In defence of Basking In Reflected Glory

For it isn't your father, your
mother, or wife,
  Whose judgment of you -
you must pass,
  The fellow whose verdict
counts most in your life,
  Is the guy staring back in the
glass.

This is from Kipling's "The man in the glass”

So, what is it with reflections?

This centuries old phenomenon of Basking In Reflected Glory (BIRGing) is a widely practiced impression management technique to foster self esteem and sometimes for material gains.

The moon is a ‘shining’ example of BIRG.  Moon is seen only because it reflects sunlight. Moon is romanticised across demography and geography. Paeans have been written on moon light. On the contrary only a few worship the Sun and most want to stay away from sunlight. 

The BIRG phenomenon pervades our every day activities too.

Do those who Bask In Reflected Glory (also BIRG differentiated by context) also contribute?

The moon does contribute in some ways. The moon has its own calendar predating that of the Sun; hence and also because of its mere presence, it has a great say in astrology – at least in the Indian context. Depending on its proximity to Earth we experience high and low tides. When closer to the Earth the moon afflicts the brain or mind as referred to by such words as, lunatic, loony et al. Yet, would we romanticise the moon without the moon light?

When a world cup is won the Nation takes to the streets in joy feeling pride in the achievement of our sportspersons. After a big win everyone, albeit with no contribution from them, identifies with the winner – emblazoned tee shirts are out, baseball caps with logos adorn proud heads and there is an air of celebration. Sales of products of the winning team rocket till another team wins next year.

(In this context CORFing has to be mentioned too. Veru briefly CORFing means Cutting Off Reflected Failure. CORFing is done in various ways.  It could be like after winning it is ‘we won’; after losing it is ‘they lost’. ).

BIRGing is present in many other ways too. One could be ‘famous’ for being the daughter of a famous mother. It is very common to use relationships with better known personalities to further one’s cause – this is what is often referred to as dropping names. Names may be dropped even if the ‘reflection’ is faint or non existent. There is an old Chinese story that illustrates this refection. A tiger who had caught a fox in a forest was about to make a meal of it. For self preservation the Fox came up with an idea. Suddenly it declared to the tiger “You mustn't eat me. I am sent by the Gods to rule this forest. By devouring me, you will violate the command of the Gods. If you don't believe me, just follow me to see whether the animals are afraid of me." The tiger agreed, and followed the fox as it walked around the forest. All animals in the way ran away on seeing the duo. The tiger thought they were afraid of the fox, so he let it go.

Then there is Reflected Glory Marketing (RGM). When a brand does not afford a direct appeal to something a potential customer cares passionately about is invoked to attract attention. The potential customer is drawn into a conversation on that subject rather than on the drab product. When selling a health it may make more sense to talk about fitness and a great body first and then explain what this drink can do to maintain such a body. RGM is used to build relationships with customers. 

Reflections are used for reproduction in the world of flora too!  Although not usually ranked among the most charming of earth's creatures, bats nonetheless comprise one of the important groups of animals that can pollinate plants. Though bats mostly use olfaction to locate flowers, there is one flower (Vine flower) which by using a small concave ‘sound mirror’ reflects the bats’ ultrasonic echolocation right back to them, thus showing the animals its exact location. This mirror is formed from a single modified petal, the vexillum, which is raised when a flower is fully mature and ready to spring its pollen load indicating the presence of copious nectar.

Use of reflective paint to increase energy efficiency of homes and commercial buildings is a recent phenomenon. The move can reduce energy bills, because structures use less air conditioning when they absorb fewer of the sun's rays.

BIRGing, after all has benefits.

A Nation: hostage to democracy!

This is not about a political party. It is about people who are helpless in spite of freedom. It is about a Nation held hostage. When a Government is elected democratically, they have a responsibility towards the electorate. Collective autocracy by the legislature is abhor-able. By definition, all elected representatives are part of the government whichever bench they occupy in the Parliament. The people of India are hostage to those very same representatives elected to lead them. What a travesty of justice.

Why can not Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) be applicable to the legislature? By any standards transacting business by the august body of a democratically elected parliament is not a non essential activity. Legislators are behaving like hooligans inside the revered precincts of the parliament without any shame. The approach of “if only you do this you can do that” is blackmail. Simply an act violating the law. We the people of India want our legislature to be more responsible.

Legislators have to uphold the value system. The argument that I did a  wrong because my predecessors did the same is absolutely despicable. If there is use of office and status for partisan gains, it is immoral and no law is required to castigate the guilty.  One reason why the armed forces are swift in dispensing justice is there are sections in the Army Act dealing with ‘unbecoming conduct’ and ‘breach of trust’.

Forget the media who take you to the cleaners at the drop of a speck of dirt, even if the wind had carried it on to you. But government appointed bodies like the CAG and Lok Ayukta are different – the moment they reveal mal practice the affected run for cover behind enquiry commissions and other committees; then there is a long and winded legal system for ‘protecting’ the protagonists. So wither the value system? Where are the ‘teachings’ of the holy scriptures and other legacies, in which we collectively take pride and tom-tom as the famous mother of all cultures – the Indian culture? If I am wrong pray tell me what is Indian culture? Surely Indian culture is not just wearing a sari and not celebrating Halloween.

Only a few days ago the Nation was gaga on the visit by President Obama. India almost became a super power overnight. Today it seems to be just a pipe dream. It will remain a dream if we Indians do not wake up right now; wake up before it is too late. Wake up before our economic potential is blunted by partisan behaviour of the pillars of democracy – Legislature, Executive, Judiciary and Media. The world is shrinking. Interdependency of Nations is a given for growth. Among closed economies China is now open and already a world player. Cuba is slowly coming out of the shell. North Korea is an aberration and nobody knows whether there is an economy there! In such a scenario our leaders have a finger on the self destruct button.

Instead of focusing on development and all inclusive growth, already in our grasp, the powers that be are playing a game of one-up-manship. In the first instance a responsible media has to expose this nexus of political parties who ignore the people of a democracy. We have now to channelise the resources and energies of the Nation towards accelerated progress, even if it is to catch up with China. For the present – only to accentuate the critical nature of the situation - I will unequivocally declare that the one party rule of China is better than Indian democracy.

Will our leaders grow out of their clichéd statements and political games? I say to them grow out of the teens and become a woman.