Monday, August 06, 2007

President ,Poly-tricks and Issues

Recently , July 20th to be precise , we had a woman taking oath as the President of India. There was a huge hue and cry over the fact that it would send a strong message to the world that India was committed to empowerment of women and that this would usher in a new revolution and mark the emancipation of women . This election was not without controversy and dirty politics .It was very well known that she wasn't the ruling Congress-Left alliance's first choice . The linguistic chauvinists - Shiv Sena refused to support their old friend's candidate Shekhawat on the grounds that Patil ji was a Maharashtrian and it would be a great honour for Maharashtra. Old timers would remember that the last time around they refused to support the candidature of Sushil Kumar Shinde ( I guess VP post), who was a Maharashtrian. Strange are the ways of these guys! The thing which interested me was the farce called UNPA or Third Front - an alliance of disgruntled regional opposition parties and discredited leaders. Notable among them were our very own Amma , Naidu garu ( Yeah, AP and TN are my own ) and ousted CM's like Mulayam etc . In a press conference Amma was at her belligerent best - "The boorish and churlish language used by the blah blah.... " . Our Naidu garu was nodding his head up and down , sticking out a finger here and there . It was pretty much like GD wherein all others were arguing and one man simply saying "Yeah . yeah.... No No... Errr.. But.. Yeah " . Eventually they ended up being the proverbial dhobi's dog ( Dhobi ka kutta . Na ghar ka na ghat ka - A dhobi's dog doesn't have a permanent dwelling. Neither a house nor the washing ghat ) . Coming back to the July 20th thing , Pratibha Patil seemed so frail and weak that she could very well be called Pratibha Paati . ( Paati = granny in Tamizh ) . At one instance Sonia madam was beside her . I couldn't help but wonder at the aptness of super star's dialogue . Sonia "pera kettale summa athurudhu la" ( Ok I agree. I am a plagiarist. This dialogue was seen in Baada's blog). Sonia even has Manmohan Thatha to dance to her tunes . Let's see what Sonia madam has in store for us , for she now has " Mere do anmol Ratan , Patil aur Manmohan" !

The run -up to the election was also pretty amusing . There was this Shekhawat vs Shekhawat contest. Apparently Patil's husband was a Shekhawat and the candidate contesting against her was our VP Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. At about the same time Bollywood super star Himesh Reshamiyya had roped in the scorching hot Mallika Sherawat for the remix version of the immortal Mehbooba Mehbooba. My friend remarked "Machi she shakes her assets very well da . She should be renamed Mallika Shake-a-wat ". We continued the discussion and felt that Mallika wouldn't be a bad choice for the Prez post. She is also a woman , she is also a Shake-a-wat , she is pretty bold , smart , sexy etc . In short she would be a sensational and sexational first citizen . By the way, what would Mallika be called if she were to be the Prez ? Rashtrapatni for sure!!!

Munnabhai has been sentenced to 6 yr imprisonment . He is housed in some Yerawada jail , in the same wing as his one time accomplice Abu Salem . The place is (in)famous for in-prison , inter gang fights. It reminds me of the jail scene in Lage Raho Munnabhai. Munna and circuit are put behind bars for a day . Munna says great leaders have been imprisoned and they have had roads and margs being named after them. Hats off to Sanju Baba's vision . He perfectly envisaged that he would be imprisoned sooner or later . Now, public sympathy is bound to embrace him . I wouldn't be surprised if there is a Munnanagar / Munna marg soon in Mumbai . For Kollywood actors embroiled in legal issues, this is your best chance. Pain some director to remake Lage Raho Munnabhai , put in hazaar jail scenes and Voila! You have the entire state vouching for your innocence . Pathiban Kanavu Srikanth , are you reading ?? ( His wife has filed some case .)

Will ponder on other issues sometime now .