Part 40: Waiting with bated breath!

While moving back to Mangalore I had to come through the forest of Aagumbe. In your life you must be see the sunset from Aagumbe. Once in a life time you must view it. It is considered equal to the Kanyakumari view. I had requested the driver to stop the car for one full hour and told him to have the food until I return. For the first time in my life for almost one hour I enjoyed. Played with waterfalls, clicked so many wonderful scenarios, danced on the rocks, jumped from the height. Right from the heart I truly enjoyed the ‘Moongil kaadugale’ song, which I was listening to over again and again. I can never forget that beautiful experience.

When I returned back to Mangalore my next official programme was almost fixed.

You guessed it right! Once again back towards Coimbatore. As per schedule I reached Coimbatore on 20^th of September, without much delay now I’m moving towards the main incident, which completely turned my thoughts towards the person whom I always treated as stranger. An incident, which forced me to look back at the flashback of an actor called Vikram.

Yes, it is the Saamy-125 day celebration!!!

September 24th 2003,

The venue: Kamarajar Arangam, Chennai.

8.00 a.m in the morning. The crowds were getting somewhat antsy. The lines started right outside the hall. The queue was almost few miles long. The increasing crowds were enough to hamper the traffic. It was already close to thirty eight degrees outside and was likely to get hotter. But neither the sweltering heat nor the rush was about to divert the 3000- plus crowd. It was one more example to show we Indians allow ourselves to be influenced by entertainers, sports men and other celebrity induced worlds.

As R. Swaminathan quoted, in the aftermath of the Second World War and the devastation caused by it, while most countries engaged in rebuilding their ravaged economic and social fabric, Indians retreated to a world of make – believe. World war 11 was followed by Indians independence and the partition of the country. Coupled with almost two centuries of colonial rule, this left India ruling on the brink of poverty to escape the everyday horrors of life and increasingly disillusioned with the government, more and more Indians sought refuge in the illusionary world of cinema. Especially the people of Tamil Nadu. It wasn’t enough to simply appreciate the efforts of an artist on screen by merely applauding their good work. Instead these people forms a fan club devoted entirely to him somewhere in the state.

One late superstar showed the way of harnessing these fan clubs for political ends. Following the footsteps expectations of the present super star Rajanikant fans were spilling over to the world of politics. They will he want he? Questions continues to plague everyone from the ruling party to the opposition group to the average fan on the streets whenever he attends a function and since so many months he never attended any function. Rajanikant has never openly admitted to wanting to be in politics. Neither has he denied harboring political ambitions. And each time when there is an announcement that he is going to be the time when he announces his intentions to contest?

I was waiting with the same curiosity that what actually Rajni is going to speak. If he is going to attend a function after a long long time means there should be something he has to announce! What is that? What are the expectations from the crowd especially when there is going to be galaxy of stars on the stage?

To find out all these let’s go the main entrance of the hall. Are you with me? Then let’s go.

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