The ‘mother’ of all political battles.


I drafted a blog around 2 weeks back titled ‘Tughlak in Washington’ where I had in fact drawn parallels between the late great Bard’s work Comedy of Errors and the happenings in a developed country. The last two week’s development in my adopted state made me shelve that work and focus on the burning issue at home. This is when I realized people living in glass houses should not throw stones at your neighbors… er …not really neighbors but most of my neighbors and close friends are there in America! (I have used the American spelling for Neighbours since it was all about America First)

Well, let’s shift focus to the Lady up on Poes, the script of which was loosely prophesied by the great bard from Stratford upon Avon in his work Julius Caesar. I owe this connection to a brilliant WhatsApp forward I got. I certainly have to doff my hat to the author of that piece. Thank you whoever you are!

Dravidian politics that has been at the helm of Tamil Nadu governance over the last 5 decades or so has always been about art more than politics, so the theatrics that is happening now is not surprising to me. We had writers who scripted the do good Robin Hood stories and actors who had perfectly enacted and lipped the script and sung their ways into the hearts of the masses. The branding lasted generations. However the theatrics never came in the way of making the state one of the best in India in terms of development. Hence no one complained.

Kollywood was all about the do-good Hero, the pretty Heroin and the brilliant story tellers. There never has been a successful storyline that projected a side artist as the protagonist of the story and hope it stays that way. Nothing against the hard working side artist fraternity / sorority, it’s just that we don’t accept a scheming side artist in our scripts.

What we have been seeing in the last two weeks is a travesty of democracy. Hoping and praying people come out of the decades long theatrical hang over and start to focus on good governance. Let sycophancy also be laid to rest in peace in a well-earned memorial at the Marina.

Wishing the state a lot of good in the coming years and praying our elected legislatures be true and free as the legendary song scripts ‘Adho Andha Paravai pola Vazha vendum’ translated roughly as I want to live as free as that bird of the same flock, of the same land singing the bright song of freedom and right (Didn’t I tell you, getting the theatrics out of us is more than difficult!!). May God give them the missing vertebral columns to stand head high, chest out and stomach in and lead this great state.

For the un-initiated the title was not an error in font sizing. Please consult your close friend from Madras to understand the same!