It was another of those Saturday evening dinner parties of HMMCs (for the uninitiated, this means Happily Married Metro Couples). There was moderate booze, a lot of food, snacks for kids and talk about the ‘bad week’ everyone seemed to have had.

The conversation started with a ‘hot PA the MNC husband had recently hired’ and then veered to the economic meltdown “Things are bad, really bad,” said the govt servant. The MNC wife protested, but mildly, “It’s worse for those working in the private sector. We might lose our jobs.” The govt servant assured, “Only trainees are being chucked. And anyway, not all companies are Jet.”

Light banter continued. Then, as the alcohol kicked in, civility dropped, the fangs were bared.

The MNC wife was cribbing about how the price of her posh Gurgaon flat had dropped and her net asset value had taken a beating. “This is not an economic turmoil. This is divine vengeance. The absurd, astronomical salaries you guys draw should be checked!” blurted the govt servant and all hell broke loose. “We slog for the money we earn. You get it without even lifting a finger,” shot back the MNC husband. “We earn our money. You get it served on a golden platter and then have to be molly-cuddled to savour it,” his wife added. “But I work as hard as you do,” the honest man protested. But the final MNC word was, “All govt servants are corrupt!” “You are wrong and the proof is in DMRC. Never has a govt organization been so honest and punctual about its work,” the govt couple screamed in unison. The others could only agree in silence, thankful for this one speck of silver in the cumulous cloud of babudom corruption.

That was Saturday night, just a few hours before the Metro bridge collapsed and headlines about “The Corrupt DMRC” surfaced.