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Wednesday 2 May 2012

THE DIRTY DHOTI


The iconic and ever-popular common man created by the very talented cartoonist R.K.Laxman is synonymous with the Indian tamasha. Clad in a dhoti and a coat with his satchel, the common man represents the, well the common man of India. Roaming around the country with nothing but his simplicity and obvious silence, he remains as a witness to almost everything that plays out on the Indian screen. Now normally, we all find ourselves standing in his shoes at some point or the other. Be it the 2G scam or the price rise. But have you noticed that the common man’s dhoti is becoming very dirty as the days pass by? You could say owing to excessive travel to be a part of all the events happening around the country, he just doesn’t have the time to clean up. Or even better, you could point the finger at the increasing prices. But what really dirtied his dhoti? Or should I say “who” dirtied his dhoti? Is it because of the paan and gutka-chewing community out there who exhibit their spitting abilities at every nook and corner? Or is it a gift of the vehicles on the road? Anyways, the point to be noted here is that his dhoti which is supposed to be clean and white is now discolored and stained and dirty. Maybe someone should recommend him packets of surf excel. But he may revert saying that “daag acche hain”.  The stains would stand as a proof of all the allegations, scams, controversies and happiness in our country. True. But the common man is symbolized with his clean and simple attire. Can we really afford to get him dirty? No matter what, his perfect white dhoti represents our country’s diligence and commitment and probably integrity. It represents the ever popular silence of the common man at various heart-wrenching situations. It tells us that although we all vaunt about everything else on this planet, we become regressive when it comes to our own issues. He says that it becomes very hard to discern the matters out of the entangled mesh. Days are turning perfunctory. Can I take the liberty of saying that the recent outburst of various scams across the government maligned his dhoti or could I say that vidya dirtied his dhoti with the help of her dirty picture?? Hard to tell. It’s as if no one ever paid attention to this serious issue. After all, the common man was created as an insignia for the people of India.  For me it’s the mark of the impending doom. The dirty dhoti even by its simplicity and insignificance foretells that we are growing nonchalant and vulnerable by the day. Let’s not get the common man’s dhoti any dirtier. Let’s all take up the role of all the possible washing powders and clean up our act. Let’s return the dhoti to its original immaculate form. Let’s all put a smile on R.K.Laxman’s effort. Common man, here we come!!   

2 comments:

  1. Dhoti is so dirty now that the only fear now it has is that it may come down.........

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