Stray Thoughts

I need my morning cup before I can function properly. Since I was alone at home I walked over to Lachhu’s tea-shop for the morning cuppa. The sun was already up and the day had begun as it does in any Indian village. I sat down on the bench, nodded my head towards Lacchu and started scrolling down the messages that had come from the early risers. I had not taken more than a couple of sips, and my sleepy ganglia had just about risen from their torpor when Kannu came up the hill obviously agitated. ‘There you are daksaab. Did you see this news today?’ He said waving his phone at me. ‘Kya hua?’ I asked. ‘Did you know the world population crossed 8 billion yesterday. What will happen now? And the news says that India’s population will become bigger than that of China in one year’s time. We are going to the dogs. No one seems to be doing any thing in Delhi!’ Since it was morning there was some activity at the cluster of four shops that goes as the market of our village. Some people were e

We are now at the tail end of the fruit season here in Buribana. Our house is in an orchard. To the east are long rows of young apple trees. These trees started bearing fruit this year and we kept a close watch and saw the dozen or so apples on each tree slowly grow and change colour over the weeks. Below our house is the more mature orchard of our neighbour Ram Singhji. In this orchard there are apples, and peaches and plums and apricots and a few Kaphal trees as well. The season started with the bright orange juicy apricots, locally known as khomani, in late May. Early in the season we were shown around the orchard by Basantididi. The trees were laden with fruits. The apricots were either gola or chapta. There were a few trees of the smaller local variety, which is tarter, called the chuaru. This year the plums somehow were not so abundant, but the peaches were in plenty. Most peaches had furry skins, but some were smooth. Basantididi also showed us red peaches which looked more li

इस वर्ष विश्व जनसंख्या दिवस का विषय मज़बूत  और स्थाई विकल्पों के बारे में है । 11 जुलाई 1987 को , दुनिया की आबादी 5 बिलियन  (अरब) से अधिक होने का अनुमान लगाया गया था और उस समय  यह दुनिया भर में चिंता का कारण बन गया था , जिससे  यूएनडीपी और फिर संयुक्त राष्ट्र महासभा ने 11 जुलाई को विश्व जनसंख्या दिवस के रूप में घोषित किया। भारत में आगे चल कर  संख्याओं का खेल एक बेहद महत्वपूर्ण मुद्दा बन गया  जो देश को पीछे या रसातल में ले जाने के कारक के रूप में देखा जाने लगा । जनसंख्या घड़ी देश भर में कई स्थानों पर आम जनता को याद दिलाने का औजार  बन गई। 11 मई 2000 को , दिल्ली के सफदरजंग अस्पताल में पैदा हुई आस्था अरोड़ा को भारत में अरबवें बच्चे के रूप में मनाया गया था , और हाल ही में मैंने लखनऊ विश्वविद्यालय परिसर में एक जनसंख्या घड़ी देखी थी जिसमें घोषणा की गई थी कि हमारी वर्तमान आबादी 1.4 अरब से  से अधिक है । भारत में बहुत से लोग , विशेष रूप से हमारे राजनेता , ' अधिक जनसंख्या’ का मुद्दा उठाते  रहते हैं , लेकिन यह समीक्षा करने का समय  हो सकता है की किस तरह से पिछले  35 वर्षों में चीजें बदली  हैं । इ

This year the theme of the World Population Day is about resilient futures and choices. On the 11 th of July 1987, the population of the world was estimated to have exceeded 5 billion and this became so much a cause for concern the world over, that first the UNDP and then the UN General Assembly declared the 11 th of July as the World Population Day. In India subsequently the numbers game became an immensely important issue and tied to many doomsday prophesies. The Population Clock became a common sight and reminder in several places across the country. On 11 th May 2000, Astha Arora born in Safdarjang Hospital in Delhi was celebrated as the billionth baby in India, and recently I saw a Population Clock in the Lucknow University campus proclaiming that our current population was over 1.4 billion. Many people in India, particularly our politicians, continue to obsess about ‘over population’, but it may be timely to review how things have changed in the 35 years since the day was

We are probably seeing the back of the 3 rd wave of the Covid pandemic in India. Here in Kolkata where I am a winter migrant, there are now many relaxations. All public places and spaces are now open to 75% capacity, the evening curfew starts at 11pm instead of 10pm, even though the city does not really have a nightlife. Schools have reopened after a very long hiatus. City parks, which had been completely shut for most of the last month or so are now open for some hours. I am certainly feeling much better now that I have resumed my daily walks in the Dhakuria lakes. There is a sense of optimism all around. Our worst nightmares seem to be behind us. After two years of unprecedented chaos we are now looking forward towards a brighter future. I have been wondering whether there are any lessons we should take with us. I know it may still be premature, but what the heck, we can keep adding and editing this list as our insights grow. Lesson 1 – Death and disease remain closer than we would