My earlier entry was a little too angry. It's because it was written while I was sitting at the dam site, looking at the beautiful Sindh River clashing sharply with ugly reality.

I just couldn't comprehend how foolish politicians thought we were. Another thing I have problems understanding: why some citizens think it's okay for politicians to do so?

The good thing is of course that while there may be dedicated votebanks, there are also enough people who are voting for change - although they may not want to share that on camera!

ERNEST = EFFICIENT?

Supporters of Jyotiraditya Scindia aren't happy with me. It seems neither I nor Naghma were effusive about the work he's done in Shivpuri. After the show, some of them cornered our local stringer to check whether our people's reactions were doctored.

That makes me so sad. Wouldn't we be killing the very purpose of our show if we started taking selective reactions or working with agendas?

Everyone we met in Shivpuri said Scindia was a very nice man. They said he was honest and that he really works hard. But they also said that they were desperate for employment in the area, that the roads weren't good enough and that malaria (apparently a more lethal form) was killing them. Scindia had apparently sanctioned a 52-crore sewage project in the area but for more than a year, not even the tender was floated. So he may be working, but the work wasn't changing their lives yet.