So far we only knew of grade-22 as the highest in bureaucracy until we learned there were other grades like MP-1, MP-2 and MP-3, in which the fat cats of the Planning Commission basked. Did you know the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission and his members each year take home Rs 5.4 million per head? They outshine the 22-graders by a vast margin. And who essentially are these gents? Well, most of them are former 22-graders themselves. Obviously, they are not without connections at the right places, which is what matters in the land of the impoverished. When you suddenly find someone elevated to a position he did not deserve, you obviously ask for his hadood-e-arba (connections), the term commonly used for it. You soon realise he is 'so & so' related to one or the other Mr Big to grab such a cushy job. Some of them are unsurpassed fawners, a great quality by itself, while others are merely the sidekicks of the inner circle. That is why at a time when their wives should have been nagging them or they should have been playing with their grandchildren, they were picked to 'serve' the nation. I once found an interesting plaque on one of the graves: Here rests Mr Indispensable who retired in grade-22 but died in office in grade MP-1. -DR A.P. SANGDIL, Oslo, Norway, via e-mail, April 16.