Bull's Eye

To the Bada Saab, Indian Moon Mission

Sirjee,

Myself living in Ramgarh. Sunday evening, I am reading in magazine that India plansrocket to moon and I am getting great confusion. Because that day only I try to call Delhifor many hours as my wife is expecting baby there and I am not being get through at all.And I am telling our paanwalla, Panditji, that government cannot build good road that lastthrough monsoon, and they making rocket for moon, what is the meaning of this?

So Panditji is telling that the trouble with Indians is that we are always aiming low."Moon? What is this moon? Americans finished moon story 30 years ago. We should sendrocket to Mars!"

Panditji is telling: "We burst atom bomb and we are thinking now world will say weare superpower, we will get seat in Secure Council, but nothing happen. White men say:atom bomb North Korea also has and there no one get to eat only. Here in India, manypeople get to eat. So what is all this superpower-shuperpower? Now when India send rocketto moon, America will say: why you tell these old stories? Forget Secure Council, go andmeet Armstrong sahib. To be superpower, we must send rocket to Mars. Low living, highthinking. Then world will say yes, good."

Then my friend say: "But Mars is very far. We will need very big rocket.""We will make very big rocket," Panditji is telling. "And all the poorpeople not getting to eat and making roads dirty and white men coming and taking photos ofthem all the time and telling why so many poor, why women not going to school, all thosepoor people we put on big rocket and send to Mars. They will make computer factory thereand become rich and send money. Lot of problem will solve."

"And Panditji, government is saying rocket to moon will make us proud of Indiaagain and everyone will work hard."

"That is difficult. Rocket is old story for us. We Indians only inventedrocket-shocket. Pushpak rath, Arjuna going to meet Indra in rocket, all that is there.Like atom bomb was also old story. Pandavas Kauravas used nuclear arrows at Kurukshetra,this every child is knowing. That is why Rajasthan is desert. Why work hard when all thiswe did 10,000 year ago?"

So, Sirjee, I will be very grateful if you tell me moon is good or Mars is good and howI set up computer factory.

Yours hopefully,
Bharat Kumar

(Rajinder Puri is on holiday)