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PUNE, JULY 5, 2014 | www.goldensparrow.com
PUNE’S PEOPLE WITH A PURPOSE Free knowledge for one and all P2
SPORTS
WORLD
A journey from poverty to excellence P 16
A reach too far by Google? P 11
have a very poor record when it comes to RWH. This needs to change
‘Vajpayee’s dream of peace in the region will be realised’ JAMMU, July 4 (IANS) Prime minister Narendra Modi who arrived here Friday morning to inaugurate the KatraUdhampur rail link, told the cheering crowds at the venue that infrastructure was the mother of development. He said that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s dream of bringing peace to Jammu and Kashmir will be realised. Modi made the comments after flagging off the K a t r a- U d h a m p u r train, which will link the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine near Katra with the rest of the country. Flagging off the K a t r a- U d h a m p u r train service, Modi called the train servive an “auspicious” moment for the country. “On the one side the auspicious Amarnath Yatra is on and on the other the auspicious month of Ramzan is on. And today... the train service is starting,” Modi said. The 25-km rail link between Katra and Udhampur will provide a direct link to the Vaishno Devi temple from the rest of the country On arrival, the prime minister’s special aircraft landed in the technical area of Jammu airport. He was received by Governor NN Vohra, chief minister
Omar Abdullah, state minister for higher education Muhammad Akbar Lone, state chief secretary Muhammad Iqbal Khandey, state police chief K Rajendra Kumar and other senior officials. National Security Advisor Ajeet Doval is accompanying Modi on his maiden visit to the state after he took over as the country’s prime minister. He will fly in a helicopter to Katra town to inaugurate the 25 kilometre long rail link between the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine base camp town and Udhampur. This rail link will connect the Katra base camp town directly with the rest of the country for the facility of millions of devotees who come to pay obeisance at the shrine every year. Railway minister Sadananda Gowda and minister of state in the PMO Jitendra Singh are already in Katra town to oversee the arrangements for the prime minister’s visit. Modi will fly to summer capital Srinagar to address a Sainik Sammelan and a security review meeting at the Badami Bagh cantonment headquarters of army’s 15th corps. He is also scheduled to inaugurate a 240 megawatt NHPC owned hydro-power project in Uri border town.
Flagging off the KatraUdhampur train service, Modi called it an “auspicious” moment for the country
VISHWAS WAGHMODE To corner its aggressive ally Shiv Sena following the death of senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde, the Maharashtra BJP leaders indicated that it is preparing to go solo in the upcoming assembly elections in the state. In a clear indication that the party isn’t willing to play second fiddle to the Shiv Sena in the state any more, the BJP on Thursday gave a call that it would prepare to fight all 288 seats in upcoming assembly elections. “We are always made to play second fiddle before the Shiv Sena. The BJP is getting choked in the state due to the alliance with the Sena. It’s time to call off the alliance and fight the polls on our own,” said BJP legislator Madhu Chavan attacking the over two-decade long saffron alliance with Sena. Chavan was speaking in a meeting of the BJP’s extended executive committee in Andheri (W) in suburban Mumbai. “In order to come to power in the state, the BJP must go it alone and fight the polls on all 288 seats,” Chavan added. Indicating that the party was not opposed to Chavan’s view, state BJP president Devendra Phadnavis too asked the BJP cadre to prepare to fight all 288 assembly seats. “All the party activists should prepare for fighting all the 288 assembly constituencies. Wherever the BJP is fighting, we will field candidates. In areas where the BJP is not fighting our preparation will help our allies,” Phadnavis said hinting that he too was backing the idea of the BJP going solo in the polls. Contd on p 10 JUL Y 5,
2014
If Pune is to succeed as a great city of the future, it cannot do without a robust, result-oriented approach to rainwater harvesting (RWH). Although the policies are in place and attractive concessions have been offered to housing societies and institutional buildings by the Pune and PimpriChinchwad Municipal Corporations, the city has failed to embrace RWH. The failure to do so is felt most only when there is water scarcity, water cuts and fears of an impending drought as is happening presently. According to RWH expert and entrepreneur Col (retd) Shashikant Dalvi, with an average rainfall of 770
mm/year, a 1,000 sq ft rooftop area in Pune can yield about 70,000 litres of rainwater per year. This amounts to 25 lakh litres of water annually from just one acre of rooftop area, says Dalvi. In Pune, the Landmark Garden co-operative housing society at Kalyaninagar and Greenland-2 co-operative housing society at Vimannagar are fabulous examples of societies which have successfully implemented RWH. With 57 flats, Greenland-2 had
The happy residents of Nisarga Darshan Co-operative Housing Society in Sector 26 at Nigdi-Pradhikaran are reaping the benefits of being the first residential society in Pimpri-Chinchwad to install an RWH system in 2002-03
to depend on two water tankers daily and shell out Rs 25,000 per month as it faced acute water shortage after the borewell dried up. The society spent Rs 28,000 to install a RWH system in June 2003 and recovered the cost that very year with a sharp reduction in the need to purchase water. At Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nisarga Darshan co-operative housing society in Sector 26, Nigdi-Pradhikaran was the first residential society to install an RWH system in 2002-03. According to the society’s chairman Dilip Pande, almost 15 lakh litres of water is harvested every year. This residential complex with 80 flats consumes about 60,000 litres of water daily. The society has ample water reserves of its own and does not have to depend on bore wells. Rainwater
Deccan Queen is nation’s best short-distance train BY PRACHI BARI 2123 Dn / 2124 Up is a number that many in the city are familiar with. This number is the pride of Central Railway, as the identity of the Deccan Queen (DQ ), better known as ‘Dakkhan ki Rani’. DQ was recently named as the “Best maintained short distance train” by the General Manager of Central Railways. “The chief mechanical engineer nominates three people to judge from more than 100 trains leaving from Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) Mumbai, Dadar and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. This team checks the train on all aspects of cleanliness, maintenance and punctuality, the Deccan Queen beat all others to be the first train to be adjudged for the first prize,’ CR’s
Mumbai spokesman AK Singh said. The introduction of ‘’Deccan Queen’’ between the two premier cities of Maharashtra on June 1, 1930 was a major landmark in the history of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, the forerunner of the Central Railway. This was the first deluxe train introduced by the railway to serve two important cities of the region and was aptly named after Pune. Over the years, this train has undergone upgradation from its introduction of 2 rakes of 7 coaches Contd on p 10
HALF IS HAPPENING OFF % UPTO
Assembly polls: Is BJP planning to ditch Sena?
ARCHANA DAHIWAL & ASHOK BHAT
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Infrastructure is mother CITY THIRSTS of development: for a more aggressive agenda on rainwater harvesting PM in Kashmir Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad
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is channelised through underground storage system and fi lters are installed to purify rainwater for drinking purpose. A PMC official said barely 50 societies had installed RWH systems
in the last decade as neither the PMC nor the citizenry had shown any serious interest in this simple technology. The PMC then decided to make RWH mandatory for housing societies. Contd on p 10
Success stories and guidelines • In Pune, one acre of rooftop area can yield 25 lakh litres of rainwater annually • Landmark Garden Cooperative Housing Society at Kalyaninagar, Greeland-2 housing society at Vimannagar and Nisarga Darshan society at Sector 26, Nigdi-Pradhikaran are outstanding examples of RWH implementation. • RWH is mandatory for new constructions in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad but implementation is poor • Civic bodies have offered incentives for RWH implementation but response has been poor
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
Cops need to be sensitive towards mishap victims P4
PUNE
“Every child is capable of achieving great things, if the opportunities are given .” —Shaheen Mistri, founder, Teach for India
PCMC green building initiative attracts homebuyers P5
Free knowledge for one and all
Ishani Bose traces the history of the ‘Knowledge for Free’ movement and speaks to science educator Arvind Gupta about his contribution to making knowledge accessible to one and all ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
TGS NEWS SERVICE At the University of Pennsylvania Commencement Address in 2009, Executive Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt said, “We have an opportunity for everyone in the world to have access to all the world’s information. This has never before been possible. Why is ubiquitous information so profound? It’s a tremendous equalizer. Information is power.” Schmidt was indeed right when he said that. Information is influential, especially in a day and age when knowledge, skill and vision are everything we need to work towards achieving a more equitable distribution of power in a diverse democracy. While the Internet, and especially, Google has played an instrumental role in making information accessible to a larger audience today, the ‘Knowledge for Free’ movement had its genesis way back in history, with the establishment of the first universal library, the Library of Alexandria. It gathered books from all over the world at one location. Its origin lay in the inquisitive Greek mind and in Alexander the Great’s conquests. The Boston Public Library, founded in 1826, also has the logo ‘Free for All’ inscribed on its door till this very day. For renowned Indian science educator, innovator, toy inventor and head of the Children’s Science Centre in the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Arvind Gupta, the ‘Knowledge for Free’ movement is something worth dreaming and striving for. “Today, we can make available every single book in every single language to every single child on the earth. That is something worth striving for. In India, there are a few public libraries, but there is a lot of hunger for knowledge in our children. If good books are made available to them they will certainly get benefitted from it,” says Gupta. BIRTH OF A UNIQUE WEBSITE ARVINDGUPTATOYS.COM Gupta set up his website arvindguptatoys.com ten years ago, and has been trying to digitise books which are out of print (especially
CREATION OF LEARNER’S LIBRARY Gupta and his team have also compiled a DVD titled, The Learner’s Library, for teachers in small towns with no Internet access. “It contains 900 wonderful books, 7000 photographic instructions to make low-cost science models and 200 videos of ‘Toys from Trash’. And it costs less than Rs 15, the price of a blank DVD! Over 700 schools are using this DVDs. The Learner’s Library is being circulated freely in South Africa, Nepal, Pakistan, Ghana and a few other countries. Last year, an organisation in Gujarat made 1000
copies of The Learner’s Library and gifted them to local schools.” Gupta agrees that in the process of printing books that are not easily accessible or which are over 25 years old and copyrighted, there have been some instances where people have issued copyright notices to him. However, he has a straightforward method of dealing with them. “If we get a notice we say ‘sorry’ for the inconvenience caused and remove the book. However, by that time many thousands have already downloaded the book thus fulfi lling our task. We make no money on these books and share them with people who have no access to books. Th is is what the Internet was designed for — to share,” he says. According to Gupta, who is playing an instrumental role in popularising the concept of making knowledge freely available for one and all, “Every human being has a desire to contribute meaningfully to the society. Th is desire to share is deeply encoded in human nature. It is only a matter of time before all books, in all languages will be available for free and accessible to anyone who seeks knowledge. I am waiting for that day,” he says in a tone full of hope and conviction. Ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com
Sharing knowledge for free In 1971, pioneer Michael Hart set up Project Gutenberg (PG), which is the world’s oldest digital library, to divide and share e-books for free. Along with its partners and affiliates, PG, over the years, has managed to upload over 1,00,000 books on the Internet. With a slogan that reads, ‘A million books for a billion people’, the project has been a source of deep inspiration for millions across the world and has used cutting-edge technology, not for personal gain but for public welfare — to allow books to be accessed by millions of people. In 1993, Microsoft bought all the world encyclopedias to set up Encarta – a digital encyclopedia. In 2003, Richard Stallman envisioned a free online encyclopedia ‘for the people, by the people’. The result was the Wikipedia – the largest multilingual repository of information in the entire world. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) too, is playing an integral role in the movement by placing all its course content online for free. Today, the most inspiring talks on earth - the TED talks (ted.com) - can also be freely downloaded. Crusader for the ‘Knowledge for Free’ movement in India, Arvind Gupta
Rationalists choose to follow atheist way
Inspired by the late Dr Narendra Dabholkar, Maharashtraatheist.com brings together people who choose a rational way of life rather than a blind following of tradition and rituals
minded individuals who question the existence of a superior being and demand a scientific explanation. STRANGERS WITH A COMMON CAUSE The group hold just one meeting till now and is in the process of conducting another in October. The idea is to simply stop following unnecessary rituals and question the existence of any unreasonable practice. “We interacted over messages and delegated work for the same. It was only on March 24 that we met in person. We were skeptical about the response on day one and expected a few people to attend. To our surprise Pune saw 250 people on day one and Mumbai had 300,” says Ashwini.
BRINGING ABOUT THE MUCHNEEDED CHANGE “It feels good to know that the youth is not blindly adopting what is passed on. They are questioning the existence of rituals and religion. For example, most of our members are married only in court, avoiding every ritual which they don’t agree with,” she adds. So, did their family not oppose their decision? “Well, of course. We did have long lectures but we decided to follow what we believe in. “Women are the easiest target when it comes to religious binding. We intend to change that perception,” Nishad concludes. anjali.shetty@goldensparrow.com
For him, service to humanity is service to God Rajwant Singh who believes in helping others, tells Ishani Bose about his life-changing experience, his store and more Rajwant Singh (50) has always been a compassionate person, but an incident in 1992, transformed him completely. “I could never see anyone in pain. On my way back home, one day, I witnessed a little boy accidentally fall into an open MSEB feeder box, while playing cricket. He received severe burn injuries. I was so pained by the incident that I sent an article along with the boy’s picture to various publications, highlighting the negligence of the MSEB,” he said, adding that the moment changed him forever. “The feedback and reaction I received encouraged me to fight for social causes. I believe that I’m following the path chosen by Guru Nanak for me. I live by his teachings and try to incorporate them in my life by helping people in need,” says Rajwant Singh. Extremely religious by nature, he opened a store in 2003, ‘13 Naam’ (pronounced as ‘Tera Naam’), which he says, is the house of Guru Nanak and his preachings. It is the first shop in India that stocks variety of products with Nanak’s teachings engraved on them. These products range from greeting cards, showpieces, clocks, frames to T-shirts, CDs, wall hangings, and books spreading the teachings of the Guru. There are CDs of animation movies on the history of Sikhism that, Singh says,
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
BY ANJALI SHETTY Ask software engineer Nishad Mane when he realised that he was an atheist and his reply is, “Does a religious person get asked a similar atheism question? No one is born religious or an atheist, it is the family and later, society that shows you the bigger picture. Similarly, an atheist is a rationalist, who questions the reason and usefulness of a blindly followed ritual/tradition/ event.” Nishad is the co-founder of Maharashtraatheist.com. Indian rationalist and founder-president of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, Dr Narendra Dabholkar has been the group’s major inspiration and they hope his works and beliefs are put to practice soon. “We believe only what we see and that can be justified scientifically. Show us proof and we will agree,” said Ashwini Satav Doke, media professional and a member of the group. In a country whose people worship countless deities, practise rituals and believe in passing on traditions to the next generation, how does one react to an atheist? Well, obviously they have been looked down on and ridiculed by society. The Maharashtra Atheist group wishes to be perceived as normal in a god-fearing country. Formed over WhatsApp, this group invites like-
in the Indian languages) and upload them on his website. Today, his website consists of 4,000 books on education, environment, science, maths and children’s literature. Almost 15,000 books are downloaded each day across the globe from his website. Besides designing fun toys and simple science experiments, Gupta makes two-minute videos and uploads them on his website. “Today we have 4,400 videos in 18 languages and everyday, 40,000 children across the world view them. In the last five years, over three crore children and teachers across the world have viewed our videos,” says Gupta.
will help children take interest in the religion. Open only on Sundays, the store also provides free home remedial medicines for piles, knee pain and kidney stone. If there is one thing that is missing in the store, it is Nanak’s pictures. “Guru Nanak emphasised more on his teachings and never asked his disciples to worship him. Instead, he wanted them to live by his teachings and the ‘Banis’ (gurumukhis), featured in the Guru Granth Sahib. This is the reason, why I have merchandises carrying his guidance and teachings, rather than his picture or idol,”
said Singh. He has also developed a ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ software, which provides access to all of Nanak’s couplets and sayings. Guru Nanakji’s dedicated follower, Singh also travels across the globe, spreading the ethos of Nanak’s teachings. “I have had people coming to me saying that the inscriptions on the products have helped them sail through difficult situations. Knowing that my products are helping people to face life’s challenges, gives me true happiness,” he said, as he signs off. ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
PUNE
The 2011 Census of India estimates the population of the Pune urban agglomeration at 6,226,959. Recent estimates peg the growth of Pune’s population at 12 per cent
New government brings in new hope for engineering students P7
A blog that informs & guides P6
My Priorities
Pune Passport Office to soon become a model of efficiency Atul Gotsurve, the new Regional Passport Officer of Pune Division plans vibrant changes to improve the passport office VINITA DESHMUKH Excerpts from the interview with Pune’s new and dynamic Regional Passport Officer, Atul Gotsurve.
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
While there are minimal complaints regarding appointments for the normal passport, has there been any improvement made for the Tatkal online appointments which is a major problem? Atul Gotsurve (AG): You will be surprised to know that presently the daily Tatkal quota of 110 reserved for it, is not being 100 per cen utilised – it stops many a time at 105. Th is is because, I held about three passport melas to reduce the backlog in the last two months and processed more than 500 Tatkal applications each day during the melas. Besides, p a s s p o r t applicants used to opt for Tatkal because they used to fear
inordinate delays if they applied for a normal passport. Earlier, 70-80 applicants used to be rejected at the Passport Seva Kendra due to the lack of documents and were asked to once again go through the appointment process. I have rectified this; now, not a single applicant is sent back home or asked to take a fresh appointment. His biometrics, checking of documents and every other process is completed. He is then asked when he or she would like to come and submit the required documents. We immediately give the applicant the next date, as per his/her convenience. I am proud to say that Pune processes the largest number of passport applications in the country – 1,150 applications per day. What about the long lines at your office everyday, of citizens visiting to solve their problems regarding their application and many of them being turned away due to the short visiting period – just two hours, for only three days in a week? Now, applicants can come in on every working day between 10:30am and 12:30pm, except Wednesdays. Besides me, there are three more officers who entertain visitors and solve their problems. Even on Wednesdays, we do not turn away people. Someone or the other attends to them. You can see for
yourself that the crowd outside the office has considerably reduced. The problem of outstation passport applicants has been a major issue as they are asked to keep coming several times. Th is is a real harassment for them. We have taken care of that too. There are clear instructions that after the fi rst visit of the outstation passport applicant, subsequently, the communication would strictly be through mail and SMS. What about migrants who work as
professionals in Pune, or are married and live here? For those who are migrants, I agree that address proof is a problem. I have proposed that their proof of address should not be made mandatory. They should get four of the 10 documents required for proof. I expect a positive response for this from the MEA shortly. (For more details contact Atul Gotsurve at 020-25679962 or 25675422 Email: rpo.pune@meagov.in. By special arrangement with moneylife.in)
Poor response to police feedback system GITESH SHELKE The city police have started a feedback system in June following citizens’ complaint about the lackadaisical attitude of police personnel in the passport verification process at police stations, pendency and delays. The system covers random e-mails to passport seekers and those who have recently secured passports. Eight mails are sent to persons who have applied for passports and whose verification is pending at the police stations and eight to those who have secured passports every day.
But very few people respond to the mails of the special branch (SB) of the city police. “We started this system of generating feedback from citizens a month ago and have received only 10 responses yet,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Foreigners’ Registration Branch) Sanjay Patil. At present there is a pendency of over 5,000 passport verification applications at all the 33 police stations in the city. Patil said that despite working hard on the feedback system, the system remains grim. “It will improve only if citizens will start responding to the mails,” he added.
gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
TGS Quiz Contest
No. 3
nswers to the following 10 questions are embedded A in the stories featured in this edition. Send us the correct answers at contest.tgs@gmail.com and be one of the three lucky winners to receive gift coupons
1. Which is the world’s oldest library to share and divide e-books for free?
2 Where did Nidhi Bhandari do her shoe designing course?
3 Which is ‘the’ blog to follow to be updated in men’s fashion?
4 Who are the fi lm directors of distinction from Kazakhstan?
5 What method has tea vendor Pappu Khan adopted?
6 Which is singer Shibani Dandekar’s favourite holiday destination?
7 Who are the atheist community inspired by?
8 Where did Vaswati Hazarika intern fi rst and what was her assignment?
9 What has Nidhi Bhandari studied before she started a shoe designing business?
10 What is the title of the DVD compiled by Arvind Gupta?
Contest # 2 winners 1 Lata Jain 2 Yashaswini Chalwadi 3 Tushar Rathod
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
Old age homes bring comfort to seniors, but... P8
Signposts Super Mom contest on July 9 The Swamimi Group started by former mayor and MLA Vandana Chavan has organised a ‘Super Mom” contest at Tilak Smarak Mandir on July 9 as a part of its seventh anniversary celebrations. Launched with 225 women to empower and encourage women, this group now has 450 members. On July 9, the contest will be accompanied by a variety entertainment programme. The motto of the group is to groom women to face the world and give them a platform to showcase their talent. The group undertook a number of interesting initiatives this year including a “Beti Bachav” awareness campaign, free thyroid test camp, and a Swamini Expo business opportunity initiative. Eleven other programmes were organised relating to personality development, financial planning, health and beauty tips. This group meets roughly on every third Saturday in Mukund Nagar. Experts in various fields such as Naren Goidani (women’s empowerment), Shobha Indani (desserts) and Chef Jategaonkar (carving on fruits and vegetables) share their knowledge with the participants. Among the activities organised was a fun-filled trip to Jaipur and to the adventure park Adlabs Imagica.
‘Reservations for Marathas, Muslims historic’ Maharashtra’s ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine has termed the decision to provide reservations to Marathas and Muslims as “historic”, and said it was taken after examining all legal aspects. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan announced the government’s decision to provide 16 per cent reservations to Marathas and five per cent to Muslims in jobs and education but apprehensions were raised in some quarters that it would violate certain legal provisions. NCP state spokesperson Nawab Malik assured that the decision will stand in the courts as all legal aspects have been examined. “Although the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party partly were in favour of the reservations move, the opposition parties may create legal hurdles against the Maratha and Muslim reservations,” he said. Minority affairs minister MA Naseem Khan said that it would greatly contribute to the development and inclusion of the Muslim community. IANS
Logically, harmony must come from the heart... Harmony very much based on trust. Fear and trust cannot go together. - Dalai Lama
Fashion at your feet P9
Cops need to be sensitive towards mishap victims
In this open letter to the Commissioner of Pune Police, a citizen recounts the abject failure in transporting an accident victim to the nearest hospital
Sir,
A recent statement made by DCP (traffic) Vishwas Pandhare regarding public apathy towards accident victims has prompted me to write this letter. A few weeks ago, a friend and I stopped to help a motorcycle accident victim (on the road that leads to the War Cemetery from the Range Hills junction). The victim was lying for about 15 minutes before we arrived at the scene. There were two policemen and about 3-4 people trying to help and I joined them. My observations: The policemen, though trying to help, didn’t have the contact number to call an ambulance. They told me of alerting for a police ‘ambulance’. The cops didn’t ask any vehicles and autorickshaws to stop and take the victim to hospital, saying that people don’t want to get into legal hassles of helping an accident victim, and that their ambulance would reach soon. After about 15 minutes of frantic trying, an autorickshaw driver agreed to help and I suggested that the victim be taken to the nearest hospital. One of the two policemen said that the victim would be taken to Sassoon General Hospital as there would be no one to pay for the medical charges. The police ambulance arrived and to our horror it was a normal pick-up van just to transport the victim from the spot to a government hospital and not to save his life. We helped the victim on to the stretcher (a basic one possibly used to carry bodies) of the vehicle and I don’t know if he survived the ride to the hospital that was 12-14km from the spot. Now the part that would make any person question the motive of Pune police and also think twice about helping someone is when a police patrol jeep (Mahindra Bolero bearing a fancy registration number MH12 RR44) arrived at the same time as the pick-up
The screenshot of the story carried by NDTV that covers DCP (traffic) Vishwas Pandhare’s comment on public apathy towards accident victims
van or ‘ambulance’. To our complaint of inordinate delay in the arrival of the so-called ambulance, one of the two inspectors who was in the jeep asked us: If we expected the police to be a ‘driver’ to carry an accident ‘case’. He told us to be happy that at least a van was sent and was not ready to start the van carrying the victim till the other inspector intervened. In the light of my experience, I have a few questions for you: The policemen were obviously 1‘golden unaware of the importance of the hour’. Whose fault is it, sir, that the people in your force, who deal with accidents on a day-to-day basis are unaware of the importance of immediate medical assistance?
2
What will motivate people like me to help an accident victim if the attitude of the police is one of
arrogance and rudeness? Have you apprised your officers and 3 then the citizens and hospitals (as they are the one who ask for money and refuse
to admit accident victims) of the Supreme Court ruling for accident victims? Ultimately sir, it is time you and others realise that it is not apathy that we feel when we see a victim lying on a road, bleeding. Th is letter is not about justifying what the public feels towards an accident victim and why, but about the attitude of the police towards an accident victim. I do hope that you will take cognisance of the rise in road accidents in our city and work hard to inform, educate and equip your force (as much as create awareness amongst citizens). Thanks & regards, A citizen, Rajesh S Nair
Supreme Court Ruling The treatment of the patient should not wait for the arrival of the police or completion of legal formalities. All hospitals and doctors are required to provide immediate medical aid to all the cases, whether medico–legal or not. Every doctor whether at a government hospital or otherwise has the professional obligation to extend his services with due expertise for protecting life. No law or State action can intervene to avoid/delay the discharge of the paramount obligation cast upon members of the medical profession. The obligation being total, absolute and paramount, laws of procedure whether in status or otherwise which would interfere with the discharge of this ob-
ligation cannot be sustained and must, therefore, give way. Every injured citizen brought for medical treatment should instantaneously be given medical aid to preserve life and thereafter the procedural criminal law should be allowed to operate in order to avoid negligent death. There is no legal impediment for a medical professional when he is called upon or requested to attend to an injured person needing his medical assistance immediately. The effort to save the person should be the top priority not only of the medical professional but even of the police or any other citizen who happens to be connected with that matter or who happens to notice such an incident or a situation.
Workshop on minority status Letters to the Editor for Jains Various organisations representing the Jain community had organised a one-day workshop recently to generate awareness about the minority status granted to them. The meet was an effort to educate members about the benefits of minority status, special rights and government schemes for minorities. State minority council chairman Munaf Hakim addressed the gathering. Businessman Rasik Dhariwal and Jain Sabha (South India) chairman DA Patil were present.
Training for running play centres for kids Garware Balbhavan will be holding a 15-day workshop on the premises for activists, parents and grandparents who are interested in running centres similar to Balbhavan at different parts of the city. The programme beginning from July 12 will have lectures on child psychology, diet, acting classes, exercise, games, painting and crafts. Contact Balbhavan (24442190) for details.
PUNE
Let us all oppose dowry firmly
You do not need money from your partner’s parents to live your life. If you are educated, you can earn it yourself BY KARAN ANAND When a young couple gets married, both families want the best for their children, whom they have raised with so much of love and self-sacrifice. Their expectation from the couple is that they would love one another dearly, would support one another through thick and thin and would be well-behaved towards both the families. Now, where does money figure in this? Let me start at the inception when education was not all-inclusive; when women were mostly house-bound and when men would work for the wellbeing of themselves, their wives and their entire families. In those days, a young woman’s parents would like their daughter to marry someone who can take care of her forever. To help the young man do that, they would gift/bribe the bridegroom some land/money. This was the culture some 2-3 generations ago. Slowly, as education spread in the country, many bad practices were abandoned, but this one pertaining to dowry prevailed. We need not draw comparisons between various communities but accept that society is the culprit and thus, all of us are equally responsible. I’m sure no one will disagree when I say that the “dowry amount” has become quite a status symbol today. Corruption has become a part of our marriage system where both parties are
guilty, those who demand/accept dowry and those who offer it. Would you call Arvind Kejriwal to help clean-up this system? It’s our society and therefore, we must clean it ourselves Much has changed in the past 15 years and if one were to speak of the IT sector, it deserves an applause for giving meaningful employment to women and for bridging the “earnings capabilities” gap between young men and women. With both bride and the bridegroom earning as much as they need, why give or take dowry? Why be a part of such an illicit and shameful practice? If someone says that he would marry for a particular amount of dowry, then, doesn’t this amount to some kind of a stupid mix of indulging in cheap business and gigoloism? Marriage and love go hand-inhand. Love makes life liveable and marriage makes you complete. You do not need money from your partner’s parents to live your life. If you are educated, you can earn it yourself. And if you are unable to stand on your own feet, then...shame on you. While I’ve already decided not to marry, I have also decided that I will stand up against dowry in my family, for sure. Friends, let us start with each one of us as individuals - change in society begins with the individual and all of us who are educated should convince those around us, including elders, to reject the dowry system. anishanand@yahoo.co.in
ICAI Pune chapter celebrates foundation day TGS NEWS SERVICE The Pune branch of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) celebrated its foundation day on July 1 by holding a sports tournament. “This year more than 150 members participated in carrom, chess, badminton and table tennis events in addition to a corporate day-night cricket contest in January,” Pune branch president Rajeshkumar Patil said. “I feel this is the best way to create bonding between members and students. It also helps our chartered accounts fraternity to grow,” he added. The Pune branch has been organising sports tournaments and cultural events for the past 15 years. Along with field activities, the members are active on stage too with musical events and a one-hour, award
winning play ‘Tax Free’ organised as part of the celebrations. As part of its social responsibility, the Pune branch extends its support to Sampand Balgram, an orphanage near Bhaje, Lonavala. “Every year we conduct medical check-up camps and distribute school bags and stationery to the girls. Last year, when we came to know that 11 girls who were appearing for the SSC exams had just one set of books to study, we provided each girl with new set of books. It is noteworthy that all of these girls passed the exam with flying colours,” Patil said. Established in 1962, the Pune Branch of the Western India Regional Council of ICAI has about 6,000 members today, including 2,500 members from the industry, and about 18,000 students.
editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
We are surrounded by a negative environment today Congratulations on the first edition of The Golden Sparrow on Saturday. I read the complete first edition and loved it. The intention and logic behind the title is also laudable. We are surrounded by a negative environment today. I have read that a child hears more than two lakh negative things till he/she turns 18. No wonder people think only negative thoughts in most circumstances of life. Today’s newspapers and news channels have added fuel to the fire. When we read most of the newspapers today or watch the news, it feels that nothing positive is happening in this 125-crore population country. Everyday, the incidents are the same, just the names change. Same old rape, murder, dirty politics, people blaming each other, gossip and such. In fact, I have stopped reading the newspaper and watching news since a long time now. Thanks to you now we have something worth reading over the weekend. Your editorial on the intention behind starting The Golden Sparrow on Saturday is what attracted me to the newspaper. I found that although
articles are highlighting the everyday issues faced by society, they are more solution-oriented than problemoriented. You have highlighted some examples of how some people have solved the same problem in their lives. And this approach is very important. I would like to suggest that articles by renowned educationists and economists be included, as I think our education and personal finance need special focus. Although people have ample amounts of money these days, they lack the basic education of maintaining it and converting it into wealth. Because earning money and maintaining and growing it are two totally different things. I sincerely hope that the intention behind this weekly newspaper is never forgotten and the noble cause continues for years to come. - Shriniwas Mene (Mene gets the prize for best letter of the week)
Punekars’ own paper
Firstly, I would like to extend my hearty congratulations to The Golden Sparrow on Saturday and its team. It’s
nice to know that we Punekars now have a newspaper of our very own and we will definitely have a sense of pride when we read it. My best wishes to the team for the endeavors ahead. The article by Danny Hakim in the World section titled ‘How About a Helicopter of One’s Own ’ was eye-catching. It reminded me of one of my favourite cartoon shows called ‘Jetsons’. As a child, I was fascinated by these space cars that the dwellers used to transport themselves. Of course I wanted one too; considering how easy it was to going about doing one’s task given the sheer feasibility of this space vehicle. I didn’t really think then that such a
creation in the real world was plausible. But with the kind of substantial research being put in the idea, it looks like the MyCopter will make sheer enthrallment about it, a thing of the past! I would like to know how we, the citizens of Pune, could contribute to the paper if we wish to express ourselves on issues concerning us as Punekars, as citizens of the country or merely as observers of the society around us. It would be generous on your part to make available a space for us. - Roma Abhyankar (This is an interactive newspaper and we value your views and comments. Do send your articles to me at editor_tgs@ goldensparrow.com - Editor)
Relationship with dad
I read the article, ‘Forgive me, dad’. The story was similar to my relationship with father. He passed away in the last week of April this year. I never spoke with him as a son. I lost my mother when I was 10. My father was then jobless and never took care of my two sisters and me. He shirked his responsibilities. My
grandmother took care of us and some of my family members. But to grow without a mother and an irresponsible father was really a big task, I remember my sisters working at home at a tender age, an age when they should have been playing. Today both are happily married and I pray to God for their well being. - Raghhav Nayak
Write to Us Letters to the Editor may be emailed to editor_tgs@goldensparrow. com or mailed to Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt Ltd, 1641 Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411030. The Best Letter of the Week will receive a special gift from Venus Traders, Pune’s finest stationery departmental.
CITY
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
PUNE
Today’s Kasba Peth is the real heart of the city, growing from three little villages several centuries ago. - Samita Gupta’s Glimpses of Pune’s Heritage- A Mosaic
Signposts Book Club remembers Khushwant Singh
Book launch on July 7
P 11
PCMC green building initiative attracts homebuyers 33 buildings registered in three years; civic body offers financial incentives to developers, occupants
The Ganga Skies residential project launched by Goel Ganga Developers at Pimpri is the first green high-rise apartment venture in Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation
BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL The green building campaign kickstarted by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) in 2011 has changed the twin township’s skyline with 33 registered environmentfriendly buildings in three years. PCMC is the first municipal corporation in the country to implement the green building initiative for conserving natural resources and check the adverse impact of construction
activities on the environment. PCMC executive engineer (environment cell) Sanjay Kulkarni said that only a few projects were developed on green building concept in Pimpri-Chinchwad in the first year before construction activity on green model picked up in the twin town. The civic administration aims to have all buildings that come up in the township in the next three-four years to be eco-friendly structures. Financial
AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
BDB India Private Limited and the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA)will hold an interaction session with author Madan Birla along with the launch of his new book, Unleashing Creativity and Innovation - Nine Lessons from Nature for Enterprise Growth and Career Success. BDB’s chairman RV Krishnan will moderate the session. Madan Birla is a US-based speaker, consultant, and trainer for companies around the world. The event will be held at Sumant Moolgaokar Auditorium, MCCIA Trade Tower, Ground Floor, A Wing ICC Complex, SB Road between 7pm and 8:30pm on Monday. Contact Manish at 7720008164 or mk@bdbipl.com.
Expediting the Home of Tomorrow
P 10
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Early this week, the Poona Club’s Book Club dedicated its monthly reading session to Khushwant Singh and his much acclaimed novel “The last Train to Pakistan”. Seema Chinchore, a schoolteacher, spoke on Khushwant Singh, the man, the editor, the columnist, the novelist, and the iconoclast. She described him and his life stories and why he was fired by The Illustrated Weekly (IW) a week before his retirement? “He was the one who took the readership from 60,000 to four lakh and after he was fired, IW closed down. It is a mystery.” said Shanmugham Mudliar, an avid reader of Khushwant’s books. Satish Khot read out an epitaph from Khushwant Singh’s “Death at my doorstep”. IT professional Sunita Shetty narrated the novel “The Last Train of Pakistan” in a story form. There was an animated discussion with members asking questions and offering comments, besides sharing their own experience and readings about Partition. Feroza Saran, one of the participants, said that the story on Partition was narrated well by Singh. “I am speechless, enamoured by this story of humanity and depth.” US Library president Munir Chinoy said that such initiatives serve the purpose of keeping alive the habit of reading. The book club may be reached at satishkhot11@gmail.com.
India ‘complaining’ of US spying won’t help
incentives are offered to builders and flat buyers to promote the green concept. Even the end beneficiaries — homebuyers — are welcoming this trend in real estate projects. The built environment has a vast impact on the natural environment, human health, and the economy. Economic and environmental performance can be maximised by adopting green building strategies. Green construction methods can be integrated into buildings at any stage, from design
and construction, to renovation and deconstruction. The environmental benefits include enhanced and protected biodiversity and ecosystems, improved air and water quality, reduction in waste streams and conservation and restoration of natural resources. The economic advantage will be reduction in operating costs and improvement in occupant productivity. The social usefulness will be better aesthetic qualities, minimum strain on local infrastructure and improvement in overall quality of life. A green building reduces the demand for electricity because of adequate use of natural light and ventilation. It cuts water bill as most of the water used in green buildings is treated and can be used for landscaping and air conditioning. Buildings have major environmental impact over their lifecycle as it contribute to around 40 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions leading to global warming. PCMC adopted GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment), the national rating system for green buildings in India, to promote sustainable development. Buildings will be given ratings on a scale of 1 to 5 depending on the number of eco-friendly measures taken. Developers get concession in premium charges paid to the civic body, while residents of green buildings are offered rebate in property tax once the green rating system has been applied. PCMC offers premium concession to eco-friendly buildings depending on the green rating. The green building certificate issued by PCMC to the owner should be renewed every five years. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
GRIHA and incentives All buildings (except industrial complexes) that are in design stage are eligible for certification under GRIHA. The structures include offices, retail spaces, institutional buildings, hotels, hospital buildings, healthcare facilities, residences and multi-family high-rise buildings. Premium discount for developers for projects registered on or after January 20, 2011 Points Rating Discount in scored premium 50-60 * 10% 61-70 ** 20% 71-80 *** 30% 81-90 **** 40% 91-100 ***** 50% Property tax benefit to occupants Points scored 71-80 81-90 91-100
Rating *** **** *****
Discount in property tax 5% 8% 10%
Benefits for small structures SVAGRIHA (Small Versatile Affordable GRIHA) has been designed as an extension of GRIHA and specifically developed for projects with a built-up area less than 2500 sqm. SVAGRIHA can help in design and evaluation of individual residences, small offices, schools, motels and commercial buildings. The rating comprises 14 criteria and the interface comprises simplified calculators. These calculators can be filled using information from construction drawings like areas; and quantities and specifications of materials. This can be done by the architect of the project. Once completed, the tool will tell the architect the number of points that they are able to achieve in that particular criterion and provide recommendations for any improvements in order to improve the environmental performance of the building.
EXPERIENCE
THE THRILL OF DRIVING
Pune Newspapers’ Vendors Association welcomed the arrival of The Golden Sparrow on Saturday and extended enthusiastic support. The association members along with the TGS team were present at the launch function at Dagdusheth Ganpati Temple on June 21
10th TAG awards presented
WITH THE WORLD'S #1 ENTHUSIAST MOTORING MAGAZINE
July Issue
ON STANDS NOW!
The winners of 10th TAG awards along with the guests at the presentation ceremony
TGS NEWS SERVICE Top advertising agencies and professionals from Pune were recently felicitated with awards for outstanding work at the 10th TAG awards presentation ceremony. Awards were presented to Quicksel Communications, Saket Communications, Mona Advertising, Subhash Jamdade, Nirmiti Advertising
(Nashik), Kala Kalpana (Kolhapur), RJ Designs Pvt Ltd,, Ashok Jain, ArtWiz, Ranjeet Jagtap, Raval Perfect Media Solutions, Genesis Advertising, Numero Uno Communications and Raviraj Publicity. The awards are instituted by The Active Group. Writer and journalist Ha Mo Marathe who was the chief guest at the event said, “Advertisements are the
perfect tool for selling a product and to communicate clearly. Advertisements today are very creative, imaginative and eye catching,” he said. Bharatnatyam exponent Sucheta Bhide Chapekar and educationist Sumati Dighe also spoke at the event. On behalf of the judges, Milind Phadke spoke about the evaluation process while Mahesh Gajendragadkar gave the vote of thanks.
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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
Mr Minister, our children need sex education of another kind P 12
The first ever email was sent in 1971 by Ray Tomilinson, the US programmer who invented the email system.
Companies investing more in own MFs P 14
Top 5
City Blogger of the Week
A blog that informs & guides
Football Websites
Ravi Karandeekar speaks to Ishani Bose about how blogging on property related matters became a full-time activity for him
“My understanding of real estate has changed over the years thanks to this blog.”
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
If you have been doing a thorough research for buying a house of your choice in Pune, then Ravi Karandeekar is a name you must have certainly come across. A real estate salesman turned blogger, Karandeekar’s passion for the subject knows no limits. Today, he is a leading blogger and gets queries and calls not just from within the country but also abroad. Karandeekar was introduced to the real estate world in 1993, when he started working in real estate advertising. This was where he got a good insight into the real estate business. Although he worked for the builders, his primary focus was always the buyers. “My job was to see what they got from these projects at the end of the day,” he explains, adding that his work in those days entailed him to get more and more bookings, by trying to understand what the buyers wanted and by convincing them to buy the property. Eventually he decided to inform and educate buyers about property matters and decided to communicate through a blog. For a person like Karandeekar who had a background in advertising and real estate and was equipped with good communication skills, blogging was not a difficult progression. In fact Real-estate blogger and consultant, Ravi Karandeekar is also a photography enthusiast not many know that Karandeekar had originally set out to pursue journalism as a career, but due to a minor glitch left ABOUT THE BLOG it midway to pursue advertising instead. Over the last six years, “I was studying Journalism at Ranade Karandeekar’s blog has only grown in Institute in Pune but unfortunately due popularity. The testimony of that fact is to a fight with my professor, I was asked the number of page views that currently not to sit for the exam,” he says, with a stands at over 6.61 lakh. Ask him if boyish grin. Karandeekar had been writing, since he ever expected his blog to get this his school days, which made blogging popular and he replies with a clear No. interesting for him. “All I can However, the major say is that my challenge in hand understanding of real was to write in estate has changed English as his earlier over the years thanks writings were mostly to this blog. When in Marathi. “Initially, I started blogging I was a little sceptical I wasn’t sure of its but then with format as real estate time realised that bloggers were in a educate them. I wanted to do it from it was not all that minority. Most of the buyer’s point of view and gradually difficult. Although the time they were started to understand the huge gap it was a new form working as brokers between how builders and buyers looked of technology for who used to talk at a particular project,” he says. - Ravi Karandeekar me, there was about the properties Karandeekar takes the plenty of literature which were available responsibility of educating the buyers and information with them to sell. I very seriously. That is why, at the end available on the internet to guide a first definitely knew I did not want to do that. of each blog post he leaves his mobile time blogger like me. And so slowly I wanted it to be a market search blog number, wherein he invites readers for and steadily after a lot of self-studying I wherein I would invite readers/ potential a personal one-to-one session about started blogging in 2007,” he reminisces. buyers for a discussion and in the process everything they want to know about
We have grown up communicating and interacting with the physical objects around us, primarily through gestures. We use gestures not only to interact with these physical objects but also with each other. For instance, a gesture of “Namaste!”, acts as a mark of respect, or a simple wave serves as a sign of acknowledgement. It was this cognizance of everyday life and the urge to leverage these gestures to one’s interactions in the digital world, that led Indian computer scientist and inventor Pranav Mistry to work on the Sixth Sense, which is an inexpensive, wearable device that can interact with the environment to give
us easy access to relevant information in order to help us make better decisions. Currently, the Vice President of Research at Samsung and known for introducing Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watch in September 2013, Pranav Mistry delivered an interesting and engaging TED talk in 2009, on ‘ The thrilling potential of Sixth Sense technology’, which even today is one of the ‘most viewed’ TED Talk videos in India. (http://www.ted.com/ talks/pranav_ mistry_the_thrilling_ potential_of_sixthsense_technology) Mistry asks a very pertinent question, “Why can’t we interact with computers the way we interact with one another?”. He experimented with various input systems for
computers to try to find an answer to this question. A hacked mouse was turned into a glove allowing the computer to read hand movements, a pen that could draw in 3 dimensions and a computer map built into a table, were some of the experiments he conducted.
Fifa.com is the official website of the World Cup. The website consists of various categories such as matches, teams, players ,groups, statistics, awards, ticketing, destination and organisation that provides all the information you need about the World Cup this year. If you have missed last night’s match and wish to get the update, this website is sure to provide it to you.
Goal.com is an international website, which carries all breaking news related to football – whether actual news or speculation. It acts as a constructive news aggregator with a strong take on movements across the globe, when it comes to football. It also has a dedicated Indian version for the Indian audience. If you find it cumbersome to trawl YouTube channels to catch a glimpse of the latest highlight packages, then Footytube.com is the ‘go to’ place for you. You can log on to the website to have a look at all the updates. Also, the site offers a community-like feel with fans being able to upload content and share it.
the real estate scenario in Pune. The first three minutes of the call is free but after that he charges a certain amount for consultation. “More than the number of page views on my blog is the number of calls that I get in a day. I’m constantly on my phone but thanks to these phone calls my knowledge about this sector keeps evolving. I am able to connect with the buyers in a bigger and better way, which has always been my focus,” he says, that at the end of the telephonic
Why can’t we interact with computers the way we interact with each other? ..asks Pranav Mistry, Vice President of Research at Samsung, while demonstrating several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data. Ishani Bose provides a synopsis of the Ted Talk
PUNE
Mistry delivers his TED Talk, juxtaposed with demonstrations of the Sixth Sense Technology, — right from its origins as mouse rollers, a collector bracket to the necklace apparatus and a paradigm shifting paper laptop, in 2009. Letting the pixels confined inside devices to elude was a quantum leap for Sixth Sense. Employing gesture sensors fastened to a user’s fingers could enable information to be projected on to any surface. An MIT graduate who had been working on the Sixth Sense technology at the time of delivering the talk, Mistry’s aim was to make available this technology to people so that they could all develop a Sixth Sense device for themselves. ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com
WHAT ARE TED TALKS? TED is a global platform where people from different fields come together and speak for 18 minutes or less about their respective disciplines. It was started in 1984 by a non-profit organisation called Sapling Foundation, under the slogan — Ideas worth sharing. Initially it organised conferences where matters related to technology, design and entertainment merged, but today it includes varied topics such as business, photography, art, science and the like.
conversation, which usually goes beyond three minutes, he sends his readers his account details and they transfer whatever amount they wish to give him. Karandeekar says that about 65% of the page views or real estate enquiries are from buyers living abroad. “Out of the 65% about 45% is from those living in the US and recently Google Analytics show that the second most views are coming in from China, which is quite unlike the case as the second highest views used to be from the UK or any other European country. That just goes to show the demand for real estate property in Pune from NRIs,” he says. FUTURE PLANS Karandeekar plans to start coaching classes wherein he can educate the masses face-to-face and create an association of the buyers so that they can together fight for their rights if there ever comes a situation where they are being exploited. “After all communication is the only way out,” he concludes with a smile.
Dirty tackle.com is a one-stop halt for all the news related to football, — about the sport, its culture, gossip about the players, video clippings and random musings about the sport that will keep one engaged and entertained. One can also buy merchandise of their favourite team. ESPN Soccernet.com is an all inclusive news site with an international influence and a powerful and intense English character. It is known to give much prominence to the English leagues and provide you with all the news, scores and match updates.
ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com
Why most FB users don’t endorse products online How often have you recommended a product to your friends and acquaintances on Facebook? Most likely, not very often. And what stopped you is a fear of social censorship, claims a new research. Researchers have found that users of social media websites are less likely to use them to say positive things about their favourite products and services. Instead, they are more likely to express their opinions about products in intimate faceto-face social situations. This is because most users usually have a wide range of “friends” or “followers” on social media sites, outside of their immediate family and friends, which deters them from expressing their opinions as they feel more vulnerable to adverse comments. “Social media websites such as Facebook have completely revolutionised the way we share information and communicate with each other. But when it comes to
sharing recommendations on products and services on these sites, users tend to stay quiet,” said Andreas Eisingerich from Imperial College Business School in Britain. “They would rather communicate via word of mouth because many users do not want to embarrass themselves online as work colleagues or acquaintances may not endorse or appreciate the same products that they do,” Eisingerich added. In the study, the researchers surveyed 407 participants in labs and face-to-face surveys to find out how they communicated about their favourite brands. They found that users are reluctant to endorse products on social media sites due to the perceived risk that they could embarrass themselves if their views are not endorsed or shared by others. The findings appeared in the Journal of Consumer Psychology. IANS
ED UCATION
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
PUNE
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela
Signposts Digital film making course by SMART
Lecture on astronomy Aastronomica Club will conduct a series of lectures on July 5-6, between 6.15pm and 8.15pm, at Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya Girls’ School, near SP College. On day 1, senior astrologist Dr Prakash Tupe will speak on ‘Space Journey: A pleasant Experience’, while on day 2, Dr Govind Swaroop will speak on ‘Great Discoveries in Radio Astronomy: Key Questions Today’. For details, contact club director Amit Purandare on 9822393872.
Parents hail RTE ruling Parents who have admitted their children in schools under the 25 per cent clause of Right to Education (RTE), have welcomed the circular from the director for Primary Education Board (PEB). As per the circular, the school cannot collect money for uniforms, notebooks and other materials, nor can they ask parents to purchase these from designated shops. Constant dialogue between parents, the director for PEB and Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP) and activists of the Samajwadi Adhyapak Sabha, has resulted in this positive step by the government, said Maitreyi Shankar, member of KKPKP.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” - Mahatma Gandhi
New government brings in new hope for engineering students With the government’s boost to the industrial sector, there’s a big spurt in engineering college campus recruitment, Manasi Saraf Joshi finds TGS NEWS SERVICE
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
In view of the growing demand in the electronic media, the School of Media Activity Research & Technology (SMART) has planned a one year digital film-making course in this academic year. The course will cover al the aspects of film-making such as script and screenplay writing, cinematography, dialogue-writing, editing and direction. The last date for filling the application is July 12. For more details call 020-5313248 or 8308136783. You can email your queries at mksssmart@gmail.com, or log on to www.smartpune.edu.in
CARE ER
Even as the BJP-led NDA government came into power, the Sensex touched a new high, giving a much-needed push to the industrial sector of the country, including Pune. And now with the changing scenario, industries are looking for fresh talent. This has boosted engineering college placements across the city, which is now witnessing a steady rise. Although information technology is the most sought after branch of engineering, the new government’s focus on production and employability has accelerated hiring in branches like mechanical engineering, production and metallurgy. The Maharashtra Academy of Engineering and Education Research’s (MAEER) MIT College of Engineering director, professor P Subramanyam said, “As the new government has taken up the reins, year 2015 is seen as an encouraging year among the industry and thus this year’s hiring has had no effect of so called, economic slowdown. There has been no impact on number of companies coming up to the campuses or packages offered. “The college has seen good hiring scenario especially with foreign All smiles: College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP) students have a reason to be cheerful, as 530 of them have been recruited during petroleum companies. These companies campus interviews this year have offered good packages with 13.5 lakh per annum being the highest,” “Compared to last year, when the these branches were selected through Subramanyam added. Subramanyam added. companies had adopted the wait and campus. In our college 80 per cent This was affirmed by associate Rawandale too said that it was watch policy, this year of students got recruited this season professor of mechanical the college’s initiative and relations with the BJP-led NDA with highest package of Rs 11 lakh,” engineering, College of with the industries which helped government, there is a he added. Rawandale said that he also Eng ineer ing (CoEP), them place their students in good cheer in the industries,” runs a website, www.rawandale.com Pune, NT Khond. companies with good packages. opined Shitalkumar for off-campus recruitments for the According to him, Although there was a slow down, over Rawandale, Dean, engineering students. “The core companies in 100 students recruited in companies Industry Institute, Some teachers opined that mechanical engineering including the Tata Consultancy Pimpri Chinchwad students’ skills, continuous interaction has seen rise with new Services (TCS) in last three years,” College of Engineering between the college and the industries government’s focus on Rawandale said. (PCCOE). also play an important role during increase in production, “The selection rounds were tougher Rawandale said the campus recruitments. “We have job opportunities and and students were judged on their - Shitalkumar Rawandale, that during the campus signed over 200 memoranda of various other economic skills, presentation techniques and over Dean, PCCOE interviews students understandings (MoU’s) with various reforms. Last year, all personality,” said Rawandale. from mechanical, industries for research and projects. there was a five per cent The companies look for specific electronics and telecommunications This interaction establishes the relations drop in companies coming for campus skills and then only make the selection,” (E&TC) and IT were in more demand. which help the industry to know about interviews, but this year there has been said Sandip Meshram, training and “Nearly, 60 per cent students from the students and their capabilities,” an encouraging response. placement officer, CoEP.
“In our college 80% students got recruited this season.”
Pursuing My Career
Internship gives you practical knowledge SWAPNIL SONAWANE
‘I want to pursue my career as a business analyst’ BY VASWATI HAZARIKA I decided to apply for my internship when I was in second year of my BSc Economics at Symbiosis School of Economics. I mailed my internship application to various organisations. Finally, I received a call from the Pune Municipal Corporation’s Ward Office in Hadapsar. On the first day of my internship, I stepped into the office with a lot of trepidation. I was asked to observe my seniors and assist them wherever I could. In the following weeks, I was given the task of visiting 20 government schools and jot down the details like the number of students, teacherstudent ratio, school infrastructure, and other related things. The visit to the schools gave me an insight on how government schools are run. During my summer holidays, rather than whiling away my time, I decided to go for my internship once again. My second stint was with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Guwahati, Assam. On my first day, I observed a flurry of activity in the office. The officers were buried deep in pile of paperwork. I was guided to
Project Director Shanta Sharma’s office. He informed that CII was planning a summit on the Women Empowerment in two weeks. It was basically an event where issues like sexual harassment, domestic violence were to be addressed. I was given the task of drawing the list of women delegates and the names of invitees who will be attending the event. I started working on it and took note of the various NGOs working in the Northeast region, Members of Parliament and other social activists. I visited the city colleges and spoke to heads of the various departments. After I completed this task, I was assigned to make a questionnaire on ‘sexual harassment of women at workplace.’ In the process, I had to make a comparative analysis of the women of Northeast against their counterpart in other states, along with checking the infant mortality rate in the state. Shanta madam was very happy with my work. As the days of the event drew near I started co-ordinating with the delegates. The event was a great learning experience for me. It showed me a new side of the corporate world which I was unaware of.
“The visit to the schools gave me an insight on how the government schools run.”
PIMPRI CHINCHWAD COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING Company
Highest package given to students
Flipkart
Rs 11 lakh
Sementic
Rs 9 lakh
Thoughtwork
Rs 9 lakh
Total recruitment:
80%
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, PUNE Companies
No of students shortlisted
Cognizant
175 shortlisted
Accenture
147 shortlisted
Wipro
132 shortlisted
Infosys
76 shortlisted
Total selections
530
Life’s Lesson
Get rid of procrastination It is important to prioritise things and act accordingly, instead of procrastinating
Procrastination is when we waste our time in less important things and leave the very important tasks and duties for the 11th hour. Thus, when people rush to meet deadlines, submit important forms on the last day and ask for extensions on assignments not done are basically procrastinating. Getting trapped in procrastination can cost you heavily, personally and professionally. Here’s the way out, say experts: FIRST BECOME AWARE... ...that you are procrastinating and look closely at how you spent your time during the day. Instead of focusing on the most important tasks of the day, did you waste too much time on the internet, interruptions at office, low priority work that could have been done later? WHY ARE YOU PROCRASTINATING? We procrastinate on things that we find a chore, extremely boring, unpleasant, because it’s a huge task, because we want to be perfectionists or because the deadline is far away. Once we are aware of why we are procrastinating, we can deal with the situation effectively. BECOMING EFFICIENT There are various ways to deal with procrastination.
Visualise the cost of procrastinating. 1submitting What would happen if I delayed this form or making this
payment? You know the cost one pays for not clearing credit card and other bills on time. At office, failing to meet deadlines could give you a bad reputation. At home, your spouse and children could nag you.
Reward yourself for every 2 important task done successfully, small reward for small tasks; big reward for big tasks. This could be a party with friends, a book or that gizmo you always wanted.
Announce your deadlines to best 3 friend or loved ones: “I plan to submit the passport application form
in the next 7 days.” And then see where that takes you.
Use a To Do List: Most 4 successful people plan their day first thing in the morning and then
go after those taks, without getting distracted.
Break big tasks into small tasks: 5 A big assignment, a project report, submitting a form with
documents cannot be done in a day. The best thing is to break such tasks into manageable portions and then complete them bit by bit.
RE LATIONSHIPS “If we fully embrace the truth of what we are doing in our relationships—healing and growing—then something miraculous happens.” — MJ Ryan
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
PUNE
“Most of us go into relationships to find security; we want to be with someone who makes us feel safe.” — Deepak Chopra
Nothing is permanent in life... IANS
Break-ups are steps to a greater and better relationship in future BY SUMIT PAUL
survival and greater visual appeal. A river without bends is prone to floods and causing destruction. Bends put brakes on it. Likewise, a break-off is a natural brake on two individuals before things go out of control. A moment comes when both the individuals in a relationship start getting suffocated. They long for freedom. Actually, this longing for freedom is craving for another individual, another relationship, another horizon or plain emptiness. It may sound repetitive to many but let me say again that the greatest truth in life is that nothing is permanent. I simultaneously loved a younger girl and liked an older girl. Despite my relationships with both, I couldn’t figure out whether I really loved and liked them and vice versa. This happens and at that point, it’s nature’s necessity to sift, shift and separate for a greater breathing space for all. It’s but natural to go into a state of depression following a breakup but as I’ve stated before, nothing is everlasting in life, this phase also passes. Just before growing a new skin and
Everything in life has a purpose. There’s nothing that happens without a reason. A break-up also has a meaning. It teaches the person/s deeper lessons of life and relationships. At the same time, when we break off with someone, however close he/she may have been, we’re again open to forging new bonds. So long one’s in a relationship, it’s difficult to weigh other options. But once the earlier bond loses its grip, you’re free. A child learns to walk by stumbling and a horse-rider falls many a time before he becomes an expert rider. Likewise, break-ups are steps to a greater and better relationship in the future or even if one never finds an ideal partner in life, breakups teach him/her the dos and don’ts of a relationship. I’ve always wondered why we use negative words like break off and break-ups? A river has many bends. What’s called a ‘break off ’ is actually a bend in the river of life. You know, why a river has bends? Nature has made rivers with bends like women with curves. Theymeant for their
shedding the old one, a snake doesn’t eat anything and at times, it appears to be dead. But soon it’s agile and more active when the new skin comes. Saying goodbye to the old is always heartbreaking but until we say that, how can we welcome the new one(s)? There’s a beautiful narration in Mahabharat’s ‘Samar Parv’, when Bhishma fell at the age of 167. Arjun, who was the closest to him and whose arrows pierced through Bhishma’s flesh, began to cry like a child. At that time, both Krishna and Bhishma told him not to cry because the old must depart to pave the way for new. So an old relationship must depart to usher in a new one. No one’s indispensable in life and after some time, one naturally forgets all. And one has to forget all, one by one to feel a sense of blissful emptiness that fills not just the whole universe but also completes one’s whole existence.
“What’s called a ‘break off’ is actually a bend in the river of life”
A ‘break-up’ can give you a broader perspective of life and relationships, to start your life afresh
‘Give equal child access to both parents’
Dear Reader, Would you like to share a story or write for this page? Write to us at: relationships@goldensparrow.com
Old age homes bring comfort to seniors, but... For 70-year-old Sushma, her only abode is an old age home in the national capital. She blames her daughter-inlaw for her plight. But for 65-year-old Kamlesh Gupta “lack of emotional support” is the main reason for shifting to an old-age home. And there are some elderly who like the ‘security’ these homes offer. A 2013 HelpAge India report said that more than one-fifth of the elderly, around 23 per cent, are known to have experienced hardships in the form of disrespect, verbal abuse and neglect and some have even faced beatings and slapping. Experts however point out that none of the elderly likes to be vocal about such domestic abuse. “Mostly the old-age people don’t discuss their personal issues. They would hint at lack of emotional support from their children or regular fights with their daughters-in-law,” Anita Sheoran, an official at Faridabad’s The Golden Estate old age home, told IANS. “Some would say that old age homes give them security and medical attention during emergencies. So, there are many reasons for them to be here,” she added. The home was set up last year and has 30 residents. A HelpAge India survey conducted in 2013 suggested that daughters-in-
IANS
Children’s Rights Initiatives for Shared Parenting (CRISP), an NGO which fights for the rights of divorced fathers, has demanded immediate and equal child access to both the separated parents. CRISP president Kumar Jahgirdar told reporters that many of fathers are not allowed to see their own children, let alone spend quality time with them. “The child has become a bargaining tool by greedy wives to extort money and property and because of this fathers face a lot of trauma, ” he said. The Bangalore-headquartered NGO is organising Father’s Day on Sunday, to create awareness on shared parenting and joint custody. Jahgirdar said the organisation was also planning to launch signature campaign across the country. It will submit a representation on the problems faced by divorced fathers to prime minister Narendra Modi. Shah Ali, convenor of Children’s Rights Initiatives for Shared Parenting Hyderabad, said nearly five lakh children were affected by custody battles and their future was jeopardised. IANS
Share
Though old age homes provide every possible facility, these shelters can never replace a home environment
law are the main culprits in abusing the elderly. It said daughters-in-law - 44 per cent - are the worst abusers of the elderly at home, followed by daughters (32 per cent) and sons (24 per cent). MC Chacko, president of the Ozanam Home for Aged in north Delhi, however said that daughters-inlaw can’t be held responsible for the old people’s plight. “The orthodox thinking is equally responsible for their plight. Many inlaws expect their daughters-in-law to perform domestic chores rather than
work. This thought makes it a onesided judgment,” Chacko told IANS. The home houses 30 elderly persons. For Gupta, a retired bank officer, his son and daughter-in-law weren’t able to give him much time because of their tight-work schedule. This lack of communication and emotional support prompted Delhi-based Gupta to move to a reputed old age home. “My wife died two years ago. It was then that I realised how important companionship is. I never missed her so much,” a teary-eyed Gupta told IANS.
“I felt so lonely. At times, I would talk to the walls. I had a few friends in the colony, but I would meet them only in the evenings. So, it was a hard decision to make, but I am happy. In fact, our relationship has become better,” said Gupta. Sheoran too felt this “sense of independence” is a matter of pride for many elderly. “They feel lonely at home. So they prefer the company of people of their age,” Sheoran said. “They want to feel independent. There are many restrictions at home: they don’t get meals on time or they have to time their schedule as per their working family members. So, those people who have worked all their life are used to their own ways of lifestyle,” she said, adding that they therefore, choose to live away from them and visit them occasionally. A joint report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Help Age International in 2012, said India has around 100 million elderly and the number is expected to increase to 323
million by 2050, constituting 20 per cent of the total population. There are no concrete figures for old age homes in India, though their number is estimated to be more than 1,000. While it might be easy to believe that these “second homes” provide emotional security and safety to these old people, Rachna Thapliyal, director, HelpAge India, differed. “Can ever a comfortable environment of your home, with your children and grand children, be replaced by these old age homes?” Thapliyal questioned. Though there is no solution to this prevalent problem, Chacko said “mutual understanding” and “lesser expectations” are a key to solving a crisis at home. “I think both - the old and the young - should try to understand each other’s position, changing lifestyle and aspirations. Things can be sorted out. One just has to communicate and listen (to each other),” he concluded. IANS
The old and the young should try to understand each other’s position & changing lifestyle
The Way Forward with compassion and hope
Try to change the situation you’re not happy with Is a problem bothering you and you are unable to decide what to do? Write in to us at wayforward@goldensparrow.com for advice from C Ravindranath There are those who will do something, get off their vehicles and regulate the flow of traffic, raise their voices to the authorities and take the initiative to create solutions. Which category would you like to belong to? “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge,” said Martin Luther King, Jr. Do we take refuge in the comfort and convenience of telling others what to do or do we ask ourselves what we can do? Much as we would like the world to be the way we would like it to be, the fact is that we have very little or no control over others. The only person we can control is ourselves. Can I therefore take up responsibility and say, “Here is a situation. I’m not happy with it. What can I do to change it?” I agree that each one of us has limitations. Are we making a big issue of them, blowing them out of proportion in our minds (to suit our
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
A question we frequently ask is: What can I do? The way we ask this question can differ. ‘What can I do,’ could indicate helplessness, frustration and despondency. ‘What can I do,’ could indicate positivity, enthusiasm and a helping nature. In the former case, one has no solution nor wants to be part of it, for the obvious answer is, “There’s nothing I can do.” In the latter case, when the accent is on the ‘I,’ one wants to do something, to assist, to solve, but may not know exactly what or how. He/she is seeking – either within or from others. A small shift in the importance – from ‘can’ to ‘I’ – can make a big difference. Most of us spend our lifetimes cribbing, complaining and bemoaning our lot. The traffic is bad, the roads have potholes, the public transport is poor, taxes are high and so on. We don’t want to do anything about them. We feel others, the government, for example, should do something or people should follow traffic rules. We will do nothing.
convenience) and expecting others to act? Mind you, not all tasks are easy and immediately feasible. Can I at least make a start? Can I contribute my mite? Believe me, there are thousands and millions doing just this. They start or volunteer with NGOs, they gather people in the colony for a cleaning drive. They take action instead of warming their seats. Even if your efforts don’t immediately fetch the desired results, isn’t it better to do something instead of sitting in one place, waiting and cribbing? I believe that not one of us who reads this column is completely helpless. Each one of us is endowed with the strength and capability to do something – to make a difference, however, miniscule. Will I wake up and act, instead of folding the paper and going back to sleep or daydream?? (The writer is a multi-faceted personality who believes in responding with compassion and hope to the difficult situations in life.)
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
PUNE
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
“ You must follow your passion and do something that’s close to your heart. And I think that that’s very important, well, to be successful and to be happy.” - Kumar Mangalam Birla
—Thomas A. Edison
Signposts Training session for managers
Shoe designer Nidhi Bhandari is scaling new heights in the fashion world with her creative designs. In a tete-a-tete with Sneha Krishnan, she elaborates on the nuances of her craft ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
In co-operation with the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), the IndoGerman Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) invites operation and maintenance managers of different companies to participate in the first ever EUREM-training in India. EUREM is the new training programme for energy efficiency specialists in India. They will be able to develop and implement the commercially viable and environmentally friendly changes in energy use and consumption in industries. The course will be starting in Pune from July 10 Interested candidates can get the application forms at IGCC and MCCIA offices in Pune. They can also download the form from the IGCC webpage http://indien.ahk.de/training/ eurem/eurem-in-india. For further details contact Tanaya Gupte, IGCC Pune, at tanaya.gupte@indo-german. com; or call on 020-4104 7124 or Sudhanwa Kopardekar, MCCIA, at sudhanwak@mcciapune.com; or call 020-2570 9211
Fashion at your feet
Workshop on IPR at MCCIA The Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture is organising an awareness programme on Intellectual Property Rights - A New Business Tool For SME’s and MSME’s on July 9 between 3 and 5pm in the city. The event will throw light on importance of developing effective strategies to protect IP within business, not only to protect valuable assets but also to safeguard the products, processes and creative inputs from which the profits of the business emanate.
The session will be held at Navalmal Firodia Centre for Excellence, J 462, J Block, Ganeshnagar, Telco Road, Bhosari. For further details, uinterested candidates may contact Snigdha Goliwadekar on 020-27130700, or email their queries at snigdhag@ mcciapune.com and Kishor Mandke on 020-27130700 or email at kishorm@ mcciapune.com.
Shoe designer Nidhi Bhandari has already made a mark in fashion world through her designer shoes
An interplay of gold weavings, splashes of neon and striking style are the hallmarks of shoe designer Nidhi Bhandari’s creation. Nidhi Bhandari Fine Couture Footwear is a pret-a-porter and couture label that focuses on bold designs, chic patterns and statement effects. An artist at heart, Nidhi’s creative inclination is drawn from various facets of her life including her travels, conversations and reading. She is inspired by everything around her, from the tiny droplets of rain to different shades of nature. She incorporates these elements to her designs, creating an eclectic twist of the traditional with the contemporary. The people’s preference for experimenting with new designs of footwears has also helped her find new admirers. Every pair of shoes at Nidhi Bhandari FCF tells a unique and enthralling story.
EXCERPTS FROM THE INTERVIEW Can you tell us a little about your line of shoes? A. I make customised footwear where I design the shoes from scratch. For my first two collections, I chose themes and also made footwear for casual and daily wear. I ensure that I give the client something they haven’t seen before and work with designs and patterns that are new in the market. What do you keep in mind while designing a footwear? Comfort is my top priority. A shoe bite or uncomfortable footwear can turn out to be a disaster for not only your feet but for your back and posture too. Another important factor in footwear is ease in wearing them and taking them off. Most people avoid wearing some of their best looking footwear only because the straps are
too hard to unhook or the heel is not sturdy enough. Then, keeping in mind current trends, I make my sketches and work around comfortable fabrics and designs. I started with gold embroidery and stone work because they make the shoes very different from the usual stuff you get in stores. I then moved on to laser cuts and added more variations in my recent line. How did you get into footwear design? I chose to pursue a course in architecture as I wanted to keep my creative side alive. While pursuing my course, I started developing an interest in shoe designing. I began helping my family and friends decide what shoes would match their outfit. Also my
family members and friends would ask me for my opinion before buying any shoes. Gradually, I realised that I could do something about my fascination with shoes. And this is when I decided to take it up and pursue a career in footwear design. I Iearnt everything about this industry, in terms of fashion, demand, style and comfort. During this time I realised that in Pune you don’t have many labels, so I decided to try and give people a choice. And to my surprise, I received a tremendous response from people all arund. They were amazed to see a female shoe designer who customises footwear too. Where did you pursue your education for shoe designing? My passion took me to the London
“I ensure that I give my clients something they haven’t seen before.”
School of Fashion. There I learnt designing, made shoes from scratch, learnt how to drill, hammer, and so on. I learnt so many other aspects of shoe-making and shoe designing. After completing my course, I decided to open my own flagship store. What has been your experience with customers so far? In a city like Pune, there are people who still prefer shopping at malls. But what I’m trying to bring to the market are shoes you wouldn’t have seen anywhere else. I have had clients who come to me asking me to make them bridal shoes that they have in mind but are unable to find. As a shoe designer you have to use your creativity and make beautiful footwear using your imagination. Apart from this, I get orders for shoes with extra padding or extra cushion, comfortable heel size and mens’ shoes for foot sizes 42, 43 which aren’t easily available in the market.
Start-up Mentor Nasscom sets up To be an entrepreneur you should be registry for start-ups The programme will invite domain centric applications and plans to launch application-based contests for entrepreneurs The National Association of Software two phases during the last 12 months and Services Companies (Nasscom), attracted 7,000 applications. which represents the $118 billion The association’s InnoTrek, a Indian IT industry, launched a registry representative delegation of software to build a repository of technology startproducts and solutions, will visit Israel, ups in the web, mobile, e-commerce Singapore, Hong Kong and some and marketplace European countries and make it a this year to showcase virtual platform the country’s most for investors, innovative start-ups enterprises, media building world class and government. products. “India is “We will also emerging as focus on the Nasscomthe hotbed for Google ‘girls in technology starttech’ programme ups and our ‘10,000 to increase start-up progarmme’ representation of will partner with all women founders in stakeholders to help start-ups,” Nasscom the country emerge as product conclave an innovation hub,” chairman Ravi Nasscom president Gururaj said. R. Chandrashekhar “Though India — Ravi Gururaj, Chairman, told reporters. is buzzing with Nasscom product conclave As a one-stop entrepreneurial spirit, platform for all the country lacks stakeholders, the skills, scale and speed registry will be a national database of required to excel in the fast-paced start-ups and identify the areas of their technology environment. Our 10,000 operations, providing an opportunity start-ups programme aims to draft to be engaged with investors, large courses and modules to impart skills enterprises, media and state-run like inbound marketing, application organisations. The association also development, big data and analytics to announced the third phase of its startcreate a pool of talent,” Gururaj added. up programme, which in the first IANS
“We will also focus on the NasscomGoogle ‘girls in tech’ programme to increase representation of women.”
ready for delayed gratification This feature is a collaboration between The Golden Sparrow on Saturday and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the world’s largest non-profit network of entrepreneurs. For additional questions about your entrepreneurial challenges, write to mentoring@pune.tie.org I am doing MBA and there is a big activity around ‘Campus Placement’ where our college helps us find jobs. I am thinking I will start my business and become entrepreneur. What should I do? —Pooja Kulkarni, MBA student Whether to take up a job or become an entrepreneur is a very personal dec ision. However, let me provide a perspective that can help you Vishwas Mahajan make a decision. M o s t MBA colleges attempt to have their graduating students placed by getting prospective employers to their campus and many corporates look at this for hiring fresh talent. We often see colleges advertising about the ‘placement percentage’ or ‘average salary offered’ to their students as a measure of their success. However, I also see a new trend in some MBA schools. They set up entrepreneurship cells to encourage
their students to experiment with ideas and entrepreneurship. Have you been a part of any such activity in your college? If yes, then you would have some idea. The question to ask yourself is, “why do you want to be an entrepreneur?” Let me give you some pointers. Is it the desire to be your own boss? Have you spotted or stumbled upon an idea that you think can create your venture? Are you passionate enough to pursue that till the end? Have you seen anyone in your family or friends who is into business? Are you impressed by success of some ‘role model’? Are you able to sustain without regular income for period of time? Are you articulate enough to communicate your idea to others and convince them that this is a good business opportunity? Is there a problem or a shortcoming – technological or social that you think you can solve and create a business? Is there some trend or wave that you can ride on? Answers to some of these questions will clarify your thought process. One key quality of entrepreneurs is the willingness for ‘delayed gratification’. Generally, delayed gratification is
associated with resisting a smaller but more immediate reward in order to receive a potentially larger or more enduring reward later. Do you have it in you? What I have not discussed here is the specifics of what your venture will do or what kind of products or services it will create or what customers it will serve. These are large questions that come later once you have clarified the basics to yourself. Also it is useful to discuss your idea with your friends, family and mentors. This will do two things. It will clarify the idea for yourself, check if you can convince others of the idea and you never know, you will find a partner or co-founder who can join you. Please read the column that appeared on June 21. I know that I have not provided you with one binary answer but rather raised several questions for you to chew. So good luck in thinking these through! Vishwas Mahajan, president of TiE Pune Chapter answers real life questions of entrepreneurs
ENTREPRENEUR
JOB
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
Respect your child’s Multiple Intelligences P 13
PUNE
“I am not a wicket of cricket. I am like Angad’s (mythological character in Ramayana) foot and all Congressmen even if they come together would not be able to displace me from my position.” Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh
India ‘complaining’ of US spying won’t help, it should protect itself instead
1 Prime minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with US Senator John McCain in New Delhi. But only time will tell whether the cordial relations between India and the US will remain the same after the spying reports
effort. It takes these allies for granted. It is best if your frenemy does not take you for granted. The second point is this: how much respect can you have for a spy agency that taps into the BJP and still could not tell President Barack Obama that Narendra Modi was the one to watch – and that
installed RWH in all their buildings. A number of housing societies in Kalyaninagar, Vimannagar and Kothrud have implemented RWH for which they receive 5% rebate in general tax from the PMC. During the summer, all these societies have ample water for their gardens other purposes. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation included RWH system in Development Control (DC) rules in 2007 and also offered 20% exemption on the water bill as a temporary incentive to install RWH systems in their houses and residential complexes. Dalwi said that both PMC and PCMC do not have enough staff to
to ignore Narendra Modi. The third point is this: one would have thought the USA needed to know more about what was going on in the ruling parties rather than opposition ones. In 2010, when the surveillance clearance was sought by the NSA from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
it made no sense to antagonise a future Prime Minister of India with a silly visa ban that had largely evangelists rooting for it? These evangelists don’t even vote for the Democratic Party. The IQs of the guys doing the BJP surveillance must be reckoned to be lower than that of backward rabbits if they told their boss
City thirsts for a more aggressive agenda on rainwater harvesting Contd from p 1 PMC’s chief city engineer Prashant Waghmare said that RWH was made mandatory for new projects in the fringe villages of Pune in 2005 and in the old PMC limits in 2010. Building completion certificate is not issued to new constructions without RWH compliance. “The results would be visible in the next few years in the form of increased groundwater levels,” he said. Civic engineers said that under RWH, rainwater has to be channelled from the roof-top to an underground sump well with a small chamber full of stone, sand and some natural water purification fi lters. The PMC has
Court, the Congress had won a big victory just a year ago, and as far as one could see, it was going to be there for four more years, with the possibility of another win in 2014 on the back of populist policies. Why wasn’t the Congress spied on? Or did the NSA think the Congress was not worth spying on? Did it believe, as we heard in another context, that “Congress to ab apni dukaan hai”? The fourth point is simple: our own Intelligence Bureau spies on opposition parties on behalf of the party in power. If this is not objectionable, why raise a ruckus only about the USA’s spying? Clearly, the only lessons to be learnt from this Snowden leak, published in the Washington Post, are the following – all inter-related.
- but also by those who need no such justification. How do we now China isn’t doing the same and passing on the info to its pal in Pakistan? A large investment in intelligence gathering, both electronic and human intelligence, has to be central to the future defence of Indian interests.
To protect the privacy of our citizens, we should develop cyber countercapabilities to prevent snooping by the US
check on the proper implementation of RWH and housing societies themselves have shown little interest in this ecofriendly solution to water scarcity. Speaking to this newspaper, PCMC’s building permission department head Ayub Pathan said, “We have included RWH as a clause in the DC rules of the civic body. The systems installed in new buildings to allow rainwater collected on rooftops to discharge in bore wells are working effectively.” Pimpri-Chinchwad New Town Development Authority’s (PCNTDA) chief executive officer Yogesh Mhase said it is mandatory for new
Nations have to follow their interests. India must follow suit. Protests will get us nowhere. We have to see if we can do the same to the US, and spy on them the same way they spy on us. In fact, if we can nail, name or nab one of their cyber-spies and bring them to justice here, the US will learn to respect us. We have to give it to them as good as we got.
2
The US is still a frenemy – like China. Pakistan is clearly an enemy nation as of now. We have to be prepared not only to counter spying by the US – which at least has the decency to get some kind of court approval for its dirty work
3
The future of confl ict is cyber confl ict where countries will try to cripple the warmaking and economic capabilities of their rivals rather then send tanks and armies to fight. No one wants to fight conventional wars anymore – they are simply too expensive and too messy, and counter-productive. All countries know that wars are as disruptive to their own economies as they are to that of their enemies. Hence warmaking has moved towards crippling or slowing down the rival. This is now a vital area for strategic thinking for India.
4
As far as political parties are concerned, it is tough to insulate them from spying. They are simply too large to escape it. At best, top leaders can take precautions to prevent spying. Even domestically, political parties like the BJP have been subject to stings and other forms of spying. They have to either tighten up internal discipline or learn to enjoy the attention. But, as I said before, we can’t afford to be crybabies. We have to protect ourselves quietly. (By special arrangement with Firstpost.com)
EoW detects multi-crore fraud in city
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Why is one not surprised to learn that the USA’s National Security Agency (NSA) received clearance from its Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to spy on the BJP, among others? Or that as many as 193 foreign governments or foreign entities were on the spy agency’s radar? The Indian government can work up a lather over this intrusion, summon the US envoy and give him (or her) an earful, and register its impotent protests – all for public consumption. But we need to ask ourselves: what are spy agencies supposed to do apart from spying? Every nation has to spy on its enemies, and if the US thinks a lot of its enemies lurk in India, it will do so, never mind our sensibilities. It does not require an Edward Snowden to tell us that this is what Uncle Sam has been up to. It is time we stopped being crybabies and do what we have to do. If we want to protect the privacy of our citizens and our political parties, we should develop cyber countercapabilities to prevent snooping by the US or – for that matter – more hostile or aggressive powers like Pakistan and China. Summoning envoys and expressing moral outrage is for media headlines. They don’t matter. The world can be divided into two types: those who can, do, those who can’t, cry. Do we want to be in the former category or the latter? But many other points need to be made in the context of this spygate affair. For one, the BJP should be preening that Uncle Sam thought it worthy of being spied on. You are someone to reckon with only if someone thinks you are worth spying on. The USA did not think spying on Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada was worth the
IANS
BY R JAGANNATHAN
BY GITESH SHELKE
constructions to install a RWH system before applying for a building completion certificate from PCNTDA. He said that in most cases, architects have certified that the installation has been done satisfactorily.
The investigations by the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of the city police into alleged share-related fraud have revealed that the size of the fraud affecting all the victims involved could amount to more than Rs 8.50 crore. Earlier this week, police booked one Ramesh Ramchandra Hawele (52) of Erandwane and his wife Veena following a complaint fi led by Jayant Govind Satpute (50) of Aundh who claimed to be a victim of the scam. The complaint was registered with the Kothrud police station under different sections of cheating.Assistant Commissioner of Police (EoW)
Gopinath Patil told this newspaper that Hawele floated five different companies under the banner of Dhanada Corporation Private Limited having its office at his Erandwane residence. “The couple allegedly started demanding money for shares since February 2010 and were gathering money till early this year,” he added. Patil said so far police have received complaints from 15 persons and the amount involved is over Rs 1.60 crores. “There are about 3000 investors in the company and if all the investors lodge their complaints, the amount could cross Rs 8.50 crores,” he said. gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
DQ is nation’s best short-distance train Contd from p 1 each one of which was painted in silver with scarlet mouldings and the other with royal blue with gold lines. The under frames of the coaches of the original rakes were built in England while the coach bodies were built in the Matunga Workshop of the GIP Railway. The number of coaches in the rake was also increased to 12 from the original 7 coaches providing additional accommodation. Over the year the number of coaches in the train has been increased
to the present level of 17 coaches, including 4 AC chair car, one Dining Car, 10 second class chair car and two second class cum brake vans. Its distinctive colour scheme of cream and oxford blue with red band above the window level has been recently adopted as the colour scheme for this train. The new rake provides a total seating capacity of 1417 as against 1232 seats in the old rake i.e. an increase of 15%. The dining car offers table service for 32 passengers and has modern pantry facilities
such as microwave oven, deep freezer and toaster. The dining car is also tastefully furnished with cushioned chairs and carpet. Many of the daily travelers to and from Pune to Mumbai consider DQ to be their second home and love it to the extent that even if they are left early from work, they prefer to wait to travel by this train. Some of the travelers have been travelling for as many as 28 years as Lonavala resident Harin Khatau remembers. “My father used to
travel before me; I guess the love for this train runs in the family. This train is comfortable and we find it prestigiously to be travelling in it.” His wife Dipti Khatau too travels to Mumbai daily and has been since 1993, feels that DQ is part of their life. “We spend most of our time in this train hence we tend to treat it as part of our family. We celebrate our festivals, our birthdays everything with it. We decorate the compartment and share sweets with other passengers.”
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
PUNE
“Above all, Russia must play its part and exercise its influence over the separatists in the east of Ukraine so that these groups also observe a ceasefire,” said German government spokesman Steffen Seibert
Stars out of action in Netherlands-Costa Rica tie P 15
Expediting the home of tomorrow Startup Quirky fields 4,000 new product ideas a week and its top-selling products are, standalone devices; it will create a smart-home products company Wink
NEW YORK: The repurposed red brick warehouse in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood is a bustling hub of modern industrial activity. Skilled young workers are hunched over pristine machine tools and 3-D printers that churn out prototype products. This is the home of Quirky, a startup that now fields 4,000 new product ideas a week, picks three winners and then takes over all aspects of production, from making blueprints to marketing the goods through big-box retailers like Home Depot and retail websites, including Amazon. Most of Quirky’s top-selling products have been inventive, standalone devices - like a power strip that pivots so a plug never blocks an adjacent socket, and a plastic stem that inserts into a lemon or lime and becomes a push-button citrus spritzer. Yet increasingly, the ideas coming into Quirky - about one in four - are for home products that can communicate with a smartphone or a household WiFi network. These are ideas pursuing the much-promoted vision of the smart home, or the consumer Internet of things. The vision has been around for years, but the reality has remained elusive. “The Internet of things is still for hackers, early adopters and rich people,” said Ben Kaufman, Quirky’s 27-yearold founder and chief executive. But Quirky, like others, thinks that is about to change. The company will lead an ambitious effort, beginning in July, to accelerate the adoption of smart-home products. It is setting up a separate company, Wink, whose main technology is software intended to be the equivalent of an open operating system, helping to seamlessly connect all kinds of automated home devices. Wink’s smartphone and tablet app will offer consumers a single digital dashboard to link and control a user’s smart-home devices. With a few finger swipes, for example, you could instruct
OZIER MUHAMMAD/THE NEW YORK TIMES
BY STEVE LOHR
Many of Quirky’s innovative products include a power strip that pivots so a plug never blocks an adjacent socket.
the lights in the kitchen and dining room to turn on when the automated door unlocks. For the last year, Quirky has worked with a group of manufacturers, encouraging them to adopt its technology and approach. Fifteen companies plan to offer nearly 60 Wink-enabled products in July. The companies are as varied as giants like General Electric, Honeywell and Philips and fast-growing startups like Rachio. The connected products include light bulbs, video cameras, garage doors, water heaters and lawn sprinklers. Smart-home products now communicate - or fail to - in a cacophony of ways. “Wink is trying to fill that gap,” said Bill Alderson, director of marketing for Rheem, a large manufacturer of water heaters, which is one of Wink’s partners.
Quirky is by no means alone in trying to connect devices in the emerging smart-home business. Several companies address the challenge mainly with hardware hubs, like Revolv, SmartThings and Insteon. Apple offered a software entry in June, introducing its HomeKit technology for writing apps for Apple’s iOS operating system that will control smart-home products. Nest Labs, maker of a breakthrough digital thermostat, said it would soon let developers write apps to let its thermostats and smoke alarms talk to other home devices. But the Quirky and Wink approach impressed Home Depot enough that it chose Wink as its technology partner. Home Depot now sells 600 smart-home products, six times as many as it did two years ago.
“The Internet of things is still for hackers, early adopters and rich people,” said Ben Kaufman (right), but his start-up, Quirky, aims to change that
A reach too far by Google?
The firm’s chief Larry Page says everyone can tell that their lives are going to be affected, but don’t know how yet FARHAD MANJOO
you can truly start assisting people in a more meaningful way,” Pichai said. He suggested a way for Android on people’s smartphones to interact with Android in their cars. “If I go and pick up my kids, it would be good for my car to be aware that my kids have entered the car and change the music to something that’s appropriate for them,” Pichai said. Google is certainly not alone in that effort, either. The “Internet of Things” has become the latest annoying catchphrase in the industry, and Apple is widely expected to enter the fray soon with a smartwatch. But Google may be in the best position to make sense of the chaotic, thing-filled Internet. Because Google makes software for a variety of devices, and because it gives that code to third-party manufacturers free, it is well-suited to integrate many different kinds of gadgets made by many different kinds of firms. What is more, for “context aware” computing to become truly useful, our devices must deeply understand our context - and that necessarily involves collecting, analyzing, and acting on boatloads of information about each of us and the world around us. Google excels at that. Perhaps more important, only Google has Page - and he is completely undaunted by the pushback these technologies may engender. “For me, I’m so excited about the possibilities to improve things for people, my worry would be the opposite,” he said. “We get so worried about these things that we don’t get the benefits.” He pointed to health care, where regulations make collecting and analyzing data very difficult, even if that data is analyzed anonymously. “Right now we don’t datamine health care data. If we did we’d probably save 100,000 lives next year,” he said, citing a study of the topic he said he began about six months ago. Saving those lives would be a big benefit. But there’s no doubt that it would also come at a loss of privacy that some might consider too great. STUART GOLDENBERG
SAN FRANCISCO: One way to think of Google is as an extremely helpful, all-knowing, hyper-intelligent executive assistant. Already, it can remind you about your flight, open up your boarding pass when you get to the airport and offer you driving directions to your hotel when you land. If what the company showed off at an event for developers in June is a true vision of our future, Google’s software will soon reach ever further into our lives, sitting on just about every other device you encounter. The software will be available to help you look up any bit of idle curiosity or accomplish any task, anytime you desire. It’s an extremely far-reaching agenda and that may be the company’s problem. For a company whose future depends on people voluntarily handing over their information in return for handy online services, Google’s very ambitions may now stand as its biggest hurdle. Is Google, in its globe-spanning reach, trying to do so much that it risks becoming creepy instead of helpful - the assistant who got too powerful and knows too much? “I think technology is changing people’s lives a lot, and we’re feeling it,” Larry Page, Google’s co-founder and chief executive, said in an interview at the event in San Francisco. Page described Android and Chrome, the company’s mobile operating system and Web browser, as a kind of glue that will connect all of the devices we will use in the future. But Page conceded that the novelty and scope of these devices might breed worries among users. “Everyone can tell that their lives are going to be affected, but we don’t quite know how yet, because we’re not using these things - and because of that there’s a lot of uncertainty,” he said. Google has lately become a punching bag in what looks like an emerging resistance against the tech industry. In San Francisco, where the technology sector is contributing to rising real estate prices and creeping inequality, the Internet-
equipped luxury shuttle buses Google uses to transport its employees have become a target for local protesters. The company has also become the face of technology’s reckless intrusion into our social lives. Google Glass, its tech-enabled eyeglasses, is a frequent butt of jokes on late-night television. In response to a European court ruling on the so-called right to be forgotten, Google has received a flood of requests from users asking the service to delist them from its index. Google’s keynote event, an affair largely geared toward programmers who are fans of Google, was interrupted by protesters. Sundar Pichai, the executive in charge of Google’s
Android and Chrome software projects, pointed out that the company had introduced initiatives to improve its relationship with city residents. This year, it gave $600,000 to the city to roll out free Wi-Fi service in San Francisco parks. More broadly, Page argued that people’s instinctive reactions to new technologies were often negative. Many of Google’s new services will improve how our computers work by combining personal data and information gathered from sensors to create what the company called “context aware” experiences. “Today, computing mainly automates things for you, but when we connect all these things,
© 2014 New York Times News Service
Home Depot, Epstein said, will have Wink displays in nearly all its 2,000 U.S. stores, starting on July 7. The packaging on Wink products will have one of two logos: one for “Wink app ready” products that can communicate with a home Internet router, and one for “Wink app compatible” products that require a hub as a translator. A hardware hub is a machine, about the size of a hardcover book, that can handle communications from wireless technologies including Bluetooth, ZigBee and Z-Wave, as well as Wi-Fi, the open Internet standard. For Wink, hub-making is a near-term necessity because many smart-home devices on the market now do not yet use Wi-Fi. “We would love not to be in the hub business,” said Brett Worthington, vice president for partners at Wink. Home Depot and Amazon will sell the Wink hardware hub for $79. The Wink app will also be available July 7, on Apple’s App Store and on Google Play for the Android app. Quirky, founded in 2009, is growing rapidly and has prominent backers. Its revenue is surging, on track to reach $100 million this year, the company said. And it has raised $175 million from leading venture capital firms, including Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and from GE, America’s largest manufacturer. Quirky’s crowdsourced, streamlined model of production has been hailed as perhaps the next wave of manufacturing. Quirky stands to benefit substantially from the smarthome market, especially if Wink can accelerate the growth of the business. Demand is picking up. Sales in eight major categories of networked home products - led by lights, thermostats and video cameras - are expected to reach 25 million units and $3.5 billion by 2018, up from 11 million units and $1.4 billion last year, according to Parks Associates, a research firm. © 2014 New York Times News Service
Shaking up the boardroom in Japan HIROKO TABUCHI Even for the land that invented Toyota-style efficiency, prime minister Shinzo Abe is on a tear. His ruling Liberal Democratic Party pushed 98 per cent of its bills through parliament, a success rate not seen in Japan for more than a decade. But after a meteoric rise in the market last year, Tokyo shares have lately lost momentum as investors increasingly question whether Japan’s hard-charging prime minister can actually achieve his ambitious goals. Abe’s solution? Another blast of economic measures. And in a harbinger of just how far he will go to rouse Japan’s long-sluggish economy, he promised, among other things, to take on Japan’s staid corporate managers and one of the most sacred of sacred cows: the nation’s interlocking connections among Japanese companies that form the core of Japan, Inc. In a televised address to the nation in June, Abe unveiled a fresh set of economic policies intended to kick-start growth in Japan, the world’s thirdlargest economy. The country needs more women in the workplace, he said, and more entrepreneurs and more foreign workers. Japanese corporations would do well to ditch their anemic seniority-based systems and start rewarding high performers. And company boards need to start hustling to generate better returns and lure back investors. “In my growth strategy, there are neither taboos nor sacred cows,” Abe said. “There is only a singular, strong devotion to see this through to the very end.” Among domestic and foreign investors, however, skepticism is rife. In his bid to raise economic growth, Abe has so far relied heavily on monetary and fiscal stimulus, which he refers to as the first two “arrows” of his so-called Abenomics agenda. The most highly anticipated third arrow
- changes intended to bring a healthy dose of competition and innovation to the economy - has largely underwhelmed. The government is also preparing what advisers say will be a world-class corporate governance code that requires multiple independent outside directors, formal protection of whistle-blowers, and other measures that proponents say would have been unthinkable before Abe came to power a year and a half ago. These corporate governance reforms also seek to put an end to a decades-old tradition: the practice of holding shares in one another to create a web of relationships meant to keep unwanted interference to a minimum. It is not easily visible on the surface, but Japan’s biggest corporations are linked together in a sprawling web of mutual shareholdings that shield company executives from the pressures of the stock market. Coddled in a comfortable old boys’ club, Japanese executives have long gone unpenalized for failed investments, refusing to withdraw from money-losing businesses, hoarding cash and bringing shareholders perennially low returns. Abe’s government sees the cozy arrangements as out of place these days, especially as the country seeks to win over foreign investors. Abe’s latest round of measures calls for a reduction in cross-shareholdings to “as low a level as possible.” While Abe’s economic platform is widely seen as impressive, the challenge - as investors in Japan have learned from the country’s previous attempts at change - is to carry the plans through. Many parts of the Abenomics strategy have been intentionally left vague. Nailing down those details and preventing those various interests from watering down Abe’s goals, will fully test his much-vaunted political skills.
Japan’s prime minister has proposed untangling the protective mutual stockholdings among corporations
© 2014 New York Times News Service
TH E EDIT PAGE
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
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Editor’s picks
“The police across the country have been directed by the Supreme Court of India not to harass the citizens who help accident victims at the spot.” - Motor Vehicles Department, Government of Maharashtra
COURTESY: SANGREA
Why was accident victim not helped by the police? As our first person account in the Community Conversations page reveals, a critically-injured accident victim who was left unattended on a Pune road recently, died eventually even though he was taken to the hospital later. The Golden Hour principle of emergency medical relief mandates that accident victims, especially those who are critically injured, need to receive emergency medical treatment within the first hour of the accident. This timely intervention can save the victim’s life and minimise medical complications. In the case under discussion, some Good Samaritans were willing to move the unfortunate person to the nearest hospital and were also requesting the Pune Police personnel to do so as per the Supreme Court guidelines stipulating that accident victims should be rushed to the nearest hospital. The police personnel however, waited for their pick-up van- called a “police ambulance” to arrive and then insisted on transporting the patient to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital. The citizens who were trying to be helpful were admonished for suggesting that the person should be taken to the nearest hospital. This incident was reported
nationally by the media. The behaviour of the police personnel suggests apathy and a complete lack of sensitivity towards accident victims. This compounds a national situation wherein, for a number of years now, India has had the dubious distinction of being the nation with the highest number of road accidents. This needs to change. Along with efforts to bring greater safety on our roads, we need to work towards a system where we have a swift response system to provide emergency medical assistance to accident victims. The way forward is to focus on changing mindsets, emphasise advocacy and training and demonstrate results. The men in uniform have the authority and they can make an enormous difference in saving the lives of accident victims with timely help. The Pune Police can take this up as a project and demonstrate to the nation how things can be better. There are multiple courses for paramedics in the city; what better practical training can they ask for other than participate in this effort, go on the streets and attend to accident victims? Citizens who feel strongly about such a situation can take up voluntary work in this area and make a difference. This is easily possible in a city like Pune which is blessed with resources, talent, creative and progressive people. The Golden S p a r r o w extends the fullest support in such an endeavour.
Rainwater harvesting needs better footprint In a city like Pune which is growing in size and population year after year, the benefits of rainwater harvesting (RWH) are there for all to see. The fringe areas of Pune have little choice but to depend on groundwater for their needs. In the preceding years of the drought, many housing societies had to spend Rs 30,000 and more for purchasing water privately. This expenditure dropped drastically once they invested in a good RWH system. Many housing societies have started waking up to the benefits of RWH, a cheap, eco-friendly mechanism to augment water supply. However, these numbers are still not significant for a city like Pune and there is a need to draw inspiration from a city like Chennai where RWH has been implemented very successfully. Part of the reason for this is the acute water scarcity in that city and the strict implementation of the policies by the government. Housing societies and commercial buildings which have installed RWH systems benefit from ample water supply of their own during months of scarcity and experience lesser dependence on water tankers. They also benefit from a rebate from the civic bodies in their annual property tax payments. In spite of this, the record on
RWH is extremely poor in a city like Pune. This is partly because Pune has a number of dams around it, the per capita availability of water is higher than that in many other cities and water-cuts are not the norm but an exception in this city. The municipal bodies in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have extended concessions for implementation of RWH and have also made it mandatory for new constructions in the city’s Development Control rules. This, however, has not resulted in a visible change in the ground reality. In many cases RWH systems are installed for namesake by builders and once residents take over their housing societies, there is little effort to implement the system satisfactorily. This is what needs to change through voluntary effort, rather than worry about water cuts and water scarcity in the event of a drought. One of the finest examples of RWH is the one installed more than half-a-century ago at the MRA Centre (Initiatives of Change), Panchgani. The year-round requirement of water at this well-known voluntary organisation is met entirely through RWH. A visit to this centre to simply see the fascinating rainwater harvesting system would be an experience in itself.
Vol-1* lssue No.: 3 Printed and Published by: Shrikant Honnavarkar on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Printed at Diligent Media Corporation Ltd, Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai. Published at Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. 1641, Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411 030, Tel: 020-2432 4332/33. Editor: Abhay Vaidya (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867)
Mr. Minister, our children need sex education of another kind BY ABHAY VAIDYA
As we all know, the sexual revolution is on in India and everyone, including the media, finds it extremely exciting in more ways than one. Very recently one newspaper article was headlined “Food porn”, making one wonder whether the intention was simply to grab readers’ attention with the choice of words. After all, what does pornography have to do with food? Full-page advertisements inform us and tempt us with the latest innovations in condoms and just two years ago, an Indian manufacturer had introduced a whitening cream for the vagina! This took our obsession with white skin to an entirely new level. The sales head of that firm was flummoxed when grilled by the BBC in an interview and indeed, one doesn’t hear too much about that product today. Survey after survey reveals that our children are not just exposed but overexposed to matters sexual. Attitudes have become liberal and there’s an enormous amount of information and pornography that’s freely available over the internet which our children access over their laptops and smartphones. Even our music industry has latched on to this
tune and some of the most popular songs with catchy tunes - especially by Honey Singh - could shock our sensibilities. Our five-year-olds happily try to sing these songs because what matters to them is the tune and not the lyrics. We certainly can’t blame our children for such an environment and we ought not to be too surprised- or shocked, when sex-related crimes by adults and children are reported in the media. The Aarushi Talwar murder, the Delhi MMS case and reports of rapes by young collegians after spiking the drinks of their girlfriends fall in this category. The recent hullabaloo over Union health minister Harsh Vardhan’s statement that sex education should be banned in our schools is therefore, offtrack. The minister is probably right because surveys will establish that our children already know more than what the sex education syllabi propose to teach them. Why then waste their time? The fact is that our children need sex education of another kind. The first lesson that should be drilled into the heads of our children - by parents, far more than their schools - is about “good touch and bad touch”. Experts will
endorse the suggestion that this has to begin as early as possible - even before children start going to school and right through the school years. Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a grim reality in India as this newspaper reported in its inaugural issue on June 21. The usual culprits in CSA are the close relatives, neighbours, teachers, domestic helps, drivers and other such familiar faces. The child needs to be taught how to guard herself/ himself against such predators. This is the first big lesson in sex education that our children need. Let’s accept the fact that our children are going to be sexually active much earlier than previous generations. The only way to counsel them is to caution them about the consequences. For example, while educating a person about drug addiction or chewing tobacco, it would be better to spend less time on the basics and far more time on the consequences. Consequences such as people who wasted their own lives and destroyed their families with debt and disillusionment due to their drug addiction. Or, of people with oral cancer, disfigured faces and smashed hopes and ambitions. As part of their sex education, studentsespecially girls from the
Trees as spiritual antennas BY ANIL K RAJVANSHI What the world be without trees? It will be a desolate, desert-like environment. Trees provide a balm to the eyes, green lung to the planet and solace to the soul. Besides they can also act as antennas for spiritual thought and Universal consciousness. Gautam Buddha, Ramakrishna and other saints achieved enlightenment under a tree. Even Newton got his idea of universal gravitation when an apple fell from the tree under which he was sitting. Trees have nurtured life since time immemorial. They are literally a bridge between heaven and earth. They take water and minerals from the roots, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through their leaves and with the help of solar energy convert them into oxygen and food - the two fundamental ingredients of life. Without trees there would be no life on planet earth. Besides being food producers, trees also provide other services to mankind. Trees provide housing and shelter to most living animals and also provide shade from scorching sun and rain. Trees are rain producers since the evaporation of water from their leaves changes the micro environment and helps in rain precipitation. Trees also help clean the air and environment by reducing dust, reducing noise pollution, absorbing pollutants like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide etc. and fighting soil erosion.
Trees are nature’s water fi lters, ca- sand of small angels are descending pable of cleaning up the most toxic from heaven! In Japan, researchers have wastes, including explosives, solvents long studied what they call “forest bathand organic wastes, largely through a ing”. A walk in the woods, they say, redense community of microbes around duces the level of stress chemicals in the the tree’s roots that clean water in ex- body and increases natural killer cells in change for nutrients, a process known the immune system, which fight tumors as phytoremediation. A 2008 study and viruses. Studies in inner cities show by researchers at Columbia University that anxiety, depression and even crime found that more trees in urban neigh- are lower in a landscaped environment . borhoods correlate with a lower inciTrees have also been used as radio dence of asthma. antennas by the US and other Trees also release vast clouds armies. In fact they have found of beneficial chemicals. On a them to outperform other forms large scale, some of these aerosols of electrical antennas. Human appear to help regulate the thought which is also a form of climate; others are anti-bacterial, electromagnetic wave (though anti-fungal and anti-viral. we still do not know what its Trees are also the planet’s waveform is) could also be heat shield. They keep the transmitted and received using concrete and asphalt of cities as antennas. THINK treesNatural and suburbs 10 or more degrees systems use all the cooler and protect our skin from the forces surrounding them. Through milsun’s harsh UV rays. Tree cover also lions of years of evolution nature has reduces the air conditioning load of developed a mechanism of transmitting buildings. If all the above services low level signals through long distances were to be provided by man-made using the surrounding media as transmachines, it would cost mankind about mitting agent. Thus low level whale four trillion dollars per year (more than songs can be transmitted through thouthree times the total Indian economy!). sands of kilometers in ocean. Similarly it Thus trees and forests provide ser- is possible that low level signal that we vices which are nearly impossible to be call human thought could be transmitted provided by any other means Sleeping to long distances with the help of trees under a tree is an extremely pleasant ex- as antennas. perience and I still remember my childMy personal experience has been hood when we used to sleep outdoors that walking under a canopy of trees at night with a huge peepul tree near- not only gives a sense of well being and by. One of my earliest memories is of happiness but also acts as a spiritual moonlight reflected on its shimmering antenna. leaves giving an impression that thou©Anil K Rajvanshi
higher secondary school onwards - need to be made aware of the consequences of teenage pregnancies and unwanted pregnancies, of the possibilities of date rape and of the dangers of promiscuity. Those who have gone through such experiences and have paid a heavy price should be asked to share their experiences with students so that the same mistakes are not committed. This kind of sex education would serve a far greater purpose than perhaps the traditional fare that is offered in schools. In fact, the society at large and all its constituents, including NGOs and the media, ought to participate in a drive to create awareness on the consequences of early exposure to sexual activity. This can begin right at home, through our newspaper and television. A child who is grounded in reality, who, at the appropriate age, is made aware of the dangers and the consequences of the situations that she could get into, would be better placed to know what to do in a tricky situation. If we’ve done our “homework” well, rest assured that the child won’t make a mistake. abhay.vaidya@goldensparrow.com @abhay_vaidya
Limericks of the week BY C RAVINDRANATH
Budget blues?
Tighten your belts - don’t be lax Be ready to carry more on your backs Though the budget Is not out as yet Be prepared to face more tax!
Goooaal!’
At everyone’s beck and call I’m kicked around by all All the same, Life’s a game Though I may be the football!
Progress
A rocket goes up, a building comes down No concern for others - each to his own Amidst the hype and thunder It really makes me wonder Is this how we have grown?
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
PUNE
Respect your child’s Multiple Intelligences We need to develop a nation of children with skills and not just degrees
The studies say it all. Almost 70 per cent of engineering graduates in India are unemployable, states the National Employability Report of Engineering Graduates 2014 released by Aspiring Minds in January this year. The Higher Education in India: Vision 2030 report by Ernst and Young for the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) puts the employability of IT graduates at 75 per cent, manufacturing and healthcare at 55 per cent and banking and insurance at 50 per cent.
in academics.” The problem of unemployability in India can be tackled by helping students understand that developing their skills is as important as scoring good grades and Sandu believes that it has to begin early, at the school level. “The Harvard Spectrum Project (see box) proves that you can start picking skills as young as age 4 and above,” he said. Referring to a study that states that almost 60 per cent people in India are in incorrect/ wrong jobs, he said, “In all likelihood, the students may have made the wrong choice of career purely based on herd mentality or parental/peer pressure. It is important to help children figure out what is their interest area and help them develop it at an early age,” he said.
“Parents think a diploma is of lower level or undignified for their children”
THE PROBLEM These figures lay bare one of the most important challenges that India faces – the gap between academics and skill-based application. And here lies the need to discover and develop the talent of students from a MULTIPLE younger age. INTELLIGENCES TalentMAT is a firm “There is no iota Jitendra Sandu that provides strengthof doubt that skills are based psychometric and important. The only multiple intelligence evaluation services way to connect all this scientifically – that help students achieve success development of age appropriate skill sets through an understanding of their that leads to a deeper understanding of inborn talents. Jitendra Sandu, the firm’s a child’s inherent strengths and interests chief operating officer (COO) with over — is Multiple Intelligences, MI (see 25 years of experience in supply chain box),” said Sandu. and talent management in the Middle East, Europe and the South America, A CHANGE IN MINDSET said the importance of hiring the ‘right “Some students are not geared up people’ and not the ‘smart people’ hit the for scholastic education; they thrive job market hard after the bubble burst in in a skill-based growth environment. 2000. Such students may benefit more from “We found that hiring right a diploma rather than a graduate people means taking in people with programme. But ask their parents - Have the appropriate skill sets and not just you thought of a diploma as an option? degrees. The ‘pedigree’ engineers who and they will look at you as if you have pass out of institutes are smart and have insulted them. The fact is parents think a first class marks but zero understanding diploma is of lower level or undignified,” of its application,” he said. he said. As a talent spotter, he said, “The “You need to ask yourself, what is shelf life of an engineer in a company important to you as a parent?” he said is 15 years. I will need 4-6 months “While the Gurukul system of to train a regular graduate the skills ancient India was skill based and not that he should have acquired at the classroom based, somewhere along the college but he didn’t as ‘education’ was way we have lost track,” Sandu said, more important for him than ‘skill’ adding that Indian parents need to development. As a business head, I change their mindset towards education, would rather hire someone who already acquisition of skills and most importantly has those skills and not just a distinction towards their definition of ‘success’.
HOWARD GARDNER’S NINE MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES:
DR SEEMA DARODE
1
Linguistic Intelligence: The capacity to use language to express what’s on your mind and to understand other people.
3
Musical Rhythmic Intelligence: The capacity to think in music; to be able to hear patterns, recognize them, and perhaps manipulate them.
Spatial Intelligence: The ability to represent the spatial world internally in your mind -- the way a sailor or airplane pilot navigates the large spatial world, or the way a chess player or sculptor represents a more circumscribed spatial world.
7
Intrapersonal Intelligence: Having an understanding of yourself; knowing who you are, what you can do, what you want to do, how you react to things, which things to avoid, and which things to gravitate toward.
WHAT ARE MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES?
Existential Intelligence: The ability and proclivity to pose (and ponder) questions about life, death, and ultimate realities.
The Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) method adopted by perhaps one of India’s most reformist education boards, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), is according to Jitendra Sandu, an attempt to impart knowledge on the basis of skills. Deepshikha Srivastava, principal of Rajhans Vidyalaya, Andheri, Mumbai endorses his view. “The CCE of CBSE is a Jitendra Sandu kind of tapping of MI of the child. With the extensive report we now give, parents can evaluate the gap between what they think of their child and what is the fact,” she said. With a software that connects every activity undertaken by a teacher and student to MI, Sandu is making a small but significant attempt to break mindsets and create a chain of events that will lead children to understand their strengths and focus on them rather than dwell upon the weaknesses. For Neha Yeole, the mother of a six-year-old class I student of Dr Kalmadi Shamarao High School, Pune, the MI report was an eye-opener. “I had no idea that she was a ‘Naturalist’ but after we got the report I started to connect the dots,” she said. Being a psychologist herself, Neha is aware of the ramifications of aptitude tests given to children at a very young age. But the MI report given to her by Sandu’s company focused not only on the learning style of the child, but also on her coping style, the manner in which she handles inter-personal relationships and many more insights. “The report has helped me understand my child better as an individual. The idea is to focus on her strengths and also give attention to the areas that she is not good at,” she said. “Children today face so many pressures; parental, peer and societal. Children are forced to take certain subjects. But if parents have a clear understanding of what their strengths are then they can ease the pressure on the child,” Srivastava said.
2
Logical/Mathematical Intelligence: The capacity to understand the underlying principles of some kind of causal system, the way a scientist or a logician does; or to manipulate numbers, quantities, and operations, the way a mathematician does.
4
Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence: The capacity to use your whole body or parts of your body (your hands, your fingers, your arms) to solve a problem, make something, or put on some kind of production.
5
9
How MI has helped …
Parents should stop pressurising their children
6
Naturalist Intelligence: The ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) and sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations).
8
Interpersonal Intelligence: The ability to understand other people. It’s an ability we all need, but is especially important for teachers, clinicians, salespersons, or politicians -- anybody who deals with other people.
Dr Howard Gardner, a psychologist and professor of neuroscience from Harvard University, developed the theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) in 1983. The theory challenged traditional beliefs in the fields of education and cognitive science. Unlike the established understanding of intelligence — people are born with a uniform cognitive capacity that can be easily measured by short-answer tests — MI reconsiders our educational practice of the last century and provides an alternative. Source: www.pbs.org
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” - Albert Einstein It may be a tough pill for us to swallow and as Indian parents we may loathe accepting it but the fact is that we pressurise our children for academic performance. We want them to not only excel in school with straight As, we also expect them to choose careers like engineering or medicine simply for the esteem and glory associated with them. In the midst of all this pressure, our children suffer psychological damage that often mars their ability to become happy and successful adults. Speaking to The Golden Sparrow on Saturday, Dr Seema Darode, the Punebased psychologist with over 20 years of experience in counselling students for academic-related and behavioural issues, is stumped by the number of problems children face today. “There is a sudden rise in the number of parents who want their children to become engineers,” she said. One of her patients is a 25-yearold youth who has failed the engineering entrance tests for five years in a row. “Th is youngster has an above average intelligence and wanted to do computers but his parents were against it.” After many sessions, the parents were convinced to let their son do what he wanted. But not all parents are willing listeners or ready to make a change. “Some parents are aggressive and cannot accept why their child will not pursue the career of their choice,” she
said. Recounting the case of a 19-yearold youngster who was recently brought to her for counselling, Dr Darode said, “Th is boy did not get a good percentage in class XII and yet his parents forced him to appear for the competitive exam for engineering twice. He failed both times.” Th is teenager had resorted to addictions and had begun stealing to fuel those addictions. He was also scared of the father who used to beat him. When Dr Darode explained to the parents that their academic expectations from the child was misplaced and causing him to ruin his life, they stopped coming to the sessions. According to Dr Darode, parents need to understand the likes and dislikes of their children. When a child with the IQ of a genius wanted to pursue Bachelors in English, her parents were against it. But fortunately for the child, after counselling the parents were able to accept that this choice would be more beneficial to their child. Although Dr Darode accepts that awareness about allowing children to pursue careers and paths they want to, and the need for development of skills as opposed to total focus on academics has grown in the past few years, a lot still needs to be done. “Only two per cent of the parents who come to me understand their children’s strengths and weaknesses and allow them to do what they are good at,” she said. She endorses that the one-sizefits-all type of education approach to education is bound to leave some students behind. She believes that the process of evaluating a child’s capability and interest must be pushed through schools because parents usually accept a school’s contention far easier than others. She said, “There is still some stigma attached to coming to a counsellor to seek help.” Parents with pre-set notions on what constitutes success and happiness for their children become causes of anxiety and depression in children. It is important that parents recognise that each child is different and their aspirations should not blind them to the reality of their child’s potential and interest.
Children suffer psychological damage that often mars their ability to become happy and successful adults because of parental pressure
https://www.flickr.com/photos/zaxl4/
BY RITU GOYAL HARISH
PROJECT SPECTRUM, HARVARD UNIVERSITY Project Spectrum conducted by Harvard University between the years 1988 and 1993 offers an alternative approach to assessment and curriculum development for the pre-school and early primary years based on Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences and David Feldman’s theory of development in non-universal domains. Project Spectrum’s work is based on the belief that each child exhibits a distinctive profile of different abilities, or spectrum of intelligences. These intelligences are not fixed; rather, they can be enhanced by educational opportunities such as an environment rich in stimulating materials and activities. The Spectrum approach emphasises close observation, identifying children’s strengths in seven domains of knowledge (language, math, music, art, social understanding, science, and movement), and using this information as the basis for an individualised educational programme.
Source: http://www.pz.gse.harvard.edu
MONEY MATT ER S “India is not a capitalist nation and should never be a capitalist nation.” — Anil Ambani
Signposts Eight core industries grow 2.3 per cent Eight core industries such as coal, electricity, crude oil, cement and steel, grew 2.3 per cent in May this year, compared to 5.9 per cent during the corresponding month of last year, official data showed on Monday. The index of eight core industries having a combined weight of 37.90 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2004-05 stood at 168.7 in the month under review, the ministry of commerce and industry said in a statement. Electricity generation, which has 10.32 per cent weight in the IIP, grew 6.3 per cent in May 2014 as compared to 6.2 per cent in the same month of previous year. Cement production grew 8.7 per cent, coal production was up 5.5 per cent and fertilizer production grew 17.6 per cent in the month under review. However, four the eight core industries registered negative growth in May. Natural gas production fell 2.2 per cent, crude oil output was down 0.1 per cent, petroleum and refinery products declined 2.3 per cent and steel products was down 2 per cent. The IIP, the barometer for measuring industrial output, had increased by 3.4 per cent in April due to a sharp rise in electricity and manufacturing production. The IIP data for June has not been released yet. IANS
ReNew Power raises $140 mn from investors NEW DELHI: Renewable energy firm ReNew Power said it has received $140 million additional funding from three global investors that takes the company’s total equity investments to $390 million (Rs.2,200 crore). Goldman Sachs, an original investor in the company, has put an additional $70 million. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has made an equity investment of $50 million, while Global Environment Fund has put $20 million investment in the Gurgaon-headquartered company. Chairman and chief executive officer of ReNew Power Sumant Sinha said the additional funds would be utilised for expansion of the company’s operation. “This investment comes at a time when there is a need to accelerate growth in the clean energy sector driven primarily by surging demand and the current energy deficit faced by the country,” said Sinha. “It puts us in a very comfortable position to select high quality projects, ensuring greater returns for our stakeholders,” he said. ReNew Power aims to double its clean energy portfolio to 1,000 MW by 2015. ReNew Power owns and operates 460 MW of renewable energy assets in five states - Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. IANS
Dr Purvez Grant managing trustee and chief cardiologist Ruby Hall Clinic
...there is better traffic management. A ring road is needed to control the inflow of traffic from outside the city. All railway crossings in the city should be closed down as they cause traffic jams. The airport should be expanded. The authorities have taken 10 years to select the new airport site and still there is no progress. Even the law and order situation needs to be improved. The river flowing through our city should be cleaned up like Sabarmati in Ahmedabad. Lastly, important parts of the city like the industrial belt, airport and railway stations should be linked by metro.
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
PUNE
“Success doesn’t necessarily come from breakthrough innovation but from flawless execution.” — Naveen Jain
Is the market overvalued?
Mutual fund investors have suddenly returned. They had invested aggressive during the previous market peak. Will they be lucky this time? Do you think the market is overvalued? Our survey of nearly 400 responses throws up some interesting insights MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM Just a few months ago, Indian investors had nothing to do with the stock market. In fact, some time in August-September 2013, even foreign investors’ faith was shaken. Racked by outflows from the bond market, a sharply weaker rupee, policy paralysis of the Congress government and charges of corruption against it, the Indian stock market was the ugly-duckling of the world. Nobody but the most die-hard optimist, or those with a keen sense of good quality stocks, would even look at the stock market. Financial writers were only too happy to write headlines like “Sensex yields no return over six years”. In May, though, things changed quite dramatically, following a changed political regime. Indian markets rose to all-time highs; this time, suddenly, after a long time, mutual funds are witnessing huge inflows from investors. Why now? What happens next? While these nouveau bulls seem confident that the market would provide good returns, history would have judged their sudden interest with scepticism. Here is some data of investor behaviour from the past. These are mutual fund schemes’ inflows and outflows reflecting waves of optimism and pessimism of retail investors. The data proves something stark and frightening. Retail investors get in when the market is overheated. They get out when the market goes down sharply or when it moves in a sideways manner for a prolonged period. In other words, they buy high and sell low—exactly the opposite of what they should be doing. This is why the average experience of mutual fund investors is so poor, leading to a painfully slow spread of equity mutual funds even though it is the best option to grow your long-term savings. Take the case of the last bull market. Over the three-year period from April 2005 to March 2008, a whopping Rs 1.10 lakh crore flowed into equity mutual fund schemes. At the fag end of the bull market, investors were buying stocks as if there is no tomorrow. In the period post-April 2008, after the global financial crisis, the story reversed. When the market crashed, they were like deer trapped in the headlights. Later, they began to exit steadily, frustrated by the fact that the market was moving sideways for years together, as inflation rose and growth slowed. Over the next five-year period, from April 2008 to March 2014, as much as Rs 30,646 crore flowed out of equity mutual fund schemes. By the middle of 2010, with the experience of the 2008 crash fresh
in their minds and their funds hardly making much money, investors were in no mood to invest in the stock market. This is why from June 2010 to November 2010, when the market indices again approached their peak of 2007-08, investors were getting out. As much as Rs 18,534 crore flowed out of equity mutual funds in six consecutive months of net outflows. Similar outflows were seen again in 2012 and 2013, as the market trended in a wide range, frustrating investors who don’t seem to understand that returns from equities does not come smoothly but in sudden jumps. These numbers directly reflect investor sentiment. They seem optimistic in a rising market, especially in an overvalued market. They are most pessimistic when the market is not seen to be yielding much by way of returns; their frustrations are fanned by the media. Also, most retail investors get drawn into the market at the late stages of a bull market. Hence, a majority of them are frustrated when the inevitable bear market or a sideways correction follows. Unable to bear this, especially since fi xed-income seems seem to offer better and smoother returns in contrast, they exit. A recent study, conducted by registrar and transfer agent CAMS, has shown that just 54 per cent of redemptions were done with a gain, during the period July 2013 to September 2013. This was the last stage of the sideways markets that we witnessed from 2008 onwards. Hopefully the market has now moved to a higher orbit. This investor behaviour is replicated worldwide as well.
Retail investors withdraw when the market goes down sharply
Companies investing more in own MFs MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM Birla Sun Life MF has over 8 per cent of its assets under management or AUM from investments by group companies followed by HDFC MF at 5 per cent, ICICI Prudential MF at 4.8 per cent, UTI MF at 3.8 per cent and Reliance MF at 3.7 per cent. Leading fund houses have seen a considerable increase in investments in their schemes by their group companies during April-May 2014. HDFC Mutual Fund (MF), the largest fund house in the country, witnessed 17 per cent rise in investment in its schemes to Rs 6,462 crore by group companies during May. HDFC Mutual Fund was followed by ICICI Prudential MF (16 per cent), Birla Sun Life MF (13 per cent) and Reliance MF (12 per cent). However, UTI MF saw a drop of 2 per cent in investment in its schemes to Rs 3,069 crore by related companies during the first two months of FY15. Moreover, in April, the top five fund houses saw an increase in investments in the range of 13 per cent and 60 per cent. In absolute terms, Birla Sun Life MF saw an investment of Rs 8,072 crore from its related entities in May, ICICI
MF (Rs 5,749 crore) and Reliance MF (Rs 4,118 crore) were the next two. Overall, Birla Sun Life MF has over 8 per cent of its assets under management (AUM) from investments by group companies, followed by HDFC MF (5 per cent), ICICI Prudential MF (4.8 per cent) UTI MF (3.8 per cent) and Reliance MF (3.7 per cent). The fund houses have been disclosing the exact amount of investments by their group companies in their respective schemes following the directive from market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). As per SEBI’s direction, MFs are required to make monthly disclosure of AUM from different categories of schemes, AUM from places beyond top-15 cities, contribution of sponsor and its associates in AUM, and contribution from different types of investors like retail or corporate. The fund houses also need to make disclosures about state-wise contribution and AUM from sponsor group or nonsponsor group distributors on their websites and share the same with AMFI within seven working days from end of the month. These rules came into effect from this month onwards. @moneylife
Fund houses are disclosing investments as per SEBI directives
Our Survey Results Our survey received nearly 400 responses and throws up some interesting insights. A large number of respondents, who took the survey, invest in either stocks or equity mutual funds. As many as 366 of the 390, or 94 per cent, invest in equity assets, i.e., equity mutual funds and stocks. As many as 82 per cent of the respondents invest in stocks and about 65 per cent of them invest in equity mutual funds. When asked how much equity investments would deliver over the next five years, nearly 70 per cent of the respondents expect a return of over 12 per cent; 35 per cent expect a return between 12 per cent and 16 per cent; another 35 per cent expect the returns to be above 16 per cent. Of the investors who expect a return above 12 per cent cent, just around 50 per cent would invest at the current level. Around 34 per cent would not invest, while 16 per cent were not sure whether to invest or not, despite expecting a high return. As many as 43 per cent of respondents feel that the market is overvalued; around 14 per cent are not sure about valuation; 8 per cent felt that the market is undervalued. A high percentage (51 per cent) of respondents would hold their existing equity investments, while the number of investors looking to buy more equity and those looking to sell, remains the same. Even though a high percentage of savers, who participated in our survey, invest in equity assets, many of them have a low exposure to equity. When it comes to allocating their regular savings, just about 17 per cent of the participants mentioned that they put over 60 per cent of their savings to equity investments annually. Even though over half the participants were below 45 years of age, over 90 per cent of this group invest in equities; astonishingly, over 63 per cent of this group invest less than 40 per cent in stocks and mutual funds . If this is the result among a group of aware Moneylife readers, it proves how wary the average saver is about stocks and the nature of stock market returns. No wonder, they end up making the same error each time: buy high, sell low. This takes us to our assessment of where the market is headed and whether we should be wary of excessive investor optimism that normally appears at the wrong time. It is sad that thousands of people, who are interested in the stock markets, collectively make the same mistakes year after year, while millions miss getting more out of their investments by staying away from the market altogether. Part of the reason is that savers suffer from a herd mentality. If they do make an effort to understand how markets work, they would, possibly, figure out whether the markets are too expensive and act accordingly. That takes us to the framework to decide whether a market is expensive or not. By special arrangement with moneylife.in
The Little Book of Market Wizards: Book Review A selection from Jack D Schwager’s classic set of four previous ‘Market Wizards’ books. BY DEBASHIS BASU In any list of ‘must-read’ books on trading, you would certainly find two titles of Jack Schwager: Market Wizards and The New Market Wizards. These two books—and a few later books of Schwager—have a fascinating format. They are questions and answers with the world’s largest and best traders. Schwager set out to find answers to what differentiates the highly successful market practitioners, or market wizards, from ordinary traders? What traits do they share? What lessons can we learn from those who achieved superior returns for decades while maintaining strict risk control? Schwager has spent decades interviewing legendary traders in search of answers. Himself a trader, he has been able to draw out ideas and strategies of the world’s best minds churning out great riskadjusted returns in bonds, equities, commodities and forex markets. Every interview charts their career paths, recording early failures and later successes. Many of them were almost
wiped out early in their trading lives before they pulled themselves up and reapplied themselves, realising that controlling risk is the key to returns. These inspiring stories have resonated with traders all around the world. These two books, and later Stock Market Wizards and Hedge Fund Wizards, have become Bibles for traders. Peter Brandt, a successful trader, writes in the introduction that it is an annual ritual for him to read these books during Christmas holidays. The Little Book of Market Wizards is a combination of the four books in the Market Wizards series. It provides the major insights garnered across the four Market Wizards books, spanning a quarter century. Schwager has extracted lessons and concepts that are essential to success in trading, regardless of the methodology. For instance, chapter five discusses the ‘Importance of Hard Work’. Schwager points out “I interviewed
Marty Schwartz in the evening after a long trading day. He was in the middle of doing his daily market analysis in preparation for the next day. It was a lengthy interview, and they finished quite late. Schwartz was visibly tired. But he wasn’t about to call it a day. He still had to complete his daily market analysis routine. As he explained, “My attitude is that I always want to be better prepared than someone I’m competing against. The way I prepare myself is by doing my work each night.” Chapter eight discusses ‘Risk Management’, the one a factor that can make or break a trader. When Schwager asked Paul Tudor Jones what was the most important advice he could give to the average trader, he replied, “Don’t focus on making money; focus on protecting what you have.” One of the most important lessons from successful traders is that losing is a part of the game. Traders who have developed a method that works, and have a risk control system in place, are never bothered about losses. They know that trading is a business of probability—not certainty. If you have read at least the first two volumes of the Market Wizards series, you will find this a good refresher. If you haven’t, this would be a great appetiser. @moneylife
SPORTS
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 5, 2014
PUNE
Beckham is a great guy. Besides being an incredible football player, he has done so much in his career. He is a really nice person to chat to. — Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova
“I think we can all be very, very proud of this team. When you push Belgium to the limit or even beyond that is something to be proud of — US coach Jurgen Klinsmann
Who look like winners - Belgium Or Argentina? Dark horse Belgium believe they can surpass the two-time World champions in the quarterfinals
Lionel Messi
BRASILIA: The third quarterfinal tie between Argentina and Belgium is expected to go all the way to extra time, as both teams required extra time to reach the last eight of the FIFA World Cup last week too. I t wasn’t a splendid show for the two-time World champions in round-16. After being frustrated for much of the match, Di Maria broke the Swiss resistance in the 118th minute. Argentina lacked the cutting edge and found it extremely hard to break down a well organised Swiss defence. Even Maria, himself, admits Argentina were not at their best. “We’re going from less to more. We
haven’t reached our best level yet but I still line would be the worrying factors for coach believe we can win the World Cup,” said Alejandro Sabella. Moreoever their defender Marcos Rojo will not be able to play the Real Madrid winger. He also added that there is no one spe- after he was shown a second yellow card in cific team that is a powerful candidate to against Switzerland. On the other win the cup but that WATCH THE ACTION hand, Belgium team mate Lionel who recorded their Messi ‘is the best in July 5: Argentina vs Belgium 9.30pm July 6: Netherlands vs Costa Rica 1.30am fourth consecuthe world’. Live on Sony Six Despite havtive victory after a ing plenty of attackthrilling 2-1 extra ing talent, Argentina has failed to put it time win over the US on Tuesday, has not all together yet. Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo been at their best. They have not yet scored Higuain and Ezequiel Lavezzi are yet to a goal in the fi rst half and have allowed find the form, while a very vulnerable back- less talented teams to hang around longer
ARGENTINA FORMATION
BELGIUM FORMATION
Sergio Romero: Hugo Campagnaro, Ezequiel Garay, Fransesco Fernandez, Pablo Zabaleta: Fernando Gago, Javier Mascherano, Angel Di Maria: Ezequiel lavezzi, Gonzalo Higuain, Lionel Messi
Thibaut Courtois: Toby Alderweireld, Daniel Van Buyten, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen: Maroune Fellaini, Axel Witsel: Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens, Kevin De Bruyne: Romelu Lukaku
4-3-3
IANS
Netherland’s Arjen Robben (R) and Daley Blind during practice session ahead of their quarterfinal match against Costa Rica
Signposts
LONDON: India’s Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek moved into the semifinals of the men’s doubles while Sania Mirza and her Romanian partner Horia Tecau were knocked out of mixed doubles of the Wimbledon at the All England Club. Sania and Tecau, who were seeded sixth, went down 5-7, 3-6 to the 10th seeded pair of Briton Jamie Murray and his Australian partner Casey Dellacqua in the third round. Paes and Stepanek registered a hard-fought win over Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor in the quarterfinals. The fifthseeded Indo-Czech pair won 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4 against the third seeded Serbian-Canadian pair in an encounter that lasted a gruelling two hours.
Sardar Singh to lead in CWG NEW DELHI: Hockey India (HI) selected a 16-member side, led by Sardar Singh, for the 2014 Commonwealth Games that would be held in Glasgow, July 23-Aug 3. Squad: GK: PR Sreejesh; defenders: Gurbaj Singh, Birendra Lakra, Rupinder Pal Singh, Kothajit Singh, VR Raghunath; midfielders: Dharamvir Singh, Sardar Singh (captain), Danish Mujtaba, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Manpreet Singh; forwards: Ramandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, SV Sunil, Gurwinder Singh Chandi and Nikkin Thimmaiah.
Kevin De Bruyne
Stars out of action in Netherlands-Costa Rica tie
SALVADOR: The key players of both, Netherlands and Costa Rica will be missing in the all-or-nothing quarterfinal tie in the World Cup on Sunday. Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong suffered a tear in his groin muscle and will be out for two to four weeks. The absence of De Jong is a major blow for the Dutch team. He was crucial in the three group phase matches as a defensive block in the midfield. Jong’s absence will come down to the front three of Robben, Sneijder and Robin van Persie. The strikers need to play better than they did against Mexico. The Dutch riding on their quick aggressive attacks from any position, have scored 12 goals and four wins from four matches. However, Australia highlighted some defensive and midfield frailties despite suffering a 3-2 loss in the group stages. Even they had to fight back from the brink of elimination to beat Mexico
2-1 in round of 16. Meanwhile, Costa Rica too suffered a setback as their defender Roy Miller will miss the quarterfinal due to a hamstring strain in his left leg. Miller was supposed to play instead of Oscar Duarte, who would also miss the game for being red carded in the Round of 16 game against Greece. After beating Uruguay and Italy, and a draw against England, the CONCACAF side topped the group and faced weak Greece side in the knock-out round. Reduced to 10 men for some 60 minutes of the match, Costa Rica beat Greece 5-3 (1-1) on penalties. Their resolute defence will be under the most intense scrutiny against a quick and energetic Dutch team. However, Robben refused to take Costa Rica lightly. “I think they’re a very strong team. We have to stay focused. Costa Rica have a very good team, they have already proved that in
their group, which was very tough, with Italy, England and Uruguay in there,” he said. “They’ve been really impressive and we’ll have to prepare very well if we’re going to beat them.” – with inputs from IANS
Probable starting line-up Netherlands (Formation: 3-4-1-2) Jasper Cillesen: Bruno Martins Indi, Ron Vlaar, Stefan Di Vrij: Daley Blind, Wijandlum, Leroy Fer, Daryl Janmaat: Wesley Sneijder: Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben Costa Rica (Formation: 5-4-1) Keylor Navas: Gamboa, Duarte, Gonzalez, Umana, Diaz: Tejeda, Borges, Bryan Ruiz, Cristian Bolanos: Joel Campbell
Sixteen sides, eight fights and a million eyes It was a fantastic game of soccer in the pre-quarterfinals. Mayur Karanjkar, associated with Pune Football Club, describes the drama and action that unfolded over four days
1: BRAZIL 32 CHILE A sea of yellow gathered to back home side Brazil expecting them to romp into the last eight. Up against them were fellow South Americans Chile who wanted to cheer a small red contingent in the stands. The hosts’ starman Neymar had made the difference in previous games but couldn’t quite carry the wave of expectations riding on his shoulders this time around. The Chileans who had done their homework, converted the pressure of Brazilian fans into their favour by dominating proceedings. Despite goals for either side in the first half, the jampacked stadium kept restlessly looking for hero but couldn’t find one in 120 minutes; until Julio Cesar stepped up in the tie-breaker and helped his side sneak into the quarters. 2: COLOMBIA 20 URUGUAY The match was not only between two South American nations but also between two world class forwards. While one was in the limelight for all wrong reasons, the other swept away all accolades with magical left boot. As Uruguay reeled from Luis Suarez’ ban, James Rodriguez scored one, if not the best, goals of the tournament becoming the first player since 2002 to score in opening four matches joining the likes of Ronaldo and Rivaldo. As Colombia ‘danced’ away with two goals, Uruguay could only stay on the field and wonder what really went wrong despite creating the chances. 3: NETHERLANDS 21 MEXICO This tight 90-minute encounter was fiercely fought, only exploding into life in the final moments. Giovani
IANS
Paes-Stepanek in semis; Sania and Tecau out
4-2-3-1
than expected. However, they look tight and composed at the back and their ability to bring in subs like Kevin Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku gives them an edge over most teams. With a strong attacking line-up including Chelsea star Eden Hazard along with Kevin De Bruyne, Dries Mertens, Kevin Mirallas, Romelu Lukaku and Divock Origi, the side also enjoy rock solid defence from Vincent Kompany, having conceded just two goals so far. The only concern for Belgium manager Marc Wilmots would be Lukaku’s form and Origi’s inability to find the net. – with inputs from IANS
Dos Santos, who should’ve come into the match with two goals to his name already, finally did get on the score sheet, with a wonder strike, his first international goal in almost two years. With ‘keeper Guillermo Ochoa in inspired form and the Mexicans preferring to hold back, the Dutch struggled to break through until Wesley Sneijder’s trademark low drive on a second ball in the final minutes set up a grand finale. Minutes later, what followed was typical Arjen Robbeninspired controversy. The Dutch winger went down in highly debatable fashion to make up the difference. 4: COSTA RICA 53 GREECE One of the most open games of the round lived up to its expectations. A surprise package of the first round, Costa Rica shocked the world by topping their group and was on cloudnine after taking the lead. However, for a chance to continue their impressive run in the competition, Costa Rica had to dig down deep against an unpredictable Greek side. Keeper Keylor Navas kept the braveheart Central Americans, the only team to play with ten men in this stage, in the game with a string of second-half saves before the Greeks’ surge of attacks finally produced an equalizer forcing extra time. Navas once again was the hero rising to the occasion and keeping his team in the game before a decisive penalty save. 5: FRANCE 20 NIGERIA The game proved to be another one which went right down to the wire, before the favourites broke through with a couple of late goals. Coming into the
Fans watch the televised match between USA and Belgium at Soldier’s Field in Chicago
game having scored nine times, France - a well gelled side – made all the right moves with every player performing the assigned task to perfection. However, they were up against a motivated Nigerian side who kept all attacks at bay. With the game looking destined for extra time, a mistake from Nigerian Vincent Enyeama, man of the match until then, allowed Paul Pogba to head home ten minutes from time, with France adding another goal right at the death off an unfortunate deflection. 6: GERMANY 21 ALGERIA Expected to strut their stuff and waltz past their opponents, favourites Germany scraped through. In a fiercely contested game, the emotionally motivated Algeria soaked pressure but used the counter-attack quite well. On another day, Algeria might have gone into halftime with a lead, but instead, the match continued to be
goalless with Germany pushing on. The German’s, who had never beaten their opponents before, had to rely heavily on ‘keeper Manuel Neuer double up as a defender which proved a key. Neuer completed a record 21 out his 59 touches outside the box and don the sweeperkeeper role. Two opportunistic and lucky strikes in extra time put Germans out of their misery but not before Algerians pulled one back in the very last minute. 7: ARGENTINA 10 SWISS Lionel Messi! That’s the one name that made the difference in the end in a game of unbalanced sides. With Argentina’s over-dependence on Messi well evident from the fact that the Swiss put 4 players on the job to shut him down, it was one lapse that undid a game that was short of fluidity. Whether the over-dependency on Messi was the factor, the bottom line
is so far he’s been the one-man pillar his team’s campaign. Messi, by far, has created the most number of chances by any player at World Cup 2014. Compare that with Angel di Maria (in just the Swiss game), who so far has the most shots (12) on goal by an individual since 1970, the final goal needed Messi’s blessing. Recollect the pass to the right that prized the defence. 8: BELGIUM 21 US If you think 38 shots, 19 corners and 27 attempts on goal will guarantee at least half a dozen goals on a normal day, think again for it was Tim Howard who stood tall but ended disappointed. The US number one made a record 15 saves (which is a record I a game since 1966) to deny Belgium on multiple occasions throughout 120 minutes, but an off target strike-force, who missed some of the easiest chances, helped Belgium.
SPORTS We want to play outside as we won’t get that good an opposition in India. The boys need to play against different styles, learn about strong opposition and build on from there.” — Indian football coach Wim Koevermans
Signposts
PUNE: National Education Foundation (NEF) will conduct the 12th edition of the Katraj to Sinhagad Monsoon Adventure Race on August 2-3, 2014. The trekking race covers a distance of over 16kms, crossing 15 hills in the monsoon rains, pitch-black darkness with bracing wind all over. The event which offers a total prize money of Rs 1,12,500, will be held in open and collegians (night trek) categories. For details contact Apoorva (81491 60499) or Akshay (77987 56980).
Close wins for Kadaolkar, Deshpande PUNE: Rana Kadaolkar of PYC Hindu Gymkhana survived by a whisker in the 90-minute time format billiard game, to move into the second round of the Kumar Khandelwal Memorial Open Billiards tournament at Deccan Gymkhana. Kadaolkar was pitted against Sandip Jaju. As the two were separated by a very few points, both were looking to post a decent break. In the end it was Kadaolkar who enjoyed a 197-174 win. In another closely-contested match, Yash Deshpande defeated Rohan Sakalkar of Deccan Gymkhana 239-226. Results: Sushil Dhonsale (Deccan Gymkhana) bt Arun Karnik (Deccan Gymkhana) 339-159; Siddharth Baran (Deccan Gymkhana) bt Nishad Chougule (PYC) 262-215.
JULY 5, 2014
A journey from poverty to excellence
Deccan Gym, AK 147 enter semifinals
Pune’s budding athlete Salman Shaikh feels sports will change his life for the better BY ASHISH PHADNIS
our practice session last November, I noticed one player not doing the breathing technique correctly PUNE: Apart from adding glamour and in javelin throw. I simply tried to explain him, but excitement, sports have turned out to be a life- the fellow got angry and challenged me to take changer for many athletes especially, for those part in the qualification round. Surprisingly, in who come from a poor financial background. the first attempt, I qualified for the inter-school Such players fight against all odds and with their divisional tournament. Then I started taking hard work and dedication, prove the event more seriously putting their mettle. all my efforts. But I couldn’t do Pune-based Salman Shaikh is much in the tournament held at one such athlete who is striving to Balewadi the same month,” said make life better through sports. He Salman, who also wants to try his has won the title in javelin throw, luck in the 100m sprint. and finished second in triple jump “I can do much better in 100m in the recently concluded Pune race, but I don’t have a proper pair District Athletic Meet at Sanas shoes for that. I am saving money ground. A resident of Ghorpade to buy the spikes and after that I Peth, Salman is the prime breadmight win few more titles,” he winner for his family. The 16-yearadded with a smile on his face. old science student of Ness Wadia Talking about Salman, his Junior College also works as an coach Nikam said, “He has got office assistant in a private firm at some spark and with proper Seven Loves Chowk. training and exposure, he surely — Salman Shaikh Such a lifestyle would have can do wonders on the field. become dull and tiring for anyone Unfortunately, his financial his age, but Salman is way different condition doesn’t allow him to from the others. Despite the hectic schedule, he spend hours for training. Though, we don’t charge never misses his athletic training with Harshal him anything, he still needs some support in Nikam at Baburao Sanas ground, Sarasbaug. pursuing his career.” “My training starts early in the morning and Asked about his future plans, Salman said, then, I attend college from 9am to 2pm. After “After clearing my HSC exam, I will attempt this, I work at the private firm till late in the for police recruitment. I am good in running and evening. My routine is a bit hectic, but my love long jump, so it wouldn’t be much of a problem to for sports gives me a push to excel in my events,” complete the norms.” said Salman. “My main sport is triple jump. But during ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com
“My routine is a bit hectic, but my love for sports gives me the push to excel”
Eyeing his maiden title
PUNE
“Even some people said I was barred. But actually I had voluntarily stepped aside. All these are the things,in the past. What is important is what you look forward to.” — ICC chairman N Srinivasan,
SWAPNIL SONAWANE
K2S adventure race on Aug 2
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TGS NEWS SERVICE PUNE: Arun Kumar and Abhijit Ranade scored singles and doubles wins for their respective teams as AK 147 and Deccan Gymkhana ‘A’ cruised into the semifinals of the 5th RWITC InterClub Snooker Team championship at the Turf Club. Arun Kumar opened the scoring for AK 147 by beating Snooker Maniac’s Sameer Bidwai 41-29, 6815 that included a break of 55 in the second frame. He then joined Kunal Rokade to beat Snooker Maniac’s pair of Ninad Ghag and Akash Padalikar 60-10, 3476, 56-18 to give his team a comfortable 2-0 winning lead. The other quarterfinal saw Abhijit Ranade lead Deccan Gymkhana ‘A’ to a 2-0 win against Falcons. Ranade defeated Yogesh Sharma 68-36, 51-40, 67-55 in three frames. Later on he made an easy work on the Falcons’ pair of Rovin D’souza and Yogesh Sharma. Playing with Anupam Jha as partner, the Deccan Gymkhana cueist won 53-23, 57-20. Selvel and Cue Masters are the other two teams in the last four round. Results: (Quarterfinals) AK 147 bt Snooker Maniac 2-0 (Arun Kumar bt Sameer Bidwai 41-29, 68 (55)-15; Arun Kumar and Kunal Rokade bt Ninad Ghag and Akash Padalikar 60-10, 3476, 56-18). Deccan Gymkhana ‘A’ bt Falcons 2-0: (Abhijit Ranade bt Yogesh Sharma 6836, 51-40, 67-55; Abhijit Ranade and Anupam Jha bt Rovin D’souza and Yogesh Sharma 53-23, 57-20).
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Teenager Suraj Rathi is working hard to overcome all the barriers and clinch his first ever snooker title
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
H EARD.
ASHISH PHADNIS PUNE: Poona Club cueist Suraj Rathi is a familiar face in inter-club snooker tournaments. In the last three years, this 18-year-old has taken part in more than 20 tournaments, but despite promising performance, he is yet to lay his hands on a trophy. “After playing so many tournaments, I have realised that this game is not easy. You need to keep learning constantly and give your 100 per cent every time. Though I haven’t won a title yet, I feel every tournament is a learning experience,” said Rathi on the sidelines of the 5th RWITC Inter-club Snooker Team Championship at the Turf Club. Rathi picked up the cue at the early age of 14, inspired by his father Sham, a snooker enthusiast. “Dad wasn’t into competition but he still likes to play snooker and I picked up the game watching him play. Soon the senior members like Kumar Shinde and Vighnesh Sanghvi noticed my game and encouraged me to go further,” said Rathi. Soon the youngster started winning the Poona Club’s internal tournaments. But he is yet to make his mark outside the club. Though, he reached the quarterfinals in the state ranking tournament in Mumbai last November, he is not satisfied with the performance. “It’s not an achievement, and nothing to be proud of. I feel mental stability is something I lack and that is the main reason I haven’t won outside the club. I am working on it,” he added. Interestingly, Rathi is not just into snooker. He was a state-level footballer for St Vincent’s School and later on for Ness Wadia Junior College. He has also played softball at the state level. “I play these games just for enjoyment and nothing else. I love snooker and hoping to make best out of it,” signs off Rathi.
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