:: Shekhar Bhatia

Camelot outlives King Arthur

Shekhar Bhatia

Sept.04 : Watching the requiem mass for Senator Ted Kennedy, who died last week of brain cancer, you couldn’t help feel sad for the family. This is a family that has survived several tragedies. One brother dies at age 29 on a combat mission in World War II, and two are assassinated while still in their forties. A nephew, who everyone said is the heir apparent to the family’s political legacy, dies in a plane crash when he is not even 40.

My feelings were probably triggered by the solemnity of the church service, the calm cello performance by Yo-Yo Ma, a son’s emotional eulogy about his father ("And knowing what my cousins have been through, I feel grateful that I have had my father as long as I did", said Ted Kennedy Jr), and Kennedy’s second wife, Victoria, sitting gracefully in the front row, trying to choke back tears.

A friend watching the service on BBC (I don’t know why CNN didn’t show it live in this part of the world) remarked, "She’s still so gorgeous. Wonder how old she is". Next morning, one newspaper report asked, "Is it the end of Camelot?" Another called Ted Kennedy "The last knight of Camelot".

The service in the church reminded me of another funeral service — that of Princess Diana 12 years ago, in 1997. Diana died in a car accident with Dodi Al-Fayed. They were in love. It was a tragic end to a fairytale princess and I remember I was glued to television in my newspaper office. There was pin-drop silence, not quite normal for a newsroom. I could see tears in the eyes of many colleagues when we saw the white card on her coffin with the single word "Mummy" — a last note from one of her sons. It was a heart wrenching scene. Then there was her brother’s tribute that jarred in hindsight but touched a chord at that emotional moment. And of course, who can forget Elton John’s memorial song, a special version of Candle in the Wind.

"Poor thing", they said. "Just when she had finally found happiness". And you heard the words, "What a sad end to Camelot".

Mother Teresa died on the day of Princess Diana’s funeral. For an editor planning the day’s front page, it was a tough call: on one side, an absolute tear-jerker, the death of a young princess, and a nation in mourning; on the other, the story of an old woman known as the Saint of the Gutters, who had spent 50 years looking after the dispossessed. Of course, Mother Teresa was the main story of the day. For the destitute she looked after, her Home for the Dying must have been Camelot. Later, in his eulogy at her funeral, the archbishop of Kolkata said, "Her goodness was contagious. It invited others to share". What a beautiful line, I thought.

Diana was royalty; the Kennedys were America’s version of royalty. In legend, Camelot was the seat of King Arthur’s court, an era that is said to be idyllic. In real life it is the term often used to describe the presidency of Ted Kennedy’s eldest brother, John F. Kennedy. He was King Arthur — young, handsome, brave, inspiring and full of hope and optimism. I don’t know how "Camelot" came to be associated with JFK days. Some say it was his beautiful wife Jacqueline; I have read reports that it was the Broadway show about King Arthur’s court that was being staged in New York around the time Kennedy was sworn in President.

Some said the son — remember the kid giving the final salute before the flag-draped casket of his slain father, an image that made the whole world cry? — John Jr will keep the Camelot legend alive. After all, he had learned to walk in the White House. He was young, educated and handsome. People magazine called him "the sexiest man alive".

I saw many women fall head over heels when he visited Kolkata in late 80s on an unofficial visit to see Mother Teresa.

But alas, tragedy was to strike the Kennedys again. John Jr died with his wife Carolyn when a plane he was piloting crashed near Martha’s Vineyard in 1999. He was just 39.

In India we too have our own first family — Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi — who fitted into our notion of Camelot. They were married in 1968, the year Robert "Bobby" Kennedy, the middle brother of John and Ted, was assassinated. When Rajiv became Prime Minister he was young, inspired hope and together with Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the children, they created a beautiful picture of a happy family.

Like the Kennedy brothers, Rajiv was in his forties when he was assassinated. Mrs Sonia Gandhi, an outsider in a political dynasty, is keeping Camelot alive.

So what happens to Camelot after Ted Kennedy’s death? Camelot is a concept of Utopia that represents people’s aspirations, their idealism and hopes for a better world. If the image fades, we will find another King Arthur to live the dream. Every generation needs leaders with charisma, leaders who inspire optimism.

Camelot is a dream that can never die.

A year before Ted Kennedy died, he said at a speech endorsing Barack Obama’s nomination: "I have come here tonight to stand with you to change America, to restore its future, to rise to our best ideals, and to elect Barack Obama President of the United States". And he ended with, "The hope rises again. And the dream lives on".

You see, dynasties may come to an end but the concept of Camelot will survive.

Shekhar Bhatia can be contacted at shekhar.bhatia@gmail.com