The sounds of silence

It is not just within India that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has become well known for his inexplicable studied silences on matters of national controversy. He appears to have acquired an international reputation on this score as well. A recent meeting of the Indian diaspora in Singapore had a compere jokingly request the audience to turn their phones to "Manmohan Singh mode" ahead of the speeches. No one had to think twice before turning their phones to "silent" mode.