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VOLUME 9 ISSUE 2 MARCH 2010

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CONTENTS

WHY IS INDIA WORLD’S DIABETES CAPITAL?

Indians, more generally South Asians, have a higher prevalence to develop diabetes. The jury is still out on the cause – is it our diet, is it our genes, or is it both? Recently new research has emerged on the Indian diet as the causative.

Mind you, not the traditional Indian diet, but our new cosmopolitan food habits. The key factor seems to be a nutritional imbalance in some fatty acids.

5 Simple Life-Lessons We All Forget We are always on the look-out for the next complex self-help strategy. Clever authors and books have turned overnight bestsellers touting yet-another way of setting goals and...

5 Point Checklist for a Super Interview Most job interviews are superb opportunities to prove our mettle and land a dream job. But most of us have bungled our chances by either under-communicating, or over-communicating, or failing to do our homework right. Here are some easy, no-nonsense steps for a super.. terview. Don’t get interviewed again, before correcting these 5 mistakes.

10 Things All Women Hate About All Men If you are a wife you are going to say yes, yes, yes to each of these list items, delightedly. And if you are a hubby, you are going to say hey, hey, hey in dismay to each of these points. But if both of you don’t agree to much of this list, chances are you have a rocking marriage going on. And lastly, if things are just the other way round in your home, well, we are running for cover!

Union Bank Shows the Way There are bigger public sector banks than Union Bank of India and smaller, arguably more agile, public sector banks than this Mumbai headquartered PSB. But lately, Union Bank has started assuming a pathfinder role among all PSBs. Starting from a firm resolve to align itself with new-generation standards in customer..

The iPad Revolution Apple has done it again with the iPad, creating a revolutionary device that the consumer electronics market has never seen before, and will undoubtedly spend years trying to imitate. Or they haven’t done anything really, taking an iPhone, enlarging the screen, speeding..

Elevating Cricket from a Passion to a Lifestyle We perform best when we are passionate. We go even beyond - we excel - when we live our passion as a lifestyle. Mumbai Cricket Association’s Indoor Cricket Academy and Recreation Centre has been designed with that lofty aim. Built like a classic club reminiscent of the British Raj royalty, no resources or efforts have been spared. Starting with a 14-acre prime property in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, ..

Are You a Miss.

Average?

You Can be Miss.

Beautiful!

Bangalore’s Ambition to bE Signal-Free, Dust-Free India has bigger and more productive cities than Middle East, Far East, or even West. But when it comes to efficiency and neatness, our cities are a generation behind. Now, Bangalore is taking the first steps in..

Sad that you don’t have Aishwarya’s eyes or Katrina’s nose? New research says you needn’t be discouraged at all for not having sharp features.

Statistically speaking, it has been now assessed that beautiful faces are just faces with average proportions. Examples include Jessica Alba, Liz Hurley, & Shania Twain.

American Buildings Dance, But Don’t Fall Down, Thanks to This Bangalore Brain Cats Fight Dogs in This Ultimate Pet Test Should You Consolidate Your Debt?

Record for Chennai: Flats for Rs 8cr Rwanda first landmine-free country When Roads Get Rough, Take to the Skies!

How to Stand Taller Indira's secret wish and other stories Is this the Nazareth home where Jesus prayed?

George is Almost a Horse State eyes stress-free system of education

PSUs beat private cos in IIT-M recruitment UK priest says its okay for poor people to shoplift

Salsa with Shobhana To connect with her, you have to be on your toes. She eats dance, drinks dance, sleeps dance. Here Shobhana talks of her salsa – Bharathanatyam, which makes her get up at 4 everyday, and takes her through agruelling day of dance and dance alone. Dance has...

MumbaiChanging, Mumbai Calling

Even while NCR-Delhi is putting up a formidable challenge to Mumbai’s de facto economic capital status, the city is planning a huge makeover in urban development, infrastructure, and transport systems. How will projects like the West Island Freeway System, Mumbai Metro, & Mumbai Monorail change..

EDITORIAL www.seasonalmagazine.com

the black hole staring at us…

Vol 9 Issue 2 March 2010

US budget didn’t disappoint. Now let us hope India’s too wouldn’t.

Managing Editor Jason D Pavoratti Editor John Antony Director (Finance) Ceena Senior Editorial Coordinator Jacob Deva Senior Correspondent Bina Menon Creative Visualizer Bijohns Varghese Photographer Anish Aloysious Correspondents Bombay: Rashmi Prakash Hyderabad: Iqbal Siddiqui Delhi: Anurag Dixit Director (Technical) John Antony Publisher Jason D

At a $1.3 trillion deficit, Obama’s budget broke new records. Earlier, the full size of the US budget was needed to dwarf the so-called BRIC economies. Now just the US deficit is sufficient to dwarf Brazil, Russia, India, & China, as a whole.

But nobody is complaining. In world economics, US consumer is akin to God. When the American consumer spends, it is not like any other. It moves markets, accelerates indices, and provides a general sense of wellbeing the world over.

Because nobody still earns like the American consumer, nobody fails to save like the American consumer, nobody spends like the American consumer, and nobody pays taxes like the American consumer.

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All India Distributor: India Book House, Mumbai UAE Distributor: Malik News Agency & Distributors Dubai All health related articles are for first information purposes only. Always consult your doctor before taking any decison affecting your health.

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So we are duty-bound to applaud Obama’s record hole.

That black hole – money he doesn’t have – is needed to sustain American consumer’s spending power, and in effect, the rest of the world.

And if America is so wise to do it, needn’t we all follow?

This is the scenario that mainstream economists have been trying to sell us for decades.

Now, Dr. Singh and Mukherjee are all set to unveil a befitting response to Obama’s initiative.

The proof for the massive deficit-gift awaiting us, has come by way of the Dr. Kirit Parikh Committee’s findings. The timing should be commendable.

Dr. Parikh will go down in Indian history as the most ideological Indian who ever was. It is not that he doesn’t know the fate of the earlier two Committees who recommended free market prices for fuel.

By the time the first Committee came, crude shot up so much that the Government feared for aam aadmi. His backlash. And by the time the second came, crude dipped so much so that, Government just yawned at the aam aadmi.

So, this time’s Committee has hedged all possibilities – from crude’s bizarre tours between $70 to $150. Whatever happens to crude, the subsidy to consumers (through Oil Marketing Companies) will be shared between the Government and upstream oil companies like ONGC & Oil

India. The government’s burden will be fixed, whereas the upstream companies which are profitable due to the enormous opportunity given to them, will share the variable component, as their profits are in proportion to the prices.

It is clear that Dr. Parikh was gunning for the huge deficit burden due to oil, which was, of course, the brief to him. But aam aadmi, what about him?

Dr. Parikh has called the naked king as naked, and has offered to cloth him. But it is not likely to go down well with anybody ‘concerned’ with aam aadmi.

With these politicians, it is the first look and only the first look that counts. Aam admi should never feel the pinch. No, he can be squeezed, but he shouldn’t feel it. So, raising oil prices directly is sacrilege. But raising taxes to cover it is acceptable. Nowadays, even that is getting to the nerves of these aam aadmi protectors. So things naturally escalate to the next stage, which is upping the fiscal deficit. Which means printing more notes, driving inflation. Driving everyone mad, including aam aadmi. But oil prices have to remain firm. As though it is some holy thing.

There was a time when printing notes were counterbalanced with gold. It was a long long time back. It is not practiced anywhere much in the world now. Not in US, not in India.

Families and businesses know that there is nothing called unlimited borrowing. But Governments would still like us to believe that there is something like unlimited deficit. Come on, it is just another word for debt.

Whom does the Government borrow from? Ultimately itself, by printing currency.

The hints of the gathering economic instability are there in the increasing momentum of financial crises, with each round.

Dr. Kirit Parikh

James Chanos

And people like James Chanos have again started speaking outrageous things.

One of America’s most extreme short-sellers, Chanos was the first to suspect that massive fraud was going on in Enron, and successfully shorted its stock – to the disbelief of the whole investor community - but made a huge fortune out of it when the company eventually went bust.

This time James Chanos is claiming that the time is ripe to short China, and that he can successfully pull it off. Outrageous. But with the kind of hollow-onomics that even democracies like US & India are pursuing, one can only wonder how autocracies are hiding their black-holes. North Korea had recently frozen all cash transactions without warning and re-launched their currency with two zeros missing from its value.

And a new acronym was added to the world economic lexicon. If BRICs were once considered as the building blocks of a new world economic order, now is the time for PIIGS, something invented to deride the deficit-laden, debt-trapped European economies of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, & Spain, that has already sent stock market indices around the world, including India’s into a tailspin.

The time also seems ripe to turn back to nature, a little bit. Agriculture, farming, sustainable energy, sustainable living, civilization.

John Antony

HEALTH ndia is fast on its way to becoming a global diabetes ‘hub’ of the world. According to the International Diabetes Federation, India currently has 40.9 million diabetics. And the number is expected to go up so that, by 2030, one out of every five people with diabetes will be an Indian. Here’s an attempt to examine why this may be so.

Curse of affluence Diabetes, specifically type 2 diabetes, has often been described as a “disease of affluence”. This means that it is a disease associated with the habits of ‘prosperous’ people, including rich food, overeating, and sedentary living.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by the body’s inability to utilize insulin produced in the pancreas (a gland in the body). This happens either because the body does not recognize the insulin, or because too little of it is produced. Either way, glucose, obtained from food and carried in the bloodstream, cannot be transferred to the cells to be burnt as fuel. The result is that the body lacks energy to function while the glucose levels in the blood build up.

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WHY IS

This condition, called insulin-resistance, is closely associated with obesity. In fact, the risk of diabetes is four times higher in moderately obese individuals and up to thirty times higher in those severely overweight.

Apart from type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance also

INDIA WORLD’S DIABETES CAPITAL?

Indians, more generally South Asians, have a higher prevalence to develop diabetes. The jury is still out on the cause – is it our diet, is it our genes, or is it both?

Recently new research has emerged on the Indian diet as the causative. Mind you, not the traditional Indian diet, but our new cosmopolitan food habits.

The key factor seems to be a nutritional imbalance in some fatty acids.

means increased risk for heart disease, another affluent disease that is on the rise in India.

Is Indian diet to blame?

The question to ask is why we as Indians are more at risk? Is it something in our diet? Well, yes and no. Traditional Indian food – mainly vegetarian and incorporating a wide variety of freshly cooked vegetables and pulses – can be quite healthy. In practice though, it’s often far from perfect.

We Indians revel in the uninhibited use of oil. Our foods, especially the meat and fish dishes, are often deep-fried and dripping with fat. We also go overboard with the dessert – our traditional sweets are packed with fat and sugar. Even the chai we drink is more milk and sugar than tea.

But that’s not all. Post-globalization, our booming economy has caused our waistlines to expand proportionately. More money means that we are spending more on food, specifically processed and packaged foods that are hotly marketed. Nuclear families, where both partners work, have also contributed to the wide acceptance of these ‘convenience foods’.

Cultural liberalism may also play a role. A survey of Indian food habits by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) with other researchers found that 64 percent Indians ate non-vegetarian food as compared to 40 percent in early 1990’s, a 14 percent increase. Non-vegetarian diet, richer in saturated fats, is definitely a contributing factor to obesity and subsequent diabetes.

A study conducted by Dr Anoop Mishra, Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Fortis Hospital, New Delhi, established nutritional imbalances as one of the causes of increasing diabetes in India. Specifically these included low MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids), n-3 PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids), fiber and high fat, including saturated fat, carbohydrates and trans fatty acids (common in packaged fried and baked foods).

An additional contributing factor could lie in our genes. Dr P V Rao, of the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, proposes the thrifty gene hypothesis to explain why Indians suffer from tendency to diabetes.

He suggests that Indians may have evolutionarily developed the 'thrifty genotype' as a mechanism to cope with food scarcity.

“Overall body weight was not always high among Indians with 'big bellies'. This meant that total amount of food intake in an Indian was not high though the contents have changed over centuries from vegetable sources to 'fat rich' animal sources. Even the vegetable oils used for cooking such as coconut oil which is widely used in Kerala, Malaysia and Guyana are strongly related (sic) the high rise in diabetes rates…” he writes on www.diabetes-india.com.

So, with the odds tilted strongly against us, what can we do? Experts recommend effective weight management, through diet control and exercise, as the only strategy to prevent type 2 diabetes. This is even more imperative for those with a family history of the disease. Research proves that this can prevent type 2 diabetes even when impaired glucose tolerance, a pre-diabetic state associated with insulin resistance, is already present.

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How to prevent?

MUMBAI

MUMBAI

CHANGING, MUMBAI CALLING Even while NCR-Delhi is putting up a formidable challenge to Mumbai’s de facto economic capital status, the city is planning a huge makeover in urban development, infrastructure, and transport systems. How will projects like the West Island Freeway System, Mumbai Metro, & Mumbai Monorail change the landscape of the city?

Will it result in the creation of yet another hub like Nariman Point or BKC? umbai, the commercial and financial centre of India, is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Though the city has great potential to become the international finance centre of India, constraints like housing, infrastructure, and environmental concerns are holding Mumbai back.

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It is true that land reclamation has resulted in expansion of the southern-most tip of the district, but the city still faces a shortage of real estate, coupled with exorbitant real estate prices.

This situation has been controlled to an extent by the repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling Act and the adoption of a new approach on FSI, but it can be eased further by addressing the long-standing issue of rent control.

The ever-growing population and finite supply of land are putting immense pressure on the existing infrastructure of the city.

Sufficient investment has not been made in transport infrastructure of the city. As a result, the suburban rail and bus network has been stretched to crisis levels. Congested routes, long travel times and increased transport safety risks are impeding the eco-

The Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) is one such initiative taken to improve rail and road transportation. To supplement MUTP, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has initiated another ambitious project-the Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP)-which aims to improve the road network and design an efficient traffic dispersal system in Greater Mumbai.

Intra-city drive time is critical for Mumbai, which has two financial centres-the Bandra-Kurla Complex and the Nariman Point/Fort area. To augment the suburban railways, a metro rail system and intra-city and coastal expressways have been planned for the city. To alleviate infrastructure constraints such as transport, power, water, sewage and drainage, PPP projects, many based

on user charges, have been rolled out for the city.

The Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL), Mumbai Metro Rail and Mumbai Mono Rail projects are some examples. Officially known as the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link, BWSL is a Rs 1600 crore project of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation executed under the first phase of the West Island Freeway system by Hindustan Construction Company. The Mumbai Metro Rail project, implemented on a BuildOwn-Operate-Transfer basis, is in the execution stage.

The MMRDA is the nodal agency for the Mumbai Monorail project. By the June of this year, the developer for the project will be finalised.

For Mumbai, the challenge of coping with current demand and planning for future needs remains formidable. An active collaboration between the public and the government is needed not only to lay down the agenda for the framework but also to drive the processes to make Mumbai a more habitable city.

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nomic growth of the city. Infrastructure has to be planned in such a way that the clusters remain the same, but people can efficiently travel reasonable distances with the help of efficient transportation facilities.

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HEALTH

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ARE YOU A MISS. AVERAGE? YOU CAN BE MISS. BEAUTIFUL!

SAD THAT YOU DON’T HAVE AISHWARYA’S EYES OR KATRINA’S NOSE? NEW RESEARCH SAYS YOU NEEDN’T BE DISCOURAGED AT ALL FOR NOT HAVING SHARP FEATURES. STATISTICALLY SPEAKING, IT HAS BEEN NOW ASSESSED THAT BEAUTIFUL FACES ARE JUST FACES WITH AVERAGE PROPORTIONS. EXAMPLES INCLUDE JESSICA ALBA, LIZ HURLEY, & SHANIA TWAIN. SO, WHY CAN’T MOST OF US PRESENT OURSELVES WITH THAT CLASSY LOOK? THE KEY CONTINUES TO BE GROOMING AND CONFIDENCE.

eing described as Miss Average is not usually regarded as a compliment.

Beauty, researchers say, can be measured according to how close together a woman’s eyes are and the distance between her eyes and mouth.

They found the ideal measurements, as a proportion of the overall size of a female face, were close to the average of all female profiles.

The study is one of several in recent months to have boosted the

stock of real women.

Other scientists have concluded that men prefer partners with a few curves to those who are fashionably thin and, apparently, they don’t hanker after girls with long legs.

To get the latest findings, researchers asked a panel to rate the attractiveness of women in photos.

All were head shots of the same person with different distances from eyes to mouth or between the eyes.

She was at her most attractive when the space between her pupils was just under half, or 46 per cent, of the width of her face from ear to ear.

The other perfect dimension was when the distance between her eyes and mouth was just over a third, or 36 per cent, of the overall length of her face from hairline to chin.

Celebrities whose faces are in perfect proportion include Jessica Alba, Liz Hurley and Shania Twain.

More importantly, the ratios corre-

spond to those of an average female face, the journal Vision Research reports.

Professor Kang Lee, of the University of Toronto, said: ‘We already know that different facial features make a female face attractive – large eyes, for example, or full lips.

‘Our study proves that the structure of faces also contributes to our perception of facial attractiveness.’

However, it isn’t clear if striking features carry more weight – for instance, sultry eyes may contribute more to beauty than perfect proportions.

The importance of the distances from hairline to jaw and ear to ear may also explain why a new hair cut can radically improve a woman’s looks.

Professor Kang Lee said: ‘Sometimes an attractive person looks unattractive or vice versa after a haircut, because hairdos change the ratios.’

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But that may be about to change after scientists calculated the ratios of the perfect face – and found they correspond to the typical woman.

TRIVIA

UK PRIEST SAYS ITS OKAY FOR POOR PEOPLE TO SHOPLIFT vicar has created controversy by encouraging the poor to steal.

Father Tim Jones insisted in his Christmas sermon at St Lawrence Church, York,that the only way the destitute can survive at present time was by shoplifting.

"God's love for the poor and despised outweighs the property rights of the rich," the Sun quoted him as saying.

He added: "My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift. I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither.

"I would ask that they do not steal from small family businesses but from large, national

businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices.

"I would ask them not to take any more than they need, for any longer than they need.

"I offer the advice with a heavy heart and wish society would recognise that bureaucratic ineptitude and systematic delay has created an invitation and incentive to crime for people struggling to cope."

Jones asserted that his advice was not against Bible.

He said: "My advice does not contradict the Bible's eighth commandment (Thou Shalt Not Steal) because God's love for the poor and despised outweighs the property rights of the rich."

Meanwhile, shop owners have been baffled by the religious head's comments.

Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "We are appalled by the remarks from Father Jones. It is outrageous."

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However, the Archdeacon of York, the Venerable Richard Seed, clarified: "The Church of England does not advise anyone to break the law in any way.

"My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift. I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither.

"Father Jones is raising important issues about the difficulties people face when benefits are not forthcoming, but shoplifting is not the way to overcome these difficulties."

Also, a spokesman for North Yorks Police said: "Shoplifting is a criminal offence and to justify this course of action under any circumstances is highly irresponsible."

CRICKET

MY CAREER PROSPERED UNDER TENDULKAR'S CAPTAINCY: GANGULY achin Tendulkar may not have been a huge success as India captain but many a young career bloomed under his leadership, said former India skipper Sourav Ganguly.

"When I was trying to find my feet in international cricket, it was a huge learning experience to play under Tendulkar. He had given a lot of support as a player and as a captain and my career blossomed under him," Ganguly said on the sidelines of a Tendulkar felicitation on Tuesday.

"It's not only me, I am sure the likes of (Rahul) Dravid, (VVS) Laxman and (Anil) Kumble would be thinking the same about Tendulkar," Ganguly said at the ceremony organised by the Aryan Club that celebrated its 125th anniversary.

"I know him since my under-13 days when we met at a national camp.

It has been a long journey together. We had a very good time together at the top, opening the batting in ODIs.''

Sachin turned out for the Aryans in the early 90s in the P Sen Trophy.

Recalling his association with Tendulkar, Ganguly said, "I know him since my under-13 days when we met at a national camp. It has been a long journey together. We had a very good time together at the top, opening the batting in ODIs.'' "He has charmed the crowd not only with his bat but with his amazing behaviour. It's very difficult to emulate him what Sachin has achieved as a cricketer and the talent he possesses. But it will be really nice if we could emulate him the way he carries himself," Ganguly said.

Ganguly wished Tendulkar remained fit to achieve 100 international centuries and do well in the 2011 World Cup. "World Cup is coming and he is also close to 100 centuries. I wish he remains fit and bats the way he is doing. It's an example for the youngsters to follow," Ganguly said.

He also congratulated Sachin for his bit to make India the number one Test side.

"I remember when we used to tour overseas, were being levelled as very soft, not because of his batting but soft for our team's performance. I congratulate him on achieving the No 1 status and he is the biggest contributor to that," Ganguly said.

RELATIONSHIPS

10 Things All Women Hate About All Men

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If you are a wife you are going to say yes, yes, yes to each of these list items, delightedly. And if you are a hubby, you are going to say hey, hey, hey in dismay to each of these points. But if both of you don’t agree to much of this list, chances are you have a rocking marriage going on. And lastly, if things are just the other way round in your home, well, we are running for cover!

1. SELFISHNESS This one is the basis for all other faults since a selfish man is convinced that it is his world, and you are entitled to follow him wherever he goes whether you want it or not.

The reality is not that bad. Of course, men can be selfish, but please try to understand them. They feel lonely because they cannot bear children.

Men’s games for the right to be on top cause additional stress. It is not easy to keep trying to prove something to yourself and the world all life long, hence the selfishness.

2. INDIFFERENCE TO WIFE’S FAMILY He is always ready to take care of his own family, but keeps telling you that your mother (sister, friend) does not know much about life. You can get offended or try proving that your relatives are, in fact, very bright people. But it is a waste of energy.

Just tell him: “No matter what they are like, I still love them and they will always be a part of my life.” If he does not want to celebrate your grandma’s birthday, don’t be upset.

You can party just fine without him.

3. DIRTY DISHES Even clearing a plate can be a problem, let alone washing it. But then, in his family, his mother was the one who did dishes, and he expects the same from you. Even if you work 5 days a week and not two like his mother and hate doing dishes. Try leaving his dish unwashed after every meal. It will take him some time to notice, but he will.

you are worthy.

4. WATCHING SPORTS AT THE MAXIMUM VOLUME The game seems more important to him than your peace and your kid’s sleep. At the very least this is the time when he is not to be bothered with any questions. But when you are watching a movie, he is entitled to ask silly questions every five minutes, and demand that the sound is off because he has a headache. To solve the issue, you should have two TVs and place the one intended for him in the kitchen or a den. This way, you will be able to enjoy your movie or sleep if the doors are shut.

8. HIS HABIT TO EMBARRASS YOU IN FRONT OF OTHERS It is always embarrassing when spouses criticize each other in front of other people. If your husband acts differently when you are alone, it has to do with his complexes and his desire to seem better than you. Discuss the issue with him. If he continues to criticize you, refuse to go out with him. Even the most stubborn man will sooner or later realize that it is not in his best interests.

5. HOUSEHOLD HELPLESSNESS Men sometimes know better than their wives where things are stored.

But for some reason it is the wives who have to look for their things because men are too busy. They cannot decide on their own issues, like which pair of socks to wear, and they have to bug you. It would be easier to give him a special shelf or a closet where he can keep all his belongings.

If he can’t find something, it’s not your problem. You know where your stuff is.

6. HIS BELIEF THAT HIS WORK IS MORE IMPORTANT This one comes from fault number one. If a man admits that something can be more important than his business, his world might collapse.

Please be compassionate as he is very dependent on the opinions of others. Do not pay attention to his comments (unless they are made in front of someone else). You know

7. HIS BELIEF THAT WOMEN ARE BAD DRIVERS Men have better concentration and faster reaction due to the level of testosterone in their bodies. Women have to spend more time practicing.

But one day your spouse will understand that arrogance on the road is not good either.

9. HELPLESS BABY WHEN YOU ARE AROUND When you leave on a business trip, he does all the chores with ease, but as soon as you come back, he pretends to be a helpless baby. When you come back from a trip, praise his talents and make him believe that a real man should be able to do everything, even dishes. Try to divide responsibilities equally. If you failed to do it in the beginning, continue praising him for every little thing he does.

10. TALKER, NOT DOER Instead of doing something, he talks about it. This happens because he has to demonstrate his story-telling talent and avoid responsibility. Do not buy it. Listen to him respectfully and then say “See, you are so good at it, unlike me. Now you know that you are the only one who can handle the task.” If he still refuses to do the work, you are entitled to refuse to do your chores, too, for instance, cooking dinner. Why not?

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ave you ever thought something like, men are terrible creatures, they wage wars, start conflicts and then blame us for everything saying that all they do they do it for women.

They demand the impossible from women expecting them to do dishes, cook, work, and look like women on magazine covers. At the same time, men are incapable of doing anything they consider unpleasant. They behave as though it’s a man’s world, but do they have a right to it? What can a person demand if he is not capable of doing his own dishes? It turns out that even the most peaceful and loving wives feel this way once in a while. Here are the top 10 pet peeves wives have about their husbands.

ARTS

he season is a busy period for versatile dancer-teacher-actress Shobana. If she’s not captivating audiences across Chennai and the country,Shobana Narayan her students are. A veteran of over 250 movies, she also finds the time to dazzle the silver screen.

Experience is everything...

Experience and the ability to emote is what sets apart a great dancer from a good dancer. It’s also the emoting on stage that sets Indian classical dances apart from western forms. If the emotions don’t show or come through, a dancer would have failed.

SALSA WITH SHOBHANA To connect with her, you have to be on your toes. She eats dance, drinks dance, sleeps dance. Here Shobhana talks of her salsa – Bharathanatyam, which makes her get up at 4 everyday, and takes her through a gruelling day of dance and dance alone. Dance has even pushed back her other interests and needs, including an award-winning acting career and saying yes to a suitable, eligible bachelor.

Young dancers...

I’ve known girls as young as nine, who have had their arangetrams. At this age, children are yet to become self-conscious. As they grow older, they are charming, but a bit conscious. By the time they are 18, they overcome all that and begin to blossom. For me, a dancer reaches her prime at 55!

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Beauty is nothing...

It’s form that’s more important to a dancer. For a dancer, lines in movement, grace and poise are far more important than beauty. A beautiful dancer might catch the attention of the audience for the first few minutes, but after that, it will be what she does on stage that will begin to tell whether she’s able to engage the audience or not.

Margazhi season rocks...

The Margazhi season’s the best part

of cultural Chennai. There’s something or the other happening through the year and then it all comes together in December and January. I like the way it’s structured and it gives the artistes time to prepare and put together big performances. This is symbiotic and it’s perfect.

Her costumes...

I am my own designer. You will never see me in odd outfits. I am very particular about what I wear — both on stage and in films. At times, it can get ridiculous on the sets. I was once given just ribbons to drape myself with. I refused. The other time, I had to do a wet scene and I

do on stage. I admire male dancers for their agility. I like male dancers dancing as men; I like male dancers dancing as women; but I can’t say the same about effeminate male dancers.

Traditions change...

Tradition is what your teacher teaches you. And, when this person teaches the next generation, it is

I don’t think about it. I’m happy with my work and all that’s happening with my school, I haven’t really given it a thought. stitched a plastic sheet inside the top.

Nobody except the actor noticed and the shot came out fine.

Men and bharathanatyam...

I don’t know too many parents who will appreciate their son taking up bharathanatyam. When it comes to

males, it’s a calling. A calling the child feels and more importantly, the parents recognise. If there is a calling and the parents encourage the child, there will be more than enough teachers who can train them.

Male dancers are an asset to dance.

They have more strength and they can do more than what a woman can

Organised as a dancer...

Disorganised otherwise! As a person, I’m quite disorganised. But as a dancer and a teacher I’m very much all there. My day begins at 4 am in the morning... every day! I’m very sensitive about quality sleeping. People ask me if dance has made me. I tell them I wish! If that was the case, I’d be more organised in life (laughs).

Shobana’s secret...

I don’t hold back. Whatever I do, I give it my best shot. I get deeply involved in whatever I’m doing, be it dancing or teaching, and lose myself in it.

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Marriage...

bound to be different.

MCA INDOOR CRICKET ACADEMY

ELEVATING

CRICKETFROM A PASSION TO A LIFESTYLE

e perform best when we are passionate. We go even beyond - we excel - when we live our passion as a lifestyle.

Mumbai Cricket Association’s Indoor Cricket Academy and Recreation

Centre has been designed with that lofty aim. Built like a classic club reminiscent of the British Raj royalty, no resources or efforts have been spared. Starting with a 14-acre prime property in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, it lives up to its indoor promise

with a temperature control of 14 to 40 degrees. Though many kinds of sports and fitness facilities are provided, at the heart of the facility is the 38 metre by 28 metre Indoor Cricket Academy. There are 7 pitches, separate for spin and pace, and several bowling machines. While over 800 lights make coaching a 24-hour affair, the multiple fine cameras and video control system make Internet coaching also possible. Great views of matches playing at the adjacent stadium are possible from the club, the bar, and the card room through full-length toughened glass walls. Even real shots from the matches often hit this glass! Other sports / fitness facilities include worldclass badminton courts, a half-Olympic swimming pool, squash courts, billiards, a 3000 sq ft Technogym, and a fleet of treadmills. And for relaxing accommodation, there are fine rooms and even finer dining. The membership was originally launched at Rs.12 lakhs.

Sharad Pawar, Hon. President

Dilip Vengsarkar, Hon. Vice President

Vilasrao Deshmukh, Hon.Vice President

Prof. Ratnakar Shetty, Hon. Treasurer

Hemant Waingankar, Jt. Hon. Secretary

Lalchand Rajput, Jt. Hon. Secretary

MCA INDOOR CRICKET ACADEMY kill, patience, discipline and above all passion. You can’t play cricket without that.

You can’t build a cricket academy without that either.

Before the applause, before the glory, and much before donning the team colours comes sweat and blood – the practice.

The MCA Indoor Cricket Academy is born out of this understanding: A sportsman is only as good as his training.

The architecture and design of MCA Indoor Cricket Academy is based on a simple philosophy: to create the best players in the world, you need the best surroundings and equipment in the world.

The imposing neo-classical structure of the academy is built to inspire. The academy will redefine cricket training with its best-in-theworld equipment and training facilities.

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The extensive facilities include seven retractable nets, viewing gallery for coaches, video cameras at batsman’s and bowler’s end connected to coach’s room, temperature and humidity controlled to simulate playing conditions of any cricket ground in the world, meeting, discussion and strategy rooms, dedicated gym and changing rooms, sports medicine, technique guidance, physical and mental endurance, floodlit night training, limited overs training, six-a-side training, physiotherapy specialists, dietary consultancy, aerobic classes, and personality development programs.

The MCA’s Recreation Centre has various elite class facilities including the one exclusive for Mumbai Cricket Association i.e. Indoor Cricket Academy. All spread over land of about 14 acres, covering total construction area of about 90,000 sq ft, having separate exclusive covered parking of about 1,00,000 sq ft at a very strategic prime location – The Bandra-Kurla Complex.

The Mumbai Cricket Association Recreation

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Sports Fecilities

MCA INDOOR CRICKET ACADEMY

Centre will remind you of a bygone era of old world hospitality and warm service matched with all the luxuries of contemporary living.

The MCA Recreation Centre’s approach to sports can be summed up in one word serious. That is natural considering the Recreation Centre is an extension of the MCA Indoor Cricket academy, one of the best cricket academies in the world.

Two teams of rooms, eleven per side, on the second floor of the recreation Centre offer the Associates and their visiting guests a comfortable option to stay at the Centre. Either side has one suite comprising a spacious sitting room-cum-work area.

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The recreation centre is also a

he Mumbai Cricket Association Recreation Centre will remind you of a bygone era of old world hospitality and warm service matched with all the luxuries of contemporary living. location for any occasions, be it wedding party, banquet, reception, conference, product launch, social meetings, trade show, luncheon and what not.

May be its Indoor or Outdoor, just rest assured, MCA Recreation Centre is here to take care in a royal way.

The Recreation Centre has as many as five business centres Captain’s Knock, Winners, Glance, Opener, Double

Century. All are fully equipped and wired to ensure that you can be at work without actually having to go to office.

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has been synonymous with cricket in the city since 1930 as one of the strongest cricketing bodies in the country and having consistently seen its players represent the country in the international arena down the years. After gifting the

Health Club & Gym

MCA Recreation Centre is a joint venture between Mumbai Cricket Association and Shirke Group, a noted infrastructure player based in Pune. Shirke Infrastructure is a special purpose vehicle (SPV), launched to diversify Shirke Group’s interests into hospitality. Says Rajiv Wagh, Vice President (Marketing & Business Development) of MCA Recreation Centre, “This facility is the first in a series of fine sports academies and clubs that Shirke Group is planning across the country, and especially in other parts of Mumbai and other cities of Maharashtra like Pune.” BG Shirke Construction Technology Private Limited (BGSCTPL), formerly known as BG Shirke & Company, was established in 1944 by its Founder Chairman, BG Shirke.

BGSCTPL is a multi-disciplinary civil, mechanical and electrical engineering consortium having seven international technology

Rajiv Wagh, Vice President, MCA Recreation Centre

tie-ups and over 12,000 employees. It is a vibrant, dynamic and integral part of modern India, significantly contributing to industrial, economic and social progress. BGSCTPL also plays an active role in protecting and preserving the country’s ecosystems – its forests and waterways. Company is well established in the construction sector. Over past 60 years, Shirke Group has developed expertise in construction of Highways, Bridges ,IT parks, hotels, sports complexes and Marine Structures as well. The Mumbai Cricket Recreation Centre at BKC in Mumbai, a joint venture with Mumbai Cricket Association, is a result of the passionate effort of Shirke Group to establish their credentials in hospitality through a chain of finest clubs this country has seen. Since opening in March 2009, MCA at BKC has received an overwhelming response to its membership drive. Top corporates and HNIs of Mumbai have patronised the recreation centre and the club has a list of members which can make any such organization proud. MCA – BKC, features the most aesthetic design and architecture, the finest materials and furniture, the most professional sports equipment and trainers, the best people and services, and even the finest crockery and cutlery. It is amazing what can happen when a partnership like this decides to pull all stops and spare no expenses. The MCA Recreation Centre’s approach to sports can be summed up in one word - serious. That is natural considering the Recreation Centre is an extension of the MCA Indoor Cricket Academy, one of the best cricket academies in the world. The Mumbai Cricket Association Recreation Centre will remind you of a bygone era of old world hospitality and warm service matched with all the luxuries of contemporary living. The recreation centre prides itself for its young and successful top executives who are making the new India happen.

The new age events like, the three theme new year eve party with great entertainment thrown in was very well received by the members and was surely one of the most talked about parties of Mumbai.

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“This is the First in a Series of Fine Sports Themed Clubs by Shirke”

MCA INDOOR CRICKET ACADEMY famous Wankhede stadium to the city, MCA had offered the Recreation Centre.

The project has been conceived and spearheaded by Sharad Pawar and his colleagues in the Managing Committee of MCA. The towering ceiling with wood inlay welcomes the visitor inside. This hexagonal space is made up of two lounges that can together seat about 100 people. Perfect rendezvous for short meetings or just sitting back and enjoying the ambiance, these lounges give access to the pastry shop, a florist and an ice-cream parlour.

Inaugurated in January 2009, the Recreation Centre offers its members sports facilities like billiards, snooker, tennis and squash; fitness facilities include a gymnasium, swimming pool, steam and sauna rooms. Other major attractions are the multi-cuisine restaurants overlooking the lush green cricket field.

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With its comfortable stuffed leather sofas and chairs, the decor of Pavilion (the coffee shop) is a tribute to Victorian English life. Wide curving veranda dotted with easy chairs affords splendid views of the stadium. Like the “Chinaman” the Far-Eastern restaurant Oriental Swing is special too with decor inspired by luxurious Oriental architecture of the late 19 th and early 20 th century. Wooden Chinese screens have been reinterpreted to blend the ancient with the modern here.

Located on the first floor, it has an expansive view of the cricket ground on one side and light that streams in from the other side through the stained glass of the clock tower.

With recipes from places “off the cricket map”, Western Willow, the Mediterranean restaurant, has a decor reminiscent of the opulence of classical Europe with mahogany columns rising majestically to the high ceiling; while Spin, the bar, is a typical English pub complete with a wooden bar with a brass footrest, wooden benches with stuffed leather cushions, wood and leather chairs – all shipped straight from England. Its ground floor location with views of the cricket ground transport you to another world altogether.

For the discerning business traveller, the Centre houses business centres and luxurious accommodation. With chandeliers gracing the towering ceiling, Jaisalmer stone flooring and classic wallpaper patterns that hint of European palaces, the banquet halls are the perfect destination for celebrations.

Following its philosophy, to create the best players in the world, you need the best surroundings, MCA has created some of the best recreation and club facilities in the city.

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GADGETS

The iPad Revolution

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pple has done it again with the iPad, creating a revolutionary device that the consumer electronics market has never seen before, and will undoubtedly spend years trying to imitate. Or they haven’t done anything really, taking an iPhone, enlarging the screen, speeding up the processor, and adding a few unique features here and there to make it seem like an original, brand new product. Only time and consumer’s buying habits will tell, ultimately, what people really think of Apple’s new

creation, when the WiFi version tablet, with starting price of $499, hits the market in late March. The iPad can do many things, from watching movies, to word processing on a special version of Apple’s iWork, to creating slideshows and running iPhone applications.

What truly sets the iPad apart from other devices has to do with the world of newspapers and magazines. Before the iPad had even come out, Sports Illustrated created a digital concept magazine for use on a tablet, combining text with video, creating a more interactive publication.

The New York Times has also created their own version of their magazine, specifically for use on a tablet. Many have hailed the tablet, now with the more specific name iPad, as the ultimate culmination of the print and digital media world, creating salvation for the failing industry.

“From a news standpoint, I think that this could be something that is going to help the news industry in a way that, perhaps, the iPhone wasn’t as helpful, because you can have more of a news experience on this bigger tablet,” Retha Hill, the director of the New Media Innovation lab at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said. “It looks more like a newspaper. You can tap through sections more easily, you can pull up slideshows.” “You can do a lot more and it might be easier for folks to manipulate than using the iPhone,” Hill said. Is the iPad really the future of the journalism world? With a starting price running at $499 and devices running on a 3G network starting at $629, will enough people purchase the device to entice media companies to pour money into creating new ways of discovering their product on this fancy piece of hardware? “They should have made an iPhone with an external something to hook up to a screen, and use your iPhone as a computer type thing with high resolution,” said Danny Martinez, a graphic information technology senior. “It would pretty much be what the iPad is without it being a separate device. You could

Pi, The DesiPad ou've heard of Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad; both devices are supposed to change the way we read electronic books.

Both of them also share their roots in the U.S. Now, if you were expecting something from India too, you got it right here. Enter Pi, the first native ebook reader from Infibeam. The Pi gives you access to over 1 lakh titles on the Infibeam ebook store, which you can download and start reading in seconds. The Pi is 10mm thin and weighs 180 gms, which is about the weight of a magazine. The device is equipped with a 6-inch E-Ink display capable of displaying 8-levels of grey colours.

The E-ink technology provides a paper-like reading experience - with no screen glare, the Pi will also be readable in direct sunlight. Unlike other Ebook readers, the Pi supports Hindi, Sanskrit and most other native languages of India. It has got an internal storage space of about 512 MB which stores 500 Ebooks and the memory is expandable up to 4GB (via a SD card) which can store upto 3,000 books. It supports most the ebook formats - PDF, EPUB, HTML, TXT, MOBI, DOC and image formats - JPG, BMP, PNG. The Pi also has a music library and can play songs. Moreover, this device supports games such as Sudoku. The Pi is priced at Rs. 9,999.

gPad, Google’s iPad Killer? ust weeks after launching an iPhone competitor in the form of the Nexus One, Google looks set to tramp on Apple’s toes again with its own tablet computer to rival the iPad. Google has released a user interface design of what its own tablet could look like on its open source Chromium Projects site. Google’s conceptual images for what a Chrome OS-based tablet computer were actually released before the Apple iPad announcement, but were swept under the carpet somewhat by the Apple publicity machine. Google said that a Chrome OS tablet would have a 5 to 10 inch screen with the UI adjusted for larger touch targets. The proposed tablet would also include a screen-based virtual keyboard, and an integrated media player running in the Chrome Web browser and OS. While this functionality sounds very similar to what you could do on an Apple iPad, Google’s Chrome device will be open source, allowing developers to create apps and other software possibilities that Apple’s proprietary hardware won’t allow. By releasing an open source tablet, Google are hitting Apple where its most vulnerable. “Initial explorations have maintained the same basic chrome layout, but enlarged the controls,” Google said in a post. “Icons could be placed above tabs to provide larger, square targets. Panels would be placed along the bottom edge and could be opened with upward dragging motions.” While Google’s tablet is all speculation (taking a leaf out of Apple’s book perhaps?), its Chrome OS is due to appear on netbooks by the end of the year.

light.” This may prove to be a downside, with an LEDbacklit screen being much more difficult to stare at for long periods of time than e-ink, which is akin to staring at actual paper. “Is it practical in today’s world? Does anyone want to carry around this big tablet thing, when you could just do it one your netbook or on your laptop?” said Michael Tucker, a journalism and political science senior. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty cool, though.”

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choose how big you want your device to be,” he said. Also featured on the iPad is an application called iBooks, which is set to rival Amazon’s Kindle in the emerging world of E-Reader devices. What sets apart the Kindle from the iPad is the Kindle’s use of e-ink technology, whereas the iPad, according the Apple’s Web site, has a “high-resolution, LEDbacklit screen [that] displays everything in sharp, rich color, so it’s easy to read, even in low

TECHNOLOGY

BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER before an audience of sleepy journalists and venture capitalists, Emo Labs CEO Jason Carlson took the stage with a TV and a giant set of speakers playing the Beach Boys.

Then he whipped off the speaker box to reveal the real source of the sound: a sheet of clear plastic.

There were audible gasps. Dozens of digital cameras flashed at once. Emo had invented invisible speakers.

"I can't tell you how many times we've sat in front of engineers, and they keep asking, 'Where's the sound coming from again?'" says Carlson. "It's like their minds don't want them to believe it." Emo went on to win $500,000 and the conference's DEMOgod title.

The company is tight-lipped on pricing and on which electronics giants it has struck deals with. Those companies should make their own announcements in the first half of 2010. (The products will not carry Emo Labs branding.) Carlson says the technology will add about a 10% price premium, so consumers should pay $100 more for a $1,000 TV equipped with Emo's speaker.

Electronics firms have been deep-discounting their

products for some time now, and even Carlson admits they are wary of any technology that could drive up the price of their products. Still, given that 160 million flat-panel TVs and 150 million laptops were sold in 2009, even a tiny slice of that market would be lucrative for Emo.

PETS

CATS FIGHT DOGS IN THIS ULTIMATE PET TEST

t's a claim that's sure to put the cat among the pigeons.

A study into character, intelligence and usefulness shows dogs are better pets than cats but only by a whisker.

In the 'great pet showdown' experts compared 11 traits from brain size to environmental impact by looking at research published in scientific journals. Dogs came out on top in six categories to cats' five.

Staff at New Scientist magazine first listed the areas where cats fared best.

These included having bigger brains in proportion to their body size.

Cats' brains also contain more cells, with about 1.4million more devoted to complex functions such as memory and attention than dogs' brains.

The cats' second point was awarded for being more popular, with 204million living in the top ten catowning nations compared to 173million dogs in the ten countries where canines are most in vogue.

Felines also get more attention from humans, with blissed-out purrs actually disguising a call to be noticed that their owners find irresistible.

Although dogs can vary the length, range, pitch and frequency of their barks, they cannot compete with the attention-seeking of cats.

It is a similar story when it comes to senses. Cats can see in lower light than dogs and have a far wider hearing range and a keener sense of smell.

They are said to be 'greener' pets because their smaller appetites equate to a smaller ecological footprint - the area of land required to farm their food. Even a small dog such as a chihuahua has a bigger annual footprint than the average cat.

But in the other six categories examined - many of which related to how the animals interact with humans - dogs had the edge.

Dogs have a longer shared history with humans, and may have been domesticated as long as 135,000 years ago. Cats are relative newcomers to our homes. Similarly, dogs have a greater ability to bond with their masters. Even four-month-old

ATS' brains also contain more cells, with about 1.4million more devoted to complex functions such as memory and attention than dogs' brains. puppies choose a human companion over another dog, research has shown.

Dogs scored a third point for their superior powers of understanding.

One study found that a border collie called Rico had mastered the meaning of more than 200 words.

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CATS AND DOGS SLUGGED IT OUT. BOTH OF THEM WANTED TO PROVE A POINT. ARE YOU READY FOR THE ULTIMATE CAT VS DOG QUIZ? WHO IS MORE POPULAR? WHO HAS A BIGGER BRAIN? WHO HAS A KEENER SENSE OF SMELL AND VISION? WHO HAS BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND LEARNING POWER?

SELF HELP

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SIMPLE 5 LIFE LESSONS WE ALL FORGET We are always on the look-out for the next complex self-help strategy. Clever authors and books have turned overnight bestsellers touting yet-another way of setting goals and tackling problems. But as most of us have found out, these synthetic strategies are quite difficult to follow through. And all the while, we were missing a few fundamental principles of life. Here are five of those simple life-lessons we all tend to forget, in our search for the next big thing.

There will always be temptation to forsake the future for immediate gratification. We all want to buy that new piece of technology, treat ourselves to an expensive night on the town, or take out a loan for the flashy car we can't afford. It might feel great at the time but rash spending hurts a lot later on.

Enjoy life's simple pleasures and save as much as you can. Expensive things don't create lasting happiness and security. Careful spending will bring you greater leisure and enjoyment in the long run.

2

Put Your Money to Work

Saving is great, but to make the most of your money you need to put it to work. Good investments can be the difference between retiring in your 40's or in your 60's.

A post today at The Simple Dollar really got me thinking. According to Trent's projections, if a person in their early 20's invests 20% of their income in an S&P index fund, the interest they earn will equal their current salary when they reach their early 40's.

They could retire without a drop in income!

Wise investing is the surest path to financial independence and it's something everyone can work on. It's definitely an area I'll be devoting more attention to in my personal life and on this blog.

3

Educate Yourself

To be happy we need continuous growth. The best way to grow is life long education. This doesn't mean you need to pursue a doctorate or spend 2 hours reading every day. Self education can be anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas and perspectives.

Education builds over time. It might feel like the bits of wisdom you acquire don't mean much, but over the years they add up to form a wiser, kinder, more interesting person.

4

Develop Lasting Personal Relationships

Suppose you had everything you wanted.

Would you be happy without anyone to share it with? The personal relationships we develop with friends and family members are the greatest source of happiness in our lives. Don't forget about them.

DUCATION BUILDS OVER TIME. IT MIGHT FEEL LIKE THE BITS OF WISDOM YOU ACQUIRE DON'T MEAN MUCH, BUT OVER THE YEARS THEY ADD UP TO FORM A WISER, KINDER, MORE INTERESTING PERSON. Taking the time to cultivate and enjoy personal relationships is essential to longterm happiness.

Without the people you care about you'll probably be miserable, no matter how successful you become.

5

Work Towards a Dream You're Passionate About

Even if your life isn't perfect, you can always build towards a goal you're passionate about. If you aren't building towards something, you're probably stagnating. When this happens to me I start to feel like a victim trapped by my own life. The best way to reverse this is working towards a goal.

We can't control everything about our lives, but working towards a goal gives us something positive to focus on and lays the foundation for future success. No matter what your passion is, get out there and start doing something. As Lao Tzu said, even a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.

6

Bonus: Stay in Shape

You only get one body. Once it's been ruined there isn't much you can do about it. Exercise to keep the rust off. Avoid excessive consumption of damaging substances and unhealthy foods. It may feel like terrible self denial at the time but enjoying good health in your later years is worth the sacrifice.

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1

Live Below Your Means

GET AHEAD

5 POINT CHECKLIST FOR A SUPER INTERVIEW Most job interviews are superb opportunities to prove our mettle and land a dream job. But most of us have bungled our chances by either undercommunicating, or over-communicating, or failing to do our homework right.

Here are some easy, no-nonsense steps for a super interview. Don’t get interviewed again, before correcting these 5 mistakes.

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he job interview is one of the most dreaded life experiences. Here are some confidencebuilding tips for a successful face-to-face with potential employers.

The job interview is a nerve-wracking, nail-biting experience for many career seekers. With all the do’s and don’ts, it is often hard to keep track of what to say and how to say it.

However with a bit of practice and preparation, the person can go face to face with the employer with confidence. Here are a few tips for the

wary candidate.

Write Down Job Skills and Accomplishments Before walking into the interview, write down several job accomplish-

The key to a successful job interview is to be relaxed, yet professional. By identifying skills and accomplishments, researching the company, updating the wardrobe, asking and answering the company’s questions effectively,

ments on a piece of paper. Employers like to hear stories where the employee managed to succeed under difficult circumstances. Then list core job skills to give the company an idea of strengths and abilities.

This technique comes in handy when the employer asks questions related to skills, strengths, and past accomplishments.

Research the Company Search the employer on the internet.

Find out what people are saying about the company, how many people work there, financial standing, etc. Print out the organization’s

Ask and Answer Interview Questions Effectively A typical employer will have a long list of questions to ask the job seeker. If the person is prepared, he or she will have studied the most common interview questions and will have practiced answering with the aid of a friend or family member. During this phase of the process, maintain good eye contact. Tie job skills and accomplishments into the company’s business goals, smile, and show enthusiasm.

Talk about how the core set of strengths and job skills matches the position and how they would benefit the company. Above all, be clear and concise – don’t ramble on and get off track.

About Us page and bring it into the interview. With the About Us printout on the table, ask one or two questions related to the operation, structure, and goals of the business.

Make notes in the margins of the page as the interviewer is answering the question.

Get a Business Fashion Sense Dated apparel and a bad hair day gives the employer the impression that the candidate is stuck in the past and may have a difficult time adjusting to new job skills. A new personal line of business fashion chic not only adds to the candidate's pro-

Toward the end of the interview, the employer typically asks whether the candidate has any questions. The answer should always be “yes,” and the person should always be prepared with several questions relating to the company and the requirements of the position (e.g., “Who is your ideal candidate for this position?” “Why is this position open?”

“Who does the person in this position report to?”).

Another useful tip is to answer questions as if the person is a hypothetical member of the company’s team.

For example, “If I were selected as your top candidate and became a member of ChipWare DataServer Corporation’s team, I would ensure the security of the company’s servers, databases, and email systems.”

Mind the Body Language It’s been said that up to 93 percent of human communication is nonverbal. During the job interview, the employer will pick up on any nega-

Before walking into the interview, write down several job accomplishments on a piece of paper.

Employers like to hear stories where the employee managed to succeed under difficult circumstances.

Then list core job skills to give the company an idea of strengths and abilities. This technique comes in handy when the employer asks questions related to skills, strengths, and past accomplishments. tive body language such as fidgeting in the chair, slouching, gazing out the window, being distracted by a watch or cell phone, or furrowing the eyebrows. The candidate should maintain good eye contact, sit up straight in the chair, keep focused, and smile often.

The key to a successful job interview is to be relaxed, yet professional. By identifying skills and accomplishments, researching the company, updating the wardrobe, asking and answering the company’s questions effectively, and paying close attention to body language, the candidate can walk into every interview with a greater sense of confidence.

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fessionalism, it also boosts the confidence level. Shop at discount outlets such as T.J. Maxx, Marshall’s, Kohl’s, and consignment and thrift shops.

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BOOKS

INDIRA'S SECRET WISH AND OTHER STORIES

by Natwar Singh

id you know that Indira Gandhi yearned for a daughter, or that veteran communist parliamentarian Hirendranath Mukherjee tried to find out if Comrade Jyoti Basu had accepted money to deliver the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture in 1998?

These and other nuggets of information are recorded in former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh's book Yours Sincerely, a selection of correspondence between him and eminent public personalities - among them Indira Gandhi, P N Haksar, H Y Sharda Prasad, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Rajiv Gandhi, E M Forster, Nadine Gordimer and Mulk Raj Anand.

The book, released earlier this month, does not include any correspondence with Sonia Gandhi. But many letters, written by people long gone, remain relevant even today.

In April 1975, with Morarji Desai on a fast demanding elections to the dissolved Gujarat Assembly, Indira wrote to Natwar, then India's Deputy High Commissioner in London: "We have given in to a part of Morarji's demand... It seemed such a silly point for which to fast or for us to hold out... However, our difficulties are acute and varied enough without having a dead Morarji haunting the scene...

I was deeply shocked at the manner in which some (Opposition parties) seemed to (claim) that his disappearance from the scene would clear the way for Opposition unity."

Congress leaders grappling with the fallout of their seeming capitulation before the fasting K Chandrasekhar Rao earlier this month would find Indira's reaction insightful.

Some of the correspondence reveals Indira's softer, affectionate side. In January 1970, after Natwar suffered a slipped disc while bending to give his son a teddy, she wrote to him, "Do you remember when the same thing happened to KPS Menon? He had to stand in a very artistic Ajanta pose for quite some time. Now you know the pleasures of fatherhood."

When Natwar's daughter was born, she wrote, "You certainly have done better planning than many of us.

My heart has always yearned for a daughter, so I can imagine your joy in Jagat's having a baby sister."

Natwar Singh

A letter from Hiren Mukherjee demonstrates the CPI veteran's commitment as a public representative.

On January 10, 1999, he wrote to Natwar: "For reasons I can guess but cannot relish, the Jawaharlal Trust got my old comrade of close to sixty years to give the annual lecture (November 1998). I remember in the old days the lecture carried an honorarium of a hundred thousand rupees (plus, expenses, etc.,) which may well have been enhanced.

As the only surviving original trustee, I might perhaps inquire (thought I am not doing so - this is a purely personal request) if Jyoti was offered and declined or accepted any such payment..."

There is no indication why Mukherjee decided to contact Natwar instead of asking Basu directly.

The book contains the gracious letter Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to Natwar the day after he resigned in the wake of the oil-for-food scandal.

"I have received your letter of 6 December 2005... I have... asked the Rashtrapati to accept your resignation," the PM wrote.

"Under your leadership, the external relations of the country have seen immense progress and we have been able to make giant strides on all fronts. In the last 17 months the prestige and standing of the nation has risen to unprecedented heights on the international plane. Your contribution to the peace process with Pakistan, moving forward our relations with neighbours and in making a historic breakthrough in our relations with the US are indeed praiseworthy accomplishments," he added.

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In December 1971, Indira wrote: "It is not important what the Chinese think or what they want. What is important is what they do. So far they have kept to the expected line." Nearly four decades later, her advice would still make sense.

INNOVATION

WHEN ROADS GET ROUGH, TAKE TO THE SKIES! et ready, Detroit - this small firm is keeping up with the Jetsons.

guided by the need to create something to be used in today's world, not tomorrow's.

Carl Dietrich always dreamed of building a flying car.

Instead, the pragmatic inventor ended up creating what he calls a roadable aircraft, a plane that folds up its wings on landing and takes to the highway. In 2010, after three years of development, his vehicle, the Transition, will be available to customers for $194,000 a pop.

So he and his team designed the Transition with regular car tires instead of aircraft tires. When the wings are folded up, the craft can park in a typical home garage, and it even runs on premium gasoline rather than aviation fuel. "We knew we could build it," Dietrich says.

"The question was, 'Can we make money on it?' The key was not to base the business plan around a market that is not real."

Terrafugia, the Woburn, Mass. company behind the Transition, began as an extracurricular activity for Dietrich while he was completing his Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. Dietrich, 31, knew from the start that the odds were stacked against his project.

Since the time of the Wright brothers, there have been more than 100 attempts to build drivable planes or flying cars. All have failed commercially.

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Is this for real – a car that flies? Or will our grandchildren turn back and exclaim – was that real, cars that couldn’t fly? Former MIT researcher Carl Dietrich believes the latter. He leads Terrafugia, the leader among half a dozen North American companies attempting to build cars that can fly.

Terrafugia got ahead, because, Dietrich was among the first to realize that a flyable car is impractical, and that the practical solution is a driveable airplane.

Now, Terrafugia has reached a stage where it is worried more over how to bring its first flying car to market. Because they have already built and test flown it successfully. Dietrich is solving one challenge after the other including air traffic regulations and even insurance complexities. Best of all is the modest name of Dietrich’s flying car. Welcome to ‘Transition’ from Terrafugia.

"The basic problem is simple: A car is heavy, a plane is light," says Lionel Salisbury, publisher of the Roadable Times, a Web site devoted to chronicling flying-car attempts. "The two don't go together well."

Dietrich's early sketches envisioned a plane that would be driven rather than an automobile that took flight.

At every step of the process, he was

Transition's design team studied the history of similar machines and the inventors who failed to bring their concepts to market. The most notable was Moulton "Molt" Taylor, a former Navy pilot who designed his first Aerocar in 1949, launched it in 1956 and produced a grand total of six vehicles.

Terrafugia concluded that the

Aerocar failed because it was too difficult to convert from plane to car.

"You had to unbolt the wings and reassemble them into a trailer," says Anna Mracek Dietrich, Carl's wife and the company's COO. Terrafugia doesn't lack for competitors. In Los Angeles, Icon Aircraft is currently marketing a towable light aircraft that is amphibious (price tag: $139,000). In Alvin, Texas, LaBiche Aerospace has developed a flying sports car, which

The bulk of Terrafugia's initial funding - much of Carl Dietrich's $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for outstanding innovation was spent building a Transition prototype. Dietrich found some of his first investors at AirVenture Oshkosh, a festival that the Experimental Aircraft Association sponsors every August in Oshkosh, Wis. By December 2006 the company had secured several hundred thousand dollars in convertible notes. Since then, Terrafugia has completed five other convertible-note financings and recently closed its first round of equity financing. Another round is

planned for 2009.

Terrafugia plans to manufacture the Transition in-house for now, although the Dietrichs aren't opposed to partnering with a larger manufacturer in the future.

Meanwhile, they're negotiating with the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation to settle on a design that satisfies both aircraft and auto regulators. That doesn't even begin to address the substantial insurance challenges.

"The auto insurance people and the aircraft insurance people don't even talk to each other," says Richard Gersh, a former insurance industry executive and Terrafugia's vice president of business development.

The FAA gave Terrafugia a boost in 2004, when it relaxed structural and maintenance requirements for ultralight planes by adopting the Sport Pilot and Light-Sport Aircraft Rule. This allowed experimental

aircraft designers to push the technological envelope.

In the next five years, Dietrich hopes to sell a few hundred Transitions, mostly to wealthy private pilots and professionals who need to make short but regular flights. As FSB went to press, Terrafugia had gathered 40 deposits and its order backlog totaled more than $8 million.

While the company doesn't anticipate mainstream adoption of the Transition, Dietrich does expect an envy factor: "You see it in your neighbor's driveway," he says, "and you realize that he has a freedom you lack."

Terrafugia: Carl Dietrich's flying car, the Transition, took to the skies for the first time in March. It landed safely but revealed new engineering problems: "There are things to improve on," says a diplomatic Dietrich. A new prototype is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.

At least Dietrich's insurance woes have been solved. Massachusetts's Division of Insurance is allowing his creation to be covered by aviation insurance even while being driven on land. And preorders have increased from $8 million in 2008 to $13.8 million in 2009. Dietrich now expects the first Transitions to be delivered in 2011.

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is classified as an experimental aircraft, and is taking orders for the $175,000 kits. Milner Motors, a father-and-son team based in Vancouver, Wash. and Bethesda, Md., is working on a prototype for a drivable plane that it expects to sell for $450,000. Publicly traded Moller International (MLER) in Davis, Calif. has designed a personal aircraft that takes off and lands vertically.

(Moller is not yet taking deposits.)

There are others as well, but Terrafugia appears to be further along than most in bringing its product to market.

GET AHEAD

HOW TO STAND

TALLER

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We all admire people with that right measure of selfesteem. Most of us have too much or too little. Here is how to strike that right balance, especially for those suffering from hypo-esteem.

Step One: Stop comparing yourself with other people.

There will always be some people who have more than you and some who have less.

If you play the comparison game, you'll run into too many "opponents" you can't defeat.

develop high self-esteem if you repeat negative phrases about yourself and your abilities. Whether speaking about your appearances, your career, your relationships, your financial situation, or any other aspects of your life, avoid self-deprecating comments.

STEP THREE: Accept all compliments with "thank you." Ever received a compliment and replied," Oh, it was nothing." When you reject a compliment, the message you give yourself is that you are not worthy of praise. Respond to all compliments with a simple Thank You."

business goal, etc. Read this list often. While reviewing it, close your eyes and recreate the feelings of satisfaction and joy you experienced when you first attained each success.

STEP EIGHT: Make a list of your positive qualities. Are you honest? Unselfish? Helpful? Creative?

Be generous with yourself and write down at least 20 positive qualities. Again, it's important to review this list often. Most people dwell on their inadequacies and then wonder why their life isn't working out. Start focusing on your positive traits and you'll stand a much better chance of achieving what you wish to achieve.

STEP FOUR: Use affirmations to enhance your

STEP NINE: Start giving more. I'm not talking

self-esteem. On the back of a business card or small index card, write out a statement such as "I like and accept my self." or "I am valuable, lovable person and deserve the best in life." Carry the card with you.

Repeat the statement several times during the day, especially at night before going to bed and after getting up in the morning. Whenever you say the affirmation, allow yourself to experience positive feelings about your statement.

about money. Rather, I mean that you must begin to give more of yourself to those around you. When you do things for others, you are making a positive contribution and you begin to feel more valuable, which, in turn, lifts your spirits and raises your own self-esteem.

STEP FIVE: Take advantage of workshops, books and cassette tape programs on self-esteem. Whatever material you allow to dominate mind will eventually take root and affect your behavior. If you watch negative television programs or read newspaper reports of murders and business rip off; you will grow cynical and pessimistic. Similarly, if you read books or listen to programs, that are positive in nature, you will take on these characteristics.

STEP SIX: Associate with positive, supportive people. When you are surrounded by negative people who constantly put you and your ideas down, your self-esteem is lowered. On the other hand, when you are accepted and encouraged, you feel better about yourself in the best possible environment to raise your self-esteem.

STEP SEVEN: Make a list of your past successes.

This doesn't necessarily have to consist of monumental accomplishments. It can include your "minor victories," like learning to skate, graduating from high school, receiving an award or promotion, reaching a

STEP TEN:

Get involved in work and activities you love. It's hard to feel good about yourself if your days are spent in work you despise. Self-esteem flourishes when you are engaged in work and activities that you enjoy and make you feel valuable.

Even if you can't explore alternative career options at the present time, you can still devote leisure time to hobbies and activities, which you find stimulating and enjoyable.

STEP ELEVEN: Be true to yourself. Live your own life - not the life others have decided is best for you. You'll never gain your own respect and feel good about yourself if you aren't leading the life you want to lead. If you're making decisions based on getting approval from friends and relatives, you aren't being true to yourself and your self-esteem is lowered.

STEP TWELVE: Take action! You won't develop high self-esteem if you sit on the sidelines and back away from challenges. When you take action - regardless of the ensuing result - you feel better about yourself. When you fail to move forward because of fear and anxiety, you'll be frustrated and unhappy and you will undoubtedly deal a damaging blow to your self-esteem.

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STEP TWO: Stop putting yourself down. You can't

INVENTION

AMERICAN BUILDINGS DANCE,

BUT DON’T FALL DOWN, THANKS TO THIS

BANGALORE BRAIN henever US-based steel fabricators Star Seismic or CoreBrace are involved in the construction of a new hospital, school or a commercial building in the earthquake-prone American west coast, they pay $60-$80 (Rs 2,750-Rs 3,650) as royalty to Bangalore’s Benne Narasimhamurthy Sridhara for each brace they supply to make the buildings safe as houses.

Fitted with ‘sleeved column’ braces, technology for which was developed and patented by the 74-year-old, the buildings sway under the onslaught of the most severe earthquakes and storms, but they don’t buckle.

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The sturdy brace apparatus developed by Mr Sridhara, a structural steel design consultant, is simple, yet effective. It surrounds a core of highperformance steel, but is spaced from the sides of the core. The sleeve absorbs and dissipates energy, but doesn’t buckle under pressure.

Almost a decade ago, while experimenting with several designs that could withstand seismic pressures, Mr Sridhara took a thin rod and inserted it inside a transparent plastic pipe. “When I applied load, the plastic tube prevented the brace from buckling,” he recalls.

The 56-floor Los Angeles Conven-

Mysore and US Educated Benne Narasimhamurthy Sridhara, a structural steel designer originally from Bangalore, has to his credit the invention of Buckling Restrained Braced Frames (BRBF), a breakthrough technology that let skyscrapers sway but not buckle during earthquakes and storms.

Even while Sridhara’s technology is getting massive approval across US for its effectiveness and economy, this Indian innovator’s attempt to adapt the same technology to Indian buildings and railways has met with deep lethargy. Sridhara is confident that his technology can create crash-proof wagons for railways, but top railway engineers met his request with a strange demand – build such a wagon yourself and prove it to us! tion Center, the Bennet Federal Building in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the 60-storey One Rincon Hill building in San Francisco are among those fitted with the ‘sleeved column’ braces that emerged as a result of the experiment.

Despite being successfully implemented in the US, the design is yet to find takers in India even though the Murugappa group supported him and funded the validation of technology spending about Rs 1 crore.

Benne Narasimhamurthy Sridhara

"The destruction caused by the 2001 Gujarat earthquake could have been avoided if the buildings, at least those having more than six floors, had these braces," says Mr Sridhara, a civil engineer who was educated in Mysore and the US. Conventional braces, which do not have any sleeved material for absorbing energy, can buckle under even in an earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale, he added. The Gujarat

Mr Sridhara, whose invention is referred to in the US as Buckling Restrained Braced Frames (BRBF), is today helping construction firms in that country save at least 30% in costs for each brace. Moreover, Star Seismic and CoreBrace are also able to manufacture the braces in the US instead of importing them from Japan’s Nippon Steel, the world’s second largest steelmaker.

"Unlike in India, there are very stringent rules for constructing hospitals and schools in the US, and that is why this invention makes sense.

Moreover, other technologies that require having more braces or even attaching bearings to the entire building can be twice as expensive," he observes.

For many American cities on the west coast, earthquakes are a common phenomenon and the local civil construction industry keeps seeking ways to build schools and hospitals that are more earthquake-resistant.

Despite getting a US patent in 2000 for his ‘sleeved column’ braces, the light of Mr Sridhara’s invention was hidden under a bushel, until Badri K Prasad, an Indian engineer based in California, took notice and started educating the local industry.

Mr Prasad, a vice-president at California-based structural engineering consulting firm Thornton Tomasetti, helped spread the word about the technology in the US and ensured that the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) adopted his invention as part of its ‘code of practice’ in 2006.

“My colleague Rafael Sabelli was studying a similar technology from Nippon Steel and everybody thought it was invented in Japan, until I told them that it was actually invented by Mr Sridhara from Bangalore,” he says.

Until few years ago, Nippon Steel was charging as much as $4000 to $5000 for each brace. After signing the licensing agreement with Mr Sridhara, Star Seismic and CoreBrace were able to bring down costs by nearly 30%. “Nippon Steel was trying to enter the US market a few years ago, but they had no patent. Mr Sridhara had,” says Mr Prasad.

As the number of floors in a building rises, the cost per brace keeps falling. For instance, a building with seven or more floors can adopt buckling restrained braces at $700 each, compared to nearly $1100 for conventional braces.

Anil Gupta of IIMAhmedabad, who is also the executive vice-chairman of the National Innovation Foundation, says that Mr Sridhara’s inven-

tion must be adopted in countries such as India.

“What Mr Sridhara has achieved is remarkable; his invention is today influencing America’s construction industry,” he says. “This technology is not only applicable for big buildings, but also smaller structures in earthquake-prone areas across Gujarat and other states.”

And since ‘buckling-proof’ design is needed in many other industries, Mr Sridhara’s invention continues to find new takers. Recently, the National Science Foundation of Washington along with the Federal Railway Authority of US granted nearly $100,000 for conducting tests to validate the concept.

“This can be used to design crashworthy and shock-absorbing coaches and wagons,” says Mr Sridhara.

The next step for Mr Sridhara will be to get some Indian firms adopt the technology while constructing steel buildings. “We are currently in discussions with several firms, including L&T, and something would come out hopefully soon enough,” he says.

However, it’s not been easy so far bringing Mr Sridhara’s invention to India. When he contacted several Indian Railways officials in the country, he was asked to meet engineers at the railways factory in Perambur, Tamil Nadu. “When I met the engineers, they asked me to make a wagon myself and then demonstrate it,” he says.

Meanwhile, for Mr Sridhara, the commercial success of invention means that he no longer needs to seek funds from others for experimenting and validating his inventions. “I am earning more thanwhat I earned during forty years of my work life here and can now fund my ideas myself.”

A ‘clog-free’ shower cap and an air relief valve without any ball float are among the new products which he aims to develop in the days to come.

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earthquake was recorded at 8 on the scale.

BANGALORE

BANGALORE’S AMBITION TO BE

SIGNAL-FREE, DUST-FREE

India has bigger and more productive cities than Middle East, Far East, or even West. But when it comes to efficiency and neatness, our cities are a generation behind. Now, Bangalore is taking the first steps in pioneering signalfree corridors and dust-free roads. Mahadevapura, which was brought into the city fold a few years ago, is showing the way through the initiatives of Mahadevapura Agenda Task Force (MATF) that is formulating the schemes after extensive feedback from the public, and implementing them the PPP way.

nce a cluster of villages, it is now a concrete jungle with skyscrapers and traffic screeching on the roads. But the smileys are there: broad, new-laid roads lined with neat medians and streetlights — a welcome sight across Mahadevapura. With time, the villages of Gunjur, Varthur, Hagadur, Kadugodi and Hoody have transformed into major hubs of the new BBMP zone, barring a few interior locations.

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THE PPP WAY But change did not come overnight: much of it came about thanks to effective Public-Private Partnership, a majority of it triggered by the year-old Mahadevapura Agenda Task Force (MATF), inspired by the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF). The few success stories here serve as lessons on infrastructure to even the old BBMP

areas.

MATF was started soon after the assembly elections in 2008. The agenda: to involve residents in local area planning and development.

“The initial four or five meetings of MATF were organized to understand problems and issues, and solicit suggestions from the people, besides getting senior officials from various civic and development agencies such as BBMP, BDA, BWSSB, Bescom, revenue, PWD, education , health, Lake Authority, sports and library departments.

These consultations soon shaped up into a comprehensive development plan for the entire zone, which was further categorized into short, medium and long-term projects.

Detailed project reports (DPRs) were prepared by civic and municipal agencies and government departments. Then, several meetings were held with civic agencies for allocation of funds,’’ explains MATF convener R K Misra.

PROGRESS UPDATE The good news: most of the short-term projects are already complete. Almost all the inner city roads have been strengthened and asphalted, doorto-door garbage collection is implemented, trees have been planted all along the roads and almost all major roads have streetlights that function.

MEDIUM-TERM PROJECTS include work on five major road corridors Kundalahalli-Varthur Kodi-Hope Farm-Kadugodi (Whitefield Railway Stn., 8 km): The road stretch from Kundalahalli-Graphite India-Hoody Jn (5 km) is being developed into a model road. Tiled footpaths for these two ‘zero-dust roads’ is under progress, with cable ducts, bus bays and pedestrian crossings. These roads will soon be

HAL-Marathalli-Kundalahalli : This road is part of the signal-free corridor, up to Vellara Junction via Air Force Command Hospital.

BBMP tendering under progress, but halted due to model code of conduct.

Hope Farm-ITPB-KR Puram: Part of signal-free corridor up to Mehkri Circle via Ulsoor-Jayamahal .

Again, BBMP tendering under progress, stopped due to model code of conduct.

Sarjapur Road from Iblur-Wipro HO-railway crossing: BBMP has estimated the work, funds are yet to be allocated.

Outer Ring Road - Iblur-KR Puram: Part of signal-free ORR project.

The Iblur flyover at Sarjapur Road junction is 50% complete. Another three flyovers between Iblur and KR Puram have also been tendered, and soil survey work is in progress. The

BDA also plans to make this road ‘dust-free’ , laying interlocking blocks and planting shrubs on medians and footpaths.

UNFINISHED AGENDA Kadugodi Railway Over Bridge (RoB): The crude stretch of unfinished RoB stands disconnected over Whitefield station at Kadugodi. This RoB is part of the east-sideaccess to Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), proposed by the Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure Development (ABIDe). Ironically, almost 45 km of the road stretch starting from K a d u g o d i Whitefield railway station up to the airport , via Budhigiri and Devanahalli, is almost ready, but this bridge is incomplete even after four years. The latest reason is that the contractor has run away as Railways refused to pay the additional cost.

However, officials say new tenders

have been called and people hope work will begin in February .

Meanwhile, commuters at this junction have to contend with chaos and an hour-long jam at the railway crossing, with goods trains shuttling to the FCI depot nearby.

ITPB/Industrial Park Zone: The most important industrial, hitech zone of Bangalore , it has been completely neglected by KIADB. The are broken roads, no footpaths or streetlights.

Pedestrian woes at Marthahalli junction : Increasing traffic has left pedestrians with very little foot room on roads. Physically handicapped and senior citizens struggle to cross the road through speeding vehicles. “It’s sad that the city has skywalks at places where people don’t use them. Here, we need them badly, but nothing has been done,’’ complains a pedestrian, who has seen this area worsen with the years.

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fitted with rain water harvesting pits at every 50 m in the roadside drain.

MUMBAI

STATE EYES STRESS-FREE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION fter the CBSE board’s revamp, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education is also looking at a makeover. The student suicides over the past two weeks has forced the government to look at identifying flaws in the current system that put marks before a child’s life.

“We want to create a new framework for the curriculum that will help de-stress students. We want extra-curricular activities to get more importance than they are given at present,’’ said state education minister Balasaheb Thorat at a panel discussion on suicides on Wednesday. The decision to create

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Salman announces first ever Cyclothon in Mumbai Salman Khan and former cycling champion Eddy Merckx of Belgium pose on cycles during a news conference in Mumbai on Monday. The duo announced the first ever Mumbai Cyclothon-Tour De Mumbai, to be held on February 21.

a stress-free curriculum was discussed at a cabinet meeting the same day. “We will invite

suggestions from the the public on how to create a stress-free curriculum,’’ said Thorat. Narendra Varma, NCP city chief, who organised Wednesday’s panel discussion, went on to add that the government was thinking of making

counselling mandatory in all schools.

“We need to create a system that lays as much stress on a child’s emotional quotient as it does on their intelligence quotient. After all, people who feel superb about themselves generate superb results,’’ said Malti Renjen, principal, New Era School.

“The state government can start by doing away with all unit tests. One final and one terminal exam should be sufficient,’’ said Ruparel College principal Pradeep Kulkarni.

Meanwhile, along with sending out the HSC exam timetable to junior colleges, the board has also sent a circular asking colleges to “campaign for tension-free exams’’.

“There are countless examples of people who were not great at studies, but went on to do great things in life.

Parents should not burden students with their own expectations in board exams. Not all students develop their IQ at the same time,’’ said Shridhar Salunkhe, chairperson of the HSC board’s Mumbai division.

Colleges must conduct a meeting with parents before February 10 and counsel them to ensure their kids are not stressed before the exams.

Colleges have also been asked to put up posters on the issue across campuses. The board helpline and counselling centre will be functional from February 10.

PETS

GEORGE IS ALMOST A HORSE eet the Great Dane, who is staking his claim as this planet’s tallest dog. If you have a best friend measuring 7-feet, George is welcome to be challenged. the lofty heights.

'He's 42.625 inches at the shoulder,' said David. 'He's very very unique.'

According to David, George consumes 110lbs of food every month, and sleeps alone in his own Queen Size Bed. David and Christine raised George from when he was 7 weeks old, but never expected him to grow so big.

The couple eventually had to move their aptly named dog out of their

king sized bed, when he grew too large for the three of them to share the same sheets.

Dr. William Wallace of the Buena Pet Clinic in Tucson, who witnessed the documentation necessary for the Guinness record, said: 'In my 45 years of experience working with giant breed dogs, without question, George is the tallest dog I have ever seen.'

David is currently rushing to get that necessary documentation into Guinness as other dog owners are coming forth claiming the record.

As they wait for the results to come through, George is busy occupying himself with his new found stardom and even has a Facebook fan page and Twitter accounts for his adorning fans.

It appears as though the sky's the limit for this mammoth hound.

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tanding at nearly 43 inches tall from paw to shoulder and weighing a staggering 245lbs could this be the world's new tallest dog?

Pictured here in the parks of Tuscon, Arizona, George, a four-year-old blue great dane, looks more like a miniature horse than a dog.

The gentle giant, who measures 7ft 3ins from nose to tail, could be a prime contender to take the title from the former record holder, Gibson, a harlequin Great Dane who passed away from cancer last August.

Now George's owners, David and Christine Nasser, are awaiting confirmation from Guinness World Records to see if he has achieved

AUTO

SUPERCARS Hitting India, Soon he mainstream market may be gung-ho over small cars, but the monsters out there are getting nastier. Like, they are moving from V6 to V8. And from sub-crore to super-crore prices. And they are coming to India. Here are eight leading contenders. Will there be takers at the fully imported prices?

MERCEDES-BENZ SLS AMG

COSTS 2 CRORE, BUT THE DOORS ARE STILL MANUAL

What is it?

A thoroughly modern and magnificent interpretation of the classic Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (nicknamed “Gullwing” for the way the doors open). Built by AMG (the arm of the three-pointed star that builds insanely powerful versions), the SLS comes in place of the McLaren-Mercedes-Benz SLR. Indeed, it’s the most exotic car of the show.

How many Maruti 800s under the hood?

It is fun to see the doors opening up automatically, but be prepared to Fifteen! The V8 pumps out 560 bhp and raise your hands and shut them manually, that is, if you plan to buy one. that helps it to do 100 kph by the time you are halfway through this sentence (3.8 seconds).

Will set you back by...

Close to Rs 2 crore. Mercedes-Benz is keen on bringing the car to India the moment right-hand drive versions are available.

Prospective buyer?

This is the supercar for the flamboyant yet not-so-young. Vijay Mallya fits the bill — he already has two of the original 300 SLs.

MERCEDES-BENZ S 500L

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COSTS ONLY 95 LAKHS, BUT BEWARE OF THE AUTOMATIC BRAKES What is it?

The BMW 7 Series is giving it a tough fight, but in the minds of many, the finest automobile in the world still continues to be the S-Class. Now with the new E-Class featuring V6 power packs, it was important for MercedesBenz India to bring in the big V8 engine at an interesting price point. Mind you, this car is loaded and comes with everything short of the proverbial kitchen sink.

The world’s finest car tried to up its own standard with automatic radar assisted brakes, but with some infamous results – three S Saloons ended up in a heap before the Press itself.

How many Maruti 800s under the hood?

Ten. The naturally aspirated V8 engine is good for 388 thoroughbreds from 5500cc. Enough to haul corporate mass — egos and everything else.

Will set you back by...

It really looks like a steal at Rs 95 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Prospective buyer?

This is in the big firm CEO league. You’ve got an S-Class means you can either a) Hunt for the meaning of life in the Himalayas or b) Put down your deposit on that Learjet or c) Start hunting for that trophy wife.

CHEVR0LET CAMARO SS

WILL AMERICAN PONY CAR CULTURE WIN HERE?

American Ponies are designed to match lowest of weights with highest of powers and this pony car is no exception. For its 1700 kg weight, it has an absurdly high power of 426 bhp. What for, especially in this country?

What is it? course that was a plug!). And yes, the yellow SS is the Transformer star.

How many Maruti 800s under the hood?

Eleven. The Camaro SS uses a 6200cc V8 engine to develop a lazy 426 horses in typical American style. Still, it’s enough to spin Pirellis to sickness as and when you are ready.

Will set you back by...

Would have cost just about Rs 50 lakh — but sadly, GMI is interested in selling you only the Beat for the time being.

Prospective buyer?

This is a totally cool car — and only totally cool characters need to apply. Hrithik Roshan and John Abraham can live with all that

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The quintessential American muscle car reborn. This is the fifth generation Camaro which started rolling out in 2009 after not being in production since 2002. Here is a secret — we drove a V6-powered version across America for the cover story of the 11th anniversary issue of Business Standard Motoring magazine — please buy (of

ARCHAEOLOGY

IS THIS THE NAZARETH HOME WHERE JESUS PRAYED? he remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that has been dated back to the time of Jesus have been unveiled - just days before Christmas.

The find that could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the period the New Testament says Jesus lived there as a boy, Israeli archaeologists said.

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The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres.

It was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders, said archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The place was so small Jesus would almost certainly have known

all the houses - and might even have prayed there.

Based on clay and chalk shards found at the site, the dwelling appeared to house a 'simple Jewish family,' Alexandre added, as workers at the site carefully chipped away at mud with small pickaxes to reveal stone walls.

Nazareth holds a cherished place in Christianity. It is the town where Christian tradition says Jesus grew up and where an angel told Mary she would bear the child of God. 'This may well have been a place that Jesus and his contemporaries were familiar with,' Alexandre said. A young Jesus may have played around the house with his cousins and friends, she said. 'It's a logical suggestion.'

The discovery so close to Christmas has pleased local Christians.

'They say if the people do not speak, the stones will speak,' said a smiling Rev. Jack Karam of the nearby Basilica of the Annunciation, the site where Christian tradition says Mary received the angel's word.

Alexandre's team found remains of a wall, a hideout, a courtyard and a water system that appeared to collect water from the roof and supply it to the home. The discovery was made when builders dug up the courtyard of a former convent to make room for a new Christian center, just yards (meters) away from the Basilica.

It is not clear how big the dwelling is Alexandre's team have uncovered about 900 square feet (85 square meters) of the house, but it may have been for an extended family and could be much larger, she said.

Alexandre said her team also found a camouflaged entry way into a grotto, which she believes was used by Jews at the time to hide from Roman soldiers who were battling Jewish rebels at the time for control of the area.

However, Roman soldiers did not end up battling Nazareth's Jews because the hamlet had little strategic value at the time. The Roman army was more interested in larger towns and strategic hilltop communities, she said.

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The grotto would have hid around six people for a few hours, she said.

IS THIS THE NAZARETH..

Alexandre said similar camouflaged grottos were found in other ancient Jewish communities of the lower Galilee such as the nearby Biblical village of Cana, which did witness battle between Jews and Romans.

At the site, Alexandre told reporters that archaeologists also found clay and chalk vessels which were likely used by Galilean Jews of the time.

The scientists concluded a Jewish family lived there because of the chalk, which was used by Jews at Alexandre said the remains did not indicate whether they were traders or farmers.

The only other artifacts that archeologists have found in the Nazareth area from the time of Jesus are ancient burial caves outside the hamlet, providing a rough idea of the village's population at the time, Alexandre said.

the time to ensure the purity of the food and water kept inside the vessels.

The shards also date back to the time of Jesus, which includes the late Hellenic, early Roman period that ranges from around 100 B.C. to 100 A.D., Alexandre said.

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The absence of any remains of glass vessels or imported products suggested the family who lived in the dwelling were 'simple,' but

'This may well have been a place that Jesus and his contemporaries were familiar with,' Alexandre said. A young Jesus may have played around the house with his cousins and friends, she said. 'It's a logical suggestion.'

Work is now taking place to clear newer ruins built above the dwelling, which will be preserved. The dwelling will become a part of a new international Christian center being constructed close to the site and funded by a French Roman Catholic group, said Marc Hodara of the Chemin Neuf Community overseeing construction.

Alexandre said limited space and population density in Nazareth means it is unlikely that archeologists can carry out any further excavations in the area, leaving this dwelling to tell the story of what Jesus' boyhood home may have looked like.

The discovery at 'this time, this period, is very interesting, especially as a Christian,' Karam said. 'For me it is a great gift.'

TECHNOLOGY

RING THE LIGHT,

CALL THE FAN? Hate electric wires in this WiFi world? You are not alone. Scientists have succeeded in transmitting electricity via wireless, and the first products using this remarkable technology will soon hit the market.

Switching on the light may soon be called ringing the light or calling the light.

Marin Soljacic couldn't sleep. The problem was his wife's Nokia cell phone.

The tyrannical device beeped on the bedside table when it needed to be plugged in. It could not be disabled.

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Instead of taking a hammer to the phone, Soljacic marveled at the fact that this device, and billions of others like it, was sitting a few feet away from all the electricity it could ever need. Why couldn't it receive power wirelessly, just as laptops get Wi-Fi? A physics professor, Soljacic dug into the problem and learned that if you could get two magnetic fields to resonate -- to sing the same note, in effect -- they could transfer an electric current. With two large magnetic coils, he found a way to throw 60 watts across a room, powering a lightbulb. MIT, his employer, quickly patented the technology and encouraged Soljacicto start a company.

WiTricity's 15 employees are hard at work proving

that Soljacic's magnetic coils can power almost any electrical device. Most of the company's potential customers have one major question: safety.

"There's a real perceptual problem," says CEO Eric Giler. "People think we're putting electricity in the air, and that's called lightning, and they know to stay away from that."

In fact, the coils turn electricity into magnetic fields, then back into electricity. Magnetic fields interact weakly with humans; as far as the fields are concerned, we are no different from air. Giler makes a point of standing between the coils whenever he demonstrates the technology.

At the Nikkei electronics conference in Tokyo in October, he was able to power a 1,000-watt klieg light from across the room -- a far cry from that 60-watt lightbulb in Soljacic's first experiment. "We're going up the power curve," he says.

SM

INTERVIEW

UNION BANK

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SHOWS THE here are bigger public sector banks than Union Bank of India and smaller, arguably more agile, public sector banks than this Mumbai headquartered PSB. But lately, Union Bank has started assuming a pathfinder role among all PSBs. Starting from a firm resolve to align itself with new-generation standards in customer orientation, to offering new technology-enabled products, to a refreshing new brand campaign that captured the country’s attention, Union Bank is clearly showing the way forward for its peer public sector banks on how to compete in these demanding times. In some ways, this leadership role is a reflection of the leadership capabilities of its Chairman & Managing Director MV Nair, who is also the current Chairman of the industry body, Indian Banks Association (IBA). Now CMD Nair and his team are upping the ante on competition through surprising moves like the recent deposit rate hike and a proposal to buy an Indonesian bank.

Seasonal Magazine gets the inside story, straight from Chairman MV Nair.

Playing on their existing strengths on the NPA front, Union Bank focused its attention on problem areas like NIM and CASA ratios in 2009-10, and is showing all signs of overall improvement.

Taking a cue from the emerging importance of retail banking products, and finding its opportune moment in the lull period that retail majors like ICICI, HDFC, & Axis are facing, Union Bank is taking the plunge in growing its PoS and retail loans like auto and home mortgage.

While in the first half of fiscal 2010 the bank could rely on its treasury profits, in H2 the bank moved quickly to shore up its interest income by shedding high cost deposits and boosting CASA ratios.

Though size-wise the bank is fit to take over a smaller PSB if the Government gives the green signal, for the moment Union Bank is focusing more on expanding its overseas operations through acquisitions.

On the recruitment front, the bank has been bullish for the last two years, and had pioneered recruiting MBAs, CAs, & ICWAs, and not just regular probationary officers and clerks.

But the real success of Chairman MV Nair and his team has been that they succeeded in an image makeover too.

Union’s ‘Your Dream is Not Your Alone’ campaign stole the heart of consumers and has been a major factor in their recent success in retail deposits.

Even amidst all these, the bank remains true to its nationbuilding objectives, and had recently been applauded for its successful implementation of CBS in two of their Regional Rural Banks, which is a first in the country.

Chairman MV Nair in conversation with Seasonal Magazine: There have been reports that Union Bank is trying to take over an Indonesian bank. Can you share more details?

T

he talks are just in a preliminary stage. We are interested in Indonesia because that country has a significant Indian business community engaged in sectors like mining. Better than start from scratch, we thought that acquiring a suitable bank would be the ideal beginning

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WAY

iscal 2009 and 2010 will go down in the history of Union Bank as the period in which the bank almost reinvented itself. That this happened straight on the face of the downturn, is the most surprising fact. Chairman MV Nair, one of the most articulate banking heads in the country, attributes this to a strategically and thoroughly overhauled operation.

INTERVIEW there. We have been looking at four different geographies – Middle East, Hong Kong / China, South East Asia / Australia, and the Africas – for our overseas expansion. Indonesia hopefully will be our first venture into South East Asia.

Union Bank is one PSB that continues to excel on the NPA front, even while many of your peers are struggling on this.

Can you share the secrets?

M anaging NPAs is a complex affair that involves both the management of NPA stock, as well as management of dynamic NPAs. The stock of NPAs, as you know, can only be managed by recoveries, and we follow them closely so as to decide on whether and when to go for recovery. We have our own personnel and systems for that and our performance has been good on this front. Dynamic NPAs refer to the possibility of new NPAs being created and preventing them as fast as possible. Here also, we have a dedicated wing that classifies assets into various categories like EAS1, EAS2, SM etc, and appropriate corrective actions are taken when an asset slips from one class to the next.

Also, in our experience, much of the NPA problem can be traced to the origin of the loan, and our exceptional diligence at that stage has been able to prevent much later day risks.

You have correctly identified your high cost deposits as the factor that is dragging down your NIM. What are the steps being taken to counter this?

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O ur higher cost deposits have

already come down significantly, but for real effect our CASA deposits should also rise. In CASA, our Savings Bank component is already up 30% YoY, and together with progressive shedding of high-cost deposits, we should be able to maintain or even upgrade our Net Interest Margin. At the same time, there is a need to attract deposits of longer maturity, to balance longer

tenure loans like for homes. Here we identified that we have better leeway to provide higher rates on deposits, and had recently pioneered a rate hike for deposits with 555 days maturity.

We have been the first PSB to do this, and most of the players are expected to follow suit.

Union Bank is now bullish on growing its PoS business as well as retail and vehicle loans.

How do you assess the potential from such massive retail operations? etail is going to be the future of Indian banking. If you analyze the demographic profile Indian banks are trying to address, you can see 80 million households being added to the middle-income bracket in urban areas, and a whopping 170 million persons being added to this segment in rural areas. So there is no doubt that the retail demand is going to be

R

ell the ground reality is that we are growing fast and we are short of qualified employees. In 2009 calendar year alone we have opened 200 new branches. Then, we have to compensate for retiring employees.

We need to recruit people with specialized skills like marketing, which is a segment that was originally not there in the PSBs. So I would say that our recruitment drive is entirely rational.

huge. That is why we are going full steam ahead on growing our retail segments like PoS, auto loans etc.

W

During H1, your core fee income growth has been healthy, while your non interest income has been exceptional. With the outlook on the latter not very positive during H2, how do you plan to shore up income from your interest operations further?

ell, I would say that only some components of non-interest income would fare poorly. Like, treasure income for example. Core fee income will continue to grow, and we expect income from recovery of written-off loans also to be good during H2. That should more than compensate for treasury dips.

Speculations have been floating that Union Bank is eyeing Andhra Bank for takeover. What are the synergies you will be looking for if you get a go-ahead for an acquisition?

F

irstly, that is not a correct news.

UNION BANK SHOWS THE WAY A section of the Press has been coming up with all kinds of speculations using the backdrop of consolidation among public sector banks. But this news regarding Union Bank and Andhra Bank is totally a speculation. Regarding synergies, well, any probable consolidation between any two banks must be synergistic in geographic spread, customer segmentation etc. We too will be looking out for such aspects if we are to going for a domestic acquisition.

he motivation was simple.

Union Bank completed its CBS in March 2008. Then itself we decided that our two regional rural banks also should be brought under core banking. In sync with the national mission to bridge the urban / rural divide, we too started planning to pass on the benefit of technology to our villages. As a benefit to us, our operational efficiencies improved.

Coming to the challenges in implementing CBS in our RRBs, they were enormous. I mean, they were not technological challenges alone like ensuring remote connectivity and such things. More serious was the steep learning curve for the RRB staff.

Banks like Union were lucky to follow the organic route in computerization – from the old ALPM to the later day branch-level computerization to the present day CBS. It happened in steps, spread over more than a decade. But these RRBs were forced to jump directly from manual systems to CBS. We managed it by providing comprehensive training.

It is to your credit that Union Bank has undergone a massive image makeover. Can you explain the guiding principles behind this publicity campaign?

before we embarked on the M uch image makeover, we had an internal makeover. We decided to strategically differentiate Union Bank from other PSBs, especially in aspects like customer orientation and technology assisted products. You would be surprised to know that we re-trained our entire employee base on these fronts. Then we realized that there is no point in these internal transformations if we couldn’t convey it to the outside world. That is how this whole idea for an image makeover emerged. I am happy to say that it has been a huge success in growing our business, especially our retail segments.

W

Last year Union Bank recruited 2200 employees, and this year you plan to take in around 2000. With no performance-linked pay structure in place, and the retirement-to-recruitment ratio being 3:1, are these moves warranted in a challenging year like this?

ell, the ground reality is that we are growing fast and we are short of qualified employees. In 2009 calendar year alone we have opened 200 new branches. Then, we have to compensate for retiring employees.

We need to recruit people with specialized skills like marketing, which is a segment that was originally

not there in the PSBs. So I would say that our recruitment drive is entirely rational.

How will you counter the allegation that PSBs’ performance is largely driven by government compensating for non-performing agricultural loans, as well as large government funds like the NREG switching to PSBs for disbursement, thereby forcing millions of hitherto un-banked to open accounts? ritics forget that there is another side to this whole story. Even with Government compensating for non-performing agricultural loans, believe me, it is not at all attractive or viable for PSBs. There is no big gain compared with the hassles and risks involved. But PSBs are approaching the task with a different perspective. The Government, and as an extension, all public sector banks are committed to bring the remaining 50% of our population into the banking fold. Financial inclusion is the most significant step towards bridging the rural-urban or poor-rich divide. This is a social cause. If private sector banks feel that there is much to gain from agricultural loans or NREGA, let them too participate.

I don’t think the Government or any PSB would object to that.

C

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T

Recently two of your RRBs with nearly 500 branches were deployed with CBS, a first of its kind achievement in the country. What was the motivation, and what were the main challenges?

BANKING

BANKS BEATING ESTIMATES, BANKS FAILING TARGETS With the third quarter results pouring in, one thing is sure. The banking industry as a whole has done better than analyst expectations.

But at the same time, some heavyweights are expected to fail even their targets. Seasonal Magazine brings an in-depth compilation cover story about the third-quarter results and how the projected performance will be in the fourth quarter and beyond.

ICICI BANK

HDFC BANK

PROFIT & MARGINS RISE, BUT NPAS JUMP AGAIN

WHEN TREASURY SLIPS, PROFITS SLIP

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Theoretically, ICICI Bank did everything perfectly. It shed almost 10,000 crores of high-cost deposits, it didn’t increase its lending mindlessly, it had a lower tax outgo, but still the country’s second-largest lender failed to register profits as treasury slipped. But all the theory is going to help sooner rather than later.

AXIS BANK

INTEREST INCOME SURGES, TREASURY SLIPS While income from treasury and other operations slipped significantly, the second-largest private sector lender could post a 31% rise in net profit owing to better net interest income, and maintenance of NIM and NPA levels.

The third-largest private lender’s aggressive stance was not only evident in a 31% rise in net profit on strong margins, but also in its NPA levels that jumped yet again, this time by 49%.

BANKING UCO BANK

CORPORATION BANK

OVERALL GOOD Q3 MIGHT PAVE WAY FOR THE FPO The overall good performance of 43% growth in net profit will now pave way for capital augmentation at UCO Bank. It has three ways before it – raising it on its own by way of Tier-1 & 2 bonds, capital infusion by the Government, or a glamorous FPO that can change its fortunes at the bourses.

ALLAHABAD BANK

TREASURY LOSSES SINK PROFITS

NEEDS SIGNIFICANT CAPITAL TO GROW FURTHER

Whatever gains it had made in interest income was washed out by a major dip in treasury, and this exposed the chink in armour of this PSB. The bank’s NIM is troubling, even though it is trying to address the issue by shedding high-cost deposits.

The public sector lender had a healthy though modest quarter that registered 18.92% growth in net profit, but to further kick-start growth it need to raise around Rs. 4000 crore in capital.

VIJAYA BANK

INVESTMENT INCOME UP, NPAS & NIM TROUBLING

INTEREST, EXPENSE CUTS HELP SURVIVE TREASURY DIP INTEREST INCOME UP, NPAS CHALLENGING

The STCL account continued to weigh down on Vijaya Bank numbers, even though the net interest income was up by 45%.

With the treasury also dipping this time, it accounted for a net profit dip, but the bank continues to get healthier by the day.

IDBI is still to get its act together it seems. The once-public nowprivate-sector lender had to rely on investments alone to survive the quarter, even while its NIM and NPA challenges deepen.

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INDIAN BANK

It seems Indian Bank had braced well for the treasury dip. It survived and posted a 26% rise in net profit, largely relying on expense cuts and a good performance on the interest income front.

IDBI BANK

BANKING INDUSIND BANK

UNION BANK

PROFITS SURGE ON LOW BASE, RISING YIELDS HURT

UNION BANK’S QUARTERLY RESULTS A MIXED BAG

IndusInd bank is steadily playing catch-up to its bigger peers, by an overall good performance except from treasury operations. But, of course, the 95% jump in net profit was also helped by the low base effect.

Union Bank of India's total income rose to Rs 3,758.32 crore during the quarter under review against Rs 3,653.79 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. The bank earned an interest of Rs 3,293.55 crore during the quarter against Rs 3,258.40 crore for the same period last fiscal. For the nine months ended December, the bank posted a net profit of Rs 1,481.42 crore against Rs 1,261.49 crore in the same period previous fiscal. But Union Bank's net profit for the quarter declined by 20.48 per cent to Rs 534.13 crore for the third quarter ended December over the same period in the previous fiscal. Other income increased 18.34% to Rs 464 crore from Rs 392.1 crore. Many

YES BANK KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK

INTEREST STATIC, TREASURY JUMPS, NPAS WORRYING

DHANALAKSHMI BANK

INTEREST UP, NON-INTEREST DOWN, COST CONTROL SAVES

Kotak Mahindra’s was the contrarian play of Q3. While most banks were hit by a dip in treasury and boost in interest income, this NBFC turned bank experienced almost stagnant growth in interest income and a surge in treasury. But the bank’s NPAs continue to trouble.

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lenders, including market leaders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, had cited lower treasury revenues and depreciation of bond portfolio as primary reasons for flat or negative earnings in the third quarter. Union Bank provided Rs 40 crore in the third quarter to cover the losses on its bond portfolio as against a write back of Rs 291 crore in the same quarter last year.

Says Chairman MV Nair, "The lower net profit was mainly due to write-back of depreciation on investments of Rs 291 crore in December 2008 quarter, which benefit was not available in the December 2009 quarter.” However, the treasury income, during the quarter, jumped to Rs 1,019.96 crore as against Rs 924.74 crore in the year-ago period.

SHOCKING EXPENDITURE MELTS PROFITS While the young private sector lender could significantly grow its interest income and income from corporate banking, a huge dip in treasury dip weighed it down. But Yes Bank was smart enough to contain costs tight this time around.

This once-traditional private sector bank could increase its income for the third quarter from 124 crore to 156 crore YoY. But this now-new-gen bank almost doubled its expenses from 29.20 crore to 53 crore, thereby melting away whatever profits were possible. The culprit was the expansion program that added expenses by way of new branches, ATMs, and employees.

However, the expansion was longpending and the bourses too had taken kindly to the results.

TECHNOLOGY

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YOU TALK INSIDE, THIS COMP SPEAKS OUTSIDE Man-Machine interfaces, once only in the realm of sci-fi, is getting eerily real. Scientists have a developed a brain implantable but wireless system that can collect and transmit spoken-but-unspoken words into a speech synthesizer in real time. The first application is for those suffering from stroke-induced locked-in syndrome, but can anyone imagine where it is really headed?

odel of the brain-machine interface for real-time synthetic speech production.

The stroke-induced lesion (red X) disables speech output, but speech motor planning in the cerebral cortex remains intact. Signals collected from an electrode in the speech motor cortex are amplified and sent wirelessly across the scalp as FM radio signals. The Neuralynx System amplifies, converts, and sorts the signals. The neural decoder then translates the signals into speech commands for the speech synthe-

sizer. Credit: Guenther, et al.

(PhysOrg.com) -- By implanting an electrode into the brain of a person with locked-in syndrome, scientists have demonstrated how to wirelessly transmit neural signals to a speech synthesizer. The "thought-to-speech" process takes about 50 milliseconds - the same amount of time for a nonparalyzed, neurologically intact person to speak their thoughts. The study marks the first successful demonstration of a permanently installed, wireless implant for real-time con-

electrode wires that have been maintained indefinitely.

The study is led by Frank Guenther of the Department of Cognitive and Three years after implantation, the Neural Systems and the Sargent Col- researchers began testing the brainlege of Health and Rehabilitation machine interface for real-time synSciences at Boston University, as thetic speech production. The system well as the Division of Health Sci- is “telemetric” - it requires no wires ence and Technology at Harvard or connectors passing through the University-Massachusetts Institute skin, eliminating the risk of infection. of Technology. The research team Instead, the electrode amplifies and includes collaborators from Neural converts neural signals into freSignals, Inc., in Duluth, Georgia; StatsANC “The results of our study show LLC in Buenos Aires, that a brain-machine interface Argentina; the Georgia Tech Research Institute (BMI) user can control sound in Marietta, Georgia; the output directly, rather than Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, having to use a (relatively Georgia; and Emory slow) typing process,” University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. The team published their results in a re- quency modulated (FM) radio signals. These signals are wirelessly cent issue of PLoS ONE. transmitted across the scalp to two “The results of our study show that a coils, which are attached to the brain-machine interface (BMI) user volunteer’s head using a watercan control sound output directly, soluble paste. The coils act as receivrather than having to use a (relatively ing antenna for the RF signals. The slow) typing process,” Guenther told implanted electrode is powered by an PhysOrg.com. induction power supply via a power In their study, the researchers tested coil, which is also attached to the the technology on a 26-year-old male head. who had a brain stem stroke at age The signals are then routed to an 16. The brain stem stroke caused a electrophysiological recording syslesion between the volunteer’s motem that digitizes and sorts them. The tor neurons that carry out actions and sorted spikes, which contain the relthe rest of the brain; while his conevant data, are sent to a neural desciousness and cognitive abilities are coder that runs on a desktop comintact, he is paralyzed except for slow puter. The neural decoder’s output vertical movement of the eyes. The becomes the input to a speech synrare condition is called locked-in synthesizer, also running on the comdrome. puter. Finally, the speech synthesizer Five years ago, when the volunteer generates synthetic speech (in the was 21 years old, the scientists im- current study, only three vowel planted an electrode near the bound- sounds were tested). The entire proary between the speech-related cess takes an average of 50 millisecpremotor and primary motor cortex onds. (specifically, the left ventral As the scientists explained, there are premotor cortex). Neurites began no previous electrophysiological growing into the electrode and, in studies of neuronal firing in speech three or four months, the neurites motor areas. In order to develop an produced signaling patterns on the

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trol of an external device.

INTERVIEW

STUNTS ARRIVE IN TIME FOR MY NAME IS KHAN Nobody needs to teach Karan and Shah Rukh about stunts, especially of the publicity kind. But this time the toointelligent duo has taken things to a new high, complete with a NASDAQ opening bell by Khan & Kajol, and of course that quintessential trick in Mumbai – attracting the ire of Thackeray, just in time. And the film has too much of past-formulas packed in – terrorism, Asperger Syndrome (a kind of autism), Western attitudes to Islam, and some issues in Islam itself.

The film is also a personal financial bet for Khan with his Red Chillies producing it, and even the likes of Fox being roped in for international distribution.

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“

hould have got the Oscar 10 years back” Shah Rukh Khan is ready with the much awaited ‘My Name is Khan’. The Bollywood Badshah breezed in Kolkata for the grand finale of ‘Dadagiri Unlimited’, a quiz show hosted by Sourav

Ganguly.

TWF Correspondent Sreya Basu catches up with the actor on his friendship with Dada and his new

captain for IPL 3..

I told you…he is the best (in cricket).

KKR started with much energy, but failed to win the first two seasons of IPL. Do you expect to win this time?

I won’t comment on that. But if KKR wins this time, I will come and dance for all of you in Kolkata.

You are back in a Karan Johar film again?

Yes…I am inseparable from Karan’s films (smiles). On a more serious note, My Name Is Khan is a passion project; somehow I wanted to be part of this important film personally and as a production house.

Your company Red Chillies has tied up with Fox for My Name Is Khan. So with the help of Fox, are you trying to push your film to the Oscars?

I have just written to the Oscar people that they should have given me an award 10 years back; now I am losing interest. Jokes apart, our association with Fox is not award-based. But we believe Fox is one of the few people in the world, who can perhaps take our film to the

Is this a kind of ‘favour returning’ gesture…since Sourav has earlier judged your cheerleader hunt ‘Knights & Angels’? roads of getting awards and recognition, if it is good enough.

For the first time you are playing a person with Asperger syndrome. How much effort Shah Rukh had to put to play the character?

Rizwan Khan is a special character-because he has a definite beginning and ending, and a bit of realism. He is a person with Asperger. While studying the character, I really had to hold Shah Rukh Khan back. I put together all my years of acting skills, before I could step into Rizwan’s shoes.

Already quite a few films have been made on terrorism. How different is your film from the lot?

Karan wrote the story three years back. At that time I felt it was quite an advanced one. This is not a film on terrorism, but on relationships; as are all Karan Johar films.

First it’s the relationship between two persons, then among many people, then, relationships within a basti, within a city and finally, within the world.

Within those relationships, we put aspects of western culture, Islam and Asperger syndrome.

Now-a-days controversies are used as a publicity tool for a film. What do you think?

We (Karan and I) have never tried to create euphoria about the film with the help of controversies….no, never. But sometimes there are mistakes, sometimes it’s not a mistake, but an issue.

Even for My Name Is Khan, everyone of us-right from the producers, directors, actors, to

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film where he is paired opposite Kajol after several years.

What was the first thing that came to your mind when you saw Sourav as a quizmaster?

It was really a pleasant surprise. I have seen him play cricket, discuss cricket…this is completely a new avatar of Dada (Sourav Ganguly). But I must say, he is really good at it. As I said on stage-Dada ko pakadna mushkil hi nehin, na mumkin hai. (Smiles) What brings you to the finale of ‘Dadagiri Unlimited’? Friendship with Sourav?

Sourav and my friendship now go beyond Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Indian Premier League (IPL). To me, he is one of the best cricketers in India. I can never say ‘no’ to him.

Is this a kind of ‘favour returning’ gesture…since Sourav has earlier judged your cheerleader hunt ‘Knights & Angels’?

I never thought about it in this way…really. And as far as ‘Knights & Angels’ go, Sourav was not getting cheerleaders for Shah Rukh, but for the entire KKR team.

You have got Sourav back as KKR

WILL AUDI

INDIA LEAD AS IN CHINAOR LAG AS IN JAPAN? Indian luxury car market is lucrative but pretty tough. The bait for Mercedes, BMW, & Audi is that 1% or 1 crore Indians can afford their product, if they wish so. But the challenge is that not even 0.1% or 10,000 of them are inclined to buy one. Audi India’s challenge is even more as of the 7000 odd luxury cars sold in 2009, they could account for only 1600 cars, with early entrants Merc & BMW cornering the lions share. But Benoit Tiers is not discouraged. This Audi veteran and India Managing Director takes inspiration from markets like Europe & China, where this Munich headquartered carmaker leads its two German peers. At the same time he has to ensure that Audi shouldn’t lag as in Japan. Anyway, now is not the time to play the volume game in India, feels Tiers. His focus is to build brand awareness, build the dealer network, build the manufacturing setup, and thus prepare for the long haul for this 100-year old brand, which was once owned by Benz and now by Volkswagen-Porsche Group.

Audi is the Group’s principal weapon against Benz & BMW, and is positioned above Group brands Volkswagen & Skoda, but below cousins Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, & Bugatti. In India, Benoit Tiers has to ensure that his 12 city dealerships sell at least 100+ units each year to survive. Tiers is banking heavily on Audi’s younger customer profile in the country as compared with Merc & BMW, as well as the slowly but steadily expanding luxury segment. Audi India MD explains the India strategy in this interview with Bhupesh Bhandari of BS.

udi came to India in 2007, much after Mercedes and BMW. Though the market for luxury cars is tough, it has begun to expand at a brisk pace. Audi India Managing Director Benoit Tiers has his task cut out — he needs to establish the brand, set up a dealer network and convince buyers that his machines are better than those of rivals. The last bit is easier said than done; all three — Mercedes, BMW and Audi — represent the best of German automotive engineering. It’s a tough choice for the consumer. Tiers lets out some strategies in a conversation with Bhupesh Bhandari.

You had started with two channel partners, the Bhartias (of Jubilant Organosys) and Amit Burman (of Dabur). Have you expanded since then to new partners?

We have 12 locations and 11 different partners in the country. Burman is not an Audi partner at all. The Bhartia family is definitely our dealer in Bangalore and Chennai. We will expand to Kolkata and Jaipur soon, and open a new dealership in Delhi.

Mumbai will get a new dealer in the

first quarter (of 2010). We will expand in Chennai. We are also looking at Coimbatore, Lucknow and Nagpur.

How quickly can an Audi dealer break even? What volumes are required for that?

Today, we are targeting only the big cities for Audi because this is where our customers live and this is where the market is. We invest in a dealership so that it has the latest Audi architecture. We really want India to be a benchmark in terms of facilities. Our dealers sell a minimum of 100 cars in a year that leads to the

1,600 cars that we sold in 2009. We have grown 59 per cent in 2009. So the volumes for the dealers are increasing at a very high rate. And we are confident that the dealers will break even in a reasonable period of time.

A hundred cars in a year are good enough to break even?

It’s the minimum to start an operation. But the market is growing very fast; so, this is not what we are targeting. But a city cannot be targeted for a dealership if the potential is below 100 cars. From 100 cars, we investigate the feasibility further with our partner. We look at a business case for the dealers to be profitable in a maximum of three years. In Gurgaon, when we started on January 1, 2008, we were thinking we will do about 200 cars in a year; last year (2009), we actually did more than 400. The brand has found its customers. More and more people are interested in the Audi brand.

Given real estate costs, how much does an Audi dealer need to invest?

Real estate costs are high but also very different between cities. We do look carefully at this because there is no sustainable business for us if our partners cannot make profits.

Every case is different. The dealers are independent partners and they put up their own business based on our recommendations. So far, the Contd..

Ab Vellan Ka Number Hai

When Unitech acquired a pan-India mobile telephony licence, it was the best thing to do then. But then came world’s mobile giants like Vodafone, Docomo, and a few others. Even sector leaders like Airtel and aggressive growers like Reliance began to feel the heat. Within a span of less than two years, Sanjay Chandra’s ambitious telecom plan had turned risky. Or so everyone thought. But Unitech roped in Telenor, Norwway’s largest mobile operator to create Uninor, the latest high profile operator to launch

operations. Still, competition didn’t fear a thing about Uninor.

Because, by the time they could launch, Docomo, Japan’s largest mobile operator had prodded the Tatas to go for the disruptive innovation of per-second billing, in order to gain lost ground against its seemingly impossible competitors. The strategy worked, and one by one the mobile operators joined the persecond price war, even a reluctant BSNL & Airtel. But not Uninor. The competition hadn’t considered the strategies of Stein-Erick Vellan. This over 7feet tall former international basketball player for Norway has proved too much of a dribbler in the Indian market as MD of Uninor Wireless. He quickly figured out that those going in for the per-second plan won’t be heavy users, anyway, and made up his mind to forego business from them, at least for now. Instead, he created the 29 paise per minute plan designed solely for heavy users. The more you use, more will be your savings. In fact, Uninor has gone even cheaper than per-second billing, but it gets more assured business and high volumes. And Vellan approved of a unique publicity campaign – Ab Mera Number Hai – that conveyed this idea to the youth, who are India’s heaviest mobile users.

Now competition has come to watch Vellan’s each move.

tein-Erick Vellan, the managing director of Unitech Wireless, stands over seven feet tall in his boots. He has in the past led the Norwegian basketball team in international championships. Yet the company he leads is a pygmy amongst giants. It is, after all, the latest entrant to the crowded Indian mobile telecom services market: Each of the 22 circles has at least half a dozen operators. The top three incumbents — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Communications — control as much as 50 per cent of the market.

Even so, Unitech Wireless, held 32.5 per cent by Unitech, the real estate developer, and 67.5 per cent by Telenor, the largest mobile telecom services company of Norway, wants 8 per cent of the Indian market by 2018, when it will have grown to 1.2 billion customers from around 500 million now. Not just that, it wants to hit EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) breakeven in the third year of operation, and cash breakeven in the fifth year. The Unitech Wireless headquarters in Gurgaon in the suburbs of Delhi is aptly called Landscape.

Airtel saw its net profit grow by a mere 2 per cent in the quarter ended December 2009, and its share in the incremental new subscriber base went down to 15.9 per cent in the quarter from 25.9 per cent in the year-ago quarter. So how does Uninor plan to tread the cutthroat market?

FAST ROLLOUT The company is not unhappy with the initial results. Uninor launched in the beginning of December 2009 in eight circles, and got 1.2 million subscribers in the first three weeks.

This is not even a blip on the radar screen. Vellan and his people know that the first priority is to roll out across the country; a credible market share can be built only after that. They hope to launch across the entire country by the end of the year.

That is fast. But won’t that cost a lot of money? The trick, according to Vellan, is to be cost-efficient and build a network for less than rivals. “We know India is number one in outsourcing, and that needs to be leveraged in all aspects to build a network in a cost-efficient way.”

Uninor plans to invest Rs 6,120 crore in the national rollout, which, claims Vellan, is about half of what rivals would require for a similar rollout.

It is a towering ambition. For one, incumbents’ hunger for growth is intact. All of them have ambitious plans to grow. Bharti Airtel, for instance, wants to double its customer base to over 200 million by 2012.

Two, most metros, where high-value customers reside, are more or less saturated. Customers there need to be snatched from others. And three, there has been a bloodbath in the market place. A handful of service operators have dropped tariffs to rock bottom in order to grab customers. Tata Teleservices triggered it with its onepaisa-per-second tariff plan, which was followed by MTS, Aircel and even Bharti Airtel.

Here, Uninor took some innovative steps, which it has not tried out in other countries. To begin with, it decided not to build even a single tower on its own, and take all on lease from the array of choices available.

So, it has tied up with Quippo Telecom and Wireless TT Info Services, and taken on lease over 15,000 towers in the eight circles were it launched. The plan is to take on lease 40,000 towers for the panIndia launch. “Apart from reducing the capital expenditure, it also ensured that we launched quickly,” says Vellan. According to him, it would have otherwise taken Uninor two to three years to go national.

This has begun to tell on the bottomline of these companies. Thus, Bharti

Of course, this became possible after the government last year allowed

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