Ripples on the brain

I think Sachin’s knock yesterday was very significant. There have been very few big successful chases (test and one dayers included) in which he has played such a significant part. I was hoping somebody points that out in the post match interviews or press conferences. It was the same old cliches of Sachin being a great player and so on.

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Just before Kalam had retired, Swami had forwarded me this piece about Kalam. An excerpt from from the piece:

Now another revelation — so far kept under wraps at Rashtrapati Bhavan (under presidential orders): In May 2006, President Kalam’s relatives from the south decided to descend on him (as relatives tend to often do). On instructions of the president they were welcomed by his staff at the railway station, and were looked after right up to the time they departed. But the Controller of Household was under strict instructions to keep a meticulous account of all the expenses incurred on behalf of the relatives — all 53 of them. Not once was an office vehicle used for any of them.

It was made clear by the president that he would pay — not only for the transport of all his relatives to and from Delhi, and also within Delhi, he would also pay for the various rooms occupied by them at Rashtrapati Bhavan and the food that was consumed by them — the rooms at the prescribed rate, the food on the basis of expenses actually incurred.

When his relatives left after a week’s stay, the president was of course sad to see them all go, but he was also lighter in his pocket: the total expenses debited to his personal account was Rs 3,54,924! As we practising lawyers often say in court “the facts speak for themselves”: President Kalam has set a high benchmark of rectitude in public office — worthy of emulation.

Last week, Kalam was the guest in the “Walk the talk” programme with Shekhar Gupta. Read Kalam’s response when asked about the story:

• Fali S. Nariman wrote an article in The Indian Express while you were leaving Rashtrapati Bhavan and he narrated an incident. Fifty-three of your family members came to Rashtrapati Bhavan and you told your staff to keep an account of what was spent on them. Three and a half lakhs.
No, it was less, but I paid everything.

• But you did not want anyone to know about it. It was only Fali Nariman who spilled the beans.
The staff know what happened, so the word gets out.

• But does it mean that the president’s family can draw no benefit from the president?
Well, staying at Rashtrapati Bhavan itself is a benefit. That doesn’t mean Rashtrapati Bhavan has to foot all the expenditure.

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September 1st this year marked a decade of my entry into my engineering college. In more ways than one, my college life was a very significant milestone in my life. It taught me a lot about staying by myself, finding friends that really mean a lot to me, managing disappointments etc. But, I must admit that college passouts in the last 6-7 years or so have it really easy with the booming economy. One thing that I will always be disappointed with myself is not having worked harder and learnt a lot more than what I did.

A fortnight ago, in our college yahoo groups, we had started this discussion about the funny incidents that happened around the time we joined 10 years ago. It was such a relishing experience to embark on a nostalgic trip and recollect all those funny moments.