Ever since Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals in Chennai on September 22, the media have maintained a round-the-clock vigil outside the hospital’s gates. With the rumour mills on an overdrive about Amma’s condition, a string of media tripods wait expectantly for any development at all, reports The Hindu. The journalists aren’t having it too easy, though. The AIADMK ministers who come to visit Jayalalithaa don’t talk to them. Except for serving them cups of tea, meals and arranging some plastic chairs, the hospital too ignores their presence. Even if it rains, they are allowed to take shelter in the portico only after much wrangling. The journalists are probably praying as fervently as her party workers for Jayalalithaa’s speedy recovery — they can all go home then.