Wordsmiths & Newsplumbers

BY R.K. MISRA Sound and light shows are not alien to India. These are used  often to showcase both history and heritage. Gujarat in general and Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad  in particular, were this last week, witness to a spectacular  sound and light show in three back to back events stretching from January 7 to 13. The Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas (PBD) and the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit (VGGIS) with the international kite festival interspersed between the two. Deafening sound and dazzling light. UN secretary general, US secretary of state, World Bank president, representatives of global ruling hierarchies, diplomats, CEOs of  worldwide business and trade, Indian  industry giants to name a few…. ones run out of breath but the list goes on and on. Figures outpaced figurines. Not the alluring  deadly damsels but the bloated ones, where the eye lost sight of the other end and the mind cartwheeled. Rs 2,50,00,00,00,00,000 worth of investment promises, stated the sedate  chief minis

BY R.K. MISRA A new year is a harbinger of hope. Optimism is the flavor of the season; so let’s go along. Gandhinagar, the state capital of Gujarat, is glowing like the  peach coloured skin of an affluence soaked offspring. One of three man-made cities in India after Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar, it is decked up like  never before. Gujarat’s first woman chief minister, Anandiben Patel  has done in a few months what Narendra Modi could not , even in thirteen years. She has given an absolute makeover to Gandhinagar. The city has turned spanking new and could easily be mistaken for an American creation. As it stands today purely in terms of civic showmanship, it could do the country proud. How long it can remain this way in the face of our pan-spitting, street littering ways  is anybody’s guess. But for the moment lets luxuriate in likeable thoughts. The reason for this massive effort at makeover is that Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar  is  hosting the  Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas, n