Yatra.com did Kanhaiya a big favour by spoofing him

The new video commercial for Yatra's web-check-inapp is going viral even as I am writing this post. The nationalists have obviously loved this video and are pushing it in their social networks. I cannot deny that I had my bit of fun with the video too.

It was also a kind of a surprise when the link for this video hit my mobile phone from the most apolitical corners of my network. The marketing team at Yatra seem to have hit the nail right in a way that appeals to the middle-class India. The solution to the excruciating delays of a system lies in technology and not in sloganeering. Nobody can connect to the ad than the country's middle class.

There is also a certain amount of displeasure expressed against this ad. This is understandable as one can't succeed in making everyone happy, especially in a country as large as India. 

And there has also been some concern expressed over the supporters of Kanhaiya, miffed with the commercial downgrading the app.

However, the angry sympathisers need to take a step back and rethink about their knee jerk reaction. Yatra Holidays has actually done a huge favour to Kanhaiya and his brethren at JNU with this ad even if it is at the risk of making them a laughing stock. Here is why I think so.

When the issue of "Bharat ki barbadi" slogans was boiling, the focus was extremely political and the actual grass root undercurrents of such an issue could not make it to the headlines. Landlords whose homes the students of JNU had leased had asked them to vacate. The photocopy stores stopped taking orders to print/copy posters for JNU events. I could dismiss these as some temporaryknee-jerk reactions of common Indians who are so busy with their own problems that they could not afford to be associated with a potential "desh drohi' to add to their own troubles. (Good luck hoping this risk-averse populace would back any rebellious movements!)

My concern, despite my not so favourable views about JNU, mounted when I felt the undercurrents in the hiring community among my network. An acquaintance with more than a decade of experience in his domain was advised to drop the JNU mention from his CV. "Job ka tension hai yaar, why to take therisk?" was the reply I got. That was when it struck me. Once paranoia takes root, it fails to define its own boundaries. Once perceived as a snake, even a lifeless rope risks being beaten. Forget what a non-venomous grass snake risks facing.

In this atmosphere of heightened paranoia, this commercial serves as a breath of fresh air. Of course, it made Kanhaiya-style sloganeering as something lacking "samajhdaari' (which many would agree with). But the more important thing is that we cannot hate the one who makes us laugh. Humour is the best treatment to hatred and paranoia.

Consider the example of Rahul Gandhi. Even the most hyper supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party cannot bring themselves to hate the "shehzada" as they refer to him.

Of course, the above were just a minuscule of his goof ups. And one can think about the hundreds of jokes made on the dynastic icon. Can anyone bring himself/herself to hate a guy who speaks like that?

This is exactly what Yatra has turned Kanhaiya's perception into. From a vicious deshdrohi wanting India's breaking up to a hot headed joker who sloganeers at the drop of a pin. As sad as it seems, the "left turn" in politics, especially in India given its brazen anti-industry, anti-technology and even anti-science' approaches gives very few options for imagery. You are either a violent Naxal terrorist or an irrelevant sloganeer or a loudspeaker for rent or sale. The comical image is a precious one to keep.

A few more creative spoofs on him (consider this one with the legendary conversation of "Mausi Ji in Sholay" or the parody of Hotel California by Shefali Vaidya that took the social media by storm some days back) will see that he or any student of JNU will no longer be hated in any corner of political inclination. In fact, such spoofs need to be welcomed with a healthy sportive spirit by anyone who aims to stay in the public discourse.

Hope Kanhaiya and his brethren find the humour quotient to enjoy these moments of glorification as well as, can I say "spoofications" from various segments depending upon their biases and perceptions. But for altering his image from a near terrorist-secessionist to someone who makes people laugh, he and the JNU community really owe it to the marketing team of Yatra Holidays.