" Either you die a hero or live long enough to become a villain"
Once upon a time there was an old man who had dreams of ruling Bharat; that is India! He set out in a chariot (in the 20thcentury if you please) to correct a ‘wrong’ committed in some bygone era. His band of loyal supporters spread their message of hate all along the route his chariot took. Like a King he was adored, his every word was worth its weight in gold. But he was not yet King. He would be crowned soon if things went as planned. As part of his grand design the to-be-King led a sea of men and women to destroy an old relic which offered very little resistance to human hate. That done, he seemed to feel as if they had wiped out the bad chapters of History from Bharat’s past; where marauders had taken over and ruled the land rightfully owned by the majority. The majority was constantly irritated by the sops doled out by the then ruling party to the minorities. They feared the minorities’ supposed loyalty to Bharat’s nasty neighbour and also abhorred their supposed fertility, where the minorities with their various lawful wives would procreate in a manner not known to human beings and eventually become the majority! This fear, this false sense of insecurity and the man who wanted to change this once and for all (he had a chariot too) paved the way for their party’s victory at the polls. And he was called the Iron man (a term only fit for Sardar Patel, but that’s only my opinion, and who cares about my opinion….I don’t have any chariot!)
Finally they were going to get their due and their temple! But on the day of the coronation the man with the chariot was in for a rude shock! He was all dressed up as a King and looked very splendid but to his utter dismay a mild mannered poet who had no part to play in the chariot race suddenly trumped him to the throne, because the party wanted somebody more ‘inclusive’ to rule Bharat. The Iron man suddenly lost his mettle. All his work was for nothing? And there was the court case and the commission! He was busy denying the very things that he had so proudly orchestrated and worked so hard to achieve. The Poet recited poetry, tried his hands at converting Bharat’s wily neighbour into a friend but had to go to war instead. And yet nobody wanted the Iron man, the King-in-waiting, on the throne! The temple was doomed.
But worse was yet to come! A motley group whose oratory was distinctly lacking, came to power in the next poll. The undisputed Queen of that party relinquished the throne that Iron man was still dreaming of sitting on, with an ease that shocked him and Bharat. People suddenly felt that a person who could do that would do wonders for Bharat. She put a very respected economist on the throne. He didn’t wear a crown, his turban was what he was comfortable in. He had to be reminded that he was the King, he had to be prodded to speak! What insanity was this! The Iron man waited, licking his wounds; some inflicted by his own people. His acerbic tongue still attracted a huge following. Among them was a loyal fan from the State of the Mahatma. When the Iron man had gone one step, the Fan Boy had gone two. In his state there was no question of which community was in power! When the Poet censured Fan boy, the Iron man patted Fan boy lovingly and assured him that the tide will turn in their favour. They waited. And it did! At least for Fan Boy! Fan boy ruled the State of the Mahatma with a firm hand and an autocratic manner. He had learnt it from the Iron man. His State prospered and he got the reputation of a man who delivers good governance, his detractors be damned! Meanwhile a consecutive win at the polls for the Queen and her Economist flummoxed the Iron man and his party. His magic seemed to be fading like the dress he had worn at the coronation long ago. The trunk that stored his dreams had a distinctly musty smell. Luckily for Fan Boy, the Queen and her Economist had completely lost the plot! They had forgotten that they were there to serve the people, not themselves, their relatives and friends. They introduced India to a lot of ‘gates’ (till then, Colgate only whitened teeth). The Queen’s party was inefficient, infamous, insufferable and the Economist wore his turban very, very uneasily as the years went by. The people of Bharat had had enough of the inflation,indecisiveness, lack of security, corruption and scams that were raising their ugly head by the second. This was the chance! The Iron Man would be King yet. He started polishing his chariot once again.
But not all stories have a happy ending.
When people started clamouring for an Iron Man, Fan Boy was the one they were referring to. Even before the next polls he was the undisputed crown prince. People who had dared oppose Fan Boy at one time suddenly clamoured for a look from him in their direction, even a disdainful or dismissive one. They were all looking forward to becoming his courtiers and turned into his most vociferous supporters. Today, the Iron Man is sick from the loss of his dreams. He doesn’t join his party at the tourist’s paradise of India. He knows that he has to lock away the clothes he had once planned to wear as King. He has nobody surrounding him with praises except a handful of his party members who don’t really matter to anybody. He cringes when people shout out Fan Boy’s name in adulation. He wants so much for him to at least seek his advice; at least thank him, his mentor, every time he conquers the crowd with his speech. But Fan Boy is now his own man. He doesn’t need anybody. He believes others need him.
Suddenly Iron Man hears people shouting outside his residence. His heart overflows with joy. He thinks his supporters have come to carry him to the tourist’s paradise because he is unwell. He stumbles out to his balcony, one hand already raised to bless his adoring supporters. That hand comes in handy to stop the stone hurled by angry supporters of Fan Boy. They are protesting his lack of support to Fan Boy! He is shouting out to tell Fan Boy that with every sunrise there is a sunset and that there is many a slip between a crown prince and a coronation! But he is not heard. All that the Fan Boy’s fans want to hear is an apology for insulting Fan Boy! The Iron man sits down on the floor of his balcony to collect his strength. He walks out of his house with a purpose. The chariot in his garden mocks him. He walks to the house of the Poet. The Poet has not had any visitors for years. The Poet asks if everything is alright. The Iron man cries like a little child. He looks at the Poet and says, “You were right". They both sit in the Poet’s balcony watching the Sun set.
