I am no fan of politics, nor do I follow it every day. Having said that, I keep a tab on it off and on.  Since many years, ever since Rahul Gandhi got active in politics, I have been watching him – watching him not live up to the expectations of people, yet not giving up his position and persisting on. There was a time when I thought he would gladly make way for Sachin Pilot or Jyotriaditya Scindia, after all, he was never keen in politics, was he? But history was not meant to see such moments.

But what we did see was a growing repository of Rahul jokes. Modi was one of the first ones to openly pick on him, never missing an opportunity to ridicule him. Nicknames like Shahensha or Shehzada became a regular in Modi’s speech.

Soon people began to catch on the jokes. And to a large extent Rahul aided it too, with his infamous faux passes. It was as if a floodgate had opened up and Rahul went on to become everyone’s Papu.

But in all this, Rahul never reacted. (And I have to add here, if these kind of jokes were made on any other politician, it would have unleashed a hell of fury.) Was it because he understood that when people make fun of you or ridicule you, it actually showcases their mentality and not yours?

When you are pulling down a person, you often feel you are exhibiting a show of strength, which is why we often hear people say –  “I gave him a piece of my mind. I don’t fear him or anyone for that matter!” But here, the question is not about fear at all. It is about how negative or how low your thinking can get about a person. No wonder I winced when Modi, whom I have deep respect for, chose to openly pull down Rahul.

Today when Rahul hugged Modi, I would like to believe that his heart is in the right place. People may term it as a political gimmick, but you need courage to do something like that. It is easy to shout and rebuke a person, but it needs immense strength to hug a person who has been tearing you down at every given opportunity.

And when Rahul said he has no hatred towards Modi, I would like to believe him because this would then make him a great human being, for he has learnt to rise above anger, hatred, jealousy, and other such negative feelings. This is irrespective of whether he is a good leader or not, or whether he is a dynamic politician or not. Learning not to begrudge is a lesson very few of us manage to adapt during our lifetime. But with this hug, it seems, Rahul Gandhi has managed to master it.

Ooops, did I just see him wink after the hug? I rest my case. Birds of the same feather fly together and Rahul and Modi indeed seem to be of the same feather. If the wink had not happened, this write-up could have rested in the above para with a rosy ending!!!!