Apsaras down to earth

Women and woman power may be the flavour of the times but even by those standards, External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Syed Akbaruddin’s comment surely flattered to deceive. Greeting women journalists attending Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai’s annual do for the media, he humorously described them as “apsaras descending from Rashtrapati Bhavan”. The reference was to the President’s tea party for members of Indian Women’s Press Corp the day before.