What About Nusli?As part of the sniping that goes on interminably across Raj Path in the Capital, between the North and the South Block, there's this amusing tale of nominations to the RBI board. The North Block-situated Finance Ministry was of the view that Reliance patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani would be a good choice. So the name went across the road to the PMO along with those of Rahul Bajaj, Ratan Tata and management guru Besant Raj. But the PMO's Wise Men developed cold feet. Such, though, are the ways of the Capital's musty corridors of power, that instead of an official-to-official dialogue on the matter, a very senior journalist was deputed to cross the road and pop the question: What about Nusli Wadia? He was told off rudely, with the comment that Bombay Dyeing's entire turnover was not even half of Reliance's net profit. After the embarrassment over Home Minister L. K. Advani's disparaging remarks on small groups, we guess the North Block is taking no chances!Maratha StingHisEnglish lessons may have left much to be desired, but that hasn't stopped Maharashtra strongman Sharad Pawar from taking on his enemies in Marathi. First it was Shiv Sena head honcho Bal Thackeray's turn. The next victim was Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane. At the concluding ceremony of the University of Pune's golden jubilee celebrations, Pawar sought to give the Shiv Sena some lessons in governance, even though Rane was present on the dais. ``People gave power to the Shiv Sena so that it could serve them. Shivshahi is the rule of people and not of political masters who decide on their own what common people should do,'' he said in fluent Marathi, obviously referring to Thackeray.Partner ProblemsThat split-second must have seemed like an age to I&B Minister Pramod Mahajan last week. At the end of a Shiv Sena-BJP meeting, he had some very anxious seconds as Bal Thackeray took the floor. As they stepped out of the meeting, intrepid reporters asked Thackeray for his reaction to the PrimeMinister's bus journey to Lahore. Thackeray didn't flinch, but Mahajan's face was a picture of trepidation. He tried to have a word with Thackeray, but the Sena chief had begun responding. Mahajan held his breath, to let it out when he heard Thackeray say a good word. The alliance was safe, at least until the next difference-of-opinion.One Down, More To Go?The first casualty of the delay in the construction of the Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex at Anandpur Sahib is its director, the man behind Calcutta's Science City and the forthcoming one at Jalandhar, Saroj Ghosh. Though the foundation stone was laid on November 22 last year, the complex, to be designed by the Holocaust Museum architect Moshe Safdie, will take at least five years to come up.The Punjab Government was prepared to wait for so long - though 1999 is the Khalsa tercentenary - but Ghose couldn't. And though work was supposed to start on the Rs 90-crore complex in February, no one is counting on that anymore.Supercop ShahRukhMumbai's hip Carter Road has a star vigilante. Residents say whenever the local cablewallah airs the latest Hindi blockbuster, the police crack down and pull the plug just as the hero is about to be reunited with his long-lost family or some such climactic moment. Their eagle-eyed informer is none other than Shah Rukh Khan, who is also a resident of Carter Road. The superstar, who's been vociferous in the anti-piracy campaign, apparently often makes it a point to check if some new movie is being illegally shown on cable and promptly lodges a complaint. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why his films rake in so much at the cash counters. He does his bit to ensure his fans come to the theatres.Army's Swing BandShe called a brigadier a colonel, impishly bobbed a curtsy, and got away with it. Oh yes, Sharon Prabhakar had her audience eating out of her hand as she sang at the National Defence Academy's golden jubilee celebrations. The spunky performer frisked along the aisles, got the very`propah' military men to do the bhangra to her Laung Vacha, twist to Jailhouse Rock, and yes, even do the Macarena! - all this on stage, attired in their formal livery, ties and shiny boots.And as she waved to the cadets going wild on the second floor of the auditorium - the `balconians', as she called them, she also did her best to urge the `aristocracy' on the ground floor to enjoy. ``Your trousers won't crease, and your diamonds must be insured!'' Initially hesitant, it didn't take Sharon long to get them to tango. Their moustachioed stiff upper lips breaking into huge grins, this was one lot of jolly goodfellows!
