The world is passing through some trying times these days, attempting to redefine the term 'development'. Is it the strengthening of the top half, who are purported to be the prime movers of the economic engine, or the welfare of the bottom half who are in fact the wheels supplying the motion, that development should carry forward in its surge? The top half claims that without its ideas, there never is a motivation to move forward in the first place and the bottom half stakes its claim, by being the tools of the implementation, without which an idea is nothing but invisible air. And only rarely does it happen that both idea and implementation meet midway and compliment each other on a job well done. In recent times, it happened during the rise of the technological wave, when the fruits of the innovation were passed all around to empower an entire segment of population (the middle class), that was hitherto held at arms length when the time came around to reap the rewards. Alas, it didn't take long before greed took over and successfully driven to the ground what could had been a even greater surge that could had lifted even the lower strata of the society from their throes of woes. Now, the situation has returned to normalcy and the game of tug of war is back on between the thinkers and the doers, each side claiming a larger slice of the pie. The battle cries usually reach a fever pitch when the situation takes a turn from dire to doom, and strategies, following suit, shift from civil to downright criminal. As against the popular notion that government is responsible for providing safety nets for the underprivileged, who are most often the first casualties of financial calamities, recent evidences of bank bailouts, industry handouts etc have proved that the powers that be ensure that the top half lands safely on its feet, even if on the breaking backs of the downtrodden. And so, while people go unemployed, losing their homes, incomes, in effect, their lives, because of unwise and careless decisions of the thinking heads, the government goes out of its way and makes sure that contractual obligations of the head honchos honoring financial incentives even for disastrous results are honored, lest the prime movers turn cranky and quit playing. Cameron Crowe, in 'Jerry Maguire', pens a thoughtful dialogue about the lives on both sides of the curtain divide between economy and the privileged classes in the aeroplanes - 'Honey! it used to be a better meal, now it is a better life!'

'Shanghai', based on a novel written about 40 years ago, sounds just as contemporary in the current times, resonating the familiar themes of greed, collusion and exploitation. The movie seeped in political intrigue centers around a 'development' project that aims at giving a facelift with malls and shopping complexes to a piece of land inhabited by the impoverished. Sounds familiar? The rule of 'Eminent Domain', that the government so recklessly abuses, whereby for the greater good (of the corporations), the rights of (voiceless) the few can be trampled upon by essentially nationalizing private property (what a delightful irony! Socialism coming to the aid of the Capitalism), remains a familiar problem, 40 years ago in Greece where the novel was set, as it is the current 'rising and shining' India. The collusion of vested interests at the highest echelons of business and administration, each impossibly parasitic over the other for its survival, comes at a price though, the cost of which is entirely borne by the mute and the weak down below, of course. 'The government allocates 1.43 lakh acres at throwaway prices to a company headed by one who is close to the seat of the administration', 'The government allocates 13,000 acres for port development to a prominent businessman, without entertaining any competitive bids, who in turns promises to invest in a private venture pertaining to the man in power', 'The government hands over a huge swath of forest land, playing home to rich minerals and poor tribals, to a foreign mining company, entrusted with the responsibility of first evicting the residents out of their age old homes'. Yes Sir, the juggernaut of 'development' rolls on, devouring the precious natural resources, silencing the voices and lives of the powerless, enriching a few, enslaving a whole lot, at a comfortable cruise speed set at 'exploit'. The times may change, but the intentions remain the same, the players may change, but the playbook is still the same. 'Shanghai' is that same 'run of the mill' story. Watch and weep!

పాత రాతి గుహలు పాల రాతి గృహాలైనా
అడవి నీతి మారినదా ఎన్ని యుగాలైనా
వేట అదే వేటు అదే నాటి కధే అంతా
నట్టడవులు నడి వీధికి నడిచొస్తే వింతా?
బలవంతులే బ్రతకాలని సూక్తి మరవకుండా
శతాబ్దాలు చదవలేదా ఈ అరణ్యకాండ

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