Vote or Play

Heightened importance given to anybody/anything results in, inadvertently or otherwise, prudish behavior. The political saga in India is all set to unveil Act II. The politburo is geared up, the campaign boys are gung-ho, the ad-men are letting their thoughts go haywire, online presence is being broadened, caller lists are being sourced etc. They are working hard. Okay... so they are finally working hard. And very naturally, they expect attention.

A child on birth is spanked if its not wailing. As the child proceeds to grow, it uses this very trait for grabbing what it needs the most: attention. When we learn something new, we like to pass it on... not with the purpose of spreading knowledge (strictly speaking) but with the intention of letting the populace know about our recent tryst with something we ourselves deem "noteworthy".

We are all voyeurs at a certain level... however, we are exhibitionists and attention mongers at every level. Even the reticent shadow hugging kinds, want their audience to know about the very trait that makes them lie low. They want people to realize that they are reticent. Thus they end up being exhibitionists in their own little way.

The political circus, is demanding our attention. However, it needs to be commanding our attention. The Indian Premier League which was supposed to be conducted in the same period as the elections, has been vetoed to foreign shores.

The political parties have exhibited protectionism in their own little way. It is their domain that they intend on protecting... and they will do it at any cost. The troubling aspect being, political parties in the worlds largest democracy consider a sport (as mighty as it might be) to be a formidable competitor.

That cricket is overrated, is an oft repeated claim. However what lurks beneath is not the extent to which cricket is overrated but the depths to which other sports have plunged. It is a vicious cycle and more news breeds even more discussion and results in greater public involvement.

India has 42m first time voters this time around. Political parties across the nation are leaving no stone unturned in cashing in on these fledgelings. However what it does in the process is convey the notion that the average Indian would rather watch Dhoni blaze away than trudge towards the nearest polling booth.

I say this, 'cause I strongly believe that the security concerns are NOT the reason for the IPL being pushed elsewhere. Security is a ruse and grabbing eyeball share and mind space is the true intent.

The politicians want their hour of fame and they want it only for themselves. I do not know how this works elsewhere... but tend to believe that this is not an event restricted to our shores. The US presidential elections more or less put average life for all and sundry on the back burner.

While it is true that selecting the governing power to administer the manner in which the nation is run, is important, it seems like this importance, with every passing day is being created more and felt less.

The marketing extravaganza has not resulted in the average Joe/Ramesh having heightened awareness. It has resulted in him believing that the politicians and their associated parties are nothing more than petty merchants peddling their wares. The feeling is akin to the frown that clouds our face when contacted by a Customer Care Executive. By being bombarded with marketing gimmickry, the banks rendered themselves to be petty customer-mongers. The political melee has resulted in something similar.

Moving the IPL is not a bad move, provided it is is done with the right intent. A society that needs to be made aware that selecting the government is more important than watching a few games of cricket, is not one that is mature enough to select the government in the first place.

As was the case with moral policing... similar is the case with the elections. We are a mature nation. We do not need a nanny anymore. We might tinker around with toys now and then, but we will not swallow them anymore. Hence, get rid of the kid-gloves.

This prose is not directed towards undermining the political parties or the game of cricket. Huge mollah is involved in both... and they both need uninterrupted attention. My only point of contention is that both of them are mentioned in the same breath.

Until the show's done, I guess the nation is going to be on "Pause".

PS: If my claim on IPL being shunted across the seas owing to political pressures and not security concerns, is proven wrong... and it is genuinely a security concern, I have a case to present for that phenomena as well. More on that in the event of me being wrong.