Page 132 - Half Girlfriend

‘Hmm... Mr Ojha.You were saying?' my mother said,

‘Well, this Gates is coming to India, To Bihar, in fact.'
‘Has he gone mad? He makes so much money so he can come visit
Bihar?' she said.

Ojha laughed. 'I don’t know much, Rani Sahiba. He has some

NGO.They are bringing him here,'
‘Why?’

‘Maybe he will see the interiors of Bihar and feel richer.’
My mother and Ojha laughed. Ojha left the room and came back

with a letter. He handed it to me. The letter had come from the state
ministry of rural welfare: To all MLAs/District Collectors/DCPs, The

state ministry of rural welfare is pleased to inform that eminent
entrepreneur and philanthropist Mr Bill Gates will be visiting Bihar

along with delegates from the Gates Foundation from 15 April to 22
April 2009. The state government would like to extend its support to

his team. In that regard, request your good offices to provide all

cooperation as needed. Suggestions for places Mr Gates could visit
or any events he could grace as chief guest on his week-long trip to
Bihar are welcome and encouraged.

Please contact the relevant officials in the rural welfare ministry

with any queries or suggestions.
Signed,

Bhanwar Lai
Minister for Rural Welfare State Government of Bihar

The other side of the page carried the Hindi translation of the same
letter.

‘So how can we help you?’ my mother said, after reading it herself.
‘Rani Sahiba, if Bill Gates comes here, my constituency will be in the

news. Will be good for Dumraon.’
‘You will get press coverage. The minister will give you a pat on

the back. Say that, Ojha ji,’ my mother said.
He couldn’t suppress a smile,

‘Well, that too,’ he said.‘But ultimately it is good for our town.’