The Maanga

N Ram, at the HT Leadership Summit in 2007,

there is too much editorializing masquerading as news in the various Indian media

The Hindu’s front page report on Saturday, written by N Ram,

Mr. Gopalaswami is an able man with a great deal of administrative experience. He is well regarded in the services. But his suo motu act of adventurism, coming towards the end of his tenure as CEC, is constitutionally and democratically out of line. The Manmohan Singh government will no doubt give the CEC’s unasked opinion the quietus it deserves. But its effect will be to stir up political controversy over an institution that has done its job of conducting free, fair, and peaceful elections creditably during Mr. Gopalaswami’s tenure.

CNN IBN received the highest media award for combining sarcasm and news report for its exceptional transcribing of Muthalik’s interview,

Muthalik - who was also the Karnataka Chief of the Shiv Sena but parted ways with them over the Belgaum border issue - also said Ram Sena was a non-profit organisation and its objective was to “serve the society and prevent bad begaviour”

Ian Jack explained this blog yesterday. On how the gift of articulation and  having something original to articulate are two different things. That their intersection is quite often non-existent. And, worse, it’s not possible for someone to have something original after the first few articulations.[1]

Extended to its logical conclusion, nothing should have ever been written if writers were honest to themselves. Since vanity and honesty are competing virtues, the aberrations result in mutations that embarrass even the winning virtue. Amit Varma. [2]

The losing virtue though, ensures losers lose. And charm.

[1] — Ian Jack cited Philip Roth as an exception. I like Roth unlike she — but wonder if he qualifies. Though, reading American Pastoral and Everyman hardly makes one a Roth expert through the decades.

[2] — Which is probably why one prefers the honesty of a poorly written Muniyandi to the anxiety of purple prose.

Teja Raju, Rama Raju Jr, Byrraju, Ramalinga Raju…. Will someone stop please?