Stuff to read in a travel black hole…

This is what I’m reading as I find myself stuck in a travel black hole…

1. R Jagannathan on why “Manmohan Singh is the dynasty’s fall guy” (emphasis mine)…

Both the prime minister and the home minister have minced no words in calling a spade a spade. While Manmohan Singh has called the Maoists the biggest security threat to the country, P Chidambaram has promised tough action to deal with it. But here’s the point: months after launching Operation Green Hunt, it is not clear who’s hunting whom. The Maoists have been more successful in intimidating the state — aided by a cacophony of phony human rights advocates — than the other way around. It is the security forces who are being hunted and eliminated.

What explains this gap between thought and action? The answer lies in the complete lack of will at the top of the political pyramid. This means Sonia Gandhi, not Manmohan Singh or Chidambaram. Given the extremely secretive nature of the Manmohan Singh-Sonia-Rahul Gandhi interface, it is not possible to conclusively prove this, but it is reasonable to presume that Sonia is not actively backing the government in its anti-Maoist campaign.

…One thing is starkly clear. The Manmohan Singh government’s main job is not to do right by the country, but by the dynasty. As long as the decisions taken are politically acceptable to Sonia and Rahul, it’s fine. But when political capital has to be expended in the long-term interests of the country, the family will be far away. What else explains the reluctance of Rahul Gandhi to join the government when the PM was more than willing to give him a chance? The decision to decline power gives him obvious advantages: the media tom-toms this as a great sacrifice, something that proves that the Gandhis are not power-hungry. Actually, they are only wary of accountability.

…Let’s be clear. Manmohan Singh is the dynasty’s fall guy. He had better watch out.

Read it in full: Dynasty vs government

2. B R Haran‘s review of “Dravidian Maya” (emphasis mine):

…The book aims to get the people out of the darkness, make them breathe and feel the pleasant breeze. In his prologue Subbu says, “The environment prevailing here (read Tamil Nadu) is not conducive for an honest criticism of Justice Party, DK and DMK, etc. This book aims to research and analyse the history of Dravidian Movement in an overt manner, so that the people get liberated from the Dravidian Maya.”

…For the convenience of readers, he begins with a backdrop of important events, from the ‘Hanging of Veerapandiya Kattabomman in 1799’ to the ‘Formation of Arunthathiyar community Maha Saba by LC Gurusamy in 1920’, mentioning other important events such as the East India Company, Macaulay System of Education, arrival of Christian missionaries like Robert Caldwell and British Rule, etc., under the title “Footprints of History”.

…Apart from exposing the hypocrisy and deviousness of the Justice Party and Dravidar Kazhagam in matters like caste and untouchability, the author gives a detailed account of the ‘Vaikom Agitation’ in which EVR was supposed to have played a prominent role. It is well known that the Dravidian leaders and their sycophants have been tom-toming EVR’s role in the Vaikom agitation for close to a century; Subbu helps people understand the truth behind it.

…Reading the book, one is awestruck at the hard work behind the research and proof gathering behind this effort. Subbu has done a great service not only to the people of Tamil Nadu but also to the people of other states. This book is a ‘must read’ for all Indians in general and Tamils in particular. The English version is likely to be released soon and would certainly enhance the readers’ understanding of politics in India.

…“Dravidian Maya” is a Turning Point in Tamil Nadu’s history. May Dravidian Maya evaporate and bright light fall on Tamil Nadu!

“Black Hole” Image courtesy: Wikipedia

3. Pankaj Saksena on Postmodernism and its discontents:

Following the Nobel Prize in literature for the last few years I have noticed a discernible pattern. Barely a handful of readers seem to know the author from before he got the award. Herta Muller is such a classic case. On the official site of the Nobel Prize a poll was put on, asking how many of the readers knew her work before the announcement of the award. The result was 11 percent! I dutifully bought one book – The Passport – of Muller and started reading.

…Most of the post-modernist art is meaningless and it is considered inartistic and unfashionable to criticize it. If a piece of art does not appeal to you, it means that you are not sensible and sophisticated enough to understand it. It is not considered good to judge. Since modern art has progressed by breaking every tradition, the categories of good and bad are meaningless to it. And since there is no longer any sense of good and bad, there is no point in judging anymore. The sole criteria of judging art is its strangeness. It just has to be weird!

A few of my friends read The Passport after Muller got Nobel. Though I hardly found anything admirable in the book, they all felt obliged to praise it. I could not understand why? Perhaps they were intimidated by her Nobel reputation? Though hardly anyone comprehends the postmodernist writings, they seldom criticize it. Most of the times they heap praises on it, calling it high art. Academic circles are more vulnerable to this intellectual intimidation because their own reputations rest on praising the officially sanctioned writers, the canonical works. Every awarded book falls in this category. A professor has to praise it because if he does not then he will be considered unfit for guiding the students. A media person has to praise it because he needs to understand the voice of the masses! A writer of course has to praise it, since he does not want to commit the heresy of judging.

The phenomenon of postmodernism reminds me of the beautiful story of Emperor’s New Clothes. The emperor strode naked and yet nobody dared to tell him so. They were afraid of him. They had reasons to lie. They feared losing their privileges by telling the truth. It took a child to have the courage to reveal the truth to the king; to recognize it for what it was… bogus. I just wish we all had a little more of the child in us…

Read it in full here.

4. Sunita Narain on Building Green

…Green is not about first building structures using lots of material and energy, and then fixing them so that they become a little more efficient. Building green is about optimizing on the local ecology, using local material as far as possible and, most importantly, building to cut the power, water and material requirements.

Take the glitzy airport building Delhi will soon get. Developers say it will come with a green tag. This is because the airport is investing in energy-efficient lighting, sewage disposal and rainwater harvesting. All these are important initiatives but the question remains: could the airport have been designed differently so that it used much less energy in the first place? For instance, the challenge before green airports today is to make them compact to reduce the time it takes from entering the building to entering the aircraft. This ‘frugal’ planning will make everything more efficient—take less building materials to build and less energy to cool and heat. But planners first think of building the biggest structures and then try sugarcoating them. I say this without even discussing the need for airports to give way to other modes of much more efficient transport like railways.

If one begins to think green in a locally appropriate way, one will realize that traditional architecture was green in many ways. Every part of India had its unique stamp of buildings. This is because creative and architectural diversity was built on biological diversity. So buildings in hot regions would ensure corridors directed the wind so that it naturally cooled the interiors. In wetter regions architects would build using the natural breeze and light. All in all, traditional architects knew how to optimize the use of elements.

Today, Indians have forgotten how to build for their environment. Instead, modern buildings are examples of monocultures—lifted from the building books of cold countries where glass facades are good to look at and appropriate for their climate. The same building in India is a nightmare; the glass traps the heat. The building cannot be naturally cooled because windows cannot be opened. It needs central air-conditioning and heating. In this situation, turning the building green means using very expensive glass to insulate better. Builders avoid this. So the only band-aid green measures left are to include a few token items like efficient lights and water-saving devices in the toilets.

Architects say God is in the details. In this case, the details are about both simplicity and diversity. In large parts of India, where the sun is both the source of light and heat, traditional architecture made use of a small but critical detail: the window shade. Modern facades are built without these shades because they don’t fit the image of the western building. Just raise your head and look at the glitzy building out there, you won’t find this simple but effective detail.

Also read: The Kings of Xeroxia

5. Last but not least, Sandeep’s Field Notes from Ajanta and Ellora (a must read):

What’s common to Stratford-upon-Avon, Westminster Abbey, Mount Rushmore, Drumcliffe, Walden Pond State Reservation, Alcatraz Island, Jack London State Historic Park, Hauteville House, and Zentralfriedhof among others? Equally, what’s common to Hampi, Badami, Bhoja Shala, Ambernath, Grishneshwar, and Ellora? The former represent vibrant showcases of the deep commitment a nation displays in preserving the memory of people and places in which these nations have much to be proud of. The Walden Pond State Reservation is spread over 462 acres of land to honour the memory of just one man, a man who would’ve probably committed suicide if he saw the America of today. It’s also a tribute to the people of America who continue to preserve his legacy in this manner. The latter examples represent the exact opposite of the former. They are classic instances and living reminders of the mass assault on the symbols, monuments and memories of an ancient and hallowed civilization. The magnificent fort at Chitradurga is encroached by an ugly mob of huts that completely blanket one side of the mountain while Hampi, a ridiculous apparition of a UNESCO World Heritage Site is a free-for-all haven: the Bahamani barbarian hordes who physically vandalized it couldn’t have done a better job. And so it is with the Ellora caves, which I visited on a recent trip, which also included Ajanta caves and the Grishneswar temple.

…Together with the Ajanta caves, Ellora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the world’s finest architectural splendours.

The 34 “caves,” built between the 5th and 10th century represent the perfect model of Indian rock-cut architecture and stand unrivalled till date. They are really not caves in the strict sense of the word but temples and sculptures carved out through the basalt-rich Charanandri mountain located some 30 Kilometres from Aurangabad in Maharashtra. These artistic expressions of the finest of Indian spirit are spread across an enormous 2-Kilometre expanse.

…The knowledge of mathematics, engineering, building technology, craftsmanship, artistry, design, planning, and what we today call “project execution” of those days is certainly unfathomable to the present mind–it helps to recall that this “project” was executed over 150 years and spanned several generations of experts. If you are a trivia/quiz buff, the Kailasanath temple covers twice the area of the Parthenon in Athens.

This singular temple is enough to teach us almost all of our major Puranas, Gods and Goddesses. In a way, it is the architectural encyclopaedia of Hinduism.

Do read it in full.

Stay safe, wherever you are.