The Subsidy Tamasha

There was once a king. He was known to be very kind, and since he had no dearth of money in his kingdom's coffers, he put up a new policy. For all those who registered themselves as 'Lazy', he opened a free choultry, where the basic needs of Food, Clothing, and Shelter would be taken care of at the King's cost. 

In time, there were too many people who registered for the service, and the capacities were full. The scheme was eating into the kingdom's coffers big time, and the ministers took an SOS to the king one day. They said at this pace, most of the kingdom would call themselves lazy and that the kingdom would run bankrupt in a few months taking care of all those masses. The Chief Minister was a smart man, and he argued with the king that though all those people were enjoying free lunch, not all of them were actually lazy. He pointed out several who left their professions in order to lead a life of laziness; and that caught the king's attention. With the council, he hatched a test to check whether all those people were really lazy.

The next afternoon, after a heavy lunch, while the lazies were all lazing, the King ordered for the Choultry to be set on fire. As soon as shouts of 'Fire!' rang out, most of the people ran away and waited in the fields nearby. Some even ran back to their homes. As the flames got closer, the other stragglers who expected that the fires would be put out also slowly made their way out, and finally only three people were still lying in, preferring death to physical activity!

The king then arranged for soldiers to bodily carry these three people out, and announced that these were the only 'real' lazy people in his kingdom, and made arrangements for them to live on a subsidy. The others were rebuked, and sent back homes to get back on with his lives. And the king learnt a lesson that day.

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The Food Security Bill is now almost through, and there's an estimated 81 Crore people who stand to benefit from this bill, being termed as 'Antyodaya'. Probably since I'm among the remaining 30 Crore people, I may I may be seeing this differently, but either way, with my layman economics, I see this breaking the back of our already horrible economy! 

Estimates from last July, when the bill was in talks of being tabled, show that this new subsidy alone could cost the exchequer a whopping ₹1,30,000 Crores!! Here's the Article from Money Control. 

This article is not just to talk about the Food Security Bill. I've been simmering about the populist measures our politicians have been doling out for decades now - from the Mandal Commission regularizing the infamous reservations policy, to the failed (but masked) PDS, to the sham that is Minimum Guarantee Price for farmers, to the joke that is MNREGA. Yes, there was no social media active when this cascading effect started back then, but why did mainstream media remain silent? Why did the intellectuals allow this house of cards to be built, and built higher each year? Was it because the people who mattered all had a hand in the ever-growing pie? Or did they really think this was going to be beneficial to the country?

The King in our story started out subsidy as a policy because he had an abundance of wealth in his treasury. But in India, we've never had an abundance of anything except for shallow thinking, selfishness, and idiocy! Why did this crime not get nipped at the bud? Or atleast as a flower? Wikipedia has had this article up for long, and the damage is visible as the stats are updated each year. Already, it shows that there's a 3% of GDP for center and 6%+ for states, running into lakhs of crores of rupees! The article says 'leaving the merit subsidies aside, the remaining subsidies amount to 10.7% of GDP'!! And the merit subsidies have a recovery rate of barely 10%, which again is a written-off expense of the remaining 90%!

Now, I'm not an economist. I'm just a common man paying my tax each year, and I don't really enjoy crunching big data. But even with my limited understanding, there is a simple question that pops up constantly - Whose father's money is it??

Will no one bell the cat? Won't anyone dare even speak up about the issue? Ok - if the problem is too big to handle, here's a simple suggestion. Since the political parties are all primarily bothered with their voter base, and they will swap the country's economy for a bunch of votes in a blink of an eyelid, why not get together and talk it out? Yes - if one party suggests reduction in subsidies and a reduction in the doling out of non-worthy grants, the others will tear into it and make the party history! But then, the truth is that even if a party wins on the merit promising an increased subsidy, they can't afford to give a successful budget come March. And the next 5 years are going to be hell to the new parliament! Instead, how about if all parties get together and commit that they won't promise an increase in subsidies. The maths will show that it is not possible anyway. Instead, let them talk about something else! Win on something other than increasing the intake into the free choultry that the government has forced itself into running. Like the jewelry stores, when they all decide that they won't sell at less than 6% or 8% making charge, what option do the people have? They either have to buy at that price, or quit buying gold altogether. With cooking gas and fuel and food, quitting isn't an option really. So have a common agenda of rolling it back over the next 10 or 15 years, and plow those gains back into development. People will be able to afford it themselves once they have confidence and a way to legally earn decent money! And have a really good system of identifying those that are really 'poor' and don't make it a stunt for that one extra vote every five years. This'll do well for the others in the long run, as well as help the incumbent governments funnel better facilities to the people that genuinely deserve them.

The King atleast had a wise council of ministers. We neither have a king, nor a council who can be termed wise. All our wisemen are either dead or pretending to be. Who'll set the fire now?

Why so intolerant??

There is a lot of discussion that happens on Twitter. Common folks take up sides and fight it out with a vehemence which even the principals of the topic under contention wouldn't be able to bring out.

And every day I wonder about the level of intolerance - Religious, especially - that is festered on these platforms. We call ourselves educated, and we say that we're the future of a 'new' India. But each day, there is further proof that the New India isn't all that new. Yes, there's technology. Yes, our disposable incomes are going up. But at the same time, so are our levels of intolerance. So are our levels of idiocy.

Here is what i'm speaking specifically about. Read through the tweets first. @vizagobelix is me, the rest are strangers. I never spoke to them before today. 

I'm fairly certain the conversation isn't over. There will be a response to that, and it goes on - as it does in millions of conversations on these platforms every single day!

But coming back to the title of this post, this tweet-exchange is just a case in point. Why have our levels of tolerance gone so low? And here's the cherry on top - the guy's profile says that he's a Gandhian, and a student of Conflict analysis and Peace building :)

This chap isn't even serious. Poor guy. Got caught in a conversation when I was incensed on the subject, and he got up here! The real issue is that the biggies are no different. Folks that command a great following and influence thousands of people with every tweet. Those are the real danger. Whether it is Godhra, Snoopgate, Muzaffarnagar, NIA giving clean chit to the so-called Saffron Terror, or opinions on the Communal Violence Bill, on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, opinion from well-heeled people often is misconstrued as fact! And with retweets and shares happening in real-time, the damage to thought processes is done before we even realize it! It has often happened that people like the much-followed Jaaved Akhtar have said stuff they did not read into, and have later apologized and removed their opinions on it. But by then, it's touched thousands of thought processes, and there's no Ctrl+Z for that!!

When did we get so intolerant? Babri Masjid happened, Mumbai riots happened, Gujarat 2002 happened, 26/11 happened. But through it all, we've been stoic! We've lived our lives as we've had for hundreds of years. We've all risen up and become stronger. But someplace along the way, we got caught up in the glare of fame. And we started taking ourselves too seriously. The fine line between opinion and fact blurred, and our lives changed. We started wearing our religions on our sleeve, and politics seeped into our daily lives. In a way, we've all become politicians, echoing the upper strata of the wing we consider ourselves a part of. New terms came into being, meanings of existing terms changed. Perception became stronger than the truth, and the sad thing is that we all seem happy with it!! Is this how the future is going to be? If so, 'New India' is going to be way unhappier than the Old India was. And I would rather be a part of the old.

The Shutdown Hullabaloo!

Yes, for the first time in 17 years the US Government is going into a partial shutdown. And yes, it is being splashed the world over, on every channel, and experts are discussing it on Social Media. The world is talking about almost nothing else.

But 10 crore people are wondering about why this is garnering so much attention! Afterall, the shutdown is hardly a few hours old!!

In Andhra Pradesh, we are on Day 63 of the Seemandhra agitation, and people have gotten used to an alternate pace of life. Yes, public transport hasn't been plying for 2 months and people complained in the initial days about the high fares, but now we're enjoying the quicker pace of transport and roads without buses! Schools are out, and the first couple of weeks were worrisome; but now, the good thing is that no student dare be failed by the state government in the exams next year! Land and Home registrations are out, and the only ones worrying are the banks, since there're no home loan applications! Government offices are not functioning, and honestly, people have realized that there's not much difference anyway. If given an option, I guess a lot of people would anyway vote to keep several departments permanently on strike. No difference, you see; and a lower state deficit!

Rediff has written a huge article about How the US Government Shutdown will affect services. The article says that across the country, close to a million workers could be put on unpaid leave. Then it says the National Parks would be shut down. National Parks???? Courts would function as usual, the IRS would function with delays, and so on the article rambles.

Lawyers, Teachers, Government officers, the entire bureaucracy, State-owned Public Transport, the entire legislature, have all been shutdown for 60 days now. National Parks?? Sorry if that doesn't catch our attention :)

Banks haven't worked for a lot of days in between, every other junction has a blockade by some or the other department, emergency response time has gone through the roof, power and water supply has become even more erratic than before. And we take it in our stride.

Many million people have been put on unpaid leave, and many many more million have been affected by the shutdown - and its been two months!!

So, apologies, US Government, if this chunk of population doesn't pay too much attention to the shutdown you seem to have on hand. If you'd like, we can form a Joint Action Committee (or two) and send it over, so they can bring all their 'shutdown experience' into play. We might even be able to find you a sponsor for this media coverage, so you can offset some of the Obamacare expense with these earnings.

Do remind us when you get to 60 days, and we'll tune in! (if we're not then at 120 days!)

My contribution to the Samaikyandhra struggle

I'm a proud resident of Andhra Pradesh too. Was born here, and paid most of my taxes here. Helped create a bit of employment in the region too.

For the last month, I've been a party to all the anguish my brothers and sisters have been going through by trying to keep the state united, and I feel guilty for not participating in their struggle.

So here is what i'm doing to do. For the month of August, I choose to withhold my taxes. 

I will not declare income I earned in this month, and won't pay taxes for it. 

 If you're a Samaikya-vadi, just skip this section and go to the end of the article. If you're a rationalist, here's some logic. Honestly, I think all of us have anyway spent more than what we would normally pay as tax for these 30 days - because of the repercussions of 'our' struggle. Here are a few samples in case you doubt my statement - 

• Public transport hasn't been plying, and private transport is charging an arm and a kidney to get us to anyplace.
• Schools were out for 2 weeks and to placate my daughter's pent-up energy, I had to take her to movies, outings, the beach, and more. That costed me probably 10 times of the normal school fees - which I had anyway paid in advance.
• Unknown number of hours spent waiting at traffic jams owing to the ubiquitous human chains at major junctions, several hours wasted waiting in lines the day before the petrol pumps went on a strike, several more hours wasted because we could not open our office till the 'protesters' finally went home, days wasted because the banks would not allow us to transact, and I'm sure there are more!!
• Increased prices of almost everything in the state - because of non-availability of transport options.
• And the sheer mental anguish of worrying about our state - fuelled constantly by our ultra-responsible media.

There are more, but i'm sure you get the gist. If you're a rationalist, i'm sure this logic should make sense.

If you're on the Samaikyandhra side, people protest in all novel ways - there are mass-feeding programs happening at cross-roads, half-naked marches on the beach, thousands of effigies being burnt all over the state (no wonder the smoke got to Mrs. Gandhi and she got sick yesterday), and today there were boats protesting the bifurcation on the beach. I can't do any of those. So I choose to protest in the way of my choosing, and in my heart, I'm with you guys! 

And yes, do take this till the election. I won't declare income at all. Small price, considering all the angst we're going through!!

The Syringe and the Showerhead

At home, we have a showerhead which keeps getting blocked due to the poor quality of ground water supplied by the city. Of the hundred or so holes, every day a few get blocked, and in a few days, there's just a trickle that comes out of it.

Earlier, my idea was to use a safety pin (since the nozzles are narrow and difficult to get to) to poke them out once in a few days. For convenience, I used to leave the safety pin in the bathroom. Then I realized that because of the moisture all around, the pin itself would rust in a week or two, and would break when I try to clear out the blocked nozzles. Also, because of the rust, it would not fit into the holes any longer, and would be discarded.

So I racked by brain, and came up with the brilliant thought of using a medical syringe. The good thing about the syringe is that it is sturdier than a pin, and is longer too - capable of pushing the sediments further away. But because it is longer, it would bend if I don't bring it out carefully, and the next nozzle would be difficult to get into.

However, since it is still better than the rusted old safety pin, I'm still with the syringe, probably for lack of a better option.

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Now, allow me to introduce you to the cast of characters in my analogy -

Showerhead - The awesome Indian Government

Safety Pin - All those poor people who did their bit to try and repair the system

Syringe - Arvind Kejriwal - for now :)

Bathroom - Our Society

Corny, right? Apologies for that. I've been thinking about this analogy for several months now - ever since my safety pins started rusting and breaking off. If you have the time, go back and read through the short analogy once again, and you'll see what I mean. Makes for some delightful reading.

Not that I take Arvind Kejriwal, and the team of people who're dedicating their lives to the cause of good governance, lightly. I love them, respect them, follow them on Twitter, 'like' most of the things they put up on FaceBook, and feel guilty each time they dare to oppose a wrong-doing which I support by default. I'm like most other Indians.

But then, the whole environment is that of a bathroom - moist. Feels fresh for a few minutes, and then becomes terribly uncomfortable. When we are struck by a malady that forces us to spend long durations of time in the area, we start hating it. And if - God forbid - we're required to clean it, we pay people handsomely to do it on our behalf! Anything to get away from the task.

The cause is great! It is a fabulous topic to discuss over coffee, and makes for some awesome fights on Social Media. But using the syringe every day, and that too without proper precaution, renders it unusable. When that happens, the syringe also joins the discarded pile of rusted pins. Yes, it is taller than the rest, it is shinier than most, and probably has been loved, respected, and used more than the rest, but the pile is the same.

Then we buy a new syringe. Or probably someone reading this post will suggest a better alternative, which will give me a showerhead that works as it is supposed to. 

An open letter to Dr. Chiranjeevi

Dear Dr. Chiranjeevi,

Happy Birthday!

My whole generation has grown up watching your films, and for us, you are the undisputed superstar. Every dialogue you spoke on the screen went into our vocabulary, and every dance move you made (and there were quite a few brilliant ones) were practiced for hours in front of mirrors. Almost every actor who came into the industry over the last few decades wanted to become a Chiranjeevi, and even today, your fan base remains legendary.

And not just in movies, your success story inspired millions to follow their dreams, and hundreds of them landed up in Hyderabad every week wanting to walk in your footsteps. You set a precedent by doing them all - negative roles, comedy films (which I think were your best), pot-boiler actions, and of course, evergreen romances. We stood for hours in queues to get tickets for your films, and if we were lucky enough to get a first-day seat, we were heroes in our own circles!

The way you came back after a false start to your second innings is a lesson to all actors. You moved effortlessly into characters which respected your age, without losing the sheen of a hero, and we all love you for it. There were a few bad film decisions you took before coming back strongly, but you did not lose it there.

Your entry into politics was well timed too, and I was part of the vote bank that thought you could repeat what NTR did in the 80s. In fact, we wished that with all our heart. And you even spoke about a Fourth Front at the center! But that was not to happen. It is painfully obvious that you did not have the best of counsel, and even I did not vote for your candidate when the elections came around. You've always set an example, and in politics also, you showed people how to throw it all away. Even the most politically unlettered would know that you've sort of lost your way after winning only those 18. Throughout your career, you've come back after being written off. You played bit roles in large films and large roles in bit films before taking the Telugu film industry to new heights. You've never given up; but then politics was probably a different ballgame. 

Losing the elections and throwing all our dreams away (which you gave wings to in your election speeches and through your manifesto) is pardonable. What is unforgivable is your giving in to temptation and power.

Somewhere along the way, you've lost sight of what you planned to accomplish - provided you were given the reins of the state. Or you probably never had a vision and were just reading out a speech. When a normal politician, who's made politics his career, changes allegiances and joins the same people he was mercilessly flaying till yesterday, we take it in our stride, and laugh it away as 'politics'. But then when you floated a party, we did not want another politician! We have too many of those. The state wanted someone like NTR who would change the entire playing field, and work genuinely for the good of the people atleast for a few years. How did you miss that? And thanks to your joining your erstwhile enemy, all those poor fellas who betted their all on your party became proper politicians too. 

But then that isn't the crux of this letter. It is to invite you back into what you do best. The biscuit you've been thrown will expire in a few years, and it is obvious that there's no more coming. Come back into films and look to serve the society through it! The industry always has place for Chiranjeevi. It gave you a Padma Bhushan, it gave you a Doctorate, it rewarded you with 9 Filmfare awards and 4 Nandis. Your fans are loyal. They'll all come flocking back. And you anyway have a few careers to mould. Leave politics, sir. You tried, but it is evident that you did not fit in. And don't contest the next elections - on any banner. Instead, float a different banner this time, and make a few good films! There are many voices waiting to be heard - great storytellers that are waiting to be discovered. Put them up on the screen. There is three decades of experience you've got in this - you can't lose! And come back to entertaining people. Give us another Chantabbai. Make another Rudraveena. Do another Indra.

You've come back several times in your career. Do it once again - it is time to leave that non-starter behind. We're sure there's a few good years left in you yet. Put it to good use. We're absolutely not interested in seeing you wave from a tricolored touring van. Give us back the Chiru we all love and respect. Please accept that this political journey of yours is a flop. Don't look to re-release it with new screenplay. This year's birthday has been a real damp squib. Let the next one bring us greater joy.

Jai Hind.

Heroes are made!

Recently, CNN-IBN ran a marathon campaign to identify and recognize the Greatest Indian since Mahatma Gandhi. There were a lot of names in the fray, most of them ones we expected to be on the list. Cutting a long story short, the finale decided that the Greatest Indian since 1947 had to be Dr B R Ambedkar, and that is where this article starts.

How many of us really know Dr Ambedkar? I'm not passing judgement on whether he's deserving of the sobriquet in this article. But then really, what I know of the man is only what I heard or read of him, and from the speeches people give each year on his birthday and gave a while ago for his centenary. The same is true of most people who were on that list. How many of us really know Sam Manekshaw, or for that matter, the real Sunil Gavaskar? The show had about 2 crore votes cast, and considering the stats that about 50% of our country is below the age of 35, at least half those votes would have been cast by people who did not really know the above mentioned people, including the winner. Honestly, we don't even really 'know' Lata Mangeshkar, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Milkha Singh, DhyanChand. What we know of the political class (which make up the bulk of the list obviously) is only what we studies in the Civics text books of school. Most of the voters in the fray wouldn't have gained any direct inspiration from these people. Yet they voted!

Ok, i'm getting ahead of myself here. Coming back to what I wanted to say, this brings to the fore an issue which is quite contradicting in itself. Most of the 'heroes' we've had growing up are ones who've been fostered on us by our earlier generation. We've got our own generation's heroes, and i'm sure we'll feed them to our next gen. This cycle will continue, and the world will live happily ever after. 

So does that mean i'm right in saying that heroes are made? And not consciously either! There is a game played by communication skill trainers the world over, called Chinese Whispers. The game involves a passing of messages from person to person, and the end result is often hilarious and the message they start with is entirely different by the time it reaches the last guy in line. The same is probably true of hero-making too. A great-grandfather, who probably did nothing more than to stand among thousands at a train station while the Mahatma waved from a passing train, becomes a close associate of Gandhiji by the time the story reaches today's kids as a bed-time story, and yet another anecdote becomes a legend. And a hero is born - much after the real person has left this world!

It is logical, right? And there is nothing wrong in it either. Just a way to ascertain our position in the world of today, as we are what we perceive ourselves to be. Malcolm Gladwell would probably have a thought point and a term for this phenomenon. Our past is our identity, and our future stems from the inspiration we derive of our bygone eras. Legends are what hold our past together, and there is always space for heroes in our past.

Meanwhile, we've crowned a legend from our grandparents' generation as the greatest Indian. I'm certain that when this same exercise is repeated for India's centenary of independence, some icon from our generation - probably a Sachin Tendulkar or an Amitabh Bachchan, or god forbid, some politician from today - will be crowned as the next legend. And the story goes on :)