The Luckies
The Labelled, Urban, Chilled, Kicked-with-life Indians are here. The most fortunate ever if only for the choices before it, this generation is glib, global, cocky and informed-and chases success with an awesome spending power.

Wages Of Peace
The Centre's decision to extend its cease-fire with the NSCN(I-M)
to three other north-east states leads to large-scale violence
in Manipur.

Man Of Letters
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's skill with the quill has the PMO busy acknowledging his missives. And on occasion agreeing to his demands.

Civil Lines
Pervez Musharraf's assuming the office of President is being seen as a bid to legitimise his position. A look at what this means in the context of his India visit.

Peace In Pipeline
India wants to put on Iran the onus of ensuring safe transit of gas.

STATES: ORISSA

A Way Of Life

The letters, which are first faxed and then mailed, have received due acknowledgement. On May 10, Vajpayee wrote to Patnaik stating:"I have received your letter dated May 5, concerning the distress sale of paddy". Two days later, Vajpayee wrote again. That rejoinder was followed in quick succession by more on May 16, May 20, May 22, May 24 and May 30.

The hectic correspondence in May is just a case in point. By conservative estimates, Patnaik has so far sent 50 letters to South Block. The number written to sundry central ministers is much more, estimated to be around 80. Some have been acknowledged others received with a stony silence (see box).

Needless to say, letter writing has become a way of life in Bhubaneswar. For example, last month Patnaik read in the morning newspapers that the Union government had announced a tax holiday for industries to be set up in the quake-hit region of Kutch, Gujarat. As soon as he reached work Patnaik dashed off a letter to Vajpayee, demanding similar benefits for industries in the cyclone-hit region of Jagatsinghpur. Similarly, when a highly publicised seminar in Bhubaneswar debated whether Orissa qualified to be a special category state and failed to invite the chief minister, Patnaik demonstrated his unsolicited solidarity by doing what he does best. He wrote a letter to Vajpayee demanding the same.

Not surprisingly, not everyone is impressed with Patnaik's skill with the quill. "Patnaik is just trying to act clever," alleges Bhakta Charan Das, a former union minister now with the Congress. The most widespread accusation against Patnaik is that his letters are not spontaneous and never earnest. That they are merely ammunition with which to silence critics and be seen as politically correct.

The charges gain some credence in light of a few brazen letters that Patnaik has penned. Last year, opposition parties reignited the issue of Saraikela-Kharasuan and demanded that the predominantly Oriya speaking tracts now in Jharkhand be merged with Orissa. As the matter hotted up, Patnaik chose to upstage his rivals by hijacking the issue with a letter to the PMO. With Patnaik as the protagonist, the opposition was quickly disarmed and the letter served its immediate purpose. The issue has once again gone into cold storage. But as Patnaik points out, "Some work gets done immediately. Some take time since they are complicated."

Either way, Naveen Patnaik seems to believe that there is still room left for civility in matters of governance. And time to write plenty of letters.

MetroScape

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