Jinx Jitters
Avoiding Nehru Guest House, perhaps because the BJP would be discomfited by the name, Kashmir’s government has furnished interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma with a residence believed to be jinxed. Hari Niwas Palace was built by Maharaja Hari Singh for his wife Tara Devi against the advice of priests and astrologers. The Maharaja had to flee during the tumult of 1947-48. In the ‘90s, the palace was an interrogation centre, but even the forces deserted it. Ghulam Nabi Azad renovated it in 2005, making it the CM’s residence, but this was short-lived as the PDP withdrew support. Can Sharma ward off the jinx?
Into The Dragon’s Air
With the national capital choking under the blanket of heavy smog, officials in the environment ministry are believed to be planning a visit to Beijing to study the measures deployed by China to fight pollution during winters when it is at its worst. Beijing has claimed that its new measures will result in a winter that will be the cleanest in a long time. Besides its four-tier system of alerts that call for emergency measures from stopping construction sites to odd-even vehicle bans, Beijing has also pushed through larger structural changes. While, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced the odd-even formula, babus feel seeing is believing and are pushing for a visit to Beijing for some hands-on knowledge. They want to be proactive and not reactive!
Mining Movies
Just recently, G. Janardhana Reddy, the mining magnate who’s battling the iron-ore scam cases, revealed that he’d caught the film bug. The former Karnataka minister, who stunned all last year by re-creating Hampi—its temples, chariots, mansions and all—at his daughter’s wedding, says he’ll venture into making films come March. And his politics? Reddy says he’ll answer that in a month’s time. But he did put to rest the speculation about whether he has drifted away from the BJP, saying, “I’m an active party worker of the BJP and am very much in the party.” How the party feels about him is unknown.
Overheard As Darjeeling prepares for Christmas after violence, leaders of all parties except the BJP are planning a visit. Earlier, they were shown black flags with “BJP Go Back” slogans.
