New Delhi, May 23 -- "Politicians like to panic. They need activity; it's their substitute for achievement."

As the world and its politics cease to make sense-at least twice a day these days-I find myself occasionally burrowing into the sarcastic and insightful comforts of the British classic, Yes Minister. Created by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, the 22-episode series (and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister) can be streamed in India on the BBC Player section of Amazon Prime Video. Generations of Indians have grown up on this 1980s series about bureaucratic double-speak and institutional ineffectiveness, a series holding up a mirror to our own desi issues with power and powermongers.

I must here mention that my own first foray with screenwr...