SHOW YOUR "INDEX" FINGER

It's election time in India and it so happened that I was in Chennai. If I was elsewhere I doubt if I would have taken pains to come to Chennai to cast my vote. With election fever gripping the country and media spewing an over enthusiastic dosage of whitewashing and dirt throwing and propagation of false fake news, it was very difficult to judge and decide on the right person and party to handover the nation to, for the next tenure. I was getting clouded by mom's political leanings. Where ever people meet, political discussions and arguments only were heard. People trying to force their views on each other. They succeeded in discombobulating me.

My brain was more addled!

Anyways the election day dawned in Chennai, a humid sultry one. My mom was surprised to see me awake and ready before 7 am. I spent some time talking to the Gods in the puja... sincerely asked God to help us elect a good leader to lead our country.

Hadn't received a slip informing our voting booth so just walked in search of the political parties sitting 200 metres before the voting booths. Well, I was early and didn't see anyone so reached a nearby school where I could see policemen. Polling was in progress, very few people were seen. I went and searched my street name in the notice board outside each classroom. My street or ward wasn't listed. Just then a good Samaritan, a bespectacled man wearing a dhoti and shirt with a tuft of hair hanging down his neck was guiding someone. I went to him and told my predicament. He took out his mobile and said this app will give information about the voting booth if you type in the voter ID number and he checked my card and informed me the name of the school where I can vote.  Thanking him I put on google maps and started walking. There were no autos around. By the time I reached the school, I was drenched in the morning heat, walking for 1.5 kms. There was a long queue and I stood in one conforming to the slip I got from the party agents outside.

The queue moved quickly and most of the voters seemed to be 40 years plus. With a sense of happiness in doing my duty as a citizen, I walked back home in the sweltering heat. The day went by looking at pictures posted by friends and others, posing with the ink on their index finger.

I was proud to see the picture of a friend's dad and my maternal aunt both octogenarians who took the trouble to reach the polling station to cast their votes, when many youngsters had fled the city on a vacation not wanting to waste the long weekend.

I checked with my friend about his dad's experience ... uncle, I have known him for 27 years...now a frail man with scanty white cottony hair and a broken toothed smile forever on his face, shoulders bent with age. I chuckle as I wonder, if my friend will start looking like him in a few years from now. Uncle has age related memory troubles, was confused when he saw the EVM. He was frantically searching for his name on the machine and was worried at not finding it. The polling officer came over to ask why he was not casting his vote to which the uncle asked "where is my name? I can't find it here" My friend had to intervene and help his dad in understanding the situation and assist him. I found the incident so endearing and am proud of my uncle. In fact uncle was asking my friend again and again about going to vote, this episode completely slipped out of his mind. He was agitated at my friend for not taking his mom to vote, not remembering that his wife was no longer alive. How this generation is so duty bound to the country!!

I then spoke to my aunt, a short, wrinkled, dusky beauty with a mischievous smile, has sight in only one eye and is hard of hearing too. She excitedly informed me that people made way for her in the polling station as she went to cast her vote and she bypassed the queue and was elated that people saluted her. I don't know the veracity of this though, but her energy was infectious. She was floundering too at seeing the EVM and forgot the symbol of her political party and had to rack her brains to press the right button. Her complaint was that this election, no one visited them for campaigning or did they get a voting slip, hence this confusion about the candidates and symbols.

She came home and searched for an old diary and made an entry in it about her feelings at casting the vote. I was on cloud nine when she said her making a note was inspired by me. Salute to the uncompromising rectitude of the previous generation.

I don't disagree that there were a few youngsters in the polling queue, excited at being able to cast their first vote. The bright faces of the youthful generation hopefully will aid in bringing about the necessary changes in our governing body.

Maybe this generation were taking their time to come and vote and not worried like me and the elderly folk who just want to finish their duty before it's too hot to stand in the queue.

Another person I chatted with was my friend from school, who was on her first election duty as a presiding officer. An intriguing factor was she was from Sashi Tharoor's constituency, (my fondness for him is a known secret! ) She explained the process in detail ...she was surprised at being served a letter to be the presiding officer and as there were no health issues or believable excuses, and because non adherence will be treated with punishment, she accepted her deputed job. Training started a month before the election, extensive classes on the conduct and rules, emergency response etc. were all imparted. Most of the election duty assignees were women, she proudly said. She reported at 8 am on the previous day of the election at the centre and met her team. The centre was buzzing with activities and announcements and she and her team signed and collected the heavy boxes containing the VVPAT, indelible ink and lots of paraphernalia. Lunch was served and after standing in the hot sun for sometime, they were told veg food was over, consumed by hunger and sun burns she took her bike in search of a hotel, by which time migraine had set in. By 2.30 they got into the assigned bus along with their heavy boxes, 10 polling booths shared a bus. They had no help to carry the boxes to the classrooms....after the initial work of getting the notices displayed and preparations done, my friend had a huge problem. Her spectacle frame broke and her anxiety grew several bounds. The party agents who had come to collect their passes informed her of an optician nearby, she rushed there and the shop boy, a myopic guy, was sympathetic and promised to get her a new spectacle ready in an hour's time. She waited at the school, feeling as blind as a bat...heavy showers and thunder ensued, her hopes dampened but the guy delivered her spectacle as promised. After a light dinner they retired to their rooms to sleep on school benches, 2 benches put together, she managed the night somehow without falling through the gap. The govt school infrastructure wasn't too great, the leaking dirty toilets ...the flush tank that sprayed water like a shower and low watt bulbs with faulty wiring. The ladies spent the night chatting (complaining) more and sleeping less. Her school had 5 booths in it. The election day by 5 am they were ready and went in search for tea in vain. Seeing a temple my friend went in as her Muslim companion innocently asked "Can you go to the temple without washing your hair?"

The mock poll went without a glitch and by 7 am they were ready for the public . There was a steady line throughout the day. My friend was overwhelmed seeing the aged and physically challenged people teeming in to vote. She was ashamed that she has voted only once earlier and had preferred to stay at home enjoying the holiday. The day went by smoothly with just one tendered vote and by 6 pm they completed polling in their booth and did the necessary sealing of the boxes and waited to be transported to the centres to hand over these precious boxes. My friend is so proud of her duty to the country, in spite of the dismal conditions of the school and her consternation over her spectacle debacle (ever grateful to the young chap), sun burns and blisters due to the indelible ink, she enjoyed serving the government of India and being a cog in the wheel of democracy. Her first time election duty coincided with her daughter reaching the voting age to cast her first vote.

She slept peacefully after 2 nights of trepidation. She reminded herself to break a coconut at the Pazhavangadi Ganapathy temple as promised!

There are many who are raising questions on facebook -why the low turnout on election Day.
Well, we cannot knock sense into everyone's head. Let's hope India heads in the right direction.