Unlockdown : Trend 1

 

Since the lockdown took over our life the only thing left in control is what one eats. So, indulgence has been central to middle class existence for some time now. Naturally this calls for frequent forays to the neighborhood shop. one arrives at a shop which is trying to have its employees and customers practice social distancing in a 2 X 4 Square feet shop. By the time you get the attention of the attendant all one wants is to shout the order over din, complete the transaction and make a run out of the shop. So. you shout Maggi, and lo behold a jumbo pack comes into your hand. As if one got boon from creator, his best junk food creation in hand, one makes a dash for home. Ha Ha what does the pesky CNBC guy know about Nestle’s problem of not being able to meet the demand for Maggi. Here I have a jumbo pack safely tucked into shopping bag, so conditioned are people with the Maggi colors and packet size, that no one reads the package and one only realize the con at time of eating. This Maggi taste more like Girgaon Chowpatty chaat (possibly the worst possible version in Mumbai), as one investigates to find that Noodles are not Maggi but Some brand WAI WAI. The packing, color, size, prices are a match for Maggi, but is not the real thing.

I fondly call this a WAI WAI phenomenon

It feels, costs and is mostly the same thing but not the real thing. Post-Covid this is happening more and the trend is accelerating.

A more contextual definition of this phenomenon is:

“Ability to deceive with confidence and at same time behave/ belief/practice/profess that you are doing the right thing.” In plain speak, in the Pre-Covid world this would attract section 420 of the IPC while now it attracts legion of believers and profits as the case may be.

 Here are few examples of phenomenon being exhibited brazenly.

1.      Banning foreign goods

Anything with an anglicized name may be classified as foreign manufactured and hordes of whatsapp uncles are out seeking your cooperation to boycott these goods. Who cares if an Anglican sounding name is a brand only in India and nowhere else? And is manufactured in some dingy factory in Kurar village (shanty town near my place in Mumbai famous as manufacturing hub for imitation jewelry and textiles).

One could make Ganesh idol in Schengen and not have an issue, but make something with foreign name in India and you may have hoards descending on you

2.      China Border situation

Most complicated is our border with China. Chinese have made it a habit every few years to claim something or other & then we wake up to push them (hopefully) back. This time it has gone beyond claims and counter claims, we ourselves are not able to decide if they have occupied the territory or not. Depending on the side one is on political spectrum the answer is yes or a no. Either side of opinion is busy with poetry about other side negatives and teaching lessons to each other through media. Looks like teaching lesson to China is not on agenda of either side

3.      Defunding

Completely new word for me, DEFUND, till now we were so used to Getting funded now prepare for defund. Will the person getting defunded write a cheque and get defunded? Well that’s for some other time. The issue here is how this is being projected as the solution for admittedly a very serious problem, one needs to see some videos to understand the convoluted thinking folks professing this have. Feels more like the 13-year-old students in the red march and complete revolution in various part of Asia in 60’s.

4.      Criticism

 Smart version is also coming to fore in our society, YES in India (Communist parties always had this smart version). We now have the praise and criticism of an organization restricted to people in it. Needless to say, this is all modulated and staged for furthering the organization. Any opposition from outside is branded a lunacy, mentally unsound, revisionist history writer/thinker and anti-national depending upon the organization in question. The left hand criticizes and the right hand apologizes & promises to make good. The charade continues……

 Hopefully society will find tools to counter this phenomenon.

  Few good things also are happening

1.      Mr NK Singh an eminent journalist and my close friend’s Neelabh’s father, has started digitizing his article published since 1960’s. Few things I learnt till now 1. .Bihar had a vibrant independent English and Hindi press 2. How congress started unraveling in Bihar. Please do follow this on Facebook to get a sense of history before 2002.

Please see more of it on http://nksingh.in/

2.      Dr P N Mishra, director of IMS, Indore when I was doing MBA in 1993-1995. He has had a big influence on me and consider him as one of my Gurus. He gave a very good talk on Mahabharat and team building.

Please follow the talk on

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=706992673450348&ref=watch_permalink