House of Horses
Every announcement of elections leaves the horse fraternity a mentally and egotistically bruised lot. It leaves many a mane ruffled. They are filly-nilly harnessed into the cock and bull stories associated with the whole process. This time they decided to take the things head on and called an emergency meeting where various participants presented their views.
“We are used to grandeur of Rajas and Maharajas, discipline of armed forces and flamboyance of polo, so it is hitting below the stirrups when an unknown, inexperienced and raw horn candidate is called Dark Horse. We cannot just allow anybody to join the hooves-who list.”
Mike was shifted to next speaker. “History is full of stories of our loyalty to masters, but the treacherous, power hungry politicians have given a diagonally opposite meaning to horse trading. Trojan horse was an exception,but in politics, we see, exception is the rule. Let’s saddle the issue for once and all.”
In line was female of the species. “Male politicians are more unfair than their fair counterparts; they dole out money for votes, but still have the audacity of declaring that money makes the mare go. Its time that the electorate makes them go into oblivion.”
“No one can become a thoroughbred by just horsing around. Assemblies after violent protests look like as if mighty bull has been let lose in the china shop. If the elected ones have to behave like that and discuss things in manner more befitting of fish markets,we should be spared the unkind association.”
One wise old war horse was to share his views. “We go by the dictum– those also serve who stand and wait – and we never sit or lie down. But look at all the politicians, they just stand in elections and for elections only,not for people who vote for them. They are more like cold blooded animals,surfacing every five years and no where to be found in between.”
All said and done, it was time for chair-horse to sum up the things.“I have seen more elections than all of you. Yes, the comparison is very unsporting but then I feel, we are much ahead in the race of reliability. We get involved in the unsavory process because all parties want their governments to be stable.”