Outrageous circus

If tension is to be described as a situation between characters or the actual opposition of characters then ‘Othello’ has conflicts between Iago, Roderigo, Othello and Desdemona. There may also be an internal conflict, as in Hamlet’s predicament of wishing to avenge his father and yet not knowing when and how to do it. There may also occur conflict between a character and society or environment as in Thomas Hardy’s ‘Jude the Obscure”.

Today’s Tamil Nadu’s political churn would have challenged even Shakespeare utmost in bringing out all the nuances of greed, avarice, malice, vengeance and reciprocity. If the first four are seen as internal to Tamil Nadu players, be it Palanisami, Panneerselvam or the Mannargudi Mafia headed by Sasikala/Dinakaran cliché, then the last one is the contribution of the external hand guiding the pawns from the Centre.

Everyone is caught in the vortex of the churn – be it the people, politicians, bureaucrats and the media – except the BJP which is enjoying the tumult both in its capacity as an observer who has nothing to lose but everything to gain and also as a player who has fixed the goal posts much ahead of others.

From the day Purutchi Talaivi Jayalalithaa evaporated from the scene, till date, the macabre drama of power has been so despicable that it’s disgusting display of immorality is numbing the civilized senses. Even as we think that we have seen it all, comes a new low to jolt back us to senses making us pity ourselves at our helplessness in suffering the same.

It does not just seem to be the power that is scripting the course of TN politics, but the vast empire built by Amma, of personal property including the material accumulations that she preferred during her sojourn here. Sasikala’s reluctance to let go off the struggle to retain her hold and sway over the politics and the State could easily be understood as she alone, perhaps, knows, more than any, the contours of Jayalalithaa’s financial empire.

The others in power like the present Chief Minister Edapaddy Palanisamy or the likes of Panneerselvams or for that matter all other MLAs of the party do not want to forego the trappings of power that could embellish their life for at least four more years.

The engineered misfortune of Sasikala nowadays is again of her own making as she refused to surrender to the whims of the much bigger State. Having controlled the destiny of Tamil Nadu and its people through backdoor methods and having wielded unbridled powers all these years, she tricked herself into believing in her omnipotence until she realised that there is deeper State within the State and that the empire could always strike back. Those who cut the umbilical cord to her are now craving to forge new equations for personal prosperity having no sight of the people they are elected to serve.

Absolute power not only corrupts, but also blinds people. No one hence cares about the people of Tamil Nadu who are watching the outrageous circus with seething minds only to hit back at an opportune time.