In praise of nepo babies

There were significant debates about nepotism in the final weeks of 2022 on account of an article that was posted on a few social media platforms It focused on Hollywood and the ubiquitous presence of the children of famous people at every level of the entertainment industry Irsquom pretty sure it didnrsquot surprise anyone from India though given our levels of comfort with nepotism in almost every aspect of our lives For us it is as familiar as corruption and incompetenceI thought about why this was being made into such a big deal and wished the writers of that article could have examined how Indians have been accepting and celebrating nepotism for as long as we can remember If they were to speak with one of us Irsquom pretty sure their view of the world would be markedly differentWe have a lot to be thankful for as far as nepotism is concerned because it is possible that our country as we know it would cease to exist without it Look at politics and how many sons and daughters of politicians continue to occupy space in Parliament just like their parents and grandparents before them What would we do without nepotism in the political space Elect qualified candidates instead of family members Would we ever manage to get things done if we were to walk down that pathYes there will always be political parties accusing other parties of being dynasties but we know that adage involving people in glass houses and stones so Irsquod rather not get into specifics A simple Google search ought to suffice the curious The children of our politicians are destined to become politicians and the sooner we wrap our heads around that idea the better it will be for everyone concernedThen there is our entertainment industry populated for decades by successive generations of the same film families I stopped being able to identify stars a few years ago probably because of how so many of them have begun to look like minor variants of the same person It could be the fault of their stylists given that our celebrities appear to share the same staff but Irsquom pretty sure we canrsquot rule out the influence of genetics either Can you imagine the son or daughter of a star turning to a less glamorous industry to make a living in Do we really expect them to waste time on getting an education abroad for anything other than ornamental reasonsAlso Read Antics of Crime Master lsquoVan GoghrsquoWithout nepotism would we have access to innumerable versions of the same films I think not We would have new and diverse voices faces and talents but where is the fun in that Isnrsquot it nicer to be acquainted and reacquainted with the children of stars we already adore safe in the knowledge that they will constantly allow us to gawk at younger versions of their parents as we creep towards senilityItrsquos what the magic of filmmaking is all about Hollywood is forced to spend millions on technology to make their ageing stars look younger for films like The Irishman We donrsquot have to spend a rupee because therersquos always some minor member of a prominent film family waiting in the wings for an opportunityNepotism has another important role that is almost never acknowledged of making sure people stick to what they know Imagine the children of our politicians doing something other than posturing in Parliament for instance or the child of a movie star attempting to become a working member of society and getting a real job Can it really be done If it can should it be encouraged What next The children of lawyers choosing accountancy as a profession When will the madness end I like to believe that we are smart enough to celebrate this habit of sticking to the family lane The two or three businessmen who control this country have been pulling off this trick for years distributing public assets among their offspring and we havenrsquot had a problem with it before so why start nowI hope the coming year ends this pointless debate permanently allowing us to embrace nepotism and accept it as an integral part of what it means to be Indian Without it we may end up with something far more terrifying like a politicianrsquos wife abandoning the option of taking on his role after he retires and choosing to become a singer or entertainer instead The thought is too much to bearWhen he isnrsquot ranting about all things Mumbai Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet He tweets lindsaypereiraSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper