Rashtrapathi or Rashtra Pity?

India now has its First Woman president and the entire country needs to be impressed because a powerful politician pulled off a history of sorts by throwing in the gender card.

The irony is that the same day that Pratibha Patil was sworn in as President, the first Indian woman to join the Indian Police Service was denied the post of Police Commissioner of Delhi.
I am referring to Kiran Bedi an IPS officer who passed out in 1972.

Kiran Bedi was denied the post because she apparently does not have enough active policing experience – and the entire country needs to be convinced, because Kiran Bedi has duly performed the duties and has in the past called for controversy and admiration for discharging her duties.

Kiran Bedi has proved herself repeatedly in outsider-unfriendly Mizoram where she made insurgents surrender, in reforming Asia's largest prison – the Tihar Jail and as the chief of the Narcotics Bureau she has always ensured she left her mark.

However let us continue to feel happy about having a woman as a President during our 60th Independence Day; because Pratibha Patil is a complete nobody, has had no strong opinions, and has never added any great value during her career. She is also only responsible for making minuscule appointments, such as:

• Governors of States.
• The Chief Justice.
• Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
• The Attorney General.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General.
• The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
• The Chairman and other Members of the Union Public Service Commission.
• Ambassadors and High Commissioners to other countries.

This President has a strong sense of history because she thinks that subjugation of Indian women began with the Mughal invaders, she is also contemporary and is a classic example of Modern India because she wears a full-sleeved blouse and keeps her head covered under her pallu.

This Independence day when the nation hears the Presidents speech it cannot be called an address by the Rashtrapathi an abvious alternative to this fiasco would be to call it ‘Rashtra Pity’.

Elaneer……Elaneer

This is probably a group of people who are fast disappearing in urban India; with every passing day the number of people selling Tender coconut on cycles is soon becoming a thing of the past and Supermarkets are making a quick buck by removing the outer green husk and repackaging it with plastic wraps.

This particular vendor had a tip in choosing the best variety; he mentioned that “Tender coconuts should be young and green. While there are various preferences for the taste of coconut water, generally a green coconut with some age spots tastes good.
Coconuts from various parts of the world also differ in taste. For example, Indian coconuts tend to be salty and Brazilian coconuts have sweeter water.”

Today, Coconut water is commonly found in regular cans or tetra packs and is marketed as a sports drink because of its high potassium and mineral content which helps the body recover from rigorous exercise.
Depending on the size a tender coconut, it could contain liquid in the range of 300 to 1000ml and is popularly known as 'Elaneer' in Tamil/Malayalam/Kannada.