At a recent dinner in the capital held to felicitate the gentleman cricketer, Rahul Dravid, upon his being awarded the Padma Shri, the new power elite and Page Three socialites mingled freely. The RJD boss and the Railway Minister, Laloo Yadav, held court in one corner of the lawn as guests arrived and went up to him to say hello even as cameras clicked for the next day's page three photos in the local dailies. As Yadav sat chatting with his ministerial colleagues, including the Minister of State for Home, Sri Prakash Jaiswal, and the Minister for Company Affairs, Prem Gupta, the host conducted a very giggly Delhi socialite, Nafisa Ali, to Yadav's table. Sitting herself next to Yadav, a very beaming Ali, who still retains her good looks despite her advancing years, asked him in her trademark girlish manner, "Lalooji, will you be in Patna on July 5?".
"No, how can I be in Patna that day?", Laloo muttered. When she asked why, Yadav responded "Arrey bhai, railway budget pesh karna hain parliament mein hum ko" (Look, I have to present Railway budget in Parliament that day..")
"Par tum Patna kyon ja rahi ho?" Laloo followed up. To which in all innocence, Ali responded, "Oh, meine maan rakha tha ki jab BJP power sey hategi to mein Ayodhya jaoongi. Is liye mujhe Patna to jana hi padega." (Oh, I had taken a vow that when BJP is ousted from power I will visit Ayodhya"). This caused at least two other ministers sitting with Laloo to virtually speak in unison, "Patna Ayodhya key raastey mein thode hin hain. Ayodhya UP mein hain, Bihar mein nahin (You do not have to go to Patna to reach Ayodhya. Ayodhya is in UP, not Bihar)."
She gave her best smile, muttered
'acchha' and giggled her way to another corner of the lawn where like-minded
Page Three people debated the finer points of the latest eatery in town.
Incidentally, Ali was the Congress Party candidate in the recent Lok Sabha
poll against Trinamool Congress Party's Mamta Banerjee in South Calcutta
and barely managed to save her deposit.