Five years, four months into this world, I was glued to the television watching Dada and Master Blaster open the innings. The Wall would take either’s place one down. It was a one-day international bilateral cricket match between India and Pakistan. Needless to say, this too was a high voltage affair. Emotions were running high on both sides of the border especially with the world cup just a few months away. India lost the toss and was invited to bat first.
My prime focus was on the top three Indian batsmen. Dada, as Sourav Ganguly is fondly called, played well. He had negotiated through Shoaib Akhtar and Waqar Younis’ bowling.
The Master Blaster, in a zone of his own, had yet again scored a century-his second in a row. There was no stopping Sachin Tendulkar.
A healthy opening stand always augurs well for the team. This was one of the numerous occasions the openers had done that. At the departure of Ganguly, Rahul Dravid took his place.
The Wall needs no introduction. He did the same thing that he has been doing for a couple of year’s now-play the role of sheet anchor. What happened further in the match gave me little interest, for what I was bothered with was an Indian victory, and that was what had exactly happened.
My father had introduced me to the world of cricket. I had chosen my heroes. I was in a happy mood-excited and ecstatic with the performance of the Indian team.
Cricket, the first facet of my life, was born in me. Ever since then I associated myself with cricket, and as my interest in the game increased, it turned out that I had fallen in love with the game.
****
There was intense campaigning going on the roads. There were barely few days left. The November chill notwithstanding, every candidate was garnering votes. It was all new to me. Nine candidates had filed nominations, out of which, the lone female contestant had withdrawn her nomination. So, it was a matter of eight contestants for one seat-the seat that shall give him the position of Rama Krishna Puram’s MLA for the next five years. Add to that, the perks he would get, the status and the power in his hands. It was worth the money spent. Electioneering was in full swing.
Out of the eight contestants, only two represented political parties. Rest was independents. In a country like Independent India, do Independents stand a chance?
Obviously, the big wigs of the political parties, the Indian People’s Party (IPP) and the National Congress of India (NCI) were in for a tough fight. They campaigned hard. Beyond that, their fate was in the electorate’s hands.
It was Election Day. All schools in my neighbourhood were converted into polling booths. Booth level officers were up to the task. But then, few had exercised their right. I had thought it was a proud moment for the adults to vote, to show the silver chloride painted on their finger. May be not, they perceived it as just another holiday. Indian constitution gave them the universal adult franchise. Unfortunately, they did not want to exercise their right. I could not see the same fervor as Deepavali or Dusshera with the people. But I came across a new type of attitude in the people, chalta hai, what big difference was it to make? Every drop of water together makes an ocean. One drop of water may not have much power, but an ocean has enormous power-the power to sustain anything, the power to destroy anything.
At the end of the day, I didn’t understand why the votes polled percentage was so dismal.
May be, elections in India are not attractive to the people. Only a section of people had exercised their right, yes, and a poor 36% of the total electorate in R.K.Puram.
Three days passed.
The fag end of November approached. The winter chill was on the rise. Fortunes were on the rise. The minimum temperatures were falling. Fortunes were falling. Fortune does not always favor the brave. It also checks for money power, perhaps.
Out of 70 legislative assembly seats for the taking, 68 were won by the political parties. Only two seats, may be as an aberration, were won by the independents.
The NCI had out-righted victory in the elections, its representatives wresting 52 seats. IPP trailed with only 15 seats in its bag. Out of the 55 parties that had contested, only 3 had opened their accounts.
India has a patriarchal society. Ashoka Singh of the NCI had won the MLA seat in my area. But the lady from Gole Market constituency had waved her magic wand. She was the undisputed queen of the land. Who would have guessed that she was here to stay, and indeed cement her place in the history of Delhi politics? Who could have guessed politics to be my second facet of my life?
Welcome, Leela Menon, the newly elected chief minister of Delhi.