I am no jingoistic nationalist linguist ruing what many have rued before me. I just happen to belong to a generation which I believe is single handedly responsible for making Hindi what it is today. I am from a generation which is not good at Hindi and is proud of it. We are anyway sh*te at English but like to think we know it well. I have to strain my senses to speak one complete sentence strung together with only Hindi words. I am not much better at English either. I write a blog in English and maintain a site in English, partly because I cant write much Hindi and even if I manage to, my readers sure wont understand most of it. We also live in times where people are judged on their English speaking abilities. If you are polite and speak Hindi, you have probably not made it in life and would never do it. If you speak English, courtesy does not matter. You are very likely either someone big or someone connected or both.
I wonder how it came to this. I am not one of those people who whinge at change. Its nice to see things changing, thats the way it is supposed to be. To see a language dying, however is sad. To see an entire art of expressing your thoughts wilt away? To see tons of literature, where you can learn a lot from going waste? These are just catastrophic scenarios and yet they are coming true. By letting the education system veer towards teaching everything in English (except thankfully Hindi as a language) and not do it well and then let the world buy our 'cheap English speaking skills' (which are dubious at best), I dont know where we have reached. In isloation, I dont think either of this is bad. English is the international language, no harm learning it. If you speak better English than others and can earn bread for it, thats even better. What are the fallouts though? That we are often found lacking to find words?
I dont want to cringe and whinge more. By letting it reach here, Hindi does not lose. I am the loser. Starting today, I am going to start reading some long pending Hindi books, only because there is a lot to learn there which I have been missing. I may not find all of them here. Will anybody volunteer to send me some books please? Dont worry, I will pay.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Why the caste system is ok
This post is going to surprise people. One, because some have thought I stopped posting here. Two, the nature of the beast is such that calling the caste system ok is perhaps a big taboo. This is just an attempt to provide a perspective.
Ever noticed one of the first things we learn as we develop senses? To distinguish! This is mom, this is dad. This is good, that is bad. This is safe, that is harmful. The ability to distinguish is one of the most basic human (and animal) faculties, one which can distinguish between survival and death. The line is fine. Flirt with it and you could be history. Thats ofcourse not that true in today's human world because of how far we have come from natural surroundings and habitats. The point is distinguishing is central to our existence and society.
Fast forward a few years. When we grow up, whats the first thing we do subconciously on meeting people? We try and place them. Place them amongst the stereotypes we know. Our general chit chat starts with education, family, backgound, occupation. Why? We are judging where in the social echeleon does the person facing us stand. Above us or below us? And often, not necessarily intentionally, our judgement has a bearing on our behaviour. How many people have you seen speaking very politely to a guy cleaning a drain? How many people have you seen speaking rudely to someone getting out of a Mercedes?
Banks 'segragate' their customers by the total money they hold with the bank. Those with less money dont have personal service, are not offered all the products, sometimes dont even have their calls picked. Simple, they are not priority. Same goes for all corporates. Philip Kotler called it 'differentitation', as much amongst the people as of the product.
Countries segragate between people using passports. If you are an Asian (ex Japan) and want your passport stamped by the US, you know what you need to go through. Even if that happens, reach JFK and expect a strip down search. Does that happen to a US born US citizen? No, because he/she is perceived to be a lesser threat, both as a terrorist and from a resource drain point of view. India would do the same to a Pakistani citizen. Isn't it always about allocating more resources (which are always constrained) to a few?
The point I am driving at is, we have an inherent insecurity which is perhaps part of being a living being. We want to eliminate that insecurity by putting checks and balances in place to aid survival. We dont want to feel threatened by anyone around us. We need to know who to please and who not to please. We dont want unnecessary complications anywhere. Only as much is necessary to be handled.
Now, rewind back to a rural society. All people have similar assets, land and animals. The earnings are not much different as well. Maybe the richest (except the king of the territory) earns 4 times that the poorest in the village. The society is growing. It now has 5000 people. How do they differentiate? How does one part of the society feel better than the other? How do they ensure better resource allocation to a few? The measures we use today are non existent. The society has not 'globalized and liberalized'.Travel is limited between a few villages, countries do not exist. The world is not networked, MNCs do not exist. Kotler is still not born. There has to be some way of pigeonholing people. Caste system it is! You take occupations and arrange them in a hierarchy and you have the answer. Just to further secure the causes of your insecurity, the powers that be also decree that occupations pass down from generation to generation.
Now when there is nothing wrong with statistical analyses of various kinds, when there is nothing wrong with differentiation amongst nationalities, what is wrong with the caste system? Nothing, except that in today's context, its a little outdated. With new parameters to segragate on, the caste system is not needed. So, lets stop fooling ourselves when we say we dont believe in caste but do believe in segragation. You either believe in both or you dont believe in either. So looking down upon rural societies who still exercise this is not really holy. We do the same thing, in a different way. Just as we think we are doing right in our way, they are doing right in theirs.
Ever noticed one of the first things we learn as we develop senses? To distinguish! This is mom, this is dad. This is good, that is bad. This is safe, that is harmful. The ability to distinguish is one of the most basic human (and animal) faculties, one which can distinguish between survival and death. The line is fine. Flirt with it and you could be history. Thats ofcourse not that true in today's human world because of how far we have come from natural surroundings and habitats. The point is distinguishing is central to our existence and society.
Fast forward a few years. When we grow up, whats the first thing we do subconciously on meeting people? We try and place them. Place them amongst the stereotypes we know. Our general chit chat starts with education, family, backgound, occupation. Why? We are judging where in the social echeleon does the person facing us stand. Above us or below us? And often, not necessarily intentionally, our judgement has a bearing on our behaviour. How many people have you seen speaking very politely to a guy cleaning a drain? How many people have you seen speaking rudely to someone getting out of a Mercedes?
Banks 'segragate' their customers by the total money they hold with the bank. Those with less money dont have personal service, are not offered all the products, sometimes dont even have their calls picked. Simple, they are not priority. Same goes for all corporates. Philip Kotler called it 'differentitation', as much amongst the people as of the product.
Countries segragate between people using passports. If you are an Asian (ex Japan) and want your passport stamped by the US, you know what you need to go through. Even if that happens, reach JFK and expect a strip down search. Does that happen to a US born US citizen? No, because he/she is perceived to be a lesser threat, both as a terrorist and from a resource drain point of view. India would do the same to a Pakistani citizen. Isn't it always about allocating more resources (which are always constrained) to a few?
The point I am driving at is, we have an inherent insecurity which is perhaps part of being a living being. We want to eliminate that insecurity by putting checks and balances in place to aid survival. We dont want to feel threatened by anyone around us. We need to know who to please and who not to please. We dont want unnecessary complications anywhere. Only as much is necessary to be handled.
Now, rewind back to a rural society. All people have similar assets, land and animals. The earnings are not much different as well. Maybe the richest (except the king of the territory) earns 4 times that the poorest in the village. The society is growing. It now has 5000 people. How do they differentiate? How does one part of the society feel better than the other? How do they ensure better resource allocation to a few? The measures we use today are non existent. The society has not 'globalized and liberalized'.Travel is limited between a few villages, countries do not exist. The world is not networked, MNCs do not exist. Kotler is still not born. There has to be some way of pigeonholing people. Caste system it is! You take occupations and arrange them in a hierarchy and you have the answer. Just to further secure the causes of your insecurity, the powers that be also decree that occupations pass down from generation to generation.
Now when there is nothing wrong with statistical analyses of various kinds, when there is nothing wrong with differentiation amongst nationalities, what is wrong with the caste system? Nothing, except that in today's context, its a little outdated. With new parameters to segragate on, the caste system is not needed. So, lets stop fooling ourselves when we say we dont believe in caste but do believe in segragation. You either believe in both or you dont believe in either. So looking down upon rural societies who still exercise this is not really holy. We do the same thing, in a different way. Just as we think we are doing right in our way, they are doing right in theirs.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Ganjing
Its a term in Hinglish used to describe shopping (sometimes window) in the Hazratganj area of Lucknow. I went Ganjing many times when I studied here for 2 years. It was however, narrow minded Ganjing, covering just some restaurants and eating joints. Today was a little different. For starters, I had an SLR in my hand, an itch to click in my head and a friend getting engaged tomorrow. The places I saw therefore, were quite different.
Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar guides the Lucknow crowd on its way to shopping.
The telecom wars have reached Lucknow. BSNL, the country's largest operator and Uninor, a new operator fight it out on the main street of Hazratganj.
The nawabi Nagra shoes on display in a Janpath shop. The price tag depends on where you buy them. Cheapest in Old Lucknow, costliest in Hazratganj and a compromisable compromise at Janpath, these are best worn with Kurta and Payjama.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Tunda Land
The Confused is wandering to Lucknow on 1st April (and its no fool's day joke). The Confused was not very bright when he was earlier in Lucknow. Infact, he was dumb enough to be vegetarian in the land of Kebabs for full 2 years. This will be a short opportunity but the confused is not confused enough to not make full use of it. 3 days, 12 possible meals, all on kebabs and sharabs. The new Nikon D5000 will accompany the confused and will try to capture stuff when the confused is kebabing and sharabing.
Meanwhile, the confused also came back from an arduous trek in the Dhauladhars. Read more about it here.
Meanwhile, the confused also came back from an arduous trek in the Dhauladhars. Read more about it here.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Desperate Times
Desperate times call for desperate measures. When you are running 3 blogs, seemingly thinking they are unrelated but the distinction often blurs, you are desperate for people to read all 3. People cant but not keep up. So, you go and post on one blog and post about it on another one. I am leaving for another trek day after, more here.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Whispers in the Mountains
Whispers in the Mountains, thats the name of the new blog. Its not hosted on blogspot. Its hosted on Trek Himachal. Just so that the agenda is clear.
1. Whispers in the Mountains - will contain travelogues for all my treks/trips within Himachal, any side/small trips I do or other bit of interesting information about Himachal. If you subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog, you will know Himachal better.
2. The Confused and The Wandering - personal blogs like the famous drunk blogs and any trips which dont fit in on Trek Himachal like the Annapurna Trek. If you subscribe to this blog, you will know me better.
3. Sunsetophilia - ofcourse, what else, you will know sunsets better.
1. Whispers in the Mountains - will contain travelogues for all my treks/trips within Himachal, any side/small trips I do or other bit of interesting information about Himachal. If you subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog, you will know Himachal better.
2. The Confused and The Wandering - personal blogs like the famous drunk blogs and any trips which dont fit in on Trek Himachal like the Annapurna Trek. If you subscribe to this blog, you will know me better.
3. Sunsetophilia - ofcourse, what else, you will know sunsets better.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Blog and News
There comes a time in every website's life when she realizes that she is too large to exist the way she has. She then needs to restructure herself and feel in better shape. All the flab needs to be shed and all the curves accentuated to make her look good. I think this is happening to www.trekhimachal.com. Ha, what a joke! I know anyone who reads this is going to laugh out loud. Too big? That website which has barely had double digit visitors in the last 6 months?
Well, yeah, like it or not, it is happening to Trek Himachal. Her lover after long procrastination and then a long discussion with his brother realized that she actually is a little out of shape. It will be a painful process. There wont be any VLCC thinning classes. Just plain good diet and lots of exercise.
As part of this restructring, all travelogues on the site will slowly shift to a blog created on the site. There will also be other content about trekking and Himachal which has been lying in the wastelands of my right brain. Very creatively, the blog was called 'The Trek Himachal Blog' till I realized I could possibly not feed such tripe to my readers. It is being renamed as I write this and I dont know what will it be called. That notwithstanding, its available on the top menu of the site and will get updated quite frequently. It can also be accessed at http://www.trekhimachal.com/newsite/blog and an RSS feed is available. Meanwhile, ofcourse The Confused will keep Wandering here and the sun will keep setting elsewhere.
This is the time to prove yourself. If you really are followers of this blog, prove it by following the yet-to-be-named blog as well.
And yes, any views you have about the site, please feel free to post. I know the maps are shit, I am already working on that. Ta and Ciao till we talk next.
Well, yeah, like it or not, it is happening to Trek Himachal. Her lover after long procrastination and then a long discussion with his brother realized that she actually is a little out of shape. It will be a painful process. There wont be any VLCC thinning classes. Just plain good diet and lots of exercise.
As part of this restructring, all travelogues on the site will slowly shift to a blog created on the site. There will also be other content about trekking and Himachal which has been lying in the wastelands of my right brain. Very creatively, the blog was called 'The Trek Himachal Blog' till I realized I could possibly not feed such tripe to my readers. It is being renamed as I write this and I dont know what will it be called. That notwithstanding, its available on the top menu of the site and will get updated quite frequently. It can also be accessed at http://www.trekhimachal.com/newsite/blog and an RSS feed is available. Meanwhile, ofcourse The Confused will keep Wandering here and the sun will keep setting elsewhere.
This is the time to prove yourself. If you really are followers of this blog, prove it by following the yet-to-be-named blog as well.
And yes, any views you have about the site, please feel free to post. I know the maps are shit, I am already working on that. Ta and Ciao till we talk next.
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