And for a Friday in Monsoon drenched Mumbai, some thoughts….. some musings…..
The Shiv Sena spat between its two leaders, the allegations and counter allegations, immediate scrapping of all projects conceived by the previous Govt and announcement of new grandiose schemes etc. etc. The corruption in our political landscape and newer revelations have not affected the average Mumbaikar …… running for his 6.48 Churchgate fast train with Masks, w/o Masks, umbrellas, raincoats, with pass, with certificate, with Apps, with….. with….. whatever the rule prescribes, in his knapsack, he/she is focused on reaching the workplace on time and getting the day started. Even with 30% of Mumbai rains, other cities are reduced to a crawl. Particularly Bangalore is unbelievably non-resilient to any disruption. Most don’t keep time and those who are “punctuality” particular, will suffer with mental stress. But life in India goes on. Most Mumbaikars I spoke to, love to come to office and work. They detest WFH.
The recent decision to reconstruct Mumbai’s “Original Tower of Corruption” – the Prathibha building on Peddar Road – brings to memory Mr. Arun Bhatia IAS(Retd.) an outstanding principled and honest officer who in 1983, as Collector of Mumbai, unearthed all the wrongdoings in sanctions of skyscrapers. He was not daunted by the rich and powerful. He stood his ground. Ofcourse, the powerful builder lobby got him transferred and out of the Mumbai system. He was a crusader against corruption and continued his fight against misdeeds, no matter what the consequences. He was transferred 26 times in 25 years !! Such officers are the ikons for others in power. Majority of the IAS, IPS and central services cadres are either honest or neutral and that’s what ensures India still functions with its own checks and balances. Our stock markets are not beaten out inspite of FPIs withdrawing more than 2.65 lakh crores ( 34.73 Bn$) since October 2021. Sovereign Wealth Funds and long term investors know the real strength of Indians, inspite of its politicians.
Each one of us have a role to play. We can’t be armchair critics. Whatever our station in life, however small our scope, let us build our Nation for our grandchildren, the competitive way, the transparent way, the SEEGOS way.