5th April - Who is responsible?

It was the death anniversary of Purnachandra Tejaswi. Oh! not the Tejaswi my non-kannada friends know. Today, 
if even the likes of me bother to read, it's only because of his books. He's still alive. He's alive in every forest I 
stroll, treks I go, in Biryanis, in the stories of Maras' and Pyaras' of my friends who work in fields, in flying lizard,
in the revolution. 

However, the way that day unfolded by setting houses on fire and making a mockery of rationality it felt like diyas
were lit by the pages from his tattered books, his ideas. While few had embraced the darkness their supreme leader
had bestowed, the rest lighted diyas out of fear.

A friend yelled at her neighbours for turning it into a festival, for bursting crackers, for mortgaging self-respect. I
was angry too, but I knew my people were innocent. She knew that too. 

When media houses were discussing the importance of lightning diyas with Doctors and Scientists why would
anyone not believe them? They recited Shlokas in Sanskrit, told the significance of "light" - while keeping masses
in darkness. They were respected people. Few wore suits, others were half-naked. Leaders like Tejaswi Surya had
also asked us to participate.

But, I always wonder, why would Tejaswi Surya, who wears branded clothes and speaks impeccable English, be
irrational. Why would ‘educated’ citizens vote him?. I know I sound stupid, but that question haunts me.

Rumlolarum, a blog, which answers all my questions addressed this one too. She wrote, "Every time you see a 
tweet by Tejasvi Surya, you laugh but you know there’s a reason why this monkey was elected. You know who
voted for him. That assembly line is not sleeping you know? It never does. Discover blogs written by some of them 
and snort every time you read ‘tambrahm blood,’ ‘tambrahm brains’, ‘tambrahm science’ — ask yourself why you
wanted to be like them back in school."

Vivek Jadhav