While “civil society” froths at the mouth about pubs, pink chaddis, and HIB visas, while we debate conversions, terrorism and Talibanisation, a girl joins her brother to ferry water for the family at Athnur village near Mani in Raichur district, before rushing off for school, on Wednesday. And summer is fully not upon us. Yet.
Photograph: Karnataka Photo News
Also read: Yedi is fiddling when namma naadu is burning
Yella not OK, guru. Nanna makkalu is not learning
Civil society raises several issues. Does the author mean the issues he mentions in the caption is irrelevant until the “water” issue is resolved? Or is it a case of misplaced prioritization? In that case, please prioritize, if you can, and then the discussion would be worth it.
The “habit” of branding concern wrt serious threats as somehow, “sexy” is something I have not understood yet.
With due respect to the author of this piece do not try to trivialise one section of India and their problems as well as the security concerns of India…all in one brushstroke….this pic depicts a harsh reality in India and we are all aware of it..even the ”civil society wallahs”as you call them…so please get off your high horse and tell us what you have done besides publishing this pic?Did you even click it?
I work in an ngo in the slums…what do you do mr/ms Author?
Hi Indyeah,
With due respect to your work(may your tribe increase), I think the point that mr/ms Author here is trying to make is that there are two different worlds with totally different considerations…I personally feel he isnt preaching here…
Regards,
Sathya
Well water is the key to life and we may have super computers but if we have no source of water you know whats going to thrive. I am appalled at the indifference shown by our politicians to ensure a decent supply of the same to all groups of people, if there is going to be a 3 world war its going to be for WATER.
Mani or Manvi?
The problem is not pinkchaddi/pubs/pseudo-intellectuals. Think of those brethern who doesn’t have clothes- not what you send to sriramasena members, some old ones and some dirty like their minds- why did they not think of those people? People in villages doe not know the meaning of PUBS and what they do there. And the media repeatedly showed them 24X7. The same media doesn’t bother about the rural problems. Or these problems donot confine to rural segment only. Even in cities we have similar problems. Who coined Talibanization? What do they mean by it? Who was responsible for giving prominence to Bhindranwale? What were the reercussions? Who declared emergency? Who are creating vote-banks on different criteria? What you sow you reap the benefits. Have vision. Proper Visions. Then everything will be good for this Great Country.
M J Akbar puts it beautifully in TOI..
” There is national schizophrenia and media dyslexia at the quixotic elevation of Indian poverty in Anglo-America. The Indian well-fed have perfected their formula: they exploit poverty when they can [witness how they generally behave towards domestic servants, mostly children] and keep a safe distance when they cannot. The English-speaking Mumbaikar finds it so much more pleasant to see Dharavi through Hobowood (what else would you call a partnership of Hollywood and Bollywood?) than stop at the great slum on the way to the airport. Fiction is so much more palatable than fact. It comes dressed in A R Rahman’s music. ”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Columnists/M-J-Akbar-Fiction-vs-facts/articleshow/4206442.cms
Fully agree with Indyeah. When kumaraswamy organised the maha rally at palace grounds – instead of apologising to the harassed traffic weary public, he said the urban blore should understand the rural concerns!
You are dangerously close to this kind of bigotry, author. India is big enough for all kinds. The poor are not necessarily helpless and the rich are not all that stupid.
It is this sensibility in Churmuri which makes me crave for it for it everday. Continue with your content-mix
Why go so far? Here in Bangalore, thousands fetch water using similar plastic pots.
@ indyeah,
“I work in an ngo in the slums…what do you do mr/ms Author?”
its gr8 to know tht u r working in an NGO.. i respect u for tht..
but thts not a ryt way of questioning or taunting the author.
whether he is able to do anythng or not. atleast he has a pure heart which undestnds the reality and has posted it to share it with others..! try to understnd that..!!!!
“Did you even click it?”
does it matter whether the author clicked it or someone els?
P.S: indyeah, dont take me in a wrong way! the pic has truly melted me with the scenario of india.. with a busy life and recession prob front of us, i can only pray to god and ask him to bless evryone!
To the other sathya,
I am not so sure what is the central point of your angst… If your question is why is the Media so urban centered in its coverage I feel its a mix of laziness(easy approach to stories…) another disturbing trend that I see is the increasing role being played by media or the attempts it is making at being an opinion maker. Though the big 2(ibnlive and ndtv as represented by Mr Sardesai and Ms Dutta) in the hoot http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=3553&pg=1&mod=1§ionId=1§ionname=MEDIA%20WATCH&valid=true
want us to believe…
As against your other point…why should it be important – “Who coined the term talibanization?”
It represents a level of insensitivity to culture or value that is different from ours.
And that precisely is what is increasingly happening around us… do you really want to blame the media for imposing the term ‘talibanization’ on us?
Cheers,
Sathya(kaisertalk)
Awesome lets have bindige tax on bisleri (enforced by ministry of bottled water that has a cabinet minister and some 10,000 clerks and secretaries), and make it so expensive that everyone will have to go fetch water :)
Some thirty years ago Mineral (rather bottled – there is nothing mineral about this) water was a rarity in Indian cities. It was confined to the rich and elite frequenting five star hotels. This bottled water is now consumed by the emerging middle class. We do not fret and fringe for paying 10- 20 rupees to consume natural resources like water. How times have changed.
Our ground water is polluted and so are our rivers and streams. Our lakes stink. Bangalore’s river Vrishabhavathi is a sewage drain. The private businessmen now have got all control over such an essential item like drinking water. This can go a long way in what will result in the imposition of water slavery. Wars indeed will be fought over water.
The poor classes of our soceity unfortunately has to rely on government taps, wells, lakes and rivers for water. There are many villages where water is not plumbed into the house but needs to be picked up from these sources. Even in earlier times Dalits were denied access to certain public wells and rivers by the upper castes. But the problem in those times was not so grave as the population was sparse and the resources were in plenty. With our growing population we are now leading into an era where we will start fighting for life-essential resources. It is water next. One fine day in the future we will fight for air. This is Kali Yuga swami.
see the tags for the article!
and why should we also read: Yedi is fiddling when namma naadu is burning…. along with this article?
Churumuri: You mad or what?
You don’t need to go to Raichur or Bidar. Travel just 30-40 KM from Bangalore, you will meet the people who ferry water from 5-6 KM from their villages.
sorry about the personal rant there…apologies if it sounded like that
apart from the ‘did you click it ‘and ‘what do you do’, I stand by the rest of the comment..
first of all due apologies to the author..I fell into the ad hominem trap..sorry..it was a moment of sheer despair..the lines that India has been divided on..rural/urban….religious/caste/regions/educated/uneducated,poor/rich…
and ofcourse the efforts always to pull down one while glorifying the other…
let me rephrase the comment
my question is simply this …why is it that one section of India is made to feel guilty?agreed…we are the typical example of the numb Indians who would rather overlook poverty even when its right under our nose…
but couldnt this piece have been titled ,”a harsh reality ” or something appropriate?Something that odes not seek to choose villains but rather portrays the relaity as it is..
or is it that without ‘villains'(read ‘civilsocietywallhs,all of us in one broad sweep! )..there can be no
victims’?
why pull one India down inorder to describe the plight of the other?
why not simply say that this too Is India and ask us as to what we are doing to improve it?
why this headline ?or is it that this results in a newsworthy kinda headline?
and by the way if I get into semantics..well then who really guzzles a bisleri bottle sexily?apart from the models in the ads??
for that matter ho many urban Indians or civil society wallahs buy bottled water?
thank you Sathya and swetha:)
apology given:)
I take back my earlier comments with apologies!
Making nasty comments online can land you in jail
Pallavi Paul / CNN-IBN
New Delhi: Do you open up most when you’re online? Well, don’t. Nineteen-year-old Ajith rallied against the Shiv Sena on his Orkut community. Now he risks being thrown in jail. Thanks to a recent observation by the Supreme Court, which could become a template for all future cases.
“There are so many charges against Ajith, such as x, y, z. Our constitution does not allow such activity so it is not acceptable,” says Cyber lawyer Karnika Seth.
There are punishments for posting obscenity, inciting public disharmony, intimidation, even defamation. The problem is that how will these laws be interpreted.
In the heat of the Mumbai attacks, Cheytanya Kunte blogged against journalists revealing vital info on TV. He was forced to apologise by the channel.
Gaurav Sabnis complained about the standards of teaching at a Management institute. His write-up was forced off the net. Rashmi Bansal, who wrote about the same topic faced the music too.
“I personally don’t believe in deleting comments, the blog is like my living room, the door is open and people can come and join it but I can’t be held responsible for what they say,” says Founder and Editor of youth magazine JAM, Rashmi Bansal.
What is worrisome about the Supreme Court’s latest stand is that people like Rashmi could be threatened with jail, if anyone finds her writing offensive or untrue.
Bloggers are now crying foul and demanding freedom of expression online. If someone finds this offensive can they be hauled to court too?
“With the kind of laws that exist, it is very easy for a blogger to be dragged to court. Now, a journalist has the means to fight such cases, but a poor fellow sitting in Bangalore, him getting out or work to go defend himself is very problematic,” says blogger Amit Varma.
So, next time you upload a video to youtube or a photo to Flickr, message your friends on Facebook or update your blog make sure you aren’t breaking the law.
Watched a program on TV about a guy from Colorado who went to Siddapura (behind Jayanagar 1st block) and taught poor kids at a school skateboarding. And gave them a few skateboards. Basically to instill a sense of self-esteem in kids without giving charity. The program was amazing, esp. the ending. Small clips are on youtube:
http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=115234
Mangalore: Wetlands are vanishing!
In Coastal areas wetlands are manifested as estuaries, marshes, bogs, ponds and paddy fields which are abundant in and around coastal cities like Mangalore, Udupi, Kundapur, Bhatkal, Honnavar and Karwar this region has been rated at class A water bodies in the international charter of wetlands, but the real estate lobby here does not care and neither the state government says the greens. These water bodies have been neglected and are fast disappearing.
Forget the bindige, I want to know if this girl and boy are on a date. What is their relation? And to prove their purity and protect our sanskriti let her tie a rakhi to him or let him tie a Thaali to her. This is an abomination of our culture to show people dating. What is in the bindige I say? I bet it is filled with beer from some pub. Why are they hiding their faces?
And why is the boy not in a panche? Wearing pants and shorts are an insult to Kannadigas everywhere. I am ashamed such things are going on in the land of Kaveri.
And which loafer photographer is responsible for this photo? He or she is peddling pornography I say!
Jay Bharata jananiYa TanujaTe!! Jaya hey Karnataka Maate. Jaya sundara Nadhi VanaGala Naade, Jaya hey RasahRushiGala Beede.
Cheers Indyeah,
I am sure the author nor Swetha wouldn’t expect you to formally give an apology :)
And regarding your points, I have a differnt take…
So if a photograph manages to reflect life so distinctly different from the comforts that some of us have began to take for granted, I dont think it is with an aim to portray us as the villains and those enduring the hardship(depicted in the pic) as the victims. This is where we differ from the Amitabh Bachhan(of the Deewar period) films where there would be a villain and a victim enjoying differing lifestyles and differing levels of comfort…
The aim of such a photograph would be primarily to drive home the point that several comforts that we take for granted arent enjoyed sweepingly by all across the country…and we need that sensitivity to recognize the difference.
At the end of the day as the cliche goes a picture speaks more than a thousand words and it is upto us to allow it to impact us in anywhich way that we want.
woahhh… I am sermonizing now…I shall stop :)
Cheers,
Sathya (Kaisertalk)
PS: I need some differentiation from the other Sathya :(
Your concern about young lads carrying water great distances, that too bare footed is quite well placed. But, does that mean people who have access to potable water should feel guilty? This is the kind of work, which the Government and the Local Authorities have to undertake. Can individuals solve this problem? Just as I had suggested earlier, why HDK cannot contribute out of his wealth to finish the school he had sanctioned, probably Gani Dhanis can contribute money to Raichur to solve this problem.
Without meaning to sound complacent about the comforts of urban life, I may say that in India you will find 19th, 20th and 21st centuries living side by side. This is a country, where Aryabhatta satellite, and Rocket parts are carried on bullock carts and bicycle carriers! The solution lies elsewhere, not in making urban folks feel guilty.
Who is the moron that is dipicting this photo as a symbol of despair?
Clearly, he thinks there many-many-many children on ಮಾತ್ರ ಭೂಮಿ who are worse-off than this.
Idiot, you are, author.
I use to carry 15-20 kodas every day to get water in my home town.
As a result my shoulders are far more strong and i can fight with any urban lad and kick him right away.
think always positivly.
I think many people raise valid points here. @BNG’s comment about the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries coexisting in India is very apt.
Many of the concerns related to potable water are common to urban and rural folks in our country. In the past these were common topics of discussion in urban circles and water shortage did get a lot of attention in the media. Nowadays, while those concerns have not gone away for the urban people at large, they have found ways to cope up or smart ways to store water and such issues are not very much highlighted.
This article is similar to the elite west talking about poverty.
For us (BJP supporters), Women suppressors are Arabians and Pinkos are Americans. Both are useless.
rajkiran,
Your Ram Sene, VHP, RSS are also good women suppressors. And caste suppressors too.
Illustrating “objectivity” – “Your Ram Sene, VHP, RSS are also good women suppressors. And caste suppressors too.”