The fortnight before had been hectic. It began with an emphatic rally at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and moved on to quiz shows in Singapore and Doha. Then, I bought my ticket to New York for the United Nations General Assembly session – being one of two parliamentary representatives from India who would be at the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly. My colleague was Ananth Kumar of the BJP. We succeeded L.K. Advani (BJP) and Dharmendra Yadav (Samajwadi Party).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a young boy, I often dreamt of playing for India – at cricket but more at football. Of course, that remained a boyhood fantasy. I simply wasn\u2019t good enough. As such, it is more than a little humbling to contemplate I would be batting for India over the coming fortnight, in the parliament of nations, the UN – and would be reading statements on behalf of our country. I have represented my party and my state at political and legislative forums. It was my privilege that I had been allowed to make the leap to representing our country. These are not empty words. For an ordinary middle-class boy from Calcutta, this was a huge, huge honour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an MP, I’ve interacted with civil servants very often and very closely. The UN visit was my first extended interface with our foreign service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we drove to the airport, I was contemplative. I’d visited the city many times but this trip had been different. The UN was such a transformational experience; it opened so many windows in my mind. After checking in at JFK airport, I sent chief minister Mamata Banerjee – or Mamata Di as I\u2019ve always called her – a text message: “Dear Mamata i… I’ve been on many stages and in many studios. Thank you for giving me the biggest stage of my life.” The reply was instant: “Okay. Phire esho (Come back).”<\/p>\n\n\n
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