In my last blogpost (Myriad Musings: Old Man and ‘She’) written towards the end of year
2016, I attempted to portray the grey areas of ‘waiting’.
While the ‘old man’ taught me one perspective of waiting, it was a ‘she’
who commenced the New Year with a tete-a-tete on another perspective. Continuum
of ideas remained uninterrupted, though the years changed.
A friend, visibly disturbed the other day, asked me that why she
ought to respond to people’s queries first and not wait till she cleared her own
office backlog.
“Raj nahi Sewa”, I replied instantly.
A frown on her forehead explained her discomfort in assimilating what I
said.
I attempted an explanation, pointing to an advertisement on the
newspaper lying on my table - ‘Raj nahi, Sewa’.
“It is tagline of one of the political parties in my native state Punjab,
which goes to elections in a few weeks from today. The word ‘Raj’ implies Rule whereas ‘Sewa’
implies Service. When you are in command, you may
wield a stick and parade your might; Or you may be modest in deportment and be
at service.”
“No. To Rule, one needs to legislate and exert a command on others, not
be subservient” she interrupted. “Even the tagline assumes that ‘Rule’ and
‘Service’ are mutually exclusive and cannot co-exist. The conjunction ‘nahi’ (meaning No) eliminates any commonality
that one may tend to see in these terms.”
I smiled.
“If the end is Rule, Service can be best means.” I retorted. “By
tracking the last mile and reaching a customer’s doorstep for every
convenience, the e-commerce maestros are ruling the
roost now. The customer is experiencing a new paradigm of service. Raj and Sewa co-exist here.”
“Some people radiate humility from same positions from which others exude
arrogance.” I continued. “APJ Abdul Kalam and Lal Bahadur Shastri remain the
epitome of ‘Sewa’ for positions which
are seats of ‘Raj’!”
“But,” she argued, “it is a Self versus Others battle. I cannot let my
tasks wait on account of others. I am not denying any service. Yes, timing is an issue.”
“Reminders never breed romance; alacrity, however, can make you a
darling” I snapped back.
She instantly gazed at me in astonishment. I was unfazed.
A moment passed. Words were not necessary.
Pointing at the advertisement in the newspaper - ‘Raj nahi, Sewa’ – she asked
me, “Will you vote for this?”
I wondered whether her question was purely political.
