Ever since Naresh Goyal launched jet airways 12 years ago, he's been at the receiving end of several allegations and rumours. So one more shouldn't really bother him, except that this one is the gravest he has faced so far. Past fortnight, an eponymous us-based airline alleged that Goyal's carrier had links with the terror outfit Al-Qaeda and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Curiously enough, an Indian-American nuclear scientist, Moorthy Muthuswamy, not linked to Jet Airways Inc., joined in to make allegations of his own. In a letter to the US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, he alleged that the Indian carrier was funded by jihadis. While Goyal wasn't available for comment, Jet Airways' Executive Director Saroj Dutta trashed the allegations at a press conference, saying that the complainant's "primary motivation... arises out of a trade name claim made by them". When BT went to press, the airline was still waiting for an approval to commence its flights to the US.

Tamil Symphony

If all goes well, on June 17, president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will release the first musical rendering of epic Tamil verses Thiruvasagam, written by the eighth-century poet Mannikkavasagar. One of the men behind the project is Chennai-based HR firm Ma Foi's K. Pandia Rajan. Music for the project, which took 100 days and cost Rs 1.50 crore, has been composed by Tamil music director Ilayaraja and performed by the Hungarian Philharmonic Orchestra. "The idea was to turn a Tamil literary treasure into a form the modern audience could appreciate," says Rajan. Orders for 1.5 lakh copies of the CD have already come in.

Flying Low

He is India's original low-cost airline warrior, and now he's getting fiercer still. G.R. Gopinath, Managing Director of Air Deccan, took fare wars to a new low by offering, on June 7, tickets on all Air Deccan routes for a token Re 1 (the buyers still had to pay the Rs 221 in airport charges and taxes). The marketing gimmick, which offered 1,800 tickets at that price, resulted in a virtual stampede. The airline's website received 50,000 hits, nearly crashing its servers, and its contact centres, some 10,000 calls. Says Gopinath: "This is pursuant to our goal of being the most affordable carrier." Anything to retain the pioneer's image.

"Flower" Power

In an interesting twist to her career, former Infosys brand manager Jessie Paul has ended up as Chief Marketing Officer of rival Wipro. Although Paul, 35, spent two years in between working with ex-Infosys prodigy Phaneesh Murthy's igate Global Solutions, that was really just a pit stop. So did she experience a tinge of betrayal when she signed up with Wipro as a replacement for the ambitious and driven Sangita Singh? "No," says Paul, an IIM, Calcutta alumna. "Wipro has a differentiated service portfolio and does a lot of work that involves the creation and application of intellectual property. So, while my past experience in brand globalisation in the IT industry (read: Infy) will be very useful, Wipro is going to be a whole new experience," says the online scrabble aficionado and souvenir art collector. More power to the sunflower (Wipro's logo)?

Signing Off

After five years at the helm of Indian Airlines (IA), 47-year-old IAS officer Sunil Arora is going back to his parent cadre in Rajasthan. "Well, it's been seven years for me in Delhi, and I think the airline is in a pretty decent shape today," says Arora, who moves out on June 15. He isn't far off the mark. On his watch, the national carrier has leased new planes, added international routes, and actually been in the black for the last two years. Despite his efforts, though, the deal to acquire 43 brand new planes for the carrier hasn't gotten off the ground. However, Arora believes that Indian Airlines' future is bright. "We have good systems and practices in place that will hold IA in good stead," he says. There are several bureaucrats in the running for the top job. With competition hotting up in the industry, thanks to the entry of new no-frills airlines, it won't be too long before Arora's successor finds out if that's true.

-Contributed by Krishna Gopalan, R. Sridharan, Venkatesha Babu, Rahul Sachitanand and Kushan Mitra