Government storyteller..!
Robert Clements
Friday, December 03, 2010 - I was a little startled the other day to find that a friend of mine, a promising novelist and fiction writer had taken up a government job: “But I thought you always wanted to be a fiction writer?” I asked sadly.
“Yes!” he said brightly. “So what will you be doing in the government?” “Writing fiction!” he said, his eyes gleaming, “And unlike you Bob, who struggle to sell your short stories and articles, mine will be read by millions everyday!” “You are going to write books?” “No government stories!” “What’s that?” “Let’s say you are part of a bunch of people who are disgruntled with the government, and the government knows they may not win the next election with you and the whole constituency in that angry state, then I am sent there.”
“To do what?” “To placate the people?” “How?” “By writing a fictitious headline with a deadline!” “Give me an example!” “Open your newspaper, now what do you see there?” “It says that the metro will be opened by next April and with that travel time will be reduced to nineteen minutes!” “Ha, ha, ha!” “Sounds good,” I said. “My work of fiction!” said the government storyteller. “You wrote this?” “Yes!” “So it’s a lie?” “No a work of fiction! What does the next page say?”
“That Manmohan will not let the 2G scam guilty get away!” “How do you like that?” “Sounds good,” I said. “Especially when he’s already let them get away!” said my friend laughing loudly. “But what does the public see? An angry PM!” “This is not right!” I said sternly. “Why not?” asked my friend, “You write fiction and bring out books and newspaper articles and I bring out government stories that are works of fiction!” “Do you get other government benefits?” “Of course, see page eight, what does it say?” “All government employees will get double their pension next year!” “Is this fiction?” “Who knows,” laughed my friend, “Now I don’t know what is true and what isn’t. I’ve become like all the rest of our countrymen, lulled by the headlines and deadlines each successive government doles out .!”
—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com
“Yes!” he said brightly. “So what will you be doing in the government?” “Writing fiction!” he said, his eyes gleaming, “And unlike you Bob, who struggle to sell your short stories and articles, mine will be read by millions everyday!” “You are going to write books?” “No government stories!” “What’s that?” “Let’s say you are part of a bunch of people who are disgruntled with the government, and the government knows they may not win the next election with you and the whole constituency in that angry state, then I am sent there.”
“To do what?” “To placate the people?” “How?” “By writing a fictitious headline with a deadline!” “Give me an example!” “Open your newspaper, now what do you see there?” “It says that the metro will be opened by next April and with that travel time will be reduced to nineteen minutes!” “Ha, ha, ha!” “Sounds good,” I said. “My work of fiction!” said the government storyteller. “You wrote this?” “Yes!” “So it’s a lie?” “No a work of fiction! What does the next page say?”
“That Manmohan will not let the 2G scam guilty get away!” “How do you like that?” “Sounds good,” I said. “Especially when he’s already let them get away!” said my friend laughing loudly. “But what does the public see? An angry PM!” “This is not right!” I said sternly. “Why not?” asked my friend, “You write fiction and bring out books and newspaper articles and I bring out government stories that are works of fiction!” “Do you get other government benefits?” “Of course, see page eight, what does it say?” “All government employees will get double their pension next year!” “Is this fiction?” “Who knows,” laughed my friend, “Now I don’t know what is true and what isn’t. I’ve become like all the rest of our countrymen, lulled by the headlines and deadlines each successive government doles out .!”
—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com
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