The Hindu Business Line : Entertainment in Laloo land

The venue is No. 1, Anne Marg in Patna, the official residence of Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi but it is better known as "Lalooji's home." RJD President Laloo Yadav is scheduled to file his nomination papers from Chapra, one of the two constituencies from where he is contesting the Lok Sabha polls - the next day and so the opportunity for an interview has to be grabbed soon after one lands in the city.

At the gate, the Security Officer, Avinash Singh Yadav, is at first a little brusque, "I have no orders about your interview, so please wait here." As he waits for his `orders,' one is seated in the waiting room near the gate. The curtains are barely there and they haven't been washed for years, and at a stage where any attempt to even remove them for a wash would be a disaster.

Seated in the room are two aspirants for RJD tickets for the elections. Jaikishen Yadav is one of them. The moment you strike a dialogue with him, he breaks into an election speech, "Lalooji is the messiah of the poor and king of social justice. He will become the Prime Minister of India."

But what about Sonia Gandhi? A little surprised, the man says, "Oh yes, but if she doesn't get an opportunity then surely it will be Lalooji... "

To get him away from the subject one asks about Rabri Devi. "She is the daughter of the poor who has now become the Rajmata of Bihar... " His speech is interrupted by a fat lizard falling on his right shoulder from one of the tattered curtains.

As he runs out of the room, another hanger on, Lori Prasad Yadav, advises him to sprinkle a little water to negate the bad luck, and then takes over the task of singing the Laloo mantra.

Describing himself as "Lalooji's Hanuman," his response to my puzzled look is as follows: "That means I am his ambassador and attend each and every one of his rallies. He is like a brother to me."

The fourth occupant of the room is a gentle, soft-spoken Tulsi Das Mehta, who introduces himself as a minister in Bihar for two terms from 1990 to 2000. "I lost my berth after losing the last Assembly elections, and am waiting here to request Lalooji to give a ticket to my son Alok Kumar Mehta."

Returning to the room, Jaikishen Yadav, reverses the role and starts asking questions. He wants to know how long I've been a journalist. That answered, pat comes the next query, "So what's your salary?" One is prepared for anything in Bihar, but even then this is a little too fast. As one tells him about how journalists are paid according to their experience, Laloo's `Hanuman' butts in, "Presswalo ko tau logo sey bhi paisa milta hei. (Journalists make money from the people too.)" This time one is a little prepared and counters it with: "Could be true... . but not as much as politicians do."

As the "orders" are still awaited and as the sun sets, the mosquitoes have taken over. As one tries to dodge them and ask Avinash Singh on how they tolerate this menace every evening, the reply is quick, "We are government servants and hence have to tolerate everything." As he starts describing the law and order situation in Bihar as "first class," the "orders" are received and one is summoned inside the house where a relaxed and confident Laloo fields questions on his party's prospects in the elections.

As he describes how he turned vegetarian 18 months ago after being directed to do so by Lord Shiva appearing in a dream and talks about his diet, all of us a sudden he springs up and says, "But you must see my 300 cows and two horses." He gives this correspondent nearly a 30-minute conducted tour of his sprawling home.

Lovingly patting the cows and the buffaloes he says proudly, "They give me five quintals of milk a day."