This is the time of the year when Ayyappa devotees hold Mandala Pooja celebrations. Earlier the number of organisations holding these programmes were very few. Mostly they were centred around Matunga and Chembur. Now almost every suburb boasts of its celebration. Even in distant places like Vasai-Virar events are held in a grand manner. Lakhs of people also undertake the arduous trek to Sabarimala in Kerala, unmindful of the hardships involved. In the past mostly South Indians used to undertake the pilgrimage. But now an increasing number of Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sindhis are joining that millions. They are required to keep 'vrat' for 41 days before the journey and this involves completely abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, nonvegetarian food and sex. The intense devotion of the devotees is seen to be believed. The group chanting of 'Swamiye Sharanam' releases tremendous energy
The Thackeray family pays homage to their patriarch, Balasaheb, on his death anniversary, at Shivaji Park in Dadar on Sunday |
Out Of Touch PROs
Another feature of polls these days is the appointment of personal PROs by the candidates over and above the ones working for their political parties. Many of these personal PROs are well-meaning but have poor knowledge of politics. Like this guy did not know the difference between the two Senas and the two factions of the NCP. Many lacked a sense of urgency. Like some of the candidates, their PR guys were also not well versed with issues confronting the city. Many voters do not see much difference between the candidates. They are left with little choice but opt for the lesser evil.
Kudos To Poll Staff Who Seized Crores
The campaign for the assembly polls on November 20 was relatively incident-free. The seizure of several hundreds of crores in cash was a testimony to the alertness of the police and the election staff. Many more crores might have escaped their attention. But then the staff have their limitations. Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam and his able Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dr Kulkarni proved correct leadership to thousands of government and non-government staff so that the poll process goes without a glitch. One problem which they face is the insistence of voters on carrying their mobiles inside the polling booth. Many simply cannot adjust to a few minutes without their beloved mobiles. This creates unnecessary friction at polling centres. Also, many insist on driving up to to the polling centres, which is a strict no-no. This is another sore point between educated voters and poll officials.
Tailpiece
A wag commented, rather cynically, that democracy is when candidates spend crores of rupees so that they can win and stay away from their voters for five years!
Compiled by S Balakrishnan
