The term 'Development' carries a significant meaning. Oxford Dictionary says 'a stage of growth or advancement'. When there is a growth or advancement in a particular area, the earlier one becomes redundant. It exists for a sometime but slowly turns extinct. It is a progression. Equipments and instruments and their spares become dear and scarce after the new versions arrive. Some are retained just for the purpose showing the history of development.

Look at India. Her growth scenario is absolutely different.

We see every day different brands and shapes of two wheelers and brand new cars. I am not sure whether even Singapore roads would have enjoyed these many varieties of vehicles on their roads, which are more enviable than our rickety roads of metropolis.

Modern attires are crowding the market. Unisex dress like jeans, tops, salwar kameez occupy the place of fashion, style and are considered marks of modernity. But, now only we have more numbers of silk sarees with 'muhurtha pattu' with thousands of colors. We see advertisements of silk sarees carrying zaris weighing not less than several kilos.

Gold ornaments are said to be vulgar ostentation of wealth. So those who are educated, enlightened and cultured prefer to wear and bear the minimum loads of jewellery. Growth never stopped there. We are stormed with advertisements showing hands overfilled bangles, fingers covered with multiple rings, ears and necks carrying heavy and light-weight ornaments of different designs.

A man called Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi gave a clarion call for simplicity and more especially in marriages. But today marriages provided extravagant shows and excessive food.

Bharatiyar sang 'There is no caste my child' ('Jathikal illayadi pappa'). But now we have political parties and organizations thrive on caste and caste alone.

We have surfeit of eateries everywhere from no star to Five Star. But still we find road side 'Kai Endi Bhavan' doing brisk business notwithstanding the unhygienic conditions around.

With MNC's deluging India with IT jobs, we see IT companies recruiting thousands of fresh candidates not for a song but for a bang. A twenty five year old IT professional's salary is thrice that of his dad with 30 long years of service.

Agreed. Developments are visible. Then

• Who are those people who still pedals cycles in the arteries of the city adding chaos to the traffic?

• Who are those who crowd the unclean eateries?

• Why there is milling crowd in the silk saree shops?

• Why the unemployment problem is being discussed even today as a perennial bane?

Any growth should wipe the old and obsolete. Here old and new continue to co exist adding to the chaotic conditions. The problems are as follows:

• A Benz car owner sends his servant in a bicycle

• A modern girl prefers only an expensive silk and cart load of jewellery for her marriage which should be a show of pomp and pageantry because the elders like it that way.

• Even a poor lady who suffers for a daily meal needs gold mangalsutra for marriage

• Even the retired oldies want to be reemployed or fight for extensions of services

Adding to all these, the arithmetic progression of development is being continuously stymied by the geometric progression of population growth in the poor and needy.

So our problems are unending.

Our philosophy says that a man should relinquish every thing as he grows. When we are unable to reject the useless where is the question of relinquishing the pleasures and prides of life?

India is no wonder a paradox and bundle of contradictions to many.