Interview टाइम्स गोवा 7 सप्टेंबर 2014

Star-struck MEHENDALE

Jonathan Rodrigues | Sep 7, 2014,

If you happen to stray from the normal course at the Joggers Park in Altinho during an evening walk, a melodious tune may find its way into your ears. If the composition has the distinctive melody of Indian classical music, the source is probably Goa's chief information commissioner, Leena Mehendale. At first she's shy, but her reticence disappears as she picks up one of the dozen or so flutes she has purchased from different parts of India. It's not the only instrument she plays. Mehendale also plays the harmonium. Her current, post-retirement posting gives her the time to pursue these hobbies. "I love taking a stroll in my garden, watching the night sky and identifying constellations. I picked up the skill from my father," she says, admitting that her obsession with the night sky can sometimes be a little weird for her family, as she has the habit of calling her folks up in the middle of the night to catch a glimpse of the stars.


Born to an astrologer from Maharashtra, Mehendele grew up in Bihar, where she was exposed to various intellectuals who would visit her father. A topper during her school days, she stood out with outstanding Math grades. She graduated in physics, but also writes poems. Besides her normal routine of hearing cases and pronouncing judgment as state chief information commissioner, she spends her day reading the news and browsing the internet. She is also a blogger, and writes on women's issues. It's not only on the internet that she writes. Mehendale is author of books on social and administrative issues. "I knew I could tell a tale since my school days," she says. "During our summer holidays, I would come down to my ancestral place in Maharashtra and give my friends an account of my life in Bihar. Then, back home, I would narrate anecdotes from Maharashtra to my schoolmates in Bihar. Both groups would love to listen to my stories and this inspired me to start writing," she says. She adds that if she had to choose an alternate career path, she would be a research scientist in physics. Her stout build didn't allow her to participate professionally in sports, but her strength was put to great use as she served on the defense block of the school Kabaddi team. At home, too, being the eldest, she ended up being tutor to her younger siblings and eventually took a liking to teaching. Having travelled to nearly two-thirds of all districts in India, Mehendele says "the most interesting aspect of our country is that the cultures and traditions are so widespread and diffused that they seem different, but are actually the same customs being practiced in different forms". She believes that it is these inherent local philosophical beliefs spread across the country that unite us as a nation. "Our society is a progressive one and we must all work hard to keep it that way," she says, adding that the increasing reports of rape and foeticide are due to major changes in cultural beliefs. "The rat race has got to us. Everybody is after money and fame, and some are ready to make compromises to achieve their goal of acquiring wealth. Education is all about certificates and less about skills. Lifestyles are mediocre, and this materialistic world is the prime reason for the rise in crimes," she sighs. Mehendale remembers cycling her way to school in the 1960s, when it was still a 'masculine' thing to do. She says, "gender bias always existed, but the difference between then and now is the aggressive violence. When I took out my bicycle for the first time in Bihar, the majority of locals were accepting and encouraging; you could trust people back then, unlike today. There was a certain amount of respect even in those male-dominated times," she says. "But today, people get too violent." She offers an explanation: "Youngsters are easily impressionable and the media should be responsible for its productions. More creative the show is, less obscenity would be shown. Obscene scenes require less effort," says Mehendele, pointing out that kids do not know how to differentiate between what is good and bad. "In 1984, as a district magistrate in Maharashtra, I banned the screening of a movie in my area for being extremely repugnant and sensual, but the producer walked up to me and promised me that there was nothing vulgar in the film. I argued that if there was nothing in the film, why lure the audience by promising some cheap entertainment?" But she does love movies. Though not as much as other activities like reading, collecting stamps and sea shells. "TV can certainly be used to inculcate good manners among members of society. Shows on Animal Planet, for instance, can induce you to think and inspire you to learn more. Creative, planned and choreographed educative shows on India's great geographical uniqueness can also build a sense of pride among its citizens and inspire them to contribute more to the country," she concludes.

Book review of “The Good Muslim”

Book review of “The Good Muslim” for Nehru Centre Discussion Group

First thing I would say about the novel “The Good Muslim” by Tahmina Anam is that it is very readable. Every chapter makes you ask “what will happen next?”, thus the book takes you through till the end. There are enough twists in the plot too.

But it is not a mere novel; it captures very ably the history of Bangla Desh immediately before and after it was born as a country. In a way it is the story of how ideologies change during war-time and peace-time, the novel acknowledges that they would change but what is the process and what is the outcome? Which direction should it take and what direction it actually takes in reality? How political leadership is keen to obliterate the war memories and memorials lest they retain their iconic value in comparison to the importance commanded by current leadership. How intellectuals get carried away by money-based goals, how rationality gives way to fundamentalism, and yet the human relationship keeps building up providing solace, peace and something to look forward to.

Simply told it is the story of an educated girl who becomes a village-doctor and gets an insight in the rural areas of Bangla Desh, their poverty, their lack of medical facilities. The girl, who dreamt of becoming a surgeon because that carried higher prestige, realizes that what the millions of rural poor women need is a doctor who can handle child birth and maternity related problems. She is a good  Muslim to switch to that branch. She also finds women in clutches of religious superstitions and tries to bring a change in their attitude, though unsuccessfully, the system has a much wider spread and her individual efforts are not enough. Rather, she is threatened and has to return back home to her mother and brother from whom she had fled earlier as she had felt that her beloved brother and childhood hero, her companion during the Bangla-Desh Liberation Movement, a modern, rational and truthful person, a soldier had turned to religious extremism. This is where the story begins and traces further the emotional upheavals that come in her life as mother becomes seriously ill with cancer. In this journey she has another realization – that sometimes the rational modern outlook cannot solve certain problems and then the religion and faith becomes the only savior. She realizes the solace and assurance she gets by surrendering to prayers during this illness and recovery of her mother. Still, an imbalance of the two,  the faith and rationality, can lead to disaster, as it happens in the end and to that extent the novels leaves you with a sad feeling of having witnessed unnecessary, avoidable disaster.

The title “The Good Muslim”, to my mind, applies most to Maya, the lead character, a rebel, a self-dependent educated girl who is not afraid to live alone or take decisions for her own life irrespective of the societal changes around her. It applies partly to her mother, a capable and self-willed woman who has lot of practicality to understand and accept the importance of both Rationality and Faith.  It applies to her brother who stands tall and supportive to her despite his turning away completely from their earlier-shared life of modern thoughts and books steeped in Rationality, and taking upon him the task of reviving religious beliefs. He remains a Good Muslim in the eyes of Maya as well as the reader because he has not taken to “money-making practicality” at the cost of basic human values. It applies to Joy, in his ardent support to the cause of freedom of Bangla-Desh and subsequent movements for rectifying the corruption that is setting in the system of this new-formed country’s polity.

The book has its own authenticity as it well-describes the settings prior to the liberation war and subsequent political developments that seem to be threatening the earlier ethos of freedom, justice and equality. The small passages describing how the iconic importance of war-memorials is destroyed, how the health and empowerment of rural women is thrown out of agenda, how Chakma tribals are ill-treated, all these details are not fantasy of imagination but hard-hitting facts that can be threatening to democracy in Bangla-desh. In fact every person respecting democracy and particularly the Indians who are concerned that democratic values should not be eroded will empathize with the emotions and conditions through which Maya passes through and that is the success of this realistic novel.

A valuable article by RM

Often I am asked "whats wrong with scholar X that bothers you? I don't see him saying anything negative." Since this issue came up when a friend based in Singapore supported Phil Goldberg (despite my advice to the contrary), l want to say a few things. 

There is content and then there is channel. Pls do not empower a channel with a separate vested interests no matter how goodygoody the content seems to be - this wont last. Thats the lesson I learned after close encounters with many such groups as Templeton, etc. Once a channel is established it has a life of its own that has nothing to do with how it got started. CIIS in California got started with the official charter stipulating that it was the intention to spread the ideas of Sri Aurobindo in the West. But after a few years what happened? I am glad Suneet Varma in his talk in CIIS will bring these points out to them. I have argued with their top mgmt for 2 decades on the way they replaced Sri A 100% with digested versions that are inferior, half baked, and include distortions. Sri A is classified as Level-2 in Wilber's scheme of levels of consciousness and he lists numerous Westerners at the higher levels with himself at Level-5.

What has happened to this channel which was started with good content at first? Indians are inept at understanding long term institutional control mechanisms. We can neither control many of our own nor understand the strategies used by others with great expertise in this regard.

Notice how a lot of the references in Wikipedia even on such topics as Shakti cite such sources as David Kinsley as authority; and the main publishing houses in the citations as US based with US editorial boards. Not that they are all bad in content. My point is different: Suppose I am debating on an issue where I find the representation flawed. I will be asked to prove my case based on "academic" citation, and these will not include works by our gurus unless certified by western academy.

Even a recent flare-up on Wikipedia concerning Swami Vivekananda involved our position being denied space on the grounds that what SV wrote is trumped by what academics (from the Neo-Hinduism school) have judged. So the judgment comes from those said to be equipped with "hermeneutics" which is the Western-Siddhanta and not consistent with our siddhanta. The rules are theirs, the referees who judge are appointed by them, etc. But we are most welcome to participate. Those who dont have experience going out of their confort zones and having such encounters simply lack the appreciation for what I am saying.

I am glad Jane Goodall was mentioned by Chitra in another thread today. Thats a good example of someone not writing "anything bad" about us. But now she is the expert and not our own adhikaris. So to make my case through a mainstream global forum I must cite her in support and not my gurus or lineages. Her writings are the filters I must pass through. Her followers control the gates of discourse.

If you dont understand how adhikar transfers over time even though the starting point seems to be "positive scholarship", pls remind yourself how inculturation works. Ask: Whats bad if the church preaches Jesus as long as he is in saffron, sitting in yoga asana, and the church has bharatnatyam classes, uses many sanskrit words to explain their teachings? Once you understand the answer to this question, then you can apply the same logic to the way digestions/uturns start off as positive engagements but end up with disastrous consequences.

The Columbia U event on secularizing our tradition is a tiny bit of a much larger canvas on which this war is being fought. I feel so sad when those I trust as dear friends and supporters one day surprise me with a switch of loyalties, and cite arguments in favor of channels that appear to be producing good content as of now.

My remedies: Please read Indra's Net on poison pills. Each teaching must include this as necessary  ingredient. At Columbia event I want to speak on a few poison pills to should never be separated from yoga. Only after you get this will you understand why it was a bad idea in the long run to support Phil G. He is a nice guy but not rooted/invested in the tradition and this "opportunistic" career-driven success invariably ends up serving wherever the path opens up.

Regards,
Rajiv

Viva-Goa Interview March 2014

Viva Goa March 2014