A Wall to Wall Brotherhood

Flashback, year 1988. Dr Venkatraman, the 8th president of India visits Pondicherry. A week before his visit, the preparations begin. The outer walls of the road-facing buildings from where the convoy is going to pass, are rigorously white-washed to remove any sign of mould or decay. The beggars from the boulevards and the Ganesh temple are hurriedly transferred to some obscure part of the inner city. "Only temporarily," they are assured. The side of the footpaths are painted neatly, and white powder sprinkled along the curbs. And lo, for one brief moment, Pondicherry is restored to its erstwhile glory of the French era. Women in colorful silk sarees,  men in white dhoti, and children with fistful of flower petals line the roads on the scheduled day of the arrival, waiting to welcome the President. 

Fast forward 32 years. Year 2020. India prepares to welcome the American President Donald Trump to Ahmedabad, a sprawling metropolis. It also happens to be the capital of Gujarat whose development model as pursued by Modi, the then chief minister of the state, won him many accolades and pitched him into the national arena, to become the undisputed leader of the country.

 Preparations are in full swing.  President Trump is thrilled to learn that at least 50,000 beautiful smiling people are expected to line up along the 22 kms route of the roadshow. Even people from other states, wearing their traditional attire would participate in the event, a panoramic way to showcase the cultural as well as the hi-tech facets of India, with only one hiccup. The route passes by a sprawling slum, a real embarassment to our image of an emerging superpower nation. But, trust the genius of AMC (Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation) to come up with the most creative solution: Make these destitute people and their whole caboodle invisible! Sounds like magic, but it is really just a matter of building a wall along the 600 meter cluster of stench-ridden, poverty-stricken hovel! A mere 100 crore! A drop in the ocean for a country, which, almost a year ago, completed its successful launch of ASAT Shakti, becoming the fourth nation to accomplish such a feat! And, if America can build a wall, so can we. If Jack can do it, so can Jill. What a partnership, and what camaraderie! Long Live America! Jai Hind.