The Death of Commons: A Case for Neoliberalism?

Translated roughly as that which is The Bottom-most, Taljai is a popular hill for coming-to-age teenagers experimenting with different positions for the perfect Facebook post, uncles of antiquity walking up the hill discussing the latest in Lokmat (a daily newspaper), and lastly, anyone wishing to escape the tirade of a 9-to-5 job to experience tranquility in walking about the woods not fabricated by human work.

I have regularly traveled to the top which remains among the few scenic places in Pune that belong to the commons. Places such as this and Parvati, a religious temple atop a mount, remain isolated locations that are picturesque culture knitted within the ever-growing capitalist machinery. While the latter remains unscathed by businesses, Taljai falls short of such a distinction.

“Why do you sell cigarettes?”, I questioned one among the many teasellers who dot the tiny ‘boutiques’ all of whose products for sale are carbon copies. Alarmed, she replied, “What if I don’t? Who else will then provide for the needs of the many who come up here?”

I had come with the goal to get to the bottom of the malaise as I have been informed which is what penetrates the very socioeconomic strata below that of mine, the lower-class. I concluded on resorting to ethical dilemmas. “But what about the morals around the same issue? Don’t you think that it is somewhere a ‘wrongdoing’ to indulge in the same,” I asked, buying a Gold Flake.

“That is not for me to decide. That is for the buyer.”

Among the sea of thoughts that governed my thinking around the issue of ethical consumption under capitalism, I seemingly forgot the basic ideal of the ‘informed consumer making rational decisions’. Accepting defeat albeit her not rejoicing in the tenuous win, I sat down. I still kept in store a variety of other questions to bombard her. ‘If coffee is available, do give one cup’ was my first.

“Do you own the area on which you sell or this is at the behest of renting to some corrupt official?”

“No. I have owned this place since 1995 and I don’t intend on selling it even though the price for this prime area has risen.”

She seemed very kind towards me. Even when 7 other shops at the right and 3 at the left were eyeing to make me their customer, her demeanor remained composed. It was around this time that 5 of her regular customers who in her word had been her loyal since they were half their height had arrived.

“What do you think should be done with places such as Taljai and Parvati? Is it right to build businesses around these areas or should it be left to the commons and democracy to decide on its improvement?”

“Last night, a person puked after running till the top and taking a few rounds within the woods. Had it not been for the seller of various juices with his trade here, he wouldn’t have left in a good shop. You can see how the variety helps.”

She went on. “Today we have around 300 people coming here every day to take their time off and enjoy. Sure, our shops take up space and don’t provide aesthetic visuals to the entire arena. But who will provide for the food and other nourishment if not for us and our stakes?”

I was prepared for this question. “Parvati has higher to climb, has only steps, and people still venture to the very top either to take blessings from their god, personal fitness or even as an excursion for pictures. You don’t see them complaining about the lack of resources to consume so that their time spent there can be effectively more pleasuring. Why not the same with Taljai?”

At this point, the ringleader of the 5 teenagers, shorter than me but poised, rebutted amidst a clarion howl. “Is there anything wrong here? What are you doing?”.

She came to my rescue. “We are conversing about the state of this place and a little about politics.” He retracted his steps.

She replied, “That is a difficult and infelicitous question to answer for me.”

I pursued further. “What do you think about the politics and the government? What has their role been in developing this area? Or has it been your community of entrepreneurs who have taken it on themselves to provide for the necessities of the people who come here?”

“During the 2000s, we had a politician (whose name I cannot recall here) who made great encroachments in making roads and providing water. It is because of the work that he did from the bottom of the hill that we are able to sustain ourselves up here.”

She continued. “I have been selling Maggi, tea, cigarettes, soda, and biscuits for the past 23 years here. I have never had to pay in black money and I can say with certainty that this entire area that you see has been the cause of us looking to subsist ourselves as well as providing for the comfort of our travelers. We are nothing without them and we make sure to take care of them.”

As someone decently ‘educated’ within the dynamics of capitalism and how ruthless competition can cause ruthless change within social natures of a person, since the very beginning of my trips to Taljai, my assumption on the totality of the consumer-complex has been pictured within the very same dimensions. It was therefore startling to begin recomposing my entire structure of the place.

“Aren’t there any particular political issues that you find need to be taken care of urgently?”

“Most of what we do has been laid on the foundations of what the politicians of the Rashtravadi Congress could provide for us. We are grateful.”

Grateful.

“Are you sure there is no trouble here?” quipped another member of the 5 youngsters. “This boy is asking me about our lives and wants to know and get insight into what we do. I do not mind answering him.”

“Ahh,” he replied. “In that case, I am sure to be of help to you.” We exchanged personal information before beginning a 15-minute long discussion.

“I believe that places such as Taljai and Parvati need to be protected from privatization. If you look at cities, teenagers of your age and mine are requiring to visit bars, pay money to for playing football on grounds that earlier remained free, and need to engage in many other such activities that we now do consider to be essential for our social lives. However, I deeply believe that everyone inside of us would prefer a walk with their loved ones under the shade of beautiful trees in a file under the dampening effect of light-bulbs and precise need only the moment in nature to meet their demands.”

He seemed composed. His eyes spooked red with every puff of the cigarette. After finishing his tea, he began, “The purpose of cities is precisely to provide for such an urban dwelling. If the people did not want it, then such institutions wouldn’t have been born in the first place. But I do agree with one part. I would much rather play cricket on an empty ground with many other people playing their own games instead of paying RS 300 for half an hour on a ground.”

“That is acceptable as an argument. However, what I believe is that when parties win elections through getting sponsored by certain private companies, the parties, in turn, gift them with land at cheap rates which are deeply unethical in a functioning democracy. What can we do about that?

“We have to do nothing about that.”

I did not understand.

He remained poised. “You speak of the protection of the commons. Do you really believe that Parvati and Taljai can be privatized?”

“I do not believe that they can be. However, the reason they cannot be is that the people will mobilize on the basis of their dharma, and not over a common good that everyone will see in protecting the commons.”

“These commons you speak of. Do you have even a basic understanding of how life goes on outside your gated colonies?”

I was happy to touch a nerve. Tt precisely was this point that I wished so that I could truly begin a conversation.”

“When these big businesses as you speak of make illegal deals for land, they are able to provide for employment.”

Given we were speaking in Marathi and my command over that language is weak, I seemed out of words to come with a reply.

He continued. “Do you think that it is easy for the people making their living on the basis of such an economy to get jobs that can feed their family? For what its worth, the shop that comes in your picture is worth the money that it makes for one family.”

I had no reply. I was startled.

“You speak of having problems with pollution and the roads that are made. Do you know how much my family has been able to develop their well-being so that they could provide for me? There are points in life where the people do not care whether the company is being built over illegally acquired land. Food on the plate matters more for us and the tea-seller you are questioning over political realities. The fact is that we do not get time to even discuss and think about such matters, let alone take decisive action against it. We are forever engaged in keeping us as is.”

He concludes: “You think that it is possible for everyone to be politically awakened and press together for a more just society. Let every individual allow himself to find basic necessities met first before attacking that which is making our basic necessities met.”

Their plight was understandable. I believed in the unity of the people to be able to exercise political power so as to come together and in an act of solidarity, maintain their rightful place with society and the polity. Where is this even a possibility when desolation is the norm and I talk about reducing the effects of mass-industrialization and the speed of capitalism so as to make qualms with its negative effects?

I bid adieu to him, thanking them for their time. Without having even a basic introduction to economics and polity as a subject, he managed to educate me to realities better than most political science students on the subject matter of action within the political sphere.

The thought and the dilemma of countries experiencing the joys of neo-globalization in providing for commodities and taking away their lives in exchange always itches the minds of many without answers. However, the reality remains that the answers are already being undertaken by the people to whom these questions matter the most. Who even are we then to dictate the terms other than shout ‘wolf’?

I realized that I was yet to pay my due to her.

“Do you find joy in your activity? Selling cigarettes and making tea?”

“That I cannot answer. But, I find wholeness in the satisfaction of my customer.”

She sat down opposite me and began cutting what I assumed to be methi. Someone requested to set up an umbrella over the tables, giving the approach of noon. She stood up, went behind to bring the necessary and began working on it.

“Can I help you?”

“I can handle it. Vicharayla Dhanyawad (Thank you for asking).”