In Tharoor I Trust

I recall the first time I met Shashi Tharoor; I must’ve been eleven or twelve years old. It was one of those summer days in Calcutta, the ones where the heat would give away to an unpredictable thunderstorm in the evening. Your tiny fingers would trace the lightening in the sky. The orange hue so familiar with dusk would slip into the darkest shade of grey. Inevitably someone would pull you away from the rain that you so longed and guide you towards shelter. Your eyes would watch the rain hit the ground hard. Your attention wasn't lost on conversation or the laughter that echoed around you but on the rain and the magic it created in your world. You prayed that the torrential downpour would continue into the night and Noah and the animals would require that arc. More importantly, you wouldn't have to go to school the following morning, no Math. I associate rain with childhood and happiness but I also recall that rainy evening for reasons other than the ordinary, I met Shashi Tharoor and we spoke about our failing middle order. Cricket, it always comes down to cricket.

I was holding an over-sized cricket bat and Tharoor asked if I thought of getting one my size. I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. He turned his arm over and I neatly drove him for an elegant cover drive (I was eleven or twelve, the term elegance held for little or nothing). He did bowl me the next ball but let’s not go there.

And as the merry men of the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club surrounded him, I made a mental note of the man. It did help that he was in the front page of the newspaper the following morning. I sat in the La Martiniere library sharing the newspaper with a few of my seniors and they were the debating sorts. The kinds that swore St. Stephens College was heaven on earth and that a career with the United Nations was the best thing that could happen to any living soul. I think they mentioned their love for travel, politics, solving crisis situations in Yugoslavia and to top it of be surrounded by beautiful women. I must confess that day I came home and told my grandfather that I wanted to be with the United Nations in whatever capacity! Shashi Tharoor was the role model to us Indians across various age groups and continents; we knew that if he could then we could.

As years went by, I saw more of Tharoor. Be it at the annual debates held in Calcutta or during my school breaks when I would be in Delhi and attend talks held in honor of him. What intrigued me most about him was his ability to swim through an ocean with such comfort, he’d face questions on an array of subjects and he’d answer them with utmost confidence, backed with facts and a dash of humor (much like the right amount of coriander that goes into the garnishing of the perfect Rogan Josh)

I was in London through 2007 to 2011 and in those years, I became more interested in politics than ever before. I think there comes a time in everyone’s life when one begins to pursue areas that interest you with great passion. And in my case, I was born into a Bengali family and was brought up on political movements, literature, theatre, art, football, cricket and cinema. And, Tharoor somehow was a common thread to all of those. Years later, I found out at a dinner party held somewhere on Bond Street that Tharoor played Antony in Mira Nair’s production of Cleopatra in the 1970s. And as lines were recited and glasses clinked, once again Tharoor appeared in my life. The conversation moved to the newly formed Government (this was 2009) and Tharoor winning in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala). I can’t remember a single individual who seemed disappointed with that. Even those who followed different political ideologies to mine appeared thrilled. We finally had someone who we had grown up reading, listening to and being proud of, in Government.

And that’s when things got tricky for him; he was in the limelight like never before. Not to say he didn’t have the media following him before he moved to India, but this was a different breed of media altogether, one I’m assuming Tharoor would have been warned about but surely thought he could handle.

If there’s one thing (among many) I've learned about those who lead lives in the eye of the public is that you might be a hero on a Tuesday evening but byWednesday morning – you could be waiting your turn to be hung by the jury created by the media, both print and social. His tweet on ‘cattle class’ got much unwanted attention, something you and I would get away with hundreds of likes and retweets and smirks. Tharoor started well when he began office and deeply cared for his constituency (which shows as he was one of the very few to get re-elected from the Congress in 2014). In 2009 when things were mostly in his favor – the news that got him into trouble were those created by him out of naivety if nothing else. Be it his tweet or statements made out of honest intention but misinterpreted. His decision to continue to stay in a 5 star hotel was making headlines, but if we were to go over the records of several other Members of Parliament over the years – are you telling me that there weren't others who did so? I am not saying what he did was right, what I am pointing towards is the fact that him doing so made it to 9 pm news debates and front pages of the papers. Over and over again!

Fast forward to 2014. When I began writing this article, I had read countless tweets, blogs, and articles indicating that Tharoor had something to do with the death of his wife, who I know he deeply cared for and loved. I wasn’t present in the room nor was I part of their everyday to know what exactly happened, much like those that seem to write with such confidence against him. This constant victimization of Tharoor was what really got to me. As I found myself in conversation with others in Lutyens' Delhi, a part of me felt the need to write this piece. There is a police investigation and they’re the ones with any authority to deal with this case. As someone connected to this unfortunate and unforeseen situation, the police/authorities have constantly questioned Tharoor and he has cooperated, every single time. It’s not for the 9 pm television anchors or the couch-surfing social media types or the editorials in national dailies to nail him. We’re entitled to our opinions but we aren’t entitled to pass verdict. We’re suckers for news, and we’re even bigger suckers to reach conclusions without proof or facts. There’s the law for a reason and I am sure it’ll take its course.