"I have been silent for too long. I must speak up. Let my voice be heard over the optical fibers. The stench is overwhelming. I must strive to stem the rot. It is ghastly - what is happening around me. I can't bear it anymore. My mouth twitches in search of the right invective to hurl at the participants in this horrendous charade. "
Whew!!! I hope the above outburst of self-righteousness has the desired salutary effect and steers me away from the disgusting sentiment.
The Tamil Nadu Elections
The results of this year's electoral exercise disappointed me. Not because I am a Jayalalitha supporter- I think there is little to choose between MK and her. However, the lack of even a semblance of consistency in the TN electorate left me disillusioned. We seem to have developed the disturbing habit of judging the performance of our leaders by their low-points, of ‘reacting’ myopically and immaturely. The AIDMK government made some bold decisions, they handled the Tsunami and the water shortage crises very effectively. It was there for all to see that they were making an honest effort.
And now they are out of power.
For change to be effective, continuity is necessary. A trigger happy change in governments means that more time is spent in 'undoing' than 'doing'. The next time we have the gun in our hands, let's pause for moment to take aim, lest we shoot ourselves in the foot - again.
Lok Paritran
I rarely say 'I told you so'. But this time I can't resist. I had always maintained that Lok Paritran was a bullshit publicity stunt. Contesting in any elections is no joke. It takes a lot of groundwork, preparation and strategy. What Lok Paritan tried to do was like a commerce student trying to crack into IIT with a week's preparation.
True, there is no harm in trying, but these people weren't able to keep their flock together for even a week after the results were declared. Nobody expected them to win even a single seat in this year's election. But if they truly believed in their ideology, one would have expected them to hunker down and work hard toward laying the necessary foundation for a better showing in 2011.
They way I see it, they took the media and their supporters for a ride. And the worst part- we let them do it. The media hoopla that surrounded this party was unbelievable. They were projected as heroes sacrificing their bright futures to clean up Indian politics. This was the political revolution
Well, I guess when you are looking for heroes, anything goes.
Still to come - Reservations, Da Vinci Code (The movie), War in Iraq, Budhia, BCCI.
