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Palestine is a nascent state. The nation was born surmounting heavy odds stacked against it. The Palestinians had been in an unending conflict with Israel over their right to their land. Even today no one knows when an armed conflict is going to explode there. The nation is poor. The Government is struggling to raise resources to develop the nation. The roads there resemble roads of Kerala. Gutters, pot holes, sewage flowing onto the roads, bumpy rides and dust everywhere as a vehicle passes all resemble the roads in Kerala. To be precise the roads have close similarity with the roads in Trivandrum, the capital city of God’s own country. The only difference is that Kerala has resources that are poorly deployed. Reality in Kerala means corruption, dirty roads, pollution and inadequate power supply. There is no imagination. There is no forethought. Impractical ideals rule over practical solutions. Arm chair officials are content in scribbling notes never struggling out of their seats to see the reality. We are in the process of a never ending debate over the need for good roads in Kerala. It may be that debate over non issues stimulates the average Keralite. Palestine is in dire straits because they cannot help it. We are in a precarious state because we prefer to be in it. In the words of NRNarayana Murty, “ego, vanity and contempt for other people have clouded our minds for thousands of years and impeded our progress.” Al Berouni, the famous Persian writer on his visit to India in the eleventh century had stressed on this tendency.
When one travels through Jordan, Israel, Palestine and Egypt what catches the eye is the manner in which Israel has converted deserts and barren lands into green belts through green house farming as well as conventional farming. Palestine came into being mostly through transfer of the West Bank and Gaza. What surprises a keen observer is that while green house farming and normal farming flourish in Israel, farming is not actively pursued as Israel had been doing in the land handed over to Palestine or Jordan.
If one travels the length and breadth of Kerala we find abandoned farms where agriculture had been the prime activity bringing prosperity all around. No one tills the land any more. There is no one to harvest the ripe coconuts. Let me quote a real story. The names are changed. Thomas Varghese has more than an acre of dry land where multi cropping is adopted. He has around forty coconut trees. There is no one to climb the trees and harvest the coconuts. With great difficulty he managed to locate Chellappan who was traditionally a coconut tree climber. When Thomas requested Chellappan to help him tide over the crisis, Chellapan told him that even though he liked to do the job his grown up children had barred him from carrying on with the traditional activity. When Thomas pleaded Chellappan finally relented and gave him his Cell Phone number. What Chellappan said while handing over the phone number was quite interesting. “Normally when the phone rings it is answered by someone at home as I am not there all the time. Never tell them you are asking for me to harvest the coconuts. They will never let me do it. Just tell them you wish to see me and nothing more. I will try to come to your place at my convenience. “As agreed to Thomas made the phone call and conveyed the message. After a few days on one fine afternoon Thomas found Chellappan knocking at the door. Chellappan said,” I did receive your message in time. However it was only today that I had felt that I needed some money in my hand and I would do the harvesting for you today.” Agriculture has no future in Kerala.
What we need today is infrastructure. Developed roads play a great role in the development of infrastructure. If we care to visit Beijing we would find world class roads there. Vehicles ply on five and six lanes one way and on identical lanes the other way. If the traffic is heavy there are flyovers to regulate traffic. There are over bridges, some of them with escalators, for the pedestrians to cross the roads everywhere. At the Zebra lines vehicles stop by themselves and allow the pedestrians to cross over. Reality in Beijing means clean roads, no pollution, enough power and good airports. With China a role model for many a prominent Keralite I feel it is time for us to adopt what China has adopted to develop their country barring the authoritarian rule.
The Chinese example was quoted because the ruling front in Kerala today admires China for the giant strides it has made and its wonderful accomplishments. The Chinese are hard working people and they strive to better their lives. I wonder whether we in Kerala are working as hard as the Chinese. But one thing I am certain. We are exceptionally good in debating over any issue endlessly to ensure that no development ever takes place in our state.
The roads in Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are all superb and tell no different story. We had a head start over them at one point in history. They have all overtaken us. We gaze at them wonder struck. The usual refrain is that in Kerala’s special conditions what happens in the world cannot be replicated here. But Beijing is in China. The population in Beijing is as huge as any major city in the world. We come across large crowds of people everywhere. The development of Beijing into a world class city astounds an onlooker. Nothing is impossible there. They had the will. They wanted it. They have attained what Kerala will never achieve in the near future.
My dream for Kerala is that we have very good and wide roads where one can travel fast without any hindrance and without the persisting fear of something untoward happening each time one is on the road. I dream of a day when I can be a pedestrian with the full confidence that the vehicles on the road are not my enemies out to finish me off at the first opportunity.
Agriculture thrives where infrastructure excels. Road development is an integral part of infrastructure development. I dream of a day the Keralite turns back to agriculture in a big way. I dream of a day our state rich in natural resources makes the best of its potential. I dream of a day when the whole world focuses its attention on Kerala for its spectacular transformation in all parameters.
Dreams are for real. Dreams make the unattainable the attainable. I dream of a day the average Keralite realizes that his state is at the bottom rung of economically successful states or countries, accepts the fact, makes an effort to respect people better than him for their achievements, learns from them and improves his own economic status. I dream of a day when the Keralite (courtesy NR Narayana Murty) asks himself,
“What can I do so that people will miss me if I disappear tomorrow?” and creates a lasting legacy of decent leadership
-----------------------------------------------------
When one travels through Jordan, Israel, Palestine and Egypt what catches the eye is the manner in which Israel has converted deserts and barren lands into green belts through green house farming as well as conventional farming. Palestine came into being mostly through transfer of the West Bank and Gaza. What surprises a keen observer is that while green house farming and normal farming flourish in Israel, farming is not actively pursued as Israel had been doing in the land handed over to Palestine or Jordan.
If one travels the length and breadth of Kerala we find abandoned farms where agriculture had been the prime activity bringing prosperity all around. No one tills the land any more. There is no one to harvest the ripe coconuts. Let me quote a real story. The names are changed. Thomas Varghese has more than an acre of dry land where multi cropping is adopted. He has around forty coconut trees. There is no one to climb the trees and harvest the coconuts. With great difficulty he managed to locate Chellappan who was traditionally a coconut tree climber. When Thomas requested Chellappan to help him tide over the crisis, Chellapan told him that even though he liked to do the job his grown up children had barred him from carrying on with the traditional activity. When Thomas pleaded Chellappan finally relented and gave him his Cell Phone number. What Chellappan said while handing over the phone number was quite interesting. “Normally when the phone rings it is answered by someone at home as I am not there all the time. Never tell them you are asking for me to harvest the coconuts. They will never let me do it. Just tell them you wish to see me and nothing more. I will try to come to your place at my convenience. “As agreed to Thomas made the phone call and conveyed the message. After a few days on one fine afternoon Thomas found Chellappan knocking at the door. Chellappan said,” I did receive your message in time. However it was only today that I had felt that I needed some money in my hand and I would do the harvesting for you today.” Agriculture has no future in Kerala.
What we need today is infrastructure. Developed roads play a great role in the development of infrastructure. If we care to visit Beijing we would find world class roads there. Vehicles ply on five and six lanes one way and on identical lanes the other way. If the traffic is heavy there are flyovers to regulate traffic. There are over bridges, some of them with escalators, for the pedestrians to cross the roads everywhere. At the Zebra lines vehicles stop by themselves and allow the pedestrians to cross over. Reality in Beijing means clean roads, no pollution, enough power and good airports. With China a role model for many a prominent Keralite I feel it is time for us to adopt what China has adopted to develop their country barring the authoritarian rule.
The Chinese example was quoted because the ruling front in Kerala today admires China for the giant strides it has made and its wonderful accomplishments. The Chinese are hard working people and they strive to better their lives. I wonder whether we in Kerala are working as hard as the Chinese. But one thing I am certain. We are exceptionally good in debating over any issue endlessly to ensure that no development ever takes place in our state.
The roads in Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are all superb and tell no different story. We had a head start over them at one point in history. They have all overtaken us. We gaze at them wonder struck. The usual refrain is that in Kerala’s special conditions what happens in the world cannot be replicated here. But Beijing is in China. The population in Beijing is as huge as any major city in the world. We come across large crowds of people everywhere. The development of Beijing into a world class city astounds an onlooker. Nothing is impossible there. They had the will. They wanted it. They have attained what Kerala will never achieve in the near future.
My dream for Kerala is that we have very good and wide roads where one can travel fast without any hindrance and without the persisting fear of something untoward happening each time one is on the road. I dream of a day when I can be a pedestrian with the full confidence that the vehicles on the road are not my enemies out to finish me off at the first opportunity.
Agriculture thrives where infrastructure excels. Road development is an integral part of infrastructure development. I dream of a day the Keralite turns back to agriculture in a big way. I dream of a day our state rich in natural resources makes the best of its potential. I dream of a day when the whole world focuses its attention on Kerala for its spectacular transformation in all parameters.
Dreams are for real. Dreams make the unattainable the attainable. I dream of a day the average Keralite realizes that his state is at the bottom rung of economically successful states or countries, accepts the fact, makes an effort to respect people better than him for their achievements, learns from them and improves his own economic status. I dream of a day when the Keralite (courtesy NR Narayana Murty) asks himself,
“What can I do so that people will miss me if I disappear tomorrow?” and creates a lasting legacy of decent leadership
-----------------------------------------------------
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