Unsung heroes and unfinished sagas

NBC’S TODAY IS in its 74th year, making it America’s sixth-longest-running television show. David ‘Dave’ Garroway was the host for most of the first decade. In December 1959, he had a unique guest on the show—an elevator operator. Eugene Bullard worked at the Rockefeller Center, where the show was filmed.

Bullard was a boxer, a jazz musician and war hero. He was not just any soldier, but one whom France honoured with the Legion of Honour and 13 other military decorations. He was the only black combat pilot in World War I. General Charles De Gaulle asked for him by name when he visited New York in 1960 as French president. The then American president was another legend in uniform, General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Yet, before being Garroway’s guest on Today, hundreds of people passed Bullard every day without knowing the stature of the man who punched the elevator buttons on their command—among them were NBC’s journalists.

This week’s cover by Senior Assistant Editor Sanjib Kr Baruah features one such person. The good people of Delhi have been consulting this doctor without realising that he discovered something quite significant on a ridge on Nanda Devi in 1993. Major Dr Rajesh Bhardwaj’s find might be the closest we will ever get to answering an eternal question that harks back to the Cold War. Where is the nuclear-powered American device that was to spy on China from the summit of Nanda Devi?

What did he find? Well, that’s on Page 22, backed by the personal accounts of Major Generals Vinod K. Bhatt and Amin Naik, and Colonel Anand Swaroop.

I was 20 years old when the original team led by Captain M.S. Kohli climbed Nanda Devi with the spy device. In the 61 years since, multiple publications have unravelled different strands of this gripping saga. Through Sanjib’s efforts and the wonderful officers who spoke to your favourite newsmagazine, THE WEEK is honoured to bring you one more piece of this jigsaw puzzle.

Though the FIFA World Cup got over, the ripples refuse to die. Two days ago, FIFA fined Argentina Rs3.07 crore for displaying a Falklands-related banner after the semi-final with England. And it is meant to hurt Argentina how, when its purse from the World Cup comes to around Rs325 crore?

Then there were the fines and bans handed to Leandro Paredes, Nahuel Molina and Thiago Almada. There was a different kind of battle in El Alamein, when Egypt football coach Hossam Hassan allegedly collapsed of stress after his two wives brawled in public. What is football without some drama, hey?

Chief Sub Editor Karthik Ravindranath looks at the drama in FIFA against the backdrop of Gianni Infantino’s controversial presidency. After the widespread outrage that followed the Argentina vs Egypt match, I thought Cairo would be the first to call for Infantino’s ouster.

The BBC reports that “the African confederation (CAF) unanimously confirmed its support for Infantino… Five of the seven African countries on the Fifa Council—Egypt, Morocco, Niger, Mauritania and Comoros—have already supported him publicly.” Do the fans in these countries share the same sentiments, I wonder.

By the time this letter reaches you, my formal Onam would be over. We already had sadyas in offices across the country. Nothing unites India like festivals and food. I had a good laugh seeing photos of colleagues such as Badar Bashir from Delhi, and Sandeep Gupta and Sandip Ghosh from Kolkata decked in the traditional white-and-gold mundu.

May this harvest season bring us all abundance and the joy that only family and friends can bring. Happy Onam!