MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE takes me across India, and the rest of the world, which is both fortunate (I love travelling), and problematic, because I spend a lot of my precious moments at airport lounges. On one such wait, after devouring dozens of magazines, my thoughts turned to my own, Democratic World. As I was reminiscing my present days as an Editor of DW, there was a moment of epiphany—though we have successfully covered major sectors of our democratic India—medicare, law, business, art and media—my team and I had never turned the focus on the most prominent one; politics. This coincidental omission has been made right this month as we feature Mr Ajit Singh, the Union Cabinet Minister, Civil Aviation. Mr Singh is perhaps one of the busiest portfolio holders, given the state of his sector currently. From the moment he stepped into his office, he has been tackling one crisis after the next with admirable astuteness. Far from complaining, Mr Singh believes it is fulfilling to come to office and face everyday challenges. After all, that is why he took his oath. Dedicated and articulate, it was a pleasure talking to him about myriad topics which also included his thoughts on ethics and ethos of the political system in India and her democratic world. As always we have endeavoured to provide a mix of serious and entertaining topics. A chunk of the entertainment, I promise, will be provided through rest of the world, which is both fortunate (I love travelling), and problematic, because I spend a lot of my precious moments at airport lounges. On one such wait, after devouring dozens of magazines, my thoughts turned to my own, Democratic World. As I was reminiscing my present days as an Editor of DW, there was a moment of epiphany—though we have successfully covered major sectors of our democratic India—medicare, law, business, art and media—my team and I had never turned the focus on the most prominent one; politics. This coincidental omission has been made right this month as we feature Mr Ajit Singh, the Union Cabinet Minister, Civil Aviation. Mr Singh is perhaps one of the busiest portfolio holders, given the state of his sector currently. From the moment he stepped into his office, he has been tackling one crisis after the next with admirable astuteness. Far from complaining, Mr Singh believes it is fulfilling to come to office and face everyday challenges. After all, that is why he took his oath. Dedicated and articulate, it was a pleasure talking to him about myriad topics which also included his thoughts on ethics and ethos of the political system in India and her democratic world. As always we have endeavoured to provide a mix of serious and entertaining topics. A chunk of the entertainment, I promise, will be provided through the deliciously naughty interview that our team had with ad man Prahlad Kakar. Kakar delighted us with his quips. A wonderful man, a creative and crazy genius, he is also deeply focused on his advertisements that have redefined how we look at some of the major brands today. Read his candid confessions in our “Looking Back” section. Also, we have filmmaker Rajat Kapoor in our “Reel Life” section. Honest to the core, both Kakar and Kapoor are a journalist’s delight. I hope all of you had a fulfilling Navratri and Duhssehra. Now, the wait begins for one of India’s largest festivals. Advance wishes for all my dear readers, may you have the biggest, brightest and happiest Diwali. We, too, have a treat lined up for you this month, when we turn a year old! As always keep those letters coming in, and I hope to hear from you soon.