Golden Eye

Mahajan's Pentium III: Harish Sharma sure is a heavyweight, joining the company of R K Dhawan and Vincent George efficient private secretaries who became powerful in the shadow of their masters.

Harish, the portly aide to IT minister Pramod Mahajan, works like the famed Pentium III chip when it comes to processing the demands of his boss. He is there everywhere in Parliament, at home, in the IT ministry. Harish, a one-time custom and excise employee, works in tandem with Vivek Moitra, who has been with Mahajan since his Mumbai days. But Vivek is a low-key backroom boy. And it's Harish who networks the bureaucracy and keeps the files moving. No wonder IT czars' chant, Harishji, Harishji. He is the download of the day!

The Tau's dilemma

What's there to this talk about Tau Devi Lal resigning his Rajya Sabha seat? The old man is apparently so miffed at the internecine squabbles between elder son and chief minister Om Prakash Chautala and younger son Ranjit Singh that he has decided to quit in protest. Sure, the Tau has a soft spot for Chautala but his heart bleeds for Ranjit who is in the Congress. The poor guy enjoys no power and position and Chautala won't oblige. As the two slug it out, a delirious Tau has threatened to quit.

A losing battle

It has been described as the Bihar lobby's biggest battle. A K Sahai is fighting to become chairman of the Nevyelli Lignite Corporation (NLC), and supporting him are Nitish Kumar, Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan. Supporting Sahai is also Rita Verma, who hails from Dhanbad and is a junior minister in the coal ministry where Sahai has spent a good part of his career. Unfortunately for Sahai, it's the director (Personnel), NLC, R Narasimhan, who has been recommended for the top job. The file is with the PMO, and only Vajpayee's signature is awaited. Fortunately for Narasimhan, it won't be easy for Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, who holds the additional charge of mines after Navin Patnaik shifted to Orissa, to ignore the claims of an officer from his home state at the expense of a Bihari.

Tailpiece

Q: Why should the late Panchamda (R D Burman) be given the award for the 20th century's most visionary composer?

A: Because he composed the sensuous Monika, O My Darling number more than 20 years before Bill Clinton entered White House.