When Rajiv Gandhi asked Haryana CM Bhajan Lal “Are jalebis round in Haryana?”
Gustakhi Maaf Haryana- Pawan Kumar Bansal
Extracts from my soon coming book “WIT AND HUMOUR OF POLITICIANS AND PEOPLE OF HARYANA “
This incident dates back to the time when Bhajan Lal was the Chief Minister of Haryana and Rajiv Gandhi was visiting Sirsa. During their conversation, Bhajan Lal highly praised the famous jalebis of Sirsa.
He instructed the then Deputy Commissioner of Sirsa, I.D. Swami, to ensure that jalebis were placed aboard Rajiv Gandhi’s aircraft before departure. The Deputy Commissioner passed the responsibility to the SDM, who in turn handed it over to the Tehsildar — as often happens in bureaucratic chains. Unfortunately, the Tehsildar forgot about it altogether.
When it was finally time for Rajiv Gandhi to leave, panic set in. Authentic jalebis required fermentation and a special preparation process, which took time. In the rush to make arrangements, laddoos were hastily placed in the aircraft instead of jalebis.
A few days later, when Rajiv Gandhi met Bhajan Lal again, he smilingly asked,
“Are jalebis round in Haryana?”
At first, Bhajan Lal did not understand the remark. But after returning to Haryana and inquiring about the matter, the whole episode became clear to him. He was quite furious, though eventually the matter was settled quietly.Tailpiece.Apart from Sirsa Jalebis of Lala Maturam of Gohana are very delicious and famous.”“