Nidhi Bhadra

It began with a fabric
a strip of red cloth laid across the grey concrete  
soft against the hardness of geopolitics
crimson laid carefully as if it says, this meeting will not be ordinary.
it begins before handshake 
before speeches
before the deals, decision and discussion 
the RED carpet does not speak, yet it announces
it announces deals
it announces the authorise 
It observes and captures the footprints of power.
It does not negotiate, yet it frames negotiation, it frames ideologies

Red has always known for POWER
it has stained battlefields and grab thrones and crowns.
it has marked revolution and romance
In diplomacy, it becomes something else - performance 
when a leader stepped onto that red, they don’t just walk, they are elevated.
they are eventually raised above the runway of ordinary politics by the carpet
cameras capture the moments
the world interprets the gap between two figures posing side-by-side
Are they equal? Is one slightly ahead? Is the handshake being firm or gentle?  
the carpet reports none of these, but witnesses all.

there is something almost theoretical about it
a stage is set in open air,
people meet & greet, like it’s just formal ritual 
and RED CARPET?  The spotlight.
it informs the watching world, that this relationship matters!

but RED is never innocent
it is the colour of urgency 
of warning lights, be it a danger zone or a traffic signal
it is the colour of blood that remembers history

when stretched under the pressure of polished shoes, 
it holds the weight of ages who is admired? who was not included?
who is been discussed? who is totally omitted from the fabric?

because everyone is not granted Red.absence of it is also a message – colder and deliberate
In the era where politics hold faster pace than policy
Red carpet becomes headline before the headline is written
it moves across screens, clipped into squares and circulated with speculated captions
prior to the treaty being read, the ceremonial takes boost and became trend
and yet beneath the glory, it remains just cloth – rolled out, rolled back in

may be that is its irony
it symbolises permanence, like partnership, deals, alliances, strategic approaches
but still, it is temporary
the grey concrete reappears once the dignitaries and delegates depart
workers remove the fabric, leaving speculations framed in caption
what remains after this are Consequences

after effect of these ceremonies impacts on the development
it may either creates constructive profit or destructive loss
The red carpet does not guarantee friendships, it always switches in the safer side
it does not ensure peace, it play with the concept of piece
than what does it do?
it only frames the moments!

RED as a colour is powerful
it is felt emotionally before it is understood
it accelerates the heartbeat, it directly command eyes
it never blends with the background
Diplomacy also holds this concept
For in the theatre of nations, perception in power
the vision, the sight leads the way
and sometimes, before the speech,
a colour beneath the one’s feet speaks louder than words ever can
when we watch the leaders walk across the red carpet,
it sees politics printed in crimson
and somewhere in noise of cheers and chaos of camera flashes,
Red carpet does what it has always done - turns arrivals into spectacles.