"Brash and rash" is how officials and cabinet colleagues sum him up. This despite the minister bringing an undeniable energy to handling environment and forests coupled with an ability to grasp subjects without being swamped by officialese. Out-of-the-box is not just a phrase with Ramesh. Yet, for his gifts, Ramesh has a certain "attitude" that often borders on the bellicose. It is almost as if he looks for a lurking challenger to grab hold of by the collar and drag into public view. His bruising encounters with fellow ministers — he was not necessarily in the wrong — point to a desire to flatten opponents.

Always in a hurry to score a point, he managed to carry the day in showdowns with agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and MoS in PMO Prithviraj Chavan over Bt brinjal. He left roads and highways minister Kamal Nath squirming getting the better of Nath over complaints that green clearances were stalling projects. But it wasn't just about winning. Almost as important was to rub it in.

With the showman in him never far from surface, Ramesh is good with casting off academic gowns as colonial vestiges. But in his keeness to appear an original thinker, he can be reckless. His remarks on the home ministry's "paranoia" and India playing Galahad to China over climate change would have even left his hosts wondering about the ways of their eccentric guest.

His haste to score first, that resulted in Ramesh surprising his own goalkeeper, can mean a certain moral equivalence. The desire to make a splash saw him cancel two dams on the Ganga even though the announcement was to have included a central project.

A hurt Uttarakhand CM Ramesh Pohkriyal cried foul but Ramesh couldn't care less about a consultative mechanism set up by PM Manmohan Singh himself. While exploitation of new coal blocks remains a contentious issue, permissions for expansion of some existing projects are so riddled with conditions that no work can happen. Every now and again decisions seem influenced by rivalries rather than merits of issues at hand. The MoEF's brief does put it at odds with other ministries, but Ramesh has looked to sharpen rough edges.

Part of the problem lies in an inherent sense of intellectual superiority. The other a confidence bred by apparent proximity to the powers that be. Shrewd event management, careful leaks and sweeping comments on colleagues can make one much sought after company. Everyone likes a good story. But as the pithy sign on Delhi's roads puts it — "speed thrills but kills."

On whether we will now see a humbler Ramesh, the jury is emphatic. Not much change of that.