A new superhero is in town called the Mango Man but there is absolutely no threat to other comic superheroes and their franchises because Mango Man is neither attractive nor glamorous. More importantly, Mango Man is not always 'man' nor is it one physical entity. It is a class of people whom the ruling elite as well as the ruled elite call the common man or common people ( to avoid charge of gender discrimination). Of course it is a popular play on the Hindi words,'aam aadmi' but the usage here slightly of a different context. Almost every year, there is at least one reported incidence of poor tribal in Orissa dying after consuming mango kernel as a last attempt to ward of death from starvation. Now,starvation wouldn't be stalking just a few people and not their other family members which implies that they must have survived the poisonous meal. Therein lies the earliest signs of the superpower these people possess but this is not the only one. Often Mango Man can be found living in the midst of hazardous industrial wastes having been driven out of his natural habitat by the administration-corporate-
The superpower of the Mango Man lies in his resilience and imperviousness to exploitation and tormentation at the hands of the priveleged few. Highly placed sources say Mango Man is elated over the strings of scams,investigations and leaks. It is not the detection,investigation of the scams that lift his spirit but the fact that the Indian state has had that amount of wealth in the first place. Corruption,misappropriation of public fund have become an accepted norm but the amounts of money embezzled is what catches Mango Man's attention. According to him, the knowledge that the fund necessary to fight starvation and malnutrition as well as access to basic amenities,did exist even if stashed away in foreign banks is a comforting thought. "As of now,the popular opinion was that the Indian state lacked the resources to uplift the under-privileged within reasonable time-frame. However,these revelations have proved that wrong and it gives us immense pride to know that the money embezzled in a single scam were sufficient for eliminating poverty in a group of villages.
The fact the these huge amounts of money stashed away in overseas tax-havens instead of being circulated in the market is just unfortunate. But the Mango Man undestands that the irrational gluttony of the leaders is a natural trait of some individuals and is willing to go the extra mile to help the next generations of gluttons. After all, he may not get a square meal a day,healthcare,education, electricity or any other basic ammenities but as an Indian his chest does puff in pride to see names Indian businessmen in Forbes list of the richest people in the world.
