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Amazing tales of Lalu Prasad Yadav

Shahnoor Wahid

Lalu Prasad Yadav, the legendary politician and Railways minister of India continues to evoke awe and laughter amongst Lalu watchers in the world. It would not be an overstatement if we say that he has knowingly “personified” all that is controversial in Indian politics. He is constantly in the news, media programmes, talk-shows, cartoons, TV comic shows and what not! Shekhar Suman, the actor turned anchor of Bombay, actually gave him a big boost by imitating him to near perfection in his television programme 'Shekhars and Movers'.

Later, Lalu and his entire family including his “legendary” wife Ravri Devi was invited on the set of a programme that used to be anchored by Farukh Sheikh. There we saw Laluji's smart daughters, some wearing jeans and some in salwar kameez, giving answers to Farukh Sheikh's queries with absolute ease. Laluji also talked about his passion for rural lifestyle, raising cows and growing corn without any pretension. Even he had an amusing answer for his unique hairstyle!

Well, that was years ago. After "Shekhars and Movers" ended everyone thought Lalu Prasad Yadav was lost, both politically and socially. But Laluji was not to burn out so easy. He came back with all the fury and ferocity of a true politician by achieving something big. He knew he had to do so to elbow his way to the front on the dais. And that he did with the phenomenal success in making the Indian Railways a profitable concern in 2006-2007 fiscal. The mind-boggling profit (Rs. 2000 crore) shot his fame to dizzy heights and shocked his talkative opponents to silence.

Since then the name Lalu cast its magic spell on everything and everyone. Anything branded “Lalu” sells like hotcakes in India! Believe it or not, people in Bihar are queuing up to buy mango named Lalu. Before that traders made windfall profit by selling chocolates, incense, dolls, chewing tobacco and other products simply by naming them “Lalu”.

But here is the latest about him. It is the romantic Lalu that dwells beneath the white shirt and dhoti. Everyone admires Laluji. Do you know the person he has been admiring for many decades now? It is none other than Bollywood actress Hema Malini, popularly known as “Dream Girl”! Yes, you heard right, Hema Malini. Well, admiring someone in secret is one thing but expressing the desire to co-act with her in a film is something different, isn't it? Well, Laluji keeps no secret inside him. He is known for his straight talks. So, to the press he said he would enjoy playing a role in a film with Hemaji. Hema Malini, however, did not show any interest in reciprocating his dream.

Here are some facts about Laluji
He first started the use of khadi in railways. He decided that all seat covers will be from khadi. Our honorable Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi will bless him from heaven! He was also a supporter of khadi. This original idea will lead to the expansion of the industry quite a lot which was so far neglected. If someone thinks in this way, even one day the jute industry will also grow. West Bengal chief minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharya thinks for the development of jute.

The ATM near major railway stations is his recent idea. This is quite a great idea as the passengers can avoid now the risk of carrying large sums of money in cash. They can now use the ATMs which will be started shortly. The ATMs will also help the railways very much as passengers will be never short of cash.”

(Source: Internet)