No thanks for thanks

At a recent conference on smart cities, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu raised a laugh from an otherwise stiff, dark-suited crowd of investors, real estate developers and infrastructure experts. As the conference ended, it fell to C K Khaitan, joint secretary in the ministry, to read the vote of thanks. Solemnly, Khaitan began with thanks to the minister, followed by the secretary. Here, Naidu interrupted him: "Arre, why are you thanking us, I say?" he exclaimed in his Telugu accent. "Does a wife ever thank her husband for returning home from work? This is our job, we should not be thanked for doing our jobs". Thus reproved, Khaitan looked this way and that and quickly ploughed through the rest of his speech amid laughter from the audience.