Beta

Water Water Everywhere

Apr 4 2008 | Views 236 | Comments (4)

I cannot recollect which great poet siad the immortal words - Water water everywhere but nar... Expand

I cannot recollect which great poet siad the immortal words - 'Water water everywhere but nary a drop to drink'. I'm sure there is no situation more apt for the statement than the current Karnataka-TN Hoggenekal Tamasha.

So this river cuts across two states. It is the lifeline for the farmers of both the states.

When it runs dry, so do their lives. When it overflows, it washes away their precious lives. Every swell, current of the river influences their very breaths.

Farmers on both sides of the border saw the same river. That is before some learned person decided to construct a dam across it, supposedly for the benefit of these sons (and daughters) of the soil.

Language, borders and political avarice all created a never-ending potboiler, akin to a long-drawn Balaji Telefilm Soap Opera.

Generation Leaps took place. Political audiences on both sides of the river kept a close watch on the TRPs -i.e. VOTES. Whenever they seemed in danger of slipping or when the public got tires of seeing the same old drama and tried to watch healthier or educational programs (i.e. threats to vote in a new party to power) special occasons (ELECTIONS), a new twist in the tale was introduced. The Cauvery Issue had it all - Numerology (Kaveri vs Cauvery), Greed, Politics, Drama, Tragedy (only for the farmers), rape of the downtrodden farmers' prospects, etc etc etc.

The costumes were categorized - white and white with the respective party flag colour borders for the villians and vamps of the plot. Dirty, old and worn-out clothes for the long-suffering protagonists. Brother turning against brother, backstabbing, people shuffling from one camp to another, lots of twists and turns, NO SOLUTION or the end.

As for the Balaji soaps, they may get over in a few decades. This is a never ending saga. The creative heads - politicians of the respective states are alughing all the way to the bank - vote bank that is. We, the brainless viewers are hooked onto it. They feed our addiction to the plot. They can find a solution to our problem, but then which drug dealer will voluntarily allow an addict to enter Rehab?

Bella, After Ages Close