My Brand New Profession!!

Well, you read it right!! I am starting my new career from tomorrow. No no, I am not ceasing to be a software engineer. That is my bread and butter. Cannot imagine myself not doing that! Just that I will be doing something more.

I will be turning into a teacher from tomorrow. It was a long cherised dream for me. I love teaching. Many reasons behind it. But the chief one has to be my Physics lecturer in PU. He has been one of the biggest inspirations in my life. So, there you go... I will be teaching 10th standard maths in a school. Its a small school called The Laurel school near Basvangudi. The principal is my friend's teacher. When she told that she didnt have a quality maths teacher and offered us the chance to teach, we jumped on the opportunity.

I have always believed that giving back to society starts with teaching. Thats the best service one can do, given the quality of teachers in our schools. For me, there are gains too... No, not monetary... I am not getting money for it. But, I intend to improve my communication skill by teaching those kids. That should be a great take away for me.

Though I am feeling elated to be a part of such an endeavour, I am also feeling nervous. For a person who always made fun of teachers (Ya, I was dreaded and hated by most of my teachers and not without reason. I have always been one of the top pranksters at every stage of my student life!!) , its a strange feeling to be on the other side of the table.

However, I hope the experience would be a good and a mutually beneficial one. Your benedictions are very much needed!!

The Year of the Farmer

"The farmer is the back bone of our country". How long has it been since we heard someone say this? I vividly remember my school days where our teachers would tell it pretty often. We had lessons on farmers, stating how important they were for the nation.

I dont know about the present day text books, but I can tell you that very few children know about farmers. Not one child would want to be a farmer. The child never understands the farmers' importance. Naturally, when he grows up, he wont have the slightest regard for them.

You may be wondering why I am suddenly so interested in writing about farmers. Believe me, I wanted to write this for a long time now. Recent happenings have only made my resolve stronger.

The nation seems to have realized its mistake. For the first time in a decade, India is importing food grains. Its a matter of national shame, given that we took pride in being a self sufficient nation. Needeless to say, we are paying the penalty for ignoring the farmer for this long.

Till ten years back, farmers were regarded as a core part of Indian economy. We had surplus food grains year after year. Then, once the services industry gained foot, it all changed. Agriculture was no longer the one contributing to the economy. All eyes turned towards the services industry, especially software industry. The farmer was grossly neglected for nearly a decade. The results are here for all of us to see.

For consecutive years, agriculture's contribution to the GDP has decreased. This year, it fell below the 2% mark. This, inspite of the fact that 2/3rds of our nation lives on agriculture. I read a recent report saying that in the last decade, 1 lac farmers have commited suicide due to loan burdens. Successive governments have failed to increase the living standards of farmers. Though they have ambitious plans, it all remains on paper with nothing being implemented fully. Needless to say, lot of money gets siphoned off. End result is that the farmer continues to live in dire straits. He cant repay the interest, let alone the debt amount.

India will suffer if the situation does not change in the coming years. If food grains production continues to decrease, India will have to import more and more from the outside market. This is going to burn a very big hole in our pockets. Therefore, the need of the hour is to give all possible assistance to farmers. We have made our manufacturing and services sectors self sufficient. Now, its time for the agriculture sector. The government must provide the farmers with easy loans at low rates of interest and a sufficiently large time period. It must make sure that there is no lack of water and dependence on rain water must be minimised. It must provide the farmers with quality seeds and fertilizers to get maximum yeild. Most importantly, the government must win back the confidence of the farming community. They must announce a substantial minimum support price so that the farmer dares to cultivate his land. Not to forget, these must be done at break neck speed with immaculate execution and minimum corruption.

The government at the centre has started to feel the heat. Inflation is raising rapidly. It doesnt have enough food grains to distribute in its PDS system. All these factors are acting as a wake up call for the government. As a result, 2006-07 has been announced as the Year of the Farmer. The government intends to bring about a 2nd green revolution.

But, the government must make sure that all these announcements dont end up at the usual place-- Political stunt. It must make sure that the 2nd revolution indeed takes place and takes all of the farming community with it.

Does the government have the courage, vision and the will to bring about this much needed change? It better have. The risk of not having is just too enormous to imagine.