By Ananya S Guha
After my friend’s ramblings the other day on the ‘ethics’ or rather ‘un-ethics’ of corruption my brain cells suddenly became active. I was a rejuvenated man, suddenly surcharged with ideas. Plato’s philosophy of harnessing power for the good of people came to mind. Bertrand Russell’s apostasy also filtered in. Russell had all along pleaded for a common humanity bereft of plutocracy and corruptibility, the kind of which wields absolute power.
What is corruption I thought, the thousands in the country who have to pay the extra buck to get their gas cylinders: are they ‘corrupt’? The plethora of articles on corruption in glossy magazines only accentuated my desire for a true ‘definition’ of the term.
I decided not to be caught in cobwebs but to discover the meaning by application. Confucius’s philosophy: “the essence of knowledge is knowing how to apply it” gave my quest an epiphanic twist. I was a man charged, charged with self discovery; raring to go. Some options came readily to the mind. I would go on a Dharna. No, what does it exactly mean?
I would go for a sit in. No, but what is the ‘in’? Should I not sit ‘out’? So that everyone would see, TV cameras would flash and I would be the impresario?
Or, should I go for a padyatra: A small voice said; “but your legs are weak, you can hardly climb up the slopes in Laitumkhrah”. I winced, of course I asseverated, I shall fast!
Immediately, I rang up my volunteer friend and gave him the good news. “Look”, I told him “I have decided to fast and have a ‘sit out’ in protest against that rampant and ubiquitous enemy-corruption, the seeds of evil, the root cause of poverty in a decrepit nation”. I could have continued. I felt self congratulatory.
“Ok, ok”, my friend replied.
“At last you have realized the worth of my words”, this he jeered.
“But be sure that microphones are around, TV Cameras flash like lightning and microphones trail the blaze like thunder. Remember also to be calm, the media will pillory you with questions.”
I agreed politely. After all I was still reeling under an apocalyptic fit.
“And also remember”, he cautioned. “Always keep some lime juice ready. You may be given very short notice to break the fast.”
