#228

I closely watched Rahul Gandhi's interaction with the media last evening after the state elections returns came out, and I really liked what I saw. He was quite candid, calm and measured in what he had to say. There was a sense of realizing what an enormous responsibility this success places on the Congress party going forward. The big difference between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi, to my mind, is that the former draws you into a conversation. He's always cultured and never loses his civility and decency. Mr. Modi, on the other hand, comes across as a crass and hectoring bully, who is not interested in talking to you but is only looking to harangue the opposition and give a lecture from the pulpit.

#227

For quite a few years, I would watch Udayan Mukherjee on television analyze the corporate sector and stock markets.  And then, he completely went off the radar in order to pursue his passion for writing.  And the effect has been dazzling.  This novel is right up my alley.  A haunting meditation on personal loss and private grief, a choking miasma of depression from which there is no escape for the protagonists

.  First few pages and I am already hooked.

#226

On the one hand, it's a matter of immense shame, and on the other, also of great relief that sexual predators of varying degrees are being outed almost on an hourly basis in India on the rising tide of 'Me Too' movement by a lot of courageous women, who have finally shown the gumption to speak out.  However, I think some sort of distinction needs to be made between harmless flirting without any ulterior motives, and the scary, unremitting, and incessant harassment which has crossed all bounds of civility and decency, and respect for women in general.  I think, the former works as some kind of grease to reduce friction of our existence, but the latter has only poisoned the well for every civilized male of the species.  Unless of course ladies, you think that a civilized man is an oxymoron in itself.

#225

As a neutral observer from so far away, who has no real stake in the Supreme Court nomination in the United States, I'd rather believe in the testimony of Ms. Christine Blasey Ford than the angry defense of Judge Kavanaugh. I think no self-respecting woman would come out with such a serious accusation of sexual assault and subject herself to a circus-like atmosphere of the Senate hearings on Capitol Hill unless she has a compelling reason to do so. What really struck me was not what Brett Kavanaugh said in his defense, but how he singled out some Democrats for trying to sabotage his nomination. For all practical purposes, he's as good as laid his cards on the table as to which side his bread is buttered. This is no ordinary nomination. Brett Kavanaugh is in his fifties, and since there is no retirement age for the Justices in the U.S. Supreme Court, his nomination would decisively shift the balance of power to the right for generations in the highest court of the land. Very unwelcome prospects indeed.

#224

It is important to keep visiting the classics from time to time, and ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' is one of the most enduring classics in more than 150 years.  Published in 1852, the novel was instrumental in raising an outcry against the inhumanity of slavery practiced in the Midwest and the deep south of the United States.  In fact, when the civil war finally broke out in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln went to meet the author, the diminutive Ms. Harriet Beecher Stowe, and gently said to her, 'so, here is the lady who started the fire!'

#223

The prime minister doesn't speak to the people of this country, he lectures like an insufferable school teacher, mostly giving sermons about useless things.  He is always silent on substantive issues affecting the public discourse in India.  There is not a shadow of a doubt that a grave impropriety has been committed in the Rafael fighter aircraft deal between the governments of India and France.  Why have an otherwise so voluble Mr. Modi on ''Mann Ki Baat'' maintained a studied and embarrassing silence on this?  What is stopping him from coming out in the open and deny that there is anything suspicious about the purchase of the aircraft?  Why can't he plainly say in public that no pressure was brought to bear upon the French government to give the offset contract to his friend Mr. Anil Ambani who incorporated his firm just 12 days prior to the signing of the agreement between the two governments?  If you don't have anything to hide, then you should bring everything in the open.  This is surely raising an almighty stink.  Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

#222

Former French president Francois Hollande has no reason to be economical with the truth.  He's got no ax to grind with the Indian government, nor does he need to curry any favors with them.  I would be willing to believe him far more than these liars like Mr. Jaitly and Ms. Sitharaman.  It's a clear case of crony capitalism, where a major defense offset contract was awarded to a bankrupt company with zero experience in manufacturing of defense hardware.  All this because the owner of the company happens to be a close buddy of PM Modi.  The defense minister needs to resign, and the prime minister must answer questions.  He cannot stand aloof and apart like an Olympian god.