Haunting Image

                 A news story that will haunt me for ever is the virtual suicide of five elephants in a bid to save two calves.  The calves had strayed onto a railway track in a densely forested area in north West Bengal.  As a speeding goods train approached, the elder ones crowded around the stricken calves.  They were either unaware of the impending danger, or cared little about its consequences.  All that they wanted, was to protect the calves, even if it meant risking own lives. 

                    How many of us the superior human beings that we are, would have acted so spontaneously and selflessly?

Birth of A Politician

            “I wish to state categorically that I have nothing to hide from the public at large, and as proof of my bona fides, I intend to write to the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee that I shall be happy to appear before the PAC, if it chooses to ask me to do so”,  Dr. Manmohan Singh declared at the plenary session of the Congress party. And the media went berserk! 

             Dr. Manmohan Singh did not state anything conclusively. He said, 'I intend to write...', and that he shall be happy to appear before the PAC 'if it chooses to ask me to do so'. So, if anything has to happen, Dr. Manmohan Singh must first put his 'intention to write' in black and white. The PAC, if and when they receive that letter must 'choose to ask' him to appear before it. But, as per constitutional provisions, PAC cannot summon the Prime Minister, although some experts suggest that it could 'invite' the Prime Minister for 'consultations', while some others feel that in any event, prior sanction of the Lok Sabha Speaker would be required!

            Who says, Dr. Manmohan Singh is a political novice?

Reacting to Touch!

              Imagine strange hands on your body, violating your privacy and dignity. Naturally, you will scream, 'Take your filthy paws off me!'
              In a procedure called 'Pat-down', introduced after the attempted 'crotch-bombing' of a Delta flight by a Nigerian terrorist, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the USA has been working overtime with its hands, groping airline passengers for imaginary bombs, grenades, pistols and knives! The 'Pat-downs' are mandatory for those who opt out of full body X-ray scans suspected of being carcinogenic, and those who fail the body scans, because of an innocuous metallic buckle in the belt or a fastener in their attire. Some say, the TSA agents deliberately make the 'Pat-downs' unpleasant, so that the passengers prefer full body scans, the next time they fly.
              Our former Defence Minister (2002), former President (2009), and more recently the Ambassador to the United States and the Envoy to the UN have had to suffer the indignity of provocative frisking.
              I wonder, what the Americans were trying to find? Something that Obama, Hilary or Michelle did not possess?