So there he is, at last, as the chosen one. The long distance yatri of Indian politics has taken a pause. He is not panting. He is smiling in gratitude. He knows that he has a long way to go, and at 80, even by the leadership standards of the East where biological antiquity is a mark of wisdom, he is not that young and has a long way to go.
Lal Krishna Advani's anointment as BJP's prime ministerial candidate in E-2009 is steeped in poignancy. Advani has formally stepped out of the overwhelming shadow of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the highest guru of the Indian Right.
Oh, how long he, the original charioteer of Hindutva, and the warrior who had brought the aggrieved gods of the Hindu to the drawing rooms of India, languished as Number Two as Vajpayee colonized the heart and history of the nation without trying so hard.
The distance between destiny and destination made Advani's journey all the more arduous--and almost tragic. Then, out of sheer desperation, he changed course--no, crossed the border--and found himself at the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. His disastrous rendezvous with the "secular" Jinnah was originally planned as a transformative moment. Advani didn't become Vajpayee in Karachi. He didn't get de-demonized as he hoped.
Advani ceased to be Advani. All that the desperate Hindu nationalist wanted was an argument history; he could have chosen a better destination. The makeover bid failed, but Advani continued to walk--he continued to w
