A marathon meeting & samosas on platter
We assembled in the committee room at 10 am as per instructions conveyed by the office of the vice chancellor (VC). The worthy came at around 10.30 am, escorted by the registrar carrying a donkey’s load of files. This was the monthly meeting of officers; a change from the routinely short ones of other academic bodies. The agenda for this meeting was huge and diverse.
As some matters related to crops were to be discussed, almost all the heads of departments concerned were instructed to be present for feedback and interaction. While discussing maize, the matter of maize cobs stolen from the standing crop came up, with the estate officer at the receiving end of criticism for poor security arrangements. The focus remained on him as discussions moved to why barriers could not be put in place on the roads to regulate the traffic. Now, preoccupied with the traffic nonsense, the august gathering turned to the topic of rash driving by students, many of them turning up on four wheelers, not a very desirable practice.
Lo, the discussion took another turn, now centered on the location of tea or juice bars, with everyone of the opinion that the entry of outsiders needed to be restricted. The bike library was next, a facility available in the University, but not well availed of. Two-andhalf hours passed by before the discussion got back to maize breeding and its varieties.
Soon it was lunch time but samosas and tea had been ordered. A few officers were on the phone to their better halves, asking them not to wait at home for the afternoon meal. Some more issues are discussed before everyone took a break at 2.30 pm, with instructions to be back at 3 pm.
Post lunch, more agenda items were discussed. Soon it was 5 pm and time to leave for home. But only less than a quarter of the total agenda items had been covered. Samosas, barfi and tea were ordered once again, a signal to brace up for the next couple of hours. Invariably, I phoned my assistant, asking him to go home after handing over the car and office keys to the driver and instructing him to come and pick me up after three to four hours when I called him.
By 12 midnight, with the meeting in full swing, I jokingly asked the director of extension education sitting by my side how he planned to go out of station early next morning for the kisan mela. He passed on a small chit to me, on which he had written: “I shall not even remove my turban; may have a nap of one or two hours on the couch and shall leave at around 5 am”.
Finally, the meeting concluded at around 1.15 am, but I had to get some urgent papers signed and hence spent about 10 minutes more in the VC’s office where my colleagues were also present, gloomy faces on tired bodies, waiting for their turn.
The VC’s face, however, exuded radiance, the kind one would expect to see on a king’s face after winning the battle of Panipat. Silently, we wondered whether we should salute the untiring V-C for holding the marathon meeting or simply appreciate the limit of our tolerance and subordination.
SOON IT WAS LUNCH TIME BUT NO ONE WAS READY TO LEAVE AS SAMOSAS AND TEA HAD BEEN ORDERED