http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Answer-to-Maya-Meira-swears-by-Sanskrit-classics/articleshow/4614189.cms
Answer to Maya? Meira swears by Sanskrit classics 4 Jun 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN NEW DELHI: Asked about the latest book on her desk, newly-elected Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, interestingly enough, mentioned Kalidas's masterpiece, ‘Abhigyan Shakuntalam’. "I read it again and again," she said. Known for an avid interest in books, Kumar had other easy choices as well. One best-seller chronicling the struggle of an aspiring politician is Barack Obama's ‘Audacity of Hope’. That could have summed up the story of a politician hitting the success trail after a topsy-turvy ride. Taking questions from reporters soon after her election as Speaker, Kumar, however, thought about what should be her answer. She dodged it and replied only when the question was asked for the third time. And thereby hangs a tale. Years ago when she was down and out after losing an election, Kumar read eminent Hindi writer, Giriraj Kishor's epic novel Pehala Girmitya. That was about the Indian diaspora and Mahatma Gandhi's years in South Africa. Mentioning something like that would perhaps have been politically correct and in keeping with the time when Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies earned admiration and the Indians in Australia faced racist hate. Why bringing back Kalidas from a distance of several thousand years? Perhaps this had something to do with the very reason the Congress leadership zeroed in on Kumar for the Speaker's job in the first place. Carrying the legacy of her late father, Babu Jagjivan Ram, Kumar is Congress's best-known Dalit face. For the party which is facing a strong challenge from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati for the battle of the heartland, she could be an answer to the BSP boss. In her attempt to augment the BSP vote-share, Mayawati in 2005 had begun organizing the Brahmin conferences to woo and reassure the community. In her attempt to win over the top of the social pyramid, the Dalit leader promised to look after their interests if voted to power. At such gatherings, some of the Brahmin organisers would present her with a silver axe, the mythical weapon of Parashuram. The attempt clearly was to bridge a deep social divide. >From the opposite end of the political prism, Kumar sought to make the same journey. Her reading of Abhigyan Shakuntalam is a way of coalescing the two social blocks which at the peak of identity politics in UP in the 1990s seemed irreconcilable. ------------------------------------ ---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [email protected], OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to [email protected] TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to [email protected] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
