‘Yeh to so gaya”

Now that the Lokpal Bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha, will the Prime Minister sleep better? It seems he isn't getting enough and has even complained to close associates that he manages only about four hours a day, and that he is constantly tired.

Many would say that for someone who is almost 80 years old, that much should be enough. True, old people don't need much sleep.

But old prime ministers?

This brings up the old, old question of leaders' health. It was first posed by Lord Moran in his diaries published in 1966. He was Winston Churchill's doctor during the Second World War.

His diaries showed how disabled Churchill really was even as early as 1942, what with a mild stroke, a heart attack and near alcoholism.

The British conservative establishment was most offended and got up on its hinds to bray that this wasn't done old chap, what about doctor-patient confidentiality? Sacred, you know?

Much though it sniffed in high dudgeon, others were not to be put off. What about us, they asked? What if he had muffed it and we were all going around now saying HeilHitler ?

Public interest

Lord Moran's diaries made people aware of the need to keep an eye on their leader's blood pressure and what not. Leaders' health came to be regarded as a genuine item for public concern.

In the US, as always economy size, they even started keeping an eye on his libido. A wag explained it on a TV show. “As long as it's not us that it is directed at, that's ok.”

But such things are a problem only for young leaders. If the leader is old, it is things like exhaustion, energy and alertness that we have to worry about.

So on a scale of 1 to 5 for these three things alone, where would we put Prime Minister Manmohan Singh? Must we wait for him to actually fall ill before getting concerned?

Look at it another way: How good a job can a leader who is constantly tired do? One former prime minister, who liked to style himself as a humble farmer, slept when he could — even during the Army Chief's briefings.

Of course, you don't have to be like Ronald Reagan who apparently told journalists, “No matter what time it is, wake me up, even if it's in the middle of a cabinet meeting.”

Or Leonid Brezhnev who nodded off during a delegation-level meeting with Indira Gandhi, who turned around to the three officers sitting behind her and said “ Yeh to so gaya, kya karein .”

A nap in time...

Dr Singh's problem could be the opposite one because he is too polite to nod off during meetings and too conscientious to go off for a nap when he feels one coming on. Nor is he like Atal Bihari Vajpayee who worked mostly from home and could doze off when he felt like it.

The British and the Americans have got it sorted out because 10, Downing Street and the White House serve both as office and residence. It is easy to get a shuteye after lunch if you feel like one.

So, we have two options: One is to reduce the workload on Dr Singh; the other is to get someone younger as PM. The why answered, who? When?

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