Doug’s World

Times of India articles for June 26

A regular Doug’s World feature whenever I travel to India on business is a compilation of TOI quotes. I enjoy the style, the jargon, even the punctuation.

My first thought when flipping through today’s Times of india was “what’s a cut-off?” On the front page, there’s an ad that says “Don’t let cut-offs decide your future. Join GNIIT. Change the way the world sees you.” It seems to be some type of college entrance test, like the SAT. On page 2 there are articles entitled “CUt anxiety from cut-off lists on our new website,” “Science cut-offs kept low to deal with dropouts,” and “1st Cut-Off: Science Stoops to Conquer.” An ad on page 3 features a smiling young woman and says “Cut off worries, your anxiety is understandable. I decided on AIT over a prestigious college of Delhi University. AIT helped me carve a niche on the global platform.”

Here are a few other typical articles from the first few pages of the June 26, 2007 issue of the Times of India …

2 dead, 12 hurt as taxi hits truck head-on
Two persons were killed and 12 persons were injured in a head-on collision between a Radio Taxi and a Tata 407 at Bhatti Mines in south Delhi on Monday. The driver of Tata 407 was also injued in the mishap, while, the driver of Radio Taxi managed to escape. Tata 407 was packed to capacity with more than 20 person on board … A case of death due to rash and negligent driving has been registered against the driver of both the vehicles.

Poisonous bite claims wife, man kills self
It was a tragic end for a newlywed couple when the grieving husband jumped to death after his wife was declared dead on being bitten by a poisonous animal … Seema (24) was brought to the hospital about 3:30 pm after she was reportedly bitten by some poisonous creature. According to director of Kalyani Hospital Dr S K Khanna, she was brought dead to the hospital. “The man jumped from a private building adjoining the hospital.” … family members who rushed to the spot immediately after Pradeep committed suicide said that Seema was bitten by the poisonous animal in their bathroom while she was taking a bath. But they could not name the animal … An official added that they would talk to family members to find more details.

Monsoon on course, says Met
Late night showers and a squall caught the city off-guard on Monday. All that Met officials were willing to say about the approaching monsoon though was that it was well on its course. “Monsoon seems well on its course to Delhi and shouldn’t be too delayed this year. It might arrive around July 2.

Women staffers thrash senior
The manager of a corporate office of a tube manufacturing company was, on Monday evening, thrashed by two women employees and others for allegedly sexually harrassing the women. The manager’s clothes were torn off. They also smashed his Santro car’s window panes, office furniture, a phone and other items … The manager, V K Gupta, eho was finally taken away by police, was arrested after one of the women filed a report against him for outraging her modesty.

Parents of teen ’surgeon’ held
The doctor parents of the 15-year-old boy who performed a C-section in Manaparai in Tiruchirapalli district were arrested on Monday and could face charges of attempted homicide. The boy, whom the doting parents had led to the operating table to prove what a prodigy he was, has however not been traced by the police. … A special team has been formed to find Dhileepan, who is suspected to be in Chennai. … After the controversy erupted, the couple claimed that their son only watched the surgery being done on 20-year-old Neela who gave birth to a baby girl through the C-section delivery. Neela’s husband is said to have claimed that he was not informed about the surgery being done by a boy.

Cong uneasy over Patil ‘revelations’
Congress on Monday tried to bat aside fresh charges about the UPA’s presidential nominee Prathibha Patil, but worries about the fallout of the driblets of embarrassing disclosures are beginning to gnaw at the leadership. Party spokesperson Devendra Dwivedi told the media that the charges were unsubstantiated, ducking a specific query if Patil, in her avatar as the chairperson of a cooperative bank, had favoured her kin with loans.

4 loan recovery agents arrested after debtor beat to death
Despite the Supreme Court ordering banks not to use strong-arm tactics to recover money from defaulters, a leading bank in the city did just that last week and sent its “recovery agents” to an Andhra Pradesh government employee’s house to reclaim its dues. Within hours of the visit last week, the 42-year-old loanee breathed his last at a hospital in Ameerpet. (Amount of the loan was Rs 15,000, or a little under $400.)

Row over govt nod to US ship
The planned visit of the gigantic American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to Chennai port next week has once again drive a wedge between the defence ministry and the Left parties. As it is the Left does not like india’s burgeoning defence relationship with countries like the US and Israel. … [CPI national secretary D Raja said] “Keeping in view the whole development in the West Asian region and particularly American’s stance against Iran, we are concerned about the government’s decision.”

Hillary collects $2m, applause from NRIs
Unfazed by the scrutiny of her ties to Indian-Americans, presidential election frontrunner Hillary Clinton collect $2 million and several rounds of applause from NRIs at a fund-raising gala on Sunday. The event also showcased the growing political activism of Indian-Americans, now regarded as the wealthiest ethnic minority in America. … The biggest cheer of the evening came when, speaking of her own presidential bid, she remarked, “I understand it’s likely that India will have a woman president, perhaps in the next month or so.” … She also spoke of the many Indian-Americans who worked on her campaign and praised the community for their emphasis on family values and education that had led them to become the most successful minority in the US.

For more great stories and colorful writing, check out the Times of India web site.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 at 3:11 am. You can subscribe to comments on this post through its RSS feed.