we must mindlessly follow the Western way of living and bluntly implement the economic policies formulated in the West (which are in any case proving to be a disaster).  Our policy makers fail to understand the Indian society and the Indian way of living.  India is different from the West (America and Europe) and policies formulated in the West before 30 years will not deem fit to the Indian economy which is structurally different.  

The economic policies that are declared obsolete in the West are being re-branded as big ticket ‘Reforms’ by our policy makers, the best example is FDI in retail.  The common man like you and me must go the extra mile to understand and question the policies that are thrust upon us, rather we like ‘herds’ accept whatever is propelled on us without any due diligence.  The present generation seems to be carried away by the western lifestyle, which is largely fueled by the new found so called ‘economic prosperity’.  

Sayings like “Live within your means”, “Save for the rainy day” have become old fashioned.  India that has traditionally been a savings driven economy is now fast turning to be debt driven.  I could see school / college students flaunting mobile phones that cost anywhere between 30k and 60k, young executives parading with 1500cc motor bikes and ultra luxury cars that cost a Bomb!!  Thanks to the easy availability of Credit (read EMI).  The culture of saving that has been the backbone and face saver of our economy is dying a slow death.  High disposable income in the hands of irresponsible youngsters has adverse impact not only on themselves but also on the nation at large.    

A young executive (from a middle class background) who earns Rs. 60,000 a month has a credit card outstanding of 3,00,000, car loan of 4,00,000 and a personal loan for 2,50,000 and savings….  ZERO!!  The new mantra is spend over and above your means, enjoy life and make merry.  Such reckless attitude towards money has larger implications that impacts the economy at large and not just the individual.  Read on.  

The Market driven economic policies formulated and propagated in the early 80’s by the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Thatcherism) and American President Ronald Reagan (Reaganomics) that are proved to be the root cause for most of the current economic woes in the US and Europe, are re-labeled as ‘Economic Reforms’ in India.  To put it in simple words, Economic policies that are considered outdated and discarded to dustbins by the Western nations are cherry picked by our ivy league educated policy makers and put to use in India.

Free markets, foreign investments, control over public expenditure, huge tax cuts and rebates to multinational corporations, privatization and deregulation of the economy are the strategies of Thatcherism and Reaganomics to revive their respective economies from depression.  As a consequence, no doubt the West reached heights in terms of economic prosperity, but it is these very policies that perpetuated the current global economic meltdown.

Well, now let us understand the economic model for growth and development the west has been relying and advocating for decades.  Shop for growth, spend for development was the sole mantra of the US government, the policymakers and the so called intellectuals were literally running a campaign “Shop for America”.

As an extension to this, the Fed (like we have RBI in India) started to cut down the interest rates to near zero levels.  In the 1980’s the US prime rate was as high as 21.50% which has dwindled to 3%.  The policymakers were encouraging the alarming trend of not just spending, but even went to the extent of propagating “borrow and spend”, it is with this intention the interest rates were curtailed and brought down to near zero levels.

The infamous Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan once in his speech said that people in the 3rd world Asian countries like India save because they feel insecure, he further said that the government of such countries were not capable of providing social security to the poor, unemployed and the aged. 

Mr. Greenspan failed to recognize the fact that in countries like India and Japan unlike the west, it is the family and society which forms the basis for social security and not the government.  In India, the father takes care of his son till he finds an employment, the son takes care of his aged parents, the disabled siblings are taken care by the family, the orphans and the left alone oldies are taken care by the society.  Therefore people in India SAVE, they do so not because they are insecure of their future but to support their family and society.  A father saves because he has to fund his son’s education and daughter’s marriage; a son saves because he has to take care of his aging parents.  This family and society driven economic model is the structural difference between the West and the East.

In the West, we can find that the families are awfully disrupted, statistics say that 51% of the 1st marriages end in divorce, 65% of the 2nd marriages end in divorce and a whopping 70% of the 3rd marriage end in divorce, therefore there is no ownership or obligation for the citizens towards their family, neither a necessity to save.   

The savings to GDP ratio is a stunning 35% in India which is one of the highest in the world, whereas the savings to GDP is negative in the America.  There is absolutely no necessity for the Indian government to rely on foreign investments to fund the burgeoning fiscal deficit or to finance infrastructural, industrial development.  For all those who think it is the dollars from America that is fueling growth in India, the ground reality is different, it is a mere 2% of India’s investment which is funded by the FII’s and the FDI’s, the rest 98% is generated from within the country by “domestic household savings”, while the West is compelled to borrow money from India, China, Japan and other emerging economies to lend its citizens who are used to ‘borrow and spend’ culture.  It’s high time we take pride in being a savings driven economy unlike the west that is consumption driven.

It is our family, society and the culture of saving that saved us from all the economic catastrophes that our country had faced earlier.  Unfortunately the current generation seem to think and act like westerners, spending over and above one’s income is considered fashionable.  This culture of borrowing and spending is a perfect recipe for disaster.  There is no doubt that India is an emerging economic power, there are 100’s of reports that suggest that India will emerge as the supreme ‘soft’ power in the future.   In order to be a more matured and responsible super power, we must stick to our basics, learn from the mistakes of our western counterparts and not try to ape their way of life, a copy paste will prove to be a tragedy.

Try to live within your means, spend what is left after saving, avoid wasteful expenditure, never borrow to spend, be simple and charitable, appreciate and live the “Indian way of life”.  Jai Hind.

Election Day

It wasn’t a usual morning, it was the Election Day in my state (Tamil Nadu), I consider it as one of the most important days in my personal calendar, of course, after all it is not every day that you get to change Governments, isn’t it.

My brother woke me at around 7 30 in the morning, our plan was to enter the polling booth as early as possible, primarily for two reasons, one, the Q would really get long as it gets late, two, it is the month of April, the Sun comes to duty as early as 9 in the morning.

I brushed my teeth and was going through The New Indian Express, the only paper that I trust. I read the express not just for news but for its views and distinguished columns in the editorial which echo’s honest opinions. I enjoyed every sip of my morning Tea, prepared with mashed ginger, fresh leaves of thulasi and cardamom, yes, I prefer making my own tea. I have always believed that I craft a unique blend which is not so easy to replicate. A cup of Tea prepared even in the finest restaurant, fails to impress me.

Are you ready? I am leaving in 5 mins, get ready if you wish to join me, warned my brother from the other end of the house, fine, I shall get ready in 10 mins, I retorted.

Mom was busy cooking, so myself and bro started off to exercise our fundamental / constitutional right. We chose to walk as we weren’t sure if we could park our vehicle near the polling booth, moreover, a walk was an obvious choice since it was so pleasant in the morning, coupled with the fact that the polling booth was pretty close from where we put up.

It was quite a shocker when I saw a long Q in the booth, we never expected such a monstrous Q as the Booth was supposed to open only by 8 and we were there by 8 15, though I was happy for the fact that people consider voting a serious business. We got to see quite a few familiar faces, shared pleasantries.

Not knowing how to kill time while in Q, my eyes spotted a beautiful girl :), she was in a parallel Q, must be around 20, she was wearing a half white salwar, her hair was wet, she must have taken head bath, she looked really fresh, her round face was so fresh so clean, I wish I too had taken bath :P.

The scene out there was so poetic and beautiful, as the Sun was yet to kick off. I could feel the morning breeze, her hair was flowing in the air like waves in the deep blue sea, she had to set them right with her fingers every now and then. Those little unconscious deeds of girls always fascinate me, it is a pleasure to watch those cute, semiconscious natural gestures of a pretty women, of course without being noticed, there is no point if the girl gets conscious, in that case you only make them uncomfortable. Unfortunately her Q happened to move fast and soon she disappeared :(.

I started observing people in the booth (its one amongst my long list of hobbies), as it helps me to come up with better write ups. There were a lot of senior citizens around, one amongst them was constantly cribbing that there was no separate Q for senior citizens, another one who stood before me responded that there is no separate Q as such. He turned back to me and said “boy, I am 90 yrs old and I don’t feel the need for a separate Q, I am hale and healthy, I could even run at this age”. I smiled at him in sheer admiration, he too smiled.

He was a tall gentleman, didn’t talk much unlike other oldies, who were either cursing the system or cribbing about the atrocities of Gen X. He was quite fair with wrinkles all around his face, he is indeed 90 yrs old. He was patiently waiting for his turn, calm and composed, I could notice him carrying 2 voter id’s and booth slips with him, must be his wife’s, I thought, but he was all alone, might be his wife would join him in the Q, I thought so.

The Q was moving slow, but steady. Me and my bro were indulged in miscellaneous discussions like the political scene in TN, whether or not the ruling DMK has any chance of coming back to power, the opposition and its alliance, fate of independent candidates, 49 O etc. The old gentleman in front of us was a silent spectator but made a few remarks here and there.

Finally, as we entered the Voting ballot, I noticed that along with the Voter id and booth slip, the old man was carrying his wife’s death certificate as well, I was puzzled. He turned to the Polling officer, handed his wife’s booth slip and said, "Sir, my wife is dead and here is her death certificate, somehow her name appears in the voters list, strike her name off and make sure that her Vote isn't misused”.

I stood amazed by the act of this old gentleman, it was my turn to cast my Vote. I am sure this would send the right message to people who consider election day as just another holiday.

Jai Hind

A Perspective on CASTEISM vis-à-vis Cultural Nationalism

I never wanted to write something on caste until a friend of mine was discussing with me that she isn’t able to convince her parents on her marriage plans as the one she wanted to marry belongs to a different caste. Well, to be very frank this is not something unusual in today’s society. Therefore I made a sincere attempt to understand how the caste system evolved over a period of time and how it is interpreted rather misinterpreted by today’s social order by and large.

Read on..

Although many Hindus subscribe to the belief that one is born into a certain caste, this belief is not supported by their scriptures (Holy Books). The caste system in India has degenerated into a system falsely recognizing men born in Brahmin families as Brahmins, even though they don’t exhibit the qualities of Brahmins. This has caused so many problems and I say with conviction, most of it is “Self Imposed”.

Let us try and understand the Castes’ i.e. “Varnasrama Dharma” as explained by Lord Krishna, the creator himself..

Brahmanas – Are the ones who possess and practice “Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness”.

Ksatriyas - “Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and leadership are the natural qualities of work for the ksatriyas”.

Vaisyas - “Farming, cow protection and business are the natural work for the vaisyas”

Sudras - Are those “who offer their labor and service to others”.

Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that “I created the castes, the caste system is created by me through the distribution of Gunas (tendencies, qualification or quality) and Karma (action, deed, work), meaning that according to what we do in this world here, so will our character be. Though I am the Creator of these things, do not think that I am partial, that I am taking sides, that I am performing actions; I am beyond the Gunas”.

According to Lord Krishna different people with different skill sets and qualification are categorized to perform their respective duties for the betterment and welfare of the society. But please note that the same lord Krishna mentions in the Gita that CASTE as explained above is not by BIRTH but by QUALIFICATION and WORK.

It was natural that a child born in a Brahmin family would be accustomed to the environment and naturally acquires the qualities to become a qualified Brahmin, likewise same was the case with Ksatriyas, Vaisyas and the Sudras. However no one could stop a Sudra from becoming a Brahmin if he desires to be so, of course after acquiring the necessary traits and qualification to become a Brahmin.

Let me try to explain this with a small example, let us assume four different professions in the society, Advocates, IAS officers, Doctors and Chartered Accountants. An advocate’s son or a Chartered Accountant’s son does not automatically qualify to step into their father’s shoes just because of their birth in respective families, if they wish so, they need to qualify themselves by clearing the necessary exams, internships, practice etc. The same way, a Doctor’s son can always aspire to become an IAS officer or a Chartered Accountant.

Now over a period of time, if all the IAS officers decide to make their children IAS officers, all the Judges decide to make their children Advocates and be obstinate that they would get their children married only to families which practice the same profession as theirs’ will that be fair? NO right, which is what, is happening in today’s India.

The qualities of a Brahmin are clearly explained in the Bhagavad-gita:

samo damas tapah saucam

ksantir arjavam eva ca

jnanam vijnanam astikyam

brahma-karma svabhava-jam

“Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness–these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work.”

These days, the samskaras (Hindu Rites) are generally not performed or not properly performed and the gurukuls, the training schools for the boys, are no longer in operation. So there is generally no training or practice. Therefore these sons of Brahmins who have no brahminical training have to be called “dvija-bandhus” or friends of the Brahmins. Unless they actually have the qualities of Brahmins and work as Brahmins they can’t be called a Brahmin, the same is applicable to the other three castes as well. You may even be qualified as a lawyer educationally but if you don’t practice, if you don’t work as a lawyer, no one will accept you as a lawyer.

A self proclaimed Brahmin or a Ksatriya for that matter (Just because his or her forefathers were once Brahmins and Ksatriyas), who neither posses the qualification nor the qualities to become one, feels hesitant to get their children married to ones who belong to some other caste, say Sudra or Vysya for no reason. It’s nonsense isn’t it?

Even during the period of Vedas, there were no restrictions in inter caste or inter societal marriages, it was left to the discretion of the individuals and there are ample evidences to support this fact. Let us take our very own Ramayana, Rishi Vishrava, the father of Ravana who was born to the great Rishi Pulastya (who was one amongst the 7 Sapta Rishis) got married to Kaikesi, who was born to an Asura King Sumali. We know the story of Rishi Vishwamitra who was once a Ksatriya Emperor who later became a Brahmin sage, a Brahma Rishi in fact who are considered to be members of the highest class of Rishis. These are just a few well known examples from the Puranas, as there are umpteen of them.

Let us truly introspect ourselves; the self proclaimed so called Brahmins, Ksatriyas, Vysyas, Sutras and thousands of communities which fall under these four categories, think that they are more sanctified than Rishi Vishrava, Brahma Rishi Vishwamitra or the Lord Krishna himself, If so, I am sorry to say, they must be making a complete fool out of themselves.

Mahakavi Bharathi, although born into an orthodox Brahmin family, gave up his own caste identity. One of his great sayings (Jathi irandozhiya verillai) which meant, 'There are only two castes in the world: one who is educated and one who is not. Once he said that he would be the happiest person on earth if his daughter gets married to a harijan.

We have very high regard for Mahakavi Bharathi and his poems; we sing his songs but neither understand its substance nor practice it in our lives. It’s high time that we wake up to the reality; it is not Lord Krishna or the Bhagavat Gita which says NO to inter caste marriages but our very own FEAR of rejection, dejection in family and societal circle which ultimately compels us to say NO. We are a part of the same Society which we fear to, be the change, the society would perfunctorily accept the change.


The concept of ‘cultural nationalism’ enjoins upon the adherents of different faiths in India to respect, and take pride in the common unifying culture of our ancient land while celebrating its many diversities.  Let us respect our rich culture and tradition our forefathers have left behind, let us take pride that we belong to this nation which is as diverse as the universe itself, let us esteem our rare and unique Vedas & Upanishads. Let us NOT get LOST by marginalized thoughts and emotions on castes which is relatively a recent development in our long standing history.

The need of the hour is CULTURAL NATIONALISM and not CASTEISM.

Jai Hind.

Note – I have referred to many websites, journals, blogs on Hinduism, Ramayana and the Bhagavat Gita, therefore I do not claim the above post as a result of my own, original thought process. This is just an expression of my perspective and how I look at the caste system.

Your comments and thoughts are most welcome.

TERROR (Forgotten & Forgiven)

The party which is in power in the state of Tamil Nadu with the support of a national party which is in power in the Center has showered compassion, well on whom?

Al – Umma (a banned terrorist outfit) Terrorists who were convicted by the Court of law a few years back. Most of us by now would have forgotten the serial explosions which happened in Coimbatore a few years back as it is our nature to forget outrageous incidents as and when a new one turns out (kudos to our memory).

The honorable Chief Minister of the state in view of celebrating the 100th birthday of the then Chief Minister Mr. Annadurai (Founder of his party) has released the Terrorists by way of reducing the severity of their punishment, who were convicted for the Coimbatore serial Bomb blast case which took away the life of 58 innocent people, injured more than 250 odd which include children, old aged people, bread winners of the family and pregnant women. This Chief Minister has showered sympathy by doing so on these extremists, hasn’t he?

Persuaded, provoked by religious hatred, a group of men whose main intention was to make innocent civilians shed blood, who were and are a part of the banned Terrorists group Al – Umma have now been sanctified with the blessings of our Chief Minister and were set free. Wow, I do not find words to explain the kind of concern our Chief Minister has shown towards these men whose main objective in life is to slaughter, slay the common man.

It is not just that those men who belong to a Banned Terrorist outfit’s punishment has been reduced, it is not just that those who were directly responsible for the death of 58 innocent people were set free, but its the Court of law and its verdict which is discarded to dustbin.

It is indeed interesting to note that there are law suits still pending to be decreed before the court against the group of men, to increase the severity of their sentence. These law suits have been filed by the family members, friends of the victims who have been killed brutally or injured severely during the explosions. Now these law suits filed have become completely pointless after the release of the Terrorists by our honorable Chief Minister.

Well, who is the court to decide, our Chief Minister does not have the patience, neither does he needs to wait for the judgment, since we the people of the democracy have vested so much powers with the Chief Minister. Long live our democracy.

The Central government, the Home Ministry, every now and then, scream on top of their voice that they wouldn’t spare Terrorists and Terrorist Groups which cause trouble and disturbance to the people of the country. Every other morning the Prime Minister would voice his concern over terrorist attacks which happen in every corner of the country time and again, but the State government which is being run with the support of the Central government has remained absolutely unspoken on this matter.

This very incident alone has devastated the Central as well as the State governments’ measures against terrorism. Long live our kindhearted Chief Minister so as TERRORISM.

The shame is that no news channel (Regional as well as English) had made this a cause for concern and voiced their views. Why would they, when the austerity drama of the politicians and the ICC champions’ trophy are making all the news.

Jai Hind.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome at ibs.hari@gmail.com