In Politics, the Only Consistency is Inconsistency
Shampa Dhar Kamath wrote an article titled "In Politics, the Only Consistency is Inconsistency" for The New Indian Express on June 21, 2026 at 12:30 am.
The author describes herself as a vociferous and often undiscerning reader who has read since childhood. She stated that she tends to read whatever she can lay her hands—and eyes—on.
Kamath noted that in the past, she would read dictionaries, atlases, or labels when other reading material was unavailable. Today, according to Kamath, the internet has replaced those simple joys with a bottomless pit of perdition or pleasure depending on what is found.
She reported that reading online means spiraling down into content described by her as either perdition or pleasure. She stated she recently started out reading an HBR article titled "Difficult Conversations," which includes the quote, 'It's what you say, not what you think, that matters.'
Kamath said she noticed a hyperlink to Stress Patterns within that article and clicked on it. According to her account, one article led to another until she arrived at the 11-3-6 rule of friendship.
The author stated she does not know how she reached what she calls advanced age without knowing this framework for turning an acquaintance into a close friend. She noted that freewheeling chats following chance encounters in canteens or sessions on playgrounds may have sufficed during school and college times, but no longer.
According to the article cited by Shampa Dhar Kamath, turning an acquaintance into a bonded friend requires 11 interactions lasting at least three hours each over six months for adults. The author stated that normal adults may need six months of sustained investment to build a single true friendship.
Kamath contrasted this timeline with the speed of political loyalty. She wrote that while it takes an adult half a year to form deep personal bonds, a politician can find soulmate-level loyalty with a rival party overnight.