ALTER IDEM

Ever since that dramatic day 6-7 months ago, when namma MP became namma Mukhya mantri , we knew it.... by-elections would be forced on us. And, today, we, the people of the Chikmagalur - Udupi Lok Sabha constituency had to choose our new representative. I have been unenthusiastic about this by-election right from the start. For one, I have not been able to tell the difference between having & not having a representative in the Lok Sabha! Secondly, those noises Mr.Y has been making about returning. Lastly, those noises didi has been making about mid-term polls. Mid- term or full term, our new representative doesn't have much time to prove himself. And, quite frankly, I'm tired of all the petty bickering and scams. I decided to skip the parties and vote for an independent candidate this time. My choice would be someone with a likeable symbol. Our representatives may be a little muddled up about their responsibilities, but, we, the dutiful citizens of the country aren

The other Sunday, the newspaper supplement had a write-up on some of the erstwhile royals of Tamil Nadu - the Sethupathis of Ramnad, one among them. The current 'Raja', while talking about his duties & responsibilities, had mentioned a century-old school in Madurai that he had to look after. So, imagine my astonishment when the book I read last week was a school days memoir of someone who had studied in the same Sethupathi School - the school where M.S.Subbulakshmi made her debut as a singer! 'Green Well Years' by Manohar Devadoss is about this gang of 5-6 adolescent boys. Schoolmates, these boys spend most of their free time together. Their favourite hangout place is a large, open well on the outskirts of Madurai. The water looks green....hence, the title! The author weaves a series of autobiographical incidents from his boyhood days with the history & geography of places in and around Madurai. In fact, life in Madurai during the early years of Indian In