Harmony by Design

/ April 13, 2014 / 3 Comments / Uncategorised
“So cheerful, so busy!” Lulu, my parrot, noted and said, “What’s the matter? Tell me.”
“Going to ANZ” I replied. “Australia and New Zealand. I always wanted to go there, and now the D-day of departure is just 48 hours away. Yahoo! I am packing my bags now.” I said.
Lulu, my parrot, flew in my room. “Really? That’s great. Tell me why ANZ? I mean there were so many others places to visit. You always wanted to visit Machu Picchu.”
“Yes, of course, Machu Picchu is very much on my list, but when I asked DW [Darling Wife to those do not know this secret code] she said ANZ! I mulled over it. Machu Picchu in Latin America would have been a better choice, but ANZ was not such a bad idea. And I agreed.”
“Ha ha. Halley’s Comet comes once in seventy-five years. Agreement between spouses has the same frequency of occurrence.”
“You said it. They say very few people see Halley’s Comet twice in their lifetime.”
“So what are you suggesting? Only one agreement in a lifetime? Interesting! But you must resolve not to spoil your holiday by your disagreements.”
“I won’t. I now have a golden formula of agreement. Oh, why I did not think of it so long?”
“What’s that golden formula? What are you referring to?”
“Dr Man Mohan Singh has given me the valuable guidance.” I said as I folded the newspaper.
“I know where you are coming from. Are you referring to the review of Sanjaya Baru’s book? Dr Singh’s statement that there cannot be two centres of power and that it creates confusion?” Lulu looked to me for an immediate answer.
“Right! What an insightful strategy. It ensures that there is no conflict. Only a great thinker can come out with such gems of wisdom.”
“Ha, ha! The great economist has taken his inspiration from Indian homes.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He has learnt from people like you who run their homes with two power centres but only one in operation. That avoids conflicts as you rightly said and absolves the remote-control-holder immediately from being accountable.”
“Hmmm…… Are you also suggesting that an agreement between Dr Singh and Sonia would have been as rare a phenomenon as sighting of Halley’s Comet?”
“Yup. You got me right.”
“Nah, he is a wise man, experienced administrator.”
“That’s why he quickly understood that power will always ride roughshod over wisdom. He understood, like you did, what harmony means.”
“What’s that?”
“Haar maani to ho gayi harmony! ha ha!!”
“But what happens to accountability?”
Lulu did not answer my question; he perched on the window and continued to eat chillies.
Vivek 
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