Pharis: The Model For The New Malayali!

Everyone who tries to paint himself a supporter of Achumama is these days gunning for Pharis. Maybe it is just because it has become fashionable to do so. Well, there are also some vested interests taking on Pharis. Like MP Veerendrakumar of Mathrubhumi. Veeran is angry that his illegal possession of acres of land is being highlighted in the media even as he and his paper have been egging on Achumama's backhoe loaders in Munnar.
Then there are those established vested interests - like PC George, MLA - who don't like an upstart like Pharis. They moan about Pharis' sudden rise to wealth - and fame. Discerning readers can easily recognize those cries as the fear of the established elite over being pushed out of the decision-making and opinion-leading roles in Kerala society.
Yes, far from being a danger I would say Pharis is the model for the younger generation Malayali to follow. And I would stick by that opinion even if tomorrow some solid evidence surfaces about some wrongdoing on his part (not the kind of stuff Veeran publishes daily in his rag. I wonder how his editor manages to keep working under such a moron!). He shows that if you break out of the limiting political and social molds currently in force in this state, you can make it big. Only problem then is that the established elite who profit from the current political, financial and social structures, such as Veeran and George, will gun for you. But that is because they fear they will be swept away by the currents of change sweeping the state; and they want to keep the status quo. The most enduring face of this obscurantist order that they want to preserve and protect is Achumama - the man who has never built anything, and who knows only to destroy wantonly. No wonder Veeran, George, and numerous other vested interests are supporting Achu.
But Kerala is changing. And the currents of time are sweeping away the old structures. Pharis can be maligned and tarnished. But tomorrow many more will follow his path, and the new generation Malayali will accept that to make a few crores in a few years is, in itself, not a sin.
Veeran and George and Achumama fear that day. But let us not!

Whither Achu? Whither Kerala? Whither CPM?

It is indeed interesting to watch the Achumama-Pinarayi road show, what with everyone trying to paint every imaginable conflict in the Achu-Pinarayi colors, like the Catholic Church's fight with Pharis Aboobacker over Deepika. What prompted me to write this piece is the support Achu seems to enjoy amongst at least a section of today's youth. I really find it disconcerting that Achu, who is one of the most inefficient and inept chief minister that Kerala has ever had, enjoys at least some support among the youth. Even more disconcerting is the fact that they have falling for Achu's verbal gimmicks.

I know I stand the danger of being painted a Pinarayi supporter, but let us face it: Achu's administration has done precious little in the way of governance. Of course, if we believe Achu's media managers that tearing down illegal constructions in Munnar is a great achievement for the state, then Achu is the best chief minister Kerala has had. Sadly, bulldozing illegal constructions is not among the criteria on which I, and most pople, would like to rate an administration. Without taking away from Achu the credit for doing it in all his haste, let us remember that even if those buildings stood a fw more days it wouldn't have mattered for the average Malayali.

And there are a lot of things that matter for the Keralite and those for which Achu's administration has scored zero marks. Let us look at the health scene. I think a zillion types of viruses are wreaking havoc in the state, and the health care system has all but broken down. Still we are yet to see a concerted effort from the part of the government to lick the issue. Yes, you can say the health minister is a Pinarayi supporter and is to blame. But Achu as chief minister is not above blame. Why cannot he act - like in the case of the Munnar demolitions - and get the health machinery moving? Because that is not going to bring him cheap publicity. The picture I get is that of an old man hungry for cheap publicity, but completely inept when it comes to ruling the state.

Or look at the state of the roads in the state. Except for the showpiece stretch of tarmac in front of the Raj Bhavan there is not a single road in Thiruvananthapuram without potholes. I would not even classify some of these as roads! And this did not happen overnight. The roads were pretty bad even before the monsoons started. The sad thing is neither the CM or the ministers or the officials are worried about this rickety state of affairs.

These are just two things that come to mind when trying to evaluate Achumama's government. I highlighted them here because they affect the common man more directly than any other issue now. Yet it is sad that some think Achu is a fantastic chief minister. The people are clapping now, and they are being egged on by people like Veerendrakumar and other media guys. But the day is not far when open questions will arise about the Achu government. By then the damage would have been done to the LDF. The CPM Politburo should act fast and decide if they need a wily, power-crazy, and incompetent old man who is trying to build himself a larger-than-party image as chief minister and lose its credibility in the bargain or would rather have a more competent, disciplined and practical chief minister and save the future of the party and the state. The faster the Politburo addresses the question, the better.

Media Wars: Veeran Gets A Black Eye!

One of the best things I love about the current roil in the media scene with respect to the Pharis-Achumama controversy is that Veerendrakumar, and Mathrubhumi, have been cut to size.
Ever since he defeated the entry of Times of India to the Malayalam media scene through his political connections, Veeran has been punching far above his weight. And now, Deepika, a featherweight in the Malayalam print media scene has screwed Veeran and his paper, and showed up their brand of journalism.
Everyone knows that Veeran took on the Pinarayi faction of the CPM and Deepika in trying to cover up the issue of his illegal possession of hectares of land. While clapping from the sidelines while Achumama's backhoe loaders were tearing down buildings in Munnar, Veeran forgot that he himself was sitting in a glass tower and throwing stones. Veeran stepped up attacks against the Pinarayi faction to distract readers from his land issue. And in doing that he bit off more than he could chew. If Veeran was accustomed to punching above his weight, now he has had to accustom himself to an adversary who punches far above his weight! Yes, I am talking about Pharis Aboobacker, the chairman of Deepika.
Whatever the controversy about Pharis' chairmanship of Deepika, he has managed to expose Veeran's double standards and his brand of tabloid journalism to the Malayali readers. Veeran's paper, the once-venerable Mathrubhumi, did the unthinkable in printing totally unsubstantiated allegations about Pharis and claiming that not even a photo of his is available. Pharis then appeared on TV and said Mathrubhumi could have got his photo from the income-tax office, or even worse, from PV Nideesh, one of the directors of Mathrubhumi and Pharis' close friend. In trying to obfuscate his mistake Veeran went on to dig up all remotely related trash about Pharis and publicize them under huge headlines, while conveniently censoring Nidheesh's denial from Mathrubhumi's readers.
Veeran has forgotten that we are now living in an information age and he cannot suppress the truth for long. If Veeran won't print his director's denial of a Mathrubhumi news story, it will still reach the readers. And discerning Malayali readers are beginning to lose faith in Veeran and his rag. Yes, I am pained to say that but Mathrubhumi is fast turning a rag in Malayalam journalism.
As Pharis said, there is no need to get overly proud over the fact that Mathrubhumi was started by nationalist fighters; those running the paper currently [Veeran and co] have no connection with those great men. Yes, what we are currently witnessing is the slow burial of a venerable newspaper, all to serve the personal agenda of a wily land grabber.
If those who say that Malayalis have a right to know the source of Pharis' wealth are correct, then Malayalis also have a right to question Veeran's agenda and the source of his wealth. He cannot obfuscate facts and keep a veil on reality as easily as he could have done a few years ago. Sooner or later the world will find out about Veeran. My only prayer is Mathrubhumi won't be dead by then.

Pharis, Not Faris - And Not Paris!

I got his name wrong in my last post. It is Pharis, and not Faris.
The second episode of the interview was even better. Our man went on to cut to size VS's bloated media image, something that was highly necessary. The points he raised were valid, questions that should have been asked about the Demolition CM's activities long back. But our media with its vested interests were busy "clapping" from the sidewalks - enjoying its lamp-post reporting role while forgetting its lighthouse reporting role. Thanks Pharis, you spoke for a lot of us Malayalis who have lost voice in this media frenzy - created by media barons with vested interests - over Achu's rule. And he went of to equate Achu's age old trick of resorting to trivia to tarnish opponents to what jealous school kids do - in reference to Pharis being referred to as Paris, our man said that is what my friends used to sometimes call me in school. He went on to paint Achu's conduct as puerile, despite Brittas trying hard to change tack!
And Mathrubhumi is still at its deception game with its readers - no news about its director being a friend of Pharis and more reportage about the former official of Singapore Kidney Foundation - connected with Pharis previously - being jailed.
Big photo, big headline on frontpage, but no serious reason for it to be there.
But then, what do you expect of a paper with Veerendrakumar as editor, eh?!
For the Malayali, tired of Achu's political circuses and oneupmanship the only hope now is the CPM Politbureau will do something to kick the government out of its inaction. Hope while they are reviewing Pharis' tapes they will have the sense to understand the message he gave - about delivery and performance mattering more now. Or will the ivory tower leaders - most of who can't even win a Panchayat election - still engage in endless debates about if the channel did the right thing?!
Maybe Keralites should give Pharis a chance to become their chief minister. At least that will show the politicians that they don't really matter!