‘Pukka’ Babu
A bureaucrat, known for his idiosyncrasy, has recently created a flutter in the Babudom. What happened is that he asked one of his subordinates to go to the market to sell the items like dry fruits and liquor he received as gifts over the years. Acting on the order, the subordinate sweated a lot in the market to sell them at prices fixed for them by the Babu. But the traders who he approached refused to part with the amount the Babu fixed. He told the Babu that the items were unlikely to fetch the amount he was asked to bring. But the Babu refused to fall in line. He insisted that the subordinate must sell them at the prices he fixed. Finally, the dry fruits were sold for Rs 24,000 and liquor for Rs 40,000. But the Babu was far from satisfied with the amount he received. He gave his subordinate a dressing down, saying that he failed to bargain the way expected of him. The hapless subordinate gulped the abuses hurled on him while wondering how long he would have to be at the receiving end of such whims of the queer Babu.
Goof-up quandary
Chief minister’s office (CMO) was left red-faced recently because of the goof –up involving an officer who was appointed as additional secretary to the CM (AS2CM) despite the fact that he is not entitled for the promotion. later, the state government staved off the embarrassment by going for a corrected notification. The critical murmurs died down in due course. But the question is-how such a goof- up could have happened in the first place. Those privy to the functioning of the Babudom say that it happened only because the Babus, post the regime change, are now inclined to merely sign on the dotted lines without going through the details of things, not to speak of raising questions. What is more, the Babus responsible for the goof- up were let off without even a whiff of warning. This is, however, expected, as it is the political bosses who are painstakingly laying the system for the Babus to bend over backwards to please them through unquestioning acquiescence to their whims.