When former MP Kripal Parmar was given a seat among the guests on the stage during an IT conferences in Shimla, the organisers of the programme announced him as a “sitting MP”. Fearing any faux pas, they also invited him to the podium to address the audience. Though the MP announced that the call for him to speak had come as a surprise to him, “like I have been caught red-handed”, his crisp and well-framed address proved that politicians are never really out of practice of public speaking.
* Name game
During Prem Kumar Dhumal’s earlier tenure as Chief Minister, there were several officials by the last name of Katwal in the CMO. This time, it is the Dogras who are cause for confusion. Whenever the CM asks for calling up ‘Dogra sahib’, his secretary ponders for some time on who to call, as the Secretary (GAD and Personnel), Secretary (Law) and one Joint Secretary in the CM’s Secretariat all go by the same name.
* Women rule
The BJP’s announcement of giving 33 per cent reservation to women in the party seems to be getting implemented in the government, which has a big list of women bureaucrats. Some names are Chief Secretary Asha Swarup, Additional Chief Secretary Parminder Mathur, Tourism Secretary Manisha Nanda, who also holds charge of MD, Tourism, and CEO, Election Commission; Director, Health Services, Dr Sulakshana Puri and the latest to join the list — Director, Medical Education, Dr Jayshree Sharma.
* Rains hit shootings
The rains this year not only kept tourists away from Shimla, but also became a deterrent for film crews who usually prefer to shoot in Shimla during the summer. However, thinking that the weather would improve in September, many producers had lined up for shooting in Shimla, but the sudden bad weather has delayed many projects, including Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Aamir Khan-starrer “Idiot”.