Yet Another Point of View

Shashi Tharoor got a rap for twittering. Literally and figuratively. Apparently, he was responding to a specific query on his Twitter page - 'would you travel cattle class on your next trip to Kerala?' And the suave, articulate (but obviously uninformed in the ways of politically-correct, neta speak) Junior Foreign Minister tweeted - "Absolutely. In cattle class out of solidarity with our holy cows." I laughed out loud on seeing that reply. But, Tharoor's political bosses dont share the mirth. They reprimanded him . And that's his second reprimand in a week. I am not offended by Tharoor's tweet and I realize it was his dig at the holier-than-thou politicians who asked him to get out of the luxury hotel and move into Kerala House. I am just surprised that man like Tharoor didn't use a better choice of words. He is a minister, very recently in the spotlight for his very un'austere' lifestyle. The last thing he should be doing is taking potshots i...

A FWD landed in my inbox this morning. The subject line said FWD: YSR Crash . I had a fair idea of what it would contain even before I opened it. The images attached were graphic and disturbingly clear. The hi-res pictures had obviously been taken by the news photographers who had access to the crash site of YSR Reddy's chopper on Rudrakonda hill. The broken, bloated and burnt bodies were clearly visible strewn amidst the wreckage. You could make out the pilot from the stripes on his uniform. I didnt venture to guess which one of the bodies was the Chief Minister's. Thankfully, the creator of this FWD (good Lord, how morbid!) had not identified YSR in his/her 'comments' (Yes, the pics were captioned!!). Having scrolled down once, I hit Delete. Soon afterwards, a colleague of mine, who was also marked on the FWD, sent a Reply All. Her point was that its quite reprehensible the way we are making a spectacle of someone's gruesome death. Please dont forward this mail a...