Friendly jibes, roaring laughter, poetry, wistful recollections of ‘those five years,’ apologies for unintended hurt, goodbye songs, tears — the final council meeting of the city Corporation on Saturday had all the elements of a typical family drama. Gone were the angry shouting, belligerence and protests that have been a common feature of most of the council meetings.
The proceedings started off with the agenda of the day being passed off quickly. As the Mayor recommended some items to the respective standing committees, an Opposition councillor quipped, “Let’s not leave it to the committees at least today,” to which the Mayor responded — “You are saying that because you are not contesting the next elections. This is a continuous process.”
UDF councillor Sreekumar said it had been a learning experience for him and that MLAs and MPs should first become councillors to understand people’s issues. “I will not contest again as I want some time for myself. I haven’t even got my marriage registered.”
Councillor Gladys Alex complained that many councillors who have not got a seat have switched off their mobile phones.
“Please don’t change your numbers. Let’s all stay connected,” she said.
Some councillors described the Mayor as a “motherly figure.” Not to be left behind, Health Standing Committee chairperson S. Pushpalatha said, “If Mayor is like our mother, the Deputy Mayor is like our uncle.” She topped off her speech with a rendition of Nandi aarodu njan chollendu .
A BJP councillor recited a few lines from a poem, ending with the lines Oru jaathi, oru matham, oru daivam . The significance of those lines when the BJP is trying hard to woo SNDP was not lost on anyone.
With time running out, the Mayor requested everyone to spare the drama and keep it short. The best performance was saved for the last as Chala ward councillor Usha Satheesh burst into tears while thanking the Mayor and Ms. Pushpalatha, with whom she had tiffs over waste management.
As a councillor said in his speech, “Wished all our council meetings were like this.”
