Fests & Feasts

I have never been to the Jaipur Lit Fest #JLF). Over the years, by all accounts the event has grown  both in stature and scale. So, I was tempted to go there this year – work schedule permitting – and had discussed it with a friend, who I thought would also be interested to come along. But, over the last few months – I have been reading saturation coverage of a series of “fests”  – which made me quite skeptical. There was ThinkFest Goa, LitFest Mumbai, InkConference Jaipur, Sun Burn Fest Goa, Hug Fest Bandra, LitFest Jaipur and now even a Lit Meet (#KLM) in Calcutta. Somehow, I got the impression that these events were becoming big business and turned into jamborees for the upwardly mobile, nouveau cultural chatterati – especially the chic parvenu intellectual set of the Capital and a handful of their culture cousins from Mumbai and Bangalore. Now with Twitter being the flavor of the day, time-lines were choked with incessant tweets from those “who were there”. This only reinforced my take of what these events were all about and finally – the shameful affair of Salman Rushdie  and the Oprah spectacle at #JLF put the “Q.E.D” stamp on it for me. So, you may call it a confirmed case of sour grapes – but I was glad that  we couldn’t make it to Jaipur and instead went to Bhuvaneshwar and Puri for a long weekend. 

Bhuvaneshwar is a city I have come to like. Work takes me there often and sometimes I have been able to combine a little break with that. I see it gradually transforming into one of the nicest state capitals we have in India today – with shades of Chandigarh, which is - unarguably - a class apart. But, what’s more remarkable is the development happening there on the social and economic front.  Quietly, Bhuvaneshwar has become an education centre – an eastern clone of Bangalore. Once with only XIBM (Xavier Institute of Business Management) – it now has a clutch  good Engineering and Management Colleges. A visit to the local CCDs (Café Coffee Day) one can see a microcosm of the changing face of the city’s youth. It now boasts of many good schools – including the KiiT International  – and will soon have an IIT of its own. With Infosys and others opening shop – Bhuvaneshwar can claim modest success in the IT field too –  drawing on the good supply of technical graduates from the local institutes. Things can only get better – if large investment comes in with POSCO and others. The present BJD government has a reputation of being clean and progressive. One only hopes there is continuity in governance for Bhuvaneshwar and Odisha to reach their full potential.

While what Navin Patnaik and BJD have achieved in Bhuvaneshwar is commendable indeed – the same can’t be said about the rest of Odisha. One particular area that hasn’t received the kind of attention it deserved is , I think, Tourism. If Bhuvaneshwar could successfully follow the Bangalore model to become an Education and IT Centre – it could easily emulate Kerala for development  of tourism with its treasures of the sea, back-waters, lakes & lagoons and forests. Both Gopalpur and Puri are wasted – the latter especially with its unplanned growth. Chilka has the potential of being an international tourist destination – if proper infrastructure is developed around it. Bhitarkanika (http://www.bhitarkanika.org/) is the largest sanctuary of crocodiles and the home of Olive Ridley Turtles – but very few know of it. The forests of Orissa are one of the most beautiful in the country – now largely rendered out of bounds by the Maoists insurgents. But, planned development could change that – as it has in many countries including Nepal in our immediate neighbourhood. One hopes in the next round – the government would turn their attention to these softer aspects of development.

Short breaks are sometime more rejuvenating than long holidays. While the latter helps in recuperating drained spirits and cure fatigue – the former is like a quick re-charging of batteries or letting off steam from our daily pressure-cooker existence. Spent 2 wonderful days in Puri with friends at their company guest-house. Enjoyed pleasure of doing nothing  - except sitting with feet firmly up in the balcony watching the uninterrupted view of the seas, long walks, massages, gorging on simple home-style food cooked by the guest-house staff and the mandatory single-malt in the evenings. The visit to the temple on Saturday morning was like a restorative soothing balm. The overnight train journey both ways provided an added relaxation – compared to the madness of early morning flights at the chaotic Calcutta airport. And, the surprise of meeting an old school friend – after many years – in the rail coupe pleasantly wrapped up the mini holiday.

Amma, Behenji and Didi

(Mamata at the Writers Building after her swearing-in)

Singur Season 2

Mamata Banerjee has kicked off her innings in characteristic style – with a great flurry, seeking publicity and courting controversy from day one.
It seems her “surprise” visits to government departments and hospitals – without informing her officers and ministers – are undertaken only after tipping-off friendly TV channels.

The Singur Soap Opera Season II has also unfolded along predictable lines. First, the hurried ordinance and then passing of the Singur Land Act in the assembly. Her legal advisers would have surely told her that, it was bound to be challenged in court by the Tatas. But, so what ? – she could claim that, she has kept her promise to the electorate and started the process for returning the land in right earnest – blaming any delays on the Tatas and the courts. Those – who view the Supreme Court’s interim ruling as a set-back for the government could be mistaken. Even during the original Singur controversy in 2008 – the intelligentsia went ballistic but she knew her real constituency (read my earlier blogs: Nano Vision I and Nano Vision II).

TV Reality Show Queen

The knowledgeable and politically astute were not expecting a honeymoon. They had anticipated it would be more like a TV Reality Show wedding where the sparks and shoes start flying even before the bride takes off her grease paint. And, this lady never wears any make-up in the first place. So, it was back to the kitchen (cabinet) almost from the nuptial night.

In keeping with her image – she deliberately gives the impression of being in a mad rush, impatient and restless to get things done. And, a little more dangerously, having all the answers with her. This was on display her first interaction with the industry (her brusque disposal of all interjections) – which seemed more an exercise for the camera rather than a genuine interest to solicit ideas and encourage interaction. One suspects - the same would be the objective of forming the "mentor group" for Presidency College - a la the Nalanda University initiative of Nitish. Neither she nor her lieutanants (who faithfully emulate her churlish mannerisms and 'instant solution' proclivity) would have much time for advisors no matter what their stature may be. Her churlish handling of the situation arising out of the death of 18 infants at the Dr B C Roy Memorial Hospital was again true to form.

The worry is how far will mere rhetoric and native PR take her ? She may have the ideas – but does she have the plan and, more importantly, the people and administrative acumen to give it shape. That’s why most of her much touted projects in the railways went beyond the foundation stone ceremonies (and opening of new stations and introduction of new trains in West Bengal) and the ministry has been precariously close to being “derailed” – with an appalling fall in its operational efficiencies.

Poster boys or toy-boys

The older guard in the party are already feeling marginalized. Some senior leaders – like Subrata Mukherjee – have been given insignificant cabinet births – with most major portfolios retained by her. A veteran MLA I met the other day – lamented that they find it difficult to even get an audience with her. The more visible and vocal faces around her lack both administrative and political experience – in any case don’t have much authority to function on their own. Someone like Amit Mitra – is seen more as a “poster boy” - like some big names she had tried to ‘collect’ in the past – such as Nitish Sengupta, General Shankar Roychowdhury (who later went to Rajya Sabha as an independent supported by the Left Front) and the Panja brothers – with the strings of control firmly in her hand.

The bureaucracy is nervous on 2 counts. First, because of her impulsive, whimsical and unpredictable ways - though, this is primarily a concern of the senior officers at Writers’ Building who have greater interaction with her and, in any case, the 'babus' are trained to take the frailties and tantrums of their political masters (can't say mistresses, in this case) in their stride. But, what is making people down the line – especially in the districts - feel shaky is the absence of clear leadership at the ground level. In the Left Front regime there was no ambiguity in the line of command. It was either the local MLA or the party secretary who called the shots. Now everyone is a self-styled leader and none of the pious pronouncements from the top – advising cadres not to interfere with the administration are taken seriously by the local satraps.

the CEO syndrome

Personality cult is here to stay in Indian politics. Suddenly, our political leaders seem gripped by the CEO syndrome. So, it would be unrealistic to expect West Bengal to be any different. But, to be successful what’s the style Mamata Banerjee should adopt ? In neighbouring Bihar, Nitish too has largely by-passed his party men (much to their resentment – but the astounding results of the last election – silenced all criticism) and empowered the bureaucracy. He has gathered some outstanding officers – whose clear mandate is to deliver with speed. Narendra Modi has done pretty much the same in Gujrat, as has Navin Patnaik in Orissa with mixed results.

Even Mamata’s greatest admirers would not put her in the league of these 3 stalwarts of change and development. She would, probably, be more comfortable in positioning herself somewhere in between her two lady contemporaries – the Behenji in Lucknow and the Amma down South in Chennai. Both are imperious and neither have a strong reputation for probity (Mamata wears a brooch of integrity prominently on her pallu - but her partymen make no such pretence). But, in their own way they have ‘delivered’ for their respective constituencies – notwithstanding the corruption in both the states and abysmal Law and Order situation especially in UP. The progress made by Tamil Nadu in Jayalalitha’s previous term – when it had the second highest Industrial growth in the country (next only to Gujrat) is well-known. On a recent trip, I saw the transformation of Lucknow. Though many would call the grand new architectural extravaganza - monuments of megalomania, it says something about the lady’s execution capabilities. Even the CWG scam and a series of other scandals couldn't taint the image of Sheila Dixit, the grand-dame of Delhi - as an able administrator.

Scoring 'Self-goals'

A respected political analyst had said, the problem with the Left front was that, even when in power they viewed themselves as an “opposition party”. Mamata too has to quickly get out of that stormy petrel of protest syndrome. Otherwise – the hounds of the CPM are waiting in the wings to trip at her at the first opportunity, doing unto her what she did to them all these years. If she doesn’t change gears – she could well score a “self-goal” and get beaten in her own game.