Ridiculous fuel pricing

Buses queuing up outside a retail outlet in Bangalore. 

In June 2008, i had written a letter to the Hindu Business line on the issue of rising fuel prices. Back then, the diesel price was around 35 rupees a liter in the city of Bangalore. In that letter, i had suggested dual pricing of diesel. A subsidized price for public goods carriers and other bulk consumers and a market determined price for retail consumers. This would keep a check on inflation in the short term. 

Almost five years since, the government has implemented the dual pricing of diesel. But instead of subsidizing diesel for bulk consumers like railways, the government has given diesel subsidy to retail consumers like diesel car owners . The price of diesel for bulk consumers in Karanataka has gone up by rupees 10 a liter and that for the retail consumer by 50 paise a liter. The latter will be 50 paise dearer every month. 

Within a week of this policy coming into force, there has been a swift upward movement in some essential commodities. Rice sold in retail shops has increased by rupees 5 a kilogram. Prices of many other commodities are shooting up. There is already a talk of price of milk going up by rupees 4 a liter. It is going to happen sooner than later. 

Thankfully, the Karanataka state run public transport corporations have not revised the passenger price. Though the transport corporation is one of the biggest (bulk) consumers of diesel in the state, the minister in-charge has promised not to increase the passenger fare. 

BMTC buses tanking up at retail outlets. 

How will the state run transport corporation manage with this steep increase in price (almost 10 rupees a liter)?. It will bleed their business. But they seem to have found an answer.The BMTC (Bangalore   metropolitan transport corporatism) has resorted to buying diesel in retail outlets. Since the diesel at the retail outlets is almost 10 rupees cheaper, the buses are tanking up diesel in the retail outlets much to the merry of the retail seller. Huge queue of buses are often seen outside the retail fuel station. The retailer is going out of stock in no time. Not only this is creating a traffic chaos around, it is seriously hampering the supply-demand balance and economics of diesel in the city. 

If other state transport corporations and other bulk consumers follow suite, then we will have a serious crisis in hand. Barring railways, every other bulk consumer can easily switch to buying in retail. This will defeat the whole purpose of "Partial de-regulation" of diesel. It will not only bleed the OMCs further but create a chaos on the roads. 

All over the world, the bulk consumers are given incentives and discounts for normal goods. But in India, we choose to do the opposite. We, in India are still among the poorest in the world. We have more than 50 crore population living with less than a dollar a day. Prices of many essential commodities like food, milk and cement are sensitive to diesel price. Transporters of these essential commodities are invariably bulk consumers. So, this sudden steep increase in bulk price of diesel is going to hurt millions across the country. 

No rational explanation has come from the ministry of petroleum on this irrational pricing of diesel. No doubt, the de-regulation of diesel is necessary. But subsidizing the retail consumer (cars) is really an irrational move by the government. The government must immediately withdraw or reverse this dual pricing of diesel. The country cannot cope up with this high inflation. 

It is high time that the government comes out with a white paper on fuel pricing giving out the formula of fuel pricing vis-a-vis international crude prices. 

Gandhi Bandha (ಗಾಂಧಿ ಬಂದ)

Play: Gandhi Bandha (ಗಾಂಧಿ ಬಂದ)
Language: Kannada
Duration: ~90 minutes
Genre: Drama
Rating:  Must watch.
Troup: Ranga Mantapa
PW: Dr H.Nagaveni
Director: Smt Champa Shetty.

Dr H.Nagaveni 

Gandhi bandha is a book by Dr H.Nagaveni that narrates the social situation in 1920-1939 when Mahatma Gandhi's movement on untoucability was at its peak. The massively researched novel is about the social customs between the villages of Kulai and Hosabettu in the coastal town of Mangalore. 

The novel was published about 18 years back. The novel revolves around many delicate and orthodox (read dogmatic) interactions between many castes in the the village of pre- independent India. 

The novel received considerable flak from the caste groups particularly the Vishwakarma (Gold smiths)  community when the novel was introduced as a text book in the Mangalore university few years back. 

An abridged and shortened version of the novel is made into a brilliant play by the Ranga Mantapa troupe. I was lucky to see the brilliant performance yesterday at Rangashankara. 

I must have watched many many plays in many theaters in Bangalore. I have seen people giving standing ovations (Mostly to comic plays). But nothing like the one for "Gandhi Bandha". It was an intense play with a few comical anecdotes. Every one in the theater stood up for the brilliant play and brilliant direction (By Champa Shetty). 

It is a play set in coastal karanataka in the backdrop of the Mahatma's salt sathyagraha, about a powerful brahmin family's young widowed daughter. The interaction of the family with the members of the village and the delicate social message from the 'unseen' Gandhi makes a powerful script. The awesome performance called for a standing applause. 

The main protagonist of the play is Draupadi, a young widowed daughter of a powerful orthodox brahmin, Hebbar. Drawing wisdom from shastras ,scriptures and Hindu customs, the Hebbars will be treating Draupadi with utter ridicule. Reduced to hopelessness, Draupadi will be leading a disgustingly restricted life. 

Soon she meets Adrama, a muslim bullock cart driver from the same village. Both fall intensely in love with each other. But they fear social reactions. Hebbars dogmatic beliefs reduces Draupadi to further haplessness and ridicule. But the couple decide to bite the bullet drawing courage and wisdom from Mahatma's teachings. 

Thanks to Gandhi's influence which will be creating waves in the socio-religious fabric of India, barring the Hebbars and the Muslim clergy,  the village by and large accepts the marriage between Adrama and Draupadi. But Draupadi's happy days will be short lived. She will lose her husband at the peak of the civil disobedience movement in a police lathi charge . She will be expecting at the time of her husband's death. 

Still unseen, Gandhi's influence would have gripped the village. Villagemen and women will rally behind Draupadi. Having lived most of her teens as an outcast and with a second marriage with a muslim short lived, Daraupadi still finds sympathy and courage in the village. She continues her stay in the village with her son both actively taking part in Ghandi's freedom and socio-religious struggle. 

The best part of the script and direction is that the figure of Gandhi will never appear directly. Gandhi's presence is shown in the behaviour and decisions of the people of the village. Gandhi's critics are soon brought into the page by his followers; again by the latter's behaviour via-a-vis Draupadi. 

Champa shetty brings in the local customs and ceremonies of coastal tulu speaking Karnataka into the narrative ;Kampala and Bhoothakola to depict the milieu and the interaction of the social classes during these ceremonies. 

The play very vividly depicts the socio-cultural setting of a typical hierarchical society. The play has many other characters like the Hebbar's servants, the Bhoota, the village merchant, the drum players and so on. The nuances of the strong orthodox brahmin's attitude towards his villagemen (and woman) is very sensitively depicted. The dogmatic socio-religious customs is very critically put forth. The marriage woe between a Hindu and a Muslim moves the audience beyond words.  

It is a must watch for anyone interested in theater, art, history, sociology or just pure entertainment.