The Railway Budget

Since, i have a lot of free time nowadays, my life's been reduced to the life of the proverbial couch potato. And these days I'm informed of everything that's there to see on television, I mean everything that comes under the Tata Sky package that has been very kindly subscribed to by my parents. Not that I didn't watch television earlier. I was always addicted to it but the affair seems to have grown off late.

So I watch everything from Zor ka Jhatka to Wipeout Australia, from Masterchef India to Masterchef US, India's Minute to Win it to Minute to Win it, Koffee with Karan to Koffee with Anu. You get the trend.

Today, i happened to stumble upon Channel 101, ie., DD National. And behold the sight of Mamta didi in her yellow shawl speaking Bengali with such elan that it almost sounds like Hindi and is actually comprehendable. I have to say that this is by far THE most entertaining reality TV show that I have ever seen. Agreed, Laloo was entertaining in his own inimitable style but Didi is no less. She sure is stealing his thunder and how!

So it's straight out of a reality show but mind you better than Bigg Boss or anything else you've seen so far and I bet this is one original Indian show format that will be copied by those American studios who blame us so ruthlessly for blatant copies of their formats. This is our answer.

All you need is a bunch of unruly senior folks who've been elected by the people , for the people and of the people of the country through a system called voting(that's how the initial revenue will come in). The varied their ethnicity, the better it is for the show. Because when one person says "Aap mujhe bolne kyu nahi deta hai"in a Bengali accent, the other person shouts "Jo bole so nihaal sat sri akaal."

And the way they shout and scream at each other will seriously put those baldies from Roadies and Dolly Bindra among others out of business.

Mamta Banerjee is like the class prefect who thinks they have all the authority but the truth is that nobody listens to them. So just like the class prefect who sulks and goes running to the teacher to complain about the errant students, she too requests Madam Speaker to ask the MPs to stop shouting in order for her to be able to talk. Now our Honourable Speaker is like the soft spoken teacher who everyone else takes for granted. So nobody listens to her.

Mamta Banerjee now sits down, stands up and sits down again. Tells the other to stop talking and listen to her but the situation is now out of hand with people threatening to stage walkouts because of the patronage she's given to her home state has not been taken too kindly just like being a class prefect's best friend is the best and the worst thing that could happen to you. You get all the favours while the other kids keep complaining until the class prefect, in order to safeguard his reputation gives away candies to the other kids as well. So now the other MPs are happy as well, their constituencies have received their privileges as well. Seems like lessons in politics do begin at school.

And all this while, Laloo ji is quietly sitting in one corner smirking away to glory because he knows that he is the veteran of politainment.

Now that's what I call paisa vasool entertainment.The great Indian tamasha or dance of democracy whatever you'd like to call it. Too bad, it comes just once a year!