Interviewing a Famous Person at Their Residence — ICSE Essay

Getting an opportunity to interview a politician is not easy, especially if they happen to be a minister and a celebrity like Mrs Maneka Gandhi. The minister is better known for her single-minded crusade in upholding animal rights. Her untiring efforts led to various legislation in Parliament, which prohibited using animals in circuses, selling birds in cages, and killing of frogs and birds by students during dissection.

My dogged persistence however paid off, for one fine day her personal secretary rang up to inform that I could come for the interview with the minister on the 1st of March at 9 a.m. sharp. He cautioned me to be punctual, for the minister had a busy schedule. I felt apprehensive and a little nervous as the day approached. In the meantime, I meticulously prepared for the interview, carefully choosing questions on her life, mission, and passion.

On the appointed day I reached 10 Ashoka Road, the official residence of the minister. The white washed building was like any other government bungalow. The security guard after checking my credentials allowed me in. I walked up the driveway, adjacent to which was a medium-sized lawn, fenced with green hedges. The garden had a variety of flowers which were in full bloom. At the far end of the driveway was a white kennel, from which emerged a ferocious looking German shepherd, who heralded my presence with his incessant barking.

I was quickly ushered into a big drawing room by a butler wearing a coloured turban, atop his white uniform. The tastefully decorated room had huge oil paintings by renounced painters, depicting the pain and agony of animals. The wall-to-wall carpeted room had elegant sofas and chairs. On the showcase were big mementos and awards, received from national and international organisations knowledging her work.

I had barely settled down on a sofa, when Maneka Gandhi wearing a light pink saree walked in, greeting me with a namaste. She had a cheerful grin on her face as she sat next to me, enquiring about the purpose of my visit. My speech faltered as I somehow conveyed why I had come, sweating with nervousness. However, her informal style and charisma made me confident and I set about asking questions on her life and mission. Her reply to a personal question caught me off guard. “I don’t want to talk about myself. Let’s talk about People for Animals instead.” This she informed was the second stage of her campaign for animal rights. Here she would be seeking greater participation of the common man in ameliorating the lot of poor animals.

She seemed unhappy with the pace of implementation of some of the schemes, for which legislation had already been passed and felt that a lot more needs to be done. During the course of the interview, she informed me with an element of pride, that she had had started with five people and a capital of only ₹1000.00 only. This had now grown to 160 centres, having 2,50,000 people working in them for improving the lot of animals in the country. Besides this, she had also to her credit, the establishment of numerous hospitals and ambulance services for injured animals, in various parts of the country.

Concluding the interview she confessed, “There’s so much more to be done for animals, I have just made a beginning.” This humble remark, spoke volumes of her sincerity of purpose and missionary zeal. Her vision for the future was to have an animal hospital in each city of the country, inclusion of animal law as part of the school curriculum, and doing away with the slaughter of animals for exports.

On returning from the interview I could not help admire her achievements. She came across as a great visionary, having a clear objective and goal. Her concern for the poor mute animals are indeed noble and worth emulating. In a world where people are busy lining their pockets, she is busy lining the nests of our feathered and furry friends.