A Toast To The Local Kiranawala

COVID 19, possibly the most recognizable word of all times, has, to my mind at least, answered the Han Feizi’s unstoppable force paradox satisfactorily.

 

For the past few years, the unstoppable force called Ecommerce blew away all competition into insolvency, as it galloped to the peak of fundings- PE, Angel, et al.

This tearaway mad rush continued till it met the unmovable object- COVID 19. Suddenly, the unstoppable force lay gasping for breath like a beached whale, awaiting revival from the government.

 

All crying Cassandras went to town on how the economy is getting impacted by the set backed faced by eCommerce.

 

While all this was going on, one of the persons blown away by eCommerce, picked himself up, put on the mandatory facemask, and got to work. This was our very own Kiranawala.

 

Yes, I would like to raise a toast (Only nonalcoholic, as I am a believing Christian) to them.

We were so used to ordering things, even groceries, online that during the lockdown, it was a culture shock. It took some time to register that there would be no deliveries in the lock downtimes.

 

We have a small Kirana store in our society in Borivali, Mumbai. It is a small mom and pop operation. Once the lockdown started this family geared up to make life simple for us. They made sure that stocks of essentials were available at the printed price. They made sure that social distancing was maintained, by painting white circles at a distance of one meter or so.

 

Also, they extended credit to people, who did not have the money to pay for the grocery they bought, something that the highly valued Ecommerce players cannot do.

 

Yes, it is this India that is making me proud today, not the mythical creatures like unicorns.