Of Bridegrooms and Prime Ministers
Priyanka Gandhi had a loquacious Sunday. I mean, she took issue with Narendra Modi on his budhiya/gudiya statements. She hinted at entering active electoral politics at some time in the future. She endorsed Rahul Gandhi’s qualifications as a future(?) Prime Ministerial candidate (incidentally, Amit Varma’s “open letter” to Priyanka Gandhi hits the nail on the head, on this issue). She was also quoted as saying that she wanted to see her brother Rahul Gandhi as a “bridegroom before he becomes the Prime Minister of the country”.
Hmm… quite a loving, playful remark by a sister about her kid brother. Even though it is a presumptuous statement, I don’t think it should be a cause for controversy.
The reason that I posted about this remark is that it somehow (some lateral mental association at work) reminded me of the fabled remark by Shivaji’s lieutenant Tanaji Malusare when he was setting out to capture the Sinhagad fort (then known as Kondana), in the midst of his son Raiba’s wedding festivities. When the wedding guests tried to persuade him to leave after the wedding was over, he famously said (in Marathi) “Aadhi lagin Kondanyache, mag lagin Raibache!“… which translates to “First let me marry off Kondana, only then we will proceed with Raiba’s wedding”. Tanaji then went on to scale the fort with a handful of Marathas and laid down his life in winning the fort for Shivaji.
As I said, some random lateral association in my mind, that’s all!
April 13, 2009 No Comments


