What's there in to Cheer about the global melt down???

Note: The Views expressed are purely personal. No offense is meant against anyone and any inadvertent offense is apologized.
A couple of months back the hottest topic of debate had been the soaring oil prices and the resultant inflation in the country. Every body is talking about the global melt down today.
Whenever inflation strikes hard, it is the poor who get affected the most. I am not an economist and let me not show my ignorance by talking about inflation, however let me look at a lesson that we can take home in this global melt down.
We did not have many choices in the clothes we wore, or in the channels that we saw when we were growing up as kids. I still vividly remember those days when we would wait for the songs bouquet on Friday evenings in the state owned DD. Things have changed so rapidly. Our previous generation folks are seeing the effects of globalization in the evenings of their life and hence it does not have as much of negative impacts on them as it would do to our generation. Every body in the youth group wants to wear only branded dresses and shop in malls, eat in posh restaurants whether they earn or not. Spend thriftiness has become the culture of the young students and professionals. I am not against globalization but I am certainly against unrestrained consumerism. Is not the sub prime crisis a result of promoting unwanted consumerism????
Therefore, I have some thing to cheer about the global melt down even though I am worried as I would be searching for a job to make a living in a couple of months now as my studies near their end at the time of a crisis.
We have witnessed the results of an unchecked consumption. It is not an aberration in today's economic scenario but a reminder to humanity about the unsustainable life styles we tend to adopt. Today we are shown luxuries as necessities by the media day in and day out. Why do I say this? Because though 70% of Indians live in villages, 30% are below poverty line ( meaning earning less than a dollar a day) with another 30% in the lower middle class income group, 70% of the bollywood seems to be interested only in the higher income group which is only 10-20%. The problem is I cant afford to own a car but I can afford to own a tv and I see all sorts of nice cars everyday in the TV which I own!!! So what do I do, as soon as I get a job I buy a car in EMI, do shopping on credit, change my life style and spend more!!! The greed increases and I work like a donkey to earn more and spend more.
India is on a new growth trajectory and the entire world has to pause and look at us with awe for we are going to lead the world. But India is also seeing a decline in culture and moral values which has been its greatest strength for ages and ages. The global meltdown is but a starting point if we don't check greed and consumerism for the resources in the world are limited but not the desires of man. It is high time we realize that the resources in this world are limited and use more of our discriminative power to know the difference between needs and wants.
Let me end with what the father of our nation has said "There is enough in this world for every one's need but not for even one man's greed"

The Ground Nuts and The Weighing Scale

I see them every day as I walk towards the place of my worship. One is an old man with a small basket of ground nuts trying to sell them- no shouting; no attempts to grab attention; patiently waiting. The other is an old woman with a small mobile weighing scale offering the passers by to check their weight for a one rupee coin- once again no attention grabbing; only patient waiting.

I wonder every day - How much do they make in a day - 25Rs? - 30 Rs?. Hunger has stretched its hands to the farthest extent and yet failed to wipe out the smile on their face! Poverty in its highest form has failed to steal their dignity! They have not stretched their palms to receive alms from better off citizens despite their old age!!! Probably a beggar was getting more money than them in a day!!

I look at them every day and say a prayer in my heart. I look at them and understand the term - Dignity of Labour. For every great man that enters the pages of history there are hundreds of thousands of such people - silent warriors of human glory.

These two people may not know of this blog in their life ( they may not even know how to read and write) but for me they are great human beings or what's more important - good human beings.

What Does Independence Mean?

Two Hundred and a Score Years ago Mother India asked of its children to give their Blood so that their children may breathe free air. Two Hundred years later Mother India does not ask of its children to give their Blood. But She asks them of their SWEAT!! Yes! She does not want Her children to die for Her anymore. She wants them to Live for Her.

Great Nations are formed out of Great Leaders but Great Leaders are born from Good Citizens. Before we ask of our leaders to be Great We need to become citizens who are responsible. Citizens who believe in the Brotherhood of Man and Fatherhood of God. This nation has time and again taught the west the Essence of Life. The Time has come when we have to introspect and rediscover the wisdom of this nation.

India's strength has its been rich culture. Today we are at a stage when we are almost throwing it away - Thanks to Globalization and Mass Media. We do not want to imbibe the rich public values and work culture that the West has as its strength. Rather we would like to take their materialism and consumerism and make them our own!!!!!!!! The west and the east have to meet- but it should be a confluence where we exchange what is good in both of us rather than what is easier to adopt.

Today we house the best brains of the world and yet we have a home where one third of its inmates go hungry with not even two square meals a day. There is no point in asking and waiting for someone to change things. Let us be the change we want to see for just as the body cannot be happy with one part ailing the society can not be happy with one section of it driven to the brink of extinction. In the body the message is transmitted immediately and directly, but in the society it is not immediate and not direct - it expresses itself in completely different morphological forms like terrorism and the like.
The time has come when the world's Youngest nation shows the world how to lead a better Life and not just how to have a better Living. The onus is on You and I.


Note: The views expressed are entirely my personal opinions. No offence is meant against anyone and my apologies if any sentiments are hurt inadvertently.