In the Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield, when a cartdriver wants to marry the hero's mother's maid Peggotty, he asks young David to convey the message that "Barkis is willing". Marriage proposals can be articulated in many ways but it does seem odd when the son-in-law of the Congress supremo is quoted as saying, "I will definitely contest (elections) if the people so desire... I have come to share and take Rahul's message to villages and every corner and you will definitely see a change."