Nepali politics reminds me of a sport, but I can’t seem to remember which one.
Cricket? Nah, that’s requires integrity. How about Football? Nope, it requires team work.
Perhaps Tennis? No. Chess? Close but not quite.
Common on, you know the game. It’s based solely on individual push and shove. No team work involved. No scope for corporation. No give and take. Its requires very little skill and excellent timing.
Anything? Any idea? More hint? Okay.
Winning the game always gets you a handsome prize; which the winner flaunts in the face of the prize giver like an annoying child teasing its parents. Also, in all their impudence, the winner uses the prize to seduce other players into playing more games. More games mean more opportunities to win.
And the dance carries on. Push and shove till there is a winner. The winner gets a prize. The possibility of winning that prize lures people to carry on playing the game. All is dandy except for the person giving away the prizes. Every time there is a new winner grand spoils are doled out to the victor. Ever wondered where the money comes from?
I swear the name of the game is on the tip of my tongue. What is it?
Polo? no. no. no. Elephant polo? you’re just being silly now.
"Mother father swear"* it’s almost there. Yes.
Eureka! Eureka! Yes, I remember.
It reminds of musical chairs. That’s it. A selfish dance round chairs where the sole purpose is to eliminate the other players –by hook or crook –till there is only one winner. And the winner is rewarded handsomely by the prize giver –that’s us, the general public.
Except this is worse. Nepali politics is nonstop game of musical chairs that’s fixed. If you let me win this time, I’ll let you win the next time and in the end we all are winner. I apologize if I said Nepali politicians can’t cooperate? Thick as thieves the lot of them!
Like any fixed game there needs to be a show of competition to avoid suspicion. 5 point agreement, 2 point agreement, 7 point agreement followed by months of disagreements on the agreements already agreed to be agreed upon. He says this, shouts at that all the while confounding us till we stop caring. Yet, like fools, we give out Pajeroes and clear the roads for the prime minister. And the dance goes on.
If we move to stop the game they scare us witless with threats of incomplete peace processes and standing armies. And so the dance goes on.
* mother father swear- in desi lingo that is the most serious oath of honor one can possibly take.
1 comment:
Haha...if u hadn't had that "note" thingy in the bottom, I wouldn't have guessed what "mother father swear" actually meant bhanera...but anyways, it was a good one ... to read ... right after one wakes up :)
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