My mom often gets fidgety and irritable these days, especially over the breakfast table. I know it’s the headline in the newspapers she reads every morning that’s making her irritable. She is someone who spent the majority of her working life, thirty years to be precise, working a nine-to-five job, and retired from government service about three years ago. Being a scientist, she never got to work in any lucrative projects that a typical government employee accesses at least once in their career. As a result, she values hard-earned money. So, what about it?
Well, according to her, the country has suddenly been taken over by thugs. Every other day there is news of some kind of a scam, and interestingly, those who are involved in these scams are the kind of people who feature in the “who’s who” of Kathmandu. The thing that makes her nervous is that after she put substantial (by her standards) amounts of money in one of the financial institutions, she started hearing stories of owners of financial institutions suddenly running away after misappropriating astronomical amounts. She feels that for some reason, the entire populace has forgotten the ‘proper’ way of earning a living. Whenever she voices these sentiments, which she does almost every other day, I invariably end up arguing that we get to hear these stories of fraud, lies and dubious businesses because we are naïve, innocent, and completely gullible, and not because we have suddenly turned thugs.
PHOTO: SOFTWARETHINKTANK.COM
My simple reasoning is as follows. Such stories wouldn’t have occurred had all Nepalis suddenly turned into thugs. It’s just that some have gotten so close to the powers that be that it makes them invincible. The majority of people, like my mom, who feel that whatever little savings they have made must be stowed safely in an institution offering high interest rates, fall prey to those people. These are the kind of people unaware of any kind of investment opportunities, who drop into their banks and cooperatives every once in a while to check on their precious savings!
I thought these are the only kind of people who are gullible. But then, a couple recent incidents forced me to change my mind. It’s not just people like my moms who are ‘gullible’ and ‘feeble’—even the smartest of the smart may suddenly turn dumb!
I dropped by at a bank where a certain couple, apparently well-educated, had come to collect their ATM cards. The lady at the counter unapologetically asked them to wait for one more hour, as there had been a defect in the system that printed those cards. She did this without even bothering to look at their faces, and with no hint of a smile. The date to collect the card, I found out later, was actually three days ago. For some reason I hoped the couple would at least try talking to the manager and complain about this mistreatment, but nothing of that sort happened. Since I was right behind them in the queue, I collected my check and made my way out, reflecting over how we have learnt to embrace ‘weaknesses’!
The next stop that very day was a certain ministry on the stretch of road between Singhadurbar and Maitighar. I was asked to attach a ten-rupee stamp on my document. My obvious reaction was to take a ten rupee note from my pocket and ask for a stamp. What happened thereafter was a real surprise to me, and incidentally, yet another example of our gullibility. The guy at the registration section, with a manner reminiscent of the lady at the bank counter, told me that I needed to get out, take a right from the main gate, walk thirty meters, and find a very elderly lady with her ‘nanglo’. He also told me, this time with the hint of a smile, that she would charge a little extra.
Not really bothering to understand what that meant, I proceeded to do as told. The instructions were perfect, and I arrived at the shop in less than two minutes. I learnt that the price of a ten-rupee stamp actually was twenty rupees, bought it, licked it, pasted it on my form, and ran back to the office. The running because I was told that after lunch, it would be difficult to locate people whose signatures I would need. Reason: they would be at lunch, and since this is winter, they would be out somewhere in the sun instead of in their rooms! Not knowing how to even complain in that eerie looking place, I ventured out instead.
There was one more place where I would be confronted with a similar feeling. I went for a movie at one of the newly built multiplexes with my mom and wife. We rushed in as the show was about to begin, but the rushing turned out to be in vain as we were told that the show was running almost half an hour late. To make matters worse, we were told by the guards at the door that we couldn’t even wait in the lobby, as there was cleaning going on. The cold outside was hurting us, especially my mom. Determined not to be defeated by the feeling of weakness any more, I decided that I needed to do something. I walked back, intending to talk to the manager. But my mom asked me to stop. ‘What’s wrong with a little bit of waiting?’ she asked. I looked around to realize that I was the only one getting edgy—all other viewers seemed pretty much at ease, even on a cold staircase.
On my way back home, the happenings of the day passed in front of my eyes like a movie. As I reflected on these events, I began to feel that perhaps this single day was enough to understand the current state of our nation. The day epitomized our tolerant nature, gullibility and feebleness to the highest degree. So why wouldn’t anyone loot and cheat us?
hiteshkarki@gmail.com
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