The Mantra Is To Perform

(Published in Banking Services Chronicle August 2003)

According to Konrad Adenauer, a German statesman, history is the sum total of things that could have been avoided. Could have been, yes. But, in fact, were not. Those things happened. And happened with a bang. Or were done. And were done with utmost conviction. It was the sheer force of these events that made them supersede the lesser ones and helped them enter the portals of history.

Whether it be events, persons or places, the mantra is to perform. If you don’t, you perish in a ruthless world. It happens so in politics, in religion, in education — everywhere. Says Rajiv Desai, president of IPAN, a public relations consulting firm, who also happens to be on the Congress Media Advisory Board (MAB): “If you don’t perform, Sonia (Gandhi) simply shoots you down.”

Even the Shankaracharyas have decided to perform. Outside religion, that is. The Kanchi seer is the most media-savvy of the five religious heads. Every few months you see him on your TV screens for days at a stretch. Especially, if Ayodhya comes in news, he spontaneously comes up with a solution. And Ayodhya certainly is more politics than religion. In fact, he has an opinion on everything — from China to conversions.

Look at the research scenario in India. The land of CV Raman and JC Bose is in a pitiable state. Not because we have any dearth of talent. India is the largest exporter of scientific talent to the US. It accounts for 12 per cent of the foreign-born workforce there. But, in India, laboratories are lustreless. Nor does the scientific profession here provide the lure of lucre. So software is the buzzword. Basic research institutions are either deserted or peopled with lesser lights.

Indian research should take a leaf from rocket science. Rockets need to be slim. They can’t afford excess weight because only a fraction of their take-off mass is available for a payload, such as a satellite. If the structural weight rises, the payload diminishes, making the rocket uneconomic. Our scientific institutions also need to shed the bureaucratic flab so that they can carry heavier payloads of researchers.

“Perform or perish” is the mantra even for the US. The “Golden State” of California has gone bust. Mind you, it is America’s largest state with 35 million people. And its $ 1.3-trillion economy ranks it among the top half-dozen economies in the world. But it is facing a crisis. Only three years back it had a $ 10-billion surplus. Today, it has come to acquire a $ 38-billion deficit.

The entertainment world knows the importance of performance. Ekta Kapoor and her ilk have an eye on what people want. They know that nuclear-family urban folk love the romance of joint families, which acquire star status because they are unattainable. So they dish out what viewers like, often at the cost of creativity. Because they know they have to perform if they have to survive.

It has been proved time and again that there is no alternative to performance and quality. You can’t promote an inferior product X by banning quality product Y. It has been realised that bans can’t be implemented. Since people desire quality at any cost, they opt for the illegal route. The era of protectionism is over. WTO is in.

There are things that hardly ever seem to improve. Weather predictions, for example. You can’t take or leave your umbrella going by what the morning newspaper says. But even at the meteorological department, sophistication is in. The satellites are improved and the presentation is improved. They at least try to perform.

Things may go haywire but the zeal to perform must be there. Says filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt: “When things fail to go my way, I turn within and fall back on myself. I sharpen my tools and get ready to fight another round.” I’m sure even Bhatt’s bitterest critics won’t quarrel with this spirit of his.