Roots

Roots

It was early spring a season that brings trees back to life when I landed at my son’s college to attend the convocation ceremony and since it was a law college obviously the chief guest would be someone with a legal backing.

As we all got seated walked in this gentleman tall and rusty with a religious note on his forehead, not quite appealing to say the least. Dark as a true southerner, dressed to portray his years, being lead in by the ‘who is who’ of the institution. They announced his name as Justice Chelameswar. The name seemed so far away, nothing about the man caught my attention, plain naïve so he seemed a perfect fit for a chief guest who wouldn’t dare upset the rhythm of the proceedings.

After the function got over and I am sure Justice Chelameswar would have attended high tea at the premises, made for a great photo-op for people who were too eager to shake his hands. It all seemed so ordinary, in fact who cared a darn over a Supreme Court judge, there were far too many who had donned the robe and all too familiarly given it up without so much as create a ripple and this gentleman didn’t seem any better.

Ordinary folks like me were more into political figures, artists, celebrities and the like. The personal value of such people carried more weight with the layman. After all, people of the legal sort carried a familiarly caricatured distorted contour of their profession.

Today as he sat out his last working day in the Supreme Court the country must give him a standing ovation. Not for taking on the establishment, but for reinforcing that which must be, for acting as true forbearer of morality and established norms. For standing up and reiterating that which should be and not which was purported to be.

On the other hand I saw this gentleman a new kid on the block and reportedly a national spokesperson for the ruling front on national TV, cocky and snorting. You dare not challenge him or question his thinking, because he can never think wrong, and whatever his thought they were for the good of the country.

Now obviously if you didn’t agree with him you would be termed anti national and had no business staying in the country. He and his tribe would even suggest where we should take our undeserving selves to. He seemed so intimidating, though he tried to tone down his overbearing stature through a low voice modulation technique that seemed very docile and submissive, yet you could see the wolf in sheep clothing.

The narrative he submitted was that of his elk who were always inventing view points to target people and their ideas. So enthused was he about being one of the spokespersons of the ruling party of the day, that he called the tallest leader of the opposition group the Congress a half Italian. Now you might argue that there is nothing wrong about this statement since his mother is of Italian origin.

But what is intriguing is the way they as a party lend credence to these thoughts and utilize it to demean a person terming him unworthy of the office to which he aspires.

Remember the Babri Masjid Issue? Well the apparent reference is to a temple that stood there once upon a time. Hence the present status has to be altered to reverse the clock and set it back to the temple times. However what they do not want to argue about is the times before the temple came into existence and would they therefore want the structure to be restored to whatever must have been there in the beginning?.

Would they want to retrace their roots and find out about their origins? Can we then call them half Africans (that’s where it all originated) or half Neanderthals (because it is believed that present day population bears its origins to the mating of Neanderthals with humans)? But they will draw the line according to their shared belief that is so akin to a cult belief. They will stop where they want to and shove their distorted ideas down your throat.

We needed people like Justice Chelameswar to stop them in their tracks, not falling to their intimidation but carefully grafting his response in the best way possible. This country will surely have a lot to thank Justice Chelameswar when the time comes, for he proved that a religious note on his forehead was a private affair and did not infringe with my beliefs.

He clandestinely rode the rough while opposing ideas even while finding able bodies from amongst his fraternity. He proved that a rustic appearance probably lends credence to the fact that not much was expected of him but he strode on unmindful of storms that forced others to calm. He proved what fighting on means and did so according to his means and of his clear understanding not stooping to please and staying true to the course.

That’s what forbearers, torchbearers, seniors and ancestors are made of straightforward and true.

21st May 2018

Down but not out

He is a person who knows what he is saying and knows no fear. He does not care for the formalities or the refined approach one is so used to watching when politicians debate on and off camera. On the contrary he is raw and unfinished as rustic as one could be. Thorough rural disciplined touch, someone who knows not the jugglery of words and attitudes.

He is one who is fodder for mimicry artists and stand up comedians, refreshingly fresh in his thoughts and articulation. He stands up for the untidy, sweaty and rustic villager and represents one of them. Having come out of the deeply lopsided society he minces no words and is a ‘on the face’ person. Everything he utters bears an uncanny ‘take it or leave it’ symbolism about it.

Haven fallen ill in Ranchi Jail, he was paraded on a railway platform to catch a long ride on Indian railways for treatment at AIIMS, New Delhi. Remember he was the Railway minister under whose watch the rail ministry came out for the first time as a profitable venture. They called him at Harvard to understand how he turned around things. Everyone clamored for his attention. But the rustic guy that he is was unfazed by the accolades.

When cabinet ministers and other politicians found replacement kidneys overnight even while lakhs of people are registered for cadaver operations and live donations (comes as no surprise in our system. It is not for nothing that politicians make such a spectacle to make it to the final list and thrown their money’s worth trying to reach parliament).

But this man who is a onetime Chief Minister of an Indian state and is the president of his political party, was made to eat humble pie at AIIMS hospital when he was summarily discharged and loaded onto a rickety Indian railways for the long haul back to Ranchi Jail.

They call him the fodder king for allegedly having misappropriated money meant for fodder when he was incharge of the state and is languishing in prison awaiting his appeals in higher judicial forums. The least they could have done was accorded him a stature befitting his contribution to society. He has reached succor to the down trodden in his state and is still a potential force in that state with competitors trying to insult and malign his image and his contributions down the years.

They are slowly trying to ridicule the man in front of his mass base and supporters, as that is the only way he can be marginalized. But he is someone who is plain naïve in his utterances, though he can identify a potent enemy when he sees one. He is wily enough to identify a googly leaving the hand of the bowler and that is why he has been successful in rubbishing false propaganda unleashed by his opponents.

The fact that he does this in a matter of fact way adds to his image as a theatrical, jovial, clown like personality, be aware he is smart to know your intentions. When the notes for votes explosion took place with the BJP flashing a few bagful of notes in parliament as the bribe that was supposed to be paid for loyalty in deciding the voting pattern, all were stunned as no such incident had ever been heard of before and viewers watching this live on television were already blaming the Congress party for this. In fact even the Congress bigwigs were taken in by surprise and did not know how to respond with senior leaders avoiding the camera.

Everything was looking so authentic and it was as good as getting caught in the act. It was this man called Lalu Prasad Yadav, who authoritatively walked up to the camera and dismissed it as a staged drama by the opposition BJP MP’s. Such was the conviction in this body language that many a doubting Thomas realigned their positions solely on the counterattack by this man.

He is a much misunderstood national leader, because he shuns diplomacy and speaks his heart. This is against the text book teachings in politics. They say that perception matters and this is where he has lost out at present. But perception is temporary while conviction is permanent. His case will be heard out and justice will be ordered by the highest courts.

My only grouse is the way he is being treated while others with suave refined behavior escape the noose and find replacements for their malfunctioning parts or convalescence in hospitals beyond the reach of the common man- abroad alive and kicking.

Though he is being hunted politically and forced into a corner, what the ruling dispensation forgets is that he created his own popularity and was not handed one by his predecessors nor was he reaping the benefits of a largess left behind.

The man does not stand to lose anything and anyone who has nothing to lose does not fear anybody and will not submit. Watch out, for the final round is still to be played and this final gasp may blow the ruling dispensation away.

01 May 2018