THE OTHER SIDE
Saturday, 23 November 2024 | Paritosh Kimothi
Many decades ago the nine dots puzzle was referenced to in the early 1900s. Some credit it to American chess player and recreational mathematician Sam Loyd while some credit British mathematician Henry Ernest Dudeney for it. This puzzle asks one to connect nine dots on a three-by-three grid, using four straight lines without the pencil leaving the page. One finds it impossible to solve unless one leaves the box created by the grid of dots. One is able to solve it only after drawing parts of some of the lines outside the box. It is stated that the expression ‘thinking outside the box’ originated from here as one has to think outside the box in order to solve this puzzle. Whether or not this is the origin of the expression, the dictionary defines it as exploring ideas that are creative, unusual and not limited or controlled by rules or traditions.
Since his first term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been stressing on the need for innovation for the solution to developmental issues and various problems. The Congress State government at that time and the successive BJP governments did take some steps in this direction. The focus has yielded some results in the past few years with noticeable changes and developments in the State. The Gross State Domestic Product has increased 1.3 times in the past 20 months while the per capita income has grown by 26 per cent in the past two years, according to the State government. However, one may opine that simply improving and achieving better economics and statistics doesn’t equate to either addressing the burning issues effectively or achieving one’s full potential. Tourism is often called the backbone of the State’s economy and it has developed considerably, some opine alarmingly- considering its impacts faced by those not employed in the tourism and related industries. The plastic waste generated by the increased footfalls is a major issue which threatens to assume more alarming proportions in the near future if effective steps are not taken soon. Can Uttarakhand see an opportunity for innovation to address this issue? For example, the versatile hemp is also used for making biodegradable plastic.Experts point out that biodegradable plastic made from hemp fibres has its advantages and disadvantages too. But could this opinion also be influenced by the human proclivity to go for the inferior option as it is cheaper, profitable and more convenient even though the repercussions may extract a much bigger economic and environmental cost in the future? Hemp is but one option. There are various national and international level research institutions in the State and one wonders if these could play a bigger role in finding innovative solutions that could have a major impact on the life and economy of Uttarakhand and subsequently elsewhere too.
However, as many experts have been pointing out, at times, the solutions may lie in returning to traditional practices while using innovative approaches to market these ideas and products to both locals and visitors, otherwise habituated to ‘modern’ products. For example, a considerable source of the plastic waste generated in the State is packaged snacks and processed food items. Sadly, one may find empty chips packets even in places not that crowded by people. Till a few decades ago, such packaged snacks were rare as traditional, healthful and tastier items like roasted Bhat (black soyabean) with grains of wheat were popular. Though such items, along with local fruits and vegetables are still consumed in rural mountainous areas, processed foods loaded with chemicals and packaged in plastic have become more popular. Popularising such traditional food items to the extent that even tourists demand these, could have a positive impact on the health of the people, the economy and the environment. It is not as if steps have not been taken. The government does serve traditional food too in some of its programmes. More outlets have been opened to sell local products. However, here too there is an ‘innovation’ of another kind. A friend who had entered the business of making Pahadi Lon (traditional salt mix with herbs and spices) recalled that while raw materials like chilli were sourced from Rajasthan, the turmeric was sourced from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Such raw materials were supplied to locations in Uttarakhand from where they were purchased by various enterprises. Now, one will understand that the taste and qualities of Pahadi products depends on the raw material also being sourced from the mountainous regions but this does not seem to be the case. My friend exited the partnership due to the complexities and time consuming nature of the enterprise even though it has become commercially more visible than in the past.
One could say that the government and the people of Uttarakhand may need to really act outside the box or return to traditional practices and honest common sense instead of, say, changing the grid of the nine dots to solve the puzzle.
