Squeeze out tears. Let blood spurt.
Dependable salty fluids – for parched fields.
Who needs whims of merciless clouds?
Tears, Blood and Rain – Haiku
08 Wednesday Jul 2015
Posted in Haiku, Social Causes
08 Wednesday Jul 2015
Posted in Haiku, Social Causes
Impractical Dreamer: Sweety Shinde 
Beautiful, i liked the concept of multiple pictures depicting various emotions.
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Yes, when the words are limited (by Haiku), pics elaborate much more dramatically.
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Very poignant, both the words as well as pics! Powerful presentation, Sweety. 🙂
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Thank you very much. We take the weekly veg & fruits and the monthly grains so much for granted. Smug in the thought that we can afford them, even if the prices escalate. Someday, money wont be enough for it.
We should have more US type farmer’s market concepts – where we bypass crass middlemen and directly give their due to farmers. Don’t you think so?
As well as rainwater harvestation. I saw it being done on Fort Sindhudurg, as per orders of Shivaji Maharaj. He had foresight.
Now we have only hindsight and afterthoughts.
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Hi sweety, great HAIKU . It does not matter whether you use 575 or not. You chose a topic very close to my heart and I have spent years learning all about it. Let me tell u some facts :-
1. 80% of indian farmers are small and marginal i.e., they have less than 1 hectare land. With this small land holding they cannot – Use tractors, use modern machines and tools, experiment with their crop etc.
2. These small farmers can never bypass a middleman because
(a) Their produce is so small that it is not renumerative to take it to market on their own.
(b) Every farmer sows crop based upon to his experience. There is no reliable forecast available. This results in variable harvesting times. This kills the possibility of collective farming And collective marketing. This allows middleman to step in.
(c) Moast of the farmers have no idea how much their produce is worth. they can fall prey to bargains.
3. Have you observed seasonal variation in food prices. Most of the farmers are forced to sell their produce cheaple because all of them harvest same crops in same season. The lack of storage fascilities does not allow farmers to sell the produce even at loss before it gets spoilt. Also , they have to give back the loan from banks or moneylenders.
4. Most of the canals are used by large farmers while small and marginal farmers buy water. Small and marginal farmers rent out water from pumpset on daily or hourly basis as they cannot themselves buy water pump.
5. most surprising of all is the fact that 50% of india gets its income from agricultural activities while only 10% people own agricultural land.
80% of people involved in agriculture and landless labourers, sharecroppers, wage workers etc.
Out of 10% of people who own land, 80% are small and marginal farmers.
2% of indias population have one third of agricultural land on which 50 % population depends.
6. All the government subidies, insurance schemes, agriculture credit, loan waivers are for land owners who are mere 20% of the agricultural work force.
7. Government cannot make any good schemes for farmers because most of the people do not do farming themselves, they rent out their lands to others and come to cities for work. But insurance, loan, fertilizer subsidy and all other agricultural inputs are linked to land. Government does not recognise land leasing. It is unofficial.
Conclusively, the only remedy is development of urban economy to as sponge which soaks up all the agricultural work force. In usa only 1-2% of population is invilved in agriculture and its contribution is 5% of GDP. While in India, 50% of population is involved in Agriculture which contributes only 14% of GDP. Also consideriing the size of US GDP to Ours, you can understand the adversity of situation here.
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Aayush, you are so well informed! I wasn’t aware of such staggering statistics.
The dismal events shown way back in Mother India remain the same – or worse.
As for remedies, I can think of : 1] Literacy, to save farmers from getting duped by errant middlemen and loan sharks.2] Rainwater harvesting.3] Actual delivery of ‘packages’ to their intended beneficiaries. Swift & public punishment for those who illegally usurp the same.4] More green patches in cities. Kitchen gardens too. 5] Farmers markets to eliminate ghastly middlemen.
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Thanks Sweety for your compliments :-). I have first hand experience of most of the things wrong in India as I have worked for various NGO’s and also due to my personal life which was a roller coaster. 🙂
It’s good to see that you are a very optimistic person unlike most of the people who become hopeless. I really liked your solutions. but you know, the problems are so much intertwined that doing even one of above is a herculean task. Let me give you few more facts.( plz forgive if it is too long )
1. India spends least in all the major developing countries on health, education, sanitation etc.
India has highest number of stunted children in the world, the major cause being diarrhoea caused mainly due to open defecation. Nearly half of indian population defecate openly.
These stunted children can never in their lives attain the IQ and physical capabilities to compete. It’s a permanent scar.
33% of indian schools do not have separate classrooms and they are run by single teacher teaching all classes together.25% schools do not have blackboards( My 1st school was like that).
Most of the girls leave school after 11 years of age mainly due to lack of Toilet. They cannot do it outside unlike boys.
2. Rainwater harvesting is a very good and urgent solution to many of our problems. But the rate of groundwater extraction also needs to be curbed. We should focus on recycling and reusing water rather than wasting it. One more fact – you know in the lower levels of ground water, heavy metals are found in dissolved/suspension form. So after few metres from top, water is carcinogenic. Cancer is becoming an epidemic in Punjab and Haryana due to this because the groundwater has gone so low that arsenic , mercury and other heavy metals come dissolved in water. These two states grow rice which is water intensive and highly renumerative. They use water pump freely as electricity is free for rich farmers of punjab and haryana as the farmer lobby blackmails government regularly. Rice cultivation cannot be stopped and free electricity must be given, all due to political reasons.
3. Punishment for corrupt is next to impossible if the Judiciary is not reformed. 30 million cases pending with 12000 judges appointed yet. It is a mockery of people of India . Lack of any dedicated investigating agency with most of the investigation done by scarcely educated people is recipe for perfect disaster.
4. This is your best solution. You know , this is widely practiced in japan using advanced technologies like aeroponics and hydroponics. ( this was one of my engineering projects ). In UK, they call it market farming because it is grown very near to markets and makes available fresh fruits and vegetables in cities on short notice. This high input, high profit, organic farming . I hope it comes to India some day. It’s not costly to do it. Perfect for India.
5. Farmer market are already there under the APMC Act of India. But they are more of obstacles than help. These markets have neccessitated and enforced the middleman. Although the amended APMC act of 2003 has removed these obstacles but most of the states have not passed the bill to give this act and effect in their respective states.
Most of the farming markets are run by licence mafias who get the license on their name and become middleman themselves. We need modern markets like like China where items are devided in baskets and then auctioned basket by basket in an open auction. This gives best price possible.
Also futures markets should be there for farmers where the can do future trading on stored commodities( it was banned by UPA govt to curb Inflation… Hilarious ).
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You deserved the high praise.
Yes, malnutrition is deadly. It stunts mind and body together. Plus, our maternal mortality rate itself is dismal. So the severely ignored and exploited mothers will, in addition, produce an inherently weak population, which will be further weakened by diseases and malnutrition. Meanwhile, idiotic politicians will say, ‘Produce more Hindu babies’, as if a womb is a production machine!
What they mark in the budget and what actually reaches – that is the main area of concern. Also the funds which are allotted to a certain task, and yet goes waste unused. Zero accountability on both counts.
Open defecation, lack of toilets — all genuine concerns which get summarily shrugged off. Why just villages, even cities don’t have clean, usable public toilets for women commuters on the move. Progress, my foot!
Punishment has to be timely, hence they need to have fixed deadlines for cases to be judged. 10-12 years for every case is shameful and criminal. It seems loaded in favor of criminals than defendants. No wonder more & more prefer to commit crime than to spend time proving, establishing, and solving it.
Govt will never eliminate middlemen, they are themselves hand in glove with them. Profits is all that their myopic vision sees. Foresight is far, far , far off in dreamland.
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Thank you very much for your kind words 🙂 .
What do you think could be the reason for all this ?
why we accept mothers dying with non-institiional deliveries ?
Why pregnant labourers work at construction sites that too without toilets which is a must especially during such period ?
Why we never see open defecation ?
Why is corruption so institutionalised ?
I feel Indians are much more emotional than our western counterparts but still how we have so much apathy for poor.
Why attitude is so indifferent ?
Why wearing short clothes is a problem but open defecation is not ?
Why girl child is a problem but Maternal mortality is not which is one of the consequence of preference for boy child ?
I think about these questions all the time.
Why society is having so much distorted priorities ?
But I find no real answer for this. Till we find answers we cannot persuade any change.
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Questions and questions. It speaks of many fundamental problems rooted in Indian psyche. Patriarchy, the ‘khandaan ka roshan diya’ male child, the ‘saas bahu’ vicious cycle, apathy to Life overall, the chalta-hai attitude.
Emotional? Indians only care for pseudo-religious issues. Most Indians are so neck deep in scavenging for basic necessities like food & shelter that issues like health & environment seem like Greek & Latin, another planet topics.
It is of course, a conscious political move to keep Indians stewing over employment and food. Anything to keep minds diverted from real core issues. An empty stomach cannot mediate on higher issues at all. Indians have been systematically reduced to animals seeking food, sex and survival.
And to top it all, in name of modernity, we are seduced by superficialities. And, leaving us with that ‘enjoy life while you can’ feeling.
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Absolutely right ! it is systematic violence against the underpriviledged which is responsible for their misery . The society, the polity , the economy, the whole culture is so designed to keep them down forever.
But still I believe that people are emotional in india about so many things. But these are distorted priorities. They fight for their language, religion, culture but they nevr fight for their right for food, shelter, health, cleanliness. There have been so many riots and violence in India in the name trivial social matters, but none against these rights.
Sadly it is a vicious cycle we are in.
These movements would arise only if there is a breakthrough at statrtup in social sector , revolution like bhakti movement, buddhist movement, bhagwat movement, brahmo samaj , aligarh movement etc., in history.
But these movements would only happen if people are not averse of taking risk. People in india are so afraid of failure that hardly ever venture out to do something new and even condemned those who try anything new.
This fear is because of Demonstration Effect i.e., Poverty and misery are so visible in India that people cannot live without fear of failure after they see poverty all around.
This poverty is due to social and cultural violence and opression.
Thus , there is complete cycle which is diificult to break.
There is a need for a breakthrough, a new idea of human life like humanism, utilitarianism , rationalism etc. We needa breakthroug ideology which cuts across the conscience of whole nation . It would not be an evnt like delhi gang rape but an idea so radical that it would not need an event to embed itself in our culture. Like the idea of liberty which unites USA, the idea of freedom which unites UK, the dream of economic prosperity which unites china even under communist rule.
This breakthrough would work as an example for others to follow. It would remove the fer in mind and give a hope that change is possible. This would End ” kuch nai ho sakta”
Consequently it would mobilise a large mass of people to , who would question every social, cultural and political institution. This woul end ” chalta Hai”.
Finally everyone and every institution will have to mend its way.
It hope the above cycle breaks, i have alredy dedicated myself for this cause. Just hoping for a breakthrough which woul seed the change. I had Big hopes with a new paty but now I feel disillussioned. I thoght it woul provide a blueprint for Talented and well qualified people to enter politics, but it has proved itself even worse till now. let’s see what happens.
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I understand the disillusionment with that party. I share it too. Greta expectations lead to great disappointments.
Risk of failure- now that’s quite a novel thought. Must be something stemming from our education system. It doesn’t encourage questions or thinking. It merely builds on rote learning and memorizing.
Hardly ever do we see new ideas praised in schools or home. Questions are taken as impertinence.
I think a very basic principle we should have is to feel pride in India and as Indian. Not the false, glittery pride we place in flags, religion, movies. But the quiet, precious feeling of being born Indian.
If every child and mother feels it, it will make a great step towards feeling responsible for India and Indians.
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it was so wonderful to go through above conversation. Thnx to both 🙂
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Thank you for taking me back to that post. I re-read the comments and enjoyed the flashback journey. Many thanks!
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🙂
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Brilliant Haiku:)
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Hi Vishal. Glad you appreciate it.
Of course, I never stay faithful to the exact word limit, but more faithful to the emotion I want conveyed.
Do you HAiku too?
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Very nice Haiku. Supporting pictures are awesome.
Just curious. What type of Haiku is this? This does not sound like the traditional haiku which consist of 17 syllables – 5-7-5.
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Its my break-free variant Braiku. Why constrain poetry within fixed words?
But taking to heart similar sentiments expressed by another blogger friend Ravish, next time I’ll either stick to 5-7-5 rule or not label it Haiku at all.
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That’s a good one!
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Thank you, Parul.
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Wow! This was brilliant.
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Thank you, Author! What’s new on your writing list?
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Oh ! Plight of the farmers left to the mercy of the Un dependable rains so creatively potrayed Dr. Images are too striking ! 🙂
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Thank you Himali. We who live in cities don’t realize that the buck will stop at our door someday. When vegs, grain and fruits wont be available by exchanging money alone.
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Exactly.. and our government isn’t doing a supportive role in terms of irritation facilities 🙂
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Agree 100 percent.
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:):)
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A powerful haiku, very profound messaging…yes tears, blood and the for the farmer no rain, it cannot be more lethal combination…
Perfectly chosen pictures.
😀
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Gracias Nihar! Its such a red-hot burning issue.
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Powerful words and images. Very evocative.
Thanks for following me!
Melinda
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Words are most searing weapons. Glad they reached within you. Thank you for the comment & visit.
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Very welcome.
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Hi Melinda. Thank you. And ur most welcome. What’s the secret behind your blog name?
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I love purple with a passion! And I’ve always been a slob. And I want to change that.
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That’s a great name. I love all shades of purple too. Especially lavender.
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So calming, and serene!
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Why’s the color purple associated with royalty? I recently read a description of Zeus’s throne – and it features purple cushions (or canopy, not entirely sure). So maybe that’s where the association started…
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I think because it was costly to produce in ancient times.
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