 The BJP's
one-year-in-power gig is as fraught with uncertainty as the past year itself. The two-day
bash -- I&B Minister Pramod Mahajan's baby -- is still in the planning stages. One thing's for sure. DD's sports channel will make a bow on March 18 as part
of the festivities with the live telecast of a day-night match in Delhi between Azhar's XI
and Tendulkar's XI. The cost? An I&B official hastens to clarify: "The channel
launch isn't really part of our celebrations. We've been planning it for long, so we felt
we might as well have it now."
That's for the cricket freaks. The something-for-everyone
affair comes the next day near Delhi's Hauz Khas monument. Initially, a three-hour concert
was planned at India Gate with Pakistani pop group Junoon and the Indian act Silk Route.
That's off. The two bands are now composing a song with lyrics by Kaifi Azmi for the
drama-sound-and-light show on March 19 (rumoured budget: Rs 65 lakh) also featuring Om
Puri as the sutradhar, and perhaps Jaaved Jaaferi. The brief: present India's history and
explain BJP's place in it. That's in addition to all the back-slapping ads in the press.
You'd think that's too much to do in too little time. But then, who thought this
Government would manage a first birthday either?
-Anna M.M.
Vetticad |
