"SENGOL" THE SCEPTRE

‘Stuck’ on a ‘stick’, that's a ‘sticky’ situation indeed, instead of ‘sticking’ together at  such a momentous occasion, it all came ‘unstuck’. Sad, after all what is  the significance of a ‘stick’ in politics, unless if it is Sengol, the Chola Kings  “Golden sceptre”. Name not many were familiar with till all hell broke loose with the unearthing of the proverbial Golden ‘stick’, providing the Party in power with adequate ammunition or should I say ‘stick’ to beat the opposition to pulp, if they had their way. What may have been just a faux pas on part of some over enthusiastic curator, who described the object in question as just a Golden ‘Stick’, after all who in his right frame of mind will use a Golden Walking ‘Stick’ in a poor and impoverished nation that we were at the time of independence. Good that it was found in tact and has been returned to the new Parliament building where it belonged as part of the heritage.

It is a mystery as to how did Nehru ji agree to this ceremony with such religious fervour, after all he was an ardent agnostic modernist who, unlike his daughter was never seen anywhere around any temples. So much so, that he called the Dams and Steel plants as our modern temples. The fact that the ceremony was conducted is beyond doubt, as it has been covered in even foreign media of the time too. Gracefully accept that the ‘sticking’ point was not intentional and get on with life, but instead the parties have been going on and on like ‘stuck’ records. Unfortunately it isn't slap‘stick' even, at least that would have introduced some twist in the tale. But someone is definitely going to end up with the wrong end of the ‘stick’, that obviously isn't  a very pleasant situation. The old man who is at the helm anywhere has to carry a real big ‘stick’ to get things moving, probably that is what was the purpose of this "staff" handing over. This one is real big, about 5 feet in length and weighs 800 grams of pure Gold, with intricate carvings and a Nandi on its head signifying the righteous path to rule, in Hindi, it is called “Rajdand” or “Dharmdand”,  Dand means punishment, now the etymology of ‘Danda’ is crystal clear.

We in the Army are quite familiar with this ‘stick’, as nothing works without the "Carrot and stick" policy. The commanders at all levels symbolically carry it with them leaving no one in any doubt about the clarity of the intent. The "Cane" as it is normally referred to, is the biggest motivator and usually its mere sight is adequate to get the people to move immediately. The 50 plus generation would recall the  dreaded 'danda' which the teacher carried with them, which used to send shivers down the spine of students. It was generally well oiled to increase the 'effect based operation’. Flyboys are very proud of their antics with the joy’sticks’, they too are in command and as we said earlier, sticks and command go together like bread and butter. I can understand that Aam Aadmi Party is peeved as they had thought their broom’stick’ was the panacea for all the ills which plagued the country. Someone has to stick his neck out to bury this unnecessary controversy  lest we all are asked to stick’em up in true Cowboy style and get on with life with the proverbial 'stick' lurking somewhere in the backdrop.