I knew Mr. V from my very first meeting as a "Communist Basher"

Mr.V was running a school that had CBSE affiliation. He was the correspondent of the school and also running several other businesses. Mr.V was also present in dozens of other business associations, where I would regularly run into him.

"Communists are No.1 enemies" - Mr. V declared in one meeting. Instead of speaking on the subject and issues related to the business of the association, he kept bashing the communists from Russia to Rayalaseema for most part of his speech.

I asked the person sitting next to me about Mr.V. He said "Mr. V expresses his anger with communists whenever he gets time to speak. He is known in political circles for his strident anti-communist speech. He carries that everywhere he speaks".

During the lunch, I had a chance to chat with Mr. V.

"Why are you so angry with the communists" - I asked him "I heard u bash them at every opportunity"

"Angry.. ? me..? " - he asked "In fact we all should be angry and ashamed of them. We should throw them into the sea. Then only our country can retain its lost glory. Without them we would have soared great heights"

"Oh.. yeah.." - I said "You are right. But then every political party is responsible. Is it not..? Then why single out communists..? Except for Kerala and West Bengal they have never even ruled any state"

"Are you a communist sympathizer.?" - he asked

"As a business guy my only affiliation and sympathies are with my business. That is all." - I said " Whoever rules, business needs to grow and sustain."

"See. they forced Nehru to become socialist. But for them, Nehru would not have created the License Raj and loss making Public Sector Enterprises. But for them Indira Gandhi would not have nationalized banks and businesses. How corruption came to India..? It is only because of heavy government intervention in everything we do. Communists have brought this corruption on us.." - he said.

"You have a point" - I said. "You are right".

When someone feels very strongly about something, as a business guy I don't engage with them on that more. I let them have the last word, as it would take some time to work on such people and understand them better.

*************
Over a period, I had to interact with Mr. V more and I understood him better. Mr.V belonged to a political party. He was rising on the ranks of his political party. And he kept up his communist bashing at every opportunity.

Once I told him "V, ur communist bashing has become too rhetoric and boring. Why don’t you change the theme. Even for crude oil price rise, you are blaming the communists".

"No.. They are the people supporting the ruling party." - he said

"So if they withdraw support will the fuel price rise come down..? Or will crude oil price fall down..? I understand you are talking to masses. But I am afraid, u urself is taking it seriously" - I said

He said "I need something to beat. Being from south I can't beat Nehru or Indira much. For the kind of mettle I have and positions I aspire, too much of religious attacks are also not good, particularly in South. The best for me is to beat the communists. It gives me a positioning inside my party. You know… In fact this positioning has helped me to grow faster."

"Ok. Why not try something positive?" - I asked "You are a talented person. Unlike other politicians, you are also a sincere person trying to serve the society to your capacity with good intentions. But I think the negativism that helps your growth now, will become a stumbling block for your future growth. As a friend, I am just giving my opinion"

**********
After that for several months, I could not meet him. Yesterday when I was crossing his school, I realized that his school building has been razed to ground. I was shocked. I called up one of our common friends to know more.

It seems that V's school could not retain CBSE accreditation, due to lack of quality. He had already been warned several times and CBSE decided to cancel the accreditation. It seems he also had huge business debts which erupted at the same time and his school building got sold off. It seems he is having tough times now. He has one daughter in medical college but no other big responsibilities. He could retain only his house alone in all this melee.

I decided to meet him in person. I collected his address and went to his house.

V did not expect me. He had a modest house. He welcomed me and we generally had a good chat.

"So, what happens to your political aspirations" - I asked

"Well.. I have to restart my life now. That's a priority" - he said. "I have little money. And I did not expect at 45, I have to start from scratch. What to do..?" - he sighed.

"Don't worry." - I said "We are all there to help you out. But your no.1 communist enemies are going to have some respite from you" - I laughed trying to cheer him up.

"No.1 enemy..?" - he asked "Today my no.1 enemy is price of Cooking Gas, Rice, Vegetables etc. Next enemy is the college fees for my daughter's current and future studies. You know now MBBS is not enough and hence she has to do more. Next enemy is the recurring medical expenditure I have to undergo for various ailments."

"Don’t' change your color to Red at this stage man." - I said and winked at him "Cheer up."

"No.. No.. it is not that" - he said "I realize like other people in India that issues are our enemies. The issues related to our living and daily life, are our enemies. The way to fight the issues could be different from each other. That does not make people who fight along with us, our enemies. The moment we take our eye off the issue and start fighting with each other, the issue becomes bigger. And the enemy becomes insurmountable. We need to give and take, accept and reject but never forget to fight the issues and not the people. I was till now 'fighting' communists on the stage; it did not matter; it was only positioning. Now I am daily learning to fight the issues and it matters. If I come back, I will talk to people on fighting the issues of life and solving them".

I looked stunned at him for some time.

"Unfortunately" - I thought "By the time people reach real political wisdom, they are out of politics"

-TBT