Manmohanji,Please donot increase Sardarji joke collections

Sardarji jokes have earned a place in humour literature in many languages.Sardarjis do not object to it,they are blessed with a great sense of humour,and are capable of having a hearty laugh even when they are on the receiving end.They are far from being stupid or foolish as most of the Sardarji jokes make them out to be.There are very good scientists,businessmen,great farmers,industrialists,bureaucrats,business executives,sportsmen and you name any walks of life,there are Sardarjis who have proved their capability.Probably the origin of Sardarji jokes could be out of jealousy of others.There are jokes Alleyn even at the expense of Gyani Zail Singh,former President of India.
Authors of Sardarji jokes had so far spared Manmohanji,our PM.He being a former Bureaucrat with great track record,a finance minister credited with turning around Indian economy nobody dared to invent typical Sardarji jokes at his expense.A few of the recent statements of his have earned him a  place in Sardarji Joke books.
"There are no trees that yields money"is the firs of his recent statements that can go to the collection of Sardarji Jokes.The statement was made in the context of Diesel price hike.He is perhaps under the impression that the common man has cultivated trees that can yield money.
He followed it up with another statement"More trees should be grown in villages to solve fuel crisis".That was great.Fuel price are going up.So instead of agitating on it go plant some trees,use it as firewood.Never mind it will take at least 15-20 years for a sapling planted now to grow and can provide firewood.So, till then,no need to cook food.Eat vegetables and fruits raw.How great but simple solution to a major problem!!!!
Another contribution to Sardarji Jokes collection came from Montek Sigh Aluwalia.In Kerala,land is scarce.So do not cultivate paddy.Other states will provide you rice.So,paddy fields can be levelled and high rise buildings can come up there.Another wonderful idea.After French revolution,people hear the echo of "If the have no bread,let them eat Cakes"(That was the reaction of French Empress to a demonstration of common people against scarcity of bread in the market).
Yes,we have the reincarnations of Louis XII and Mary Antonites in India.History repeats,once as real time and then as farce.We are in the farce stage.
So,Manmohanji,please do not add to the rich volume of Sardarji jokes.

Foreign Direct Investment in Retail Sector

 Government of India is in a hurry to open Retail business to foreign direct investment.The retailers in India are scared that the large Corporates from outside indi will gobble them up.Political parties are by and large with the traders who form a sizible vote bank.Central goverment is aiming at getting in $ and thereby controlling the slide of Rupee against Us$.There is also a hopes that this will be a tonic for stock markets with foreign players again taking active interest in investing in Indian stocks.

Now,let us examine pros and cons of foreign corporates entering the retail sector.Fom a consumer point of view,the advantages would be that he gets better shopping enviornment,hopefully better prices, and larger variety.The disadvantage would be that of lack of flexibility,loosing out on the "friendly neighbour shopkeeper"etc.

The hue and cry against FDI in retail comes from the traders who are in business now. They genuinly apprehend that their clintale and therby business will deminish with the coming of multinationals into their field of activity.They have seen many Indian brands getting wiped out or marginalised with the entry og multinational compatition.

One real issue is that of stocking of large quantum of commodities by the new entrants.With their money power,the MNCs will lift massive quantum of stocks,making the commodity market short in availability.By law of demand and supply,this will result in prices going up in the open market.MNCs with their ability to buy large quantum at harvest time can get commodities at bargain prices.The open market with less of stock availability will be forced to pay higher prices.This will push up the prices at the same time give price advantage to MNCs.

But even then,the present traders have little cause to worry.They have to prepare themselves to face compatition from MNCs.Their advantages are location,existing goodwill,low operating costs,and better understanding of local market conditions.They can refurberish their shops to give better shopping experience to their customers.Flexibility is onething they can score over MNCs.Rather than trying to block the entry of MNCs,(which anyway will be futile),they should address themselves as to how they can counter compatition.Even in the west and middle east,smaller traders are able to effectively counter compatition from the biggies.There is no reason why this model cannot work in India too.

Are the Places of Worship Meant to Flaunt Wealth?

The places of worship of all hues are now on a spree of making them more beautiful and grand.At least that is true in the Asian context.In the western world,there are quiet a few instances of the places of worship for the whites getting closed down or sold to Asian expatriates.Perhaps it may be a turn of the wheels of History.A couple of centuries ago,European money was instrumental in establishing or improving the lots of places of worship in Asia.Today it is a time for a reverse flow.

The issue that is being dealt with here is how much grand should a place of worship be?
The obvious answer is as grand as you can afford.YOU MEANING THE FAITHFULLS WHO CAUSE THAT PLACE OF WORSHIP TO BE THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. The issue is not that simple.In most cases,the funds that are coming into a place of worship is not contributed by those who are the makers or regular users of that facility.It consists of the offerings that are provided by the faithfuls who use that facility once in a while or even a few times ever in their lifetime.Decision makers of the place of worship are expected to use the funds so accrued in the most judicious manner.But often such utilisation is done in a very subjective or arbitrary manner.Often this results in the place of worship becoming a place for flaunting wealth.Of course there are a number of great pieces of architecture which are attracting visitors for their mere grandeur.E.g St Peters Basilica at Vatican,Golden Temple at Amritsar,Thirupathy temple in Andhrapradesh,India,The Grand Mosque in Abudhabi...the list can go on endlessly.These and smiler edifices attracts far more visitors than believers of the respective faiths.It also serves as some of the "must See' places in the world in the itinerary of tourists.

But the issue I am raising here is a far larger number of places of worship that are mere vulgar exhibition of wealth.I do not wish to give examples her,they are there for all to see in all places.In my opinion,the places of worship should be built in future with some norms.The basic tenement should of course be what the particular religions stipulate.But such stipulations in the scriptures are often vaugue and gives scope for different interpretations.The wise men of each religion should form clear norms for their places of worship.They also should address the issue as to how grand a place of worship.There can be circumstance where a really grand place of worship should come up.That again should be based on some criteria,and not for satisfying someones ego or whims and fancies.

Would it not be nobler to build smaller and simpler places of worship in needy places than to flaunt resources in one place?