Our kitchen was very elementary but a conspicuous place in the house. Prominently featured was the built-in wall cabinet that was a designated space for all the plates, bowls, etc.  There were no china dishes or even the glass highballs, a few spoons, but no forks or knives, no sink, and no running water either. All the utensils were of brass that needed an occasional coating of some shining metal, named Kli, done by hawking street vendors referred to as Kli-walas.

Complete with the very basic needs, our kitchen, also called Rasoi, had an orderly and clean look. Besides, it was quite spacious. The place was our dining room as well, but there were no dining table or chairs. Neither there was room for those affluent items. All the activities in our Rasoi, from cooking to eating, were on one level, that is on the floor. Straw mats furnished the flooring for comfortable dining. Still, it was always a cross-leg sitting.

A wood-log clay stove, aka Chula, with two burning outlets, occupied one corner of the kitchen. My mother architected the Chula as per her needs and aesthetics. And she diligently built it herself from the few raw materials needed for her project. Once a while, she used to renovate her Chula with a fresh coat of mud.

Mother was always a busy person with plenty of household chores, but creativity was her forte, and cooking was the passion she enjoyed the most in the domain of her Rosai.

On several occasions, my mother used to make cakes, yes, the real egg cakes. And her little wood-burning Chula was the gadget for baking cakes. It was a simple procedure that she simulated. The thickened cake mix was poured into a bowl, covered by a brass plate, and then placed at the bottom of the Chula, where the hot ashes would fully wrap the cake pot. Within 20 or 30 minutes, the cake was ready, fresh from her multi-purpose oven.

Sweet memories are taking me back to the soft and spongy ash-baked cakes she used to make for the love of her culinary interests while, in her motherly spirit, creating delights with limited resources for all of us in the family.

Happy Mothers’ Day.

Happy Mothers’ Day.

-Promod Puri

Cuba exports very few items that contribute to its economy. These are cigars, sugar, rum, pharmaceutical products, and medical services, especially doctors.

Lately, the country has been in the news and commended for sending its doctors to Covid-19 plagued Italy in precarious and high-risk situations.

For nearly 60 years, Cuba has been sending healthcare professionals around the world, especially to the Latin American countries. It is part of its declared policy of “solidarity with those in need” no matter where the need is global.

However, this humanitarian gesture has its other side as well, the medical diplomacy, exploited in a typical way the Left or Communist regimes do. Exporting medical services earn money for Cuba to survive the ongoing US embargo.

Besides helping the needed countries, the services of doctors and other medical professionals abroad have economic and diplomatic benefits for Cuba.

Working abroad allows them to better their standard of living when they earn much more than if working on the Island. In many cases, these doctors get an opportunity to escape the hardships of the Communist regime and settle abroad permanently.

During my two-week holiday in Cuba in 2018, I was told, by Cubans themselves, that most of the country’s professionals like doctors, nurses engineers, etc. do not find jobs in their respective careers. Instead, they are doing the available jobs in hotels and luxury resorts as waiters and bartenders, cooks, or even gardeners.

Migrations by Cubans by whatever means is natural. It has been happening all these six decades of the dictatorial regime of Fidel Castro. According to a recent report, between 2006 and 2016, over 7000 Cuban doctors defected to the USA via third countries where they first worked.

The latest mission of Cuban doctors in Italy for humanitarian reasons is indeed praiseworthy. Still, it needs not to be part of the government’s publicity machinery to promote its fake ideal of internationalism while having an abysmal human rights record.

-Promod Puri

By Promod Puri

Perhaps the least revealed an aspect of Khushwant Singh’s colorful and long active life, was the fact that he perfectly balanced his cogitative pursuits with an active physical lifestyle of exercise, sports, and walks.

It may sound sweet that our fruits and vegetables are getting sweeter.

While the bitterness in some of the known bitter fruits and vegetables is becoming far less or almost non-existent. Examples are grapefruit, brussels sprouts and bitter-melon (karela).

By Promod Puri

I have been an anti-national ever since I understood the nature of its allegiance to the country one belongs to. At the same time, I am not a patriot either with its blurred image as it is often a consequence of nationalism.

Patriotism and nationalism have obscure borderline between them. It is a “problematic pair” to find independent definitions to isolate each concept. Both the words are synonyms to each other according to their dictionary explanations. Still, certain attempts have been made to detach the two.

Nationalism arises from the word nation. As such it seeks love, devotion, pride and unconditional loyalty for it. This commitment must be confined within a nation’s borders. It is an outright, and avid engagement with the country one resides in.

Nationalism also seeks pride in the nation’s identities contained in monolithic societies.

One religion, one language, and one culture dominate the monolithic societies. Together these are showcased to represent the overall nationalistic character of the nation. The politics of the country are espoused and steered around the sensitivities linked with these aspects.

However, in the universality of contemporary society, nationalism has a confined perspective. It denies or ignores the fast-emerging reality of multicultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious expressions of nations. In the nationalism of the majority, minorities’ share is limited or unimportant.

As technology, internet, and social media are the current factors cementing the multi-facet character of the world’s societies, the sentiment of nationalism is not much of an appeal.

Moreover, nationalism thins out when people migrate due to political, economic and other reasons or as refugees. It is often a dilemma for immigrants to settle in host countries to pick one national loyalty and reject the other.

Nationalism has lost its impact because no single identities are monopolizing cosmopolitan populations. But it is used as a political tool to arouse the religious, cultural and linguistic sentiments of the majority community.

Nationalism leads to the political exploitation of the dominating community apprehensive of being overwhelmed by the population mix of multiple and distinctive identities.

Xenophobia is thus forged thru the nationalistic politics.

Governments are elected in a manufactured atmosphere of fear and hatred for minorities, foreigners, and refugees. Enemies are concocted within a nation where bigotry, racism, and injustice are encouraged and played for political sovereignty.

Albert Einstein said: “Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.”

Nationalism finds accomplice in patriotism for political gains and opportunism. In this behavior, patriotism becomes a victim of nationalism.

Patriotism is derived from the word patriot. Its character is better understood in valor, bravery, sacrifice, duty and devotion toward the nation and its citizens.

The purity of patriotism lies in the concerns and care of the nation’s people, devoting and even sacrificing for their protection and peace irrespective of their class, caste, religious or cultural affiliations. It encourages pride in the achievements of the nation while seeking a critical analysis of its failures which even involves governing leadership.

A changing behavior has been observed toward the concept of patriotism among school kids in the United States recently. According to a study by Professor Jane Lo of Florida State University, “students opt out of the ritual of saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.”

Further according to the professor, “a public opinion poll conducted by the Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness suggests that young people see the flag, less as a symbol to be proud of and more as a symbol of what is wrong with the country. If more students are associating the flag with flaws in the system, it would explain why some students opt out of standing for the pledge of allegiance or other celebratory acts.”

Patriotism, nevertheless, is an evocation to support and shield the parochial aspect of nationalism. As it keeps subtle binding with nationalism, military patriotism is manifested.

But military patriotism induces an ever-escalating global war budget in the name of “defense.”

As patriotism is a major motivating factor, armed forces are raised and maintained with the spending of billions and trillions of dollars for the “defense.”

The question is: defense from whom?

Countries are not being invaded by other countries anymore. That era, which dominated the histories of humanity, ended with the Second World War 73 years ago.

The thirst of the political Left and Right ideologies for political dominance and expansionism are not the factors either. That period was over with the end of the Cold War between the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc in the late last century.

What is aimed now is the business or corporate expansionism. The reason being an ever-increasing appetite of capitalism which significantly impacts both the democratic and communist political systems. Business-political nexus is thus created.

In this expansionist development over the last several decades, borders for battleground are not needed. But the war industry’s clout keeps the borders hostile. Aggressive patriotism, infused with nationalism, is set up across the borderlines.

From that perspective, military patriotism is a deadly commitment.

The eighteenth-century French philosopher Voltaire said, “It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.”

We can admit that patriotism has been a motivating factor in the service of humanity. Both nationalism and patriotism have historical contributions toward pride, unity, independence, and sovereignty of a nation.

But the world has changed comprising of varied demographic characters. Nationalism and patriotism are now divisive concepts within a nation’s borders. Most fights and conflicts worldwide are happening within a country, not between nations.

When nationalism stirrups patriotism, the latter develops into a chauvinistic tool of power politics.

Both nationalism and patriotism relate only to the confines of the nation’s border, while the world thru technology, mass communication, and social media is fast emerging a cosmopolitan mix of one world- community.

“Our true nationality is mankind,” H.G. Wells

As such, our concerns and issues are now at the global level of wellness of all humanity. This empathetic awareness creates respect and understanding among peoples of the world irrespective of class, caste, religious or societal differences.

In this concern, our environments, which have no space in the nationalistic and patriotic jingoism, are also equal partners seeking their attention and protection.

As we are fast developing into a multi-facet global community, what we need is humanitarianism and environmentalism without the caging borders of nationalism, and the obscurity of patriotism.

-30-

Promod Puri is a Vancouver-based writer and author of Hinduism Beyond Rituals, Customs, And Traditions. Websites: progressivehindudialogue.com, promodpuri.com, and promodpuri.blogspot.com

By Promod Puri

Ever since it was first introduced in the kitchen accessories section of departmental stores I am still debating to buy it or not. Over the last 15 years or more, when the object of my curiosity was first displayed as an innovative and somewhat bizarre item, it has been a challenge to my buying impulse.

During this X-Mas season of all the popular and useful gifts items, Banana Hanger is at the bottom of my list. And it has been sitting there ever since its first appearance.

I can buy a ‘banana guard’ to protect it from spoilage or an apple peeler, but banana hanger still has to hang on until I am convinced of its merit(s). I use a shirt hanger, pant hanger and even I can think of buying a tie hanger, but for banana hanger ‘not yet’.

I remember once getting a banana hanger as a gift perhaps during the holiday season or on my birthday. The dilemma was what to do with that, to use it or to pass on to somebody else. Rejecting both, I thought of leaving it out in our back alley for street collectors. But the idea was outwardly rejected too. The reason was simple these people love to have bananas, not the banana hanger.

The poor gift item finally landed at the Salvation Army thrift store.

I do admire the craftsmanship involved in its design and its usability to hang a bunch of bananas ( not overly ripe ones ). With its sleekness and curves, it does have an aesthetic value and adorn dining table. But my only apprehension is that what I am going to do with this gizmo when I am left with a single banana. I can’t hang the lonely one on it. Moreover, unlike monkeys my appetite for bananas is limited.

Despite my aversion to banana hangers, the fact is that these are still being sold and people are buying them for their own use or as a gift item. The smart invention, great marketing!

While the BH is on my waitlist, I certainly would not buy some “useless products” which sprout up abundantly during the Christmas Season. These include ear dryer, shoes with tiny umbrellas at toes, hat with false hair, lighted slippers, bacon floss, egg cuber, underpants for hands, and much more.

And the latest entry in the bizarre category is the “popcorn helmet”. It is a headpiece that feeds popcorn directly into the wearer’s mouth, or landing close to it. The device is most useful in a theatre as it saves hands from being oily and salty.

Happy Holidays.

promodpuri.com

By Promod Puri

I don’t know if she belongs to the class of housemaid, aka “bai”. If so, then her status could be upgraded in India’s class and caste society.

She had a regular assignment at our home around 11 every morning and finishing her limited but reserved task in 15 to 20 minutes. It was the most needed part of daily cleaning.

By Promod Puri
This Cherry never blossomed to the changing realities of diverse and culturally rich Canadian society.

Don Cherry’s colorful (in costume only) long career as hockey commentator ended abruptly with a blot on his iconic stature. At the fag end of his life, after more than three decades on the air, his stylish apparel also got stains of racist rants against Quebecers, indigenous and the rest “you people.”

From his little domain of “Coach’s Corner” on the Sportsnet, Mr. Cherry delivered his last diatribe November 9, zeroing in on immigrants, new and old, who don’t wear poppies to mark the Remembrance Day.

The controversial remarks on the sports network clipped his job. He said, “Now you go to the small cities, and you know, the rows and rows … you people love … they come here, whatever it is, you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price.”

The divisive wordings of “you” and “our” is a type of racist thinking prioritizing the superiority of one group of people as more Canadian than the rest. It endorses the stereotype that immigrants are apathetic to the significance of Remembrance Day.
Wearing a poppy is not a certification to Canadian patriotism. The solidarity to Canada is not a one-day visible affair on Remembrance Day, but an on-going contribution of all us born in Canada or anywhere else.

No matter how much iconic Don Cherry might be in the realm of hockey, but his remarks certainly show a lack of historical facts that there were thousands of troops from the entire British Empire who fought along with Canadian soldiers in both the First and Second World Wars.

(This is an update to the article written a few years ago)

By Promod Puri

The fun in life includes some simple recreational activities in our daily life. And the one I like the most is just a few steps away as part of my every day up-and-down commute.

These are the stairs leading up to our apartment. Over the years I have done this personal “Grouse Grind” hundreds of times. Although my experience with stairs is quite extensive, still I would not call myself a stair-master.

But as a veteran of the stairs, I have learned some techniques and some dos and don’ts of going up and down. These know-hows are not meant for practicing to hike Mt. Everest, but simply to enjoy the staircase walk as physical activity. Stairs make an excellent place to get a daily dose of cardio and some belly alignment. A simple stroll up and down the stairs gives a good aerobic workout.

According to a Mayo Clinic newsletter, stair climbing helps strengthen and tone our leg muscles. It keeps our leg arteries flexible, allowing blood to move more easily. “Better blood flow in your legs equals a healthier heart and body.”

It can also burn off calories — about 65 calories in 15 minutes. Going at a faster pace or carrying heavier items can burn even more calories, according to a Mayo newsletter.

Moreover, a three-minute up and down the stairs after a meal helps control blood sugar.

They say keep a balance in life. That is true for stairs too.

In this upscale workout keeping the body in balance is essential. Tripping and slipping often happen when the body wobbles due to imbalance. Balancing exercises are quite common in the gym. A popular one is trying to balance the body on a hemisphere shaped ball. At home, one can practice balance by standing on one foot or keeping one foot in front of the other for as long as possible. Balance requires concentration. Or to be more precise it is meditation in action to coordinate mind and body.

Now on to the stairs. A brief stretching of legs, keeping a uniform pace and raising each leg almost parallel to the upper body for each step, are some basics of the stair exercise. At a little advance stage, one can climb two steps at a time. Or do a little bit of descending acrobat of lifting the entire body by firmly holding railings on either side and then dropping both the feet on just one step down, definitely not two.

Another tip: While going up or down, heels or toes should not be hanging down rather whole foot be placed on each step. This gives full footing with more safety as well. A trivial act of misplacing a foot can be the cause of a serious fall. Looking down is not only a humble posture but a better choice to avoid a stair accident.

If safety is the main concern, and it should be, then the cardinal principle is the use of hand-railings all along the stairs. Railings are primarily meant to be a support system for a fall-free stair walk. Curves or bends, and sleekness of a staircase are the aesthetic elements that don’t promise safety.

It is often said when going up or down the stairs do nothing, no phone, no buttoning of the shirt, etc.

Keeping these safeguards in mind stairs does offer a simple, easy and free recreational activity.

By Promod Puri

“Words are the tools of writing.” But not quite so!

Words, in fact, are the bricks and mortars we select and gather to build a structure. Its architecture and construction are based on our thoughts, opinions, and feelings, perceptions and impressions, or sharing of information, knowledge, and experiences.

I was 10-year-old when one day I severely broke my right arm. A local pehlwan, as the practice or custom was in those days, was called to fix the arm. His oil massage and turning and twisting the arm to align the broken bones was an extremely painful maneuver. After a few days, the rugged treatment did not produce any improved result. Perhaps, it was more damaging.

Next, I was in an Amritsar hospital where a known surgeon specializing in fixing broken bones finally put the bones close to and in front of each other. This was followed by lying on my back all the time for a week or so. The operated arm was kept lifted up, tied with a string which after going thru a pulley was tied at the other end with solid brick. The heavyweight was meant to bring the two bones together and slowly become one solid elbow joint. It worked.

by Promod Puri

Back in 1972, when I immigrated to Canada and made my first home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that I happened to know a very helpful and friendly person by the name of C. R. Bector.

He was a distinguished professor of mathematics at the University of Manitoba. And out of respect, as being elder to me and having an academic professional status, I along with other close acquaintances used to address him as Doctor Sahib or Doctor Bector. He was not a medical doctor but had a Ph.D. degree in his extensive portfolio of degrees.

C.R. Bector, although to most of us in the Indo-Canadian community sounded more like an English name, especially the surname, but Doctor Sahib, who is retired now, hails from Punjab. He was a popular personality in Winnipeg, simply because of his informal, lively and sociable temperament.

However, for me, the enticing thing about him is that his real name is Chajju Ram. It is really an old-fashioned North Indian name as we seldom come across with that namesake.

And the first name Chajju immediately strikes on the famous Indian proverb “jo sukh chajju ke chobare, na balakh na bukhare. Translation: east or west home is the best.

The name Chajju certainly gives a lot of credentials to the importance of the home as it is part of the life’s triangle, rather I would say the most sought-after trinity which is “roti, kapdra aur Makaan”, meaning food, clothing, and shelter.

The fact is anybody with a home, in reality, owns his or her little sovereign kingdom or queen-dom. It is one of those virtues of life which one aspires to have it. Life begins at home and revolves around home to enjoy the bliss of having that pride possession.

Home is not merely a physical dwelling of walls, windows, and doors, floors, and roofs. It is not just a rest spot either. Rather a cozy place of peace and tranquility in the midst of family or friends’ lively togetherness and entertainment. Home is a place of absolute independence within acceptable social norms.

Home sweet home is a simple expression carrying deep feelings of warmth and comfort which one yearns for.

If the home does not give all that is expected then it is a house, and for that reason, homesickness can be endured but not the house arrest.

Home is the place of everlasting nostalgia of living with parents, brothers, sisters and dear ones. The childhood anecdotes of little fights and laughs, the home-cooked food, books and beds, the school homework, and a lot more are part of the fond memories. The physical remembrance of each and every household item is also a sentimental and sweet relaxation.

Moreover, home is where we accumulate our cultural values, connect with our heritage and acquire family’s social, linguistic and religious identities. Home is that place of security and independence where with elated feelings one can unwind, recline and relax.

Seventeenth-century English poet James Thompson has exquisitely expressed his perception of home:
“Home is the resort
Of love, of joy, of peace, and plenty; where
Supporting and supported, polished friends
And dear relations mingle into bliss”.

But that bliss is deprived to millions of homeless people all over the world sheltering under the open sky at the mercy of Mother Nature. It is this sad aspect of humanity which is visibly invisible as life goes by especially in busy metropolises.

“Chajju ka chubara” is indeed a bliss of comfort and peace for most of us. And my friend C.R. Bector’s place was an embodiment of these virtues especially during harsh winter months of Winnipeg.

promodpuri.com

Thomas Saltsman, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Log onto Netflix, and you’ll be presented with a menu of nearly 6,000 titles. Create an OkCupid account, and you’ll have the chance to connect with 5 million other active users. Search for a new toothbrush on Amazon, and you’ll be bombarded with over 20,000 options, ranging from manual to mechanical, from packs of three to packs of 12.

As someone who is comically indecisive – and who studies stress – I often think about the pressure of making decisions when presented with so many options.

What do we experience, in the moment, when we decide from an abundance of choices? Does it cause us to shut down or does it energize us? Does it make us feel more confident or less confident? Could it have a lasting impact on our health and well-being?

We want choice – but not what we choose

Freedom of choice is a pillar of Western culture.

But there’s such a thing as too much choice.

Researchers such as Sheena Iyengar and Barry Schwartz have pioneered this area of study, finding that being overwhelmed with options can create an adverse experience called “choice overload or ”The Paradox of Choice.“

People tend to want as many options as possible. Whether it’s buying a car or a meal, they gravitate toward companies that offer more options versus fewer ones, because they believe a large selection will maximize their chances of finding the best fit.

But when it comes to actually making a decision from all of these options, people can become paralyzed – and avoid making choices altogether.

Even worse, when they finally do come to a decision, they’re more dissatisfied and regretful about whatever choice they make.

Getting to the heart of choice overload

To me, this explains so much of the day-to-day malaise that plagues modern society.

It explains the sheer excitement first-time homebuyers feel when they begin their search, followed by the fear that they won’t select the ideal neighborhood, school district or architectural style.

It explains the curiosity a sociable 20-something feels before checking out the opening of a new bar downtown, followed by the concern it won’t live up to her expectations.

Although we know choice overload eventually leads to regret and disatisfaction, it isn’t as clear what people are feeling when they’re in the middle of making these decisions.

My colleagues and I wondered: Do people genuinely feel confident about their ability to make a good decision? And, if so, when does this experience turn from good to bad – from brimming with potential to awash with dejection and doubt?

For our studies, we sought to peer into participants’ internal experiences as they made decisions, tracking their cardiovascular responses.

When people care more about a decision, their hearts beat faster and harder. Other measures – like how much blood the heart is pumping and how much the blood vessels are dilating – can indicate levels of confidence.

Participants in our studies reviewed online dating profiles. We asked them to choose one profile from many options or from just a few options. In other conditions of our studies, we simply asked them to rate profiles on a scale of one to 10.

We found that when the participants chose from many options, they felt more invested in the decision: Their hearts beat harder and faster. But their arteries also constricted – a sign that they also felt less confident about their decision.

In other words, when we’re presented with more choices, making the “right” or “correct” decision begins to feel more crucial and, at the same time, more unattainable.

The cardiovascular system responds the same way when we take an important exam feeling hopelessly unprepared, or commute to an interview for a dream job lacking the right qualifications.

Notably, even minor exposures to this kind of cardiac activity are believed to have long-term health consequences if they happen enough; they’re connected to certain types of heart disease and hypertension.

Deciding how to decide

Sensing high stakes over a decision – but not feeling particularly confident about making the right choice – may contribute to the deep-seated fear that we’ll make the wrong one.

I believe this fear could be tempered by putting the decision into perspective. It might help to remember that many of the day-to-day choices you make – what to have for lunch, what flavor best complements that caramel macchiato – aren’t going to matter in the grand scheme of things. Even seemingly more consequential choices, like accepting a new job, can ultimately be changed.

When thinking this way, the consequences associated with making the “wrong” choice become less scary.

It could also help to enter these situations with just a few clear guidelines and ideas of what you want – and absolutely don’t want – from the range of options. This can winnow the possible choices, and also make you more confident about your decision-making abilities.

So the next time you spend hours browsing through Netflix unable to land on a title to watch – worried that the OkCupid date you contemplated asking out for days won’t like it – remember that removing the sheer weight of our choices can help us navigate a world overwhelmed by them.

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While space scientists can continue their exploration of the moon and establish more communication links with the cool-light planet, I along with most of us of the Indian heritage were told in very early childhood that the guy up there in the sky is a close relative from the mother side. He was referred to as Chanda-mama, to be precise Chanda uncle.

In fact, as we were growing up, we were introduced to a very popular children magazine, I believe it is still around, called Chandamama. It was an easy read comic magazine dealing with ancient Indian folklore.

Boredom is a very commonly expressed feeling even in this age when we have 24-hour entertainment at our convenience. There is a stream of entertainment and information from our smartphones and social media in the company of self. But still, there are occasional experiences of boredom.

Why do we feel bored?

Centuries ago, people used to migrate from one place to another for reasons which were natural calamities, local violence, or community upheavals. Or just seeking better pastures. But there were no borders. It was freedom of unrestricted movement.

Now, in the present age peoples also want to migrate for the same reasons as well as to escape violent political upheavals, crime, and violence based on ethnicity, conflicts, and prosecutions. But, we have borders. There are security guards, policing and military both at leaving and entry routes. People seeking refuge in other lands face multiple hardships, rules, and regulations. 

“Inhumanity, it seems, is contagious. In Italy, babies and children have been repeatedly kept at sea for days by a government that fears—hates, even—migrants, no matter their age. In Turkey, authorities are cracking down on the Syrian refugees that Europe didn’t want. Globally, more people have been forcibly displaced from their homes in the past five years than at any previous time in history, and more than half of the world’s 26 million refugees are children. Many are met with systematic dehumanization coupled with apathy in the places where they hoped they would be safe.

By Promod Puri

The sign on the front door read, “please remove your shoes.”

It was not a Hindu temple, Gurdwara or a mosque, where such is the custom or a religious edict. But the newly-build home of a friend who had a house-warming party a few years ago.

When we arrived, there already was quite a spread of shoes and sandals all over the front entrance. The four-word notice was polite, but terse in its message. The host did not want the new flooring and expensive carpeting inside to be spoiled by any soiled footwears of the incoming guests.

Understandably, I also removed my shoes. Otherwise, my black pair was absolutely dirt-free with a shine like a new. I put them in the far corner for easy on my memory when leaving the place.

Removing shoes as we visit friends or relatives is somewhat an uncomfortable advisory for some or many people including myself. Wearing them is part of a complete dress up. We make sure the shoes we’re wearing are clean and well-polished. Taking them off at the very entrance of a visiting home is undressing a part of my body, which loses the comfort, warmth, and snugness of the footwear.

Anyway, that is a personal choice where one feels comfortable. But besides being a personal preference, the issue is if wearing shoes inside a home is unhygienic. Does the practice bring in harmful bacteria from outside getting inside?

Yes, they do. Shoes are the vehicles offering free rides to bacteria like E. Coli, which stick to the outside of shoes, and they cause intestinal infections, even meningitis.

The transmission happens when shoes are touched by hands, and the latter touch face or mouth. Or the same hands picking up the food dropped on the floor and eaten.

Contamination by shoes, however, is considered much less health hazard than many other culprits, like cats and dogs who enter homes with uncleaned paws. And then there are hundreds of surfaces and objects which we touch and pick up the germs and bacteria. For example escalator railings, gas station pumps, ATM machines, etc. etc. as well as the money we handle, our toilets and bathroom floors, vacuum cleaners, sponge dish cleaners, all carry millions of bugs.

The contamination sources are all around.  Shoes contribute an insignificant measure of bacterial contaminants. In fact, there is a theory that shoes also bring along dirt which can help stimulate autoimmune systems, particularly among children and people over 65.

Besides, the health reasons, which are not dire, taking shoes off is more of etiquette according to the house policy of inviting hosts. My house-warming friend, in the meanwhile, has relaxed the entrance code, which in now guests’ choice.

(Promod Puri is a writer and author of Hinduism, beyond rituals, customs, and traditions. Websites: promodpuri.com, progressivehindudialogue.com, and promodpuri.blogspot.com)   

By Promod Puri

I confess a feeling of guilt erupted within me after buying a pair of pant the other day. This despite the fact, in my otherwise sparse closet, there are enough pants to last till next five to six years or more. But I purchased it anyway with disregard to my needs.

Adding to our collection of clothing is an obsession which most of us have. And the fashion industry exploits this urge by offering the latest in designs. Moreover, we have an inborn appetite for newness in our passion for clothing.

How much wardrobe is essential to meet our body covering compliance as well as a social necessity to express and exhibit ourselves for all occasions? We have daywear, nightwear, workwear, gym wear, party wear, casual wear, etc. But that is the norm. And to meet this norm, clothing is one of our big expense items.

In the proverbial saying “food, shelter and clothing” as our basic needs, clothing has jumped beyond these fundamentals to compulsive buying temperament.

No wonder, when we go to a shopping mall or a factory outlet, most of the retail shops are wear-related. There are clothing wears, shoe wears, jewelry wear, and even the perfume industry also advertise its products as wearable odors.

Coming back to the clothing, my observation is that we keep buying more of the stuff without discarding the old ones. A friend boasted that he has over 50 pairs of pants and an equal number of shirts, plus 20 suites, along with almost two dozen ties to complete his formal wears. Another friend said she has over 200 Punjabi suits with an addition of about five-plus every year. She does not wear these suits every day as she is working. And for that, there is another big pile of workwear.

To me and I’m sure many among us, the apparel equity to accumulate the stock approaching afterlife is a wastage cluster, a chunk of that hangs like deceased bodies in the closets.

However, that scenario is reportedly changing fast. The apparel possessors are an abating people, while the trend developing swiftly is to dispose of the no-more-likable, non-fit, non-fashion garments in the second-hand buying-selling market.

The second-hand clothing business catering to customers of all age groups is booming. In fact, the name-brand clothing in the reuse market carry attention and value, and customers love to grab the bargains.

The second-time-around online and in-store buying and selling garment enterprises are popping up, which are easing on our packed closet warehouse. And then there are peer-to-peer services available where sellers send photographs of their clothing items to the handling company and eventually ship the items to buyers.

The second-hand clothing market is reportedly a multi-billion-dollar industry now with a projection of moving skyward. In this trend known retailors and clothing manufacturers are jumping on board. H & M, Macy’s and JC Penny will soon be selling good and look-like-new clothing to their customers.

This is a circular economy in the clothing industry. The use-and-reuse is the very mantra for safeguarding our environment. Otherwise, the fashion industry produces a colossal amount of waste, which is close to 100 million tons a year.

Since I believe in the circular economy, my guilt in buying the new pair of pant gets some relief that down the road it will end up for re-wear on somebody’s petite physique like mine.

At the same time over the years I’ve developed a policy of buy one and discard one the next day. However, the regret is that some time for some reason, I return the new one but can’t recover the discarded one.

(Promod Puri is a writer and author of Hinduism, beyond rituals, customs, and traditions. Websites: promodpuri.com, progressivehindudialogue.com, and promodpuri.blogspot.com)      

Jane Cotter, Texas A&M University

Sarah M. Munoz, Université de Montréal

Global climate change is endangering small island countries, many of them developing nations, potentially harming their ability to function as independent states.

As international environmental co-operation stalls, we must ask what consequences climate change will have on the statehood of vulnerable countries. This is especially important because sovereignty is the most important principle in international relations. Any threat to a nation’s sovereignty could have unprecedented repercussions for global governance.

A state is defined under international law by the Montevideo Convention with four specific criteria: a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. Today, these conditions could be threatened by the international community’s inability to commit to strong environmental action.

Indeed, the Republic of Kiribati declared in 2015 that the effects of climate change are threatening its very existence as a nation. Along with the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Tokelau and Tuvalu, Kiribati is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change because it is composed entirely of low-lying atolls.

As the country pleads for international and proactive action regarding global warming, the effects of rising seas, dying corals and intensified natural hazards are putting a strain on its capacity to function.

How climate change affects entire nations

Atoll nations are characterized by sub-surface freshwater reserves that are sensitive to sea level rise and drought, putting populations at risk of serious water shortages. Climate change is also affecting agricultural production, leading to food shortages and internal migrations.

On small islands, movements will soon require communities and individuals to move across borders. These factors could threaten a fundamental criteria of statehood as defined by the Montevideo Convention: a permanent population.

The previous president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, once said “our islands, our homes, may no longer be habitable — or even exist — within this century.” That indicates the second criteria for statehood, a territory, is being threatened. As climate change is not being efficiently tackled and countries begin to feel the effects of eroded shorelines, scholars have begun to ponder solutions.

Solutions

Among them, the “government-in-exile” mechanism has been proposed. This tool allows a government to function outside of its territory, but requires the maintenance of a population. It also needs another sovereign nation to relinquish a piece of territory. Of course, it seems highly improbable that a state would voluntarily give land to a nation for relocation, or that it would abandon its territory.

In the end, this mechanism isn’t likely to be an efficient response since climate change complicates power dynamics among nations.

In the event of the disappearance of a country, it is unclear whether it would retain its sovereignty in the eyes of the international community. The United Nations hints that it’s improbable that a state would simply cease to exist due to what it calls the “presumption of continuity.” This ambiguity surrounding the maintenance of statehood of vulnerable nations should shake the international community out of its immobility on these questions.

Unfortunately, the international principle of sovereignty is a double-edged sword. It gives historic emitters the absolute freedom to respond to climate change through non-binding agreements, and procrastinate the adoption of effective treaties. But the issue of rising sea levels and the threat posed to the statehood of Pacific states should raise concern among the defenders of sovereignty.

A cold political climate

Republicans in the United States, for example, have always been keen to defend the sovereignty of the U.S. through various forms of rhetoric and international stances. In September 2018, President Donald Trump warned the United Nations that he would not renounce sovereignty to an “unelected bureaucracy” one year after pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement.

Trump said “responsible nations must defend against threats to sovereignty” while bragging about his country’s massive exports of oil, gas and what he called “clean” coal. And as he continued to extol the virtues of fossil fuels and the protection of U.S. sovereignty against global governance, Trump effectively pushed environmental issues further out of the international spotlight.

Defending American freedom from international obligations has been high on the Trump agenda, and so in the context of accelerating environmental crises and growing isolationism, it seems highly unlikely that he would defend the sinking sovereignty of Pacific nations.

However, let’s not solely blame the U.S. for failing to protect an immutable principle of international relations.

An uncertain future

The international political community has been producing, year after year, non-binding and uninspired environmental accords that do little to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The “polluter pay” principle proposes that bearing the costs of pollution should be proportionate to the degree of responsibility in producing it.

This directive hasn’t exactly worked out in international negotiations as the question of responsibility is still a feature of debates among industrialized nations and developing countries.

The plight of the sinking islands worsens as the international community fails to effectively tackle climate change. Without concrete action, cross-border climate migrations will accelerate as resources shrink and territories become eroded by rising sea levels, pushing people out of their homes and jeopardizing the statehood of entire Pacific countries.

They are among the smallest emitters of greenhouse gases, and yet are disproportionately suffering the consequences of climate change. The situation exposes the lack of solidarity and climate justice in the global community.

Unfortunately, lacklustre action on climate change along with U.S. reluctance to engage in environmental discussions could result in an unprecedented question in international law soon going mainstream: What exactly do we do if a country drowns?

(This article is an approach to get into the praxis of simple living and to realize its efficacy. The article does not make a list of things as what to do or what not to do, rather it is left to the reader to work out his or her own simple living lifestyle and make changes as one goes along this path. The basis of this presentation is to seek some disciplined enjoyment of life towards self as well as towards the environment around.)

The nature of simple living if willingly explored, accepted and experienced is both rewarding and blissful. The discipline helps in creating an ethical and guilt-free living.

While rejecting some or most of society’s false and pretentious customs or norms, the adaptation to simple living is plain and instinctively natural.

In simple living, the only expression which matters most is the word ‘simple’. It is a descriptive adjective attached to the word living. It describes, defines and gives character to the word living.

The word ‘simple’ has several definitions.

· Simple means easy to understand or deal with;
· Simple means not elaborate just plain, unmixed;
· Simple means not decorate, luxurious, grand or sophisticated;
· Simple means modest;
· Simple means free of deceit;
· Simple means lucid, natural, neat, unadulterated and
fundamental.
. And simple means sincere.

These attributions are the embodiments of simple living offering a complete and genuine package of peace and comfort.

Spirituality, health, environmental concerns, and economics are mainly the four reasons people seek a simple living for quality and good value in their lives.

Whatever the reason or reasons one picks initially to lodge into the simple living habitat all the above four motivations merge into a wholesome experience of tranquility and contentment.

The fundamental nature of simple living is a disciplined enjoyment of life while caring for fellow beings and the environment. Engaging in simple and ordinary pleasures of life are the dynamics to experience the joys of simple living.

However, simple living demands more than simple pleasures. It is the change of attitude along with a change of lifestyle in harmony with consciousness. Simple living demands a reversal of life which is otherwise outwardly rich and inwardly poor.

Indeed, the most popular form of simple living is to comfortably and voluntarily adjust life to basic minimum needs which curbs wastage and the ego of having plenty.

Very true “wealth consists of not having great possessions, but in having few wants”. As well as the “shortcut to riches is to subtract from one’s desires”.

Getting away from the consumerist mentality and reducing needs for purchased goods are the entry points for simple living. How far an individual can go to survive with bare minimum needs is a matter of practicality. In our social and cultural environment of materialism, it is indeed an anomalous challenge. Moreover, extreme frugal living is damaging to the economy, though good for the environment.

Simple living can be argued as an alternative lifestyle for the upper and middle classes. The poor in society all crave for some catching up in our materialistic world. Enough economic activity has to be maintained to bring along these unfortunate people to the minimum standards of living before getting on to the ride of simple living.

Living with minimum basic materialistic needs is the hallmark of simple living, but its strength lies in the purity of consciousness where one can explore and practice one’s own ever-evolving guidelines of simple living and enjoying every moment of it.

by Promod Puri, promodpuri.com

Megan Bradley, McGill University

Record-breaking years for refugee flows have become the norm. UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, just released its annual tally of displacement worldwide. Once again the numbers rose, with 70.8 million people displaced by conflict and violence — more than at any point since the Second World War.

In media coverage on refugees, we hear the most about the small fraction of refugees who manage to reach Europe or North America, yet well over half of the displaced — some 41.3 million —never make it out of their own countries.

This invisible majority is known by the uninspired acronym of IDPs, or “internally displaced persons.” In countries like Syria, South Sudan, Myanmar and Nigeria, IDPs face targeted violence and extreme poverty, but because they remain within their own borders, they receive little attention or effective international support.

Read more: Nigeria’s constitution holds the key to protecting internally displaced people

It’s time to change that, and Canada must help.

No coherent strategy

While Canada prides itself for its history of leadership in support of refugees, we lack a coherent, ambitious strategy to strengthen protection and assistance for the majority of displaced people who remain inside their own countries.

Our efforts have focused on comparatively small numbers of refugees by considering the asylum claims of those who arrive at our borders, and resettling refugee families from camps and over-strapped host communities in developing countries.

As UNHCR reported, Canada is now the top resettlement country, resettling 28,100 refugees in 2018 —but that’s only 0.0004 per cent of those displaced worldwide. We reach larger numbers by funding groups such as UNHCR. However, these agencies primarily assist refugees who have crossed international borders, doing little for the majority who are uprooted within their own states.

An improved Canadian response to the challenge of internal displacement could be based on three key pillars: leadership, resources and solutions.

Leadership

Theoretically, leadership in responding to IDPs’ needs and protecting their rights should come from their own governments. In places like Syria and Myanmar, however, IDPs are more hunted than helped by their governments. This means that international officials must step in to address unmet needs.

We need a high-level flagbearer for IDPs, who can work at the international level to advocate for IDPs’ rights, encourage improved government policies and promote effective, co-ordinated responses to IDPs from UN agencies, NGOs and donors.

UNHCR plays this role for refugees who have sought shelter outside the countries, but for IDPs, the UN has only a solitary volunteer expert —an arrangement farcically unsuited to the scale of the challenge. Canada should push for the prompt appointment of a new, prominent, full-time representative of the UN Secretary-General on IDPs, with a fully staffed office dedicated to strengthening responses to internal displacement in cooperation with agencies like the UNHCR.

Systematic & strategic resource distribution

Inequitably distributed resources are also a major barrier to effective responses to IDPs. As a major humanitarian and development donor, Canada should review its aid for IDPs, and prepare a policy to ensure more systematic, strategic support for IDPs, bridging emergency humanitarian relief and longer-term development interventions.

It should also spearhead a broader effort with other donor countries to improve responses to internal displacement.

At a time when aid budgets are already stretched tight, it is hard to hear that more funding is needed. But the reality is that IDP situations are chronically underfunded, with dramatically less spent in support of IDPs compared to refugees facing similar challenges.

This lack of support means that many who would prefer to remain closer to home to tend their crops, safeguard their businesses or care for sick family members have little choice but to make dangerous journeys to seek shelter abroad. It also means that those without the money or physical ability to flee their countries are left high and dry.

To be clear, there is no substitute for refugees’ right to seek asylum. Increased aid for IDPs does not mean that borders can be closed or refugees turned away.

Rather, this is about better responding to the complexity of massive displacement situations in which some people will need shelter outside their countries as refugees, while others may be unable to leave. IDPs should not be sidelined simply because they remain inside their own countries.

Resolving displacement

Finally, we need to refocus on solutions to internal displacement. Canada must co-operate with other donors, governments and UN agencies to promote more comprehensive and systematic support for all those who are struggling to find a solution to their displacement.

From Colombia to the Congo, displacement — internal and cross-border — drags on for longer and longer periods as those forced to flee are unable to safely return or find acceptance elsewhere.

Yet in 2017, over six million IDPs attempted to return to their homes, despite ongoing instability. Many received no support from aid agencies or governments, undermining their ability to return and rebuild. At the same time, thousands of refugees who have repatriated to countries such as Afghanistan have subsequently been internally displaced because they’ve been unable to reclaim their lost homes and re-establish their livelihoods, or have faced violence in their communities.

We must do more to increase the odds that these movements are safe and sustainable.

Forced migration can seem like an insurmountable challenge as displacement rates keep climbing and words of welcome are drowned out by calls to seal up borders and slash aid budgets.

Building on our track record of support for refugee resettlement, we can make progress by standing up for those uprooted within their own countries, creating a broader and stronger response for the millions of refugees and IDPs unable to reach our shores.

By Promod Puri

Paldi, named after a small town in Hoshiarpur District of Punjab, is located about seven miles south-west of Duncan, off the road to Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island in BC.

The village of Paldi was established in 1917 by an enterprising Punjabi by the name of Mayo Singh, who came to Canada in 1906 when he was 17-year-old.

The place is now quite and sleepy. But in its glorious past, it was bursting with over 1500 inhabitants, who were mostly from Punjab working in the sawmill and as loggers.

Besides, the “Hindoo” population, as they were all called during that time, Paldi was a multicultural community of Japanese, Chinese and immigrants from various other nationalities as well.

The reminiscences of Paldi are reflected through its Indian-sounding street names. There are Ranjeet Street, Bishan Street, Jindo Street, and Kapoor Road covering the entire little village.

The first community-cum-religious center of Paldi was the Sikh temple established in 1919 which is now celebrating its 100th year.

With the Gurdwara in its center, the atmosphere in Paldi during its heydays was that of a typical Punjab village. The Punjabi community brought along its social and cultural traditions. Sports events and festivals were part of the life in Paldi. The big annual event was the “Jor Mella,” a festival of events like soccer, volleyball, and kabaddi.

For the people of South Asian origin in Canada, Paldi is a historical place.

In its dirt lie the memorable annals of the time which saw the glory amid hardships of the community. Paldi is a significant chapter of our struggles, accomplishment, and pride in the recent history of Canada.

(Promod Puri is the author of Hinduism Beyond Rituals, Customs, And Traditions. Websites: promodpuri.com, progressivehindudialogue.com, and promodpuri.blogspot.com)

Why?

That is a big question mark Rabba Hun Kee Kariye does not answer. Nor does it intend to answer. But it does shake our morality when we are drawn on religious fronts of hate.

Rabba Hun Kee Kariye is a documentary on bloody mayhem following the partition of India in 1947. “It constitutes a vital link in the chain of Partition memories.” In doing so, the film creates a pictorial monument of genocidal killing, which cannot be blacked out either by time or by society.

Vancouver-based UBC scholar and documentary filmmaker Ajay Bhardwaj presents a powerful and compelling presentation about the horrors and dreadful count of mass killings inflicted through religious vengeance.

Earnestly crafted by Bhardwaj, the 65-minute documentary in Punjabi, with subtitles in English, is a captivating presentation of interviews scripting the brutal chapter of recent Punjab history after the partition.

Bhardwaj’s camera roams the fields and streets of the Indian side of Punjab, in its Ludhiana, Bathinda, Patiala, and Malerkotla districts. It instinctively captures the insanity of humankind in its indiscriminate but sudden eruption of hatred against fellow human beings.

The gripping narrations by aging witnesses in the documentary bring a vivid portrait of hate which the fanatic murderers of ‘47 often boasted with some pride in the slaughter of those who are different by their religion only.

The film besides presenting the dreadful carnage through the eyes of the witnesses earnestly seeks the commonalities which bind the people together. In this exploration emerges a sense of “guilt and remorse.” It is a feeling of consciousness which “they expressed in a language that is distinctly their own, in their unique tradition/cultural specific ways — a language often ignored by the portals of academia. Yet this seems the most powerful organic response of Punjabi people against the genocide of 1947as also the silence of the state”, as Bhardwaj observed in filming the documentary.

Religions might be different in their names, but all of them have the same bottom-line of universal brotherhood. Poet-philosopher Mohammad Iqbal says “Mazhab nahi sikhata aapas mein bair rakhna… (religion does not teach hatred among us).

Sharing the same culture, same language, same skin color and looks, same music, and the same literary heritage have been beautifully laced together by popular Punjab singer Puran Shahkoti in his explanations as well as musical presentations in Rabba Hun Kee Kariye.

Then why this sudden butchery by fellow neighbors living side by side for generations. And despite all that oneness, it happened.

Why?

– Promod Puri (promodpuri.com)

(The above picture is of Prof. Karan Singh Chouhan, a retired linguistic scholar who was one of the interviewees, and who witnessed the 1947 communal riots). 

by Promod Puri

Countries worldwide seem to be facing an escalating problem as to where to dump their daily accumulation of non-composite garbage.

Shiploads of containers carrying all kinds of waste from electronic to plastics and even household garbage are floating the world seas finding their final resting or burial place.

After China changed its policy not to accept electronic and plastic waste anymore, and other countries like Malaysia and the Philippines, refusing to be dumping places either, the developed countries are stranded with their garbage.

Recently, Philippines “threatened” Canada to take back its garbage sitting on the former’s shores for the last over 10 years. That made-in-Canada garbage is finally returning home.

Malaysia, where some clandestine garbage contractors have been importing garbage, the government has cracked down on them under its strict policy that the country “will not be a dumping ground to the world.”

Dumping of garbage in poor and developing countries is as much an environmental concern as from the exporting rich and developed nations.

It is a world problem, where each country must seek its own environmental solutions to handle its garbage, whether it is plastic, electronics, or household.

Every time I notice these in the Indian grocery stores, even at the Walmart, my recurring memories fly me back to those teenage days in India.

We did not call them as “Peepaewale” biscuits. These were just plain cookies custom-made from a local bakery shop.

by Promod Puri

An objective parallel can be drawn between the racial caste system, known as Jim Crow in the history of the United States between 1877 to late 60s, and the inhumane treatment of low-caste Hindus triggered by the centuries-old caste culture of India.
Jim Crow was a legitimized and even legalized anti-black racism which relegated African Americans not only as second-class citizens but designated them into a “way of life” by White Americans who had the right to be discriminatory.
(Jim Crow is a fictional name caricatured of a “clumsy, dimwitted black slave singing a tune called ‘jump Jim Crow’ in Louisville, Kentucky.” It was a creation of a White actor, Thomas Dartmouth “Daddy” Rice donned with blackface, and who staged jokes and songs in the typical accent of slave dialect.)
From church to the state, educational institutions at all levels to active civic groups, newspapers to politicians, all geared up under one belief that Whites were the Chosen people of God. Blacks lack morality and civilized behavior.
Blacks were cursed to be servants, and culturally and intellectually inferior. Ministers and theologians warned of any social integration with the Blacks including sexual relationships as that would produce a mongrel race. That could result in a change in the American character. New terms were created for Blacks like niggers, coons, and darkies.
It is a long list of customized Jim Crows laws and social behaviors expected from the Blacks towards the White population which reveals how discriminatory, unethical and cruel nature of these practices were against a segment of humanity with darker skin.
According to the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site Interpretive Staff, the following rules and guidelines illustrate the perception and behavior of White people towards Blacks.
Burial. The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons upon ground set apart or used for the burial of white persons (Georgia).
Buses: All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored (Alabama).
Child Custody: It shall be unlawful for any parent, relative, or another White person in this State, having the control or custody of any White child, by right of guardianship, natural or acquired, or otherwise, to dispose of, give or surrender such white child permanently into the custody, control, maintenance, or support, of a Negro (South Carolina).
Wine and Beer: All persons licensed to conduct the business of selling beer or wine…shall serve either white people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room at any time (Georgia).

Education: The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately (Florida).
And many more laws and regulations related to the racial downgrading of the Black population were introduced and pursued by most White Americans.
Besides, Jim Crows in various states of the United States, there were many social etiquettes which the Blacks had to follow. Here are a few of them as outlined by Stetson Kennedy, the author of Jim Crow Guide (1990).
Never assert or even intimate that a white person is lying.
Never impute dishonorable intentions to a white person.
Never suggest that a white person is from an inferior class.
Never lay claim to, or overly demonstrate, superior knowledge or intelligence.
Never curse a white person.
Never laugh derisively at a white person.
Never comment upon the appearance of a white female.
Racial laws along with imposed etiquettes for the Blacks and their almost total segregation were the norms under the overall hateful and heartless behavior of the White majority.
However, the more horrifying and barbaric aspect of the “way of life” was public lynching, murders, and looting of Black people. The Lynch Law victims were hanged, shot, burned at stake (post), castrated, beaten with clubs, or dismembered. Whites could physically beat Blacks with impunity.

RACISM IN HINDU CASTE SYSTEM
Now, let us take a brief visit to the racists and ultra sub-human practices embedded in the psyche of upper-class Hindus against the lowest in the hierarchy ladder of India’s caste system.
The people in this segment of the society were classified as Shudras according to Manusmriti, a manual written by self-proclaimed saint Manu centuries ago. He stratified society into four classes where Shudras’ main job description is described as to look after the above three classes. Manu also recognized the existence of an un-coded fifth class, as being the lowest of the lowest or “untouchables.”
Both the Shudras and the “untouchables” are also known as Dalits in present-day India.
Manu declared that Shudras and the “untouchables” were ineligible to study or even listening to hymns in the Vedas.
Besides stripping them from studying and access to knowledge a sampling of Manu’s treatment of Shudras and Untouchables is penned in the Manusmriti like this:
“—- men who, in their folly, wed wives of the low (Sudra) caste, soon degrade their families and their children to the state of Sudras,” (Manusmriti, Chapter 3, Para 15)”.
“A Brahmana (high caste) who takes a Sudra wife to his bed, will (after death) sink into hell; if he begets a child by her, he will lose the rank of a Brahmana, (Manusmriti, Chapter 3, para17)”.
“For him who drinks the moisture of a Sudra’s lips, who is tainted by her breath, and who begets a son on her, no expiation is prescribed,” (Manusmriti, Chapter 3, Para 19)”.
Manu’s unjust and undemocratic caste system led to creating many social barricades advanced and nurtured by the priest class in conceiving the customs and practices against the Dalits and the Untouchables.
As time passed the culture of discrimination, hatred and inequality formulated by Manu became an increasingly horrendous practice. It came to the point when in most parts of India both Shudra and Untouchable communities were segregated to live outside the boundaries of a village or town. They were to enter and exit the township at certain hours.
They were not allowed to enter temples or keep religious idols in their homes, no admission to schools, nor allowed to draw water from the wells used by higher castes. The mere touch of their body or even their sight or shadow was considered impure.
In his book Annihilation of Caste, Dr. Ambedkar while arguing against the deep-rooted caste system in the Hindu psyche, gives a vivid description of the custom and practices prevalent in the society.
Dr. Ambedkar can be ranked along with Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. and other world leaders who fought against the humiliating social disorder and break the shackles of virtual economic and social slavery.
He writes: “Under the rule of the Peshwas in the Maratha country the untouchable was not allowed to use the public streets if a Hindu was coming along lest he should pollute the Hindu by his shadow. The untouchable was required to have a black thread either on his wrist or in his neck as a sign or a mark to prevent the Hindus from getting them polluted by his touch through mistake. In Poona, the capital of the Peshwa, the untouchable was required to carry, strung from his waist, a broom to sweep away from behind the dust he treaded on lest a Hindu walking on the same should be polluted. In Poona, the untouchable was required to carry an earthen pot, hung in his neck wherever he went, for holding his spit lest his spit falling on earth should pollute a Hindu who might unknowingly happen to tread on it.”
In his crusade to end the ill-treatment of Dalits, as well as expressing his moral sense, that on December 25, 1927, he led a public protest of symbolic burning of Manusmriti.
The deep-rooted caste system in the Hindu psyche has plagued India for centuries.
And despite on-going educational and progressive movements, the “way of life” is the same for many Dalits as experienced by the Blacks under the Jim Crow laws and practices.
(Information sources for this article: Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, and Hinduism Beyond Rituals, Customs, and Traditions.)

(Promod Puri is a journalist, writer, and author of Hinduism beyond rituals, customs, and traditions. Websites: promodpuri.com, progressivehindudialogue.com, and promodpuri.blogspot.com)

By Promod Puri

In my school days as the bell ring, all the kids assembled for the morning prayer which was quite secular in nature. I don’t remember the whole prayer which was in Hindi, but a couplet of that I can still recall.

The words of advice in that morning ritual go like this: jo kal karna woh ajj karle, jo ajj karna woh abb karle. A loose translation of the wordings can be “whatever one thinks to be done tomorrow, should be done today, and whatever to be executed today, should be tackled right now.” Basically, all it means not to dither, not to delay whatever is supposed to be done.

In practice, the advisory was seldom followed by me especially working on that massive load of “school work” wrecking our countdown-wait of two-month-long summer vacation. In fact, it was the opposite in my case, jo abb karna woh ajj karle, jo ajj karna woh kal karle.

Later in life, advancing the doing task by day or date waned with the developing attitude of ‘get it over’ as tomorrow would be like missing the train. But some traits of the delaying behavior are still there in me as most of us have it too, for example postponing a visit to the dentist, writing or reviewing the will, fixing or get it fixed that dripping tap, etc. etc.

Temporizing can be an evasive action, which some people justify as time management because things should be done or tackled on a priority basis. But priorities keep piling up in our busy life’s schedules. Yesterday’s priority becomes secondary, and the one for today is superseded by tomorrow’s agenda.

In fact, it is a dilly-dallying habit or obsession which psychologist call procrastination. Chronically, it is the nature of avoiding tasks, mainly the difficult ones.

Life’s urgencies have made us not to procrastinate our duties and responsibilities. Most of us are in that get-it-over class of on-time doers.

But some people find a bit thrill in postponing things till the last moment. Example being a friend of mine who gets gas fill in his vehicle only when it starts stalling. He may be keeping an empty gas cylinder in his car in case…. But he loves the adventure of being a practicing procrastinator.

My procrastination experience once was neither an adventure nor fun. Rather it was more of escalating tension when we just made it to the nearest gas station after crossing the border for the cheap US gas.

 (Promod Puri is a journalist, writer and author of Hinduism Beyond Rituals, Customs, And Traditions. Websites: promodpuri.com, progressivehindudialogue.com and promodpuri.blogspot.com)

This story is not an attempt to downgrade his personality, but it reveals how Gandhi became from ordinary to an extraordinary human being. He learned from his experiences, moved on, and became one of the great leaders of the world in the contemporary history of the world.

by Promod Puri

While Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolence activism got him international fame and many followers, an important part of his personal life and preferences has been revealed in an unknown small book by Professor Kris Tangri.

Kris Tangri lived a retired life in Victoria, Canada, after a very successful academic career in Canadian and American universities. He died a couple of years ago in his mid-90s

Nepal’s menstrual huts: what can be done about this practice of confining women to cow sheds?

Sara Parker, Liverpool John Moores University and Kay Standing, Liverpool John Moores University

The tragic recent deaths of a mother and her two sons in a chhaupadi hut in Nepal has again brought the issue of this exclusionary practice to the forefront of international human rights and media attention.

Despite being illegal, chhaupadi, the practice of exiling menstruating women and girls from their home – often to a cow shed – is still practised in some areas of Western Nepal. Chhaupadi is an extreme example of the stigmas and restrictions around menstruation that exist not only in Nepal, but also globally. The recent protests at the Sabarimala temple in India, which women of menstruating age are not allowed to enter, is another example of menstrual pollution beliefs.

The image of menstruating women and girls being forced to leave their homes and be confined to a cow shed dominates media coverage of the issue in Nepal. But this view oversimplifies what is a much more complex issue. Chhaupadi is not only limited to the physical practice of sleeping in a shed – it goes beyond this to include deeply rooted cultural beliefs about impurity, which see women and girls as inferior, and lead girls to internalise these feelings. Girls are told they are impure form a young age, which can have a damaging effect on their psyche and sense of self-worth.

Many NGOs and activists are destroying the sheds – and the Nepalese government has introduced new penalties and sanctions, such as removing state food support and other services. While this might seem like a welcome move, in some areas there are reports that this can make it more dangerous for women and girls as instead they sleep outside in caves or the jungle without shelter or mosquito nets. These practices are deeply ingrained in culture and society, so many women may leave their homes despite sanctions for fear of bringing harm if they don’t.

Tham Maya Thapa, Nepal’s minister for women, children and senior citizens, believes it will take time to end chhaupadi. This is a custom that has been deeply entrenched in Nepalese society for hundreds of years.

What can be done?

Nepal is an exceptionally diverse country of 125 ethnic groups. To tackle chhaupadi, a nuanced understanding of how menstrual practices and beliefs differ among varied religious and ethnic backgrounds is required. Although chhaupadi hits the headlines, there is no one all-encompassing single narrative on menstruation in Nepal.

We have been researching gender, education and gender-based violence in Nepal over the past 25 years and are working on a project on the origins of menstrual beliefs and practices which explores the diverse range of beliefs, practices and historical and cultural roots which underpin menstrual health customs in all seven provinces of Nepal.

We are working with local organisations and activists such as Radha Paudel, to challenge menstrual stigma, as a a deeper understanding of the diverse menstrual practices beyond chhaupadi is needed to do so. Our previous research has highlighted a range of stigmas and restrictions, such as not being able to visit the temple and participate in religious ceremonies, as well as being forbidden to look in mirrors, cook, or have any contact with men. Because while chhaupadi is a serious human rights issue, other issues of gender-based violence, such as sexual violence and domestic abuse do not get the same widespread media coverage.

A range of academics and activists are challenging the media representation with photography, film and art which empower women and girls to speak out about their experiences. These can be powerful tools, ensuring that the voices of women and girls are heard and highlighting that women and girls can be active agents of change, rather than simply passive victims of oppression.

Working with local organisations

Collaboration with local communities and partners is key to changing attitudes, and this can be done using participatory and creative methods. For example, a team of experts from the University of Pittsburgh in partnership with Nepal Fertility Care Centre used collaborative filmmaking to include girls in the conversation around menstruation.

The girls who made the film have gone on to be advocates for change and are challenging menstrual stigmas and taboos in their community. Bringing them to Kathmandu increased the confidence of the girls, and engaged policy makers, government ministers and NGOs. The film received an international audience at the Kathmandu film festival as well as media coverage.

Meanwhile, the MenstruAction conference in Kathmandu in December 2018 brought together local expertise working towards challenging stigmas and restrictions and enabling and empowering women to realise their sexual and reproductive rights and their basic right to be free from harm and discrimination. Government ministries need to engage in these events and work together with grassroots activists to promote change.

Complex problems require complex solutions. Menstruation is often framed as a “health and hygiene” issue, but a range of actors are needed to bring about long-term change. The media have a role to play in raising awareness, too – but they must be careful not to sensationalise the issue, and to also listen to – and report – the voices of activists and change makers in the community.

Only when we put women and girls and their voices at the centre of research, policies and interventions, can we truly understand the nuanced nature of the deeply embedded practice of chhaupadi.

Sara Parker, Reader in Development Studies, Liverpool John Moores University and Kay Standing, Reader in Gender Studies, Liverpool John Moores University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Audibly residing forever in the hearts of Hindi filmy music lovers is Noor Jehan’s renditions of Aawaz de kahan hai (a duet with Surendra); Mere bachman ke sathi muje bhool na jana, dekho dekho hase na zamana; and Jawan hai mohabbat hasin hai zamana, lutaya hai dil ne khoshi ka tarana (film Anmol Ghardi).

Malika-e-tarannum Noorjahan’s distinct and immaculate voice uplifts the spirit and clarity of the lyrics. Her sweet but eloquent and uninhibited style continues to echo eternally across India-Pakistan borders.

I have company in my lonely abode

Arriving and departing, the door is open and revolving

The guests come, some offer bloom, others gloom.

They’re the memories, family, and friends,

Karmas’ notes, complaints, and compliments

Environments, weapons, wars, and fights

Politics, poverty, religions, and human rights

Cherishing hopes, jokes, and anecdotes

In this lively, and spirited noise

Consciousness joins as an in-house voice

And the party goes on, in my lonely abode.

-Promod Puri

https://promodpuri.com/

It is the case of old wine in new bottles.

And a lot of new bottles are needed by some provincial governments in India when it comes to filling up with new names to the ancient cities and towns in the country.

While they can’t change the historical and cultural character of the cities, but the new labeling seems to be the current political hype running across India, especially in the saffron-ruled state of Uttar Pradesh.

If you’re visiting India and going to Allahabad, don’t get confused when the landing sign reads “welcome to Prayagraj.” Yes, that is the latest name change for the city known for its biggest religious fair in the world, called “Kumbh Mela.”

Allahabad, I mean Prayagraj, was the hometown of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and it is for the country’s most popular film star Amitabh Bachchan.

Another name-change casualty occurs to the major rail junction town of Mughalsarai, near Varanasi (formerly Banaras) as it is now officially called Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.

And if you are traveling down to the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cosmopolitan city of Ahmedabad has been recently renamed called Karnavati.

For those who are visiting India after a long time, the name-change travel advisory includes that Bombay is now called Mumbai, Bangalore is Bengaluru, Chennai replaces Madras, and Trivandrum to Thiruvananthapuram.

(I had to copy and paste the last one to avoid mis-spelling).

So, if you are visiting India, don’t feel lost in your favorite cities adopting new names. Some of them need little practice to pronounce correctly. However, these are the same towns and cities with the same character and the same hospitality.

It is just the same old wine in a new bottle.

–by Promod Puri

Convert us,
We’re adaptable
But we’re poor. We’re hungry too.

Passing by a temple, a man of god advised
“come on in, become Hindu, and be happy and wise.”
So, we put on the Hindu hats.
“Now close eyes to forget the hunger.”
“Meditate for transcendental wonder.”

Then a voice was delivered from a nearby mosque
“Become Muslims for glory to god,”
We emerged as Muslims from the sacred spot.
More cordial invites “come on in, become…”
Christians, Buddhists, and other religious faiths.

And we collected more badges in our divine sails.
We’re now multi-religious with multi-god beliefs.
Without any shelter or any relief.

A buzz was heard loud and clear “There is no god, my friends,”
“Come on in, in our progressive den.”
We followed another message, another thought
In the maze of many isms and multi-paths.

A few intelligent folks gave us the direction: “stay on the Left,”
Assuring food and shelter as well as vodka and rum,
But “seal your mouth and keep mum.”
Others pulled us to the Right, to be “great again”.
Affirming food, shelter, and wealth in the promising lane.

We’ve put on all the tags, walked all the treks.
We’re victims of conflicts, riots, and terror.
Risking lives in chopping waters and dingy boats,
Eyeing to land on safe and secure shores.
We knock on the doors for some welcome abodes.
In our run to seek safe spots,
There are hunts and chases of the security guards.

We are the victims of hunger and malnutrition.
We carry loads of bricks on our heads,
We raise the buildings but live in the sheds.
For some, the hapless one
The roof is the sky, the sidewalk is the bed.
To earn few coins, we’re pickers of rags, bottles, and cans.

We don’t have class, but inferior in our caste,
Working down the drain with suffering and pain.
Underpaid and underage, bonded helpless and muted slaves.

We’re the statistics for discussion and debate,
Agenda for conferences and data for references.
We’re the stories and challenge for poets, writers, and authors.

We are an assignment for researchers and experts
Who maneuver our grades to analyze our fate
From national poverty-line to international poverty-line,
From below-poverty-line to above-poverty-line.

But at the end of the line
We’re still poor
And we’re still hungry.

-by Promod Puri

Arie Kruglanski, University of Maryland

The concept of truth is under assault, but our troubles with truth aren’t exactly new.

What’s different is that in the past, debates about the status of truth primarily took place in intellectual cafes and academic symposia among philosophers. These days, uncertainty about what to believe is endemic – a pervasive feature of everyday life for everyday people.

“Truth isn’t truth” – Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s lawyer, famously said in August. His statement wasn’t as paradoxical as it might have appeared. It means that our beliefs, what we hold as true, are ultimately unprovable, rather than objectively verifiable.

Many philosophers would agree. Nevertheless, voluminous research in psychology, my own field of study, has shown that the idea of truth is key to humans interacting normally with the world and other people in it. Humans need to believe that there is truth in order to maintain relationships, institutions and society.

Truth’s indispensability

Beliefs about what is true are typically shared by others in one’s society: fellow members of one’s culture, one’s nation or one’s profession.

Psychological research in a forthcoming book by Tory Higgins, “Shared Reality: What Makes Us Strong and Tears Us Apart,” attests that shared beliefs help us collectively understand how the world works and provide a moral compass for living in it together.

Cue our current crisis of confidence.

Distrust of the U.S. government, which has been growing since the 1960s, has spread to nearly all other societal institutions, even those once held as beyond reproach.

From the media to the medical and scientific communities to the Catholic Church, there is a gnawing sense that none of the once hallowed information sources can be trusted.

When we can no longer make sense of the world together, a crippling insecurity ensues. The internet inundates us with a barrage of conflicting advice about nutrition, exercise, religion, politics and sex. People develop anxiety and confusion about their purpose and direction.

In the extreme, a lost sense of reality is a defining feature of psychosis, a major mental illness.

A society that has lost its shared reality is also unwell. In the past, people turned to widely respected societal institutions for information: the government, major news outlets, trusted communicators like Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley or Edward R. Murrow. Those days are gone, alas. Now, just about every source is suspect of bias and serving interests other than the truth. In consequence, people increasingly believe what they wish to believe, or what they find pleasing and reassuring.

In the quest to restore peace of mind, people scramble for alternative sources of certainty. Typically this means narrowing one’s circle of confidants to one’s tribe, one’s side of the aisle, one’s ethnicity or one’s religion.

For example, in his monumental work on the “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” Edward Gibbon, the British historian recounts how the shattering of the Roman common worldview facilitated the emergence of a host of alternative religions – including Christianity, which finally prevailed over other faiths and belief systems that also sprung up at that time.

Then, as now, the fraying of our shared reality portends a fragmentation of society, an unbridgeable polarization in which distrust reigns, outsiders are demonized and collective action to address problems comes to a standstill.

Back to a shared reality

Philosophers in the 20th century, known as part of a “post-modernist” movement in Western thought, eschewed the idea that objective truth is attainable.

That school of philosophy was critical of the modern notion that science, through its methods, is able to conclusively prove its claims and theories.

Instead, post-modernist authors stressed that human knowledge is ultimately subjective and relative rather than absolute. The post modernist movement ushered a sense of irreverence and freedom into culture and society. It stressed alternative ways of knowing through feeling and image thus impacting the communication industry and encouraging imagination.

Even major defenders of science like Karl Popper maintained that truth is but a guiding ideal for scientific inquiry that can never be realized or proven for certain. Thomas Kuhn believed likewise. What these philosophers perhaps did not anticipate is what would happen to societies if skepticism and relativity – unconstrained belief systems in which nearly anything can be sustained – became widespread.

How can this dynamic be reversed?

Rebuilding a sense of shared reality among different segments of our society isn’t going to be easy, especially as it seems forces such as politicians and Russian trolls are working towards just the opposite goal. Also, deeply committed advocates and true believers from both sides are making it difficult for to rebuild that invaluable common ground that shared reality rests upon.

Psychological research suggests that such an about-face would require a willingness to “unfreeze” our entrenched positions that demonize the opinions of others, and often are based on narrow interests of one’s tribe or class.

In a forthcoming book I’m co-authoring with colleagues, “Radicals’ Journey: German Neo-Nazis’ Voyage to the Fringe and Back,” we tell the story of an arson attack against a synagogue in the German city of Düsseldorf in 2000. The German chancellor at the time, Gerhard Schröder, issued a public call for a “rebellion of the decent.”

It was a call to find a way to coalesce around common values and listen to each other’s concerns; to find forgiveness instead of rejoicing at each other’s misfortunes and mistakes.

Schröder’s plea triggered one of the largest funding schemes for counter violent extremism programs on the federal, state and community levels across all of Germany. It mobilized the entire German nation to stand together against the forces of divisiveness.

Wisdom from the field of psychology hails Schröder’s advice. The alternative to finding our lost common ground may be our self-destruction as a community and as a nation.

Arie Kruglanski, Professor of Psychology, University of Maryland

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

By Promod Puri

Sometime back my nieces and nephews along with a few of their aunties and uncles formed a family group on the social media and named it “The Intellectuals.” The idea was to stay in touch with each other wherever we’re globally settled.

Since its formation, the group, despite being calling itself as intellectuals, hardly has any intellectuality in its social conversation or gossip communications. The Intellectual bunch uses the WhatsApp, Facebook, etc. to convey greetings on special occasions, and share family news. And in lighter moods, many of the posts are simple jokes, sensible as well as pointless and ludicrous.

In its informal mandate, the question is, why the group call itself “The Intellectuals.”

Since the family social club originated in India, it seems the title has appealed to its membership as being intellectual in the country these days has an irony of pun in it. In fact, the ‘intellectuals’ rather be non-intellectuals to avoid the snobbery generated in its labeling.

The word is slang both in political and social terms. It suggests intellectuals are ignorant of ground realities despite their academic and idealistic learning.

Willfully calling somebody as an intellectual is to mock the narcissist nature of an individual who is otherwise loaded with bookish knowledge.

Intellectualism has been sarcastically ridiculed and criticized for its failure to communicate at the level in which ordinary folks can comprehend. Their wisdom and idealism remain circulated within their own isms.

Mostly Leftists scholars and thinkers are the victims of intellectual sarcasm. For that reason, it is often a bitter taunt by the political Right against the political Left.

There is some truth in the egoistic psychology of the elite community of intellectuals. Subtly and satirically that the nature of intellectuals has been a wit for “The Intellectuals.”

( Promod Puri writes on human interest, social, political and religious topics. He is the author of “Hinduism beyond rituals, customs, and traditions.” Websites: promodpuri.com, progressivehindudialogue.com, and promodpuri.blogspot.com)

(Looking at the growing worldwide popularity of the game of football, this article is about the importance of the sport, especially for the poor and developing nations).

Cricket has been a national obsession in most of the developing and Third World countries.

It is about time that the game should be dropped from the status of being the most popular sport. Rather football, aka soccer, must be promoted as such.

Despite generating millions of fans in countries like Afghanistan to Zimbabwe along with India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc., from a crop of only a few hundred cricketers, that a needed exit from its elevated prestige is worth for the survival and flourishing of other sports.

Over the past half of century, cricket has so much dominated the sports scene in South Asia, parts of Africa and Europe, the Middle East, and Caribbean Islands, that most other equally worthy sports have been discriminatorily relegated to lower grades.

Cricket is an elite sport. It has acquired its status symbol among the middle and rich people. It is an expensive outdoor indulgence. A vast majority of poor youths can only enviously enjoy watching it (only on TV). But they can not actively participate in this “gentleman’s game.”

Compared to that the “common man’s game” of football is an all-inclusive sporting event. It is undoubtedly the most popular of all world sports. It costs only a few bucks to buy a football. In cricket, the total cost for all the equipment, bats, balls, wickets, and protective gears runs into thousands.

Not only that, in cricket of all the 22 players comprising the two opposing teams, just three players, two batsmen, and a bowler, actively play the game at a given time. The rest of the 10 players supporting the bowler are fielders. They come into action only when the ball is delivered in the direction of any of them. Still, the nine players from the batting side are sitting idle waiting for their turns to bat which may not come at all for some or most of the players. The players are in the game, but not playing!

And many times, the stretched out the game just drags on. The thrill of either playing or watching the game is taken over by yawns, even brief naps too. Perhaps patience and boredom are essentials in the cricket regime.

Now, let us compare it with the strenuous game of football. One ball and that is it. Cheap and very much affordable. And all the players, 22 of them, are involved together in the vitality of the game. They are running, jumping, hitting, and bouncing in an action-packed and meditative focus on the ball. Full value for both the players and spectators.

The downgrading of cricket from its elite status will help the game of football to cover more ground involving every economic class of youths for their much-needed physical activities.

In Britain after all, where the game originated and exported to its colonial domains, cricket is gradually receding in popularity. It is being replaced by the more lucrative sport of football.

It is about time to end the cricket hype. It has gone too far. And let the football kicks in.

By Promod Puri
promodpuri.com

NY Times April 9, 2018

By Jeff Seb, director of the animal studies program at New York University.

You might be aware that chimpanzees can recognize themselves in a mirror, communicate through sign language, pursue goals creatively and form long-lasting friendships. You might also think that these are the kinds of things that a person can do. However, you might not think of chimpanzees as persons.

The Nonhuman Rights Project does. Since 2013, the group has been working on behalf of two chimpanzees, Kiko and Tommy, currently being held in cages by their “owners” without the company of other chimpanzees. It is asking the courts to rule that Kiko and Tommy have the right to bodily liberty and to order their immediate release into a sanctuary where they can live out the rest of their lives with other chimpanzees.

By Promod Puri

Hyped, and promoted by the controversy, I got induced to view Padmaavat on the big screen. Besides, seeking some entertainment, my scrutiny was also aiming at any scene, dialogues or actions which could support all the reported fuss and anger in India about Padmaavat extravaganza.

Does the movie devalue Rajputs or covet to insult them in whatsoever manner? No, not at all.

Contrarily, it has overstepped in glorifying Rajputs’ identity. Their ethical character, besides as a warrior community, has been intently prioritized in the overall Padmaavat film melodrama.

In his rhetoric cinematic and dialogue delivery which boast the Rajput pride in their customs and traditions, the controversial director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has in fact glorified the inhuman and evil custom of Jauhar as well as the related practice of Sati.

Dubbed as “supreme sacrifice,” the institution of Sati, live burning of widow immediately after the death of husband, which of course was banned more than a century ago by the British Raj in India, became a part of the Rajput heritage. The word ‘sati’ means true and loyal in Sanskrit.

Whereas Sati involved self-immolation in the pyre of the dead husband, Jauhar was more specific to widows of their dead husbands killed in the war to save themselves from being taken away by the victorious enemies. And to uphold their honor, self-immolation was the choice for them. Jauhar was mass immolation by women of a defeated army. Although it is claimed Jauhar was committed by the women on their own will, that is debatable.

In the movie, Bhansali gave the ritual a royal treatment of the Jauhar scene in slow motion for prolong viewing to create a sense of pride in this Rajput tradition. In fact, both the customs of Sati and Jauhar were most barbarian acts against a woman when she was psychologically pushed to immolate herself alive with the Brahminical declaration of becoming a goddess after the so-called supreme sacrifice.

If the Jauhar scene is the highlight of the movie, then it is disgusting as well.

The movie Padmaavat also reinforces the mindset attitudes portrayed by Ranveer Singh in the role of Allauddin Khilji as a stereotypical evil Muslim king, and Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor) as the righteous Hindu king.

Padmaavat does offer entertainment in its visuals as well as the superb performances by the three lead actors, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor. The two separate dance numbers lead by Deepika Padukone, and Ranveer Singh are terrific feats of their talents, especially when watching on the big screen.

Enjoy the movie. But if you miss it, no big deal.

(Promod Puri is the author of “Hinduism beyond rituals, customs, and traditions.” He is also a frequent writer on topics related to Hinduism, politics, and human interest. Websites: promodpuri.com, progressivehindudialogue.com, promodpuri.blogspot.com)

By Akshat Rathi

Most of us don’t change our minds. Whether the issue at hand is the repeal of net neutrality in the US or Brexit in the UK, we avoid information that might shift our viewpoints, assuming that our opponents are simply dumber than we are.

But recently, I had a change of heart about an important issue—and it showed me that it can be detrimental to stick too closely to our convictions.

For the past year, I’ve been investigating the controversial technology of “clean coal”—more accurately known as carbon capture and storage—which allows us to burn fossil fuels without almost any emissions. Many vocal environmentalists oppose any use of fossil fuels. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s cronies—many of whom seem actively opposed to environmental protection—have thrown their weight behind carbon capture. And so the case seemed clear to me: Carbon capture likely does more harm than good.

At the same time, I couldn’t ignore a nagging doubt. My training in chemistry and chemical engineering told me the technology wasn’t scientifically bunk. And more important, some of the foremost climate bodies, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, include carbon capture in almost every economically feasible pathway to avoiding catastrophic climate change. Who should I believe?

As I began to report on the technology, it became clear I hadn’t looked beyond my own information bubble, and may have been overtly suspicious of carbon-capture technology. By meeting dispassionate experts and visiting sites, for the first time I began to grasp the enormity of the environmental challenge facing us and to look at the problem in a new light.

More than 80% of the world’s energy still comes from fossil fuels, as it did in the 1970s. The nuclear-power and renewable-energy revolutions have yet to make a serious dent in cutting emissions. With the deadline for reaching net-zero emissions—a necessity to avoid dangerous global warming—approaching within decades, there is no way to reach the goal without deploying carbon-capture technology. I now believe carbon capture is both vital and viable.

It’s my job as a journalist to seek out counterpoints. But rarely have those counterpoints led to a complete reversal of my stance. In order to form an accurate view of the world, we have to be skeptical toward others’ claims. We also have to be open-minded enough to really listen to them. It’s a tricky balance to strike. But the world would be a better place if we tried. —Courtesy Quartz Daily

By Promod Puri
I don’t know if she belongs to the class of housemaid, aka “bai”. If so, then her status could be upgraded in India’s class and caste society.
She had a regular assignment at our home around 11 every morning and finishing her limited but reserved task in 15 to 20 minutes. It was the most needed part of daily cleaning.
She was a Christian Punjabi-speaking girl in her teen years. Most kids in her age group were in schools at that time studying and playing. But here she was punctual in her daily routine seven days a week.
Besides our house, she was duty-bound attending a few other households in the neighborhood.
I remember when coming to our place she was often provided “breakfast”, which most of the time was some leftover food. She had a designated cup and a plate set aside for her exclusive use.
Her monthly income if I remember correctly, was about 50 rupees back in the early ‘60s. And she often asked for raise. Her requests were quite legitimate when comparing the nature of her work with maids doing household chores including washing dirty dishes.
As her work was considered “contaminated” she was not supposed to enter the kitchen or other rooms as a maid helper.
By nature, she usually was a quiet person with innocent lively expressions. But there occasionally were some disquiet and afflicted rebellious moods as well.
She was from the class of people from the lowest ring of the Indian caste system who converted themselves as Christians from the Hindu faith. Their “Basti” or settlement constituted a segregated community which was a few miles away from our neighborhood.
The place was called Bhangi Colony. And she belonged to the Bhangi caste. Her professional title was “Bhangan” doing the dirty occupation of “manual scavenging”. According to Wikipedia “manual scavenging is a caste-based occupation involving the removal of human excreta from bucket toilets or pit latrines.
A few years back the profession by law was declared illegal.
However, the rebellion she felt in her teen years is still there among the people of her clan or community against the dehumanizing practices rooted in the social customs of India.
I don’t know if our “Bhangan” is still around. But the profession she was involved in continues. And her upgrading for equality is still pending in India’s degrading social behavior which often defies the laws.

(This article carries some fiction)

Promod Puri is a writer and author of “Hinduism Beyond Rituals, Customs, And Traditions”. Read more of his articles in progressivehindudialogue.com
and promodpuri.com

By Promod Puri

Living in Canada for the past 45 years, my nostalgic window often opens to the blissful sounds of popular Hindi film songs and music. From this retreat, the flights to the past are the pleasures of the present.

In the voyage, tuning in on Aye mere pyaare vatan, aye mere bichhade chaman, tujh pe dil qurabaan, is an emotional joy in self-recreation. Manna Dey, in his masculine and classical voice, creates a melody of mellow submission towards motherland in the film Kabuliwala. Composed by music director Salil Chaudhary, the song literary takes me back to the melodious world of Indian film songs and music.

For me, it has been a fabulous and everlasting journey that began way back in the early ’50s. During my teen years of life, I often spoiled myself listening to the film songs of that era from All India Radio and Radio Ceylon of Binaca Geetmala fame. The early indulgence ever since has become an absorbing and addictive pastime.

I still get stirred up by the grace and pride in the marching beats of Watan ki rah mein watan ke naujawan shaheed ho, pukarate hai ye zameen o aasamaa shahid ho, by singers Khan Mastana and Mohammad Rafi from the film Shaheed (1948). Raja Mehdi Ali Khan penned the revolutionary wordings with music composed by Ghulam Ali Haider who was credited with initiating the career of well-known playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, a legend who dominated the Hindi film music scene for decades. “Ghulam Haider is truly my godfather. He was the first music director who showed complete faith in my talent”, Lata once remarked about her mentor.

In my avocational abode, audibly residing forever are Noor Jehan’s renditions of Aawaz de kahan hai (a duet with Surendra); Mere bachman ke sathi muje bhool na jana, dekho dekho hase na zamana; and Jawan hai mohabbat hasin hai zamana, lutaya hai dil ne khoshi ka tarana (film Anmol Ghardi).

Malika-e-tarannum Noorjahan’s distinct and immaculate voice uplifts the spirit and clarity of the lyrics. Her sweet but eloquent and uninhibited style continues to echo eternally across nations’ borders.

It was Naushad Ali (assisted by Ghulam Mohammed) who scored the music for these alluring compositions. He was one of the most talented and creative melodists credited with popularizing folk music especially from the Hindi speaking belt of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. However, his signature compositions were often based on classical Hindustani music.

The best example of Naushad’s compositions in both classical and folk music reverberates in the songs of Baiju Bawara. There is rhythm, folk and classical mix in them. Door koi gaye, Tu Ganga ki mouj main, Jhoole mein pawan, Bachpan ki mohabbat, O duniya ke rakhwale, and Mohe bhool gaye sanwariya, are ageless all raga-based symphonic creations by musical maestro Naushad for generations to enjoy.

In Naushad’s music, there has always been the subtle sweetness and zest, like enjoying a glass of merlot.  Gaye ja geet milan ke, Dharti ko aakash pukaare, Ye zindagi ke mele (Mela); Jhoom jhoom ke nacho aaj, Hum aaj kahin dil kho baithe, Tu kahe agar, Uthaye ja unke sitam, Tod diya dil mera ( Andaaz); Murliwale murli baja, Tu mera chand mein teri chandani (Dillagi); Dhadke mera dil, Chhod babul ka ghar, Kisi ke dil mein rahna tha, Lagan more man ki, Mera jeevan saathi bichhad gaya, Milte hi ankhen dil hua diwana (Babul) are some of his early feats reflecting his impeccable mastery to create a delightfully ecstatic mood.

In the treasure trove of Hindi filmi music Suhani raat dhal chuki, na jaane tum kab aoge stands out as one of most adored compositions by Naushad from film Dulari. Mohammad Rafi in his immaculate voice and with perfect breath control did a superb job which launched him as the most loved and one of the most sought after male singers in the industry.

Naushad was an ingenious and versatile composer creating new tunes, as well as rewriting the folk-based ones which were intrinsically popular among amateur and perpetually novice as well.

His celebrated list is adorned with such evergreen numbers: Maan mera ehsan, Dil mein chupake pyar ka, and one of my favourite holi songs Khelo raang hamare sang (Aan), Jaanewaale se mulaaqaat na hone paayi, Insaaf ka mandir hai yeh bhagwan ka ghar hai, Na milta gham to barbadi ke afsane kahan jaate (Amar); Lagan more man ki sajn nahin jane, and my most adorable lullaby Chandan ka palna resham ki dori (Shabaab).

Naushad was one of the most decorated music directors who composed music for about 100 Hindi films. Many of them were silver, golden and diamond jubilee hits simply because of the popularity of the songs in these movies. Na toofan se khelo, Ghar aya mehman koi jaan na pehchan, Mera salam leja, Mohabbat ki rahon mein, and Saiyan ji utrenge paar from the film Uran Khatola still take the listeners to exuberant heights even after 64 years when the movie was released in 1953.

Naushad was at his pinnacle of popularity with his superb compositions in the Oscar- nominated film Mother India (1957). Nagari nagari dware dware, Duniya mein hum aaye hain, O gaadiwale, dukh bhare din beete re, Pi ke ghar aaj pyari dulhaniya chali, and another of my most relished Holi songs Holi aayi re kanhai, are among the most popular numbers out of 12 in the movie.

The movie Mughal-e-azam (1960) was perhaps the climax of his success story. The raga-based compositions in this epic drama won instant popularity. I remember the song Pyar kiya to darna kya burst in the number one spot the moment it entered the Binaca Geetmala’s 16-song grading list. Based on the story of love affairs between Mughal Prince Salim and court dancer Anarkali, the music of Naushad in Mughal-e-Azam competed with that of the 1953 musical hit Anarkali.

Anarkali offers a bonanza of most melodious songs with superb poetic depths. C.Ramchandra composed tuneful and forever popular music of the film.  A maestro in musical compositions, he liberally delivered his art in Anarkali.  It was one of the very few films in which all the songs, without exception, were hit numbers for years and years. Even today listening to Anarkali songs offers delightful engagement both in its lyrical reflections and serene music.

Ye zindagi usiki hai, Aaja ab to aaja, Mujhse mat poochh, Dua kar gham-e-dil, Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag, Mohabbat aisi dhadkan hai, Zindagi pyar ki do char ghadi, O aasman wale shikva hai zindagi ka (I love the lyrics of ‘shikva’ meaning complaining to god), Ae baad e saba zara ahista chal and Mohabbat mein aise kadam dagamagae, are the songs which will always remain as crafted jewels with everlasting brilliance.

C. Ramchandra was an accomplished singer himself under the name of Chitalkar. With Lata Mangeshkar, his popular duets were Kitna haseen hai mausam in film Azad or Shola Jo bhadke in Albela.

Aana meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday (Shehnai), Mere piya gaye Rangoon (Patanga), Gore gore o banke chore (Samadhi) along with Ina meena dika (Asha), where he introduced the rock-n-roll rhythms in the Indian film music for the first time, were very popular songs because of their hilarious verbal and trendy musical combination. Even today these songs often pop up in the entertaining game of Antakshri.

Dheere se aa ja re akhiyan mein (Albela) is another of my favorite lullaby.  Mehfil mein jal uthi shama (Nirala), Tere phoolon se bhi pyar (Nastik), Dil ki duniya basa ke sawariyan, Dekh Hamen Aavaaz Na Denaa (Amardeep), Katatay hain dukh mein ye din (Parchhaain) and Aadha hai chandrama (Navrang) are the soundtracks where the nostalgic needle usually get struck.

C. Ramchandra enjoyed the distinction of being the composer of non-filmi but one of the most popular patriotic songs, Aye mere watan ke logo, zara ankh mein bhar lo pani. Literally moving the live audience to tears, Lata, in her touching presentation, sang the patriotic composition penned by poet Pradeep after the India-China war in 1962 in honor of the fallen Indian soldiers.

By Promod Puri

In split second, rather much sooner, memories can take us to revisit some interesting spots in our lives.

For me, one of such repeat visits is to the primary class where I graduated myself from grade 5th to grade 6th and started learning English from alphabets to making small sentences. Towards the end of the one-year term, to the surprise of my teacher, I could write cursive English, meaning script writing by joining the letters.

In the English class, our writing assignments included composing “essays” of about 50 to 150 words. And as I remember the assigned topics were writings on the dog as man’s best friend, benefits from cow, and the stories titled “thirsty crow”, “grapes are sour”, “slow and steady wins the race” between tortoise and rabbit, etc. We were also asked to compose applications addressed to the headmaster requesting a leave of absence describing reasons including being sick.
One composition I still recall was to write a portrayal of the best friend.
Writing about a best friend was not that intricate as most of the help came from elder family members, or just through my innocent and naive imaginations. But in this exercise, the concept of thinking about friends or cultivating friendship was mindfully and firmly established.
Over the years I have developed that relationship of having friends, close friends, family friends, and best friends.

They say, “a friend in need is a friend indeed”. True, but our distress needs are seldom. For most of the time friends take care of our social compulsions to have some informal, happy, and entertaining times together.

In these relaxed occasions, we enjoy each others company of vacationing together, dining together or just having coffee together. We discuss, argue, or debate issues, events, experiences, etc. on a range of subjects depending upon our mutual interests.

Meet My Friend.

From this social aspect of friendship, I would like to bring up here a close long-time family friend. His name is Ramkishen (the real name is concealed for identity reason).

In introducing Ramkishen, I would say he is quite a smart, well-mannered, and well-dressed person. Hard working and actively involved in community affairs, he is always helpful and truly belongs to the friend-in-need-is-a-friend-indeed class of people.

Ramkishen is selective secular and bends naturally towards the political Right. He belongs to the 2016 batch of Trump Republicans, but lately a bit cynical as well, and a Modi “bhagat” (avid supporter). He is a ritualistically religious person and a devout Hindu. He has a red thread tied on his right wrist, which lately has become a symbol of being Hindu.
Ramkishen is an enjoyable conversationalist with knowledge mostly borrowed from fake news sources. Overall, I would say he is an affable personality.
But…
For some reason(s) Ramkishen is anti-Muslim.
The other day, while as usual jumping from one topic to another, we were having interesting talks. Our friendly discussions ended up in God’s colossal authority, His management or mismanagement concerning the affairs of the universe, especially His handling of the deteriorating world problems. We agreed that we have some genuine “shikwa”, the Urdu word for complaint, against Him including His varied creations. And this is where Ramkishen pointed out that “the biggest mistake God ever made was creating Muslims”.
For a moment, looking at his face, I was completely dumbstruck. On several previous meets, Ramkishen made many derogatory and racist remarks also. But this one seemed to be the climax of his anti-Muslim tirade. Shocked that the guy could go down to that ultra racist level to advocate his hatred towards the entire race of Muslims, that I felt lynching his tainted mindset.
But….
He is a friend. And hoping one day he, along with many more Ramkishens among the bourgeois Hindus, get exposed to true knowledge, discernment, and humaneness, so they would review their bigoted views.
In the meantime, back to the 6th-grade memories, I like to play again in my cursive writings with those little essays on a cow, dog, the thirsty crow, and the best friend.
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Promod Puri is a journalist and writer. He is author of “Hinduism Beyond Rituals, Customs And Traditions”, a book which explores the rational, secular and progressive nature of Hinduism.
Continue reading “Despite Difference Of Opinion Friends Are Friends”

In recent weeks, there has been one major terrorist attack in Afghanistan where over 150 people died, and two such strikes in Britain killing innocent people. The terror surge is continuing, rather escalating over the years. The question is how far governments and security forces can go to protect their citizens. Every available procedures, technologies, and laws have been in force to their maximum levels at the cost of sacrificing basic civic liberties with the willing cooperation of citizens. Intelligence agencies are applying more sophistication and strategies to forewarn about the attacks. But failing most of the time. Seeking the root cause(s), mostly political and religious, is the only way out of this terror crisis. Otherwise, the situation keeps on worsening while leaders keep on delivering their big talks but no intelligent actions.

CREATION, CULTIVATION, AND DEVELOPMENT OF THOUGHT

By Promod Puri

Simple Thought: Infuse purity and ethics in thoughts, base karmas on those thoughts, and enjoy the fruits of those karmas.

Mahatma Gandhi says: thoughts become words, words become behavior, behavior becomes habits, habits become values, and values lead to destiny.

In the creation of words, behavior, habits, values, and destiny, the conception begins with a thought. It all dawns on this perception.

Since destiny is the consequence of thought, the latter itself is the consequence of our feelings, attitudes, knowledge, and experiences. All these factors instigate our cogitative faculties in creating thinking.

Thinking is a mental activity of the brain. And the thought is a product of thinking. The creation of one’s own thought, import of thought, and its acceptance or its rejection are all considered as thought. In other words, the activities involved in these considerations is thought by itself.

Thought has multiple executions like establishing a reason, imagination, understanding, judgment, remembering, opinion, belief or just being conscious of time and place, etc.

Residency Of Thought

According to the biology of thought, its processing and transmission happen and develop in the nerve cells of the brain. These cells are called neurons. With a population of close to 100 billion, neurons while communicating with each other, receive, and deliver information. Neurons function along with trillions of synapses. The latter are connectors transmitting signals among neurons.

Thought in its natural formation resides in the chemistry of neuron cells. Neurons are “electrically excitable,” meaning their activity is driven by some energy.

While we can accept the purpose and operation of neurons and synapses, the biology of thought, however, does not relate itself to two basic questions: what triggers the birth of thought, and how it acquires its nature or character.

Seeking answer(s) to these two fundamental issues is consequential because, as we know thru Gandhi’s acknowledged quote that it is thought which impacts the destiny of an individual, family, community, nation, our world and perhaps the universe.

As far as the genesis of thought is concerned there are three hypotheses:

1. Thinking is subconscious brain activity,
2. Some unexplained biological process creates thinking,
3. It is the conversion of energy particles into an object called thinking which shapes itself into thought.

As we ascertain, once thinking takes place by whatever open process, it becomes thought. Thinking is an activity that keeps on producing thoughts to generate execution, as well as begetting more thinking. And the process is activated by itself.

Neurons and synapses are just the tools and carriers, collect thought for its retention, processing, and transmission to stimulate activity. Commands in the form of words are established, and the rest of the operation follows.

How Does Thought Acquire Its Distinctive Trait?

Thought generates action. Good thought generates good action, bad thought generates bad action. This elementary and simple statement leads us to explore how thought acquires its distinctive trait.

A supplementary question also arises. Can we regulate or manage thought? We need good and positive thoughts for our happiness and peace, which can ultimately promise peace and happiness in the world.

In this pursuit, we accept the fact that several environmental factors quite significantly influence the nature or behavior of thought. The established and consented values in civil society, its rituals, customs, and traditions are some of the environments which cause the sentiment of thought. The genetic factor also plays in drafting its blueprint. Moreover, thought generates and induces more thoughts.

Thoughts guide and maneuver our karmas. In return, karmas influence our thoughts, and the cycle continues.

Besides, environmental, genetic and karma factors that influence its creation and nature, our own inherent and acquired disciplines can influence the cultivation and development of thought.

These disciplines, including those driven by our individual moods and temperaments, are influenced by fundamental values of morality, nobility, and divinity.

We are told, to be honest, humble, and sincere, be considerate, and helpful to others, be merciful, forget and forgive, love fellow beings and care for the environments, including animals, plants, and nature. And everything else which is pious, pure, and morally firm.

We accept the truism and goodness of these universal principles. But do they provide an adept stimulant to our cogitative biology in creating and shaping our thoughts?

In theoretical and idealized state these ethical directives can steer our thoughts towards achieving the desired temperament we want for ourselves which impact the society as well. But the environment we live in, including the economic and health factors, render the divinity of the good messages as nonviable religious or scriptural preaching.

The devotee and the divinity are separated by pragmatics we face and accept in the real world. And the casualty is thought. It is molded and normalized to the adjustment of our environmental priorities.

A Resolution Worth A Thought  

In our civilized and progressive world, the call of humanity seeks to re-evaluate each of our religions, rituals, customs, traditions, social and political institutions, including Left and Right isms, which impart values and behaviors impacting our environments.

This resolution is part of the evolution and management of civil society we live in. The evolution of civilization is natural as well as essential for the rational and intelligent creation of environments which influence our thoughts.

In this age of enlightenment, backed by technology and nurtured by the explosion of intellectual knowledge, we can independently seek the purity of thought and its management. In this quest, ripples generated are likely to create the waves which will impact the environment we live in.

In creating those environments, the infusion of ethics in thought is an earnest endeavor before we step on to Gandhi’s destiny ladder.

And in that destiny, while revisiting and upgrading our religious, social, and political environments, lies peace and prosperity for humanity.

Progressivehindudialoue.com

Promodpuri.com

Promodpuri.blogspot.ca

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By Shyami V. Ramani

In 2013, India became the fourth country in the world (after Russia, the United States and the European Union) and the only emerging nation to launch a Mars probe into space. But it remains part of the group of 45 developing countries with less than 50% sanitation coverage, with many citizens practising open defecation, either due to lack of access to a toilet or because of personal preference.

According to the Indian census of 2011, only 46.9% of the 246.6 million households in India had their own toilet facilities, while 3.2% had access to public toilets. In this context, the remaining 49.8% households had no option but to defecate in the open. As a point of comparison, in 2011 53.2% of households had a mobile phone. In rural areas, where nearly 69% of India’s population lives, 69.3% of households lack toilets; in urban areas that number falls to 18.6%.

At first glance, such statistics and technological capabilities alongside large-scale open defecation is a puzzle. On the supply side, it does not seem difficult for a country that can construct sophisticated and complex cell phone technology to develop the capacity to build simple low-cost toilets. And for users, a toilet evidently offers more social benefits in terms of health and human dignity than a telephone.

Yet the citizenry has not enthusiastically adopted low-cost toilets, especially rural households. Why? Let us explore the reasons for this paradoxical outcome.

At a systemic level, economists have pointed out that technical and commercial availability and consumer acceptability of an innovation are the two main drivers of its diffusion. Evidently both are a problem in India.

For firms, it makes business sense to provide mobile phones in a variety of quality-price ranges as the network infrastructure is well developed and demand for this communication tool is assured. However, they are not interested in selling low-cost toilets to the poor, as the need for that product is not supported by a willingness or capacity to pay for it.

State programmes for sanitation coverage

Because companies are disinclined to market a product that requires investment in awareness and demand creation, the state must step in.

From the mid-1980s till the late 1990s, when India adopted economic reform, toilets were distributed free via the top-down state-funded Central Rural Sanitation Programme. But the programme, which assumed that availability would automatically lead to usage, failed because most beneficiaries did not see the need or have the desire for sanitation.

Consequently, in the new millennium, the Indian government switched to demand-focused interventions. Today, the state is a financier for public-private partnerships involving NGOs, micro-finance companies and other social enterprises that interact closely with the targeted beneficiaries to provide accompaniment and education for sanitation literacy and use.

The Total Sanitation Campaign launched in April 1999, emphasised that “Information, Education and Communication” should precede sanitation construction to ensure sustained demand and behavioural change.

State investment in sanitation thereafter received another fillip under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is the first politician since Mahatma Gandhi to emphatically underscore, through major media campaigns, that a “clean India” is necessary for the well-being of its citizens.

On October 2 2014, to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, Modi inaugurated the Swachh Bharath Mission, or the Clean India Mission. Unlike the earlier state programmes, it recognises that “availability” does not guarantee “acceptability”. The central objective of the mission is to eliminate open defecation in India by 2019, not just to ensure universal sanitation coverage.

The target is to transform villages and cities into “open defecation-free” communities, meaning they demonstrate: toilet access, toilet use and toilet technology that keeps both people and the environment safe. The programme invests in capacity building in the form of trained personnel, financial incentives and systems for planning and monitoring to ensure behavioural change. States are given flexibility in terms of implementation. Today, a variety of experiments, from the national to village level, are underway to achieve Modi’s Clean India mission.

It’s not just about building toilets

But for India, providing access to some form of a toilet is the easy part. What’s harder is getting people to use them. In rural areas, toilet-rejection varies by gender.

An ongoing study based on 300 focus groups with men across the country revealed that they prefer open defecation to a toilet because it: saves water; provides access to fresh water and a breezy environment; lowers the wear and tear of the toilet; protects women from getting embarrassed by the sight of men; and offers a handy excuse to escape importunate wives and mothers.

Public agencies try to persuade families to invest in toilets for the safety of their young girls. But in Tamil Nadu villages, another focus group-based study – this one with female teachers and girls – revealed that a central advantage of open defecation is that it offers opportunities for same-sex social interactions for females.

Girls and women in many regions are not allowed to gather in public places to debate issues, exchange ideas or simply relax together. Adolescents face even greater restrictions, because older women often sanction free discussion among youngsters. In this regard, open defecation rendezvous offer an excuse to talk and spend time together free, from other constraints.

In the isolated villages we visited with largely Dalit and fisherfolk populations in Tamil Nadu, the risk of sexual harassment is not perceived to be high enough to make toilets a safe haven. Thus, to eliminate open defecation in such villages, alternative safe gendered spaces for social interactions are needed first.

Cooperation between the players

India’s additional challenge is to diffuse not just any toilet but a high-quality, long-lasting, non-contaminating product that minimises water and soil pollution and promotes sustained use. This will require that the sanitation subsystem (i.e. the part under the toilet seat/slab), and its waste-processing technology design to be adapted to the geo-physical features of the targeted zone, taking into account soil type, rainfall, water table, water availability, wind velocity and slope.

Thousands of toilets lie abandoned in India either never used or abandoned after short use, due to poor construction quality or inappropriate technology design.

When a toilet’s superstructure begins to deteriorate or the toilets stop working well, problems can emerge. For example, if the family can’t afford or doesn’t want to invest in repairs, or if there isn’t a local agency to repair toilets (which is often the case), foul odours and leaks may begin. This, in turn, creates negative perceptions about toilets, which may trigger a bandwagon effect such that whole the community ultimately returns to open defecation.

Thus, it is imperative to ensure quality construction in sanitation drives and trained rural masons for individual construction initiatives.

To address this need, various institutions are teaching masonry to youth with little formal education. But there is no common standardised programme that focuses on sanitation systems. Moreover, illiterate rural masons may be intimidated by formal courses and thus fail to attend.

At the same time, since masons learn their craft by doing, or through apprenticeships, their learning is slow, shaky and tacit – meaning that two people with the same skill set may execute a project differently. There is a need to address these issues while promoting skills building.

For an emerging country like India, it is easier to take part in exploratory missions to Mars than to tackle its sanitation challenge. The former can be addressed through a linear process spearheaded by the advanced, well-resourced Indian Space Research Organisation, while the latter calls for systemic change encompassing thousands of towns and villages.

For India to meet its goal of eliminating open defecation, it will need cooperation and coordination between a diverse variety of systemic actors, generation of knowledge products in the form of accessible curriculum for masons, and community engagement to build only safe toilets – and to use them well.

Courtesy: The Conversation

LIFE IS A GAME OF SOCCER

By Promod Puri

All our thoughts and actions are influenced and regulated by the consciousness of the landscape of reality around us. In this landscape, one makes a selection of his or her own space in life’s playfield.

And the game starts. It is a collective game, a team game. There is no absolute independence. Our individual likes and dislikes, thoughts and behaviors, actions and reactions, morals, and rules, all are parts of the game. Social and environmental structures around us are the team’s norms in shaping and steering the game.

Stamina, discipline, and coordination in these environments help in scoring our goals. Individual performance determines the scale of awards. Based on our skills, hard work and a bit of luck, some collect millions while others make less in this life’s game of soccer.

Environments seldom offer a level play. Speeding race toward the goal is unexpectedly blocked.  We are tripped by those who get yellow and red cards. We fall and are bruised. We get up and join the bout again. New strategies kick in. Still, challenges are a constant. We keep on running toward the goal while being pushed back and forth. And the play goes on.

The Referee blows the final whistle. And the game is over.

1. To all the volunteers who strive for dedication and devotion preparing the divine langar and washing dishes in Gurdwaras and Mandirs for the devotees and visitors, as well as for sharing the meals among hungry and homeless people irrespective of their faiths.

2. To those poor and destitute trash collectors who carry shopping carts or plastic bags collecting refundable empty beer, liquor, soda bottles, cans and juice containers to earn some coins, while picking up the litter for a cleaner environment.

3. To the Car Free Day each summer when Vancouver’s ever-vibrant Main Street is closed to all vehicular traffic, and the festivities begin. The Main Street culture is recaptured. Meeting neighbors and friends, acquainted with new and old businesses, exotic shopping, environmental campaigns, delights of street foods are the highlights of the Party On Main charged with the blare of music.

4. To the Canadian spring when daffodils, lilies, cherry blossom, magnolias along with other flowers and fresh tender leaves breeze in and change the landscape. When the Canadian summer packs full nature’s bloom. When the Canadian autumn signs in with galaxy of falling colorful leaves. And the Canadian winter when jingle bells inaugurate the festive season and making its entry into the greetings of Happy New Year.

5. And to the Maple Leaf flag stately and proudly embodying all the best about Canada.

-by Promod Puri

The uncle and auntie is a social phenomenon making an impressive entry in the cultural evolution of societies where it is poised to create an informal yet respectable relationship between young and old. It is smart, respectable and even practical.

Uncles and aunties’ designations have become popular among the younger generation of South Asians to address their parents’ friends or older contacts. Instead of calling them by their first or last names, with prefix Mr. or Mrs., the unrelated nephews and nieces develop a kinship with the choice of etiquette which is more personal.

The uncle­-auntie entitlement is in vogue in other cultures as well. But the South Asian youths go a step further. To show more reverence, ‘Ji’ pronounced like ‘g’, is attached to address the instantaneous relatives as uncle Ji and aunty Ji. Perhaps this arrangement establishes a more amiable and closer connection.

The conventional practice of using Mr., Mrs. or madam is not only becoming obsolete in casual encounters, but these appellations create ritualistic formality. Whereas, the consensual tie-up among universal ‘‘uncles and aunties” and their equally universal “nephews and nieces” introduces a mood that is more intimate and informal but still courteous.

Within families, the uncle-aunty expression makes an all-in-one entity that can cover all the close relatives from both sides of parents.

Otherwise, in the Indian culture children address relatives by their designated titles. For example, in Punjabi customs, from the dad’s side, his younger brother is called Chacha and his wife Chachi; older brother is Taya, wife Tayi; sister is addressed as Bhua; her husband Fufar (quite a mouthful). And from the mom’s side, her brother is Maama and wife Maami; sister Maasi and her husband Masser (a bumpy accent).

All these distinct monikers of close relatives are covered within the generic uncle and auntie entitlements. Still, the conventional titles of relatives are also reserved as a family tradition. But for non-relatives, the uncle and aunty application is more common, convenient and pragmatic.

The practicality of the trend is illustrated in the following episode:

The young man in a family function while introducing guests to each other, was often heard “meet my uncle, meet my aunty”. And when somebody asked him “how many uncles and aunties you have”, the poised “nephew” had to tell the truth. With a smile on his face he said: “no, they are not my real uncles and aunties, but by addressing them so, I don’t have to remember their individual names”. The statement has merit and adaptability in any social environment.

Besides its social aspect, the uncle and aunty culture has a working assignment also. When it comes to playing smart South Asian young salespeople have a reason to use the viable uncle-auntie technique. They often address their older clients as uncle Ji and aunty Ji to establish a trustworthy relationship as part of their sales pitch.

promodpuri.com

By Promod Puri

“Agree to disagree” is a declaration of face saving justification.

It happens when two or more parties or individuals after an argumentative discussion fail to agree. And in all civility, the agreement results in agree-to-disagree compromise.

With that declaration egos remain intact, but time wasted. Nothing is lost, nothing is gained either.

India and Pakistan have spent over 68 years in this agree-to-disagree parleys. Their on-and-off dialogues have continued for ever without any spirited solution to end hostilities between the two nations. But agree-to-disagree is a compromising escape route. It has become a longest-running bureaucratic and ministerial play.

Here is a humorous anecdote experienced by Canadian comedian Norm MacDonald relating to the agree-to-disagree standpoint.

One day he visits his doctor to have a health check up. The doctor told him,“you are very overweight, unhealthy, and out of shape”. The comedian responded, “I am a healthy person, I don’t smoke or drink and I’m in good shape”. The doctor insisted, “you are not in shape at all you need to lose weight”.

Finally, after some back and forth arguments, the comedian settled for “agree-to-disagree”. However, doctor immediately responded, “no, I will not agree to disagree”.

The story justifies when two parties disagree, “agree to disagree” is a cop-out.

Do you agree, or agree to disagree?

By Promod Puri

This brief article is inspired by widely acclaimed Vancouver-based spiritual writer Eckhart Tolle’s “Power of Now”. It is not an attempt to give a motivational advice. But coming up with an idea, in line with the basic theme of the “Power of Now” in realizing, accepting, capturing and enjoying every moment happening just now.

Experience the past, flyover the future, but stay in the present. Moments matter in this stay. These moments come and go in the time flash of now.

In an endeavor to dwell in the “now” (the present moment) let us get into the R.A.C.E.

The letter ‘R’ stands for recognition which is the first approach in this focus to acknowledge how important is the present moment.

‘A’ stands for acceptance. Once the present moment is realized, acceptance makes sense. It does not matter how pleasant, good, bad or ugly, easy or difficult the present offers in its outlook and outcome, it needs to be accepted.

‘C’ stands for capturing of the present moment to have a real grip for its effective handling.

And finally ‘E’ stands for enjoyment. In whatever shape or form a situation is presented or emerges after its recognition, acceptance and containment it must be enjoyed as well with grace.

Climbing a tough hill is an experiment in R.A.C.E. where every step of the hike is a moment. Here the climber recognizes (R) and accepts (A) that in order to accomplish his or her feat the only choice is to go up. Each moment is captured (C) without letting in other thoughts; and finally enjoying (E) every step of the challenge to cover the climb.

It is an experience in concentration or meditation in action when the climbing movements and the climber become one entity. It is like during a dance performance when a dance and the dancer become one.

And that is where the joy of living in the present, where we merge with the moment, finds its relevancy and pleasure.

promodpuri.com

A multi-million-dollar sports carnival of athletic strength and spectacle by physically super human beings has started in Rio De Janeiro amidst the sharp realities of poverty, Zika threat, foul waters and the on-going political instability in Brazil.

The show must continue every four years to thrill the interested watchers worldwide if one does not switch channels to see a part of humanity scratching some living in a world struggling to survive in slums and starvation.

It is a recreation of the rich and for the rich where the poor just provide the bulk to the Olympic body. The gold, the silver and the bronze are hauled by the athletes fed on super rich diet which from time to time is topped with dope. The very cost to rear an Olympian can adequately feed a family facing hunger and malnutrition.

The call of humanity seeks to prioritize an urgency by sparing those billions of Olympic dollars to create a hunger-free world community to receive the basics of food, clean water and shelters.

-Promod Puri

promodpuri.com