IDEOLOGY AND THE RULE OF LAW

IDEOLOGY AND THE RULE OF LAW

The extreme of disharmony among communities is 'violence' . It is a sign of a immature Democracy. In Democracies and even in modern societies irrespective of the type of Governance – Military Dictatorship, Benevolent Dictatorship, there may be unresolved contradictions and conflicts among communities, there maybe lack of communication, prejudice,bias but violence is extreme and violation of the rules and norms of the society.

How then to prevent violence or even verbal violence manifested in racial, caste , religious terms?

Western Democracies have not even evolved a social culture but also strong Laws which restrains citizens from violation because the punishment is immediate and there are few escapes. We have seen racial abuse in football field being punished immediately in the English Premier League in the case of John Terry who lost the National Captaincy . The case of Subramanium Swamy is another example wherein his extreme views on the Muslims resulted in his removal as a Guest Lecturer at Harvard where he was a regular. Denying visa for US to Narendra Modi is yet another example of the manifestation of the rule of the Law .

However ; the rule of the Law or the efficient police and judicial system does not necessarily ensure that the 'Hearts' of the citizens are pure/clean! But such measures restrain people from violence.

In the Indian subcontinent owing to the weak policing and sluggish judicial system there is no regard or fear of the rule of the Law. Whatever semblance of harmony in varying degrees is seen is because of the ideology being propelled by the citizens. They may be good social scientists , good parents or teachers in schools. The harmony or order in society is maintained by mutual respect for each other . Despite deep hurt and historical cleft and provocations their Tallem, Dharma, Insaniyat whatever we may call it restrains them to plunge into extreme action. It could be the principles of Gandhi , Nehru in the modern era and other social reformers of the past which influence our action and ideas. But to restrain and curtail bloodshed the respect of law is required which means the strength of the State machinery.

However in the final analysis and in the long run it is the Ideology which should curtail violence and conflicts. When such a system prevails there will not be any need of the 'Law'. That will be the end of the 'State'. State of 'NIRVANA' !

ARVIND KEJRIWAL- THE NEW POLITICO-ECONOMIC ORDER

KEJRIWAL – THE NEW POLITICO-ECONOMIC ORDER

Last year when Arvind Kejriwal announced the Aam Aadmi Party, he also parted ways with his mentor Anna Hazare. At that moment many of us who had whole heartedly wished for the success of the Lokpal movement sided with Anna in his opinion that entering politics was a dirty game! Even after he formed his party,we did not give him much chance and pitied the path he had undertaken. When he made 'The Broom' as his election symbol we laughed at his self righteousness and lack of imagination. The first indicator of his acceptance by the people were the opinion polls, at that juncture he made us stood up to notice him, amusingly. I; though welcomed the indicator but never gave him more than 10 seats. However he has proved us wrong . He is now the chief minister of New Delhi.

His success has kindled new hope among the citizens who were trapped in the tyranny of the traditional political parties. Will he change the rules of the Game;seems so. There seems to be hope suddenly. All these years we were nurtured by the stagnant ideas of the mainstream politicians and parties, and had therefore looked for relief within that limited space . Arvind has opened a whole lot of new ways/paths for us. We had accepted corruption as a way of life, the VIP culture; culture which swallows so much of our money, security and manpower;with one stroke he has rubbished it! We were groomed to the diktat of the bureaucracy; their tantrums ;that too may change. We had considered it as our destiny that majority of the politicians will be from political families,very rich or criminals with clout; that too may alter. And many other things may too?

    Arvind Kejriwal has arrived on the ideology of 'Honesty' and 'clean Administration'. He has made deeply entrenched political ideologies and even the politics of the  Left parties questionable.  The issues raised by Kejriwal should have been raised by the Left parties but they failed to read the changing times and the mind of the masses. Sorry is their bookish tendency which has disillusioned many sympathizers, who now see hope in Kajriwal.

    All eyes are on the Parliament now, can he be successful there? Indeed he may. He may first contest all urban and semi-urban seats, pick up candidates with impeccable record from all walks of life( already his team has embarked on the task ;so we hear). He should not discount the rural areas, our perception that they vote on caste lines may be wrong. People have voted on secular and development agenda in the assembly elections in Bihar and other states. Organizational abilities and exploiting the 'e' system is his forte which can compensate for the lack of resources. There would be Bee line among aspirants and experienced to join his party and he has to be careful of the 'Trojan horse'.

   As Arvind in his new Avtaar will soon embark on National stage he will have to take stand on many tricky issues such as 'communalism' 'secularism', 'FDI', and other economic issues. He will have to spell out his stand on US! And foreign policy matters. He will have to dispel the existing notion that no political party can rule without the blessings of the Industrialists. He will have to device an economic policy of 'balance' between the corrupt and seemingly efficient Right and frugal and sluggish Left. His core competency is 'honesty' which propagates 'simplicity' and therefore reduction in 'consumerism' and 'consumption'. He;therefore will also have to control the ambitions of the middle class by propagating a balanced ideology on 'economics'.  

Is he our new Gandhi? I want him to be one! Though Gandhi was more involved in mass movement, Kejriwal will have to prove as an Administrator. Seeing the state of our polity I am sure Gandhi too would have jumped in the fray to redeem the Nation. Watching the reaction of the political parties who are quickly embarking on self cleansing mission it is evident that they have been shaken! We will wait for their dismantlement. Eradication of Dynasty! Eradication of communalism . Eradication of criminals ! Both financial and social.

BOOK REVIEW -- LOWLAND BY JHUMPA LAHIRI

BOOK – REVIEW

LOWLAND - BY JHUMPA LAHIRI

    Bengali literature is full of emotion, sentiments, rich ; very rich and therefore one expected Jhumpa Lahiri's book 'Lowland' to be reflection of the Bengaliness ; but it is different . It is cold, clinical, detached, aloof, distant, indifferent and yet arresting and interesting in its own way. Whatever sentiments, emotions, the characters feel is conveyed through their actions. They do not say much, as one expects them to. There are five principal characters in the story. Subhash and Udyan - the two brothers, Gauri- Udyan's wife, Bela- Gauri's daughter and Bijoli- mother of Subhash and Udyan.

      It is essentially a story of two brothers and their wife- Gauri ! The story is set in the fifties and traverses to the next century . The two brothers of middle class origin have a natural childhood bonding but at college stage embark on different paths as Udyan takes admission at the famous Presidency college and Subhash at the Jadavpur University. Soon Udyan is engulfed in the Naxalite movement and Subhash on the path to research and study in the  US . Whilst Subhash is in the  US Udyan falls in love with Gauri his friend's sister and a student of philosophy, he sends her photo  to Subhash and after a brief courtship marries Gauri. The parents accept the bride reluctantly, it is a cold and workable relationship at home. At the US Subhash  most of the time  is on his own immersed in his area of research.

   Suddenly there is shock ; Udyan is killed by the police in a fake encounter; his wife witnesses his killing from a distance; helpless. Subhash returns home, Gauri is pregnant with Udyan's child and from the attitude of his mother they are not very keen to keep Gauri with them after the child's birth. A sense of responsibility compels Subhash to marry Gauri and take her away to the US. Then a ‘churning’ takes place and affects all the players! All are put to test .

   Is it guilt? Is it responsibility? which directs the actions of the characters need to be explored and interpreted. The story returns to Kolkata when Subhash and Bela visit their parent and grandparent respectively. Gauri never forgives Kolkata it seems , but does visit the city at a very distant future, as it was there her husband was killed or she shares some responsibility of having participated tacitly in the Naxalite activities in support of Udyan? The tragic death of Udyan shatters the parents too who cannot come to terms with the tragedy ;never let the wounds heal too for they had seen their son being searched and then captured and then heard the gunshot. There was no police complaint registered, no accountability? They were probably subconsciously very hurt with the system and their son too! The main characters remain an enigma. So ‘monk’ like they have been created .There is this strong sense of 'sacrifice' and 'self-denial' for worldly pleasures and society in them. Is it out of idealism? Is it out of strong sensibilities? One wonders!  What ails these characters is not known. It can only be conjectured. In today's materialistic world people may wonder as to what is the fuss about?

   The Naxalite movement is not much debated in the story but looms large on the setting, characters, specially Udyan's ,Gauri's and Subhash's who are victims of it, also the parents .The daughter Bela born in America is an outdoor person like Udyan. In her commitment to the cause of farmers; is she reliving his dreams in another country; another setting. Idealistic and very independent she is! They do find, to the relief of the reader some solace in the dying chapters of the book. There is some satisfaction , but it is 'too late -too little'. As I have said earlier Subhash, Gauri, their daughter Bela, and their mother Bijoli are like ascetics/ renunciates caused by the death of Udyan. Subhash leads a studies and sedate life at Rhodes island with his daughter and then later largely alone. The stay in US it seems barely changes his outlook, he could have settled in any academic atmosphere . In the story the 'geography' of the characters is more associated with 'distance', 'farness', 'aloofness'. Gauri emerges as the most complex and seemingly ungrateful one. She abandons her physical identity soon on reaching the US by cutting her hair short and switching to slacks from sari! Her sudden action is very uncharacteristic! She pursues her studies in philosophy and acquires a PHD and later rises to be an imminent Professor.

    There is this dominant sadness in the story as after many years of emotional toil and detachment the principal characters find balance and peace. For they have stayed restless and withdrawn all their life. Sadness is on account of the time lapsed. The prime of their youth is lost in brooding and only when they are past their fertile and productive years they settle to some scale of satisfaction in their separated lives. Subhash evolves as someone so pure and unreal. Gauri; despite her defects and oddities is likeable for her self sacrifice. Bela is admirable for being committed to social cause, for her idealism and for being an unlike American. One cannot stop thinking of the writer; though she carries a Bengali surname ; how unbengali is Jhumpa Lahiri! She too seems to be part of the characters she portrays! Distant yet captivating. She seems to know Bengal/Kolkata as an astute observer and yet not mingles with it. There is hardly Bengali in her expression, her setting , her characters, her treatment. By the time one completes the novel one is convinced that the writer too is discovering herself with her characters. It seems very difficult to separate her from the plot or the book. She has created such unique and strange characters that the reader is struck by the approach and personality of the writer too..

There is much symbolism in the book. The 'lowland', 'the two ponds'. One brother seeking Presidency college for education while the other goes to Jadhavpur- indicating divergent paths! One brother taking ‘left’ ideology and the other ‘right’ to US for education and occupation. Silence , isolation, desolation is dominant in the atmosphere created – of all the places in US, Subhash takes admission in Rhodes island a secluded studying center! Some of the symbolism is evident- when Gauri is leaving for the Airport on her way to US suddenly the clouds appear indicating her anxiety, it slows down her journey but soon the clouds clear- she overcomes her fears! Also when she is being driven home from the airport in her maiden journey by Subhash she wants to turn to left, but Subhash steers to right! The death of Kanu Sanyal is also perhaps death of her left idealism and adopting US life or coming to terms with it late in life!

  This book is serious  reading , not  a routine  one, I had not read any of her work prior to this, had seen the movie ‘Namesake’ and had liked it. Such  a work arrives, occasionally . Strongly recommended.

SMALL CULTURE V/S BIG CULTURE

SMALL CULTURE V/S BIG CULTURE

    Each economy creates its own culture; be it feudal , semi- urban,urban, metropolitan or cosmopolitan. The culture which consists of Language, Phrases, Clothes,Mannerism, loveof Literature, Dance, Drama,Food habits,Restaurants, Homes, Street corners,Temples, Schools, Bus stops, Railway stations, Libraries, Shops and Malls,Cinema halls etc..

     However; it is a 'given' that the Big Culture/ Rich Culture, culture of the elite, the ruling class , the powerful class subdues the culture of the poor people. It may adopt some elements of it, but what is preserved is culture of the rich , the dominant,the Kings, the rulers even though in terms of 'aesthetics' the culture of the poor may be superior.

   In the case of Cinema the 'Single Theater' are being shut down and 'Multiplexes' are being erected – a rude representation of the gloss and the rich. In Mumbai, a few single Theaters are being preserved such as the Regal, Eros, New Empire and Liberty but the smaller halls which showed 'B' grade and regional films and also old films such as 'Edward' at Dhobi Talao ,'Palace' at the Byculla are in a state of decay . The Premium single theaters are being preserved as they are made in Art-Deco style and represent an era when some semblance of aesthetics was prevalent in Urban India. The 'capitol' cinema at VT has long shut down and a new 'Capitol' is expected, which may be catering to 'utility' than 'beauty'! The 'Strand' cinema in Colaba market has long shut down and a multiplex has been erected which is yet to open. Therefore if something is being preserved it is at places frequented and patronized by the affluent, the influential and not by the commoners, because it is the elite who determine the culture and heritage to be 'protected'.

The rich-poor, ruling-ruled, conflict in conservation of culture is visible in various aspects and manifests itself unabashedly . We may take the case of places of worship-- ancient remote temples of various communities depicting local architecture are lying in decay, Chapels, Mosques are equally affected , there is Afghan Church in Colaba which is of historical significance and an architectural marvel, but it is not getting the attention it deserves, similarly a Church in Ross island in Andaman group of islands is of immense historical and aesthetic relevance, however it is being protected in its decayed state . Whereas if one looks at the recently constructed ' Akshardham' in New Delhi one wonders that how the community which sponsored it and steered it managed so much of money as not only it is huge but at a very prime location near the Red Fort , it can be safely assumed that the community is very rich and influential and though the Temple belongs to a very small sect its political and economic clout is very Big!

Take the case of Heritage Hotels; many Palaces in Rajasthan and other states are being preserved by Private as well as Government agencies such as the 'Chahel Palace'in Himanchal Pradesh which is under HP Tourism Department which is good but what is sad is that small restaurants of historical significance are dying a slow death on account of neglect such as the many Irani Restaurants in Mumbai. They represent an era when Mumbai was Bombay

Another case is of 'Sophia Loren Beetle shop', which was an age old Paan ( beetle leaf) shop at civil lines Allahabad near the famous Elchico Restaurant but has been closed by the Municipal authorities. The shop was not only patronized by many but was known for its innovative name;incidentally 'Sophia' is also a name of a variety of paan such as – Kalkatta, Banarsi and Maghai etc..

The other day a lady staff in my office on her return from Dipawali leave brought a plate full of delicacies which are prepared during the festivals all over the country in varying styles and shapes. There was 'gujia'' laddu' 'chakri'etc whilst I was pleased to savor it, I wandered and wished for its longevity. Th ingress of packed and 'fast foods'have certainly diluted the shine of our 'small- culture'.

Is the Capitalism to be blamed for 'assembly- line' culture? Be it in case of food, clothes, appearance because that is what suits the 'bulk' production and 'sales'. The local 'halwais' are giving way to 'pre-mix' food and 'two minute noodles'. The small towns are losing their peculiarity, their character and personality and all look alike. Even the uncommon and heterogeneous landscape is becoming similar dotted by the concrete structures perishing the agricultural land.

Are we losing our personal touch ? The culture of serving self made, home made things to drink or to eat to the guests is on decline. During summers do we still serve 'sherbet' or 'shikanji' to our visitors?

And as we lose the personal touch we lose our emotions , and we lose our emotions we lose our human touch!

Therefore in order to preserve the 'humanity' the 'small' culture of the masses has to be protected and proliferated. Along with the large Heritage structures we have to protect that road side , make shift 'Barber shop' erected on a cotton canopy or canvas roof or an umbrella , with a mirror on the wall a chair to make sit the customer , because that is our heritage too!

AYE MERE DIL KAHIN AUR CHAL

AYE     MERE      DIL   KAHIN    AUR   CHAL

,

     There are many moments of the  past which make me happy. Strangely, incidents in modest and simple surroundings/circumstances have given me more happiness than even travelling  to foreign locales. Among many such adolescent/childhood memories are the moments watching those countless ‘Black and White’ films in Allahabad. ‘Morning shows’, at various distant cinema halls were meticulously followed through the information in ‘Northen Indian Patrika’. ‘Palace’ was nearest at civil lines, others such as ‘Moti Mahal’, ‘Vishambhar’ were far; later ‘Jhankar’ also screened old cinema.

    Those days the popular  culture was not hit by the Television invasion and the citizens were not caged in their drawing rooms chained to the ‘Soap Operas’. Many cinema Halls screened old films at ‘reduced rates’, because the new releases could not keep pace with the number of Cinema Halls, and therefore the ‘reruns’ of old films were a norm. More so, as the cost of print at that time was very high ,even new releases were screened in only one Cinema Hall, and very rare we would witness a release in two Halls- ‘Sholay’ and ‘Bobby’, were exceptions . The reruns gave us a chance to see the Cinema of the yesteryears and appreciate the Art of Dilip Kumar, Balraj Sahni etc. They were still in reckoning but the best years were behind them. They belonged to the generation of my father, but still we liked them  as the world was moving slow then and the gulf between the generations was tolerable. Unlike the young of today who make faces whenever an old song plays on TV or a yesteryear Actor appears.

  However I am writing to day of  the intense impact  the film ‘Daag’ ( 1954, Dilip Kumar-Nimmi starrer) had on me when I saw it in the late sixties/early seventies. I may have been 12-13 old then and had by then bitten by the movie bug. My parents too never restricted  my love for the movies and the entire family on occasions witnessed the new releases by booking tickets in advance. It was always a big family outing and often an award at the end of the Annual examination or receipt of results. We  three brothers would dress well, make our hair in style of the Hero we were worshipping at that point in time, make gestures copying the Hero on the poster, utter some famous dialogues from the film or recite songs made famous by then; this used to be our ritual prior to witnessing the film ;after return from the Hall, the story with dialogues was narrated to our friends and relatives  and for days I was specially affected  by the charm and beauty of the heroine and imagined her to be mine.

   However at the  beginning of my cinematic affair the avenues and opportunities were few owing to my age as I had yet not embarked on college life and therefore my solitary movements were marked to the borders of my colony; Ashok Nagar .Therefore we looked for alternate cinematic experience and my friend’s residence was one such place. His father too was fond of cinema so much so that he would regularly walk to cinema halls in the evening after the end of his walk and return home on rickshaw; he was an eminent professor in the University. He was member of the ‘Chalchitra vibhag’ and could loan films for private screenings. We children therefore saw many good films at my friend’s place on his 16mm projector- ‘Kanoon’, ‘Bahu-Rani’, ‘Kundan’ are some of the films I still recall. Films were also shown to us at our school- St Joseph’s Academy; ‘Kohra’ is one suspense film which terrified us to the extent that we students had made a cluster in the middle of the hall and our chairs were all hugging each other ;it was a sight at the end of the show1

 Returning to ‘Daag’, it remains in my memory as the earliest film I saw for free , on the Annual Day celebrations of the ‘Valmiki School’ which was just opposite the ‘Chakbandi’ office at the beginning of the Ashok Nagar crossing. ‘Valmiki School’ as my memory goes was a municipal school with rudimentary structure , classrooms with tin roof in straight lines on three sides. A big tamarind tree provided shade to a large  grassless ground in the center. As it grew dark we were on the ground swatting on a mat which was partly provided and covered some portion of the ground. Soon the ground was filled with  people , they were standing along the wired boundary wall, on the roof top, on the adjoining trees.

 The film began and I was transferred to another world. It was a simple story of Dilip Kumar whose weakness was drinking, despite his girlfriend’ and mother’s ( Nimmi and Lalita Pawar)advise and remonstrations  he is unable to quit this habit , however one day he is sobered and leaves his village for a job in town, on his return one day he finds his mother is dead, he takes to drinking again and dies in the end. However what has remained with me forever ‘etched’  is the song – Aye mere dil kahin aur chal, gham ki duniyan de dil bhar gaya, mein yahan jite ji mar gaya…. Sung by Talat Mahmood, composed by Shankar Jaikishan and penned by Shailendra, this song is soul stirring and appears in the film on many occasions. The long shot of Dilip returning triumphantly to his village suitcase in hand and the song on his lips still haunts me. The strong and yet melodious sound of the ‘Piano-accordion’ is the core of that song.

  Even now, whenever I hear the song the sound   takes me to those happy moments , moments of freedom, imagination, creativity. It remains a moment of ‘Catharsis’ for me; always!

HINDI -- FORTNIGHT

                                HINDI - FORTNIGHT

( HINDI - PAKHWARA )

14 September is devoted as 'Hindi Day' in Government Offices and Organizations . The first and second fortnights of September are devoted to the propagation of Hindi. An Organization may opt for any of the two for the purpose. One witnesses during such days Banners /Posters conveying that Hindi Pakhwara is in session from 14 to 28 Sep etc..

Why do we devote a day, a fortnight, a month in a year for something which is alive! Or is Hindi Dead? Ironically, the fortnight precedes the fortnight which is devoted by Hindus to remember their dead ancestors--- The Pitri Paksh. Do the devotees of Hindi consider it as a mercy/compensation granted to them in an era where English has triumphed it as the desire of the millions though even after 66 years of Independence not more than 6% speak the English language.

Some thoughts would be appropriate on the occasion : Firstly,no language can be propagated by imposition or by a diktat . The people should be willing to learn it on their own. Two factors play an important role in the development of a language; Language should be connected to employment/commerce/economy and there should be a genuine love for the language. However love is not enough. The case in point is of Urdu which is loved by many, but not accepted by many.

English is spoken today by millions all over the world, not because of its beauty or any other great value but because the English ruled the world. Shakespeare is known to us because of the East India Company, whereas Henrik Ibsen the great Norwegian playwright is not as famous because of the restriction of the language as Norwegians did not colonize the nations.

Proliferation of Hindi through Sarkari means has not done any good to the language . Inadvertently though,the biggest contribution to the growth of the language is through the Hindi films and songs; both old and new. People's love of Cinema!

Administration/commerce/education/economy gives fillip to the language as was the case of Persian earlier which was the Court language, and later English which fetched jobs. Hindi will continue to lag behind in the economic field but may maintain its position in the cultural field, mainly in the popular culture. Hindi does not give 'jobs' and therefore from villages to small towns to cities the 'English-medium' schools are a big business!

The Sarkari solution is three languages- English -Hindi- a regional language. It is possible if we inculcate the same from schools. Study of languages is easy from childhood, what we should generate is acceptance. But acceptance of the many languages is linked to our acceptance of each other.

Language , perhaps next to religion is the most sensitive issue among communities and remains always a highly volatile and emotional issue, the most logical people sound so illogical and unreasonable on the question of ' Language'. However the issue has remained dormant in India and the matter of Hindi has not been progressed considering the other pressing problems of the State such as economy, integration and other conflicts. Ta mil Nadu does raise the question of Hindi whenever it has problems with the Centre. Nehru's balanced and sensible approach in moving slowly in the question of Hindi has avoided aggravation of the issue.

It is indeed ironical that the people are ready to accept English as the Language of Administration and education but not adopt an Indian Language as its National Language. Till then Hindi will continue to entertain the masses with its songs and 'soap operas' !

VISITING TWO FADING IDEOLOGIES

VISITING TWO FADING IDEOLOGIES

A few days ago I happened to visit the Fort Area of Mumbai and was negotiating the lane ( Yazdani Bakery) connecting Elphinstone Building( Akbaraleej area) to the Phirozshah Mehta Road . I had passed through the area many times and soon on my arrival in Bombay in 1981 had visited the place. There used to be ' The People's publishing house' flourishing then next to the office of The 'BLITZ' which too has faded along with the other many 'weeklies'.The 'PPP's prominence diluted with the break up of The Soviet Union and soon the shutter of the shop remained permanently down, but whenever I passed that lane I did glance to the side to remind of the days gone by. I was a regular to the shop and had purchased many books of Soviet literary authors- Chekov, Dostovasky,and children story books, these were not only reasonably priced but were of good binding and paper, my daughter still remembers the story of 'Masha and the Bear' and we have named our she dog -Masha! And, therefore the other day too as I looked to the side I was surprised to see the shutter up, and walked to the shop to see that the place has been named as 'People's Book House' on inquiry I learn t that now it is run by a Trust of the Communist Party of India. I was happy to see books on display, and though the subsidy of the Sovietraj did not exist some of the old collections were visible such as Dostovasky's 'Crime and Punishment' I also purchased the 1987 print of 'Ten days which shook the world ' the famous book of John Reed describing the Russian Revolution. Also on display were Hindi literary and Marathi literary works, the CPI mouth piece 'New Age' could be seen in one corner much thinned and dulled as reflection of its party's present state! I have some affinity toward 'PPP', from my Allahabad University days, sometimes we friends visited the 'Nilaabh prakashan' next to the the ever 'decadent-vibrant' 'coffee-house' in civil lines. The PPP books were available at 'Nilaabh', the publication of the famous Hindi writer Upendranath Ashk, named after his son, interestingly during my last visit I chanced to enter 'Nilaabh' and to my dismay found it in a dismal state-faded books,very few in number , the staff unconcerned sitting in the middle talking among themselves waiting for the day to end. My father had gifted me the twin volumes of Dostovasky's, 'The Idiot', purchased from there which I still possesses.

The very day I happened to visit the 'Khadi Gram Udyog' at D N Road. It is a very big departmental store containing various items made by village cooperatives such as Kurta-Pyjamas, silk clothes,shoes , brass artifacts , honey, books etc. But the place has not kept pace with time and is marred by the usual sarkari pace and inefficiency . I purchased two kurtas and two pyjamas to cater to the warm season ahead, somehow in spite of the mall culture and return of the ethnic wear the quality of cloth is inferior in Fabindia and therefore I find 'Khadi' offering variety to be true to itself even if it lacks market skills. My association with Khadi dates back to the times when during oct-nov months coinciding with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi ( 02 Oct ) Khadi clothes were sold at heavy discount and we purchased our year's requirement then only, crowd used to overflow and stalls were erected even outside the premises. Now no more discount exists and the rates of the items match with the biggest brands .I wondered therefore that by accident today I stumbled upon the two posts of the crumbling ideologies- Marxism and Gandhism, and felt sad at the decline of the two very relevant ideas, at the same time it was a little reassuring to note that all was not dead and the ideology even though low was not completely defunct.

It is not always important to be dominant but what is important is to keep the struggle on and inspire new struggles and in a way the struggle of 'Aam Aadmi 'party and 'Anna's 'movement is tribute to the Left and Gandhian ideologies!