BRAToSPHERE

Author: Bharat Jhurani

  • A trip to the hinterlands

    A full 9 day trip to the hinterlands of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. A journey into myself. I have always maintained that travel is the best form of education. Any kind of travel always teaches us new things and enriches us in a completely unique way. The last time I went on a journey, it was to try out something new and I ended up learning how to fish using the best braided fishing line, and now I can proudly add that skill to my accomplishments. So what can I expect from this journey?

    This could be a travel to an entirely different continent, country, place or even to the same place that we have been to multiple times. Travelling, meeting new people and knowing about different situations and ways of life is always enriching.

    With the same quest, I embarked on my first holiday for the year – a trip to my in-laws, Bihar. This is my first trip to the beautiful rustic Eastern Indian State. To say the least, it has completely mesmerized me.

    Like it is said, do not believe anything without seeing it with your own eyes. Nothing holds truer when it comes to Bihar. The state’s image is ridden with negative news all over the National Media. Not completely refuting the news, a large part of it is probably true, but there is also a lot on the other side – its natural beauty, the vast serene plain lands and the people.

    The Indian festival of colours, Holi is celebrated with full vigour in this part of the country, and it has now become an annual custom to be here during the festivities. The long weekend with Holi being couple with Good Friday holiday helped in extending the holiday for the complete 9 days weekend to weekend.

    Our first stop was at Gorakhpur – the land of hardcore Hinduism, home to the famous Gita Press. The Railway station itself seemed impressive and much cleaner compared to the last visit here. Exactly a year back.

    My initial impressions of Gorakhpur being a small sleepy town without any modern amenities were all quashed with the Mall visit. The SRS mall here is as good as any decent mall in any metropolitan city, and the Spencers within seemed more stocked than most of the departmental stores in Gurgaon. This clearly was a picture of a growing and developing India and a reflection of the middle class aspirations. Brands like “UCB” and “Levi’s” have made an impression across and even Reynold’s feels the need to have a kiosk within the mall to promote its range.

    Talking about Reynolds, and pens, one thing I noticed across my trip is the stress on education in these parts of the country. Everywhere the roads were painted with huge hoardings with pictures of young spectacled boys and girls who have aced the different entrance exams – IIT, PMT,etc. No wonder entrance exam guide books sell on street side vending carts alongside fruits and sattu.

    I also squeezed in time to visit the famous Gita Press. The recent mainstream book on the institution surely added to the curiosity. Tucked away in the centre of a busy market place, this place is a very welcome escape to the world of Hindu Culture. The imposing museum on the first floor of the building is a must visit. Though the paintings in itself are quite old, the way in which they have all been laid and categorized is mesmerizing. Also, the first printing machine used by the press nearly a hundred years ago is in itself a trip down the history line.

    The impressive modern looking bookstore with the glass façade and neatly categorized and stacked books is an experience in itself. The store displays books on every possible Hindu learnings in most of the Indian languages, and all available for a pittance. Probably just to cover the printing charge and nothing else. No wonder, I loaded up on a huge pile limiting myself only with the fact that there is still a week of travel before I get back home. They also service online orders! I very soon would ned a new bookshelf.

    An interesting thing to note is the font used to write Gita Press. The famous Chariot frame from Mahabharata in the background, and GITA PRESS GORAKHPUR written in typeface reminds one of the early powerpoint days.

    Gorakhnath temple, from where the name of the city is derived, is another landmark in the city. I have a theory on temples in Indian Cities. In olden days, there was no culture of vacationing and our learned ancestors did realize the importance of a good holiday for a fulfilling family life. Thus, the temples. Every city in the country would have a worshipping place which would be frequently thronged by people from neighboring villages. This served the dual purpose of a picnic outing for the complete family and also served the spiritual quests.

    The Gorakhnath temple served this purpose well. With a small waterbody within the temple premises now serving as a boating place, and a hall with statues of ancient maharishis and babas jostled between Gods scultptures. The temple did feel serenic and calm even in the Hot harsh summer sun.

    Small impressive additions to the Railway Station from the last time, or were these here and I missed them the last time over? The clean irctc café just outside the station was a welcome relief from the unpredictable carts outside the station serving litti. The café had an impressive menu though most of the items were not available on the day we visited. And the hygienic “Water Point” at the station. At Rs. 8/- for a liter of drinking water (with an additional charge for the container) this was a welcome addition to avoid the wastage of a plastic bottle. This seemed like a good initiative to be scaled up across, and I bet the Water Manufacturers would be keen to use this as a branding initiative benefitting the end consumer.

    With this, our brief two day stay in Gorakhpur came to an end. we now headed to the next part of our Journey – Bihar.

  • Animal Farm – Book Review

    An all time Classic. and totally deservedly so.

    Such a simple language and such a powerful story relevant even 70 years post it has been published. This says a lot about the book and the author and the times we are living in. Some things, like inherent human behaviour, just does not change.

    The story in itself seems like a short fairy tale (the initial book run had this in the book tagline) of an animal farm where the animals revolt against their owner. At the outset it sounds like a children’s book (and apparently it was rejected in the US with many publishers claiming that there would not be any market for children’s book). But a children’s book, it is not.

    The story, in brief, is about a animal farm and the revolution led by some animals to overthrow the owner and take control themselves. Beginning with the Animalism commandment that “All Animals are equal”, the pigs gradually promote themselves to a higher authority citing different reasons. The leader Napoleon convinces all the animals on the subsequent luxuries and unfairness doled out to them. All the time making all animals feel that they are a part of a bigger purpose and thus should be working hard to achieve it.

    The windmill plays a central role in the whole story, where the entire efforts and the politics goes behind the building of the mill, which is expected to bring in good fortunes for the farm. With lies and connive, eventually the commandment turns to “All Animals are equal. Some Animals are more equal than others”. In the end, there does not seem to be much difference between the earlier human owner and the present tyrants who run the farm.

    The story in its simplicity explains quite a thing about human behaviour and the tenets of socialism.

    Reading through the book felt like it was written for the present day North Korea. There is a tyrant ruler who makes everyone believe that it is all for their own good, and has gradually taken the whole country to ruins with rampant poverty and famines. In all, the King and his aides still lead an extravagant life untouched by the poverty around. One can very well imagine how this would have all started.

    The beginning of most communist states starts with the repeated propaganda of “Capitalism is evil”, “We need to take power in our own hands” and the eventual violent takeover of the state. With the power now in the hands of a corrupt few, the whole region goes towards darkness. Stalin’s Russia, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, Mao’s China or the present day north Korea, all of them relate to such a beginning.

    The book and the story remains as relevant today as it was a century back. And it serves as a grim reminder of the fallacies of inherent nature. Power corrupts.

    Am now curious to read the other classic by George Orwell – 1984. Recently read somewhere about this book – “It is a warning, and not a firkin’ guidebook”. Looking forward.

  • Relativity – on a Sunday Morning

    More than a quarter of the year has passed and things seem to still stand where they are. The passing, or shall i say flying, of time makes one feel how insignificant we are. In the big huge universe, we are mere speck of dust leasing sometime to spend here.

    In entertainment parlance, what relevance does a hit movie play in context of a decade? How does it matter if about a sporting great in the context of a century. Who cares about the veracity of a town in the context of multiple centuries. From this perspective, everything becomes relative.

    To make someone understand the importance of a milli second, we refer to a person who met with an accident which could have been averted by a split second. Similarly, to make one realise the futility of a particular incident, refer to a century.

    How relevant is that Monday morning presentation in the context of a decade. Do you remember what were you presenting in 2006? No one does!

    Think, this is the best possible living example of Einstein’s theory of relativity. The importance, or lack of it, is purely determined by the frame of reference.

    lets say, Completing the task in hand is of utmost priority right now. Right then, you get a call from a friend who has just met with an accident and needs your help. Will the task still be of the same importance?

    Of course, for some, even a ping on Facebook would disrupt the priority order.

    Enough said. I am sure by now you have decided the importance to place on reading such write-ups.

    It is already 12:30 on the clock! Now with this context that i am made aware of, sorry but this write up takes a lower priority. I have a presentation to work on!

    Until next time!

  • Predictably Irrational – Book Review

    Economics for the masses. This is how I classify this book. Freaknomics made this genre famous, and introduced millions into the everyday Economics.

    Having said that, this is not a book on Economics. Don Ariely, the author, has this unique style of writing which makes one feel that he knows him for years. This is like a friend talking to me about my own irrational behavior.

    A psychologist might scoff at this book, writing it off as another take by a behavior economist into people’s behavior and predicting that by testing decision making empirically. The basic assumption that Humans behave rationally is questioned by the Psychologists and this is the base premise of this book.

    One important takeaway from the book is the importance of Money, or rather the lack of it, in influencing people’s behavior. It is re-iterated by multiple examples that Money is the most expensive way to incentivize and social norms and society pressure acts as a better incentive. The basic thing we grapple with on a daily basis – Actual vs. Perceived value.

    One other important message derived in this book is the fact that most of us are somewhere deep within a little dishonest. We would not dare steal money openly from others, but when there is a layer in the middle, it lowers our inhibition. Yes, that guilt free extra tea bag in a hotel room does count as dishonesty, if it is not your normal behavior. All corporate frauds and white collar financial hara-kiri is seen from this lens and does offer a convincing insight on why people commit the fraud.

    This book makes us realize all the irrational decisions that we have been making on a daily basis.

    So, now you know why you fall for the extra 5% off on a book on amazon.in, in spite of knowing that you probably do not want to read and will probably never read that book ever again!

    Predictably Irrational!!

  • What i talk about when i talk about running – Book Review

    Haruki Murakami. Counted among the world’s greatest living novelists. This warranted enough interest to immerse in his world to realize the magic. After going through the entire bibliography of his English translated books, I picked this one up hoping to further motivate myself to prepare to run a marathon.

    The person is Inspiring. After all the respect I had gained reading about his books and achievements, he left me awestruck when I discovered that he has completed an ultramarathon!

    This book is like a memoir of the author’s running hobby (appears like a serious profession in the way it is done!) and his thoughts while running. The book is about the influence running has had on him as a person and thus on his writings.

    The book details out his preparation and his thoughts during various important runs of his life. I particularly like the parts of the book when the author talks about specific events, like the original marathon course in Greece or his preparation for the triathlon.

    Running and Writing, both require discipline and considerable amounts of self drive and motivation to keep one going. They are both lonely professions to talk about, and that is where personal reflections help the best. As individualistic pursuits, these pursuits allow you to have complete control to chart your own territory and define your own boundaries.

    As an aspiring marathoner, I could totally relate to the various experiences and the thoughts that have been detailed here.

    The author is a gifted writer is a known fact now globally. His sheer simplicity and the easy narrative wins hundred percent points.

    A must read for anyone with even a slight interest in Running or literature (The fact that you have reached reading till here indicated your interest!), should read this book. Off I am, to get my hands on the remaining books by the author.

    Suggestions, anyone?