KAHIHI

‘Maharashtra is a mahajoke,’ a young boy from a southern state of India told me. He was in Mumbai for two years and knew about the state much more than the youth of his age from the land – politically, culturally, and financially.

‘Why?’ I asked him with a bit of disdain, though somewhere within I concurred with him.

‘See, you all here are joking. Right from a budding actor to your chief minister, people have no other business it seems!’

I couldn’t refute his statement because it was true beyond doubt.

One of the earlier two chief ministers, handsome looking than his actor son always told the anecdotes about the jokes in his career time on stage, in his interviews or on Marathi news channels. His smile is good, might have been liked by the ruling squad of the country. And hence he could have been reinstated as the chief minister. The reasons may be abundant. The Pandora box is opening and other reasons for his baxishi (the chief minister could not pronounce ‘s’ properly, he said ‘sh’ for ‘s’) may pop up soon. Then it could turn out to be a tragical humour!

“Umar-e Daraj Mangke Laye Theyy Char Din…” half of them he wasted on telling jokes and rest in obeying orders of Delhi.

Maharashtra is fond of homour. ChiVi Joshi, Acharya Atre, PuLa Deshpande and though a mainly politician, Balasaheb Thackeray, through his circuitous speeches have kept the tradition. That was a kind of - old as gold. However, over the generations the pedigree is spifflicating the legacy.

Aso.

Anyhow a minor reason caused to stop this joke and Maharashtra heaved a sigh of relief from invasion of jokes in political life.

Delhi sent an MBA to Maharashtra to rule as a CEO.

One more smart sigh of relief. An MBA would rule the state. What a fortune! Smart fellow. Smart talker with a bit extra smart tone. But this talker had a relationship with tower. Who knew? The smartness was a rudeness, who knew?

The MBA proved not to be a CEO, but yours obediently.

The bobda (dull in talks) prince is his master.

I’m coming to Mumbai to challenge ShivSena, prince messaged. Obedient CEO massaged himself for duty, collected all the police force from other duties and employed them to protect the prince as if there was going to be a borderline battle. The prince traveled with full protection in a local train specially emptied for him.

The MBA, CEO, Chief Minister of the once upon a time the most progressive, reformist state, himself left the place of his work brushing aside his formal duties and marched to the destination that prince was to visit.

Message flashed – I’m reaching within half an hour.

But he is a prince after all. He has his whims. Is it compulsory for him by law or convention to reach the destination within the stipulated time?

Would he care that chief minister of a big state, the biggest financial earner to run his kingdom, is waiting for him? Never mind. He took a diversion en route and reached his destination after couple of hours. Diversions are not new to Maharashtra!

Our CEO, visibly embarrassed, sat underneath a mango tree holding his right cheek fallen like a lorn in right hand as a policeman on a duty or a door keeper at his own cabin does.

(Memory pricked me to remember Sean Connery and Ursula Andress in the first James Bond movie, Dr. No that had a song – “underneath a mango tree”)

Has Maharashtra ever been conflicted by a more cruel joke than this?

And that even though he continued raising the towers of corruption is daily coming out before Maharashtra, India, Asia, the world, the earth, the universe and so on….

Hehi aso.

A new chief minister, wisdom prevail, that Delhi has sent.

M.S. from University of California.

He is a Member Consultative Committee, Ministry of Science and Technology, Electronics, Atomic Energy, Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Finance and Planning, Rural and Urban Development, Committee on Public Undertakings, Public Accounts Committee, Standing Committee on Energy and many others.

With such a vast range of experience of work and guts to defy the viciously powerful builder lobby in Maharashtra while assuming the already badnaam post he may wash out the buffoon’s image his predecessors have created, one feels.

Anna Hazare, the only Gandhian left in the country, also feels so.

Notwithstanding, Raj Thackeray doesn’t. The new CM’s action may soon make him change his opinion.

For me, I remember the CM in a beautiful movie packed with positive outlook, SARANSH. The chief minister at the end of the movie says to his teacher – ‘There is still a hope.’

Who would forget that chief minister enacted by Akash Khurana, the epitome of simplicity, authority, and sophistication one feels a politician should be like.

And, I hope to write soon to that young friend of mine from southern state that, Maharashtra is ‘mahawoke’ from that nightmare of joke.