Underprivileged?

Who is an underprivileged kid? A kid who commutes in auto-rickshaw and carries one of the most flashy mobile handsets? The English definition of underprivileged is "Lacking the rights and advantages of other members of society".

My friend is a project manager with around 8 years of experience in IT industry. A few days back I met him at a bus stop. He told me he was waiting for a bus!! He doesn't have a car or a motorbike. He is no miser. I can vouch for that. So then... why bus and not an auto-rickshaw!!?? Because he (and I) think the rickshaw-walas of Bangalore are looters who charge exorbitantly and extort money from their passengers. He said he couldn't afford their charges, which seldom go by the meter. Hence commuting by bus.

My relative has three kids studying in a "privileged" school in Bangalore. None of them carry mobile handsets. They don't have the latest computer and accessories at their home. All they have is an obsolete model that gives them constant trouble.

Why am I bringing up all these?

One of my part time activities is to teach "underprivileged" kids as a volunteer of an NGO. I teach them computer basics. I admit there are a bunch of kids who are truly underprivileged. But when I see some others walking into the classroom with flashy mobile phones, and see them commuting in auto-rickshaws, I wonder why am I spending time here teaching “underprivileged” kids, who appear to be truly privileged!! Had I had to teach privileged kids, I would be teaching my near-and-dear “privileged” kids! That would be far more rewarding! Besides, they truly lack the advantages a mobile phone or a rickshaw can offer!

I'm not ignoring other aspects these "underprivileged" kids might be having, such as, a troubled family. But then, it is also my choice and impression, which I can't ignore. I would prefer working for the upliftment of those kids who do lack mobile handsets and who, like other common people in India, commute by bus!

Perhaps the truly underprivileged are unable to find their way to my class. Perhaps the teacher should go out searching for them...

Leftovers

He carefully poured the leftover tea into the steel tumbler he was holding... He picked the next tumbler and repeated the act, till the tumbler he held was full with “leftover” tea.

With satisfaction he lifted the tumbler to his lips and started drinking the tea he just collected. That is when he noticed that I was observing him. His expression changed. He slowly hid himself behind the tree next to him...

I had heard stories of people eating leftovers. This was the first time I was coming across one in real life. I didn't know what to do…

Next time If I see something like that I'm gonna buy them some food. Btw, the man I'm referring to works in Shanti Sagar Restaurant, Koramangala, Bangalore. You can see him cleaning tables, plates and tumblers of the hotel.

Answer to prejudice...

Given below is a mail written by a North Indian who got posted in Chennai...

From: Ankur.Rathi@cognizantxxx.com [ Not giving out the exact email id ]
Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 5:11 PM
Subject: Chennai Update

Hi friends,

This is a live update from chennai.

Language - Tamil, tamil and tamil. Even if they know hindi, they dont speak up.
People - We never heard anyone laughing here (I wonder if they ever laugh or shout) So conservative, that noone talks even in the bus
Food - Idly, sambhar, rice, dosa, vada, pongal. We have to cook our food ourselves (unbelievable naa).
Weather - summer from october to feb and rest of the year it's deadly summer.
Lesiure - TV, dormitery, dirty sea beaches on weekends
Rent - 6.5 K / 1 BHK
Advance - 6 months
Aata - Rs. 26 /kg
Apple - Rs 100 /kg
Orange - Rs. 10/piece
Banana - Rs 3 /piece
Mausmi Juice -Rs 18 /glass
Jeans Dryclean - Rs.40
Phulka - Rs. 8 (idly also Rs.8)

Interesting facts and incidents :
1. Here you cannot buy a needle after 6 PM (strange).
2. We asked an auto driver, "hindi aati hai"?. He replied in hindi "Hindi nahi aati".
3. The most common suffix here is 'a', e.g.
straight - straighta
2 cup tea - 2 cupa tea
4. Even dogs eat curd rice.
5. In north, names are like Gori Shankar, gauri prasad etc. Here the names are like Kaliraj, kalicharan etc.
6. When there is a 't' in any name, they add 'h' to it.
jayant - jayanth
bharat - bharath
7. Here is a culture of adding mystical alphabets after ones's name, like Mahesh R, Sandeep T etc.
8. Cable connection is of no use here as only tamil channels are broadcasted on cable TV, if anyone wanna watch hindi channels then you need to buy a set up box (Rs.4000).
9. Cognizant navallur office is actually not in chennai, it comes under a district called Chengalpet which is 51 kms from main city.
10. Once we saw a girl in the food court, she was looking and acting like a north indian. My friend became exited and planned to talk to her, but just then we noticed her breakfast and then "dil ke armaan aansuon mein beh gaye", she was having pongal. (disguise!!)
11.How dare anyone come to chennai : Cognizant Chennai MCity comes under SEZ(special economic zone), swap and transfers from here are not possible.
12. No life after 9 PM.
13. No need to worry for Tsunami, because noone will be left to cry on your grave.

Bye Bye (waiting for banglore, pune, hyderabad update)

Thanks and Regards,
ANKUR

Given below is the Answer to that mail...

From: Cheryle Mariam Jacob
Sent: Wed 3/7/2007 10:44 AM
Subject: RE: Chennai Update

See i think a few things are pretty true here...But most of it are just mere exaggeration. He has just written all his effusive frustration here..!! I live here in bangalore, and trust me its much more expensive than wht he thinks.. i have lived in Chennai and Bangalore, and in Kerala, so i do know the difference between most of the places in South India.. Chennai is supposed to be the second cheapest metropolitan city after Calcutta and any other cities in India.

Language - Tamil, tamil and tamil. Even if they know hindi, they dont speak up.

For your Kind information, nobody knows Hindi here. Only non-tamilians living in Chennai take Hindi (like me) while most of them take French. And excluding the non-localites, people converse in ENGLISH.

People - We never heard anyone laughing here (I wonder if they ever laugh or shout). So conservative, that noone talks even in the bus.

They are not conservative damn it...ALL INDIANS are like that..!! The same happens in Bangalore, Hyderabad or Pune..U dont strike a coversation with a stranger out of the blue..!!

Food - Idly, sambhar, rice, dosa, vada, pongal. We have to cook our food ourselves (unbelievable naa).

Excuse' Moi ..!! When i went to the north (not specifying which place), me being a south-indian, had a tough time, hunting for some good rice to eat, because all i got was Aloo Paratha, Aloo Gobi, Gobi Manchurian, Aloo Muttor, Aloo Roast etc.. Wonder if they invented Aloo Juice.. Each of them have their own culture for taste and sense..!! So dont blame any place.

Weather - summer from october to feb and rest of the year it's deadly summer.

Damn it, dont tell me you would complain that it dint rain or snow in Sahara when you where there..!! Oh please, for heaven sake, each area has a difference in climate. India is not small as u get to see in the world map.

Lesiure - TV, dormitery, dirty sea beaches on weekends

Hahahaa....Atleast you get to see a beach buddy..!!

Rent - 6.5 K / 1 BHK

Do you know the size of the rooms?? They would be huge. I pay 7K for a 1BHK, that is just as big as my bathroom in Chennai..!!

Advance - 6 months

Buddy, i pay an adavnce of 11 months.. !! So who is to blame??

Aata - Rs. 26 /kg
Apple - Rs 100 /kg
Orange - Rs. 10/piece
Banana - Rs 3 /piece
Mausmi Juice -Rs 18 /glass
Jeans Dryclean - Rs.40
Phulka - Rs. 8 (idly also Rs.8)

Hahahaaa..!! Pillsbury Aata costs the same all over India dear..!! Sorry these things dont worth an argument..

1. Here you cannot buy a needle after 6 PM (strange)
God give me a break..!!

2. We asked an auto driver, "hindi aati hai"?. He replied in hindi "Hindi nahi aati".
Buddy, thats the only thing they would have learnt in Hindi..!! For heaven sake, stop having false impressions that hindi is our National Language..!! It isnt..i have no time for this argument again..!! I never knew they speak Tamil in Delhi or Bombay..!! So why Hindi in Chennai..!! Use a more worldy used language, ENGLISH.

3. The most common suffix here is 'a', e.g.
straight - straighta
2 cup tea - 2 cupa tea
Yes, like the way you'll pronunce, thirty (therty as thartty) and fourteen (forteen as farteen)..!! Somebody stop me..!!

4. Even dogs eat curd rice.
Atleast they get to eat something, not starved to death.. and yeah, less stray dogs, that they would be famished and start feeding on children.

5. In north, names are like Gori Shankar, gauri prasad etc. Here the names are like Kaliraj, kalicharan etc.
What else do what us to name?? Elvis Presley or Brad Pitt?? Atleast Elizabeth Hurly or Angelina Jolie never asked you, why your name was Gauri Prasad..!!

6. When there is a 't' in any name, they add 'h' to it.
jayant - jayanth
bharat - bharath
Well, in Hindi you wrtie 'Ta' as t, and in Tamil we write 'Tha' as Th..!! Dont find faults with such silly matters.

8. Here is a culture of adding mystical alphabets after ones's name, like Mahesh R, Sandeep T etc.
Sorry, instead to keeping 'Abhishek Anandkumar Khare' or 'Sunaina Swapan Teja', we just name them as 'Abhishek A.K' and 'Sunaina S.T'

9. Cable connection is of no use here as only tamil channels are broadcasted on cable TV, if anyone wanna watch hindi channels then you need to buy a set up box (Rs.4000).
Hahaha...You guys where the ones who started making a big fuss about making Hindi Channels as paid Channels...we never wanted to watch Hindi here, so who cares.. Nobody uses STB (Set Top Box), Tamilians watch all south-indian languages for free..!!

10. Cognizant navallur office is actually not in chennai, it comes under a district called Chengalpet which is 51 kms from main city.
Escuse me..!! Hahaha..!! Infosys or any other office in Bangalore, in Electronics City, is actually in Hosur Road..!! Dont expect Narayan Moorthy to build such a huge campus in the heart of the city..!! Ask questions that make sense..!!

11. Once we saw a girl in the food court, she was looking and acting like a north indian. My friend became exited and planned to talk to her, but just then we noticed her breakfast and then "dil ke armaan aansuon mein beh gaye", she was having pongal. (disguise!!)
I saw a cute south-indian guy...But what??? Ohhh..!! Shucks, he is having Aloo Paratha :'(

12.How dare anyone come to chennai : Cognizant Chennai MCity comes under SEZ(special economic zone), swap and transfers from here are not possible.
Be in Chennai learn something here, so that you could live anywhere in the world and stop making a upheaval with small matters of life.. They sent u here, so that u learn :)

13. No life after 9 PM.
Do u know what life is than just going to Disco's and Pubs?? Partying and Boozing??

14. No need to worry for Tsunami, because none will be left to cry on your grave.
Atleast we wont sit and fight among ourselves, shoot or die cause of bomb blast..Oh Boy, i want to look sweet when i die, dont wanna look like a roasted chicken ;)

No offence meant in this mail.. But just wanted to let you noe that DON’T BELIEVE ALL ARE TRUE.

I live in Bangalore, and I do love this place, and I would love it anywhere I live..!! Learn to adjust, and not to make a big riot over static things in the world..!!

Best Regards,
Cheryle Jacob
Software Engineer @ REU Bangalore
REUD, Infosys Technologies Limited.

My two pence on this... It is a narration of two incidents that I witnessed in Bangalore...

Incident A:
Venue: A shop in Commercial Street, Bangalore.

I'm checking out the shoes that are displayed in the shop. A couple standing next to me are busy discussing and examining the type of footwear they need to buy for some ceremony. They finally select one and approach the sales boy. The lady shoots some question in “extra-fluent-hindi”. The sales boy doesn't understand her and blurts something in puzzlement. That doesn’t go well with her. So she choose to shout at the sales-boy: “Aap ko Hindi nahi aati??!!” (Don’t you know Hindi??!!). The sales-boy continues to grin in an attempt to pacify his customer.

Now… there was something special in that shout of hers. It had the arrogance that expected and demanded a sales-boy from Karnataka to know Hindi!!! Imagine her going to France and shouting like that to a French sales-boy.

Incident B:
Venue: A bus trip to Cauvery Fishing Camp

The driver tunes to an FM station. Sweet kannada music starts flowing from the speaker. The guy sitting in front of me starts getting restless. After a few seconds he stands up, rushes to the driver and asks “Koi Hindi gana nahi suna sakte??!!” (Can’t you put some Hindi Song??!!) The driver tries to comply to his “request”. He tunes to different channels. But almost all were broadcasting kannada music. The guy exasperates: “Arae band karo yaar!” (Please stop it!)

I took a look around. There were many kannadigas in the bus. None responded. I tried hard to picturise this guy in Germany, shouting at a German Driver who has tuned to a German Music Station.

Why don't parents teach their kids the importance of values??!! Perhaps the parents are less educated to inculcate it in their kids. This is coroborated in the HDI studies of India.

PS: I'm a non-kannadiga

Black Friday

Watched the movie Black Friday. I liked it quite a bit. After watching the movie I did some googling to know more about Rakesh Maria. I hit upon this article that has his statement on the recent Bombay Blasts (25-Aug-2003). Words of wisdom gained from his experience:

Unlike the 1993 serial blasts in which the underworld was used to plant 12 bombs that killed over 250 people, these blasts are performed by a different brand of people, says Maria. There is a rapidly growing list of men - and now women - who are committed to a cause and will do whatever it takes for that. They are not paid to do the work. These men are in fact well-educated and have held good jobs. For instance, of the 23 who have been arrested in connection with the recent explosions, five are engineers, three are doctors, two are doctorate holders, one is a Master of Business Administration and another is studying for his doctorate. "We need to understand what society is doing to make these people resort to this form of terror," says Rakesh Maria.

I'm sure the communalist political leaders of India will laugh at his statement...

Rakesh Maria

A peek into HDI

Bumped into this link that has India's Human Development Index (HDI) Report... The report looks very professional. Some of the graphs and tables of the report are given below.

As expected, Kerala was on the top. I was particularly interested in Uttar Pradesh. Mainly because a good friend of mine hails from that State. I wanted to know what the report talks about these two states. Some excerpts are given below...

"At the State level, Chandigarh, Delhi, Kerala, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh were among the States with better HDI at both points of time. States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa were at the other end. In fact, in the early eighties, these States had HDI close to half that of Kerala. The rural-urban gap in the HDI was the least in case of Kerala."

"The gap between Kerala and next best State, i.e. Punjab remains quite significant, though it has declined. By and large the States maintained their relative position between 1981 and 2001."

"In general, women were better off in Southern India than in the Indo-Gangetic plain, comprising mainly the States of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh."

"The inter-State differences in the HPI (Human Poverty Index) are quite striking. It was in the range of 55-60 per cent in the early eighties for the worse off States, namely, Orissa, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Uttar Pradesh, and between 32-35 per cent in the better off States like Kerala, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh."

Intrigued by this report I started googling more on HDI and got the following excerpts from Hindu Business Online...

"Explaining the conundrum of why accelerated income growth has not propelled India into a faster poverty reduction track, the HDR says that extreme poverty is concentrated in the rural areas of the northern poverty-belt States including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, while income growth has been most dynamic in other States, urban areas and service sectors."

"There is a chronic under-provisioning of health services in high-mortality northern States, which is linked to unaccountable State-level governance structures. Not surprisingly, four States — Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh — account for more than half the child deaths. These States are also marked by some of the deepest gender inequalities."

"Fifteen years after universal childhood immunisation was introduced, National Health Surveys suggest that only 42 per cent of children are fully immunised. The coverage is lowest in States with highest child death rates and less than 20 per cent in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. This is indeed a sorry state of affairs and needs urgent attention."

"For instance, the largest number of hospitals and dispensaries without doctors or medicines, primary schools without proper buildings, regular teachers or even black-boards are in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa."

Some from The Tribune...

"Interestingly, in India there exists massive regional variations in the development parameters, implying that there are pockets within the country which compare with the riches (Kerala vis-a-vis USA) and parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar which are comparable with the sub-Saharan standards."

“Still, a number of areas appear to have been excluded from these trends, particularly along the Pakistani and Nepalese border. Furthermore, gaps in literacy between low social classes and the rest of the population remain extremely high, particularly in the poorest states — Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar — and in Karnataka”

And from UNDP...

"Kerala has stood apart from the Indian experience in both education and health, achieving social development levels that are close to those found in the rich developed countries.Kerala has been a model state for some time in terms of human development not only for India but for the developing world as a whole."

"Only the state of Kerala records achievements in health that are better than not only the rest of India but also the rest of the developing world and often at par with the Western developed countries."

"Among the fourteen major states, Kerala has always stood out as a star in terms of social development"

"In the poorest states, especially the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh which comprise what are known as the BIMARU (‘sick’) states and Orissa, very high rates of poverty incidence are human failures rather than lack of natural resources."

"Low levels of literacy, as depicted by the light yellow colored districts are concentrated in Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa."

National Family Health Survey-III from TOI...

"The latest National Family Health Survey-III Bihar topped the list of women abused at home. It is followed by Rajasthan (46.3%), Madhya Pradesh (45.8%), Tripura (44.1%), Manipur (43.9%), Uttar Pradesh (42.4%), TN (41.9%), West Bengal (40.3%) and Arunachal Pradesh (38.8%). Kerala, with 16.4%, was not at the bottom of the list. Himachal took that spot."

Human Resource Development Ministry's Educational Development Index (EDI) from IBN Live...

"Having earned the distinction of being the most literate state, Kerala has also topped the list of states in providing better primary and upper primary education."

"The report presented to Parliament last week said Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand were still have to go a long way to bring every child to school."

Sometimes, when 'certain' people from these 'sick' states (mentioned above) behave in a snobbish and 'sick' manner, I used to wonder why they do so. After reading articles on HDI, perhaps I have an answer to it...

Dream Mentor Programme - II

25th Feb saw the second session of the Dream Mentor Programme. It was held at the Indian Social Institute of Jesuits. Some interesting facts on Child development were shared by Dave.

He gave the following equation and graph to convey his points.

Equation:

Nutrition + Emotion (love) + Right Time = Normal Development of a child

The equation means: for a child to have a normal development, nutrition and emotion - basically love - should be fed at the right time.

The WHO Growth Charts/Graph’s Y-axis represents the growth parameters of a kid (e.g. length, weight etc.). The X-axis represents the age. A kid having y1 length/weight - when he is born at x1 - should have y3 length/weight when he reaches the age of x2. The blue curve shows the normal growth curve. The red one is that of an underprivileged kid. His growth curve tends to be bumpy due to lack of nutrition and emotion given at the wrong time. The reason why underprivileged kids are not physically fit when compared to mainstream kids is because of this bumpy ride in their life. This bumpy curve could happen to a mainstream kid too... if proper care is not given to that kid.

To drive in his point further, Dave drew the figure given below...


During the 1st year, when the kid starts making sounds, he needs his caretaker - mother - to be around... ALWAYS... esp. when he meets a strange environment. As he progresses through age two... that is, when he starts learning 'words', he would develop the courage to move away from his caretaker... but only for a few minutes… and a few steps. When he is in his 3rd year mastering more words, he develops the habit to 'explore' his surroundings. And as he passes through his fourth year, when he learns proper sentences, he would want to run through the 'world' making it difficult for the caretaker to control him.

If you have noticed, all these states – from taking a few steps to running around, and from mumbling to speaking proper sentences – happens in sequence. Imagine this situation: a two year old takes a few steps away from his caretaker; confronts something strange; gets spooked; rushes back to his caretaker... only to realize that his caretaker is not around! What will go through his mind?! Won't it affect his growth and development if he keeps facing this almost daily? Underprivileged kids go through something like this. The bumps, mentioned in the growth curve, take its shape when love and caring is not given in the right quantity at the right time. Learning sounds, words, sentences etc are signs of growth that takes place in his brain. And for that to happen, both nutrition and love are required. Say... a mainstream kid mumbles some word; his mother hears that; goes to him... and encourages him to say that again. If that kid was in an orphanage, he might have lost that chance of ‘encouragement’. And that 'encouragement' is very important for a child's development. The reason why IQ of a kid goes bad, when he goes through a rough patch of life, is due to those bumpy curves. If that kid gets proper care, you will see his IQ shooting up.

There is another problem with these bumpy curves. If the kid doesn't get what he is supposed to get... at say… the age of two. At some later point of time in his life, effects of this will show up. E.g. when he hits his teen-age and if he confronts something complicated, he might react like an immature brat. It will take time, effort, love and patience to make him face that ‘complication’ without let him budge in OR go through 'confused maturity'

To summarize…

If a child fails to thrive for its first ten weeks – this damage can be measured at ten years.

Dream Mentor Programme

The orientation session of the Dream Mentor Programme conducted by Dr. Dave ( Dr. David C. Pearson ) and Dr. Fi ( Dr. Fiona C. Pearson ) offered something new to chew...

1) Dr. Dave said that the influence of a kid’s environment on him/her lasts for a lifetime. The effects of the environmental influence under which a 10-week-old-kid was brought up would show up when the kid turns 10!! He also said that from the moment the child is conceived, the environment starts influencing his/her nature and thereby his/her future. Which leads to the conclusion that one can predict the future of a kid based on where and when the child was conceived! E.g. the probability of the kids of beggars ending up as CEOs is very very less. The environment in which they continue to live will not let their mind loose the knot that was tied by their surroundings! If what Dr. Dave said is true, it could very well mean that astrology might have something to offer.

2) On Anxiety: Dr. Dave gave this good example. Assume you are dog-phobic and there are some street dogs between your home and a bus stop. To go to school you have to catch the school bus at the bus stop. Now... due to the dog phobia you tend to develop a dislike to get into the bus and later… to go to the school. This dislike will linger for quite sometime even if the dogs are removed. The dislike originated due to anxiety and is lingering there, being an impediment to your personal development. Such situation is common in the case of underprivileged kids. They have a troubled home and poor parents. They have to handle the anxiety caused by their background before stepping out to reach out to a bright future.

Drave and Fi said that more will be covered in the future sessions. Looking fwd to it...

PS: Will affirmative actions like reservation help the upliftment of these kids?

Narrow minded people

“How was your US visit?” A family friend asked me.
“Great!” I said
“How are the people there?”
“Good!”
“Is it a nice place to settle?”
“If one wants to…, yes it is.”
“But... they don't have any family life there. There are no values, isn't it?”
“Why do you think so? They too have families... and family life... just like how we have here.”
“But... their kids go bad when they grow up.”
“Have you interacted with a US family? I don't think it is right to pass a judgment when you have little knowledge about the topic or subject...”
“Well... yes. But I don't like the way they look at us. They see us as poverty stricken people.”
“Isn’t that true to a certain extend? Take a look at the slums and villages. Even if it is not, who are we to ask them to study about us?”
“But we study about them! We know more about them than they know about us!”
“So what? Does it put an obligation on them to study more about us? Do we know more about Ethiopia or Somalia than how much they know about us? We know more about US because US is well-off and we take interest in it. We know little about Somalia because we think it is a poverty stricken country and have least interest in that subject. Same is the case with them. Why should they 'learn' about India? It is their world! Their freedom to choose and learn a topic of their interest!”

I find it funny when people pass their judgment with no knowledge about a topic. They tend to generalize people. Like all beard men have a bend towards terrorism; all south Indians are Madrasis; our customs and culture are far superior to yours etc. Narrow minded people…! What else can I say? I was quite happy to read this article which echoed my thought.

PS: By passing the judgment of narrow mindedness, am I not generalizing and narrowing my mind?