Image via intoday.in
The holy sangam. The confluence of the holy Ganga and Yamuna. From this point on, the combined channel, its holiness amplified manifold, exhibits the trappings of greatness; A maha river indeed, but a maha-maha (truly great) river? Not quite. The main channel is never more than a mile in breadth, carrying within it more human waste than pristine glacial melt, more sewer than river. True greatness that is physical as well as spiritual still eludes this holiest of all rivers.
That is until the mighty and holy Sarayu (Ghaghara), the largest tributary by volume, debauches into it 200 miles downstream just after the Ganga enters Bihar. The river is now truly great, a physical as well as a spiritual marvel. With a combined flow of 16,000 cubic meters per second spread over an expansive deep channel, it is a sight to behold, taking its place among the great rivers of the world.
Ditto for the Mahagatbandhan. Its greatness has never been in doubt but for true greatness, it needs to be reinforced by the mighty AAP led by Arvind. The sheer degree and volume of AAP’s integrity could dilute the taint of corruption associated with the MGTB’s Lalu, spawning a secular as well as incorruptible alliance that is not merely Bihar centric but pan Indian, one that seeks special status for not just Bihar but the whole of India. Pundits have wasted no time in declaring it as a maha-maha-gatbandhan, the grandest of alliances rising from the ashes of the Congress to battle the Sangh for the very idea of India in the years to come.
“Is baar, hum sab mile hue hain, ji [for a change, we are all in cahoots],” Kejriwal said about the grand merger. Nitish adorned Arvind’s forehead with a secular tikka to initiate him into the MGTB (now renamed MMGTB). Arvind in turn lovingly placed AAP topis captioned “mein hoon secular aam aadmi [I am a secular common man]” on Nitish and Lalu’s heads. An enthusiastic Lalu in turn proposed a matrimonial alliance between one of his nieces and Arvind’s son but the AAP leader demurred since Master Kejriwal is still in high school. The trio later prayed at the Sher Shah Suri Masjid, sought darshan at the Mahavir Mandir, and did langar service at Takht Sri Patna Sahib in a secular show of piety.
Tailpiece: Serious cracks have developed in the MMGTB after Nitish and Lalu invited Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan to join the grand secular alliance. Arvind may hit back by expelling both Nitish and Lalu from the MMGTB and going it alone to take on communal forces.