Indians are quick learners. In the olden days we only thought the Chinese and Taiwanese copied.
But, these are post liberalization times in India. So, when we see something good happening outside of India, we either get that by import or copy in double quick time now.
In the olden days, if something new got invented abroad, it would take years for us to get that in India. Even Hollywood movies used to get released with a few years' delay in Indian cinemas.
But thing have changed, that is, post liberalization. A new computer virus released abroad is immediately in India now. (If it is election time, you can get these virus even more fast because there will be lack of security due to Home Ministry headed by PC will not be in a position to provide security for anything or anyone other than for gundas contesting elections).
Thus, within about three or four months of the introduction, the fresh idea of showing protest by throwing a shoe during a PC (press conference) has hit the Indian shores. And we already have a shoe hurled at our PC during a PC which you can now monitor on your PC.
You will notice from the video that unlike in the Bush episode when Bush got a pair, PC just got one shoe. You will also notice that the shoe was not actually hurled (like in the Iraq incident) but lobbed at PC. (It was also lobbed so wide that even Steve Bucknor would have called it a wide; even if India was batting - Comment of Chitralaya Sriram, famous playwright of superhit Tamil Comedy stage plays)
I was thinking of the reasons for the lob instead of a hurl:
1. The Sikh might be actually a South Indian, specifically from Chennai and should have also played gully cricket; because, only in Chennai we play cricket bowling underarm deliveries (It also appeared that Mr. Chidambaram is not that good at Cricket as you see him ducking at something not even near him. That probably explains his IPL hate).
2. The Sikh might have been coached by Greg Chappell to do a Trevor Chappell?
3. PC was just "a shoe's throw away" from the journalist and so the journalist didn't want to waste his energy throwing.
4. PC might have come to the PC wearing just one shoe and the journalist might have brought the second shoe to give to PC
5. The Sikh might have noticed that PC was unsuited for the conference so he thought let him atleast be booted
Was the Election Commission watching this incident? Better they did. This might well turn out to be a " Shoes for vote" scandal. Congress can embark on distributing free shoes to the voters in the guise of returning the hurled shoe back.
The Central Government should order a probe into the incident and commission a commission and allow politicians and officials earn some commission in the process.
When the Iraqi journalist threw the shoes at George Bush, Bush was smart enough to note the shoe size and quoted it in his post shoe conference.
I do not know whether Mr. Chidambaram noticed the shoe size. He will not be upset, I think, if the shoe size was No.10 bought at Janpath.
If it was the west, the brand of shoes would have become even more popular by now. I can already think of the slogan "The shoes we make, are the shoes you throw". Or a PC Company can advertise with the Sikh as the endorser "Our PC is always booted"
Now, it is showtime of the shoe times - click the links to view them.
The Shoe Throw
The Eye Witness account
The Bushoe video
