A Hairy Story!

Haircutting is one of the oldest surviving professions. India, which is now known for it’s IT and Outsourcing sectors, still has the old style barber shops. What is interesting is that even today, roadside barber stalls are still prevalent here along with the ones with proper salons.

Some of these barbers have newly started their own businesses with their own salons. While some have carried it on as family tradition and take pride in it.

Some of these barbers have migrated to big cities like Delhi from smaller towns. Most of them run their haircutting stalls by the roadside. And it is always a struggle for them to make both ends meet.





As far as haircutting is concerned, it is an art for the barbers. It is something which is achieved after a lot of practice and requires a lot of concentration. If we keep this thing in mind, then they are no less than any big shot hair designer.

All photos taken by Joydeep Hazarika and Tilak Jha. Thanks a ton Tilu!!!

An Ode for a Paradise

Book: Writing on the Wall: Reflections on the North-East
Writer: Sanjoy Hazarika
Type: Non-fiction
Pages: 161
Price: Rs 225
Publisher: Penguin Books India

“At the end of every dark night, there is a dawn, however delayed. And for every day, there is a dawn, whether we see it or not.”

These words by Sanjoy Hazarika seem so true once we are done with this book. “Writing on the Wall” is the latest offering by Sanjoy Hazarika in his writings on the North-East of India. Hazarika, who is hailed by some as the greatest journalist from Assam, touches some topics which dearly concern the region but are seldom given any attention. Hazarika, who has earlier given us classics like “Strangers in the Mist,” once again shows the unabashed beauty of the North-East which is under threat from the various problems it faces today.

This book is a collection of 15 essays by the author which provide an insider’s take on the wide-ranging issues affecting the region. These issues range from the Brahmaputra and the use of natural resources to the peace talks in Nagaland, from the centre’s failure to repeal the much hated Armed Forces Special Powers Act, threats to the environment, corruption in government and extortion by armed groups to New Delhi’s policies which treat the region on a subservient level than the rest of India.

Yet, as one reads these essays, one thing gets clear in the mind. It is that hope, though distant, is not lost. Restoring governance through people-driven development programmes, peace-building through civil society initiatives, assuring the pre-eminence of local communities and most importantly, the simple economic interventions through appropriate technologies hold the solution to the web of violence, poverty and marginalisation. Thus we have references to innovative health clinics like Akha, community mobilization in the form of organisations like the North-Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project (NERCORMP) and various micro-credit initiatives in the region. The author also talks of environmental issues like the preservation of the river dolphin and geopolitical issues like the sharing of the waters of the Brahmaputra among the states.

“Writing on the Wall” is a passionate call to all the stakeholders in the North-East to embrace dialogue and use the platforms for peace, to go beyond the politics of intolerance to that of mutual respect. The spirit of this book can be best summed up in the lyrics of this song by the great Bhupen Hazarika, which find special mention in this book.

If man wouldn’t think for man
With a little sympathy
Tell me who will- comrade?
If we repeat history
If we try to buy
Or sell humanity
Won’t we be wrong- comrade?

For the Violence Within

Book: Beyond Violence
Author: J. Krishnamurti
Publisher: Krishnamurti Foundation India
Price: Rs 20
Genre: Philosophy/ Religion

“If violence is like a stone dropped in a lake; the waves spread and spread, at the centre is ‘me.’ As long as the ‘me’ survives in any form, very subtly or grossly, there must be violence.”

These words by the great 20th philosopher J. Krishnamurti rings in one’s ears long after one has been done with this book. J. Krishnamurti’s take on violence is something which everyone, especially young minds, can relate to easily in today’s world of total mayhem and chaos. The content and theme of the book is taken from the talks of the book is taken from the talks that Krishnamurti held in the USA, London and Rome respectively. Most of the book is in the format of discourses while some are in the question-answer format a la an interview. The best part of this book is that it gets on in an interactive mood with the reader, with Krishnamurti’s discourses in the lead working as a soothing effect.

The theme of violence and Krishnamurti’s approach to it are as relevant today as they were when he spoke in 1970s to vast audiences. In discussing the nature of violence, Krishnamurti also unravels the other psychological factors such as hurt, competition, insecurity and fear, which are closely related to violence. He shows us a way of looking at the fact of violence directly, without condemning, suppressing, or analysing it, and thus going beyond it. In doing so, he calls for a fundamental change in the human psyche, which is the mark of a truly religious mind.

In today’s world, where we deal with violence on a daily basis, this book comes as a sort of comfort for the troubled mind with its practical approach and solutions. Reading this book only further affirms our faith in the fact that J. Krishnamurti was undoubtedly one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century, whose thoughts will influence more generations to come.

It will be best to conclude in the words of Krishnamurti himself: “Truth is not ‘what is,’ but the understanding of ‘what is’ opens the door to the truth.”

Politics of Violation

Elections in India are becoming a joke with each passing phase. With every election, more and more incidents of lawlessness and rigging are being reported. And along with this is also the unabated continuation of the violation of the Election Commission rules by the political parties. This thing is clearly reflected in the reply to a Right to Information (RTI) concerning the violation of election rules by the political parties.

Afroz Alam Sahil, an RTI activist, had filed an RTI petition asking the number of cases that were registered against various political parties during the last Lok Sabha elections in 2004 for violating election commission rules. The petitioner had filed the application on 27th January this year and the reply came in a month later on 27th February. The reply contained a list of all the political parties who had been booked under committing violation of election rules along with the number of complaints received in the Commission against each party. The list also contained the actions that were taken on account of the Commission against the offending parties.

In this list, the Indian National Congress came on top with a total of seven cases filed against them. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came in second with six cases against them. And the Telegu Desam Party came in third with four cases against them. The other parties in the list included parties like the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, etc. each of whom had one or two cases filed against them.

The actions that have been taken in this regard by the Election Commission are something which falls short of expectations. In the RTI, most of the actions mentioned that were taken by the Commission are of the nature of forwarding the complaints to the Chief Election Officer (CEO) of the region. And after that, there is no answer as to the present status of the cases. There is no mention of the nature of actions taken by the CEO against the offending parties. And in some cases, it is mentioned that action were not necessary at all. But here again, the reason for this is not given in the RTI reply.

The RTI reply also contained information on the BJP’s infamous CD scandal which they committed in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. The reply stated that the Commission had received 19 complaints against the Party. The Commission had directed the CEO of Uttar Pradesh to file the same number of FIRs against the State BJP President Mr. Lalji Tandon and his associates for the production of the CDs. But even today the information on the Police enquiry is awaited by the Commission. This clearly shows the real level of importance given to the Election Commission by government institution like the Police Force.

The petitioner, Afroz Alam Sahil says that this thing clearly reflects the lack of a strong hold on the election procedures by the Commission. He further says that most of the incidents where political parties openly violate election rules by distributing liquor and rigging votes go unreported. And it is due to this that the political parties get more emboldened to break rules in each poll without any fear of repercussions.

Now with the General Elections next month, flouting of rules will again become rampant. This will be a test for the Election Commission to prove that it is not some toothless organisation which can’t punish the offending parties when it is needed. The reply to the RTI has pointed out some serious defects in the functioning of the Commission. The offending political parties have not received any stern punishments due to which a mockery of democracy has been made. It is about time that the Election Commission mended its loopholes so that the political parties can be brought under its proper scanner for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

A Tribute to Laxman.

As I’m preparing to write this piece, I am feeling nervous. I know it is a feeble attempt to pay tribute to the greatest cartoonist of our country. This very man’s cartoons inspired me to become a cartoonist. And today I want to go through the life and times of Laxman with you. It was as a school boy that I first chanced to look upon an old edition of The Times of India at my house in Assam which my father had got from one of his trips to Delhi. There was a pocket cartoon in the front page with the heading of “You Said It” by R.K. Laxman. Looking at the cartoon brought a mischievous smile on my face. It was definitely a comment on a serious topic but the humour in it had brought a whole new meaning into it. I immediately knew that I had to find out more about this man and his works. And in the process, I myself became a cartoonist, forever taking inspiration from Laxman’s style and ideas.

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman, better known as R.K. Laxman, is perhaps India’s most celebrated cartoonist. He is the creator of the Common Man which has achieved a cult status among cartoon strips in India. R. K. Laxman was born in 1924 in Mysore in a Tamil family, in the state of Karnataka. His father was a headmaster and Laxman is the youngest of six boys. One of his elder brothers, R.K. Narayan, went on to become one of India's best known English language novelists.

Laxman was engrossed by the illustrations in magazines such as Strand Magazine, Punch, Bystander, Wide World and Tit-Bits, even before he could read. Soon he was drawing on his own, on the floors, walls and doors of his house and doodling caricatures of his teachers at school; praised by a teacher for his drawing of a peepal leaf, he began to think of himself as an artist in the making. Another early influence on Laxman were the cartoons of the world-renowned British cartoonist, Sir David Low (whose signature he misread as "cow" for a long time) that appeared now and then in The Hindu. Laxman notes in his autobiography, The Tunnel of Time: "I drew objects that caught my eye outside the window of my room - the dry twigs, leaves and lizard-like creatures crawling about, the servant chopping firewood and, of course, and number of crows in various postures on the rooftops of the buildings opposite."

Making sketches of the common crow has been a great favourite of Laxman. Laxman has to his credit hundreds of sketches that he has made of crows. He recounts an incident when he gifted one of his crow sketches to a friend. A child threw a stone at it and broke the glass frame. Laxman considers it as the best tribute ever paid to his art where one of his sketches had seemed so life-like to somebody.

Laxman was the captain of his local "Rough and Tough and Jolly" cricket team and his antics inspired the stories "Dodu the money maker" and "The Regal Cricket Club" written by his brother, Narayan. Laxman's idyllic childhood was shaken for a while when his father suffered a paralytic stroke and died around a year later, but the elders at home bore most of the increased responsibility, while Laxman continued with his schooling.

After high school, Laxman applied to the JJ School of Arts, Bombay, hoping to concentrate on his lifelong interests of drawing and painting, but the dean of the school wrote to him that his drawings lacked, "the kind of talent to qualify for enrollment in our institution as a student", and refused admission. He finally graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mysore. In the meantime he continued his freelance artistic activities and contributed cartoons to Swarajya and an animated film based on the mythological character, Narada.

Laxman's earliest work was for newspapers & magazines such as Swarajya and Blitz. Whilst still at the Maharaja's College, Mysore, he began to illustrate his elder brother R K Narayan's stories in The Hindu, and he drew political cartoons for the local newspapers and for the Swatantra. Laxman also drew cartoons, for the Kannada humour magazine, Koravanji. He held a summer job at the Gemini Studios, Madras. His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for the Free Press Journal. Laxman later joined The Times of India, beginning a career that has spanned for over fifty years. Among his other works, Laxman is known for his distinctive illustrations in several books, most notably for the Malgudi stories written by his elder brother R.K. Narayan. He also created a popular mascot for the Asian Paints group called Gattu. Laxman has also penned a few novels. His cartoons have appeared in Hindi films such as Mr. and Mrs. 55.

It was as a cartoonist in The Times of India, that Laxman grew on to become India’s leading cartoonist. Laxman’s grasp on the nature of politics in India helped him to evolve as a great political cartoonist. Marrying humor with art, Laxman has created a benchmark in political cartooning in the country. Whether it was caricaturing the prominent politicians like Jawaharlal Nehru or Indira Gandhi, or satirizing the biggest political turmoils of free India through his cartoons. Laxman has been simply a genius. It is said that Nehru had once requested him not to portray him in such sharp satire as he feared it might make a joke out of him among the public. Such was the power of Laxman’s political cartoons! Even during critical periods such as the emergency, Laxman’s cartoons never lost their souls. And they continued to bring out the common man’s feelings in their own humorous ways. Besides the B.D. Goenka Award awarded by the Indian Express, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts, he has awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhusan by the Union Government.

Caricaturing some of the biggest leaders of India has been Laxman’s forte. Whether it was Mahatma Gandhi’s large earlobes, or be it Indira Gandhi’s sharp nose, his cartoons were such that it was not difficult to recognise these personalities without a smirk from the onlooker. Laxman particularly recalls the difficulty he faced in caricaturing Rajiv Gandhi. He said, “Here was a man who was very handsome and very dignified in his manners. I was scared that not being able to portray him in humour might put an end to my career. But with time and his political activities, he too ended up as one of my most memorable cartoon subjects.”

The Emergency too put Laxman through an uneasy phase as it did to other creative minds at that time. Many times his cartoons were censored due to the seriousness in their humour. There were many uneasy moments between Laxman and the Censor during the Emergency. One incident which Laxman holds memorable is when during the Emergency; one of his cartoons on the then current economic situation escaped the notice of the Censor and got published. As soon as it caught the notice of the Censor, he was thoroughly reprimanded and threatened with punishment if such a thing happened again. A few days later he received a letter from the Ministry of Commerce which stated “that being in a position to appreciate the humour in the cartoon, we would like you to send in a copy of the cartoon which we want to frame and hang up in our office.” So much for the stupidity of the Censor!

The best thing about Laxman’s cartoons is that they can never fail to bring a smile on the faces of their onlookers. His style is such that he brings the feel of the place and the people with the minimum of strokes. You can literally feel the ambience of the setting depicted in his cartoons. His style also shows that cartooning is all about fearlessness where you have to poke fun at anyone without the fear of repercussion. Laxman had to face lots of problems due to this. But he never gave in at any cost. It is this very thing which inspires me to boldly poke fun at anyone through my cartoons. Never had humour felt like such a powerful weapon!

R.K. Laxman is married to author Kamala Laxman and lives in both Mumbai and Pune. In September 2003, Laxman was affected by a stroke, which left him paralysed on his left side. He has partly recovered from its effects. His cartoons have again begun to appear in The Times of India which shows that he is still raring to wow people with his cartoons.

I would like to conclude with a prayer for the long life and full recovery of Laxman and that he continues to charm people with his cartoons like always. Three cheers for R.K. Laxman!!!

Time To Chicken Out!

I have always said it. And I say it again. Nothing that the Assam Government does surprises me. When it comes to bad functioning and callous attitude, no other State Government in India can challenge the Assam Government. We have left Bihar miles behind in this respect. Our State Government has panache for making mistakes and that too in the goofiest manner. We had always complained of bad roads, less electricity and other things like corruption. Ok. So these are things that are demanded by the rest of the country too. But I want to ask that how often do you come across a government that makes a mistake that affects the livelihood of tens of thousands of people? It’s a controversy, no doubt. And one which can land the present Congress Government in Assam in jeopardy ahead of next year’s elections.

It will be almost a month now that Assam is reeling under the outbreak of the avian influenza, better known as the bird flu. Culling operations have been on ever since the word broke out. Poultry products have been shunned and the prices of other meats have risen sky-high. Lakhs of poultry have been culled to avoid the spread of the virus to humans. But just when we thought that everything was getting under control and this epidemic would pass without any casualty, there came a bolt from the blue! The High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal reported that they did not find a single poultry sample that tested positive for bird flu in any part of the country, including Assam and West Bengal. Now we are forced to think what all this commotion was about? What was the State Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Department doing? Which divine intervention propelled the State Government to declare an outbreak of bird flu in the state if there was none?

I don’t know whether to call it as a mistake or carelessness. My reaction to this news was, well, pretty casual. Our State Government has a history of committing mistakes. So it was nothing like a surprise to me. But the problem is that the damage has been done. About 4.19 lakh poultry birds have been culled till now which will now take its toll on the poultry farm industry in the state. Poultry farmers have incurred huge losses and now most of them are rendered jobless, especially in the area of South Kamrup where the economy has totally collapsed with the unemployed youths as the worst affected. Apart from culling, large stocks of eggs were kept aside for the fear of the disease, which have now either rotten away or have hatched. Now people are questioning if there was any truth behind the official ruling of the Government that wild birds, besides poultry were dying of the bird flu too.

The situation has taken a political twist too. An independent MLA, Pranab Kalita has threatened to drag Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to the Gauhati High Court on the charge of killing lakhs of poultry birds in the State, especially in South Kamrup where the economy has totally collapsed. Now we are just waiting to see if the other political parties in the state will follow suit. The State Government was quick to react to this by confirming the outbreak of bird flu. The State Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Department Commissioner-Secretary S L Mewra said that samples that were sent to the HSADL in Bhopal between November 22 and December 20 tested positive for the H5N1 virus. And also that the presence of the bird flu virus was confirmed in the Rajabazar area of Hazo. The problem is that this thing has become rather serious with lots of money gone down the drain in the name of culling. The state’s economy has received a jolt that will take a huge toll on the poultry farming sector in the State. And going by the present scenario of devastation in the poultry farm economy of the state, few people are buying the government’s claim that Rs 1.38 lakh has been paid as compensation.

The coming days will tell us about the truth behind the outbreak of the bird flu. That too, if there really is any outbreak at all! Even if it turns out that the outbreak of bird flu is a lie, I really wouldn’t be surprised. This time, the Gogoi Government has got it for good. And they better clear the air regarding this one before it is too late. After all, nobody can call it a silly mistake on the part of the State Government this time.

Assam's Demand for Equality

It is a welcome sign. Finally our State Government is asking for something which we truly deserve. I normally don’t have good words for the Assam Government. But this time I must say that finally the Assam Government has asked for something which may go a long way in changing the Centre’s attitude towards Assam.

Like militancy-infested Jammu & Kashmir, the Assam Government has also sought “insurgency damages neutralization grant” to the tune of Rs 25,000 crores from the 13th Finance Commission. According to official sources, in the memorandum submitted to the 13th Finance Commission in Guwahati on December 18, the State Government has demanded of the commission to treat insurgency-affected Assam at par with Jammu & Kashmir. The memorandum stated that in the last 30 years, Assam’s economy has been badly affected due to insurgency leading to fall in investment and damage to infrastructure. Under similar insurgency and terrorism-related circumstances, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir got special financial dispensation from the 10th and 11th Finance Commissions. Assam has suffered no less. So the commission should be judicious enough to extend similar grants to Assam also.

This demand highlights the fact that Assam no longer deserves any step-motherly treatment. We have full credibility to receive equal rights and provisions when compared to the other states in the country. We cannot, and neither can the rest of India, ignore the fact that insurgency has created havoc with the economical as well as the socio-political aspects of the state. We have lost so much money in this time period that our state’s economy was left badly crippled sometimes back. Entrepreneurs and investors shirked from making any sort of ventures here. Terrorist activities had left public property in shambles. Blowing up of railway tracks and oil and gas pipelines always have financial repercussions with them. But of course, the number of lives lost cannot be counted in terms of money. The state of Jammu & Kashmir has a special status in the Indian Union and enjoys various privileges as per the Constitution. We are not asking for any big concessions. All we want is some assistance from the Centre in reshaping our economy. And the insurgency damages grant can go a long way in solving that. This concession will also enhance Assam’s stature and the Centre will not ignore Assam like it has always tended to do so. Hopefully, now the tag of a buffer state against China will be removed from us.

Every year, natural resources like oil, gas, tea and timber flow out of Assam to the mainland but very little is given back in return to Assam for her valuable resources. This is a question which has been asked by many Assamese intellectuals over and over again. And the state has always responded by taking actions against them. To combat insurgency and cross-border terrorism, the State Government has to rely more on the Central Paramilitary Force. And for that, it has to bear 10% deployment charge, which is discriminatory as neither Jammu & Kashmir nor any of the other North-Eastern States have to pay any such deployment charge. Unlike the Kashmiris who love to wave the Pakistani flag from their rooftops, we Assamese have time and again shown that we consider ourselves as Indians. The ULFA has lost support throughout the state because the common people do not want to leave India. Each year, many brave Assamese in the defence sector lose their lives while fighting for India. Whenever India wins a cricket match, Assam also celebrates with the rest of the country by bursting a lot of crackers out of jubilation. We are Indians from the core of our hearts. But, unfortunately, the Central Government still gives a secondary status to Assam and her problems. It has always overlooked the possibility that Assam could become the next Kashmir someday.

Today what Assam demands from the Indian Government is equal treatment. All we want is that the Centre should acknowledge our problems and help us out of them. And the seeking of insurgency damages grant is a step in that direction. Apart from helping to shape our shambled economy, it will also ensure Assam’s importance in the Indian pantheon in comparison to states like Jammu & Kashmir. So I sincerely hope that the Centre accepts the memorandum and Assam gets her dues in full.