<p>When Ramjee Chandran returned to Bangalore in 1988, after a long stint in New Delhi, he had a riveting story on his hands. It was one that unfolded before his eyes and that had a significant impact on the country’s history. As a lobbyist, he had front row seats to what transpired at the highest level of government. </p>.<p>“But once I came back, I got busy setting up and running a media company. It kept me occupied for 30 years, so I never really got around to sitting down and writing that story, until recently,” Chandran says. Titled <em>For No Reason at All</em>, the 500-odd pager chronicles the ‘silicon metal controversy’, which broke out in 1984. It is published by Penguin Random House.</p>.<p>The prologue takes readers to Mettur Chemicals, a caustic soda manufacturing unit in Mettur, Tamil Nadu, where professors from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, have dropped in for a visit. It’s 1963 and they are on the hunt for some hydrogen, with which they hope to develop silicon metal. The book then jumps to 20 years later, when it is announced that the government would be setting up its own facility to manufacture the metal by importing technology from the US. </p>.Banu Mushtaq: 'Playing the role of a critical insider is not easy'.<p>“It took Mettur’s R V Ramani and the IISc professors close to two decades to develop and perfect the material and suddenly they were hit with the news that the government would be manufacturing the metal themselves. Effectively it meant they would have to shut down operations — two decades of indigenous research would have amounted to nothing,” Chandran explains. The story details the events surrounding this episode — the lobbying, the espionage, the relationships and clash of egos. “As a 20-something man in Delhi, dealing with spies and politicians, it felt like I was in a James Bond film,” Chandran recalls. </p>.<p>While almost every significant detail in the book is true, the narrative has been thinly fictionalised. The retelling of an event of grave importance has been conveyed through humour, which makes it an easy, engaging and enjoyable read. “All the characters are also real, though some of their names have been changed,” he reveals. </p>.<p>Chandran, whose podcast, <em>The History of Bangalore</em>, has a significant following, is currently working on a book on the same topic. “There is so much about the history of Bangalore that most people are unaware of. For instance, Begur was very important to our history but I do not know how many people know that,” he shares. </p>
<p>When Ramjee Chandran returned to Bangalore in 1988, after a long stint in New Delhi, he had a riveting story on his hands. It was one that unfolded before his eyes and that had a significant impact on the country’s history. As a lobbyist, he had front row seats to what transpired at the highest level of government. </p>.<p>“But once I came back, I got busy setting up and running a media company. It kept me occupied for 30 years, so I never really got around to sitting down and writing that story, until recently,” Chandran says. Titled <em>For No Reason at All</em>, the 500-odd pager chronicles the ‘silicon metal controversy’, which broke out in 1984. It is published by Penguin Random House.</p>.<p>The prologue takes readers to Mettur Chemicals, a caustic soda manufacturing unit in Mettur, Tamil Nadu, where professors from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, have dropped in for a visit. It’s 1963 and they are on the hunt for some hydrogen, with which they hope to develop silicon metal. The book then jumps to 20 years later, when it is announced that the government would be setting up its own facility to manufacture the metal by importing technology from the US. </p>.Banu Mushtaq: 'Playing the role of a critical insider is not easy'.<p>“It took Mettur’s R V Ramani and the IISc professors close to two decades to develop and perfect the material and suddenly they were hit with the news that the government would be manufacturing the metal themselves. Effectively it meant they would have to shut down operations — two decades of indigenous research would have amounted to nothing,” Chandran explains. The story details the events surrounding this episode — the lobbying, the espionage, the relationships and clash of egos. “As a 20-something man in Delhi, dealing with spies and politicians, it felt like I was in a James Bond film,” Chandran recalls. </p>.<p>While almost every significant detail in the book is true, the narrative has been thinly fictionalised. The retelling of an event of grave importance has been conveyed through humour, which makes it an easy, engaging and enjoyable read. “All the characters are also real, though some of their names have been changed,” he reveals. </p>.<p>Chandran, whose podcast, <em>The History of Bangalore</em>, has a significant following, is currently working on a book on the same topic. “There is so much about the history of Bangalore that most people are unaware of. For instance, Begur was very important to our history but I do not know how many people know that,” he shares. </p>