JAMAICA Delhi's successful bid to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games will come at a price-a budget of $422 million (Rs 1,820 crore). The Indian bid pitted against the Canadian city of Hamilton took a nifty piece of number-crunching-a last-minute offer of $7.2 million for "athletes' training". The irony of India offering handouts to sporting giants like Australia was lost in the din of the celebration in Montego Bay in Jamaica after winning by 46 votes to 22.

Victory: The Indian contingent at Jamaica

The presentation of the bid in London, starring Diana Hayden and a bhangra troupe had cost more than Rs 1 crore. The Indian Olympic Association titled the bid "New Frontiers and New Friendships" and picked the most articulate of athletes to make presentations, including cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, shooter Anjali Vedpathak and billiards champion Michael Ferreira. Gavaskar's speech in which he quoted Nelson Mandela-"the power of sports can bring the world together"-is believed to have had an impact, apart from the Little Master's popularity among the Caribbean nations in the Commonwealth. South Asian solidarity had its uses as Pakistan stoutly backed the Indian bid. British runner Sebastian Coe too was a supporter, though that appears less to do with his Indian roots (his mother is half Indian) and more to do with him seeking support of the Afro-Asian block in London's bid for the 2012 Olympics. The training money for 72 nations is to be paid at the end of the next Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006. Time enough for special taxes to be tacked onto the earnings of the average Indian then.

Another Shame

PACE MASTER: Srinath

KOLKATA Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has done it again. In her latest book Dwikhandita (Divided), published in Bangladesh as Ka, she has made derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammad.

Surprisingly, no one has reacted to the provocative statements. The sale of the book has been stayed by a Dhaka court and the Kolkata High Court, but for reasons other than religion. Writers on both sides of the border have sued Nasreen for defamation. They claim Nasreen has sullied their reputation in her tell-all autobiography. Kolkata-based poet Syed Hashmat Jalal sought Rs 11 crore in damages while Bangladeshi writer-poet Syed Shamsul Haque has filed a $1.72 million (Rs 7.9 crore) suit.

Nasreen, however, is unfazed. "I haven't written about them intentionally. They are simply a part of the story of my life," she said over the phone from the US. But writer Sunil Gangopadhyay is more concerned about her words against the Prophet and Islam which, he says, are enough to spark a flare-up.

By Labonita Ghosh

TIME WALKER (RS 1.59 lakh) VERNE FP (Rs 35,100)

Montblanc's Time

Michael Schumacher sports it, so does Giorgio Armani. Montblanc's range of accessories needs no introduction. Now, its latest range is in India and includes the Time Walker Automatic, an elegant watch that represents Montblanc's blend of tradition and modernity. Encased in stainless steel Bombée sapphire glass with antireflex coating, Time Walker is water resistant to 30 m and sports a black dial with a steel bracelet.

A perfect match is the equally elegant Verne fountain pen from Montblanc's 2003 Writer series limited edition. Its steel-plated rings give it a classy look but the most eye-catching element is the engraved nib.