Gurmehar
Kaur is back in the news, though, as I write this she is going back into
obscurity. Though it was an old pic of hers which provoked Viru Sehwag, whose
return tweet was found humorous by many, including Randeep Hooda. Well, this
post is not about the placard politics that’s being played out on social media.
But what these newsmakers said, and the manner of their saying it, is I liked.
Isn’t this blog also about the other whys? This intrigued me enough to go about
asking people what they were doing, and why, & here’s the response I got:
I
went to a busy, crowded government office & caught hold of a person who had
just finished his transaction. And this common man (or aam admi or mango people, as you may prefer) innocently told me, “I am not corrupt, it is the system that is corrupt”. It
was nearing lunch time & I managed
to have a quiet word with the official too, who informed me matter-of-factly,
“I am not corrupt, it is the system that is corrupt”. Later in the afternoon,
I bumped into a small time local neta. Hearing out my experience (narrated in
an accusatory tone), he hit back like Yuvi going for a six, “I am not corrupt,
it is the system that is corrupt”.
Different
people, different roles, but one answer. I put a stop to my
expedition, letting my imagination do all the hard work instead. If speech is free, why
shouldn’t I hear what I wish to? So here it goes…
The first stop my thoughts made was at a private party where I managed to spot a bollywood superstar
who was quite candid & admitted, “I am not a great actor, it’s our public
that likes celluloid trash”. Big words, but I hope someday he gets courageous (and honest) enough to tell this to a producer too.
In
Tamil Nadu where it’s only the supreme leaders of the two parties that win
elections, I was surprised when this neta told me, “I can win elections on my
own, but I need a leader to give me the ticket to contest”. Had it been UP or
Bihar, he would have formed his own political party.
And
this big businessman in a small town (are the rest like him too?), “I don’t
fudge my accounts, I only manage my accountant & auditor” My advice to write a book on
“Managing Accounts for Dummies” was declined as there would be no buyers.
Somehow
managing to avoid a collision with this young kid with his girlfriend on the
pillion, I found him zooming off with this reply, “I don’t drive on the wrong
side, I only take the short cut”. Looking behind, I hoped the traffic cop
didn’t take too short a cut after getting hold of this offender.
And
finally this gem from a moderator of a newsroom panel discussion – “I am not
shouting, the volume of the TV is set too high”. And I knew it was time to tune
off & bring this post to a close.
If
I ever get back to doing this exercise, I will be looking for: “I am not
communal, religion is.” Who would that come from? Your guess is as good as
mine!!
