Blog: Politics, mythology and vicious attacks

New Delhi: It doesn't matter if you didn't know who 'Bhasmasur' was till Thursday evening. Chances are, good ol' Google may have come to the rescue and now you know all about his 'vardaan' and how he tried to finish his own mentor with it. On Friday, you probably had to add 'Hiranyakashyap' to the search list of mythological characters and their relevance.

Just taking a good old dig at political rivals seems passé now. The battlefield now ranges from TV studios to the pages of mythology. If Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh likened Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to 'Bhasmasur', the BJP was quick to respond with its own 'Hiranyakashyap' attack, a mythological character who tried to kill his own son Prahlad but was finally destroyed by Lord Narsimha, an avatar of lord Vishnu. (Jairam Ramesh calls him 'Bhasmasur')

Now you may not be interested in mythology or the prowess of either 'Bhasmasur' of 'Hiranyakashyap'. But both these 'asuras' or demons have certainly coloured the political language whether you agree with who they are used to qualify or not.

And perhaps taking a cue from the metaphors in the air, BJP and JDU's 'let's-see-who-blinks-first' game just got that much more interesting. So for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish's couplet at the Patna tarmac, came the BJP's equally spirited response, might I add, in verse. (Under pressure, coarse words between Nitish Kumar's party and BJP)

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Nitish Kumar:
"Dua dete hai jeene ki, dawa karte hai marne ki (You wish me a long life, but offer medicines that will poison me)"

BJP's Shahnawaz Hussain:
"Hum dua bhi dete hain, dawa bhi dete hain. Hum jise dost banate hain, unhe hum kabhi daga nahi dete hain! (We offer medicines and prayers, but those who we befriend, we do not betray)."

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You may want a translation, but trust me, no google can do justice to the flavour of the verse and the many layers it conceals within.

All I can say is that on a day Delhi's brutal weather didn't give us any respite, at least the word play did.

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