Why tiger?

Seriously, why tiger? Dozens of writers, artists, film-makers, historians and businessmen have used "tiger" in their works - Tiger Airways, The white tiger, Crouching tiger, hidden Dragon, even Tiger woods. What makes this charismatic animal so attractive, to be used not literally but more so as a metaphor?

 

Random fact - there are no tigers in Sri Lanka. So probably Prabhakaran also believed that "tiger" is far cooler than "leopard/panther", smaller cousins that inhabit the island in no small number.

The following hypothesis crops up instantly -
  The tiger has been confined to the Orient. The proof of this lies in its (former) distribution. From the Caspian Sea in the North West to the Amur river and Korea in the North East; from Mesopotamia in the South West to Bali and Sumatra in the South East. This has had a profound impact on the culture and lives of practically every Asian community. People have lived alongside tigers for thousands of years and awe and admiration is a common denominator among them. Hindus associate tigers with Goddess Durga, the people of Bengal believe in a heavenly truce with tigers while the Chinese revere the Tiger as a 'king' for the markings on its forehead resembles the symbol of Wang, Chinese for "king". So all that the Europeans had heard of it until 200 years or so  were in tales, hugely exaggerated like most stories of the time. Perhaps "Chinese Whisper" isn't as racist as we think. And when the Europeans finally came over to build colonies they probably transferred this reverence toward the cat to its elusive yet brave characteristics - of skulking in thickets as much as possible but giving the hunter a valiant fight when cornered.
So here's a hashtag that can be used - a synonym for any of the myriad qualities that the tiger possesses/made to possess. Tiger Woods liked it and so did Arvind Adiga. Eastern Paintings hold tigers in great esteem and this has led to the all too familiar mystic image of the tiger.

Alas, this image has been yanked a bit too far by conservationists who believe that love for the wild tiger is universal. Aircel has gone ahead with the campaign, roping in celebrities who pledge to "save the tiger". The aam aadmi however sits in front of his old Onida, wondering briefly what he can do and then not finding an answer, he brushes it aside to mull over rising petrol prices.
Moral - this won't suffice to save the tiger. It must be left alone, in the wild and utmost protecting offered to all of the forests denizens and devoid of fanfare. Ranthambore's tigers will understand when I say inviolate.

links, for those mildly curious:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_(disambiguation)
http://www.maansu.com/the-cult-of-the-tiger-thapar-valmik-book-9780195660364 -  book available in college library

This is for those wishing to learn more about the tiger in the only "proper" way - to visit its forests. You might not see the tiger, but you will have a better perspective of his world and the need to protect him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Reserves_of_India

In my view, Edmund Hillary (George Mallory?) would have said the same thing had he been asked about the need to save the tiger. 

Robin Hood... We need you!!

We need a Robin Hood. Needn’t we?

When Senior Loseley says,” cometh the moment cometh the man”; Robin realises his need and saves the England. As his tales go, he was the man who robbed from rich and distributes amongst poor.  But what will today’s Robin Hood do? Will he rob banks? I heard about many gangsters that did the same in kosi region of Bihar. Or will they sit on fast until death as Baba Ramdev did? Our desi Robin Hood thinks that his fast will force government to make an agreement with Swiss banks (at least he knows the place) and then those private banks will give us money of their clients(if any). For a moment, lets create a hypothetical situation where the government has all the money that they want to carry their developmental programmes. What do you think they will do? As I say it often, the government will come up with a new developmental scheme aimed at painting the outer wall of home when the whole roof is rickety. In other words, government will envisage a new programme which will provide direct financial assistance to the poor. The faults with this kind of approach: first, without going to the root cause of the problem that is illiteracy and unemployment, they give them money to build houses or guarantees them job for hundred days per year. Second, they promote the habit of using crutches by a normal healthy person. I believe reservations and these schemes do not make you able but provide you an easy way to get a position which you are not able of. The correct path to development and progress should pass through the grass roots to top addressing every  questions that needs an answer.

Now, I will introduce you to some real Robin Hoods. Now when it is clear that rich in our era are beyond the limit of 13^th century Robin Hood, let’s see how these Robin Hoods are helping poor. Bihar’s per capita energy consumption is 80 KWh per year which is the least amongst all states. Even the second last state (Assam) has double than Bihar(170 KWh). To appreciate the patience of people there, please note that the national average is 631 KWh. When cities are short of power supply, why would villages get it. Gyanesh Yadav, Ratnesh Yadav and Manoj Sinha cofounded Husk Power System. Their company operates on 100% biomass; more specifically on the discarded husk. They are providing light to 25000 households in more than 250 villages. Of course they charge money for it, but they are creating 7000 local jobs and supporting education for 250 kids in nearby areas. Isn’t this what we expect from a Robin Hood? Farmers are most neglected and more sympathised section of society. I personally feel that they don’t get the required respect. Of lately, I came across an NGO founded by two IIT alumni. Shashank Kumar and Manish Kumar have started a NGO christened ‘Farms n Farmers’ which provides training and specialised suggestion on farming method and farming practices. Their suggestions have helped farmers in increasing their production and income.  

These stories are endless. But the question is how we can make a new story. People are waiting for their Robin Hood.

“cometh the moment; cometh the man…”

Nameless, faceless............. but no longer powerless

When Zinedine ben Ali celebrated New Years Day he would have been planning activities for the new year. His resolutions would probably have read- imprison more activists, embezzle more money, trample more human rights...... As president of Tunisia, his power was absolute and his authority unquestioned. Those who dared raise a voice of dissent just disappeared. He exchanged ideas on new torture methods and mass brainwashing at the Annual African Despots Convention (AADC). Just last year, he narrowly beat his buddies Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Gaddafi of Libya to win dictator of the year. This was mainly due to his groundbreaking work in the field of physical interrogation techniques to be used on civilians. Life was rosy. Little did he know that in less than two weeks he would have to flee the country with his ill-gotten gains and take refuge in another country( and just when he had found a new tax haven!!). Close on his heels his neighbour, Hosni was unceremoniously usurped from Egypt and then charged with over three decades of ruthless suppression and crimes against humanity. This was just the tip of the iceberg, as all other similar regimes in Africa and the Middle East erupted in an inferno of pent up rage and disillusionment. Who was responsible for these radical events? A crack NATO army? The US? A mysterious shadow corporation? George Bush?( the last one was assuming he can locate Africa on a map). No it was us- the common man in these countries finally decided that he would not lie down and keep taking sucker punches from his government. He would no longer allow himself to be the bleeding pinata while his president and army collect the spoils. This time they stood up to be counted.

The most powerful example of this was the famous "Million Man March" to Tahrir Square in Cairo. The ordinary citizens defied the army crackdown to walk to this iconic landmark and stay there until their demands were met. Hosni Mubarak was confused and did not know what to do. Using tanks had become outdated since Tiananmen Square 1989. There were a lot more people here as well. After weighing his options with his advisers, he stepped down. People 2 Despots 0.

It did not take long for this chain of events to extend to Libya, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen and Algeria. The ordinary citizens realized that individually they were powerless, but collectively they could sway empires. In Libya, Gaddafi had been particularly harsh on his subjects since the 70s. Now at 68, he still used his army to impose his will on the people. His personal guard however consisted of 40 virgin girls( this part is true by the way). One of the great obstacles to his assassination was a fight would break out over who would be the next person to get this security detail. The revolt there is ongoing as Gaddafi's top ministers try and find an amicable solution( to who next gets the bodyguards, of course).

The Middle East not wanting to be left behind decided to do away with the president of Yemen- Ali Abdullah Saleh. Like his fellow dictators( I was kind enough to add the "tater") he had kept up his regime for way too long. His disposal is currently underway and reports suggest that it may be nearing a conclusion. Bahrain also decided to join the party.

These events showed the enormous power of the citizens. Something that we forgot, when we traded hovels for skyscrapers, plains for cities and our primordial instincts for civilization. Civilization is a dangerously thin veneer, a facade behind which we hide our animal instincts. When put under pressure, the mask begins to crack and eventually slips off. Then we are once again at our most primeval and once again one of the beasts of the abyss. It is unfortunate that people should ever be pushed to this state, but if needed, they will fight back en masse and will win eventually. Let us hope that this tidal wave of revolution sends this region to the shores of democracy.

PS- In recognition of this, TIME magazine named a young Google executive from Egypt who led the revolt( Gael) in their list of most influential people.
PPS- The popular dissent blog "A gay girl in Damascus" written by an (allegedly) lesbian Syrian was later found to be the work of a man in Georgia. Epicfail.
PPS- By the way, am I in contention for the bodyguards?

Body Of Lies

Everybody lies!!! You , me, the person sitting next to you the one you might have met yesterday or the ones you might meet in the future. They all will have lied some time in their lives. I agree though that the frequency of lies varies from person to person. So today a person with a lower frequency of lies is deemed a very genuine and nice person, it’s that bad. When was the last time you lied? Last minute? Last hour? Last day?--- Can’t remember. Not your fault. It’s got inside our systems, it comes naturally to us, telling lies. Nowadays we don’t think twice before lying , but before telling the truth, we do think. We think whether it right to tell the truth. What will be it’s present and future effects, and that whether we are obliged to tell the truth. In this confusion we usually end up telling a very beautiful good looking lie.
The causes of telling a lie may vary are usually abundant. To save your reputation, to make the other feel good, to not do thing which you might have to otherwise have had to do, to for cover up a lie etc etc….
When you were a kid, I’m sure you might have done something you were not supposed to do. Like breaking the next doors auntie’s window, stealing toffees from your mom’s purse, using a slang for the first time. And when you were asked, you pulled up such an innocent face and denied the truth, you see your training began when you were quite young.
When you were in middle school, didn’t you bunk some classes? You might have been busy playing basketball while the teachers thought you were busy doing preparations for the annual day. When you were absent from school for a day, you so easily wrote ‘stomach upset’ as your excuse when you might have overslept or had just not felt like seeing your class chairs that day.
These seem quite harmless, they might and in fact they are but it’s not about the lies it about the habit of lying. We get so used to it that afterwards we feel that it is a kind of human right and we are doing no bad when we deny the truth. It’s the case with all of us.
Think of this, you might have been sitting in a movie hall laughing away with your friends while people at home thought that you were in your coaching class. As we grow up the reasons for telling lies changes but the habit does not. Now we don’t tell lies for petty things, we lie to the other when we don’t want any unnecessary discussion or argument , sometimes for avoiding a situation which might have posed a threat to you well being.
I am not advocating lies here. What I am saying is that today the situation is such that if you go around telling the truth each and every time , you will hurt most people and also suffer yourself. So we resort to lies, we are content with that. If today somehow we are forced to pay a rupee for each lie we say, India will truly become the economic superpower that it is waiting to become. Give it a thought.

Robin Hood - A Hero? Think Again

Outlawed by an evil sheriff, the brave, superlative archer and swordsman, dressed in green with his band of merry men – Robin Hood has been a part of the folklore for centuries. The self proclaimed king of Greenwood, Robin is no common criminal. As the famous saying goes, he robs from the rich and gives to the poor. The poor have little to fear from Robin Hood. His enemies are the rich and corrupt. In spite of being a law unto himself and using less than justifiable means to achieve his ends, the unanimous verdict seems to be that Robin Hood is an inspiring figure who did everything in his power to preserve justice.

But the tale has got twisted over time and the version that remains prevalent at present does not preach a very healthy idea. He is remembered, not as a protector of property, but as a champion of need. Not as a defender of the robbed, but as a provider of the poor. He was the first man who achieved goodwill by practicing charity with wealth which he did not own, by giving away goods which he had not produced, by making the rich pay for somebody else’s incompetence. He is the man who popularized the notion that need, not achievement, is the source of rights; that we don't have to produce, only the “want” of something is justification enough to demand ownership.

This has led to a scenario where the more a man produces, the closer he comes to the loss of all his rights. The efficient, productive, capable men are made to bear the burden of the rest of the society. Think about taxes. And in order to preserve equality and a nice sounding idea of justice things are just given away to undeserving folks who never stop begging for more. Think about reservations. Think about the numerous subsidies and loan waivers. They might be vital at times. But to what extent? Nowadays, the weak almost take it as their right to be rescued. They just take it for granted and make no effort to improve.

Until we learn that of all human symbols, Robin Hood is the most immoral and the most contemptible, there will be no real justice on earth.

*Adapted from Atlas Shrugged

JEE Mania - Is it woth it?

Monday afternoon , 3:45 pm. After trying vehemently for half an hour I finally give up. “What am I doing here?”, I think. This feeling was completely different two months ago when I finally decided to take coaching classes for my preparation for JEE.I was a lot more ignorant then. Fresh from my board exams which had gone pretty well the first questions that many asked me was ‘What do you plan to do now?’. It was a kind of rhetorical question , the answer was obvious
So I enrolled myself in one of the leading coaching classes of India with a hope that I will enter the portals of the ever so esteemed IIT’s. I was like an enthusiastic kid at first , we all are. Brimming with energy and enthusiasm and great plans for the future. Now I was pondering over the fact “Where did all that go?” I was quite certain of my success when I had seen this ad in the newspaper by a boy who had god a good rank in JEE. It said “I give all my credit to so and so instituion. I did not slog “ and all such related stuff which was mostly lies and was fed to the poor guy. Slowly but surely my enthusiasm started to wear. From enthusiastic I became optimistic.
The teacher said “So when you permute these many things these many times selecting 2 at a time you get the answer”
‘Answer’, I thought. That is the only thing I understood the rest was greek to me. I looked around I was not the only one , my neighbor was busy playing with his mobile while the guy ahead of me was busy in trying to woo his girlfriend over the phone. Hardly anyone was listening.
Such is the normal scene of most coaching classes. I am not saying that they are bad .(I owe a lot to my physics teacher) The point is , are they worth it? I’ve had many experiences of my coaching classes, few have been good rest could have been better. I’m sure most of you must have attended some sort of coaching or the other. You must have slogged away in your +1 and +2 to get into an IIT. Now comes the question . Is it woth it?
The IIT’s are increasing there seats exponentially. I won’t be surprised if after 10 years each state has its own IIT. Will the craze still be there? Probably yes. The reason being that this craze is artificial, man made , created by the media and coaching centres. As long as the craze is there they are benefiting. One should think over a point. Every year JEE is increasing its seat with liitle or no improvement in infrastructure . The net result being the quality of students and education is being badly affected. Some examples being the students of IIT Rajsthan and IIT Punjab don’t even have there own buildings .IIT Patna has a building but no labs. they are dependent on other institutes for all these ameneties. Yet people crave to go there. One more example Mr A gets such marks in JEE, he’s not selected in the main list, Mr B gets the same marks and is selected in the main list. Reason , he has a reservation. All these methods have detrimental effect on the quality of students in the II T’s. Considering all these facts would you regret the fact that you spent a fortune on the IIT coaching classes just to be a part of a useless rat race . Were you not influenced by the hype created? Would it not have been better if…..I have nothing against JEE . it’s just that I don’t think that the system it has created and what you get after it is not worth it . What about you ?

Satyagrah Of Words..

When Anna Hazare underwent an indefinite fast to promote the lokpal bill, no one would have thought that an action on similar lines would cause such an upheaval in the nation.
Perhaps it is the system or perhaps it is our frame of mind, but whenever an act ,however noble it may be, is associated in any way with politics or politicians, it loses most of its cause or the nobility. Baba Ramdev, who brought yoga closer to the common masses, who caught everyone’s attention through his sessions and his claims of curing diabetes and even some cases of cancer is now the talking point of the whole nation. Surf any popular news channel, you will inevitably see some new news related to him. We, in general, have a very bad habit; we don’t solve problems the way we should, we cook it up, add some spice to it and make a big issue about it, be it the roads in our locality during rains, or the electricity supply; same has happened in this case.
One thing should be understood here, baba ramdev’s intentions were never wrong, his motives were clear and were in the positive interest of the nation . But did he present his ideas in an equally clear cut manner, well that is something to think about.
Firstly let’s take a simple example, if you or I or any other common man decides to promote some agenda it won’t reach out to that large an audience. But if a superstar , say shahrukh khan or rajnikant decides to do so it would become an instant eye catcher. Same was the case with baba, he used the most powerful tool today to promote his agenda. He knew he was popular and he cashed it pretty well. Secondly, the prominent effect of BJP in baba’s ways and works did not help things either, not to mention the RSS . What should have been an honest and sincere effort to warn the government, turned into a political stage where people scorn at each other. Thirdly and this is the most important fact, baba ramdev made a fatal mistake by hiding from the audience the fact that an agreement had already been reached between him and the government the day before. So while baba and his supporters were rejoicing at their victory kapil sibbal was in another conference showing the paper that proved the aforementioned. What followed by both the parties was in no ways wise or in good interest of any of them. Fuming at the supposed betrayal, baba threatened to continue his fast, the police had to forcibly brake the gathering. There was a lot of unrest among all the supporters all over the country. But some questions still remain unanswered, why did ramdev hide the fact that he had an agreement had already been made the previous day. What is the role of BJP in baba ramdev’s protest. Government claims that baba ramdev was only questioned for 15 mins and then let go , on the other hand he claims a threat on his life and blames ‘sonia gandhi’ for that. The answers may not be clear but one thing is clear. What started out as an honest effort has now taken the form of a political issue. With the BJP using ramdev as a weapon and the congress in no mood to relent it seems it is the common man that will be at loss again.
We people are always fond of spicy things; spicy food , spicy gossip. This protest was plain, honest and simple, but the whole new political exposure has added a lot of spice to it. Let’s hope it’s just enough for us to savor.

The Shadow and Shine

Bharat and India are personification of two identities living in our country. India visualises itself as a state constituted by people doing hard work for every single penny they earn at MNCs, who go to malls, spend 200 bucks on a movie, make movie like bheja fry hit, and set the picture of our country as everything happy-happy. On the contrary, Bharat is constituted by people who earn their living by back breaking hard work at any construction site in Gurgaon, or the farmers working in scorching sun in any poor village of Uttar Pradesh, or illegal miners in the mines abandoned by CIL in Jharkhand.

India and Bharat are radically different in almost every respect, be it culture, language or lifestyle. Though the area of India has increased post 1991's change in policy of country, our government has recognised these two separate state in our country from a long time. As acclaimed, our budgets were also aimed at strengthening Bharat with rich India. It is still debatable if economist rate this trickle down effect as a success. Government has supported Bharat with many developmental programmes but they all are like first aid. Permanent cure is not yet visioned. Government has to recognize both India and Bharat as integral and equal partners in development of country. Because if India provides you with technology, products, and capital; it is Bharat which gives a vast mass of consumers for product and manpower for development. Gujrat supported programmes for both commoners as well as industries and they are doing well in percentage GDP growth. On the other end, West Bengal lost its advantage that it gained during colonial rule, by the confused government policies which were indifferent to both Bharat and India.

Today evening while changing channels, i found a news(from Rajesthan) where villagers were protesting against excessive use of water by "rich". They claim that "rich" are wasting water when the whole village gets no supply of water from last few days. This is a simple case where the two states of our country see each other with distrust.  Once there was similar situation with slight deviation. Then there were some limited number of people who controlled vast area of lands and were called land lords. This led to rise of naxalism. Unchecked and unbalanced gap between Bharat and India can have similar devastating effects. There should be some way in which both the states understand each other's importance and respect their mutual existence. Now, government in general and society in particular, should make effort to reduce the widening gap between the Bharat and India, because then only we can create a country which assures justice, liberty and promotes fraternity among countrymen, as envisioned in preamble.

One linear transformation at a time...

MATRIX - (Mind And Thought in Radical Information Xchange) is a discussion forum at BITS Pilani Goa Campus where people come together and share their views on various subjects. In the recent past, our events such as the short film festival and interaction with top Goan authors have been very successful and the audience has gone back with a lot to think about.

Exchanging ideas, learning from each other and facilitating intellectual growth are the goals of MATRIX and to further this process, we have started this blog - Linear Transformation of Words. Since the dawn of civilisation, the written word has been the most powerful medium for transforming the collective thought process and driving the general upliftment of mankind. Today, in the digital age, we have a number of excellent tools at our disposal - the blogosphere being one of them. Through this blog, we aim at revolutionizing the way the world looks at itself, the way the world thinks; and we're taking it one linear transformation at a time. If any of this can spark a thought or get you going to do something wonderful, our purpose will be served.

Enjoy reading!