BS Role of Honour Awards 2004

ANIL AMBANI
Devotee of the Year
Because every time a crisis loomed, he found solace in prayer

He went to temples and shrines, on pilgrimage (even running a 22-km circumambulation, which almost won him Athlete of the Year) and on well-publicised religious yatras that would have done L K Advani proud.

Even as the country's largest private sector company that his father had built from scratch seemed further and further away from his grasp, Anil's saving grace was prayer.

He offered homage at Nathdwara in Rajasthan and Mukharbind temple at Mathura, and when that seemed to make little difference, he undertook a padayatra to the Lord Venkateswara temple in the Tirumala Hills to pray for "peace and tranquillity for the family".

The latest reports seem to indicate the Lord hasn't been paying heed as yet. Maybe it's time he sought his god closer at hand, since brother Mukesh Ambani seems to control the strings that have dropped Anil from divine favour.

Sonia Gandhi
Sanyasin of the Year
Because when she could have said yes, she chose to say no

India isn't short of sanyasins. There's Uma Bharati, formerly chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, who became the enfant terrible of the BJP when she decided to have a temper tantrum on reality TV.

And Sushma Swaraj, who swore she'd shave her hair off if Sonia Gandhi "" who led the popular mandate in Elections 2004 "" became PM.

Sonia Gandhi might have been tempted to see what a shaven Sushma Swaraj might look like, but decided "" unlike her predecessors in the "dynasty" "" that she didn't need to be in the prime minister's office to wield power.

Catholics hailed her as a poster child for Christian austerity; students of British history described her renunciation as similar to the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936 (although this particular analogy is not very clear, given that King Edward abdicated in order to marry an American divorcee); there were even comparisons to "that other Gandhi". Whatever. She's firmly entrenched in the pantheon of Indian sainthood. Nobody says she's Italian any more.

R S Lodha
Wild Card of the Year Award
Because he broke the myth forever that Marwari money never leaves its own

He was the outsider, a prominent chartered accountant, who was close to the late M P Birla. His family looked after Birla's widow, Priyamvada, like one of their own, while Gen Next partied in Mumbai and waited to claim an inheritance that was theirs by DNA.

But Priyamvada Birla, alone in Kolkata, thought otherwise, and made a will to the man who was her ally and confidante. The matter is now in court with allegations and counter-allegations flying thick and fast, about the legitimacy of the will, or even M P Birla's will, that have shaken the foundations of one of the country's biggest business families.

The jury's still out on whether Lodha is a modern-day Rasputin, or merely someone who asked the Birla scions to wake up and smell the coffee in Shining India. Whatever the courts decide "" and whenever "" one thing's for sure: future inheritors will think twice before ignoring wealthy relatives.

Chandrababu Naidu
Psephologist of the Year Award
Because he claimed victory even in the face of defeat

Even as the negative count was adding up, the Telugu Desam Party chief expressed his confidence in an interview to this newspaper about winning the state assembly polls in May.

What happened in the world that existed outside Mr Naidu's imagination was quite different: the Congress trounced the TDP, winning 214 out of 294 seats and ending his almost decade-long rule as Andhra Pradesh's chief minister.

Clearly, the voters didn't think Cyberabad held hope for the state's starving farmers, and Naidu got a thumb's down he's still to recover from.

Lakshmi N Mittal
Lifetime Achievement Award
Because when you have it, why can't you flaunt it?

Last year Lakshmi Mittal decided to crawl out of the woodwork "" he was only the richest Asian in the UK "" to show the world that being nouveau riche isn't the prerogative of just the Americans.

He was richer than the Queen but Buckingham Palace wasn't up for sale "" yet. So he did what any self-respecting man with $19 billion (approximately Rs 87,400 crore) to spare would have done: he bought the neighbouring house for a whopping £70 million.

Then, just to prove that he wasn't a selfish parent, he bought his daughter Vanisha the richest wedding ever: the venue was Versailles Palace in Paris (a first) with Kylie Minogue to perform, chefs, DJs and other event managers flown in from around the world to add to the £30 million tab.

But because he didn't want to be thought flippant, Mittalman also bought himself steel companies in the US, to become the world's largest steel magnate. All in the course of a year. It's unlikely he'll top any of that in 2005. Except, with Super-Lakshmi, who can tell?

Zaheera Sheikh
Reliable Witness of the Year Award
Because her testimony did more flip-flops than a fish out of water

The key witness in Ahmedabad's Best Bakery carnage case gave perjury a whole new dimension this year.

After initially claiming that she had turned hostile under duress from police and politicians, she then accused the prosecution of manipulating her.

With so many about-turns, soon even avid news followers had a hard time figuring out just which direction she was facing and Zaheera had succeeded in making an already-murky case even more confusing. By the year-end, even the Muslim community was riled enough to oust her.

MMS
WMD of the Year Award
Because the pen is no longer mightier than the sword

It is innocuous looking, small, easy to handle "" but has the ability to cause rampant destruction.

The camera-phone annihilated many things: the cosy illusion that schoolkids in India are an entirely different species from the horny frat-pack in the American Pie movies; the idea that overgrown celebrities (Kareena Kapoor and her toy boy) don't kiss in public places; and the bizarre notion that people using showers in hotel rooms can expect a degree of privacy. Our comfortable bourgeosie lives will never be the same again.

Mere Paas Ma Hai!
Kokilaben is in the eye of a storm as she attempts to bring her warring sons, Mukesh and Anil Ambani, together. Both say they'll listen to whatever she decides.

Both say they're close to their mother. Both claim they have her blessing. Kokilaben's task is cut out for her; if she manages it, we've got some more awards lined up. How about Mother India? Or, even, Man of the Year? Thirty million shareholders would agree.

The Biggest Cast in a Multi-starrer
Sahara CEO Subrata Roy's son's nuptials may have lost out on the prize for biggest wedding with an Indian connection (see Lakshmi Mittal) but the twin wedding was easily the one with the biggest attendance of Bollywood stars in the supporting role of baraatis and attendants "" famously, Amitabh Bachchan was also chauffeur for a while.

The Sahara Group's renowned knack for building connections meant that the cream of the country's politicians, businessmen, entertainers and high-society were present. Money rocks.

Jailbirds of the Year
They were thought the least likely to find themselves behind bars, but did.

The Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, found himself behind bars charged with the murder of an acolyte. Piety couldn't save him from chief minister Jayalalitha's moral umbrage.

But then, she knows a thing or two about jails, His Holyship's a novice. Publisher Ashok Advani is more sinned against than sinning, say his peers, but the court isn't convinced: he owes too much to too many.

Relatively better off is Avnish Bajaj of Baazee.com, who found a porno clip auctioned on his site inviting the wrath of Indian officialdom on him, even as techie peers and Uncle Sam pleaded not-guilty. He's out on bail.

Career Choice of the Year
Easily the most rewarding job last year turned out to be the legal profession.

Even as brothers and cousins and sundry others fought in court, and others were sent to jail, the ones laughing all the way to the bank were the lawyers fighting their cases that will now go on...and on...and on...

The Flight That Wasn't
The debut of India's no-frills airline turned dud when Capt G R Gopinath had to apologise to the civil aviation minister that they were grounded because of a fire caused by a short circuit.

Fortunately for Gopinath "" and lakhs of passengers "" Air Deccan has since proved that it's possible, with a lot of luck, to fly for just Rs 500 plus taxes.