INDIA: A prominent Indian state chief minister's obsession with her lucky number nine, has led to an announcement in the Tamil Nadu assembly in the south, that her government is to fund a mass wedding of 1,008 couples in June.
The carefully chosen number which adds up to nine, indicates how much Miss Jayaram Jayalalitha of the All India Dravadian People's Movement government is driven in her personal and official life by that number.
Renowned for her idiosyncratic behaviour and insistence on being known as "walking goddess", Ms Jayalalitha is one of India's most outlandish politicians who expects, and gets, her party men to prostrate themselves on coming into her presence.
Some years ago, an elaborate elocution contest was organised to celebrate her birthday by indulging her superstitious belief in the number nine.
Not only was the contest held on January 27th, 2+7 equals nine, but it took place in three separate marriage halls in the state capital Madras that were numbered 126, 36 and 27. It took nine party members nine days of arduous search to find the three halls. Nine state ministers attended the event for which nine colleges from nine districts were invited. All 261 participants were judged by a nine-member panel and nine finalists were selected. The three winners of the elocution contest were presented with gold chains weighing 36, 27 and 18 grams respectively.
Ms Jayalalitha's penchant for the number stretches to having a 27-member cabinet. Taking the cue from their boss, her ministers ensure all meetings are held on the 9th or days which add up to the auspicious number.
Even during her by-election from the Andipatti assembly constituency in February 2002 the number of polling booths were reduced to 216. And as if by "divine intervention" the total number of votes polled were 134,703, again adding up to a multiple of the magical nine.