Of Bomb Blasts and Kid Reporters

Remember this year's bomb blasts in Delhi? The office was in a hubbub that unforgettable evening with various reporters calling in with news on the explosions.

How could the Editor's young son be left behind? The baby babbler frantically called up his father to give him this valuable piece of information

"Papa! Aajtak mein Breaking News hain ki Maharani Bagh mein koi bomb blast nahin."

Well, this is one kid with the right nose for news.

Of Shaggy Beards and Warm Welcomes

When Abgeoth Varghese came to Delhi to take up his traineeship here, he wasn't expecting such a warm welcome.

The Mallu lad was quite taken aback when police came calling at his PG residence.

Apparently, the shaggy beard Abgeoth was rearing hadn't quite created the right impression. Well, matters were soon sorted out and the men in khaki left convinced Aby was no militant.

Is it a coincidence he's all cleanshaven now? We certainly don't think so.

Of Navy Brides and Colaba Condos

Yes, Shivika is living life as it ought to be lived - to the fullest.

As the newly-arrived bride, Shivika is the cynosure of all eyes in Navy circles and the star attraction at Mumbai cliques.

With husband Amit, the former journo damsel now resides in a 10th floor flat of a plush condo at Colaba which overlooks the sea.

Shivika spends her mornings admiring the beautiful view from her windows - gazing for a minute or two at the INS Viraat 'parked' in her 'backyard'.

In fact, her first engagement in the financial capital of India was a social do onboard the INS Trishul where the doe-eyed beauty was feted - and Shivika admits she loved every minute of it.

Shivika has even fraternised with the defence wives' club here and is making her mark too. But she says she's really missing her friends here.

We're missing you too, Shivika - and we're glad you are having the time of your life. Enjoy.

Of Thai Brides and Indian Maids

Not many know of the Thai connection in Sumit's life. Turns out the Haryanvi lad's elder brother - a thriving IT professional in Bangkok - married a Thai citizen three years ago.

Circa 2005 - the Thai couple is visiting Delhi and Sumit's taking a few days off to show them around and also accompany them to the family's ancestral house in the vicinity of Chandigarh.

Sumit's parents had been dead against the marriage but true love and Kanjana (yes, that's this practising Buddhist's name) prevailed.

This time around, Sumit's toddler niece would also be visiting India and our colleague will finally get someone to 'Uncle' him around.

When we asked Sumit whether he would be following in his brother's footsteps, we were rewarded with a somewhat obscure reply.

"I'm not in love with any Indian girl," he says.

Does that mean he would settle for a Thai one then? One never knows - considering Sumit did spend some time in Bangkok attending his brother's nuptials.

People reminded of the controversy surrounding the mysterious mark on Sumit's chin some weeks ago, may also please take note of the statement.

Meanwhile, Sumit's also been having domestic problems of another kind.

His maid, like every most other maids in the capital city, is highly irresponsible. She burns vegetables on the gas with unflinching ease and had even locked apna Sumit in his house by mistake, that too when the Business correspondent was getting late for office.

No, we are not aware if she has any designs on Sumit but if so, we can be sure it's only a one-way thing. Coz Sumit's gone right ahead and fired her.

'Peace at last' - that's the only refrain we can hear tolling in Sumit's cranium. And we wish him peace for many more years to come.

Of Flying Juniors and Narendra Modi

Yes, our juniors are certainly flying high these days.

Setuka Mahajan officially kicked off outstation assignments for the juniors flying out to Chandigarh along with some cancer patients.

Meanwhile, Sumathi Chandrasekharan got a chance to nach baliye with Chief Minister Narendra Modi as she covered the four-day Gujarat Mahotsav at Ahmedabad.

The latest outstation trip again went Setuka's way with a day's sojourn in quake-hit Ursu in Kashmir, to report on the Indian Air Force's role in relief and rescue operations.

Good show, people! We seniors wish you many more such assignments.

Of TV Anchors and White Teeth

Television anchor Mriganka Dadwal is going great guns, hobnobbing with the likes of Diya Mirza, Riya Sen and Shilpa Shetty over the past week for her show Ab Aayega Mazaa which airs weekdays at 5.30 pm on Zee Business.

"Of the three, Diya was really sweet," says Dadwal, hinting the other two were not. Weren't they?

And for those under the impression the IIT damsel pigs out at each restaurant she reviews, think again.

"Arre bhai, I hardly get the time to eat," says Dadwal. She recently did a feature on a newly-opened Chinese deli in the capital. "I had an assignment right after that," she explains.

Dadwal now sports a dazzling array of sparkling white teeth and like other media celebrities denies having got them whitened professionally. We find that hard to believe but the Zee Biz Miss is sticking to her stand.

Despite her busy schedule, Dadwal said she would like to meet her friends for lunch at CP this Sunday. Those interested please call her up and let her know right away.

Of Mallus and Mallu-ism

Aparna Nair waxing eloquent in Malayalam while making the Foreign Impact.

Nothing wrong with that of course except for the recipient of her discourse - David Lalmalsawma, who incidentally is not a Keralite and doesn't understand a word of the Dravidian tongue.

But given the fact that Malayalees and Bengalis have grabbed a huge share of the Indian journalism pie, David might just have to put up with the torture a wee bit longer.

Of Blogs and Shameless Publicity

Toe Knee's zany blog at Crazy Journo created a minor splash this week by appearing on Times of India columnist Peter Griffin's watchlist this week.

Griffin, whose weekly column on blogs and the computer world appears in the Mumbai and Kolkata editions of India's most read English newspaper, adjudged 'Crazy Journo' the 'Blog of the Week.'

Despite the honour, Griffin did point out that Toe Knee would have to work a lot, lot harder before he can even think of emulating humour writers Dave Barry and Art Buchwald.

"As the title suggests, the person behind this blog is, apparently, a journalist. And one who perhaps, finds the news reporting not satisfying enough. He does regular take-offs on the news, with deadpan articles that spoof our more, ahem, conventional media," he said.

"His standards are a tad erratic, but we put that down to youth. It will take a lot more life lived before he can hope to rival a Barry, Buchwald, or our aapro late lamented Busybee, but what I like about this blog is that he tries and does often get a grin out of my cynical face," Griffin added.

Of Quakes and Quake Experiences

Believe us, Sovi Vidyadharan is certainly not having fun in Uri.

There are no mobile phone towers, no cyber cafes, no shops in the quake-hit regions - virtually cutting off the disaster correspondent from the rest of the world, as he strives to source stories amidst the devastation all around.

The only cyber cafe in Baramulla and those in Srinagar shut shop at 6.30 pm and for Sovi, who returns from Uri and adjoining areas late at night - these are of little help.

The rare sight of an STD/ISD centre on the way may be welcome, but the long queues of quake victims and army jawans waiting to talk to their folks back home is an unsettling one.

The only option - dictate stories to someone in Delhi over the phone (after coming back to areas which can boast of a mobile tower).

"I am practically celebrating Ramazan with the locals," says Sovi, pointing out that he hasn't had anything to eat since leaving for Uri at 8 in the morning.

The Dravidian lad's also caught a cold from staying out in the chilly winds and that's only made matters worse.

A back-breaking journey of several kilometres in a hired Tata Sumo, the barely there roads to Uri and Tangdhar are a cliffhanger of a test for even trained drivers, who manoeuvre with dangerously little room to spare.

Add to that the clouds of dust which swirl up and sneak inside the vehicle at regular intervals - "I have only had dust for lunch," says Sovi.

His only other companions - the myriad army trucks which pass his vehicle at regular intervals - are not something he looks forward to on the narrow roads.

One inch here or there, and one could go tumbling down into a cavernous gully. Sovi can certainly thank his lucky stars he seems to have an experienced driver.

Our message for Sovi - Hang in there buddy! You are with us in our prayers.

Of Debjit and Several Treats

Debjit Chakraborty, our Crisil guy, has got it made.

The Bengali babu is currently enjoying a month-long stint in London - his third foreign trip in the past year.

Add to this the fact he and wifey Ruma just shifted to a brand new pad AND they are gonna have a baby AND recently celebrated their third wedding anniversary.

Boy! you sure have a lot of reasons for demanding a treat from this guy.

Of New Jobs and Haemoglobin Counts

Swaty Prakash, whose haemoglobin count had gone for a toss just a few months back, is now slowly putting her life back together.

On September 15, the chirpy damsel started work at the Hindustan Times as a deskperson.

More good news in store - hubby Manas is voyaging to Oman on a three-day junket to flag off a boat reprising the historic trade route journey from Muscat to Dwarka - a journey first undertaken more than 5000 years ago.

Of Farewells at Railways Stations

Ambika Pendharkar was all smiles while departing for amchi Mumbai despite our combined efforts to make her shed tears of remorse.

The comfy journey in a swanky new Rajdhani Express, coupled with free icecream every two hours, may have forced her to take a joyous view of the proceedings.

But now we are not so sure. Bet you miss the Capital already, Amby.

Of Sneak Pics and Abhijeet Sawant

Mriganka Dadwal, who after her anchoring stint on Zee Business seems to have forgotten her friends here, is certainly enjoying her time hobnobbing with celebrities.

A little birdie told us of the existence of a photograph which links Mrigs romantically with Indian Idol Abhijeet Sawant.

Clicked by a vicious cameraperson while she was interviewing the dude, the nit pic is currently the subject of a nation-wide search. Don't worry, We'll keep you updated.

Of Punjabi Weddings and the Indian Navy

To be precise, Shivika Kapur jumped on to the marital bandwagon on August 10 last.

Mrs Sood (she hates being called that) has already returned after honeymooning in Darjeeling and is busy settling in at her Mumbai residence with hubby Amit, an engineer in the Indian Navy.

The wedding at Delhi's posh Tivoli Gardens was a tony affair with typical Punjabi fanfare but even so the highlight of the evening was Shivika's grand entrance in a resplendent scarlet lehenga.

Bet she would have won a Best-Dressed Bride contest anywhere in the world.

Of Cricket Controversies and Hotel Food

Avishek Roy, who went off to Gwalior for covering 20/20 cricket, also got a decent impact in the bargain.

Add to that, the sights and sounds of the Scindia kingdom and you know Avi must have had a nice five-day trip.

The only hitch - the hotel food didn't quite agree with the Bengali lad. Well, we all know there's no such thing as the perfect assignment.

Of Snazzy Shirts and the Westside Story

Guess who goes to Westside and spends all of rupees four thousand on a T-shirt, a shirt and four pairs of trousers? The answer: One of our top bosses.

Recently, he entered office quite nattily dressed - causing deskpersons to drop whatever they were doing and simply stare.

In fact, his own boss complimented the former on his choice of snazzy apparel AND expressed his desire to frequent the famous clothing chain.

Well, it certainly proves that the honchos are as conscious of contemporary fashion trends as the college-going crowd.

Of Fishy Matters and Bengali Diets

Well, even as Debjit's gonna be a father, we found out that he's already become a granddad.

Not to a human though. It turns out that a school of four fish that the Bengali dada had been breeding in a fledgling aquarium gave birth to a dozen wriggling aquatic infants.

Unfortunately, the fish tank no longer houses any living creatures and is today merely a bowl of dirty water.

What happened? Well, given the Bengali community's propensity for fried fish, we'll leave you to put two and two together.

Of Love Bites and Secret Affairs

Love Bite???? Wondering about that strange mark on Sumit's right cheek? You are not alone.

The office is rife with reports that Sumit is not himself anymore. Is it love? Or is it merely a shaving nick? Has Cupid finally conquered the Haryanvi dude?

Try as he might, Sumit can't hide the fact that the mark on his cheek looks suspiciously like a hickey.

When contacted, he refused to clarify matters, leaving rumourmongers baffled. But don't you worry, we'll find out more about the mysterious damsel in his life.

Of Some PYTs and an Equal Number of Chairs

Help! Our office has been invaded by an army of pretty young things. Whichever you look, you are likely to spot somebody doing nothing.

Presto! You have found the intern. Arrayed in the latest pret-a-porters, with some even sporting streaked hair, the interns are here to while away a fortnight.

Of course, we can't be too harsh - there isn't much a newcomer can do in our organisation's scheme of things.

Which is why they simply plop themselves into chairs and stare at us, while we stare back wondering how we have aged in the past one year. Wonder who's more curious about the other?

Of Someone Getting Malaria

Avishek's been bitten by a female anopheles mosquito - and the not-so-romantic tryst has resulted in the dude suffering from malaria.

Good thing he's on leave right now - that too in the salubrious environs of his home in Giridih.

Hey Avi, we wish you a quick recovery. Hope you are back in Delhi soon - to cheer us up with that infectious smile.