Transfixed by the resident Goddess of CNN IBN

Sometimes life throws up real challenges, challenges as in  tough decisions to make.You may well ask what the tough part is. Well, just now is one such time. Consider this:  there,on my television screen, is NaMo, in Varanasi, performing the Ganga Arti. Being a born again Modi fan, with the evangelist fervor and fanaticism of a born again fan , I am transfixed. I look adoringly at the man of the moment. Perfect body language, relaxed , enjoying the aarti, his fingers drumming in tune with the beat of the aarti.  But hey, the image from Varanasi is pushed to one side of the screen  and a baby doll with a  nasal twang takes center stage. I open my mouth in protest but just then baby doll opens hers.

And herein is the challenge, the tough decision to make - Modi or the CNN IBN panel, presided by err Sagarika Ghosh. I am transfixed equally by Modi and by her. When was the last time I saw such a hairstyle? you want to know what hairstyle ? again a tough one to answer. A flattened bouffant, ending just at the ears, is what it resembles most. The bouffant seemed to have been caught in a flash shower and with no time to dry before curtain call it looks like the head of a distressed chicken.

I shoot a quick glance at Modi ,but he is still sitting quietly, all the action being done by his drumming fingers and so I scoot another look at Ms Ghosh. It is obvious  she shares her makeup man  with the cast that enacts the Ramlila. The bright  red patches on the cheek are a dead give away. This brave act is enough to make the viewer, me, subside into respectful obeisance.And at this moment, when I was just at the point of bowing my head at this version of Sita , from the stage at Ramlila Maidan, juxtaposed with the image of John Travolta ( who had also  sported a bouffant in the hit musical, aptly titled Hairspray )  she opens her mouth.

The trilling sound and the accent, betraying that here is someone who has traveled to America and come back with the nasal pipe permanently disjointed reminds me why the moniker baby doll had sprung to mind.
But then, when the words begin sinking in, the manner of speaking became irreverent in front of the language and ummn , the vocabulary.

Sample this :
 " The aarti is infact  sooo beyooteeeful  ( twang twang) , infact  the beeyootee of  the ghats is just sooo beeyooteeful and  infact Modi is now  performing the aarti and infact this is such a  a beyooteeful sight and infact the aarti being performed by the Prime minister elect is infact full of symbolism; infact he is  reaching out to the BJP karyakartas; the moment is sooo full of symbolism; infact something that foreigners come to see, infact a reminder of Indian identity... let's listen to the ( ummn) sound of the conch being blown- it's really rather beeyooteeful- infact let's listen in..."

  There is  silence while  they listen in and I look at Modi. There is a grin on his face. I grin too.