A Farewell Party
It so happened that Kaurav, who had played a stellar role in organizing the logistical side of our operations was now transferred out of Astha. His place was to be taken by Sharma, a tall genial man with a bluff manner, who was well connected politically. I was sorry to see Kaurav go, but these thing happen and there was nothing that could be done about it. As is usual on these occasions, a party was organized to bid farewell to the outing officer. Such parties are a routine occurrence in the outgoing officer. Such parties are a routine occurrence in official life, but they still town milieu in which district officers have to spend their working life.
This party was held in the Tehsil premises at Ashta. This building, as I have mentioned elsewhere, was situated atop the local fort. It was built on a small knoll on the left bank of the Parvati River. The walls and fortifications of this fort had crumbled away, but the main doorway still stood. This was a huge arched gateway, surmounted by two small cupolas, the whole still being in a state of surprisingly good repair. A steep cobbled pathway led up to the Tehsil building, which must have housed the local garrison as well in state times, but now was too dilapidated even to be used as an office. Some land near the Indore highway had already been earmarked for the new Tehsil, but its construction was going to take quite a few years, and in the meantime the old building despite its ruinous state continued to be the administrative centre of the Tehsil.This building had a large courtyard within its portals, and this was where the party was held.
I had been touring in Ashta, looking for the wolf, and on the day of the party I called an early halt to the proceedings and headed straight for the tehsil premises. The party was scheduled to be held at five in the evening. Making allowances for the lackadaisical habits of the locals I had arrived on the spot at ten past five but when I reached the Tehsil building I found that except for Kaurav and his subordinates, none of the guests had turned up. This was not entirely unexpected, but I still decided to take my allotted seat in the middle of a large semicircle of chairs. I reasoned that if the guests found me absent the party may be further delayed, while if they found me already present, their embarrassment may induce them to shed their usual dilatory methods.
The seating arrangements on this occasion may be of some interest, as they throw some light on the manner in which the official hierarchy is organized in a small town. To my right sat Kaurav and to his right, Sharma, the new incumbent. The chair to my left was vacant, but not for long. Som dutt the local correspondent of a Bhopal based newpaper, one of the first guests to arrive, occupied the chair. The other guests now began to arrive in ones and twos. The guests included a fair sprinkling of lawyers, and local politicians as well as few journalists.
I noticed that there was an unwritten order of precedence among these guests in the matter of seating and each person was careful to follow it. Next to Kaurav and Sharma, sat the other administrative officers posted at the Tehsi1 level including the local Circle Inspector of Police C.P. Singh, who was also know as Raja Sahib due to his supposedly royal lineage. Next to the officers was the solid phalanx of lawyers, all clad in their dark jackets with some even sporting the white judicial collar. To my right were the politicians, first the local MLA, then the janpad members and then the rural Sarpanchas, or headmen, who were to be distinguished from the more urbanised politicians by their distinctive attire. Most of these rural grandees wore a saffron or yellow turban over white Kurta and dhoti, while many wore black tunics as well as Kurtas. Som Dutt the journalist who sat next to me had thus violated the pecking order that seemed to be in force, but as members of the press are allowed a wide latitude in all matters of protocol, others, though resentful, were helpless.
Som Dutt did nothing to mitigte this resentment. He was in fact enjoying the flutter he was causing, and to make sure that people took note of his presumptive status, he often towards me to whisper the most inconsequential things in a most conspiratorial manner First he said, "Sir! You must be tired after your journey."
Nonsense ! Som Dutt, as you know I have been camping in Astha."
Then he said, "Sir ! do you know why these Sarpancha are wearing saffron turbans?"
"No, I can't imagine why?"
"Sir ! they are deelaring their political affiliation. As you know saffron is a colour that is used by a particular political party."
"But I thought this was the customary headgear in this area."
"That is true sir, but the normal turban is lemon yellow rather than saffron, as you, may have noticed."
Now that he mentioned it, I could see he had a point. However before I could reply the person who sat to the right of leant right acriss him and whispered to me, "Sir !, I want five minutes from you after this function. I want to discuss something important with you.
"What is it Shivnarain Ji ? if it is important certainly, you can see me when we go in for the refreshments."
"Sir, it is about the activities of our local forest guard, I shall tell you all about it when we talk."
Shivnarain Malviya was the local member of the Legislative Assembly. This was his forth term as MLA, but he had never been considered for ministerial office. This was not difficult to understand, because he was barely educated, and quite indifferent to the attractions of office. He was loved rather for his phlegmatic nature, his honesty, and his accessibility. It was out of character for him to lean across and speak to me at a function, but I could see that he was irritated with Som Dutt for having occupied the chair that belonged by right to him. Som Dutt's constant whispering had added insult to injury. It was to avenge himself for this imagined slight that he had leant across Som Dutt.
But just then the Master of Ceremonies, the local tehsiladar, Mr Tiwari short portly man whose dignity bordered on pomposity, took the mike to begin the proceedings. after a brief and flowery welcome address, he asked for the assembled guests to come up one by one and garland the chief guest. The tehsildar called out the names of the guests in an order of precedence and they all came up to the guest of honour, Kaurav and put a garland round his neck. After a while some of the more enterprising guests took two garlands from the peon who stood with garlands hanging around a short stick, and put a garland around the neck of the new incumbent as wel1. Some of them even made a move towards me, but I waved them away towards Kaurav. By the time the tehsildar came to the end of the guest lists, I thought Sharma had been more profusely garlanded than Kaurav. It was an obvious, but rather crude illustration of the old adage that every one salutes the rising sun.
After the garlanding it was time for valedictory speeches and the first person who was called upon to say a few words was, Mr Quereshi, the president of the local bar council. Quereshi was an elderly gentleman with a thick mop of grizzled hair, a dark complexion and an aggressive and voluble manner. He cleared his throat importantly and began-
"Mr. Kaurav, our outgoing SDM, honourable Collector Sahib, Mr Sharma our new SDM, respected MLA sahib, Janab Shivnaram JI, tehsildar sahib....."
Mr Qureshi was careful to include everyone in his address whom he considered of sufficient importance. His long litany finally ended with," and all those honourable guests whom I have not mentioned by name but who have graced this occasion with their presence. As you all know we are gathered here to bid good bye to our Mr Kaurav, who has served the people of this tehsil with unremitting devotion for there long years. I have seldom seen an officer so hardworking, so affable, so assiduous in redressing the wrongs of the people. We shall indeed miss his ever cheerful countenance and presence but, I am sure he shall be a boon to the people wherever he goes.
I would also like, on this occasion to welcome Mr Sharma, who is going to succeed Mr Kaurav. We have great expectations from Mr Sharma. I am sure he will carry on the good work og his predecessor. Indeed, we expect him to set new and even higher standards og excellence, if this were possible. Before I conclude I must highlight a local issue of grave importance, because our Collector Sahib is here, and I am sure he will take appropriate action in the matter. This is the question of maintaining law and order on Holi, which this year is going to fall on a Friday. People will be returning from their Friday Namaz at the same time, as the Holi revellers will be coming back. It is important to ensure that miscreants do not take any advantage of the situation. We have to ensure that the conmmunal harmony which has always been the pride of our town is maintained.
I also want to put forward another small problem before the Collector Sahib. It is good that our respected MLA is also here. This is the problem of the tehsil building. As you can all see, this building is in a most dangerous state and any untoward incident can happen any time, leading to avoidable loss of life. We lawyers feel apprehensive, at pleading our cases in such a dilapidated court house. It detracts from the majesty of law and the dignity of justice. There is also the danger that if raise our voice, the roof may come crashing down."
He paused to see if there was any reaction to this attempt at levity, but no one laughed. Mr Quereshi went on, "There are many other problems that deserve mention but I will not try your patience now by mentioning them. But before I conclude let me say a few words about the wolf menace that has afflicted our tehsil for the last two months and the role played by the administration in combating it. We are deeply grateful to our Collector, for having spared no pains to bring these animals to book, and we hope the remaining man eaters shall soon be accounted for. Once again I give my best wishes to Mr Kaurav for. Once again I give my best wishes to mr Kaurav and welcome Mr Sharma. Thank you, gentlemen, for giving me such a patient hearing."
"After Mr Quereshi it was the turn of the MLA, who should have actually been the first to speak, had he not for some reason left his seat and gone out for a while. Just as he got back, the tehsildar, called upon him to take the mike. He delivered the following peroration in his own bumbling way.
"Honourable, Collector Sahib, Mr Kaurav, Mr ...er Sharma, and friends, you know I am a plain spoken man and not very adept at giving fine speeches. All I can say is, all I can say is ........." there was a long and embarrassing pause at this juncture and then after taking off and putting on his white Gandhi cap, he resumed, "all I can say is that Mr Kaurav was a good officer, a very good officer and I hope his successor will also be a good officer. We have a lot of poor people in this tehsil and we need officers with a human touch. This brings me to another subject which I wanted to mention -and that is the subject of the man eating wolf. I want the government to give some compensation to the families of the victims. I know nothing will recompense these families for the loss which they have suffered, but at least we can come to their aid in this time of trouble by lending them a helping hand. I hope the Collector, who is himself a very humane person, will make some announcement today in this regard. Thank you."
The other speakers, rambled on in the same vein, but all of them took care to demand compensation, once the matter had been raised by the MLA, and each wanted to outdo the other in suggesting how much compensation should be paid. At the end of it all I was asked to say a few word in conclusion. If memory serves me right, this is what I said, "Mr Kaurav, Mr Sharma, Shivnarainji and friends, all of you have spoken of the many good qualities of Kaurav and I want to add my own support to everything that you have said. Mr Kauav, who is leaving us to take up another assignment in a neighbouring district has done a commendable job in Astha Tehsil. In particular I want to place on record the signal service that he has rendered the people of this tehsil in organizing the logistical side of our operations against the man eating wolf of Ashta. He has been to all the affected villages, toured the area day and night, and in everything has been a tower of strength to me and indeed to the entire administration. (Shouts of hear, hear, and some clapping.) We shall certainly miss his services, but then I am sure where ever he is posted, he will always be an asset to the government.
I would also like to welcome his successor, Mr Sharma, who is an able an experienced officer and will I am sure, give a good account of himself in his new charge. Thank you."
"But as I handed over the mike to the tehsildar to conclude the ceremony there were shouts from several quarters that I had not said anything about the issue of compensation. So I had to again take the mike," Friends, I appreciate your concern about the bereaved families, I share this concern and will do everything in my power to mitigate their suffering, including the payment of compensation. But you will appreciate the fact that a final decision in the matter can only be taken by the state government. I will recommend to them that compensation should be paid on as generous a scale as possible, but I will urge you once again, not to make political capital out of a tragic situation. I seek your co-operation in destroying the remaining wolves -so that our people can once again lead their lives, free from the spectre of fear. If God wills, we shall soon succeed in our objective."
This met with a rousing reception. Thereafter the tehsildar stood to say the last words. But he was as long winded and diffuse as the rest of the speakers. He went on a great length about the great wisdom and capabilities of Kaurav. Having done with Kaurav, he launched into a panegyric about what a wonderful man Sharma was. It seemed the whole world could hardly boast of two such paragons as Sharma and Kaurav. As the tehslider showed no inclination to end his speech, many of the guests got up to leave and some made for the adjoining marquee where the eatables were laid out. The tehsilder took the hint and wound uo his grandiloquent oration with a final flourish and a 'Jai Hind' after which everyone rushed post haste towards the refreshments, forgetting protocol. When we reached the tent, they were tucking into the food with gusto. Thus ended the farewell party and the curtain was brought down on the role of Kaurav in the whole drama.
