22 years is a long time in anyone’s life. Lots of changes take place in the body, mind and soul. In the life of a state, it is perhaps a short time span – for the same party has been voted to power in the state of Gujurat five times over the last 22 years! No changes in body, mind, or soul, just the head – that too out of necessity. This time around, the body is feeling its age, and holding on to the rails. It’s unlikely it will falter, but it will have to take its vitamins regularly as the immune deficiency syndrome makes its way westward.
Down South, the surgical strikes (not the SS of the Germans for the uninitiated) continue – In Karnataka, the doctors weilded the scalpel and in Tamil Nadu, the IT department acted in binary to identify, search and destroy Brashtachar Mostly! like the guided supersonic missile – Brahmos. In Karnataka, doctors quit their jobs to ensure they stay put, and MLA’s quit theirs, to ensure that peace prevailed. Both succeeded, and most patients recovered on their own, though some succumbed. Surgical strikes do work – though like any doctor will tell you – none can predict the outcome of the operation!
Over the week we could not have seen what was happening in the national capital city of Delhi too well – if we were out on the street, that is – There was a lot of smog that affected our vision and our breathing apparatuses. Where it came from, was a matter of endless debate in the TV studios and in the halls of power where, thankfully, viewers could see more clearly as there were smog filters in the form of air conditioners and sealed doors and windows. Many proposals were examined in these halls, and though none were implemented, the problem just went away, the Almighty having decided that its best he does the job Himself, leaving the TV Channels and hosts bereft of a lively though impermeable topic of discussion. Where it came from and where it went no longer mattered by the end of the week, though now all the stakeholders barring the public have come together to pin the blame on the dust storms of the middle east – A fine end to a very challenging game!
The smog in Delhi may have obfuscated the view from the pew, but only for while! The Pew Research Center, a US nonpartisan think tank, (wonder what that is!) confirmed what most Indians already know: that the Prime Minister continues to be popular at the national level, just as he was in Gujurat for a long time. It was only 2,464 people in a country of a billion that said so, according to them, but don’t you buy the entire basket of grapes after tasting just one? And then the ruling party sensed a change of mood in the country when Moody’s upgraded their rating of the country’s credit worthiness after 14 years – Such moodiness often leads to depression and we are glad that they could lift our spirits! We can now play our Trump card! – Wouldn’t really require a hug to get easier credit terms for new war trumps.
Queens and their stories have often fascinated us – they are present in history, folklore and films – and there lies the problem. Queens in a film must be real, while in history or folklore they can be themselves! It’s been a few weeks now, that controversy has raged over a film that depicted a queen – the accusation was that it was fiction made out to be fact and therefore, a distortion of history as some of us know it, which is unacceptable… to some of us. In a democracy some of us are more important than the rest of us!
The rain in Kolkata over the last couple of days was the cold shower that the Indian team needed before they travelled to distant shores to wield the willow! The seam made the team uncomfortable and it came apart like nine pins in front of a swaying bowling ball. But the game, though truncated, has much to offer – a wake up call, a reality check and a reminder that team India is vulnerable even in its own fort.
Have a good weekend!
