Solving the wrong problem

In "Cash Transfers better than drought relief works", the author claims that giving free money is better than wasting money on relief works which do not build useful things.

A radical solution would be for states to stop rural works and simply pay the legal compensation to job-card holders. This will cost less than rural works, since money will not be spent on materials or supervision: it will go entirely to the needy. In effect, cash transfers will replace rural works. Activists like Dreze will demur: they think rural works create durable assets, despite evidence to the contrary. I believe that in a major drought, we should focus on getting cash to the needy, not on building mud roads that vanish in the next monsoon.

The real problem is that the relief works do not build useful products of labor.

Isn't it better to invest more to solve that rather than changing the problem to make the solution easier?

Jaswant Singh has only himself to blame

Jaswant Singh may have said the truth in his book on Jinnah.

But I can't imagine someone wasting 5 years trying to write a book on something which doesn't matter anymore in the present context. Had it been published circa 1947, it may have mellowed the animosity between the then Congress and Muslim League. But 62 years later, this doesn't have any relevance.

Why then did Jaswant Singh write the goddamn book? After the backlash Advani got when he praised Jinnah when in Pakistan, did he think that this book would disrupt BJP and get him a better footing in the party?

Either ways, serves him right for wasting everybody's time.

The joy of cooking

I had never really considered that cooking could be fun. I mean, standing at a place and baking 20 chapathis for a family seemed pretty mundane.

But having gotten sick of bread and a patty in between (they call them burgers), I was forced to start cooking.

I was pleased when a colleague I was moving in with, told me "I am an excellent cook."

The arrogant self appraisal pricked me but I was optimistic for my own good.

But then when we finally moved into the apartment:

"But I know only vegetarian" he said.

"$^%#$!@#!"

So, one noon, after a week of vegan, the craving for some chicken legs started and I called on a friend who gave instructions. That attempt turned out to be surprisingly good and then I was hooked.

Since then I have made chicken curries, barbecue chicken and then upuma and potato curry after calling mom for the recipe which turned out really good.

There is nothing more satisfying than making something really tasty. What makes it interesting is that, much like building anything else, unless the whole is built, you usually don't know how its going to turn out. And the careful calibration required while adding spices and such is nothing less than an art.

But still, there are things I do not like. Like, washing dishes and making rotis.

Utopian Work Culture