TALK OF THE TOWN Arun Jaitley, the minister of finance, corporate affairs, and information and broadcasting, is often considered the third most powerful man in Delhi, behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. Jaitley began in politics as a student leader, and as a lawyer represented a variety of prominent corporations and political figures while gravitating ever closer to the BJP. Throughout, and beyond exercising his formal powers today, Jaitley has scrupulously tended a court of influential contacts, including journalists. He is now, de facto, the Modi administration’s primary outlet to the media. But beyond his privileged coterie, critics allege that Jaitley has turned a blind eye to corruption in the course of his career, and many, even within his own party, complain that he has consistently and cynically manipulated the media. While a spate of glowing recent media coverage has burnished his public image, some insiders wonder whether Jaitley’s utility to the current ruling circle might already be on the wane. Building on months of reporting, Praveen Donthi examines how Arun Jaitley wins friends, makes enemies, and influences people. Also in this issue: How Ujjwal Nikam became Maharashtra’s most popular lawyer; The weak foundations of the Modi government’s manufacturing ambitions; Considering varied modern takes on Kalidasa; The chequered history of Pakistani cricket; The hidden side of India’s tobacco industry; and much more.