Ravi Masoor was an ordinary man. After a lifetime of public service as a postmaster, he switched to a career in politics. He did well, and by a quirk of destiny and the complexities of coalition politics he ended up becoming India’s external affairs minister.
Unlike his cabinet colleagues, Masoor declined all official amenities and decided to continue living as a common man. Living an ordinary life would allow him to better empathize with his fellow aam aadmis.
Besides, an austere life would set an example for others in public service. He could not let himself enjoy a life of comfort while his countrymen plodded their way through hardship.
He lived in a tiny MIG flat in Dwarka and drove a Maruti Wagon R to work. The car happened because going to work on his Hero Honda Splendor became too big of a security concern. He had no domestic help (demeaning to fellow Indians), paid his phone/bijli bills himself, and lived a contented life with his wife and three little kids.
The US Secretary of state was on a state visit, and Masoor was scheduled for a meeting with her today. Pakistan had been firing on the border, and there had been increased incidents of intrusion in Kashmir. China on the other front, wasn’t any less busy with its aggressive stance on the border disputes and would routinely shake a diplomatic rifle at India.
India had been pleading with the US for some diplomatic show of support, but things were in a state of statemate stalemate.
Today’s meeting was going to be crucial.
This was peak load shedding season and there had been no power for the last 20 hours. The inverter was long gone. Somehow he spent the night preparing for the big meeting in candlelight. The kids proposed keeping a bucket nearby for the sweat. Evaporation would help cool down the room, they had just learned in school.
Somehow the night passed, and he was ready for work.
He picked up the lunch dabba packed by the wife, and just as he was going to leave the wife remembered that there was no milk in the house. Damn. He rushed to the mother dairy and got his usual double toned milk. Not before getting into an argument with a brash teenager who tried to jump the line. Don’t your parents teach you any manners?
Milk done. He was out on the road.
It happened suddenly. There was a little boy crossing the road as he was approaching. Suddenly he got a call from home (the wife wanted to remind him to book tickets for the Bangkok trip next month). After the split moment of distraction he suddenly saw the approaching child and barely managed to avoid becoming a murderer. But that wasn’t enough. The kid’s father had noticed, and came running, or cantering, or whatever it is that looks like a mad horse rushing to dismember you.
Masoor was hanging out of the window of his car, the collar of his neatly ironed shirt in a stranger’s hand. From his perch, he could see impending doom.
A cop came running. Masoor’s breath was back in the lungs.
I am a minister in the Indian government. How dare you manhandle me, you moron? Did anything happen to your child? Who gave you the right to take the law in your hands?
The cop was a young guy, and not a very bright one. He didn’t even recognize the minister. After all, you knew a minister when you saw one. They traveled in flashy cars, and with large convoys. They didn’t get into little roadside brawls.
Sir, bahut shor macha rahe ho! I will give you a traffic violation. You were going too fast.
What the hell. No I was not. Tum log aise junta ko pareshaan karte ho?
Saab, I don’t have too much time for this nonsense. Give me 50, and be on your way.
Masoor was getting late, so he figured this battle will be better fought another day. He paid up, and moved on. He didn’t drive for long. It had rained last night and traffic was crawling. He was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.
He got late for work. The US delegation left after waiting for an hour, and he got a nice reprimand from the PM.
The silver lining, though was that he got his Bangkok tickets booked. He got a special 30% discount because he booked 40 days in advance, as the rule stated.
Of course he was going to travel, umm, cattle class.
Welcome back to Amreekandesi! If you liked this post, please comment or 'like' so we know! Subscribe to our RSS feed and get regular updates in your favorite feed reader.
Related posts:
Nice written story. If we were to actually get a minister like that today by mistake, he will be quickly removed from the post. The party must go on!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
@Vinod – Thanks! Yes, they may talk of austerity and traveling by trains but they can never really be aam aadmis. Maybe they shouldn’t even be – they have bigger issues that they should be worrying about instead of saving a few thousand rupees.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
How I wish that it wasn’t a mere Story..:(
guess am xpecting too much..!!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
haha. so much for austerity !
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
@RDB –
@Xylene – yups…austerity comes at a price, which may not always be worth it!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
the last time sonia gandhi flew austerely, she saved 7000 rupees. when her heir trained to ludhiana, he saved a whopping sum of 400 rupees. they don’t know that the “aam aadmi” does not travel with an entourage of 50 gorillas armed to their large, shiny teeth. austerity in UP means spending 299 crores instread of 300 crores on parks and statues. austerity in Maharashtra means spending 349 crores instead of 350 crores on their Colossus. the farmers in their ignorance, are selling off their womenfolk and killing themselves. they should at least stick around to see how austere their ministers have become to save their voters.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
@MS – True. It all seems a farce. Some people suggest that this may be mere tokenism, but is an important instrument in inspiring the entire ranks of govt machinery.
My argument is that it doesn’t matter if you travel business class or economy. A country with a trillion dollar GDP can afford a few business class tickets. There’s many more much bigger issues that need to be addressed, instead of saving a few crore rupees on travel.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
How I wish that it wasn’t a mere Story..:(
guess am xpecting too much..!!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0