Advani's bus breaks down again!

It proved lucky for Dilip Singh Judeo. So he lent it to L K Advani for his Bharat Uday Yatra, hoping some of the good luck would rub off on the deputy prime minister. But the Swaraj Mazda bus does not seem to adjust to Advani. On March 31 it broke down for the second time during the yatra, in Siddhpur, Gujarat, and was sent to a workshop in Himmatnagar for repairs. This after the state-of-the-art bus underwent extensive repairs in Nagpur in the first phase of the yatra.

Before handing over the bus to Advani, Judeo, it turns out, had carried out design changes to make it conform to vaastu norms. If only he had paid more attention to the engine and the air-conditioning.

Lata Mangeshkar revealed an interesting connection with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

'Reverse Atal, you will get Lata,' she said, amid loud applause at a function at the PM's home on March 30.

An ardent fan of the PM, she said she must have been his daughter in a previous birth. 'For many, many years, I have always held him in high respect. I have left all my work to listen to him on television. I see music in his speeches,' she said soon after presenting Vajpayee a CD and cassette of eight of his poems sung by her.

Acknowledging that he too was a fan of Lata, Vajpayee said he was proud she had sung his poems. 'Tum gao, mera geet amar ho jaye.'

The luncheon press conference to release the BJP's 'Vision Document' gave rise to controversy with some journalists fretting over the non-vegetarian spread.

They were unhappy with Lord Ram's very own party serving non-veg food on his birthday!

But others journalists felt the party had 'matured' and discarded its 'orthodox outlook.'

'How long will Advani stand behind Vajpayee?'

Two identical photographs taken five decades apart but showing Advani standing behind Vajpayee, who is sitting on a chair, prompted a sarcastic poser from the Congress.

'How long will Advani stand behind Vajpayee? When will he get an opportunity to sit down?' Congress spokesman Kapil Sibal said referring to the photographs of 1952 and 2004, published in the BJP's 'Vision Document 2004.'

Illustrations: Uttam Ghosh