Now Playing: Poll, Pardon and The King

Polling kab hai? Kab hai polling?The 13th Lok Sabha is over. The 14th must meet before six months. It’s that time of the five-year again, and it’s coming six months before time. The elections may take place any day after April 15. The Congress is racing ahead in its cobble-a-coalition drive. The NDA coalition stands strong on the Feel Good ground. Expect mega fun in the next three months as our politicians get back to the streets begging for votes. It’s time of the common man to feel the force. And may the force be with you. In fact all India is going to talk about for the next six months is elections.

Playing pardon-pardon in Pakistan
The Pakistani cabinet has recommended pardon for Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme. President Pervez Musharraf is going to pardon him. In return, Khan has already pardoned Musharraf by absolving him of any role in nuclear proliferation. After it became clear that Pakistani nuclear scientists sold nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea right under the Pakistani military’s nose; with the ruler’s knowledge or without. A couple of days ago, Khan’s associates had told some American newspapers that Musharraf was in the know. It had put both the US and President Musharraf, US’ ally in the war on war, in an awkward position. Khan’s apology has eased the situation for now. Though there is talk that Khan was forced to take the blame and apologise on TV, in English so that the Americans could understand, or die!

Lord of the Hollywood Movies
Lord Of The Rings has arrived. The third and final instalment in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the The King (LOTR-ROTK) is showing at a theatre near you. J.R.R. Tolkein’s epic-proportion story has had a great run on celluloid. The last two Rings movies did great business both at box office and award ceremonies. Jackson created Middle Earth on New Zealand’s virgin and heavenly high reaches. The prequel to the trilogy, tentatively titled The Hobbit, may go on the floor soon. But for the moment, what we are talking about is the Rings experience. Many have decided to grab DVDs of the first two movies — The Fellowship of The Ring and The Two Towers —to refresh their memory before they watch ROTK.