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V Gangadhar

Deve Gowda must reconcile himself to the circus act whenever he leaves Delhi

This came to my mind a couple of days ago, when I watched on television programme of Prime Minister Deve Gowda on tour in Ladakh. Deve Gowda, who takes pride in being a simple Karnataka peasant and is always seen in dhoti and kurta, was wearing a Ladakhi cloak. He also wore funny headgear.

The prime minister attempted to smile and waved to the crowds. But I could see he was uneasy. Deve Gowda is an intelligent man and he knew that he looked pretty silly in the Ladakhi costume. Like so many Indian politicians, he did not have the knack of carrying off unusual costumes. But Deve Gowda, if he wants to continue as prime minister, must reconcile himself to this circus act whenever he leaves Delhi.

In Maharashtra he will be forced to wear the pagdi, the complicated headgear worn by rural leaders. Deve Gowda, who takes delight in flaunting his rural heritage, cannot refuse to don the headgear.

In more exotic locales like the Andamans, Lakshadweep and the north-east, Deve Gowda will confront the same ordeal. The costumes and headgear of these regions are colourful and often bizarre. Accustomed to a dhoti and kurta, he may not enjoy the experience of wearing motley costumes and joining in the dances of the respective regions. 'Going native' does not come easy to him.

All Indian prime ministers have had to go through these experiences; most of them may not have liked it. There were exceptions like members of the Nehru-Gandhi family. The most famous of them all, Jawaharlal Nehru, looked good in whatever he wore. He enjoyed the company of the Nagas and other tribals, readily wore their dress and headgear and danced alongside with great enthusiasm.

Some of the best pictures of India's first prime minister were of this category. Nehru was an absolute natural. Whenever regional cultural troupes landed in Delhi, particularly for the Republic Day celebrations, Nehru insisted on visiting them and dancing with them. His enthusiasm was infectious, the people simply forgot they were in the presence of a VVIP and regarded him as one of their own.

Nehru passed on these qualities to his daughter, Indira Gandhi, who shared her father's naturalness and lack of inhibition in the company of hill people and tribals. She joined hands and danced with fisherfolk. Once in Ahmedabad, she delighted a Navratri audience by joining them for garba and performed far more gracefully than most of the women present. The Mizos, Nagas and residents of regions like the Andamans who broke into music and dancing at the slightest provocation enjoyed being with her.

Indira Gandhi never held back because she was a woman. Often she took the lead in breaking the ice, readily switched over to colourful cloaks, tribal dresses and headgear, looking absolutely natural in them.

This appeared to be a special knack of the family. Rajiv Gandhi was a reluctant entry into politics and, in his early days, was a bit uneasy when he was forced into the song-dance-fancy-dress routine. But then he was a Nehru and quickly caught on the tricks of the trade. Within no time, Rajiv looked as natural and elegant in jeans and a T-shirt as in folk costumes and the feathers-laden dresses of the border areas.

I think Mani Shankar Aiyar was responsible for the smooth transformation, hinting to his boss that the best way to win friends and influence people, particularly in distant regions, was to dress like them and dance with them. Rajiv established a special rapport with the south when he wore an angavastram with his kurta. Today, even Vajpayee does this.

Whether in power or out of it, the Nehrus had a special rapport with the Indian people. The elitist English media thundered against them, accusing them of all kinds of crimes. The Nehrus did lose elections, but they were the best crowd pullers in the country.

While in political wilderness, Indira Gandhi rode an elephant while visiting Belchi to condole the massacre of the harijans. That act made more news than important pronouncements from the Morarji Desai government. And the entire nation wept when Rajiv Gandhi, in a white pyjama kurta, walked slowly around his mother's funeral pyre before lighting it.

Unfortunately, this charisma eluded other prime ministers. Morarji Desai was not cut out for the role of an occasional public entertainer. Can you imagine him going native and dancing with the tribals? His stern visage and upright stance would have put off even the most exuberant people. Lal Bahadur Shastri was no doubt a popular prime minister. But his lack of inches and eminently forgettable personality went against him and he seldom exhibited an exuberance while mingling with the masses. As for Charan Singh, the less said the better!

V P Singh was endowed with striking good looks, but he took himself too seriously and often played to the gallery. He was the moral crusader, the 'Cleaner than Mr Clean' and it did not suit his personality to sing and dance with the people.

On the few occasions that he did, Singh was distinctly uncomfortable. Of course, he made the fur cap as popular as the Gandhi cap, but he would not put on the clown cap. Chandra Shekhar was in powerfor too short a period to make any impact. As for P V Narasimha Rao, he did try fancy costumes and headgear occasionally, but the result was a damp squib. He simply was not cut out for the role. Rao kept his distance from the people who realised that this prime minister would not shake a leg with them.

In a country of different cultures like India, every section of the people would like the prime minister to dress and act like them, at least on occasions when he was in their company. The Maharashtrians enjoyed having their prime minister sporting Peshwa headgear. So did the Mizos who felt a special affinity with a prime minister who held hands with them, wore their festive costumes and danced to their brand of music.

Deve Gowda will have to follow this example. He may be a farmer at heart, but the Indians enjoy watching a colourful prime minister in action. With the UP assembly election around the corner, Deve Gowda should plan his costumes carefully. He should not allow Atalji to steal the show.

Illustrations: Dominic Xavier