What About Cushioning the Impact of Demonetisation?

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#BharatBudget SUBSCRIBE NOW www.indiatoday.in/digitalmagazines www.indiatoday.in FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Ashish Bagga GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITORS: Kaveree Bamzai (Special Projects), Ajit Kumar Jha (Research) GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Nilanjan Das; GROUP PHOTO EDITOR: Bandeep Singh MANAGING EDITORS: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha EXECUTIVE EDITORS: Damayanti Datta, S. Sahaya Ranjit, fter the audacious demonetisa- Sandeep Unnithan DEPUTY EDITORS: Prachi Bhuchar, Uday Mahurkar, Manisha Saroop tion, I was hoping the government MUMBAI: M.G. Arun HYDERABAD: Amarnath K. Menon CHANDIGARH: Asit Jolly was in the mood for some more SENIOR EDITORS: Shweta Punj, Sasi Nair, JAIPUR: Rohit Parihar A SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Kaushik Deka, Ashish Mukherjee audacity in the budget. Sadly, it was not to MUMBAI: Suhani Singh, Kiran Dinkar Tare; PATNA: Amitabh Srivastava ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Shougat Dasgupta, Chinki Sinha be. Not that it was a bad budget. It was a KOLKATA: Romita Sengupta; BHOPAL: Rahul Noronha; Our March 14, 2016 cover THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Jeemon Jacob; BEIJING: Ananth Krishnan good one, but it didn’t satisfy my own zeal ASSISTANT EDITOR: PUNE: Aditi S. Pai for more radical change. Finance Minis- CHIEF COPY EDITOR: Aditya Mohan Wig PHOTO DEPARTMENT: Vikram Sharma (Deputy Photo Editor), ter Arun Jaitley was like a good schoolboy comprise 37 per cent of the GDP. Rajwant Singh Rawat (Principal Photographer), Kekhriezhazo Miachie-O (Senior Photographer), Chandra Deep who does a fine balancing act to keep But I liked that the government kept Kumar (Photographer); MUMBAI: Mandar Suresh Deodhar (Chief Photographer), Danesh Adil Jassawala (Photographer); the teachers happy and also be the most to the high moral ground by con tinuing AHMEDABAD: Shailesh B Raval (Principal Photographer); popular boy in school. The economists the black money purge, putting limits KOLKATA: Subir Halder (Principal Photographer); CHENNAI: N.G. Jaison (Senior Photographer) were ecstatic that he maintained fiscal on transactions, cash donations to char- PHOTO RESEARCHERS: Prabhakar Tiwari (Chief Photo Researcher), Saloni Vaid (Principal Photo Researcher), prudence, even while increasing capital ities and political parties, rationalising Shubhrojit Brahma (Assistant Photo Researcher) CHIEF OF GRAPHICS: Tanmoy Chakraborty expenditure on infrastructure by 25 per real estate capital gains measurement ART DEPARTMENT: Sanjay Piplani (Senior Art Director); cent. He pleased the masses with a com- and ways to promote digital transacti- Jyoti K. Singh, Anirban Ghosh (Art Director), Vikas Verma, Rahul Sharma, Vipin Gupta (Associate Art Director); bination of tax cuts and higher spending, ons. Despite major state elections Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma (Senior Designer) PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT: Harish Agarwal (Chief of Production), particularly in transport and rural infra- this year, the Centre has resisted the Naveen Gupta (Chief Coordinator), Vijay Kumar Sharma (Senior Coordinator) structure, which should have a healthy temptation to go in for populist schemes

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Manoj Sharma multiplier effect and spur consumption. and freebie announcements, which is ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Anil Fernandes (Impact) The cut in personal income tax rate from commendable. Our cover story analyses IMPACT TEAM Senior General Manager: Jitender Lad (West) 10 per cent to 5 per cent in the lowest tax the budget in detail and includes an General Manager: Mayur Rastogi (North), Upendra Singh (Bangalore), Velu Subramaniam (Chennai), slab will raise disposable incomes, while assessment from top experts, who echo Kaushiky Chakraborty (East) a record budget allocation to MNREGA many of these views. GROUP CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER: Vivek Malhotra Assistant General Manager: Garima Prashar (Marketing) (Rs 48,000 crore) will put more money in All this is good economics and on SALES AND OPERATIONS: D.V.S. Rama Rao, Chief General Manager Deepak Bhatt, General Manager (National Sales) people’s hands. Higher investment in the pre dictable lines. But it does not tackle Vipin Bagga, Deputy General Manager (Operations) Manish Kumar Srivastava, Regional Sales Manager (North) transport sector and rural housing, where the structural problems of the economy. Rajeev Gandhi, Regional Sales Manager (West) Arokia Raj L., Regional Sales Manager (South) 10 million houses have been promised How many budgets have we seen packed by 2019, with the Pradhan Mantri Awas with scheme after scheme for farmers, Yojana allocation pegged at Rs 23,000 and yet still reliant on a good monsoon to crore, indicates that the government has bail out the economy? Every year, we see Volume XLII Number 7; For the week bet big on Bharat. One figure says it all: in farmer suicides across the country. 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FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 1 STATES LEISURE GOA: UNEASY LIES THE FEARLESS KANGANA HEAD PG 16 PG 61

GUJARAT’S NEW FIVE MINUTES WITH INNINGS PANDIT JASRAJ PG 18 INSIDE PG 65 GSHOT

Women’s libidos get an upgrade 54 as a new orgasm injection promises THE ROAD to amplify the TO BIG O G-spot

COVER STORY Finance minister Arun Jaitley presents Budget an aam aadmi budget, steering clear of any overt populism or big-ticket 26 2017 announcement post-demonetisation

UPFRONT BOOK FEELING THE 3 HEAT The real 48 story behind VEERAPPAN Pakistan’s sudden house An excerpt from arrest of 26/11 the memoir of mastermind former Special Haﬁz Saeed Task Force chief K. Vijay Kumar on his ﬁnal encounter with the brigand Cover by BANDEEP SINGH

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THE FUSS OVER LIFE IN PADMAVATI TRUMPISTAN PG 24 UPFRONT PG 26

PERSPECTIVE FEELING THE HEAT By Wajahat S. Khan Islamabad

akistan army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor has said P Pakistan’s decision to arrest Hafiz Saeed, leader of a ‘philanthropic’ organisation with established militant credentials and suspected links to the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, is based on a new “national policy and for the national interest”. Saeed, who has a $10 million bounty placed on his head by the United States, is often cited by India as the “mastermind” of the Mumbai terror attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 166 people, including several Americans. He has been appre- hended at least four times between 2002 and 2009, but was let go after a few months in detention. The popular jihadist can still attract large crowds with his anti-America and anti-India diatribes. But military insiders are saying that Saeed’s house arrest in Lahore on January 30 has to do with a fast changing local and international environment, including the new Donald Trump administration in the US and a change of guard in the powerful Pakistan army. Significantly, Saeed has been detained under the stricter Pakistan Anti-Terror Act. General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pak is- tan’s new chief of army staff, has a reputation of being religiously progressive and pro-democratic. His boss, Prime Minister

Hafiz Saeed being taken away by the police in Lahore GETTYIMAGES

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 3 UPFRONT

Nawaz Sharif, has been trying to normalise relations PADMA AWARDS with India since coming to power in 2013, but has been sidetracked by terror attacks traceable to Paki- stan and growing unrest in the Indian-administered THEY TOO portion of Kashmir. Days before he appointed Bajwa in November 2016, Sharif told me, “The contradictory policy of duality—support for some militants and go- HAVE SERVED ing against others—will soon be finished.” By Uday Mahurkar Thus, the arrest of Saeed, a Quranic expert with extreme views about jihad with India and a man who has historically enjoyed state protection, is being linked ome cynicism and political worldli- to the changing factors at home and abroad. “Recent ness have generally been assumed to indicators from our friends, the US and China, are that Splay a role in the selection of Padma he has to go,” said a senior military officer, on condition awards. But there will be few who can deny of anonymity, on the sidelines of a rare military briefing that this year’s relatively short list made space held at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi on Janu- to acknowledge the extraordinary work ary 31, less than 24 hours after Saeed’s arrest. “The UN, of ordinary people. There has been some the Americans etc. have been asking questions about disgruntled criticism of the awards process, how the state has not been able to control this man.” most notably from the badminton player Maj. Gen. Ghafoor added that the new army chief’s Jwala Gutta and the multiple-time billiards world champion Pankaj Advani, but the government has put forward a stout defence. Much has been made of the online pro-

cess this year, with nominations required WONDERLAND to be made on a website rather than sent by Clockwise from GETTYIMAGES post. It is a process that has resulted in dou- above: Padma ble the nominations made in a normal year Shri winners and more transparency. The prime minister Dr Bhakti Yadav, reportedly took a personal interest. The Meenakshi Amma, Sukri awards, he said, according to those privy to Bommagowda, the discussions, “should be an instrument Daripalli Ramaiah to reward true merit...create a sense of pride and Karimul in people”. Led by a selection panel that had Haque the likes of badminton coach Pullela Gopi- Police barricade the road to Saeed’s house in Lahore chand, actor Waheeda Rehman and RSS leader S. Gurumurthy, efforts were made to follow the PM’s resolve to improve Pakistan’s security is clear. “If Paki- instructions of ensuring “that the culture of patronage and stan improves, and the army chief goes to his grave, he nepotism is brought to an end”. A selection committee mem- would think it’s still worth it,” he says. “For Gen. Bajwa, ber who chose to remain ano n ymous said past awards were individuals are less important than the state. National handed out as favours: “The doctors of VIP patients invariably interest must prevail.” As for pressure from the Trump won awards. Too often selection committees were swayed by administration being a cause for the arrest, he says, who’d written the letter of recommendation rather than the “There are all sorts of pressures from within the global nominee’s contributions.” In election years, the number of system. We don’t live in a vacuum. A major decision awardees swelled to over a hundred. like this one was not made randomly.” Satpal Chauhan, joint secretary in “Of course, the Pakistanis will react to a changing the ministry of home affairs (MHA), environment,” says Shehzad Chaudhry, a former air In a merit- who played a pivotal role in the process, force officer and popular TV analyst. “This arrest is a driven says “selection was not just about win-win decision. The Chinese, our best friends, are selection, merit, but A+ merit”. And so Karimul going to be happy, for we don’t have to embarrass them unknown Haque, 52, a tea garden worker mak- any more. The Americans will be happy that we’ve ing Rs 5,000 a month, found himself finally heard them out. The Indians will lose a major names at Rashtrapati Bhavan to receive a excuse to complain about us to the rest of the world. made it to Padma Shri. Having lost his mother to And Mr Saeed will understand that when it comes to the Padma a heart attack, Haque made it his life’s him or Pakistan, Pakistan will be the obvious choice.” n awards list work to ensure people in need from his

4 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 PULLQUOTE

“Is Kairana not an issue? Is Kashmir not an issue? If this country’s majority, Hindus, are tortured, is it not an issue? But if a thorn pricks the foot of someone from the minority community, it becomes an issue. This politics is strange.”

YOGI ADITYANATH, addressing a rally in Sahibabad in western Uttar Pradesh on January 30, compared the ‘exodus’ of Hindus from Kairana to the forcing out of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990. Adityanath praised Vladimir Putin for standing up to Muslims, telling them to “go where they like Shariat law”. Will the Election Commission take notice? Or is this the language of development for all?

INDEX Are We the Learning Laggards? Every year, despite the odd modest increase in learning outcomes, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) makes for sobering, if not depressing, reading. Although India has succeeded in getting the overwhelming majority of children up to 14 into school, quality remains an abiding problem. We spend a fraction of our GDP on education and village in West Bengal could get to hospital quickly. He in the last budget, spending on education was reduced by converted his motorcycle into a rudimentary ambulance 16 per cent. Unsurprisingly, our literacy rate lags far behind for the purpose. Sometimes, a journey of 15 kilometres was that of other BRICS countries. required; when the river was in spate, a 45 km detour. In two decades, he has taken 3,500 people to hospital, saving hundreds of lives. “That someone should call me to Delhi INDIA’S LITERACY to give me an award,” he says, “is like a dream.” RATE, ACCORDING TO Dr Ram Yadav too thought he was in a dream when % THE UNDP he was told that his 91-year-old mother, Bhakti Yadav, a 74 gynaecologist, had been selected to receive a Padma Shri for helping some 88,000 poor women deliver their babies. She was nominated by the MHA’s own research team. RUSSIA’S LITERACY RATE. Other awardees ran from famous politicians and athletes CHINA’S IS 94.3%, BRAZIL’S % 90.3% AND SOUTH to folk singers Jitendra Haripal and Sukri Bommagowda, 99.6 AFRICA’S 88.7% the ‘Nightingale of Halakki’, who has been performing for 58 years. Meenakshi Amma, 76, from Kerala, has been teaching Kalaripayattu, one of the oldest martial arts in the world for decades, while another awardee, Daripalli OF INDIA’S GDP IS SPENT ON EDUCATION, SAYS THE Ramaiah from Telangana, has planted over 10 million % WORLD BANK; 4.9% IS THE trees. This year’s list belonged to India’s everyman.n 3.8 GLOBAL AVERAGE

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 5 UPFRONT

PTI

RESERVATIONS

NO WAY OUT Jat protesters Two Steps Backward in Jassia village, Rohtak, January 31 for Quota Raj By Shougat Dasgupta

n the last days of January, Jats, blocked roads in Mumbai to make their “they are precarious and do not pay well”. Pat i dars and Marathas gathered demands heard. Some organisers said Political parties, as they might in any I in separate protests that reprised roads had been blocked in up to 2,000 democracy, have taken to disingenuously demands they’ve been making for over locations across the state. But Virendra appeasing protesters, or at least making a year, in some cases two. The protests, Pawar, an organiser, insisted that the openly sympathetic noises. But surely though they are all independent, share an protests had not taken a violent turn. even the Jats, who have been demanding essential animus—a feeling, however irr- It says something reservations for a couple of ational, of being left behind while being about the lack of political Hardik decades, the Patidars and described as ‘socially advanced’. imagination that reservations Marathas can see that their Having been banished from Gujarat are seen as the only option returned argument is weak. Certainly, for six months, Hardik Patel, the face to resolve unemployment but the some of the impetus appears of the Patidar agitations, returned on and poverty. In a column, crowds to have leaked out of the January 17. But the crowds at the rallies the academic Christophe don’t seem protests since last year. do not seem so enthused anymore. It Jaffrelot argued that so enthused The protesters have also appears that the time spent in exile had dominant caste demands for anymore failed to make an impact had its effect. The Jats, whose protests in reservations would increase on the ballot box, as Patidar Haryana last year culminated in dozens so long as economic growth calls to vote against the BJP of deaths and allegations of sexual viol- failed to create jobs. India’s so-called in Gujarat’s municipal elections were ence, came out onto the streets again last ‘demographic dividend’, some experts roundly ignored. Jat farmers in UP week. This time, the crowd remained suggest, requires the creation of some 8 are promising not to vote for the BJP controlled, borrowing from the Maratha million jobs a year. According to Jaffrelot, in western UP and plenty of anger is playbook and the power of silence. not only are jobs in key sectors declining, expressed against the Modi government On January 31, Maratha protesters as Labour Bureau statistics indicate, but for “breaking promises”. n

6 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 UPFRONT

PANKAJ NANGIA UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME THE HIGH COST OF EQUALITY By Shweta Punj

nnual economic sur- the minimum amount veys are dry docu- needed for basic needs. A ments, intended to According to the econo- summarise the year gone mic survey, UBI would cost by and point at the direc- between 4 and 5 per cent of tion the economy is taking. the GDP. Subrama nian is STATE OF THE NATION: Arvind Subramanian Arvind Subramanian, the unequivocal that UBI would presents the Economic Survey Chief Economic Advisor, has not be an additional scheme more ambition, as indicated but a replacement. In effect, by the sprightly phrasing, it would be the only scheme, A 2011 12 dies and a further Rs 38,500 the blockbuster quotations, with beneficiaries receiv- estimate crore on the rural employ- and intriguing chapter ing money directly. There ment guarantee programme. titles. What, for instance, to are some 950 schemes and says the PDS The results of two pilot make of ‘Universal Basic In- sub-schemes that account excludes 40 % projects in Madhya Pradesh come: A Conversation with for 5 per cent of the GDP, of the bottom have been promising, with and within the Mahatma’? of which the top 11 alone 40% of India the monthly cash payment UBI, Subramanian wri- account for some 50 per cent leading to improved health tes, is an “idea whose time of the money available. The and nutrition. But other has come perhaps not for schemes are labyrinthine survey, Arvind Panagariya, schemes, in Puducherry immediate implementation and still the poorest are vice-chairman of the Niti for instance, have revealed but at least for serious public often excluded. An estimate Aayog, argued that India did weaknesses. “The irresistible deliberation”. What would from 2011-2012 suggests 40 not have the fiscal resources force of even as powerful an the Mahatma do, he asks, per cent of the bottom 40 to implement UBI for all idea as UBI”, Subramanian before concluding that he per cent of the population citizens. He pegged the cost cautions, “will run into the would, despite some philo- are excluded from the public at Rs 15.6 lakh crore a year. immovable object of a resis- sophical conflicts, endorse distribution system. During 2016-2017, the Cen- tant, pesky reality.” And the the idea that every citizen of Still, just days before tre estimates it will spend reality of India represents a the country should receive Subramanian presented the Rs 2.5 lakh crore on subsi- formidable barrier. n

INDEX The American Nightmare % The proposed legislation to double the salaries of H1B visa hol- 70 ders has caused panic in India. Stocks in tech companies like Wipro, TCS and Infosys fell substantially. The visa is intended for H1B visas that went to Indians in 2015, according skilled, educated labour while Indian companies have relied on to the Department of Indians with the necessary skills but lower wage expectations Homeland Security $108 $130,000 $79,513 85,000 billion The estimated value Minimum annual salary Estimated average annual salary Number of visas granted in a of India’s technology (around Rs 88 lakh) proposed in 2016 for an Indian Infosys year; 20,000 reserved for those outsourcing industry for H1B visa holders employee on an H1B visa with advanced degrees UPFRONT

8 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 EXPOSURE

DUCK AND COVER The Uttar Pradesh polls starting on February 11 are looking too close to call. The alliance between the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress, a fast fading force in the state as it appears to be in much of the country, has given the BJP pause. The lack of a chief ministerial face is a worry for the latter, still the marginal favourites according to most calculations. The SP now looks firmly in the grip of the younger Yadav, CM Akhilesh, who is said to get along with both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. Here the SP boss is seen with Rahul during a roadshow in Lucknow city. As is obvious, there are still obstacles to duck.

PANKAJ NANGIA

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 9 UPFRONT

REVIEW THE CHATTER The week in social media The Sena @mitalisaran Trump Walled In Tigress On the ground, the most noteworthy thing about President Donald Trump’s order to prevent Muslims from entering the The Dashing Ladies of Shiv Sena US was the great big beautiful wet blanket of resistance Tarini Bedi; Aleph; pp 291; Rs 699 that was thrown over it by legions of ordinary Americans repulsed by Trump’s bigotry. They stood outside airports By Shougat Dasgupta chanting ‘Let them in’, holding banners that read ‘You be- long’ and ‘Free lawyer’. That’s right, lawyers—the sharkiest of the sharks in the pool—worked pro bono over the week- alpana Sate, a Mumbai self-mythologising dashing end to sue the government on behalf of people aected by corporator in charge ladies of the Sena claim, are the ban. Americans are pissed, and they’re showing it. n K of one of the city’s pampered in comparison. 227 wards, has been busy One woman leader in Pune all evening. Taking a break tells Bedi, “I see women in from working the phone in a other parties who will talk functional Shiv Sena branch very softly.... Here we are office, she asks a young women who are shouting... wor ker if he’s seen a new putting black mud to some drain she’s had installed in police officer’s face and send- her ward. “Yes, madam,” he ing them running away.... responds, folding his palms We were a cultural shock to Boos for Bollywood together in a syco- people in western The latest Bollywood project to keel over without a whim- phantic namaste, “it Maharashtra.” per, under pressure from religious fanatics, is Sanjay Leela Bha nsali’s Padmavati. After thugs from the Shri Rajput Karni is a mast naala. You Some of this, Sena ass aulted him on his sets, Bhansali was the one giving are the malkin of the the resorting to vi- assuran ces that nobody would be hurt by his film. You can’t area.” He is joined olence, the threats, stand in judgement over someone facing a threat; on the other by a chorus of young will seem like hand, if nobody stands up to brainless intimidation, we can workers, all expresing bull ying Sena-style say goodbye to education, the arts, history, truth, creative in- their app roval. It is politics regard- novation and individual rights. As Arpita Das pos ted on FB: “...if a scene from anth- less of gender. But you (Bollywood) don’t speak up even now, it’ll establish you as ropology professor Bedi is convin cing the most spineless creative industry in India.” n Tarini Bedi’s recent book, The in that the Sena’s women, Das h ing Ladies of Shiv Sena, while not on par with the and it says something about men, are not quite subordi- the efficiency of the women of nate either. She makes the the title and the exaggerated interesting point that “Sena respect in which they are held. women [see] their homes Early in the book, Bedi as important sites of their quotes Durva, a Sena leader public service”. Conventional in Pune. “The word mahila domesticity does not suit for Shiv Sena women,” she these women, and the party, says, “means many things”— to its credit, wouldn’t have A Share of the Mess M for mahaan, H for him- it any other way. It’s refresh- Facebook users are sharing this article with a sense of matwali, and La for being one ing to see women in right- ind i gnation and horror: could it be that Trump’s shocking rise in a lakh. Durva believes that wing parties written about to the White House is a product of your FB likes? How did a Shiv Sena women are char- as the feminists they are. psychologist’s FB analytics, a company that specialises in acterised by their willingness But for all the dash of these targeted rather than mass communication and the alt-right to get involved in the rough grassroots workers, Indian get so involved? Big data, used with exact intent, may have and tumble of street politics. politics rem a ins incorrigibly given us the toxic mess that is today’s White House. As the Women in other parties, the patriarchal. n article says: “[R]eflective Kosinski, carefully groomed Nix and grinning Trump—one of them enabled the digital revolut ion, one of them executed it and one of them benefited from it.”n

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GLASSHOUSE Trump’s Great Game The Buck In an article for the Hudson Stops There Institute, Michael Pillsbury, o police ocer from a China expert and former NKerala was on the list for US defence official who has the President’s Police Medal served as advisor to Donald awarded on Republic Day. The Trump, noted that one of embarrassment has been com- Beijing’s biggest concerns pounded by a petty tit-for-tat about the new US President between the state and central was whether he “supports government, each blaming the other for the oversight. India’s claims to Arunachal According to the Centre, the Pradesh”. He wrote that Kerala government failed to the US “has not taken a submit its list on time. Nalini position” on the issue, Netto, the additional chief sec- although since retary of the state’s home and 1962 America vigilance departments, insists that the list was submitted on has act ually time. Chief Minister Pinarayi recognised Vijayan has ordered a probe. the McMa- Netto and the police have hon Line been at loggerheads over the as the bor- Puttingal Temple ﬁre in April der—and last year. There has also been considerable tension between so Arunachal the state bureaucracy and as India’s. Is the vigilance director Jacob Trump considering using Thomas. Reports suggest the Arunachal as a bargaining chip with the Chinese? n

FLY IN THE Renaissance CM HONEY TRAP amata Banerjee is an M almost comically prolific sleazy sex scandal played out as author. Each year, the book fair Punjab readied itself for the polls features several new works by on February 4. Shiromani Akal her. Among the half dozen oer- A ings this year was, inevitably, a power struggle between the Dal MP Sher Singh Ghubaya was alleg- book on ‘Notebandi’. The West IAS and IPS in Kerala resulted edly caught on tape in a compromising Bengal CM is a published poet in the list not being submitted. position with a woman. The man he too. In November, she released Thomas, apparently, didn’t a 32-line poem lambasting the attend a screening panel meet- holds responsible is his own Deputy CM, PM for demonetisation and, in ing on December 26 as he had Sukhbir Singh Badal. Ghubaya claims passing, his authoritarianism. taken leave to attend his daugh- Sukhbir’s handiwork is an act of ‘political Mamata is also a painter. But ter’s marriage. The list had to assassination’. And he made that sensa- the value of her work has nose- be turned in by January 4. A tional claim alongside Ravneet Bittu, the dived. Much was made over petition, meanwhile, has been the Rs 1.8 crore Saradha boss filed against Netto for helping Congress nominee challenging Sukhbir in Sudipto Sen supposedly Thomas escape disciplinary Jalalabad, his home turf. “This [tape] is paid for her painting. procedures on more than one an aront to the whole Rai Sikh commu- Even the PM mocked occasion. These arcane issues nity,” Bittu said, hoping to woo the 30,000 the price at rallies. aside, it appears the problem But the Enforcement was a misunderstanding over voters who share Ghubaya’s background. Directorate has now how best to file the applica- Could Ghubaya be actively seeking expul- confirmed that the tions—online or in hard copy. sion from the SAD by challenging Sukhbir painting sold for The result is disgruntled ocers so openly? Will the Badals oblige him? just Rs 14 lakh. with a prestigious award and Certainly the Congress is waiting in the What a come- lifelong stipend denied. n wings to pick up the pieces. n down. n

—Sandeep Unnithan with Asit Jolly, Jeemon Jacob, 12 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 Romita Datta and Ananth Krishnan GLOSSARY

STUMPED BY TRUMP

PRESIDENTS ON Executive Average of 9 passed by PRIVILEGE Orders US presidents over a term Trump trumps the list of US by Donald presidents on energetic use Trump in just Minimum 1, by 34th president of Executive Orders 20 11 days Dwight Eisenhower

JANUARY 20 JANUARY 27 SPOOK LIST Scraps Obamacare on the day Bars citizens of seven Muslim- Worst fears... he is sworn in majority countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen) That he might set o global JANUARY 23 from entering the US for the next trade wars, especially with China Withdraws from Trans-Pacific 90 days, suspends admission of all That his H1B Visa Bill will spell Partnership refugees for 120 days and Syrian doom for Indian IT industry refugees indefinitely Blocks US federal funding for NGOs That he will encourage nuclear providing abortion counselling proliferation around the world Calls to reduce federal workforce JANUARY 28 That he will change US within 90 days Lifetime ban on ocials lobbying on behalf of foreign governments relations with China, Russia and the European Union profoundly JANUARY 24 Gets his chief political strategist, Fast-tracks cross-border pipelines Stephen Bannon, to sit on That large numbers of makes use of American-made steel influential Principals Committee Americans will lose their existing in these mandatory health insurance Seeks to develop plan within 30 Orders streamlining of days to defeat ISIS That his promised ‘tax manufacturing regulations revolution’ will benefit the ultra- JANUARY 30 wealthy and businesses JANUARY 25 “One in, two out” order means That he will tilt the Supreme Proclaims January 22 week as federal agencies will have to Court’s balance to his political National School Choice week revoke two regulations for each advantage Orders construction of the new regulation they create That immigrants will be hard hit US-Mexico border Sacks acting attorney-general That climate change policy will Cuts o federal funding to Sally Yates for defying his see a u-turn “sanctuary cities”, gives immigration executive order on the refugee and ocers unlimited discretion immigration ban

Graphic by ANIRBAN GHOSH —Damayanti Datta UPFRONT

POINT OF VIEW Fuss over a Fictional Queen? By Arshia Sattar

n Nandshankar Mehta’s 1868 Gujarati This is also a tale about Hindus and Mus- novel, Karan Ghelo, Alauddin Khilji lims, a story of how the Muslim invaders who kidnaps the wife of Karan Baghela, a settled in to rule northern India were uni- IHindu king of Gujarat, and marries her. formly rapacious, wilful and covetous of Hindu Although this is a historical novel, Mehta fills women. In contrast, local Hindu rulers, Raj- it with legend, local lore and large dollops of puts in particular, were noble and courageous, self-conscious fiction. After all, an embroi- fighting to the last man to defend not just their dered handkerchief is so much more attractive women but the great land of Hindustan. than a plain one, no matter how fine its fabric. Amar Chitra Katha revels in this story, But it’s another one of Khilji’s female but I also remember it from my social sci- conquests that occupies us this week as we are ence textbook—a strange amalgam of history, forced to consider the latest tussle in the con- geography, anthropology, legend and patriotic stant struggle between fact and fiction in our inspirations. But it turns out that this romantic beleaguered public discourse about culture. A story to which we are all attached is a work few days ago in Jaipur (which had just hosted of fiction, it comes from a poem by the 16th an unusually calm, even dull, Jaipur Literature century Sufi Malik Muhammad Jayasi. In Festival), local goons, in the guise of a caste Padmavat, Jayasi takes at least one historical pride outfit, attacked Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s figure, Alauddin, and one historical incident, film set, where he was shooting for his film the siege of Chittor, and couples them with Padmavati. The film purports to tell some Padmini/Padmavati, a figure more likely to be version of the legend of Alauddin Khilji and from legend than history. Padmini, the queen his love for the Rajput queen Padmini, a love of Chittor, might never have existed. If she did, which led him to attack the fort of Chittor. The it’s possible she was a princess from Ceylon and Rajput Karni Sena was protesting (in ad- not a Rajput woman. The business of Alaud- vance) the horrific and caste-rending idea that din’s love and Padmini’s heroic rejection of it Bhansali might depict a love scene between the was apparently invented by Jayasi, to be read Hindu Padmini and the Muslim emperor. as an allegory for the obstacles that stand in the We’ve all grown up with the story of the way of the human soul’s union with the divine. siege of the fort, the brave Rajput warriors who In the 21st century, such facts are not imp- laid down their lives to guard the honour of ortant. In the last week, in world-speak, we have Padmini, their queen, and her companions. moved from ‘post-truth’ to ‘alternative facts’. If In the last When the rampaging, lust-driven Muslim em- Padmini did not exist, we would have had to in- week, we’ve peror entered the fort, instead of the beautiful vent her. And we have. Whether or not she really moved from queen he sought, he found the charred bodies lived, how ironic that the great celebration of her ‘post-truth’ to of the Rajput women who had all thrown courageous life and death has come to us from a ‘alternative themselves into the fire in an act of mass self- Muslim poet who turns his coreligionist, Alaud- facts’. Had immolation. We were taught to call this jauhar din, into the violator of her person, her gender, Padmini not and not sati—this was about public honour her caste, her people and her religion. Dear rather than about conjugal devotion. This story bhaktas, how wonderful that you find truth existed, we places Padmini in a long line of mythological even in the confabulations of your enemies. n would’ve had heroines who jump into the fire to prove them- to invent her. selves and preserve their husbands’ honour— The writer is an author and translator. She has And we have Sita comes most immediately to mind. rec ently published Uttara: The Book of Answers

14 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 Illustration by ANIRBAN GHOSH UPFRONT UNSUNG PADMA H1B VISAS AWARDEES IN NUMBERS PG 10 PG 14 STORYBOARD

THE FUSS OVER LIFE IN PADMAVATI TRUMPISTAN PG 24 UPFRONT PG 26

PERSPECTIVE FEELING THE HEAT By Wajahat S. Khan Islamabad

Hafiz Saeed being taken away by the police in Lahore GETTYIMAGES

26 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 15 GUJARAT: THE BALL BIHAR: A IS SPINNING NEW LIGHT PG 30 PG 31

KERALA: ANDHRA PRADESH: BABU WARS KAPU TROUBLES PG 32 STATES PG 34

GOA

UNEASY LIES PANAJI THE HEAD CHIEF MINISTER PARSEKAR IS ON SHAKY GROUND WITHIN HIS OWN PARTY By Kiran D. Tare

oa chief minister Laxmikant has a capacity to generate employment for Parsekar arrives at 8:45 pm to the next 25 years. Tujya bhurgyank sud- address a corner meeting with his dha hancho fudarak faayado jatalo (Your neighbourhood voters in Harmal. children will also benefit from it),” he says, 62 G PER CENT Parsekar, who is fighting his sixth election, amidst huge applause. of the 251 begins on an emotional note. “My schedule Ironically, Parsekar, a tough administra- candidates in Goa has changed since I became chief minister,” tor, has been facing flak within the BJP since are millionaires he says. I have not even been able to visit my he took over as CM from Manohar Parrikar ailing mother in the past six months because (now defence minister) in November 2014. there is so much responsibility on me.” Clear- First, there was a revolt against his elevation ly, he was trying to justify the ‘absence’ from from within the ranks, then he was dubbed a his constituency, Mandrem, in north Goa. ‘puppet CM’ who works at Parrikar’s behest. Cornered by opponents over his failed And now, when the BJP is trying to retain promises and vendetta politics, Parsekar power under his leadership, it is not certain also has his own voters to placate. But the he will be CM after the election. Union former school principal has judged the situa- transport minister Nitin Gadkari, the BJP tion well. He is focusing on the development in-charge in Goa, has already declared that works his government has carried out and the party might get Parrikar back from Delhi. the many social security schemes, especially A BJP source says Parsekar alone is for women. The two big infrastructure proj- responsible for his troubles. He locked horns ects—electronics city and Mopa airport— with three senior leaders, Sangeeta Parab, coming close to Mandrem will hopefully Ramakant Khalap and Subhash Veling- be the icing on the cake. “Electronics city kar. Parsekar does not consider Parab and

16 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 GUJARAT: THE BALL BIHAR: A IS SPINNING NEW LIGHT PG 30 PG 31 THE BJP CAMPAIGN IS ALREADY PARRIKAR CENTRIC; HE IS KERALA: ANDHRA PRADESH: BABU WARS KAPU TROUBLES NOW BUSY DOUSING PG 32 STATES PG 34 PARTY FIRES TOO

GOA at the BJP campaign office in Panaji every morning, reviews the progress, holds meetings with officials before stepping out for meetings. Indeed, the

MANDAR DEODHAR MANDAR BJP campaign has already become HE’S BACK Defence minister Parrikar meeting villagers of Zuarinagar Parrikar-centric. He is busy dousing UNEASY LIES PANAJI party fires too. He rushed to Bicholim to pacify sulking leader Shilpa Naik Khalap (a former Union law minister) victory. “I started from scrap here. I who has stayed away from campaign- as influential leaders and he is accused lost my first two elections but never ing for the candidate, Rajesh Patnekar. of creating trouble for their educational gave up the BJP and its principles,” he In Mayem, he’s busy mollifying party THE HEAD institutions. Velingkar, a former RSS says. He is also confident of continu- workers after speaker Anant Shet was chief in Goa who has launched his ing in the CM’s off ice. “We are fighting denied a ticket (it has gone to ex-Con- CHIEF MINISTER PARSEKAR IS ON SHAKY own party, was also in his crosshairs. the election under my leadership. That gressman Pravin Zantye). Parrikar has GROUND WITHIN HIS OWN PARTY “Velingkar served as a teacher in Man- is why the party has not named a CM refrained from speaking to the media, drem for 15 years. He built up the RSS candidate,” he says. though. Parsekar, meanwhile, denies By Kiran D. Tare in Goa. Locals still consider him their That the BJP is not relying on the campaign is Parrikar-centric. “We idol,” says the source. But Parsekar Parsekar is evident from the fact that are all campaigning for the party. We is still confident of a fourth straight Parrikar is camped in the state. He is are a team,” he says. n

oa chief minister Laxmikant has a capacity to generate employment for MILIND SHELTE Parsekar arrives at 8:45 pm to the next 25 years. Tujya bhurgyank sud- MAHARASHTRA address a corner meeting with his dha hancho fudarak faayado jatalo (Your neighbourhood voters in Harmal. children will also benefit from it),” he says, 62 G PER CENT Parsekar, who is fighting his sixth election, amidst huge applause. of the 251 Uncertain Future begins on an emotional note. “My schedule Ironically, Parsekar, a tough administra- candidates in Goa By Kiran D. Tare has changed since I became chief minister,” tor, has been facing flak within the BJP since are millionaires he says. I have not even been able to visit my he took over as CM from Manohar Parrikar ailing mother in the past six months because (now defence minister) in November 2014. n January 26, when Uddhav Thackeray announced that the Shiv there is so much responsibility on me.” Clear- First, there was a revolt against his elevation Sena would “go it alone” in the February 21 municipal and zilla ly, he was trying to justify the ‘absence’ from from within the ranks, then he was dubbed a Oparishad elections, he seemed confident that his party would his constituency, Mandrem, in north Goa. ‘puppet CM’ who works at Parrikar’s behest. retain its 22-year-old hold on the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Cornered by opponents over his failed And now, when the BJP is trying to retain Corporation (BMC). But insiders familiar with the Shiv Sena’s workings promises and vendetta politics, Parsekar power under his leadership, it is not certain say it was a last-minute decision, that Thacker- also has his own voters to placate. But the he will be CM after the election. Union ay had wanted to partner the BJP for the BMC former school principal has judged the situa- transport minister Nitin Gadkari, the BJP polls but was dissuaded by party veterans (they tion well. He is focusing on the development in-charge in Goa, has already declared that felt the latter has expanded its base in the state works his government has carried out and the party might get Parrikar back from Delhi. at the expense of the Sena). Ramdas Kadam, MUMBAI the many social security schemes, especially A BJP source says Parsekar alone is environment minister in Maharashtra’s ruling for women. The two big infrastructure proj- responsible for his troubles. He locked horns coalition and a senior Shiv Sena leader, says, ects—electronics city and Mopa airport— with three senior leaders, Sangeeta Parab, “BJP leaders have repeatedly referred to him WE’LL GO ALONE coming close to Mandrem will hopefully Ramakant Khalap and Subhash Veling- (Thackeray) as ‘mafia’. We cannot tolerate the Uddhav announcing be the icing on the cake. “Electronics city kar. Parsekar does not consider Parab and use of such foul words against our leader.” Shiv Sena’s decision

16 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017

States-A-Feb13.indd 28-29 2/1/2017 3:37:08 PM STATES

Thackeray hopes his party will benefit from the extensive development works executed in Mumbai. “Je bolato ke karoon dakhavato (I deliver what I promise),” is his tagline for the polls as he highlights the dedicated tunnels to carry drinking water and improved pumping facilities that have saved the city from the massive monsoonal flooding of the past. But the party also faces considerable criticism over allegations of massive corruption in road construction works and the gargantuan challenge of disposing of Mumbai’s garbage. Eviden tly hoping to cash in on this, the BJP’s BMC campaign is focused on the corruption under the Shiv Sena. “Transparency is our motto. We want to develop Mumbai with a transparent administration,” party leader Vinod Tawde says pointedly. Thackeray believes the outcome GUJARAT of the BMC elections, reflecting the

THE SHIV SENA HAS Gujarat’s Sixer Turn BEEN TRYING TO WIN Amit Shah’s management methods have helped OVER THE STRONG craft the Gujarat cricket team’s success story GUJARATI TRADER By Uday Mahurkar COMMUNITY

hey all thought it was a bit of a pipe-dream. Amit Shah’s stated mood of the voters in India’s financial aim of making the Gujarat cricket team one of the best in the capital, will be a mandate on the Modi country when he took charge as vice-president of the Gujarat government’s demonetisation move. The T Cricket Association (GCA) in 2009, was received by other office- Shiv Sena has been silently working to bearers with some derision. As was the then association president Naren- win over the influential community of dra Modi’s promise of bringing a new professionalism to the game. Gujarati traders who have traditionally Eight years on, with Shah taking over as GCA president after Modi supported the BJP. This time around, moved to Delhi as prime minister in 2014, the BJP chief’s words have however, they are calling favours by proved prophetic. The cricketing fraternity was agog on January 14 when reminding the traders how Shiv Sainiks Gujarat trumped Mumbai in the Ranji finals to finally take the trophy came out to protect their shops in the home. And this was no fluke, coming close on the 1992-93 riots. Sources close to Thac- heels of wins in both one-day (Vijay Hazare Tro- keray even talk of a move to field more phy, 2015-16) and T-20 (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Gujaratis. “Every sixth Shiv Sena nomi- 2014-15). In fact, Guj arat is the first team to have nee will be a Gujarati,” they say. won in all three formats of the game. Political observers say the future of Before the turnaround, Gujarat had been the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition in Maha- 359RUNS among the more poorly performing cricket teams rashtra hinges on the outcome of the Opener Samit Bahel’s in the country, having only ever made it to the BMC polls. In the event of the Sena score in the Ranji Ranji trophy final once and that too over five losing the BMC polls, they say Thackeray quarters, breaking a decades ago (the state has two other teams in the will not hesitate to pull the plug on the 117-year record Ranji trophy, Saurashtra and Baroda). Just one Devendra Fadnavis government. n GCA player, Parthiv Patel, had made it to the na-

18 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 tional squad in the decade preceding Shah’s arrival. In BIHAR contrast, three players—Parthiv Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel—now wear the India cap, five are in the India A team and six in the national Under-19 team. It was no magic trick. Shah and his GCA team achieved the impossible about-face through a carefully NEW LIGHT crafted and nepotism-free selection process, an imagi- native talent hunt, and a system of accountability that could well become a template for other state associa- IN BIHAR tions. Shah’s message to the GCA selectors and coaches had been terse: “Not one talented boy must be left out,” How one ocer has pulled he had told them. Selection camps organised annually the state out of the dark ages in each of the GCA’s 11 districts brought in budding By Amitabh Srivastava youngsters from remote towns and villages. The GCA also doubled the number of coaches to 17, recru ited physical instructors for different age groups, got more bowling machines and installed software to create a performance database of players. GCA vice-president Parimal Nathwani, who was key to implementing

Shah’s gameplan, is now overseeing the construction of DEADLY an all-new Rs 500 crore sports stadium with facilities SPELL to host 58 sporting disciplines (part of PM Modi’s aim The winning to bring other sports on par with cricket in the state). Gujarat team Others on Shah’s team include son Jai Shah, a GCA pose with the joint secretary, and chief coach Vijay Patel. Ranji trophy Today, some 3,000 young players attend the GCA’s RANJAN RAHI RANJAN annual coaching camps as against 300 earlier. And SWITCH ON P. Amrit (in white) at the Grameen it is evidently paying off in a big way. Samit Gohel, a GANDHINAGAR Vidyutikaran Yojana site in Bakhtiarpur, Patna youngster from Anand, scored an unbeaten 359 runs in the Ranji quarterfinals, carrying his bat to break a 117-year-old national record. And then there’s Navneet Vora, whose pace impressed even cricketing greats like ihar is ringing in what might Aussie Glenn McGrath, and Ranji newcomer Kamlesh be the biggest game-changer Thakore, the son of a poor farmer from north Gujarat. since Independence—reliable, Thakore did not even have a pair of shoes when Shah Buninterrupted electric power first saw him on the pitch. n supply to even those remote corners of the state that have not seen a working light bulb for the almost seven decades India has been a free nation. It’s been an onerous challenge. When Nitish Kumar first became chief minister in No State for Women 2005, the default power distribution Kerala, India’s most literate state with 1,084 females network was in a complete shambles. per 1,000 males (940/1,000 for India) and the highest Most rural settlements had poles human development index (HDI) score of 0.79, has without power lines; more than 30,000 recorded a distressing spike in rapes transformers were unserviceable, having burnt out years ago. There was ample electric power available from the Eastern Grid but Bihar just did 1,609 198 8 not have the transmission/distribution network to use it. Even urban areas, Rapes reported in The maximum rapes Rapes per 100,000 female including Patna, had to make do with 2016. Up 25% over have been in the population, compared with 8-10 hours of electricity a day. 2015 and 100% since capital district of 1.3 in neighbouring Tamil In June 2014, Nitish picked Praty- ﬁve years ago Thiruvananthapuram Nadu; all-India average: 6.3 aya Amrit, a 1991 batch IAS officer

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 19 STATES

with a reputation for turning around KERALA near-impossible situations, as his energy secretary. The officer found an incredibly simple solution to Bihar’s problematic power situation. Within three months, 30,000 faulty transform- Babu War in Kerala ers were either repaired or replaced, The state’s top civil servants are at each other’s throats and several hundred kilometres of new transmission lines were laid to kickstart By Jeemon Jacob the dysfunctional distribution network. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Amrit introduced a new, streamlined system wherein contractors and suppliers, who earlier had to wait for months to be paid for works they had executed, now mandatorily received payments within 18 days. It is the quickest processing of payments for civil works in the

EVEN RURAL HOUSEHOLDS NOW GET OVER 1218 HOURS OF POWER

SUPPLY EVERY DAY NOT MY PROBLEM: CM Pinarayi Vijayan (left) with IAS officers at a meeting country, and it has not only helped weed everal senior civil servants in for allegedly delaying a probe against out corruption but has also significantly Kerala applied for casual leave former state intelligence chief and brought down project costs. “Contrac- Son January 9 to protest the additional DGP, R. Sreelekha. “I’m tors and suppliers were quoting higher state vigilance department register- least bothered about what happens prices to offset losses from delayed paying cases against them. The imme- to me in the future. I’ve served the ments,” the principal secretary explains. diate catalyst was a chargesheet government and the people with Although still a ‘work in progress’, brought against additional chief the utmost sincerity and integrity,” the change is visible across Bihar. secretary for industries, Paul Antony, says Vijayanand. Some of the others Consider the numbers: per capita in the nepotism case against former facing the ‘vigilance witch-hunt’ are consumption is up to 258 units from industries minister E.P. additional chief secretar- the meagre 70 units when Nitish first Jayarajan. The mass Those ies K.M. Abraham and became CM in 2005; overall power leave protest eventually Tom Jose. consumption has more than doubled didn’t happen. But after probing the Ironically, those resp- from 1,751 MW in 2012 to 3,769 MW six months of the new ‘charges’ are onsible for investigating (in October 2016); the number of Left Front government, themselves the ‘charges’, are them- consumers has more than quadrupled a bureaucratic dogfight under the selves under the scanner. from 1.73 million to 8.1 million house- is dragging the adminis- scanner Nalini Netto, additional holds; and even rural households now tration down in the state. chief secretary for home, get 12-18 hours of power supply every Senior bureaucrats for instance, is being day. “Our objective is to connect every say vigilance director Jacob Thomas investigated on charges of ‘manipu- household in the state by the end of is “misusing the department to trap lating government files’ to ensure the 2018,” says the CM. Of the total 39,073 fellow officers who exposed his own sacking of ex-DGP (law and order) villages in Bihar, now less than a thou- corruption in the past”. The latest T.P. Senkumar. And vigilance chief sand have yet to be electrified in the official in the web is chief secretary Thomas faces a ‘misappro priation of state (which means over 98 per cent of S.M. Vijayanand, targeted in a case funds’ charge from the time he was villages are already electrified). n registered on November 9 last year, ports director (2012-15). n

20 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 STATES

UNSUNG PADMA H1B VISAS AWARDEES IN NUMBERS PG 10 PG 14 ANDHRA PRADESH

THE FUSS OVER LIFE IN PADMAVATI TRUMPISTAN Naidu’sPG 24 UPFRONT Quota PG 26 Conundrum PERSPECTIVE The Kapu community’s demand for reservations could make things sticky FEELINGfor the Andhra Pradesh CM THEBy Amarnath HEAT K. Menon GONE KAPU: Protests by community members By Wajahat S. Khan Islamabad

udragada Padmanabham, Ravulapalem to Anataravedi in the and establish hostels for impoverished akistanthe armypatriarch spokesperson of Andhra Godavari delta. More than 2,000 riot- Kapu students. Maj.Pradesh’s Gen. Asif numericallyGhafoor has said ready policemen descended on Kirlam- Changed demographics, owing MP Pakistan’sstrong decision Kapu community, to arrest Hafiz pudi, his native village, and neighbour- to the bifurcation of the state, have Saeed,wants quotasleader offor a them‘philanthropic’ in educational organisa - ing settlements to stall the ‘satyagraha’. worked in Kapus’ favour. Once just 17 tioninstitutions with established and government militant jobs, credentials But Padmanabham is adamant. “If per cent of the population in undivided andwhich suspected means including links to the them Mumbai in the terror lawful forms of protests are not allowed, Andhra, Kapus are now an electorally attacksbackward of 2008,classes is (BCs). based Andon a newhe’s ready“national we will teach the ruling party a lesson significant 27 per cent. Aware of the policyto do whatever and for the it takesnational to getinterest”. chief min- in the next assembly elections,” he said. dierence they could make in elections, isterSaeed, N. Chandrababu who has a $10 Naidu million to concede. bounty Padmanabham wants Naidu to imple- Naidu included five Kapus in his coun- placedIn aon bind, his head Naidu by ordered the United for States,Padma -is ment the recommendations of the K.L. cil of ministers, including N. Chinnara- oftennabham cited to bybe India placed as under the “mastermind” house arrest of Manjunath Commission (the report is jappa as deputy CM. There are 18 Kapu theon January Mumbai 25, terror just attacks, as he was which preparing resulted expected later this year), sanction more MLAs and two MPs. But the commu- into thelead deaths a 116-km of 166 protest people, march including from funds to the Kapu Welfare Commission nity is far from impressed. several Americans. He has been appre- hended at least four times between 2002 and 2009, but was let go after a few months in detention. The popular jihadist can still attractRAJASTHAN large crowds with his anti-America and anti-India diatribes. But military insiders are saying that JAIPUR Saeed’sChild’s house arrest in LahorePlay on January 30 has to do with a fast changing local and internationalBy Rohit Parihar environment, including the 0.35 the officer says. “So in a lot of villages, new Donald Trump administration in the MILLION loc als have also been making small US and ahief change minister of guard Vasundhara in the powerful Fresh enrolments at anganwadis contributions.” It’s no wonder then Pakistan Raje’sarmy. initiativeSignificantly, of revamping Saeed has in the scheme’s first six months that there have been 350,000 fresh been detainedsome under61,000 the anganwadis— stricter Pakistan enrolments at the centres in the last Anti-TerrorCstate-run Act. day care centres that voluntary groups and corporates. half year, leading to a revision of the caterGeneral to a million Qamar pre-school Javed Bajwa, children Pak is - According to Rajasthan’s women & state government’s target of children in tan’sbetween new threechief ofand army six yearsstaff, hasold—is a reputa - child development secretary Kuldeep anganwadis to 1.5 million. tionclearly of beinga winner. religiously Launched progressive in June and Ranka, 7.5 million items were received Some district administrations pro-democratic.2016, the scheme His involves boss, Prime bring- Minister and distributed to anganwadis across have also extended the scheme to inc- ing toys, clothes and books to poor the state in the first six months of the lude older children by setting up or childrenHafiz Saeed in beingthe anganwadis taken away bythrough scheme. “Our focus has been to involve strengthening libraries with contribu- the police in Lahore private contributions from individuals, the community as much as possible,” tions of books. GETTYIMAGES

34 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 21 PANKAJ NANGIA

JOINT VENTURE: SP and Congress supporters during a roadshow by Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi in Lucknow on January 29

SURVEY | ASSEMBLY POLLS CLIFFHANGER IN UP The BJP falls short of a clear majority in Lucknow, yet is a frontrunner in three out of four states, predicts the India Today-Axis pre-poll survey. The Congress is poised for a majority in Punjab

By Ajit Kumar Jha escribe it as a personal chemistry bet- Game Wide Open ween the 43-year-old Uttar Pradesh In Uttar Pradesh, a surging SP-Congress Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and the alliance is snapping at the BJP’s heels 46-year-old Congress vice-president D Rahul Gandhi, or explain it as the SEATS/ TOTAL 403 geometric progression of the pre-poll Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance. 224 But the truth is the alliance between the two parties is 200-216 rapidly reducing the advantage the Bharatiya Janata Party 170-183 enjoyed till recently, buoyed by the public response to the 180-191 surgical strike across the LoC and demonetisation being 168-179 sold as a pro-poor initiative. As UP heads to vote, the -Axis pre-poll survey reveals that what started 115-124 as a three-cornered contest—between the BJP, BSP and SP-Congress alliance—is ending up as a fiercely competi- 92-97 tive bipolar fight between the BJP, as the single largest 94-103 party, and the surging SP-Congress alliance. 80 79-85 The survey shows that the edge held by the BJP in the surveys in October and 47 39-43 28 December 2016 has begun to give way. In the January 2017 What is the 8-12 5-9 survey, the seats projected biggest issue in for the BJP have reduced to a 2012 Oct 2016 Dec 2016 Jan 2017 range of 180-191 (out of 403) the UP polls? Assembly After surgical After After poll strike demonetisation SP-Congress from 206-216 in Decem- DEVELOPMENT alliance ber. This despite the party’s BJP SP BSP Congress SP+Congress popular vote share increasing 45% Rest: Others by 1.6 per cent, from 33.2 EMPLOYMENT per cent in December to 34.8 19% VOTE SHARE % per cent now. Since opinion polls usually have a margin 35 ROAD/WATER/ 33 of error of up to 3 per cent, ELECTRICITY 15% 31 33 the BJP’s marginal lead in India’s bellwether state could 29 CHANGE IN 28 turn either way in a closely GOVERNMENT 7% 26 contested election. The SP- 26 Law and order 6% 26 Congress alliance is pro- 25 Inflation 3% jected to get 168 to 179 seats, Education 3% 20 compared to just 92 to 97 Corruption 1% seats for the SP and 5 to 7 for Facilities for farmers 1% the Congress in December. 15 The implications of this 12 late surge by the alliance will surely change political equations in Lucknow after March 11, the vote-count day. With a slender lead, the BJP is likely to end up as the single 6 6 largest party, prevented by the SP-Congress alliance from forming a government on its own. Or else, the alliance, 2012 Oct 2016 Dec 2016 Jan 2017 Assembly After surgical After After with 33.2 per cent popular vote, will not only close the 1.6 poll strike demonetisation SP-Congress percentage point gap with the BJP but snatch the number alliance one position from it. The potential of the alliance crossing BJP SP BSP Congress SP+Congress the finishing line is also indicated by the choice of chief Rest: Others minister among the respondents, 45 per cent of who con- The SP and Congress are in a pre-poll alliance in UP, so the projections are for the sider development as the main electoral issue. Incumbent alliance. All vote percentages corrected to nearest decimal. Source: Election Commission for 2012; India Today-Axis pre-poll survey for CM Akhilesh Yadav, who has announced a slew of devel- Oct 2016, Dec 2016 and Jan 2017 projections opment projects in the state, enjoys 35 per cent popularity

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 23 SURVEY | ASSEMBLY POLLS

Congress Comeback In Punjab, anti-incumbency against SAD-BJP is expected to give the Congress a clear shot at power. The AAP comes a strong second

SEATS/ TOTAL 117 QAMAR SIBTAIN QAMAR CAPTAIN COMMAND: Congress leader Amarinder Singh speaks 68 to the media while campaigning in Amritsar on January 19 56-62 60-65 49-55 as the next CM. His nearest rival, BJP veteran Rajnath Singh, is way behind at 21 per cent. 46 41-44 While it is practically neck-and-neck between the 42-46 BJP and SP-Congress alliance, the Bahujan Samaj Party 36-41 is a distant third with 20 per cent popular vote share but projected seats as few as 39-43. Surveys frequently underestimate the BSP, despite the silent support it enjoys among the masses. The question is whether the BSP’s 17-21 18-22 11-15 apparent losses will translate into gains for the BJP or the SP-Congress alliance. The answer partly lies in how far 2012 Oct 2016 Dec 2016 Jan 2017 the alliance is able to paper over the contradictions in seat Assembly After surgical After As elections poll strike demonetisation approach arrangements on the ground during the next six weeks of the campaign and how much the Narendra Modi-led BJP+SAD Congress AAP NDA government is able to sell Budget 2017 to the voters Rest: Others in India’s most populous and politically signiﬁcant state.

n Punjab’s triangular VOTE SHARE % contest, the survey shows the Congress continuing 42 to ride a strong anti- What is the incumbency wave against biggest issue 40 theI 10-year-old Shiromani in the Punjab 37 Akali Dal-BJP government. elections? 35 With a 37 per cent popular 33 34 vote share and seats projected in the range of 60 to EMPLOYMENT 65 (out of 117), the Congress 43% 30 29 looks to be in a position to DEVELOPMENT form the government. How- 34% 24 ever, the Aam Aadmi Party is 24 poised to make big gains and DRUG ADDICTION 22 ﬁnish a close runner-up, with 13% only a 3 percentage point gap 2012 Oct 2016 Dec 2016 Jan 2017 with the Congress and a pro- ROADS Assembly After surgical After As elections poll strike demonetisation approach jection of as many as 41-44 3% seats. The SAD-BJP alliance Law and order 2% BJP+SAD Congress AAP Rest: Others is hopelessly behind, with 24 Facilities for farmers 1% per cent voter support and Crop price 1% just 11-15 seats. Inflation 1% The SAD and BJP are in a pre-poll alliance in Punjab as was the case in 2012, In both Goa and Uttara- Water 1% so the projections are for the alliance khand, says the survey, the Hospitals 1% Source: Election Commission for 2012; India Today-Axis pre-poll survey for Oct 2016, Dec 2016 and Jan 2017 projections BJP appears to enjoy an edge

24 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017

UP Polls-Feb13.indd 38 2/2/2017 6:30:56 PM SURVEY | ASSEMBLY POLLS UNSUNG PADMA H1B VISAS AWARDEES IN NUMBERS PG 10 PG 14

CENTRESTAGE: BJP president Amit THE FUSS OVER Shah, flanked by party leaders, at a rally in LIFE IN PADMAVATI Dehradun on November 13 last year TRUMPISTAN PG 24 UPFRONT PG 26 GETTYIMAGES over its challengers. The BJP’s advantage in the 70-seat Uttarakhand is because of the strong anti- PERSPECTIVE incumbency against the Congress. In contrast, the Hill Thrill for BJP BJP, as the incumbent in Goa, is benefitting from In Uttarakhand, the Congress’s loss is the BJP’s the split in the opposition vote between the Con- FEELINGgain. With a 9 per cent lead in popular vote share, gress and new player AAP. The survey projects the the BJP is projected to win hands down BJP’s seats in Goa in the range of 22-25 out of 40 and the Congress’s at 12-14. In Uttarakhand, there THESEATS/ TOTAL HEAT 70 VOTE SHARE % is a yawning gap between the popular vote shares By Wajahat S. Khan Islamabad of the BJP (44 per cent) and the Congress (35 per cent). The BJP could bag 40-44 seats, restricting 50 50 45 44 the Congress to 23-27. 45 41-46 40-44 38-43akistan army spokesperson 45 43 The fierce battle for the throne in UP is the 40 Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor has said40 result of a bipolar sociological divide across com- 35 32Pakistan’s decision to arrest Hafiz 39 munities. According to the P 35 34 Saeed,30 leader26-31 of a ‘philanthropic’ organisa- survey, while the BJP has 68 31 23-27 33 33 35 tion25 with established18-23 militant credentials30 per cent support among the and20 suspected links to the Mumbai terror25 upper castes and 56 per cent attacks2012 of 2008,Oct is Decbased onJan a new “national2012 Oct Dec Jan across the backward castes, policy and for2016 the national2016 2017 interest”. 2016 2016 2017 barring the Yadavs, the SP- 35PER CENT Saeed,BJP who Conhasgress a $10 million bounty BJP Congress Congress alliance draws 82 placedRest: Otherson his head by the United States,Rest: is Others per cent support from Yadavs voters in often cited by India as the “mastermind” of and 74 per cent from Muslims. Uttarakhand want Source: Election Commission for 2012; India Today-Axis pre-poll survey for Oct 2016, theDec 2016Mumbai and Jan terror 2017 projections attacks, which resulted The BSP gets 60 per cent sup- B.C. Khanduri as in the deaths of 166 people, including port from the Dalits. Despite the next CM several Americans. He has been appre- 99 tickets distributed among hended at least four times between 2002 Muslims, the party has only andGoa 2009, but No was let Gamble go after a few months secured 12 per cent support from the community, inThe detention. BJP is seenThe popular comfortably jihadist canholding still on to power. down from 20 per cent in 2012. In Punjab, the attractThe division large crowds of Opposition with his anti-America votes between the Congress is more popular among the backward andCongress anti-India and diatribes. AAP only makes it easier castes and Dalits among Hindus. The AAP draws But military insiders are saying that greater support from the backward castes and Saeed’s house arrest in Lahore on January Dalits among Sikhs. The Congress is more popu- 30 hasSEATS/ to do withTOTAL a fast 40 changing local and VOTE SHARE % lar among the urban voters while the AAP finds international26-31 environment, including the greater appeal in the countryside. 30 50 43 new Donald Trump administration22-25 in the 41 Victories in UP, Uttarakhand and Goa are 25 20-24 40 38 US and21 a change of guard in the powerful likely to give the BJP a boost countrywide. But 20 18-23 35 Pakistan army. Significantly, Saeed has30 a Congress win in Punjab and the possibility of 17-21 31 34 31 35 been15 detained under the stricter Pakistan the SP-Congress alliance in UP beating the BJP 20 Anti-Terror10 Act. 12-14 16 could turn the tide. After defeats in the politi- 9 8 5 General Qamar2-4 Javed1-2 Bajwa, Pak is10- cally significant Delhi and Bihar assembly polls, 1-3 8 tan’s0 new chief of army staff, has a reputa0 - potential losses in major states like Punjab and tion of2012 being Octreligiously Dec progressiveJan and 2012 Oct Dec Jan UP could dent PM Modi’s image as the main 2016 2016 2017 2016 2016 2017 pro-democratic. His boss, Prime Minister vote-getter for the BJP. An advantage for the SP- Congress alliance in UP could definitely change BJP Congress AAP BJP Congress AAP Hafiz Saeed being taken away by the fortunes of Akhilesh and Rahul for a bigger theRest: police Others in Lahore Rest: Others

national role in 2019. GETTYIMAGES There was no AAP in 2012

40 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 25 COVER STORY BUDGET 2017 BETTING ON BHARAT MODI NOW PUTS THE AAM AADMI AT THE CENTRE OF HIS ECONOMIC NARRATIVE By Raj Chengappa I

IN LIFE OF PI, the Oscar-winning movie about a Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in the current shipwrecked Indian’s fantastic tale of survival with a fer- year—clearly a sign of distress. ocious tiger in a boat adrift on the Pacific, the insurance Internationally, there was a worrying turn of events agents have a hard time believing him. So Pi spins an with both Brexit and Donald Trump’s victory signalling alternative narrative that eliminates the tiger and brings the beginning of a possible deglobalisation process and a in humans. And then asks: which story do you believe? new era of protectionism. There was a global slowdown After unleashing the demonetisation tsunami, Modi in demand and economic growth. There was concern had donned the mantle of the great reformer and mod- that there would be higher outflows of foreign investment erniser who was unafraid of taking risks and oending from emerging economies like India back to the US. The his core supporters if he believed an action would result traditional export-led growth model India had banked in the greater good of the nation. He had positioned him- on for two decades was beginning to falter. self as the new messiah of the poor and had also appropri- ated the role of a crusader against corruption. MODI WAS FACED with some tough choices. Everyone Now past the half-way mark of his tenure, Modi was expected him to give the economy a booster shot to arrest acutely aware that the budget could make or mar his the downward spiral and bring GDP growth back to 7 chances of being re-elected as prime minister in 2019. per cent levels. While formulating the budget, Modi and He was also conscious that while there was broad-based Jaitley, however, resisted the temptation of indulging in support for his drastic moves to root out black money, he fiscal adventurism or straightout populism. Instead, they had to now provide some balm for all the pain the demon- homed in on four critical areas of concern: how to boost etisation had inflicted. On the immediate horizon were investment, how to generate demand, how to create more the assembly elections, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, jobs and, however counter-intuitive it seemed, how to where a defeat for the BJP could mar the remaining years maintain fiscal prudence. of his tenure. For Modi personally, there were two more There were other equally critical considerations. De- imperatives —he was clear the budget should under- monetisation had considerably slowed India’s economic line his pro-garib image. Also, it was important that momentum and his government was forced to admit the budget showed that demonetisation was not a full that GDP growth would be down from 7.5 per cent to stop but a comma in his battle against black money. So 6.5 per cent. Private sector investment and expansion Modi and his team decided to risk it all and bet big on had almost ground to a halt, with key sectors reporting Bharat—that other India of the less privileged masses in a drop in demand and profits. Banks, saddled with bad rural and urban areas. loans even before demonetisation, remained conser- To boost investment, with big capital showing no vative and were cautious about lending to corporates appetite for expansion, they decided to increase spend- despite now being flush with funds. ing on major public welfare undertakings and schemes. The prime minister was also deeply concerned with But instead of announcing a host of new schemes to win the job famine across the country, exacerbated by the applause, as has been the habit, the team focused on shortage of cash, particularly in the informal sector. augmenting spending in key sectors, particularly infra- One indication was that there was higher otake of structure, that were already showing good results. The employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural most visible was in the road sector, where Jaitley claimed

Illustration by NILANJAN DAS

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 27

Budget-Lead-Feb13.indd 44-45 2/2/2017 10:57:53 PM I

IN LIFE OF PI, the Oscar-winning movie about a Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in the current shipwrecked Indian’s fantastic tale of survival with a fer- year—clearly a sign of distress. o cious tiger in a boat adrift on the Pacific, the insurance Internationally, there was a worrying turn of events agents have a hard time believing him. So Pi spins an with both Brexit and Donald Trump’s victory signalling alternative narrative that eliminates the tiger and brings the beginning of a possible deglobalisation process and a in humans. And then asks: which story do you believe? new era of protectionism. There was a global slowdown After unleashing the demonetisation tsunami, Modi in demand and economic growth. There was concern had donned the mantle of the great reformer and mod- that there would be higher outflows of foreign investment erniser who was unafraid of taking risks and oending from emerging economies like India back to the US. The his core supporters if he believed an action would result traditional export-led growth model India had banked in the greater good of the nation. He had positioned him- on for two decades was beginning to falter. self as the new messiah of the poor and had also appropri- ated the role of a crusader against corruption. MODI WAS FACED with some tough choices. Everyone Now past the half-way mark of his tenure, Modi was expected him to give the economy a booster shot to arrest acutely aware that the budget could make or mar his the downward spiral and bring GDP growth back to 7 chances of being re-elected as prime minister in 2019. per cent levels. While formulating the budget, Modi and He was also conscious that while there was broad-based Jaitley, however, resisted the temptation of indulging in support for his drastic moves to root out black money, he fiscal adventurism or straightout populism. Instead, they had to now provide some balm for all the pain the demon- homed in on four critical areas of concern: how to boost etisation had inflicted. On the immediate horizon were investment, how to generate demand, how to create more the assembly elections, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, jobs and, however counter-intuitive it seemed, how to where a defeat for the BJP could mar the remaining years maintain fiscal prudence. of his tenure. For Modi personally, there were two more There were other equally critical considerations. De- imperatives —he was clear the budget should under- monetisation had considerably slowed India’s economic line his pro-garib image. Also, it was important that momentum and his government was forced to admit the budget showed that demonetisation was not a full that GDP growth would be down from 7.5 per cent to stop but a comma in his battle against black money. So 6.5 per cent. Private sector investment and expansion Modi and his team decided to risk it all and bet big on had almost ground to a halt, with key sectors reporting Bharat—that other India of the less privileged masses in a drop in demand and profits. Banks, saddled with bad rural and urban areas. loans even before demonetisation, remained conser- To boost investment, with big capital showing no vative and were cautious about lending to corporates appetite for expansion, they decided to increase spend- despite now being flush with funds. ing on major public welfare undertakings and schemes. The prime minister was also deeply concerned with But instead of announcing a host of new schemes to win the job famine across the country, exacerbated by the applause, as has been the habit, the team focused on shortage of cash, particularly in the informal sector. augmenting spending in key sectors, particularly infra- One indication was that there was higher otake of structure, that were already showing good results. The employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural most visible was in the road sector, where Jaitley claimed

Illustration by NILANJAN DAS

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 27 COVER STORY BUDGET 2017

that the NDA government had built 140,000 km, or 160 Rajya Sabha. So he used the budget to turn into law mea- km a day, since they came to power in 2014. His budget sures that would bring down the volume of anonymous provided Rs 64,900 crore in 2017-18 for this sector—a 12 donations and also introduced a system of electoral bonds per cent hike. Since the construction sector was largely to keep track of funding. informal, any surge in investments would see the creation Finally, Modi resisted the strong push to throw fiscal of more jobs, particularly for unskilled workers. prudence to the winds. Had he taken that path, it might have won him brownie points at home, but there was the O BOOST DEMAND and employ- danger of it leading to inflationary tendencies just when ment, Modi and his team then homed the government had boasted that it had managed to keep in on another demographic impera- inflation strictly under check. Also, after the demonetisa- tive in India: apart from roti (food), tion drive, which was strongly criticised by many foreign T kapda (clothes), every Indian desires investors, Modi was keen to project to the world that his a makaan (shelter) that s/he can call government believed in consistency, continuity and fiscal home. The budget and the prime minister’s New Year’s consolidation, and as an o¡cial put it, “drew a lakshman eve sops contain a raft of measures and incentives rekha for us that we would not be allowed to cross”. He was designed to boost demand and investment for the also careful not to announce schemes that would make housing sector, both in urban and rural areas. him fall afoul of the Election Commission. Among them was the decision to give aord- Jaitley exuded confidence that his fourth able housing the infrastructure tag, which budget would be a gamechanger and in his would help lower interest rates on bank loans, The PM and speech said: “When my aim is right, when my and also a proposal to build a staggering 10 FM homed goal is in sight, the winds favour me and I fly.” million houses by 2019 under the Pradhan (For an assessment of the budget, see Mantri Awas Yojana. in on four accompanying report.) Minutes before Then, instead of relying on big business to key areas: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the deliver on jobs, they decided that “small is more boost budget to Parliament, the Union cabinet met beautiful” by backing the Micro, Small and investment, to give its concurrence, as is the norm. At the Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. MSMEs meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in account for the bulk of economic activities generate an unusually stern tone, instructed his col- across the country—they are the largest em- demand, leagues: “Go through the budgetary provi- ployers. This was also the sector that faced the create sions for your respective ministries with a brunt of the ill-eects of demonetisation. Ironi- jobs and magnifying glass and see that everything gets cally, these businesses were paying an eective under way by April 1.” tax rate of 30.3 per cent while the rate for large maintain Modi is acutely aware that he may falter industries was 25.9 per cent. So, in one shot, scal in the over-reliance on government and its Jaitley reduced income tax to 25 per cent for prudence bureaucrats to deliver. The major criticism smaller companies with annual turnovers of up against the budget is that instead of reduc- to Rs 50 crore. ing the government’s involvement, it has only Somewhat the same approach was taken expanded Bharat sarkar’s role in development. to provide relief to small wage-earners with incomes of The other failing is that Jaitley did nothing to reduce the less than Rs 5 lakh and bring back the ‘feel-good’ factor. amount of subsidies on fertilisers and food, which have, These constitute as much as 80 per cent of the total tax- in fact, grown in the new budget. Ashok Lavasa, finance paying public of 37 million. For them, Jaitley reduced secretary, pleaded helplessness in reducing the food the tax rate to almost negligible levels, claiming that this subsidy as more and more states are covered under the would widen the tax base in the future by encouraging National Food Security Act. He said the government had more people to file returns. While the high networth gone a long way in plugging loopholes and ensuring that taxpayers and the middle class may chafe, Modi was able subsidies reach the people through such measures as the to put money in the hands of the people who faced the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme. most hardship during demonetisation. It also helped in Modi’s critics say that far from thinking of the next reiterating that his government favoured the have-nots. generation, the prime minister always has his eyes on the Two others pieces completed this finely balanced next election. That he is tall on talk and short on action. budget. On curbing black money generated by political So, is Modi, the great helmsman, navigating India suc- funding, Modi knew that he would have trouble modify- cessfully through these stormy waters to prosperity and ing the Representation of the People Act to bring in more glory? Or is he an emperor without clothes who will soon stringent controls, as his party lacked a majority in the be exposed? Which narrative do you believe? n

28 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives with MoS ﬁnance Arjun Meghwal to

PANKAJ NAGIA present the budget COVER STORY BUDGET 2017 A FINE BALANCE FM JAITLEY PULLS OFF A PLEASE-ALL BUDGET THAT LOWERS TAXES AND STIMULATES KEY SECTORS, WITHOUT COMPROMISING ON FISCAL PRUDENCE

By M.G. Arun and Shweta Punj

S UNION FINANCE MINIS- when Saraswati Puja is celebrated in many parts of the TER Arun Jaitley rose to pres- country—for Jaitley, it didn’t start well. Former Union min- ent independent India’s 87th ister and Muslim League (IUML) leader E. Ahamed had budget—and his fourth—he passed away the previous day (January 31), and Opposition had very few options. Hard- parties were clamouring for a postponement of the budget. pressed as he was to follow the But with the speaker ruling otherwise, Jaitley began his fiscal discipline he had initi- speech, invoking the warmth and optimism of spring. And A ated in 2014, he also had to perhaps that’s what Budget 2017-2018 accomplished. The o er a few sops to placate those good part was the FM chose to deviate only slightly from who had borne the pain of demonetisation. Union Budget the path of fiscal consolidation by pegging the fiscal deficit 2017-18, then, shaped up as a well-calibrated, cautious yet for 2017-18 at 3.2 per cent of the GDP against the 3 per pragmatic document. It addresses, to some extent, the stat- cent target set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget ed goals of this government—moving the country towards Management (FRBM) framework. “The solid, consistent a more formal structure by widening the tax base, reducing path of fiscal discipline continues,” said chief economic advi- dependence on cash by encouraging digital transactions, sor Arvind Subramanian. The move to scrap the Foreign helping grassroots businesses develop and create jobs, and Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) was lauded by many as systematically curbing black money and corruption. it would help ease FDI inflow into the country. Apart from the sops to a ordable housing and new norms for electoral funding to boost transparency, Jaitley DESPITE THE ‘HOUSING FOR ALL’ project ann ounced refrained from throwing any surprises, or trying to please two years ago, there has not been much progress in the af- investors with the so-called ‘big bang’ reforms. They seemed fordable housing segment, primarily because there weren’t pleased all the same, driving the benchmark Sensex up 1.76 enough incentives for developers. But with a ordable hous- per cent or 485.68 points on Tuesday to close at 28,141.64. ing now accorded infrastructure status, experts feel that the “This is a growth-oriented budget,” said Adi Godrej, chair- sector will improve. “[The] tax burden on a ordable hous- man of the Godrej group. “Coupled with the implementa- ing projects will now be deferred, which is an incentive,” says tion of the GST (Goods and Services Tax), this will add to Gulam Zia, a partner with property consulting firm, Knight the GDP growth of the country.” That should be music to Frank. Tax on joint development agreements (between the FM’s ears, coming as it did after the Economic Survey, land owners and developers) will also now have to be paid on January 31, had lowered the country’s estimated GDP only upon completion of project. “For projects under the growth rate to 6.5 per cent for 2016-17. ‘infrastructure’ tag, tax on bank loans will also come down Despite being the auspicious day of Basant Panchami— by 3-4 per cent,” he says. But on the flip side, the budget does

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 31 INFRASTRUCTURE COVER STORY BUDGET 2017 Allocation of Rs 2.4 lakh crore for roads, rail, shipping in 2017-18

Capital and development THE FIVE expenditure at Rs 1.31 lakh crore Rs 1 lakh crore rail safety corpus to be created over ﬁve years THRUST AREAS 3,500 km of railway lines to be commissioned; at least 25 stations Budget 2017 is a please-all mission statement. It to be redeveloped proposes no increase in direct taxation and prioritises Budget allocation for highways government spending in ﬁve key areas up to Rs 64,900 crore in 2017-18

Graphics by Tanmoy Chakraborty 2,000 km of coastal connectivity roads to be developed

150,000 panchayats to get high- speed broadband under BharatNet HOUSING Beneﬁts: Will spur demand in Aordable housing has been given cement, steel and transport sectors infrastructure status Jobs: Unskilled labour in Government to construct 10 million houses AGRICULTURE construction; more jobs in steel, for the homeless by 2019. PM Awas Yojana- cement and transport sectors Gramin allocation raised to Rs 23,000 crore Total allocation for rural, agri and from Rs 15,000 crore in 2016-17 allied sectors is Rs 1.87 lakh crore

National Housing Bank to refinance MNREGA allocation increased to individual housing loans of about Rs 20,000 Rs 48,000 crore crore in 2017-18 Nabard fund up to Rs 40,000 crore. Irrigation corpus doubled to DIGITAL Benefits: Government commitment, tax Rs 40,000 crore, dairy processing exemptions and a rejig of capital gains tax will corpus hiked to Rs 2,000 crore TRANSACTIONS boost sentiment. Infrastructure tag means construction firms can get loans at lower rates Rs 9,000 crore for crop Referral bonus schemes for individuals, insurance under Fasal Bima Yojana; cashback scheme for merchants to Jobs: Too early to predict agri credit target, Rs 10 lakh crore promote digital payment app BHIM

Merchant version of Aadhaar enabled Benefits: More agriculture credit as Payment System to be launched shortly ENTREPRENEURSHIP banks are flush. Food processing and organised retail to benefit significantly Target of 25 billion digital transactions for 2017-18 through UPI, USSD, Aadhaar Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) credit Jobs: New contract farming law Pay, IMPS and debit cards can now be carried forward up to a period could open sector to investments, of 15 years, instead of 10 years at present boost employment Banks to introduce an additional 1 million PoS terminals by March 2017; 2 million Income tax for companies with annual Aadhaar-based terminals by September 2017 turnover up to Rs 50 crore has been reduced to 25 per cent from 30 per cent RBI Payments Regulatory Board to repl- ace Board for Regulation and Supervision of Tax holidays for start-ups extended by Payment and Settlement System two more years

Benefits: Regulatory mechanism, cash Benefits: Boosts market sentiment expenditure limits and customs and excise towards MSMEs, could nudge them duty reductions in PoS machines could lead towards expansion/ adoption of better to explosive growth in the sector technology Jobs: E-wallet firms to go on hiring spree, Jobs: Too early to predict. Many MSMEs jobs in sales, marketing and for engineers sick, other have structural challenges. They also await an exit policy

Budget-Shweta & MG-Feb13.indd 52-53 2/2/2017 7:24:28 PM INFRASTRUCTURE

Allocation of Rs 2.4 lakh crore for roads, rail, shipping in 2017-18

Capital and development expenditure at Rs 1.31 lakh crore

Rs 1 lakh crore rail safety corpus to be created over ﬁve years

3,500 km of railway lines to be commissioned; at least 25 stations to be redeveloped

Budget allocation for highways up to Rs 64,900 crore in 2017-18

2,000 km of coastal connectivity roads to be developed

150,000 panchayats to get high- speed broadband under BharatNet

Beneﬁts: Will spur demand in cement, steel and transport sectors Jobs: Unskilled labour in AGRICULTURE construction; more jobs in steel, cement and transport sectors Total allocation for rural, agri and allied sectors is Rs 1.87 lakh crore

MNREGA allocation increased to Rs 48,000 crore

Nabard fund up to Rs 40,000 crore. Irrigation corpus doubled to DIGITAL Rs 40,000 crore, dairy processing corpus hiked to Rs 2,000 crore TRANSACTIONS

Rs 9,000 crore for crop Referral bonus schemes for individuals, insurance under Fasal Bima Yojana; cashback scheme for merchants to agri credit target, Rs 10 lakh crore promote digital payment app BHIM

Merchant version of Aadhaar enabled Benefits: More agriculture credit as Payment System to be launched shortly banks are flush. Food processing and organised retail to benefit significantly Target of 25 billion digital transactions for 2017-18 through UPI, USSD, Aadhaar Jobs: New contract farming law Pay, IMPS and debit cards could open sector to investments, boost employment Banks to introduce an additional 1 million PoS terminals by March 2017; 2 million Aadhaar-based terminals by September 2017

RBI Payments Regulatory Board to repl- ace Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement System

Beneﬁts: Regulatory mechanism, cash expenditure limits and customs and excise duty reductions in PoS machines could lead to explosive growth in the sector Jobs: E-wallet ﬁrms to go on hiring spree, jobs in sales, marketing and for engineers COVER STORY BUDGET 2017

WAR ON BLACK MONEY Budget 2017 battles the parallel economy by bringing in government oversight, penalties and restrictions

Restrictions on daily cash transactions more than Rs 10,000 a day in cash will not be Limit of Rs 3 lakh (per person per day) on cash eligible for tax exemptions transactions. In case of a breach, the receiver pays penalty equal to the total amount received Tougher PAN rules New section of Income Tax Act proposed to Penalty on delay in filing tax return strengthen PAN mechanism. All payments Rs 5,000 fine for returns filed after due date, that are subject to TDS will require a PAN but on or before December 31 of assessment number. Failure to comply will result in double year. Rs 10,000 fine otherwise (Rs 1,000 if TDS being charged total income below Rs 5 lakh) Penalty for incorrect information Cashless businesses pay less tax Accountants, registered valuers and merchant The use of cash to conduct business will lead bankers will have to pay a penalty if found to to lower tax benefits. Businesses paying out have furnished incorrect information

not address how land can be unlocked and made available the largest-ever rail budget of Rs 1.31 lakh crore. for a ordable housing, especially in city centres. Vinayak Chatterjee, chairman, Feedback Infra, explains The other key aspect in the sector is the government that nearly 18 per cent of the total budget outlay is targeted promise to construct 10 million houses for the homeless at infrastructure. The major thrust is on programmes by 2019, which should boost demand in the cement and related to highways, rural roads, railways and rural electri- steel sectors. Allocation under the Pradhan Mantri Awas fication. However, there is a catch. The roads ministry was Yojana has been raised to Rs 23,000 crore and the National unable to spend the money allocated to it last year—of the Housing Bank will now refinance housing loans of about Rs Rs 58,000 crore allocated, only Rs 52,000 crore was spent. 20,000 crore in 2017-18, giving a further push to the sector. “The biggest problem was to get private investment up, To be sure, in his New Year’s Eve speech, PM Narendra clean up infrastructure NPAs (non-performing assets) and Modi had promised that in 2017, people from the middle corporate balance sheets. Not mentioning that in the budget and lower middle classes would get a discount of 4 per cent was a big gap,” Chatterjee adds. for home loans of up to Rs 9 lakh, and of 3 per cent for loans With rail accidents all too common in India, the up to Rs 12 lakh. That, coupled with the provisions of the creation of a railway safety fund with a corpus of Rs 1 budget, should help create new demand for houses. lakh crore, which will be given seed capital by the finance The time limit for capital gains to be considered a long- ministry, was long overdue. The Railways will also increase term gain has been reduced to two years from the earlier its throughput by 10 per cent by upgrading dedicated cor- three years. This should also encourage more buying and ridors that have high trac volumes. It will also lay down selling of property. “A ordable housing developers will now 3,500 km of tracks in 2017-18. A new metro rail policy will be eligible for several government incentives, subsidies, tax be announced, and 25 stations are expected to be selected benefits and, most importantly, institutional funding,” says for revamp in 2017-18. Neeraj Bansal, partner at KPMG in India. For the road sector, Jaitley has allocated Rs 67,000 crore for the national highways in 2017-18, while the Pradhan INFRASTRUCTURE, ANOTHER AREA that is often Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana for rural roads gets Rs 19,000 talked about but is riddled with delays and cancellations of crore and some 2,000 km of coastal connectivity roads are projects, was given another push. With the Railway budget set to be constructed. “The 12 per cent year-on-year increase being integrated with the main budget for the first time, in budget allocation for the highways sector, notwithstand- multi-modal transport was expected to get a special boost. ing an increase of 32 per cent in the previous year, still And just as in the previous years, Jaitley did not disappo- provides a boost to infrastructure,” says Devendra Pant of int—a significant Rs 3.96 lakh crore has been committed to research agency India Ratings. This is a much-needed push, developing infrastructure in the next fiscal. He also unveiled Pant says, since the sector has seen an increase of 37 per cent

34 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 UNSUNG PADMA H1B VISAS AWARDEES IN NUMBERS year-on-yearPG 10 in the total length constructed in FY16, apart ment on free trade agreements with the European UnionPG 14 from the increase in land acquisition. However, timely proj- where India is losing to competition from Indonesia and ect execution within budgeted costs will be critical here. Thailand and a more stable currency to give MSMEs a push. THE FUSS OVER Total benefits from tax reduction for the MSMEs comeLIFE to RsIN PADMAVATI TRUMPISTAN CONTINUING THE RURAL PUSH from his budget last 7,000 crore in forgone revenue. PG 24 PG 26 year, Jaitley has resorted to steps that put more money into the hands of farmers.UPFRONT The farming sector is looking up after THE HOPE WAS THAT the budget would give a direct a good monsoon (the Economic Survey sees agricultural push to job creation, which emerged as a top worry in£¤¥£¦ growth rising to 4.1 per cent in the current fiscal from 1.2 §¨¥¦©’s Mood of the Nation survey published a week ago. per cent in drought-hit 2015-16). Total allocation for rural, Manish Sabharwal, chairman of manpower firm Team- PERSPECTIVE agricultural and allied sectors for 2017-18 is a record Rs Lease, says the government’s clear focus is on infrastructure 1.87 lakh crore, an increase of 24 per cent from last year and formalisation of the economy, and not so much on (over last year’s budget estimates). Taking a cue from the human capital. “Our problem is not jobs alone, it is good FEELINGtwo consecutive dro ught years that crippled the agri sector, jobs. You have to raise productivity,” he says. Sabharwal had a micro-irrigation fund will be set up by Nabard for the goal urged the FM to reduce what he calls “regulatory choleste- of ‘Per Drop More Crop’ (initial corpus Rs 5,000 crore). rol”—it is not the government’s job to create jobs, but to THENabard will also HEAT set up a dairy processing infrastructure create an environment for job creation, he believes. A NITI Byfund Wajahat with Rs 8,000 S. Khan crore. IslamabadAllocation for the rural employ- Aayog analysis says that among the Make in India sectors, ment scheme MNREGA has been increased to a record construction generated nearly 50 million jobs in 2011-12, Rs 48,000 crore for 2017-18. Adequate credit so a concerted push here should create more flow willakistan also be army ensured spokesperson to two under-served employment. But that hinges on new demand. areas, theMaj. eastern Gen. Asifstates Ghafoor and Jammu has said & Kashmir. Leather generated 1.31 million jobs in 2011-12, PFarmersPakistan’s will get short-term decision to croparrest loans Hafiz of up to Compared textiles 18.86 million jobs (the sector got a Rs Saeed,Rs 3 lakh leader at a ofsubsidised a ‘philanthropic’ interest organisarate of 7- per 6,226.50 crore push in the budget), ports, rail- tioncent withper annum. established For promptmilitant repayment, credentials they to last year’s ways, roads and highways created 9.1 million jobs andget an suspected extra incentive links to of the 3 perMumbai cent, bringingterror revised and tourism 8.22 million. These sectors, if rejuve- attacksthe eective of 2008, interest is based rate ondown a new to 4“national per cent for estimate, nated, could mitigate the employment crisis. policydisciplined and for borrowers. the national These, interest”. along with Modi’s this budget Meanwhile, the Rs 1,555 crore outlay for remis- DecemberSaeed, who31 announcement has a $10 million of 3 bountyper cent inter- sion of state levies would help garment exports, placedest waivers on his on head loans by up the to United Rs 2 lakh States, for isconstruc - yields 7% Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said. Garments oftention of cited houses by Indiain rural as theIndia “mastermind” and 60 days’ of interest expenditure also got a Rs 200 crore boost to generate jobs. thewaivers Mumbai for farm terror loans attacks, taken which from resultedcooperative growth The proposal to reduce corporate tax rates inbanks, the deaths should of form 166 people,a strong including rural stimulus. and balancing it out with phasing out exemptions several Americans. He has been appre- was an idea that found a lot of takers, but was hendedWHILE at THE least REDUCTIONfour times between in personal 2002 income restricted to the MSMEs. The budget makes no andtax should 2009, boostbut was disposable let go after incomes, a few months the micro, small and definite push towards increasing consumption. The FM has inmedium detention. enterprises The popular (MSME) jihadist sector can has still come in for a big adopted a clever play of numbers while citing a 24 per cent attractbonanza large in the crowds budget. with Firms his anti-America with a turnover of up to Rs increase in rural and social spend by comparing this year’s and50 crore anti-India have had diatribes. their taxes cut from 30 per cent to 25 per budget estimate to last year’s. Ideally, this year’s budget esti- cent.But MSMEs military had insiders borne arethe sayingbrunt of that demonetisation as mate should have been compared with last year’s revised es- Saeed’sdemand house for products arrest in dwindled Lahore on and January they struggled to pay timate, which yields 7 per cent expenditure growth, experts 30salaries has to due do to with a cash a fast squeeze. changing While local this and is a relief, the move say. Many felt the FM should have addressed the recapitali- internationalto double the lendingenvironment, target including to Rs 2.44 the lakh crore under the sation of public sector banks reeling under bad loans. “The newPradhan Donald Mantri Trump Mudra administration Yojana will inbe the a boost to the sector. banking sector needed more money for capitalisation and USTax andconcessions a change given of guard to the in MSMEs—increasingthe powerful the period the Rs 10,000 crore in the budget is too little,” says Chanda Pakistanof profit-linked army. deductionsSignificantly, available Saeed hasto start-ups from the Kochhar, MD and CEO of ICICI Bank. beencurrent detained three years under out the of stricter five years Pakistan to seven years, giving an The budget sidestepped the impact of demonetisation. Anti-Terroradditional five Act. years to pay Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT), Many feel the FM’s silence was an implicit admission that and Generalreduction Qamar of income Javed tax Bajwa, for companies Pak is- with an annual the government’s initial estimates of black money holdings tan’sturnover new of chief up toof Rsarmy 50 staff,crore hasto 25 a reputaper cent- (30 per cent in cash were o the mark. It was also important that the tionnow) of could being free religiously up resources progressive for MSMEs and for modernisation. budget didn’t ru°e feathers with five states going to polls pro-democratic.Ajay Sahai of His the boss,Federation Prime of Minister Indian Export Organ- soon after. Given this, it must be said that Jaitley walked the isations is hopeful of some targeted stimulus packages, tightrope well, with some flourish even, in the way that he especiallyHafiz Saeed towards being taken the gemsaway andby jewellery sector, after the has managed to put money in the hands of theaam aadmi the police in Lahore budget. Overall, Sahai is more optimistic about the move- without resorting to any fiscal extravagance. GETTYIMAGES

56 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 35

REUTERS

COVER STORY BUDGET 2017

Q WHAT IS THE BEST/ WORST THING ABOUT THIS BUDGET?

Rs 10,000 crore for bank RAJIV KUMAR thing I didn’t like in the budget A recapitalisation appears Best is the ramping up of was the surcharge for inadequate public expenditure by 24.5 incomes between Rs 50 lakh Q WHAT’S THE BIG POLITICAL/ ECONOMIC D.K. JOSHI per cent, worst is not raising and 1 crore. This seemed MESSAGE OF THIS BUDGET? (Did not answer) the income level at which the inconsistent with the finance 30 per cent personal income minister’s welcome principle N.R. BHANUMURTHY tax will apply of wanting to reward the Increasing public honest. The focus should be ASHIMA GOYAL investments in the on widening the tax net, not Best: Reducing the cash infrastructure sector (both taxing the existing net more prudent tone, emphasising improving public service to a transparent system donation limit for political urban and rural), expanding ASHOK GULATI A public investments and delivery, which, in my view, with greater tax compliance. donations to Rs 2,000 and rural housing, focusing The good thing is that it introducing incremental will help a lot in achieving Greater formalisation electoral bonds on employment intensive addresses the problems of D.K. JOSHI steps to promote schemes better outcomes of the economy through Worst: Not enough done to sectors such as textile, farmers by putting in quite SAMIRAN Economic message: The like Digital India and Skill digitalisation will lead to address growth slowdown tourism, leather, MSMEs a bit of money into irrigation CHAKRABORTY government will balance India, while abstaining from these benefits and, most importantly, and crop insurance (about The budget is a good balance growth and redistribution populist giveaways despite focusing on youth, are Rs 40,000 crore together), between fiscal consolidation the note ban RAJIV KUMAR some of the best things in rationalises corporate and and better expenditure mix; That we are entering a new USHA THORAT the budget. personal income taxes for it refrained from being too normal in the use of cash SAMIRAN Best: Focus on rural and While the government lower ends and puts big populist and supported a ASHIMA GOYAL and in the scope of parallel CHAKRABORTY social spending targets 3.2 per cent fiscal money in infrastructure. significant increase in capital That the government is N.R. BHANUMURTHY economy and black economy The big message is that Worst: No clear prospects deficit, as in the past, it The disappointing part expenditure while keeping serious about moving from The budget attempts to transactions growth of the economy for public sector banks appears that it is again is that it failed to bite the fiscal consolidation in mind. an informal to a formal send the message that it will be supported through depending on Other Capital bullet in rationalising food However, more could have economy with modern laws is pro-poor, pro-farmer as higher capital expenditure Receipts (which is mainly and fertiliser subsidies that been done to promote job and regulation well as pro-states and not and redistribution. And disinvestments). Going together take away some growth n necessarily pro-industry ASHOK GULATI the fact that the budget ADITI NAYAR by past trends, achieving Rs 2.15 lakh crore and suer as was described in the It wants to focus on did not pander to electoral In addition to fiscal such high receipts is going from high ineciency and past. In the aftermath of development with a hope to temptations and lean consolidation and to be near-impossible. heavy leakages USHA THORAT demonetisation, there create jobs for the youth towards populism gives out infrastructure, the focus on Another is the assumption Appeal to the rural were pressures on the a positive signal n ease of doing business is a about decline in petroleum population and lower income government to provide big positive. subsidy. Given that there strata of society doles. But by resisting these Compared to ICRA’s are large expectations NAUSHAD FORBES pressures and focusing NAUSHAD FORBES estimate that PSBs require about higher oil prices, The best thing about this more on investments, the The main message of the Rs 45,000-50,000 crore reduction in oil subsidy budget is that it maintained government has done a budget is consistency of of total Tier 1 capital in might be unrealistic control on the fiscal and ADITI NAYAR great job. Another important policy and purpose. Much FY2018, the allocation of revenue deficits. The only The budget has struck a focus of the budget is on eort is being made to move

38 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 39

Budget-Q&A-Feb13.indd 58-59 2/2/2017 8:38:53 PM REUTERS

COVER STORY BUDGET 2017

Q WHAT IS THE BEST/ WORST THING ABOUT THIS BUDGET?

38 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 39

Budget-Q&A-Feb13.indd 58-59 2/2/2017 8:38:53 PM REUTERS COVER STORY BUDGET 2017

RAJIV KUMAR Yes, it will create jobs but more so in the infrastructure, Q housing, textiles and SME WILL THIS BUDGET sectors. Both housing and SMEs have linkages that will help generate jobs SPUR GROWTH? elsewhere in the economy IF YES, HOW? IF NOT, ASHOK GULATI Yes. In small and medium WHY NOT? manufacturing units, and in construction (infrastructure)

NAUSHAD FORBES for FY2018 has made up to 1.3 per cent from 1.1 NAUSHAD FORBES Jobs may not be created by A a concerted eort to per cent last year. This Yes, the substantial the budget alone. stimulate economic activity, itself should spur growth. increase in rural investment Earlier measures such D.K. JOSHI through a combination of But, most importantly, and tax breaks at the Q as the textile and apparel Only mild support to growth modest tax cuts and higher the tax and interest bottom of the personal WILL THIS BUDGET policy are oriented towards via tax concessions to spending, particularly on incentives given to MSME income tax pyramid should job creation. Other labour- the small taxpayer, rural productive sectors such and agriculture sectors, boost demand widely, CREATE JOBS? intensive sectors such spending and increased as transport and rural together with increase in leading to a virtuous as electronics will also capital spending infrastructure, which credit allocation, should cycle of demand driving create jobs have a healthy multiplier help achieve growth investment IF YES, WHAT KIND impact. The reduction in the that enhances jobs corporate tax rate for firms opportunities. The only OF JOBS? ASHIMA GOYAL with a turnover below Rs 50 contradiction here is that SAMIRAN The consumption and crore to 25 per cent from the government itself says SAMIRAN CHAKRABORTY government expenditure 30 per cent will improve that industrial growth in CHAKRABORTY Emphasis on aordable stimulus will help growth, their competitiveness and FY18 will be much lower Total expenditure growth housing as a job creator but the private investment level the playing field with than in FY17! of 7 per cent is not is a welcome development and credit growth bigger firms large enough to change but more could have slowdown will take time our (Citibank) growth electronic manufacturing infrastructure, aordable been done n to reverse projections at the moment. A hubs housing and transport will RAJIV KUMAR However, if revenue growth reduce supply side barriers N.R. BHANUMURTHY It will surely spur growth surprises are on the upside, D.K. JOSHI and boost job creation Achieving higher growth because of its 24 per cent then there could be a Focus on construction USHA THORAT and at the same time increase in rural outlay further expenditure push n (roads and low-cost USHA THORAT Measures for improved sticking to FRBM targets and push to agricultural housing) will generate jobs Not very sure about consumption and was always challenging. incomes and support consumption job creation, as a lot N.R. BHANUMURTHY investment expenditure, In the past, we have seen as construction is a labour- of it depends on the Jobs are expected to be coupled with lower market that while the fiscal deficit intensive activity implementation of the created in the manufacturing borrowing can spur growth target was achieved as announced projects and sector, especially in textile, per the FRBM, capital ASHOK GULATI schemes leather, electronics, MSME expenditure (as % of GDP) Yes, it should help propel and food processing declined. This year, even growth as investments are ASHIMA GOYAL sectors. However, this could ADITI NAYAR after relaxing the fiscal the central piece of this It will create jobs in small still be much below the In light of the slowdown deficit target of 3 per budget enterprises, textile, leather ADITI NAYAR demand in GDP growth after the cent, we see the capital and tourism sectors, in Enhanced allocations note ban, the Union Budget expenditure target also rural infrastructure and in to sectors such as rural

40 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 41

Budget-Q&A-Feb13.indd 60-61 2/2/2017 8:39:52 PM REUTERS

RAJIV KUMAR Yes, it will create jobs but more so in the infrastructure, housing, textiles and SME sectors. Both housing and SMEs have linkages that will help generate jobs elsewhere in the economy

ASHOK GULATI Yes. In small and medium manufacturing units, and in construction (infrastructure)

NAUSHAD FORBES Jobs may not be created by the budget alone. Earlier measures such Q as the textile and apparel WILL THIS BUDGET policy are oriented towards job creation. Other labour- CREATE JOBS? intensive sectors such as electronics will also IF YES, WHAT KIND create jobs OF JOBS? SAMIRAN CHAKRABORTY Emphasis on a ordable housing as a job creator is a welcome development but more could have electronic manufacturing infrastructure, a ordable been done n A hubs housing and transport will reduce supply side barriers D.K. JOSHI and boost job creation Focus on construction (roads and low-cost USHA THORAT housing) will generate jobs Not very sure about and support consumption job creation, as a lot N.R. BHANUMURTHY as construction is a labour- of it depends on the Jobs are expected to be intensive activity implementation of the created in the manufacturing announced projects and sector, especially in textile, schemes leather, electronics, MSME and food processing ASHIMA GOYAL sectors. However, this could It will create jobs in small still be much below the enterprises, textile, leather ADITI NAYAR demand and tourism sectors, in Enhanced allocations rural infrastructure and in to sectors such as rural

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 41 COVER STORY BUDGET 2017 Q DOES THIS BUDGET Q PUT MORE DO YOU AGREE MONEY IN THE WITH THE HANDS OF THE GROWTH COMMON ESTIMATES OF MAN? THE BUDGET?

ADITI NAYAR ASHOK GULATI The forecast for nominal FY18 growth is likely to A GDP growth (11.75 per hover between 6.5 and cent) may be slightly 7 per cent D.K. JOSHI optimistic. ICRA’s baseline They are achievable if expectation is that GDP we get normal rains. Our growth will improve to estimate is 7.4 per cent real 7.2 per cent in FY2018. NAUSHAD FORBES growth and 11.6 per cent Factoring in average CPI The budget has been quite nominal growth in 2017-18 and WPI inflation of 4.5 and conservative in projecting 3.8 per cent, respectively, growth for 2017-18. Given we expect nominal GDP to the uncertainty about global expand by 11.2 per cent in and domestic economic ASHIMA GOYAL FY2018. trends, it is hard to give a Yes, 7-8 per cent growth definitive growth projection and 4-5 per cent inflation are feasible ranges, adding up to the assumed 11.75 per N.R. BHANUMURTHY A cent nominal rate of growth Yes. As demonetisation SAMIRAN has postponed private CHAKRABORTY D.K. JOSHI consumption demand, one The growth estimates Yes, by doing the following: should expect higher private are very much in line with relief to small taxpayers USHA THORAT demand in FY18 compared our (Citibank) nominal puts more money in their The Central Statistics with FY17. Together with growth assumptions of hands; and the focus on Organisation (CSO) has this, increase in public 11.8 per cent n construction (roads, low- revised upward estimates investments should help cost housing) will generate for last year. The budget achieve growth targets jobs, support consumption generally uses CSO advance estimates, which are not available. Hence, the basis for the revised estimate RAJIV KUMAR ASHIMA GOYAL stated to have been used is I agree. Actual growth could Yes, rural spending and not clear be higher tax cuts for lower income brackets will do this

42 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 USHA THORAT ASHOK GULATI Yes, through additional Yes, by lowering taxes at the Q DOES IT SPUR allocation for MNREGA, lower end, and focusing on lower income tax for slab development expenditure CONSUMPTION up to Rs 5 lakh, schemes for rural roads, housing, etc DEMAND?

NAUSHAD FORBES The income tax rate ADITI NAYAR has been reduced quite The cut in the personal signiﬁcantly for the lowest demand is expected to go income tax rate from 10 to 5 tax slab. The reduction in A up. Further, if inﬂation stays per cent in the lowest slab the corporate tax rate for at the current level or falls will increase disposable the SME sector will also D.K. JOSHI a little more, that will also income to some extent help small business owners Only mildly, as mentioned in result in higher consumption the previous reply demand

SUBIR HALDER ASHIMA GOYAL RAJIV KUMAR Yes, rural spending and Yes it does, by reducing tax cuts for lower income personal income tax. I’d have tax slabs will spur demand been happier if the income for mass consumption tax slab was made broader goods, not just for food, as and the 30 per cent tax rate happened in 2007-11 as food applied to incomes above price inﬂation was very high Rs 24 lakh

USHA THORAT ASHOK GULATI Hopefully Yes, to some extent

ADITI NAYAR NAUSHAD FORBES The cut in the personal Consumption demand will income tax rate from 10 per be spurred by the increase cent to 5 per cent in the in spending on rural areas, lowest tax slab will boost including through schemes N.R. BHANUMURTHY SAMIRAN consumption sentiment to such as MNREGA. Several In addition to increased CHAKRABORTY some extent. The enhanced schemes to increase allocation on various About 20 million people allocation for MNREGA will farmers’ incomes will also schemes implemented will get a small increase improve the social security help in this regard through DBT [direct beneﬁt because of lower tax and net in rural areas and protect transfer], if the budget 150,000 people will pay a consumption at the bottom of proposals could create higher tax. It is more money the pyramid more jobs, the common man but might not be a very SAMIRAN would have more money large amount. The net CHAKRABORTY eect is a consumption The focus of the budget stimulus of approximately N.R. BHANUMURTHY has been more towards Rs 12,000 crore—less than With more money going into supporting capital RAJIV KUMAR 0.1 per cent of GDP. n the hands of people as well expenditure than spurring Yes it does, by reducing as reduction in income tax consumption demand n income tax on incomes up rates and higher allocation to Rs 5 lakh by 50 per cent on rural development programmes such as MNREGA, consumption

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 43 will oer some comfort post-demonetisation. Policy measures such as restrictions on cash transactions above Rs 3 lakh, political funding reforms, implementation of GST and incentives for using digital platforms should help reduce

MAIL TODAY MAIL unaccounted-for money Q DOES THE BUDGET DO RAJIV KUMAR ANYTHING SUBSTANTIAL Yes, it takes several TO CURB BLACK steps—curbs on donations to charities and political MONEY? WHAT ABOUT parties and strong measures against deposits CUSHIONING THE IMPACT made illegally in banks OF DEMONETISATION? post-demonetisation

ASHOK GULATI Marginally. Not signiﬁcantly

ASHIMA GOYAL are commensurate with A Yes, it does follow up the pain. with measures to curb Other areas that could NAUSHAD FORBES D.K. JOSHI black money sources have been attempted are Demonetisation itself has Black money is di cult to such as electoral funding, gold, property deals and been the biggest move to measure, and what cannot rationalisation in real tax on large withdrawals of curb black money. Other be measured cannot estate capital gains cash from banks measures included in the be monitored. A better measurement. The impact budget are restrictions on measure to look at would of demonetisation seems to anonymous political funding, be eorts to improve tax be reducing, so the cushions limits on cash payments and compliance. provided in the budget ADITI NAYAR spread of digitalisation The budget aims to are adequate Limits on transactions, incr ease tax/GDP ratio, donations to charities and which means improving political parties in cash; compliance and bringing measures to promote SAMIRAN more people within the tax USHA THORAT digital transactions as CHAKRABORTY net. It intends to raise the Measures to curb political well as palliatives to bring Steps taken to streamline tax/GDP to 11.3 per cent in funding and investigation more assessees within the political funding are very 2017-18 through a number of cases where large tax net may help curb the welcome. Regarding of steps, including big data deposits were made generation of black money demonetisation, analytics. under the demonetisation to some extent normalisation of the Enhanced rural spending scheme... there are some demand situation is more and some tax relief to small measures to cushion the a function of new currency enterprises will cushion the impact [of demonetisation]. notes than budget-speciﬁc impact of demonetisation We still need more data to N.R. BHANUMURTHY measures n understand whether the Increase in credit allocation increased tax revenues to agriculture and MSMEs

44 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 COVER STORY BUDGET 2017

Q WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR REVENUE COLLECTION/ SPENDING TARGETS? DO YOU FIND THIS BUDGET FISCALLY PRUDENT?

with it the complications the especially capital receipts control. The only estimate A Economic Survey warned (disinvestment), while on the which to me is not credible about. expenditure side, there may is the target set for D.K. JOSHI The experience of be some underestimation of disinvestment. We must Targets seem achievable. FY2016 and FY2017 has subsidies aim to achieve this, and the Overall, the budget is fiscally shown that disinvestment announcement of an agency prudent inflows of Rs 20,000- to list public sector firms 30,000 crore are realistic, in a time-bound manner even in years when FIIs are RAJIV KUMAR is positive, but I’d have not particularly enthusiastic The revenue estimates may liked to see more tangible ASHIMA GOYAL about investing in Indian be a bit unsure given that announcements of quick There are uncertainties due equity. The disinvestment we have the GST coming up. privatisation in the budget, to GST. Duties on petroleum and strategic divestment Expenditures are okay but given how long this has should also come down. target of Rs 72,500 crore their ecient utilisation will been pending. Even so, the budget is for FY2018, which is be key. Last year, apparently fiscally prudent equivalent to 0.4 per cent 33 ministries could not utilise of GDP, appears optimistic their budgeted allocations. at this juncture. The This is not good SAMIRAN ability to meet this target CHAKRABORTY USHA THORAT will be critical to achieve Budget numbers are It all depends on whether the government’s fiscal quite credible except the optimism in the revenues consolidation plan ASHOK GULATI disinvestment and RBI for 2017-18 works out. Yes, fiscally prudent... dividend, which might have Otherwise, it has stuck to avoided distributing too been overestimated. On the the path of prudence many freebies other hand, we might see N.R. BHANUMURTHY an upside in tax revenues, The budget tried to achieve which could have been fiscal prudence, though underestimated in the ADITI NAYAR it is not clear what the NAUSHAD FORBES budget n The forecast for gross N.K. Singh Committee has Yes, I think this is the main tax revenue growth (12.2 recommended in terms of feature of the budget. per cent) may be slightly FRBM targets. However, Revenue targets are not optimistic, particularly if the there are some unrealistic inflated and revenue introduction of GST brings targets on the revenue side, spending has been kept in

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 45 Q HOW DO YOU RATE THE BUDGET ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 10? PLEASE GIVE REASONS.

consumption, especially taxes and continued fiscal massive impetus, including A rural sector; electoral consolidation. Lower than giving it infrastructure funding reform; restriction expected funds for bank status, and cut tax on SME D.K. JOSHI on cash payments; and recapitalisation are a incomes to 25 per cent. aordable housing. disappointment, while the Also, it has significant Disappointment on disinvestment target may employment-generating 7/10 unclogging stalled projects, pose a challenge measures and some electricity boards UDAY targeted to improve It bats for fiscal (Ujjwal Discom Assurance infrastructure. Lastly, I consolidation and uses Yojana), meagre amount for appreciate the reduction limited fiscal space to push PSU banks’ recap, which N.R. BHANUMURTHY to Rs 2,000 of individual capital expenditure will be totally inadequate to political donations—a part enable them to lend, to take of the fight against black advantage of the liquidity, 9/10 money lower interest rates and ASHIMA GOYAL budget measures, which will In the context of existing generate more income in the uncertainties, both in the spending class. domestic as well as the ASHOK GULATI 7/10 Also not very sure of the global economy, presenting fiscal arithmetic, as there a budget that balances both Because it increases are some large inexplicable growth aspirations as well as 7/10 capital expenditure by items, like huge increase development concerns, and about 25 per cent in securities against small at the same time undertakes and stimulates mass savings, etc. Also, the minor policy reforms is consumption while sticking budget estimates for tax laudable NAUSHAD FORBES with fiscal consolidation. revenue have been repeated The budget is balanced It also has some useful for revised estimates. Tax and pragmatic. The focus reforms for poll funding. Not revenue for 2017-18 seems on critical areas such as enough is done to revive optimistic RAJIV KUMAR infrastructure and the rural private investment and clean economy is noteworthy. bank balance sheets The budget has been able to 8/10 make adequate allocations ADITI NAYAR and yet continues with fiscal Because it has avoided consolidation USHA THORAT populism, taken significant Not sure I can rate. 8/10 steps to promote Positive for intention to investment, including a adhere to fiscal prudence; Based on the balancing act 24 per cent jump in public SAMIRAN for boost in public infra between higher productive capital expenditure, given CHAKRABORTY spending; steps to boost spending, modestly lower aordable housing a (Did not answer) n

46 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017

SIVA SUBRAMANIAN KUSAI MUNUSAMY VEERAPPAN

BOOK EXCERPT THE LAST STAND

Twelve years after Veerappan’s ﬁnal encounter, former special Veerappan: task force chief K. VIJAY KUMAR delivers a fascinating memoir of Chasing the Brigand the epic 20-year contest between the brigand of the sandalwood by K. Vijay Kumar forests and the law. Here is an exclusive eyewitness account of Rupa ‘Operation Cocoon’ and how the outlaw met his end Price: Rs 500 (hardback) Pages: 263

48 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 October 18, 2004, 2200 hrs the target’s identity. As the ambulance passed by, Durai T minus 60 minutes nonchalantly stretched his arm out of the window, flat- t was the fourth night after the new moon. Poor tened his hand against the side of the vehicle and moved visibility was worsened by the four massive tama- his thumb very slightly. The target, lost in his reverie, Irind trees near the location. If this bothered the didn’t notice. But Kumaresan did so instantly. He also well-drilled commandos, they certainly didn’t show it. spotted two other things—the blue revolving light of the Waiting in the dark for long hours in the hope of getting ambulance was on, which meant that the entire gang a single shot to be taken within seconds was part of their was inside. So was the fog light, which meant all the gang expertise. In the past, they had lain in ambush in far members were armed. worse conditions. Kannan and I stood next to the one-room school in T minus 10 minutes Padi, around 12 km from Dharmapuri. The school over- Kannan glanced at me and gave a thumbs-up. Just then, looked the road. Its roof provided a perfect field of fire. Six we heard a slight clicking sound on our muffled wireless of my crack commandos were squeezed together on the set. It was a signal from Tiru that our prey had come into school’s roof, weapons at the ready. An undercover police view. Kannan uttered the words, ‘Cocoon in ten minutes.’ vehicle, masquerading as a sugarcane-laden lorry, was My AK was dangling on its sling from my shoulders. parked in the middle of the road. It was named ‘Sweet Box’, With all the teams watching, I stretched both my arms, as it was full of sugarcane supposedly turned 360 degrees and chopped the heading towards the sugar mill nearby. air to mark the exact arcs of fire for all The lorry was actually meant to “The CM has retired three teams... block the path of the oncoming Cocoon. for the night,” The lights of the ambulance ap- It also housed three tech experts, who peared to come closer and closer... would receive signals from the sur- Jayalalithaa’s ‘Would they stop at the designated veillance camera concealed inside the secretary told spot?’ I asked myself. It was crucial ambulance. It was their job to confirm me. “Is it urgent?” that they did, since a moving target is that the target was inside the vehicle “She’ll like what much harder to hit than a stationary before we intercepted it. I have to say,” I one. ‘Brake hard. Switch on the rear Another lorry—codenamed ‘Mobile cabin lights. The passengers must not Bunker’—packed with sandbags and replied. An instant catch sight of anything, but must be armed STF commandos was parked later, she was on the seen,’ Saravanan recited the instruc- on the other side of the road, at an line. “We got him, tions to himself one more time. Then, angle of about 45 degrees to the school, ma’am,” I told her. with fumbling fingers, he flicked on a partially concealed by a tree. If all switch and Cocoon’s three cabin lights went off well, the ambulance would came on. He simultaneously stepped be trapped, hemmed in from all sides by the Sweet Box, on the brakes with all the force his right leg could muster. Mobile Bunker, the school and Tiru’s team. Another DSP Cocoon lurched hard and screeched to a dead stop right waited in the east towards Dharmapuri town. His job in the middle of the designated slot. The smell of burning was to cut out all incoming traffic. We needed a sterile tyres filled the air. Even as Cocoon shuddered to a halt, a zone to ensure no collateral damage. Unusually for him, vehicle came up rapidly from behind. Tiru had been trail- Veerappan was not very alert that day. In fact, his mind ing Cocoon discreetly, keeping out of sight to ensure he seemed preoccupied with memories and regrets. But his didn’t arouse any suspicion. But with Cocoon trapped, he natural optimism seemed to resurface despite these dark moved quickly into position to block the exit... thoughts. As his mind hatched plans, his gaze fell on the 7.62 mm SLR lying near his feet. Many of his comrades T minus 5 seconds had moved on to the deadlier AK-47, but he still liked to In the heat of the moment, Saravanan had forgotten to carry the weapon, which he had personally taken from douse the headlamps and the revolving blue lamp on the a policeman killed during the ambush with SP Gopal roof. The burning lights engulfed Cocoon’s front in a soft Hosur. Veerappan smiled at the memory and glanced out halo. It stood there in the middle of the road in all its maj- of the ambulance... esty, still rocking like a boat tossed by waves, its double A few metres down the road, Kumaresan, a seemingly beam of lights bobbing up and down. Two men shot out of nondescript STF old-timer, sat in a shack. He half-heart- Cocoon with the speed of discharged bullets—the captain edly picked at some food, trying to make sure he was well and the navigator had abandoned their ship. Saravanan’s within the shadows. Except for the driver, Durai, Kannan voice carried clearly, his left hand pointing backwards. and I, he was the only other person who was aware of ‘Gang yulla irukaangoe (The gangsters are inside).’

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 49 BOOK EXCERPT

Kannan’s warning rang out over the megaphone, ‘Sur- A total of 338 bullets were render. You’ve been surrounded.’ Then, the unmistakable red by us... Two had sound of an AK-47 emerged from the rear of the vehicle... If the four men had come out of the vehicle with their weap- pierced Veerappan’s body ons raised, we would have accepted their surrender. But and exited from the the moment they opened fire, they closed that window for other side, while one themselves... Our response was instant and overwhelm- stayed inside ing. Brass hosed down on Cocoon from every direction. Bullets zipped all around along with the rhythmic flashes of guns... I shuffled to my left, flicked my gun to burst fire mode, and let go. After a few bullets, I paused briefly, as did the others. Another couple of reports of a self-loading rifle and a shotgun came from Cocoon.

annan reiterated the terms for surrender. There were few more shots, followed by a volley of the KSTF’s response. I signalled the teams to stop. An- other pause. This time, there was no return fire... Cocoon was engulfed in smoke and dust. I signalled to Rajarajan and Hussain. Another stun grenade was lobbed into Cocoon. There was a flash and a bang. Rajarajan flashed on a torch, which he held below his gun’s barrel, as did Hussain. The two beams of light converged. The two men GIREESH G.V. approached Cocoon warily. They heard a gurgle, followed by a hiss—like air escaping from a cycle tube. It is a sound typically made by air trapped between the lung tissue and of thanks... A total of 338 bullets were fired by us. Later, the chest. Someone wounded was trying to suck in air. seven were found in Govindan’s body; two had pierced Then, silence. Veerappan’s body and exited from the other side, while one The stillness was finally broken by the cry of ‘All clear’. stayed inside. Gradually, I sensed a growing murmur from The encounter had started at around 10.50 pm and was over the boys. Since the identity of the men inside the vehicle in twenty minutes—a rapid climax to a twenty-year wait! had not been revealed to them initially, they began to mut- Hussain and Rajarajan saw blood and bodily fluids splashed ter in disbelief when they recognised the fallen men... all over—the walls, floor and seats, food packets and the There was a spontaneous eruption of delight and stretcher. They picked up two AKs, a 12 bore Remington high-fiving. I was hoisted on the shoulders of my men and pump action gun and the infamous 7.62 mm SLR. Three effortlessly passed around. I noticed that Kannan had persons were huddled together—their final conclave before been similarly hefted. As soon as the boys brought me to going down. Men in their death throes, clutching each oth- the ground, I bounded up the school’s steps, two at a time. er! One, later identified as Govindan, was a little distance Sitting on the parapet with my feet dangling towards the away. The four men were speedily removed from Cocoon road, I made the call. ‘The CM has retired for the night. and laid on the ground. I beckoned to Kannan and, ignoring Is it urgent?’ asked Sheela Balakrishnan, Jayalalithaa’s a cramped muscle, hobbled over to where they lay. secretary. ‘I think she will like what I have to say,’ I replied. It was my only face-to-face moment with Veerappan, An instant later, I heard her voice on the phone. ‘We got if it could be described as such. He was unable to speak him, ma’am,’ I said. Then I quickly recounted the opera- and was clearly dying. I noticed that a bullet had gone tion and informed the CM that Veerappan was on his way through his left eye, just as it had with Senthil in Sorgam to hospital, but survival seemed unlikely. I replied in the Valley almost 10 years ago. With his moustache trimmed affirmative to her brief query on the STF’s safety. Though and in civilian clothes, rather than his trademark green she was her usual dignified self, the elation in her voice was dress and brown belt, he seemed a stripped-down version unmistakable. ‘Congratulations to you and the STF, Mr of his former self. He had been a wily and worthy foe, Vijay Kumar. This is the best news I’ve ever had as CM,’ she with mastery over both strategy and tactics. Even at 52, said, before hanging up. he was sinewy and extremely fit.... I took stock of the encounter. There were no casualties Monday, October 18, 2004, 11.10 pm or serious injuries among my boys. I sent up a quick prayer File on Koosai Munusamy Veerappan closed. n

50 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 F/A-18 SUPER HORNET CONTENDER FOR UNSUNG PADMA 57 naval ﬁghters.H1B VISAS AWARDEES Total projectIN NUMBERS cost: PG 10 over $15 billionPG 14

THE FUSS OVER LIFE IN PADMAVATI TRUMPISTAN PG 24 UPFRONT PG 26

PERSPECTIVE FEELING THE HEAT By Wajahat S. Khan Islamabad

akistan army spokesperson DEFENCE AERO INDIA Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor has said P Pakistan’s decision to arrest Hafiz Saeed, leader of a ‘philanthropic’ organisation with established militant credentials and suspected links to the Mumbai terrorMMRCA attacks of 2008, is based on a new “national policy and for the national interest”. Saeed, who has a $10 million bounty placed on his head by the United States, REDUXis often cited by India as the “mastermind” of the Mumbai terror attacks, which resulted in theThe deaths scrapped of 166 people, MMRCA including contract is in the past. But India’s new $25 billion race for 150 several Americans.ghter aircraft He has been is appreattracting- global players again at the 11th Aero India exhibition hended at least four times between 2002 and 2009, but was let go after a few months By Sandeep Unnithan in detention. The popular jihadist can still attract large crowds with his anti-America and anti-India diatribes. But military insiders are saying that Saeed’s houseothing arrest excitesin Lahore the on global January arms industry more HAL HTT-40 30 has to do thanwith abig fast ticket changing multi-billion local and dollar orders. This CONTENDER FOR internationalis environment, especially true including when it the comes to India, a 100 units for the air new Donald Trumpcountry administration that has been thein the world’s largest arms force, navy, army and coast guard US and a changeimporter of guard for nearlyin the powerfula decade now. PakistanNEver sincearmy. India’s Significantly, defence Saeed ministry has sought global bids beenfor 126 detained Medium under Multiple the stricter Role Combat Pakistan Aircraft (MMRCA) Anti-Terrorin 2005, successive Act. instalments of the biennial Aero In- dia—whereGeneral theQamar six global Javed contenders Bajwa, Pak (RAC is- MiG, Dassault, in favour of an off-the-shelf purchase of 36 Rafales for 7.8 tan’sSaab, new Boeing, chief Lockheed of army staff, Martin has and a reputa Eurofighter)- displayed billion Euros. India, it would seem, had had its fill of fighter tiontheir of jets being to Indian religiously decision-makers—has progressive and thrummed with aircraft—but for two major events of the past few weeks. pro-democratic.anticipation over His who boss, would Prime win Ministerthe $10 billion contract, the Late last year, the MoD announced it was looking to build ‘motherHafiz Saeed of all being defence taken deals’. away Theby final selection of the French a new single-engine fighter in India, as part of its ‘Make in Dassaultthe police Rafalein Lahore in 2012 robbed subsequent Aero Indias India’ strategy to indigenise imports. And, on January 17 this of their sheen, but the MMRCA deal was then scrapped year, the Indian Navy issued a request for information from GETTYIMAGES

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 51 72 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 DEFENCE AERO INDIA

LIGHT UTILITY HELICOPTER CONTENDER FOR 400 units for the air force and the army

SAAB GRIPEN ‘E’ CONTENDER FOR LIGHT COMBAT 57 naval ﬁghters, 120 HELICOPTER light ﬁghters. Total CONTENDER FOR project cost: over 200 units for the $20 billion air force and the army

THE $25 CARRIER-BASED SINGLE ENGINE LIGHT MULTIROLE NAVAL FIGHTER MULTIROLE FIGHTER BILLION How many: 57 How many: 100 JET BUY Cost: Approx. $15 bn Cost: Approx. $10 bn User: Indian Navy User: Indian Air Force

manufacturers for 57 carrier-based fighter aircraft. Both mitted to buying. The navy, one of the prime funders of the these programmes could be worth over $20 billion. LCA over two decades ago, feels the aircraft in its present Five of the six aircraft that were in the original form is unsuited for aircraft carrier-based operations and MMRCA fray are now back in the reckoning. The Dassault hence wants a new multi-role naval fighter. Rafale, the Boeing F/A-18 and the MiG-29K are contenders None of these wishes is likely to be granted in a hurry, for the naval contract, while Lockheed Martin’s F-16 and particularly since the ‘Make in India’ fighter jet is contingent Sweden’s Gripen are strong contenders for the ‘Make in on a major policy shift—approval for a ‘strategic partnership’ India’ fighter. Saab executives have also hinted at reviving policy that will allow the MoD to nominate a private sector its Sea Gripen programme for the naval contract. firm of its choice. The MoD is yet to finalise this policy, a move Both the IAF and the navy’s contracts, it would seem, that could lead to tie-ups between domestic and foreign pri- are rooted in the delays and disappointments of the Tejas vate sector manufacturers. The snail-paced decision-making Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme. The IAF feels process within the MoD is a big concern. It could be close to the LCA won’t be able to plug the gap caused by the phasing a decade by the time the naval MMRCA fighters take off. out of its 230-plane MiG fleet over the next decade, and But until then, these two aircraft contracts promise plenty of wants a fighter over and above the 120 Tejases it is com- excitement on the ground and in the air. n

52 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017

SOCIETY & TRENDS G-SHOT JA B W E MATE HERE COMES AN ORGASM INJECTION TO SUPERSIZE THAT ELUSIVE KEY TO FEMALE PLEASURE, THE G-SPOT, AND GRANT WOMEN A SPRINGTIME OF EROTIC RENEWAL By Damayanti Datta

Illustrations by NILANJAN DAS

SOCIETY & TRENDS G-SHOT

lank. The sound of metal on metal is oddly loud in the sanitised silence of the clinic. You are lying on your back, legs spread wide, ankles locked in stirrups. The surgeon hovers over you, holding a mean-looking speculum in one hand—similar to a can-opener but with flaring duckbill blades— and a gigantic syringe in the other. As he pokes, prods and peeps at the most intimate part of your anatomy, you yo-yo between fear, embarrassment and pain, frantically trying to think of the wonderful future in store for you: a springtime of erotic renewal. “Congratulations.” The surgeon finally takes off his gloves, smiling mischievously. “You’re ready to rock and roll.”

Eight seconds. What can you do in that time? Here’s For the last 15 years, Dr Deepa Ganesh has zipped some science: it takes eight seconds for a morsel of food through downtown Chennai—Kilpauk, Vadapalani, to travel from your mouth to your stomach. That’s how MRC Nagar, Alwarpet—from one private hospital to an- long the brain takes to store a piece of information in other, operating on ovarian cysts, removing uterine pol- your long-term memory. That’s the time needed for a yps, rebuilding damaged fallopian tubes. But in the past Cman to fall in love at first sight. And now there’s a new few years, the thirtysomething gynaecologist with an ‘science’ taking shape in clinics of cosmetic gynaecolo- easy smile and lively eyes has been coming across patients gists across the world, where it takes exactly that long to she could not really help: women facing problems in the temporarily supersize the elusive key to female pleasure, bedroom. “Women with overstretched vaginas, perhaps the G-spot, with injectables that typically plump up due to childbirth, facing painful intercourse, discomfort drooping lips and sagging cheeks. The G-shot (medically, and lack of pleasure due to physical or psychological G-spot amplification) promises to bring a woman to multiple climaxes during sexual intercourse in minutes. The procedure, given under local anaesthetic, has taken off in India—for about Rs 50,000 a shot, that lasts four months. And going by reports, demand is swelling from a trickle to a torrent. DOES THE WHERE IS IT EXACTLY? — Where exactly is the G-spot? G-SPOT — You mean, you don’t know? REALLY EXIST? — I haven’t checked myself that closely. — You’re not supposed to check, you’re supposed to feel. 1950 Hasn’t your husband…? — Oh, you know him… SCIENTISTS HAVE First claim of an — That’s your problem. You don’t demand anything. I just BEEN HARD AT erotogenic zone got myself fixed. WORK TO on vaginal wall by — Really? How? UNDERSTAND THAT gynaecologist — Shhh. Don’t tell anyone. ELUSIVE HUB OF E. Gräfenberg. — Don’t tell what? FEMALE PLEASURE Ignored and mocked — I got myself a jab. FOR THE PAST — A jab for what? SEVEN DECADES

56 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 reasons,” recalls Ganesh. Women have traditionally dealt YES. NO. YES? with such problems in silence, she explains. “But now they — The front wall of the vagina has a distinct erotogenic zone are more conscious and have the courage to not just talk — No. The vaginal walls are quite insensitive to sensation about it but to do something about how they look, feel and — Yes. Pressing a particular spot can lead to orgasm. Let’s function as a woman, in every way.” call it the G-spot Responding to that, Ganesh started exploring an — emerging field in medicine: cosmetic gynaecology. With No. Nothing in the vaginal wall would lead directly to celebrities, television shows, social media, internet and that experience mobile devices creating an unprecedented level of aware- — Yes. Ultrasounds show that some women have a G-spot, ness, the new millennium had ushered in new demands some don’t and new procedures in the multi-billion business of — No. G-spot is a figment of women’s imagination beauty: from ‘mommy makeovers’ to return women to — Yes. The G-spot is a sac-like structure on the front wall of their pre-pregnancy bodies in US to limb-lengthening in the vagina India, radical facial surgery in South Korea, ‘improve- — G-spot is just a sensitive area that’s part of the larger ments’ to breasts, abdomens and buttocks in Brazil, nose jobs in Iran and ‘designer vaginas’ in the whole of the pleasure complex western world. “With shaving or waxing pubic hair becoming as common as the removal of underarm hair in the US, Does the G-spot exist? “That’s like asking if god exists,” decorations, tattoos, piercings and surgical modification says Dr Narayana Reddy, an expert in sexual medicine of the area has kicked off,” adds Ganesh. and a consultant with Apollo Hospital, Chennai, a Fellow She went to the US to train in vaginal rejuvenation of the American College of Sexologists. Purportedly, the under Dr David Matlock of Beverly Hills, Hollywood, a G-spot is a spongy, pea-sized area one to two inches inside surgeon renowned for his innovative techniques on the the wall of the vagina, and can be discerned by touch. vagina, apart from the ‘Brazilian Butt Lift’ he did for Kim Believed to be an erogenous zone, which, when stimulated, Kardashian. In 2002, he developed a procedure for G-spot may lead to strong sexual arousal, powerful orgasms and amplification that thickened and expanded the G-spot even ejaculation for some women. For others, it remains a area—from 8.1 mm to 15–20 mm in diameter and 0.4 mm life-long quest. “Despite all the miracles of modern science, to 5-10 mm in length, as reported in his 2002 patent (pen- the seemingly straightforward question—‘does the G-spot ding)—leading to heightened sexual arousal and sensiti- exist?’—remains unanswered.” Questions about it—where vity. That year, he had given G-shots to 15 women and it is, what it does, if it exists at all—have supporters and reported that while 50.7 per cent reached climax during critics locking horns. intercourse earlier, it became 82.7 per cent after the shot. It was psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud who first sug- Ganesh finished her five-month training in November last gested, in 1905, that there were two types of orgasms, year and started offering G-shots—the first such in India. calling a vaginal orgasm the “one true orgasm”. The theory

Vaginal walls For most No such zone on Italian scientists G-spot is a figment of have no sensa- women, vaginal the vaginal wall, locate G-spot in women’s imaginations— tion, says Alfred orgasm does not report research- some women using Study of 1,800 women, at Kinsey of Kinsey work—The Hite ers Alzate and ultrasound King’s College, London Reports Report Londono

1953 1968-70 1976 1982 1984 2001 2008 2010 2016

Erroneous The G Spot and Other G-spot is a gynaeco- Not G-spot but three concept, say sex Recent Discoveries About logical UFO, claim US areas—CUV (clitoris, researchers Masters Human Sexuality by psychologists urethra and vagina)— and Johnsons Perry, Whipple and Kahn share same nerves and an instant bestseller. New stimulate each other name, G-spot during sex—Urologists, Royal Melbourne Hospital

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 57 SOCIETY & TRENDS G-SHOT

got a biological basis when, in 1950, German gynaecologist and inventor of the intrauterine device (IUD), Dr Ernst Gräfenberg, reported a “distinct erotogenic zone” on the frontal wall of the vagina. He was ignored and even mocked. In fact, in 1953, zoologist Alfred Kinsey, author of the famed Kinsey Reports, published his Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, calling the vaginal walls “insensitive to sensation”. Forgotten for decades, it attained stardom in 1982, when it got a new name and new legitimacy in a book, The G Spot and Other Discoveries about Human Sexuality, that became an instant international bestseller. Researchers John Perry, Beverly Whipple and Alice Kahn had noted swelling in response to stimulation in over 400 women. Yet researchers doubted there was anything to stimulate in the first place, calling it a “modern gynaecologic myth”. WOMEN ARE In 2008, the G-spot MUCH MORE became a talking point ADVENTUROUS again when research- NOW. THEY ers at the University of WANT TO ENJOY L’Aquila in Italy located POWERFUL it using ultrasound. But, SENSATIONS” they said, there was a DR D.J.S. TULLA catch: some women Plastic and cosmetic seemed to have a G-spot, surgeon, Delhi while others didn’t. The pendulum continued to swing, until in 2014 new research concluded that the G-spot was just a part of a larger female pleasure region. In the final analysis, despite evidence that specific anatomical structures correspond to the area defined as the G-spot, its exact anatomical identity in all women, universally, remains inconclusive.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT — After my G-shot I get sexually aroused performing yoga ally given the shot to about 15 women so far, the youngest — I had constant multiple orgasms which went on for hours being 30 and oldest 46. “Typically, they come on their own and many don’t even tell their husbands.” — That first time, the whole thing was so intense I was actu- Last year, Dr Bharti Magoo, a member of the Ameri- ally a bit scared can Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, also launched a similar — I was riding in the car with my partner and we went on technique at her clinic in Sion, Mumbai—Golden Touch this cobblestone road and I became sexually aroused… —where she practises along with a gynaecologist. “Most of guess what happened next? my patients are in their 40s and 50s,” she says. Most of her pa- — I have this smile on my face and people think that I am tients are also long-time clients and trust her enough to talk enjoying my workout but actually I am sexually aroused about their sexual traumas. “For most, their sexual lives had plummeted, either due to reduced libido, less satisfaction or The testimonials above are from some of the over a sense of shortcoming, leading sometimes to insecurities in 2,000 women who have received a G-shot from Mat- relationships,” she says. “For some, the G-spot was dead, due lock, with a 65 per cent return rate. When she was in the to abortions or surgical procedures.” For others, the vaginal US, Ganesh says she came across women as young as 16, muscles had become loose, thanks to childbirth. With a more accompanied by their mothers, seeking consultation. prominent G-spot, it has become possible for most to enjoy In India, it has not been easy to break into the world of uterine orgasms, she says. They are not the only ones. Cos- conjugality. Despite plenty of inquiries, Ganesh has actu- metic gynaecologists and plastic surgeons across the country

58 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 WHAT WOMEN THAT PILLOW TALK — I have a headache... WA N T — How can you have a headache every day? — I’m sorry… THE SEARCH FOR PLEASURE — What do you mean? HAS SPAWNED A NEW BRANCH — It’s just that… I’m not trying to make you feel bad… OF MEDICINE, WITH COSMETIC — What? SURGERY AND GYNAECOLOGY JOINING HANDS. SOME OF THE Yes, we know: men are from Mars and women from PROCEDURES ON OFFER Venus, especially when it comes to the moment of maximum pleasure. Simply because the male and female sexual systems are different. But, statistically, that translates into The G-shot: Also known as G-spot ampliﬁ- frightening numbers. According to non-profit Planned cation, or vaginal rejuvenation, to thicken and Parenthood Federation of America, which provides repro- expand the G-spot area for greater sensitivity ductive health services globally, some 10 per cent women are incapable of orgasm—due to physical conditions, medica- Vaginoplasty: Surgery to tighten and tion or illness; one in three women typically don’t orgasm refashion a sagging or ageing vagina during sex, due to psychological blocks; and 80 per cent of women have difficulty with orgasms for a range of reasons. Labiaplasty: Surgery to reshape and reduce That doesn’t surprise Dr Firuza Parikh, Director of the labia minora at the opening of the vagina Assisted Reproduction and Genetics at Jaslok Hospital, Laser perineoplasty: The area Mumbai. The story she regularly hears from young urban between the rectum and the ﬂoor of the couples is one where both have demanding jobs, come vagina made more youthful back home exhausted, order in from a fast-food outlet and fall asleep right after dinner, exhausted. “I see a lot Pubic liposuction: Surgery to remove of couples in sexless marriages, orgasm-less relationships unwanted fatty tissue from the pubic mound or with less-than-inspiring sex lives,” she says. “Sex works best when we make time for it, turn off our computers and Clitoral hood reduction: Surgery to switch off our phones, because it is more complicated for improve comfort and sensation during sex women to orgasm than men.” Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is yet another story. The World Health Organization defines FSD as “the various ways in which a woman is unable to participate in a sexual relationship as she would wish”. Doctors at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, have called for a system- seem to be focusing on the new demand. At the root of it is the atic approach to assess- new Indian woman, they say. “Women are asserting them- WOMEN NOW ment of FSD, to ensure selves,” says Dr D.J.S. Tulla, plastic and cosmetic surgeon, HAVE THE appropriate treatment. aesthetic and reconstructive surgery at Primus Hospital, COURAGE TO “FSD is something we Delhi. “They are much more adventurous now. They want to DO SOMETHING encounter routinely,” says enjoy powerful sensations. With greater sexual awakening, ABOUT HOW Dr J.B. Sharma, professor, the demand for this procedure is expected to rise.” Doc- THEY LOOK, AIIMS, “ranging from tors are also busy experimenting with the new soft-tissue FEEL AND persistent and recurring augmentation ‘fillers’ that have emerged in the past few years: FUNCTION” loss of desire or arousal, the human-derived collagen protein; hyaluronic acid (or DR DEEPA GANESH difficulty or inability Restylane), a type of polysaccharide; the brand new Radiesse, Cosmetic gynaecologist, Delhi to achieve an orgasm, made from calcium hydroxide; and Platelet-Rich Plasma or painful intercourse.” (PRP) taken from the patient’s blood and then re-injected. Studies say that 43-76 per Dr Rahul Goyal, cosmetic and plastic surgeon in Mohali, cent of Indian women report some kind of sexual problem. Chandigarh, says permanent results can be achieved by using Culture plays a major role. “Conventional stereotypes dermal fat grafts. “More expensive but a one-off procedure about good girls-bad girls inhibit a lot of women,” says that results in permanent improvement, although you’ll need Kolkata-based psychologist Dr Aniruddha Deb. For many, to stay off sex for six weeks,” he says. having orgasms is something shameful, even with some-

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 59 SOCIETY & TRENDS G-SHOT

one they trust. For others, it’s just too difficult to say what they need. “There’s the idea a lot of women grow up with, 1998 2015 that you have to pander to the male ego,” he says. “Many avoid sex, or fake an orgasm, rather than articulating their needs.” There’s a caveat here: “How does one define wonderful time?” Emotional and physical closeness, warmth the year Viagra (the the year Addyi (‘little and caring can mean a ‘wonderful time’ even if each sexual ‘little blue pill’), the pink pill’)—medically encounter does not end in an orgasm, he explains. “The first drug to treat male Flibanserin—was question is of unresolved issues in one’s sex life,” he says. sexual dysfunction, released, to treat “And counselling could help.” was first released weak libido in women Works by increasing blood Works by altering flow to the penis chemicals in the brain ONE THOUSAND QUESTIONS — Will the G-shot really enhance every woman’s orgasm? — How long can one keep taking the shots? does not regulate medical practice, nor has it received any — How safe are they? complaints against G-shots as yet. — Can they lead to unforeseen side-effects? As for the doctors who introduced the treatment to — Will there be long-term effects of injecting a foreign mate- India, most consider it to be a ‘low-risk procedure’ that rial into the vagina? doesn’t require peer-reviewed studies or clinical trials. Most of Magoo’s patients worry about scarring, about There’s something oddly choreographed about pleasure eventual loss of sensation and about the risk of cancer. at the end of a needle. “I would call it all a gimmick,” says Dr “Most of these worries aren’t true,” she says. After so Shahin Nooreyezdan, chief of the Apollo Cosmetic Clinic many years in the business, she trusts the ground reports: at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Delhi. He is unconvinced patient testimonials. “I am yet to come across anyone who that the G-spot is a distinct anatomical entity. “Under a mi- is not happy,” she says. Tulla thinks it’s the dawn of a ‘new croscope, vaginal tissues have never shown a huge network beginning’: of women’s right to pleasure. For now, things of nerve endings.” And even if it exists, he doesn’t think the may appear a bit odd, but soon, he predicts, G-shots will G-shot can help women who suffer from sexual dysfunction. be as common as boob jobs. What is worrying is the lack of data about the efficacy of the procedure or its potential complications: from scarring of the vaginal tissue, painful intercourse, infection, WE WANT MORE altered sensation, decreased lubrication and the reduction “May I feel, said he; of libido. In fact, the American College of Obstetricians (I’ll squeal, said she; and Gynaecologists has been questioning procedures such just once, said he) as ‘vaginal rejuvenation’ and ‘G-spot amplification’ since It’s fun, said she…” 2007 for not being ‘medically indicated’ and for lacking documentation on ‘complication rates’ and ‘safety and If sex is a function of its time, what does it say about effectiveness’ (Obstetrics & Gynecology, September 2007). the sexual life of the nation’s women? What explains their The treatment is still based on patient feedback, with the foray into an uncharted territory of pleasure? At its core, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval still is it really about a bundle of poorly-defined tissues, that pending. Injecting a foreign substance in the vagina is an- may or may not—at the end of a scary experience and a other cause for concern. ‘Off-label use’ of approved drugs big price tag—bring on euphoria? Or is it all about power (or using those for purposes beyond what they were ap- for women? Juggling high-powered careers with picture- proved for) is not uncommon in medicine, nor illegal. And perfect homes, big money with big responsibilities, are sometimes they are necessary, especially when it comes they trying to be ‘more like men’ in that one sphere where to cancers—but the risk remains. “Many of the injectables biology is largely destiny? To be able to turn their arousal for G-shots are off-label,” points out Nooreyezdan. The ‘switch’ on and off just like men, be as genitally-fixated, FDA’s approval process for the safety of drugs and medical and enhance G-spots with jabs just as men brandish their devices is considered the gold standard worldwide, and it erection-enhancer, Viagra? has not approved any fillers for G-spot amplification, or But the road to Big O may turn out to be bumpy. for injection into the vaginal wall. Collagen, hyaluronic Despite the debates, doctors agree on one thing: who is an acid, Radiesse and PRP have all been approved for chronic ideal patient for a G-shot? The one who is already having wound healing, not as dermal fillers. But then, the FDA the most fun between the sheets. Ouch. n

60 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 5 MINUTES WITH RESTORATION DIVA PANDIT JASRAJ ABHA LAMBAH PG 88 PG 90

ICONIC CRIMINAL ACTS WATCHES WITH SRK PG 92 LEISURE PG 98

FILM Fearless Kangana

angana Ranaut’s fearless refusal to keep quiet about the pay disparity between male and female stars, or kowtow to Hrithik Roshan, K may have earned her some enemies. But it won her at least an equal number of fans—including director Vishal Bhardwaj. When the time came to cast the heroine of Rangoon, his World War II-era drama that releases February 24, the director was convinced Kangana was the perfect choice to play ‘Jaanbaaz Julia’ , a stuntwoman loosely based on Australia-born Mary Evans Wadia, aka Fearless Nadia. Like many of Bhardwaj’s female characters, Julia exemplifies the “duality of a woman—her fragility and stubbornness” and “the complexity of her psyche”, Ranaut explains. Ranaut identifies with Julia because she is fierce and not submissive, a mix that she says Bollywood has lost since the days of Nadia. “Now, you can either be sensuous or timid.” Dismissive of commercial awards, Ranaut is hoping one of her two 2017 releases will earn her a fourth National Award. Along with Rangoon, she has the title role in Hansal Mehta’sSimran (Sep- tember 15). “I would be pleasantly surprised to see

BANDEEP SINGH

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 83 LEISURE

better written characters than Julia and Simran this BOOKS year,” she says. “In that case if I do not get a National Award, then really, shame on me.” Despite winning praise for her performance in Queen (2014) and generating more than Rs 150 crore in Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), Ranaut is still Men of the an outsider. Karan Johar has never included her in his ‘rank the best actresses’ segment on Koee with Karan. And he oered a cryptic insult in his book An Unsuit- able Boy, saying that while most actors are known World for their magnificent presence “she has a magnificent absence”. The backhanded compliment does not Two new novels by award-winning author Jerry Pinto unduly concern her. “I don’t get it,” she says. “Is it a jibe and US-based Rahul Mehta investigate what it means to or a compliment? Am I ‘absent’ because I’m missing be gay and Indian at home and in America from his parties or his gossip circle or the WhatsApp group they have? Or because I skip the filmi parties and award shows?” That frankness doesn’t always sit well with the ‘film fraternity’. Last year marked a particularly low point, as many closed ranks around Roshan and she was accused of everything, from having psychological problems to A brief 232 pages, it is the being a jealous girlfriend who uses black magic. kind of book where you read five sentences, stop, re-read them because you think you’ve missed something, and then mic-test one of the lines. Then this mic-testing nonsense just takes over your life. Pinto has a superb ear for variation, and Murder in Mahim social anxiety, and the ways in by Jerry Pinto which people shue between At the beginning of Jerry Pinto’s what they are thinking and tightly written crime novel, what they want to say. Murder in Mahim, a ‘physical Once upon a time, Dom trainer’ is found dead, with Moraes complained that the a gash in his side and minus characters in Indian crime Ranaut admits that the “malice and betrayal from a kidney, in a public toilet in novels spoke too much like someone who you have been extremely close to” aected Matunga—a locale for clandes- copywriters in New York. her. But she says she found solace in her work, and she tine gay sex. Pinto’s solution to this problem remains proud that she refused to back down. As more bodies turn up, a is a fairly ingenious device. “I personally feel that women over-identify with retired journalist named Peter His Peter Fernandes speaks the healer and nurturer archetype,” she said. “I don’t Fernandes teams up with English, reads poetry, has encourage bullying. Why should I? The fighter instinct Inspector Jende (shades of the forgotten large tracts of his in me dominates every other instinct.” legendary Madhukar Zende Konkani even while dreaming of She has her share of defenders—who find noth- here) to track down the killer. returning to Moira. He can hold ing evil in her brand of witchcraft. Asjaanbaaz as her Naturally, it’s the journalist who his own with the city’s patois, character in Rangoon, though, she’s more than capable must walk down the mean galis and like a good city journalist, of fighting her own battles. where Jende cannot or will not is constantly translating and “I have been chosen for things that are extraordi- go. In the midst of all this poking making notes in his head. The nary,” she says. “I have had a complicated relationship around in the gayer corners of reader tends to fall in with him, with my parents. I later fell into the most unbelievable the city, Peter must also figure and trudge the city with him traps that the industry has and then went through a out what to make of a newspa- and stop when he does, and struggle of a lifetime. I have paid a heavy price for that. per caption that describes his shake a mystified head at more My life will always be of extremes. But I’m OK with it.”n perennially absent son as ‘gay or less the same moments. n —Suhani Singh activist Sunil Fernandes’. —Arul Mani

62 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 WATCH LIST FIRST SHOW

MACHINES

Debutant director Rahul Jain’s Surat factory docu- mentary, Machines, earned a special jury award for excellence in cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival. Jain’s film depicts nightmarish working illustration by ANIRBAN GHOSH conditions—routine for India—at a fabric factory in Surat. A western reviewer described it as “a claustro- phobic, haunting vision of the kind of grim workplace traditionally associated with the UK of the Victo- is distinguished not just by his rian era”. Workers speak of low wages, long hours in West Virginia upbringing but sweltering heat, and travelling 1,600 kilometres for a by his homosexuality. Quaran- chance at a job, where attempts to unionise wind up tine, a collection of plangent getting labour leaders killed. Not the sort of ‘Make in albeit hopeful short stories, India’ the prime minister had in mind. n was published in 2010. Since then, he has taught in a small university town in upstate New York, far from the metropoli- tan areas where most Indian Americans live. No Other World His first novel, No Other by Rahul Mehta World, is out at the end of this Somewhere between 70 and month. It opens with Kiran 80 per cent of Indian Ameri- Shah, “twelve, almost thirteen” cans hold at least an under- gazing into a farmhouse in ru- graduate degree. Comprising ral New York, or rather, at the doctors, software developers, father of a schoolmate whose Wall Street analysts and the house it is. The novel stretches like, they are also America’s from mid-1980s America to richest ethnic group, boasting India a decade later, a family TOKYO TRIAL a median household income of saga that is at once transgres- over $100,000, which is twice sive and conventional, that Irrfan Khan appears in the Netflix mini-series the national median. plumbs emotional depths while Tokyo Trial, an opulently produced if ultimately Correspondingly, Indian in other parts barely skirting shifty docudrama on the War Crimes process in American fiction—Jhumpa La- the surface. It is uneven but Japan after WW II. The fact it was commissioned hiri being the signal example— compelling, shedding light on by the Japanese NHK network may account reflects the urbane, largely little considered aspects of the for some of its moral ambiguity. However, like upper middle class ethos of Indian American experience. n Amazon Prime’s alt history show, The Man in the the community. Rahul Mehta —Shougat Dasgupta High Castle, the best thing about it may be its eerie opening sequence. n

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 85 LEISURE

AWADHI DUM GOSHT KACHCHI BIRYANI

Ingredients l 1 kg mutton, washed and strained l 600 gm basmati rice, washed and soaked for 2 hrs l 150 gm pure ghee l Salt to taste l 150 gm onion, sliced and fried l 20 gm ginger-garlic paste l Juice of one lemon l Half cup green mint leaves MANDAR DEODHAR MANDAR l 200 gm yoghurt l 200 ml warm milk l 10 gm red chilli powder l 10 green cardamoms, 1 piece mace FOOD and 1/4th piece nutmeg, all powdered l 1 tbsp rose water; 1 tbsp kewda water l ½ gm saron, soaked in water and DUM MAARO DUM ground to paste in stone mortar pestle Whole spices for rice l 5 green cardamoms, 5 cloves and 2 bay leaves fter having spent close to 40 Credited with the revival of the ‘dum’ years at the ITC chain of hotels, style of cooking—a traditional method Method chef Imtiaz Qureshi announced of cooking using steam—he’s most proud 1. Marinate meat in heavy-bottomed handi with ginger-garlic paste, salt, his retirement as Grand Mas- of introducing the single-portioned Dum A red chilli powder, powdered green terchef on his 82nd birthday on Febru- Biryani, which allows for a dish to be ary 2. He began his culinary journey at prepared in as little as 15-20 minutes. the tender age of nine, and by 15, he was Just last year, Qureshi became the first cooking sheermal, taaftan, korma, gi- chef to be awarded the Padma Shri in lauti kebabs and shahi tukda the culinary category. He for 10,000 people at a time. has cooked for some of the Qureshi has been cred- “The delights biggest names in India, ited with bringing Awadh’s of India’s most from Jawaharlal Nehru and indulgent menus to the decadent Indira Gandhi in the ’60s, cardamom, mace and nutmeg, lemon, capital at ITC Maurya, and to the Ambanis and the fried onion and yoghurt, 100 gm ghee; dishes con- marinade for 2 to 3 hours at room subsequently to the rest of tinue to be Goenkas and even Prime temperature the country through ITC’s Minister Narendra Modi. 2. Put handi on low heat Dum Pukht brand. “But reserved for A butcher’s son, Qureshi 3. Boil water; add salt and whole the delights of India’s most the elite” began his career already spices, cook rice till half done; strain 4. Spread mint leaves over meat, add decadent dishes,” he says, well-schooled in the art of half the rice over the meat, then the “continue to be reserved for the elite.” choosing the perfect cut of meat for a saron and finish with remaining rice For his next act, he aims to bring the particular dish. However, what makes 5. Mix milk, rose and kewda water remaining ghee and spread over rice luxurious cuisine of India’s royal courts him really stand out is his innovative 6. Seal handi with dough lining to the masses—perhaps via a cookbook, use of vegetables in place of meat—such 7. Cook on very low heat till it starts one that would contain recipes that as in replacing chicken with jackfruit, or simmering; cook for at least 30 mins 8. Turn o burner and let sit for are between two and two-and-a-half fish with bottle gourd. n another 20 mins centuries old. —Moeena Halim 9. Serve with garlic, zeera raita.

64 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 LEISURE UNSUNG PADMA H1B VISAS AWARDEES IN NUMBERS PG 10 PG 14 FESTIVAL

THE FUSS OVER LIFE IN PADMAVATI A Mela of TRUMPISTAN PG 24 UPFRONTMemories PG 26 Currently in its twelfth year, the Mahindra Sanatkada Lucknow Festival is a comprehensive mela, featuring dance and music, ﬁlm screenings, book launches, as well as a food festival. This year, PERSPECTIVE it will be held from February 3-7 at Baradari, Qaiser Bagh, and will feature performances by Tajdar Junaid and Shahid Parvez, lectures by Irfan Habib, Aman Nath and Gerard da Cunha, as well FEELINGas book releases by Nadeem Hasnain and Shazi Zaman. Every year, the festival is organised around a theme that is historically relevant for Lucknow. This year, it will focus on ‘Lucknow THEki Reha’ish’, HEAT or the architecture and lifestyles of homes in the By Wajahatcity. Sanatkada S. Khan will also Islamabad be releasing a coee-table book titled

Reha’ish: At Home in Lucknow, which examines the architectural CHANDRA YASHAS and sociological evolution of Lucknow’s homes from the 18th century onward.akistan The army book spokesperson will examine trends such as the refinement KAKORI KOTHI ofMaj. Nawabi Gen. Asifhousing Ghafoor and thehas colonial said conceptions of space. The ‘gol kamra’ at Kakori Kothi (1785) is among the oldest P Pakistan’s decision to arrest Hafiz — Aditya Wig extant cockpits in the world Saeed, leader of a ‘philanthropic’ organisation with established militant credentials and suspected links to the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, is based on a new “national policy and for the national interest”. Q&A Saeed, who has a $10 million bounty placed on his head by the United States, is often cited by India as the “mastermind” of Age No Bar the Mumbai terror attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 166 people, including Age and class were on display in Pandit Audiences praise with feeling, musicians several Americans. He has been appre- Jasraj’s suite last Sunday: the Nadal- with understanding. I remember an old hended at least four times between 2002 Federer Australian Open final. Jasraj man in a dirty dhoti, trampling his way to and 2009, but was let go after a few months has been a wildly popular star since be- the front row, and appreciating the way in detention. The popular jihadist can still fore Federer was born, and is the oldest I filled in a missed sam (principal beat). attract large crowds with his anti-America of the living greats of Hindustani clas- Or a little girl in a mandir I was singing in, and anti-India diatribes. sical music. He turned 87 on January scolding me for not suiting my music to But military insiders are saying that 28, and, remarkably, is still perform- the time of day. Saeed’s house arrest in Lahore on January ing close to his prime. He spoke of his 30 has to do with a fast changing local and life in music. Highlights: On spirituality and his style international environment, including the Everyone is spiritual when they listen to new Donald Trump administration in the On being in excellent voice at 87 music, even an atheist [points at me]. US and a change of guard in the powerful Music is yoga. It focuses the mind inward. Pakistan army. Significantly, Saeed has That gives strength. On developing individuality been detained under the stricter Pakistan A phrase which haunts and obsesses you; Anti-Terror Act. On what he listens to with time, it becomes yours. Anyway, if General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pak is- Everything playing anywhere: filmi music, you are proud of your gharana and people tan’s new chief of army staff, has a reputa- qawwali, bhajan. No conscious choice, want to listen to you what else matters? tion of being religiously progressive and except when friends insist. Listen in pro-democratic. His boss, Prime Minister quantity, quality follows. For the record Jasraj and daughter Durga support Nad- Hafiz Saeed being taken away by On praise from fans versus the al, who lost. Federer was “lucky”. the police in Lahore

admiration of peers — Itu Chaudhuri GETTYIMAGES BANDEEP SINGH

88 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 65 ARCHITECTURE Heritage Heroine

n the midst of putting the final touches to the Central Hall of Mumbai’s Town Hall and Asiatic Library—the city’s oldest public building—architect Abha Narain I Lambah has been selected to prepare the conservation plan and advise the Chandigarh administration on the restoration of Le Corbusier’s Capitol Complex, a UNESCO world heritage site in Chandigarh. Forty-six-year-old Lambah, who has emerged as one of India’s leading restoration architects, spent several years in Chandigarh as a young girl attending school at Carmel Convent. The city continues to have special meaning for her, even though she’s now a Mumbai resident. But it’s the project itself that truly excites her. When India was at the cusp of modernisation, iconic Swiss-French architect Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier, gave shape to then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s dream for the city of Chandigarh. “When you talk of modernism MAHARASHTRA CHIEF as an international movement, Le MINISTER DEVENDRA FADNAVIS WILL UNVEIL Corbusier… is one of the absolute LAMBAH’S RESTORATION greats,” Lambah says. OF THE CENTRAL HALL Since she first set up her prac- AT THE ASIATIC LIBRARY tice, 22 years ago, her biggest challenge has been to get policy makers to protect living buildings and not just dead sites. “A bulk of my work in Mumbai has been to make the city’s art deco and Vic- torian buildings acceptable as heritage,” says Lambah. Last October she completed an eight-year project to restore Mumbai’s Royal Opera House, which was constructed in the Baroque style in the first decade of the 20th century. Later this month, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will unveil her restoration of the Central Hall at the Asiatic Library. In its heyday, the space hosted all the civic functions of the city (as well as Bombay University), and even served as a courtroom. When it reopens—decorated with chandeliers and wooden book- cases with lion heads to match the originals—it will again serve as a town hall and public library. n —Moeena Halim MANDAR DEODHAR MANDAR LEISURE

FESTIVALS Got Rhythm?

THE SULAFEST features 120 artistes over its three-day run (Feb 3-5) in Nashik. Big names include Bloc Party, the Raghu Dixit Project, the Ska Vengers and Indian Ocean

THE MAHINDRA BLUES FEST (Feb 11-12) in Mumbai will feature Supersonic Blues Machine, Quinn Sullivan, Janiva Magness and India’s Blackstrat- blues, among others

THE KASAULI RHYTHM & AWARD BUZZ BLUES FESTIVAL (Apr 14-16) will be held at Baikunth Resorts in Himachal GRAMMY MAMMY Pradesh. Previous years have featured an eclectic mix spanning ot long after the birth of her second child, si- R&B, Bollywood and Suﬁ tarist Anoushka Shankar is up for a Grammy Award for the sixth time on February 12, with N Land of Gold—a collaboration with artistes such as British-Sri Lankan hip hop star M.I.A., jazz bassist Larry Grenadier and actress Vanessa Redgrave. Will she break her losing streak? The tie-in to the global refugee THE WORLD SACRED SPIRIT FESTIVAL crisis puts a bit of political weight behind the album—al- comprises three days of performances in ways a factor in a World Music category that illustrates Nagpur (Feb 13-15) and Jodhpur (Feb 17-19), the parochial nature of the Grammy Awards even as it showcasing classical Indian musicians as well attempts to show the opposite. But the album faces sti as artistes from China and Mongolia competition from legendary septuagenarian Brazilians Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, who together have won three Grammy Awards; 17-time winner Yo-Yo Ma; four- time winners Ladysmith Black Mambazo, from South Africa; and debutante Celtic Woman, an all-woman Irish ensemble. With such heavyweights in the ﬁeld, the smart money says Shankar will once again be forced to say, “It’s an honour just to be nominated”—a truism that surely tastes more bitter every time it’s repeated. n

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 67 The Jaz Clock The West End Watch Co. A hugely popular brand of alarm clock in India from the 1930s through This small Swiss company was a legend in its heyday— to the 1950s. From early art deco to later Bauhaus minimalism, the the ﬁrst half of the 20th century. Their watches were clocks were always stylish and featured a chime tuned to the note favoured by soldiers and adventurers across much of ‘Re’. The French company survived German occupation by introduc- Asia but particularly in India and the Himalayan region. Its ing a logo depicting a songbird, the waxwing (or jasseur in French), most famous line, the ‘Sowar’, invokes the cavalrymen of to avoid the Boche’s disapproval of Jazz. Its presence in India faded the British Indian Army. Exemplars on ebay will cost with import restrictions in the 1960s, but the company still produces you around $150. But steer clear of refurbished speci- watches and its old clocks do a brisk business online. mens with repainted dials.

OBSESSIONS For a country that has always had a fraught relationship with punctuality…or at least its own sense of stretchable time, A Brief India has a surprisingly deep love aair with watches. Watchmakers too have always loved us, if only because we are an ‘underpenetrated History of market’. Apparently only 27% of our wrists are be-watched to this day. While high-end watchmakers continue to peddle their wares to the (Indian) 1% who can aord them, most of us know that timepieces have become just that: nostalgic talismans. And some watches have much more to do with our life and times Time than others... —Jabir

Favre-Leuba Allwyn Titan was the Allwyn of the 1990s. A Tata brand, initially in a The indigenous alternative to HMT, the state-owned company began manufacturing arrangement with Timex, the company has making watches in 1981 in collaboration with Seiko and soon captured done a little too well to invite sentimentality or nostalgia. 10 per cent of the country’s watch market. Despite energetic advertis- Perhaps they realised as much, because in 2011 they bought ing, including the ﬁrst jingle A.R. Rahman ever wrote, the company did another legacy marque beloved of vintage watch web trawl- not survive liberalisation. But the watches are increasingly popular on ers: Favre-Leuba… Maked in Swizzerland but now Owned in ebay. Except with vintage Seiko fetishists who complain of Feikos with India, heheh… Allwyn movements under the ‘made in Japan’ face.

68 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 GAMING PLAYER ONE: POWER UP

ntil the late 2000s, few games were developed in India. Those that were, like ‘Yoddha: The Warrior’, ‘Chakravyuh’ and ‘Bhagat Singh’, were unspectac- Uular attempts at replicating popular international fads. However, companies like Bangalore-based Dhruva Interactive were the go-to source for 3D-rendered cars in immaculate detail, such as those in the Forza series. Many of the biggest titles in the last decade, from ‘Forza’ to ‘Call of Duty’, had a hidden Indian connection. But the last few years have seen a generational shift. This week, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will be hosting the India Gaming Show (IGS), an exhibition and conference that will attempt to get a bird’s eye

Zenith pocket watch Mahatma Gandhi is remembered as ‘the most punctual man in India’ and he certainly liked his Zenith pocket watch, a gift from the young Indira Nehru. While the original was recently purchased at an auction for $1.8 million, not-quite-faithful replicas costing as little as Rs 300 abound on the e-tail market. Call it democracy…

view of what is now a behemoth industry-in-the-making. Kickstarter projects like ‘Unrest’ (a role-playing game set in ancient India) are gaining ground, and companies like Tiny Mogul are making mobile games for a local audience. Exciting proof-of-concepts are out there on the fringes of games worldwide, such as ‘Antariksha Sanchar’, which explores the life and work of Srinivasa Ramanujan. Work- shops and game jams and code-schools are everywhere. What’s missing is the sense of a connected industry. Still, India has some advantages over neighbouring China—where a (recently lifted) decade-long ban on game consoles created a preference for supremely complex Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (such as ‘League of Legends’ or ‘DOTA2’) and sprawling mobile games (such as ‘Yin Yang Story’, 2016’s biggest hit), that are HMT almost impenetrable to outsiders. Long before ‘Make in India’ was a thing, these watches were a mark of national pride in the days of import In contrast, Indian gamers’ habits and preferences substitution. The ‘Janta’, the ‘Jawan’ and the ‘Pilot’ are very close to the so-called ‘AAA’ industry ideal. That were bestsellers and ever since the announcement vital dierence suggests that with industry support and last year that the public sector company (estd 1961) greater media attention, India is positioned to be the would be ‘wound up’, as it were, the watches have become a fetish object for nostalgists, ironists and next destination for game design for a global audience. n regular hipsters. The internet is now awash in HMTs, —Krish Raghav real and fake. Jai Hind!

FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 69 UPFRONTLEISURE

PTI

ART AUDIENCE ART

nspired by watching migrant labourers from India build mushroom- Iing Dubai, artist duo Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra developed Memoir Bar, an interactive project at the India Art they say. project, gallerist Renu Modi Fair’s 2017 edition. Memoir Bar is one of of Gallery eSpace brought The installation turns several collaborative works together 11 artists to create the audience into collabo- on display at the art fair in disparate works based on rators. Viewers write mem- Delhi from February 2-5. the cities of Varanasi and ories on a piece of paper, More galleries and artists Anuradhapura—sites of marking two out of six were included from the sacred pilgrimages in India RESERVATIONS colours based on emotion. South Asian region, thanks ARTIST DUO JITEN and Sri Lanka. “In a way, The paper is then shredded to new investment from the THUKRAL AND SUMIR the two cities becameNO WAY the OUT and made into a tile with Swiss-based MCH Group, TAGRA WILL SHOW- point of departureJat protestersfor us to CASE THEIR INTER- theTwo person’s name Stepson it and owner ofBackward the Art Basel discuss larger insocio Jassia-political village, ACTIVE PROJECT, Rohtak, January 31 put on a wall. “It is like a franchise, says founding MEMOIR BAR and cultural landscapes,” memoryfor bank. Quota Memory director Raj Neha Kirpal. says Anoli Perara, who con- becomes an object. It is In Tale of Two Cities, tributed to the project. n likeBy Shougat solidifying Dasgupta memory,” another collaborative —Chinki Sinha

n the last days of January, Jats, blocked roads in Mumbai to make their “they are precarious and do not pay well”. Pat i dars and Marathas gathered demandsAWAY heard.FROM, Some BUT NONETHELESSorganisers said case,Political wood—while parties, simultaneously as they might in any IEXHIBITIONin separate protests that reprised roadsCAPITALISING had been blocked ON the in frenzy up to 2,000of democracy,incorporating have a sensetaken toof disingenuouslymovement that demands they’ve been making for over locationsthe India across Art Fair the thisstate. week, But VirendraTalwar appeasingbelies the protesters, solidity of theor at material. least making SOLIDa year, in some cases two. The protests, Pawar,Gallery an isorganiser, showcasing insisted the work that theof openlyThe show sympathetic at Talwar noises. Gallery But surely though they are all independent, share an protestsRanjani had Shettarnot taken, whose a violent sculptural turn. evencomprises the Jats, some who 15have works been of demanding art FLUIDITYessential animus—a feeling, however irr- installationsIt says something have garnered critical by Shettar,reservations which were forcompleted a couple of acclaim in connection with shows at top between 2012 and 2017. The artworks ational, of being left behind while being about the lack of political Hardik decades, the Patidars and described as ‘socially advanced’. imaginationinternational that museums reservations such as the San range fromMarathas solid objects can tosee immersive that their Having been banished from Gujarat areFrancisco seen as the Museum only option of Modern Art.returnedenvironments argument created is using weak. suspended Certainly, for six months, Hardik Patel, the face to resolveUnlike several unemployment of her contemporaries but themobile sculpturessome of made the impetus of fabric appears and of the Patidar agitations, returned on andwho poverty. also work In a column,in the ﬁeld of abstractcrowds wire, to complexto have installations leaked out thatof the expression, Shettar looks to the natural are made of hundreds of individual January 17. But the crowds at the rallies the academic Christophe don’t seem protests since last year. world, rather than the urban, for her components and woodcut prints. One do not seem so enthused anymore. It Jaffrelot argued that The protesters have also inspiration. Her sculptures haveso an enthusedof her most interesting works of art is a appears that the time spent in exile had dominant caste demands for failed to make an impact organic quality, both because anymoreof 16-foot scroll that Shettar made while had its effect. The Jats, whose protests in reservations would increase on the ballot box, as Patidar their form and the material she uses to on a residency in Qatar. Dyed in henna, Haryana last year culminated in dozens so longconstruct as economic them—beeswax, growth vegetable the imagerycalls on tothe vote scroll against is printed the BJP of deaths and allegations of sexual viol- faileddyes to and create wood—and jobs. India’s are devoidso-called of inusing Gujarat’s wooden municipal blocks andelections the abstract were ence, came out onto the streets again last ‘demographicornamentation. dividend’, The title some of the experts exhibition, roundly‘narrative’ ignored. can only Jat befarmers viewed in a UP portion week. This time, the crowd remained suggest,Bubble requires Trap and the a Doublecreation Bow of some, takes 8 areat promisinga time. The not exhibition to vote will for remainthe BJP open controlled, borrowing from the Maratha millionits name jobs from a year. a work According that is to emblematic Jaffrelot, inuntil western the end UP of and May, plenty at Talwar of anger Gallery is in playbook and the power of silence. notof only Shettar’s are jobs commitment in key sectors to retaining declining, expressedNeeti Bagh, against New theDelhi. Modi n government On January 31, Maratha protesters as Labourthe qualities Bureau of her statistics materials—in indicate, this but for “breaking promises”. n —Latika Gupta

70 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 FEBRUARY 13, 2017 INDIA TODAY 95

Heroes & Villains Shahrukh Khan, actor, up Q A close and personal

Q: Raees is about a bootlegger. What’s your favourite drink? A: I genuinely like colas. Earlier I used to drink 24 of them, but now I drink fewer.

Q: As a performer, who is your favourite villain? A: The Joker. And I don’t know if he is a villain or not, but I like Walter White (from the American TV series Breaking Bad).

Q: Are there any real-life criminals you are intrigued by? A: I don’t see her as a criminal, but the story of Mata Hari is very interesting. So is the story of Natwarlal. Charles Sobhraj had an extremely eventful and mean life.

Q: An occasion on which you usually lie? A: I generally just keep quiet. Maybe a little ﬁb like when somebody asks ‘You’re reaching na?’ and I’m like ‘Main nikal gaya hoon. I’ll be there in ﬁve minutes.’

Q: One thing you can’t do without on a shoot? A: My vanity van. It has to come with me. It has everything I need.

—with Suhani Singh

ROHIT CHAWLA

72 Volume XLII Number 7; For the week February 7-13, 2017, published on every Friday Total number of pages 100 (including cover pages)

98 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017

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TRAVEL AND FOOD SPECIAL THE THE FINE ART OF FUSION DESIGN Michelin star Vineet Bhatia’s journey charts the global evolution of Indian food FILE YOUR GUIDE TO THE COOLEST HOME TRENDS .

AMANAT GREWAL, INTERIOR DESIGNER *Not for sale. To be *Not for sale. To

Hyderabad and Chandigrah VINEET BHATIA, CHEF AND Different RESTAURATEUR, Kolkata, Kolkata, LONDON EXPERIMENTAL ARTIST SURAJ Strokes STEPHEN D’SOUZA THE CITY’S MOST PROMISING ARTISTS RNI No. DELENG / 2005 19858 circulated free with India Today in Mumbai, Delhi & NCR, in Mumbai, Delhi & NCR, circulated free with India Today Chennai, Bangalore, RNI NO. DELENG / 2005 15332 RNI NO. “Supplement to India Today issue dated February 13, 2017”. issue dated February “Supplement to India Today OF FUSION THE FINE ART evolution of Indian food evolution ofIndianfood chartstheglobal journey RNI NO. DELENG / 2005 / 15332 *Not for sale. To be Michelin star circulated free with India Today in Mumbai, Delhi & NCR, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chandigrah. “Supplement to India Today issue dated February 13, 2017”. TRAVEL AND FOOD SPECIAL V ineet Bhatia

’s RESTAURATEUR, VINEET BHATIA, FEBRUARY 2017 CHEF AND CHEF AND LONDON

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

In times characterised by disposables, only memories truly defy the calendar’s expiry date. So Spice dedicates this issue to celebrating those enchanting experiences that will likely clog your memory log. Imbued with the dulcet notes of novelty, Spice arms this food and travel special with the distinctive eloquence of imagination to serve as both guide and companion. For those who choose their own path, need no maps; precisely

Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie the reason why seasoned Indian-born celebrity chef Vineet Bhatia makes it to the Spice cover this time. He was the first Indian chef to Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa win the coveted Michelin star for his restaurant Zaika, in London. Editor (Special Projects) Kaveree Bamzai The man, who dreamed of becoming a pilot, ended up piloting the Nilanjan Das; Bandeep Singh Group Creative Editor Group Photo Editor cause of Indian food abroad, transforming the cookie cutter model Prachi Bhuchar Deputy Editor of British curry houses that served the typical chicken tikka masala Senior Associate Editor Chumki Bharadwaj to plated fine Indian food that was inspired and innovative. The Principal Correspondent Srishti Jha chef shares his passion for travel around India and explains how Photo Researchers Prabhakar Tiwari and Shubhrojit Brahma some of these gourmet havens made it to his menu, whether it was Art Director Rajeev Bhargava the kebabs from Lucknow, sonpapdi from Bikaner or the classic Associate Art Director Vipin Gupta Moilee sauce from Kerala that he made his own, while referencing Production Harish Aggarwal (Chief of Production), cultural sensibilities. Naveen Gupta, Vijay Sharma The medley of travel and taste may have spurred his sensibilities, but we sign up for a walk on the wild side with a private safari compa- Group Chief Executive Officer Ashish Bagga ny in Kenya. Being guided through an exclusive 30,000 acre wildlife Publishing Director Manoj Sharma conservancy in Amboseli, we enjoy a rare National Geographic Associate Publisher (Impact) Anil Fernandes moment with a leopard on a tree, feasting on fresh kill. But if that sounds tame, we have a treat for the truly daring. Spice signs up as part of a pioneering group of concerned environmentalists and Senior General Manager (Impact) adventure enthusiasts aboard the Ocean Endeavour, the only ship Jitendra Lad (West) in Antarctica that is focused on health and wellness. So apart from a General Managers spa and a gym, there are internationally trained chefs and a menu Upendra Singh (Bangalore) that changes every day. Velu Balasubramaniam (Chennai) From the austerity of the white wilderness, we discover the Kaushiky Chakraborty (East) warm embrace of excess at five new luxury addresses around the country. With the hospitality sector forging ahead full steam, Group Chief Marketing Officer we bring you the low-down on the finest in high-end hotels. The Vivek Malhotra opulence of luxury hotels may serve the body but to sate the spirit, we prefer the brooding melancholy of the Scottish High- lands. We stop by at the Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown for a delectable treat. Even those without a predilection for smoked barley, will find much to engage as our gourmet tour of the British isles winds up at the Michelin-starred restaurant Dabbous on Whitfield Street, in London and the hottest Asian fish and seafood restaurant, Sexy Fish located at Berkeley Square in Mayfair. Spice continues with its European sojourn as we travel to Saxony in Germany to the birthplace of the famed luxury watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne in Glashütte.

Volume 13 Number 2; February, 2017 From the sensibilities of precision watch making to the sensitivi- Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All rights reserved throughout ties of a contemporary artist, we round up the issue with a quick the world. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited. Printed and published by Manoj Sharma on behalf of peek at a retrospective of Jitish Kallat’s work at the NGMA, Delhi. Living Media India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited, It’s time to feast on the unexpected as you savour with an open mind 18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, (Haryana) and A-9, Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar, District Kancheepuram-603209, and a willing spirit. (Tamil Nadu.). Published at K-9, Connaught Circus, New Delhi-110001. Editor: Kaveree Bamzai India Today does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited publication material.

e-mail your letters to: [email protected] (Aroon Purie)

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 1 CONTENTS February 2017

12 TRAVEL AS MUSE FIVE JOURNEYS THAT HAVE INSPIRED THE EVOLUTION OF TASTE FOR CHEF VINEET BHATIA

FEBRUARY 2017

TRAVEL AND FOOD SPECIAL

TANGO WITH TASTE Michelin star Vineet Bhatia’s journey charts the global evolution of Indian food . *Not for sale. To be *Not for sale. To Hyderabad and Chandigrah Kolkata, Kolkata,

VINEET BHATIA, CHEF AND RESTAURATEUR, “Supplement to India Today issue dated February 13, 2017”. issue dated February “Supplement to India Today circulated free with India Today in Mumbai, Delhi & NCR, in Mumbai, Delhi & NCR, circulated free with India Today Chennai, Bangalore, RNI NO. DELENG / 2005 15332 RNI NO. LONDON

ON THE COVER Vineet Bhatia

COVER IMAGE BANDEEP SINGH

LOCATION ROSEATE HOUSE, DELHI

BANDEEP SINGH

2 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 CONTENTS

| February 2017 | 46 TIMELESS STYLE LUXURY HOROLOGIST A LANGE & SOHNE REDEFINES THE SIMPLE AESTHETIC

EAT, DRINK, LOVE 34 EXPLORE THE BEST CULINARY AND HOSPITALITY DELIGHTS IN THE BRITISH ISLES

17 CALL OF THE WILD DISCOVER NATURE AT ITS MOST UNTAMED IN AFRICA

10 INDIA TODAY SPICE u JANUARY, 2017 ICY EXPEDITION 20 BOLDLY GO WHERE FEW MEN HAVE GONE BEFORE:TO ANTARCTICA

24 THE NEW BUCKET LIST TEN DESTINATIONS ON THE MUST-SEE, MUST-DO LIST

THE GOOD LIFE 28 FIVE NEW LUXURY HOTELS REINVENT HOSPITALITY

1 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 6 HOTSHEET 50 LASTLOOK

4 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 CONTENTS

| February 2017 |

HOWARD SAUNDERS MANDIP SINGH SOIN Safari Guide Explorer Howard Saunders has Mandip Singh Soin is a modest, been guiding since badass mountaineer, explorer and 1994, originally leading an eco pacifist, whose adventurous trips that adventures have taken him to six circumnavigated Lake continents over 40 years. He is the Victoria through Ke- recipient of the Tenzing nya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Norgay National Adventure Uganda and Congo. Award for Lifetime Achievement He has been a partner by the President of India, and the at The Original Ker & only Indian to receive the Cita- Downey Safaris since tion of Merit by The Explorers 2001.He lives on the Club, USA. He is also the founder northern edge of Masai of Ibex Expeditions and founder Mara with Stephanie, president of The Ecotourism

CONTRIBUTORS a wildlife biologist and Society of India. writer, and their two young children.

TEJAS SOVANI Chef Chef Tejas is the executive VIKRAM AHUJA sous chef at The Oberoi, Travel Entrepreneur Gurgaon and heads Vikram Ahuja is a serial the globally acclaimed entrepreneur, a short-film Amaranta, the hotel’s maker and the Founder of modern Indian restaurant. Byond Travel, India’s Tejas likes his ingredients largest community-driven to be fresh and the method travel company, which of preparation to be simple brings together small to enhance the flavours groups of like-minded further. He also likes to play people travelling together table tennis, which helps to over 50 countries. impove his concentration in the kitchen.

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 5 HOTSHEET

TRIBUTE TO ART Compiled by Srishti Jha

A pair of aux deux oiseaux (1973)

British auction house Christie’s will offer a group of pieces by Swiss sculptor and designer Diego Giacometti, the son of painter Giovanni Giacometti and brother of the sculptor Alberto Giacometti. What makes this collection special is that it is being offered from the personal collection of Hubert de Givenchy, a personal friend of the sculptor. This exceptional sale will be preceded by a week-long viewing that begins in Paris on March 6, 2017. Inspired by the only exhibition dedicated to Diego Giacometti, curated by Daniel Marchesseau in 1986, at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, this exhibition is Hubert de Givenchy’s final tribute to his dear friend. Twenty one objects will be showcased including a pair of magnificent bronze octagonal dining tables aux caryatides made by the artist in 1983 (`5.80 crore-`8.70 crore each), as well as four bronze stools (`2.17 crore- `3.63 crore) and a third, slightly smaller, octagonal table aux caryatides (`4.35 crore-`5.80 crore). A pair of andirons aux deux oiseaux realised in brown patina in 1973 (`1 crore-1.45 crore) will also be presented along with a major white patina lantern that hung in the main staircase of the manor, which preceded the one Giacometti created for the Musée Picasso (`2.17 crore-` 2.19 crore). A pair of photophores au cerf (`2.90 crore- `4.35 crore) completes this selection. For more information log on to www.christies.com

6 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 MEN

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RUGGED CHARM Flamboyant, edgy and eye-catching, it’s time to boot up this season. The Patina Chelsea boots from Mélange by Sartojiva are a winning blend of texture, cut and length. Made with traditional calf leather, these are best paired with leather, corduroys and woollen textures. Price On request SIMPLY PERFECT Availability 253, 1st Floor, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi Made from stretch cotton, sporting a subtle sheen, these navy Berluti trousers are comfortable enough for a day-to-night look. Pair them with a tailored blazer or a tweed jacket and Oxford shoes. Price £607 Availability www.mrporter.com

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 7 HOTSHEET TOP FIVE

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CAROLINA HERRERA MIKADO SKIRT 2 Drawing on contemporary sensibilities, this artfully struc- tured and printed Carolina Herrera petal-print Mikado party skirt in Cobalt tone seems right out of a modern- day fairy tale. Experiment with colours for the top and go for classic pumps. Price $622 Availability bergdorfgoodman.com

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8 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 CONTENTSHOTSHEET I BAGS

| February 2017 |

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TEJAS SOVANI Chef Chef Tejas is the executive VIKRAM AHUJA sous chef at The Oberoi, Travel Entrepreneur Gurgaon and heads Vikram Ahuja isBAG a serial IT the globally acclaimed entrepreneur, a short-filmBalancing novelty and tradition,Amaranta, Fendi introduces the hotel’s the new member of maker and the Founderthe Metal of Stitch Selleria, themodern Lui bag. Indian This timeless restaurant. bag reinterprets the Byond Travel, India’sMaison’s key codes of refinedTejas craftsmanship likes his ingredients and researched design, largest community-drivenperfectly in sync with modernityto be andfresh functionality. and the method With manual techniques travel company,inherited which from Roman masterof preparationsaddlers, the to Lui be bagsimple is created in black brings togetherCuoio small Romano leather by Fendito enhanceartisans withthe flavours a luxurious touch. groups of like-mindedPrice On Request further. He also likes to play people travelling Availabilitytogether All Fendi boutiques tableacross tennis, India which helps to over 50 countries. impove his concentration in the kitchen.

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 9 FETISH

PROVING CARBON’S METTLE Richard Mille’s signature feature, NTPT Carbon, now extends its base to include women’s watches too

Elegance and endurance may seem like an oxymoron, but luxury watchmaker Richard Mille has it down pat. NTPT (North Thin Ply Technology) carbon, a signature feature of the Richard Mille men’s collection, lends watches optimal protection for the calibre. Now, this material has revealed its feminine side as well with the models RM 07-01 and RM 037, which boast gem-set NTPT carbon to ensure elegance as well. This Richard Mille exclusive creates a startling contrast between the sparkle of clear diamonds and the matt carbon contour at the slightest wrist movement. Of course, setting gemstones in NTPT carbon is a new adventure for the brand. Unlike gold that can be worked directly with tools to create the prongs that will hold the diamonds, the hardness and resistance of NTPT carbon requires special machines and equipment. Hand-polished prongs in red or white gold are produced separately and then inserted around the many bearings (0.25mm) that will hold as many as 250 diamonds in the case of the RM 037 Full Set model. Brains and brawn— now that’s a winning combination. Price on request; Available at brand boutiques

10 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017

PHOTOGRAPH BY BANDEEP SINGH

12 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 COVER STORY I FOOD I PERSONALITY CURRYING FLAVOUR WITH TRAVEL AND MUSIC AS TWIN INSPIRATIONS, CHEF VINEET BHATIA'S MENU IS LIKE AN ORCHESTRA PLAYING A BALLAD WITH FOOD AS A SYMPHONY OF TASTE AND TEXTURE

BY CHUMKI BHARADWAJ

s a child, I was always the short- Thinking out of the box est, smallest, youngest; I got bul- “When I opened Zaika in 1999, I was the lied, hit. But I learnt to fight. The first Indian chef to do a tasting menu. People kitchen became my battleground laughed at the idea of doing five courses of Aand food a form of expression. It Indian khana, paired with wine. When I was my scope for freedom; my space.'' Food started plating Indian food in London, I did as battle cry, passion and muse, globally it because I had to survive. I could not call acclaimed, London-based, Mumbai-born my rogan josh, a rogan josh, so I used to call Vineet Bhatia is a chef and food impresario. it slow-cooked shank of lamb with Kashmiri The journey of a boy who dreamed of spices to make it sound delectable; chicken becoming a pilot but ended up piloting the tikka became morsels of chicken in a buttery cause of Indian food overseas is one of grit, tomato sauce, scented with kasuri methi. gruelling hard work and luck, by his own It's not gimmickry he insists. “When your admission. But the aggressive trajectory of classic butter chicken is pitted against the his success belies the soft-spoken, diminutive butter chicken made by Indian restaurants man wearing a gentle smile, burgundy in London, which is deep fried chicken in denims, printed jacket and a bowler hat. a yellow sludge, and it gets lapped up will-

It’s easy to forget that Bhatia is the first ingly, you have no choice but to improvise. ACCLAIMED CHEF VINEET Indian chef-restaurateur to receive the It's the same when your gajar ka halwa is BHATIA AT THE ROSEATE coveted Michelin star in 2001; just one of told off, because it’s not deemed authentic, HOUSE, DELHI the many epaulettes he wears ever so lightly. you write it up as slow cooked carrots with Always one for turning things on its head cardamom and pistachios.” and taking risks, he shut down his flagship When he left India in 1993, he insists he restaurant, Rasoi, almost 12 years after it was very classical. No plating. Just typical opened in 2004. The idea, to re-launch fare—kebab with some lachcha pyaaz sprin- it as Vineet Bhatia London. With 12 kled with nimbu. “It was perfectly fine. but restaurants around the globe and a name when I was repeatedly rapped on my knuck- that is a brand to reckon with, Bhatia les for doing it the right way, I realised that if could well rest on his laurels. "I am almost I had to change them rather than submit to 50, I could step back and say I have done the tyranny of the majority, I'd do it my way." 32 years of hard work. Do I need to start Naturally, the way Bhatia was cooking afresh? Do I need to pull in 18 hours again? in 1993 was poles apart from the food he's I don’t need to. But I want to make a presenting now. “London is the centre of the statement," he says. world in many ways, in food terms. So when you want to showcase an Indian menu with

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 13 COVER STORY I FOOD I PERSONALITY

15 courses, it takes a thought process. For two chutney mixes seamlessly inside the mouth and a half hours, you have to remain seated in a burst of varying textures and flavours. and be entertained, plate after plate. And each Revolutionising Indian food in Britain, while time there has to be a wow factor.” nurturing its core values, has become a Bhatia It isn't just about the food anymore; it is the imprimatur now. From the way it is presented restaurant; it's the staff, the service sequence, to the way it is experienced, is a carefully crockery, and every little detail matters. "For evolved strategy of surprise and enterprise. example, the crockery on which I serve my 15 courses costs me around £300 per person. Travel is key to an evolved cuisine We buy unique pieces. We have a new plate, “Fusion is a word I used to detest. Going back which is a half plate; it’s a broken plate. We 15-20 years, fusion was the confusion. But serve a wild mushroom momo with a red pep- when you start travelling, you realise there is a THE PRIVATE ROOM, per chutney, garlic raita, porcini powder and lot more to fusion. It is an artful blend; an in- WITTET, AT VINEET BHATIA LONDON makhni ice cream." Why broken? "I just want- ternal jugalbandi in many ways. But you have ed to add something dramatic flair. Fifteen to respect ingredients, techniques, the usage, courses on the same plate is boring. Suddenly and how you can do it. For instance, if you this comes in the seventh course, and piques take foie gras, basically liver, and mix it with your interest.” kadhai masala, and serve it on a bed of wild A menu is a composition; a symphony of mushroom naan, it’s still very much Indian. flavours, he says. It has to have highs. It has to The foie gras protein may not be Indian, but have lows. The first six courses are childhood the spices are. If we add kaleji to kadhai ma- snacks. You have pav bhaji and aloo chat, but sala and toss it together, the flavours are incor- they are not served in the way that you are porated. But with foie gras, you can't do that used to eating them. Pav bhaji is basically a pao because it is full of fat and has a subtle flavour.” stuffed with the bhaji with butter, flavoured That comes with an understanding of the with pav bhaji masala, served on the side. Aloo cuisine, and style of cooking. “So, we crush the chat comprises finely cut chips of potatoes, foie gras with spices, cook it in the same style as shaped into a ball, and deep fried to a warm the kaleji but we don’t toss it for 5-10 minute, crisp. The chutney is injected inside, and a to retain the delicacy. You need to serve it on small pip inserted, which when pressed, spurts something that can absorb the fat, so we serve out yogurt. With each bite, the yogurt and the it on a bed of wild mushroom (gucchi or Kash- FOOD FAVOURITES

TOP INGREDIENT Salt; it's the most important. Second, the passion to cook.

MOST VERSATILE INGREDIENT Oil. I like flavoured oils; you can add anything and make your own flavoured oils. It's very versatile with multiple purposes; temper, cook, shallow fry, deep-fry.

MOST MEMORABLE DISH There are so many, but when I close my eyes and I think, I think of my mother's Sunday haddi wala mutton with aloo and lachcha pyaaz comes to mind.

MOST MEMORABLE DISH YOU HAVE CREATED Chocolate samosa, home smoked tandoori salmon, white butter chicken

MOST ESSENTIAL KITCHEN GADGET A knife

FAVOURITE CHEF Alain Ducasse, Nobu Matsuhisa, Joël Robuchon

FAVOURITE RESTAURANTS AROUND THE WORLD Chesa Veglia, Badrutts Hotel in St Moritz; it was a 16th century barn and I was sitting SMOKED SALMON, THE DELECTABLE DELICATE YET DRAMATIC MALAI CHICKEN there with my wife and two sons, and we had the most amazing pizza with blue cheese and lobster, paired with a glass of Borello red wine. It was snowing outside and it was magical.

TOP SOURCES OF INSPIRATION Inspiration is all around you. People inspire me. Travel is inspirational. Visuals inspire me. The window of an aircraft, where you can see infinity and beyond, offers the best inspiration. Music inspires me to think of food. The music which inspires me the most for Indian khana is Pink Floyd. You can put on Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and sit in the corner, close your eyes and enjoy the beautiful music and allow it to elevate you. A R Rahman’s genius is another game changer.

FAVOURITE FOOD DREAM Any yellow dal (moong, masoor mix, with a tadka of jeera and green chillies garnished with fresh dhania) and served with a bowl of dahi—simple but very satisfying. COVER STORY I FOOD I PERSONALITY

FAVOURITE JAPAN ZERMATT JORDAN MAURITIUS COORG A favourite with Trekking holiday Another strike off We have a house The weather, the TRAVEL my older son, it to Matterhorn, Rashima's bucket here now, so it's peace and the DESTINATIONS soon became ours Switzerland, was list; Little Petra more home than beauty simply as well, especially amazing; it's is simply out of holiday spot. We charmed us; the the fish market at also the land of this world; an hope to settle cold and fog just dawn is remarkable. Toblerone. ancient connection. down here. said home.

miri morels) naan flavoured with truffle oil. Is not heavy; you can have multiple courses. that fusion, I am not sure, but it’s very much Indian. It is progressive. That’s what my food Planning ahead is: progressive evolved Indian.” Since neither of his sons, Varaul, 19 or Ronit, The idea is to evolve a cuisine internally 17, has shown any interest in the food busi- within its own ingredients and boundaries, ness, does he worry about his legacy? “The but when you go overseas, you have various legacy will be through our books, our TV proteins that are not indigenous to India. But shows and eventually through youtube,” he since you feed a different audience, you uti- says. Both he and wife Rashima launched lise local products. “When we were traveling their second book, My Sweet Kitchen, in Paris through Venezuela, we came across black corn. in November last year. “It was Rashima’s idea We did our own dish, with a moilee sauce, to do a book, because it will all be lost other-

THE CHEF WITH WIFE cooked lightly as in Kerala, but added wise. Sadly, Indians don’t share, and I love to RASHIMA AND SONS, a puree of black corn so the sauce turned teach.Naturally, future plans include starting a RONIT AND VARAUL black; when you eat it with your eyes closed, cooking school: “We want to start a six month- (EXTREME RIGHT) ON it is moilee in the mouth, but when you open course for junior chefs who know the basics, HOLIDAY IN JAPAN your eyes, the moilee is gone.” but need the finesse of a finishing school. Out Whether it is the kebab, biryani or samosa, of these 20 children, we want to take in five none is Indian in origin, but has been adapted from the streets, who will be taught free.” over the years. Travel blurs boundaries and This is his way of paying it forward. seeps into food and flavours. Nobu Matsuhisa’s In his typical easy going, salt of the earth food is a perfect fusion of Japanese and Peru- manner, he maintains: “Nobody is born a cook; vian, but he is a master at it. Similarly LA-based you become one. I became a cook purely by John Shaw, of Steak and Whisky, has perfected error, but I was very lucky that I got into a the blend of Vietnamese and French. I live restaurant that has worked for me. I slogged overseas but still maintain traditional Indian my butt off, but there are people who are into which I incorporate imported techniques, working a lot harder than I do, but don’t flavours and proteins. That’s why my food is get recognised. I am just lucky.”

16 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 COVER STORY I SAFARI I COLUMN BRINGING LUXURY TO LIFE UNTAMED AFRICA, UNRESTRICTED ACCESS, PERSONALISED HOWARD SAUNDERS Partner, The Original IMMERSION; EXPERIENCE THE BUSH IN ITS PUREST FORM Ker & Downey Safaris

ot long ago, my guests and personal immersion into wild Africa. A LAZY PRIDE LOOKS ON I flew into Kenya’s famed Thanks to the secluded nature of this area, UNIMPRESSED AS THE Masai Mara national reserve. we enjoyed the viewing exclusively with- SAFARI VEHICLE Within an hour, I had pulled out the usual tourist hordes. Authenticity INCHES CLOSE into a favourite gully of experience and the opportunity to feel Nfrequented by an impressive male the natural world in its purest form comes leopard. As we drove up and saw the big from insider knowledge. To produce the cat perched proudly among the branches incredible, an intimate understanding of of the sycamore fig, totally unaware of my adopted habitat—the African bush, the stir he had created, my guests has allowed me to deliver these remained stunned by this up close and unparalleled wildlife sightings.

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 17 COVER STORY I SAFARI I COLUMN

WILD LUXURY A century ago, travel to exotic locations was the preserve of the rich and famous who drew inspiration from the legendary explorers of the time. These early travellers THIS SIT-OUT IN THE BUSH IS A GORILLA IN sought out the almost mythical wilderness PART OF THE LUXURY CAMP THE WILD and in doing so understood that they were accessing places that very few could. Today jet setters may wonder whether such destinations still exist. But an elite network of travel experts attests to the fact that they most definitely do, and hold the keys to unlock its potential. Where exclusivity is the nuance of luxury, the experiential nature of travel within this select group is redefining travel. The Shackleton & Selous Society has been evolving the very definition of luxury. The society is comprised of fellows who have devoted their lives to crafting the most fascinating travel experiences available today: a private tour of Rajasthan’s forts; cruising Austra- lia’s Great Barrier Reef; watching elephant herds meander in an exclusive 30,000-acre wildlife conservancy in Amboseli, Kenya;

18 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 AN ELEPHANT AT THE KENYA SAFARI AMBOSELI CAMP FACT FILE TOUR DURATION A typical safari is between 7 and 12 days, although each safari is customised and can be crafted to suit the travellers’ interests PRICE Upwards of USD$1,000 per person per day; safaris are all inclusive with full board accommodation in luxury camps and lodges HOW TO GET THERE Emirates and Kenya Airways operate daily flights out of Delhi and Mumbai WEATHER Being on the equator, Kenya is pleasant to visit throughout the year, though April and May typically see higher rainfall CONTACT howard@ howardsaunders.com; www.howardsaunders. com ; www. shackletonandselous.com; ph: +254 722 742 310 exploring Rome’s treasures with den acacia grove where I know that provides the key. behind-the-scenes tours of the Colos- elephant family will be feeding; call- And then there are the activities seum or helicopter rides to a hidden ing in the local lion researchers when that we plan with the utmost precision: fly-fishing lodge in New Zealand. we want to know more of the story of the hot-air balloon ride over the vast Sharing the experience exclusively our camp pride; relating the story of savannahs of the Masai Mara; the he- with family and friends, away from my place in the prestigious 70-year licopter charter to access fresh alpine busier locations may come at a pre- history of our pioneering safari com- lakes, extinct volcanoes and remote mium, but with that comes that rarest pany that blazed the trail of wild lux- tribes; an audience with a pre-eminent of finds—authenticity. ury. And who better placed to create, wildlife conservationist, in the field. Di- and host any experience of this kind vine cuisine and fine wines accompany PRIVATELY OWNED, than someone living and breathing the timeless comfort of sumptuous PERSONALLY GUIDED this life each day. Countless moments canvas tents, which provide the ulti- When I personally take guests into of my life have been spent searching mate setting for the private safari. my private safari camp on an African for those treasures within Africa, and The culmination of these can safari, my crew and I ensure that determining how best to weave them be a life-changing journey through each part of the experience is highly into the trip of a lifetime. some of the most photogenic scenery, personal and memorable. With my Every safari I run is tailored to entrancing peoples with the most hands-on approach of being in- suit the interests and time-frame of diverse wild life that exists on our volved with the planning from day my guests; no two journeys are ever planet. It took a selection of the finest one, to directing the whole journey the same, and the magic of each trip private guides around the globe to re- as a professional guide, I’m able to is found in the little surprises that are alise the value of highly personalised facilitate life-changing moments that built in. For it is often the unscripted experiences that are so fundamental such travel can provoke. Each trip is moments that bring a safari to life, to each of our lives. Sharing that with made unique as I offer special access and Kenya’s phenomenal wildlife and the discerning traveller simply to Africa’s gems: pulling into a hid- a guide’s deep knowledge of them, completes the circle.

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 19 COVER STORY I ADVENTURE I COLUMN

FALLING OFF THE MAP A JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE WORLD IS NOT JUST A LIFE-ALTERING EXPERIENCE BUT IT MAY JUST ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF SAVING ANTARCTICA, THE LAST PRISTINE WILDERNESS

01 INDIA TODAY SPICE u APRIL, 2016 PHOTO COURTESY QUARK EXPEDITIONS

MANDIP SINGH SOIN FRGS Fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society Explorer & Adventure Traveller

n the month of May 1989, I was studying the ozone hole in the Arctic and the effects of pollutants from the atmosphere onto the pristine icy expanse of the Cana- dian Arctic at 80 degrees North. This was as part of the group of Instruc- Itors at the International Ice Walk Students Expedition, the brainchild of Polar explorer, Robert Swan. It was with grave concern that we looked at the scientific experiments, supported by our team of American and Canadian Scientists, realising that the Ozone hole was indeed enlarging and that PCB’s (PolyChlorinated Biphenyls) had started to pollute the Arctic waters. The one key objective was to get the international students and instructors to become ambassadors of the environment and to start creating awareness. It is ironic, that now, three decades later, I am embarking on a wonderful cruise aboard the Ocean Endeavour—a comfortable, well- appointed small expedition ship expertly engineered to explore the polar regions— that will show us the stark beauty of the Ant- arctic. Fortuitously, there is little pollution to worry about now. However, the gorilla in the room is the fact that in 2048 the Antarctica Treaty will come to an end and by 2041 so will the moratorium on mining. The fear ahead is that we may lose one of the world’s last pristine wildernesses to development as countries may move in for mining with serious environmental implications.

A JOURNEY WITH A PURPOSE To this end, I thought the way forward is to consider ways of conservation by taking a group of motivated civil society persons RUBBERISED BOATS CALLED whose voices would be heard and felt. For- ZODIACS HELP COME CLOSER tunately, now, one can do it pretty safely TO THE ANTARCTICA SHELF, PAST SCULPTED ICEBERGS and in comfort, yet allowing for a unique education with an awakening to serve this cause. And what better way than experiencing the Antarctic aboard the Ocean En-

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 21 COVER STORY I ADVENTURE I COLUMN

deavour. It is also the only polar adventure ship in Antarctica that is focussed on health and wellness and offers a contemporary approach to cuisine and newly-designed health and fitness features. Essentially, the ship takes 199 passengers and has six deck levels with not only a spa and a gym but also a couple of lounges, dining areas, bars and even a small heated salt water pool. Most Antarctic journeys would start with a flight to the happening city of European heritage, Buenos Aires, where one can get over jet lag with a tall glass of Malbec and some foot-tapping Tan- go. From there, you need to fly south to the southernmost city on the Planet— Ushuaia—from where the ship sets sail south-east towards Antarctica across the infamous Drake passage. Our journey will begin on February 22, 2017, in Buenos Aires (some cabins are still available) the meeting point, after which we fly on the 24th to Ushuaia to set sail to the frozen continent. It will serve well to discover our sea legs for the next two days across the Drake Channel which could involve some rolling and pitching. We hope it’s not too placid else it will become the Drake lake nor A COLONY OF PENGUINS would we want to be in the eye of a storm WADDLING ALONG HUMAN where the waves could rise as high as 30ft. VISITORS ON THEIR ISLAND

THE FROZEN CONTINENT After having survived the Drake passage, the TRAVEL ESSENTIALS 32 of us will then embark on the real up-close experiences by making landings on GETTING TO USD 7000 to USD 17000 From Mid-February to the seventh continent, which will give us a ANTARCTICA per person depending on March, the whales return to perspective of what it feels like to be standing Fly to Buenos Aires; from cabin type feed, seals haul out on the there connect to Ushuaia beachheads and penguins. on 90 per cent of all the world’s ice and 70 WEATHER February’s (southernmost tip of Highlights for travellers temperatures range per cent of all the world’s fresh water. From Argentina) and onto are whales, red snow and between + 10 degrees the comfort of a warm cabin, one would the ship fledging gentoo penguins. come out to sub-zero temperatures. Much Celsius to – 15 degrees like in the movies, one would need to go FOOD Chefs are Celsius. CLOTHING Base layer internationally trained; (long underwear); insulation WHEN TO GO down to the lowest deck and step out into the menu changes layer (stretch top and From October to the Zodiacs—rubberised boats with an out- every day. Breakfast bottoms); loft jacket, December, it’s covered in board motor and propel off towards the Ant- and lunch is usually a pullover or vest; waterproof snow to the water’s edge. arctica shelf, past some awesomely sculpted buffet. Dinner is plated pants; waterproof trekking Penguins build highways service, with a choice shoes; heavyweight socks icebergs, only to greet colonies of penguins. as they waddle the same of three main dishes. A made of wool or wool Each day and night would bring out a path, from the sea to vegetarian choice is blend; sock liners, hats and different kind of magic. Since it is the month their nests. During this always offered; desserts windproof and waterproof period, penguins, shags of February, we will not only experience are fabulous. Afternoon ski gloves and liners. and seabirds court and lay night skies with the brilliance of exquisite tea with pastries or their eggs. From December RESERVATIONS starry constellations but also amazing cookies is served at 4 pm through February, the snow Ibex Expeditions P Ltd., icebergs that have cut loose from the main every day. Fresh pastries retreats, exposing rocky Tel: 91-11-26460246, that arrive warm from shelf and form objects of beauty reflecting headlands. Penguin chicks 26460244. Email: the oven for early birds the varying moods of the light. hatch and their parents ibex@ibexexpeditions. can be enjoyed at 6 am. Other days, we will try to come close spend endless hours feeding com Website: www. and personal with the Humpback or Minke COSTS range between their hungry young. ibexexpeditions.com

22 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 KAREN QUIGLEY whales that are best viewed between the months of February and March. Other times, there will be opportunities to visit the cunning Leopard seals. But remember, all footfall has to follow strict environmental protocol where special boots are dipped in sanitised liquids and no food allowed as it can be deemed a pollutant.

ANIMAL SIGHTINGS AND OTHER PLEASURES For the more active, apart from the gentle treks and rambles to view the penguins, there are some invigorating activity choices like the Polar Plunge which is a brain numb- ing dive into freezing waters—often sub zero—for those who wish to use it as a rite of passage to reaffirm manhood or wom- anhood. For others, there is kayaking and paddle boarding which are all optional. All this happens as the ship sails along the South Shetland Islands along the Antarctic pen- insula. The expedition will also have many scientists, and in particular, guest speaker, Jonathan Shackleton, a cousin of Sir Ernest Shackleton, the legendary polar explorer. He will reinforce why Antarctica is important to preserve for science because of its profound effect on the Earth’s climate and ocean systems as well as being the world’s most important natural laboratory, and a place of great beauty and wonder, of course. PHOTO COURTESY QUARK EXPEDITIONS After all, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, mentioned in our Upanishads, suggests that the entire planet is our home and all living beings our family. In that spirit alone, is it not worth protecting forever? My son, Himraj Soin, Young explorer and Project 2041 Ambassador, who went on an earlier expedition to Antarctica, writes this: “When you’re at the end of the world, the rest of the world stands still. Ordinary problems seem mundane. Untouched by time and humans (mostly), this Terra Australis or “Southern Land” is the harsh- est, most inhospitable, driest, coldest, and windiest continent on Earth. It is also however, the most pure, primal, peaceful and poignant. It’s the only place on Earth that is how it should be, and may it always remain that way.’’ The year 2017 has been declared the In- ternational Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations. This journey will show us the way, and allow us to LOUNGING AREAS ABOARD THE OECEAN ENDEAVOUR, A uphold these very principles of sustainability SPECIAL SHIP TO EXPLORE THE POLAR REGIONS for now and for posterity.

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 23 COVER STORY I TRAVEL I COLUMN PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE 10 IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO DISCOVER THE NEVER SEEN BEFORE

24 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 BANFF, IN CANADA, IS A WINTER WONDERLAND WITH SKIING, CHATEAUS AND PLENTY OF ADVENTURES

ovelist Pico Iyer famously exhibits of music and self-expression, said, “the best travels, like the Burning Man brings together artists, think- best love affairs, never really ers and even celebrities (Mark Zuckerberg, end.” You bring back a bag Larry Page and Katy Perry) for a week in full of memories, adventures, the middle of the Nevada desert every Na new bucket list. The ultimate bucket list year. From exploring the maximum of for travel must include those experiences human creativity in arts and fashion, to that have the potential to linger on, spur- fostering a cashless, barter-based economy, VIKRAM AHUJA ring memories which translate into stories Burning Man is the ultimate experience Founder, Byond Travel of places, people, and things to do, see and for anyone curious about how a utopian feel. Drawing up this list wasn’t easy, so I society would function. focused on possibility and immediacy. Here are my top 10 picks that I would like to do 2 CRUISE ALONG THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS someday and soon. Charles Darwin’s famous theory of evolution was inspired by his visit to this remote 1 GO TO BURNING MAN A kaleidoscope of archipelago of multiple islands and their art cars, outlandish costumes and surreal endemic species, where one can encounter

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 25 COVER STORY I TRAVEL I COLUMN

This is a completely a new way of seeing India by land, the way the royals would have intended us to.

4 NORTHERN LIGHTS Imagine the solitude of the Finnish Lapland and the comfort of watching one of nature’s finest spectacles, the Northern Lights, while tucked under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate (and perhaps someone special), looking out into the -30 degree winter wonderland from your glass igloo. Welcome to Kakslaut- tanen, Finland. Also on offer, reindeer and husky rides, traditional Finnish sauna baths and even a visit to Santa Claus’s home.

5 AMALFI COAST VINTAGE CAR ROAD-TRIP giant turtles, swimming sea lions and pen- Italy’s Southern Coast, from Positano to guins, not to mention 27 varieties of birds Amalfi, boasts of some of the most pictur- only to be seen here. Nowhere else in the esque costal highways in the world dotted world will you come face-to-face with more with little towns, olive farms and even unique species at one place. wineries on cliffs overlooking the Gulf of Salerno. Top this with a vintage car, such as THE PALACE ON WHEELS 3 THE PALACE ON WHEELS India’s most a red 1973 Alpha Romeo Spider and join CELEBRATES INDIA’S well-known luxury train transports you to the ranks of poets, artists and Hollywood FINEST ROYAL LEGACY the bygone era of Nawabs and Maharajas stars who have brought this stretch to life in for seven days of pure indulgence while countless books and films. discovering some of India’s most famous sights along the way, like the Ranthambore 6 THE TRANS SIBERIAN RAILWAY National Park and the Golden Triangle. Criss-crossing the vast and diverse land-

ARTS, MUSIC, CULTURE AND A UTOPIAN SOCIETY COMES TOGETHER AT BURNING MAN

26 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 THE AMALFI COAST scape of Russia, cutting through the Gobi HAS SOME OF THE MOST SCENIC DRIVES IN Desert in Mongolia and finally ending up THE WORLD in China, via Manchuria, the world’s longest rail route is also one of the greatest travel adventures of our time. The mélange of cultures, food, drink,

FACE TO FACE WITH A history and people, all compressed into 500 LB MOUNTAIN a seven-day journey, promises to be GORILLA IN RWANDA intense and overwhelming.

7 ANTARCTIC CRUISE Long considered the final frontier for die-hard explorers,

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS Antarctica, is today, within reach, with VIEWED THROUGH A multiple cruise liners operating through- GLASS IGLOO IN FINLAND out the year. You will do this only once in your lifetime but rest assured your stories of survival and accomplish- ment, peppered with giant icebergs, penguins, seals and whales, and perhaps a plunge in sub-zero waters, will be legendary.

8 STEP INTO THE A TIME MACHINE IN CUBA The beauty of Cuba lies somewhere between its timeless culture, the classic cars from the 50s cruising through streets filled with the sounds of Salsa music and its complicated and colourful political sto- ryline. And if that isn’t enough, there are gorgeous natural landscapes, the world’s best rum and cigars and the most hospi- table people you will ever come across.

9 MOUNTAIN GORILLAS, RWANDA The image of King Kong fighting airlines and causing havoc makes the prospect of coming face-to-face with a mountain gorilla, a slightly daunting one. The most intimate and gentle wildlife experience you can have involves trekking volcano peaks of Uganda to track and observe gorilla families as they go about their natural routines. With only 700 gorillas left in the wild, you have an opportunity to contribute directly to the conservation efforts as well.

10 WINTERS IN BANFF, CANADA Snowy mountains, art and music festivals, luxury chateaus with gigantic fireplaces and mugs of hot chocolate or mulled wine—experiencing Canada’s best national park, draws you to a parallel universe. Go, if you must, with your closest friends and family and surrender yourself to the vast and unforgettable outdoors.

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 27 COVER STORY I TRAVEL I PERSONAL EXPERIENCE LUXURY’S NEW AD DRESS

INDULGE IN THE PERFECT COCKTAIL OF ART, HISTORY AND LUXURY AT FIVE NEW HOTELS ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT PROMISE TO TRANSFORM THE NORMS OF HOSPITALITY

BY PRACHI SIBAL AND ASMITA BAKSHI

28 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 LUXURY’S NEW AD DRESS

WHERE ART MEETS LUXURY ROSEATE HOUSE, DELHI n entering Aerocity, one sees a network of hotels and malls, almost like a residential colony for those who live a life in transit. One among many such hotels is Roseate House, erstwhile Dusit D2, standing tall in sophisticated brown with a painfully similarO exterior to its brethren boarding spots. But Roseate House is special. It’s got the interiors of a hotel built with a modern, 2016 design aesthetic; the furniture is neat and part of the minimal embellishment and the colour tone is a subtle beige and brown, with a hint of grey. The space is “perceived as a book”, and has an interesting, but not overpower- ing labyrinth of artwork and lithographs by Thukral and Tagra. It’s uncluttered, fuss-free and doesn’t impose regality and largesse, but delivers on taste and luxury. The rooms are an extension of the rest of the hotel; simple but splendid, contemporary but comfortable. On the top floor is an infinity pool; it doesn’t overlook anything spectacular, but it has studded lights built in, which transform the pool into a glorious constellation. On the third floor is the hotel’s only (currently) functional restaurant, named DEL, after the Delhi airport code. The menu changes with each meal, but its contents remain innovative and consistently delectable. We strongly recommend the Ying Yang (Japan), a preparation of paprika prawns served with summer squash puree, asparagus shaving, Goma-Dare dressing and Kombu chips. Others high on our endorsement list were the Gosht aur Gucchi Pulao; the scallops and the exceptional breakfast buffet, which seem fairly standard until you navigate the sheer variety of options and the depth in taste. Roseate House is all about the little details, it’s a refreshing mix of art and architecture, the food is inspired and original, yet brings with it the comfort of the familiar; the opulence lies in its tact. And if all this wasn’t enough by way of novelty, the hotel has a fully functional movie theatre called Upstage.

GETTING THERE CONTACT PRICES: A 10-minute drive from Indira Ph 011-71558800 Rooms from `12,000, THE NEUTRAL PALETTE OF Gandhi International Airport, Delhi www.roseathotels.com suites from `19,000 THE ROOMS AT ROSEATE HOUSE WHISPER QUIET LUXURY

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 29 COVER STORY I HOSPITALITY I PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

ampi is a traveller’s paradise; the small town and neighbouring HISTORY Hospet have always been popular among budget travellers, with little on offer for the luxury traveller. But Orange County Luxury Resorts, newly opened and located in Kamalapura, a few kilometres from the ancient IS IN Hruins, does more than fill this void. Designed like a palace with the local architecture in mind, the resort makes you feel like royalty. Arched corridors, VOGUE water bodies and paved paths guide you to your room. The Nivasa Deluxe Suite, the base category room is much larger than an average hotel room with high ceilings, wooden beams, and antique-inspired ORANGE furniture with brass accents. The room has separate living and dining areas in COUNTY, addition to a king-sized four poster bed and dressing space. Every room comes with a private Jacuzzi and sit-out. Bathed in soft evening light, the sandstone HAMPI inspired architecture looks majestic. The property has two restaurants, Samovar and Tuluva. With a candle-lit aura, Samovar offers a North Indian menu, while Tuluva is a multi-cuisine restaurant which overlooks an infinity pool, caters to all palates with a few Vijayanagara specialities drawn from its ancient cuisine. With weak mobile signals and WiFi connectivity limited to the lobby, it’s the perfect refuge from city stresses. Vaidysala, the spa, offers treatments to further the cause of detox. Activities like guided walks along the Raya Trail and the Virupaksha trail allow glimpses into the life and times of the Vijayanagara empire, a journey that may well lead you to discover many a thing about yourself amid the ruins. GETTING THERE CONTACT PRICES THE HOTEL HAS BEEN The nearest airports are Ph 083942 94700 `24,000 onwards for DESIGNED LIKE A PALACE Hubli and Bangalore www.orangecounty.in/hampi the Nivasa Deluxe Suite WITH ELEMENTS OF LOCAL ARCHITECTURE

30 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 COVER STORY I TRAVEL I PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

HERITAGE IS HOME SVATMA, THANJAVUR estled in a heritage bungalow in the tank. The day begins with Vedanta chant- temple town of Thanjavur, Svatma is ing and ends with the reverberating sounds GETTING THERE Nmore than a quaint boutique hotel. of a Veena recital in the central courtyard. Closest airport Trichy, It offers travellers an insight into the Bharatnatyam concerts are organised on re- 48 km from Thanjavur cultural world of the once glorious capital quest. At the rooftop bar Nila, you could be of the Chola empire. Hence, it isn’t a privy to a breathtaking view of the CONTACT room or a suite that you book, but an massive Brihadeeswara temple or you could Phone 04362 273222 entire experience. The property is divided indulge in a traditional ghee massage or www.svatma.in into the Heritage Wing, the original coconut scrub at Soukyam, the spa. restored bungalow and the Millennium Palaharam, the continental café overlooks PRICES Wing, a newly constructed building. The the garden and is the perfect setting for a Rooms from `16,000, heritage bungalow has been restored keep- laid-back holiday lunch. suites from `21,000 ing in mind the Chola architecture from the For a perfect mix of traditional and region and is a treasure trove of family local flavours, head to Aaharam, the heirlooms and artefacts, from original organic fine food restaurant that serves Tanjore paintings to pictures. unlimited mini plated meals like the The rooms are simple yet comfortable Thanjavur Thali and the Maratha Thali. with antique furniture and local accents with The menu changes every day to allow the silk furnishings and traditional palm mats. sampling of new preparations. For The heritage suites are luxurious and come breakfast, you could opt for a culinary THE HERITAGE HOTEL IS A TROVE OF ORIGINAL with a terrace that overlooks the garden or class and make your own piping hot dosa TANJORE ARTEFACTS swimming pool, which is built like a temple in the open kitchen.

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STEEPED IN NOSTALGIA THE WAVERLY

ust a hop, skip and jump (or let’s say, with luxury hotels and the soft bedside rug GETTING THERE a few elevators) away from leading for our aching feet from the mall sprint. The Waverly Hotel & high street stores like H&M, The rooms look out to the mall next Residences, Whitefield Superdry and others, The Waverly door or to the many under-construction Main Road, Bengaluru HotelJ & Residences at VR Bengaluru, high rises that this part of town has come to offers you a chance to literally stay at a mall. be associated with. Not a sight for sore eyes, CONTACT Inspired by the culturally rich neighbour- but turn the peepers instead to framed Ph 080 67089000 hood of Whitefield, The Waverly takes its illustrations of old Bangalore by Paul www.thewaverly.in name from the erstwhile Waverly Inn, Fernandes neatly mounted on the wall. frequented by the likes of Winston The Waverly’s USP lies in the maze of PRICES Churchill. Apart from a suite named after lifts through its pretty carpeted corridors Rooms from `6,000, Churchill, they draw on several Anglo-Indi- that provide direct access to the restau- Residences from `13,000 an names and references such as the White- rant, the rooftop bar ALT, Spa La Vie by field Arms, a quintessential British pub with L’Occitane, The Tribe fitness centre and access from the mall and the hotel. With a more. The spa with its luscious aromatic menu of steaks, leather seating and a map products and earthy décor will make you of old Whitefield, it is dunked in nostalgia. forget that a bustling mall is your closest The rooms, The Waverly Room, Studio, neighbour. The Relaxing Aromachologie Loft and Residences vary in sizes but keep Massage is a must-try with a blend of to minimalist theme with bare furniture, Swedish and Balinese massage techniques wallpaper, neutral drapes and wooden and Chinese acupressure to relieve strained flooring. Everything is geared towards muscles. The massage blend with essential simple, functional and clutter-free. Bath- oils of Lavender, Tea Tree, Geranium and a rooms though well-equipped with ameni- hint of Lemon Verbana will keep you THE ROOMS AT THE WAVERLY ARE CONTEMPORARY YET ties, have no shower curtains. We did miss fragrant and relaxed long after the charm COMFORTABLE the occasional personalisation that comes of retail therapy has waned.

32 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 A CITY OASIS TAJ, BANGALORE

GETTING THERE t is mid-afternoon and the floor to ceiling window in my room overlooks a gleam- A five-minute walk from the ing water body with flowering shrubs; the beautiful calm is a much-needed add on. Kempegowda International Welcome to the newest luxury address in town, the Taj Bangalore. The 156-room Airport and 26 km from property with a modern glass façade combines a contemporary design with a sprin- klingI of traditional elements. The sleek, cavernous lounge bears witness to a traditional the city lamp lighting ceremony at dusk each evening. The design and offerings keep in mind CONTACT the weary traveller looking for a good night’s rest and a delicious comforting meal. Ph 080660 03300 The cosy contemporary rooms come with little embellishments like silk throw taj.tajhotels.com pillows, exquisite lamps and pampering treats like a DIY soothing foot soak with detailed instructions on a personalised note. The large bathrooms have separate PRICES shower and toilet cubicles, a bathtub and space for vanities. Rooms from `8,500, The suites also have a selection of local snacks from Karnataka for midnight suites from `25,000 munching in addition to an all-day-breakfast menu at Café 77 East, the 24-hour coffee shop that draws its name from the longitude it stands on. For an authentic Indian meal head over to Tamarind that brings you cuisines from Punjab, Rajasthan and Awadh. Soi and Sake, the Asian speciality restaurant has a Sushi bar, Teppan grill and an exclusive wine tasting room. The hotel is also a great venue for weddings and events with a 9400 sq ft banquet hall and indoor locations for smaller soirees including one that overlooks the gleaming airport lights. Jiva, a holistic spa offers Ayurvedic treatments and steam rooms and traditional Indian massages like Champi (head massage) and Sammardana,

THE GLASS FACADE OF a relaxing and invigorating deep tissue massage. Compact, comfortable and THE TAJ BANGALORE contemporary, it’s the ideal city hotel.

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A HEDONIST’S THE BEAUMONT HOTEL AT MAYFAIR IS DELIGHT A PEEK INTO PARISIAN EXPLORE THE HIPPEST PLACES TO EAT AND THE TONIEST CRIBS LUXURY FROM TO STAY AND MAKE MERRY IN LONDON AND SCOTLAND THE ROARING BY RADHIKA BHALLA TWENTIES heightened sense of life surrounds oil on canvas paintings and photographs from London, with its towering architecture that era. The rooms spell comfort and Aand imperial references that offer indulgence, from the heated marble-and- a sense of familiarity. Yet the river-side city mosaic tiles in the bathroom to bespoke shakes the ennui ever so often, with a new toiletries by D R Harris (chemists to the hang-out mushrooming in a different part of British Royal Family since 1938). Be sure to THE COPPER DOG the capital, ever so often. While there is much try the pastries and almond croissants for AT CRAIGELLACHIE to discover, here’s our pick of the best. breakfast that are specially prepared in the SPELLS DELIGHT- wee hours of the morning every day. FUL RUSTIC CHARM PARISIAN FLAIR The most unique part is the ‘room without Tucked in a quiet corner of the posh Mayfair a view’ that sits above the entrance of the ho- district, The Beaumont Hotel is a tel. Built in cubist style by British sculptor Sir luxurious treat for those who enjoy Art Antony Gormley, the suite resembles a man Deco and Parisian vintage flair. The five-star seated on his haunches. It’s simply called the SEB JONES (LEFT) AND MALT MASTER boutique hotel was originally built in 1926 ROOM; it’s bereft of furniture, save for a bed BRIAN KINSMAN, by the famous architecture firm, Wimperis, and costs about £1,250 (`1.2 lakh) for a night. AT GLENFIDDICH, Simpson & Guthrie, with 23 studios/suites The complimentary drive in the vintage DUFFTOWN HAVE and 50 rooms. The Roaring Twenties are re- black Daimler car feels right out of a James CRAFTED A BRAND NEW IPA WHISKY imagined in many rooms and corridors, and Bond movie. It’s an experience unlike the guests-only Cub Room houses exceptional any another, as you slip back in time and

34 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 LONDON REINVENTS ITSELF EVERY FEW MONTHS, AND THERE IS MUCH TO DISCOVER IN THIS HAPPENING METROPOLIS

enjoy the ride. Room for two `39,207 for two per night For more details The Beaumont Hotel, 8 Balder- ton St, Brown Hart Gardens, Mayfair www.thebeaumont.com

SPIT OF THE SEA You may bump into Kate Moss, Harry Styles or Goldie Hawn at the hottest Asian fish and seafood restaurant, Sexy Fish located at Berkeley Square, Mayfair. It’s frequented by UK’s rich and glamorous, including former Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife. But the décor is far from opulent; it is smart, casual and the intention is to let the diner concentrate on the food. Luckily, there is a lot of good food to focus on, such as the delicate yet wholesome sea bream fillet and the most delicious rhubarb crumble ice cream whose flavours linger long after the ice cream melts. Art lovers have much to fuss over too, as it has one of the most expensive artworks ever commissioned for a restaurant. A massive wire and silicone crocodile by Frank Gerhy (who designed Walt Dis- ney Concert Hall and Guggenheim Museum, Spain) stands at 13 feet on the main wall. Meanwhile, two enchanting bronze mermaids by Damien Hirst adorn the corners of the bar top while the partially nude blue patina figures are caught in a delightfully ecstatic moment. The aquatic theme is echoed in the private dining room in the basement called The Coral Reef that even boasts a wall aquarium. Meal for two `6,500 without alcohol For more details Sexy Fish, Berkeley Square www.sexyfish.com

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SIMPLICITY AND FLAVOUR Michelin starred restaurant Dabbous on Whitfield Street, London is the place to go for a modern take on dining. The food is delicious yet simplistic, while the décor is industrial with metal, steer and wooden beams running across the two-storey set-up. The basement houses Oskar’s Bar that serves interesting cocktails like Sugar Plum Fairy with BarSol Pisco from Peru and Kamma...kammeleon with limited edition Kamm & Sons Islay cask and melon liqueur. The flavours are complex but refreshing with names inspired by 80s pop hits. The food is beautifully curated and the fact that one can taste the ingredients individually is testament to the chef ’s mastery. Meal for two Set lunch —three-course meal at £28 ( `2,321 approx) and four-course at £35( `2,902 approx), set dinner —£59 ( `4,892 approx) For more details Dabbous, 39 Whitfield St, Fitzrovia www.dabbous.co.uk

SCOTLAND t’s surprising how Scotland often gets overlooked on a typical itinerary, especially Iwhen its capital Edinburgh or Aberdeen are well within a two-hour flight from London. RELIVE THE DAYS OF THE GENTLEMAN’S CLUB WHILE AT THE COLONY GRILL ROOM AT THE BEAUMONT HOTEL, MAYFAIR.

A 13-FT-LONG WIRE AND SILICONE CROCODILE BY u 03 INDIA TODAY SPICE DECEMBER, 2016 FRANK GERHY ADORNS THE MAIN WALL AT SEXY FISH This northernmost stretch of the UK is truly Victoria Street, Speyside a visual spectacle with magnificent landscapes www.craigellachiehotel.co.uk that refresh the senses and leave you in awe. THE SPIRIT OF THINGS RUSTIC CHARM A drive through the Scottish countryside is The Craigellachie Hotel is a delightful simply idyllic—lush green hills dotted with boutique property in Speyside that offers the THE FOOD AT grazing sheep and local ‘coos’, and the crisp quaint magic of rustic Scotland. Great pains MICHELIN STARRED fresh air is the perfect balm for aching souls. have been taken to restore the building to its DABBOUS IS A MODERN The only way to complete it is by visiting former glory, which was built in 1893 with only TAKE ON TASTE AND one of the world-famous whisky distilleries. PRESENTATION 26 rooms and an unrestricted view of the In fact, the Glenfiddich distillery is a must- forest. Classic comfort are key words here, visit brewery at Dufftown. The venue is from the stay to the soul food served at Copper open for tours, which include several tast- Dog. This resto-pub with crackling fires, wood- ing sessions; in fact, you can even craft your en seating and live music is the perfect place to own version of a 15-year-old whisky, just the practice your Highland fling. way their Malt Master does it. The pride of the hotel is the famous Currently, the two most exciting concoctions whisky bar, Quaich Bar, that is home to over available there are the new Project XX and IPA 900 single-malt whiskys from around the world. Experiment single malt whiskies from their Get there between 6pm and 7:30pm to try Experimental Series. Try and set up a meeting the traditional Scottish punch, inspired from with Seb, the zany young beer brewer who has 18th and 19th century recipes. Meanwhile, the collaborated on the Indian Pale Ale concoction. private dining hall is an exercise in aristocratic If you’d like to flex some muscle, head down elegance with its beautiful pink, red and gold to the cooperage where wooden casks are still décor. Walk to the cast iron bridge, crossing made by hand, hammer and all. Later, satiate lavender and crop fields along the gently gush- those hunger pangs at the Malt Barn restaurant ing river Spey. You can go boating, biking or try that serves some local favourites with freshly clay pigeon shooting. The last week of April is sourced ingredients. a great time to visit when the Spirit of Speyside Meal for two `3,000 without alcohol whisky celebrations are in full swing. For more details The Glenfiddich Distillery, Stay for two `13,675 per night Dufftown, Banffshire For more details The Craigellachie Hotel www.glenfiddich.com

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A LEAP OF FLAVOURS AMARANTA AT THE OBEROI, GURGAON, OFFERS A FRESHLY TEJAS SOVANI ENGINEERED MENU, DEEPLY INSPIRED BY THE ICONIC, Executive Sous Chef, Amaranta, The Oberoi, Gurgaon MICHELIN-STARRED NOMA IN COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

hef Tejas Sovani, executive sous chef at Amaranta, The Oberoi Gurgaon Chas been Noma-fied—that’s how we describe him after his three-month stint at Chef René Redzepi’s two-Michelin-star restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark. The young chef is back in his kitchen cooking up an exciting storm of Indian flavours with a delicious contemporary twist. So while at his restaurant, don’t be surprised when you hear fancy culinary terms such as sous-vide, flash-grilled and dehydrated. Expect minimalist plating and maximalist flavours.

MY FOOD STORY After graduating in hotel management from the Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development (OCLD), I was inspired to give cooking my all; it became a passion, an obsession. I wanted to showcase the best of Indian flavours to an ever-evolving audience in a way that would wow them. All the executive chefs that I have worked with during my career have been my mentors. I feel there’s something I have learnt from each one of them—unique and inspiring— that has made me who I am today, a bold, playful and confident chef.

INDIAN WITH A TEJAS TWIST At Amaranta, we believe in personalising each interaction with our guests. We spend time explaining the menu and the finer nuances of the dishes such as the ingredients, method of preparation and the cuisine philosophy to them so that they feel for the food like we do. My personal style is what I call a

38 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 Inspired by him, at Amaranta I have a

‘play-ted menu’, blending authentic regional WILDERNESS, team of six regional cuisine specialists from recipes and unusual flavour pairings to cu- A CONFIT OF KING Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, rate a truly memorable experience. A meal MUSHROOM, Bengal and Rajasthan who have been hand- GREEN AND BLACK here is like a culinary journey in itself, where GRAM AND CURRIED picked from small-town eateries, to protect stories are told via food that is rooted in the COCONUT SAUCE the authenticity and simplicity of their cui- familiar but plated to play with your senses. sine. Their repertoire spans century-old rec- The menu is brimming with modern tech- ipes to recently evolved runaway successes. niques and ideas such as dehydration, sous- Attention to detail is everything. Forag- vide, fermentation and dehydration (things ing at Noma, for example, meant starting that I picked up during my training years) very early in the morning to source a list of but we make sure that the flavours are easily ingredients for the menu. We used to head identifiable and not lost in transition. out in our jumpsuits and gum boots accompanied by a few chefs who have a DIVERSITY IS THE NAME OF THE GAME degree in Botany, for our daily visits, so that The inspiration for the menu we have care- they could help us procure the best fully crafted is diverse–-from havelis in possible herbs and ingredients. Our discov- Lucknow and traditional “gams” in eries included wild berries, exotic varietals Saurashtra to the rarified classics of the Jain of plums, wild mushrooms, garlic flavoured Paryushan to the ‘deras’ of Punjab. So on GHIZAAYAT—MEAT Chantrelles and nettles that are grown in the new menu you can find dishes such as PATE CROQUETTES, the wild. It was quite an experience and LAMB IN PICKLING Kolkata Street Bento Box, Lal Maas SPICES, SPICED LAMB made me realise how important fresh Kachodi with Aloo Subzi, a Farsan medley BRAIN GOUGERS ingredients are for a chef. with Dabeli Bao, Khakra Crisps, Dhokla Pakodas and Chilli yogurt dip. CHANGING TIMES Today, the world has a whole new under- THE NOMA EXPERIENCE standing of Indian food, where individual To say that I enjoyed working with Chef regions are claiming the spotlight. I keep René Redzepi at Noma would be an exploring small town markets in search of understatement of the century. Rene is a key seasonal ingredients and authentic visionary and always breaks down a dish regional recipes that are coupled with from its grass-root level to dig deeper into constant experimentation for our menu. the history of the flora and fauna of that Chefs today have refined recipes, create particular region, and we present our new dishes, pay more attention to the menus at Amaranta in much the same way. quality of ingredients and sophisticated

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 39 COVER STORY I FOOD I COLUMN

presentation. One must know that no managed to grow beyond India. Marrying matter how successful you are in ingredients and creating something new THE KOLKATA STREET BOX WITH JHAL MURI, adapting your cuisine to suit foreign will always be the motto. And like all experi- ALOO KABULI, palates, all revolutions have to be ments, there has to be a right mix of instinct PHUCHKA, RADHA indigenous. Indian chefs are inspired to and intelligence. In the last 100 years, there BALLAVI AND GHUGNI curate menus primarily keeping Indian have been multiple lifestyle changes, in the guests in mind and are looking beyond the way the climate has changed, agriculture, usual dishes to create a revolution. farming and so on. It is important that we care for our ingredients. It’s crucial to pay BITE-SIZE EXPLOSIONS attention to the freshness and authenticity There’s a certain rhythm that underlines of the produce you work with. interesting storytelling with each dish in a tasting menu. Right from the fusillade of FAVOURITE DINING EXPERIENCE starters, one can enjoy bite-sized portions I have immense admiration for Chef Rene high on flavour, texture with elements of Redzepi of Noma for his food, for he has a surprise, each designed to give the guest a passion for experimentation and a love for glimpse of what’s to come. At Amaranta, our local seasonal ingredients like no other chef culinary philosophy is everlasting freshness, in the world. His playful deconstruction of with an ability to put a twist on recognisable dishes and the classical fine dining approach Indian flavours, and we want that to be the to fresh ingredients is awe-inspiring. My all- highlight in a guest’s dining experience. time favourite restaurant in the world is the renowned restaurant Mugaritz, tucked away GOING AHEAD in a quiet corner of Spain. The dining experi- Everyday cuisines are being discovered ence there is unlike any other —simple, and re-discovered. For example, the curry thoughtful use of ingredients and gorgeous has adapted to whichever environment it presentation. That is my food philosophy too. has been exposed to. And in a way, it has As told to Mohini Mehrotra

40 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017

ART I EXHIBITION CONTEMPORARY ARTIST JITISH KALLAT’S RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION SPANS 20 YEARS OF HIS WORK INCLUDING AQUASAROUS, EPLILOGUE AND SYZYGY AMONG OTHERS AT NGMA ODE TO A CITY ROTIS, COMMUTERS, ANGER, FRUSTRATION AND GRIDS MAKE UP JITISH KALLAT’S BODY OF WORK, INSPIRED BY A LIFE WELL LIVED

BY CHINKI SINHA

ight weary, sleeping men, their faces asleep and wakefulness in the eight commut- resting on each other’s shoulders, ers on a local train that inspired the installation. while their hands hold on to their Even though he always witnesses the commut- bags. They are strangers. Their ers on the local trains, yet the artist insists his eyes never stop darting around, in work isn’t about the city, although it is located betweenE that suspended moment of sleep and in a city. Even as they sleep with bent heads, wakefulness, a city dissolves. It then the figures clasp their bags, revealing a becomes the stage. degree of restlessness and awareness of their You see them at shoulder level, which is surrounding even in a state of near-surrender, what the focal range of viewing the world is, reads the curatorial note. according to the artist. Part of his retrospective exhibition called Here After Here After at the NGMA, A CITY IN TRANSIT opened in New Delhi last week. The installation “They are partly under surveillance. We think called Syzygy that means alignment of celestial they are travelling but there is a peculiar ten- objects, is an attempt to immortalise the city scenes sion between being asleep and holding on to that he grew up witnessing. Jitish Kallat, one of their things. Here, it is not about the train but India’s biggest contemporary artists, says it was things that we don’t see. Therefore, the work is the subtle and peculiar tension between being about the themes of life that unfold in a city—

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 43 ART I EXHIBITION

time, death, mortality and sustenance,” he scale at which we see the world. One might explains. There are grids represented in the look at the roti which could become the star scaffolding, which are indicative of change. fields or galaxies, a dense narrative of lives. It “It is either going up or going down. It has got everything to do with that question— is about transition. Cities are nothing but where do we come from?” many, many people, more than what the land can hold. Here, themes get exaggerated,” NOSTALGIA AND METAPHYSICS Kallat adds. Kallat’s emphasis is on returning hal- Therefore, cities also become the lucinations to the world. In Conditions playground for human endeavour to Apply, which traces the phases of the moon, immortalise things like bridges and trains. the artist has used nostalgia in order to These are products of imagination too. A immortalise what his father, who is no more, city is a repository and has its own language, witnessed. In Eternal Gradient, 365 rotis doc- THE 42-YEAR-OLD ARTIST HAS DELVED which is what the artist is trying to communi- ument the waxing and the waning of the INTO THE LIVES OF cate. This is located in many cities. This is also moon. They span the lifetime of his father. COMMUTERS, from one city, as a child wakes up to a city in a “It is the life and death epilogue through LABOURERS AND suburban neighbourhood and witnesses daily the moon my father saw. It permeates the SECURITY GUARDS AS A PART OF HIS life of ever-changing rhythm and cadence self, the city, the nation and perhaps the LIVED ENVIRONMENT and tries to make notes through drawings, cosmos,” he says. “This kind of cyclical interplay of time continues.” The exhibition features Kallat’s vast oeuvre ranging from his paintings, photographs, drawings, videos and sculptural installations. These represent 20 years of his work. Kallat grew up in Mumbai in the suburb of Borivli. But cities expand and distances close in. At 14, he was interested in metaphysical questions about life and death. “I might say I am trying to convey nothing. Objects are forms of inquiry,” he says. It is the gaze of the artist that defines his work—the different focal lengths co-exist in his work. Like most, he is also interested in the question of time. He is interested in its collapse, its density, its co-ordinates. In his 2005 work titled Artist Making Local Call, a 34-feet-tall, 360-degree panoram- ic view of a street in Mumbai, one can see him standing in a phone booth. In the photo, two people are crossing the road. There are two paintings and sculptures like when he freezes shadows in the image as well. The point is to a child selling magazines on the streets and show the collapse of time. “It is am and pm at instead of his feet, there are blocks to indicate the same time,” he says. “There is a rickshaw the homelessness and at the same time, there and a taxi colliding or seeming to collide. is a sense of belonging to the street, where The panorama was made of many pictures. he lives and works. That’s how elemental It is an urban march. It is condensed time. and sensitive his work is. Impeccable in its Hence, collisions.” documentation of the mundane and Catherine David, the curator, says it searching for metaphysical themes in a lived is the permanent tension between the environment, a city offers anonymity. prosaic and the other themes that mark And then there is the burden everyman the works of the artist. “They mean many carries in his pocket. Bulging with phones, things. It is all about the subtlety,” she IDs, money and who knows what else, these says. If nothing else, the exhibition truly commuters carry them along. makes you wonder about the burden of “All these images come from my lived the universe. The works conjure those environment,” Kallat says. “These are images people in our heads. They make for our cities in that come from shoulder height. That’s the our memory.

44 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 WATCH I PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

THE FIRST LANGE 1 WATCH

A TRYST WITH TIME WITH A PROVERBIAL PHOENIX-LIKE RISE, LUXURY WATCHMAKER A. LANGE & SÖHNE’S STORY OF REDEMPTION IS A LIVING COLLUSION OF HISTORY AND HOROLOGY

BY CHUMKI BHARADWAJ

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 45 WATCH I PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

istory is always partial to victors; making precious pocket watches (considered leaving those on the losing side to a highly coveted collectible to this day). But, Hcarve out their own narratives of the company, much like the city was appro- redemption and resurrection, much like in a priated after World War II, and nearly fell Martin Scorsese movie. The German city of into oblivion. It was only in 1990, following Dresden, almost all destroyed during World German reunification, that Walter Lange, War II is a fine example. But the city has Ferdinand A Lange’s great-grandson mus- proudly preserved its battle scars and black- tered up the courage to relaunch the brand. ened buildings, expropriating catastrophe as cultural reference. Mirroring the grit of this GERMAN HERITAGE great city is German watchmaking brand A. But he chose to blaze his own trail and Lange & Söhne. No wonder the brand chose despite all the prominent watch makers being to open their first boutique in Dresden in based in Switzerland, Walter Lange decided 2007. But that was the second coming. to manufacturer in its home of Glashütte, to

THE LANGE 1 For the back story, rewind to Ferdinand commemorate his ancestors. He named the MOON PHASE IN Adolph Lange, a Dresden watchmaker, who new company A. Lange & Söhne (meaning PINK GOLD established his watch manufactory in 1845, sons) and, together, with a group of watchmakers, began to produce fine timepieces introducing their first range just four years later. Today, in just over 22 years, Lange crafts a few thousand wristwatches only in gold or platinum a year, but their lavishly decorated proprietary movements, almost entirely assembled by hand, ensure their position among the watchmaking greats. In order to compete with the historic brands of Switzerland in such a small time frame, the brand has focused a great deal on producing complicated timepieces. One of the biggest assets Walter Lange had was that he had inherited his great-grandfather’s notebook— A virtual roadmap— that contained the drawings for a number of his inventions and never-produced ideas as well. Perhaps it was this great partnership between the book’s traditional craftsmanship and technical advancement and design that has produced the ripples in haute horology. Deeply attached to their German heritage, the brand also took another detour DEFINING MOMENTS

The Lange Watch- On December7 making School Walter Lange, was established. On December 7, great grandson More than 100 Lange began to The new manu- F. A. Lange found- of F.A. Lange watchmakers, produce balance Lange watch- factory building ed the manufac- founded Lange who have suc- springs in-house; makers crafted boasts 5,400 sq tory “Lange & Uhren GmbH cessfully com- a process so one of the most mt of additional Cie.”, laying the and registered pleted the three complex that only A. Lange & Söhne complicated space to allow for foundation for fine the A. Lange & year apprentice- very few manu- opened its first wristwatches: the the improvement watchmaking in Söhne trademark ship, work at the factories have boutique in Grand Complica- of production Saxony worldwide Lange workshop mastered them Dresden tion. processes

1845 1990 1997 2003 2007 2013 2015

46 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017 and in an arc formation, signed their watches manufacturers. The best thing about this dif- “Glashütte i/SA” meaning “in Saxony”; a bold ference is that it lends the Lange watches a THE NEW MANUFACTORY move for a previously unknown watchmaker IN GLASHÜTTE visually distinct sheen. Lange prides itself on since the only watchmakers who indicated a very distinctive German appearance that’s where a watch was produced were the ones focused on a simple aesthetic, clean lines and in Switzerland that famously marked their asymmetric stylings. Schmid explains: “Our timepieces with the “Swiss Made” hallmark. brand has two faces; when you see a highly In the year 2000, the brand became part complicated watch, it is legible, technical, of the Richemont Group now employing with a clean design; if you consider that it is close to 500 people, half of whom are watch- a perpetual calendar, has an outsized date, makers. “We have 60 apprentices training to and a flyback chronogragh, you need a bit become watchmakers to ensure that there is a of space. So it’s clean and very engineered future for fine watch making because without in a way. The entire picture changes when watchmakers there would be no watchmak- I turn it around. Now you see the opulence ing,” says CEO, Wilhelm Schmid. of the movement; the decoration, tiny little details and you understand how complex A LEGACY OF PRIDE and difficult the watch is. We don’t produce It is this obsessive attention to detail and watches for people who need products to tell craftsmanship that has distinguished the others how important they are. Our custom- brand and established its reputation of un- ers immediately know what a Lange stands paralleled technical ingenuity and a degree for; they don’t want to show off. An American of perfection that can only be achieved by once told me, our brand represents ‘stealth hand. “Every single little part of our watches, wealth’. You can have 300,000 euros around whether you see it or not, is decorated, hand Producing fine your wrist and no one will recognise it.” polished, and treated with our love for detail. Discreet yet distinctive, the brand added To the best of my knowledge, this is not done men’s watches another accolade in December 2016 dur- anywhere else so there is no distinction in is what keeps ing their Jubilee event, launching another quality whether it is the Grand complication us ticking in model of the Lange 1 Moon Phase, one of or the Saxonia thin, the level of involvement the morning the most successful watch families, with a and craftsmanship is the same. Of course, the model featuring the popular astronomical level of complexity will rise with the price but and helps us complication. It has now been endowed not the quality,” claims Schmid. sleep at night. with a new movement that combines the Some of the brand’s greatest successes We do produce moon-phase display with a day/night indica- that have become icons include models such tor. On the disc, the different times of day as the Lange 1 (the most important and rep- women’s are represented by varying hues of blue; resentative of this German manufacture) with watches but during the day, it shows a bright sky without the first outsize date in a series produced they are not stars, while at night it depicts a dark sky with wristwatch as well as the Zeitwerk (Lange’s prominently contrasting laser-cut stars. first watch with a digital display) with su- our target While aiming for the stars has long premely legible, precisely jumping numerals. group. We are a been a Lange ambition, the brand remains All of the movements produced by the very masculine proudly rooted in its heritage. Trek the marque are made from German silver, an untracked by all means but forgo the past at allow of copper and nickel, as opposed to brand.” your own peril, for legends deliver the final plated brass used by the well known Swiss Wilhelm Schmid, CEO verdict on history.

FEBRUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 47

LASTLOOK

POWER OF BLACK Black, matte, and bold, this watch is sleek and masculine at the same time; a tall order for any accessory for men. What’s more, this is the first time that TAG Heuer has introduced a full ceramic chronograph, including the bracelet, for men. The TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer-01 was first presented at Baselworld two years ago, for this 2017 version, this fine chronograph has been entirely produced using matt black ceramic. Apart from unparalleled scratch-resistance, this material offers a micro-blasted finish for a flawless deep black design. To compliment the contemporary look, the ceramic bracelet comes with H-shaped links and matt finishes, and is comfortable to boot. the best part about ceramic is that it is incredibly hard, yet soft to touch and highly scratch-resistant, keeps its original colour, and does not oxidise. Also, it is hypoallergenic and lighter than steel. Now that’s what you call versatile. Price on request; Availability brand outlets across the country

50 INDIA TODAY SPICE u FEBRUARY, 2017

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SIMPLY PUNJABI Inside

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Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie Group Chief Executive Officer Ashish Bagga COVER STORY Group Editorial Director My Space, My Mind 2 Raj Chengappa Region’s prominent archi- Editor-at-Large Kaveree Bamzai tects and interior design- Group Creative Editor ers on the latest trends Nilanjan Das that are ruling the home Group Photo Editor decor scene. Bandeep Singh I THEATRE Editorial Team Mohini Mehrotra, Ursila Ali Striving for Photo Department Excellence 8 Vikram Sharma The importance of Photo Researchers keeping mediocres away Prabhakar Tiwari, Shubhrojit Brahma from theatre. Art Director Jyoti Singh BUZZ Design Vikas Verma, Into The City 16 Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma 12 things to look Production Harish Aggarwal (Chief of Production), forward to. Naveen Gupta, Vijay Sharma, Prashant Verma Layout Execution Cover photo by Sandeep Sahdev Ramesh Gusain, Pradeep Singh Bhandari I Publishing Director Manoj Sharma Associate Publisher (Impact) OUR PICK of the month Anil Fernandes I One for the IMPACT TEAM Senior General Manager: Bibliophiles Jitendra Lad (West) General Managers: February 9 to12 Upendra Singh (Bangalore); Bookworms rejoice! The Velu Balasubramaniam (Chennai) Chandigarh Book Fair is Kaushiky Chakraborty (East) back with a wide range of books from all the leading Volume 13 Number 2; publishers. This book February 2017 Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All rights bonanza has something to reserved throughout the world. Reproduction offer to all age groups, in any manner is prohibited. Published & Printed by students, teachers, Manoj Sharma on behalf of Living scholars, authors and book Media India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited, lovers alike. 18 - 35, Milestone, Delhi - Mathura Road, Faridabad - 121 007, At Parade Ground, (Haryana). Published at Chandigarh K - 9, Connaught Circus, New Delhi - 110 001. Editor: Kaveree Bamzai Want to tell us about an event? A new store? A restaurant? People doing interesting things? G India Today does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited publication material. Anything newsworthy? Please email us at: [email protected]

FEBRUARY 2017 N SIMPLY PUNJABI 1 SIMPLY PUNJABI Cover Story MY SPACE,

s-12 SIMPLY HYDERABAD N AUGUST 2014 REGION’S PROMINENT ARCHITECTS AND INTERIOR DESIGNERS REVEAL THAT PEOPLE ACROSS THE REGION WANT TO BE ENVELOPED BY SPACES WITH SIGNATURE DESIGNS REFLECTING THEIR PERSONALITIES AND NOT RUN-OF-THE-MILL IDEAS INFLUENCED BY FADS I ByBy SUKANT DEEPAK MY SPACE, MY MIND

RUNWAY IN THE ROOM Early Years Bachelors in Interior Design from Ra es Design Institute, Singapore, 2011. Why Design? Design brings out the artist in me. It inspires me to push the creative boundaries. To me, it is a limitless medium to realise my true potential. Been Around For Six years

Clients are forcing us to push our boundaries by asking for more originality. AMANAT GREWAL

Photograph by SANDEEP SAHDEV

AUGUST 2014 N SIMPLY HYDERABAD s-12 SIMPLY PUNJABI Cover Story

TRENDING NOW BACK TO Amanat Grewal, 26 THE SOIL Interior Designer, Chandigarh rewal feels that trends in Early Years Commerce graduate from interior design now seem MCM, Chandigarh (1996) design to mimic those on fash- course Exim, Chandigarh in ion runways, translating G 2006. themselves on to fabrics, wallpa- pers, and cushions, etc., thereby Why Design? transforming homes into style “The satisfaction of deciphering statements. “The entire plethora someone’s abstract ideas and of green, from lime to emerald, is ﬁne-tuning them with your own highly visible. Textures are in and sensibilities.” can be seen across mediums—from Been Around furniture, ﬁxtures, fabrics to wall- For 14 years papers. Marble and brass continue to dominate as materials of choice for both kitchens and bathrooms,” People are she says. The interior designer says that an increasing number of moving away from house owners are asking for quirky accessories and lighting, vases and lamps. Grewal materials that shout is happy that designers are getting to assert themselves. “Thankfully, ‘I am expensive’. uniqueness is becoming a norm and MONITA BHARDWAJ

Photograph by SANDEEP SAHDEV DESIGNS OF AN ARTIST Early Years Studied Masters in Fine Arts from Kent University, England. Graduated 2002. Why Design? “It completes me and makes me feel alive.” Been Around For 15 years

I don’t give them what they want, but what they need. GAURI SHARMA

Photograph by SANDEEP SAHDEV

weaves incorporated in fabrics and nobody is asking for design ideas art work divorced from over-the-top that are indiscriminately repeated elements. in home after home. This helps us push boundaries of interior design,” she says. TRENDING NOW Gauri Sharma TRENDING NOW Chandigarh/Andretta (Himachal Monita Bhardwaj, 41 She makes it clear that she is an Interior Designer, Chandigarh DESIGN DETAILING artist ﬁrst. That she does not take More About Me instructions from clients.That Bhardwaj is witnessing a detox Studied Bachelors in Architecture design is an offshoot of art. “I don’t from digitised expressions in design from Giani Zail Singh College, give them what they want, but to embracing of naturalness and Bathinda. what they need.” The artist/interior imperfect forms, both in terms of designer says that more and more Why Design? materials and spaces in contempo- people are now divorcing run-of- “The fact that historic reference, rary times. “And thank God for that. the-mill ‘pretty ideas’, and want context and design intervention I always have clients who are ask- spaces that reﬂect their person- are key ingredients that work in ing for signature interiors. I am glad alities. “Shades of pink, greys are tandem to create an experiential that more people are approaching ruling in more eco-friendly spaces design fascinates me no end.” me and asking me to experiment which boast of organic structures, with materials that are earthy and Been Around less material and more of nature. close to nature in their living spac- For 14 years Clear backgrounds and intense es.” Pointing out that many people colours thrown around are popular. in Punjab and Chandigarh are I like the fact that people are open moving away from materials that It is encouraging to bohemian and poetic display and shout ‘I am expensive’ and are to see clients asking for want to create a page straight out looking for age-old patterns and a sustainable and ethical of romanticism. Frankly, surreal approach to design. NOOR DASHMESH SINGH FEBRUARY 2017 N SIMPLY PUNJABI 5 SIMPLY PUNJABI Cover Story

Photograph by SANDEEP SAHDEV

spaces ﬂanked by individually BACK TO BASICS crafted pieces are what people are Early Years TRENDING NOW looking out for,” she says. Bachelors in Architecture, CEPT, Preeti Agnihotri, 53 Ahmedabad. Graduated in 1987. Architect, TRENDING NOW Been Around For Chandigarh 30 years “I have a no ﬂuff approach with Noor Dashmesh Singh, 36 Why Design? integrity towards the process of Architect, Chandigarh “Because it promises such an shaping an idea realised through Singh says that over the years, exhilarating experience when the understanding of the essence he has noticed a shift in the way you watch something that only of the project at hand. So, I am people are making design choices. existed in your head come to life not really sure if I am the right “People have developed an appe- and become an integral part of person you have approached,” tite for environmentally-conscious someone else’s life. It oers an says Agnihotri. The architect designs which are rich by virtue of opportunity to create something laments that man clients come their design detailing and not just beautiful as well as something with their own outsourced deisgns expensive materially.” Stressing that that is of tangible use.” treating architects like draftsmen. even the cash-rich belts of north However, she adds that the saving India are now open to letting go of grace is that today, many of the expensive wood veneering on wall Living working clients are looking beyond fads surfaces, Italian and other imported spaces are not just and understanding that any stone claddings, etc, Singh adds, building which is conceived and “As compared to a decade ago, it is structures but things realised in response to its location, encouraging to see clients asking for which meaningfully surroundings, and the needs of a sustainable and ethical approach touch all sensory the people who are going to use and local sourcing to creating soft, it will be the in vogue and remain soothing and rich spaces rather impusles. ‘fashionable’ for all times than a mere assembly of brands.” PREETI AGNIHOTRI to come.

6 SIMPLY PUNJABI N FEBRUARY 2017 Photograph by PURNESH DEV NIKHANJ

SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE TRENDING NOW More About Me Name Badrinath Completed B.Arch from IIT Kaleru, 30 Roorkee in 2009 Architect, Chandigarh Why Design “People are fast opening up to “I love the concept of sustainable architecture. Clients balance. For me, design are demanding courtyards in is about understanding their spaces and asking for inter- need, desire and linking of inner and outer spaces requirement of the to provide fresh air and break- client. Finding the fine out spaces for the users in terms balance between the of both visual and functional three and understanding break,” says Kaleru. The archi- my responsibility to fulfill tect also says that more people the same is what keeps are demanding multilevel car me excited about this parking’s for commercial malls, profession.” etc. “Thanks to the fact citizens in this part of the country are well-travelled.” Kaleru adds, “Building designs are no longer People are monotonous with single tones fast opening up but boast of options for cladding to sustainable systems ranging from vertical gardens to natural stones in dif- architecture. ferent finishes to clay tiles and BADRINATH KALERU exposed brick facades.” Theatre director Anuradha Kapur s-12 SIMPLY HYDERABAD N AUGUST 2014 THEATRE SIMPLY PUNJABI

STRIVING For Excellence SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI AWARD RECIPIENT, THEATRE DIRECTOR ANURADHA KAPUR TALKS ABOUT THE NEED FOR POROUS BORDERS BETWEEN VARIED ART FORMS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING MEDIOCRES AWAY.

I By SUKANT DEEPAK Shakespeare’s The Tempest along with Lillete Dubey. All for small theatre rep- aried hues from different THE GREATEST ertory companies in different parts of art forms come together in the country, Kapur, the author of Actors, her work. Poetry of painting THEATRE ALWAYS Pilgrims, Kings and Gods: The Ramlila effortlessly comes together COMES WITH STATE of Ramnagar (University of Chicago with a gush of words and SUPPORT. NOT Press (2006), feels that people must go Vsilences. It is clear that she likes to see back to their own roots after adequate herself in uninformed spaces, dysfunc- CORPORATE training. “A huge number of trained the- tional meetings. And that is where she NONSENSE. atre people from different regions want feels essentially alive. to stick it out in Mumbai or other met- Delhi-based theatre director ros. Where is the space?” Anuradha Kapur, a two-time (2007- While agreeing that it is exciting to 2013) director of the prestigious see large number of theatre festivals bur- National School of Drama in the A CERTAIN geoning in India, the director well-known country’s capital, says that she has ATMOSPHERE OF for her works like Sundari: An Actor always liked art forms where there is Prepares, Ghar aur Bahar, Umrao and no single authorship, where there is FEAR IS BEING Romeo and Juliet, adds, “But it is impor- an expanded field of dialogue and no CREATED—A WHOLE tant to remember that several young and comfort. “Porous borders between dif- ARMY OF TROLLS promising directors are seldom invited ferent art forms, observing how they there. Let us stop playing safe by inviting come together with their similarities WILL BE UNLEASHED only major directors. We have to encour- and stalk differences, takes the work THE MOMENT YOU age the brilliance of the young.” to a level where meanings emerge in Mention all the talk by several multitudes.” This, she says, is what MAKE A STATEMENT Mumbai-based directors about the indis- has been keeping her excited all these AGAINST THE pensability of corporate support in the- three decades in theatre. “From 1990 GOVERNMENT. atre, and she is quick to say, “Not that onwards, I have collaborated exten- I am against it in principle. However, sively with visual artists, filmmakers the best theatre always happens under and sculptors. I just don’t want predict- state’s patronage. Not under corporate ability as the end result,” says the 2004 nonsense. Corporates need to under- recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi THE BEST THEATRE stand that there is much more to this award for Theatre Direction. than mere entertainment. It gets on my And the criticism from ‘puritans’ HAPPENS UNDER nerves when these young corporate that follows her work is brushed aside STATE’S PATRON- types, who can’t even spell literature, with a smile. “What is new about it? AGE. CORPORATES talk in that I-know-all tone.” I am quite used to it. The problem Kapur, who has always been vocal is that Indian realism has predeter- NEEDS TO UNDER- about the appointment of under-qual- mined the nature of the hut. It has STAND THAT THERE ified heads to various art institutions also done its interiors. Yes, I believe IS MUCH MORE TO under the present central government, in excess, and not the so-called mod- says, “It is the business of institutions ern business,” she says during the THIS THAN MERE to ask difficult questions. You can’t Serendipity Arts Festival held in Goa in ENTERTAINMENT. have a person there who, like in a December 2016, where she presented guru-shishya parampara expects his the contemporary reinterpretation of feet to be touched constantly.”

Photograph by SANDEEP SAHDEV FEBRUARY 2017 N SIMPLY PUNJABI 9 SIMPLY PUNJABI ART For the LOVE OF ART SATINDER SATTI, CHAIRPERSON OF THE PUNJAB ARTS COUNCIL ON THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HER APPOINTMENT

I By SUKANT DEEPAK

oet and anchor Satinder so-called experienced people as soon as she came in, her Satti, who took over who have failed to do anything priority was to get a system in as chairperson of the for the artists? I was deeply hurt. place. “Staff members were Punjab Arts Council in Everybody just brushed aside my reintroduced to their responsibili- October 2015 has 16 years of contribution. Where ties and a team of experts from Pmanaged to convince the Punjab is it written that only those who different fields was put into place. government to pass an order that have crossed their prime are For example, theatre director makes it mandatory for multi- equipped to handle a responsible Kewal Dhaliwalwas was made plex owners in Chandigarh and position?” president of the Theatre and Punjab to screen at least one show Stressing that her aim is to Folklore Department, and photog- of Punjabi films in a day. “This make the Punjab Arts Council rapher Diwan Manna president will be instrumental in giving a a bridge between artists and the of the Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi. boost to young filmmakers who state government, Satti says that Also, when I came in, the Council are not backed by powerful pro- didn’t have enough funds. In just a ducers. The younger generation few months, I ascertained that our of Punjabi filmmakers have been annual grant was released.” pleading for a long time for Planning to introduce fellow- dedicated shows in multiplexes,” ships for budding artists and pro- she says. viding space for free workshops, However, for this 39-year-old Satti is all set to build a computer poet and anchor, originally from room and meeting room for artists Batala in Punjab, who has repre- Many so-called at the premises. Talk to her about sented the state in different inter- “ the lack of cultural policy in the national artistic forums, taking established Punjabi state, and she is quick to say, over as chairperson of the Punjab artists complained “I have been exhorting the gov- Arts Council in Chandigarh was ernment for quite some time for marked by much criticism. “Many that I was too young for this.” The poet and anchor says so-called established Punjabi this post. They insisted that the same will help in clearly artists complained that I was too defining the government’s role young for this post. They insisted that I would not be able and responsibilities towards art that I would not be able to do and culture and its practitioners. justice to the position. All this, to do justice to the “We will soon have a panel from even before I entered the office. position. different fields—theatre, film, I just don’t understand how can ” dying arts, budding and experi- talent and intelligence be directly SATINDER SATTI, enced artists and experts in trans- CHAIRPERSON, proportionate to age? Hasn’t lation, who will come forward PUNJAB ARTS COUNCIL this organisation seen several with their suggestions.”

s-12 SIMPLY HYDERABAD N AUGUST 2014 Satinder Satti

Photograph by SANDEEP SAHDEV

AUGUST 2014 N SIMPLY HYDERABAD s-12 SIMPLY PUNJABI MUSIC “I AM NOT IN THE RACE” PUNJABI SINGER JASBIR JASSI FEELS THIS IS THE PUNJABI MUS IC INDUSTRY’S DARKEST HOUR MUSIC HAS BEEN continuing decline in the qual- MY COMPANION ity of music sung by new-age EVER SINCE I WAS Punjabi singers to lack of train- 16 YEARS OLD. ing, zero exposure to the lives NOT IN THE RACE” It has ruled my sensibilities, and works of masters and aim- made me smile, given me solace less existence where fame and PUNJABI SINGER JASBIR JASSI FEELS THIS IS THE PUNJABI MUS IC INDUSTRY’S DARKEST HOUR in the darkest phases of my life. money takes precedence over But what I have been witness- everything else. Not just singing in the past 10 years in the ers, music companies are to be Singer Jasbir Jassi Punjabi music industry has been blamed equally. There seems to nothing short of traumatic. be a competition between them There was a time when music to present vulgarity and glorify from this state was associated drugs. They pressurise people with great verses of masters like us to sing the kind of songs like Bulle Shah. It would always that will be ‘popular’. touch you somewhere deep. Folk No, I am not competing ruled everywhere. Music was with anyone. I am not even in about stories of everyday life in the race, not because I consider the hinterland. About innocence myself superior. Just that, in the lost and found. Punjabi music industry it has Not anymore. become all about touching new Contemporary Punjabi depths of being crass. In today’s music is a classic example of times, I feel ashamed of being what is wrong with the Punjabi called a Punjabi singer. society. From vulgar lyrics to The young here love Bhagat men brandishing revolvers and Singh and put his posters every- swords in videos, not to mention where. But it is the one in which the scantily clad women, this is he carries a revolver. Ask this Punjabi music industry’s darkest generation of people who listen hour. Sadly, nobody is bothered. to contemporary Punjabi pop No one wants to do anything about the books the freedom about it. There has been so much fighter quoted from and you will talk about drugs in this state. draw a blank. One should attend Now we have a mainstream film the parties and weddings of the on this too. But has anybody so-called cultured in Punjab. I heard the lyrics of contemporary can bet no DJ will miss playing songs played in houses and Honey Singh. clubs in Punjab where chitta Take my word for it, this is is glorified, smack is the shortcut just the beginning. Things will to nirvana and alcohol consump- worsen. In the years to come, we tion is the only sign of being a will witness a steep and continu- true man? What have we ing decline. I am just worried come to? about the children. The kind of All that the new-age pop books and music we listen to singers want is instant fame. shape us and remain with us our And they know that this is going entire lives. Ever wondered the to bring them under the spot- kind of youngsters we will have a light immediately. Yes, thanks to decade down the line roaming in Google, they have an idea about the streets of Punjab? who Waris Shah was. The question is, have they read Heer? Do As told to Sukant Deepak they understand the multiple (Jasbir Jassi is a well-known dimensions of legendary texts of Punjabi singer who quit our folk music? How much time engineering to study music. His and energy are they willing to popular albums include Dil Le SANDEEP SAHDEV spend on lyrics that go beyond Gayee (1998), Kudi Kudi (1999), the frivolous? Nishani Pyar Di (2001), Bhangra

Photograph by I would attribute the (2011) and Dhol (2014)

FEBRUARY 2017 N SIMPLY PUNJABI 13 SIMPLY PUNJABI DANCE

Dancer and choreographer Mandeep Raikhy SANDEEP SAHDEV

Photograph by STEPPING UP FOR A CAUSE DANCER AND CHOREOGRAPHER MANDEEP RAIKHY ON HIS LATEST PRODUCTION QUEEN SIZE I By SUKANT DEEPAK

14 SIMPLY PUNJABI N FEBRUARY 2017 SIMPLY PUNJABI DANCE

woman dressed in years of our cultural history.” black, with cropped Talk to him about the fact that hair and no make-up the protests mostly saw writ- is part of the audi- ers returning the awards and ence. She keeps speaking out against the gov- smilingA at the two actors who ernment and he is quick to add, display no inhibitions about “I can speak only for dancers. their anatomy. Shirts and trou- But yes, that is what happened. sers come off and male bodies Maybe it is to the fact that they in all their glory move on the I THINK I AM ABLE are heavily dependent on the rickety charpai placed in the TO ARTICULATE state for resources. And when intimate auditorium at theatre we talk about dance in India, director Neelam Mansingh’s BEST THROUGH what comes to mind is the clas- house in Chandigarh. There is THE BODY AS I sical tradition, something not rhythm and also an intelligent really associated with dissent. lack of it. While she watches AM DEEPLY I wanted to change that with Delhi-based dancer and cho- CONNECTED TO IT. Queen Size.” reographer Mandeep Raikhy’s Lamenting the lack of pro- Queen Size, a choreographic IT CAN BECOME fessional training facilities in response to Section 377, she contemporary dance, Raikhy almost bursts out laughing MY LANGUAGE TO says that those interested as soon as Arnab Goswami’s SPEAK IN. either have to go in the classi- voice booms in the background cal fold or shift abroad. “There as part of the fantastic sound is nothing in the middle, some- design. Anti-climax? thing which is highly problem- A few hours earlier, sitting atic. When we come back with in the glorious January winter N a different skill set, we also sun, 36-year-old Raikhy, who imbibe alien metaphors, mak- completed his BA in Dance ing it tough for us to translate Theatre from Trinity Laban them into local means to reﬂect Conservatoire of Music and the social reality here.” Dance, UK, in the year 2002, IT IS REALLY SAD Raikhy smiles when ‘art in says that he shares a complex the time of Modi’ is brought relationship with dance. “I THAT DANCE AS up. “It is really surprising that think I am able to articulate AN ART FORM HAS the present regime has man- best through the body as I am aged to induce so much fear. deeply connected to it. It has ALWAYS BEEN However, I believe that the only become my language to speak CLINICALLY way one can truly be an artist in, my sense to decipher what is through resistance? ” goes around,” he says, almost APOLITICAL, While the conversation dreamily. MAYBE BECAUSE shifts towards his much-talked To Raikhy, the idea of about previous play A Male Queen Size—a reaction to IT BEARS THE Ant Has Straight Antennae, a Section 377 that makes homo- BURDEN OF 4000 project that explored mascu- sexuality criminal in India— linity, he elaborates, “Through came when a number of major YEARS OF OUR dance, we constructed and writers returned their awards deconstructed many layers of in the face of growing intoler- CULTURAL HISTORY. masculinity—looking at the ance in the country. “That was body and scanning it for gen- also the start of agitations at der construction. It was about JNU. I felt dance must respond how slight changes in the to social context. It is really human body— touch, gait, and sad that dance as an art form glance deﬁne gender; how it has always been clinically apo- is shaped by the society and at litical, maybe because the same time very personal to it bears the burden of 4000 an individual.”

SIMPLY PUNJABI Buzz

1 RUN FOR FITNESS February 12 The much-awaited Punjab Half Marathon is here. Dust your running shoes and do your health a favour by being part of this event. Organised by Thrill Zone, this marathon aims to promote the running culture in Chandigarh. AT Chandigarh Club TEL 01722743388 THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO

2 SHOP IN STYLE February 25 and 26 Get ready to usher in the summers with a big bang. Fashion Fiesta Summer 2017 promises to have an amazing display of summer clothing, footwear, bags and lots more. AT JW Marriott Hotel, Chandigarh TEL 01723955555 3 HOUSE PROUD February 10 to 13 If you are looking for the best premium and branded home decor products, head to the Home Decor exhibition. This event will showcase upholstery, framed artworks, wooden artefacts, metal sculptures, lamps, curios and much more. AT Parade Ground, Chandigarh

16 SIMPLY PUNJABI N FEBRUARY 2017 5 CUPID COMES CALLING February 14 Make this Valentine’s Day truly special for your loved one. Head to Hyatt Regency Ludhiana to enjoy a special poolside dinner or buet at Kitchen at 95 with mouth- watering dishes for the occasion. MEAL FOR TWO Rs 3,999 AT Hyatt Regency Ludhiana TEL 91 8284000249 TIME 7 p.m. onwards

4 DIY DESSERTS 6 STITCH IN February 8 to 10 TIME Gift your loved ones Looking for a pie-de-resistance in decadent chocolates and your house? Get hold of this multi desserts made by you at panelled umbrella from 1469 to Black and Tan Chocolatiers. grab eyeballs. Made out of 365 So grab your apron and whip patches of Phulkari, this hand up strawberry heart cake, embroider antique baagh, called blueberry cheesecake, wine Maavan Thandiyan Chhavan, trues and more. speaks of Punjab’s rich culture. AT Black and Tan togetherness of the region. Chocolatiers, 1154, Sector PRICE Rs 25,000 36C, Chandigarh AT Bridge Market, 17D, SECTOR 17D, Sector 17, Chandigarh

7 WAKHRA SWAG February 10 to 13 Wakhra Swag, as the name suggests, is a Punjabi theme based fashion and lifestyle exhibition where people can shop for western and traditional wear, jewellery, fashion, accessories, bags and footwear. AT Himachal Bhawan, Sector 28, Chandigarh TEL 09417441468

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9 DATE WITH DESIGN February 24 to 27 Wanting to redo your home? Head straight to the Interior and Exterior Show. The event will showcase products like murals, shades and curtain accessories, carpets, rugs and ﬂoor coverings, furnishing fabrics and accessories, etc. AT Parade Ground, Chandigarh

10 8 WEDDING WOWS ROLL February 11 and 12 WITH ZAKIR Are the wedding bells ringing in your family? Then make sure you KHAN head to the wedding event at Chandigarh Club. Choose from a large February 10 variety of traditional products and services that will take care of all your wedding related needs. Just Comedy 2.0 is hosting ‘Zakir AT Chandigarh Club, Khan Live’. This ‘confused desi’ serves Sector 1, Chandigarh up his take on modern India. Known to tackle issues that eect people, Khan’s charm lies in the fact that his content is highly relat- able. AT Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh TEL 01722724278 TIME 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

11 LUXE VIBES February 15 to 16 Vintage Fair, a two-day exclusive luxury lifestyle exhibition will showcase high-end luxe lifestyle products. The event promises to oer exclusive deals on all high-end products such as designer wear, jewellery, home décor products, furniture and accessories. So get ready to go on a decadent shopping spree this February. AT J W Marriott Hotel, Chandigarh 12 NEW IN TOWN/ PEDDLERS UNDER THE BREW ESTATE A GRUB FEST Peddlers Under The Brew Estate is the place to be in Tricity

hen two giants join hands, the result can be lethal. “Considering the emerging demand forW a multi variety lounge in the city, Peddlers and The Brew Estate have got together to launch a premium outlet for the youth of the city. From live music to freshly brewed beverages and exciting food menu, we have it all. We are excited to share this new space with our guests to experience two different brands under one roof,” says Sehajbir Singh Sidhu, managing director, The Brew Estate. Peddlers Under The Brew Estate, which has opened in Chandigarh’s Sector 26 promises to offer a never-before experience to patrons—from interiors inspired by English and Irish architecture to an interesting amalgamation in food. Peddlers is also offering MRP* nights every Monday and Tuesday for its guests to enjoy alcoholic beverages at discounted prices. “We are really excited to bring Peddlers Under The Brew Estate to the residents of the Tri-city. The new outlet is all about new and exhilarating changes. It is time to experience a whole new level of madness in the city. So get your party shoes on, because we have a lot in store for you,” says Vipul Dua, managing director, Peddlers. AT SCO 25, Basement, Sector 26, Chandigarh AT 01723349387

FEBRUARY 2017 N SIMPLY PUNJABI 19 SIMPLY PUNJABI Buzz THE FITNESS FIX Yoga asanas that will keep you hale and hearty

oga continues to be the hottest fitness trend GUEST COLUMN does not really need a huge wad of amongst health enthusiasts, with people across cash to understand and practice this age-groups immersing themselves in this ancient form. Commitment and honesty are Indian healing science. Its widespread popularity the key. If you prefer the privacy of Ycan be attributed to the fact that not only does it lead to a your home, there are several asanas physical metamorphosis, but is also instrumental in low- you can do on your own. Regularly ering stress levels, something which everyone in the con- practicing the below mentioned ones temporary times desperately needs. Think carefully, we MEENAKSHI will not only increase your flexibility contract diseases when we ignore the body and mind. The but also help maintain weight, lower practice of yoga is all about focussing one’s attention on Yoga Instructor blood pressure, normalise heart beat his/her body and ensuring that the inner self starts taking and calm the nerves. care of the external and vice-versa. Tadasana Stand upright. Feel your weight on both legs. For centuries, regular practitioners of yoga have been Keep your chest open and raise your arms, interlocking speaking about its ability to make body flexible and we all the fingers and allowing yourself to stretch to one side. know that a flexible body is inherently attentive and can Repeat on the other side. therefore carry out important functions like breathing, Gomukh Sit in a simple cross-legged position feeling the sleeping and walking more effectively. weight of your torso on the legs. Raise one arm over the When it comes to yoga, there is no pre-condition of shoulder and the other under. Hold and repeat with the age or gender. All you need is a yoga mat, loose clothes other arm. and a well-ventilated environment. Remember, an experi- Konasana Stretch your legs as wide as possible. Rest enced and passionate teacher can inspire dedication and your hands on them and allow the head to drop forward. discipline, something that can be of enormous benefit to Do not push forward. Hold, relax and repeat. anyone wishing to tread this path. India, like the rest of Sethu Bandha Lie on your back creating as much the world is witnessing a great boom in yoga studios, not evenness as possible between your left and right side. Stay just in metros but also in smaller towns. However, one until you feel comfortable. Now bend your knees, and with feet firmly pressed, raise your hips off the floor. Repeat as many times as possible. Bhujang Lie on your belly and make yourself comfortable. Place your hands mid-chest with forehead on the ground. Now raise your head and chest off the floor. Hold for a few seconds and slowly take your head back to the floor.

Photograph by SANDEEP SAHDEV

A model doing the Gomukh asana

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EXPERIMENTAL ARTIST SURAJ Strokes STEPHEN D’SOUZA THE CITY’S MOST PROMISING ARTISTS SIMPLY BANGALORE Inside

Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie Group Chief Executive Officer Ashish Bagga Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa Editor-at-Large Kaveree Bamzai Group Creative Editor Nilanjan Das COVER STORY Group Photo Editor Matters of the Art s-4 Bandeep Singh Comic artistes, theatre practitioners and I vintage dance music bands, Bangalore is Editorial Team Cover photo by NILOTPAL BARUAH Mohini Mehrotra, Ursila Ali nurturing new talent like no other city. Photo Department Vikram Sharma Photo Researchers Prabhakar Tiwari, Shubhrojit Brahma Art Director Jyoti Singh OUR PICK of the month Design Vikas Verma, Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma Sounds of Adventure February 12 Production Harish Aggarwal (Chief of Production), If adventure and music excite Naveen Gupta, Vijay Sharma, you, then head to Zero Gravity Prashant Verma Hampi Bouldering and Music Layout Execution Festival, which is about unifying Ramesh Gusain, international and Indian Pradeep Singh Bhandari climbers, artistes and musicians I all under one roof, with the idea Publishing Director of creating an atmosphere where Manoj Sharma people from all walks of life can Associate Publisher (Impact) come together and experience Anil Fernandes the magic of Hampi. I AT Hampi (Outside Bangalore) IMPACT TEAM PRICE Rs 2,750 onwards Senior General Manager: TICKETS eventshigh.com Jitendra Lad (West) TEL 99445770994, 8105187588 General Managers: Upendra Singh (Bangalore); Velu Balasubramaniam (Chennai) Want to tell us about an event? A new store? A restaurant? People doing interesting things? Kaushiky Chakraborty (East) Anything newsworthy? Please email us at: [email protected]

s-2 SIMPLY BANGALORE N FEBRUARY 2017

SIMPLY BANGALORE Cover Story

Matters of THE ART COMIC ARTISTS, IMMERSIVE THEATRE PRACTITIONERS AND VINTAGE DANCE MUSIC BANDS, BANGALORE IS NURTURING NEW TALENT LIKE NO OTHER CITY.

BY PRACHI SIBAL

Experimental Art SURAJ STEPHEN D’SOUZA

DOODLING AWAY in his notebook in second grade and often being punished for it, Suraj Stephen D’souza, 25, never imagined it was something he would make a career out of. In fact, until he left school he didn’t know one could actually go to an arts college. “My brother got admitted to Chithrakala Parishath and that’s when I discovered the existence of a new world, of art colleges and the atmosphere in them”, says D’souza. He completed a five-year long course at Ken School of Art and began experimenting with mixed media, photography and sculpture. While art remained his first love, D’souza needed a job to manage his finances. That’s when he decided Photographs by NILOTPAL BARUAH

s-4 SIMPLY BANGALORE N FEBRUARY 2017 Experimental artist Suraj Stephen D’souza

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to become a part-time bouncer at Geoffrey’s Pub, Khalid Ahmed, 29, old friends who met in college Royal Orchid Hotel. “Since I was well-built, it was in Bangalore and began jamming, Parvaaz released a rather natural choice,” he says. “But to my luck I their first full-length album Baran in 2014. met a lot of interesting people at my job and even got All self taught musicians, their influences range to put up my own stall at an exhibition at the hotel. from Radiohead and Aracde Fire all the way to My artwork actually started to sell,” he adds. Indian Ocean and city-based Thermal and A Quarter It is in November this year that D’souza finally (TAAQ). The band has been through a few line-up quit being a bouncer and turned a full-time artist. An changes and now includes Sachin Banandur, 26 exhibition at Kala Niketan, Mysore and a nomination on the drums and Fidel D’souza, 29 on bass guitar. for the Lalit Kala Academy Award had a lot to do with From being relatively unknown to having a steady that he admits. He spends his days painting and is fan base that even travels for their gigs, Parvaaz has keenly exploring sculpture as a medium now. come a long way. “We are still more appreciated for our live performances and are going through a more rigorous recording process for our new album due for release in 2017,” says Kashif Iqbal. “We are also Music for the Soul recording live songs and releasing them as EPs,” he PARVAAZ adds. Their song writing process is rather fluid, starting off with a jam or ideas or pieces of old poetry. ENTHRALLING MUSIC lovers in Bangalore for “We still share music with each other but end up fol- nearly six years, Parvaaz is known for lowing more Indian bands than International ones performing Urdu and Hindi poetry with classic now,” says Fidel D’souza. Between five to six gigs a rock sounds. Started as yet another college band by month through the season and an album in the offing, two Kashmiris—Mir Kashif Iqbal, 29, and Parvaaz is well on the road to stardom.

Members of the band Parvaaz SIMPLY BANGALORE Cover Story

Performing artist Nithya J Rao

Many Talents, Many Mediums city-based and national theatre groups including NITHYA J RAO The Actors Collective and Ranga Shankara Productions. She also co-founded Lahe Lahe, a ALL OF 24 YEARS of age, Nithya Rao could be newly launched expression space in the city that spotted doing as many as ﬁve different things during hosts performances. However, Rao’s deepest the day. From directing to acting, conceptualising a interest lies in sharing real life stories through research fellowship all the way to consulting patients theatre leading her to cofound the theatre group as a trained psychologist, there isn’t a dull moment Katharsis Productions. “I am very interested in using in her life. It is no surprise then that she is bubbling art to better family relationships. The idea is to invite with energy and eager to talk about her work and we people to share stories which can then be performed. try to keep up. “I come from a family of artists. Every The experience is truly cathartic,” she explains talk- child had to learn at least one art form. For me, it ing about the idea behind Katharsis and a series of was Bharatanatyam at ﬁrst, then Carnatic music until performances titled Katharsis Karicatures. I began volunteering at Ranga Shankara where I Besides bringing her knowledge of psychology watched a lot of plays”, says Rao. It was then that she into theatre, Rao is also determined to break the decided to pursue a degree in performing arts over fourth wall and perform museum style theatre in the medical college. future, where the audience moves around the space Rao proceeded to work as an actor for several to experience different performances. SIMPLY BANGALORE Cover Story

into his artist hero, graphic novelist George Mathen Comic Relief aka Appupen. “We spoke and George saw my work. MADHAV NAIR When he was working on some graffiti as part of ST+ART festival, he invited me to join him”, he says. A GRAPHIC DESIGN student at Srishti School of Ever since, Nair has been working on Brain Ded, Art, Design and Technology, Madhav Nair, 21, was Mathen’s Facebook page of comic strips and is in the always looking for a reason to draw. It was as a part process of creating a ten-episode series titled Room of an exchange programme in Netherlands that he Service. “As a comic artist, there is often a lot of got to study illustration and began looking at comics. pressure to lean towards political satire. But that “It was like an epiphany”, he says. Nair proceed to doesn’t interest me now and I stick to fiction,” intern at Kokaachi, a comic publishing house based explains Nair. “I am still trying to find a voice and in Kochi where he worked on a 30-page graphic experimenting with different things because you novel that is due publication. need to be able to draw everything before you decide It was on a visit to a bookstore that Nair bumped on a style,” he adds.

Comic artist Madhav Nair

Performing artist Nithya J Rao

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SIMPLY BANGALORE Cover Story

Vintage Love CLOWN WITH A FROWN

WHAT DO A bunch of teenage music lovers do when caught in a single room? Dig out their parents’ old favourites from the 70s and begin jamming. That is literally how the city’s best known funk rock band Clown With a Frown came to be in 2011. “We were literally blown away by some of the music from the 70s. We (Top right) realised there was no band doing Funk rock band retro music and we started jam- Clown with a ming”, says Jonathan Reuben, 24, Frown; (below) Performance Guitarist and one of the only two artist Aruna members from the band’s origi- Ganesh Ram nal line-up. Jam sessions brought them together regularly and the CWAF had soon carved a niche for itself winning as many as 28 college band competitions at a time. They graduated to playing at prestigious music festivals in the country such as the NH7 Weekender and Strawberry Fields at NLSIU. The band with ﬁve permanent members, has since gone through 22 changes in its line-up and often plays as 10-piece with a full horn section. Their debut album Love Intoxication, released in November this year is a collection of their songs produced between 2011 and 2016. The ﬁve members, all full-time musicians include Pramod Pratap on the drums, Pradyun Manoj on the key- board, Jonathan Reuben on the guitar, Keerthana Sudarshan on the vocals and Aashish Paul, the youngest member of the band at at bass guitar. Besides playing to a large audience of fans in the city, the band is busy touring around the world playing at festivals and working towards an album release in March. “Our new material will be a little more towards crossover music, with more modernised sounds and no horn section,” Reuben explains.

s-10 SIMPLY BANGALORE N FEBRUARY 2017 and be part of the performance itself. A Moment of Drama of the Senses Memory, her second production, brought audience ARUNA GANESH RAM into the performers’ world and ended with a serv- ing of tomato chat. “At a re-run of one of my ear- SHE BEGAN HER theatre journey in school with a lier plays Swami and Friends in the city, we tried to single line in the play Twelfth Night, but it was recreate the smells of the household in the perfor- performing arts beyond the proscenium that always mance using coffee and incense,” she says. She calls intrigued her. Aruna Ganesh Ram, 31, Creative her form of expressive, experimental performance Director, Visual Respiration, once a well-known ‘experimence’ and recently concluded a solo show theatre artist in Chennai is now breaking barriers to on food memories at the Serendipity Arts Festival, create a new body of work in the city. Armed with a Goa in collaboration with chef Manu Chandra. After degree in Advanced Theatre Practice from the Royal photographs, smells and stories, Ganesh Ram is Centre of Speech and Drama, Ganesh Ram special- keen on exploring gender through performance. “I ises in Immersive Theatre, a form that engages all want to explore how gender bias creeps into chil- your senses during a performance. Her 2013 dren at an early age. I am working with Nirmala |production Replay about traditional Indian games Menon of Interweave Consulting that addresses gen- saw the audience being placed in a large ludo board der bias in workspaces for that,” says Ganesh Ram.

FEBRUARY 2017 N SIMPLY BANGALORE s-11 SIMPLY BANGALORE Buzz

THINGS TO LOOK 5FORWARD TO

1 FOR THE 2 YOUTH CONNECT TRAVELLER March 4 IN YOU The Creative Monks 2017 promises to be bigger and better 3 Inspired by the island as it brings together creative IT'S TIME destination, Nicobar, the people and entrepreneurs under FOR KARAOKE lifestyle brand from the house one roof. The event will feature of Good Earth has opened its game changing talks, gala rounds, Want to party on a Tuesday night? doors in Bangalore with a flag- dine-in experiences, parties, and Head to SodaBottleOpenerWala, where ship store. Quirky home décor, networking zones for writers, you can sing your favourite Hindi and flowy maxis, traveller bags and video bloggers, photographers English songs at the Karaoke Nights. more, you’ll find it all here. and will include musical events KJ Santosh plays host as you gulp down AT NICOBAR, NO.4 WALTON as well. beer at only Rs 55 (plus taxes) per mug. ROAD, OFF LAVELLE ROAD DETAILS EVENTSHIGH.COM AT SODABOTTLEOPENERWALA, TEL 22112878 TICKETS RS 900 LAVELLE ROAD

4 HEALTHY MEALS Head to the Cubbon Pavillion, a 24-hour- restaurant for a new menu inspired by Swasthya cuisine which features local ingredients, fresh mezze platters, stacks and wraps and an exclusive kids menu all focussing on your wellbeing. AT CUBBON PAVILLION, ITC GARDENIA, NO.1, RESIDENCY ROAD

SIMPLY BANGALORE Buzz

RESTAURANTREVIEW / TAMARIND 5 AN AUTHENTIC TOUCH TRADITIONAL FLAVOURS RULE AT TAJ BANAGLORE'S INDIAN RESTAURANT

I By PRACHI SIBAL

amarind, the Indian restaurant at the newly sweet flavours is a good introduction to the meal that is launched Taj Bangalore is more than just a about to be served. The menu is organised on the basis pleasant surprise amongst the flood of fusion of cooking methods and ingredients and is a welcome restaurants the city has been churning out. change. The bakli salad, made of soft wheat in a tangy There’sT Punjabi (a majority), Rajasthani and Awadhi tamarind chutney and a crescent-shaped namak para food on offer, with a few dhaba recipes that have made (crunchy savoury snack) on top is deliciously soothing. their way to the menu. What sets Tamarind truly apart The sheermal tart mein galouti is a galouti kebab with is the fact that Chef Alok Anand has kept all the tradi- a twist—the sheermal comes shaped as a tart and the tional ingredients and flavours intact, playing only with safed masale ki dum biryani flavoured with light masa- presentation. “Every Indian curry uses a different spice las like cardamom is densely aromatic and yet light. The mix and has a certain order of ingredients. And every- meal ends with a baked gajrela, a modern take on the thing is with a purpose. I want people to stop believing gajar ka halwa, baked in a tandoori roti crust. Punjabi food is the greasy, heavy kind they often eat at All in all, the ingredients and flavours remain restaurants,” he says. Instead of a bread basket, a meal consistently authentic and impressive. here begins with assorted ‘fans’—a flaky, savoury snack AT Taj Bangalore, near Kempegowda International often paired with tea from North India. The basket Airport comes with a variety of chutneys and the spring onion TEL 66003300 chutney served in a mortar and pestle with its sharp and PRICE Rs 3,000 for a meal for two

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