Shyamal tells us that India’s negative GDP has hit the small and unorganised sector, cobblers, vegetable sellers, tea stall owners, et. al. hard. A new fortnightly commentary, beginning today, on the Indian economy, exclusively for Different Truths.

It is a little breezy morning, and I am on the day’s newspaper with my smoking tea at my routine daybreak. My eyes get stuck on the news at business page – India’s GDP tumbled to negative 7.2% followed by analytical commentaries. Barely I finish my cup of tea and the news reading, calls my wife from the kitchen asking to get a shell coconut before she prepares for the cooking.

Hurried to reach a local wayside vegetable shops within permitted window under lockdown, a strap from my slipper gives in. Befooled I check in at the main road crossing where our known old cobbler usually sits. No, he is not there – someone tells since lockdown the police forced him to vacate. Dragging dis-strapped footwear, I reach the sabjiwala (vegetable seller) to get a piece of shell coconut, but he has none. Same failed results with other shops I check, as supplies shrunk due to trucks not plying. On the way back, I foresee exasperated reaction from my Union Home Minister – I failed to collect a cooking ingredient for which her recipe remains unexplored.

Within the domestic or working space of a commoner – myself or any other, a great fall in GDP of the country or a great achievement by 222 million vaccination (at the time of writing this column) bear hardly any repercussion except if anyone delighted in academic or pandemic discussions. These statistical evaluations happen to be reckoners to the elite academicians or researchers and may be ego-teasers to the policymakers; but the vast householders, millions on the street, farmland or interior India stand grossly abused with the impact of lockdown restrictions.

Like my local cobbler driven out, millions have lost livelihood for whom rise or fall in GDP bears nothing; similarly, to sabjiwalas vegetables supply and sales matter most not petrol, etc., prices that much. For people and I, repairs to wear items or picking vegetables are of utmost priorities.

Of course, each small or big activities get reflected and projected within the omnibus projection of country’s gross economic products and curtain raisers of political drama on statistical database. Hypothetically, if our economy grows negative how come stock indexes are booming regularly, even assets of business houses are escalating.

A common man stands bewildered for his neighbouring Man Fridays are missing and those Man Fridays – cobbler, tea stall owner, sabjiwala, milkman or maids are marginal population losing their livelihood slowly but steadily. In the rundown of economy, the vanishing micro-men consisting middle-class, and marginals would be collateral damages.

At the public domain, stressed commoners struggle to find essential daily needs under restriction, some unable to find healthcare in emergency and then fall into the trapped arbitrary vaccination policy. No doubt for a country of 1.4 billion population under the threat of pandemic, it is a colossal task to tackle for any government but with the honest and committed policy planning without fanfare or gimmicks we have ability and capacity. Provided petty political ego or one-upmanship vitiate the federal spirits of cohesiveness within the Union of India.

Entering the doorsteps, I overhear TV news, Bangladesh surpasses India as per the latest estimate in per capita income.

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Shyamal Mukhopadhay

Shyamal Mukhopadhyay writes bilingual poems and stories, which get published in magazines like Tuck, Indian Periodicals, Spillwords and many other national and international anthologies. He was a bank executive with a short spell initially as lecturer in economics. His college days` passion to write for Little Magazines had so long been latent to find ways out post-retirement. Jointly authored with daughter Dr. Paromita a book of poems, Sylvan Fragrance.

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