Ah, the illustrious Mayor — the crowned monarch of Padmanabha’s city, the keeper of the keys to its heart, and the esteemed gatekeeper of all things municipal! With the weight of the city on her shoulders, she waltzes through the urban landscape, a beacon of hope and a model citizen in the eyes of her constituents. But lo and behold, enter Arya Rajendran, the unexpected heiress to the mayoral throne of Thiruvananthapuram. A mere greenhorn in her early thirties, she emerges from the shadows of student and youth movements, clutching the banner of the Communist Party of India (Marxists) with one hand and tying the marital knot with a CPM MLA with the other. A promising start, indeed! Yet, as fate would have it, our dear Mayor finds herself thrust into the limelight for all the wrong reasons.
A petty squabble on the city streets, a bus blocking her royal procession — and what does she do? With a regal flourish, she commands her chariot to halt on the sacred zebra lines, unleashing a torrent of accusations upon the hapless driver, like a modern-day warrior princess. But alas, even the mightiest of monarchs must heed the laws of the land. No matter her regal bearing, no matter her lofty title, the zebra lines do not yield to her command, nor does justice bend to her will. For a Mayor may be the first citizen, but she is not the sovereign ruler of all she surveys. As people in God’s own Land ponder the fate of their wayward Mayor, let us remember: power may corrupt, but it is the watchful eye of the people that ensures the reign of law and order, even in the kingdom of Thiruvananthapuram. Will the party rein in its rogue royal? Only time will tell.
