?Power corrupts absolutely, and we all agree that this is a fact like death and taxes, as well as know about it, which is what we expect from our rulers, but why do they then write power-break on the back of their cars?, asked Boss of himself, as we maintained our speed-limit before we reached the point where we would soon in any case sit going nowhere in a traffic jam caused by the Entry Tax booth on NH-8 from Gurgaon to Delhi.
I used to wonder what power-break was, whenever the white Ambassadors would land up to pick up their take-away orders, and why it was somehow connected with the fact that instead of getting a tip we often gave a tip to the driver who came over to pick up the food. And what a tip! Sometimes we would end up feeding, for free, what looked like their whole village. ?Power brake is all about inertia levels in governance?, is what Boss told me, ?now just give that fat boy some more special ghee and notch the bill for the take-away up by another 20%.?
?Oh, I see?, thought I to myself, ?and I thought it was something to do with the BCCI chief sitting with different people during a 20/20 cricket match?.
Then one day I went in a special security cleared minibus to do a special delivery at the special Big Round House on the North of Raisina Hill. Because they are very upset about Headless Chickens there lately, Ronen Sen of Umrika has had to fly back, First Class on Air India no doubt, to talk about me. That?s when I saw a whole range of this power brake, power break, power broker and even pawar break- though the last was on an NDTV OB van otherwise used to cover cricket matches, it seems.
There I saw a lot of people hanging around in the sun, mainly like power broker sorts, since it was winter, and that is when it dawned on me. This is a ?power break?. Though in the summers they broker their power and take their power breaks in the airconditioned hall. But regardless, it means they do nothing most of the time.
OK, so now I know. What it means is that power brakes. Absolutely. It puts a brake on anything it comes in contact with unless there is a broker. Power corrupts is now pass?. Besides, ?power corrupts? somehow doesn?t look so good on the back of a white Ambassador, does it? And a broker will not ride an Ambassador, even if he is from New York, and the worst thing he did was to refer to Headless Chickens.