Oh politics!

Dear Left Front, pray tell me the tale,
In the trust voting, how did you fail?
"The Speaker's to blame,"
Said Karat, sounding lame,
"And the government bought MPs on sale!"

ET 23/0/08: CPM general secretary Prakash Karat charges government of bribing MPs in order to win the trust vote. Read the story here

Also, the Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has now been expelled from his party which he served for over 40years. Get the story here

Name Games

In India
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Renaming of Lucknow airport
At a time like this, is of import.
Will Ajit Singh,with his trine
MPs, now fall in line
And promise the government support?

The Hindu, 18/07/08: NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the renaming of Lucknow airport as Chaudhury Charan Singh Airport by way of paying tributes to the former Prime Minister. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram denied that the decision was to woo Charan Singh’s son and Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh in view of the trust vote in Parliament. The RLD has three Lok Sabha members, including Mr. Singh and the party is now not aligned with any of the three groupings — the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance or the Left front. Get the story here

In the US
-------------
To keep alive George Bush's name,
(In keeping with his world-wide fame)
San Fransico votes,
Says recent reports,
For a sewage plant bearing his name!

Yahoo News 17/07/08: SAN FRANCISCO - A measure seeking to commemorate President Bush's years in office by slapping his name on a San Francisco sewage plant has qualified for the November ballot. Get the story here

Caging the numbers

The minister prayed, amidst wails,
"Bless us Lord, that our government prevails;
Help our numbers increase."
Said the the Lord, "That's a breeze
All you need to do - visit some jails!"

DNA 17/07/08: Power from the prisons likely to decide what turn proceedings in parliament take on July 22. Get the story here

The Great Indian Middle Class and global food prices

Prez George Bush, it has come to pass,
Has laid blame on our Middle Class.
It seems we have hurled,
The rest of the world,
Into crisis by not chewing grass!

ET 3/5/08: US President George Bush has joined his top diplomat in suggesting that the growing prosperity of India's large middle class is contributing to rising food prices around the world. Get the story here

When the penny pinches

"Now the biggest threat facing our Nation,"
Said the Minister, with slight hesitation,
Isn't border onslaughts,
Nor vile terror plots."
"Then what's it?" I asked, "It's inflation!"

Sify Business 31/03/08: Alarm bells are ringing loud for Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The inflation figures released last week have put the financial authority at the central bank in dilemma. For the week ending March 15, the inflation stood at 6.68%, a whooping 76 basis points increase over the previous week figure. Not only is the figure way above the target set by the RBI, but also at 13-month high. Read about it here

Excuse me your Honor, dead men tell no tales!

In the court, when the statement was read,
"There's something amiss Sir," he said;
"The victim has claimed
That I am to be blamed?
How the hell could he do so, being dead?"

MSN News 30/03/08: Ever heard of a dead person's statement being recorded? Well, that's exactly what Delhi Police did to solve an accident case! Eager to show that they were on top of things, police cited in court a statement of Sheikh Azibul Khan that was curiously recorded a year after he died in the accident. Get the story here

Congratulations to the boys in blue

Our boys in blue vanquished the might
Of the Aussies, in the tri-series fight;
They clearly stole thunder,
From the Oz team down under -
What a memorable 'summer of spite'!

The Statesman 06/03/08: Bitter summer ends in triumph.

An item girl, a reality show and personal sacrifice

"The outcome was a gross fabrication."
Miss Sawant complained in frustration.
"The rigging was a blow;
And to think, for this show,
I gave up my breast implantation!"



HT 25/12/07: Bollywood Item girl Rakhi Sawant today filed a criminal complaint against Star Plus channel alleging them of cheating after she lost in the finals of reality show Nach Baliye 3. Get the story here. Also, read about her sacrifice here. Surely, you can feel her pain now?

And the winner is - Narendra Modi, once again!

You may not like his style, at his words you may glower,
But you have to admit he's the man of the hour.
Ignoring attack,
He simply stormed back,
While his opponents rued - grapes are sour!

Brand Modi is a spellbinder
ET 24/12/07

Said the BCCI, sans affection,
"A selectors sole task is selection.
So we have misgiving
In your choice of a living."
So he stopped writing in the sports section.

Then said BCCI, "this is cricket,
And as selector you're on sticky wicket.
You may nurse a peeve
But we can't let you leave."
So he stayed on and prayed for meal ticket.

But the Board again waved a red flag,
With the 7point guidelines and a gag.
And this got his goat,
So he wrote them a note,
"I am quitting, this job is a drag!"

NDTV.Com 02/12/07: Chief cricket selector Dilip Vengsarkar wants to step down following his stand off with the BCCI which has banned him from writing newspaper columns, but has been told not to do so in view of the upcoming team selection for the important tour of Australia and the third Test against Pakistan. Get the story here

The fundamentals of Bengali liberalism

We Bongs are a true class apart;
Told Nasrin, "You needn't depart";
But then we got cracking
And sent her a-packing.
The reason? A quick change of heart!

The Left Front Government bowed to minority pressure and asked Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin to move out of West Bengal. Get the story here

An update: Now it seems that Nasrin has been moved out of Rajasthan too. This gets interesting...we extend her visa (we are liberal) then don't know where to keep her (we don't want to stir up the fundamentalist hornet's nest)!.

To the sexiest Asian woman

In 'Jism', she pouted her lips,
With 'beedi' she jiggled her hips
This hot, dusky gal,
Is a bombshell from Cal -
Well can you guess who? Of course, Bips!

:D

TOI 15/11/07: Bollywood actor Bipasha Basu has been named the Sexiest Asian Woman in the World 2007 by a leading London-based Asian newspaper. get the story here

Games parties play

O how strange are the ways of these folk
Who now treat governance as a joke
Equations of power
Seems to change every hour
While we watch parties play backhand stroke!

ET 20/11/07: Karnataka’s political theatre began to assume the character of a farce on Monday evening when BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa’s short-lived tryst with power ended before it actually began. His resignation as chief minister in less than seven days followed the expected decison of the JD(S) to pull the rug from under his feet. Read the story here

Let mating dogs lie

There once lived a man in Chennai,
Who killed mating dogs, hung them high.
They then sent him a 'curse'
Which he sought to reverse
By marrying a bitch - what a guy!


AFP 14/11/07: An Indian farmer has married his dog in a bid to overcome what he believes is a curse caused by him having stoned to death two mating dogs in his rice field, press reports said. Get the story here

By the color of your skin

A frustrated fan blew his fuse
And smacked Chappell, made headline news.
An impulsive blow?
Well, Greg reveals, "No,
It sure shot was racial abuse!"


Rediff News 14/11/07: Chappell alleges racial abuse in India. Get the story here

What do you feel about this allegation?

Don't like gift color? Divorce wife!

A groom divorced bride, newly wed,
When he found that his bike was not red!
A friend saved the day,
Married, took her away -
It is true! And you thought, dowry's dead!

MSN News 08/11/07:Ranchi: For a bride here, it was a tale of two marriages and a divorce in one night - and all for the colour of a motorbike.Farhana was married to Riyaz Ansari on Nov 8 in Ormanjhi block of Ranchi, 35 km from the state headquarters.After the marriage, Riyaz and his father Aalimuddin Ansari, residents of Ramgarh district, desired to see the bike gifted as dowry.Riyaz got angry when he found a black Hero Honda bike. He had demanded a red-coloured Bajaj Discover. The bride's family tried hard to pacify him, but an angry Riyaz divorced his new bride. Read the rest here

Unthinkable, isn't it?

Happy Diwali

It's Diwali, the festival of light.
As you light up the fireworks tonight,
Pray that each spark
Helps dispel the dark
From our hearts, filling it with delight!

Work and Diwali preparations have kept Inkspot away from the blog these last couple of days. However, we promise to be back full swing from Monday the 12th of November.

Here's wishing everyone a very happy Diwali. Let's raise a toast to the festival of lights!

Off with his hair!

(Photo: PTI)

A young Dhoni fan winced in pain.
No, he hadn't been hit by a train.
But indeed was shook,
By his hero's new look,
"My goodness, he's shorn off his mane!"

The Hindu: 'New look' Dhoni arrives home. Get the story here

Star-track

Munnabhai is now in doubt,
What will it be? In or out?
It seems that the star's
Going back behind bars,
While once more, his lawyers' for bail scout!


Reuters 22/10/07: Actor Sanjay Dutt returns to jail in bombings case. get the story here

Let the celebrations begin!

Once more it's that time of the year
When the Goddess comes home - she is here
All work now shall stop
We'll have fun till we drop,
Said Inkspot while slugging on beer!

This blog shall be on holiday as Inkspot heads out to enjoy the Durga Puja days. We will be back next week. Till then, enjoy the Pujas, Navratri and Dussehra dear readers. Also, Eid Mubarak!