Of late, I don’t go into the details of the annual budget. The prices of certain items will increase and all that I want to know is whether the prices of certain items I am addicted to, will increase or not. Of course, I must have a rough idea of the pros and cons of the budget so that I won’t be found wanting when some of my friends broach this subject when I come across them. One of them would say, “The centre has increased the prices of petrol and diesel. “Yeah, Yeah; that means the prices of essential commodities will automatically go up”, I would reply. Fortunately, my friends won’t talk about ‘Anticipated growth’, ‘fiscal deficit’, etc.

So I began to read the headlines: They were so annoying and there were indications that there will be agitation all over India. Newspapers seem to derive some pleasure from annoying the readers by giving larger-than-life importance to opposition remarks.

When I was about to close the day’s newspaper, saying “enough is enough” I saw a report under the headline, “Exceedingly good budget: Manmohan”. Thank god. I heaved a sigh of relief. Had they published this particular news on the front page I would have faced the opposition criticism with some mental strength!