Uncivil aviation

The departure of Praful Patel from the civil aviation ministry seems to have made the minister’s staff unwittingly more communicative. Calling a colleague in this newspaper to check if an invitation from the ministry had reached him, the gentleman on the phone said, “Sir, calling from civil aviation minister's office. Have you received the invitation for civil aviation sanitary celebrations?” A nonplussed colleague politely asked if the invitation was for the centenary celebrations. “Yes, sir, saantinary celebrations” was the answer.