THIS MORNING SOMEONE sent me a political cartoon by cartoonist Alok Nirantar, lampooning the relatively low turnout of voters in this Lok Sabha elections. His sketch showed a voter lolling in an armchair, as angry chameleons dressed in black and grey waistcoats and white kurtas accost him, asking: “Why aren’t you coming out to vote?” I thought that Alok’s lines summed up the Maharashtra voters’ confusion brought out in Mumbai Chief of Bureau Dnyanesh V. Jathar’s cover story.

 

The deep rift in loyalties and political parties in one of the more crucial states of our country will surely be reflected in the composition of the 18th Lok Sabha. Forget parties, families are divided over voting preferences. In addition to Dnyanesh, we have senior journalist Kavita Iyer covering Maharashtra as part of our Battleground series. Dnyanesh’s interviews with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP, former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress and Supriya Sule MP of the Nationalist Congress Party bring out strong voices that round out the cover story. In addition, Senior Assistant Editor Pratul Sharma looks at what the western states mean to the NDA.

 

Outside Maharashtra, this issue has political reportage from Rae Bareli by Senior Special Correspondent Puja Awasthi, from Andhra Pradesh by Special Correspondent Rahul Devulapalli, and from West Bengal by Correspondent Niladry Sarkar.

 

An interesting non-political article in this issue is by Senior Special Correspondent Lakshmi Subramanian on Chennai company OrbitAID, which has plans to refuel satellites in space. Founded by Sakthikumar Ramachandran and Nikhil Balasubramanian, the company operates in the new sector of on-orbit servicing, which is reportedly worth $18 billion and growing.

 

Among the columns, Ambassador Navtej Sarna, in his inimitable style, looks at Germany legalising the use of marijuana. For some reason, I cannot begin to imagine the very proper Germans getting high and relaxing!

 

And, in closing, I am going to an article that brought back memories―the one on Braided, former model Sheetal Mallar’s book. She tells a story across generations through a unique medium, women’s hair. Though my mother had simple tastes, she transformed the world of bridal make-up in Kerala. In 1963, she wrote Kesalankaram (Hairdressing), the first book on beauty care in Malayalam. It listed hairdos, with the quaint names she gave them: Rajamalari, Lalitha, Nalini….

 

When my parents returned from trips abroad, Amma would bring bags full of hairdressing material and make-up kits. All to be distributed among family and friends. Brides used to turn up at home to get dressed for the big day; mostly on short notice. For Amma, it was a hobby, so she did it for free. My father always supported her interests and tried to understand what was it that she did with these sprays, brushes and clips. It all led to a hilarious incident.

 

One day, someone called home and asked if Mrs Mathew would be there the next day. Father misheard it as Mr and said yes. Amma was out for the day when a carload of people turned up with a bride. They were crestfallen when he told them that she was away.

 

All fathers are partial to daughters, I think, and mine was sad seeing the bride’s disappointment. So, he went out on a limb and gave the women in the party access to Amma’s kit and described what he often saw her doing. The bride’s hairdo came out decent, thankfully. The punchline was yet to come though.

 

When Amma returned home, Appa proudly told her what had happened. “Tell me, dear,” she quipped, “did you dress the bride or her mother?”