Corruption

Corruption

Corruption is both an individual and social disease. When an individual is involved in corruption, it is personal degradation and when a society or a nation is corrupt, it is social disgrace. When a person is corrupt it is a part of his personality. When a nation is corrupt, it is a part of national character.

When I was in the school, our teachers instructed us to practice handwriting. We wrote 10/12 pages that said, “ Soda sotto kotha bolibe”. It means “Always tell the truth.” Sometimes our assignments were English handwriting. We wrote 10/12 pages that said, “Honesty is the best policy.”

At that time all the students believed these moral statements. As they became adults, many of them could no longer accept these values to be true. They got different experiences from the society. They observed that people could not enjoy prestige, dignity, and honour for the honesty. Social prestige belongs to those who have money, gorgeous homes, beautiful cars etc. We are social beings. Social recognition is important to all of us. I am not blaming the society for giving importance to wealth. I ask myself, why the dishonest people are much wealthier than the honest people? Why the dishonest people enjoy more power than the honest people? Why are the dishonest people our political leaders? Ideally, the honest people should rule the society. I tried to understand the reasons for the defeat of good moral values. One of the reasons might be the social exploitation and frustrations. The school children look at one another’s tiffin box. Some eat costly fast food, others have very little cheap food. From their childhood, they start thinking about what others get, but they do not have.

The society is based on exploitation. Look at the physical labours of the rickshaw pullers or the factory workers. Are they getting appropriate price for their labours? No, they are exploited. Tensions and frustrations accumulate in them. Their children observe the situation and learn the cruelty of life. When they grow up and get chances to earn money by illegal means, they utilize the easy options. Actually, the seeds of corruption are sown at the grassroots levels. It is a vertical and horizontal chain.

Social inequality gets reduced when a country develops and the percentage of the poor people decreases. It requires money to sustain the moral values. The poverty pushes back the moral values. Recently, I gave a bath soap to my maidservant. She works part-time in my home. I told her to take the soap to her home. She lives in a nearby slum area. She said, “ No, madam, I want to keep the soap in your home. It will be stolen from my home. All the people around my home are very poor. Necessity knows no law. They will steal my soap”

Social inequality gets reduced when a country develops and the percentage of poor people decreases. It requires money to sustain the moral values. A poor person has a different definition of morality when his or her children are hungry. His morality then says that first of all, he should feed his hungry children.

Corruption emerges from a corrupt social culture as well. Bribery is a common practice in Bangladesh. These days, a polite term is used for a  bribe, that is, tips. In the Government offices, files do not move from one table to another without a bribe. The Accountant General’s Office (AG) is infamous for bribery. After retirement, when the Government officers and the staff of the Government process their pension papers, they have to spend a large amount of money as bribes. If anyone has a long-pending bill, they will not get the payment without bribing the staff. When the contractors ask to clear their bills, the high officials demand a major share of the contractor’s payments. As a result, when the contractors do infrastructural work, they keep the cost of the work low to save the money for bribing the officers and the staff of the Government that causes the low quality of work. In the Government offices from the highest rank to the lowest level, many are involved in bribery. One of the reasons may be the income inequality. The salary structure is defective. The secretary’s salary may be twenty times higher than the peon’s salary. Sometimes, the lower ranking staff follow the high officials. They feel that there is no reason to deprive themselves when the high officials are enjoying the gains.

The political leaders are highly corrupt. During elections, politics is a business in Bangladesh. So, the corrupt politicians invest money in buying votes by taking chances of the people’s poverty. When they become ministers or members of the parliament, they want to make profits a thousand times more than their investments. I feel that no sense of patriotism exists among the politicians of Bangladesh. Another point is worth mentioning. They tell blunt lies to the public and those are shamelessly broadcast on the television channels. Is it not corruption? Is it not fraudulent behaviour?

In some countries, there are anti-corruption departments. These countries are Bangladesh, Myanmar, Burundi, Bhutan, Cameroon, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Austria etc.

It seems to me that these are artificial arrangements because corruption is a social problem. The root of this problem is a society. The causes may be poverty, inequality, injustice, deprivations, exploitations, frustrations, underdevelopment, maladministrations, lack of good governance, etc. We need to look at it horizontally.

If we look at the most corrupt and least corrupt countries, we will see that the least corrupt countries are the developed ones and the most corrupt countries are underdeveloped. For instance, the most corrupt countries are Somalia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Yemen, Haiti, Chad, Cambodia, Myanmar, Angola, Laos, East Timor, Sierra Leone, Ecuador, Burundi, Eritrea, Nepal, Congo, Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria etc. The least corrupt countries are Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Netherlands, Australia, Singapore etc.

It seems that the level of development has a connection with corruption. The people of the developed countries are less frustrated than the poor countries. They suffer little from inequality, injustice, deprivations, exploitation, maladministration etc. When the poor countries develop, their corruption practices get reduced.

It seems to me that the anti-corruption organizations are artificial. Let us see who work in these organizations. They are members of the corrupt countries and corrupt societies. Their attitudes and moral values emerged from the societies where they live in. They are very much part of the society. So, they cannot be the people of different personalities. In general, they share the same social, cultural and traditional values. They cannot be fair and neutral. Moreover, they work under pressure. The Government do not allow them to work independently. They are threatened if they exercise their legal powers and rights. Even their lives may be at risks. They are compelled to follow the dictations of the Government.

Anti-Corruption Commission in Bangladesh came into force on 9 May 2004. I think it is not working well. The people of Bangladesh think that Anti-Corruption Commission is biased and manipulated by the Govt. Sometimes, they create very shameful examples. For instance, they start a case for Mr. X, but not for Mr Y. In their hands, justice is always discriminated, delayed and denied. The Bangladeshis think that they are not honest and committed to performing their duties. According to Global Financial Integrity Report (GFI), Bangladesh lost as much as $ 75.15 billion or Tk. 700 billion to trade inappropriate invoicing and other unrecorded outflows between 2005 and 2014.

A total of USD 101 million was stolen on 4 February 2016 from Bangladesh Bank’s reserves with the US Federal Reserve Bank of New York. USD 14.5 million was recovered from Sri Lanka and USD 14.5 million from the Philippines. Recovery of the remaining 72 million remains uncertain. The Philippines Government said that they would not return any money to Bangladesh.

People of Bangladesh say that this would not take place without a local conspiracy. These days it is easy to get information. I watch the television talk shows of the Bangladeshi TV channels regularly. Many of the participants at the talk shows say that the money was smuggled from Bangladesh for personal and political gains. In this regard, the anti-corruption commission did not play a positive role.

Taka 4000 crore is misappropriated from the nine Government Banks under cover of debt waivers. This money was drained out through an abuse of power between 2001 and 2008. The names of Sonali Bank, Basic Bank, Janata Bank, Bangladesh  Commerce Bank etc, came in the newspapers.

Our Finance Minister said, “ The Farmers Bank was given the approval to issue a bond worth Taka 500 Crore. The bankers say that this loan was sanctioned in violation of banking norms and procedures. From the television talk shows, I understood that the loans of big amounts were approved under political consideration.

There were corruption cases against Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia during the caretaker Government of Fakhruddin and Moinuddin. When Awami League formed the Government, they withdrew all corruption cases against Sheikh Hasina amounting to Taka 150 billion, that is, Taka. 1,500 crore. They kept the cases of Begum Khaleda Zia alive. Now she is in the jail on account of punishment of five years with corruption charges of Taka 2 crore only. This amount is only 0.13% of the money Sheikh Hasina was charged with corruption. The Bangladeshis say that this is a conspiracy and done on purpose for the coming election only.

The fact is that the anti-corruption department is not free of corrupt practices due to political pressure and malpractice. Those who are working here, are the people of the corrupt society. It is not possible for them to fight the entire society. The Government machinery is corrupt too. Many of the bureaucrats and the administrators at all levels are corrupt.

Even for a petty work, we need to pay a bribe at each level.

The police force is corrupt. They are committing illegal activities under political pressure. When BNP was in the office, there was corruption too. Everyone is aware of Hawa Bhaban and Tarek Zia. At present, the corrupt banking practices are infamous. Our hard earned money is being smuggled. Who are the beneficiaries of this looting and robbery? There is no independent and honest investigation.

I feel that the only remedy for corruption is development. The GDP per capita (PPP) needs to be increased.

Reduction of poverty is an important factor. When there is less frustration, there will be less corruption. No anti-corruption department can reduce corruption. No one can work for anti-corruption in a corrupt society. It is awareness among the people that can free them from corruption.

Treasure

Treasure

It is my golden treasure

Hidden carefully in my heart

It is precious to my soul

I love it in secret

I kiss it with warm lips

My treasure abandoned me

 I suffered     

I cried 

 I was sad and depressed 

Many years passed

My love knocked on my door suddenly

I trembled with

Surprise and joy

My eyes shed tears

We didn't see each other

We didn’t touch 

We didn’t smell

We didn't come near

We loved from far

He wrote me

I wrote him

If we come close

The same old love

Will be fresh and alive

The natural instincts 

Will demand their shares

We will love and embrace

We will kiss and smile

We will be sad again

Tears will roll down our cheeks

 We chose to be away

Not to see each other

It is easy to live by habits

To follow the routine

To perform the duties

My love is on one planet

I am in another

He will be in my heart

I will be in his soul

Forget me not

Forget not our treasure

Let us love

Till we die

Let our treasure be eternal

Talk

Talk

The purpose of writing this article is to look inward, to develop my own insights, to teach myself and to make myself aware of the proper behaviour.

We are able to talk. The animals cannot talk. We can talk because we are rational animals. This is a valuable asset of human life. We can use it positively or negatively. Our talks may be beautiful or not. Talks may be loving, affectionate and respectful or it may be arrogant, offensive or aggressive. Talks may be sincere and honest or it may be dishonest and deceptive. We can create happiness and peace with talks or we can be destructive, instead of being constructive.

One may think that what is the significance of writing an article on talk. Yes, it is significant to me. It hurt me when I was not allowed to express my mind. My heart was blocked when I was not allowed to talk. I was allowed to listen only, but not to talk. No one knows better than me how it feels when there is no freedom of speech. It broke my heart. I was suffocated. Sometimes, our men are too much dominating. Sometimes it is considered ill manners if women speak freely in front of their husbands. They are meant for carrying out orders only. Women have valuable opinions and views that can contribute to the betterment of the families. Everyone should have the freedom to say something if they are willing to do so. Every individual must be treated with due respect. Talks with due respect create happiness. Undesirable talks are hindrances to individual and social welfare.

There should be some talking principles. First of all, we must not hurt people through our talks. Sometimes our egos are shattered through other people’s talks. They pinch, tease, degrade, insult, humiliate and undermine other people. Sometimes they make ugly comments. People sometimes speak arrogantly that others do not like. They feel offended. Does it give us pleasure? No, It disturbs both the listener and the speaker. When we utter good words to others we create pleasure for both of us.

Another point is unnecessary arguments. Let us not argue when someone is saying something with pleasure. Let the talk be spontaneous and smooth. If he or she does not say anything highly objectionable let us not disturb him or her. Let them enjoy the spontaneous flow of their talks. Let them feel that they said something worthwhile. Let them get the pleasure of worthiness. It is good to approve and appreciate people when they say something. We learn from other peoples’ talks. Let us take the opportunities of other peoples’ experiences.

Sometimes we get sadistic pleasures in finding faults of others. All people have good qualities and a few faults. Before finding their faults, let us explore their good qualities. Let us not be fault finders. People feel happy when their qualities are appreciated. They feel encouraged. They get inspirations to move forward courageously and confidently. This is beneficial for the society. It benefits us too when we appreciate people.  It gives us contentment. My grandfather used to say, “If you behave well and appreciate people, you will not be old. Our Prophet Muhammad looked young even when he died. Good souls never get old”. These valuable words of my grandfather inspired me a lot.

I am very much annoyed with the arrogant politicians of Bangladesh. They make ugly comments shamelessly about the political opponents. I condemn this political culture. The ruling party has seized our political freedom. There is no freedom of speech. The opposition political parties cannot hold meetings, demonstrations, processions, long march etc. They are doing so to have political gains in an undemocratic way. First of all, we are humans.We need moral values to keep our souls healthy. Persecuting and killing other people for political gains is not a good idea. This is against all sorts of moral values. Bangladesh is like a communist country now. There is no democracy. We are under a dictatorship in the real sense of the term. In the communist countries, there is no political freedom. People are not allowed to have political talks. The humans need to express their minds freely.

When we talk about other people, the central theme should be an appreciation of the good qualities of people. If anyone does anything wrong, we can explain it positively, that is, in a nice manner. Yes, it is possible to explain negative facts in a positive way. My father was a perfect gentleman. Once I said about someone, “He is a miser”. My father said, “ Say it positively. You can say that he is very careful in spending money”.

No one should be interrupted in the middle of his or her talk. When someone is speaking, let him or her finish first. It requires a bit patience only. I notice the television talk shows of Indian and Bangladeshi television channels. Talk shows of Zee News are warfare. The participants fight with each other with guns and bombs. There is no sign of patience or mutual trust and respect. These generate tensions among the audience as well. Same is the case with the talk shows of the Bangladeshi television channels. The participants do not care for courtesy. They attack each other personally and utter ugly comments against each other without any hesitation. I feel very sad about it. Why don't we understand that courtesy makes us nice and descent? Courtesy costs nothing, but it benefits us immensely.

Let us be honest when we are talking. Let us not have duplicity of minds. There is no need to be Hippocrates. Often we create a false self-portrait. We think something, say something else and do a totally different thing. This is unhealthy. We create a conflicting situation in our hearts and minds. Our body is not naturally equipped to accept such conflicts within ourselves. We become sick and suffer from heart disease, blood pressure, cancer, diabetes etc. Honest behaviour keeps us cool.

Cunning behaviour is disturbing too. Cunning people do not understand that they are always exposed. There are other people in the society who are cunning like them. They understand cunning behaviour and attitudes and tell it to other people. So, the cunning person is known as a cunning person in the society. Simplicity is the best beauty. A frank and simple person is loved by all.

I have seen many people telling lies for trifling reasons. Yes, we can tell lies when it is a life and death question. For instance, a hijacker gets hold of me in a solitary street and orders me to surrender whatever I have with me. Under such circumstances, we can tell lies. I can say, “I have no valuables with me. We should not degrade ourselves for small gains. Moreover, these gains do not last long. Truth prevails in the long run. One person lied to me about his educational qualification. He passed the Secondary School Certificate only, but he told me that he was a graduate. For quite some time I remained in the dark, but later the truth was revealed by others.

When we are angry we cannot control our tongues and minds. It is difficult to me as well. We can try to keep ourselves cool. Yes, we can make it, but it requires learning, dedication and practice.

We can choose our words and sentences so that we do not hurt others. Sometimes, we feel that why should we not tell the truth? But the truth might make people sad. Often it is difficult to understand, why a person will be sad. It requires insight and keen observation.

People sometimes lack courage, to say something in front of someone. They say it behind their back. In popular terms, this is backbiting. They cannot resist doing it. An idle brain is a devil’s workshop. Especially, who have little to do, find pleasure in negative criticism of other people.

Can’t we make people feel respected when we talk to them? Yes, we can do it. We can keep people’s egos satisfied if we want. We can talk to them with due respect and good manners. We can speak with smiling faces. 

Once I watched a video on YouTube. It was an interview with Shomi Kaiser, daughter of the famous writer, Shahidullah Kaiser. Shomi Kaiser is a famous TV star of Bangladesh. The interviewer asked,”What annoys you the most?” She replied, “When people say too much about themselves, such as, I am, myself, my wife, my children, my family, my home, my business and so on. I learnt a great philosophy of life from this interview. Now, I try to minimize my ego. In the end, while writing this article, I tried to focus on observations of people's behaviours with others. Not only that, I looked inward too. I could learn and educate myself about how should I improve my behaviour and attitudes towards others. 

Old age homes in Bangladesh

Old Age homes in Bangladesh

This is about old age homes in Bangladesh. It is a sensitive issue. If I hurt anyone, I apologise. According to our religions and social values, we cannot accept the idea of having old age homes in the country, but the reality might be different. Old parents might not be accepted as integral parts of their sons' families. Whether we like it or not, the society is becoming more and more individualistic and self-centered. We cannot ensure a respectable and honourable presence of our senior citizens in the families initiated by them. In view of this, should we think of the old age homes where our senior citizens can live with dignity and honour?

Old age homes are shelters for old people under certain terms and conditions. These homes provide accommodation, food, clothes, medical treatment, and entertainment to the old people. Facilities of these homes may differ from centre to centre. Some centres provide services on regular payment basis. Some are subsidized by the Government and some others may be established by private initiatives.

In Bangladesh, old age homes are not very popular for religious and social reasons. In Bangladesh, more than 90% of the population is Muslims. 9% is Hindus, 0.6% is Buddhists. Christianity covers 0.3% of the population. Others are only 0.14%.

In Islam, there is no provision of old age homes. As per Islam, it is the duty of the children to take care of their parents. The sons and daughters are supposed to talk to their parents with due respect.

Hinduism suggests that the parents are the most important people in our lives. We must respect our parents and grandparents because they brought us to this world and raised us through much sacrifice and dedication.

Christianity holds the similar values. Christianity teaches us to take care of our parents in their old ages.

Buddhism also teaches us to support the parents.

Actually, all religions teach us almost the same values. When the religions came to our world, life was not so complex. The world was not so competitive. The world was not industrialized. Now the old values are being replaced by the new ones. The real-life rotate as per changing needs of the socio-economic conditions. The society changes with economic development, social development and industrialization. These days, the women work outside home. They can give less time to the elderly people at home.

Society changes with education as well. People acquire new ideas and values as they become educated.

These days people do not follow religious instructions like before. They follow parts of religion that are convenient to them. For example, Muslim women inherit paternal and maternal properties as per ratio 2:1. That is if a brother gets 2, a sister’s share is half of it, that is 1. In most cases, the Muslim parents and brothers are not ready to spare any property for the sisters even though they follow other religious instructions that they like. They say their prayers because it does not require any sacrifice, but they do not like sharing a property with the sisters and the daughters.

The daughters-in-law are modern and educated. They do not like the presence of their parents-in-law in their families. Earlier parents lived with their sons, their wives and the grandchildren. At that time it was regarded as one integrated family. Now, my son’s family is not mine. It is another family. In the real sense of the term, I do not belong to my son’s family. The daughters-in-law treat us as an extra burden. From the very beginning, they want a separate home for themselves and their children. The children do not get the close touch of their grandparents. I think in a neutral family, the children are deprived of the love, affection and guidance of their grandparents who can raise the children with their experiences of life. When the children grow up with the grandparents in a joint family, they get better personality development. They learn to respect the senior people. They can acquire soft and tender behaviour.

The modern women never like joint families. They believe in privacy and individual freedom. In many cases, I have seen that the elderly people are neglected. The young members of the family do not behave well with them. Children learn through observation. They observe the attitudes of their parents and find that their grandparents are the burden on their parents or they are not essential parts of the family.

The old people sometimes experience cruel behaviour in the family. They are sad and depressed.

Everyone wants to live with dignity and honour, but every moment the old members of the family feel that they are unwanted. Life becomes miserable for them.

During their youth, they spent their savings on their children. Now, they are dependent on their sons. They don’t have financial ability to live independently.

Now, what the old parents can do? I understand that nothing can be done without money. The Government of Bangladesh may try to create old age homes for old parents. Our development partners may help the Government by providing foreign assistance. For humanitarian causes, the development partners should support such projects. They can create income-generating activities for them within the compound where they live. All parents are not too old. Some are in good health. They can teach students. Some can make baskets. Others can do embroidery work on clothes. I mean suitable work can be given to them.

Sometimes old parents are helpless even in the developed world, although they are financially solvent. I lived in YMCA Hostel in Auckland for some time. Mr John lived with us who was around 80 years old. He was a citizen of New Zealand. He had no financial problem. since New Zealand is a welfare state. Mr John got Superannuation benefit as a senior citizen. We met him in the lobby or on the lift. In one evening, he said to the house cleaner, “Mele, I am not feeling well. When you come to the hostel, please, check my room to see whether I am okay or not.” The next morning the cleaner came and opened the room of Mr John. She found him dead on his bed. We heard that his daughter-in-law did not like his presence in her household. After his death, the YMCA Hostel authority called his son. He came and took the dead body of his father with him for burial.

Now, let me come to the point. I was talking about the old age homes of Bangladesh. I must say that we should accept the reality. The old parents are not accepted in their sons’ families. They need a new shelter, which they cannot afford to finance. The main problem is financing. Yes, some old people can finance, but others cannot. The Government’s assistance is needed for those who cannot finance. The development partners should come forward too. Bangladesh Government can’t implement it all alone. Studies should be carried out on this.

There are a few old age homes in Bangladesh. These are HelpAge International Bangladesh, Subrata Caregiving Centre, Old Rehabilitation Centre in Gazipur, Old Home, Dhaka etc. 

The Old Rehabilitation Centre in Gazipur was established by a completely private initiative. This was established by Khatib Abdul Zahid Mukul, Founder Chairman of Old Rehabilitation Centre. This centre is completely free. It provides food, shelter, clothes, medical treatment and entertainment to the old people. Thanks a million to Khatib Abdul Zahid Mukul for doing a noble job. I have heard that other old age homes charge money. The old people can be charged less if the Govt. subsidy is available and if the development partners provide assistance.

There are many rich people in Bangladesh. If all of them help to establish old age homes, it would be a great benefit to the senior citizens of the country. It can be a single approach or a joint venture.

Compared to the population of Bangladesh, the number of old age homes is negligible. We need to increase the number of old age homes as per requirements of the people. 

The purpose of writing this article is to create social awareness about the rehabilitation of the old people.

Pleasure

Pleasure

It seems to me that pleasure is the essence of life. It keeps us fresh and alive. It keeps aside our sorrows,  grievances, depressions, and frustrations. We forget the struggles of life when we laugh and smile. We cannot survive without smiles and laughter. Everyone laughs and smiles even if he or she is poor or hungry. Smiles and laughter give us strength and energy to live. The poor and penniless can enjoy love and affection too. Love is the best virtue. Anyone can acquire this quality without spending any money. It is the best contribution to others. It has the greatest power to win the world.

Pleasures cannot be evaluated in terms of money. These are heavenly gifts. The poor and the illiterate enjoy the simplicity of life. Their demands are limited because the targets are beyond reach. They have wonderful feelings of life that cannot be spoilt with complexities, aspirations, and competitions.

I think we would not be able to remain alive without happiness and joys. Our joys are spirits of life. It does not require wealth for being happy. Many rich people are not happy. Many of them suffer from depression and cannot sleep without having sleeping pills. I have seen many poor people who are happy and enjoy pleasures of life. Their demands are limited. They are concerned with only basic necessities of life.

It is a capacity of an individual to enjoy life and be happy. It may depend on the emotional and genetic makeup of a person. We may not get the world as we desire, but it is possible to adjust if we do not find things as per our choice. The reality of life is that we will not experience the world as we want it to be.

Some people feel happy with small things, such as chatting with friends, being with family members, reading a book, watching television etc. Some others are a bit different. They need bigger gains, big events, important achievements etc, to be happy.

Despite differences among individuals, all enjoy some sorts of happiness. This is the basic foundation of a meaningful life.

When I walk in the streets, I observe people and their movements. My brother said, “The streets are crowded. Why don’t you walk on our rooftop?” I said, “I like the streets because I can see people, their movements, their faces, their pleasures, happiness, and sorrows. I feel the vibration of life when I walk in the streets.”

I see the domestic servants, gatekeepers, factory workers, rickshaw pullers, retail sellers, buyers, office stuff etc, laughing and chatting with one another. Sometimes I find them in a group, chatting, laughing and enjoying. They laugh from their hearts. They smile innocently. They do not struggle with complexities, sophistication, and styles. They do not want much. They are happy with little things. Their smiles are clean and fresh. Their laughter creates joys. Simplicity is their beauty. They laugh without any significant reason. They do it spontaneously. They are pleased easily. They could not learn about big gains because those were always beyond reach.

These days, all maid-servants of our locality have mobile phones. They enjoy it very much. When they work as domestic servants, they cannot use mobile phones. It may be regarded as audacity or ill manners. When their masters send them out to buy something,  they get the opportunity to talk to their friends for a while. They chat, smile and laugh a lot then.

I have observed the big businessmen, rich landlords, and high officials too. Before laughing and smiling, they consider their personalities, positions, status, smartness, aristocracy, sophistication etc. Simplicity is not their beauty. Their concern is social prestige, wealth, dignity, honour etc. It seems that in their hearts, they are less peaceful and less happy than the lower class people. They are burdened with artificiality.

I was in Government service. I observed that our peons were happier than our Secretaries. They ate less, their lifestyle was poverty stricken, but they slept well. Very few of them suffered from blood pressure or diabetes. They were normal, natural and healthy. It seems that they can enjoy life better than us. They enjoy the pleasure of living that we find difficult to achieve. Our pleasures are not spontaneous. We are burdened with artificiality, fashion, and styles. Our enjoyments are polished, measured and restricted.

We are involved in a rat race. We are always in competition. We don’t have enough rest and sleep. We are running after our targets and goals. We are really tired. We need rest, relaxation, recreation, mental peace, simplicity and sound sleep.

Let us laugh and be merry without any artificiality. Our hearts want pleasure and happiness that would be pure and fresh.