August 19, 2010 has been definitely one of the momentous days of my journalistic career. I was in Delhi to present the copies of the August issue to the Union Minister of Power Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde. I had done an interview with him in it. Initially, I was to meet him at his office in Shram Shakti Bhavan at Rafi Marg. Sadly, I missed the appointment after being stuck in the legendary Delhi Traffic (and that too on a rainy day).
By the time I reached the office, he had left for the parliament as a session was on. Mr Lokesh Chandra, his personal secretary asked me to come back later in the afternoon.
I did but the Minister hadn't been able to return. Disappointed, I decided to leave about an hour later after seeing Mr Chandra again. To my surprise, he asked me to meet the Minister at the latter's office in Parliament House.
It was indeed my lucky day. I immediately headed for the Parliament House. I have seen this majestic building several times during my many visits to Delhi but this was the first time I had the opportunity to actually visit it. Thankfully, I could meet the Minister at his office in 45B and could present copies of the August issue. He appreciated the truthful representation of facts and specially mentioned that he liked the heading - 'Changing India's Power Equations'. "You couldn't have got it better, young man. That's exactly what we are actually trying to do here," he said. It was a fulfilling moment.
The walk from the entrance of the Parliament to the Minister's office had seemed quite long. Surprisngly, the journey back was relatively quick. And I will not deny it - I felt quite elated walking through the corridors of power. (And it was a lovely coincidence that I had a meeting with the Minister of 'Power'.) However, during my way back, I noticed what I had seen earlier but missed. The walls, the floorings and the ceiling of the corridors looked rather unhealthy to me. One would have expected the finest architectural touches of repairs and restoration to this heritage building but that is not the case. The fact remains - India's ultimate seat of power needs serious repair work. And I mean literally. (We can discuss the symbolical repair works some other time.) I can definitely recommend some of the finest names in heritage conservation architecture in India if the authorities ask me.
And now, let me do some more chest beating. In a span of less than two years since it started, Construction Week has managed to do exclusive interviews with two Union Ministers. It was Mr Kamal Nath in September 2009 and now Mr Shinde. Both have been firsts for B2B journalists in India.
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