Politics, the Black Hole of vices, has endured an infinite amount of criticism and hatred. It is like a child that has been nurtured to become a punching bag because the guardians have not grown to be the savior of the people yet. Politics – christened in a Greek terminology to translate into “Affairs of the State”, has seldom been understood and has often been misread as a stately affair.
It has donned on the form of an entity that is destructive and a representation of wrongdoing. Even the practitioners of the profession cry foul and accuse their opponents of politicizing serious issues. But, how do you not detest politics? Should your young mind understand and plan a career in politics? Are honesty and politics mutually exclusive? If the young generation asks impossible questions, will our societies finally change?

Notion Press, India’s leading self-publishing platform, presents PollMighty and VotePecker by Umamahesh Shista, a captivating book comprising 700 verses that do not sugar-coat, but instead, offer a better understanding of the bitter pills that life has to offer, with politics being one of them.

The book juxtaposes two images, the popular debauched image of Politics and the Politicians, as perceived by common citizens all over the world against that perceived by the author on a completely unbiased platform. It brings out the understanding of Politics, as it is preached and practiced, in the form of a duologue between a common citizen and a political leader.

The interplay of various components of the society which are the author’s reflections on a disintegrating and degenerating political world order are presented in these conversations between the leader and the follower. In the duologues, the Votepecker leader is the Devoted and the Pollmighty voter is the Devotee.

The duologues are between the leader who begins the political journey as a VotePecker and attains the status of an Almighty Being after being brought into power. On the other hand, the follower who begins the election process as a PollMighty, eventually attains the status of a Lesser Being after being bought for power.

The eternal drama of politics has been described in these verses across 70 chapters. These verses cover a range of issues relating to politics, society, and daily living. They display the essence of governance in principle and its distorted form in practice, taking you on a journey to the corridors of power through the meandering lanes of greed, ambition, bribery, and sycophancy.

Each chapter deals with a separate sphere of political activity, highlighting the roles played by citizens and the leaders. Global Political Crisis involving hope, expectations, trust, helplessness, and failure of the political structure has been explained in simple terms.

The author’s writing gives an insight into the nuances of politics, its perils, privileges, and pageantry. The verses do not target any particular individual, gender, group, race, religion or country. Instead, they highlight the need to understand and practice individual morality to attain collective prosperity. They also exhort the reader to propagate social and financial honesty for the progress and wellbeing of every individual.

Author Umamahesh Shista is a retired Commissioned Officer from the Indian Navy. He joined the Indian Navy in 1987, and after serving for 8 years, he developed a strong urge to pursue a spiritual life. He quit his job and explored the spiritual world for the next 9 years and met people from various walks of life.

After gathering a wealth of experience and jewels of wisdom, Shista re-joined the Indian Navy, rendering a score plus four years of service. After gaining two distinctly contrasting and unique
experiences, like that of a Defence Officer for 24 years and a Sadhu for 9 years, post-retirement from the Indian Navy in May 2020, he forayed into the writing field. He plans to share his vast adventurous, spiritual, and humorous experiences through print media and public speaking.

PollMighty and VotePecker is Shista’s maiden venture, an attempt to showcase a multi-dimensional insight into Global Popular Politika through duologues in the form of couplets. Shista is an avid reader, animal lover, gym enthusiast, yoga expert and keen golfer. At present, he lives in Secunderabad, India.

Grab your copy of PollMighty and VotePecker by Umamahesh Shista in print and e-book format at the Notion Press Bookstore and amongst leading e-commerce portals such as Amazon and Flipkart.