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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Slumdog Solution by Jug Saraiya
In one of its periodic and short-lived fits of moral righteousness the Delhi government has once again proposed an official ban on begging in the
city. Henceforth, if you are caught giving alms to a beggar you will be fined Rs 1,000 for your impulse of misplaced charity. Many might see this as an example of adding financial injury to the insult of poverty. After all, it is not the alms-giver, who is being fined, who created the problem of beggars and beggary, the causes of which must be attributed to the many sins of omission and commission on the part of the government.
The ostensible reason for the anti-beggary drive is that begging, in Delhi and other cities, has become an organised criminal racket, often involving the kidnapping and mutilation of children. While there may be an element of truth in this, the real reason for sarkari wrath is that the persistence of beggary and of the related phenomena of slums, jhuggi-jhopris, pavement dwellers, bonded labour, child workers, all subject to similar and similarly futile eradication drives is a damning indictment of the government for its signal failure to alleviate poverty, and the economic and social exploitation that it inevitably entails. Sixty-plus years after Independence, and despite repeated calls of 'garibi hatao', far from obliging by getting itself hataoed, garibi is, if anything, more entrenched than ever, as testified to by social data as diverse as increasing rural indebtedness, falling calorie consumption levels below the poverty line, and the growth of slum populations.
Poverty seems to be India's ineradicable bane. Could it be turned into a boon? The huge success of Slumdog Millionaire the Hollywood movie version of Vikas Swarup's bestselling novel Q&A, about a Mumbai slum kid who through sheer grit, gumption and General Knowledge tries for a multi-million quiz jackpot suggests that rags may indeed be converted into riches. The film, which has already won 64 awards, including a Golden Globe for best original music score by A R Rahman, has once again revealed the hidden wealth that lies at the bottom of the Indian pyramid. The real message of the movie is that, properly packaged and marketed, poverty is not just a highly saleable commodity but a potential megabuck brand.
The promotion of poverty is nothing new. Mira Nair's 1988 Salaam Bombay was a cinematic salute which, briefly, turned street urchins into stars the original taare zameen par and helped establish Dharavi as an international destination for the expanding market of what is called 'slum tourism'. Even before Salaam Bombay, Dominique Lapierre had established himself as the pioneer of poverty-chic with his 1985 novel City of Joy, subsequently made into a movie
, which narrated the travails and ultimate triumph of a Calcutta rickshaw-puller. During interviews, Lapierre would caper about jingling what he claimed was a genuine rickshawalla's bell, which he carried with him wherever he went. Jingle your bell if you believe in rickshaw-pullers.
Poverty is the economic equivalent of sexual pornography, and like pornography excites voyeurism: the poor, poor things; how they suffer, and yet how ennobled and ennobling they are in their suffering. In other words, there but for the grace of GDP go we. Poverty is great. So long as it belongs to someone else, and we're safely insulated from it, like visitors to a zoo where the inmates are safely caged.
With many First World economies in recession, poverty is likely to become even more piquant as the phrase 'beggar my neighbour' takes on a new, down-home meaning. Instead of trying to sweep it under the carpet, our sarkar should flaunt our poverty and cash in on it by organising Garibi Yatras and B&B (Beggar and Breakfast) stays for foreign visitors with a taste for proxy penury.
Our Republic Day parade should feature a contingent of professional beggars and slum-dwellers, who should also be included on the list of national awards and honours. Instead of being ashamed of it, let's showcase our poverty. And say with pride, Mera Bhikhari Mahaan.
secondopinion@timesgroup.com
city. Henceforth, if you are caught giving alms to a beggar you will be fined Rs 1,000 for your impulse of misplaced charity. Many might see this as an example of adding financial injury to the insult of poverty. After all, it is not the alms-giver, who is being fined, who created the problem of beggars and beggary, the causes of which must be attributed to the many sins of omission and commission on the part of the government.
The ostensible reason for the anti-beggary drive is that begging, in Delhi and other cities, has become an organised criminal racket, often involving the kidnapping and mutilation of children. While there may be an element of truth in this, the real reason for sarkari wrath is that the persistence of beggary and of the related phenomena of slums, jhuggi-jhopris, pavement dwellers, bonded labour, child workers, all subject to similar and similarly futile eradication drives is a damning indictment of the government for its signal failure to alleviate poverty, and the economic and social exploitation that it inevitably entails. Sixty-plus years after Independence, and despite repeated calls of 'garibi hatao', far from obliging by getting itself hataoed, garibi is, if anything, more entrenched than ever, as testified to by social data as diverse as increasing rural indebtedness, falling calorie consumption levels below the poverty line, and the growth of slum populations.
Poverty seems to be India's ineradicable bane. Could it be turned into a boon? The huge success of Slumdog Millionaire the Hollywood movie version of Vikas Swarup's bestselling novel Q&A, about a Mumbai slum kid who through sheer grit, gumption and General Knowledge tries for a multi-million quiz jackpot suggests that rags may indeed be converted into riches. The film, which has already won 64 awards, including a Golden Globe for best original music score by A R Rahman, has once again revealed the hidden wealth that lies at the bottom of the Indian pyramid. The real message of the movie is that, properly packaged and marketed, poverty is not just a highly saleable commodity but a potential megabuck brand.
The promotion of poverty is nothing new. Mira Nair's 1988 Salaam Bombay was a cinematic salute which, briefly, turned street urchins into stars the original taare zameen par and helped establish Dharavi as an international destination for the expanding market of what is called 'slum tourism'. Even before Salaam Bombay, Dominique Lapierre had established himself as the pioneer of poverty-chic with his 1985 novel City of Joy, subsequently made into a movie
, which narrated the travails and ultimate triumph of a Calcutta rickshaw-puller. During interviews, Lapierre would caper about jingling what he claimed was a genuine rickshawalla's bell, which he carried with him wherever he went. Jingle your bell if you believe in rickshaw-pullers.
Poverty is the economic equivalent of sexual pornography, and like pornography excites voyeurism: the poor, poor things; how they suffer, and yet how ennobled and ennobling they are in their suffering. In other words, there but for the grace of GDP go we. Poverty is great. So long as it belongs to someone else, and we're safely insulated from it, like visitors to a zoo where the inmates are safely caged.
With many First World economies in recession, poverty is likely to become even more piquant as the phrase 'beggar my neighbour' takes on a new, down-home meaning. Instead of trying to sweep it under the carpet, our sarkar should flaunt our poverty and cash in on it by organising Garibi Yatras and B&B (Beggar and Breakfast) stays for foreign visitors with a taste for proxy penury.
Our Republic Day parade should feature a contingent of professional beggars and slum-dwellers, who should also be included on the list of national awards and honours. Instead of being ashamed of it, let's showcase our poverty. And say with pride, Mera Bhikhari Mahaan.
secondopinion@timesgroup.com
Iss Baar Nahin by Prasoon Joshi on Mumbai terror attack
The dastardlly act of terrorists in Mumbai that soaked the city of dreams into blood and tears, has moved all and sundry. The Mumbai terror attcks have shocked and hurt all humans with heart to feel something for fello human beings. There is a deep feeling of anguish, anger, grief, dispair and hopelessness among people of all walks of life.
The noted adman, lyricist and executive chairman of McCann-Erickson, Prasoon Joshi has penned a poem in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. Here is how the poem titled "Iss Baar Nahin", goes:
Iss Baar Nahin
Is baar jab woh choti si bachchi mere paas apni kharonch le kar aayegi
Main usey phoo phoo kar nahin behlaoonga
Panapney doonga uski tees ko
Is baar nahin
Is baar jab main chehron par dard likha dekhoonga
Nahin gaoonga geet peeda bhula dene wale
Dard ko risney doonga,utarney doonga andar gehrey
Is baar nahin
Is baar main na marham lagaoonga
Na hi uthaoonga rui ke phahey
Aur na hi kahoonga ki tum aankein band karlo,gardan udhar kar lo main dawa lagata hoon
Dekhney doonga sabko hum sabko khuley nangey ghaav
Is baar nahin
Is baar jab uljhaney dekhoonga,chatpatahat dekhoonga
Nahin daudoonga uljhee door lapetney
Uljhaney doonga jab tak ulajh sake
Is baar nahin
Is baar karm ka hawala de kar nahin uthaoonga auzaar
Nahin karoonga phir se ek nayee shuruaat
Nahin banoonga misaal ek karmyogi ki
Nahin aaney doonga zindagi ko aasani se patri par
Utarney doonga usey keechad main,tedhey medhey raston pe
Nahin sookhney doonga deewaron par laga khoon
Halka nahin padney doonga uska rang
Is baar nahin banney doonga usey itna laachaar
Ki paan ki peek aur khoon ka fark hi khatm ho jaye
Is baar nahin
Is baar ghawon ko dekhna hai
Gaur se
Thoda lambe wakt tak
Kuch faisley
Aur uskey baad hausley
Kahin toh shuruat karni hi hogi
Is baar yahi tay kiya hai
The noted adman, lyricist and executive chairman of McCann-Erickson, Prasoon Joshi has penned a poem in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. Here is how the poem titled "Iss Baar Nahin", goes:
Iss Baar Nahin
Is baar jab woh choti si bachchi mere paas apni kharonch le kar aayegi
Main usey phoo phoo kar nahin behlaoonga
Panapney doonga uski tees ko
Is baar nahin
Is baar jab main chehron par dard likha dekhoonga
Nahin gaoonga geet peeda bhula dene wale
Dard ko risney doonga,utarney doonga andar gehrey
Is baar nahin
Is baar main na marham lagaoonga
Na hi uthaoonga rui ke phahey
Aur na hi kahoonga ki tum aankein band karlo,gardan udhar kar lo main dawa lagata hoon
Dekhney doonga sabko hum sabko khuley nangey ghaav
Is baar nahin
Is baar jab uljhaney dekhoonga,chatpatahat dekhoonga
Nahin daudoonga uljhee door lapetney
Uljhaney doonga jab tak ulajh sake
Is baar nahin
Is baar karm ka hawala de kar nahin uthaoonga auzaar
Nahin karoonga phir se ek nayee shuruaat
Nahin banoonga misaal ek karmyogi ki
Nahin aaney doonga zindagi ko aasani se patri par
Utarney doonga usey keechad main,tedhey medhey raston pe
Nahin sookhney doonga deewaron par laga khoon
Halka nahin padney doonga uska rang
Is baar nahin banney doonga usey itna laachaar
Ki paan ki peek aur khoon ka fark hi khatm ho jaye
Is baar nahin
Is baar ghawon ko dekhna hai
Gaur se
Thoda lambe wakt tak
Kuch faisley
Aur uskey baad hausley
Kahin toh shuruat karni hi hogi
Is baar yahi tay kiya hai
Sunday, January 11, 2009
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