Shirdi - thriving economy

Temples are the SEZs in India. They boost the economy in the place they are located. Apart from tirupathi the richest temple another example is Shirdi.

There was a small place called Shirdi with a small Sai Baba temple in the middle, few shops around it and scattered houses. Very few devotees wanted to visit the temple to which there wasnt even a proper road. The nearest railway station is Nagarsol, 40 kms away.

The first time I visited Shirdi, there was a kuchha road from the station to shirdi and there were jeeps for hire. There were small eateries around the temple. Photography was permitted inside - even near the shrine. Very peaceful and empty complex. Few choultries were available for accomodation which charged from 50 to 100 Rs per day.

Next time I visited, few hotels came up. Charged upto 300/- per day. Variety of eateries - north indian and south indian. Queue complex was constructed inside the temple premises.

The latest trip was an eye opener. Four lane high way and a pukka road all the way to shirdi. Apartment complexes, reebok showrooms, five-star hotels all over the place. Queue complex filled to the brim. Restaurants all over - u'll even get a pizza and burger there. Shops upto four streets from the temple. A railway station to come up soon. Trains from all major cities in India to the place. A/c coaches from station to shirdi. Internet cafes. A room in a 'decent' hotel during costs 1500 rs per day. There are engineering and medical colleges in the vicinity. Shirdi trust's corpus exceeds 500 Crores.

All these changes in barely 8 years. Talk about economic growth - India Shines.

The best phrase to capture all this is "Shirdi Economic Zone" coined by Dilip Raote in his article in business world.

Om Sai Ram

Indian Traditions

India was eco-friendly in its festivals and rituals earlier. One of the outcomes of modernization is that such environmental friendly practices vanished.

People ate in banana leaves which decomposed after they were disposed. People drank in earthen ware which was disposed off just by throwing (I remember the tasty tea served by vendors in railway stations in kullads in 1980s. Absolutely unbeatable!!). Water was stored in either earthen pots or copper vessels both of which make drinking water safe and healthy to drink. People carried around cloth bags not leather not plastic. People wore jute or cotton clothes. No smoke spilling textile industries. And many more examples. Can u imagine the amount of plastic and other non-biodegradable wastes we generate these days?
Life was simple even with transport. No polluting, noisy vehicles.

The hindu festivals were seasonal and the delicacies represented the crop of the season. I can definitely speak for festivals in south India. Pongal is made during Sankranthi because rice was harvested during that time. Cow dung is mixed with water and sprinkled in front of the houses to keep ants and other insects away from the harvested grains stored in the houses.

Neem leaves are used for decoration and neem flowers in preparations for Ugadi. It is a time for chicken pox and neem is said to keep it way. The other ingredients used are the crops of the season like tamarind, raw mango, jaggery, etc.

Diwali comes just before the start of winter. Mosquitoes and other insects breed in stagnant rain water and are ready for a bite!! The crackers made earlier were made using the chemicals wrapped in paper. All that’s left was ashes. The light and smoke used to be substitute for all-outs. Just imagine the mess in front of the houses the day after diwali these days. And many other examples.

Sometimes I wonder what have we done in the name of modernization. We lost out on environment, we lost out on human touch (where are the community get-togethers these days?). Having come all the way, we are now searching for ways to save our environment from our harmful practices. Does progression of human race lead to regression of nature?

India

Happy 60th independence day!! Tomorrow is the day we got rid of foreign rulers and became independent. We ruled our own country (??), called it democracy. We tried to become self sufficient through starting industries to manufacture goods for us though we followed our ex-rulers in legal, educational, irrigation, etc.. in so many others ways.
But is India truly independent today, especially after globalization?
Our stock markets respond to those in NY. We dread at the thought of FIIs leaving our stock market (Quit India , indeed!!) Our services industry depends on other countries for clients. Not many of the industries which were started right after independence are still truly Indian. They are importing materials, they have been acquired by foreign companies, most company boards have a non-Indian director. No part of our life is left untouched by the very 'foreigners' our ancestors struggled to get rid of. They burnt foreign goods, while we embrace imports.
And we are proud of our situation now. We are called 'emerging economy'. We are now looking at conquering the foreign shores. Indians are settling abroad, Indian food, clothes,.. are popular abroad, Indian companies are setting up shop abroad and acquiring foreign companies , getting listed on other stock exchanges, etc. The world looks at us while we grow. We have indeed come a long way from 1947 !

Jhanda uncha rahe hamara...