Lord Shiva intrigued by the writing on the walls (satire)

Lord Shiva was deep in thought and Durga noticed the expression on his face and knew that he was intrigued by something – she had to find out what it was.
‘Did you sleep well?’ she asked.
The Lord grunted something and nodded his head.
‘Was the ganja not up to the mark?’ she asked the next question. ‘Did Bhringi give you stale ganja?’
‘No, it is not that. I am seeing the writing on the walls and am worried.’
‘What writing? Which wall?’
‘All the walls are crowded with colorful writings – artists are toiling day and night to display their artistic skills.’
‘It’s all a part of their Skill India initiative,’ Durga explained. ‘This is election time and West Bengal is probably the only state in the country where people let loose their imagination through beautiful slogans and equally beautiful wall paintings and writings.’
Yes,’ Saraswati joined the conversation. ‘Come election time, the walls become public property and artists descend with their buckets of paints and scores of brushes to make mincemeat out of political party leaders.

‘How are the artists faring?’
‘These boys and girls are experts with their brushes and also have a flair for playing with words,’ Saraswati said. ‘They can dream up rhymes that will leave you spellbound.’
‘That is the trouble with Bengalis,’ Durga sighed. ‘They are poets and artists at heart. It has been going on for ages and has become an integral part of their culture. That is why they are not interested in industries.’
‘Yes,’ Ganesh had also joined the group. ‘Even if industries did come to Bengal, the boys may not want to join them as employees. You can take a horse to the pond but you cannot force it to drink water.’
‘If you ask me, I’ll say let them be happy with their poetry and dreams,’ Saraswati said. ‘Heavy industries need strong and sturdy men. These boys would be misfits. That is why they should explore possibilities of pursing other industries.’
‘Wall paintings during election time is a tradition that has been going on for ages,’ Durga said. ‘I see it as a vent for pent up passions and anger that are released via artistic mediums like paintings and rhymes.’
‘Intellectuals may swear by poems that do not believe in rhymes, but, when it comes to slogans, rhymes are a must,’ Saraswati now said. ‘Otherwise, how can one express ones innermost thoughts and take swipes at the position?’
‘Anyway – the writing on the walls add to the excitement of elections,’ Durga went on. ‘The artists have to think out the words – they must be specific, humorous and must drive home the point. The words must leave a deep mark and must be selected with care so that they can form attractive jingles and slogans.’
‘But – these jobs are not full time jobs,’ Lord Shiva was puzzled. ‘What do they do for a living?’
‘They do odd jobs,’ Ganesh replied. ‘They have their own syndicates.’ (to be continued …)


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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