2 Battalions move in to guard murrahs (buffaloes)

Two battalions- one from the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) and another from the Haryana Armed Police have arrived in the districe (Rohtak, Haryana)to counter rise in number of stolen cattle......(Extracted from 'Battalions move in to guard murrahs', The Times of India, December 31, 2011)

Anna who?

Anna?
Anna who?

Janam samjha karo

With the passing of the Lokpal Bill by the Lok Sabha, one issue stands settled - it is the will of the citizens of India, as represented in the Parliament, that is supreme and NOT what the self appointed leaders of the so-called civil society (Hazare-Bedi-Kejrival-Hegde, Bhusahan & Bhushan) may want....

Janam samjha karo....

‘Incredible India’ or ‘Incomparable India’?

I saw huge advertisements in the newspapers dated 20th December, 2011 announcing the launch of Clean India Campaign by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. It also had the slogan ‘Incredible India’ in english and ‘Atulya Bharat’ in hindi. The publicity done by the Department under this slogan has won appreciation both in side the country and abroad.

But I have a doubt here. I think that the english and hindi words used in this slogan refer to different aspects so let me share it with you for your views and advice.

‘Incredible’ means something which is hard to believe. On the other hand the english meaning of ‘atulya’ would be ‘incomparable’ and not’ incredible.’ Is this translation just a matter of oversight by the Ministry of Tourism or am I just nitpicking on semantics….

Page 10 news...

One knows about the front page news and the Page 3 news but what are the Page 10 news? This needs a little explanation.

Since long I have admired 'The Hindu' for its weighing the importance of news. One rarely sees any screaming headlines on its front page. Both the choice of national, international and regional news as well as the font size of the headings on the front page are restrained and according to me, judicious.

Let us take the example of the front page of today's issue of Delhi (Mohali) edition of this paper. The main headline reads "Cabinet clears Lokpal Bill draft" and the second headline is "Citizen'scharter Bill tabled in Lok Sabha." The three other major news on the front page relate to the Gita translation controversy, rift between Raja and Mathur, a major fire in Kolkata factory and Rajasthan High Court's verdict in Pakistani national's case.

But what about Mr. Anna Hazare's announcement to go on fast, one might ask? No, it did not find place on the first page of the Hindu. It is mentioned in a small column on page 10 of the newspaper. And of course in my quick reading of the newspaper, I could not find any mention of the pronouncements, annoncements or tweets of Ms. Kiran Bedi, Mr. Arwind Kejriwal, Mr. Prashant Bhushan etc.

Thank you Hindu for putting the news in their right perspective. One hopes that the electronic media too would take a cue and show more moderation in its choice and coverage of news.

In praise of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal

Just switched on the tv and was greatly impressed to see Mr. Arvind Kejriwal addressing a press conference. No, no, no - not with what he was saying but with his new looks....

He has put on smart specs, has resized his moustaches and has perhaps changed the way he combs his hair...

The overall impact is that now he is looking even more impressive than before...

If only he would speak less...

Alas! it is a real fake....

During my visit to Chennai last week, I made a lazy round of the Marina beach. There were a number of stalls selling colourful plastic knick-nacks. I did something which I should not have done - tasted some freshly fried assorted pakoras. A few metres away, I saw a long line up of the cut-outs of celeberities, ranging from the politicians to film stars to cricketers. The photographer was doing a brisk business taking snaps of young people with the cut-outs of their choice. Last year I had got a photo taken doing a 'namaskar' to the great Amma.

This year I did something different. I chose to get a photo taken with the cut-out of Deepika Padukone. The fake photo is yours to see.

I must confess that I am quite impressed with this photo. I think I managed to get just the right expression for the occassion- a mixture of mischievous joy and at the same time a realisation of doing something which a person of my age is not supposed to be doing. May be I should be doing the role of heroine's goody-goody, old balding, greying father in some movie.

Are you listening Karan Johar?