Delhi: Sometimes VIPs become prisoners of their own security. On his Japan tour, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wanted to do the journey from Osaka to Tokyo by the Bullet Train which runs at 300 km per hour. His securitymen would have none of it. So eventually it was three dozen journalists who enjoyed the ride while the prime minister had to do the distance on an Air-India flight.

Back to the Future

Mumbai: He has often been called the photocopy of his famous uncle, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, in looks, oratory and temperament. He shares Thackeray senior's interests in cartooning, films, music and art. Sometimes he even shows the famous temper that uncle is known for. His name: Raj Thackeray. But the doppelganger has found that despite these similarities uncle seems more favourably inclined to son Uddhav. Caught in a political vacuum he has reverted to his first love: films. The tiger cub is making a film on Chattrapati Shivaji, the original icon of nationalism and the Shiv Sena's patron saint. Now is this a career move or a political move?

Sonia Mata

Chandigarh: For Congress leaders from Punjab, an appointment with party chief Sonia Gandhi has never been easy to get—a senior leader likens it to a "mission to the moon". Even the few who get through the "controlled access" at 10 Janpath often return ruing their much sought-after encounters with Madam ending up as a monologue punctuated by her monosyllables. Exasperated at the long waitlist and Sonia's silences, a senior Congress leader says he, like others, now prefers visiting the Vaishno Devi temple instead since "one is at least assured of the Mata's blessings".

Drink Like a Horse

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Government seems to have hit upon an ingenious way of ensuring tipplers know when they've had one too many. The excise laws discourage bars, but thousands of IMFL retail shops serve liquor on the sly to "standing committees"-customers who stand and drink. Now this set has more reason to say cheers. Chief Minister O. Paneerselvam has said the Government will arrange for IMFL at Rs 15 per 100 ml "so that people don't fall victim to hooch."