Election Commission is active in West Bengal. It has to be seen if they succed in neutralising science from the art of electrol rigging. So far results have been onthe expected lines - large number of ghosts/bogus voters have been detected in the electro rolls. That was the contrubution of science. What about the art; will Election Commission be able to neutralise that also? The art form practiced are varied, but the most commonly applied is booth jamming; if would be interesting to see how EC can tame this menace. The ruling coalition has so far been more than quiet, they have even performed the politically correct task of welcoming EC's intervention. It is not difficult to understand the reason behind this reaction. Though corruption is wide spread in our society and almost everybody indulges in it in some degree, there is neverthelss a genuine hate against the system and therefore common man generally welcomes honest efforts to clean the system, be it by an institution or an individual. Protest against EC's efforts to restore the sanctity of the electrol rolls would not have gone down well with the voters, the ruling combine realises this too well, hence the silence. The other reason is that perhaps, for the first time ever the ruling combine has a very strong likelihood of winning the next election without actually subverting the system. In hic five years Budhhadeb Bhattacharya has succeeded in driving away the sense of hopelessness that had been pervading during the entire rule of his predecessor. By appearing to be doing something to liven up the moribund economy of the state Bhattacharya has created a feeling of optimism. It is an irony of electrol politics that an election is hardly won on the basis of actual performance. Election is won by the one who conjures up a dream of a 'sunhera kal'. It is promises that win votes not peformance. Bhattacharya's deeds in the past few years has created has fashioned feeling of promise for better tomorrow.

Returning after a long break Lot of thinga have heppened in the meanwhile. I have moved to a new office where the work is supposed to be both more challenging and exciting. So far nothing of that sort has happened, I will wait and watch for a little while. The weather has changed from autumn to winter, the winter monsoon is on, next to follow would be endless days of fog and icy winds. My daughter has been ill for the last two months; causing a great deal of anxity - will she lose another academic year, she has already lost two. The market is doing okay so my investents are giving good returns. Our three year old pet - a street dog whom we had adopted - passed away under mysterious circumstances. She was a gentle soul and very loving, she could follow simple commands like come, sit, stand, go, eat, no. However, the phrase that she loved to hear most was, 'Puchi is a good dog, every body loves Puchi'. Her loss affected us badly. We have brought a new pup home, a german shepard who is as naughty as a pup could be. He has not been keeping well for a week, occassionlly refusing to eat. We are very tense. As anticipated by me, Pakistan beat England, but mark my word India would be no push over. In fact, I would rate the outcome of the Test series 60:40 in India's favour. And lastly a new year has begun.