O@

Editor’s
Word
To Be Continued…

B
IRTHDAYS are special, but this particular birthday I am writing about is extra
special. Having started its journey in 1995, your favourite Outlook has turned
24—just one short of its silver jubilee, and we are rightfully in a celebratory
mood. In the years gone by, we have recorded history and made some ourselves,
such as the expose on the betting scandal that shook up the cricketing world. Besides
surviving the tough economics of a crowded media landscape, we have educated,
enthralled, engaged and embraced both appreciation and opprobrium, and earned
what I believe a deserving back pat or two.
The credit for Outlook’s achievements goes to its previous editors who helped
shepherd this organisation—no less than an institution now—through rain and
shine. Being a member of the Outlook family for no more than a year and half, I see
myself more as a custodian of the high values and gold standard that my predeces-
sors set for us. But nothing comes easy and whatever heights Outlook scaled have
been hard-earned. Our editorial calls have mostly been solid and have stood the test
of time. In some, we did slip and continue to make amends by admitting our guilt,
swallowing our pride. But one constant through this unfinished journey has been
Outlook’s honest intent. Never has our intention to pursue good, honest and fair
journalism been under a cloud.
Given that our heart is in the right place, it is heartening that we will turn 25 next
year. We live in times where spectacle is often preferred over substance, and noise
is mistaken as informed debate. To stay the course under such circumstances is a
challenge, but Outlook, I promise, will never compromise on its core credentials.
Our call of duty demands we take no sides but the side of truth. That being our
guiding light, we take pride in that we are neither pro (this side) nor anti (that side).
Being impartial poses its set of problems. We are pilloried for not backing one side
enough or for not going after the other side more. Yet, we prefer to bear the burden
of our impartiality minus the obvious rewards as nothing but a badge of honour.
Our 24th anniversary is an apt occasion for both remembering and renewing our
commitment to what we stand for and believe in. In pursuing our preferred path, we
have deliberately chosen to be different. In the past year or so, we have dwelt on
subjects such as menstruation, malnutrition and rare genetic disorders that impact
the lives of millions, and will in the future continue to explore issues that matter but
normally do not find adequate mention in mainstream media.
This issue marking our anniversary also has a different feel and flavour. Since it’s
our 24th birthday, we decided to tail 24 people—a mix of the famous such as an actor,
writer, cricketer and a few not-so-famous personalities such as a Calcutta tram driv-
er and a woman cremation worker—to get a rare peek at how they lead their lives.
Though diverse, their stories had similar richness.
Sample these: when not sizzling the screen, actor Sunny Leone is perfectly at ease
playing the mother to her three children and plying them with hot aloo paranthas
that she enjoys making; alongside hate mail and death threats, TV anchor Ravish
Kumar is inundated with fan mail, including requests to hug him and cry for two
minutes; 85 years and 130 books old, author Ruskin Bond remains prolific despite
jettisoning the typewriter and writing longhand; having found both fame and for-
tune in cricket, Virender Sehwag remains hooked on to Kaun Banega Crorepati; and
though personally neck deep in politics, Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia still has
an appetite for Netflix political dramas like House of Cards. The stories are remark-
able and will hopefully keep you all riveted. So, here’s wishing Happy Reading!

F U L LY L O A D E D (Ruben Banerjee)

2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 3

 letters
The Guru’s Calling
BANGALORE S.R. Gadicherla: Your
special issue The Sikh (November 18)
to commemorate Guru Nanak’s 550th
birth anniversary is a worthy tribute to
the Guru and the Sikh community.
What is unique about Sikhism is that it
is a practical religion and Sikhs are
pragmatic people. Their faith
encourages a worldly, successful life as
a householder and a contributing
member of society, but with the mind
attuned to an awareness of God.
Sikhism rejects all distinctions based
on caste, creed, gender, colour, race or
national origin. For Sikhs, God is not
found in isolation or by renouncing the
world, but is attained while fulfilling
one’s duties for the family and commu-
nity. Sikhism recognises the universal
truths that underlie all belief systems,
though people differ in how they
institutionalise beliefs into a code of
conduct and way of life. The Sikhs love
their religion even as they respect
other ways of life. One special feature
of Sikhism is that it asks non-Sikhs to
discover and live the essential message
of their own faith so a Christian can
become a better Christian, a Jew a
better Jew, a Hindu a better Hindu,
while a Sikh becomes a better Sikh.
The word Sikh means student and,
therefore, a Sikh is forever a student of
the meaning of life. The core values of
Sikhism are derived from three equally
important tenets—an honest living,
sharing with others what God and life
have given, and living with an
awareness of the divine within each of
us. Sikhism enunciates a philosophical
concept called miri-piri, which means
living with an active, strong sense of
commitment to the world and
humanity, directed by a strong
foundation of spirituality.
DEHRADUN Rakesh Agrawal: Guru
Nanak interwove the concepts of
one-liner
LUDHIANA Harshdeep Kaur
Guru Nanak pioneered a social movement to free society from religion-based sectarianism.
6 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
November 18, 2019
Hinduism—karma, salvation or
moksha and this world being maya
(illusion)—with the Islamic idea of a
casteless order and a formless
universal God. However, the Sikh
community today is as riddled with
caste and gender prejudices as the
other communities in the region. Dalit
Sikhs are openly discriminated against
and women are not allowed to become
granthis. Maybe that’s why some
Hindus call Sikhs “turbaned Hindus”,
but they should remember that
Hindus had carried out the anti-Sikh
massacre of 1984.
GOA M.N. Bhartiya: The special issue
covered all aspects of the youngest
religion—how it came to be, how it has
been used, misused and abused. Its
edifice of faith is the holy book, the
Guru Granth Sahib—a compilation of
hymns from many sources of wisdom,
which are recited, meditated upon and
practised. This is a far cry from faiths
based on rituals, monasticism, mysti-
cism, mythical practices and suffering
with airs of superiority. The sense of
equality of all human beings irrespec-
tive of their colour, knowledge, health,
wealth and social status pervades the
langars in gurdwaras, which are open
to all and where everyone sits without
any distinction for partaking food
cooked and served with the grand spice
of love. All the rich and poor physically
contribute to maintaining cleanliness
in and around the gurdwaras.
AMBALA CANTT R.D. Singh: It
was a treat to go through the special
issue. With a beautiful cover, it
reflected comprehensively on all facets
of the first Guru as also the relevance
of his teachings today. People from
all walks of life and sections of society
shared their views. What is important
is to now walk the talk—spread love
and brotherhood. Rather than using
the religion for political gains, let’s use
it to be better persons. The onus lies
with the political and religious leaders.
Let’s practise what we preach.
Five-Point Dada
VARANASI Jaideep Mittra: Your
cover story Fresh Guard (November 11)
made an interesting read and a point
quite pertinent in the context of
Saurabh Ganguly as BCCI president.
His reply, “One at a time”, to the
media, when asked whether he would
join politics, instead of a categorical
“No”, might have been an impeccable
strategy. In due course, his getting
influenced to reconsider his decision
cannot be denied—especially when
politicians have interests in him
because of his clean image and mass
popularity in West Bengal. But if at
all BJP finds itself determined to field
Ganguly against Mamata Banerjee,
it has to take into consideration five
points. First, the personal ambitions
 letters
of old guards who reorganised and
revitalised the party in the state are
not hurt. Second, the leaders in the
state are comfortable with his induc-
tion into the party and him as the
candidate for the CM’s position. Third,
whether Ganguly would be able to
strike a balance between his personal
rapport with Mamata and the political
rivalry that would develop once he is
declared the BJP’s man for the CM’s
chair. Four, how far his popularity
would convert into votes. Five, the suc-
cess story of leading sportspersons and
cine stars in politics are abysmally low.
The Tiger’s Tale
BANGALORE H.N. Ramakrishna:
This is in reference to Tiger Loses His
Tale (November 18). Tipu Sultan was not
fighting the British who came much
later. He was fighting against the
cunning and depredation of a multina-
tional—the East India Company or the
John Company as it was known. The
Carnatic region was of great strategic
BLAST FROM THE PAST Tipu Sultan
significance for the British and they
were anxious to defeat Tipu. The debate
whether Tipu was a patriot is unsettled
as he used the French to replace the
British. Britain and France, both were
colonial powers seeking a base in India
and playing the local kings one against
the other. Tipu had to fight the British to
secure his throne like his father who had
usurped it from the Wodeyars. Tipu was
a formidable figure in the late 18th- and
early-19th-century British imagination.
Like all conquerors he could not afford
to antagonise his constituents and to
8 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
INBOXED
Post-Surgery Recovery
NOIDA Bal Govind: This refers to
Surgery and Sepsis (November ??).
The central government’s responsi-
bility has increased manifold now
that Jammu and Kashmir along
with Ladakh is a Union territory.
Since police and security-related
matters are on the Centre’s watch,
it will have to ensure all terrorists
are eliminated. We have seen five brutal attacks on migrant workers in the
past month or so. That points to an undercurrent of violence as dangerous
as it was before August 5, when Article 370 was abrogated and the state was
hived into two Union territories. What matters now is gradual release of all
leaders under preventive custody and engagement with locals, giving them
more freedom and letting them lead their normal lives. It is good to hear
from the lieutenant governor for Ladakh that priorities will be decided by
the people. If Ladakhis are able to engage freely and do business, it will give
a huge boost to the region’s economy.
care for Hindu religious institutions was
part of his statecraft. Leave Tipu out of
history, there is little to see in
Srirangapatna, his capital, as a centre for
tourism except for the temple that any
way was much under the care of Tipu.
How do we reconcile our modern
notions of human rights and abhorrence
of the rule of the gun and exploitation,
with the fact that entire societies, from
Neolithic times to the current, were
established through power of superior
weapons, cunning and subjugation?
That’s the problem with history. This A MESS Sharad Pawar and Fadnavis
history was appropriately massaged,
into our modern day notion of history. been a troublesome ally for BJP
Which people on which continent are (Mumbai Marathon, November 18).
free of such an inheritance? Uddhav Thackeray’s adamant
attitude has only strengthened BJP’s
ON E-MAIL Vishwanath Dhotre: resolve to watch the situation as it
The controversy over Tipu Sultan is unfolds in Maharashtra. The Sena
not new. Whoever is in power in may move for a tie up with NCP and
Karnataka never misses the opportu- Congress. But Congress’s support
nity to nudge out the sleeping Tiger from outside may unlikely to happen;
from his resting place and make a the Sena’s secular credentials are
controversy out of it at the time of his always suspect. As NCP drags its feet,
anniversary. How well is his history Uddhav would do better by rejoining
been told? What are its implications? the BJP mahajuti—a reliable partner,
Nobody is interested. He was the crue- rather than opening up a dialogue
lest ruler; he was a great warrior. Two with Congress-NCP.
sides of the same coin. The weapons he
used against the British must have Correction
been drawn to terrorise his own people On page 36 of Outlook (November 25)
as well. One thing we mustn’t forget, we carried a photograph of Maulana
people always remember atrocities. Mahmood Madani, general secretary
of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, in place
The Maha Muddle of Maulana Arshad Madani, president
ON E-MAIL Srinivasan of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. The
Ramaswamy: Shiv Sena has always error is regretted.
 IN & AROUND
THE SUBCONTINENTAL MENU

THIS PRINCE WON’T WAIT

M UCH like the DMK’s “sun rising from between two

mountain peaks” (a Kalaignar tour de force that
the voters, of late, were confusing with the sunset), the
spotlight is firmly fixed on Udayanidhi Stalin. At least good
daddy M.K. Stalin is making sure he is at the top of the party
hierarchy. So much so even a three­time parliamentarian
like Dayanidhi Maran had to get Udayanidhi to inaugurate
his MP’s office. Now, the sycophants have applied on behalf
of Udayanidhi for the post of Chennai mayor, elections to
which are due. What’s driving this tenacious push? Well,
Stalin does not want his son to suffer his fate—being the
country’s longest prince­in­waiting.

DOUBLE DOUBLE TRICKS

BELL THE
BLADDER T HEIR teachers made twins
Priyanka and Prithyanaka sit in
separate classrooms, but the girls
W HEN the bells toll at St
Joseph’s upper primary
school in Thrissur district,
threw tantrums until they were
united. And they are just one of the
it’s not just to mark the end 150 pairs in Sirkazhi in Tamil Nadu—
of classes. At 11:45 am and five schools here have at least 20
2:45 pm, ‘water bells’ ring and
children take out their bottles
or line up at the water cooler
to swig the vital fluid. And
MAHUA: MIRACLE OR no, they don’t have a choice—
MYSTREE? hydration is compulsory. In

I N other times, it would have

proffered intoxication to monkeys
and elephants. But a nondescript
mahua tree in the core zone of the
Satpura Tiger Reserve has stra­
ngely turned into a magnet for
miracle­seekers. Over the past three
months, over 10 lakh sick people
thronged the tree, their stretchers
and intravenous drips in tow, to
seek a cure. Such has been the rush
that this month it almost led to a
stampede­like situation. The crowds
even attacked the cops, 11 of whom
were injured. How did the legend
take root? A forest official claims a
local farmer was drawn to the tree
while passing by and was cured of
his limp as soon as he touched it.
Sadly, officials raided his house to
arrest him for spreading “rumours”.
Looks like the tree’s insurance
plan only covers healthcare, not
protection from the police.
Illustrations by SAAHIL; Text Curated by ALKA GUPTA, G.C. SHEKHAR
case you’re wondering how
this injunction came about, the
principal explains, “We have
noticed girls don’t drink enough
water to avoid going to the
toilet. Students have reported
health problems such as urinary
infections.” Perhaps ‘toilet-
cleaning bells’ would have been
more useful than forcing water
down kids’ throats.
pairs each! Although the twins love
confusing others, nobody’s compl­
aining. “They make classes more
interesting.... It encourages us to
become better teachers,” says a staff
member at Vivekananda MHS School.
The similarity doesn’t end at looks.
Priyanka and Prithyanka both scored
373 marks in Class 10, ascribing it to
their “twin connection”. An officer
at SMH School says, “If a teacher
chastises a student, the twin often
cries. That also happens if one falls or
gets injured. Some might be intrigued
by this, but we consider it a blessing.”

10 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

PERFECT FOR A ROLE REVERSAL NCE
FR A

N AVEEN Patnaik was

at his charming best
as he conferred Tamilian
superstar Kamal Haasan
with an honorary doctorate
for his contribution to
the motion picture. Given
Haasan’s global appeal,
everyone cheered. But, on
social media, some wags
sneered, saying Haasan
should have conferred
the doctorate on Patnaik
DRINKS TO DIE FOR
instead. After two decades
in power, the Odisha chief
minister continues to con­
vincingly essay the role of a
diehard Odia—in accented
English, mind you, and
nobody has yet complained.
That’s real star power, forged
in the hearts of the common
people. Haasan, who is yet to
do the real thing in politics,
should sit at Patnaik’s feet
and learn the difficult craft.
Tales Of Tipsy Salesmen
D RINKING during office hours is regarded an offence
by most employers. But French spirit company
Pernod Ricard is facing allegations that its employees are
pressured to drink at work and go on three-day binges.
Three sales staff have claimed bosses constantly push
workers into knocking back up to 12 glasses of alcohol a day.
According to French newspaper Le Parisien, some
suffered hallucinations and even drove home drunk. The
effects of such a gruelling drinking culture caused one
former salesman to become ill. One filed a complaint in
the French labour court in September, saying his health
had been damaged by excessive drinking after going to
nightclubs and bars, promoting the product.
Another salesman, who has since left, claimed he was
drinking 12 glasses of the strong liqueur a day while

T IPPLERS of Bihar
have had it since
prohibition was
working at the firm and frequently drove while drunk.
One ex-employee known only
as Julien, 42, claimed he was
‘drunk every day’ at work.
Harassed
employees
imposed, but, as The a-listed company was
at Pernod
founded in 1975 after two rival
they say, thirst is the beverages, Maison Pernod Fils and Richard say
mother of invention. First they used watermel­ Ricard, merged. It has acquired they were
ons, vegetables and bicycle tubes to smuggle other alcohol producers since, forced to
including the V&S Group that imbibe huge
alcohol, then ambulances and premier trains, makes Absolut Vodka. It has now quantities of
and now…coffins. On November 16, police become the second-biggest spirits
Pastis, a strong
intercepted a truck in Saran which had six cas­ group in the world behind Diageo.
alcoholic
Pastis, a yellow cloudy drink
kets wrapped in black cloths. The driver said usually had as an aperitif after apertif.
the cases were empty, but instead of the dead, being mixed with water, is at
502 cartons with over 4,000 litres of alcohol the centre of the storm. It is hugely popular in France,
especially in southern areas. It was created by Pernod—the
were found. Let’s hope they don’t use corpses biggest brewer of Pastis—that produced absinthe, the
next instead of coffins to store their gut­rot! drink of choice for Toulouse Lautrec, Vincent Van Gogh and
Oscar Wilde. Media reports say a catalogue of employees
at the aniseed pastis-maker have since reportedly come
forward, alleging a ‘culture of drinking’. They would also
CHEATERS AND TEACHERS allegedly be expected to sample the product, which can be
between 40 and 45 per cent proof, with clients.

I MAGINE you’re a
teacher posted to a
school in a one­horse
frontier town, far from
the pleasures of city life.
What do you do? Teachers
in Nagaland devised the
perfect solution—they
‘appointed’ proxies to
teach on their behalf for
a fraction of their salary.
Officials say they don’t
have data on the number
of proxy teachers, but the
situation is “grave”. How­
ever, the government has
pulled the plug on their
ingenious plan—it has
instructed them to email
photographs of them­
selves with the school in
the background as well as
in class every day to the
education department.
The drinking sessions would take place at lunchtime, in
the evenings and even after meetings, one ex-salesman
told Le Parisien.
Some would allegedly drink so much they claimed they
would suffer from hallucinations and hear voices.
To avoid drinking so much, an unnamed female employee
said she would tip alcohol into nearby plant pots so that
her colleagues would think she downed the drinks. She told
the newspaper: “It’s the company’s culture. If you say no,
you’re not very well thought of. People would say, ‘what are
you complaining about? You’re being paid to party’.”

2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 11

 DEF ECTATH ON
Race of the Turncoats
Thirteen defectors-turned-bypoll-candidates hold
the key to the Karnataka government’s stability
by Ajay Sukumaran in Bangalore
T
HE battlelines are now drawn, or
rather redrawn, for the December
5 bypolls to 15 assembly constitu-
encies in Karnataka. Relying on
defectors to win these seats, key
to keeping the party in power in the
state for the next three years, the ruling
BJP is going out on a limb. Handing of
bypoll tickets to 13 defectors a day after
the Supreme Court verdict on them last
week has caused resentment among
the party’s local leaders—after all, the
turncoats may even become ministers
if they win. The BJP’s difficulties were
evident earlier this month when a
leaked audio clip purportedly from a
party meeting showed an angry CM B.S.
Yediyurappa trying to convince local
leaders to back the defectors.
The BJP needs to win eight seats to get
a simple majority in Karnataka’s
224-member assembly. It currently has
105 legislators (the Congress has 66 and
the JD(S) 34) and is hopeful of winning
10-12 seats. But if it falls short, Karna-
taka’s politics will again revert to an un-
easy number game between the three
major parties. The JD(S), political obser-
vers say, will be hoping for such a sce-
nario because that would put the party
back in the middle of any power equation.
14 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
Since the coalition fell, the Congress and
JD(S) have parted ways and are fighting
the polls independently. Of the 15 con-
stituencies seats going to polls, 12 were
previously held by the Congress and 3 by
the JD(S).
The BJP had formed the government
in July after the H.D. Kumaraswamy-led
JD(S)-Congress coalition was defeated
in a trust vote triggered by resignations
of 17 ruling party MLAs. They abstained
from the vote of confidence amid allega-
tions of horse trading and were disqual-
ified by the speaker. Upholding their
disqualification by the then speaker, the
court struck down his ruling that it
would extend until the end of the current
assembly in 2023. This allows them to
contest the bypolls. A member disquali-
fied under the Tenth Schedule is barred
from being appointed as a minister or
from holding any remunerative political
post from the date of disqualification
until the expiry of his term or re-election
to the legislature, whichever is earlier,
The BJP needs to win
eight of the 15 seats
going to bypolls to
secure a simple majority
in the assembly.
PTI
BANGALORE DRY Defector MLAs
join the BJP at a function
the apex court bench had concluded.
“By giving tickets to all the disqualified
MLAs, the BJP has done what we had
been anticipating all along, encouraging
defection, horse trading, treachery and
public immorality,” says Congress general
secretary K.C. Venugopal. The BJP, of
course, maintains that it is merely back-
ing candidates who have a chance to win.
“They have done work (in their constitu-
encies). Some were ministers in the past.
That’s why we have given them tickets,”
says BJP spokesman Vaman Acharya.
Among the keen fights, political obs-
ervers reckon, will be Hoskote and
Athani, where the new entrants face stiff
resistance within the BJP. In Hoskote,
BJP man Sharath Bachegowda is now
standing as an independent against his
party’s candidate N. Nagaraju (one of the
disqualified legislators, formerly Cong-
ress), defying a party threat to expel him.
In Kagwad, BJP leader Raju Kage quit
the party in protest and is now contest-
ing the bypoll as the Congress candidate.
In Gokak, former Congress leader and
now BJP candidate Ramesh Jarkiholi is
facing his brother Lakhan.
Political analyst Harish Ramaswamy
reckons the bypolls will prove crucial
for both Yediyurappa and Congress
leader Siddaramaiah to retain their
hold over their parties. “Yediyurappa
has to reiterate that he is the leader,
while Siddaramaiah needs to prove to
dissidents that he can deliver results,”
says Ramaswamy. O
 FA I TH FUL LY S O OPINI ON

THE LORD’S KEEP

KALPANA The Sabarimala verdict is a setback to the struggle against a dehuman
KANNABIRAN

I
T was just days before Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi
retired that the Sabarimala review petition was
decided by a majority of 3:2. The September 2018
judgment—a 4:1 majority decision in favour of
women’s entry into the temple—now goes before
a larger bench for a relook. It is apt, when we
consider these contrary outcomes, to recall some
basic tenets in constitutional interpretation set out
since 2009, marking the turn towards “transforma-
tive constitutionalism”. These include: the consider-
ation of analogous grounds of discrimination as
impermissible (i.e. any form of discrimination akin
to what’s clearly listed as illegal, say untouchability);
the principle of non-retrogression in the delineation
of fundamental rights (i.e. a right, once granted,
cannot be reversed); the unequivocal rejection of the
de minimis argument (that something is too trivial
for the law to consider) in keeping exclusions in
place; an expansive reading of the Ambedkarite for-
mulation of constitutional morality; and the unani-
mous 2017 declaration by a nine-judge constitutional
bench that the right to privacy (which, the apex court
elaborated, meant dignity, autonomy, choice and the
right to be left alone, free of surveillance) is a funda-
mental right. Each of these principles is immediately women, Muslim women’s entry into mosques/dar-
relevant to how the Sabarimala case is moving. gahs and Parsi women—cases that are sub judice and
The intervening year between the two judgments specific, and which, no doubt, must be ruled in favour
has seen women’s attempts to enter the temple des- of women’s claims to equal personhood. But this
pite violent threats, ferocious trolling, hate speech cannot be done via an omnibus “judicial policy befit-
and securitisation of the hill and its environs “like a ting to [the court’s] plenary powers to do substantial
police camp”. The Constitution and the Supreme and complete justice” (para 3). The policy must be
Court pale into a haze in this muscle-flexing and enunciated on a case-by-case basis with recourse to
chest-thumping. The nation becomes a mere dangal. precedent, settled law and principles therein as and
Last week’s judgment, mostly reiterating the reason- when the matters are brought before the court.
ing of Justice Indu Malhotra’s dissent in 2018, is a Besides, the judgment raises the question whether
setback on many counts. the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Aut-
There is a protocol for review petitions: they should Women horisation of Entry) Rules, 1965, governs Sabarimala
be circulated to the same bench that delivered the have been at all. For those of us who have followed and cele-
judgment, the basic purpose being to rectify an error brated the victory of struggles for temple entry a
of judgment or a miscarriage of justice. However, CJI
trying to century ago, struggles that are foundational to the
Gogoi—not part of the 2018 bench—announces a enter the Constitution, this is deeply shocking, especially
departure from that right in the opening para, saying temple because the specific case of places of public resort is
several new writ petitions were tagged on to the despite covered by Article 15(2). Exclusion on grounds of
review: “The endeavour of the petitioners is to resus- threats. The menstrual taboos of pollution can be seen as an
citate the debate about what is essentially religious, expression of untouchability proscribed by Article
essential to religion and integral part of the religion” hill is now 17 (as Justice D.Y. Chandrachud held), or that it is
(para 2). While this is itself an overreach, in the next like a police analogous to practices of untouchability (as Amit
para, he extends the question to Dawoodi Bohra camp. Bindal has recently argued). Either way, it attracts

16 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

 The BJP’s innovative dengue protest
against the government in Calcutta

stiff penalties on owners of under­con­

struction building projects. He stresses
that a renewed campaign has to create
more awareness about preventive meas­
ures before more lives are lost.
However, Chakraborty observes that
severity of dengue this year is less
compared to the horrific strain in 2015.
According to him, severity of dengue
returns in periodic order. “In 1995,
2005 and 2015, we have seen severe
attacks of dengue. Now, the civic ad­
ministration and the people have be­
F EVER PITCH SANDIPAN CHATTERJEE come relatively more aware about its
danger and take some preventive mea­

Swamped With Bites

sures. Also, after the exit of monsoon, it
is now on the wane,” he comments.
This year, alarmingly, Chakraborty saw
The yearly dengue outbreak kills, wrongfooting Bengal yet again in his patients new symptoms. For inst­
ance, while the symptoms corresponded
to the dengue virus, blood tests did not
by Rajat Roy in Calcutta that the World Health Organization has confirm it as dengue positive. Chakra­
issued a global advisory to adopt the Ste­ borty opines that at that stage itself one

A
number of deaths caused by the rile Insect Technique to combat dengue. should administer intravenous hydra­
dengue virus in Calcutta and Reports of the virulent strain stalking tion, as the mere absence of Coryza (in­
across West Bengal has raised Calcutta and the districts, claiming flammation of the mucous membrane in
concerns about the efficacy of lives at will, has created a huge public the nose) should be taken as enough
the state health and municipal outcry. A group of women publicly indication to initiate treatment, because
departments in preventing the demonstrated against the municipality dehydration occurs at a febrile phase,
spread of the disease. Almost every in Lake Town area, where a child died of and any delay in treatment may cause
week, dengue claims a life or two, dengue recently. As a kneejerk reaction leakage of body fluid (capillary leak),
pushing the death toll to 23, accord- to the furore, the municipality started pushing the patient to a critical stage. He
ing to the state health department fogging that area, invoking ridicule. cautions that “dengue is a seasonal but
sources. Unofficially, the count is 44. Like it does every year, this year too the regular phenomenon in tropical and
So far, over 44,000 people have contra­ state government campaigned to create sub­tropical areas, and its virus is contin­
cted the mosquito­borne infection; of awareness, advising citizens not to let uously adapting itself through mutation.
them, around half have been affected water accumulate in gardens, abandoned So, we must have a dedicated viral labo­
between late October and early Nove­ land or residential compounds and take ratory to study it continuously.”
mber. People suffering from dengue con­ preventive measures. But, as writer The state’s Disease Profile Map for
sist of a large share of the total patients in Tilottama Majumdar pointed out, no Dengue (2017) shows that it was wide­
various hospitals, and according to a mi­ steps were taken in preventing water spread in all districts in north and south
crobiologist, of 50 blood samples tested being accumulated in buildings that were Bengal. West Bengal’s director of health
daily, 30 per cent were found to be dengue under­construction. Moreover, indis­ service has been issuing a ‘Medical
positive. A doctor in a government hos­ criminate use of plastic has choked many Officers Handbook for Clinical Manage­
pital also confirms a dire suspicion: lack sewage drains, creating puddles on the ment of Dengue and Malaria’. Based on
of adequate number of doctors and health ground. Subrata Chakraborty, a reno­ the national guidelines for dengue
workers are impeding treatment. wned paediatrician, concurs. He says treatment, the handbook (2018) admits
The late exit of monsoon and further civic authorities must find ways to impose that dengue fever may be symptomatic
rain caused by a cyclone, say doctors, or asymptomatic (that is, with or with­
might have caused the sudden spike. out regular symptoms) and clinical
After the recent death of a child at Cal­ Alarmingly, newer manifestations may vary from undiffer­
cutta’s Institute of Child Health, director symptoms of dengue are entiated fever to haemorrhage and
Apurba Ghosh cautioned that after abate­ emerging. “We must shock. The WHO’s global advisory is
ment of the fever, the next 72 hours is also emphatic on the measures to fight
critical, and that the patient has to be kept have a dedicated viral dengue. Yet, year after year, a stream of
under watch. As another doctor admits laboratory to study it,” people loses their lives in West Bengal
the occurrence of fresh cases, it is learnt says a top doctor. to it. A remission is not in sight. O

18 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

 F OUL PITCH OPI NI ON

TOPSY-TURVY
SANJAYA BARU NATIONALISM
The image of JNU, a national brand, is being tarred in the name of the nation

I
have often said with a sense of national, not just individual, and S. Jaishankar, who adorn the Union council of ministers as
pride that I never studied abroad, but I have taught abroad. its more talented members.
This sense of confidence in one’s academic capabilities is True nationalism demands that Indian public institutions
what JNU imparted to my generation. As students, most of are academically strengthened and financially provided for.
my generation chose not to apply for admission to a foreign There could be a good reason why JNU authorities wish to
university. JNU was good enough. Studying at an Indian raise the fees charged for both tuition and facilities. This could
university rather than abroad was our concept of nationalism. easily have been done in a consultative and gradual manner so
This is worth emphasising when hundreds of thousands of a single batch of students is not suddenly inconvenienced. It
Indian students are spending upwards of US$6 billion annually is the institution’s ham­handed management rather than any
in tuition fees paid to all manner of institutions around the matter of high principle that has brought the university to the
world, running away from an increasingly unsatisfactory higher current impasse. No wonder the government has expressed its
education system in India. Foreign lack of confidence in the current
SURESH K. PANDEY
universities are busy selling admis­ leadership by appointing a high­
sion to educational courses abroad level committee to find ways for
in the Indian marketplace. restoring normality.
In the depressive milieu of inc­ The source of the impasse lies in
ompetence, casteism and greed for the rise to prominence of medioc­
money in higher education, JNU rity in the university’s governance
stands out as a beacon of hope systems. This is a general problem
for many, offering good quality of most public universities. As a
education at an affordable cost. It university rated by the Union gov­
is still a national brand that enjoys ernment as being at the very top of
value in the market for research, publicly funded institutions, JNU
for jobs in government and, indeed, deserves world­class academic
for further education abroad. In and administrative leadership,
2015, the Union ministry of human not an ideologically over­enthu­
resource development constructed siastic mediocrity.
a National Institute Ranking JNU has also produced Nirmala The option of going abroad for
Framework (NIRF) and ranked Sitharaman and S. Jaishankar, higher education is open only to
all publicly funded institutions the economically better­off sec­
of higher education. The Indian
the more talented members of tions. Those who can afford to pay
Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, the Union council of ministers. for private education at home or
topped the list, followed by JNU. abroad are anyway migrating. It is
This means JNU is the No. 1 university in social sciences, arts only those who cannot afford to migrate or still have that sense
and humanities. It has retained that rank through the past of belonging at home that choose to study in Indian public
four years of the motivated campaign against it. It is, therefore, universities. The reform of governance at public universities is,
unfortunate that instead of strengthening a national brand, therefore, a challenge that must be grasped sooner than later if
a systematic campaign has been launched in the name of a growing number of young Indians are to be discouraged from
nationalism to tar the image of a premier public institution. migrating. Those who celebrate the success of the ‘great Indian
Given the manner in which JNU has been targeted by many in diaspora’ should reflect on whether migration is a greater act of
the present ruling dispensation, it would seem we have cut our nationalism than staying at home and demanding better and
nose to spite our face. JNU, as indeed any university campus, more affordable education? O
would always be home to intense ideological contestations. (The writer, a former advisor to PM Manmohan Singh, is a
That in itself should not be a cause of concern. After all, that political commentator and policy analyst. The article has
very campus has produced students like Nirmala Sitharaman been written by him on invitation.)

20 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019


Photographs: RAJESH KUMAR
by Preetha Nair
H
ARD facts first. In the 19 years since the state was
carved out of Bihar, Jharkhand has never had a
single-party government. And the only chief min-
ister to complete a full term is incumbent Raghu-
bar Das. And between these two extremes lie the
fate of the ruling BJP as the state goes to the
polls, in five phases, from November 30. From trying to
douse a crippling rebellion within the party and facing a
political backlash by angry allies, the BJP appears to be
as comfortable as a camel in the Arctic. And a string of
unexpectedly poor performances in other states—Mah-
arashtra and Haryana—hangs over Jharkhand, known
to be one of the most politically fickle states in India.
On November 18, senior BJP leader Saryu Roy filed his
nomination papers as an independent candidate against
Das from Jamshedpur (East), days after resigning as a
minister. The rebel leader, critical of the chief minister for
alleged irregularities in the government’s functioning, was
apparently peeved at his name not appearing on any of the
24 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
POLL BYTES
No one
at the
Ranch
Deserted by allies and
partymen, Jharkhand
CM Raghubar Das is
fighting a lonely battle
to save his crown
list of candidates released by the BJP so far. This was the
latest in a series of setbacks for the BJP ahead of the polls.
Over the past few weeks, the BJP has seen its allies pull away
to contest the polls on their own; among them is its long-
time ally and coalition partner, the All Jharkhand Students’
Union (AJSU), which was apparently not happy with what
the BJP was offering in the seat-sharing talks. The upshot
of this is that BJP and AJSU will face each other in more
than 15 of the 81 constituencies. Another former ally, the
Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is contesting alone in 50 seats
while the Janata Dal (United) is also likely to go solo.
Faced with an unprecedented situation, the state BJP lead-
ership is downplaying the rebellion within the party. “Our
party is aware of the entire matter. The central and state
leadership will take a call at the right moment,” says Pratul
Shahdeo, a party spokesperson. But with just over a week
before the polls, time may be running out for the party, though
Shahdeo is confident of winning “more than 65 seats”.
The BJP’s calculations appear way over the mark. In 2014,
BJP had won 37 seats, while the AJSU bagged five. AJSU
president Sudesh Mahato says that his party extended sup-
port to BJP as a commitment to former PM Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, during whose tenure Jharkhand became a state. He
says except for 2014, his party always contested elections
without a partner. “In 2014, I agreed to their conditions for the
stability of this government. But I can’t sacrifice my party for
the sake of power. The BJP has to first fulfill their promises.
They failed on all counts,” says Mahato, keeping the door open
for post-poll equations with possible new allies.
Political analysts say that the BJP’s break-up with AJSU
will be a setback for the saffron party as the latter enjoys a
significant voter base among the Kurmi community and in
tribal pockets, especially in the Chhotanagpur region. They
 2014
ASSEMBLY

BJP

37
JMM

19
JVM (P)

8
Congress

6
AJSU

5
Others

6
Total Seats

81
also feel that by going solo, both the BJP “Ram Mandir won’t give Babulal Marandi’s JVM (P), however,
and AJSU are looking to increase their food to anyone. Mandir fell through.
individual tallies and consolidate their is in the mind of the Hemant Soren says the wind is blowing
support base among the tribal commu- in favour of the alliance this time and his
people. Issues like Ram
nity. Other factors could also dent the focus in the campaign are “grave issues”
BJP’s hopes. “It may not be a cakewalk Mandir or scrapping of such as unemployment, tribal unrest,
for the BJP because of three factors. One Article 370 will have no and the controversial land acquisition
is that, they have no alliance. The place in this election.” law, which many fear could lead to trib-
Maharashtra and Haryana results have als losing their rights over forest land to
Hemant Soren, JMM
created a general perception that this (Grand Alliance CM face) corporates. Soren also concedes that it
party is not invincible. There will also be was a mistake to fight separately in the
anti-incumbency working against” says last assembly elections. “We would have
Sanjay Kumar of the Centre For Study of Developing Societies. won if were together,” he adds. Congress leaders also say that
The BJP’s biggest weapons—Ram temple and Kashmir—are recent state elections have come as a good learning experi-
also likely to be less effective in a state with a 28 per cent tribal ence for the party. “We have learnt lessons from Maharashtra.
population. “The grand alliance (of Congress, JMM and RJD) We have to fight together and work as one,” says Congress
seems to be stronger compared to 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha state unit president Rameshwar Oraon.
polls. BJP will have to work harder. There may be multiple Whether the BJP has learnt lessons from Maharashtra is a
parties contesting, but I see a contest between BJP and the different story, though party leaders appear unfazed by the
JMM-Congress alliance. My sense is that roughly 70 per cent desertions. “Parties like LJP and JD(U) have no base. Also,
votes will be divided between these two,” Kumar adds. drifting away of allies is not a new phenomenon in the state.
The Congress, by itself, looks unlikely to be in a position to Defections happen in all parties on a daily basis,” says BJP
challenge BJP. And its alliance with the JMM and RJD to leader Kamal Bhagat. Among those who switched sides
has come about after much dithering though party leaders include the party’s former chief whip and influential leader
deny any strain between the partners. “Our alliance is con- Radhakrishna Kishore, who joined the AJSU recently.
crete and intact, while the BJP’s alliances are falling all over When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister
the country. In Jharkhand, it’s BJP versus its allies. There’s Amit Shah fly into Jharkhand to rouse the voters, they will
complete breakdown within BJP itself. There is huge anger have much more than just one state to defend. In November
against the government,” says state Congress in-charge 2018, the BJP had chief ministers in 16 states. A year later,
R.P.N. Singh. The party has also made it clear that JMM the party is in power in 12. On both sides of Modi’s spectac-
chief Hemant Soren is the unanimous choice for the chief ular return in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls they saw disconcert-
minister’s post. The Congress will contest in 31 seats, RJD ing losses in four crucial states. Can they prevent another
seven seats, while JMM will contest in 43 seats. Talks with one from slipping from their hands? O

2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 25

 I N A H AZE O PINI ON

THE END OF
GAUTAM
BHATIA POLLUTION
Authorities must accept the smog as a problem and innovate for the Indian context

L
ast year in Delhi, as the air quality index hit a high their construction the biggest source of dust particles.
three-figure mark, life assumed its normal winter course; Obviously, for a growing urban population, construction cannot
nursery school children ran around the playground in be stopped. Yet non-polluting techniques of building such as
masks; ghostly cricketers moved about the pitch at Feroz pre-fabricated assemblies should be made mandatory in neigh-
shah Kotla unable to sight the ball; and people with watery bourhoods already built and occupied.
eyes knelt down in the lethal gray haze to admire the entries at Energy: Delhi’s chief minister has provided free electricity
the annual chrysanthemum flower show. It was difficult to tell to the poor, but has done little to create a comprehensive
if city life was real or morbid satire. energy solution. the real thrust of such a provision must rely
Why are Indian cities so ineffective in solving their pollution on innovation—a single non-polluting device that takes care
problems? two reasons come to mind. First, of all energy needs of the urban poor: cook-
SURESH K. PANDEY
in environment, construction parameters, ing, lighting, heating and refrigeration. Is it
transport and domestic energy requirements, possible to create a rechargeable battery
the Indian situation is so dire it is unique. It pack—a single source for all basic domestic
follows none of the dictates of first-world energy needs?
conditions. second, every approach either Agriculture: the apocalyptic image appears
relies on foreign solutions or Indian make- on satellite photos—a vast cloud of gas
shift ones. the problem is neither adequately stretches from Lahore to Dhaka. Fires from
defined nor properly addressed. rice stubble mix with diesel exhaust and
take the case of winter pollution. For the smoke from coal-fired power stations. the
past decade, air quality in north India between life spans of 800 million people are cut short
October and February has been hovering at by 5 years; 1.2 million premature deaths
lethal levels, with papers reporting particu- occur every year. a simplistic ban on burn-
late matter between 400 and 600. activities ing is not enough. It must be followed up
leading up to this dismal state are allowed with subsidies on cooperative mechanised
to carry on: stubble burning in Punjab and Is it possible farming and possible changes in cropping
Haryana, registration of polluting vehicles, patterns—a relook at agriculture that is in
construction, coal fires—till suddenly, pollu- to create a line with climate change initiatives.
tion spikes to hazardous levels. then there is a rechargeable adapting to pollution is no alternative and
frantic rush to close schools, issue face masks, battery pack—a the idea of fighting air pollution with masks
promote odd-even days for cars, impose fines single source for and air-purifiers is only a symptomatic solu-
for burning and halt all construction. Room all basic domestic tion, a jugaad. two years ago, when Chinese
air purifiers are sold at a brisk pace; face mask cities in the industrial north faced pollution
business picks up. Despite the grim state, a energy needs? problems, a local company set up industrial
situation of helplessness persists, only for a filters at different points in the city; each
shift of wind to bring on quick public amnesia. 80-foot-high stack cleaned the air within a five-kilometre
If real solutions are the aim, the government needs to radius, quickly returning it to normal levels. thinking at such
implement radical innovations in four areas: large urban scales is beyond the pale of Indian civic authori-
Transport: Private transport is the biggest contributor of ties. However, the challenge to create an effective battle plan
urban pollution. Motor vehicles continue to increase in alarm- can only happen if the country accepts pollution as a serious
ing numbers and clog roads. Electric cars can hardly be a solu- problem and innovates for Indian situations.
tion when traffic jams in most cities restrict driving speeds to Maybe sometime in the near future, walking on shaded
walking time. By doing away with private vehicles, governments streets under blue smokeless skies and knowing that sUVs
must examine alternatives such as electric and solar pods as in are rusting in the city junkyard, we will look back at the turn
Brazil or other methods of slow, space-saving transport. of the century and laugh at how foolish we once were. O
Construction: Buildings are the largest consumers of energy, (The author is an architect. His latest book is Blueprint.)

26 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

 LORD AND MASTER
by Puneet Nicholas Yadav
O
n november 15, journalists cov­
ering the Supreme Court rec­
eived an unusual note from the
office of Ranjan Gogoi, the 46th
Chief Justice of India, who was
to demit office two days later.
The note explained why the CJI could
not grant journalists their request for
one­to­one interviews. “Bitter truths
must remain in memory,” the CJI said.
Public memory, as the cliché goes, is
short. However, it isn’t altogether abs­
ent. Gogoi’s ruse of keeping bitter
truths about the Supreme Court—or
are they more specific to his term as
CJI?—confined to his memory seems
ironic, if not altogether preposterous.
The contradiction in such posturing is
even starker given his participation in
an unprecedented press conference in
January 2018 when he, along with then
SC judges, justices J. Chelameswar,
Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph,
launched a scathing broadside against
then CJI Dipak Misra.
On October 3 last year, when he was
sworn in as the CJI, the cautious euphoria
among those who had hailed him for his
commitment towards constitutional
morality and institutional integrity was
expected. And, in the initial weeks, he did
not disappoint. Within days of assuming
office, Gogoi had shown a strong commit-
ment for administrative reforms to help
reduce the huge pendency of cases. But
then began the tailspin. Hopes that the
opaque decision-making process of the
SC collegium—the five seniormost SC
judges who recommend names for
appointments and elevations of judges—
would become more transparent under
Gogoi quickly dissipated. The collegium’s
recommendation to elevate justices
Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjeev Khanna
to the SC after rescinding an earlier deci-
sion to elevate Rajasthan high court chief
justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice
Rajendra Menon continued the trend of
opacity in judicial appointments.
During Gogoi’s tenure the Centre agr-
eed to increase the strength of judges in
the SC to its highest ever tally of 34.
However, the collegium’s inexplicable
decisions on transferring Madras high
court chief justice Vijaya Tahilramani to
the Meghalaya high court instead of ele-
vating her to the SC despite her seniority
(she resigned in protest) or that of first
28 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
nominating justice Akil Kureshi as chief
justice of the Madhya Pradesh high court Bitter Tru
and, within days, transferring him to the
Sealed C
Tripura high court expectedly raised a
stink. No plausible explanation for these
moves was given.
Former Delhi high court judge R.S.
Sodhi, who had strongly criticised the
judges’ press conference for lowering the
prestige of the judiciary, believes Gogoi
made no effort to correct a system that he
had been critical of before becoming the Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi
CJI. “Gogoi’s image as the CJI is appalling assumed office with a
and barring his verdict that brought the
office of the chief justice under the RTI messianic aura but left
Act he has done nothing to raise the stat- behind a legacy scorched
ure of the Supreme Court,” Sodhi says.
His failure in administrative tasks of by controversies
making collegium decisions more trans-
parent pales in front of the criticism that
has come Gogoi’s way for his steering of
An in-house panel
of three SC judges
cleared Gogoi of all
charges of sexual
harassment after
denying the woman
her right to counsel.
judicial matters, including those that dir- (NRC) in Assam. The updated NRC left 19
ectly concerned him. In April, a former lakh people staring at an uncertain future
staffer, employed for a brief stint at the due to a process that was flawed to begin
residence office of the CJI, alleged that with. Gogoi publicly justified the NRC
she suffered persistent sexual harassment process and said that the number of peo-
from Gogoi. On a day that the court was ple left stateless “doesn’t matter”.
officially closed, Gogoi called for an urg- Gogoi’s indifference to petitions chal-
ent sitting and in a predictable pattern of lenging the government’s clampdown in
anyone accused of a crime, discredited his Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370
accuser. Later, an in-house panel of three showed his inability to uphold constitu-
SC judges, led by his successor, S.A. Bobde, tionally-mandated fundamental rights.
cleared the CJI of all charges after deny- When CPM general secretary Sitaram
ing the accuser her right to counsel. The Yechury filed a petition demanding an
probe findings were never made public. explanation from the Centre for force-
It is difficult to pick out the most egre- fully detaining his party’s J&K legislator
gious lapse in Gogoi’s stint as CJI because M.Y. Tarigami, CJI Gogoi “allowed”
there are so many. If his last month in Yechury to travel to Srinagar, meet his
office was consumed by a fanatic zeal to comrade and then inform the court about
resolve the Ayodhya dispute, the preced- the legislator’s condition. The instruction
ing months saw him directly steering the demolished the very purpose habeas
otherwise administrative process of the corpus writs have in law. When Iltija
contentious National Register of Citizens Mufti moved a plea seeking permission to
ths In
over
meet her mother and former J&K chief
minister Mehbooba Mufti, who had been
placed under house arrest, Gogoi mocked
her, asking: “Why do you want to move
around, it is very cold in Srinagar.” Such
facetious remarks from the CJI were
common throughout his tenure. When
journalist Abhijit Iyer-Mitra moved a bail
application following his arrest by Odisha
Police in September 2018, Gogoi had
remarked, “If you are facing threats, there
is no safer place than jail.”
Lawyer and author Gautam Bhatia, in
his assessment of Gogoi’s legacy, wrote
that the ex-chief justice never gave any
reasons for his instructions in habeas
corpus petitions. “No reason for the extr-
aordinary order that made fundamental
rights subservient to the whims and
fancies of the court without even an
effort to locate them in the Constitution,
no reason for anything. This was a court,
and a chief justice, that had liberated
itself from… the Constitution.”
The legacy that Gogoi leaves behind
isn’t limited to his acts of commission as
CJI but extends to actions he chose not to
take. Take, for instance, his handling of
petitions challenging the Centre’s contro-
versial electoral bond scheme. After dir-
ecting political parties before the Lok
Sabha polls to furnish—in sealed covers—
with the Election Commission details of
funds received through such bonds, the
CJI maintained a stony silence on the
case for the remainder of his term. The
Justice S.N. Dhingra-led panel set up to
inquire into re-opening of cases linked to
the 1984 anti-Sikh riots had submitted its
report to the court—in sealed covers
again—in June and asked for an early
hearing for further directions, but the CJI
never bothered. In June, the CJI-led
bench was requested to hear a matter
Photograph: GETTY IMAGES
related to cases of lynching of Muslims,
but Gogoi remarked that the issue “does
not merit urgent hearing”.
In his last week as CJI, Gogoi undoubt-
edly gave some historic judgments—inc-
luding the one that decreed the Ram
Janmabhumi in Ayodhya to god Ram.
However, the Sabarimala review peti-
tions remained unresolved because the
CJI-led Constitution bench, by a 3:2
majority verdict, referred the matter to a
larger bench after citing similar disputes
over faith, gender equality and rights,
despite there being no such reference by
the petitioners.
A little over a year ago, delivering the
Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture,
Gogoi had asserted that “independent
journalists and sometimes noisy judges
are needed to act as the democracy’s first
line of defence”. His actions as CJI per-
haps made him change his mind. O
2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 29
 ISLAND TIES
by Pranay Sharma

T
he search for a “strong leader”
in Sri Lanka had begun in ear-
nest soon after the deadly east-
er Sunday terror attacks. The
Islamic State inspired strikes in
different churches and luxury
hotels in April had killed more than
250 people and crippled the tourism
industry that employed nearly
500,000 Sri Lankans. Furthermore, it
had seriously shaken the confidence of
the nation and ripped open the fis-
sures in a society, prone to long spells
of religious and ethnic strife.
The attacks on Muslim minorities in
different parts of the island soon after
the bombings had only confirmed the
worst fears of sectarian marginalisation.
In addition, the political bickering bet­
ween President Maithripala Sirisena
and Prime Minister Ranil Wickreme­
singhe—including an abortive coup by
the president to get his prime minister
replaced—led to serious policy paralysis
in the administration. More significantly,
revelations in subsequent months that

Friendly Hoots
vital intelligence on the terror attacks
was ignored by the government deepened
the sentiment that the country was being
governed by a totally inept leadership.

The growing frustration drove the des­
ire to urgently look for a leader who could
stabilise the country and restore confi­
dence. In the face of a fractious, bickering
bunch of politicians, numbed by the
shock that some youth was so far sold on
Islamic State’s extremist propaganda as
to kill fellow Lankans, and fearful of more
such attacks to come, the country needed
a boost to flagging morale.
With Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election as
the seventh executive president of Sri
Lanka on November 16, that search
seems to have come to an end. Gotabaya,
termed “terminator” by friends and
family, had been a hero for most Sri
Lankans for having played a key role as
defence minister in bringing an end to
the decades­long ethnic war against the
Tamil Tigers in 2009.
His election may have the effect of
making people hopeful about a safe and
secure future. But, his election victory
will not answer keen questions on his
past conduct, as well as his future plans
for the country, being asked within and
outside Sri Lanka.
Two questions stand out in particular.
In Hambantota
Seeking to iron out all outstanding issues with Sri Lanka,
India will accord a warm welcome to Gotabaya Rajapaksa
One is about the future of religious and
ethnic minorities in Sri Lanka. Will the
new government make them equal
stakeholders in the country’s future
growth and development or will it
marginalise them further? It remains a
key area of concern.
The second question is over the possible
relation the new government in Colombo
will have with the two big powers in the
China’s footprint in Sri
Lanka is a challenge, but
it’s a reality India has
begun to accept as it
draws lines it expects
Colombo to respect.
neighbourhood—India and China. Both
countries have big stakes in Sri Lanka’s
future; consequently, relations between
them and the Rajapaksa presidency is of
vital importance.
“Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a person India
can do business with,” says India’s for­
mer high commissioner to Sri Lanka
Ashok Kantha. Much of his confidence
stems from past experience of dealing
with him as defence minister nearly a
decade back and also the key role he
played subsequently in his elder bro­
ther Mahinda Rajapaksa government
until it was ousted from power, ostensi­
bly with Indian help, in 2014.
But despite the initial strain between
the Mahinda Rajapaksa government and
that of PM Narendra Modi, both sides had

30 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019


done a course correction. Modi now
wants to have good relations with who­
ever rules Colombo. As part of this policy,
he had reached out to Gotabaya and con­
gratulated him on his victory even before
the results of the presidential elections
were formally announced.
To drive the point home that India was
really committed to strong ties with Sri
Lanka, Modi sent Union external affairs
minister S. Jaishankar to Colombo to
convey his message and invite the newly­
elected president to visit Delhi.
Gotabaya also reciprocated Modi’s
gesture, readily accepting the invitation,
and maintaining the established con­
vention of making New Delhi his first
foreign stop soon after assuming office.
Gotabaya is scheduled to come to Delhi
on November 29.
Symbolism, however, plays an impor­
tant role in diplomacy only to a degree.
Other contentious issues, and the way
they are allowed to play out, depends on
mature leadership. Indications suggest
that during the newly­elected Sri
Lankan president’s visit, conversations
between him and Modi will help pave
the way for the future course of bilateral
relations across the Palk Strait.
Then, there is the dragon in the room.
China’s growing footprint in Sri Lanka
Supporters
of Gotabaya
Rajapaksa at
a rally in
Homagama,
near Colombo;
below, EAM
S. Jaishankar
meets
Rajapaksa in
Colombo after
his poll victory
AP
remains a challenge, points out Kantha.
But that is a reality that India has
begun to accept, even as it draws the
red lines it expects neighbours like
Colombo not to cross. In the past, Sino­
Lankan relations became a prickly
issue for New Delhi, forcing it to ret­
hink Mahinda Rajapaksa’s reliability as
a partner. This happened particularly
when the Lankan government had allo­
wed a Chinese submarine to dock at
the Hambantota harbour.
But that was a phase in India­Colombo
relations that both countries in subse­
quent years were keen to forget. Mah­
PTI
inda Rajapaksa had made his peace with
India with subsequent visits to New
Delhi, through meaningful engage­
ments with Modi.
Some experts point out that the
Chinese factor is often over­blown in
the Indian media. While China’s stakes
in Sri Lanka had risen in recent years,
with heavy investments in a number of
key infrastructure development pro­
jects, there is also realisation in both
Colombo and Beijing that without
India’s active participation such mega
projects may not be viable.
The recent phase in improved Sino­
Indian ties may also help the two coun­
tries to iron out differences and embark
on a cooperative arrangement which can
be beneficial to them as well as Colombo.
T
He status of the embittered Tamil
minority in Sri Lanka and their fut­
ure in the country under Gotabaya
Rajapaksa is an area of concern that
many politicians in Tamil Nadu has alr­
eady red­flagged with the Indian PM.
Gotabaya’s victory was dependent heavily
on the support from the Sinhala­Buddhist
majority and despite his attempt to reach
out to both the Tamils and Muslims, the
minority voters stayed away from rallying
behind him. This fact only deepens the
growing concern about the minority
group’s future.
But the largest absence that stalks the
room is Mahinda Rajapaksa and the
role that he may play in Sri Lankan aff­
airs. There is speculation that he may
be the next prime minister of the
country. But when that happens is a
matter of conjecture among observers
of Sri Lankan affairs.
But the big question remains whether
Mahinda, if elected premier, will
remain content playing second fiddle to
his younger brother’s executive presi­
dency. Or whether he will make his wide
popularity among the Sinhala popula­
tion to bring about the required amend­
ments in the Lankan constitution,
making the prime minister in charge of
affairs in Sri Lanka.
But these are in the realms of specula­
tion for now. How the new disposition
rules the island­nation will definitely
be an area of interest for many in South
Asia and beyond the shores of the
Indian Ocean. In the highly contested,
global interest point of the Indo­Pacific,
Sri Lanka has its own part to play. O
2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 31

They Shrunk the Pie
Falling domestic consumption cuts deep into Indian manufacturing
by Lola Nayar
O
ver the past two years, Shyam
Saran (name changed), manag-
ing director of a construction-
related manufacturing com-
pany in the National Capital
region, says his firm has had to
lay off 150 workers due to slowdown
in demand for commercial properties
and residential projects except in some
IT pockets in cities like Pune, Hydera-
bad and Bangalore. “At least 10-15
decent-size companies are affected by
any slowdown in our business,” says
Saran, adding that his company has
witnessed a nearly 120 per cent drop
in turnover over a couple of years.
“Our outstanding payment due from
the market is currently equal to our
turnover, making for a tight squeeze
on the finances.” The worry for people
like Saran today is about how to sus-
tain operations and not just profits.
V.K. Singh, director, Camson Bio Tech-
32 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
SLOWNESS
nologies, says payment cycles have risen
rapidly over the past few years. As farmers
are its principal clients, from an earlier
credit period of 90 days, the listed com-
pany that manufactures bio-fertiliser and
biocides has been forced to extend the
grace period to 120 days, then 180 days,
and now 365 days. “The cycle of payments
of outstanding dues is increasing such
that you are caught in a vicious cycle.
Either I forego all the outstanding into
the market or keep building it all on
papers,” says Singh, who is also Delhi
state board chairman of the All India
Manufacturers Organisation (AIMO).
The scene is so dismal that micro
industries, which are supposed to be
getting support from the large and med-
ium sector companies, are not getting
it. According to government policies,
companies should get payments in 90
days, but many in the construction sector
are in deep trouble not only because of
economic slowdown, but also inordinate
delay in government payments. Many
GETTY IMAGES
companies in the infrastructure sector
have not been paid for over six months.
Manufacturing output data for Sept-
ember shows a shrinkage to 4.3 per cent,
the worst showing since the present se-
ries was launched in April 2012. Indi-
cating deepening economic slowdown, 17
of the 23 industrial groups in the manu-
facturing sector contracted during the
month. The major sectors included min-
ing, bars and rods of alloys and stainless
steel, auto parts, commercial vehicles and
two-wheelers.
Anil Bhardwaj, secretary general of the
Federation of Indian Micro and Small &
Medium Enterprises (FISME), stresses
that slowdown in manufacturing is dir-
ectly related to slowdown in consump-
tion. According to recent data, domestic
consumption is at the lowest level in the
past 40 years. “There will always be some
lag between manufacturing slowdown
and consumption slowdown as the indus-
tries will keep producing goods only to
realise that they are not being sold, as
 S LOW NES S
seen in the case of cars, many white goods,
equipment, food stuff and so on, with
unsold inventories piling up. Unlike cars
and white goods, the lag will be shorter in
case of food stuff as they have a shorter
shelf­life. By and large, the consumption
pattern is showing its impact on produc­
tion. Our exports are also contracting as
we have more or less remained in the
same position as five years back. So it is a
double whammy,” says Bhardwaj.
There are two categories of manufac­
turers: end­product manufacturers,
which are invariably large­scale enter­
prises, and their suppliers—component
manufacturers, which are micro, small
and medium enterprises (MSME). Three
major events in the past few years have
had a major impact on manufacturing—
demonetisation, GST and economic
slowdown in the country and globally.
“D
EMOnETISATIOn crippled the
MSME sector, which impacted the
large­scale units. The slowdown
further impacted large­scale enter­
prises, which in turn impacted MSME.
In the last three years, we have been
witnessing bottom to top failure and top
to bottom failure,” says former AIMO
president K.E. Raghunathan, citing the
example of the Hyundai Motors unit in
Chennai, which is surrounded by about
400 ancillary MSME units. “During dem­
onetisation, the small and medium enter­
prises were affected and could not meet
their commitments, but the large players,
which had three to six months of stocks,
faced no problem. And when they were
hit around one­and­a­half years later, it
choked all the ancillary units again”
Industry experts say several major
industrial hubs have been hit, including
those in Tamil nadu, Maharashtra,
Punjab, Gujarat, Karnataka and the nCR.
Over the past few years, around 40 to 50
per cent manufacturing units have shif­
ted from manufacturing to trading,
while around 30­35 per cent units, par­
ticularly in the MSME sector, have shut
down, according to the last industrial
survey done by AIMO. “now every day
we are hearing that some unit or the
other has shut down or cut down produc­
tion,” says Singh, who oversees AIMO
members’ activities in five states. Exp­
erts say many manufacturing industries
are continuing operations to help the
supporting industries and units, given
their long associations.
34 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
Shashikant Hegde, director and CEO,
Projects Today, which tracks invest­
ments in key sectors, says that while
fresh investment in the manufacturing
sector increased by 35.09 per cent during
the 2015­16 fiscal year on a year­on­year
basis, fresh flow of investment declined
by 10.2 per cent and 7.15 per cent, respec­
tively, in the next two years. Thereafter,
during the 2018­19 fiscal year, the sector
recorded 81.4 per cent growth due to
announcement of 65 mega projects
(investment of Rs 1,000 crore or more).
These projects were spread across
sub­sectors like refinery, petrochemi­
cals, cement, metals, automobiles and
machinery. Most of the mega projects
were by private promoters.
“The growth story stopped within a
year, and the first half of the fiscal FY20
(April­Sept 2019) saw fresh investment
proposals shrinking once again. As
against Rs 1,82,073 crore announced in
H1 of FY19, only Rs 77,199 crore was
announced in H1 of FY20, indicating a
fall of 57.6 per cent,” says Hegde.
While the fall in investment in FY17
“It’s a double whammy.
Consumption pattern is
showing its impact on
production. Exports are
also contracting.”
Anil Bhardwaj
Secretary General, FISME
HARD TIMES
Camson Bio
Technologies
and FY18 could be attributed mainly to
the aftereffects of demonitisation, GST
and twin balance sheet issue, the steep
fall of 57 per cent in the H1 of FY20 is
more due to the continuous slowdown
witnessed in the economy and shrinking
demand, adds Hegde.
D.K. Srivastava, chief policy advisor, EY
India, feels the fiscal stimulus announced
by the government so far has had no eff­
ect on the economy. “The slowdown is
being witnessed across different indus­
trial sectors, including both consumer
durables and non­durables and capital
goods. Capacity utilisation is at a very low
level of about 50 to 70 per cent. Except
for a brief respite in October, when we
witnessed some pickup because of the
festive season, I don’t see any pickup in
demand or improvement in capacity
utilisation,” says Srivastava, pointing to
the fact that as the global scenario is also
becoming worse by the day, any pickup in
exports is not foreseen even as the dom­
estic demand components are extremely
weak. “I don’t see a pickup in the next one
or two quarters, and even after that, the
pickup will happen only if we are able to
introduce a strong fiscal stimulus by
injecting purchasing power into the sys­
tem, with the government undertaking
large infrastructure projects focused on
capital expenditures that may involve
some fiscal deficit slippage.”
Despite government policies and
schemes, the manufacturing sector is in
a very unfortunate state right now. A
view shared by many is that there is a
policy paralysis in identifying issues that
is seeing a shift away from manufactur­
ing and taking corrective steps at the
government level. The result is that
schemes such as Startup India, Skill
India, Digital India and Make in India
have all failed to achieve their objectives
and make domestic industries adapt and
become more competitive. O
 hours in the life of RUSKIN BOND, writer

Heeding The Cry, ‘Au

40 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

thor, Author’
Photographs: JITENDER GUPTA

by Syed Saad Ahmed in Landour

T
HE mist has obscured the steep lanes of
Landour, but finding our destination is not diffi­
cult. Every bystander knows Ivy Cottage. As we
climb the fabled 22 red steps to this literary pil­
grimage spot of sorts, a lone guinea pig heralds
our arrival with gleeful wheeks. We are ushered into a room
where the walls seem to be made of books.
It feels inappropriate to have roused one of India’s most pop­
ular authors from a nap, but Ruskin Bond is exceedingly gra­
cious. “By nature, I am lazy,” he confesses. That is an
astonishing admission for a man who has written over 130
books in seven decades and ferve­
ntly hiked the Himalayas. At 85, his
strolls have ceased, but his pen is as
facile. “Earlier, I used to walk a lot
and that would inspire ideas. But

BOND SAYS HE
even now, I don’t have problems
finding things to write about. The

WAS MORE AN
older you get, the more experiences
you have. Besides, I remember
many things I had forgotten.” He

OBSERVATIONAL has crystallised some of these recol­

lections in his newest memoir—

WRITER THAN AN Coming Round the Mountain, that

recounts his school days in Shimla

IMAGINATIVE ONE. against the backdrop of Partition.  

Bond has been chronicling his life

“I COULD MAKE for decades—his diary transmuted

into his first novel, The Room on the

THE MUNDANE Roof, published when he was 17. He

maintains two notebooks—one for

INTERESTING.”
observations and another by his
bedside to record dreams. He sha­
res one he had last night: “I went to
bed with an earache and dreamt
that I visited a doctor for some issue
with my eyes. He put me on a
stretcher and immediately started
operating, after which he asked me if I was feeling better. I re­
plied, ‘But doctor, the problem is in my ear, not eyes’.” 
Despite the years, Bond believes his writing hasn’t changed
drastically. “I guess I am more fluent now. The other day I
picked up my first book and thought, my goodness, I was obses­
sed with semi­colons! I used to get carried away with descrip­
tive passages and emotions, but now am more detached.”
Reflecting on his oeuvre, he says he was more an observational
writer than an imaginative one: “I was neither inventive, nor
good at plots, but could make the mundane interesting.”

2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 41

 hours
He mostly wrote on a typewriter, but it gives him a stiff neck
now. “I have reverted to pen and paper,” he says. “My publish­
ers don’t complain; I guess my handwriting isn’t bad.” Indeed.
As he flips his latest manuscript, I can’t help but admire how
every squiggle and flourish flows in orderly lines. His desk in
his bedroom is packed with books and manuscripts, with just
a corner consigned for work. Bond sits and writes on his
bed. “It’s convenient. When I get tired, I can fall into a
nap,” he laughs. A small Ganesha lords over his writings.
Sunlight drapes the cosy room through arched windows,
which affords an unimpeded view of Pari Tibba (Witch’s Hill),
a prominent—and haunted—setting for many of his stories; its
forests untouched by the concrete clutter of Mussoorie.
He has been living here for three decades now, with his ado­
pted family—Rakesh and Beena, and their children, Shrishti,
a biotech professional; Siddharth, who designs costumes for
Bollywood and Gautam, a college student. Bond declares that
Gautam “does a bit of writing on strange occult themes”.
He doesn’t have a writing regimen, but these days, a purple
pen is his instrument of choice. “Perhaps it’s because I want to
write purple prose,” he chuckles. “I am not one of those who
have to scribble 1,000 words a day. But I find that the best time
for writing is early in the morning…. I try to write for an hour
before breakfast. I am more alert in the afternoon, when
I do some reading, writing and correspondence.”
The evenings are often devoted to the small screen:
“I roam around on news channels. Not that I am fond of
watching them, but I have to keep myself informed.” Given
the opportunity, he would read newspapers from cover to
cover—matrimonials, comic strips, advertisements et al—but
it’s hard to find one in Landour.  Fun is something Bond always revels in, whether in his books
The television, however, is Bond’s furthest concession to
technology. He does not use computers and trying to operate
a cell phone turned out to be a scarring experience: “Once my
landline was dead and Shrishti bought me a phone. I held it to
my ear and she told me I would have to switch it on first. Then
she said I was holding it upside down. I finally made a call, but
42 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
couldn’t hear anything. ‘The reception is weak inside,’ she
explained. ‘Go to the window…open the window…lean out
of the window.’ And of course, I dropped the phone!”
He also watches sports: “Cricket, football, tennis and those
funny wrestling matches…?” “WWE,” I put in. He then recou­
nts an anecdote of how he had once been mistaken for a wres­
tler at a Delhi TV studio and played along, claiming to be a
trainee sumo wrestler.
Bond has continued the longstanding tradition of meeting
fans at Cambridge bookshop in Mussoorie every Saturday,
and remains a much­thronged speaker at literary festivals.
His idea of a perfect day, though, is sitting on his couch in his
living room with a book in hand. These days, the volume is
most likely to be crime fiction. “I am reading anthologies of
locked­room mysteries and Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a
Train…. I have also been reading a fat book on the French Rev­
olution and Amitav Ghosh’s latest. Every day, I get manuscripts
or self­published books by authors, but I don’t get the time to
go through them.” Collections of short stories and Agatha
Christie paperbacks stand out from his bursting shelves.
But the book he dips into most is the corpulent Oxford
English Dictionary set on his coffee table. “Take a picture of me
reading it. You can say it’s Bond’s favourite book, he’s still
learning words,” he jokes. “Most people refer to the internet,
but here the advantage is that I get a little exercise,” he says as
he flexes the tome. “It’s fascinating to dabble in the history of
words and their origin. You keep discovering new expressions
and new ones keep getting in. I like old words too; I sometimes
resurrect ones that are almost obsolete. The other day, I used
‘rapscallion’ in a story just for fun.”
or in the sundry jobs he took up in his youth—including one
with Thomas Cook where he was fired because he could not
wrap his head around the difference between a twin and dou­
ble bed. A charming raconteur, he is as enrapturing in speech
as in his writing. Now, it’s time to leave—there is a meal to be
had, followed preferably by another nap. O
 hours in the life of VIRENDER SEHWAG, former cricketer
Slow Gathering
Of Life’s Net
by Soumitra Bose
A
S ducks swim, Virender
Sehwag timed the leather
orb. Of the 17,253 interna-
tional runs he scored,
Sehwag’s innate ability to
spank the cricket ball boiled down to pre-
cise hand-eye coordination. Bred on the
grassless and matting pitches of northern
India, Sehwag wasn’t to be restricted in
the ‘V’, meticulously accreting runs like a
Gavaskar. Flouting all grammar books, his
first scoring shot would invariably
screech through point or cover.
After officially mothballing his flan-
nels in 2015, Sehwag’s retains that
immaculate touch. He arrived well
ahead of the scheduled appointment after
inviting Outlook to his school in Jhajjar,
about 35 km from Brigadier Hoshiarpur, on
the way to Rohtak in Haryana. It’s here that
Sehwag now lives his dreams—a second inn-
ings that revolves around children, includ-
ing his sons Aryavir, 12, and nine-year-old
Vedant. This time, though, the copybook
beckons Sehwag: as mentor he will allow
himself no false stroke.
The Virender Sehwag International
School is a two-hour drive from
Chattarpur in south Delhi, where he cur-
rently lives in a sprawling farmhouse.
A smartly dressed Sehwag receives us at
the school reception. The clock strikes
1:30 pm; he demonstrates a keen sense of
timing: “Pehle khana, phir interview (First
lunch, then interview),” he says.
“Cricket has given me everything…. Cricket
continues to give me my bread and butter
and it’s time to give back to society,” Sehwag
says over a lavish vegetarian spread. During
the hour-long conversation, one thing
44 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
emerges—as in his batting so in life, Sehwag
remains free from clutter. “As a cricketer
I have been an entertainer…. Now I enter-
tain with my opinion on TV or social media.
People love to hear the truth. You can’t
be politically correct all the time….”
Sehwag, who turned 41 on October 20,
has seen his life change dramatically. “But
I have never let pressure get the better of
me. I don’t have to attend morning nets!”
he chuckles. Nor is he a votary of the
“early to bed, early to rise” dictum. “I must
get my eight hours of sleep...that’s essen-
tial for a healthy mind,” says Sehwag. His
day typically lasts 16 hours, and starts
around 9 or 10 in the morning.
The fitness regimes of current sport-
spersons also confound Sehwag.
“I find that batsmen and bowlers are
all doing weights…because they have
seen Virat Kohli doing it in Facebook
or Twitter. The rate at which our
young cricketers are getting injured
is alarming,” says Sehwag, adding
that Ganguly, Tendulkar, Laxman or FOREVER
Dravid barely got seriously injured.
Sehwag’s ‘under-control’ waistline MINDFUL OF HIS
reflects his daily regime. “Warm
water with honey gives me a sweet ORIGINS,
SEHWAG WANTS
start to the day; then there is a good
supply of vegetables and milk from
my farm,” he says.
The idea of a residential school
came from his father. “’If you bec- TO GIVE BACK
ome a successful cricketer, build
a school where children can study, TO SOCIETY
stay and play’—my dad’s message
was clear. A lot of time goes to stu- THROUGH HIS
dents at my academies and school.
If one or two can make it to the
IITs, become a famous doctor or
ACADEMY.
play for India, I would have done

some service,” says Sehwag.
Time, in a way, is running out on Sehwag
and his wife for 15 years, Aarti. “Aryavir is
going to be 13 next year…. We spend as
much time as possible with our children.
When I was travelling, I missed them a lot.
A good day usually ends with Kaun Banega
Crorepati or a movie together,” he says.
Extremely active on social media, Sehwag
has over 20 million followers on Twitter
and another 14.2 million on Facebook, but
dreads his sons falling prey to the “evils”
of the digital world. “Mobile phones
only on Sundays and the kids must tell
us what they are watching. Parental guid-
ance is crucial….they must understand that
being Virender Sehwag’s sons don’t give
them any advantage in life and you shall be
punished for any wrongdoing, especially
towards women.”
Such earthily profound philosophy in
the Sehwags perhaps stems from the
cricketer’s rise from a large and joint Jat
family who were grain merchants. The
Photograph: VIVEK TRIPATHI
determination that drove him then still
drives the man who commands a massive
price for media assignments. “There is a
price for my professional time. If you want
Sehwag to speak his mind, you have to pay
me,” he says matter-of-factly, also remind-
ing us that he once did a dengue campaign
for gratis for the Delhi government.
His sons remain the cynosure of his eyes.
“I don’t want to see another Virender
Sehwag in them. They can become a Kohli
or a Pandya or a Dhoni. But they don’t
have to cricketers. They are free to
choose their careers… the bottomline
is to become good human beings. That’s
non-negotiable.”
Sehwag is enjoying life after cricket—a life
dedicated to the welfare of children at home
and at his academy. “I don’t love people
hounding me for photos and autographs.
I have had my time under the sun and
enjoyed it. They say that after death people
remember you very little. So I am living my
life every day. With Generation Next.” O
2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 45
 ARUN JAITLEY:
The founder of
Vivekananda Institute
of Professional Studies
(VIPS), Dr SC Vats, recalls
contribution of the
towering leader
46 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
he untimely demise of Mr Arun Jaitley has
T been variously mourned as passing away
of a political and legal giant, a strategist
par excellence both in the court of law and
in the people’s court, an erudite orator and
above all a great human being. His acts of
benevolence touched many a hearts, about which various
people have mentioned in their remembrances. There was
one aspect, about which not much has been written, that is
how he helped building institutions.
Today Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies
(VIPS), the institution I founded, ranks among the top most
centres of higher education with the state of art facilities.
AN INSTITUTION BUILDER
Thousands of students pass out from here
every year going into the field of law,
media, corporate world, business and IT
sector. They all shall ever remain ever
indebted to Mr Jaitley as but for his efforts
as a lawyer and benevolence as a human
being that this institute today stands.
It was more than a decade back that
the institute had been provided by the
Delhi Development Authority (DDA) a
piece of five acre plot for a hefty sum of
money. Paying the money was not an
issue but the DDA did not come clean on
the site plan and the location of the plot.
We had come to learn that the intent was
to handover to us a plot occupied by a
jhuggi cluster, which would have never
been cleared of the settlement.
We went to the court and the matter
came up before the Delhi High Court.
Our lawyers advised us to hire a senior
advocate for the matter. Our law firm
suggested to us the name of Mr Jaitley.
Till then I had somewhat known Mr
Jaitley but not very intimately.
Nevertheless, I accompanied my lawyer
for briefing; he offered us a cup of coffee,
heard the case and said, “Dr Vats I am
told that your law school is doing very
well; in fact my son refers to the tutorials
which you give to your law students.”
I did not know how to react to his
compliments for the law school. Having
discussed the law school, he told my
lawyer that it would be a long drawn
court battle needing several appearances,
nevertheless he would appear for the in-
stitute. After the first hearing in the
matter, he told his legal clerk that no bills
2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 47

were to be raised as what was at stake was
future of students.
In all there were over 20 appearances
before the High Court; Mr Jaitley would
come from the Supreme Court for each
of them. In case there was a pass over for
some reason like the DDA counsel not
turning up, he would settle down in the
High Court canteen, have cups of coffee
and chat with the lawyers and wait for his
turn before the bench.
There was only one hearing for which
48 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
monumental judgment forcing the DDA
to revise its land allocation policy. Mr
Jaitley’s association with us did not end
with the outcome of the case. From now
on he took keen interest in the develop-
ment of the institute and twice visited the
campus which came up on the plot we
had come to acquire courtesy his legal
acumen and benevolence.
His second visit to the campus was
as Finance Minister, taking time out
from his busy schedule to preside over
the convocation function. In his con-
vocation address his spoke like a true
scholar and equally impressed the fac-
ulty and the students with his knowl-
he did not come as there was a pressing
meeting of the Board of Cricket Control
in India (BCCI) in Mumbai. And then
the day of final argument came. He
spoke with erudition, authority, convic-
tion and aplomb for nearly 45 minutes.
He concluded saying that on this plot
was proposed an educational institution
of eminence and not a five star hotel that
they could be dealt with similar param-
eters by the land allocating authority.
We got relief from the Court. It was a
I AM VERY SURE THAT
MR JAITLEY MUST HAVE
HELPED SEVERAL OTHER
INSTITUTIONS LIKE US TO
OVERCOME OBSTACLES
CREATED BY OBDURATE
SYSTEMS. I CANNOT
SPEAK FOR OTHERS BUT
FOR US HERE AT VIPS HE
SHALL EVER REMAIN A
GUIDING STAR.

edge of the diverse issues.

His last public function too was with
us, a few days before his 66 birthday in
December last year, he agreed to release
a book on photography published by
VIPS. This book titled WIDE ANGLE
showcased the efforts of the students,
faculty and your’s truly. Since he was
recuperating from the kidney transplant
surgery, it was difficult for him to travel
all the way to Pitampura, where our
campus is located. He requested for a
venue in the heart of Delhi. Despite
health restrictions, he came dot on time.
Once again he spoke with similar
affection and enthusiasm for the institu-
tion, which he had helped build. He
spoke about the new areas of education
and how the art of photography opened
just not windows of creativity but also
created opportunities for employment.
He encouraged young minds to move
away from the beaten track of traditional
areas of employment and look for newer
and richer avenues. He was very clear
that evening on what was his vision of
New India, which he together with his
longtime friend and comrade-in-arms
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had got
together to implement.
I am very sure that Mr Jaitley must
have helped several other institutions
like us to overcome obstacles created by
obdurate systems. I cannot speak for
others but for us here at VIPS he shall
ever remain a guiding star. n

(The author is a former MLA and Chairman,

Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies,
GGSIP University, New Delhi)

2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 49

 hours in the life of SUNNY LEONE, actor

Ma Is A Baby Doll
by Giridhar Jha in Mumbai
school. She describes the daily culinary

I
T’S a little after 7 in the morning, exercise as a “personal challenge” as she
the time when Mumbai gradually sifts through new recipes each day, trying
wakes up; the incessant commotion to find something at the intersection of
that typifies the financial capital health and taste for her children.
builds up slowly. Cars slither “Whenever I am at home, I actually love
through the city’s roads, the collective cooking for my children and figuring out
rumble of their engines insinuating to the some kind of way to get the toddlers to eat.
morning walkers that their time is up. In One day they like something and on ano-
this city of who’s who, there are as many ther, they don’t,” she says. Leone kneels
stories as there are ambitions. And among besides Nisha’s seat and tells her some-
these stories is that of actor Sunny thing. The little one giggles, the mother
Leone. Once a star in the US adult bursts into peals of laughter. The kid then
film industry, Leone has made the gorges on the food, as the doting mom
grade in dog-eat-dog Bollywood with
a handful of films. Her journey in India’s
entertainment industry began in 2011
with the popular Indian reality show Bigg
Boss. It was followed with her Bollywood
debut Jism 2. Still one of the most googled
people in the world, Leone’s story is one
of ambition, pursuit, and motherhood.
Inside her house, the appetising smell
of mashed potatoes with spices wafts from
the aloo paranthas sitting on the kitchen
counter. After making a batch of paranthas,
Leone has moved on to prepare eggs. Three ONE OF THE
hungry little mouths are waiting for the
food. The eldest of the three is the four- MOST GOOGLED
year-old girl Nisha Kaur Weber, whom
Leone and her husband Daniel Weber PEOPLE IN THE
adopted; Sunny tied the knot with the
musician about ten years ago. And then WORLD, LEONE’S
there are two toddling sons, Noah and
Asher Singh Weber, who were born STORY IS ONE
OF AMBITION,
through surrogacy in March last year.
Leone wakes up at 5.30 and is already
done with her hour-long workout. Her
life has changed completely after
becoming a mother, she says, “I have MOTHERHOOD,
become a better planner and my days
revolve around the children and work
at the same time. Obviously, my priority
PARANTHAS.
is always my children, but I believe that
I am a better mother when I am working,
believing in my passions and being a mom
at the same time.”
The 38-year-old Bollywood star hardly
gets a breather after the kids are done with
their meals as they have to be rushed to

50 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

heads for a quick shower before dropping
the kids off to their school.
Though surrounded by people from
a mishmash of faiths—she was born in
a Sikh family while her husband is a Jew—
Leone does not follow any particular reli-
gion. However, she insists that her
religious consciousness has been enriched
by the faiths around her, and puts a pre-
mium on spirituality. “I believe in karma
and being good to people. I do what
makes me feel good and what is right
for my children. As far as following a
religion or even god is concerned, my
children know that god loves them and
they are special,” says Leone.
But there is something the actor does
very religiously: dropping the kids off at
school and picking them up herself, every
single weekday. After the kids are left to
doodle and play with blocks, Leone heads
to a meeting that takes about 45 minutes.
Then, she is speeding off to pick her kids
back from school. The children are truly at
the heart of her living. Leone had wanted
to start a family for a long time. But she
thinks it was at an apt time—when her
career had stabilised and she had found
the right better half—that things clicked
and the kids came her way.
Once done school gives over, the kids
are going to an art class today. Art is
the thread that binds the children and
the mother even more inextricably.
Leone has a penchant for paintings,
the evidence of which can be seen in her
living room. Shunting herself
in and out of film
studios and other
engagements,
the Canada-
born actor
 hours
still manages to keep in touch with the
easel and paintbrush. “I paint whenever
I’m free. Plus, I pick activities and crafts
that are done over slow burn. Some of my
creations have taken me as long as a year
to complete. But the satisfaction I derived
out of them is beyond words,” she says, as
she accompanies the kids to their art class.
It’s a little over noon and so much has
already happened in Leone’s day. Early
risers sure get a head start in ways
more than one. She then sweats it out
the next few hours at the dance rehearsal.
In a relaxed moment between breaks, she
breaks into a Punjabi dance, a video of
which she uploads on her Instagram
profile where she has a staggering 28.5
million followers.
Leone, whose roots lies in Punjab, has
no qualms in accepting that it is not easy
to juggle between the roles of a working
woman and a homemaker. But she grins
and says how she loves playing all the
roles—professional, homemaker,
mother and wife. “There are times,
of course, when you are trying to
balance everything and
you cannot; that is
when you reset and
you regroup. I am
very lucky that
I have a wonderful
husband who
supports
everything
I do and want
to do in life. We
reset together and
move forward in life,”
she says. The dance
rehearsal comes to
an end around 4.30
pm and as Leone
is being driven
back home, she
is geared up to
spend the evening
with her kids.
Between dance
rehearsals and sundry
engagements, the actor is
all praise for her husband
who, she says, always rises
to the occasion when it
comes to fatherly duties.
He never fails to wake up
in the middle of the night
and take Nisha, 4, to the
PTI
52 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
washroom, she says. “I am fortunate that
I have a very hands-on husband with our
children and it is not one-sided at all. We
definitely share our duties in taking care
of our children and sometimes there is a
‘No, I want to do this with them’ moment”,
says Leone.
Does she still have friends in the US?
Leone affirms and, in fact, says that she
has more friends there than in India.
But she loves to hang out with the ones
here and doesn’t miss a chance to do so.
“I simply love it and on those days when
I am not working at night, I love to dress
up and go on a night-out with friends or
a date with my husband.”
A
S the family engages in some
casual banter over dinner around
7.30, Leone thinks back of her deci-
sion to relocate and settle in India. “I have
my family, my dog, my house here. I do not
have a home anywhere else. If you count
a vacation home as one, then yes, I have
one in Los Angeles. But my first home
is here in India,” she says.
She speaks passionately about the fact
that she has met so many amazing people
as part of her Bollywood journey so far.
Back at her home, Leone now has the most
challenging task to do—putting the kids
to bed. But the task alone is preceded by
a number of other, if not more, equally
challenging tasks such as giving them
a bath and changing diapers.
The actor confesses that it has been
months since she last went to watch
a movie as it’s a bit of a logistical strain
to make it to the theatre, given her huge
fan following. To compensate, she indulges
herself with movies and television series
at home. “And honestly speaking, I never
disguise myself to dodge attention. I just
pick places that I know are respectful to
anybody who walks in. I want to be as free
as I can be wherever I go,” she says.
With the kids asleep, she gets ready to
venture out for an event. Meanwhile, she
lets us in on a secret; she has something
big coming out, which was on her bucket
list for a long time. “I am right in the mid-
dle of rehearsing for this amazing thing,
but I cannot spill the beans at the
moment. It will be announced very soon.
I cannot wait for people to see what I have
been working on. It has taken immense
hard work, and a lot of time as well, but
I believe it is going to be great.” O
 hours in the life of SIDDIQUE ALI, Brahmaputra boatman

Old Man River

by Abdul Gani in Guwahati

S
IDDIQUE Ali stands on the bow his country boat, silhou-
etted against a flaming orange sky on a November evening.
The placid water of the Brahmaputra shimmers in the last
rays of the setting sun and it’s time for the 61-year-old boatman
to put away his oars for the day—another day ticked off from his
journeys across the mighty river in Assam’s Barpeta district.
“I have been a boatman for more than four decades, and my life
has followed this mighty river’s ebb and flow,” Ali tells
Outlook. “This is my river..this is my journey.”
Ali’s journey begins early in the morning with an inspection
of his small plot of farmland where he grows paddy and corn in
the neighbourhood. Then comes a trip ferrying students across
the river—their school is on the other bank. “I have limited pas-
sengers these days. But I don’t charge from the students. They are
the future. I couldn’t study much but I want the kids of the new
generation to be educated,” he adds.
Passengers travelling to and fro take up most of the time of
his day though it is no longer what used to be before the
swifter and more secure motorised boats became the
preferred mode of travel for many. But during the
monsoon season, there is no proper time-table Ali
can follow. “One fear is from flood and erosion and
then, I must be ready to move any moment to attend
to people in need…during emergencies, they would come
to us to ferry passengers or patients.”

A father of four daughters and five sons, Ali makes sure that
he goes to bed by 9 pm so that he can get up early in the morn-
ing. Another day, another journey. O

Photograph: SURAJIT SHARMA

54 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
 hours in the life of MANISH SISODIA, deputy CM, Delhi
The Portfolio Of
An Aam Aadmi
by Salik Ahmad
I
T’S a bright day and Delhi’s deputy
CM is walking briskly on the tread-
mill at his official residence on
Mathura Road. He has a little more
time to spare today as the ongoing
exams have caused a pause in his routine
of daily school visits. Manish Sisodia, who
holds the education portfolio, besides plan-
ning, finance, tourism and a few others,
makes it a point to visit a school every morn-
ing. Before hitting the treadmill today, the
47-year-old had tea with his wife and
16-year-old son, did a conference call with
AAP workers and went through the news
brief prepared by his media manager.
Soon it’s nine o’clock and the minister
meets a few schoolteachers who have come
to tell him their grievances. “Take photos
of these and send them to me on WhatsApp,”
he tells an assistant, passing him a set of
papers that the teachers gave him. A few
minutes later, his car is speeding on a Delhi
road. Clad in a maroon linen shirt, beige
pants and sandals, he is constantly looking
at his phone and intermittently asking his
personal assistant to dial various
numbers. “I wonder how difficult
governance would have been before
WhatsApp,” he says. “It’s so conven-
ient now. The officer concerned sends me
the document here. I send my comments
also on WhatsApp. He makes the noting
on the hard copy and, when it comes to
my office, I just have to sign it.”
Born in Pilkhuwa village of Uttar Pradesh’s
Hapur district, Sisodia worked with radio
and then television news before becoming
a full-time activist. “There were so many
spots in Noida where my friends and I used
to hang out and have tea. I hardly get the
time for it now. The day-to-day work of gov-
ernance can ruin anybody’s peace,” he says.
58 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
Sisodia arrives at CM Arvind Kejriwal’s
residence for a meeting of AAP’s political
affairs committee. After the meeting, Sisodia
is back in his car, and as it speeds away,
makeshift dwellings of the urban poor can
be seen on the roadside. “This city has
so far been planned only for the influ-
ential,” says the minister. “In the
1990s, the DDA built a lot of flats cost-
ing around Rs 20 lakh each. But where will
those who provide services to these ‘flat
people’ live? Where will the washerman, the
domestic help and the green grocers live?
Ideally, the DDA should have made smaller
flats for Rs 2 lakh too.”
Having lived much of his life in the nat-
ional capital, Sisodia sees it as a city of hope
and opportunity. “There’s something about
this city. It accommodates you, always,” he
says, before directing somebody on the
phone to organise health camps in schools
for girls. A report, which said 60 per cent of
the female students in Delhi’s colleges are
anaemic, prompted the initiative.
Meanwhile, some officials have been wait-
ing for the minister at his chamber in the
Delhi secretariat. A thick file with colourful
tags sticking out is placed on his table. The
officials stand around him, briefing him on
the details of an upcoming incubation
centre. The moment they leave, he presses
a button on his intercom, and says, “The
12.30 meeting, please.” His assistant walks
in and leads him into an adjoining room
where a group of foreigners are sitting
around a round table. Among them is
a waste management expert from London,
a social enterprise worker from Cairo, the
deputy police chief from Ottawa and a public
administrator from Dhaka. Sisodia walks
them through the history of AAP, and his
government’s achievements in the health
and education sectors. Then, as he leaves for
another meeting, an official brings some

papers to him. It’s an MoU. The minister
passes it on to another official, saying,
“Study it and give me a brief next week.”
After the meetings, Sisodia rushes for
DELHI’S DEPUTY an interview organised for TV anchor
Barkha Dutt’s YouTube channel.
CM IS AN AVID A house basement is the venue. Sisodia
and Dutt have an informal chat over tea
FAN OF TV and biscuits while the camera and
lights are being set.
SERIES SUCH
When he is not working, the
minister prefers to spend time with
AS HOUSE OF
family. He is an avid fan of TV series
such as House of Cards, Madam
Secretary and Designated Survivor—all
CARDS AND centred on US politics. The families of
Sisodia and Kejriwal often go to
MADAM cinemas together for an occasional
stress-buster, the minister admits.
SECRETARY. More meetings, and more directions
follow, before the minister proceeds to
conference on children’s literature at
the Urdu Academy. Interrupting the
Photograph: SURESH K. PANDEY
endless bouquet-presenting ceremony,
Sisodia takes the podium to share his
views. “I feel many stereotypes are being
introduced to children through
textbooks. Why is a man dressed in coat
and trousers described as a gentleman?
Why can’t a man in a dhoti be a
gentleman? Now the child of a farmer,
who has always seen his father in
a dhoti, will grow up with a deep
complex,” the minister says.
Soon after his address, the minister
heads again to the CM’s house. A
meeting on the deshbhakti (patriotism)
curriculum—in the pipeline for Delhi
government schools—is scheduled for
the evening. The CM is attending the
meeting too. The consensus is that the
views of students about nationalism
must be sought first.
The minister’s day is not done yet.
A journalist and a few party workers are
waiting for him at his house. O
2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 59
 A Desert Odyssey
Desert Springs Resort in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, provides a
fascinating vista into the magnificently golden, shifting sands of
the Great Indian Desert. It is an unforgettable experience
E
very expression of Nature is exquisite and its breathtaking
expanse invariably inspires a bouquet of poetic expressions.
“In all things of Nature there is something of the marvellous,”
wrote Aristotle and it is pretty much as comprehensive a
summation of Earth’s beauty as man is likely to achieve.
Looking at the golden, undulating sands of Jaisalmer, one of the
most ethereal places in India and one is conscious of a feeling of
peace and deep gratitude at being able to witness such gorgeous
sights, up close and personal. It is, without a doubt, an experience
of a lifetime.
Jaisalmer, often referred to as The Golden City, lies in the heart
of the Thar Desert in the state of Rajasthan. The city stands atop a
ridge of yellowish sandstone which has also been utilise extensively
60 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
in the architecture of the city and the famed Jaisalmer Fort. This
imbues the city with a certain golden-yellow light which, in turn, is
responsible for its famous epithet.
The Thar Desert, also known as The Great Indian Desert, which
surrounds Jaisalmer is the 9th largest subtropical desert in the
world and is home to diverse fauna that includes blackbuck, the
great Indian bustard, partridge and sand grouse. It is full of large
shifting sand dunes which are a fascinating sight.
THE ADVENTURE BEGINS
The best way to arrive at the Thar from Jaisalmer is by road. The
drive is, in many ways, akin to a meditative session because sitting
in a vehicle moving through vast seas of shifting sands on either side
 can transport you to a state that is almost Zen-like.
Arriving at the Desert Springs Resort, an oasis of
luxury amidst the flawless sand dunes and one of
the finest places to enjoy the magnificence of Thar,
one is greeted by colourfully bedecked camels.
After a true Rajasthani royal welcome, it is time
for a camel ride to enjoy at spectacular Jaisalmer
sunset. The perfectly sculpted sand dunes come
alive in a profusion of colour as the setting sun
imbues the land with a kaleidoscopic dimension. It
is absolutely unforgettable – the orange sky above
and the golden sand beneath. It is like sitting in the
middle of a painting created by a master.

A ROYAL SPREAD
The state of Rajasthan has a tradition of royalty
that permeates every aspect of its life. Culinary
delights are one of them. At Desert Springs Resort,
the gastronomical spread transports us back in
time to a royal tradition with a programme called
Jhankaar-Fun and Food Zone. An irresistible
combination of the best of Rajasthani and global
cuisines served under a starlight sky and amazing
folk performances by local artists, this is one of the
aspects of the soul of Rajasthan and it is amazing.

DOWN TO BUSINESS
To all those who believe that one cannot mix
business with pleasure, Desert Springs Resort
would beg to differ. There is a conference hall
for corporate offsites called the Baithak which
provides all the facilities for group discussions and
meetings. At the Baithak, audio visual equipment
"At Desert and internet connectivity are made available on
Springs request and it provides a fantastic atmosphere
Resort, the to brainstorm about the future success of your
gastronomical enterprise.

spread AN OASIS OF PLENTY

transports us Desert Springs Resort creates a bouquet of services
back in time for its patrons exclusively created to make them
to a royal feel welcome in one of the most beautiful parts
tradition with of the world. Welcome drinks on arrival, evening
a programme hi-tea or coffee with snacks and fabulous slices of
culture, this is an experience in close harmony with
called nature which will always glitter in our memory like
Jhankaar-Fun the million stars that light up the Thar sky. n
and Food
Zone" Book your holidays online now
Call +91 9001890577, 9928688777
www.desertsprings.in

2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 61

 hours in the life of RAVISH KUMAR, TV anchor

by Salik Ahmad

Namaskar, S
ITTING above news crawlers and tick-
ers, within the confines of the TV
screen, Ravish Kumar appears an aver-
age man, belying his height and phy-

Main
sique. Kumar, 47, is one of the country’s
foremost news anchors and hosts NDTV India’s
flagship show, Prime Time. His Facebook page
alone has over 1.4 million followers. The anchor is

Ravish
loved and reviled with almost equal ferocity. Fan
mail and abuse, at times even life threats, fly at
him frequently.
Clad in a black T-shirt and track pants,
he is sitting in his living room one fine morning,

Kumar... glancing at the newspaper, his grey hair still slick

from the bath. As his gaze reaches the headline,
‘No slowdown, say Amazon and Flipkart’, he
emits a sigh, “Achchha bhai, nahin hoga phir
(All right, if you say so),” then sips from the
glass of chirayta (a herb) water sitting next
to him. Keeps the tummy fixed, he says.
His three-bedroom apartment is full of life—
stained sofas, wind chimes, a refrigerator adorned
with fridge magnets, framed photos of puffy new-

62 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019


borns, plaques and books. Phone in hand,
Kumar scrolls through his Twitter and
Facebook timelines, before going through
the messages. His phone number is widely
available and at times becomes the bane of
his existence. But it also helps him keep
an ear to the ground.
“Sir, I am big fan of yours. I am coming
from Patna to meet you. All I want is to hug
you for two minutes and cry,” he reads out
a message on his phone. A request for a
two-minute meeting seems harmless, unless
there are 200 of them pouring in everyday.
The doorbell rings and the domestic help
attends to the door. “There’s a carpenter,”
she says. “Carpenter? I did not call any. Ask
her (his wife) if she placed a request for one,”
Kumar’s voice is soaked with suspicion. His
eyes do not leave the entrance until the help
confirms that his wife had indeed called the
carpenter. The death threats keep him
constantly on his guard. Between this
moment and that, between a demigod sta-
tus and a perennial scare, lives
Ravish Kumar.
Photographs: TRIBHUVAN TIWARI
He drives an eight-year-old car that has
never failed him, he says, and doesn’t want
a new one on loan at least. “Loan le
ke herogiri karna theek nahin lagta (I’m
not for living a lavish lifestyle supported
by EMIs),” he adds. A guard in charcoal
safari-suit is riding shotgun. After the
Delhi police rescinded his security in
September this year his office arranged
private security for him.
Bob Dylan is a favourite of Kumar. You
must listen to this one, he says, and plays
Blowin’ in the Wind. He hums to it, tapping
his fingers on the steering wheel. The ele-
vated view from a flyover pushes him into
a more reflective mode. “When we had time,
this city seemed so beautiful. Now it looks
like one huge office,” he says. “If this is how
life’s meant to be, then the concept of homes
must be abolished. Everybody should
be given compartments in the office.”
A native of Motihari in Bihar, Kumar did
his schooling in Patna before migrating to
Delhi in the early nineties for higher studies,
and subsequently work. The conversation
2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 63

inevitably wheels towards the state of jour-
nalism in the country. “It’s so hurtful. The
profession to which we gave our lives has
come to such a sorry state,” he laments,
“Some Modi supporters call me
a traitor for my criticism of the government.
Believe me, these people are going to need
independent media the most in future.
Because when they’ll face real issues and ask
the godi media to raise them, they’ll
be shooed away. And by god, there’ll
be only a few who have loved this
country as much as I do.”
Kumar wants to be remembered as
somebody who kept walking. “And
BOB DYLAN IS while I’m alive, I’d like to live with
fewer things around,” he says.
A FAVOURITE. The significance of fewer things
is realised when you walk into
AS BLOWIN’ the yoga centre that Kumar visits
everyday. The room is bare, except
IN THE WIND for a mat placed alongside a wall—his
daily yoga sesions lasts an hour.
PLAYS ON THE Kumar has spent his entire jour-
nalistic career, spanning almost a
CAR STEREO, quarter of a century, at NDTV. He
doesn’t say what he feels for NDTV,
KUMAR HUMS
but when he’s there it seems he’s in
his natural habitat. The ease in his
demeanour is evident. People don’t
THE TUNE. throng to look at him, or ask for self-
ies here. His chamber is crouched
under stairs, towards the corner of a
floor. He shares it with two col-
leagues from his team. About 50
postcards of fan mail wait at his desk.
“Ye return hai boss (This is the ret-
urn for your work),” he tells his team.
One person has written requesting an aut-
ograph; he has enclosed a blank envelope
with address and stamp on it. One person
from Jharkhand has sent an Urdu couplet.
. Some have sent fervent congratulations for
.
. 64 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
the Ramon Magsaysay award he was feted
with recently. There are other letters too.
People from far-off places have written
about issues ranging from power cuts to
poor roads to recruitment. Meanwhile, a
bunch of people from Old Delhi is visiting
him, and insists that he joins them for a
sumptuous dinner someday. He refuses pol-
itely. “Dinners, weddings, birthdays, people
want me to come for all kinds of events.”
Around 3 pm, he steps up a gear and starts
handing out directions to his team, get-me-
this, get-me-that. His tone gets a notch
sterner and more serious, “I want the expe-
rience of protesters, not their issue, stay
focused.” The day’s Prime Time will be on
citizens making hashtags trend on Twitter
as a means of protest. Kumar is making calls,
filtering relevant messages on his WhatsApp
chat, and telling protesters to send videos.
In times of resource-strapped media func-
tioning—news organisations are increas-
ingly cutting down on reporters and travel
expenses—Kumar relies on subjects pitch-
ing in. Once the story’s wireframe is ready,
he starts writing down the script of his show,
in Devanagri. Slouched in his office chair in
the cramped office, he begins with the words
“Namaskar, main Ravish Kumar …”, words
that have attained almost a scriptural dim-
ension, given the profound resonance and
immense character they’ve found among
a large section of Indians.
About 15 minutes before the clock strikes
nine, he rises from his seat and tidies his
desk—tears several papers, stacks the ones
to retain, arranges the books in a neat pile,
and puts his belongings into his bag. As he
puts a plaque presented by colleagues in the
bag, he’s reminded of his daughter’s warn-
ings, “She told me to not bring more items
to the house. I’m going to get an earful.”
The studio is on another floor. Inside, it’s
cold and quiet. About half-a-dozen cameras
stand mounted on heavy tripods. He takes
the seat behind the arc-shaped white and
purple desk, plugs the earpiece, and exc-
hanges pleasantries with those from the
production desk.
Once the camera is rolling, the cameraper-
son revolves away from the device and starts
watching the show on a mute television set
in the studio. Once again, the tall journalist
has been dwarfed by the screen and shrunk
by the crawlers and the tickers.
Ravish Kumar is what the screen makes
him: it is what reduces him; it is what
enlarges him. O
 hours in the life of TANMOY BOSE, percussionist

Bol Paran Periods

by Rushati Mukherjee in Calcutta

“L
OOK,” says tabla virtu-
oso Pandit Tanmoy
Bose, slowly moving his
index finger along the
rim of a half-filled glass
of water, “listen to what happens”. I prick
up my ears, and a piercing, whistling
sound rings out. I’m flabbergasted—it
seems almost magical, and when I try my
fingers at it, I fail miserably. Pandit Bose
bursts out laughing. “You need to practise
a bit!” he says, adding, “Do it at the right
frequency, and that glass will shatter.” 
The exchange sums up the experience
of spending time with Bose, one of India’s
foremost percussionists. Warm and brim-
ming with knowledge, the maestro guides
me through the routine of a day in his life
as through the story of his life. 
Bose’s home is near the noisy Gariahat
area of Calcutta. One cuts through the
noise Puja shoppers, past expansive haw-
kers, and enters, through wrought-iron
gates, a quiet, bluish-grey building com-
plex. It was built on the same patch of land
where the garden of Bose’s old family
home, and seems to radiate the air of ver-
dant tranquillity the garden must have had.  shelves; a soft carpet muffles noise;
Bose welcomes me on the top floor with
Bonnya, his wife, and their golden
retriever, Pogo, by his side. The spacious
room is adorned with colourful patachitra
motifs on a pillar and bright lotus flowers
painted on the walls, where hang myriad
instruments from around the world.
“This is the paglamo (madness) of my wife
and I,” he laughs.  practise for an hour every day
When he is not on tour, Bose’s day begins
by watering the plants on his terrace, with
Pogo by his side. Hibiscus, butterfly peas,
bougainvillea and jasmine, including the
Bengali festive favourite, shiuli, stand in
rows against the parapet. He is an early riser,
preferring to be out of bed by 6; he has to
have either a cup of tea or a special blend of
coffee brewed by Bonnya first thing in the
morning. Then, it’s time for riyaaz.
We sit at a small and cosily furnished
IN BOSE’S
STUDIO ROOM,
ELVIS AND
MARILYN RUB
SHOULDERS
WITH
RAJASTHANI
DOLLS.
studio room next to the living room in the
apartment; it is small and cozily furnished;
books about Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and
Satyajit Ray, among others, line the
Rajasthani dolls hang from the curtain
rod. But, for the most sacred part of an
artist’s routine, he prefers to retire to the
old house. His riyaaz happens in a tiny
room with a set of grilled doors, on the
mezzanine floor, reached by a tightly
turning staircase. He has been using
it from his school days. “I had to
before getting ready for school,” he
says—a routine involving rising at 4.30 am
every morning for over a decade.
Tradition combines with a sharp sense of
globalism in Bose’s music, which is heavily
fusion-oriented. From the beginning of his
career in the 1990s, he has absorbed a vast
range of music to assimilate into his own
art, rather like a magpie. He prefers popu-
lar culture to the classical tradition when
it comes to Western music, choosing

66 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

 Photographs: SANDIPAN CHATTERJEE

Belafonte and the Beatles over Bach; an his own albums, as part of a collaboration,
ardent fan of Bob Marley and the Wailers or for a feature film or TV show: “I enjoy
and rasta, jazz and the blues, he loves taking my time to explore and experi-
Mickey Hart, Buddy Rich, Pete Lockett ment,” he says.
and Terry Bozzeo. Fusion artists like Bose was initially a singer, but when he
Trilok Gurtu, Sivamani, Taufiq Qureshi was around 10, his voice was affected by
and Ranjit Barot are inspirations.  a bout of pharyngitis. He always played the
“Indian classical music will always have its tabla to learn how to maintain loy, or rhy-
own place, but this mix-and-match person- thm. Soon, he shifted to percussion full-
ality of contemporary music is attractive to time. Fortunately, he had renowned gurus
youngsters,” he says. “To stay relevant, you like Pt Kanai Dutta and Pt Shankar Ghosh.
have to look for this element of attraction Crucial, too, were the musicians he wor-
and make it your own.”  ked with—especially Pandits Munawar Ali
It is time for Bose to head to the studio to Khan, V.G. Jog, Ravi Shankar and Amjad
record along with his band Taal Tantra for Ali Khan—who nurtured his talent. 

2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 67

 hours
His long-time association with Ravi
Shankar made a deep impact on Bose. He
speaks of the elder Shankar reverently,
remembering him as a generous, im-
mensely humble man whose teachings in
music and life he will carry with him for-
ever. “I spent eight months a year touring
with him throughout North America and
Europe for 14 years, playing with him at
Concert for George, at the Hollywood
Bowl and at his final concert at Long
Beach in California, in 2012, where he per-
formed with an oxygen cannula, were
some of my proudest moments,” he says.
He lavishes praise on Anoushka Shankar
as a person, musician and performer, call-
ing her a ‘shrutidhar’—one who can play
a tune simply by listening to it. 
To Bose, who has benefitted from the
tutelage of so many, teaching comes natu-
rally. Much of his afternoons are spent in
the ground-floor classroom in his old
house: lined with a colourful carpet, deco-
rated with giant drums. Pictures of Bose’s
performances hang on the walls, including
one with Dhani Harrison, Richard Gere
and the Dalai Lama.
Anushka Nandan, a class 10 student and
Pubarun Basu, who reads English
Honours, have been Bose’s shishyas for
long. When they begin playing, their
enjoyment in the music is palpable: they
smile at each other and at their instructor.  with his pupils Anushka and
B
OSE is especially supportive of
female tabalchis such as Anushka,
given that few parents allow girls
to take up the tabla. “It’s a simple question
of a mindset change,” says Bose, as he
exhorts Anushka to keep up the energy
and use more force. He is also deeply
involved with the teaching of many
specially-abled children, with whom
he recently organised a performance at
Calcutta’s Indian Council For Cultural
Relations (ICCR). “It’s like therapy
for those children—even the bol helps
them to overcome issues such as speech
difficulties,” he says proudly.  As our day wanes, I ask him if he could
During rehearsals, which, for him, often
take place at the close of the day, Bose’s
band members enjoy jamming together,
exploring new sounds and discovering
new rhythms and variations, building
up the chemistry that is so crucial to a
good performance. They also appear to
goof around; as sessions wind up, occa-
68 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
sionally bullying new members into foot-
ing enormous bills for team dinners. 
Evenings are the quietest times in Bose’s
day; he spends it mostly playing with Pogo,
chatting with Bonnya, drinking coffee and
watching movies (Hachiko being a par-
ticular favourite). Now that Bonnya is at
home more regularly, working as a music
curator rather than a corporate employee,
the two unwind together in relative peace.
Until about eight years ago, this was not
the case. Intensive rehearsals would be
IN A DAY Top, Tanmoy Bose followed by the arrival of notables
from the city’s arts and culture cir-
Pubarun in his classroom; cuit for typically Calcuttan adda
above, playtime with Pogo, sessions—starting at 9 or 10 pm,
his golden retriever they would go on till 3 in the morn-
ing. The new timetable brings a kind of
discipline, but it is not without its faults.
“Now I’m in bed by 11 pm, and my friends
make fun of me!” he says ruefully.
The strictures of routine are non-binding
though, given the frequency with which
Bose travels; the day after we speak, he sets
out on a brief US tour. He enjoys deman-
ding schedules, finding something to love
everywhere: his love for Japanese cuisine,
for example, led to his restaurant, Wasa-
bee—one of Calcutta’s first Asian diners.
spend a day with someone, who would it
be? “Panditji,” he replies instantly, refer-
ring to Ravi Shankar. But what about
someone he has never met? He bursts out
laughing, and then says, “Uttam Kumar.
The man was one of the greatest actors of
his generation...any generation. None can
ever match up to his stature.” O
 hours in the life of GOPINATH MUTHUKAD, magician

Passion-Fruit Mojo
by Siddharth Premkumar
in Thiruvananthapuram

W
ITH the top hat, ’tache
and three-piece, Gopinath
Muthukad almost looks
straight out of a Lee Falk
comic panel. “Sorry,
I didn’t bring my cape,” Kerala’s most
famous magician says. The late-noon
throng of school kids doesn’t care. As the
meme goes, not all heroes wear
one. And, anyway, Muthukad is
more David Copperfield than
Mandrake. Like the illusionist
icon, he operates in the gulf between
science and superstition. His currency:
vismayam. Wonder.
Right now, he’s operating on two hours
of sleep. The showman’s ease fine-tuned
over a decades-long career—some 8,000
stages in over 50 countries—barely masks
the toll of a red-eye flight. But the show
must go on. And today’s was important—
both as culmination and vindication of six
months of work and years more of

IT WAS A
HOUDINI TRICK,
THE FIRE
ESCAPE ACT,
THAT MADE
MUTHUKAD
A CELEBRITY
IN 1995.
Photographs: P. HEMANTH

70 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

 hours
planning. Students of Muthukad’s
Different Art Centre—a project to nurture
the talents (magical and otherwise) of
differently-abled children—have put up a
spirited, non-stop, hour-long magic show.
It’s all Muthukad can talk about. “They
are going to be featured in India Book
of Records,” he beams. In an office
space chock-full of honours and pae-
ans to hard work, including the Mer-
lin award he won in 2011, becoming, after
his one-time guru P.C. Sorcar Jr, only the
second Indian to win the Oscar of Magic,
this latest feather-in-the-cap fits right in.
“Magic is a kala and a shastram, perhaps
the only one that is both. And as such, it
can be learned through practice,” says
Muthukad, the biggest thing to come out
of Nilambur, Malappuram district, since
teak. So ‘vanishing’ the odd elephant or
state minister is not mass hypnotism?
“More like misdirection: smoke and mir-
rors, tone of voice, body language, visual
cues and hand gestures... I have never
claimed to have powers,” he laughs. Still,
it takes some serious training to pull one
over on audiences itching to call a magi-
cian out on any ‘hokum-pocus’. “What,
being handcuffed, bound in chains and
locks, feet tied together, and hung upside
down from a tree for hours on end? It took
nearly two years to work my way down
from needing three hours to free myself
to doing it in under a minute,” he says.
“And I’m no spring chicken anymore,”
the 55-year-old adds.
Age, and the accompanying diminish-
ments, has mandated this tonal shift. As
has fatherhood, but also other responsi-
bilities: as the hands-on founder of the
Academy of Magical Sciences—the 1996-
built school in Thiruvananthapuram
likened to Hogwarts—his Santini-
ketan, a Rs 15-crore ‘edutainment’
park on the city outskirts. It turned
five on October 31: Halloween to some,
but to magicians, the day Houdini died.
As we undertake a brisk walking tour of
the park (to make up for the missed daily
morning jog), taking in such traditional
Indian magic forms as the rope trick and
even Kerala’s own Green Mango Tree
trick (an elaborate show involving the
coaxing of a fruit-bearing tree out of
a mango seed), Muthukad is in his ele-
ment. “The tragedy of street magic is how
easily it is dismissed as trivial,” he says.
72 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
The real magic was how he got out of WONDER MAN
a dearth of opportunities and worsening Gopinath Muthukad
finances that drove him to attempt sui- with children after
cide. “Creditors were hounding me and a show; Harry Houdini
I found only closed doors wherever (below)
I turned. My father refused to acknow-
ledge me. When I couldn’t take it any-
more, there was nothing but a friend out
on an evening stroll to keep me from grab-
bing a transformer wire,” Muthukad says.
He goes quiet for a minute. It’s a long
minute. “Lunch?” It isn’t the easiest
thing in the world: to follow up a story
about potential suicide. The chicken biri-
yani and walk-whetted appetites help.
It was a death-defying Houdini trade-
mark—the Fire Escape Act, which saw
him chained and lowered by crane into
a straw tee-pee that was then doused in
kerosene and set ablaze—that turned him
into a celebrity in 1995. Like Houdini,
whose books line shelves in both his office
and 3BHK flat, Muthukad vowed never
to do it again. “I broke that pledge in 1998
for a show in Bahrain and nearly paid the
price. They used hay and petrol, both
of which burn faster. As I freed myself,
a blaze hit me and I lost consciousness.
I was hospitalised with burns to the face
and hands,” he recalls.
With these, as with trade secrets,
Muthukad is a miserly sharer. After
a taxing photo shoot, I chance one
final ‘how do’ question. An exhausted
Muthukad falls back on that tired trope:
“A magician never tells.” O
 hours in the life of SHIVANI RAJPUT, bouncer
Show A Man His Place
by Preetha Nair
A
S the swish set of south Delhi
crowd the serpentine lanes of
“WOMEN FEEL Hauz Khas Village, Punjabi hits
and techno tracks reverberate with the
SAFE WHEN WE kaleidoscopic colours of the dance
floor. In the crush of waif-like figures,
ARE AROUND. flowy dresses and maquillage, 27-year-
old Shivani Rajput stands out with her
I LOVE THIS JOB. black uniform and exercised frame. It’s
a Saturday evening, but she’s not here
EVEN OUTSIDE to party. Standing guard at the door,
she frisks female customers, checks
THE CLUB, their purses for drugs and weapons,
and strikes a conversation with
I HELP WOMEN
familiar faces.
“Weekends are tiring, but I love this
job,” she gushes. Shivani began work-
IN TROUBLE.” ing as a guard in a call centre at the age
of 16. When she was offered a position
as a bouncer at My Bar Headquarters
in Connaught Place, she was clueless
about what it entailed, though she was
JITENDER GUPTA
confident she could ensure the wellbe-
ing of customers. Five years later, she
is proud of keeping her patrons safe.
Her day begins at 7 am with an
hour-long workout session, after
which she heads to her day job—a
bouncer at a construction site on
a disputed land. She works there till
5 pm and then goes to the club.
How does she feel about being one
of the few women in an
occupation considered a mas-
culine preserve? “I don’t feel
inferior to men,” she declares.
“Women feel safe when we are
around—they can party till
late without feeling insecure.
Even outside the club, I inter-
vene if someone is in trouble.
Protecting them makes me feel
powerful,” she says.
How does society react
to her offbeat job? “I get a
lot of support from people,”
she says. Most of the residents
at Tigri Colony are aware that she
is the lone woman bouncer from
the neighbourhood. Her mother,
Pram Bhatti, takes pride in her
accomplishments. “I tell everyone
that my daughter takes care of other
women,” beams the 47-year old, who
runs a shop along with her husband
in the locality.
Protecting women and controlling
inebriated partygoers can be demand-
ing. Shivani is mostly posted on the
dance floor, where all the ‘action’ is.
She keeps an eye on the revellers who
try to misbehave with women. “I inter-
vene if the situation goes out of con-
trol,” she says. It irks her that most
women are scared to react when men
do not respect their space.
In case of fights, resorting to the fist
is her last option. “We intervene
to de-escalate the situation. At first,
we speak to the offenders softly and
try to make them understand,” she
explains. Though if the situation
demands, Shivani can pack a punch.
“Once a customer misbehaved with
me without realising that I am
a bouncer. I ignored him initially, but
then my supervisor asked me to give
it back to him,” she recounts.
While she is deft at putting such
men in their place, there is an aspect
of her job she wasn’t quite prepared
for—being a counsellor for drunken
women. “Some lock themselves in
bathrooms and refuse to come out.
Others cry and shout incessantly,”
she says. “I try to calm them down.
It works with most.” And when it
doesn’t? “Some are rather aggressive
and I have to drag them out.”
Shivani hardly gets six hours of sleep
as her shift goes on till 1.30 am.
Besides, she works seven days a
week—a holiday means a pay cut.
But the redeeming aspect of the job
is equal pay: she draws a salary of
Rs 15,000 a month, which is on
a par with her male colleagues.
As she waits for an autorickshaw
to return home, Shivani remains
unfazed by the unsafe streets of Delhi.
“This job makes me feel empowered.
I can take care of myself,” she smiles. O
 hours in the life of ESTHER SHANTHI, cremation and burial supervisor

In The Vaults Of Death

by G.C. Shekhar in Chennai

D
RUMS announce the arrival of
the first corpse at the crema-
tion and burial ground in
Otteri, Chennai. As the procession
moves towards the cremation hall in
the 14-acre complex, a lady on a two-
wheeler arrives at the large smoke-
stained hall that houses the cremation
chamber. She checks if the furnace has
attained its optimum temperature The
son of the deceased lights a camphor
on his father’s chest before the body is
thrust into the fire.
Thus begins another working day for
Esther Shanthi, the supervisor of
Chennai’s second-largest burial and cre-
mation ground in a locality notorious for
high crime rates. For the past five years,
the 40-year-old mother of three has
been skilfully managing the facility. G.C. SHEKHAR
“This place used to be a den of gam-
bling, ganja and booze. But after But she soldiered on and even
Shanthi akka took charge, she brought trained a woman apprentice.

things under control. She not only
confronted the men who misused the
grounds, but also involved the women
of the neighbourhood in stopping ille-
gal activities,” says Satish, one of the
five attendants who assist her.
Her day begins at 5 am. She cooks
breakfast and lunch for the fam-
ily before the 40-minute ride to
her workplace. On an average, at
least ten bodies are brought for
cremation or burial.
Esther has been an employee of the
NGO Indian Community Welfare
Organisation for 17 years. In 2007, the
organisation got a contract from the
municipality to run a crematorium in
New Avadi and she volunteered to man-
age it. “I was the first woman ever to
take up this job. The first few months
were tough. The long working hours,
the boorish behaviour of the drunken
relatives who brought the body and the
grief of mothers who had lost their chil-
dren depressed me,” she recalls.
OTTERI USED
Though her husband Saravanan, a
cab driver, had reservations ini-
tially, he later became her staunch
supporter despite opposition from
his family. “He again stood by me TO BE A DEN OF
when I chose to become a Christian
eight years ago. It was my personal GANJA, BOOZE
conviction; my family members are
still staunch Hindus. We respect AND GAMBLING.
each other’s choices,” she says.
With a salary of Rs 12,000 a month BUT AFTER
ESTHER CAME,
and a 12-hour shift, there is very little
time for a family outing or movie.
“Sundays are reserved for church.
We go out for a meal once a month. THINGS
IMPROVED.
With three college-going boys,
expenses can be tight, but we
manage,” she says.
It is 7.30 pm as she winds
up—the register shows six
burials and three cremations for
the day. Back home, her family
waits for her to prepare dinner. The
drum beats will return tomorrow. And
so will Esther. O

78 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

 hours in the life of Kiran Bedi
Lt Governor, Pondicherry

The Cycle
Of Life
E
vEry day of renewed energy is a
message by Nature to continue add-
ing value to life and living. This is
the belief I have grown up with. Hence,
giving each day my maximum has been
a habit. It is self-driven and effort-
less. I owe this attitude and belief to
my mother and my father who led by
example. My mother would be the first
one to get up to ensure each one starts the
day early to meet the set plans of the day.
We were a tennis-playing family and had to
get up early to do our fitness and practice.
We equally valued education. Along with
playing competitive tennis, we sisters were
toppers of our respective classes. Tennis
came from my father and love for education
from my mother. These self-driven habits
gave me enormous energy every day.
This is how my entire police career was.
After a workout on my cross-trainer at
home and or a morning walk in the adja-
cent Talkatora Garden in Delhi, I would
leave for work early. If in the district polic-
ing, it was a visit to a police station. If it
was traffic police, it was on the roads at
8 am, before peak traffic picks up. For my First
tenure in the prisons section, it was a nine
am walk inside the jail. which is an inspirational thought reflect-
Person
Fast forward to my current responsibil- ing my feelings in the morning. It is posted account
ity as Lieutenant Governor of on my WhatsApp groups, comprising a
Pondicherry—each day is complete with large flock of public officials cutting across
a tremendous sense of worth. Each day is ranks and files. I have several specific and
one of accomplishment, in some form or general groups stored on my iPhone. I also
the other. Let me share with you how share my thoughts with my family, friends,
I start my day, which shall be evidence of volunteers and active and interested citi-
the accomplishment which I feel here. zens. This brings us all in alignment with
It’s been now three-and-a-half years. the inspiration of the day.
Time has just flown. There is so much This does not take much time as I am
to do. Each day makes the difference. well-organised. All of these happen sim-
I begin the day early, true to my upbring- ultaneously—ears listen, fingers type, and
ing. I am up around 5-5.30 am. The first legs move on the treadmill. I am out in the
thing I do is to switch on the radio and lis- raj Niwas gallery, which has my fitness
ten to a spiritual programme on AIr FM, machines. I choose the machine according
followed by the 6 am news. Alongside, I to how I was feeling that day. The tread-
post on social media, on my Twitter time- mill has a reading lectern that I had spe-
line and WhatsApp a “morning nutrition”, cially designed to suit my needs; the cross

80 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

trainer, the stationary bike, or the stepper.
Or just walk around the premises.
Everything depends on the weather.
I listen to the 6.30 am Hindi BBC radio
programme. I have been doing this since
childhood. I skim through the dailies and
focus on what I want to read in detail.
I run through four national dailies. I read
and mark the papers for my document
library too. I love reading the columns
Speaking Tree and Citings in Economic
Times. I preserve the ones that inspire
me. I read the editorials according to my
preferences. This is also the time of the
day when I capture on camera Nature, the
sunrise, the rays stealing their space, the
tree branches, or birds. I post these on
social media. The raj Niwas lawns are “EACH DAY IS
rich in flora and fauna.
I do all these simultaneously and most COMPLETE WITH
productively (I know many of the readers
may find this multi-tasking strange). After A TREMENDOUS
the radio news finishes at 8.30, my mat is
out for yoga and floor exercises for half- SENSE OF
an-hour. And I leave my workout to get
ready for work at 9.15 am. WORTH. EACH
Thereafter I am at my work-desk on the
ground floor for my 10 am meeting with DAY IS ONE OF
ACCOMPLISHING
top officers to review and plan. This is the
best practice here. We listen, we discuss,
we plan, and prepare. And then, we are set
for the day—appointments made with off-
icers, discussions on files, policies, pres-
entations, reports, and coordination. This
SOMETHING.”
goes on till 3 pm. We sometimes have
soup, and a healthy snack.
Lunch break is short, but comes with the message of their faith in Open House.
option of a quick nap. I am down again to When this meet-the-people is done, I am
my office at 5 pm. Now for another good with my OSD to clear files. The OSD is a
practice put in place over the past three very senior and experienced IAS officer.
years. It’s called Open House in which we These files are on various issues, policies,
meet people. All petitioners sit in the approvals, service matters, disciplinary
lounge of the raj Niwas and green tea is matters, and so on. We discuss and clear.
served when they are waiting. Also, they This takes us to 9 pm, if we are fortunate.
watch on television various activities This is a normal day. The time comes to be
of progress in Pondicherry. back in my barracks, have food, catch up
People who want to personally with the news, and hit the bed. I just have
present their grievances or need help to shut my eyes and I am fast asleep.
come with a written petition. All are heard I have a good collection of music, which
by me, my private secretary, and the chief is on when I am bathing. I listen to
grievances officer. Each petition merits its spiritual music while brushing my teeth
own response. This lasts two hours. We and read a bit before I sleep. I also listen to
stand behind a desk and hear the petition- music or watch Tv news when I am having
ers. Since we don’t sit, work here is swift. my breakfast, which is milk. I have a very
On an average, 40 petitioners are attended well-stocked personal library. When I am
to—they often come with friends and fam- travelling, my Kindle is always with me.
ily. In other words, nearly a hundred peo- I watch Netflix at night whenever I get the
ple visit Open House. They spread the time. But workday gets top priorities. O

2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 81

 hours in the life of K.R. VANCHEESWARAN, farmer

Veni
Vidi
Vanchy
by Satish Padmanabhan in Wayanad

K
.R. Vancheeswaran, 57, or simply
Vanchy as everyone calls him here,
wakes up to the sweet call of the
Malabar whistling thrush every morning.
Soon, as the sun melts the enveloping morn-
ing mist, his 45-acre coffee plantation in the
picturesque Thrikkaipetta village in
Wayanad is filled with myriad bird calls—the
dramatic Racket-Tail Drongo, the busy fam-
ily of weaver birds in the areca nut cluster,
the iridescent orioles and minivets. The
plantation slopes down to the rice-milk-
draw with travellers,” Vanchy says. He is
a sought-after plantation guide, groups THEY DON’T
laden paddy fields, where lapwings and
egrets traipse. “To make plantation sus-
from India and abroad are regular cli-
ents.He is president of Wayanad BURN PADDY
tainable we have multiple farming.
Along with coffee, we grow pepper, cinna-
Tourism Organisation, which has about
60 resorts, homestays, farmhouses, pro- STALKS;
mon, cloves, areca nut, bananas, vegetables.
This also contributes to the bio-diversity of
moting sustainable tourism.
Later in the day, a walk with him round TRACTORS
PLUCK THEM
the surrounding forest, which reduces hu- the cool and shaded paths among the
man-animal conflicts,” Vanchy says. dense green coffee plants is fascinat-

OUT AND THESE

He has a degree in botany and has worked
in Botswana and Kenya in farming-related
enterprises. Wife Jaya, a civil engineer,
works in the irrigation department. Their
daughter is a teacher in California. As Jaya
leaves for work, Vanchy goes on a round of
his plantation—the coffee beans are ripen-
ing fine, they should be ready for plucking
soon. But his attention right now is on the
paddy, about 12 acre, to monitor the water
levels. The plants are sagging down with
the weight of rice and should be ready for
harvesting in a month.
But farming is fickle business—world cof-
fee prices can suddenly plunge and one lash
of unseasonal rain can ruin the paddy.
What has come as more reliable and lu-
crative to Wayanad is tourism. “Wayanad
has the potential to be the top experien-
tial tourist destination in the country, which
no other place can match. A slice of planta-
tion life, with modern amenities is a big
ing—there are only two varieties of cof-
fee in the world, Arabica and Robusta,
the aroma, colour and flavour only de-
pend on the roasting technique. So, the
current fad of Ethiopian or Venezuelan ARE TURNED
coffee being superior is just marketing
gimmick, says Vanchy. Cardamom is the
most expensive of spices, it can go up to
INTO MANURE.
Rs 4,000 a kilo, pepper costs only a tenth
of that. The wrinkly black outside of
peppercorns is the skin, when it is washed
off and then dried, you get white pepper. It’s
a myth that paddy needs a lot of water; farm-
ers only leave the crop in standing water to
prevent weeds from growing. They don’t
burn the stalks; these are plucked out
using tractors and turned into manure.
As the sun sets, the sky is aflame, the
birds are back for their evening frolic, and
it is quite a sight to see Vanchy walk through
the narrow one-foot path between the paddy
fields, to vanish into his plantation. O

82 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

 hours in the life of PRIYANKA BEHERA, Flipkart delivery girl
Your Shopping, Her Wings
by Sandeep Sahu in Bhubaneswar
P AT THE PEAK OF
RIYANKA Behera is an hour
late for office today. “She had to
go for a medical test first,” says
her manager, Manoj Kumar Sahu,
whom she calls ‘bhai’. She arrives at
10.30, signs the attendance register,
takes a quick stock of the packets
earmarked for her, gets the barcodes
scanned by a colleague, packs them all
into a large black bag and then sets off
on her moped on her day’s errand, the
bag on her shoulders.
Priyanka is Odisha’s first
Flipkart delivery girl and perhaps
the first delivery girl in the state
in a trade that has long been a male
bastion. It takes her a while—and
a few calls on her mobile—for her
to locate her first stop today. She
delivers the packet at a shop on
Canal Road near Rasulgarh in
Bhubaneswar, takes the
client’s digital signature and
leaves for her next stop—a
house in Friendship
Colony.
“I salute her courage,” says
the woman who takes the
delivery. “When women
are flying fighter jets today,
why shouldn’t they take up
delivery jobs too?”
With the festival season
over, Priyanka has less
packets to deliver—and
that means less income
as delivery girls are paid
per packet (Rs 14 in her
case). Today, she has just
12 and she says she would
be back home by 3 pm,
earning just Rs 168.
Just a month ago,
when she had to
deliver 50-60 packets a
day, she would be rarely back
before late in the evening. At
the peak of the season, she used
to make Rs 500-700 a day. On
the rare days when there are
84 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
no packets for her to deliver, she helps
out with office work for
Rs 300. Her husband, Ajit Kumar
Biswal, also works for the same
THE SEASON, Flipkart franchise and earns a similar
amount for similar work.
PRIYANKA USED
Life in Bhubaneswar has not been
easy for Priyanka since she landed
here with Ajit about a year ago
TO DELIVER from their village in Dhenkanal
district after his family refused to
50-60 PACKETS accept her as his wife.
Priyanka, who is doing
A DAY,MAKING her graduation through a
correspondence course, and
RS 500-700. Ajit, who is a matriculate, had to
struggle hard to get a footing in the
city. They got their first job with an
Amazon franchise, but quit after a few
months. Priyanka then approached
ExpressBiz, but was curtly told that
the company does not employ women.
Her search finally ended
with a Flipkart frachisee in
Bhubaneswar’s Saptasati Nagar.
These days, the couple earns
Rs 6,000-7,000 a month on
an average.
“Priyanka is very good at her
job and works as hard as anyone
else,” says Manoj, adding that
everyone in the office (14
delivery boys and some staff )
treats Priyanka like his sister and
goes out of the way to help her. When
Priyanka’s landlord asked her to
vacate the house, Manoj hosted
the couple at his home till they
got another accommodation. “I
couldn’t have hoped for a more
empathetic boss,” says Priyanka.
Ask her about her future and
Priyanka is not sure if she would
stay with her present employer or
even the delivery trade. She says she
would certainly strive for a better
job. “I am two months pregnant and
plan to work for another two-three
months. After that, I will obviously
take a long break from work. I will
decide what to do next when I am
in a position to work again.” O
BISWARANJAN MISHRA
HOW DREAMS TURN REALITY
Unfortunately, we forgot that the biggest asset
of India is its people. Any sensible government
must learn to unleash the energy of its people
and get them to perform instead of trying to get a
bureaucracy to perform.
—Dr VErGHESE KUrIEN

Tarun Shridhar and Sharad Gupta

I
t was this energy that was unleashed
when Dr Verghese Kurien along with Shri
Tribhuvandas Patel, embarked upon the
journey of organising scores of small farmers
who had been marginalised in the social
and economic realm. The inspiring leadership
of Patel and professional commitment of Dr
Kurien was first manifested when the small
Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers
Union, often known as Amul Dairy which had
begun its journey with just two village dairy
cooperative societies and 247 litres of milk
in 1946 was entrusted to Dr Kurien in
1950. Miraculously, this small unknown
entity started growing from
strength to strength;
a growth which has
been consistently
on the rise over the
past seven decades.
This 247-litre milk
dairy is now a globally
respected brand, owned
not by any corporate
bigwigs or a conglomerate
of landlords but by millions
of farmers who individually
would be too small to matter
even in their own societies but
their collective cooperative
strength invites grudging
respect from the biggest of
global dairy giants.
The half or one litre
milk packet that millions
of consumers open each
day is the output of
innumerable dairy farmers
and their cattle and
buffaloes. This milk packet
contains more than milk;
it is a symbol of social and
economic empowerment

86 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

of our farmers: the marginal farmer
with only one litre milk to spare has as
equal an access to the market as a big
farmer who may be trading in hundreds
of litres. And it is this indomitable
strength and spirit of cooperatives
that Dr Kurien recognised and built
an institution that led the nation
towards its journey of becoming the
global leader, by several miles, in milk
production.
There is a major difference between
Indian agriculture and dairying. Milk
production has certain inherent
and distinct advantages. First, the
household that produces milk has the
option to use it as family’s food and
nutritional security. Secondly, sale of
milk ensures regular income on a daily
basis rather than awaiting the crop’s
harvest. It is not uncommon to read
reports of suicide in farmer families
that depend exclusively on crops with
no milk production to fall back upon.
If the farmer family has even two
cows or buffaloes, it is assured of
some income and food security.
It is against this background that
one should appreciate that
the profile of the dairy
sector in India is
in true terms a
Illustration by Saahil
profile in courage of the poor dairy
farmers.
In 1965, Dr Kurien and Lal Bahadur
Shastri, then India’s Prime Minister,
recognised the need to revolutionise
India’s dairy system from the bottom
up and decided that the Amul approach
should become the basis of national
dairy development policy. It was
understood that Amul’s success could
be attributed to four important factors:
the farmers owned the dairy; their
elected representatives managed the
village milk societies and the district
union; they employed professionals
to operate the dairy and manage its
business; and, most importantly, the
cooperatives were sensitive to the
needs of farmers and responsive to
their demands. The National Dairy
Development Board (NDDB) was
set up with this primary objective of
replicating the Amul model.
THE MILK PACKET
CONTAINS MORE THAN
MILK; IT IS A SYMBOL OF
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
EMPOWERMENT OF OUR
MARGINAL FARMERS
As the world’s largest producer, the
Indian dairy sector is a marvel in itself.
With the launch of Operation Flood in
1970, targeting milk production and
growth, our annual milk production
has grown from 22 million tonnes
(mt) in 1970 to 176.3 mt in 2017-18, a
growth of eight times in less than five
decades; and what is truly encouraging
is the consistency of this growth. This
has consequently helped increase the
daily per capita milk availability from
114 grams in 1970 to 375 grams in 2017-
18, an availability that is higher than
the global average of 267 grams. This is
again a marvel because the availability
of milk has been growing despite the
booming population.
For sheer numbers, Indian dairying
has no match in the world. The figures
are mind-boggling. Some 70 million
farmers maintain a milch herd of
125.35 million — 74.18 million cows
and 51.17 million buffaloes. Fed largely
on crop residues, their milk yield is a
whopping 176.3 mt, accounting for
some 20 per cent of the world output.
Starting as a trickle in some 500,000
remote villages, a unique collection
system transforms this feeble flow into
a veritable flood of 480 million litres
for rural and urban consumers every
day. The average holding per farmer is
less than two cattle/buffaloes, but the
collective output makes us the global
leader. In fact, India and its farmers
add more milk to the pool each year
than the annual production of the
entire Europe.
This humungous milk production in
India is also creditable because of the
meagre resources invested in it. Most
of the milk is produced by the small
and marginal farmers and landless
labourers. Their labour input is
accounted for more as an opportunity
than a cost. Most research studies
have concluded that a large majority
of milk producers hardly make any
profit. Why do they then produce milk?
The answer lies in tradition, wisdom
and culture deeply ingrained in our
society, especially in the rural India.
As the civilisation dawned, India was
perhaps the first nation to domesticate
cows for milk production. In fact, the
domestication as an economic activity
in many nations such as the USA and
Brazil owes to the Indian Zebu cattle
imported during the nineteenth
century. Milk has since been an
essential component of our food, and
was not considered a commodity for
sale. Even today, a large number of the
milk producing farmers produce milk
primarily for home consumption and
it is only the balance that gets sold
in the market. The money earned by
such farmer families is considered
more a bonus than a profit. However,
realisation has of late dawned upon
the rural community that commercial
returns and value in milk production
is much higher than crop husbandry,
while the associated risks much lower.
Consequently the quantity of milk
that goes for processing and product
manufacturing is registering an
exponential increase.
India achieved sufficiency in milk
production by improving efficiencies
in milk production, procurement,
processing and marketing through the
Anand model of cooperative dairying
planned and executed by Dr Kurien as
the founder-chairman of NDDB. Dairy
cooperatives provided remunerative
prices to milk producers even during
the flush season and this being an
2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 87
important measure of farmers’ welfare
and socio-economic security proved a
trigger for increased milk production.
Cooperatives also provided inputs
and other services to milk producers
to increase the productivity of their
cattle, thus making dairy farming a
profitable business.
The primary milk producer,
especially in the cooperative fold,
shares nearly 70% of what the
consumer pays, quite a contrast to
what the remuneration of a crop
farmer is where the intermediaries
corner the bulk of consumer revenues.
We are not only the world’s largest but
also the most efficient milk producer.
In the harvest season, the farm price
of tomatoes, potatoes and onions can
go down to 10-20% of the lean season
price; a case in point is the berserk
pattern of onion prices which have
ranged from Rs 10 to 90 per kilogram
over the past six to eight months.
On the other hand, in case of milk,
the flush season price rarely goes
below 90% of the lean season price,
a price fluctuation that is hardly ever
perceptible. And this is not only a
rarity in commodity price market
but reflective of great efficiency
88 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
across the production, procurement,
processing and marketing value chain
of milk. Further, what is encouraging
is that the production of milk has been
increasing over the decades without
any significant diversion of land or
water from agricultural crops to dairy.
The challenge before us now is
to give our milk producers better
returns while expanding the market.
Our halwais sell milk solids, better
known as mithais which contain 15-
20% moisture and 30% sugar, at prices
higher than whole milk powder. It,
therefore, makes immense business
With the launch of
operation flood in 1970,
our milk production
has groWn eight times
in less than five
decades – from 22
million tonne litres in
1970 to 176.3 million
tonne litres in 2017-18!
sense that dairy cooperatives now
graduate to mechanised manufacture
of traditional dairy products. The
strength of our traditional products
lies in their mass appeal, unlike
chocolates or pies etc. The market,
as also the operating margins, for the
traditional products far outstrips that
of western dairy products. It is a unique
opportunity for our dairy cooperatives
to further upscale the production
of our own traditional products and
sweets. This would surely be a win-win
situation for the farmer and consumer
both as well as a tribute to the man
whose vision inspired the cooperative
revolution in the milk sector. After all,
the legacy must be carried forward.
Amul, or the Gujarat Cooperative
Milk Marketing Federation, which its
official moniker, India’s largest and
most reputed dairy brand, established
in November 1973 by Dr Kurien, is
today a Rs 33,150 crore-turnover
cooperative, procuring an average of 23
million litres per day from 3.6 million
producer-members. In Gandhinagar,
Gujarat, AmulFed Dairy’s capacity
expansion from 35 lakh litres per
day to 50 lakh litres per day further
underlines its status as Asia’s largest
dairy plant at a single location. Amul’s
marketing successes are recognised
as one of independent India’s most
outstanding of achievements, and
mind you it is a cooperative whose
shareholders are neither market
speculators nor financial investors, but
millions of rural farming households.
In the long term, Amul aims to
establish itself as the largest dairy
organisation in the world, rising up
from its current ranking as the ninth-
largest dairy organisation globally.
‘Mero gaam kaatha parey,
Jaha doodh ki nadiya baahe,
Jaha koyal kahu kahu gaye,
Mhare ghar angna na bhoolo na’
Above: Members of the Board, NDDB, Dr
Michael Halse, VH Shah, Dr V Kurien,
HM Dalaya are in discussion on dairy
development plans for India with Sir
Richard Trehane, Chairman of the Milk
Marketing Board of England & Wales
Below: The Amul Trinity, Dr Kurien and
close colleague HM Dalaya with their
mentor Tribhuvandas Patel, founder
Chairman of AMUL
 This title song from the memorable
feature film, Manthan (The Churning),
is symbolic of the cooperative spirit that
permeates the dairy sector. Produced
by 500,000 rural milk producers of
Gujarat in 1976, this film underlines
the basic philosophy that a true
cooperative is built on the determined
commitment of its members and once
established there is no stopping. And,
the one person who more or less
single handledly organised millions of
small and marginal farmers into very
successful organisations, like Amul,
was Dr Verghese Kurien.
Today, Amul is the most creative
farmer cooperative leadership model
in the global food system. It has
been applauded the world over for
not only changing the dairy value
chain in India but also throughout
the developing and developed world.
It is not merely a commodity brand
but a movement that is a living
embodiment of economic freedom
and empowerment of farmers. It has
given farmers the courage to dream.
Though the private sector, large
MNCs and retail chains are rapidly
expanding their dairy operations in the
country, Amul is destined to continue
to dominate as the undisputed market
leader for at the heart and soul of this
organisation is the primary producer
i.e. the farmer and the never say die
amul, established in
1973 by dr verghese
kurien, is today a rs
33,150-crore turnover
cooperative giant,
procuring an average
of 23 million tonnes
litres of milk per day
from a 3.60 million
produce members
spirit of cooperation.
The dairy industry owes to Dr Kurien
the values of integrity, dedication and
commitment, the values he lived by
and expected others to imbibe in letter
and spirit. The greatest tribute the
nation ought to pay him is to instil and
reinforce these core values in the entire
gamut of cooperative governance for
the economic and social betterment of
the farmers, especially the small and
marginal; and truly realise the laudable
objective of doubling farmers’ income,
not in notional but in real terms.
Today, like the Amul mascot, the
entire nation must respectfully salute
this real Bharat Ratna and rededicate
itself to the empowerment of millions
of rural households.
Tarun Shridhar is former
Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries,
Animal Husbandry & Dairying
Sharad Gupta is Editor &
Publisher, Dairy India Yearbook and
& Co-Founder, www.IndiaDairy.com
3 December 2019 OUTLOOK 89
 hours in the life of ANIL & PAMELA MALHOTRA, foresters
The Jungle Book
by Ajay Sukumaran in Coorg
A
ROUND four in the evening,
after a late lunch, Pamela Gale
Malhotra is standing at a bay
window in her living room looking out at
a picture-perfect landscape—a rain-
soaked forest with the Brahmagiri hills
framing the backdrop. This vast forest in
south Coorg—once a coffee plantation—
is the home of Anil Malhotra, 78,
and his wife Pamela, 67. It’s a fairy-
land set amidst a primordial sym-
phony of a gurgling stream and the
call of the crickets and grasshoppers.
They call it the Save Animals Initiative
(SAI) Sanctuary, 300 acres of native
rainforest through which elephants and
tigers freely saunter.
Every morning, in more hospitable
weather, Pamela and Anil set forth into
this grove—their walks take an hour and
a half usually unless she’s checking on
the dozen or so camera traps dotting the
landscape, replacing batteries, swapping
memory cards or switching locations.
Since it’s a wilderness, the couple merely
follows the paths the elephants have
cleared. “We’ve set up this private
model,” Anil tells Outlook. “We want
other Indians who can afford it. We need
even those who can’t, to build this.”
The hills get covered up and the rain
comes down. It’s been bucketing down
all through the south-west monsoon this
year, casting a gloomy outlook for coffee
growers in Coorg. “When we came here,
it was normal to have 350 inches of rain
a year,” says Pamela. “This is what the
forest canopy is for. It’s like using an um-
brella with pores in it.”
Down by the stream, a snake slithers
away as we approach the water. Most
days, the couple crosses over onto
two rocks on a small island to
meditate. “We were sitting on
“WHEN YOU
ARE AWAY
FROM NATURE
YOU AREN’T
THINKING
CLEARLY...
THIS IS OUR
PASSION.”
these rocks once and a matriarch ele-
phant came up,” says Anil. It didn’t
sound very pleased, he recalls. “We kept
sitting and mentally saying we have
come in peace. They may not speak
English but they know vibrations. She
started eating the bamboo and then 8-10
members of the family came. They sur-
rounded us for 45 minutes. It was such
a beautiful experience.”
Pamela and Anil met in the US in the
early 1970s at her hometown Red Bank,
New Jersey where he ran an Indian res-
taurant. She worked at an all-night cafe
at Asbury Park where a young Bruce
Springsteen would drop in occasionally.
Soon after, she went back to college to
study political science. He sold up and
followed her to Colorado where they
stayed for a few years, she working as
a sales rep in a pharma company and he
with a mortgage firm. The couple moved
to India in 1986 and eventually settled in
Uttarkashi first before moving down
south. Pamela, who received the Nari
Shakti Award for her efforts in afforesta-
tion in 2016, is currently working on an
autobiography titled From the Heart of
Nature slated for publication next year.
“When you are away from Nature you
aren’t thinking clearly,” says Anil. “Grow
fruit trees, grow organic food...the dem-
and far outstrips supply. We have
planted thousands of native fruits trees
now…This is our passion, our life. So we
have to keep things going.” O
AJAY SUKUMARAN
 hours in the life of Naved KhaN, radio jockey

Murga Rides The Wave

by Sania Ashraf has made me a household name,” he
says. While earlier, people only heard

T “mirchi murga
he ‘on air’ sign in the radio studio him on FM, after the launch of a
lights up red at 7 am sharp. On cue YouTube version, Murga has become

began as a
RJ Naved puts on his headphones a candid camera gag show, with Naved
and starts speaking: “Aap sun rahein acting out the central roles. “Murga
hai Radio Mirchi RJ Naved ke began as once-a-year affair. I never ima-
saath… (You are listening to Radio
Mirchi with RJ Naved).” There is once-a-year gined it would snowball into something
so big,” he says. he now plans to take his
neither script nor teleprompter. As he
prefers to do his show impromptu, he affair. i prank videos a couple of notches higher
and let the radio show take the back seat.
can’t fall back on retakes either.
In the large sound-proof studio, Naved never thought At home, Naved is busy on a call with
his producer, polishing out the details
Khan, 44, sits behind a console studded
with multi-coloured knobs, operating the show of a shoot lined up later in the day. his
daughter, Zoya, 8, rubs her eyes sleepily
them with an instinctive ease that comes
naturally to someone who has spent over would become and snuggles next to him. his wife and
two children are immune to his celebrity
a decade in the profession. Being a host
of a dial-in show, he gets a slew of calls
every day. Some talk to him reverently
so big.” status. After the call, he fetches his
Marshall speakers and laptop, and plays
recent Bollywood hits on full blast. With
while others chat with the informality of just a little nudge from her father, the
a close friend. During the show, he man- young girl, springs into action and turns
ages to squeeze in a few tea breaks. But the living room into her stage, jiggling
the ‘machine chai’ readily available out- and twirling to the beat.
side his studio holds no charm for him. has his schedule packed with video After the performance, he gives Zoya
he prefers the thoroughly boiled cutting shoots, stand-up gigs and appearances at a bear hug and coos to her, “You light up
chai of a makeshift tea stall across the events. All this, he says, is because of the my life.” his phone rings again—it’s his
road from his fourth-floor office. immense popularity of his trademark manager. Work never ceases for Naved,
his workplace, though, seems more prank skit Mirchi Murga—he gets over but he’s not complaining. “I am enjoy-
like his backyard, where he gets paid 5,000 requests every day to play pranks. ing it all, bada maza aa raha hai mujhe,”
just to be himself—whacky, funny and “Anybody can be a radio jockey, but this he says gleefully. O
spontaneous—over the span of his five-
hour show. “I feel extremely lucky. God
has blessed me,” he says. “I am a busi-
ness studies graduate and this job
wasn’t really part of my plans.”
his casual shirt, ragged jeans and affa-
ble yet mischievous smile, however, do
not betray the celebrity that he has
become. Despite being a presenter on
a platform that connects with audi-
ences only aurally, the perils of being
famous—persistent fans and
demands for selfies—are all in
a day’s work for him. With
over 2.5 million follow-
ers on Facebook, he is
arguably the most
recognised radio
jockey in India.
his radio commit-
ments aside, Naved

JITENDER GUPTA
 hours in the life of Shravan KriShnan, snake catcher
The Slytherin Wizard
by G.C. Shekhar in Chennai
“C
ome let’s release this fellow
in the bushes,” says Shravan
as he led me into the for-
ested tracts of the sprawling
Theosophical Society campus in
Chennai. After a short walk, he pulled
out the wriggling rat snake—captured
at 8 am in a housing colony—from
a black cloth bag and handed it over
to me to do the honour of setting it
free. The snake slithered into the
long grass and disappeared. “If it were
a cobra, I would have released it in
a more remote area—for the well-being
of the snake as well as humans. But
a rat snake, among the two dozen or so
non-venomous species in and around
Chennai, causes no harm,” he explains.
For nearly six years, 29-year-old
Shravan Krishnan has been the go-to
man in Chennai if a snake is spotted
in a populated area. A bachelors in
commerce, he nursed cricketing ambi-
tions but gave up those after a back
injury. He then trained under Rajesh,
an expert reptile catcher of the forest
department, travelled with him for
over a year and observed how he
caught snakes before taking up rescue
missions. Initially, the forest depart-
ment would beckon him on receiving
calls on their rescue helpline—if
Shravan were nearby, he would rush
to the spot. Now that he is a well-
known animal rescuer, people call
him directly or get in touch through
his wide circle of animal lovers on
spotting a snake.
He is usually at his animal clinic
in the campus from 10 am to 3 pm, that
is, if he is not out rescuing creatures
in distress. Today, he has organised
a pick-up for stray dogs. Around noon,
he oversees spaying operations and
a cast for a fractured dog, and then
collects donations and food for the
animals. All around him are large
four-legged creatures—a camel and
a few old horses spending their last
years in the complex’s green expanse.
After quaffing down his lunch, he
heads to a school to conduct a session
on animal rescue and precautions.
“We first have to make sure what kind
of snake it is before attempting to
catch it. Since there are only four ven-
omous species in and around Chennai,
it is easy to rule them out if you have
a trained eye. If it is a venomous
snake, I need to approach it carefully
in long boots and with a grab hook,”
he explains. His extreme caution is the
reason venomous snakes have never
bitten him. once he was alerted about
a cobra hiding in an almirah and found
three inside. “I closed the hatch first
and then prodded one cobra after
another to come out before catching
them,” he recalls.
Shravan makes sure to educate the
G.C. SHEKHAR public during his missions. If he spots
a rat snake, he suggests residents to let
“I DO NOT KISS it roam in their gardens as it is harm-
less, and keeps away cobras bec-
SNAKES OR ause they share the same territory
and food. In the evenings, he usu-
POSE WITH ally has informal meetings with other
animal lovers and groups of volunteers
THEM COILED
to discuss strategies and plan rescues.
Shravan insists that snake catching
AROUND MY
is serious business and does not resort
to showmanship—trying to kiss the
reptile or coiling it around his neck for
NECK. THIS formidable photographs—even though
he has caught hundreds by now. “A
IS SERIOUS Steve Irwin can do it on TV after years
of experience. I do not want to
BUSINESS.” embolden anyone to risk their lives
by catching a snake and attempting
to kiss it,” he declares. O
2 December 2019 OUTLOOK 99
 hours in the life of AnAnd KumAr, dG (Prisons), uttar Pradesh
NAEEM ANSARI
hours in the life of md. SAyeed, tram driver
Their Last Rides
by Rajat Roy in Calcutta
I
mAGIne a winter’s afternoon; a
window seat in a tram trundling
along the grassy banks of the mai-
dan, the hazy expanse of the race course
on the left, flecks of the Victoria memo-
rial’s white marble flit through trees on
the right; a sunlit Red Road lies ahead…
the gentle lurches at the stops, the sha-
rply sonorous bells…immortal Calcutta.
The British-owned Calcutta Tramways
Corporation (CTC) was taken over by
the United Front government as an
‘anti-imperialist’ gesture in 1967; it was
nationalised later. Trams as an inherent
part of the city’s public transport stead-
ily declined since—it’s on its last gasps
now. With limited road space, trams are
viewed as a hindrance to the growing
100 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
Officer and
a musafir
by Jeevan Prakash Sharma
A
nAnd Kumar was a reg-
ular cricketer in his col-
lege days. now, he has to find
time for golf during weekends. But
that is understandable. As the dG
(prisons), Kumar is charge of a state
which has the country’s highest num-
ber of prisoners. But the 1988 batch
IPS officer has found his own way of
juggling work with personal
commitments.
Beginning the day at 7 with a glass of
lukewarm water mixed with lime and
honey, Kumar hits the gym at about 8
for about an hour. “In case, I miss it, I
make sure that I spend that much time
doing stretching exercises, treadmill,
push-ups and yoga.” A fitness freak,
traffic. Once valued for its pollution-free,
pleasant rides, trams are seen as slow-
moving, easy-going, lumbering reptiles.
Keeping with this, the government
started stripping its assets (mostly huge
tracts of land for depots). There are 15
SANDIPAN CHATTERJEE
Kumar graduated from Hansraj
College, delhi. He spends about an
hour reading newspapers in the morn-
ing. Breakfast, he says, “is quite fru-
gal”—normally upma, dalia, poha etc.
He reaches office around 10:30 and till
3, he is occupied with meetings, pres-
entations and clearing files.
The break comes in the form of lunch
at around 3, which mainly consists of 2
chapatis or a bowl of rice, dal and some
vegetables. Post lunch, it is office work
again though less. “I prefer my dinner
at around 9.30, which is just a bowl of
veg or non-veg soup. Since I go to bed
late, about 1 am, I keep myself busy
watching television or reading maga-
zines,” says Kumar, who visits
two jails a month.
A music lover since child-
hood, Kumar loves to croon
his favourite songs of Kishore Kumar.
“I have a karaoke system at home
and whenever I have any get-together,
I sing. Rimjhim gire sawan and
Musafir hoon yaaron are my fav-
ourites,” the officer adds. O
careworn trams in the Park Circus and
Gariahat depots (there were 112 in 1985).
Other, cavernous depots languish like-
wise. For generations, trams used to ply
through the nights on festival days; now,
they are taken off the roads.
In its heyday, tram workers were
mostly brought from UP and Bihar,
trained for six months and appointed as
drivers and maintenance workers. Some
of the conductors were local lads. moha-
mmed Sayeed is one of the few remain-
ing tram drivers still operating on the
remaining routes. Like his colleagues, he
is to retire soon and have been assured of
timely settlement of retirement benefits.
But their weather-beaten visages pres-
age a grim future for their beloved trams.
In Sayeed’s youth, trams were one of the
symbols of Calcutta’s unique splendour.
CTC, now under WBTC, stopped recruit-
ment for years and run buses to make up
for losses. Battered and discoloured, the
trams are a neglected lot. O
 hours in the life of Ishwar BarI, masseur

Pressing
On Still
by Rajat Roy in Calcutta bathers would throng the ghats
for their early morning dip in

I
shwar Bari, 55, hails from
Odisha’s Puri district. he came
to Calcutta with his brothers 30
years ago to earn a livelihood. Ishwar
was taught a few tricks of the trade by a
masseur. since then, he has been earn-
ing his bread by offering massage to
‘babus’ of Calcutta. Ishwar and 12 oth-
ers—the last of the group of traditional
masseurs—do not work in parlours;
rather, they work at Babu Ghat and
the river. Ishwar and his fel-
low masseurs would give
them an old-style body mas-
sage— generous blobs of mustard
oil would aid the slithering lubr-
icity, an aid to the kneading, cup-
ping and slapping. with rs 300
an hour and four-five clients a
day, five days a week, and no soc-
ial security, the masseurs cannot
afford to bring their family here. SANDIPAN CHATTERJEE

nearby rashmoni Ghat on river
hooghly, near BBD Bag, the business
district of the city.
at a time when daily lives hewed to
traditional Indian modes of leisure
and work, babus of north Calcutta and
traders regularly used to patronise
masseurs. winter, summer or autumn,
In Calcutta’s riverbank ghats the
masseurs, through their networks of
kinship, are all from Odisha, and live
with their other migrant brethren
(many of them plumbers) in
Bhawanipore. The incursion of a glo-
balised consumerism means the new
generation have no use for massages.
That has hit the masseurs badly, with
their progeny—more are getting an
education—seeking better avenues.
Ishwar is convinced that they are the
last of the masseurs. The masseurs of
Babughat, a familiar, enduring scene,
will exist only in memory, print and
the moving picture. O

hours in the life of Namgay rINcha, Buddhist monk

Chasing Nirvana
by Salik Ahmad he adheres to a simple philosophy.
“I don’t want to become somebody

T
hIs mortal world is constantly
chasing one thing or the other—
worldly wealth for many, nirvana
and moksha for some. Bhutanese monk
Namgay rincha, 47, belongs to that mi-
nority trying to follow in the footsteps of
the Buddha. his lean frame, hermit’s
robes and endearing smile betrays no
signs of anguish for the path he had cho-
sen to tread.
rincha from Thimphu is in Bodh
Gaya since late October and will stay
for three months before returning
home. he is among millions making a
pilgrimage every year to the place where
the Buddha attained enlightenment.
big. No matter what you become,
it’ll all come to grief. The soul
should be good and pure.”
Predictably austere, his day is spent
meditating and praying. he wakes up at
3 am every day, prays for two hours, and
when you still can’t hear the birds, he
walks to the Mahabodhi Temple.
Till the time he goes to bed at 9 pm, he
keeps meditating and chanting hymns.
The sole interruptions are meal and tea
breaks. he prefers the Tibetan variety—
the salty, butter tea from the mountains.
“The Buddha renounced wealth and
property for knowledge,” he says. “we
just try to follow him.” O

102 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019

Duravit. Crafting the fine art
of luxury bathrooms in india.
W
hoever said bathrooms were the last thing on your
mind when you design your home or office, was
surely born in some other period in history. The
world has moved on. As the 21st century breathes new ideas
of lifestyle and wellness, the modern man is willing to indulge
in his deepest fantasies when it comes to bathrooms, going by
what we have seen of late in the booming building material
category.
Duravit is one player in the category which has been around
In India for more than 15 years. If they had to gain a greater
market share, they could have easily tried competing in the
value driven segment. Instead, true to their legacy, they stuck
to who they really are, a premium luxury bathroom brand
that has always led the conversation when it comes to design,
technology and quality.
When it comes to products,
Duravit has always been a name to
reckon with. Take Philippe Starck
for example, the uncontested king
of product design internationally.
Some of his collaborations with the
brand have led to mindboggling
range of designs that are truly
futuristic in their essence.
Duraceram and Sensowash are
enough evidence of the truly
Asutosh Shah, international aesthetic and over
Managing Director, Duravit India time, Duravit has become a
preferred brand of the creative class
worldwide. It stands for luxury in its truly incorruptible sense,
and its association with international marvels like Burj Khalifa
or projects by stellar architects like Zaha Hadid gives it an
aura hard to imitate. It wasn’t easy at all in the beginning, but
over a period of time they have managed to integrate a luxury
brand into the value driven Indian market. From the brand,
what’s on offer is pretty incredible; luxury bathroom furniture,
mirror, wellness, WC, furniture basins, designer basins and an
exclusive range of products for different projects. As a brand,
they give equal attention to the quality of the product as well
as the after-sale service. This is probably one of the toughest
jobs in the business, but then, in business there are no short-
cuts they say.
In India, the future looks exhilarating for them, they believe.
Even though Tier I cities get them the largest chunk of business,
they sense that Tier II and III cities in India hold immense
potential for a brand like Duravit. This surely is the next phase
of growth that they are envisaging after the big metros. Much
of their footprint that one sees in India today, is the hard work
of an entire team that has made it look easy over the last decade
and a half. Asutosh Shah, Managing Director of Duravit India,
says, “India was a foreign market and Duravit was very unsure
of the culture and the nature of consumers. From there to now
having established a strong presence in the market including
a manufacturing facility in Gujarat, the brand has come a long
way. But there’s not a chance that we will stagnate, it’s time to
buckle up and get ready for a truly exciting journey ahead!
‘PiLGriMaGE OF
EDuCatiON’ KOta
Celebrates mega bhakti ki pathshala
More than 1 Lac Allen
students participated
T
hink of competitive examinations in India and the
first thought that comes to the mind is Kota. The
city today known as the ‘Education capital of India’
for competitive exam preparation has benchmarked itself as
‘Shiksha ki Kashi’. Allen Career Institute, founded in the year
1988 by Rajesh Maheshwari, which today stands as a pioneer
brand in preparation of JEE Main, JEE Advanced, NEET,
AIIMS, NTSE and various other Entrance Exams. Allen is
world’s largest career coaching institute with 2 Lac classroom
students enrolled in academic session 2019-20, in which 1
Lac students are enrolled at Kota itself. The institute believes
in providing dedicated service to the students and aims in
bringing success to every student of the nation by imparting
quality education along with spiritual values. Along with
classroom coaching the students are taught about culture,
spirituality, meditation and patience. Recently the biggest
‘Bhakti ki Pathshala’ Sanskar Mahotsav, was organised by
Allen Career Institute Kota on 14th and 15th November. It
was a unique confluence of devotion and science in which the
students from all over country took a deep dive in the virtue
of spirituality and meditation. The students were taught about
Physics of Life, Maths of Patience, Chemistry of Spirituality and
Biology of Meditation with devotional songs. Moreover, this
occasion was graced with auspicious presence of Shri Jhalaria
Peethadhishwar Swamiji Shri Ghanshyamacharya Ji Maharaj.
Everywhere the students were seen enjoying and dancing on
the Bhajans. More than 1 Lac science students attended this
two day programme. It was such a class of devotion, where
students learned about religion and spirituality. Reflecting
upon its moto ‘Sanskar Se Safalta Tak’, Sanskar Mahotsav is a
festival organized to teach sanskars to the students as they are
the guiding path that helps in building right characteristics,
reminds us of our duties towards family & society. During
the occasion, Kalyanotsav of Lord Shri Tirupati Balaji was
celebrated and the marriage of Lord Venketesh and Goddess
Laxmi was also held where thousands of students cherished
this moment with a shower of flowers to the Lord.
 hours in the life of Chetan SaShital, voice actor, Mumbai
by Giridhar Jha in Mumbai
C
hetan Sashital is a man of
many...er...too many voices. In
a career spanning more than 30
years, India’s best-known voice actor has
dubbed for 30,000-plus characters.
From Bollywood potboilers and
hollywood animation films to tV com-
mercials and radio spots, he has lent his
voice to a wide cast of characters, includ-
ing Balasaheb thackeray in a Marathi
biopic, Sachin tendulkar, amitabh
Bachchan, Donald Duck et al.
his skills aren’t limited to mimicry; his
talent is modulation—like giving a voice
to as many as 38 characters in a single
animation film. he believes drawing
voices from the real world is abso-
lutely necessary. “It lends authen-
ticity to your work,” says the
production engineer who used to mimic
crows, cats and his teachers in school.
In a demanding industry, he knows the
need to keep pace with latest develop-
ments in voiceover. “You have to con-
stantly update yourself…like the latest
software, technology in your field,” he
points out. “Whenever I have time dur-
ing the day, I enrich myself with such
Lord of the Larynx
knowledge.” and stay fit too. he
gets up early and heads to
Matunga Gymkhana. “My day
starts with a two-hour session on
the badminton courts, which provides
the best exercise.”
after breakfast, he is ready for his long
schedule. “When I am working on a fea-
ture film, I know well in advance about
the characters I am dubbing for, but on
the voice of radio and television, the characters are
vastly different,” he says. “My work
30,000-plus
remains tight and I hardly return home
before 9.30 pm. Still, I don’t work for
characters in
more than four hours at a stretch now.”
every evening, there comes a time
when he goes quiet and eavesdrops on
ads and films just about everybody on the streets,
especially vegetable and fish markets.
keeps fit with “My rule is simple: if you want to be
a tansen, you have to be a Kaansen,”
badminton says the 51-year-old with the most malle-
able voice in India. “evening walks are
each morning. part of my routine. I keep my eyes and
ears open to distinct voices. It helps me
prepare for the characters I have to dub.”
his sorties are getting less productive
as people hardly talk these days. “Most
of them have a headphone on their ears
all the time,” he sighs. “their entire
APOORVA SALKADE world seems to have been restricted
to the 5”x3” screens.”
Weekends are family time,
which he enjoys with his wife,
son, daughter, and Simba and
Samson, his two pet dogs. “Sunday
is the only day when all of us can talk to
each other,” he says. “We do not socialise
much due to lack of time. But on special
occasions like Diwali, a lot of our friends
call in to celebrate with us.”
Whenever he manages to squeeze in
some time, he makes illustrations or
work on the script for an ad, spicing it
up with his infallible humour. “On my
off-days, I do voice counselling to profes-
sionals like lawyers, professors, actors
and singers,” he says. even ent special-
ists refer patients to him. and like
amrish Puri’s compliment to him, they
all go “Mogambo khush hua”. O
 hours in the life of VARUN KHULLAR aka DJ Aamish
Cool Cues
On Hot
Wheels
by Lachmi Deb Roy
W
ALK into Kitty Su, the jewel
in the crown of Delhi’s
nightlife, on a Saturday
night and Varun Khullar’s juggles are
bound to thump through your body.
His beaming eyes remain fixed on the
console as he segues from one groovy
track to another. But it’s not just his
talent that sets 27-year-old Varun
apart from other DJs: it’s also the fact
that he’s in a wheelchair. DJ Aamish, as
he is known on stage, is India’s first dif-
ferently abled disc jockey and the sec-
ond in the world after American house
DJ and producer Paul Johnson.
It was on June 7, 2014 that an accident
on the Delhi-Manali highway paralysed
him below the chest. “I was pursuing
a masters in mass communication from
Amity University. My friend driving the
car didn’t notice a truck coming from the
other side. As he swerved to avoid hitting
it, the car fell off the slope and got
crushed from one side,” he recalls.
On waking up, he realised that his life
had completely changed. “Doctors said
that I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of
things that men of my age would like to,”
he says. After endless hours of introspec-
tion, he found within himself the
strength to carry on with life. “The first
two years after the accident, I was com-
108 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
AAMISH IS
INDIA’S FIRST
DIFFERENTLY
ABLED DJ AND
THE SECOND IN
THE WORLD
AFTER PAUL
JOHNSON.
pletely homebound. I decided to pursue
my passion for music as it was my only
source of happiness,” he explains.
Aamish loved music since childhood.
His eclectic taste had made him famil-
iar with myriad genres. “My dad too was
a music aficionado. Growing up, I lis-
tened to everything—rock, country and
house among others; Frankie Knuckles
is one of my favourite artists. I could lit-
TRIBHUVAN TIWARI
erally feel music running through my
veins.”During his convalescence, he
began learning about the basics of
DJing and how to break into the profes-
sion. He then started applying for jobs
but met with a barrage of rejections.
Regardless, he didn’t want club manag-
ers to give him a gig out of pity.
About three years after his accident—
the date, May 27, 2017, is etched in his
memory—Amish got his first break at
Kitty Su. “It was a crazy night, I will
never forget it. I was glad that people
accepted me for my talent.” The gig was
a hit and he was offered a position as the
resident DJ of Kitty Su. “The best thing
about my colleagues at Kitty Su is they
never look at me with pity or sympathy.
They treat me like family.”
Despite his erratic schedule,
Aamish tries to maintain a healthy
lifestyle. “I report at 10 pm sharp and
often play till the wee hours. To stay in
good shape, I have a high-protein diet.
Since I am vegan, I eat lots of sprouts,”
he says. I have to do physiotherapy every
day and try to visit a clinic two to three
times a week,” he explains.
It’s been five years since he began
using a wheelchair, but Aamish rejects
the term wheelchair-bound. “I am not
bound to this wheelchair, I just walk
on it,” he declares. At Kitty Su, though,
he soars on it. O

of prominently displayed boards say-
ing beware of pickpockets, be respon-
Guru Nanak
sible for your goods, do not accept
is the idea of prasad from strangers, and place your
peace that donations in specific boxes. I won-
exists in all dered if those who believe in Guru
our hearts if Nanak needed so many instructions
in vigilantism.
we let our I came out of the gurdwara and met
conscience a senior journalist. He told me that
speak and the kar sewa babas (Sikh leaders or-
are willing to ganising community volunteer work)
shun petty had demolished the old haveli of Guru
Nanak’s sister Bebe Nanki a few years
politics? ago. These babas operate under the
aegis of the top Sikh gurdwara man-
agement body, the Shiromani
Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
(SGPC), which is controlled by the
Sikh political party, the Akali Dal. The
new haveli was made of new brick,
painted red and looked like a toy
house. Such demolition and
rebuilding is a common practice with
the Sikh religion’s historic locations.
In the process, the babas make huge
money from donations. I wondered
about the Sikh community’s sense of
heritage. Who were the real pickpock-
ets of the community—petty thieves
or these babas?
Now, on the eve of the 550th anni-
versary, a new drama is unfolding be-
tween two competing forces in
Punjab—the SGPC and the Congress
government. The competition is over
who can outdo the other in the pomp
and show of the celebrations—river
floats, giant platforms, nagar kirtans.
Both have forgotten Guru Nanak’s
message of a formless understanding
of life’s manifestation and care for the
environment. The attempt is to app-
112 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
ropriate Guru Nanak—place your donations in spe-
cific boxes. If either or both of them had chosen to go
beyond symbolism, they could have worked towards
an agriculture policy based on natural farming to help
farmers move out of the gory aftermath of the green
revolution, cultivated one or more 550-acre natural
forests, or sought to rectify the highly depleted
groundwater situation that threatens to turn the once
fertile plains into a desert.
There is also a parallel call—that too from so-called
enemy state Pakistan. Last year, when Pakistan
elected a new prime minister, it decided to allow pil-
grims from India to cross the international border
and visit Kartarpur Sahib. When the proposal came,
the uber-nationalistic sections of the Indian media
went into an overdrive. They did not understand the
sentiment of Punjab lacerated by Partition. They did
not understand that the Sikhs have been petitioning
for access to Kartarpur Sahib since Independence—
the petition is part of their regular prayers, the ardas.
All they harped on was that the two nation-states have
fought four wars and have much baggage of unsolved
issues from the past, including Kashmir. All political
parties and the media preached mistrust, caution and
the fear of sabotage—all so out of line with Guru
Nanak’s teachings.
Through my journeys, I found that in Punjab and
many other places besides, Guru Nanak is as much a
part of Hindu homes as of Sikh ones. There are many
sects now on the fringes of the mainstream Sikh reli-
gion that revere Guru Nanak, including Udasis,
Naamdharis, Nirankaris, Sanatani and Nirmalas.
Many Sindhis and Nanak Naam-levas hold Guru
Nanak in high esteem. Their numbers far exceed the
Sikh community, which stands at around 25 million
worldwide.
Perhaps Pakistan’s call is not wholly noble. Perhaps
it is under pressure from China, which is interested
in its One Belt One Road project, or from the World
Bank—or is doing it to improve its image in the eyes
of the world. Yet, it is an attempt at peace and what is
remarkable is that despite all the smoke and mirrors
of Pulwama and Balakot, the posturing and boasts of
leaders, the two nations continue to work towards
the corridor at Kartarpur Sahib. The nascent, silent
attempt at peace in South Asia has prevailed. In spite
of minor hiccups, the border crossing project is on. If
it reaches fruition, which seems certain now, it
would be a major attempt at peace in the history of
the two nations.
That is because Guru Nanak has forever embodied
the idea of peace and belongs to the entire humanity,
not to one religion alone. That is how the iconoclast
and pacifist Guru Nanak is speaking to us right now.
Guru Nanak is the idea of peace that exists in all our
hearts if we let our conscience speak and if we are
willing to shun petty politics. Can we listen to that
inner voice? O
(Amandeep Sandhu is the author of
Panjab: Journeys Through Fault Lines)
 books Shashi Tharoor
The Hindu Way: An Introduction To Hinduism | Aleph | 340 pages | Rs 799
With Charvaka Rationalists
Tharoor’s earlier book locked horns with ascendant forces of Hindu bigotry.
This useful primer on the universe of Hinduism also doesn’t suffer fanatics.
by Pavan K. Varma
H
INDUISM, for most within its
fold, is a way of life. It has no
one pope, no one text, no infl­
exibly prescriptive ritual, no
mandatory congregation and
no one presiding temple. It is
precisely for this that it has continued
to flourish since time immemorial,
sanatan and anant. Shashi Tharoor’s
The Hindu Way is thus appropriately
titled. It gives a broad­brush introduc­
tion, tarrying on some details but, in
general, providing a bird’s­eye­view to
the practice and ideology of a religion
that defies rigid definitions.
For Hindus, to know a little more about
their religion is essential, especially today.
While accepting that Hinduism is a way of
life, it would be incorrect to say that it is
only an amorphous and diffused collation
of customs and festivals. The core of Hin­
duism is its spiritual legacy, which con­
stitutes a grand edifice of thought, notable
for its cerebral energy. Hinduism as a
religion is inseparable from Hinduism
as a philosophy. If Hindus are adrift from
the deep philosophical moorings of their
religion, they are deliberately choosing
the shell for the great treasure that
lies within. When religions are largely
reduced to rituals, there is always the
danger that the form will become more
important than the substance. Tharoor’s
book is an important attempt to counter
this danger.
There are three foundational texts of
Hinduism: the Upanishads, the Bhag­
wad Gita, and the Brahma Sutra. The
religion has six systems of philosophy:
Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika,
Purva Mimamsha and Uttar Mimamsha.
In addition there are defiant schools of
thought, such as the Charvaka, and the
esoteric practices of the Tantras. Signi­
ficantly, the principal schools of Hindu
philosophy are mostly less concerned
about god and more about what could
be the ultimate truth behind the bewil­
114 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
dering plurality of the cosmos.
Shashi dwells on these aspects, and
tangentially or directly, brings out the
amazingly inclusive, eclectic and dialogic
aspects of Hinduism that sanction several
paths—jnana, karma, bhakti—to reach
salvation. He gives special attention to
pivotal figures in the evolution of
Hinduism, such as Adi Shankaracharya,
Ramanuja, Swami Vivekananda, Raja
The core of Hinduism is its
spiritual legacy, a grand
edifice of thought. Tharoor
portrays the inclusive,
eclectic and dialogic
aspects of Hinduism and
discusses pivotal figures.
Rammohan Roy and Dayanand Saraswati.
There are chapters on the impact of
Buddhism and Jainism on Hinduism, and
that of the Muslim invaders, as also the
reaction of Hinduism to the challenge
posed by British rule.
The Hindu Way is derived from Shashi’s
earlier, and more significant, book Why I
am a Hindu—a powerful polemic against
bigoted Hindutvavadis. Without detract­
ing from the need of such a rebuttal, Tha­
roor concedes in the prologue that there
was a demand “of many readers for a book
on Hinduism without the polemics of
Hindutva” and so this is a book that “rep­
roduces some of the sections of the previ­
ous book along with a couple of new and
revised chapters”. The aim was to have a
book that is less contested and polemi­
cal—a benign introduction to Hinduism.
But, whatever his intention, the need to
counter the illiterate ultra­right Hindu
looms large like Banquo’s ghost over this
book as well. It is only when ordinary
Hindus, while practising their faith in
their own way, become more informed
about its remarkable philosophical foun­
dations, that they will be in a position to
counter Hindutvavadis, with fact and
reason. In the times we live in, this is the
relevance of The Hindu Way. In fact, the
author himself—in spite of his avowals to
the contrary—cannot stay from this
theme, and expresses himself without
inhibition in the last section, where he
speaks bluntly about the relevant need to
counter the distorted and fanatical aspe­
cts of Hinduism that is in evidence today.
For the curious Hindu wanting to
know more about her religion, The
Hindu Way is an eminently readable
primer to the basic tenets of this great
faith. It is informed by an eclectic and
inclusive temper that is at the very core
of a religion that had the audacity of
thought to pronounce millenniums ago:
Ekam satya bipraha bahudha vadanti—
the truth is one, the wise people call it
by different names.
The book is appropriately illustrated
by images from the practice and evolu­
tion of Hinduism, but there is one illus­
tration, right up front, which needs to
be corrected in the next edition. A
full­page depiction of Lakshmi is wro­
ngly labelled ‘Saraswati’. But, that is a
minor editorial mistake in a book that
otherwise provides a very informed
tour d’ horizon of a faith that has rem­
ained an imperishable way of life since
the dawn of time. O
(Pavan K. Varma is the author of
Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduism’s
Greatest Thinker)
 books Sudha G Tilak
Temple Tales: Secrets and Stories from India’s Sacred Places | Hachette |
200 pages | Rs 299
On The Highest Style
Queer, myth­based practices bring temples to life
by Anjana Basu
T
EMPLE Tales has a valuable task
at hand—giving a background
into the many temples that dot
the country as well as giving trivia,
like the existence of medical prasad in
Dhanwantari’s temple and the godd­
ess Shakambhari, who rules over veg­
etables, and whose prasad thus con­
sists of cauliflowers, potatoes etc.
Each temple featured has its own
unique founding story, or ‘sthalpurana’
and Tilak tells the stories of temples
from various parts of India. From there
she moves to prasad stories and those of
sacred groves, like those in Meghalaya.
However, when it comes to rocks the
stories seem to peter out in architectural
details like those of the terracotta tem­
ples of Bishnupur, leaving the reader
Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey
Not Just Another Story | Aleph | 208 pages | Rs 399
Slime, The Inner Cycle
Varying fates of the victims of a social evil
by Anjana Basu
J
HIMLI Mukherjee Pandey is a
journalist, which explains why the
narrator in her book is a journo fol­
lowing up on an old story. The rea­
son for this is the success of Slumdog
Millionaire—Pandey’s alter ego is
asked by her boss to find out what
happened to the children she inter­
viewed through an NGO called Durjoy.
From this starting point unfolds a tale
of children rescued from Calcutta’s
notorious red light area, Sonagachi.
One of the children is of particular
interest—Lakshmi, who has left Sona­
gachi and moved into the relatively up­
market Salt Lake. She has a new name
and, as the journalist finds out, a new
identity. Through Lakshmi, renamed
Anjali, Pandey tells the stories of three
116 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
ON THE RACKS
wondering where the myths went beca­
use they make the book interesting.
Tilak’s is an entirely personal account
of the temples she is familiar with; her
list does not claim to be magisterial.
However, her style could also have been
standardised in places—for example,
she refers to Shiva as ‘dude’ and Sheetala
Mata as the goddess of ‘cool’, but words
like that then disappear from the text.
Most stories are told in third person, but
in a few there are attempts to dramatise
the situation by beginning with a charac­
ter’s dilemma—Lakshman’s, for example,
before Hanuman sets off in search of the
sanjivani plant. These could have been
taken care of by an alert editor.
Barring minor glitches, Temple Tales
is a gentle book and makes perfect
reading for those fascinated by India’s
temples and mythology. O
women who followed the same trade.
One who was trafficked, one inducted
and the third educated enough to give
the business a new perspective.
Courtesan stories set in Lucknow are
plentiful—so are ones set in the old
days of the babus who kept their mis­
tresses in a very different Sonagachi
from this one. Pandey explores the
story of the present­day world just
before prostitutes were given new
dignity under the title sex workers.
Hers is a slutty, dirty slum which the
women cannot escape—those who try
mainly find themselves making the
same mistakes that landed them there
in the first place.
The point that Pandey makes is that
escape is a state of mind, from Saraju to
Malati to Lakshmi. The business of sex
has no illusion of romance about it. O
Aruni Kashyap
His Father’s Disease |
Westland
This anthology of short stories
effortlessly flits from “sophisti­
cated bathrooms” in Minnesota
to encounters with the army in
villages of Assam. With grounded
narratives and compelling charac­
ters, the author delves into what
stories about a place are told, those
that are worth telling and what
they really want to say.
Aparna
Karthikeyan
Nine Rupees An
Hour | Westland
The author documents the drastic
and systemic erosion of traditional
livelihoods in rural Tamil Nadu.
She travelled across the state for
five years and interacted with peo­
ple—toddy tappers, nadaswaram
makers, sari designers, dancers
on stilts—who make a living and
safeguard their crafts despite
low wages, corporatisation and
seasonal unpredictability.
Sohan S. Koonar
Paper Lions |
Speaking Tiger
The lives of the three pro­
tagonists—the only son of an
impoverished family who enlists
in the British Indian Army, a
12­year­old girl from a nomadic
community and a former feudal
lord—intertwine against the
backdrop of Partition. Through
its delineation of family dynamics
and class struggles, it captures
the tumultuous history of Punjab
and the evolution of society in the
decades after Independence.
 LAUNCH OF INDIA
HEALTHCARE LEADERSHIP FORUM
for senior healthcare leaders in India, in collaboration with GE Healthcare
ndian healthcare has demonstrated

I phenomenal growth and is now one

of the leading sectors- both in terms
of revenue and employment. The
Healthcare market is projected to be US$ 372
Billion by 2022. There is a significant scope
for enhancing healthcare services considering
that healthcare spending as a percentage of
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is rising.
Keeping in mind the significant growth
potential of the Healthcare sector, India
Healthcare Leadership Forum, was launched
with a vision to build strong fundamental of
trust amongst senior healthcare leaders to
enable them to deliver sustainable profitable
growth.
India Healthcare Leadership Forum
conducted its first conference in New
to provide quality care to underserved
Delhi with GE Healthcare as its strategic
population in India. They also highlighted the
partner. The event was attended by stalwarts
efforts of GE Healthcare in capacity building
and senior professionals from Healthcare
initiatives in India.
industry. The theme of the conference was
Speaking about the event, Amit Mohan,
“Growth Opportunities in Healthcare Sector
Chief Operating Officer - LCS & LCS Digital,
in India”. The healthcare leaders brainstormed
South Asia said, “GE Healthcare has always
on the key challenges and opportunities for
believed in articulating and amplifying
the healthcare sector in its growth journey
partnerships to achieve the common
and key expectations from the policy makers.
healthcare goals. We endeavour to provide
GE Healthcare as a leading global medical
standardized solutions benchmarked against
technology and life sciences company,
the best in the world delivering quality
providing a broad portfolio of products,
healthcare outcomes.”
solutions and services used in the diagnosis,
We help improve outcomes for healthcare
treatment and monitoring of patients and
providers and for therapy innovators around Mr. Aviral Choubey, Senior BJP Leader being
in the development and manufacture of greeted by Mr. Gaurav Malhotra
the world. This means We also aim to support
biopharmaceuticals, focused on increasing
our customers in the pursuit of precision
capacity, improving productivity and
health: health care that is integrated, highly incredible opportunity to network, share, and
delivering better patient outcomes.
personalized to each patient’s needs and that learn. Invaluable networks built by and for
Marut Setia, Chief Marketing Officer-South
reduces waste and inefficiency. We embrace a senior healthcare leaders to drive innovative
Asia reinforced GE Healthcare commitment
culture of respect, transparency, integrity and ideas, validate strategies and solve critical
diversity. leadership challenges through peer-to-peer
Prabal Chakraborty, Co-Founder of India collaboration.
Healthcare Leadership Forum, spoke about
how innovation can act as a catalyst for growth HealtHcare Industry In IndIa-
and how can we bring global innovation, The governments expenditure on the health
latest technological advancements and sector has grown to 1.4 per cent in FY18
quality products to serve Indian patients. The from 1.2 per cent in FY14. The Government
current VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex of India is planning to increase public health
and Ambiguous) environment will lead to spending to 2.5 per cent of the country’s GDP
extraordinary challenges and opportunities. by 2025.
In this chaos, collaborative leadership will be The game changer can be Pradhan Mantri
the mantra of success in Healthcare Industry. Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), worlds largest
Mr. Gaurav Malhotra, Founder of India government funded healthcare scheme
Healthcare Leadership Forum, said that this launched by GOI to provide health insurance
Dr. Mahipal S. Sachdev, Owner Centre for Sight, forum fosters collaborative exchange among worth Rs 500,000 (US$ 7,000) to over 100
being welcomed at the forum top healthcare leaders in India. This is an million families every year.
AMRITA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Earns AACSB International Accreditation
T
ampa, Fla., USA (November 15,
2019)—AACSB International
(AACSB) announces that
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
has earned accreditation for its Amrita
School of Business. Founded in 1916,
AACSB is the longest-serving global
accrediting body for business schools,
and the largest business education
network connecting students, educators,
and businesses worldwide.
“AACSB accreditation recognizes
institutions that have demonstrated a
focus on excellence in all areas, including
teaching, research, curricula
development, and student learning,” said
Stephanie M. Bryant, executive vice
president and chief accreditation officer
of AACSB International. “We
congratulate Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeetham and Chairman Raghu
Raman on earning accreditation, and
applaud the entire Amrita School of
Business team—including the
administration, faculty, staff, and
students—for their roles in earning this
respected honor.”
Synonymous with the highest standards
of quality, AACSB accreditation inspires
new ways of thinking within business
education globally and, as a result, has
been earned by only 5 percent of the
world’s schools offering business degrees
at the bachelor’s level or higher. Today,
862 institutions across 56 countries and
territories maintain AACSB
accreditation. Furthermore,188
institutions maintain supplemental
AACSB accreditation for their accounting
programs.
Thanking the AACSB peer review team
and mentor for providing outstanding
guidance, Chancellor Sri Mata
Amritanandamayi Devi said, “AACSB
accreditation is a superb international
recognition for Amrita School of Business
and its unique mission of socially
responsible management, education for
life, and research driven by compassion.”
AACSB accreditation provides a ensure continuous improvement and
118 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
DR. RAGHU RAMAN
Chairman, Amrita School of Business
Thanking the
AACSB peer review team
and mentor for providing
outstanding guidance,
Chancellor Sri Mata
Amritanandamayi Devi
said, “AACSB accreditation
is a superb international
recognition for Amrita
School of Business and its
unique mission of socially
responsible management,
education for life, and
research driven by
compassion.
framework of 15 international standards
against which business schools around
the world assess the quality of their
educational services. These standards
provide focus for schools to deliver on
their mission, innovate, and drive
impact. AACSB-accredited schools have
successfully undergone a rigorous review
process conducted by their peers in the
business education community, ensuring
that they have the resources, credentials,
and commitment needed to provide
students with a first-rate, future-focused
business education.
“Amrita School of Business’s
commitment to earning accreditation is
a true reflection of their dedication—not
only to their students, alumni network,
and greater business community, but to
the higher education industry as a
whole,” said Bryant. “Today’s students
are tomorrow’s business leaders, and the
addition of the Amrita School of Business
to the network of AACSB-accredited
business schools will have a lasting
positive impact for their institution, both
locally and globally.”
AACSB also announcedthat Alabama
A&M University, Beijing Institute of
Technology, BINUS Business School at
Bina Nusantara University, Örebro
University andUniversity of Wollongong
have earned accreditation in business.
About AACSB International
As the world’s largest business education
alliance, AACSB International (AACSB)
connects educators, students, and business
to achieve a common goal: to create the
next generation of great leaders.
Synonymous with the highest standards
of excellence since 1916, AACSB provides
quality assurance, business education
intelligence, and learning and
development services to more than 1,700
member organizations and over 850
accredited business schools worldwide.
AACSB’s mission is to foster engagement,
accelerate innovation, and amplify impact
in business education. The global
organization has offices located in Tampa,
Florida, USA; Amsterdam, the
Netherlands; and Singapore.
For more information, visit aacsb.edu.
DOON PUBLIC SCHOOL:
The Most Futuristic School
Ms. Sumy Vasan Tiwari Mr. N.V. Sarat Chandran
Director Director
I
n this era of globalization and liberation, Doon Public School
prepares students to have a competitive edge over others to
meet the global perspective with the best of technology in
education. It is the foremost school in India to impart education
with Computer Aided Teaching and Learning through Smart
Class using Interactive Boards with Smart Assessment System
(SAS) in all the classes.
The novelty of Doon Public School is its Biotechnology
Lab which is the only one in the country to have a tissue
culture facility at the school level. Its exclusive state-of-the art
equipment has been creating a culture of inquiry in the budding
biotechnologists since last fifteen years.
The modern and non-conventional educational learning
tools like Digital Maths Lab, Language Lab, Digital Library, the
Lexile Framework (literal and contextual learning in English
language), Abacus and Vedic-Maths have made teaching and
learning truly engrossing.
A degree in fashion is ideal for someone who loves to draw,
create, and influence future trends. Considering the Doonites’
personal preferences and career goals, Doon Public School is
one of the first schools to add Fashion Studies to its repertoire.
The course trains the students in the theory and practical
aspects of apparel designing and manufacturing through hands
on experience in textile selection, dyeing, printing, cutting
and sewing. The school has been serving as a platform for the
aspiring fashion designers.
For past 41 years, the school has been nurturing and
enabling young talent to set a benchmark by not only excelling
in global careers but also becoming ideal samaritans.
‘Education is the
foundation of progress in
a society and innovation
in education is to prepare
young leaders for an
unbounded future.’
M. G. Vasan (Chairman, Doon Public School)
The two day Global Law
Conference on Environmental
Laws kicks off at Chandigarh
University
“G
ood economy helps in making good environment for
future” says Union Minister Piyush Goyal
Chandigarh University has done a commendable
job by making the study of Environmental Law subject compulsory
for every student: says Union Minister Piyush Goyal
Piyush Goyal announced that Government of India will launch
solar projects producing 1 lakh gigawatts by 2020
“Good economy contributes towards improving environmental
conditions for the society” said Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for
Railways, Commerce & Industry. He was speaking during the
inaugural session of the two day Global Law Conference at the
campus of Chandigarh University, Gharuan. Government of India
has taken some major reforms in the form of some progressive
schemes such as Ujwala Yojna, Ujala Scheme, Swach Bharat, Ban
of Single Use Plastic and Cleaning of Rivers which has contributed
towards the protection of environment in a significant way over
the period of five years. The minister applauded the efforts of
Chandigarh University for making compulsory the subject of
Environment Laws for every student studying in any stream from
January 2020. Justice Deepak Gupta, Judge, Supreme Court of
India, Justice Lord Carnwarth, Judge, Supreme Court of UK, Justice
Luc Lavrysen, Judge Belgian Constitutional Court & President, EU
Forum Judges for the Environment, Prof. Tracy Hester, University of
Houston Law Centre, USA, Justice Swatanter Kumar, former Judge
Supreme Court of India and former Chairperson, National Green
Tribunal and Satnam Singh Sandhu, Chandigarh University were
the other dignitaries who were present on the occasion. Chancellor,
“The Government of India is contemplating big projects in
the field of Solar Energy which will also contribute in the area
of Environment as the country will be able to meet its energy
requirements and we will lessen our dependency on thermal plants”
said Union Minister. Similarly more than 8 crore LPG connections
have been given to women under the Ujawal Yojana which has
resulted in saving the environment from the posnious gases that
were formed due to burning of fossil fuels in chullas which is
equivalent to inhaling of smoke from 400 cigarettes, the minister
added. Piyush Goyal announced that Government of India will
launch solar projects producing 1 lakh gigawatts by 2020
While giving his presidential address on the occasion, Justice
Deepak Gupta, Judge Supreme Court of India said, “The important
decision that we have to make is that whether we want to have a
secure future or not and if the answer is yes then everyone of this
planet have to contribute for the cause of environment protection”.
Every tree on this earth should be visualized as a oxygen producing
entity which will make every individual sensitive towards the issue
of environment, added Justice Deepak Gupta.
Justice Lord Carnwarth, Judge, Supreme Court of UK said, “Every
nation has to come forward and do their bit if we want to save our
planet from getting extinct”. Youth have to come forward to find
solutions to the problems with the help of technology and that will
be innovation in real sense, added Justice Carwarth.
 glitterati

AP
Like a Perambulator
Two women sitting on laps of men, glad,
artificial grins plastered over their faces...
you’d be forgiven to think such things are
embarrassingly passe in the 21st century.
It’s evidently not in Bollywood. And so,
the comedy Good Newwz, starring Kiara
Advani, Diljit Dosanjh, Akshay and
Kareena, will possibly live up to its
tagline: ‘the biggest goof-up of the year’.
A comedy about IVF, did you say? We
shudder in anticipation.

Night Of The Lovelies

Everyone present remembers the occ-
asion. In 1985, John Travolta was Holly-
wood’s hottest. spinning high after
Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive and
Grease. Princess Di was a dream incar-
nate. When he asked her for a dance
at the White House state ball, she shyly
accepted. Her spellbinding gown will
be heading to auction a second time
now, after 1997. Probable price?
£350,000. Worth every stitch of it, too.

120 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019


All-time XI
It’s an old habit, the naming of ideal
cricket XIs. Even the great Don Bradman
could not resist the urge. In The Art of
Cricket, he writes of a friend who amused
himself while recovering in hospital
by picking teams with players whose
names began with the same letter (for
instance, ‘H’, which had Hutton, Hobbs
SURESH MENON
and Hammond in the top three) or
players with seven letters in their name (Editor, Wisden India Almanack)
(Trumper, Bradman, etc).
My latest is a list of cricketers who have written for
Wisden India Almanack. After eliminating those like
C.K. Nayudu, Jack Hobbs and Vijay Merchant who didn’t
write specifically for the Almanack but whose pieces
have appeared in it, here it is in roughly batting order:
V.V.S. Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Viv Richards, Virat Kohli,
Mahela Jayawardene, Greg Chappell, Michael Brearley,
Richard Hadlee, Anil Kumble, Bishan Bedi, Michael
Holding and Vic Marks. That’s 12, and depending on
the conditions, either a spinner or paceman will play.
Brearley will lead, of course, and keep wickets, like he once
used to. My list leaves out Ian Chappell, Ed Smith, B.S.
Chandrasekhar, Abhishek Nayyar, Aakash Chopra, Murali
Kartik, Sanjay Manjrekar and W.V. Raman, which probably
means I’ll get fewer New Year greetings this time.
The Answer Is Zero
Sometimes editors become travail writers, complaining
about the effort of bringing so many elements together
and spending sleepless nights as the publication date
approaches. The editor of the UK Wisden, Lawrence Booth,
says he dreams that everything is fine, every comma in
place, every figure in the statistics section above reproach
and every word perfect. “And then,” he says, “I wake up
screaming as the cover reads ‘Widens’ instead of Wisden.”
So many pairs of eyes vet the text, you would think
mistakes are impossible. But they happen and account
for the rapidity with which hairs turn grey (as is the case
with India’s captains, but that’s another story).
Sometimes bylines go wrong, at other times
photographs mysteriously go missing dur-
ing production. Newspaper editors are
forgiven after 24 hours when a new set
of errors appear; for editors of week-
lies, it is seven days. When you edit an
annual publication like the Wisden
India Almanack, the seventh edition
of which has just been released, you
have a whole year of pain before you
can correct them.
It is no comfort that the King
James Bible appeared in the
17th century with one of the Ten
Commandments saying, “Thou shalt
SAAHIL
122 OUTLOOK 2 December 2019
WISDEN diary
commit adultery.” As a wise man wrote,
“Never underestimate the value of a
good ‘poofreader’.” Reading under a tight
deadline, seeing on a page what ought
to be rather than what is, and of course,
auto-correct, all contribute to mistakes.
Young journalists often ask how many
proof-reading mistakes are acceptable in
a publication? The answer is zero. That
is the mark to aim for, but it is elusive.
Editors know that, but they cannot stop
striving for it because as the football
coach Vince Lombardi said, “Perfection is not attainable,
but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”
Dream Team With Tharoor and Nadella
“Cricket was the best way we could turn the rough of life
into something sweet,” wrote Pico Iyer, the brilliant
essayist and novelist in the 2014 edition. “I know only
1,500 words of cricket,” he told me, “and now I have written
it all for you.” He was being modest. As was Ray Monk, the
philosopher and biographer who tweeted, “I managed to
write something on Wittgenstein and cricket after all! It’ll
be in Wisden India.” That was the fifth edition.
There’s an interesting XI to be chosen from the
philosophers, writers, musicians, actors and CEOs who
have written. Tom Alter wrote about his debut for “India”,
Ramachandra Guha bowled off breaks, Harry Burton
played in Nobel laureate Harold Pinter’s team, and Kamila
Shamsie is part of the Authors XI team in the UK. The
publisher Andreas Campomar played in the match to
commemorate the sesquicentennial of the first sporting
contest between Uruguay and Argentina.
Without further ado, here’s the list: Pico Iyer, Ray Monk,
Tariq Ali, Naseeruddin Shah, Satya Nadella, T.M. Krishna,
Ramachandra Guha, Mike Marqusee, Kamila Shamsie,
Shehan Karunatilaka, Shashi Tharoor and Harry Burton.
Microsoft CEO Nadella to lead?
Burnt Toast Break
The latest Wisden India Almanack,
now on the stands, is the 2019 and 2020
edition to accommodate the change in the
launch date, which now coincides with the
start of the season. For years, the Indian
season was like god’s love: there was
no beginning and no end. But now it
stretches from August-September to
the IPL final in May. I am usually too
nervous to look at the edition when
I first open it. I don’t know if there is
a scientific term for it, this editorial
anxiety. Forget the commas, what about
the burnt toast that held up play for 30
minutes during a match in Australia? Well,
that’s in place all right.
Developing a Haploidentical BMT Program In India:
TRIBUTE TO A MASTER
DR SARITA JAISWAL,
Program Director In
Bmt, Dept of BMT and
Hematology, Dharamshila
Narayana Superspeciality
Hospital, New Delhi
Article written by Dr Sarita Jaiswal
A
llogeneic (from a donor) Bone
Marrow Transplantation (BMT)
is a lifesaving procedure for many
blood cancers and other non-
malignant blood diseases. The basic principle
of this procedure rests on complete match of
HLA antigens between the patient and the
donor. The probability of that happening is
20% amongst the family members, and less
than 1 in a million from any random person.
Out of an estimated 20,000 patients requiring
an Allogeneic (from a donor) Bone Marrow
Transplantation (BMT) in India, only 500
odd patients receive one. Keeping in mind the
resource constraints, the major reason for
such disparity lies in the lack of HLA
MATCHED family donors. Whilst unrelated
donor marrow and cord blood from Volunteer
Donor Registries and Public Cord Blood
Banks meet the need for the ethnic majorities
in Europe and the USA, such registries
provide for less than 10% of BMT patients in
India, due to both cost and an available
match.
With this background, we initiated a
HAPLOIDENTICAL FAMILY DONOR
BMT PROGRAM IN 2011, planned and
conceived by Dr Suparno Chakrabarti. Dr
Chakrabarti had spent 13 years in the UK
developing various forms of innovative
approaches to BMT. It was his passion and
patriotism, which drove his desire to do
something for his own country. I had joined
him in 2012 and since then we have tried to
shape the future of HAPLOIDENTICAL
BMT in our country.
HAPLOIDENTICAL OR HALF
MATCHED BMT cannot be performed from
unrelated donors and is only possible from
close family members. The natural law of
tolerance between mother and child is
primarily utilised in such transplants. We
initiated this program initially for patients
with advanced and refractory Acute
Leukemia as the procedure was
experimental and conceived as high-risk.
Over the next 10 years, we have innovated
newer approaches to improve the
outcome of haploidentical BMT. With
over 135 transplantation in advanced
leukemia and other forms of blood
cancer, we have shown that 75% of such
patients can be long-term survivors. A
major contribution to this process has
been employment of a novel form of
immunotherapy.
Once, we were convinced about the
safety of the procedure, we were
encouraged to do BMT from
Haploidentical Family Donors for
patients with Aplastic Anemia as well.
Aplastic Anemia is a disease which dries
up the marrow and is often a result of
chemical exposure or infections. The
condition if not treated can be fatal in a
very short time. After several years of
research, we think we have perfected the
way to do Haploidentical BMT in Aplastic
Anemia as well. Our next endeavour is to
explore Haploidentical BMT as a curative
option for patients with Thalassemia and
Sickle Cell Anemia.
DR. SUPARNO CHAKRABARTI
Based on our years of extensive research,
we have realised that Haploidentical
BMT is not about selecting any half-
matched donor in the family. It is about
selecting the right donor for a particular
disease. It is about having the right
expertise, infrastructure and about
having a dedicated team. Today, we
choose HAPLOIDENTICAL donor
with suitable criteria over a Matched
Family Donor, if the blood cancer is
advanced and specific cells from
haploidentical family donor is deemed
to have a better chance of killing
leukemia cells. This is because we have
been able to reduce transplant related
complications after haploidentical BMT
to an extremely low level. At the same
time, we strongly discourage random
application of Haploidentical BMT in
diseases like thalassemia, without the
right checks and balances.
Our work has been recognised in
International forums. I have been
presenting our research on
Haploidentical BMT in USA and Europe
for the past 6 years- a feat not equalled
in our country. This is a tribute to the
tireless efforts of Dr Suparno
Chakrabarti, who pioneered this
program, at a time when none believed
in it. This is one bright example of a
brilliant Indian mind holding the
beacon of light to the rest of the world.
It is time this story of ‘Made in India’ is
told and acknowledged.

Thrombectomy in
Management of Stroke
Dr Tariq Matin, Senior Consultant, Intervention Neurology,
Dharamshila Narayana Super Speciality Hospital, Delhi and Narayana
Super Speciality Hospital, Gurugram
How vulnerable are Indians to
stroke?
As Asians, Indians have a genetic pool
which puts them in the high-risk
category of cardio-vascular, diseases with
increased tendency to develop plaques
and clots. This aggravates the incidence
of stroke making it prevalent among
Indians, which most people fail to
identify due to lack of awareness, posing
serious challenges in reducing mortality
and morbidity in stroke patients. In fact,
dissemination of information is vital
about availability of a stroke ready
comprehensive hospital to manage such
cases. People within 40-50 years age
bracket are at a higher risk, which
incidentally is the most productive phase
of an individual’s life. Debilitating effects
of stroke and loss of lives is adversely
impacting the aspirations of families, the
society and the nation, and a cause of
heightened concern.
For a layman, what are the
indications that can warn of an
impending stroke?
The human body goes through daily
wear and tear and very often small
physical discomfitures are ignored,
attributing it to fatigue etc. The stealthy
onset of a stroke is therefore missed,
which if not identified and treated
promptly could be fatal. One can spot a
stroke FAST when the face droops, arms
feel weak, there is difficulty in speech,
numbness or weakness of the leg,
confusion or trouble understanding,
trouble in sight for one or both eyes,
difficulty in walking, dizziness, loss of
balance or coordination, and
thunderclap or severe headache with no
known cause. All these symptoms
happen suddenly and is the moment
when prompt medical help must be
sought.
What are the kinds of stroke?
There are two types of stroke,
haemorrhagic or Ischemic in nature.
• In haemorrhage, weak spots develop
in the blood vessels of the brain which
then tend to balloon up, grow and
rupture leading to uncontrolled
bleeding where the heart stops and the
person dies. About 15 percent cases
that come to us are of brain
haemorrhage, which even if treated
has the potential to re-bleed with
catastrophic results.
• An ischemic stroke, on the other
hand, occurs when the blood flow gets
blocked due to clotting, which could
be small or large. Big clots are more
notorious compared to small clots. If
the patient is reported within six
hours of the stroke, ‘the golden hour’,
the chances of survival and regaining
functionality exists.
What is Mechanical
thrombectomy?
Timely restoration of cerebral blood flow
using reperfusion therapy is the most
effective manoeuvre for salvaging
ischemic brain tissue that is not already
infarcted. Though, Large vessel strokes
constitutes approximately 40 % of all
stroke cases, they are responsible for 90%
of stroke related deaths and 70% stroke
related dependency. Till almost half a
decade ago only the intravenous clot
busting drugs were the available
treatment with limited success rate, the
large vessel stroke was seen with
nihilism, but with the advent of this new
interventional technique known as
Mechanical thrombectomy.
Mechanical thrombectomy is the
interventional procedure of removing a
blood clot(thrombus) from the brain
blood vessel. A system of coaxial
catheters is pushed inside brain vessel
using fluroscopy or continuous X-ray
technique, usually through the
percutaneous access to the right femoral
artery. A highly specialized device is
positioned to catch the thrombus and
pull it out.
How effective is Stroke
Thrombectomy or Mechanical
HealtH
Thrombectomy in reversing
stroke disability?
Stroke Thrombectomy, also known as
Mechanical Thrombectomy, is the new
highly effective standard of care that
reverses paralysis from stroke in most of
the of patients if handled by experts
within 6 hours of stroke symptoms.
In 2015, Mechanical Thrombectomy
was definitively proven to be
enormously beneficial in reversing
stroke disability and become standard of
care for stroke patients with blockage of
one of the main brain arteries. This has
revolutionized the treatment for such
patients.
An initiative needs to be undertaken
by stroke comprehensive centres to
enhance global efforts to improve stroke
care worldwide by increasing the rate of
stroke thrombectomy for eligible
patients for reducing global stroke
disability and mortality.
What is a comprehensive stroke
care centre
When someone has a stroke, every
minute counts. Getting the best care in
the shortest amount of time is essential
to prevent long-term disability and
improve the chances of recovery.
Hospitals with designated
comprehensive stroke centers have the
capabilities to treat even the most
complex stroke patients, and they can do
it 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
There are some requirements that set
comprehensive stroke centers apart from
other hospitals. A comprehensive stroke
center must have specialized
cerebrovascular neurosurgeons available
and a neuroscience intensive care unit
for stroke patients, the latest advanced
imaging capabilities available around
the clock to help patients with complex
stroke cases. After being treated for a
stroke, patients have access to extensive
rehabilitation programs and support.
Comprehensive stroke center is the
highest level of stroke certification
available.