Passport to nowhere
Those attending an NDA rally, where the nationalist pitch rarely strays beyond ‘nation first’, would scarcely expect a pitch for citizenship in a brand-new country. Yet, amid the flags and slogans at the NDA’s first rally in Maduranthakam, a small group of ‘spiritual ambassadors’ quietly offered application forms for Kailasa, godman Nithyananda’s self-styled island nation. Clad in white, weighed down by gold-coloured chains and clutching photographs of Nithyananda like identity cards, they stood out effortlessly. Aspiring citizens were told to enrol in a month-long course in Tiruvannamalai. Kailasa, they said, is still under construction. None had visited it themselves, a small detail in an otherwise ambitious recruitment drive.
Subashini Vijayakumar
Whistled out of play
Marking former chief minister MGR’s 109th birth anniversary, the AIADMK organised sports competitions in Erode on Sunday, complete with whistles, towels and a touch of political caution. The events began with the customary whistle, sounded before party heavyweights arrived. Trouble followed when organisers handed a whistle to former MLA KS Thennarasu to flag off a contest. He promptly declined, opting instead to wave a towel, perhaps the safest neutral symbol available. From that moment on, the whistle was quietly retired, with AIADMK functionaries collectively giving it the cold shoulder. After all, the whistle now belongs to rival TVK, and no one wanted to blow the wrong signal.
P Srinivasan
Caught in the net
With residents flagging the near-absence of mosquito fogging across Chennai, a video of corporation workers placing mosquito nets under the lids of silt catch pits has gone viral, inviting ridicule and questions over ‘innovative’ use of public funds. Responding to queries, GCC Mayor R Priya said this was not a civic body initiative but a trial by a few councillors in North Chennai. She then added a twist, saying the nets were not meant for mosquitoes at all, a clarification that only raised more eyebrows. A North Chennai councillor, however, maintained that the nets were used to prevent mosquitoes escaping after insecticides were sprayed into stormwater drains.