For once, Pawar talks candid...all about missus

For once, Pawar talks candid...all about missus
RESHMA PATIL

PUNE, MARCH 12: The mask dropped for just 60 minutes and a master politician's trade secrets tumbled out of the closet. From shopping for wife Pratibha's sarees, fixing his daughter's marriage within 15 minutes, diet tips to his search for a Mr Right to rule Maharashtra for the next 20 years, it was Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar, up close and personal.

``I am touching 60. My mission is to locate and guide men who can lead Maharashtra for the next 20 years. As for me, Delhi is the place to be,'' Pawar told a rapt audience in an open interview conducted by Sudhir Gadgil at Balgandharva Rang Mandir on Saturday.

Any conjecture in political circles, about a possible shift toward the BJP, by virtue of his heading the national disaster management committee, was dismissed as a ``100 per cent baseless rumour,'' by Pawar, who said he now keeps aside two days of the week to tour Bhuj and the quake-hit areas of Gujarat. ``If my Latur experience can help rehabilitation in Gujarat, it's in the national interest. I will offer my experience and services irrespective of party politics.''

On a lighter note, Pawar admitted that the ``trade secret'' behind his rural vote bank was an uncanny knack in recalling first names of every party worker to the common man who ever approached him on tour.

``Whether you work or not, as long as you remember your voters' names, and speak with a humanitarian approach, it is enough. Life will be much easier for politicians if they keep that contact with people and remember first-names.''

And the best time to visit your constituency or vote bank is festive-time. ``If you visit villages during Diwali, they'll never make demands but treat you like a guest, and your image goes up in their eyes, for you've made the sacrifice of leaving your family and home to tour during Diwali.''

More wise words from the politician who confessed the only reason he remembers Pratibha's birthday on December 12 (``she shops for my wardrobe and I shop for her sarees'') is because his birthday follows the next day. ``There's no way I can squirm out of remembering her birthday. But the trade secret is to make one morning telephone call at home when you're on tour, and once that is out of the way, you're free to do just as you please with your day.'' Applause, but of course.

On his quick wit on stage, Pawar said he devotes 15 days to a month before speaking on significant issues he may know little about. ``Otherwise, I plan my speech in the five to ten minutes thinking time I have enroute to functions, only if the chaps in the car stay quiet.''

No cuppa tea, one square meal a day, reading only the ``operative part'' of official files, is how he gets by with just three hours of sleep, Pawar claimed. ``I know it's tough to believe I can make do without two meals a day.''

He described his first brush with J R D Tata during the 48 hours that passed in Peru after an Air India flight made an emergency landing after a bird hit. ``For hours, JRD himself served tea and lunch, and made the 250 passengers his personal responsibility. That experience has influenced me for life.''

``Some people can demonstrate their insecurity and restlessness on their faces. They are fortunate. I cannot express my feelings, and I carry within me restless thoughts that can disturb me for hours to months or years.''

The tete-a-tete was organised by the Maharashtra Kamgar Kalyan Mandal.

THE NCP FIRST COUPLE

Pratibha (left) and Sharad Pawar (right) at an open interview at Balgandharva Rangmandir in Pune on Saturday. Newsline photo by Arul Horizon.