The Reliance Ad - fostering Ubuntu

Im beginning to like Reliance Ads..

First, the Air .. Food .. Water .. Network campaign .. Its truly amazing .. Connecting the most remote areas of the country is one big step towards development of these remote areas ..

Second, the bol.. India..bol campaign .. how true .. Indians like to talk, give/take advice .. and the most casual conversation can yield such substantial information .. let me give an example .. The challenge: Transporting a bicycle from one end of the district to another.. distance: nearly 150 kms .. The discussion starts .. I suggest we hire a car .. giggles all around .. im reminded that its costlier to hire a car than locally buy a new bicycle in the destination village...

oke .. so, how abt bus, or parcel service .. no way .. someone has to ride the bicycle for 10 kms to reach the nearest parcel office .. buses ... nah ......

I enjoy chatting with the security guard in that office(I was once on patrol duty as an NCC cadet and ever since respect Security guards) .. he joined the conversation and problem solved .... all while we chatted as normally as we do any other day .. solving this probem that we were prepared to tear our hair for, was a cake walk with this person in the group.. he narrated stories of how he shifted his cycle to the problems he faced in transporting his wet grinder ..

the solution: take the office vehicle on one of its trips to transport the cycle to the nearest parcel office and then parcel it to the destination village .. simple..

In Rural management parlance, these conversations are examples of anticipation - participation .. Let's examine these conversations .. they are seldom made in urgency, rather, they are casual in nature, but not chit chat either .. they are in anticipation of a need that is likely to arise in future.. Also, these casual conversations are among equals, hence dialogues .. even in a bureaucracy, ppl very distant in the organizaion hierarchy can have conversations as equals on topics not directly pertaining to work ... and in such a setup, ppl participate with their experience, ideas and what not ..

Ultimately I think conversations with people are not for material gains, nor for entertainment, conversations are necessary to maintain the spirit of Ubuntu .. That a person exists only if the other person recognizes the person as existant ... it makes sense to have endless, seemingly aimless conversations with lots of ppl .. But, i guess, one has to show Ubuntu only towards ppl who u think have to exist in this world .. your world .. bol.. India..bol ..