Skip to main content

Born Spectator



One infant grows up and becomes a Modi
Another settles down quietly with shaadi

This one the coveted circle hates to enter
That one gets a cabinet rank in the centre

I am just glad as glad can be
That I am not them, and they are not me

With all my heart I do admire
Politicians with their pneumatic tyre

And the flashing bulb on the roof
Also the hooter that’s foolproof

And the way they take each poll in gaudy pomp
And maim each opponent as they romp

My limp and bashful spirit feeds
On other people’s heroic deeds

You’d think my ego it would please
To vote to power one of these

Well, ego it might be pleased enough
But the queue at the booth is rough stuff

I’d rather be a spectator than cast the vote
For people who will only rock my life’s boat



Confession: This is a parody on Ogden Nash’s classical poem, The Confessions of a Born Spectator, inspired by Gujarat’s decision to make voting compulsory for all adult citizens.  

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 11, 2014 at 1:12 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Saru SinghalNovember 11, 2014 at 11:11 PM

    A good one and seriously shocked to learn that even voting right can be forced.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 12, 2014 at 9:27 AM

      That enforcement is an indication of things going to come, Saru. We are going to face a kind of subtle dictatorship.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousNovember 12, 2014 at 12:47 AM

    Nice poem..

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownNovember 12, 2014 at 2:36 AM

    Why those last two lines sir ? They are explicitly and with seriousness expressing what you subtly and sarcastically intimated in rest of the poem.It is like explaining what you intended to say

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 12, 2014 at 9:29 AM

      The poet persona is reiterating that he is a "born spectator"... I appreciate your pointing out the literary demerit of the couplet. But I am more concerned about hammering certain concepts down with ruthless determination.

      Delete
  5. Khoty MathurNovember 12, 2014 at 7:44 AM

    You must write a poem on how best we can prevent the 'rough stuff' at booths.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 12, 2014 at 9:30 AM

      That's a herculean challenge you are throwing at me, KM. :)
      It's so easy to be an "armchair critic" as I have often described myself.

      Delete
  6. Nima DasNovember 12, 2014 at 7:21 PM

    I too am a spectator and happy to be one.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Country where humour died

Humour died a thousand deaths in India after May 2014. The reason – let me put it as someone put it on X.  The stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra called a politician some names like ‘traitor’ which made his audience laugh because they misunderstood it as a joke. Kunal Kamra has to explain the joke now in a court of justice. I hope his judge won’t be caught with crores of rupees of black money in his store room . India itself is the biggest joke now. Our courts of justice are huge jokes. Our universities are. Our temples, our textbooks, even our markets. Let alone our Parliament. I’m studying the Ramayana these days in detail because I’ve joined an A-to-Z blog challenge and my theme is Ramayana, as I wrote already in an earlier post . In order to understand the culture behind Ramayana, I even took the trouble to brush up my little knowledge of Sanskrit by attending a brief course. For proof, here’s part of a lesson in my handwriting.  The last day taught me some subhashit...
10 comments
Read more

Lucifer and some reflections

Let me start with a disclaimer: this is not a review of the Malayalam movie, Lucifer . These are some thoughts that came to my mind as I watched the movie today. However, just to give an idea about the movie: it’s a good entertainer with an engaging plot, Bollywood style settings, superman type violence in which the hero decimates the villains with pomp and show, and a spicy dance that is neatly tucked into the terribly orgasmic climax of the plot. The theme is highly relevant and that is what engaged me more. The role of certain mafia gangs in political governance is a theme that deserves to be examined in a good movie. In the movie, the mafia-politician nexus is busted and, like in our great myths, virtue triumphs over vice. Such a triumph is an artistic requirement. Real life, however, follows the principle of entropy: chaos flourishes with vengeance. Lucifer is the real winner in real life. The title of the movie as well as a final dialogue from the eponymous hero sugg...
4 comments
Read more

Abdullah’s Religion

O Abdulla Renowned Malayalam movie actor Mohanlal recently offered special prayers for Mammootty, another equally renowned actor of Kerala. The ritual was performed at Sabarimala temple, one of the supreme Hindu pilgrimage centres in Kerala. No one in Kerala found anything wrong in Mohanlal, a Hindu, praying for Mammootty, a Muslim, to a Hindu deity. Malayalis were concerned about Mammootty’s wellbeing and were relieved to know that the actor wasn’t suffering from anything as serious as it appeared. Except O Abdulla. Who is this Abdulla? I had never heard of him until he created an unsavoury controversy about a Hindu praying for a Muslim. This man’s Facebook profile describes him as: “Former Professor Islahiaya, Media Critic, Ex-Interpreter of Indian Ambassador, Founder Member MADHYAMAM.” He has 108K followers on FB. As I was reading Malayalam weekly this morning, I came to know that this Abdulla is a former member of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Kerala , a fundamentalist organisation. ...
10 comments
Read more

Violence and Leaders

The latest issue of India Today magazine studies what it calls India’s Gross Domestic Behaviour (GDB). India is all poised to be an economic superpower. But what about its civic sense? Very poor, that’s what the study has found. Can GDP numbers and infrastructure projects alone determine a country’s development? Obviously, no. Will India be a really ‘developed’ country by 2030 although it may be $7-trillion economy by then? Again, no is the answer. India’s civic behaviour leaves a lot, lot to be desired. Ironically, the brand ambassador state of the country, Uttar Pradesh, is the worst on most parameters: civic behaviour, public safety, gender attitudes, and discrimination of various types. And UP is governed by a monk!  India Today Is there any correlation between the behaviour of a people and the values and principles displayed by their leaders? This is the question that arose in my mind as I read the India Today story. I put the question to ChatGPT. “Yes,” pat came the ...
10 comments
Read more

The Ramayana Chronicles: 26 Stories, Endless Wisdom

I’m participating in the A2Z challenge of Blogchatter this year too. I have been regular with this every April for the last few years. It’s been sheer fun for me as well as a tremendous learning experience. I wrote mostly on books and literature in the past. This year, I wish to dwell on India’s great epic Ramayana for various reasons the prominent of which is the new palatial residence in Ayodhya that our Prime Minister has benignly constructed for a supposedly homeless god. “Our Ram Lalla will no longer reside in a tent,” intoned Modi with his characteristic histrionics. This new residence for Lord Rama has become the largest pilgrimage centre in India, drawing about 100,000 devotees every day. Not even the Taj Mahal, a world wonder, gets so many footfalls. Ayodhya is not what it ever was. Earlier it was a humble temple town that belonged to all. Several temples belonging to different castes made all devotees feel at home. There was a sense of belonging, and a sense of simplici...
34 comments
Read more