Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Ripple effect

The demise of former Prime Minister V.P. Singh and the consequent declaration of a week-long mourning by the Union Government had thrown at least two major events in Krishna district out of gear. The Vijayawada station of All India Radio, which completed 60 years on December 1, planned elaborate celebrations on the day with a grand meeting to be attended by the Prasar Bharati Broadcasting Corporation Director-General. It also wanted to honour all its retired employees and arranged some music concerts. The celebrations have now been postponed to January. But unlike this, the formal flagging-off of Machilipatnam-Bangalore Express by Minister of State for Railways R. Velu had to be cancelled altogether and the train service was started on the fixed date without any fanfare. Machilipatnam MP Badiga Ramakrishna, who can rightfully claim credit for this train service, must have been thoroughly disappointed for having missed a good deal of publicity.

It was a different kind of assignment for scribes of Krishna district. Several journalists from the city went all the way to Avanigadda to attend the marriage of Minister Mandali Buddha Prasad’s daughter. The high expectations of some reporters that they would see an opulent wedding were thwarted, when they saw simple arrangements. The bride and bridegroom were seated on an austere dais put up on the road in front of Mr. Buddha Prasad’s house. While the ‘aam janta’ greeted the couple from the road, VIPs were allowed on to the raised platform to bless them. While entertainment was arranged in the form of an orchestra in a playground close by, thousands were served simple meals. In these days of air-conditioned kalyanamandapams and elaborate buffet dinners with more than a dozen dishes on the menu, the wedding appeared a wee bit abstemious to guests.

A mime performed by children of Vasavya Mahila Mandali (VMM) as a part of the World AIDS Day celebrations was a visual treat. The theatrical entertainment where characters and situations were farcically portrayed on stage with a theme ‘War against AIDS’ was aimed at sensitising the audience on the banes of the virus. But not many, both in the audience and among those seated on the dais, seemed interested in grasping the essence of the show, which was stretched slightly beyond the allocated time by a few minutes. The ones squirming in their chairs on the dais reflected the general public insensitivity to the gravity of the problem. One wondered if the ‘perceived proponents’ of the anti-AIDS drive can be so impatient, why will a common man take time off to listen to their lengthy ‘sermons’.

These days, TDP and Left party leaders are coming before the press jointly. The new-found confidence in the wake of confirmation of their electoral alliances at the State level is clearly expressed in the manner in which they are organising joint press briefings and conferences. There seems to be a clear message to the ruling Congress in the new development in the Opposition ranks, indicating that the coming days will witness tougher, shriller and noisier protest programmes. Already the Opposition parties have given a call for Chalo Assembly on Dec. 4 demanding solutions to farmers’ problems. Probably more will follow to give a truly tough time to the ruling party in the months prior to the Assembly elections.

(K. Srimali, G.V. Ramana Rao, P. Sujatha Varma and G. Ravikiran)

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