Tuesday, May 11, 2010

The Spirit of Desperation - I


The Bihar Economy grew by 11 per cent in the last five years, so I hear. Phrases like "Growth Miracle" and CM Nitish Kumar's "From No-Governance to sincere Governance" have clogged my head in much the same way as a monstrous Sinusitis. Bihar is making progress, sorry, continuous progress. Relevant authorities are working day-in and day-out towards building roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Significant reforms are being brought up in important sectors like Education, Public Health. Just a few minutes ago, I came to know a new Cyber Crime mitigation (& redressal) cell has been set up where one could make a complaint online. There are innumerable imponderables that may seek one's attention. But, what about me? I hail from the state of Bihar, did my schooling there and then left for Mumbai to further my education, my knowledge, my understanding of the world. Did I succeed? Yes. Did I fail? Yes. "Yes" in acquiring it all and "Yes" in losing the intent behind acquiring it all.

I pursued a five-year integrated MBA (Tech.) program from an elite business school here in Mumbai and am currently working with an MNC quite well compensated. It's a bank and is a good enough platform to kickstart my career. But, my mind is elsewhere. I also wish to be a part of the "Growth Miracle" and not indirectly. I have always wished to work somewhere where I could directly influence people's lives in a positive way. I could console myself by thinking the whole of India is mine and it, indeed, is but my heart is here, in Bihar and at my village in particular. I am not saying all this because of homesickness. I have been homesick for as long as 6 years now, so that is, indeed, not the cause. the cause of this horrible terrible disturbance is Desperation. I look towards the Idiot Box, flip through the channels vigorously only to stop at Mahuaa TV and I look at the Villages being shown, the cows, the oxen, the buffaloes, the tractors (the red ones, especially), the grasses, the crop-fields, the canals, the people, the dialect, the people's ensemble, the trees, the ponds, the wells, the huts, the kachcha homes, a couple of primitive pakka homes, the schools, the techers, the bicycles,the paan shops, the small rickety grocery shops. I am desperate to embrace them all to never relinquish them. I wish to contribute to their growth by assisting the government with better governance, better execution of programs, employment schemes; I wish to look after the functioning of schools, to leverage my knowledge to better the mode as well as the content of education being imparted to children, to ensure every child goes to school and every person (mothers especially) is well educated about the positives of family-planning, birth control measures and significance of education. I wish to work towards producing many Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) who could then contribute towards the Common Services Centre (CSC) or the e-Governance project initiated by the Government of India, I wish to help people work in cohesion and initiate many Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that could help the Government with better execution of its flagship schemes and also keep vigilance on the same. I wish to totally utilize my skills, competencies, and knowledge to harness the huge potential that villages have to offer. For example: I wish to work towards making villages a bio-gas hub, a solar-energy hub, etc. I wish to  create a virtual market for agriculturists (marginal farmers, especially) so that the hapless bread-growers needn't travel miles to sell their harvests for a meagre sum. Instead, they would only focus on their work i.e. growing crops, the rest would be taken care of by the virtual market. More on this later for I do not wish to digress from the point I wish to make.

I wish to do a lot many more things but I can't. I just CAN'T. I have a humongous loan to repay which has already amounted to almost INR 10 Lacs which requires me to work away from home for at least a couple of years more. I know I shall return one day but I wish that day was today for I wish to become a part of the process, the transformation, the growth, the miracle so that I could do justice to the humongous sum I invested in acquiring all that I intended to utilize to influence my people's lives directly. This is the spirit of desperation that questions me every now and then when shall I start and I only wish I could say - Today !  

9 comments:

ashish jha said...

bhaiya,

its very nicely written but then i feel it's useless to talk about the writing detail as the content is more from heart than from mind or pen

it's very true that bihar is developing leaps and bounds.i can say you as because i had seen that change better than most of us.

regarding your second part-it is really nice if u want to work for your state,nothing can be better than this.i guess if majority of Indians start thinking like you,it will not take huge time for our country to be at par against china or usa.i really appreciate your dreams and your thinkings and i am sure that one day you will enlighten yourself,us as well as whole of bihar,india with your dreams by turning them into your deeds.

now regarding the third part

the most important thing is your will,if u want to work for the betterment of your people,our people.it is sure one day you will do no matter how much odds are against you.But regarding present situation,i think you are seeing it in somewhat wrong way[sorry,but i guess its my duty as well as right to suggest you of the best thing ]

ashish jha said...

bhaiya,na sirkf aapka farz hamare country n state ke taraf hai but aapka farz aapki maa,aapke papa ke taraf bhi utna hi hai if not more.aap bhale hi mumbai mein job karke apne state ,apne country ke liye directly kuch naa kar rahe ho par itna sure hai ki aap apne parents ke liye bahut kuch kar rahe hain and jab kabhi aapka desperation badhne lage think like that.abhi you are only 25,try to first establish yourself aur agar uske baad aap kuch bihar ke liye kijiyega that will neither be late nor be any mistake.bas yeh ek sacchai hai.border ka ek dialogue hai na ki itihaas gawah hai ki koi bhi fauj khaali pet nahi jeei.same is the situation with us,pehle hum apna pet bhare aur uske baad agar doosre ka bharne jaaye tab bhi hum kahin se gunaahgaar nahi ho jaayenge.khair,bahut hua off the topic baatein,i know maine bina matlab ke itni saario baatein bol di par yess aisa nahi hai ki hum sirf jaisa aap dream karte hain waise hi hum help kar sakte hain.abhi sabse pehle for helping our people we educated people ko ek kaam karna hoga,we have to ensure that growth work shall continue in bihar for another 5 years as the assembly election is due this year.humein sabse pehle ensure karna hoga that our cm nitish kumar gets a full term once again kyunki ismein bhi koi do rai nahi ki once lalu/paswan comes to power what will happen.yeh accha kaam educated logon ko impress karne ke liye bahut hai par the illiterate ones n even some educated ones gives too much emphasais on caste politics.so its our duty to keep sure that bihar doesn't end its dawn period to the dusk for that hamein sabse pehle vote dena parega becoz every single vote counts.i know its easy for me but its tough for people to come from mumbai,chennai,delhi to come to bihar to vote but yess if we will not vote then its only we are to blame and not others and not only we have to vote we have to impress others also for voting.

jai bharat

jai bihar

Subhash Jha said...

Hi Ashish !

Thank you for your lovely comments.

I am only 24 and not 25 ! lol

And. rest assured I shall cast my vote. Humko khud hi woh bahut important lagta hai.

Kindest Regards,

Subhash

Vishal Jha said...

Wow Chhotu... What a write up... straight from the heart... and, more importantly, straight to the Heart...

I hope the today comes sooner than later, because thats the one thing thats gonna make you happy...

lincoln jain said...

supr liked it... well written!
especially when u were lost in describing wat u saw on 'mahuaa' channel.. nicely written.. cud imagine the scene...

have experienced the same many times.. sometimes we are not so strong to fight circumstances... its sometimes better to surrender to present situation.. giv tym to let things settle down..

And one thing for sure... U wont b able to help others.. practically speaking if u are not able to help thyself first.. before u cud help someone u shud b in a situation to help..

My request to u bro is, dont let dis part of subhash die, as its pure and for the gud at large. pursue ur dream once u are sure of going ahead wid it..

lincoln jain said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
lincoln jain said...

supr liked it... well written!
especially when u were lost in describing wat u saw on 'mahuaa' channel.. nicely written.. cud imagine the scene...

have experienced the same many times.. sometimes we are not so strong to fight circumstances... its sometimes better to surrender to present situation.. giv tym to let things settle down..

And one thing for sure... U wont b able to help others.. practically speaking if u are not able to help thyself first.. before u cud help someone u shud b in a situation to help..

My request to u bro is, dont let dis part of subhash die, as its pure and for the gud at large. pursue ur dream once u are sure of going ahead wid it..

lincoln jain said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

well done but too much details on 1st part

hope your strong wish will be realized