I'm sure that anyone who has been watching the news channels as much as I have lately will have seen ads urging you to vote for the "Indian of the Year" on NDTV 24x7. Curiosity got the better of me and I finally looked up the nominations. Some of the "reasons for nomination" really puzzled me. Pardon my ignorance but I really think it would've helped if NDTV added a few lines on what the nominees did IN 2008 that would make their nominations relevant.
· Katrina Kaif - "Tornado of Another Kind" - what on earth does that mean?
· Mayawati - "Sab Maya Hai"- maybe it's because she has decided to tone down her 53rd birthday celebrations in light of the 26/11 attacks. However party members refuse to discontinue her cake-cutting tradition.
· Shivraj Chauhan - "BJP's Golden Boy" - last I heard, he became Madhya Pradesh's Chief Minister in 2005 - so why nominate him for Indian of the Year 2008?
· L.K. Advani - "PM in Waiting" - he gets nominated because he's waiting? He's been waiting since 2005, so what makes 2008 special? Maybe we should add Rahul Gandhi to the list. He too has been waiting ever *so* long.
· M.F. Hussain - "Painter in Exile" - nomination for *voluntary* exile? I hear Salman Rushdie is upset at not being nominated for "Writer in Exile".
I would've added the following to the list:
· Shobhaa De - For shedding the "I'm so perfect, I can do no wrong" image and openly admitting to watching Slumdog Millionaire on a pirated DVD. I don't know if adding "Oh Danny Boyle, we love you so" was her attempt to dissuade him from suing.
· Mayor Shubha Raul - For suggesting that we give military training to slum kids so that they can work as security officers for the BMC. Here's an idea - how about we send them to school instead?
· MINT reporters - For telling us exactly what Ramalinga Raju ate, drank, what time he went to sleep and how thick the mattress was in the prison cell. Talk about investigative journalism! I think the nomination might have to be withdrawn on the grounds that we're still unclear whether Raju had any of the "chicken curry, rice and rasam" that the prison serves on Sundays. Seriously guys, how could you leave out this crucial piece of information?
· NDTV reporters - For outlining why British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's visit to Mumbai is very significant "because ONE Britisher was killed in the attacks".
· Priya Dutt - For her naivety in thinking there is any kind of loyalty in politics. · Last but certainly not the least - Ramalinga Raju - but the nomination has to be in the Cinema category. I think he can beat Nasseruddin Shah as "The Actor", what with such a convincing performance over the past 7 years. He sure had everybody fooled.
Now, who are you going to vote for?
By,
Sanjana
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