Point Blank with Dr. Shashi Tharoor
Wednesday, 11 November 2009 20:57
4 Comments
'Shashi Tharoor Jeetega Zaroor' was the campaign slogan that his supporters chanted when a precocious Tharoor was running for the president of his college union. He won then and three decades later, in 2009, Dr Shashi tharoor won again, this time as the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and a member of the Indian Parliament from the Trivandrum constituency in Kerala.
In this podcast, Dr Tharoor talks about his experience as a diplomat at the UN and the eventful transition to Indian politics. In his beautiful and typical story telling style, he shares anecdotes about how he not only connected to the masses on the Internet but more importantly went the extra mile to win the hearts and minds of the labour class. He also shares his views on the unintended controversy that Twitter gave birth to. We thank Dr Tharoor for this short but a memorable conversation.
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Comments
0
#1
2009-11-11 15:24
I congratulate the Indicast team on a prize catch!
Shashi Tharoor! of "Cattle Class/Holy Cows" fame (or notoriety?)
How did you guys manage to rope him in? Will it be Rahul Gandhi next? Best of luck!
My comments
===========
(Brevity be damned. This was no routine podcast. I am not going to be economical with my words)
Introduction:
=============
You introduced him well. He is outstanding in academics, (PhD at 22!), brilliant career at the UN missing the top post by a whisker, Author of 11 books (I have read two).
I will agree with your statement that he has all the qualities that disqualify him from entering today's politics. I can't imagine him in the Lok Sabha, rubbing shoulders with the likes of so many notorious characters thronging there.
May be as Shashi says, there are other good looking MPs too. I believe Prakash Karat has killer looks. So does Rahul Gandhi, Omar Abdullah. Why even Raj Thakrey is handsome. But the comparison stops there. Not one is a combination of all these qualities that Tharoor has. What he lacks is the blood of the Nehru / Gandhi dynasty running in his veins. Let us see if this matters in future.
So I must reject Tharoor's polite protest. He is indeed everything that today's politician is not expected to be. Cynical but true! Shashi had better accept this. No debates please on this.
Censorship
==========
Shashi mentions Jaswant's book being banned. He has lived in luckier times. Have any of you read his hilarious novel "The great Indian novel". Try it. If the saffron brigade reads it today, I am sure there will be a clamour for banning it! Characters and situations from the Mahabharata find apt parallels with modern political personalities and events and the humour kept me holding my sides while I read it. I still wonder how he got away with writing this book if Holy Cow and Cattle Class can create such a storm. His hilarious and detailed near pornographic account of the a particular Maharaja of a particular Princely state is still fresh in my mind though I read this book quite a few years ago. (I still have it somewhere. May be I will locate it, de-dust it and enjoy it again.)
Cattle Class
============
A single word or expression sometimes catapults some one to fame. An unknown Ronen Sen got to be known all over the world with his now famous "Headless chickens" remark. It's now Shashi's turn. "Cattle Class" and "Holy Cows" are his two badges which he can wear proudly. While I enjoyed it thoroughly, I agree with Shashi that we in India are not yet mature to appreciate sophisticated humour and it can be actually dangerous for one's health (the health of the joker I mean). I particularly agree that jokes that don't translate well into our regional languages are particularly dangerous and can provoke not the laughter that was intended but outrage. Shashi will now probably be more careful. Too bad. I prefer him to be careless so that I can enjoy life a little more.
Tying a Mundu
==============
Why should this be difficult? In fact it should be the other way around. People who always wear a dhoti find it difficult to strut about in suits and ties. The "Mundu" or "Veshti" is the simplest possible dress for a man. The weather in Kerala precludes suits and ties that Shashi has been accustomed to and I am sure he would have felt quite comfortable. Besides, like Mahatma Gandhi, this is one way of identifying with the locals. It's a powerful and effective gesture. Not as dramatic as entering huts accompanied by white skinned foreigners patented by Rahul Gandhi but still effective.
Since he was suddenly expected to use a language that he has not used for long except for casual conversations and for socializing this "Mundu wearing" was a good idea.
Electoral success
==================
I must swallow my words. When it was announced he was the Congress candidate, I didn't give him a ghost of a chance. I felt he would lose his security deposit and declared it to friends around me. I am now eating crow. He won with a larger margin of votes than any previous Congress Candidate. His encounter with women working on the fields was touching indeed. I particularly like his quote "but your dirt builds the nation". To a person in the civil engineering profession like me, this quote is useful and I can use it.
His using the internet as preparatory to conventional mass media too has worked. His good looks must have helped him when he reached out to housewives and grandmothers. The older women must have experienced the urge to "mother" him. The younger women obviously found him sexy. I am sure most of fingers that pressed the button on the electronic voting machine that day were pressed by female fingers.
This of course in no way detracts from the credit for his electoral success. I hope he continues to win all his future elections.
Writing and Diplomacy
======================
I agree with his views that the right words are important. Isn't it ironical that after so many years of weighing his words in the UN before he spoke or wrote he chose the wrong words in his Tweet and got into serious trouble?
Conclusion:
===========
While I have read Shashi Tharoor, this is the first time I am hearing his voice.
Shashi's accent is perfect and completely neutral.
It's rare for a Malayalee to be able to hide his Kerala accent.
I recall Nehru's favourite, VK Krishna Menon, famous for his impeccable English. I haven't heard him and wonder if he had an accent.
Well done Indicast team for a great podcast. I have enjoyed listening. Do rope in more such personalities whenever you can.
Regards
G Vishwanath, JP Nagar, Bangalore
Shashi Tharoor! of "Cattle Class/Holy Cows" fame (or notoriety?)
How did you guys manage to rope him in? Will it be Rahul Gandhi next? Best of luck!
My comments
===========
(Brevity be damned. This was no routine podcast. I am not going to be economical with my words)
Introduction:
=============
You introduced him well. He is outstanding in academics, (PhD at 22!), brilliant career at the UN missing the top post by a whisker, Author of 11 books (I have read two).
I will agree with your statement that he has all the qualities that disqualify him from entering today's politics. I can't imagine him in the Lok Sabha, rubbing shoulders with the likes of so many notorious characters thronging there.
May be as Shashi says, there are other good looking MPs too. I believe Prakash Karat has killer looks. So does Rahul Gandhi, Omar Abdullah. Why even Raj Thakrey is handsome. But the comparison stops there. Not one is a combination of all these qualities that Tharoor has. What he lacks is the blood of the Nehru / Gandhi dynasty running in his veins. Let us see if this matters in future.
So I must reject Tharoor's polite protest. He is indeed everything that today's politician is not expected to be. Cynical but true! Shashi had better accept this. No debates please on this.
Censorship
==========
Shashi mentions Jaswant's book being banned. He has lived in luckier times. Have any of you read his hilarious novel "The great Indian novel". Try it. If the saffron brigade reads it today, I am sure there will be a clamour for banning it! Characters and situations from the Mahabharata find apt parallels with modern political personalities and events and the humour kept me holding my sides while I read it. I still wonder how he got away with writing this book if Holy Cow and Cattle Class can create such a storm. His hilarious and detailed near pornographic account of the a particular Maharaja of a particular Princely state is still fresh in my mind though I read this book quite a few years ago. (I still have it somewhere. May be I will locate it, de-dust it and enjoy it again.)
Cattle Class
============
A single word or expression sometimes catapults some one to fame. An unknown Ronen Sen got to be known all over the world with his now famous "Headless chickens" remark. It's now Shashi's turn. "Cattle Class" and "Holy Cows" are his two badges which he can wear proudly. While I enjoyed it thoroughly, I agree with Shashi that we in India are not yet mature to appreciate sophisticated humour and it can be actually dangerous for one's health (the health of the joker I mean). I particularly agree that jokes that don't translate well into our regional languages are particularly dangerous and can provoke not the laughter that was intended but outrage. Shashi will now probably be more careful. Too bad. I prefer him to be careless so that I can enjoy life a little more.
Tying a Mundu
==============
Why should this be difficult? In fact it should be the other way around. People who always wear a dhoti find it difficult to strut about in suits and ties. The "Mundu" or "Veshti" is the simplest possible dress for a man. The weather in Kerala precludes suits and ties that Shashi has been accustomed to and I am sure he would have felt quite comfortable. Besides, like Mahatma Gandhi, this is one way of identifying with the locals. It's a powerful and effective gesture. Not as dramatic as entering huts accompanied by white skinned foreigners patented by Rahul Gandhi but still effective.
Since he was suddenly expected to use a language that he has not used for long except for casual conversations and for socializing this "Mundu wearing" was a good idea.
Electoral success
==================
I must swallow my words. When it was announced he was the Congress candidate, I didn't give him a ghost of a chance. I felt he would lose his security deposit and declared it to friends around me. I am now eating crow. He won with a larger margin of votes than any previous Congress Candidate. His encounter with women working on the fields was touching indeed. I particularly like his quote "but your dirt builds the nation". To a person in the civil engineering profession like me, this quote is useful and I can use it.
His using the internet as preparatory to conventional mass media too has worked. His good looks must have helped him when he reached out to housewives and grandmothers. The older women must have experienced the urge to "mother" him. The younger women obviously found him sexy. I am sure most of fingers that pressed the button on the electronic voting machine that day were pressed by female fingers.
This of course in no way detracts from the credit for his electoral success. I hope he continues to win all his future elections.
Writing and Diplomacy
======================
I agree with his views that the right words are important. Isn't it ironical that after so many years of weighing his words in the UN before he spoke or wrote he chose the wrong words in his Tweet and got into serious trouble?
Conclusion:
===========
While I have read Shashi Tharoor, this is the first time I am hearing his voice.
Shashi's accent is perfect and completely neutral.
It's rare for a Malayalee to be able to hide his Kerala accent.
I recall Nehru's favourite, VK Krishna Menon, famous for his impeccable English. I haven't heard him and wonder if he had an accent.
Well done Indicast team for a great podcast. I have enjoyed listening. Do rope in more such personalities whenever you can.
Regards
G Vishwanath, JP Nagar, Bangalore
0
#3
2009-11-14 05:58
Vishwanath : Tahnk you for the question by question analysis. I love the "urge to mother him" comment.
Anand: yes, it finally happened
Anand: yes, it finally happened
0
#4
2009-11-15 05:52
Thanks Aditya.
Abhishek too wrote to me privately.
Glad to know you have roped in another celebrity for the next podcast.
Abhishek told me who it is and I won't spoil your fun by revealing the name there.
I have begun sharpening my pen to keep it in readiness for my detailed comments after you upload the next podcast.
Regards to all of you
G Vishwanath
Abhishek too wrote to me privately.
Glad to know you have roped in another celebrity for the next podcast.
Abhishek told me who it is and I won't spoil your fun by revealing the name there.
I have begun sharpening my pen to keep it in readiness for my detailed comments after you upload the next podcast.
Regards to all of you
G Vishwanath
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