Delhi: Governments come and governments go but the capital's oh so incestuous society remains unchanged. Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Hindi poems have been translated into English by Pavan Varma, who wears the many hats of socialite, writer and diplomat. The publisher is David Davidar, CEO of Penguin India and recently named by the PMO to the governing society of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Ahem.

Flunking Out Sir

Bhubaneswar: While ministers waited outside, Orissa's Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik would begin his days closeted for no less than an hour with a teacher. The non-Oriya speaking chief minister was trying hard to master the language of the people he represents. But after a year of patient waiting, the patience has grown thin, the chief minister has not learnt much and the tutor has stopped visiting. For the record, Raj Kishore Mishra, the retired English teacher who tried his hand at teaching Oriya to the VIP student, is unwell and therefore on leave. But the grapevine has it that he too has run out of patience-Naveen still reads haltingly from Oriya in Roman script.

Lift Out

Chandigarh: Soon after Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was immobilised by a leg fracture ahead of the crucial assembly elections in Punjab, his Akali acoloytes had set in motion an ingenious idea to lift the demoralised party spirit. It was about a specially-fabricated van fitted with a hydraulic lift that would prop up a wheelchair-bound Badal from the roof to enable him to run the party's election campaign. But Badal shot down the idea, saying such an improvised vehicle may be an eyecatcher but would rob him and his message of attention. .

He's Got a Ticket to Ride

Bangalore: The Congress high command, sources say, is not very keen to give the green signal for a trip to the US to Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna because there is confusion over who should be designated acting chief minister. Both Home Minister Mallikharjun Kharge and PWD Minister Dharam Singh want to take his place. Although there are no visible signs of dissidence yet, Krishna has decided to take no chances. So his trip is on hold until things settle down some on the home front.