Road Rage

One of the few things I love doing is to drive. During my driving days in Madras and in this part of the world, though I enjoy every ooportunity to dirve, there are certain categories of people who spark my already volatile temper.

1. Desi with expensive car (US of A)

    You can never miss the signs - BMW 3 or 5 Series (not the sedan model, the SUV X Series), Lexus or Acura cars, My Kid is a genius fender sticker, vermillion on top of the number plate. The biggest clue of all would be that the driver will be taking every damn precaution not to have a single scratch on his/her vehicle. I agree that he/she is paying a big chunk towards the car every month but then travelling at below the speed limit speeds on interstate, thinking a zillion and one time before changing a lane, braking 2 miles before it is required make my BP zoom. And once when going to the temple I was so pissed because of the car infront of me - a BMW 5 series sedan that I passed him on the right lane - which is wrong but that jerk did not give me an option. Unfortunately that car came to the temple as well and the 40 something desoid with the tummy, polo shirt and shorts intact comes to me and says that I need more maturity. He went home after a 5 minute talk from me, after which, I doubt whether he would talk to any 20 something guy about maturity and road driving.

2. Aunty on Kinetic Honda in Madras

    I agree that Madras is polluted and all that and there are rowdy pasanga waiting to site adichify and all that but dressing up like this (below) is too much wonly!

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These makkal have a travel trajectory which resembles something like this:

In the picture, the red line shows the trajectory. They travel at exactly 30 kmph and have the sudden habit of thrusting their hand out to signal that they are making a turn. There are 2 issues with this: 1. They are right in the middle of the road when they want to make the turn, and 2. They do not care to see if there is someone coming back right behind them. Once the hand got me square on the midsection. It might be inkeeping witth their costume to attack people when they lease expect it. The situation gets complex-er if there is another specimen with the same costume or a kid on the pillion. The kinetic honda (or scooty, sunny or whatever non-geared, cannot go more than 50kmph vehicle there is on the madras landscape). The vehicle suddenly does somersaults, skid brakes and tries to cut you, all at 25 kmph. The biggest of my crib is that their attire makes me feel that I'm bad mouthing myself whenever I try to give them a piece of my mind and that, my dear makkal, is not a nice thing to do yourself.

3. The thirutu-kaadhal case in Chennai

This is the kilu-kiluppu case. The guy brakes suddenly and sharply for what purposes you might have already guessed. While it may be mid-road masala for him, for us its anything but good. As more often than not these are kalla-kaadhals of India, they satiate all their want-to-do's on the road. Enna kodumai saravanan idu?

After a while, tired of swerving and getting used to braking for nothing,  you get pissed and try to use the usual chennai lingo on him for bad driving and he says "saar, ladies irukkum poludhu ipdi pesreengale, saar?". And you feel like punching the guy in the nose - he does R rated stuff on the road and when you try to square off, he says that you use R Rated language. Jackass!

4. The (White) Chick in USA {Sometimes comes in the black variant too}

These are very easy to spot - Volkswagen Beetle (Bug), Jetta, Rabbit or Mini Cooper or Mazda Miata - and a (female) driver  whose head seems to be stuck to the cell phone. They roll over at stop signs and are given to sudden lane change syndrome. And in parking lots, they turn lethal. Give them a parking spot with no other car in the next two spots on either side and still they will manage to scratch another car. And when you try to talk to them, they put on that I'm-so-cute-and-adorable-please-flirt-with-me look that you'll feel like thirigifying their head and throw it to the kaaka (crow).

5. The Yo-Mama in USA

The cars bear strong similarities. The suspension tweaked so that the cars are always bouncing like bobble-heads. And kanda kanda car will have alloy wheels. The most popular here in tampa is Honda Accord or Toyota camry (the staple desi car) with alloy wheels. You know that you can honk or show him the finger as you know such cars rarely ever have a driver who DOES NOT have a gun. Some hip hop beats come through and if you are really unlucky you will have music blasting. If you thought these guys had insurance you must be from the planet Mars. But on the whole, apart from giving you a headache if you are in their proximity in the traffic lights, they pose no driving danger to you, though seeing somebody driving a car in the posture that may be better suited to the couch is a bit unnerving.

6. The uninsured pick up truck

When you a specimen of this or a close variant keep 2 lane distance away from it. Mostly has a trailer trash white guy or a கீழ் நாட்டுக்காரன் (keezh-naatukaaran, a.k.a ola comistos) . One fact that you need to drill down your brain is that insurance companies do not insure pick up trucks which are 20 years old. Or at least not at premium rates that the drivers of these pick up trucks can afford. I had the experience of one such battered pick up truck simply lose control and move into my lane, thereby totally damaging my friend who was driving ahead of me here (see below)

I was, for once, like 50 feet behind my friend and had time to park on the shoulder and when I went over to the spot where the pick up truck and my friends car were in close communion, I found out the truck driver was trailer kinda person and all that he was able to say was the f- word and he, seemingly, did not know that insurance was mandatory to drive on the road! 911 was called and the cops duly arrested the old fart and all that. But, the point was, there was nobody to pay for the damages. My friend, as does every dutiful desi had a high deductible (copay?) amount to reduce his 6-month premium which meant he had to shell out 2000 bucks then and there. The lesson? Avoid old pick up trucks like the plague. Run, hide or take the next exit. And oh, also make sure you don't have more than 500 dollar deductible.

7. The GPS-Enabled makkal in US

Easiest to spot - you cannot miss the 'light of knowledge' from behind throught the windshield. Major makkal in this category are MS in US Junta (or software onsite makkal) who are 'enjoying' long weekends by renting out a car (its another matter that they applied 2 coupons, 1 mail-in rebate and 1 preferred member discount to get the GPS for free) and driving everywhere and anywhere. But they are easy to avoid. Do not go near Indian Restuarants, Theaters playing namba ooru padam, touristy places like Caladesi (Honeymoon) island, Clearwater Beach and Miami, Strip Clubs/Night clubs where ragudu is possible on saturday nights and on very rare occasions, near temples (especially on Sunday evenings when its time to search for retribution for all the sins performed during the previous 2 days). God Save you if the rental car guy gave them a non-text-to-speech enabled as they were getting it for free. Arbit-ly swerving into exit lanes and in the last minute rejoining the main lane, suddenly stopping in the middle of the lane (especially near the destination points) are common symptoms. Pass them asap and don't give them a damn as, mostly if they see a desi passing them (and if you have a female or someone resembling a female in your car), they show off by hitting the pedal on the pitiable Chevy Cobalt and revving up the engine and trying to show that you can never pass them. On such occasions, if you are driving a better car (do not ask me if there is any car worser than Cobalt!), just speed up and go your merry way as there is a nice chance that alocohol or cigerretes might be a part of the mix in the other vehicle (I do not know why, but whenever desi pasanga meet up for a get-together, sarakku, cigarrette and porn {called Foreign Film} are always there in the agenda)

8. The Family of 4 (or more) in Madras

My family has been guilty of doing this when I was a small kid (you know it was a LOOOONG time ago, seeing my size now). But you are struck to marvel how the guy is balancing the motorbike and at the same time, talking to the pondaati and all that. Throw a cell phone into the mix and you will have a potential, India has got Talent show on your hands.

The man who didn’t know too much

A Story by Cho Ramaswamy which appeared in The Hindustan Times.

Dr Manmohan Singh was worried. No, not worried, but concerned. No, not concerned, but agitated. Yes. When curiosity starts biting viciously, the mind cannot but get agitated. He was, of course, curious. And there seemed to be no way of quenching that curiosity. The media were agog with rumours about an impending cabinet reshuffle. If it had been an official announcement, the PM would not have bothered. He knew that a formal denial would follow. This was a rumour featured in all gossip columns. The greatest gossip of them all, the visual media, were also forecasting a cabinet reshuffle. One can ignore news, but the man who disregards a rumour, does so at his own peril.

So the cultured Doctor was sure that there was going to be a reshuffle. But who was going to barge in and who was going to be kicked out? Will the portfolios of the ministers be changed? Who will get what? The PM was anxious to know. Of course, being only the PM and not Sonia Gandhi, he had no right to expect to know anything in advance. His lot, he knew, was to wait and watch.

He would come to know, when the ministers would be sworn in by Abdul Kalam. No, no, not Abdul Kalam. He was no longer the President. That woman — what was her name? — some Patel. Ahamed Patel? No, a woman. Some other Patel. Ah! Pratibha Patil! When she would say 'I...' and rest her office, the ministers — at least the new ones if any — would have to confess their names and admit their identities. Then the Prime Minister would know.

But curiosity is something that cannot wait to be killed at the last moment. He wanted to know in advance, at least before the invited audience at the Rashtrapati Bhavan came to know the names and the faces. What faces? Does it matter at all? After all, whatever the face is now, it will be lost once the person joined the cabinet. But that is a side issue. Who are going to become ministers? That is the question now. Curiosity, earlier biting the PM, now started eating into him. He had to do something about it.

He could ask Karunanidhi. At least he would know, whether his daughter was going to be inducted into the cabinet or not. But if Dr Manmohan Singh talked to him, Karunanidhi would definitely talk about the Ram Sethu issue. He would want to know the Centre’s position on it and the line it was going to take before the Supreme Court. And what could the PM say? If the government knew what it was going to tell the Supreme Court, it would have already done so. The government, being a secular one, had nothing but contempt for Rama. But he seemed to carry some votes in his pocket. If there was a way of keeping the votes and letting Rama go, the government would have embraced the idea with enthusiasm.

But Karunanidhi would not listen. He wanted the bridge to go along with Rama, making way for TR Balu, the Shipping Minister to sail in the Palk Straits. So talking to Karunanidhi would only be inviting acrimony.

Lalu Prasad Yadav might know all about the cabinet reshuffle. But if the PM asked Lalu to satisfy his curiosity, Lalu may use the occasion to demand a Bharat Ratna for Rabri Devi. Sure, anyone who would be prepared to accept the award from the hands of the present President would be making the ultimate sacrifice. The sacrifice of self-respect. That itself, being an act of the highest form of humility, would make the person deserving of the highest award. But then, if Rabri was given the Bharat Ratna, the next in line would be Mrs Deve Gowda. And Sonia Gandhi would not like that.

So Lalu cannot be approached. Who else? Pranab Mukherjee? He was already considering himself to be more important than the PM. Why confirm it by seeking enlightenment from him? Chidambaram could be knowing some particulars, as his son was close to DMK circles, thus being in a position to know Sonia Gandhi’s mind. But, after the recent coronation by a TV channel as the Indian Politician of the Year, Chidambaram would be assuming airs. Not that he did not have any earlier. But the air assumed by him now could be so dense that he may be causing a low pressure area around himself. And worse, under the pretext of mentioning in passing the next budget, he may start giving lessons in economics to Dr Manmohan Singh. That being the ultimate in humiliation, would be the limit. No, no Chidambaram. Anyway who knew what was going to happen to him in the reshuffle? The Leftists were already baying for his blood.

Talking of Leftists, Prakash Karat would certainly be posted with all details about the reshuffle. But if he was approached, he may start talking about the nuclear deal. It was already exploding in the PM’s face, and he did not want to invite another blast. The effects of radiation had started to tell.

Arjun Singh may be expected to find out at least some aspects of the reshuffle. But he would carry tales to Sonia Gandhi, accusing the PM of being a nosey sort of man, exhibiting an inquisitiveness, totally unbecoming of his office.

The PM was by now a man resigned to his fate. He wrote on a piece of paper lying on his table, “Who am I to aspire to know anything in advance? I am only a Prime Minister. There are higher powers.” He studied it to steady himself, and stifle his curiosity. And to divert his mind, he switched on the TV set. Someone was giving a pitch report prior to a one-day fixture and pointing to a spot on the pitch said, “Look… over here, yes over here…”

The other words were lost on the PM. The words “over here” had an electrifying effect on him. Yes. That’s it! One can ‘overhear’! Sonia and Rahul Gandhi would definitely be discussing the cabinet reshuffle, to decide who was going to be made what. If only he could go to Sonia Gandhi’s residence, hide in a convenient corner, and listen, he could get all details. But could he? The hiding part of it, he could carry out with consummate skill, having perfected the art by sheer practice. After all, whenever the communists came to discuss the proposed pact with the US, he had successfully hidden himself.

When he started weighing the pros and cons of attempting to overhear the conversation between Sonia and her son, his enthusiasm diminished. There were no pros, but plenty of cons. Just then, he heard some footsteps. Someone was approaching. No, there were two of them, somebody talking to somebody. Yes. They were Sonia and Rahul approaching his room.

Dr Manmohan Singh was shaken. Their arrival on the scene, just as he was considering the outrageous act of overhearing their conversation, disconcerted him. He felt as if he was already eavesdropping. His conscience castigated him. He felt guilty. He also knew, that his face would reveal all. His was the face of a nobleman, and it would not hide his inner secrets. One look at him, and she would know. He must avoid the mother and the son. He took a decision. His face would not hide anything, but he could hide himself. He jumped from his chair, jumped around the sofa set, jumped over a table, and the final jump led him behind a wardrobe. As he stood motionless, a practice which had grown on him through his years of prime ministership, Sonia and Rahul seated themselves near the table where he had been sitting and brooding. They thought that he had gone to the restroom, and would be returning shortly.

Just then, Sonia Gandhi’s eyes fell on the piece of paper on which he had been scribbling. The words, “Who am I to aspire to know anything in advance? I am only a Prime Minister. There are higher powers,” stared at her.

She was impressed and showed it to Rahul. He too was impressed. “Could we ever hope to get a Prime Minister like him? Whoever comes or goes, he must stay.” As he heard these words of Sonia Gandhi, Dr Manmohan Singh, heaved a silent sigh of relief. Whatever the blasted reshuffle did, it would not touch him.

This is a word by word reproduction from the hindustan times website and can be accessed here.

The Wall is being pounded

No this is not some wall on the Indo-Pak border. This Wall is India's most valuable match-winner till date. Match after match, series after series, Dravid has been the only player apart from Tendulkar to score against any opposition, on any pitch and under every clime.. He might not be your bludgeon wielding mass murderer of the Tendulkar-Lara kinds - but he was much more effective. His knocks have won more matches than the sum of Sachin's and Lara's match winning knocks. And he has been dropped from the team for the sake of a flat track bully, who can't say 'boo' to a cat on a pitch which has a tinge of green on it, on present form (which is pretty much constant over the last 2 years). And the other thing about this gentleman, Mr. Dravid is that he is one of the most self-less players, at least from those whom I've seen. Dravid would get a penciled No.3 slot in any team - yes, any team including Australia. He averages close to 60 in the tests at No. 3, which is next to only to - behold, a certain No.3 batsman named Sir Donald Bradman. In the one day arena, where he averages a shade under 40, his performances need to be put in perspective of the fact that after being with the team for more than 10 years, he STILL doesn't have a standard batting position - and this is not because his skills are suspect. In the time he was the captain, he could have made sure he gelled his position in the batting order, which was always taken for granted by the previous captains. Sample this, with the ever so inconsistent Srinath heading a young pace attack was not able to accommodate a keeper and Dravid had the guts to take up keeping and did a pretty good job of it in the WC 2K3. And I think he would be the only player to have played in all the positions from opening to No.6 for India and inarguably, he has done well in any position. And to make it better, Dravid is one of the better fielders in the Indian team, especially in the slips and formed a 'Taylor-Warne'-like combo with the Bangalore Bamboozler, Anil Kumble. Its a pity that when sub-standard players are giving a 20 match period to regain form, the Wall is being dumped after ONE poor series.

For those interested, this what Cricinfo has got to say about Mr. Dependable.

Highlights from Cricinfo's Dravid profile:

"Unusually for an Indian batsman, he also averages more overseas - around 60, again - than at home. But impressive as his statistics are, they cannot represent the extent of his importance to India, or the beauty of his batsmanship."

"As a New India emerged, so did a new Dravid: first, he put on the wicketkeeping gloves in one-dayers, and transformed himself into an astute finisher in the middle-order; then, he strung together a series of awe-inspiring performances in Test matches, as India crept closer and closer to their quest of an overseas series win."

"As India finished off the 2004 Pakistan tour on a winning note, on the back of Dravid's epic 270, his average crept past Sachin Tendulkar's - and it seemed no aberration."

DISCLAIMER:

For those who know me personally, having heard me ranting and riling against Dravid, if its Sachin Vs Rahul, I support Sachin for many reasons - but having followed Indian cricket for much of my 23 year life, I cannot deny that Dravid is one gift for Indian cricket after Sachin Tendulkar.

The Hypocrite called Dr. M.K

The political waters are starting to boil again. Tamil Nadu's Hon'ble CM, Dr. Karunanidhi, once again, for the umpteenth time proves that he is pseudo-secular (sickular?) as anyone in India. He has gone on to the extent of asking whether Rama was a civil engineer or some such crap. Why doesn't Dr. M.K have the same bravado attitude to ask the Christians whether Jesus Christ of Nazareth was a MBBS MD from Johns Hopkins as Jesus was supposed to have cured people from sicknesses and its believed that he brought back someone from the dead. If all this is believable to our venerated senior politician from Gopalapuram, why is Rama building the sethu bridge not believable? Even leaving all this, take the case of Islam (Dr. M.K really loves Islam as he fasts with them and calls Hindus as Thirudan when he is under the comforting company of 100 odd muslims). Certain sections of the Islamic society have misinterpreted the Holy Quran and are indulging in terrorism in India and Pakistan - has Dr. M.K ever spoken about this? NO!

My point more than showing deficiencies in other religions (the same way they exist in Hinduism), is to show the lowly vote-bank politics of Dr. M.K. And other supposedly learned people like Dr. Manmohan Singh, Dr. Chidambaram praise Dr. M.K as the architect of modern South India - What Shame!

2 Years in USA

Wanted to put this down on the 9th, marking the completion of two years of living alone. For a guy who hasn't stayed even a day without both my mother and father around, I have come a long way. And I think I can safely say that though my decision to come here to the US has cost me a lot in terms of familial ties and obviously, money, the amount of change (for good) I've undergone in this two years has been tremendous.

Some good changes in me:

1. Value of Money - The result of being a "chella" payyan for my parents resulted in me growing up with no respect for money. I still remember how I used to stow money in a crumpled condition into my wallet when I was in chennai. I think I would soiled and torn at least 2 - 3 notes by my negligence. This stay in the US, where for the first time in my life I lived on my own earnings taught me to respect and treat money with deference. I remember my dad saying "Unnaku paisa oda arumaie theriyale da" when I was in chennai and I used to think my dad was kinda repetitive and used to loathe him when he was in this kind of advise mode, but now I know that I was stupid then.

2. Value of Family: I always used to take my parents and sister for granted - I still remember how once when my mother and sister had to travel alone on stormy night and they had some travel problems and I had the gumption to sleep in chennai with the AC on full blast. If I even think about this now, I so very ashamed. (this happened when I was 15 years old - So no age consideration too). But I have realized how important family is and I call them almost once in two days.

3. Change of Character: I was always a reserved person in Chennai with strangers - I never used to like talking to people - I was very funny at home - It was like a PJ Mazhai at home from me and I was the exact opposite outside home - I used to be the silent kinds. Now the situation is the total opposite - I'm broody and laconic at home (US veetile), but velila vandha PETER-o-PETER!

4. Being Independent: One good thing for me has been that I have no close relative living in the US now has made me really like my stint here for these 2 years.. I've literally done things the way want it to be done. I really like the freedom. But with plans of going back to India by 2012 - 2015, this freedom might not be too long lived. I grew my hair, change my beard style everyday, sleep over in my friends' place, see movies at times I want (I was not allowed to go for night shows when I was in India ) . I love this kinda life. But in the same vein, I have not had the guts to perhaps try out things like smoking or boozing - Yeah, I'm one Pazham only!

5. Cooking: Knowing perhaps to "make" thayir and venner when I was in Chennai, it has certainly been a quantum jump for me in terms of cooking talents. Dishes which I have tried and succeeded in are: Sambar and Rasam (yeah, I struggled with even these when I started), Pulao, Fried rice, Paal Payasam, 'More' Kuzhambu, Vetha Kuzhambu, Chow-Chow Kootu, Pasta, Pulikachal, Aviyal, all 'currys' ( beans, potato, cauliflower and other cow food types), Kalandha sadham types (tomato, coconut, lemon), Dosai with chutney, Chappathi-subzi kinds. And the good thing is I have come to love cooking so much that I even cooked when I had gone to Madras in April.

6. Vegetarianism and Food Habits: When I left for the US, people did tell me that I will become a meat eater soon. But somehow, I have hung on to be a veggie. I'm proud to say that I'm a vegetarian by choice. And since many American restaurants don't have much variety for veggies, I have ceased to have a choice in food. I can eat anything vegetarian - with salt, without salt, properly cooked, uncooked, undercooked, HOT food, bland food, cow food (those elai-thazhai kinds), OATS and cereals (I can eat oats/cereals 3 times a day without any trouble) - anything is okay as long as they fill me. This did have a flip side though - when I went to India, I had a tough time convincing my mother not to make special foods for me. If I wanted to eat cereals for dinner, my mother started crying thinking I was used to it because of my penury in the US!

7. Religion and Spirituality: I had my upanayanam when I was in sixth standard and to be brutally honest, I never performed sandhyavandhanam on days other than Avani Avittam - Gayathri Japam. But when I saw muslims and christians pursuing their religion with such fervor, I was tempted to get back to doing sandhyavandhanam regularly and I have tried to know more about Indian history from the vedic ages, vedas themselves and about Sanathana Dharma in general. I see this as one of the unbelievable changes in me as I was an agnostic/atheist not long ago (2001).

It wouldn't be fair if I said the good things only. I have had some bad habits/characteristics I've developed in the USA:

1. Internet Addiction: For people who talk to me in Gtalk, you will perhaps know that I stay online 24X7. This has given me long sight and I'm still not able to kick the habit.

2. Sleep: My sleep habits are totally screwed up. While I had regular sleep hours in India (10pm - 4.30am), I've not seen 4.30 am any day in the US except on those days when I start sleeping at 6am. Pathetic!

3. Moody: While I was a smile always person in India, being alone most of the time has made me hugely moody. I talk to people when I want to and lots of times, I just refuse to take calls on my mobile simply because I'm not in a mood to talk.


So that's that. I know this one of those sentimental posts, but couldn't help it!

Bardhan in Devil's Advocate

Courtesy: CNN-IBN Website. For full interview, click here.

From this interview, the Communists in India act on one directive - be always against BJP. If Prathibha Patil's integrity is questioned, this guy talks about L.K. Advani, who isn't even contesting the presidential elections. Kitchen Cabinet of Sonia Gandhi is working well! And pity that the Communists have come to this level.

The following questions are the real peaches! Excerpts:

Karan Thapar: You call them lies, but lets explore some of them in detail. Let us begin with the Pratibha Mahila Sahakari Bank. She was it’s chairperson and later its director. And even when she hasn’t held those posts, she has been the critical person running the bank.

In 2003, when the Reserve Bank of India closed the bank, it commented – “allowing the bank to carry on banking business would be detrimental to the interest of present and future shareholders and hence it’s license is hereby cancelled.”

Should a woman who virtually presided over a failed bank be the next President of India?

A B Bardhan: Well, so many institutions fail. That’s quite another question. But she was the chairperson only for a certain period.

Karan Thapar: I am afraid I have to correct you.

A B Bardhan: Facts have been proved before.

Karan Thapar: You are talking about facts, let me draw your attention to Board Resolution number 23 of the Pratibha Mahila Sahakari Bank passed on January 22, 2002. It authorised Pratibha Patil to appoint the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive. So even when she wasn’t the chairperson, she was running the bank.

A B Bardhan: As the promoter and most important person there.

Karan Thapar: Regardless of what capacity, she was running the bank. When she fails, she takes responsibility for the failure.

A B Bardhan: I think the full answer has been given. Documents have shown that she was the chairperson only for a certain period. But if there’s any responsibility that accrues to her, the Reserve Bank is there to take note of it.

Karan Thapar: A woman who presided over a failed bank is the right choice for the President of India? That’s a bizarre decision.

A B Bardhan: A person who was charged with a hawala transaction, a person who was guilty of destroying a masjid (mosque), whose case was in court, wanted to be a Deputy Prime Minister.

Karan Thapar: So you have chosen Pratibha Patil in competition with L K Advani?

A B Bardhan: It is only he and his party who are levelling all these charges. It’s a fascistic trick to throw sufficient mud at a person so that some of it might stick.
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Karan Thapar: But these statements were made much earlier. Let me quote to you a letter written by the President of the Bank, the Vice-President of the Bank and Secretary, all three top officials, on March 13, 2002. At least five years before her nomination, even before she became governor of Rajasthan. This is what they wrote – “There is a threat to our lives and to the lives of our family members from you. You have already communicated this to us in our meeting with you. If something happens to us accidentally or otherwise, you will be responsible.”

Can you as a formal general secretary of the AITUC support as President a woman who threatens allegedly trade union leaders?

A B Bardhan: What are you trying to say Karan? I know of people who threaten, conspire.
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Karan Thapar: You see it as coincidence that while she ran the bank, her family members got loans and then defaulted?

A B Bardhan: My bother commits some crime, and I’m responsible for it? I’m not my brother’s keeper.

Karan Thapar: But it’s a different matter if you happen to be heading the bank at the time when the brother gets loans or if you’re effectively running the bank. That’s what I am pointing out.

A B Bardhan: She was the head only for sometime.
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Karan Thapar: Speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly as health minister on December 10, 1975, Mrs Pratibha Patil said we are thinking of forcible sterilisation of people with hereditary diseases. First of all, do you approve of forcible sterilisation?

A B Bardhan: I don't, I don't, but that doesn't mean I agree with everything she does or says.

Karan Thapar: Let’s explore this a little further. People with hereditary diseases include people with heart disorders, infertility, diabetes, even people with bad sight and bad hearing. Should such people be forcibly sterilised?

A B Bardhan: I don't think there should be forcible sterilisation of at any stage.

Karan Thapar: So, you completely disagree with her?

A B Bardhan: I disagreed with this whole policy of Congress at one stage.

Karan Thapar: Then how come such a woman who said this in the Assembly - it is recorded in the Assembly records - is your nominee for President?

A B Bardhan: She is not going to forcibly sterilise anybody, she is not going to follow those policies, and she is not called upon to.

Karan Thapar: But she stood for it. She’s never recanted. She hasn’t apologised.

A B Bardhan: We are electing a President within the framework of the Indian Constitution.

Karan Thapar: But she still has views and beliefs. She has not recanted or apologised.

A B Bardhan: I’m not called upon to support her views and beliefs.

Karan Thapar: Should she clear the air and recant and apologise for this?

A B Bardhan: Why should she?

Karan Thapar: So she stands by it and you are happy to support her?

A B Bardhan: Many wrong things, mistaken things have been said and done by the Congress and more so by the BJP.
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Karan Thapar: Let me call upon your attention to something that she declared on June 17. She has made it clear that she believes in divine spirits. On June 17 she said that she had had a conversation with a man who died in 1969 because the man had manifested himself in the body of a woman.

You are laughing because it’s hilarious. But do you acknowledge that such a woman should be President?

A B Bardhan: Most of your leaders be the Congress or the BJP believe in godmen, spirits and astrologists.
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Karan Thapar: They say Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion. Doesn’t that apply to the President in India?

A B Bardhan: President of India is a Constitutional head.

Karan Thapar: So it can be suspected?

A B Bardhan: A Constitutional head is not called upon to lay policy.

Karan Thapar: The Constitutional head is the symbol of the country. Should the symbol of the country be under suspicion?

A B Bardhan: The Constitutional head is the symbol of the country whose policies will be laid down by the government.

Karan Thapar: The one thing that the Communist Party has is moral authority. No longer do you have political influence. Why are you squandering your moral authority supporting a woman who is not fit for the top turf? Why are don’t you admit you made a mistake nominating her?

A B Bardhan: Our moral authority is demonstrated in the fact that we insisted that no communal person or belonging to a communal party, to the RSS and the BJP should be nominated.

Karan Thapar: So you can have a potentially corrupt person, instead you can have a woman who stands for forcible sterilisation, or have an orthodox woman who believes in spirits.

A B Bardhan: She has more than 40 years of political career.

Karan Thapar: Alright Mr Bardhan, you can have the last word. A pleasure talking to you.
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Though this show isn't original in concept, I like Karan Thapar and his pre-interview research. And Netas still live! *Sigh*

A Nice Video