In India's chaotic democracy there are many politicians who amass huge wealth starting from a humble beginning. Power is intoxicating and when you still do shady deals you keep it discreet. People who get caught are either plain stupid or novices.

So enter Shashi Tharoor a greenhorn in politics. He had a very successful stint working in the UN for 3 decades and at the fag end of his career was unlucky when contesting for the post of UN Secretary General. He comes back to India, contests the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket, wins the election and is nominated as the Minister of State for External Affairs. All this is very well known. Today when he submitted his resignation over the IPL scandal it was quite a painful end to a checkered career.

Personally to me, Shashi Tharoor was a very eloquent speaker and I had read quite a few of his articles. He did seem to know the pulse of the nation, connected to the youth with his tweets and was a popular rallying point for the media. No Indian politician (except a few like Rahul, Sachin Pilot) are known for their good looks. Shashi Tharoor in that aspect was a cut above the rest. Now when someone who just entered politics and gets to be a minister in his first outing that surely raises many eyebrows among the seasoned politicians. We Indians have this crab mentality and cannot digest the fact that someone is doing so well. The immediate instinct is to pull them down. Was Shashi Tharoor a victim of that?

There are Mayawatis and Amar Singhs and so many other corrupt politicians but they know how to play the game of power and money very well. Maybe Shashi can take a leaf out of their book. The country will surely miss his experience and its also a letdown for millions of his admirers. Public memory is short and who knows we might have him back at the helm in the not so distant future :)

Now coming back to my personal life, the week gone by especially the weekend was really exciting.
For the first time, I watched a soccer match and also played a game of tennis. Both were activities I wanted to do since a long time. Playing tennis was very exhausting which made me wonder how do the top tennis players manage? It definitely requires loads of stamina and physical endurance. I look forward to the next weekend with anticipation :)

(Image courtesy: http://specialnewsonline.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/shashi-tharoor1.jpg)