These versatile ministers!

Nepal's climatic conditions are such that whosoever occupies a prestigious chair, he or she instantly becomes competent enough to talk on any matter under the sun. Surprising of it all is that no qualifications were needed to offer sermons and preaching. It is assumed that the moment one is on the chair, he learns all the tricks and the tact on how to entertain the people and offer them good lessons on the national development. Nepali history is witness of such super natural personalities who have over these forty years taught the countrymen from, for example, sowing the potato seeds to the ongoing Y2K problem. Whether the people grasp their teachings in the form of lectures is altogether a different matter. What is important is that people do attend such lectures and that too with proper care.

The political breed in Nepal can talk on varied topics-relevant or even irrelevant. Most of them are inevitably irrelevant ones. I remember one minister in the Panchayat days inaugurated a public toilet in Sunsari district. After the inaugural ceremony the minister so candidly connected the inaugural of the toilet with the efforts of development that was on during Panchayat regime. The minister spoke for not less than thirty minutes on topic-the toilet- that perhaps needed no lecture. Yet the minister spoke high of the system and said that Panchayat system had facilitated the opening of the toilets every where in the country. He also did not forget to encourage the people to go on in for the construction of the toilets that would ultimately help consolidate the then system. The same minister reportedly went on an official tour to China. At the reception the Nepali minister saw some china-clay jars which made him mad. He could not resist his temptation and collected the courage to ask for one for his private drawing room back home in Nepal. The Chinese hosts could not deny. However, the tragedy befell upon the minister. Prior to landing in Kathmandu he was sacked.

Nepal's democratic ministers are no less competent than their previous colleagues. Today's ministers can talk on how to prepare Nepali dishes that could be sold to the foreign tourists visiting Nepal. Our ministers can link the paintings of a painter with the WTO proceedings. The same lot can connect the dismal performances of the establishment with the Y2K issues. Even if there were no links to such things, but then they manage it. Their intelligence have got to be recorded.

A few days back, Nepal's foreign minister talked scholarly on enhancing the South Asian Regional Cooperation. The same personality yesterday, Saturday, talked about the promotion of Nepali dishes among the visiting foreigners. Look the contrast of the subject matter. Yet one has to admire the talent. The topic of the ceremony is less important. What is important is that one has to be invited for a function. Knowledge regarding the topic comes automatically in their minds. After the entire climate is nice.

It also happened in the Panchayat days that the Agriculture minister went to attend a seminar in Bangkok. The topic of the meet was "how to grow potato more". The seminar was for junior officers at the Agri ministry. But that time Bangkok had a different charm. The charm being the much acclaimed Thai "massage" and the visit to a place that is very popular among the youngsters. It so happened that the minister was found absent during the seminar. Rather he preferred to utilize those precious moments in massage parlors. However, the ministerial message regarding the findings of the seminar were broadcast in government controlled media.

This Sunday morning, I was puzzled to read a small piece by a sitting minister printed in a Sunday vernacular weekly. The minister was saying in the newspaper that he had only recently told the minister of Saudi Arabia that if Nepali women working in their country were misbehaved or were sexually exploited then Nepal will not send the women workers to their country. Benevolent warning to the Saudi government. The minister must be thanked for his courage for having dared to send warning signals to the Saudis. However, the moment I recalled that this is the same minister who had only recently rampaged a married lady's house around midnight and had hit the media headlines for well over a month could talk in such a strong manner with the Saudis regarding the sexual exploitations of the Nepalese women in the Gulf region. It took pretty a good long time when I came to my senses and consoled myself thinking that preaching and "actual behaviors" were two different domains. One was not bound to practice what he preaches and vice versa. The nations' Prime minister himself absolved the said minister later from all the allegations.