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Journalism of Courage
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s informal and personalised style won him many new fans during his recent trip to Strasburg and Athens, although not everyone was charmed by his unconventional approach. For instance, after a banquet in Athens, Kalam, in a fit of playfulness, took the electric guitar from a musician, suggesting he would play the instrument while the Greeks sang. The protocol officer, fearing that the host country’s officialdom might not approve, tactfully returned the guitar to the musician.
Sweet slight
With the media going to town on the Aishwarya-Abhishek wedding and listing the who’s who of Bollywood who were not invited, the Bachchan family is on a damage control exercise. It has sent boxes of sweets and a letter of explanation to prominent film personalities not invited to the festivities. Shahrukh Khan was one of those who received the compensation gift. A prominent actor-politician reportedly returned the box indignantly with the message that if he was not close enough a friend to receive an invitation there was no need for post-marriage sweets either.
Even the pandit from Varanasi who performed the wedding has become a celebrity of sorts. In his hometown, he was already well known, since apart from the Bachchans both Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh are his clients. According to Varanasi grapevine, the pandit is known to perform yagnas not only for the well being of patrons but also for the downfall of their rivals.
Visit cut short
President Kalam’s last official trip during his current presidential term was originally to have been for eight days, and included Morocco and Spain. But these two countries were deleted from his itinerary and his visit eventually reduced to only four days because of mishandling by the MEA. The Moroccan government was not informed in time about the president’s trip and hence the royal palace was not available. Spain got left out because of an ego clash between the MEA and the Spanish authorities. A senior Indian diplomat took offence after the Spanish ambassador used harsh words, blaming the Indian government for the entry of 150 illegal migrants into Spain. It turned out that this batch of illegal migrants was from Pakistan not India.
Wrong call
Chief Election Commissioner S. Gopalaswami has issued strict instructions to all election observers in Uttar Pradesh that they must carry their mobile phones with them at all times. Failure to do so could lead to their transfer from the district and an adverse entry in their annual confidential records. The CEC was irritated by the fact that peons and drivers answered several calls he made to the observers.
Not a debatable point
An English language TV channel scheduled a debate on the role of the Gandhi family last Sunday. Amar Singh of the Samajwadi Party and Arun Jaitley of the BJP readily consented to participate in the programme, but the anchor was unable to persuade any of the usual spokespersons of the Congress — Kapil Sibal or Jayanti Natrajan — to take part. The channel even changed the title of the debate to a more innocuous sounding one, but even then there were no takers. Finally, Vasant Sathe, who is in semi-retirement was brought in. Similarly, when a Hindi TV channel wanted to discuss Rahul Gandhi’s controversial statements in Uttar Pradesh, the only Congressperson willing to take part was Rashid Alvi, who till recently was in the BSP. Mainstream Congresspersons know full well it is wisest to stay clear of any theme related to the Family.
