Deadlines and a lull salaam

Babies have stopped bawling. Couples have stalled before they make any further move on each other. Tennis balls have frozen mid-air at Wimbledon. Even the flight I’m on seems to be stuck, hanging, according to the flight guide, above Gaya, ominously placed halfway between Left Front-ruled Kolkata and Not-Mulayam Singh Yadav-ruled Lucknow. It would seem that the world, not to mention the known universe as depicted faithfully by the media, is holding its breath to know when the Left will withdraw its support from the suddenly virile, Y-fronted UPA government. It must be all terribly exciting, even though my mind has been occupied for a while with a deeper question: why do aircrafts have “Do Not Smoke” signs in their lavatories and also have small, collapsible ashtrays with the sign of a cigarette being crushed? That is... [read full story]