THE INDIAN DREAM

Not so many decades ago, there lived a young boy in a small village in Tamil Nadu. One day while returning from school, he noticed a lot of hullabaloo in the village. One coming home, he found that his uncle had just come back from the United States and the village was celebrating his return. He brought gifts for the elders of the village, clothes for the ladies, toys for the young and fine scotch for all the men. On seeing his uncle doing so well, the young boy decided that day that he too would work hard and go to the USA, the land that would fulfill all his dreams, and banish his family’s state of poverty forever. He studied hard at school, did his engineering at MIT (Madras Institute of Technology) and finished his degree with the highest results and he could see the day his dream was to be a reality drawing closer. When it became time for him to leave his land for further shores, something held him back. He found that in order to fulfill his dreams, he needn’t travel across the seven seas. His dream was to become a reality right here in India.

For many long years that one can remember, people emigrated to the United States of America in search of a successful and satisfying life, a life sans discrimination, poverty and unemployment; factors they usually faced in their own country. They were in search of the American Dream. The Dream guaranteed them a better life, one where they were successful, had a higher standard of living, and could basically hold their heads high whilst raking in the ‘big bucks.’

But all that has changed in the recent past. In his book The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman writes that due to globalisation and an immense amount of opportunities opening up in countries not even considered earlier; the world slowly ceases to be round, and in turn is getting flattened. He also states that there are immense amounts of intellectual wealth to be found in countries such as India… and very rightly so. The winds of change are now blowing east and the world in entirety is waking up and taking note of India.

This is the Indian Dream. India is a country that will have been independent for 60 years this August. It may still be very young but it has come a long way from the British Raj. The opportunities that have opened up in the past decades thanks to First World nations outsourcing jobs, and the tremendous IT and BPO boom, Indians have not only lapped it up but also proven to the world where they stand.

But these aren’t the only factors. Here are a few reasons why the world dreams the Indian Dream. The economy of India is the fourth largest in the world as measured by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$ 35.47 billion (approx.). It is also the second fastest growing major economy in the world, with a GDP growth rate of 9.2% at the second quarter of 2006-2007. Add to this a world-class Information Technology infrastructure, the sector generating annual revenues of around US$ 36 billion.

With a new dawn is born a new generation. Another prime factor in the Dream becoming a reality is the growing percentage of Indian youth. By 2020, India will be the world’s youngest nation with 60% of the population in the age group of 25 -35 years. The youth today have crossed far more frontiers than their predecessors at the same age; far more politically aware, with a mature, global outlook, and a fiery spirit fuelled by the will cease the moment, the Indian youth look unto the world, challenging it for all its worth.

Another reason fuelling the Dream in the recent past is a sharp trend of people from outside migrating to India in search of better jobs, better standards of living, and far better educational prospects. A vast array of students, not only from countries in Africa, but also from the European Union, and the United States (the former Dream destination) have been coming to the country, falling in love with its vibrant and growing culture and not wanting to leave at the end of their educational terms. But this change hasn’t taken place only because of only education and IT. Industries such as tourism, medicine and many others are huge contributors.

All these above factors given, there is no reason that India in the near future will be still known as Third World. It will soon leave behind the blemishes of the past and head towards a much brighter future.

Cheers India! To a new dawn… to a new nation.

WHEN KARMA MET DHARMA

One dark and cold night, God was bored and decided to create the world. And so there was a huge bang and the world came into existence. Then he decided to put some life on earth, so he created man and woman. After a few million years, he got bored – evolution had taken its toll, and nothing much was happening. So, to make things a little interesting, he decided to give the world Karma and Dharma.

But before we do go on, let us take a minute to understand the meaning of these two terms that form such an important part of our lives. The Oxford Dictionary describes Dharma as ‘the eternal law of the cosmos, inherent in the very nature of things.’ Whereas Brother Karma is defined as ‘the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.

Yeah, right!

The Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Bhagwad Gita, as well as all other religious texts have forever be advocates of the righteous path of Dharma, as well as the virtues of Karma. If anything, Yudhishtir was a walking, talking billboard of Dharma, and the advertisers of that era were after him to endorse their products. A classical example was Coke – Thande ke saath yudh changa. Even the television industry tried to get him to sign a few shows – Kaun Banega Draupadi-pati, and even Ekta Kapoor’s Kyunki Krishna Ko Karna Ne Kossa Tha. But even our brand ambassador for Dharma is not without a ‘*Terms and Conditions apply.’

You see, the thing is, as righteous as Yudhishtir may have been, he was a little bit of a ‘palti-tition’ (A political person who chooses his bearings based on convenience). Though he preached Dharma his entire life, he was hypocritical enough to bet his wife and kingdom on a game of dice. Even he, in all his “humanity”, never embraced Karna as a brother. And there were many such incidents.

Many people might not agree when I say that Duryodhan was a little more righteous than the ‘Big Y’ himself. But the fact remains, as miserably as Duryodhan is portrayed, he was a bit more humanitarian, not in comparison, but in truth. His kingdom was prosperous, sans oppression, and he embraced Karna as his own brother, when he was cast away for being a charioteer’s son. And Duryodhan did meet his end at the hands of Bheem, who brought the mace down hard on his thighs, the only place on his anatomy which could be used to kill him. And before you do forget, it was against the rules of war to hit below the torso – definitely not prescribed by Dharma. Maybe that’s why Duryodhan was granted entry into heaven, whereas the post-life consequences of the Pandavas tell a very different story. Dharma? Or wait, was that Karma?

Let’s be fair. I’m not out to make fun of the Pandavas and Kauravas. Even the Bible tells a similar story. What about that incident with Kane and Abel? Was Kane just keen to please God at all costs, even if he had to kill his own brother? Or was Abel the only able one? Food for thought, what say? And if memory serves me right, wasn’t it the Romans who crucified Jesus? Hey, wait a second. Isn’t the Vatican City next to Rome?

Ok, no more making fun of religious texts. Let’s get down to some serious business. How valid are the principles of Karma and Dharma in today’s society?

The modern day man is definitely no stranger to religion. If truth be told, the modern man is a very god fearing, religious, hardworking 9-5 person. But even then, I don’t have any reason to believe that Karma and Dharma have remotely crossed his mind.

We see a lot of angst and misery in the world today – plague, pestilence, depression, discrimination, hunger, war, racism and so much more. And it is us human beings that have caused this. At any point did we stop to think that, “Hey? I shouldn’t be doing this.” And the truth is we haven’t.

In greed to fulfil our own desires, we have given way to our animal nature, and also given Darwin’s contention (survival of the fittest), a new definition – survival of the greediest.

People no longer care for each other, for feelings, emotions and all that other ‘nonsense’ that goes into making a Hugh Grant movie. (And he gets paid well for doing it too.)

Truth is, people don’t give a rodent’s rear end (pardon my colourful abuse) about Karma and Dharma. They’re not bothered under which code of life they live, and what will happen in their following births. All they care about is themselves, and who they can stab in the back to make their life better.

Well, I hope God is amused. I certainly am not.