It takes a fortune to keep Gandhi poor, quipped Sarojani Naidu.
Something of the sort at the federal cabinet and secretariat as well! As per the directives of the interim prime minister, with effect from the 15th of May, there was to be no use of ACs at the apex government offices, including his. In fact, the cabinet and secretaries were even prescribed the sort of clothes they should wear. Ditch those stuffy suits for half-sleeve shirts. Or how about shalwar kameez with waistcoats? Even prescribed the sort of colours they should wear (God, they’re thorough).
As a result of this, pedestal fans are short in the market. Many of the buildings, like the PM secretariat, have been designed in a silly, energy inefficient manner, meaning there is no way for the central air-conditioning system not to be on. The place is a confounded inferno otherwise. The result: full blast AC in the corridors but hot and oppressive in the meeting rooms. Go figure.
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Many mandarins want a pleasant AfterNoon. With the League’s victory at the polls, the legion of technocrats, the ones who had wanted an audience with Imran Khan, are now all making a queue at Raiwind to be adjusted in this department or that. Not taking names here but they’re pretty interesting.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
