Delhi: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, lately back from his foreign tour, was reading out a three-page post-trip statement to the Rajya Sabha and stopped after page two-for more than his customary pause. He sat down, and it was left to Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh to get him back on his feet, but the legs must have been hurting. He sat down yet again with still a paragraph to go.

The Smoke Police

Chennai: They may be used to sniffing around, but the ban on smoking in public places has given the Chennai police more of that to do. More than a thousand people have been arrested since the ban. "It's easy to arrest these guys," says Commissioner of Police K. Muthukkaruppan. "We just keep an eye on tea and paan shops where people gather to smoke." But the next assignment doesn't smell so good: a ban on the sale of chewing tobacco and gutkha, which came into effect on November 19. "Chasing paan spits is not easy," says a constable, "and I don't think it will be an enjoyable job to inspect suspicious mouths."

Legal Puzzle

Patna: Who is the asli (real) Yadav in Bihar: Laloo Prasad Yadav or his one time friend-philosopher-guide Ranjan Yadav? If Ranjan is to be believed, Laloo is a Gararia (shepherd) while he (Ranjan) is a khanti (pure) Yadav. Ever since he was removed from the post of RJD working president, Ranjan has been highlighting this fact to claim the leadership of the backward caste, which considered Laloo an avatar of Krishna. The latest such occasion was the Govardhan Puja, the most important festival of the Yadav caste, where Ranjan kept harping on the purity of his Yadav credentials. Maybe the cows can decide on this one.

Battle of the Sexes

Lucknow: Lalji Tandon, Uttar Pradesh urban development and housing minister and prime minister A.B. Vajpayee's most trusted man in Lucknow, is faced with a unique crisis. In the coming assembly elections, he must do battle with Payal, a 6-ft tall motorbike-riding eunuch who calls him the most corrupt of all ministers. Tandon is in a dilemma: if he takes up the challenge, he will have to fight a sleazy little campaign. If he does not, Payal just might win.