POWER MATTERS FIRST ; OTHER THINGS COME SECOND

This is the story of three men. Studied in the same school, the same class, the same standard. But had different characteristics; for the sake of convenience let me categorize them into three groups, A, B and C.

The first one – let me name him Abhijit. Smart and handsome. Pleasant and serious. Studious and ambitious. Always pleasing but reticent. A book-worm, so beloved to the teachers and principal. Always came top in the class exams and won acclaim. Always thought about dreaming big, his imagination always took wings and soared great heights, his role-model being A.P.J.Abdul Kalam.

Such type of students always entertain thoughts about becoming civil servants, scientists, doctors, engineers, business executives or business tycoons, astronauts professors or IT professionals.

Being highly ambitious, hard-working and enterprising, always ready to struggle ahead against all odds, they reach their destination. Thus they attain a top of the world feeling and satisfaction. Being perfectionist they are always in pursuit of perfection. Always reminds me of a boy with a pleasing smile, trying to pick up volumes of hard-bound editions…a universal student.

Then comes the second man, may I name him Mathai, not that studious or hard-working, never entertaining intellectual pursuits like his classmate and unlike Abhijit, he always preferred to be an average student, not that much willing to spend long hours going through books, only dreamt about becoming a clerk, bus-conductor or driver or a mechanic like a fitter, welder, AC technician, an agriculturist or a small-scale entrepreneur and earn a modest living without disturbing anybody in the society. His great virtue being nursing no jealous or bitterness against his former classmate and not so intimate friend Abhijit. With a sense of humour sometimes I feel our society encompasses umpteen incarnations of Mathais.

In comes the third category and let me call him, Stalin, in a sense the most charismatic and aggressive, his adrenalin always keeps flowing. “Extroverts” in the psychological parlance, most of them in their school and college days always had a penchant for enacting chaotic scenes in University campuses (among them a few study well, strike well, research well and earn doctorates) and streets doing maximum damage to properties, both private and public, injuring as much pedestrians as possible, irrespective of caste, creed or religion- under the pretext of betterment of society. These dare-devils never care the security cordons, take on the policemen, face the grenades, tear-gas shells, police-batons and in extreme cases face even the bullets and derive ecstasy in becoming martyrs.

When the chips are down we the citizens witness the incredible sights of Stalin and his comrades reaching the higher echelons of power enjoy all the luxuries like security, travel across the State with heavy bandobust, inauguration of bridges, buildings and even the cultural activities accompanied by long hours of speeches.

In the meanwhile, incarnations of Abhijit with all servility work under the commands of their former classmates, the present-day rulers- and the incarnations of Mathai proceed along the dotted lines of daily-bread providers.