THE RISE OF NIKKI HALEY IT’S COOL TO BE A SARPANCH AR RAHMAN IN CONVERSATION THE COMMUNIST WHO SURVIVED COMMUNISM THE DAY OF THE JACKET www.openthemagazine.com 12 DECEMBER 2016 / RS 40 Modi in the Age of Rage THE ART OF THRIVING IN ADVERSITY By S Prasannarajan CONTENTS 12 DECEMBER 2016 5 46 OPEN DIARY THE DAY OF THE JACKET By Swapan Dasgupta Coats maketh the man, and choices are plenty for cool gents as the season for dressing up sets in By Aekta Kapoor 6 12 LOCOMOTIF 40 The Editor of Ideas 52 By S Prasannarajan ‘IF I STOP SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING NEW I WOULD DIE OF BOREDOM’ 12 AR Rahman in conversation By Divya Unny FAREWELL FIDEL The Communist who made history after the end of history 55 By Sunanda K Datta-Ray BREAKING FREE ON THE BEACH Indie goes mainstream at the 10th Film Bazaar in Goa 16 By Divya Unny MODI IN THE AGE OF RAGE 16 The art of thriving in adversity 58 By S Prasannarajan DANCING WITH ZADIE SMITH Family, friendship and identity—one of English fiction’s 24 most celebrated young writers returns to familiar turf 58 CAN INDIA GO CASHLESS? By Nandini Nair The possibilities and pitfalls of a digital economy By Siddharth Singh 64 TONIGHT I CAN WRITE THE SADDEST LINES 26 52 When poets translate each other THE 311 PROBLEM By Madhavankutty Pillai The bureaucracy can’t be left 26 46 out in the war on black money By Bharat Karnad 66 NOT PEOPLE LIKE US Dutt’s the Way 28 36 40 By Rajeev Masand IT TAKES A VILLAGE HALEY’S COMET INDIA FASTER TO REDEFINE POWER South Carolina Governor THAN EVER It’s quite cool for some Nikki Haley is set to be the Mohammed Shami and Cover photograph by professionals to forsake first Indian American with Umesh Yadav have broken Rohit Chawla cities for grassroots politics cabinet rank in America more than just speed barriers Cover by By Kumar Anshuman By James Astill By Aditya Iyer Saurabh Singh 12 DECEMBER 2016 www.openthemagazine.com 3 OPEN MAIL [email protected] EDITOR S Prasannarajan LETTER OF THE WEEK MANAGING EDITOR PR Ramesh C EXECUTIVE EDITORS Aresh Shirali, Ullekh NP Social media has taken over the way everyone EDITOR-AT-LARGE Siddharth Singh functions and communicates, so why should DEPUTY EDITOR (MUMBAI BUREAU CHIEF) Madhavankutty Pillai politicians not jump on the bandwagon? As DEPUTY EDITOR Rahul Pandita mentioned in the story, ‘How Social Media Is CREATIVE DIRECTOR Rohit Chawla Shaping the New Political Order’ (December ART DIRECTOR Madhu Bhaskar SENIOR EDITORS V Shoba (Bangalore), 5th, 2016), Donald Trump, Narendra Modi and Haima Deshpande (Mumbai), Nandini Nair Arvind Kejriwal largely owe their public im- ASSOCIATE EDITORS Kumar Anshuman, age and vote bank popularity to what they put Lhendup Gyatso Bhutia (Mumbai), Monalisa S Arthur, Vijay K Soni (Web) out on social media. Just like there is no such SENIOR ASSISTANT EDITORS thing as ‘bad publicity’ in the press, there is no Sonali Acharjee, Shahina KK bad publicity on Twitter, Facebook and Insta- ASSISTANT EDITORS Archana Pande, Aditya Iyer gram either. The frightening part, however, is CHIEF OF GRAPHICS Saurabh Singh that the public largely remains immune and SENIOR DESIGNERS Anup Banerjee, Veer Pal Singh unaware of the ways in which internet ‘news’ later. What a terrible situa- ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS Ashish Sharma, Raul Irani can manipulated for propaganda. One cannot tion to have arrived at due even be sure whether posts are written by one to poor administration and ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER person or an entire team of spin doctors. In the faulty planning of ‘a move Pankaj Jayaswal age of social media political campaigning, one with good intentions’. GENERAL MANAGERS (ADVERTISING) Karl Mistry (West), needs to learn to take everything that is put up Rules for withdrawal are Rashmi Lata Swarup with an extremely large pinch of salt. being changed every day Krishnanand Nair (South) NATIONAL HEAD-DISTRIBUTION AND SALES Somak Uppal and honest citizens are Ajay Gupta literally being made to beg REGIONAL HEADS-CIRCULATION D Charles (South), Melvin George for withdrawing their own (West), Basab Ghosh (East) TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET of public contributions hard-earned money. The HEAD-PRODUCTION Maneesh Tyagi SENIOR MANAGER (PRE-PRESS) It is interesting to note made by politicians. It is long-term plan may be to Sharad Tailang that while several politi- now important for prime move towards a cashless CHIEF DESIGNER-MARKETING Champak Bhattacharjee cians have decided that ministers and presidents to society, but it is a Western CFO Anil Bisht social media is the best ask whether it is necessary concept which will need HEAD-IT Hamendra Singh way to connect with the to take selfies all the time thoughtful and better general public (‘How and if they can achieve the planned implementation CHIEF EXECUTIVE & PUBLISHER Manas Mohan Social Media Is Shaping desired impact through the in India. We seem to be All rights reserved throughout the world. the New Political Order’, policies they implement. moving backwards with Reproduction in any manner December 5th, 2016), In times of crisis, like the the market on the brink is prohibited. Editor: S Prasannarajan. Printed and there still remain many current money situation in of collapse. published by Manas Mohan on behalf of the owner, Open Media Network Pvt who are yet to embrace the India, people need action, Mahesh Kumar Ltd. Printed at Thomson Press India Ltd, 18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, potential and pitfalls of the not Twitter spats. Faridabad-121007, (Haryana). World Wide Web. For R Ramachandran MORE THAN JUST AN IMAGE Published at 4, DDA Commercial Complex, Panchsheel Park, example, the Obamas Vidya Balan should be an New Delhi-110017. Ph: (011) 48500500; Fax: (011) 48500599 never tweeted directly FAULTY PLANNING inspiration to every In- themselves but through an This refers to the Open dian actress (‘Our Lady of To subscribe, WhatsApp ‘openmag’ to 9999800012 or log on to office. Yet they remained Essay, ‘Of White, Black and Liberation’, December 5th, www.openthemagazine.com or call our Toll Free Number immensely popular be- Double Black’ by Bibek 2016) not just because of 1800 102 7510 or email at: cause they let their public Debroy (December 5th, the kind of roles she takes [email protected] work and appearances 2016). A month has nearly on, but also the way she For alliances, email [email protected] speak for themselves. passed since the ‘demon- conducts herself. One need For advertising, email [email protected] While social media is etisation experiment’ not justify one’s weight, For any other queries/observations, certainly a great way began and the required fashion, relationship email [email protected] to hold public figures denominations of currency status or salary slip in Volume 8 Issue 49 accountable and be in- notes are still unavailable order to be a working For the week 6-12 December 2016 Total No. of pages 68 stantly updated on their at banks and in ATMs. In woman in Bollywood. She views and plans, tweets many instances, banks are is more than just another and selfies cannot un- issuing tokens and asking ‘image’ in this industry. dermine the importance customers to return days Vidhi Lal 4 12 DECEMBER 2016 OPEN DIARY Swapan Dasgupta HEN THE DUST settles, the ing authorities of ‘respectability’. WATMs start functioning again Anything that deviates from that and the social media posts about the norm is automatically portrayed as desperate plight of the neighbour- vile and prevents people from speak- hood liberal’s maid and maali ceases, ing their mind. This phenomenon it may be worth collating a list of the was dubbed the ‘social desirability most ingenious ways that those who bias’ and witnessed Donald Trump were caught on the wrong foot went doing better in online polls than ones about their laundry. which involved engaging with an The most familiar one was, of interviewer. course, the payment in advance of sible to quantify, but economists Is there a ‘social desirability bias’ cash to employees. The drivers in our studying the consequences of this at work in India? Maybe not in the locality spoke about how the masons, huge exercise may find it worthwhile big bad world but certainly in the carpenters and plumbers engaged by to estimate the quantum of unin- English-speaking world. And almost the builder who lives in the locality tended redistribution of wealth. The certainly in the echo chambers of were paid two years’ salaries in beneficiaries won’t be found among the media. advance. The other common trick the middle classes or Income Tax that worked with the connivance of payers. They will be those who S WE APPROACH Christmas, bank managers or petrol pump probably have the greatest need. Athe hoary battle between ‘Merry owners was to quietly exchange the Christmas’ and ‘Seasons Greetings’ or new money paid by many customers HAPPILY ACCEPTED a ‘Happy Holiday’ has resurfaced. I have new 2,000-rupee note extracted found ‘Seasons Greetings’ cards (or with old notes at a discount ranging I from 15 to 20 per cent. from the economist and pollster email messages) silly and meaning- Politicians, I am told, simply Surjit Bhalla for a bet I won on the less. Maybe it is because I spent a very disbursed their money for parking outcome of the US presidential long time living in what was then a to their trusted supporters, who in election. I will share the winnings Christian West (alas, it has become turn went about finding parking with Odisha MP Jay Panda, who was too secular for my taste) that I don’t spaces in either Jan Dhan Yojana my Trump partner.