The aroma of cappuccino captivating my senses, I sipped this elixir of life. As I was immersing myself into this divine pleasure……………………….silence broke out………”machi FDI vandhichi naa, namma makkal enga da poovaangoo….marupudium inoru gandhi vandhu ivangala thorathi adikanum polIa” , FDI in retail became the topic of our vetti discussion. Reaching home after the aromatic coffee with ingenious vetti talk, I switched ON my friend the idiot box to see vidya balan showing her assests in The Dirty Picture…..but I fell on one of the prime time english news channel where people where debating about ‘FDI in retail’. Here was a guy, who was rich and handsome and was rattling against FDI in retail. Well….now…FDI in retail has become a vetti talk, a national debate and the source of inspiration for my vetti writing here in this blog. But………wait……..am not gonna hit the topic FDI in retail, since a lot of people have discussed about it, spoke about its pros and cons and some have even raped it. Instead am gonna write about this new generation who fight for the poor in debates, the newspaper brains , the brand new MIDDLECLASS.
You know what when vegetable prices go up these new middle class FORGET that the high price what they pay will only go to the middle men and farmers for whom they fighting for in debates. They go out and start protesting against the price rise. FYI, till now the money does not go to walmart wallah’s but then still they protested. Well ok….let me leave that. Now, the new middle is all fighting for the poor kirana shop owners in debates that happen national tevevisions. Here is my question…will these people encourage their sons to start and run a kirana shop down in a puliampatti village? Or atleast will they give their daughter in marrage to a kirana shop owner? NO!!, they would encourage their sons to become a software engineer and would give their daughter in marrage to a person working in IT concern, forgeting the hand of FDI in it.
For all these years farmers have been called as poor farmers. What did these midlle class do to remove that stigma all these days?? Nothing. But, now…………come FDI all have become crusaders of sort. They want to support them in debates in national television, in vetti talks that happen in cafe coffee days and in facebook and twitter.
Well not FDI…it is the hypocritic nature of middle class that is going to affet India much. Its surely a dirty picture out there.
Thomas you are getting better and better all the time. I love this piece on FDI interspersed with Dirty picture .. lovely dude. You must continue to love writing and push the bar up for your joy.
FDI in retail, I abhor it. But I guess the forces of globalization cannot be stopped at all. We need to reconcile and be pained to see more and more plastic coated/ packed stuff entering the typical middle class homes. But then the Indian terrain is not simple for the process driven west to handle, well thats the only hope. Oh yes the East India company did it with a lot of success but they toggled betwixt trade and political control. This may not happen ever again, as our political class is far more selfish and savvy to be taken for granted that easily. Every one has his own price they will say. But going by the scams that hit the headlines recently the ‘rate’ expected to mitigate the risk involved in phenomenally high. i really don’t think the sliding western economies will afford it at this point in time.
Meanwhile i have personally decided not to step into the super markets or buy packaged goods or sink my teeth into junk food> Iam committed to buy all my groceries and vegetables at the lowly kirana shops. i would, majority of the time, prefer to stand by the road side and eat a pongal or a egg dosa. I would willingly trade away hygiene to supporting the grass root entrepreneur. I pick up my foot wear on the road side do the same with clothes too.
You must read The cave by Jose Saramago…. a very moving piece on how an artisan was destroyed by a insensitive super bazzar.. Thats my book recommendation