The Night Watchman from Kodambakkam
By the time Indian democracy finishes surprising us, most of us are too old to be shocked. Yet Tamil Nadu has managed it again. The land that gave us MGR, Jayalalithaa, Karunanidhi and endless political melodrama has now produced another matinee idol in a freshly ironed white shirt — Thalapathy Vijay, the reluctant messiah of voters exhausted by Dravidian family feuds. Tamil Nadu politics has always resembled an old marriage. Loud quarrels, flying utensils, emotional speeches, but the same husband and wife sleeping under the same roof every night. DMK or AIADMK — choose your flavour of sambar, but the kitchen remained the same. Voters were told this was democracy. In reality, it was political timeshare ownership. Now arrives Thalapathy Vijay, film star, youth icon, collector of whistles and cut-outs taller than temple towers. The experts laughed. Opinion polls predicted politely. Television anchors performed their usual circus. And then the voters quietly walked into polling booths ...
