Calcutta, May 20: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has sped off the blocks by saying what her constituencies wanted Mamata Banerjee to say but doing at Writers' what the "do-it-now" years had never seen. The first decision Mamata took as chief minister today was to return 400 acres to farmers who were unwilling to part with their land in Singur — a promise that had pitchforked her to power and will now test her government's ability to get around legal and contractual hurdles. "A few decisions were taken at today's cabinet meeting. The first is that 400 acres will be returned in Singur. Papers will be prepared in this regard. If the Tatababus are interested in setting up industry there, they can. But it will have to be on 600 acres. The 400 acres will have to be returned," Mamata told her maiden media conference as chief minister at Writers' Buildings. But beneath the familiar reassurances on Singur and nimble-footed dance around tricky questions such as the fate of the central forces in Jungle Mahal, the chief minister set a scorching pace that reflected the impatience of 34 years. Ministers have been told to work on Saturdays and the cabinet will meet every fortnight instead of once a month. A chief minister's office will be set up to handle "big and important work" — something Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee set up after the 2009 Lok Sabha elections but failed to draw talent. "Hard work is required now,'' Mamata said but did not mention the "do-it-now" slogan that became little else after Bhattacharjee made it the signature tune of his government. She practised what she preached on Day 1. Mamata was at Writers' well past midnight, apparently chopping and changing the portfolios of the 37 ministers who took oath today. Around 12.15am, Partha Chatterjee read out the list of portfolios. Mamata left at 12.25am.  |  | | (Top) Mamata leaves Writers' at 12.25am; (below) Partha Chatterjee takes oath. Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta and Amit Datta |
The new government appears to be banking on a Tamil Nadu precedent of 1997 when a state-specific amendment was introduced to facilitate the return of the Singur land to the original owners. Under the acquisition act in existence since 1894, land acquired for a public purpose cannot be returned and can only be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The Supreme Court too has delivered at least three judgments preventing the return of such land. Asked whether the Tatas would be asked to invest in Bengal, Mamata said at the Writers' rotunda this evening: "I told you just now. If the Tatas want to invest on the 600 acres, we will be very happy. Everybody is welcome in Bengal." Reminded that the Tatas still held the lease of the Singur land, Mamata said: "Our government will deal with it legally. Give me some time. We have just taken over. I don't know about deadlines, but I've drawn the boundary line." Mamata asserted: "Everything will be done legally by the government.'' Contacted later, a Tata Motors spokesperson said this evening: "At this point of time, there has not been any official reaction from the Tata group on the Singur issue. Hence, I can give you no guidance on this." The chief minister was categorical, asked whether the state government's agreement with the Tatas would be made public. "The moment I lay my hands on that, you all will come to know. We are very transparent,'' she said. If land was the opener, the other priorities listed by Mamata reflected her eagerness to reassure her core constituencies. She announced that a special package would be prepared for the minorities after seeking the advice of retired judge Rajinder Sachar, whose report on the plight of Muslims in Bengal put the Left on thin ice. "Our second cabinet decision is that a package for the minorities will be prepared. We will request Justice Sachar… we will take his advice on how to proceed. The chief secretary has been told to talk to him. We need to do something for the minorities," she said. The third cabinet decision was to set up a review committee to examine the cases of political prisoners. "Many people were put behind bars out of revenge. This panel will review the matter, case by case," the chief minister said. She said a separate department would be set up to review the issuance of BPL (below poverty line) cards and monitor the 100-day work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Mamata also spoke about development in Jungle Mahal and announced that a special package would be drawn up. "We will frame a special package for Jungle Mahal… schools, colleges, madrasas… for overall development there." Asked what her government would do with the joint forces in Jungle Mahal, Mamata evaded a direct reply. "Now see. There were central forces stationed there when elections were held. So, let's see what will happen now. I will cross-check and say.… There has to be development and co-operation," she said. Mamata said instructions had been given to seize illegal arms. "We want peace to prevail… there can't be any compromise on peace," she asserted. On Darjeeling, she said: "I will sit with people on Darjeeling. I had earlier said that I need three months' time." The following were her other announcements: - She won't travel in a bullet-proof car.
- Finance minister Amit Mitra has been told to find out the state of finances.
- A mini-secretariat will be set up for north Bengal.
- The health and education departments will be "revived" and "neutrality" introduced.
- The chief secretary has been asked to form an expert committee and submit a report within a month on how to conserve water for irrigation.
LONG MARCH TO WRITERS'
34 minutes to end 34-year reign | | DEVADEEP PUROHIT, RITH BASU AND TAMAGHNA BANERJEE |  | | CM SALUTE: Mamata Banerjee from the verandah of Writers' Buildings. (Sanat K. Sinha) |
A new chief minister rode a wave of people to the seat of power on Friday afternoon, sparking hysteria and creating history on the streets of Calcutta. And Mamata Banerjee's biggest padyatra till date — lasting a symbolic 34 minutes — raised hopes of the wheels finally turning in Bengal. A handful of policemen struggled to keep thousands of people — flanking both sides of Council House Street, BBD Bag West and BBD Bag North — in check as the state's first woman chief minister kept marching towards Writers' Buildings revelling in the outpouring of love and affection. The triumphant march started at 4.06pm from the Southwest gate of Raj Bhavan for the main gate of the state secretariat. She could have covered the distance in less than two minutes in her black Santro, but with "Maa-Mati-Manush" on her lips, she chose to walk in the swelter. "Oof, bhaba jaye na (This is just unbelievable)," said an employee of AG Bengal, who was waiting outside his office from 2pm for a glimpse of Mamata, after he spotted the chief minister emerging from behind the Raj Bhavan gates. "This is a historic moment. No other leader would have done this…. She is our chief minister," said the man standing next to him holding a bouquet in his hand. In a split second, Mamata — surrounded by Mukul Roy, Sovan Chatterjee and wife Ratna — rushed by and the bouquet remained undelivered. But this was not a day for complaints. During her first press conference as the chief minister of Bengal, Mamata seemed to salute the crowds from Raj Bhavan to Writers'. "Democracy is with the people and we saw that," she smiled. Why had she chosen to walk, despite apprehensions of crowd chaos? "I took the permission of the governor to walk to Writers'... When I came out of Raj Bhavan, I saw a sea of people on the roads. It was not possible to cover the distance in a car." Apprehensions of crowd chaos — police estimates put the count at 2 lakh-plus — did come true as supporters with "Didi, Didi" on their lips tried to get as up close as possible. People pushed and shoved, took a tumble and sprang up — all with a smile. "This is spontaneity and this comes when you feel free. It seems people are celebrating Bengal's freedom," said an employee of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, waiting with his colleagues outside the office. A couple of blocks from the state government office, employees of a foreign bank — HSBC — were waiting to catch the historic march. As the crowd crush breached the barricade near the Council House Street- Kiron Shankar Roy Road crossing, Mamata stumbled. "Ebhabe dhakka dhakki korle aami jabona (I will not proceed if such pushing-and-shoving continues)," she shouted and stopped walking. A senior police officer rushed to her and asked if he should bring the car, but Mamata refused and resumed her march. With the path being cleared, Mamata stepped up her treadmill-practised pace, leaving her co-walkers gasping for breath. Near the Hare Street crossing, a follower — with tears rolling down her cheeks — fell at her feet. Mamata urged her to calm down and walked on. In front of the GPO, Mamata paused and looked up at Writers'. Was she thinking of the past — January 7, 1993, when she was dragged out of Writers' — or the future — the enormity of the task that lay ahead? The march resumed but something was awry. Mamata stopped and wiped her face with her cotton stole. She was feeling "unwell". The cops swung into action and tried to get Mamata in through the Western gate. But that did not happen and she was finally led in through the Central gate. The clock showed 4.40pm. Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of Bengal, had reached her destination. In 34 minutes. | | Damage control heat on builders | | AMIT GUPTA & SUDHIR KUMAR MISHRA | | Ranchi, May 20: The state government has been jolted out of its slumber on the upkeep of the Rs 700-crore mega sports complex, that is already showing signs of decay, with the chief minister promising to take immediate action. A day after The Telegraph published telling photographs of how various stadiums within the 275-acre sports complex were falling apart with little or no maintenance ever since the fortnight-long 34th National Games concluded on February 26, Arjun Munda said he would not hesitate to take builders to task if flaws were detected in construction. He also activated the building construction department, which sent off letters to the builders — Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited (NCCL) and Calcutta-based Simplex Infrastructures — asking them to honour their commitment about maintaining the sports complex for a year. "I am not a technical person. The incident demands proper inquiry," he said referring toThe Telegraph's expose that also highlighted how a part of the outer ring of the main athletics stadium was blown away in yesterday's storm. "We need to find out the intensity of yesterday's storm in Ranchi. These are natural calamities. Losses caused by it have to be dealt with in a different way. If the guards forgot to close windows, it demands proper attention. The caretaker will have to pull up his socks," the chief minister commented. Sports secretary Ajoy Kumar Singh, however, was able to grasp the larger concern about proper maintenance and cited the defects liability clause that the builders were bound to honour. "The defects liability period of stadiums lasts till December 2011 for some and February 2012 for others. Both the companies have been told to start maintenance work," Singh told The Telegraph from Delhi. Executive engineer in the building construction department K.P. Sharma, who wrote the letters to the builders today, pointed out the government was holding Rs 25 crore as security deposit. The companies could lose the deposit in case they did not comply with the provisions of their agreement with the state. "We have served notices to both companies after receiving reports of some structures falling apart. The department would take over the security deposit and utilise it for the upkeep of the complex if the construction majors failed to respond quickly," Sharma said. Munda went on to assure the state that his government was serious about maintaining the mega sports complex. He said the state was in touch with the Union sports ministry, Indian Olympic Association and other sports organisations to work out plans for its proper utilisation. "All I can say is that my government is serious about preserving and enriching the mega sports complex. It has given a new identity to our state," he said. Mamata keeps key slots | | OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT | | Calcutta, May 20: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has kept with her most key portfolios that she feels can play a role in restructuring Bengal and are tied to her poll planks. Apart from home, Mamata will oversee land and land reforms, hill affairs, minority affairs, madarsa education, agriculture and power — all dealing with hot-button issues. Although several of her MLAs are from the minority community, she has chosen to keep minority affairs with herself because of the flak the Left drew over the poor state of affairs exposed by the Sachar committee report. Mamata will run health services, leaving environment to Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar, a highly qualified doctor. Like her predecessor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Mamata has kept information and cultural affairs with her. The department of planning and development has been handed over to former chief secretary Manish Gupta. The deputy leader of the House, Partha Chatterjee, has bagged commerce and industry along with information technology, industrial reconstruction, public enterprises and parliamentary affairs. Laying stress on north Bengal, where her party has broken new ground, Mamata has appointed a cabinet minister solely for the development of the region. Nearly 10 hours after the ministers took oath, Chatterjee came out with the list of portfolios. Many of the new ministers had left by then. The need to accommodate 37 ministers — 31 cabinet-rank ministers from her party and two from the Congress, apart from four ministers of state — forced Mamata to rework her list many times. Among Mamata loyalists, Subrata Bakshi has been given public works and transport. Calcutta Port MLA Firhad Hakim has got municipal affairs and urban development. Sabitri Mitra, the only woman in the cabinet other than Mamata, has been given women and child development and social welfare. Another key Mamata aide, Jyotipriya Mullick, will be in charge of food and supplies. Howrah MLA Arup Roy gets agri-marketing. Another Mamata acolyte, Madan Mitra, is minister of state with independent charge of sports. To Manas Bhuniya of ally Congress, Mamata has given irrigation and waterways, micro and small-scale enterprises and textiles. His party colleague Abu Hena is minister for fisheries along with food processing and horticulture. Bratya Basu is higher education minister while Rabindranath Bhattacharya, the Singur MLA, will head school education. Subrata Mukherjee, the only minister in the Mamata cabinet with previous experience at Writers', has been tasked with public health engineering. Sadhan Pande has got consumer affairs. Kashinath Mishra, the Purulia MLA, has been dropped from the initial list. Cong set to get 1 more cabinet berth | | BARUN GHOSH |  | | Manas Bhuniya |
Calcutta, May 20: The Congress is set to get one more cabinet minister to add to its tally of two "sometime next week", sources in the party said. The Congress will get seven ministerial berths according to its understanding with the Trinamul Congress. Two Congress leaders, Manas Bhuniya and Abu Hena, were today sworn in cabinet ministers. The party's second list of ministers will be for one cabinet minister and four ministers of state. An AICC leader who attended today's swearing-in said the party had requested Mamata to "set aside" the posts for it. Shakeel Ahmed, the Congress's minder in Bengal, said he would submit the second list to the chief minister "within a week". "I will finalise the second list after consulting Sonia Gandhi on Monday," he said. The "very short" first list that Ahmed handed to Mamata last night comprised the names of state Congress president Bhuniya and legislature party chief Hena. Ahmed said the remaining five Congress ministers would be sworn in "sometime next week". Party sources said the names being considered were D.P. Roy from Jalpaiguri's Alipurduar, Ajoy De from Nadia's Shantipur, Asit Mal from Birbhum's Hansan and Rabindranath Chatterjee from Burdwan's Katwa. The fifth slot is a toss between Malda Congress leaders Sabina Yasmin (Mothabari) and Abu Naser Khan Chowdhury (Sujapur). The sources, however, did not divulge who among the leaders was being considered for the cabinet berth. Several Congress leaders questioned the delay in finalising the list. "If Mamata can finalise her list of 36 ministers, why can't we decide on seven? Internal wrangles are preventing our leaders from finalising the remaining names." A Congress source said Murshidabad strongman Adhir Chowdhury and North Dinajpur's Deepa Das Munshi were mounting pressure on the leadership to ensure that more MLAs from their districts are made ministers. Chowdhury, the source said, has demanded the inclusion of one more legislator from his district in the list. Hena is from Lalgola in Murshidabad. Deepa too is pushing hard to get one MLA from North Dinajpur into the list. No leader from the district figures on the Congress list so far. Both Chowdhury and Deepa have strained relations with Mamata and the Trinamul chief apparently has "reservations" about inducting MLAs close to the two leaders into the cabinet. Ahmed said the delay in zeroing in on the ministerial candidates was because "we have to accommodate legislators from the minority community, women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to maintain a balance". On the top of the world - Steel city mom oldest Indian woman to scale Everest | | JAYESH THAKER |  | | Premlata Agarwal |
Jamshedpur, May 20: An enviable height of determination and a small tip from dad today made Premlata Agarwal the oldest Indian woman to ever conquer the Everest. The 45-year-old Jugsalai homemaker and mother of two daughters, who was part of a 22-member eco-Everest expedition team, touched the summit at 9.35am also to become the first woman from Jharkhand to scale the 29,029ft peak. Guided by Asian Trekking Agency, the organisers of the expedition, the team took the extremely windy and greatly challenging South Col (Camp 4 at 26,000ft) route from Nepal side at 11pm yesterday. The multinational trekking team led by Steven Sherpa Dawa dared an overnight trek to climb the summit. The Indian contingent, besides Premlata, comprised Sunita Singh, Narendar Singh, Pawan Grewal, Sushma and Vikas Kaushik. Ace climbers Rodrigo Raineri of Brazil and David Liano of Mexico accompanied them. The summit climb was tentatively scheduled for May 13, but heavy snowfall and gale winds forced the team to abandon plans near Camp 4 (26,000ft) a day earlier and take the descent route to base camp (18,000ft). But the daredevils didn't give up. Premlata perhaps remembered an oft-repeated lesson from her businessman father Ramawtar Garg. "Never reverse a decision. Good or bad, stick to it," the septuagenarian had always told her. On May 16, the team once again trekked to Camp 2 (22,000ft) and then to Camp 3 (23,000ft) a day later. Camp 4 was conquered on May 18. A day's rest and the mountain maiden, who had to opt for artificial oxygen at Camp 3 during their earlier quest on May 7, was ready to romance the Everest at sunrise. "Premlata has achieved a tremendous feat. It is a big step towards my vision of empowering women. I always had great faith and confidence in her skills as a mountaineer. I congratulate her on her achievement," Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to scale the Everest and Tata Steel's chief of adventure programmes, told The Telegraph from Uttarkashi. Premlata's family members, husband Vimal in particular, were too thrilled for words to describe her phenomenal achievement. "It was an extraordinary decision (to scale the Everest) taken by an extraordinary woman. I cannot say how proud I am," Vimal, a senior journalist, said. Tata Steel vice-president Sanjiv Paul echoed him. "This is a proud moment for all of us. I extend my heartiest congratulations to Premlata for having achieved this feat and also to Bachendri Pal for having trained and supported her all the way." In March, Premlata, Sunita and Narendra along with their surefooted Sherpas had flown to Lukla for a pre-Everest climb on Island Peak (20,600 ft) as part of a mandatory acclimatisation programme. The homemaker has proved her mettle as an adventure junkie on several occasions. She participated in Tata Steel Adventure Foundation expeditions to Island Peak in Nepal in 2004, the Karakoram Pass (18,300 ft) and Mt Stok Kangri (20,150ft) in 2006, the First Indian Women's Thar Desert Expedition in 2007, which involved a 40-day camel safari from Bhuj in Gujarat to the Wagah border in Punjab. Her achievements have already found her a place in the Limca Book of Records. | |
| Amit Mitra admitted to hospital | | Finance and excise minister Amit Mitra was admitted to a city hospital at 1.15am on Saturday following severe abdominal pain. He is in an intensive therapy unit and his condition is stable, doctors said. They added that he had indigestion on Thursday and did not appear to have eaten anything on Friday. | |
| Head held high but back-door arrival | | PRONAB MONDAL AND KINSUK BASU | | Calcutta, May 20: After an 18-year wait, Mamata Banerjee had to pause an extra few minutes. Getting into the chief minister's chamber was suddenly proving difficult for the politician with a three-fourths majority, and she had to steal in through the back door. When she was dragged out of Writers' Buildings on January 7, 1993, Mamata had vowed not to repeat her visit until she could enter with her head held high. As that moment came around 4.30 this afternoon after exactly 6,707 days, a crowd of jostling staff, waiting to welcome her, blocked the VIP corridor leading to her new office. It was the same room, then belonging to Jyoti Basu, from where Mamata was turned away in 1993 as she sat in dharna seeking justice for a raped deaf-mute girl. Today, she had to wait 10 minutes after stepping off the VIP lift as her security tried and failed to carve a passage through the throng. An officer explained that Mamata had said no force should be used. "So, we could not push the staff back. We escorted her through the inner corridor between the conference room and the CM's office." It took Mamata 15 minutes from her Writers' entry to her chamber. One of the first things she did was to have Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's towel-covered chair replaced with a plain wooden one. When a three-member medical team entered the room, the anxious staff outside were reassured that it was only for a check-up because Mamata had walked the stretch from Raj Bhavan to Writers' in scorching heat. Sources said Mamata was given first aid for scratches she had suffered on her left elbow while shaking hands with the roadside crowd. At 5.15, a roar went up in the corridor. "Ready thakun,CM beroben (be prepared, the CM will step out)," a security officer told the guards at the door. As the door opened to reveal the new chief minister standing at the threshold, security officials ringed her but struggled to hold off the crowd. Many stretched out their arms. A smile played on Mamata's lips as the staff shouted: "We want a corruption-free administration." As she walked down the corridor, a man appealed from behind:"Madam, please accept this small gift." Mamata turned back and accepted the bouquet of red roses. She read the card carefully: the flowers were from a pro-Trinamul government contractors' association. She resumed walking. Her security looked confused. "Madam, where would you like to go?" an officer asked. "To the balcony," she replied. Another struggle for security to open a passage. Mamata stood on the balcony for a minute, waving to the human sea on the road, before walking back to her chamber. When she emerged around 6.05, the staff were still waiting. She folded her hands but couldn't stop some of them from touching her feet. Giving up, she blessed them and walked to the conference room to talk with her ministers.
Mamata moment under the sun | | ANASUYA BASU & POULOMI BANERJEE |  | | A crowd catches the swearing-in on a giant screen on the Shahid Minar grounds. Picture by Sayantan Ghosh |
Basudeb Mukherjee is cursing the day Mamata Banerjee changed her swearing-in venue from the Brigade Parade Grounds to Raj Bhavan. Had Didi taken oath at the Brigade, Mukherjee would surely have made a killing. Mukherjee runs the canteen of the City Athletic Club on the Maidan. On days there are meetings at the Brigade, he sells about 1,500 meals. Going by the crowd that assembled at nearby spots to watch the proceedings live on TV, Didi's presence would have called for many, many more such meals. The Shahid Minar grounds and the Metro Channel was being prepared for this moment since Thursday. There were four giant screens near the monument while another caught drivers' and pedestrians' eyes in the Metro Channel. Yet another was near Red Road. Hemanta's mellifluous voice singing Purano shei diner katha provided a soothing backdrop to the general cacophony of peak-time traffic. Even before mid-day, people gathered near Shahid Minar started looking for shelter under the shade of trees to escape the cruel sun. "I started early — at 10 in the morning — from Picnic Gardens to reach here," said Nityaranjan Das, who was sitting on a concrete platform at the base of a banyan tree, reading a newspaper. "I didn't want to watch the swearing-in at home. My daughter is a CPM supporter because her husband is one. So, I came here to watch the swearing-in with like-minded people," he said. Samaresh Mistry's father is a CPM worker. "But I am a supporter of Didi," said the contract labourer from Canning. "You know, despite my father being a party worker throughout his life, they (some CPM men) robbed our house a few months back," he complained. "What's the point of my father working for the CPM if we can't live in peace?" he said. There was also the stray CPM supporter. You could spot Subir Kumar Das of South Dinajpur by the morose expression on his face. Das has been in Calcutta because he brought a relative to a city hospital. "I joined the CPM in 2001. I liked Buddhababu," he said. He also has his own take on the Left's debacle: he blames the "historic blunder" of the CPM in not allowing Jyoti Basu to become Prime Minister. "The second mistake was quitting the UPA government, the third was ousting Somnath Chatterjee from the party." By then, Mamata had been invited to take oath. The crowd broke out into spontaneous applause as she rose to the dais and stood in front of the mike. "Shouts of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Mamata Banerjee zindabad' rent the air as Didi read out the first few words. Swapan Das, a Dharmatala hawker, cashed in on the occasion by selling booklets on Mamata at Rs 5 each. "I bought 100 copies and they are selling fast," he said. "Jiro theke masnad-e gechhen Mamata (from nothing, she has attained chief ministership)." Table talk If the atmosphere at Shahid Minar was electric, the few who chose to watch the proceedings in cool five-star comfort showed typical white-collar reserve. At a table in The Bridge in The Park sat a group of four gentlemen dressed in crisp shirts, dark ties in neat Windsor knots. They punctuated their lunchtime conversation with quick glances at a large LCD TV. "I have a flight to catch, so I will leave in 15 minutes," said Shankar Chatterjee. "I'll miss the swearing-in but I feel good about her. She had this vision and she has realised it." The executive and his colleagues had a lot of expectations from the new chief minister: a push for business, better education facilities, the list was long. Kamal Das was working out on a cross-trainer at the hotel gym, but his eyes were glued to a tiny TV on the machine. "I want better economic policies and law and order. I hope she lives up to the promise 'Badla noy, bodol chai'," he said.
On her biggest day, a second look at mother | | CHANDREYEE CHATTERJEE |  | | Mamata Banerjee leaves 30B Harish Chatterjee Street for Raj Bhavan in her Santro on Friday afternoon. Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray |
12.36pm: A black Santro with a woman in white seated in front leaves 30B Harish Chatterjee Street to cheers from a noisy crowd that had been waiting all morning to catch a glimpse of her Post-midnight: A black Santro carrying Bengal's first woman chief minister stops in front of 30B Harish Chatterjee Street Between morning and post-midnight on the second momentous Friday in seven days, a modest south Calcutta house with green grilles went from being "Mamata Banerjee's home" to the "new chief minister's residence". "Hare Krishna Hare Ram, gharey gharey Didi-r naam," the crowd outside 30B Harish Chatterjee Street had chanted through the morning, waiting for a glimpse of Mamata. Every now and then cries of "Vande Mataram!" would punctuate the smart-alecky sloganeering, as if to remind everyone that "Maa" and "Mati" haven't been lost in the euphoria over the electoral victory. Around 11.45am, Mamata stepped out for the first time, to see off a guest. But it was to be more of a peekaboo appearance than a proper appointment with the crowd. "Deri achhe ekhon, ei bhabe to jaabe na (There's time yet… she won't go out this way)!" said a voice in the crowd, alluding to Mamata's attire. Not that she dolls up for any occasion, but surely Mamata wouldn't wear that crumpled sari to Raj Bhavan for the swearing-in ceremony, the man seemed to say. Click-click went the cameras as the lady in home attire disappeared behind the door, only to re-emerge less than half an hour later wearing a sari rumoured to be the one gifted to her by Sonia Gandhi through A.K. Antony on Thursday. Mamata briskly walked the few metres from her house to the Trinamul office, shaking hands with people lining the barricade and accepting flowers. Climbing the makeshift podium in front of the office, she took the cordless mike to thank the audience for "being here for us" and apologise for not coming out earlier. "I was busy, so I decided to meet you all on my way out," she said. After the explanation came the advice. "Apnara shobai bhalo thakun, amader matha thanda korey kaaj kortey hobey (Take care all of you, we have to keep our heads cool while doing our job)." Mamata also announced that she wouldn't be meeting anyone over the next week."Amake potapot kichu kaj kortey hobey. Aami cheshta korbo jatey shaptahey ekdin aami manusher shathey dekha kortey pari (I have to get some work done pretty fast. I will try to keep aside one day every week to meet people)," she said. So wouldn't all work and little public interaction make Mamata a dull chief minister? "Amader state deulia hoye gechey. Amake dekhte hobey aamra ki obosthaye aachi, tai ei shaat-ta din amake din-raat kaaj kortey hobey. Amar kachhey kono Shonibar Robibar nei (Our state has gone bankrupt. I have to check where we stand, and I need to work day and night. For me, there's no Saturday or Sunday)," she said. As Mamata walked towards her car to head for Raj Bhavan, she was heard saying: "Aami aar ekbar Ma-er shathey dekha korbo jabar agey (I want to see mother once again before leaving)." Gayatri Devi and Mamata's sister were the only ones from the family who didn't attend Friday's swearing-in. The crowd thinned out after Mamata left and by the time the oath-taking ceremony started at Raj Bhavan, the area outside the Trinamul office was deserted. Down the street, all shops were shut. In the party office, a handful of workers was glued to the TV. However, they almost missed the big moment when the screen went blank. Frantic phone calls to the cable operator brought the signal back seconds before Mamata took the dais. Life returns to Alimuddin Street | | ZEESHAN JAWED |  | | Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee leaves Alimuddin Street for Mamata Banerjee's swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan on Friday afternoon. Picture by Aranya Sen | Muzaffar Ahmed Bhavan limped back to life on Friday, almost as if Mamata Banerjee being sworn in as chief minister a few kilometres away was the jolt it needed to wake up from slumber. Left Front leaders started trooping into the CPM's Alimuddin Street headquarters one after the other, the staff got busy cleaning the cars and the chauffeurs changed into their crisply ironed uniforms. Gopinath Sau, a 40-year-old roving tea vendor who crosses 31 Alimuddin Street every day between 11 and 11.30am, was taken aback by the flurry of activity exactly a week after Friday the 13th. Over the past seven days, he had only seen half a dozen Special Branch officers wandering aimlessly on the premises. Occasionally, one of them would call out to him to buy a cup of tea. "Koi programme hai kya (Is there any event)?" Gopinath asked one of the officers on Friday morning. "Don't you know Mamata Banerjee is going to take oath at Raj Bhavan as the state's new chief minister?" the cop shot back. The officer admitted later that Gopinath was "right in his observation" about Alimuddin Street witnessing signs of activity after a week. "This is usually a very busy landmark. After all, it is the headquarters of the party that ruled the state for 34 years. A large contingent of cops would be deployed here until last Friday's verdict snuffed life out of the place," he said. A colleague of the officer, dressed in a deep-blue safari suit, paced up and down grumbling about being refused permission to switch on the television to watch the oath-taking ceremony live. "Dekhun na, boleche TV chalano jabe na (They have told us we can't switch on the TV)," he said. "This is the first time in 34 years that a non-communist chief minister will be taking oath. I want to see it happen but they have locked the door," said the officer, pointing to a small room on the ground floor. On May 13, that room had been opened to journalists for them to be able to keep track of the counting trends being beamed live on TV. The room was allegedly kept locked this Friday "under instructions". At 12.10pm, Left Front chairman Biman Bose came down from the second floor with Kiranmoy Nanda, Biswanath Chaudhuri, Manju Majumdar and Kshiti Goswami. "Why are you people here?" Bose asked the waiting journalists and photographers, looking suitably surprised by their presence. "I won't say anything," he declared Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the first one to arrive at the party office at 10am, was the last to leave for Raj Bhavan. He stepped out around 12.30pm, after measuring the size of the media contingent through the space between the grilles on the mezzanine floor. "His glum look hasn't changed since last Friday. Today, he got off his white Ambassador and went up without casting a glance at anyone," said a staff member on duty at the reception after Bhattacharjee's departure. Life may have finally returned to Muzaffar Ahmed Bhavan, but the smiles haven't. | |
| Apolitical fan club at oath venue | | CHANDREYEE GHOSE AND BRINDA SARKAR |  | | The crowd outside the Raj Bhavan North Gate on Friday afternoon. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha |
Dakshineswar-resident Iva Nandy had planned to spend Friday afternoon in a Gariahat nursing home, where her brother-in-law was to undergo an eye surgery. But Mamata the magnet did not let her proceed south of Raj Bhavan. The primary school teacher, while passing the north gate of the governor's residence, realised that she would much rather be there than anywhere else as"Didi" took oath as chief minister. "I cannot move away from here. So I called up my sister and told her that I will be late. Not every woman can change the system. I would not have been able to do it… Didi is special and I welcome her as our chief minister," she said while trying to find a spot from where she might be able to catch a glimpse of Mamata or hear her. Much to the disappointment of Iva and hundreds of others who had gathered outside the North gate, Mamata entered Raj Bhavan through the Southwest gate. Mamata fans felt even more deprived at not being able to hear her take the oath but few budged from their positions. "I will be here for some time just to soak in the atmosphere. Wish I could just sneak in. I don't support any political party really but I am a die-hard Mamata fan," said Iva. The crowd outside the North and Southwest gates of the governor's house had already started swelling by 11am. Among them was Goutam Maity, who was selling two poems that he had penned on Mamata for whatever the buyer was willing to pay. Patrick Peter, a social worker from Mominpore who was also in the crowd, released a pigeon sporting a Trinamul garland at 1.01pm. "We want peace in the state and expect Didi to deliver it," he said. If the crowd reserved their loudest cheer for Mamata, they were unkind to her predecessor as he arrived for the ceremony. With windows of his car rolled up, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is unlikely to have heard much of the comments. As Trinamul workers lit candles, sang the national anthem, smeared green abir on each other and rushed from gate to gate to catch a glimpse of their leaders, many bystanders joined the frenzy. "This is West Bengal's second Independence day. Today even policemen are behaving so well with ordinary people. They won't dare to be rude to us anymore. The times are changing," shouted someone as the crowd broke the barricade and moved closer to Raj Bhavan. From 2pm, the crowd started counting down for Mamata to come out of Raj Bhavan and walk to Writers' Buildings. "She is going to walk like a true chief minister and I am going to join in the procession. She had once been thrown out of Writers'. It will be so nice to see her get a queen's welcome there," said Sabita Bose, a Trinamul worker from ward 81. Chandana Dhar Gupta, the 57-year-old supervisor of a social welfare project in Arambagh, was stationed in front of Raj Bhavan since 7am. She was not walking freely, but did not mind moving from one gate to another along with the crowd. Finally she stationed herself near AG Bengal and refused to budge till she watched Mamata walk towards Writers' Buildings. "I am apolitical, but I have witnessed a lot of Left atrocities. I had not seen anyone vote in the past 10 years. That the people around me could vote is a big deal for me. I was often threatened because I had no political backing. The reign of terror has come to an end," she said. "We could never dream of approaching Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee but Mamata will be more accessible," she added as the crowd pushed her around. She finally managed to watch her idol head towards Writers'. "It was for only half a second but even that made me emotional," she said. | Tagore song marks a break from protocol | | SUDESHNA BANERJEE | Mamata Banerjee's swearing-in saw a break from protocol, with a live performance being allowed before the national anthem brought the curtain down. From a platform to the right of the stage rang out the Rabindrasangeet Nai nai bhoy hobe hobe joy…. The idea germinated one evening about two months ago — if Mamata wins, there has to be more Tagore than the police band's Janagana Mana at the swearing-in. Mamata was playing the piano and singing at artist Shuvaprasanna's house in Salt Lake. "It came to my head why not have Mamata sing a song before she takes oath. In a free country, one can always steer away from protocol in an orderly manner," Shuvaprasanna told Metro on Friday. But with Mamata becoming increasingly pressed for time, it was not possible to have the new chief minister put up the performance herself. "Still, I could not let go of the idea of a full-throated Rabindrasangeet being sung at such a watershed moment, especially when we are still celebrating kabipaksha (the fortnight starting on Tagore's birth anniversary — this year on May 9)," he said. The idea was broached to Mamata. She had sung on camera once before, renderingAye mere watan ke logon impromptu for a reality show that was telecast live. She liked the proposal but said that since it was the prerogative of the governor, the host of the programme, it could only happen if he allowed. "'Shuvada, ami boltey parbo na.Tumi kotha bole dyakho,' she told me. So I went over to Raj Bhavan and made the request on Wednesday. After some discussion, the governor agreed," recalled the artist. The next step was the search for the right song. "I consulted Sudeb Guha Thakurta (principal of Dakshinee, the music school). We came up with a shortlist of three-four songs, which included Prano horiye trisha horiye…" The winner, however, was "Nai, nai bhoy hobey hobey joy, khule jabe ei dwar", which roughly translates into "Fear not, victory is certain, this door will open". As for the selection of the singer, Shuvaprasanna wanted to pick young talent. Guha Thakurta suggested Shamik Pal, a former student of Dakshinee who still performs at the school's programmes. "I got a call from Shuvaprasannababu on Wednesday. I knew the song Nai nai bhoy. So a couple of evenings of rehearsal after classes were enough," says the 32-year-old teacher of economics and marketing at the Institute of Engineering and Management, Salt Lake. For Pal, it was an "honour" to be part of the historic occasion. "The bonus was being praised by singer Sandhya Mukherjee, seated in the audience." Tagore scholar Purnendu Bikash Sarkar, who has compiled all songs of Tagore'sGeetabitan in a DVD format, said: "Nai nai bhoy was written by Tagore while he was in Munich at the age of 65. His manuscript dates it to 18 September, 1926." From Tagore's pen in Munich to Mamata's coronation 84 years later, the song has indeed travelled a long way. Firmly rooted on pledge route | | SUBHAJOY ROY |  | | Mamata's convoy winds its way through Judges Court Road on the way to Raj Bhavan. (Sanjay Chattopadhyaya) | On a day the entire world was looking at Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamul leader forgot neither Maa norManush. And she vowed to stay rooted to Mati before leaving her Harish Chatterjee Street residence for Raj Bhavan. Bengal's chief minister-designate stepped out of her home at 12.30pm and addressed the people who had gathered outside since Friday. "I'll work very hard for the next seven days. Don't come to meet me for a week. After that, I will again meet you. I have to understand where the government stands," she said. She then quickly went inside. "Ami aar ekbar Ma-er shathey dekha korbo jabar agey (I'll meet my mother once before leaving)," she told an aide, the mike in her hands taking the voice to the thousands waiting outside. At 12.41pm, she set out of Harish Chatterjee Street in a black Santro, sitting in the passenger seat with folded hands. In no time, the car roof was showered with flowers. The car hit Hazra Road, took a right turn and crossed Kalighat bridge. It had to slow down to a crawl after crossing the bridge, as around 1,000 people had gathered at the Gopalnagar crossing. Mamata kept smiling all the way, her hands folded in namaskar. Her car then went through Judges Court Road, Hastings Park Road, Belvedere Road, Reformatory Road and DL Khan Road before hitting the Maidan. The fleet of vehicles that trailed Mamata's car then went through Hospital Road (West), Lover's Lane, Kidderpore Road, Red Road and RR Avenue. A bus packed with passengers was moving barely 50 metres ahead of Mamata's car. After a right turn from RR Avenue, the car finally hit Government Place West. Raj Bhavan's Southwest gate lay 300 metres ahead. Policemen were waiting after opening the gates, but the car screeched to a halt outside. Mamata stepped out of her car to meet her manush again — the thousands who had gathered outside the governor's house. She moved a few steps ahead, waved to the crowd before finally going inside. It was 12.57pm. Two giant killers focus on road ahead
- Manish: No interest in ministerial berth | | SHUBHAJOY ROY |  | | Manish Gupta walks down the stairs of his Garia home on Saturday. (Sanat Kumar Sinha) | Calcutta, May 14: Manish Gupta, the Trinamul Congress candidate and former bureaucrat who defeated Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, today said he was "not interested" in a ministerial berth. "I have not entered politics to become a minister," Gupta said, sipping cold drink at a Trinamul office in Jadavpur, his constituency. Asked what he will do if he is offered a key berth, he replied: "I am not interested." Gupta, a former chief secretary who had served under Bhattacharjee, said he wanted to work for the development of Jadavpur. "The Left had done nothing for this constituency," he said. It is widely believed that many of the economists, artistes, retired bureaucrats and policemen whom Mamata Banerjee had fielded will be inducted into the government. Gupta, 69, said he had not been able to speak to the Trinamul chief till this afternoon. "I had tried several times yesterday. But the (phone) lines were jammed. I plan to meet her this evening" Gupta said, sitting in the Garfa party office, where he met local Trinamul leaders and workers for the first time since his victory yesterday. The new Jadavpur MLA stepped out of his Gariahat home at 11.10am and headed straight to the party office. Around 30 party workers greeted him as soon as he stepped out of his car. Gupta visited other Trinamul offices in the area too. Supporters waited in front of each party office to meet him. Some embraced him, while several others touched his feet, addressing him as "sir". Gupta, however, appeared unfazed by all the adulation and maintained his composure. He smiled and greeted back the supporters and patted some of them. There was no green aabir. The chanting of "vande mataram" could be heard only once or twice. The former chief secretary said he was yet to come to terms with the importance his party attached to his victory. "I have received 800 text messages since the election results were announced yesterday evening. So many people called up that I could not receive around 600 calls. People around me are saying that defeating the Left in Jadavpur is historic. But frankly speaking, it is yet to sink in for me," Gupta said. As he spoke, another call arrived on his cellphone. Gupta had kept it on silent mode to avoid repeated distractions. Many of the Trinamul supporters he met today requested him to open an office in the constituency where he could listen to the grievances of the people. They also requested that their new MLA arrange for potable drinking water in all parts of Jadavpur, a long-standing demand of the residents. Winding back in time, Gupta spoke about the day Mamata requested him to contest the elections. "I remember, it was around 12.30pm. Mamata Banerjee called me and offered me a ticket from Jadavpur. Although the party gave me the chance of opting for some other seat, I decided to contest from Jadavpur," he said. Gupta said he had "taken the initiative to get in touch with the Trinamul leadership and join the party". He said his four decade-long tenure as a government servant could come in handy for Trinamul. "A strong message needs to be sent to bureaucrats that we want an efficient and impartial administration," he said. People's event vs 'perfect' ritual
- Unshackled from formal do: music and mirth | | DEVADEEP PUROHIT |  | | Mamata shares a light moment with Pranab Mukherjee and P. Chidambaram after the oath-taking ceremony. (Amit Datta) | Calcutta, May 20: A Tagore song at the end of the swearing-in ceremony was not the only change that Bengal witnessed today. The one-and-a-half-hour programme — completed with clockwise precision — was replete with variations as it stood out from other such government dos. Chants of "Didi, Didi", frequent applause, clamour to click a picture of the new chief minister and a mad rush to shake hands with Mamata Banerjee and touch her feet — all these robbed the ritual-driven event of its gravity. "You may call it the democratisation of a ceremony like this. People from all walks of life have come to attend the programme. This is indeed a change from the past," said a city-based businessman who did not wish to be named. Writer Navaneeta Dev Sen echoed the view. "It was nice to see people from all backgrounds at the programme. It was a people's programme and not just another government function. Mamata has made a great start. One hopes that she will manage to retain this connection with the people." The swearing-in at the same place five years ago — Tata Motors' Nano project in Singur was announced the same day — was different from what took place on the sprawling Raj Bhavan lawns today. "There was enthusiasm about the future of Bengal and the Tatas' decision to invest in the state but there was no curiosity about the people in the government. The ceremony was formal to the core, everything looked so perfect and orderly," recounted a senior bureaucrat. That was, however, not the case today. Like Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee during the last swearing-in, Mamata remained seated on the dais but she constantly kept fiddling with her phone. There was a place earmarked for the MLAs, just like 2006, but many of them were seen moving around freely. Those in the audience also moved around in the pandal despite the imposing presence of senior Union ministers — Pranab Mukherjee and P. Chidambaram — Mamata's cabinet, senior police officers and bureaucrats. "This is the feeling of freedom and spontaneity. With Mamata as chief minister, people of this state feel liberated," said artist Suvaprasanna. He said he had requested governor M.K. Narayanan to include a Tagore song in the event. "The setting comes across as a celebration of change. But it also marks the beginning of curiosity. We really want to know how much Mamata can deliver," said a city-based businessman. Unlike the swearing-in of 2006, which had witnessed the re-endorsement of Brand Buddha, nobody announced any big-ticket investment today but the air was not devoid of hope. If the mother of a "martyr" was expecting better law-and-order situation, the businessmen were hoping for a boom in Bengal. "I think that the excitement level is much higher today simply because nothing had been happening in Bengal in the past three years. There is a general mood of optimism around," a businessman said. | | | | My Mamata: Up close & personal | | SAGARIKA GHOSE Potro dilo Pathan Keshore Khan re, Ketoon hotey Bhunag Rajar Rani.' Mamata Banerjee recited from Tagore's Hori Khela and translated for me. "There was once a brave Rajput queen who outwitted a famous Pathan general." "And did you know about the sheyaal who turned blue to hide his identity but was discovered when he shouted hukka hua?" she yelled at a crowd at one of her rallies. Her Bengali is fluent and metaphor-laden. Not just Bengali belted out as a political war cry but also Bengali as a folksy, feminine, sometimes slang, sometimes classical, repository of tales and stories. She's written 27 books and even writes poetry: under the steely hard-as-nails fighter-politician, there's an enthusiastic teller of tales. For Mamata, the personal is the political. In my years of travelling with politicians, I've discovered the one quality that separates a natural politician from an artificial one. And that one quality is a complete absence of a sense of privacy. Fussy city-bred types shut their doors and retreat into paranoid self-involved spaces. For the natural politician, the private and the public merge completely. Lalu Prasad used to keep his bedroom, indeed bathroom, doors always open. Mamata eats, sleeps, works, lives, falls ill among people. She rarely closes any doors. She's won a big victory but her family members say she likes the small things. Says her sister-in-law Lata boudi. "Move to a bungalow? Proshnoyee othey naa. She'd never live in a big house, or drive a big car." Big-ness seems to offend her lively sense of aesthetics. Her personal bag is a chic little pouch made of blue denim. She has a tiny Ma Kali in her car. Green and orange paper buntings decorate her home designed to match with her tiny hedge of bamboo and rubber plants. She asked all Bengal to light a small lamp outside their homes after the election victory to signal the end of violence. To fight a big fight, solace must perhaps come from the little things; from the little pretty things that remind of a little girl's imagined universe, away from the harsh realities of fighting in the anti- communist Armageddon. She's India's Lech Walesa, a homegrown anti-communist hero, yet ironically her self image is that of a Leftist. A true Leftist, she says, like the once-dedicated activists-intellectuals of yore who sacrificed personal comforts to serve. Nationalist Pritilata Wadder and communist leader Kalpana Joshi are some of her heroines. Sometimes, winners and losers are joined at the hip, victor and vanquished are children of the same womb of a common history. In Bihar, Lalu Prasad is now vanquished. But he still created the democratic society that led to the emergence of a Nitish Kumar. In Bengal, the austere upright old Left may be passé. Yet it is they who created a legacy and context for Mamata Banerjee. She may not have the conventional attributes of a bhadramahila. Her father was too poor to send her abroad for a prized western degree. Instead, Mamata Banerjee to me represents the rise of a homegrown Bengali ebullience, the happy-go-lucky democratic spirit of the streetside adda with their mastaans and mashimas. The babu bhadralok of the Left and Congress who have traditionally ruled Bengal have always been snobbish about English and sneered at those who did not speak it with the correct accent. Mamata represents a liberation from the right accent, a liberation from hang-ups about class, a liberation from intellectual condescension. She's a chief minister who has once sung in a TV reality show. She's a chief minister who says her only identity is that she's "a commoner". Bengal's democratic revolution has arrived with a bang and it's arrived after years of bloody struggle. But away from the images of Mamata the ferocious warrior-politician, my Mamata will always be about folksy feminine Bengali; about tiny Ma Kalis; about neat denim bags and stories about sheyaals who shout hukka hua at night; and about Tagore's poem about Bhunag Rajar Rani, the valiant queen of Ketoon who dressed as a man to outwit her enemy. (Ghose is the deputy editor of CNN-IBN ) DEREK O'BRIEN My Mamata is the struggle to set up a new party. MyMamata is the ability to believe in yourself when you are down to one MP in 2004. My Mamata is having the tenacity to conduct three meetings in one ward before municipal elections in 2005. My Mamata is not giving up when you are one MLA short of being the Opposition in 2006. My Mamata is the series of struggles in the 1980s and 90s and beyond. My Mamata is the struggle for the right of the people of Singur and standing tall even when everyone doubted her. My Mamata is the struggle for existence — an apt title for the books she wrote. I met her a few months after the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 at Trinamul Bhavan. Mamata Banerjee is even now not about the success but about the struggle before the success. That is the most important part of it and anyone who has come to know her recently needs to know what the lady has gone through. After a full day at Singur during the protests she would take out 10 minutes to brief me before I went out to face the national media. Overall, she is human and caring. When I went to her on Christmas during her 25-day fast in 2006 she said: "I am sorry for spoiling your Christmas." And even then she had the sense of humour to say, "I hope the Christmas cake you had was good." My Mamata is the little things that mean a lot, like getting a message on my 50th birthday because she knew that turning 50 was special. I remember being very upset at the death of a very close friend. I knew him for a decade, she knew him since her college days, but she was the one who was consoling me. On May 13, four grown men (including me) were sobbing their eyes out in joy and she was the one calming us down! She is strong on her gut feeling and has a god-gifted ability to identify an idea or person. My Mamata is not a 100-metre dash but the gruelling marathon. (O'Brien is a quizmaster and a vice-president of Trinamul) JOGEN CHOWDHURY I met Mamata Banerjee for the first time in 2009 at the annual gathering in artist friend Shuvaprasanna's Raichak residence. Shuva and (wife) Sipra organise a programme of music along with lunch every year at the end of February at Raichak, where they have a double-storeyed rest house. His neighbours are mostly well-known Calcuttans. Samir Aich, our common friend, and I were late, and it was already noon when we joined Shuva's Raichak gathering. Hundreds of people from all walks of life — artists, writers, musicians, politicians and socialites were already there and the mood was happy. Mamata, as usual in a white sari, was sitting in one corner with a couple of people. Seeing me, she got up with folded hands and said she had a lot respect for me. I was surprised by her gentle gesture. Though she is young, I too had great respect for all the extraordinary qualities she possessed as a compassionate human being and as a firebrand young politician of Bengal, who fought tirelessly against the atrocities of CPM rule. From my youth I have been aware of the socio-political developments in Bengal, India and the world. Since my college days, I have been clear about my political ideology. I could never back the communists for their ideology, which does not advocate the freedom of individuals and the freedom of expression. I am aware of the movement Mamata is engaged in. I understand that she must have known me following my participation in the protest march against the Nandigram killings. She may have known me as an artist as well. I had many questions for her that afternoon. So I sat next to her along with Samir Aich. She looked quite frail. She was very cordial as if we belonged to one family. I asked her how she had lost weight. She said she walked on the treadmill for at least half an hour every day to keep herself fit. Then I asked her the most vital question that had occupied my mind for some time. In case she came to power, how would she motivate the staff of Writers' Buildings and in the hospitals, since most of them are CPM supporters, who have lost the willingness to work in the past 30 years of Left Front rule? This question seemed to galvanise her all of a sudden, and she sat up straight and alert. She said, I know exactly how to control such elements and such situations. One needs to be cordial with them as if they were part of a family. Not everyone is wrong. We shall have to work as one family. Love and affection are most important for working together. I felt Mamata was right, and today, when she says: "Badla noy, bodol chai" (Not revenge, but change) her ideology becomes clear. She is all for change for the better, and does not want to be vengeful. I met Mamata on several other occasions — private meetings and rail programmes. The most memorable encounter was at Shuva's residence once again after her party won 19 seats in Parliament. The gathering was to celebrate the victory, as far as I remember. Mahasvetadi (Devi) was the most senior person there, and Mamata was seeking her blessings. Most of the intellectuals were present on the occasion. Joy Goswami, Samir Aich, Bratya Basu, Arpita Ghosh, Kabir Suman, Nachiketa, Sunanda Sanyal, Debabrata Bandopadhyay and the newly-elected MPs and Trinamul Congress leaders and many others. Mamata was in a dilemma over joining the Central government, but we asserted that she must. It turned out to be a music soiree. Suman, Nachiketa and everybody else sang in unison, and Mamata herself continued to sing her favourite Rabindrasangeet, while others joined in. Only Mamata's determination and tireless and continuous struggle along with her supporters have made possible her historic victory. She has made possible the impossible. At this critical juncture, Bengal is fortunate to have a leader of her vision and dynamism at the helm of affairs. As an extraordinary leader of the people, I am sure she is the harbinger of the transformation of Bengal. (Chowdhury is one of India's leading artists andhe has drawn the sketch of Mamata for Metro) SOUMITRA RAY I've known Mamatadi from way back in 1979. My mother (Manjula Ray) was the president of Mahila Congress. Indira Gandhi had asked her to look after the women's cell and so she had handpicked members for the core committee. Mamatadi was one of the fresh faces in the team. She was very young, just out of college, if I remember correctly, but the most determined member. They used to have frequent meetings at our Broad Street home and her duty was to take down the minutes of the meetings. Come rain or shine, she was usually the first one to land up and the last one to leave. She would willingly go into the kitchen and offer to make tea for everyone. Most simply dressed, she would take either the 42A or 33 double-decker bus to Kalighat after the meetings. If I was at home, I would go out for a smoke and walk her to the bus stand and stop for a small adda at Birenda's tea shop. She would do small things that touched your heart. She must have heard us discuss that my mother and me were fond of lau chingri and suddenly one day she arrived with a bowl of lau chingri. She was quite naughty and would hide the packet of biscuits served with the tea in one of the worker's bags and when everyone would look for them she would point and laugh, "Ei dekho Shipradi shob niye boshey achhey (See, Shipradi has taken them all)!" The others would call her the "michkey shoytaan (the prankster)". I was in my first year of college then and had a band called Joint Family. She would see me leave every evening and say, "Roj kothay jao boloto ei shob guitar niye. Amakey dekhtey hobey!" This carried on till around 1984 when Ma told me about this meeting at Hazra where she had given Mamatadi the mike to speak and she pulled in a crowd. The same year at a meeting in Malda, she was asked to speak with Ghani Khan Chowdhury on the dais. Once again her speech turned out to be a great crowd-puller. And Chowdhury asked my mother to give the "young girl" more liberty to speak in public meetings because she had so much fire, making people stop and listen. It made my mother very proud that "one of her girls" had been praised by the Congress stalwart. I lost touch with her till two years ago when I got a call from Derek O'Brien to tell me that Didi was enquiring about me. So I went over to her Kalighat home and what a meeting that was! She put her feet up on the chair, ordered muri and beguni and we dived back in time. Derek told me he had not seen her so happy and relaxed in a long time. After that we've kept in touch. She never fails to reply to my SMS-es. She still talks about the fish fries and cutlets that my mother would get for the meetings. The day my mother passed away last October, she got to know from somewhere and arrived within 10 minutes and stayed on till the last rites were performed. Who would do this in the middle of the night? For Kali Puja, two weeks after Ma died, she called me and said, "Khokon, aaj amar bari esho", knowing that I used to light diyas every year with my mother. She didn't say much but spending Kali Puja with her filled my void. Another time I had messaged her about Ma and her pitheys and she promptly replied, "Aami pathabo tomake" and 10 days after Sankranti, she sent pitheys to me. She has taken my mother's place and I had told myself that whatever happens, whether she won or lost, I had to be by her side. She took me with her on many of her campaigns around North and South 24-Parganas and on the day of the verdict I got calls from party workers that Didi was looking for me. She wanted me by her side. I felt so elated. I reached at 7pm and she made me sit next to her for three hours. Then she gave me a car to go back home with tray-loads of sweets for my family and chocolates for my son. She also gave me a bonsai bamboo plant in a glass bowl to place before my mother's photograph and said "Eta Manjuladi'r chhobir shamney amar naam korey rekhe diyo." Just 10 minutes ago, I got a call from Derek asking for my address because Mamatadi wants to invite me over for the swearing-in ceremony. Who am I? Just an ordinary musician with a band but it's her sincerity and heartwarming nature that she is able to love and respect everyone. I'm thrilled to bits that it's the same young girl with that spark who will be our chief minister. I pray for her the way I pray for my family. (Ray is the vocalist and percussionist of the band Bhoomi) KAKOLI GHOSH DASTIDAR Mamata Banerjee to me is, in one word, "God". She is honesty, simplicity and straightforwardness. She is one of the most diligent people I have seen and she is at the end of everything the nicest human being. I first met her at a procession in 1976. I was in Class IX and she was in college and active with Chhatra Parishad. Since then we have always been in touch. I got married and went abroad for my studies. When I came back I joined politics again and stood against Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee from the Congress. When Mamata Banerjee formed the Trinamul Congress I was there. It is her zeal and doggedness in protesting against injustice that for me is the biggest draw. And her indomitable spirit is the most attractive quality. We go back 35 years so we have shared lots of special moments, both political and non-political. If she doesn't like the way I'm wearing a sari, she'll make sure it's worn correctly. She'd fix my hair herself when it wasn't done properly. Who else in her position would take the time to pay such individual attention? And this relentless fighter never considers herself a woman; she thinks of herself as a human being. But every woman is happy about her success today. (Ghosh Dastidar is the Trinamul Congress MP from Barasat) ARPITA GHOSH I got to know Mamata Banerjee some time in 2008, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. It was a very formal interaction. Then we were invited to a party at Shuvada's (Shuvaprasanna) house after the elections. Since then I have tried to pass on whatever information I would get from the districts to her and she would act on it. She was the one who wanted me to join the passenger service committee of the railways and I did. She then asked if I would like to move to the heritage and culture committee and I readily agreed. Over these two-three years I have realised that she thinks in her own way and is calm and confident about all the decisions she takes. The Mamata I know is very different from the Mamata I encountered from afar as a person working on Park Street in the 1990s. The Mamata I saw was more about gimmick than about political decisions, at least to me. But there has been a change in her since 2006. Especially now, she has so much maturity. I was moved by the way she has nurtured her party. And what she did after the clean sweep on May 13 was absolutely remarkable. No victory marches, Rabindrasangeet in every para.... I have never seen something like this since my birth and I have only seen the Reds since then. And every person respected her wishes. That kind of feat is only possible for a real leader. Working for the railways I have seen she is a very good administrator. That is exactly what we need right now. She is extremely sensitive about and emotionally attached to West Bengal and I believe that she will change the face of Bengal. Mamata Banerjee to me is also the person who keeps note of every small detail. If I SMS asking her whether it's possible to call she calls back at midnight if she does not get time during the day with a simple "aami tokhon phone kortey parini, bolo...". She always remembers you even if you are not in constant touch with her. My fondest memory of her is my first visit to Rail Bhavan for a meeting. It was Rakhi Purnima and she had tied rakhi on everyone including the bearers and peons, singling them out by name and giving them mishti. She never says "give us tea", she always says "please can you give us some tea". Can there be a more humble person? (Ghosh is a theatre actress and director) |
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| | Decoded: Didi on dais | | SHE STEPPED OUT OF HOME THRONGED BY HUNDREDS OF ADMIRERS AND HORDES OF HUNGRY NEWSHOUNDS, BUT MAMATA BANERJEE WAS A PICTURE OF CALM, ALMOST REASSURING THE STATE THAT SHE WAS IN CONTROL. BUT IS IT A DEMEANOUR SHE WILL BE ABLE TO RETAIN THROUGH THE UPHEAVALS OF A DAY OF OVERWHELMING EMOTION? METROSAT WITH PSYCHOLOGIST TAPASHI MITRA IN FRONT OF THE TELLY AND TRIED TO DECODE BENGAL'S NEW CHIEF MINISTER, THE FIRST WOMAN TO WEAR THE MANTLE SINCE THE FIRST STATE ELECTIONS ALMOST 60 YEARS AGO. | 30B Harish Chatterjee Street She waves at supporters and extends her hand towards those waiting beyond the barricades. With the arm extended, she walks up to her black Santro. Tapashi Mitra ■ The wave testifies her confidence. ■ The touch is her way of reassuring supporters that she is with them, even after ascending the throne. It also shows her proximity to ordinary people, which few politicians can claim. ■ Both haste and excitement — 25 minutes away from becoming the chief minister formally — are evident in her movement. Sermon before service "I will work hard for the next seven days. There won't be anything called Sunday or Saturday…. You people don't come here for a week. I will meet you one day every week after that," she tells her supporters. TM ■ A reaffirmation of the commitment to "Maa mati manush" even after moving up the ladder but a reminder nonetheless that she means business. Inside Raj Bhavan, a hug Smile intact, the chief minister-designate gets out of the car, hands folded in a namaskar. A quick wave and she hurries towards the shamiana. She hugs danseuse Amala Shankar and some of the other guests TM ■ A look of contentment and being comfortable with her own self. ■ A hint of jubilation in the smile now. Her face is radiant as it reflects the confidence of being the harbinger of change. ■ The embrace shows her gratitude. On the dais, composed Bows to the governor and smiles. The official in a cream bandhgala seems a trifle jittery as he hands her the print of the oath, but not the lady. She reads without a stutter from the paper, signs on the dotted line and heads to her seat. TM ■ Confidence personified. ■ The satisfaction of victory after a long-drawn struggle evident. But the head is firmly in place. ■ Stoic while signing the paper but fast in getting to her seat, almost saying let's get on with the business. On the throne, a commoner Wipes her face with her uttariya and fidgets with her fingers while others take oath. She arranges her hair once. TM ■ The use of the uttariya suggests she isn't really too bothered about what others may think. She is the way she is. ■ There is an air of fleeting tension, possibly thinking of the enormous responsibility on her shoulders. So the fidgeting. ■ She must have felt relaxed again when she ran her fingers on her hair. Friendly shake She shakes hands with Manas Bhuniya. TM ■ She has learnt the art of coalition politics. Here a smile, there a concern As a spectator, she seems restless. She gets up from her seat as each minister comes to the dais. Her twinkling eyes move around. In between, she fiddles with her phone (perhaps reading or sending text messages). TM ■ She seems restless as a spectator because she is a workaholic. ■ She directs everybody, making it clear she is the centripetal force in this galaxy. She is the navigator. As the head of the family, she is in charge now. ■ Her roaming eyes indicate the power of observation, not uncommon in someone who dabbles with the paintbrush. ■ She's a multi-tasker. No wonder she is on the phone. Show over She waves during the Rabindrasangeet. She bows her head during the national anthem that follows. She walks with the governor for tea. TM ■ She says the government is in safe hands when she waves. ■ The stooped head suggests modesty. ■ The glory of achievement shines bright as she matches steps with the governor. I'm the chief minister, she seems to say. Text: Jhinuk Mazumdar; Pictures: Amit Datta, Sanat Kumar Sinha and Anindya Shankar Ray
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