April 23, Voting Day, Goa awakings to another balmy summer morning. Early traffic, louder and with an unusual sense of urgency, seems to announce that “the battle for Goa has begun”.
Groomed, a fresh lavender face, hopefully it resembles the one on your Voter ID, you are primed up to enter the fray, a bit apprehensive that your name by some chance in a million may not show on the electoral register. But being a veteran of many a ballot box battle you are indeed at the right station. Ah! they do have your name, perhaps misspelt, and with a satisfied sense of acceptance that you are now among the vast army of citizen voters, you are about impose your dictat on the nation of how you want the country to be governed for the next five years. A welcome doze of adrenaline, after weeks of balancing the enigmatic options available, gets you all fired-up to exercise that final thrust for victory.
It’s you against 900 million purple dots. You are here because you figured that more than half the country will favour the same electronic switch, the one that will elect “your” Party to Rule the Nation for the next five years. The clarion call has been sounded, nine hundred million warriors of every shape and size, supported by eleven million polling station personnel, one million polling booths, three and a half million digital EVM machines, responding to the battle cry: “Go out and vote, your future awaits”.
The Romance of Democracy
Elections in India are a once-in-five-year monumental spectacle of organisational endeavour for the world to witness and wonder, a universal exhibition by a yet-to-be-superich country that has spared no expense to honour the Supreme Spirit of Democracy, a treasure which the entire Nation holds with great reverence; Do it, come what may!
Two Klicks Too Far
Constitutional Decree demands that no polling station should be more than 2 kilometers away for any eligible voter anywhere within the sovereign national boundaries. There is indeed one voter, a pujari, who resides in a temple in the middle of a forest in Gujarat, just beyond that statutory measure. To uphold that legal tenet, an entire Voting Station was setup: polling staff, security, the EVM, the works; regardless of the expense and effort.
Rs 2800 crore is what the Treasury will dole out for this unparalled worldwide event. That’s about Four Billion US Dollars, just what The Donald needs to build his Wall.
“Purple Dots and Sweet Dreams”
This byline has been inspired by the title of a song Polka Dots and Moon Beams. The first line of the song says: “A country dance is being held in a garden”, but this Dance celebrates the Country’s love for Democracy. You step up to the dance floor adorned with your regimental colour, the Purple Dot on your left index finger, some of it smeared onto your fingernail. So now, in full Purple-Dotted Battle colours, you march forward with pre-determined instructions for your candidate, or rather your “Candy Date”, [no, that’s not a typo], the one you have entrusted to fullfill your sweet dreams for a cleaner and happier Goa, a wish that’s always close to your heart.
The EVM awaits, with a gentle dab of your index finger (digitus in Latin, “digital warfare” indeed), on that revered button, you just made it known to the Nation that this is how you want life to be. You step out with a rush of conviction that this time it’s a Win!
The Exit Poll Paparazzi will be soon be hounding you. But you won’t tell!
As a designated voter, you are the ruler. Casting your vote is not just a participatory sport; setting aside regional divide, caste, colour, creed, social and financial status, you have decided who should be appointed to guide the Nation until the next electoral term. It’s not for them to “rule”, but instead to obey the Voice of the Voter.
The Season of Grace and Abstinence has been officially extended by three days, Lord Bacchus has been prevented from upending the proceedings. At least they sportingly announced a heads-up well in advance for the “faithful” to stock up!
So tell me soldier, thy warfare done,
Have you lost, or have you won?
And what did you win, or what did you lose? Those Sweet Dreams, or “Moon Beams”?
Other nagging questions still linger.
Why are Political Campaigns so vicious, vigorous and oftentimes violent?
How does the winner become the Ruling Party? Only Leaders qualify in a Democracy.
If the passion to serve is so intense, why do they accuse and abuse the “opposing” parties? Why the heart-rending rivalry? They too are an integral part of the people the “winners” must soon serve.
Is “Ruling the Country” just an immensely profitable Business Project that justifies unlimited and illegal funding? They’ll say: “We are the true patriots, it’s all fair in Love and War”!
If the feuding factions do have upright and noble motivations, why do they have to produce competing “manifestos”? Both major protagonists will declare: “If the other side wins, the nation will collapse”. Does that mean, whoever wins, we All lose?
Do we need “Political Parties” in the first place who produce only hype and hoopla and hate for each other? What love then for the citizens they must serve?
A Democratic Nation really needs only independent candidates, a collaboration of high caliber professionals who know that what must be done is what the People want. For the next month and a day, 1.3 billion hearts will be engulfed in eager speculation and feverish suspense: Who will be the Winner.
Meanwhile, an emotional vacuum descends upon the land,
Take heart brave Commander, today you marched onto the battleground and told the entire Nation what you want. You are the very meaning of Democracy. Be proud of that Purple Dot, and hope that when it begins to fade, your wishes won’t.
(The author is now a permanent resident of Goa after many years of living in Mumbai, New York and London)
