Innholdsfortegnelse for 5 December 2022 i India Today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, the BJP, are at their best during elections. They are made for each other. Modi is relentless in his campaigning and the BJP backs him up with all its might, coupled with meticulous planning. Every election is fought as if their lives depend on it. This is now so visible in his old playground, Gujarat, where he was chief minister for 12 and a half years. This election, a battle for 182 assembly seats, is close to his heart as he has become synonymous with Gujarati asmita (pride in identity), that ethereal unbeatable quality. It is an election that most pollsters predict the BJP is certain to win. The only question is not whether but by how many more seats it will do…

The Twitter handle of Samajwadi Party’s media department is getting a lot of traction these days. But not for its content. The tweets are becoming downright abusive of BJP leaders, and even of local journalists. Ruling BJP leaders are being called dalal (broker), baudambaaz (foolish), Aankh ke andhe (blind). Not all SP leaders are happyas they fear it will hurt the party’s image and justify the BJP charge of SP being a gundon ki party (party of goons). A senior leader plans to raise it with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav though he’s amazed he hasn’t noticed it till now. Others wonder who’s handling the account. Has the job been outsourced to an outsider?…

Whether in power or in opposition, politicians in the two Telugu-speaking states cannot stop disparaging each other in public. On November 18, Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLC Shambipur Raju threatened to cut BJP MP D. Arvind’s tongue for speaking disrespectfully against their chief K. Chandrashekar Rao. The same day, Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu abused and threatened to beat up the protesters demanding the TDP endorse the tri-capital plan. The cheer of the festive season has left politics untouched, it seems.…

1. POLITICAL REVAMP Seen as a passive leader, then CM Vijay Rupani along with his entire cabinet was sacked overnight in Sept. 2021. After the poor show in 2017 and resentment among Patels, the BJP wanted to fight the 2022 polls with a Patidar face 2. DEFANG CONGRESS The BJP has fielded 17 Congress turncoats. The loss of tall community leaders—Kunvarji Bavaliya (Koli), Hardik Patel (Patidar), Jawahar Chavda and Alpesh Thakor (OBC)—has left the Grand Old Party shaken 3. JOBS PUSH Big-ticket projects such as Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant and Tata-Airbus aircraft manufacturing unit have landed in the state. With its Atmanirbhar Gujarat push, the BJP has promised to create 1.5 million jobs 4. COOPERATIVE CAPTURE The BJP wants to leverage its increasing control over cooperatives. Union home minister Amit Shah…

SKYROOT AEROSPACE FOUNDED: 2018; FOUNDERS: Pawan Chandana, Bharath Daka Skyroot provides launch services for small satellites. It successfully tested its first launcher Vikram-S on November 18; as of 2022, it has completed full ground tests of its first rocket, Vikram I. Two heavier rockets—Vikram II and Vikram III—are currently in development. AGNIKUL COSMOS FOUNDED: 2017; FOUNDERS: Srinath Ravichandran, Moin S.P.M. Developing and testing its spacefaring technology since 2018, AgniKul successfully developed a single-piece fully 3D printed upper stage engine in 2019. Its first launcher is expected to be tested in December. DHRUVA SPACE FOUNDED: 2012; FOUNDERS: Sanjay Nekkanti, Krishna Teja Penamakuru, Abhay Egoor, Chaitanya Dora Surapureddy The firm was established to lead the privatisation of the satellite industry in India. It says it is developing an indigenous small satellite platform…

WHY FTX COLLAPSED ↘ Against its own terms of service, FTX lent $8 billion (Rs 65,344 crore) worth of its customers’ assets to Alameda Research, a trading firm specialising in cryptocurrencies, also promoted by Bankman-Fried ↘ In return, it accepted its own digital tokens FTT that have no underlying value, as collateral tokens, creating a financial hole ↘ Bankman-Fried was accused of siphoning off millions of dollars from the company accounts ↘ Suspicious bets and trades led to a run on the exchange and probes of fraud from federal authorities. Customers began to demand withdrawals to the tune of $6 billion (Rs 48,600 crore) ↘ A failed buyout by Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, was the last nail in FTX’s coffin. In 2019, Binance had invested in FTX, and…

↘ SRI SATHYA SAI CENTRAL TRUST Apex panel set up by Sri Sathya Sai Baba to oversee all activities initiated by him ↘ SRI SATHYA SAI INSTITUTE OF HIGHER LEARNING Runs free undergraduate and post-graduate programmes ↘ SRI SATHYA SAI VIDYA VAHINI An edtech platform ↘ SRI SATHYA SAI CENTRE FOR HUMAN VALUES Develops content for publications and training programmes to enhance the understanding and practice of Sathya Sai’s teachings ↘ SRI SATHYA SAI SADHANA TRUST Rolls out educational material about Sathya Sai and his teachings in digital formats ↘ SRI SATHYA SAI INSTITUTE OF HIGHER MEDICAL SCIENCES, PRASANTIGRAM A 300-bed super-speciality hospital in Puttaparthi ↘ SRI SATHYA SAI INSTITUTE OF HIGHER MEDICAL SCIENCES, BENGALURU A 333-bed super speciality hospital ↘ SRI SATHYA SAI MOBILE HOSPITAL PROGRAMME A rural outreach health service from…

HIMALAYA: A Human History by Ed Douglas BODLEY HEAD ₹799; 592 pages There is very little that Ed Douglas leaves out in this comprehensive history of the Himalaya, but by repeatedly zooming in on the Himalayan people, he narrates a story of resilience we only seldom hear. MOUNTAIN TEMPLES & TEMPLE MOUNTAINS: Architecture, Religion, and Nature in the Central Himalayas by Nachiket Chanchani NIYOGI BOOKS ₹1,600; 284 pages Given the Ganga’s unabating relevance in the Hindu pantheon, the river’s Himalayan source is understandably venerated. Chanchani’s book shows us how faith can even move mountains. INTO THE HEART OF THE HIMALAYAS by Jono Lineen SPEAKING TIGER ₹499; 336 pages To cope with the tragic loss of his brother, Jono Lineen trekked across 2,700 km of the Himalaya. His encounters with Pakistani…

The minute one thinks of Sufism, writes scholar Rana Safvi in her book, one that is both descriptive and interpretative, “the two strong images that come to mind are qawwalis and Melvana Jalaluddin Rumi’s mystical verses”. The qawwali, developed in the 13th century by Amir Khusro, is embedded in our popular culture and was once a must-have in every Bollywood movie. Rumi, founder of the Mevlavi Sufi (1207-1273), was a poet and scholar, described by the New Yorker as “the bestselling poet in the United States”. His couplets feature in the albums of artistes as varied as Chris Martin of Coldplay and Madonna. Coleman Baker, Rumi’s translator, recites this from Rumi in one of Coldplay’s albums: “This being human is a guest house/Every morning a new arrival/A joy, a depression,…

Q. You faced criticism about your performance post the Tokyo Olympics. Did it get you down? I felt bad, but the truth is that I was struggling with form and I was unable to focus on training. I also had to change my weight category from 69 to 75 kg [as the 69 kg division was not included in Paris 2024] and that took time to adjust to. I tried to take [the criticism] positively. It’s only when the going gets tough that you grow and learn. Q. Competing in a new weight category isn’t easy… It’s easier to reduce weight and compete. Boxers in a higher weight category have more strength and therefore, the power of their punch is that much more. Also, when your body becomes heavier, your…

London’ top tables have always lorded over tantalisingly eclectic offerings. The smorgasboard of choices: Wiltons in St James that still sports its set three-course menu to the customary afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason to Lanesborough’s reimagined flagship restaurant is home to Chef Shay Cooper’s contemporary British food that brings to life seasonal produce from across the country. Whether it’s a Thai cash-only place like Singburi where you queue up for the twice-fried, crispy pork belly with garlic and chilli or the ritzy Bibi that summons an exciting modern Indian treat, London’s restaurants are distinct, imaginative and exciting. Of course old Indian favourites such as celebrity chef Vivek Singh’s original modern Indian restaurant Cinnamon Club—located in the former Westminster Library with its forever favourite Bheja fry, and Camellia Punjabi’s Veeraswamy…

A decade ago, no party ever wrapped up before a round of Tequila shots, followed by morning vows of never touching the spirit again. Those shots simply shouted: ‘Give me something cheap, that I can gulp without tasting’. Neither was there any knowledge backing the drink, nor any motivation to look beyond cheap labels. Who spent on shots anyway, right? In fact, the riff of your mid-20s angst would lose soul if you discovered that those salt-rimmed, lemon wedged fiery liquids weren’t even pure Tequilas; definitely not the culturally-driven Mexican heritage drink for sure. But all that is finally changing now. The pandemic helped us evolve from straight drinks to cocktails and exploring new spirits. Those heavily-aged, have-encyclopaedic-knowledge-before-approaching-me brown spirits were edged out by edgier, easier, amicable white ones. While…

It’s not easy to frame a generational conflict that bears no clear, fixed ties of affiliation. But the Congress can be said to be loosely split between two halves with a distinct difference of approach—call it the gap between those eager for change and those content to let things hum along with minimum fuss. The assorted members of both sides exhibit this gap even beyond the specific pulls of groupism. The letter that senior party leader Ajay Maken wrote to new party president Mallikarjun Kharge on November 8 is a case in point. Leaked to the media a week later, the letter had a miffed Maken expressing unwillingness to continue as AICC in-charge of Rajasthan. He did not have any moral authority to stay on in that role, he wrote,…

It’s been over five years since a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court gave a unanimous ruling holding privacy to be a fundamental right, enshrined in India’s Constitution. The landmark judgment, one of whose authors is now the Chief Justice of India, clarified that the right to privacy could be infringed only when there was a compelling state interest for doing so. And it opened up the path to a privacy law, one that India still does not have. The draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (DPDP), 2022, released by the ministry of electronics and information technology on November 18, inches towards that law on a meandering path. It is a big step forward, but, as many are pointing out, at least half a step back. We have been there.…

Congress leader Siddaramaiah’s visit to Kolar earlier this month piqued curiosity on whether he was eyeing the southern assembly seat near Bengaluru to contest in the Karnataka polls due in May. While the former CM kept everybody guessing—on whether he will return to home turf in Varuna in Mysuru or stay in current seat Badami in north Karnataka or settle for Kolar—opponents have been taking pot shots at the search for a “safe seat”. This week, when the party invited applications from prospective candidates, Siddaramaiah apparently didn’t specify any seat, leaving the decision to the high command.…

The 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, began with low expectations. But defying all presumptions, it has achieved four key outcomes that will have far-reaching implications for energy transition and international climate collaboration. 1 It got developed countries to agree on something they had refused for three decades—pay for climate disasters in developing countries. Wealthy countries have always stalled any deal on Loss and Damage (L&D) because it exposes them to liability for their historic contribution to the climate crisis. They did that in Sharm El-Sheikh as well. Ultimately, under tremendous pressure from developing countries, they agreed to a new funding window for L&D, but with many caveats attached to the fund. For instance, the fund…

LAND, FOREST, IDENTITY, FAITH: the themes that relate to India’s tribal communities seem as ancient and unchanged as the jungles of Chhotanagpur where, on a monsoon-soaked night in 1895, a 21-year-old youth named Birsa Munda experienced an epiphany. It was the onset of a remarkable story; an inflection point in Adivasi history. The one change that came with electoral democracy is that identity is now also political—in the party politics sense. For a man who’s a totemic figure of rebellion for Adivasis—indeed, of armed resistance to exploitation by all outsiders—it’s ironic how every party is scrambling for a piece of Birsa. The tribal icon, as he was in real life, is perhaps too complex a figure to allow for easy cooption by any party. But he is also a metaphor—an…

The British in India invested ideologically in the railways, and some of the most grand and monumental structures were colonial railway stations. Anyone interested in buildings cannot but fall in love with this legacy, and Vinoo Mathur, an old railway hand, has done a wonderful job of documentation. The book is a feast of rare archival and other photographs, the text has been meticulously researched and the author’s grasp of the formal aspects of western architectural history is truly impressive. And it spans a range that includes chronological development, geographical spread, changing architectural styles, different functional needs—stations, offices, residential quarters, sheds and workshops, schools, hospitals, hotels. The British themselves saw railway stations as islands of rational rule in the sea of traditional and backward India, examples of structured and regulated…

EXISTENTIAL CURIOSITY APART, THE FLEETING NATURE of life has never been in question. But when it defines your business model, it’s somewhat novel. 700,000 Heures is the world’s first ephemeral hotel. The fact that we will spend only about 700,000 hours on the planet is the raison d’être behind this pioneering adventure that began in 2020, with a mission to create transformative experiences. It’s a moveable feast of hotels, in a sense, where every six months, it uproots to re-establish in a new destination, where they set up shop in a quirky structure—it could be a tree house, a palace or even a houseboat. Disruptive as it sounds, the rise of the non-hotel format is one of the biggest trends in hospitality now. No wonder hotels can no longer solely rely…

Shooting for the moon may be a tall ask; probably not for the Luminor Due Luna. Panerai introduces the Moon Phase to this signature collection. The moon phase is the first complication in the Luminor Due line. Together with lean proportions and sharp styling, Luminor Due reimagines the typical shape and features of the iconic Luminor collection with a refined form that sits equally well whether the occasion summons an elegant environment and elevated dressing or a casual brunch. Originally a time-only model, a complication has been introduced to this collection for the very first time. Of course the moon phase ranks among the more poetic complications, and so naturally, it is the centerpiece of Luminor Due Luna—the final word in its name being the Italian word for moon. It…

The 19th century French auteur Alexandre Dumas of Count of Monte Cristo fame smoked pot. A lot of it. But Dumas’s enigmatic hero, Edmund Dantès’s taste in tobacco was suitably recherché: he smoked cigars. The story of his doomed romance with Mercedes is a favourite with Cuban torcedors (rollers), and the cigar, one of the world’s largest selling brands, is named after Dantès. So popular is the novel that it is still read out in Cuba’s cigar factories by lectores and lectoras—story tellers who see themselves as cultural promoters. In 1935, Alonso Menendez, who owned Montecristo and H Uppman brands, decided that his employees needed to improve their knowledge. He picked a torcedor with a literary bent to read aloud famous books to the rollers working at their desks on…

India is already upping the revelries as Jai Solanki, the chef-owner of Lair, New Delhi, is gearing up to open the floodgates for local palates by hosting the first-ever Agave Fest in Goa in January. In Goa’s true carnival spirit, it will bring together gourmands, popular bars and their mixologists, and connoisseurs alike over thumping music, and games across January 6-7, 2023 at W Goa. Who would have thought we would see this in India? If that’s not a sign that India is Agave adjacent, then what is?…

A few low-slung buildings lie scattered around an orchard of plum, pear, cherry and apple trees. The Zabarwan Hills and Dachigam National Park loom behind. In front lies the shimmering sprawl of the Dal—a view to die for. Have I indeed died, because this is paradise for sure. I arrive at Qayaam Gah, Srinagar’s hottest hotel opening of the year, at the magical hour of dusk. As I step out of the 4WD that has transported me up the pebbled dirt track, the cold makes its undeniable presence felt. Autumn, Kashmir’s most beautiful season, is giving way to winter. Can my Delhi lungs handle the crisp-as-an-apple mountain air, I wonder? With just seven keys, Qayaam Gah is as exclusive as it gets. For proprietor Altaf Chapri—who also runs the Sukoon…

Beyond Designs Bistro conflates life’s greatest pleasures: food and shopping. Located within the Beyond Designs flagship store, its recent makeover and new menu, make this chandelier-studded, art-filled space a stellar combination. Chic and warm at the same time, the food is interesting and appetising although service is a little slow. But it allows you time to browse through the store to benefit both home and hearth. Where Opp. Sultanpur Metro Station; Cost ₹2,500 (Meal for two)…

If rival parties expected the Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s (TRS) slim 10,000-vote victory margin in the crucial Munugode assembly bypoll to have sapped the will of its supremo K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), they miscalculated terribly. If anything, the near-win seems to have only spurred the Telangana chief minister to go all guns blazing into campaign mode for the assembly election, even if it’s a year away. Eyeing a third straight term in power, KCR has declared a ‘dharma yuddh’ (righteous war) on the BJP, now often seen as its main political adversary in the state. He exhorted party workers to wage a fierce battle against the fast-growing saffron party in order to “save the democratic system”. All his pronouncements shone with the confidence that comes to those who have everything at…

In July 2017, when Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar rejoined the NDA, he made Pashupati Kumar Paras, who was not a member of any house then, a cabinet minister, and sent him to the upper house. Again, when Paras was inducted in the Union cabinet at the cost of his estranged nephew Chirag Paswan in July 2021, it had Nitish’s tacit support. No wonder, Paras would heap praise on Nitish. Equations, however, have changed since Chirag joined the BJP camp and Nitish quit NDA in August. Given the nephew’s growing proximity to the BJP, Paras has now become a bitter Nitish critic.…

AMIT SHAH Union home minister Entrusted with building BJP’s fortunes in north Gujarat, fine-tune the organisational set-up across all constituencies PARSHOTTAM RUPALA Union fisheries minister Actively working to strengthen party’s base among OBCs and Kadva Patels in central Gujarat MANSUKH MANDAVIYA Union health minister Tasked with keeping Leuva Patels from flocking towards Congress and AAP in Saurashtra BHUPENDER YADAV Union environment minister Having proved his mettle in organisational matters, he continues to mobilise BJP cadre PIYUSH GOYAL Union commerce minister Has been deployed in the state to touch base with Gujarat’s business community DARSHANA JARDOSH MoS, textiles The Surat MP and party’s OBC face in Gujarat, she has been reaching out to various OBC groups in the state BHUPENDRA PATEL Gujarat chief minister A genial urban Patidar, he is the…

Pawan Chandana looked tense as he sat glued to the computer monitor at the mission control room waiting for the countdown for the launch of the Vikram-S rocket to end on November 18. Next to him sat the reticent Bharat Daka, his partner in founding Skyroot, a start-up venture they set up in 2018 to build spacecraft. Behind them in the visitor’s gallery was seated a galaxy of distinguished space scientists, including S. Somanath, chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). That Jitendra Singh, the Union minister of state for space and atomic energy, was present too was evidence of the importance of the mission called Prarambh, or the beginning. Indeed, Vikram-S was to be the first launch vehicle for spacecraft entirely designed and built by an Indian private…

His acolytes call him the 21st century avatar of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. His detractors beg to differ. He has transformed Sathya Sai Grama, nothing more than a collection of buildings a decade ago, into a thriving spiritual sanctuary that brings alive the preachings and practices of the Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The spiritual guru’s original home, Prasanthi Nilayam in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, managed by the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust (SSSCT), is losing both flock and popularity to the upstart, as it were. War has erupted over the legacy of the Sathya Sai Baba, who passed away in 2011. On one side is the 43-year-old Madhusudan Naidu, a business management graduate of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL)—one of the many colleges that Sri Sathya Sai…

Though the Hindu Kush-Himalaya mountain complex has been explored, documented and appropriated for 200 years now, it remains a puzzle for most. One must understand Himalaya for itself not merely in the light of the interests of its periphery. To do so, one needs confidence and humility. We should look at the known with fresh eyes each time. John Keay’s first books—When Men and Mountains Meet (1977) and The Gilgit Game (1979)—focused on the vignettes and romance of the pioneering explorers of the Himalaya. His latest book, Himalaya: Exploring the Roof of the World, focuses on the explorer within its author. This one-person encyclopaedic survey begins with a bold but accurate accusation: “History has not been kind to Himalaya”, and then provides a narrative that analyses the range of contemporary…

Muzaffar Ali is a man of many arts. He paints, makes films and runs a fashion house. He also stages music and dance shows and is an aficionado of Urdu poetry. “Everything is connected,” he says. “If you don’t know poetry, you won’t know music. If you don’t know either, you don’t know dance. And if you don’t know body language, you won’t know the moving image.” Now, with Zikr: In the Light & Shade of Time, he wears another hat—that of an author. Perhaps best known for his film Umrao Jaan (1981), Ali made use of Covid-19 restrictions to pen the story of his life. Entrenched in Awadh’s Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, Ali’s days have, in a sense, brimmed with creative journeys, but the polymath is not in the habit of imparting…

Word on the hospitality block is that, in a post-pandemic world, a significant chunk of luxury travellers are moving towards the ‘non-hotel’ for lodging options. For starters, this would include anything that does not involve a traditional hotel format. We’re talking about villas—and the accompanying villa rental services—home stays, service apartments and more offbeat options like containers, pods, tree houses, heritage castles, tented camps etc. According to an October 2021 report by Economic Impact, commissioned by Airbnb, surveying over 4,500 people found that an overwhelming 79 per cent of Indian travellers want to travel in ways that benefit social communities both economically and socially. Thus, this would translate into the concept of ‘unique’ accommodation options, which the vacation rental platform defines, interestingly as ‘barn boat, castle, campsite, hut, island, plane,…

Balblair is a single malt brand hailing from the town of Edderton in the Scottish Highlands, and made in one of the oldest working distilleries in Scotland, dating back to 1790. Not only the oldest, it’s also one of the most picturesque distilleries in Scotland, with its location on the Dornoch Firth and easy access to AlltDearg burn (a burn is the name given to a large stream in Scotland) for its water supply. Its scenic credentials stood it in good stead when acclaimed director Ken Loach was scouting for locations for Angel’s Share his 2012 comedy—a movie that also went on to win the Jury prize at the 2012 Cannes film festival. Balblair is a Gaelic word that translates into “town of the plain” or battlefield and each bottle…

ACCOMMODATION Villas 4; Suites 3. Location 20km (30min) from Srinagar airport. TARIFF Minimum stay is two nights. Tariff Two nights (villa) ₹75,455; Suite ₹62,500. The rates are inclusive of airport transfers, all meals, complimentary yoga for beginners, a short uphill walk through orchards and all taxes. CONTACT reservations@abchapriretreats.in; www.abchapriretreats.in ACTIVITIES AT THE PROPERTY Two walks on offer: an uphill one in the buffer zone of Dachigam National Park and an easier one on mostly flat land that ends at Harwan Garden. Both can include lunch in scenic settings. There’s daily high tea with music. In-depth yoga and meditation sessions are also offered. IN SRINAGAR Visits to the floating vegetable market and Mughal gardens, Old City walk with guide, shikara ride, paragliding (May to October), and shopping.…