How the ‘Corridors of Power’ work in Delhi-Part 4

Everything worked well during last decade, if you had even the smallest of Italian connections in Delhi. Until one day, the Italian mercenaries on board ENRICA LEXIE killed two Indian fishermen

 

One of the most important elements in influencing the corridors of power in Delhi was Italian food. Also described often as "Continental Food", and more than often in Delhi consisting of nothing much more than bread with an attitude and expensively priced salt dipped in olive oil, thick white sauces made of cheese and random herbs all smothered over badly chopped vegetables or poor cuts of meat. A wood fired oven, which was more often than not gas assisted, somebody's spouse with a work visa as the front (Albanian or Romanian would do if Italian was not available), and you were in business.
 
Nobody could touch you as long as you said in a mysterious voice-"I have to go now, catering at 10, Janpath", and that included serving alcohol out in the open in public lawns opposite your restaurant. There are a few specific mentions in this list - one in Sunder Nagar, another one in the Moolchand DDA Shopping Complex, a third in the Greater Kailash-II Market.
 
The liaison lot from the old days had their colonial clubs. The newer lot, who cut their teeth on keyboards, migrated from the media to serious fixing gravitated, instead, to these more modern and acceptable watering holes. It was but natural, then, that one tribe that started influencing the corridors of power the most in Delhi, were the so-called food writers. Spies have to meet up and exchange notes, so writing on food gives them the reason and the excuse to party hard, and globally.
 
One of them, the brave man in the Radia tapes for example, became well known for dropping names of genuine spies in his column more often than reviewing actual food. He is a neighbour and good friend of the meat-seller currently being investigated for running a laundry, in addition to meat exports. This is not co-incidental. Then there is the diva of them all, and her links to the one community, which morphs well with whoever rules India, and her frequent trips to random parts of Italy ostensibly to discover more pasta made in China. And then there is Shantanu Saikia, who incidentally, was married to the Queen Bee of them all in the food writing business. (I know a lot of food writers in India, the genuine sort who pay for their food, and have solid followings because of their credibility, none of them can afford the Bell Tower Suite in the Taj Mumbai, that's for sure, which is where, sadly, Sabina Saikia died during the Mumbai terror attacks).
 
The last decade in the Corridors of Power in Delhi was, certainly, the Italian decade. From banks operating out of diplomatic premises to 15% or more deals on everything including economic warfare of the counterfeit currency sort to bartering huge highway and infrastructure projects to setting up ring financing and re-insurance and private banking loops, everything worked if you had even the smallest of Italian connections in Delhi.
 
This was going along, willy-nilly and happily, until one day, the Italian mercenaries on board the ENRICA LEXIE killed two Indian fishermen on the St. ANTONY. They took things beyond anything that the Italian Connection in Delhi could handle. If there was one event, which marked a turning point in the corridors of power, it was this shoot-out. That is when the corridors of power in Delhi decided that enough was enough.
 
It is always the navy that comes to the rescue. Even in land-locked Delhi, every attempt including, placing dummy fabricated records of other fake ships attacked off Kochi, were simply repulsed by the Indian Navy. And that one event, amongst a few others including the Augusta helicopter scam, put the Corridors of Power in Delhi on notice.
 
What have been emerging are only the post-event tremors.
 
You may also want to read…
 
 
 
 
(Veeresh Malik started and sold a couple of companies, is now back to his first love—writing. He is also involved in helping small and midsize family-run businesses re-invent themselves.)
 
Comments
George DSouza
10 years ago
This the ultimate most riveting articles I have read in a long time.
ArrayArray
Free Helpline
Legal Credit
Feedback