Saturday, October 10, 1998
Gospels from the fabulist
Invariably, the Nobel Prize for literature is a pensioner's delight: superstardom for the grand old man of letters; or, last-minute renovation work on a national monument. It is almost like immortality making a sudden appearance in the book of oblivion. And once in a while the rare thing happens: prize for a functional writer, like Garcia Marquez, like Toni Morrison.
Please wake up now, Mr Sinha
If the UTI crisis isn't enough to wake up Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and force him to take sharp remedial measures in the institutions controlled by his government, either directly or indirectly, we're in danger of heading for a financial institution-led stock market collapse. While the signals have been there for all to see for a long time, the ministry continues to downplay the severity of the problem, hoping it'll just go away on its own.
Destination nowhere
When former prime minister I.K. Gujral laid the foundation stone for the 287-km-long Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway line in July last year, he became the fifth VIP to do so in the past 12 years. However, about Rs 340 crore later, the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link still leads to nowhere.
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