Our Neta

Well, our generation saw the worst of them. The ubiquitous Neta, clad in immaculate white, cynically grinning, undaunted by scandalous exposés, master of subterfuge, archetypically one who could most brazenly blame almost anything on opposition – vipaksha ka hath, is the stereoptypical image that my generation grew up with. Just as my fathers generation saw many who were committed administrators, diligently reading and pushing files, and my grandfathers generation saw nation builders and statesmen, who put the country before self, by the time I was in my teens, politics was literally degenerated to the refuge of the scoundrel. It seemed then, the mores of this tribe had already reached a primal abyss and could not drop deeper.

Neta – surprisingly for me, Webster, still does not recognize the word, implying the English language has not yet co-opted it, notwithstanding lack of a word with parallel connotation in the English language. In-fact, there is clearly no prototype of this character in the Anglo Saxon world. This creature is quite specifically found in India and predominantly in the IndoGangetic plain, though significantly enough, no empirical evidence has been established between this creature and flora and fauna of the Indo Gangetic plain.

Bimaru states (15 pct of Indias GDP), where the combined GDP of all of them is less than the Education Budget of the USA. But, ironically, an average politician of these states can easily buy the President of USA many times over.

Today, I must admit, there are some Netas if you could call them who are very sound and couldn't care less for the strappings of power. P Chidambaram our Home Minister - who has jettisoned symbols, like the beacon light on the car that stands out like a phallic symbol of sarkari power or black cats, whose patented posture of elbows jutting of their modified ambassadors, figuratively forewarning "dont mess with us"- whether they create a protective layer around the protectee or not is yet to be tested, but they clearly do a good job of intimidating all who come their way, and mark the VVVIP from the VIP.

When as a student 15 yrs ago, I had approached PC for a seminar, he opted to sit with the students. Today, at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai, I saw him alight from his unmarked most simple Maruti Esteem, while his counterpart of the Maharashtra State's convoy was too long to fit in the hotel porch.

He also keeps the airport staff, most eager to offer their faciliation to him, always baffled. He exits like a normal passenger, while the officials scurry to facilitate his clearances. He always manages to outsmart them. He carries his own brief case as well. You call this reverse modesty or just his efficiency stretching beyond sarkari files. Clearly, politicians from my home state of UP need to imbibe some this virtue.

See you soon.