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Stars above, what's happened to Deve Gowda!?

Something strange has happened to former prime minister H D Deve Gowda -- he is acting outright out of character.

Yes, really. Guess what he did last Friday? He went and filed his nomination papers during rahu kaal!

Which act, folks, is downright surprising for a man of Deve Gowda's, er, astrological status. What on earth has happened to the simple-humble ex-PM's belief in the stars?

Naturally, officials at the Hissar district commissioner's office were pretty surprised when the farmer, with a dozen or so other farmers, walked in a little after 1100 hours. On Fridays, all of them knew, rahu kaal started at 1030 hours and ended one-and-a-half hours later. What was Deve Gowda doing here at this unauspicious time? Not come to file his nomination, surely?

Ignoring the questioning glances, Deve Gowda ploughed ahead. A little after 1100 hours he had everything pat before the commissioner who, at 1115 hours sharp, proclaimed him man and candidate.

Asked about his newfound love for rahu kaal, Deve Gowda played unsuperstitious. It was the media, he said solemnly, that wrote him off as 'starry' -- actually, he wasn't. Wasn't this proof enough?

Unfortunately, none of the journalists thought so. After all, they themselves had reported about Deve Gowda's carting off his personal astrologer to Delhi, about his consultations before making appointments, and a lot, lot more of such starry stuff!