Followers

Friday 9 March 2012

The Real Meaning of “Matdaan”(मतदान)



The other day it was Polling time in my town.
I too went to cast my vote this time after many polls when I used to express my protest against the system by discarding and boycotting elections.
On my way to and from the polling station I kept contemplating on the Hindi word “matdaan” for casting a vote, and discovered that it is not only more appropriate a word but perhaps The Best…why?
Because it is comprised of two words “mat+daan” (मत +दान)
“Mat”(मत) means a vote and “daan”(दान ) means a donation.
At a deeper level it dawned upon me that this word is not as innocent as it appears!
Once the “matdaan” is done you can not hold a party or a candidate responsible/accountable for an explanation when you are dissatisfied and disillusioned at a later date, because a ‘donation’ once done is done! No one goes around asking what use has their donation been put to.(LOL)
Secondly, the other meaning of “mat” (मत) is “do not”, that is to say, should you have guts to express your unhappiness , the system implies that you were clearly warned beforehand to not do it at all !
“matdaan” = mat+daan (मत +दान )= Don’t give!! (LOL again!)

19 comments:

  1. lolz... you are right ! And "mat + daan" means "don't give" is a new idea !!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi

    Nice post!! These days votes are not donated, They are bought in exchange for freebies provided in the name of election campaigning...So I suppose it should be renamed as mat-vyapar? (Hope my Hindi translation of vote-business with the available Hindi vocabulary is not incorrect) :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jaish! Thanks! ...your Hindi translation is absolutely correct! BTW where is your 'vote'? :D

      Delete
  3. ha ha ha... a creatively humorous angle. Throughly enjoyed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amit - brillant as usual ...glad you did vote ... Your vote and this post will surely make a difference

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sangeeta, I don't care whether my vote makes a difference in politics, but I'm very happy if you if you liked my post...and that is what really matters! Thanks again!

      Delete
  5. Good one. In a nation where democracy seems to be failing the people by actually working, this post is very apt. To a large extent the electorate and the voting mechanism is effective, but what happens after one's mat has been donated is still beyond repair. One can only hope that that repair takes place with minimum pain to those who have been abusing their authority for all these decades. The rest of us are used to the pain of being abused, neglected and taken for a ride, so no worries there. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Subhorup for taking time out to combine the otherwise frivolous post with such an elaborate analysis which imparts it some meaning!
      Thanks again!

      Delete
  6. Great creative analysis! I doubt if anyone thinks in this direction. Enjoyed reading this one :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. hahahah...sahi kaha mat daan
    netaji ne to kaha tha hamari party ko aapka kimat vote mat-daan karna
    par log samajhe nahi

    ReplyDelete
  8. Replies
    1. Thank you Magiceye!
      (Magiceye saw the magic, besides usually showing it to others!) :)

      Delete
  9. Ha...that's a nice point...there's a twist to it :)

    Thank you for your visits and comments :))

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you Deepa! I'm so glad to find you here! Plz keep visiting! :)

    ReplyDelete