Q 1. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati plans to spend Rs 700 crore on a complex with a 500-ft-tall statue of...
a. Kanshi Ram in Allahabad.
b. B.R. Ambedkar in Lucknow.
c. Gautam Buddha in Kushinagar.

Q 2. To improve the efficiency of Bihar's MLAs, Chief Minister Rabri Devi plans to...
a. Train them in administration.
b. Give them laptops.
c. Send them abroad.

Q 3. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi plans to raise funds for development through...
a) Special infrastructure bonds.
b) Hrithik Roshan concerts.
c) Online lotteries.

Answers: 1(c) 2(b) 3(c)

Q&A: MADHURI DIXIT
"I'm Doing this as I want to Diversify"

Madhuri Dixit on Kahin Na Kahin Koi Hai, the onscreen swayamvar she hosts, and on being a married actress.

Q. Did Sony pick you as host because you got married?
A. There were several factors. The fact that I was recently married made me more convincing, I guess.

Q. So you believe that kahin na kahi koi hai?
A. Yes. You know, I genuinely believed those dialogues in Dil To Pagal Hai. Even the way I met Ram (her husband Sriram Nene), the way we clicked, it was like these were all meant to be.

Q. Why does Bollywood treat a married actress differently?
A. This stuff is said just for the sake of saying it. People loved me in Devdas. Look at Kajol, she did K3G after marriage.

Q. Are participants drawn to the idea of Kahin ... or to you?
A. (Laughs) They are keen on the concept. I am just a bonus.

Q. If Amitabh Bachchan had not done KBC would you have done this show?
A. I've never done anything in my career just because someone else did it. I'm doing this show because I want to diversify and I'm convinced of the concept.

Q. Kahin ... is seen as Sony's big gamble. Is it yours too?
A. I'm keen to see how it works because it's my shot at TV and it is close to my heart. But it's not make or break for me.

-Anna M.M. Vetticad

MUSIC REVIEW
Haunting Voice

SAFAR VOL I & II (HMV; Rs 100 each)

There have been successful clones of Kishore Kumar but no voice to match that of Mukesh Chand Mathur. Maybe it's because Mukesh's voice has a pensive note that combines anguish and joy, a haunting voice that has a melancholic strain. The two albums chronicle his journey from Dil jalta hai to jalne do (Pehli Nazar, 1945) to Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein (Kabhi Kabhie, 1976).

If Mukesh blossomed as a singer, part of the credit goes to the lyricists who wrote sheer poetry. Some of Mukesh's best songs are here-Suhana safar aur yeh mausam haseen (Madhumati), Dum dum diga diga (Chalia), Sawan ka mahina (Milan), Chandi ki deewar (Vishwas), and Maine tere liye (Anand). Then there are classics like Madan Mohan's Bhooli huyi yadon (Sanjog) and Aa ja re ab mera dil pukare (Aah), a duet with Lata Mangeshkar.

Included are songs composed by music directors the world has forgotten today like Sardar Malik (father of music composer Anu Malik), Sonik Omi, Sapan-Jagmohan, Roshan, Dattaram and Ravi.

But missing here are Ek din bik jayega (Dharam Karam), Kai baar yun hi dekha hai (Rajnigandha), Naina hamare (Annadata) and also Mukesh's bhajans. Nevertheless, this is a collection of classics worth possessing.

-S. Sahaya Ranjit

SOTTO VOCE

After Sony bagged the rights to the cricket World Cup, ESPN-STAR Sports has been forced to think long term. The channel has acquired exclusive telecast rights for all international cricket from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and England from 2003 to 2008 ... The Supreme Court has rejected a petition by MP Simranjit Singh Mann seeking prosecution of Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, his deputy L.K. Advani and Congress President Sonia Gandhi under the Arms Act for brandishing swords during election rallies in Punjab ... He teamed up with German tennis star Boris Becker, but actor Aamir Khan stole the show at the Siyaram's Tennis World charity event in Delhi. An autodriver outside the courts was heard saying that many people had come to watch Khan and someone called "British Baker".