Hyderabad Blues

In my 50 day stay at Gandhinagar, I hardly got the chance to read newspapers. And so I have been reading overtime here in Mumbai. From the climate conference in Copenhagen to the 'thrilling' confessions of Ajmal Kasab. I even know the names of each of Tiger Woods' mistresses and the amount they plan to sue him for! But the one issue that has hogged the headlines for the past week or so is that for the creation of a separate Telangana state. The premise that smaller states will lead to effective administrative units makes a lot of sense. But where does one draw the line? Mayawati has sent a proposal for the trifurcation of Uttar Pradesh, a state which has already been split once. People in Vidharba want a state for themselves. And then we have Gorkhaland in West Bengal, the most sincere of all the proposals. The North East past of West Bengal is so dissimilar as compared to the rest of the state that separation there is inevitable. I frankly don't have any real opinion on this issue and it matters very little to me as to whether India has 30 states or 50. But I really pity todya's school children as when I was in school I had serious issues remembering the capitals of a mere 25 states.