THE MANY FACES OF BIMAL JALAN

From picking a particular seat in the movie theatre every time to keeping a folder of excuses to decline invitations, Tamal Bandyopadhyay brings you unknown facets of the former RBI governor in his latest book

- Tamal Bandyopadhyay

EVEN TODAY, PEOPLE in the Reserve Bank of India have been trying to figure out the real Bimal Jalan. A politician? A diplomat who can keep everybody happy? A statesman? He was a pragmatic governor, liberal at heart-a general physician who would decide what to do with a patient by feeling their pulse. Y.V. Reddy, in contrast, was a specialist who would first recommend a diagnostic study to see what was wrong with the patient.

All in the RBI swear by Jalan's ability to get to the core of an issue, cutting the flab. He would come to the office at 9.30 am and leave at 5 pm, come what may. He would watch good movies at theatres and eat at restaurants across Mumbai. Booking an advance ticket.

For him, for the evening show of a movie on its first day (after rave reviews) was not easy as he had a very special seat preference-down to the row and the seat number. Why? Not for the vantage point for watching the film but for creating the least inconvenience to others. Jalan would walk into the dark auditorium when the film was about to begin and leave a minute before it ended without disturbing others. During the interval, he would stay put, but he would pick such a seat that there would not be much public glare on him.

Among the many new practices that he introduced in the Indian central bank is a bimonthly lunch with a select group of journalists where great non-vegetarian food, ranging from stuffed pomfret to prawn balchao and badami murgh would be served, all from the RBI kitchen run by chef Brian Pais. Jalan, a foodie, is a strict vegetarian. While out of Mumbai, be it Lucknow or Patna, Jalan would take his car out in the morning and stop at roadside stalls to have hot sweet tea in a kulhad and jalebi, kachori, samosa, or litti-chokha. Yes, the RBI governor at a roadside stall. Reddy continued with this but changed the menu, introducing Hyderabadi biryani. Reddy's passion for non-vegetarian food and sweets is well known.