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Archiver > INDIA > 2003-07 > 1057146530


From: "Philippe" <>
Subject: [India-L] Peon - reply
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2003 15:48:50 +0400


In Mauritius, there are still "peons" employed, and still called that (in
French), and they remind me of ex-PFC Wintergreen in "Catch-22" as people in
minor positions who exert control and influence way beyond their lowly
status, as Molly infers here.

Philippe

-----Original Message-----
From: Molly Hamilton [mailto:]
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2003 2:29 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [India-L] Peon - reply


Hello Harshawardhan

Those wonderful "Peons" how I missed them when I went to the UK. No bell on
my desk to ring to get my odd jobs done. There was very little that passed
their attention. The peon in the filing department knew exactly where every
file was. I never ever had to file a letter, just threw it into my basket
and away it went and to the right file too. No one to get you a cup of tea
or to tell you where your boss was when he wasn't in his office, or to send
out if you fancied something special to eat. My peon used to trudge all the
way up Chowringhee to get me a dosi from the Madrasi Restaurant for lunch,
or some fresh and tasty pokaras from the Kwality Restaurant on Park Street.
And when we were summoned to the Managing Director's office by his peon -
you shivered in your boots thinking what you could have done wrong - and it
was always for some other reason. They were worth their weight in gold.

Molly Hamilton


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