Look And Laugh

The Beatles sang a song that went, “I read the news today oh boy, the English army had just won the war.” But after reading the news this morning, a different song came to my head, the great Fela Kuti’s “Look and Laugh.” (See the video here.)

Yeah: Look and Laugh.

First of all, there is this piece on Hillary Clinton and our environment minister not agreeing on emission targets.

I wonder where all she was taken during her trip. One photo shows her arriving at her hotel to a red carpet reception, complete with sari-clad ladies throwing rose petals at her feet.

The rose petals are significant. She must not be given a bumpy ride. So she must know nothing about the actual state of Indian roads. If she did, she would tell Chacha to fix the roads, and manage traffic scientifically – and thereby reduce India’s emissions of green house gases. Instead, she was taken to some green buildings. Of course, green buildings cannot save much energy when those who have to work in them arrive on rutted and pitted roads. Ask me. I drove to Gurgaon yesterday – where the green building Hillary visited is located. Perhaps they took her there by helicopter.

Second: There is an opinion piece today on the Tata Nano. Yes, the 1 lakh rupee or US$2500 car is here. There have been deliveries. The great Indian automobile revolution is on. It is unstoppable. It is gathering momentum. And there are no roads worth the name.

And finally, to crown it all, here is the news that LK Advani of the BJP is launching another “Rath Yatra.” He is planning to hit the non-existent road in his chariot, to “criss-cross the country to meet party workers, seeking to lift their sagging morale and rebuild his own image after back-to-back general election defeats.”

Where are the roads on which this great political leader of Hindutva can "criss-cross the country"?

Look and Laugh?

Or should it be “Hit the road, Jack!”?

You choose the song.