“Some men are born great. Some have greatness thrust upon them.” Wills said. He might have added that some acquire pettiness when they can’t deal with greatness. But he did not know our politicians, bless his heart. Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo did though; he must have been crying in his grave last Sunday.

It must be a frustrating thing to hold the constitutional office of leader of the opposition in this country. Not only do you not get an office but you are also snubbed every time you get invited to functions.

Last Sunday, at the unveiling ceremony of a bust of Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo, Navin Ramgoolam was seated between deputy prime minister Pravind Jugnauth and Arts and Culture minister Motee Ramdass. In the first row. To be seen and not heard. I suppose there are official functions where there is no need to ask an opposition leader to make a speech because to all intents and purposes, it would be pointless.

But when you are celebrating the life of a person who has marked the history of this country to the extent SVR has - for better or for worse - as the prime minister kept saying on this occasion, then surely it would not be unreasonable to expect the organising committee to ask the leader of the opposition to make a speech?

Especially when that opposition leader happens to be the son of the person whom SVR had served loyally and devotedly all through his political career. Especially when that opposition leader is now the leader of the party to which SVR belonged. Especially when SVR’s memory is forever entwined with the history of the Mauritian Labour Party.

But no, the organising committee did not deem it appropriate to ask Navin Ramgoolam to make a speech. Asked for the reasons behind this, the minister of Arts and Culture told us. “I did not feel it was necessary.” How come? “SVR has always been above party politics, we have actually given him a planetary dimension.” the minister added with a smile.

So why was there a need for the deputy prime minister to address the audience? “Because we are in an alliance and he is the leader of the MSM.” OK. Do you get it? It makes no sense and the organisers themselves are not able to support their own arguments.

Navin Ramgoolam had to attend another function, organised by several southern Indian sociocultural organisations the same evening, to be able to say a few words on SVR. At that particular function, no government minister was anywhere to be seen; they were simply not invited.

Does everything have to be politicised thus? If that’s the legacy SVR has left, he most certainly did not deserve a place in Paul Berenger’s “promenade down memory lane.” But we know that’s not true. The saddest thing is, we also know SVR stood for many things but pettiness and stupidity.

So when people want to pay tribute to a great man, they must ensure they are morally equipped to do so. The events of Sunday have left a bitter taste in the mouths of those who “rise above party politics.” The tragedy of it all is that those who chose to be petty are those governing us. What hope is there for the rest of us?