Raj nahi Sewa : Service, not Rule

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.

Clueless.