The Mamata effect

Even before her first visit to the ministry,the Mamata effect was visible in the corridors of Rail Bhavan. Apparently wary of the limitations they could face,a few senior mandarins drew up a list of some commonly used phrases and greetings in Bengali,and could be seen practising their lines,at times with a little help from Bengali journalists. The result was apparent in a couple of days as Rail Bhavan was reverberating with “kemon achhen” (how are you?),“ki khobor” (what’s happening) and the like.