Same old story

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar spoke for many by tweeting, ‘Today's bandh proves that the political solution to any problem is at least as bad as the problem.'

Ratty Miller had this to say: ‘India, where it is illegal for a customer to stop a train, but not for a protester to stop and burn them down.' Ashwin Mushran had a question: ‘Has the BJP shut online stores? I guess not. They would have to know how to use computers and live in the modern world.' Akhilesh Mishra had another point of view: ‘If you think a bandh for a day by the BJP is wrong, what do you say to a permanent Bharat Bandh by the Congress? Q4 GDP growth is lowest in a decade.' And from Sorabh Pant: ‘It's kind of ironic that some people's reaction to a rise in prices of fossil fuels is to behave like stone pelting Neanderthals.'

Our hero
Vishwanathan Anand was another topic of discussion, thanks to his winning the World Chess Championship. Mahesh Murthy tweeted: ‘Now that Anand is world champion, will Jayalalithaa be waiting at Chidambaram Stadium with gold chains?' Actor Anupam Kher added, ‘In an otherwise depressing state of the country, Anand's victory brings a sense of pride.' According to industrialist Anand Mahindra, ‘Anand deserves a ticker tape parade. We have done precious little to leverage his contribution to India's Brain/Brand equity.' Someone using the handle Against_Pseudos had this to say: ‘While Anand trends, spare a thought for victors of lesser sports.'

Up in smoke
World No Tobacco Day prompted Ramesh Srivats to send out this message: ‘Like I do every year, I'm celebrating World No Tobacco Day by burning all the tobacco in my house. One cigarette at a time.'

The last word
From wannabe starlet Poonam Pandey: ‘I doubt the bandh will affect petrol prices, but empty roads gave me good mileage and saved some money!'

- Lindsay Pereira is Editor,u00a0MiD DAY Onlineu00a0(twitter.com/lindsaypereira)u00a0