TIME THAT TRUST TRIUMPHED

TRUST IS THE LUBRICANT that smoothens and speeds up business transactions, accelerating economic growth.

- Kiran Karnik

It is social capital, of immense value; far more important, in many ways, than financial capital. Whether in an organisation or in sports, trust in team-mates is an essential pre-requisite for success. Like the trapeze artist who leaps into empty space, tens of metres above the ground, with full faith that her partner will swing across in time to catch her, team members need trust in each other. In cricket, the batsman often takes a quick single without knowing whether a fielder has pounced on the ball, based purely on trust in the call from his teammate.

Traditional institutions like angadias’, precursors to contemporary couriers, are purely trust-based. They are known to be entrusted with deliveries of even cash and diamonds, and decades of doing so have reinforced their reliability, credibility and trustworthiness. Similarly, when you give apiece of household equipment for repair to the local handyman or shop, it is ona mutual trust basis. No paper is exchanged: leave alone a legal agreement, there is not even a receipt. Much of this is based on “community”: even if the person is not one who is personally known like the neighbourhood ironing-man), the fact that she or he is part of the local community is an implicit guarantee or safeguard, ensuring against any form of cheating.

‘LOVE ALL, TRUST A FEW’