Long weekend

Had a relaxing bank holiday weekend with friends and kid's friends, lots of wine, food, sunshine and new activities like rowing and table tennis. Another new experience was a very noisy falling off, of the car's silencer pipe, while driving to the mechanic. The hollow pipe was thankfully picked up by hubby dear, from the road, before it caused a health and safety hazard.

But small hitches like these, were soon forgotten in the glorious sunshine emanating from the sun and four very happy children's faces, who were so happy to be together that even small time separations like sitting in different boats made them sulk unless we made the rowing competitive enough to generate excitement or bad enough to make them wonder if they were ever going to get back on to land at all. Navigating differently abled parents too, kept them busy.

The men were helpful and in good cheer, thanks to the share market in India, which seems to have taken off like a rocket into unexplored territory. Well, the credit goes definitely to the unassuming and reluctant king- the Singh who won the hearts of majority Indians (Manmohan).

One can't disregard the dimpled goodlooking half Italian who suddenly seems to be a darling of the media, whereas earlier he would only be in the news for his faux pas. Men are still voting for Priyanka as the future, whereas the women are definitely for the most eleigible bachelor in the country. Sigh! Women are also quick to rubbish any speculation about his heterosexual status. Come on, whats wrong with being 39 and single?

I overheard my senior colleague and a senior manager, both middle aged women gloating over England's test win against South Africa and they reminded me politely that-"IPL was just about hitting the ball as hard and as fast as possible...it lacks finesse. Test cricket should stay." I preferred to keep quiet. It made me think whether this was a generational shift, with the obviously more impatient younger people wanting immediate results in work, love and entertainment, NOW! as opposed to tomorrow.

Politicians are definitely the flavor of the month. Here in UK, newspapers carrying reports about how many of our parliamentarians' homes, swimming pools, gardens, home theatres, carpets and curtains have been paid for by taxpayers, have been making headlines.

But I wonder if anybody can put a hand on their heart and say that, if they had been in the MP's places and were told that it was all within rules- would they have questioned their conscience and not claimed for what is looking so bad, now that it is in the spotlight?

Don't all business people, go to great lengths to evade tax? Only the salaried class is the donkey with the country's tax burden...a donkey who is penalized for working because as Nandan Nilekani puts it- we are neither good for note nor vote!