A Sacred River

As a boy, the story of the earth’s evolution filled my imagination with lakes, rivers and ocean with swimming pool like water --- transparent to the bottom. That would have been a billion years ago at least. And then little early forms of fishes swimming in these waters would have made it look like a giant fish tank. If I were there, all that I would have had do, was to stand at the bank and look deep into it, to see the fishes swimming right unto the bottom. But then that would have to be few hundred million years ago.

Not really.

In 1579 from his base in Goa, Portuguese Jesuit Father Antonio Monserrate was traveling to Agra to see the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The Emperor wished to learn about the Christian religion. The Jesuit traveled upcountry through central India and then to Agra. Somewhere in today’s Madhya Pradesh, he had to cross the Narmada River. What he saw on reaching there in his own words:

“It is full of fish, and its water is so clear that the fish and turtles, and even smaller pebbles, can be counted. It banks are covered with thick reed-beds, and with health-giving herb marjoram”

In total contrast, today Narmada’s waters are muddy and wash up a variety of filth, by the time it reaches Bharuch. Ironically, the more sacred a river is thought to be, larger the burden of human generated waste on it. Plastic bags, filth, tons of rotten flowers and food…

Looking back, the astonishing account of Narmada’s waters in the sixteenth century is hard-to-believe. But then that was only 430 years ago, not 100 million years back. We have managed to destroy so much in such little time. Our population bulge is as much to blame as the general apathy itself.

Successful Societies

What is the formula for successful and powerful nations/societies?

I have recently been reading a book where its central theme is a traveler in the sixth century, making his way into various parts of the Eastern Byzantine empire. Many of these cities were very prosperous. What strikes is that these cities are very cosmopolitan, attracting people from a large number of nationalities and ethnicities. Business and trade thrives in the bazaars of these cities. Innovative people bring their produce into these markets because these are the only few places on earth where they are quite likely to find patrons. Ideas generated in these fertile places lead to some great leaps in architecture, engineering, science, technology and art. Next, very important, these are no anarchic places. These cities are well governed. There is a rule of law; capable of enforcing itself.

The more you dig into the past, you’d find that for success, you need to be a society/state that is moderate, willing to absorb. Because that also means willingness to learn.

Which are the most powerful places today on our planet? Do they have features? To my mind, it’s been the UK in recent centuries and the US in the 19th & 20th century. They could absorb and utilize minds from various places. From Jewish bankers to Chinese engineers. From Scotsmen to Brazilians. The US fares so much better than say, Germany or Japan, that are homogenous societies. Both have been powerful, but only to a much smaller extent and only intermittently. In comparison, the US and UK have held power over a very long time.

Has our history been that of a plural society? We’ve had to absorb a large number of invaders from the west and north. In addition, internal immigration seemed to have been very much the norm in India. However, so little is really known about our past.

The Myth of Cheap

There is a popular saying that there is no free lunch. How true. In real life someone has to pay the price. Are countries like India and China really cheap? How come China produces its stuff so cheap?

Someone pays the price. The roadside foodstall is cheaper than the pucca shop 7 feet inside. Reason? The roadside stall pays an illegal rent (hafta?) which is fraction of the cost of the rent paid by a competitor housed in a legitimate piece of real-estate. The cost of transporting a truckload of sand in India is a fraction of its cost in the US. Why? Because the truck used is often very old, whose debt has been long repaid; it may not be road-fit but it can still go on and even spill some sand on the road. What about the counterpart in a developed country? He must invest heavily to keep a road-fit relatively new truck; employ safety tools to ensure that no sand spills on the road. Who pays the price for cheap sand transportation in India or similar countries? People do. The spilling sand destroys road surfaces worth crores of rupees, as moving vehicles keep rubbing the sand onto the road surface. Then goes a cycle of suffering and costs that people must endure for bad roads, including delay and larger fuel consumption.

Why it is cheap? Lands are doled out in subsidies. Especially in relation to China, I read reports of very cheap lands allocated to do business. Lack of safety regulations translating into no investments necessary for safety and health of public at large and workers more specifically. Similarly in relation to other regulations. For example, commercial production/activities in residential areas, thereby saving taxes and electricity tariff -- leaving the government and taxpayer short changed. The fault is also as much with us. We prefer all kinds of savings by evading regulations when it is related to self, but then hypocritically expect developed countries like safety norms, facilities and infrastructure.