And All That Jazz

"If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know."

Louis Armstrong

Legendary US Jazz Trumpeter

There is a man named Ahmed sitting nonchalantly across the table from me at a bustling jazz cafe in Koregon Park in Pune. Smoke from nargiles in the far corner slowly permeates the air, drifting up to the wooden, tent-like ceiling decorated in intricate Persian carpets. Vintage style photographs on the wall feature such jazz greats as Herbie Hancock, and waiters create space in between tightly packed tables and sagging wicker chairs. Onstage, a German expatriate is performing a song by Miles Davis with an American bassist and an Indian drummer. It is Thursday night, and here at the jazz cafe called Sheesha's is the center of life for the growing Pune jazz scene. Ahmed had been involved in organizing jazz performances in the same group as JJ, and as I looked on at the avant garde patrons I heard him speaking above the music and animated conversations. "The people who have talent play," he mused evenly. "Those who have no talent, organize."

JJ and his jazz-loving entourage were at it again. Filled to capacity and buzzing with appreciation, Shisha's was the ideal atmosphere for the jazz enthusiast. JJ was greeted warmly by many of the staff and patrons, and my parents, who arrived in Pune last Monday, and I were quickly introduced to a number of individuals involved in the jazz community. We took our seats at the best table in the house and listened and talked in the comfortable, relaxed ambience of Pune's best cafe. 

At half past ten, my father joined the band onstage and performed a few popular numbers that ended in boisterous applause of an excited audience. "One more!" shouted a patron from the rear, after they had finished. 

"Five more!" countered Ahmed. Though my father was only onstage for a few songs, it was a spectacular debut performance in front of an Indian audience, and one that will certainly never be forgotten in our family. Cueing the guitarist, the band and my father launched into Blue Bossa for an encore that had the whole house moving. That night concluded my parents' visit to India, and once again we said our goodbyes. During the past academic year my parents have visited me at each new location, in Madrid, Brussels, and now Pune. I must acknowledge my own personal happiness that they experienced some of the best parts of India, as there is no way to describe it to one who has not observed firsthand the beauty and grace that so aptly characterize this irresistible country. India is the revival of jazz and the impersonators of Elvis. India is the kamikaze auto-rickshaw drivers that fly through intersections into gridlocked traffic without so much as a scratch. India is the temples, the forts, the colors, sights, and smells. India is the painted elephants and idle camels ambling leisurely along the intercity highways. And India is a diversity in unity that exists in a unique way that separates it from all else. But most importantly, India is its people, who experience the beauty and the madness firsthand every day of their lives. 

I have no doubt that I should be abundantly grateful to my parents for instilling their spirit of adventurism in me, and for enabling me to have such profound and enlightening experiences throughout different parts of the world. There is a saying in India of visitors from foreign lands: "There are two types of foreigners: those who have been to India, and those who haven't." With my parents now members of the former, they and I have again added to our global awareness of peoples from distinct and dynamic societies. We have observed the gentle warmth of my Indian host family, the immense support of the program staff, and the general goodwill of individuals such as JJ and his wife, who have gone far out of their way to ensure my own comfort and security. When it comes time to leave this beautiful country, I know that I will be reluctant to depart and eager to someday return. My life in India is surrounded in color  and sound, and to come back to this chaotic and surreal nation is to be reintroduced to a land that claims prodigious diversity and a substantial portion of humanity within its politically disputed borders. Less than halfway into my own debut in India, I am already planning for another opening set. Bravo. Encore. And all that jazz. 

An Argument for Post Development Theory

"I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me."

Dave Barry
US columnist and humorist

Let me begin this development-focused entry with an unrelated digression. Six days ago, leading aircraft manufacturer Boeing unveiled its newest creation, the magnificent Boeing 747-8. Long awaited as Boeing's response to the full length, double deck Airbus A380, the new and improved 747-8 is the result of years in the making. Though earlier versions of the aircraft have already been tested, the newest member of Boeing's aerial fleet is the first non-cargo aircraft in the series. Though the 747-8 does not have the same capacity as the behemoth A380, it is more efficient in terms of both its weight and fuel usage per passenger. I would further like to add that it is a beautifully designed aircraft, and if visual aesthetics were a key determinant in measuring the performance of an aircraft, the 747-8 would far outclass its larger and more hideous counterpart, with a sleek design that is accentuated even more dramatically when compared with the bloated manatee of an aircraft that is the A380. It should be noted that Airbus has a tradition of producing ugly, or at least comically abstract looking aircraft. To illustrate, I kindly refer the reader to observe the Airbus Beluga, aptly named for its appearance that does, in fact, resemble a beluga whale. Somewhat ironically, the Beluga is used to transport parts of aircraft to an assembly center in Spain, where the EADS facility pieces them together. The official website for the new 747-8 can be found here. 

Now then, on to theories of economic development. In the current field of economic development, there are three primary theories into which nearly all others can be grouped. They are given below:

I. Modernization
II. Dependency
III. Post Development

Modernization Theory holds that countries can be categorically divided into the realm of modern societies and slower moving, backward societies. The distinction between the two focuses mainly on the technological capabilities of each individual country, and the correlated structure of their respective economies. Modern societies, viewed as technologically advanced, fast moving, and highly adaptive, have assumed a dominant position within the contemporary global economic framework, while backward countries are viewed as primitive and often subordinate to these modern societies. Modern societies are heavily correlated to Western societies, with the exception of Japan. The assumption in modernization theory is that backward countries will pursue policies that will enable them to lessen the gap between themselves and the modern societies, thereby achieving a more influential role in dictating the global economy.

Dependency theory is similar to modernization theory, insinuating that underdeveloped countries are economically dependent on developed countries. The decisions made by the state governments of dependent countries are unimportant, as the economic structure of that individual state is based on the economic policy of developed nations with which the underdeveloped state may trade. Underdeveloped states in this scenario legitimize their own economic role through the interests of countries that are economically influential. States classified as developing would correspond to the dependent group, while developed economies would fall under the independent category.

Contemporary theories on economic development have matured greatly since US President Harry Truman proclaimed a new “era of development.” Having expanded from the more narrow views of Gross Domestic Product and per capita income, the primary focus of development has moved away from centering on an aggregate rise in prosperity and the current contextual framework includes acknowledgement, if not full consideration, of additional concepts such as capabilities and distinctions in implementation strategy due to cultural variance. Nevertheless, from the perspective of the Post Development school of thought, contemporary developmental practices and theories remain heavily and impartially skewed toward the Western conceptualization of socio-economic advancement and the realities of its experience in attempting to introduce such methodologies to the developing world.

Scholars such as Arturo Escobar and Wolfgang Sachs have criticized the existing lens of development, specifically highlighting the widespread perception of the global North as being superior and progressive to the global South, which in turn is viewed as backward and basic. Post Development Theory states that countries in the developing world have been arbitrarily classified as impoverished, and have been compelled to adopt Western methodologies in order to reduce poverty. It also states that the Western definition of development, and furthermore the lifestyle characteristics of Western society, may not be applicable, desirable, or even possible for other countries to achieve. The adoption of Western values will lead only to the erosion of indigenous culture, thereby narrowing the scope of human existence.

It is this last theory that most interests me. A strong case can be made for proving the disproportionate influence of Western thought in the current understanding of development. In the context of my current studies in India, we have already observed large scale Westernization within the emerging generation of India, a trend that is likely to continue to grow as aggregate prosperity increases. The consumption mentality, once alien to most of the world, is becoming a mark of societal advancement and economic maturity. Especially within the youth, secularism and materialism have taken over from Hindu or traditional Indian thinking, with the effect that Indian culture is beginning to more closely resemble that of the United States.

When one steps back to consider the larger picture, the essential question remains whether the objectives that many citizens of the United States hold are applicable to individuals from other societies in diverse and far away parts of the world. Do Indians really care about living in a suburb with a five bedroom house and a two car garage? Is it realistic to expect the fulfillment of India's economic development to create another, larger version of the United States? No one individual can authoritatively answer these questions, but the fact remains that the social mentality of India is rapidly becoming assimilated with that of the West. Simply because it is impractical to own a luxury sedan in India does not mean that such vehicles are not desired. Furthermore, the economic disparity in India dwarfs the gap between the US rich and poor. While in the US, CEOs on average earn around 400 times the salary of their employees (meaning that they earn more in one day than their employees do in one calendar year), in India the bottom rungs of society extend much deeper. Impoverished families in rural India live in a way more akin to the peasantry of bygone centuries rather than citizens of the contemporary global community.

Post Development theory is not perfect. Though it makes strong criticisms of current ideas, it offers no feasible solutions of its own. The inherent problem is that no strategy exists for incorporating traditional values into a process that simultaneously prepares a national economy for a liberalized and global trade regime. Until there is a methodology through which the intrinsic value of traditional values can be quantitatively measured and subsequently infused into a developmental policy, the Western influence will continue to have significant and far reaching impacts on the developing world without any means of the developing nation to facilitate improvements in its economic framework. The greatest fallacy in this phenomena, in my view, is that India represents a unique opportunity to challenge the Western conceptualization of economic development. That it is not doing so could potentially lead to the quasi-universal institutionalization of Western values in the region of South Asia, eliminating the best chance that humanity has for freeing itself from its present, narrow minded orientation.

Return Fire: Assimilate THIS

"As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves." 


Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi






In response to a very nice comment on my last post, I have decided to address the counterpoint of a Miss Chhatrapati Lukeji in more detail. Enclosed first is her comment, followed by my lengthy response.

supi said...

You said: “ the educational initiatives fall far short of what is necessary to assimilate Indian students from rural areas into the urban economy.”

My question is: should education in the rural setting be geared towards preparing the youth for an urban setting or towards more pragmatic skills that will improve their lives in rural settings. While interning with Nourishing the Planet, I have come across numerous NGOs that are working to try and keep children in rural settings and educate them on better farming practices that will solve food security issues and create economic opportunities.

I am not suggesting that youth in the rural areas should not have the choice of where they want to live and work, but I think that a principal reason there is high volume of rural to urban migration in India, and other developing countries, is due to lack of economic opportunities in the rural setting and the promise of better ones in the cities. And lets face it, our cities do not have the capacity for this trend to continue.

And, its not to say that more pragmatic education for rural areas is focused solely on farming techniques; there are NGOs that are working to educate children and adults in rural regions with ICT skills, accounting and business skills. 

I will not deny that there is a gap in quality between education in the cities and the villages of India. But, I don't think that education in the rural areas should be geared towards assimilating them towards an urban economy. 

Chhatrapati Lukeji's Response

That is the controversy indeed. In class there were individuals who believe that such initiatives should focus more on preparing the youth for the future by emphasizing the current livelihoods of their parents. However, the counterpoint is exactly as you stated: Should the younger generation be limited to the same occupation, or should they be provided with the skills necessary to join the rapidly changing economic structure of a modernizing society?

Here is what I think. I disagree with your last point: "I don't think that education in the rural areas should be geared towards assimilating them towards an urban economy." Let me preface my argument with a few theories of modernization that have relevance to the topic.

Firstly, modernization in its current definition is a Western concept. I had initially erred in my own narrow definition of development, in that I equated it with an aggregate rise in prosperity. Though in reality socio-economic development encompasses much more than per capita wealth, I think the popularity of my definition reflects the perspective of Western society. The United States and Europe have built an economic system designed to enable the individual, rather than society as a whole, to maximize their utility. To cite this point I refer to the entrepreneurial emphasis created in a capitalist system, and the corresponding rewards system for market innovation.

Having established the individual as the fundamental unit of society, the next point is the nature of modernization itself. As has been observed in our contemporary understanding of development, modernization is irreversible. This idea was put forth by Walt Rostow, who has noted several consistencies in the real application of Western development practices in developing nations. To put it more bluntly, once individuals, especially individuals in developing countries, gain adequate wealth to reach a threshold upon which they can begin to accumulate material goods, the previous structures are viewed as undesirable. This is a widely accepted theory, and I can support it with my own field observations in our first village visit. The point is important, so I will emphasize it a bit further.

In the first village visit, we spoke with a local resident who held a positive view of modernization. Let me be abundantly clear that the initiatives in these villages, though designed to minimize any possible deviance with traditional values, are based almost entirely on WESTERN notions of development. This individual began by stating that a major obstacle in development had been a cultural tendency in the older male population to brew and consume a local beer, a tradition that had first taken root in certain village functions and then later expanded into ceremonies and further on to a routine practice (in some cases daily). Along came the NGO, BAIF Development Research Foundation, which identified this traditional practice as a hindrance to community development. They reasoned that by eliminating the practice altogether, individual families would devote less resources (time, effort, financial resources, and natural resources) toward the production of the local brew, and then use those resources more sensibly (i.e., toward an outcome that would have an intrinsic economic benefit to the family).

Therein was created a conditionality which ultimately proved successful. The men stopped drinking, and resources could be allocated more wisely (reinvestment in produce, purchase of raw materials, etc.) This led to notable, universal improvement in the quality of life among the villagers, and based on his testimony, it was widely, if not unanimously, credited as a practice that benefited the community. The problem arose with the younger generation, which found itself the recipient of a higher degree of wealth (and therefore, opportunity) than that of the preceding generation. The village youth soon began seeking additional means of fulfillment, and growing dissatisfied with village life, began to consume alcohol and to exhibit a greater degree of interest in adopting certain components of an urban lifestyle.

At this point, it could be argued that had the development not occurred, the youth would not face this problem. But such a view runs contrary to the core values of development. The problem is not that development took place, it is rather the individual choices that the village youth took with those new freedoms. Even this point digresses from the main point that I wish to make, which is this: having the current freedoms that they possess, the youth are unlikely to give up such freedoms and revert back to their original conditions. Regardless of whether their decisions make economic sense, they will not give up their current lifestyle to return to their old existence. To do so would, in their eyes, constitute a reactionary turn toward the progress that has been made through the initiatives of BAIF. Such is Rostow’s rationale when he makes the statement that modernization is, at least within the current parameters of international economic interaction, irreversible.

On to your question. Should education in the rural setting be geared towards preparing the youth for an urban setting or towards more pragmatic skills that will improve their lives in rural settings?

I know that you are familiar with the great Indian economist Amartya Sen. For anyone following this discussion, Sen has written numerous works in the field of economic development, and his work entitled Development As Freedom perfectly illustrates the point I am trying to make. Sen’s definition of development, far superior to my own, concentrates on the capabilities approach. Rejecting models that focus on per capita income or Gross National Product as primary indicators of development, Sen asserts that development should focus on expanding the freedoms of the people. As a parallel point, I should acknowledge the late Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal, who is most known for his theories on the concentration of wealth and the downward spiral of poverty. For the moment I will advance Sen’s argument of the capabilities approach.

Development is a politically charged term, and it should be noted that there is no single definition upon which all scholars agree. In Sen’s own line of thinking, development should expand substantive freedoms of the poorer classes and remove that which he has titled “unfreedoms,” which are obstacles that prevent an individual from realizing their full economic potential. He cites poverty as one such obstacle. Tyranny is another. The idea of preparing the young generation in rural India for life in the 21^st century, to Sen, is not only economically sensible, but also a moral obligation that any truly developed country should guarantee to its people. By offering only training in “pragmatic” skills to this generation is to further ingrain the obstacles that this generation faces in achieving economic freedom.

The second point that I would like to make is that it is wholly unjust and unethical to assume that the government, or any provider of educational initiatives, has any right to determine what constitutes a pragmatic education to another individual. Should the Indian government decide the livelihood of an entire generation trapped into a certain economic circumstance simply because of where they were born? It should be noted that there is such a system in place, in which the government does give training to the villagers in rural communities in what it considers a pragmatic education. That government is the Communist Party of China, and that it is violating inalienable human rights in enforcing such a system is globally acknowledge.

Farther down, you wrote: “…its not to say that more pragmatic education for rural areas is focused solely on farming techniques; there are NGOs that are working to educate children and adults in rural regions with ICT skills, accounting and business skills.”

Far from advancing your point, this actually supports mine. When you claim that you believe that education should focus more on the farming practices that you mentioned in your second paragraph, it is not clear to me how you believe this to reflect pragmatism in a rural environment. Certainly the skills that you mention; ICT, accounting, and business would have a much greater benefit in an urban environment than a two hectare plot in Maharashtra. Furthermore, it is evidence that the government is providing education for the village youth for assimilation into an urban economy, to which you have made clear your opposition.

You also wrote: “I think that a principal reason there is high volume of rural to urban migration in India, and other developing countries, is due to lack of economic opportunities in the rural setting and the promise of better ones in the cities.”

Once again, you are proving precisely MY point. The economic opportunities in the urban economy are superior, if not more highly diversified, than that of the rural economy. It is for this reason that the rural education should consider and even focus on the urban economy as a far broader platform for economic development. This point is illustrative of Gunnar Myrdal’s theory of the concentration of wealth, here referring to the tendency of wealth being directed through international trade to the urban economies of developing countries much more so than the rural areas.

Development is so far irreversible, and it is unrealistic to expect the emerging generation to wish to part with their new freedoms, especially after they have experienced them (however briefly). Amartya Sen has eloquently produced a work that is introductory to the field of development and exhaustive of his own, well-supported theory of the capabilities approach. I reject your view that a government should be the actor that determines the livelihood of its citizenry, and acknowledge that you twice provide an argument that advances my perspective, firstly with the village education that includes business oriented skills and secondly your explicit statement of the superiority of economic opportunity in the urban economy over the rural. In order to become a truly developed nation, the government must take it upon itself to provide a pragmatic education that effectively prepares the emerging generation for fluency in an urban and globalized economic system, thereby providing all citizens the freedom to determine their own future. While this is nowhere a reality (even in what is considered the developed world), given India’s rapid expansion, to aim for any less would run contrary to the fundamental principle of egalitarianism to which India currently aspires.

We Speak Americano, and The Realists Strike Back

On Differing Systems of Education

ZD: "I'm going to be honest. I don't know anything about this topic."
LT: "Neither do I, but I'm going to pretend I do."
ZD: "That's what makes you a politician, and me a journalist."


India is probably not the first country that comes to mind when one thinks of nightlife. Spain or Italy are most likely the leading contenders, and the United States puts up a strong showing. Nevertheless, at least in Pune, there is an already well-established nocturnal scene for the kids who like to play in the dark, and in a city that is home to several of the best universities in the nation the local culture is well able to provide for such diversions any day (or night, I should say) of the week, due no doubt to the considerable student population. Unaware of this, a certain Californian Jew who was previously a roommate of Chhatrapati Lukeji once questioned the evening activities of Lukeji, subtly insinuating that his conditions were preferential. And though I suspect he may be correct (he is in Tel Aviv for the semester), Pune is home to a wealth of nighttime festivities that keep the Chhatrapati well occupied. 

There is only one issue; despite the rich cultural heritage of the various musical styles of India, the thumping beats and maximum intensity house music blaring from the speakers is imported from the US and Europa. Some DJs do mix in some songs in Hindi and Punjabi, but those numbers are few and far between.  At least the style of dance shows more class than in the clubs of the US, but I was rather disappointed to have inadvertently corrupted a few of the Indian females of our group, who in the style and spirit of the soundtrack adopted movements more akin to those across the globe. This was truly not my intention, though a Miss Chhatrapati Lukeji may believe otherwise. 

Moving ahead to Wednesday, at long last the App for Carmen Sandiego was released on Facebook. Growing up slightly after the generation of Schoolhouse Rock, the re-release of Carmen Sandiego, combined with Math Blaster and the Jump Start Series rocked my grade school world. In addition to being one of several childhood fantasy crushes, Carmen Sandiego was everything that I wanted to be. She was smooth, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, and incredibly elusive, even against the cunning acumen of the Acme agents, whose fearless operatives and eccentric masterminds were always two steps behind her and her dim-witted but devious henchmen. Her motives were mysterious, but her primary objective always bordered on a fantastic quest for knowledge, and indeed many of the treasures that she sought (and stole) were intangible objects that could not, in fact, be stolen (i.e., the Great Wall of China). Her imperial red trench coat and matching fedora that covered her eyes (sometimes portrayed as green, and other times amber brown), were downright sexy. Without doubt, she is in the top five fictional characters who I wish were real, along with Randy Marsh, Hiro Protagonist, Artemis Fowl, and Austin Danger Powers.

During our class discussions in Issues in Political and Economic Development (IPED), we addressed the definition of development, and whether the reality of development is feasible and/or appropriate for India and other parts of the developing world. A major controversy is whether development, which is a heavily influenced by Western values, should supersede traditional Indian values as India ascends to a position of global influence. We also argued over the pragmatism of education in rural India, and whether such initiatives truly prepare the students of the village for increasingly urban life in the 21st century. Being an idealist, it is uncharacteristic of me to argue that such initiatives are not effective, yet as the honeymoon effects of our tribal visit have now diminished I can re-examine our endeavor afresh.

It is not true to claim that we visited any of the village educational institutions, for we did not. Nevertheless, it is evident even from a surface perspective that there is a considerable gap between education and a corresponding niche in India's economic structure for these students. While it is wrong to abandon the youth in these villages, in many cases the educational initiatives fall far short of what is necessary to assimilate Indian students from rural areas into the urban economy. This is not unique to India, and one could argue that even in the United States there exists such a gap. But the focus of our debate was not on a comparison to other parts of the world, and we considered only India during the sessions.

In India, it is required that the government provide formal education up to the age of fourteen, which corresponds to the tenth standard. Beyond this, many students in rural villages find themselves without the means of continuing any formal education, and proceed to a career according to the profession of their parents. In the villages that we visited, which were prosperous relative to many others, the initiatives of the NGO had increased their family wealth, and the younger generation had more opportunities to interact with and observe urban life. While the growing prosperity is a direct benefit of such initiatives, the effect on the youth was mixed. Many became disinterested in carrying on in the tradition of their parents, and were desirous of seeking employment in an urban setting. Without proper training, however, they are left with few options, and run an inherent risk of leaving behind a life of rural poverty for a life of urban poverty.

None of the above commentary is intended to discredit the monumental and widespread progress that India has made. If anything, our discussion highlighted the fallacies of the Western model, asserting the often problematic emphasis on consumption and individualism as dual structural flaws within the liberalized mentality. With India poised to compel substantial change in the global economic structure, a central point of intrigue will be whether she may retain traditional values while fully participating in open multilateral trade. If so, perhaps India will succeed where the West failed, and in doing so mark a point of departure from the current global economy to a new system in which the collective society in place of the individual is of paramount importance.

On Friday we had a guest lecture from a member of the Indian Revenue Service. Though the Internal Revenue Service in the United States is not the most popular federal institution, in India civil servants are generally credited with more prestige, even in the revenue department. In the movie Stranger Than Fiction, Will Ferrell, playing the role of an IRS agent, visits a psychologist to voice his concerns over what he believes to be attempts on his life. The psychologist, concerned, asks if there is anyone who would hate him enough to do such a thing. "I'm an IRS agent," he replies. "Everyone hates me."

Despite his profession, we did not hate our guest lecturer. In fact, his discourse was thoroughly fascinating. He explained that the Indian Civil Service (ICS), a highly prestigious career, is desirable for a variety of reasons. Firstly, although the salary is not as high as in the corporate sector, civil servants at the higher levels receive no shortage of perks. Prestige, power, and and job security also make the ICS a highly coveted position. And lastly, though not a universal attribute of the service, the intrinsic nature of the career is based on a contribution to civil society.

The requirements to become a civil servant in India are very high. Of 200,000 applicants per annum, only 800 are selected for the service, a figure that is even less than in the US, which accepts approximately 2% of applicants to the .004% that India accepts. There are a number of exams, beginning with an objective test, and progressing to more rigorous, specialized exams. The final stage is an interview in front of a five person panel. Following this process, and if selected, the new civil servant will submit his or her top three preferences for the department in which they would like to serve. Our lecturer admitted that revenue was not his top choice (surprise, surprise), and stated that the Intelligence Department and the Foreign Service were the most competitive. Nevertheless, he was happy enough to have passed the exams, and his job was anything but dull. Tax evasion in India remains a colossal problem, as the poor are not required to pay taxes and the wealthy are adept at avoiding them. He estimated that the equivalent of USD 1 Trillion of taxable Indian incomes were currently stashed in secret accounts in European banks, a figure which would effectively double the central government's faux Louis Vuitton pursestrings.

As a student focusing on economic development in South Asia, I could probably carry on for awhile, but it is now Saturday night, and the night is young. The rundown closure for the week to commence: 1) Happy birthday to my German housemate. Your party last night was sehr gut, and your coworkers were awesome. 2) An apology to my US and Indian friends who tonight find themselves in Lonavala minus a Chhatrapati Lukeji. I am sure that you will find something to do tonight in a hotel in a Maharashtrian hill station with massive amounts of alcohol at your disposal. Just a guess. 3) A discussion with my host mom about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, an extremist Hindu organization) proved quite interesting, but I may not take her up on the offer to observe a public display of their pseudo-militant pageantry. I'm cool with the Muslims. 4) Good luck on tracking those materialistic, tax-evading scumbags, civil servant and protector of Indian revenue. It certainly sounds like a tremendous responsibility, perhaps a task worthy of the criminal genius of Carmen Sandiego. Though a lesser criminal would take it all back, my lady in red is not interested in dirty money. Besides, why rob the Bank of India when you could steal the Taj Mahal?

Nagada Nagada - Jab We Met

The Heart of India

"Mahatma Gandhi had become the spokesman for the conscience of mankind, a man who made humility and simple truth more powerful than empires."

General George C Marshall

US Secretary of State

According to my Indian host mother, Saturdays in India are intended to be lazy. After sleeping for a virtually unprecedented 10 hours, I have no objection to that suggestion. Unfortunately, it appears as though my professors do. My current To Do list runs an inherent risk of remaining unfulfilled by the end of this weekend, a scenario that does not fill me with joy nor set a desirable tempo for next week. Deep down, though, I know that I would prefer this feeling one thousand times over having too much leisure. Being an American University student, it is practically a part of our DNA that we seek ways to ensure that life remains purposeful and productive. To be candidly honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. Speaking a few weeks ago with one of the three other colleagues on this program, I remarked that I was sleeping well and working out much more than usual, and noted that it seemed I had too much free time. My colleague, laughing, said that if I was sleeping well and staying healthy, she knew I wasn't doing something correctly. Sometimes there is more of AU in me than I will freely admit, but in this case there is no denying the truth in her statement. 

Now then, a recall of the past week. Seven days ago, on Sunday, our program made a few visits to three tribal villages in the state of Maharashtra. A few weeks ago I wrote a subsection of an entry entitled "The Real Village People," referring to a small tribal village located near Durshet, a rural area in the same state. This visit was similar to that experience, albeit much more in depth. We started off with a visit to an agrarian site, where a nationally based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) has concentrated part of its loan portfolio. In this case, the NGO provided an initial loan to lease a small, one and a half acre tract of land which was not in use by its owner. The lease agreement was for one year, renewable for an unspecified number of times. The land was then used to cultivate a variety of different crops, and one village family was selected by the NGO as the laborers. After one year, that family was able to pay off the loan to the NGO, and had even made enough profit to lease the land for another year without capital from the NGO. The objective of the NGO was thusly completed; the landowner gained from the rent paid for the use of the land, the NGO gained back its initial loan, and one village family that before had had no income now generates enough to lease a one and a half acre plot with their own income. This illustration of how an NGO operates is not unique to India, but it is here that many such initiatives are reaching fruition. With just a small amount of capital and time, an NGO of any size can provide a family with a sustainable source of income, and along with it the opportunity to achieve a better quality of life. 

Our professor who directed the endeavor was himself an Adivasi, or Tribal. He indicated that environmental conservation, a concept that is relatively new in the Western mentality, is an intrinsic part of the village mentality. Additionally, due to the work of the NGO, the villagers have become increasingly aware of the importance of such practices as sanitation and health. The villagers have made substantial changes in their lifestyles that reflect the growing value on these ideas. Livestock that previously inhabited the same quarters as their owners are now sheltered in separate facilities, and levels of alcoholism, once an essential part of Tribal life, has been greatly reduced among the older generation. 

Our second site was a rural public health clinic, a part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). The facility itself was small in comparison to the hospitals that we had seen in the city of Pune, but even with a limited number of staff the clinic still manages to have someone available 24/7. We were able to observe the means by which healthcare in rural India is administered. A registration fee of five rupees (approximately .12 USD) is required from the villagers for access to the clinic, unless the villager in question is below the poverty line set by the government, in which case access is provided free of charge. The clinic included health information featured on wall displays on a number of illnesses and procedures in the local language, Marathi, but our professor expressed his doubts that the displays were adequate in spreading health awareness. The wards for patients, just one room with several beds, were separated by gender, and while we were there our group witnessed a woman being escorted into the female ward by two members of the clinic staff. We later learned that she had ingested poison, but whether it was intentional or accidental was unclear. Of the total number of fatalities in the village, around 10% were due to suicides, a figure that is shockingly high. 

It was in this village that we were able to interact with a few of the villagers. This was a difficult task, as the language barrier was almost absolute. We had a few members of our program staff who spoke Marathi (the villagers did not even speak Hindi), and as such we required their presence at every opportunity. I observed a brief interview with a traditional Indian healer who was being questioned by one of the girls on our program, who herself was interested in studying alternative medicines. The traditional Indian practice is called Ayurvedic medicine, and it is not widely practiced outside of India, unlike other alternative medicines such as Chinese acupuncture. I remember having one brief conversation with this girl about the topic. She had made the point to a friend and me that all organisms have souls. This was a reasonable claim to both of us, and we agreed. She then pointed to a chair that we were sitting on, claiming that it, too, had a soul. My friend and I exchanged uneasy looks, and the conversation abruptly terminated. 

Awkward discourse on spiritually-based non-empirical healing techniques aside, the rest of our visit was as interesting as the first two sites. In the third village we visited an artisanal area in which the NGO assisted local artists in marketing their handiwork at expositions in urban areas such as Delhi and Mumbai. Apart from realizing how worthless I am in terms of my extreme lack of any creative capacity whatsoever, I was amazed by the pride and dignity that each of the villagers took in their work. Whether it was cultivating crops under the midday sun, treating patients in a small clinic hours away from any urban center, or creating small figurines out of paper mache, each of the villagers that we encountered exuded a quiet contentedness in their successes. Though it is not my intention to patronize or to make charged comparisons, I could not help but think of the workforce in the United States, of the vast numbers of people who truly despise the jobs to which they commute everyday. Here, in three small villages of each some several hundred inhabitants, there was a self-assured dignity and pleasure in the quality of life. The people here were exuberant to own a small plot of land and a three room house. Two years ago, the roommate of Miss Chhatrapati Lukeji had a list of "Kimo's Hawaiian Rules" hanging on the wall. The only one that I still remember was Rule Number Two: "The best things in life aren't things." There are few places that I have been to in the world that more perfectly characterize this truth than these three villages. 

We returned to the City of Virtue on Tuesday evening, and the rest of the week was unremarkable. Yesterday, Friday, we watched Richard Attenborough's film Gandhi. It had been years since I had first seen it, and viewing it after having read Gandhi's autobiography helped me to better appreciate the supreme service that Gandhi performed for his country. I have spoken to a number of individuals, mostly Indian, who have been more critical of Gandhi, citing his methodology as being effective but slow moving. A common criticism is that his methods prolonged the British occupation of India, and that had he adopted a more hardline policy the independence of the subcontinent could have been more quickly achieved. 

With the above statements, I could not disagree more. Gandhi was an idealist after my own heart, and whether the term carries a positive or negative connotation reveals much about the beholder. Whether one looks at Gandhi as Bapu (Father) of the nation or as an over-credited, stubborn old man, the fact remains that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, one man with a bamboo stick, went head to head with the British Empire and triumphed. He fought injustice with respect, imperialism with tradition, and prejudice with love. His army was comprised not of soldiers but of his brothers and sisters, children of God. His tactics, which would have been laughable at the highest echelon battle schools of West Point, Sandhurst, or Saint Cyr, proved superior to those of the greatest empire in the world. Such was the morality of his methods that Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela both strove to emulate him in their own great struggles in the United States and South Africa, respectively. Gandhi achieved a victory that India never could have gained through rebellion, and he did it without firing a single bullet. Even after he had peacefully overcome the British, he managed to check violence between the Hindu and Muslim communities across India. Responding to repeated encouragement to lead violent uprisings against the British, Gandhi steadfastly refused, arguing that even if such movements were to triumph, he would remain resolutely opposed to founding the new nation of India on such a violent and destructive legacy.

It is difficult to determine precisely why many feel so strongly about Gandhi. Perhaps it is because he represents the triumph of virtue over injustice, or because of his paradoxically simply and profound wisdom. Perhaps it is because he is an icon who consistently exhibited the best characteristics of humanity at a time when the world order was being dominated by the worst. Perhaps it is because he is a martyr who described himself as a Muslim, a Hindu, a Christian, and a Jew all at once, and thusly appeals to all individuals regardless of their religious backgrounds (maybe not Scientology, if that can be considered a religion).

It is important too to remember that Gandhi considered the Indian village to be the fundamental unit of society. In contrast to the more worldly and liberal thinking Nehru, Gandhi advocated the simplicity of village life as a model for all of India. Though I am no expert, having now visited four tribal villages I now see his logic. I have heard that rural India is the true India, and while I do not necessarily accept that statement there is one significant implication behind it that rings true. Nowhere else is the sense of community as strong as in village India. While this could be argued for any part of the world, India itself is compelling because of its growing social divide. The idea of there being two Indias is the basis for this comparison. On one side, there is traditional and sacred India, with overwhelmingly Hindu values at the core of society. On the other, a modern, secular India is rising, following quickly in the fashion of the Western societies. The community is fracturing, and traditional values have given way to an individualism more characteristic of the West. India's own response to this divide will be a defining element of the 21st century, to say nothing of the lives of her emerging generations. 

Failures Four, The Fergussonians, and Rising India

"Fall down seven times, stand up eight."

Chinese proverb

I have had better moments. Currently I am worried about housing for the upcoming academic year, with 48 hours until the deadline for applications. Ordinarily, this would not be a problem, but as American University must make even the most basic functions an unnecessarily bureaucratic and impossible procedure I find myself unable to log into the system, as it believes that the password I am submitting is incorrect. It's not. Solution Numero Uno was of course to attempt to reset the password. Unfortunately, that is impossible, as the username itself is apparently unrecognized. No worries, there just so happens to be a guest tab in which one can register a new account! The day is saved! Hooray!

Alas, I cannot use my email address, despite the fact that it is not recognized, as my email is already in use. Yes, you read it correctly. The system will not let me use an email address that it does not recognize because it is in use somewhere in the very same system. Adios, solution Numero Dos, and hello solution Numero Tres. Time to create a new email account. Not rocket science, but either there are several dozen people with the same name as me (unlikely, considering the rarity of my surname), or people just happen to name their email addresses in ways that bear no resemblance to their own name but a considerable similarity to mine. Finally, a working username is found. Almost there, Numero Tres!

But it is sadly not to be, for lo, the system claims that my new e-identity is already committed. This is impossible, as I just created the entity a few seconds ago, but at this point I am throwing in the hat. Technology is something that I use with fluency, but understanding its modus operandi is something else entirely. At any rate, Mr Moody, the executive director of AU Housing and Dining, just responded to my email, and expressed his regret over my unfortunate conundrum. Does this mean that Lukeji will at last be saved? Given Moody's track record, I would assume not, but ever the optimist I will wait for the final curtain to applaud or hiss. 

Now then, it is time for a little frolic in the realm of persuasion. Thanks to my all powerful go go gadget Droid (a supreme technological marvel at the time of this writing), calling to the US has never been easier (or more expensive), but in times like these one must indeed make a few sacrifices. Call to AU Housing and Dining for the final epic showdown. Justice will prevail. 

Generally in India, reception is pretty good thus far, but today, for some unknown reason, the sound quality is so poor that the individual on the other end is barely distinguishable. It is the same for her. She communicates that she has forwarded the email to her peers, and transfers me to a member of the AU technologically gifted support squad. He cannot hear a word that I say, and solution Numero Cuatro fails in the same way as its predecessors. A call to the parents and a brief and frustrated explanation is next in store. The only problem is that a large part of the United States has been owned by a large snowstorm. From what I understand, internet is down back home, and, were it not for that ever useful back up generator, electricity would be too. Though I have alerted the hero parents to the situation, it may be a few more hours before they can take action to remedy my catastrophic plight. 

My rant has now concluded, and I do feel better. Apart from the AU issue to be dealt with later, today was a productive and entertaining day. The highlight, Panorama of Cultures 2011, was a multicultural show put on by the international students at Fergusson College. I had the chance to observe a few Afghani dances and one phenomenal Persian guitarist before rushing back to Issues in Political and Economic Development, and then I returned in time to witness the grand concluding numbers. Following the performances I went to the reception afterwards and spoke with a few of the dancers. I was particularly intrigued by three young men who gave their country of representation as Iraqi Kurdistan. Kurdistan, a region that extends into Turkey as well, became a potential reality in the postwar three state solutions advocated by some of the United States top military brass, but obviously its international recognition has yet to materialize. I was impressed to learn that despite the lack of recognition or formal sovereignty, Kurdistan already has in place a well functioning state apparatus. Our brief conversation was a reminder that a national identity, a concept that I naturally take for granted, is in many parts of the world yet being formed through the clash of differing ideals, political struggles and diplomatic posturing. 

In all, 36 different countries were represented, many of which still are still defining their relationship with the United States. The Panorama of Cultures was a magnificent display of the unity in diversity that so characterizes the Indian mentality. At the end of the performances, the national anthems of each country were played. I had not heard many of them before, and was struck in particular by the national anthem of Afghanistan. The Mistress of Ceremonies concluded the entire program with the mantra of Fergusson College, which sounded quite familiar to me: "Once a Fergussonian, Always a Fergussonian." Original. But cliched school motto aside, Fergusson College should be proud. Today was a celebration of culture, at which India was at the forefront. And the legacy of Fergusson College is equally impressive; the university is highly esteemed for its concentration on the social services, and is the training ground for the future leaders of India, being the alma mater of two former presidents. When this generation comes to power in a few decades, I have no doubt that Indian leadership will continue to play a dynamic and far reaching role in the global community. In their own language, the Indians say "Vande Mataram," or "I bow to thee, Mother," in a manner that is startling in its passion and admirable in its conviction. It is simultaneously an expression of the rising pride in Indian achievement over the past half century, acknowledgement of her rich traditions, and irresistible confidence in the future of one of the oldest and greatest civilizations on this earth. 

Vande! Mataram!

Vande! Mataram!

Vande! Mataram!