REMINISCENCES OF GROWING UP IN A LPG”ised (Liberalized, Privatised and Globalised) INDIA!!!!

REMINISCENCES  OF  GROWING  UP  IN  A  LPG”ised (Liberalized, Privatised and Globalised) INDIA!!!!

I  grew  up  in  an  LPG’ised  India.Early  morning  today  while  browsing  through  Radio’s  FM’s  to  tune  the  song  of  my  “choice”-I  felt  a  déjà-vu. I  am  not  used  to  hearing  FM’s  but  I  do  remember  fondly  the  days  when  AIR  was  tuned  in  to  hear  the  morning/evening  news  and  special  shows  in  the  weekends.  Those  were  the  days  where  AIR  was  the  default  option  of  entertainment  for  most  of  us. Today, in a  relatively  small tier-II city  like ranchi-we  are  spoilt  for  choice  between  six  FM  stations(all competing  between  themselves  and  with  AIR  to  get  a  significant chunk audio  market/audiences. Mine  was  a   generation  where  we  did  have  a  TV  set  at  home  (the  possession  of  which  was  a luxury  in truest  sense) but  DD national  was  what  TV  viewing  experience was  all about. A  single  TV  channel  captured  the  imaginations  of  ‘we  the  people of India” . I remember  the  fondness and  awe  with which I first  saw  an  “ANTAKSHARI SHOW” on  Zee TV in  mid-90’s .For me, it was a rare  experience. Something  was  so  different  from  the  usual  DD shows( I whole heartedly admit though that DD programmes  were  equally  entertaining) we were used to. Today, with hundreds  of  channels (and still counting) we  are definitely spoilt for “choice”. Be it BBC Entertainment to CNN to Russian TV network –we can be part of (metamorphically) the life and culture of any part of the world. I have some hazy memory( further substantiated by my parents account of story) about the first” Maruti “ we purchased. It was the most prized possession of ours. The story of getting it was more interesting. In those initial years of liberalization, Bihar(jharkhand’s parent state) was allocated limited number of Maruti  cars for sale and offtake of it was essentially on “first come, first serve basis’.There was absolutely a mind boggling  scramble for the same..vis-a-vis  today where India has become the hub and cherry of eye for the Automobile industry of the world. The recent Delhi Auto show was witness to it. Name a car-be it luxury class BMW, Audi or a simple affordable NANO-we have all catering to all economic segments –In many cases , there is a strange paradoxes with demand exceeding supply (say in luxury options) or supply exceeding demand (in mid range options)------All this though unfortunately hints at the growing income inequality in the globalised India. I remember the frenzy when Ranchi had its first own supermarket-“Express  Shoppe” .It was a modest chain of shop but for us it was a perfect place to shop as we were bestowed with the option of “shop by choice’. Today, we have big retail chains and almost all top brands have their outlets in city.Buying a Levi’s , Addidas , Reebok ,Wills is no more a charm confined to few echelons of Metro cities. With CCD for coffee to KFC for chicken …world has falttened for many of my peers from ranchi. I still remember the days when getting a china made colourful school bag, imported “double decker “ pencil box and digital watch from the Bodh gaya ( where annual December congromeration of Buddhists from all across the world esp from SE Asia was followed with large shopping MELAS  flooded with chinese/japanese goods and taiwanese/korean electronics  and our annual Dec vacation trip for the same-so to say) was the rarest of the rare possession I had- to show off in my new school term!!!!!Today, we are flooded with all sorts of Chinese and so called imported goods.Sometimes, I earnestly wish we could impose,” Anti-dumping “ duty on the same in ranchi as well. I was introduced to the fascinating world of computers when I was in class III( in early 90’s /early days of liberalization) .I have vivid memories of my first Computer Practical class when I actually had the opportunity to TOUCH a keypad. In those days ,we did not had  “MOUSE” and using TURTLE cursor to draw things was all that we were taught. One of my school friend who inevitably had a PC at home (as her dad was in new emerging Computer section in a PSU) would almost be a “BOSS” to us –telling us not touch the computer with dirty hands et.al else we will spoil it!!!!Today,PC is outdated and even Dell,Compaq,IBM laptops are things of the past.For me , the biggest gift(and if I may use the term”tool”)of globalization has been the “INTERNET”.I have vivid memories of the day when I fondly accompanied my maternal uncle to a “cyber-café” to open an e-mail account of my own. Believe me, possessing an e-mail account of one’s own ( in late 90’s of my secondary school days) was a “BIG THING” in itself!I remember the joy and amazement with which I sent my first e-greeting to my dad in Brazil.Everything was so new yet so interesting.Today, the virtual world has become an integral part of all of us.”Google” is panacea for all my human curious mind while e-books,journals, magazines and newspapers are my best friend.Not to forget the FB and twitter.I now have a platform where the ‘sea of information” can be accessed my me ( no matter on which continent it is relating to or which celestial fact its about) with a click.Internet makes me feel empowered…a TOOL that has helped me to cross the boundaries of unexplored each day with just a click.Thanks to this platform , I could be part of my dream institution-LSE,else the journey from Ranchi to London would have been really difficult if not impossible……Economics being my passion..i still remember how through the open course ware of MIT, I could access all Economics class videos and notes and felt one amongst many of the students there.I remember the days  when the single copy possession of “THE ECONOMIST, THE FORBES, THE TIMES or the WSJ”was almost a utopian dream for most of us in India.Today, thanks to the opening up of the India’s economy,I can get hold of a hard copy even from a nearby newspaper vendor!!!!

I have definitely witnessed a flattening world.It was  interesting growing up in a period in India when the country herself was in a transition phase.Witnessing ‘Death of distance” was a novel experience. Unfolding of a different India and times before your eyes is simply mesmerizing!!!India and the world has enmeshed  itself  nicely blessing us with the most beautiful RETURN gifts of “CHOICE”,”EMPOWERMENT” and the “confidence to realize and develop one’s potentials in the right earnest”. It’s definitely a fascinating experience for me witnessing how in last 20 years –we treaded the path of LPG model with confidence and  the fine treading on the path by  all economic and state actors. It was interesting to see how we changed gears and how all segments of an IDEA called India(the citizens, the govt , the bureaucracy) took up this new challenge thrown at us in early 90’s and moved ahead in synchronization.This  gives us  the courage and belief to work towards meeting the “inherent distorting challenges” of   the  LPG’ised India.