Talking Shop: Tightrope-walkers

When they kept on questioning him,

he straightened up and said to them:

"Let anyone of you who is without sin

be the first to throw a stone at her."

—John 8:7 (The Bible)

Let not the quote from the Bible startle you, for it bespeaks a truth that confronts us and stares us in the face today. Before going into graphic detail in my today's philosophical adage, let me get back to being altruistic, seeing as we are dramatic tightrope-walking by people from varying walks of life over the last few years, all traipsing on the borderline and being belligerent. Who are these people? Well, they work in consumer support, Information Technology (IT) and automobile companies, deliver food and groceries to our homes, chop our hair, fix the nuts and bolts of our cars, bathrooms and kitchenware, or are sportsmen and politicians. They have one common thread running through their (re)strained altercations—they want to get it right, visibly so, no matter what the price, for lives depend on it.

Almost everyone I see, professional, personal or political, is turning motivated and transactional—the degree is getting scary. It is time we un-scare and move on to making peace with the brethren, for today's rope-bingers are walking with flimsy strands of silken strew beneath their feet, flirting with the balancing beam. They go left, right and every which way, oft-heavenwards, just to ensure they don't plummet and so that the Gods keep smiling on them.

Enough philosophy... This is not what India is or was, and certainly not what we want to turn into. We were born different—regardless of age—through my years, we have celebrated growth, culture and morality, as also religious and economic expedience. And we are just about getting there—for just last week, we overhauled Great Britain as the fifth-largest economy, again. The going is better. We just need patience and a visceral intent before we embark on final assault.

How do we get there?

Some think we shall by just walking the road on a long haul. Others feel taking to the air in private jets or addressing massive rallies is the path to continued glory. But who gives any nuts for politics and authoritarian misnomers, especially as we become subliminal as a people? The average Indian Joe (Raju-bhai) on our streets is crying, much as those living in high-rises are fomenting at the mouth. The rich are seeing a sudden and unexpected deprecation of their wealth, the not-so-rich are twiddling their thumbs, while the poor are selling their ease-begotten gas cylinders to buy wood for kitchen 'chulhas'.

I know you like examples, and thus here we go. I earlier said 'motivated' and 'transactional'. Yes. The average Indian has changed. He is brusque and belligerent, yet recalcitrant and oft-submissive. If he has lost his livelihood, his response is peckish—he begs or bellows. We live in new times indeed, where the shouting and spouting are nearly as high as our spanking high-rises, where educated lawyers and wannabe Unicorns take to task gatemen and local guards, many a time spewing at them unspeakable sufferings, venting spleen and whining. The times are indeed different.

We are more, and we are less. The slab we call the lowest is dangerous, for they are our help and future, and I quote from personal experience. After my man Friday of 15 years (Naveen, who is now 37 years old) had to go home to take care of his parents, I got boys of 19 years and more, eight of them in as many months. Seven of these gents had bleached or streaked hair, Smartphones and a few even had a penchant for porn. I learnt this when my Wi-Fi repeatedly ran out of whammy. Asked to rest after eating, the young ones would go to their room and watch smut. I got scared, sent them home and now mostly do the cooking and cleaning myself.

This is my clarion call

Without realizing it, we are changing, becoming immune to societal rape. I am not talking Bilkis Bano, Nirbhaya or the little girl from Hathras, or many other countless unspoken victims. It is happening to all of us personally. Corruption be hung and damned, the average Indian is but a seed away from becoming economically and socially agnostic, well beneath the acorns we aspired to be. The rout is encompassing and there is no office untouched by this malaise. Economically, there is no telling how much loss we have suffered. The educated are concerned, sure, but when the time comes to act, they are all recalcitrant, reluctant or scared.

The Coronavirus pandemic has not helped either. It set us and the rest of the world back by years, and only stoked more affiliation with phones—that, in turn, has led to tumult. Today's youth is addicted. As a child, I flew and hunted for kites, picketed Cricket, Football, Hockey, Gilli Danda, Kanchas, Badminton and Kho-kho. My neighbour's children now play Pokemon, Candy Crush, Gardenscapes and more. I am 53. Asked to run with me, they gasp and hold their pizza-infested bellies and lose. We are going wrong.

Where am I going with this? I wish I knew. The world has changed, for me and for you. All I can vouch for is that today's today is not the place we planned to be while we were toddlers, scorching Rs 1 Chhola Bhaturas at bus stops and gorging on 15 Golgappas for Re 1 when we could steal the money to afford it. I heard something on the telly the other day and it was scary. No politics here—a plate of Chhola Bhatura is now Rs 140 and one of Golgappas is Rs 130. Yeah. Our new India is a costly place to be in.

A wizened end note

At my ripening age, I am glad that I have more impending disasters to share than Hindu-Muslim, environmental contributors to life-threatening illnesses in lower-income people. For instance, did you know that cockroach infestation is related to asthma? And chronic ear infections lead to poor reading skills? And a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables stir the chromosomes to trigger obesity and Type 2 diabetes, and all that follows? The list of new revelations is startling, as is the fact that nearly 70 per cent of the oxygen we breathe is generated by coral reefs, which are dying and dwindling at an alarming rate. Net-net, we need to transform the community, our lives and change—quickly. As Joseph Stalin said once, "One death is a tragedy, a million a statistic." That is sad, but tragically true.

PS: Today is also my brother Ravi's 56th birthday—here's wishing a very public Happy Birthday to him and my heartfelt wishes to our greater family called India as we strive to create a better future for the Next-Gens.

The writer is a veteran journalist and communications specialist. He can be reached on [email protected]. Views expressed are personal