Citizens of the country, beware! There’s a new WMD in town – nope, not a Weapon of Mass Destruction – this time, it’s a Weapon of Media Disruption! Fasting is the new rage! I never thought the dietary status of any individual could garner so much attention! But obviously, I was wrong! The whole nation watched, protest marches were organized, politics was being discussed in forums everywhere, SMS messages were spreading, even Facebook and Twitter were full of this stuff! Patriotism was riding at an all time high – I think the only time in the recent past when the intensity and feeling of patriotism in the common man was higher was during the India – Pakistan World Cup clash! And that’s a huge achievement, trust me!
“Support Anna”, they said. “Lokpal is our right”, the placards read! Frankly speaking, by the time I was getting interested enough to check out what the whole hullabaloo was about, I’d already started losing interest. Media overdoes, I think! I still haven’t got myself to Google what the Lokpal bill is all about, what it says, or why is every one gunning for it so vehemently. All I know is this: lots of scams –> loads of corruption –> Anna’s pissed off –> wants Lokpal bill for easier / quicker / fairer means of justice –> every one to come under the scanner –> Govt. wouldn’t listen –> Anna wouldn’t eat –> Govt. desperate to feed Anna. Every time I switched on the news, all I could see was some reporter following overloaded jeeps with people holding Indian flags and shouting Anna Hazare’s name! Then there was some Rang De Basanti style peace march in Delhi – people marched, people lit candles, people voiced their opinion, people went back home feeling more ‘Indian’. Net result – well, the jury is still out on that one!
I know, I know! “To make a difference, you have to get into the system and make a change yourself! Don’t just sit on the sidelines and pass judgement! At least we made a difference!” That would be the response from everyone who was even slightly more proactive (read well-informed) about the whole Anna Hazare movement. And I might agree with you too! Even I thought to myself that someone’s raising a hue and cry about corruption in the country, awesome! Now, there are a zillion tweets flying around on who would have ultimate authority after the bill is passed, should the PM also come under the bill etc etc. Gul Panag, for one, seems pretty agitated about the whole deal. On a side note, nope, following Gul Panag on Twitter is not my only source of information!
Then came the show stopper of all show stoppers! Baba Ramdev! His brand of anti-corruption tactics almost demands that a super hero be based on him! Baba by day, baby by night – catch the heroics of this salwar kameez dawning superhero! Shehenshah is passé, people! The catch phrase now will be: “Rishtey mein to hum tumhare baap hote hain...philhaal outfit tumhari maa ka pehna hai…naam hai ‘Behenshah’!”
I mean, what a mockery of the movement started by Anna Hazare! What a mockery of Indian politics as a whole! This saadhu had the entire nation watching on in rapt attention for 2 whole weeks. With the TRPs that this guy must have achieved over the last month or so, I won’t be surprised if some of the Indian cricket team members lose out on ad deals to Baba Ramdev, especially considering that half of our main team isn’t even in action these days. Prime brand categories that might target him: energy drinks, hair products, and of course, salwar kameez brands. I was amazed to see how the government was being held hostage by this guy! The media obviously had nothing better to show to the world, so, there were updates by the minute on what the ‘Baba’ was up to.
I only wonder if the government gave him a little too much importance to being with. Top ministers going to meet him at the airport, and then when that didn’t work out, they let loose Digvijay Singh, who seemed to have some personal score to settle with this dude! There were jokes about Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh doing the rounds, there were discussions on why they haven’t spoken about the Ramdev Baba episode, about why the police were hounding the yoga guru, the works! I think (and sincerely HOPE) Manmohan Singh just had better things to do than worry about a self-professed cleaner of society! So, Sonia Gandhi didn’t come out with a public statement of why the Delhi Police treated Ramdev the way they did. I, for one, was glad they put an end to this melodrama! Finally, the news channels might have something different to cover than Baba’s bowel movements!
“Aaj baba ne kela khaya”, is this what qualifies for news around here? I mean, seriously??? I wonder what the rest of the world must think of us after watching our news. The Pakistanis must be relieved, “Phew! Finally something more embarrassing than our news channels!”. Best was when Ramdev wasn’t being allowed to fast (I still wonder how one can’t be allowed to fast – do they force-feed you like a 2 year old???) and Anna Hazare wanted to fast in protest of Ramdev not being allowed to fast – wow! Hilarious! Anyway, hopefully all that drama has ended and we can all watch TV without having to hear about who’s eating today, and who’s not!
