Rhyme time

It is seldom that someone delivers a speech on a serious subject like agriculture in the form of a poem. But Nadir Godrej, chairman of Godrej Agrovet, did exactly that at a conference on Indian food production. With rhyming couplets like: “With Three Crops In Land, Goal Of Fast Growth Will Be At Hand”, “As Sugarcane Prices Moderate, Farmers Will Celebrate” and “A Duty On Edible Oil... Will Help Us Grow More Oil”, Godrej managed to keep the audience thoroughly entertained. So much so that President Pranab Mukherjee, who was the chief guest at the function, sought a copy of his speech. And Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who was also present, said he (Pawar) only knew that Mr Godrej was a big businessman, but did not know of his poetic skills. Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat referred to Godrej as a “poetic personality”. No surprises, Godrej’s speech received the maximum applause.