Talk of the town

- THE STRAINS of the compositions of Wagner, Haydn and Brahms in Chennai, with the full resonance of an orchestra from Germany.

The applause rang loud and clear for the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie (German Philharmonic Youth Orchestra) as it began the concert for the day.

The programme comprised an Overture to ``Tannhauser - (Wagner), Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in D Major - (Haydn) and Symphony No.2 in D Major, Opus 73 (Brahms).

This Youth Orchestra, founded in 1974, has been considered one of the country's most interesting and sought after orchestras, says the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Those tuned to Western Classical Music have had to depend on expensive CDs to listen to immortal compositions. The German event provided a chance to attend a ''live`` concert, a rarity in Chennai. The advent of satellite radio, on the recently promoted Worldspace platform, is sure to help many indulge themselves in Western Classical music.

In the ongoing music season, the German Philarmonic Youth Orchestra was well and truly a meeting of the West and the East.

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- THE POSTAL strike has had its impact on everyday life, some of it not visible.

One group which has felt the pinch, is the 500 engineering graduates who are waiting for interview call letters for recruitment as Assistant Professors in Government Engineering Colleges.

These are the graduates who have got past the written examinations, which were taken by 1500 engineers.

Given the way government works, the call letters cannot be sent by any means other than Registered Post, and not by courier. Hence, the agency given the job is unable to fix any interview schedule.

The major recruitment drive has been launched after nearly two decades, for new staff in the Government Colleges, say academicians.

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- MANY A visitor to the office reacted with surprise, when they were told that ``no bags'' were allowed inside.

The AICTE Southern Region office was known among the self- financing engineering colleges and similar institutions in other fields, as a ``difficult place''. The no-bags rule was to ensure that nobody turned up with cash that was aimed at influencing the decisions taken in the office.

Now, the occupant of the office, Mr.Sudarshanam has been transferred out. He has been called to Delhi, and a new person from Calcutta appointed as his successor.

The Eastern region is a much smaller area of operation without the cash-rich influence of the South, where new colleges sprout each year.

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- THERE IS this State Minister who was caught by surprise. An unflattering incident had taken place and the Government faced lot of embarrassment.

The statement to counter the damage was quick to come, and was taken note of by the media. Even after this, the Minister had was not in picture.

``I hear such a thing has happened. Should we issue a statement,'' he asked his staff. To his surprise, a statement had already been issued. ``Who issued it,'' he wondered.

``You have issued it,'' the staff informed him helpfully. Of course, though he was not told, on orders from higher ups, the statement had been issued in his name.

By S.Vydhianathan and K.Ramachandran

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