WEEKLY MAGAZINE, MARCH 23, 2014 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times
WEEKLY MAGAZINE, MARCH 23, 2014 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times
For a while, it seemed like coffee enthusiasts were having all the fun. Now, chai-loving India is rediscovering the national beverage. Take a look at what’s brewing…
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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS
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Ab Tak Aapne Dekha
by Rachel Lopez
Said The Men In White Coats
by team HT Mumbai
The Conference-Room Cliché
If you work in an office, there’s gotta be meetings. And if there’s a meeting, there’s gotta be at least one of these… Everybody’s favourite fantasy drama is back April 6, and on HBO India a week later. We have just the guide you need to get drunk watching
Guys: Dunk a beer every time…
Girls: Knock back a martini when... You think,“Jon Snow is nice, no? But these Northerners NEVER bathe!”
You think, “Whoa, there should have been a naked breast in that last scene! Did the censor board just go snip snip?” You end up with romantic feelings for Brienne of Tarth
You wonder which character is going to die next
The phrase “Rich as a Lannister” is mentioned and you seriously wonder how rich they are Margaery Tyrell’s cleavage gets louder than her dialogue. Dunk two just for that
You find yourself taking fashion cues… from Daenerys Targaryen or even King Joffrey!
Chubby Samwell Tarly gets lucky
Dragons save the day
THE CRUNCHER: You bring ideas; he brings chaklis. So instead of number crunching, everyone’s just crunching.
THE BULLETPROOF MONK: guy who believes breaking everything down in bullet points. n Once everything is in bullet points, the impossible is achievable n The
THE JARGON DRAGON: The guy who says this: “Let’s align our bandwidths to dovetail into a value-add for the brand.” WTF!
The shortest Lannister gets the short end of the deal
Someone other than Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne
... Or did you? You’re either over-the-moon with all the money you got or you’re cursing everyone one who is over-the-moon. Whatever it is, just hum along
If you got bundles...
Happy ppy Pharrell Williams
Now go buy yyourself a fancy hat, a bow tie and fanc some cool B Bermuda shorts. Why? Because shor you’re happ happy!
Hodor says anything other than “Hodor”
Billionaire Travie McCoy
Cuz right now you feel like you could be ‘smiling next to Oprah or the Queen’
#BrunchBookChallenge
Th Brunch Book Challenge is an @HTBrunch initiative to The get readers to read at least 24 books in 2014. Read anyge thing yyou like, just keep us posted. Tweet your progress to @HTBrunch with the hashtag #BrunchBookChallenge
FOR ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT National — Sanchita Tyagi: sanchita.tyagi@hindustantimes.com North — Siddarth Chopra: siddarth.chopra@hindustantimes.com West — Karishma Makhija: karishma.makhija@hindustantimes.com South — Francisco Lobo: francisco.lobo@hindustantimes.com
If you got pennies... I Need A Dollar Aloe Blacc
Yo just got a four per cent raise and you You know ‘bad times are comin’ kno
Wall Street Shuffle 10cc
A slight rumble in the stock market dashed your hopes for mark a better paycheck
Bills, Bills, Bills Destiny’s Child
That’s what will haunt you for the rest of the year
On The Brunch Radar n Google’s Helping Women Get Online campaign in
Uttar Pradesh n Black Simon and Garfunkel n The beautiful sleep that envelopes your body after playing Holi n Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie winning the US National Book Critics Circle award for fiction n That the shaadi season is over (for now, at least)
Cover design: MONICA GUPTA Cover photo: SHUTTERSTOCK
EDITORIAL: Poonam Saxena (Editor), Aasheesh Sharma, Rachel Lopez, Tavishi Paitandy Rastogi, Veenu Singh, Parul Khanna, Yashica Dutt, Amrah Ashraf, Saudamini Jain, Shreya Sethuraman
by Saudamini Jain
SHOVE IT
THE BRUNCH BOOK CHALLENGE
Everyone wants to spend a little time with you
LOVE IT
Techilicious is tech-ing a break this week. The column will be back next week
by Amrah Ashraf
You got a Raise...
Hey, Big Spender Shirley Bassey
HOW TO READ 24 BOOKS (OR MORE) AR IN ONE YE
THE GRAPHICALLY CHALLENGED: See this pie chart? See how the bar graphs are colour-coded? See that cluster-cloud of data? It’s all Greek to him
Now Playing
Everybody Drinks If… Someone who died comes right back
THE ANSWER MAN: Can we do it? Yes we can! Does anyone have any questions? Yes I do! Can he shut up? No he can’t!
THE MULTITASKER: He’s paying attention, answering email, getting office gossip and making sure the driver has gone to pick up his daughter
n The strategy of when-all-else-fails,-accuse-the-media - “Arre, it’s all paid, na!” n People who don’t like the Internet n The bizarre conspiracy theories concerning the missing Malaysian Airlines flight n Freezing cold offices n That the word ‘Selfie’ refuses to die
DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor, Design), Monica Gupta, Swati Chakrabarti, Payal Dighe Karkhanis, Rakesh Kumar, Ajay Aggarwal
Drop us a line at: brunchletters@hindustantimes.com or to 18-20 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001
Photos: THINKSTOCK, SHUTTERSTOCK
You imagine you wouldn’t kick Jaime Lannister out of bed, and hope his one good hand is very good…
THE OOPS I DID IT AGAIN: Forgets to turn his phone off. Turns out to have an item number for a ring tone
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VARIETY
Photo: RAJ K RAJ
Let’s Make It Public You don’t need to go to a museum to appreciate this exhibition. Public art comes to CP, like never before
by Yashica Dutt
A
RT IS a hefty word, a certified hall pass to the big boy club of refinement. It’s usually hung in imposing galleries and museums or expensive homes. But rarely in Delhi does art come to you, sneaking up completely unannounced at places you’d never imagined. That’s pretty much how the current Fête de la Photo – a photography festival organised by the Embassy of France in association with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) can be described. Huge photographs pitched all around Connaught Place, the Rajiv Chowk Metro Station, Jantar Mantar, Regal Building and several subways in the area have caught the eye of every visitor.
ALL OUT IN THE OPEN
You can start a guessing game with a series of photographs named ‘Portraiture’ by Parthiv Shah, trying to identify the cultural figures in the photographs. Then there’s the astronomy-based installation that has visitors posing with it for their Facebook profiles. There’s even a photo booth called ‘Distant Dreams’ where photographer Anay Maan shoots people against a backdrop of French monuments and gives them copies as keepsakes. And all for free. One of the largest interactive public art exhibitions in recent
FACTSHEET
Fête de la Photo is a pan-Indian photography festival in public spaces, to be held in 9 Indian cities. Travelling from Bangalore and Chandigarh, it has been on in Delhi since 4th March and will end on 31st March. In and around Connaught Place, the exhibition features photographers such as Raghu Rai, Dinesh Khanna, Parthiv Shah, Dayanita Singh and Pablo Bartholomew.
times, Fête de la Photo has brought a long-standing tradition of interactive and contemporary public art to the city, a regular feature for other world capitals like London, Paris or Berlin. Although traditional public art in the form of murals, statues and monuments dot the city’s landscape, a fresh re-imagination of everyday space is more or less missing from Delhi. “Art in that sense is patronised only at elitist level but this exposes your art to someone walking down the street,” says photographer Parthiv Shah. Adds Aruna Adaciem, the cultural attaché of the French Embassy, “People don’t need to go anywhere, they just need to open their eyes and stare. What is usual for us could be a whole new perspective for someone passing by. Public art helps us re-experience our surroundings.” Since the camera became the defining feature of a phone, photography has exploded in the last decade. In September 2012, Fortune magazine reported that 10 per cent of all photos ever taken were shot in 2011 alone. Photography as art is more accessible than it ever was. Photographer Rohit Chawla who has a series on Wearable Art, says that the reactions he’s got are far more real than from any gallery. “This is more upfront. It brings a sense of festivity and well-being to the city. That’s what public art is all about.” yashica.dutt@hindustantimes.com Follow @YashicaDutt on Twitter
MORE ON THE WEB For a virtual tour of CP, log on to hindustantimes.com/ brunch MARCH 23, 2014
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COVER STORY
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New varieties, new flavours, new fans – India is currently in the middle of quite a mad tea party. And our world is brimming with new possibiliteas! by Rachel Lopez
E
VERYWHERE YOU look, it’s tea time. On TV, even as the chaiwalla’s milky brew has become a call to arms in the run-up to the elections, Kareena Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, glossy locks a-flying, are endorsing green tea as lighter, healthier and hip. Down supermarket aisles, shelves usually devoted to kadak chai, masala chai, and value-pack CTC are making room for little boxes of green and flavoured tea. Gourmet stores are stocking Japanese sencha, African rooibos and Sri Lankan blends alongside imported brands of homegrown Darjeeling and Assam. Doctors are prescribing white and green versions of the beverage for stress, hypertension, diabetes and postchemo cases. Even at shady slimming clinics, the first response to weight loss is now a light herbal tea. Restaurants are offering longer and longer tea selections – five-star hotels practically throw a party when shipments of prized first-flush leaves arrive. Once-lonely tea enthusiasts are finding more takers for their boutique blends, handcrafted infusions, workshops and tasting sessions. You could argue that it’s always tea time in India. Our chaichugging compatriots remained mostly loyal to the beverage despite the profusion of cafés and coffee bars over the last decade. But you can’t deny that coffee seemed comparatively hipper, its beans, roasts and equipment more suited to conspicuous consumption. Now, it seems, to prefer tea is to be cool again – but only if it’s Tea V2.0: no rhapsodising over rain and pakoras, no cutting-chai clichés, no milk, no sugar, and no dunking biscuits.
GOING GREEN
“Tea is the gentle drink that has gently taken over the world,” says Neetu Sarin who runs the boutique brand Tea of Life. And in India, at least green tea has been instrumental in that takeover.
Almost every brand, big or boutique, Indian or imported, hawks some variation of it. It’s obvious why. For the health-conscious (but change-averse) urban Indian, a cup or two of the stuff is an easier inclusion into daily life than, say, a morning run, cardio time, counting calorie, a breast self-exam or actually taking it easy. Anamika Singh of Anandini Himalaya Tea, which now retails export quality fine teas from Dharamsala, sees the brew as “a slow-down drink” as opposed to the energy boost of coffee. But Radhika Shah, proprietor of Radhika’s Fine Teas, puts it best: “It’s the lifestyle solution to our lifestyle problems.”
MARCH 23, 2014
Black Tea
The most oxidised and processed of all tea varieties. It gives the strongest aroma and flavour, and retains its qualities for several years. This is the kind of tea that, when consumed in excess, will cause acidity.
Oolong Tea
Tea that has undergone a unique process, including withering under strong sun and oxidation before curling and twisting. Its taste can range from sweet and fruity to distinctly smoky.
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NEW TO THE BREW? ed. Don’t be scar new, ng hi et m so y Tr Buy s. rt pe ex a te say ple m sa st le al the sm sdi u yo If n. you ca you’ve like the taste, meal or not ruined a your day.
Don’t use Ev ian. filtered water Use in Bottled water stead. is pumped with m that interfere inerals w taste of the te ith the a, ruining a good often leaf.
White Tea
The least oxidised of all teas, it gives brews a slightly sweet flavour. It comes from the buds and younger leaves of the camellia sinensis plant that have been allowed to wither in natur natural sunlight befor before processing. Many pr believe white tea believ can pr protect you from cancers, arthritis and osteoporosis.
Green Tea
This is when the leaf has undergone minimal oxidation. Many believe it to have anti-ageing benefits as it contains more flavonoids than the same volume of fresh fruits, vegetable juices or wine.
PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK, SHUTTERSTOCK, GETTYIMAGES
Don’t boil it al l. Black tea can ta ing temperatu ke boilres. But green and w hite teas are delicate. You’ll ruin the flavour an d waste your money.
Even if you’re not buying into the green-tea obsession – its health benefits are, after all, only loosely backed by science – you’ve probably considered picking up some kind of non-traditional tea or know someone who has. Vikram Grover, South Asia marketing head of Tata Global Beverages, says launching Tetley flavoured green-tea bags was an intuitive decision. “Of course people are increasingly health conscious,” he says. “But India is also getting younger. People are spending large amounts of time out of the home, out of their comfort zone, and are thus more willing to break a habit and try something new.”
FACTORING IN FLAVOUR
If something is new but familiar, half the battle is already won. That explains why the new leaf has captured our fancy faster than the bean ever did. It also requires less effort than proper coffee, for which you need, at the minimum, a percolator, and at most, your own roaster, grinder and espresso machine. It’s relatively risk-free – “It’s easier to try Japanese tea than a Japanese meal,” says gourmetfoods importer Anil Chandhok of Chenab. Then, there’s the fact that it’s mostly water. “If you don’t like it, what have you really lost?” asks Sarin. For many, what was lost was a sense of drinking something as tasty as chai. “The palate remains a barrier,” Grover admits. So additional flavourings have been added to make the medicine go down. Of Tetley’s green-tea range, the flavours that do well are honey lemon (a perceived double dose of health and taste), aloe vera and regular green. Typhoo advertises its flavours as Moroccan mint, jasmine and lemongrass; Lipton’s variants have jasmine, mint or lemon.
ur tea. unk yo Don’t d put your d, Instea p and r in a cu leaves ter just unde a pour w es C for re 90 deg a and under te green rees C g e d 5 7 ite h w r fo . a te
o long. Don’t steep to is es ut in m Three lease enough to re ithout its essence w drink making your tter. tannic and bi
ly Don’t look on . at location widely
s Quality varie sam and As in ith w en ev as. What’s te g in el rje Da ight not expensive m ur yo to be s alway ing. Try taste and lik what you them all, pick taste to m like and ai singlesmall-batch, ns. estate versio
four years ago. Swasti Grover sees green and Aggarwal, who heads other new kinds of Don’t dunk an the store chain’s north teas as the secondary d discard. Most good te zone, says sales have tea at home, one that a bags are good for two cu swelled in the last 18 won’t replace your leaves have en ps. And ou months. Customers morning cuppa but potency for tw gh o buy tea and tissanes can become your afservings befo proper re deliver a wea they (herbal infusions that ternoon indulgence. ker brew. don’t contain actual tea Flavoured-tea in tea leaves but are drunk like bags are also likely tea) for house parties. to be your ‘office“The Chado store within wala chai’. Many Foodhall retails a White get their first sip of Pearl Jasmine tea for it at the workplace, `64,000 a kilo and finds where choices are takers,” she adds. limited, a colleague is likely to inTea enterprises have popped fluence you to try something new, up online and in the real world. and the need for a quick break is Snigdha Manchanda of Tea Trunk higher. “All you need really is hot retails signature blends like rose water from the coffee machine,” oolong and vanilla black, holds teaGrover says. appreciation workshops and leads COMING TO A BOIL people on Chai Walks that cover Once sold on the idea that tea can iconic tea locations in Mumbai. be milk-less, sugarless and deliTea Culture Of The World retails cious, Indians have been only too online and delivers your fix of fullhappy to take their enthusiasm bodied pu-er and flowery tie gua further. At upmarket gourmet yin teas across India. “At the Taj stores like Foodhall, where there’s Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai, a dedicated tea bar but no café the first flush is greeted with much for lattes, the shelves stock 100 fanfare when it arrives late April varieties of tea, from Sri Lankan and restaurants serving the teas Basilur, and UK’s Newby and Clipsee an upswing all the way until per to the Japanese Clearspring July,” says deputy general man– brands largely unfamiliar even ager Parveen Chandra Kumar.
MARCH 23, 2014
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COVER STORY
Chandhok, who imports READING THE LEAVES For those in the the organic brands Clipbusiness, this is reaper and Clearspring, son to raise a teacup says he’s yet to see a Don’t waste time. in celebration. But tea flavour fail to get Good leaves retain their flavour there’s much to be attention. Estates like s for only six months. So done. “My teas taste Anamika Singh’s Manpretend the Queen is dropping like 24-year-old whisjhee Valley have come and finish up yo ky,” Gupta claims. around to the idea that good samples ur w they’re still fre hile “But this is a country there is finally a local sh. where people will still market (albeit a tiny ask the equivalent of one) for export-quality ‘kya mileage hai’?” he teas, even as far away says referring to value as Jalandhar and for money. Chandhok Ludhiana. Raghav laments that tea and Gupta, who imports coffee imports are slapped Basilur, has catered tea with a 111 per cent duty, at high-profile weddings which more than doubles the in Udaipur, where the menu retail price, limiting sales. Both focused on light eats. He says lessen the blow on customers by tea is slowly starting to replace promoting imported tea as being traditional gifts like chocolate and still cheaper per cup than coffee or mithai when wedding cards are tea at a café. A 700-gram box from sent out these days. Basilur will make 70 cups; Clipper Radhika Shah of Radhika’s teabags are good for two cups and Fine Teas was kept busy all work out to `25 each. through last year’s wedding season The promoters are also well – between October and December aware that chai drinkers need she supplied fine boutique blends plenty of hand-holding before they to 35 weddings, bundling up 400 to graduate to their wares. At the 1,000 tea favours for each of them. Taj, sandglass timers at the table She’s also catered to a bachelor helpfully indicate how long your party, at which the gents skipped black, oolong, green or white tea booze for aphrodisiac teas. “I’ve should be brewed and the staff is served high tea in Rajkot, flying well trained to field questions from in for the day with 54 kilos of raw novice and pedant alike. Sarin material for a group of intelligent needs to keep reminding people at young women,” Shah says. “I could her tastings that “natural flavours write it off as just trendy, but I’ve added to teas are gentler than been called back five times, which synthetic additives”. means they’re definitely interested Shah’s tea samplers feature in the tea.”
MARCH 23, 2014
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CHAI HI CHAI
To help chai lovers, here’s a selection of some places where you can drink your brew of choice: n Chaayos (DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon): This chai-café chain offers unusual options such as Hari Mirch chai and Aam Papad chai. n T’Pot Café (Malviya Nagar): From the regular kulhad masala tea to the more gourmet hibiscus or white tea – take your pick. n Cha Bar (Connaught Place): Choose between the Truckwali chai, the Bollywood chai or the more exotic Moroccan chai, organic teas, tea infusions and decaf teas. n Just For Chai (Gurgaon): A member of the Kolkata tea board, it offers as many as 60 varieties of tea, from your regular masala chai to premium Darjeeling teas. n The Tea Studio: Run by Budwhite, it sells premium gourmet varieties that are a combination of flowers, fruit peels and extracts, spices and herbs blended with tea. All known to be very healthy. n Anandini Himalaya Tea Boutique (Shahpur Jat): For their limitededition Handmade Needle tea (apparently each leaf and a bud is plucked during a certain time of the month, at a particular time of the day, from a certain number of bushes and hand-rolled by women). n The Tea Place (MGF Metropolitan Mall, Saket): Check out the green tea with passionfruit flavour or try some white tea with strawberry. n The Tea Lounge (Taj Palace Hotel): For an English-style hightea experience with selections from Darjeeling to green teas from Japan and Vietnam.
(Compiled by Veenu Singh)
guides to drinking – which blend works best for what time of the day or what mood you’re in. She hopes that Indians will one day be able to choose the right teas to drink for their ailments. Most brands keep their quantities deliberately small, debut with the less complicated tea bags and offer samplings aplenty. Basilur made it to Nita Ambani’s VVIP box at last year’s T20 match, their Foodhall display has an assistant to help customers make selections, and they flood the shelves with new flavours so that fans keep returning. Some challenges are harder than others. Teas, especially the lighter, more aromatic and floral ones continue to be seen as a woman’s drink. “Green tea is also associated with body-shape management, so more women opt for it as a weight-loss tool,” Grover adds. Typhoo partnered with
MARCH 23, 2014
Lakmé Fashion Week this year. Social media chatter about tea is mostly female-driven. But there are some surprises. “I thought the demographic for Basilur would be women between age 24 and 40,” he says. “But I’m seeing teens and even 50-year-old men ordering it for their offices.” Sarin adds that her tea workshops see equal attendance from both sexes. “It’s a misconception than tea is not for macho men,” she says.
WHAT ELSE IS BREWING?
A lot has changed very quickly. Anamika Singh’s tea company is only 18 months old, but she says that “even three years ago, people did not have the palate for fine tea.” Now a small quantity of their export-only leaves is set aside for sale in India. “It’s something you can keep alongside your existing tea,” she adds. Aggarwal, who’s been closely watching the sales at Foodhall, predicts that still more will ditch milk and sugar, and oolong will be the next flavour of the season. “I see tea drinkers going up the value chain in four or five years,” says Kumar at the Taj in Mumbai. This might pose a problem for both old and new fans of good tea. There’s already a worldwide shortage of premium tea – only a handful of countries grow the leaf, and premium yields are hard to expand without compromising quality. To top it all, the demand for premium Indian tea is rising in the US. Premium (and pricey) Indian tea shops selling singleestate teas and Assam blends have come up along the East Coast and the Starbucks-owned Teavana tea restaurants are fuelling the sale of quality teas there. This is already forcing Indian companies to source tea for Indian consumption from Kenya and Sri Lanka. And as more Indians discover premium teas, it’s likely that some of us will be buying Indian leaves that have been exported abroad only to be packaged, possibly flavoured and shipped back to us at a hefty premium. “It’s time to take note that some of the world’s best tea is grown right here in our nation,” urges Sarin. “We need to discover what we have and drink it with pride!” rachel.lopez@hindustantimes.com Follow @GreaterBombay on Twitter
MORE ON THE WEB For more on tea, log on to hindustantimes.com/ brunch
M.M.I
THE MANAGEMENT OF EDUCATION The Indian education system has undergone a sea change. Today we have well designed management courses that prepares an equipped manforce for tomorrow. Read on
Rai Umraopati Ray Education plays a particularly important role in the life of the youth because to put it simply - knowledge is power. The power to control one's destiny. To be what you want to be. Education gives the youth the power to exploit their potential to the fullest. A nation with an educated youth force thus has the potential to grow into an economic powerhouse and foster the true meaning of equality and socialism. Today, the country’s education sector is buzzing with new ideas, concepts and thoughts especially manage-
ment education, which has undergone a significant change. Today, management courses with specialisation in different areas prepare students to face the constantly advancing corporate world and impart effective people-management skills. Management studies should have emphasis not just in creating good managers but also on improving and enhancing existing skills while passing on managerial competence to students. It sets the foundation for their development towards professional life, shows them how
to make informed decisions, how to react to and in different situations, discover lasting values, develop perspectives, build opinions, convert information into knowledge, open the doors to good career opportunities, plan for the future and take the right steps in that direction. Education is therefore not just restricted to lessons in the classroom but to lessons in life. Young aspiring managers equipped with a reputed management degree turn out to be survivors who are able to sustain themselves in an environment of intense
competition, globalization and ever-evolving technologies. In fact, producing powerful managers is the biggest challenge that businesses worldwide face today. An accredited MBA degree from a prestigious institution certifies the managerial skills taken during the course of the study. A well designed management course suitably develops a talented workforce that can be expected to be efficient future leaders and successful managers who are able to tackle complex situations and challenges posed to them in business environment.
Management Education: Where to go from here
T
The new-age private universities have proactively responded by offering innovative and quality education in management programmes and have taken the centre-stage. The first decade of 21st century witnessed the dawn of these newage private universities in various states and this phenomenon is likely to continue. The better quality institutions are now turning into universities with more autonomy and more student confidence. This has been accompanied by reduced role of regulatory bodies like AICTE. The management education has indeed gone through transformation in India. When the prospective students look for an MBA programme, they should not only consider the rhetoric of the state-of-the-art campus and false promises of placements, they should rather consider innovative approaches to learning which transcend the concept of employment and rather focus on employability. Also, gone are the days when a good professional programme could be offered in isolation. The students need to learn to work in an inter and trans-disciplinary environment. Outcome
XII MARCH 23, 2014
based education will be the hallmark, rather than supply based programmes. This new approach is in line with the demand of the industry shaped by the Third Industrial Revolution (TIR) and the wave of Frugal Innovation. Managing in such a scenario will require a new and practical approach with sound ethics and character. Management schools that are part of universities with multiple schools and programmes that interact, will be best equipped to offer management programmes needed today. At G.D. Goenka University, School of Management, the educational philosophy is based on exploration with focus on character building and sensitisation to social and ethical issues that the society faces today. The educational approach is characterised by inter and trans disciplinary learning approach through compulsory inter-disciplinary projects wherein management students work on real life issues with students from different programmes. The school facilitates practical learning through live projects and industryrelevant courses with industry partners (with focus on creating)
and global exposure by collaborating with top ranked foreign universities and Institutions. The School of Management at G.D. Goenka University has collaborated with University of California Riverside, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) London, KPMG and British Standards Institution (BSI). The CILT has established a centre of excellence in Supply Chain Management at the school which will undertake contemporary research and consultancy projects with industry and conduct corporate training in this very important discipline of studies. Regular faculty and student exchange with the partner universities brings in very crucial pedagogical advantage to GDGU. The design and research thinking is all pervasive in every activity of the schools of the University. Students are compulsorily required to undertake projects involving social issues and involve in voluntary service activities. The G.D. Goenka group is known for its world class infrastructure and quality education for over 20 years. The student fraternity of the group represents more than 40 countries. The G.D.
Prof. (Dr.) Raj Singh Vice Chancellor, G D Goenka University, Gurgaon
Goenka University with the most modern, efficiently designed and fully equipped laboratories, highly qualified and globally acclaimed faculty members, serene and conducive learning environment, modern student amenities with vibrant campus life offers avenues for globally best education in India and is committed to help the country regain its past glory of excellence in education, the place it so rightly deserves.
M.M.I
Students win all the way with 360 degree Industry-integration at Galgotias University School of Business After being in the industry for more than five decades, Galgotias Educational Institutions are now synonymous with quality education. The Galgotias University School of Business has carved a niche by producing professionals of national and international acclaim. Read more
D
evelopment of worldclass syllabi and pedagogies is the first point of benefit that GUSOB's industry-oriented approach yields. The faculty and students have reaped rich dividends in terms of world-class education, as industryled syllabi are always up-to-date and have huge depth and relevance. The finest international pedagogies and education processes come into play when education is outcomes-based and industryguided. Industry leaders are usually invited to co-create the education infrastructure set up by Galgotias University, keeping in mind that the end-outcome is rooted in serving industry. When industry thinking and direction is involved in the development of talent throughout the education process, 100% placement is a natural outcome, as is amply corroborated in national media surveys. A wide array of blue-chip industry partners have entered into strategic alliances with Galgotias University and these collaborations have resulted in excellent intellectual capital development systems and best-in-class global-level education infrastructure. IBM has
joined hands with Galgotias University for the MBA in Business Analytics and all the connected infrastructure for this programme; KPMG for different programmes in the School of Business and Max Institute of Healthcare, Education and Research for the School of Nursing. As a result, the campus and facilities challenge the best anywhere in the world. The spirit of innovation at Galgotias University has been consistently recognised and awarded in the national media. Galgotias University was recently awarded as India's top private university for Academics and Global Linkages at the Dataquest Cybermedia ICT Awards 2013. The DNA Education Reckoner Indus Learning Survey 2013 ranks Galgotias University School of Business among India's top 25 Bschools. The Week-Hansa National Survey 2013 also ranks Galgotias University School of Business among the country's top 25 B-schools. Galgotias University School of Business has pioneered the development and introduction of innovative, never-before-in-India courses and these recognitions and awards
are richly deserved. The groundbreaking MBA Analytics programme in collaboration with IBM and the four years Bachelor of Management Studies are the newest innovative market-driven courses, that have been launched in order to address the huge manpower shortage in these domains. The senior faculty at Galgotias University are especially chosen for their proven domain knowledge and their total familiarity with the finest pedagogies, education processes, experience in research and the entire ethos of industry integration. They have headed departments and research facilities at the finest universities and institutions across USA, Europe and Asia - and of course, India. Galgotias University's excellence story is also fuelled by collaborations with the world's finest universities. Galgotias University has a research, exchange and mentoring programme with Georgia Tech, one of the world's top 10 premium tech institutions which enables entire schools to be mentored by their Georgia Tech counterparts, joint research programmes, development of radical syllabi, faculty and student
exchange and access to advanced international pedagogies. Galgotias University also has student and faculty exchange, research collaborations, syllabus and pedagogy development and exchange programmes with Purdue University, Northern Illinois University, Smith Business School at the University of Maryland and University of Arkansas in the USA. The university also has tie-ups with Goethe University, Germany, Kent State University, Ohio in United States and Anglia Ruskin University, UK in Europe. These relationships strengthen syllabus enhancement processes, teaching pedagogies and infrastructure on the ground - as well as access to new global education processes. The driving emphasis on maximising industry-integration, ensures that graduates from Galgotias University School of Business are absorbed immediately into industry. Once they integrate with business environments, they foster the spirit of innovation and contribute superbly to a correctlyoriented, quality workforce that is cognisant of its social realities and is entrepreneurial in its response to challenges.
Setting New Benchmarks in Management Education
A
peejay Stya University (ASU), India's first Liberal Arts & Meta University, is a seat of global learning that offers rich opportunities for innovative teaching-learning, creativity and research across disciplines. Situated amidst a sprawling picturesque campus with state-ofthe-art infrastructure in Gurgaon
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district of Haryana, ASU offers a wide range of innovative graduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes across a plethora of disciplines that are based on the best education practices of the Ivy League universities of the USA. Established in 2010 and recognised by UGC, ASU has a truly global campus with students from
over 15 countries. It has MoUs with several reputed international institutions and universities to provide global exposure to its students and faculty. The university engages with notable organisations like CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, PHDCCI, etc to encourage multiple associations with industries across the globe. Well-known aca-
demicians from Stanford and Harvard University comprise the advisory board of ASU. ASU also enjoys the existing strong placement network and industry-academia linkages of all Apeejay higher institutions. The School of Management Sciences at ASU (SoMS) offers Continued on the next page
M.M.I
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innovative undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in management education. The School offers two year MBA; five-year integrated MBA programme; 18 months Executive MBA in Educational Management & Leadership and PhD. The MBA students can take a semester in Normandy Business School, Paris, under a credits transfer for final
degree award. Besides four-year undergraduate programmes of B.Com (Hons.) & BBA (Hons.), SOMS has recently introduced B.Com (Hons.) Dual Degree and BBA (Hons.) Dual Degree programmes. These are offered in collaboration with the Association of Chartered Accountants (ACCA), UK, with the second degree 'B.Sc. in Applied Accounting' to be awarded by
Oxford Brookes University, UK. The School has a large international research database (including Emerald & Ebsco), corporate data (Capitaline) and statistical software (SPSS) encouraging a research focus. The popular platform, Moodle, is also used for student-teacher interaction and as a means to strengthen the learning process. SoMS has been ranked 'No.1
for Innovative Teaching-Learning Techniques & No.3 for the Most Reputed Faculty' as per TOI BSchool Ratings (North Region) in 2013. It has been conferred the 'Amar Ujala B-School Excellence Award 2012' at the World Brand Congress & has also bagged the 'Business School with Best Industry Interface' Award at the Headlines Today National Education Awards.
GGSIPU to come under Citizen’s Charter: Dr. Beniwal
Dr. Anup Singh Beniwal, Vice Chancellor, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, spoke to HT Brunch about the 'Student First' initiative of the university, the need for greater accountability and transparency in the education system and much more Rai Umraopati Ray What are the new initiatives taken by the university especially when you have been integral part of it since its inception? Everyday is a new day. Having the privilege of knowing the university inside out, our focus has been to make students the center of the system. We have a new slogan, 'Student First' where the priority is to bring about structural changes where everything revolves around the students. For instance, the university (GGSIPU) has expanded its reach by making its admission process online completely. For the first time, there will be no offline mode of applications this year. Earlier, a number of applicants had to travel from other cities to apply here. Now, they will get access to admission forms from anywhere. Apart from eliminating chances of black marketing of brochures, we will save a chunk of budget on printing forms. Last year, Rs. 1 crore was spent on printing brochures which will be saved this year. This helped us to reduce the cost of the form to Rs 750, which was earlier Rs 1100. We are also expecting an increase in the number of applicants with the process going online from about two lakh last year to about 2.25 lakh this year. To encourage meritorious stu-
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dents from economically weaker section, we have increased the scholarship amount from Rs 3 lakhs to Rs 1.84 crore, which will now benefit more than 700 students across the board. However, we have also put in stringent measures to see that those who get this genuinely deserve this. How are you planning to bring more transparency and accountability on part of the affiliated institutions especially to improve to quality of the education? We are aiming for a paradigm shift in our academic structure by making our academic process more transparent and accountable so that we become more responsible and sensitive. We will follow a selfrigorous audit system as well which will also include steps such as bringing the finance department and controller of examinations under the citizen's charter. We also aim to give more facilities needed for optimal growth of students. First and foremost, there will be statutory disclosures online with close periodical monitoring so that the institutions perform as per their commitments. We are grading affiliated institutions into categories depending upon the quality of the education being imparted. There will be incentives for institutions getting A grades and so on. However, we need to set an exam-
ple for these institutions. Though, we have been accredited for the second time with an 'A' grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council in January 2014, but our focus is to further raise the bar. What is your opinion on Delhi University's four-year undergraduate programme? See, there are two things: complexities of awareness and awareness of complexities. Any new system should be given considerate thought and there should be lot of debate on its pros and cons. How long are we going to make our students Guineapig? I believe, it is important to take all your stakeholders into confidence. However, if the general sentiment is against the four-year format, then DU's loss could be our gain. What are the future plans of the university especially to promote research and industry interface? Being a professional university, research is very important for us. We have plans to increase the scope of our research and consulting cell in a big way. Apart from increasing the number of research fellowships, we are providing seed money to teachers to initiate new projects and go for regular patents. We have set up an industry-institution cell that looks into upgrading
Prof. (Dr.) Anup Singh Beniwal Vice Chancellor, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
curriculum like introducing workshops, frequent industry interface and common research areas. We wish to consolidate the current courses and wants to strengthen in areas like biotechnology, food sciences, nanotechnology and IT. Apart from collaborating with foreign institutions we are keen in forging relationships with the best institutions within the country. We are hoping to start arts and language courses from next year with a school of languages also being planned. A course on sports and spinal injuries is among other -initiatives in the offing.
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Photos: GETTY IMAGES
Like A Why ban the word ‘bossy’ when you can own it?
S
O, SHERYL Sandberg doesn’t like the word ‘bossy’. The Facebook COO explained why in an op-ed piece she recently co-authored with Girl Scouts CEO Anna Maria Chavez for the Wall Street Journal. The word ‘bossy’, she wrote, is used disparagingly to describe girls who exhibit leadership qualities, while the boys who lead are described as ‘strong’ and ‘determined’. Sandberg herself grew up being called ‘bossy’ and the use of that adjective made her feel bad about herself. So, she is now using the might of her non-profit organisation Leanin.org to push for a ban on the use of that word so that girls like her can grow up feeling better about themselves. To put her message out to the world, Sandberg also recorded a video starring such female role models as Condoleezza Rice, Diane Von Furstenberg, Jennifer Garner and Jane Lynch. This public service announcement ends with musical megastar Beyonce staring into camera and saying, “I’m not bossy. I am the boss.”
Seema Goswami
spectator
IN SUPPORT
Sandberg recorded a video starring such female role models as Condoleezza Rice (above) and Jennifer Garner (below) to put her message across
Well, in that case, just what is so wrong about being called ‘bossy’? All it really means is ‘like a boss’. So, why treat it like a dirty word? You can bet that if young boys were called ‘bossy’ they would wear the label like a badge of pride and not treat it like an insult. Why should young girls, then, treat it as some of sort of slur? Words do matter. But what matters more is what we make of them. Treat the word ‘bossy’ as if it was an insult and soon it will come to mean just that. Accept it as a compliment and it will soon become one. There is this one episode in FRIENDS that comes to mind. Monica is complaining to Phoebe about how her mother makes her feel bad about herself. Every time I do something wrong, she explains, my mother calls it ‘pulling a Monica’. Well, why don’t you change that, asks Phoebe. The next time you do something right, call that ‘pulling a Monica’. That’s exactly what we should be doing with words like ‘bossy’. We should be embracing them as something positive, a validation of our leadership skills, rather than a negative comment on our assertiveness. Sandberg clearly doesn’t see it that way. For her and Rachel Thomas, co-founder of Leanin.org, the use of the word signals the beginning of a slippery slope. “We too were called bossy as girls,” they write, “Decades later, the word still stings and we remember the sentiments it evoked: Keep your voice down. Don’t raise your hand. Don’t take the lead. If you do, people won’t like you… As girls become women, the childhood b-word – bossy – is replaced by the b-word adult women face – along with aggressive, angry
IT’S A BAD WORD!
The word ‘bossy’, Sheryl Sandberg wrote, is used disparagingly to describe girls who exhibit leadership qualities and too ambitious. The words change but their impact doesn’t. Women are less well-liked when they lead, and all of us are affected.” Aha, see, right there is the problem. And it’s not the word ‘bossy’. It is the fact that women want to be ‘liked when they lead’. Men, on the other hand, don’t give a damn about how much they are liked or disliked so long as they get to lead. And that, in itself, gives them an enormous advantage over their female counterparts. On one hand, you have a gender that has a take-no-prisoners attitude when it comes to wielding power. On the other, or so Sandberg would have us believe, is a gender that is so fragile that just the use of a single adjective is enough to make its members curl up and die. It is this subtext that I find truly troubling: that even powerful, successful, ambitious achievers like Sheryl Sandberg feel the need to treat young girls like fragile flowers who must be protected from the hails and storms of a misogynistic world. And the belief that women are somehow still wary of taking the lead on things because they fear being seen as less feminine and more of a threat. The only thing that gives me cause for optimism is that I suspect little girls are not half as fragile as Sandberg seems to think. Well, let’s take Sandberg’s own case. She tells us that she grew up being called ‘bossy’, and those memories still hurt. And maybe they do. But take a good look at her now: the little girl who grew up being called ‘bossy’ is the woman who’s now the big boss at Facebook. So, what harm did that b-word do to her? None, as far as I can see. I suppose this is where I confess that I grew up being called ‘bossy’ as well. And, truth be told, I still have the bword thrown at me by most of my friends and family. Does it hurt? Not a bit. Would I like it banned? Not a chance. I would much rather own it.
It’s not the word ‘bossy’. It is the fact that women want to be ‘liked when they lead’
MARCH 23, 2014
MORE ON THE WEB For more SPECTATOR columns by Seema Goswami, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/seemagoswami. Write to her at seema_ ht@rediffmail.com The views expressed by the columnist are personal
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My Old SchOOl
No matter how disgusting hostel food is, it influences your tastes forever
S
CHOOL DINNERS are a complicated business as you will know if you’ve been to boarding school or lived in a college hostel. I received most of my education at residential establishments far from home, living in boarding schools and hostels for over a dozen years. My memories of institutional catering from that period are not those I cherish. On the whole, the food at the two schools I attended (one in India, the other in the UK) was dire. At University, the food served to the undergraduates in my college was so disgusting that after the first term, I resolved never to eat in the college’s dining room (“Hall”, as it was called) if I could help it. But the reason I began by saying that our attitude to school meals is complex is because experience demonstrates
Vir Sanghvi
rude food MORE ON THE WEB For more columns by Vir Sanghvi, log on to hindustantimes. com/brunch The views expressed by the columnist are personal
that no matter how much we hate hostel food, we spend much of our lives trying to recreate the flavours we ate as children. In England, for instance, one reason that is often cited for the hideously inedible character of that nation’s food is that the upper classes – traditionally the people who enjoy haute cuisine in such European countries as France and Italy – only want to eat the sort of slop they were served at Eton, Harrow, Winchester or wherever. Why is hostel food so dire? In my last few years at boarding school at Ajmer, I got on to the Mess Committee to try and see if there was any way of making things better. The conclusion I came to was: not really, no. Partly it was the cost. Even in the early Seventies, the average cost of a meal at Mayo College, my school, was around `3 per head. If the school had charged more, then the fees would have
MARCH 23, 2014
Photo: DINODIA PHOTOS
PENNY WISE
Even in the early Seventies, the average cost of a meal at Mayo College, my school, was around `3 per head
gone up and parents would not have been pleased. Nobody wants to shell out more cash only so that kids can get better meat or more paneer. But equally, the low cost was often used as an excuse to cover up sloppiness. I remember some boys who found insects in the rice and took it to a master (now dead, so I will not name him) to complain. “Insects! Insects!” he thundered. “Of course there are only insects! For the price you pay, what do you expect? A tiger?’’ It may sound funny now. But at the time we were outraged. (One consequence of eating at Mayo is that I still find myself automatically looking for insects in my rice. What’s worrying is the number of times I have found them – even at fancy restaurants at deluxe hotels.) Part of the problem was also that nobody cared. If you run a restaurant and the food is bad, then customers will stop coming and your restaurant will go bust. But when you run a kitchen in a hostel or a boarding school, then the kids are your prisoners. Even if they don’t like the food, there’s simply nowhere they can go. Most days, they are so hungry that they will eat whatever rubbish you serve them. But clearly these are not hard and fast rules. Years ago when I wrote about how bad boarding school food usually is, many angry letters to the editor arrived. They were from Doon School boys who said that the food at their school was jolly nice and gosh, they still missed that wonderful spaghetti Bolognaise! (spaghetti Bolognaise? Wow! All we Mayo boys got for most of the week was dal-roti-sabzi.) But I wonder if, like all other boarding school boys, I have been more influenced by school dinners than I’m willing to admit. Take breakfast. Till I went to Mayo, the only people I knew who ate porridge, bread and eggs for breakfast were characters in Enid Blyton books. At home in Bombay, our breakfast was always Indian (parathas, theplas, khaari pooris, gathiya, jalebi etc. – and very delicious they all were, too!), so I was nonplussed to discover that Mayo College expected us to eat a congealed fried egg with a circle of yellow plastic yolk in the centre. About the only edible egg dish was Rumble Tumble, or a very watery scrambled
hindustantimes.com/brunch
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egg that was served hot at the table. To this day, I will not eat a scrambled egg if it is too dry. It must have the consistency of the Mayo Rumble-Tumble for me to enjoy it. Then, there’s the matter of dessert. My love of custard dates directly back to school where it was the pudding (“sweet dish”, as they called it) at nearly every meal. Sometimes they would make a custard that was so thick that it solidified. They then cut it into little squares and gave us one each (“Block Custard”, it was called.) Or there was Cake Custard, a basic cake topped with custard. When ice-cream was served (rarely, very rarely) it was the home-made, hard-cranked variety. And even now, that’s still the kind I prefer. Once a week we got bread-and-butter pudding which is still among my favourite desserts. So yes, I have to concede that school food has influenced my tastes, no matter how much I hated it at the time. The revelation struck me last month when I visited the newly opened WelcomHotel in Jodhpur. It is a lovely property – a sort of cross between Agra’s ITC Mughal and Calcutta’s ITC Sonar – and because it is a WelcomHotel rather than a fullfledged ITC luxury hotel, rates are remarkably reasonable, much lower than either the majestic Umaid Bhawan or even the trendy Raas. It was while sitting in the hotel’s coffee shop that I saw a dish described on the menu as ‘Mayo College Mutton Curry’. I’ve known Akshraj Jodha, the hotel’s chef, for a very long time and I know he’s not from Mayo. So I asked him why he included the dish. Besides, I was not even sure that there was such a thing as a Mayo curry. My memories of mutton curries from school were of watery gravies and meat that was all bone. Was Jodha sure that there was even a dish that was significant enough to warrant being called a Mayo College curry? He was certain that this was the real thing, he insisted. He had found a guy who had cooked in the Mayo College kitchen for 30 years and had asked him if there was an archetypal Mayo College curry. Yes, said the cook, and taught Akshraj’s chefs how to make it. Somewhat dubious about this story and sceptical about the provenance of the curry, I ordered it anyway. When it did arrive, I was stunned. The gravy was much less watery. And there were actual chunks of meat in it, not just pieces of bone. But otherwise it was exactly the same curry that
I’d been served for seven years at school. When I got back from Jodhpur, I phoned Rohit Sangwan, the celebrated pastry chef who was many, many years junior to me at Mayo. Did he have any fond memories of the cuisine at school? It turned out that Rohit’s generation got a much better deal than mine. He described huge, warm omelettes with bread crumbs that I have no recollection of, and talked fondly of a Mayo trifle that had not even been dreamt of in my time. (Still, Rohit’s memories sound real enough. He says that the Mayo trifle was made with lots of jam and a glucose biscuit. Now, that sounds like the kind of cheapo Mayo cuisine I remember!) But Rohit remembered the Block Custard. It is the easiest thing in the world to make, he said. All you have to do is to double the custard powder you put into a normal custard. Then you pour the custard mixture into a tray, stick the tray in the fridge and wait for the custard to solidify. Once it is hard, you can slice it into the little blocks we remember. What about the Cake Custard “sweet dish” we used to long for? Easy, he said, any fool can make it. You need the simplest cake in the world and as for the custard, don’t bother to make a real custard, just use powder. So here it is. Rohit Sangwan’s recipe for a completely authentic Mayo College-style Cake Custard. And I’ve also included the recipe that Jodha procured for a Mayo College Mutton Curry. I hope you like them. But if you don’t, think only of this: I suffered this food for seven years. Now it’s your turn!
ROOM TO GROW
The newly opened WelcomHotel in Jodhpur is a lovely property – a sort of cross between Agra’s ITC Mughal and Calcutta’s ITC Sonar
Like all other boarding school boys, I have been more influenced by school dinners than I’m willing to admit
CAKE CUSTARD INGREDIENTS (For three to four servings)
For the Cake Butter: 100gm; castor sugar: 100gm; eggs: 2 (you can replace the egg with 100ml
Recipe courtesy: Chef Rohit Sangwan
of milk); flour: 100gm; baking powder: 2 pinch (3gms); vanilla essence: 1/2 tsp For the Custard Milk: 200ml; sugar: 35gm; custard powder: 10gm; water: 2tsp METHOD n For the cake: Bake room temperature butter and sugar in a bowl cream it with a back of a wooden spoon till it’s light in colour and fluffy. Add eggs slowly to the mixture and keep beating. Once both are mixed, add the vanilla essence, sieve flour and baking powder together and fold it together with the butter mixture. Bake it in a small cake tin at 175 Degree C. To check if it’s baked, take a toothpick and prick it in the centre and if it comes out clean then the cake is ready. n For the custard: Boil milk and sugar, mix cold water and custard powder. Once the milk is boiling add the custard mixture and boil. n Slice the cake and pour custard over it .
MAYO MUTTON CURRY INGREDIENTS Mutton cut: 1kg; oil: 200ml; bay leaf: 4; black cardamom: 4; onion slices: 250gm; ginger powder: 50gm; garlic paste: 30gm; salt: 10gm coriander powder: 50gm; red chilli powder:
Recipe courtesy: WelcomHotel Jodhpur
MARCH 23, 2014
FLAVOURS OF THE PAST
To this day, I will not eat a scrambled egg if it is too dry. It must have the consistency of the Mayo Rumble-Tumble for me to enjoy it
25gm; turmeric powder: 10gm; garam masala powder: 5gm; yoghurt: 150gm; fresh tomato puree: 100gm; kachri powder: 50gm; coriander leaves: for garnish METHOD n Heat oil in patila and add bayleaf and black cardamom, cook till cardamom crackles. n Add sliced onions and brown till the colour turns gold. n Add lamb, ginger paste, garlic paste, salt, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, kachri powder and cook till moisture evaporates and lamb turns brown in colour. n Add in yoghurt and tomato puree and cook well. n Adjust consistency by adding water. n Sprinkle garam masala powder on top and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
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BRUNCH DATE
Photo: RAJ K RAJ
H
E’S ALWAYS been known as Bollywood’s coolest hunk with a passion for fitness and fast bikes. But, of late, actor John Abraham has surprised critics not just with his performances in movies such as Shootout at Wadala and Madras Cafe, but also as a producer of thoughtful yet entertaining films. A keen sportsperson himself, Abraham recently became the co-owner of the Delhi Waveriders, which won the Hockey India League this year. We caught up with the actor at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Delhi on the sidelines of a recent hockey game. Excerpts from the interview:
“Audiences Are Getting Tired Of ‘Formula’ Cinema” John Abraham on improving Bollywood and reviving hockey by Veenu Singh
Most Bollywood stars have picked up stakes in cricket, so how come you chose hockey?
It is important for me to back something I believe is credible. I look at our hockey players and I see true heroes. Hockey is definitely one of the best sports and I am keen to restore it to its former glory. It is a splendid sport and we have been lucky to have had some of the greatest hockey players of all time. Look at people like Major Dhyan Chand and Ajit Pal Singh. I felt it’s important to back a game which is very nationalistic, Indian and one of the most energetic. Incidentally, the game itself has undergone a huge change in recent years. I used to play hockey in school but it’s amazing to see how the game is played today. These guys play on Astroturf – the drag flicks, the sweep shots – it’s a completely different game today. In Sardara Singh, captain of the Indian hockey team as well as the captain of the Delhi Waveriders, we have one of the best players in the world. We also have one of the best drag flickers in the world in Rupinder Pal Singh.
As a producer, you took big risks with Vicky Donor and Madras Cafe...
I’ve always believed it is important to make different kinds of cinema because the audience is evolving. People want subjects that are intelligent and engaging. They are slowly getting tired of the bluff we keep imposing on them in the form of formula cinema. I had wanted to make Madras Cafe seven years ago with Shoojit [Sircar] but the timing didn’t seem right. In the meanwhile, Vicky Donor happened. And we thought that humour is the best way to get the message across. In fact, I give full credit to Shoojit for being such a brilliant director. We are doing eight or nine films together. The first one is on football called 1911, a true story that also stars Ayushmann Khurrana. There’s one on wrestling, which is based on the life of Gama Pahelwan. It’s called Great Gama. Then I have one on motorcycle racing, a subject close to my heart.
Every kid should pick up three things – a sport, a foreign language and a musical instrument language and a musical instrument. I learnt German for some time and have always wanted to learn to play the tabla. I still want to. Maybe I will start learning it soon. This is like the ‘tripod’ of life. We need to develop this habit right from childhood. I remember I met Valentino Rossi and asked him when he started racing. He said he
How strongly do you feel about children taking up a sport?
For me, sport is like a religion. I used to play rugby, football and volleyball. I was into athletics, and discus, shot put and javelin were my specialities. I believe that every kid should pick up three things – a sport, a foreign
ABRAHAM’S FAVOURITE SPORTS FILMS Chak De! India: I don’t think there is any other film as good as this one on hockey. Brilliant! n Cool Runnings: Based on a Jamaican team’s effort to excel at a sport like bobsledding in a n
There are two schools of thought on this and I respect the government’s decision. They may have their own reasons for taking time. I felt so proud and happy when Sachin [Tendulkar] got the award. And you would expect Major Dhyan Chand to also get his due.
country where there is no snow at all. The team recently participated at the Sochi Winter Olympics. n Escape to Victory: A film on football that had a lot of professional footballers in it.
MARCH 23, 2014
began racing professionally late in life, at the age of 13. Rossi said the right time to begin is at nine. If I was the principal of a school or the Prime Minister, I would make sports as important as academics. Today, children are too used to being on their iPads or glued to their Xbox or TV throughout the day. They must learn to go out and play. The biggest thing that sport has taught me is to accept defeat graciously. And that has helped me tremendously in my life.
Since you are so passionate about hockey, how strongly do you feel about Major Dhyan Chand not getting the Bharat Ratna?
Do you think you’re a better actor or producer?
This question works well in a show like Koffee With Karan. It’s nice for Karan to ask these things from his guests.
Why did you decide to act in Madras Cafe and not Vicky Donor?
It was a conscious decision to take Ayushmann who, according to me, was perfect for the movie. He is like a complete package and the success of the movie proved that right. As for Madras Cafe, I feel I gave my 100 per cent to the role. Shoojit brought out the best in me. It was like telepathy between us. There was no preparation per se. I just had to go there and act. Madras Cafe has made me hundred times more mature actor than all my films put together.
veenus@hindustantimes.com Follow @VeenuSingh12 on Twitter
MORE ON THE WEB For the full interview, log on to hindustantimes.com/ brunch
WELLNESS
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MIND BODY SOUL SHIKHA SHARMA
PART - II
PILLOW TALK Good sleep needn’t be a nightmare to achieve. Just follow these tips
D
O YOU feel sleep OTHER HERBS AND PLANTS deprived often? There Chamomile: Drink chamomile are many reasons for flower tea at bedtime. this. According to ayurveda, Valerian root: Western naturopsleep deprivation is caused athy has been using this herb when there is an imbalance of for its sleep-inducing and calmthe basic energies. Not ing effects. eating on time, stress HEALTHY BREW and irregular sleep EXERCISES It is best to drink patterns lead to a vata chamomile tea at bedTire yourself out: imbalance. Similarly time to induce sleep When the mind is aggression, anger, more tired than the excessive eating and body, it leads to drinking leads to a disturbed sleep. So pita imbalance. make sure you get Here’s how you ample exercise. can treat chronic sleep deprivation: BETTER LIFESTYLE
CHOICES
TREATMENTS
Shirodhara: In this ayurvedic treatment, a gentle but continuous stream of medicated oil is made to drip on your forehead. This treatment relaxes the mind and improves sleep. Nasyam: This treatment helps to decongest the nasal sinuses. When you breathe better, you sleep better. Abhyangam: Medicated oil massages are effective in relieving chronic stress.
AYURVEDIC HERBS
Ashwagandha: Not only does it rejuvenate the body, it also rejuvenates the nerves. Have a teaspoon of ashwagandha powder with milk. Jatamansi: This herb is used in many tonics for its nervecalming properties.
Don’t eat a heavy meal at night: The digestive system kicks in to process the heavy load at night, which leads to restless sleep. Exercising earlier in the day: If you exercise just before sleeping, it activates your system. If you exercise at night, follow it up with a warm water bath.
NUTRITION
Oats: They have natural minerals that are good for your nervous system. Milk: Drink a warm glass of milk at night with crushed dates and nutmeg for SUPER GRAIN good night sleep. Oats not only soothe your nerves, they taste No caffeine: No colas, good as well coffee and tea before your bedtime. Warm soup: Eat vegetable soups to calm your nerves. ask@drshikha.com The series is now concluded Photos: IMAGESBAZAAR, THINKSTOCK
MORE ON THE WEB For more columns by Dr Shikha Sharma and other wellness stories, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch MARCH 23, 2014
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PERSONAL AGENDA PE
Model/ Actress
twitter.com/HTBrunch
Lisa Ray ay
BIRTHDAY SUN SIGN PLACE OF HOMETOWN SCHOOL/COLLEGE FIRST BREAK BIRTH April 4 Aries Mumbai. But right High school from Toronto Bombay Dyeing ad Toronto
now, Toronto
and drama school London campaign (1987)
LOW POINT OF YOUR LIFE HIGH POINT OF YOUR LIFE CURRENTLY I AM... Actress, role model or social activist, how do you define yourself? I prefer to call myself a life hacker now. I’m open to everything that life has to offer today. Which Hindi film would you have loved to be your debut? Something like Black (2005) would have been perfect. Your favourite Bollywood heroes? I really like Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, John Abraham (a very good friend) and Farhan Akhtar. What would you say to someone suffering from an illness? Have hope, never give up. What has your illness taught you? Life is meant to be lived and cherished. Now I live a balanced life, which I wasn’t doing earlier. The best thing about marriage... ...is that it is so awesome. I avoided it for many years, but I guess the timing was just right. I have found my soulmate. What is your sense of style? I don’t blindly follow trends. I can either be very casual or I like to dress up in very classic retro silhouettes.
YOUR DREAM DESTINATION.
Bali
Whose fashion sense do you admire? I’m a big fan of certain classic silhouettes of the ’50s and the ’60s like those worn by Sophia Loren. I also admire my friend Sujata Assomull’s style. One outfit that you have been criticised or praised for. Well, the red bathing suit I wore in Afreen Afreen is something that people still talk about. Even though you haven’t really been a part of mainstream Bollywood, what is your take on it? There has been a major focus on the script now. And that’s a welcome change. Directors you want to work with. Imtiaz Ali, Vishal Bhardwaj, and Anurag Kashyap.
MOST OVERRATED FILM.
Titanic (1997)
MOST PAISA VASOOL FILM.
Zindagi Dilwale Dulhaniya Na Milegi Le Jayenge (1995) Dobara (2011) MOVIES THAT WERE A
Describe yourself in three words. Free-spirited, positive and childlike. Three foods you’d never eat. Mass-produced beef, pork and tuna. A dessert that describes you. Rasmalai. Your life’s theme song. Any Patty Smith song. Your idea of a great weekend. Being outdoors in the sun with my husband. If you could ask for any talent or skill, what would it be? I’d like to be able to sing, and also learn Kathak. Something no one knows about you. I have trained as a mime artist in London. Your fitness schedule. I do a mix of yoga, gymming and spinning. I also love go for a hike or take a walk. You destress by... ...hanging out with my husband and meditating. The last line of your autobiography would read… ...You will have to wait some more to read that. — Interviewed by Veenu Singh
PART OF YOUR CHILDHOOD.
The Apu Trilogy
FIRST MOVIE YOU SAW ON THE BIG SCREEN.
my movies
A FILM YOU HAVE SEEN MORE THAN FIVE TIMES.
Photo: THINKSTOCK
My mother’s car accident in 2008 My marriage, acting in Water, being Finishing my autobiography, starting a blog. And launching Rado’s Esenza Ceramic Touch and being diagnosed with cancer declared cancer free
Star Wars (1977)
Photo: RAJ K RAJ