Saturday, November 13, 2010

The four days of Big Barack Obama by Puneet Rajhans

As Barack Obama left for Japan, he penned his thoughts on the momentum set in and pain and suffering unleashed following his departure from India

I can't forget the four days i spent in India for the sheer amount of pressure brought on me to deliver; the exercise i had failed to stick to at home.
I can't forget the four days for the food i took and the water i had to sustain the dialogue which refused to abate given the sustained nature of pressure brought on me by Indian leadership to engage leaders of all hues to hear their side of the story and the pain and suffering they had been subjected to ever since my arrival dates were announced.
The four days i had at my disposal to praise a country which had refused to slide and urge my countrymen to stem the slide at home. THe four days of long spell of stability that my stomach and those of my peers were witness to and the same that could not be said for those who had been strictly told to stay outdoors as my convoy passed through. The four days when i reached the destinations in Mumbai and Delhi well before schedule so that my security agents could check the state of toilets and gutters.
The four days when at Mumbai airport the besieged leader of a besieged Democratic Party had a one on one with the besieged Maharashtra leader who had been summoned to Delhi and told to pave the way for another Maratha. The four days when the chopper took me from one end of Mumbai to another and my belief that chopper service would be handy and provide me enough cover if and when i try to visit the city again and have to save myself from the wrath of the aam janata who would be stranded for hours for my audacity to kiss the city again.
The four days when i was told to have one on one with the likes of Big G Big M and Big A where they elaborated on the need for reforming UNSC even if it called for a truncated one where China could be displaced for India to be placed at the high rotating table.
I can't forget the four days in India for abysmal state of tv and print reporting where they covered me and my entourage on the time we spent in the hotel room, loo and the moisturiser and soap we applied to defeat the heat and dust of Delhi and Mumbai.
Here as i bid goodbye to my short and constructive stays in Indonesia and South Korea, i long for such select and simple coverage that media in these two nation states have accomplished. What all happened in the different provinces of these nation states during my stay were adequately covered by the media and giving me much breathing space. As for the electronic media in the subcontinent shame on them for giving a story on the presidential convoy movement from one part of the city to another as a news that has just come in. Learn from your counterparts in Indonesia and South korea.
The four days that finally led to the High Command of Cong axing a spate of leaders to make the plate appear clean. Can my stay for the same duration help cleanse the machinery in China? Probably my stint in Pakistan next year would clear the air. As for Pakistan establishment, i don't expect any reshuffle in their establishment given the breathing space they need ever since proposed-but-to-be-postponed reforms of UNSC was spelled out by me.
God forbid if my party receives another drubbing of the scale witnessed in midterm polls i would prefer to spend another four days in Timbaktu. That's the place i long to be given their strong distaste for media and their blanket ban on frenzy coverage. As for my itinerary they would be putting hoardings at diferent vantage points of the cities i would be visiting.

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