Governator

“Why this sudden interest in watching CNBC-18?” asks my  husband.

“Nothing. I’m trying to grasp the tenets of our monetary policy.”

“Common, you are gawking at him like an awestruck teenager.”

“Can’t help it. The headline says, ‘All eyes on Rajan’.”

Age has nothing to do with the heart skipping a beat. Exuding charm, the crinkly eyed RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan does evoke a sigh. No offense to Subbarao, Jalan or Rangrajan, but when did we have a tall, dark and handsome economist at the helm of affairs?
Thankfully, RBI Governors are not selected on the basis of rippling muscles or good looks. Look where the good looks of an irresistible Pappu have landed us?

Looks and fiscal deficit are as unrelated as Amar Singh and low-waist Levis jeans.

Impeccable Background 

Rajan is the youngest ever Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the inaugural recipient of the Fischer Black Prize. With a BTech from IIT Delhi, MBA from IIM-A, and a PhD from MIT, Rajan’s impeccable reputation can give a complex to Sachin Tendulkar.The new RBI Governor is an author to boot. Move over Tharoor, the thinking woman has a new muse. Go watch fashion shows with Sunanda and tweet like a sparrow in heat. Words are not what we need.

Harbinger of Hope

Swaminathan Aiyar  says ‘Rajan is a great jockey. Pity he doesn’t have a better horse’.

At a time when the two blue turbanators (MMS and his buddy MSA) have wreaked havoc by serving their estrogen pronounced boss, Rajan brings hope. No wonder he has a parody account on Twitter called ‘Governator’. Can you feel the whiff of his Hollywood-eque appeal? Well, Rajan can beat Schwarzenegger in looks as well as fidelity department. He married his IIM batch mate Radhika. Given his upbringing, it is unlikely that he will make hay with the maid.

“The governorship is not meant to win votes or Facebook ‘likes’, says Rajan.

Much like virginity, too much is made of Facebook ‘Likes’. Despite riding a sick horse, the new jockey knows that he is running this race for the life of a nation. Poised on toes that are pinched into Italian stirrups, Rajan hovers over the economic horse in a stance that generates hope. Hope, they say, is a waking dream. A few degrees too far forward or backwards, he may fall only to be trampled by new political hoofs.

The task of encouraging populist policies of a veshti clad Palaniappan and a pyjama clad Pappu, and yet, managing the fiscal deficit is going to be a tough ride. Sometimes a rider, instead of being thrown, can fall with the horse. God forbid, if that happens, Rajan may soon end up looking like his bald predecessors. How dreadful!



But well begun is half done. I would rather watch Rajan unveil the new credit policy than Karan Johar shake his wide screen, tongue conspicuously in-cheek.

Why?
To grasp the nuances of fiscal deficit, Federal quantitative easing, exchange rate, and food inflation. That’s why!

Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes! And if the jockey is good looking, the race becomes even more riveting.