Gandhigiri’s first converts.

The Ulhasnagar Police Force, would you believe? Or, so claims the Mumbai morninger that used to be an eveninger till not so far ago and still sticks to the monicker that says as much. The credit for spreading the good word goes to a recent movie about two bhais with hearts of gold. How a criminal manages to possess one is beyond me. Come to think of it, though, if they call the Gandhian way ‘Gandhigiri’ – a pejorative derisive label, at best, compare 'dadagiri' (bullying) and 'chamchagiri' (kowtowing) – what they’re preaching (and practicing) may be a parody of what Gandhi preached and practiced. But I could be totally wrong. Maybe their simple-minded reinterpretation of Gandhi – a persuasive repackaging of his thesis laced with humour – is just what was needed to make people look at him anew. And, if Munnabhai could inspire hard core cops to enroll for a course about the Gandhian way and even resolve to practice it in their day-to-day work, that cannot be such a bad thing. Gandhi had a sense of humour. For instance, when a reporter once asked him what he thought of Western civilization, he reportedly answered: “I think it would be a good idea!” http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mohandas_Gandhi.

Actors = cattle. (So, where's the Hitch?)

Carole Lombard died young. In 1942, when she was just 34. It was a mere one year after whe starred in Alfred Hitchcock's Mr & Mrs Smith, one of his earlier films shot in the US. (It seems he directed it on Carole's special request. He must have had high regards for her.) She was reputedly a great comedienne. She also must have had a great sense of humour - off camera. The most famous instance of it concerned Hitchcock. He was reputed to have said somewhere, no doubt in an unguarded moment, that actors were cattle. The remark had been widely quoted all over. Taking a cue from these words, Carole arranged for a troop of oxen to be let loose on the sound stage one afternoon and promptly left for home. I couldn't find any record of the mayhem that must have resulted. This leads me to wonder if the story is apocryphal. Later, however, Hitch tried to do some damage control by explaining that he had actually said actors should be treated as cattle. Game point and set to Ms Lombard.