Some "Traditions" Just Need To Go!

Once in a while one hears strange stuff like sons should be taking up the same profession as their fathers, women should follow their mothers' footsteps (and stay home!), etc . Worse, phrases like "our tradition", "Indian system", "sanskaar sanskriti" are used to justify such notions.

Look here: All this is utter rubbish. Absolute nonsense.

Each individual *must* pursue his or her own interests. If you want to be a mathematician you can't become a mechanical engineer just because your father is one, or your parents or some other relatives say so. This way you will neither become a good mathematician, nor a good mechanical engineer, nor be happy. Such notions only take the individual and society to mediocrity. And if you want to be a musician or a writer, it's best you don't allow anyone to force you to become a computer scientists.

Likewise for women: If you want to be a mechanical engineer and you take admission in a Home Science course because you are told that that's what women do, you're being a fool! The world has changed! You have as much of a right to be an engineer as any man.

[But yes, with independence comes responsibility! We have to take complete responsibility for our decisions and their consequences. We cannot want independence but hold others responsible for how our lives turn out. That would be hypocrisy.]

Here is a more detailed article that I wrote on this theme that I recommend reading: Strike a Pause: A Few Misplaced Notions (In My Opinion) On Culture And Sanskriti (strike-a-pause.blogspot.com)

Regionalism: A Curse That's Holding Us Back

One of the biggest challenges to overcome in our country today is regionalism.

Each and every state, city, town, ought to be aspiring to become more cosmopolitan, more diverse, more open.

And in many many parts of the country exactly the opposite seems to be happening.

Can you sense this?

It's pretty uneducated, pretty shallow, petty retrograde, if you ask me.

Maybe the concept of states is disadvantageous to start with. Maybe big cities taking responsibility for towns and villages within a certain radius ~ full stop. Let each such "city-towns-villages cluster" find representation in the parliament. And that's it.

No linguistic barriers, no cultural barriers, no insider-outsider sentiments, no resource barriers, no borders within the country's borders, everyone lives as one.

Teaching Emphasis at Indian Universities [Possibly Controversial But Probably True]

[Note: This post is as such directed at senior PhD students and post-docs who might be seeking academic positions in India in the near future. However, I think anyone who might be feeling that the quality of teaching at our colleges/universities is not as good as it ought to be might get some insight into the reasons. Be warned though 🙂 : I'm not too politically correct and say things as I see them in a pretty upfront manner.]

Here's some well meaning advice for senior PhD students and/or post-docs who might be seeking academic positions in India. The idea or intent is not to hurt anyone's idealism - I have been extremely idealistic myself and am proud of it - but rather to give you a fairly frank understanding of how things actually are (in my estimate) at most places.

Whatever I say here is based on observations I have made at different institutes as well as personal experience. I would recommend also discussing the points I'm making with other people you might trust, making your own observations if you can, and arriving at your own independent conclusions.

Here goes:

This might seem counterintuitive since educational institutions, by definition 🙂, exist to educate: BUT - UNLESS you are confident your institute values excellence in teaching and explicitly and clearly includes this as a criterion for career progression - *don't* be overzealous with your teaching. Just fulfill the basic expectations - complete your assigned quota of lectures and tutorials, hold the required number of office hours, cover syllabus, evaluate, assign grades - and move on. Don't venture to do any more than this to inspire students, make them really love a subject, etc.

Instead: Spend the time on publishing more papers. That's what will get you mileage and take you forward in your career.

As a friend and colleague (who is best left unnamed for his safety 😁) likes to remark: You are your h-index.

I explain in more detail below:

Teaching passionately and seeing your students' eyes shine can be deeply fulfilling. I know this and have breathed this breath myself. I have earned six letters of commendation for exemplary teaching and have featured in annual teaching excellence awards twice.

But to be frank 🙂, I don't believe excellence in teaching is given its due weightage at most institutes today as far as career progression is concerned. I have spoken with directors, I even attended a board meeting once where the director was presenting the institute's yearly report to the board and its chairman. How well faculty members have been teaching doesn't feature at all most of the times. That's of course a pity - why else does an educational institution even exist if not to educate properly? - but it's the truth.

For an academic institution to be excellent overall, each faculty member has to aspire for excellence in three things: Teaching, Research and Institute Service. For this to happen, all three of these have to be given their due weightage when it comes to evaluation and career progression. From what I can see, this is simply no longer the case at many institutes. You can also cross-check this with others.

So you might be a most brilliant teacher, might be affecting your students' lives profoundly, but when it comes to being evaluated, this aspect will most likely not receive the weightage it deserves. It's a complete disgrace as far as I'm concerned. But that seems to be the ground reality at most places. So if you choose to be idealistic, do so with full awareness of what to expect at the end of the day.

The above hasn't been my way and it never will be. Teaching well is important to me and I don't compromise with it.

But as I said earlier, if you choose to be idealistic, do so with full awareness of what you are getting into. Don't moan and groan that the world isn't all ok. It isn't. That's the plain fact of the matter. Accept it. Maybe things will be better some day. I would like to see that change too. Maybe some of us will bring about changes when it's our turn. Or maybe we'll get lucky and students and their parents will wake up and demand change. But things are exactly what they are today. Accept and move forward.

I emphasize again: You need not take any of the above on face value. By all means discuss these matters with people you trust, make your own observations, and arrive at your own conclusions. I would respect that totally.

A Few Notes On Finding A Spiritual Guide

[I also invite you to read: Strike a Pause: Science And Spirituality: Is There A Conflict? (strike-a-pause.blogspot.com)]

It is important to bear in mind that it is completely possible to make spiritual progress while pursuing your career goals, extra curricular interests, family life, etc. Some people choose the path of renunciation. They give up everything to go and live at an Ashram or take Sannyaas. That is simply *their* choice, it is just one way. It is *not* the only way. A true Guru will be able to give you spiritual instruction that you can incorporate in your day to day life as you pursue your goals.

The notes below are most important to bear in mind vis a vis finding an authentic Guru:

Fake Gurus and fraudsters abound today and one has to be extremely careful about becoming someone's disciple. Extremely careful. Do not accept anyone as your Guru till you are convinced of their level of knowledge, enlightenment, humanity, compassion and perfection of character. Meet, observe, ask questions, clear doubts, take your time. A delayed start in your spiritual journey is better than moving in incorrect directions.

Secondly, even if (and when) you accept someone as your Guru, you have to remember that the voice of your conscience is more important than anything else. If you feel an instruction is wrong, don't do it - no matter whose instruction. It is the Guru's responsibility to explain why his/her instruction is correct and remove your doubts. Till that happens, stand firm on your conviction, express your doubts politely, and wait patiently for the Guru to clarify. A true Guru will not mind this. In fact, such authentic questioning is encouraged at every stage in our spiritual tradition. If a Guru is not willing to clarify your doubts even after due effort and patience from your side, politely thank them for their time and walk away. Seek spiritual guidance elsewhere, from someone better. This is your right and nothing to be hesitant or afraid of.

If you see that a Guru or an Ashram is engaged in immoral activities, then most certainly, and immediately, walk away. No true spiritual guide engages in immoral activities at any time. These things just cannot go together.

Once you have found a Guru who is authentic, knowledgeable, enlightened, compassionate, perfect in character, willing to resolve your doubts and guide you step by step : give him/her the highest respect and seek guidance and knowledge humbly. Listen to such a Guru with attention. Incorporate his/her instructions in your life.

It is said in our spiritual tradition that the highest fortune one can have in life is getting the spiritual guidance of a perfected Guru. But it is your responsibility to ensure that whoever you accept as a Guru is indeed worthy of being a Guru.

Be extremely intent on knowing yourself in all depth, extremely intent on attaining enlightenment. And start your search :)!

May the sincerity of your seeking guide you.

Spirituality: Not Just Yoga and Meditation

A lot of people believe that spirituality just means Yoga and Meditation.

Actually, it is not so.

Yoga can give us a flexible and healthy body. I myself practice it and gladly recommend that you try it out and see if it works for you. I also meditate when I see that my mind is restless and I need to quieten and focus it. You can also learn to meditate and use it to your advantage if you wish. Just make sure that you learn from good schools. Yoga needs to be practiced correctly and meditation should be such that it increases your capacity to focus. There are a lot of people trying to teach these today with half or no knowledge themselves. You have to be alert about this and evaluate the effects of what you learn on your body and mind honestly.

However, a flexible and healthy body and a quiet and focused mind are just the first step 😊. They only form the basis 😊.

A spiritual life itself starts with wisdom.

When the intellect soaks in wisdom, it starts understanding how to approach life. It gets clarity on what is long lasting, what is fleeting, and gives everything its due importance. No more and no less. It understands that it's perfectly alright to enjoy life but there is no point in allowing the world to make us mad. It understands very very clearly that time and life are limited, that we are not here forever. With this sense of urgency one seeks clarity on what interests one deeply, what one wants to do in life and what not, and resolves to live and act with 100% attention and awareness every moment.

As the temporariness and fragility of life crystallize in one's awareness, a clarity dawns that owning more than what one needs is actually an unnecessary burden! One's inner state of mind starts becoming important, desire for power gets replaced by a willingness to take responsibility, and one steadily realizes that it's just not worth compromising one's character, integrity and cleanness of conscience for anything. It's like giving away diamonds in return for a few pennies. Just isn't worth it.

With this wisdom and clarity the whole of life becomes spiritual. A spiritual life does not oppose life in the world. We have all the right to pursue our dreams, our goals, and live the life we want to. But it gives us perspective and balance. It grounds us like nothing else.

So an intellect soaked in wisdom along with a flexible and healthy body and a quiet and focused mind: that's comprehensive spirituality. And it's within everyone's reach 😊. It's not something difficult and other worldly 😊. It's simple and practical knowledge that we can apply in our lives on a day to day basis.

Ravan was a great Yogi, meditator, extremely knowledgeable about various subjects and an excellent administrator. He had developed tremendous powers, known as Siddhis, through his Yogic practices. He built an entire country of gold. Yet, he killed his own sister's husband to retain political power. Such a shallow pursuit of power 😊. Why?

Because his intellect was not tuned to wisdom at all. Lot of Yoga, meditation and knowledge. But no spirituality whatsoever 😊. No depth of personality 😊, no character 😊.

So, develop all three: A wise intellect, a flexible and healthy body, and a quiet, focused and insightful mind. With these three for your support and guidance: Live 😊! May all glory be yours 😊! In life and death 😊!

A Few Misplaced Notions (In My Opinion) On Culture And Sanskriti

Sometimes I find myself disagreeing with practices and attitudes advocated in the name of culture and sanskriti. Here are a few examples:

1: Recently I heard someone talk about (and praise the idea) how in the old times in this country sons would continue with their fathers' professions. Business --> Business, Musician --> Musician, Teacher --> Teacher, Cobbler --> Cobbler, and so on...

I think such a practice still exists in some parts of Indian society.

Even if this were true at some point in the past, I do not believe this is a healthy practice.

People (of either gender) ought to do what interests them in my opinion. Yes, they also need to prove their mettle to succeed - and sometimes economic factors can make things a little extra difficult for some - but the guiding principle, as far as I am concerned, has to be "Do what interests you, do what motivates you, do what inspires you!".

(I elaborate on my point of view in this article: https://strike-a-pause.blogspot.in/…/choosing-career-path-a…)

2: Then there seems to be this notion that children should decide to pursue their professions geographically where there parents are.

That's again an incorrect notion in my opinion.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances that require one to forgo professional interests and aspirations for a while to take care of parents, I think it needs to be the other way around: People should follow their professional interests and aspirations and parents relocate if they want to stay with their children. 

I think such notions such as the above two are responsible to a large extent for our degeneration to such mediocracy in almost every field.

Not everything old may be necessarily good and not everything new necessarily bad. We need to think for ourselves and adopt what seem like the better practices, while letting go of those that don't, as we move forward.

3: One often hears: "One must implicitly respect and obey one's parents."

My take:

a) Everyone has to earn their respect. This includes the respect parents expect from their children. If either parent is an alcoholic / addict / abusive / dishonest / lazy, there is scant chance of getting any respect. You can demand a show of respect because your child is dependent on you, but just be clear that that isn't respect.

That's the first thing. You want your children to authentically respect you : conduct yourselves respectably.

b) Implicit obedience (assuming nothing unethical is asked of the child) till the end of high school is perhaps reasonable. That's a growing up phase and I think its reasonable to expect a child to eat the food put on the table, play when its play time and study when its study time, and other such stuff. This phase also moulds character and if parents do their parenting sensibly and children listen, we would have some fine young folks in society.

But then comes the stage of making decisions regarding what one wants to do in life. What does one want to study? What does one want to do professionally?

Here the child's wish must be respected. I'm sick to the bones of parents making life decisions for their children. One wants to study literature and poetry and you'll find them doing engineering. Another wants to play the guitar and will be enrolled in classical music lessons. And so on. Goodness gracious! Ask your children what they want to do for heaven's sake. And unless your economic conditions prohibit, back them!

Then who they want to marry, if they want to at all, is really their choice. If you know something and want to give a fair warning, that's one thing. But to make this decision for them and expect implicit obedience even at the cost of their happiness is plain criminal in my book.

As I said in my last post, not everything that is advocated in the name of culture or sanskriti is either reflective of a good culture or genuine sanskriti (these are my opinions of course).

4: One also often hears: "One must implicitly respect and obey one's teachers."

My take:

First things first: Teachers need to make sure they deserve the respect they seek. They must have command over the subjects they are teaching and the intent to teach well must be there. Add to this the requirement that teachers themselves practice the values they expect from students: sincerity, discipline, commitment to learn.

If this much is not in place, simply forget about being respected. You won't get it. You may able to shout down or intimidate students because you are in a position of some power. But respect is an altogether different matter. You won't get it if you don't have the above sorted out nice and proper.

In fact, I will go one step further: Teachers and professors who don't have the above sorted out should be shown the door. The last thing an educational institute needs is teachers who are either incompetent or not committed or short on character. Teachers directly influence the next generations and one bad apple can potentially impact many students negatively either at the level of interest and motivation or incorrect understanding of subjects or worse, character.

Then there is the other side too: I have also seen perfectly good teachers lose their motivation because the students they were teaching weren't true to their part of the deal. They were insincere and lacked the commitment to learn.

If students hold the view - and I would agree with this view - that they are obliged to respect only those teachers who are good in the first place, then there should be a visible variation in the way they respond to different teachers or professors. There has to be a sense of honesty when demanding that they be taught by the best possible teachers.

This part of the world had the concept of "Gurukuls". Parents would send their children to learn at Gurukuls at a certain age with the trust that they would be taught by people who had the stature of a Guru - a very very non trivial notion. The expectations were high. The Gurus had to be masters of their disciplines and people of exemplary character : it is people of this level who were entrusted with the task of education.

Alongside the word Guru was the word Shishya. Shishya translates to Disciple. The word Disciple relates to the word Discipline.

So alongside the high expectations of a Guru was a clear expectation from students as well.

I have been told once that one reason parents sent their children to Gurukuls was that while they themselves may not be able to impose the required disciplines on their children because of attachment, the Gurus would.

A Guru-Shishya relationship was considered sacred : one of the highest and most important relationships one would have in life.

You want to transform society? I tell you: Let the teachers agree to rise to the stature and level of Gurus and let the students agree to be Disciples. Do this one thing, and a lot will get sorted out. A whole lot.

A Five-Pronged Strategy To Participate In Water Conservation Efforts

There can of course be no argument on the need to conserve water.

However, the question arises: How do you and I, the common folk living our day to day lives, participate in this water conservation process?

The answer does NOT lie in stopping water festivals such as Holi. Instead, there are concrete steps that can be taken at individual/government levels year around that will solve this problem sensibly.

Here goes:

I present five strategies in this post that I believe we can implement fairly easily in our personal lives. These are of course above and beyond the sustained efforts that are needed at the community and government levels such as rain water harvesting, rejuvenation of lakes and rivers and putting firm caps on the amount of water that can be used by soft drink and liquor industries. If you have some ideas that you would like to share, please feel free to leave a comment. I will go through comments periodically and if I feel your suggestion can make a significant impact, I will incorporate it in the post (with credit duly given to you).

Strategy 1:

I invite you to read the following articles:

http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalreports/softdrinkssectorreport/waterfootprint.aspx

To quote from the article: “The water footprint of a soft drink, let’s say a cola, taking into account the direct and indirect water use to produce the drink, ranges between 150 and 300 litres of freshwater per 0.5 litre bottle.[1] A typical bathtub contains 90 litres of water. We therefore consume about two or three bathtubs full of water when drinking a bottle of cola.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/business/energy-environment/22iht-rbog-beverage-22.html

To quote from the article: "... it takes 170 to 310 liters of water, or 45 to 82 gallons, to produce a half liter of soda, 300 liters to make a liter of beer, and 140 liters to produce the ingredients that go into one cup of coffee, according to the Water Footprint Network, a scientific group that works with many big food and drink companies on water issues."

[Note 1: The word “soda” above likely means soft drinks such as coke, pepsi, etc.]

[Note 2: The water consumption for a cup of coffee stated above corresponds to using about 7 grams of coffee powder while a 1 Re sachet of Bru Instant apparently contains 1.5 grams of coffee powder. Also, there are different viewpoints on coffee, one of them being: https://dailycoffeenews.com/2016/04/01/the-measure-of-coffees-water-footprint-needs-to-be-revised/ - which suggests that its also important to consider whether a significant portion of the water requirement is met through rainfall - which also brings into play *where* we are getting our coffee from. So one has to analyse this in detail.]

Based on Note 2 above, this post is presently restricted to soft drinks such as pepsi, coke, etc. and beer (and possibly some other alcoholic beverages since to the best of my knowledge the water footprint of some other liquors is also quite high – I invite you to explore further).

Now its true that a fair amount of this water gets used in the agricultural activities associated with making these beverages. So one may say that, well, a lot of farmers get economically benefited. Then one can also point out the job creation economics of these industries. Valid points.

But I pose the following question in rebuttal: Farmers would also get benefited if we chose to consume more fruits and fruit juices as well! An increase in the supply of fruits and fruit juices would also reduce their prices and thus make them more accessible to a wider spectrum of our society, which, in turn, would improve the overall nutrition levels in our society. Plus more orchards to grow fruits will lead to more tree cover, and if what we learn in high school geography was correct, this will increase the probability of higher rainfalls.

Farmers can also produce more food for our cows and buffaloes who provide us with milk. If you just look around, you will see many many cows and buffaloes just left to find their own food by their owners during the day. These cows and buffaloes can often be seen eating from garbage dumps, and that cannot possibly be good for either the animals themselves or for the quality of milk we get in turn.

If you talk about job creation, we can have more milkshakes and juice shops that will employ more people. We can well imagine going and spending a few hours in a "Milkshakes, Fruits, Juices and Smoothies Bar" at times instead of a pub and spend as much on a pint of this stuff as we do on a pint of beer or a peg of whiskey. These "Milkshakes, Fruits, Juices and Smoothies Bars" can also have managers and servers.

All this is quite possible :)!

What's happening right now is that there are many many people who aren't even getting drinking water while many of us are drinking more alcohol and aerated beverages than can be possibly safe.

So, to sum it up, here's my first suggestion to counter water scarcity: Let's cut back on our sodas, coca colas, beers, whiskeys, etc. and drink a bit of the healthier stuff as well. Good for us, good for our water resources, good for the environment, good for many other people.

In addition to this conscientious effort from our side as responsible citizens, I would love to see a firm cap put by the state and central governments on the amount of water that can be used by soft drink and liquor industries.

Strategy 2:

As per this article: http://blog.tappme.com/indian-toilet-vs-western-toilet/ - much lesser water is consumed if one uses an Indian style toilet (which apparently may have come to us from Turkey).

Now the contrast indicated in the article – 1 or 2 mugs of water vs a whole flush full of water – is probably unrealistic. I don’t think 1 or 2 mugs of water is enough even in an Indian style toilet. But at the same time I feel that quantity of water we use in most flushes today, whether for Indian or western style toilets, is too high.

This article: http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2005/apr/05water.htm - suggests an ingenious way to reduce the water consumption while flushing. To quote: “To control the amount of water being flushed out at one go, insert a bottle of mineral water into the tank, or a brick wrapped in plastic. This occupies the same volume of the actual water. Thus when refilling, less water will fill up. But there will still be enough to keep the pot clean.”

So just this one change can lead to daily water savings in each house. And it all adds up when we look at it from the village / city / state / country perspective.

The advantages of using an Indian style toilet go beyond water consumption issues: Due to the squatting position it is also more effective in passing stool which in turn can help (as per this article: http://blog.smileprem.com/indian-toilet-vs-western-toilet/) "prevent “fecal stagnation,” a prime factor in colon cancer, appendicitis, and inflammatory bowel disease".

However, there are some situations in which the western style toilet would be preferable as per this article: https://medicforyou.in/indian-toilets-vs-western-toilets

My input: Unless you have an age/medical condition preventing you to do so, use an Indian toilet. If you haven't used it earlier, or haven't used one for a while, it might be a bit uncomfortable for a while but it should be alright in a few weeks as the thigh muscles and knees get used to it. Having a "bracket fixed on a wall" in front of you to hold would likely help in the first few weeks as you get used to the position.

Note that if you have an Indian toilet you can use a device such as this: https://www.amazon.in/Comfort-Folding-Commode-Stool-Economy/dp/B073B6N6L9/ - if and when squatting becomes difficult due to age or some medical condition. (There might be more options in the market too: do explore.)

Finally, please, please, stop using toilet paper and start washing your backsides after passing stool. There is nothing unhygienic about it. One does wash one's hands with soap afterwards! This actually saves water! You need a mug or two of water at most if you wash while scores and scores of trees need to be cut to make toilet paper. Those trees consume water when they grow. And when they are cut, the green cover on our planet reduces, which in turn affects rainfall. The waste generated by toilet paper is of course a serious matter in itself!

Strategy 3:

I repeat an article posted above that discusses ways in which we can reduce water consumption in our day to day household activities: http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2005/apr/05water.htm

Of the several suggestions made I can confirm the following from my own personal experience:

Using a bucket of water to bathe instead of a shower works out just fine. I happen to have long hair and need at most two buckets when I shampoo (twice a week). On other days, 1 to 1.5 buckets : max! As per the article, a bucket holds 15-20 litres of water. So I do not use more than 30 litres ordinarily and not more than 40 litres when I shampoo. Whereas, again as per the article, "the new swanky showers spew out at least 40 to 60 litres a minute!".

The other suggestions in the article are interesting too. I'm going to try and implement them as far as possible. I invite you to consider them as well.

[To add a simple but effective one from my side: Do not leave the tap running when applying soap to utensils, hands, etc. Turn on the tap only-when-its-time-to-rinse.]

Strategy 4:

It takes about a bucket of water to mop (specially in the Indian style called "pocha") an entire apartment's floor area.

With this in your mind, ask yourself the following question:

How much water do you use to wash your car(s) and how often?

To save water consumed in cleaning your car(s):

1. Use a dry cloth first to thoroughly wipe your car.

2. Follow this up with a thorough wipe using a wet cloth. As the wet cloth picks up dirt, dip it in a shallow pail of water and squeeze out the dirt. And continue to wipe :)!

This is exactly how one does "pocha" at home! One doesn't use a hose pipe or mugs and mugs of water to wet-wash the floor :)! Then why should that be needed to clean one's car(s) :)?

Strategy 5:

First what I don't have a problem with, and then what I recommend transforming:

If you have a small lawn in your house where you actually spend quality time, I don't see a problem with it. You need some water to maintain the lawn but this is water spent towards maintaining a space that you are using to add value to your life. In fact better you come out and spend some time around plants instead of being glued to your TVs and facebook & instagram profiles.

Likewise, there are some community lawns where people come to relax in the evenings, children frolic around, some folks get a bit of exercise by walking around for a while, while others may choose to just spend some time silently, read a book or just watch the sun set. I don't see a problem with such spaces and the water used to maintain them is well spent in my opinion. In fact it would be great in my opinion if people spent a little more time in such spaces, get to know other people in their communities, connect with them and develop friendships and a sense of camaraderie.

There are sports grounds where people play soccer, hockey, frisbee, cricket, kho-kho, etc. Often there are running tracks around these grounds for people interested in athletics. I don't see a problem with such spaces and the water used to maintain them. (Although I do feel that we should have multi-purpose grounds as far as possible where different sports can be played. That would be more viable than having separate grounds for each sport.) Again, I wish more people stepped out and played a bit. Just this one shift and I think overall levels of fitness and happiness in society would shoot up. Sport and physical exercise are extremely important and this is water well spent.

BUT then there are also what I call "showpiece lawns". Vast expanses of grass that consume lots and lots and lots of water and are hardly ever used either for individual relaxation or for spending quality family & community time or for sport and exercise. I emphasize again: these are "showpiece" lawns. THIS, I do have a problem with and recommend the following transformation:

Convert them into groves. That way one still has spaces of natural beauty (in fact with possibly a larger variety of flora!), there can be pathways and benches in these groves that still allow people to go and spend quality time with nature, but the water consumption will go down significantly. Also, with increasing tree cover, the probability of rainfall increases.

I wish you a happy journey ahead as you start participating in the water conservation process. I'm enjoying learning more about this topic and implementing whatever measures I can in my personal life. May you also enjoy the process as much :)!

PS: A side benifit of making daily and consistent efforts to conserve water is a zero guilt 100% clear conscience when you chuck a few water balloons and drench a few friends using your pichkari (squirt gun) on Holi 😁!