Leninist Legacies

The Polish tryst with free markets is almost as old as India’s. Ten or twelve years of battle with the World Bank and IMF diktats has resulted in a few things that’s brought cheer to the country. New spanking skyscrapers, which display Manhattan-like billboards, have come up. Besides, there’s Metro rail and there aren’t any power failures. The roads are similar to the ones in India. After the changeover of economy, most Ladas and Fiat Polskis have given way to swanky Hondas and Matizs. There’s one difference though, the traffic is extremely organised. If only the World Bank would make traffic regulation a precondition to economic reforms, we in India would have been much better off. Bang in the middle of downtown Warsaw there is a massive clock tower (its architecture reminiscent of 1950s Westminster Abbey)—taller than any other building in the vicinity. The Palace of Culture was gifted to Poland by Lenin. Most Poles turn their nose up at this magnificent structure, saying that the best view of Warsaw is from the top of the clock tower because from there you don’t see Lenin’s gift.