The Hindu : Humour to the fore

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 20, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Humour to the fore

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI June 19. The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's sense of humour came to the fore at the Anna University today, when he recalled a story narrated to him by a young inmate of the Sri Ramakrishna Home, Chennai.

Dr. Kalam came to the university after visiting the home. To pep up the audience, he prefaced his serious lecture on engineering education with the story, as narrated to him by a Standard X boy, Hari.

It seems that the God was upset that after millions of years after the Creation, human beings made a mess of the Earth. So, he wanted to clean up the place and sent for his two consultants. The first consultant `Angel' pleaded that the job could take a million years. But the second consultant `Bhooth' or the Ghost said he would do God's bidding.

To test the Ghost's capability, the Creator asked him to first count the stars in the sky and later the sands on the earth.

The Ghost answered both questions correctly. The God then gave the Ghost a third test: Go to India and count the number of political parties there.

"And the Ghost is yet to come back," inviting a thunderous clap.

When the President finished his lecture, a teacher innocently asked the way to stop the spawning of parties. Pat came the reply: "I will give you when the Ghost returns from his mission."

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