The Evergreen Barter System

          Barter System came into picture way back towards the later part of Stone Age when the civilizations had just started to flourish. I have suffixed it with a word “evergreen” because it has only evolved with the passage of time & now with the arrival of “money”, it has been given a sophisticated name “business”.
     Over the years businesses grew in various fields like foods/real estate/jewelries/garments/vehicles/technologies, etc. Some resulted in profit, some in losses. Businessmen had to switch over from one business to another, at times even changing their profession too. Amidst all these businesses, there has been a particular form of barter system (now a business) which has always been criticized by the society but still continues to make huge profits. It’s Prostitution, evergreen in true sense.
      Prostitution has been prevalent in India and all over the world, since ages, in various forms. In India they started from Dancing girls to Mutta wives to Brothels to Bar girls & finally Call girls. All such forms have been taken to the gallows during daytime discussions but post sunset it’s the same form that provides the much required pleasure and satisfaction, thus flourishing magnificently. The same men who claim abolishing of such businesses are the ones who make their way to that arena when in hunt of mental/physical relief. So the business proves to be the perfect stress-buster.
       On paper, prostitution has always been discarded by the society and its people, but when it comes to getting pragmatic….people have always been equivocal in their deeds. Filmmakers have tried to depict the life & work-cultures of prostitutes via various movies. Right from Shyam Benegal’s Mandi to Muzzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan to Sudhir Mishra’s Chameli to Madhur Bhandarkar’s Corporate, prostitutes have been picturized performing different tasks. Earlier it was just about providing entertainment in form of gazals/dance. Slowly professionalism creeped in and it became sheer fun. Today it also plays the role of an agent to get work done by many people in corporate world.       As a matter of fact, no girl wants to be a prostitute by choice; it’s the need that forces them into this profession. But whether it is globalization or recession, it’s a business that has always made profit and will continue to make profit through black market. A prostitute may just be earning for 15-20 years of her life before her youth fades out, but they will keep serving the men in the society generations after generations as they have been doing despite being labeled as the dirtiest element of the society. Thus, bartered for time immemorial!!

….@ Debashish

Euphoria Revisited

It’s not very often that we witness 2 Diwalis in a particular year. But this is what happened in India in the year 2011. The first was celebrated on 2^nd April & the other on 26^th October.

Just when Indian skipper M.S.Dhoni lofted Nuwan Kulasekara over long-on for a massive six, the entire nation turned into unbridled celebration because the sailing ball had made India the new emperors of the cricketing world. India was already the ICC ranked # 1 Test Team and now they were the new World Champions in ODI format. Thus, 2^nd April, 2011 was India’s second cricketing tryst with destiny. Today we celebrate 1^st anniversary of that epic victory in Wankhede.

The road to victory was not a fairytale; India had to earn this victory. It took them 28 years to repeat history. The 15 men and the entire support staff should get the full credit for making it happen. There have been too many guys working behind the curtains. Yuvraj Singh & Zaheer Khan were the premier architects along with coach Gary Kirsten, for marshalling the troops to perfection, & captain M.S.Dhoni, for rising to the occasion when he was needed the most. The skipper had soaked and absorbed all the pressure of the grand finale. Special contributions came from Sachin Tendulkar( 2^nd highest run getter of the tournament), Gautam Gambhir, Virendra Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Munaf Patel, etc.

The last 1 year hasn’t been good for Indian cricket. Just when we were expected to dominate the cricketing world, we collapsed, especially on foreign soil. Things started to go haywire. 8 consecutive losses on foreign soil in Test matches. It took 34 innings for the master to get to his 100^th International ton. Yuvraj Singh is down with cancer treatment. We miss him terribly. In the meanwhile, Rahul Dravid, the legend & the wall, bid adieu to all forms of cricket. All this indicate the rough & the lean patch Indian cricket experienced in the last 366 days.

     But there has been a silver lining in form of Virat Kohli. This guy has arrived big time in ODIs & has also been a revelation in Tests. May be the next cricketing season would bring new joys for Indian cricket and its legion of fans as cricket is all about “Law Of Averages”. Rahul Dravid once said “Joys are temporary, as are tears”.

So as we all wait for a rebirth of the Indian Cricket, let’s celebrate the first anniversary of the epic victory we all witnessed a year back….a victory that still brings a smile, tears of joy, makes us feel proud and ecstatic. Let’s join hands to revisit the euphoria.

.... @ Debashish