Where is this country heading?

There was a time, a couple of years ago when I really felt that Indian economy's growth story was here to stay and that we were to be the golden generation in India reaping the benefits of this growth. Make no mistake, we have grown, our incomes have grown considerably as well and we are enjoying a life style that our parents could only dream about. On the other hand, prices are rising all the time and I jokingly mention to family and friends that I probably need an additional 0 added to my income every 2 or 3 years just to cope with the cost of living.

But is our growth story here to stay? I would have said yes if someone asked me this question two or three years ago but now, but not anymore. The government, bureaucracy, the civic bodies and just about any sort of government machinery in this country is in bad need of reforms and the worst part is that the babus ruling this nation just don't want to admit that we have a problem. We are growing at 7% when most countries are struggling to register 3 or 4 % growth says the government and this is an insane argument. Our growth rates are high because of the base effect. We are growing from a small base and this amplifies our growth.

There is a total paralysis of policy making and no single person in this government has the balls to put the country before himself or herself. The opposition is no better and I fear that maybe a decade down the line, India will be talked as just a huge country that wasted a once in a lifetime opportunity. I hope I am wrong.

We as the people of this country are so much stuck with this concept of Jugaad, that we have lost the ability to straighten things out the right way. Our civic sense is perhaps the worst among the developing world. We just don't seem to care about the other mans plight as long as our needs are taken care of. Right from driving our cars or two wheelers to  getting admissions in schools, we all only seek the short cut path to achieving things. 

Well for anyone reading this, I am probably stating the obvious but where do we go from here? What kind of India are we going to leave our children? I have no answers right now, just a deepening sense of gloom on where our great nation is heading.

Random Observations

The last couple of days were spent at Coimbatore attending a family ceremony. This was probably the 20th time I was driving from Bangalore to Coimbatore and I can almost drive blindfolded on this route now. The weather is Coimbatore was battered and although many people complain about the weather in Bangalore and what it was 10 years back, I think a visit to any other city in India will make a Bangalorean thank his/her stars for the weather in "namma" city. 

Coimbatore is getting ready to host the World Tamil Congress in June and what the state government is doing in the excuse of preparing the city for the conference is nothing short of high handedness. Power cuts for almost 4 or 5 hours a day, water problems, roads that were just laid a few months back have been dug out again for god knows what purpose. All schools, hotels, wedding halls have been booked out for the period and the city is expecting a million visitors. Water is to be supplied from the Pillur Dam for the 5 days (almost a million or so liters a day)  at time when the water levels are already very low. The best part is no one seems to be be complaining at least in public. People talk about it indoors but the media doesn't seem to care and not will it care because the state media is controlled by the government.

Stayed at home the last few nights and however bad the weather is in Coimbatore, I always fell a sense of happiness and joy being at my own house and sleeping in the bed dad used to use. I got pretty emotional thinking about dad last night. His spirit seems to be everywhere in the house at Coimbatore and provides me with a great sense of comfort. I feel sad that the family hasn't been able to spend enough time at Right House over the last 2 years. But such is life. You can't wish for everything to come true.

I am seriously thinking of buying an apartment in Bangalore and I want to do this before the rates go beyond my reach. The weather is absolutely fantastic right now after a nice little downpour that lasted about 45 mins. The IPL semis start today and I am rooting for Mumbai. I hope Sachin and team don't let me down. I however get this gut feeling that Bangalore is going to wallop Mumbai.

The whole IPLGate (as the media seems to be calling it now) tamasha is now all over TV on all channels. This is just the fodder that the opposition parties need and in the name of democracy we will as a nation watch this tamasha go on till the political babus get something else to chew on and do nothing about it. I hope the BCCI is made more accountable after all this nonsense. IMHO I think the BCCI should have no politican in it. The sooner we get rid of politics from sport the better for the country. Will this be a wake-up call for cricket? Will anything dramatic happen to the way we run cricket in this country? I am among the millions that are still guessing....I guess.