Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Will Jugaad Work For CWG?

Will Jugaad work for CWG?
India is known to run on 'jugaad'. Never has a lack of perfection been glorified more than in the case of this classic Indian way of doing things - come up with an ad-hoc fix and complete the task!
Jugaad has been such a huge force for India that people have nothing against a movie which depicts a baby being delivered by a vacuum cleaner (3 Idiots?). A student who lazies around for the whole semester and happens to pass 'magically' by jugaad is not just never questioned but rather appreciated by friends, family and the teachers! Jugaad is never a word that people frown at, it is a wonder way of fixing almost any problem in the least of resources possible. And with such a huge population and so less resources (less because they have been jugaad'ed up the corrupt asses!) jugaad is often needed to make things run from day to day.
CWG is in a mess. Anyone who has visited the site or seen it on TV or newspapers will tell you that CWG 2010 needs God's blessings more than anything else now! Had it been any other country, the hope would have died long back but not in India. The hope for a successful CWG lives on because we have a massive belief in jugaad. Deep down inside each of us is a feeling that tells us that it would all be fine ("ज़िन्दगी में भी हमारी हिंदी फिल्मों की तरह last में सब ठीक हो जाता है"), CWG 2010 will be an event which will be remembered not for its folly and corruption but for its grandeur and excellent show of our athletes.
For the first time, I do not want things to work for India! I want CWG to be scrapped off!
I want all this to fail so that we start appending our beliefs and theories of jugaad. We know that many people have amassed huge proportions of money, destinies have been made, responsibilities insulted and a whole Nation let down by power and money hungry individuals who have teamed up against their own Nation! And even after this blatant insult of values, if the CWG show runs well, the belief of people in jugaad will forever live and haunt the generations that come after us. I don't want things to run in less than perfect way when the reputation of a Nation is at stake. I want things to fail so that the moles are routed out and taught a lesson which instills a fear in the minds and hearts of the corrupt and hungry!
The foot-bridge collapse, the report of the team from NZ, the terrorist attack, the rains, dengu, all are conspiring against CWG and rightly so. Indians need to understand that there is no substitute for hardwork and honesty. Jugaad can run a machine but it will never be able to run a Nation.
Corruption is an act of treason against the Nation and should be punished accordingly!
As far as the already built infrastructure is concerned, it should undergo a thorough testing and if found safe according to any standards it should be donated to the Nation in all good spirit so that it can become the breeding grounds for Golds and Silvers in International competitions!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

stole the words off my tongue.
although, deep down it'd really pinch to see an utter failure, a voice from even deeper below seems to wail out: "saale, jhatke ki zaroorat hain!"
even so, there is another fear, and a firm one at that - what if we still don't learn? what then?
and what if i add this question too - what if this is one of the final warnings before we (do or don't) realise that it'll get too late to salvage this failed state of ours.

Prasoon Joshi said...

@arayans:
I have a mixed feeling too!
First, is the obvious fear that this may tarnish our image forever and would result in a disbelief in our own Nation's capability to pull off something huge like this. Secondly, there is this belief that says that India is doing exceptionally well in so many different areas that we would be able to strike back if we get that 'jhatka'!
I don't know what's best of us but I know for sure that there are far too many lessons to be learnt from this and I hope they don't get washed away by any success that CWG may feebly bring - like the way we forget that the whole cricket team fumbled when a Tendulkar delivers and saves the day!

Anonymous said...

gosh, i guess i was a little too hasty in branding it as a potentially failed state.
and yes, i guess your reply was quite perfect. thanks.

Unknown said...

Jugaad worked again.. but hope these money hungry people are not saved again...