“ All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. ”
A quote from ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell explaining disparities that exist in society.
And everyday there is an instance of this. Recently at a music concert where people holding the last denomination ticket (meaning the cheapest were for Rs, 2000 and if you are buying for all the guests in your house you would also opt for the cheapest) come to the venue and the usual ridiculous hassle of changing the e-mailed ticket for a real ticket and then another queue to get in and you also find that the seats are not numbered and so people sit on a first come first basis. Some people came one hour early to get the best seats only to find that the doors don’t open till a certain appointed time, best known only to the organisers.
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And never mind that the actual event starts one whole hour late with no apology whatsoever. Some say the artistes don’t come on stage till they are paid in full and if the sponsors are scouring for the money from last minute ticket sales one can understand delays.
So one enters from the never-ending queues and if you have noticed, queues in India sprout branches as well.
“ In Hyderabad we have a special category called VVIP who are neither Aristocrats or VIPs! ”
Then the weirdest scene was faced by all: citing security reasons bold fences with black steel bars were installed between the sections. Even those paying the highest denominations were barricaded in.
A commotion rose and those that shouted most and who had paid the most were heard and these barricades were lifted and removed all except those that separated the Rs. 2000 ticket wallahs from the rest: after all if you bought the cheapest tickets then you didn’t matter and most probably could not be trusted.
As noted, some animals are more equal than others.
An old lady once said that she did not know “envy” till she saw that the neighbours had electricity while she had a power cut. It all boils down to fairness. If all are barricaded then there would be no injustice felt. But in India it’s always a case of some people being more equal.
What about buying the highest denomination tickets for a concert and then finding you are in the 11th row because the first 10 rows have been kept for special (read free) invitees.
They say while every Aristocrat is a VIP every VIP is no Aristocrat. But here in Hyderabad we have a special category called VVIP who are neither Aristocrats or VIPs! But then one can argue that the true VIP is not just born but made and what is then more important than a CIP? (Commercially important Person)
The real tragedy is that those that are cited as VVVIPS are least interested in the programme and in fact are almost tortured to endure even half an hour before they make an exit to the next venue.