Silence may not be golden

The saying goes, speech is silver, silence is golden. But sometimes silence can frazzle nerves. At a recent business summit, economist Lord Meghnad Desai was requested to answer media queries after his session. He was made to sit for some time, surrounded by TV cameras and crew but no one asked any questions. Miffed, he shouted, "Who is the organiser here? This is the most disgusting place I have ever been to." One reporter quickly got to his feet and posed a question. Lord Desai was at his wit's end by then. "Ask me later," he said, "first I need to figure out what is happening here."