(This is the second in a series of insightful reports from the ground, titled The Race From India to Bharat. The author travels all across India as 960 million voters get ready to celebrate the largest festival of democracy in the world: the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. What do ordinary Indians think and feel about the past, present, and future of India? Are they convinced that the old fault lines are healing?)
(Read part one here.)
A slightly steep flight of stairs raises some apprehensions. The author has had hip replacement surgery and is wary of climbing steep steps. But curiosity trumps caution and the steep steps are navigated with fair ease. The “office” of Deeptiman Sengupta looks surreal. Freshly washed clothes including sparkling white undergarments are hanging out to dry on the balcony.
There is a smattering of workstations and a neat coffee cum tea maker in one corner. The other corner is dominated by a huge desktop computer that is showing a business news channel and share prices of hundreds of companies scrolling down. “You see, I love multitasking. I am also a sub-broker with many clients”, says Deeptiman as he executes a trade with a few clicks on the keyboard of the desktop.