Love and longing - the Indian political way

Churchill once quoted of Russia as a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

But perhaps when it comes to understanding India, he just might have needed some additional puzzle solving skill sets.

Even in its most mundane form the Indian political tamasha can be mind numbing in its spectacle and sumptuousness. Most times the common Indian (less said of the poor foreigner, the better) is left scratching his, or her head, in wonderment as this juggernaut rolls on – sometimes with scant heed to propriety.. or even sanity!

The Indian election is an event of gargantuan proportions with the 2014 general expected to be the biggest democratic exercise in history with more than 800 million people casting their electronic ballots. But what adds a little bit (more) colour to these mammoth and impressive numbers are the honourable men and women who seek to get elected in to India’s hallowed corridors of the power – The Lok Sabha.

For most of us bored with the usual suspects – BJP, Congress, the communists, the regionalists, and of course the latest entrant AAP here are some other parties who, sadly, are much lesser known but pack an entertainment quotient no less than Ragul Gandhis IQ or Arvind Kejriwals perennial U-turns.

For all of us wallowing in the cruel, hateful world of today;  we have the Indian Lovers Party.

This lovely congregation led by B Kumar Sri Sri (not to be mistaken for either Sri Sri Ravi Shankar or Shri Shri Arvind Kejriwal) was launched as a regional party of Tamil Nadu on 14^th Feb (of course!) 2008.

This party’s aim is as bold as their symbol is colourful – to stand steady by star-crossed lovers from Indians myriad different castes, sub-casts and sub-sub casts of each religion … not to mention a plethora of religions too, whose draconian elders don't approve of their relationship.

Keeping in line with this party’s gallant ethos and in order to fulfil its noble and affectionate agenda, the party proudly aims to: “heal the wounds inflicted in the hearts of lovers by society.”

For all this talk about love, Mr. Kumar has a clear political roadmap in place. Although he is keen to make it clear that his heart truly belongs to this cause, he also readily admits that he adopted this platform as a foolproof way of garnering immediate attention for his party. He says that he has attracted over 100,000 supporters to his party so far, many of them youngsters.

He has helped organize and fund 15 weddings personally and in other cases has mediated with the parents on both sides to convince them to allow their children to marry. Mr. Kumar takes great care to ensure that he helps only “genuine lovers,” or couples who are both of legal age and want to get married to each other.

So all of you out there worried about what your parents, relations, the society or neighbours stand in the way of your true love – fear not! There is help at hand and like the caped crusader this one’s calling symbol is just as distinctive – the Taj Mahal framed in a heart, surrounded by pink with an arrow running across it