The Hindu Business Line : Life after death

SPEAKING at a function organised to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this paper, K.V. Kamath, MD and CEO, ICICI Bank, mentioned how, in the dynamic world we now find ourselves in, banks have to reinvent themselves every three years if they are to survive, partly as an offset for the desire for a settled life, partly to cope with periodic assaults from `the forces of evil.' For, ultimately, as the Chief Guest, Arun Shourie, pointed out, in his own sweet way, if at all life survives, it is only out of its desperation to somehow circumvent death.

The eminent behavioural scientist, B.F. Skinnner, put it somewhat more bluntly. When rats are treated to an electric shock from time to time, they tend to run around more — thereby increasing the probability of stumbling on the exit; if there happens to be one. Students of comparative mythology will tell you about how ancient civilisations all had some sort of story to tell about the creation of Order out of Chaos.

Those familiar with the Indian Triad, go on to add that this is never a one-time affair. Creation, preservation and destruction, follow each other; in regular succession. For some reason, however, they assume, unlike men of the world like Shourie and Kamath, that it is creation that comes first. In fact, it is always impending doom.

In the case of the Saraswats, this came in the shape of horses and horsemen from the steppes; both of whom, to their credit, they somehow managed to civilise and harness, rather than succumb to. It is this that explains insertions in some of the hymns of the Rig Veda dealing with Bhujyus' miraculous rescue from the lap of the ocean — with the aid of horses! Moral of the story? Reinvention requires a capacity for innovative action. But you must not be so inventive as to reinvent yourself in a way that you totally forget who you are.