In Varanasi, politics spikes chai pe charcha

BANARAS: There are three mini parliaments in the city, and if a politician or a political party has not yet become a bone of contention in any of them yet he should just pick up a kamandal (a kind of pitcher), pitch his tent in one of the many ghats of Banaras and wait for salvation.

Be it Iraq or Libya, Russia or Ukraine, Modi or Kejriwal, Mulayam or Mayawati, nothing escapes Pappu ki dukan, Poi ki dukan or Tandon ki dukan. Questions like will Modi land with a bang or a whimper, will Priyanka be given more responsibility and will Digvijay Singh marry his love interest, who incidentally went to BHU, are discussed threadbare. The last 60 years of the city's politics has been analyzed by intellectuals, artists, politicians and the common man in these three shops - nothing more than tea stalls - sitting, standing or fighting but always with a glass of hot, cheap and tasty tea. They are city's best debating societies that once saw the likes of Namvar Singh, Trilochan and other literary giants cogitating on politics, literature and life. As in the past, women do not have the privilege of hanging out in these places.

Pappu and Poi tea stalls are within shouting distance of each other in a locality called Assi, the last fort of the famed Banarsi devilmay-care attitude. The dress code of those who throng the place might have become western but residents can still be seen in the Assi uniform of dhoti, janenu (sacred thread) and a contented face. It's the ultimate microcosm of Banaras and refuses to change from the time writer Kashi Nath Singh used to frequent it as a student and later while researching Kashi Ka Assi, his classic novel on the city. Sadly, the level of discourse has nosedived, it has become intolerant. As Singh says, the Ayodhya agitation, Babri Masjid demolition and Mandal commission changed the customer profi le of these stalls. Pappu's shop, which was frequented by people of all ideological strains, was taken over by BJP supporters and Poi's, started in the 1950s by his father Kedar, a socialist of some standing, became the hub of liberals.

Tandon's stall is in Lanka not far from BHU. Here the presiding deity is Rambachan Pandey, a key protagonist in Kashi Ka Assi, who went to jail along with Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar and others during the Emergency. He prefers to call himself their mentor and waits for socialism to sprout from each nook and corner but not before he has lanced Mulayam Singh with choicest Banarsi expletives, which lose their potency in translation. He blames Mulayam for giving UP on a platter to BJP. Pandey has cut down on visits to Poi due to age and Pappu's shop is ideologically negative for him.

The action is at Pappu's shop, the den of BJP supporters. All benches inside are occupied with young and old sporting saffron caps.

Kamlesh, Gyanendra and two of his friends are taking a guess on Modi's victory margin and a wave that will sweep eastern UP. There is no room for discussion, it's only Modi. They are BJP workers who blame Kejriwal's volunteers for provoking Modi supporters. "In the coming days we will beat them even more," Gyanendra says. On the left side of Pappu's, a mixed group of old and young are listening to Deenbandhu Tiwari, a college teacher, who is committing the sin of abusing Modi and predicting doom for BJP. "Not more than 25 seats in UP. Thirty if you insist," he says. As one asks how Tiwari could be so critical of BJP at Pappu's, his friend Vijay Shankar butts in: "All BJP people have left now. Otherwise they get abusive and even throw us out." Tiwari admits Modi is likely to sail through in Banaras but the city can surprise him with a victory margin so low, he will regret coming here.