Where Nature Speaks:

I came across this quote while surfing the net the other day. This supposedly controversial speech was given by Chief Seattle when native Indians were forced to sell their land to white settlers in America. Controversy aside, I found this speech particularly poignant and was deeply touched by it.

“Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man. The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man --- all belong to the same family.”

Whether it’s the Native Indians of America, the Aborigines of Australia or the various tribes that live in the Himalayas and across the plains of our country, all believe in Animism or Spirits of Nature. They hold Earth and nature sacred and far more important than themselves. Where we understand nature through science, they still communicate directly with the trees, rivers, mountains and birds. In India, many tribal villages have a sacred grove in the forests where they live that is left untouched...not even a leaf is plucked from here.  In high Himalayas, mountains and rivers are worshipped and held sacred.

We consider ourselves clever, scoff at such beliefs and think of them as ‘primitive’. We work in glass cubicles, live in concrete houses with children who think the source of water is a municipal tanker. Living in skyscrapers, travelling in jet planes and changing technology every six months give us the illusion that we are improving our lives. And in the whole process, we have forgotten just how dependent we are on nature for our survival and growth....a fact which these indigenous groups always knew and understood.

The Native Indians were brutally razed, the Aborigines have been left with a raw deal in their hands and there is a huge ongoing debate about mainstreaming of tribes in India. What their future will be and what our future will be is yet to be seen. All we can do now is to try to understand and correct ourselves in the process.

So take a while and leave the city. Walk barefoot on the grass, feel the sun on your skin and hear the leaves rustle and the wind whisper.  Watch the clouds go by, dip your feet in the river and see the stars in the night sky...only then you will know that they have been right all along.

Philosophy of Charity:

India, now has the dubious reputation of being in the bottom few in most global surveys, be it women friendliness, domestic violence (on top here), safety for the girl child, hunger or education. Another one to add to this bottom’s list is the Global Giving Index. The 2011 figure shows that we are number 91 as against 134 in 2010. HT very enthusiastically put it as "Catching up with the rest of the world".

But even before this article came out in the papers, I have had quite a few intense discussions with my friends on ‘giving’.  Well, we really don’t need Global Indexes to tell us that we don’t really do charity. And by charity I don’t mean giving previous night’s rotis to a cow or Rs.2 to a child on the street. By charity I mean large hearted donations for a bigger cause. Or taking time out from work to volunteer for something you believe in.

For most middle class families, donation is limited to a temple or priests or pujas. It really didn’t matter where the money went as long as you gave it in the name of God. One of the reasons for this so called ‘un’ charitable attitude is the fact that till a few decades ago, most NGOs couldn’t be trusted. Like most political parties, monies given to NGOs couldn’t be traced. The third reason is that most of us who are currently at the most ‘charity affording’ stage in life, have known a life where our parents had struggled for everything and we had to prioritise on what we wanted the most. Then came economic liberation which was like throwing a deprived child into a candy store. Now we want everything we can lay our hands on. Nobody has the time to look at the person standing next to you, extend a hand and give a candy.

 Yes, there is a vague knowledge that a poor unjust world exists out there, but first one has to buy the second home, go on that much awaited cruise around the arctic region, buy a few Jimmy Choo shoes.  Suddenly we are in the midst of unstoppable greed. And where greed exists, there can never be charity.

One argument which most of my friends give (and all of them have made it in life career wise) about not donating is that they would rather give it to somebody who they know will benefit directly. Like giving a job to a needy, providing TV or school books to schools or hostels, giving blankets to homeless etc. Not that these deeds are less generous or unworthy, but it solves perhaps .0001% of the problem that is India. Go out of your safely ensconced homes and cities and see what’s happening. Media is not enough. See how farmers are struggling to earn money for the food they grow for us, how government schemes are not reaching people even after 60 years of earning their due, how mining and power companies are destroying forests and taking up land in the name of development, how little girls are being treated.

Who will change these? The government – ideally yes but in reality no. The NGOs (or CSOs as they like to be called now a days) – perhaps, with good work being done by many CSOs now but work is limited to specific regions and not whole. Corporates – they can but in India they have a long way to go.

Whether you like it or not, it can change when we change how we view our world.

And the only way to start the change is by stopping our greed.  Just pause for a while and take a real look around you.    

We, the people of India.....

.....are inherently dirty. Period. Some twisted gene in us makes us blind to filth. Like the proverbial fisherfolks who cannot sleep without the smell of stale fish around, we also cannot work or live in a clean environment.  Give us a swank new metro and two days later, the corners will be streaked of red pan stains. Give us brand new dustbins and we will throw garbage all around it.

Some might argue that people are getting more aware. Take for example, the Mumbai locals. Yes, commuters do listen to the nice female voice constantly telling us to ‘help us keep our coaches clean’. So they will never throw anything inside. But the pull of filth is so strong that the hand automatically reaches out of the window and door, sometimes brashly and sometimes tentatively to throw out plastics, fruit peels, bunch of hair etc.  The female voice asked us to keep our coaches clean. She never mentioned anything about the world outside, did she? Oh, how lovely is the look of contentment once the job is done.

I keep wondering why we are like this. Why are we nation of openly spitting, peeing, defecating, throwing garbage, farting and all things dirty? My job lets me travel to the interiors of many states. Even the roads in most remote areas are sadly lined with used plastic bags. Most of the villages are pretty and relatively clean but go to its boundaries and you will see garbage piling up. (The only exception being the villages of Vidarbha where people poop right on the road which leads to their homes)

Maybe it’s because our sense of belonging is limited to our homes. Deep down we don’t really see the cities, parks, forests, roads and even the country as our own....as something we should bother about. We are a bunch of free spirited, untameable people. Like the horse that can be dragged to the pond but not forced to drink, the government can provide us with garbage cans but cannot make us throw things in it.  
Three to four decades ago, the GoI had tried to educate the people through an animated infomercial.  Yet, we have spawned an entire generation of filth lovers. Looking at the brighter side, we have developed a strong immune system.

So bring on the TDR-TB, Swine Flu and Delhi Super Bug....we are not scared. We will continue to be the world’s largest garbage dump.

PS: I love horses and after this post I will never ever misuse its good name and compare it with things bad.