A dream come true!

Who would award a jobless security worker for sleeping?

It happened in Spain! And the one to take the sleeping bull by the horns was a security worker, who according to the judges ranked best in:

1. The speed with which he fell asleep
2. The high decibels with which he snored
3. Following originality in sleeping posture
4. Dressing well

Pedro Soria Lopez, an Ecuadorian, won a whopping 1000 Euros for his 17 minutes vigilant exercise, in a siesta contest organized by Spain's National Association of Friends of the Siesta. The aim of the contest was to bring to public notice the importance of noon-time siesta that Spaniards have cherished for generations, but which for the time being is threatened by a busy modern life style.

Invariably I thought of India. If such a contest were to be organized in India, where winners would be paid this kind of amount, a majority of our street dwellers would be elevated out of poverty, that too, overnight! Even the die-hard leftists would be surprised by the impact this innocent revolution can create.

In fact we can even find sponsors for this project! What an idea Sirji!

The government can cancel all other welfare projects like rural employment guarantee program and ask its poor citizens to go to sleep. In fact no public campaigning in this regard is needed! All the poor people in India are hungry and hunger is a good appetizer for sleep! It is a Universal principle that requires no validation. Just go to them one fine noon, wake them up and tell them that they have won this much of rupees and pay them then and there. It all sounds like a dream, right? In fact, we can even convert this into a national reality show. Every one would watch this and the ailing Doordarshan would get a sudden reprieve, provided it be the sole telecaster!

Coming back to Spain…

To ensure that none of the contestants faked a sleep, their pulse rates were monitored. 360 competitors took part and they had to be asleep for a stipulated time of 20 minutes. The contest lasted 9 days and was staged in a shopping mall in Madrid. Contestants were provided with individual sofas, as well.

I challenge the Spanish Armada to organize such a contest in India!