The second chapter - by Varadh Raj

A video I happened to watch of Mr. Gowtham, an agriculturist made me think twice about us, our society and our country as a whole. When Mr. Gowtham and his friends were offered a salary of Rs. two lakh per month, they quit their job. The decision would ridicule many of us at first. But the reason he gave for this was indeed thought provoking.  He explained how the glitters of corporate life make (force) an individual to live in luxury that is beyond necessity. Once he gets a salary hike he makes up his mind to invest in a house or a car for which he takes a loan with EMI. This gets him indebted to pay the EMI amount for the next ten years or so. This payment cannot be stopped (unless he wants to fall in deep trouble) or the amount reduced, even if there is a recession or any other calamity or if he loses his job. The banks will show no mercy on him. Ultimately, the individual is trapped in the future for what may seem luxurious and affordable today.

Now that many of us including myself belong to the corporate world, this is great message for us. Mr. Gowtham is an agriculturist today, earning rupees seventy-five thousand per month!

I want to discuss another issue here which I’d like to link with Mr. Gowtham’s views later. This is about our great loyal politicians who allowed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India. Wal-Mart has opened their distribution network in Chennai. As per the rules and regulations, they have not opened any store in India but have opened a distribution center through which they buy materials on bulk and supply to the Kirana stores, departmental stores, etc. Thus, Wal-Mart has not opened one shop, but thousands of shops that are indirectly owned by Wal-Mart at the back end (as supplier). This shows that, once all the FDI issues have settled down Wal-Mart can increase the rates to customers which being Kirana stores and other small stores. This would lead to their closing down gradually due to lack of margin.  Finally, in the long run when most of the small shops are closed down due to affordability issues, Wal-Mart may give its helping hand to India by opening stores where customers can afford goods at a cheaper price, which our mom and pop shops couldn’t do. And we in turn would start praising Wal-Mart.

 But the bottom line is that this is going to be a big blow to the farmers and the mom and pop shop-walas in the long run. Just looking at the statistics or having a bird’s eye view of all this will not help in understanding their sufferings (and in turn ours too) practically.  Politicians and big guys like Wal-Mart play using that very trump card and sustain their business.

Ultimately, they are shaking the backbone of India!

Now, linking both the news, I want to tell you that there are small steps that we ourselves can take  that can impact our neighborhoods atleast marginally if not drastically.

Let me share something that I’ve started as my small step to do what I can against this. Since the last few days, I have stopped consuming cool drinks such as cola. Though I still consume food from KFC, Domino’s et cetera, I have begun to realize the fact that if once India was ruled by foreigners, it’s is very well going to happen again in a different way. So, I consume Indian products whenever I can thus starting off with soft drinks. I hope my measures convince my friends to start doing their part as well, in whatever small ways they can. If we use only Indian products, our money shall get cycled only in our country thereby encouraging our people to start up more ventures and not be afraid of the so-called “foreign brands”. I’m sure if some things turn out positive, this can bring up a lot of Indian brands to the International market and boost our export which in turn improve our economy greatly.

For example, Basics is a Tamil Nadu (Indian) apparel brand and Chick King is a Kerala (Indian) brand. We need not go back to Khadi clothes, but we still could prove a strong competition to the foreign brands with our very own Indian brands.

So, combining all the above facts, when Wal-Mart start attacking the farmers, a few farmers like Mr. Gowtham would not be making deals with Wal-Mart, they would have their own supply chain and sell their products through some front end partners ( departmental/kirana stores). So when I change myself in the way I expressed above, I won’t be buying from the supply chain of Wal-Mart and will support people like Mr. Gowtham. If this can be virally spread and people start realizing the same, our purpose is achieved for which we are going against FDI in India and therefore destroy the monopoly conditions!

If you want a change, you have to be the change. Let us all do our parts in making India a better place to live in.

Readers, please share in your views about this. I apologize for anything that I might have stated wrongly, please feel free to tell me what you think! Thank you for taking the time and reading this.

I also include my Tamil poetry ( with English translation)about my deep-felt thoughts regarding this.

              

     Irandam Adhyayam

  (The Second Chapter)

Annai madiyil sombal murikka 

(Woke up in my mother's lap)

Ayyan kaiyil nadai pazhagi 

(Learned to walk from my father's hands)

Aaradi annan er pidikka 

(With my brothers working in the agriultural fields )

Amarnthu undome kootu kudumbamaga 

(We sat and had our food as a joint family)

Paruthi mudhal pattu varai 

(From the name of cotton to silk)

Aanmigam mudhal aruviyal varai 

(From Theism to the new world Science)

Paraikotti varaiyaruththu em pattanandro.? 

(Is it not my ancestors who preached this to the world?)

Avan andaththin aathiyai parthavanandro.? 

(And is he not the one who saw the origin of the Universe?)

Ulaga pothumarayum unnatha kalacharamum 

(The thirukkural and the beautiful culture)

paraikoti paprisaliththu magilntha paariyargal 

(We are people who give others what we have with a smile)

vazhvaliththu nattin valamaliththu simmasanamiliththu

(The crowd which gave life, treasures, wisdom and our throne)

adimaiyaga aasaikonda engal avalam paarir.!

(And how fondly they are willing to be a slave)

Pugalchiyin bothayayum bayaththin Ukkiraththayum

(Both the addiction of praising and the fear of pain)

Azhagai kattinai aatchiyayum pidiththai

(U showed it beautifully to whom u show it correspondingly)

Kambu kondu kaththi kondu emmakkalai aandai

(U ruled my people with slavery, with pain)

Mudiyatha Tharunangalil Pirithalum Soolchi kondai

(When u failed at that, you used the divide and rule strategy)

Guninthu Valainthu Un kalanigalin karaipadinthu - Nee Kulikaaya

(Beaten by U they fell in the ground with your boots stains and to worm)

tham kaneerin anal thanthu mandanare emmakkal

(They died giving the warmth from their tears)

Piriththalum ennaththirku ethirchollai parisalikka

(Unity is the antonym for divide and rule it seems)

Vetrumayil otrumayai vendrukatti karpithanare

(They won the game by showing you the Unity in diversity)

kalnenja kayavargalin tharkaliga parisam - inithey

(A temporary gift given by the stone hearted fellows)

arangeriyathu nalliravu nadagam andru - 1947

(They staged the midnight drama delightfully)

ariyamai ennum aabaththaana aayuthamam - Immurayum

(A powerful weapon this time called IGNORANCE - even this time) 

adimayaga aasai konda engal avalam paarir.!

(see! how fondly they are willing to be a slave)

Itho indru irandam aththiyayam - ithil

(And now we have this chapter no.2 - In this)

adimai endru ariyamaye ariyamaye vedikkaiyagum

(The comical fact is that we are so ignorant of being slave)

unnum unavum uduthum udayum kulirootum banamumai

(The food we eat, the dress we wear, and the drinks which we have)

uchchi mudhal ullankalvarai anaiththum anniyare.!

(From tip to toe everything is a foreign brand)

Vyabaara kuri ennum viyaththagu thanthiramam

(There we have this magical word called BRAND)

India porulendral izhivaga ennida vaikkumam

(Which makes us to think very cheap if it is an Indian brand)

ennugira ennangalileye nanjai kalanthuvittane

(He has mixed the venom even in our thoughts)

tharam ennum sollil tharayil mandiyida vaiththane.!

(With the one word called quality he made us kneel down in the ground)

Iyarkayudan kalanthu isaiyudan pinanithu

(The family which Mixed with nature, mingled with music)

ilaneer parugi inbutriruntha kudumbam

(And happily lived with the taste of tender coconut)

vegamai thindru vilambaraththil moozhgi - melliya vishamam

(Now started eating fast, drowned in the advertisements)

athai inithe suvaikkum kodumai kelir

(See the pathetic situation of my people who are happily enjoying the taste of a slow poison)

Vizhihthukol nanbane.! Purinthukol nanbane.!

(Wake up my friend... Learn it my friend...)

Than nalam thedi un nalam kedukkum - Anniya

(Forgetting about you on the verge of making their money)

porulukku adaikalam kodukkum kalaignargal venden

(We don't need these artists who advertise these foreign brands)

kalkaasu kanchendralum athu nam uzhavanukku pogattum.!

(Even if it is a penny let it go to our farmer)

Oorin ellaivarai solluvom ithai urakkacholluvom

(Let us tell it loudly to the end of our place)

karuvakki uruvakki kalainayaththudan merugetri

(Conceived, gave birth, brought up and after beatifying your kid)

ayyan peyarai matri vaiththal avamanamandro.?

(Is it not a shame on u to keep your neighbor's initial?)

Athu nam natin sabakkedandro.?

(Is it not a bane on our country?)

Nallathor mudiveduppom nattukor nanmai seivom

(Let us do something good for the country)

Anniya muthaleedu nam muthukelumbin kuraipadu - athai

(FDI is a wound in our backbone ... so)

aaniverudan thagartheriya ariyamayai thurappom

(We should uproot and throw it away all together)

nammannil thenirukka theinthu povanen mathubanam arunthida..!

(When there is honey in our land why do you want to die for a glass of alcohol?)