Festival Blues

One minus point of working in the headquarters in the capital shows up around this time when several festivals loom in the future. There are hordes of underlings like drivers, security people, cleaning staff and people who one usually doesn’t see every day but are around all the time. On normal days they are almost invisible, but around festival time they seem to crawl out of the woodwork. That is because it is Inam time in government offices here in the state.

Most of these underlings don’t bother with me but as a senior officer (I’ve put in fifteen years, and also appear older for my age) I get my share of salutes in the office. But when people who normally don’t even look at you begin saluting you and when those who usually salute you do it with extra eagerness, you know very soon they are going to appear before you.

Groups of these attendants are making the rounds of the rooms of officers clutching papers on which are listed names of all those who have contributed. You are also expected to match the figures in the list and your very reputation depends on it. I had no choice but to shell out even though it is painful to part with so much money at the fag end of the month when the wallet is at its lightest.

In the past few days, though the festivals are a good fortnight away, I had to give away inaams of more than a thousand bucks and I am still counting. It is a tradition so I have no major problems with it. But when one has to shell out twelve hundred bucks in two days just like that it sure is going to affect my sleep for a couple of nights.