Give and take

At a press briefing on the coming Pravasi Bharatiya Divas - celebrated on January 9 every year to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India - External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj emphasised that this year, the event would be "different" from all previous years. When a journalist pointed out that an event of this scale was a grand wastage of the government's resources and that "NRIs khaa pee key chalein jaatein hain" (the NRIs come, have a good time and leave), a determined Swaraj refused to buy the argument. As a parting shot she said, "Iss bar sirf khaa pee key chalein nahin jaayenge, kucch dekey bhi jaayenge" (this time they won't simply enjoy and leave; they will also give something in return).