Congress, the ageing family firm

218

Political soundbites can be rather tiresome and predictable on television. Nothing exemplifies this better than when a Congress politician is asked at election time who the party's chief ministerial candidate is. The standard response: "please do not ask this question, we have a tradition in the party where the Congress high command decides on the question of leadership after the elections." Ah! The ubiquitous "high command", the Congress party's answer to 21st century royalty. Buckingham Palace may have grandeur without power; Nepal may have thrown out its kings, but here, 10 Janpath, appears to enjoy power without the formal coronation.. Decision-making in the 123 year grand old party of the freedom movement is concentrated around one Lutyens bungalow. No one else it would seem has any authority to take the decisions that matter. In an era where the mantra of corporate success is decentralised empowerment, one ageing family firm seems....

Bite the Bullet

10

If Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh were to ever look for a contemporary political soulmate, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee would be a likely choice. Both are individuals of high personal integrity, both men of letters, one an academic, the other a playwright. Neither can be described as a charismatic mass politician, yet both have carved a constituency among the middle class with their reformist zeal and embracing of the new economic mantra. Both, it would seem, are sensitive human beings, who remain deeply uncomfortable with the stereotypical image of the grubby politician. Which is why when Buddha babu chooses to describe the Prime Minister as someone who has 'failed in all aspects', one is inclined to take notice. An L K Advani criticising the prime minister as the "weakest ever" is the inevitable rhetoric of a political rival; the West Bengal Chief Minister's attack goes beyond....

Twenty20: The Page 3 of Cricket

86

The Indian Premier League has rammed home a new meaning to the notion of a 'generation gap'. Taking my 13-year-old son to watch the Delhi Daredevils playing their first game at the Kotla was meant to be an exercise in family bonding and, also, a chance to get my teenager to savour the joys of the sport. Sitting in one of the spiffy new corporate boxes, we had the added pleasure of legendary Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee for company. As Lillee poured his wisdom on the game, I could sense my son getting restless. "I want to be on television dad, like all my friends, with a placard cheering a sixer. Whats the point in coming to the game if you don't come on TV!" was his candid confession. While I groped for a response, the hospitality executive was more helpful: "Why don't we take you to....