Andhra Pradesh

Some solace

The BJP is known to have a few good strategists who are adept at planning events to extract maximum mileage in the media. But, journalists in the city were surprised to see the BJP scheduling its ‘Rythu Poru Baata’ programme, a roadshow to champion the cause of farmers, in Krishna district on the day Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had a string of programmes.

The BJP’s roadshow was planned from the city to Jaggayyapeta where the Chief Minister later addressed a public meeting. Apparently realising the mistake, party senior leader M. Venkaiah Naidu made up for any loss in coverage by holding an impromptu press conference at Swaraj Maidan, the place from where the roadshow began, early in the day. He did get his share of bites in the electronic media, at least. Some consolation!

‘Praise the Lord’ seems to be the best mantra to catch the attention of leader on the top of ladder. Municipal Administration Minister Koneru Ranga Rao grabbed the opportunity to shower praises on Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy at a meeting in the city on Sunday.

Mr. Rao likened the Chief Minister to Jesus to explain to the audience that Mr. Reddy was committed to the welfare of the downtrodden. “Jesus Christ said that he had come to save the deprived. Similarly, our Chief Minister is striving hard for the uplift of the downtrodden,” he said. Animal Husbandry Minister Mandali Buddha Prasad described the Chief Minister ‘Apara Bhageeratha’, the sage who brought the Ganga to the earth. Will it pay?

The name of Albert Einstein is big business. Science museum stores all over the world are filled with Einstein magnets, posters, spoons, books, CDs, finger puppets and dolls. Einstein is ranked fifth on the list of top-earning dead celebrities by Forbes Magazine, with products in his name earning $ 18 million a year.

But those who organised the theoretical physicist’s birth anniversary at the Regional Science Centre, obviously, had no idea of how “valuable” the name was. For, the banner put up at the celebration spelt his name as E-I-N-S-T-E-N, with I conspicuously missing.

‘Paper leak’, or at least rumours to that effect, is quite common in our country during the season of public examinations. But often, officials concerned get wind of it at the eleventh hour.

If the leakage really happens, they usually replace the leaked papers with another set, to the disappointment of those who manage to lay their hands on the leaked paper.

In the early hours of Monday, some senior Intermediate students shared amongst themselves questions from the physics paper that was said to have leaked.

But when they walked into the examination hall and took the question paper in their hands, they were taken aback to find no question on which they thoroughly prepared.

The happy lot were those students who ignored the leaked questions with contempt and came to the examination centres with an open mind.

While they went about answering all the questions systematically, those who came for the examination by preparing only for the ‘leaked’ questions kept staring at the roof in dismay.

(K. Srimali,

G.V.R. Subba Rao,

G.V. Ramana Rao and J.R. Shridharan in Vijayawada)

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