You’ve got to give it to Arvind Kejriwal. Barely had the echoes of the slanging match over the DDCA dimmed down, he broke hell by announcing the odd even formula in Delhi to curb the devilish levels of pollution. I’m sure as a little kid, his mother could often be heard complaining, “Main tang aa gayi hoon Arvind se. Ek minute ke liye bhi kahin tikk ke hi nahi baith ta!”
Avoiding the lecturing about the good and the bad of this I’m just wondering if in life itself, we give this odd even formula a chance!
So hubby dears why don’t you take charge every alternate day changing diapers, chatter endlessly, work on the food menu, keep the kitchen and home spotless and manage the maids? I secretly believe that the last task is something that the guys already love doing. And ladies, every second day could you just zip up your mouths, answer in monosyllables and grunts, bury your head in the newspaper or the office files and sprawl on the lobby couch hideously watching the repeat telecast of every cricket match you’ve already seen?
Mom-in-laws could you please every second day sing praises of your daughter-in-law and her father, mother, sister, brother, uncle, aunt and every rishtedaar under the sun. That’s after you’ve spent the previous day bitching about your bahu raani the whole day and making her cry in between to break the monotony. The ‘Tulsis’ and ‘Parvatis’ could also follow the example by trying to kill her mother in law in her head one day and on the other day sitting on her feet saying, “Maaji, aap ke hote, mujhe maa ki kami kabhi mehsoos nahi hui”.
The boss after flaring his nostrils shouting and demeaning you, throwing the files at your face, could the next day tell you that without you he could not have done the project. The subordinate could also one day be the perfect chamcha and the next day could give the boss a piece of his mind by pulling the mat from under his feet!
Kids could also follow suit. One day they could be precocious, giving their parents and teachers a run for their sanity. The next day, they could surprise all of you by saying ‘haanji’ to everything, completing their homework on time and going to bed without watching television.
So, I guess the odd even formula could work for everyone. One day of routine, one day of surprise. One day of your point of view, the other day the other person’s point of view. Against all days of hate and intolerance we should this way at least half the days of our lives spent in kindness and compassion.
The only exception to this formula would be the neta and the sarkari babu. Strip a leader and a bureaucrat of the power and corruption even for a day and they would be nervous wrecks! So like every other rule in this country, the odd even life formula would be exempted for the rich and the powerful. Arre bhai, isn’t that how India works.
