Vritaanta Volume 2 Issue 1 August 2015

18Pedagogylooks unbeatable. “Ek baar jo maine commitment karli, phir main apne aap ki bhi nahi sunta.”However, some problems are emerging already. Backgroundscore changes from major to minor chords,even as minor issues threaten to become major scams.The fiscal deficit is very high, tax revenue is dipping,CAD is emerging but the Euro is getting stronger.There are mutterings about these issues through theglobe. But such worldly matters as people talking behindtheir back don’t upset our philosophical Greeks.Ramesh Babu says Pushpa…“Kuch toh log kahenge, Logon ka kaam hain kehena….Kuch reet jagat ki aisi hain, har ek subah ki sham huiTu kaun hain tera naam hain kya, Seeta bhi yahaanbadnaam hui…”2008-09The sub-prime happens. Greece now in trouble.Ramesh Babu and Pushpa give way to Rahul and Anjali.Karan Johar sees an irresistible opportunity for atear jerking moment in a crazily opulent country. Afterall, bade bade deshon main, aise chhoti chhoti baateinhoti rehti hain. Greeks are crying softly into their pinkbranded handkerchiefs because they got only a 123%raise in salary. Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol (dressed inan unbelievably gaudy sari with an 8 feet long pallu) flyout in a helicopter straight from the Colosseum, wherethey apparently live, singing..“Sab hain tere karam, kabhi khushi kabhighammmmm….”2009-11EC comes in to offer a bailout package. Greece defiant.Amitabh-style, Greece says “Main aaj bhi pheke huepaise nahi uthata.”Enter ECB and IMF, Munna and Circuit. “Tension nahileneka, sirf dene ka.”Greece takes them literally. Only takes loans and givessleepless nights to the others. Refuses to carry out austerity.Fundamentals worsen. “Arre, isse toh tej bookhaarhain!”Angela, torn between anxiety and fury,starts thinking of pushing Greece out of theEuro.”Driver, Gaadi roko!” George Papandreou, thePM of Greece now seriously upset and bugged. Beltsout the classic “Maarne wale se jyaada, bachaanewallakai jyaada bada hota hain, Angela behen.” AngelaMerkel, having being called behen first time in her life,gets unhinged and is tempted to tie the rakhi and sob“Tum mooh haath dhokar aao, main khana lagwaatihoon. Maine tumhaare liye gaajar ka halwaa banayahain.” But the German discipline wins and austerityprevails.2012-15New PM Samaras tries the softer approach to woo theGerman lady. A bit of Ghazals can work wonders onthe toughest of hearts, after all…“Tum kodekhatoh ye khayalaayaaJindagidhoop…tum ghanachaaya”He would love to stoop over backwards to try the austeritythat Angela is suggesting. But, aah, the khursisaga does not quite allow him the luxury…“Aaj phir dil ne ek tamanna kiAaj phir dil ko humne samjhaayaa….”When asked harshly to get all fundamentals in orderand repay back the Paanch Rupaiya Baaraa Aana, thisJagjit Singh offers…“Hum jise gungunaa nahi sakteVakt ne aisa geet kyun gaaya”2015PM Alexis Tsipras in a crazy situation. The man is votedto power believing that he will never push austerity onthe Greeks. But the Troika wants commitment to austerityand won’t release funds. “Main kahaan hoon,” hemutters weakly, wondering how things ever got socrappy. Even when the Greek referendum reveals thatpeople hate all kinds of austerity measures, Tsipras willAugust 2015