The world this past week has been a crazy place. Yes, I said crazy. The first International Tour may have come and gone for the POTUS and FLOTUS, but the world does not really remember anything about the policies that may have been discussed, or the global issues that may or may not have been resolved. Because there were far more important things that took centre stage. First, the wardrobe of the FLOTUS was a matter of much discussion as was the no show of a head scarf despite the recent attacks by the POTUS on Hilary Clinton, where ‘enuf’ enemies were discussed. Yes, apparently the head scarf is the main trigger of any strain between the two nations. Deep.
Once the focus shifted from the wardrobe, hand swatting took over as the couple descended in Tel Aviv. In a bid to replicate the hand holding of other international leaders and their better halves, the POTUS decided to reach back and take the hand of his wife. While he blindly reached out, hoping for her to dutifully and lovingly clasp his hand, she artfully swatted it away. The international flashbulbs went into a frenzy and Twitter came up with a slew of hashtags to celebrate what has been described as her comeback after he ignored her when they arrived for the inauguration.
What maturity.
And while we are on the subject of maturity, there has been much furore over Paresh Rawal’s comments on Arundhati Roy. BJP MP Rawal mentioned how the author should be tied to an army jeep instead of the now famous stone pelters of Kashmir who have disrupted many a military operation which has cost the army several lives in the past months. The author is said to have mentioned time and again how India is an “occupying force” in Kashmir. This may have earned her the irk of many fellow Indians, but it does make one wonder if Rawal’s statements in response are justified. This does remind me of the furore over Gurmehar Kaur and the statements made by a certain actor against her. Not in good taste, gentlemen – not in good taste.
So while the West celebrates the coming out of a lady who seems aloof at times, and miserable the rest of the time while she follows her world leader husband around the world, the East seems to have lost it over the freedom of speech exercised by another. Crazy, much?
