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Us whatchamacallits are rice-eaters. We don't eat those chapatti things, unless we are being tortured, tied-up in an underground cellar with rats gnawing at our feet. All right, all right, some people do, but I don't, eat much wheat. I eat rice (and it shows). In case you're wondering what I'm blathering on about, I gather that the price of rice is less than the price of wheat. Inflation moves slower in rice-eating country than in the wheat world. So everyone can learn from me and stop eating those chapatti thingumies. That way you can beat inflation, and you don't have rats nibbling at your toes.

As for the rest of the stuff — man cannot live by rice alone and cannot afford bread at all (I am not Marie Whatever and am not foolish enough to mention cake, and, gotcha!), the Fin Min has promised that he's going to sort it all out and of course, we believe him or, oops, there goes the election.

No fears for our local brother politicians though. They continue their merry ways. One keeps thundering on about North Indians, gets gagged and keeps quiet, gets ungagged and goes for them again, poor North Indians get bashed up, I start gagging, everyone forgets the Constitution. Er, what's that? Apparently that's what the CM said when he got the state election commissioner arrested. Constitution? We have to follow it? Since when? Good heavens, drat it and so on. Nandlal the EC meanwhile has seen a fair bit of mafia movies in his time or spent some time in Sicily. V for vendetta, said he.

Meanwhile, in the suburbs of the city, western and central, the government and the builders have blasted through forests and had a blast. Residents and others now deemed illegal are saying damn and blast. And before this becomes any more idiotic, all that can be said is that it's a blasted mess.

b_ranjona@dnaindia.net