O P I N I O N S

THIS ABOVE ALL
First installation of Adi Granth
Khushwant Singh
Not many people, including Sikhs, know that Saturday, the first of September, invoked the first time that the Adi Granth was installed as representative of all the Ten Gurus of the Sikhs. I got to know because I keep Bhai Chattar Singh Jiwan Singh’s Jeewan Diary beside me on my desk. It is the only diary which records Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs’ historical events, including births and deaths of their holy men. It was in this that I located Guru Gobind Singh’s “Bichitra Natak” and many other poems in Sanskrit, Persian and Punjabi. In a brief life span of 40 years, preoccupied with fighting the Mughals, he found time to put his thoughts in poetry. One is particularly significant, as it records why he set up the Khalsa Panth.

fifty fifty
The rocket science of book launches
kishwar desai
The ‘book launch’ phenomenon has now developed a unique Indian identity, probably because neither are books launched anywhere else in the world with the same fervour as in India, nor do we find so many authors willing to write copious invitation lists as enthusiastically as they sign lucrative contracts! Also, as the rest of the world turns to Kindle, we have increasingly become the hub for real ‘words on paper’ books.

ground zero
A game-changer, only if he stays the course
raj chengappa
After months of dithering, it is good that the real Manmohan Singh is now finally standing up. Those who attended the Planning Commission meeting held in Delhi on Saturday noticed the change in the Prime Minister, who was chairing it. If a few days earlier he looked defensive, the Prime Minister now spoke with a new confidence and conviction. Just when Manmohan Singh’s stock had reached the nadir, the Prime Minister stunned his critics by pushing through some of the long-awaited economic reforms.

THIS ABOVE ALL
First installation of Adi Granth
Khushwant Singh

Not many people, including Sikhs, know that Saturday, the first of September, invoked the first time that the Adi Granth was installed as representative of all the Ten Gurus of the Sikhs. I got to know because I keep Bhai Chattar Singh Jiwan Singh’s Jeewan Diary beside me on my desk. It is the only diary which records Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs’ historical events, including births and deaths of their holy men. It was in this that I located Guru Gobind Singh’s “Bichitra Natak” and many other poems in Sanskrit, Persian and Punjabi. In a brief life span of 40 years, preoccupied with fighting the Mughals, he found time to put his thoughts in poetry. One is particularly significant, as it records why he set up the Khalsa Panth. It reads:

Although my thoughts were lost in prayer/ At the feet of Almighty God/ I was ordained to establish a sect and lay down its rules/ But whosoever regards me as Lord/ Shall be damned and destroyed/ I am – but the slave of God, as other men are,/ A beholder of the wonders of Creation

– Bichitra Natak

In his Zafarnama, he wrote:

I am the destroyer of turbulent hillmen/ Since they are idolators, I am breaker of idols

– Butshikan

Going bonkers

When I wake up, I am not sure if I am getting up after a night’s sleep or an afternoon siesta. The daylight appears much the same to me. I wait my daughter, Mala Dayal’s arrival to ask about what I would like to eat for my midday meal. I am confused to decide what time of the day it is. It is only then I am able to draw up my schedule of work for the day. And after I have done that I forget to do so.

When my readers ask me: “Have you stopped writing your columns for The Tribune and The Hindustan Times?” I reply bluntly: “No fears! I’ve never missed one in 70 years”. I realise I am going bonkers as I have missed quite a few and am totally confused.

Most people of my age (I am 98) are gone bonkers. Most of my friends call me a crackpot behind my back. I am fully aware of it. There is nothing much I can do. No one can put the clock back. Time moves on at an unrelenting pace.

Rau mein hai raksh-e-umr, kahaan dekhiye tthamey?/ Naa haath hai baagh par; no paa hai rakaab main.

(Life moves on at a galloping pace/ I know not where it will stop./ I do not have my hands on the reins./ I do not have my feet in the stirrups.)

Needless to say, I have accepted the fact that I have gone bonkers.

Doggy joke

One hot summer, a blonde came to town with her dog, tied it under the shade of a tree, and headed into a restaurant for something cold to drink. Twenty minutes later, a policeman entered the restaurant and asked: “Who owns the dog tied under that tree outside?” The blonde said it was hers. “Your dog seems to be in heat”, the officer said.

“No way”, the blonde replied, “She’s cool ‘cause she’s tied up under the shade of a tree”.

The policeman said: ‘No, you don’t understand. Your dog needs to be bred.” ”No way”, said the blonde. “My dog doesn’t need bread. She is not hungry ‘cause I fed her this morning.”

The exasperated policeman said: “No, you don’t understand. Your dog has to have sex!” The blonde looks at the cop and said: “Well, go ahead. I always wanted a police dog”.

Courtesy: Vipin Buckshey, Delhi

Papa Tiwari

What new meaning has ‘ND’ in Tiwari’s name acquired?

Ans: ‘Now Daddy’ Tiwari’s.

Tough nuts

What is common between Siachen and Sachin?

Ans: Both are difficult to cope with

Caution

Written outside the chamber of a dera chief:

“Leave your mobiles and worries here.”

Contributed by KJS Ahluwalia, Amritsar

fifty fifty
The rocket science of book launches
kishwar desai

The ‘book launch’ phenomenon has now developed a unique Indian identity, probably because neither are books launched anywhere else in the world with the same fervour as in India, nor do we find so many authors willing to write copious invitation lists as enthusiastically as they sign lucrative contracts! Also, as the rest of the world turns to Kindle, we have increasingly become the hub for real ‘words on paper’ books.

The excitement levels could match that of ISRO sending its 100th missile into outer space. Perhaps it is time to ask the space agency to invent a professional book launcher? Indeed, we authors have all become so addicted to these events that one wonders if we write books only so we can get them launched!

But like the Indian wedding, the Indian book launch also has its own logistics. The main protagonists in different levels of importance are the host, the publisher, the chief guest, the invited audience and the author. The author at this stage is the least relevant. The really important people are the chief guest and/or the discussant and the audience. Because without them the author doesn’t have a launch! And if the launch is in a big city, where it is competing with a thousand other events (apart from other book launches), then the tension and stress levels for the author and publisher rise even higher. Short of hiring an audience, desperate authors resort to every trick in the book, including calling every friend and family member they can think of!

But the welcome change over the years, thanks to publishers and authors vying for the top spot, is that book launches have become more interesting and diverse, as the discerning reader will not be drawn to just another boring social evening or ‘page three’ event. Intelligent discussion is now expected and attendees are not content with wine and a signed copy of the book — they demand answers to tough questions!

As a veteran of book launches in various countries and cities, one of the most pleasant experiences I recently had was to launch my book at a wonderfully quaint bookshop, Literati, in Candolim, North Goa. Literati is the brain child of Divya Kapur, who arrived in Goa in 2004 in search of the ideal lifestyle, and then dreamt up the bookshop the following year. Now nearly seven years later, Literati has established itself as a cosy book nook set inside an old Portuguese house with a sprawling garden. Not only does the energetic Divya conduct book related events and exhibitions at least twice a month, she also runs a regular book club where opinions are exchanged with enthusiasm. Thanks to Divya and the booklovers who support Literati, a community of readers is growing in the state. And this could not be more welcome as more and more authors seem to be settling down or seeking creative inspiration in Goa.

So not only was I delighted that “Origins of Love”, my new novel, was being launched at Literati, but also because my discussant and ‘book launcher-in-chief’ was the extremely versatile Wendell Rodricks, whom I had last met at the literary festival in Bhutan. Interestingly, Wendell, apart from being a celebrated fashion designer, has established himself very quickly as an equally talented author. His first book was the well researched “Moda Goa”, which explores the history of clothes and textiles in Goa. Wendell was encouraged to write this book by the wonderful artist Mario Miranda. He spent 11 years collating the information, as he felt he needed to correct a deep misconception — “When people spoke about Goan costumes, all they spoke about were the garments made in the Portuguese period that exists in the museums in Lisbon. I felt it unfair, as Goa does have a rich history of costume.”

But not resting after the success of this book, Wendell immediately wrote his second one. Juggling his busy designing career with writing was tough, as he had a demanding deadline, so he would often wake up at 4 am to write, and within four months he had another enthralling narrative to present, his autobiography, The Green Room.

I must admit I find Wendell fascinating. Not just for what he has achieved, but also for the sincerity and sensitivity with which he continuously sets out his goals and then makes the effort to reach there. Yet, like a true Goan, he remains rooted and very grounded.

Thus, I was thrilled when he told me (and later the audience at Literati) that he had loved my novel! I couldn’t have asked for more, nor for a better person to speak about my book, because Wendell not only understood the various issues about surrogacy that I tried to raise in the novel, he added a hefty dose of authenticity to the discussion by describing his own observations on surrogacy, when some of his friends had opted for it.

So I ended up having a truly magical book launch in Goa: the combination of Wendell Rodricks, Literati and a wonderful audience meant that this was both, a heart-warming as well as an intellectually stimulating experience. Literati was packed with an interested audience (who did ask a lot of tough questions) and as I signed books at the end, I wondered why people who come to Goa only think of bikinis, beer and beaches. There is a constantly evolving intellectual and creative dialogue flourishing peaceably in this marvellously salubrious environment.

And in this season of scams, it is this renaissance of ideas that should give us renewed hope.

ground zero
A game-changer, only if he stays the course
raj chengappa

After months of dithering, it is good that the real Manmohan Singh is now finally standing up. Those who attended the Planning Commission meeting held in Delhi on Saturday noticed the change in the Prime Minister, who was chairing it. If a few days earlier he looked defensive, the Prime Minister now spoke with a new confidence and conviction. Just when Manmohan Singh’s stock had reached the nadir, the Prime Minister stunned his critics by pushing through some of the long-awaited economic reforms.

The government went ahead with its much-delayed policy of opening up the multi-brand retail sector to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). For those like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had torpedoed a similar proposal last year, there was the face-saving option of individual states being given the choice of implementing the policy.

Then there was the more restrained FDI policy in the aviation sector that ensured that by capping it at 49 per cent, management control remained with the Indian entity. The broadcast sector too saw cautious reform with foreign investment limits being raised from 49 per cent to 74 per cent in the cable and direct-to-home segments. But there was no change in the earlier restriction of permitting only 26 per cent FDI in the news channel sector, which is a far more sensitive proposition.

The current round of reforms was aimed at uplifting the dipping global opinion about India, particularly its investment rating, which was in danger of being downgraded to “junk” status by international agencies. Such a rating would have resulted in a downward spiral in foreign investment, which could have dealt a body blow to India’s already flagging economic growth.

Along with the decision to raise diesel prices, the burst of reforms has sent a shot that is certain to ring across the world. It signalled that the Manmohan Singh government has ended months of policy paralysis and is pushing the Indian economy on to the growth path again.

Domestically, the government has changed the current political discourse and confounded its opponents in the process. “Coalgate”, the scam over allocation of coal blocks, which threatened to unseat the government, has temporarily been pushed out of the headlines. But this is more than just a diversionary tactic by the ruling dispensation. The Congress government has now sent a clear message that in its opinion, fixing the economy will determine the politics in the country, particularly the outcome of the next general election.

That Manmohan Singh was allowed to go ahead with bold moves to salvage the economy is an indication of how the pro-reform minority in the Congress has overcome the resistance from the Left-leaning conservatives that had slowed up the process over the past year. The turning point came when the assessment was that the current policy logjam would result in a plummeting economy, which would significantly hurt welfare schemes. For “inclusive” growth, the situation called for “full throttle” reforms that would unshackle the economy and bring growth back to 8 per cent annually, something Indians had become accustomed to.

That explains the apparent brinkmanship of the Congress government in the face of stiff opposition from its allies. Mamata Banerjee delivered an ultimatum threatening to withdraw support from the UPA if the government didn’t roll back the announcements. Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party too has voiced its opposition to the FDI measures and the hike in diesel prices.

Mamata and Mulayam believe they will gain substantially from a mid-term poll after their impressive wins in their respective Assembly elections, as does Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. But as the recent presidential poll indicated, there are not many parties willing to drop the UPA government at this juncture. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says it is ready for a poll, but its internal struggle for leadership, apart from dissensions within the NDA, does not work in its favour. Nor are many MPs willing to forego the remaining year and a half of their tenure in Parliament.

The Congress is banking on these factors to survive the current outcry, and push through with more reforms. But it would have to do more than just announce policies to attract foreign investment. For Indian business to pick up, urgent reforms are needed, such as arriving at a consensus on a land policy for industrial growth, which is now being stymied by a spate of protests and litigation.

What the Congress-led government needs to do is to take the public into confidence and tell them why it is important to push so hard on the economic front. Raising the diesel prices without sufficiently carrying out a campaign to educate the public about the imperatives saw the government facing stiff resistance and questions over its very survival.

There is little doubt that Manmohan Singh has introduced a game-changer. Now he has to ensure that he, his government and the Congress Party stay the course.

raj@tribunemail.com