Potatoes and Chips again,,,,

Shish: (Looking at the title) oh! One more potato story! You don’t have anything else to write about?

Naradaa: But Shish, I am not the only one who talked about the potatoes and potato chips. A month back someone, whose name counts, talked about them…… Now, you are not supposed to peek through and start criticizing even before I write something. So, don’t disturb me, get out and stay out till I finish this.

The whole topic of potatoes started this morning again because my friend – yes, in whose joint family there were elections last year – came to visit.

I asked him an innocent question, ‘ so how is your potato exports and chips import going on?’

‘Oh, that? For a while, it was going well. Even now, it is going good! But now we are going on a further ambitious plan…. We can’t depend on our distant neighbours for the potato chips. But as we had seen earlier, we are not able to make so beautiful, symmetrically and thinly cut and well-packed etc. Now that the household has already seen the best – good-looking, golden coloured, consistently good, well-packed chips, they are not satisfied with anything home-made.’

‘So what are you worried about? You get your ration of good quality chips and you don’t have to work  hard for it. You have to only make sure that you make enough potatoes to send out.’

‘True, but having no work also creates problems. Making potatoes is no big deal. A section of the people is engaged in this. But they are not happy because they don’t get their due even after working hard and others get all the advantages without doing a bit of work.’

‘Yeh, I understand….. So what is the new policy going to be?’

‘We are now going to call all the distant neighbours to send their best cooks, set up the kitchen in our house and make potato chips. Not only potato chips, but many other items also will be made. They will bring their machines so we will get the same quality chips and our people will get some work to do assisting those cooks. Since the quality is going to be very good, we can even sell them back to those neighbours. Excellent scheme in every way….’

‘Yeh, I like that bit about everybody will get some work to do. You will be surely made to work, especially all the physical work.’

‘I know you will not find any fault in the scheme this time.  I can also cite an example. A huge household in our neighbourhood had already adopted this policy. They have opened up their kitchen to many of the neighbours and they are prospering.’

‘But then how are you going to compete with them?’

‘That is where my young uncle made a masterstroke. Uncle went an invited them also to set up kitchen here.’

‘But…. But…. Do you really think it is a good solution?’

‘Look, why should I think? All the thinking will be done by uncle. And it is always better that one man thinks, not many men which will only lead to chaotic thinking.’

‘Anyway, all the best!’

Shish: Can I criticize now?

Naradaa: what is there to criticize?

Shish: You didn’t oppose the idea of one man thinking for all?

Naradaa: Why should I? You are seeing what happens when 6 or 8 panelists in a discussion on TV start discussing? You cannot even understand a word they are talking. If many of us will start thinking, the whole thing will get muddled up…….