Thrissur, Thrishur or Trichur?

I have been an enthusiastic follower of Shashi Tharoor on twitter, through his campaign for the Thiruvananthapuram lok sabha constituency and after his victory too. I have been fascinated by the exposure, through tweets, to the day to day life of an MP, especially someone young, energetic and new to the Delhi political scene. Although in what follows, I express disappointment at and try to argue against two of his tweets, on the whole I think he is good for Thiruvananthapuram and has a bright future in Delhi.

"example is the absurdity of changing the accurate spelling of Trichur to the sub-literate "Thrissur"!"
So tweeted Tharoor about 14 hours ago expanding on his irritation at being spelled Sasi by some Malayalees instead of Shashi as his name is spelled. Although his irritation at his name being misspelt even in a foreign language is understandable, I don't find his larger comment about Malayalees' transliteration skills convincing. To start with, in the traditional scheme for romanising Malayalam, "ch" is the sound similar to the first syllable of cherish, cherub or Chad, using which would make തൃശൂര്‍ sound like ത്രിചൂര്, which is not correct. Anyone who has spent time in Kerala would have encountered Malayalees who use the latter pronunciation of Thrissur, simply because it used to be writter Trichur, probably as a legacy of the Raj. Apparently, this English spelling was enough to convince proud Malayalees to shed what they knew was the traditional pronunciation and embrace ത്രിചൂര് , but this impressionability to anything English-related is a topic for another day. However, when the English spelling is corrected (according to the way Malayalam is romanised) to Thrissur, which would enable right pronunciation among Malayalees, it is unfortunate to see someone of Tharoor's stature and obvious intellect not appreciate it.

When another reader objected to Tharoor's branding the usage Thrissur "sub-literate", he responded-
"@ajinair but u r not writing Malayalam, u r writing English. And Engl renderings of Ind names shld be written to be pronounced by Eng spkrs."

I disagree again. Although English is not an Indian language, it is not merely a foreign language in India. It is the language of business, higher education and government. The very fact that an MP like Tharoor tweets in English is an indicator of its central role in modern Indian life. Thrissur should be transliterated into English in a way that most people who are likely to come across the transliteration would understand. Given the role of English in India, and thus Kerala too, these are mainly the Malayalees and to a lesser extent, other Indians. For most Indians, the right pronunciation might fall between Thrissur and Thrishur, but is definitely not Trichur. The latter might be suitable for a Francophone fringe, but not to the overwhelming majority who are likely to come across the transliteration. Besides, it is not in the character of a self-assured society, or a leader of one, to fuss over how romanisation of words in its languages might not be second nature to every foreigner.

Transliteration is never perfect. Neither Chinese, nor Arabic, Hindi or Malayalam can be transliterated perfectly to every native English speaker's tastes. I think it is interesting, in this regard, how the world is now learning to pronounce Chinese sounds rightly from their transliteration in the Roman script, and many native English speakers take pride in doing it too. There is obvious correlation between this trend and China's rising star in the world sky. One earns respect from one's peers only when one learns to respect oneself. Once a system for Romanisation of a script is in wide use, it is wise to accept it and get on with real work, which I am certain Shashi Tharoor faces no dearth of...

Memory Alpha

Among my many cherished childhood conceptions that fell apart when lit up by facts, one of the most heartening was that I was not the sc-fi know-all that I once thought myself to be. As I discovered the wealth of the genre beyond the few Asimov and HG Wells titles I'd read as a kid, I went from amazement at the wide appeal of utopian fantasising about the future to disappointment at the assembly line nature of many of my recent science fiction reads. However, the waning share that the genre held of my general interests stands in stark contrast to what I have made of star trek over the years.

As a teen, I couldn't flip the channel any sooner when I ran into the funny suited humanoids during my regular exercise in television ADHD. Then, there were the times when I trawled wikipedia for star trek trivia purely for quizzing reasons while staying shut off from the show itself. It was only recently, when in a stroke of marketing genius, they made all the TOS episodes from the sixties available for free on cbs and netflix to build anticipation for the movie release that I, among many others I suspect, was convinced to give the actual show a chance.

I started watching TOS, digitally remastered, and was soon hooked. Each episode packed a wealth of information about the star trek universe that was sure to entice a trivia lover, while also presenting a fascinating contrast of personalities. The pervasive sexism which consigned Lt. Uhura mostly to monosyllabic responses and condemned all the women on board to wearing ridiculous skirts and being ruled almost entirely by their emotions was definitely jarring. While this is usually explained through the lens of the 1960s whereby having a female black lieutenant in an American show itself was progressive, it is interesting to note that while star trek TOS seems to have done away with racial (earth races, not alien ones of course) prejudice almost entirely, the gender divide was only partially mitigated. Larry Summers and cohorts will definitely have their arguments for this, but it does fit in with the general American trend where the cause of gender equality has lagged behind racial equality, be it voting rights, professional acceptance or the presidency. In any case, I soon realised that my near-religious appreciation of star-trek dogma as a portent of a progressive future was sorely lacking- Star trek is less about our future and more about the 1960s liberal's view of what the future ought to be.

The most immediate narrative that star trek offers is the contrast between the coldly logical and always correct Mr.Spock who typifies his people from the planet Vulcan and the humans on the starship exemplified by the sharp and instinctive Capt.Kirk and warm but volatile Dr.McCoy. The story arc presents moments where Mr.Spock's logical mind proves superior, but also many where Kirk's daring chances do what Spock's rationale doesn't. The general drift from TOS was that while logic made Mr.Spock an exceptional first officer who's most efficient in his duties, the captain needed more than just that. Captain Kirk, apart from (or perhaps including) wooing a wide variety of interstellar beauties is presented as the ideal human being, sharp in intellect but also deeply emotional.

Once into a few episodes, what struck me the most was how even in this utopian vision of the future, the beacon of civilisation needs to be carried by a military ship, complete with rank and code. Although the Enterprise is rulebound and meticulous in its attempt at fairness, it is disheartening to accept that even in the best of cases, there have to be villains and there has to be an interstellar policeman. Although the crew of the enterprise is diverse in an earthen sense, there seems to be little difference with the the 1960s when one compares the federation to the west and the Clingons or Ramulans to the Soviets. Star trek seems to suggest that even when the entire 1960s world united under western values, there would be renegades from other planets, only for a similar scenario to repeat at a grander level. The supposed durability of western values that is implicit here notwithstanding, this might very well be true. But I wish it didn't have to be in a series that, at least partially, explores many existentialist themes through a decidedly positive lens.

To put the paragraphs above into context, it must be said that I have pointed out these negatives only because of the high standard I hold star trek to. The merits of the show are self-evident. As in the 1960s when the giant leaps of science seemed to bring more harm than good, we are facing a crisis today where seemingly irreconcilable differences are arising between cultures as western hegemony fades. Albeit fictional, the fact that entire narratives like Star Trek arose in the minds of humans then holds out hope that there might just be enough of us who will see something beyond narrow self interest that can make life meaningful. Star trek had increasing complexity and the search for the unknown while staying true to the self. Despite its shorcomings, it is a beginning.

Discovering college, and myself

College, at its best, is where the individual grows up. It presents myriad choices, not just in ends to strive for, but also in the very means towards them. However, beyond all that, it is the freedom in spirit and surrounding to pursue the ideas that most appeal and the enterprise and motivation to build a satisfying career out of it that makes a university more than just a collection of students and scholars. Over much of the last decade of my life in college, I have metamorphosed, but not as much in a series of transformative steps as in a continuing response to a single major step.

The college experience has meant many different things to me at many different times. At one time it was just about stepping out of the shade of my parents’ roof or a continuation of the yearly routine of progression in grade numbers in high school. For a long time, it was a ramp onto the enticing freeway of scientific research and nearly a decade after, it is finally a place where I think I am finding what I want to do with this whole business of existence.

Finishing high school in small town India, college wasn’t as much the best place to nurture my talents and begin to build what would be my career as it was what unofficial conditioning from the family’s expectations and the official patchwork of entrance exams deemed me to be right for. And so I went, to a college not far from home, merging left and motivated to stay in the passing lane.

I found a focused engineering curriculum with a narrow track to graduation. There wasn’t to be much deviation from the predestined narrative. Surrounded as I was only by other engineers, it seemed like a blessing- a journey just of acceleration and passing, with none of the sudden brakes of a regular university’s non-major requirements. All around me, the best minds I knew were turning to the technology schools. It was a simple contract; work hard to stay to the middle and you’re more likely to be among the few who will take flight- the chosen few in an India where the old ways of relative social justice were being tossed over for boundless opportunities that personal enterprise brought, but only to those so equipped.

Nearly 5 years after my days as an undergraduate, I seek and find something else from college now. I chose a grad program pursuing much the same desires as what I did leaving high school. It was a few exits ahead, but a more enticing prospect. However, the eventual fulfillment of that desire is rendered something else by how different it means to me now. I reckoned grad school would take the adjusting that was to be expected when moving between places as far apart in my imagination as India and America- to the differences in climate, language and the unstated rules of engagement that societies imposed to make sense of themselves. Still, solace was expected in my studies, because nature and the physical world passed through unchanged whatever cultural lens I peered through. Well, I was right about how nature would be different from culture, but not about how I would react to it.

While the broad sameness of my academic pursuits grounded, the discovery of a multi-disciplinary university excited me. At the cost of diluting my focus, I dabbled in linguistics and history, evolution and anthropology. Although I never signed up for any of these courses, the very presence of these varied disciplines and their seminars and scholars in close proximity inspired me to learn beyond what I could see as part of my shortest path. I don’t think it is the knowledge itself that I have to show for it all, but what it has done to my character and my sense of self. I went from learning mostly for the sake of what it made me to being mostly what I learned.

The strict focus of my undergraduate years, ironically, did help support my wanderings later in grad school. Although academically, I have indeed stuck to the script of increasing specialization with time, my sense of what learning means to a meaningful life has both sharpened and widened. Once off the freeway, the criss-crossing network of roads makes for slower going, but the choice then also includes new routes and the experiences they bring. The more of them that is tried, the longer the whole endeavour may be, but the richer is the experience and broader the eventual perspective that is achieved.

Even with the privilege of hindsight, there isn’t any incident in the early days of grad school that I can see as having changed me. But the lack of a maximal point where in a moment, thoughts refitted into a new understanding, is mitigated most surely by the clarity of the difference in my states of mind then and now. In a way, it is fitting that an experience which owes so much to an appreciation of the emergent knowledge arising of seemingly disparate pursuits comes out as a continuum.

Today, inevitable realignments in the world economy make it more important than ever to produce graduates who seamlessly blend into the requirements of the workplace. To this end, the case for focused centres of learning aimed at solving society’s great problems is increasingly persuasive. They have obvious merits but, while seeking to sustain the complexities of modern life, their very focus blurs progress on an understanding of whether we are indeed headed where we want to go. An open search, on the other hand, is rewarding simply due to the pleasure it finds in the experience itself. From my college life hitherto, I am sure that in whatever way we choose to fine tune higher education, this open exploration of seemingly unfruitful ideas should also continue to hold a valuable place in the system.

Old-fashioned ways..

As last week waned predictably away, I was overcome by a pleasant urge, one that of late has acquired a certain sense of the exotic. I decided, rather impulsively, to avoid both of the preoccupations that have come to define my weekends. Not only would I not linger over the most recent mundane detail that was holding back my research, I would also avoid the alternative, that of indulging in my acute talent for browsing wikipedia and the papers for hours while ruminating on nuggets of information and retaining nothing I can remember. Coming back to the urge, the mere mention of which has provoked in me hundreds of chracters' worth of procrastination already, I felt like reading the way I used to.

It wasn't long ago that every few days an appealing novel would draw me into its world. Oblivious to the goings on around me, I would create a niche for myself in the unlikeliest spot, holding up the book as I lay on my back, curling around it on 3 sides and reading sideways or lying on my stomach and propping myself on my elbow. I sometimes liked to hear myself read it aloud and some other times, flip through a damp squib, not willing to hold out hope for it to clear out. But, somewhere in between, I had gone from seeking out books at libraries to having a dozen titles in my own shelf, unread. It was only the arrival of the latest of my acquisitions from amazon[dot]com that seemed to shake me from the stupor. While I'd made another silly promise to myself to read them right away, I'd also inwardly deplored the very need to have to make such a promise at all. It might have been the cover art, or as I'd like to think it might be my newfound diligence, which as yet is too fledgling to be called work ethic, but I felt right then like old times, and my promise just seemed like it might be kept.

After having them linger far too long on my wishlist, and considering my birthday was a good half year away, last week I bought "The white tiger" (TWT) by Aravind Adiga and "Unaccustomed earth" (UE) by Jhumpa Lahiri. Both were widely publicised and mostly criticised favourably. TWT won the booker prize last year and UE was among the new york times's best fiction of the year. While Adiga explores the relentless churning and struggle that upward mobility is for many of India's underprivileged, Lahiri sticks to familiar turf, emotional tales of first and second generation Bengali Americans for whom success isn't about "making it", which they do by default, but navigating the various buoys tempestuous hearts share their waters with.

Being devilishly funny and commenting pithily on what Indian society really is for the forgotten majority who stand to gain little from the system, TWT is a far quicker read than its bulk suggests, chiefly because of the fast pace and ease of identification with the protagionist. After I shook off my initial qualms about openly rooting for a self-confessed murderer, the protagonist Balram Halwai and his drive to succeed made progressively interesting reading. In the new India, it takes what the book calls an entrepreneur to break the mould, socially against age old rules of what one is supposed to make of life and economically what they can practically make a living of. Besides the humour and incisive social commentary, what made the book special for me were two original (as far as I can tell) analogies on contemporary Indian life- the "rooster coop" that is traditional society and that the book's entrepreneurs have to defy and the "men with big bellies and men with small bellies" that is post independence India's answer to the caste system. It takes a deft touch to handle matters of such profound human suffering and angst with humour while also not being flippant. In my opinion, despite what the right-wing and ultra-assertive nouveau riche in India think, Adiga has achieved quite that.

UE, in many ways, is a perfect foil to TWT. The latter is fast paced, decidedly funny, trading in base emotions like lust, greed and fear among people trying their very best simply to survive and using personal narrative to critique an entire society. UE on the other hand is deliberately slow, sometimes dwelling on minutiae spread across years while charting entire lives, always serious in its tone, and dealing with issues like identity, self-image, guilt and existential angst that only arise when lives flourish, not simply make do. It is a collection of short stories, quite like her earlier work, Interpreter of maladies. They are about the same privileged, upper caste Bengali immigrants to the United states and their ivy league educated children who rebel in much the same teenage ways as before and accept much the same uneasy truces with their parents. There are subtle questions on whether their liasons and relationships with Americans feed on creeping self-hatred, being raised in a culture whose dominant physical images they were incapable, by nature, of meeting. Although not pointed to as such by Lahiri, the emptiness that characterises many a senility of a first generation immigrant character begs the question whether uprooting their prvilaged Indian lives for the American promise whose sheen only lasted as long as their youth did was worth it. Jhumpa Lahiri's strength is her magical ear for the innermost lubdubs of the heart. All the stories here, while not presenting an experience radically different from her previous works, do a better job at tugging at emotions and goes to the core of the human experience even while staying within the confines of the Bengali-American experience.

A great novel, they say, is about the human condition and what it means to be sapient. In their different ways, at their different scales, both TWT and UE are just that.

Letters in Vain?

Below is a letter I wrote to "The Hindu" recently expressing my disappointment at being disenfranchised from India's electoral process on account of being unable to be physically present at a polling booth in India.



Rāhul 14 April 2009 16:21
To: letters@thehindu.co.in

Sir,

This is with reference to the insightful opinion piece "Overseas citizen: A horse with no name" by Abhinav Chandrachud published online in The Hindu. I am an Indian citizen pursuing graduate studies in the USA. As a keen follower of India's social climate and retaining my rightful stake in its destiny, I have been keenly following national politics and was eagerly looking forward to being able to cast an absentee ballot in the lok sabha elections. Being already on the electoral rolls, I contacted the Indian Consulate in New York, and was told that absentee ballots were available only for diplomats and election workers and pointed to the law ministry's website. On expressing my disappointment with this rule, which in my opinion disenfranchises me, I was told to write to the relevant state election commissioner. The kerala state election commissioner has not yet replied to my email.

As Mr. Chandrachud pithily deconstructs in his article, this rule undermines the most basic right of citizenship in a democracy, that of equal right to suffrage. Holding an Indian passport and considered for all other purposes as an Indian, there seems to be no argument, but the economic one, for denying Indian students studying abroad the vote. But as Mr. Chandrachud elaborated, the economic argument should be secondary to our responsibility to live up to the spirit of the most basic tenets of our democracy. Applying the economic argument indiscriminately is a sure way to give up everything we hold dear in society and a spiral into the abyss.

In this crucial period of history when great civilisations of the past are beginning to take their rightful place in the world, India is not well served by unfair laws that sever the emotional and intellectual ties Indian students maintain with the country while abroad in pursuit of higher education. Opening up suffrage to Indians living abroad will even make economic sense when one considers how the consequent stake in Indian society and democracy it will nurture in them will be a strong factor in whether they choose to pursue their future careers and create knowledge and wealth in India.

thanking you,
yours truly

Rahul Potera
Graduate Student
Rutgers Univ. Dept. of Electrical Engg.
Piscataway, NJ, USA




The following are transcripts of an unanswered email I sent to the Kerala state election commissioner and those exchanged with a well intentioned consular official in New York.


Rāhul 24 March 2009 21:58
To: ceo_kerala@eci.gov.in
Dear Sir,

I am an Indian citizen living in the United states. I have an election card and am on the voting list in the Kannur constituency. I am keenly invested in the politics of my country and was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to exercise my right to vote in the Lok sabha elections. I wrote to the Indian consulate in New York (email attached) about the possibility of voting by absentee ballot as I won't be able to make it to my assigned polling booth in Kannur and they responded that I was ineligible to vote by absentee ballot.

I am sure that there are many other Indian citizens residing outside the country who are keenly following our politics and are deeply invested in our nation's destiny. It would be unreasonable to expect them to travel thousands of miles to a polling booth in India on election day. Is there some way such citizens can participate in our democracy by absentee ballot or another means which doesn't require international travel? Please advise.

thank you very much for your kind attention

yours faithfully

Rahul Radhakrishnan
Ph.D candidate
Rutgers University
Piscataway, NJ, USA





---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: P.S.Sashi Kumar
Date: 2009/3/24
Subject: RE:
To: pvrahul@gmail.com


You have to write to the Election Commission of India as any amendments
have to be brought out by them.

-----Original Message-----
From: passport@indiacgny.org [mailto:passport@indiacgny.org]
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 1:57 PM
To: cpv@indiacgny.org
Subject: FW:



-----Original Message-----
From: Rāhul [mailto:]
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 5:38 PM
To: passport@indiacgny.org
Subject: Re:

Dear Mr. Sasi Kumar,

Thank you very much indeed for the prompt reply. From your email and the
information you provideed (the law ministry website doesn't load), it seems
that I will not be able to cast my vote unless I am present at the polling
booth assigned to me. If I am unable to do that, is there, in your
knowledge, any other way I can exercise this basic right of my citizenship?
If not, could you please let me know how I can register my dissatisfaction
with this situation and seek remedial measures?

thank you very much again for your kind attention

warm regards
Rahul





2009/3/23 :
> Dear Mr. Radhakrishnan,
>
>
>
> Please refer to your e-mail of 22 March 2009 regarding voting by mail.
>
>
>
> As per Clause 18 of Part III of the Conduct of Elections
> Rules, 1961, only the following persons are entitled to vote through
> postal
ballot
> in an election for a parliamentary or assembly constituency, subject
> to their fulfilling the requirements specified inter alia in the
> Rules: (i) special voters; (ii) service voters; (iii) voters on
> election duty; and
(iv)
> electors subjected to preventive detention.
>
>
>
> Special voters include persons holding the offices of the
> President, the Vice President, Governors of States and Union or State
> Ministers, and their spouses. Service voters include the armed
> forces, security forces under the Army Act, police personnel serving
> outside their state and diplomatic staff. Voter on election duty
> means any public
servant
> who by reason of his/her being on election duty is unable to vote at
> the polling station where he is entitled to vote.
>
>
>
> You can view the full text of the Conduct of Elections Rules
1961
> may be seen at the Law Ministry’s website (address:
> http://lawmin.nic.in/Id/subord/cer1.htm)
>
>
>
>
>
> P.S. Sasi Kumar
>
> Consul
>
>
>
>