Sunday, May 18, 2014

The Thing Around Your Neck!

Surprises can be very predictable as coming events do cast their shadow before. We can all be a little bit of a Nostradamus if we try. At least some of the  times. So Indian election are over and the result was surprising only in the sense that so many people were actually surprised by it! In fact they were surprised by the fact that they never  believed that it will be as surprising as it turned out to be.

It has taken them a while but people of India  have finally realized that bringing in minority governments election after election has done them incalculable harm. It has vitiated the political atmosphere and given rise to serious policy paralysis. It has encouraged horse trading and deal making; substituting tokenism for governance. It  has institutionalized poisonous vote banks and given rise to endemic corruption at massive scale that has eaten away at the nation's vitals - all to the detriment of people. So this time around  people;  the real owners of the country , snatched the country back from the middle men; commission agents and hustlers of public interest by simply pressing a different button on the electronic voting machine.

It must be the sign of the times. It is the age of the internet. Individuals are slowly taking over control of their lives. They  are ceding some too but that's another story. Most of us remember the good old days when you had to get out and travel to the nearest retail outlet if let's say you wanted  a shirt. You would go there and choose one from 'his' limited stock and pay him 'his' price. The shopkeeper was smart and he would sweet talk you  to believe that you got a good deal. In reality he sold what he had and you paid what he wanted you to pay. On top all sales were final.This retail model is slowly taking a beating in today's world. Now you can and should go online, compare several suppliers and look for the most economic deal. You can also talk to other users and get a feedback on their experience with the supplier. You order it online if and when you are satisfied and you do not need to go anywhere. Your order is usually delivered to you at your door step in short time.

Retailers are not very happy about it though. In fact one of my friends who in the past made a pretty penny selling large screen tv's in a big retail store for years is soon to be out of a job because hardly anyone buys from a physical store and that outlet is shutting shop. Customers shop online and mostly get a better deal. Sadly he is not making enough commissions to pay his bills any more.

Similarly we have this background groaning noises now being made by those very cutthroat mobsters who were selling their captive voter's interest for their own benefit for years. Their business model is shot to hell by this election result.They can't swindle any more. Some dealers had an exclusive tender for one or the other group of people; some had a special shop for  poor. Some had the dealership for this caste , some for  that caste and some had a dedicated showroom for different caste combinations. Oldest dealer in town had the sole franchise for 'secularism'; newest had the one for 'honesty'.  All of them are out of a job because voters went hi tech; talked to each other; got together to make a bigger pool and chose a source that arguably has some warts, but comes with very good customer references; nice fresh extensive  stock and verifiable value for money. Well .....tough luck Shylock !

Institutions and organizations like individuals have to bear their own cross. They all know it. What is harder to come to terms with is that we all have to carry our own millstones around our neck too. Big enough to sink us. It is not our challenges that does us in ; it is our own lack of foresight; faulty planning; inadequate preparations and an inability to take tough decisions that sets us back.

Congratulations are due that after decades of non performing coalition  governments, India has taken a right turn - in all senses of the word ! Surprisingly they now have a coalition opposition instead. I am not so sure how that will  pan out in the end but  in the coming months we are likely to see a lot of churning in their ranks. Some will fall by the way side , some will switch their side. A lot of heads will roll and  some roles will reverse. A new  opposition leader may emerge even though today they are facing a crushingly morale sapping and monstrously comprehensive defeat.  Hopefully it does soon; since someone will be needed to keep a tab on the new supplier. 

Although she has a long five years window but it would be interesting to see how soon will  Priyanka Gandhi look down and realize that the millstone around her neck is a four letter word called vdra.