Indira Gandhi's one-minute function

S Balakrishnan *

Probably it was the briefest public function ever attended by Smt. Indira Gandhi. It was so brief a function that it hardly lasted a minute! In fact, I would not believe in it myself but for the photographs that are fading slowly!

Yes, because it was 34 years ago … on 30 July 1983! As the then Prime Minister of the country, Smt. Indira Gandhi was on an official visit to Sikkim. It was during her earlier regime that Sikkim merged with India on 16 May 1975 after abolition of Chogyal's monarchy and became the 22nd State of the Indian Union.

Coming back to 1983, the event was to rename the existing Gangtok-Nathula Road as Jawaharlal Nehru Marg. Dot at 7.30 on that misty morning she sprightly alighted from the military jeep, pressed the button to unveil the name board, boarded the jeep and was gone! No ceremonial 'bhashan' (address) with the usual 'Mere Bhayiyo aur bahano' (My Brothers and Sisters). Hardly a minute and she was gone.

As they say, she came, saw & conquered (my heart). For a moment, though, she did not fail to gracefully pose for the official photographer who came late, rushing in. She would not miss a chance to please the print media, especially after realizing its power during the Emergency.

Wearing a light blue sari with black / dark blue border and a matching blouse, she was simple, smart and striking, with a streak of silvery hair. My first impression of her (and, unfortunately, also the last impression) was the best. I must admit, I was overwhelmed by her charismatic personality.

The daughter was the first passenger to proceed on the JN Marg renamed after her father, towards the Indo-Tibetan border area of Nathula ('Nathu' in Tibetan means 'hearing/listening ear, and 'la' means 'mountain pass'). Unlike now, Nathula was then a strict 'NO, NO' for civilians; no border trade, no tourism, and fully under the control of the army.

Now this is a bustling border trading post with China and a hot tourist spot. The venue of the event was Zero Point near the White Hall junction of four roads. The Sikkim Governor, Homi J.H. Taleyarkhan, and Border Roads Organisation's chief were present, but not the then Chief Minister of Sikkim, Mr. Nar Bahadur Bhandari. Though he had earlier merged his Sikkim Janata Parishad party with Congress (I), relations had by then soured, particularly with the Governor, who was alleged to be acting as the 'hand' of Congress I.

From Zero Point, my one-room accommodation at Thathangchen area was at one end and my office was at the other end. I was officially aware of her minute-to-minute programme. So I had started early that day from my room after hurriedly stuffing 2-minute noodle. Positioning myself at a vantage point, I was waiting with my camera to capture the PM of India. There was not much security paraphernalia as now, and I was able to capture her movement in the jeep from as close as just 2-3 feet! Can one now imagine such a close encounter between an ordinary civilian and the Prime Minister of the country!?

A few days after her trip, our office was asked by her office to send the complete transcript of her press conference which our office had officially arranged. I took up this interesting and challenging task; but I had to trudge several times the ups & downs road to the All India Radio station in the town.

Wearing a headphone, I noted down in shorthand the proceedings of the meeting from the audio-tape, came back to our office and neatly transcribed them all in English. Remember, there was no computer back then … so type and retype several times until it was perfect. After all, it was going to the PM Office! The media interaction was in a mixture of English, Hindi & Nepali and her reply was in English and Hindi.

Though I do not remember the exact content, she handled the questions in her usual flamboyant style – wriggling out of sensitive questions, joking, matter-of-fact answers, counter questions, and all that.

Just a year later, on 31 October 1984, as the rumours of her assassination trickled in through the BBC radio channel, it was so shocking to me. Having seen her in close quarters and listened to her booming voice repeatedly with a headphone on, I had, as anyone else would have, succumbed to her charisma. So the news was very disturbing.

The event was an ephemeral one and the negatives too are slowly fading, but the memory lingers on even after 34 long years! Being a short function, I could click only three snaps with my Electro 35 Yashica film roll camera as it did not have auto wind facility.

The renamed road, however, continues to be popularly known as Nathula Road as ever. We found out this when we visited Nathula in 2014. A practical and easy-to-remember name rather than the cumbersome and longish official name of Jawaharlal Nehru Marg!

Well, but it seems our politicians and their sycophants never learn any lesson from such gimmicks!