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HomeFeaturesIAS officer's Northeast book launch unites Lutyens' Delhi. They bond over butter...

IAS officer’s Northeast book launch unites Lutyens’ Delhi. They bond over butter chicken

In 'A Resurgent Northeast', Ashish Kundra mentions Mizoram extensively. But at the launch in Taj Mahal Hotel, the non-BJP-ruled state is mentioned once, at the tail end of the session.

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New Delhi: On a Friday evening, a gathering of Lutyens’ Delhi discussed Kiwi wine and boutique hotels that charge $15,000 a night—not in New Zealand but in the Northeast. The mood at Delhi’s Taj Mahal Hotel was buoyant. They spoke breathlessly of the BJP’s transformation of the region and marvelled at the power of infrastructure and connectivity.

The launch of IAS officer Ashish Kundra’s book, A Resurgent Northeast: Narratives of Change, brought together civil servants, diplomats, journalists, lawyers, industry leaders, and authors lured by a discussion promising A-list panellists – Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Hardeep Singh Puri, Chief Ministers Pema Khandu and N Biren Singh (who was a no-show), G20 Sherpa and former Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, and Indian Hotels Co Ltd CEO Puneet Chhatwal.

The evening started off with Naga trio, Tetseo Sisters, performing folk songs. As the evening grew deeper, they performed their own version of ‘Barso re megha barso’ and a fusion of the Punjabi song ‘Dil Diyan Gallan’ with Shibani Kashyap. Picture-perfect videos showing the natural beauty and culture of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland played on the screen.

But the party atmosphere dissipated once the panel discussion started in earnest. TV anchor Navika Kumar, who was moderating the panel, did not shy away from asking ‘intense questions’. And in a panel crowded by ministers, numerous political points were inevitably scored, although Rijiju and Puri gave a disclaimer that it wasn’t their aim for the evening.

Navika Kumar claimed that the “elephant in the room” was the security of the Northeast from the neighbouring country, with Rijiju boldly asserting that it is “well taken care of”.

“Not only Northeast, or Arunachal, every inch of Indian territory is secure,” he said.

However, the actual elephant in the room was probably the conspicuous absence of Mizoram, the other state where author Kundra — principal secretary, transport, Delhi government — was posted twice, apart from Arunachal.


Also read: Northeast a success story not just for BJP but all of India. It’s all about getting to end of bell curve


Butter chicken to St Stephen’s

In the midst of uncomfortable proddings to the speakers like ‘Do civil servants approach Northeast as punishment posting’ or ‘How secure is the region from China challenge’, the topic of food and cuisine provided comic relief with butter chicken becoming the court jester.

In his opening speech, Kundra, of Chandigarh origin, recalled his struggle with food upon landing in the Northeast. He talked about missing butter chicken and packing gunny bags full of vegetables every time he came home.

When Taj Hotels’ Chhatwal answered a question on the logjams preventing investments in the Northeast, he gave a rundown of projects the company, “known for nation-building”, is working on in the tourism and hospitality fronts.

“We will invest our own money, which we might not be doing in several other destinations. This is to provide the support that is needed for emotional integration that happens through culture. One of the key attributes is food, music – so that Ashish can get good butter chicken in Arunachal and doesn’t have to carry the stuff he was carrying,” he said.

Immediately, minister Hardeep Singh Puri quipped, “Why should he have his butter chicken.. just because he’s a Punjabi. I think your hotel should be encouraging local cuisine. I’d like to see more northeastern dishes.”

Lighthearted banter and witty side notes kept the audience gripped throughout the session. Regular impromptu applause was a sign of their rapt focus. Even the traditional college rivalry between St. Stephen’s and Hindu College of Delhi University found its way into the exchange.

“Amitabh, note that’s the better college,” said Hindu alumnus Puri to the former Niti Aayog chief, a Stephenian.

Kant, whom the moderator introduced as the start-up man, praised the book as “remarkably well-written”. He finished reading within three-and-a-half hours.

“Let me compliment Ashish because I’ve read a lot of his bureaucratic noting in government files, which were pretty awful. I never knew he could write such wonderful English,” Kant said.

He pitched for the Northeast to “remain a high value destination” and “never become a mass destination”, while underlining that global brands like The Taj “must remain local in ethos”.

“Northeast must sell at $15,000 a night. That’s the high value we must get from the region,” he said, drawing applause from the crowd.


Also read: New-age Northeast scholarship dominating global academic scene. IIT to Harvard, all want in


A ‘polite’ mention

Though the non-BJP-ruled Mizoram has been written about extensively in the book, at the launch, the only thing mentioned about it was the politeness of its people near the tail end of the session.

“In Arunachal, the people are friendly, outgoing, boisterous. When you go to Mizoram, they are a shy community but they are very polite,” said Kundra. For them, politeness is a great virtue, so if you start shouting-screaming, you are not liked at all.”

He used this to touch upon the cultural kaleidoscope in a region that most people are guilty of clubbing into a homogeneous lump.

“It’s not one entity or monolith that we are talking about, each state is different and within each state, there are diversities of a completely different order,” he concluded.

(Edited by Prashant)

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