And so he goes...
and so he goes...
Its surprising that I still feel bad about the loss of unknown strangers walking away into shadows. Not that I dont feel things but I have always believed there is a strong cause and effect system in place for everything that happens. But this was something different.
I wonder if this is the last of the Indian leaders I would feel sick in my guts for.
What I liked about him was that he spoke a language I could understand, his ideas were clear, always further into the future than most of us thought about. My first memories of this politician were at my Periamma's place in Delhi which was caught in an election frenzy in the early 90s. He and Prannoy Roy used to feel immediate, like friends over coffee. Their debates were always quick, content in words rather than the Nehruvian chants of social progress. And inevitably there used to be some moron from the Congress who would slow the whole talk because he just didnt have anything to say. I often wondered that if this guy could think like us and still be there, why cant the whole lot be like him? Why does Politics have to be about mediocrity and pomp rather than intelligence and quality? I dont remember what the BJP did back then and if anyone voted for them, but everytime this guy spoke I listened.
And then I found out he did contest elections in Bombay. No wonder I understood what he spoke about, because he was a genuine 'shaana' from Bombay. Say what people like to hear and say it quick. No time to ponder or use jargon that made no sense to anyone. People still today debate whether he was clean or not, whether power corrupted him or not. Frankly speaking I just dont care. Because he spoke and he delivered, that was my rationale. Whether he was gifted a million telecom shares at a throw away price or whether he had his tussle with the RSS was always going to be secondary in a society that seemed so reluctant to change in a world that changed so quickly.
Years passed and the BJP did come to power. I did manage to catch him on TV everytime he gave an interview, just to see if he had something interesting to say. And he always had. I didnt know his background but I just realised he had a bachelors in journalism and a masters in Political Science. The stepping stones to policy making in any democratic society.
I froze for a second when I read the news today. It seemed surreal not because he passed away, but because now what? The void in the political spectrum is now bigger and will only make way for feudal leaders like the Gandhis to take center stage as opposed to people who would have earnt it. I just hope Pramod Mahajan inspired a lot more people than just me.
I just hope.
Pramod Mahajan (1949-2006)
2 Comments:
yup, probably the last of the leaders that we can relate to.
No one is perfect, but we need to build towards achieving that. I am sure and i hope he has inspired lot more than a few.
sad indeed. i never knew his politics other than the fact that he was BJP...but at least he was younger than most of the other guys around. RIP.
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