Setting a malnourished trend?

I was alarmed when I saw this Australian girl competing for the Australian finals of the Miss Universe pageant. Stephanie Naumoska, 19, eventually could not make it as the winner. With her 31-25-35 measurements, she seemed to have trouble filling into her already skimpy bikini, though by the pageant and modelling standards, she had the ideal height — 5ft 10in.
However, she has a Body Mass Index of 15.1 — and that, by World Health Organisation standards, means she is malnourished. Experts say her BMI should be between 18.5 and 24.9 to fall into the ‘average’ category.
I’m really glad she did not win the contest, because that would have meant her becoming an unhealthy role model for all the young girls out there in the world. But more than that, I have a question for the organisers of the contest: if all the details were out there, right in front of you, why did you let her contest in the first place?
Any answers, anybody?

Colourful Varunbaba

Well, it’s an untold truth that politicians are like chameleons. They change colours by the minute.
So when animal lover Maneka Gandhi’s son Varun suddenly started espousing the cause of non-violence, I’m sure many people would not have been too surprised.
Just a few days ago, he managed to get bail following his incarceration over some caustic remarks that he allegedly made against a section of non-Hindus. He allegedly wanted to cut off those hands that were raised against the Hindus. I wonder if he was talking about the ‘hand’ of the Congress.

I’m sure the proponent of non-violence — Mahatma Gandhi (God bless his soul) — must be turning in his grave. Sadly, he also shares his surname with this youngster who has now filed his candidature from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh.

Fingering the elections

It’s been a long time since I blogged. Well, I’m back now, and hopefully for good. The only thing that has changed is my surname and my residence. Well, marriage does that to most women ;)
Ok, all jokes aside, it was voting time in Pune. Even as I struggled to find my name in the voters’ list, I couldn’t and so here I am just writing about the event.

Reams and more reams have been written about the great Indian general elections till date, and more will continue to be written. So I would just like to make one observation: the ‘finger’ has changed! The instrument that decided the fate of all the candidates is not the index finger any more, at least not in Pune. I don’t know about how it is happening in other cities, towns, villages and states, but here, in Pune, the indelible ink is being put on the middle finger!

I wonder if this is a well-thought-out move. Till date, it was only the electorate that was frustrated with the non-performing politicians and wanted to show them the middle finger. I guess now even the bureaucrats and government servants are going the same way — by inking the middle finger of voters, are they sending across the same message?