Elders – their yesterdays and todays

When I was doing the pre-university course in St. Joseph's College, Tiruchi, my English teacher was Prof. Thomas Srinivasan, who was also a member of the Rajya Sabha for a term. In one of his lectures, he observed, "The joint family system is the glory and ruin of India."

As a student, I did not understand the significance of his observation, but somehow the statement has remained fresh in mind for over fifty years, and I am still not very clear in my mind whether the joint family system is the glory of India or its ruin. However, I am sure that this concept is unique to the Indian way of life and thinking.

Traditionally, the joint family system covers three generations with grandfather and grandchildren living under the same roof and sharing their pleasures and sorrows, with the wisdom of the elderly being gainfully passed on to the younger generations. However, it has not always been a smooth affair, with instances of bickerings between the cousins, nieces and in-laws not uncommon. Nevertheless, all of them were compelled to live together as an economic and social entity. The system, by and large, still ran smoothly with the eldest family member often exercising his authority and enforcing some sort of discipline amongst the family members. Even today, when such a joint family way of life has largely become a thing of the past, there seem to be many advocates who think that a cost-benefit analysis would ultimately favour the joint family system.

One reason why the joint family system has gone extinct may be the educational opportunities which opened up for women, who increasingly started asserting themselves and want to be an equal part of an independent family and not under the control of the elder generation and, in the process, becoming a non-entity in the extended family considered a crowd. This need not mean that educated women lack regard for elders but, on the other hand, it can be viewed as a positive sign of independent thinking and desire to experiment with their own ideas and objectives in life.

But we seem to have come a full circle now, with modern-day life compelling both husband and wife to take up jobs and making working women in particular to think that there could be in a way positive aspects to the joint family system. With both husband and wife in many families in the lower and middle income groups now taking up jobs, attending to the children and bringing them up in a healthy way have become a challenge. Working couples have begun to think that the presence of elderly family members would be of great help to them in holding their jobs and, at the same time, bringing up the children and running the family.

While younger people seem to be veering favourably towards the idea of having the elders with them in the family due to job compulsions, what is curious is that many elderly people want independence and desire to live at a respectable distance from their children. If the sons and daughters think that the parents should live with them and look after their children, the elders seem to think that the grandparents should not be reduced to the level of glorified servants.

This is today's conflict of interests between the young and old, brought about by changes in the socio-economic developments, and is reflected by the increasing number of old-age homes coming up to cater to the need of elderly people, who want to live independently in their old age and can afford to do so.

In the past, such old-age homes were set up largely to meet the needs of the poor and charities. It is all no longer so.

N.S. Venkataraman
nsvenkatchennai@gmail.com

Lighting the way

The article on constructions and electrical efficiency (MM, March 1st) was indeed a timely reminder of our ancient homes that brought sunlight into the middle of the house. It is relevant to recall at this time of crippling power shortage the words of Benjamin Franklin whose face on the currency note smiles at every American: "In walking through Strand and Flint Streets one morning at 7 o'clock I observed that there was not one shop open, though it had been daylight and the Sun up above three hours. The Londoners choosing voluntarily to live much by the candle light and sleep by sunshine and yet often complain a little absurdly of the duties on candles and high price of tallow."

This advice should be much more applicable to Chennaiities who enjoy much more sunlight than Londoners.

Scientists and architects should concentrate on research on techniques of reflection of light to bring sunlight inside the buildings.

R. Janakiraman
14, Gopalapuram 3rd Street
Chennai 600 086

Regulate bicycles

During my student days about 30-35 years ago, when we used a bicycle, a small kerosene-fed square lamp or a dynamo light was a must. If you did not have one, policeman could nab you and deflate the cycle tyres as a punishment. We also had to have a metallic token costing a rupee, issued by the Panchayat, that had to be firmly fixed to the cycle. This made us ride the cycle with care and fear.

Nowadays the cyclist doesn't have a light in the front, nor a red reflector in the rear and there is no such token. You find cyclists on highways moving across in semi-darkness, causing many an accident, as they are not visible until you are very close and a car or bus headlamp light falls on them, by which time it is too late. Moreover, they do not keep to the extreme left of the road and carelessly ride in the middle, causing accidents.

Why are the Police, who are aware of the problem caused by cyclists, not insisting on the dynamo lamp/rear reflector, etc. for all cycles? And why are they not regulating the use of cycles by restricting them to the extreme left of the street?

M. Fazal
11, Mosque Street
Hasthinapuram
Chennai 600 094

Safety matters

Dr. C. Minakshi studied History in Madras Christian College from 1929 to 1931. At MCC, she worked with Prof. Ferrand Edward Corley, a great scholar who edited the College magazine for ten years, and published 16 articles in it on varied subjects. With distinction, she became the first woman postgraduate from the Department of History, MCC.

The articles on Mullaiperiyar Dam and the secretariat building at the Fort provoked me to express my reaction. All the more, the note by Prof. Mohanakrishnan: "As one closely associated with this dam and the strengthening measures undertaken, I am pained to see the controversies being raised on its safety, in spite of the opinion of several experts who have inspected the dam and the Supreme Court having accepted the opinion of these experts" is quite emphatic.

Structures like dams and monuments such as Taj Mahal, temples, mosques, churches etc. are built for eternity. Of course they should be maintained properly. Decommissioning of an irrigation dam should start with decades of preparation for depopulating of the area served by the project by relocating the people elsewhere, and train them for vocations other than farming. The people relocated because of the new project should be accommodated by the beneficiary state in its soil till the new dam becomes functional.

Can anybody guarantee that there will not be pliable staff and contractors involved in the project? This will certainly lead to a substandard structure which may be less safe than the existing, periodically well-maintained structure. We are seeing today collapses of newly constructed bridges, newly formed roads developing potholes within a year, as well as failure of newly constructed flats which should have a minimum life of 100 years. An example is provided in the article 'Why renovate a building (Namakkal Kavignar Maligai) that should not be where it is?'

Nobody can be certain that the new dam will be completed within the time stipulated now, considering the numerous reasons that cannot be foreseen. An instance is the Sethu Samudram Project.

Certainly, the properly maintained existing dam will be safer than the proposed new dam.

S.N. Mahalingam
64-A, Kalamegam Street Extn.
SBI Colony II Street Kamarajapuram
Chennai 600 073

What's the charge?

In the article on the Mulla-periyar Dam (MM, March 16th), it is stated that according to the renewed agreement of 1970, the rate for electricity generated was Rs. 12 per kilowatt hour. This is not correct. The charge was Rs. 12 per kilowatt year, which works out to only about 0.137 paisa per kilowatt hour.

A. M. Mathew
Adangapuram, Baaker Hill
Kottayam 686 001

Hopefully!

The refusal of the incumbent government to use the new secretariat complex built by the earlier regime is really difficult to understand. More difficult to understand is the decision to repair and renovate a building within the Fort St. George complex at a huge cost. Let us hope that the new secretariat building will be put to use soon.

G.V. Raman
26, M.G. Chakrapani Street
Satya Garden, Chennai 600 093

No funding

I learned recently that the Sanskrit College in Madras is NOT receiving any grant either from the State Government (quite understandably) or from the Central Government. Why?

D.K. Oza
1, First Cross Street
Indira Nagar, Adyar
Chennai 600 020

Chera pronunciation

The pronunciation of Salem worldwide may differ. As for Salem, in Tamil Nadu, it appears to have been derived from Chera Nilam, the land of Chera Kings.

N. Dharmeshwaran
Plot 21, Kumaran Nagar
Guduvanchery 603 202