Cross-Roads

To say that one has a complete understanding of India and how her people work from all spheres of life would be a monumental lie. The complexities, the uniqueness and the distinct way India functions is like no other country and one can only imbibe her lessons one chapter at a time. So today, I am trying to understand the ‘Cross-Road’ India stands in.

Being relaxed and taking their own sweet time is an understatement when it comes to Indians. ‘Two minutes’ (Besides being the Maggie Noodle expression), falls easily from every Indians’ lips and it has no relation to the actual time factor of two minutes or 120 seconds. When Einstein talked about relativity regarding time, Indians were definitely the perfect example of its proof. Their way of living where ‘everything goes’ is reflected from their personal lives to their professional business lives. And they are as generous with allowing others to live this way. No tensions, no embarrassments; a happy-go-lucky state of being.

But with the tide of change seen in India, this attitude also sees small fragments of change. The middle-class is definitely the group of ‘New Indians’ to watch out for. There are driven with aspiration, with passion, with professionalism, demands of a level playing field with the West, for a better future, for individual development, for modernization; and they want all these right now. Immediacy is the framework of their future.

But in every race for development, there is always a group that is left behind. This race widens the gap between the rich who get richer, the poor who get poorer and the middle-class who are slowly emerging richer. Gone are the days where Bharat (The Sanskrit term for India) can live in the glory of the bygone era where kingdoms were ruled by the likes of Ram, Ashoka and Akbar, mighty kings who swept away all doom and brought in only tales of progression and prosperity. Suddenly the disparity between classes is being shaken out of their comfort zone and everyone, including the upper-class has to work hard to keep up. India today stands on a cross-road that can decide her future.

The general buzz of discussion is the so called ‘two speed’ with which India is developing. But I am more of the opinion that they are just two separate directions taken by different groups; The Dwellers of the Past and the Aspirators of the Future. And the hindrance? The divided government with the Congress being quid pro quo (This for that) and the BJP promoting pastism. So who is actually representing the New Indians? Who is looking at the future of this country with its great potential? Who is actually being a leader?