BL Diary: Of berths & blessings

The talk of the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, getting set to reshuffle his team has set off a flurry of activities of a different kind. There is a sudden spurt in VVIP visits to religious spots across the country. Several aspirants — among them those wanting to move up to a better berth as well as those dreaming of getting inducted into the Union Ministry -are said to be logging air miles and criss-crossing the country to seek divine blessings, and perhaps a divine intervention on their behalf for coveted posts.

A new road view

The other day in Chennai, Armando Almeida took political correctness to new heights. Exposed to the city's chaotic traffic on his first visit to the country, the Head of Global Services of Nokia Siemens Networks struck his audience at a news conference by surprise with his observation. That he was basing it on his premise that Chennai's motorists are a good representation of India on the roads may not have been too much off the mark. According to Almeida, born in Portugal and brought up in Mozambique, Indians are ‘young and aggressive' and wanting to ‘get ahead of one another' and this was the energy that Nokia Siemens would like to tap. Now it's up to motorists of the nation to make those kind and ultra-positive words really come true.

Out of bounds

Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata built the Taj Mahal Palace after he was denied entry into one of the luxury hotels during the British rule in India, both as a symbol of Indian pride and independence and as a luxury hotel. But today, it seems the hotel is alienating itself in the name of security. Post-December, the road facing the Taj Mahal Palace has been closed to public vehicles. Only cars and vehicles going to the hotel are allowed to enter from the side of the Gateway of India. Visitors to the Gateway, who could otherwise have enjoyed a ride in the Victoria along the sea face, can no longer do so. Perhaps, both the government and the hotel management feel it is more important to protect the prestigious hotel's guests (a majority of whom are foreigners). Those wanting a Victoria ride along the sea can wait.

Footprint vs footfalls

Reliance Footprint, the shoe retailing chain of Reliance Retail, recently opened its first outlet in the Eastern region. The outlet is located in a less visited mall in the upcoming New Town satellite township in the eastern fringes of Kolkata. Although real estate has grown rapidly in the area, this part of the city continues to be sparsely populated by Kolkata standards. Not surprisingly, on the day of its inauguration, journalists were the only visitors to the reasonably large and swank mall. Which forced a wag to remark, “How do you trace footprints if there are no footfalls?"

Thrifty times

At a seminar on private equity in Chennai recently, aspiring entrepreneurs got a lesson in thrift even offstage. When a senior bank executive was handing out his business card, an official from a private equity fund remarked that the card did not mention the bank executive's latest designation. "Why have you not printed new cards?" he asked. The banker's reply: "The contact numbers have not changed, so why waste them. I want to use up these cards before getting the new ones printed."

Window of graft

At least one sector in Karnataka seems to be following the ‘single window' system — another beaten name for co-ordinated handling of files and matters by government offices. At a recent interaction with the media in Mangalore, Karnataka's ombudsman or Lokayukta, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, explained how it works. Trucks carrying iron ore on a particular route have to cross several check posts. But they are not stopped at any of the points for inspection. Referring to the role of corruption in this sorry state of affairs, he said probably illegal mining was one of the few areas where the single window worked smoothly.

Flying high

In this season of kite-flying, the gesture by a corporate house was thoughtful and refreshing. Some journalists were pleasantly surprised to receive a colourful kite-shaped box just before Sankranthi/Pongal . Nestling snugly in the elegant pack were kites in resplendent pink and blue. In these days of skyrocketing prices, the gift is perhaps a reminder to take our thoughts high and soar like the kites that people fly during this festival.

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