Masala chai- A lot can happen over a cup of tea!
Hi pals,
I promised in my last article 'My inner reflections', that I will be back soon!! And of course, I wanted to be back sooner than now, but when there are no deadlines set, anybody including myself will take one's own sweet time. I should have written this post a little bit earlier, but there I go about this now.
May was the month of sweeping change in our political arena, the change that everybody was waiting to see and it favored Narendra Modi heavily in the form of anti-incumbency factor. NDA alliance (or BJP??) swept the congress-led UPA so heavily that they could not grab enough seats to form the opposition party. Even Rahul Gandhi won against Smrithi Irani in Amethi constituency by hair's breadth. The swearing-in ceremony was most watched as it was made more special with the attendance of leaders from SAARC countries and also with various film personals, industrialists. The expectations and positive vibes were so much felt everywhere. It is the first time in our history that a non-congress party won the majority seats without the help of other parties.
As the euphoria over the new party comes down and time for the real work begins, many of us couldn't help noticing that chai or tea also played an important part in this elections. A chaiwala becoming a prime minister is no small joke. Narendra Modi, who hails from Gujarat, belongs to backward caste used to help his father and brother run the tea stalls. Though he was an average student, he was a good theatre person & a debater which helped him enter the politics and the rest, they say, is history. But the chaiwala image seems to have stuck with him. Mani Shankar Iyer uttered during the campaign that Narendra Modi will never become a Prime Minister and he can as well go back to sell chai. And of course, it created furore as expected. There was a lot of outcry and blog articles attacking Mani Shankar Iyer. Though he lost in elections, he was successful in creating a storm in a tea cup. Now, if there is tea powder sold under the brand name 'NaMo', I am sure it will sell like hot cakes and will win all the votes. That is the kind of charisma our new Prime Minister was able to create.
For reasons good or bad, bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into 2 separate states Telangana and Andhra Pradesh took place. Governor E S L Narasimhan discussed issues that may arise post-bifurcation. I believe tea had some influence on him when he told that he will invite Mr Chandrababu Naidu and K C Chandrasekhara Rao to discuss various issues that can be resolved over a cup of tea (or dissolved IN a cup of tea??).
Last Sunday, an article 'A train journey and two names to remember' appeared in 'The Hindu's Open Page. It was a poignant and moving article written by Leena Sharma. The link is:
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/a-train-journey-and-two-names-to-remember/article6070562.ece
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Mr Shankersinh Vaghela, who was one of those names in the article was pleasantly surprised that he expressed his desire to invite the author for 'a cup of tea' to relive the nostalgia. So much for a humble cup of tea!
Yes, a lot can happen over a cup of tea! Tea comes in different avatars like the normal one (milk tea), ginger tea, masala tea, lemon tea, green tea, tulsi tea, black tea etc.
We have bought the 'chai' because of the charisma i.e, we have voted Modi to power! Now, the proof of the chai is in good governance, law and order, economic growth! To chalo, chai pe charcha ho jaye??? Long live, chai!
Deepa.
I promised in my last article 'My inner reflections', that I will be back soon!! And of course, I wanted to be back sooner than now, but when there are no deadlines set, anybody including myself will take one's own sweet time. I should have written this post a little bit earlier, but there I go about this now.
May was the month of sweeping change in our political arena, the change that everybody was waiting to see and it favored Narendra Modi heavily in the form of anti-incumbency factor. NDA alliance (or BJP??) swept the congress-led UPA so heavily that they could not grab enough seats to form the opposition party. Even Rahul Gandhi won against Smrithi Irani in Amethi constituency by hair's breadth. The swearing-in ceremony was most watched as it was made more special with the attendance of leaders from SAARC countries and also with various film personals, industrialists. The expectations and positive vibes were so much felt everywhere. It is the first time in our history that a non-congress party won the majority seats without the help of other parties.
As the euphoria over the new party comes down and time for the real work begins, many of us couldn't help noticing that chai or tea also played an important part in this elections. A chaiwala becoming a prime minister is no small joke. Narendra Modi, who hails from Gujarat, belongs to backward caste used to help his father and brother run the tea stalls. Though he was an average student, he was a good theatre person & a debater which helped him enter the politics and the rest, they say, is history. But the chaiwala image seems to have stuck with him. Mani Shankar Iyer uttered during the campaign that Narendra Modi will never become a Prime Minister and he can as well go back to sell chai. And of course, it created furore as expected. There was a lot of outcry and blog articles attacking Mani Shankar Iyer. Though he lost in elections, he was successful in creating a storm in a tea cup. Now, if there is tea powder sold under the brand name 'NaMo', I am sure it will sell like hot cakes and will win all the votes. That is the kind of charisma our new Prime Minister was able to create.
For reasons good or bad, bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into 2 separate states Telangana and Andhra Pradesh took place. Governor E S L Narasimhan discussed issues that may arise post-bifurcation. I believe tea had some influence on him when he told that he will invite Mr Chandrababu Naidu and K C Chandrasekhara Rao to discuss various issues that can be resolved over a cup of tea (or dissolved IN a cup of tea??).
Last Sunday, an article 'A train journey and two names to remember' appeared in 'The Hindu's Open Page. It was a poignant and moving article written by Leena Sharma. The link is:
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/a-train-journey-and-two-names-to-remember/article6070562.ece
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Mr Shankersinh Vaghela, who was one of those names in the article was pleasantly surprised that he expressed his desire to invite the author for 'a cup of tea' to relive the nostalgia. So much for a humble cup of tea!
Yes, a lot can happen over a cup of tea! Tea comes in different avatars like the normal one (milk tea), ginger tea, masala tea, lemon tea, green tea, tulsi tea, black tea etc.
We have bought the 'chai' because of the charisma i.e, we have voted Modi to power! Now, the proof of the chai is in good governance, law and order, economic growth! To chalo, chai pe charcha ho jaye??? Long live, chai!
Deepa.
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