Worse Than UP and Bihar?
Irrespective of who wins -- the DMK or AIADMK -- in the Thirumangalam bypoll this week, Tamil Nadu stands to lose because it will forever have to live with the dubious distinction of beinglabelled as being worse than UP and Bihar in poll violence by the Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami. "Tamil Nadu is top from the bottom," said Gopalswami as a criminal case was registered against CM's son M K Stalin for bribing voters. Tamil Nadu has always been proud of its reputation as a forward-looking state, a region where investors flocked because of a combination of talent, communally peaceful atmosphere and relatively good infrastructure. In May, 2006, 22 large industrial houses including 10 fortune 500 companies signed an MoU with the government with a promise to invest Rs 32,133 crore. And now to be so branded, that too by someone whose roots are in this state, will be a blow.
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What is also a new low is that freebies are being rained down on the voter like never before, particularly by the ruling party.They include not just money, but even gold and silver coins, saris, dhotis, coupons and of course plenty of booze. The CM has in fact justified the freebies saying such measuresare necessary in a country where 50 per cent of the people live below the poverty line! The irony is that while he announced the free distribution of ingredients for Pongal with an eye on the bypoll, the election commission did not allow his government to lavish Thirumangalam's voters with this freebie. The Thirumangalam election has become symbolic because it's like a semi-final and whoever wins here has a fighting chance in the Lok Sabha polls. Hence the desperation that is on display.
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No K Obsession Here
Interestingly while Stalin himself admitted to handing out money -- although the spin he gave was that he was distributing money tocelebrate the birth of a baby -- union shipping minister T R Baalu has dismissed the video evidence of the distribution of money as "frivolous and concocted." For Karunanidhi, it must be galling that both his sons, Stalin and Azhagiri, are for the first time showing a united front, but even so winning a bypoll has never been such an uphill task. Karunanidhi might be out there supported again, since the reunion, by grandnephew Dayanidhi Maran, Stalin might be tirelessly campaigning while Azhagiri might be as tirelessly orchestrating the poll, but all bets are off on the DMK winning the poll.
Azhagiri, after the initial reluctance to helm the campaign, has gone on record that he wants to win so he can make good his promise that he would pull off ahat-trick (he is credited with winning Madurai central and Madurai west). But despite his formidable reputation as a force to reckon with in south Tamil Nadu, there are some things missing. For instance, the campaign for Madurai west had seen two "K's" from the first family, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and Kanthi Azhagiri campaigning. This time, one more 'K', that is Kayalvizhi, the daughter of Azhagiri, whose profile is slowly going up in party circles, was expected to be out there particularly considering that the DMK has fielded a woman, Latha Adhiyaman. But all the woman are missing. What is more, Kanti's pictures which are plastered all over Madurai, be it a wedding, christening or a birthday, is also absent from wall posters and hoardings in thevillages that are part of this constituency. All of this signals to the voter that Azhagiri may have been induced to take charge of the campaign, but while he is physically present, is his spirit absent?
Chennai's Date with culture
Speaking of Kanimozhi, since the Marans were brought back into the family fold, she seems to be edged out of the political picture. Which is strange because Dayanidhi Maran, unlike his late father Murasoli Maran, was never credited with being politically savvy(it's only granduncle Karunanidhi's backing that gave him an aura and standing within theDMK). But Kanimozhi's reputation as a cultural czarina is once again being burnished with the third edition of the Chennai Sangamam expected to kick off this week. The annual festival that began two years ago to give a new lease of life to forgotten folk forms has included one more facet of culture this year-- art and painting. The fest also disproved old myths -- that Carnatic music is only for mamas and mamis crowding the hallowed portals of sabhas. The attendance at public parks for artists such as Aruna Sairam and Sudha Raghunathan proved that connoisseurs are not snobs when it comes to venues at which concerts are performed. The popularity of the Sanghamam also demolished another myth-- that with the advent of TV, folk art forms were on their last legs. Given a platform, folk arts can still draw in crowds. Says Kanimozhi-- "It is amazing to see people crowding to watch tolpavai koothu." This year 17 venues across the city will bring artforms -- and not to mention traditional cuisines -- to this metropolis. Says Father Caspar, who along with Kanimozhi, is the driving force of the sanghamam, "This year, we haveintroduced rural games such as uriyadi, vazhukku maram and mal yuddham."
Pravasis Descend
A friend who divides her time between Washington DC, Mumbai and Mangalore gave me a sense of just how much the Mumbai terror attacks in November had altered people's perception of security. She is a regular at the Pravasi Bharaitiya Divas every year and had a ticket to be at the seventh edition of this event being held in Chennai this year till she read that Air India had received a letter saying that bombs would go off in 10 places around the city and near the venue of PBD. "What if a suicide bomber gets into the venue, I don't want to be blown to bits," says she, who lived through 9/11 and even survived the worry over not being able to reach her New York-based daughter that day.
After terrorists sneaked into Mumbai in dinghies, the coast has been sterilized and Chennai's roads will be a traffic nightmare. But dangerous times require overthe top measures. I remembered what a travel agent in Goa had said: "When people are not sure about their safety, no one is going to come even if you give out free tickets." There is no logic that governs this thinking, it's a gut reaction. So saying that with the President of India and Prime Minister here, not even a fly will penetrate the sanitized walls of the Chennai Trade Centre is not reassuring. Nor the fact that Chennai, rather Tamil Nadu's date with terror at Coimbatore in 1992, has not been repeated even if other metros and cities have been picked to set off serial blasts over the last decade. In these times, the thinking goes, it is better to be safe than sorry and thanks to the profusion of TV channels which tend to give live coverage, you might miss out on the feel and smell, but not on the visuals. Of course you can network better face to face, but even that is not insurmountable with Facebook andwebcam!
