These days, whenever I witness the Rupee falling almost every second and creating a panic in the newsrooms, there’s only one song that resonates in my ears: ‘I get knocked down but I get up again; You're never gonna keep me down’. It is by the British anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba and it's called the Tubthumping song, which was also the official song of 1998 Football World Cup.
But how does it actually impact the real common man, who is away from the markets, the Sensex, the volatility, QE tapering and all such jargons of the economic world? That man on the road, who is out there shopping for the upcoming festive season with his family, who happily bites into a KFC Zinger burger in between the shopping spree, or to that newly-wed couple who was dreaming to take-off for a romantic honeymoon abroad, or even your mother or sister or that Facebook cousin who just posted a picture of his new car and you pressed the ‘likes’ button?
It's one thing to advise people to not buy gold and spend less on high-end electronic gadgets. It is completely another thing to follow these jingoistic bits of economic advice in every day life where no matter what, you have to gift goodies to your relatives even if it burns your pocket, you have to have a family holiday and you have to give something special to your spouse on your marriage anniversary.
Truth is, the woman or the man on the road take it very casually, much unlike our economists, politicians, journalists or economic war-mongers. We might shove it off saying it is their ignorance but fact of the matter is that this ‘real common man’ is much more confident than we all are because he fights his every day battle, the real one where the word ‘panic’ has no meaning because he will do what he has to do, no matter what. PERIOD.
He/she has to buy gifts for his family this Dusshera or Diwali. At the most, he might buy a gold chain instead of a necklace, but you cannot stop him from buying gold, the newlyweds will visit Mauritius instead of Switzerland or the Facebook cousin will buy a new WagonR instead of a Polo.
Visit any shopping mall in Delhi and NCR and one sees consumers thronging them, bargaining, holding a couple of Shoppers’ Stop or Westside bags and you wonder do they real care we are growing at 5 per cent or 8 per cent? Are they really bothered about widening current deficit? I have a better option, trying singing the Tubthumping song and go on …
