Yes Minister!!!

Georges Pompidou, the famous French politician aptly quoted “A statesman is a politician who places himself at the service of the nation. A politician is a statesman who places the nation at his service”.

My mother had a chance encounter with these species recently on her train trip to Bangalore. Here is the interesting story behind this blog and yet again a morbid piteous face of what people have made out of this profession ironical to the inscription on Vidhana Soudha* “Government's Work is God's Work”.

The night my Mother boarded the train I had called to check if she was comfortable and if she had got her berth. As she was travelling first AC, the berth allocation happens at the last minute. Unfortunately; for her she had been allotted upper berth (in spite of she being a senior citizen) and to add to her gyp she had severe lower back pain on that day. Before hanging up she gave me an assurance that she could speak with the Ticket Collector and get lower berth allotted for her. My Mom is actually very stubborn in these things and has a knack of getting things in her favour. Comforted with this thought I hung up and early next morning was in the station to receive her.

There were a few police officers around platform and as soon as the train approached, they rushed to where I was standing (where first AC compartment passengers could alight). I was delighted to see my Mom and hugged her tight after having got her to come to Bangalore after such a long time. Just as she got down, two members of Karnataka legislative assembly also alighted from the coach. I knew them to be ministers in the Karnataka cabinet. My Mom introduced me to one of the ministers who also happened to know our family. We did our namaskaras, shook hands and he with a fatherly and concerned face enquired about my health and occupation and very generously put his hand on my head and blessed me for my future (that left me a little worried actually).

On our way back home I was enquiring her journey and if she had managed to get a lower berth for herself. I was shocked and dismayed at what she narrated then after. She did put across her concern to the Ticket Collector who had promised her a lower berth. But then, in her compartment (which had four berths) two of them were allotted to these ministers and both had lower berths allotted. Now Indian Railways online reservation system has an option to select the berth preference and their rule book states that preference is provided to ladies and senior citizens for lower berth (my Mom doubly qualified should have been an ideal candidate for the lower berth).

The Ticket collector sheepishly begs my Mom’s forgiveness and explains his predicament. How can he ask the minister to take the upper berth? So my Mom decides to request herself. Now we all know that every minister has a hoard of sycophants wagging their tails for a crumb (and it actually works equally well for these ministers to collect this herd). My Mom had not even finished her sentence, when two of accompanying sycophants started to rant literally the superiority of the minister and the arrogance and lack of understanding on my Mothers part to dare place such a request!!! What disturbed me even more was the chauvinistic and hubris attitude by which they picked her purse and water bottle and placed it on the upper berth (all the while the minister pretending to be unaware of the commotion happening right under his nose....err belly).

I had a gut wrenching feel as it was the same minister with whom I had shook hands and spoke a little while ago. Looking at my crestfallen face, my Mom explained me that if you look at it practically, i.e., even if we remove sycophancy from the equation, there was no way the minister could have been able to climb the upper berth. This minister (aged 58, much younger than my Mom) and his XXXL belly could have made it impossible (read comical) for him to carry its weight against gravity to sleep on upper berth. What was even more amazing was the early morning pandemonium when his herd was in the compartment, one bringing in the tea, another holding his ironed kurta, the third massaging his legs and hands and another trying his best to search an opportunity to add to the melodrama!!! My Mom was feeling extremely uncomfortable looking at this tamasha as I was equally amazed on hearing this.

My Mother however had managed to climb up and sleep trying to forget that she had a lower back pain. Next morning when she was to get down, the fourth person in the compartment (a college student who was on the opposite upper berth) helped Mom lift her luggage and help her down the train. And now looking back I could construe the freshness with which the minister had alighted from the coach, but I fail to understand the kindness with which my Mother introduced me to him in spite of the vagaries of the night gone by.

* Vidhana Soudha is the legislative building of Karnataka, one among the most beautiful and imposing structures.