It has been an action-packed fortnight for newshounds as they tracked two good-looking young men, both named “Rahul”, with a parent each in politics.

While Rahul Mahajan’s media overkill was steeped in tragedy, Rahul Gandhi established in no uncertain terms that he is India’s newest darling as he steered his mother to a spectacular victory in Rae Bareilly. “Beta ho to aisa”, sighed every mother in the country. A few of those sighs were also for Rahul M as he walked around his slain father’s funeral pyre in designer jeans.

Meanwhile, Rahul G sweated it out in relentless 40-degree-plus heat, equally stylishly clad in designer “khaadi”. Both are seen as heir apparent to the mighty political empires carved out by their respective parents. So far, both are playing blushing brides, not quite ready for the gruelling “saat-pheras” of a hardcore career in politics. Yet, it appears as if their individual fates are sealed.

Of the two, Rahul M is going to have it tougher, given his trackrecord. Apart from a brief stint as a pilot, his high-flying lifestyle has not been restricted to the open skies alone. Known in Page 3 circles as a “player,” Rahul M may find himself up against opposition from within his late father’s political party itself. One doesn’t know whether he has inherited any of Pramod’s organisational skills, but he has certainly got Pramod’s flamboyant genes. Throughout the 12-day ordeal, Rahul M made sure to keep his designer shades permanently on, with a two-day designer stubble to match. Full-length pictures of the young man, with perfectly gelled hair were hard to resist on cremation day.

On the other hand, Rahul G showed remarkable strategic competence when he went all out to ensure Mataji’s victory. His handling of the media was masterly. I saw him on TV, at a rally that incongruously featured bar-dancers, who’d been hired to distract the villagers while waiting for Sonia.

Clearly, the dancing girls weren’t a part of Rahul’s plan. Confronted, he may have been, but cornered, he wasn’t. He answered smoothly that he’d get someone to look into the matter, and moved on. Probably both Rahuls will take the plunge officially that is. They are single again, officially. And both could easily make the cut as serious ‘hotties’. Every era needs its poster boys in politics. Rahul G’s dad had an attractive bevy of beauties surrounding him.

Pramod Mahajan, of course, had an equal number of female admirers. Both Rahuls have grown up in the glare of public scrutiny. They have lost their charismatic fathers to assassins. Both belong to elite India.

Let us see where their trajectories take them. I’d say Rahul G’s star is already blazing. Rahul M will have to make his next move with care. Who knows how the cookie might crumble in future? Tragedy has a mysterious way of manipulating destiny. So far, the nation has seen these two men in the role of devoted sons. And they’ve scored a big win. Whose heart can possibly refuse to reach out to sons who are unwary victims, forced to walk down a path they may have preferred to avoid, had it not been for circumstances?

That same morbid set of events can lead to an unexpected doorway. The doorway to success and glory. A gate that, if opened, reveals a complex world of ambition and opportunity. It takes guts to walk through those imposing portals....

And sometimes, as in the sad saga of the two Rahuls, the one person who could’ve held your hand and taken you through the tough course is no more. Paradoxically, death can also be the father of man. It’s now entirely upto both to figure out what they must do with their legacies.

<B>From India

Source: Shobhaa De

© Times of India</B>