Tailpiece

It was a virtual musical chairs at the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the South Asian University. While waiting for Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon left his seat to chat with the ambassadors of the SAARC countries. His seat was taken by DU Vice-Chancellor Deepak Pental. Moments later, UGC Chairman Sukhdeo Thorat went for a stroll and his chair was promptly occupied by IGNOU Vice-Chancellor V N R Pillai. Pillai himself had to curtly remind an usher of his position when he was asked to vacate the front row for the VVIPs. And then, when Mukherjee finally arrived, there was one more seat arrangement. Thorat was also given one on the dais at the last minute.