15 Things I Miss About the UK

I was sure I’d miss the UK the moment I left it. One week in at my sunny and stunningly beautiful new home across the pond, I knew it for a fact – and now almost half a year later I still miss Old Blighty. Of course most of what I miss has to do with my friends and the life I had built over my 4 years there. But my daily interactions with the outside world have made me realise that I miss quite a few things about the country that has given the world Wodehouse, wickets and whinging. As someone with a natural aversion to lists, here is a list of the 15 things I miss most about the UK, in no particular order. Feel free to rub it in by suggesting quirks, habits or characteristics I have missed.

1. English

I currently live in California where everyone speaks Spanish or American. The cliche that the Americans and the English are ‘differentiated by a common language’ is visibly true here and I miss the language I have grown up with as an Indian. It has been ages since I picked up a Wodehouse book but he remains the first author I look for when judging the quality of a new library. To be fair, many English words I did not know until I moved to England and in many ways these are what I miss the most. Crisps, Faff, Waffle, Whinge, Suss, Tosh, Bollocks, Cheers (a word as ubiquitous as Bitte, in German) are just some examples. Gosh it felt good to say those out aloud! I also miss bin-bags. An equivalent word for these doesn’t exist in the land of trash-cans. And not just that. The rich vocabulary of swear words, the subtle and overt humour, self-deprecation, the love of puns… the list is endless. My next item on the list is closely related to this one but is something that is so apparent I felt it deserves a special mention.

2. The letter ‘u’

Humour, colour, vigour, rigour, succour, fervour.  To this under-appreciated letter, I say - I dread the day I’ll forget u! And on a similar note, I’ll throw in defence, offence, sceptic, practice, inflammable and the classic - aluminium.

3. Pubs

What better motivation can a man have for walking over multiple hills with muddy shoes, tired legs and a wet raincoat than the prospect of arriving at a friendly local that opens just for his group of tired hill-walkers, with a log fire and tall, cold pints of local ale, while the weather outside continues to be grey, wet and an excellent topic for conversation? Our hill-walking society was after all also known as the extreme pub-crawl society.And not to forget, pub quizzes. Monday evenings aren’t half as entertaining without the mandatory underwhelming but fun pub quiz!

4. Public Transport

In California there is one train line along the coast – admittedly stunningly beautiful – that goes from San Diego to San Franciso which is the greatest public transport achievement in this state, one of the most friendly for public transport in the US. The US of A simply does not do public transport to the extent that the UK does. To be fair, the UK is helped greatly by the fact that it is 1/30th the size of this humungous landmass. Still – and despite its exorbitant fares and underwhelming efficiency – I miss National Rail. At the very least I’d have something to whinge about!

5. Pancake Day

I don’t mind that the Americans smile at the drop of a hat and don’t believe in Easter holidays but I cannot excuse their total ignorance of Pancake day. I refuse to allow the only day that celebrates my favourite dish (who cannot like pancakes?!) to be lost in a marketing driven random-relative-day oblivion. Pancake day – you shall not be forgotten!

6. Grumpiness

Can’t have it all good, now can we? I sorely miss the grumpiness that goes with grey weather – My smile-muscles feel over-worked for no reason. By nature I am confused by unwarranted cheerfulness and as I am fast finding out, I am in the world’s worst place for a natural grump. Ah well, I’ll keep calm and smile on for as long as I can!

7. Tea

Though grown anywhere but in the UK the English love for the stuff is legendary. And as I realise in this uncivilised land of iced-coffee and coke drinkers it is black tea that is sorely missed. I’ve given up being a reverse-snob and hankering after PG Tips. Earl Grey or English Breakfast would do just fine thank you very much. As long as it’s black and I can choose whether to add a dash of milk to it.

8. The Weather

Yes OED, I am aware every place on earth has its own weather. But I still assert that no other country in the world lays claim to the weather as a topic of conversation, discussion and debate quite like the UK. I say this especially since conversations about the weather in the UK are not limited to the English. Anyone staying anywhere in the UK will inevitably start relying on his/her knowledge of the local weather systems for anything from deciding what to wear to a filler in an awkward conversation. No other country in the world, I am willing to bet, has companies encouraging weather-wise consumers to bet on the ‘chance of rain tomorrow’ for a free packet of crisps!

9. Charity Shops

Gosh, I almost forgot to mention these uniquely British and endlessly delightful dives. I haven’t seen charity shops anywhere else in the world (except for one chain in Norway, but that doesn’t come close). A charity shop is a treasure hunt venue, a haven of randomness, a Pound-land and a good cause all rolled into one. As someone who ordinarily can’t stand shopping I cannot fathom why there aren’t more of them!

10. Queues

While the English cannot lay sole claim to this polite habit they definitely are alone in the efficiency and severity with which it is practised. Nowhere else have I seen a two-person queue. And nowhere else have I seen the common sense practice of forming a common queue for multiple counters. I don’t get it – why isn’t this a universal standard?!

11. The Food

OK, I am sure this will raise a few eyebrows. The national food for vegetarians in England is curry, followed closely by pizza. But I am realising, the longer I am away that there are items I’d eat in England that I definitely miss. Sticky toffee pudding, bread-and-butter pudding, pies and gravy, hash browns and – this is certainly not English, but I am yet to find it/someone who knows about it here  – Halloumi. Oh, and to all my friends who promised me that the US is the land of the curly fries I regularly killed my heart with at uni – I am still to see any. Thank heaven these people know of cheddar!

12. The BBC

Not always appreciated in the UK, the BBC still brought me the best of English humour, drama and documentary. Black Adder, Yes Minister, Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo, Sherlock, Silk and David Attenborough are a few examples. Yes, I can VPN into BBC Iplayer in today’s connected world, but I still miss the luxury of having Paul Merton’s face appear on TV when I switch it on (Apologies to the Dr. Who fans – I am not yet fully English).

13. Brevity

I learnt English in India and brevity in England. It is, in my opinion, something unique to the English. The contrast here in the US is stark. The Americans are like the Italians of the English-speaking world. Take the following example: A train driver in England announcing a delay would say (grumpily):

“We’re waiting for a train to pass us and may be here for 10 minutes. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

In the US – at least on the one train-line I’ve been on the extra-cheerful announcement would go thus:

“Hey folks, our train’s been held up at a signal, and we are waiting for the oncoming train, which is the south-bound, to pass us. They have been delayed by 10 minutes, and as I said, we will have to wait for them, and so, we’ll be held up here for like 10 minutes. In the meanwhile, enjoy the view, and just to remind you – the cafe is open and serving drinks, so feel free to come here and buy food and drinks while we’re waiting. Thank you.”

14. Cathedrals

My favourite city in England and favourite get-away from PhD woes in Southampton was Salisbury. Less fancy than Winchester – and arguably less pretty on the whole – but what drove me there repeatedly was its cathedral. A magnificently long and high structure with a large lawn and a quaint Cathedral Close, it never failed to give me peace of mind. And I miss that. I miss being in a country where having a cathedral used to be necessary for becoming a city. The cathedral also figures in Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth – a great book I would recommend to anyone even remotely interested in cathedrals or in that corner of the world. Why have we stopped building such wonders?!

15. Marmite

As the last item (for now) on my list I’ve added the most “English” thing I know of. You could not be more English than if you were a sandwich with a thin layer of Marmite on butter. But who am I kidding - I can’t stand the stuff. Maybe next time.

Eight Times Today and LOL Sabha TV Announce New Reality Show

India’s prime-time entertainment channel, LOL Sabha TV and its premier political and legislative debating channel Eight Times Today have announced a new commercial joint project. Based on recent developments in India in the entertainment and political sectors, the two channels plan to film and televise a new political reality show called Kaun Rahega Crorepati? (Who Will Stay a Millionaire?) which will be telecast eight times everyday.

The show will last for five years, and in the words of key anchor and host Gonab Aswami, will be “entirely irreverent, and even more irrelevant” and feature “extensive rioting, violence, insinuation and chest-thumping, while providing intensive entertainment and ever-lasting fun.” The show is being pitched as a political reality and debating show that, while entertaining the millions of Indians with no electricity and no toilets, will also educate them on how to achieve absolute lack of governance in the majority of the country.

The essence of the show, according to Gonab is simple. Several crore-patis will be placed in a large room, and provided with vital statistics on each other, some loose furniture, a few weapons and microphones and then let loose. The objective of each participant is to appropriate the wealth of the others by any means, legal or illegal. At the end of the show (timeline yet to be decided, but probably 5 years), all participants with greater wealth than when they started will remain, while among those who have lost money or land, or remained honest and decent, 90% will be voted out.

While Gonab and the media directors of the two channels remain tight-lipped about the format of the show, some lowly-placed sources and potential participants indicate that it could be closely based on a standard format applied in India’s current goondacracy. These sources also have opinions on the show’s likely format. One crore-pati who refused to be named but has been previously filmed in a variety of uncompromising yogic stances, said that in his experience the show would have to follow certain basic rules in order to be successful. First, it should have an effective filter for its participants, with only those crore-patis being allowed in who had a minimum of 5 civil cases and atleast 1 serious criminal case against them.

In his words, “a serious criminal case, preferably that of murder and/or kidnapping is an essential quality to render the show entertaining. I mean, we are after all providing a service to the people, aren’t we?”. A true visionary, this man. He also said that the show should extend its participant base to include religiously offensive hacks, extremists and gun-toting, motorcycle-riding pseudo-religious thugs, in order to “add colour to otherwise dull debates on the principles of good living.” The writers of this article could not agree more.

Another crore-pati when asked about this, not only agreed but said he would go even further and “introduce a mandatory 33% reservation for new participants based on the distastefulness of their views on caste, race, sex, or sexual orientation.” This man however refused to be photographed (but was okay with being filmed) saying it would destroy his delicately constructed credibility amongst the masses. Unfortunately our team did not have a video camera, though several of his salutory opinions on forcefully obtainable world peace are available on Youtube.

Gonab Aswami, wishing the venture full success, said this would be the first time in television history that the entire population of the country – not just those with an Eight Times Today subscription – would be allowed to participate, by voting out participants. “Due to the rather considerable size of the TV watching population of India (Gonab is truly a master of under-statement), this voting would have to only take place once every five years” he said. “But, in the meantime, we will provide every irrelevant infographic and replay every video of a particularly violent debate several times to ensure that nobody misses out.”

Amidst allegations of copyright infringement from several such shows in the US, UK, the media directors of both Eight Times Today and LOL Sabha TV insisted that they have not been inspired by any of these shows, particularly, The Apprentice, The Indian Goondacracy, or the popular US reality show, Who Wants to Stay a Millionaire? (subtitle: at the expense of the hobo).

Gonab Aswami took great umbrage at this accusation and said “Never ever, ever ever, ever, ever” over and over again for the rest of the day. At the time of writing this article, we still await the end of his sentence and will bring it to you as it breaks. However, in the writer’s humble opinion, if the success of the Indian Goondacracy is anything to go by, this show will do well to be inspired by this gritty, entertaining and absolutely irrelevant drama.

Introducing, the world’s largest geronto-pluto-goondacracy

Guess what: India’s newest Parliament - and strongest  in 30 years, is also its oldest,  wealthiest and most criminal. India is not just the world’s largest democracy, but also the world’s largest gerontocracy, plutocracy and goondacracy, as statistics from the National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reform show.

One-third of our MPs are accused of being criminals. Some of the most goondacratic parties, in terms of percentage of criminal-charge-facing MPs, are the RJD in Bihar, the Shiv Sena and the NCP in Maharashtra. In the ruling party, the BJP, over a fifth of its 282 MPs face criminal charges. But hold on a second – does this mean the Congress is relatively clean? Why is the Congress, equally notorious for the criminal tendencies of its MPs, not even come into the picture here? Well, the answer to that is, fortunately, the Congress got trounced in these elections leaving many of its criminal candidates happily free of the onerous  - and increasingly dangerous - responsibility of sitting in Parliament.

It becomes even more scary when looking at those who could have made it in. Of 8,163 candidates for 543 seats, 27% - or 950 candidates – are millionaires (up from 16% in 2009), and 17% face criminal charges. Here the Congress leads the list for the number of millionaire candidates followed by the BJP. And surprise, surprise, the ‘Common Man’s Party’, the AAP, is not to be left out. The AAP is led by self-professed Gandhian Arvind Kejriwal who, in his campaign, emphasized the selection of candidates who would represent the common man. However, 40% of the AAP candidates in the state of Madhya Pradesh have criminal cases in court. I am sure the common man would resent this implication.  And of all these 8163 representatives of the people, 889 had serious criminal charges against them – i.e. murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, theft and criminal intimidation.

There is another delicious irony here. Dr. Manmohan Singh, India’s out-going PM, was widely seen as being an upright and outstanding individual surrounded by a brazenly corrupt and criminal establishment. A key attraction of the to-be PM Narendra Modi is his image as a clean politician. As it turns out he is going to find himself in a situation very similar to Dr. Singh. It remains to be seen if he will be able/willing to keep the corrupt and the criminal under check.

Oh, I almost forgot - India’s Parliament is steadily getting older, with over 45% of its MPs on the better side of 55. There is, paradoxically, a bright side to this – the majority of these ossified oligarchs, by the very nature of their jobs, will have a limited political shelf-life. Being a criminal takes energy and being an MP demands even more. Doing both at the same time, one could imagine, requires considerable vigour. While the new PM himself is a youthful 63, with a healthy 56-inch chest, the oldest oligarch is well over the 80 mark. Meanwhile, over half the country’s population is under 25. But more worrying than this generation gap – yes, I am afraid there’s more – are the trends. The numbers have been steadily going up on all fronts. India has long been progressing towards an increasingly gerontocratic government. But now, with our political parties becoming truly inclusive and secular towards all forms of -cracies, goondacratic and plutocratic tendencies are also on the rise. Since 2004, when it was made mandatory for candidates to declare criminal charges along with financial assets, these trends have been going up steadily.

Maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe the best, at any rate, the most entertaining, thing to do with a criminal millionaire is to put him in a large room filled with other criminal millionaires and handy, loose items of furniture, and let them fight amongst themselves in a televised reality show.

Of course, the only way to prevent these fights from spilling out into the countryside around New Delhi is to place these corrupt criminals under the watch of an exceptionally strong and incorruptible leader. Which is exactly what the electorate has thoughtfully and resoundingly done.

Did someone say, “world’s largest autocracy”?

 

Technorati Tags: India,democracy,2014 Lok Sabha,MPs,criminal

Debate: India, the nation that is not

Prelude

Imagine an empire whose individual kingdoms are not allowed to secede and whose representation in administrative affairs depends on their respective sizes and population. Now imagine further that these kingdoms can have their boundaries redrawn at will by the viceroys of that empire. It is only natural to expect that in such an empire the powers of the military, judiciary, foreign affairs and economic institutions are vested in the central leadership.

While each kingdom may administer its own people, educate them to a degree and even collect taxes on their produce it remains subject to the justice of the empire and if ever a kingdom were to rebel or thwart the authority of the central leadership retribution and a military clamp-down would be certain and justified.

However, one concession is made, that makes all this feel just. Once in five years all the kings of all the kingdoms attempt to renew the mandate of their people for their continued existence and the successful kings of the larger kingdoms eventually gain a say within the central leadership – one of them even becoming its ultimate emperor, hence continuing the cycle.

Substitute ‘nation’ for ‘empire’, ‘state’ for ‘kingdom’ and mandate for ‘democratic elections’ and you have a sovereign democratic republic in today’s world, like India.

The proposition here is that India is not a single, coherent nation.

I will present some arguments against this statement (i.e. that India is a coherent nation) with my counter-arguments for the proposition in italics. I believe that the older we become as a nation, the more we need to think about what unites us, and what we can do to strengthen this identity. I admire the efforts of the European Union in integrating the various nations of Europe and I strongly feel that India can and should learn lessons on strengthening our national identity from the EU.

India, the Nation that is Not: Arguments Against and For

1. The chief argument against the proposition that India is not a coherent nation is that we share a rich legacy of science, religion and philosophy that persisted even up until the end of the Mughal era (e.g. the zero, Chanakya, the Taj Mahal, Hindustani and Carnatic music, architecture, etc). This legacy of a shared cultural heritage and common ancestries is something that has often been invoked in nationalistic movements in India, during pre-Independence and post-Independence periods.

My argument for the proposition is as follows: This is a popular version of our history emphasized by freedom fighters to unite the people as a single nation. Yes, there was a free, constant and considerable economic, spiritual and philosophical trade, and even inter-marriage between different kingdoms in the sub-continent but these were still separate kingdoms even as portrayed in Hindu mythology. No invader until the British - and certainly no home-grown ruler - ever unilaterally ruled what is now known as India. The Mughals did not subjugate the south or the north-east, neither did the Mauryas, and the Chozhas at their greatest never ventured farther west than Telangana. It wasn’t just that India was a collection of different kingdoms, but the people of these kingdoms were inherently different in their culture, ethnicity and the languages they spoke. For instance, Tamil as a language family is recognized as being distinct in its origin from the Sanskrit family.

2. The second argument against my proposition is that it is precisely India’s enduring cohesion while preserving its cultural diversity in the face of several challenges, that defines it as a unique but coherent nation. India is currently an amalgamated mass of several peoples – this is widely recognized and often touted as one of the country’s greatest achievements as a nation – its unity in diversity.

My counter-argument goes thus: For better or worse, India was divided on a linguistic basis to preserve the various regional cultural identities. One result of this division, combined with a centralised federal government has been to entrench these identities and make them susceptible to politicisation by regional interests that highlight the differences and incompatibilities between different states. While movement between states is increasing, people in different regions of the country still possess greater cultural and ethnic affinities to neighbouring countries than to one another. The western provinces of Indian Punjab and the Punjab of Pakistan were a land of similar people not so long ago. The Tamils of south India are more similar to the Tamils of Sri Lanka, than to Bengalis or Rajasthanis, and similarly the Bengalis, in custom and language are closer brethren of the Bangladeshis than they are of the people of Karnataka. Meanwhile, regional un-rest is wide-spread and community-based racism is a part of the larger culture and sometimes even transcends religion (the caricature of a ‘Northie’ or a ‘Madrasi’ remains true irrespective of religious affiliation).

3. This brings me to the third argument against India as a non-nation, namely, religion. The majority of the country is Hindu and Hinduism and the Vedas are increasingly being touted as a unifying theme, recalling the past glory of a Hindustan. Historically, the term Hindustan, literally meaning ‘the land beyond the Indus (river)’ refers chiefly to the Mughal empire in North India.

My counter-argument is that, while Hinduism itself spread across the sub-continent, from Afghanistan to Cambodia, even today, Hindus in the North are very different from Hindus in the South, or the West or the North-east in almost every aspect of their day to day life. The argument for India as a pan-Hindu nation also ignores other considerable and over-riding differences between regions. Further, other religions such as Islam, Buddhism and Sikhism that have historically existed alongside Hinduism in different parts of the country belie the idea of a geographically contiguous Hindu nation.

4. The fourth argument against the notion that India is not a coherent nation, differs from the other arguments in that it recognises that “India” is a new concept. The  argument is that India was made by the British and as a result shares a common legacy, a common aspiration and common goals. Yes, India is a country made by the British and was united in its hatred for the invader and his excesses. This fuelled a nationalism which was focused on the nation-state formed by arbitrary divisions by the British of the country’s borders. The idea of India as a nation was crucial to the economic development and stability of all its regions in the post-colonial years and this was recognized as a considerable challenge by the first prime-ministers. Though there were a few problems during nation-forming, independent kingdoms and protectorates like Hyderabad, Kashmir, and Sikkim were either convinced or forced to join the new “India.”

My counter-argument is thus: India currently faces neither the unifying threat of an invader nor does it enjoy the euphoria of building a new nation. Increasingly, the cracks in a centralised development policy applied to a regionally diverse nation are showing. Almost all states remain highly homogeneous within themselves in their racial and ethnic composition, and as such, distinct from one another. Inequalities in representation at the centre and geographic factors combined with intrinsic differences in the different states are resulting in struggles between states for resources like water. States rebel against other states like European countries reacting to waves of unwanted immigration. Meanwhile divisions within states are now increasingly economic and driven by increasing inequality and the biased availability of resources to one group of people over another. Ironically, this is currently a strong argument against India being simply an amalgamation of different races: the poor are united across the nation in their poverty, and the rich in their isolation from this poverty.

5. The final argument against the proposition that India is not a nation is more a question: other countries exist now as nations that did not before, and with diverse populations – e.g. The US, so why is India any different?

I argue however, that India is different for three main reasons: a) The US was a self-made nation with a long process of secession and union – India as a new nation was made by an invader and left as such; b) The US, at least until recently spoke a language that was its own, after a fashion; and c) The US still remains – at least relative to India, homogenous in terms of its composition. Partly as a result of the linguistic division of India’s states a preservation of cultural differences is being seen that is making India remarkably more diverse than the US, UK or any other comparable nation.

Conclusions

India was created by the British who took away its wealth, gave it nation-hood and democracy among other things and left it to its own devices to survive and prosper as a nation. India was thus forced into an artificial “nation-hood” – a model on which the entire world is now defined. The newly-forged nation, in order to survive in the modern world, had to make use of the resources it had left – the English language, democratic institutions and infrastructure, among other things. In that respect, India has proved herself to be an incredibly resilient given that 66+ years on, she is still, to all appearances a remarkably coherent and cohesive nation and the world’s largest functioning democracy.

But beneath the surface, trouble brews. Regional protests flare up with increasing intensity and frequency; regional politics are increasingly getting tangled with national politics;  and the preservation and scholarly study of local and regional art forms, history and language still struggles to find a foothold amongst the more mainstream, standardised mediums of education modelled on the British format.

India is at best a tenuous nation. It is tempting to draw parallels to the European Union, an amalgam of “common but differentiated” (to borrow a phrase) regions that have come together economically – and increasingly, culturally – as an entity for mutual benefit and convenience. There are several lessons we could learn from the EU’s attempts at European integration, For instance here are my top 3:

1. Sending school-children from TN to Punjab, and vice-versa to learn and teach one another about our different cultures;

2. Actively promoting inter-state economic and cultural exchanges rather than letting this play out as a migration issue and reactively dealing with the consequences

3. Encouraging co-operation and exchange between state research, government and banking institutions (this kind of exchange exists within national institutions and should not be difficult to implement at state level).

As we become ever more disgruntled with our democratic and economic systems, and increasingly try and hold on to our regional heritage while asserting a national identity, it would do well for us to closely observe the model of the European Union and learn from their failures and successes. 

Please do comment and contribute – especially if you feel I have missed out any arguments for or against.

Technorati Tags: India,Nation,EU,Unity

Engineering colleges in India out of reach for many

 

Caste, location, economic status and an English-language education can determine whether a student in India will end up in an engineering college, according to a study by Anirudh Krishna at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague.

Analysing the results of a questionnaire-based survey of 876 students across engineering colleges of varying quality across the country, the author finds that the more rural one is, the lower are his/her chances of gaining admission into an engineering college. The lack of a knowledge of English severely reduces the chance of admission to all but the lowest tier of colleges. A combination of a rural background with a Scheduled Caste (SC) / Scheduled Tribe (ST) handicap virtually eliminated these chances.

India produces more than 600,000 engineering graduates annually. Though the engineering education system itself is faulty with the majority of graduates unemployable, the opportunity for admission to these ‘gateway institutions’ is the key to upward social mobility. The study conducted with the support of Aspiring Minds, a national employment agency, ranks 6 engineering colleges based on various factors such as the educational qualifications of their faculty and the employability of their graduates. These rankings are combined with data on the backgrounds of the individual students to identify the key factors that drive the rural-urban divide in engineering college admissions in the country. The students were asked to provide information on several parameters such as their caste, the degree of ‘rural-ness’ of their upbringing, their medium of education, their parents’ level of education and economic status, and the available sources of information and advice.

The worst possible combination for a child was to be poor and belong to an ST – the surveyed students did not include anyone that was poor and an ST. Affirmative action (reservation of seats) for SC/ STs in public engineering colleges is high but it is clearly not doing enough in this regard. Just as bad, was to be poor and from a rural background with agriculturist parents. An in-depth analysis of these issues also reveals the lack of information and advice on pathways to opportunity as hindering the mobility of the rural poor towards an engineering education. Among those who made it into an engineering college against the odds the chance help of a motivated/ rich relative, teacher or friend was, in almost all cases, the determining factor.

The lack of penetration of English in rural schools – arguably closely related to the often abysmal quality of these schools was another key determining factor. 70 - 80% of the students in the Tier 1 colleges had their secondary education in English while for the Tier 6 colleges this figure was less than 50%. The merits of an English-medium education are a debated topic in India. However the fact remains that the structure of higher ‘gateway’ education in India today necessitates a working knowledge of English.

Yet, it is not all gloomy. The study showed positive trends in social mobility for women and SC’s. Stories of individuals who made it against the odds also offer hope and more importantly, indicators of what sort of action is needed to address this divide. For instance the study describes the case of a poor girl in Delhi who gained admission into an engineering college thanks to directed effort and funding by the Delhi state government towards a high-quality school for the under-privileged.

There are bright minds out there in India’s villages waiting to be educated. Tragically, many of these children may spend their lifetimes completely unaware of the opportunities that exist and how these may be grasped.  Rural and under-privileged families in India need to be provided with an English education, and with information, counselling and role models that encourage and instruct them about the opportunities available to them. Admittedly, this study only looks at engineering colleges and does not consider other disciplines. Also, differences between states on these indicators are not investigated here. Nevertheless, this is an important and revealing facet of the rural-urban divide in the country: it is disheartening for the world’s largest democracy to leave the education of its most deprived to chance. India desperately needs more directed, coordinated efforts to address the pressing issue of social immobility and injustice in higher education.

Frankly Lol’ing

This is entertainment. This is fun. This is the ‘biggest political interview of the year.’ This is ridiculous. Enjoy. (taken totally within context from http://www.timesnow.tv/Frankly-Speaking-with-Rahul-Gandhi/articleshow/4446830.cms)

The Anatomy of a Lovers’ Argument. Act 1: The First Fight

Scene 1 (Rahul puts his foot in it): Oops… I didn’t say that, did I?

Arnab Goswami: How do you say that
Rahul Gandhi: I mean....

Arnab Goswami: What are you saying? Can you explain?

Rahul Gandhi: I am coming to your question

Scene 2 (Arnab is green with jealousy): On something Gandhi and Modi had been up to in 2009…

Arnab Goswami: You did that in 2009?
Rahul Gandhi: No, we didn't
Arnab Goswami: Of course you did?

Scene 3: Honey, I love you, honestly, I do.

Arnab Goswami: You are avoiding the question
Rahul Gandhi: No I am not avoiding the question

Scene 5: Are you being honest with me?

Rahul Gandhi: Of course I am.
Arnab Goswami: You're not opposed to that.
Rahul Gandhi: No I am not opposed to any discussion, ever.
Arnab Goswami: On this specific subject.

Rahul Gandhi: Absolutely.
Arnab Goswami: Mr. Gandhi.

Scene 6: Actually, this reminds me of that thing 10 years ago…

Arnab Goswami: But nothing happened.
Rahul Gandhi: What do you mean nothing happened?

Scene 7: Is this an interview?

Arnab Goswami: You are asking me the question
Rahul Gandhi: Yes, I am asking you a question, it is a conversation

Scene 8: Who’s the boss…

Arnab Goswami: You are the boss.

Rahul Gandhi: Yes

Arnab Goswami: You are confident about that?
Rahul Gandhi: Reasonably confident

Scene 9 (Back on the offensive): You disgust me…

Arnab Goswami: Only 15?

Rahul Gandhi: You have to go into why it is happening.

Arnab Goswami: Then how are you different?

Scene 10: Someone told me about Cambridge…

Rahul Gandhi: Were you in Cambridge
Arnab Goswami: I was at Oxford
Rahul Gandhi: But you spent some time at Cambridge?
Arnab Goswami: I was a visiting fellow at Cambridge for a while.
Rahul Gandhi: So where were you at Cambridge?

Scene 11: Show me what you showed Modi…

Rahul Gandhi: You want me to show you my degree, I can show you my degree
Arnab Goswami: Would you like to show him your degree?

Rahul Gandhi: He has probably seen my degree.

Penultimate Scene: Am I a stranger to you?

Arnab Goswami: You don't have a thick skin, Mr. Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi: If I don't have a thick skin right now, it'll get thick

Rahul Gandhi: Maybe you find me strange because.
Arnab Goswami: No, I don't find you strange

Rahul Gandhi: You're going back Arnab
Arnab Goswami: Yes, to specifics
Rahul Gandhi: It's not specifics. It's frankly superficialities
Arnab Goswami: How is it superficial?
Rahul Gandhi: It's completely superficial
Arnab Goswami: This is the most relevant question

Final Scene: Modi walks in, dressed in a blindingly orange kurta…

Arnab Goswami: I think we should have a debate Mr. Modi
Rahul Gandhi: The debate is taking place right now

Arnab Goswami: Are you battle ready?
Rahul Gandhi: Battle ready, of course. We're going to win.

Woodpecker

 
Light green upon dark green,
Delicate patterns wrought
Flecked brown bark patterned like cloth
The forest embraces, inviting,
Tall, towering oaks look down at me, comforting –
A Stranger… lost in his thoughts.
 
Knock. Knock. Knock…
Wood-pecker!
I stop and listen, expectant…
The forest teases, silent,
Tall towering oaks look down at me, wondering –
A Wayfarer…looking for a novelty?  
 
A burst of colour high above,
I spin, ears chasing flapping wings,
A flash of orange in a green trove
The forest whispers, hushed
Tall towering oaks look down at me,  brooding –
A Treasure-seeker…looking for a jewel? 
 
Knock! His tell-tale song. 
Ears pricked, neck craned,
I search the green heights
The forest waits, tense,
Tall towering oaks look down at me, threatening –
A Hunter…looking for his prey?
 
In the corner of my eye, a flash of rust,
There! Perched on a gnarled chestnut.
Flame of orange crest, dark-green feathers
I stand, a statue,  admiring, 
The forest watches, understanding,
Tall towering oaks look down at me, smiling –
Just a Seeker…looking for beauty.