If only I was famous

A little over two years ago, at the conclusion of the DMH final, as we stepped down from the dais, the Governor of Mah asked me, 'No National Anthem?'. Lost for an answer, I replied, 'No, Your Excellency, we felt it might be inappropriate with the overseas teams here.'

The truth is we never actually play the national anthem at DMH or any of our functions - not out of policy, but more out of the fact that we just dont do it. In fact, if I recall correctly (and I'm probably wrong), it didn't even feature in the little protocol booklet we were given once the Gov said 'yes' to coming.

Fast forward to the present and we have N. Murthy publicly castigated for his comments(rightly so) that it would be embarrassing for foreign students if the anthem was played with the words. Instead only the tune was played. It gets worse - he now has an FIR filed against him under the Insults to National Honour Act. See here. Pretty absurd - all this - to say the least... Sagarika Ghosh's column in the HT today was below-the-belt stuff to be honest and I wouldn't be surprised if a hand or two appeared behind it.

If only I had been famous - that FIR would have been in my name and I would be trashed by her for not being a worthy enough Prez candidate...