The Operator

It was an excellent location for a bar; main road, right adjacent to the main business district, close to the railway station and a hop away from the bus terminus. Ideal for the working man, who needed a drink after a hard day’s work and just before getting back home. Only problem was the land had been earmarked for a school.

The wise councilors of the land had allotted the property for a school around a decade ago. And I had spent the past 10 years trying to stall it. A school for slum children didn't have to come up on prime property. Many such schools could be built with tax revenues from the sale of booze.  It was prime property and had to be put to good use. A school could come up anywhere. But, for a bar, it is always about location.

When the tenders for the school had been floated I had successfully managed to keep everyone away through threats and persuasion. No one quoted and the government was forced to look for an alternative. The PWD department was involved, like I’d expected, and was brought in to do the work. Every time a structure came about the quality department would be brought in, find a major fault and order the structure to be demolished. It was my quality department.  

Then elections happened and things became a lot easier as now I was an MLA of the ruling party. I ordered an inquiry in to the cost over-runs on the school project. I raised the issue in the Vidan Sabha and demanded an explanation from the PWD Minister and the Education Minister. The project had over shot its budget by 5 times! The inquiry found serious lapses in the PWD department and the education department. A lot of transfers were ordered and I had my men put in all the important posts.

I took out a rally near the property and denounced the Government’s inability to build a simple school. On stage and in front of a thousand people I announced that my charitable trust would sponsor the project and would volunteer to oversee its completion if the Government allowed it. The Government lauded me and in a major ceremony the property was transferred to my trust.

Then a report from the education department was released where it stated that the property would no longer suffice for a school as the population around the area had increased. There was a need for a much larger property.

One of my philanthropist business friends volunteered to swap his land in the outskirts for the property.  The papers were prepared and the deal was done. I was a hero in the media as I had found solutions to all problems.

Then slowly the property was de-notified as commercial property. Work on the bar began in earnest and in 14 months we were functioning. I’m happy to say that today we run a thriving business. 

On Kudankulam

Protesters at the Kudankulam Nuclear site

The attempt of this post will be to move beyond the “Nuclear Power- Bad, Renewable Energy- Good” vitriol of the current debate.

While nuclear power does come with its risks the demand from protesters for a complete close-down of all nuclear plants is naïve.  The last 20 years have demonstrated the advantages of a booming economy on our society. Poverty has reduced, literacy levels have gone up, life-styles have improved and on most social indicators there are good improvements. But, a lot of work remains to be done and for that we will have to further improve the economy (besides other things which will be discussed). Generation of enough power will be a very important component in developing the economy and while renewable sources should be preferred there remain technical and feasibility barriers to the current technology.

The risks associated with nuclear power are well-known. Nuclear accidents and their fall-outs are well-documented. It is not easy to argue against the risks and no such attempt is being made. On the contrary every risk issue needs to be brought to the fore and a thorough understanding of the same should be mandated. But, there are 435 functioning nuclear power plants in the world today, 20 in our own country. The technology has been around for 60 years and in years to come it will only get better. The technology needs to be given a chance and should not be dismissed outright. What is needed is not risk avoidance but risk management.

Any leader in the protest movement is termed ‘a messiah’ by the media and the public. Nuclear power plants are not being built for the risks they create but for the power they will generate and the positive multiplier effects of that initiative on society. The protesters and their leaders need to come out with viable alternatives.

 If there are suitable alternatives with fewer risks then they should be pursued. If not, then we come to managing the risks associated with nuclear technology. Residents around the power plant will need to be re-located, safety and risk mitigating efforts will need to be tracked thoroughly, and continuous monitoring of radiation and other data will have to be initiated and very importantly in case of an accident- the process flow of the reaction will need to be properly prepared.

Civil society should be engaged in auditing and scrutinizing these parameters. The public needs to ensure that those being forced to move are properly compensated, that structures are in place to deal with any eventuality and most importantly that there is a functioning and prompt legal system to serve justice in case there is a need. By focusing on these civil society would be doing great service towards itself.  The social infrastructure that would be built around these initiatives will long out last any nuclear power plant and will bring about many positive consequences on society. 

The magic of Salman Khan

‘Ek tha Tiger’- was declared a hit even before it was released. How is that even possible? Possible- with Salman Khan it is possible.

I watched the movie on the day of its release and enjoyed it. Only after reading the reviews by movie critics could I find the flaws with the film. It was apparent while watching the movie- but it didn’t really matter and I hardly paid any attention.

I’m not that type usually and need my movies to be engaging. I need the script and the performances to be clever and true. But with some guys like Rajnikanth and Salman Khan these rules go for a toss.

Salman Khan could go dressed in a white sleevless vest and pink pant to a black-tie event and make everyone else look and feel ridiculous. He brings that force of personality on screen and that’s what makes him so entertaining.

Dabangg was the film that converted me. I couldn’t stand the guy before that. But Dabangg had me floored. I can’t imagine anyone else carrying the role of Chulbul Pandey with such élan and with such panache.

Whatever Salman does- he does extravagantly! There is a style and finish to everything that the man does. He understands his quirky mannerisms, and the success of the man has been in being able to make it his strength. However the most endearing part of Salman Khan has to be his confidence. He has super-human confidence in himself and that’s how he’s able to carry out the role of ‘Salman Khan’.

He is probably the only guy who could cavort with his sexy sister-in-law (Munni badnaam!), make us all enjoy it, and then very coolly at the end of the song he says- “Munni- tum jaao Munna ke pass”, in essence telling all of us- who is boss!

We all love the guy coz we all want to be the guy. He projects our alpha-male egos. That’s the aura that the man’s been able to create. That is the magic of Salman Khan.