YEAR END MUSE

The emergence of another year is round the corner and many a momentous experience would again be consigned to the leaves of history as we move on with new aspirations and expectations. The month has been tumultuous and the most lasting moment, undoubtedly, has been the graceful adieu bid by the tallest leader at least yours truly has had occasion to share the planet. As channels, magazines, newspapers and others vied with each other to place the year in perspective, yours truly sought to place the year in perspective on some discoveries.

The year was essentially one of friendship. The movement to another place with friends giving their all to place yours truly in comfort zone and the reorganisation bringing back contacts with some friends in the organisation. The interim period had been one of development. One facet that emerged was one of my friends sharing his writing skills which showcased his keen thought process embedded in striking small sentences which provoked the thought process in the reader. One of the verses he had placed in an article and lingered on is extracted for posterity

“Oh, wearisome condition of humanity,

Born under one law, to another bound,

Vainly begot and yet forbidden vanity,

Created sick, commanded to be sound.

 What meaneth nature by these diverse laws,

 Passion and reason, self-division’s cause?”

                                                                                 - FULKE GREVILLE

Similarly, yours truly had the occasion to meet a long lost friend albeit for a short span in a new avatar (somehow the term incarnation seems to be woefully short in translation). He had emerged as a master in reunions. Merging persons who had met over 25 years back into a single forum with meticulous planning exposed the shortfall in our systems in tapping hidden talents. Marvelling at this man's dedication to reach out and share the treasure trove moments of the reunion which humbled yours truly with a lesson in friendship.

Earlier in the year about a dozen had anchored a lesson in leadership by bringing almost all our college day classmates together with the lecturers too. This lesson was coupled with another reunionist from college days who had singlehandedly masterminded a souvenir which showed that the will paves the way. As yours truly picked the souvenir and was spellbound by the layout, the preface - the truth surfaced.

They were no Mandela or icons. However, a question also arose would yours truly ever be able to match any of them who ventured to provoke a thought in another effortlessly? - probably a goal to set for the years to come.

MADIBA - TRIBUTE MUSE

Five years short of a magnificent ton, Rolihlala Dalibhunga Mandela who chose to ignore small irritations to achieve larger good has bid adieu on his terms as Nelson Mandela. His walk to freedom from the long medical treatment was parallel to his walk to freedom. The man who restored the pride to the dark handsome men of fiction to reality and stood as a rock between any violence or revenge. Humanity should be proud that one of its species demonstrated that the future beckons and the past be left behind. Imagine a man incarcerated for 27 long years retaining his sanity, to negotiate the emergence of a rainbow nation with a representative of his oppressor. The magnanimity with he shared the Nobel with the iconic F W De Klerk was a beacon to itself. The Nobel which had rendered itself poorer by not adding the Mahatma to its feathered cap wasted no time and ensured that it would be richer by its association with Mandela. 

The man who made his clan proud as the world mourns "Mandela" more and less of Rolihlala has made our nation proud too by adorning the Bharat Ratna. He is one of those men who has made the persons around richer by his infectious laughter, immaculate vision, grit to pursue the dream and the success of implementing it to the last syllable. Yours truly could neither comprehend the persona nor his personal life. The magic of the man would however continue to befuddle. There are no vain dreams to emulate or follow. There is only a tall dream of at least admiring the legend of my lifetime.

The tribute would be incomplete but for reciting Invictus a poem of William Ernest Henley which was recited by the great legend every day in the prison

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods maybe

For my inconquerable soul

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced or cried aloud

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloiody but unbowed

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the horror of shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid

It does not matter how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate

I am the captain of my soul

All Heads of States and Governments especially those who are in conflict would do well to pay tribute to this great man on his demise by being personally present at his funeral. The soul would facilitate healing of the real and false wounds paving way for peace all round. This could be the only token tribute we could pay to this humanist who has made many icons like Lincoln, Martin Luther King. Helmut Kohl, Gandhi amongst others hope that many more would follow. The poet William Henley would marvel at the man who lived his muse till the last breath and would thank him for making it immortal. Will we be able to place this small wreath a token of our humble tribute or would we just be contented with words such as "an end of an era" or " we are poorer" or the much celebrated " light has gone out of our lives"? Ponder over as Madiba has hung his boots. The sportsperson in him could be remembered by handing over the baton of hosting the championship of all games in the near future to South Africa - an economic token to boost his favourite nation as well as to help it retain the fabric he weaved in a short span of time. 

Madiba would you not accept these tokens with the same grace which you have displayed through the trials and triumphs of life?

A TON FOR TWO GREAT MEN

It has been my firm belief that farewells at the time of retirement or demise are largely hypocritical and do not reflect the true sense of the goodwill garnered. This view was shaken exactly 16 days before the farewell of Sachin Tendulkar. One of the ever smiling colleague with his shade of hair still as dark as one could wish it to be and with his trademark greetings was to bid farewell to the organisation at the age of sixty. Being the only one to bid farewell the farewell was organised in the conference hall but had to be moved to the auditorium. Even yours truly made it to be the part of the beeline to the auditorium. It was a matter of fascination that persons from every station he had served in were there and many with garlands and shawls. Some of the retired colleagues had ascertained the D day and were part of the felicitation. The more gifted ones lavished poems while the less gifted shared their experiences and the introverts warmed their hearts in the deluge. Finally. the guest of the day rose to speak and his first sense of gratitude went to his parents who left him with a caring sister who chose siblings over marriage. The saga stunned everyone as his domestic woes had at no time been reflected in his work or attitude to workmates. He wholeheartedly thanked his family for the support.

Cut and move to the day 16 days later. The iconic Sachin was bidding farewell. Many of the similarities were striking me. His sister Savita had gifted the first willow. His brother was his mentor and his Guru's appreciation was ultimate to him. The dedication of every feat went to his parents. A nation was moved to tears and the normally dormant Government acted to confer the Bharat Ratna. Even this did not cause any controversy as to the likes of Dhyanchand, Fereira, Anand and others being overlooked. Media covered it exhaustively.

The two farewells spoke of the manner in which the persona in question had dealt with their lives. Both thanked their families for bearing with their frustrations. Both thanked their friends for seeing them through highs and lows. 

It is only natural that whilst many records fell in felicitating these two men, the best tribute yours truly could pay was to dedicate to the centurion and the smiling genius the hundredth blog. 

APEX COURT'S VERDICT - A TRIBUTE TO SARDAR PATEL

Six decades later the Sardar is making the headlines again. There is suddenly a tussle for his legacy as well as to appropriate him. The question of who will be entitled to pay a tribute and the manner of the tribute is also likely to make the Iron Man wonder as to whether his memory should have even resurfaced.

At this very hour, the Supreme Court has quietly and effectively paid its tribute by handing a judgement which is touted to unshackle the bureaucrats much against the opinion of yours truly as reminding the bureaucrats of their role. Even as the epitaph of imperialism was being written in India by its Constituent Assembly, a debate raged as to whether the bureaucracy in its form needs to be retained. There were many a legendary figures who were led by their patriotic fervour over the rationale to write off the bureaucracy and put a new form of administration in place. The Sardar led the defence of retaining them by pointing to the diverse fabric of the nation and the need to have a continuous chain which could effectively administer even as the political winds change. In his own words, “There was no alternative to this administrative system….The Union will go, you will not have a united India, if you have not a good All India Service, which has the independence to speak out its mind, which has a sense of security …. If you do not adopt this course, then do not follow the present Constitution…. This constitution is meant to be worked by a ring of service, which will keep the country intact. There are many impediments in this Constitution, which will hamper us. ….. These people are the instruments. Remove them and I see nothing but a picture of chaos all round the country.”

On the same day the Sardar delivered a sterling message to Parliamentarians, bureaucrats and citizens alike which cannot be better rendered than in his own words which were , "When Mr. Hender son came here to settle this question of the Services, he had long discussions with me. He said that before the transference of power arrangements should be made to the satisfaction of the Parliament, that transference of power will take place only when guarantees are given to the members of the Secretary of States' services, each individual member of which has a Covenant with the Secretary of State for permanency and for certain other guarantees. More than fifty per cent. of the Secretary of State's services were Europeans. Britishers, and the rest were Indians. It was then suggested by him that there should be a treaty between England and India on this question. The suggestion was also made that they should begiven due compensation if they have to leave the Services because they would not like to serve in the Indian administration, and that they should be given proportionate pension. Their status, their time-scale of pay, everything was

to be settled before any question of transfer of power could be considered.

Now, I had long negotiations and it was then a joint Government of the Muslims and the Non-Muslims. It was an all-India Government at that time and these negotiations resulted in certain conclusions which were placed before the Cabinet-it was a joint Cabinet at the time-and they were accepted by them. Then those conclusions were sent to Parliament and it was accepted there.

Many of the Europeans who were in the services here have left now, but when the negotiations were going on, I told them to leave the case of Indians to us, that we shall deal with them as we deemed just, that they will trust us and we will trust them; and finally they agreed on certain conditions.

 Now, I wish to point out that hardly anybody raised any objection to the arrangements that we were making at that time, but if they had suspected us. then there was plenty of scope at that time for them to come out and get better terms from outside agencies. Even now, if you are not willing to keep them, find out your substitute and many of them will go; the best of them will go. I wish to assure you that I have worked with them during this difficult period I am speaking with a sense of heavy responsibility-and I must confess that in point of patriotism, in point of loyalty, in point of sincerity and in point of ability, you cannot have a substitute. They are as good as ourselves, and to speak of them in disparaging terms in this House, in public, and to criticise them in the this manner, is doing disservice to yourselves and to the country. This is my considered opinion.

 Now, I will give you another series of facts which will convince you why guarantees were given. You had seen what was happening in the Punjab. In the five districts where havoc was being wrought, five British officers were in power and nothingcould be done. I tried to get the District Magistrate of Gurgaon transferred. I could not succeed, and the British officer there arrested leading Congressmen when they were not at fault and put them in jail as hostages; he had the cheek to write on the application presented to him by the President of the Bar Association there to the effect that those were innocent and they should not be arrested and that they should be released immediately, that those people were being kept as hostages. This is the way he was doing this business. I was shocked and I went to Gurgaon. I saw him coming on the way and I asked him, "Have you arrested people as hostages?" He said, "No, who told you?" Fortunately, I had the document with me on which he had made that endorsement, and I showed him the endorsement. He asked, "How did you get this?" I said," That is not the question. Is this your endorsement or not?" After that, I

tried hard, I wrote to the then Governor of the Punjab, I pleaded with the Viceroy, but I found it difficult to remove him, and you know the havoc that was played in Gurgaon an these other districts. It was not in the Punjab alone; in other places also many such things were done. It was a time of touch and go and we could have lost India. Then we insisted that we had come to a stage when power must be transferred immediately, whatever happens, and then we decided to resign. It was at that time that Lord Mountbatten came.

I give you this inner history which nobody knows., I agreed to Partition as a last resort, when we had reached a stage when we could have lost all. We had five or six members in the Government, the Muslim League members. They had already established themselves as members who had come to partitions the country. At that stage we agreed to Partition; we decided that Partition could be agreed upon on the terms that the Punjab should be partitioned-they wanted the whole of it-that Bengal should be partitioned-they wanted Calcutta and the whole of it. Mr. Jinnah did not want a turncated Pakistan, but he had to swallow it. We said that these two provinces should be partitioned. I made a further condition that in two months' time power should be transferred and an Act should be passed by Parliament in that time, if it was guaranteed that the British Government would not interfere with the question of the Indian States. We said, "we will deal with that question; leave it to us; you take no sides. Let paramountcy be dead; you do not directly or indirectly try to revive it in any manner. You do not interfere. We shall settle our problem. The Princes are ours and we shall deal with them." On those conditions we agreed to Partition and on those conditions the Bill in Parliament was passed in two months, agreed to by all the three parties. Show me any instance in the history of the British Parliament when such a Bill was passed in two months. But this was done. It gave birth to this Parliament.

 You now say, why did the leaders give these guarantees? In order to allow you to have an opportunity to attack the leaders on this very point. What else? You are responsible Members of the Parliament of a huge country. The Leader of this Parliament has been invited to America, the highest honour that could be done to him. He is treated with great respect. They are giving him all honours. You here say, "Why did the leaders give these assurances?" Think of the past. Why do you forget it? Have you read your own recent history? What is the use of talking that the service people were serving while we were in jail? I myself was arrested, I have been arrested several times. But that has never made any difference in my feeling towards people in the services. I do not defend the black sheep; they may be there. But are there not many honest people among them? But what is the language that you are using? I wish to place it on record in this House that if, during the last two or three years, most of the members of the services had not behaved patriotically and with loyalty, the Union would have collapsed. Ask Dr. John Matthai. He is working for the last fortnight with them on the economic question. You may ask his opinion. You will find what he says about the Services. You ask the Premiers of all provinces. Is there any Premier in any province who is prepared to work without the Services? He will immediately resign. He cannot manage. We had a small nucleus of a broken Service. With that bit of Service we have carried on a very difficult task. And if a responsible man speaks in this ton about these

Services, he has to decide whether he has a substitute to propose, and let him take the responsibility. This is not a Congress platform."

Imagine a situation emerging within six decades wherein the bureaucrats become yes masters as well as collude against the interests of the nation. The vision of the great man was in ruins. It is a matter of tragic travesty that while his adversary on this count Nehru respected the bureaucracy leading to names of offices such as HM Patel, T N Chaturvedi, Rau amongst a host of other luminaries figuring in the list which held the nation together, it was his own daughter, Indira who chose to undo several of these institutions. The gradual corrosion combined with the stinking rot needs to be stemmed by seeking inspiration from souls who could even sacrifice the post of Premier at the altar of the interests of the nation at large. 

It is a sterling message sent out by the judges of the Supreme Court. The question is whether we are ready to receive it and abide by it will be answered in the times to come. In the meantime, let us look for innovative methods of furthering the memory of the Iron Man. Let us also bury our differences as we pay such a tribute. Furthermore, the differences amongst ourselves should not be aired at the solemn moment of paying such a tribute. These would ensure that the Sardar is not unhappy even if it does not give him happiness.

ONION'S CASE FOR PLAUDITS

One would remember the fabled battle between different animals as to who was the greatest as well as that of different parts of the human body which in a humorous way teaches the kids of the importance and utility of each part of the body. A similar battle appears to be in the horizon between three unlikely contenders - Sachin, Crude and Onion.

Sachin- the undoubted master of tons is reaching a new milestone of a double ton in Tests before he raises the bat and looks into the blue sky to thank the Lord and his father at least in Test matches. He would have undoubtedly hoped that the attention would remain on him after being the cynosure for nearly a quarter century. Imagine the maestro's expression as the crude prices marched towards a ton taking a sizeable portion of the headlines. Even as the crude prices were being tamed, the humble onion thought it befitting to salute the maestro by mastering a ton by itself. Being a Marathi, the khanda is precious to the palate of the maestro and its intentions would have been treated with a fist thumping except for the fact that it was rivalling and even eclispsing the maestro's farewell Test.

Undoing even the crude's feat, the onion managed to make the anchors in Arnab, Rajdeep and the others virtually team up to give the primetime to it. Unlike the crude (petrol and diesel apart from the LPG), there was none to share the space.It appeared as though the other end had collapsed and the onion carried the bat and the match into the rival camp. Individual sportsmen like Leander and Anand were also put to shade. There was no exhibition of jubilation or thanksgiving by the onion on reaching the milestone. Instead, it looked like a batsman whose century was of no importance as the follow on was yet to be avoided. The politicos of every shade desired to make their presence felt but the onion would not share space with its single minded devotion of achieving its task. It has politely declined to attend any press conference or be taken in by the inviting barbs or belligerent anchors in the electronic media. Unfortunately, the crowd also was not appreciative of its feat and was booing it to achieve lower scores. Lesser batsmen like Kumble and Kirmani were feted on such accomplishments.

The khanda which is priceless to the palate of the Maharashtrians and most Indians deserves a far better treatment than the one that is being meted out to it. Even the sacrificial bakra of Bakrid is given a far better treatment. May yours truly implore on the denizens of India to recognise the feats of the onion and cheer it to achieve the landmark of double ton on the 200th Test of Sachin! Let us also commend the dark horse of the race on its feat!

SACHIN = HATS OFF!!!

It is irresistible to pen the thoughts that cross one's mind as Sachin decides to call it a day. It is not the run machine or the records against his name that fascinate me. It is not even his simple raising of the bat on reaching a milestone nor the humility with he doffed the skipper's cap. People may wonder as to how these aspects of a great sportsperson does not fascinate any one let alone yours truly.

Just let us look at our own livelihood and whether we have been able to last with impact for close to a quarter of a century. Government servants may serve a tenure of more than three decades but in anonymity with small contributions. Those in the private sector take to leapfrogging from one to another that sometimes service of two decades in the same entity is viewed with derision. Entrepreneurs live through their business but it is an Ambani or a Birla or a Tata who cut the ribbon. In the sports arena, life is still shorter. It may not last even a period of 5 years that persons who stride their field for a decade are considered legends. An isolated Bobby Fischer could claim to legendary status without attempting to defend his title. Therefore, the longevity of a sportsperson deserves felicitations and accolades.

There may be quarters which would rumble stating the case that it is the feat that contributes to the longevity. Talent alone may not suffice. Roll back in time and we would come across several talented players who did not live the entire span due to sheer overconfidence. The effort to innovate and keep things grounded on the shoulders of rising expectations is the root of achieving legendary status. The early break may have contributed to the feasibility of a longer tenure but the utilisation of the same to the maximum is what contributes to legendary stature.

Sachin has managed to stay rooted in the face of rising expectations, achieving expected feats that despite mounting pressure none could clearly state that he should give way. We have seen several persons go out on terms of the selectors but the best achievement is he is doffing the cap on his own terms.

Let me admit that one this count yours truly is green with envy, full of admiration for a feat that would remain to be achieved for a long time to come. Let all the records give way to this fabulous achievement!!!

HEALTH BANK FOR FRESH LEASE OF LIFE

It was a regular forward to the inbox of my mail that set me thinking. The mail was about a 11 year old who had contracted a rare disease which was to be met with a treatment that was expensive. The reading of this mail took me to the day I had the occasion to interact with some who had set up a date with the Alzheimer's. These gutsy people too did not complain about they having been chosen for the date but were looking at avenues to meet the costs of the treatment.

Move over and we find NGOs as well as individuals who are willingly to spare the extra penny or make over the rupee by cutting on some comfort to a genuine needy person. A visit to most hospitals treating the reviled cancer shows that blocks have come up on the generosity of such individuals. 

The two scenarios make it clear that the link of connecting the needy to the willing is not definitely established in all cases. Some are fortunate for the media to assist in their hour of crisis while others face times of adversity by grinning and grimacing at the situations that confront them. The email prodding me to sign a petition to the Health Minister was a simple click away but several minutes of ruminating over and an inadvertent click later, I found that we should be aspiring for a better solution than to expect the Government to intervene in every matter.

Imagine a Health Bank that would attract donations which would entitle the donor to a 100% tax rebate. This Bank would attract the generous to donate their mite. An initial contribution of a day's salary by all Government servants, politicos and persons enrolled to the New Pension Scheme would ensure that the corpus is large enough to set the Bank rolling.

The corpus so derived could be invested in gilt bonds to ensure that the investments are inflation immune. The income of such Health Bank needs to be exempted from taxes and hence the Bank should be a 100% subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India. This would also ensure that the management is in secure hands and at no time the same would be subject matter of scams. In addition to the statutory audits of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the donors may also audit by appointing an auditor or more to ensure that the annual reports are free and fair.

The pooling of the funds and its management being framed, the moot question would be how would one determine the donee who would be entitled to the support or the extent to which they would be entitled. This needs the active support of the medical fraternity. They would require to identify the needy and also mention the extent of the rebate they are willing to provide on the treatment. The minimum is that the professional fees are waived by the doctors and the hospital waives the ward charges. This would ensure that the cost of the medicines is picked by the Bank. The costs should be at wholesale rates which would be directly met to the manufacturer. This way the true needy person derives the benefits.

The benefits could be extended on a proportionate basis by all concerned in case wherein the patients would be able to meet a portion of the cost. This would be an alternative social security scheme in place with zero involvement of the Government. This would also revive the spirit of co-existence which is ebbing away especially in urbane India. If NGOs can inspire faith why not a Health Bank?

It would also be necessary to rope in each automobile manufacturer to provide a well equipped ambulance as part of Corporate Social Responsibility to the Health Bank which could deploy the same on need basis to all districts. The para medical staff of the Bank as well as the drivers would thus provide yeoman's service to their bretheren in need. The charges collected could meet partially the costs of maintaining the service. The remnant could be picked up by a corporate as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.

Is anyone listening? The above may not be the ultimate and may require lot of further fine tuning but could a beginning be made?