Talking Shop: Ageing, but not gracefully

"Sometimes, you just have

to play the role of a fool

to fool the fool who thinks

that he is fooling you..."

— Lessons Taught by Life

"Bahut yaarana lagta hai. Ab aayaega mazaa, Basanti naachegi," Gabbar Singh said in the super-blockbuster 'Sholay' in 1975. English translations can be silly, for this is what Gabbar said: "There seems to be a deep friendship here. We shall have fun now as Basanti will dance." Well, Basanti did dance and 'Oh jab tak hai jaan' became a cult favourite.

Today, 50 years later, other newer and deeper friendships are making millions not just prance like Basanti, but they are even making them do a crazy 'nrityataal' (literal hop, skip and jump every few steps). There are other similarities between that classic flick and today's new India. As did Gabbar Singh eventually fall to a telling friendship, so are teeming millions flailing now, as many of our new superhighways and bridges come crashing down within weeks of opening. Also falling prey to these questionable friendships and alliances is the cultural and social fabric that our society built painstakingly since independence and before.

How else do we describe what is happening around us in nearly every sphere of life? The most gory is where a little village boy, all of 9 years of age, was thrashed for daring to try and drink water from a 'matka' (earthen pot) whilst at school. He was rushed to several hospitals and the little one finally succumbed to his injuries. Equally disparaging is the unthinkable welcome accorded to 11 convicted of gang-rape and murder. Not only were they garlanded and fed sweets in front of television crews, they even attended a get-together to celebrate their remission from prison after being held for 14 years for their heinous crime(s). Clearly, we are stuttering as a nation and the going is only getting tougher.

COVID-19 conundrum

Like an angry and effervescent parrot, I shall keep repeating myself till someone listens. COVID-19 is not gone, not at all. Numbers are rising countrywide, scarily so at times, but people refuse to wear masks or adhere to safety precautions and measures. It amuses me when even the educated and aware keep insisting that the pandemic is over. So what are people getting afflicted with?

Well, since I live in the National Capital Region, I shall speak of this chaste city to begin with. A frustrated Delhi Government last week ordered the mandatory wearing of masks and re-imposed a fine of Rs 500 for errant un-maskers. The result? Well, nearly everyone is flouting the mandate as those policing them are watching helplessly. Positivity numbers, meanwhile, are touching 10 per cent, sometimes even scaling the 20-per cent mark. Yesterday, eight people died in NCR. The day before, four went to their forever residence. But no one listens.

Moving to Mumbai—on Friday, India's financial capital reported 1,201 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, the highest in over two months, with two new dead. On all parameters across the rest of the country, the COVID-19 situation has worsened in the last week. The positivity rate has climbed above 5 per cent countrywide, and deaths are creeping up too. The number of active cases has doubled from a month ago. And yet, the authorities are dumb and numb with their action on this. How so? Well, there is no action. It is almost as if a country that imposed the world's most stringent lockdowns with barely 500 cases across a nation of 135 crore is now, less than two-and-a-half years later, thumbing its nose at this 'never-was' pandemic. Ask those who lost their near and dear ones—their personal experience probably differs.

Hate and economics

Another crumbling experience for the nation is what has happened over the last few years—a widening religious and communal chasm. This year's Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti and Eid festivities manifest how deep the rot has gotten. In April, India observed Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti. These are normally peaceful festivals, but this year was unusual as more than a dozen incidents of communal violence occurred, leading to disruption of normal life, vandalism and looting across many states.

The rioting had a pattern. Jingoistic processions blatantly moved around with or without permission from the authorities, eventually resulting in brick-batting, ugly confrontation and a free-for-all, especially in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Delhi too saw a repetition of communal violence after two years. A fortnight after the clashes, Delhi's Jahangirpuri witnessed an 'anti-encroachment drive', leading to the demolition of homes and commercial properties. Some sections of the media called this 'instant karma and real justice', while others announced the 'onset of a new Bulldozer Raj'.

If the above not be cause for worry, former RBI Governor Subba Rao's statement on our GDP growth projections is. The economy seems to be fluttering and the goal of $5 trillion in GDP can be achieved only by 2028, says the former Governor, and that only if we grow at 9 per cent per annum for the next six years. Just last week, the RBI announced that our Forex reserves fell by US $2.238 billion to US $570.74 billion in the week ended August 12, 2022 (in the previous week, Forex reserves declined by US $897 million to US $572.978 billion). It is a silver lining that RBI's intervention to keep inflation in check is to some extent responsible, but the authorities nonetheless need to keep a close watch on this.

Only good news is sports

Amid all the gloom, the only good news we hear is from the arena of sports. In the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, India stood unparalleled and was outstanding, winning multiple medals, accolades and hearts in badminton, wrestling, weightlifting, hockey and women's cricket. In fact, our willow-wielding ladies almost smashed World Champions Australia in the finals to bag the Gold Medal. We settled for Silver, but that's no mean achievement. On another front, our second-string ODI men's cricket team blew the West Indies to oblivion and the same has since been achieved with Zimbabwe too.

That's great, almost as good as the news from Qatar, the host of this year's FIFA World Cup—for that is mind-blowing. Ever since it won the bid for the World Cup in 2022, Qatar and the Middle East have been gearing up for the song of a century. And what a song it promises to be. Eight stadiums are up and running. Us living in India will be amazed that the climate-controlled stadiums with retractable roofs boast of world-best environmental standards recognized as '5-Star' (nearly all of them) and have air-conditioning that will keep the in-stadium ambient temperature at 18 degrees Celsius. They also have indoor swimming pools, star hotels, basketball and tennis courts and whatnot. Best of all, at the conclusion of the World Cup, Qatar will dedicate all eight facilities to the nation to promote sports. Wow. Yes, having oil reserves is great, but so are a keen intent and pledges of this nature.

To end, let's revisit our repertoire of quotes and see what St Francis De Sales had to say a long time ago: "Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for any reason whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." Sure, we are all upset, but we need to take a look at the larger picture. Perhaps it holds a rainbow or two in its stead, or perhaps not. Only time shall tell.

The writer is a veteran journalist and communications specialist. He can be reached on narayanrajeev2006@gmail.com. Views expressed are personal