Off the record

Class 10 results bring joy to Kashmir’s bakers

In the recently declared results of Class 10, Kashmir Board of School Education, 75% of students were declared successful, with over a dozen of them bagging 100% marks to share the first position. It was a moment of celebration for the families whose wards passed the exams with flying colours, with thousands extending greetings to each other everywhere.

But in Kashmir, such greetings don’t come without bakery gifts. The bakery shops did a brisk business to a level that even cookies were also sold like hotcakes. Monetarily, the bakers are winners!

Zulfikar Majid in Srinagar

Don’t address me as Hindu Hriday Samrat: Raj

The charismatic leader and fiery orator, late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, was called the Hindu Hriday Samrat. However, recently some posters appeared referring to Raj Thackeray as the Hindu Hruday Samrat. Raj is the founder of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena that he established after breaking away from Shiv Sena following differences with his cousin Uddhav Thackeray, now the Maharashtra chief minister.

However, Raj instructed that he should not be called Hindu Hriday Samrat. “Raj saheb has great reverence for Balasaheb and his late uncle is known as Hindu Hriday Samrat. Raj saheb has asked us not to use Hindu Hriday Samrat to refer to him,” an MNS functionary said.

Mrityunjay Bose, Mumbai

When a donkey celebrated a VIP birthday

Thanks to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s birthday and the Opposition Congress’ resolve to protest sardonically, a donkey in Karimnagar had the lifetime opportunity of “cutting a cake” and feasting on it too. The Congress student wing activists led by their state president Balmoor Venkat organised the ceremony on Thursday at the Satavahana University gate, with a picture of KCR stuck on the donkey’s face. The youth leader’s grudge is over the alleged lack of job notifications in the state and KCR’s “false promises, fake propaganda ruining the lives of unemployed youth.”

While the donkey seemed to be content, TRS leaders and the police were not amused by the wry exploit. Balmoor was arrested on the charges of unlawful assembly, provocation, intentional insult, animal cruelty and even theft of the donkey. Earlier on the same day, Telangana Congress president Revanth Reddy, who called for such protests, posted a picture of a chameleon on twitter passing birthday wishes (without naming anyone).

Tailpiece: Not the one to lose an opportunity to appease his boss, who is now combating the Narendra Modi government, Telangana labour-employment minister Malla Reddy said he prayed “for KCR becoming the next Prime Minister of the country.”

Prasad Nichenametla, Hyderabad