2S
Techie. Writer. Photographer.
November 22, 2007 at 12:54 am · Filed under bangalore, personal
It was one of those nights where I didn’t feel like being at home. Instead, on the way back, I fabricated an insensitive ‘goodnight’ text and sent it to her, before driving to definitely my most favorite bit of Bangalore.
Cubbon park, for me, holds many special memories. Some bitter, some sweet, some bitter-sweet, and some … er … sexual. But I usually go there late Sunday nights, or on public holidays, just to see Vidhana Soudha illuminated, spectacularly symbolizing the might of the government. I have a special sentimental attachment to the building, and in particular, to the lighting.
And I was in for a surprise when I drove to Vidhana Soudha last night.
First off, why did I go there? Solitude is my best buddy - has always been - and I love to sit across the building, looking at it, and the surroundings, and contemplating my past, present and future. Perhaps it’s a personal thing, but that stretch of the city - for me - is Bangalore. Wide roads, decent traffic, greenery all around, no pungent stink of urine in the air. A very early 90s ‘Karnataka-ish’ feel. Something I might look back, and say, ‘home’.
And you probably know, that for someone who drives through a snail-paced M.G. Road, an erratic Airport Road, a hostile Ring Road and a jam-packed Koramangala - such a sight is rare.
So here I am, the Corsa’s parked on the main road, the parking lights are flickering, Richard Marx has spent about a minute and a half crooning ‘Right Here Waiting For You’, when the lights go on. And this wasn’t a half-lit Sunday midnight special. Nope. This was the full lighting. Every single one out there.
It lasted for less than a minute. Bliss, albeit momentarily.
I might add, I was thinking about myself, another unrecognizable blip on the radar of this state. I’m just another soul amongst the millions in this state. A state that was first orphaned, and now bastardized, without a stable leadership. Devegowda, who swims in a whirlpool of betrayal and yet manages to be the cause of it, has simply ruined any hopes of a stable government in this state. While his ’secular’ initiatives make sense, he’s well on his way to converting Karnataka into a monarchy, where only a Gowda can rule.
It’s horrible, because even when an able leader like M P Prakash attempts to form a government, with the support of the Congress (who is certainly more secular than the BJP), they’re wary of forming a coalition with the likes of HD.
I then tried to recall everything I saw through the day. Beggars on the streets? Rickshaw guys complaining? A cow wagging it’s rear on the center lane of the ring road? An old woman with as many wrinkles as her years, sweeping the streets? A modified Maruti Zen speeding past a signal that was counting down? A deadlock traffic situation between a Qualis and her cousin Innova? The slums, where power and water are as frequent as Halley’s comet?
Now, in the distance, I looked at Vidhana Soudha again. As strong as a fortress it stood, guarding both filth and gems. It was now plunged into darkness. Like the state itself. Like its people. Like … moi.
I then remembered what is inscribed on the entrance of the fortress. “Government Work is God’s Work.”
Well, there’s no government anymore. And the way things are going for my people, I’m wondering if there’s no God anymore either.
And if He is around, He’s left this state ages ago.
November 21, 2007 at 1:55 am · Filed under politics
The voters ought to be stumped.
On one hand, you have the likes of JD(S), people who have taken betrayal to another level. True, HD Kumarasamy showed promise when he first got to office, but subsequent events - especially in the last three months - have ruined the little good work done by his government.
On the other, is Yediyurrappa. Now, these days, when you think of the BJP leader, one word comes to mind - pity. But honestly, is a Yediyurrappa-BJP government going to help the state? For one, BSY has little or no vision to compliment his passion. And the BJP are far from secular, which explains the Hindtuva wave running in Karnataka post-formation. Umm, pray tell me, what does a ‘volunteer’ organization like the Sangh have to do with a government forming in a secular nation, in alliance with a secular party? Apparently, these issues irked Gowda, and let’s he honest, as far as secular values are concerned, it pains me to say this, but Devegowda has a point.
Does it mean you bring down the government? No. Well, not unless you’re a power-grabbing slut, which is exactly what HD is.
The BJP cited Gujarat as an example for Karnataka, and Narendra Modi’s presence only worsened the situation for the ‘coalition’, although I must agree with BSY on that account - the Gujarat mention was obviously made in the context of development and not communalism. It surprises me that people thought otherwise. I doubt if Yediyurrappa, yet to break his CM virginity, has the balls to suggest a Hindu initiative in Karnataka on similar lines to that of Gujarat. Highly unlikely.
And finally, the dormant Congress. Within the JD(S), senior leaders - the likes of MP Prakash, a man whom I respect - has shown inclination to tie up with the Congress. The JD(S) have shown an obvious intent to form a coalition with the Congress now, understandably, because if we head towards elections, you can be rest assured that there would be serious backlash from the voters.
The JD(S)-BJP coalition was never destined to work anyway. One party is slyly secular, the other is honestly communal. The Congress, in the past, has failed. Given these facts, who the heck to we vote for?
Irrespective of what happens in the state, from the way events are unfolding now, one thing is absolutely certain: as long as Devegowda breathes, Karnataka will never have a stable government. It shocks me to suggest this, and I might be hitting the depths of helplessness here, but there is no one, I repeat, no one in the state who can keep the Supremo quiet.
It disappoints me further to record that we, the voters, are now simply helpless. Catch-22. Of what use is a democracy when the people are left powerless?
It’s only appropriate that we pick the lesser of the two evils. And it sucks that we resort to such a choice for our leaders.
October 30, 2007 at 8:47 pm · Filed under politics, regional
I thought ‘JD(S)’ stands for ‘Janata Dal (Secular)’. Oops, it turns out - that’s the wrong expansion. The accurate one is: ‘Just Doing the State’.
Yes. They really are doing us all.
When H D Kumaraswamy took the hot-seat in February 2006, we were slightly surprised, weren’t we? I mean, here’s a son rising against the father, and while Gowda Sr. quietly mumbled his discomfort at the BJP alliance, the son makes a promise to the people of a state.
Only to break it, rather unsurprisingly, a year and a half later.
If the son is the icing, big-daddy Gowda is the cherry on the cake of cunning politics. They say looks are deceptive - in his case, they’re mindboggling. He comes across as a person who would struggle to rule an acre in Kanakhpura, and he actually went on to become the Prime Minister of the Nation. But beneath that expressionless face, beyond that plain-vanilla raagi-hittu diet, there is something about the man that stands out. And it’s quite evident.
Too bad for him it’s his lust for power, an omen of which is the recent influence on the son to halt the power-transfer, which left a power-erect Yediyurrappa who had to suddenly go limp, forced to retreat as a result of what the BJP famously overtitled ‘the betrayal’.
And just like your local Bangalore rickwaala would take a shocking U-turn from under your nose without any indication, the JD(S) have come back wanting to support the BJP. It’s like divorcing a woman, and when you realise you aren’t getting any action at night, and you go back to her, ‘will you marry me?’
But even the women would have better sense. However - The Brainless Janata Party (or the BJP) - who were actually in the middle of their election campaign, agreed immediately, as if they are a powerlust-starved entity and not a party responsible for the welfare of the people.
Had Yediyurappa really gotten this hard?
The trigger for the JD(S) thrusting into reverse gear, undeniably, ought to be the actions of a certain rebel JD(S) leader who goes by the name of M P Prakash. I’ll forgive you for going ‘M P who?’ as it’s usually the Gowda household that hogs all the limelight. Prakash - himself an accomplished and respected leader - who enjoys a following even within the Kumarasamy camp, went on spawning his own thread in alliance with the Congress. Prakash also enjoys more support from a dominant Lingayat community, and the window of opportunity to go on and become the CM in a Congress alliance would’ve sent Godwa’s panic-o-meter running.
And somehow, base-Gowda has come out tops again, with the majority.
When will the leaders realise that this a promise they make to their people, and not a game of musical-chairs?
Anyway, here we are back to square one.
- - -
It is no secret that the mean-supreme Gowda’s eyes remain shut more often than not. So, it seems appropriate that while the party is led by namma Kumbhakarna, typing JD(S) on MSN Messenger yields this:
October 6, 2007 at 1:02 pm · Filed under bangalore, politics
Or, abbreviated, KLPD in Karnataka. For Yediyurappa, atleast.
Read on carefully. This post reveals two startling facts, albeit digressive. The first, Ram isn’t fictional. The second, he exists among us.
For those of you who remember the epic (or atleast, the Amar Chitra Katha versions), they might remember Kumbhakarna, the demon rakshasa that slept for six months at a stretch, while the affairs of the state were looked after by others. When he did wake up, of course, he ended up being hungry as hell, eating anything possible in his vicinity.
Just to prove that the Ramayana ought to be classified under the genre we know as non-fiction, Kumbhakarna still exists today. Put the dots together - who do you know, who sleeps all the time when the state was managed by others? Who do you know just woke up hungry (or hungrier) for power - the same demon that wasn’t even in the picture when the previous leader was elected?
Why, H. D. Devegowda of course.
There you go - Valmiki didn’t make it all up, there is a Kumbhakarna after all - in flesh, blood and bone amongst us, so there must be a Ram somewhere too. What it also does prove, is that Karunanidhi is full of shit - although the last statement didn’t really require a testimonial.
On with affairs of the state, then?
We all know that, in the recent past, Vidhana Soudha’s inhabitants have been - er - substandard, to say the least. S. M. Krishna got his geography wrong - he simply mistook Bangalore for Karnataka. Dharam Singh never understood first-grade geography anyhow, so he decided to change it, rechristening the city, as Bengalooru was reborn. And when HD was elected, it was initially promising. First, big-daddy Gowda keeps away from limelight – the son wasn’t exactly following in the father’s footsteps. Soon, namma metro materialized (atleast, on paper, although they’ve been rummaging through the city as if it were a garage sale).
It did seem that Gowda Sr. was keeping away from the son’s rise. Not anymore, though. Looks like appa’s been batting for the maga as the supremo’s been calling all the shots.
Like the average Bangalorean who woke up today to this bit of disgusting news, I’m not too disappointed - I’m in splits. We all need to learn to laugh at ourselves anyway, especially when the government ends up getting into a mess like it has now. With Devegowda, I thought that politics can’t get dirtier, but here he is taking it to an all-time low.
I wonder what’s going to happen now. Certainly looks like the BJP have pulled out, the same way a participant would pull out of a threesome, considering that the existing setup is indeed screwing the state, almost literally. What next? Congress coalition? More polls?
In other news last night, Sadashivnagar (the bit of Bangalore where most ministers live, including the Gowda kin and kith) remained in the dark. Looks like BESCOM didn’t enjoy the JD(S) decision too much, and pulled out a plug or two.
Things that people do these days with power. As they would say in this city, kallaru nanna makkulu …
