Why, Viveka, why?

Here’s what I wrote when Nafisa killed herself. While we still don’t know why Viveka did ditto, it’s a good time to visit it again. No, we effers still aren’t worth it.
(Click on the images to enlarge.)

Why must we care about these people?

Here’s what surprises me about the Mukesh/Anil saga: wonder why their story hasn’t been turned into a TV soap as yet. It’s got all the ingredients that can keep the nation hooked for weeks, months, even years together. Business rivalries, stock manipulations, political machinations, raw ambitions and naked greed, family fall-out, court cases, serious bad blood and most importantly… kitchen politics.

Ah, kitchen politics. I have always believed (and I recall writing about this five years ago in Sunday Mid Day), the seed of the break-up was actually planted in the Sea Wind rasoi ghar. Abominable though it may sound, I deeply suspect the chain was triggered by a clash between Nitaben and Tinaben. Hard to prove, but quite plausible. We mustn’t forget the massive egos at play out here… Anil is only two years younger to his bro, and just for that reason alone, he would be loathe to playing second fiddle all this life. Something no man, or more significantly, a wife would digest.

But here’s the important question: Why must we care about the Ambani feud? How does a private family break-up affect us? (The Ambanis are, after all, self-serving businessmen, like all businessmen are, and couldn’t care if the rest of us lived or died.) Well, unless you are a shareholder in their companies, you shouldn’t care. 99% of the nation has nothing to do with the brothers directly. And yet, we seem very interested in their lives. Why so? The obvious answer is because they are very rich and very famous, and therefore evoke interest among the masses. Sure, that’s a good enough reason. But I think it’s deeper than that.

I think it’s gotta do with the fact that we Indians are deeply emotional people. We believe in family, or at least want to believe, and we don’t like the idea of brothers fighting. Which is why the conflict between Arjun and Karan of Mahabharata saddens our collective hearts. Which is why countless hit Hindi films have been made about brothers itching to die for one another. We want families to stay together and be happy. We want happy endings. Period.

I think more than anything else, the recent thawing of the Ambani’s icy-cold relationship makes us happy on that level. We are the Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum people. Irrational, but so be it. Not financial, it’s emotional, and that’s what defines us.

Anyway, to go back to the kitchen, I suspect the best bet for the brothers to totally resolve their issues and even operate together is for the two bahus to kiss and make up. That’s where it all began. And no, nothing will please us more than a phull phamily photograph.

Total desi soap opera.