Aap Kaa Tharroor …!!

Media have had a field day (or a week) and the TRPs show no signs of dropping. Just when one rising controversy got a pre-mature burial, you have a bigger, better and juicier scandal taking over the cynosural space. Also, contrary to the apprehensions shown by some experts, IPL seems to be in no danger of losing out on any viewership. If anything it only seems to get bigger. When two bombs, much like RGV’s Phoonk 1 and 2, go off without deterring, let alone scaring anyone, an off-field hullabaloo surely makes no difference to the viewer. So, one thing is settled – Indians don’t care whether Modi or anyone else for that matter runs the show, whether Sunanda Pushkar got a sweat equity or got sweaty and rickety - as long as the Tendulkars keep lending their classic drives and flicks to this ‘bowlers-sent-to-gallows’ game and the Dale Stynes keep the soul of fast bowling intact with occasional bursts that send the batsmen’s stumps cartwheeling, the show will go on. People won’t desert it that easily, definitely not for some alleged backstage rip-off.

Now coming to the other core issue of speculation, which I believe every Indian has a right to make considering the alleged impropriety in question. There are many theories floating around but I’ll stick to something I find most reasonable and workable in the current scenario. I’ll assume that Mr. Modi indeed knew the consequences of his actions when he sent the infamous tweet that out-tweeted Mr.Tweeter himself. Let’s face it, Lalit Modi is not new to controversies and neither is IPL. It wasn’t hard to fathom the high decibel drama that was to follow once he let the media in. Maybe Mr. Modi always was and will remain a daredevil of sorts. The man who used to take on ‘white men twice his size’ without fearing a sound beating, probably stayed true to his confident aggressive self when it came to exchanging political blows with Tharoor this time. But why did Modi choose Kochi to tweet about when there are handful of other franchises with undisclosed assets that may or may not have political affiliations?

Point no.1: It was all about making a statement - a statement of purpose. Whether one likes it or not, IPL remains Modi’s brainchild. He envisioned it, sawed it, nurtured it and obviously wants a complete control over it. He is the Judge, the Jury and the Attorney, all rolled into one – or at least he likes to think that way. Now one needs to understand that auctions are fairly important part of business models like the IPL. With every auction the business expands and you enroll new partners. Since your control dilutes with each new partner, you want to choose them very carefully, keeping your long term stake in mind. Modi kept Tharoor in the loop but always knew that their interests were not the same. A last minute ditch was on the cards. But on the day of reckoning Rendezvous Sports called right (possibly by fluke) and Modi got duped by his own cards. Kochi was not supposed to win the bid but it did. Modi had to put things back in perspective – which meant that Kochi had to be shown the door, leaving Ahmedabad to take its ‘rightful’ place. Moreover, he wanted to set a precedent for future bidders, an example for other unruly franchises, owners and stakeholders of IPL that this was an aberrant. That he is still the boss and he decides who gets what!! Modi may have over batted his powerplay here and hence liable for some political spanking. We will have to see what becomes of him once Tharoor is out of the picture.

Point no. 2: No matter how impressively Mr. Tharoor had put forward his case this time or what his real intentions may have been, the jury was out on him from day one. His office was indeed misused for personal gains. Though I have to say the guy did his best to clear his name, using both his unmatched cool demeanor and wizardry with words to a great effect – he was at the top of his game in his much watched interview with Barkha Dutt (now how often do you see someone outspeaking her?) But washing of dirty linen is never as effective in public as in a laundryroom; no matter what detergent you use some stains just refuse to leave in wide public glare. Ms. Pushkar, he says, is not his proxy but professional businessperson (no kiddin) who got her share of sweat equity in return for rendering her consulting services (I repeat ‘consulting services’) for marketing and brand management. That’s so bad an explanation, it is not even funny. No consultant, not even Mckinsey &Co, would deem itself fit to demand such a share. On being asked whether he ever thought that his closeness with the beautician with ‘brains’ could ever spell trouble for him, he replied, “That’s all the more reason for me not to get involved.”
Tharoor’s counterpoint seemed stronger than his defence but none of that matters now. People, urban elite, his fans, who have read his books and followed his weekend articles in TOI and later his tweets, would be most disappointed and let down, for they thought it was their right to expect professionalism from the professionals at least. For them, it’s the case of ‘the hunter becoming the hunted’. Someone who ironically got swamped by the same quicksand of power and corruption that he criticized for years in his capacity as a prolific writer and a sought-after UN diplomat.
That’s Indian politics for you – an absolute cesspool of corruption that corrupts you absolutely. I am not too sure what is to become of Baba Ramdev, if he doesn't stick to Kapaalbhati and instead persists with his grandiose plans to rob the Swiss bank of its ill-gotten Indian moolah!!

But beyond all that, it was sad to see the electronic media get so infatuated with two men at the top of power structure that it completely forgot to pay homage to the man who is not just one of the greatest business strategists to come out of India but also someone who cared, worked and researched at length for the betterment of those at the bottom of the pyramid – C.K.Prahalad.

Today, a Prahalad is forgotten in the wake of Holika called IPL. Sad.