The Prince and the Pauper

His Royal Highness had come visiting our part of the country yesterday, which, for the past 34 years, has been to Akbar Road what Wales was to England in the 13th century. HRH, as reported in the media, connected with his people like never before. He breached the barricade, jumped out of his vehicle to shake hands, stood on his bulletproof doorway exposed to the elements and won hearts with his simple, enigmatic smile. He has done this in UP, Tamilnadu and Bihar before. Finally it was the turn of Bengal. However, here his intension is different as, if won over, this is the last bastion which can give him his Crown without the thorn of coalition. He then shall bestow upon all future generation of heir apparents the coveted title of Prince of Bengal, thereby relegating the willow weilding Prince of Calcutta to humiliating wilderness.                                                                    

Internecine struggles and external pressure from the English and later, the Norman conquerors of England,  led to the Welsh kingdoms come gradually under the sway of the English Crown, as we all know. And so would happen in Bengal under HRH, one believes, as he assumes his new assignment seriously. He has promised his partymen of such repeated visits henceforth, that they might grow wary of him. The end of the Roman rule in Wales was followed by incursions by the barbarian tribes from the east like the Anglo and the Saxon, who, inevitably, later became the English. HRH is ready for a repeat of history in Bengal. The transition from the Romans to the Anglo-Saxons have just started to happen, it seems.

The Romans are actually a conglomeration of three parties : The Romans of Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. They are very different in terms of nature, character, lifestyle, culinary habits and appeal. Each one cooks their own fare according to their own taste and serves it the way they feel would have the maximum impact on the discerning. Their Poiltburo, though, has a different skill set altogether. They have this fantastic ability to taste and reject each recipe, after they are served, in true Roman style. They would direct a fellow Roman to be Speaker. Naturally a Speaker, by virtue of the constitution, is above party and is prohibited from being partisan. Then, when the Roman discharges his duty diligently like a model Speaker, the Politburo will order him to be partisan in office, failing which he shall be expelled from the Roman Empire ! Regimented as they are, they have this immense ability to come up with a new non-regimen every time they are nearer to mainstream politics. They did something incomprehensible to one of their very own Patriarchs from Bengal, who was an architect of the Party as well as the Third Front. When it came to becoming Prime Minister, with all Third Front constituents unanimously electing him as their only choice, the Politburo pondered over and said no ! Which Party on earth would not like to propagate their presence in every nook and corner of the kingdom by enacting such an enlightened 'historical blunder' ?  They have done it again to the First Roman of Kerala, who happens to be one of the founders of the Party in that state. This old-world honest Roman has been expelled from the Politburo as he could not tolerate corruption and publicly spoke out in despair ! 

The 'K' factor seems to do more harm than good to everyone except Ekkta Kkapoor. Let's look at the Romans again. The General Secretary was enjoying the fruits of power without any responsibility but suddenly was bitten by the intellectual bug and started nuking the 'K'ala 'K'anoon, the effect of which, from other than providing nuclear generated electricity, no one really comprehends. Maybe the double K had the double effect of loosing considerable bench strength and clout in national politics plus the burden of Opposition uniting in their Bengal stronghold, giving the Bengali Roman nightmares they have not dreamed for a long long time. The 'K' couple in the politburo notwithstanding, the latest 'K' in Bengal, ironically an atheist named after Kali, is a Roman labour leader who gives a damn about the Eid shopper and despite adverse public sentiments, gets ahead with his customary bandh, just a day after HRH finished his whirlwind tour of Kolkata. The 'K' s never participate in elections and therefore is neither connected to nor concerned about popular sentiments. He lives only by what the Book says.

His Royal Highness has gone back with a lot of hope. The Romans are falling and the Anglo-Saxons would inevitably become English, eventually when their Queen fades into oblivion. HRH is concerned in the least about the temporary effect the Anglo-Saxons would have on Bengal's polity.  In 1282, the death of Llywelyn the Last led to the conquest of the Principality of Wales by King Edward I of England. The King had patiently waited for his turn to come and then made his irrevocable conquest. In this case, it is even easier as the Anglo-Saxons cannot assume power on their own without a little nudge from the English. Neither can they stay put in both Governments, if they dare to defy them beyond a certain tolerable limit. HRH drew the line yesterday. You can be Prince if you choose to. You would be a pauper if you cross the line. And the Romans will vouch for this hurtingly but without question.