A medley

 Can a day be a medley? I guess so if the experiences the day delivered were varied, but had a single theme, a common thread. In that sense, this Saturday was a medley with the central note being contentment.

The feel of restful fulfillment revealed itself circa 3 p.m.-ish. By that time, the mandate was clear. Maharashtra voted for the Devendra Fadnavis led Mahayuti. It was a happy feel because it was a decisive mandate which Maharashtra needed.

Sure the BJP emerged the strongest which, too, was satisfying because it clearly shows the direction the voters want. It is a clarion call against divisive politics if the Karnataka mollification fiasco is any proof, and, more importantly, for development as promised by the P.M. Personally, moreover, it is my gut feeling that the BJP can be critiqued without a vitriolic backlash.

The clear mandate mattered the most for yet another reason. Now there would not be any horse trading! Given the extremely embarrassing post poll scenario in 2019 with its mix-n-match  mishmash that made Maharashtra politics  acutely volatile thence, such a clear stance by the voters indicates the path political parties must now chart. 

For the other two parties in the coalition, the mandate must matter, too, because in a way it seals their fractured identities. Hopefully now, Maharashtra politicians would honour the verdict the citizens provided by voting in a record break way.

I find the poll results significant for yet another reason. Sure there were the star speakers with their mass appeal. Yet, in my opinion, the ground swell was a creation of the very many vloggers whose passionate videos revealed the ground realities the mainstream media may not.

Well, I am not much of a party politics person. Hence now the real reason for calling the Saturday a medley. In the evening, I attended a great annual concert entitled ''Mitra Mahotsav". My colleague Gokhale Madam and her family are the concert organisers.

By a sheer yet wonderful chance, I could get to sit next to my colleague, Deshpande Madam. Well, that added to the secure safe feel. It is always great to find a friend in a huge gathering, otherwise faceless.

The large medley audience was moved by the superbly mellifluous performance by Jayanthi Kumaresh and R.Kumaresh. In a way, instrumental music is more evocative as it gives a free fillip to one's own imagination. 

As words  from a language that one may not understand are not present, the notes allow you to traverse your own meanings. The jugalbandi by the artist couple on the veena and the violin was everything that music should be, technical perfection and soulful rendering. Such was the magic their notes weaved that the Pune evening was majestically transported to the Mylapore Sangeet Sabhas exploring 'Tyagaraja krutis' that Chennai abounds with circa November-December.

The accompanying artists were masters as well. In fact, though there was not the usual ghatam, the mridangam and the tabla were great. I heard for the first time the other instument that accompanied the most melodious medley of raga's the couple presented. Most interestingly, the spell-binding performance was a medley because the "sur" accompanying artists, too, explored the "tal", literally miraculously.

What an evening indeed! A perfect potpourri of pure pleasure! No wonder, I found the day a medley of contentment.

Pratima@ The appeal of art is priceless.