Anupam- The Dreamer

But, how free should anything be free…

Recently, lured by my craving to eat something good, I went to Bikanerwala outlet on a cold chilly evening and I ordered to pack 150 gm of Gajar Halwa. And as I stood near the counter, the person behind it started weighing the Gajar Halwa from a big container. When he put the halwa paper cup on the weighing machine, it read 175 gm. So, that person dipped his fingers into the cup and took out “chukti bhar” halwa, so that he shouldn’t give any “free” halwa over and above the designated weight. And I was wondering how many iterations will he have to make to get to the near exact weight.

This incident reminded me of another incident some 20 years ago. I was standing with my relative on his shop, when he was weighing the sugar for the buyer, who demanded to buy 1 Kg of sugar. The sugar polythene was kept on the weighing scale and the relative started to pour sugar slowly. Even though he was very careful with his pouring, the weight displayed at the end of this exercise on the electronic weighing scale was 1.010 Kg, that means 10 gm extra sugar. The relative was a shrewd man, and started picking a few grains of sugar with his fingers. Now, the scale displayed 1.005 Kg (5 gm extra). Filled with anger and disgust, the buyer asked the relative to remove that extra 5 gm too!! The relative said to him wearing a devilish smile on his face “हाँ, पूरी निकालूंगा !”. And I stood there watching this drama and wondering even the polythene would be having some weight and even if he gave some extra grains of sugar that would not have made him poorer.

From both these incidents, one thing is clear. It is basic human nature to demand anything for free or atleast something extra than what we have paid for. Whether it is an extra gol gappa or papdi at the end of our turn at gol gappa spree, or demanding free dhaniya from the vegetable vendor after we are finished buying the vegetables, or it is extra ladoo from the priest as the temple prasad. This “free” extra thing gives us great pleasure, even more than the pleasure what we derive from the thing for which we have actually paid for! Although, the “Law of diminishing returns” comes into play, when there is no limit to the “free” thing that we receive (like if you get extra 10 papdi by gol gappa vendor, you won’t enjoy it as much as you enjoyed the first free one), nevertheless it does not diminish our desire to demand it, sometimes even at the cost of self-respect. I have often seen richer people exhibiting this behaviour at places like temples etc.

But, why is it that we derive pleasure from a free thing? It is because the life seems so easy and relaxed when we get everything for free. What a happy and laid back world it would be, if we all had “Alladin ka chirag (अल्लादीन का चिराग)” and we could rub it at will to demand anything of our choice instantly from the Jini that came out of it. But alas! The real world is not so easy and we don’t have the chirag with us to make our dreams come true. We all have to work hard to earn the things we want in life. And more so, a world where everything is free is not even desirable, as it will make everyone lazy and carefree, which will in turn do more harm than good. That makes me wonder whether there should be a cost associated with each and everything or that some gifts are given to all living beings by the nature to savour them as part of basic human right? To be honest, I believe in the latter.

The basic essential human needs of food, water, air, electricity, education and healthcare etc. should be available to every person, despite of his/her paying capability and social status. Such essential things ensure dignity of a human life and help a person reach his/her true potential. And it is the democratic government’s responsibility to provide these essential things for its people. Some people say that the government should not give doles to anyone….accepted! But if the government gives out free water, food, some minimum units of electricity, homes to people, which are essential for a dignified living, then should we call them doles??? Don’t poor people have a right to dignified life??? And so we have a problem if government gives free water to everyone??? I mean how low we have stooped in saying that nothing should be free! Do you want a society where even the air we breathe and water we drink comes at an exorbitant cost?

If a democratic government doesn’t have the capacity and audacity to provide basic necessities to live a dignified life to its citizens, that too according to one’s paying capability, then what is the utility of having such a government! What I am asking is for “basic minimum needs” and not Bisleri water or pizza for the poor! Don’t poor people have a right to live? And every government must step in to prevent trade monopolisation of essential things like food and water by the companies. Because the companies are driven mainly by profit motive, but the government is not for profit-making. The government is rather for welfare of the people and it must take care of the ones who don’t have the capacity to pay. We don’t want a future where clean drinking water is not available freely in the taps, rather only sold in packed water bottles. In many places, this situation has already started turning grim, but we don’t want it to deteriorate any further.

In this context, free trade is fine…..free economy is fine….no trade barriers are fine….but profiteering in the name of free trade is bullshit!!!! The developed world makes rules as it suits them, when they colonized the world, free trade was not fine, now when they can afford, free trade is fine for them. And should developing countries have or shouldn’t have food subsidies, water subsidies etc.? Definitely, we must have them to protect our farmers, our poor people, to ensure that they live a dignified life. Some things should be kept out of trade ambit or atleast protected. Food, water, air are some of them. They are common heritage of whole humanity and not the hereditary property of any business house or a particular country.

The above discussion should not be confused with creating a world of freebies everywhere, rather it is only the basic essential needs of a person that should be provided free or at an affordable cost. And for that matter nothing is truly free in this world. Even the poorest of the poor pays taxes when (s)he buys a soap or a toothpaste from a local grocery store (मुफ्त का मंजन घिस मेरे नंदन idiom is not true anymore 😊). So, it is not the case that the government is giving the poor everything for free. It may be that the poor may not be able to contribute proportionate to their share in demanding basic essential needs, but that is the reason the government is essentially for! One major role of the government is the redistribution of wealth in the society so that all people are able to enjoy their basic rights and freedoms, and are able to achieve their true potential. At the same time, we cannot be dependent on the government for all our needs above our basic needs. There should always be an incentive to the people who work harder than others, to get more share in the things they desire. So, indeed there is a limit to how free anything should be free. And there is always a bounden duty of everyone to utilize a free thing responsibly and not waste it. Its all boils down to need-greed thing, you see…

Demanding a free papdi at the end of gol gappa is fine, but you can’t get that free unless you have paid for the other ones! But, availability of basic essential needs like water should be free and should always be free. PERIOD!