No Karva Chauth, please
For an over populated country like India, fasting for one whole day without food or water, makes perfect sense. Think of all that food saved by the way of Karva Chauth, the one day in the Hindu calendar when married women in some parts of India go without food and water, ostensibly, for the longevity and well being of their husbands.
The Hindu calendar is good that way, there are very many fasts involving roughly about one half of humanity, mostly women, voluntarily and routinely opting out of consuming food. All have the customary gloss and patina of a celebration. In other parts of India, there are many similar approximations of this almost Malthusian ritual in diverse communities.
The 18th century economist Thomas Malthus' Essay on the Principle of Population describes how unchecked population growth is exponential while food supply grows arithmetically. One of the preventive 'positive checks' as per the Malthusian theory, is starvation. This leads to the Malthusian catastrophe which then returns the population to a more sustainable level. It is especially pertinent, if population growth has outpaced agricultural production in a country like India with 1/5th of the world's population on just 4 per cent of global land.
In recent years, growth in India's grain output has fallen back. After a 50 per cent jump in the 10 years after the Green Revolution in the 1960's, it has steadily declined. Forecasts by analysts predict that due to a rising population, India is set to become a major importer globally of agricultural produce by 2015.
So, even if inherently problematic; it makes perfect sense in theory to have a significantly large portion of the population going without a scarce resource like food. How did women wind up buying into this, anyway? It is rare to find a day when it is compulsory for Indian men to fast. There is no empirical evidence to prove the validity of 'I-fast-you-live-longer' argument (duh!). Surly, there must be another, more creative, productive solution even in a country with a huge population.
The Indian diaspora in New Zealand and globally can lead the way.
It is a bit unnerving to see some women of the Indian diaspora in western countries following this ritual with such zeal. Especially, assuming there are no real issues of over-population or resource crunch and where an escape from the Malthusian trap is a real possibility.
There is agency here. An opportunity afforded by a reasonable standard of living that the diaspora forever aspires to, to make a difference and to revise a redundant ritual within communities. And all it involves is everyone eating a hearty meal.
Unless of course, there is a tacit agreement within the Indian diaspora in New Zealand or in any other western country; of seeking to remain rutted in convention without embracing new possibilities and taking the opportunity to make a new culture. Never-mind having the means to do so.
For an over populated country like India, fasting for one whole day without food or water, makes perfect sense. Think of all that food saved by the way of Karva Chauth, the one day in the Hindu calendar when married women in some parts of India go without food and water, ostensibly, for the...
For an over populated country like India, fasting for one whole day without food or water, makes perfect sense. Think of all that food saved by the way of Karva Chauth, the one day in the Hindu calendar when married women in some parts of India go without food and water, ostensibly, for the longevity and well being of their husbands.
The Hindu calendar is good that way, there are very many fasts involving roughly about one half of humanity, mostly women, voluntarily and routinely opting out of consuming food. All have the customary gloss and patina of a celebration. In other parts of India, there are many similar approximations of this almost Malthusian ritual in diverse communities.
The 18th century economist Thomas Malthus' Essay on the Principle of Population describes how unchecked population growth is exponential while food supply grows arithmetically. One of the preventive 'positive checks' as per the Malthusian theory, is starvation. This leads to the Malthusian catastrophe which then returns the population to a more sustainable level. It is especially pertinent, if population growth has outpaced agricultural production in a country like India with 1/5th of the world's population on just 4 per cent of global land.
In recent years, growth in India's grain output has fallen back. After a 50 per cent jump in the 10 years after the Green Revolution in the 1960's, it has steadily declined. Forecasts by analysts predict that due to a rising population, India is set to become a major importer globally of agricultural produce by 2015.
So, even if inherently problematic; it makes perfect sense in theory to have a significantly large portion of the population going without a scarce resource like food. How did women wind up buying into this, anyway? It is rare to find a day when it is compulsory for Indian men to fast. There is no empirical evidence to prove the validity of 'I-fast-you-live-longer' argument (duh!). Surly, there must be another, more creative, productive solution even in a country with a huge population.
The Indian diaspora in New Zealand and globally can lead the way.
It is a bit unnerving to see some women of the Indian diaspora in western countries following this ritual with such zeal. Especially, assuming there are no real issues of over-population or resource crunch and where an escape from the Malthusian trap is a real possibility.
There is agency here. An opportunity afforded by a reasonable standard of living that the diaspora forever aspires to, to make a difference and to revise a redundant ritual within communities. And all it involves is everyone eating a hearty meal.
Unless of course, there is a tacit agreement within the Indian diaspora in New Zealand or in any other western country; of seeking to remain rutted in convention without embracing new possibilities and taking the opportunity to make a new culture. Never-mind having the means to do so.
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