The Diary page: Wednesday Whispers

Tongue at the slips
Last week in Mumbai, Rahul Dravid proved that even the best speakers in the game of cricket can suffer a blip.

Sachin Tendulkar (centre) and Martin Crowe (left) with Rahul Dravid. Pic/Suresh KK

Dravid's ‘moment' came when he was talking about a cricket personality who would receive the ESPN Cricinfo award for his services to the game.

The award went to long-serving coach from Delhi Tarak Sinha whose latest product for Team India is slasher, basher and what not Shikhar Dhawan.

However, in the run-up to the presentation, Dravid mentioned Sarkar Talwar, that tireless Haryana cricketer who has also served the game well.

Wonder what made Dravid mention Talwar and not Sinha. All the same, he was his usual eloquence in company with Martin Crowe and, yes, Sachin Tendulkar.

Sweet journey
One of our colleagues is part of a group of "train friends". In case you are unaware of this quintessentially Mumbai trait, train friends are those people whom you regularly meet and bond with on your commute to work.

These relationships may only last as long as the journey every day, of course but they can be as strong as any longer-lasting bond, as our colleague recently witnessed.

A senior and respected member of one of these groups was to celebrate his birthday, which fell on a Sunday. As the group members only meet one another in the train, on working days, they decided to hold a birthday party in the train carriage, a couple of days before the big day.

Various people undertook to bring cake, snacks etc. The man who brought the cake, however, got delayed in traffic and reached the station only to see the train pulling out.

His train pals, being seasoned commuters, overlooked the blip in their plans and merely held the party two days later and this time the man with (another) cake reached the station early!

As for the "missed" cake? It found its way to the latecomer's office, we hear, where his colleagues shared an impromptu treat.

Too odd for Mumbai
SMOG has Paris city officials so worried that they tried an experiment on Monday, allowing only vehicles with odd-numbered plates to be driven in public.

Pollution was reduced, and Parisians are reported to have cooperated with officials. It won't work in Mumbai, we say… because, for our city's drivers, wheels are a compulsion, rather than a choice!

'Poor' corporators
Municipal corporators have it good. They get free travel in normal and air-conditioned buses. Also, treatment in all civic hospitals is free for them.

But they're still not a happy lot, because the municipal commissioner has (pout) denied them free treatment in private super-speciality hospitals.

The demand, made by then Shiv Sena corporator Manmohan Chonkar from Bandra, in February 2009, was denied by the municipal commissioner last month.

In his reply, commissioner Sitaram Kunte said, "Though all private nursing homes and hospitals register and renew their licences with the BMC health department, the BMC does not have control over their administration and charges for treatment.

So, this does not directly relate to the civic health department." Chonkar's case is that all of the city's 231 corporators can't afford treatment in private super-speciality hospitals, but they deserve it as they do social work. We think Kunte makes more sense!

Eyes Rai-t
The Mahalaxmi is gearing up for the 130-year anniversary celebrations of the racecourse, we hear, to be held on Sunday, March 30 at the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) Ace photographer Raghu Rai who turned lensmen's heads and cameras at the recent C N Wadia Cup Day, has been commissioned by the club to shoot various aspects of the stunning heritage property.

Flowers lend a touch of aestheticism to the stunning locale

Vivek Jain, RWITC chairman, says that Rai has covered the stables, swimming pool (for horses), gym, morning track work and walkers (of the two-legged kind) at the property and the pictures are going to be displayed at the club on March 30 after which, most probably, they may make their way to an art gallery. Meanwhile, a look at two pictures which are part of Rai's race work.

Members watch a race from their boxes. Pics/Raghu Rai

Contributed by: Sujit Mahamulkar, Hemal Ashar, Varun Singh, Vidya Heble