Freshers get the jitters

For debutants in the 14th Lok Sabha, it was like the first day in a strange new classroom. And not surprisingly, most of the first-time MPs ...

For debutants in the 14th Lok Sabha, it was like the first day in a strange new classroom. And not surprisingly, most of the first-time MPs found solace next to each other. Rahul Gandhi, sitting two rows behind his mother, was the only exception. He sat in silence, playing with his fingers, looking around, even glancing at the press gallery on occasion – but not striking a conversation with anyone.

The rest of the babalog stuck close together. In the back rows of the third block of treasury benches sat Jitin Prasad, Milind Deora, Sachin Pilot, and Naveen Jindal – whispering to each other now and then, but mostly looking overwhelmed by the occasion.

Bollywood bonding

Most of the Bollywood stars in the House also settled down together. Dharmendra, dressed soberly in a white shirt and blue trousers, and looking distinctly more naram than garam seemed a little forlorn — till a sparkling Jayaprada decided to leave her Samajwadi Party compatriots and provide him with company. For the next hour, they chatted continuously and were joined for a while by another Bollywood ace — Vinod Khanna.

United colours of India

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In keeping with the premiere theme, it was a riot of colours in the House. While the majority of MPs stuck to regulation white, there were bright splashes on both sides of the House — the five Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) members sporting bright pink angavastrams, the Telugu Desam Party offering competition with bright yellow, and BJP members sporting saffron turbans and scarves.

But the award for the most colourfully dressed MP went to RJD minister MA Fatimi — thanks to his magenta fez cap, complete with a pink plume and large green and gold brooch pinned onto it. In fact, Sonia Gandhi was seen enquiring about the cap, first to Laloo Prasad Yadav and then Fatimi himself. According to a journalist from Bihar, the cap is known as the paag and worn by bridegrooms in the Mithila region. Fatimi may have struck a comic figure, but the atmosphere in the House was wedding-like alright, with perhaps far too many baratis.

The tongue twisters

As if the multi-hued ambience was not enough, members were treated to a whole repertoire of languages. Tamil Nadu MPs, including Chidambaram and Mani Shankar Aiyar, took the oath in Tamil, the ‘new classical’ language, while V.K. Malhotra and many of his BJP brethren went ahead with the original classical tongue, Sanskrit.

Several members chose their mother tongues — Gujarati, Assamese, Dogri, Sikkimese, Santhali, Bodo, Urdu and Telugu. Some preferred English, though Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee managed to make even that sound quite like Bengali.

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