Masking glory

Today was a day without that morning rush to the office. I had time to watch the kids waiting for school bus. I cannot see their smile like always and feel happy about it. They are wearing H1N1 masks. Since a month or so, masks have become an organ much missed by evolution. Talk about creationism and intelligent design! Masks got sold like hot cakes in the initial scare days, when every news channel bombarded the country with the breaking swine flu news. I even got few masks and put it in the refrigerator so that it doesn't spread through food. Finally, a chief minister had to abscond for hours and later die, to shift the focus off the virus. The ultimate sacrifice.

I am sorry, I almost forgot the penultimate one : Rahul Gandhi travelling by Shatabdi express. Might be inspired by those numerous train journeys of Mahatma Gandhi by third class. Fortunately we don't have third class now. Or else, there would've been a stampede to catch a glimpse of the Prince. This reminds me of a small confession of Sarojini Naidu. When someone extolled the greatness of Gandhi who was always among the poor, she reportedly confessed, that it costs more to the congress to keep him among the poor than in a normal state. For security reasons, many congress workers were dressed up as poor people around the leader. These guys were good actors back then and in expensive garbs.

Rahul Gandhi would've been better off spending that time studying the Human Development Reports of various states or atleast perusing his recent election nomination affidavit, where he categorically states that he doesn't own a car. I could own a car in another year. The humble of the humbles, our former president A.P.J Abdul Kalam could own a car. Then how come Rahul baba missed it.His mom doesn't own a car. A waitress in Rome can. She missed the bus too. I think we as a country deserve these kind of illusions. We accept these things like we accept the bad smell of a dead dog in the bushes. We wait for some one to clean it or die a natural death under the sun.

We are idiots. Let's not hide this with some false affidavits. What more proof than the reported death of 140 odd people in the wake of a Chief Minister's death. I say these were more valuable as biomass than the living. This is worse than the terrorist attacks carried out in Hyderabad, two years back. Funnily, some of them committed suicide. Stupidity causes internal bleeding and it can lead to sudden death of a person or a country. The so called responsible journalism of ear-drum-breaking news suddenly evaporates in their camera flashes. They shout to be pro-active, much so in a corporate sense. They make money out of it. Do you remember any scene in the old rags-to-rugs-to-riches-to-bitches movies, where the hero as a kid cries for money to cremate his mother's remains? Next time you see that, remember breaking news.

The flowing black gowns, without much going on behind them, suddenly started billowing like Marlyn Manroe's. What is with this Justice? Is it bought out or Is there some sanity? Is it virgin? Is it still blind? Is it still "your honor"? Someone had his share of questions and filed an RTI to know how much are these guys making anyway by writing down all those affidavits? Suddenly the gowns started fumbling. There was much discussion about who should disclose what. Finally the Chief Justice came down, bent backwards and with a hood-wink, formulated the voluntary disclosure scheme. I am sure it is already practiced by the Bollywood actresses. Ladies, JJ school of arts is in urgent need of young posers for a nudity appreciation course. All their models are over 40 and there is a drop in attendance. The script begs, for once, begs for it.

I think, I can suggest a remedy to the rottenness of the current state. Why don't we all gather at Ambedkar Samajik Parivarthan Sthal(Ambedkar's Memorial for social change) in Lucknow and sing bhajans to behenji while a giant stupa is constructed over our head, slowly plastering us into bliss?