Delhi Elections

 [The front page of all four major newspapers of India yesterday, taken over by BJP political advertising]

It's election season again here in Delhi--in fact the municipal elections are being held today. What has this meant for our glorious heroine over the past few days? Not much, really--just some additional headaches and enforced sobriety.

Let me explain. For the past few weeks local campaigning has throttled into high gear. I'm neither a voter nor a Hindi reader so I have been fairly out of the loop though it has been impossible to miss the uptick in political billboards and advertisements on the roads, in the metro and in the newspaper. There has also certainly been a noticeable amount of political campaigners roaming the street who mercifully ignore me; you can tell who they are because they are adorned in the colors and paraphernalia of their candidate--most prominent amongst by far these have been the BJP guys. BJP is the current ruling party--Prime Minister Modi is BJP--and it's the most popular political party in Delhi.

I really don't mind the groups of campaigners wandering around my neighborhood, even if they do wear the ugliest hats I've seen in a while (sort of like the triangle chef's hat in BJP's orange and green stripes). In fact, I kinda dig how grassroots democracy seems to be around here. (Of course, you do hear ugly tales of local politicians buying/beating votes out of vulnerable populations, which is ... not good). But, from a strictly selfish point of view, what I really dislike about election season are those goddam loudspeakers.

Aaaaargh! The loudspeakers! Attached to cars, autos, lampposts, pretty much anything else that moves or is stationary. Blaring loud, shrill, angry-sounding, cranky political messages in Hindi over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. It's really too much. Even my  afternoon jaunt to my local fruit juice walla, previously my moment of restful chi during the workday, has become a cacophony of political screeches--some idiot has gone and tied a loudspeaker to the fruit stand! Honestly, it's probably worse for folks who can understand the Hindi message but I just... aaaaargh! (Even my cubicle--deep in the windowless guts of my office--provides little relief. Every time a mobile loudspeaker goes by I am reminded of how thin the walls are).

And I can't even dampen my headaches in alcohol because for the three days prior to the elections themselves Delhi goes dry; no liquor sales anywhere. I mean, I do think it's a good idea not to drinking and voting but sometimes a girl just needs a gin and tonic to drown out the cacophony, you know?

Ah democracy. The worst form of political governance except for all other forms.