03 March,2009 11:06 AM IST | | Abhijit Majumder
Congress' Kapil Sibal talks about free spirit, coalitions, young voters, poetry, Antarctica, Slumdog and cooking a Chinese meal
Beyond the sliding ply door, Delhi's political town fairu00a0jugglers, fire-eaters, the worksu00a0in is free swing. Kapil Sibal's residence-cum-office at 19 Teen Murti Marg, its Lutyen lawn, is a smudge of people on Monday, all with a busy eye on the elections.
In the drawing room of one of Congress' more articulate leaders hang a couple of Souzas. Husain takes a prominent corner. Sibal the feisty lawyer is fighting in court to end the artist's exile forced by right-wing mobs.
The noise outside the door thickens. Not a good time for a relaxed chat.
What's your gut feel this election?
Congress is going into this election on the basis of its performance. But the Indian electoral system is exceptionally complex. Though you may have a national mood, there are always local factors, regional issues. Sometimes people get swayed. It is very difficult to prognosticate. But there is a good-feel factor.
Among your friends, Samajwadi Party seems to be the tricky one.
In elections, when two parties negotiate, irrespective of the fact that one is a regional party and the other a national one, it goes right down to the wire. There's nothing surprising. There was a question whether the Akalis would continue with BJP, but it fructified. There are doubts in Maharashtra over the BJP-Sena alliance, in Bihar on JD(U)-BJP.
Parties at the last moment realise and calculate the potential of their success based on how relevant the regional party is, and the regional party calculates the potential of its success based on whether it is good or bad to go with a particular national party.
Will young urban professionals come out and vote this time?
Oh absolutely. In my constituency Chandni Chowk, people were educated to be lethargic about exercising their right to franchise. But now they realise that they have a real stake in participating in the system, that their right to franchise will be reflected in the result. Congress has a younger leadership. The youth can see how these leaders are reaching out, articulating themselves.
Suppose Congress comes back to power, what is the portfolio you'd like to handle?
Let's not count the chickens before they hatch.
You have come out with your book of poems, I Witness. How do you reconcile the reasoned lawyer with the poet, the politician with the art aficionado?
You are assuming that every lawyer is not emotive. It's a wrong assumption. Behind the cold print of the law, there is a wealth of feeling.
When you make a law on reservation, women, or domestic violence, there is a huge amount of emotion behind the cold print.
If a lawyer is not able to encapsulate the spirit behind the law, he can never be a great lawyer. In that sense, poetry and law are first cousins.
These are your late poems.
Ya. I used to write a lot but only for myself.
I haven't read the book. What do your poems talk about?
It's a satire on contemporary India. They touch upon lawyers, judges, trust motion (the poem is called 'To trust or not to trust'), global warming, 123 Agreement, my Antarctica expedition, the yuppie culture of Delhi, inflation. There are some very funny poems, and there are some very personal love poems. There's also a poem on Twenty20. Tomorrow in Mumbai I'm going to recite some poems on the Mumbai attacks, my latest ones which are not in the book. Gulzar will preside over the book event. There's a surprise for him, too.
What are your personal lessons from the Antarctica visit?
First of all, how completely irrelevant homo sapiens are.
Primacy of penguins?
Yes absolutely. We are irrelevant. Nature is far too powerful, far too majestic, far too sure of itself in contrast to the peripatetic nature of human beings.
You are supposedly more than a passable cook.
Yes, I cook well.
What do you cook best?
Chinese.
Proper Chinese?
Yes, authentic stuff. I'll cook you a meal one of these days.
That'll be very nice, thanks. Where did you pick it up from?
I've always enjoyed cooking. It's a great way of distracting oneself, relaxing. It's great seeing somebody enjoy what you've cooked; gives you a lot of satisfaction. I think it is a part of giving, and therefore very enjoyable.
When are you going to bring Husain back to the country?
It is my ardent desire that he comes back to the country, but lumpen elements, who have no understanding of art, or the Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb, will not allow him to. If political parties who support these elements were to act in more restrained, responsible ways, we'd have one of the greatest sons of India back.
Have you ever regretted the decision not to take up IAS?
At no point of time ever since I wrote that letter saying I don't want to join the academy have I ever regretted it. It is not in my nature to be part of bureaucracy. I am essentially, fiercely independent. Even the political system that restrains me is not something I exult in. Politics is in itself restraining because you are part of a discipline, and by nature, I am indisciplined. It weighs on my spirit.
How often do you take time out to read, write, enjoy music?
I take enough time out for myself. Politicians are supposed to be far too busy to take time out for themselves. I think that's a delusion, self delusionu00a0o ji, main bada busy tha. Any human being, if he wants time out to do something he enjoys doing, can do it.
What's your kind of music?
Semi-classical, Sufi.
Last film watched?
The one I didn't like: Slumdog Millionaire. It is superficial. It's not the poverty. That's one part of India, so there's no harm showing it. It has some very inherent weaknesses. How could a guy from jhopadpatti speak such fluent English? Nobody would dive into s''' to watch Amitabh Bachchan, not even the poorest of the poor. The symbolism is ugly and unreal. It's not good cinema. I have no other problems with it.
Any recent films you liked?
Madhur's Fashion. I thought Omkara was outstanding. Saif is fabulous in itu00a0one of the best performances I have seen in Indian cinema for a long time.
