December , 2007
Modi and Gujarat - interchangeable?
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Having lived in Gujarat for 22 years of my life, I am probably more Gujarati than a South Indian. And outsiders' reactions to this state post 2002 never seem to amaze me. For they range from curiosity to hostility to admiration; and never before had anyone bothered to question me about the little traders' state I had lived in. A few days ago I had gone to purchase some groceries at a roadside shop in Aamchi Mumbai. The talkative grocer was showing off how he had special varieties of red chilli powder from all regions. So it was the spicy Malvani variety, the great for non-veg Andhra variety and so on until he said..."Aur yeh madam, Narendra Modi ke Gujarat ka." It was amazing how a semi-literate Maharashtrian grocer thought of only Modi when it came to Gujarat. Therein probably lies Modi's success in making himself synonymous with the state. ....
More about Kajal Iyer
Kajal Iyer is a senior correspondent with CNN IBN. She is a gold medalist in Mass Communication from Symbiosis Institute of Media and communication and got placed from campus. It was the shows like Surabhi, The World This Week and regular reading of Sunday Op-ed pages that prompted her to consider journalism as a career. Prior to CNN IBN, she has also worked for newspapers like Times of India, Midday in Pune and the Gujarati eveninger Sanj Samachar in Rajkot. She covers the civic beat in Mumbai and is interested in the basic bijli, paani, sadak brand of journalism, but also loves to cover the ocassional court room drama. Her biggest assignment till date has been covering Nariman house during 26/11 attacks. Writing is a passion for her and so is old Hindi film music. She is a trivia enthusiast and loves to watch shows on Discovery and the History channel.
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