Poster personalities

I was passing by Daryaganj for the first time on a non-Sunday. The place sure does look very different without the books that line the entire stretch every Sunday and with all the shops open. The only familiar things that I could spot from the bus window were a few of the poster stalls. Now, I am not one to buy posters of any kind, I’d rather have the walls nice and clean. But, if the bus gets stalled due to a heavy congestion, I do not mind looking at the play of personalities that these posters displayed.

It is common knowledge in this country that if you aspire to become an Indian Idol, you can try the following things:

• Become a God: This will prove a difficult thing to do, because by and large all religions are happy and saturated with their share of Gods and Goddesses. But if you still insist, then in this age of no-innocence, you will really have to be one great marketing expert cum spiritual guru cum inventor of a new trendsetting cult, in that order.
  
  
  
• Become a movie star: Not a very difficult one really. Cinematic talents (acting, dancing, looks) can be helpful at times.
  
  
  
• Become a sports star: Again, not very easy. Some real hard work is required.
  

Anyways, what I noticed about the posters was an interesting phenomenon. There were the the regular posters of dieties of all religions and filmstars of all seasons. However when it came to sports personalities, I noticed a lot was missing. Besides an occasional Sachin or Yuvraj, Sania Mirza is the one ruling the streets right now. And talking of our famous leaders, there was undoubtedly the expected Gandhi, Nehru and Bhagat Singh but the surprising entry was that of President Kalam. Finally, after about five decades Indians have a national leader they can ideolize and seek inspiration from. Three cheers to him.