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Published Apr 09, 2025 | 8:36 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 09, 2025 | 8:36 PM
The ministers had a tough time sitting cross-legged and eating from the plate placed on the floor. (X)
On Srirama Navami, while Lord Rama might have been showered with silk robes and devotion, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy found himself facing a far more earthly challenge: Gravity.
In Bhadrachalam, where the chief minister had gone to present silk robes to Lord Rama and Sita on behalf of the state government, an impromptu photo-op with a Below Poverty Line (BPL) family of Booram Srinivas was planned at Sarapaka in Bugamphad mandal.
Joining him were Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, Endowments Minister K Surekha and Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao, all ready to break bread and possibly their backs.
The hosts were warm, welcoming, and they sat cross-legged on the floor with the ease of seasoned pros. But for the VIPs, more used to cushioned chairs and fine dining tables, this was nothing short of a spiritual trial.
As there were no tables in sight, they had to sit on the floor in what could only be described as the yoga pose — the dreaded lotus position. Revanth Reddy and Srinivasa Reddy attempted to comply, only to realise their joints in no mood to relent. After some heroic fumbling, they managed a compromise: knees up, backs stiff, and dignity slightly bruised.
Then came Round Two: The food. Made from the government’s pride and joy — sannabiyyam, the superfine rice — the meal sat on plates on the floor. Unfortunately, the plates seemed to be located somewhere in a parallel dimension, far beyond the reach of the ministers’ contorted limbs.
Attempting to bend forward, scoop the rice, mix it, and eat it was like watching a slow-motion slapstick comedy. After several failed attempts that could have qualified them for a circus audition, they gave up the noble floor-to-mouth route. With a collective “to heck with it,” they hoisted the plates up closer to their faces and ate like hungry hikers — rice prestige be damned.
Meanwhile, the host family continued their meal in blissful ease, wondering perhaps if they were hosting ministers or participants in a very weird yoga class.
Whether the ministers actually enjoyed the meal or were simply grateful to survive the acrobatics remains unclear. But after the ordeal, they stood up with the swagger of warriors who had conquered the unconquerable — a floor meal.
And with that, they walked away, heads high, knees cracking, possibly vowing to always carry folding stools in the future.
