By Manju Chandra
Contributory Author for Spark Igniting Minds
Corruption has made our life easy. It's difficult to imagine what would we do without this automatic trouble lifting mechanism?
Corruption is to our society what lubrication is to machines. We become entrepreneurs and grave risk takers because we know the ball bearing called corruption will take care of us and bail us out. Yeah, it's the bad boy of the family but the one with a strong foothold and the one we can lean upon if the going gets tough. We all have this love-hate relationship with it. We hate it with all our hearts but love it within our minds. It is a method of sustenance without which our lives wouldn’t be as smooth as they are.
Corruption is a kind of price tag on a service which enables those responsible for providing that service to prioritise their task based on the demands on their time and resources. It unites people with a common faith in their economic advantage. It crosses the barriers of religion, caste, creed, sex, etc. as they are all same in the eyes of the receiver.
Just for a moment close your eyes and imagine yourself standing in an endless queue under the sweltering heat of the sun, sweating profusely, holding a bundle of papers under your arms in one hand and a cellphone in another and telling your family “Not yet, I am still in the queue?” wishing that instead of 4 am, I should have come at 2 am. Oh, dear! this can’t be true. Yeah, it isn’t, because of our big brother's corruption.
You wake up whenever you want and from the comfort of your home, you call a guy and tell him to get blah blah things done, he quotes a price as he must grease many palms en route to getting your task done. You hesitate at first, but soon the above mentioned dreary scene plays in your mind and your hesitation disappears and the word “OK” comes out of your mouth effortlessly. Ask yourself what gives you the courage to ride that styling bike flaunting your hair and that killer smile without a helmet? How do you dare to jump that signal or show your muscle power on a fellow driver? How do we all from time to time have the courage to break the speed limit? Why aren’t we nervous, when our car is flagged down?
Right from the birth certificate to death certificate, everything can be obtained if you know the right packet size and the destination address. Without Corruption, the very threads which bind us together will fall apart. Imagine the countless hours, you will spend proving that you are right. Applying for a new passport or renewal of old one, does the police verification scare you? No, it doesn’t, just keep that crisp bounty between your fingers when you shake hands with your prospective verifier. Obtaining the date of a birth certificate of your newborn child isn’t a nightmare for the skilled people who know what type of lubrication is needed and where.
Ah! that property registration would have been impossible without this humble mechanism in place. Our big brother corruption is here to stay until we want to sweat it out ourselves. You can’t have the comfort and ease of doing business in our country if it wasn’t for our big brother. He paves a smooth way for all those who have the will and power to pay. Just as a lubricant reduces friction and is simply used to make things “slippery,” likewise corruption reduces friction between two bodies in contact with each other for some economic purpose. Understanding the quality and quantity of right lubricant to use and where to use is a fundamental aspect of success in getting things done. I think it should be a part of our college curriculum if not in schools, although am not against having introductory sessions is schools too. Once in college, this greasing skill saves many young people from tons of troubles they would otherwise encounter. That saves countless headaches and restlessness the family would otherwise encounter.
It gives us a feeling of power and we don’t feel helpless anymore. It provides direction and with the right contact address, anything is possible. It instils us all with faith and unites us in purpose. There isn’t any aspect of our life where this life-saving skill can’t be used. Corruption creates a friendly environment and those prospective takers are extremely polite and respectful in their behaviour.
It might be termed as a necessary evil but as long as we bow before the big brother and are not willing to give up the comfort we are all used to and transferring the same to our next generation, I am afraid BIG BROTHER is here to stay.
(Featured Image) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corruption_(art).jpg
About the Author
Manju Chandra is a content strategist, a technical art enthusiast, and a passionate writer with a vision to collaborate and promote art and design enthusiasts worldwide. She has co-authored three books and has gifted her art piece to Dr. Kiran Bedi as well.