Talking Shop: Mixed bag of tricks

“Life is nothing without a little

chaos to make it interesting. In

chaos, there is fertility. All the

most powerful emotions come

from chaos—fear, anger and love;

especially love. Love is chaos itself.”

―Amelia Atwater Rhodes

While I agree with Amelia and her thoughts above, I would like to make a distinction between a ‘little chaos’ and ‘absolute mayhem’. We seem to be afflicted by the latter; at least that is what the week gone by tells me. Thus it was that rather than pick up one burning issue and discussing it threadbare, I decided in this column to drip up a variegated mix of events that have occurred over the last few days. The incidents may be singular in nature, but stitch them together into a fabric of oneness and we find ourselves staring at a picture of eroding values, depleting moral structures and crumbling tolerance levels.

Take the European Parliament, for instance, which adopted a resolution on the ongoing violence in Manipur, asking India to take measures to stop the unrest in the North-Eastern state and protect religious minorities. The resolution was tabled by five political groups and adopted by a show of hands during the plenary session. India was quick to react and called this ‘unacceptable’ and the reflection of a ‘colonial mindset’. But the damage had been done... The world, which has placed our nation under a microscope, now has another bone to chew on, which we served to them on a platter. We need to take quick and concerted action, both to muzzle those who have criticized us and to bring justice to our people.

Rains causing havoc

Unprecedented rains have lashed most of North India and five states—Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi-NCR, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh—are reeling under the tumult, with flood-waters entering homes, causing mountains to crumble, washing away cars and trucks from our highways and killing hundreds. More than 145 people have so far died due to the heavy rain that has lashed northern parts of the country. In Himachal Pradesh, rain fury has left normal life paralysed. The death toll in rain-related incidents and road accidents has risen to 91. According to the Chief Minister, at least 14 people are still missing. In Delhi, 7,371 residents have taken refuge in 33 shelters across the National Capital Region.

While the people in these states live in relief camps and on pavements, mourning the loss of property and their livestock, blame games are on in full swing, with political parties pointing the proverbial middle finger at one-another and citing reasons for the calamity. “It is all because of excessive water released from the Hathnikund Barrage by Haryana,” says Delhi. “We have done no such thing,” says Haryana, thumbing its nose at political rival Aam Aadmi Party and its Chief Minister. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are mourning the total lack of support from the Central Government and the authorities, while inimitable Uttar Pradesh says “there are no floods”. As the wrestling match rages, the displaced people sitting the tragedy out in relief camps are crying their eyes out, all their belongings gone.

Succour for wrestlers

Having mentioned ‘wrestling’, how can I leave this vignette out, where there is finally some hope of justice for our country’s medal-winning pugilists, if indeed the alleged perpetrator committed the claimed acts of indecency and our courts find him guilty? Either way, there is much relief in the grapplers’ community after the Delhi Police filed a Charge Sheet and called for the assumed perpetrator to be prosecuted, according to a report in a leading newspaper. The Charge Sheet allegedly points out that the said Member of Parliament’s harassment of a wrestler was ‘repeated and continuing’, “liable to be prosecuted and punished for offences” of sexual harassment, molestation and stalking.

The Delhi Police, which filed the Charge Sheet after a stern directive of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, has now requested the court to summon the accused to face trial, as also the witnesses, who are 108 in number, including 15 wrestlers, coaches and referees, who have supposedly corroborated the allegations made by the wrestlers. The accused, meanwhile, has called all charges “baseless and false”, insisting that he was only assisting the grapplers by “teaching them yoga lessons and checking their breathing patterns”. Only time and our courts shall decide how this pans out for all concerned, but here too, the need of the hour is speed, for the world has been watching this space for a while and has even criticized India.

Inflation dragon again

No matter what the authorities may claim, citing CPI, WPI and other acronyms, the inflation dragon is well and truly spouting fire. Prices of essential commodities are skyrocketing and here’s a glimpse of fruits and vegetables. Since I like muskmelons and watermelons, I have been ordering them online for months now. In the last 20 days, though, the muskmelon that I was getting for Rs 39 apiece is now priced at Rs 125. Green French Beans are at Rs 448 per kg, tomatoes are well over Rs 200 per kg, green chillies nearing Rs 300 per kg, cauliflower is at Rs 134 per piece, while its elder sister broccoli goes one better, at Rs 219 per piece. I will not even go into cooking oils, pulses, rice and other edible commodities.

If we talk numbers, retail inflation witnessed a surge in June 2023, reaching a three-month high of 4.81 per cent, primarily driven by a sharp increase in food prices. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key measure of retail inflation, stood at a revised 4.31 per cent in May 2023, compared to 7 per cent in the same month the previous year. The real cause for worry is that no matter what number comparisons tell us year-on-year, prices are at unbelievable highs, and could rise further in coming months, with economists predicting a sharp jump in July inflation numbers. So stay prepared, start eating pumpkins and colocasia (arbi), which are still gettable, and get ready for your new diet.

White T-shirt and cricket

A little bird tells me that Phase II of the Congress Party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is being planned for launch soon; this time around, it will go from East to West India, kicking off in the North-East and culminating in Porbandar in Gujarat. While the Congress quietly puts the requisite infrastructure in place and prepares a new uprising, other parties are working on all the permutations and combinations, as also calculating the possible impact of another white T-shirt march. The same little bird tells me that they are also considering measures to ensure the Yatra Phase II does not take place at all, no matter how rough they have to get. Again, time shall tell what will transpire, and we continue to sit on a searing tinder box and wait for the fuse to get lit, or not.

Finally, a happy word, in that India has thrashed the West Indies in Dominica in Test I, with a supercilious victory margin of an innings and 141 runs. The best part of this win is that it was a total team effort, with batters, bowlers and fielders all contributing handsomely. That’s some cause for cheer, as I leave you with Sylvia Plath’s quote: “I felt very still and empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel; moving dully along in the middle of (all) the surrounding hullabaloo.” Yes, we are all feeling the same, but there are causes for cheer too. Amen.

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