Together With Nandan..... Finally.

It took me hardly a second to accept an invite from my friend Prathap Menon to join CampaignForNandan group a few months back.   But my support remained passive for a while - the typical dilemma of choosing between the man and the party. In 1977, I was a small school kid but a successful revolution of those times had left a very deep impression on my tender sensibilities – that was difficult to erase even years later with the benefit of a good cognitive intelligence.

In the last few days, I realized that passive support to a cause was indeed as bad as passive smoking. In a typical election, how much does a party affiliation mean to an individual’s campaign was the moot question.  Having observed Nandan at work, it was a no-brainer to decide on the man, it was the party that posed a question mark. True to his style, he will not promise moon but will mitigate some of the miseries. I realized that my long years of support to my party did convert into a positive result every time but my constituency didn’t grow to what I would have liked it to.  I, and perhaps many others like me, have just savoured the glory of putting our votes on a winning candidate and never ever weighed the return on our votes. As they say in cricket – a good batsman is one who puts a price on his wicket.

I am also aware that for my representative to do something good for my constituency, it is important that he aligns with one of the big parties. Staying independent might make a symbolic statement; it has limitations in terms of getting political, administrative or executive attention to my constituency.  Many of us want to do something good but are bogged down with our own lives or simply do not have the courage to stand up. And here is a man, who has shunned the other softer options to get representation and is willing to get to the grassroots level.  I knew, it was time to stand up and be counted when he needed my support.  

One man cannot change our polity overnight but this is a small beginning and we have to make it succeed. We need 542 Nandan’s to clean up the system but we need to first welcome this bold beginning so that other Nandan’s also come forward.  As I said, it may take time to clean up the whole system. But that should not stop us from sowing the saplings now so that our coming generation reaps the fruits. And I joined my other friends this morning – to actively work ‘Together with Nandan’.

Political twist to my dilemma

Like most of my working days, my weekends are also generally packed with household responsibilities.  As my wife also works 6-days a week, we have to manage all our weekly chores on Sundays. Many a times, she takes care of the household and I go out for Monday-to-Sunday shopping. In fact, at times I feel we are so bogged down with this weekly schedule that our family as a whole has become quite asocial.

Whenever I go out shopping alone, my wife would suggest that I take the car instead of walking down.  While I am not a health freak but I do enjoy walking and these short walks to the vegetable market or our local grocery mall is by far the only physical strain I put on myself.  Most of the times, my argument favouring a ‘healthy’ walk prevails over her concern about exposing me to neighbours ‘spouse-labour’ sarcasm.

Over a period, either due to her own pressures of work or the fact that she got used to the routine, she has stopped bothering much about this.  Nevertheless, there is one item that she has always refrained me from shopping for – and that is a broomstick. Not for any special love for Harry Potter but she has ensured that this important piece of our shopping is never done by me alone.  And whether I carry other 4 heavy pieces of our shopping bags, she is the one who carries this piece always. While I have had no hang-ups about it, I have respected her sentiments on this always.

Some of the recent political events have brought out different connotations of this contentious piece of our shopping list. There has been a political twist to this dilemma of ours. Now, I have argued, that carrying a broomstick should no more be a taboo. It is acquiring a new status in the society, symbolizing awakening of a new political class. The class of non-aligned, upright, honest, path-breaking, new order leaders. Therefore, I should not be denied of a chance of creating my political identity and I should be free to shop for a broomstick without being forced to go by car so that broomstick is just carried from the basement parking to my flat.   ‘AAP’ as a Hindi word carries a lot of respect. I am waiting for the weekend to come when I will carry the broomstick all by myself with élan – with its new found political identity, status symbol and brand.