Rail Budget: Dinesh Trivedi leans on poetry to liven up speech

NEW DELHI: For somebody presenting his maiden budget, railway minister Dinesh Trivedi grabbed the opportunity to impress lawmakers with Hindi couplets and drive home his point about the state and importance of one of the world’s largest rail networks.
Trivedi was following a tradition of railway and finance ministers who have used poetry and couplets in their speech to make their point.
Businessman-turned politician Trivedi used eight couplets during his speech and drew some applause from lawmakers but some termed his effort pedestrian.
He began by praising “the Rail Parivar”. “Ab tak ki kaamyabi, tumhare naam karta hoon, harek ki lagan ko, jhuk kar salaam karta hoon (I dedicate the success to all of you and salute the dedication of each one of you).”
While elaborating on the issue of strengthening safety, he said deaths on rail tracks could never be tolerated and was not acceptable. “Jaan hai to jahan hai (there is a world if there is life).”
Speaking about the need for huge resources to run the railways, Trivedi said he had opted for generational change with a focus on safety and inclusive growth to meet the aspirations of the country in the next decade. “Haath ki lakir se zindagi nahi banti, aaj hamara bhi kuch hissa hai zindagi banana mein (mere lines of the hand don’t make life what it is, I too have a role in shaping destiny).”
He ended his speech with a couplet, “Rail gadi ki chuk chuk mein hi aam aadmi ki dhak dhak hai, rail gadi ki barakkat mein hi desh ki barakkat hai. Rail gadi ko kuch dular ki zaroorat hai, thodi rahat, thodi chahat, thodey pyar ki zaroorat hai. (The clickety-clak of the railways is the heartbeat of the common man, progress of the railways is the progress of the nation. The train needs a bit of care and a bit of love and a bit of your adulation).
Full Coverage on Budget 2012: Budget 2012 » Rail Budget 2012 » Pre Budget 2012 » Budget News 2012