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FROM THE EDITOR
Editor-in-Chief CHANDAN MITRA EDITORIAL BOARD Chief Executive Officer Abhishek Saxena 09818600128 EDITORIAL Editor-in-Charge Rinku Ghosh Assistant Editor Saimi Sattar Chief Designers Anand Singh Rawat & Satish Jakhmola Production Manager Syed Nawab Raza Staff Photographer Pankaj Kumar SALES & MARKETING Vice President Jetender Rawat 9810404096 General Managers Kumar Gurudutta Jha & Sweety Verma Senior Managers Madhukar Saxena & Divyesh Kothari Managers Bharat Singh Sajwan, Prabhakar Pathak & Barun Choudhary MUMBAI OFFICE General Manager Devendra Adhikari KOLKATA OFFICE Vice President Suzanna Roy HYDERABAD OFFICE V Sunil Kumar General Manager (Circulation) Rajeev Gautam Printed and published by Chandan Mitra for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd, printed at JK Offset Graphics (P) Ltd, B-278, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-1, New Delhi-110020 and published at No. 6, Behind Gulab Bhawan, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002. Editor: Chandan Mitra. Entire Contents Copyright (C) 2006 CMYK Printech Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation in any language in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Requests for permission should be directed to CMYK Printech Ltd. Opinions carried in Exotica are the writers’ and not necessarily endorsed by CMYK Printech Ltd. The publisher assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material or for material lost or damaged in transit. All correspondence should be addressed to CMYK Printech Ltd; F-31, Sector-6, NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh-201301 Phone: 0120-4879800 & 4879900 Email: exoticapioneer2016@gmail.com
A VOTE FOR INDIA’S STREET FOOD
APANG
of jealousy hits me hard each time I see young reporters and anchors on TV enthusiastically travelling to nameless and faceless towns and villages of India, backpacks slung, trying to ascertain the mood of voters in the back of the beyond places in this vast country. I get nostalgic because since 1984 till recently, I too was among them, touring the length and breadth of India every election season. Election coverage has taken me to big cities and tiniest of villages, made me shack up in nondescript places like Saharsa in Bihar and Cudappah in Andhra Pradesh, putting up in obscure hotels but relishing delicious local food. I particularly remember the tantalising kulfi-faluda from a tiny street corner shop in Faizabad, a stone’s throw from the twin hotels of Tirupati and Shaan-e-Avadh (where, incidentally I consumed the finest Murg Musallam) in memory. When I first reached Nellore in Andhra in 1989, I was puzzled by the restaurant menu which listed Chicken 65 and Chicken 90 respectively. Curiously, I summoned the waiter to figure out what the numbers meant. In barely understandable Hindi, he explained that the figures implied the age of the slaughtered bird; that 65 was the most favoured dish as it was tender while 90 was bigger in size but also its meat was relatively tougher. In my opinion, food has become roughly uniform all over India’s roadside restaurants/dhabas, but street snacks retain their distinct identity, varying from city to city. Indore literally takes the cake with one particular gali boasting 56 cheek-by-jowl snack and sweet shops from bhels to gol gappa, raj kachauri, dahi bhalla and sweets aplenty. Chowk and Aminabad in Lucknow are at the other end of a gastronomic fiesta, with myriad kebabs and biryani, especially by the iconic Tunday Kababi group, donning the pride of place. Oldtimers insist that the absence of bade ka (beef) of late has robbed much of Lucknow’s culinary diversity, but the flavour of the food, I find, remains pretty much the same. In Assam’s roadside eateries, fish Tenga, a salty-sour fish curry is inevitably delicious. Similarly I found a fish curry served with plain rice at a restaurant dwarfed by the walls of the Idduki Dam to be finger-licking good. For connoisseurs, Punjab is numero uno. As I travelled across the State during the dreadful terrorism years, I feasted on its many delicacies, including some really surprising fish items from the Nangal barrage in the Amritsar region. Sometimes, defying warnings from locals, I ventured out in cars or motorbikes in the dead of the night to the outskirts of Amritsar, Jalandhar or Ludhiana for some out-of-the-world tandoor preparations or local delicacies like gurda-kapoora. Some towns come alive especially during elections. But places like Hyderabad are bustling with the aroma of food at all times. Recently I visited some stalls in the walled city selling a variety of haleem, usually served at wedding feasts or during Id festivities. I wish other cities, too, had specialities like this, such as nahari, a Delhi delicacy during Ramzan. Not being a morning person, I am not too familiar with breakfast delicacies but hope to catch up with them like most reporters can be seen doing these days on TV programmes.
[CHANDAN MITRA] Editor-in-Chief EXOTICA [4] MARCH 2020
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Little black book [p8] Nida Mahmood: A quick peek into her style file Special event [p20] Pioneering change Travel bug [p26] Reaching for the sky: Patnitop Q&A [p34] A platter full of stories: Rocky Singh, Mayur Sharma and Zorawar Kalra
I N S I D E MARCH 2020 VOLUME 14 NO 5
COVER: DASAM FALLS, RANCHI PHOTO: KANISHKA PODDAR
CONTRIBUTORS
[p34] TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES 84 INCLUDING COVER
[p50]
Globe trotter [p50] A deep dive: Melbourne Travel tales [p58] Look within Travel bug [p62] Two wheels and a route map: Ranchi New Himalayas [p68] Disperse the crowd
[p62]
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar [p72] GURUSPEAK: Joy of living Bharat Thakur [p76] FITNESS: A flat affair Kushan Mitra [p78] HOT WHEELS: Physics? Who cares? Sanjay Jumaani [p81] NUMBER GAME: Count your fate Follow us on:
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OUR PARTNER HOTELS Send us your feedback at exoticapioneer2016@gmail.com; Facebook: www.facebook.com/Exotica-394686670715776
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FAVOURITE HAUNTS OF STYLISH PEOPLE
I love corsages, scarves, hats. I find headgear to be very interesting to create a unique look.
I find it important to smell great and different occasions need different kinds of fragrances. Work wear needs to be strong like Elie Saab. An evening out in a beautiful dress needs another kind of fragrance and so on.
I enjoy fiction as it creates a beautiful fantasy. Being a creative person, it is exciting to read stories that create a journey, painting a picture that has been created. And I love reading how the mind works. Spiritual studies, like Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, are totally hinged on the beauty of the mind.
Designer NIDA MAHMOOD is known for clothes with a strong artistic veneer that ride high on kitsch. Her latest brand is eco-friendly to its core and 100 per cent swadeshi in essence
Midnight In Paris is my all time favourite. I love the film for its beautiful artistic storyline, handling of the subject and the cinematography. It is one of Woody Allen's finest films in my opinion.
I'm a very health- conscious person. I enjoy very simple food like salads.
My current favourite is my new sustainable brand Madam Marigold.
I find Europe extremely charming and fascinating. Very cliched but my favourites are UK and France besides Prague, Iceland, Ireland and so many more.
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SCALING THE ZENITH OF EXCELLENCE
Driven by its commitment to provide quality technical education, the AJAY KUMAR GARG ENGINEERING COLLEGE has become one of the best engineering institutions in Uttar Pradesh
THE
Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College (AKGEC), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh is approved by AICTE and affiliated to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow. The college was established in 1998 and offers BTech Courses in nine disciplines of engineering. It also offers postgraduate courses in Computer Application (MCA) and MTech in five engineering disciplines. The college is accredited by NAAC and five of its BTech programmes are accredited by NBA. AKGEC has excellent infrastructure with state-of-the-art laboratories, computing facilities, automated library with e-journals, modern well furnished hostels for 1,500 students and faculty residences on its wi-fi enabled 40 acres campus. The college also has highly qualified and experienced faculty lead by its Director General, Dr RK Agarwal, who is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, CIT, UK and IISc Bangalore with vast teaching, research and administrative experience. The college has been consistently maintaining excellent results and has 16 students in the 2018-19 top 10 AKTU merit lists with two gold and two silver medals. The college students have also received the Chancellor’s Gold Medal for best performance across all B Tech branches for three consecutive years, since its inception. The college also conducts a number of industrially relevant programmes to make its students globally competitive. During the year 2018-19 over 919 students have been placed in reputed companies like Infosys, Cognizant, Ashok Leyland, HCL, Robert Bosch, Adobe Systems, HSBC Software, TCS, Wipro, Samsung Research Institute, NIIT Technologies. The college has established a number of Centres of Excellence in collaboration with eminent multinational industries. These include Industrial Robotic Training Centre in collaboration with Kuka Robotics, Centre of Competence in Automation Technologies with Bosch Rexroth, LabVIEW Academy with National Instruments, Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) Centre with SIEMENS, Drives & Control
Lab with Mitsubishi Electric, Industrial Pneumatic Knowledge Centre with Janatics India and a Competency Development Centre in Integrated Automation with Automation Industries Association and industry partners like Pepperl & Fuchs, B&R, Festo and Siemens. The primary objective of these centres is to provide industrially relevant training in these inter-disciplinary state-of-art technologies to bridge the gap between academic curriculum and industry needs. These centres also promote research and industrial consultancies. To expand the outreach of this facility and to align its objective with “Skill India Mission”, AKGEC Skills Foundation has been established as a funded training partner of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), under Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. Under this programme Advance Welding Technology and Advance Manufacturing Centre have been established. AKGEC Skills Foundation has also partnered with National Small Scale Industry Corporation (NSIC) to establish a Technology Incubation Centre. The college has the unique distinction of being the only college to receive the Academic Excellence Award for Best Engineering College in UPTU for two successive years from the Governor of UP. The college is also the recipient of ‘Best Industry Institute Interface’ from the Minister of Science & Technology, UP Government, as well as award from Royal Academy of Engineering, UK. The college has been honoured with the prestigious STEM awards for ‘Best Technology Infrastructure’ and ‘Best Vocational Robotics Education’ by All India Council for Robotics & Automation. AKGEC believes in setting audacious goals and infusing fresh ideas to achieve the same. The college plans to promote collaborative industry relevant projects, R&D and consultancy to raise the overall academic standard as well as to bridge the gap between academic curriculum and industry requirements to make its students globally competitive.
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TRAVEL NEWS
SPRING IN THE STEP
During spring, NYC witnesses blooms at Macy’s Flower Show, Brooklyn’s cherry blossom festival, fun fashion of the Easter Parade, art exhibition of Jackson Pollock at the Guggenheim. For details on these and many other happenings, read on STUDIO 54: NIGHT MAGIC [MARCH 13JULY 15]: Studio 54 has been the subject of many exhibitions, books and films since its 1970s heyday — a time when people of different backgrounds gathered behind the velvet rope for late nights of dancing and parties. The Brooklyn Museum puts the nightclub’s influence into a broader context of NYC history, showcasing photography, film, fashion, drawings and never-before-seen illustrations, proposals and designs. ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE [MARCH 17]: On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone can lay claim to being at least a little bit Irish (including the bagels and beer, which go green for the occasion). The parade itself lays claim to being the oldest (it was first held in 1762) and largest of its kind in the
world. So clad yourself in kelly green and watch bagpipers, marching bands and assorted revellers from near and far. THE ROUTE: The parade starts at 11 am, marching up Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 79th Street. It typically ends by 5 pm. MACY’S FLOWER SHOW [MARCH 22APRIL 5]: For two weeks, the clothing and accessories won’t be the only colourful items on display at Macy’s. During its annual flower show, the department store hosts bright floral arrangements, live music, kids’ activities and seminars. This year’s show— Voyage to
EXOTICA [10] MARCH 2020
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Email: sales@featherlitefurniture.com Head Office: #16/A, Millers Road, Vasanthnagar, Bangalore- 560 052. 1800 11 2424 Present in 66 locations across India, also in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and U.A.E. For more details visit our website www.featherlitefurniture.com
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Oceanum— features an under-the-ocean odyssey of vibrantly coloured deep-sea florals and aquatic life. NEW DIRECTORS/NEW FILMS [MARCH 25APRIL 5]: Co-curated by the Film Society of Lincoln Centre and the Museum of Modern Art, this yearly festival celebrates innovative voices in filmmaking from a broad range of international filmmakers at the start of their careers. Now in its 49th year, the festival has helped ignite countless careers, including those of Pedro Almodóvar, Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg, Darren Aronofsky and Wong Kar-wai. Explore new works by the next generation of auteurs, with screenings at MoMA and Lincoln Centre. MAKING THE MET, 1870–2020 [MARCH 30-AUGUST 2]: Trace the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 150 years in the Big Apple through this exhibition, the centerpiece of their anniversary celebration year. The Met displays more than 250 works of art of every type that played in important role in defining the museum and helping to propel it into new directions. Also included are some rarely seen archival photographs and stories of behind-the-scenes work. HANAMI: CHERRY BLOSSOM VIEWING [APRIL 1-30]: Cherry-blossom viewing, known as hanami, is a centuries-old Japanese custom, a springtime occasion for merriment and contemplation of life’s beauty and transience. You can partake in this tradition at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, home to scores of flowering varieties. Guided tours focussing on the blooms are held on
Wednesdays during the April viewing season, though the more-frequent garden tours touch on them as well. The month culminates in a celebration of the brilliant blooms with Sakura Matsuri (April 25–26), a festival of Japanese performances and cultural happenings.
EASTER PARADE AND EASTER BONNET FESTIVAL [APRIL 12]: Each year on Easter, celebrants don festive finery and show off their best bonnets along Fifth Avenue. Immortalised by Irving Berlin (with some help from Judy Garland and Fred Astaire), the pageant is a New York City tradition that stretches back to the 1870s. Starting at about 10 am and continuing till 4 pm, the parade marches north on Fifth Avenue, from 49th Street to 57th Street. The best place to watch it is from the area around St Patrick’s Cathedral but better yet, bring your bonnet and join the parade. TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL [APRIL 15-16]: The Tribeca Film Festival, launched after 9/11 to promote the cultural and economic revival of Lower Manhattan, provides a platform for innovative filmmakers to present their latest work alongside some major movie premieres too. The 2020 programme will feature films of all kinds — crowd-pleasing blockbusters-to-be, provocative documentaries, foreign films, shorts and a cornucopia of panel discussions and lectures. There are also sections of the festival devoted to TV and online programming and experiential works, including virtual reality and multimedia projects.
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FRIEZE NEW YORK [MAY 7-MAY 10]: This international art fair features contemporary painting, performances and photography from more than a thousand artists and around 200 of the most forward-thinking contemporary and modern art galleries from around the globe. The fair commissions artworks for the grounds in addition to hosting panel discussions and lectures from leading artists, art theorists and critics and food from some of the best restaurants in the City. With the exception of a few pre-fair (but still related) talks and openings, it all happens inside a serpentine white tent on Randall’s Island. ABOUT TIME: FASHION AND DURATION [MAY 7-SEPTEMBER 7]: As part of The Met’s 150th anniversary celebration, the Costume Institute’s exhibition highlights how fashion creates associations that blur the lines between past, present and future. Linear and non-linear timelines help explain the relationship between time and fashion, along with clothing from the 1870s and 1880s being paired with those from more current times. Finally, the future of fashion will be touched upon, branching into subjects surrounding longevity and sustainability.
KUSAMA: COSMIC NATURE [MAY 9NOVEMBER 1]: Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama brings works from her multifaceted practice to the New York Botanical Garden, along with major new works created specifically for this exhibition. Her pieces that engage with living things will be on display — including her signature mirrored environments, organic forms and paintings — plus a first-ever participatory greenhouse installation that will grow with the exhibition over time.
REKINDLING THE SOUL AT JANU FOR more than 30 years Aman’s constellation has stretched from the shores of Phuket to the mountains of Bhutan and will soon reach the avenues of New York. The group has launched Janu, its sister brand. Under the leadership and of Chairman and CEO Vladislav Doronin, the Aman brand has 32 hotels in 20 countries, nine under construction. There are three forthcoming Janu hotels which are under construction: Montenegro (2022), Al Ula in Saudi Arabia (2022) and Tokyo (2022), as well as a robust pipeline of future hotels. Janu Montenegro will be the first hotel to incorporate the brands serviced residence concept, enabling guests to fully embrace the Janu lifestyle.
EXOTICA [14] MARCH 2020
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EAT PRAY LOVE
‘DIVINITY
Trails at the Taj’ is a new experience announced by the group, across key destinations in India, keeping in mind that spiritual or religious tourism in India accounts for 60 per cent of total domestic tourism, based on estimates. The Taj has a footprint of 32 hotels in 17 significant locations across India with over 4,000 rooms at key locations like Tirupati, Varanasi, Amritsar, Madurai, Rishikesh, Nashik, Ajmer, Katra and Dwarka. Included in the key Divinity Trails destinations is the newly-launched Taj Tirupati, a suitable base for experiencing the Lord Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala, one of the most visited religious sites on earth. Rishikesh has long attracted spiritual
seekers to India, including, famously, the Beatles, who visited in 1968. Taj Rishikesh Resort & Spa, Uttrakhand located on the banks of the River Ganges, offers a restorative stay for those looking to immerse themselves in yoga and meditation. Famous for the exquisite Golden Temple and inextricably linked with the history of Sikhism, Amritsar is the location of the Taj Swarna, Amritsar. Millions travel to take a dip in the holy Ganges at Varanasi which is considered the spiritual capital of India. Join in the spectacular ceremony of Ganga aarti whilst staying at Taj Nadesar Palace or Taj Ganges, Varanasi and watch thousands of floating diyas light up the sacred River. Avail of curated temple tours arranged by Taj Madurai in the city and hear tales of gods and goddesses whilst getting a glimpse of the town which has been the seat of divinity from time immemorial. From sacred temples and religious pilgrimages to yoga ashrams and beyond, experiences in India offer visitors spirituality, healing, wellness and the chance to forge a deeper connection with their inner self. To make your reservations please visit: www.tajhotels.com.
SWISS FLIES WITH A FULLY-REFURBISHED AIRBUS A340 FLEET
SWISS
International Air Lines (SWISS) has newly equipped the cabins of its five Airbus A340 aircraft with the First, Business and Economy Class seats which already feature on its Boeing 777s, together with a new inflight entertainment system that includes internet connectivity. Passengers also enjoy a new cabin lighting concept on the refurbished A340 fleet. SWISS operates its Airbus A340s on services between Zurich and Boston, Johannesburg and Shanghai. The A340 has been deployed on SWISS’s new Zurich-Osaka (Japan) route, which commenced on March 1.
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RECORD VISITORS IN GOD’S OWN COUNTRY
RECORDING
the highest growth rate in domestic and total tourist arrivals in 24 years, Kerala attracted around 1.96 crore domestic and foreign visitors in 2019, registering a growth of 17.2 per cent as compared to last year’s figures. The total earnings from tourism stood at `45,010.69 crore, notching a robust 24.14 per cent increase. The total number of tourists was pegged at 1,95,74,004, of whom there were 1,83,84,233 domestic tourists and 11,89,771 visitors from abroad. In 2018, the number of tourists visiting Kerala was 1,67,01,068 (domestic tourists 1,56,04,661 and foreign tourists 10,96,407). The growth rate in the inflow of domestic touts was 17.81 per cent while for the foreign tourist arrivals, it was 8.52 per cent. “This is the highest growth rate since 1996. Our figures show that there was a very significant increase in the footfalls from May 2019 and it prevailed till the end of the year,” said Tourism Minister, Kadakampally Surendran. Of the 14 districts, Ernakulam attracted the largest number of tourists (45,82,366), followed by Thiruvananthapuram (33,48,618), Thrissur (25,99,248) and Idukki (18,95,422). In terms of statistics, Kerala registered an increase of 27.8 lakh domestic tourists as compared
to the previous year. Of this increase, Ernakulam district recorded 6.13 lakh, Idukki 5.62 lakh, Thiruvananthapuram 3.25 lakh, Wayanad 2.55 lakh and Kozhikode 2.52 lakh, which were the significant gainers during this period. Further, the number of international tourists increased by 93,364 as compared to last year of which Ernakulam accounted for 34,057, Idukki 30,373 and Alappuzha 20,706 — the three districts with significant gains. In fact, Ernakulam retained the No 1 position with total foreign footfalls of 5.22 lakh (44 per cent of the total foreign tourists to the state). Also, the total foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from tourism crossed `10,000 crore for the first time, touching a figure of `10,271.06 crore and registering a growth of 17.19 per cent over the previous year. Ernakulam alone generated `4,508.32 crore of the FEE, accounting for 43.9 per cent of the total foreign exchange earnings from tourism sector. It was followed by Thiruvananthapuram (`2,680.06 crore) and Alappuzha (`1,003.37 crore). In terms of total revenue earned from the tourism sector, Ernakulam ranked No 1 with `12,816.54 crore, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (`8,700.12 crore), Thrissur (`4,646.08 crore) and Idukki (`3,984.4 crore).
EXOTICA [18] MARCH 2020
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THE
voyages of discovery of the 15th and 16th centuries prompted by the spirit of enquiry of the Renaissance saw the arrival of the European powers — the Portugese, the Dutch, the French, the English and the Danes — in the subcontinent. The necessity of safeguarding and furthering their commercial interests led to their involvement in local conflicts. Endemic warfare and induction of new technology of warfare ensued. After the battles of Plassey (1757) and Buxar (1764), the English East India Company established its ascendency amongst the European powers and set out on a course of territorial expansion based on European technology and Indian soldiers. It is against this background that the ordnance factories were established to equip the armies of the East India Company and the British empire and finally that of independent India. The ordnance factories grew to meet the needs of artillery, ammunition, gun-carriages, leather equipment and clothing. A temporary gun factory, which had been set up in Patna by Captain L du Gloss in 1769 was shifted to Fort William at Calcutta in 1770 and subsequently to Cossipore where a gun carriage agency had been established in 1802. The cannons produced at Fort William and later at Cossipore — renamed the Foundry and Shell Factory (1872) and finally as the Gun and Shell Factory (1905) — saw service in campaigns in India and abroad. Cannons had to be mounted on carriages. The East India Company set up four gun carriage agencies at Cossipore (1802), Srirangpatnam (1802), which later shifted to Madras (1830), Bombay (1810) and Fatehgarh (1816). The agencies functioned throughout the 19th century and were closed down only when the Gun Carriage Factory was established at Jabalpur in 1904. Gunpowder was required for ammunition and was being manufactured by the Dutch at Masulipatnam (1601) and Pulicat (1609). The East India Company began to manufacture gunpowder in 1660 with saltpetre being imported from England and sulphur from Sumatra. Two gun powder mills were set up in Bombay in 1731 and another in 1741.
THE REAL MAKE ININDIA
The ordnance factories evolved into one of the largest conglomerates of defence manufacturing with the widest range of products in the world
These were shifted to the Gun Powder Factory at Kirkee, Pune and ultimately to Aruvankadu near Ooty in present day Tamil Nadu where the Cordite Factory Aruvankadu was founded in 1904. The forerunners of the ammunition factories were the laboratories set up in each of the presidencies. The laboratory at Fort William was set up in 1718. As warfare increased so did the demand for ammunition and in 1846 an ammunition factory was set up at Dum Dum at the site of the “Afghan Minar”, a memorial to the martyrs of the 1st Anglo-Afghan (1839-42) where the defeat of the British forces was, ironically, due to the scarcity of ammunition. In 1854, the facilities at Dum Dum were augmented to increase the production by one million to a total of three million rounds. In 1869, another ammunition factory was established at Kirkee, Pune. Small arms manufacture commenced with the establishment of a rifle factory at the site of the old gunpowder factory at Ishapore in 1904. The first batch of rifles was manufactured in 1908. The manufacture of armaments required a steady supply of quality steel. The first authentic record of the manufacture of steel in the ordnance factories dates back to 1872 when a Siemens Martin open hearth furnace was erected at Cossipore. Manufacture of steel was subsequently shifted to the Metal and Steel Factory at Ishapore (1904). Leather manufacture, too, began here and the Ordnance Equipment Factory in Kanpur served as a catalyst for the development of the leather industry in the region. Early attempts to systematise the supply of clothing to the army had not been satisfactory. Ultimately, the ordnance clothing factory at Shahjahanpur became the centre of the entire clothing needs of the armed forces. It is from these varied beginnings that the ordnance factories evolved into one of the largest conglomerates of defence manufacturing with the widest range of products in the world, comprising 41 factories organised into five divisions, with 90 per cent indigenous content and 25 per cent of revenues from products developed through in-house R&D and rising exports.
SPECIAL EVENT
PIONEERING CHANGE
The Pioneer group is expanding its umbrella of connecting with thinking minds through live talks. Called The Pioneer Agenda series, we hope to generate awareness on ideas that will shape India in 2030 and could be a template for policy-making. The first such dialogue, Exotica Tourism Summit, EXOTICA being the group's travel and wellness magazine, was held at Shangri-La hotel, New Delhi on February 26. Since tourism is poised to become a major growth driver and employment generator of the economy, the day-long event had interactive sessions with Union Ministers, industry experts, travel operators, tourism boards, the hospitality sector and brand creators
EXOTICA [20] MARCH 2020
EXOTICA [21] MARCH 2020
PRAHLAD PATEL, NITIN GADKARI and PIYUSH GOYAL showcase the country as a dream tourist destination at Exotica Tourism Summit
A
wonder of the yore and a land of contemporary fascination, India holds enormous potential for both domestic and foreign tourists who have hardly explored its incredible diversity for want of promotion and infrastructure. This was the focal point of a day-long conference — The Exotica Tourism Summit — where speakers, including Union
Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Prahlad Patel and Piyush Goyal showcased India as a dream tourist destination. The conference was divided in five different panels, the first being ‘Dekho apna desh’. This was moderated by The Pioneer Editor-in-Chief Dr Chandan Mitra and addressed by Tourism Minister and chief guest Prahlad Patel.
AIM TO DOUBLE OUR DOMESTIC TOURISTS BY 2025: PATEL
IN
a speech heard with rapt attention, Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (independent charge) for Culture and Tourism, talked about involvement of all the stakeholders, including the Centre and State Governments, hotels, tour operators and locals, for the growth of tourism in the country. He said that by next five years, the Government would aim to double the domestic tourist footfall. “All of us are responsible for the growth of the tourism sector and an individual cannot promote it individually. All the sectors should come together for its growth,” he said. Patel was of the view that the tourism has never been given its due importance in the past. “Had it been, we would have witnessed tremendous progress in the North-East region where connectivity was never taken seriously. More than monetary benefits, it is
MULTI-LINGUAL SIGNAGES
AS
a measure to woo foreigners and for their convenience, the monuments or tourist hotspots witnessing more than one lakh footfall from a particular country, will have signage in the language of that country. For instance, Sanchi Stupa, which is visited by more than a lakh Chinese, already has signboards in Mandarin. “We plan to make it possible for tourists to scan a QR code at a location to listen to information about that place in their own language,” said the Tourism Minister.
the positive perception towards tourism that really matters. With our holistic approach, we aim to double our domestic tourist footfall within the next five years,” he added. The Minister pointed out that a lot of tourists head to South-east Asia, where we have a shared cultural heritage. “We can easily introduce measures and divert the tourists to different parts of our country,” he said. Patel, who was the chief guest at the event, also spoke about relaxing norms in e-visa such as extending the facility from one year to five years, cutting down on e-visa fee and reducing GST for hotel rooms. This apart, he said his ministry is also working extensively with the Ministry of External Affairs to shorten the e-visa format and drastically reduce the visa fees further which has been a concern for many foreign tourists.
TOURISM HAS HUGE JOB PROSPECTS: GADKARI UNION
Minister Nitin Gadkari suggested that tourism had the potential to create employment, the biggest challenge that we are facing, for 49 per cent of the population. “For eradication of poverty, we need to increase the employment potential,” he said. The infrastructure needs to be improved drastically for tourism to take off. He suggested that the stakeholders in the sector should adopt three basic formulae — the PPP model, fast environment clearances and innovative ideas, besides a strong political will. “The first step towards this is better roads. We had 52 lakh km of roads; of this 96,000 km were the national highways. So 40 per cent of the road traffic was moving on two per cent of the roads. We are now planning to increase it to 1,80,000 km of which 1,40,000 km has been declared as national highways. So 80 per cent traffic will come on the road.”
Gadkari said his Ministry is working on 22 green highways, which are being laid out on a totally new alignment. The first example is the Expressway which connects Mumbai to Delhi. It starts from Gurugram and then goes to Sawai Madhopur, Ratlam, Alwar, Vadodra to Mumbai. The most interesting aspect is that a major portion of this stretch runs through the tribal areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, all of which would benefit greatly from the access corridors. “We have acquired land for the construction of this highway, the width of which would be 100 m. We will complete the flagship Mumbai- Delhi Expressway in the next three years. This will be India's longest expressway at 1,320 km and will reduce travel time between Delhi and Mumbai from 24 hours to 13 hours,” the Minister said. Gadkari recalled an incident where an NRI family in London told him that they had cancelled tickets to Delhi as the capital was very polluted. “We are spending `55,000 crore
‘WE ARE WORKING ON VARIOUS PROJECTS WORTH `55,000 CRORE TO MAKE THE NATIONAL CAPITAL AND NEIGHBORING AREAS POLLUTION FREE’
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`5,200 crore. There are 40 ports on road projects to contain the along the way besides four pollution in the national Capital. multi-modal channels at The Eastern and Western Ghazipur, Haldia, Modal and peripheral expressways, built at a Varanasi,” said Gadkari. But the cost of `16,000 crore, have been development does not stop here completed so that 40 per cent of as sights have been set further. the traffic from the northern “The Bay of Bengal lies ahead. To states which is going south does develop tourism and waterways not enter the capital. We studied further, we have submitted a the Delhi traffic jam and `12,000 crore TPR to the World pollution and determined a plan Bank. If this is approved, then of action. There are 150 black goods from India can be sent spots in Delhi which can be directly to Myanmar and worked upon to reduce pollution Bangladesh.” he said. and reassure visitors.” His ‘I HAVE ALSO TAKEN A He also said efforts are on to Ministry hired a consultant to KEEN INTEREST IN complete a highway through resolve the bottlenecks at the DEVELOPING OUR VERY Uttarakhand for making the identified black spots. OWN AULI (UTTARAKHAND) NEAR Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra easy. The Minister has personally JOSHIMATH WHICH CAN “The work is about to be looked into making Dhaula Kuan BE A DESTINATION LIKE DAVOS IN SWITZERLAND. completed and will be congestion-free and reports have I AM IN TALKS WITH commissioned anytime soon. suggested that the air quality in UTTARAKHAND People can visit Mansarovar the entire stretch has improved. GOVERNMENT ON THIS PROJECT SO THAT through Pithoragarh in The Centre is developing a SEVERAL WORLD-LEVEL Uttarakhand,” he outlined. Dwarka Expressway costing CONFERENCES CAN BE BROUGHT TO THE SMALL “I have also taken a keen `10,000 crore and also a PLACE WHICH IS MORE interest in developing our very dedicated road to connect SCENIC THAN own Auli (Uttarakhand) near Delhi airport from Dhaula Kuan, SWITZERLAND’ Joshimath which can be a said Gadkari. destination like Davos in To combat Yamuna water and Switzerland. I am in talks with Uttarakhand air pollution, 12 projects worth `6,000 crore have government on this project so that several been started in Delhi. Projects in Paonta Sahib, world-level conferences can be brought to the Panipat and Sonepat have been completed to clean small place which is more scenic than Ganga by working on 40 minor rivers, said Switzerland,” said Gadkari, known to have given Gadkari, pointing out to the immense potential of the country's first Tolled Expressway between waterways in India. “In Singapore, a garden has Pune and Mumbai. been made after reclaiming land from sea. I asked Talking about religious tourism, the Road for consultancy from them to develop the Minister said his agenda for the current year is riverfront of Yamuna in a similar manner,” he completing the about `12,000-crore Char Dham added. The dredging of Ganga has also unleashed project with all-weather connectivity roads to many possibilities. “On the Varanasi to Haldia Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. waterway, 280 lakh tonnes of goods have been Gadkari said the country’s ethno structure transported. Cruises have been booked on the requires a great improvement if we need to river for three months. We are making Ganga augment tourism. clean and developing it as a waterway by spending
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PASSENGERS
may be able to travel between Delhi and Shimla on a single ticket in the days to come. Welcoming a suggestion in this regard by a participant at the Exotica Tourism Summit, a receptive Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said his Ministry will definitely work on the idea and will implement it soon. Elaborating on the efforts of Railways to promote tourism, the Minister said, “We are running Ramayan Express which will connect sites associated with Lord Ram. Similarly, there is a train called Saamanta Express which will cover prominent places associated with Gautam Buddha and chief architect of the Constitution Dr BR Ambedkar.” The idea is also to take the railways to Char Dham, he stressed during a Q&A session with The Pioneer Editor-in Chief Dr Chandan Mitra. The Minister said that as a nation we all must act together to bring the excitement back for promoting India. Elaborating on enhancing footprints in the North-east, he said, “After Prime Minister Modi took office, he has been particularly focussed on the North-east to the extent that every Minister was trying to visit the region twice or thrice in a year and about four
SOON, TRAVEL BETWEEN DELHI TO SHIMLA ON SINGLE TICKET: GOYAL
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Cabinet Ministers were visiting the region in a month. That is the level of engagement the Government has with the North-east. Only four out of eight Northeastern states are currently left out of the grid because of local pressures and contexts. In the next two-and-a-half years, all these four states will be connected and we will take the train to the extreme end of Bangladesh. We are also looking at travelling through Bangladesh to other parts of the region.” Responding to a question by Dr Mitra on privatisation of railways, Goyal asserted that Indian Railways is the property of the people of India and shall always remain so. Private trains would only supplement the network, not subsume it. The Minister also received a great round of applause when he shared that there had not been a single passenger death on the network for a year. To a query from the audience, Goyal said that a lot has been done on improving the on-board food quality through the use of artificial intelligence. “Now you can track your food packets by scanning the bar coded meal boxes and gain access of the base kitchen where it has been prepared and packed. This can be done through a rail app,” Goyal said.
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TRAVEL BUG
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REACHING FOR THE
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GUSTASP and JEROO IRANI take a ringside view from the top as they ride the gondola at Patnitop
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we sat in the brand new gondola which shimmied over snow-crusted pine trees like a model on the catwalk, a full moon had just risen. It shone like a nugget of gold in the sky and glimmered on the carpet of snow that mantled the slopes of the mountains and cast mysterious shadows under the dark snow-splattered pines. The recently launched Skyview Patnitop by Empyrean ropeway (a two-hour drive from Jammu) ferries tourists from Sanget (Lower Terminal) to Patnitop (Upper Terminal). The next morning, the ride down from snow-bound Patnitop to the Lower Terminal was equally magical — snaring views of terraced valleys and rumpled ridges jabbing the sky like the gnarled knuckles of an ancient hand. Back at the Lower Terminal, mention of Skyview Patnitop, a public-private partnership project invited a string of superlatives. This is one of the country’s highest (in terms of clearance), soaring 65 m above the ground, safest (CEN European standard certified), with the longest span
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of 849 metres between two of the eight towers. Indeed, the dapper Syed Junaid Altaf, the 34-yearold managing director of Empyrean Skyview Projects, described his pet project with the fond passion of a father. And he has reason to be proud of what he and his team of young engineers, construction workers and other staff have achieved. They laboured
despite inclement weather, high winds, rain and snow to give firm contours to what seemed like Syed Junaid Altaf’s impossible dream. “This is the largest Indo-French collaboration in mountain infrastructure development,” he revealed, “and the gateway to developing a nascent destination — Patnitop,” said Junaid Altaf. The forbidding wall of the Shivaliks, the
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(Clockwise from left): Skyview Patnitop Gondola; lower station of the gondola; tubing sledge and magic carpet
foothills of the Himalayas, into which much of the ropeway is carved did not deter them and they accomplished the task without cutting a single tree though they had permission to fell 26. Dr Viqar Yousuf, who used to run a civil construction company, was hired as the project head and, even today, strides around like a colossus in his distinctive boiler suit, ready to hit the road
running at any hour of the day, come hell or high water. Fondly called “The Mad Man” by his team because of his single-minded passion for the ropeway, Dr Yousuf’s magnificent obsession dovetailed nicely with Junaid’s visionary leadership. The result was a project which, in the normal course, would have taken eight years to see light of
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(Clockwise from top): Road curves through a snowy pine forest; snow-bound hotel and food court
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FA C T F I L E Nearest airport is at Jammu from where Skyview Patnitop is a two-and-a-half-hour drive away. The nearest train station is Udhampur. Sanget, the Lower Terminal, is 3 km away from the 9.2 km Chenani Nashri Tunnel(renamed Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee tunnel) on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. Skyview Patnitop is a pleasant diversion for pilgrims to Vaishnodevi who travel via Katra. And also for those who wish to explore the relatively unknown destination of Patnitop. Visit: https://skyviewpatnitop.com/
day, being completed in a record time of two years and four months and at a cost of `180 crore. Spread over 11 acres, this multi-season, multi-entertainment destination in the Shivaliks, the foothills of the Himalayas, was built by forging partnerships with global companies. Indeed, the entire infrastructure (including the towers, ropes and 18 cabins) has been imported through POMA, the world’s leading brand in ropeway construction. Partnerships were built with other global companies, too, for planning, development and construction of the ropeway and for a master plan and development of the 11-acre site. The first winter was hard, a test of endurance, said Junaid Altaf, as pits dug for construction would quickly fill up with snow, the next morning. There were landslides, said Dr Yousuf, and each day brought new challenges which the team dealt with sangfroid. When a heli-crane company, which was supposed to transport the towers up the slopes, backed out at the eleventh hour (each leg of a tower weighs 700 kg), they were hauled up manually. The hardest was lugging up the wheel set that rolls the cables. Today, it all seems effortlessly sleek and modern — the Lower Terminal with its ticketing block, an area for food kiosks and restaurants that are in the pipeline. Wooden buildings (constructed from responsibly sourced timber) with pitched roofs make generous use of glass and skylights. These expansive perches pull in wraparound views of a magical landscape of misty snow-whipped
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mountains and forests of cedar. These exuded warmth while glass doors were a hyphen between the outdoors and indoors. The site was the primary source of labour and materials — local craftsmen hand-chiselled and dressed over a million stones for months for the retaining walls and a water reservoir created for construction was fed by a natural spring. Native indigenous plant species were used in the gardens. But perhaps what makes this ropeway more than a form of transportation for those who wish to travel to Patnitop in comfort is the fact that Empyrean aims to make the site a culinary and adventure hot spot as well. Banana Leaf (vegetarian), Skyview Café, Pine View and more outlets will cater to the palates of vacationers at Sanget while The Terrace, at the Upper Terminal, will cater to those in search of a more leisurely fine dining experience. Food festivals will enable celebrity chefs to showcase their culinary skills. After re-fuelling at the Lower Terminal,we geared up to zip down Asia’s longest zig-zag zip line, which stretches 580 metres across nine wires and 10 platforms, at an altitude of 1,371 m and ends at 1,344 m. As we zipped down the lines, bands of evergreen trees marching up the mountains in the distance seemed to whip past while the Upper Terminal at Patnitop was a barren white swathe of snow banks. The tubing sledge (for four-year-olds and above) bumps and glides over artificial grass-clad 238 metres of mountain slopes. It has been built to the highest safety standards, we were assured, and has an efficient braking system. The latter we can vouch for as when, after a couple of spins, one of the guests felt dizzy, she was adroitly rescued by the staff. Magic Carpet is like balancing on an uphill escalator, a fun activity for young ones. In the near future, quad bikes, outdoor trekking trails, glamping, camping, a backpacker cafe are on the cards as are showcasing Patnitop's natural assets — balmy
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(Left): Monkeys are companions in the balcony of a hotel. (Above): Village road winds its way past the pines
weather in spring and summer when hikers can trek to the higher reaches of Madhatop (2,000m), Sanasar lake or Nathatop (2,711m) or go river rafting on the Baglihar Dam. And winters may be spent in a cosy hotel in Patnitop, warming chilled palms in front of a crackling fire place; waking up to bands of mist settling in distant valleys like a bridal train; crunching through a maze carved out of banks of snow and ice, building snow men and patting snow balls into shape.
As we glided down in the gondola for the last time, after two nights in Patnitop, we saw icy tableaux — icicles hanging from the sloping roofs of homes virtually buried in snow; a quiet muffled world where feather-light snow flakes fluttered like the wings of a bird. As we gazed at the mountains rearing above us, we thought of what Syed Junaid Altaf had shared with us: “If you take care of the mountains when building, the mountains will take care of you.”
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Q&A
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PLATTER FULL OF STORIES TV show hosts and writers ROCKY SINGH and MAYUR SHARMA have not strayed from discovering dhabas on Indian highways but are building more and more personal stories along the way. Meanwhile, ZORAWAR KALRA is expanding his restaurant chain on the basis of the destination that appeals to him via his palate. The trio talk to Exotica about new food theatres
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so many images, travellers’ tales and food stories on our palmtops, how do we decide what works best for us while planning a holiday? How do we get to the must-knows beyond the photoshopped fantasy? Simple, live the felt experiences with somebody whom you can trust and somebody who is like you. Nobody can establish this believability about themselves than Rocky Singh and
Mayur Sharma, who have added a whole new layering to highway travel by exploring dhabas and elevating street food as a must-do option. Then there is superchef Zorawar Kalra, who is taking Indian flavours global with progressive cuisine, speaking to the world in a language it understands but with the robustness of Indian flavours. In conversation with Exotica, the trio talked about how the love of food can help the traveller customise his own experientials.
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There are a lot of birds on your social media? Do you document them during your journeys? Rocky: I have been extremely passionate about birds from a very long time. Before you raise those eyebrows any further, these are the ones with wings and those who fly (guffaws). I’ve grown up loving birds and of late, I decided to share my photographs with the world. They are highly personal. I am a little touchy about them. There are eight million registered birders in the UK and possibly more in the US. If you want to look at birding opportunities in India, we have over 1,200 species of birds, including the ones who migrate during the winters. We have some of the most phenomenal birds in the world. Everywhere you go, from Rann of Kutch to the Northeast to Kerala to Kashmir, you will find thousands of birders looking for exotic species. It is a huge business. From the tourism point of view, it is a huge trick that we are missing. If you calculate just my travel alone, I end up spending `5,00,000. There are so many more of us.
WE STARTED OUR JOURNEY IN 2007 AND THE IDEA WAS TO INTRODUCE THE MAGNIFICENT RICHNESS OF INDIA’S CUISINE TO EVERYONE. WE KNOW ONE RESTAURANT THAT SERVES GUJARATI AND RAJASTHANI THALIS AND THERE ARE 22,400 DISHES IN THEIR MAIN RECIPE BOOK. MULTIPLY THAT WITH THE NUMBER OF STATES AND YOU GET A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF FOOD — ROCKY SINGH TV show host and writer
Mayur, how many of your fans have turned vegetarian following your example? Mayur: I have no idea. Let’s do a quick fact check. Only around 25 to 28 per cent Indians are vegetarian. The rest have sea food, fish and nonvegetarian dishes including Rocky’s exotic birds in the Northeast. They hunt, forage, that is what they do. ‘India is a vegetarian country’, is one of the misconceptions that we have been dispelling during our travels around food. Though vegetarianism is growing everywhere in the world and not just in India. Though it is a small number but now with the health tag attached to it, the numbers are growing. But if you are Punjabi, for instance, you will always say that non vegetarian food is healthier than vegetarian. Rocky: On a state to state basis, there are more vegetarians in Haryana. Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat are also close. As you travel South, there are coastal areas and that means fish. There are no vegetarians there except for some communities. We started our journey in 2007 and the idea
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was to introduce the magnificent richness of India’s cuisine to everyone. We know one restaurant that serves Gujarati and Rajasthani thalis and I saw the recipe book, which is like the Bible, to see how many dishes that are there. There are an astounding 22,400 dishes. One restaurant, two states. Multiply that with the number of states and you get a ridiculous amount of food. We have the richest food culture on the planet. Nobody competes with the food culture of India. Our life has been about promoting it. The minute you bring politics and start talking about a unity of food where everyone eats roti and dal, it doesn't wok. Unifying food is the greatest disservice that we could do. We have had 7,000 dishes in 10-12 years and still have a lot more to explore. There are 2,50,000 more are left. Don’t take away my ant chutney, fried silkworms, excellent frog legs. We want to enjoy the diversity of the food. Some of the biggest trends in food are things that we have been doing for 3,000 years like local and seasonal. The rehriwala supplies vegetables from the nearby river bed which we have always eaten. In an animal, from the nose to tail nothing should be wasted so we eat everything — brains, kidneys and more. If we say fermented, we have been doing it all our lives. I’ve just finished drinking my last cup of kaanji (red carrot drink that is fermented for two months). We have eaten the healthiest, most trendy and varied food on the planet. And instead of world looking at us, we are looking at the world. We are in the process of tearing down everything great about our nation. If we keep fighting food we will end up nowhere. If we build it up, I could guarantee that we could get a 100 million people for our food culture and show the world our food with pride and joy with a model that is sustainable. You have accumulated so much of experience and brand value, so when are you planning to open your own restaurant? Rocky: I have the deepest respect for restaurateurs. There’s so much of hard work and passion involved in it. Anyone who doesn’t run one, doesn’t know. If it was not hard work we would have opened one. But who knows? Never say, never!
Rocky and Mayur’s Instagram is full of pictures of birds that the two keen birders have clicked. (Above): The Ibisbill is found feeding right next to fast flowing water. Its stunning eye and beak are its speciality more than the fact that it is a rare bird. It’s found in the low Himalayan reaches of Central Asia and winters in And across India in the Himalayan foothill forests. This is taken a the JiaBhorali river in Assam. It’s always thrilling to get close to this beautiful traveller. I got to 15 feet in freezing water and was rewarded with so many images like this one. (Below): The Nicobar Pigeon is a forest dweller designed and coloured to live in the hot humid forests in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India. It’s a stunningly beautiful bird
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‘ALL MY TRAVEL HAS BEEN BASED ON FOOD. I FIRST DECIDE WHICH DESTINATION HAS GOOD FOOD AND THEN LOOK FOR OTHER THINGS. MY MOST MEMORABLE TRIP WAS TO JAPAN. AFTER INDIA, IT HAS THE MOST ADVANCED FOOD CULTURE’
— ZORAWAR KALRA, Managing Director, Massive Restaurant
Mayur: The big thing that Rocky has not spoken about is that if you run a restaurant, you need to do something to earn a living because you will be eating your inventory. I have known this man for 46 years. He has invited us for dinner and when we ask him, “baaqi ka kahan gaya? (Where is the rest?)” He replies, “Kha gaya (I’ve eaten). A restaurant is nowhere on the cards.” ZORAWAR: I am glad that Rocky and Mayur are not planning to set up one as it would mean competition. I have put out fusion food and have had an experimental approach to wards it. The London outpost of Farzi Cafe has been credited for changing the perception of Indian cuisine because of the use of molecular gastronomy and food theatre. We have been experimenting with khichdi, which according to me is the most vibrant, versatile and comforting Indian dish. We have experimented and created Dal chawal aracini out of it. It is coated with bread crumbs, has a papad on top and a tomato salsa. As soon as you take a bite, you will instantly understand that it is the recreation of khichdi. The best part about papad and khichdi is the fact that every Indian State has its own version. I love playing with regional food to make it more innovative as it represents the culture of the country. It also gives me a chance to try new forms of the cuisine. The two of you are reviewing a restaurant every 48 hours. How do you manage to do that? Mayur: With great, joy, happiness and small bouts of hyperacidity. How are you using digital platforms to promote your food journeys and explorations? Rocky: We fell into the business accidentally. We
did it for six months and enjoyed it thoroughly. Promoting regional Indian food was something that we always wanted to do. When we took over the food space in India in 2007, the burgers, pastas, chowmein were everywhere. No one was talking of Indian food. We took it as a challenge to put mainstream Indian food back in the Indian consciousness. That we achieved. People perceived a dhaba as cool. They wanted to go there and explore them. Young people liked to get out and eat at one. What has happened to the lifestyle channels and why are they no longer interesting? Rocky: Television is a dead or dying space. They did not keep up with the changing tastes. You can never shrink your way to greatness. To become greater, you have to put in more money, do incredible things to do things that people want to see. If you want to cut costs and do programmes sitting in a chair in your house, no one wants to see it. It is boring for people to see someone sitting on a chair in a studio every day. You do more catchy shows, spend more money to grab eyeballs but no one seems to understand that. Indian TV is doomed. It is not catchy and shooting itself in the head. Unless it has a hint of creativity it will not be able to sustain itself. It is a farce now. But the digital space has young people. The platform gives you the chance to talk about Beera’s chicken and at the same time, share details about an idli from Gujarat. Now Indians are using it as a space to put their passion forward. Passion drives food. Mayur: TV is unidirectional. In digital platform, one can cater to a specific group of people and build a community with common thoughts. Our focus is simple — be consistent, frequent and do
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‘ONLY AROUND 25 TO 28 PER CENT INDIANS ARE VEGETARIAN. THE REST HAVE SEA FOOD, FISH AND NON-VEGETARIAN DISHES. ‘INDIA IS A VEGETARIAN COUNTRY’, IS ONE OF THE MISCONCEPTIONS THAT WE HAVE BEEN DISPELLING DURING OUR TRAVELS AROUND FOOD. THOUGH IT IS GROWING EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD — MAYUR SHARMA, TV show host and writer
things in such a way that you can defend yourself in everything you do. The wonderful strength and opportunity of digital is it enables conversations. What time, content and tribe of followers. You can actually build your own community and also you have the ability to influence people. Our numbers are small as we have grown organically. But the engagement level is high. Keep stories focussed and consistent. We did something for Maggi and people asked me why I was doing this since I am more of a street-food guy. But I travel through the
mountains and Maggi has kept me alive there. Every highway, every street of the country, no matter where you stop, we are happy to eat it. We are clear in our heads as to what we want to do. Zorawar: There’s the Posh Maggi, a wild reimagining of the subcontinent’s favourite budget snack. Topped off with a generous dollop of foie gras (at least until stocks last, following the recent ban on the luxury commodity, after which there will be either caviar or shaved scallops) and drenched in truffle oil, the dish has the decadence to match rare tenderloin made of the finest beef.
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Was there pressure to reinvent yourselves given the change in the digital space? Rocky: It is like reinventing the wheel. I believe that if you want to be interesting, just keep learning, raising your performance and reinventing the wheel. Travel does that beautifully. You meet more people, you encounter new cultures and you grow. It is very important to add more skills to your existing ones and get more layered. Personally whosoever you are your life is boring. When you start sharing, a beautiful content comes into being. I keep changing according to what I like. Mayur: We came into TV accidentally. A friend asked us to drive on the highway and eat at dhabas. Though we had never done TV but we had driven on highways and eaten at dhabas, so we made a pilot. There was not much money. They offered us `4,000 each per episode. We were astounded that they would pay us for doing things we loved. Now after 12 years, the joy for this profession remains intact. It is all about perspective. We still get up in the morning and are excited to go to your work. Just continue with it if you are excited to get to work. It is all about having fun in life. How important is food for you when travelling to any destination? Zorawar: All my travel has been based on food. I first decide which destination has good food and then look for other things. My most memorable trip was to Japan. After India, it has the most advanced food culture. The first time I had a really high-end meal, it was on my honeymoon. Rocky: I want to read it out from my favourite poem by Rudyard Kipling, If: “If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it in one turn of pitch-and-toss And lose and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss....” We don't reinvent we get with most fun and not done before and dive headlong. Mayur: And we don’t have to expose (guffaws).
‘THE LONDON OUTPOST OF FARZI CAFE HAS BEEN CREDITED FOR CHANGING THE PERCEPTION OF INDIAN CUISINE. WE’VE BEEN EXPERIMENTING WITH KHICHDI, WHICH ACCORDING TO ME IS THE MOST VIBRANT, VERSATILE AND COMFORTING INDIAN DISH. WE’VE EXPERIMENTED AND CREATED DAL CHAWAL ARACINI OUT OF IT. COATED WITH BREAD CRUMBS, WITH A PAPAD ON TOP AND TOMATO SALSA. TAKE A BITE AND YOU INSTANTLY KNOW THAT IT IS THE RECREATION OF KHICHDI’
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‘NEW STOP ALONG PUNJAB HIGHWAYS’
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OUR
WHAT
if all the goodness of the world comes alive in a single place? This is Punjab as presented by Harkirat Ahluwalia, founder of Citrus County Farm Stays. “You will find that the beautiful smiles of the state seem to weave a poetry. That’s the magic of Punjab. It casts a spell and the rich heritage takes everyone by awe. The spiritual ardor will bring inner peace and every stone in every wall has a tale to tell,” he told us. Taking pride in being a Punjabi, Ahluwalia focussed on the Kartarpur corridor and the benefits it has brought along. “When people celebrated 550 years of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, almost 60,000 people have visited Sultanpur Lodhi. The government handled the pilgrims in such a way that there was no mishap. Another advantage that the State has is the connectivity and also the fact that it’s geography is good. “It is the new stop in the tourism line. We will promote this state as one of the best tourism destinations, especially its rural tourism, said he.
heritage sites not only connect us to our civilisational past but play a major role in attracting tourists. So the question that lies here is: How to develop the heritage infrastructure and increase access to these sites? Patiala Foundation chief Ravee Singh Ahluwalia, who has done pilot projects like introducing E-cabs to encourage footfalls, has an answer. At the Exotica Tourism Summit organised by The Pioneer media group he said, “We need to work on sustainable development goals in tourism. That is the key to reviving interest in our heritage structures.” Heritage is an initiative taken by the Patiala Foundation to explore and recognise the heritage of the city on foot. He had organised a world event of GoUNESCO in September,
PUNJAB IS THE HEART OF INDIA: CHARANJIT STARS,
light, mountains, trees, river....everything is yours in Punjab. So said Punjabi poet Lala Dhani Ram Chatrik. At the Exotica Tourism Summit organised by The Pioneer media group, Tourism Minister of Punjab, Charanjit Singh Channi, recited this poem and made people aware about everything that the State has on offer. “We have always had a very rich culture. Nowadays, even Punjabi music and dance are making waves as no film is successful without these. We have the heart of India. Whether it’s the independence movement or any other fight for the nation, Punjab has always been at the forefront,” said he. There are many reasons why everyone has been in love with Punjab and that is what made the State government step up its efforts to promote tourism. The farmers are not only involved in agriculture but are now also setting up
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sites can only develop when the 2016 where more than 500 residents of governments recognise their potential the city participated. The Heritage Walk and more people visit.” was led by the then Deputy Through the project, the foundation Commissioner Patiala and other takes school kids to these sites. Till date dignitaries of the city. It was well they have taken around 5,000 students received by the citizens. The second WHEN WE WENT TO so that people become aware about it. heritage walk was organised at He has pioneered the Patiala Bahadurgarh Fort in March, 2018, led by VARIOUS MONUMENTS, WE GreenCABS, an environment-friendly IG Range Patiala. The third heritage SAW THAT SOME OF THESE project by starting E-rickshaws on walk was organised at Ghuram village SITES WERE NOT EVEN speed dial. “We did an experiment in in September, 2018. It was led by Chief CONSERVED PROPERLY. IT 2014. We conducted personality Secretary to Punjab’s Chief Minister. NEEDED A LOT OF development classes for auto-rickshaw “When we went to various INVESTMENT. SO WE drivers and trained them as touristmonuments, we saw that some of these sites were not even conserved properly. THOUGHT OF TAKING THIS guides of Patiala. We took this initiative so that on the way to the sites, the It needed a lot of investment. So we INITIATIVE OF REVIVAL thought of taking this initiative of revival FORWARD BY GENERATING rickshaw drivers could tell people about the background and history of the forward by generating a local economy A LOCAL ECONOMY place,” said he. It acts as a skill around the site,” said he. AROUND THE SITE enhancement for them. They can The foundation conducted heritage now double their income within the walks at unexplored sites of Punjab and same time. In a small city, where Ola and Uber can’t has explored around seven sites till date. Ahluwalia operate, auto-rickshaws serve as a good means of proudly shared, “Patiala, from where I come, is 257 transport. If we upgrade them, they can come into years old. We have sites like Sangol which date back to the mainstream. first century, they are there from the time of the “Instead of motivating the corporates to allocate Harappan civilisation. We also have Sultanpur Lodhi CSR funds, it’s better to widen the scope by asking them where the first guru of Sikhs spent his 14 years. We to give protection to a particular heritage site under their recently did a heritage walk there in collaboration CSR initiative,” added he. with the Punjab Government. The infrastructure of these homestays by building cottages in their farms. Coupling farming with tourism is the growing trend in the state. He apprised us of the fact that Virasat-e-Khalsa in Anandpur Sahib has the largest footfall in Asia. The state has also developed wetlands. It has a large number of birds coming from outside. Efforts are being made to upgrade the farmhouses so that people can stay and see Punjab’s culture. They can interact with the local musicians and potters. “We are trying to tap the tourists from everywhere. There’s also great connectivity, which will, in turn, help people from all across to visit us. It is well-connected by the railway network. We are developing the State highways to improve road connectivity. Five airports have been developed to garner more visitors.” Rahat Indori, lyricist and Urdu poet once said, “Chalte phirte huye mehtaab dikhayenge tumhe, humse milna kabhi Punjab dikhayenge tumhe...” The minister said that this poem sums up the State very well. In the state, one would feel home. “I invite all of you with a big heart. Come and witness the beauty of the state,” he added. He also expressed his gratitude to The Pioneer for dedicating a day to promote tourism.
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HOW PUNJAB
TURNED
CHALLENGES
INTO OPPORTUNITIES With policy changes, online land banks, ease of doing business, power subsidies and a renewed thrust on MSMEs, the State Government, led by Chief Minister Capt AMARINDER SINGH, has attracted enough investors to script an unusual growth story despite a national slowdown. An EXOTICA round-up
PUNJAB
has always been known for its enterprising people. Even in stressed times, the State has found its way, topping all development and industrial growth indices. That’s because the State Government, led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, has transformed every trough into a potential for success. Punjab now ranks high up among States in encouraging investment in new businesses, strengthening old sectors and adopting progressive policies to give a booster shot to the economy. The reforms undertaken by the State Government in the last three years have attracted over 1,000 proposals which have resulted in `60,000 crore worth of investment under implementation in the State. These investments involve new employment opportunities for about two lakh people over the last two-and-a-half years. The Progressive Punjab Investors Summit held in December 2019 was a platform to showcase the landmark initiatives and reforms taken by the State Government to boost the investment
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climate and business ecosystem in Punjab. This has been possible chiefly because of key decisions taken to pave the way for fund inflows. The first was to do away with the practice of signing memoranda of understanding (MoUs) as past experience has shown that many of them do not translate into projects on the ground. Instead, the State Government has focussed on creating a favourable investment climate that will attract committed brands and businesses and align them with the local industries. The single-window clearance and ease of doing business have replaced multiple electronic interfaces of various regulatory departments and agencies by setting up a unified “Business First” portal. Punjab now ranks second on an all-India basis on the ease of doing business index. The second was the creation of land banks in rural areas to boost industrial development. For this, the State Government is already working on the amendment of the Punjab Village Common Land (Regulation) Rules, 1964. Proposed amendments in the Factories Act, Industrial Disputes Act and Contract Labour Act will also be made to boost employment and industrial development. The third accelerator has been the State Government’s decision to bring in the Right to Business Act. This will be done to promote newly-incorporated micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) — the new growth models — which can generate a swell in the economy collectively. As a renowned hub for the MSME sector, housing over two lakh registered MSMEs, Punjab is now on its way to generating its own resources despite the overall national slump in the economy. Be it apparel manufacturing, spinning and hosiery exports, agricultural equipment and ancillaries, Punjab’s MSMEs have emerged as the new pillars of its economy. Further, the engineering sector is a major contributor to the economy of Punjab. Over the last decade, it has grown by more than 16 per cent and constitutes 23 per cent of the total industrial output of the State.
INVESTMENT ENABLERS The idea of the two-day summit was “Building Partnerships for Inclusive Growth: MSMEs in the Global Value Chain” and offering investment opportunities across various sectors. The Chief Minister has maintained how Punjab has “a thriving ecosystem of MSMEs and aims to secure international collaborations to create new launch
pads for their growth. MSMEs now need technological tie-ups and a platform where their strength can be showcased to the world.” Besides MSMEs, there is a renewed thrust on agro and food processing, new mobility, textiles, IT services and healthcare. The State Government had partnered with four countries — UK, Germany, Japan and UAE — for the summit. The only reason for improved industrial growth figures despite a global slowdown has been the State’s focussed initiatives to promote ease of doing business. A single-window online system, Invest Punjab-Business First portal, has been set up to grant clearances in a transparent, hassle-free and time-bound manner, which keeps costs competitive. It is a one-stop office which ensures seamless and smooth investment in the State by facilitating all regulatory approvals under one roof, offering dedicated relationship officers and ensuring incentives’ approvals under the State Policy. All approvals are granted digitally and their status can be tracked through the online portal. In case of any exigency, the investor has access to an escalation matrix through the portal which helps him raise a flag in case of inconvenience or delays. Another portal has been launched to ensure online regulatory clearance and fiscal incentive approvals to all MSMEs and large-scale unit proposals. District-level single-window committees, headed by Deputy Commissioners, have been authorised to mentor all projects of MSMEs for regulatory approvals and sanctioning of fiscal cases under the Industrial and Business Development Policy, 2017. There are many supportive policies to promote ease of doing business such as an online land allotment through e-auctions, a “Make in Punjab” policy to promote local manufacturing, Central and joint inspection systems to offer
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transparent and smooth inspection experience for businesses and easier electricity connections at industrial focal points. To boost investor confidence, the State Government has categorised industries and exempted those in the white and green slabs from approvals by the Punjab Pollution Control Board. In fact, Punjab is the only State in India to exempt green category industries from this approval process. Major reforms were announced at the Summit and participants were made aware of the Punjab Right to Business Act 2020, which will reduce the regulatory burden on Punjab-based MSMEs as the new enterprises can now start a business based solely on self-certifications. These will be valid for three years and six months. The State Government has facilitated access to finance for MSMEs through a MoU with HDFC Bank, which has disbursed one-time loans to 700 MSMEs worth over `1,100 crore. There is a complete end to end approach as the Government has enhanced market access at the global and national level, signing MoUs with e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. This is in addition to an exclusive portal for MSMEs through which they can establish market linkages for the export/sale of their products to international units. The portal will also have a module for grievance redressal through which MSMEs will be able to get their on-ground issues resolved. Though perceived to be a fertile ground for traditional sectors, the Punjab Start-up Portal incentivises the new economy. It acts as a platform for start-ups to connect and collaborate with all elements of the start-up ecosystem. Mohali is poised to be India’s biggest government-supported start-up hub. What takes the cake is that Punjab is the first State to reimburse GST to investors on sales throughout the country. This landmark reform has been highly appreciated by investors, who have the option to recover up to 200 per cent of their fixed capital investment. The results are showing already. Ever since Captain Amarinder Singh has prioritised a solid industrial push, the State has secured an investment of over `60,000 crore. The industrial data, which shows 26 per cent increase in power consumption and 18 per cent increase in new power connections, has been strong enough to win investor confidence and trust.
HOLISTIC INDUSTRIAL MAP The State Government’s policies also aim at promoting the growth of service industries apart from the traditional manufacturing industries. In true spirit of cooperative federalism, the policy envisages substantial alignment and synergy with respective sectoral policies of the Central Government and focusses on optimum utilisation of the same and further building upon it. It envisages setting up of a Policy Implementation Unit to ensure a necessary support matrix. Besides, it is dynamic, amenable to modifications, will be applied prospectively and won’t curtail
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THANK YOU INVESTORS FOR MAKING PUNJAB YOUR PREFERRED INVESTMENT DESTINATION. MY GOVERNMENT STANDS COMMITTED TO PROVIDING CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUR GROWTH AND FOR BOOSTING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN PUNJAB
any benefit or concession already granted before. Industrial parks, industrial model towns and integrated townships enable the industry to perform to its full potential. Moreover, work is under way for setting up new industries — the foundation stone of the `800 crore Varun Beverages Plant (PEPSICO) in Pathankot has been laid while a food and a state-of-the-art vegetable processing plant, spread over 52 acres, is being set up in Ludhiana district jointly by IFFCO and Congelados de Navarra (CN Corp), one of Spain’s leading companies in food processing at a cost of `521 crore.
Industrialists can look forward to a new 5,000-acre township called Aerotropolis in Mohali while an industrial and business park in Ludhiana has been set up. The State Government plans to develop three mega industrial parks over 1,000 acres, each with state-of-art industrial infrastructure. The Ludhiana industrial park, with a special emphasis on the textile industry, will be developed near Mattewara, Ludhiana. An industrial park with special emphasis on the green industry will be developed in Bathinda. Similarly, an Integrated Manufacturing Cluster shall be developed on the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial
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POWERFUL BOOST TO REVIVE INDUSTRIES Working out the mechanics of industrial growth, the State Government has come out with a slew of incentives in the power sector. Aiming at the revival of industrial sector in Punjab, the State Government fixed industrial power tariff at `5 per unit in its ‘New Industrial and Business Development Policy-2017’ within six months it came to power. In another move towards resuscitating the state’s industrial sector, the state power utility has introduced special reduced tariff at the rate of `4.45
Corridor near Rajpura. In addition, on the request of the panchayat of Wazirabad, District Fatehgarh Sahib, an industrial park with special emphasis on pharmaceutical units will be developed in an area of 125 acres. The State Government is developing special parks for hi-tech industry with special emphasis on the mobility sector, electric vehicles, engineering goods at Ludhiana and Mohali. This aggressive push doesn’t mean that the most valuable input, that of human resource, has been neglected. Punjab prides itself in maintaining very peaceful and cordial labour-management relations. It has not witnessed any major strikes/lockouts in the last three decades. The State allows 24-hour shifts for both men and women for all types of industries, be they in the manufacturing or service sectors.
ENHANCING SKILLS UNDER GHAR-GHAR ROZGAR The State Government is expanding the employability potential of the youth by skilling them and organising job placement fairs. The Ghar Ghar
per KVAh besides introducing fixed charges at the rate of 50 percent of fixed charges for industrial consumers who opt to use electricity exclusively during night hours. As many as 70 industrial consumers have availed the State Government’s scheme to use electricity exclusively during night hours from 10 pm to 10 am. Some initiatives, like introducing special night tariff for low supply and medium industries, was taken up mainly to reduce the burden of fixed cost of surplus power, estimated to be surrendered by
Rozgar and Karobar Mission (PGRKAM) is working because it is a combination of skill training, counselling and vocational guidance. Resolute to tackle the problem of unemployment in the state, the Congress Government came up with Ghar Ghar Rozgar and Karobar Mission (PGRKAM) to enhance the employability of the youth through skill training, counselling, and vocational guidance. Coming to power with a promise of providing one job to each household that do not have any person in wage or selfemployment, the State Government has, so far, facilitated about 58,000 youth to get employment in the government sector, with close to four lakh getting jobs in the private sector. Under this flagship programme of Ghar Ghar Rozgar and Karobar Mission, out of total 12.15 lakh jobs provided to the youngsters, 57,905 have been assisted in government placements, 3.97 lakh in private sector. Besides this, 7,61,289 youth have been facilitated for taking up various selfemployment ventures during the past three years. Apart from this, 20.21 lakh households have been given employment in different MNREGA
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Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) during the year, and also to encourage the industry to use the surplus power. And with the strenuous efforts and various proactive measures, the industrial consumption has jumped from 14,314 to 17,607 million units (MUs) during the last two years, that is an average increase of 11.50 per cent per annum. This spike is an outcome of the industrial momentum picked up by the State and important mention to the revival of the Mandi Gobindgarh Steel industry. The Government has ensured that 24/7 quality
schemes and 648.26 lakh man days of employment have been generated in MNREGA schemes from April 17 to December 31, 2019. Establishing a Punjab Skill Development Mission to develop the skills of state’s unemployed youth and to enable them to get private jobs, the State has facilitated training of 41,660 candidates besides 15,375 candidates for placements till November 2019. Under the Mission, the state has set a target to skill at least 25,000 youth till the end of this fiscal year. To further bolster and streamline the efforts towards checking the unemployment, the Government has also established one stop 22 state-of-the-art District Bureaus of Employment and Enterprise (DBEE) providing career counselling, free internet, skill training options, foreign placements, self-employment opportunities to the unemployed youths.
CONNECTIVITY CORRIDORS For industries and any other business to progress and prosper, seamless connectivity is an essential feature. Despite being a landlocked state, Punjab has taken off as an industrial destination with a fast grid of highways and four airports. Ranked 2nd in the Ease of Logistics Ranking of Government of India for 2018 and 2019, Punjab has the 2nd highest rail density in the country with the road density twice of national average. The State also offers 100 per cent road connectivity with four/six lane highways ensuring smooth transportation and business activity. The four-laning work of 76 km of National Highways is in progress at a cost of 1974 crore (48 km already completed). Besides, the Government has also initiated repairs on 29,345 km of link roads.
power is available to all the industries in Punjab. The power infrastructure in the State is also very robust with Punjab being the 1st State to install the 400 KV ring main system. For the current fiscal year, the state government has allocated `2,267 crore for providing industrial power subsidy — which has resulted in an increase of 16.92 per cent in industrial consumption over 2016-17. In its three years tenure, the Congress Government has provided power subsidy of `2,855 crore to the industry.
The upcoming Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor will result in reduction of logistic cost by approximately 33 per cent. Further, the Easter Corridor will meet the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor at Dadri, which is about 200 km from Punjab towards the south. Business is expected to land in Punjab as it has the highest density of airports in the country, with fully functional airports at Bathinda, Ludhiana, Pathankot and Adampur, besides international airports at Amritsar and Chandigarh-Mohali. The air connectivity is expected to have a cascading impact on allied industries like tourism and health. The State Government has expanded the facilities of air cargo for better access to international or domestic markets at Chandigarh and Amritsar terminals. In a major relief to the industries, the Government has also abolished Truck Unions to check cartelisation and ensure free movement of goods carriers at a fair transportation cost to the consumers.
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GLOBE TROTTER
SUSMITA SAHA embarks on a sensorial journey of Melbourne where every alley has a tale to tell
A DEEP DIVE
“WE
hope your first few days of #2020 are bright and yellow like our #FlyScoot #airplane and the #SunflowerGarden at #ChangiAirport!” goes a recent social media post on Instagram. The message is bright and euphoric, much like the taste of travel itself. It helps me recall my recent Scoot flight to Singapore’s Changi Airport, an idyllic voyage with the promise of hurtling the traveller into unknown worlds. Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary, services its ChennaiSingapore route through both the B787 Dreamliner aircraft and the A320-family aircraft while the onward Melbourne route is serviced by the state-ofthe-art wide-body B787 Dreamliner. The hostesses, nicknamed Scootees, brought to mind cool anime characters with their black and egg yolk yellow uniforms and heart-melting smiles. Changi, however, was a pit stop in my long haul journey to Melbourne, which promised to transmogrify my vacation goals, through its eclectic cafés, street art murals, graffiti and big-ticket museums. But Melbourne had to wait for a bit as Changi
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turned out to be as much of a destination as it was a layover hotspot. Without even stepping out on Singapore’s soil, one could soak up the country’s cultural complexity in its airport, which hummed with adrenaline and rose above its own hype. Crawling with tourists at all hours of the day, it is equal parts science fiction and retail utopia. Stop here to explore the tropical butterfly garden animated with flowering plants, lush greenery and a spectacle of a waterfall. And if you want to know why Changi has no peer, take a detour to its sunflower garden, where several varieties of the golden flower, right within the airport, compete to make your jaws drop. For me, the airport was a complete world unto itself, where every single person transited to newer spaces of experience,
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and the recorded announcements on the public address system were a commentary on modern journeys. Hours later, when Melbourne, my final destination, loomed into the airplane window, it was a revelation. A neat mash-up of Europe, New York and of course, Down Under, it is a metropolis of many charms. “In Melbourne, what do you do if you have an empty space or a hole in the wall?” asked my guide Charlie from the city’s Hidden Secrets Tours, when we went out sightseeing one day. He gestured towards a tiny corner shop, showcasing an array of giant mugs, “You turn it into a café.” And it’s true. The capital of the Australian state of
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Victoria has through the years alchemised itself entirely into a colossal café, where the buzz is intoxicating and the flat white always on call. Melbourne also retains a fascination for travellers and flaneurs fantasising about city grids and laneways. These are a jumble of narrow alleys and give the city its oddball personality. Starting off in the Victorian era in the town’s central business district or CBD, the lanes were routes used by horses and carts to pick up and drop off supplies for clothing and manufacturing businesses. The filament-like pathways were also used for waste management as sewage collection passages. However, once manufacturing started going offshore in the 1970s and was completely turfed out by 1990s, the capillary of alleys ended up
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being a dead space. Gentrification began in earnest to give the tangle of walkways a new lease of life, buoyed by a strong coffee culture. Pylones were put in to cut off these streets from the main thoroughfares and alfresco dining by way of outdoor cafés came to claim their spot in the sun. Of course, modern Melbourne lives in its hipster cafes. Throw a sourdough loaf in any direction and it will hit five cafes in the sports-mad city. Navigate this traffic jam of coffee digs with a sip of your favourite brew at Causeway Lane’s Union Kiosk. Only the two people running this midget café can fit inside its confines, while a table is laid for patrons on the lane outside. Turning out mostly takeaway orders of signature jaffles (Australian for toasties), turmeric lattes and vegan
The Federation Wharf is one of the city's greatest scenic nooks along the Yarra River
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marshmallows, Union Kiosk, a magazine and confectionery stand in its past life, is now one of the tiniest holes in the wall and an Instagrammer’s holy grail. Equally prolific in today’s Melbourne are edgy watering holes, often accessorised with a storied past. For all night benders head over to the speakeasy called Bar Americano, funnelled into a concealed corner of Presgrave Place, which opens its doors at five every evening for blissed-out tipplers. Finding it is like extricating a missing piece of jigsaw puzzle from the remotest corner of your couch. I followed the chaotic joie de vivre of buzzed locals to arrive at Americano, notorious for fitting just 10 people with standing room only. There was no sign fronting it but
The Princes Bridge, spanning the Yarra river in central Melbourne, is constructed on the location of one of the city's oldest river crossings
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dumpsters piled up close by signalled its presence. Clearly, the lucky few who persevere to hunt it down will not only have bragging rights but also memories of epic cocktails. If you thought glossy glass towers are tourist traps, Melbourne’s Eureka Skydeck 88, will change your mind. Hop over to the skyscraper in the heart of the Southbank precinct, which stands tall at 297 metres (975 ft) by the Yarra River. If you consider sightseeing a serious business, Eureka is not simply a tick on your bucket list. Rather it defines the Melbourne skyline with shimmering glass, plated with 24 carat gold, on its top 10 levels.
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Viewed from that stratospheric height, the whole city with its silver thread of a river lies spreadeagled below, its taut geometry heightened through streamlined thoroughfares, vibrant neighbourhoods and grand monuments. Despite having a conflicted relationship with heights, I tried Eureka’s Edge Experience, where one gets inside a glass cube and is subsequently sputtered out from its 88th floor. For a while, I, ensconced within the glass cube, stayed suspended almost 300 metres above Melbourne city, getting a fresh perspective on the landscape. Obviously, the pot of gold at the end of the
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(Clockwise from left): Shopping at Collins Street is a great draw for scores of retail junkies; Liverpool Street, a chic laneway, has acquired fame as a drinking and dining destination and Centre Place, one of the iconic laneways and pedestrian precincts of the city, is packed to the gills with outdoor cafes
rainbow for the food obsessed is Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market. The city runs on protein, right from the unapologetically marbled Terrine de Campagne (classic country style pork terrine with herbs and spices) to fresh game like venison, kangaroo, crocodile and emu. Nowhere is this deep appreciation for food more visible than in the partially open-air Queen Vic, the fond moniker given to the market, which officially opened its doors to shoppers on March 20, 1878. From jewelled toned fruits that dovetail into blushing stalks of rhubarb, freewheeling bunches of lettuce and ears of corn, the vendor displays of the market are a shorthand for celebration and abundance. There’s also a world of cheese to be discovered in its alleys, stretching across the spectrum from Warrnambool cheddar (hailing from the city lying on the south western coast of Victoria) to fior di latte (a stretched curd cheese made from cow’s milk).
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Nibble your way through this ever rotating selection of delicacies to arrive at the seafood market, where slices of salmon, the colour of the setting sun, have been smoked and hand wrapped around hunks of cream cheese. Since Melbourne is also a cultural melting pot, where communities across the globe have been decanted and remixed over generations, Queen Vic wears its multi-ethnic identity on its sleeve. One of the glass cases in a corner of the market displayed the Icelandic bacalhau or salted cod fish, a hat tip to the city’s Portuguese clique. I zoomed into the name tag in front of the rock hard bars of preserved fish and found notes on ways to cook the bacalhau: “Beautiful fish to prepare pan fried, fish croquettes or casserole.” On my last evening, while I snuggled into the seats of my Scootflight back home, the Melbourne skyline began melting away into the distance. I fantasised about the city’s endless buzz, the CBD urban tram network with yellow handrails and the
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GETTING THERE
Melbourne is an all-year destination. Visit any time to catch the city with its multiple personalities. The Singapore-Melbourne route for Scoot commenced in November 2015, and customers from Amritsar, Chennai, Trivandrum, Visakhapatnam, Coimbatore, Trichy and Hyderabad can connect seamlessly to Melbourne via Singapore. One-way Economy FlyBag fares from Amritsar to Melbourne start from `17,975, and one-way premium economy ScootPlus fares start from `43,140. All taxes are included.
welcoming procession of cafes overflowing with hearty food. At that precise moment, one of the Scootees chirped excitedly: “Here’s your order of miso chicken with pearl rice.” And in a heartbeat I was in Melbourne again.
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T R A V E L TA L E S
HOW
to rebrand an old concept and link it to the discovery of new destinations, given the Government’s intent to develop 17 iconic tourist spots? How to get domestic travellers to look for exotica within, given the Prime Minister’s call to travel to at least 15 destinations at home? How to develop a hub and spoke model where the hinterland of known tourist spots can be developed as a linked experience? These were some of the questions that were answered by panelists Ashwani Lohani, Ritu Beri, Pronab Sarkar and Anil Chadha at the inaugural session of the Exotica Tourism Summit. Moderated by Dr Chandan Mitra, it explored the possibilities of a deep-pore look within. Unveiling another of his films
LOOK WITHIN Rather than heading out it is the time to explore the amazing diversity that India has on offer. Exotica takes the discussion forward
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in the Virtual Bharat series, filmmaker Bharat Bala said that the familiar corners of India evoked different emotions when looked at through the eyes of its people. His film on the shabad singers of Amritsar was an interesting perspective of the holy town. Highlighting the need for “felt emotion” to convey a refreshing idea of Incredible India, he said, “It’s very critical to showcase what we are doing and how we can build a new idea for tourism in this country. A place is not a destination, it’s an emotion, a story and a culture. You tell a story, you will find the traveller. When domestic or international tourists travel and hear a story, they become a part of that destination. Almost 20 years ago, I started Incredible India, all thanks to Amitabh Kant. It’s time to
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discover the new avatar of Incredible India. It has done a wonderful job of showcasing the diversity of this country but today’s marketing and advertising needs are different. We need to move on from typical advertising and find new ways to reach the audience. We talk about 5,000 years of heritage, at least we can make 1,000 stories out of them. I have travelled 150 km by road, discovering India. And what I discover, I put into films. In September, we started the new initiative called Virtual Bharat. It is going to be a repository of virtual stories of India. To start with, we decided to do 1,000 stories of the country. Deeper stories will connect deeper with the audience and they will have something to take home as emotion. When we talk about culture, it is something
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‘WE DECIDED TO DO 1,000 STORIES OF THE COUNTRY. WHEN PEOPLE LOOK AT INDIA, THEY SEE THE TAJ MAHAL BECAUSE THEY FIND IT AS AN EMBODIMENT OF A GREAT LOVE STORY. WE ARE A 5,000 YEAR OLD COUNTRY, WE DON’T NEED TO HIDE ONLY BEHIND TAJ MAHAL. THERE’S A LOT MORE TO SHOWCASE’ — BHARAT BALA, FILMMAKER
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you need to win over as an emotion. When people look at India, they see the Taj Mahal because they find it as an embodiment of a great love story. We are a 5,000 year old country, we don’t need to hide only behind Taj Mahal. There’s a lot more to showcase.” Ashwani Lohani, Ex CMD, Air India, felt that there is always scope for exploration and rebranding India. “Nobody can ever beat the impact of tourism in the country. It is the biggest job creator and also sways the image of the country. A few years back, whenever somebody used to talk about tourism of India, it was always about international market and footfalls. Yet the numbers were not encouraging. The fact is you cannot make tourism a growth driver till you cater to a
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domestic market. When I got a chance to head Madhya Pradesh tourism, I decided to generate new interest in its diversity.” Lohani shared that people have a fair idea about the places abroad but they are not aware about the rich culture they have at home. He said, “We need to start exploring our own country. Indian tourism has something on offer for everyone in every category with all budgets — India on shoestring, India in luxury, the royal India, urban India, the common man’s India, historical India and much more. Why not circulate the funds in our own country for the good of our own people? There is a need to catalyse a movement of people within the states. Tourism is a sector which has a massive potential to grow. And I feel we are moving towards that.” Luxury entrepreneur and fashion designer Ritu Beri believes in the idea of India. She understands the value of being Indian. She tries to promote the country in everything that she does. “My first fashion show in Paris was based on Indian heritage. From culture, designs, motifs to fabrics and embroidery, everything was Indian. I presented the collection in Hindi, it had French translations and the music was Indian too. People absolutely loved it. The country is very well accepted abroad,” Ritu said. “If I go anywhere in the world wearing Pashmina, people go crazy. Khadi, I feel, is true luxury
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‘NOBODY CAN EVER BEAT THE IMPACT OF TOURISM IN THE COUNTRY. IT IS THE BIGGEST JOB CREATOR AND ALSO SWAYS THE IMAGE OF THE COUNTRY. YOU CANNOT MAKE TOURISM A GROWTH DRIVER TILL YOU CATER TO A DOMESTIC MARKET’ — ASHWANI LOHANI, Ex CMD, Air India
‘OUR COUNTRY IS VERY PROUD OF MANY INVENTIONS. FROM ZERO, YOGA, GEOMETRY, SNAKES AND LADDERS TO CHESS, IT ALL COMES FROM INDIA. SO WHY ARE WE NOT PROUD OF BEING INDIAN OR TAKING A HOLIDAY HERE?’ — RITU BERI, Luxury entrepreneur and fashion designer
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because it’s handmade and today, more and more people are forgetting the art of handcrafted things. That is why it’s our strength and we need to promote it. So when we talk about tourism of India, it’s the whole concept of being Indian. I have a 12-year-old daughter. I am always telling her that India used to be the richest country in the world in recorded history. Our country is very proud of many inventions. From zero, yoga, geometry, snakes and ladders to chess, it all comes from India. So why are we not proud of being Indian or taking a holiday here? Why are we always aping the West. Why are we apologetic of what we stand for. From the Taj Mahal to Rabindra Nath Tagore to Mahatma Gandhi, we have a prolific history,” she added. Ritu said that we are all empowered today to present an India that is richly felt and authentic. An India that we don’t even think can exist. “Platforms like these are very important for us, as Indians, to accept the fact that we are above the rest of the world. And then to spread the message abroad. I know we can do it together,” said she. Anil Chadha, COO, ITC Hotels, said that in colleges they always teach you a few lines — if it is to be, it is up to me. Somebody has rightly said that the three biggest drivers in this century are going to be telecommunications, information technology and tourism. “India has had a good story so far. Our growth rates
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have been better than the world. A lot has been done by the government. However, there is still a lot to be done because the numbers coming in are much less in comparison to the numbers going out. One big thing that we all have been speaking about is domestic tourism. I feel, we should take pride in our own country. Domestic tourism is something that has the capability to catch the eyeballs of the world market. That’s probably the way to move the international tourism forward,” said Chadha. He felt that if we compared ourselves to certain benchmarks available with reference to footfalls, India was at one per cent, China was at three per cent for their domestic tourism and the US was at six per cent. “That is exactly where we probably need to reach. And it has to be a collaborative effort. It has to be a great partnership between the Centre and the states, private players and the government. Everybody has to put their best foot forward,” he says. As a hotel chain, for example, Chadha said that they had the honour of hosting the US President, Donald Trump. The hotel was full of Americans. They got to see motifs of India that the hotel sports in its decor. “They saw all the artworks and wanted to know what went into their creation. So there’s a lot of storytelling that needs to be done. The travellers are looking for experiences more than anything. And we need to create that for
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‘DOMESTIC TOURISM HAS TO BE A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT. IT HAS TO BE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CENTRE AND THE STATES, PRIVATE PLAYERS AND THE GOVERNMENT. EVERYBODY HAS TO PUT THEIR BEST FOOT FORWARD’ — ANIL CHADHA, COO, ITC Hotels
‘INDIA GETS ONLY 10 MILLION FOREIGN TOURISTS WHICH IS VERY LOW. AS FAR AS THE WORLD SCENARIO IS CONCERNED, IT IS LESS THAN 0.5 PER CENT. WE DON’T EVEN GET ONE PER CENT OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISM’ — PRONAB SARKAR, The president of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO)
them. They want to really get enriched at the destination they travel, in the hotel they live, in the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the mode of transport they use, it’s all getting experiential day by day,” said Chadha. The president of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Pronab Sarkar, has been in this industry for last 45 years. He felt that the government plays a bigger role in the promotion of tourism because they are the ones framing guidelines and all the taxes. “We also have to include the state government. It is not possible without their help. India is blessed with domestic tourism with more than 180 million tourists. We get only 10 million foreign tourists in comparison, which is very low. As far as the world scenario is concerned, it is less than 0.5 per cent. We don’t even get one per cent of international tourism. Therefore, there is a huge scope,” he said. Though some of our neighbours are smaller and have a finite infrastructure, they have had higher international footfalls. “It is very important to state that we are losing out to our neighbours because of the high taxes. I feel, tourism is not a luxury. It is an economic activity, which is very important. Domestically, we have to be very well connected. Our people must have easy access to reach where they desire. Everybody has to come together and make it happen,” said Sarkar.
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TRAVEL BUG
Whether you wish to explore the waterfalls, take in breathtaking sunrises or explore the forests around Ranchi, a bicycle is your best bet, says KANISHKA PODDAR
TWO WHEELS A ROUTE MAP EXOTICA [62] MARCH 2020
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EXPLORING the hinterland of Ranchi is best done on a bicycle as it takes just 10-15 minutes to get out of the chaotic city and land in the middle of unexplored and untouched nature. It is deeply comforting and anchoring. Each one of these trails is special and will take you through wild forests, beautiful valleys, waterfalls, narrow village roads, archeological sites while at the same time allowing you to indulge in some really delicious local food. Here are some of my favourite trails in and around the capital of Jharkhand.
THE SNAKE CHARMER (RIDE TO THE PATRATU VALLEY): This trail is a dream run for every cyclist in the city. It is a once in a lifetime experience where you ride through the steep loops. Certainly not for those whose fitness levels have dipped as the road is at a six-10 per cent incline over three-four km. But the spectacular view as you push forward every mile makes up for all the hard work and sweat. Do stop at the beginning of the second set of loops to sip into coconut water being sold by local villagers selling. PRO TIP: Go slow and stay hydrated. The sun always takes a toll on your body while climbing. DISTANCE: 75 km from city centre and back. DIFFICULTY LEVEL: High
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ROCK FORMATIONS IN PITHORIA: This is one of the most popular routes for cyclists in Ranchi. The terrain is almost flat with wide roads and minimal traffic. The shops and small restaurants on the highway are friendly. There are two routes to Pithoria — one, a straight line on Kanke Road, which is great for those looking at maxing speed and endurance. The other is via Tagore Hill Road, which is way more scenic, has less traffic and has some rock formations of archaeological importance. Pithoria, the end point of the circuit, is the starting point to Patratu Valley. DISTANCE: 40-45 km from city centre and back. DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Easy
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SUNSET/SUNRISE RIDE TO DHURWA DAM: Dhurwa Dam is a beautiful location on the outskirts of city and is popular with cyclists. Chase sunsets or sunrises in these parts. You won’t forget the experience. The view is mesmerising and there is a sense of calmness all around. PRO TIP: This place is good for stargazing. We once saw 34 shooting stars in one night. DISTANCE: 35 km from city centre and back. DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Easy
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HORAP FOREST: Who would believe that there is a beautiful dense forest merely five to eight kilometres away from the city’s centre? Horap used to be home to some wild animals back in the day but now it is a green lung for the city. The tree-lined roads are beautiful while the view of the valley from the top of the Horap hill is best described as magical. It is a great place to catch the sun rise as the early morning light touches the stretch of green cover. In the distance, one can see a train looping its way through the hills every hour. There is hardly any motorised traffic, which makes the stretch a much sought after by cyclists. For those who love to take things to the extreme, there are plenty of trails for offroading in the forest. PRO TIP: Once you cross the Hanuman Mandir Chowk, take a right turn and follow the course of road for some 200 metre and then take a U-turn. Few metres ahead you will see a banyan tree, which appears to be magical as it keeps on becoming larger with time. DISTANCE: 50 km from city centre and back. DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Moderate
BUNGALOWS IN THE GANJ: McCluskey Ganj is a famous Anglo Indian settlement 60 km from the city. Anglo Indians do not live here any more but they have left behind some beautiful bungalows, bakeries and homestays for us to experience. Unlike the other undulating routes, this one is pretty flat. DISTANCE: 120 km from city centre and back. DIFFICULTY LEVEL: High
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SUNSET ON RING ROAD: If big wide roads and long distances are what matter to you, then Ring road is your place. The stretch of Ring Road starts at Rampur on Tata Road and ends at Ormanjhi on NH 33, covering a distance of more than 100 km in what is almost a straight line. The road is wide and has almost no pot holes, which makes it conducive to cycling. The ring road also offers the option of detours leading to waterfalls, parks and other routes around the city. PRO TIP: Keep your self hydrated as there is no shade on this road and the heat will instantly take a toll on your body. DISTANCE: More than 100 km from the city centre and back. DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Moderate
SUNSET AT DASAM FALL: One of my all-time favourite routes around Ranchi is the ride to Dasam. Take the Khuti Road via Taurian World School and you won’t be disappointed. It takes you through the green valley of Ranchi, crossing beautiful lakes and bridges, and ends at the mighty Dasam Fall. You will have to carry water and some food as there are limited options available on the route. Make sure to carry a camera as the view is extremely scenic. While the
route to Dasam is mostly downhill but while returning, there are steady climbs. PRO TIP: Make sure you leave Dasam by 4 pm as the route becomes very dark post sunset. I prefer going to the top of the waterfall as there are trails which would take you to some unknown lagoons. DISTANCE: More than 100 km from city centre and back. DIFFICULTY LEVEL: High
THE ORANGE FOREST: The ride from Ormanjhi to Hundru Fall is beautiful, the roads are tree-lined throughout and have some really good dhabas. There are two ways to reach Hundru Falls — one from the top and another from bottom. I have always preferred the one leading to the bottom of the fall as the trail is much more beautiful and we don’t have to climb the 500 stairs. PRO TIP: Do make sure you take the bamboo boat and go right under the waterfall. The experience is magical. DISTANCE: More than 100 km from city centre and back. DIFFICULTY LEVEL: High
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HUNDRU FALL: The direct route to Hundru is via NH 33 but I prefer to avoid the highway and take the smaller and less crowded Boriya Road to reach Ormanjhi and then enter the Hundru Fall Road. The road from Morabadi to Ormanjhi takes you through some really scenic stretches and the famous Orange Forest, which is best experienced during spring. DISTANCE: More than 100 km from city centre and back. DIFFICULTY LEVEL: High
GETALSUD DAM RIDE: Not one of my favourite routes but it is still very scenic and beautiful. The best route to go is via Tatisilwai and then take left from Angara and later exit from Ormanjhi to head back to city. The dam in itself is huge and gorgeous. DISTANCE: More than 100 km from city centre and back. DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Moderate
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N E W H I M A L AYA S The tourism industry needs to set standards, increase awareness among the visitors, diversify and integrate communities to combat over-tourism
DISPERSE THECROWDS
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long traffic jam in hill stations, hotels displaying “full” in red on their gates, internet flooded with pictures of people forming a beeline for water and residents left with no adequate resources due to overtourism. All these incidents have become common, especially during the summer as the temperatures shoot up and more visitors head towards hill stations. Now the question here is: where do we draw the line and where do we divert the travel addict without denting the tourism economy? To ponder upon the issue and come up with various solutions across the industry, Mandip Singh Soin, Sumant Batra and Seema Bhatt discussed over-tourism and sustainability with the Exotica. A mountaineer, explorer and environmentalist, Mandip Singh Soin spoke about the potential of ecotourism and the need to reflect upon responsible tourism. “I entered tourism in 1979 in the adventure space, which was in a nascent stage at that time. Coming from a climbing background there were certain eco and sustainability checks that we did and realised that
what was happening on the ground was very different. People who were trekking were unaware of the norms. In 1982 Nanda Devi was closed due to these issues. Along the way, we had many indicators that things were not happening in a sustainable way. Fast forward to 2008, after facing several issues, the Government asked us to create the Eco Tourism Society of India to harmonise growth of tourism. With that we will soon ask the government to launch an itinerary for responsible tourism. There will be various checkpoints that the travellers will need to look at before embarking on a journey. It will also include checklist for the travel operators of the industry,” said he. Sumant Batra, an insolvency lawyer and founder of Te Aroha, shared the instances which helped him set up his boutique property in Uttarakhand. He said, “It was a remote place which had not been discovered earlier. We bought a piece of land and built a summer house there and in early 2000 we converted it into a boutique property with five rooms and now have 22. It is unusual because it is one of the few properties in a
‘WE NEED TO LOOK AT CARRYING CAPACITY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. PEOPLE ONLY REACT TO IT WHEN IT GETS WORSE. BUT YOU NEED TO CONSIDER THIS INITIALLY TO DISPERSE THE PEOPLE BETTER. LET’S CREATE MORE PLACES’
— MANDIP SINGH SOIN, Founder Ibex Expeditions and founder president, Responsible Tourism Society of India
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‘WE BOUGHT A PIECE OF LAND AND BUILT A SUMMER HOUSE IN A REMOTE PLACE. IN EARLY 2000 WE CONVERTED IT INTO A BOUTIQUE PROPERTY WITH FIVE ROOMS AND NOW WE HAVE 22. IT IS UNUSUAL BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THE FEW PROPERTIES IN A DISTANT VILLAGE AND WE BALANCE IT WITH RESPONSIBLE TOURISM’ — SUMANT BATRA, an insolvency lawyer and founder of Te Aroha
distant village and we balance it with responsible tourism.” It has an unusual but appealing way to attract the visitors through storytelling. It has a museum hotel and houses a collection of upholstery, crockery, cutlery as well as a library of 12,000 books. It has a museum of popular art and culture of India. “We attract people by telling those stories and we have employed only local people there. We thrive on the local economy by sourcing everything from the nearby areas” he said. This new experiential helped draw tourists to a new Himalayan experience and ease the pressure off usual favourites. Seema Bhatt who has worked extensively on issues related to eco-tourism, biodiversity and climate change emphasised upon carrying capacity, setting industry standards and striking a balance between sustainability and livelihood. “Eco tourism is the ideal link between sustainable livelihoods and conservation. The word over tourism was coined in the summer of 2017 when globally we realised that there was a problem. There are far too many people visiting a certain destination. We need to look at diversification, we need to look at different kinds of tourism. We need to look at experiences and niche products to disseminate the travellers. There is a term, carrying capacity, which is very important to determine the figures of a particular location, set standards and put a limit on the number of people visiting a place,” said she.
Mandip pointed out that the game changing image which put overtourism in sharp focus was that of a traffic jam on Mount Everest which resulted in the death of 11 climbers last year. “Not only did it hurt tourism but also the sensibilities of visitors and locals. We are working on carrying capacity. At every destination and for every activity, we can use common sense. There are patterns that you can make out about the carrying capacity. We have suggested that the locals and the government should adhere to it,” he said. However, there are challenges to this. Mandip said that the people usually don’t take ecological problems into account during the beginning. For instance, the number of jeeps at Pangong Lake in Ladakh increased from four to 450 after people watched the film 3 Idiots. “It is appalling. When we suggest that the carrying capacity should be fixed when the destination is coming up, they say ‘we have just started, we need people.’ But we need to look at this from the very beginning. People only react to it when the situation gets worse. But you need to consider this problem during the beginning in order to disperse the people in a better way. Let’s create more places. There is ample land, culture and more,” said he. Seema talked about the factors that determine the carrying capacity of a region. “In an ecologically fragile area like Ladakh, it depends on its eco-system and requires detailed research such as the revenue generation of the area, population,
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For Seema, it is important to hire the local number of tourists, water consumption, waste people, not just as labourers but build their disposal and other factors. Carrying capacity also capacity too. “The local community should benefit predicts the damage that would happen if the from ecotourism. So one needs to hire, train and numbers exceed the limit,” she said and added, empower them. The local cuisine is a strong tool in “The National Tiger Conservation Authority has their hands, one must use that wisely. We have devised a formula for protected areas and limiting homestays where communities can be the main the number of jeeps.” players in the game but this But in order to keep the needs a lot of time and number of tourists intact, it ‘WE NEED TO LOOK AT DIVERSIFICATION, AND effort,” she added. Sumant is very important to route DIFFERENT KINDS OF TOURISM. WE NEED TO LOOK AT EXPERIENCES AND NICHE PRODUCTS has been working to do the them to a different location. TO DISSEMINATE THE TRAVELLERS. same at his property. “I also So we need to diversify CARRYING CAPACITY IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR decided that I would hire tourism. “As we are US TO SEE THE FIGURES OF A PARTICULAR operating in a country, LOCATION, SET STANDARDS AND PUT A LIMIT only the local people. But most of them hadn’t which has the largest ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE VISITING’ — SEEMA BHATT, stepped out of their number of youth, we need Honorary Vice President, Ecotourism Society of India homes. So I called an expert to move beyond the old from Mumbai who trained definition of tourism of just the locals for six months. visiting places and focus They are very quick more upon the learners. Now they are all experiences,” added she. well-trained, some of them While building a can also read wine labels,” property in an area, it is he added. very important to strike a To ensure sustainability balance between the local as individuals, Mandip people, the destination and pointed out, “We are the tourists. Sumant said, requesting the government that in order to ensure both to launch a national viability and sustainability, campaign for responsible they needed to get at least 15 tourism. These would list 10 plus rooms. “The challenge checkpoints to keep in mind was to find the space in the before you embark on a apple orchard without journey including chopping the trees to build awareness about the culture and the way to choose the rooms even if there was no pattern to the a hotel. A checklist for travel operators and construction. There was no architect and we built industry is also needed which will create it as it came up. We had to ensure that the people awareness and enhance conservation efforts.” who came to the property would not overwhelm Sumant points out that the Indian traveller is the small village with their behaviour and culture. maturing. “We need to keep investing in it. The However, we had to balance the account books industry has to set standards even if they sound too.” The emphasis is to aid the local eco-system impolite,” he added. and ensure that the tourists do not impact the Seema too agreed that everyone should set local people adversely. There are literature, art and standards. Awareness and code of conduct are film festivals to boost the local culture and attract the key. more visitors.
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GURUSPEAK
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Happiness does not come from talent or skills that you possess. Unless you realise who you are through introspection, happiness remains a far-fetched concept, far-removed from reality Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Spiritual Guru
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Joyof
A
gentleman went to the doctor complaining that there was something severely wrong with him. He was hurting all over and was very sad but all the tests were normal. The doctor said, “There is nothing wrong with you. Go to the circus and watch the clown there. He will make you laugh.” The gentleman said, “Doctor, I am that clown.” It is one thing to entertain others and be funny, but quite another to be happy yourself. Happiness does not come from talent or skills that you possess. Unless you realise who you are through introspection, happiness remains a far-fetched concept, far-removed from reality. The spirit of self enquiry, in the true sense, which leads to meditation is absolutely essential in this quest for happiness. The 6th century Indian philosopher and thinker Adi Shankaracharya has said that it is dispassion towards the ephemeral and connection with the eternal that brings true joy. In fact, he goes further and asks, “What joy does detachment not bring?” The word for solitude in Sanskrit is ‘ekant’, meaning ‘the end of loneliness’. This cannot end by changing company, even if it is more sympathetic and understanding. It can only end when you discover your real nature. Robin Williams, though he made millions of people laugh, could not end the deeply embedded loneliness inside him. This clearly shows that only spiritual solace can extricate you from despair and misery. External pomp and show, wealth, admiration and adulation are not helpful in dealing with inner discontent. While alive, he made people laugh and in his death, he gave people a message to lift their eyes above the mundane towards something higher. You can bid goodbye to misery
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DEVELOPING AN ATTITUDE OF SERVICE CAN BE REALLY HELPFUL IN COMING OUT OF DEPRESSION. THINKING ‘WHAT CAN I DO FOR SOCIETY’, GETTING INVOLVED IN A BIGGER CAUSE SHIFTS THE WHOLE FOCUS OF LIFE AND CAN TAKE ONE OUT OF THE RUT OF ‘WHAT ABOUT ME’
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LIFE IS A COMBINATION OF HAPPINESS AND PAIN. THE LATTER IS INEVITABLE BUT SUFFERING IS OPTIONAL. HAVING A BROAD PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE GIVES YOU THE STRENGTH TO MOVE FORWARD THROUGH PAINFUL TIMES. KNOW THAT YOU ARE VERY MUCH NEEDED IN THIS WORLD
by connecting with an altogether different dimension, that I would say is solidified silence, a bolt of bliss and a glimpse of eternity, which is in you as you. You simply have to tap into it. There is little use in having a machine which you cannot operate without a manual. Spiritual knowledge is like the manual for life. When you drive a car, you have to learn how to operate the steering wheel, the clutch, the brake and so on. Similarly, to establish stability of the mind, we must know the basic principles about our life force energy. This is the science of pranayama. When our prana or life force keeps fluctuating, our mind also goes through a roller coaster of emotions. One cannot handle the mind with mind itself. It is for this reason that although counseling or psychiatry seem to help in the beginning, they are not able to provide a complete cure in the long run. Just forcing positive thoughts on oneself is not enough and more often than not leads to a relapse. Medication like anti-depressants also help initially and eventually make the person dependent on them rather than free him/her from the tendency. This is where knowing the secret of breath can really transform lives. Breathing techniques like Sudarshan kriya stabilise our life force and
consequently the mind. The inner dimension unveiled by the practice of meditation deeply enriches us and its impact slowly spills over to all aspects of life. As prana rises in the body, one starts to feel a transformation as direct experience and not as a forced mental exercise. One starts becoming happier, creative and more in command of their mind and emotions. Another thing that can be really helpful in coming out of depression is developing an attitude of service. Thinking ‘what can I do for society’, getting involved in a bigger cause shifts the whole focus of life and can take one out of the rut of ‘what about me’. Societies where values of service, sacrifice and community participation are ingrained do not have these issues of depression and suicides. The Sikh community is a great example of this. Life is a combination of happiness and pain. The latter is inevitable but suffering is optional. Having a broad perspective on life gives you the strength to move forward through painful times. Know that you are very much needed in this world. With all its infinite possibilities, this life is a gift for it can become a fountain of joy and happiness not just for oneself but for many others as well.
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REDUCTION of belly fat, a trimmer stomach and flat abs are the major reasons why many people hit the gym. However, there is more to it than just an improvement in physical appearance. One reason we gain abdominal fat is a sedentary lifestyle. If we are eating more than our bodies need and not getting enough exercise, this can be a likely cause though not the only one. Research shows that prolonged stress also plays a role. It triggers extra production of the hormone, cortisol. High cortisol levels in the body break down lean muscle into glucose and this can collect as fat around the abdomen. Abdominal fat is mainly of two kinds: subcutaneous and visceral. Subcutaneous fat lies just below the skin. Visceral fat collects around our organs, pushes them out to produce a pot belly. The abdominal muscles support the spine and a part of the load when you climb stairs or lift heavy objects. Weak abdominal muscles pressurise the lower back and lead to bad posture and back pain. So, if belly fat and weak abdominal muscles are an issue, it is important to eat healthy and moderately, engage in physical exercise, lose extra weight and keep stress levels under control.
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FITNESS
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Bharat Thakur is a yoga guru and founder of Artistic Yoga
Belly fat is one of the major causes why people hit the gym. But not many know that the ancient science holds a solution
Research shows that alternating high and low intensity exercise works best to reduce belly fat. Yoga is an ideal system for this. A typical regime consists of active postures followed by static postures, relaxation and pranayama (breathing exercises). Postures are done in sync with breath. As our breathing is directly linked to our nervous system, the combination of postures, relaxation and breathing soothes and calms the body and mind and lowers cortisol levels. At the end of a session, not only will you feel the difference on your abdomen but also feel physically, mentally and emotionally relaxed and revitalised. If you are new to yoga, start with postures like Ardhahalasana, Kati naukasana or Paschimottanasana. These contractions help to burn belly fat, increase muscle strength and tone muscles. Once comfortable, move to intermediate level postures that alternate toning and relaxation. While working on your abs, yoga works at all levels and will help flexibility, strength, co-ordination, helps the body's systems work better and balances hormonal levels in the body. So flat abs is much more about how you look. To maintain it, be regular.
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A
ARDHAHALASANA (A&B)
o Lie on back, arms by your side (if you need support, place palms under hips) o Breathe in, breathe out as you lift both legs to 60 degrees o Breathe normally, hold position 10-15 seconds o Breathe in, breathe out as you take legs to 90 degrees o Breathe normally, hold position 10-15 seconds o Breathe in, exhale as you lower legs to start position.
PASCHIMOTTANASANA
o Sit with your back straight and legs stretched out o Inhale as you stretch your arms upwards o Exhale as you lower your back and arms o Hold your ankles or wherever you can reach, lower your head to your knees, elbows to floor o Breathe normally and hold for 10-30 seconds BENEFITS: o Massages abdominal organs and reduces fat o Stretches back muscles and increases blood circulation to the spinal nerves o Stretches and tones hamstring and calf muscles
B
KATI NAUKASANA
o Lie on back, arms by side o Raise both legs to 90 degrees, knees bent o Raise upper body with arms outstretched o Breathe out as you raise body up o Breath normally and hold position for 10-20 seconds o Breathe in, breathe out and lower legs to start position
SARALHASTA BHUJANGASANA
o Lie on your stomach, chin on ground, feet together, palms beside shoulders, elbows tucked in o Breathe in as you stretch your upper body upwards, straightening elbows and arching back to look up o Hold for 10-30 seconds, breathing normally o Inhale, exhale as you slowly come down BENEFITS: o Removes stiffness from chest, shoulders and neck o Stretches the abdominal muscles and removes flab from the abdomen o Removes lower back pain by strengthening muscles
2/13/1950
HOTWHEELS
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Kushan Mitra Auto & tech expert
What happens when you make a two-tonne Sports Utility Vehicle and give it a motor that produces 625 horsepower? We travel to the southwestern United States and find out
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PHYSICS?
WHO CARES?
THE
United States of America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. Or so The Star Spangled Banner goes, but one thing that country does have is wide, open roads and thousands upon thousands of acres of pristine wilderness. It is that sort of country where the car has become a potent symbol of individual freedom and mobility. It is also a symbol of speed and power, this is after all, the country of the Great Salt Lake, a flat pan of mesozoic layers upon which countless speed records have been set. It is, therefore, odd that the US has some of the strangest speed limits in the world, given its culture and roads. It is even stranger that the country is the leading market for German carmaker BMW’s M series, buying fully 30 per cent of the 2,00,000 full-fat, full-power M cars produced in 2019, because American Freeways and even local roads have the most bizarre speed limits. And when it comes to BMW’s M division, the cars that mad scientists drop their crazy glitter on, can go very, very fast indeed. Take the BMW X5M Competition and X6M Competition that I was flown halfway around the world to drive. Both these Sports Utility Vehicles that weigh the wrong side of two and half tonnes and can get from 0-100 kilometres per hour in 3.8 seconds. I have been on even faster cars, but in these cars I am sitting four feet up above the road surface, lording over mere mortals in sedans. In all the other fast cars that I have driven, my rear-end is separated from the road surface by about four inches. These are big, heavy vehicles and luxurious as well. But they have a 4.4 litre turbocharged V8 engine up front that produces 625 horsepower. Even if you get the slightly less insane X5M and X6M, you still get 600 horsepower and a 0-100 time 3.9 seconds.
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Sure, you might say, put a big enough motor and anything can go fast, even a bungalow. Believe me when I tell you that I really tried to behave because after all, it was not the speed that got to me. It was the sensational handling of the cars. You would expect that given the huge 315-track Michelin Pilots these cars were wearing, they would take a corner at speed. And the roads through the mountains of Maricopa County, Arizona, were beautiful with the right amount of twists, dips and straights. But in your average SUV, usually when you take a turn at speed, you are holding onto the steering for
dear life as inertia throws you out of your seat. And inertia and momentum are usually your enemies because as one knows from secondary school physics, it takes a lot of force to change the momentum. Ergo, a light, sporty car takes corners well because the lighter the car and the lower the centre of gravity, the less force it takes to change direction. Those of you who have driven early-build Gypsys would know how much they hated taking turns at speed. If you remember what angular momentum was, you’d understand why one saw so many Gypsys lying sideways. This is where these cars excel — cornering. I swear on my grandmother’s memory that there was no perceptible body roll. None. I really did
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not even feel my sides pushed into the seats, you could put a spirit level on the dashboard and it wouldn’t really move. You take the car faster and faster through the corner and still it didn’t protest, there was nary a sound from the tires. Honestly, I really don’t know how this is physically possible on a car of this heft. This was like a Sumo wrestler matching the sprinter Michael Johnson on the inside lane of a 400 m track. The sheer speed of the car might stretch physics, the handling of these cars defied physics. This should not be possible. Yet, BMW’s mad scientists have taken the physics textbook and torn it apart yet again. Thankfully, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department had very kindly closed off a section of road for us road
testers to do our thing. Trust me when I tell you that I tried damn hard, even at the risk of running into a giant Saguaro cactus to push these cars. These cars could easily beat a sports coupe on a track, not just on a straight but through the corners and I really hope that I get to do that sometime. Personally, between the two I would choose the X5M over the X6M simply because of the fact that the X5 is a slightly roomier car than the X6, rest everything else is the same. They’re both fast and they both defy physics. Come to think of it, maybe one should ask the M division guys to develop a time machine, I mean since they lord over physics anyway, maybe they can break it altogether.
EXOTICA [80] MARCH 2020
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NUMBERGAME
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Sanjay Jumaani Numerologist
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COUNT YOUR FATE
NUMBER 1 (Those born on the 1st, 10th, 19th and 28th of any month) Do not let rumours affect you. Listen with your ears, but also with your heart. Check your sources for any information and then double check it further. Faith sees the impossible and also the incredibly. Do not get knocked out in the boxing match of life. Learn to roll with the punches.
NUMBER 4 (Those born on the 4th, 13th, 22nd and 31st of any month) Personally and professionally you are likely to get rewarded for your efforts; try not to think too much about the situation. You could be surrounded by some loved ones or by family, so take pleasure from the fact that you are lucky enough to have people who care for you.
NUMBER 7 (Those born on the 7th, 16th and 25th of any month) You could cram your schedule as there are many things on your mind. If your ‘mailbox’ is full, you need to delete some mails. You need to follow your intuitive self and guide yourself with your judgment. Some decisions need to be taken from a higher perspective, so allow yourself to be more liberal.
NUMBER 2 (Those born on the 2nd, 11th, 20th and 29th of any month) The endurance and determination that you are blessed with can see you through some of the situations that could have broken others. For those looking out for an investment whether it is land or a house, this is a good time but try to avoid picking these up in a partnerships.
NUMBER 5 (Those born on the 5th, 14th and 23rd of any month) Slowly but steadily, you are growing even if it may not be happening as fast as you may expect it to. The redeeming aspect is that at least the momentum has picked up and the ball is rolling in the right direction. Some positive changes on the work front look likely.
NUMBER 8 (Those born on the 8th, 17th and 26th of any month) It is characteristic of you that you get pleasure from the smallest of things and you don’t need to win a raffle to ‘feel good’. In your personal relationships, you could stand to gain if you don’t expect your partner to make major changes. Instead, make some small alterations or adjustments yourself to blend in congenially.
NUMBER 3 (Those born on the 3rd, 12th, 21st and 30th of any month) Thinking negatively could make matters worse; instead play the waiting game while you recharge your batteries. Wait for your turn and opportunities will surely land at the right time. Try to organise your diet, give food more thought and eat healthy.
NUMBER 6 (Those born on the 6th, 15th and 24th of any month) Wait for a little time before investing if you wish but do so prudently. You could appear to be richer to others than you actually are, which is a dangerous thing. There is over-expectation. Wealth is certainly important, but try to give health some importance too.
NUMBER 9 (Those born on the 9th, 18th and 27th of any month) A rather ‘fixed’ stance in a particular situation could make people think of you as ‘stubborn’. Making slight adjustments could help you reach out to a larger audience. In matters of finance, looking at the month ahead, we wouldn’t bother, if we were you. Just don’t go overboard.
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SIGN-OFF
By RINKU GHOSH
W
STOP THE VIRUS ithout setting off a panic, India has undoubtedly mounted a preventive protocol and self-imposed curfews to halt the coronavirus. Since the Wuhan outbreak in neighbouring China, the containment has meant that a large number of infected returnees has been tracked and their circle of contacts tapped into. Even then, what is worrisome is the rapid spread of the infection by each host with overnight occurrences going up. It is just not Kerala, suspected cases are popping up from every corner, be it Ladakh or Tamil Nadu and in multiple cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Patna. That shows the possibility of the host, who may have cleared the routine test but maybe incubating the virus for a fortnight while being asymptomatic, unknowingly infecting many people in a domino effect. India, being the second most populated country in the world, faces surveillance challenges because of this “bleed into the crowd” inevitability. The other risk factor is behavioural; Indians rarely voluntarily subject themselves to checks, scans and quarantine and there have been cases of suspected patients fleeing isolation wards. That’s why the penalty for failure to report on arrival is a welcome move. Right now, the threat has percolated from the outside. Once it spreads in the community internally, one wouldn’t know where to set up the barriers amid a wildfire. Even zonal shutdowns won’t work in dense and interactive clusters, be it markets or places of religious gathering such as temples, mosques and churches. All of these are porous to transmission because religious tourism is high and faith-based practices are difficult to negotiate. ISKCON, though, given its largely international footprint, has advised foreigners from the coronavirus-affected countries not to visit for two months as a precautionary measure. We may have to limit influx at our tourist hotspots, which usually register high footfalls and revenue this time of the year. Both the religious and tourism economies around the world, including Mecca, Vatican and even Tibet, have taken a hit but are restricting events to avoid mass congregations. In such a scenario, we have to work on an original template that’s practical and manageable. Our public healthcare system doesn’t have the efficiency of China but we do have a record in defeating polio, taming the swine flu in 2009 and confining the deadly Nipah virus. The National Polio Surveillance project (NPSP), a collaboration between
the Government and the WHO, already has a grid for community surveillance and contact testing, both of which can be activated aggressively to contain the virus. Authorities say health workers contacted nearly 450 people, who had been in touch with five Indians who tested positive in three states. We also have an influenza surveillance programme which covers four types of flu viruses. This is usually conducted and executed through medical colleges that screen flu patients. This programme, experts say, can be used to do random community checks. Since Covid-19 infections begin mild, the quick diagnostics approach could work in identification. Of course, the disease is a good wake-up call for animal food safety, preservation and processes, be it in dairy, fisheries or poultry. Population pressures mean that we are increasingly getting closer to the possibility of an intra-species jump of viruses. According to estimates by the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), 72 billion animals (chicken, poultry, cattle and goats) are killed each year but they all have the potential to transmit new viruses to us. Once they are transmitted to humans, then the density of population means that the epidemic can swamp us in days. A preventive drill needs to be put in place rather than wait for positive or negative test results, some of which have to be conducted over several rounds to get things right. For example, some experts suggested that diagnosis could begin with chest scans that reveal a pattern of pneumonia particular to the coronavirus. This could speed up identification and treatment protocols and arrest criticality of the disease in advanced stages. This assumes significance in view of a warning by a leading epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong that COVID-19 could infect 60 per cent of the globe if left unchecked. Also given the better resistance of Indians to the flu virus in general, milder infections can be taken care of with a home quarantine, freeing up hospitals for critical patients. We need massive information dissemination down to the anganwadi and panchayat networks and have to be confident rather than be overwhelmed. An inter-state mitigation plan should be set into motion so that underserved areas do not become potential time bombs. We must have a targetted yet decentralised approach before the virus mutates monstrously.
EXOTICA [82] MARCH 2020
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