In this lockdown all of us have learnt some lessons. Here are some random lessons I learnt.
Courtesy: http://knowstartup.com/2017/01/domestic-help-provider-mydidi-acquires-home-services-startup-timemytask/#prettyPhoto
We often call people who express views like these, old fashioned, unambitious and so on. Only wise can understand that we gain a lot of wealth in the form of good air, good water, good health and tension-free life.
Women:
Women, who are the home makers, do have experience in being in lockdown. Don't they? And we have many things to learn from them. They keep themselves occupied with household work and other works of their interest. Among the other works they do, they also watch their favorite youtube videos on cooking, stitching, crafts, house decorations, etc. They try out what they saw in those youtube videos in home and make our homes a beautiful place to live. Men, who are new to lockdown can learn from them to be creative, to try new things, to be useful to others and still be engaging to themselves in ways they would feel good about themselves.
Courtesy: Internet (https://www.stocksy.com/2625031/indian-woman-lighting-oil-lamps-during-diwali-and-decorating-with-rangoli)
Plight of the daily wages laborers:
When everything is good, we want to travel abroad, make money, yield to impulsive buying in malls, enjoy an advanced environment in an advanced foreign country. But when there is an uncertainty, like this pandemic, people feel safer in their "filthy", "under developed" home towns, with their parents and relatives. We saw how immigrant laborers wanted to go back to their home towns. Do people come to metro cities to escape the mediocrity of their villages or towns? Hardly. They go to the big cities only to make money and send it to their parents in their home towns, only to improve their family conditions, only to educate their younger siblings and children. They simply go to metro cities because they didn't get job in their village. If a small village in Uttar Pradesh gives job to her citizens, they would not go to Lucknow. If Lucknow had given them the jobs, they would not have gone to Delhi or Chennai or other metros. The nearest possible local (A village in UP > Lucknow > Chennai) is the most preferred work location for a daily wage workers. They love their native places.
They deserve to stay with their family. They deserve to stay in their native towns and villages. GoI owes them their reasonable job opportunity. Local markets and opportunities could help migrant workers a lot. If they get local jobs they won't migrate.
They deserve to stay with their family. They deserve to stay in their native towns and villages. GoI owes them their reasonable job opportunity. Local markets and opportunities could help migrant workers a lot. If they get local jobs they won't migrate.
Courtesy: Indian Express (https://indianexpress.com/article/india/tamil-nadu-struggles-to-keep-migrant-workers-in-state-6399506/)
The US farmers are asking people in the US to buy from them directly. They are asking people to prefer them to Walmart for vegetables and other farm items. They openly talk about how their livelihoods have been affected by the non availability of logistics and supply chain networks due to this pandemic. Remember, the US is a strong advocate of GLOBAL market by making supply chain efficient. US always talks about global economy, market economy, etc against local economy. "GLOBAL MARKETS" is not working out for them. People in the US have started buying fruits and vegetables from the farms directly. It's time for us too to strengthen our villages and local markets. Only they will come to our rescue during uncertainties (local buyers and sellers complement each other). We should not be dependent on Reliance Fresh, Big basket, Heritage fresh, etc to bring our food from the North. The local the supply is, the more confident can we be. I am all for a good supply chain. However, a local market can be very assuring during difficult times. For a local market to lend helping hands in the difficult time, there has to be a constant local demand. We should be able to walk down to local farms and get bananas, mangoes, milk, etc anytime come what may. Shouldn't we be?
The US farmers are asking people in the US to buy from them directly. They are asking people to prefer them to Walmart for vegetables and other farm items. They openly talk about how their livelihoods have been affected by the non availability of logistics and supply chain networks due to this pandemic. Remember, the US is a strong advocate of GLOBAL market by making supply chain efficient. US always talks about global economy, market economy, etc against local economy. "GLOBAL MARKETS" is not working out for them. People in the US have started buying fruits and vegetables from the farms directly. It's time for us too to strengthen our villages and local markets. Only they will come to our rescue during uncertainties (local buyers and sellers complement each other). We should not be dependent on Reliance Fresh, Big basket, Heritage fresh, etc to bring our food from the North. The local the supply is, the more confident can we be. I am all for a good supply chain. However, a local market can be very assuring during difficult times. For a local market to lend helping hands in the difficult time, there has to be a constant local demand. We should be able to walk down to local farms and get bananas, mangoes, milk, etc anytime come what may. Shouldn't we be?
Education:
I have nothing against cities or IT jobs or other job guaranteeing fields. My only concern is that Chennai or any other metros for that matter is limited in area and resources. Engineering education only trains students to take employment in large cities. It does not seem to prepare students to build industries in their home towns and create employments there. Education ministry must fix this root problem in the engineering education and it should empower new industries building in villages and towns.
Courtesy: Rediff https://m.rediff.com/getahead/report/slide-show-1-career-love-animals-become-a-vet/20130713.htm
Mindset of parents have to change too. They should encourage their children to take up the studies that would help them get employment or create employment in their native towns and villages. Everyone need not become a SW engineer. Students could become doctors, veterinary doctors, lawyers, primary school teachers, high school teachers, professors, accountants, CAs, entrepreneurs, farmers, organic farmers, confectioners and bakers, mechanical tools manufacturers, etc. There should be enough opportunities in villages and towns that people don't come to big cities and populate it further and suck her resources. I am not eligible to give this advice to others, yet, this is my dream. I hereby humbly invite all of you to share my dream.
Mindset of parents have to change too. They should encourage their children to take up the studies that would help them get employment or create employment in their native towns and villages. Everyone need not become a SW engineer. Students could become doctors, veterinary doctors, lawyers, primary school teachers, high school teachers, professors, accountants, CAs, entrepreneurs, farmers, organic farmers, confectioners and bakers, mechanical tools manufacturers, etc. There should be enough opportunities in villages and towns that people don't come to big cities and populate it further and suck her resources. I am not eligible to give this advice to others, yet, this is my dream. I hereby humbly invite all of you to share my dream.
IT and internet penetration:
TN has good internet penetration. This has enabled many IT people to work from their villages. Astonishingly, I haven't heard about degradation in productivity due to poor internet. Given this internet connectivity situation in India, IT companies can reduce their burden on the cities by allowing their employees to work from their native villages and towns for good. This will have cascading impact in many levels. IT employees won't buy properties in cities. They will instead buy it in their town. This will boost the town economy. This will create a balance in economies. Economies in cities have flourished by grabbing the economies from smaller towns and villages. Any movement of people from cities to towns (reverse migrations) is merely going to help in striking a balance in economies and natural resource utilization.
Domestic help:
Due to this pandemic, many households have stopped their domestic help servant/maids. I hear that many of those households continue paying their domestic help servant/maids by transferring to their bank accounts. This is a good thing to do. I thank them. I ask others who have stopped paying to continue paying them in their difficult times.
Courtesy: http://knowstartup.com/2017/01/domestic-help-provider-mydidi-acquires-home-services-startup-timemytask/#prettyPhoto
We often call people who express views like these, old fashioned, unambitious and so on. Only wise can understand that we gain a lot of wealth in the form of good air, good water, good health and tension-free life.
Let's appreciate our gifts.
Let's learn from our situations.
Let's make this world a better place to live.
Let's be vocal about local.
Jai Hind !!!
Bharat Mata Ki Jai !!!
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