Hot on the heels of an aggressive brand campaign and the much hyped Polo launch, Volkswagen has unveiled the Polo sedan in India, but with the Vento nameplate instead. Officially unveiled at the Moscow Motor Show recently, the Vento is expected to hit the Indian market by August-September with a price tag of Rs. 7-9 lakhs.

Most of us must have cribbed about the lack of rear legroom in the Polo, but the sedan sibling comes with more space inside, thanks to the 50mm longer wheelbase. Except for a different grille and lights, the Vento is more or less similar to the Polo up to the B-Pillar. Boot space is said to be somewhere near 500 litres with a split seat option on offer.

It will be available in two trim levels including Trendline, Highline. The interior is equipped with storage compartment in front doors for bottles, sunglass storage inside glove box, foldable roof handles with coat hooks, front and rear centre armrest,  cupholders and "Livon" fabric upholstery. Outside, the

Earlier this week, the New York Times — in the 'business', not 'fiction', section — suggested that India could become the next big hub for gay tourism.

The NYT pegged its Panglossian optimism largely on the fact that a year ago, in July 2009, the Delhi High Court put a coda to an eight-year-long battle for gay rights in a landmark judgment struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, arguing inter alia that "sexual orientation is a ground analogous to sex, and that discrimination on sexual orientation is not permitted under Article 15."

And about time, too — the law, which had earned India considerable condemnation [also read full text of a Human Rights Watch letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh], was based not on Indian sensibilities but on those of the British circa 1860, when Lord Macaulay deemed that "Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment