THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THATTIPPU (OPINION )
Duncan
There's no art
To find the mind's construction in the face:
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust ( Macbeth Act I Scene 4 )
These words of King Duncan, in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth,perfectly
fits all cases of fraud or betrayal. A fraud is a betrayal .In the play, Macbeth,
King Duncan is not talking about a fraud case involving money, but about
matters of state, in which ,one of his trusted nobles ,the Thane of Cawdor had
sided with foreign forces to overthrow him. In fraud, as well as in treason,the
basis is a betrayal of trust.
In Kerala, "thattippu' is the key word on everybody's mind and lips.It's
high time Kerala is renamed 'Thattippudesh". Recently, I pondered at
length about a suitable name for our beloved state, where the state of affairs
is now far from promising. Black flags and kolams are in high demand,
and the political rhetoric is still unabated, even though the Meenachil river
has withdrawn from the streets of Pala.
The names that came to mind are: Thattippu Pradesh, Thattippu Khand,
Thattippustan, Thattippu Nadu, Thattippu Rashtra, Goondadesh, Thattippu
Palayam etc. Also in the list are Bananasthan ( eg banana republic), Cucumber
sthan, and names with a Western touch, such as Fraudsnia, Fraudstralia,
Fraudsland, Fraudsburg. After days of deep thought, I settled for "Thattippu
desh' because of the patriotic connotations in the name.
Coming back to the words of King Duncan, we find a double irony in the
situation. King Duncan is talking to Macbeth, his trusted general, who
wiped out the enemy forces. But the same Macbeth is Duncan's would be
assassin later .Duncan goes to Macbeth's castle to show his gratitude,but
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth use the opportunity to kill Duncan in his
sleep, and seize power.
It's this absolute trust that makes us victims of fraud. Fraud cases have been
mushrooming in Kerala for many years,even in the 1980s , when imaginary
Manchiyam plantations and goat farms trapped many unsuspecting investors.
The saga of 'thattippu' continues in Kerala.
I fell victim to a 'thattippu' in South Africa in the late 1990s. A Greek lady
had a travel agency, very popular with Malayalees, because her fares were
cheap. For some years, the travel agency flourished. One day, we heard that
the business collapsed. I lost 16000 Rands ( about Rupees 1 lakh ).The
Greek lady didn't get any punishment because the law was skewed in her favour.
Nobody got any refund .In the Third World, fraudsters usually go unpunished.
That's why fraud still flourishes.
In the Solar case,it's the 'absolute trust' factor that landed Oommen Chandy
in trouble. He trusted his staff, but some of them allegedly misused his name
for personal gains. As Duncan says,'. there's no art to find the mind's construction
in the face'.Metal detectors and other modern devices can detect if a person is
carrying an explosive device or weapons. We don't know of any device to find
out a person's hidden agendas.
Fraudsters build trust in the minds of the people by opening big offices,with
smart young men and women with showy smiles and perfect English, dashing
occasionally on the carpeted floor
,with smart phones close to their ears ,and carrying
neat, pregnant files ( because worthless paper work is essential to fraud.The
thicker the file, the thicker the trust of the customer). And courtesy everywhere
with the politest enquiry: " Coffee or tea?".Glitzy brochures. And finally
they give you a golden Parker pen to write the cheque neatly and correctly,
without any over-writing ! You write 0 after 0.The fraudster's heart leaps for
joy.
You wait for the product. You call the fraudster's offices. " This number
doesn't exist .Please dial correctly, or check the directory.You dial again
and again. Worried, you rush to their offices.The office is empty,but you
find a crowd there, a crowd that swells every minute. And then the BREAKING
NEWS....another Thattippu case has come to light. No surprise....this is
Thattippudesh." Aaadu kidannidathu pooda polumilla''. " Kadichathumilla,pidichathumilla.
It's the start of a megaserial.Thattippu is like a relay race. In Kerala,the baton
change is perfect.eg from Solar to Niranom.
Duncan
There's no art
To find the mind's construction in the face:
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust ( Macbeth Act I Scene 4 )
These words of King Duncan, in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth,perfectly
fits all cases of fraud or betrayal. A fraud is a betrayal .In the play, Macbeth,
King Duncan is not talking about a fraud case involving money, but about
matters of state, in which ,one of his trusted nobles ,the Thane of Cawdor had
sided with foreign forces to overthrow him. In fraud, as well as in treason,the
basis is a betrayal of trust.
In Kerala, "thattippu' is the key word on everybody's mind and lips.It's
high time Kerala is renamed 'Thattippudesh". Recently, I pondered at
length about a suitable name for our beloved state, where the state of affairs
is now far from promising. Black flags and kolams are in high demand,
and the political rhetoric is still unabated, even though the Meenachil river
has withdrawn from the streets of Pala.
The names that came to mind are: Thattippu Pradesh, Thattippu Khand,
Thattippustan, Thattippu Nadu, Thattippu Rashtra, Goondadesh, Thattippu
Palayam etc. Also in the list are Bananasthan ( eg banana republic), Cucumber
sthan, and names with a Western touch, such as Fraudsnia, Fraudstralia,
Fraudsland, Fraudsburg. After days of deep thought, I settled for "Thattippu
desh' because of the patriotic connotations in the name.
Coming back to the words of King Duncan, we find a double irony in the
situation. King Duncan is talking to Macbeth, his trusted general, who
wiped out the enemy forces. But the same Macbeth is Duncan's would be
assassin later .Duncan goes to Macbeth's castle to show his gratitude,but
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth use the opportunity to kill Duncan in his
sleep, and seize power.
It's this absolute trust that makes us victims of fraud. Fraud cases have been
mushrooming in Kerala for many years,even in the 1980s , when imaginary
Manchiyam plantations and goat farms trapped many unsuspecting investors.
The saga of 'thattippu' continues in Kerala.
I fell victim to a 'thattippu' in South Africa in the late 1990s. A Greek lady
had a travel agency, very popular with Malayalees, because her fares were
cheap. For some years, the travel agency flourished. One day, we heard that
the business collapsed. I lost 16000 Rands ( about Rupees 1 lakh ).The
Greek lady didn't get any punishment because the law was skewed in her favour.
Nobody got any refund .In the Third World, fraudsters usually go unpunished.
That's why fraud still flourishes.
In the Solar case,it's the 'absolute trust' factor that landed Oommen Chandy
in trouble. He trusted his staff, but some of them allegedly misused his name
for personal gains. As Duncan says,'. there's no art to find the mind's construction
in the face'.Metal detectors and other modern devices can detect if a person is
carrying an explosive device or weapons. We don't know of any device to find
out a person's hidden agendas.
Fraudsters build trust in the minds of the people by opening big offices,with
smart young men and women with showy smiles and perfect English, dashing
occasionally on the carpeted floor
neat, pregnant files ( because worthless paper work is essential to fraud.The
thicker the file, the thicker the trust of the customer). And courtesy everywhere
with the politest enquiry: " Coffee or tea?".Glitzy brochures. And finally
they give you a golden Parker pen to write the cheque neatly and correctly,
without any over-writing ! You write 0 after 0.The fraudster's heart leaps for
joy.
You wait for the product. You call the fraudster's offices. " This number
doesn't exist .Please dial correctly, or check the directory.You dial again
and again. Worried, you rush to their offices.The office is empty,but you
find a crowd there, a crowd that swells every minute. And then the BREAKING
NEWS....another Thattippu case has come to light. No surprise....this is
Thattippudesh." Aaadu kidannidathu pooda polumilla''. " Kadichathumilla,pidichathumilla.
It's the start of a megaserial.Thattippu is like a relay race. In Kerala,the baton
change is perfect.eg from Solar to Niranom.
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