Doctor Damu : Ah! The globe-trotter, at last. We missed you very much, Sir! We are much honoured by your presence ...... thank you...

Gopal : Doctor! The pleasure is mine. I would not have missed your sweet company last week, but for the fact that I was suddenly called up.......a board meeting at Calcutta......had to rush to.

Prof. Pandu : A globe-trotter in a gallop - that perhaps should be the caption, I think, speaking in the language of the Journalist.

Advocate Ansari : And in what language these board meetings are conducted, Mr. Gopal.....

Gopal : Why.......in English of course...that is the link language, is it not...?

Prof. Pandu : Be careful Mr. Gopal, lest Doctor Ram Manohar Lohia pulls you up. He is out to annihilate English, you know......?

Doctor Damu : For all practical purposes, English is the link language today......

Prof. Pandu : ........and it shall remain so, says the Prime Minister so long as the Non-Hindi states decide that way......

Advocate Ansari : The professor is making a reference to the Bill to be presented to the Parliament, I think. But it seems a hundred M.P.s of the Congress party have issued a note to the P.M, expressing their disapproval of that measure.....

Prof. Pandu : But Sir! Surely the P.M. will not fall a prey to such machinations......

Doctor Damu : Why not the P.M. exercise some control over her partymen? One speaks of internationalism, another talks about Janma Bhoomi, one thunders forth that Banks will be nationalised and...all as Congressmen....all in all sincerity they say. Why not attempt at a symphony....or as an alternative the P.M. may declare that policy making should be strictly a 'solo'.

Prof. Pandu : Sir! It is not so easy as you seem to imagine. This art of carrying along all on your path.....it becomes more and more difficult as your majority gets reduced ...... which is what is to be found in the Congress party in the Parliament....

Doctor Damu : But the issue at stake is all-important. The entire South will be inflamed if Hindi is imposed ...... I don't think the P.M. will take the risk of insulting the people of the South....

Prof. Pandu : Sir! I do not minimise the risks involved in the issue. But what I was attempting to explain was, that the art of making others conform to your point of view is extremely difficult. The most delicate art I should say. I am reminded....

Doctor Damu : .......of an anecdote, Professor!

Prof. Pandu : of an illustration from history, Sir. When Charles V, one of the greatest of monarchs in Europe retired in weariness from the throne to a monastery, he occupied his leisure time in trying to regulate two clocks. It proved very difficult. But he went on attempting. One day he said, "Ah! I have succeeded......"

Advocate Ansari : ......in regulating the two clocks?

Prof. Pandu : No, Sir! No! The clocks refused to obey the Royal Command and went their own way. Charles did not succeed in his attempt.....

Advocate Ansari : But Professor you were just now telling us that the king declared about his success......

Prof. Pandu : Success, in this sense, Sir! The monarch declared that he has succeeded in realising a great truth that was eluding his grasp for a long number of years. The monarch turned to his assistant and declared, "Now I realise that I have been deluding myself in thinking that I can regulate the reason and conscience of the masses of my country, but now what do I find? I cannot make two clocks agree......"

Doctor Damu : That is a thought-provoking statement......

Advocate Ansari : But these dictators attempt, not merely regulation, but regimentation of thought......

Prof. Pandu : ......and how well they have succeeded is amply portrayed by the chaos and confusion inside China, to-day. They say, each leader there has got a battalion around him....and even heads of state are toppled down......

Doctor Damu : The Chinese affair? It is becoming increasingly disgusting. But one by one those countries where their influence was mighty, have risen up to kick out that hold.....the latest being Burma.

Prof. Pandu : And Sir! The Chinese hold over Indonesia was the strongest. Dr. Sukarno, himself fond of the cross-belt and the bugle-call, the parade and the paraphernalia, has had to pay heavily for having nurtured the Chinese influence....

Doctor Damu : Yes! Yes! Palace revolutions followed by street-fighting. Conspiracy followed by chaos and confusion .... the whole political set up was destroyed......

Prof. Pandu : And more than that, Sir, the economic situation in Indonesia became precarious.

Advocate Ansari : Inspite of the fact that that country is very very fertile.....

Prof. Pandu : It was exactly because of the fact that 'Indonesia' is basically strong on the economic front that we find today that with careful handling, the distortions in the economic sphere has been rectified, and from the brink, Indonesia has now been placed on the right road of recovery and reconstruction. A news item from Hague says that the donor countries, Japan, Australia, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States were satisfied with the recovery efforts undertaken by Indonesia. They are satisfied that the aid they have 'injected' has had good effect and Indonesia is on the path of recovery.

Doctor Damu : You have used the correct word Sir! 'injection'. We as Doctors know that there should be a basic strength in the body, if injection is to be successfully attempted.....

Prof. Pandu : That is quite true, Sir! And there is another aspect too.....An individual or a country should not dissipate the energy that is produced by such injections.

Advocate Ansari : It is stated that the Americans forced it on us....One Mr. Bell insisted on that.....Without going through the Bell Commission report, I don't think that we could make any pronouncement on that issue.

Prof. Pandu : Sir! Even when reports are placed on the table of the Houses of Parliament or Legislature, follow-up actions rarely follow. For instance I remember to have read some time ago that the Public Accounts Committee issued a report about the purchase of a plot of land by the Electricity Board....at a place called Erukancheri.......

Advocate Ansari : Oh! Yes! I remember it quite well. There was a lot of controversy about that purchase.

Prof. Pandu : And a report was placed before the legislature, Sir! But I wonder what follow-up-action has taken place.....

Advocate Ansari : Nothing, do you say Sir!

Prof. Pandu : Nothing so far, Sir, as far as my knowledge goes....

Doctor Damu : It is a colossal waste of public money, to order for some enquiry, call for a certain report, and then forget all about it.

Gopal : But in most of the countries I visited reports are not thrown into the lumber-house. They are studied carefully and the governments take up the follow-up steps.....

Prof. Pandu : And it is just because of such an attitude, that systems get perfected, and results become rich. A vigilant public taking to task any government that refuses to act up to the accepted standards of responsibility......

Gopal : That reminds me friends about the purpose of my sojurn to Calcutta. It was exactly to discuss about a report that experts of our firm prepared on a particular subject.....

Prof. Pandu : If that contains any trade secret, refrain from further explanation Mr. Gopal. Otherwise we would feel happy if you become somewhat explanatory......

Gopal : We do not now-a-days believe in trade secrets at all. And as a matter of fact, the report was not about any new business venture. It was about the economic consequences of prohibition.
Prof. Pandu : An interesting subject, indeed and an exciting one.

Advocate Ansari : And of much importance as far as our State is concerned.....

Prof. Pandu : And especially, now that our C.M. is facing a barrage of questions about this prohibition policy. We find Congressmen emit volleys very often.

Advocate Ansari : Some of them advocate the scrapping of prohibition....I think just to push the DMK into the wrong path and then raise a war-cry against it.....

Doctor Damu : It is indeed curious....medical opinion too is advanced by some in support of scrapping prohibition.....

Advocate Ansari : And are these medical opinions correct, Doctor?

Doctor Damu : These opinions are half-baked Sir! They talk about vitamis and protein in today and other stuff as if protein cannot be found except in intoxicants.

Prof. Pandu : Now that we are talking about intoxicants I may as well tell you....not an anecdote, but a prose-poem....which explains the nature of these strong drinks. Upon the first goblet he read this inscription, Monkey Wine; upon the second, Lion Wine; upon the third, Sheep Wine; upon the fourth, Swine Wine. These four inscriptions expressed the four descending degrees of drunkenness; the first that which enlivens; the second that which irritates; the third that which stupefies finally the last, that which brutalizes....

Gopal : Professor! I did express at the board meeting this very aspect, but in an uncouth way......

Prof. Pandu : Not in an uncouth way. Sir! But in a way with which you are familiar, I should say.....

Advocate Ansari : Of course all cannot have the leisure to study prose and poems....as our professor!

Prof. Pandu : That explains, Sir, your poor performance at the Court.....

Advocate Ansari : So, Professor Pandu has begun his attack, I think. Bang on, for that is the only luxury you have and age gives you the prerogative to taunt us.

Prof. Pandu : Sir! I do not grudge anyone to point out the faults they find in my argument. I am prepared to be guided and corrected......But let us come to the serious aspect; what was the result of your deliberations Mr. Gopal, about prohibition?

Gopal : Not final Professor! We decided to discuss it further....sometime next month.

Prof. Pandu : Just like our planners I presume, who are now still in the process of finalising the fourth five year plan, though two out of the five years are gone.

Doctor Damu : And these were the people who criticised Rajaji when he suggested a holiday for the plan.....

Advocate Ansari : The P.M. stated some days ago, that a holiday has been forced on them by circumstance.

Prof. Pandu : Madame forgets, I think, that there is a lot of difference between a fall and a halt. What Rajaji suggested was a 'Halt'-what the Congress leaders face today is a 'fall'.

Advocate Ansari : But they seem to be more worried about not his fall but about the people's agitation .... against food scarcity, price rise, unemployment and the like.

Prof. Pandu : Sir, don't you think that these are problems of such an acute intensity that they would whip up the most docile individual to rise up and demand, justice and fairplay.

Advocate Ansari : But surely Professor! These demands are to be presented in a responsible manner, in an orderly, peaceful manner.....

Doctor Damu : That is a pertinent point, Professor! Agitations if unregulated will naturally degenerate into anarchy. You will not, I am sure advocate anarchy, though you are the champion of the distressed......

Prof. Pandu : You may as well add the word, the disdained ..... Yes Sir! The poor are distressed and any measure they take up for the redressal of the grievances are dubbed as anarchy. I remember to have read somewhere, - that when the rich assemble to concern themselves with the business of the poor it is called charity. When the poor assemble to concern themselves with the business of the rich, it is called, anarchy.

Gopal : But the poor should be looked after, help is to be given; even charity.

Prof. Pandu : I do not repudiate the necessity for all that, Mr.Gopal. In all your business concerns, there is a Charity Fund. I am aware of that. But that is only in the nature of tinkering with the problem......not even tackling of the problem, you will admit.

Doctor Damu : Professor! Though on a deep analysis, your dictum is correct, I would request you not to utter words that would lead to a sort of repudiation of measures that may give some solace at least to the poor and downtrodden......

Prof. Pandu : Never Sir! Never. I myself have agreed to be of some assistance to a charitable institution. But I would request you to read Bernard Shaw's, Major Barbara....

Advocate Ansari : Major Barbara.....Oh! Yes Major Barbara......I have a copy.....

Prof. Pandu : May I remind you Mr. Ansari that that book was lent to you by, poor me......and if you were to be kind enough to bring it here next time we meet.

Advocate Ansari : Certainly! And so, I think we shall start going. I am anxious to get home and have a chat with Major Barbara.

(Home Rule - 9-7-1967)