Washington: The thrill is gone, lamented the late blues guitar master B B King. Of course, when playing the blues he couldn’t really begin a song by exuding the joy of life. But those opening words of that King composition kept playing in my mind while spending the past few weeks in India. The thrill indeed is gone, even if the popular mood isn’t quite bleak yet.

The excited anticipation of India about to turn a corner that was evident in the early months of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government appears to have evaporated, within India as well as outside. Disappointment has begun to eclipse optimism about the country’s medium term prospects. For a short while India’s image shone across the world. Citizens of the largest democratic nation on earth, clamouring for profound change, had peacefully replaced one government with another. A bit short of two years later, however, not much has changed. India remains where it was.

The economy isn’t doing badly even if the growth rate of 7.5% is disputed by some. India and the US are two modest standouts among the world’s major economies most of which, from China to the EU, are being buffeted by winds of slowing demand amidst gathering uncertainty.

Falling oil prices, the benefits of which the government hasn’t passed on to consumers, have helped control inflation and allowed a reduction in official interest rates. While a few innovations in the economic structure have been implemented, badly necessary major reforms haven’t been carried out, partly because of opposition politics but also because of poor executive handling.

Without delving into details we can look upon the economy as a relatively positive spot in the picture of India as it appears to global spectators. That overall picture remains unimpressive. Too many blotches have appeared on it. These have internal as well as external dimensions.

On secular tolerance, on freedom of speech, on institutional functioning and on other liberal democratic markers, India’s image has been damaged. What many feared would be a capitulation of the Modi government to tendencies and demands of the far right in fact happened in several instances that featured prominently in the international media to sour global public opinion. On top of that came a slew of news stories of the pollution menacing health and longevity in Indian cities. Of the world’s 20 most polluted cities, 13 are in India, including the worst – the capital city of Delhi. Visiting India today is not an enticing idea.

It was in his aggressive worldwide pursuit of external relations that Modi surprised observers and critics in his first year as prime minister. He used personal diplomacy as a singular tactic to win over minds and develop international goodwill. He undertook many more foreign trips in that first year than had any previous prime minister. Smiles, bear hugs and vigorous handshakes formed his signature style of dealing with global leaders. But was it effective?

Not really, if you are looking for any significant change in the quality of relationships with major powers. Relations with the US chug along in pretty much the same way as they did under the previous government, notwithstanding two visits by President Barack Obama to India and two by Modi to the US. Ditto for China and the EU, though India’s level of understanding with Japan has improved noticeably under Modi and Shinzo Abe. Globally, India’s face remains in the second row.

In the neighbourhood, bear hugs haven’t worked well with Nepal and Pakistan. Anti-India feelings are growing in Nepal; there is talk in Kathmandu of a balancing need for better Nepal-China ties. And, as the fallout of the last optically impressive unannounced visit by Modi to Lahore demonstrated, no amount of hugging and smiling can change the reality of the Pakistani military’s outlook. Every civilian move to advance towards better India-Pakistan relations is thwarted by a military-intelligence inspired terrorist attack in India that leads to a derailment of the peace train. In Pakistan, it’s the generals and spooks of Rawalpindi who are in charge of strategy and external relations, not the civilians in Islamabad.

All in all, not much has changed for India after nearly two years of Modi’s leadership. Granted, it may be too early to expect any real change. But the thrill of expectation has gone.