The invisible factor

The Chinese may or may not have had a role to play in inspiring the polite afterthoughts of our communists, but there is no doubt that Narendra Modi has. If you think this is the most incredible thing you have heard on the nuclear deal and on Karatspeak, just read on. The life of both the government and the nuclear deal now hinges on Modi’s showing in the Gujarat polls. If he manages to trounce the Congress and send it packing, then it would make things easier for the commies. The loss, quite obviously, would cool the Congress’s ardour for an early election and put the deal in the cold storage if the UPA decides to muddle through the remainder of its term. If the Congress manages to pull off an electoral coup in Gujarat, things would obviously be less pleasant. The Congress would want to call the communist bluff and advance the general election. But since a Congress win is unlikely, the communists are willing to give the party a long rope to go and hang itself. For now, it can get the go-ahead from the IAEA for the deal to be approved by the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group and then by the US Congress. But if Modi wins, Manmohan Singh loses. Till the jolt comes, the communists have been well-advised to sing the lullaby and soothe raw nerves.

Star gazing

Like father, unlike son. Chirag Paswan has decided to stay away from the political world of his father and enter the tinsel town instead, much like the son of the Maharashtra CM, Vilasrao Deshmukh. Papa Paswan is not complaining. The Jan Shakti party chief and Union chemical and fertilizer minister is already claiming that big time producers and directors are lining up to sign Chirag. The hopeful actor too seems to be playing his part as the dutiful son. “I’ve learnt everything from my father,” Chirag was heard saying. He wasn’t talking about acting skills, or was he?

Tagore and tiger

The US treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, came, saw and conquered Bengal. The strategy perhaps had been worked out in advance, given the fact that he could not but have been aware of the ideological rifts the Indo-US nuclear deal had caused. Each time Paulson interacted with top Bengal leaders, he made sure to refer to the Royal Bengal tiger and Tagore. The plan worked. By the time Paulson reached Dum Dum, he had a copy of one of Tagore’s works, and an invitation to visit the Sunderbans.

Birthday gifts

The day Praveen Mahajan made his revelations in court, it was brother Pramod’s 58th birthday. Most of the latter’s family members were busy preparing for an evening of ghazals by Ghulam Ali in memory of the departed leader. Pramod is said to have been extremely fond of Urdu ghazals, and his all-time favourite was Ghulam Ali. During one of the singer’s performances in Mumbai, Pramod is supposed to have even excused himself from an important party meeting in the capital. The reason cited was his mother’s illness, but in the evening, Pramod was seen sitting mesmerized at the concert.

Silence is golden

Once bitten, twice shy. There was no way the Union minister for culture and tourism could be made to deliver a valedictory address at the 56th Indian travel congress. On learning that the conference was to be held in Chennai, Ambika Soni is said to have promptly declined the offer. Having drawn a lot of flak over the Ram Setu affidavit filed by her ministry in the apex court, Soni did not want to burn her fingers again in Chennai, where even a minor slip could stir up passions again.

Ways of the world

The Indian vice-president, Hamid Ansari, a covenanted diplomat all his life, is yet to embrace the ways of his new profession. He still hasn’t realized that in the world of politics, one cannot keep up old-fashioned habits like punctuality. The other day, Ansari landed up at a book release function in the capital right on the dot, only to find his hosts missing. Neither the self-important author nor the TV anchor, who was supposed to moderate the proceedings that evening, could be found. Even the publishers were unavailable to receive Ansari when he alighted from his car.

Ansari’s casual attire of kurta over trousers too has elicited much comment. Some believe that it shows that he is not enamoured of the trappings of his new job while others insist that he identifies himself with a Marxist who has played a decisive role in his nomination.

Back to school

Change of audience, and, of course, a change of mood. At the golden jubilee celebrations of Welham Girls’ School in Dehra Dun, Brinda Karat, a 1962 alumni and the chief guest of the event, had before her a sprightly audience comprised mostly of school students. The effect was instantaneous. She began in the KBC mode with a question and several options. What is a Welhamite? The options were one, pliant; two, obedient; three, independent. She herself provided the answer — the third option. Some old-timers were heard commenting that they now knew whom to blame for Brinda’s fiery sense of independence,which often gave a lot of headache to the UPA cabinet, particularly to ministers who are from Doon School. By the way, Brinda is supposed to have recalled a letter written by a Dosco (Doon student), who quoted Elvis Presley. Brinda apparently wondered aloud why Doscos couldn’t do any better than that.