The Krishna Love (Wattpad India Awards Winner)

Chapter 54 - Post-Truth Era

Little did Sid know meeting with Ronit the spin doctor would affect him so much. It was forcing him to redefine his outlook of perceiving "truth." You'd never know if something packaged as "facts" could be nothing but emotional manipulation.

Ronit, who was standing for a while, now settled himself down on his chair again. His left foot was on his other knee, teeth always chewing something (now bubble gum), arms spread across chest and eyes studying Sid. One of the weird habits that made the spin doctor infamous was wearing a cap all the time. Some even doubted if the guy wears a cap at the shower.

"I no longer doubt that we're in a post-truth world," he said, voice calm as a monk. The boys could feel Ronit was mindful to choose his words. "In this era, the truth doesn't matter at all than personal belief. Religious bigots sustain their blind faith by stating, 'It's true to me, and that's all that matter.' Religion is not the only victim of this post-truth era. The media report us their version of truth based on their political lean, downplaying another side of truth."

"Yes, I can see this is happening nowadays," Sid plastered a smile on his lips.

A drastic change took place on Ronit's face, calm and composed to peevish. He began to click his fingers, lips pressed together in a thin line, looking like a cat on hot bricks. "Did I ever tell you that I tend to go off-topic when I'm interrupted?"

Sid felt a lump in his throat. "Uh, I'm... sorry for the interruption." Ravi shot a glance at his best friend who didn't exchange looks with him.

The guy's name is Ronit. He's bit eccentric, sometimes could be cocky too, but a very talented bloke. Both remembered these words of Hakim. So it was accurate then.

Ronit grew normal again and formed his best PR smile (which was nothing but awkward moments of lips). "Come hour could be the most depressing moment of your life or you'll be out of The Matrix you've been living." The spin doctor tried to pose himself like Morpheus.

"Are we really at the right place?" Ravi whispered—holding grimace on his face—almost inaudible, but Sid was able to hear it.

"Have you guys," Ronit began, "ever been to a wholesale market? Usually in a wholesale market, you get things at cheaper rate compare to general stores. A product that you get in an ordinary store, say for ten rupees, in a wholesale market you get it for seven rupees. Plenty consumers would prefer to buy things from a wholesale market than the general stores. They revel in this idea of saving three rupees.

"But what if there is other bigger wholesale market which sells stuff in cheapest rate? What if the wholesale market hide its cheapest products and only put forward that stuff which it wants to sell rather than what you want to buy?"

Ronit stopped to take breath and started to chuckle like a madman. He knew boys were trying to digest "his wisdom." He got up from his chair again. Why the f.. can't he settle down in one place? Ravi wanted to yell; he did it in his mind.

"This is how exactly the post-truth world works via propaganda," Ronit balled his fists and banged them on the table, gazing Ravi with a sharp look. "People think they are independent individuals, but their opinion and voice will only echo the dominant propaganda. Just look around you, boys, all of us wear the same clothes that're in. Why in the blue hell everyone's hairstyle look ridiculously the same? Today these teenage boys dye their hair, and girls wear that dog belt called as choker (which were worn by prostitutes in the past); tomorrow it'll be something else. These pricks'll fry your brain with shit-talk about how cool it is. We call 'em sheeps following the flock. I'd say screw it! Why are you bullshitting me to follow the flock, I ain't no sheep, mate. Do you even freaking understand there are people out there monitoring our habits and preferences!?"