A House of Cards

By definition, ‘ a house of cards’ is a structure made by skillfully placing playing cards like a pyramid, the number of cards placed going down as the structure goes up, finally two cards at the top leaning on and supporting each other. Anything with a weak base, and as such prone to breaking down or collapsing is likened to a house of cards.

My house has become a house of cards in a different sense. At first came the Ration Card. Although it is called a ‘card’, it is actually a thin booklet. I do not know how and why it was given the name ‘card’, but it was virtually a passport to procure essential items like sugar at a subsidized rate. These items were ‘rationed’ out in fixed quantities, so that everybody would get these items which were in short supply.

After some time, a Ration Card became an ‘identity-document’, a proof that a person was indeed the person who he/she claimed to be.

At each transfer, i had to surrender the Ration Card at the old place, get a certificate and get a new Ration Card at the new place. I do not remember at which point i lost track of my Ration Card.

The next card to enter my house was the Driving License, Earlier, it was in the form of a tiny booklet. When I applied for renewal of my Driving License 2002, this booklet was replaced by a smart-looking card containing the details including my crudely-taken photograph.

Then came the ‘PAN Card’ issued by Income Tax Department, containing a number assigned to the concerned person for the purpose of correctly accounting the Income Tax payable/paid by that person. It contained a photo of the person and a facsimile of his/her signature. This became a more reliable identity-document as it contained a person’s photograph and his/her specimen signature.

Then T N Seshan ‘happened’ in India. When he became the Chief Election Commissioner of India, he emphatically declared ‘No Voter Card, No Election’. After the initial teething troubles, this became the norm and Voter Card, now essential for being able to cast one’s vote in an election, has become an identity-document.

Around this time, i felt that when as a banker, i was promoting my Bank’s Credit Card, it would not be proper if i myself do not possess such a card. So i got a Credit Card. I have read somewhere that a Credit Card is what you use to buy things which you do not need, to impress people you do not know. However, over time, i have experienced that this is not a correct statement, although it may be true on occasions.

(When Diners’ Card came it was an act of creativity. It was a way out of the desire for ‘Eat and don’t pay’ – that is, pay at your leisure.)

My Bank’s ATM Card-cum-Debit Card then entered my house. Although ‘ATM’ stands for ‘Automated Teller Machine’, the Bank has been publicizing it as ‘Any Time Money’. This card made banking transactions available 24 hours on all the seven days of the week.

Earlier, my Bank had given me an Identity Card indicating my status as an employee. When i retired, this card was replaced by another card as an ex-Executive of the Bank.

Soon after settling down to a blissful and contented retired life, i joined the Plant Lovers' Association, Bhubaneswar, as a Life Member. The Association promptly issued to me an i-card!

After that, i joined Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and received their i-card.

Soon after that, i purchased a new car. The earlier car had an ‘RC Book’ containing the Registration No. of the vehicle and other particulars. I do not know why it was called a Book, though it was only a Certificate of Registration made out on a single sheet of paper. For the new car, a similar ‘RC Book’ was issued, but the Certificate was accompanied by a smart card in which the particulars of the vehicle have been embedded. The ‘RC Book’ states that it is not valid without the smart card!

At this time, Odisha Police opened a ‘Senior Citizens’ Security Cell’ at each police station for providing better security to persons, including couples, over the age of 60 years living all alone. We promptly got ourselves registered and i was provided with another Identity Card. 

Then, two shopping malls from which we purchase our requirements, issued two cards, one ‘Pay-Back Card’ and the other a ‘Bonus Card’. Then one of these shopping malls formed what it calls Profit Club; by becoming its member, one can shop for a fixed amount each month for 12 months by paying 10 times this fixed amount. I joined this Club and was provided with a smart card for the purpose.

Before that, Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) was established and issued what can be called ‘the mother of all cards’, the Adhar Card. This smart card captures one’s finger-prints, iris - the ring of muscles in front of lenses of the eyes surrounding the pupil - a unique feature of one's eyes and all other personal details. This Card is meant to make most cards redundant and will open almost all the doors one needs to enter! The wife and i got our Adhar Cards.

So, how many cards do i have? I do not have the patience and the stamina to count them.

All these cards have one common purpose- to prove to the world that a person is the one who claims to be so! These days, one has to produce a documentary evidence of one’s identity whenever one steps out of one’s house. It is no longer  sufficient to say who you are; someone else has to certify that you are the one you claim to be!

Isn't an irony of life that one needs proof for everything including one's life, existence, one's birth and one's death! (As a pensioner, i am required to submit a certificate of existence - called Life Certificate in common parlance - every year to continue receiving my pension!)

If everyone were speaking the truth and only the truth, there would be no need for any i-card!!!

TAILPIECE:

Talking of the need for a certificate by another person to prove one’s identity, i am reminded of an anecdote. A calamity struck a place killing a large number of people. A doctor was drafted to examine each and affix a stamp ‘Dead’ on the bodies of those who had died. A vehicle with attendants followed him to carry away bodies marked ‘Dead’. When they tried to take away one marked ‘Dead’, he cried out,” Why are you taking me away? I am alive!” One of the attendants replied, ”Brother, do you know better than the doctor?”