THE OTHER SIDE OF MONEY

Money is mankind’s greatest invention, designed to set us free, yet we have become its slaves. It dominates our lives, but what do we understand about it? The back cover of the book, Money: The Unauthorised Biography, the classic work of Felix Martin, has these words printed. As the entire country is experiencing a run for money post-demonetisation, Martin’s book is an interesting and inspiring read.

What is money? Well one view is that everyone, except an economist, knows what money means and even an economist can describe it in the course of a chapter, as author AH Quiggin observed. More so today, when economists are available dime a dozen while economies are crumbling. But that is besides the point.

What demonetisation has proved is that societies not so modern had better understanding of money. The pacific island of Yap is a case in point. It was one of the most remote and inaccessible inhabited places on earth till 1869, when the first European trading post of German merchant firm, Godeffroy and Sons, was established. Yap brought one of the most unusual monetary systems to the knowledge of the world. Yap was a highly complex society with a tiny population. Apart from all other things, the most interesting was its monetary system. The coinage was unique and it consisted of huge, solid thick stone wheels having a diameter of one foot to 12 feet with a hole in the centre varying according to the size of the stone. A pole could be inserted inside the hole to facilitate transportation. This was the Yap money and its value depended on both the size as also on the fineness and whiteness of the stone. It was called ‘fei’.

Despite the size and difficulty of physically moving the fei, this monetary unit could help exchange of goods because it symbolised trust, and on this trust depended its credit-worthiness. It was the value of the spoken word that did the trick in every deal. The idea of money has come a long way since those times and trickery, treachery, and toil all go behind it, but the fact remains that its value is still its credit-worthiness.

Today, monetary thinking drives human societies and the chaos following demonetisation in India exemplifies that. The moot point, however, is that the problem is not with money per se but the mind-set of the people on money. As one of the key framers of the American Constitution, James Madison wrote: “If men were angels, no Government would be necessary. There would never be any question of their over-spending, or defaulting, or simply skipping town, and if they trusted one another implicitly, no Government money would be necessary either.”

But we are not living in a Utopian community and men are ‘no more angels in economics than in politics’. As the world prepares for its first trillionaire, monetisation and demonetisation would coexist. Who gets hurt in the process is the issue. The impact of excessive accumulation, consumption, and competition for acquiring higher status will only come in the long run, but as of now, no one is bothered about what money can’t buy and how much is enough.

As the small population on social media is trying to create a storm in a teacup, a large majority is still confused whether the patience and torment they are bearing will lead them to El Dorado.

THE MIDAS TOUCH

The Midas touch is a popular idiom in English language that denotes successful people, the people having the ability to do everything to their advantage. It is also to denote those people who have the capability to produce large profits with ease. This, however, is an implication that may not give the right significance of the story, though in the popular parlance this is how ‘the Midas touch’ is used.

The fact is rather different. The Midas Touch is a story from Greek mythology about the king who lived in ancient Greece. The king had a little daughter named Marigold. Being a king, Midas was rich and had plenty of gold. Yet he was greedy and had great fancy for gold. He always wanted more gold. One day, while he was busy admiring his stock of riches he had stored, a beautiful fairy emerged in front of him. The fairy was carrying a strange looking wand which had wings.

Midas was told by the fairy that he was the richest man in the world and no king had as much gold as him. But Midas did not seem to be contented. He said that even though he had so much gold, he would like to have more because gold was the best and most wonderful thing in the world. The fairy asked if Midas was sure about his desire. Midas nodded in the affirmative.

To this the fairy asked what would be that one boon which Midas would like to have. The king said his only wish was that whatever he touched should turn into gold. The fairy said that his wish would be granted and from the next day after sunrise, whatever he would touch will turn into gold. But the fairy warned that the boon would not make him happy. The king was still insistent. The fairy after granting the boon departed.

The next morning as the king woke up, the first thing he wanted was to test whether the boon worked. He touched the head of the bed, it turned into gold. He then touched the chair, it turned into gold. This made him ecstatic. He frenetically started touching every object in the room. They all turned into gold. His joy knew no bounds. Soon he felt hungry and called for breakfast. As he touched the bread, it turned into gold. He touched the meat, it turned gold. Not a thing he could eat. All was gold. He picked the glass of water to drink. The moment he touched it, it turned into gold.

Perplexed as he was, the king saw his daughter coming inside. He tried to hug her. She turned into gold. This shattered the king completely. He cried for help from the fairy. The fairy came. The king prayed for withdrawal of the boon and promised that he would never again crave for gold. He had realised the truth.

So the Midas touch is not about successful people. Why people fail to learn this lesson is another story. As the Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes were demonetised, many would have now realised the futility of amassing them. Some, however, still did not realise as they bought gold, and in desperation rail and airplane tickets! Who knows many would have gone for an open heart after that broken heart. The moral of the story: Riches should be put to good use rather than being stashed uselessly.

PINK AND SOME SHADES OF GREY

From the days of Manusmriti to John Gray, attempts to understand women have been made in our society. The only problem is that those attempts have been largely tempered with the prevalent societal mindset, predominantly driven by male psyche. Feminist writers, too, have not been very successful in ridding their thoughts of this male-centric obsession.

As debates across the country are getting shriller over the issue of triple talaq, there is a need to look at women, understand them from the point of view of a woman. While Muslim Personal Law and advocates of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) may be in the process of preparing for a showdown, we require to look at the entire subject of women’s place in society objectively, as an independent entity. Needless to say that the issue of triple talaq arises from the patriarchal attitude of society at large. In fact, even the so-called progressive societies of the West cannot be said to be completely free of those male-centric biases, though there are indications that some changes have taken place.

But despite that, there is still a long way to go as the basic attitude of society remains mired in the belief that it was Adam from whose ribs God created Eve, for Adam. That, however, is a different part of the story. But attempts have been made by a few creative and sensitive sections of society to vouch for the genuine position of women.

This has been reflected in the films of both the West and East, particularly Bengal and Mumbai in India, and Hollywood in the US. It was in the early Fifties when Hollywood gave us Woman of Rome starring the sensational Gina Lollobrigida. For most parts, the film was a depiction of exploitation of a woman and her resistance against the male hegemony in society.

Then in the early Sixties, Bengal saw the genius of Satyajit Ray portray women’s plight through his classic Mahanagar. This was the story of an urban woman faced with contemporary realities of life. It was about a working woman and her travails as she tries to wriggle out of the male-dominated family to seek economic emancipation. It reflected patriarchal attitudes and societal dynamics. In the early Eighties, Hollywood gave The Lonely Lady based on the famous novel of Harold Robbins, again depicting the trial by fire that a woman has to undergo to find her place in society.

More recently, there have been many such attempts by societies of both the West and East that suggest that some churning, even if mild, is going on if the films and media are any indication of the societal mindset. Latest in that trend is the Bollywood film Pink that took up a bold initiative to raise the issue of choice and freedom of woman in physical relationships. This issue has always raised one-sided questions on morality and virtuosity, leading to a basic issue whether morality is only a gender-specific attribute.

This has been clearly brought out in the film craftily directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury. Amitabh Bachchan’s masterly performance adds to its impact. As we prepare to witness hullabaloo over the UCC, the issue of gender equity may get skirted over. Triple talaq is a wider question of women as a class rather than religion.

AS INDIA ARRIVES

There was a time when India was the cynosure of many eyes. That was ancient India, of which there may be as many believers as sceptics. There were many Indologists who wrote copiously on India, admiring it in no uncertain terms. But then things started changing, and India was just considered a land of snake charmers, sanyasis, and beggars. That was the medieval India, tormented by the Mughals and subsequently looted by European.

Though there were flashes of occasional uprisings trying to find the soul, if at all. But those attempts were ruthlessly suppressed, like the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Divergent views about its nature notwithstanding, it definitely was the first attempt in a very long time to give precedence to self over ‘salt’ as salary was supposed to be considered those days. Self-respect, for the first time, was an issue. But the suppression of that revolt by the spring of 1858 saw many far-reaching consequences for India. It lead to a massive shake-up in the way the country was ruled.

The power shifted from the Leadenhall Street in the city of London, the headquarter of East India Company, to Downing Street and White Hall, the seat of Imperial British Government. All authority was transferred to the crown, and the British traders who ruled from a distance ceased to be masters.

The exploitation of the worst form thus began and continued for around 200 years, inflicting a serious blow to the Indian psyche. It severely bruised the Indian ego and the country had to struggle for quite some time to find its feet in the comity of nations.

But the wheel seems to be coming a full circle if the straws in the wind can be seen as any indication of India’s changing fortune in the global order of the 21st century. The signals are rather clear, though reasons may be debated. This Diwali saw for the first time the lighting of the headquarters of the United Nations to commemorate the Indian festival of lights. As heads of States of leading Western powers, like the US and UK, waxed eloquence on the occasion of Diwali, one thing was discernible. India was slowly but surely coming back in the reckoning.

While this is by no means to give credit to any one individual or political party, it certainly is a recognition of the calibre of the new generation Indian. The young, the enthusiastic and, of course, the assertive Indian who now holds his country, his faith and his abilities in high esteem.

As the world economies are still finding themselves on a sticky wicket, the Indian economy is rather consistent on the growth trajectory. This is how history moves, this is how history operates. This Diwali indicated in no uncertain terms that India is arriving. For those having an eye for history this may be some kind of a ‘temporal determinism’, the movement of ‘Kaal Chakra’ that shapes the destinies of nations and civilisations. No wonder, from the US President to the British and Canadian Premiers, all appeared to be in sync with India as they lauded Diwali as an occasion to rejoice the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance. As the knowledge century brightens, let us make hay while the sun shines and let the world get the real taste of India. But a point of caution — we still have miles to go.

PONDERING OVER LAXMI

Why do we celebrate Diwali? The question may elicit many answers. For many it is the time to celebrate the victory of good over bad. The legend is that when Lord Rama reached Ayodhya after vanquishing the mighty Ravana, the people of Ayodhya celebrated the victory by lights and crackers. With passage of time, this became a ritual to be celebrated as Deepavali — the festival of lights.

Another answer is that Goddess Laxmi is invoked and worshipped so that she is pleased and will shower prosperity on us. The modernists may say that it is the time when the season changes from autumn to winter and has environmental significance. Thus homes, shops and establishments are cleaned thoroughly so that for the next one year, hygiene can be maintained. Maybe there are many more explanations. Maybe they all are correct. But the common thought is that it is the time to invoke Laxmi and seek her blessings. The point is, if this were true, all Laxmi worshippers would be blessed with riches and prosperity.

This, however, does not happen. Pleasing Laxmi is easier said than done. It is important, therefore, to understand the nature of Laxmi. Thepurans say that the nature of Goddess Laxmi is being mobile; she does not stick to one place. Further, she blesses those whose deeds are good and therefore right means are important. One can gain wealth by unfair means, but that wealth will not bring the prosperity, which includes peace, health and pleasure. This explanation needs to be considered as we see the rich and mighty falling like nine pins in not too long a time.

A case in point is that of senior bureaucrat BK Bansal, who was allegedly caught red-handed taking a bribe of Rs9 lakh. What happened to him may serve as a grim reminder of the classical view that wealth needs to be earned righteously if it is to bring real prosperity. Bansal and his entire family committed suicide. What use of the Rs9 lakh?

There are many such incidents and accidents that remind us that it does not make sense to fall prey to greed. In long run, it pays to be good. But why are we not learning the lessons right? A difficult question to answer, yet we can say that temptations outweigh the odds in the short run. The pull of the allurement pushes reasoning ability to the back seat.

There may be counter-argument that not all who earn wealth by wrong means get caught or pay the price. Well it of course is a matter of conjecture and there cannot be a proof to indicate that all ill-gotten wealth vanishes like thin air. Nevertheless, the all-important questions is why fall prey to the allurement that is fraught with such serious risk?

The point after all is that all those who have been caught were fairly well-to-do. There was no need to adopt dishonest means. The risk, thus, was not worth taking. And this provides the answer. It is not about those who could not afford being honest. It is about those who could afford to be honest. Because it is they who pay the biggest price. So this Diwali lets us ponder over the nature of Laxmi and pray to her to give us the strength not to fall prey to temptations that may be high risk deals.