By Arup Chakraborty
Baba’s bulls, Mama’s dozers
A band of goons recently pelted stones at a wedding procession of a Dalit in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh. The incident kicked up a political storm across the state. The Congress tore into the state government saying that the state’s law and order situation is in a shambles. In the aftermath of the incident, the government kept mum for a while. Nonetheless, when the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) served a notice to the chief secretary and the director general of police seeking a detailed report of the happening the government woke up. Immediately after that, the Rajgarh district administration pulled down the houses of 18 people involved in throwing stones. Nearly 48 people were named in the FIR lodged in connection with the occurrence of violence. It is, however, yet to be learnt how many of them are real culprits. A Congress leader commented: Baba’s (UP CM Yogi Adityanath) bulldozer went into the hands of Mama (MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan). Yet there is a difference: Baba has also unleashed raging bulls on the streets, but Mama has still to do that, the Congress leader said. The stray bulls have become a menace to the people of Uttar Pradesh. They charge anyone. So do Mama’s dozers.
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Wedding after riots
Riots in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh on April 10 almost ruined the family of Laxmi Muchhal who was to tie the knot on April 14. The rioters set her house afire and made off with all the things bought for her wedding. Ergo the marriage had to be put off to some other date. Laxmi belongs to a poor family. She lost her parents a long time ago. It was her brother Satish, a driver by profession, who made all the preparations for her wedding. The rioters threw the family into disarray. A minister of the Madhya Pradesh cabinet met Laxmi during his visit to the riot-hit areas and assured her that the government would take the responsibility for her wedding. A Congress leader said that he was very happy about it, and that though he had nothing to say on the matter, the event only reminded him of an old Bollywood number “Tumhi ne dard diya tumhi dawa dena….”
‘Khaas’ of all ‘Aams’
Everyone longs for delectable Indian mangoes. And why not? It has the sweetness, the fragrance and the succulence that can lure anyone. Ergo the Americans are no exception. Indian mangoes, however, disappeared from the US market nearly a decade ago. Now that the government of India has removed certain hurdles in the way of exporting the king of fruits to the US, the Indian mango is set to return to the tables of the American ‘aam (the common man)’. The first shipment of 150 boxes of Indian mangoes arrived at the JFK airport in 2007 after the nuclear deal. India is the original home of mangoes. Although Alphonso, Kesar and Himsagar are popular, many Americans are well acquainted with Lucknow’s Dasheri and its exotic flavour. They, however, do barely get it. When an American came to know of the news that Indian mangoes would be available in the market, he was overwhelmed with joy. Yet, at the same time, he was sad that he would not get Dasheri. He said during a trip to India a few years ago, he had an opportunity to have the tang of Dasheri. It delighted him so much that as long as he remained in India, he continued to eat Dasheri and still yearns for it. He said, “It is the king of all mangoes. A piece of Dasheri is as delicious as a glass of wine from Bordeaux.”
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Tailpiece
A teacher at a coaching centre told his students to punctuate this sentence: “A smart dog knows its master.”
Only one student could punctuate it: “A smart dog knows it’s master.”
