Singur Saga

It is now over - Tata is leaving Singur. After months of uncertainity, the pullout came as a surprise. It could yet turn out to be a clever PR ploy by the Stalinist regime in Bengal to discredit Mamata Banerjee and bring the Tatas back once the dust settles. As of now though, Tatas are packing their bags and going to Karnataka or Gujarat. Mamata Banerjee has declared victory and Medha Patkar and others such as the 'National Alliance of People's movements' have welcomed the pullout. They can now shift their base camps to wherever Tata's go next, this time with the full backing of the Stalinists and their media, unless of course, they go to Kerala, in which case it will become a 'development' issue again.

It had all sorts of twists and turns in the plot like a Perry Mason novel or an Indian movie. No one could say what will happen until the very last minute. But all is well that ends well. At last the deal is done. How was it done? What next?

The mini-war in the Caucusus has put the spotlight firmly on the new release of Cold War - version 2.0. It was in beta testing all this while, as US and Russia engaged in political chess board moves. Now it has been released officially. This release has special significance for India as it is bound to get sucked in, being too large as well as economically resurgent to be left alone or ignored. The way India plays the cards will decide whether it will end up holding the short end of the stick as happened with Version 1.0 of the Cold War.

Pati, Patni aur Woh

Ratan Tata of Tata Motors has finally unvieled the 'Nano'. At Rs.1 lakh (100,000) before taxes, which is about US$2,500, it is the cheapest car on Indian streets and would also be the cheapest on any street.

Cricket is always in the news - whether the Indian team wins or loses. And it is in the news a lot these days. When will this crazy obsession end?