And the gent who runs our country stepped upon the ramparts of the Red Fort on this our 69th anniversary. Of course, there are brand new 2015-2016 promises. Considering that many of the 2014-2015 ‘big ticket’ projects haven’t taken off, some are still works-in-progress, and others have faired averagely at the ‘box office’ I thought that the 56-inch chest would have been reduced, not to 5.6 cms, but a tad. No such luck; the bluster and the ‘big speeches’ continue. Maybe there’s an attempt to keep our hopes up, or maybe he feels nothing is wrong. But I know that every time I hear about a new plan, a new developmental scheme, I believe it less. I’m done with the swagger, I want solutions. On a day-to-day basis, I alternate between annoyance, anger and amusement. And, it isn’t just about hardliners holding a Damocles Sword over the moderate NDA. Or Sushma Swaraj scrapping with Rahul Gandhi, with Lalitgate and Bofors making ugly appearances in Parliament. Ego truly replacing executive decisions.

Illustrations/Uday Mohite