Upheaval in the World, But The Show Must Go On

Earlier it was said that once life is set, it continues for life. But, now this formula no longer works. Rapid changes are taking place in every sphere of life, so no meaning of the old proverbs and beliefs. Your father may have worn the same HMT watch on his wrist for 40 years, and still running well; but now such long-lasting products are neither available nor do they function so much. Life has become like a pizza or ice-cream; eat it, or lose it. There is no meaning in talking about small products, even the models of expensive cars change rapidly. Here you buy a new car and after a few days you may find that another variant of the same car has arrived in the showroom. Of course, there is no alternative to the old evergreen Hindi film songs. Ask someone to sing a song, and the person will start humming some of the evergreen songs of the seventies, eighties or nineties era. The current generation songs are neither worth listening to nor worth singing. Here they come, and the next week people forget all the stuff.
 
When life was getting back on track in the world, the news of a massive lockdown came from China. Life has come to a standstill in more than a dozen cities. Chinese manufacturing units have started gasping in the process. Earlier, China was suspected of spreading the Corona virus around the world, now the same country itself is scared of the virus. As you sow, so you shall reap. The saying has a weight. Similar is the case with Russia, where more than one lakh people have left the country seeking asylum in neighboring countries. European nations have closed their doors for Russians. These are unfortunate people who were working in Russia with international brands. In protest of the Ukraine war, many American and European companies ceased operations in Russia, due to which many people of Russia became unemployed. These people are now forced to leave Russia. Back in our country, where many greedy people had been running their political shops, have also become unemployed and are trying to save their illegal properties from bulldozers. Guru, Thoko Taali.
 
Demand for consumer goods, electronics and lifestyle products remained subdued in January, because of the restrictions in the third wave, but FMCG sales grew 17% on a monthly basis in February. This was also due to higher sales of packaged foods. According to Bijom, sales of items like edible oils and packaged flour grew by 19% in February as compared to January. On the other hand, there was a 7% decline in car sales and 27% decline in two-wheeler sales in February on a year-on-year basis. In February last year, where 2,81,380 cars were sold, this time only 2,62,984 cars were sold in February. Similarly, where the sales of two-wheelers stood at 14,26,865 in February 2021, in February this year, only 10,37,994 vehicles were sold. In contrast, the sales of SUV and MUV category of vehicles have continued to grow. If 1,14,350 utility vehicles were sold in February last year, their sales increased to 1,20,122 in February this year.

(Author is a senior journalist and columnist)