Being poor in this country

Being Poor in this country.

The monsoons have started and the weather is very pleasant . The trees are green and all the plants are shining. Grass has already started sprouting everywhere and that dry , parched look is fast disappearing.

But while I went for my morning walk, I was not able to walk in certain parts of the park as it was very muddy and quishy. One had to feel ones way through very carefully in order to avoid slipping and falling.

At this point, a thought really struck me that life is so difficult , in a poor country. Every season brings with it so many challenges. Even those who are relatively well -off are not able to live comfortably, let alone the poor. In summer, one has to worry about the severe heat and the ramifications. One has to time ones walks as it is so hot and unbearable outside.  Going out on ones errands becomes difficult for people as the extreme heat takes its toll. It is not possible for all places to be airconditioned , so people have to bear with the heat and extreme discomfort. Many people fall sick during this time. The poor have an even worse time. They are unable to afford the conveniences of air conditioners and such like and so they are much worse off in terms of health and comfort. This is the time when a lot of people escape for vacations , if they can afford it or they go home to their villages or native places , to avoid the daily grind.

In the monsoons, the damp weather  and constant rain presents a new set of challenges. Roads are waterlogged, making traffic a nightmare and people are constantly falling sick.  In a developed country, with better roads and better management of resources and environment, the people do not have to worry  about these things.

In winter, the extreme cold brings a fresh set of challenges. Instead of enjoying the weather, we have to make arrangements for the extreme cold conditions. Abroad , homes are centrally heated or cooled but here electricity costs are exorbitant and of limited availability. So, comforts come at a cost and not to be taken for granted. Even in offices, few are centrally heated , so the winters are an extremely challenging time. With our  usual resourcefulness,  we have been  able to figure out ways to enjoy our lives despite these difficulties. But difficult it is neverthe less.

So, is it the vast population ? Or is it the lack of proper management . I feel it is many factors which have left us in this situation for decades. Years of neglect after independence , as the politicians were either unable to understand the importance of these parameters or did not believe it was possible.  Also, the vast illiterate population and its attendant ills of extreme poverty, poor health, poor understanding, etcand the lack of infrastructure ,  made life extremely difficult. Lastly and most importantly, greed arising out of poverty, transformed an entire nation into one large cesspool of corruption.


Hence , what is essential is to improve governance so that the benefits of good governance reaches all. Simultaneously, it is important to educate the people as an aware citizenry will automatically self-regulate their family sizes in order to provide a better life for all . All of these measures will enable our country to prosper and become a much more easy and comfortable place to live.

The world as I see it, in the future

Often we hear people say that the world will soon be so polluted that we will have o inhabit another planet. But the interesting thing is that there are certain things happening that we may not put together , but if seen from a long-term perspective , may have a significant impact on the world.

There is a much greater awareness today regarding the kinds of food we eat and their impact on us as well as on our health. Today doctors are much more aware of the benefits and side effects of the various food and drinks that we consume. There  is a great movement afoot to move away from processed and packaged foods towards fresh and organically grown fruits and vegetables as well as meats, fish and poultry.

In the western countries , their is now a great realisation that a lot of the diseases that are afflicting mankind , such as heart diseases, obesity, diabetes, cancer, etc. is because of the kind of foods we eat and the lifestyles we follow. Increasingly, we have resorted to eating fast foods, packaged and processed foods which make our lives convenient and also good on the palate.

But this has disastrous consequences on our health , as seen by the alarming increases in lifestyle illnesses . By researching further, it has been seen that the least harmful are fruits and vegetables. Meats, dairy products, processed foods, packaged goods are all harmful to our health , in the long run , because of  harmful chemicals  and unhealthy fats which are there. They cause inflammation and toxicity in our systems, which further lead to the life-threatening diseases.

Now, this awareness is restricted to a small section of the population worldwide . But, slowly more and more people will become aware of the need to move away from harmful foods towards more organic fruits and vegetables, fish and poultry. When this happens, what will be the impact on land. Huge amounts of grass lands are used up for cattle fodder; as the demand for dairy and meats dip, a large amount of this land will be freed up, leading to lower carbon emissions.

If our lifestyles undergo a change, drugs and medicines as we know it will also undergo a drastic change. The pharmaceutical and health industry will also have to rethink the way medicine is practiced.

Now, lets look at another scenario; the impact of the IT innovations on our lifestyles. Due to constant innovations , habits and lives of people are undergoing a dramatic change.

Many people are working from home and its acceptable to do that. Earlier , only women who had just delivered or had small children would work from home , as to not have to totally write off their careers. Today, increasingly many people, and even many men choose to work from home and its seen as acceptable.

Its possible today to talk though a variety of devices. We can have conferences with clients, talk them through a video presentation, together with our own colleagues, without leaving our own homes. If all this is possible, then it is also possible that many companies will not have  such large set ups but hire people to do their different jobs from home , as a consultant. Then the need for such massive offices may not be there anymore. If most people work from home, those massive movements in all cities worldwide to the Central Business Districts will not be there. That will significantly reduce pollution levels due to car movements. Less commuting traffic; lower carbon emissions.

Another big movement is online retail . It is taking off in a big way.Again, the need for such massive amounts of expensive real -estate for retail may not be necessary.

If all of this were to happen,  the doom and gloom story regarding our planet  may not be true. Life as we know it will change drastically. It will be possible to give the benefits of learning to all inhabitants of the world, give them an opportunity to eat  healthy, live longer, disease -free lives and work to their satisfaction. People will be able to have a good income too, thanks to access to opportunities through the net.  But this will only be possible if
1.All governments consider the planet as a common resource
2. Create laws which are respected by all countries and benefit all countries equally.
But , life as we know it will change forever- how we work, study , what we eat, how we take care of our health, etc. will change dramatically in the future. It will be more in the hands of the people. Today it is not.