Seema Chisthi in The Indian Express:
“The non-Congress, non-BJP parties rallied in Dobbespet, and now the Congress president is scheduled to flag off their campaign from Davangere in north Karnataka next Monday. Karnataka has suddenly leapt out of the history books to recall its special (if only periodic and anecdotal) place in national politics and identity….
“As all fans of R.K. Narayan’s Swami and his stories set in Malgudi know, while Malgudi is meant to be an imaginary town, it nevertheless gives us a sense of quintessential small-town India, something that several readers rush to lay claim to.
“Politicians too, seem to be returning to Karnataka, to find and cling on to a Malgudi they can call their own.
“The Congress has its Chikamangalur (and now Davangere) dream of an adrenaline push; the Third Front hopes against hope that the Dobbespet hand-holding lasts for ever; and the BJP, well, it’s hoping its assembly dream run here could just, somehow, be replicated elsewhere.”
Read the full article: Vote for Swamy and Friends
churumuri 
I was expecting this on churumuri! Very nice piece.
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Chikamangalur
She should start reading non-fiction.
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Its like what Sonia once (in)famously laughed at BJP saying- Mugenrilal Ki Haseen Swapne. BJP turned it back saying, Mungerilal is amm aadmi and they are proud of that haseen swapne.
Forget the politics of 3rd front for a second. It shows Seema Mustafa is hostile to the concept of Malgudi. Considering her ideological background, we all can understand why she is hostile :)-
Malgudi will ALWALYS remain a very important text to all Indians, particularly those of us from middle class who lost much in the process of urbanization, irrespective of what psuedos like Seema writes.
Now back to 3rd front politcs: 3rd front is good news for BJP, because it cuts congress’s vote. However, finally 3rd front will not materialize because CPIM will loose heavily in this election.
Cong is worried about 3rd front – that’s why Sonia chose to start her campaign from Karnataka, instead of Kerala.
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