I guess seeing the state of apathy, has made me me a bit bitter at the glorious heritage and legacy of this great state. Though there are winds of change which are evident. Yet it will take a lot more than just a dynamic statesman and visionary like Budadeb Bhattacharya to put Kolkata back on the Map. It requires the People of Kolkata to buy into his vision and rise in unison to live that vision.
Here is the reality of the state we live in. Our driver with whom I was having a chat on the way back home on Saturday opened the the harsh realities that none of us sitting in our airconditioned offices or at the club on a Saturday afternoon can grasp. He's been working in Kolkata for many years now as a driver and left his native village in Bihar many years ago. We believe in our society that Education will solve people’s problems. Well answer this one. In conversation, he mentioned that his son was getting married and he had got a little over a lac of rupees and a motorcycle in dowry. Wow! Now here is the killer. He told me his daughter was doing her class eleven and after that he’d get her married off. Alarmed I asked him to atleast let her finish her 12th standard. He told me that if she did, he’d have to pay more dowry. Right now it was to the tune of a lac and a half rupees. After 12th standard it would mean about 2.5 – 3.0 lac and that if she graduated it would be over 5 lac rupees. Why? I asked. Well the more educated she was, the more educated the boy would have to be and the more educated the boy was, the higher the rate of Dowry. Imagine this, a Doctor or Engineer would command 6-8 lac rupees.
So here’s my question. Is Education helping? The way I look at it is, it’s just being used as a tool to become more foolish. Atleast here it is. And I’m not saying this is the practice just here. Am sure it’s prevalent in other parts of the country too.
See this is exactly what I’m talking about. My eyes are opening to a lot of harsh realities of the life common Indian and is making me think what am I doing to change their predicament. Is there anything I am doing to change at least this little part of the world I live in.
Yes beautiful pictures of Kolkata will keep coming, but at the same time what about the millions of street dwellers. I saw a kid, not a day over 10 years smoking his lungs out on the roadside and the other little boy in rags seemed to look up at him in awe. His Hero! I wonder what future they’re going to have? Another pavement dweller in the making. He’ll get into stealing, drugs and produce a whole new generation of street dwellers. That really makes me wonder.
In our race to get better jobs, bigger houses, bigger cars and more money have we ever stopped and thought about that ever growing population of immigrants into the cities from rural India and the ever growing poverty stricken population in the cities who are clinging on to dear life and a an elusive dream of riches that city life promises.
This morning while waiting for Jaideep, I watched this "Daab Wala" (Coconut Seller) and his family meticulously working on their Daabs and the promise of a good sale on this sunny morning ahead of them.
I don't think education is hurting in any way...it's our intransigent culture that needs a little shake. On the point of materialism, its interesting that every time I visit Calcutta I can't help but notice the materialistic progression of the city, people and their lives but not their minds. These days in India people tend to equate progress with "wealth" rather than cultural norms, values and ethos.
ReplyDeleteAnd I would argue that bollywood is the best manifestation of this new found materialism in Indian society today, e.g. these days bollywood caters their movies strictly for an audience of upwardly mobile, rich and nri, portraying an abundant amount of wealth associated with the characters and plot. But there used to be time when they made movies mostly about the underprivileged and their discontent..but those days are long gone.
The apathy for anything other than 'thy self' is the mantra of the time, until there is some liberal progression of our cultural norms and thoughts, I think the slums will only increase...and division among people will rise.
De Sica once commented "My films are a struggle against the absence of human solidarity. . .against the indifference of society towards suffering. They are a word in favor of the poor and unhappy"