LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Our moustachioed poll mascot

philipmathew2

CAN COLOURS be partisan? A recent quote by Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, got me thinking. Pantone has chosen a shade of green as its colour for 2017. And, Pressman said that “the colour isn’t meant to be partisan”.

On President Trump’s inauguration day, the fashionistas were dissecting colours. The First Lady’s powder blue outfit got much attention, so did the red, white and blue Gucci coat worn by Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager. The coat set cyberspace afire. Fair, considering that the coat cost her around Rs 2.5 lakh.

In India, quite a few colours are taken. Red has been associated with the Left parties and saffron with the Right. While my favourite colour, blue, is Behenji’s own, green has come to represent the Muslim League. Then there are permutations and combinations, like the Samajwadi Party’s red-green standard.

Speaking of colours and curtains, let me take this opportunity to announce our new offering, Livingetc. Britain’s No 1 modern homes magazine is now in India as a collaboration between Times Inc.UK and Malayala Manorama.

4letter

2017 is a crucial year for the country, because five states are going to the polls—most importantly, Uttar Pradesh. This issue covers all states and brings you THE WEEK-Hansa election survey in four. We are also introducing our moustachioed poll mascot. We have a name for him, but we would also like you to name him!

Politics has fascinated me since a young age, more so elections. My first real brush with electoral politics came when I was 20. (That’s not so long ago, actually). My uncle, P.C. Cherian, was running from Puthuppally assembly constituency on a Congress ticket in 1967. He had won twice from there and was fighting the CPI(M)’s E.M. George. My uncle, whose birth centenary is on February 19, lost that election. I had been roped in as a booth agent and had a ringside view of the sweat, dust and tears.

It is a tight fight in many seats across states this time. And, hence, tough to call. Perhaps, the easiest election I have ever covered was the South African elections of 1994. Everyone knew the African National Congress would win. I had the honour of interviewing the three key players—Nelson Mandela of the ANC, F.W. De Klerk of the National Party and Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party. The ANC bagged 62.65 per cent votes and 252 of the 400 seats.

If you do not find politics interesting, let me assure you that the issue has something for everyone. My favourite is the one on the 125th anniversary of basketball. Decades ago, on Bombay Chowpatty, I ran into a bunch of tall, young men wolfing down chaat. One of them looked familiar, so I walked up and asked if he was Abbas Montasir. The star Indian hoopster and I got to discussing basketball over chaat. Last week, Montasir was in my town to inaugurate the statewide Hoopathon, marking basketball’s quasquicentennial. When I reminded him of that lovely evening in Chowpatty, he quipped, “Do you remember who paid that day?” I think he did!

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