When Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan entered the media room, it was like a judge walking into a courtroom. There was a hush.

On Monday, when Satheesan breezed into the media room, for the first time as Chief Minister, it was like a favourite senior dropping by his old classroom. There was warmth and a sense of ease.

Satheesan also brought with him the charming disorderliness of Oommen Chandy. Papers from his red-taped cabinet file were strewn about, just the way Chandy would have papers of cabinet jottings scattered carelessly in front of him during a post-cabinet briefing.

The last decade was defined by order. Neither the stack of cabinet notes in front of Pinarayi nor a strand of hair on his head would be out of place. Chandy's wavy white hair, on the other hand, looked like he had got up from bed and stumbled right into the press briefing room. Satheesan, however, keeps his thinning hair disciplined, though not as rigorously as Pinarayi.

Pinarayi's Bolshevik rigour extended to his messaging also. He adhered rigidly to the script during press conferences. He faithfully read out from a written text in a flat matter-of-fact tone that, like bouncers in front of exclusive clubs, prevented even a peep into what was going on in the man's mind.

Satheesan, by contrast, makes a spectacle of what is happening within him. He thrives on emotions. There are no detailed notes in front of him, just brief bullet points. He takes these points and sketches a colourful and compelling story around them. 

For instance, a close aide of the new CM said that the note in front of him at the press conference on Monday said just "an exclusive department for the elderly". And then simply, 'Japan'.

The pomp and the glitter that he gave these two points at the media interaction were all his. 

"It is with pride that I say that, to my knowledge, this is the first such department created exclusively for the elders in the country. Such a policy for elders was implemented in the most productive manner in Japan. (The phrase "in the most productive manner" is repeated for impact.) The steps that the Japanese government has taken over the years have revolutionised the lives of elders in that country. We have our limitations, but the Japanese model will also be studied. An excellent study will be completed in two months," he said.

Then came a pause, a knowing wink and the persuasive part of the 'department of elders' story. "I think how a society treats its elders is the best measure to gauge how civilised that society is. So if we want to proclaim to the world that Kerala is a civilised society, we should put in place policies that would hold our elders close. I have dream-like intentions for this department," Satheesan said.

If the same announcement was made by Pinarayi, he would have probably said: "The LDF government will create an exclusive department for the elders, the first in the country. The details are being worked out."

If Pinarayi's rendition is flat, Satheesan makes use of all possible dramatic registers. And at times, the effect of his words is sought to be amplified with pauses that are spiked with a 'didn't you get my point' smile. 

It was interesting the way Satheesan prefaced the honorarium hike of ₹3000 for ASHA workers. "Promises are the most important thing," he said. "Promises," he repeated, throwing a playful tease at the gathered reporters.

"It is easy to forget promises. But trustworthiness is of paramount importance. I myself had gone to their protest site on the day they called off their strike and had given them my word. That their demands would be met one by one right from the first cabinet," he said.

When reporters become too needling, he knows to cut them short with good-humoured teasing. When asked about the portfolios of ministers, he adopted this taunting style: "You will know when the gazette is published. Has anything been delayed? This is a record. Record! Things are moving at record speed."

It looks like his media interactions would not be structured around a fixed timetable like Pinarayi's: 45-minute introductory remarks and a 15-minute question-answer session. Like Chandy's, Satheesan's press conferences can range from under 30 minutes to even one-and-a-half hours.

In short, the new CM's interactions will not follow a script. Huge surprises are in store.