I Don’t Know, Son! - 30

Query Leaves BJP MP Red-faced!

Son: The members of Parliament (MPs) are provided an annual fund of Rs5 crore to recommend development work in their constituencies, dad.

Father: True.  Go on, son.

Son: While most of the MPs use the funds promptly, there are some MPs who are so lazy to even ensure the benefit of the funds to their constituencies, dad.

Father: Disgusting! Go on, son.

Son: The BJP MP Tarun Vijay was curious to know the names of such callous MPs, dad. He raised the question in the Rajya Sabha seeking a list from the government, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He promptly received a list of 22 such callous MPs, dad. But he was shocked to find one particular name in the list, dad!

Father: Whose name was it?  Go on, son.

Son: It was his own name, dad! He was in the illustrious company of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Anand Sharma (Commerce Minister), Vijay Mallya, H D Kumaraswamy, Ram Jethmalani and Hema Malini, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

The Vested Interest!

Son: The Lok Sabha was disrupted over the case in a Siberian court in Russia seeking a ban on Bhagawad Gita, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The two Yadav heavyweights – Lalu and Mulayam – vehemently pressed for intervention by the government, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The external Affairs minister S M Krishna has termed the plea in court as absurd, dad. He has stated that the Indian embassy is closely monitoring the case, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The BJP, which is always in the forefront in protecting the interest of the Hindus, is playing only a second fiddle, dad.

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son:  The party says that the issue is fully taken care of by the ‘vested interests’, dad!

Father: Interesting. Go on, Son.

Son: While the Yadavs trace their descent from Krishna who belonged to Yaduvansh, the name of the external affairs minister is self-explanatory, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Krishna Quotes Bhagawad Gita!

Son: External Affairs Minister S M Krishna’s reply that the Indian embassy is closely monitoring the case has, however, not satisfied the Yadav duo, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: They wanted to know whether mere monitoring the case will help in sorting out the issue, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: In reply Krishna has quoted Bhagawad Gita, dad!

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: He told them “Karmanyevadhikarasthe Ma Phaleshu Kadachana” (you have a right over action but not on the result), dad!

Father: Wonderful. Go on, son.

Son: The Yadav duo totally agreed with Krishna (Shri Krishna), dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Yeddy performs Yajna – not aimed at CM’s Chair!

Son: The former Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa (Yeddy) has performed a Yajna at Kalladka in Dakshina Kannada, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Yeddy has clarified that the Yajna is not aimed at CM’s chair and it is only to seek divine intervention for good governance in the state through an ‘able leader’, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Yeddy has, however, said that he was ready to take the responsibility of leading the state again if the central leadership takes a decision, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Obviously Yeddy believes that he is the only ‘able leader’ on whose behalf he expects a divine intervention, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Many BJP MLAs Want Yeddy Back!

Son: Many of the BJP MLAs say that they want Yeddy to come back as CM, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: They say that only some of the MLAs have taken the advantage of Yeddy’s de-notification spree (of BDA acquired land) previously, as the others were kept in the dark, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: They are now ready with a list of plots that they want to get de-notified by the benevolent Yeddy, as soon as he is back in the CM’s chair, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

23rd December 2011

I Don’t Know, Son! - 29

Indian among the World’s Dumbest Criminals!

Son: Naim Shaikh, a mechanic from Pune, has earned the dubious distinction of being one of the ‘World’s Dumbest Criminals’, as featured in the Reader’s Digest magazine, dad. In fact his was the only name from India that figured in the list, dad.

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: Desperate to pay his rent, Naim had stolen a brand new Bajaj Platina bike parked in a lane in Pune, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He was encouraged by the fact that the new bike did not even have a registration number that would help tracking it, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The owner of the bike Jeevan Shedge registered a police complaint immediately after he noticed the theft, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Doubting the possibility of tracing of his vehicle, Jeevan started looking for a second-hand bike, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Somebody told Naim that a person called Jeevan was looking for a second-hand Bajaj Platina, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The victim (Jeevan) and the thief (Naim) met each other at a place in Pune when Naim showed the bike to Jeevan, who recognised his bike within no time, dad!

Father: Wonderful. Go on, son.

Son: He started shouting for help, when Naim got into the bike and fled from the scene, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The Pune police did a marvelous job in catching the ‘dumb thief ‘in a matter of few minutes, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Gavaskar’s $1-Million Dream!

Son: All those who log into the Internet are familiar with repeated mails in their inboxes which convey that they have won a $1-million (or even more) lottery, dad!

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son:  It is very normal to delete such mails as spam and forget it for good, dad.

Father: True. Go on, Son.

Son: Something similar happened to our legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, dad. But instead of forgetting the same, he took it seriously, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: It seems the former BCCI President and the Maratha strongman, Sharad Pawar, had jocularly told Gavaskar sometime that his role in IPL deserved a million dollar, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: But Gavaskar took it seriously and believed that he would get an annual fee of $1 million from BCCI for his role in IPL, dad! Incidentally, both Gavaskar and Ravi Sastri are being paid an annual fee of Rs1 crore by BCCI for doing some service, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Gavaskar waited patiently.  However, he took up the matter only after Pawar moved out of BCCI President’s post to take charge as ICC President, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The BCCI has flatly refused the payment and has confirmed that the Maratha strongman has denied any such promise, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Pawar is known as a thorough gentleman who always keeps his commitments, dad. But he never thought that Gavaskar would take his joke so seriously, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Sidhu’s Road Show in Andhra Pradesh!

Son: The former cricket star and BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu appears to have moved from ‘Comedy Show’ to ‘Road Show’, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Sidhu is known for the controversies right from his cricketing days. A certain Azharuddin would vouch for this, dad. 

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Sidhu had left the England tour midway in 1996 in a huff, dad. The then captain of the Indian team Azharuddin till today does not know what made him pack off without informing anybody, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: He joined a well known global sports channel as commentator after retirement from cricket. But he used to focus more on his one-liners (Sidhuism) than the actual game. He was sacked by the channel for swearing on air, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He then moved to a major Hindi entertainment channel as a judge in a programme called “The Great Indian Laughter Challenge”, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The problem here was different, dad. Sidhu would start laughing even before the punch line was delivered by the participants, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: So much so that the participants would forget the punch line they had planned to deliver in the end, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The recent Road Show in Andhra Pradesh (kidnapping of a guard in a toll gate) has only added another controversy to Sidhu’s cap, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Gujarat Ambuja’s ‘Unbreakable’ Cement (TV Commercial)!

Son: Gujarat Ambuja Cement had launched a TV commercial (TVC) – “Tootthe Nahin Yaar! (unbreakable, my friend!)” – to highlight the unbreakable quality of its cement, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The well known Hindi film actor Boman Irani played a dual role (twin brothers) in the TVC, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: In the TVC, the brothers try to break a wall that separated the two houses. But they find it unbreakable as it was built using Ambuja cement, dad!

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: While the unbreakable quality of the cement of the company will be confirmed only by the builders, the unbreakable nature of the said TV commercial is not in doubt, dad!

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: The Company has been broadcasting the same TVC repeatedly for the last so many years, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: So much so that the TV viewers will unanimously vote for its (TVC’s) ‘unbroken’ quality, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

16^th December 2011

I Don’t Know, Son! - 28

The 50% Discount Offer!

Son: Now-a-days each and every product is sold under one discount scheme or the other, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The discount scheme is so popular that even the thieves have started offering discounts, dad!

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: Times of India dated 8th December 2011 carried a news item that a thief has returned one half of the gold chain he had snatched from a woman in Bhadravathi, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The thief had fled with the 25-gram gold chain. But he returned half of the same in the evening along with a letter asking the woman not to lodge a complaint with the police, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: A pocket with half portion of the chain was handed over by the chain snatcher to a boy near the house of the victim, personally, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

The Back-to-Back Burglary Insurance!

Son: The general insurance companies offer burglary insurance cover for valuables at homes, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: But an incident in Udupi makes one think even burglars may have to go for an insurance cover, dad.

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: A report in Bangalore Mirror says that a sleepy robber had his loot stolen while on his way to stash the same at his sister’s house, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: A carpenter had stolen around Rs2.5 lakh and 23 grams of gold from a house in Udupi. But his wife refused to admit him to the house with the stolen items, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The man then thought of keeping them at his sister’s house in another place. But he dozed off at the Bus Stand after having drinks, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: When he woke up he found out that another thief had knocked-off his bag, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He rushed to the nearest police outpost. But refused to file a complaint, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Google for Google!

Son: The Economic Times has published an article stating that Google India has been served with a notice from the Income Tax Authority, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The notice stated that the Indian unit declared revenues of Rs74.9 million instead of sales of Rs1.67 billion for the year ended 31 March 2008, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: When a newspaper correspondent tried to elicit further details of the notice from Google India, the company spokesperson declined to comment, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He politely asked the correspondent to use Google search engine to find out, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

The Tweeting Lessons!

Son: In the good old days the students used to be asked to write essays on different subjects in their English language classes, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: They were also taught the art of précis writing or writing a summary of the main points in an article, dad.    

Father: True. Go on, Son.

Son: But the students of today neither have the time nor the patience to write essays or even summaries, dad.

Father: True. Go on, Son.

Son: The Government is said to be thinking of introducing ‘Tweeting Lessons’ in the English language syllabus to keep abreast of the present day culture, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

10^th December 2011

I Don’t Know, Son! - 27

Now the Snake-Treatment for the Corrupt!

Son: The officials at a government office in Uttar Pradesh had some unusual visitors at their office recently, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: It seems they were sitting over an application submitted by a snake-charmer called Hakkul for allotment of a small plot of land to set up a serpentariam, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: They were dilly-dallying over the issue for more than two years because Hakkul failed to pay the expected bribe, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Having waited for long Hakkul felt it was high time to give them a ‘fare treatment’, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He had a stock of over 72 snakes in his possession and he simply let loose about three dozen of them at the government office to tackle the corrupt officials, dad!

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: The officials ran helter-skelter much to the amusement of the people who were present at the scenario, dad!

Father: Wonderful! Go on, son.

Son: The police department has expressed its inability to put Hakkul behind the bars, dad.

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: Hakkul has told them that he would carry his entire ‘family’ of six dozen snakes with him to the jail, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

On-the-Job Training (Pilot Project) for a Crime Reporter!

Son: A former programme director of a Kannada TV news channel and three others were caught after they robbed two women by throwing chilli powder on them, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The men snatched a bangle and a gold chain from one woman. But the screams from the other woman attracted neighbours who caught one of the robbers, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The identity card of one of the robbers, who was caught later, revealed that he had worked for a TV channel, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He told the police that he was likely to get an appointment with another channel as crime reporter shortly, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He explained that he was only undergoing an ‘on-the-job training’ by committing a crime personally to prove his credentials to the channel, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He reiterated that it was only a ‘pilot project’ undertaken by him, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

The New Mentoring Technique!

Son: The Indian cricket team appears to have chosen a new mentoring technique for the benefit of upcoming players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jadeja and others, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The established opening pair of Sehwag and Gambhir have made it a point to get out early in the match and throw a challenge to the youngsters to show their mettle in the crisis situation, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The technique worked quite well in the first two one-day matches against the West Indies, with Virat and Rohit rising to the occasion admirably, dad.

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: Encouraged by their response, Sehwag and Gambhir wanted to give them even more challenging situation to handle, dad!

Father: Go on, Son.

Son: Both of them got out to the very first ball they faced in the third match, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: This time the technique boomeranged on them, as the West Indies Team beat Team India by 16 runs, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Ability to Get Under the Skin!

Son: Former Indian skipper Ravi Sastri had backed Harbhajan Singh (Bhajji) for the upcoming Australian Tour, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son:  Sastri was of the opinion that Harbhajan had the ‘ability to get under the skin’ of the Australian players, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: A certain Andrew Symonds has reportedly agreed with Sastri’s opinion 100 percent, dad.

Father: Go on, Son.

Son: He says that the ‘Monkey Gate’ scandal has conclusively proved this special ability of Bhajji, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

The Monkey Gate in Bigg Boss!

Son: Former Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds is set to enter the Bigg Boss house as the fifth male contestant in this season, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Earlier there were strong rumours that Navjot Singh Sidhu, the former Indian cricket star would be one of the contestants. However that did not happen, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Now that Harbhajan Singh (Bhajji) has been dropped from the team that is visiting Australia, the viewers are wondering whether Bhajji would be the next male entry in the Bigg Boss house, dad!

Father: Go on, son.’

Son: If that happens, the viewers expect every possibility of another ‘Monkey-Gate’ episode in the Bigg Boss house, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

6^th December 2011

I Don’t Know, Son!-26

Nothing to do With MBA!

Son: A headline in Times of India (ToI) dated 23^rd November reads -“Management Graduate held for threatening man to part with Re1 crore”, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The article says that an MBA was arrested for allegedly demanding Rs1 crore from his former employer, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: It is not clear as to why the ToI correspondent highlighted the MBA qualification of the culprit in the article, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The police who laid the trap confirmed the arrest of the extortionist in New Delhi, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: However they have said that his MBA qualification had nothing to do with his crime, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Shahid Afridi and his Retirement!

Son: The former India batsman Vinod Kambli had announced his retirement several years after he had stopped playing, dad!

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: But the famous and controversial Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi has been going the other way round, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He had announced his retirement several times. But he continued to play all forms of cricket, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: But now he has issued a clarification. He says he had not retired at all, dad!

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: He has also assured that the next time he announces the retirement, it will be the last time, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Mallya in Real Trouble!

Son: Vijay Mallya, The King of Good Times, appears to be really in Bad Times nowadays, dad.

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: The troubles of his Kingfisher Airlines have virtually reached a crisis stage, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: Mallya is now worried about the call given by the anti corruption crusader and the Gandhian Anna Hazare to flog the drunkards, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Mallya has tweeted that he is in double trouble, dad. He says he not only drinks but also produces the beverage, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

The New Gandhigiri!

Son: The definition of Gandhigiri appears to be set for a change, dad.

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son:  So far the people were under the impression that Gandhigiri means offering the other cheek if a person is slapped by somebody on one cheek, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: But the present day Gandhian Anna Hazare’s reaction to the slapping incident of Sharad Pawar tells a different story, dad.

Father: Go on, Son.

Son: According to him the person who slapped Pawar should not have limited it to a single slap, Dad!

Father: Go on, Son.

Son: That leaves no scope for the person who is slapped to offer the other cheek, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Burgler Blames the House Owner!

Son: If you thought that the burglar who stole your household goods is responsible for his crime, you may have to think twice, dad!

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: A burglar who stole the goods from a house in London has blamed the house owner for his crime, dad!

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: He has left behind a letter stating that the householder himself was responsible for the burglary as he had made many dumb mistakes, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The mistakes listed include leaving curtains and windows open, dad! The burglar signed off saying he felt absolutely no remorse, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Justice at Your (Jail) Doors!

Son: The trial in the telecom scandal will now be held inside the Tihar jail where all the accused are lodged, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The order to shift the trial is said to have come from the Delhi High Court, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The decision appears to have been taken following the attack on the former telecom minister Sukh Ram, dad.

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

27^th November 2011

I Don’t Know, Son! - 25

Change Your Barber at Your Own Peril!

Son: A news item in Bangalore Mirror says that a techie was assaulted in Udupi district because he changed his barber, dad!

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: The techie says the barber first went to his office and abused him before assaulting him outside later, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The techie was a regular at the saloon for many years. But he had to change the barber as he had shifted from the place, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: But the barber was not convinced by his explanation, dad. He wants the techie to continue his loyalty and he really ‘means business’, Dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Business at Any Cost!

Son: The Government of India had called for bids from the merchant bankers for managing the initial public offer (IPO) of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The IPO market over the last one year has been next to nothing on account trepid market conditions, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The merchant bankers have been so desperate for business that they want to snatch this prestigious HAL issue at any cost, dad.

Father: Understandable. Go on, son.

Son: The government will choose four out of the nine banks that have tendered their bid, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Three of the banks have quoted a fee of Re1 each, dad. This in effect means that all the four investment banks selected by the government will get only 25 paise each, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The government will write a cheque of 25 paise each and the banks say they don’t mind, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Which Came First – Chicken or the Egg?

Son: No scientist has been successful so far in unraveling the mystery – which came first – chicken or the egg, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The government had denied the request of the organizers of the inaugural Formula One Indian Grand Prix for a Rs100-crore tax exemption for the event, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: Apparently it appears that the organizers gave it back to the government by not inviting the sports minister Ajay Maken for the event, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The minister put up a brave face stating that he wasn’t invited because he wasn’t a ‘cheer girl’, dad!

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: Now the question remains whether the organizers had already decided on not inviting the sports minister or did it only on learning that the tax benefit had been denied to them, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Kambli’s Third Class Statement!

Son: It appears that the former India batsman Vinod Kambli desperately wants to be in the news, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son:  Some days back he made a statement that he had taken retirement, dad. As he had stopped playing in all forms of cricket long back, the question was –‘retirement from what’, dad!

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: Now he has made a statement that India’s loss to Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup semifinal was a result of match fixing, dad!

Father: Go on, Son.

Son: The then skipper Azharuddin has appropriately termed Kambli’s statement as ‘third class’, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Role of Technology in Corruption!

Son: Former telecom minister Sukhram has been given a five-year sentence for accepting a bribe of Rs3 lakh in 1996, dad. CBI had recovered hard cash during a raid at his residence, dad.

Father: True Go on, son.

Son: Sukhram is expected to be lodged at jail number 1 in Tihar prison, which also houses the tainted A Raja, who was the telecom minister till recently, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Poor Sukhram was forced to accept hard cash then as the Indian banking system lacked technology in those days, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: Raja & Co had the benefit of latest technology and the CBI is breaking its head to prove the money trail, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

20^th November 2011

I Don’t Know, Son!-24

Training for the Death Announcement!

Son: All humans have to face death one or the other day. It does not matter even if you are the King or the Queen of a country. Is it not, dad!

Father: True.  But how come you are talking philosophy, son?

Son: I am referring to the reported mock videos being shown to the BBC staff announcing that Queen Elizabeth II has passed away, dad.

Father: But the 85-year old Queen is very much alive right now! Go on, son.

Son: The British are known to be very conservative and traditional. They do not like any deviations in the age old traditions particularly in the matter of their royal family, dad.

Father: True. Go on son.

Son: The BBC had reportedly failed to maintain the traditions in 2002 following the death of the Queen Mother, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: In a bid to avoid such blunders, the BBC is conducting training to staffers well in advance for announcing the Queen Elizabeth II’s death, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Reading Between the Lines!

Son: Amitabh Bachchan has launched the book The Mad Tibetan, a collection of short stories, by debutant author Deepti Naval, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Bachchan has admitted he had not read the book. But he was nice enough to say that he looked forward to reading it, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Amitabh is known as an honest and upright person, dad.

Father: True. Go on son.

Son: Earlier he had slammed a fake twitter account by his name posting ill comments about Ra.One, dad. He had also stated that he had not even seen the film to make such comments, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: However, he had not mentioned anything about his intentions to see it later, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

No First Mover among the PSU Banks!

Son: The Reserve Bank of India has deregulated the interest rate on savings bank accounts for the first time, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The general expectation was that the banks would vie with one another to offer competitive interest rates to mobilise higher CASA deposits, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: While two private sector banks (Yes Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank) have immediately announced the increase in rates to 6% percent from the existing 4%, none of the PSU banks have shown any initiative to announce higher rates, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: In fact State Bank of India, the largest PSU bank, has even stated that it will not be the “First Mover”, even though it said that it may raise the interest rate by 125 basis points, dad. It wanted to see how other banks play it out, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: But all other banks have also become smarter by waiting for some other bank to make a move, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: As a result the SB account holders are left in the lurch, dad! In effect the RBI move is as good as nullified  by the banks who have virtually formed a cartel to retain the SB interest rate at 4% pa, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Another Nero in Rome!

Son: As young kids we had read that Nero, the Emperor of Rome, “played fiddle while Rome was burning”, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: Right now Italy’s finances are in very bad shape and the country is among the PIGS – an acronym used by the global financial analysts for Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The European leaders are wondering whether Italy would also face a ‘Greek Tragedy’, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: But the controversial Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi is said to be unperturbed, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The PM is said to be more worried about the delay in launch of his music album of love songs, dad.

Father: Go on, Son.

Son: The album was set to be launched at Milan in September. However the economic crisis has made the PM postpone the release for now, dad.

Father: I don’t know, son!

Journalist Caught Red-Handed (Mouthed)!

Son: The media persons are well known for creating embarrassment to the dignitaries by asking all sorts of questions, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: For a change one journalist was at the receiving end while attending a court case involving the former CM of Karnataka Yeddyurappa, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The woman journalist of a news agency was pulled up by the Justice in the Karnataka High Court for chewing gum inside the court hall, dad.

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: The judge asked the police to take her away and register an FIR against her, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: However, no case was filed as the journalist said sorry to the judge at his chambers later, dad.

Father: I don’t know, son!

The Judge-Proof Chewing Gum!

Son: The incident is said to have given some ideas to the chewing gum company that marketed the particular brand used by the woman journalist, dad.

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: The Company is said to be thinking of launching a new product and has asked its creative team to come out with a suitable TV advertisement, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The ad is expected to highlight the product as ‘judge-proof’ as it will not be noticed by the judge, if eaten inside the court, dad!

Father: Wonderful. Go on, son.

Son: The creative team has reportedly suggested that the journalist may be offered the role of a brand ambassador, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

8^th November 2011