Blink issue 16 may10 2014

BACKROOM MOVES Five years after the collapse of Satyam, Hari Thalapalli on the large sacrifices and meagre biryani dinners that resurrected the company p6 saturday, may 10, 2014

afp/pemba dorje sherpa

Sixteen people dead and an indefinite shutdown… Will the Everest economy finally give the Sherpas and nature the respect they deserve p9

The mountain weeps

THE BINDI BRIGADE BJP’s women leaders are hardly champions of gender rights p3

NO ORDINARY POT A ghatam maker and female performers reveal the glories of their instrument p14

takeaway play

BL BL 222

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

partha pratim sharma

Blooming good

There are edible flowers and then there are edible flowers… And the vibrant, vitamin C-rich nasturtium is more than just a pretty garnish

A spectacle sport

Nasturtium and egg canapés Makes 12 12 not-too-small nasturtium flowers; collect a mix of colours, if possible 6 large eggs, hardboiled 1 cup cooked cous cous seasoned with olive oil, garlic, salt and some shredded nasturtium leaves for colour About 2tbsp tahini (or ground sesame seed paste) Chilli flakes Salt Lime annual calendar through the Eua vibrant

Winds of change are blowing through the astroturf. New rules and formats are sure to make hockey more television-spectator-and-player-friendly

A

n India-Pakistan hockey match was glimpse of what can be expected. The carnivalonce the highlight of the sport’s cal- like ambience at the venues found support ropean1 Halve Hockey and India Hockey eggsLeague and remove the yolks endar. Recently, Terry Walsh, the In- from hockey lovers, especially youngsters, League, where participate. with care. the Mashbest the players yolks with tahini, dia hockey team’s coach from who came in large numbers. There was hock- From two 35-minute halves salt, pinch of chilli flakesthe andmatches a spritz are of limeinto till you a smooth paste. The Australia said, “To me, it is a lasting memory, ey, entertainment in the form of live music now divided fourhave 15-minute quarters. and adjust watching India play Pakistan.” The intrigue and prizes to be won at the end of matches. idea, asTaste FIH insists, is toseasoning. “improve the flow and 2 Carefully fill theand center of each and artistry that marked their hockey en“This kind of packaging was much-needed intensity of the game increase the fan exflower this mix, pressing deared both the teams to spectators and play- because hockey was losing its audience and perience andwith opportunity for gamedown presentato get the maximum in. sponsors. One has to keep pace with the times tion and analysis.” ers across the world.

3 Fill the hollowed out egg whites But then hockey suffered a global decline in and the paying public obviously wants quality To me, significant rule change is withthe themost prepared cous cous. its mass appeal. Even the subcontinent’s fans and value for its money. The fact that entry to the implementation of 40-second time-outs 4 Place one filled flower on each turned their back on this once exciting game, the HIL was not free raises hopes that one can following both penalty corner awards and the prepared egg white, tamping down to throng are the scoring initially played on grass. In the last four dec- expect genuine hockey of a goal.

“We it hero-building.

In gently so that it’scall firmly ‘grounded’ Colour lovers purple Nasturtiums onand the cricket, bed of cous cous. great in salads andIndia even captain as palate ades or so, hockey has been played on astro- venues once again,” says former football it is so much about celecleansers shutterstock turf, which has given rise to a robust style of Zafar Iqbal. bration after a goal or a wicket or What are the chances of hockey play — power and speed have become the a century. Hockey needed such dominant components of all contemporary becoming a spectacle? “Bright,” celebrations. This 40-second ur friend Nidhi is an artist and a claimed The pepper punch bright green fohockey games. an official fromofa the broadOr introduce flowers an oreganobreakthe would allowinto the cameras to foodie, and herofcreations — wheth- casting liage becomes overpowering with age, but inmost There is, however, a whiff change. Hockey company, which has takscented Mediterranean-style stir-fry of of zucchifocus on the emotional side the The er ceramic culinary — bear her enthe young leaves it’s juststeps the kick need to ni, some revolutionary in you significant is being revamped.

The or administrators have potatoes, red and adding contest, a yellow player peppers, celebrating or rule brand of aesthetics, imagijazzdirection. up potato“The salads or vamp up the smooth game was so realised theyunique face huge competition when it this taking the pan aoff the heat. sometimes lamenting mistake,” change is them the just before nation style. Atsponsors a lunch she a cou- fast blandness chickenalways and fish pates by inject- Use them in comes toand attracting andhosted spectators. that the of audience had salads — they pair wonderfully said a veteran cameraman associimplementation ple of months ago onthe herInternational rooftop garden, still problems ing heat and texture. lovemany shreddingofthe leav- with following it.I Too Keeping that in mind Hockgreensated likewith babyhockey. lettuce, wispy tendrils of 40-second timewith winter flowers, the elegant es into verdant and stippling the pale eyablaze Federation (FIH) has introduced a newmenu set stoppages and confetti infringements fennel (several outlets now sell than this, the 40-secondouts peas, crunchyOther with the freshly-picked nasturtiums being meant surface chilled soup — adding these in convenient theoffocus was cucumber off the mark. ofended rules with aim to reach a younger audimixed packets).

Make a time-out will also be awarded passed for guests to pluck flame-or- But both colour and a mustardy kick to the chilled truly luxe air-puffed ence.

Thearound emphasis is clearly on off entertainthat is changing.” omelette oozing Emmenwhen a goal is scored.

The idea, as angeand petals as ahockey. palate freshener that packed a bowl.

Whole leaves form a zesty layer of tal or Manchego ment skilful In India, hockey hasalso faced chalcheese a few flowers FIH asserts, is with to encourage onpleasant peppery punch. greenfrom in thin teatime sandwiches cricket, football and whether of folded in and The Hockey India League (HIL) gave a lenge some strewn on top. At the field team celebrations.

I’ve added this novel, quirky use of the flow- tennis, ham, cream cheese, eggs orittomato. all self-reliant when comes to con- venue, Andit my favourite: stuffing a platwillabsolute also allow players an opportunier to my noshing with nasturtiums list — a list ducting But it’s the flowers in myriad events.

Cricket—has benefitted from ty to engage ter of these blossoms —inall different with supporters theinstands as that’s already extensive because shades orange television rights whileoftennis and football do they cheer shades — with goat cheese or soft feta, on their favourites. this attractive plant, an edible red (and this not depend onand government aid. Hockey does. placing them at onthe wafer-thin crostini The players are excited idea of hockey powerhouse of vitamin C, just year I discovered “Lack of sponsorship has been a major hurdle becoming a TV rafts brushed garlic-scented spectacle.

Thewith game is now covcalls out to be used creatively in a gorgeous in popularising the game.fuchSponsors demand ered by 18 cameras olive oil and serving them as past. finger instead of eight in the Remember to the kitchen. In general, I love ussiaBut pink) — that are can’t hap- There is an ultra-slow, achievements. achievements food. Theaexplosion tastes and super-slowofand a ballpreserve the ing flowers in food — they add so the trueparticipation divas of the and expo- level camera that penseeds without regular textures when pop one captures the you action from theof of the blossoms much style and panache to prekitchen.

Their sponsors. pepsure forin which you need It is a vision of the players these canapés into andpretty the umpires revealbrine for 3-4 weeks, sentation; besides infusing a dish pungency is of a vicious cycle,”pery said former international hock- ing various technicalyour mouth is intricacies toincredible. the TV auand you have the Jagbir with distinct flavours. Bengali more subtle register ey player Singh.

So win when dience. Hockey is sure to newthey fans are within perfect substitute cuisine has countless ways of of the leaves, The viciousthan cyclethat is now being tackled pro- the revamped format bloom again season, and more TVnext airtime.

It for capers serving mocha or banana flower, you plenty of with the will soon be a spectacle fessionally bygiving the administrators make the most of these again, one which weviand crisp, fragile pumpkin flower flexibility in broadcaster for can celebrate and participate help of Star India, the official brant nasturtiums, using in. fritters are a much-awaited seahow you hockey in India.

There is a welcome change in leaves and flowers to add a editor, The Hindu sonal treat. Then there are the use moving towards vijay lokapally is deputy rules since thewant FIH istoactively touch of sports, pepper-laced chic more unusual delights for the palate: in cool them. Even everyday to your table. And while autumnal Kalimpong, a dish of nakima dishes morph into you’re at it, remem(ground orchid) stir-fried with the lightest something special ber to collect the touch of chilli to offset the delicate bitter with these blosseeds of the blosnotes of the mauve flower; at a tea garden in soms. For examsoms — preserve the Dooars, a teatime snack of pakoras made ple, a simple pasta them in brine for 3-4 with the pretty blossoms of the tea plant. of penne, cheese, weeks, and you have garlic-shot cream the perfect substiefore spring faded away into the heat of and mushrooms tute for capers! summer, taking with it cool-weather flow- gets a gourmet twist arundhati ray is a food ers that brightened up gardens, terraces and if, just before serving, you window boxes, I indulged in a nasturtium fest. toss in a bunch of these flowers. writer currently based in Kolkata.

Q

O

Hero-building The hockey format now allows for on-field celebration time akhilesh kumar

R

Q R

B

ND-X _ A

3

BL

know

saturday, may 10, 2014

Jai ho For (clockwise from bottom) Smriti Irani, Sushma Swaraj, Meenakshi Lekhi and Nirmala Sitharaman women power is about a celebration of patriarchal norms pti;

mohd arif; shanker chakravarty and sr raghunathan

The sareed sisterhood The BJP women leaders herald the arrival of conservative feminism into the national political theatre

T

he high-brow feminism symbolised by the chic Brinda Karat or the handloomed sophistry in Sonia Gandhi’s Congress is surpassed in this election by a distinct brand of women who populate the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

It is no longer easy to stereotype the karva chauth brigade once entirely personified by the feisty Sushma Swaraj. The sareed sisterhood has expanded and diversified recently.

Although the bindi-sindoor-karva-chauth symbolism remains an integral part of the political armour, a new breed of professional leaders has emerged of late to impart a modern patina to the BJP’s Mahila Morcha.

BJP spokespersons Nirmala Sitharaman and Meenakshi Lekhi, national secretary Vani Tripathi and even the saas-bahu soap star Smriti Irani herald the arrival of conservative feminism into the national political theatre. Of course, their rallying call is not to be confused for a structural critique or movement against patriarchy or institutional inequities. The idea is to gift-wrap conservative disdain for women’s rights in a more contemporary, pseudo modern jargon.

Witness the clever dismissal of Narendra Modi’s freshly acknowledged wife Jashodaben’s life-long travails by the very articulate Nirmala Sitharaman: “… The lady does not feel aggrieved here.” To the women’s groups raising the issue of the denial of rights to Modi’s wife for years, she says: “Let’s ask questions to those women groups. Are they trying to justify child marriage?”

What she is really saying is that because they were married at an early age, Modi was justified in shunning his wife, refusing to ac-

knowledge her existence for decades. That his gender allowed him to escape the social milieu that enforced a union without choice is not even a consideration in this argument. Political expediency prevents any reflection on why Jashodaben’s social consciousness does not permit even harbouring thoughts of abandoning her husband. The ‘women’s groups’ have been typically singled out for a healthy dose of contempt that has been the staple of rightwing rhetoric for long.

That Sitharaman is a product of the left-liberal Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus only camouflages this blatantly antiwoman argument in a respectably modern rhetoric. What can a man do when he is married against his will? Dump his wife, of course. And what must she do?

Go on a barefoot pilgrimage as befitting her station in life as the abandoned wife of a great man. Naturally, this part of the argument remains unstated.

Of course, Sitharaman is impressive and reasonable in personal interactions. She parries questions on “our leaders’ private lives”

and talks enthusiastically about the large number of modern/professional women in the BJP. “You are wrong in assuming that the BJP only promotes a certain type of women.

Each of us have found our place and are encouraged by the party leadership,” she says.

Like 19th century suffragists who also wanted to protect the status of motherhood and were against abortion, the BJP’s women power is about an unabashed celebration of patriarchal norms, while it is also the first political party that enforced 33 per cent reservation for women at all levels in the organisation. It picked the reigning queen of regressive saasbahu soaps, Smriti Irani, among arguably better qualified women, to be a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat. Irani has also been projected through a high-profile campaign in Amethi to create the impression of a contest against Rahul Gandhi. Smart and effective, Irani’s first claim to fame was to play the ideal daughterin-law and then the matriarch in a family drama and it certainly will not be the last. So, while the likes of Sitharaman could fit the BJP’s vision of a modern-day suffragist, a Smriti Irani is essential to play the mother.

The sprightly Vani Tripathi spends her time creating a cultural niche for the BJP that has hitherto not gone beyond Ramlilas. Tutored

by Ebrahim Alkazi, Tripathi prides herself on championing the causes of women and the youth. And she is candid enough to admit there are “systemic problems” in creating a modern idiom for women in her party.

“But why are we talking only about the BJP? Fine, you can brand us as a fuddy-duddy party but tell me, which political party in India has contributed creatively to a progressive feminist discourse? We are at least trying,” she says. What Tripathi does not want to talk about is the ideological necessity of projecting a woman always in relation to the man — mother/sister/wife.

The idea is to pander to the popular notions about women and their role. Additionally, hostility towards the ‘Harvard type’ intellectuals and feminists in the left/liberal circles and western influences consolidates an inverted aggression in the BJP. They claim a more native and presumably, a more superior understanding of India and the interests of Indian women.

The few times that it has been tested, significantly during the antirape movement in Delhi in 2012, when Sushma Swaraj described the rape victim as a zinda laash (living dead), the BJP’s vision was exposed for being inherently anti-women. Younger leaders didn’t contradict her, at least publicly. And just because they’ll probably hesitate in giving a clarion call for “shaving their heads” if Sonia Gandhi were to become PM, be warned not to presume that the BJP’s well-spoken bunch is a champion of women’s rights. poornima joshi

talk takeaway

BL BL 204

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

High court The sprawl of the city of Hyderabad from a vantage point at the Gol Bungalow of the Taj Falaknuma Palace nagara gopal

Travel Log LIGHTHOUSE

Get there

Falaknuma is about 5km from Charminar and a 30-minute ride away from Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Pick-ups can be arranged by the hotel as well.

The minister’s lament

That evening, word reached us that I was now the first ever Minister for Stay Social Media (MSM)

The restored Taj Falaknuma Palace has 60 guestrooms and luxury suites (from ₹22,000; tajhotels.com). If you’re feeling particularly indulgent, book yourself into the Grand Presidential suite (price on request).

The Falaknuma Festival is likely to be an annual affair; dates for the next edition are yet to be announced.

Tip

Nob and nobility Hyderabad’s Falaknuma Palace casts yet another spell with the inaugural edition of a festival under its grand canopies

I S

beacon of hope for many an aspiring minister the sarkari to detail The princess’s work and—attention is legendary. “She wantedvehicle everything perfect.

t’s past midnight. Most of the guests have tion. Work didn’t begin until the early noughtarrived and settled in. Thanks to a de- ies and took 10 years and 800 workers to r ragu layed flight, I’m only a couple of hours complete. Making its debut in 2010, Falaknu- Carpets had to be sent back a 100 times if they late. Not one to inconvenience anyone, ma has now emerged as one of the finest heri- were not the right colour, not the right fade,” I’m hoping for a quick and quiet getaway. But tage hotels in the world, with a clutch of says resident historian Prabhakar Mahindrao I love group photos. All the ministers pondered this as I was driven home, siren blar- different clips of him engaging in carnal conthat’s not to be. Waiting for me, at an unearth- awards to show for it. This February also saw kar. Later, when we ask the princess if we’ll see of this new government had gathered ing, beacon flashing, trying my best to be low tact with members of both sexes. (“All docly 1am, 2,000 feet above the city of Hyderabad, the inaugural edition of the Faluknama Festiv- her for cocktails in the evening, she shrugs to be shot, and I was dressed in my fin- key in the car. People stared. tored, this is a conspiracy against me. I think is a horse-drawn carriage ready to ferry me to al; nearly a century after this Nizam house- and says, “I hate parties.” est khadi. My party wasn’t originally When I reached office the next morning, Ba- the CIA is involved, samjhay na?”) Mrs Goel had the entrance of the Falaknuma Palace. Wel- hold welcomed the rest of Hyderabad to join While there are many activities to keep you part of this coalition, which consisted of one tra was exultant. “I’m already at work on bud- a fan club bigger than Scarlett Johansson, and come drink in hand, perfumed towel in the in festivities of similar colour and tone. occupied at Falaknuma, my favourite is the national party and 16 regional ones, and end- gets, sir,” he said. “We’ll need new horror of horrors, there were even people atother, I dodder towards the suite amid a showpalace walk with Mahindrakar. Regaling all ed with 269 votes. It needed three seats, and I departments. One each for Facebook, Twitter, tacking me on Twitter, the audacity of it. he day-long celebrations begin with a visit with stories of the Nizam’s wealth — the cars, er of rose petals… had four, mostly thanks to biryani and frac- WhatsApp, YouTube. Hahaha, Yummy!” I It got worse. Three big corruption scandals to the Paigah tombs. Jonty Rajagopalan, the jewellery, the art — and bravery, he points For more than half a century now, the distured vote banks. They promised to make me a wasn’t quite so happy. The ministry did not broke out via social media in month two of the persal of the wealth and properties of Hydera- owner of Detours India, who is conducting at the billiard table (the twin is at Buckingminister. “Actually we’ve run out of minis- give licenses for anything. No one had to come government. I felt a certain schadenfreude at bad’s Nizams have been matters of public private tours for the guests as part of the fes- ham), the palace library (the replica of which tries,” I was told, “but we’re creating a few new to me for permission to do phallana dhimkana. that, and was secretly gleeful that they hapspeculation, not to mention subjects of nu- tival, calls them “the city’s best-kept secrets”. is at Windsor), the world’s largest hookah, the ones to keep up with demand.” I took my place I controlled nothing; and therefore had no pened at ministries I was denied. Meanwhile, merous legal wrangles. “Mukarram Jah, who Even to a Hyderabadi like me, raised on an an- chandeliers (it takes six months to clean a 138in the group portrait. The photographer stood sources of revenue. All these years of building the PMO was frantic. I told Rameshwaram that succeeded his grandfather Osman Ali Khan nual school picnic diet of Qutub arm Osler chandelier; Falaknuma a long, long way back. my political career and this was my reward: a Twitter, Facebook, YouTube all complied with (said to be the richest man in the world) in Shahi tombs and the Golconda has 40 of them) and the world’s The next day I showed up at the newly built cow without teats. But I did have power. Now, our requests: but there was only so much they 1967, found himself enmeshed in financial Fort, the tombs of the Paigah famlargest and oldest musical organ Secretariat Three, was shown into my office, how would I use it? could do. “Can’t we just stop the chaos. He had inherited a ridiculously inflated ily are a revelation, historically (which really doesn’t do anyIt takes six monthsinternet and met my secretary, Mr Batra. As we waited Soon enough I started getting itself?” I asked. “Let no army of retainers: 14,718 staff, including no and architecturally. thing). Also among the marvels is to clean a 138-arm for word from the PMO about what we were phone calls from ministers. A sex one in India access it?”

The Falaknuma Palace was also less than 42 of his grandfather’s concubines the suspension staircase, built inOsler chandelier — Rameshwaram supposed to do exactly, he showed me what tape of Ram Lakhan Yadav had sighed. “I set up and their 100-plus offspring,” wrote William built by a Paigah — Sir Vikar Ul geniously on a cantilever system and Falaknuma hasa committee Twitter was. Who knows, he said, it might just been uploaded on YouTube. to examine the matP olicing social Dalrymple in The Last Mughal. By 1973, Jah’s in- Umra, then the prime minister of so each step is made from a single 40 of them come handy sometime. (“It’s doctored, of course, but even ter,” he said. “But the only thing the Hyderabad State. By the time media felt like heritance was coveted by 476 legal heirs. slab of Italian marble. Portraits of Who woulda thunk? That evening, word re- then, my good name is being bethe bastards on the committee In despair, the seventh Nizam left Hydera- the construction of the palace emptying out an Indian viceroys hang along the ached us that I was now the first ever Minister smirched, samjhay na?”) The PMO ocean with a bucket did was surf porn. No, we’re stuck bad and sought refuge in Australia. It was only was completed in 1893, Umra’s length of the stairwell — mealyfor Social Media (MSM). I was asked to go to the called to say a fake Facebook page with the internet, I’m afraid. Find a chance meeting with his first wife Princess coffers were empty. A cool ₹4 milmouthed Hastings, haughty MetPM’s office within an hour, where I would be was up purporting to be the offianother solution.”

Esra that set the restoration ball rolling in all lion had been spent on the scorpion-shaped calfe, dour-faced Irwin and what have you. handed a statement that I’d read out at a press cial PMO page. Mrs Goel, minister Desperate times call for desperseriousness. In 2005, a fully restored Chowma- ‘mirror in the sky’. It’s said that the Nizam The high tea is another favourite. My fellow conference. We duly headed off. We could have of women’s welfare, informed me ate measures. I sat with a glass of halla made its public debut. (The palace li- came to Falaknuma on Umra’s invitation and guests and I — nibbling delicately at a dozen walked, but I chose to be driven in my official that some people on Twitter were abusing her. my favourite single malt at 11pm in my office brary, home to several priceless treasures, also fell in love with the palace, acquiring it much cucumber sandwiches — sit around a circular Honda Accord with a red beacon on top. Sit- And so on. I was asked to get these pages re- when I got a new email. The subject: ‘Your threw its doors open to the public earlier this to the prime minister’s delight. seat, also called the Chinese whispers seat. ting inside, siren blaring, beacon flashing, I re- moved, users banned, and in one case, arrest- naked pictures are now on Twitter.’ I instantly Over lunch, at the longest dining table in Back in the day, says Mahindrakar, ladies year). In 1994, after several false starts, the Taj membered the village where I was born. ed. (He threatened to attack Mrs Goel.) clicked through to the link provided, but Twitgroup acquired the Falaknuma Palace and the world (a 101-seater!), Princess Esra tells us would huddle on this bench and exchange “The Ministry for Social Media,” I read out, We couldn’t go through with the arrest be- ter didn’t open, some other site did, and then roped in the princess to carry out the restora- about her early life in Hyderabad. “I was 20 gossip, just like the game. “will empower the youth of our country by en- cause the culprit turned out to be a 65-year-old my computer went blank. So did I. You have when I was married. We had grown up in the Later that evening, the dining room is transsuring the smooth functioning of social professor of anthropology in the US, but You- seen the video by now on YouTube: I stood up, time of Kemal Ataturk, we were the children of formed. At lunch, the opulent 101-seater had media. We will make sure that poor and dis- Tube videos and Facebook pages were re- punched the monitor off the desk, threw my revolution,” she says. “But when I came here, played host to a small, exclusive group who empowered people everywhere have access to moved, Twitter users banned. I even assigned a glass of single malt across the room, slammed there were so many customs to follow. My were served a carefully crafted multi-course it. Everyone will have a voice. Thank you.” few minions to edit and monitor the Wikipe- my phone down on the ground and banged mother-in-law was from Turkey too but she meal. The splendour of Falaknuma was evi“Minister,” a voice piped up behind the dia pages of my fellow ministers. My ministry the wall saying “S**t, S**t, S**t.” (All this while was the royal who lived in exile because of Ata- dent. For dinner however, it’s a first-come-firstmany television cameras, “social media func- grew; we were never short of work. my peon was shooting the action like he’s Goturk. I had to get along with her.” Interestingly, served policy. Decorum is cast off at the door. tions well enough on its own, and already And yet, policing social media felt like try- vind Nihalani.) Yes, I banged that wall, till my it was she, Jah’s mother Princess Durru Sheh- Strangers share an excellent supper together. gives a voice to the disempowered. What more ing to empty out an ocean with a bucket. By fists bled and I was sobbing. I never thought it var, who persuaded the Nizam to bring Esra Conversation is loud, and refills aplenty. And will you do? Will you censor social media?” the end of the first month, there were six Face- would come to this, that I would be a minister back to manage the family’s affairs. Jah mar- like the elusive Mr Gatsby at his own party, the “No questions,” barked Rameshwaram, the book pages pretending to be the PMO’s official in the biggest democracy in the world, and I ried Esra in 1959, they separated 14 years later. princess is nowhere to be found. secretary from the PMO, and ushered me back- page. We’d ask for one to be taken down, two would. Feel. So. So. So. Helpless.

He now lives with his fifth wife in Turkey, while (The writer was in Hyderabad at the invitation stage. As I left he told me, “Good luck minister. more would pop up. Ram Lakhan Yadav could the princess divides her time between Turkey, of the Falaknuma Palace.) t@amitvarma And a word of advice: keep a low profile.” I have started a TV channel, there were so many England and India, overseeing the Nizam legapriyanka kotamraju cy in Hyderabad.

T

Q Q R R

ND-X _ A

Bugatti move over...

The palace buggy is here to give guests Amit Varma is a novelist. He blogs at a royal ride into the indiauncut.com sunset pv sivakumar

If you want to throw a grand party, consider booking the 101-seater dining table where gossip flows as freely as champagne; the room’s acoustics are designed to catch every whisper. Even non-guests can book the Dining Hall Redfor riding roofs Theparties. conferences and wedding

5

BL

meet

saturday, may 10, 2014

development politics when Chhattisgarh was created. “Suddenly there were large scale investments in Raigarh such as coal mines, power plants, etc. Many companies trampled over the fundamental rights of the tribal people and polluted and destroyed our water bodies.

I wanted to act against this and therefore formed the Jan Chetana or the People’s Awareness group in 2004.”

Green crusader Ramesh Agrawal (right) used the power of information against Chhattisgarh’s unregulated coal mines (below) kamal narang; reuters/rupak de chowdhuri

People power Today, Jan Chetana has a considerable following in Raigarh and surrounding areas. Taking advantage of the newly legislated Right to Information Act in 2005, Agrawal sent out questionnaires to the then governmental watchdog, Environment Appellate Authority (EAA; the National Green Tribunal was established only in 2010) and various ministries involved in authorising licenses and monitoring projects in and around Raigarh.

The replies to his RTI queries formed the foundation of the protests against the State’s ill-considered development projects. As he says, “We started finding out many things that the government and the companies didn’t want us to know. For example, companies often prepare and produce false documents regarding the decisions of the gram sabhas (a meeting with local residents asking for their consent) and nobody knows this.”

The efforts of Jan Chetana and other environmental activists went in vain largely, until 2009 when they achieved their first major success. “We managed to cancel the environmental clearance for the Athena project (a coal mining project), because we could show that they had not taken into account the effects of the project in all of the villages that surround it.” He adds, “This was a big step because before this judgement we had had little success. and I had to be on bed rest for more than a At the EAA there was only one person and year,” says Agrawal recounting the night of Ju- sometimes it seemed like his only job was to ly 1, 2012, when goons, allegedly working at the dismiss all the petitions against projects. After behest of a steel conglomerate, attempted to the NGT was formed though, things started to kill him. improve a little.”

Agrawal and his son were in Delhi after a Agrawal’s biggest success was his campaign trip to the US where he collected the Goldman that led to cancelling the clearance awarded Prize 2014 — said to be the world’s largest prize to the expansion of JSPL’s Tamnar Power Plant, for grassroot environmentalists — along with a 1,000 mega watt plant to which the steel befive other activists. Considered the ‘Green No- hemoth wanted to add 2,400 mega watts bel’, previous recipients from India include more of production capacity. Agrawal and Jan Medha Patkar, Rashida Bee and Champa Devi, Chetana achieved this by sending letters with who led the campaign against Dow Chemicals RTI replies to the Ministry of Environment and in Bhopal. The committee commended Agra- Forests. “Our work showed that JSPL started wal for “organising villagers to demand their the construction work on this project without right to information about industrial develop- having any kind of permission or clearance,” ment projects and shutting down one of the says Agrawal. largest proposed coal mines in Chhattisgarh.”

However, tragedy followed success. On July 1, 2012, Agrawal was attacked Another Bhiwani Junction while he was alone at his cyber caAgrawal’s family migrated to Raifé. A few months later KK Chopra garh from Bhiwani, Haryana, in and SN Panigrahi — both working 1950. After failed attempts at othas security personnel for JSPL — Any further attack er ventures, they set up a successwere arrested and sent to 15-days on me would ful groundnut oil milling judicial custody for the attack. become business in the town that’s roughThe Goldman prize recognises international news ly 300km from Raipur. Ramesh and celebrates Agrawal’s steadand his brother Om Prakash took fast courage. He feels that apart over their father’s business but from the prize money of Ramesh branched out and set up $1,75,000, the award also offers the town’s first cyber café in 1999. “When I him relative safety because “any further attack heard internet cables were going to be sup- on me would become international news”. plied to Raigarh, I decided to purchase all the What keeps him motivated, despite the dannecessary hardware to set up a cyber café. gers? “You go to the temple to worship gods.

Mine was the first one in the whole district,” But helping the poor, is also a kind of worship says Agrawal. of the gods. Everybody has a responsibility to While Ramesh had business acumen, he help the nation and so I see no other way but was also a socially aware citizen. “Right from to keep doing this.” He adds, “I’m hopeful. college, I worked with local organisations in Many in the tribal community are learning the area. In the late ’70s, I joined Lok Shakti how to file an RTI and stand up for their rights, Samiti, which worked for social development so hopefully it wouldn’t be so easy to shove of tribal communities in rural areas of the them aside any longer.”

State. That was my first tryst with activism.”

However, Agrawal got seriously involved in sibi arasu

The man with the iron leg

Two bullets couldn’t stop him; environmentalist Ramesh Agrawal is one of this year’s ‘Green Nobel’ winners

W

hen I meet him in Delhi, Ramesh Agrawal, 60, is wearing a white kurta-pyjama, holding a crutch in one hand and resting the other on his son Raman Agrawal’s shoulder. While not immediately visible, the protrusion on his left leg soon comes into focus. He says, “It’s around three kilos. You can touch it if you like.” I feel the metal plate, which is attached to his thigh and groin by metal screws and reaches his knee, holding his shattered bones together and allowing him to hobble along.

“He was aiming for my chest, but I threw a mobile phone at him and that made him shoot below the waist. My femur shattered

Q R

read work

BL BL 186

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

The second coming Next…?

PUB CRAWL

arunava sinha

Renamed Tech Mahindra, brand Satyam has been finally laid to rest, five years after it first Two Mukherjees, a maverick poet, the return of I Alan Sealy — much to look forward to imploded… BLink talks to a man who witnessed the rise, the fall, and now, the resurrection

D I

espite the quiet cries of despair over sales, some of India’s t has dwindling been five years since the most unexcontinue to place pectedpublishers corporate story unfolded in Indiabig — ticket Raju’s bets onconfession potential that bestsellers.

Ramalinga the acIt’s understandable that Pulitzer-winner Siddcounts of Satyam Computers were fudged. hartha Mukherjee’s next book hiscountry first, The The news sent shockwaves across—the in Emperor Maladies, biography of cancer, 2009. Theofmost affectedhis were the over 52,000 emswept awards would be to hotHari property ployeesseveral of the IT giant. — BLink talks Thalain India, because Mukherjee a Delpalli, whonot wasleast the chief people officer atisSatyam hi boy.and Buthas even so, the undisclosed but rather then, since moved on to marketing and large sumconsulting that Penguin Random House India business functions at the company, paid for the rights to his workHe onrelives genesthe clearly now renamed Tech Mahindra. days shows that money still chasing potential of the scandal and theiseventual takeover

by Tech breakout HarperCollins India, which Mahindra. books.

Five years on, the Satyam brand has published The Emperor been obliterated entirely. of Maladies here, did not bid beyond a point. Mukherjee’s publishers mightbad be hoping the new book carries Breaking some prize-winning heft as well.

The unfolding of the scam was a two-stage process. The first moment of revelation was ith Westland/Tranquebar on December 16, 2008, at 5:45pm concentratwhen I was ingbyon(Ramalinga) Amish and, Raju whentothere’s time, called in say that Saon other Hachette continues tyam wasbooks, going while to acquire Maytas (group to of be selectivealso withfounded large acquisitions, companies

by Raju). He the toldbigme buy seem to come eitherI Penthat stories he hadall already taken thefrom decision. was guin RandomWhy House or an HarperCollins. incredulous. would IT company Barbuy ring the obviouslycompany? expensiveEspecially purchaseatofa an infrastructure Vikram Seth’smarkets forthcoming though?)

A time when were(when, sinking?

I took Suitable Girl, Aleph has aits sights for trained on strong exception.

It was letdown the leadhigh and talent, of ershipliterary council (atemerging Satyam). We wereneither being inwhich arguably, very expensive sign was up. formedis,after a decision was taken.to There One suchand purchase, made couple of made years disbelief anger. The onlya point Raju ago, is defence about towas fructify. in his that acquisition decisions Before Mukhave to beSiddhartha, kept secret. Ianother was not big-buy convinced. herjee will soon be published by Penguin Random House: Neel Mukherjee, with The Lives of Others, his second novel. His first novel, Past Continuous (published in the UK as A Life Apart, a change of title that might slot him unwillingly as a Life novelist) won the Crossword Award in India earlier. He was signed up for Random House by Chiki Sarkar before she moved over to Penguin. Neel Mukherjee must be bemused about being separated from and then reunited with her, with the book being published soon after the publishing merger.

W

S

ummer is normally silly season in Indian publishing. But this year, at least two mainstream publishers are waiting with bated breath for books they’re very excited by. Karthika VK, publisher of HarperCollins India, is thrilled about maverick poet and activist Meena Kandasamy’s Gypsy Goddess, an intensely political novel. Over at Penguin Random

ND-X _ A

Ready for Hari launch Being human MeenaofKandasamy’s Thalapalli Tech GypsyatGoddess, a Mahindra the political novel, corporate office in is already getting Infocity, Hyderabad noticed in the UK pv sivakumar thulasi kakkat

The stock markets were informed the same Zero Hour day. The reaction to the decision was so vio- When the news of the scam broke, people lent. Satyam’s ADRs (American Depository Re- were wailing and crying, even 40- and 50-yearceipts) began to sink. That night, six or seven olds. Some were breathless and others were of us (members of the leadership council) de- hysterical. It was a dramatic moment, someliberated till 2:30 in the morning. There was so thing I had never witnessed in my life. much angst… by 3am, we decided to reverse One of the first things to do was to arrange the decision. The reaction of the for a doctor on the fifth floor (of markets and the anxiety of investhe then Satyam headquarters at tors prompted Raju to agree to Hyderabad). Each senior official this. But people began quitting; had to be checked every two Raju had written within days, four directors had hours. The doctor told some of us that our revenue left Satyam. our pulse was erratic and the manumbers were My second brush with reality chine was at fault. He didn’t want inflated… was on January 7, 2009. A meeting to reveal how bad it was. that whole riding was called at 10:30am. I was drivA feeling we didn’t acknowla tiger story ing to work at 9:45am when a coledge openly was shame — oh god, league called to say: “Hari, have we were part of this. For the outyou seen the latest communicaside world, we were a party to evtion from Raju? Just stop the car erything that had happened!

Doctor writer Siddhartha who has won multiple awardsnoise will soon and read it.”Domuch I parkedPhysician on oneand side of the road Mukherjee Around noon, after the initial andbedissandeephad saxena out with amy book on the geneRaju and checked BlackBerry. written belief had settled, we assembled again to take that we were not making profits, our revenue a call if the number he was quoting was right. subscriptions to its books much like House, publisher Chiki Sarkar is looking for-a selling numbers were inflated… that whole riding We started calling some of the — key account magazineand — hasn’t taken off. Although ward to Akhil Sharma’s A Family Life, which she amanagers tiger story. doingreally back-of-the-envelope calromance hasreally been bought by describes as “both searingly darkran and funny the I was numb.

Three emotions through culations to seeimprint if we were making those CorpBy and added HarperCollins globaland While Kandasamy’s book isand al- News me atmoving”. that point of time — shock, disbelief revenues.

4pm we to realised what Raju was therewas hastrue. beenThe no money announcement yet of it ready noticed in of theusUK, a sensegetting of betrayal.

Some hadSharma’s been in- ly, saying in the bank was merged with HarperCollins India.there Still, work had decision rave reviews from Jonathan volvedhas in every that the company had being very low.

A crisis was looming. Overall, toof happen as seems — perFranzen, Kiran Desai and Mohsin Hamid. taken in the last 10 years...

This was just unbe- were was athat sense shame,—anger and logical betrayal. it will be of a time, little two easier for were the world’s lievable. I gathered myself eventually and haps At that point issues imporwotofavourites romance fiction tothe findITbuyers in drove office. among Indian readers have best-known tant: what does this mean for industry made quiet comebacks with new books. India. As for HarperCollins India, it might Aleph has published a book that marks the re- prove a major boost, providing access to a turn of I. Allan Sealy (The Trotternalarge portfolio of books with ma, The Everest Hotel) in the form huge potential. of The Small Wild Goose Pagoda, an Of course, the path to true almanac about the place that he love is always rocky. Romance Indians don’t owns in the Himalayan foothills. subscribe to love, it seems to be losing its appeal And Anurag Mathur, whose The In- seems. Mills & Boon among readers in India, judging scrutable Americans was a runaway from the fading sales of love stois discovering this bestseller back when English lanries on college and corporate guage fiction was nowhere as campuses. Quite the flavour of ubiquitous as it is today, is the month a few years ago for a amongst us again with The Councrop of smaller publishers, the try is Going to the Dogs. Of course, The Inscruta- genre isn’t seeing much growth now. One ble Americans, now in its fiftieth reprint, is a problem is that the big names who establishhard act to follow, though there have been ed this form of fiction — Ravinder Singh, Durother books in between. joy Dutta, et al — have moved on to the bigger labels. And there have been no worthy succesndians don’t subscribe to love. It seems sors to take their place.

Mills & Boon/Harlequin, is discovering this he three unanswered questions of Enas their attempt to bypass the bookshop by glish-language Indian publishing today: 1. Why did Penguin Random House really stop contesting the case against Wendy Doniger’s book on Hinduism and agree to pulp copies? (Were there any copies left to pulp?)

2. Why did Ravi Singh really quit Aleph Publishing company, when he was almost as much an integral part of it as founder David Davidar?

3. How come Gas Wars, the self-published book by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta et al, which examines Reliance Industries’ role in natural gas exploration, is still available in bookshelves despite the legal notice slapped on the author and publishers by India’s largest private sector company?

Q R

T

Q R

I

T

arunava sinha translates classic and contemporary Bengali fiction and nonfiction into English t @arunava

7

BL

work

saturday, may 10, 2014

Brand new Fresh branding intiatives at the Tech Mahindra headquarters pv sivakumar

Hand in hand The Satyam saga is now part of the history at the Tech Mahindra office in Hyderabad pv sivakumar

in India and for the company. You could not ring-fence it down to a company. It meant that IT industry in India itself would potentially be under threat because if we went down, then a number of mission critical projects we were involved in could cause a serious setback to the industry.

I called Som Mittal as soon as I got to know about the scam; he was the Nasscom president then. He asked me to mail Raju’s letter.

At that stage, the decision was to somehow keep the company running and not allow it to implode. Thankfully, the intervention of Nasscom, the Indian government, and the unprecedented speed with which they put together a new board gave some hope. Kiran Karnik and Deepak Parekh were much-respected.

What kept us going was constant communication with the customers, associates and the media. My challenge was multi-fold — one was that the press was going berserk reporting the story. Even when a customer was potentially reviewing an arrangement, the news would be that the customer was gone.

We had to squash rumours — we picked up each article coming out on Satyam every day and put the real version next to it on our website. It was largely for employees but later, we created access for end-customers too. And then we progressed to FAQTS — a daily Q&A on key questions like ‘Did we lose a customer?’.

We started another initiative and created News Today, which runs even today. It is a daily gist info about what is going on — did we get a bank loan, has a leader quit, what a customer’s exit means. We also set up ‘Planet Satyam’,

through which we could webcast updates. An Australian newsreader would read news and leaders would be interviewed by him. This helped reduce the fear of the people. ‘Surf the Board’ was a 2-3 minutes snippet by each director as a message to associates. If Kiran Karnik or Deepak Parekh were to say something to associates, it would provide a sense of relief.

Those were the first 100 days.

Simultaneously, some of us were out in the field. Gurnani must have travelled about 25 days in a month. He was in front of customers all the time. Customers saw decisiveness, they saw connect and credibility.

By December, we had actually gone back and reversed all the customer contracts to the original form, which meant the customers had seen the comfort and things were stable.

Most of us had taken a 30 per cent salary cut Brick by brick between February and October 2009. We reinWhen the problem started, the headcount was stated salaries in October.

52,000 and it came down to 23,000 in April My favourite example during floor-walks 2010. We dropped dramatically on headcount used to be from Vertical Limit, an amazing mo— like losing 50 per cent weight in a year. vie, where a father, son and daughter go When this happens, your systems go wrong, mountain climbing and through a series of acknowledge gets dismantled, people walk away cidents, end up hanging from the same rope.

Since it can’t take the weight of three people with knowledge. the father cuts himself off to let The Mahindra name brought the other two escape. I used to say in tremendous credibility and we — all of us are hanging, some of us did not lose customers after May will have to cut the rope. Our peo2009. After customers got to I gave the example ple cost those days was 97 per cent know that there is a new owner of Vertical Limit, of the revenues. We had to take and an infusion of $600 million, where a father, son some tough decisions — we put there was relief. and daughter end some people on virtual pool with Those days, we’d do floorwalks. We’d go to a floor and get up hanging from the less pay for six months and same rope... the brought back 3,000 of those peothe whole group to assemble. father cuts himself ple as opportunities came. We reFrom January to August 2009, I off to let the other quested competition to interview must have done hundreds of two escape and take some others. We helped them. The message till April 2009 some with higher education, arused to be that we’ll find a potenranged financial and psychologtial buyer; when the potential ical counselling to make a soft buyer comes in money will come landing in a difficult situation. in; and when money comes in, Year one was all about survival, the second we’ll rebuild.

From May to August, the message was about year was of investment and the third was the losing weight. We had to take the difficult de- year of growth. People were passionate about cision of addressing excess people as the pre- rebuilding the company. So it became easier. vious management had added about 10,000 This experience is probably the biggest proof people more than needed. Revenue was 2.4 that you shouldn’t give up. To me, this has billion dollars and average revenue per head been life-changing. My need for material had to be justified. We had to walk around tell- things has changed dramatically ever since.

Even during the worst of times, Januarying people that we will lose some weight as an organisation and we will be very transparent February of 2009, on Fridays, we would go to my farmhouse or gather at somebody’s house, on the principles that we will use.

We rearranged the organisation structure pick up biryani packets and beer as that was completely in June. We created a two-in-a-box all we could afford those days, and sit down model, saying delivery and sales will be equal. and laugh away the pain. I also realised the Earlier it was one-in-a-box — sales were in front possibility of building good governance. We created a whistle-blower programme. We and the delivery was subservient.

We also created a group of 150 game chang- built an organisation committed to ethical ers. These were the people thinking out-of-the- practices. We have a corporate ombudsman.

And while my role has changed from HR to box and showing determination to change the company. Some of us, CP Gurnani (MD and business consulting, you can’t take the people CEO of Tech Mahindra), Vineet Nayyar (execu- aspect out of me. That is my first strength. I am tive vice chairman) and I would spend time not missing HR, I am happy. with the families of game changers and tell As told to rashmi pratap them how we believed things would change.

Q R

watch talk

BL BL 16 8

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

Doing the Ranveer In squeamish and hypocritical Bollywood, Ranveer Singh comes as a refreshing change

I

t isn’t entirely surprising that condom brand Durex’s latest video campaign titled ‘Do the Rex’ clocked a million YouTube hits within days of its release. After all who wouldn’t want to witness the uber cool Ranveer Singh confidently rapping to some risqué lines that go “Jab you and me raazi, Toh phir kya shak, Just give it to me baby, I am

a fine f**k.” Moreover, Singh is also the first leading star in as long as one can remember to lend his name to a condom brand. A few months ago Abhishek Bachchan had confessed on the Koffee with Karan couch that while condoms needed endorsement, he was too embarrassed to be the one to do it.

Given the prudishness of celebrities on this subject, one can only imagine how thrilled Durex must have been when Singh asked to endorse their brand. “I’ve been tracking the reaction to the ad very closely. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since it released. It’s not like I was trying to do something path-breaking, but I’ve noticed sociologists, anthropologists, senior journalists and members of the intelligentsia are writing about it. I’m glad that people are finding the ad fun and entertaining and also seeing the value in it,” says Singh over a phone interview, on his way to a night shoot of his next film Kill Dil. The ad campaign is also Singh’s first in his four-year-long career. He admits to being quite a late-bloomer in the endorsement game compared to his peers who have already signed up with multiple brands. Most recently he became the face of myntra.com’s new range No holds barred Ranveer Singh does a sexy number in his latest ad campaign of denim wear. “The same thing happened to He leaps back into the fray. The consequencheir faces are painted bright orange, except for their lips, which es of not covering this properly are too terrible to imagine. It is a day of celebration here are green, like the feathers adornin Boga-Boga, a remote village on the Southing their heads. Rivulets of sweat east Coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. trace their way through the painted lotuses “It all started with holograms,” says a vilon their chests as they leap in the air, dancing their traditional welcome dance. Cries lager, drinking water from what looks like a human skull. Cannibalism was widely pracof ‘Namo! Namo! Namo!’ fill the air. I see a ticed here until the ’60s, after which they little boy under a nearby tree, naked, trying to pick his nose through a Modi mask. I look switched to rugby. “Holograms started appearing all over the hills,” says the villager, around and see many little Modis. Wherever I turn, I see his face. He is completely un“Then a squadron of helicopters dropped tone ranged from to confusion.

It is Wanphrang Diengdoh’s masks all over thesympathy island. Men in orange avoidable. hen I feel a sudden pang of Your first film 19/87 was also on Khasi first here film 19/87 released in 2011, important understand one’s If you homesickness, on this island so far identity. Why do you choose to address this hats startedtoroaming around ourpast. villages, don’t, then canVote tell you anything.

It is saying Vote anyone for Namo, for Namo.

They from home.it had one screening and re- complex issue? ceived one review. His The second important, especially for tribals like the Khaus hold lotuses and take selfies.

They The drums rise to a crescendo. danc- It is complex because all identity markers made film,ers Where End,There whichare released this seem to have been set in stone now. There is distributed sis, becauseawe never had a script. are the lostClouds in frenzy. no coherent fitness DVD called ‘You There too canis a year,thoughts has already screenings, includdangerous manipulation of the pasttototell suit in had theirseven minds.

Their brains are fil- this belief that these identity markers were al- have a 56-inch chest.’ We kept trying what they from the but timehethey were them ing Delhi, Shillong and London.

In this Namo!’ film, ways one’s agenda political The writing heavy, and hewere is exhausted, soldiers led with his name.

‘Namo! Namo! that we or had alreadymotive. had elections in which is looks wherebeseechingly the problems be- 2012, of history always contest. Subsethe they “independent small on. He pauses and at his but is they werea power very insistent. chant. The filmmaker cameramanfrom from aTimes Now conceived, I grew upwho in agestures family with mixed religious quently a man in a suit came and asked town” — who survives by making that is gin. producer, at him to continue. is leaping around with them. videos His camera “exoticise the East” — examines the idea of backgrounds. My father’s side were Khasis, The film often brings up the question of ‘the Khasi identity and the growing “fear of the while my mother’s side were Christians. Grow- outsider’. The protagonists talk of Khasi inAlly, that kind of a household was quite insecurity, the idea of development and fear outsider”. The film documents a tribal com- ing up Dear When I wasnoresearching the of the outsider. Who is the outsider here? munity struggling with the purpose of devel- confusing.

My mobile phone longer fits for in my I toldWhat people thatI my opment at the cost of a way of living. Excerpts film pocket. should do?great-grandfather I think it (statehood) was a monumental event was Regards, a Dkhar Srinivas, (non-tribal).

Immediately their for the Khasis in post-independent India befrom the interview: Guntur cause from that point, we had a State of our own. At the same time — I might sound like a Dear Srinivas, secessionist — but I think it was extremely necThe simplest solution would be to stop essary to define this State because the differwearing pants. You could also carry it in a ent tribes in the Northeast were never part of pram. Millions of women are doing this all this country. having our own State it by also n news By described as ‘disturbing’ the time, and they live perfectly normal meantMonarchist some of our traditional laws could still Magazine, national scion lives. Another option would be to wear a be maintained.

Priyanka Gandhi has clarified that she helmet with a metal rod attached to it, from will be defending people not related which you can suspend the mobile phone.

What the demand Inner Line to herabout during the course for of her campaign.

This will ensure that you can enjoy your Permits?

Recently, down “It is not correctittowas sayturned that she is focuslarge new screen at all times. again.

Will really members,” limit outsiders, the ing only onitfamily said acheck spokesI am assuming your mobile is new. If not, illegal personinflux? for the princess. “She has never this is cause for concern. This means your Ally Subramaniam was born in the southImentioned don’t reallyManeka think so.Gandhi.

I think we quesSheshould has never mobile is growing bigger. Alternatively, you west Sundarbans, but was blown away by a tion its efficacy in states where it has immentioned Motilal Nehru.

She hasbeen never could be growing smaller. Have you cyclone and washed up on the shore near plemented — Arunachal Pradesh and mentioned Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit.

Her apchanged your diet recently? This could be Chennai. He was adopted by a poor Brahmin Nagaland.

ILPvery wasrestrained. an offshootHer of family the Benproach hasThe been the root of your problem. I would suggest family from Tirupur. He can answer all your gal Frontier 1873, which alsoEastern supports many Regulations other families, includyou contact a trained medical professional. questions. Just send them to was safeguard the interests of the planing tothe Chidambaram Family, theteaPilot Yours affectionately, Ally askallysubramaniam@gmail.com tations of the British. Now it is to protect the The Investigator is a fortnightly round-up of all things droll and newsy. All views are personal. Really personal t@shovonc tribals from non-tribal migration. But will it

me in films too. I got offers for a lot of lead roles after Band Baaja Baarat (2010), but I turned them down. I felt they weren’t seeing the value in me. I don’t look at myself as a commodity. The message carried in the ad is very important to me,” he says. Singh knows a thing or two about advertising. Before he began pursuing a career in films, he worked as a copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather and JWT. Now he’s hoping to satiate his unfulfilled “advertising keeda” by driving the creatives for all the brands he signs up with.

Every frame of the Durex ad has Ranveer written all over it — the over-the-top purple suit and his famously energetic dance moves.

In fact, almost everything he does and says seems to turn heads. He claims that that is not deliberate, but it is just who he is.

As a new entrant to the industry, he says he was pulled up every 15 days for his exhibitionist streak. “I was always perceived as crazy. I was very confused about what to be because I hadn’t grown up amongst celebrities. I did try to conform but it is veryCHOWDHURY taxing to be someone SHOVON is chief Truth digger and you’re not. I now just speak myauthor heart and I of The Competent Authority think it is working.”

MODI WAVE REACHES PAPUA NEW GUINEA!

T Outsider versus insider

A film that explores Khasi identity, questions of statehood and the costs of development

W

ASK ALLY

mohini chaudhuri whether we would like to handover our village so that he could give it to someone, but we said no.”

“Will you vote for him?” I ask.

“Why not?” says the villager, “We have 848 languages in Papua New Guinea. Nobody can speak all of them. We need someone to mash us together, so that we are unified.

Plus I was very impressed by the BetiSurakshaYojana, by which any father can ask the government to keep an eye on his daughter, provided he gets his documents attested by a gazetted officer of the rank of under-secretary or above. If the daughter and father are over 65, they get senior citizen benefits. He is clearly a man of vision.

We will join hands with him and help him defeat his main enemy.”

“Has he told you who his enemy is?” I ask.

“Yes,” says the villager, “It’s somebody called Rajnath Singh.”

WILL DEFEND OTHER FAMILIES ALSO, SAYS PRIYANKA!

I

Chronicler of the past Filmmaker Wanphrang Diengdoh asks tough questions

mean that economic migration will not be allowed but a fancy posting in Shillong will? I think the ILP is a very classist policy.

The film shows the tang jait ceremony, whichthe is performed in Khasi society to Family, Abdulperpetuate lah Family, thethe Pa-matrilineal set up by accepting So, on one hand there war Family,outsiders. the is thisFamily, fear ofthe the outsider but then there is Scindia this ritual that Deora Family, thecan make you Khasi. Can you

elaborate…

Deshmukh Family, This is a very good question The tang jait is a the Hooda Family, beautiful ceremony in the sense that it is so various Singh progressive its understanding of race. It is a Families and inthe ritual unique to the Khasis because it accomBaby John Family.” modates thesupporting outsider. It’s almost like famissuing a Will she be any ordinary PIOatcard. ilies any point in the future?

(Readshe the comes full interview thehindubu“When back inonline 2019,at this could besinessline.com/blink/) a distinct possibility,” said a source.

ND-X _ A

priyanka kotamraju

9

BL

cover

saturday, may 10, 2014

The highs and lows sujoy das

In the big, expensive annual circus on the Everest, the true essence of mountaineering is lost

Under a cloud The avalanche that killed 16 high-altitude climbers barrels down the west shoulder of the Everest; a route now threatened and currently out of bounds afp/buddhabir rai

“No part of the South Col route was feared more by the climbers than the Icefall... the mass of ice splinters into a jumble of huge tottering blocks called seracs, some as large as office buildings... each trip through the Icefall was like playing a round of Russian Roulette: sooner or later any given serac was going to fall over without warning” — John Krakauer in Into Thin Air

O

ne sunny day in June 1922, George Mallory from the second British Everest expedition was leading a team of climbers and Sherpas up to the North Col of Everest. Around 600 feet below the Col, the slope suddenly gave way without any warning and within seconds seven Sherpas had lost their lives. None of the Britishers died in the avalanche. The expedition leader, Colonel Bruce, paid ₹250 each as compensation to the families of the dead.

On April 18, 2014, just after dawn, another avalanche swept down the west shoulder of Everest and entombed 13 Sherpas along with three climbers from the Tamang, Gurung and Khatri communities in the Khumbu icefall.

Part of a team of ‘icefall doctors’, they were maintaining the route, a job which Outside magazine claimed was 12 times more dangerous than fighting in the Iraq war. This was the worst disaster in the history of the Everest.

Compared to foreign clients who would possibly pass through the deadly icefall a few times, a Sherpa makes around 30 terrifying trips throughout the climbing season.

Two days later, after receiving news that the Nepal government would pay only $400 each to the families as funeral expenses, the Sherpas went on strike, en-masse. The irate men made a 13-point charter of demands, including increasing funeral expenses to $1,000 per family, $10,000 for disabled climbing Sherpas, doubling of insurance to $20,000 and a permanent relief fund for the injured from the Everest fees collected by the government.

The disparity in pay between the Western guides and the Sherpas has also been a bone of

contention for the community. The Sherpas warming, the ice is melting — the glue that earn up to $6,000 or so for an Everest expedi- holds them together.” Could climate change tion, whereas a Western guide is paid three to render Everest from the south unclimbable? four times more. Ed Viesturs, one of the few With the possibility that more climbing men to have climbed all the 14 peaks of over teams would try from the north side of the 8,000 metres, said, “They should be paid what mountain in 2015, the multi-billion dollar Evthey think they are worth, and if it means sig- erest industry in Nepal seems threatened. The nificantly increasing the cost per climber and government has been raking in sky-high reveless people go to Everest, maybe that’s not a nues from Everest every year. Hence permits bad thing.” There seems to be wisdom in Vies- to most commercial expeditions have been turs words considering most of the difficult granted freely, resulting in overcrowding, injobs like maintaining the icefall route, fixing cluding human jams on the Lhotse Face and a ropes, carrying heavy loads from camp to major bottleneck on the Hillary Step, comprocamp, rescue operations, usually at night, are mising the safety of climbers and Sherpas. The done by Sherpas, who often climb in the rare- obvious solution is to restrict the permits in a fied ‘death zone’ without bottled oxygen. season and perhaps, raise the fees per team so After some of the demands were considered Nepal wouldn’t lose revenue. But nature has by the government, climbing teams were its way of restoring equilibrium. Also, given looking to return to the mountain, when a se- the safety issues and the 2014 shutdown, one ries of unsavoury events unfolded may well see fewer applications at the Base Camp. Certain milifor South Col next year, notwithtant Sherpa factions with possible standing China’s uncertain perpolitical patronage threatened mit policy for attempts from the Can climate change climbers and Sherpas planning to north side. render Everest from go back, even as the Nepalese TouExpedition leaders have prothe south rism Minister, Bhim Acharya, arposed that teams be allowed to unclimbable? rived at Base Camp, oxygen mask airlift equipment and supplies to in hand, to assure them that the Camp One on the edge of the mountain was “officially open”.

Western Cwm, so that frequent Tim Mosedale, who was a leading load ferrying through the Khuma small team at the time said, “a tale of intimi- bu icefall can be avoided. There was also a prodation, lies and deceit unfolded,” forcing posal to install a ladder on Hillary Step to ease many to head down to Kathmandu. traffic jams in the ‘death zone’. It remains to Sadly, the spring season of 2014 has now be seen if these measures are introduced in come to an end, shattering the ‘Everest dream’ the 2015 season, distasteful as they may seem of hundreds of climbers. But, more impor- to the purists. tantly, the safety of the South Col route seems But in this big, expensive circus on Everest, to be in question 61 years after it was first con- it is apparent that the true essence of mounquered by Hillary and Tenzing. taineering was lost years ago. Guided expediTim Rippel, who leads the well-known com- tions have created a new breed of climbers for pany Peak Freaks, commented after fresh ava- whom reaching the summit is the ultimate lanches hit the same Khumbu area where the goal at any cost. But the mountains have their men were killed, “What I’m seeing here is ex- own way of striking back. actly why we no longer climb Ama Dablam and Pumori (neighbouring peaks). We no sujoy das is a Kolkata-based photographer and longer climb those mountains due to global founder of South Col Expeditions

Q R

cover watch

saturday, may 10, 2014

BL

14 10

The changing face of Everest

cialises in the Manamadurai ghatams, which are heavier than the typical Bangalore or Chennai ghatams. The appearance of a ghatam belies its weight. Once baked and removed from the furnace it weighs nearly 16kg.

Through a painstaking process that involves hammering it with a stone, Meenakshi sculpts it into a musical instrument of 7kg. Through a method that has remained roughly unchanged over the last century, Meenakshi places the 16kg pot between her outstretched legs and with a rhythmic series of thousands of taps and knocks evens out its entire surface.

This process of beating it down transforms a pot into a thing of music. Fifty years of labour have weakened Meenakshi. Her limbs ache and throb all the time.

For musicians, buying a ghatam isn’t merely about placing an order at a counter for an instrument. For Ramgopal and Chandrashekar travelling to Manamadurai is a pilgrimage. Thirty-one-year-old Chandrashekar who works with India Foundation for the Arts, says, “You go there and walk into a room packed with 300-400 ghatams, out of which 15-20 The outcome of this is that guides, porters hierarchy of a team that includes guides, por- might be good ones.

You test each.

It is great and others provide essential support to ters, kitchen staff and other helpers. fun.

At the who end of the day you will be tone expedition teams are forced to work harder. deaf!” she adds, “It is a humble instrument but For instance, the itnorm is to carry look at what has changed over the years, when it comesalthough onto stage, creates magic.” and what hasn’t, provides a framework by Ramgopal 15kg from Base to Camp 2 and 10-12kg who Camp first visited Manamadurai in which to assess the current situation. A few of 1976 above 7,000 it’s 20 nottimes unusual for porhas beenmetres, there over since. toChandrashekar, carry more. AndMeenakshi yet, Nepal is no the key trends in recent years include the rise ters For notstrangonly a er to strife in the mountains. Friction during of commercial expeditions and the sharp in- loveable paati (grandmother) who makes a expeditions instrument, and the threat highcrease in the number of expeditions and clim- formidable sheofisstrikes also a by mentor bers, some of whom are not always and pioneer.altitude With theworkers ghatam have considered a been and a part of the itself country’s entirely equipped for this enormale instrument, the ghatam conmountaineering history. instrumous physical task. Mountain sidered inferior to other percussion 2013 for instrument-making.

Meenakshi, a res- ments — a female “Things have artiste certainly been guide Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, presighatam is “twice ident ofthe Manamadurai (around from during unfair (to Sherpas)says, for “Ia didn’t while dent of Nepal National Moun-500kmFriction marginalised”.

Chandrashekar Chennai) however is uninterested, testy, know now, especially compared tain Guide Association, who even how to situate myselfwhen in this ghatam expeditions and the with all working the attention.

“Why are all these peo-of strikes to other countries,” claims Shaistarted here as a porter journey. for stories that connected me threat byI looked ple here, they ask- to the making leeofBasnet, wasI reached part of Mathe at the agewhat of 16do and haswant? scaledWhy the are youhigh-altitude this pot.who When ing so many questions?” bemoans.

Her are ‘First Women SagarEverest on six occasions,sheestinamadurai metInclusive paati, I felt an upturning workers a part and son Ramesh, ghatam maker, Expedition’,especially a team the of mates that of also everya300 or 400 as- helpfully the theorymatha that percussion, of Nepal’s of mountmumbles excuses only for his mother’s eightonly women who reached the piring Everesters about 100 dismissals to the male domain.” aineering ghatam, history belong and — orfor unwillsummit in 2008. “Here, the are refusals. actually Unable prepared the When Chandrashekar met Raming, we“Almost will never know — to climb.

60 per cent of anthe strength of the national economy gopal and when she asked to swer her has determined the climbing culclimbersquestions need more about training and learn, it was a homecoming for profession, the curious make do ture of the country, rather altitude experience,” he says. both.

Ramgopal says, “She wasthan my A female ghatam with the testimonies of those mountain.”

“Similarly, of 200 odd guides, barely 50 are is nature girl student in 35 years… a 12artiste twice or thefirst who know herthe instrument best. rookies.marginalised Basnet, who earliergirl worked as a journalist, professional; rest are mostly And year-old has recently joined, I is where Bangalore-based of That the many companies that operate here, on- is one of theam members of thethat.”

Seven Summits happy about ghatam Sukanya RamgoWomen Team that aspires to the tallest ly about artistes 10 are well-experienced.”

The ghatam is scale an instrument pal and Sumana Chandrashekar born from the elements and pure come in. Ramgopal is one of the in its essence. It is made from the foremost ghatam players in the country hav- earth, forged in the fires, rested in the shading studied under guru Vikku Vinayakram, ows of the sun and contains the air and sky. It and Chandrashekar is her student. Both fa- boasts of no pretensions but it will sing only vour Meenakshi’s ghatams and understand its when in the right hands — be they male or fecreator’s toil and passion. Meenakshi is a male. And it seems a younger generation of fefourth-generation ghatam maker and learned male players might be picking it up. the art from her father-in-law when she married into the family at the age of 14. She spe- nandini nair Knock knock Meenakshi K reduces an earthen pot from 16kg to roughly 7kg at her home-workshop in Manamadurai

The pot T the stage on A

Is the quest for the summit dearer than a Sherpa’s life? Can Everest really be conquered?

A recent avalanche forces Nepal and the world to ask tough questions

he avalanche at Everest that claimed the lives of 16 high-altitude expedition workers, most of them from the Sherpa ethnic group (and one each from the Tamang, Gurung and Khatri communities), has engendered a sombre and tense atmosphere at the Base Camp, and drawn attention to the fissures in mountaineering today. Demands for increased compensation for families of victims and better medical and life insurance policies have been followed by calls to cancel the climbing season, despite opcan an earthen do? position from hat government officials,pot mounMost people imagine it as a taineering associations and some expedition moulded clump but in companies. A subsequent roundofofclay, avalanchthehas hands of ensured the imaginative es in the same area all but that the it turnswill intonot something else altogether. It can season go forward. hum, whistle, hiss, it can clop, canter, It Dignity of labour, particularly in gallop. terms of can clap with the might of thunder, it and can standard workplace concerns of wages whisper of recognition a summer rain. safety, aswith wellthe as secrets issues of and The ghatam, quite means a pot, identity havewhich emerged as simply the primary themes is a percussion instrument that hasConsidnever in the media coverage of the tragedy. quite due. Itinisrevenue seen as generated a folk instruering gotten the $3.3its million by ment rather thanfrom a classical one.

Devoid of the government climbing fees and the membranes its mouth unlike a thousands ofcovering dollars charged by —expedition mridangam or a tabla — its range and scope companies, Nepali high-altitude workers feel are to of the even, theyconsidered should get alimited. greater Up share the’6os benefits. the players seen as Thisghatam feeling isand alsoits shaped bywere one’s not place in the versatile enough to perform a pallavi, in Carnatic music. Popular imagination, in India, insists that percussion is primeval, feral even, and has remained largely the domain of potbellied men in front-open kurtas.

Recently, however, the ghatam came to the fore with its practitioners busting the many myths around it. The president of India, Pranab Mukherjee conferred Meenakshi K (65), a ghatam maker, with the Sangeet Natak Award

Busting myths around the humble ghatam by recognising the leading ghatam maker and players in the country

W

Percussion maestros (from left) Ghatam makers Ramesh and Meenakshi K alongside ghatam players Sukanya Ramgopal and Sumana Chandrashekar kamal narang

ND-X _ A

A death foretold (above) Daughter of Ang Kaji Sherpa, who went missing after the avalanche, in mourning ap/niranjan shrestha; and (right) Ang Dali Sherpa holds on to her deceased husband Tenzing Chottar Sherpa’s passport photograph afp/prakash mathema

Q

R Q R

BL

cover watch

saturday, may 10, 2014

Bottom rung? The ‘icefall doctors’ or Sherpas who fix ladders and ropes to set routes are often the most vulnerable reuters/asian trekking

anna mm vetticad

FILM FATALE

Apolitical no more Bollywood seems to have finally shed its political apathy and its infamous reticence

W

Force to reckon When Shiv Sena threatened to stop the release of My Name is Khan, many film personalities spoke up in support of Shah Rukh Khan PTI

e were all set for the shoot.

Lights: check. Camera: check.

Makeup: check. My star guest — one of the hottest women in Bollywood — was just entering the room when her publicist whispered in my ear, “Ma’am is requesting you not to ask political questions.”

Meaning? No questions about Shah Rukh Khan, right?

In my experience, Hindi movie stars tend to avoid comment on political issues, but they rarely try to pre-censor an interview. This particular actress, however, is known for getting her agent to convey this request to journalists before every long-format Q&A. On earlier occasions, I had laughed it off because I wasn’t interested in her reactions to political affairs then. This was different. This was a month when her industry was engulfed in politics; when Shiv Sena had threatened to block the release of SRK’s My Name is Khan (MNIK) unless he apologised for his remarks about Pakistani players in the IPL. It goes without saying, I refused to agree to her condition and did the interview my way.

This memory from 2010 has flashed through my mind repeatedly this month as a battle rages in Mumbai’s film circles between pro-Modi and no-Modi groups. These people mountain in eachover continent.

In the light of openly sparring ideology… could they her mountaineering in other possibly be from theexperience same industry thatparts was of thenotoriously world, she feels “porters in Nepal exonce non-committal aboutare polipected to do everything.

They are carrying all tics or terrified of it? the load and taking all the risks. The safety net of Everest is made up of their bodies!”

W Rites of passage A Buddhist monk lights the pyre of climber Ang Kaji Sherpa in Kathmandu ap/niranjan shrestha

hile the Nepal government’s response has come under the scanner, particularly due to the level of compensation offered and their desire to ensure that the climbing season stays uninterrupted, according to Lakpa Sherpa, the situation is ripe for government-initiated standardisation policies. An internationally certified guide, general secretary of the National Mountaineering Instructor Association and co-convener of the Welfare

Unless you’re living in a vacuum, you know the Congress! I am not supporting parties, I where this is coming from. This April, a group am he explained.

Firstsupporting dibs Tenzingfriends, Norgay, the world’s best-known of eminent citizens, mostly from Bollywood, Overatthe even as Bollywood’s right to Sherpa, theyears, Acropolis in Athens with his daughters hindu archives and niece in 1958 issued an appeal to the electorate in the ongo- free speech hasthecontinuously been attacked, ing general election “to vote for the secular most victims have bowed to bigots. It’s only thepoint probability avalanches.

They party, which is most likely to win in your con- and fair to out thatofprotests against artdidn’t in Init initially, but I told them it was mythe fistituency”. The letter was signed by a cross-sec- accept dia usually include physical violence, with decision; theretowould beits nopeople. bargaining.” tion of film personalities including, nal state doing little protect For posurprisingly, makers of money-spinning hard- litical, religious and social groups, targeting olma Sherpa (name changed request) core commercial cinema. artists, especially commercial filmonfolk, is an rues conditions Everest now — They did not name any politician or party. easy also route to the publicity.

Withon money and pera Bollywood place whereoften you asks did However, in what must surely rank as a self- “It’s sonalchanged safety atfrom stake, on can yourbeown to where is goal, BJP supporters in Bollywood have ex- things how they blamed wheneverything they opt for for you if you pay the price.” But her ploded in protest, translating the call to vote done self-censorship andcan apologies. focus is on Sherpa identity how itfrom has for secularism as a call not to vote Well, the pointand is, artists been reduced to a fields narrow mainstream for Narendra Modi. This is a “conother have shown farrepregreasentation of ter someone who provides labour in spiracy” to “divide” our industry, courage in confronting politithe mountains. blog she last year, they say. cal The goons.

So started have Mumbai’s Sherpa’, and itsmakers companion TwitA film journalist cannot but documentary and some History ‘Reclaiming must ter account, parallel have both garnered rerub her eyes in disbelief as this cinema attention luminaries. credit Shah cently. they areplayers a response to the storm refuses to subside. In the Mainstream in Bollywood Rukh Khan for Together appropriation of the word by a range past, political apathy has been a though (with ‘sherpa’ a few exceptions forever changing of entities including mountaineering busihallmark of Bollywood, unlike such as Mahesh Bhatt and ShabaBollywood nesses, foreign and international some of the other Indian lanna companies Azmi) have consistently institutions. played They also reflect “a sense of feelguage industries, and in sharp it safe. ing powerless about how you’re defined and contrast to Hollywood. Even stars What then has prompted the not being able to challenge In Dolma’s who join political parties have change in 2014? it.”

A widespread issue is about askingthe who is a Sherpa rarely publicised their stance on combustive view, sensethis of urgency regarding election this the hierarchy the industry. issues. Equally bizarre are some who have can- and yearrecognising is one factor.

The Aam in Aadmi Party’s Committee of the Nepal Mountaineering As- emergence “This is about defining an entire group of vassed for politicians during polls. In the 2009 has also fired the imagination sociation (NMA), Lakpa says, the “Expedition erroneously.

It highlights certain ‘reaselection, Salman Khan took cake, thecombak- people, many who see among the party’s arecruits panies different rates.

Some are pect of Sherpas as a group, all ery andare the paying wheat field with it, when he camspectable’ folk who don’t fitovershadowing the stereotypical competing the basisfrom of quality, others on the rest, our It history.

It tells us what our napaigned foron candidates both the BJP and image ofall netas. must be pointed out though price. It has become imperative to set rules ture be like and gives anyone the right that should the winds of change have gradually been and regulations, fix salaries and a minimum to be a Sherpa, justindustry’s because they have these blowing away the infamous indifwage.” “Earlier [in the ’90s] less money was in- prescribed qualities. ference since 2010. We don’t need to be devolved… Now that the stakes are higher (typi- fined by anybody… and there are other ethnic If time in the Gregorian calendar is divided cally, guides earn between $2,000 and $6,000 groups in this labour.” into BC involved and AD, then this Bollywood calendar in season), we must get the govThe recent avalanche has BM reof political evolution can be divided into ernment and stakeholders like lavealed longstanding, (before MNIK) and AM (after MNIK).underlying When Shiv bour unions and the Minister of issuesShah ranging labourago, to Sena challenged Rukhfrom four years Labour to sit together and deteridentity,and however, these insiders viewersresolving witnessed the Sherpas inBollywood Nepal mine proper salaries for 6,000 will phenomenon be anything but unprecedented of straightfora megastar are expected to do metres, 7,000 metres, for guides, ward.

Although some may refusing to be cowed down.

Spurred on alby everything... the climber-workers and so on.” ready be lookingone forward tomost next public support, by one safety net of and media From Lakpa’s standpoint, the year’s —climbing season, hoping film personalities though not all — spoke up Everest is made up risk of accidents can be minthat the concerns blow over, for him. Ultimately, despite will delays within of their bodies imised by ensuring international couldhurt well the be abottomline, catalysing Maharashtrathis which certification for lead guides, enspur the much-needMNIK got anmoment all-Indiatorelease and became a hanced training and equipment, massive hit. ed changes. and by reducing the pressures for The list just of demands issued inby Sometimes, it takes one courageous high-altitude workers to go ahead even when the NepaltoNational Guides Associdividual discoverMountain that a bully is a coward. it’s not safe. He advocates welfare measures ation, for instance, callsSena’s for additional SRK tugged at the Shiv beard andemerUddlike funds to support families and children’s gency rescue lost services and price no has negative hav Thackeray face. The been education in addition to pension policies. repercussions if the ‘icefall doctors’, fix that AM, religious right-wingers havewho consisOn the flip side, however, expectations of ropes ladders routes, tently and singled out and SRKset forexpedition propaganda and those who have paid handsomely for the privi- determine thatmust a route is too dangerous based abuse. History credit him though for forlege of reaching the summit, are just as high. on the conditions.

“It’s also crucial to institute ever changing Bollywood.

But as Lakpa puts it, “Not all who are rich can anThe annual mountain safety analysis, forecastongoing row over Modi is another turnmake it to the summit. They need a minimum ing point of theAM. Khumbu conditions and As moreicefall film personalities examount of experience, and they must climb identifying the most seracs press political viewsdangerous publicly, part thereforwill be 6,000 metres and train. If I am a certified and crevasses,” adds Pemba Gyalje. strength in numbers and risk of violence will mountain guide, I’m a decision-maker. Others hopefully Only time will tellDon’t if Nepal will recover from decline. lament an imagined on the expedition may have paid a lot of mon- this huge blow.

Until then, one can only hope end of unity, dear Bollywood-gazers.

Celebrate ey, but you have to say ‘no’ sometimes.” the Sherpa — aBollywood’s towering figure of strength instead that political apathy and has Lakpa should know. “In 2004, I was leading resilience in popular reclaims the for refinally ended.

Silenceculture cannot—be an option a Dutch expedition, a single group. There was spect recognition dueentertainers. to him.

India’sand most high-profile snow up to the waist, but they wanted to ravisankar an assistant with Himal anna mm vetticad isisthe author ofeditor The Adventures climb to 7,500 metres. I was the sardar-leader, rajeev Kathmandu of an Intrepid Film Critic t@annavetticad and I had to abort the trip because of the snow Southasian,

D

Q R

Q R

ND-X _ A

11 15

shoot

saturday, may 10, 2014

BL

12

Easy riders Manipuri boys arrive at a local bar in Hiyanthang, Sekmai, in the outskirts of Imphal

For a few drops more This local Manipuri brew has been uniting friends and foes for centuries

Table for two or many Stacks of wooden stools await the ďŹ rst customer’s arrival

BL

shoot

saturday, may 10, 2014

A

Distilled pleasures A boy prepares sekmai, to be served later in the day. Since it has a short shelf life, it’s best consumed the same day

Fry-day Chicken is served hot off the stove along with liquor at a bar in Hiyanthang

short ride away from the capital city of Imphal is Sekmai, a village known for its picnic spots, famous Manipuri footballers (such as India’s ace midfielder Renedy Singh) and for its local rice beer — atingba or simply, sekmai.

A dry State for more than a decade, liquor laws seem to become irrelevant when it comes to sekmai, a drink often compared with the Japanese sake and the Korean soju. Legend has it that a Japanese sericulture research team stationed here in the ’90s insisted on only serving sekmai, whenever high-level delegates from their country paid a visit.

And it’s not just the Japanese, the locals love their rice beer as well. In a State torn apart by insurgency and draconian laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), the sekmai bars offer a sanguine illusion. All might not be forgiven here, but at least it’s forgotten, even if briefly.

While rice beer is produced across Manipur and other Northeastern States, sekmai has its own allure. And it’s a common sight, week in, week out, for rebels and fighters to put aside their differences for an evening spent in the company of sekmai. ritu raj konwar

Heavy goods Meaty accompaniments to sekmai being brought into the bar

Communal harmony A heady, candlelit evening with friends

ND-X _ A

13

cover watch

saturday, may 10, 2014

BL

14 10

The changing face of Everest

cialises in the Manamadurai ghatams, which are heavier than the typical Bangalore or Chennai ghatams. The appearance of a ghatam belies its weight. Once baked and removed from the furnace it weighs nearly 16kg.

Through a painstaking process that involves hammering it with a stone, Meenakshi sculpts it into a musical instrument of 7kg. Through a method that has remained roughly unchanged over the last century, Meenakshi places the 16kg pot between her outstretched legs and with a rhythmic series of thousands of taps and knocks evens out its entire surface.

This process of beating it down transforms a pot into a thing of music. Fifty years of labour have weakened Meenakshi. Her limbs ache and throb all the time.

For musicians, buying a ghatam isn’t merely about placing an order at a counter for an instrument. For Ramgopal and Chandrashekar travelling to Manamadurai is a pilgrimage. Thirty-one-year-old Chandrashekar who works with India Foundation for the Arts, says, “You go there and walk into a room packed with 300-400 ghatams, out of which 15-20 The outcome of this is that guides, porters hierarchy of a team that includes guides, por- might be good ones.

You test each.

It is great and essential support to ters, kitchen staff and other helpers. fun. others At the who end provide of the day you will be tone expedition teams are forced to work harder. deaf!” she adds, “It is a humble instrument but instance, the itnorm is to carry look at what has changed over the years, For when it comesalthough onto stage, creates magic.” and what hasn’t, provides a framework by 15kg from Base to Camp 2 and 10-12kg Ramgopal who Camp first visited Manamadurai in which to assess the current situation. A few of above 7,000 it’s 20 nottimes unusual for por1976 has beenmetres, there over since. toChandrashekar, carry more. AndMeenakshi yet, Nepal is no the key trends in recent years include the rise ters For notstrangonly a to strife in the mountains. Friction duringa of commercial expeditions and the sharp in- er loveable paati (grandmother) who makes and the threat highcrease in the number of expeditions and clim- expeditions formidable instrument, sheofisstrikes also a by mentor bers, some of whom are not alwaysa and pioneer.altitude With theworkers ghatam have considered been and a part of the itself country’s entirely equipped for this enormale instrument, the ghatam conmountaineering history. instrumous physical task. Mountain sidered inferior to other percussion 2013 for instrument-making.

Meenakshi, a res- ments — a female “Things have artiste certainly been guide Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, presighatam is “twice identofofthe Manamadurai (around from during unfair (to Sherpas)says, for “Ia didn’t while dent Nepal National Moun-500kmFriction marginalised”.

Chandrashekar Chennai) however is uninterested, testy, know now, especially compared tain Guide Association, who even how to situate myselfwhen in this ghatam expeditions and the with all working the attention.

“Why are all these peo-of strikes to other countries,” claims Shaistarted here as a porter journey. for stories that connected me threat byI looked plethe here, they ask- to the making leeofBasnet, who wasI reached part of Mathe at agewhat of 16do and haswant? scaledWhy the are youhigh-altitude this pot.

When ing so many questions?” bemoans.

Her are ‘First Women SagarEverest on six occasions,sheestinamadurai metInclusive paati, I felt an upturning workers a part and son Ramesh, ghatam maker, matha Expedition’,especially a team the of mates that of also everya300 or 400 as- helpfully the theory that percussion, of Nepal’s of mountmumbles excuses only for his mother’s eightonly women who reached the piring Everesters about 100 dismissals to the male domain.” aineering ghatam, history belong and refusals.

— orfor unwillsummit in 2008. “Here, the are actually Unable prepared the When Chandrashekar met Raming, we“Almost will never know — to anclimb.

60 per cent of the strength of the national gopal and when she economy asked to swer questions about and her has determined the climbing culclimbers need more training learn, it was a homecoming for profession,experience,” the curious he makesays. do ture of the country, rather than altitude both.

Ramgopal says, “She was my A female ghatam with the testimonies of those mountain.”

“Similarly, of 200 odd guides, barely 50 are is nature girl student in 35 years… a 12artiste twice or thefirst who know herthe instrument best. rookies.marginalised Basnet, who earliergirl worked as a journalist, professional; rest are mostly And year-old has recently joined, I is where Bangalore-based of That the many companies that operate here, on- is one of theam members of thethat.”

Seven Summits happy about ghatam Sukanya RamgoWomen Team that aspires to the tallest ly about artistes 10 are well-experienced.”

The ghatam is scale an instrument pal and Sumana Chandrashekar born from the elements and pure come in. Ramgopal is one of the in its essence. It is made from the foremost ghatam players in the country hav- earth, forged in the fires, rested in the shading studied under guru Vikku Vinayakram, ows of the sun and contains the air and sky. It and Chandrashekar is her student. Both fa- boasts of no pretensions but it will sing only vour Meenakshi’s ghatams and understand its when in the right hands — be they male or fecreator’s toil and passion. Meenakshi is a male. And it seems a younger generation of fefourth-generation ghatam maker and learned male players might be picking it up. the art from her father-in-law when she married into the family at the age of 14. She spe- nandini nair Knock knock Meenakshi K reduces an earthen pot from 16kg to roughly 7kg at her home-workshop in Manamadurai

The pot T the stage on A

Is the quest for the summit dearer than a Sherpa’s life? Can Everest really be conquered?

A recent avalanche forces Nepal and the world to ask tough questions

he avalanche at Everest that claimed the lives of 16 high-altitude expedition workers, most of them from the Sherpa ethnic group (and one each from the Tamang, Gurung and Khatri communities), has engendered a sombre and tense atmosphere at the Base Camp, and drawn attention to the fissures in mountaineering today. Demands for increased compensation for families of victims and better medical and life insurance policies have been followed by calls to cancel the climbing season, despite ophat can an earthen do? position from government officials,pot mounMost people imagine it as a taineering associations and some expedition moulded clump but in companies. A subsequent roundofofclay, avalanchthehas hands of ensured the imaginative es in the same area all but that the it turnswill intonot something else altogether. It can season go forward. hum, whistle, hiss, it can clop, canter, gallop.of It Dignity of labour, particularly in terms can clap with the might of thunder, it and can standard workplace concerns of wages whisper secretsofof recognition a summer rain. safety, aswith wellthe as issues and The ghatam, quite means a pot, identity havewhich emerged as simply the primary themes is a percussion instrument that hasConsidnever in the media coverage of the tragedy. quite gotten due. Itinisrevenue seen as generated a folk instruering the $3.3its million by ment rather thanfrom a classical one.

Devoid of the government climbing fees and the membranes its mouth unlike a thousands ofcovering dollars charged by — expedition mridangam or a tabla — its range and scope companies, Nepali high-altitude workers feel are to of the even, theyconsidered should get alimited. greater Up share the’6os benefits. the players seen as Thisghatam feeling isand alsoits shaped by were one’s not place in the versatile enough to perform a pallavi, in Carnatic music. Popular imagination, in India, insists that percussion is primeval, feral even, and has remained largely the domain of potbellied men in front-open kurtas.

Recently, however, the ghatam came to the fore with its practitioners busting the many myths around it. The president of India, Pranab Mukherjee conferred Meenakshi K (65), a ghatam maker, with the Sangeet Natak Award

Busting myths around the humble ghatam by recognising the leading ghatam maker and players in the country

W

Percussion maestros (from left) Ghatam makers Ramesh and Meenakshi K alongside ghatam players Sukanya Ramgopal and Sumana Chandrashekar kamal narang

ND-X _ A

A death foretold (above) Daughter of Ang Kaji Sherpa, who went missing after the avalanche, in mourning ap/niranjan shrestha; and (right) Ang Dali Sherpa holds on to her deceased husband Tenzing Chottar Sherpa’s passport photograph afp/prakash mathema

Q

R Q R

BL

cover watch

saturday, may 10, 2014

Bottom rung? The ‘icefall doctors’ or Sherpas who fix ladders and ropes to set routes are often the most vulnerable reuters/asian trekking

anna mm vetticad

FILM FATALE

Apolitical no more Bollywood seems to have finally shed its political apathy and its infamous reticence

W

Force to reckon When Shiv Sena threatened to stop the release of My Name is Khan, many film personalities spoke up in support of Shah Rukh Khan PTI

e were all set for the shoot.

Lights: check. Camera: check.

Makeup: check. My star guest — one of the hottest women in Bollywood — was just entering the room when her publicist whispered in my ear, “Ma’am is requesting you not to ask political questions.”

Meaning? No questions about Shah Rukh Khan, right?

In my experience, Hindi movie stars tend to avoid comment on political issues, but they rarely try to pre-censor an interview. This particular actress, however, is known for getting her agent to convey this request to journalists before every long-format Q&A. On earlier occasions, I had laughed it off because I wasn’t interested in her reactions to political affairs then. This was different. This was a month when her industry was engulfed in politics; when Shiv Sena had threatened to block the release of SRK’s My Name is Khan (MNIK) unless he apologised for his remarks about Pakistani players in the IPL. It goes without saying, I refused to agree to her condition and did the interview my way.

This memory from 2010 has flashed through my mind repeatedly this month as a battle rages in Mumbai’s film circles between pro-Modi and no-Modi groups. These people mountain in each continent.

In the light of openly sparring over ideology… could they her mountaineering in other possibly be from theexperience same industry thatparts was of thenotoriously world, she feels “porters in Nepal exonce non-committal aboutare polipected to do everything.

They are carrying all tics or terrified of it? the load and taking all the risks. The safety net of Everest is made up of their bodies!”

W Rites of passage A Buddhist monk lights the pyre of climber Ang Kaji Sherpa in Kathmandu ap/niranjan shrestha

hile the Nepal government’s response has come under the scanner, particularly due to the level of compensation offered and their desire to ensure that the climbing season stays uninterrupted, according to Lakpa Sherpa, the situation is ripe for government-initiated standardisation policies. An internationally certified guide, general secretary of the National Mountaineering Instructor Association and co-convener of the Welfare

Unless you’re living in a vacuum, you know the Congress! I am not supporting parties, I where this is coming from. This April, a group am supporting First dibs Tenzingfriends, Norgay, he the explained. world’s best-known of eminent citizens, mostly from Bollywood, Over at the even Bollywood’s right to Sherpa, theyears, Acropolis in as Athens with his daughters hindu archives and niece in 1958 issued an appeal to the electorate in the ongo- free speech hasthecontinuously been attacked, ing general election “to vote for the secular most victims have bowed to bigots. It’s only the probability avalanches.

They party, which is most likely to win in your con- and fair to point out thatofprotests against artdidn’t in Init initially, but I told them it was mythe fistituency”. The letter was signed by a cross-sec- accept dia usually include physical violence, with there beits nopeople. bargaining.” tion of film personalities including, nal statedecision; doing little towould protect For posurprisingly, makers of money-spinning hard- litical, religious and social groups, targeting olma Sherpa (name changed request) core commercial cinema. artists, especially commercial filmonfolk, is an rues conditions Everest now — They did not name any politician or party. easy also route to the publicity.

Withon money and perplace whereoften you asks did However, in what must surely rank as a self- “It’s sonalchanged safety atfrom stake,a Bollywood on can yourbeown to where is goal, BJP supporters in Bollywood have ex- things how they blamed wheneverything they opt for for you if you pay the price.” But her ploded in protest, translating the call to vote done self-censorship andcan apologies. focus is on Sherpa identity how itfrom has for secularism as a call not to vote Well, the pointand is, artists been reduced to a fields narrow mainstream for Narendra Modi. This is a “conother have shown farrepregreasentation of ter someone who provides labour in spiracy” to “divide” our industry, courage in confronting politithe mountains. blog So she started last year, they say. cal The goons. have Mumbai’s Sherpa’, and itsmakers companion TwitA film journalist cannot but documentary and some History ‘Reclaiming must ter account, parallel have both garnered rerub her eyes in disbelief as this cinema attention luminaries. credit Shah cently. they areplayers a response to the storm refuses to subside. In the Mainstream in Bollywood Rukh Khan for Together appropriation of the (with word ‘sherpa’ by a range past, political apathy has been a though a few exceptions forever changing of entities including mountaineering busihallmark of Bollywood, unlike such as Mahesh Bhatt and ShabaBollywood nesses, foreign and international some of the other Indian lanna companies Azmi) have consistently institutions.played They also reflect “a sense of feelguage industries, and in sharp it safe. ing powerless about how you’re defined and contrast to Hollywood. Even stars What then has prompted the not being able to challenge In Dolma’s who join political parties have change in 2014? it.”

A widespread issue is about askingthe who is a Sherpa rarely publicised their stance on combustive view, sensethis of urgency regarding election this the hierarchy the industry. issues. Equally bizarre are some who have can- and yearrecognising is one factor.

The Aam in Aadmi Party’s Committee of the Nepal Mountaineering As- emergence “This is about defining an entire group of vassed for politicians during polls. In the 2009 has also fired the imagination sociation (NMA), Lakpa says, the “Expedition erroneously.

It highlights certain‘reaselection, Salman Khan took cake, thecombak- people, many who see among the party’s arecruits panies different rates.

Some are pect of Sherpas as a group, all ery andare the paying wheat field with it, when he camspectable’ folk who don’t fitovershadowing the stereotypical competing the basisfrom of quality, others on the rest, our It history.

It tells us what our napaigned foron candidates both the BJP and image ofall netas. must be pointed out though price. It has become imperative to set rules ture should be like and gives the right that the winds of change haveanyone gradually been and regulations, fix salaries and a minimum to be a Sherpa, justindustry’s because they have these blowing away the infamous indifwage.” “Earlier [in the ’90s] less money was in- prescribed qualities. ference since 2010. We don’t need to be devolved… Now that the stakes are higher (typi- fined by anybody… and there are other ethnic If time in the Gregorian calendar is divided cally, guides earn between $2,000 and $6,000 groups in this labour.” into BC involved and AD, then this Bollywood calendar in season), we must get the govThe recent avalanche has BM reof political evolution can be divided into ernment and stakeholders like lavealed longstanding, (before MNIK) and AM (after MNIK).underlying When Shiv bour unions and the Minister of issuesShah ranging labourago, to Sena challenged Rukhfrom four years Labour to sit together and deteridentity,and however, these insiders viewersresolving witnessed the Sherpas inBollywood Nepal mine proper salaries for 6,000 will phenomenon be anything but unprecedented of astraightformegastar are expected to do metres, 7,000 metres, for guides, ward.

Although some may alrefusing to be cowed down.

Spurred on by everything... the climber-workers and so on.” ready be lookingone forward tomost next public support, by one safety net of and media From Lakpa’s standpoint, the year’s—climbing season, hoping film personalities though not all — spoke up Everest is made up risk of accidents can be minthat the concerns blow over, for him. Ultimately, despite will delays within of their bodies imised by ensuring international couldhurt well the be abottomline, catalysing Maharashtrathis which certification for lead guides, enspur the MNIK got anmoment all-Indiatorelease andmuch-needbecame a hanced training and equipment, massive hit. ed changes. and by reducing the pressures for The listjust of demands issued inby Sometimes, it takes one courageous high-altitude workers to go ahead even when the NepaltoNational Guides Associdividual discoverMountain that a bully is a coward. it’s not safe. He advocates welfare measures ation, for instance, callsSena’s for additional SRK tugged at the Shiv beard andemerUddlike funds to support families and children’s gency rescue lost services andprice no has negative hav Thackeray face. The been education in addition to pension policies. repercussions if the ‘icefall doctors’, fix that AM, religious right-wingers havewho consisOn the flip side, however, expectations of ropes ladders routes, tently and singled out and SRKset forexpedition propaganda and those who have paid handsomely for the privi- determine thatmust a route is too dangerous based abuse. History credit him though for forlege of reaching the summit, are just as high. on conditions.

“It’s also crucial to institute everthe changing Bollywood.

But as Lakpa puts it, “Not all who are rich can anThe annual mountain safety analysis, forecastongoing row over Modi is another turnmake it to the summit. They need a minimum ing point of theAM. Khumbu conditions and As moreicefall film personalities examount of experience, and they must climb identifying the most seracs press political viewsdangerous publicly, part thereforwill be 6,000 metres and train. If I am a certified and crevasses,” adds Pemba Gyalje. strength in numbers and risk of violence will mountain guide, I’m a decision-maker. Others hopefully Only time will tell if Nepal will recover from decline.

Don’t lament an imagined on the expedition may have paid a lot of mon- this huge blow.

Until then, one can only hope end of unity, dear Bollywood-gazers.

Celebrate ey, but you have to say ‘no’ sometimes.” the Sherpa — aBollywood’s towering figure of strength instead that political apathy and has Lakpa should know. “In 2004, I was leading resilience in popular reclaims thefor refinally ended.

Silenceculture cannot—be an option a Dutch expedition, a single group. There was spect recognition dueentertainers. to him.

India’sand most high-profile snow up to the waist, but they wanted to ravisankar an assistant with Himal anna mm vetticad isisthe author ofeditor The Adventures climb to 7,500 metres. I was the sardar-leader, rajeev Kathmandu of an Intrepid Film Critic t@annavetticad and I had to abort the trip because of the snow Southasian,

D

Q R

Q R

ND-X _ A

11 15

watch talk

BL BL 168

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

Doing the Ranveer In squeamish and hypocritical Bollywood, Ranveer Singh comes as a refreshing change

I

t isn’t entirely surprising that condom brand Durex’s latest video campaign titled ‘Do the Rex’ clocked a million YouTube hits within days of its release. After all who wouldn’t want to witness the uber cool Ranveer Singh confidently rapping to some risqué lines that go “Jab you and me raazi, Toh phir kya shak, Just give it to me baby, I am

a fine f**k.” Moreover, Singh is also the first leading star in as long as one can remember to lend his name to a condom brand. A few months ago Abhishek Bachchan had confessed on the Koffee with Karan couch that while condoms needed endorsement, he was too embarrassed to be the one to do it.

Given the prudishness of celebrities on this subject, one can only imagine how thrilled Durex must have been when Singh asked to endorse their brand. “I’ve been tracking the reaction to the ad very closely. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since it released. It’s not like I was trying to do something path-breaking, but I’ve noticed sociologists, anthropologists, senior journalists and members of the intelligentsia are writing about it. I’m glad that people are finding the ad fun and entertaining and also seeing the value in it,” says Singh over a phone interview, on his way to a night shoot of his next film Kill Dil. The ad campaign is also Singh’s first in his four-year-long career. He admits to being quite a late-bloomer in the endorsement game compared to his peers who have already signed up with multiple brands. Most recently he became the face of myntra.com’s new range No holds barred Ranveer Singh does a sexy number in his latest ad campaign of denim wear. “The same thing happened to He leaps back into the fray. The consequencheir faces are painted bright orange, except for their lips, which es of not covering this properly are too terrible to imagine. It is a day of celebration here are green, like the feathers adornin Boga-Boga, a remote village on the Southing their heads. Rivulets of sweat east Coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. trace their way through the painted lotuses “It all started with holograms,” says a vilon their chests as they leap in the air, dancing their traditional welcome dance. Cries lager, drinking water from what looks like a human skull. Cannibalism was widely pracof ‘Namo! Namo! Namo!’ fill the air. I see a ticed here until the ’60s, after which they little boy under a nearby tree, naked, trying to pick his nose through a Modi mask. I look switched to rugby. “Holograms started appearing all over the hills,” says the villager, around and see many little Modis. Wherever I turn, I see his face. He is completely un“Then a squadron of helicopters dropped tone ranged from sympathy to confusion.

It is Wanphrang Diengdoh’s masks all over the island. Men in orange avoidable. hen I feel a sudden pang of Your first film 19/87 was also on Khasi first here film 19/87 released in 2011, important understand one’s If you homesickness, on this island so far identity. Why do you choose to address this hats startedtoroaming around ourpast. villages, don’t, canVote tell you anything.

It is sayingthen Vote anyone for Namo, for Namo.

They from home.it had one screening and re- complex issue? ceived one review. His The second especially for tribals like the Khamade us hold lotuses and take selfies.

They The drums rise to a crescendo. danc- It is complex because all identity markers important, film,ers Where End,There whichare released this seem to have been set in stone now. There is sis, becauseawe never had a script. is a are the lostClouds in frenzy. no coherent distributed fitness DVD called ‘You There too can year,thoughts has already screenings, includmanipulation of the pasttototell suit in had theirseven minds.

Their brains are fil- this belief that these identity markers were al- dangerous have a 56-inch chest.’ We kept trying what they from the but timehe they were one’s ing Delhi, Shillong and London.

In this Namo!’ film, ways political The writing heavy, and hewere is exhausted, soldiers led with his name.

‘Namo! Namo! them agenda that we or had alreadymotive. had elections in whichand is looks wherebeseechingly the problems be- of history always contest. Subsethe “independent small on. He pauses at his 2012, but is they werea power very insistent. they chant. Thefilmmaker cameramanfrom from aTimes Now conceived, I grew upwho in agestures family with mixed religious quently a man in a suit came and asked town” who survives making that is gin. producer, at him to continue. is — leaping around by with them. videos His camera “exoticise the East” — examines the idea of backgrounds. My father’s side were Khasis, The film often brings up the question of ‘the Khasi identity and the growing “fear of the while my mother’s side were Christians. Grow- outsider’. The protagonists talk of Khasi in Ally, that kind of a household was quite insecurity, the idea of development and fear outsider”. The film documents a tribal com- ing up Dear When I wasnoresearching the of the outsider. Who is the outsider here? munity struggling with the purpose of devel- confusing.

My mobile phone longer fits for in my I toldWhat people thatImy opment at the cost of a way of living. Excerpts film pocket. should do?great-grandfather I think it (statehood) was a monumental event was Regards, a Dkhar Srinivas, (non-tribal).

Immediately their for the Khasis in post-independent India befrom the interview: Guntur cause from that point, we had a State of our own. At the same time — I might sound like a Dear Srinivas, secessionist — but I think it was extremely necThe simplest solution would be to stop essary to define this State because the differwearing pants. You could also carry it in a ent tribes in the Northeast were never part of pram. Millions of women are doing this all this country. having our own State it by also n news By described as ‘disturbing’ the time, and they live perfectly normal meantMonarchist some of our traditional laws could still Magazine, national scion lives. Another option would be to wear a be maintained.

Priyanka Gandhi has clarified that she helmet with a metal rod attached to it, from will be defending people not related which you can suspend the mobile phone.

What the demand Inner Line to herabout during the course for of her campaign.

This will ensure that you can enjoy your Permits?

Recently, down “It is not correctittowas sayturned that she is focuslarge new screen at all times. again.

Will really members,” limit outsiders, the ing only onitfamily said acheck spokesI am assuming your mobile is new. If not, illegal influx? person for the princess. “She has never this is cause for concern. This means your Ally Subramaniam was born in the southI mentioned don’t reallyManeka think so.Gandhi.

I think we quesSheshould has never mobile is growing bigger. Alternatively, you west Sundarbans, but was blown away by a tion its efficacy in states where it has immentioned Motilal Nehru.

She hasbeen never could be growing smaller. Have you cyclone and washed up on the shore near plemented — Arunachal Pradesh and mentioned Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit.

Her apchanged your diet recently? This could be Chennai. He was adopted by a poor Brahmin Nagaland.

ILPvery wasrestrained. an offshootHer of family the Benproach hasThe been the root of your problem. I would suggest family from Tirupur. He can answer all your gal Frontier 1873, which alsoEastern supports many Regulations other families, includyou contact a trained medical professional. questions. Just send them to was safeguard the interests of the planing tothe Chidambaram Family, theteaPilot Yours affectionately, Ally askallysubramaniam@gmail.com tations of the British. Now it is to protect the The Investigator is a fortnightly round-up of all things droll and newsy. All views are personal. Really personal t@shovonc tribals from non-tribal migration. But will it

me in films too. I got offers for a lot of lead roles after Band Baaja Baarat (2010), but I turned them down. I felt they weren’t seeing the value in me. I don’t look at myself as a commodity. The message carried in the ad is very important to me,” he says. Singh knows a thing or two about advertising. Before he began pursuing a career in films, he worked as a copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather and JWT. Now he’s hoping to satiate his unfulfilled “advertising keeda” by driving the creatives for all the brands he signs up with.

Every frame of the Durex ad has Ranveer written all over it — the over-the-top purple suit and his famously energetic dance moves.

In fact, almost everything he does and says seems to turn heads. He claims that that is not deliberate, but it is just who he is.

As a new entrant to the industry, he says he was pulled up every 15 days for his exhibitionist streak. “I was always perceived as crazy. I was very confused about what to be because I hadn’t grown up amongst celebrities. I did try to conform but it is veryCHOWDHURY taxing to be someone SHOVON is chief Truth digger and you’re not. I now just speak myauthor heart and I of The Competent Authority think it is working.”

MODI WAVE REACHES PAPUA NEW GUINEA!

T Outsider versus insider

A film that explores Khasi identity, questions of statehood and the costs of development

W

ASK ALLY

mohini chaudhuri whether we would like to handover our village so that he could give it to someone, but we said no.”

“Will you vote for him?” I ask.

“Why not?” says the villager, “We have 848 languages in Papua New Guinea. Nobody can speak all of them. We need someone to mash us together, so that we are unified.

Plus I was very impressed by the BetiSurakshaYojana, by which any father can ask the government to keep an eye on his daughter, provided he gets his documents attested by a gazetted officer of the rank of under-secretary or above. If the daughter and father are over 65, they get senior citizen benefits. He is clearly a man of vision.

We will join hands with him and help him defeat his main enemy.”

“Has he told you who his enemy is?” I ask.

“Yes,” says the villager, “It’s somebody called Rajnath Singh.”

WILL DEFEND OTHER FAMILIES ALSO, SAYS PRIYANKA!

I

Chronicler of the past Filmmaker Wanphrang Diengdoh asks tough questions

mean that economic migration will not be allowed but a fancy posting in Shillong will? I think the ILP is a very classist policy.

The film shows the tang jait ceremony, whichthe is performed in Khasi society to Family, Abdulperpetuate lah Family, thethe Pa-matrilineal set up by accepting So, on one hand there war Family,outsiders. the is thisFamily, fear ofthe the outsider but then there is Scindia this ritual that Deora Family, thecan make you Khasi. Can you

elaborate…

Deshmukh Family, This is a very good question The tang jait is a the Hooda Family, beautiful ceremony in the sense that it is so various Singh progressive its understanding of race. It is a Families and inthe ritual unique to the Khasis because it accomBaby John Family.” modates thesupporting outsider. It’s almost like famissuing a Will she be any ordinary PIOatcard. ilies any point in the future?

(Readshe the comes full interview online thehindubu“When back in 2019,at this could besinessline.com/blink/) a distinct possibility,” said a source.

ND-X _ A

priyanka kotamraju

read cover

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

A lifehighs in parenthesis The and lows sujoy das

One theexpensive country’sannual leadingcircus academics sociologists dons the cloak of a crime writer In theofbig, on theand Everest, the true essence of mountaineering is lost and writes a gripping thriller under a pen name

W

Lead Tin Yellow Doug Gunnery Amazon E-book Fiction ₹244

Under a cloud The avalanche that killed 16 high-altitude climbers barrels down the west shoulder of the Everest; a route now threatened and currently out of bounds afp/buddhabir rai

dipankar bhattacharya

e meet at one of Delhi’s exclusive clubs. He asks for discretion, when I say I wish to record the interview. Maybe we should go out (into the sun), he suggests even though it is May in Delhi. When he realises that my recorder resembles a harmless phone rather than one of those “large contraptions of the old days”, he is relieved, and we slump back into the darkness of the bar.

But his friends (a greying group that meet and greet every Saturday afternoon) gather that something is afoot. “Is this an interview?” they ask him as they shuffle towards the door.

“Don’t ask too many questions,” he replies.

When you meet someone using a nom de plume, a certain degree of subterfuge is mandatory. This is a first for me, I tell him, the first time I am meeting an author who uses a pen name and does not wish to be revealed. “It is a first time for me too,” he replies. Having established an even keel, we both relax, and sip our drinks — plain soda for him.

Author and editor of more than a dozen academic and sociological books, a well-known “No part ofHe the(who Southcannot Col route feared professor, bewas named) ismore now by climbers than the Icefall... mass of ice outthe with his first crime thriller,the the self-pubsplinters intoTin a jumble huge tottering blocks lished Lead Yellow,ofavailable on Amazon, called some large as officeWe buildings... underseracs, the name of as Doug Gunnery. have all each trip through theidle Icefall was conjuring like playingup a indulged in bits of fantasy, round of Russian Roulette: sooner later any the names we would bandy, if weorran a rock given goingfor to fall without warnband,serac or a was boudoir thatover matter.

Websites — Johnsuggest: Krakauer in IntoofThin ing” helpfully colour yourAir pants plus last thing you ate equals to your band name. sunny day June 1922,personal George But ‘Doug ne Gunnery’ hasinfar more Mallory from the second British Everest expedition was leading a team of climbers and Sherpas up to the North Col of Everest. Around 600 feet below the Col, the slope suddenly gave way without any warning and within seconds seven Sherpas had lost their lives. None of the Britishers died in the avalanche. The expedition leader, Colonel Bruce, paid ₹250 each as compensation to the families of the dead.

On April 18, 2014, just after dawn, another avalanche swept down the west shoulder of Everest and entombed 13 Sherpas along with three climbers from the Tamang, Gurung and Khatri communities in the Khumbu icefall.

Part of a team of ‘icefall doctors’, they were maintaining the route, a job which Outside magazine claimed was 12 times more dangerous than fighting in the Iraq war. This was the worst disaster in the history of the Everest.

Compared to foreign clients who would possibly pass through the deadly icefall a few times, a Sherpa makes around 30 terrifying trips throughout the climbing season.

Two days later, after receiving news that the Nepal government would pay only $400 each to the families as funeral expenses, the Sherpas went on strike, en-masse. The irate men made a 13-point charter of demands, including increasing funeral expenses to $1,000 per family, $10,000 for disabled climbing Sherpas, doubling of insurance to $20,000 and a permanent relief fund for the injured from the Everest fees collected by the government.

The disparity in pay between the Western guides and the Sherpas has also been a bone of

O

roots. His constant companion as a child was a Unlike his creator who could pass of as a Rebeloved Alsatian dog called Douglas and Gun- naissance man, Jason Miller at first appears to nery was the charismatic principal of his high be one of those numerous Nowhere Men, an school in Bombay. Put together, they create a engineer “sleepin’ a gray flannel life”. Robin most apt name. He (to be called Gunnery now will unpeel his father’s many layers, for himonwards) has especially fond memories of self and the reader, only after his murder. The Doug, a great friend and perfect cricket team- son will come to realise, there is “much more mate. When the brambles of Lodhi garden of to dad than the bumper sticker idea (we had) the ’60s would swallow a ball, Douglas could of him.” always be counted upon to nose it out. A pen In some ways, Lead Tin Yellow is also its auname paying tribute to such a fine fellow thor’s attempt to move beyond bumper stickseems a perfectly valid choice. er characterisations. Gunnery Lead Tin Yellow is a book any austarted writing this book around thor of fiction should be proud to five years ago when he was recolay claim to. Starting out in Jerivering from a medical complicacho Heights — “a big vault, nothtion that nearly took his life. He Any author should ing ever happened inside it” — it says, “During that period I did feel be proud to lay pivots around the murder of JaI was someone else. I came this claim to this book son Miller and the attempts of his close (pinching two fingers toson Robin (a journalist and forgether) to death... I always wanted mer boxer) to track down the killto write something like this. Felt ers.

The book needs it was one last chance. It was a vecommendation not only for its tight plot but ry close call.” These characters and this story for its recreation of American small townisms came to him at a time when he was unable to and its layered characters. Its momentum walk properly (close to three months) and was contention for the community.

Sherpas is melting — the glue him that builds not from bizarre twists in The the tale, but warming, dependentthe on ice an array of drugs to keep earn upfrom to $6,000 or so for keen an Everest expedi- holds themyears together.” climate rather a sociologist’s observations alive. Two ago heCould felt he was atchange peace tion, whereas Western is paid three to render Everest from the unclimbable? of the world;aan abilityguide to decipher people with how the story hadsouth unfolded, but every four times more.

Ed and Viesturs, oneItof the few With possibility that more climbing through their words actions. reveals its time he the opened his computer, he would see men to have climbed all the 14 peaks of over teams would try fromthat thewere northdesperate side of the author’s wide-ranging interests and passions; “all these characters to 8,000 metres, (his said,high “Theyschool shouldboxing be paidcoach what mountain from boxing come out”.in 2015, the multi-billion dollar Evthey they are worth, and if it means sig- erest industry Nepal threatened. told think him to never hit a man where he was Gunnery didinpass on seems the manuscript to The the nificantly increasing thehas cost per climber and government has been raking in who sky-high reveweakest) to fashion (he worked at Chanel) owner of a publishing house loved it, less people go to Everest, not a nues fromit Everest everyat year. permits to art (he collects when maybe he can)that’s to poetry however, was rejected the Hence next stage.

Unbad thing.”

There seemsDickinson). to be wisdom in Vies- to mosttocommercial have been (seems partial to Emily willing pursue and expeditions convince publishers he turs words considering most of the difficult granted resultingand in overcrowding, indecided freely, to self-publish share it on Amajobs like maintaining the icefall route, fixing cluding human jams Faceand andina zon. “At least now, it ison outthe of Lhotse my system ropes, carrying heavy loads from camp to major bottleneck onAnd the in Hillary Step,most comprothe open,” he says. this way, imcamp, rescue operations, usually at night, are mising thehe safety and Sherpas. portantly, gets of to climbers keep his academic andThe ficdone by Sherpas, who often climb in the rare- obvious solution is to restrict the permits in a tional worlds separate. fied ‘death zone’ without bottled oxygen. season and perhaps, raisetries the fees perautobioteam so As a reader, one often to find After some of the demands were considered Nepal wouldn’t lose nature has graphical threads in revenue. works of But fiction, hoping by the government, climbing teams were its way of given to trace therestoring author inequilibrium. his work. DidAlso, a youthful looking to return to the mountain, when a se- the safety issues and the 2014 onea desire to be an IPS officer driveshutdown, him to write ries of unsavoury events unfolded well see the fewer applications crime novel?may He dismisses connection sayat the Base Camp. Certain miliforheSouth Col his nextfavourite year, notwithing that while admired mamu tant Sherpa factions with possible standing China’s uncertain perwho was an IPS officer in Patna who rode jeeps political patronage threatened mitthis policy fordoesn’t attempts fromfrom the and shot guns, book come Can climate change climbers and Sherpas planning to that place. north side. render Everest from go back, even as the Nepalese TouExpedition leaders have inciproInstead, he says it emerges from other the south rism Minister, Bhim Acharya, arposed allowed to dents. A person whothat onceteams stayedbe with him and unclimbable? rived at Base Camp, oxygen mask equipment and supplies to his wife left aairlift suitcase at their place, saying he in hand, to assure them that the One on edge of they the would returnCamp for it. More thanthe a year later mountain was “officially open”.

Western Cwm, away so that frequent learnt that he had passed in Chennai.

Tim Mosedale, who was a leading load ferrying through thefound KhumWhen they opened the suitcase, they it a small team at the time said, “a tale of intimi- bu icefall canuseless be avoided.

There was also propacked with old newspapers.

Thisa incidation, lies and deceit unfolded,” forcing posal to install a ladder Step ease dent winds its way into on theHillary book as theto father many to head down to Kathmandu. traffic in the ‘death zone’.

It remains to drops ajams bag into a river just before he is assasSadly, the spring season of 2014 has now be seen if thesethe measures are introduced in sinated.

When bag is dredged out of the come to an end, shattering the ‘Everest dream’ the season,bursting distasteful they may seem tide2015 it is found withasold magazines. of hundreds of climbers. But, more impor- to The the purists. other incident that spurred him to tantly, the safety of the South Col route seems write But in big,was expensive circus on Everest, thethis book a conversation with a to be in question 61 years after it was first con- it is apparent that theis true essence mounfriend who said, “Life fleeting... theof only stab quered by Hillary and Tenzing. taineering lost yearsisago. expediwe have atwas immortality theGuided memories we Tim Rippel, who leads the well-known com- tions created a newGunnery breed ofsees climbers for leave.”have In Jason Miller, a father pany Peak Freaks, commented after fresh ava- whom the summit is the Just ultimate “trying reaching to right wrong memories.” as in lanches hit the same Khumbu area where the goal cost.Gunnery But the mountains theira Lead at Tinany Yellow, creates forhave himself men were killed, “What I’m seeing here is ex- own way through of striking back. he can tumble out window which actly why we no longer climb Ama Dablam and appear a different man. and Pumori (neighbouring peaks). We no sujoy das is a Kolkata-based photographer and South Col Expeditions nandiniofnair longer climb those mountains due to global founder

Q R

Q R

ND-X _ A

9 17BL BL

read work

BL BL 186

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

The second coming Next…?

PUB CRAWL

arunava sinha

Renamed Tech Mahindra, brand Satyam has been finally laid to rest, five years after it first Two Mukherjees, a maverick poet, the return of I Alan Sealy — much to look forward to imploded… BLink talks to a man who witnessed the rise, the fall, and now, the resurrection

D I

espite the quiet cries of despair over sales, some of India’s t has dwindling been five years since the most unexcontinue to place pectedpublishers corporate story unfolded in Indiabig — ticket Raju’s bets onconfession potentialthat bestsellers.

Ramalinga the acIt’s understandable that Pulitzer-winner Siddcounts of Satyam Computers were fudged. hartha Mukherjee’s next book hiscountry first, The The news sent shockwaves across—the in Emperor Maladies, biography of cancer, 2009. Theofmost affectedhis were the over 52,000 emswept awards would be to hot property ployeesseveral of the IT giant. — BLink talks Hari Thalain India, because Mukherjee a Delpalli, whonot wasleast the chief people officer atisSatyam hi boy.and Buthas even so, moved the undisclosed but rather then, since on to marketing and large sumconsulting that Penguin Random House India business functions at the company, paid for the rights to his workHeonrelives genesthe clearly now renamed Tech Mahindra. days shows that money still chasing potential of the scandal and theiseventual takeover

by Tech breakout HarperCollins India, which Mahindra. books.

Five years on, the Satyam brand has published The Emperor been obliterated entirely. of Maladies here, did not bid beyond a point. Mukherjee’s publishers mightbad be hoping the new book carries Breaking some prize-winning heft as well.

The unfolding of the scam was a two-stage process. The first moment of revelation was ith Westland/Tranquebar on December 16, 2008, at 5:45pm concentratwhen I was ingbyon(Ramalinga) Amish and,Raju whentothere’s time, called in say that Saon other Hachette continues tyam wasbooks, going while to acquire Maytas (group to of be selectivealso withfounded large acquisitions, companies

by Raju). He the toldbigme buy seem to come eitherI Penthat stories he hadall already taken thefrom decision. was guin RandomWhy House or an HarperCollins. incredulous. would IT company Barbuy ring the obviouslycompany? expensiveEspecially purchaseat ofa an infrastructure Vikram Seth’smarkets forthcoming though?)

A time when were(when, sinking?

I took Suitable Girl, Aleph has aits sights for trained on strong exception.

It was letdown the leadhigh talent, of ershipliterary counciland (at emerging Satyam). We wereneither being inwhich arguably, very expensive signwas up. formedis,after a decision was taken.to There One suchand purchase, made couple of made years disbelief anger. The onlya point Raju ago, is defence about towas fructify. in his that acquisition decisions Before big-buy Mukhave to beSiddhartha, kept secret. Ianother was not convinced. herjee will soon be published by Penguin Random House: Neel Mukherjee, with The Lives of Others, his second novel. His first novel, Past Continuous (published in the UK as A Life Apart, a change of title that might slot him unwillingly as a Life novelist) won the Crossword Award in India earlier. He was signed up for Random House by Chiki Sarkar before she moved over to Penguin. Neel Mukherjee must be bemused about being separated from and then reunited with her, with the book being published soon after the publishing merger.

W

S

ummer is normally silly season in Indian publishing. But this year, at least two mainstream publishers are waiting with bated breath for books they’re very excited by. Karthika VK, publisher of HarperCollins India, is thrilled about maverick poet and activist Meena Kandasamy’s Gypsy Goddess, an intensely political novel. Over at Penguin Random

ND-X _ A

Ready forHari launch Being human MeenaofKandasamy’s Thalapalli Tech GypsyatGoddess, a Mahindra the political novel, corporate office in is already getting Infocity, Hyderabad noticed in the UK pv sivakumar thulasi kakkat

The stock markets were informed the same Zero Hour day. The reaction to the decision was so vio- When the news of the scam broke, people lent. Satyam’s ADRs (American Depository Re- were wailing and crying, even 40- and 50-yearceipts) began to sink. That night, six or seven olds. Some were breathless and others were of us (members of the leadership council) de- hysterical. It was a dramatic moment, someliberated till 2:30 in the morning. There was so thing I had never witnessed in my life. much angst… by 3am, we decided to reverse One of the first things to do was to arrange the decision. The reaction of the for a doctor on the fifth floor (of markets and the anxiety of investhe then Satyam headquarters at tors prompted Raju to agree to Hyderabad). Each senior official this. But people began quitting; had to be checked every two Raju had written within days, four directors had hours. The doctor told some of us that our revenue left Satyam. our pulse was erratic and the manumbers were My second brush with reality chine was at fault. He didn’t want inflated… was on January 7, 2009. A meeting to reveal how bad it was. that whole riding was called at 10:30am. I was drivA feeling we didn’t acknowla tiger story ing to work at 9:45am when a coledge openly was shame — oh god, league called to say: “Hari, have we were part of this. For the outyou seen the latest communicaside world, we were a party to evtion from Raju? Just stop the car erything that had happened!

Doctor Siddhartha who has won multiple awardsnoise will soon and read it.”Domuch I parkedPhysician on oneand sidewriter of the road Mukherjee Around noon, after the initial andbedissandeep saxena out with amy book on the geneRaju and checked BlackBerry. had written belief had settled, we assembled again to take that we were not making profits, our revenue a call if the number he was quoting was right. subscriptions to its books much like House, publisher Chiki Sarkar is looking for-a selling numbers were inflated… that whole riding We started calling some of the — key account magazineand — hasn’t taken off. Although ward to Akhil Sharma’s A Family Life, which she amanagers tiger story. doingreally back-of-the-envelope calromance has been bought by describes as “both searingly dark and funny the I was numb.

Three emotions ran through culations to seeimprint if we were really making those CorpBy and added HarperCollins globaland While Kandasamy’s book isand al- News me atmoving”. that point of time — shock, disbelief revenues.

4pm we to realised what Raju was therewas hastrue. beenThe no money announcement yet of it ready noticed in of theusUK, a sensegetting of betrayal.

Some hadSharma’s been in- ly, saying in the bank was merged with HarperCollins India.there Still, work had decision rave reviews from Jonathan volvedhas in every that the company had being very low.

A crisis was looming. Overall, toofhappen as seems — perFranzen, Kiran Desai and Mohsin Hamid. taken in the last 10 years...

This was just unbe- were was athat sense shame,—anger and logical betrayal. it will beof a time, little two easier for were the world’s lievable. I gathered myself eventually and haps At that point issues imporwotofavourites romance fiction findITbuyers in drove office. among Indian readers have best-known tant: what does this mean fortothe industry made quiet comebacks with new books. India. As for HarperCollins India, it might Aleph has published a book that marks the re- prove a major boost, providing access to a turn of I. Allan Sealy (The Trotternalarge portfolio of books with ma, The Everest Hotel) in the form huge potential. of The Small Wild Goose Pagoda, an Of course, the path to true almanac about the place that he love is always rocky. Romance Indians don’t owns in the Himalayan foothills. subscribe to love, it seems to be losing its appeal And Anurag Mathur, whose The In- seems. Mills & Boon among readers in India, judging scrutable Americans was a runaway from the fading sales of love stois discovering this bestseller back when English lanries on college and corporate guage fiction was nowhere as campuses. Quite the flavour of ubiquitous as it is today, is the month a few years ago for a amongst us again with The Councrop of smaller publishers, the try is Going to the Dogs. Of course, The Inscruta- genre isn’t seeing much growth now. One ble Americans, now in its fiftieth reprint, is a problem is that the big names who establishhard act to follow, though there have been ed this form of fiction — Ravinder Singh, Durother books in between. joy Dutta, et al — have moved on to the bigger labels. And there have been no worthy succesndians don’t subscribe to love. It seems sors to take their place.

Mills & Boon/Harlequin, is discovering this he three unanswered questions of Enas their attempt to bypass the bookshop by glish-language Indian publishing today: 1. Why did Penguin Random House really stop contesting the case against Wendy Doniger’s book on Hinduism and agree to pulp copies? (Were there any copies left to pulp?)

2. Why did Ravi Singh really quit Aleph Publishing company, when he was almost as much an integral part of it as founder David Davidar?

3. How come Gas Wars, the self-published book by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta et al, which examines Reliance Industries’ role in natural gas exploration, is still available in bookshelves despite the legal notice slapped on the author and publishers by India’s largest private sector company?

Q R

T

Q R

I

T

arunava sinha translates classic and contemporary Bengali fiction and nonfiction into English t @arunava

read work

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

Brand new Fresh branding intiatives at the Tech Mahindra headquarters

Spectres and spirits Damon Galgut has an inspired reconstruction of the creative churnings behind the cave scene in A Passage to India

pv sivakumar

in India and for the company. You could not ring-fence it down to a company. It meant that IT industry in India itself would potentially be under threat because if we went down, then a number of mission critical projects we were involved in could cause a serious setback to the industry.

I called Som Mittal as soon as I got to know about the scam; he was the Nasscom president then. He asked me to mail Raju’s letter.

At that stage, the decision was to somehow keep the company running and not allow it to implode. Thankfully, the intervention of Nasscom, the Indian government, and the unprecedented speed with which they put together a new board gave some hope. Kiran Karnik and Deepak Parekh were much-respected.

What us going constant n Akept Room with awas View (1908),communithe most cation with the of customers, associates and the charming EM Forster’s early novels, it media.

My challenge wasofmulti-fold one was takes the warmth an Italian—summer that the press washis going berserk reporting the to liberate English characters from story. when a customer wasForster potentially their Even Englishness.

England for was reviewing arrangement, news would be snobbery, an xenophobia andthe physical gauchethat customer gone. fellowship and ness;theItaly was was warmth, We had to squash — wecritical pickedsucup healthy carnality.

Hisrumours first serious each article coming outsaw on Satyam everywith day cess Howards End (1910) him playing and put version next to it on our weba new setthe of real oppositions, between the worlds site.

It and was largely forrural employees butindustrial later, we of art business, life and created access for end-customers too. And civilisation, hierarchy and egalitarianism. then progressed FAQTS — a daily Q&A on Thesewe themes were to expertly translated from key questions like ‘Didinwe lose aboth customer?’. abstraction into plot a prose wise and We started another initiativetoand created lyrical, punctuated by attempts resolve the News Today, which runsfamously even today.

It is a daily oppositions with that innocent slogist about what is going on — did we get a gan:info “Only connect!” bank loan,silence has a leader quit,interrupted what a customer’s A long followed, by two exit alsoand setcivilian up ‘Planet long means. stays inWe India war Satyam’, work in Alexandria. Forster published little in these years, but he had several projects on the go.

One of them was the uncompleted novel whose title, ‘Arctic Summer’, has lately been borrowed by the South African writer Damon Galgut for his poignant fictional reimagining of the fallow years. Another, whose conception and long gestation are the main thread of Galgut’s plot, would come to be titled A Passage to India (1924).

All this would make for a solid literary biography, but Galgut bravely turns these materials to the purposes of fiction. So, the distinguished novelist ‘EM Forster’ of the conventional biographies becomes the unhappy, alienated young ‘Morgan’.

Forster’s alienation, at its simplest, was the inevitable consequence of what he thought of in the argot of his generation as his ‘homogenic’ inclinations. Galgut’s vocabulary of sexual identity is limited to Morgan’s own: ‘homogenic’, ‘Uranian’, ‘minorite’. The central tension of Arctic Summer is Morgan’s long

through which we could webcast updates. An Australian newsreader would read news and leaders would be interviewed by him. This helped reduce the fear of the people. ‘Surf the Board’ was a 2-3 minutes snippet by each director as a message to associates. If Kiran Karnik or Deepak Parekh were to say something to associates, it would provide a sense of relief.

Those were the first 100 days.

Simultaneously, some of us were out in the field. Gurnani must have travelled about 25 days in a month. He was in front of customers all the time. Customers saw decisiveness, they saw connect and credibility.

By December, we had actually gone back and reversed all the customer contracts to the original form, which meant the customers had seen the comfort and things were stable.

Most of us had taken a 30 per cent salary cut Brick by brick between February and October 2009. We reinWhen the problem started, the headcount was stated salaries in October.

52,000 and it came down to 23,000 in April My favourite example during floor-walks 2010. We dropped dramatically on headcount used to be from Vertical Limit, an amazing mo— like losing 50 per cent weight in a year. vie, where a father, son and daughter go When this happens, your systems go wrong, mountain climbing and through a series of acknowledge gets dismantled, people walk away cidents, end up hanging from the same rope.

Sinceand it can’t take the weight three people with knowledge. friendship with and unrequited romantic pas- nals correspondence fromof Galgut’s specuthe an father cuts reconstruction himself off to let TheforMahindra name brought sion the Indian aristocrat Syed Ross Ma- lations. He has inspired of other two escape.

I used say in tremendous we sood.

Galgut’s credibility Masood isand a superb fictional the creativethe churning that turned an to uninallto of the us are hanging, some of us did not lose customers after May over the spiring day — creation and ages convincingly trip Barabar caves of Bihar will have to cut rope. Our peo2009. got passionate to course After of the customers book, from the ado- into the central episode of the A Passage to India, I gave the example cost those per cent know there a new who owner lescentthat bound forisOxford first befriends the alleged ple sexual assaultdays in was the 97 “Marabar” of Vertical Limit,that becomes of the revenues.

Weofhad to take and an infusion of $600 million, man Morgan to the stout middle-aged who caves emblematic British cowhere a father, son India, someand tough decisions — we conput there relief. fades,was gently and brutally, from Morgan’s life. lonialism, perhaps the human daughter enditself.some people on virtual pool with Those him, days,Morgan we’d do Through findsflooranother and alternadition less pay for months and walks.

We’d goways: to a floor and get up hanging from tive to English As the psychobiography andsixliterary history, sameanrope... brought 3,000 ofprose thosehas peo-a the“You wholearegroup to assemble. saying goodbye like thisthe is riveting stuff, back but Galgut’s father cuts fatal himself ple asthat opportunities We reFrom January to August 2009, I Englishman.” unevenness somewhat came. undermines off to let the to interview must done hundreds of “I amhave an Englishman.” itsother novelisticquested claims.competition There is a surfeit of adand take are some others.

We helped them. message till forget April 2009 “Yes,The I wish I could it for just atwo mo-escape verbs: his characters forever saying things some withorhigher arused that we’ll findforget a potenment,toI be wish you could it! ‘primly’ ‘firmly’education, or ‘casually’. ranged financial and psychologtial buyer; when potential Are emotions a sackthe of potatoes, He is a hyperactive explainer, unical counselling to make a soft buyer comes in money will come to be measured out, so much the willing to leave much unsaid. landing in a difficult in; and when money comes in, pound?...

Can you not speak from Forster’s fiction, situation. ever a negoYear one was all about survival, second we’ll rebuild. the heart, just one time? Oh Mortiation between whatthe he wanted In Galgut’s year was of investment third and was law the From to August, about Forster’s gan, youMay bloody fool,”the hemessage cried wastelling, to say and and whatthe society of growth.

Peoplehim weretopassionate abouta losing We had take the difficult de- year fiercely,weight. flinging his topowerful allowed say, acquired multitudes are the company.internal So it became easier. cision of addressing pre- rebuilding arms around him andexcess liftingpeople him as the wonderful diversity of simplified into a This experience is probably the biggest proof vious off themanagement floor, “don’thad youadded under-about 10,000 moods, styles and voices.

In Galmonochromatic that you shouldn’t give up. Forster’s To me, this has people morefriends!” than needed. Revenue was 2.4 stand, we’re gut’s telling, multipathos My simplified need for material billion dollars and is average revenue per head been life-changing.

Galgut’s Morgan no hero.

His tudes are into a dramatically ever since. had to behis justified.

We had to walk around tell- things has changed self-pity, moments of cruelty monochromatic pathos.

Even during There the worst of in times, Januarying that we will some weight as an andpeople self-abasement arelose rendered is little Galgut’s MorFridays,celebrated we would irony, go to organisation and we be very transparent February of 2009, with detachment andwill historical gan ofon Forster’s my farmhouse at somebody’s house, on the principles that we willnot use.explain away and sensitivity, but Galgut does only a hintor ofgather the healthy sense of the abpick up packets and beer as20th that cenwas rearranged the is organisation structure hisWe flaws.

His Morgan wholly out of sympa- surd thatbiryani left him untouched by the all wemore couldflatulent afford those days, and sit down completely June. We created a two-in-a-box thy with theinBritish imperial project but he is tury’s ideologies.

Something of and laugh away the transaction, pain. I also but realised the model, sayingfrom delivery sales will of bepower. equal. Forster not insulated theand temptations is lost in the his life’s possibility of building evoked good governance.

We Earlier was one-in-a-box — sales were in front Like soitmany English travellers, Forster finds pathos is convincingly and the atmocreated ofa an whistle-blower programme.

We and the delivery was subservient. in India’s alienness a backdrop for his sphere Arctic summer adroitly susbuilt an“nothing organisation committed to ethical We also created a group of 150 game chang- tained: self-discovery. moving, nothing alive”.

For practices.

We have a corporate ombudsman. ers.Galgut These were the people thinking out-of-theis steeped in his primary sources those overwhelmed by the gloom, there is alAndForster’s while my roleearly has changed HRto, to box andnovel showing determination to change and his conjectures intelligently about ways own fiction tofrom return business you can’t takeheart the people the company. of us, CPfiction Gurnani (MDhave and where, what elementsSome of Forster’s might forconsulting, once, the head and the speak aspect out of me. That is my first strength. I am CEO of Tech Mahindra), VineetinNayyar had their imaginative origins which(execuevents in one voice. tive vice chairman) and I of would spend time not missing HR, I am happy. of his life.

It is evidence Galgut’s success with theis families game changers and tell nakul krishna is doing a doctorate in Philosophy at that it next to of impossible to distinguish As told to rashmi pratap University of Oxford them we believed things change. what how is directly attested to inwould Forster’s jour- the

The longest journey

A poignant fictional reimagining of EM Forster’s fallow years, where he is transmuted into the alienated, unhappy young Morgan

I

Arctic Summer Damon Galgut Fiction Aleph ₹595

Hand in hand The Satyam saga is now part of the history at the Tech Mahindra office in Hyderabad pv sivakumar

Q

R Q R

ND-X _ A

7 19BL BL

talk takeaway

BL BL 20 4

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

High court The sprawl of the city of Hyderabad from a vantage point at the Gol Bungalow of the Taj Falaknuma Palace nagara gopal

Travel Log LIGHTHOUSE

Get there

Falaknuma is about 5km from Charminar and a 30-minute ride away from Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Pick-ups can be arranged by the hotel as well.

The minister’s lament

That evening, word reached us that I was now the first ever Minister for Stay Social Media (MSM)

The restored Taj Falaknuma Palace has 60 guestrooms and luxury suites (from ₹22,000; tajhotels.com). If you’re feeling particularly indulgent, book yourself into the Grand Presidential suite (price on request).

The Falaknuma Festival is likely to be an annual affair; dates for the next edition are yet to be announced.

Tip

Nob and nobility Hyderabad’s Falaknuma Palace casts yet another spell with the inaugural edition of a festival under its grand canopies

I S

beacon of hope for many an aspiring minister the sarkari to detail The princess’s work and—attention is legendary. “She wantedvehicle everything perfect.

t’s past midnight. Most of the guests have tion. Work didn’t begin until the early noughtarrived and settled in. Thanks to a de- ies and took 10 years and 800 workers to r ragu layed flight, I’m only a couple of hours complete. Making its debut in 2010, Falaknu- Carpets had to be sent back a 100 times if they late. Not one to inconvenience anyone, ma has now emerged as one of the finest heri- were not the right colour, not the right fade,” I’m hoping for a quick and quiet getaway. But tage hotels in the world, with a clutch of says resident historian Prabhakar Mahindrao I love group photos. All the ministers pondered this as I was driven home, siren blar- different clips of him engaging in carnal conthat’s not to be. Waiting for me, at an unearth- awards to show for it. This February also saw kar. Later, when we ask the princess if we’ll see of this new government had gathered ing, beacon flashing, trying my best to be low tact with members of both sexes. (“All docly 1am, 2,000 feet above the city of Hyderabad, the inaugural edition of the Faluknama Festiv- her for cocktails in the evening, she shrugs to be shot, and I was dressed in my fin- key in the car. People stared. tored, this is a conspiracy against me. I think is a horse-drawn carriage ready to ferry me to al; nearly a century after this Nizam house- and says, “I hate parties.” est khadi. My party wasn’t originally When I reached office the next morning, Ba- the CIA is involved, samjhay na?”) Mrs Goel had the entrance of the Falaknuma Palace. Wel- hold welcomed the rest of Hyderabad to join While there are many activities to keep you part of this coalition, which consisted of one tra was exultant. “I’m already at work on bud- a fan club bigger than Scarlett Johansson, and come drink in hand, perfumed towel in the in festivities of similar colour and tone. occupied at Falaknuma, my favourite is the national party and 16 regional ones, and end- gets, sir,” he said. “We’ll need new horror of horrors, there were even people atother, I dodder towards the suite amid a showpalace walk with Mahindrakar. Regaling all ed with 269 votes. It needed three seats, and I departments. One each for Facebook, Twitter, tacking me on Twitter, the audacity of it. he day-long celebrations begin with a visit with stories of the Nizam’s wealth — the cars, er of rose petals… had four, mostly thanks to biryani and frac- WhatsApp, YouTube. Hahaha, Yummy!” I It got worse. Three big corruption scandals to the Paigah tombs. Jonty Rajagopalan, the jewellery, the art — and bravery, he points For more than half a century now, the distured vote banks. They promised to make me a wasn’t quite so happy. The ministry did not broke out via social media in month two of the persal of the wealth and properties of Hydera- owner of Detours India, who is conducting at the billiard table (the twin is at Buckingminister. “Actually we’ve run out of minis- give licenses for anything. No one had to come government. I felt a certain schadenfreude at bad’s Nizams have been matters of public private tours for the guests as part of the fes- ham), the palace library (the replica of which tries,” I was told, “but we’re creating a few new to me for permission to do phallana dhimkana. that, and was secretly gleeful that they hapspeculation, not to mention subjects of nu- tival, calls them “the city’s best-kept secrets”. is at Windsor), the world’s largest hookah, the ones to keep up with demand.” I took my place I controlled nothing; and therefore had no pened at ministries I was denied. Meanwhile, merous legal wrangles. “Mukarram Jah, who Even to a Hyderabadi like me, raised on an an- chandeliers (it takes six months to clean a 138in the group portrait. The photographer stood sources of revenue. All these years of building the PMO was frantic. I told Rameshwaram that succeeded his grandfather Osman Ali Khan nual school picnic diet of Qutub arm Osler chandelier; Falaknuma a long, long way back. my political career and this was my reward: a Twitter, Facebook, YouTube all complied with (said to be the richest man in the world) in Shahi tombs and the Golconda has 40 of them) and the world’s The next day I showed up at the newly built cow without teats. But I did have power. Now, our requests: but there was only so much they 1967, found himself enmeshed in financial Fort, the tombs of the Paigah famlargest and oldest musical organ Secretariat Three, was shown into my office, how would I use it? could do. “Can’t we just stop the chaos. He had inherited a ridiculously inflated ily are a revelation, historically (which really doesn’t do anyIt takes six monthsinternet and met my secretary, Mr Batra. As we waited Soon enough I started getting itself?” I asked. “Let no army of retainers: 14,718 staff, including no and architecturally. thing). Also among the marvels is to clean a 138-arm for word from the PMO about what we were phone calls from ministers. A sex one in India access it?”

The Falaknuma Palace was also less than 42 of his grandfather’s concubines the suspension staircase, built inOsler chandelier — Rameshwaram supposed to do exactly, he showed me what tape of Ram Lakhan Yadav had sighed. “I set up and their 100-plus offspring,” wrote William built by a Paigah — Sir Vikar Ul geniously on a cantilever system and Falaknuma hasa committee Twitter was. Who knows, he said, it might just been uploaded on YouTube. to examine the matP olicing social Dalrymple in The Last Mughal. By 1973, Jah’s in- Umra, then the prime minister of so each step is made from a single 40 of them come handy sometime. (“It’s doctored, of course, but even ter,” he said. “But the only thing the Hyderabad State. By the time media felt like heritance was coveted by 476 legal heirs. slab of Italian marble. Portraits of Who woulda thunk? That evening, word re- then, my good name is being bethe bastards on the committee In despair, the seventh Nizam left Hydera- the construction of the palace emptying out an Indian viceroys hang along the ached us that I was now the first ever Minister smirched, samjhay na?”) The PMO ocean with a bucket did was surf porn. No, we’re stuck bad and sought refuge in Australia. It was only was completed in 1893, Umra’s length of the stairwell — mealyfor Social Media (MSM). I was asked to go to the called to say a fake Facebook page with the internet, I’m afraid. Find a chance meeting with his first wife Princess coffers were empty. A cool ₹4 milmouthed Hastings, haughty MetPM’s office within an hour, where I would be was up purporting to be the offianother solution.”

Esra that set the restoration ball rolling in all lion had been spent on the scorpion-shaped calfe, dour-faced Irwin and what have you. handed a statement that I’d read out at a press cial PMO page. Mrs Goel, minister Desperate times call for desperseriousness. In 2005, a fully restored Chowma- ‘mirror in the sky’. It’s said that the Nizam The high tea is another favourite. My fellow conference. We duly headed off. We could have of women’s welfare, informed me ate measures. I sat with a glass of halla made its public debut. (The palace li- came to Falaknuma on Umra’s invitation and guests and I — nibbling delicately at a dozen walked, but I chose to be driven in my official that some people on Twitter were abusing her. my favourite single malt at 11pm in my office brary, home to several priceless treasures, also fell in love with the palace, acquiring it much cucumber sandwiches — sit around a circular Honda Accord with a red beacon on top. Sit- And so on. I was asked to get these pages re- when I got a new email. The subject: ‘Your threw its doors open to the public earlier this to the prime minister’s delight. seat, also called the Chinese whispers seat. ting inside, siren blaring, beacon flashing, I re- moved, users banned, and in one case, arrest- naked pictures are now on Twitter.’ I instantly Over lunch, at the longest dining table in Back in the day, says Mahindrakar, ladies year). In 1994, after several false starts, the Taj membered the village where I was born. ed. (He threatened to attack Mrs Goel.) clicked through to the link provided, but Twitgroup acquired the Falaknuma Palace and the world (a 101-seater!), Princess Esra tells us would huddle on this bench and exchange “The Ministry for Social Media,” I read out, We couldn’t go through with the arrest be- ter didn’t open, some other site did, and then roped in the princess to carry out the restora- about her early life in Hyderabad. “I was 20 gossip, just like the game. “will empower the youth of our country by en- cause the culprit turned out to be a 65-year-old my computer went blank. So did I. You have when I was married. We had grown up in the Later that evening, the dining room is transsuring the smooth functioning of social professor of anthropology in the US, but You- seen the video by now on YouTube: I stood up, time of Kemal Ataturk, we were the children of formed. At lunch, the opulent 101-seater had media. We will make sure that poor and dis- Tube videos and Facebook pages were re- punched the monitor off the desk, threw my revolution,” she says. “But when I came here, played host to a small, exclusive group who empowered people everywhere have access to moved, Twitter users banned. I even assigned a glass of single malt across the room, slammed there were so many customs to follow. My were served a carefully crafted multi-course it. Everyone will have a voice. Thank you.” few minions to edit and monitor the Wikipe- my phone down on the ground and banged mother-in-law was from Turkey too but she meal. The splendour of Falaknuma was evi“Minister,” a voice piped up behind the dia pages of my fellow ministers. My ministry the wall saying “S**t, S**t, S**t.” (All this while was the royal who lived in exile because of Ata- dent. For dinner however, it’s a first-come-firstmany television cameras, “social media func- grew; we were never short of work. my peon was shooting the action like he’s Goturk. I had to get along with her.” Interestingly, served policy. Decorum is cast off at the door. tions well enough on its own, and already And yet, policing social media felt like try- vind Nihalani.) Yes, I banged that wall, till my it was she, Jah’s mother Princess Durru Sheh- Strangers share an excellent supper together. gives a voice to the disempowered. What more ing to empty out an ocean with a bucket. By fists bled and I was sobbing. I never thought it var, who persuaded the Nizam to bring Esra Conversation is loud, and refills aplenty. And will you do? Will you censor social media?” the end of the first month, there were six Face- would come to this, that I would be a minister back to manage the family’s affairs. Jah mar- like the elusive Mr Gatsby at his own party, the “No questions,” barked Rameshwaram, the book pages pretending to be the PMO’s official in the biggest democracy in the world, and I ried Esra in 1959, they separated 14 years later. princess is nowhere to be found. secretary from the PMO, and ushered me back- page. We’d ask for one to be taken down, two would. Feel. So. So. So. Helpless.

He now lives with his fifth wife in Turkey, while (The writer was in Hyderabad at the invitation stage. As I left he told me, “Good luck minister. more would pop up. Ram Lakhan Yadav could the princess divides her time between Turkey, of the Falaknuma Palace.) t@amitvarma And a word of advice: keep a low profile.” I have started a TV channel, there were so many England and India, overseeing the Nizam legapriyanka kotamraju cy in Hyderabad.

T

Q Q R R

ND-X _ A

Bugatti move over...

The palace buggy is here to give guests Amit Varma is a novelist. He blogs at a royal ride into the indiauncut.com sunset pv sivakumar

If you want to throw a grand party, consider booking the 101-seater dining table where gossip flows as freely as champagne; the room’s acoustics are designed to catch every whisper. Even non-guests can book the Dining Hall Redfor riding roofs Theparties. conferences and wedding

meet takeaway

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

Travel Log

Green Edge crusader of the world Ramesh Agrawal The Boat Shed Cafe (right) hangsused overthe thepower quay parekh ofmitali information against Chhattisgarh’s unregulated coal mines (below) kamal narang; reuters/rupak de chowdhuri

development politics when Chhattisgarh was created. “Suddenly there were large scale inGetinthere vestments Raigarh such as coal mines, powThere are regular Air New Zealand er plants, etc. Many companies trampled over the fundamental rights of the flights from Auckland to tribal Nelsonpeople and polluted and destroyed our water bodies. (airnewzealand.com).

I wanted to act against this and therefore Stay formed the Jan Chetana or the People’s AwareWakefield Quay House ness group in 2004.” (wakefieldquay.co.nz) is a great place to wake up in. But you could People power also try thehas South Street cottages Today, Jan Chetana a considerable follow(check and tripadvisor.com).

Backpacking in Raigarh surrounding areas.

Taking ersofcan at the CustomRight House advantage thebed newly legislated to Indorms (customhousenelson.co.nz). formation Act in 2005, Agrawal sent out questionnaires Eat to the then governmental watchdog, Appellate Authority TheEnvironment Boat Shed Café (EAA; the(boatshedcafe.co.nz) National Green Tribunal hangs was overestabthe lished only in 2010) and various ministries bay and serves the green-lipped involved mussels in authorising licenses and Nelson is famous for. monitoring projects in and around Raigarh.

Tip to his RTI queries formed the The replies Berry surround the town. foundation of orchards the protests against the State’s Convenience stores adjoining ill-considered development projects.some As he blend freshout boysenberries, says, “Wefarms started finding many things that strawberries into the government andand theraspberries companies didn’t iceexample, cream. They also ofwant us yoghurt to know.orFor companies ten prepare produce false documents stockand hand-rolled beeswax candles. regarding the decisions of the gram sabhas (a meeting with local residents asking for their consent) and nobody knows this.”

The efforts of Jan Chetana and other environmental activists went in vain largely, until first. In front of us are the houses of the first shopping 2009 whenavenue. they achieved first major For if their it’s esoteric, it’ssucon settlers, behind us is the suburb where Johnny Bridge cess. “Westreet. managed to cancel environmenWoodi’s mapthe directs me to grew up and the newer settlements are. tal clearance for the project from (a coala Palm’s boutique.

JaneAthena Palm curates Later, Johnny drops me off at the World of range miningofproject), because we could but showwhat that indigenous designers, Wearable Art Museum. It’s a movement dedi- makes they had taken into account the effects of hernot store unique is its display window. cated to sartorial creativity started by Nelso- Palm’s the project in all Anders, of the villages that surround husband, is a sculptor and they nian (now Dame) Suzie Moncrieff in 1987. both it.” Hework adds, was a big step because beon“This installations that grace the winKeeping in mind Nelson’s romantic nature, it dows. fore this wenaked, had had little success.

I’mjudgement greeted by hairless plastic and has I had to be on rest cars. for more than also a section onbed vintage I spend sev-a dolls At thebowing EAA there was only one person and to a circuit board! year,”minutes says Agrawal recounting thearound night ofthe Ju- sometimes eral wrapping my head it seemed hisand only was to I take a walk aroundlike town tojob Wakefield ly 1, 2012, when goons,from allegedly at the displays by winners eachworking year since its Quay dismiss all the petitions against again.

The road rounds upprojects. from theAfter old behest of a‘Inkling’ steel conglomerate, attempted to settlements inception.

by Gillian Saunders which the NGT was formed things started to back tothough, the waterfront.

Woodi kill him. what happens to a heavily tattooed and imagines improve a little.”

Johnny have some neighbours over for Agrawal son were Delhi aftertoa cheese person if theand inkhis to blood ratioin shifts, brings Agrawal’s biggest success and wine in the shade.was It’shis an campaign afternoon trip toathe US where he collected thefrom Goldman mind certain tattooed hair artist Ban- tradition that led to cancelling the guests clearance awarded that allows their to meet each PrizeMac’s 2014 —Bizzare said toBra be the world’s prize dra. section haslargest nothing to other to the and expansion of JSPL’s Tamnar Plant, the neighbours.

One ofPower the ladies is forwith grassroot environmentalists — along with do mammary support, and everything to interested a 1,000 mega wattand plant to whichvisits the steel bein tea frequently plantafivewith otherbad activists.

Considered ‘Green Nodo dreams.

Even thethe bathroom is tions hemoth to add 2,400 mega watts in wanted Darjeeling.

Conversation veers tobel’, previous recipients from India include ‘cool’ — the walls above the washbasins don wards more ofthe production capacity.

Agrawal India and Jan familiar topic of whether is Medha on Patkar, Rashida Bee and glasses a larger-than-life face.Champa Devi, safe Chetana achieved this by sending letters with for women. who the campaign Dow Chemicals RTI replies to the Theledmuseum closesagainst at 4pm, Ministry Environment Woodi and of Johnny make anand inin Bhopal. commended Agra- Forests. “Ourteresting leaving meThe justcommittee enough time to work showed that JSPL“Johnny started observation. wal for villagers to demand their the construction head to “organising downtown Nelson.

Woodi project without lookswork like on he this could be from anyright to information industrial develop- having any kind has drawn me a map,about so I know exof When permission or clearance,” where. we visited India, he mentwhat projects shutting of theBizzare actly I amand looking for —down the oneMac’s saysBra Agrawal.looked Nepali or like he was from largest proposed coal mines in Chhattisgarh.” historic South Street.

Originally However, tragedy followed July the northeast.

Sosuccess. people On would section has nothing known as Town Acre 456, the 1, 2012, Agrawal wasat him attacked look at me, then look and to do with Another Bhiwani street lined with Junction ornate cottages while at he him, was alone cyber cawink as ifattohissay ‘Good mammary support, Agrawal’s family migrated to Raiwith porches, was home to the fé. A fewI months later KK Chopra catch’. never got groped and and everything to garhsettlers from Bhiwani, Haryana, in do with bad dreams asked first who arrived between and SNJohnny Panigrahi — both if my bumworking wasn’t 1950.and After1900. failed attempts at oth1860 It then degeneratas security personnel JSPL — good enough!”

Johnny for does look Any further attack er ventures, theyarea set up a successed into a slum in the 1920s wereaarrested andhill-man sent to 15-days like weathered but it on me would ful to groundnut milling only be revived oil in the ’70s. judicial custody takes more than for thatthe to attack. be safe in become business town that’s Many of in thethe cottages hereroughfuncThe IGoldman prize is recognises argue. Johnny the only international news India, ly 300km from Raipur. tion as B&Bs, and some areRamesh for sale, which gets deep sea fisherman and celebrates Agrawal’s steadin a family of lawyers and and thinking… his brother Om Prakash took me I can’t afford real estate in doctors. Likefast courage.

He loves feels the thatland apart many Kiwis, he — over theirBut father’s business but Mumbai. in Nelson, there is hope yet. from the Heprize or in his case, the sea. learnt money to sail asofa Ramesh branched outfrom and South set up Street is the child and runs Around the corner $1,75,000, award also a sailingthe school now; he offers looks the town’s first cyber café inin1999.

“When Christ Church Cathedral built 1851. The orig-I like himarelative because “any further attack fish outsafety of water at home. heard internet cables werechurch goingintothe be area. sup- onHis inal building was the first mestep-sister would become international news”. is artist Sally Burton, who inplied toaRaigarh, I decided to purchase the corporates There’s wedding in progress.

The bellalltolls What keeps him motivated, despite into the dansymbols of New Zealand her necessary hardware to to setdo. up a cyber café. paintings. deeply, as bells are wont gers? “You They go tochange the temple towith worship gods.I colour the light.

Mine wasthe theroad firstfrom one in whole district,” Across it isthe arguably Nelson’s have But helping the poor, alsoone a kind of worship been checking onisthe in Woodi’s dinsays Agrawal. biggest celebrity — the man who made The ing of the gods.every Everybody has a responsibility to room few hours.

It has the ‘long While Ramesh hadcreated business he white Precious.

Jens Henson theacumen, rings (there help the nation and so IZealand’s see no other way but cloud’ from New Maori name socially aware citizen.

“Right from Aotearoa was also morea than one) in the Lord of the Rings to keep doing this.”ofHe “I’m hopeful.

— the land theadds, long white cloud. college,series.

I worked with local organisations in Many (LOTR) A stream of tourists waits outinI head the tribal areShed learning Later, off to community dine at the Boat Cafe the area.

In the late ’70s, I joined Lok Shakti side the shop to custom-order wedding bands and howcall to file anearly RTI and stand up for theirfor rights, it an night before I leave Abel Samiti, worked social and takewhich a picture withfor him...

Youdevelopment can’t escape Tasman. so hopefully it wouldn’t so just easytotochat shove But really, I’d skipbe it all on of tribal rural areas of the the The Hobbitcommunities and LOTR ininNew Zealand — I’m them asideorany longer.” porch read in the loo at Woodi’s.

State. That mynearly first tryst with activism.” amazed I’vewas gone three days without it. sibi arasu parekh is a Mumbai-based travel writer However, Agrawal seriously in mitali From here, I head got to the main,involved New Age-y

By bay Thethe man with the iron leg

There’s never a dull day at Nelson, a lovely, laidback town by the Tasman Bay

I W

don’t really want to talk about Nelson and give it away. When I tell people I am going to New Zealand, let them imagine adrenaline-charged adventures, while I sit on the commode at Woodi and Johnny Moore’s B&B and watch the regatta in the Tasman Bay. Located on the northern tip of the South Island, Nelson sees fewer Indian tourhen I meetIt’s him in Delhi, Raists than, say, Queenstown. a bayside town mesh 60,where is wearing with heritage bed andAgrawal, breakfasts hona to white holdeymooners come feastkurta-pyjama, on mussels and sip ing a Rosé. crutch in one hand and on the local Neudorf With a museum of resting the son Ramanit’s Agrawal’s wearable artother and on oldhis architecture, a town shoulder.

While not immediately visible, the for aesthetes to refuel their imagination. protrusion onhere his left soon comes foI’m parked for leg a day, at the B&Binto Wakecus. He says, “It’s around three kilos.

YouAbel can field Quay House, before heading to the touch itNational if you like.”

I feel the metal plate, Tasman Park for a hiking and kayakwhich is attached his thigh and groin ing excursion.

It’s atogood place to start an by afmetal screws and reachesone hisor knee, fair, resuscitate a flailing lick holding to life a his shattered bones togetherhome, and allowing broken heart. The 105-year-old perched himato hobble on quay, hasalong. two bedrooms for guests. I’d “Hethe was aiming for my chest, but I threw take one with the porch converted into a mobile phone at can himlook andonthat made him bathroom so one to the hope-reshoot below the waist.

My one’s femur shattered newing view while washing backside.

I have 24 hours to fill here and I ask Woodi what I should do. Woodi, originally from London, has designed and lovingly renovated the cottage (“I call myself an inferior designer.”), and knows everyone in Nelson. She gets her Kiwi husband Johnny, to drive me up to Lookout point — up on the hill at Prince’s Drive behind the Quay — to understand the lay of the land

Two bullets couldn’t stop him; environmentalist Ramesh Agrawal is one of this year’s ‘Green Nobel’ winners

Look at that The cool bathroom at the Museum of Wearable Art mitali parekh

Q Q R R

ND-X _ A

5 BL 21 BL

takeaway play

BL BL 222

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

partha pratim sharma

Blooming good

There are edible flowers and then there are edible flowers… And the vibrant, vitamin C-rich nasturtium is more than just a pretty garnish

A spectacle sport

Nasturtium and egg canapés Makes 12 12 not-too-small nasturtium flowers; collect a mix of colours, if possible 6 large eggs, hardboiled 1 cup cooked cous cous seasoned with olive oil, garlic, salt and some shredded nasturtium leaves for colour About 2tbsp tahini (or ground sesame seed paste) Chilli flakes Salt Limeannual calendar through the Eua vibrant

Winds of change are blowing through the astroturf. New rules and formats are sure to make hockey more television-spectator-and-player-friendly

A

n India-Pakistan hockey match was glimpse of what can be expected. The carnivalonce the highlight of the sport’s cal- like ambience at the venues found support ropean1 Halve Hockey and India Hockey eggsLeague and remove the yolks endar. Recently, Terry Walsh, the In- from hockey lovers, especially youngsters, League,with where participate. care. the Mashbest the players yolks with tahini, dia hockey team’s coach from who came in large numbers. There was hock- From two halves salt, 35-minute pinch of chilli flakesthe andmatches a spritz are of limeinto till you a smooth paste.The Australia said, “To me, it is a lasting memory, ey, entertainment in the form of live music now divided fourhave 15-minute quarters. and adjust watching India play Pakistan.” The intrigue and prizes to be won at the end of matches. idea, asTaste FIH insists, is to seasoning. “improve the flow and 2 Carefully fill the center of each and artistry that marked their hockey en“This kind of packaging was much-needed intensity of the game and increase the fan exflower this mix, for pressing deared both the teams to spectators and play- because hockey was losing its audience and perience and with opportunity gamedown presentato get the maximum in. sponsors. One has to keep pace with the times tion and analysis.” ers across the world.

3 Fill the hollowed out egg whites But then hockey suffered a global decline in and the paying public obviously wants quality To me, significant rule change is withthe themost prepared cous cous. its mass appeal. Even the subcontinent’s fans and value for its money. The fact that entry to the implementation of 40-second time-outs 4 Place one filled flower on each turned their back on this once exciting game, the HIL was not free raises hopes that one can following both penalty corner awards and the prepared egg white, tamping down throng the initially played on grass. In the last four dec- expect genuine hockey scoringgently of a goal.

“Weit’scall it hero-building. so that firmly ‘grounded’ In Colourlovers purple to Nasturtiums are onand thecricket, bed of it cous great in former salads and evencaptain as palate football ades or so, hockey has been played on astro- venues once again,” says India is socous. much about celecleansers shutterstock turf, which has given rise to a robust style of Zafar Iqbal. bration after a goal or a wicket or What are the chances of hockey play — power and speed have become the a century. Hockey needed such dominant components of all contemporary becoming a spectacle? “Bright,” celebrations. This 40-second ur friend Nidhi is an artist and a claimed The pepper punch the bright green fohockey games. an official fromofa broadOr introduce flowers an oreganobreak the would allowinto the cameras to foodie, aand herofcreations — wheth- casting liage becomes with age, but There is, however, whiff change. Hockey company,overpowering which has takscented Mediterranean-style stir-fry of of zucchifocus on the emotional side the Theinmost er ceramic culinary — bear her enthe young leaves it’s just the kick need to ni, some revolutionary steps in you significant is being revamped.

The or administrators have potatoes, red and yellow celebrating peppers, adding contest, a player or rule brand of aesthetics, imagijazz up potato salads or vamp direction.

“The game was soup the smooth realised they unique face huge competition when it this before taking the pan aoff the heat. lamenting mistake,” change is them the just sometimes nation style. Atsponsors a lunch she a cou- fast blandness chickenalways and fish inject- Use them said comes toand attracting andhosted spectators. that the of audience hadpates by in salads — they pair wonderfully a veteran cameraman associimplementation ple of months ago onthe her rooftop garden, still problems ing heat following and texture. lovemany shredding leav- with it.IToo Keeping that in mind International Hockgreens likewith babyhockey. lettuce, wispy tendrils of ated ofthe 40-second timewith winter flowers, the elegant es into verdant and stippling the pale eyablaze Federation (FIH) has introduced a newmenu set stoppages and confetti infringements fennel (several outlets now sell than this, the 40-secondouts peas, crunchyOther withthe freshly-picked being meant surface chilled cucumber soup — adding these in convenient theof focus was off the mark. ofended rules with aim to reachnasturtiums a younger audimixed packets).

Make a time-out will also be awarded passed for guests to pluck flame-or- But both and a mustardy kick to the chilled truly luxe air-puffed ence.

Thearound emphasis is clearly on off entertainthatcolour is changing.” omelette oozing Emmenwhen a goal is scored.

The idea, as angeand petals as ahockey. palate freshener that packed a bowl.

Whole leaves form a zesty layer of tal or Manchego ment skilful In India, hockey hasalso faced chalcheese with a few flowers FIH asserts, is to encourage onpleasant peppery punch. green in thin teatime sandwiches from cricket, football and whether of folded in and The Hockey India League (HIL) gave a lenge some strewn on top. At the field team celebrations.

I’ve added this novel, quirky use of the flow- tennis, ham, cream cheese, eggs all self-reliant whenorittomato. comes to con- venue, And stuffing a platit my will absolute also allowfavourite: players an opportunier to my noshing with nasturtiums list — a list ducting But it’s the flowers in myriad events.

Cricket—has benefitted from ty to engage ter of these blossoms — different with supporters in all thein stands as that’s already extensive because shades orange television rights whileof tennis and football do they cheer shades — with goat cheese or soft feta, on their favourites. this attractive plant, an edible red (and aid. this Hockey does. not depend onand government placing themat onthe wafer-thin crostini The players are excited idea of hockey powerhouse of vitamin C, just year I discovered “Lack of sponsorship has been a major hurdle becoming a TV rafts brushed spectacle.

Thewith gamegarlic-scented is now covcalls out to be used creatively in a gorgeous in popularising the game.fuchSponsors demand ered by 18 cameras olive oil and serving aspast. finger instead of eightthem in the Remember to the kitchen. In general, I love ussia pink) — that are can’t hap- There is an ultra-slow, achievements.

But achievements food. Theaexplosion tastes and super-slowofand a ballpreserve pen the seeds ing flowers in food — they add so the trueparticipation divas of the and expo- level camera that without regular textures when you pop one captures the action from theof of the blossoms much style and panache to prekitchen.

Theirsponsors. pepsure forinwhich you need It is a vision of the players these canapés into and pretty the umpires revealbrine for 3-4 weeks, sentation; besides infusing a dish pungency is of a vicious cycle,” pery said former international hock- ing various technicalyour mouth to is incredible. intricacies the TV auand you ey have the Jagbir with distinct flavours. Bengali more player Singh.subtle register So win when dience. Hockey is sure to newthey fans are within perfect substitute cuisine has countless ways of of the leaves, The vicious than cycle that is now being tackled pro- the revamped format bloom again season, and more TV next airtime.

It for capers serving mocha or banana flower, you plenty of with the will soon be a spectacle fessionally bygiving the administrators make the most of these again, one which weviand crisp, fragile pumpkin flower flexibility inbroadcaster for can celebrate and participate help of Star India, the official brant nasturtiums, using in. fritters are a much-awaited seahow hockey in India.

There isyou a welcome change in leaves and flowers to add a editor, The Hinduchic sonal treat. Then there are the use moving towards vijay lokapally is deputy rules since thewant FIH istoactively touch of sports, pepper-laced more unusual delights for the palate: in cool them. Even everyday to your table. And while autumnal Kalimpong, a dish of nakima dishes morph into you’re at it, remem(ground orchid) stir-fried with the lightest something special ber to collect the touch of chilli to offset the delicate bitter with these blosseeds of the blosnotes of the mauve flower; at a tea garden in soms. For examsoms — preserve the Dooars, a teatime snack of pakoras made ple, a simple pasta them in brine for 3-4 with the pretty blossoms of the tea plant. of penne, cheese, weeks, and you have garlic-shot cream the perfect substiefore spring faded away into the heat of and mushrooms tute for capers! summer, taking with it cool-weather flow- gets a gourmet twist arundhati ray is a food ers that brightened up gardens, terraces and if, just before serving, you window boxes, I indulged in a nasturtium fest. toss in a bunch of these flowers. writer currently based in Kolkata.

Q

O

Hero-building The hockey format now allows for on-field celebration time akhilesh kumar

R

Q R

B

ND-X _ A

know scan

saturday, may 10,10, 2014 saturday, may 2014

Jai ho For (clockwise from bottom) Smriti Irani, Sushma Swaraj, Meenakshi Lekhi and Nirmala Sitharaman women power is about a celebration of patriarchal norms pti;

Whale on sale

mohd arif; shanker chakravarty and sr raghunathan

This village in Canada faces a fishy problem of gigantic proportions

E

xploding whales make for great videos. And, if you are living in Newfoundland, you catch it live. Last week, a 40-foot sperm whale carcass washed ashore at a fishing village in easternmost Canada. Worried that the stench from the rotting 60-ton carcass would soon become unbearable, the residents of Cape St George called a council meeting and put it to vote. List the

whale on eBay, they decided. Within hours, they had received dozens of bids — highest at $2,000 — before contravening the auction site’s rules and the law. Animals, dead or alive, can’t go on sale on websites. And federal law doesn’t allow the sale of whale carcasses. “Frankly, we would sell it for zero if we had to,” says the town’s mayor Peter Fenwick. Two other towns in Newfoundland are facing a similar problem — two whale carcasses have surfaced on their banks. Thankfully, help is at hand as researchers from Ontario are en route to collect them. The mayor of Cape St George meanwhile, is still looking for a loophole in the law.

and talks enthusiastically about the large number of modern/professional women in the BJP. “You are wrong in assuming that the BJP only promotes a certain type of women.

Each of us have found our place and are encouraged by the party leadership,” she says.

Like 19th century suffragists who also wanted to protect the status of motherhood and were against abortion, the BJP’s women power is about an unabashed celebration of patriarchal norms, while it is also the first political party that enforced 33 per cent reservation for women at all levels in the organisation. It picked the reigning queen of regressive saasbahu soaps, Smriti Irani, among arguably betission: make Who:to New City’s ter reading qualifiedsexy. women, be York a Rajya Sabha MP topless literary club. Where: Park.

What from Gujarat.

IraniCentral has also been projected to do: grab a book and get topless. At least that’s in what through a high-profile campaign Amethi to the The Outdoor Co-Edthe Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciacreate impression of a contest against Ration Society would do. Last weekend, hul Gandhi.

Smart andmembers effective,were Irani’s first spotted lounging on atorooftop hotel reading claim fame was to play the pulp ideal ficdaughtertion titles such in-law as Huntand Through Thematriarch Cradle of Fear, then the in a Borfamily draderline and Mobyma Dick.

The which and it society, certainly will was notformed be the alast. So, few years ago, while says, “We’re a group of friendscould and fit the the likes of Sitharaman strangers who love books sunny days.

Happi- a SmriBJP’sgood vision of a and modern-day suffragist, ly, in NY, the lawtiallows both and Irani istoplessness essential tofor play the men mother. women. So that’s The whysprightly we do our al Tripathi fresco reading.

Vani spends If her time you’re in New York and the weather’s good, youthat has creating a cultural niche forwon’t the BJP join us…?” Andhitherto so far, the of women in theTutored notnumber gone beyond Ramlilas. topless pulp club outstripped number of men. byhas Ebrahim Alkazi,the Tripathi prides herself on championing the causes of women and the youth. And she is candid enough to admit there are “systemic problems” in creating a modern idiom for women in her party.

“But why are we talking only about the BJP? Fine, you can brand us as a fuddy-duddy party but tell me, which political party in India has contributed creatively to a progressive feminist discourse? We are at least trying,” she he high-brow arlierfeminism this year,symbolised news trickledknowledge in that Japanese were for decades. That her existence says. What Tripathi does not want to talk by the chicrenting Brinda friends Karat orand the handhiring actors to playallowed their loved his gender him to escape the soabout is the ideological necessity of projectloomed sophistry in Sonia Gandhi’s ones to combat loneliness.

And just last week, cial milieu that Chinese enforced a union withing a woman always in relation to the Congress is surpassed in this elec-cabbages teenagers were seen walking on the streets out choice is not evenofa consideration man — mother/sister/wife. tion by a distinct brandbecause, of women whoteen pop-put it, Beijing, as one have more interest in “I this argument.

Political expediency The idea is to pander to the popular ulate the Bharatiya Janata Partythan (BJP).for my parents”. for my cabbage In more such alarm- on why Jashoprevents any reflection notions about women and their role. AdIt is no longering easy to stereotype theinkarva news, a restaurant Japan isdaben’s offering its solo diners social consciousness ditionally, hostility towards the ‘Harchauth brigade giant once stuffed entirelyanimals personified by does for company.

The notstuffed permittoys evenare harbourvard type’ intellectuals and the feisty Sushma Swaraj.from The Finland’s sareed sistercharacters Moomin books and are ing thoughts of offered abandoning feminists in the left/liberal cirhood has expanded diversified recently. at theand Moomin Café in Tokyo. Theher only major drawback: husband.

The ‘women’s cles and western influences Although the bindi-sindoor-karva-chauth the giant stuffed toy isn’t symgoing togroups’ pick uphave the tab. beenEver. typically consolidates an inverted bolism remains an integral part of the politi- singled out for a healthy aggression in the BJP. cal armour, a new breed of professional dose of contempt that has They claim a more naleaders has emerged of late to impart a mod- been the staple of righttive and presumably, a ern patina to the BJP’s Mahila Morcha. wing rhetoric for long. more superior underBJP spokespersons Nirmala Sitharaman and That Sitharaman is a standing of India and Meenakshi Lekhi, national secretary Vani Tri- product of the left-libthe interests of Indipathi and even the saas-bahu soap star Smriti eral Jawaharlal Nehru an women.

Irani herald the arrival of conservative femi- University (JNU) camThe few times nism into the national political theatre. Of pus only camouflages that it has been course, their rallying call is not to be confused this blatantly antitested, significant10-year for a structural critique or movement against woman argument in he Public Catalogue Foundation in the UK has an ly epic during the antihe unofficial spokesperson of Democraticpatriarchy Peopublicly in or institutional inequities. The idea a respectably mod- project. According to them, many of the 2,10,000 rape movement ple’s Republic of Korea, Dennis Rodman, has owned artworks are mysteries to the institutions them. is spoto gift-wrap conservative disdain for wom- ern rhetoric. What Delhikeeping in 2012, when Sushken again. The last time when he sang ‘Happy coun- the en’s rights in a more contemporary, pseudo can a man doThousands of paintings hang in galleries, boardrooms ma Swarajand described Birthday’ to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, he jargon.

Thevictim publicashas now modern when he is mar-cils, about which nearly nothing is known.rape a zinda laash was greeted with much criticism. This time it’s disbebeen invited to turn art detective and dead), help trace information Witness the clever dismissal of Narendra ried against his (living the BJP’s vision was exlief. Back from his latest visit to the hermit kingdom, about the paintings because manyposed owners small museums, inModi’s freshly acknowledged wife Jashoda- will? Dump his for of being inherently anti-womthe retired athlete claims that the ‘uncle’ — executed stitutions and councils have no curators or funds research. ben’s life-long travails by the very articulate wife, of course. And en. Younger leadersfor didn’t contradict

by Kim for anti-State acts and allegedly fed to dogs — is Sitharaman: “… The lady does not feel what must she do?

Public discussions are already bringing out publicly. secret information.

Nirmala her, at least And just because still alive. “When they said they killed his uncle, fed paintings of hazily aggrieved here.” To the women’s groups rais- Go on a barefootFor pil-instance, a curator claims that they’ll probably hesitatedepicted in giving a him to the dogs… he was standing right there,” says flags a fleet of tall ships — currently housed in a gallery in if ing the issue of the denial of rights to Modi’s grimage as befitting herand station clarion call for “shaving their heads” Rodman. According to DPRK’s State media, Kim’s unBournemouth fourth battle St Vinwife for years, she says: “Let’s ask questions to in life as the abandoned wife of a— might be about the Sonia Gandhi wereoftoCape become PM, be cle was tried for treason and swiftly executed on De-women groups. Are they trying to justify great man. Naturally, cent.

Since weeks not ago,toa presume few puzzles those this partthe of site the was launched sixwarned thathave the BJP’s cember 12. He has also brought back news for Barack solved but about 30,000 paintings are yet to beisidentified. child marriage?” argument remainsbeen unstated. well-spoken bunch a champion of Obama, saying Kim “really, really wants to talk to ObaThe game afoot.

What she is really saying is that because Of course, Sitharaman is is impressive and women’s rights. ma. He can’t say it enough”. they were married at an early age, Modi was reasonable in personal interactions. She parpoornima joshi justified in shunning his wife, refusing to ac- ries questions on “our leaders’ private lives”

Not safe for work

How to make reading sexy

M

The sareed sisterhood

The BJP women herald the arrival of conservative Onlyleaders the lonely feminism into the national political theatre Stuffed toys as dinner dates

T

E

True art detectives

Dead or Alive?

‘Dennis the menace’ is at it again

T

British foundation asks everyone to become an investigator

T

ND-X _ A

3 23BL BL

HANG

saturday, may 10, 2014

BL

24

cornerstone in-faq by joy bhattacharjya Names

I 1 2

was delighted that I shared my first name with Born Free author Joy Adamson till I discovered she was female. This is a quiz about names.

Which group of islands off the coast of Africa got their name from the number of wild dogs reputed to be there?

A famed doctor and poet, this gentleman also popularised the terms ‘Boston Brahmin’ and ‘anaesthesia.’ However, his name is most remembered because of a tribute paid to him by another medical man in his works of fiction.

Identify this 19th century hero.

3 4

Internationally, which is the most popular fabric to derive its name from the city of Nimes?

The Büyük Menderes is a river which rises in west central Turkey near Dinar before winding its way to the Aegean sea. What was its ancient name, which has given a word to the English language?

5 6

Which English name for a type of house derives from a Gujarati word meaning an abode built in the style of a Bengali?

Which Czech-born entrepreneur has towns named after him in places from India to Canada to Pakistan and a museum named after him in Toronto? I promise you that you have heard of him.

the new york times crossword-1124

it’s better this way

7

Momentous things have happened at this retreat which was originally named Shangri La and later named by a head of State after his three-year-old grandson. Name the place, well known in international diplomacy?

8

This capital city was originally named after a region in the Netherlands. Its current name derives from a Sanskrit word which roughly translates as ‘victorious deed’. Identify this city.

9

In 1699, which 11-year-old did the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb regard a quarter better than all of his other vassals? The descendants of that 11-year-old continued to use the title.

10

Which well-known media personality and her sister, also a respected wildlife journalist, got their names from a popular song from the 1960 film Parakh?

ACROSS

Serge De Nimes!

Answers 1. The Canary Islands, from canines. The birds got their name from the island!

2. Oliver Wendell Holmes. The fictional connect is, I trust, elementary.

3. Denim, derived from Serge De Nimes.

4. Meander, the river has numerous twists and turns.

5. Bungalow from Bengalese.

6. Thomas Bata, the sultan of shoemakers.

7. Camp David. Begin and Sadat won a Nobel Peace prize for their work together in that retreat.

8. Djakarta, originally Batavia.

9. Sawai Jai Singh. A quarter better than the other rulers.

10. Barkha Dutt and Bahar Dutt, the song goes O sajna, barkha bahar aayi.

ND-X _ A

joy bhattacharjya is, a quiz master, director Kolkata Knight Riders and author of Junior Premier League — The First XI t@joybhattacharj

1 So over 7 Touching words?

1 4Gently floats 19 “Seinfeld” cohort 20 1965 R&B #1 song with the repeated lyric “Can’t you see that I’m lonely?”

22 “Too rich for me” 23 *He bested Leonidas at Thermopylae 25 Nick of “Lorenzo’s Oil” 26 Medicinal qty.

27 Dashed ID 28 Monitor setting, for short 29 Balloon 31 *Off-roader, often 35 What an iPod plays in 36 Stuff in sacks 39 Flying fisher 40 Roughhousing 41 Jokester 44 Glassfuls in restaurantes 45 Country buggy 47 Places for studs 48 Air 49 *Annual draw for snocross fans 52 Union leader?

53 Close up 54 Like Advil or Aleve: Abbr.

55 “That may be true, but …”

57 It’s low for gas guzzlers: Abbr.

60 Home to King Harald V 62 “___ good cheer!”

64 Doesn’t bring up 65 *Iconic feature of comedy 69 Line at the Louvre 70 Bomb shelter?

71 Sub side, maybe 72 D.D.E. challenger 73 “Revenge R Us” author 75 Suffix with peace 76 Bent beam 78 Biting remark?

79 *Founder of Marvel’s School for Gifted Youngsters 87 Of two minds 88 TALK LIKE THIS! 89 Teen headache 90 Got back to, in a way 91 Prefix with cycle 92 Give one’s O.K. 93 Google datum 94 Robed performer 95 “Nothing seems to go my way” 97 *Frequent problem faced by algebra students 100 Pump up 102 Chichi getaway 103 A street drug, briefly

104 Rural call 107 Stoop 108 *Horror flick starring Humphrey Bogart as a mad scientist, with “The” 114 Something LOL-worthy 115 Water, wryly 116 Canadian coin named for a bird 117 “The ___ Project” (Fox comedy) 118 In hot water?

119 Thrive

DOWN

1 Something dirty kept in a cell?

2 ___ de la Société 3 Complain, complain, complain 4 “Kid-tested” breakfast cereal 5 50/50 6 “Admit it!”

7 J.Lo’s birthplace 8 Shot caller 9 Danger for Indiana Jones 10 Spring river breakup 11 Siren, say 12 Not so great 13 Member of the music industry’s former Big Four

14 Part of a Napa Valley tour 15 Whack-___ 16 With 58-Down, a patient process? … or a hint to two consecutive letters in the answer to each of the seven starred clues 17 What one might go for a spin in?

18 Any “cha” in the cha-chacha 21 How lines of latitude run 24 Mount Zion’s land: Abbr.

30 Couples 31 Scratch, say 32 Rest stop 33 “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind” per H.P. Lovecraft 34 Cousin of a gazelle 35 Drink with two lizards in its logo 36 Club 37 “Bleah!”

38 Have second thoughts about 40 “Clueless” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary” 42 Sponsorships 43 Serengeti prey 45 Put away for safekeeping 46 Hugs and kisses, at times

47 Paint variety 48 Type-A friend from “Friends” 50 One turning to the right 51 Lose everything 52 Certain bean 56 Hair-razing stuff?

57 Loud beast heard in theaters 58 See 16-Down 59 Bamboozled 61 Like gathering storm clouds 63 No-holds-barred 66 ___ and Thummim (sacred Judaic objects) 67 “Need ___?” (query to hitchhikers) 68 Baron’s blade 73 They’re 18 to 21 74 Things for here and now 77 More pink, perhaps 80 It can be prickly 81 Jib, e.g.

82 John Candy’s old comedy program 83 Motor with some muscle

84 You might get stuck with them 85 Book after Galatians: Abbr.

86 Nutritional info 88 Photogs’ choices 92 It may help catch a fugitive 93 Like Brando’s Don Corleone 94 Disappear, as a trail 96 “Good heavens!”

97 Eject, as froth 98 Retired govt. agent 99 Co. making arrangements 100 Dutch wheels 101 Member of the old Chero-Cola product line 102 “Chop-chop!”

104 Radius, e.g.

105 Seed casing 106 Jump on ice 109 Jet crew, briefly 110 Quick time-out 111 Scream at a ring 112 Bit of love talk 113 Drag

By Jeremy Newton / Edited by Will Shortz

Reach us at blink@thehindu.co.in. Follow us on t@Ink_BL and facebook.com/blink.hbl or log on to thehindubusinessline.com/blink