DECEMBER 2011 | `25 An MBD Publication d e m o c r a t i c w o r l d
Good Karma Arghyam’s battle to save water
Page 40
Future Forward
Analjit Singh Chairman Max India Group
What’s Next for Analjit Singh?
inside the mind of The man who can’t sit stilL PAGE 14
Global Citizens
The quest for identity in a foreign land Page 12
Social Agenda
Crowdsourcing: Social Media with a Purpose Page 24
PLUS:
Reading Room Warehouse Life in Technicolour Garnish
edit orial Sonica Malhotra Kandhari | editorial@democraticworld.in
A Fresh Start with an Old Idea Editor's choice
television censorship Big Brother or a big bother? Do increasingly adventurous TV shows need censoring? We ask Siddhartha Basu and Shekhar Suman their opinion of our Issue of the month.
If ever there was a young, old magazine, then Democratic World or DW is its best example. This is its launch issue and I don't believe you could get fresher than this. At the same time, DW is an old magazine; the original idea that led to DW germinated in the early 1970s with my father, the late Mr Ashok Kumar Malhotra, founder of the MBD Group. Democracy – in its larger meaning of egalitarian behaviour –meant the world to him. It was more than just a word. It was his way of life, manifested in the way he conducted his business, interacted with his family and friends, and in the way he treated his peers, seniors and employees. Little wonder then, that today it is our company mantra. Our magazine Democratic World is a culmination of those ideals and principles. When our team began brainstorming over DW, we managed to reach a single consensus: that the magazine will be of the people from all walks of life – businessmen to bureaucrats, performers to politicians, and from travellers to the ‘Twitterati’. Instead of confining ourselves to a niche, we have done the opposite by focusing on influencers across sectors. This month we have a special feature on Mr Analjit Singh, a man whose journey to success and continuous efforts to go further made him a natural choice for the cover story. A free thinker and a man who believes in leading through collaboration, he embodies democratic
ideals in his business life. We also hope that the entrepreneurs among you will be inspired by the people who share their stories with us in the Looking Back segment — this month, Dr Arvind Lal talks of his struggles and achievements on the road to success. The magazine will also be by the people. There is no subject too insignificant and no distance too vast for us to reach out to those who have something to say. Whether it is notes from abroad in our Foreign Depatches section or a blog about the queuing habits of Indians, all these voices find their way to our pages. And finally, it will be for the people –DW is for new-age Indians, who is in the process of carving out their rightful place on the global platform. For such people, DW is a window to a world of differing interests. The following pages have sections like Garnish, for the epicures; and the Reading Room, for the bookworms among our readers. For those whose interests fall more in the realm of all things mechanical and electronic, do check out our Life in Technicolour and Warehouse pages. All in all, it is a good time to be here in the country. I hope you enjoy the ride!!
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
1
TOC
Dr Arvind Lal I can recognise just about any fighter plane in the world
man of the month
| D E C E M BE R
2 0 11
C o v e r De s ign b y A NO OP P C | p hoto b y Subhojit Paul
Ta b l e o f con t e n t s
Read more on page 36
14 Dr Vivek Bhandari
Cover Story
14 | Man with a Plan Analjit
Singh, founder of Max India Limited, is ready to scale-up and make headlines once more. Catch a spare moment with the man who's always on the move
Please Recycle This Magazine And Remove Inserts Before Recycling
2
Copyright Democratic World is published & printed by M Gulab Singh & Sons (a unit of MBD Group) at Gulab Bhawan 6, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002, India and printed at Perfect Printers Gulab Bhawan 6, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002, India. Democratic World is for private circulation only. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of M Gulab Singh & Sons.
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
28 | democratising the land question: India's liberalising economy is creating a marked shift in its political culture
John Elliott
38 | Dynastic Secrecy Protected by India’s Tame Media: The Fourth Estate and selective silence
24 issue
32 | Reining in the Idiot Box
TV veterans talk of censorship and its impact on entertainment Good Karma
40 | Mission: safe water
24
Arghyam wants India to do a good deed by turning off its taps RegulArs
social agenda
01 | Editorial 06 | up-to-date 12 | Foreign Despatches 36 | Looking back 42 | Reading Room 52 | sticky notes
24 | Coffee and the Crowd
Why the world is sitting up and taking note of social media Life in Technicolour
Warehouse
Garnish
hitchhiker's guide
30 | vintage cars: Diljeet Titus may own
44 | Gadgets & Gizmos: uber cool
46 | All Things Nice: Nikhil Agarwal intro-
48 | Patagonia: Husian Akbar walks on
an enviable collection of vintage cars, but there’s more on his wishlist
smartphones and skullshaped DVD players — our box of goodies has them all
duces India to the finer things in life. He aims to change the way we wine and dine
the bluest of glaciers, opens a champagne bottle and looses himself in Argentina
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
3
Editorial
Sales & Marketing
Managing Editor: Monica Malhotra Kandhari Group Editor: Sonica Malhotra Kandhari Editor: Dr Chander Trikha Executive Editor: Aniha Brar Features Editor: Rohini Banerjee Sub Editor: Manjiri Indurkar
Mamta Bhatt, Arjun Shawney
PRODUCTION & LOGISTICS General Manager (Production) Alok Kashyap
Editorial co-ordination Mamta Bhatt
COPY DESK Editorial Director: Mala Bhargava Managing Editor: Sangita Thakur Varma Sub Editor: Radhika Haswani
DEsign Sr Creative Director: Jayan K Narayanan Art Director: Anil VK Associate Art Director: PC Anoop Visualisers: Prasanth TR, Anil T & Shokeen Saifi Sr Designers: Sristi Maurya, NV Baiju & Chander Dange Designers: Suneesh K, Shigil N, Charu Dwivedi Raj Verma, Prince Antony, Binu MP & Peterson Chief Photographer: Subhojit Paul Photographer: Jiten Gandhi
Democratic World is a monthly magazine published and printed by M Gulab Singh & Sons (a unit of MBD Group). It is published at Gulab Bhawan, 6, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002, India and printed at Perfect Printers, Gulab Bhawan, 6, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002, India. The magazine is edited by Dr Chander Trikha, Gulab Bhawan, 6, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002, India. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of M Gulab Singh & Sons. Editorial opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of M Gulab Singh & Sons and M Gulab Singh & Sons does not take responsibility for the advertising content, content obtained from third parties and views expressed by any independent author/contributor. (M Gulab Singh & Sons, Gulab Bhawan, 6, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002). Email: editorial@democraticworld.in Opinions expressed herein are of the authors and do not necessarily reflect any opinion of M Gulab Singh & Sons, Gulab Bhawan, 6, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002, India Tel: 91-11-30912345, 30912301 Email: subscribe@democraticworld.in
CONTRIBUTORS John Elliott is a former Financial Times journalist. Now based in New Delhi, Elliott writes a blog on South Asian current affairs and also contributes to The Economist and Fortune magazines. He has been in Asia since 1983, initially in Delhi for the Financial Times between 1983-1988. (Read more of his columns at: http:// ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/) author/johnell/
S. Husain Akbar is an
independent photographercum-videographer who has been in the profession for the past 14 years. An avid traveller, Akbar will let you know that it’s why he chose to plunge into photojournalism in the first place. No wonder his passport has more stamps than the Indian Postal Service. When he’s not shooting for television programmes, Akbar can be seen heading for the mountains in exotic locales. Akbar is fanatically fond of aircraft and anything that flies.
4
Democratic world
Dr Vivek Bhandari was the Director of the Insti-
tute of Rural Management, Anand, between May 2007 and May 2011. He was one of the youngest business school directors in India. Under his leadership the institute received several national and international recognitions. Professor Bhandari was selected as one of India’s Top 25 Hottest Young Executives by Business Today in 2008. The professor has written for several academic journals and magazines till date.
DECEMBER 2011
Anna Hazare
“Bliss does not come from outside, it comes from inside, from serving the people”
They Said it
photos.com
uptodate The Rise and Fall of Petrol Prices
Petrol prices rose for the fourth time in a year, then backed down to strong opposition
Political\\ The three state-owned oil giants — Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) — increased the price of petrol by ` 1.82 per litre on the 4th of November, the fourth such hike in a single year. The move caused a furor as opposition parties called it a “midnight massacre”. The most vocal opposition came from West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. Her party, the Trinamool Congress, threatened to withdraw support if petrol prices were not rolled back, though she later, retreated from her strong stance. Initially, the govern-
6
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
ment maintained a firm stand on the issue. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not only backed the price hike but also refused to guarantee against a future increase in prices. However, in an unprecedented move on November 16th, the government declared a reduction of ` 1.85 a litre. This more than neutralises the previous hike, which was announced barely a fortnight before. It is generally believed that political compulsions are responsible for the rollback, but the government says it is due to globally falling crude prices as well as the marginal climb in the rupee-dollar exchange rate.
`70 The average price of petrol across metros after the latest rollback
up-to-date
from around the world //
Vettel finishes first, India winner in F1
Conrad Murray Cornered Michael Jackson's doctor found guilty of manslaughter judgement\\ King of Pop, Michael Jackson’s physician Dr Conrad Murray was
found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the matter of Jackson’s death, which happened in 2009. Murray had administered a powerful surgical anaesthetic to the singer hours before his death. The verdict came out at the end of a six week long trial which was headed by a jury of 12 members. Murray was slammed for his “unconscionable” professional practice and neglect of his patient, Michael Jackson. The doctor maintained his innocence to mediapersons even after the judgement. Michael Jackson’s family, which was present at the trial, greeted the verdict as a triumph of justice while fans who had gathered outside the courthouse and had spent the entire morning chanting “Justice for Michael”, screamed with joy as the jury gave their unanimous verdict on the cardiologist from Houston, Texas. Murray now faces up to four years in prison and his medical licence has been suspended. Ever since the verdict has been delivered, the doctor has been put on suicide watch in a Los Angeles prison. He has been assigned special protection by prison authorities to prevent him being attacked by other inmates.
pageant
Sports\\ In October 2011, India successfully hosted its first Formula One Indian Grand Prix at the newly laid-out Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The circuit was built at an approximate cost of $315 million and was designed by the famous F1 circuit designer, Hermann Tilke. The track that covers a length of 5.14 km and an area of 875 acres has 16 largely medium speed corners allowing race cars to lap at an average speed of 210 kmph and speed upto 320 kmph making it one of the fastest Formula 1 tracks in the world. At the event the man of the moment was the double world champion, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who won with the race’s fastest time of 1:27.249, breaking the record of most laps led in a season, held by British driver Nigel Mansell. The German Vettel bagged a total of 374 points followed by Britain’s James Button who bagged 240. Force India’s Adrian Sutil, who finished ninth, also cemented India’s future in the sport. The starry event also hosted racers Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and the legendary Michael Shumacher.
Speed thrills
Miss Venezuela is Miss World 2011: In a grand ceremony which took place at the Earls Court Two in London, Miss Venezuela, Ivian Sarcos, was crowned the 61st Miss World. She is the fifth Venezuelan to have won the title. India’s Kanishtha Dhankhar was unable to make it to the top 15. DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
7
up-to-date
\\ from around the world
Occupy Wall Street (Left) The Arab Spring inspired American protest movement went into its third month in November
The Occidental Crisis Hits the World Greek and Italian Prime
Ministers submit resignations International\\ The European Sovereign
Debt Crisis took a new turn with the Prime Ministers of Greece and Italy offering their resignations. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou declared his resignation from the post to make way for the former European Central Bank Policymaker Lucas Papademos. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi resigned to let former European Commissioner Mario Monti take charge of the country. The Greek economy is heavily in debt to all eurozone countries and owes a grand sum of $74 billion to Germany and France alone. The country’s total debt, $329 billion, is 165.6 per cent of the country’s GDP. Given the crisis, the new government in action introduced major austerity measures to bail out the country. While austerity measures were also brought into force in Italy, traders were
troubled by signs that the unending debt crisis was enveloping eurozone’s thirdlargest economy, a nation too big for Europe to bail out. The euro made strongest gains against the dollar and Italian bond yields, that had raced against sustainable levels, fell in relief at the prospect of improvement under a new government. European shares also saw a rise, with Italian banks rallying. Eurozone’s fourth largest economy, Spain, was another country facing trouble with the bursting of its housing bubble. This left the country, half the size of America, with an equal number of unoccupied homes. While the storm was brewing in Europe, the people in America continued with the Occupy Wall Street Movement which first started on September 17 at the New York City’s Zucotti Park, spread to 70 major
Austerity is the order of the day for the West with the growing eurozone crisis
8
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
cities of the USA and then to 1500 cities round the world. “We are the 99 per cent” was the chosen slogan of the “Occupy Wall Street”protesters who were protesting against the influence of money over the government and its representatives in Washington, capitalism and government corruption. With the growing rate of unemployment in America and the spreading dissatisfaction amongst the masses over the gross disparity with the upper and the lower classes, the crowd refused to bow down and started making preparations for winter. Huge military-style canvas tents designed to withstand plunging temperatures sprung up, flu shots were being offered and women were being provided with safe spaces of refuge. As the entire West is trying to fight this financial crisis Asia seems to be doing better than its American and European counterparts. But if Europe and America fail to bail themselves out, trouble will soon enter the Asian market due to its trade ties with the western nations.
up-to-date
\\ from around the world
&
Disaster
From Celebration to Cremation — The Haridwar Stampede stampede\\ 20 people lost their lives and approximately 50 were injured in a stampede during a religious ceremony in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Nearly four lakh people were present for the five day ceremony which took place near Har-Ki-Pauri
in Haridwar. 16 people died on the spot, while four others succumbed to their injuries later in the evening. The stampede occurred when people tried to enter the Yajnashala at Chandidweep Ghat on the banks of the Ganga for the
centenary celebrations of Acharya Pt Shriram Sharma, founder of Shaktikunj Ashram. Haridwar police have booked the organisers of 1551 Kundalia Yagyashala under section 304A IPC for causing death due to negligence in Haridwar Kotwali.
Girl Power at Nobel Panel focuses on women’s role in peace efforts
Salt pepper swami agnivesh is a contestant on bigg boss season 5 and everyone's talking about it
“To begin with, Bigg Boss has isolated the celibate Swami from the babes. This is unfair to the viewers.” PritishNandy | Journalist
“Swami Agnivesh going in to the #BigBoss house. I didn't see this one coming & can't wait to watch his entry.” Omar Abdullah | Politician
“By the way, has anyone seen Swami A? Is he finally in the 'house'? or is he still running around cursing Team Anna?” Suhel Seth | Media and Marketing Guru
The Peace Trio (From left) The President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian peace activist Leymal Gbowee and Yemenese journalist and pro-democracy campaigner Tawakkul Karman.
World Politics\\ It was all about wonder women at the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony held in October 2011. For the first time in seven years, three women, two from Liberia, were conferred the honour. The award was given jointly to the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; Liberian peace activist Leymal Gbowee; and Yemenese journalist and pro-democracy campaigner Tawakkul Karman for their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work”. Tawakkul is the first Arab woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Sirleaf, the first woman President of Liberia, has played a key role in establishing peace in the region and in working towards social and economic equality. Gbowee was lauded for her work in bringing about peace in the war-stricken Liberia. Substantiating the importance of women in the peace-building process, the Nobel Panel’s statement read, “We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels.”
10
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
“Swami Agnivesh on big boss? Seriously, is there any country as much fun as India?” Chetan Bhagat | Author
“News reports suggest Swami Agnivesh will be on Big Boss from tomorrow. The man clearly has hidden talents!” Rajdeep Sardesai | Journalist
foreign despatches \\ Notes from the dia spor a
Hamid Khan
This is what a global community looks like” Hamid Khan: I came to the US 32 years ago and realised that for immigrants, there were always issues of identity, race and adjustment that kept popping up. At a structural level, however, US policies became more anti-immigrant in the ’80s and ’90s. There was demonising of certain communities. On the other hand, the size and number of the South Asian community also began to leave a greater impact on American society. These factors led us to examine ourselves and try to deal with matters as a community. To begin with, I reached out to friends and acquaintances — at that time, Greater Los Angeles had no forum for the South Asian community. Initially, these were simple conversations that had a multiplier effect. Along the way, we widened our scope and an organisation developed. That was the South Asian Network. The early days were interesting. You see, there is a certain level of expectation within immigrants. People largely migrate for economic reasons. There is always the question, “Why are we here?” We needed to talk about that collectively and create a common sense of South Asian identity. To do that, we had to forget homeland politics, regional identity and faithbased spaces. Initially there were reservations between people from different countries and
12
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
Los Angeles, USA
backgrounds, but it was not a hard bridge to cross, because people were open to dialogue and working with a common cultural identity — whether it was language, food or celebrations. We realised early on that we could not operate in silos. Our approach had to be inter-sectional. Workers’ rights were a big part of what we focussed on: issues like minimum wage, fair working hours and compensation. Then there were cases of people being targeted because of race and religion, what was loosely called “hate crimes”, and other sorts of discrimination. In the 1980s there was a group that called itself DotBusters (from the bindi on the foreheads of Indian women), who went around targeting people of a certain community. Then, there were issues within the community such as domestic violence and homophobia (with people being rejected by family members for being gay). Over time, we have managed to influence some change. For example, earlier a survivor of domestic violence and abuse had to file a report in a public area in the police stations — there was little sensitivity in the process. We advocated for reform and as a result, the police department changed
Binna Chahal
Los Angeles, USA Hamid Khan: came to the US from Pakistan in 1979. He is the founder and executive director of the South Asian Network (SAN), the first organisation in Los Angeles committed to empowering South Asians. Hamid is a founding member of the Los Angeles Taxi Workers’ Alliance and on the board of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. He has been honoured by the California State Assembly for “excellence in public service and his dedication and contributions to the people of the State of California and beyond”. He was recently awarded the Soros Justice Fellowship to build a campaign against the Los Angeles Police Department’s racial profiling under Special Order 11 Binna Chahal: was born in Punjab and raised all over India as an army officer’s daughter. After finishing her MBBS from Jamshedpur, she moved to the US and did her residency in Psychiatry from the University of Irvine, California. After 20 years of running her practice, today she also works part-time for the Orange County Mental Health Programme. A founder member, she has served as Chairperson of the Board of SAN for two terms
foreign despatches Notes from the dia spor a //
“I would love to see a multi generational sharing of our experience”
their policy and set aside a separate area. At a national level, we got really active post 9/11. There was a law that required young men over 16 years from some countries (especially Pakistan and Bangladesh) to register themselves. This led to massive deportation and disruption within families. So we advocated for change and the law was withdrawn. To me, it is important that South Asians, as a community, draw parallels with other “people of colour”. For the longest time, we had trouble thinking of ourselves as “non-white”. In the process of adapting, we took on some of the more negative aspects of the culture here. The term we used jokingly was “Honorary Caucasian”. Post 9/11, a lot of that changed. Looking at the social and institutional reaction to South Asians, a lot of people woke up and said “Oh God, we’re not white!” At SAN we have always interacted and worked with people from other races. It’s critical to broaden the scope of that bond which all immigrants share, and learn from each other. SAN has been around for 21 years and I have retired now. When I look at the South Asian reality now, I can’t say if things are better or worse. However, I feel that US history is steeped in the twin issues of economics and racism — take slavery as an example. And immigrants need to think about these issues. Looking ahead, I would love to see a multi generational sharing of our experiences and for it to get passed down as oral history. I feel that the biggest opportunity — and challenge — is for us to show “This is what a global community looks like”. There might be a universe of differences, but there is also a universe of similarities and we have to build on that. Binna Chahal: I came to America right after I got married. From the beginning I had an interest in the immigrant community. I remember I was helping with a film, Roots in the Sand, based on the Indian-Mexican community. That was the first time that I got actively involved with issues of the diaspora. I’ve been involved with SAN from its inception. We tried to deal with basic issues in the community: language barriers, how to manoeuvre around the system, etc. The first meeting we had was open to the whole community and attendance slowly started going up. We’d have lively discussions between family members and individuals on issues that impacted them. For example, teenagers often wanted to know why they couldn’t date, and would ask their parents, “What is the point of you coming here if you have to follow the exact
rules as you did back home?” Basically, it was an attempt to establish a new identity while keeping our roots intact. At SAN our basic belief was that there should be no discrimination — whether on the basis of gender, nationality, sexual orientation or religion. We had Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Nepalese and Bhutanese volunteers. As a group we stayed away from the complications of homeland politics, and I would say we’ve worked well so far. We work mainly within Southern California, but have partners in other states. Barring a few people, everybody volunteered their time. For example, in helping people understand the system on how to get medicare, we had a number of doctors who would give free time — I was one of them. Today we have three main programmes: a Civil Rights Unit (CRU), a Community Health Action Initiative (CHAI) and AWAZ, which deals with cases of domestic violence. SAN developed a solid reputation and so got a lot of funding (which has been tight since the global meltdown) from sources, including the government. Initially, government funding was allotted for ‘Asians’ and so was distributed between all Asians and Indians hardly got any. This was for a number of reasons, but also because people didn’t really show up for the census that was done routinely. So the question always was, “Where is your community? Who are you going to get funding for?” So we got people to take part in the census and then got funding. One of the stipulations of government funding was that we had to collect an equal amount from the community, which we managed. Since I first came here, I see more awareness within the community and more youngsters volunteering. There are people coming into public life as well and it was important for us to enter the political arena. Otherwise, there was this post-colonial attitude that kept us thinking “Gore ko chedo nahi”, (don’t mess with the white man) and keep doing your own work. Recently, we had a couple of people come down to talk to us from the White House, and they were Indian women. After 21 years, I retired from SAN this year, but will always be a volunteer. Mental health stays a priority for me and we have tried to educate the community about this issue. When I think about the future, it is with hope. Our aim was to change the way our younger generation thinks about the needs of the community. I think that has happened. (As told to Aniha Brar)
“It was an attempt to establish a new identity while keeping our roots intact”
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
13
cover story
\\ MAN WITH A PL AN
Man with a
Plan
Get into the mind of the man who's always on the move — Analjit Singh talks about his work and the desire for maximum impact
14
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
by Aniha Brar photographs by Subhojit Paul
Analjit Singh Chairman of the `7,250 crore Max India Group changed tracks to focus on the 'Businesses of Life' — insurance, healthcare, hospitality and education
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
15
he year was 1999 and had you been in England at the time, you might just have come upon a Sikh gentleman quietly going about his business. At first glance, you might have taken him for a man of leisure as you watched him in the garden of his home in Surrey, saw him get his son settled into college at Harrow or walk with friends along the Thames in London. You might even be forgiven for thinking that this well-dressed gentleman-at-large had achieved his life’s ambitions, hungs up his boots and taken time out to smell the flowers. And you could almost have been right. Almost — because 45 year old Analjit Singh was far from being done with grappling with life and the opportunities it had to offer. While he had spent most of the year in contemplation, it was simply the calm before the sizeable storm of activity that would follow. But the story gets ahead of itself. We must retrace our steps to the year 1983, when a young man, newly returned from his studies abroad, took his first steps as an entrepreneur. Singh was no stranger to big business as he was the youngest of the three sons of Bhai Mohan Singh, patriarch of the leading family in Indian pharmaceuticals. When it came time for the division of assets, Analjit Singh found most of the ‘family silver’ going the way of his brothers. This was a defining moment for the young man who found himself on the fringes of the family business. As he puts it, “At that time, the sole mission was to establish a company, attain some financial independence from the family and get going in life.” And get going is exactly what he did; building, selling and partnering in ventures at a dizzying speed, prompting some observers to dub him a serial entrepreneur. Max India Ltd, incorporated in 1984, set up the first three US FDA approved plants and went into bulk pharmaceuticals. Singh concedes that this was an “opportunistic” phase as he took his chances where he could — his businesses ranged from electronic components, to plastics packaging
16
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
and eventually to telecom and VSAT. In an era where most organisations were celebrating the dawn of liberalisation by consolidating their businesses, Max seemed to be heading in the other direction by being what Singh calls an “almost peculiarly diversified company”. In 1998, he cashed in a 41 per cent stake in one of his most successful joint ventures with Hutchison Whampoa for mobile telephony. He ended up with `561 crore in the bank and the dilemma of figuring out quite what to do with it. Then came the defining moment of epiphany in 1999. As Analjit Singh says, “I had a switch of sorts and thought that life had got to be about more than setting up businesses, running businesses and becoming profitable. That inner passion was to find things to do that had a cause and were about permanence. Because at the end of the day, there was no lasting impact of the businesses that I was in to the Life of a person. But I did nothing and kindof knocked around for that year, because I thought these things — trying to contribute to society, making some sort of a dent in other people’s lives – were very high-falutin’ aspirations and could not be
Man's Best Friend Analjit Singh spends a lot of free time with his three dogs — his 'stress busters' — at the end of the day
“Life had got to be about
more than setting up businesses, running businesses and becoming profitable”
—Analjit Singh
translated into something tangible and certainly not a business!”
from the fringes to the fore
INSIGHT | Anuroop ‘Tony’ Singh
“We are mentors to each other”
Knowing his own mind, but not quite seeing the way to achieving his goals, Singh did what he does best e were in the Doon School together and — he reached out to experts. Cloistering himself our families knew each other. Our friendwith consultants and reaching out to friends and ship developed on the cricket field when associates, he hammered out the new face of the I was bowling and he was batting in an inter-house Max India Group of companies. In 2000, they exited match. And later when I was approached to be the nine of the 10 businesses they had built from scratch CEO of Max New York Life, our professional relationin order to free up capital and management time. ship deepened. I decided to join the insurance busiThey also articulated a ‘Vision 2000’, which was to ness at that time mainly because I had trust in Analjit operate in the four areas of insurance, health care, as an individual and New York Life as an established education and hospitality, with the first two getting independent company. off the ground almost in tandem. We have been great Finally, it was time for Analjit Singh mentors to each other to put his ideas to the test and prove his and rarely land up with doubters wrong. “The reputation I had an unresolvable conflict. ended up with after the first few years There are often situations was that Analjit can’t sit still (which is where our views differ. true), if he sees another opportunity, But we follow the methhe’ll go after it and then what will odology of unpeeling the happen to these long gestation, capital onion, where we put both intensive businesses that need sustained our perspectives on the focus? I absolutely resisted and to this table, take ‘opinion’ out of day, I have not branched out into any the equation and substiunrelated area.” tute it with ‘fact’. Once we An old hand at joint ventures, Singh do that, we can see the went looking for partners in insurance picture almost through and found them in New York Life, an the same lens and then Anuroop ‘Tony’ Singh Vice Chairman, Max India Ltd American company that brought with the problem doesn’t exist it more than 165 years of experience any more. in the sector. With capital and partners in place, all He is an exceptional entrepreneur who doesn’t give that was left was finding a ‘world class CEO’. The up easily, but always tries to look for a win-win path search ended with an old school friend and trusted acceptable to all. He is a workaholic and I tell him adviser, Anuroop ‘Tony’ Singh. As Analjit Singh says that he should reduce the physical tasks and leverage “At every such turning point in my life, I have felt an his intellectuality. But right now he is in the midst of a invisible hand that comes to put things in place that pretty significant scale-up, and I can understand why then become building blocks for a business. I regard he has to be on the watch on a full-scale basis.
W
DECEMBER 2011
“I read some of Jack Welch's writing and was very inspired by the way he built GE” —Analjit Singh
Democratic world
17
cover story
\\ MAN WITH A PL AN
my CEO coming in at that time as one such move.” Now the Vice Chairman of the company, Tony Singh played an executive role for five years before he stepped off into governance. Starting at a time when insurance was largely the preserve of the government and smaller than most of its competition at the time, 10 years have seen Max New York Life (MNYL) emerge as the third largest life insurance company in the country. Last year, when most Indian insurers were licking the wounds suffered due to regulations imposed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, MNYL was one of only two companies that grew their business. Thumping the table to emphasise each point, Analjit Singh puts their success down to pure strategy, tenacity and good governance. Asking a top consultant from McKinsey to “get his shaving kit and live with us for three months”, the senior management operated out of a ‘war room’ in the Gurgaon office and essentially restructured the whole business. In the process they shut down 250 offices, cut expense lines by `500 crore, moved their target segment and went back to the basics
INSIGHT | Dr Peter McLaughlin
“He has created a tremendous platform”
T
he key relationship in any school is between the chairman and the headmaster and if that doesn’t work it will end in tears. I first met him in November 2008, and he was keen on building the school’s reputation and wanted to ensure that we were fit for purposes that suited the 21st century. At the same time he was looking for a headmaster who would understand and respect the traditions of a boys’ boarding school. On a personal level he is very charismatic and warm. He wanted to ensure that the school remained secular, but that education be value based. He certainly is the hardest working governor I have ever come across. But having said that, he understands the difference between governance and management, and so is very supportive. He has been able to empower and enable me to do things because of his position within the country, and with his connections, he has been able to get me the support that I needed. The term on the board of the Doon School is five years and is non-renewable but he has created a Dr Peter McLaughlin tremendous platform for me and any Headmaster, successors that follow. The Doon School
18
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
With Hillary Clinton Awarded for his ‘outstanding achievement’ in presenting the international community with an understanding of a modern and vibrant India
of selling saving and protection products. As Tony Singh puts it, “When we started in insurance, we took a unique approach and went for long-term products, whole life insurance policies, etc. We were the only company that took this purist attitude to life insurance and wanted to build a life insurance company on a life insurance balance sheet, not a mutual fund business on a life insurance balance sheet, which is what a lot of people did. The regulators came down very hard on that but for us, it was the path we had wanted to take. It was tough for us, but very good news directionally and strategically and we capitalised on that.” The healthcare business was a very different animal that posed challenges of its own. It took some convincing to get the right physicians and clinicians on board. Singh says that people were initially hesitant to jump onto his bandwagon. “Who are you, Max? You don’t even know how a hospital is run; you don’t even have a hospital. Why should I chuck 20 years of my practice and come work for you?”‚ was an attitude that Singh says he and his team worked hard to overcome. But these are distant memories now as Max Healthcare has a network of 11 hospitals and more coming up. The builder of this empire is a study in contrasts. He has no qualms about taking credit where it’s his due; but ask him who his mentors and icons are, and he is quick to point to his colleagues — Dr S.S. Baijal, Ram Charan and Tony Singh. If not an entrepreneur, he would have wanted to be a gymnast because of “their pursuit of perfection” or an army
cover story
MAN WITH A PL AN //
With the Prime Minister Chosen as a Member of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Joint Indo-US CEOs Forum
With the President Receiving the Padma Bhushan from President Pratibha Patil in January 2011
man, because of their impeccable turnout. A dapper dresser himself, he looks embarrassed at the notion of having a favourite designer — “Gosh! No such thing”. He puts his achievements down to a basic attitude of service and humility, “though of course when you say you have humility, you have lost it right there and then!” Disarmingly straightforward, he is also a perfectionist. That is apparent the minute you walk into his office-cum-residence on Aurangzeb Road in Delhi. The expansive gardens and various rooms are spotless. While there is an army of caretakers, Singh is passionate about “the colour green” and knows “the height of every hedge in the house”. You could say that of all the properties of the man who admits, “homes and houses are my most extravagant buys”, as he aligns a napkin more precisely on a tray.
“I have often
felt an invisible
hand that comes to put things in place that then
become building blocks for a business” DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
19
cover story
\\ MAN WITH A PL AN
INSIGHT | Rahul Khosla
“His actions speak louder than words”
I
Rahul Khosla Managing Director, Max India Ltd.
FIRST met him in his house in Surrey in 2000, and retained the memory of him as a man with a business focus and great personal charm. Then we met 11 years later to discuss this opportunity. Since then, his actions have spoken louder than words because the kind of space he has given me and the generosity he has shown in positioning me — whether to the media, partners, stakeholders or employees — has been really remarkable. I am sitting here in a very challenging role, but am left with a degree of trust, friendship and support that I hope that everyone else who comes into such a role would get. This is not just the mantra on the company logo;
We Can’t Sit Still
“I read a lot about the CEO of Ford Motor Company, Alan Mulally. He has a very peopleoriented style of functioning, which I admire” —Analjit Singh
20
Democratic world
The `7,250 crore Max India Group has crossed more than a decade in existence and change is in the air once again. Last year, Max took its first steps into the world of Health Insurance, tying up with Bupa Finance PLC of the UK, a move that ties in nicely with the rest of their package. In another recent shift, Max Healthcare sold 26 per cent stakes to South African hospital operator Life Healthcare Group for debt repayment and a carefully planned expansion. One fallout of these changes was the departure of Dr Pervez Ahmed as CEO, a move that Singh explains quite candidly. “Max Healthcare has changed. In the last few months we have gone from 900 to practically 17,00 beds. In this complex organisation, I was saying to Pervez that he must take himself up more into governance like I have. I made Pervez alternative offers and discussed it extensively. He still wished to stay in the operating role and we could not agree. Again, it’s not about just carrying on as we have been. In a business, you have to get proactive and fix or change things.” Singh has been ‘getting proactive’ in the leadership structure of the company as well. Working with key advisors, he is in the process of putting in governance models that will ensure that the companies remain professionally run. Closely involved with the process, Tony
DECEMBER 2011
we want to be the best quality provider and the most admired in all our businesses. We are clear that we want to establish the Max brand as something that evokes the ideas of quality, profitability and setting a benchmark. All of these are lovely words but unless you insist on them, they will stay ideas. As far as Analjit is concerned, this is not some alien programme which he is looking at from a distance. He is particular enough to know if something is off the path and if it is, then it bothers him because he cares. You could excuse a person like this if he was peremptory or dictatorial, but he is astonishingly open and collaborative.
Singh says, “We are institutionalising processes so they are not dependent on individuals. For example, they are board managed companies, not Analjit managed companies any more. We can see the success of these processes in all the places where they are well tenured.” Analjit Singh’s first step towards the new governance model: firing himself as the Managing Director. Rahul Khosla, who stepped into the role earlier this year, says “He is clearly an evolved and mature individual who understands himself and the context of what he is doing. And he does this not by being prescriptive of how things should turn out, but collaborative in how we take the journey together. Even though Analjit is the significant owner of the enterprise, he is not someone who would compromise the quality of management, professionalism and governance in the company.” uestion Analjit Singh about the secret to his success and he says “My God-given gift is not finding the solution. It is not necessarily to always execute and deliver it. But my God-given gift is to read a situation, see the problem and put a system in place which I can administer well to get the right person to do the job.” That explains the management structure in his companies, but where do his three children fit into that model? Though two of his children are involved in the private busi-
gadget guide Analjit Singh is rarely late for a meeting; the man without a Blackberry relies on his i-Pad to keep him organised
Head of the Clan He might be on the move constantly, but Analjit Singh spends every available minute with his family, even engaging with his children through work whenever possible
nesses — son Veer in hospitality and daughter Tara in senior living — they do not have operational roles in the publicly listed companies. While his children are being guided by stalwarts like Ram Charan and other seniors, Singh is clear that this is the time for them to earn their stripes and develop their capabilities. Having experienced first-hand that succession can divide families, he has put plans in place to forestall that by setting up a Trust to administer the family assets. “On 12th November last year, I guess I was personally the owner of 98 per cent of our net worth, and today I own nothing. It’s all in that Trust so nobody can question ownership because it has been transferred in my lifetime. And the trustees’ duties in all scenarios have been laid out. So if the children agree, very well. If they don’t agree, they have a few months to sort it out, after which the trustees are directed to liquidate something and share it between them. So they can’t hijack Max India through indecisiveness between the three of them. They can be given their shares, told to do what they wish and Max India continues unaffected.” Clear-headed when it comes to business, Analjit Singh also takes “his role as mentor-father” very seriously, according to his daughter, Tara.
On the Anvil Seniors Living: The first project is in Dehradun, where Max is building lifestyle communities with a minimum of 500 homes. They will provide comprehensive care for those over 60. These Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) will take care of independent living, assisted living, senior living and eventually high dependence living Hospitality: This will be ‘wellness driven hospitality’, with the first example again coming up in Dehradun. It is set to combine Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, and other healing techniques Centre for Integrated Medicine: This will house modern medicine (particularly for diagnostics), Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and other integrated medicine under one roof. These could be accessed for prevention, curative purposes and for rehabilitation. The centre, about 25,000 square feet, is slated to begin in Delhi Academic Medical Centre: A medical school and teaching hospital is coming up in Greater Noida. It will also have three skilling units alongside for training in nursing, allied health and for wellness professionals. The Max Institute of Health Education and Research (MIHER) is partnered by Partners Harvard Medical International (PHMI), who are part of the Harvard Medical School Group and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. For the nursing, allied health and wellness segment, talks are on with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
21
cover story
\\ MAN WITH A PL AN
It’s important to him that his children work in collaboration with him wherever possible so they can interact more frequently, something that Tara appreciates. “It wasn’t always the situation where he would pick up the phone and chat to us. We don’t really have that relationship. But he always made sure that he knew what was going on. He does have a hectic schedule, but the minute we needed him and called him he was always available (short of when he was in the air on a plane).”
Of Lists and Legacies “I would be lying through my teeth if I said they didn’t mean anything to me — of course they do. But am I doing what I do to get on that list or be a part of that legacy? No. My motivation is to bring change and add value — to my company, colleagues and family.” Analjit Singh made it to the Forbes list of 100 Richest Indians. And even though he was not in the top half of the list, he is reportedly the highest tax payer in the country. Senator Hillary Clinton, on behalf of The Indian American Center for Political Awareness (IACPA), awarded him for his ‘outstanding achievement’ in presenting the international community with an understanding of a modern and vibrant India. This was followed by an invitation to be a Member of the Prime Minister’s Joint Indo-US CEOs Forum. Singh has become something of a business ambassador for the country, a role he doesn’t take lightly. “With a turban on my head and a beard on my face, there is absolutely no doubt where I come from. My family and I are
“Am I doing what I do to get
on a list or be a part of a legacy? No”
22
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
cover story
MAN WITH A PL AN //
INSIGHT | Tara Singh
“I learnt about spirituality from my father”
m
y father lives by example and his actions show us the kind of human being he wants us to be. He is a perfectionist, but I relate to that very much. The joke in the family is that I have imbibed a lot of his desire for perfection, his OCD. We both love planning, for things to be methodical and done in a certain way. My mom, brother and sister are constantly laughing at the way we love to plan things down to the last detail. Growing up, our father used to make us say our prayers from the Guru Granth Saheb and even now we have whole bits of it memorised. But I think as children we couldn’t relate to it a 100 per cent and my brother and I went on our own spiritual journeys. The understandings I have come to now actually resonate with a lot of what my father used to talk to us about when we were kids. He sometimes used verses of our religious book as examples, but now I understand that the message of what he was trying
to say went far beyond any particular religion. So if someone were to ask me where I learnt most about spirituality, happiness and positivity, it would totally be from my father. We have not really talked about our role in Max. And it’s not because he doesn’t have a plan or that we don’t have aspirations, but because my father has always believed that there is a right time for all discussions. We, as children, realise how much pride we have in what he has created and therefore, we must uphold every single one of his values. We have our own relationships with people who work with Max. For example, I worked with Max for two years before I started my project. So while we know that as we prove ourselves and earn our place, there will be a place for us in Max, we also have a lot to do and learn before then. Right now he is watching to see how we develop, because at the end of the day it’s a professionally run public company.
on our best behaviour when we are outside India because I believe we carry the flag for the country. It is the same when it comes to my business. Because of our operating principles and image, we sometimes give a little firangi picture of ourselves. We are what I call an Indian international company, not a multinational. I get very hassled when people say that Max has got built through its foreign partners as I don’t want anyone to compromise the view that Indians can do it.” One would think this would be more than enough work for one man, but education is a topic that is in keeping with his notion of leaving a lasting impact. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Governors of his alma mater, the Doon School, and brings his trademark involvement to the job. As he laughs it off himself, critics tend to see him as ‘too active’, while supporters call him ‘the most active chairperson’. When it comes to ISB Mohali, he and the group have reportedly committed `50 crore to setting it up and he visits the site “religiously every 16 days to ensure that it is ready to open by the 12th of April, 2012”. Some time in the course of the conversation,
Tara Singh Chief Executive of the Senior Living Business Max Ventures
he excitedly opens his i-Pad to show the pointers he has ready for the new Director of IIT Roorkee. From the vision and function of the planned IIT Roorkee at Greater Noida to ideas on how to attract faculty, it is all in the list. When plans were afoot to make the new campuses into copies of their namesake, Singh came up with his own ideas. “IIT Roorkee has a 10 acre campus in Greater Noida. So we are going to convert that into one centre of excellence — most likely on urban development. We’ve got 45 acres in Saharanpur. I am going to introduce two specialities in that school. We are going to try and transform a little bit how IIT works. The point still is that don’t sit still in life and keep pushing the envelop.” It is the day before Diwali and as the time with Analjit Singh draws to a close, you can see his mind has moved on to the next meeting. Working off his trusted i-Pad and a simple phone — “my assistant is my blackberry” — he is already engrossed in the details of the latest project. It is obviously a pace that suits him for as he puts it, “If you think of healthcare as a business, it’s a bad life. If you think of it as a good life, it’s a great business.”
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
23
social agenda \\ CrowdSourcing
Coffee & the Crowd
24
Democratic world
december 2011
social agenda CrowdSourcing //
A blend of the real and virtual worlds A space where the crowd exchanges its ideas, voices its opinions and imparts its wisdom By Mala Bhargava
W
orld leaders are suddenly taking a big shine to social media. Digital marketers may have been shouting themselves hoarse over the big three networks for years now, but those who have so much clout in the “real world” have been wary, steering clear of the rambunctious animal called social media. It’s easy to see why. They just didn’t see it coming. And when it came, they didn’t understand it. And when they understood it, they couldn’t control it. Kingdoms are easy. Social media isn’t. But things are changing. In July of this year, a country crowdsourced its Constitution. And you can’t get more “social” than that. In Iceland, a group of ordinary citizens put forward the draft of a Constitution which is to be ratified by referendum. The draft took in feedback from hundreds of other citizens, who gave their inputs online. This is an example of the dramatic shift in power from institutions, governments and corporations to the people. This shift has happened for many walks of life. When it involves an open call to get specified content from people in general, they call it crowdsourcing. The term has been around for five years now, but the true meaning and impact of this shift is today being understood forcefully after ordinary people have gone and put heads of state out of home and palace. Few people would question people power in Egypt, for example,
where Hosni Mubarak lies hospitalised today, awaiting his fate. Crowdsourcing isn’t just about revolutions and constitutions, of course. It’s also about
5 Tips&Tools 01 Define your crowd. Be clear about your target audience. It makes execution easier and more efficient. 02 Social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are powerful tools. They inspire new ideas, help develop new strategies and predict the viability of a project. 03 Avoid ambiguity of thought or process. Your audience should get a clear message or else the end results won't be beneficial. 04 Competitions are excellent ways of inspiring innovation. Portals like DesignCrowd and CrowdSpring help you with your graphic designing needs and portals like TopCoder will help you build a new software. 05 It should be fun! People get better results when having fun with their work or else they'll never get back to you.
businesses getting great ideas from “the crowd” rather than just from the select few suits inhabiting their swanky innovation centres. In social media circles, Starbucks is today as well-known for its crowdsourcing as it is for its coffee. What it did was to put up a website, mystarbucksidea, to call for ideas from customers. This caught on like wildfire. Ideas — and pretty good ones, at that — began pouring in by the thousands. Not only were many of these actionable and useful, but they made Starbucks customers feel their opinions counted — which they did. Many others subsequently used variations of this crowdsourcing, tying the ideas to various rewards. Drop in on the mystarbucksidea site to see the sheer variety of ideas coming in on any given day. I see a suggestion to make sugar-free frappes, another to sell Starbucks branded clothing, to support upand-coming artists, and to make steamed coconut milk drinks. Sometimes, it’s a negative event that leads to the crowdsourcing itself. Poor customer service or shoddy products, for example, will get a crowd going. Irate Dell customers coined the term “Dell Hell” for their problems as they posted them online. Sensibly, Dell responded positively and with action to these comments and even went on to be an example of how to use social media positively for its customers.
december 2011
Democratic world
25
social agenda \\ CrowdSourcing
Blog watch
An example of the crowd making its opinions known was when Gap, the apparel maker, changed its logo. Believing that it was time to modernise, they had their creative team make a new logo and proudly presented it online. The result was an unexpected backlash. People hated the new logo, en masse. So much noise and sarcasm over the new logo took place, that after a few missteps with their reactions, Gap reverted to the original — and all was quiet again. It was a nasty lesson for the company, which would have done well to ask people in the first place; except that no one quite realised that now, it’s the crowd that owns the logo. Since the Gap story, many companies and even individuals have gone to the crowd for logo and other design ideas. Crowdsourcing has now moved on to nuanced forms. Crowdsourcing.org describes a format with which an advertising agency goes to the crowd for creative ideas and storyboarding, but reserves the right to final selection and approval based on what their clients have to say. In a sense, the crowd becomes a virtual ad agency. Another way crowdsourcing has been used is to generate authentic brand content. That’s content you can’t get any other way but from the crowd, in fact. Some start-ups are creating websites and apps built wholly on the concept of crowdsourcing. Brazilian startup, Ledface, has set up a platform to crowdsource or use the “collective intelligence” to solve problems. Ledface wants to go beyond being a Q&A site to being based on social interaction to generate answers. Here, the answers aren’t even attributed to any one person, unlike with Quora or LinkedIn’s or even Facebook’s question pages. Whether Ledface will work or not remains to be seen. Crowdsourcing is being used for everything from fund raising to video creation, disaster management to music composition. Unsurprising then, that those in power are figuring out that it’s wise to turn to the wisdom of the crowd. Mala Bhargava is Editorial Director at 9.9 Media and is a tech writer. She is also the author of That’s IT, a regular column on personal computers in Business World
26
Democratic world
november 2011
Srini Chandrasekharan
Five Types of Queue Crashers in India The tail of the beast Queue traces its origins to the Latin “coda” for “tail”. It was first used to describe the “tail of a beast” and then extended to “a line of dancers”. In its modern context, the verb means ”to stand in a line” and was popularised by Winston Churchill, who coined “Queuetopia” to describe Britain under Labour governments. Queuing Queuing Theory is about modeling queuing behaviours. Despite its benefits, the theory has failed to understand queuing behaviours in Indians: a problem now considered the Holy Grail of research. Queue crashers in India 5. The Wonder Woman: More than 200 years ago, the British instituted the protocol of serving women first in queues. Though India is less chivalrous now, the wonder woman act still works across ticket counters. The method's beauty lies in its simplicity: it involves sending in a member of the “gentler sex”, who can use her elbows not-so-gently to make her way. 4. The Gate Crasher: Gate Crashers tend to be stocky, moustached males, who amble in wearing white dhotis and shirts, accompanied by entourages of similarly attired and countenanced individuals. Standard operating procedure is to talk loudly and rudely on a mobile phone (thus creating an intimidating aura of “don’t even think about messing with me”), and casually saunter up to the ticket booth and take it over for extended periods of time while other queueruppers cower meekly in silence. Don't try this in a queue, if your physical profile doesn’t include these attributes. 3. The Crash Cult Member: We suspect that a Queuing Freemason Cult (QFC) has quietly built up membership of gargantuan proportions in this country. Upon flashing of the QFC signal, a member already in
the queue warmly greets a stranger (a fellow cult brother) outside the queue, and skillfully inducts the aforementioned cult brother into the queue exactly at the time of being served. Not infrequently, clerks at counters are also QFC members, who weave in dispensation of services to fellow cult crashers in the guise of casual chitchat, while an unsuspecting public dutifully awaits its turn. Part of the Crash Cult Member genus is the "Socialiser" who, though not a member, has the uncanny knack of spotting distant relatives or long lost friends in a queue within seconds, and immediately proceeds to deploy “the Artful Mingler” technique (See no. 2 below) . 2. The Artful Mingler: The Artful Mingler represents the pinnacle of not just lateral thinking, but also of agile, lateral movements. He sidles alongside in an imaginary queue, immune to perplexed glances. His modus operandi involves spraying of malodorants (yes, we just made this word up) on self beforehand, gradually escalating levels of physical contact, and resolute squeezing into the line as the queue heads to its climactic finale. A less successful variant of the Artful Mingler is the “Seemingly Absent-Minded Mingler”, who puts on a convincing act of absent-mindedness to insert himself into the queue, and will neither cease nor desist until the severest admonishments come his way. 1. Human Nano Particle Dart: The HNPD's distinguishing traits are the ability to spot gaps of sub-atomic magnitudes and the equally astonishing capacity to insert self into these. Insertion methods involve use of fingers, toes or nails, to stake claim in the queue. HNPDs have been observed to obtain best results when confusion reigns supreme. They are the fuzzy, quantum versions of the “Artful Mingler”. (To read more visit: http://whatho.in)
Food Lounge & Bar
platform
Vivek Bhandari | Historian and Sociologist
Democratising the Land Question India’s
liberalising economy is creating a marked shift in its political culture
Even as India’s growth story marches on unabated, policy makers continue to struggle with the modalities of how to address the needs of the poorest sections of society, especially communities living in rural areas. As debates on how to measure poverty, the country’s runaway inflation, etc., fly fast and furious, the epicenter of debates over “inclusive growth” remains the “land question”. The issue of land acquisition has a long and checkered history in India. Over the past few decades, the corporate sector has found itself at the receiving end in discussions about land rights of the marginal and poor sections of the population. This pattern has been dramatically punctuated through many government decisions, the most visible being the rejection of Vedanta’s mining plans in the Niyamgiri Hills last year, and in a different context, the Tatas’ misadventures in West Bengal over the Nano plant. At the heart of such cases is the tug-of-war between corporate interests seeking to maximise returns and the livelihood aspirations of social groups, described
28
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
variously as Adivasi, Dalit, tribal, etc. The socio-cultural values of these communities are spatially bounded by land, often interwoven with their economies and ecosystems. Further exacerbating the sense of mistrust between big industry and indigenous communities has been the rise of Left-wing extremism in the central Indian tribal heartland. In all of this, the changing character of the Indian state has been a key variable and has shaped the vagaries of the “land question”. In 50 years, India has moved from the age of Nehruvian institutions that were products of a top-down planning paradigm, to a phase in which the language of “bottom-up” planning and economic liberalisation has led to key legislations that empower “local bodies”. Described as panchayats, gram sabhas, or for the urban areas, municipal bodies, these are being brought into the mainstream discussions of India’s natural resources, land, water, etc. This paradigm adjustment (it’s too soon to call it a paradigm shift) has put the state under pressure in ways
About the writer Dr Vivek Bhandari is a noted historian and former director of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), a post he took up after spending 15 years in the US. Today he is a keen observer of a dramatically transitioning India
that it had not experienced earlier. The top-heavy political order of the Nehruvian years — with state-led planned development negotiated by what Rajni Kothari called the “Congress System” has — via the Indira and Rajiv Gandhi years, given way to the recognition that Indian society is entering the phase of “bottom-up democracy” with a mobile “middle”. In the past two decades, this newlyemerging political configuration has manifested itself in several ways, from the growing role of civil society organisations in shaping legislations (e.g., the Right to Information campaign), to the passage of the 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992), the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) 1996, and the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2008. It has also led to the growing power of Dalit and Adivasi politics. These developments, in the larger context of India’s liberalising economy, signal a marked shift in India’s democratic culture, which will again be tested when the Parliament debates Jairam Ramesh’s Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill (LARR). Cynics
platform
Reach platform
2
Vivek Bhandari // Page 38 | read John Elliott’s thoughts on “Dynastic Secrecy Protected by India’s Tame Media” — on the selective silence of the Indian media
would perhaps lament these developments as populist gestures, but it would be a mistake — the genie is out of the bottle. As we look to the future, it is vital that India’s institutional apparatus finds ways to engage local bodies and communities in a systematic, meaningful manner. The legislations referred to above highlight the fact that India’s grassroots democratic forms have been formalised and institutionalised in an accelerated fashion over the past two decades. This is entirely in the fitness of things, as India’s diverse and still predominantly rural population makes its presence felt in the political mainstream. Of course, this has created serious challenges of governance, as the growing tensions over land and mining rights in virtually all parts of the country demonstrate. The primary reason for this is that those directly impacted by legislations like PESA and FRA, i.e., those who wish to acquire land (who are largely in the private sector), and those who currently occupy it, are still uncertain about the full implications of these Acts. This requires urgent attention. The sense of mutual mistrust between these two groups, compounded by the inadequacy of governmental facilitation on these matters, underscores the need for the creation of space for meaningful engagement between all concerned. Such a deliberation must address, firstly, the operational contours of the legislative
The top-heavy political order of the Nehruvian years has, via the Indira and Rajiv Gandhi years, given way to the recognition that Indian society is entering the phase of ‘bottomup democracy’ with a mobile ‘middle’” frameworks provided by the 73rd and 74th Amendments, PESA, and the FRA. Secondly, it should evolve a shared understanding that inclusive development and inclusive growth can go hand in hand when the people being displaced from their land and environment are given some agency in shaping their future, perhaps even a stake in any new enterprise. Last, but not the least, such a dialogue can also serve to de-mystify the challenges that the state and big industry face in a globalising economy. (To illustrate this point, one could perhaps imagine a scenario in which organisations like FICCI and CII engage directly with representatives of groups who fear displacement and marginalisation due to the mining cartels. If necessary, neutral civil society groups or government representatives may be invited to facilitate such a dialogue.) Such a space is necessary for the fullest realisation of what anthropologist Arjun Appadurai describes as “deep democracy”. For India’s growth story to have any real legitimacy for the majority
of its citizens, dominant groups in the political and corporate classes must forge meaningful alliances with the people living in urban neighbourhoods, towns and villages. The majority of Indians are in the throes of a tectonic shift as their economies transform from being unorganised to organised; and local to global (via regional and national hubs mushrooming all over). Dominant groups must recognise that they need to listen, and learn to engage with people active at the grassroots level; indeed, with regard to the “land question” no one should have choice in the matter since such engagement is the law of the land. This recognition should be built on an abiding respect for the kinds of laws currently enshrined in India’s Constitution, i.e., PESA and FRA, which are built on the principle that the challenges of inclusive development will require the direct participation of local bodies, through which the majority of India’s people express themselves politically. The views expressed in this column are of the author alone.
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
29
Life in Technicolour
“It’s a lot of nostalgia; these cars give a lot of pleasure of youth and pride of ownership” 30
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
Diljeet Titus | Titus & Co. ADVOCATES
Beauties in his stable A pink, Series 60 Cadillac (yes, it’s the kind that Elvis had!) Three Rolls-Royces, one owned by the Nawab of Sachin, another by the Maharaja of Bikaner, and the final one by the Maharaja of Khimsar
A black 1933 Buick Series 50 Royal carriages from the Victorian era On his Wishlist The Duesenberg Supercharged — because life's incomplete without one of these
It was love at first sight for Diljeet Titus, Managing Partner of Titus & Co. Advocates, and vintage cars. His parents and grandparents owned several, and young Titus wished to follow suit. He bought his first Austin A40 in 2000 and today, he’s the proud owner of 56 droolworthy, classic machines. His black and silver Strutz Speedster was the belle of the ball at the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix, in which Titus drove Michael Schumacher. His passion for all things vintage runs so deep that Titus is turning his Mehrauli farmhouse into a one-of-itskind car museum. His office, too, doubles up as a library for books on vintage cars and antiques. Photograph by Subhojit Paul | reported by Manjiri indurkar
issue | a closer look at television censorship
Reining in the Idiot Box Censorship, in one form or the other, is as old as time itself. Whenever moral policing has come into force, an answering wave of opposition has emerged. Books, paintings, cinema and the press — all have faced the axe of a censor at some point in time. Despite heavy criticism, the scissors of the censor board have chopped off what they have deemed unfit. The cited reason for censoring content has been its impact on people, especially the youth and children. By Manjiri Indurkar
spot poll We conducted a spot poll to gauge the public mood on censorship in television. Here is what you had to say:
Censorship isAbsolutely mandatory 45% No! It’s a free world 6% Self-censorship is the only way 49%
32
Democratic world
The Central Board of Film Certification was setup in the early 1960s for this reason. It was thought that the visual medium would always leave a greater impact than other mass media. However, television (TV) was always kept outside the board’s purview. In the days of Doordarshan (DD), the aired content was already monitored and vetted by the government. So the board was, more or less, a symbolic entity. With no other competitors, DD did not have to pander much to public sensibility or worry about factors like ratings. But with the government opening the gates to foreign investors in the early 1990s, things changed. Foreign channels came into India and domestic channels saw a boom. The viewer suddenly had a plethora of options to choose from. Television became a free, accessible medium which provided exposure to a world which was beyond the reach of most Indians. Originally perceived as “family entertainment”, TV shows became new and “different” with chat shows, reality TV and youth-oriented programmes. While many of these enjoyed high ratings, voices were being raised in protest at the content and quality.
DECEMBER 2011
In some quarters, there was a longing to get back programmes like Hum Log and Malgudi Days of the “good old days” of DD. But there is no stopping change. As content gets more adventurous, controversies arise. Ashok Row Kavi, a gay rights activist, abused Mahatma Gandhi on the 1996 chat show called Nikki Tonight. The comment created a lot of furore and the network had to issue an apology to viewers and members of Gandhi’s family. Lee Child, the famous English thriller writer, once said, “I’m opposed to censorship of any kind, especially by the government. But it’s plain common sense that producers should target their product with some kind of sensitivity.” The possible lack of “common sense” at the producers’ end is forcing the concerned authorities to talk about setting up a censor board for television. But is the creation of a body to decide what the people of the country should watch a wise decision? Are not viewers best placed to decide what to watch? And can censorship transform itself into suppression? Two distinguished television personalities share their views and concerns on our Issue of the month.
issue
a closer look at tele vision censorship //
Siddhartha Basu
MD & Chairman, BIG Synergy
Siddhartha Basu is a quiz master and a television producer. He is also the Chairman and Managing Director of BIG Synergy Media, which has created shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati, Dus Ka Dum and Sach Ka Saamna Siddhartha Basu// Free flow of ideas and
information is vital to a democracy, in which some degree of conflict and flashpoints are inevitable. The question is, how are these to be addressed? By intolerant groups or self-appointed thought police? Or by rushing to the courts on a daily basis? Of course not! Similarly, censorship in any form just passes the buck to a Big Brother, who exercises control over content either according to his fancies or by mechanical application of guidelines. It is also like trying to plug the leak after the dam has burst. We are living through an information revolution. It’s the age of the internet. At a single click or tap of even a mobile button, you can access an entire universe of content. There are about 700 TV channels beaming into India. Any kind of governmental policing of this explosion can only happen within a completely totalitarian and rigidly enforced
regime. If that happens, all the abuse endemic to a Licence Raj will kick in. When you take the example of the case against Sach Ka Saamna, on what grounds should it, or could it have been stopped? That it was too truthful? The premise of Sach Ka Saamna, a show built around public confession and catharsis, is based on coming clean on personal issues, be they moral, social, emotional or even sexual. It is intended for a mature audience, and is meant to be thought-provoking and to make you sit up. Though the language and conduct was restrained and sensitive, a number of people were obviously not comfortable with this premise, while others found it too provocative. It was described as vulgar and obscene, without even a single word, image, or action in the show being so. Remarkably, the show had a sizeable and committed audience, who could obviously relate to
what the show was all about. In the final analysis, the remote is the ultimate control. That’s the power of choice, and it’s in the hand of the viewer. On the other hand, television is a powerful medium, and both — those who fashion and those who control the content — need to exercise a heightened sense of responsibility. There is clearly a need for active self-regulation in television, which hasn’t been happening effectively enough. Self regulation is possible, if there’s a heightened sense of social responsibility, and a willingness to act on it. Timely review is important not only from the point of view of regulation, but also from the point of view of quality control. In the rush for ratings and profits, responsible restraints are routinely thrown to the wind, and the relentless mill of 24x7 telecast makes the very prospect of systematic review and correction remote. The S&P (Standards and Practices) cells of broadcasters have not really stemmed the tide. The government has been making ominous noises about withdrawing licences. People wonder why when films are subject to censorship, television is not. Maybe it’s that power of the remote — if you don’t like it, you can just shut it. Then again, arguably, the big screen has a magnified impact, and therefore, has traditionally been subject to scrutiny. The number of films, too, makes it feasible to monitor them. India, the world’s largest film producer, makes about a thousand feature films a year, in all languages. That is a fraction of the content output of India’s television channels. Realising the need for a review and response system, the Indian Broadcasting Federation has activated a Broadcast Content Complaint Council, which addresses viewer complaints. You would have noticed the tickers running at the bottom of the screen urging viewers to write in if they had issues with programme content. BCCC has a weighty and representative mix. It is headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and the 12 member council has four eminent members, four members of the broadcast industry, and four members of national level statutory commissions. Let’s see how well it works.
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
33
issue
\\ a closer look at tele vision censorship
Shekhar Suman Actor
Shekhar Suman// The need for censorship in television is an absolutely relevant discussion — now more than ever. In India families sit together to watch a show, which is why it is necessary to regulate content and keep it within the confines of decency. I say this both from the perspective of an actor and that of a viewer. Censorship becomes even more relevant when we examine the impact of TV on India’s youth, especially children. With parents out working, there’s often no adult to guide children through television content and help them distinguish between drama and reality. The result: cases in which children try to pull off stunts seen on TV. Yet another big problem is that of imitation. Young people believe what they see on-screen to be the gospel truth and, even worse, endorsed behaviour — including unnecessarily aggressive behaviour and inappropriate language. One argument is that since “I hold the remote, I hold the right to decide”. The fact remains that though one may hold the remote, there are few choices. Because of the lack of censorship, improper content gets replicated across channels. It’s human behaviour to do things that are prohibited; the forbidden fruit is always that much sweeter. Take the Indian programme Emotional Attyachar modelled on its US counterpart, in which adulterous spouses and partners are brought out into the open — it’s apparently very popular among youth. The show is aggressive, abusive and delves into the contestants’ lives and bedrooms. Do parents wish their children to make sense of the world through what is shown on the screen and through the lens? I don’t think so, because I often meet people who ask me, “Why is this stuff being shown? Why can’t you stop it?” I believe that the call should be taken by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. When it comes to censorship in films, India has a system of certification which allows the audience to decide what is worthy of a watch and what is not — both for them and their families.
34
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
This matter of censorship is often over-simplified and reduced to the basic notion of “freedom of expression”. However, freedom is a very relative term. One could say this is a free democratic country. So can I take off my clothes and walk on the road? I most certainly won't be allowed to do that! One has to draw the line somewhere — the definition of freedom is not being the worst that one can be. Freedom can’t be translated into a complete lack of responsibility. Experts in charge of television content should keep Indian audiences in mind. These days we are aping the West as far as programming is concerned. Take the show in which a contestant sits on a chair and answers questions, revealing his or her deepest secrets. Are such discussions a good idea, especially when the family sits together to watch the show? Personally, I prefer clean entertainment, which does not mean childish programmes, but shows like Tamas, Buniyaad, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi and Dekh Bhai Dekh — pure family entertainment that dwelt on relevant issues, without getting preachy. Finally, the great debate on ratings — giving the audience what they want and what “sells”. Well then, why don’t we start selling pornography; it would do really well! Nudity sells, abusive behaviour sells. At the end of the day it’s not a question of demand and supply alone, because what sells is not always acceptable. There was a Russian news channel, where the anchor started stripping while reading the news. Could we have such a programme in India? Is it our culture?
Shekhar Suman is a TV veteran and has acted in several films. A chat show host, Suman has also cut a music album. Recently, he became a popular figure as a judge on various stand-up comedy shows The business of ratings has made the TV industry market driven — a Hindi line sums up the present attitude “Ganda hai to kya hua,Dhanda hai”. That is the operating sentiment and that’s why I don’t believe that self-censorship could work. People who are in charge of the content already know that what they show is inappropriate, and they show it nonetheless. It’s like selling cigarettes with a statutory warning, knowing that addicts will buy anyway. Which is why we need a governing body, an egalitarian panel, which represents viewers, performers and politicians. Together, I believe, we can come to a consensus on what should and should not make it to television.
16028 ECONOMIST_AWalt_24Oct.indd 1
10/24/11 4:45 PM
looking back
photo BY Subhojit Paul
\\ dr arvind l al
Planes to Path Labs A twist of fate and failing eyesight made Dr Arvind Lal of Dr Lal Path Labs one of the leading medical entrepreneurs in India By Pooja Kothari
36
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
looking back dr arvind l al //
DOSSIER
name: Dr Arvind Lal challenge: Managing after 2012, when Sequoia will exit, especially since the markets are too volatile for a public offering ambition: Was to be a fighter pilot for the Indian Navy. Dropped
the idea after his eyes started to fail. Right now he wishes to fly his company (Dr Lal Path Labs) to new heights
I
n 1949, after struggling for years as a pathologist in government labs, my father set up a laboratory in the heart of Delhi. And thus began my medical entrepreneurship. However, it took several years to build that single laboratory into the chain known as Dr Lal Path Labs (LPL). I followed in my father’s footsteps, and enrolled in the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. After my father’s death in 1977, I returned to take over the lab. It was his pride and achievement and I couldn’t let his hard work go waste. At that time the industry was in a bad shape. The good thing was that LPL was a witness to the effect that pathological testing had on clinical treatment in India, and in a position to take advantage of it. Also, some medical advancement turned the tide in my favour. In the ’70s I hadn’t heard the word “franchising”. So it was a tough struggle to get space to start a collection centre. People were afraid that we would never leave and that their grandchildren would be fighting to get my grandchildren off the premises. In 1982, I set up my first collection centre at home. And we sort of cracked the code and never had to look back. Another experiment that proved good was using thermocol boxes with gel packs and perforated sponges to transport samples of blood from across the country to our centralised labs in Delhi. At first my finance team shot down the boxes, saying they were too expensive. However, I stuck to my guns. I have always been uncompromising where quality is concerned. In the mid-’90s there was a moment of epiphany: I realised that I had to stop thinking like a doctor and think in terms of business. I also realised that I knew neither about finance nor about marketing and had to find someone who did. But MBAs were not interested in joining an unglamourous industry like mine. So, I opted for CAs who asked me the right
“We introduced quite a few firsts in the country. I can justifiably say that any innovation seen in pathology was brought into the country by Dr Lal Path Labs. If you ask me, we are the Supreme Court of testing in India” questions. I felt at the time that I had taken the right decision, and time has proved me right. Slowly, we began building a brand. By 1995, we were beginning to be recognised. We also struck a partnership with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world’s largest chain of diagnostic labs. I wasn’t ready to give up the majority stake in my business, so I settled for a joint venture, which enabled me to send off samples to US labs. A decade later, we also entered into another partnership — Sequoia (formerly known as WestBridge Capital Partners) decided to invest in us. Today, it owns around 30 per cent stake in LPL. We introduced quite a few firsts in the country. I can justifiably say that any innovation seen in pathology was brought into the country by LPL. If you ask me, we are the Supreme Court of testing in India. Patients often come to us for reconfirmation of tests done at other labs. Today, from handling 30 patients a day in my father’s lab, Dr Lal Path Labs has mushroomed into 45 labs across the country. The labs are visited by 12,000 patients every day. Its touch points include 750 collection centres and 2,500 pick-up points in India. In 2010, it inaugurated Asia’s largest laboratory at Rohini in West Delhi. My father would have been proud. In the past five years, LPL’s profits have grown five times. In 2011, the company turnover has grown more than four times over and it is a combined effort for which I must give my team the credit.
I Wish I Could... From planes to path labs, it’s been a curious journey for Dr Arvind Lal, owner of India’s leading chain of pathology laboratories, Dr Lal Path Labs (LPL). Growing up in the sixties, young Lal dreamt of landing planes on moving airstrips. “I wasn’t meant to be a doctor. I was supposed to join the navy and become a fighter pilot,” says Lal. He opted for geometric design over biology in school because someone said it helped pilots “steer planes on to the ship”. However, fighter-jet dreams soon crashed owing to failing eyesight. Instead, young Lal took the one decision that made him come a step closer to becoming Dr Lal, a name that’s synonymous with pathology labs across India. Lal picked up a degree from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. Though he did get to become one of the biggest names among medical entrepreneurs, within him there’s still the boy who adores anything that flies. “I can recognise just about any fighter plane in the world.” And yes, if he can’t fly them, he chooses to capture them on camera and keep them in his Gurgaon office. The table behind his desk holds a collection of miniature planes of various designs and sizes. On the wall in front hangs a huge framed picture of five Suryakirans performing an acrobatic combination at an armed forces parade. “That picture was taken by me,” informs the 61-year-old with a hint of pride. Today, the Padma Shree awardee is also an honorary Brigadier of the Armed Forces Medical Services.
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
37
platform John Elliott | Journalist
Dynastic Secrecy Protected by India’s Tame Media Fourth Estate and selective silence
There was a nice irony when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Sonia Gandhi, the governing coalition’s leader, went to the Old Delhi’s Ramlila Grounds to celebrate the Dussehra Festival. The festival, of course, marks the triumph of good over evil, so it was appropriate that the Ramlila Grounds were where Anna Hazare had earlier defeated the government on the issue of corruption. In the context of Dussehra, Hazare presumably was on the side of the “good” and the government symbolised “evil”. The appearance of Sonia Gandhi in good spirits was also significant because it was only the second public event that she had attended since returning on September 8th, from an operation believed to be for cancer in a New York hospital — her first public appearance had been two days earlier to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. These appearances were seized on by the Indian media to draw a line under questions about Mrs Gandhi’s health, and about why her illness had been kept officially secret from the beginning of August
38
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
when she was reported to have gone abroad for a cancer operation and is still a secret, even now, in November. No one, of course, is questioning why Mrs Gandhi did not appear in public earlier, but there should be serious questioning about whether — and why — India’s top politician kept such an important illness and hospitalisation a secret. Alongside that, and maybe more significantly, why was the Indian media loathe to challenge that secrecy? Mrs Gandhi’s singular political importance is beyond doubt. If there was any doubt earlier, it was confirmed while she was away by the UPA government’s erratic behaviour on the Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement and on-going telecoms scandal. On both issues, Manmohan Singh failed to exert the authority that should go with his job, while Rahul Gandhi, Mrs Gandhi’s son and long seen as a future Prime Minister, failed to rise publicly to the challenge as heir apparent. Other key politicians such as Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram and Telecom Minister Kapil
Author
John Elliott is a Delhi-based British journalist who has been working in South Asia for approximately 20 years now. In the meantime, Elliott has written for Financial Times, Fortune, Economist and the New Statesman. You can read his blog and follow him from here: http:// ridingtheelephant. wordpress.com
Sibal mishandled their briefs (and seriously damaged their reputations), while the four leading Congress Party figures Mrs Gandhi named as being in charge (including son Rahul) made no public impression. She was clearly missed. It did not take long after she returned for some sense of normalcy to appear to have returned to the running of the coalition. However, that begs a question: did the disarray while she was away develop because the government was missing her sure touch and gift of sensing what needed to be done politically, or because ministers and officials were scared to make decisions that might arouse her (or Mr Gandhi’s) wrath later? Or, as a political observer put it to me, was it because the Gandhi dynasty has taken over normal governmental channels of authority and decision making to such an extent that the cabinet and administration cannot work without its leader at the head? Whatever the answer — and maybe it was a mixture of all three — Mrs
platform
John Elliott //
Such disregard by the media of its proper role in guarding the public interest is surely not healthy for a democracy — nor on the other hand is the secrecy and aura that seems to have triggered that reaction”
Gandhi has managed over the past 13 years that she has been engaged in active politics to build such an exclusive and untouchable aura of privacy and secrecy, combined with ultimate authority, that few people dare publicly question her role or criticise the supremacy of the dynasty that she heads. It could be argued that this displays a high level of dynastic insecurity and fear of being unseated, which in turn would explain why the illness was officially a secret. Mrs Gandhi has of course the legitimacy of an elected parliamentarian, though she owes her position of authority to her dynastic links, not to any proven ability as a politician. It would therefore be wrong, as well as unfair, to compare her with a dictator, but the general acceptance of her pre-eminent position and cloak of secrecy, and that of the dynasty, would be envied by many less democratically based rulers. So would her ability to rule with a minimum of public utterances — she appears in public relatively rarely, and never makes herself available for the sort of
public questioning faced by national leaders elsewhere. Even Cuba’s ruler, Fidel Castro’s illnesses were publicly discussed in 2006. Politicians in the US are accustomed to public exposure, while Manmohan Singh’s heart bypass operation in 2009 was announced. Earlier, however, the illnesses of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former Prime Minister, were (and still are) largely kept private. However, even if one recognises that politicians will maintain as much privacy as they can muster, this still leaves the question of the Indian media’s largely hands-off response. It is true that the media here rarely reports on the private liaisons and even offspring of top politicians, but that is surely different from failing to explore the country’s top political leader leaving the country for a lifethreatening operation — Gandhi’s visit to the US was first reported by the international news media, and was then only lightly covered in India. There was a good debate on some of the issues on the CNN-IBN TV
channel on August 12, and the Business Standard newspaper ran an editorial on the right to information, arguing the illness was a matter of public concern. There was a more recent article, The omertà on Sonia Gandhi’s illness, in The Hindu newspaper that mischievously, given Gandhi’s Italian origins, included omertà, the Italian word for a code of silence, in its headline. India Today magazine eventually ran a cover story, after she returned from hospital, asking how ill she was. This scattered newspaper and television coverage, however, scarcely amounts to a real attempt to discover — either through an official representative or other sources — the nature and seriousness of the illness. Such disregard by the media of its proper role in guarding the public interest is surely not healthy for a democracy, nor on the other hand, is the secrecy and aura that seems to have triggered that reaction. The views expressed in this column are of the author alone.
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
39
good karma \\ Arghyam
Mentor‚ Arghyam Name: Rohini Nilekani contact: www.arghyam.org, www.indiawaterportal.org Activities: Arghyam works as a funding
agency through partnerships with government and nongovernment institutions. Its projects address issues of quantity, quality and access to water. In 2005, it started the India Water Portal, an online forum disseminating water-related information and best practices.
photos.com
S Mission:
Safe
Water For team Arghyam, the joy of giving comes from being involved in seeing where that giving goes 40
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
ometimes an epiphany strikes in the unlikeliest of places — in Rohini Nilekani’s case it was the shower. It was in this everyday space that Nilekani, a former journalist, a philanthropist and an activist, first thought of setting up a foundation that works with water and related issues. At that time, Nilekani had come into approximately `100 crore after selling her Infosys shares, where her husband Nandan Nilekani, then the CEO of Infosys, worked. And Nilekani clearly knew that she wished to give back to the society that had given her so much. Quick research and brainstorming sessions with the likes of Sunita Nadhamuni threw up a basic fact: there were few organisations that worked with water in India. There were even fewer organisations that funded efforts related to water conservation, equity and sustainability. Arghyam informally began in 2001. It was, in Nilekani’s own words, “a small effort to really learn the ropes of philanthropy”. She knew that she would eventually have to set up a more structured institution, which happened in 2005, when Nadhamuni also came on board as Arghyam’s CEO.
good karma Arghyam //
The not-for-profit organisation seeks to support “strategic, equitable and sustainable efforts” in the water sector addressing the basic water needs of citizens. Arghyam works around five focal areas: project grants, urban water initiative, India Water Portal, research and advocacy and government partnerships emphasising on sustainability— environmental, financial, social and technical. One of Arghyam’s most ambitious projects began in 2007, a citizen survey called — “Ashwas: Household Survey of Water and Sanitation” — across 17,200 households in 28 districts of Karnataka, to bring out citizens’ perspectives on water and sanitation issues. Designed as a feedback tool to help villagers address their problems better, Ashwas morphed more into a structural analysis of the gram panchayat (GP) system in India. At the end of the survey, in Nilekani’s words, team Arghyam was presented with a “mixed bag” of concerns stemming not from the lack of infrastructure, but more from lack of awareness. Then there was the issue of corruption and the citizens’ failure to connect the issues of sanitation to health. It was not that help was not around when sought. Though the government did sometimes provide water testing kits, most GPs surveyed admitted that they had never asked for one, simply because they were not aware that they were entitled to them. There was also a lack of awareness about finances — aids remained largely unclaimed. The lack of sanitation in most districts was also a cause for worry — open defecation and utter lack of menstrual hygiene in several instances led to further illnesses. The root of the problem lay in the gap of understanding — between the government, gram panchayats and finally, the citizens. Though not everything was dismal, every improvement came with a disclaimer. Access to water was improving. At the same time, however, water quality was dropping. The country had water supply and the Centre had the money to address scarcity and quality issues. However, it lacked a mandate. Also, water was a political issue in several parts of the county. Another successful attempt to connect the dots by Arghyam was the India Water
“I knew that I had to work in the development sector. I had received so much, I had to find a way to give it back” all the issues, why did water Q Of conservation evoke an interest? I have lived in Mumbai and Bengaluru most of my life. Both cities have their fair share of water woes. Even if we didn't always face water scarcity first-hand, there was a clear sense of water being a problematic area. Unless someone lives in a bubble, Indians are aware that water is a reducing resource. I knew that I had to work in the development sector;after all, I had received so much, I had to find a way to give it back.
the organisation open to international partnerships? Q IsArghyam is open to all kinds of partnerships. We have worked loosely with several international organisations — UN Habitat and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation being just two examples. Often, we engage in dialogues with international organisations and discuss issues that are universally relevant — say strategy, public health, sanitation and urban water planning.
us a little about Ashwas. Q Tell Ashwas was built on the lines of Pratham's (a UN and Indian government initiative to educate India's street children) pioneering citizen survey called Asar. I was involved with the Pratham network since it started in 2000. I found Asar to be informative, understanding ground situations and asking the right questions to the right people. Arghyam thought of replicating a similar survey working only with water. We began in Karnataka and imitated some of Asar's philosophies. We did the whole survey working with 172 gram panchayats (GPs) and involved around 17,0000 villages. Its biggest contribution was the latest programme — The GP Capacity Building Project. The capacity building programme does some interesting work. Through it, Arghyam is trying to gauge how a GP sees itself at an institutional level. Take a corporation for instance. It will create for itself a mission and strategy to arrive at that mission. Similarly, we investigated what a gram panchayat can do to define (for itself) its principles, like a corporation.
Portal — an open, inclusive, web-based platform that was meant to share “water management knowledge” among the public and experts. The portal was the result of the first Arghyam conference that was held in February 2005 and the National Knowledge Commission which was at that time pushing for knowledge portals in various sectors, including water. In fact the Planning Commission had set up committees
to rework laws, regulation and financing of water. In 2011, Arghyam has financed more than 85 projects and programmes across 19 states leaving its footprint in more than 5,000 villages with a `150-crore endowment and a `12-crore annual budget, but Nilekani believes that the organisation still has a long way to go. (As told to Rohini Banerjee)
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
41
reading room
“It sometimes happens that your characters take over without you really being aware of it” — Amitav Ghosh
Author
River of Smoke Exceptional
work by a writer extraordinaire; the Ibis Trilogy is richly detailed, deeply researched and finely crafted By Manjiri Indurkar
Amitav Ghosh's latest offering, River of Smoke, is the second installment of the Ibis Trilogy, a historical fiction series, based on the Opium War of 1839. If the first book of the trilogy, Sea of Poppies, left you unsatisfied and thirsty, then River of Smoke will leave you craving the last installment. The Man Booker Prize shortlisted Sea of Poppies followed its characters as they floated in the Ganges in Calcutta and went streaming towards Mauritius, and ended with the clouds of war looming over the British empire. River of Smoke begins with three ships — Ibis, Anahita and Redruth — stuck in a raging storm. Ibis is a three-masted topsail schooner, home to a contrasting cluster of people: sailors, convicts and labourers. Anahita is a ship owned by a wealthy Parsi merchant, Bahram Modi, used for exporting raw opium to the ports of China, and Redruth a watercraft cruised by a Cornish botanist in search of the mythical golden camellia, in China. As the storm recedes and the sea begins to calm, five people are found missing on the Ibis. The book unfolds the fate of these storm-
42
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
tossed characters in Chinese ports, in the city of Canton. River of Smoke is the story of Bahram Modi, the beleaguered sonin-law of a wealthy Parsi family of Bombay, who has found solace in the streets of Canton. He is a successful opium merchant and member of the elite Committee of the Western-led Chamber of Commerce. Lover of a Chinese boatwoman, he has fathered a son he cannot acknowledge. The mandarin of China, after witnessing the horrific effect of opium on the population, has banned its trade in the country. But, before this ban is enforced, Modi wants to sell his last consignment of raw opium to get rid of his domineering in-laws and tormented life in Bombay. Certain characters from the last book make an appearance in this one as well; like the character of Neel, the king who lost his empire to the British in the last book. He has escaped capture and has now become Bahram’s munshi. Despite the appearances of these characters, Ghosh makes sure that anyone unfamiliar with the first book doesn’t feel that he is treading in
About the author Amitav Ghosh is a Man Booker Prize nominated Indian author, essayist and journalist. He has written several novels and is hailed as one of the finest authors of modern literature. Publisher: Penguin India ISBN: 9780670082155 Price: `699
unknown territory. The book, even though part of a trilogy, has a distinct identity of its own. Though reading the first might set the mood, it is definitely not a prerequisite. The tip of Ghosh’s pen is dipped in history, not ordinary ink. His palette is full of different colours and the smooth strokes of his brush have painted each character in fine detail. Ghosh’s sympathy, which lies with the Chinese population who suffered because of the greedy British and Indian merchants, resonates clearly through his characters. Unlike many other historical fiction novels, which are unable to make a connect with the readers, Ghosh’s narrative is such that the reader drifts away to the historic landscapes of China and joins his characters in their battles. The book is a product of prodigious research by the author, who is a historian himself. The language of the book is Hobson-Jobson and words like maidan, cumshaw and noker-logue are thrown casually at the reader. While most of these words will make perfect sense to an Indian reader, readers not familiar with the various
“I had written a paper in which I had warned that we would end up where we ended up”
“A system where perpetrators of such a crime are allowed to slip quietly from the scene is just plain wrong”
—Joshua Rosner
— Gretchen Morgenson
Indian dialects may find it difficult to understand them. But these words have been blended in the story so well that they do not interrupt the flow; instead, they add a historic flavour to an already delicious treat. The only part where the narrative loses its grip is when we read the let-
ters of Robin Chinnery, the fictitious son of the eminent English painter George Chinnery, written to his childhood friend. Here the narrative becomes patchy and appears to be loosely stitched. River of Smoke is not as panoramic as Sea of Poppies was. But it lives up
reading room Critics & Authors //
to expectations. It has endearing yet amoral characters with whom readers tend to empathise. Written by an author whose God lies in the details, this trilogy, when complete, will be hailed as a touchstone of modern literature. It’s rich, it’s intelligent and it's unputdownable.
Reckless Endangerment
How greed and oversized ambitions led to the biggest housing crisis in America By manjiri indurkar
About the authors Gretchen Morgenson is a Pulitzer Prize winning business journalist and a columnist with the New York Times Joshua Rosner is a housing expert and Managing Director at independent research consultancy firm Graham Fisher & Co. Publisher: Times Books ISBN: 978-0-80509120-5
Reckless Endangerment chronicles the growth of the
housing bubble which has brought the American economy to the brink of a meltdown. The authors are Gretchen Morgenson, a Pulitzer Prize winning business reporter and columnist at the New York Times, and Joshua Rosner, a housing finance expert. Between them, they showcase the monstrous growth of Wall Street Banks, Washington and the two government sponsored enterprises — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The book traces the collapse which began in the mid1990s with a misapprehension that greater housing at all costs is good social policy. In order to promote this policy, the Clinton administration encouraged a partnership between the private sector and Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. With support from the government, the book claims that the then CEO of Fannie, James A. Johnson, gifted himself and his executives a huge cut of that public money. A third of the subsidy which ideally should have been passed onto home owners was pocketed by Fannie, said a 1996 report by the Congressional Budget Office. Johnson got an astounding sum of $100 million and his successor, Franklin D.
Raines also enjoyed similar perks. Chunks of the money made were transferred to Members of Congress and generous donations made for election campaigns. So what began as a noble idea had transformed into a monster, which ate away public money for over 15 years. Lenders unwittingly kept handing these financial behemoths billions of dollars which were ultimately used to benefit themselves. And basking in reflected glory were the Wall Street banks, sub-prime lenders and politicians. The book talks of how these different establishments were rotating funds and benefits among themselves. This Revolving Door Theory is the backbone of the book and has been exhaustively researched. But one drawback of the book is that it talks mainly about this concept, which is but one of the many factors that led to the collapse. The strength of the book is that it names the offenders of the housing scandal (though fails to name some key players), lauds the people who issued warnings about the forthcoming storm and effectively brings out the anger and frustration of the home owners. All in all, it’s an informative book and definitely worth a read.
DECEMBER 2011
Price: $30
Democratic world
43
ware
house
Our pick of the boldest, best and craziest gadgets. Glance through the Warehouse page and check them out. Happy hunting!
Hot!
Tag Heuer
LINK Smartphone
`3,50,000/-
Luxury watch maker Tag Heuer’s foray into mobile phones might take you by surprise. LINK smartphone, as it is called, is made of alligator skin, stainless steel and a variety of materials. The phone is pretty rugged and is waterproof and shock resistant. Sporting a 3.5-inch Gorilla glass screen, the LINK smartphone runs on Android 2.2 Froyo. Other specifications include a 5-megapixel camera and 256MB internal memory which is expandable upto 8GB.
The super sleek Tag Heuer LINK Smartphone
Smallest radio speaker
Though small in size, X-mini WAVE flaunts an inbuilt radio receiver capable of recalling the last station played
44
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
Up, up and away
NASA’s Atlantis crew carries Samsung NexusS and an iPhone4 to help them conduct science experiments using custom-made applications
warehouse
gadge ts & gizmos //
Terminator skull DVD Player
One collectable item all Terminator fans would kill to own. It seems like the deceased T101’s remains are still around and have been turned into a DVD player. We don’t know if this is an insult to the late warrior-bot or a homage, but it’s shiny. And the exoskeleton’s eyes glow red(just like in the movie), while its head opens up to insert DVDs. If only it could wield a Gatling Gun. But then, you can’t get everything. Contact Skynet for price and availability. (price not available)
Nokia oro
`50,120 Only a handful of the Oro, a Nokia-designed and manufactured limited edition phone, will be available at the end of 2011. The 18-karat, gold-plated phone comes studded with sapphire crystals. If you’re wondering why you haven’t seen any ads, then you’re probably living on the wrong side of the world. Oro runs Anna, the latest version of Symbian, and features a 3.5-inch display with an 8-megapixel camera.
Loewe Reference
A perfect ensemble for your living rooms, Loewe Reference features a super-slim, 52-inch HD, LCD TV, with a width of 60 mm. `2,68,300
Panasonic Toughbook H1 Field
One of the industry’s most rugged PC tablets, the H1 Field is made for the outdoors. Its internal magnesium frame gives it an all-weather durability `1,50,329 DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
45
photos BY Jiten Gandhi
Garnish Nikhil Agarwal: He’s happiest when he gets to taste and share new flavours. And Agarwal has found a way to do both
Tickling the Tastebuds
If he could, Nikhil Agarwal would wash the world with the warm and rich colours of wine By Rohini Banerjee
I
s it a club? Is it a platform? No, it’s “All Things Nice”. This one-year-old company defies simple definition. Like a cocktail, it’s a mix of all flavours: take half-a-club, half-a-platform and a bit of a food, an events consultancy firm run by lovers of fine dining and voilà! You get All Things Nice (ATN). For a start, ATN helps clients host parties — dos that you don’t want to miss: those which serve foie gras, caviar, cognac and Cuban cigars. It also hosts members-only taste sessions — some with a twist. For it’s most recent party, ATN blindfolded its members for a “more decadent experience” and to taste, feel and understand what’s being plated better. ATN also educates airline crews, hoteliers and people involved in the hospitality business on what qualifies as good wine, on etiquette, great food, even better desserts and the accompaniments and cutlery to serve it with. All this work is performed by a close team of five, headed by Nikhil Agarwal. The young entrepreneur,
46
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
with the “world’s best job”, is a former employee of Sula, Moet Henessey and Diagio. His stints also include some bigger Indian wine export houses. Interestingly, Agarwal snatched the phone from a friend to beg for a post in Sula after she refused their offer. It’s hard to keep the man away from the topic of wine for too long. As we all know, wine is a product obtained from fermented fresh grape juice. That’s the simple bit. Complications arise when you ask a sommelier which one’s the best of the lot — either battle axes are drawn or sommeliers maintain a stony silence. Agarwal takes the more diplomatic route. “Wine’s a subjective topic. Whatever tastes good to
garnish
All Things Nice //
mister fine dining
you, is good enough. A good wine is one which contains balanced amounts of sugar, acidity and tannin. Personally, I love a full-bodied bottle that has a heady bouquet. I adore a wine that lingers on my tongue and makes a drink an event.” It was this adoration that led to ATN. As a boy, Agarwal knew that one day he was going to be his own boss. When the time came, he toyed with the idea of an exclusive store selling highend luxury food and, of course, wine. The thought, however, was abandoned. “I knew that the concept of a platform for people interested in luxury spirits and gourmet experience was a better one. Today, we have created a community that comes together to celebrate good food and drinks. Eating should be joyous and inclusive.” And educative? “Yes, it’s our responsibility to create a language for wine drinkers in India which has a relevance to this country. Instead of saying that a wine has a hint of Ananas Reinette (an apple found in northern Europe), I would rather evoke a taste or smell that’s familiar. Why not create our own ideas, smells and sensations?” Though conversation with Agarwal is sprinkled with words such as “high-end” and “luxury”, he doesn’t approve of sky-high price tags. Left to him, he would lower prices and throw more parties. And make chocolates non-fattening. Wait, he would have to be God to do that one. In his own words, he often “struggles” with taboos: that wine’s a ladies’ drink and it doesn’t really “give you a high”. And the one that kills him — that it can’t be accompanied by Indian food.
Nikhil Agarwal snatched the phone from a friend to land himself a job in Rajeev Samant’s Sula Vineyards. Since then, his fondness for the finer things in life has only increased. While others would have been content to keep it a personal hobby, Agarwal transformed his love for a good plate of food and a great glass of wine into a business opportunity — and thus began All Things Nice
Bread Snob: Mumbai’s Le Pain Quotidien is part of an international chain of unpretentious bread shops started by chef Alain Coumount — a setting that is right up Agarwal's alley
His final point? “Most of the countries that we talk of have had a head start. We have only been making wine for the past 20 years and can learn from others’ mistakes. Though the French are steeped in history, they sometimes can’t breakaway from how things have been done for centuries. We can and we should. However, it will take time.” A toast to the thought.
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
47
hitch
hiker
photos BY Husain Akbar
Perito Moreno: It’s the most imposing of the glaciers around El Calafate with a 4-mile front and a height of more than 180 ft above the mean sea level
Where the World Ends
Patagonia offers the traveller blue glaciers, crisp windy days and great photo opportunities
By S. Husain Akbar
A
rgentina, Patagonia and the Andes — names that have always rang a bell and held a distinct charm. For a long time, I believed that I would get to visit Patagonia only through the pages of the National Geographic, as these spectacularly pretty places were also pretty faraway. Until the phone rang one day and I was on a plane to Argentina two weeks later. First stop: Buenos Aires, where we were to be stationed for two months. Well, not me. Though vibrant and energetic, there was no way that I would stay confined to the capital when I had the rest of the country to explore. Argentina is a huge landmass with an incredibly diverse geography. From the warm and tropical northern borders that the country shares with Brazil, down to Ushuaia in the south, there’s so much to see. Ushuaia is often referred to as the “End of the World” — the only landmass south from there is the icy continent of Antarctica. It definitely wasn’t cool to come all the way and not venture beyond. I decided that while the
48
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
rest of the crew would party and ring in the new year, I would head to Perito Moreno in Southern Patagonia: one of the world’s few advancing glaciers located within the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. I can’t remember the last time I fought for a window seat, but this time it was important I get my first view from the air. When the Andes appeared on the horizon, I was thrilled. For those who know their adventure gear, I was soon looking at the distinctly-shaped peak of Mount Fritz Roy, also the logo for the adventure clothing line called — what else? — Patagonia. The journey in the hallowed land began in El Cala-
hitchhiker’s guide Patagonia //
hiker of the month
fate, a picture-perfect, quaint and somewhat touristy town located on the southern tip of South America. A place of transit, the town is filled to its brim with hitchhikers, mountaineers and tourists on their way in or out. El Calafate sits on the shores of Lake Argentino and is located 78km from the glaciers. There are several buses and excursions that start from El Calafate to take tourists to the number of glaciers located around. Named after a thorny bush (Calafate), typical to this part of southern Patagonia, the town is located on the southwest province of Santa Cruz. A popular lore states that those who eat the purple fruit of the Calafate have to return to Patagonia — I don’t think I did, though I should have. Honestly though, there’s not much to do in El Calafate. But, do take a walk along the quaint by-lanes with their bright “doll houses”. Listen to the whoosh of the breeze sneaking in and out of the trees and enjoy its nip. Located at a latitude of 50 degrees south, it gets reasonably cold even when the summer sun shines bright. For those who like a clearer to-do list, there’s the Historical Interpretation Centre, a museum of sorts, that takes guests on a quick geological and historical tour (100 million years!) of the region. The town centre is compact and chock-a-block with shops — there’s the usual array of souvenir shops, great (and expensive) adventure gear stores, cafes and restaurants. If I really have to nitpick, then I would say that the food left me a tad disappointed. Not that there was a dearth of good places to eat. However, if you’re someone who likes to sample local
Husain Akbar is a jack of all trades — he’s been a documentary film-maker, a videographer and a photographer who’s worked with National Geographic and contributed to Lonely Planet. An adrenalin junkie, he recently got himself inked with an aeroplane tattoo. In his own words ‘he adores all that flies’. Akbar gets to live his dream of walking on a glacier at ‘the end of the world’
Cotton Candy: Clouds scud across the glacial lakes to make for a breathtaking view (above) while tourists sample some ‘champagne on ice’ (below)
cuisines, there isn’t much to look forward to. There’s the usual lot of Empanadas (stuffed pastry) and Mate (tea-like brew). However, Empanadas are found all over Latin America and parts of Europe as well. So yes, the cuisine is mostly European, with a heavy emphasis
DECEMBER 2011
Democratic world
49
hitchhiker’s guide \\ Patagonia
on red meat. My lunch venue for the day was an Italian restaurant. Post-lunch it was a stroll around the town once more. Lake Argentino can be spotted from most vantage points in El Calafate. On its banks, there’s a bird sanctuary with convenient trails running through it. In El Calafate the weather is dry with only 300 mm of rains a year, while the sanctuary, situated to the west, gets a minimum of 1,500mm of rains per year. Scenic grasslands, horses grazing, lakes and the majestic mountains in the distance — could it get any better? Because it was December 31st when I landed at El Calafate, the atmosphere was of celebration. Shops remained open till 10:30 pm and I wasn’t complaining, specially since it was still bright daylight at “night”. It gave me ample time to do the touristy bit—buy a T-shirt with the largest print of a glacier and take several photographs. Because of the clarity of the air and light, most of them turned out to be better than I expected. This was perhaps the quietest 31st December that I had ever spent. Away from the social dos of Delhi, away from the crazy crew parties in Buenos Aires, there I was sitting in a little hotel room in a far corner of the world, waiting for the clock to usher in the new decade. The moment arrived, the pyrotechnics went off in this little town, and I went to bed soon after. The first day of 2011 was on a bus. Not that I minded. The 80km ride to Los Glaciares National Park was breathtaking. The tour began by a boat at the Bay Harbour — Bajo de las Sombras — 22km from The Glaciers National Park entrance and eight kilometres from the glacier. The boat takes tourists to the opposite coast of Peninsula de Magallanes, crossing the Rico Branch of Argentino Lake. The sailing time is about 20 minutes. Nothing prepared me for the first glimpse of the glacier. I had seen the pictures, but standing next to the 60m (and higher) walls, I felt tiny. Our group was whisked away on a boat towards the fluorescent blue wall, formed 400 years ago in the High Andes. After all, the idea was to walk on the ice. A short lesson on glaciology followed, often broken by thunderous cracking, because the wall of ice moves perpetually and large chunks fall into the freezing waters of the lake. As we jumped out of our skins, our guide barely seemed to notice the noise. Usually conducted along the side of the glacier (that area moves less than the middle), tourists are provided crampons to enable traction
50
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011
Larger than life: Tourists pay homage to the awe-inspiring glacial wall
wandering around
Doll house: The strong winds tilt the trees and whoosh past houses in El Calafate
Grassy lands: Horses can be spotted in the sanctuary and in ranches that dot the area
Winged wonders:
Signs point to the bird sanctuary near Lake Argentino
when they go on their walk. (And if you still wobble a bit, there are specialists who will give you a short training on how to manage better.) We were all carrying empty bottles which we filled up at a small pool of water. There it was — the real deal, the purest “mineral water” I had ever tasted. At the end of a two-hour walk, we were led to a spot where a table had been laid out with cake and bottles of local champagne, which were opened using an ice axe. As we headed towards the northern side of the glacier, we got a panoramic view from walkways and balconies. From there we got a good sense of the scale and spotted the famous bridge of ice, formed and destroyed every few years as the glacier presses into the nearest piece of land. The ice cuts the lake off into two sections by forming a natural dam and the water from the lake erodes into the ice forming a bridge, which eventually crashes rather spectacularly every couple of years. And some lucky visitors get to see that. Though I had to hop on to a flight and head to Buenos Aires soon afterwards, if you ever make it to Patagonia, make time to do more. There’s plenty more that one can do in the region, like hop across to the Chilean side of the Andes, take a boat ride to see some of the other mighty glaciers around here, go whale watching, or catch a short flight to Ushuaia, at the southernmost tip of the continent, and possibly the inhabited world. You can get onto a ship to Antarctica from there, something I have always wanted to do. But that will have to wait for another day.
Defy Aging Day and Night. New Precious Immortelle. In the heart of the Corsican maquis grows immortelle, a flower that never fades, with scientifically proven anti-aging properties. Ten years after making these initial discoveries, L'OCCITANE has developed a 4th patent for skin that is 89 % smoother, 81 % firmer and 73 % younger-looking*. The effectiveness is enhanced by new extracts drawn from the heart of immortelle cells, that activate deep wrinkle correction and improve skin firmness**. Discover Precious Night and Day skincare and turn back time. L'OCCITANE, a true story.
L'OCCITANE STORES- Ludhiana: G-17,MBD Neopolis , 016-1502 2241; New Delhi: DLF Promenade 011- 4104 2450, Khan Market 011-4308 4695, Select City Walk 011- 4109 6368 ; Mumbai: Palladium Mall 022-4004 3884; Kolkata: Shoppers Stop South City Mall 033 6459 2146; Bangalore: Shoppers stop Koramangla 080-4048 5500
www.loccitane.in
L'Occitane en Provence India
sticky
A qui ck guide -start to wha fresh, t’s fu worth n & y peek.. of a .
notes ler may be The Travel hankar’s sixth S Anoushka it marks her debut: et y , m albu hon Grammop a Deutsche It’s Sangria t! label debu ian zing taking d In n sandwith a om a thou fr n o ti a ir insp ition. ypsy trad out g ld o rea y not just ab Traveller is lyrical journey a music, it’s t's worth spending a th e n o d an time with.
LISTEN
The much awaite d English version of Girl with the Dr agon Tattoo is finally going to hit the screens in December. Daniel Cr the discredited jou aig plays rnalist and Rooney Mara a m ysterious compute r hacker, in this bestselling book by film based on a the same name. Be a part of their quest as they sear ch for someone who has been dead for 40 years!
WATCH
ATTEND
e ter coffe of hot fil ythm of ll e m s the rh p to the Wake u lose yourself in ber time! The m and back it's Dece usic as ance Season is ai is m ic t a D n n nd hen Kar inter, C Music a s, Madras at's why, this w e K. J. Yesuda k h li t ik s an alv a and be. Veter nathan and M o will o t e c la the p es wh Raghu Sudha just a few nam s well into e r s a t la t ai Sarukk g the event tha to head South din get ter! be atten . So don't for this win y r a u n Ja
52
Democratic world
DECEMBER 2011