Here’s looking at you, kid!

The day after Rahul Gandhi visited Mumbai, the screaming headlines in the papers were on the awe-struck lines of, 'He came, he saw, he conquered'. He won my affection too, despite the fact that I didn't happen to bump into him at a college, local train or an ATM. In retrospect, it's just as well that I was lazing at home that day because I may not have been able to resist the urge to slap him on the back and cheerfully holler, "Here's looking at you, kid!" His security chaps would have trussed me up like a thanksgiving turkey and packed me off to jail. Which would have been dreadful, because I'd probably have died of claustrophobia. On that momentous day, Mumbai's jails were packed as tightlyas sardine cans with frustrated black-flag wielding Shiv Sena workers.

While we always knew that Rahul Gandhi is charming, we weren't aware of the fact that he's a god-man as well - and a darn good one at that. Just one visit to Mumbai, and our lethargic and weak-willed state government did something they've never dared to do before: crush Shiv Sena protesters. Now, that's what I call a miracle -hallelujah! 

The tiger's roar was reduced to a muffled meow, and even more astonishing, Rahul Gandhi's good vibes didn't end there. Emboldened by his success, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan ensured that the state government provided protection for a Bollywood film, and the Shiv Sena was left with egg on its face and bits of torn posters of My Name is Khan in its grubby hands. If I could whistle, I'd have attempted a loud, piercing one. Since I can't, I sang a song from My Fair Lady to Chavan instead: the congratulatory song when Professor Higgins succeeded in his daunting task of making a cockney flower girl pass off as a Hungarian princess. It goes like this: "Tonight, old man, you did it! You did it! You did it! You said that you would do it, And indeed you did." 

The Rahul Gandhi feel good effect continues. Assured of protection, Mumbai's citizens didn't cower under their beds, they rushed to see the film. And now a bunch of citizens have become brave enough to start an anti-Sena group on a social networking site. If just one visit can take us so far, I wonder what Mumbai would be like if Rahul Gandhi dropped in more often? 

The young Mr Gandhi is increasingly being recognised as the people's prince. Not just because of his family name, but because he has the common touch. Look at a few glaring differences between him and other politicians: