For the past several weeks I have been interacting with a BDA official for a story I am working on. I must add that he has been very patient with the number of phone calls I make to him during various times of the day and the few times I have met him. He has obligingly answered all my queries, shown me some documents and so on. As my story required to get a photograph of the model of the project, I continued hounding him to for this photo-op. His dilly-dallying continued for a couple of days. One fine morning he agreed and asked me to give him a call later that afternoon before I get to his office for the photograph. One of my editors and I finally heaved a sigh of relief, glad that we were making some headway. But I guess we heaved too soon, for the afternoon phone call almost made me fall off my chair. Here’s an excerpt from that fateful phone call.
Me: Hello sir, namaskara
BDA official: heli madam, namaskara
Me: Sir, heega barabahuda, aa model photo thagolakke
BDA official: Madam, adu yenu aayithu andre, somebody kept something heavy on it and it broke madam, yaaru madidru gothilla, sorry madam
Me: (gulp)
BDA official: nimage bekagiddare, I’ll get one more made madam, adu yenu problem illa
Me: (gulp again)
I was flabbergasted. A BDA official declaring that the model of a public project was now in pieces. It was that simple. A classic case of the infamous ‘dog ate my homework, miss’.
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Oh, what responsible, accountable behaviour!