Ulta Pulta
Flying high
Jaspal Bhatti

WHICH politician doesn’t want to fly high? Most of them want to remain in the air because on the ground, they have many enemies pulling their legs. All politicians take wings on public support. Once they are in the air, the public looks like tiny insects to them. Rajiv Pratap Rudy is the first MP who has got a commercial licence to fly the public along. Rudy says he always had a passion for flying. But it is still to be seen whether the public takes the announcements of a politician from the cockpit seriously.

Imagine if the politician-turned-captain announces, "We will be soon flying from Delhi to Mumbai." The passengers may think it to mean that the flight is going to Amritsar, that’s right in the opposite direction. If he says, "Food will be served during the flight," people will interpret, "We promise to serve you food during your return flight."

The passengers might get used to listening to some other funny announcements like: "There’s been a terrible snag in the engine and our engineers are trying to put the blame on the Congress party or Because of the sudden increase in the fuel prices we regret to inform you that air fares have been doubled in mid air. Those who won’t pay will be dropped near Jaipur through parachutes."

I asked my friend P. Khurrana, who is an astrologer and frequent flyer between Chandigarh and Mumbai, if he had any fears travelling in a plane being captained by a politician. He said, "My only fear is that he doesn’t stage a walkout in mid-air."

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