With all the skirmishes going on between the governors of the different states, especially those ruled by the opposition and the elected representatives, it wasn’t too much of a surprise when one of them received a call, late at night. “Hello!” said the Governor, weary with a battle he had fought during the day with the chief minister, “Who is this?”

“The Queen!” said a voice with a British accent.

“The late queen? But you are dead, your majesty!”

“As dead as you are alive your excellency!”

“What do you mean by that?” asked the governor gruffly, “I’m not dead!”

“You are supposed to play dead Mr Governor, like I did for more than seventy years!”

“How can I play dead, when these rascals are in the House, led by their chief minister…”

“Who have been elected by the people!” said the Queen gently, “Whereas you are not!”

“But I have been appointed by the…”

“It doesn’t matter who appointed you,” said the gentle voice of the last great monarch of England, “I was appointed by something as obsolete as being the daughter of the last king. You, for no other reason than being a favourite of the present regime. Nothing more, nothing less!”

“When you put it like that,” whispered the governor, “It seems I am a dead person!”

“As dead as I was!” sighed the late Queen, “and yet I gave life to the monarchy!”

“How?” asked the governor quickly.

“By going by the rules of the game and adding dignity to it!” said the Queen. “For one, I never tried to argue with the verdict of the people, even when they threw me some prime ministers I didn’t like! My official duty was to help whoever they threw into No 10, with courtesy and grace!”

“You had good people, your majesty, whereas I…”

“Hmmpph!” said her majesty with a royal sniff, “You should have seen the last few they sent over. I wanted to call for the royal barber when I saw that strange fellow who partied when my poor Philip passed away, and the present one who got in more for her white skin than for her grey matter!”

“So, you could have refused to have had them!” said the governor.

“My job,” said the late Queen slowly,” and yours too Mr Governor, is to ride in our royal carriages, smile, wave to the people, cuddle babies, but abide by what the people say when they elect their representatives. Nothing more, nothing less!”

The Governor looked out from his Raj Bhavan which was once the home of a British governor, and wished his Boss had told him his duties, when he’d been appointed. He hated late night visitors, especially when they were royal ghosts..!

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