Indians shine in 2003

Highlight was ebbing of rivalry between NRI groups...

A personal note
It is Christmas. High Street stores opened their doors early in the morning with the hope that shoppers would flock for last minute purchases and help salvage them from the poor sales statistics. The shoppers were expected to defy gloomy, dark days, with the sun not seen for the last almost three days, and splurge. Retail sales of nearly £1.2 billion were expected, out of which over half would be paid by credit cards. The likes of Barclays would be quite happy.

But then more important than the welfare of high street stores is the fact that a few days later 2003 would be history. I have been writing the Diary almost throughout the going, going year wherein I noted events, people and issues and talked about the Indians here, in particular. I would like to reflect on how 2003 would be remembered.

On a personal note I would say it was a nice inaugural year for the internet UK Edition. The Hindustan Times created media history by setting up the site, the first Indian newspaper to venture out of the country. The site has been noticed and complimented. The youngsters and columnists who enthusiastically contributed - Ruhi Khan, Sunanda Kumar, Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta, Binay Kumar, Dr Saumya Balsari, Wajid Shamsul Hasan and Anita Roy - without expecting much returns and thanks deserve praise and also, of course, Nabanita Sircar as well, who helped put things together from the UK end.

So do the hardworking editorial team back in Delhi comprising Vantika Gupta and Vijaya Sharma, who have done admirably well to help us provide a huge range of interesting and instructive news items to the UK reader. A sort of remote controlled networking. And it has worked.

The British Royals would be the happiest to see the back of the year. It could not have been worse for them. Prince Charles suffered the worst kind of ignominy with embarrassing innuendoes splashed in the media. The Queen would have suffered in silence. The last week before the year out saw her lose her most favourite of Corgis, that too through a murderous attack by a Bull Terrier belonging to Princess Anne.

Prince Charles's long-time friend Camilla Parker Bowles, too, got a severe setback with Diana back on the centre-stage. It must be distressing for the Prince to read in papers that Camilla is often referred to as his squeeze.