A teacup in a storm

Let’s hope the tea summit doesn’t overshadow the real one

IT’S a ceremony that has been irrevocably associated with the progress of human civilisation — whether it is the genteel imbibing of tea and cucumber sandwiches so beloved of British gentry or the elaborate tea ceremony of the Japanese. We have it on the excellent authority of G.K. Chesterton that tea, ‘‘although an Oriental, is a gentleman at least’’. Quite. It is then unfortunate in the extreme that the high tea the Pakistan high commissioner is organising in Delhi for the visiting president, General Pervez Musharraf, on Saturday seems to be hitting such a low note. The kettle, in fact, has been on the boil ever since the guest list was made known and the Hurriyat, true to its nomenclature, was in a tearing hurry at making known to the world that it had received a special invitation from across the border to attend the event. Since seeing is believing, some Hurriyat leaders even felt impelled to flash the invitation letter on national television.

From this point on, things got a trifle complicated. The host, in this case, was after all ultimately a guest, so is it polite on the part of a guest to ride roughshod over the sentiments of the hosts and invite guests whom the hosts disapprove of? Phew, even Everyman’s guide to Everyday Etiquette would find it tough to crack that one. Well, some of the hosts who have also been invited as guests to the high commissioner’s high tea party, have now decided to boycott the party because its hosts have these undesirable guests. Others are just waiting for their invitations to arrive so they too can have the opportunity to firmly refuse to present themselves at the Pakistan high commissioner’s door for similar reasons. It was at this stage, Ram Vilas Paswan, hon’ble minister for telecommunications, went and spoilt the fun by making another fine point in this subcontinental discourse: is it right for a country that believes that the guest is god, devo bhava, and all that, to treat its guests-who-are-the-hosts so shabbily by not turning up at their do? More tea for thought, so pour yourself another cup... Meanwhile, even as his colleagues within the NDA were busy returning their invitations, or waiting impatiently for them so that they could be returned, Prime Minister Vajpayee has maintained a studious silence on the whole affair. He perhaps realises the destabilising effects of tea parties in general. Wasn’t it one such famous event which had brought two famous women together not so long ago and led to the downfall of his last government?

Some say this is a storm in a teacup, others that this is a teacup in a storm. But anyway you look at it, the shenanigans over Pakistan high commissioner’s high tea party just go to prove the subcontinental talent for making a hash of the smallest thing. It’s only to be hoped that this sideshow will not cast its shadow on the real show. Alas, at this juncture nobody can tell, apart from soothsayers and the readers of tea leaves, that is.