Perfection comes from simplicity and dedication

Saptak is our kind of story. It is a small, passionate venture delivering great value to society. In an age obsessed with scale and numbers, Saptak reminds us that a reset is possible.

Perfection is at the heart of Indian classical music. Its many sophistications come from simplicity and dedication. In the 46 years that Saptak has been around nothing has changed at the school. It continues to function from borrowed premises. There is no signboard. The fees are modest. If you can’t pay but have some talent they will still take you in.

The founders were musicians setting out, with nothing but their talent, to popularize classical music in Ahmedabad. Theirs was a tiny effort and they have succeeded way beyond their own modest expectations. Saptak’s reputation now brings maestros from across India to Ahmedabad for a festival each year. Saptak has also witnessed a seamless transition with the founders’ children,  musicians themselves, taking over as trustees.

Toys and puzzles made in India that reflect Indian stories and settings are worth buying. They are ingeniously conceived and brilliantly crafted with an eye for detail. Flora and fauna, monuments, fables and mythology have been brought alive by creative entrepreneurs. We feature at least two such enterprises and their products in this issue. Having bought them ourselves we can strongly recommend them.

There have been a number of rabies deaths in the country. We made a rough tally for a period of five months relying on news items and what we found made us sit up. It is well acknowledged that the stray dog problem is way out of control. Birth control measures haven’t worked.

Are the deaths we are counting an indication of an even grimmer reality that rabies is becoming unmanageable? It has long been the view of this magazine that animals should be treated with kindness. One way of doing that is by getting dogs off the street where they are vulnerable and consequently a menace to society.

The rabies deaths should be treated seriously as a public health issue. There should be an audit of each death so that the exact cause is known. Rabies should also be uniformly made a notifiable disease across the country.

National and state budgets have held little interest for us. They are just a bunch of numbers, mostly up for revision. To know which way the economy is headed, it is more important to look at policy. Our interview of the month is with Arun Maira who has just published a timely book on ‘reimagining’ the Indian economy. A new way of looking at things is what he suggests and we agree.