The Perils of Bypass Surgery

Our honourable 76 year old Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underwent bypass surgery earlier today. I do hope the procedure went well and that he recovers soon. However, and please forgive me being an absolute prick for such a serious matter, I cannot wrap my head around the limitless attention its received in the media. All day long today, the indigenous news channels have only carried dramatic pictures of our glorious Prime Minister giving thumbs up signs, marching to and fro with purpose all the while playing a heartbeat (very strong I might add) for a soundtrack and with sine waves moving across the screen. When the segment finally does get under way a lot of random people on the streets are interviewed as they presumably take time out on their Saturdays to build coloured sand sculptures of Manmohan (as above) or go pray for him in multiple temples, mosques and gurudwaras. (If the non-believers are praying somewhere too for him, do forgive me for leaving you out)

Apart from my obvious amusement, I'm really struck by where so many multitudes of well wishers have come from. Although I am being assured (by 27-28 different news monkeys) that they are spread across our vast nation and come from all socioeconomic backgrounds, most seem to come from the Punjab. Sadly, even in such a grave matter our over-arching communalism comes shining through. His title of 'Pradhan-Mantriji' is often swapped for 'Sardar Manmohan Singh' no doubt to inspire religious divides. Sensing my obvious unease at having such little information, the always excellent NewsOnline24 produced the sextobox! Six boxes on one screen so that I could see his extended family, a token surgeon pundit, an external view of the hospital, a seemingly random gurudwara, images of Manmohan when his arteries were slightly less clogged and most importantly his stand-in for the day Pranab Mukherjee. Spontaneous applause followed from my hands and I can only hope other appreciated this marvel as much as I did.

Of course, having such an able deputy as Pranab fills the heart and arteries with warmth. At 73 he's really quite young and has a bright career ahead of him. As our acting Prime Minister, I have a lot of faith in his ability to learn the art of prime ministering on the job. He might decide this is a good time to get one over the old man in policy and declare a war or two in the six weeks allotted to him. The fire of youth runs too strong in him but its probably better than having an 81 year old fogey like L.K. Advani in office, though to his credit he is the next Obama with his blog and jazzy website. I think though I'll settle for the 76 year old with the perfect mix of energy and wisdom. And so I hope he recovers soon, lest my painfully small brain gets overloaded by the excitement that his condition has caused.