Tamil Nadu
Biriyani Prasad
The question as to which temple offers biriyani as ‘prasadam’ might fox the most ardent quizzer. The country’s biggest biriyani festival, it seems, is held neither in Hyderabad nor in Lucknow or Calcutta but at the Sri Muniyandi temple in Vadakkampatti (Madurai). The bi-annual festival this month used up 2,100 kgs of rice, 83 goats and 300 roosters, according to informed connoisseurs.
Meghalaya
The Hills Will Rock
A century after the British discovered Shillong, Bollywood is finally rediscovering the eastern queen of the hills. Producer Ritesh Sidhwani plans to shoot the sequel of Farhan Akhtar-starrer Rock On in Shillong, often described as the “Rock capital” of the country. Home to a large number of music bands, Shillong also hosts a string of impressive festivals. Sidhwani is aware of logistical difficulties but is hopeful of overcoming them, so captivated is he with the “scenic beauty”.
Melbourne
Blessed By The ‘Boss’
If you didn’t know him, Sudhir K. Chaudhary, unemployed and 31, is the painted-in-India-colours cricket fixture waving the tricolour from the stands. The farmer’s son says he has not missed a single game at home in the last 12 years, thanks to Sachin Tendulkar and the BCCI. He is at the World Cup too—the “Boss” (Tendulkar), he told the media at Adelaide, wrote to the Australia high commission in Delhi. He got his visa in a day.
Gujarat
Inspired Suitor
For the diamond merchant who paid Rs 4.31 crore in Surat for the PM’s monogrammed suit, it was evidently an inspired decision. Laljibhai Patel was in Bhavnagar on the last day of the auction when he felt like bidding. So he chartered a flight but had difficulty landing the plane in Surat. He finally spoke to the district magistrate for permission and was allowed to land. The auction was to end in three minutes when he arrived at the venue to outbid the Rs 2.91 crore (the high amount till then). Patel, who is said to employ 3,800 people, is not among the state’s highest income-tax payers but his premises have been searched by the I-T department in the past. Local media reports claim that all the suit bidders have been ‘I-T raided’ at one time or another.
Delhi
Waiting For Gandhi
For a decade if not more, Congress heir apparent Rahul Gandhi has been like Godot, forever coming. The great white knight to rescue the Congress out of its morass. After the 2009 general elections, it was said it was just a matter of time before he took over the reins of the country from Manmohan Singh. The talk started again when his mother was unwell. But defeat after assembly defeat followed by mysterious absences from the country, and finally the biggest defeat of them all in 2014 followed by the Delhi debacle in 2015 (which incidentally have again sparked calls for sister Priyanka to enter the fray), has prompted the Congress’s “permanent intern”, the same who has so far asked zero questions in Parliament, to take “privilege leave” from the House. Wonder why, though, since he barely attends anyway.
Uttar Pradesh
Pigs Will Fly
The swine-flu scare hasn’t just given a fillip to the sale of surgical masks and antibiotics but has panic-stricken people undergoing tests for which private labs charge inflated rates, says the IMA, slamming the ill-informed campaign. The seasonal flu, says IMA secretary- general Dr K.K. Agarwal, was 10 times as fatal as swine flu. The latter is lethal only if the patient also contracts pneumonia.
Assam
Bora’s Principle
Why can’t we be Kejriwals ourselves? Why do we have to get him here, asks Pradyut Bora, ex-BJP national executive member, while elaborating on plans to launch an AAP-like party in the state. An IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, Bora’s claim to fame is setting up the BJP’s IT arm. Overlooked for the LS polls, Bora’s now quit the party. A damning letter followed: centralisation was spawning junior Amit Shahs, he wrote to the party chief, with “one-tenth your ability but ten times your arrogance”.
