The mirage epidemic

There is a mirage epidemic in Punjab.Everybody is out chasing the
golden stag(In Ramayana Ramchanderji chases the golden stag of
illusion and suffers).The foreign bug seem to have entered the water
and soil of Punjab.Going abroad on study basis is the latest
fever.What I often observe is a hunting process going on in Punjab for
an NRI groom or an NRI bride.Girls and boys who suffer abroad ought to
puncture the illusion bubble and save others.The problem is that when
an NRI visits Punjab he never portrays himself as a loser.He spends
lavishly over here for a few days and is thus able to uproot a dozen
or so innocent boys and girls.

Crude Survival index

Crude Survival Index is a simple formula developed by me.It provides a rough idea how life would be in a foreign country.It is meant to help the people who wish to migrate to the foreign lands from Punjab.It goes like this.CSI(crude survival index) of a country is the number of Samosas a person can purchase by the earnings of a single day and that number should be divided by 3 if it is not a his home country.It is because accomodation etc in a foreign country saps away a significant amount of earnings.Let us suppose the price of plain Samosa(fresh and hot) in Southhal (London)is 1pound.If a Punjabi clerk earns 80 pounds in a day in London then he can buy 80 Samosas and hence his CSI in Southall is 80 divided by 3 which is slightly more than 26.In Jagraon a plain Samosa from the best shop is for Rs6.A Clerk in Jagraon may easily earn Rs 200 in a day and hence his CSI is little above 33.This number need not be divided by 3 as it is assumed that he is a local.This tells that he would be a loser if he migrates to London.

I chose Samosa for the calculations because it involves manual labour as well as the material used.In many countries manual work is comparitavely costlier.

Satnam Waheguru.

A day among the villagers

The national census take place after 10 years.The duty has been alloted to the teachers of the government schools.My wife has also been alloted the duty.It is Sunday and I am accompanying her for the duty.We arrived at village Dholan on our Maruti car at 8:20AM.We parked our car at the house of one of wife's colleagues.She too had got this duty but in a different part of the village.This is the third house and we have already spent one and a half hour.The forms of census provided by the government are indeed very long.I drank butter milk in the first two houses.This house had a very posh toilet and bathroom.Two of their sons are in Australia.The grandfather of these boys lives in Canada.There was a ferocious dog in their house.I do not know much about the breeds of dogs but I guess it was German Shephered.
* * *
We refused any drink at the fourth house.At the fifth house we are being served butter milk.All these appear to be well to do Jatt families.This family,however lives in a house that belong to their relatives.Where do the relatives live?Do not know.
* * *
We visited a few poor families of Jatt(farmers).Seemed to be having very meagre incomes .We also went to a Jullajha Sikh family.They were forcing us to have tea but we refused as we had butter milk in the earlier houses.It is 12:06pm now.This family where we are now got a son after 5 daughters.They have donated one daughter to their relatives.Cheerful family.The girls are very well mannered and with smiling faces.My wife asked me to give Rs.100 to them as a shagun for their new baby son.The person used to drive the tempo(a huge three wheeler)for my wife and her colleagues.
* * *
In this house cable T V is showing in front of me.This is a big house.Generally the children of the houses know my wife as she is a teacher in the village.The children of well to do families do not study in the government schoolsThis is one such house.The man in this house doesn't seem to be welcoming us.He has asked us to sit down only half heartedly.He did not even offer us water.This man has studied upto seventh standard.May God bless him.This is the house that I mentioned earlier that did not offer us water.
* * *
The head members of most of the families cannot do signature.They put a thumb impression where signatures are needed.
* * *
First thing some houses ask is water and tea.They are welcoming in nature.The present house has offered us aerated drink.This one is a big Kothi.It is 2:10PM.I think I we have to remain without lunch today.Due to this reason I have accepted sweet drink today.Otherwise I avoid things which contain refined sugar.
* * God had planned our lunch.We got a call from the house of my wife's colleague where we had parked our car.We were served lunch at around 3PM.