It's been two decades after our Prime Minister heralded in liberalisation. India was supposed to be on its way to becoming a developed nation. I was in college then and a simple can of Coca Cola was so hard to come by that when we did manage to buy one from the Hong Kong bazaar near Dhanvanthri road in Mysore, we did not have the heart to throw it away after drinking; instead we cut open the top and made pen stands out of the cans.

However, no sooner did the economy open up, every foreign brand barged in — cola cans to cell phones — but even more important, jobs were created. By the time I got my first job in 1998, life as I had seen growing up had significantly changed. For the first time, I saw people around me excited about graduating, yes finally, there were actual jobs available for us graduates!

I first worked in The New Indian Express at Bangalore and the city was in transition. The city had suddenly opened up to IT and BT — Information Technology and Beer Tasting. Every other weekend a new pub and an IT shop were opening up.

Just as I was thinking that a new Indian middle class is being born, the Bangalore middle class had already hit puberty. Suddenly people were sipping cappuccino instead of coffee. Girls were wearing "stilettos" to work instead of sandals. Men were talking of the new “Eau de toilette” while making fun of good old Old Spice. Also Bangalore became comfortable with a co - ed lifestyle. There was dating, dancing and drinking. It seemed like we were headed west - ward and were on a high speed trajectory of prosperity. I assumed in another 20 years, we will most definitely be, if not developed then “almost” a developed country.

But while we soaked in the all - American “fun – stuff”, we forgot the importance of public participation and responsibility. We had become full - blown capitalists who believed in the “end” with complete disregard to the “means” used to achieve it. Wealth was more appreciated than decency. And today as we enter the third decade after liberalisation, we have clearly demonstrated that India is good but Indians are not.

It is very clear that we do not know how to measure prosperity. Yes, the new India may have a huge number of billionaires, but we still have the most number of poor people. We may have the best cars in the world, but we also have the worst roads. We produce the most movies in the world but they lack brilliance. We have the best brains but our system chokes to death every ounce of entrepreneurship in them and don't care when they leave to prosper in a more appreciative nation.

As much as liberalisation has helped fund our growth it has also slowed our development. Today bribes are not dealt in cash but in shares. As the famous Business journalist who broke the Harshad Mehta story, Sucheta Dalal, wrote: “An Industrialist friend told me that Mukesh Ambani did a great dis-service by offering Pramod Mahajan a stake, instead of money. Since then every two - bit politician and bureaucrat who can block a project clearance is demanding a stake in the business.” Why not, a stake is a long - term clean investment with life - time returns; cash, after all is evidence hard to get rid of.

Development is not about a few being able to buy expensive cars, it’s about everyone having a good road to drive on. Growth is not about a few select group of people being able to open industries; it’s about facilitating an entrepreneur a chance to innovate. Human resource is not just about having a billion people, it is when good education is provided to them and they become resourceful and decent citizens.

2010 has been the harshest year for the Indian citizen to digest, with over 5 scams in one year. But thanks to our film directors’ eye for “items”, we get a nice item break after every scandal. In the early 1990s, when we were all heartbroken that our first, young and only handsome PM Rajiv Gandhi was involved in the Bofors Scam, Madhuri Dixit came on screen and her “dil” Dhak dhak kar ne laga and people soon began to forget the scandal. Soon there was the Hawala Scam and once again Madhuri rescued us with her choli, as she pranced naughtily to “Choli ke peeche kya hai.”

Then it was the sugar import scam and Raveena Tandon drenched us with her sweetness in “Tip tip barasa paani.” Soon it was Lalu time as fodder scam made headlines and we had an apt song as Shilpa Shetty screamed “Main ayi hoo UP Bihar lootne.” Finally the big decade ended with the big scam — the Ketan Parek's securities scam and once again an item song by Kashmira Shah consoled the investors by coyly saying “ Dil pe math ye yaar.”

After 2000, the scams went to a whole new level. Now it was thousands of crores. Telgi stumped us with his stamp paper and Yana Gupta warned us “Babuji zara dheera chalo.”

At this point, even the women folk of India needed distraction from all the scams and Shah Rukh did the needful by introducing them to six - pack abs and “Dard e - disco.” Like the previous decade, this decade too has ended on a high note for scams running into lakhs of crores and the item songs to soothe our heightened disgust have also appropriately gotten mind - numbing with Malaika Arora “Munni” telling us she wants to become our Zandu Balm, and Katrina teasing us with her “jawani.”

Last night as I was watching people dance to these two numbers repeatedly, I wondered who will apply a balm to our corrupted Indian soul?

But there must be optimism. Last night as repeated visuals of Katrina Kaif’s midriff and Munni’s pelvis were giving me a rocking headache, I got a message from one of the most knowledgeable journalists of Mysore city, M.R. Shivanna, who has been working with Star of Mysore since many many years and who is now in the hospital being tested for colon cancer. His message said: “Wish you a very Happy New Year Vikram.” Now that is optimism. Hopefully like Shivanna, we too will see the brighter side of our lives.

Dear readers, I hope you all have a fantastic year ahead, filled with enriching experiences. I also thank you all for reading what I write and hopefully I have done my job of entertaining, informing and evoking a moment of introspection in you.

Once again, thank you all and wish you a very Happy New Year.

— Sincere regards Vikram Muthanna