They insist that if there was a figment of truth in the allegations something would have come out. For, Basu junior, quarantined from the unfriendly gaze of the fourth estate, and flush with his business successes, is ideally suited to attract criticism. "From a fledgling executive in 1978, Chandan is now a firmly established member of the international celeb circuit, whom commentator Ravi Shastri singles out for special identification during one-day matches. Truly, he has come a long way, and must learn to cope with the stresses and strains this must engender for himself and his father," says a senior newsman. Interestingly, Basu senior's recent biographies (mostly breathless eulogies) throw no light on the emergence of Chandan Basu as a power in his own right, the writers skirting the issue altogether since Jyoti Basu doesn't like the subject.