The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ‘Shayari’ and Soniaji

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Tuesday, Feb 26, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

‘Shayari’ and Soniaji

By now Secunderabad MP, Anjan Kumar Yadav’s speeches have become too predictable.

He hardly touches upon the subject of the programme.

A great deal of his talk is devoted to reciting Urdu couplets. If you have attended a couple of his functions you know for sure what he is talking or rather reciting.

The other day at the function arranged to mark the unveiling of the statue of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Yadav was at his poetic best. He reeled off a series of couplets much to the delight of the audience. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was also seen laughing away. Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumantha Rao, intervened to say that Yadav had presented ‘shayari’ even to Soniaji.

Gone are the days when politicians addressing meetings used to make surreptitious enquiries about presence of the representatives of fourth estate.

Nowadays, they adopt the direct approach and make sure that the press reporters are present before they begin their speech.

When Minister G. Vinod was to inaugurate a workshop in the Institution of Engineers the other day, he was very business like.

“Is the press present?” was the first sentence uttered by the Minister.

After the organisers assured that the scribes were indeed present in the audience, he then made a polite enquiry from the scribes.

“Should I speak in Telugu or English?”

As the baffled organisers tried to convince the Minister to speak in English as most of the participants had come from other States, the Minister assured the press.

“Don’t worry. I will keep switching between English and Telugu.”

And then as he launched himself into the topic, suddenly he seemed to have realised that his wedding reception was organised on the same premises.

He went nostalgic recalling how it was difficult to get a hall to organise a reception for a ‘love marriage’ thirty years ago and how the institution had come forward to let out the hall.

The Minister reminded the audience that while ‘love marriages were common nowadays, they created ripples in those days.

Then he seemed to have realised the topic of the workshop and then switched over.

And the Minister, everyone agreed, was adept in switching back from the ‘past’ to the ‘present’ effortlessly.

He spoke eloquently on the topic ‘Role of IT in Infrastructure Development’.

Alumni meets always provide an opportunity to recall juicy stories and titbits of good-old days during one’s academic-stay in the alma mater.

Such meets are always fun to watch and fun to cover too, for the media.

The recently held alumni meet of National Institute of Technology did not disappoint the large gathering.

There was ample smattering of joyfulness.

As per the procedure, the former students introduced themselves by informing about the batch in which they studied and their present designation.

Then there was this gentleman who introduced himself along with the roll number he was designated in the college, which made the gathering break into peals of laughter.

Not confining to that, he even informed the roll number of another member of the alumni, who incidentally was his better half.

J.S. IFTHEKHAR, K.SRINIVAS REDDY AND

S. SANDEEP KUMAR

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