Talking Shop: Fostering non-combustibility

“Powering a nation entirely

by gas reduces emissions of

carbon-di-oxide by half. But the

problem is that methane, for

one, is 24 times more potent

a greenhouse gas than CO2.”

—James E Lovelock

One delightful Monday afternoon many moons ago, I made a phone call to share with a celebrated person a remarkable feat. It was just a few months after the Tsunami ravaged southern India, emaciating the coastline and hitting the livelihoods of scores of people, predominantly fisher-folk now scared of venturing out to sea. I explained the App my organization had developed to track the movement of fish using phytoplankton and satellites, oceanography and connected servers, and how we could predict where schools of fish could be found at any given time, creating livelihoods and saving entire communities (especially in Veerampattinam and Machilipatnam).

“Oh God,” I heard the lady on the other side mutter, and applauded myself for having moved her so. “You murderer,” I heard a mite later as I waited for plaudits. I then heard a hiss and she yelled, “You stone-hearted killer!” Wow, she was really into some movie on TV, I thought and giggled to myself, wanting to say: “Lady, it is just a movie. Let the poor villain be, he is just playing a part.” I did feel for the rogue on TV, though, for she seemed irate enough to yank the poor joker by his hair out of the screen and pulverize him into gooey nothingness, a predator done away for good. Feeling she was preoccupied, I proffered: “Madam, since you are busy, may I call you later?” She made a grating noise that sounded like my skeleton dancing on her tin roof—“Psychopath, you stay on the line. You killer of fish and other things aquatic, I am not done with you. How dare you call me for this?”

Critical life lessons learnt

I was mortified and petrified, stuck in a peculiar situation. I could either mumble polite somethings and get off the line, or try and explain the rationale behind my project. The catch was that the lady seemed intent on turning the Narayan-Iyer clan into history and, damnit, even into phytoplankton. I learnt some life lessons that day—one, research thoroughly and prepare exhaustively before any important event, lest you step on itchy fingers and sticky toes and risk life, limb and mind, for someone’s goose could be another’s gander. My grand little project, worth raving about and taking a bow for in the right circles, was anathema to many others. Life-lesson 2—there is a string of people doing good, but who are yet perceived to be committing all but treason. I learnt that every deed, good or bad, needs to be studied from all possible slants and inclines, tangential though they may appear to be, since only that will give us a non-combustible picture and keep our vitals intact.

That got me ploughing into research; how many had been all but chastised and verbally castrated as I was, for something I believed was grandiose and worth an Oscar or two? How many good deeds go uncelebrated, or the corollary—how many ill-meaning shenanigans get garlanded? It was an eye-opener, that there are enough specimens and ‘item numbers’ going around, people who consciously tune or ill-tune events and eventually, history. I present to you a few such random oil-slick overtures, a reminder for us all to be better prepared for life’s events than I was that day.

Oil slicks? Yes, indeed…

Before delving on the good and bad, there are two caveats; one, I will keep this short and generic as these things have a way of stirring raw emotion and catalyse actions less than desirable. Two, no names today, for it is the (f)act that is cynosure; we anyway all know the protagonists. For instance, people who rejigged and re-shaped the educational edifice that India stands tall on today have been forgotten or are being outright castigated now. The creators of tourism in India, both for recreation and healthcare, are being criticized too—indeed, what a way to celebrate those who made India.

After 75 years of independence, we make for a secular and tolerant society, with people of many a different cloth living in harmony despite the occasional hiccups, hums and haws. Needless to say, divisive forces should be identified, uprooted and punished, and the simmers smothered. On the inter-galactic front, we have astounded the world by becoming the first to land on the South side of the moon. Who kickstarted this infant that turned into a runaway space champ? Well, the jury is out on that one, as per the latest media reports. While on that media, we have created best-in-class vehicles—well, some are displaying growing-up hiccups and are being naughty, but that is a side effect of parental profligacy and self-induced licentiousness.

Indian sports—cricket, hockey, gymnastics, badminton, table tennis, athletics, boxing and, of course, wrestling. Who will one day be recognized as those who carried this child from the womb to the podium? Sadly, yes, we see some writhing on the ground due to harassment by those who wield the stick, others crying foul over selection and such malpractices, but we are prevailing in the larger scheme of things. Do understand that I myself would like to wield a stick (or a baseball bat) myself, but there are bigger ‘players’ here who I can easily identify as ‘first-response knuckle-heads’.

Moving to the darker side

Some do things that are omni-visible in their very evil, yet go unpunished. For one, 6 August 1945 saw Little Boy visiting Hiroshima and three days later, Fat Man flew into Nagasaki. These were the world’s first A- bombs used in battle, eventually bringing World War II to a close. Over four months, the effects of the bombings killed 250,000 people, but it was decades before the men behind this apologized. No such apology was extended after the 9/11 attacks, which saw the Twin Towers come down in a heap of twisted steel and disintegrated concrete, and with it the seeming invincibility and impregnability of a country thanks to the oceans that separate it from unfriendly lands.

Who can forget the documentary by non-profit group ‘Invisible Children’ which went viral in 2012 and saw the world finally act against Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony for human rights abuses? What of Germany triggering World War II and atrocities against the Jews, millions dying in concentration camps and a similar number due to experiments carried out on them in the name of science? A tangential impact of the war was the emergence of the US as an economic superpower and the slide of Great Britain, which in large led to freedom for many (including India) oppressed by the ‘Raj’.

While on India, who can forget the impact of the Spanish flu which killed half of Europe’s population, but do you know which country had the highest amount of deaths worldwide? India. The epidemic was brought home by our own soldiers returning after fighting wars for our oppressors. It was under the Raj that India had the most famines, which saw over 10 crore people die due to starvation. All this time, the ‘rulers’ were not just breaking bread, but partaking of our wine and women too. A 100 years later, Coronavirus came—no one has been taken to task for that mega-blunder either.

I had promised not to take names, but with Great Britain, we can make an exception. If they can have our Kohinoor and no regrets or contrition, we can have our say. Anyway, our own people who should be taking them to task are sucking their thumbs and paying mere lip service. As I said, research everything well. Today, bouncing back India is, and bounce back India shall. Once that truly happens, we shall name names.

The writer is a veteran journalist and communications specialist. He can be reached on narayanrajeev2006@gmail.com. Views expressed are personal