In the wink of an eye….

Harvinder Khetal

THIS week went by in the twinkling of an eye (very fast) since I got engrossed in a couple of interesting developments that caught my eye. The instances stood out for the sheer staggering statistics associated with them, though separately and disparately. Their entrancing value was at once enhanced and emboldened by the scenario of a sudden change of fortunes surrounding them. 

First came the ooh-aah-laden story of a girl's winsome wink gone viral, and then the brouhaha-rousing scam of a bank defrauded overwhelmed one and all. If the former emphasised the all-is-well-with-the-world feeling, the latter highlighted all that is ailing in our society today. Cases of overnight reversal of fortunes are always eye-catching. In fact, rare would be the person who would not have by now known the two people I am referring to, so much have the twain come in the public eye. Yes, the two sensations are Priya Prakash Varrier and Modi Nirav.

Priya Prakash Varrier is a model and an actress whose sudden popularity on the social media shows that she has hit bulls-eye (an impressive result). A video clip of a song in her debut Malayalam film, Oru Adaar Love, in which she winks flirtatiously in a breezy college romance scene, was published on YouTube on February 9. It had received over 10 million hits within a couple of days. In the wink of an eye (quickly), she became one of the most searched-for Indian people on Google for some hours as almost every other person seemed to be feasting their eye on her out as she eyed her beau up (to eye someone up is to look at them with romantic interest) in the movie clip. 

But I was all eyes for (watching eagerly) the Nirav Modi-Punjab National Bank scam. I fail to comprehend how the PNB could turn a blind eye to (to willingly ignore something wrong) a fraud of Rs 11,000 crore over the past few years that it had been happening. Some officials at a single branch of the PNB in Mumbai seemed to have done fraudulent and unauthorised transactions for the benefit of a few select account holders without batting an eye (without hesitation). Those approving such huge transactions should have been eagle-eyed (have an ability to see important details and notice mistakes).

As the Rs 11,000-crore scam came to fore, the image of both Nirav Modi, the billionaire diamantaire, and PNB nose-dived. The setback was sudden, abrupt, overnight. It happened in the blink of an eye (instantaneously). Today, everybody is giving them the eye (to look at someone in an accusatory or disapproving manner). Indeed, all that glitters is not gold.

Besides feeling aghast by the fraud with public money, I also feel sad since the first Chairman of the country’s first indigenous bank, Punjab National Bank, which is in the eye of a storm today, was Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, the founder of The Tribune. When the bank was founded on May 23, 1894, its first meeting was held at Dyal Singh’s house. 

Ironically, Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia also had a keen eye for precious stones and he earned huge wealth by trading in diamonds and jewellery. But that’s where the commonality with Nirav Modi ends. He was a philanthropist who willed his property for the setting up of the newspaper and a college and a library. The PNB scam drew me once again to the book on the wealthy Sardar that was presented to me by the in charge of Dyal Singh Library, Lahore, during my visit to Pakistan. 

Prof Ruchi Ram Sahni, who knew the Sardar intimately and was present by his bedside during his last illness, in a chapter in the book describes Sardar Dyal Singh as an exceedingly kind man. Professor Sahni goes on to write: "He was a very keen man of business. A great connoisseur of precious stones of all kinds, he knew the history of the most of precious stones of all kinds. He knew the history of most of the valuable jewellery which the various Sikh and Hindu families in Punjab had in their possession. He also knew the value of some of the more important precious stones and he was constantly sending out agents for securing some of the necklaces and other articles of jewellery having precious stones at a cheap price. He would often take out the stones and sell them to the jewellers. 

“He used to tell us that to him it was a very profitable trade. Even jewellers, of whom there used to be quite a few in Lahore at that time, acknowledged that he had a true eye for gems. He would sometimes send these articles of jewellery through his own agents without his own name being mentioned to reach other families which, he thought, could afford to buy them at a profit from him. Sometimes those jewels were sent to Delhi, as also to various native states through his agents. He had little paper packets containing pearls in the drawers of his writing desk. I used to see him sorting these pearls and making new packets. He could give an interesting lecture on pearls and upon what elements depended their price. It would be literally true of him to say that he was an expert in many things — from cock fighting and kite flying to the testing of pearls, rubies, sapphires and other precious stones.”

How interesting! He was a gem of a man. We need more such people. No more scams, please.

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