Twenty-six years ago, when they were still learning the ropes of a trade they would later excel in, Sharad Pawar, Arjun Singh, N D Tiwari, Vyalar Ravi and C K Jaffer Shareif met at Pachmarhi. That 1963 meeting was of Youth Congress heads across the country and the five were heading the Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka IYC units, respectively. A Gandhi, Indira, was the boss then too and the idea was to draft a programme for the IYC. Fate has taken the then youngsters on different paths in the same party and today all of them are at the same place. Only, none of them is really happy currently and are looking for a spark to light up their careers, at least three of which are at a standstill.

Defining Antony's absence

So where's Mr Clean, CWC member A K Antony? Normally, a keen advocate of good and simple public life, the former Kerala Chief Minister is a curious absentee from the ongoing brainstorming camp. While KKarunakaran is battling a leg ailment in a Kerala hospital, Sitaram Kesri fighting a mysterious ailment in Delhi and Najma Heptulla visiting Moscow for an all-parliamentary union meeting, Antony's absence has no available reason. No one seems to know why he kept away but there is speculation that he spoke to Sonia seeking leave. A better alibi is doing the rounds here: What would Antony do without arch rival Karunakaran around to occupy his attention?Strepsils? no, Halex

Here's some more on the now famous throat lozenges which came to Sonia Gandhi's rescue yesterday. It now transpires she may not have taken Strepsils after all but another soother by the name of Halex. Apparently, former Congress Mahila Morcha chief Girija Vyas once stumbled on this by chance, and since then she has been keeping a strip with her, just in case. Only, in a moment of weakness, she passed on this vital information to Ambika Soni. Now, Soni has replaced Vyas as the Congress women's wing's head, an event Vyas hasn't taken kindlyto. Following this, Vyas took Soni's job as the party spokesperson. When last heard, a royal battle was on to claim credit for producing the lozenges yesterday. While Soni rushed with them to the dais, Vyas now says they came from her bag and Soni was merely the carrier. Clearly, the way to Sonia's heart is through her throat.

Foreign affairs

Guess what, Sharad Pawar is going to school. To learn what exactly foreign affairs is all about. Pawar, always a step away from the prime party slot, is a member of the foreign affairs group which has all of 14 members. He isn't in either of the two prime groups, political and organisational. ``He has nothing to learn anymore in those two areas,'' claimed a follower of Pawar. The man himself has another reason. Apparently, Pawar is busy in Delhi playing host to many Ambassadors calling on him. The frequency is increasing given the instability of the present government. So, Pawar feels he has to keep abreast of international affairs and not be a one-trackhorse. In any case, prime ministers need to be good in all fields, more so would-be hopefuls.