Forgive me if I don't shed a tear for Netflix or cheer the successful listing of Zomato

For decades 'kaali-peeli' taxis had been the lifeline of Mumbai and Kolkata, the only two places where they are still visible. Yet a sleight of finance, couched as the genius of technology, had rendered them irrelevant.

Once upon a time the cinema was our Disneyland and Moulin Rouge rolled into one. Every time we went there with our families, friends and dates, it was a special occasion. The movie wasn't relevant since we went for the experience which started with the thrill of managing to get tickets and didn't end till the last name on the credits had rolled down.

Then the halls got seedy; the experience soured and we stopped going till the multiplexes came along to restore the theatre as a world of magic for the few hours we spent there. The multiplexes flourished and grew till the pandemic brought them to a temporary close. But a far more insidious force was at work to kill them, perhaps forever, the over-the-top streaming platforms. Covid sent stocks of companies like Netflix soaring while those that ran cinemas, plummeted. Who would ever go back to a hall when you could watch a 8-hour killfest in the comfort of your home.

But as we emerged from the horrors of the pandemic, we craved to step out of our homes and sought some of the old comfort destinations. The success of movies like RRR and Pushpa - The Rise was proof that people wanted to watch films the good old-fashioned way, in the halls. Except that soon there may not be enough of them around. Netflix and other tech-enabled digital platforms have dealt a body blow to multiplex companies forcing PVR Cinemas and Inox Leisure, the largest two, into a merger for survival. And even that may not be enough.

This destruction of an old order by a new wave of tech-enabled startups has been repeated across sectors, and as is becoming evident, always with the same results.

On my last trip to Mumbai three years ago, the driver of my kali peeli taxi told me it had become impossible to fight the challenge of the app-based services like Uber and Ola. They had better vehicles which came from initial soft funding and offered better rates largely because the companies were funded by private equity. After paying off all his expenses he wasn't making enough to be able to live in Mumbai, and was planning to go back to his village in Uttar Pradesh after plying his trade in the city for nearly 25 years.

It was a sad tale but one that was being repeated across thousands of others such taxis. For decades they had been the lifeline of Mumbai and Kolkata, the only two places where they are still visible. Yet a sleight of finance, couched as the genius of technology, had rendered them irrelevant.

Today, with Uber and Ola services verging on collapse, we are paying the price for allowing and participating in such manipulation. Both services have become so unreliable that most people have simply given up even trying to call them. Last fortnight I took a cab home from the airport. Its operator is a pre-Ola era company which nearly went under over the last few years. I had to shell out almost twice the fare I normally do. Sure fuel is expensive but I was paying the price for reveling in "tech-enabled" innovation at my own expense.

We allowed the hype of technology advances and free or cheap services to lull us into believing we had been ushered in a brave new world. The old disappeared and the new, fed on free money, lasted only till the funds ran out or the next newbie landed up.

For years I patronized a local Punjabi restaurant which made the most delectable kaali dal. It was a personalized business catering largely to the local community, so I could call and ask for two rotis and a dal. Less than 30 minutes later, a young boy would be at my door with piping hot food and some pickled onions. No extra charge for the delivery or the onions, though I would happily tip the delivery boy. It was a simple enough arrangement that worked for both of us. Along came the complications of food delivery apps compounded by the ravages of Covid-19. Today the restaurant doesn't exist. Zomato and Swiggy do. They still don't make money and most likely never will.

So forgive me if I don't waste a tear for the woes of Netflix or cheer the successful listing of Zomato.