Andhra Pradesh

Aiming for the moon

The recent ‘success’ of India’s Chandrayaan moon mission has caught the imagination of the city’s dwellers. Engrossed in a speech to children at inaugural session of third national science fair held in city on Monday, General Secretary of Science Fair Academy Md. Samiullah Khan said he hoped to see one among them build a flat on - hold your breath - the moon! That the city’s real estate is on a slump seems not to have deterred the obsessed. Th ey seem to be eyeing the moon as well. Talk of aiming ‘high’!

They say technology is a double edged sword. It serves as a boon and but it can also be a bane. This was evident at the valedictory function of A.P. Akademi’s first Science Congress held at Osmania University recently, where eminent agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan was the chief guest.

The moment, Mr. Swaminathan started delivering his speech, students thronged the stage to capture his image on their mobiles, paying scant attention to what the scientist was talking about. Vexed with the number of students gathering before the stage and obstructing the view for the audience, a professor literally stood on the steps preventing them from getting on to the stage.

Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy, appears to be working hard on improving his Urdu speaking skills. At the public meeting organised by the Jamiatul Ulema-i-Hind last week, Mr. Reddy charmed the gathering with his speech. He did not confine himself to the customary “Assalam Alaikum”, but continued further. Later he expressed his inability to proceed further and said while he could not express himself in Urdu, he could understand the language well enough. Later, Mr. Reddy switched over to English. This effort of Chief Minister drew lot of applause.

Identity is of crucial importance to a politician. So when a battery of cameramen gather to shoot pictures of the politicians, they invariably sport ‘kanduvas’ of different hues identifying them as members of the respective parties. But the members of Praja Rajyam party (PR) are at a distinctive disadvantage. The other day when the PRP leaders were posing for some pictures without party ‘kanduvas’, the photographers suggested them to carry at least their party flags for better photos. Realising the ‘mistake’, two leaders carried flags and posed before photographers. And the shutterbugs too were happy.

Though the effects of recession and global market meltdown can be seen and felt at all quarters, however one ‘business coordinator’ thinks otherwise. At a recent ‘wedding’ exhibition, he said that recession was more in the ‘mind’ and not so real. True considering the fact that those at the exhibition hardly thought with their ‘mind’ before purchasing dupattas for Rs.6,900!

YOGENDRA KALAVALAPALLI, S. SANDEEP KUMAR, J.S. IFTHEKHAR, M. SRINIVAS, D.V.L. PADMA PRIYA

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