It’s election day here in the state of Karnataka, India. For those of you who don’t know, Karnataka houses the city of Bengaluru or Bangalore. There’s a slow change that seems to be coming over the attitude of people to elections, at least among the ‘educated’ middle class. Indifference and apathy are giving way to a slow simmering anger which is mercifully translating to some sort of positive activism instead of sneering cynicism. There are new entrants to the political system. Some of these have been working closely with policy making over the last few years and therefore are not susceptible to the wide-eyed naivete of the well-meaning newbie. In them lie our hopes. It’s a tough ask because the known politicos are  lost cases and expectations of them are zilch but hope from the new generation of political entrants is high and they will be watched closely for what they deliver; or don’t.

The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” seems the perfect anthem for today. There’s hope yet there’s fear that it’ll all come to naught. We just hope we don’t have to “Meet the new boss/Same as the old boss”.

We’ll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that’s all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain’t changed
‘Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war