Nothing could have been clearer than Akhil Kumar’s punch that landed bang on the tip of Sergey Vodopyanov’s nose. More than his punches, it was his footwork, fleet and light but jaunty, that told you he was a winner. In comparison, Dr Manmohan’s Independence Day address was wan, a pale imitation of his own limited oratory powers. He sounded tired. Perhaps the PM is aware of his poor public speaking skills and therefore, never ventures beyond brief statements before TV cameras. Ditto Sonia Gandhi.

The problem is that the Congress doesn’t have a voice, it’s leadership consists of the PM, Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee, Shivraj Patil and Arjun Singh — if they have the words, then they don’t posses the voice and if they possess the voice, they don’t have the words. Rahul Gandhi is still searching for both. Someone, quite literally, needs to speak up.

Take Shilpa Shetty. She sounds loud and clear and rather like crystal tinkling. She also seems to be perpetually enjoying some private joke that stretches her lips into an involuntary (but very pretty) smile. On Sunday night, looking more like a red mermaid than a mermaid, she was on display as the Big Boss (Colours). Or rather it was the deep curve from her waist to hip bone with a coy navel peeping out that caught — and kept — the camera’s fancy. So while she introduced the

ladies and gentlemen who had agreed to spend the next 84 days together in captivity, we contemplated her (pretty) navel.

... contd.