'As the Aisi Taisi Democracy folk so aptly put it, time to choose who will s**** us most', says Geetanjali Krishna.
As we approach phase five of the Lok Sabha election, politicians and their campaigns are trending on social media.
Political spoofs and parodies are also hitting new highs.
The one I laughed at the most was a parody of a Bollywood song video by Aisi Taisi Democracy.
I'm no good at translating, but the gist of it is that in this election season, it is time for us to choose who will s**** us more.
I found it funny then, but days later, when I had a chance encounter with Rajendra Kumar, a plumber, I realised that the parody packed quite a vicious little bite.
Kumar has been a plumber for the last 25 years.
A little help from his father enabled him to buy a small house in Delhi a few years ago.
He earns about Rs 30,000 a month, drives a motorcycle and is sending his eldest son to Delhi University and daughter to an expensive private school.
All in all, not an uncomfortable situation, one would think.
However, it has taken a mere one month-long illness to turn his life upside down.
For a couple of months, the 45 year old had been experiencing pain in his right hip.
"As a plumber, much of my work involves crouching and bending, but I was able to manage," he said.
One morning, however, he woke up to an excruciating pain and couldn't stand up.
His alarmed family members rushed him to the nearest hospital.
"Three days there, I was Rs 46,000 down, but still had no idea what was wrong with me," he said.
When his brother inquired if the hospital had any schemes for the needy, he was told that their household income was "too high" for them to qualify for the scheme.
Finally, an expensive MRI indicated some degree of spinal spondylosis.
The doctor advised physiotherapy and a month's rest.
While Kumar's income allows his family to live comfortably, he has meagre savings.
For he supports not only his own family -- wife, 20-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter on his income, he also sends money to his aged mother who lives in a village near Mathura.
"My bank balance was wiped out by the initial hospital fees and medicine expenses," he says.
His younger brother loaned Rs 25,000 but could little afford to part with more.
The forced bedrest gave Kumar time to think.
"I have realised how vulnerable people like me are," he said.
"We depend on daily work for our livelihood, which means that every day off that we take entails the loss of a day's income."
Private medical hospitals are prohibitively expensive.
Yet, people like Kumar cannot access the government's health and social security schemes as their income is, if there can be any such thing, "too high".
Consequently, Kumar has started accepting work whenever his son can take time off from studying for his college exams.
"He's learning fast, but I'd never want him to become a plumber like me." he said.
No party, he says, has done anything to improve the vulnerabilities of India's vast unorganised sector.
"Why should I even vote?" he asks.
"People like me will continue to get shortchanged regardless of who's in power..." he says.
It really is, as the Aisi Taisi Democracy folk so aptly put it, time to choose who will s**** us most.
