Pulses: Achilles Heel of Agriculture?!

164 Million Hectares of land under cultivation, 130 million hectares at the mercy of the rain god! Food insecurity in the 90’s to the recent dip in pulse availability – The majority employer of the economy – Agriculture never looked in a distress as good and bad as this!

Calls for a Green Revolution of pulses are a raging debate, so have the noises backed by research indicating the dip in productivity of the very lands that the Green Revolution blissfully wedded.

The Pulse shortage isn't in fact a recent phenomenon, but a continuum beginning to explode now, case in point being the fact that: 2001-2011 – Production – 158 Tonnes, Demand – 186 Tonnes – The Gap has only widened over time. The reasons many:

1.     Lack of productivity and the existence of the subsistence economy: Lack of developed forward and backward linkages have always meant a dead bargain for the agricultural community. Imagine 130 Million hectares of 164 Million hectares being left to the mercy of the rain god – an ode perhaps to the irony of development! Average holding of land is 1.4 hectares, but so is the rising issue of disguised un-employment in the villages leading to farm to mouth existence of the agricultural community leading to further depletion of stock. The above issues are only further exacerbated by the fact that no longer does the farmer community see agriculture as remunerative, as pointed by the declining re-investment in agriculture over time!

2.     Procurement & Minimum Support price: The concept of state intervention has always lead to market distortion, with the government left at the mercy of the ever powerful farmers lobby belonging to the green revolution belts. The irrational price hikes of Rice and Wheat have often been used as an election ploy to shore up votes, thereby acting as a discouragement to farmers to move away from other crops irrespective of the soil and climatic conditions required to support a crop.

3.     Livestock integration: Last but not the least is the issue of livestock integration. World over it has been agreed that livestock acts as a counter cyclic buffer to the vagaries of agriculture cycles. It’s a pity that in spite of such diverse fauna, livestock contributes just around 30% while in other countries its close to 50%, thereby exposing the farmers to the vagaries of nature and life.

4.     Food Corporation of India or Fraud Corporation of India: Though a welcome step to hold stock to intervene rapid escalations, the concept of state procurement and subsequent storage in the FCI godown’s has been a disaster to say the least. The insufficiency of the cold chain facilities has only aggravated the mess. Its strange that rather than first ensuring the effective running of godwons and capacity management, the government has decided to procure 50,000 tonnes of pulses going forward.

5.     Import Route: Africa is the next growth pole and not too far behind are we, with the recent visit of the PM to Mozambique seen by many as a ploy to shore up additional pulse imports without un-settling the foreign reserves.

Knee Jerk solutions to pressing issues have only worsened the scenario in the country, be it the obsessive focus on green revolution or the concept of support prices. Perhaps the call of the day is improving the backward and forward linkages to make the agricultural sector remunerative.

B.R.E.X.I.T

The land of industrial revolution, the founders of democracy and the propounders of globalization, many names but a single address – Britain, U.K.

The ‘’ leave supporters ‘’ call it the revolution that will propel the country on the path of prosperity and give the locals a chance and no wonder have the leaders become the faces of the middle class resurgence. All in a referendum’s play, irony lies in Britain waking up the next day to search what could be the potential impact of leaving EU after the result, so much in this age of information.

Yes, the markets have shed blood, the pound has hit its lowest in 31 years, investors are moving to Gold and Dollar, throwing the emerging economies currencies in a tailspin – Economically yes the impact has been felt. Now that the referendum has passed, purists across the EU member states have regained their voices to leave in what they call an enforced bureaucracy with no control, with one fact very clear – balkanisation of the EU is slowly gaining ground and a reality not too far fetched! 

The planks are the same – Protectionism, need for more monetary and fiscal control and the fanned middle class angst, a revolution it is perhaps but with a bag of worms and mindless rhetoric.

The immigration to the U.K has no doubt doubled, but how can we forget the number of jobs created and the acceleration in GDP these very immigrants have pushed. But is the plank of immigration checks as a way to deal with the un-employment efficient – Well the answer has been a resounding NO, more focus on education perhaps, Boris says HELL NO!

Added source of worry is the export basket of Britain, with more than 50% of exports to the EU the hit is going to be massive, now with double set of laws in place. The Lisbon treaty does allow a 2 year period to negotiate, but looking at the movement of sentiments, its highly unlikely that Britain can expect an FTA or any sweeping sweet agreement for that matter without making major compromises. This in addition to firms having to deal with the double set of laws, new procedures and maybe restricted access to geography.

More independence over the finances, down goes the austerity – point taken. IMF and sections within the European Central Bank have slowly conceded ground on the in-effectiveness of the Austerity Measures. If one extreme is bad, the other is dangerous. Countries and their love for monetary easing and fiscal imprudence have often landed themselves in a soup which they themselves admit to at a later stage, what with economists worldwide despising the Keynesian way of dealing with slowing growth especially in a service dominated economy, with monetary easing only going to increase income disparity! 

The advantage of collective bargaining Britain gained as a result of the EU block at multilateral forums is something that stares at it right in the face and with many service oriented business specifically financial services threatening to shift shop if the new set of laws are not EU compliant has threatened to bring the economy to a grinding halt. 

Last but not the least the sometimes mindless rhetoric has found some ground in the fact that Countries which have adopted the Euro haven’t recovered completely from recession and are facing sever un-employment. But has Britain adopted it, NO! The 3.5 Million asking for a referendum will now have some soul searching and convincing to do. Till then Article 50 & Article 49 can grab headlines and all we can hope is the masters of democracy and initiators of economic prosperity and globalization ace the very lessons they taught the world.

Please who!

‘’ Adjust, you must ‘’ – Said a mother consoling her child ruffled yet refusing to align with the ways of the world. A few years and a thousand mistakes later, the question still lingers – adjust to the vagaries of nature, adapt to the whimsical ways of people or just about please the world robbing yourself off a night of peaceful sleep, if yes, for how long??

Birth to death, is the vicious cycle of pleasing. Right from smiling for the crowds lining up to see you and hold you when you were born to bearing with a smile the ubiquitous nosy relatives and their creepy ‘’ Beta / Beti – Kitne number aaye, shaadi kab kar rahe ho ‘’ jamboree.

Somebody remarked we live in a world of plastic, very soon do we realize, yes indeed.

Right from faking that perfect smile to maintaining a bridge which should have been rightfully burnt, we all love to please the world with our often not happy lives, after-all human is a social animal and in today’s world, your network is your net worth.

 Ever tried telling somebody that you don’t appreciate something rather than brewing poison inside or burning a bridge that stunts your growth, more often than not, we don’t, because at the end of the day we have the world at our doorstep to please with our social life and how can we forget the indian jugaadu line ‘’ kaam aane pe gadhe ko bhi ghoda banana padta hey’’ logic we are brain fed with since birth!
 
Luckily or unluckily, plastic degrades and so does the superficiality. Neither does a man / women need a woman /man to testify nor do we need to be a diplomat to save our ass and even worse, is to live in a make belief world where irresponsible alcohol and drugs make one look cool.

Good words stay, but sadly it’s the honest words that make a difference and it is those that are needed rather than somebody who can mollycoddle the ass into believing in mediocrity, for a lot of times it’s not what is right or wrong but the courage to tell that you make your choices (un-adultered) and take responsibility for it rather than living a life trying to please the society around, for it’s not the society that sings a lullaby at night but your own conscience that puts you to sleep.

Refuse to be chained by the ways of the world, till the time the world braces itself for some honest words and genuine smiles, dropping the veil of superficiality we engulf ourselves in.

Regards the lone wolf in a world of wolves disguised as sheep.

Nirvana: Rising from the Dead!

Sometimes travel is not about the love for getting lost in the un-chartered terrains but the process of regaining your lost value of self.

These 2 lines pretty much sum up the story of my sudden vacation / escape plan (special mention to the man, my father who NEVER tells a NO, no matter how crazy the plan). The very thought that it could end up chaotic in addition to relearning a lot of things, getting rid of people crutches and negativity was to be a task, one thing however I was sure of, the journey had to begin at Delhi – right from the ghar ka punjabi khaana with my extended family to pizzas to handling maid’s to staying alone in a penthouse to sleeping off on the terrace getting lost counting the stars to travelling by metro. It wouldn’t be wrong to call this place; My soul  that I left behind a good 1 and half years ago (however cliched it may sound).

What better a place could I begin the journey from, if not here! 2 months of sheer living in hell to going through trauma that I myself still cannot understand, had to fuck itself in the ass and it had to happen soon, for as my dad keeps telling ‘’ The my way or highway king has to be the pain in the ass that he is, to stay sane‘’. First stop was Ajmer, if put absolutely un-apologetically, God or the Baba himself would be astonished with the amount of business his name o his glory generates, however this was one place to visit. Next lined up was Pushkar, ohh the mighty bum breaking fall at the ghats where my fall evoked loud laughter :P where I realised sometimes its good to laugh at your own short comings. Last up: Jaipur – a place I always dreamt of (I would kill anybody any day to become royalty): right from almost getting robbed, to having too many things to do, the whole world yet again seemed to be against, but I realised, bitch I am a harder nut and like always will complete what I set out for, no matter what! Completed the plan, but now how do I go back to Delhi?? Buses full, No trains, Flight fares touching the sky ? What next: Suddenly as if by miracle I am indirectly forcefully boarded into a private car, little did I think (trust issues had already taken a toll, so the realisation that there is nothing worse that could happen was the only solace) that this was to be a huge lesson on trust, humanity, false sense of security and people. The lesson being: sometimes in the rush to be accepted by the  ‘’ people we want ‘’, we forget to appreciate ‘’ the people who want us ‘’ and little do we realize the key to happiness is the latter and not the former. The other lessons from the ride, will be charged for, since I hate doing things for free, no charity please!

Next up was to be Amritsar, wouldn’t be wrong to call this place my 4^th home (1 – Hyderabad, 2 Delhi, 3 Airports). The experience takes me over when I recollect my experiences at Amritsar, Right from the ‘’ display ‘’ of courage at Wagah to the soul stirring experience at Golden Temple considering that very few temples in this country just shut my mind up made this trip a prize catch. Cherry on top was the food ! The aromas, the masala’s and the makhan and lip smacking punjabi food, what more can a foodie ask for. Right from trying food at Langar to Kesar da dhaba and Bharwan da dhaba to the amazing sweets, this trip had filled me at many levels that I just cannot fathom.

‘’ You always get what you deserve or more ‘’ will be one lesson that got reinforced again for nobody and nothing in this world takes a higher priority than I, Me, Myself  (a lesson my dad tried hard to ingrain, but in vain) and there is absolutely no need to feel accepted, loved or cared, for I had everything I needed and more and I had no reasons to compromise for anything like always. Now who can boast of having your ex-landlords as family, a blood family who cares and meets all your tantrums and however small the circle of close knit friends and more who stick by you without a complaint literally with guns to kill though they know you are a pain when going through a low, yet don’t complain!

Lastly there is no greater relief than realising that I did fall (a mighty one at that), lost myself completely and became a sadder version of myself but the fact that I have learnt a huge deal of the people, things and situations I engulf myself in proved to be the silver lining.

To all those, missing my bad ass taunts, I don’t give a fuck attitude, The Jackass is back and this time with more sting!

Are we really safe !!??

One of those nights where sleep evades you and a small experience of road aggression that happened 3 hours ago sets off a chain of thoughts, as to are we really safe!? 

Sometimes it's an illusion of a goodie goodie world we live in. India as per news reports ranks among the highest human trafficking spots in the world. Every day maybe an honest, power less man is slaughtered or hounded like a dog or we listen to laws that make us all feel un-equal (be it the reservations or the caste politics). Are we really safe!? 

Sometimes we skip a heartbeat when our dear ones don't answer their phones, personification of fear perhaps. Greed is the mother of all sins and power corrupts, can't get more truer than this. Every once in a while this country witnesses a scam, a rape, a murder, an abduction, a girl pushed into prostitution or a stinking rich drunk bastard mowing down people on the roads. Are we slowly moving towards a gun toting, weapon yielding and an aggressive culture driven by materialism. A question lingers. Are we really safe!? 

Today news, tomorrow nothing is a logic we live by. As long as it doesn't happen to me or my family. I don't care is often an answer we self appease just to guarantee a good night's sleep. The rich continue to exploit, the poor think it's better to loot and do anti-social than to live an honest life and well the middle class or the upper middle class are just waiting to grab a piece of sunshine themselves fighting their way to maintain their sanity and integrity. Not that i find fault with these people, but its so sad that though we boast of achieving higher growth, more income and blahh. It's a fact that we live in a society that has under currents of status quo, power distance, sexism, chauvinism and god knows a gamut of what all. It's sometimes not the natural disasters we are scared of, it's the demons within us and around that shake us up. 

We talk so much of women empowerment with various celebrities (industry's which have been at the centre stage of un-reported assault cases, should we really believe these dolts) milking their image by its association. Are we slowly moving to a culture where we are more interested in the superficial rather than finding solutions. Do fancy videos, candle light marches really make a difference. Does just breaking down boundaries, terming immoral to be right mean empowerment, for it is the poor who bear the brunt of this not the mighty. Are our women really safe!? We live in a country where the irony is women are worshipped as god but there is always a bastard in a corner waiting to slip his hand beneath her body! Do these videos and fancy talk make any difference. Are we really safe!? Does getting drunk, having the choice to choose your partner to make out mean women empowerment or is it about women enjoying an equal share in the work space, having an equal say as an individual imply women empowerment. It;s not about people (men and women getting drunk in the night) getting drunk or choosing who they want to marry. It's about maybe a lady sweeper going to work in the night without a fear of drunk asshole mowing her down or a perverse dolt abducting her up. For god's sake it's not about getting drunk or anything else. It's a personal choice which should be respected but NOT made out into a women empowerment issue. 

The government offices are corrupt we assume, we hound the private ones for being greedy. Ever wondered what makes them so. The vicious circle of money, power and influence has taken us to a level where we forget that a crime so un-affected to us might just backfire in our own houses and willingly or un-willingly we are a party to this. Are we really safe!?

A thief wants to be a socialist, a politician wants to do good, a crook wants to be the kingsmaker and a pimp wants to do justice. Are we really safe!?

Sometimes I wonder have we as human beings fallen to the prey of sexism, religionism, greed, to cover up for our acts so insane that we forget the very essence of life is to live and let live. 

As i write today, a chill runs down my spine, not because i face some threat but because i just realized we live in a world where the thin line between right and wrong, justice and injustice is slowly diminishing. 

I am no commentator on matters concerning public life, but just an honest helpless citizen who dares to question Are we really safe!? Before you decide to really share or comment or like please do ponder over this. Your share or like or comment does'nt give me any benefit but maybe your thought would.