In all civilizations, a lot of ancient mythology of all cultures perpetrates the Manichean perception of the good versus the evil. Don’t we just love the bad guys being punished by the good guys, in all the movies we watch? Well, reality is quite different. No matter how triumphantly the good vanquish the evil and bring order to chaos, perfect social order is just a myth. It is like the Utopia one walks towards, but never quite gets there.
Life and societies are made of such amorphous, ever changing, chaotic material, that it is difficult to provide eternal rules or ideals or solutions to anything. History itself is cyclical. Yet, individuals and societies churn in hope for betterment. Something similar seems to have happened in Goa recently, with the people coming out in multitudes, as harbingers of change.
The change hit me pretty hard, when just last week I got caught by a traffic policeman for speeding, while talking on the phone and having no documents of the car. That’s when I really knew Mr. Parrikar was back! In his last tenure, I was caught seven times for traffic violations. During the Congress government of five years, I had an easy time. I was not caught even once. And now, as soon as Mr. Parrikar is back, it kicks off my old relationship with the Goa traffic police. Well!
What is it about a leader that change can percolate down so swiftly, like lightening? Suddenly you find that traffic cops are extremely vigilant, government staff report on time and generally your work gets done faster and without those slimy grins and hands under the table. People are working harder. There seems more credibility around. There is hope and rejuvenation. Of course, the personal honesty and integrity of the leader, is the key.
Yet, no matter how badly we desire it, it will be foolish on our part to think Mr. Parrikar can deliver a la- Agent Vinod act of a three hour slick flick in Goan politics. We live in a world of I-pad, I-pill, I-Net etc., and we have got used to quick solutions, quick service, quick transport, and quick communication. Hence we desire a quick fix to all of Goa’s problems! We want a new RP, even when the old took a long time to be formulated. We want the MoI issue to be resolved and put to rest, even while it is an issue with different human sentiments and perspectives, and all of them valid. We want illegal mining to stop, irrespective of the number of people who will lose their jobs. And many more! Basically we want the bad guys to be punished and good guys to triumph. And we want it fast.
In short, we put a Herculean task before Mr. Parrikar and we ask him to deliver as fast as James Bond. This is going to lead to a general heartache for all of us. So let us get real. Mr. Parrikar has come to power in difficult times, and is faced with too many paradoxical issues, that howsoever need to be resolved.
Let us not expect magic wands and miracles. We should be happy if we move towards a better socio-economic-political order. If we want perfection, deliverance, catharsis and redemption, all at once, well then… we should just go to Inox and watch Agent Vinod or any such fantasy!
