Karmanye vadhi karaste ...

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and I could not miss out on my Sunday afternoon nap.

However a vague sense of duty kept reminding me of an unfinished task on this day.

Billboards of good looking kannada stars like Ramesh Arvind and Aindrita Ray have been up all over the city reminding its conscentious citizens of their duty to vote.

On my way to work a good looking Ramesh Aravind ( although he now looks a little middle aged) has been beeming out of billboards and starkly reminindg the onlookers that they have no right to complain about the state of affairs if they do not bother to vote.

That is a fair statement. And a compelling one on the conscience of all the globetrotting Information Technology workers who drive the  past  the billboard on their way to work.

So compelling, that I cut short my Sunday afternoon nap, picked up my voter id card and went to the polling booth, braved the long queues to cast my vote.

About fifty meters away from the polling booth, some very helpful volunteers peered through pages of voter id register to get me a chit that identified where I needed to vote and handed it to me very politely reminding me to vote for the BJP.   
I smiled and walked ahead. Another very helpful volunteer reminded me to vote for the congress which was 4^th on the serial list of electoral ballot.

The policemen and the special task force appointed by the election commission were constantly on the prowl to identify the canvassers, trouble makers and the overly helpful volunteers and keep them away from the polling booths.

The area around the polling booth which otherwise serves as a non descript  municipal school building had plenty of skodas and BMWs and Honda and Hyundais parked around. There were many who came to vote . This was contrary to my belief that the elite and the middle class do not care to vote.

I tuned in to the evening news on television which announced that there was 62% voter turnout in Karnataka for the legislative assembly elections.

I was one of them. 

I must admit this was the first time I voted.

कर्मणयेवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि।  

English translation of lines :“You have a right to perform your prescribed action,but you are not entitled to the fruits of your action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results your activities,and never be associated to not doing your duty.”

Well I am not so selfless ... I have done my duty and I expect a better infrastrucutre , a less corrupt governnance and a lot more in the next five years. ( If my candidate wins !!!!)