Snap Shots

Courage Under FireThe Chief of Army staff does not have much physical courage,'' said Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, playing the role of t...

Courage Under Fire
8220;The Chief of Army staff does not have much physical courage,8221; said Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, playing the role of the reluctant chief guest at a ceremony to award General V. P. Malik for excellence in leadership. The top brass of the Army had their eyebrows disappearing into their receding hairlines, but the Field Marshal explained all soon.

8220;The General did not have the courage to kiss the pretty lady who came to greet him with a bouquet of flowers.8221; Something that Manekshaw did when his turn came. He then held forth on the bane of being an honoured guest. 8220;The worst part of being the chief guest is that everybody knows about your life. To put the record straight, I have one wife and two daughters. About the one wife, I never had the time to do anything about it. Now that I do, I am admonished by others that a Field Marshal should not be doing anything like this.8221; Courage under fire, we guess.

Karisma8217;s Charisma
Confusion, cheering crowds, diehardfans vying for a single glance from their favorite artiste. If it8217;s Karisma Kapoor shooting for a film, one can expect the situation to be even more chaotic. This is exactly what happened at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, where Lolo was shooting for Shyam Benegal8217;s Zubeida. As Karisma tried to give her best shot, the spectators went crazy. The photographers went on a clicking spree trying to capture her best expressions, which perturbed the crew which was trying to make the most in the time limit set by FTII. But one has to say that even after an exasperating session, Karisma looked quite composed.

Practising Pandit
Senior Superintendent of Police anti-terrorist operations, Chandigarh, Asad Farooqui, who also holds the charge of Crime against Women CAW cell is dealing with it in a unique fashion. One particular family explained to Farooqui that their panditji had warned them that their son would die soon if he was not separated from his wife immediately. Thepoor wife looked disturbed which was understandable considering that the couple had eloped a mere four years ago.

The case reached Farooqui after police officers had already held a series of discussions with the two families but with no positive result. Farooqui asked the couple for their horoscopes and said that he would see them the next day. And there he was with his prophecy: 8220;You know if the boy marries the girl he will only prosper and achieve success and live happily.8221; Then he challenged them to take his prediction to anybody. Pandit Farooqui, we presume?

Lord Of Old Things
IT was a Rally of the Raj8217; and leading it into Ahmedabad was Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, whose father has a permanent place in history as the co-author of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. He was riding a Silver Ghost. No, the Good Lord wasn8217;t trying to revive ghosts of the Raj; he was just participating in a vintage car rally.

The Silver Ghost of 1909 vintage was the cynosure of all eyes. The proud ownercaressed the bonnet, even as he spoke to a group about his long association with India, his love for the country, which was 8220;like a second home8221;, and his passion for vintage cars. Then abruptly, his lordship turned silent, a shadow of anxiety appeared on his face, and his hand ran over a particular spot again and again, trying to feel something.

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All others, including Mayor Malini Atit, watched in suspense, their faces turned grave. Before long, he had found it, a little uneven spot on the glistening, smooth surface of the vintage beauty. 8220;It is due to the frost!8221; exclaimed Lord Montagu. A tiny, little spot, but something that could not be ignored. So the engineer was summoned promptly and the interaction was called off. A lover of vintage beauties, no doubt.