Things you can do while riding on hot air balloons

I prefer reading news on Sundays. Mainly because I’m not interested in knowing ‘developing’ news, I like it fully ‘developed’. Now, you might be wondering what do I mean by a ‘fully developed news’. It’s a point where the media hype on that news reaches its culmination and starts declining – typically with a media discussion on the role of media in messing things up. Also mostly on Sundays there won't be much breaking news happening, when politicians, terrorists, law enforcement, mother nature, entertainers and anybody else with a potential of breaking a news or two take rest. So this column is a weekly analysis of news that I never wanted to come across, but did so because they happened.

Last week, the news that mattered the most (for me at least) came from the U.S National academy of sciences – “Female rats learn trace memories better than male rats and consequently retain a greater proportion of new neurons in their hippocampi”. Now I would love to write a full page analysis supporting this new revolutionary finding, but unable to do so currently because of two reasons – one –What’s ‘news’ here? Secondly I’m busy searching where exactly is this hippocampi and how can we reach there. May be once I find that out, we will have no such thing as ‘domestic violence’ in future.

Another news item last week was that “Obama wants to watch Slumdog Millionaire”. I suspect whether it has something to do with the ‘millionaire’ word than the Oscars, especially because I hear that he is after them these days. In a related but separate incident, a child star from the said movie was slapped and kicked by his father – for “refusing an interview”. I wish our political class too get such caring fathers. Also, it will be a good learning for Mr.Obama as well, to deal with his millionaire businessmen who messed up the economy and made our lives more miserable.

The next important event that happened last week with potential far reaching consequences is “Lucknow couple tie the knot in hot air balloon” – Now we all have the same level of sense of humour, but hope you haven’t overlooked the symbolism here - of starting a marital relationship hanging from a hot air balloon. What else can be more romantic?

Here is another one(And again from Lucknow, pure coincidence) before I wind up, one more windy than the above ones. “Class 10 Student Shoots at Teacher”. Now I’m not venturing into the socio-psychological(is there such a thing?) aspects of this heinous attack, but after reading a bit more about this, I’ve two things to point out so that such things won’t repeat in this country – One that the authorities consider ‘having male offspring’ as a major minus point for those applying for gun licenses. Secondly, think twice before naming your school. I agree it’s a lucrative business, but certain things still has to be conducted within the boundary of social ethics.