Sense & Insensibility
Comedies unparalleled
Shahnoor Wahid
The cynics are saying it rather emphatically that humour in the socio-political dramas that are being enacted in the Land of Hope has reached a classic proportion. The comedies are being staged on the roads, in the corridors of power, inside government offices, inside various political offices, 'annexure buildings', and residence-cum-office of the politicians to entertain the citizens free of cost. These cynics are of the opinion that the dramas only match the plays of none but William Shakespeare. They are quick to remind us what the Bard of Avon wrote centuries ago "'Tis the time's plague when madmen lead the blind," ( A line from "King Lear). It is amazing that he wrote that line when political madness was only in its infancy. Today, it is nothing but bedlam! And one wonders what would Shakespeare have written had he been alive today? Taking a cue from the words of the cynics if one looks around the wide swathes of society the full import of his words will hit squarely in the face. One will see a bunch of mad men, maddened all the more by the smell of gold, behaving like the primates while leading some blind people towards a darkening horizon. The doom of the blind people is manifest in their total trust in those leaders who are leading them.Well, the latest play that has been added to the list of powerful comedies is about the minister for money of the Land of Hope who lamented his way to the lap of the queen of the country. According to reports, when the minister ranted about his unrecognised contribution to, and his unsung role in the party, the queen quickly came to act her role. She had to baby-sit him, sing some lullaby and wipe his nose to calm him down. After letting out lots of bottled-up steam from his system the minister is believed to be all set now to walk the aisle for the twelfth time with his ubiquitous black briefcase to read out the country's budget. So, instead of Eliot's April, the month of June turns out to be the "cruelest" for the minister for money. No, it is not because of the heat. It is because he has to keep standing on his feet for hours together and read out the budget. Then at the other end of the town, the office of the chief selection commissioner now resembles the 'Globe Theatre' of London as this office continues to produce high quality plays, one after another. The gawky performers, with their outworldy dialogues and acting, continue to generate unspoiled laughter among the audience. After merrily producing a voter list that went bust the next day, they are now getting philosophical about it and uttering the dialogue, "To err is human'! The highly amused audience kept on clapping.... The cynics in the Land of Hope are happy that at last the chief selection commissioner has opened his mouth and said something that made sense. The journalists of the Land of Hope are passing their days and nights in a state of confusion. Because, suddenly they find themselves as the 'chosen ones' for 'dholai' (thrashing) by the police and the hired goons of the lawmakers. There is plenty of confusion in the media world whether the drama should be labeled as tragedy or comedy. After the shower of punches and bamboo sticks on the newsmen and photojournalists at the port city of the country, there was a spectacular showering of plastic chairs on them in a district town recently. "With love from the MP" was written on every chair that hit them. And while the chairs came flying in, the members of the police force stood, watched and clapped. The entertainment was offered free by the local musclemen of the ruling party. The frenzy of chair-throwing reached its finale when blood from the head of a senior media leader was spilled. So much for upholding freedom of speech! As reported earlier through this column about the hectic schedule of letter-writers, follow-up reports suggest that volumes have been written already and sent to the two general secretaries of the two political parties. While the world watches with great hilarity, truck-loads of letters keep going to and from, though there are other options like inviting one to another's house to set up a date for the intended dialogue on electoral reform. But, instead, the two mature people prefer to stick to their ego and take the difficult course. The whole exercise now borders on the ludicrous, and has become an interesting script for a comedy play to be staged soon. So, the people are waiting with bated breath for the release of the play. By the look of things, more dramas are expected to be staged soon in the Land of Hope with all sorts of elements now walking about freely in society with apparently no one in control. Shahnoor Wahid is Senior Assistant Editor of The Daily Star.
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