Babudom Boredom

I was watching the evening news munching on an unhealthy parantha, when my jaws literally dropped and I almost chocked with a silly bit stuck in my windpipe. This was about a month or so back. Television may sometimes have this terrible effect on you and I recommend every programme should come with a statutory warning “watch at your own risk” or “you may go crazy” and so on. Let me tell you what I saw. An infirm, dilapidated, rickety old bus was parked outside the Reserve Bank of India office in Jaipur with quite a few crores of rupees inside  her belly (this was around the time rupee got a symbol), right on the main thoroughfare, being guarded by a few very nervous looking policemen. Ironically, the large iron gates of the RBI compound were tightly shut with the Babus well guarded inside their living quarters and the money they were supposed to guard lying open outside on the streets. One could literally see the tin trunks from the large cracks on the sides of the bus and it all looked so tempting and surreal. Why on earth, you may ask. These 90 odd crores were supposed to be deposited within 5 pm. The bus got delayed due to a traffic jam. The Babus got fuming and left for home, within the same compound. Babu’s Day Out was over for the day. Rules, my dear friend, Rules. As enshrined in the Holy Rule Book. I wonder what the RBI Governor and /or the FM did to those Babus. They certainly deserve a special service medal for exemplary sense of duty and upholding the Rule Book, don’t they ?  

The same set of Babus have made a more recent pronouncement. They have taken away our world champion from ourselves and adjudged him Spanish. Lo and behold : GM Vishy Anand is Spanish !! What is the nationality of HM Juan Carlos then ? An Indian, possibly ?  But this is only the culmination of a series of Babudom methodology. Lets go over them one by one. First, why on earth would an university need to seek any permission from any one, be it the HRD Ministry or the Visitor's office or anyone else, to confer an honour on any honorable person it deems fit ?  Second, how does the nationality of the person being honored matter or does his country take precedence over his good work ? Third, if atall a Government clearance is sought (God knows why it should be), why would several ministries, in Ananad’s case HRD, MEA and Raisina Hill, play handball with the recommendation of Hyderabad University for months together ? Why cant just one Babu take one final call and be done with it ? Like any corporate would do, given a similar situation : leave it to the experts to handle and just ensure logistical support. The Holy Rule Book, when used diligently by our un Holy Babus, make our one and only World Chess Champion, Un-Indian !!! I dare not stay away from our shores anymore. Who knows what would happen if I do ? Maybe, according to the Rule Book, my family may become un familiar !!

An afterthought really. After the Commonwealth Games OC bungled, the PM has entrusted a team of 10 odd Babus to oversee the final touches. Has he snatched away the Rule Book from  their hands ? If he hasn’t, he better send someone in to do that right now. Who knows, we may land up getting the distinction of the only country capable of having a games by not having one after all. The paperwork will be complete, in all respects, I can assure you that, but the Games on ground ? Hope it doesn’t turn out to be like Vishy Anand’s aborted convocation.