I have seen three kinds of people in my life.
There are some who, after having being caught for doing something bad, stay silent —eyes downcast.
Then there are those who on being caught out, cry out of shame and remorse.
And then there are those rare few who come out laughing—-shamelessly.
“Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai” (I am driven by revolutionary zeal) , said Natwar Singh as he came out of Parliament, evoking the memories of all those brave revolutionaries who sought to change the world through nepotism, corruption and opportunism.
But then it can be argued that Natwar didnt do anything wrong. After all as he said somewhere, he writes recommendation letters for Indian businessmen all the time. The fact that the beneficiaries were friends, relatives and offspring is just a coincidence. Albeit a happy one.
And after all, if Natwar doesnt look after his son Jagat, who will? As Bansi Lal once pointed out to a reporter “CM mere bete ko naheen banaoonga to kya Devi Lal ke bete ko banayoonga?”
Talking about politician’s families, what’s the matter with the Mahajans? I understand that the jacuzzi sharing with men thing that Rahul did was borne out of sniffing too much white powder—a sordid past he is trying to forget by posing with his pretty fiance who attested to his pristine character by saying: “He’s not as bad as he is made out to be”.
Which is good.
However this time , its uncle Praveen who displays “happy” behaviour by firing his lawyer (picture to the left). Reason: he didn’t like the way the lawyer looked ! (Link courtesy: Rajeev). Doesnt he know that Oscar Wilde proved himself to be gay by admitting in court that “the newsboy looked ugly” —a fact that the prosecution kept hammering on from then on— “Why sir did you admit the boy was extremely ugly?” (Full story here)
Coming back to Natwar Singh, I am glad to see that he has, in his own words, found his “real” friends. Namely fellow revolutionaries like Amar Singh. Our Amar-babu however brushed off rumors of Natwar becoming a Samajwadi Party leader as being mere idle gossip. As he put it lyrically:
“Logon ka kaam hain kahena”.
The fact that this line is from a song in the movie “Amar Prem” (a story of a man’s “Amar” (eternal) love for a golden-hearted prostitute) may also be a coincidence.
And another bit of trivia: the Om Prakash character’s name in the movie was “Natwarlal”.
Any revolution starts with a lot of hot air. And this one is no exception.
Natwar said his suspension from the party came on “Raksha Bandhan” day, which is a very auspicious day. “But for the Congress it is ..vinash kale viparit buddhi…(people act unwisely when facing destruction)”.
“Vinash Kale Viparit Buddhi”—again the irony.
One thing that distinguishes revolutionaries from normal wheeler-dealers is their honesty. Case in point: Jaswant Singh (the author of the book “A Call to Honor– In Service Of Emergent India”) whose coy attempts to uncover the mole on the left butt-cheek of someone in the PMO [Jaswant Singh pictured here with Ram Singh, the amazing simian] through bold assertions, challenges and hurried retractions serve as a glowing testament to his integrity and commitment to the truth.
In addition, his autobiography gives us fascinating insights into the workings of a government run by revolutionaries.
“We believed that we demonstrated animal spirit in what ever we did. “
Yes. Animal spirit. Which is exactly what’s coursing through my veins as I listen to Natwar Singh’s stirring call to action.
After all, politicians have nothing to lose except their honour.
Actually not even that—since they never had it in the first place.
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
The politican’s son you are referring to is Rahul Mahajan not Praveen Mahajan.
Sorry. Corrected
The “laughing Natwar” picture reminds me of this guy.
The jacuzzi sharing with men, well, probably it wasn’t the effect of that powder after all. Maybe this lawyer guy refused to share a jacuzzi with Rahul.
I have no words to describe Natwar Singh’s impertinence, of course. I wish people could be punished for quoting great men’s words at inappropriate places.
ROTFL. Excellent post. Just love your sarcasm-dripping rants.
I dont see that there is anything wrong in giving recommendation. Lets assume that my father is a highly placed official and I am going out for some deal which require recommendation. Can’t I ask my father for a personal recommendation and his views whether I am competent for the job or not. Now unless he fakes some qualifications or experience, and writes honestly whatever he believes about me, there is nothing wrong. I would say it is a responsibility of the employer how much credit he wants to give for a personal recommendation and that to a professional recommendation (which shows my actual competence). So I think that the “crime” is in approving personal recommenations, not giving it.
Amit,
No dude. You can’t. Its what people would call unethical. It would be kind of ethical if Natwarlal had written, somewhere in the letter, that these were his relatives. In other words, disclosure of conflict of interests.
Incidentally, don’t fool yourself into thinking that these letters were the only forms of “correspondence”. And don’t fool yourself into thinking that these were “recommendation letters”. In business circles (govt contracting of the shady kind), people can read between the lines and understand that this letter is a favour Natwar is asking in return for leveraging his influence inside Indian political circles so that Iraq would get India’s support in international fora (which it almost always did).
I think you were right in the first instance before Anonymous pointed out what he thought was an error. Rajurkar is or rather was the lawyer of Praveen Mahajan. It is Praveen Mahajan who fired him because he is not good looking and not Rahul Mahajan. This actually gives a new twist to the Pramod Mahajan story extrapolating further from the homosexual theme.
[Editor: Rest of comment has been edited at Chetan’s suggestion.]
@Anil: Lovely.
@Joy Forever: I made a slight mistake with Praveen and Rahul. The lawyer guy seems to have not wanted to share stuff with Praveen.
@Rohan: Thanks
@Amit: I agree with what Rohan said. These letters are all about “between the lines”. Plus not all businessmen (unless they share strands of DNA with Natwar Singh) are allowed to be part of delegations to Iraq nor do they get the inside track to the Ba’th party.
@Chetan: Thank you for the information. I had actually made a small mistake myself which had led to the confusion. Now corrected. And thanks for that bit of information—its put things in perspective.
Is this Nattu.. not the same guy who’s daughter-in-law “committed suicide”…?
Or was she a victim of knowing one too many secrets about Nattu and his son? Because her *suicide* happened around the same time all this must be going on.. roughly 2000-2001.
Aha.. my Hitchcockian cap tells me.. there’s a story to be told..in form of a movie..
But i must say.. i like the way the *first family* of the country keeps itself away from spotlight when focus is on Congress party.. whether it’s volcker/Quttrochchi or Nattu..
They simply vanish somewhere..
Because there is very little chance that Nattu would have done this without the backing of Madam X…
I think there’s a lesson to be learnt here for other politicians… of how to play the political innings without letting your image get tarnished..i.e
I don’t know what’s making me laugh more: your post or those photos you’ve put. I mean those expressions… hahaha.. I don’t know but Natwar Singh reminds me of a movie called “Mayor Saab”. But then, it’s Amar Singh who looks more like the Mayor in that movie. but then again, which politician wouldn’t 🙂
“Vinash Kale Viparit Buddhi”
I dont think there is any kind of destruction for these low life asswipes. Whatever happened to George Fernandes and Bangaru Laxman. They will keep ruling us or live in their posh government paid bungalows no matter what.
more than anything i found the line “i will not speak against Sonia” spectacular. wat percentage of the public is not aware of ur concluding line and yet we keep tolerating jerks of the Amar Singh kind.
And we spend so much money on these fools??
Who knew that lines like ‘Sarfaroshi..’ and ‘Logon..’ would be quoted by such crookes ? And I dont understand how anyone , in his/her right(or wrong mind, can defend this guy and speak in favor of him ? What next the guy gets offers to join SP, BJP, JD(U) and then wins the election or nominated to RS again and then starts giving interviews like ‘I have been vindicated and blah blah blah’ ?
Anyways, top post as usual. I think you should try to write something bad once in a while.
now only the fiancee even Rahul’s sister showed undying support to his ‘misunderstood poor brother’ on the rakshabandhan day, read it in DNA.
rahul is so dumb that it is a waste of time to quote him.
@ kaunteya, this is the same natwar, his daughter in law commited suicide and a few months later daughter also followed suit
Not sure what the big deal about Rahul Mahajan is…he is just another rich spoilt brat who almostd ODed….who cares…..I dnt remember any cases against Prasad Bidapa or the son of DC when they screwed up in Dubai….this very Govt got them out of that shit din’t they??
As for Natwar’s dramas…aren’t we used to this stuff?? It is just that he is still trying to salvage some kind of deal so that he can continue writing “recomendations” and help the “needy”….and so NDTV will KEEP covering the recursively breaking stories!!
Surprising thing is, the left is acyually right for once…what about Reliance?? they made much more money out of the whole Tamasha!!
And as for Jaswant singh…he might have his foot in his mouth, but is still better than the majority of politicians….
Lol!!Fabulous take on revolutionaries… 😉
Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.
George Bernard Shaw
Death to the reactionaries ! All those who are trying to tarnish the image of Maharaja Natwar Singh, would be torn to pieces by a tsunami of humanity.
VALUE-based politics, amar rahe. Inquilab Zindabad !!
Natwar’s daughter also committed suicide, not just his daughter-in-law.
I hate Natwar, Mahajan and now I hate Jaswant Singh too. Leave that for a moment and concentrate on this list
DR. MANMOHAN SINGH Prime Minister
SHRI ARJUN SINGH Minister of Human Resource Development.
SHRI SHIVRAJ VISHWANATH PATIL Home Minsiter
DR. ANBUMANI RAMADOSS Minister of Health & Family Welfare
SMT. AMBIKA SONI Minister of Tourism and Minister of Culture.
All of them are Rajya Sabha Members. And we call India a democracy. Ironic?
Natwar got this right …. atleast!!
Link: http://cabsec.nic.in/coumin.htm
I have just listed people who have made major policy decisions and who have been seen defending the government.
Als, this is not an argument against Rajya Sabha. But these are not the people who have been elected by ‘We the People’. Is this right? I don’t know but I don’t like it.
All of us know one must never take politics at face value.
One is free to defend Natwar Singh saying they were just recommendation letters. But Natwar wasnt kicked out becuase of those letters……it was just a excuse to do something that is normal in Indian Politics — score points over rivals and try to edge them out of the race. There is hardly anyone who does not know the infighting in the Congress Party, UPA and the Council of Ministers….so anyone else could have easily been in Natwar’s shoes.
If unethical politics, corruption were ever the reasons for a minister’s/politician’s ouster, then we may have to start looking for an new bunch of politicians to govern the biggest democracy!
Couldn’t stop grinning. Vintage, vintage greatbong. 🙂
If a dad/mom does not pen a recco for a son/daughter, who will?
It is the selfish gene, a la Richard Dawkins.
Natwar, a few years ago, tried to cry in public and gain sympathy for his daughter’s suicide. He was mum on the daughter-in-law episode (his DNA was not involved)
I wonder how Sonia has brought up her chillun, or how does the official machinery function that they do not have a spot against their name?
Or wait a sec, did not the Mrs Robert Vedera get involved in some eatery operating with scant regard for the law? And there was something about The Mr R. V. who was involved in some industrial land deal in UP.
But Rahul Gandhi, is is the original untouchable of investigative journalism. His kurta and character can be used for any detergent ad.
And all that breast-beating and lamenting about who-will govern-the-governor, read Suetonius’ Twelve Caesers.
POWER CORRUPTS.
AHA!
‘shuru ho gaya mamu’ so aptfully brings the tale of daddus who had just goofed up with their retirement policies! that’s ok. N@War seems to be almost assKissing AweMar to save his skin from the MMS rage.. i liked the entire drama – the way he licked his lips to quote that “sarfaroshi..” thingy. and the shor-fat-n-bald beauty from UP was adding more tamasha with his husky tunes like the bidushak – Gopal Bhnar! HE is probably providing ANYTIME ANYWHERE services to anybody who dislikes the Italian Pizza 🙂 may be he has a secret chamber where he derives sadistic pleasures in flogging a ‘S’ doll!!
LOL
PS:MMS = ManMohanSingh
Arnab, agree with you 100 %. All this tamasha is good only for the 24X7 news channels desperate to fill up the day with some soundbytes. Unfortunately, you vote out one group and the replcement is just as bad. Gu-er e-pith, o-pith, if you get what I mean.
Just a suggestion – why don’t you write a post about a completely honest politician. Will have great shock value! And maybe we can pool in to make a temple for him/ her, like the one in China.
Of course, we’ll have to leave it to your genius to find one.
Hey GB,
Cheers for the Oscar Wilde trial proceedings. I’d been looking for that some time back and guess I forgot. I had a funny incident this very summer by the way.
On the 1st of July I was walking around in London before a Pink floyd concert I had tickets to. There was a gay parade on the same afternoon (what are the chances of that eh? pink floyd —-pink day? anyways, I digress). Trying to ‘keep it straight’ and yet bum around, I walked for quite some time before I sat on a bench near Trafalgar. And guess who this marble bench was dedicated to? Wilde!!
But your story made me realize that Wilde (one of my favorite writers) really did go through hell and got chucked out. Sad really.
Great Bong,
You are fine with nepotism in bollywood for e.g. Abhishek B, Sanjay Dutt, Hrithik, Karishma, Kareena, Bobby, Sunny etc.( we adore them)
Also you are fine with corporate nepotism like Ambanis, Birla, Bajaj etc. where sons and daughters become CEO, MD etc
But you just have problems with politicains.
Is this not irony of Indian people in general ?
Lets reject nepotism at all level !!
1) Dont throng cinema’s if these “sons and daughters” are in movies. Automatically we will see new people on block.
2)Let shareholders reject offsprings as CEO, MD, CFO etc.
Then automatically “politicains” will fall in line
GreatBong, may I also remind you, byfar a country who is just 50 years old our democracy (not leaders) is “not so bad”.
Hence if we all become “cynical” about politicains then no one aspire to become a MLA/MP/CM/PM etc. except criminals or good for nothing kinda people.
So Mr.GreatBong( big fan of bollywood) first you start, and stop watching movies starring these movie stars.
Finally, I very well know, how good you are with words, so you will defend yourself (if you put this on ur blog )
But remember its the whole mental shake required, dont just blame politicians.
Fellow Mithun Fan.
Thanks Rohan and GB for the comments. Yes, the message conveyed “between the lines is (probably) the issue”. But I believe that the whole issue is being overrated – these kinds of favourism exist everywhere. Tell me a single case where the son of a politician is “sitting at home” honestly. We need to get rid of leaders who waste time and money for these inconsequntial but “intersting issues” just to get to the headlines.
your filmi knowledge is highly impressive, is it all yours..or…do you have 5/6 assistants working for you to ferret out the filmi nuggets that you pepper you post with?..:)
Good piece again, your honor.
The rotton culture has become all pervasive as I tried to tell you in my previous post. I feel more transparent systems should be brought to make politicians peform. Accoutability should be forced on them. That’s the only way out.
How shameless have these people become ! BTW I barely know of the Natwar Singh D-in-law episode. Could someone provide me with links to the story.
Wow! You even managed to find a photo of Natwar Singh with a semblance of a smile! That’s certainly a rare event like BBC’s Nick Bryant once mentioned in an article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4417404.stm
Excerpt from the above link :
” After all, the government’s first response was to mount an investigation, where the primary focus seemed to be the veracity and methodology of the UN report rather than assessing Mr Singh’s claim of innocence.”
So true, it always happens, be it the Bangaru Laxman scam, Ajit Jogi case or Amar Singh case. When a minister/politician is bllamed, the conspiracy and the conspirators behind the dishonoring of these morally upright gentlemen are the first to be investigated (and harassed).
That this people get away with it and while maintaining their claim of being innocent, blame others for their misdeeds, is surprising.
I just noticed – there are five people pictured above – 3 statesmen, one monkey and one lawyer. And only the latter two seem to be unhappy about sharing the page with the others.
Finding a gigolo
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060813/asp/opinion/story_6603943.asp
Not that you have to be Net savvy to find a gigolo. Despite gigolos becoming increasingly organised, a lot of the business still comes through word of mouth.
There are other tell-tale signs — such as a red or white handkerchief worn around the wrist or the head, a peecap worn backwards, a red T-shirt, a key chain dangling from the pocket or tattooed arms. There are some covert selling points for gigolos, too.
————————
@Kaunteya: Well at least Madam has the smarts not to get caught.
@Sach1tb: I know. The expressions are priceless.
@Aravind: I would think that Natwar, having no mass base to fall back on, is pretty much a spent force.
@Varsha: And then he speaks against Madam because he’s desperate to be chucked out of the Congress.
@Dhananjay: Oh yes we do !
@Sanjay: Well SP is worse than the rest—thats for sure.
@Nandini: Touching.
@Gourav: We have to care. Cause before you can say “dopehead cracker” this man may be foisted on our country as a political leader.
@Mathew: And that too with Aug 15 approaching.
@Gaurav: Hmm.
@Udayan: Oh yes they will.
@Deep3rdMan: No wonder he’s so partial to his son.
@An Ideal Boy: Indeed ironic.
@Vinay Bhushan: Just because many others get away scot-free shouldn’t be used to sanctify Natwar Singh. What he did was out-and-out corruption and he deserves to go. The thing is he won’t—he will soon come back on a SP ticket. Jail time is what people like him should get.
@Tapan: Thank you
@Swati: Power corrupts. And we want power precisely because of that.
@Surfryder: Flogging a S doll…what vivid imagery !
@Sayon: Completely honest politician. Now that’s in itself a very funny idea. I wish I could find one outside Bollywood fantasies.
@Sir Pyscho: Keeping it straight and yet “bum” around? Isnt there a contradiction there? 🙂
Yes it was sad what happened to Wilde. And even sadder what happened to Turing.
@Sam: Sons/daughters of filmstars face the market. Though they have the easy way in, they ultimately have to prove their worth. For every Abhishek Bachchan, there are 10 Puru Rajkumars. For businessmen it’s their baap ka business. Dhiribhai didnt create his business for you–he created it for Anil and Mukesh. There is no obligation for democracy in family-held businesses.
However it is different for politician’s sons. They are foisted on us, in defiance of the market. And remember, the government isnt Natwar’s baap ka property—however Reliance is exactly that for the Ambanis. My problem with politician’s sons is principally that they can get away with murder (literally), steal money and have a free run of the country’s resources. Which is a far more serious problem than Mithun-da launching Mimoh. IMHO.
@Amit: I dont think any politician’s son is sitting home. But that shouldn’t be an issue in calling Natwar’s corruption when it has been conclusively proved.
@Satyajit: Yes I have about a dozen filmi elves who do all my research.
@Hiren: We wish.
@Sudheer: type Natwar Singh in Google News.
@A.S: Well he’s with Amar Singh now. Who wouldn’t smile in that position?
@Himangshu: 🙂
@Rajeev: “Word of mouth”…mmm…
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Arnab da,
Yeh natwar shatwar chodo, and do a piece on prabhuji. It’s been a while
Quick [ still remember how i pestered my dad to take me to ‘dance dance’ ] Silver
@GB,
AHHHHH…therein lies the catch!!
Of course, it was my intended wordplay. Bumming around in the UK means simply hanging around without any plausible reason. I guess that’s what I was doin.
Great post tho…
“All of us are in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.”