Signs of Progress
This Dussehra brought me a surprise. Every year Hindus worship the tools that give them a livelihood. Carpenters, Tailors, Plumbers and Electricians are some of those who decorate their tools with flowers. Car owners and drivers put garlands on their cars. However, many followed an avoidable practice. They used to smash Ash Gourds, also called white pumpkins, in front of their cars. I believe that did this to avoid the effect of “the evil eye”! Some of us consider that a waste of food. We prefer people to donate Ash Gourds to the needy and avoid creating a mess in parking areas inside buildings and streets. Even though dozens of cars are parked here, I did not see even one Ash Gourd smashed on the ground in our housing complex this year.
Another step forward I saw was the goodies we got for the festive season: dry fruit laddus with low sugar, baked nippats (traditionally crispy deep-fried rice crackers), and roasted peanuts without salt. Some of these have been available over the last few years, but they were prominent in the festival season basket this year.
Those who can afford it, eat a kilo or more of fried savouries and sweets during the festive days. I do not know what the doctors think of this. I am not certainly against these goodies, but reducing their content of fat and salt is a good idea. The baked nippat shows that this can be done without reducing its popularity.
Another sign of progress came from my cell phone's alerts against suspected spam calls and SMS messages. The cell phone service provider, Airtel, sent them. The Government can use this technology to collect a tax on spam messages and calls.
Srinivasan Ramani
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