Smile, Politicians and Sarkari Babus

Most people have happy feelings about smiles, care to return smiles even from strangers and will feel bad if their smiles are not returned. However there are certain sections in our society who are outliers to the general feeling associated with smiles. Let me introduce two such sections. The following sentences are strictly from my experiences and are based on people I knew/know.

One of the most abused facial expressions from the time of declaring an election, be it to the local bodies or to the parliament, is smile. The versatality in the candidate's smile, which could range from a minor tweaking of the lips to an obnoxious expression where the corners of the lips touch the ears, and the vigour with which they sustain the stretching of the facial muscles leaves one thinking whether they are participating in a competition and waiting for the MC to announce "and the first prize for the best smile goes to.." Perhaps the teeth parading at such massive scale could explain the existence, if any,of short term spikes in the sale of tooth pastes, brushes and teeth whiteners after the declaration of an election. Even better the political parties and members in the 'we take care of your smile' industry could think of reaping benefits from possible synergies out of though short term but certainly symbiotic association.

The voters of the great Indian democracy, who for most of the time are forced to choose one among the equally deplorable and completely clueless aspirants to lead our billion member polity, stay wonder struck when a group of fellow homosapiens approach them hailing some name at the top of their lungs and squelching some others with vocabulary alien to the dictionary all in an attempt beg for the mandate to rule them. (It is a bit ironic that the mandate to rule is begged for!) The happy victims of this obsessive compulsive smiling disorder usually clad themselves in white clothes and move about in a pack of fifty or more chanting nonsense.

Now seriosly.. whats with these people?

Are they trying to tell us that the smile is their constant expression? Can you remember the last time you saw a politician or the member of a political party smiling at you other than the time when they put on the robe of a vote beggar? It gives me the impression that politicians are a rare breed of Indians capable of smiling only once in five years continuously for about a month on end, unless there arise an interim need for conducting the 'painting the index finger exercise' in their constituency. Ofcourse on a day today basis we see these guys jeering and grinning at the Indian polity through their dumb to the core and incorrigibly insensitive behaviour that ridicules the ones elected them.

Sarkari Babus are another section in our society whose attitude towards smile needs special mention. It is very unlikely that any one in a Government office will smile at you when you enter the office premises, unless you have already done business with them to their satisfaction, immediately giving you the feeling that you have landed in hostile territory. This is despite the fact (and I emphasize the word fact) that the monthly household bills of Government servants are funded by our tax rupees.

The nature and quality of smile received by the common man who visits a Government office varies. The initial smile from the common man to the officer goes totally unnoticed as the officer would not even acknowledge the existence of such a person near him, leaving the applicant think that he has a better chance of winning a million dollar lottery than getting a smile in return. The second smile offered by the applicant, after receiving the much awaited glance from the officer, is usually returned with a derisory glance along with a short, powerful and ready made explanation as to why a trip to the moon is easier than attending the submitted request. The facial expression together with the verbal exercise acts as a smile wiper for the applicant and this triggers a series of patronizing gestures from the officer including a smirk which gives the applicant the confidence to smile again. Having communicated the idea that ' I can make or wipe your smile' the officer together with some other cronies will now use their vocal cords to mimic hyenas that found a carcuss and gleefully declare their committment to get the job done for the applicant at 'any cost'. Whether the officer will smile again will depend on the voltage in the smile of the applicant after he is told about the inevitable costs associated with operationalising the request.

Politicians and Sarkari Babus are necessary evils in our system capable of exerting considerable influence in the lives of common men. It is time that full time politicians and Sarkari Babus who form less than 1.5 percent of the Indian population consider the popular request to stop smiling for business and start smiling for a reason. And I believe that about 1.2billion smiling faces in India or roughly about 17 percent of the total smiles on planet earth is a good enough reason.

NB: I wish to acknowledge that I have also come across good politicians and bureaucrats and seek their forgiveness if I have hurt their feelings.