A news channel helped me put this in perspective: LN Mittal is going to be selling the world a tenth of all its steel. Just to help subvert that cliché of every sixth person in the world being an Indian, it would now apparently be safe to say that an Indian is responsible for the steel being used to make every tenth car you see. This one fact should be enough reason for me to feel a certain sense of fraternal pride. I must confess, however, that when I learnt of LN’s ‘hostile’ bid for Arcelor finally being accepted as ‘friendly’ on Sunday, I felt a little miffed.
And mine’s not a communist problem. I am not disappointed that the billions of euros the new Mittal-Arcelor entity rakes in each year is in no way going to benefit me. What I feel can only best be described as envy -- a simple case of sour grapes. Despite there being obvious similarities between LN and I, I would never be able to count the number of zeroes in my salary using more than just the one hand.
The obvious details first. LN and I were born to the same Marwari community, making us fish of the same gene pool. The trajectory that led LN’s family to the oasis of Calcutta from the desert of Rajasthan is somewhat similar to my own. And he and I were educated at the same educational institution. And there, the similarities end.
LN has promised to give St Xavier’s, Kolkata, Rs 120 crore and is understandably its richest alumnus. I, on the other hand, am not even enrolled as a member of the institution’s alumni. And this is perhaps the rudest realisation: at the age in which LN was perhaps turning the fortunes of a steel plant in Indonesia, I am budgeting for the sandwiches and coffee I consume in the confines of a newspaper office.
{{/usCountry}}LN has promised to give St Xavier’s, Kolkata, Rs 120 crore and is understandably its richest alumnus. I, on the other hand, am not even enrolled as a member of the institution’s alumni. And this is perhaps the rudest realisation: at the age in which LN was perhaps turning the fortunes of a steel plant in Indonesia, I am budgeting for the sandwiches and coffee I consume in the confines of a newspaper office.
{{/usCountry}}For the Marwaris, LN’s safari-to-business suit story is the kind of stuff that legends are made of, a story that uncles tell their errant and impressionable nephews. And that the world’s fifth richest man still opts for a ‘vegetarian’ French meal is evidence enough of the fact that he has still not forgotten his roots. While on the subject of food, mention must be made of Munna Maharaj, whose name itself conjures up images of opulent dollops of oil used to make LN’s favourite chaat preparations that much tastier.
Apart from benefiting Tony Blair, LN’s patronage has also helped Munna become the prized caterer for most Marwari wedding dos and a proud owner of restaurants situated in the more plush parts of Kolkata. LN clearly gives back more than he gets. But then I am no British Prime Minister and my culinary skills will never match those of the Maharaj.
My case does seem defeated even before it’s heard. And while I would still violently disagree with the arguments posed by biological determinists, I’ll continue to secretly hope that I am proved wrong.