Interviewed By Mihir Jha

“I believe that people who are opinion leaders in some way or the other like Film Actors or Religious Gurus  have this responsibility to send some messages and I don’t find them doing that a lot. For example, if a religious guru says tomorrow that people should not litter up on streets, I am pretty sure that it shall have a very good impact because their followers are often more than politicians. My life’s focus is now good story telling in whatever forms it comes whether it’s on radio or writing in books or lyrics or through music but I want to straggle to space between the real India and the larger mass. For example in my radio show also I want to touch on social issues such as caste and corruption(referring to themes of some of the latest stories on Yaad Sheher, a first of its kind story telling show on radio on 92.7 FM)”, speaks Neelesh Misra who happens to be the lyricist of more than 30 songs in bollywood including the likes of Jadu Hai Nasha Hai, Maine Dil Se Kaha, Abhi Kuchh Dino Se in the recently released Bollywood movie Dil To Bachha Hai Jee, author of several bestsellers like The Absent State, End of The Line: The Story of the killing of Royals in Nepal, Inspired India: Ideas to transform A Nation, the distinguished award winning journalist who covered wide range of issues as sensitive as Kargil, Tsunami, Maoist Rebel of Nepal, Kashmir Insurgence, Gujarat Earthquake, Bihar Flood and the former Deputy Executive Editor of Hindustan Times.

Excerpts from an exclusive telephonic interview with RQ:

Authored By MIhir Jha:

“Our Prime Minister is merely a puppet in the hands of Sonia. He has no understanding of what he is doing. Adarsh Society Scam, 2-G Scam, ISRO Spectrum, Swiss bank mystery, Suicides, Rapes, Murders, Robbery, Forgery, Honor Killing have become the trademark of this govt. People should throw this govt. out. Judiciary should do something. I seriously believe that it’s time people should take a call.”

Indeed..!! Why don’t you do something? You are also a citizen of India and you are also equally responsible as anyone else to throw this govt. out and put the culprits behind the bars.

Come on….Come on. Are you crazy? I am doing what I should do. You don’t need to give me suggestions.

What are you doing?

Man, I graduated from IIT. I work for a blue chip company. I earn in 6-digits. I am doing a job and I am delivering in Project. Can you see these awards and letters of appreciation?

How does it matter to me or for that matter to the country whether you are earning in 6-digits or 10-digits?

The more I earn, the more is the tax I pay. These taxes go to the govt. treasury. What’s wrong with you, buddy? You are asking for my credentials?

Well, everyone we come across earn and pay taxes as per their slabs. I hope we are not talking of beggars or a handful of corrupt politicians who sometimes fail to pay. What business have people got to do with the digits of your salary? You earn for yourself and your family. Ambanis and Mittals earn that much every hour. Who cares? Why can’t you do something different, something that shall leave an impact on others and society?

Buddy, I am working and earning and I am not dependent on anyone else. I told you, I pay my taxes on time and I keep it transparent. And yeah, let me tell you, I also keep donating to charitable institutions which works for the betterment of Poor and downtrodden. What else you expect me to do? Do you expect me to go on roads and distribute money? Or you expect me to go to the villages and teach guys in slum? Did I study all those years to do this social work?

Hmmm.

No doubt, society is at crossroads. Things are getting worse than ever. Millions of tongues babble each day about how sick this society has grown up. Ask anyone about the illiteracy rate of India, I am sure he/she shall give you an accurate figure with a few lines of comments on it which you never asked for and you shall find the same person speaking quite often that life is so boring. I put one argument after another to justify my point that these frothy talks are not going to solve the purpose but merely to fail one more time. How long shall we keep talking about things which hardly make any sense merely because you need to speak something so as to release your energy on a lazy weekend? No, my intention is not to offend you. I know that most of us speak it because we mean it however at the end of the day it actually doesn’t make any sense. Does it? Of late, I have observed that though unknowingly but it has happened to be a favorite time pass of a major chunk of many of us. It’s not that this holds good only to ones who are illiterate. Ironically, it has left no section of society untouched. Sometime back I came across a similar post on the official FB page of RQ (somehow missing now) by one of my bosom friends. I was shocked. He happened to be unsure of RQ’s idea of Transforming the DNA of Society. Let me tell you that when we started RQ, we picked our punch line as “Transforming the DNA of Society” not merely because it looked very appealing but because when we talk of transforming the DNA, it looks more realistic and a team of elite professionals which has concerns for the society and a congruence of opinion can actually do it. I often feel pity for those typical show-off professionals who claim to belong to a different class and yet not miss an opportunity to talk sarcasm about others who expect them to take an initiative and do something for the larger chunk of mass. I wonder what is so intriguing in sarcasm.

A Social Initiative is a different proposition. It is one’s own choice and can’t be ordained. However, showing too much concern and doing nothing is unethical and questionable. Giving lame excuses is but a trademark of non-doers. I strongly believe that each one of us can add some value and help raise the masses in our society. How? I leave it to you. All that you have to do is Introspection, a serious thought. And soon you shall find that you have discovered a way which shall not only help make this society a better place to live in but also it shall give you a unique satisfaction. Trust me; a majority of us can do it. Being optimist by nature, I hope that my argument shall make many of you think of at least one such idea that you can initiate and hence start working on it. However, Psychology says that these discussions often pinch, especially to those who are genuine and have a feeling for the poor but then the impact doesn’t last long. It is this that makes me worried and often helpless. Keeping these points in mind, I decide to write a series of articles on this. Each time I write, I shall introduce a guy here who is slowly transforming the DNA of Society. Let me add that each one of you who feel for the society and who yearn for a change are no different than these guys except the fact that they jumped into the race while you were busy finishing the theory paper of the same science called, “Social Entrepreneurship”.

Dhruv Kalra was born in Jammu. He did his bachelors from Mumbai University. Later he went to do MBA from Said Business School, University of Oxford. He started his professional career with Merill Lynch, one of the world’s leading financial management and advisory company in Mumbai in M&A department in Investment Banking. He had enough credentials to scale up in his role and add a few more zeroes to his salary like any IIT or IIM guy. However he didn’t follow the same path as many of us do. He started up a courier company in Mumbai which hires guys and girls who are deaf. Check this video, you shall fall in love. Inspiration? 1. His father is a paraplegic and 2. The impact of the 2004 Tsunami mayhem which showed him the other side of life in India.

His company is doing great today. It’s not that he is doing some charity. He is making money there as well but with a difference. Think of the effort it would have taken for him to establish a company where he can’t talk to anyone and yet deliver with excellence. More than that give a thought to his idea of making a difference.

Isn’t he transforming the DNA of Society?? How about you??

"He alone lives who lives for others, rest are more dead than Alive"..................(Swami Vivekanand)

 

Mankind has not changed over thousands of years of its existence. However, the basic human instincts remain the same. How an individual behaves in society today can be related in many ways by how man behaved in the past. There are inherent qualities of good and evil that have been carried over from our history. Fortunately, values like being good to fellow humans, falling in love, aspiring for success etc remains the same. Unfortunately, evils like greed, hate, animosity are still present. And they would perpetually be present. There are no vaccines, no medical drugs, no sure shot Bramhastra to eliminate these emotions. And God forbid, futuristic writers like Philip K Dick, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley predict that if mass attempts are made to remove these feelings from mankind, society would not become perfect, they would rather become dystopian in nature. To remove these evils, control over the human mind is required. And that can be achieved only through dictatorship. It is not hard to imagine that ‘a perfect world’ would not be good to live in. In fact, it would be impossible to live in.

So are these negative aspects of human behaviour necessary? Is it better to let things be as a change is near impossible?

Evil exists, and it cannot be gotten rid of, since evil, like ‘energy’ only changes from one form to another. Mankind has advanced, and so have increased the number of ways in which one human being can harm another. There’s a character in a Neil Gaiman comic book who is given the chance to live forever. After a few hundred years he realizes that time changes nothing, given a chance to learn from his mistakes, he has had equal opportunities to make new ones.

In that character I see a reflection of mankind as a single entity. We were born, in each age for different reasons we have been under the threat of complete annihilation. Despite this, and despite good or evil, we have survived, and sadly or gladly, we shall continue to do so. There are nominutes to midnight; there is no countdown to the end, or for that matter, the wait for a better dawn.

I bring this point forth to illustrate how futile an attempt to change the situation appears. The word used to describe a social upheaval is revolution, which in itself means ‘Coming back full circle’. This rather contradicts the whole philosophy of Readers Quotient. We aim at beginning (and, touchwood, achieving) an educational revolution. So why try? When good and evil exists in each man, not equally, but in varying degrees, eradication of social evils is not only difficult, it is impossible. There was a scientific experiment in which a study was conducted over a group of people, and it was realized that given a chance, anyone can be evil.

Already having touched many tangents, I would like to digress even further and take the example of the recent history of our country. Let us look for signs of change (and social changes, not scientific advancements). Our country gained independence on the 15^th of August, 1947. The white ruler was replaced by the brown ruler. The colour of skin changed, but the colour of greed, corruption and exploiters behaviour is still the same. The plight of the weak and downtrodden is constant, and it is their pain that we wish to alleviate. So if society will always be based on human instincts, is any concrete achievement possible?

I would close this rather bleak argument of mine by pointing out why exactly should we change when it is near impossible.

If the bad qualities of human beings have not withered away, the aspirations of mankind as a single entity have also increased. There has been an exponential rise in the progress of technology, especially in the past three hundred years. And it is that desire to succeed which drives us. And it is with these feelings in mind that we wish to make this earth a better place. Our world is not dying, it is eternal, and yet it is wounded and needs healing. I would say let things be as they are, lift not a finger, think not a single thought that would disturb you or move you to action, and you will continue to exist. There would be a life, but it would be a life unfulfilled.

We are defined by our attempts, and that is why an attempt is also called a ‘trial’, it is this trial in life that we have to face. We do not live just to eat and breathe. Our existence gains meaning by our actions. Each individual is free to behave in a way he or she wants to. This is freedom, and it is the source of our power, it breeds both good and evil. And since we are free to choose our methods and our aspirations, it is upon us to try and make the change. An educational revolution will not be achieved (although I hope it does occur), but to make an impact on even a few lives is worth the effort.

So, why try?

Because, we can. Let’s hope that with the dawn of this new year at least we shall try to be good and ethical in our approach towards life,society, fellow human beings and add some values to our upbringing. On behalf of the Reader’s Quotient team, I wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year

Authored By:Gopinath Mavinkurve

Readers? …..Where?  

In these days of dazzling electronic media dominance, it is indeed a task to get young children off the idiot box every evening and get them to engage in some physical activity.   We find school-going kids watch their favorite cartoon shows or even spend time on social networking sites like Orkut and Facebook. We all know how moving images capture young minds right from their infancy. With this backdrop, it is easy to realize how the habit of reading has been waning away over times. On the other hand, the advent of the internet enables several millions to post their thoughts on e-zines and blogs to reach out to the globalized world.  This new-found medium provides a seamless, unrestricted canvas on which one can post articles, creative writing stuff like poems and short stories, which find it difficult to make it to the print media.

The number of writers that are contributing to internet sites have seen a quantum jump lately. A strange situation, really, where more writers are chasing less readers! It is for this very reason that when one attended the first Literature Live festival held at Mumbai in December 2010, several enthusiastic writers shared their experience about how authors were not competing against each other but really competing against other forms of entertainment together! Several publishers are setting up shop in India and the new book releases hitting bookstores is also on the rise.   So what is it that makes us witness such a paradoxical situation?

The answer perhaps lies in increasing average life-spans, early age of retirement compared to the better medical facilities making 50-somethings like me feel like “50 is the new 30” or “60 is the new 40” and so on.   The generation that is not so comfortable with e-readers like Kindle or the internet is now finding time to read books? Perhaps!   Anyway, whatever the medium, are we able to spur the young children to read beyond their curriculum, some good stories with great moral values, some life experiences shared by those who have gone through daunting challenges in their lives?

What is needed to be done to boost readership of books? Although India can boast of high penetration of mobile phones, even in the remotest village, it is not so when it comes to the access of internet, which has been slower and has yet to reach several millions, who are yet to get other basic amenities too. What can be done to inculcate reading habits amongst all sections of our society?

To my mind, the beginning has got to be done in schools. Teachers ought to encourage students to read some books outside their prescribed syllabus. Suggest some good books – in any language - whenever they come across any that are suitable for their age and background. They should take time off discussing whether students have read any book lately, and how did they find them? May be educational boards should list books found to be of educational and social values as “recommended reads”.

Second, in my mind, is gifting books of such kind on their birthdays or for special achievements. I have known some youngsters become keen readers after being gifted some gems by their friends or relatives. Although there is that nagging doubt of whether the recipient would like your gift or not, it will certainly not go waste, for someone or the other would certainly read it and get hooked!

Thirdly, I have come across some story-reading sessions held by authors of the book and sponsored by book-publishers, who have taken up this task upon themselves to enhance sales figures. A good initiative, one must acknowledge, since children would get an opportunity for a mentally stimulating interaction in the bargain!

Finally, let me turn to the writers and say that we ought to write well! A well written book, a strong narrative and a story well-told is just what a reader would enjoy to read. Some books have been written with great care, wherein the authors have kept young readers in mind while writing their books. Sudha Murty, Rashmi Bansal and the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books are some, that I found to be able to connect to young readers who have just taken to the habit. I found the same characteristics in “Go Kiss the World” by Subroto Bagchi, a corporate honcho, who rose to being an entrepreneur from his humble beginnings. These works have been written in a simple language - and they get their message across to young minds beautifully, having been written from the heart! Books which tell about the limitless possibilities for them in life are best suited for young minds.

Every writer should introspect about how readable his piece had been and how to improve on the same next time around. So, although a writer may hope to be a JK Rowling (or an Enid Blyton, for that matter) with millions of kids all over the globe drool for more, one can surely try and write like Sudha Murty or Rashmi Bansal!

We do need more readers!

Authored By Swayambhu Mukherjee:

The following is an excerpt from an unpublished paper that had been written by me in 2007. While I, personally, no longer subscribe to some of the views put forth in this post, some of the points below should provoke thought.(Img Src:Google)"]The term “indigenous” can have various imports in different spectra of usage. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as - “Indigenous: adj. a. (esp. flora and fauna) originating naturally in a region. b. (of people) born in a region.”

Authored By Ashutosh Ratnam:

The life cycle begins with a cadaver. On day one, into the care of every greenstick medical student is turned over a corpse flushed with formalin and embalming fluid. It offers every organ in the human body for uncomplaining examination. It holds the answer to every anatomical and physiological question conceivable. Technically, as a compendium of all the knowledge the medical practitioner is supposed to possess, it is perfect. But as a person, it does nothing but look the part, that too badly. It is cold, uncaring, voiceless, lifeless, well and truly dead. So strong is the aldehyde stench of what it is so undeniably full of, that any attempts to get close are rewarded with revulsion and nausea.

Authored By Vaibhav Srivastav:

Before reading the article, I would request you to watch this video made by Mr. Nitin Das. It presents a simple comparison of what different people would do if they were given five hundred rupees to spend as they wish. A couple of years ago I saw a brilliant advertisement in a newspaper which espoused the cause of education in India. It presented a simple equation, which I have tried to recreate with this picture below.In today’s world, with life in the metropolitan cities being what it is,

Authored By Vaibhav Srivastava:

It was on a train journey from Varanasi to New Delhi that I met Mr. Gerald Blomeyer, the first thing that he said to me as I fastened the luggage with chains was, “So you don’t trust your fellow Indians, do you?” I mentioned that it was more of a matter of putting safety first. We got talking after that, he introduced himself and told me that he was attached to an NGO school in Sarnath as part of The Alice Project. This interested me a great deal because I too wish to work in the field of education in India, I asked him in detail about the philosophy of the school, and had a pleasant chat with him. He asked me about what I wanted to do in life, I mentioned that I do something similar to what The Alice Project was doing, and told him about Teach For India and other organizations. He asked me again, “Why education in particular?” I replied saying that education can help remove, or at least reduce most of the problems that the people face.

Authored By Rishab Mukherjee:

A disturbing number of allegedly racial attacks against Indians have been constant subject of news lately. Most of the victims have been Indian students in foreign universities in Australia and the United States. While authorities maintain that these are episodes of opportunistic behaviour rather than racist sentiments, there is a marked difference in what people in India choose to believe. I don’t blame us for harbouring such sentiments against the foreigners – calling them racist and discriminating against a minority.

Authored By: Pranav Backliwal

Exactly one year ago, I participated in my first “Earth Hour”. Admittedly, I was unmoved at the time, dismissing the whole thing as one big PR gimmick. I did participate sincerely though, eliminating electricity from my life for one hour, perhaps motivated by the fact that I was supposed to be completing a particularly boring assignment. I noticed something interesting about Earth Hour, something that led me to write a rather emotional blog post at the time. Since its inception, this is one social cause that probably has more critics than proponents, and perhaps unfairly so. The reasons for this are not immediately apparent.