Pranab Mukherjee was hot. You could almost feel the perspiration on his brow. Pranab Mukherjee was happening. Wow. In a sea of men (and a few sarees), he was the one you would have invited out to dinner. When he spoke you listened; when he paused, you paused; when he perched his spectacles on the tip of his nose, you thought of him with the affection for an absent-minded professor. Most of all, you wanted him to go on and on because he was, well, hot and happening.

It’s not often that this portly Bengali babu with two rasgulla cheeks arouses the need to switch on the fan. However, during his reply to the Lok Sabha debate on the Indo-US nuclear deal, he suddenly became the only man you had eyes and ears for — as a parliamentarian, of course. It’s been a long time since we have witnessed a rollicking romp in Parliament and thank the Lok Sabha Channel for giving your mind a roll in the sack. Begging everyone’s pardon, but it was fun — serious, but frolicking as only a mind game can be. Many politicians spoke, L.K.Advani harangued, the prime minister put in a brief cameo but the star of the show was Pranab da. He spoke extempore, without hesitation or repetition, with command over his subject in a stout defence of the UPA government’s nuclear position. No one came even close. Now that’s hot.

Jaya Bachchan was hot too. With indignation. She flounced, she bounced up and down basket ball style, and complained shrilly about taxing questions on the A and A wedding expenditure. No, she wasn’t a sight for any sort of eyes. Switch to another channel.

... contd.