The Man from Madras Musings is a light sleeper and was woken up by some strange noises in the middle of the night. His first suspicion was that it was a burglar. Now MMM is no poltroon and unlike others who would have drawn the sheets over their head with the hope that whatever it was will go away if they kept quiet, he decided to investigate.
Trying in vain to quieten his heart which was booming away like the cannon that used to sound 8 pm at Fort St George at one time, MMM stealthily approached the source and realised with some relief that whatever it was, was not in chez MMM but somewhere on the street. He looked out of a window to see a horde of lotus party workers, who like their national leader, probably sleep only for a couple of hours and were therefore up and about at this ungodly hour. These flower people, if you go by their symbol, were busy erecting flags along the entire road. The noise that MMM heard was the clanging of the metal flag-posts as they were being driven into the ground by breaking the concrete footpaths.
MMM went back to sleep and when he awoke next morning found the entire street awash with bunting. The whole area was saffron, rather in the manner that the national leader would have liked to happen all over the country, though MMM is not sure that this is a good thing. At intervals of a few feet were special banners, round in shape and design – so that they occupy the maximum surface area and create the greatest possible difficulty for those trying to walk around them. In each of these roundels were featured, not national leader, but the local one, whose name translates to Vernacular Melody or Local Song. Below each roundel was a pithy word or phrase that in the view of the party faithful described some attribute of Vernacular Melody. “Life’s breath,” said one, while another declared her to be a “Heroine” and a third hailed her as a “Gem”. Maternal attributes were markedly absent, these having been appropriated by another, now no longer with us.
On seeing all this, MMM wondered if it was Vernacular Melody’s birthday. But he then noted that there were no posters hailing her in other parts of the city. He assumed that it was his immediate neighbourhood that had turned saffron and left it at that. But by noon, action had hotted up. Drumbeats sounded and a small group of people was trying to be all over the place, thereby making it appear that there was a huge throng waiting to cheer Local Song. And then, with a flourish, the leader appeared. She went up to a makeshift kiosk even as the small group went into what looked like a state of prolonged ecstasy. Vernacular Melody then made a speech extolling National Leader, for that is mandatory, and, in his name, declared open the free water-dispensing service that her party had sponsored in MMM’s locality. She also emphatically stated that it was but a question of time before the lotus bloomed in our State. MMM doubts this, for as any local knows, water is a very important factor for such an eventuality. Perhaps that is why this kiosk was being inaugurated.
The event, for which the faithful had been up since midnight, was over in a few minutes. Local Song, unlike National Leader who can talk on any subject and blame it on what happened in 1947, is no orator. The flags were removed, as were the banners. What remained was the bunting, which, over time, will get entangled in lampposts, electric wires and trees.
Next day, MMM went up to the water-dispensing kiosk. There were posters aplenty and a water can that was empty. But its purpose had been served by way of due publicity for its inauguration.
While Politicians and their cronies will be just that, it is obvious that the bearded duo are not favourites of MMM and the one, whose name is half matches with Mojo, is clearly not a favourite . Pray who is the alternative PM candidate that MMM proposes – the firebrand, mercurial former CONgress woman from his former city who is Duranto but herself does not know what she will do next and built her party by being violent than the Commies in Bengal ? The other woman who has a penchant for the Elephant and created many stone replicas of them in varying sizes during her tenure at power, all in the name of the poor and downtrodden back sections ? Just because the first two letters of his first and second names when put together make a connection to Carnatic music, does not make the ever-youthful and never-learning heir apparent, a serious contender to lead a nation of over a billion even if the family lineage is something which his party cannot look beyond ? Red commies make disproportionate noise, hardly in keeping with their numbers or dwindling support, where they struggle to remain relevant beyond alternating 5 year stints in the tiny southern state which claims to be God’s Own Country but yet wants to project PM aspirants ? Wily regional satraps from UP, Bihar, split parts of erstwhile AP, Karnataka – all may want to take a shot of the prime seat but firstly will they have the consolidated numbers to get there and if by some strange quirk of fate, the likes of a Deve Gowda becomes PM, how long can he remain there and what worthwhile or tangible results can they achieve when their own coalition partners will be digging holes under the chair and plotting like the proverbial Indian crabs.
We need not like the white bearded man at the helm of affairs, who has the most impossible expectations to meet and yet bravely strives to make a difference to the country and its people or even the world, by burning midnight oil even when everyone is baying for his blood and seem to love the thought of bringing him down. Can we ignore all that he has achieved for India even if in the process, the current PM does criticize an illustrious predecessor from another party which by now has lost all claim to be holy. If indeed there is another claimant to the mantle of PM who is truly worthy, let that shining light emerge in all glory for the countrymen to see. Till then, let us accept Narendra Modi as PM of India.