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The Mess

 
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Winter of Dissent
Justice Denied
Mufti in a Cleft Stick
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Terror's New Home
Building on the Past
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The Complete Man
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After Bombay Drems' success, mainstream theatre productions in Britain are scouting for Asian talent.

 

 
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Having discarded the AIADMK's Dravidian roots, Jayalalithaa is out to overshadow the MGR legacy. India Today's Arun Ram traces the path of her untiring ambition.
Iconic Change
 
INDIA TODAY CONCLAVE

The Conclave concludes on a high note. Al Gore, Stanley Fischer and other world leaders listen and are heard. Catch up on the highlights.
Take me to Conclave now
 
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 CURRENT ISSUE DECEMBER 09, 2002  

NEWSNOTES: DESPATCH

The Right Royal Row, Literally

This was one royal coronation where the pomp and pageantry were outdone by controversy. The heir of "Bubbles" Bhawani Singh, erstwhile maharaja of Jaipur, has become a contentious issue. He has formally adopted Padmanabh, the four-year-old son of his only child Princess Diya and her husband Kunwar Narendra Singh, whose love marriage he had opposed as it was within the same gotra. Padmanabh not only inherits the Jaipur maharaja's properties but also the Gaddi. Bhawani Singh could have willed it to Diya but the adoption was seen as an attempt to pre-empt any dispute over succession. Those challenging Bhawani Singh's right over his properties are Rajmata Gayatri Devi, his father Sawai Mansingh's third wife, and his two stepbrothers born to the late maharaja's second wife. They want stepbrother Jaisingh to succeed Bhawani or Jaisingh's son adopted.

ROYAL RITE: Padmanabh flanked by Bhawani Singh and his wife

This became clear when Gayatri Devi stayed away from the coronation and wrote to Bhawani Singh to "reconsider his plans". Rajput Sabha President Narendra Singh Rajawat declared that adopting a daughter's son was against traditions. This criticism upset the family. "We cannot be expected to adopt the son of someone who has filed a case against us," says the maharani.

Though a galaxy of royals and Rajputs attended the ceremony, including Jyotiraditya Scindia and Arvind Singh Mewar, it would been more of a celebration had the feuding family joined in.

-Rohit Parihar

THE GOLDEN PUMPKIN
MISSING STAR: Sinha at Aan mahurat in Mumbai

He has continued to entertain, even after switching roles to full-time politics, but Union Health Minister Shatrughan Sinha obviously thinks Parliament is unworthy of his skills. What else can explain his erratic attendance in both Houses of Parliament, a lapse for which Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan pulled him up.

Evidently, Sinha was too busy in verbal gymnastics to even notice. Now his career path takes another aboutturn as he prepares to return to his first love: starring in Bollywood movies where his dialogue is written by someone else.

Parliamentary sessions or even health policies play second fiddle to Sinha's newly discovered perks of being a globetrotting Union cabinet minister and a film star. During the eve of the winter session, Sinha was accumulating frequent flyer miles in the US, attending a meeting of the US Association of Physicians. He mercifully cancelled the Senegal leg of his global tour to return to India-only to fly down to Mumbai to grace the mahurat of Aan in Mumbai on Sunday. It's unclear what was more tempting-the prospect of being the first cabinet minister to act in a film or replacing erstwhile adversary Amitabh Bachchan.

-Sandeep Unnithan

TRAVEL

KATHMANDU: 3 nights/4 days Indian Airlines packages from 11 cities. Includes airfare, breakfast, transfers, tours. Package from Delhi, for instance, starts from Rs 8,780. Valid up to March 31, 2003. Contact: IA office or travel agent.

GOA: Radisson Hotel & Resort "All in the family" offer for 3 nights for Rs 21,000. Includes transfers, meal credits, water sports and discounts. Rates not valid from December 20 to January 6, 2003. Contact: 011-6473333

MALAYSIA: 3 nights/4 days in a four-star hotel for Rs 17,000 per head. Includes breakfast and one night in Colombo. Ex Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Valid up to December 13, 2002. Contact: 022-2023401 e-mail: toursbom@jetair.co.in

SINGAPORE: 3 nights package for Rs 29,990 per person. Includes airfares, hotels and free food vouchers. Valid up to December 20, 2002, Contact: 011-8634343 e-mail: travelhut@spectranet.com

-Neelam Mathews

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