Man is a sum total of his experiences and his imagination.

I suppose I agree. And I agree that when I don’t let my imagination run riot, I am limited to understanding the world from the perspectives of my experience, and that fortunately or unfortunately is mainly in the field of advertising.

The story from my advertising memoirs that has been haunting me for the past few weeks is not very old. And I am sure not very uncommon.

Once upon a time, and not so long ago, there was an agency that wasn’t doing too well. Well wishers told the owners that the only way to help the agency and give it a chance to survive was to get new business. Brilliant, don’t you think. or should I say “Elementary Dr. Watson”.

Then came the final piece of advice. If you want new business, you have to produce better creatives. Wow!!!

Anyway, the agency hired a new Creative Director. Agreed to pay him a fat salary. Gave him a lot of perks. And so on. Expectations were naturally high. The situation was tense. And everyone looked at him as if he was the Messiah.

Within minutes of taking charge the new Creative Director called for a meeting. Every one who was anyone in the office was told to report to the conference room. The meeting was quite different from what was expected. The Creative Director just told them that he had a task, and he was here to complete it. He wanted all his colleagues to step in line and pitch in, or else…

He also told everyone very clearly that they should not expect overnight miracles. Everyone nodded sagely and agreed that this new fellow was one hell of a pragmatist.

The next few weeks saw a flurry of activities. The Creative Director was a man of details.

Why were the office environments not clean? Why was the office such a mess? Why did the loos not work? Why was the coffee machine never working? Why were we always short of paper? Why were the pencils not sharpened?

The first few weeks were spent on asking such inane questions and then spending the next few days on ensuring that the questions were addressed.

Never once, not for a day, not for a moment was the matter of new business raised or discussed. A hundred days later, what was left was an agency that was spic and span but one that had lost all its fire and most of its staff. Cash flows had not improved and therefore there was a distinct ‘Sinking Ship’ kind of feeling.

A few weeks later the agency shut down.

The Creative Director thought he had done a wonderful job with the agency. Pity that they could not survive long enough for me to show them what ‘creativity’ is all about, he is reported to have said at the next place where he took up an assignment.

I look at our Governments. At the centre with Namo. And in our bifurcated states with KCR and CBN. Everyone seems to be in rhetoric mode. Gyaan is being distributed. Gestures are being orchestrated. Action is being spoken of, even ‘planned’…but there is no significant ACTION.

And I am afraid that by the end of the honeymoon the bride will not even be pregnant i.e. the state will not be on the brink of anything significant but disaster. (Remember, conventional wisdom always told us that the benchmark for a good honeymoon was a pregnant bride…here I don’t even know whether the marriage will last).

One man spent all his resources collecting data. Another went around the world building bridges and taking sweet revenge for a visa rejection. The third spent a lot of time examining the brochures of his next set of bullet proofed convoy vehicles.

No one got down on the floor, no one took off his tie, no one rolled up their sleeves, no one prioritised.

Getting the whole country involved in a clean up drive. Spending crores on a mission to change the very look of the country. What have we done except earned the ire of half the country who seemed to say that the country is hungry and wants food…and not lessons in table manners.

The country is frustrated and wants to rightfully take its place in the world…and does not want to spend the next few weeks polishing its shoes and its brass buckles so as to look good when it eventually takes its place on the winners’ podium.

Like I said, my experiences are limited. (My imagination is not). I am by my own admission naive to the point of inexcusable innocence and idealism. And I have great hopes resting on NaMo, CBN and KCR.

But today I am worried. Looks like all that is being done is making the body looking better for last rite presentation.

I can see the casket. I can see the crowd of mourners. I can hear the church bells. And the Vedic Chants. I can even see the merriment at the wake.

But I cannot see signs of what these gentlemen were voted into power for…CHANGE. Real change. Meaningful change. Useful change. Permanent change.

For once I hope I am wrong.