Kolkata Confidential

Moments after this,the constable ran to the sergeant at the guard room and said,panting: “Sir Sir,Union home minister’s son is inside the car.” “How do you know?” the sergeant asked. “He is saying so and moreover he resembles Chidambaram,” the guard replied.

Hearing this,his boss told the constable to immediately release the car and the assembled policemen without checking anything,just saluted the car and allowed it to park at the VIP entrance.

That’s called “tight security”!
Haha Saha
Bengal wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha has managed to earn a nickname in his debut Test. After being dovetailed,first into the squad and then into the playing XI,the right-hander looked out of sorts against the South African quicks. It was not easy to face Dale Steyn with his tail up,but the fans picked the debutant for banter as Saha promptly became “Wriddhiman Haha”. Indian cricket fans can be very witty with their jibes. Former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams,who was nicknamed “Padams” for his excessive pad-play during the 1994 series knows that well. Navjot Siddhu was dubbed as “strokeless wonder” after a laborious 30-odd on his debut. Saha adds to the list.

SRK fan camaraderie
It was a party outside Paradise cinema this Friday. The release of Shah Rukh-starrer My Name is Khan in Mumbai may have been a muted affair due to the threats for Shiv Sainiks,the Kolkata premiere of the film was a celebration of the city’s cosmopolitan spirit. In fact,members of the SRK fan club had given an invitation to the Mumbaikars who want to see the latest Khan blockbuster. “We want to invite all Shah Rukh Khan fans in Mumbai to come down to Kolkata to watch the film without any hitches. Not only will we arrange film tickets for them,we will also arrange their lodgings,” promised Debashis Rakshit,a member of the Shah Rukh Khan Fan Club. Is Mumbai listening?

Straight talk from John
Actor John Abraham,who had come down to Kolkata to launch a fashion week,had a point to make before the celeb-starved media and starry-eyed designers. On being quizzed about the line-up of “celebrity showstoppers” during the fashion week,the actor said a celebrity cannot possibly salvage a fashion week if it was headed for disaster in terms of quality.

“The designer’s work should speak and the media should focus on fashion,not Bollywood stars,” he said.

And then the Bollywood star,who has starred as celebrity showstopper at various fashion shows,goes on to add: “Getting a celebrity showstopper wouldn’t get you noticed,and sustain you in the world of fashion. One should judge a fashion week by the quality of work showcased.” That’s what we call — walk the talk.

Fingers crossed
The placement season has kicked off at IIM-Calcutta,and the mood on the campus is of “guarded optimism”. This is what the official version of the institute is on the lateral placements that will continue till first week of March. Everyone — from the students to faculty — keeps talking about the “optimism” in placements like the increase in the number of companies visiting the campus during the post-recession times and the improved pay packages. But what everyone seems to have “forgotten” is the last year’s figure of visiting companies,pre-placement offers and most important the salaries. The students have been advised not to share their mobile numbers with anyone outside campus and keep a safe distance from media till the placements get over. Clearly the recession has left its mark and the current placement season is more guarded then optimistic.

Red-faced Congress
Senior state Congress leaders were left red-faced when they visited Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence for the much-hyped alliance talk. The reason was not the alliance partner’s new stinging statement but the Congress leaders’ former colleague Somen Mitra who was told by Banerjee to take part in the talks. Mitra,the former West Bengal Pradesh Congress chief,had left the party to join Mamata’s party just before the Lok Sabha polls. Mitra’s presence at the meeting caused so much embarrassment to the Congress leaders — Pradip Bhattacharjee,Subrata Mukherjee and Manas Bhuniya — that none were able to speak with him. “The three Congress leaders were visibly red faced. Apart from some formal greetings,they did not say anything or discuss anything with Mitra. Their discomfort was so evident,” said a senior Trinamool leader who was present there.

No green in green talk
The two-day environmental conference in the city saw some of the big names from the business community and the state government come together to discuss issues like energy efficiency and solar power. While much was said on the need for having more energy efficient buildings and saving water and using solar energy,the conclave itself was held in a five-star hotel.

Environmentalists however gleefully pointed out that the hotel may have used some natural lights or solar power.

Mamata the unpredictable
While no one can still be sure if she will make it for a Cabinet meeting,Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is fast acquiring a reputation for extreme punctuality in her daily engagements. Recently,she reached Udyog Bhavan 15 minutes early for a meeting with Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran,and proceeded to while away the time hanging around and getting herself photographed with some paramilitary personnel.

A few days later,Mamata did an encore,reaching the programme venue of a discussion with industry players a few minutes before schedule,sending senior Railway officials into a tizzy. Clearly,there’s no predicting the unpredictable Mamata.

Confusion galore
Like her previous party Congress,Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress too has a core committee. But given Mamata’s style of functioning,party members sometimes have no idea when the committee will meet. One of the seniormost leaders of the party,Minister of State for Urban Development Saugata Roy reached Delhi on Tuesday last week for the meeting,and learnt that the committee was instead meeting the next day in Kolkata.

He wondered why he had not been informed as he was in Kolkata and even had a long chat with Mamata before leaving for Delhi. There was more in store.

As Roy planned to fly back,he got another message: that the meeting had been postponed.