The Man from Madras Musings knows that the Chief does not like it when he MMM, chooses to harp on the same topic for the entire column. But these are unusual times and MMM is moved to sing on the three times whacking jailbird story at greater length. But he will, just to keep Chief happy, add a new string to his lyre.

Just a fortnight or so earlier to the above constitutional crisis, during which gubernatorial ratings swung from abysmal lows to amazing highs and then back to lows, there was the bovine crisis, during which Prime Ministerial and Chief Ministerial ratings swung the same way. It was all interpreted as a fight for a fundamental local right – the right to joust with the bull. It was off with the head for anyone who dared to express a contrary view and just about anyone and everyone, including chess champions, actors, actresses (oops! Wrong term there, for these are all actors these days), cricket players, radio jockeys and singers, jumped wholeheartedly onto the bullock cart, sorry bandwagon. It was termed a new revolution, one that would show the way. It did, for it terrified the administration, electrified the media, stupefied the judiciary and finally got a law modified or nullified, MMM forgets which, by way of an ordinance. Joy was unconfined. Or it was till all hell broke loose on the last day and people spent several hours trying to get home and thereafter wasted several days talking about it.

The revolutionaries went home, having fought for their right. And then we had the present crisis, this palace intrigue with all the correct ingredients – cloak and dagger, wholesale abduction, swearing of fealty, loyalty and what not. Media screamed itself hoarse, one day condemning Governor and the next day extolling him and then going on to focus on deadly swearing at and deathly silent swearing in. But what puzzled MMM was the complete absence of the revolutionaries. Those people who wore black T shirts and went hurtling around streets on two-wheelers tooting their horns, those who repeatedly came on electronic media and stated that their cultural liberty was at stake and those who trolled on social media anyone who dared have a contrary view. Where were they? Was their real liberty not at stake now? Or was it that this was not as important as fighting for a bullfight, sorry game that is enjoyed in equal measure by man and bull? The silence was quite deafening.

There was one exception. World Hero or the Smiling Lotus was there both times. And on both occasions he used words of fifteen syllables where smaller terms would have sufficed. He dwelt at length on equipoise and totalitarianism, both terms taking MMM quite a while to understand. At the end of much consulting of online and offline dictionaries, MMM was happy to know that World Hero/Lotus Smile had his heart in the right place. MMM had quite unnecessarily feared that he was into disestablishmentarianism.