FIRST LADY, FIRST FAUX PAS

The post of President is largely a ceremonial one. Fine suits, or sarees as might be the case soon, hosting, toasting, wining, dining and the right words in the right place are the demands of the job. But the potential first lady President of India, Pratibha Patil, has already committed her first faux pas. In her first press meeting after her candidature was announced, she said she was concerned about the disparities in wealth distribution in our country. She felt however that schemes like the NREGS (National Rural EMPLOYMENT guarantee Scheme) attempted to create more opportunities for the rural poor and congratulated the other first lady Sonia Gandhi for it. But what she really called it, before TV cameras, was Sonia Gandhi's "unemployment guarantee scheme!"

THE BUDDHA SAYS...

A wonderful quote borrowed from Neodawn's blog.

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."

The Buddha

PARTY POOPER'S MESSAGE

For me driving around in Chennai over the last few weeks has been a nauseating experience. I just can’t understand how people can be such sycophants and plaster the city with unlicensed, illegal hoardings of one man and his family and treat him above God Almighty and surrender their conscience and soul to him.

M.Karunanidhi has done nothing publicly to rein in his delinquent son M.K.Azhagiri for the murderous violence his supporters perpetrated on the employees of the ‘Dinakaran’ newspaper. I have little sympathy, mind you, for the Maran brothers who have thus far ridden happily on the back of a political empire to become all-powerful in this state. But to return to the earlier point, the DMK rank and file, far from mourning the behaviour of their colleagues in Madurai, far from hanging their heads in shame for belonging to a party responsible for the death of three people, are instead going berserk displaying their 'love' and loyalty. From laser shows and talking images of Periyar and Anna singing MK’s praises to people turning up from all corners of the state to wish their leader on his birthday, this celebration smacks of vulgarity that has become too commonplace to make news.

Why is a private function so public? Why must we be subjected to having our already ugly cityscape made worse by pictures of corrupt, duplicitous politicians?

Why isn’t there any outrage?

What can we do?