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Journalism of Courage
Being A Sport
Vijai Bhav8217; May you be victorious, proclaim the banners which have come up in parts of Ahmedabad in the past few days. Another hotel, restaurant or consumer goods manufacturer trying to cash in on the World Cup spirit? Well, not really. The banners have the customary picture of the Indian cricket team with the World Cup, but they have something more as well: a picture of Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel with a ballot box. An ingenious Harin Pathak, BJP MP from Ahmedabad, has hit upon this novel method to capitalise on the World Cup hype to wish Patel success in the electoral battle.
With elections due in September, Keshubhai will needhis Nikes and Harin Pathak8217;s good wishes more than ever. What with him promising to win all 26 Lok Sabha seats to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Comedy Of Errors
The scene was a local function at the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture MCCAI in Pune. The chief guest was A. S. Rane, joint district judge and additional member of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal MACT. This little-known affair was turned into a virtual comedy of errors because the surname of the guest was the same as the chief minister of Maharashtra8217;s.
First, the two-wheelers parked in front of the chamber8217;s main gate were taken away by the police to clear the way for the chief guest8217;s arrival. Then, an enthusiastic receptionist at the MCCAI, slightly surprised that no reception committee was on hand to receive Rane, requested a visiting industrialist to wait at the gate to welcome Rane. He was happy to oblige. Other industrialists passing by asked him what he was doing standing out in the scorchingsun. 8220;Waiting for Rane,8221; he said. Soon a few more eager men were braving the blazing sun to welcome Rane.
But there was still no sign of Rane as the industrialists asked each other if 8220;the CM was in town8221;. As word spread about the CM8217;s arrival,8217; it reached the receptionist who clarified that it was A.S. Rane and not Narayan Rane, who was so eagerly awaited. The hastily-formed reception committee suddenly became conspicuous by its absence.
Shared Vision
What8217;s the connection between Aishwarya Rai and the people of Surat? Eyes, and more specifically their donation. As the one-time Miss World has pledged her eyes to humankind, so have 5,700 residents of the diamond city. A campaign in Surat 8212; spread over the past 13 months 8212; by the Lokdrishti Charitable Trust drew this overwhelming response in Varachcha, the hub of the diamond industry and known mainly for its sensitive labour force. Among the donors, about 45 per cent were women. A direct impact of Ms Rai8217;s appeal it would seem.
To furtherprove that Surat is not only about money and textiles 8212; though it is that too 8212; last month, 8,008 citizens lined up to donate blood. The star attraction this time was actor Jeetendra. He was, in fact, overwhelmed by the response, especially by the sense of disappointment among the hundreds of people who had to be turned away because the organisers couldn8217;t store any more blood. Take a bow, residents of Surat.
Staging A Return
Amrish Puri, the big baddie from Bollywood with the booming voice and commanding personality, can instill a feeling of awe even when he is saying the unbelievable. Attending a function in Pune recently, he spoke at length about the future of theatre and how in today8217;s fast-paced world, one doesn8217;t have the time to appreciate it. But soon, says Puri, there will be a time when people are bored of television and films, and will want to see live performances.
Puri should know, he was involved with theatre beforehis foray into Bollywood. 8220;Theatre has been my learning ground, my guiding force. I owe my success in Hindi films to theatre,8221; he says. Shifting from theatre to movies was not a compromise, but a necessity. 8220;After all I have to make good money and that8217;s no sin.8221; However, the love of lucre is not keeping Puri away from the stage forever. Puri is now all set to woo his fans with a role in the English adaptation of Vijay Tendlukar8217;s Sakharam Binder.
Multiple personalityFor netas who find wearing even one hat quite a bother raksha mantri George Fernandes could provide a few tips. When he is not the Government8217;s fire-fighter as Samata Party president, Fernandes is the harried Defence Minister locking horns with H.D. Deve Gowda and Vishnu Bhagwat and when in Mumbai, he is a fiery trade unionist convincing comrades his convictions remain the same.
Fernandes was in Mumbai last week to attend celebrations of the silver jubilee of his railway strike which paralysed the country, but while some in thePress wanted the Defence Minister, others wanted the poll stratgey from the Samata chief and when the gaggle of newsmen had nearly hijacked Fernandes off the podium with their queries ranging from Vikrant to Ram Vilas Paswan, an old union hand took the mike. His full-throated cries of mazdoor ekta zindabad, drowned out newsbites and dictaphones. Even as newsmen scrambled to recover their wits from the sonic assault, Fernandes was back with his comrades in a flash.
By Shehnaz Husein, Shilpa Athalye and Prasannakumar Keskar in Pune; Milind Ghatwai in Vadodara; Tanvir Siddiqui in Ahmedabad; Sandeep Unnithan in Mumbai
