Talking Shop: Last time I 'flied'

"It makes my heart sick

when I remember all

the good words, as also

the broken promises."

— Chief Joseph

History has given us a regular peppering of hate-mongers. They were almighty and powerful, agnostic, and oft-ill-advised. These near-tyrants cast a terrible shadow on humanity for centuries, instigating wars, holocausts, annihilation of races or targeted castes and tribes, either on a whimsical notion, for personal gain or just for fun and revenge. Off-hand, I can name Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Genghis Khan, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin (and for those with a yearning to want into the literary world, we had Mephistopheles and Don Quixote). They made millions upon millions look up to the skies, seeking the divina ex machine forces to come into play, or for sheer and pure mercy.

Now let's talk little old ripening me. The last time I looked up to the heavens, I was all of 8 years of age—then, the skies were the limit, especially when I saw flights whoop over my head in and out of Palam Airport, lucky as I was to live in New Delhi's flight path. Not much has changed. I still live in that same flight path, the aeroplanes scream in and out of airports overhead and my fellow Indians still wonder when they can say they 'flied' in one too. I have 'flied' more times than I can stomach now, while a billion and more wonder when their turn shall come. After all, they were promised that they will soon do too, with 'chappals' (slippers) on their feet and 'gamuchas' (traditional towels) slung on their shoulders. Nice.

What went wrong? Not much, except for the fake promises from our political parties and the blatant lies from India's now ripening and f(l)attening Corporates. Remember, the average Indian head of the family is now provided free rations since he can't afford basic food grains for his children, who are bewildered, lost, destitute, illiterate and often languishing in street corners. This future of India indulges in juvenile crime, is mostly bandied out and inculcated into sheer ignorance, and exploited to the hilt, till a new and younger force is conjured up. And it is not just India—the situation is similar worldwide, with even Developed Countries reporting similar patterns. The world has changed and there isn't much we can do about it. That's because we made it happen.

Look at statistics

Over 385 million children globally today live in abject poverty, according to UNICEF (UN body). Children are disproportionately affected by adversity and make up a third of the population and nearly half of the extremely poor. The youngest are most at risk, says the UN, with more than one-fifth of children in the developing world under the age of five living in 'extremely poor' homes. Do we still want to get 'flied'? That's a poignant question. Nice.

How has this happened? Well, because we apparently conspired to create this new world, with our false promises. Jhooth (lie) and more jhooth, and dhokha (betrayal) and more dhokha... This is where the world is today—700 million people live in extreme poverty, with their children being afflicted devastatingly. Comprising one-third of the global population, they represent half of those struggling to survive on less than $1.90 (Rs 168) per day. In Indian terms, that is around Rs 5,000 each month for the entire family. That's because across the world, over 1 billion children are multi-dimensionally poor, lacking necessities as basic as nutrition and clean water. Over 100 million children have been suckered into multi-dimensional poverty due to COVID-19.

I started with lies being bandied out and now elaborate. Most global leaders are now complicit in this rot. In Brazil, the right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, accused of crimes against humanity for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saw unabashed comparisons between him and former US President Donald Trump—with graphic details of lies, denials and threats, all to survive political languishment. Chinese President Xi Jinping repeatedly jumps the fence and disappears from everyone's radar for weeks on end, but is admired for this ability to rise from the ashes each time, like the proverbial Phoenix.

President Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong-un did the same with talks on nuclear deceleration, promising to root out poverty and homelessness. After Trump is gone now and facing alleged bankruptcy issues, Jong-un has been launching test missiles in recent weeks-. This has sent propelled new US President Joe Biden into a tizzy, as it rightfully should, especially with Russian supremo Vladimir Putin hinting at the nuclear option. Closer home, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan periodically confront and threaten India, as their wily and fast-changing rulers either question our very existence or ask us for life-support to save their masses, as the situation may call for it. Look at Great Britain, Germany, Australia and elsewhere—they are facing similarly frightening debacles. Nice.

What went wrong?

Well, the world's leaders did, not you or I, but we did elect them (at least where elections are held). This is a new world. Britain's masses are already asking for a new referendum, just weeks after their Government proposed new Prime Minister Liz Truss' "mini-Budget" in end-September. "She could be gone by Christmas," most now insist. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau is cautioning his fellow citizens not to (ad)venture into Gujarat and many other parts of India, since many state elections are well and nigh. Nice.

Let's cite Russia and Ukraine again—they have an extended war that continues, with one threatening nuclear war and the other saying he will never give in. The US and North Korea are on the same plane. India and China are on a similar wicket. As are Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and many other countries, some bombazine enough to threaten to willy-nilly finish the entire word in one big poof. The moral here is that while there is life beyond politics and cricket, football and other sports, our leaders still go ballistic with end-of-the-world threats and flex chests for eyeballs. And the media at large, especially in India, laps it up. Give more, they scream in their 'Exclusives' and 'Breaking News', as they salivate for more bad news. If they don't find any through work and research, they simply create it.

What is the answer? Well, globally, we have no choice. Our children are dying, as are bees, coral reefs and trees. We will eventually kill ourselves. Here's why, as reported by 'Annual Reviews': "An analyses of war defines this faecal by the level of fatalities incurred by the actions of the powerful and belligerent, with scant regard to the severity of the consequences. No distinction is drawn between military and civilian fatalities. The 1982 Falkland Islands conflict between Britain and Argentina lasted less than three months and killed over a 1,000 people, including only three civilians." Nice.

What of our own India?

Where I live, man is wolf is man. We now take pride in belittling the fellowman. That's after the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE) informs us repeatedly that joblessness is at never-before highs and that the real economy is at historical lows. All of this typically translates into a trot of well-set Indians being dogged down and obliterated economically, perhaps systematically so. If we look towards the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) numbers for inflation and increasing repo rates, aping the US Federal Reserve, we are in new and scary territory. That is because in India, not just home loans but all floating-rate derivatives will rise sharply, leading to more joblessness and even lower salaries. Nice.

I still know a few who are close to joining erstwhile-anathema media organizations for money and safe salaries, even as their families all but disinherit them for their choice. This is our new India—'Live and let die', like Roger Moore proposed in his 007 James Bond movie. Our India has some guns filled with esoteric blanks and no Aston Martins. I request Roger and Julliane—the wonderful Moores—to let us watch their movies and live true to our resolve, as I heard from my own glitterati. I shall follow them or I shall hate them—that's my drift, my thrift and my right.

Lest I forgot my end quote, here you are, this once by Winston Churchill: "In war, you can only be killed once, but in politics, (you die) many times." Let's also not forget what the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are predicting about the world, economically, and about India. We have lots to think about. Let's muse, even if just for a bit.

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