Some guys much older than Prince — remember that kid from Haryana — also fell into a hole this week. Although they too were on TV, summoning help for them seemed out of question. They didn’t know they were in a hole. So, it is my sad obligation to tell TV news editors and correspondents that they were in a hole, that they dug it themselves and that viewed from that position the “black Elantra with two girls and a man” would of course look like a cross between a terror story and a bad morality play.

Star News was gravely wondering just what the incident told us in view of Mumbai terror attacks and the consequent upgrade in security awareness. Aaj Tak — screen split in three windows, of course — was worried about the effectiveness of the SPG, the elite force armed to the teeth and tasked with guarding VVIPs. Flicking channels, I noticed that CNN-IBN hadn’t switched from its pre-scheduled programme; only the ticker was exercised about the security breach at the PM’s house. I can’t remember what the programme was about but it was magnificent by virtue of the simple fact that it was something different.

India TV, surprisingly, was hunting Jaswant Singh’s mole at that time. Frankly that was disappointing. I would have loved to see India TV’s take on a “luxury car”, two airhostesses and the PM’s security.

It was NDTV, though, that stopped me cold. Before Thursday evening, if an SPG officer had put a gun to my head and asked me to name the TV channel least prone to excitability, I would have hemmed and hawed and then said NDTV. Asked the same question now and under similar circumstances, I would probably be risking the same fate NDTV journalists speculated might have befallen the three “intruders”.

... contd.