Column | Didi and the Romans: How Bengal’s ‘Asterix’ lost her biggest fight

A decennary ago, I was trying to constitute astir the past forthcoming Bengal election. And I recovered inspiration successful dog-eared comic books from my childhood.

The twelvemonth is 2016 CE. Bharat is astir wholly occupied by the Lotus Party. Well, not entirely… One tiny country of indomitable Bengalis inactive holds retired against them… And beingness is not casual for the Delhi legionaries who garrison the fortified camps of Vidyasagar Setu toll plaza and Murshidabad toll plaza.

Five years later, it was inactive the aforesaid story: Mamata Banerjee arsenic the Asterix of modern Indian authorities starring successful yet different variation of Didi and The Big Fight.

Mamata Banerjee, the leader of these adventures. A shrewd cunning small warrior; each perilous missions are instantly entrusted to her.

A fishy affair

Each election, the formed of different characters kept changing astir her. Obelix, Asterix’s inseparable friend, ever acceptable to driblet everything and spell disconnected connected a caller adventure. Once it was her trusted lieutenant Mukul Roy but past helium started carrying menhirs for the BJP earlier returning to his village. At different time, it was Suvendu Adhikari, who not lone switched camps but yet led the complaint that caused the entity to yet autumn connected Didi’s head.  

Getafix, the colony druid, whose speciality is the potion which gives the drinker superhuman strength. In 2021, that seemed to beryllium governmental strategist Prashant Kishor. This clip around, the governmental consultancy IPAC took up the mantle.

But, similar the Romans successful the Asterix comics, I could ne'er rather fig retired what precisely was successful the magic potion.

At 1 clip I thought, perhaps, Didi got her superhuman spot from muri oregon puffed rice. She was superwoman by being Everywoman. This year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi added his magic masala to the muri by ordering jhal muri connected the run trail, an representation that went viral.

Others said the magic potion was the galore dole schemes the Trinamool authorities had travel up with. Kanyashree, Lakshmir Bhandar, Rupashree, Swasthya Saathi and truthful on, schemes that had her voters covered from commencement to death.

As the 2026 run gathered pace, I realised, for Mamata Banerjee, the magic potion was ever Bengali culture. She tried to overgarment the BJP arsenic bohiragoto, the ones from the outside, who would not recognize a civilization that revered some Rabindranath Tagore and fish. BJP candidates responded by campaigning with full food portion the Prime Minister sang paeans to Gurudev Tagore.

But still, nary 1 could lucifer Mamata’s prodigious creator output. She could burst into Rabindrasangeet astatine the driblet of a hat. Or overgarment pictures portion sitting connected a dharna. And churn retired mind-bending rhymes similar this.

Your name? Hello hi.

Father’s name? See you, bye.

Mother’s name? Hi-fi.

Sister’s name? Sweety pie.

Culture vulture

Her creator endeavours made her the butt of galore memes and reels. But she carried connected unfazed, convinced civilization would triumph her the large fight.

Talented oregon not, children in Bengal indispensable always exhibit a “knack”. I had a “knack” for coating and was shipped disconnected to innumerable sit-and-draw competitions wherever I laboriously drew a Day astatine the Zoo for years. Children inactive beryllium staring astatine a portion of insubstantial and crayons astatine these cut-throat taste competitions portion agitated mothers hiss instructions from crossed the fence. At the location crossed the street, half-a-dozen sisters practised their sa re ga ma scales each evening similar clockwork. They ever sounded tuneless but they ne'er gave up, resolute successful their pursuit of a knack. And if each different knacks failed, the Bengali kid was sent disconnected to larn abritti or elocution truthful helium could impressment the aunties with a melodramatic rendition of a Tagore poem.

Culture was Didi’s magic potion. But this clip the magic potion yet ran out. By Toutatis, the wily modern-day Romans adjacent came up with their ain conflict outcry — Jai Shri Ram. And they cooked up their ain magic potion. It had a spot of jhal muri, full rui fish, cardinal forces and SIR electoral rotation revisions that struck crores disconnected the database (a veritable Caesar’s gift). They promised the electorate that with the fabled double-engine sarkar in Kolkata and Delhi, they would physique the mansions of the gods successful Bengal. In the end, portion anti-incumbency had ne'er been a occupation successful that comic-book country of Gaul, it proved deadly successful Ben-Gaul.

Thus, Mamata Banerjee, erstwhile the Asterix of these adventures, abruptly finds herself playing a precise antithetic relation astatine the accepted end-of-adventure colony feast nether the starry sky. In a crippled twist, Asterix creators Goscinny and Uderzo could person ne'er imagined she has go the bard Cacofonix, sidelined and speechless astatine the great jhal muri feast.

And each this mediocre Cacofonix tin bash present is mumble nether her enactment — hamba hamba ramba ramba kamba kamba. 

But for now, her authorities is singing a antithetic tune.

The writer is writer of Chapal Rani, the Last Queen of Bengal.