India Uncut

... even though he's a member of parliament. Consider this exchange between Bajaj and Karan Thapar:

Karan Thapar: But do you accept that today you are in politics?

Rahul Bajaj: Of course not.

Karan Thapar: Why not?

Rahul Bajaj: What makes you say that I am in politics?

Karan Thapar: Because you are an MP.

Rahul Bajaj: So?

Karan Thapar: MPs are in politics. Parliament is politics.

Rahul Bajaj: That is what you say. Is there a law anywhere? Can you show it to me?

Karan Thapar: That is a common understanding of the term. Are you changing that understanding?

Rahul Bajaj: There are many common understanding of terms which are wrong, which Gandhi changed.

Through the interview, Thapar keeps pushing the point, and Bajaj decides that having entered the realm of the bizarre, he might as well live it up:

Karan Thapar: Mr Bajaj you are wonderful with words but the problem is that you are short on logic. Parliament and being an MP is part of politics.

Rahul Bajaj: Where did you go to school Karan?

Karan Thapar: Is that relevant?

Rahul Bajaj: It is very relevant because your logic is illogical.

Karan Thapar:If it is relevant I will tell you. I went to Doon School, Cambridge, Oxford and I know a lot about politics.

Rahul Bajaj: I went to Cathedral, St. Stephens, and Harvard, slightly better than you in every respect. So I understand logic.

Utterly delightful, and I have no doubt that my friends from Oxford and Cambridge will love this. Such joy. Here's another gem:

Karan Thapar: When Shabana Azmi and Kuldeep Nayar were nominated to the Rajya Sabha, they accepted that as Rajya Sabha MP’s they were in politics.

Rahul Bajaj: Lata Mangeshkar was nominated too but she did not open her mouth for six years and I hold her in very high regard.

Hmm. Bajaj, by and by, was supported by the NCP, the BJP and the Shiv Sena in the quest to enter the Rajya Sabha. They have nothing to do with politics, of course -- they're Page 3 parties.

(Link via email from reader Siddhartha Pande.)