Shall we celebrate Diwali when Ra.One is winning in multiple disguises?

In protest against the dark forces of corruption and food adulteration that are wrecking our lives, I shall urge all of you for your participation and support for a Nationwide Black Diwali march on Wed. 26th October morning 10am-12am. In Delhi, it will start from Central Secretariat Metro Station to India Gate. 


A key trigger for this protest is to save our children from poisoned milk from the modern Putnas called Mother Dairy and other such around the country dishing out this cocktail of poisoned milk from this age's Putnas. Will today's Krishnas emerge to rip apart their poison yielding breasts? We shall also celebrate that day when it happens. 


The Ra.One of corruption in the form of mega-scams such as 2G, CWG, reckless urbanisation, "stingy" poverty line and numerous others is still having a roaring laughter over its invincibility. It also appears in the form of "development" in the form of the "Green Revolution" which is destroying our food system.


Ravan in the disguise of Green Revolution


Noted social activist, eminent farmer and one of the leaders of Chipko Aandolan and presently founder-leader of Beej Bachao Aandolan, Vijay Jardhari writes in his book on Barahnaja - Prosperous Traditional Agricultural Science, in a chapter titled : The Relentless Battering on Farmers in India (as I translate from Hindi):


"Farmers are getting battered. They didn't give in for considerable time but are now succumbing to the relentless battering. It seems as if that's their fate. In today's scenario, the first assault is from the very democratically elected governments, which implement the "new" development policies in the name of helping the farmers. But the real beneficiaries are the multi-national companies such as Mons(ter)anto (italics added), corporate and traders. This is the hidden form of the assault.


Green Revolution in India too was a similar form of disguised assault on farmers. If they hit straight, farmers would have struck back but the assault of Green Revolution was wrapped in an alluring and titillating form. This heinous assault reminds us of Sita's harana (kidnap). In those times, seers,sages and monks were highly respected. People used to pray and yearn for their sermons and blessings. They were fountains of kindness, compassion and knowledge. Such was the trust on them amongst people.

So, when a saint appeared before Sita, when Ram and Lakshman were not around and she was alone in the cottage, during their exile in the forests, she came out of her cottage to offer her alms. It was only when the saint refused to take the alms from inside the protected line that Lakshman had drawn. That meant that anyone who tried to trespass the protected line called Lakshman Rekha would be reduced to ashes. It was out of sheer respect for saints that Sita stepped out of the Lakshman Rekha. Ravan who was disguising as the saint, to draw Sita out, appears in his real form and kidnaps her.

Just as Ravan, Green Revoultion appeared in the disguise of development, progress and prosperity. Which is snatching away the traditional seeds and the traditional knowledge of farming practices from us."

Ravan today appears in several forms. Another disguise is the allure and promise of luxury housing from monthly installments, energy guzzling devices, private cars, shopping malls and together a new kind of lifestyle.


Ravan in the disguise of Reckless Urbanisation and Food Adulteration

"Food adulteration in India seems to be getting deadlier by the day. First we had some unscrupulous dairy farmers in western Uttar Pradesh inventing synthetic milk - a deadly cocktail of urea, caustic soda and vegetable oil. Then we had reports of fruits, particularly mangoes, being ripened with calcium carbide and now, there are reports of fish being made to appear fresh with formalin."

This is just another form of corruption. According to dairy experts, healthy milk for human consumption will cost close to Rs. 100 per kg.  As city limits keep gorging outwards, the cost of land, cost of fodder or the cost of transportation and losses when you have to bring this highly perishable commodity into the city from far is high and getting prohibitive. THIS IS A READY RECIPE FOR ADULTERATION OF A FOODSTUFF THAT WE FEED DAILY TO OUR CHILDREN. Vegetables grown on sewage along the drains and injected with chemicals to grow faster and painted to ripe faster or last longer are similarly loaded with toxic chemicals and posonous heavy metals.

As fuel price rocket further up, this is creating compounded problems of fuel adulteration and city pollution.

Once again, it is the Ravana of reckless and self-obsessed urbanisation in cohorts with greed and corruption, which is winning the battle. 

The challenge is how to raise awareness amongst people on these issues and to mobilise them for action. One powerful way is to relate these issues in a mythological context and to share the new story. 

Diwali is the celebration of Ram's return to Ayodhya after his victory over Ravan. Today, as I share as a poster below, dark forces have kidnapped Sita, first by showing her the allure of luxury apartments thru' EMI stretching the city limits outwards, power-guzzling devices for ever larger numbers and shopping malls instead of the golden deer in the mythological story. 

In the earlier times, seers,sages and monks were highly respected. People used to pray and yearn for their sermons and blessings. They were fountains of kindness, compassion and knowledge. Such was the trust on them amongst people. People have similar respect and admiration for "material progress" and "prosperity" today. That's what makes the Sita of today to cross the Lakshman Rekha of environment limits and pay the "price" to be a part of all the "material progress" and "prosperity".

In the presently unfolding story, the trap of progress and prosperity is so vicious that she may not even realise that she has been duped and captivated.

This Kartik Amavas on 26th October, it's Ra.One who is winning, in yet another disguise.

To share this story, raise awareness and as a mark of protest against the perpetrators and accomplices of these heinous crimes, I shall urge esteemed members for support and participation of a Black Diwali protest march on the 26th October, 10am-12am from Central Seretariat Metro Station to India Gate.

Ravan in the disguise of India's Planning Commission

In our action, we shall also be joining in and expressing our solidarity with Dr. Sandeep Pandey, social activist against this another corruption - the stingy and shameful definition of THE POVERTY LINE, which is in reality THE STARVATION LINE as the world knows it :


This year the festival of light Diwali will be plunged into darkness for Magasaysay awardee and social activist Sandeep Pandey. There will be no crackers, no illuminations and no festivities. Sandeep ji will be also on a five day fast from Diwali at his ashram in Lalpur of Hardoi district around 55 km from Lucknow.


"We are protesting against this ridiculous definition of poverty given by the planning commission which says that person doing expenditure of Rs 32 per day in urban areas as Rs 28 per day in rural area, will not be considered below poverty line."

Online References:

1. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/take-food-safety-seriously/1/152809.html

2. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/mortuary-chemical-formalin-used-on-your-fish/1/152653.html

3. http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=15&contentid=2011092920110929042311796aa22c37f

4. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Spurious-sweets-racket-busted-in-Gr-Noida-1-quintal-khoya-seized/articleshow/10433746.cms

5. http://www.countercurrents.org/dsharma201011.htm

Announcement - Social Entrepreneurship & Rubanisation Program in Delhi NCR

Subsequent to the inaugural Workshop on Rubanisation on the 24th of September, we have been on the look out for suitable areas to implement our pilot Ruban Settlements as well as to network with leaders and experts in the 4 areas of opportunity as we have identified for our Social Entrepreneurship Program especially targeted at youth, but open to all ages.

In this regard, I'm happy to share that we have made good inroads in our engagements in Safdarjung Development Association/Hauz Khas and in Model Town Civil Lines Area. We are in parallel exploring outer areas in Uttaranchal and in the Braj Region. However, considering the logistical and intellectual issues, I believe that it is of strategic importance that we focus first on creating a nodal Ruban Settlement within Delhi Region.

In SDA, we met with the President of the RWA Ms. Madhu Bala, eminent residents and office bearers as well as other stakeholders such as NGOs - Navjyoti Foundation, Dhyan Foundation and Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan. We also were introduced to Kiran Walia, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, who was a special guest at the Dussehra celebrations at SDA park where we were also invited to share about Rubanisation and a play called as Ruban Ramayana - Ancient Ramayana in a Modern Idiom on the 6th of October. Later in the evening, we will be meeting Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, Architect and SDA resident, as also referred to us by Madhu Bala ji, President SDA RWA. Our presentation was roundly appreciated and applauded by a gathering of about 2000 residents.

In Model Town, we met with the Councillor Mr. Raj Khurana, and on his reference, will be meeting Area in-charge for Derawala area Mr. Surendra Gupta. We have also surveyed the area where there are big parks and other land available for urban farming and arts & crafts workplaces, which will be closely located.  

In tandem, I would like to request for your support as anchors/key advisors for each of the areas as follows. In due course, I shall also seek your advice and support to form the RIF Board at the National level in India and for raising funds. So far, we have received a fairly good response to our initiatives, which we need to further engage and consolidate as funding support for our programs and organisational expenses. In my experience so far, we have to particularly cater to the needs of our younger members and volunteers. :

Dr. Aseem Srivastava - Ecological Awareness and Eco-friendly Practices, Int'l experiences and insights on youth and culture

Sunny Narang - Arts & Crafts ( Sachindra Nath Jha - artist/painter, Alka Vikash - singer/performer)

Shubho Sengupta - Social Media 

Dr. Madhu Khanna - Cultural Heritage

Kumar Saurabh - Lifeskills Training

Chandra Vikash - Efficient & Eco-friendly Transportation

Ajay Mahajan - Urban Farming ( Request Sunny to fwd this mail to him and keep us copied)
Katyayini Kabir Kakar - Outreach Program - Rubanite Mobilizer and Volunteers

Areas of Opportunity

1.     Food, Health and Nutrition

a.     Urban Farming – local land, local kitchen waste, local water, local skills and hands, local supervision

b.     Cooking & Food Processing

c.      Retailing – Food Stalls/Home Delivery

2.     Efficient & Eco-friendly Transport Service

a.     Short-term and Feeder trips

b.     User-friendly Car Pooling

3.     Arts & Crafts

a.     For interior decoration and utility

b.     Outdoor theme parks and street furniture

4.     Social Media

a.     Digital Media – Facebook, Google, Blogs etc.

b.     Local Media – Ruban Community News &

Prospective Sites

1. Safdarjung Development Area/ Hauz Khas – Focused as a Nodal Ruban Settlement – Research & Knowledge Center

2.     Model Town/ Civil Lines – Focused as Resource Base Ruban Settlement -Training and Production Center

Program

Sl. No.	Activity	Duration / Commencing from (tentative)**
1.	“Learn & Earn” in the 4 areas + Life Skills Training Workshops – 6 weeks duration*	1st Batch: 8 weeks / 30th Oct.’11 – 30th Dec.’11
2.	Social Entrepreneur Selection & Support	5th Jan.’12
3.	Outreach & Fund Raising Campaign	Ongoing
4.	Ruban Settlement – Stakeholders Workshop / Formation of Ruban Settlement Society and Ruban Council in each area	22nd Oct. ‘11/24th Oct.
5.	Ruban Settlement – Detailed Project Report Development	2 months/ 15th Nov. ‘11– 15thJanuary ‘12

*Applications will be called in each of these areas for the training program. Candidates can also pay in full or partially for the Workshop thru’ specified hours of Community Service.
** Any changes will be updated by 18th October.

Ancient Ramayana in a Modern Idiom

Banawaas in Bangalore

When Ram breaks the news of his exile to the modern Sita, she is not too happy. She is practically concerned about the fact that with so much of deforestation and Maoist unrest in the forest areas, exile in the forests (banwaas) is going to be lots tougher than it was in the ancient times. 

After much deliberation they chose to settle in Bangalore for their exile from Dasratha’s capital. On reaching in Bangalore by train in Sleeper Class as he is allowed to in his exile, Rama hires an apartment in BTM Layout and takes up a job in a Call Center in Electronics City. Lakshaman is still on the hunt for his job and running around various placement agencies in the city. At the end of the day, he reaches Ram’s office and they travel together back home by bus. 

Sita takes a good liking for Bangalore. She likes the weather and friendly neighbors. Over time though she begins to feel a little bored as lots of her women neighbors come back late from office or are busy watching television serials during the day and also playing out some of the snobbery, greed, selfishness and bitchiness  that they see on television in real life. Back home in the Capital City, she had good company where she would engage in cooking, kitchen gardening and some hand crafts. To pass her time in “busy” Bangalore, she too begins to feel the need for a television.

Ram on the other hand is still the idealist, the maryada purushottam even in these modern times, and sticks to it. There is lots of peer pressure on him to buy a private car, but he is not swayed as he is fully aware that counter-intuitively every one suffers if people keep buying cars and running them with empty seats. That’s a root cause of the distress and frenzy in the city due to traffic congestion and vehicular pollution. Yet, the pressure mounts up when his juniors at the Call Center too buy a car of their own. Even Lakshaman gets swayed for a while but realizes his mistake and fully supports his elder brother.

Surpanakha lures Rama with her swanky SX4 Car

In the modern time, Surpanakha takes back her birth name of Meenakshi. She spots the handsome and dignified Rama standing at the bus stop, waiting to return home. She swirls and swerves her car in front of Ram ,but he is unmoved. A few days later while Ram is in a hurry to return home,to tend to an ailing Sita,he accepts a lift from Meenakshi. On the way, they pick up Lakshman and keep moving. Meenakshi, smitten by his youthful good looks, proposed to Ram. He, however, spurned her advances, telling her that he was devoted to his wife, Sita, and that he would never take another wife. Ram then slyly suggested that she approach his younger brother, Lakshmana, with her proposition.

Lakshmana reacted in a similar manner, snubbing Meenakshi and telling her that she was not what he desired in a wife. Realizing eventually that the brothers were making fun of her, the humiliated and jealous Meenakshi swore to take revenge. She found out about Ram’s place and went over to threaten Sita and told her to back off or pay the price. Sita immediately called up Lakshman, who intervened and threw her out of the house. This was the last nail in the coffin for Meenakshi.

As she walks towards her car hurling abuses at Sita, Lakshman follows her to her car. He picks up an iron rod nearby and smashes the windscreen of the swanky car as Surpanakha vrooms away noisily scaring away all the passers by and children playing on the roadside.
   

Sita’s Virtual Harana (Captivity)

She drives straight to her brother Ravana’s palatial bungalow in Jorbagh. She hurriedly recounts her experiences and goads Ravana to immediately take action.

Ravana is a media baron and produces television serials. He stays in a palatial bungalow in Jorbagh in New Delhi. He calls in his counsel and advisors for a boardroom meeting.  After much hard headed thinking they rule out the ancient trick of sending a golden deer. The concerns are that the deer could in no way reach Sita’s seventh floor residence passing all the security at the apartment.

So, the scheming Ravana plots for a virtual captivity for Sita by getting her addicted to television serials. So, he at once launches a TV serial called Big Loss 5 and announces a lucky draw. He then manipulates the lucky draw to offer the latest brand of television set  at Sita’s mobile number.

Sita who by now was already beginning to feel lonely in her apartment get’s allured to the offer and asks Ram to get the gift offer television set from the showroom. While Ram is away, Lakshman thinks aloud with Sita about the new television soap serials which were spoiling people’s relationships and eating away people’s time. Such that there was even less time or willingness to engage socially and make people even lonelier as a result. He recollects the events of the earlier times and draws a Lakshman Rekha by advising Sita not to watch certain serials like Big Loss 5 and Kuchh To Log KKarenge, which he noticed were advertised all over the city. The promotional for Big Loss 5 also appears on national news channels that Sita watches and is convinced that it must be good, to appear on national news channels.

She decides to check out the serial and after watching a few episodes, she gets hooked to it. The scheming media baron Ravana thus succeeds in her plan of the virtual captivity of Sita and thus wrecks her revenge. He even now plans to invite Sita for Big Loss 6.

Lakshman faints from exertion and junk food

Lakshman who is still hunting for a job in Bangalore, comes home early tired and exhausted. He greets Sita and asks if there is some food to eat. While watching her favorite serial, Sita who would usually get up and offer some sweets and water to Lakshman, continues watching the serial. She shouts from the TV room, asking Lakshman to take some cold water from the fridge and some potato chips. She tells him that if she is even more hungry, he should take out a pack of 2-minute Fraggi noodles from the kitchen and cook it by himself.

Lakshman has already been feeling sick of eating so much of junk food when he is outside home. He is right now too shocked at Sita’s behavior and faints out of depression. Sita immediately calls up Rama from her mobile phone. Rama takes an early leave from his office and also calls up Dr. Jambavant Saxena to visit Lakshman at his house immediately.

Upon checking Lakshman’s health and carefully studies the overall situation. He recommends that to revive Lakshman’s health and to help him recover from his depression, Rama must ask the TV broadcasters to play Sanjeev Kapur’s tasty and healthy recipes. Once Sita watches them on television and makes those dishes for Lakshman, he should be fine once again.

Hanumaan is thus assigned the task of finding out Sanjeev Kapur and asking him to appear on a TV show. He is further directed that he should visit various TV studios and wherever he spots pictures of tasty and healthy food or smells them, he should know that Sanjeev Kapur must be around.

After much hunting of studios after studios, Hanumaan discovers one as he was directed and not sure who Sanjeev Kapur is picks up the entire studio and flies it back to near Ram’s apartment. Sita could now watch LIVE the food show by Sanjeev Kapur.  Lakshman is back to the pink of health.

Ram’s resolve to save the society from dependency on cars and socially damaging TV serials

Ram is quite concerned about this whole episode. So, he writes letters, files Public Interest Litigation to stop the broadcasting of serials such as Big Loss 5 and proposes that TV serial producers should also be brought under Anna Hazaare’s Lokpal Bill. He also files an RTI application to get the details about who is funding these serials.

He then meets up with the TV producers, censor boards, leaders and eminent social workers to garner support for his cause.

After 3 months, when no action is taken Ram calls up Hanumaan and asks him to prepare the Vaanar Sena to destroy the new Lanka of TV channels. He personally leads the attack against the producers of Big Loss 5 and kills Ravana, the media baron.

Sita upon learning about the truth stops watching Big Loss 5. She hears about a new group who are working on a new idea called Rubanisation. She finds out from her Facebook account about Rubanite volunteers who are creating awareness for urban gardening in her locality. This also rekindles her old passion in farming when she was a school kid, learning the skills from her father.

So, instead  of watching serials, Sita now organizes her neighbors to grow vegetables in small and large pieces of land in her apartment complex. They collects old tubs, buckets, cement tanks etc. and start gardening. One group would collect the kitchen waste and compost it. Another group would water the plants. Within months, the apartment community would share the vegetables amongst themselves and sell off the surplus produce.

Inspired by Ram’s idealism to use public transport many of his neighbors sold off cars or put off the idea of buying new cars. Instead they decided to use public transport or to car pool to their workplace and also for social trips. This also meant that more space was available in the neighborhood for urban gardening.

By the time Rama’s 14 year exile in Bangalore ends, the city is now self-sufficient in vegetables and even some fruits that are grown locally and are also free of chemicals and pesticides. The traffic situation is much better as few people own cars and those who do, share and car pool. Bangalore now consists of 70 Ruban Settlements of 1 km. length in diameter. The lakes and greenery are restored to their past glory and the city is naturally air-conditioned once again.

Ram Rajya had already arrived thru’ the Rubanisation model, even before Rama returned to the Capital City from his exile.