The Simple Truth

Friday evening in Bengaluru meant party night for Tanav, he had completed Journalism and Mass communication course from Delhi College of Arts & Commerce & is working for Deccan Herald. He drove his bike without much concentration, it was as if the bike knew where he wants to go, it took him to 'Purple Haze' at Koramangala where he meets his friend, Rayirth on Friday evenings. Tanav was lost in his thoughts when he met Rayirth. The booming 'Purple Haze' disturbed him further, he signaled Rayirth to come out.

Rayirth: "Hey..! What's up?!"
Tanav: "Need a smoke... Can we walk for a while?"
Rayirth: "Here... What happened?"
Tanav: "You know I do this interviews of people who has done things to the society for the Sunday column. Today my boss asked me to interview a lady,Aastah. She is running an orphanage."
Rayirth: "OK.. that's nice.. but we do have lots of Orphanage these days..! What's special?"
Tanav: "I know... the reason my boss sent me to her was different, its not for the orphanage she is running but for the views she wanted to share!"
Rayirth: "I'm not very sure I understand...!"
Tanav: "I think my boss didn't want me to interview her actually, he wanted me to here her views... and then write on it...!"
Rayirth: "So you're getting to write new column...!?!"
Tanav: "I'm not quite sure about that...!" 
Rayirth: "oooyee.. what is happening man.. tell me what happened!"
Tanav: "Last week we had this event in office, everyone had to write about what are they doing/following to change the society. Everyone wrote about planting trees or cleaning the street, but I wrote 'What ever you do the next generation is going to spoil it as we are doing now'. My boss called me the next day and asked me why I wrote that"
Rayirth: "oh dear.. messed up huh?!"
Tanav started explaining: "No dude..listen.. I replied to boss that I felt that is the state of things, everything I knew as child has changed when I grew up. People are least bothered about society and what to do bring it up!"
Tanav's Boss: "And yet you can see that we are having more and more events and organisation giving more importance to uplifting the society. what do you have to say about that?"
Tanav: "Few are genuine but rest all are just corrupted!"
Tanav's boss: "I read your answer but I felt you never understood the question, what are you doing to change the society?"
Tanav: "Yes understood the question and I am aware of what i wrote!"
Tanav's boss: "Care to explain?"
Tanav: "The trees we plant and the street we clean, everything is wiped out in a week or months time. People still dump the waste on roads and planted trees are plucked out on will if any new constructions or in the name of expansion"
Tanav's boss: "Then make them stop dumping waste and removing the newly planted trees!"
Tanav: "The construction work will give me piece of their mind if i go there and stop them, besides they would have got clearance for construction on that place from government authorities. Must have cost the construction companies few extra bucks but bribe the government and you can do anything!"
Tanav's boss: "My question still remains, what are you going to do about it?"
A confused Tanav looked at his boss, is he expecting me to go around holding boards to stop corruption?! Tanav's boss looked at him as if expecting an answer. Tanav: "People of India has mentally accepted the corruption is OK, it is part and parcel of life. Don't have license bribe the traffic constable, don't get license of export.. bribe.. can't get something done.. BRIBE.. the political parties are running a race within themselves on who has done the highest scam! We live in a country where we follow a saying 'Doesn't matter if the politician is corrupt at least he/she should do some good!'.. this is the situation..!"
Tanav's boss calmly replied: "I asked your contribution? Am i still not clear?"
Tanav looked at his boss in disbelief, this old bugger is expecting me to hold boards against corruption and get thrashed! Tanav's boss wrote down an address and gave him: "Go and meet this lady on Friday around 4pm, her name is Aastah, she runs an orphanage... I'll call her that you're going to visit her" Tanav was even more confused, what is expected of him to do he understood but why he is meeting that lady he wasn't sure. when he was about to leave, his boss said to him: "Oh Tanav, i want your views.. i need i'll put up those in Sunday's column..!"

At 4pm, Tanav reached the address his boss gave him, it was in outskirts of city, the place had beautiful garden and very peaceful, he was welcomed by a lady who looked in her mid forties. She wore a elegant cotton saree and offered him tea, Tanav started explaining about what had happened few days back with his boss and how he had given him instructions to meet her.
Tanav: "Madam... I'm not very sure why my boss sent me to you... but i'll have to write your views anyway..so...!"
Aastah: "Please don't call me madam.. you can call me as Aastah and I understand why your boss has sent you here...! He must have felt you had the young blood which can turn things around for our country!"
Tanav was dumb stuck.. what was this old lady blabbering about, I'm just a normal guy..
Aastah smiled as if she understood what he was thinking: "Don't get confused...! I totally agree with what you argued with your boss, that state of country is such that.. but you didn't reply to your bosses question, what are you going to do?"
Tanav was irritated: "What can i do? I'm not corrupt, I'm sincere to my profession, I can't stop others from being corrupt neither can i advice them!"
Aastah: "Of course, you can't start preaching people to stop being corrupt, people will think you are fool... but then how are we going to stop corruption then?"
Tanav: "That is up to the individual...!"
Aastah: "Exactly.. How do you do that?"
Tanav: "you mean... I get caught by traffic police for not wearing helmet and i say i'll go to court for it instead of bribing him Rs200? No will want go to court fr this!"
Aastah: "Hmmm.. Let's say for 3KM distance i paid Rs200/- in taxi? who is to be blamed here?"
Tanav: "The taxi driver cheated you and you should be aware that it won't cost that much for 3KM distance!"
Aastah: "Correct! so when you get caught for not wearing helmet or having license next time, don't pay fine of Rs.200/- instead pay Rs.100/- which is as per Bangalore police spot fine amount! Next time don't be ignorant!"
Tanav felt embarrassed: "What about people who don't have literacy, they can't find out these data..!"
Aastah smiled: "Good point, majority of our country will come under your question, what could be done for that?"
Tanav remained silent.. Aastah continued: "How do we stop corruption? You can do mass movement and change the government but what is the surety that next government is not the same? or in our case what if you know the spot fine rates and next person ends up paying excess?"
Tanav: "The traffic constable should be truthful!"
Aastah smiled: "Yes...! If you have to remove corruption you have to be truthful!"
Tanav: "Are you kidding me? Are you expecting 1.2 billion people in india to be truthful?!!!"
Aastah looked at him, her expression didn't change: "How much lies do you tell in a day Tanav?"
It was a bizzare question, never heard of such thing, but started recollecting, he didn't tell any today.. "I didn't lie today!"
Aastah smiled: "how often do you lie?"
Tanav, didn't have any answer to that... he gave a deep thought and replied : "May be 5-6 times a week..!" Aastah: "So 5-6 times a week is a very small number, so to speak it is highly possible for you to go a week without telling a lie?"
Tanav, looked at her, where is she getting at: "Hmm.. Yes.. I think I could..!"

Aastah smiled widened, her eyes lit up, but still Tanav had no clue what she was getting at : "India was ranked 74th among 176 countries in the least corrupted countries, By 2012 we ranked 94th among 176 countries. The high level corruption and scams are threatening to derail countries credibility and economic boom. In a report, Gujarat which is the least corrupted state of India, when people don't ask for bribes, the economic growth of Gujarat is matching some of the fastest growing economic regions of China. Think about what could be the result if every state could perform on the same level"
Tanav still wasn't clear, Aastah explained: "Lets take one government body, say two wheeler licensing, imagine if 100 license inspector, 100 traffic policemen are true to their job. what do you think will be result?"
Tanav: "Then, they will not give license to people who really are not good at driving and these policemen will not ask bribe!"
Aastah: "Yes correct...! Imagine if 100 government school teachers who were good and true to their job, then the demand for private education will reduce drastically! 100 true politicians can change the face of India! But on all these a crucial factor is being truthful. Most of us are truthful on day to day basis but it is when the situation comes the truthfulness it put to test. It starts with simple being late to office and goes up to level which can sake the country's economy."
Aastah: "Tanav, what we can do to society is to be truthful. You be truthful, tomorrow watching you, your kid will follow that, your siblings will follow that. government can put up laws but again it is individual responsibility to uphold it. It all starts with being truthful...!"

Tanav felt a wave of enlightenment inside him, he thanked Aastah and left her to meet his friend Rayirth. Tanav finished explaining the story and looked at Rayirth:  "All these days I had the impression that changing the face of India was something else, never understood what is to be done to induce the change... Today I understood the Simple truth...!"