Dear PM Modi, did you cross Lutyens' Delhi without a red beacon?
Tuesday morning, somewhere in Lutyens' Delhi, some very important persons were held up by the police. I wouldn't know the exact count, but the traffic behind me stretched all the way to the extent of my car's rear view mirror and the side view mirrors and as far as I could tell everyone behind was a VIP because there were no red beacons in sight.
As you might notice, from the picture below, I was the first in line.
The road in front of us, beyond the police car that you see in the picture, stretched empty and forlorn.
The rising heat, the buzzing of flies and the impassive expressions of the policemen holding us up, all pointed to another normal day in the VIP-conscious capital of India.
For 17 minutes, everyone who was a VIP, by the prime minister's definition, was ceremoniously halted, for what reason — we need not know.
It must have been a very unimportant reason and so below our stature as a VIP to unnecessarily tax our brain with it.
Stretching our necks, looking beyond the barricade, we could make out traffic moving at the intersection ahead — from left to right and from right to left.
Obviously, someone was on the move and as the May 1 deadline had elapsed, there were no flashing red beacons and sirens to denote the importance of people on the move.
Almost silently and unobserved, a once-upon-a-time VIP must have crossed, while us the brand new VIPs, waited in the glare of the heat, secure in our knowledge that we were the important ones. We had important jobs to do where we were headed; we had important people waiting for us where we were going; we had important parking spaces to find and occupy at our destination; we had important deadlines to meet.
So in our very important importance, we each gave up 17 minutes of our important time so that one unimportant person with out a red beacon would really really feel very unimportant.
Thank you Mr Prime Minister, for having taught the country the measure of importance, you are truly the first amongst unequals.
By the way did you, by any chance, cross SP Marg this Tuesday morning, say at around 11AM or so?