Society, culture and welfare economics

Keynesian theory of welfare economics calls for movement of money in the market. It recommends that the money should always remain in the system so that the economic multiplier effect can come into being taking the economy on the growth path. One of the radical thoughts of this theory was the role of the state in the economy in order to provide the path for growth. In times like the one we face today, Keynes would recommend the expansion of fiscal deficit, spending by government to make up for the money withdrawn by other entities (banks, corporates, consumers etc). To an extent, most central banks and governments are resorting to this when they see that effects of monetary policy in form of rate cuts are not having the desired effects. In a nutshell, Keynes says spending has to be encouraged so that there is money flow in the system and to re-spiral the economy towards growth.

Religion has always been thought of as something which we practise because our fathers did so or purely on basis of faith and beliefs. For a society or culture to take shape, religion or faith has been thought of as the basis. That religion could be driven by economics seems far-fetched. However a deep thought in to this shows the inherent relation. In fact, economics drives most of our activities, so why should religion be kept out of it.

Most of our festivals prescribe specific activities to be performed. If its colours for Holi, its crackers for Diwali, dandiya for navratri, pandals for Durga Puja, boat races for Onam. These notwithstanding, the custom of new clothes, painting of houses, charity to poor, span across all festivals. The underlying thought is, patronage of these specific industries and skills by stimulating demand of those through these festivals and customs. It provides for jobs for millions which in turn, provides money in the hands of more people which implies even more spending. Crux of the matter being flow of money through the system. Symbolically, Hindu philosophy describes Lakshmi the goddess of wealt and material prosperity as being very fickle. She keeps moving from one place to another, providing prosperity to the multitudes but no one can keep Lakshmi with themselves forever. What this means is, prosperity of a society is possible only when money flows (symbolically referred as fickle mindedness of Lakshmi).

Another thought which closely resembles modern day welfare economics model is using money as an enabler for growth. Keynes says money should be an enabler and used in the right manner to provide for growth in the right. The objective should never be storing and hoarding money / wealth. Because when that happens, money remains outside of the system and retards growth.

An old legend provides a similar lesson. It is said that Vishnu and Lakshmi had an argument as to who is greater amongst them. Vishnu said people follow dharma and are righteous and hence he is superior while Lakshmi's contention was people would do anything to be rich and prosperous and hence she is superior. They descended on earth to test their views.

Vishnu went to a village as a sage and found people welcoming him to their homes and offering him their belongings as per the custom. Vishnu requested the villagers to give him only a house to live and that too one which no one is using. So he was given an old house as per his wishes making Vishnu feel that he was right. But it actually proved to be otherwise. Lakshmi went to the same village as an old lady with a ragged bag and asked for water. When she was offered in a glass she refused to take that saying she has her own golden cup in which she would take the water. To people's amazement she threw away the golden cup saying that she never uses it again. She repeated the act multiple times throwing golden cups here and there. It naturally spread like fire in the village and people assembled in front of the old lady asking her what she needed. She placed the same request as Vishnu did. The villagers in their greed threw the old hermit out of the house and gave it to Lakshmi. Now it was Lakshmi's turn to feel proud that she was superior.

The climax of the story however was, when the sage after being thrown out was wandering, he found people fighting over the golden cups as to who should take it home. And, they called the sage himself to preside over the fight and assist the villagers that what is right and do justice.

The legend points to the fact that even when material prosperity is available, it can only be a medium and even to use it rightly, it needs an objective and the correct path. Philosophy says, that where there is 'dharma' there is Vishnu and where there is Vishnu there is Lakshmi.

So if you use money to pursue a rightful objective, you achieve growth. But if you want achieve money and prosperity it will always slip away in absence of direction.

Its a game of quid pro quo - you give some you take some

The Tata Ethos

Tata - the name itself embodies everything good within it. Good culture, quality, values, ethics. Having worked for a Tata group company, I used to and still continue to admire the group for what it symbolizes in today's corporate India. In fact it has been a true champion of Indian excellence right through the 100 years of its existence since the first wasps of smoke started bellowing from the Sakchi plant of Tata Iron & Steel Company (TISCO) in 1907. Sakchi, later renamed as Jamshedpur is now a UN Global Compact City and it defeated the only other Indian nominee Bangalore.
A strong ethics and value system has always been a hallmark of the Tatas and the greatest testimony is in the fact that 100 year old Tata Steel has stopped working only once due to labor unrest and that too way back in the 2nd decade of the previous century! Their commitment to philanthropy and human values defies comparision. Read LN Mittal's description of his visit to Tata Steel below:
" I visited Jamshedpur over the weekend to see for myself an India that is fast disappearing despite all the wolf-cries of people like Narayanamurthy and his ilk. It is one thing to talk and quite another to do and I am delighted to tell you that Ratan Tata has kept alive the legacy of perhaps India's finest industrialist J.N. Tata. Something that some people doubted when Ratan took over the House of the Tata's but in hindsight, the best thing to have happened to the Tata's is unquestionably Ratan. I was amazed to see the extent of corporate philanthropy and this is no exaggeration.
For the breed that talks about corporate social responsibility and talks about the role of corporate India, a visit to Jamshedpur is a must. Go there and see the amount of money they pump into keeping the town going; see the smiling faces of workers in a region known for industrial unrest; see the standard of living in a city that is almost isolated from the mess in the rest of the country.
This is not meant to be a puff piece. I have nothing to do with Tata Steel, but I strongly believe the message of hope and the message of goodness that they are spreading is worth sharing. The fact that you do have companies in India which look at workers as human beings and who do not blow their software trumpet of having changed lives. In fact, I asked Mr. Muthuraman, the managing director, as to why he was so quiet about all they had done and all he could offer in return was a smile wrapped in humility, which said it all. They have done so much more since I last visited Jamshedpur, which was in 1992. The town has obviously got busier but the values thankfully haven't changed.
The food is still as amazing as it always was and I gorged, as I would normally do. I visited the plant and the last time I did that was with Russi Mody. But the plant this time was gleaming and far from what it used to be. Greener and cleaner and a tribute to environment management. You could have been in the mountains. Such was the quality of air I inhaled! There was no belching smoke; no tired faces and so many more women workers, even on the shop floor. This is true gender equality and not the kind that is often espoused at seminars organised by angry activists. I met so many old friends. Most of them have aged but not grown old. There was a spring in the air which came from a certain calmness which has always been the hallmark of
Jamshedpur and something I savoured for a full two days in between receiving messages of how boring and decrepit the lack lustre Fashion Week was.
Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata had created an edifice that is today a robust company and it is not about profits and about valuation. It is not about who becomes a millionaire and who doesn't'. It is about getting the job done with dignity and respect keeping the age-old values intact and this is what I learnt. I jokingly asked someone as to whether they ever thought of joining an Infosys or a Wipro and pat came the reply: "We are not interested in becoming crorepatis [millionaires]
but in making others crorepatis [millionaires]." Which is exactly what the Tata's have done for years in and around Jamshedpur. Very few people know that Jamshedpur has been selected as a UN Global Compact City, edging out the other nominee from India, Bangalore. Selected because of the quality of life, because of the conditions of sanitation and roads and welfare. If this is not a tribute to industrial India, then what is? Today, India needs several Jamshedpurs but it also needs this Jamshedpur to be given its fair due, its recognition. I am tired of campus visits being publicised to the Infosys and the Wipro's of the world.
Modern India is being built in Jamshedpur as we speak. An India built on the strength of core convictions and nothing was more apparent about that than the experiment with truth and reality that Tata Steel is conducting at Pipla.
Forty-eight tribal girls (yes, tribal girls who these corrupt and evil politicians only talk about but do nothing for) are being educated through a residential program over nine months. I went to visit them and I spoke to them in a language that they have just learnt: Bengali. Eight weeks ago, they could only speak in Sainthali, their local dialect. But today, they are brimming with a confidence that will bring tears to your eyes. It did to mine. One of them has just been selected to represent Jharkand in the state archery competition. They have their own women's football team and what's more they are now fond of education. It is a passion and not a burden.
This was possible because I guess people like Ratan Tata and Muthurman haven't sold their souls to some business management drivel, which tells us that we must only do business and nothing else. The fact that not one Tata executive has been touched by the Naxalites in that area talks about the social respect that the Tata's have earned.
The Tata's do not need this piece to be praised and lauded. My intent is to share the larger picture that we so often miss in the haze of the slime and sleaze that politics imparts. My submissions to those who use phrases such as "feel-good" and "India Shining" is first visit Jamshedpur to understand what it all means. See Tata Steel in action to know what companies can do if they wish to. And what corporate India needs to do. Murli Manohar Joshi would be better off seeing what Tata Steel has done by creating the Xavier Institute of Tribal Education rather than by proffering excuses for the imbroglio in the IIMs. This is where the Advanis and Vajpayees need to pay homage. Not to all the Sai Babas and the Hugging saints that they are so busy with. India is changing inspite of them and they need to realise that.
I couldn't have spent a more humane and wonderful weekend. Jamshedpur is an eyeopener and a role model, which should be made mandatory for replication. I saw corporate India actually participate in basic nation-building, for when these tribal girls go back to their villages, they will return with knowledge that will truly be life-altering. Corporate India can do it but most of the time is willing to shy away. For those corporate leaders who are happier winning awards and being interviewed on their choice of clothes, my advise is visit Tata Steel, spend some days at Jamshedpur and see a nation's transformation. That is true service and true nationalism. Tata Steel will celebrate 100 years of existence in 2007. It won't be just a milestone in this company's history. It will be a milestone, to my mind of corporate transparency and generosity in this country. It is indeed fitting that Ratan Tata today heads a group which has people who are committed to nation-building than just building influence and power. JRD must be smiling wherever he is. And so must Jamshedji Nusserwanji. These people today have literally climbed every last blue mountain. And continue to do so with vigour and passion. Thank god for the Tata's !"
A steel magnate himself, LN Mittal's words as above speaks volumes of the Tatas and their contribution to corporate India. The Tatas fully deserve the global respect that they command from CEO's to the poorest of all because of their yeoman service to the nation. As always its a Game of Quid Pro Quo - you give some you take some

KRISHNA - THE ULTIMATE

" Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Faleshu Kadachana"

- Bhagvad Gita

Hindu mythology presents a diverse diaspora of several epics and stories which to the common man may sound fantastic as well as a fantasy but in the truest sense they reflect the entire vivid rainbow of humanity. The variety of characters and situations that it depicts still remains to be completely unravelled . What follows here in this page is a modest attempt to dissect a persona that has no parallel in India and that which doubtless encompasses humanity in its entirety , possesses all the qualities of a human and yet is different in all possible aspects . He is none other than KRISHNA - THE ULTIMATE , or also famous as GOVIND, NARAYANA, HARI. He has been described as the one who possesses a thousand names ( he is called the "Sahasranamdhari" ) , as the one who is comparable to none, one who has no beginning ( He is called "Anaadi" ) and the One who has no end ("Anant ").

The Hindu stories have maximum references to him and He epitomizes values in their variety, nature in its naturality . The story of his birth itself indicates what lies in store ahead for those who listen to His stories. He was born on the Ashtami of the "shravan" month of Hindu calendar in the Shukla Paksha . The myth surrounding his birth in a stormy night in the prison bars of Mathura to Devaki and Vasudev is famous and every Indian child listens to it with rapt attention when the story sessions of grandmothers begin.

The antics of the lord in his childhood are glorified as His " Leela" or sport and countless sonnets and ballads have been written and sung over the millennia in every Indian language possible . Even today a child is referred as "Balakrishna" ( Little Krishna ) when he bowls over his mother with his playfulness. It is perceived that the Lord was giving his mother "Moksha" ( salvation) by his pleasing antics . The great poet Soordas in his lyrical ode to the Lord's childhood has mentioned that the greatness that Yashoda has achieved by being a mere spectator is more than what can be achieved by great seers in seven rebirths. Poets have been rendered speechless when they perceive the sheer humanity in his playfulness and Hindi literature is abundant with such Mother - Son sequences.

As the child grew up his activities took a different turn. The cowherds and the cows became His companions in His Sport . Though he behaved humanly the Lord showed glimpses of His being the "Avatar Purush " like His lifting of the Govardhan mountain in His little finger and thus showing Indra who is the Supreme . The people of Vrindavan adored him and their adoration was their "Bhakti ". In fact this form of "Bhakti " called the " Prem - Bhakti " ( devotion through love) is the most important message of Krishna .

Hindu philosophy advocates two forms of Bhakti to attain salvation . One is the "Gyan Marg" and the other "Prem Marg". Through the former one attains the Lord by gaining knowledge and preaching the same about HIm. The latter is the more simpler asks the Bhaktas to love the Lord himself , not as a Lord but as a companion . Here one must mention that this love is echelons above what we today term as love. "prem" as our texts say is a spiritual phenomenon which is a "Sangam" of two souls. In case of Bhakti it is the confluence of the "atma" and the "Parmatma".Hindi poets like Soordas, Raskhan , Meera have described in great elaboration the worth of such form of Bhakti and who better than the most beautiful of them all - Krishna Himself .The character of Akroor in the Bhagvat Puran is to demonstrate the superiority of the Prem Marg over the other.

Krishna's "Raas - Leela" is one of the striking phase of his incarnation. Legend has it that every Gopika loved Him in her heart but social barriers prevented them from expression. This also indicates that Bhakti is without barriers and does not remain confined within the societal rules. It is said that the Lord in His Sport once asked Devi Durga to descend to Vrindavan and advise all the Gopikas to think of their beloved and fast for a period of 40 days succeeding which they would be granted their beloveds. Everybody wished Krishna and waited for 40 painful days which is also famous in Hindi as " Viyog Parv". At the end of the Parv as promised Krishna with His Maya became omnipresnt and every Gopika thought that He was with her. But in reality He was with his consort Radha. The Bhakti of Radha is unparalleled in Indian Mythology. The union of Radha-Krishna is the ultimate confluence of the "Jivatma " with the Supreme Being and it also shows that marriage is not necessarily the final resort of Love.

This story has all the shades of a classical but spritual romance. Even today Hindi film songs directly refer to the saga of Radha - Krishna . Every aspect -from Krishna teasing his consort near the Yamuna ("Bhor bhaye panghat par , mohe natkhat Sham sataye") to Radha getting angry with Him is encompassed in our literature. Poets have narrated incidents galore of this phase of the Lord's life.

The last and final major aspect of Krishna's life is his role as a Kshatriya and as a master craftsman. Krishna was the Indian Machiavelli and advocated immortal principles in the Gita which if followed even today will lead to success as well as peace of mind. He was the first to advise the businessmen to start the lending business.Legend tells that when Jarasandh invaded Mathura , it did not have the resources to lead the fightback. Krishna much to everyone's indignation advised that resources be generated from the lower "Vaishyas". His philosophy that they were also citizens and they also had equal responsibility towards the safety of the city.Moreover they being businessmen would never want to lose money and hence would bless the Kshatriyas to victory to satisfy their purpose. His role in the Kurukshetra War is an open book to all. His policy was to counter Dharma with Dharma but to tolerate Adharma taking Dharma's resort is a crime. Thus he defined His actions in the war as Dharma when he defeated Drona , Karna , Duryodhana taking resort to unlawful means.

Krishna is a Philosophy in Himself, combining an institution of rules , variety of emotions that engraves in itself the humanity in its entirety. The Bhagvad Gita is a Bible for us . It prescribes one to be not a "Bhakta Yogi" but asks us to be a "Karma Yogi". Our authority is confined to the job only and not in its results. {"Ma Falesu Kadachana"). His life is statement on way of life on all the 4 stages of life and each and every action of His is an education in itself and worthy of replication .

The above is only a small attempt to cover a persona which has been tried in vain through millennia by poets and preachers, seers and sages. Much water has flowed down the Kalindi (Yamuna) since His days but the Vrindavan still abounds by His charms. His "Venu Vadya" ( Flute) still resonates in the greens and even now the Raag "Brindavan Saarang" brings delight to the true lovers as well as the peacocks which wait eternally for their lover , the "Sawan" (rain drops) as Radha waited and is still waiting for Him to return.

Why are we moving away??

How does our past influence us? Specially the past which was never a part of our lives and about which we have only heard and read about in books. The past of our country which is seeing a sea-change in attitudes tastes and preferences now. The new brigade is seen to be in an advantageous position because it was brought up in post liberalization era where profits where not wrong, extravagance was appreciated and envied and flaunting the order of the day. If you have it show it was the mantra. Now that cud be wealth to well-toned bodies! This brigade was talented and energetic to work hard and dared to dream. Situtaion demanded people who could shape up their dreams and lo behold! here appeared encouragement from all quarters including politics, media and what not...People might be wondering where this piece of prose is heading....It actually heads nowhere because we, ourselves as a society are heading where??? to nowhere....Every major city is at a cusp of conflicting and confused identities. A traditional Chennai is gradually being dumped with resto-bars and lounge-bars and unfortunately the increase in them is equated with city getting developed! Where have more logical parameters like transport, infrastructure, roads gone?
Gone is the old charm of Calcutta with its Durga Puja...the Puja itself competes with discs and extravagance and flaunting of the people. There is a clear divide amongst people who still listen RabindraSangeet and the new brigade which has been rarely exposed to it!
This is not a pessimistic or a communist feeling that we should revert back to old days because old is gold. India today is at an exciting threshold now. The people who dare to dream never had it so good. Profits are not decried anymore and rather any wealth & prosperity obtained through hard work is exemplified and eulogised! However, as an individual I am at splitsville to say the least...Is allegiance to traditions foolhardy? Why cant we look into the rationale of our traditions and then reject them? Arent we still under colonial influence only that it is being replaced by reasons like globalization and westernization? Why still anyone speaking better English is thought to be better or smarter? Why do people have to freak out at pubs and malls to celebrate? Why is extravagance = celebration? And what if I dont want that shall I be called as a 91 year old instead of 19?
On one hand we seem to be self-assured and confident and on one hand we seem to be confused...Societal and peer pressures try to shake off the Indian roots but something which is ingrained is impossible to amputate...Its thrown everybody from politicians to portfolio managers, from brand managers to media into a topsy turvy zone where you can only expected the unexpected to happen....
At threshold of its 60th Independence Day, India is still like a new bride who is waiting for her "ghoonghat" to be pushed over and her moon-face to be revealed! Lets not forget ourselves in the deluge of consumerism! Lets bring new ideas and theories to explain ourselves rather than resorting to existing ones! Because India is new! And as is the trend the Indian mantra we always follow Bollywood - "Chak De India"...Lets give her our best...and take the best from her!
As always you give some you take some! A Game Of Quid Pro Quo