Madam President Pratiba Patilji- Blows her own Trumphet

Full transcript: President Pratibha Patil's interview to NDTV NDTV.com | Updated: May 07, 2012 01:21 IST
Amid controversy over her foreign trips, President Pratibha Patil, in an exclusive interview to NDTV's Rahul Shrivastava, says the visits go a long way in boosting India's image internationally. She has also made it clear that the President's travel plans are drawn up by the government.
Here's the full transcript of the interview:
NDTV: Hello and welcome. India has begun the process of choosing its next President. Some have chosen to call the post ceremonial, but in the 21st century managing the aspirations of over a billion people and the diktats of a Constitution is a tough job. How tough is the job? Who better to answer the question than Madam President Pratibha Patilji. Prathibhaji really nice of you to speak to us.
click here for the full transcript
Comment: Shakespeare sums up Pratiba's Pretence in a sonnet
Tired with all these, for restful death I cry, As to behold desert a beggar born,
And needy nothing trimm'd in jollity,
And purest faith unhappily forsworn,
And gilded honour shamefully misplaced,
And maiden virtue rudely strumpeted,
And right perfection wrongfully disgraced,,
And strength by limping sway disabled
And art made tongue-tied by authority,
And folly, doctor-like, controlling skill,
And simple truth miscalled simplicity,
And captive good attending captain ill:
Tired with all these, from these would I be gone,
Save that, to die, I leave my love alone.
The poet laments the corruption and dishonesty of the world, from which he desires to be released. This is a sonnet which strikes a chord in almost any age, for it tells the same old story, that graft and influence reign supreme, and that no inherent merit is ever a guarantee of success. For that depends on social structures and conditions already set in place long ago. As often as not they aid and promote the unworthy, the malicious, the wealthy, the incompetent and those who are just good at manipulation of the system.