ULTAPULTA
Raag sarkari
Jaspal Bhatti

What is raag sarkari? Even the greatest of musicians might not have heard of this term, unless they have worked in a government department. Unlike raag darbari that is performed late in the night, raag sarkari is usually played between 9 am and 5 pm on any working day. There is no fixed time to perform raag sarkari as it depends on the availability of sarkari officers.

The purpose of raag sarkari is to please your boss and get your work done. Raag chaplusi, raag chamchagiri, raag jihuzoori are its different forms. When raag sarkari is played with full sincerity in the office of any minister, bureaucrat or a police officer, he is so moved that he becomes blind to hard realities. Under the spell of this raag sarkari, the subordinates get their files cleared from their bosses.

The keynotes of this raag are Yes sir, hukum sir, behtar janaab, theek hai janab and so on. Any government employee who has no knowledge of these 'surs' is considered incompetent.

Last week, sitting by the bonfire during the Lohri, a senior citizen Mr B. L. Pande recited a couplet on the situation when a cuckoo went to the All-India Radio for an audition test and asked what she should sing —

The cuckoo was rejected as she had no knowledge of raag sarkari.

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