Chali chali re patang; chali baadalon ke paar; hoke dor pe sawaar; Saari duniya yeh dekh dekh jali re. Before you think that the song from the 1938 film Bhabhi is being played in an Irani cafe where patrons are sipping chai, think again. For, there is twist. A clever change of context makes it a perfect for the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Musimeen’s election campaign. The party’s symbol is the kite — patang. While Bollywood music buffs may find it cringeworthy, the party cadre laps it up. And while the song is being played, the party’s supporters do mime the kheench motion, when kites enter a dogfight.
A host of songs with a play or words are heard on the MIM campaign trail in the Old City. Other popular numbers such as the title track from the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Muqaddar ka Sikandar too are in use. But their lyrics have been changed to suit the campaign trail. Hum at your own peril:
Election mey
Aate hain sab
Jeet toh hum jaayingey
Another verse goes thus:
Woh MIM
Sher-e-Dakhan
Sher hai tu
Yeh hai Millat ke Naqeeb
