Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s replies to the media are getting increasingly laconic. When asked to say few words (‘ do shabd ’ in Hindi, meaning ‘two words’) on the Kyoto leg of his Japan tour, he simply said, “ sukhi raho ” (be happy) and moved away! This brings to mind Calvin Coolidge, former president of the US and a man of few words. When someone bet they would make him say three words, he responded: “You lose.”

Kid stuff

When asked about the representation of women in Godrej, Nisaba, the younger daughter of Adi Godrej, admitted that while there were women in the organisation, there was a vacuum at the senior leadership levels in the company. There were practical problems, she said, and talked about a senior woman in her organisation who decided to quit to take care of her three children. Nisaba tried everything she could, including providing flexi-time, but it didn’t help retain her. The tug of the kids proved stronger!

What austerity?

The talk of austerity seems to be nothing more than hot air. All one needs to do is look at the civil aviation ministry’s website to figure this out. The ministry is regularly approached by other ministries for permission for their employees to be allowed to travel by other airlines that offer lower fares than Air India. The website however makes it clear that “availability of lower fares is no criteria for seeking relaxation”. Now, if the fares are lower on another airline, shouldn’t government employees save money by going for them? Or does the ministry have no problems with the Government losing money so long as the Maharaja earns a bit more?

Fit to pray

Out-of-the-box thinking has become the order of the day at Ganesh pandals in Mumbai. The Suresh Nagar Mitra Mandal in Andheri placed a weighing machine and treadmill in front of the Ganesh idol. Those who come to worship are made to stand on the weighing machine and pray. Devotees are made to use the treadmill if they want to donate their calories. The 14-foot tall Ganesha sported six-pack abs, the priest who conducted the daily rituals was fit, and sprouts were served as prasad.

For a Bolt of biz gyan

Sprinter Usain Bolt’s visit to Bangalore may have gladdened the hearts of many sports enthusiasts but CEOs of IT companies, large and small, were a tad disappointed. Several CEOs that BusinessLine spoke to wanted to have an audience with him and one of them was keen to have a closed door interaction on what businesses can learn about sustaining a winning streak. “Hope the organisers will think of it next time,” said a CEO.

Missing women

On being questioned by shareholders why there was no woman on Cipla’s board of directors, chairman YK Hamied said that a “massive hunt” was on to find a non-executive woman director. “Maybe we must put it in the matrimonial column,” he quipped, as some in the audience laughed, and others (largely women) looked disapproving. When asked why his niece Samina Vaziralli was not being inducted, he said the company was exploring all options, and that all candidates would be scrutinised before being taken on board.

Don’t ignore the real ‘desi cow’

At a corporate event on the dairy sector last week, the agriculture minister and his team of officials took turns to harp on how important it was to protect and conserve desi or indigenous cows. However, when it was the turn of Daljeet Singh, president of the Punjab-based Progressive Dairy Farmers’ Association, he lauded the Government for its focus on protecting cows, but lamented that it was ignoring and neglecting the real ‘ desi gaay ’ (meaning, simpleton) — the Indian dairy farmer. “If you don't protect these desi cows, they will move away from dairying,” he said, leaving amused ministry officials nodding in agreement.

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