The Kotak moment

It takes a special kind of genius to keep things simple. As your cover story Kotak’s Next Move (BT,August 9) brings out very eloquently, Uday Kotak has this quality in heaping measure. Apart from his level-headedness, what also defines this businessman is his ability to spot opportunities and create viable businesses from them.
Atulya Ganguly, Ranchi

The men behind Kotak
Your cover story on Kotak well captures the essence of the company as it has grown to become the giant business conglomerate it is today. But, I was a bit surprised not to find any mention of Shivaji Dam in your story. Not only was he among the first employees of Kotak Mahindra Finance, he remained a pillar of strength for the organisation for many years. Your story got me thinking that he has either retired or is no longer with Kotak.
Nitin, Mumbai

From the Editor: Shivaji Dam left the group three years ago. He is now a Non-Executive Director on Kotak Mahindra Bank and heads the Kotak Education Foundation, an initiative of Uday and Pallavi Kotak.

Right man for the job
One hopes that Nandan Nilekani will bring to bear his proven leadership skills to his new job (A Unique Sense of Identity, BT, July 26). He deserves kudos for giving up a high-flying corporate career to serve the larger interest of the nation.
B. Rajasekaran, Bangalore

A labour of love
Your issue dated 26th July/Titled Going For Broke/Gave me here a nudge/And there a little poke/Your Myth & Reality Focus/On our scanty monsoon/Was very apt and timely/And not a bit too soon/Reading How The Rich Deal With Recession/Sent my good mood/Into a deep depression/Your unique profile of Nandan Nilekani/Tasted like our own/Home grown “Daal Makhaani”/How Satyam Was Sold/Was a “doosra” well-bowled!
J.S. Broca, New Delhi

Correction
In Top Recruiters 2009 (BT, July 12), Nirma Institute of Management, Ahmedabad should have read XIM Bhubaneswar; IIT Chennai should have read IIT Roorkee; and PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore should have read Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. The inaccuracies were due to coding errors by our partner Synovate. The errors are regretted.

Finding fault with schemes
I agree with the observation that villagers are not interested in promoting schemes like NREGS (A Bolero Scheme, BT, July 26). Over the years that I have spent in rural Maharashtra pursuing agri-processing, I have found that villagers have no interest in making schemes like NHM (National Horticulture Mission), suitable for promoting horticulture-based agro economy, work. They will point to the fallacies of public schemes but will make no efforts to make them successful.
Arun Khobragade, Amravati