Here are classified tales from a foreign trip

NEW DELHI, JUNE 30: By now most of us should be familiar with the ringside view of Home Minister L K Advani's recently concluded trip to E...

NEW DELHI, JUNE 30: By now most of us should be familiar with the ringside view of Home Minister L K Advani’s recently concluded trip to Europe. But that insiders in the North Block will tell you didn’t make up for one quarter of the fun he and the high-profile crowd accompanying him to Israel, France and UK had along the way.

For instance, the sight of Advani applying black mud all over his arms and legs freshly procured from the nearby Dead Sea in Israel would have been a news-photographer’s delight. Only, nobody was there to capture it for posterity. A number of Home Ministry officials took the mandatory dip into the sea, known for its healing powers, but Advani for once said no to stepping into the unknown waters. But of course, he could not resist applying the black mud generously on his body.

In France, Advani and company made news for totally apolitical reasons. Covering Paris to Lyons in the TGV (French equivalent of the famed Bullet Train of Japan) is a vegetarian’s nightmare: Meat alone is served on the train. But as things turned out that morning, not one but three staunch vegetarians boarded the train, each carrying a VIP tag Advani himself, Home Secretary Kamal Pandey and CBI director R K Raghavan.

To make things easier for the trio, the Indian Ambassador in France had made arrangements for three packed shakahari food packets. But unknown to them, the train crew too had procured similar vegetarian food. The next day the news was all over French television: For the first time TGV had bent its rigid rules to make 100 per cent vegetarian food available for India’s Home Minister! The Indian group certainly was pleased and disembarked well-fed.

Jumping red lights on the mean streets of Delhi is child’s play, and the offence can be undone in seconds with the flip of a wallet. Not so in France: Kamal Pandey and R K Raghavan learnt it the hard way.

The incident occurred when Advani’s convoy was rushing to Paris railway station to catch the TGV to Lyons. Everybody reached the platform in time but there was no sign of Pandey and Raghavan. Their’s was the last car of the convoy and it disappeared abruptly.

Somebody who was with Advani recalled with a devilish grin: “Their car was stopped by the traffic policemen. Apparently the driver had crossed lanes or the red light, we didn’t exactly know what. Now, the cops just would not listen to the occupants who were now on the verge of panic. The train would be leaving off in minutes and Advani was already at the platform, his eyes glued to the watch. Raghavan kept on pleading that they were senior Indian officials and had to catch TGV to reach Interpol in time. But to no avail. The long hand of law in France was also known for its strength, the Indian duo was told rather plainly.”

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Help came at the last minute when one of Advani’s PSO a French cop contacted his traffic counterparts, requesting them to free the car. Pandey and Raghavan finally made it to the railway station and joined Advani, though in the nick of time.