Thought train
The music is playing from my earphones and i have got one hour of a battery in laptop. This bearably hot evening i am on my train back to Bangalore from Udgir, my native. Humpi Link express, the train, is passing through some part of Andra Pradesh and its 4:47pm.
In many Hindu rituals the priests pronounce the historic name of the area where the ritual is performed. I grew up listening to my being called as "Dandak Aranya". As it used to be called since Aryan time. Integral part of the Aryawarta - what we call Indian subcontinent. The Aryawarta as such is an island in every non-geographical sense, being surrounded by the Himalayan sea in the north and by the Indian Ocean, Arebean Sea and Bay of Bengal on the entire south.
The stories from puranas tell the ancient stories related to the area - Dandak Aranya. It used to be a forest inhabiting extremely dangerous animals. This area was considered cursed, may be due to its inhospitality.
On this day you rarely find a forest here. In this very day when India is developing in pockets of development, this area still exhibits traits at least sounding 30 years in the past. Irony starts with the fact that this area is part of revenue rich Indian states of Andra-Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. This part of Andra-Pradesh is called "Telangana", For Karnataka its "North Karnataka" and for Maharashtra it is "Marathwada".
One incident is worth mentioning here to sample the dire economic conditions of this area. In the train somewhere near Bidar(Karnataka) station there was a Vendor selling "Bhel". As he was passing by I asked him give me one. He asked of how much?. He said sir its for Rs. 3 / Rs.5 / Rs. 10? I was wondering how come he is selling it for samples of Rs. 3 and Rs. 5 also. He said, "Yeah train aisi hi hai saab. Mai agar dus kiHi bechane laga to mere biwi bachhoko bhuke marana padega." Meaning this route is like this only, if he opts to sell bhel just for Rs. 10, his wife and children will die out of hunger.
I do not understand a great deal of Economics. However I try to spend as much money as I can here. I do not know weather there is a principle in economics about this. What I think of money is a means which gets the {sincere} work done from people. What I think is more the money changes hands as a lawful compensation the more impact it has. The law of diminishing returns holds absolutely true here. Money bribed to a politician will find its way in buying liquor for the electorate during elections Or buying a carebean iceland for the politicians' luxuries. If you get a chance to travel from Bhakli to Udgir by bus, you will wonder where am i? Is this road or is the bus going through fields. Has government ever spent a penny on infrastructure in this area?
There is a stark difference in the cost of life in this region and that in may be Bangalorelike places within India. A temporary teacher earning may be Rs. 5000/- p.m. can lead a quite good life here. You will find the cost of almost all the services less than half of that there in Indian metros. That makes me think, outsourcing is also possible within India. You think I am joking? Now sample this. At a fully air-conditioned theater in Bangalore ticket cost is Rs. 200/-. And at a fully air-conditioned theater in Udgir the ticket for Balcony is Rs. 25/-. With a Bangalore ticket cost I can take 7 of my friends along with me for a movie or watch 8 shows myself in Udgir.
The lack of development in the area forces people flee to cities such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Nasik, pune, Mumbai or far off to search the means of livelihood. In government jobs or government aided jobs like in police, in colleges or in schools , merit is not the criteria. You need to bribe the authorities for amounts that equals 2 to 3 years of compensation that you will be getting after getting the job. No one gets a job without bribing. One should feel delighted and fortunate on finding cases otherwise. Now imagine the dedication with which the selected prospect will work. You will find reluctance from the side of parents with lower incomes to send their wards to schools as it is not assuring. Many say once educated he will neither get job nor will he accept himself in labor job. So they send their very young kids {even aged 4} to hotels to clean tables. And the vicious cycle goes on. No wonder one should find Indian dream stories alien here with fair share of opportunities to everyone to excel is impossible to imagine.
In many Hindu rituals the priests pronounce the historic name of the area where the ritual is performed. I grew up listening to my being called as "Dandak Aranya". As it used to be called since Aryan time. Integral part of the Aryawarta - what we call Indian subcontinent. The Aryawarta as such is an island in every non-geographical sense, being surrounded by the Himalayan sea in the north and by the Indian Ocean, Arebean Sea and Bay of Bengal on the entire south.
The stories from puranas tell the ancient stories related to the area - Dandak Aranya. It used to be a forest inhabiting extremely dangerous animals. This area was considered cursed, may be due to its inhospitality.
On this day you rarely find a forest here. In this very day when India is developing in pockets of development, this area still exhibits traits at least sounding 30 years in the past. Irony starts with the fact that this area is part of revenue rich Indian states of Andra-Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. This part of Andra-Pradesh is called "Telangana", For Karnataka its "North Karnataka" and for Maharashtra it is "Marathwada".
One incident is worth mentioning here to sample the dire economic conditions of this area. In the train somewhere near Bidar(Karnataka) station there was a Vendor selling "Bhel". As he was passing by I asked him give me one. He asked of how much?. He said sir its for Rs. 3 / Rs.5 / Rs. 10? I was wondering how come he is selling it for samples of Rs. 3 and Rs. 5 also. He said, "Yeah train aisi hi hai saab. Mai agar dus kiHi bechane laga to mere biwi bachhoko bhuke marana padega." Meaning this route is like this only, if he opts to sell bhel just for Rs. 10, his wife and children will die out of hunger.
I do not understand a great deal of Economics. However I try to spend as much money as I can here. I do not know weather there is a principle in economics about this. What I think of money is a means which gets the {sincere} work done from people. What I think is more the money changes hands as a lawful compensation the more impact it has. The law of diminishing returns holds absolutely true here. Money bribed to a politician will find its way in buying liquor for the electorate during elections Or buying a carebean iceland for the politicians' luxuries. If you get a chance to travel from Bhakli to Udgir by bus, you will wonder where am i? Is this road or is the bus going through fields. Has government ever spent a penny on infrastructure in this area?
There is a stark difference in the cost of life in this region and that in may be Bangalorelike places within India. A temporary teacher earning may be Rs. 5000/- p.m. can lead a quite good life here. You will find the cost of almost all the services less than half of that there in Indian metros. That makes me think, outsourcing is also possible within India. You think I am joking? Now sample this. At a fully air-conditioned theater in Bangalore ticket cost is Rs. 200/-. And at a fully air-conditioned theater in Udgir the ticket for Balcony is Rs. 25/-. With a Bangalore ticket cost I can take 7 of my friends along with me for a movie or watch 8 shows myself in Udgir.
The lack of development in the area forces people flee to cities such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Nasik, pune, Mumbai or far off to search the means of livelihood. In government jobs or government aided jobs like in police, in colleges or in schools , merit is not the criteria. You need to bribe the authorities for amounts that equals 2 to 3 years of compensation that you will be getting after getting the job. No one gets a job without bribing. One should feel delighted and fortunate on finding cases otherwise. Now imagine the dedication with which the selected prospect will work. You will find reluctance from the side of parents with lower incomes to send their wards to schools as it is not assuring. Many say once educated he will neither get job nor will he accept himself in labor job. So they send their very young kids {even aged 4} to hotels to clean tables. And the vicious cycle goes on. No wonder one should find Indian dream stories alien here with fair share of opportunities to everyone to excel is impossible to imagine.
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