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God's
Acre
Kerala is the undisputed tourism hot spot of India, the must-see destination
for heads of states, the wealthy, the tired. This is the story about the
colour and hardsell that have made this state of stunning backwaters,
impossible greenery and great beaches what it is.
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THE
NATION
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No
Chance for Peace
With
the jehadis stepping up their terrorist attacks and the Hurriyat issue
embroiled in confusion, hopes of a breakthrough in Kashmir are receding.
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STATES
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Fear
Factories
As
two senior executives are killed by workers, the persisting violence in
mills is forcing the state's antiquated jute industry to move to the peaceful
environs of Andhra Pradesh.
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BUSINESS
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BOOKS
Coastal Calamity
The Orissa cyclone and its aftermath
By P. Ananthakrishnan
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THE
ORISSA TRAGEDY
By Ruben Banerjee
Books Today
Price: Rs 225
Pages: 202
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The
farmers and fishermen who live in coastal Orissa survive on nature's munificence
and are frequently done in by its whims. Nature was at its whimsical worst
in the last week of October 1999 and the cyclone, which hit coastal Orissa
with a severity that was horrendous even by the hardened standards of
our country, killed thousands and rendered hundreds of thousands homeless.
The
Orissa Tragedy is a short account of this cyclone and its suppurating
aftermath. Ruben Banerjee's language is wayward and the book is strewn
with malapropisms-who is, by the way, "Casablanca on the turning
deck"?-but the author wins you over with his sincerity and passion.
The warnings
were all there, but a stupefied administration headed by an ineffective
chief minister and run by an asinine bureaucracy could never prove equal
to the complex task of disaster management. Thus, on the eve of the cyclone,
the chief minister was seen consulting a clutch of tantriks and the chief
secretary was doing what he knew best-holding numerous meetings with his
subordinates. When the cyclone struck, the chief minister was marooned
at his residence and the secretariat found itself without electricity
as it did not occur to anybody to arrange a stand-by generator. Ordinary
people stood no chance. They neither trusted the administration nor the
Cassandras of the Meteorological Department. They were reluctant to leave
their dwelling places. They simply drowned when the sea erupted.
There were,
of course, heroes. Saroj Kumar Jha, the officer who supervised the relief
work in the Ersama block, was one of them. The health officials whose
unstinted efforts did not find a mention in this book, without doubt,
belong to this category too. But what stands out in this sordid account
is that it is usually the carrion eaters-who come masquerading as benefactors
at the time of such tragedies-that return bloated. Meanwhile, the victims
wait, hoping for a better tomorrow that never seems to arrive and dreading
the next cyclone that may be lurking in the folds of the future.
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COLUMNS |
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 The
Kumbh mela is certain to lead to yet another explosion
of religiosity but is this good for India, asks India Today
Deputy Editor
Swapan Dasgupta in
Day
Dreams.
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INTERVIEW |
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This is just the beginning, V.K. Aatre, who
is at the core of the LCA action, tells India Today Principal Correspondent
Stephen David in an exclusive
Interview.
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DESPATCHES |
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As
the much-dodged liquor policy comes before the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet for
clearance, there are fears that the liquor mafia may continue to have
its way. India Today Special Correspondent
Subhash Mishra
reports in
Despatches.
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