Hey.... who moved my cabinet?
I tell you…. these guys in Delhi, na! Ooof… too much musibat. We know God moves in mysterious ways…. but Manmohan, too? Last week’s drama and hungama has left us very baffled. It is pretty hard to keep a track of all those portfolios and designations, family feuds and party adjustments. By the way, just how many wives does Karunanidhi really have…. does anybody know? How many children, grand children, nephews and nieces does poor Manmohan have to deal with? At last count, there were thirty- seven of them expecting key portfolios. Poor Manmohan was stuck with the rather tricky job of peace keeping – within that family, plus his own extended one .Of course, I am kidding. But the point remains that after the wonderful Congress win, it was back to business as usual – Singh and Sonia ( what a great talk show that would make), spent sleepless nights performing a difficult balancing act – massaging egoes, soothing ruffled feathers, consoling the rejects, pampering new best friends, reassuring old enemies. This political circus needed expert trapeze artists capable of swinging across tricky terrain minus safety nets . There were far too many ring masters to effectively handle the restless animals, and the mustachioed lion tamer was missing.
This was meant to be a designer cabinet represented by the Bold and the Beautiful. But disappointingly enough, the average age remained stuck in the sixties, brought down only by a couple of inconsequential years . And that statistic, I suspect, is thanks to one individual – the bright and sparkling youngest cabinet minister, 26 year-old Agatha ( we want to know what her sibling ‘Christie’ does) Sangma.She remains my favourite in the present mantriji line up. Rather someone like her than some of the rather dodgy veteran netas appointed to key posts. It was clear, this took a great deal of tactical planning and strategic manipulation, which made the earlier style of distributing posts like chana, look old- fashioned and passé. The other ‘youngsters’ who made it, are technically a little past their sell- by dates as true blue representative Babalog ( come on…. forty is forty), but at least they appear connected, contemporary and concerned. About what? Well…. they’ll eventually figure it out. And so will we. But their body lingo and sound bytes are both very cool. It is definitely a photogenic cabinet, and that’s important, given that we shall be seeing one hell of a lot of these guys , at least the top guns, on tv and in print. Never mind that the two Most Wanted ( Rahul and Priyanka), are outside the cosy cabinet – we shall see a lot of them regardless.
Talk to the average Jane and Joe about expectations from Singh’s Dream Team, and you’ll get the answer in one word - results . Young India responds strongly to that single word and little else. By results, the reference is to just one thing – quality of life. The voter wants to know exactly what this government will do for him \her, in real terms. No more bhashans, no empty promises, no fake assurances. Impatient Indians want a commitment from the government on actual deliverables. Time frames. Specifics. Will prices come down? Can Mr. Joshi finally get that new car\home\foreign vacation at a price that won’t lead to a cardiac arrest? Is it now possible for Mrs. Joshi plan her children’s higher education sensibly without borrowing money? Who is going to reassure Joshi Jr. about hanging on to his job? And will Ms. Joshi be able to make her dream of starting her own business come true without over extending herself servicing killer credit facilities? What about the khaana-peena expenses? Gas bills? Phone bills? Lifestyle worries and weekend fun? India’s Bachchalog who voted for the Bablog want it all. And they want it now. Safety, stability and security issues came next. The message is clear – perform or else. Political Viagra allowed for an enhanced experience. Though the moody Sensex is looking sexy enough right now !
This was published today in the Sunday Times
It's been a perfect sunday - a great lunch ( Chef Anando zindabad!), a long snooze, son-in-law visit ( it's Pramod's birthday tomorrow), great dinner ( kaachha aamer chatney with lots of hing and mustard), and a movie picked by the husband. An unbeatable 'caftan moment'.
I am so glad Amitabh took a position on the Aussie racist attacks. More super celebrities in that league ought to put their own selfish agendas on hold in the larger public interest. By turning down the doctorate offered by a university in Queensland ( or at any rate , rescheduling it), Bachchan has sent out the right signal. You can't abuse our students, attack them verbally and physically and then honour our cinema icon at the same time.
I must say I was horrified and deeply disappointed by what's been happening Down Under. There's simply no excuse, no justification. The truth of the matter is that our students out perform locals wherever they go, are smarter and more affluent than the rest. It is jealousy at its most basic that leads to such attacks. Australia has always been amongst my top ten travel destinations. I have been there several times and enjoyed every minute of my stay. I guess the time has come for Indians to rethink their plans of visiting this amazing continent. Why go some place you aren't welcome? Our student population was second only to the Chinese, the numbers were growing, and that's going to take a big hit. Too bloody bad for Australia.
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