And while there’s a furore in India, an uproar in Parliament, and a roar from the media over the frisking of former President Abdul Kalam, what did he do? Without hesitation, the most-loved president India’s ever had, took off his shoes, raised his hands and allowed security to do a body search on him before he boarded the flight.

Oh I do agree we have to get an apology from those security fellows, have the airline’s say sorry and ask our aviation minister to make amends. I do agree that protocol was broken and that a showcause notice be served as it is being done, but what I won’t agree was that it was a humiliating experience for this great man.

It wasn’t, for the simple reason, that he had no ego to be humiliated. It is we with inflated egos who walk into a room and choose the biggest chair, sit at the head of the table and walk onto the podium. The secure do not need the biggest chair, don’t need to sit at the head and will sit and mingle with the audience and not move straight for the podium. But how many of us have such humility?

A rather pompous landowner met a local farmer one morning and said to him, “Why Brown you’re getting quite bent. Why don’t you stand up straight like me?”

In reply Farmer Brown said, “Do you see yon field of corn?” And when the other nodded, went on, “Well you’ll notice sire that the full heads hang down and the empty ones stand up!” We have such ’empty’ ones in this country of ours: Leaders who sit on chairs a couple of times bigger than themselves, if only they would see how ridiculous they look in them. Sportsmen who need starlets draped on their arms.

Businessmen with palatial houses they hardly live in and fast cars they don’t know to drive. Film stars whose lifestyles are all about jumping in and out of different couches while their real confidence giving wife waits at home.

Chairs, couches, cars, castles and chicks to fill empty heads.

My suggestion to these ’empty heads’ is, that if they want to know how important they are, dip their finger in a bowl of water, then take it out and have a look at the hole!

Ex-Prez Kalam, in taking off his shoes without protest or fuss, joins the greats of all time, leaders who did not find it demeaning to wash their followers feet, who did not find it humiliating to serve their men, who did not find it below themselves to be treated like others around.

And while there is a furore in India, an uproar in Parliament and a roar from the media, let us as a people learn and imitate this act of humility!