Tuesday 24 June 2014

There is indeed no place for the Maharaja

Should the Maharaja stay or be replaced in favour of a new logo which symbolizes the aam aadmi?

The Brouhaha about the logo reminds me of an exchange between Eliza Doolittle and Professor Higgins in Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. Eliza tells the Professor that Colonel Pickering treats a flower girl as if she was a duchess. To which Higgins replies, "And I treat a duchess as if she was a flower girl."

While every airline worth their logo bends backwards trying to treat their 'guest' as a duchess, our national carrier does a fantastic job of treating the duchess as a common flower girl! We are all about the aam aadmi. We have no place for the Maharaja. He must be replaced by a far more real symbol, one that symbolises the service the airline provides. Oh come on if you truly believe that flying is about an experience. It is about getting from one place to another. Albeit late, but they do their job. So what's the fuss about wanting to be treated as a Maharaja?

But that's not even the real issue. The real issue lies in taking a decision regarding the fate of the terminally ill flag carrier. It bleeds Rs. 50 billion a year! Rs. 50 billion of your and my hard earned money! What is the point of keeping it alive? Neither does it do anything to our image as a nation (thanks to its pathetic service) nor does it add to the country's bottomline.

Sentimental reasons? No, I am not buying into that one. We don't respect our heritage. Some of our greatest historical monuments are in shambles. Let's get real. With an estimated 148 million people (source: World Bank, 2014) under the poverty line, can we really afford to be sentimental about an Airline?

Let's leave the logo aside Mr. Minister. Lets address the real issue. By sacrificing the maharaja, you might just be able to send every aam aadmi's child to school, arrange for two square meals a day and provide shelter to the homeless. Please for once, let's really vote in favour of the aam aadmi.








No comments: