From Madhuri To MilitarymADHURI Dixit is not his only love. Artist Maqbool Fida Husain's heart beats for the Kargil martyrs too, which is why the master has agreed to troop down to Pune to put his famous stroke on canvas for an exhibition to be held in aid of the Army Welfare Fund. From mares to Madhuri to military - the maestros's heart beats for all the right reasons.Awarding TroubleHaving won the national best actress award for her performance in Godmother, Shabana Azmi has every reason to be happy. But how does the real-life Godmother, Santokben of Porbander, react to it? Though Santokben wasn't available for comment, her advocate Bhupendra Jholapara was clearly unhappy. ``There is a court ban on screening of the film. So how were the awards decided?'' he said. The ban came after Santokben had claimed that the story of the film's heroin Rambhi, bore striking similarities with her own life. Whether the award will spell more trouble than good for the film, remains to beseen.Power To PowerLike attracts like, or so thought BJP party workers, hoping that an inauguration of the Parbati power project in Himachal Pradesh by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would boost their chances of winning Lok Sabha seats. But Kargil intervened, and the visit was postponed. Rescheduled for this month, their dream was washed away again by the announcement of elections. For if polls are announced, can the code of conduct be far behind? A Prime Ministerial inauguration could amount to violation of this code and so the inauguration be damned, the show must go on.Sunny Humourlittle Master Sunil Gavaskar is known as much for his quick wit in cricket circles as he is revered for his batting skills. Never one to hide his prowess, with the bat or his sense of humour, Gavaskar had Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane and Minister for Culture Pramod Navalkar in fits of laughter during the presentation of the Maharashtra Bhushan to him in Nagpur. Presentations over,Gaaskar joined Rane in his aircraft to return to Mumbai. Rane introduced Gavaskar to his colleagues but forgot the pilot, who took it upon himself to do the needful. ``I'm Captain Subhash Chandra Narula,'' he said. Pat came the reply: ``I'm ex-captain Sunil Gavaskar.''Flagging FormalityAlmost every Delhi-based newspaper carried reports of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi flagging off two trucks carrying provisions for the Kargil migrants last month. But theprovisions lay rotting in Jammu for over a fortnight because there was no VIP to flag it off further. It was only after hell was raised, that party general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad and Youth Congress chief Maneesh Tiwari rushed to Jammu to do the needful.Untouchable ThackerayFor television actor and host of the immensely popular Movers & Shakers on Sony Television, Shekhar Suman, meeting Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where the Bollywood stars versus cricketers match was on, must have been atremendous opportunity to pick up his mannerisms. From Vajpayee to Sonia Gandhi, Suman has lampooned them all. Except of course, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. The inside buzz is that the show script-writers are told at regular intervals to stay off Thackeray. So much for free expression.
