Skip to main content

Grow up, Kejriwal


Dear Arvind,         

I’m not surprised by your latest act of sob-sob over not being invited to the Republic Day celebrations.  You must have been particularly peeved by my presence in the VIP enclosure being chaperoned and parasoled by a senior security officer.  Come on, man, grow up.  Stop being a silly whimpering kid.

You’ve always been a kid, I know.  When I shared the platform with you during the India Against Corruption days, I saw through your silly infantile idealism.  You are a childish dreamer, Arvind.  You dream of an India without corruption.  I have grown up and grown out of impossible dreams.

I know you haven’t forgotten those days when I called Mr Narendra Modi all kinds of names for your sake.  I thought you were the leader, the Messiah, that India was waiting for.  But I am now grown up.  I know who the real leader of India is.  I know how the game is played.

Grow up, Arvind.  Shirk off your childish dreams and learn the politics of the adults.  Learn to use power when you get it instead of throwing it away like a kid who gets tired of his toy.  Learn to be a winner and not a whiner. 

Learn to rise to the occasion.  Learn to swallow your words.  Learn to switch loyalties according to situations.  Learn to put on masks.  Learn to betray friends.  Throw away idealism; be downright practical.  And you reach the Rajpath to power and VIPs come to hold the umbrella over your head. 

Wishing you a quick growing up,

Your former friend and ally,
Dr Kiran Bedi



PS. Inspired by a report in today’s Hindu: Bedi mocks Kejriwal, says he must grow up.

Comments

  1. :). The blog is well written. However a few clarifications seem to be in order. The RD Parade is a Ministry of Defence organized function. Certain political figures, Constitutional appointees and senior Government employees are invited by the Ministry of Defence to the parade in routine, by virtue of their office.

    Others, including eminent citizens, and past dignitaries are invited only on request made to the Ministry of Defence.

    It is quite clear that a request was made to Ministry of Defence to invite KB, it just could not have happened in routine, despite whatever KB might choose to disclose to media for public consumption.

    It is equally unthinkable that as a former Central Government Officer, AK did not know the protocol and the procedure of getting invitations to attend the RD parade. Instead of following the procedure, very typically AK chose to use the media to play the underdog card ,saying that he wished to attend but was not invited.

    The point is that irrespective of what KB said, it is quite evident that AK ( or AAP ) did not make any request to Ministry of Defence for the invitation. AK ( or AAP) should state clearly whether a request was indeed made for an invitation to him as a past dignitary (erstwhile Delhi CM), AND it was not honoured by the Ministry of Defence. Only if that happened he indeed has a case, not otherwise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for that information, Aditi. I was not aware of it and hence am grateful. Yet I think politics is a game, an entertainment nowadays. We all know that Dr Bedi as well as Mr Kejriwal, Mr Modi as well as Amit Shah, all are playing certain games. Our choice is only this: either enjoy the entertainment or question the games. Mr Modi has become too powerful and even too popular to be questioned. And it is going to get worse. In fact, his sartorial choices during the Obamas visit speak much about his narcissistic tendencies. Couple them with certain other things he has done and we know that we are heading for a totalitarian state. AK stands nowhere now, it seems.

      Delete
    2. Mr Matheikal, I am terrified by the sectarian atmosphere Mr Modi's regime has created in our country. The tension is palpable in the internet sphere more that anywhere else on account of the security it offers. I couldn't agree more with you when you say we are heading for a totalitarian state!

      From "toilets over temple" to "Vallabhai Patel over Gandhi". From "India as a superpower" to "Hindutva as the superpower". From "tea seller background" to "Saville row suits with narcissistic stitches"... scary indeed!

      Delete
    3. If we observe the personal characteristics of Mr Modi we can see the makings of a dictator. India had reached a stage when it had no leader. Dr Manmohan Singh was a spineless puppet though a scholar. So the people were simply happy to see a strong leader and thus Mr Modi got his chance. But India is in wrong hands especially since he hates certain sections of people.

      Delete
    4. Hi.. Reading the above note, was inclined to join this discussion.. Yes, I agree, the headings are towards a dictator, but quite frankly, I think this is what India needs for a good one - two decades. Not that I am for dictatorship, but the fact is that we have generations that have no value for each other, men who do not respect women, corruption right down to every one's bones, people themselves not giving a damn about society, moral values..... In this, until and unless our freedom is curbed, things hidden, we will not realize the value of the freedom we have... Maybe this will force people to wake up as they did in the 40's to effect a change, however until that happens, this is needed to bring some levels of control.... Will it be 100% control... Never, as India has been one of the most peaceful democracies in the world.. And I hope, I am not proved wrong in 2017..

      Delete
    5. I'm not questioning Modi's relevance or capability. If he can keep India united, if he can learn to respect diversity, he will be the best leader. Otherwise India is going to witness what Sri Lanka did in a different way.

      Delete
  2. I think they should have invited AK and SD as they are former CMs of the state where the celebrations took place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In Mr Modi's reign, don't expect anything to happen just because it is what would be expected. Rather we should learn to accept Mr Modi as the Truth! You must have already read that one of the many suits he wore (outnumbering Michelle's change of dress) carried his full name as an interwoven design. A narcissistic PM is what we have. Soon he will be a dictator, I assure you.

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. Mr Modi's reign will encourage and boost satire, Indrani.

      Delete
    2. I just cannot but think... Would RK Laxman have had a field day, had he lived, or would he have been curtailed.. Worth a thought.

      Delete
  4. Hilariously thought provoking post. Nicely written. "Learn to use power when you get it instead of throwing it away like a kid who gets tired of his toy," very well said!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure the days ahead will perfect the satirist in me :)

      Delete
  5. Nice post Matheikal sir, even I too shared the same types of feeling in a status. I thought AK49 should not cry about it, as he claims himself to be a common people, and tell me one thing who is the common man who receives the invitation to such events?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was Thinking that This all is your story with Kejriwal , but at the end it was KB . Really AK49 now become a second joker of politics after Lalu Yadav . very well written

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, really I won't call him a joker; he is inexperienced.

      Delete
  7. I love satires. Great post.
    AK may have a tendency to lean towards drama, but then can we find a single leader today who doesn't? At least, Kejriwal is still clinging to his principles, which can not be said of Kiran Bedi.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree with you, Koran. My satire is actually directed against Dr Jedi.

      Delete
    2. Sorry, the overzealous auto-correction changed your name.

      Delete
    3. Lol, It's very difficult to override auto-correct, specially on phone.
      I know, the satire is directed at KB. That's why I liked it more.
      AK might not be very experienced, but I don't much like the idea of making fun of him. At least he is trying to free the nation from corruption. Besides, I have a soft spot for idealism.

      Delete
    4. Thank god there are still people left with a sense of humour :)

      Delete
  8. For some reasons, my sixth sense says KB is a sleeper cell of BJP all these years.

    ReplyDelete
  9. So what can be done to become a major to get the licence to enter politics, may I know?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Not that I am with Kejriwal on all aspects of Politics. But I am sure he is better than many of his counter parts like Kiran and the narcissist raja. Being an inexperienced man does not disqualify him from the noble task of Politics. He has zero experience on corruption ! Doesn't it counts ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I voted for AAP in the last Delhi Assembly elections. I got my wife to do the same. And we are going to repeat it in the coming election too. That's because I like AK's idealism. But I know such idealism is impossible to practise. By now I guess AK must have learnt quite a bit of politics.

      Delete
  11. Replies
    1. The latest poll says that Delhiites want Arvind Kejriwal as their next CM :)

      Delete
  12. enjoyed your post. I too feel AK tries to achieve the impossible in today's India. Hope he has learnt from his previous experiences and does not repeat them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I share your hope, Farah, and am most likely to vote his party again.

      Delete
  13. This is hilarious! Absolutely agree that Mr Kejriwal needs to grow up...he has way to go in politics

    ReplyDelete

  14. Arvind Kejriwal is currently gotten in another debate.
    CM Arvind Kejriwal his against debasement arrangements, daughter gotten red handedly.

    Arvind kejriwal daughter doing inducement

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Adventures of Toto as a comic strip

  'The Adventures of Toto' is an amusing story by Ruskin Bond. It is prescribed as a lesson in CBSE's English course for class 9. Maggie asked her students to do a project on some of the lessons and Femi George's work is what I would like to present here. Femi converted the story into a beautiful comic strip. Her work will speak for itself and let me present it below.  Femi George Student of Carmel Public School, Vazhakulam, Kerala Similar post: The Little Girl

Sanjay and other loyalists

AI-generated illustration Some people, especially those in politics, behave as if they are too great to have any contact with the ordinary folk. And they can get on with whoever comes to power on top irrespective of their ideologies and principles. Sanjay was one such person. He occupied some high places in Sawan school [see previous posts, especially P and Q ] merely because he knew how to play his cards more dexterously than ordinary politicians. Whoever came as principal, Sanjay would be there in the elite circle. He seemed to hold most people in contempt. His respect was reserved for the gentry. I belonged to the margins of Sawan society, in Sanjay’s assessment. So we hardly talked to each other. Looking back, I find it quite ludicrous to realise that Sanjay and I lived on the same campus 24x7 for a decade and a half without ever talking to each other except for official purposes.      Towards the end of our coexistence, Sawan had become a veritable hell. Power supply to the

Thomas the Saint

AI-generated image His full name was Thomas Augustine. He was a Catholic priest. I knew him for a rather short period of my life. When I lived one whole year in the same institution with him, I was just 15 years old. I was a trainee for priesthood and he was many years my senior. We both lived in Don Bosco school and seminary at a place called Tirupattur in Tamil Nadu. He was in charge of a group of boys like me. Thomas had little to do with me directly as I was under the care of another in-charge. But his self-effacing ways and angelic smile drew me to him. He was a living saint all the years I knew him later. When he became a priest and was in charge of a section of a Don Bosco institution in Kochi, I met him again and his ways hadn’t changed an iota. You’d think he was a reincarnation of Jesus if you met him personally. You won’t be able to meet him anymore. He passed away a few years ago. One of the persons whom I won’t ever forget, can’t forget as long as the neurons continu

William and the autumn of life

William and I were together only for one year, but our friendship has grown stronger year after year. The duration of that friendship is going to hit half a century. In the meanwhile both he and I changed many places. William was in Kerala when I was in Shillong. He was in Ireland when I was in Delhi. Now I am in Kerala where William is planning to migrate back. We were both novices of a religious congregation for one year at Kotagiri in Tamil Nadu. He was older than me by a few years and far more mature too. But we shared a cordial rapport which kept us in touch though we went in unexpected directions later. William’s conversations had the same pattern back then and now too. I’d call it Socratic. He questions a lot of things that you say with the intention of getting to the depth of the matter. The last conversation I had with him was when I decided to stop teaching. I mention this as an example of my conversations with William. “You are a good teacher. Why do you want to stop

Uriel the gargoyle-maker

Uriel was a multifaceted personality. He could stab with words, sting like Mike Tyson, and distort reality charmingly with the precision of a gifted cartoonist. He was sedate now and passionate the next moment. He could don the mantle of a carpenter, a plumber, or a mechanic, as situation demanded. He ran a school in Shillong in those days when I was there. That’s how I landed in the magic circle of his friendship. He made me a gargoyle. Gradually. When the refined side of human civilisation shaped magnificent castles and cathedrals, the darker side of the same homo sapiens gave birth to gargoyles. These grotesque shapes were erected on those beautiful works of architecture as if to prove that there is no human genius without a dash of perversion. In many parts of India, some such repulsive shape is placed in a prominent place of great edifices with the intention of warding off evil or, more commonly, the evil eye. I was Uriel’s gargoyle for warding off the evil eye from his sc