Does a lion ever need a driving licence?

Among the many news items on Dr.Manmohan Singh in recent times, I found a couple of stories quite interesting.

One was about his visit to the RTO in Delhi to renew his driving licence. As required by the rules, he had to be present in person and he adhered to the procedure. In civil societies, compliance with rules even by the rulers, should be viewed as the default setting and should not be found worthy of special commendation, but in a country where politicians throw their weights around routinely, I found this act of the PM quite exemplary. At 76 years of age, he need not have taken the trouble at all to renew his licence, for, I can’t visualize any situation where he will not have a chauffer to drive him around, even if he were to step down or be removed from the PM’s post.

Second was the story that his wife keeps a tight watch over his diet, habits and exercise regimen. Once, after a quick meal, he tried to slip back to his office straight from the dining table. She stopped him and insisted that he should brush his teeth before he left. “Does a lion ever brush its teeth?” he is supposed to have shot back.

(I like that repartee. Must remember to use it sometime. “Get some bread on the way back from office” wife would tell me on the phone. “Does a lion ever buy bread?” I will reply and cut off the line.)

A third story which I heard, but which I refuse to believe, is the one that kept scrolling on the ticker-tape, the entire day after his surgery got over. According to this report, as he was recovering from anesthesia, his first words were, “When can I get back to work? I have so much more to contribute to public life.”. If after a bypass surgery that had him knocked out for several hours and when on ventilator support he had managed to say that, then he is no mere Manmohan Singh. He is Superman Mohan Singh.