Personification of speeches – it’s
an art, distilled to the finesse of characterization and intended to establish
a bond with the audience. In politics, and the sort of politics Rahul Gandhi
talks of practicing, this art needs to go beyond the realms of art.
India is dotted with millions of
Kalawatis – living in poverty, burdened, miserable, vulnerable. Kalawati got
ample attention and help after Rahul made her a central figure of his speech.
Have you thought over it?
The words need to perform here.
The words need to get their person in time. The words need to push the act to
the action.
It is mastered not just by the
masterly use of the written words, but also needs the emotional connect with
the subjects
Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly tried
to sound pro-people by using real life examples and anecdotes. But the ground
reality of the real life metaphors that Rahul tries to convey and symbolize
through his speeches fails the very intent.
The ground reality of Rahul’s
real life metaphors fails Rahul.
And by allowing that to happen,
Rahul fails the real life metaphors that he so passionately talks about; that
he so sincerely looks to propagate.
In 2008, a non-descript Kalawati
was immortalized when Rahul Gandhi had passionately spoken about her in a
speech in the Indian Parliament. He had linked prospects of Kalawati’s
empowerment with progressive policies like the ‘India-US Nuclear Deal’.
Yet, Kalawati remains, after five
years, just one of the millions Kalawatis – miserable and burdened. She still
works as a contract labourer and finds it hard to feed the family of eight. Had
Kalawati thought of this sort of immortalization?
Has Rahul Gandhi pondered over
it? We are yet to know that.
And now, Rahul gives us another
personification of his thoughts, this time in a migrant worker, again some
non-descript Girish, much like Kalawati.
Rahul, like Kalawati, talks passionately
about Girish. Rahul talks of optimism and aspirations of youngster who leaves
his village to make a living in a big city.
There are millions of Girishes in
India .
And sorry Mr. Gandhi, their migration is more out of compulsion than out of excitement
to make it big. They realize they are going to be a part of the grinding machinery
that squeezes them out and at the end of the cycle, they return back to their
shores as lesser men that whan they used to be.
The majority of domestic
migration in search of livelihood in India is a sorry story because it
adds to the burgeoning population of the big city slums and not to the living spaces of the rising multistory buildings. We cannot be proud of
that Mr. Gandhi because this population group would never want to leave its
roots if it gets its livelihood there, in that non-descript village.
That non-descript village needs its script Mr. Gandhi.
That non-descript village needs its script Mr. Gandhi.
Have you thought over it?
©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/
