downtoearth-subscribe

Forked Tongues And Artful Nudges

With skill and resources, they persuade power to benefit their clients. SHANTANU GUHA RAY trawls the world of Delhi's adept influencers ON A QUIET Tuesday last month, the rooftop res - taurant of a leading central Delhi hotel had four of its dozen tables occupied. One had a senior former editor lunching with a high flying cabinet minister; another a troubleshooter for the Delhi state government with fundraising businessmen; the third had a hushed negotiation between an A-list persuader and a senior bureaucrat; only the fourth table was made up of a clutch of lunching ladies.