QUITE often I hear of children tragically falling into a deep borewell! I mischievously wonder what would happen if a politician falls into a deep hole:” There’s somebody fallen into the hole?” shouts the politician’s PA to the TV station.
“Who?” “A minister!” “Oh! Let him be, we have other events to cover than rescue operations of a minister!”
However on instructions of higher ups Doordarshan is called: “I want you to cover the event!” shrieks the head, “I want the nation to see how my ministers react when there is a crisis!” A cameraman is sent to the village of Kurukshetra and walks to the hole where he lowers his sound equipment to where the minister is.
“The minister is weeping! He wants food!” says the TV man “I have sent down tea and glucose biscuits!” “Then what is he crying for?” “He wants tandoori chicken with Hyderabadi biriyani, and he wants the waiter to knock before entering the hole as he might be in the midst of some private activity!”
The camera man inserts a long chord into the hole which has a camera at the other end, there is a roar from inside the hole and the livid face of the minister is flashed on the screen, “He is angry!” says the cameraman. “He thinks it is a spy cam,” says the PA. “Tell him it’s not or he may damage my camera!”
“This is not a secret camera, you are on TV!” shouts the PA into the two way mike and immediately a pleased look comes on the minister’s face as he also whispers something, “He is asking for a make up man!” “Is this going live to the nation?” asks the PA after a few hours
. “No!” “So who will see it?” “Only you and I, nobody else is interested! When is the rescue team coming?” “They said the same thing!” “What?” “That they are not interested!” “So who will rescue the minister?” asks the cameraman.
“I don’t know!” says the PA, “and it is getting late and my family are waiting to be taken out for dinner and I have promised them…”
“Tandoori chicken with Hyderabadi biriyani!” smiles the cameraman as he pulls the audio and video wires out of the hole, “come my duty ends now, I’ll give you a lift to the main road..!”
