Run out
Bal Thackeray withdrew. Pakistan, he said would be allowed to play without the sword of the SS looming over their heads. Meanwhile in the city, senior journalists and cricket lovers rallied together to protest the Sena's vandalism. Slogans such as Maharashtra ke teen hi goonde, Joshi, Thackeray aur Munde. Bahut sharam ki baat hai, police unke saath hai rent the air. On cue, the police arrived on the scene, swung their lathis, and arrested 30 people.The same police had shown less than exemplary speed in arresting 14 Sainiks who allegedly stormed the BCCI office and damaged Rs. 14 lakh worth of property, much of it sentimentally priceless. The Sena maintains that it wasn't Sainiks whodunit, but the prime accused identified by the police is Vinod Khopakar, the Vibhag Pramukh of Dadar. In case you've forgotten, this is the Chief Minister's constituency. Said Manohar Joshi, ''I am confident no Sena worker would resort to such tactics.'' How reassuring!

New onion soup
Three months ago, it brought tears to the consumers' eyes. Now, it's the vendors' turn to cry. The prices of onion have crashed from Rs. 60 a kilo to less than Rs. 10 in major markets, including Delhi. This turnaround prompted the Union Government partially to remove curbs on its exports. In a related move, the ban on potato exports has also been lifted.

Karnad wins Jnanpith
Girish Karnad was awarded the 34th Jnanpith Award. The 60-year-old playwright, who has works like Tughlaq, Yayati and Hayavadana to his credit — is the seventh writer in Kannada to get this award.

Femina's flower
Delhi girl Gul Panag was crowned Femina Miss India Universe at the ritzy-glitzy Palmolive Femina Miss India 1999 extravaganza. Mumbai girls Yukta Mookher and Shiangi Parikh were chosen the Femina Miss India-World and Femina Miss India-Pacific respectively. The Poona Club grounds sparkled with the country's beautiful people and Doordarshan telecast the now-cult event live, followed by Sony the following night.

Indian hockey team awarded
The creator of Hotmail, Sabeer Bhatia, who sold his invention to Bill Gate's Microsoft for a cool $400 million and still remained its CEO, announced in Mumbai an award of Rs. one lakh to each of the 16 players, two coaches and manager of the Asian Games gold medal winning Indian hockey team.Bhatia presented a personal cheque of $ 2, 500 to Mir Ranjan Negi, the goalkeepers' coach, who was present at a hastily summoned press briefing organised by his friend, former judoka international Cawas Billimoria.

A keen hockey enthusiast, Sabeer played right full back for Birla Institute of Technology, Pilani. The 32-year-old Silicon Valley whiz kid said he emphasised the importance of teamwork in the success of a company, a society and ultimately a nation.