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PUNE, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014 | www.goldensparrow.com
PUNE’S PEOPLE WITH A PURPOSE
A youth’s effort to bring slum kids to school gets global recognition P2
Signposts SC stays Koli’s execution till Oct 29 The Supreme Court on Friday extended its order, putting on hold the execution of the death sentence of Nithari killer Surendra Koli till October 29. While extending the stay, an apex court bench headed by Chief Justicedesignate Justice HL Dattu asked the senior counsel to place before them in bullet points the grounds on which Koli is seeking a review of the judgement confirming his death sentence by the top court. The court will hear Koli’s review petition October 28.
Security net for Modi, Xi visit Chinese security personnel along with the Special Protection Group and other security agencies have virtually taken over Gujarat city, where both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to spend a day coming Wednesday. Informed sources told IANS that a posse of Chinese and Indian security personnel, including the prime minister’s elite SPG, have been camping in the city for some days now to ensure an uneventful visit of the two dignitaries.
Sensex trades flat; oil & gas stocks gain A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Friday was trading flat at 37.49 points or 0.14 per cent up as oil and gas stocks gained. Good buying was observed in oil and gas, banking and auto sectors, while selling pressure was seen in healthcare sector. The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,048.15 points, was trading at 27,033.36 points (at 9.15 a.m.) in the early session, up 37.49 points or 0.14 per cent from the previous day’s close at 26,995.87 points.
‘US coerced us to cooperate with NSA’ Internet giant Yahoo has said it was threatened by the US government to make it cooperate with the administration and provide its users’ data under the National Security Agency’s (NSA) controversial vigilance programme, PRISM. “We had to fight every step of the way to challenge the US government’s surveillance efforts. At one point, the US government threatened the imposition of $250,000 in fines per day if we refused to comply,” Ron Bell, Yahoo’s general counsel, wrote in the company’s blog post Thursday. The case dates back to 2007 when the US government amended a law enabling it to seek users’ data from online service providers.
SPOTLIGHT
SPORTS
Six lessons to learn from Ganeshotsav 2014 P7
Set for the big league P 16
‘Better ambulance mobility City scientists secure patents in Pune is possible’ for nano particle antibiotics
The Chennai model of ‘Green Corridor’ for ambulances is not possible in Pune but we are willing to consider an alternative, says DCP (Traffic) Sarang Avad in an exclusive interview to Gitesh Shelke
Savitribai Phule Pune University V-C WN Gade, C-MET’s officiating director Dinesh Amalenkar and Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering director Anant Bhalerao led the research on nano antibiotics BY MANASI SARAF JOSHI @TGSWeekly
Traffic police say that creating dedicated ambulance corridors is not possible in Pune as the civic authorities have planned extensive BRTS with dedicated corridors on various routes.
BY GITESH SHELKE @gitesh_shelke The city traffic police are willing to explore the possibility of providing “safe and speedy passage” to ambulances ferrying serious patients in peak hour traffic when most city roads are clogged due to congestion. In an exclusive interview to The Golden Sparrow on Saturday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sarang Avad said that the Pune Police are thinking on these lines on the backdrop of an initiative by Chennai Police to create ‘Green Corridors’ for ambulances on the city roads. The objective of such corridors is to provide safe and speedy passage for ambulances with serious and critical patients.
Following Chennai’s example, Mumbai Police has announced that it also plans to try and replicate the model in the state capital. Recently, Chennai traffic police transported a heart patient from a Government Hospital to another hospital at a distance of 12 km in less than 14 minutes. This was possible because of a specially created Green Corridor for ambulances. The Chennai police cleared the traffic along the route of the two hospitals to enable the ambulance to transport the patient speedily. Avad said that creating dedicated ambulance corridors won’t be possible in Pune as the civic authorities have extensively planned BRTS (Bus Rapid Transport System) with dedicated corridors on various routes. “However, a scheme can be implemented for safe and
speedy passage for ambulances ferrying serious and critical patients,” he said. Avad said this would require city hospitals and ambulance services to inform the Traffic Police Control Room in advance and specify the route on which a patient has to be transported. “We will communicate over the walkietalkie and ensure that the traffic police on different roads and chowks clear traffic for the ambulance,” he said. He said that while this would not be possible in the extremely narrow roads in the heart of the city, this would be possible in other parts. The senior police official said he would work with hospitals and ambulance services to implement this plan in the city. gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
Th ree city scientists, including Savitribai Phule Pune University Vicechancellor WN Gade have secured two American patents for research in developing a nano particle-based antibiotics formulation for diseases like Tuberculosis. A formulation based on this research promises to be more effective than existing medication for diseases like Tuberculosis wherein the TB bacteria has been found to develop a high incidence of antibiotics resistance. According to Gade, the nano particlebased antibiotics would be more effective in helping the body recover faster from the disease. The other two scientists who are part of the team include Dinesh Amalnerkar, officiating director of the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), Pashan and Anant Bhalerao, director, Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering. Speaking to The Golden Sparrow on Saturday, Gade said that the formulation is based on “nano molyphdenum sulphide” whose efficacy as an antibiotic is far more superior to the existing antibiotics.
While Bhalerao wrote the formula for the sulphide, the nano sulphide was tested on Bacillius subtilis to develop this antibiotic. A paper on this research has been published in the reputed international journal from Europe, Applied Nano Science. Amalnerkar and his students Neelam Qureshi, Govind Umarji, Uttam Mulik and Manish Pillai and Gade’s students Rajendra Patil also worked on the project. The Pune University vicechancellor said that a lot of work now needs to be done to develop the formulation further and test its efficacy as an injection or a tablet on both, adults and children. A noted scientist and life sciences expert, Gade is a recipient of the Lupin Endowment Award instituted by the University Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, and has served as a scientist in the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology of CSIR in Delhi for 20 years between 1983 and 2003. Gade said the scientists want to work further on the project till it is ready to be taken up by pharma companies and made available in the market. “We will call ourselves successful once the medicine is in the market, bringing relief to patients,” he said.
IIMM to assist public transport utility in spare parts BY ASHOK BHAT The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has sought assistance from the Indian Institute of Material Management (IIMM), Mumbai, for the management of spare parts and other materials for the fleet of 2,200 buses, said PMPML CEO Mayuri Shindgikar. In the September 7 meeting of PMP Pravasi Manch at Institute of Management Development and
Research (IMDR), many passengers raised the issue of poor PMPML services due to number of breakdown buses. Shindgikar said, “Spare parts are very crucial for public transport vehicles. There was no system for stores department of PMPML and because of non-availability of spare parts percentage of breakdown vehicles increases.” “Buses breakdown in rotations and to avoid this, every bus needs fortnight servicing. Then only the percentage of
Funds for infrastructure
While talking to passengers, MP Anil Shirole said, “The central government is providing funds for procurement of new buses and now the government has decided to allot funds for infrastructure like depot, workshops. Apart from this, I am ready to give additional funds from my MP funds to PMPML. But PMPML needs good governance to spend these funds. BRT is good system, we are in favour of it but there were many errors in basic of BRT. Being an MP, I will keep close watch on utilisation of these funds.”
this rotational breakdown could be minimised. It requires better store management and for this PMPML contacted IIMM, which has given the positive response and is ready to help the PMPML.” About funds she said, “PMPML buses’ daily average running is about three lakh km. Monthly revenue collection of PMPML is Rs 42 crore. In which expenses on
salary, pension and administration is Rs 28 crore while expenses of diesel-CNG is Rs 16 crore. PMPML is suffering daily loss, which is an operational loss. State government ordered both stakeholder corporations to provide funds against this operational loss. The PMPML has requested that instead of giving bulk amount once or twice in year, it should get funds in every month amounting Rs 1 or 1.25 crore from both the PMC and the PCMC.” editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
Doctors, medicines Radio FTII gives voice to auto drivers rushed to Srinagar BY PRACHI BARI
NEW DELHI: A 30-member team of doctors, including pediatricians and gynaecologists, 100 tonnes of medicines and water purifiers have been rushed to flood ravaged Srinagar, union health ministry said here Friday. The ministry said they have set up control rooms (phones 23061469, 23063205, 23061302) and are regularly monitoring the situation arising out of the floods in Jammu and Kashmir. “Around 100 tonnes of medicines have been sent so far,” a official statement issued here said. “A 10 member clinical team comprising physicians, pediatricians and gynaecologists have been positioned in Srinagar since Sep 10 to provide medical relief to the affected population.”
But following a request from the state government, the union health ministry rushed another 20-member team of doctors Thursday. “On the request of the state government, another 20 member clinical team comprising physicians, pediatricians and reproductive health specialists was deployed in Srinagar yesterday (Thursday),” the statement added. Srinagar is battling the worst floods in 60 years. The floods have left nearly 200 people dead. While hundreds have been rendered homeless, the main city of Srinagar has been partially submerged under water. Continued on p 11
“We also have complaints about passengers just like the passengers have about us. Where do we go to register them?” This is voice of autorickshaw driver Krishna Marne speaking to you on Radio FTII at 90.4 MHz. He is among the auto drivers who volunteered to become a radio jockey for the Radio FTII community radio to tell his side of the story. Aired since the first week of September, the programme, Mitra Punyache Aaaple Rickshawwale (Your friend, your rickshawala) was conceived by Radio FTII head of department, Sanjay Chandekar. “This radio series is mainly to provide a platform to auto drivers in the city where they can tell their stories,” said Chandekar. He thought of this programme after failing to get a rickshaw to go home from Pune Railway
Radio FTII plans to air at least 15 episodes and try and popularise the programme amongst auto drivers through their associations
Station to his home at Sadshiv Peth. “The rickshaw drivers would blatantly refuse or ask for double fare simply. This set me thinking that if we commuters face so many problems, then what would the auto drivers be going through? I soon began my research,” he said.
Chandekar noted that Puneites have a number of complaints about auto drivers such as refusal to take the passengers, demand for excess fare, disregard for traffic rules and regulations and rough language. His research showed that auto drivers hail from a variety of backgrounds with
some being owners and others renting out the vehicle to earn a living. Some specialised in picking and dropping school children, providing airport service, working in pre-paid counters and also hailing from other towns and cities with their own associations. “Through the Community Radio project, we seek to have a dialogue to understand problems from all sides and thus want to involve auto drivers, passengers, RTO officers, autorickshaw owners, school authorities and consumer bodies like the Grahak Manch. This project will try to bring some awareness amongst all and also promote respect for traffic rules in the public,” he said. A joint venture between two community radio stations, Radio FTII and Vidyavani, this project has received the support of NGO Manch, Delhi who will also feature the programme on their website.
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
Sakal Nagar residents’ woes lie ‘on the road’ P3
PUNE
“The rich in India need to find their own conscience; “Employees in the organised sector enjoy so many to give a little of what they earn. We must learn the benefits. What about the estimated 400 million art of giving before the art of living!” labour in India’s unorganised sector?” —Bindeshwar Pathak, founder, —Baba Adhav Sulabh International
Giving vent to citizens’ issues P4
Col (retd) Shashikant G Dalvi has been involved in rainwater conservation since 2002 BY RITU GOYAL HARISH @ritugh
a borewell, recharging underground aquifers — has brought media acclaim for Col Dalvi’s initiative. To some, retirement doesn’t mean Through Parjanya, the organisation saying goodbye to work, it means ‘reset up by Col Dalvi in 2003, over 350 trying tirelessly’. RWH projects have been initiated Col (retd) Shashikant G Dalvi across Maharashtra. He has visited served in the Indian Army for 33 years, over 3,000 housing societies in Pune during which time he was involved since 2003 to spread awareness about in the 1971 Indo-Pak RWH. operation as an infantry “We are trapped soldier. Hailing from in a cycle of selfishness Kolhapur, his wife and stupidity,” he said Shubhada and he were about people who fail keen to get back to their to understand the roots after being posted long-term benefits of across India, and settled recharging aquifers. down in Pune in 2002. “Pune is blessed In the same year, he with a high average became the chairman annual rainfall. One of the housing society acre rooftop can yield where he had purchased about 25 lakh litres of an apartment. The water!” he said. 57-apartment society “In spite of the Pune - COL (RETD) SHASHIKANT G DALVI in Vimannagar was Municipal Corporation spending `28,000 (PMC) making RWH per month on water, needing three compulsory since 2009, there is little full tankers daily, because of awareness. Pune’s population surpasses inadequate supply by Pune Municipal 40 lakh and there are 7,000 borewells in Corporation (PMC). the city. The inequitable supply coupled “I learned the benefits of rainwater with 40 per cent loss in leakages in harvesting (RWH) when I was posted transit of water is a grave loss,” he said. in the arid regions of Rajasthan and Col Dalvi laments the lack of Madhya Pradesh. My housing society interest by industries, civic authorities implemented rooftop RWH in 2002 by and the politicos about the importance using the money spent on water tankers of water sufficiency. in a month (`28,000), and we became “What we need is a people’s self sufficient in water by 2003,” Col movement both at the national and Dalvi said city levels, otherwise we are heading The implementation of RWH by towards an unimaginable water crisis,” the multi-storeyed housing complex he said. and the simplicity of the technique — water collected from rooftops goes into ritugoyalharish@gmail.com
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
The Rainwater Harvesting Man “One acre rooftop can yield about 25 lakh litres of rainwater in Pune.”
Through Parjanya, the organisation set up by Col Dalvi in 2003, over 350 RWH projects have been initiated across Maharashtra
RWH reduces carbon footprint It was when Col Dalvi was invited to the Climate Reality Leadership training workshop conducted by Nobel Laureate and former US vice president Al Gore at Melbourne, Australia, in June 2014 that he was able to make the connection
between RWH and carbon footprint. “If a housing society needs an average of three water tankers daily, and a tanker travels an average distance of 20 km daily to deliver water and return to its home
base, the annual distance travelled by the tanker will be 21,000 km using 2,700 litres of diesel and generating 7,100 kilograms of carbon footprint,” said Col Dalvi. “We can figure out the generation of carbon footprint by the large
number of tankers plying on the city roads every day,” he said. The RWH system implemented in 350 projects in the past 12 years has helped reduce carbon footprint by two million kilograms per year.
A youth’s effort to bring slum kids to school gets global recognition Pravin Nikam’s NGO ‘Roshani’ has been working for the welfare of the city’s slum children and visually impaired BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL @ArchanaDahiwal
Bringing a spot of joy to kids battling cancer Manjeet Singh Virdi has been treating the ailing children to movies for 17 years BY NADEEM INAMDAR @InamdarNadeem
The proprietor of Modern Furniture on MG Road has been showing movies to cancer-stricken Every year, the cancerorphans for the past stricken orphan 17 years. children have one The act of more welcome reason compassion is a to look forward to tribute to his late celebrating Diwali, mother who used to Eid and Christmas — say that true religion Manjeet Singh Virdi. is humanity and the The 43-year-old best way to reach businessman has been God is by serving the making the festivals poor, and children memorable for these are a special creation children by taking of God. them out for the “I organised movies and spending private screening - MANJEET SINGH VIRDI the day fi lled with funof Bollywood fi lms fi lled activities. for children for the The emotional impact of losing his first time in 1997 and the initiative mother Rajendra Kaur Shyam Singh was appreciated by all. I used to hold Virdi to cancer at the age of 69 inspired screenings at City Pride, West End, Manjeet to take up the cause of bringing Capitol and Mangala theatres before optimism and happiness to the lives of shifting the venue to Inox. These children affected by the disease. children would otherwise never get a
“These children would otherwise never get a chance to see a movie at a multiplex.”
chance to see a movie at a multiplex,” said Manjeet. “When my son asks me to take him for a movie, he wants to go to Inox. I harbour the same feeling for these kids who too should get to see the movie at the best cinema theatre in the city. I don’t compromise on quality and ensure that these children get the best in life, even for a day,” he said. While at the movies, Manjeet also ensures that the children get their fi ll of eats and drinks. Virdi’s MS Virdi Foundation also provides transportation to the children to and from the movie theatre. Wahid Biyabani, the trustee of Tayyabia Orphanage in Camp, whose inmates are a regular for Virdi’s shows said, “Manjeet believes that everybody is equal in society. He has brought smiles on thousands of poor and terminally ill cancer kids . He is indeed a man with a heart of gold,” he said. nadim.inamdar@gmail.com
Only the call to serve society inspired Pravin Nikam, the 21-year-old son of a Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL) employee and staying at HA Colony in Pimpri, to leave his engineering study at Dr DY Patil College of Engineering and Technology, Pimpri, and pursue political science from SP College. And this enterprising and conscientous young man launched Roshani, an NGO having college students as members and dedicated to the welfare of slum children. The third year political science student’s commitment towards education of slum children has been recognised by the United Nations. Its Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown have appointed him as Global Youth Ambassador for A World at School. Nikam is the only such youth advocate for global education from India. The focus of ‘Roshani’, a youthbased non-governmental organisation, has been to bring quality education to children living in the city’s slums and mainstream them after creating a solid foundation with value education and life-skill training. The NGO also provides writers for blind students during their examination. The members of this group, comprising about 40 college students, surveyed the slum areas of Katraj and Parbati in 2011 and found that the school dropout rate was very high. The street plays and study circles they initiated to rope in the slum children failed to evoke much of a response. However, a magic show drew large attendance, and thereafter the Roshani group has used more fun and activityoriented methods to educate the slum kids. The volunteers also make efforts
NGO Roshani, started by Pravin Nikam, has used more fun and activity-oriented methods to educate the slum kids
to raise awareness of breast cancer among women from the slums with the help of other social bodies. “Education helps eradicate poverty, promote gender equality, improve maternal health, encourages environment sustainability, contributes to social development, fostering peace, democracy and economic growth. Our effort is to reduce the school dropout rate in slums,” Nikam said. Nikam and his friends had set up a youth group, Paritranaya, to encourage youths to take up social causes. “‘Paritranaya-Youth for Change’ is the platform for youth to rise above inequalities and consolidate their wisdom and talent for national unity
and progress. Our mission statement is ‘Let everyone be happy, let everyone be healthy. Let everyone do good to all, let no one suffer from sorrow’,” he said. “We encourage the youth to take part in activities that help resolve social issues and eradicate social evils. The idea is to create a youth force to work towards betterment of the country,” Nikam said. ‘Roshani volunteers train women from slums in making cloth and paper bags. The youths help sell the bags in malls and shops. They also provide recorded versions of schoolbooks to blind children. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
PUNE
Taking the Ninja route to fashion P6
Shinde Chhatri at Wanowrie is the memorial dedicated to Mahadji Shinde, a great Maratha warrior. It was built by Shreemant Maharaja Madhav Rao Scindia in 1965.
Signposts
State’s first teacher to receive scouts and guides award is from city P8
Sakal Nagar residents’ woes lie ‘on the road’
Credai to hold MANACON 2014
Members of the 18-year-old housing society find it difficult to cross Baner Road; even hawkers have encroached the footpath
To update builders on construction and technology, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai) Maharashtra will hold its third MAHACON-2014 (Maharashtra Convention) at Radisson Blu, Goa on September 13 and 14, said Rajeev Parikh, chairman of organising committee and VP, CREDAI Maharashtra.
The residents of Sakal Nagar have been able to address the issues that they are facing ‘within the four walls’ of the housing society by themselves. But the members of this residential society located on the Baner Road find it difficult to cross the busy road and are Raghunath Sudharik unable to keep the footpath hawker-free. The society, set up on 5.5 acres of land that belonged to Nanasaheb Parulekar Sakal Trust, has 22 buildings with 18 individual societies with a market within the compound. “We formed a federation for common facilities five to six years post possession and got Sakal Nagar Federation Co-operative Housing Society registered in 1996. We have 10 committee members representing each building,” said Raghunath Sudharik, the chairman of the society for the past
Gundecha elected president of Jain body Well-known social worker from the Jain community Lalit Gundecha was elected as the president of Sadharmik Seva Sangha for 2014-2015. Mahendra Ranka, Ramesh B Mehta, Mulchand Oswal have been selected for the posts of secretary, vice president and treasurer respectively.
Dan Brown’s novel in Marathi Mehta Publishing House has released Dan Brown’s novel ‘The Lost Symbol’ in Marathi. Dan Brown is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including the ‘Da Vinci Code’ and his novels have been published in 52 languages.
RAHUL RAUT
BY PRACHI BARI @prachibari
The residents, mostly senior citizens, of Sakaal Nagar Federation Co-operative Housing Society find it difficult to cross the Baner Road because vehicle users do not stop even at speed breakers
20 years. “We usually don’t have too many problems. We try to solve them
by discussion or visiting the ward office or meeting the corporator. We don’t involve any resident groups
or encourage political parties,” said Shrikant Thaware, former president of the society and resident of Sakal Nagar.
IN REMEMBRANCE ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
A
No. 13
nswers to the following 10 questions are embedded in the stories fea tured 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. What are Gurpreet Talwar’s and Pallavi Singh’s pen names? 2. Which is the gharana in Adiyar, Chennai? 3. What was the number of idols immersed during Ganeshotsav in Pune in 2014? 4. What does American author Susan Cain throw light on through her Tedtalk? 5. When was the Sakaal Nagar Cooperative Society registered? 6. What is the name of the workshop author Radhika Meganathan will be conducting at Pune International Literary Festival? 7. What stops people from taking risks? 8. Where will The Crawl be held this season? 9. Who is the owner of Pagdandi? 10. What award has swimmer Rehan Poncha won?
Contest Contest # 12 # 8winners 1. Ravinder Kumar 2. Ashish Agarwal winners 3. Sanjeev Gupta
prachibari@gmail.com A TGS MARKETING INITIATIVE
PN Gadgil Jewellers is celebrating the centenary year of its founder late Dajikaka Gadgil. Actress and brand ambassador Madhuri Dixit Nene released a coffee table book and launched a loyalty card at the jewellers’ Laxmi Road outlet on Thursday
TGS Quiz Contest
The residents have taken measures for internal safety of the housing society and garbage segregation. “We have plans to request everyone to segregate the dry and wet garbage at home,” Sudharik said. What really irks the residents of Sakal Nagar is the problem of hawkers on the footpath outside the compound. “We have written so many times not just to the ward officer but also to the municipal commissioner. The corrective steps so far taken by the municipal authorities are temporary as hawkers reoccupy the footpath within a fortnight.” “Many of us are senior citizens and ever since the concretised road has been made, vehicles zip on it as if in a race. They don’t slow down even on the speed breaker,” Arun Ghatge, a resident. “Most of the time we don’t see a police or traffic personnel to help us cross the road. And if the traffic is heavy then even the footpath is used by two-wheelers. We also have a major problem with wrong side driving, for many people tend to use our gate to go to the other side,” said Vijay Bharambe of Sakal Nagar.
Tribal woman becomes mayor, creates history BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL @ArchanaDahiwal Shakuntala Dharade being sworn into office as the 23rd mayor of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Friday was a momentous event for the twin town. The 47-year-old, hailing from Kotul, Akola taluka, Ahmednagar, is the first woman from a tribal community, belonging to the Scheduled Tribe category, to be elected as the civic chief of PCMC. “I never thought that I would ever become the mayor of a city. I could not sleep the night before the oath-taking ceremony. I was preparing my speech till 2 am. I will always be grateful to my political mentor MLA Laxman Jagtap,” said the hard-working and media-shy Shakuntala Dharade Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) corporator from ward 57 of Pimple Gurav. Shakuntala comes from a poor family and studied only till Class X at Shrirampur, before moving to PimpriChinchwad after her marriage in 1991. Her husband Bhausaheb Dharade is a PCMC fire department employee. Shakuntala used to earn a living by vending snacks like idli-chatni, wada-pav and later opened a grocery shop. She became a member of a self-help group in Pimple Gurav and made a mark with her leadership qualities. Jagtap urged her to join politics. She was the first candidate to be elected unopposed from ward number 57 in Pimple Saudagar in 2007 and 2009. She has also served as the chairman of D ward committee and the law committee of Women and Child Welfare Committee of the PCMC. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
Making a difference through social message creatives Dear Readers, The Golden Sparrow on Saturday has invited Pune’s advertising and creative fraternity to participate in
a Social Message Creatives initiative. The Pooja Communications (I) Pvt Ltd creative is on road safety
and helmet use. The firm, headed by Narendra Parmar and Chirag Parmar, has Shashank Papde as its creative director.
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
For the love of Bharatnatyam P9
Signposts Short film entries invited for PIFF The state government and Pune Film Foundation’s 13th Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) will collaborate with Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) to introduce a new short-film segment in the festival which will be held between January 8 and 15, 2015. The films entered in this competition should essentially talk about the culture, nature, historical and traditional aspects of Maharashtra. The last date for entries is November 15. For details, contact 020 24424545 or visit www.piffindia.com
Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Lecture Yashwantrao Chavan National Centre of International Security and Defence Analysis (YCNISDA) will hold the second Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Lecture on September 26, at 11.30 am at the auditorium of Department of Management Sciences (PUMBA). Dr Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president, centre for policy research, New Delhi will talk on ‘Crafting Foreign Policy in an Uncertain World.’
Film festival at Lokayat Pune Lokayat is organising a film festival on September 13, from 4 pm onwards at Lokayat, Law College Road. The festival titled ‘FDI and India’s Future’ will screen films that address the issue of economical repercussion of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in insurance sector and small businesses.
Patient awareness programme Noted spine surgeons Dr Pai Raiturkar and Dr Ashutosh Sabnis will give free consultation regarding back problems. The programme will take place on September 14, from 11 am onwards at Sai Shree Hospital, Aundh. Also, surgery for needy patients will be offered at a discounted fee. For registration contact: 020-41088600 or 020-27298686 or 9689930608
Vocational courses for women Maharishi Karve Stree Shikshan Sanstha’s Shri Manilal Nanvati Vocational Training Institute is organising courses for women on rangoli, jewellery making and blouse making. The courses will start from September 15 onwards. For admission, contact 020-25471099 or 9373788933.
“Today the need is to create facilities which have a zero negative impact on tourism so that it is beneficial to the local community and to the park.” —Bittu Sahgal, wildlife expert and editor of Sanctuary Asia
The right moment to ask for forgiveness is now P10
Fighting for pedestrians’ rights The National Society for Clean Cities is committed to improving the quality of life in Pune city BY PRACHI BARI @prachibari The 55 residential associations or Mohalla Committees, associated with the National Society for Clean Cities (NSCC), Pune, have come together to revive its campaign for pedestrians’ rights in memory of civic activist Gita Vir, who was killed in a road accident in April 2012. Gita Vir The 76-yearold Vir, who was NSCC’s founder, died after being hit by a speeding motorcycle outside her house on Boat Club Road. She fell on the footpath and suffered severe head injuries due to the concrete blocks dumped on the pavement. The ‘Gita Vir Mission for Pedestrians’ which was launched in 2013 by the then municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak, has begun again with fresh energy. “We are pushing this programme yet again and making it heard this time. The pedestrians are not getting anything which can be called a decent footpath in the city,” said Satish Khot, president of NSCC, Pune. Under the mission, the NSCC will take up road safety issues with the Pune Municipal Corporation. “Nearly 95 per cent citizens walk on roads. Yet pedestrians and bicycle users are the most vulnerable elements
of our traffic system. We launched the mission in Vir’s memory, wherein ‘Mohalla Committees, citizens and the civic body will work on making our streets safe for pedestrians and cyclists. We will create awareness and will urge the PMC to take action on the vendors occupying the footpaths,” explained Khot. HISTORY OF NSCC NSCC was founded in the 1970s in Mumbai by Begum Ali Yavar Jung, wife of the then governor of Maharashtra, Nawab Ali Yavar Jung. “The main objective was to make Mumbai a ‘clean’ city. Along with the basic cleanliness and sanitation, Begum Ali Yavar Jung’s concept of a ‘clean city’ extended to a healthy governance, elimination of corruption and creating pollution-free environment through citizens’ participation by setting up ‘Mohalla Committees,” Satish said.
NSCC activists rallying on the issue of pedestrians’ rights at Kalyani Nagar
through ‘Mohalla Committees’. It is recognised by the Pune Municipal Corporation, the Cantonment authorities, the police and the other local government bodies. “We strive to improve the quality of life of citizens by playing a key role in enhancing the existing infrastructure and facilities and making recommendations that can help achieve the goal of making Pune a green and liveable city,” says Khot. The NSCC works in collaboration with the Pune governing bodies. The ‘Mohalla Committees’ hold monthly
NSCC’s goal is to make citizens aware of their rights and duties
THE PUNE CHAPTER It was in 1978, that this concept was brought to Pune by the late S L Kirloskar with active participation by leading citizens. And gradually, several ‘Mohalla Committees’ sprang up and NSCC came into the NGO map of the city. The NSCC’s goal is to make citizens aware of their rights and duties so that they can participate in governance
meetings with their local ward officer and other staff. They meet at Wadke Hall or at the PMC Art Gallery on Ghole Road. “We meet on first Saturdays of every month at 3.30 pm to discuss sanitation related issues and on third Saturdays of every month to discuss other civic issues,” informs Gautam Idnani, secretary, NSCC, Pune. Key NSCC members are available to help in this process and can be approached whenever necessary. NSCC has created a platform where citizens (as a force) can interact with the governing bodies. This has helped in creating transparency in governance where citizens have a say in improving basic necessities. NSCC does not believe in merely criticising the working of local government but believes in having a symbiotic
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The Paryushan Parva festival is a time to forgive and forget for the Jain community YASH DAIV @yash009 The Jain community is prominent among the many that make home in cosmopolitan Pune. Like the other communities, the Jains have their own festivals that they celebrate with traditional fervour. The Paryushan Parva festival, celebrated from August 22 to 29 is when the Jain community devotes time to self purification and spiritual cleansing. The Jains observe a series of fasts through the phase between July and October, of which the Paryushan Parva is a part. The Parva is also marked by the undertaking of social work. The eight day of Parva, the Samvatsari, is set aside for forgiveness, with the chanting of Bolichale Michacham Dukadam. “If I have caused you offence in any way, knowingly or unknowingly, in thought, word or deed, I seek your
Rotary Pune Pride, Sahyadri Speciality Hospital and actress Madhura Velankar at the launch of Yashoda – a human milk bank.
Devotees attending the spiritual discourse at the Bibwewadi Jain Sthanak on Samvatsari, the last day of Paryushan Parva
forgiveness” is the essence of the chant. The Tapascharya undertaken on this day involves a scrupulous fast. “Our body mechanism needs rest and different fasts give it the rest it needs,” explains Anil Nahar of Adinath Sangh. Visiting the temple, reading the scriptures, meeting relatives and friends
are a part of this auspicious time. In a bygone era, Jains would communicate through letters, but in this age it is so much easier to use email and phone calls to reach out to each other, in such times of asking for forgiveness, during Paryushan Parva festival. yashdaiv@gmail.com
BY TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly Rotary Pune Pride and Sahyadri Speciality Hospital, Ahmednagar Road, launched the Yashoda human milk bank on August 16. A human milk bank is a service established for collecting, screening, processing, storing and distributing human milk from donor mothers. The social club has also come up with a portable human milk bank collector van.
Marathi fi lm actress Madhura Velankar inaugurated the project. District governor of Rotary District 3131, Vivek Aranha, who was the chief guest, hailed it ‘the next global human milk revolution’. Sahyadri Speciality Hospital CEO Dr Jayashree Apte, Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) head Dr Umesh Vaidya and Rotary Pune Pride former president Atul Parchure were present at the event. editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
Work with artisans to create eco-friendly Ganesh idols The Ganesh festival together to launch an is about harmony initiative where the and a social interest of the idol message. There is a Eco-friendly Ganeshotsav makers is protected. takes root in Pune lot of talk about an Society cannot eco-friendly festival just take away the Shree Ganesh Kala Kendra chants ‘Mission Go Green’ but this can only be livelihood of workers possible if there is and this is where cointeraction with the operation is needed. Kids make papier mache Celebrating with children and idol makers. The Before we do away idols at Bal Kalyan spreading the green message world still lives on an economic system with ‘Plaster of Paris’, we need to have of cash and finally the idol making a medium that is easy to work with. profession is about cash. To bring in a The colours used have to be viable in balanced system, idol makers need to terms of money and jobs protected. be educated about the materials that Environmentalists always suggest can be used as an alternative.Dhol-tasha groups beat festive themeextreme measures but unless jobs are Police may ban playing of tol to check noisethe level efforts can be futile. We Everyone makes money and the secured, idol makers cannot lose a chance to have to find the middle path that will earn the same. Alternative materials ensure a cleaner festival and also keep need to be made available to the idol the jobs intact. makers to ensure a smooth transition. - Ravinder Kumar The organising mandals need to come (Gets Best Letter prize) THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on 29th August
MPCB lists preferred outlets
PUNE
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) website (www.mpcb.gov.in) features a list of authorised dealers who sell eco-friendly Ganesha idols for families. The MPCB launched this welcome initiative to promote clay idols
These dealers include: • Aditya Bhide – 9975559734/7588023616 • Sahakarnagar, Katraj, Bibwewadi area (SwetaTagade)– 9404956577 • Dhankavdi (Amol Mehta) – 8805026630 • Hadapsar (Sagar Shirodkar) – 9923700522 • Pimpri (Subhas Kumbhar) – 8087884882 • Sinhagad, (Kiran Ghanvat) – 8007517711 • Kasbapeth, Rastapeth, Shukrawarpeth, (Shriram Vaidya)- 9850332070 • Chinchwad, Nigdi (Omkar Aaslekar) – 9822110208 • Sameer Nawale – 9821833510 • Alka Shah- 9820162078 • Sanjiv Saval– 9920761306
Schools, voluntary organisations, mandals and even some government bodies are helping strengthen the eco-friendly Ganeshotsav movement in the city
BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL @ArchanaDahiwal
Promoting clay Ganesha idols not just within the state and country but also abroad is city-based Shree Ganesh Kala Kendra’s objective for the past five years. The members of this youth organisation have taken up the mission of ‘Go Green with clay Ganesh idol’, and the response has been growing every year. Hailing from the city where the festival is celebrated with the utmost vigour and enthusiasm, the youths of the organisation have also realised the importance of eco-friendly clay idols. Chaitanya Tagad, in his thirties, and friends Aditya Bhide and Amol Mehta formed the youth group to
promote and make available clay Ganesh idols at nominal rates at Khajinavihar Chowk. Starting with 100 idols, the production and demand for ecofriendly idols has now touched 30,000. The group makes idols at Dattawadi and Pen and sells them in the country and abroad. Their mission is to make ecofriendly idols a household reality and protect the environment. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and social organisations have extended support. The group has set a target of one lakh idols in the next few years. Tagad said, “We have worshipped Lord Ganesha since childhood. Ten years ago, when we shifted to Katraj from central Pune, we found it difficult
How to identify an eco-friendly idol
Made of natural materials, eco-friendly idols are heavy, greyish and rough in texture. While purchasing, citizens should demand a receipt that states that the idol is eco-friendly. In contrast, Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols are light weight and have a smooth finish.
SGKK volunteers spread awareness about clay idols and its religious and scientific reasons to those who visits the stalls
to purchase clay idols. We found the demand for such idols rising in society and began manufacturing attractive eco-friendly idols five years ago.” Shree Ganesh Kala Kendra (SGKK) roped in idol makers of Pen and has trained over 25 workers in the making of clay idols. Their volunteers spread awareness about the clay idols and the religious and scientific reasons to those who
visits their stalls. Renowned idol maker Milind Joshi has also joined them to motivate the youths. The initiative by this group has been hailed by MPCP, that listed the group on its website. SGKK plans to launch a website www.sattvikganesh.com to meet the demands and provide online facility. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
Paper products to welcome god of wisdom
BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL @ArchanaDahiwal
ANJALI SHETTY @shetty_anjali
Papertells has planned an exhibition in view of the upcoming Ganeshotsav with an aim to promote the use of ecofriendly, paper-based products. “Last year we had idols of clay and paper mache but we received feedback that the idols turned out heavy. So, this year we have only made paper mache idols, which will help reduce pollution,” said Sneha Uniyal, HR manager, Papertells. The institute is promoting an ecofriendly celebration, which they believe will be possible only if people use handmade products. “We have designed and created everything that is required for the festival in an eco-friendly version. For example, we have jasmine, rose, lotus, durva and kewda out of paper,” Uniyal said. The work on these idols and decorations began in March and the exhibition in on till August 29, between 10am and 8.30pm. The paper mache idols cost `600 onwards and the other decorations for `60 onwards. The highlight of this exhibition is the availability of easy to build makhar (decorations) which can be dismantled. “Generally, people use thermocol to create makhars during the festival. The use of hand-made paper makhars will not only give a better looking product but also help reduce pollution,” said Sneha. The institute has made 130 idols and hundred of other items for the festival this year. Papertells is headed by Jeetandra Sonar and Chita Mete. anjali.shetty@goldensparrow.com
Ekam Seva Parivar (ESP) of Chinchwad has been spreading awareness on environmental protection among children while celebrating Ganeshotsav. The volunteers have circulated over 25,000 pamphlets in the schools of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad areas. They cover 20 schools every year. The parivar have made an informative pamphlet that carry the message about eco-friendly concepts and religious significance of Lord Ganesha in simple language. “We have received a good response from children,” said Ravindra Kulkarni, one of the leaders of the ESP initiative. The NGO works in the fields of
environment and health and seeks to generate mass awareness about environmental degradation and provides solutions. The information presented to children is well researched and based on various scriptures. It carries experts’ advice and reference guides, including Date Panchang. Since children feel sad after their favourite idol’s immersion, the NGO suggests metal idols or those made of alloys called ‘Panch dhatu (five elements)’ that can be installed at home permanently. ESP volunteers urge children not to use Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols. They also tell children to visit river banks a day after the immersion to see the pathetic state of the PoP idols.
archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
ESP vice president Milind Bhavsar telling school children of Golvalkar Guruji Vidyalaya the uses of celebrating the festival in a eco-friendly manner
BY BARNALEE HANDIQUE @barnalee.handique
The city’s beautiful Ganpati mandals are incomplete without the dhol-tasha beats that welcome Bappa. Youngsters undergoing gruelling rehearsals can be heard from the city pockets once the evening approaches. Presently, the city has about 250 pathaks with members ranging from 250 to 300. Various pathaks like Naadbrahma, Samartha Pratisthan Dhol Tasha, Ramaanbaug, Yuva Vadya Pathak, Shiv Pratap Vadya Pathak and many more are all set for the festival. Advocate Pratap Pardeshi, who is an advisor of the Dhol Tasha Association of the city said, “This year there will be 5,000 mandals in the city. Each mandal has already got in touch with their favourite pathaks, whom they inform in advance on what kind of music they would like to be played during the festival. Most of the pathaks play the traditional beats, but some troupes also incorporate Bollywood music or remixes.”
Jividha shows the way
NGO Jividha has been holding lectures and slideshows to children and adults in schools and neighbourhood localities, underlining the importance of eco-friendly Ganeshotsav, since it was formed in 2007. An electrical parts dealer, Rajiv Pandit founded this organisation to promote nature and biodiversity. Jividha works towards environment protection and volunteers undertake awareness drives. “The consumption level of plastic, electricity, water and fuel shoots up during festivals leading to environmental degradation. It is time to consciously celebrate Ganeshotsav in an eco-friendly manner,” he said. Pandit pointed out that PoP used to make idols contains chemicals such as gypsum, sulphur, phosphorus and magnesium. The dyes used to colour these idols contain mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead and carbon. Plastic and thermocol accessories are used to decorate these idols. Such materials are non-biodegradable and toxic. Jividha advocates bronze or stone idols of Ganesh if people have reservations about “shadumati” (clay idols). archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
Samartha Pratisthan dhol tasha group, one of the oldest group in the city, has incorporated the Hothon pe aisi baat and Mungla in their performance. Vaibhav Wagh, coordinator, Yuva Vadya Pathak said, “Like the last couple of years, we will be playing the traditional beats. We have around 30 plus tunes.” Different pathaks have already been booked for the first, fifth, seventh and final day of the Ganeshotsav. This year, watch out for the all-girl dhol tasha groups. The girls’ teams are all set to give tough competition to their male counterparts. Tanvi Bedekar, coordinator of Ramanbaug dhol tasha group said, “We have more than 120 members and we will accompany various Ganapati mandals for this year’s procession.” Security has been provided to this group and, as a precautionary measure, human chains are formed by the group whenever the girls are performing. “We have many surprises lined up for the fest,” Shiv Pratap Vadya Pathak spokesperson Deepak Gujar said. barnalee.handique@goldensparrow.com
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
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relationship with the government to solve problems. To cite an example, NSCC members along with concerned citizens have tried to help spread awareness about segregation of garbage and demonstrated the procedure in various societies, “but people as well as the PMC lack the will to change,” feels Khot. “NSCC believes in its mottoWe work at getting our city clean - physically, environmentally, clean administration, clean governance... And all this by getting citizens involved in their own governance. They can help by joining an existing ‘Parisar Samiti’ or gather like-minded to start their own group and seek NSCC’s help and guidance,” Khot said. prachibari@gmail.com
milk bank opens Let bygones be bygones Human at Sahyadri Hospital
Letters to the Editor
TGS is interactive
PUNE
Bal Kalyan Sanstha’s Vilas More teaching special children to make paper mache idols
ANJALI SHETTY @shetty_anjali
Vilas More learnt the art of making papier mache idols at Bal Kalyan Sanstha and teaches it to disabled students from other schools in the city The halls at Bal Kalyan Sanstha wear a festive and celebratory look, with students from different special schools in the city gearing up for the upcoming Ganeshotsav, by moulding and preparing papier mache Ganesh idols. This year the Sanstha has introduced the concept of papier mache models for the first time. The man behind these moulds is Vilas More. Minita Patil an instructor
BY GITESH SHELKE @gitesh_shelke
The city police have decided to issue notices to the dhol-tasha troupes who are practising in the city for Ganapati festival. The groups mainly perform during the immersion procession. The notice will ask troupes to abide by the directives issued by the Supreme Court and to follow rules mentioned in the Indian Environment Act, 1986. The city police may prohibit the use of tol (flat plate bell) that is played with the help of hammer and is carried on a small vehicle that pushed by the troupe member during the procession. A senior police officer said that a meeting
at Bal Kalyan Sanstha said, “He learnt the art during a seminar held at the Sanstha and since then he kept experimenting with the idols. He first started making them by hand and then moved to moulds. Today, we have 200 ready papier mache idols, which are being painted by these special children.” Avinash Kasbe, special teacher at Centre for Special Education, Rasta Peth said, “The kids are having a great time because they enjoy painting and sculpting. This year it is special as we are helping make eco-friendly Ganesh idols.” Vilas has played a key role in this first eco project by Bal Kalyan Sanstha. anjali.shetty@goldensparrow.com
of office-bearers of these troupes has been called on Saturday to discuss various issues. The officers will also explain the provisions of the law to the members of troupes. The Supreme Court of India has banned the use of loudspeakers between 10.30 pm and 6 am in public places. Additional commissioner of police (south region) Chandrashekhar Daithankar said that the police will soon conduct a meeting of troupe members and request them to abide by the law. It is likely that the police will put a limit on the numbers of dhol-tashas in a troupe. Last year, only 30 dhols and 15 tashas per troupe were permitted. The issue will be discussed on Saturday. gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
Allow the old to co-exist with the new
What’s wrong with Pakistan cricket?
Every phase of life is about a generation and what it will do with time. Pune has its heritage but when a heritage structure is abused, we need to reboot our thought process. Modern structures will come up but the heritage needs to stand next to these new structures. There is nothing like a modern generation because they are just occupying time. They are enjoying the fruits of a generation that may seem old but the process is continuous. Every generation will leave its impact on a city and the beauty of a city is when the heritage structures merge seamlessly into the new structures. They offer contrasting styles of architecture and beauty but need to co-exist. - P Chirukandan
On March 3, 2009, the visiting Sri Lankan team was attacked at Lahore. The test was cancelled and international cricket never returned in Pakistan . Pakistan should blame it on home-grown terrorism. On August 30, 2014, the Pakistan team had just finished playing its last ODI at Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Ahmed Sehzaad, the Pakistan batsman said something which will forever remain a voice of threat based on religious lines. Will any country want to host Pakistan now? Religion is part of their cricket. Recall the renowned episode involving Yousuf Yohanna, who converted to become Mohammed Yousuf in 2005. His family had blamed Saeed Anwar for this conversion. To invite Pakistan
for a cricketing series needs a serious consideration and thought. - Pandithar Sivakumar Perumal
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.
TGS Marketing Initiative THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY September 13, 2014
PUNE
Pune tops nation in home value appreciation
Global real estate consultants Cushman and Wakefield say the city has recorded 39% rise in capital values NEW DELHI: The category of high-end residential properties witnessed the highest appreciation in Pune in the past three years, while Bangalore grabbed the spotlight in the midsegment residential properties category, says a study. As per the report by global real estate consultants, Cushman and Wakefield, in the high-end properties market, Pune recorded the highest increase in capital values of 39 per cent, while Bangalore recorded 37 per cent average increase in capital values in the period between 2011 and 2014.
The high-end property segment in Chennai market recorded an average increase of 34 per cent in capital values in the three-year period, while Mumbai and Delhi-NCR recorded identical average increase of 24 per cent. Hyderabad with 16 per cent remained at the last on the table for average increase in capital values over three years. The study spanned between first half (JanuaryJune) of 2011 and first half of 2014. In the mid-segment, Chennai with 27 per cent, Delhi region with 22 per cent and Kolkata with 17 per cent, also saw some noteworthy
increases, while Mumbai saw the second-lowest jump with 16 per cent, following Hyderabad with 14 per cent. “Despite the disparity in levels of average appreciation in capital values in the past, it is heartening to see that against poorer economic sentiments, all markets have recorded capital appreciation,� said Shveta Jain, executive director, Residential Services, Cushman & Wakefield. The residential segment in Pune witnessed high levels of capital value growth in both the mid and highend segments. IANS
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
Has the time come to abolish FRA? P 11
Wealthy Chinese lining up to blast off P 13
On March 21, 2006, Jack Dorsey (@jack) sent the first Tweet.
City Bloggers Of The Week
TECH GURU
Taking the Ninja route to fashion Gurpreet Talwar and Pallavi Singh are working women who are also devoted to living it up, the fashionista way
S
ISHANI BOSE @ishani_bose
BY SORAB GHASWALLA This is an interactive column. Like today, every week, we will be replying to technology and internet related queries sent in by readers. You may email your questions with the subject line ‘Tech Guru query’ to tgstechguru@gmail.com
Dealing with wonky smartphones; keeping photos safe
Sneaky and Cheeky Ninja’s personal style statements: Gurpreet aka Cheeky Ninja is not a brand junkie. If a product appeals to her, the label does not matter. She loves to try out new brands and creations by different designers. For work wear, she likes Ann Taylor and Express for their classic designs and quality for price. Locally, she loves Van Heusen and can’t wait to try out Park Avenue Women’s collection for 2015. At the recent Lakme Fashion Week 2014, what caught her eye were shoes by Karishma Shahani (Kasha) and Mrinalini Chandra Jewelry. Pallavi aka Sneaky Ninja wears/ buys a mix of high street brands and street-finds to create her own personal style. She picks up basic and classic wears from brands like H&M, River Island, Mango, Forever 21. At the recently Lakme Fashion Week, creations by Mrinalani Chandra, Neha Aggarwal, Sonam and Paras Modi and Riddhi Mehra were her picks.
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
neaky Ninja and Cheeky Ninja aka Pallavi Singh and Gurpreet Talwar have day jobs but it is their interest in fashion and style that inspired them to start writing their fashion blog, ‘Moda Ninja---Redefining style the sneaky and cheeky way’. “Ninjas can do anything and moda means fashion. So we like to believe we are the fashion ninjas,” said Pallavi, who is an independent marketing consultant in the field of sustainable development. Started in July 2012, the duo’s blog features information and tips on personal style, street style, travel and festival fashion, couture and Indian designers. “We have always had an inclination towards style and have often been asked to assist our friends and family members for shopping or suggesting styles, which products to use and where to buy them. We decided to pen our thoughts on personal style, sharing tips on how to adopt trends from the runway to the wardrobe without burning a hole in your pocket and lastly building a platform for local artists, designers and new brands to reach an engaged audience,” said Gurpreet, who works in sales for a market research company. Despite their busy schedules the duo blog twice a week and post everyday on their social media channels. “Blogging is a platform to share our interests and likes in fashion, express opinions and personal style and curate a great platform to reach out to local designs and brands,” said Pallavi. Do they earn any money through blogging, Gurpreet said “Bloggers in India do not command the kind of remuneration that their international counterparts do. However some brands are now warming up to the fact that bloggers have a reach and loyalty, and are ready to pay for it. We earn through advertisements and collaboration with brands. While both of us have day jobs, we are hoping to make this a full-time career.” They also undertake reader-oriented events such as contests. “When we collaborate with a brand or a designer we encourage
Gurpreet Talwar and Pallavi Singh write a fashion blog named Moda Ninja
them to engage with our audience beyond a sponsored story. This keeps our readers interested and gives them a chance to win products, while also giving the brand the publicity they are looking for. The objective is to work out a win-win situation and have some fun along the way through the contest., “ said Gurpreet, adding that their contests aren’t run of the mill. “Our contests don’t just entail readers to like, share and explain why they deserve to win. We try to customize our contests so that
the brand USP is highlighted and the participants put in some efforts to win,” said Pallavi. They are revamping their website by adding new sections. “There are so many possibilities like fashion marketing, consulting, online retail, personal shopping and wardrobe consulting. We are excited and looking forward to materializing some of our ideas,” said Gurpreet. ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com
Online advertising to touch Rs 3,575 crore by March With the rise in advertisement spending by the e-commerce, telecom, fast moving consumer goods and consumer durables sectors in India, the online advertising market is projected to touch Rs 3,575 crore by March 2015, a report said here Wednesday. The report ‘Digital Advertising in India’ was jointly done by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International. The online advertising market was pegged at Rs 2,750 crore in March 2014
and it is growing at the rate of 30 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y). The report said currently, search and display are the top two contributors to the total digital advertisement spends in India. Of the Rs 2,750 crore digital advertisement market, search advertisement constitute 38 per cent of the overall ad spends followed by display advertisement which contribute 29 per cent and social media contributing 13 per cent of overall digital advertisement spends.
“By 2015, spends on video ads will grow by a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 56 per cent and contribute 12 per cent to the overall market share of digital advertisements. In financial year ending in March 2014, the contribution of search spends reduced to 30 per cent of the overall digital advertisement spends, that is, contributing Rs 825 crore to the Rs 2,750 crore digital advertisement market,” the report added. According to the report, ad spends on
mobile devices are growing at a CAGR of 43 per cent and social media grew at a CAGR of 41 per cent y-o-y and touched Rs 385 crore and Rs 440 crore in March 2014. The overall ad spend in India across all media was Rs 38,598 crore as of 2013 with a year-on-year growth rate of 12 per cent. Advertisement spend in television is the highest with a proportion of 44 per cent of the overall spen. IANS
The power of being an introvert Though modern culture favours extroverts, there is lot of scope for introverts to prove their worth, says American author Susan Cain 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.
ISHANI BOSE @ishani_bose It does notr pay to be an introvert these days.In fact, introverts are not just looked down upon, but are often reviled. In her TED Talk ‘The Power of Introverts,’ Susan Cain, an American lecturer and author of the 2012 non-fiction book ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking’, illuminates the many subtle ways our culture favours extraversion, and also shows how introverts can shine at school, work and in everyday life. Cain was an introvert, who was ridiculed by her classmates for lacking the camp spirit and choosing to read a book over being social and outgoing. She was told about 50 times in both, small and big ways, that being an introvert was a wrong thing. “And that bugged me. I had an intuition that as an introvert I had some value. But I didn’t know how to articulate it at that time, and ended up being a lawyer. I always wanted to be an author, but all my internalised notions about what is good made me reflexively choose the profession associated with extraversion,” she said.
She believes that while the world needs extroverts, it also needs introverts doing what they do best. “It’s a bias that has no name. To understand it, we need to understand that introversion isn’t about not being social, or shy. It’s about how someone responds to stimulation. While extroverts crave social interaction, introverts are much more alive while they’re alone,” she explained. While this sounds simple, it is very difficult for one to act upon. “We’re living in a culture that increasingly values group thinking. We believe that creativity comes from a very oddly gregarious place. In the classrooms, students are increasingly put in groups and asked to be committee members — even for solving math problems or creative writing. Kids who prefer to work alone are seen as problem cases, and graded accordingly,” she said. This attribute, Cain feels, is even repeated in office environments, where introverts are given leadership positions. “That’s a problem because research has shown that, as leaders, introverts are more careful, much less likely to take outsized risks, and more likely to let creative and proactive team members run with
their own ideas,” she added. Cain has three calls of action to change the traditional way of handling and treating introverts: a) End the madness of constant group-work. b) Go to the wilderness, be like Buddha. Have your own revelations and c) Take a good look at what’s inside your own suitcase, and why you put it there. “Extroverts, whose bags might be filled with Champagne bubbles and sky-diving kits, grace us with the energy and joy of these objects. Introverts probably guard the secrets of their suitcases,” she said. She urges the introverts to every once in a while open that suitcase for the world to see as it needs them and their hidden talents. ishani.bose @goldensparrow.com
PUNE
Last week, a reader wrote in with the following problem: My BlackBerry Q5 goes into a spin and makes calls on its own to people in my Contacts list. It also sends out multiple emails and SMSs, irritating my friends. Help. To begin with, the Q5, launched about 18 months ago, does not really suffer from a known software problem that could be the reason for such “bizarre” behaviour, though truth be told, there are some phones out there that are known to randomly make calls because of a glitch within. There could be several reasons why this is happening with this Q5. My money here would be on malware, especially because it is also sending out random emails. But before that, let me quickly run through some of the other probable reasons for such strange behaviour: Check whether you have a device lock installed or not.It could be a case of pocket dialling (accidental dialling when phone is in your pocket). It could also be a case of sticky buttons. If these tips don’t help, try what is called a battery or hard reboot. May help sometimes when a phone exhibits strange behaviour. With the power on, remove the back cover and pull out the battery. Wait about a minute, then put the battery back. Power up and check if the problem persists. If all else fails, chances are high you may have spyware on your cell phone. Someone`s got control of your phone. You need to take it to the nearest service store and get it checked. After the problem`s been rectified, install a robust mobile security package on it. Several are available in India – Kaspersky has one for BB as well as other brands, here’s the link (http://bit.ly/Ze3d32), there are even anti-malware solutions offered for all phones by a Pune-based company called Max Secure (http://bit.ly/1tjP1Oy). Also, just a fortnight ago, in the August 30 issue, I had written about smartphones and viruses, and how to tackle the latter. Here`s the link (http://bit.ly/1q4I4DG) for those who may have missed it. How to keep your photos safe? Moving on….a few days ago, the Internet exploded when a hacker leaked “racy” photos of celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Kirsten Dunce, among others. I shall leave you with some tips on how to keep your online content safe from prying eyes. 1. If you have used your smartphone to click some personal images, delete them immediately. Hacking is a danger we all have to live with. The longer such pictures remain on your phone, the more the chances are of them being leaked. 2. Protect your phone with a password so if it is ever stolen/lost, at least this basic precaution will make it difficult to operate the device. 3. Don`t ever store such images in the cloud. 4. Use two-factor authentication wherever possible. This means the service sends a temporary PIN code to your phone or Tablet or any other device, which you must then key in to be able to log in to any of your online accounts. Almost all - Apple, Google and Facebook, offer this, but it’s not always turned on by default. If your service does not have this facility, you can contact two-factor solution providers like the Tamil Nadu-based ArrayShield (http://bit. ly/1qyUgeX), which will provide you with the same at a cost. Protect your phone with a password; if it’s ever stolen/lost, at least this basic precaution will make it difficult to operate the device. (Sorab Ghaswalla is a former old-world journalist who now wears many hats, entrepreneur, Internet consultant, Online Marketer, new media and technology journalist, and the Editor/publisher of four sites of his own, all related to the Internet, smartphones, start-ups and the Internet of things. You may find him at www. newagecontentservices.com) (Disclaimer: The Tech Guru column is more in the nature of a reader-initiated, advisory feature. Readers are urged to check or confirm for themselves the features of all hardware/software mentioned here before making a purchase. Prices quoted are indicative and not final, and subject to availability of product/service. This newspaper nor this column shall, in any way, be liable for any physical, personal or monetary damage/losses arising out of advice given herein.)
61 THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
PUNE
There are important lessons to be learnt from the recent, 122nd Ganeshotsav. How can we make a difference? Can the next Ganeshotsav be one which is truly eco-friendly? There are more aspects to consider. The Golden Sparrow on Saturday team offers some relevant suggestions
LESSONS TO LEARN from Ganeshotsav 2014 Embrace, popularise eco-friendly idols
According to Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pune Police estimates, over 3,40,000 Ganesh idols were immersed in the city’s rivers, canals and water bodies. Th is number is significantly higher than last year. According to report in ‘Pune Mirror’, some PMC officials unthinkingly unloaded truckloads of Ganesh idols in a river. While this may have been an aberration, the PMC also dumped a large number of idols in abandoned stone quarries around the city, as they did in the previously. As citizens we can do the following: a) Purchase or make our own clay (shadu maati) idols b) Use pancha-dhatu (special alloy) idols, or those which need not be immersed c) Immerse clay idols in a bucket of water and water the plants and trees in and around our homes with the same Th is would set a great example for others and it will also prevent pollution of the environment. Do not purchase Plaster of Paris Ganesh idols ever again.
PICS BY ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR & RAHUL RAUT
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Avoid using gulal
Th is fine, red powder used liberally used to be considered harmless, as it is made from natural, plant-based ingredients. That opinion has changed. Eye surgeons Dr Aditya Kelkar of the National Institute of Ophthalmology has cautioned about serious injuries to the eyes from gulal, owing to the content of hazardous chemicals. The use of gulal is also advised against by civic authorities and voluntary groups. You can do your bit and avert the use of gulal in your own home, your housing society and neighbourhood. Make children, family and friends aware of the hazards of the substance until the use of gulal becomes a thing of the past. City traders say that 200, 25 kg bags of gulal were used by prominent Ganesh mandals, just on the fi rst and last days of Ganeshotsav. One manufacturer used to sell up to 5,000 bags during Ganeshotsav. Th is has now reduced significantly, to about 25 per cent of what it used to be. Pune Mayor Chanchala Kodre came out strongly against the use of gulal, and even ordered the confiscation of gulal from a prominent mandal. Let us all unite against the use of gulal during festivities.
3 4 5 6 Ban loudspeaker stacks
The biggest cause of noise pollution are the towering stacks of loudspeakers, that are currently in vogue, as each mandal tries to drown out the other. The city police have a role to play and must set a limit on decibel levels and bring the offenders to book -- in the interests of averting noise pollution and maintaining peace.
Contribute to good ‘Nirmalya’ management A staggering 177 tonnes of Nirmalya (flower offerings) were prevented from polluting the rivers of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad by an army of civic officials, waste-pickers from the Kagad Kaach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP), Swach, Rotary Clubs of Pune and volunteers from Cummins, Emcure, Praj Industries, Fergusson College, Modern College, D. Y. Patil College of Pharmacy, and Symbiosis School of Economics among many others.
Reduce road obstruction due to pandals
Some Ganesh mandals put up unauthorised pandals without due permissios from the city police and PMC. The most serious road obstructions were in the old city areas under the jurisdiction of Faraskhana, Vishrambaug, Samarth, and Khadak police stations. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Rajendra Joshi told this newspaper that some mandals had occupied as much as 70 per cent of the carriage width of the roads. He said that the movement of Fire Brigade vehicles, ambulances and the state electricity boary was obstructed by such pandals. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue. Why are such pandals not removed? How can Ganesh mandals get away with such irresponsible behaviour? Why do the police and civic authorities hesitate to take action against defaulters? We must take action before things reach a point of no return, what with the growing congestion in the city.
Nirmalya was collected systematically from 18 ghats across PMC and PCMC. “The Nirmalya collection drive began from the second day of the festival till the last day of the festival. All collected Nirmalya was sent to sericulture projects of PMC and NGOs,” said Suresh Jagtap, deputy commissioner (Solid waste management), PMC. Th is is an extremely healthy trend and must be strengthened by all of us, year after year.
Do not contribute to noise pollution
Noise levels reached as high as 114 decibels during the main immersion procession on Laxmi Road, when the stipulated limit is 90 decibels. College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) students, who were monitored sound levels, said that the noise pollution was highest between 8 am and 12 noon, during the immersion procession, and wherever loudspeaker stacks were used. The police however, succeeded in keeping decibel levels in check between midnight and 6 am, with the ban of loudspeakers during these hours. We as responsible citizens must play our part by raising our voice against disturbing sound levels, in our housing societies or neighbourhoods.
LET’S APPLAUD THOSE WHO DID GOOD WORK Municipal commissioners of Pune & Pimpri-Chinchwad and their staff for maintaining public health by cleaning work during the festival.
Pune Police Commissioner & Staff for excellent law & order management in the city
The spirit of citizenship and the valuable contribution by voluntary organisations such as DSK Foundation, SWaCH, Rotary Club Pune – Kothrud, Lions Club, students, Chanakya Mandal & Team, Police Mitra Team
The Schools of Pune which conducted Eco-friendly Ganesh idol making workshops for their children and encouraged them to follow eco-friendly methods during the celebrations
And finally, the citizens of Pune who made a departure from the past and made a big difference to the health of our city!
ED UCATION “I always say more teachers, less technology. People assume that technology can be a substitute for teachers but they can’t.” — Andy Curtis, British educationist
Signposts Certificate course in central excise Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) is introducing a 25-day certificate course on central excise from September 15. The course will take place at ICC complex, Senapati Bapat Road from 6 pm to 8 pm. Topics from documentation to refund and rebate of central excise duties will be covered. Faculty will comprise of chartered accountants, company secretaries, executives from industries and experts from central excise department. For admissions contact Kiran Joshi, 020-25709182.
A Marathi version of ERP software Rotary Club of Pune South has presented Vasantdada Patil School with the Marathi version of school Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Developed by Tirubaa technologies, this software will facilitate the creation and sending of 14 school-related reports to different government departments. Emphasising on the user-friendliness of the software, principal Surekha Shivsharan said, “Since the software reads in Marathi, right from installation to understanding it is an easy task.” Moreover, the software can be used during a computer class. “New technology always brings in enthusiasm and confidence among the students,” added Shivsharan.
Pt Kopkar to receive Atre award The Prabha Atre Classical Singer Award will be awarded to Pandit Vijay Kopkar, a singer influenced by the styles of houses of Gwalior-Jaipur and Agra. Padmabhushan Prabha Atre will present the award in a ceremony on September 14, at 5 pm at Tilak Smarak Mandir.
The ability to focus, concentrate and pay attention is a key mental ability and plays a vital role in life, especially in the student years of an individual. These days there is increasing awareness and concern about children’s attention challenges among teachers & parents alike. Understanding attention issues and early detection can go a long way in helping children perform well at school and life.
Avinash Bartakke
Founder, Director Neural Space™
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY
CARE ER
SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
PUNE
“India produces the second largest pool of scientists in the world, but trails far behind when it comes to innovation.” — Dr Meena Chandavarkar, Vice-Chancellor, Karnataka State Women’s University
sector is 1st scout & guide teacher Education improving in NE awardee is a Puneite
Says teachers working in the northeastern region and recipients of National Teachers Award
Dineshkumar Pande is the first recipient of the award instituted by the Maharashtra govt MANASI SARAF JOSHI
The reason for Dineshkumar Pande’s joy was not that his name was announced as the Best Teacher in Maharashtra in recognition of his outstanding teaching skills in sports. He was elated especially because he became the first recipient of the Scouting and Guide Award instituted by the state. Interestingly, the scouting movement was started in the state in Pune in 1907. Pande, who is principal of SV Union Secondary School, Rasta Peth, told The Golden Sparrow on Saturday he was overjoyed that “our city has received the honour of the first Scouting and Guide Award” recently instituted by the State. He felt that the movement which was pioneered by teachers like BP Joshi, Bhagwat and Natu a century ago, was now bearing fruits. Interestingly, this talented teacher who completed his education in the city was never part of Scouts and Guides during his school days. “When I became a teacher, my then principal forced me to undergo training for this discipline and then appointed me as a sports teacher,” Pande reminisced. He said that teaching sports has become rather challenging today as parents want their children to focus more on academics than sports. “But now the scenario is changing. Parents are willing to encourage their children to develop a career in sports,” he said. The 54 year old teacher created a record in the school’s history of 95 years by becoming the first teacher to receive the state award. He said the school’s management has been very cooperative and has an encouraging attitude towards sports.
Dineshkumar Pande (2nd from R), principal of SV Union Secondary School, Rasta Peth, received the Scouting and Guide Award from deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar recently
Pande who has been to various countries for scouting and guide conferences and matches noted that sports helps make a person independent. “During a scout and guide camp, the students have to cook their own food. They have to erect their tents, live in group, lead the team and do various other things that help them develop life skills,” he said. According to him, such skills have helped young students lead a good life outside the country. “Many of my students who have gone to foreign universities told me that the camps helped them overcome many hindrances,” he said. Being able to cook their own food is a very important skill they learn, he said, as students save on money and also stay healthy as home-made food is always hygienic. Pande who is pursuing his doctorate regretted that children today
are not as physically active as they were in the past. They use elevators instead of climbing down the staircase and go to schools in vans and buses instead of cycling or walking, he pointed out. Similarly, many schools in the city have small grounds or no grounds at all. This further leads to decreasing physical activity. Thus, it is important that students engage in physical activity in the evenings, he said. Pande stressed that children must play regularly as it helps in developing their bones and making them strong. In keeping with his reputation as a good teacher, his 39 students have received state awards while nine students have received the President’s medal. He said that parents who are keen that their children should do well in sports should ensure that they eat protein-rich foods to help gain strength. manasisaraf@gmail.com
US Consulate General, Mumbai will be holding a university fair at Westin Hotel, Koregaon Park, from noon on September 13. Representatives from 25 universities, including those specialising in education for the hearing-impaired, will take part. Delegates from SAT, GRE, GMAT, TOEFL and IELTS will guide the attendees. General consular officers from US-India Educational Foundation
(USIEF) will deliver presentations on visa application processes. Queries from students and parents will be addressed on the spot. US Consul General Tom Vajda said, “Given the quality and diversity of US educational institutions, I am confident that Indian students will be able to find a school that fits their requirements.” For enquiries, contact US consulate at 022-22624603 or MumbaiPublicAffairs@state.gov or USIEFMumbai@usief.or.in
Photojournalism course from Oct
Principal Shobha Nikam (right) of Modern Girls High School, Shivajinagar, run by People’s Education Society (PES), was felicitated with the teacher’s award for the year 2013 by President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on the occasion of Guru Divas recently. Also seen is HRD minister Smriti Irani (left).
Bridal make-up is my forte Saba Poonawala has been handed the reins of her family salon
I found my vocation by accident. The responsibility of managing our mother’s salon fell on me after my sister’s marriage. As I used to help my sister in the business from a young age and shared a personal bond with clients, so my experience helped me when I took over the reins at the age of 18. I am grateful to my mother Sabiya, sister Sana, L’Oreal and Habib academies for hair and beauty training. One of the major challenges that I faced as an 18-year-old was to convince a walk-in middle-aged client what beauty treatment suits her best. With time, many women followed my advice and I made bridal hair and make-up my forte. I started liking my profession, its challenges and commitments that it
most important thing the government schemes have done is providing poor students with uniforms, textbooks and better quality education, which was not there till a couple of years back.” Hage Bibijan, a senior teacher at a government school at Telluliang in Arunachal Pradesh, who was also awarded the National Teachers Award said there are several social welfare groups keen to start schools and help the government in the education sector but they faced resource crunch. “States like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and other states of the region need special focus as the number of dropouts is high. The government needs to establish avenues where students can engage after completing their studies.” “There are several social groups and organisations that want to work in the education sector in interior areas of the northeast but they are constrained due to scarcity of resources. The state government in collaboration with the centre needs to help them,” Bibijan told IANS. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has allocated `53,706 crore for overall development of the northeast region in 2014-15. Ranju Dutta, principal of Karanga Girls Higher Secondary school at Jorhat in Assam, also won a National Teacher Award. Dutta told IANS that there is growing realisation among the people, especially children, of the northeast that education is the only way for bettering their situation. According to University Grants Commission (UGC) data, over five lakh students from eight states of the northeast ventured outside the region last year due to lack of proper higher education facilities. With proper training and increase in the pay scale, including in primary schools, the situation has become better. IANS
BY TGS NEWS SERVICE
demanded. Today, my bridal order list includes domestic and international clients and Bollywood artists. As our salon will be celebrating silver anniversary this year, I have also found my true interest. I also want to be an environmentalist. My love for animals began when my sister adopted a dog when I was a child. The unconditional love showered by the pet floored me to make more animal friends. Soon, our family was extended with 60 animals, including rabbits, turtles, cats, dogs, fish and exotic birds. I was mesmerised by the Royal Bengal Tiger when I visited the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh 13 years ago. And my love for the majestic animal has only grown ever since, and its conservation one of my main concerns. I took up science in junior college and completed my bachelor degree in English Literature, but my yearning to work for environment remained. My visits to national parks all over India kept the fire within me alive. (As told to Anjali Shetty)
The Savitribai Phule Pune University and Pune Union of Working Journalists will start a certificate course on photojournalism from October. The entrance exam will take place on September 21, followed by an interview. The forms are available at Ranade Institute on Fergusson College Road. Last date for submission of application is September 18. Classes will be held on Saturdays and Sundays. For details, contact Sanjay Tambat on 9881098107.
Life’s Lessons
Pursuing My Career
BY SABA POONAWALA
NEW DELHI: National Award winner Khagendra Nath Chetia Phukan, who has spent 40 years teaching in some of the most remote parts of Assam and its bordering areas, has seen the education sector in the region undergoing major development. Having emerged from the phase of the 1980s, when schools and colleges were affected due to the frequent ‘Assam bandhs’ called by student unions and the separatist United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the state is undergoing a dramatic transformation which is not only ensuring a bright future for the people but also keeping insurgency at bay. Phukan, one of the recipients of this year’s National Teachers Award, said the central government initiatives like the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan have helped in taking education to the far-flung areas of the northeastern region, which until a decade ago was suffering due to poor infrastructure and lack of funds. “At times bandhs, riots and every minor or major uprising hit schools of Assam, and the situation still prevails in some places. There was no dearth of hurdles to harm education and its quality in the state. But it really feels nice to see that the situation is improving fast and the northeastern region has emerged as the best in terms of literacy,” Phukan told IANS after being conferred the award along with several others from the state. According to the 2011 census, the literacy rate in northeast India is 68.5 per cent, with female literacy at 61.5 per cent. The national average stands at 64.8 per cent and 53.7 per cent respectively. Phukan, who now teaches at the Mankata M E Senior Secondary School in Assam’s Dibrugarh, said, “The
NATIONAL HONOUR
American Consulate to hold University fair at Koregaon Park BY TGS NEWS SERVICE
BY RUPESH DUTTA
Six habits of successful people Entrepreneur, business coach and author Peter Economy says that there’s really no ‘secret’ to success but just some simple skills that one needs to master coupled with discipline and perseverance, all of it built into our daily routine. What are the six key habits of successful people? focused on the goal: No matter what, 1fromRemain do not let the obstacles in your path keep you your goals, says Peter. Challenges should be
seen as opportunities to learn and grow. Try to see situations from all angles as this will give you the broadest possible perspective.
we should ‘write out a detailed plan of attack for the day. Not only will this list keep you more organised, but seeing the list in front of you may help you work harder and ignore distractions’. Welcome criticism: Be open to criticism with 4 an attitude of wanting to do better. Thus, he suggest, ‘hateful and negative criticism should be
heard, assessed, and then let go, while constructive criticism should be evaluated and acted upon’. Welcome and request for feedback from people whose opinions you value. And do not forget to be gracious when receiving feedback.
Learn how to say no: Do not over-commit Trust your instincts: There’s something 2 5 yourself and end up losing focus or delivering mysterious about intuition and may well be poor quality work. “Learning to say no when it is called the ‘sixth sense’. Intuition comes from deep in your personal best interest, or in the interest of your company, is an extremely valuable skill,” he says. He suggest that one should make a list of the things that are most important to you and that you must do yourself. Other things can then be delegated to others which you can supervise. “Free yourself from daily busywork and you’ll open up time for new opportunities,” he suggests.
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Keep a daily plan of attack: Peter strongly suggests that it’s important to make a ‘To Do’ list as we are most likely to forget tasks that need to be done. Thus, he recommends that every morning
within our subconscious and is based on previous experiences. In difficult situations it is wise and worthwhile to at least listen to the inner voice that suggests a way out.
Learn to take risks: This column has 6 repeatedly highlighted the importance of taking calculated risks. Big dreams are never
realised without taking risks because the future out there is uncertain. It is therefore important to learn to take risks if one wants to step out of the ordinary and chart an independent path, says Peter. editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY PUNE
“ was doing a PR job but wanted to do something different, a “I venture I could connect with. That’s when I realised that there are plenty of magazines around but none for the visually impaired.” —Upasana Makati, Founder of White Print, a Braille magazine
The Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) has organised a workshop on ‘Soft Skills for Support Staff’ on September 20, from 10 am to 5.30 pm at Shekhar Natu Conference Room, MCCIA, Senapati Bapat Road. The workshop will offer a variety of tested and proven techniques from Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). For details, contact Sandhya Acharya on 91-20-25709243 or email at sandhyaa@mcciapune.com. The faculty for the workshop will be Veenu Shivdasani, a certified master practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).
Workshop on ‘Shop Floor Leadership’
Vishwas Mahajan
Through her initiative Nritya Yatri, Meghana Sabade organises tours for budding classical dancers to historical places. The group traces the roots of Indian dance forms and performs at different festivals BY PRACHI BARI @prachibari Bharatnatyam exponent Meghana Sabade’s venture, ‘Nritya Yatri’, combines dance and travel. “I trained under Guru Manik Ambike for more than ten years. After that I started teaching a few girls who were really serious about the dance form. One of my students asked me if they could get a firsthand experience of actually visiting the ‘Kalashetra’ which is the ‘gharana’ that we follow. This is when an idea struck my mind and I started planning to take my students on an educative dance tour.” Thus began the setting of the first ever educational, informative trip revolving around this dance form. “It is for the aficionados of classical dance. The tour provides an opportunity to the followers of Indian classical dance to visit the historic and important places in the country related to this dance form,” explains Meghana Sabade, who is also the director of Guardian Holidays. “Practicals are always better than the theory and so I am trying to provide a firsthand experience of the art form and a wider view of the subject to the enthusiasts. By the time I prepared the plan, I had a team of 40 enthusiasts. I decided
to take them to Chennai, to Adyar specifically, from where ‘Kalashetra’ originates. I spoke to the ‘Gurus’ there and also planned to take the girls to Chidambaram temple where the Annual Chennai Dance Festival is held. Bharatnatyam originated as a dance performed in temples in the early years. Hence, I worked on the lines where I could get these girls perform during the festival in the temples,” Meghana said. In this tour, a visit to the renowned Kalakshetra Cultural Academy with plenty of dance workshops, seminars and interactive sessions with maestros like Padmabhushan Dhananjayans at Bharat Kalanjali were also included. Post the maiden trip, Meghana has organised four such trips that saw participation of budding classical dancers. Meghana organised tours to Jaipur’s Jawahar Kala Kendra and Ahmedabad’s Kathak Kendra and Mrinali Sarabhai’s Darpan Dance Academy, followed by Odisha tour especially, to witness the popular Konark Dance Festival and a visit to the Srijan Dance Academy of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra in Bhubaneshwar. “We don’t just elaborate on dance steps but also stress on styles, choreography, taal, make– up. For this we hold workshops in Pune to prepare
“Nritya Yatri for me is an exploration of aesthetics in life through the classical dance form.”
How to attract and retain good talent
the participants for the performance. Nritya Yatri for me is an exploration of aesthetics in life through the classical dance form. It is an art movement in a way,” Meghana said. Future plans In January 2015, Meghana is planning a trip to Ajanta Ellora Festival besides Delhi for the Kathak enthusiasts. “Our trips are usually of six days and five nights. We are planning a three-day tour to Chennai, where participants will perform at Kalashetra Foundation and attend the lectures on special aspect of dance. Then a day in Tanjavore and a day at Chidambaram. I usually try to keep the group small with 20 to 22 girls. I also keep the option of to and fro open as per their convenience. Her tours are so popular that she has dance enthusiasts not just from Pune but also from Nashik, Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara. Meghana, along with her husband Manish, managed to get the first tour under the aegis of Guardian Holidays with an initial investment of Rs five lakh, but now she is planning to begin it as a separate entity with many requests pouring in for budget tours. Today Nritya Yatri is an autonomous body where everyone involved is as much in love with the dance form and to enhance it with such tours. prachibari@gmail.com
‘Innovation hubs to boost start-ups’ SANDEEP MAHANKAL/IANS
START-UP MENTOR
The Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) has organised a workshop on ‘Shop Floor Leadership’ on September 16 and 17, from 10 am to 5 pm, at Navalmal Firodia Hall, MCCIA, MCCIA Trade Tower, 5th Floor. HR consultant and trainer Kuldip Joshi will hold the workshop. The highly interactive workshop aims to equip participants with an understanding of their leadership style and bring about informed change to become more effective shop floor leaders.
BHARATNATYAM
This feature is a collaboration between The Golden Sparrow on Saturday and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the world’s largest nonprofit network of entrepreneurs. For additional questions about your entrepreneurial challenges, write to mentoring@pune.tie.org
We are a small software company and we have tremendous problems of getting the right people for the work. Sometimes people don’t join even after they commit and this is becoming the big problem for us. -Mahesh Ramanathan Talent is the key resource especially in knowledge intensive industries. We find that availability and ability to hire right talent makes all the difference not just in business of IT Services, Engineering Services; but also other services businesses like hospitality, transportation and others. The experience or the productivity that the customer experience is largely due to the work to the team. The problem that you mentioned is quite generic and you will find lot of small companies in IT and other spaces finding it very difficult to attract, hire and retain talent. There are several reasons for this: Plethora of job websites: makes it very easy for candidates for search for opportunity that may suit his or her profile and apply pretty much at the click of a button. Many candidates do not carry out adequate research to find out if this is the right job or company for them. Deluge of application at junior levels while the oppositeat senior levels: The organisationsare literally bombarded with applications from relatively junior candidates like fresher’s or people with little or no experience. But often the people who are available do not measures up to the requirement of the companies. Right skill is a huge challenge that we as a county are facing. On the other hand, if you look for a niche skill or a specialised or the senior person; youmight not easily find that person in available in public domain. Not joining after accepting offer: The problem you mentioned about the people accepting your offer but joining is also not an exception. This happens in any company, small or large. The candidates may be working on getting multiple offers at the same time. Many companies that I know actually over hire assuming that some of the people will not show up and join.
Gearing yourself to attract talent : Candidates as key resource and managing the database: The organisation receives resume from different sources, including job boards and internal referrals or employment / recruitments consultants who do this as the part of their business. However most profiles and resumes are sitting in mail attachments and are not searchable i.e., if you have a requirement today you cannot go back to all the people who has applied you in the past and look or the suitability. Every time there is a requirement cycle of seeking profiles, shortlisting them and hiring them restarts, causing a lot of wasted effort. I recommend an excellent candidate tracking software system. There systems are available in hosted model as well as for installation in your premise. Just as you want the information about your customer or the prospects to be mined, it is important that the organisation of your size look at people as a key resource that we need to mine.
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Consultant and job boards: 2 Consultant are a useful source of getting candidates at short notice
because they maintain a database and are bale to refer a candidates to you and carry out much of the co-ordination related work nurturing few such consultants for your business is a good idea so that they keep suggesting the candidates to you.
Finally, branding: The branding 3 of your company as an employer of choice that offers exciting work and
offers growth prospects to people who are joining becomes absolutely important. You could do it in a number of different ways and use social media for this as well. From a longer term prospective, getting candidates through campus, nurturing campus is also be good idea. Consider all these issues so that you can get the right people at the right time and grow your company at the pace that you want. Vishwas Mahajan, president of TiE Pune Chapter, answers real life questions of entrepreneurs
Chairman of GenNext Ventures, Dr R A Mashelkar with the chairman of Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd, Bhaskar Pramanik during a programme in Mumbai
NEW DELHI: With a plan to catalyse the country’s technology startup ecosystem, GenNext Ventures, the venture investment management arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), signed a three-year partnership with Microsoft India, through Microsoft Ventures in India, to set up GenNext Innovation Hubs, an official statement said here. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by R A Mashelkar, chairman, GenNext Ventures and board member, RIL, and Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman, Microsoft India. The first hub will start operations in October in Mumbai, and will be subsequently emulated across multiple cities in India, the statement said. The MoU allows GenNext Ventures and Microsoft Ventures to bring together key stakeholders academia, students, entrepreneurs,
investors, and corporates - at the GenNext Innovation Hubs and offer some of the most critical resources that startups need to be successful, it said. Microsoft Ventures will help GenNext identify, shortlist, on-board promising startups and power the accelerator programme. At the end of the accelerator programme cycle, GenNext will invest strategically and selectively in some of these IT startups. “While several initiatives are underway to help start-ups, what is lacking is a national platform that seamlessly brings together all stakeholders and also provides the resources Indian startups need to be successful. That’s what we are aiming to do through GenNext Innovation Hubs, in our partnership with Microsoft Ventures,” he added. IANS
Telangana inks MoU for incubation hub The Telangana government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad, Indian School of Business (ISB) and NALSAR University of Law to create an incubation hub. Coming up on 80,000 square feet at IIIT campus, it will be India’s biggest incubation hub and can accommodate 700 to 800 technology startups. The fi rst phase of T-Hub, as the incubation centre will be known, is expected to be ready in four months, said state Information Technology Minister K Tarakarama Rao. He said the state government would allocate Rs 20 crore for the fi rst phase of the incubation hub. In the second phase, the T-Hub will have its standalone facility of over three lakh ft. ISB would provide business mentoring, IIIT technology mentoring while NALSAR would help in intellectual property and related areas. ISB dean Ajit Rangnekar will head the incubation hub.
The minister said it would be incubation of incubators as it would bring on one platform start-up initiatives of various institutes, universities and organisations like Nasscom. To mark 100 days of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government, the department of information technology also announced Telangana Academy of Skills and Knowledge (TASK). A joint initiative of industry and educational institutes, it will focus on producing industryready engineers. It also announced creating two electronic manufacturing clusters in Hyderabad. The minister said a UK-based company, which is into manufacturing of water testing equipment, has come forward to set up its unit, its fi rst in Asia. Ajit Rangnekar, IIIT director P J Narayana, NALSAR vice-chancellor Faizan Mustafa, Nasscom vice-chairman B.V.R. Mohan Reddy were present on the occasion. IANS
With this issue
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GE PA
Compact Carver
S PAGE EW VI
In the issue ON TH EI N
Workshop on ‘Soft Skills for Support Staff’
For the love of
ON TH ER E
Signposts
“We are the only tea company which has a dedicated tech team. We are using tech to create processes for each aspect of our operations, which has never been done in the industry.” —Kaushal Dugar, Founder, Teaxpress Pvt. Ltd
ON T HE TO
SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
Boring Journey
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The Crawl is back
RE LATIONSHIPS “Every good relationship, especially marriage, is based on respect. If it’s not based on respect, nothing that appears to be good will last very long.” —Amy Grant, Author and media personality
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
“The more connections you and your lover make, not just between your bodies, but between your minds, your hearts, and your souls, the more you will strengthen the fabric of your relationship, and the more real moments you will experience together.” —Barbara de Angelis
Ask for forgiveness while there still is time
The Way Forward With Compassion & Hope
‘Smile is a gift of love’ RAHUL RAUT
The right moment to ask for forgiveness is now
Is a problem bothering you and you are unable to decide what to do? Write in to us at wayforward@goldensparrow.com for advice and suggestions from C Ravindranath All of us smile. How often and how genuinely do we smile though? How consciously do we smile or is it just another knee-jerk reaction? A smile is such a wonderful gift we can give to the world around us. It costs us nothing. Isn’t that something to smile about? I recently came across a saying by someone called Habu that there are all kinds of smiles: happy smiles, wicked smiles, knowing smiles, ironic smiles, surprised smiles, sneering smiles, guilty smiles, pleased smiles, sad smiles and ‘I told you so’ smiles. There could be many more that one can add to this list. The smile I like best is what Denis Waitley described as “the light in your window that tells others that there’s a caring, sharing person inside.” Mother Teresa has said, “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” Whenever I have to admonish someone, I make a conscious effort to say it with a smile. It takes the sting out of my words and many times, I don’t even have to utter harsh words. The smile is sufficient. The message gets through and the job is done without acrimony. Can we practise smiling? Can we smile more than we used to? After all, what do we have to lose? “I’m yet to see a smiling face that could be termed ugly,” one of my teachers would say. Another says, “You are never fully dressed without a smile.” My wife (very fortunately) feels she has no need for ornaments as long as she wears a smile. I find it more affordable to keep her smiling than gift her jewellery.
Forgiveness must be asked for the moment the thought comes to your mind
BY SUMIT PAUL Just before January 1, 2014, I sent a handwritten card to an English friend of mine with whom I fell apart years ago on a trivial issue. I was thinking of reconciliation with him for quite some time, ignoring the objections of my stupid ego. But, it was too late, on December 31, I got his sister’s mail informing that my friend died a couple of years ago. I took so long to forgive him and couldn’t do it when he was alive. Our ‘noble’ gestures lose their significance after fate has dealt a final blow. “Though man’s vindictive, he’s forgiving as well. He wants to forgive but waits for an opportune moment. And here he makes a mistake. That moment comes but the person he wants to forgive, goes. He goes forever, leaving no option but to repent.” William Wordsworth’s didactic letter to his sister Dorothy serves as a reminder to people like me, who want to forgive or say something to someone but wait for the apposite moment. Human life is too short to harbour any grudge against anyone. The moment we feel that we’ve made a mistake or hurt someone, we must ask for forgiveness, because no one has seen tomorrow. This life which seems so fair is like a bubble blown up in the air. Like
all transient things in life, even an ill-feeling is also evanescent. If friendship or for that matter any relationship doesn’t last forever, so does enmity. Why do we delay in asking for someone’s forgiveness? This is an act that must be executed the moment it strikes one and wholeheartedly at that. Jesus may have forgiven those who crucified him but the Arab mystic Mansoor Hallaj went even a step further when one of the persons peeling his skin off, whispered into his ear and said that he never wanted to be a part of such a ghastly crime but was helpless. “Will you and Allah forgive me?” “My friend, you’ve already been forgiven,” said the mystic and died. Man is always in a dilemma. The essential and inherent goodness in him gets snowed under by a host of confl icting emotions. “Hai admi bajai khud ek mahshar-e-khyal, Hum anjuman samajhte hain, khilwat hi kyon na ho,” (This creature we know as man is one big chaos of desires and thoughts. Even when lonely, he’s never alone. For, in his breast, lies hidden a tumultuous crowd). Ghalib rightly
observed. Clinical psychologists at Canbera University in Australia have found a very interesting and uncanny behavioural attachment between two individuals. They’ve concluded that the moment one wants to forgive someone, the other person also thinks alike. So go ahead and do it without further delay, shelving your ego and vanity. A rose given during life is better than orchids on the grave. Never forget that the bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone. Isn’t forgiving in time an act most sublime? Rather than spend life’s fleeting moments in recurrent and recrudescent rancour against someone, we all must strive to take the first step towards rapprochement. The late poet Iqbal Bano summed it up in one of the immortal ghazals penned by Qateel Shifai, “Humne hi apni ana’ mein unki parwah na ki, Woh toh baahein phailaye khade the humare intazaar mein” (My ego didn’t let me reach out to him / He was more than willing to embrace me).
Human life is too short to harbour any grudge against anyone
Just the other day, I had stopped at a traffic signal. A middle-aged motorcyclist stopped by my side. We casually looked at each other. He smiled. I smiled in return. He said, “Good morning,” and I wished him back, wondering if I had seen him before and where. As the lights changed, he gave me one more smile and with a “Have a good day,” drove off. I had never met him before – at least I don’t think so. I may never meet him again in my life and even if I did, I doubt if I would recognise him as the man who was by my side at the traffic junction. I however, remember the smile and his words. They had lifted my spirits, made my day. I still feel grateful to him and frequently do what he did to me that day, to others. A smile is often enough to convert strangers into friends. It even has the power to turn enemies into friends. Are we missing out on something so simple, so wonderful and so easy? If we can have laughter clubs, why can’t we have smiling societies? It is up to us. Can we make a start today, this moment? A smile benefits both – the giver and the receiver, doesn’t it? The famous Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” Maybe I should add a rider to this – and to others too! Now smile! (The writer is a multi-faceted personality who believes in responding with compassion and hope to the difficult situations in life.)
Close relationships are the basis of stress-free life NEW YORK: We all know that deep and meaningful relationships play a vital role in one’s overall well-being but still, most of us are bereft of emotional bonding in life. It is imperative, therefore, to listen to your heart and stay close to those who love you the most. According to an interesting study, close relationships not only support individuals in their ability to cope with stress or adversity but also in their efforts to learn, grow, explore, achieve goals, cultivate new talents and find purpose and meaning in life. “People will be most likely to thrive with well-functioning, close relationships that serve different support functions - whether the relationship is with friends, parents, siblings, a spouse or mentors,” said researchers Brooke Feeney of Carnegie Mellon
University and Nancy Collins from University of California at Santa Barbara. Relationships serve as an important function of not simply helping people return to baseline but help them to thrive by exceeding prior baseline levels of functioning. “We refer to this as source of strength (SOS) support and emphasise that the promotion of thriving through adversity is it’s core purpose,” Feeney explained. The second important function of relationships is to support thriving in the absence of adversity by promoting full participation in life opportunities for exploration, growth and personal achievement. According to researchers, thriving involves five components of well-being; hedonic well-being (happiness, life satisfaction),
Birthday celebration with a difference
City kids are taking to celebrating their birthdays in a philanthropic style BY RITU GOYAL HARISH @ritugh
Birthdays are special and children are especially thrilled by the prospect of a party, gifts and celebration with the family and friends. But there are some people who are instilling in their children a new and noble point of view. Instead of splurging on their own celebrations, these thoughtful people are urging their children to look beyond their own joy and contribute to the happiness of less fortunate and deprived children, by donating their gifts to such poor kids. It was Tarika Malhotra’s 11th birthday party and her birthday invite, sent to friends by email carried a strange request. “Your presence is our greatest gift; however, if you are still thinking of bringing a gift, I would like you to consider my wish to donate. Given below is a wish list from “Hope for the Children Foundation (HFCF).
You can bring any item from their list in any quantity,” read her email. Eight-year-old Sanya Shah also sent out a similar request to her friends. “We don’t celebrate every birthday but the ones we do, we ask her friends to donate to a cause of their choice,” says Dr Neeta Shah, who believes that you’re never too young to learn philanthropy. Both children took up the idea given to them by their parents. “The idea starts with the parent but children take the lead and make their own decisions,” says Prachla Malhotra, Tarika’s mother who gave her the option of celebrating her birthday at the NGO or receiving gifts on behalf of them. Tarika chose the latter. Oorja Gonepavaram was 11 when she decided to forego a birthday party and celebrate it in an orphanage. Her parents sponsored a meal at BVJSS, also known as Mookhbadeer Ashram, an orphanage that shelters 250 destitute children and 50 deaf and mute children in Wagholi and she cut a cake there while the children sang the birthday song. At the party, Tarika’s friends brought gifts for the NGO based on their wish list, which was equalised by her parents. The amount collected at Sanya’s birthday party was used to donate a
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eudaimonic well-being (having purpose and meaning in life), psychological well-being, social well-being and physical wellbeing. Sometimes, support providers may inadvertently do more harm than good if they make the person feel weak, needy, inadequate or induce guilt and make the recipient feel like a burden. “Being responsive involves providing the support that is dictated by the situation and by the partner’s needs, and being sensitive involves responding to needs in such a way that the support-recipient feels understood, validated and cared for,” Collins emphasised. The paper published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Review. IANS
To celebrate an offbeat birthday, contact: BVJSS – Motilal Jadhav - +91 9372 466 612 HFCF – Neha Sinha - +91 9766 568 988
Tarika (third from left) with her friends
library cupboard to Sparsh Balgram in Khadki. “Each child was given a receipt in their name and that really helped them understand that they had helped somebody” says Dr Shah. Neha Sinha, Donor Care and Resource Development manager at Wadgaonsheri-based Hope For Children Foundation (HFCF) says,
“People have taken charity to a new level by collecting funds or gifts for the NGO. We utilise the donations in our projects and the activity has a sustainable outcome.” “When wellwishers sponsor a meal for the 250 children at our NGO it helps relieve our burden for one meal, but when they come and
celebrate with us the children feel very happy,” says Motilal Jadhav of BVJSS. Both Malhotra and Dr Shah feel that Indian children are growing up in a highly materialistic culture. “The reality is that they have a surplus of everything,” avers Dr Shah. “Our children need to know that there are others who are not as fortunate as them. It helps them value what they have, learn how to share and be satisfied instead of clamouring for more,” says Malhotra. She was also heartened by the fact that several parents came forward in support. “Many said that this was a wonderful idea and they wanted to borrow it.” What started as a thought in Malhotra’s head became a source of satisfaction for her 11 year old who expressed her feeling in the best way she can, “I am very happy that we collected so many things that the children need.” ritugoyalharish@gmail.com
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
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Are you a smart investor? P 14
“ You cannot have the nation being subjugated to the state and the state being a coalition of political parties. The belief was that good politics makes good economics too. But does good politics mean just staying in power —Vinod Rai, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India
Has the time come to abolish FRA? BY R JAGANNATHAN Only in India will governments legislate patently bad laws and then do everything in their power to subvert them so that they don’t affect development. Under UPA, bad law-making hit a new high, when rights were legislated in almost every area – food, education, land, forests – and then the government of the day tried to find ways to bypass the spirit of the law. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (aka the Forest Rights Act, or FRA) is one such bloomer enacted by the UPA in 2006 and made effective from 2008. Since then, after huge damage was done to prime industrial projects like Posco and Vedanta in Odisha, Manmohan Singh tried hard to bypass it by attempting to dilute the rules governing the applicability of law, especially the consent of gram sabhas for any developmental activity in forest areas inhabited by tribals. But with even the Supreme Court upholding the law in the Vedanta case, MMS found no way around it. Now, the Narendra Modi government is doing its damnedest to achieve what Manmohan Singh couldn’t: find a way to bypass the requirement
that tribal sabhas have to okay projects needing forest land. According to this Business Standard report, the NDA government is “discussing possible ways to do away with the mandatory requirement of securing consent from tribal gram sabhas before cutting down their forests for industrial purposes. The deliberations... are for zeroing in on such a way that the requirement is removed without going through the politically difficult route of getting the FRA amended.” Clearly, the squeamishness is about changing the law, which is seen to be fraught with political risk. But that is actually the best way, for the FRA is simply one law too many and impinges on the applicability of many other laws – including the Forest Conservation Act and the UPA’s own Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Ac t, 2013 (the so-called Land Acquisition Act). The FRA deliberately, and with little sense of constitutional niceties, shifts rights away from individual tribals to gram sabhas. The community trumps the individual. The khap wins. The FRA makes small concessions on what kind of development can take place in traditional tribal areas – building
Quite clearly, this is an antidevelopment law drafted entirely by NGOs
IANS
The Forest Rights Act which allows minimal development needs to go: Tribals are not part of a tiger reserve
Tribals participate in a rally organised by Khandual Mali Shanti Surakhya Committee (KSSC) against mining in the area at Kanchanmuin village around 35 kms away from Vedanta plant in Lanjigarh block of Odisha’s Kalahandi district on May 11, 2014
of schools, hospitals, anganwadis, fairprice shops, tanks, drinking water supply pipelines, minor canals, and, yes, even roads – but then adds two onerous conditions: “such diversion of forest land shall be allowed only if (i) the forest land to be diverted…is less than one hectare in each case; and (ii) the clearance of such development projects shall be subject to the condition that the same
is recommended by the gram sabha.” (Italics mine) Quite clearly, this is an antidevelopment law drafted entirely by NGOs who romanticise the lives of poor tribals. Imagine trying to allow a road in only “one hectare” of land, or a canal, for that matter. And even this needs a gram sabha to nod in unison. With a total population strength
of 104 million, 8.6 percent of the 2011 census total, India’s scheduled tribe (ST) population is large enough to make a huge demographic impact even without this legal mollycoddling. The STs get job and educational reservations (along with SCs) and their huge voting strength gives them a decisive say in elections in many states. Apart from the north-east, where they are often in a majority, the big tribal states are Odisha, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Barring Gujarat, the rest of the areas are relatively underdeveloped states. All of them have more than 30 per cent of their populations living below the poverty line, most of them tribals (see this poverty map and details here). The key justification for having an FRA are, according to the FRA website, the following: (a) to empower and strengthen local self-governance, (b) to address the livelihood security of the people, leading to poverty alleviation and pro-poor growth, and (c) to address the issue of conservation and management of natural resources and conservation governance of India. Objective (a) is the essence of the panchayati raj law (are tribals any different from normal rural folk?); objective (b) can be addressed by schemes like NREGA and food security, not to speak of the Land Acquisition Act, whose main purpose is to (over) compensate and rehabilitate people affected by development projects; and objective (c) is the business of the Forest Conservation Act, the Wildlife Protection Act and the Biological Diversity Act, among others. The moral argument for giving tribal rights additional protection is that tribals are not legal owners of the forest
areas they occupy and that they may anyway be too illiterate to fight for their age-old rights. Hence FRA. But the logical way to protect them is to make special provisions for them – including rehabilitation, if dispossessed on their traditional livelihoods - in the Land and Forest Conservation Acts, not create a separate law for tribals. By enacting a separate law for tribals, we are effectively saying the following: One, tribals are not one of us. They are not ordinary citizens with the same rights as other Indians. Normal laws are not enough to protect their rights. Two, tribals are like endangered species, and the FRA is intended to create large tiger reserves for humans labelled tribals. But tribal proportions are actually rising in India, with their total in India’s population rising from 8.2 percent in 2001 to 8.6 percent in 2011. Three, the community has to be privileged over the individual – since it is not individuals who have rights to land or livelihoods, but the community. This is fundamentally against the constitutional scheme of things. Consider how silly it would be if we were to enact a Jat Rights Act as though Jats are not individuals, but a collective entity only. But we are doing this for tribals. The Forest Rights Act needs to be repealed wholesale, and the genuine rights of tribals protected by a reference to fundamental rights guaranteed under our constitution. Livelihood rights can be protected through other social legislation, of which India does not suffer any lack. The bad law needs to go. (By special arrangement with Firstpost.com)
Sheila’s comments boost BJP hopes to form govt Is Chandy’s prohibition plan dead on arrival?
New Delhi: While the Congress leadership has been pulling all stops to push Delhi towards a fresh assembly election, former chief minister Sheila Dikshit has set the cat among the pigeons by batting in favour of the BJP trying to form a government. Delhi Congress leaders have been trying every trick in the book to stall the BJP’s efforts to form the government in Delhi, holding protests across the city in which they have termed the saffron party’s move as “unethical” and “unconstitutional”. The BJP has been at the receiving end from the Congress and the AAP with both claiming that the party is trying to poach on their MLAs. The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to apprise on the status of the government formation by 10 October. It is in this backdrop that Sheila Dikshit just dropped the bombshell: “I am glad for the people of Delhi if it is possible for an elected government to be formed. If BJP claims that they can form the government, then I think it should be given a trial.” The majority of the Delhi Congress leadership has been stunned into silence - after all, these comments have been made by none other than a leader who was chief minister of Delhi for 15 straight years. “I’m surprised to hear Sheila ji has said that,” said senior leader Haroon Yusuf. “She is a very senior leader and I don’t know in what context she said it,” he said. But other state leaders like Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and former Union minister
IANS
BY SANJEEV SINGH
Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit
Ajay Maken remain quiet but have disapproved of her comments behind closed doors. A former Congress MLA, Bhishma Sharma has even gone to the extent of asking the high command to take action against her. Meanwhile, this has come as music to the ears of the BJP leadership. The Delhi state unit chief Satish Upadhyaya backed her statement. “Sheila ji is a senior leader and understands how the constitutional process works,” he said. The saffron brigade’s chances had brightened when the Delhi Lieutenant Governor, Najeeb Jung had given his opinion to Union home ministry that options of an alternative government
should be tried before recommending fresh election last week. But a sting operation by AAP leaders in an video which showed Delhi BJP vice-president Sher Singh Dagar allegedly offering money to win over some AAP MLA’s had put them on a sticky wicket. The current Delhi assembly has 29 (28+1) MLA’s from BJP/SAD combine, 28 (27+1) from AAP, Congress has 8 while JD(U) and Independents are one each. BJP needs five more to reach the magical figure of 34 in the 67 member House. By advocating for exploring possibilities to form a government, Sheila’s comments have now given the fi llip that BJP was looking for.
This has created an embarrassing situation for the Congress, and it was left to senior Congress leaders to set the record straight. “We are very clear that there is no way any two major parties are coming together for government formation,” said PC Chacko, senior Congress leader. “Our party has said earlier also that the only option left in Delhi is to go for fresh elections,” he said. While Sheila has so far not shown much interest to return to active politics in Delhi after her resignation as Governor of Kerala last month, but this statement is likely to bring the warring anti-Sheila lobby into a huddle soon. While AAP leaders have minced no words in saying that Sheila is playing into the hands of the BJP, they have also alleged that the Centre has also gone slow in taking up cases pending against her. While she enjoyed immunity till she was Governor, and it was expected that the new regime would speed up the cases relating to the Commonwealth Games scam and misuse of public funds among others. “We are not afraid of any probe, they will gain nothing except harassing the old lady,” says a Sheila loyalist on condition of anonymity. “What is wrong if she says Delhi should have an elected government? Ask any MLA and he will say she said the right thing because none of them want elections,” he confides. Her supporters maintain that her comments are not being read in their entirety as she also said that BJP will have to prove their strength on the floor of the House. (Copyright: Firstpost.com)
Doctors, medicines rushed to Srinagar Contd from p1 More than 125,000 people have been rescued so far and many of them are staying in relief camps spread across the state. As hospitals are also flooded, people, mostly pregnant women and elderly, are facing acute problems. As drinking water has also become scarce in the valley, the ministry said they are also dispatching Friday two water purification plants with a capacity of purifying around 50,000 litres per
day and six small water purification units along with operators. Also 998,500 chlorine tablets have been sent to the state so far, the statement added. The union health ministry is also planning to deploy two psycho-social teams to assess the mental state of the traumatised people evacuated by the rescue teams. These teams are from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS),
Bangalore. To house those who have been rescued, the Indian Red Cross Society has supplied 1,082 tents (each to house eight people), it said. “In addition, they have sent 750 tarpaulins, 1,000 kitchen sets and 2,500 blankets. The Indian Red Cross Society is also ready to supply additional 700 tents (each to house eight people) from Arakkonam (Tamil Nadu) store through Air Force today (Friday). Air Force has been requested
to airlift the tents from Arakkonam,” the statement added. The ministry has also rushed its senior health officers, including special Director General of Health Services, to oversee the arrangements. “Two public health teams have been stationed, one each in Jammu and Srinagar, since Sep 8 for rapid health assessment and to prevent and control public health exigencies,” it said. IANS
Kerala has a debt of Rs 114,000 crore accounting for 28.29 per cent of its GDP BY G PRAMOD KUMAR The political expediency with which the Kerala chief minister Oomen Chandy announced his total prohibition plan has been completely exposed with the state finance minister KM Mani saying that he is the biggest victim of the move. More over, even though the revenues from liquor sales haven’t dried up, the state is in a financial crisis. With no money to run the state, the government on Friday borrowed Rs 100 crore from the Reserve Bank of India and will also issue bonds for Rs 500 crore. The state is falling into this overdraft situation after eight years. With such precarious finances, how will the government run the state when about Rs 7,000-8,000 crore dries up on account of prohibition? Although it is planned in a staggered way, the finance minister has announced that it will lead to an annual shortfall of Rs 1,800 crore. This figure will rise in coming years. Interestingly, the first salvo against Chandy has been fired by none other than Mani himself when he told a news channel that he shouldn’t be blamed if the state’s finances are badly hit. Earlier, at a party meeting, his supporters also criticised the government decision and said that the decision was taken in haste. Surprisingly, Mani and his Kerala Congress supported Oomen Chandy, along with the Indian Union Muslim League, when the Chief Minister announced the prohibition plan. Most surprising, however, was the the change of stand of the Church, which said that people might view the decision on prohibition as something that was done in haste. Earlier, the Church had threatened the government with dire consequences if it didn’t implement prohibition. Besides Mani, labour minister Shibu Baby John also is critical of the government decision, purely from the
point of view of revenues. He said the if the government runs out of money and is incapable of paying its employees, the responsibility is collectively on the entire cabinet. Earlier, Congress MP and former union minister Shashi Tharoor reportedly said the decision would negatively impact the state’s tourism sector. Given the financial woes of the government, whose revenue sources are extremely limited, the loss of revenue from liquor sales appears to be a public concern in the state. The state has a debt of Rs 114,000 crore accounting for 28.29 per cent of its GDP. The CPM has repeatedly attacked the Chandy government for its careless handling of the finances. CPM leader and former finance minister TM Thomas Issac has demanded a white paper. During the CPM government, the state’s finances were far healthier and economists in the state are of the opinion that inefficient revenue collection and profligacy has led to such a situation in the last two years. The problem with Chandy’s hasty decision is that there was no planning or thought process on the issue. He was under pressure of being upstaged by state Congress chief VM Sudheeran and he had to salvage the situation somehow. The only option before him was to upstage Sudheeran and make the announcement first. Thus came his government’s prohibition plan. Now, the reality is slowly sinking in, particularly when needing to overdraw paltry sums from the RBI to run the government. In the coming days and months, the rift between the prohibitionists and the pragmatists will certainly widen. Chandy will still have no answer on how he will make up for the loss in revenue from liquor sales even as neighbouring states make a killing in the border towns. (Copyright: Firstpost.com)
The state is falling into this overdraft situation after eight years
TH E EDIT PAGE All the wealth of the world cannot help one little Indian village if the people are not taught to help themselves. - Swami Vivekananda
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
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Editor’s pick It’s Shining Maharashtra my friend!
Pune Police can win our hearts The best of intentions are often brought to a nought by the worst of implementation as one gets to see again and again in Indian settings. Thus, plans get made but are poorly executed resulting in inefficiency, wastage and frustration. A prime example of this is the BRTS- the Bus Rapid Transport System- introduced in Pune as the nation’s first pilot project and then left to its own fate without paying much attention to good implementation and execution. As traffic congestion continues to worsen in the city, among those worst affected are serious and critical patients being transported in ambulances during peak hours. These ambulances with blaring sirens are often seen caught helplessly in traffic snarls. What a critical patient in an ambulance needs utmost is swift transportation and medical attention which is easily possible if the ambulance is given right of way by other motorists. Given the reality of traffic congestion on Indian roads, the Chennai Traffic Police came up with the innovative “Green Corridor” initiative recently to enable the swift movement of an ambulance. Because of this initiative, a heart meant for transplant could be swiftly moved from the Government General Hospital to Fortis Malar
Hospitals in Adyar, about 12 km away, in less than 14 minutes. Appreciating this initiative, the Bangalore traffic police last week turned all signals green on a 40km stretch to help an ambulance rush speedily. The ambulance from a city hospital was also carrying a heart to the Kempegowda International Airport to be transported for transplant to a hospital in Chennai. The distance was covered in 40 minutes instead of the usual 90 minutes. While the Mumbai traffic police have decided to pursue this brilliant idea in the state capital, in Pune too, the traffic police have taken note of this innovative approach for speedy movement of ambulances. The Golden Sparrow on Saturday welcomes the assurance to this effect by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sarang Avad as reported by this newspaper today. The police must now not rest after making such an assurance but take the initiative forward by organising a meeting with medical representatives. Their time would be well spent only when their initiative makes a difference to the lives of patients being transported in ambulances. Such a step would go a long way in helping the police win the hearts of the people of Pune.
Learning lessons from Ganeshotsav gone by Ganeshotsav can be transformed into a much happier occasion if just six lessons are taken to heart by the people at large. As reported in these pages, these six lessons deal with the kind of idols we patronise for the festival; where we immerse them; what we can do to reduce sound pollution; reducing obstruction to traffic and eliminating the use of gulal which can be injurious to the skin and eyes. Some of these are very easy to implement at an individual level and change in traditions is possible only when each individual initiates it in his or her area of influence. A number of families,mandals and housing societies have adopted an eco-friendly approach to Ganeshotsav celebrations. Many schools and NGOs have been promoting this trend in their own ways. Schools held workshops conducted by many NGOs in the city and such sessions helped motivate children to adopt eco-friendlyl practices at home. Other citizens too have joined in this movement in a big way and as a result, there is a perceptible change that is visible as compared to previous years. Now more people now need to join the flock. A valuable contribution can be made in this regard if leading Ganapati mandals such as the Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Mandal and the others takes
the lead in ensuring that the healthy, positive and eco-friendly approach to Ganeshotsav is strengthened year after year. A large number of mandals, especially the hundreds of smaller ones, need to become sensitive to the fact that their boisterous celebrations with “loudspeaker walls” in deployment and the erection of giant pandals obstructing traffic cause considerable nuisance and inconvenience to the public. Is it some kind of joy that they get from causing this nuisance to the public or is it a sense of power that they can do whatever they want and get away with it? It would be much appreciated by one and all if just these two aspects of the celebrations are downsized significantly: road obstructions need to reduce and noise pollution needs to be controlled. This ought to be done voluntarily by the various mandals and not imposed from the outside. Prominent citizens and citizengroups need to engage in a dialogue with these mandals to bring about this change. If necessary, some meaningful incentives can alsos be thrown in to bring about the change. How much of this will happen between now and next year? Will next year be better than what we have seen so far? One can try and hope for the better.
Will next year be better than what we have seen so far?
Vol-1* lssue No.: 13 Printed and Published by: PRI – Media Services Private Limited CIN: U22222MH2012PTC232006 on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. CIN:U22200PN2014PTC151382 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)
Cartoon by: Vaijnath Dulange
The science of pranayam
By Anil K Rajvanshi
Pranayam means control of Pran or vital force. According to Patanjali it means controlled breathing which includes deep inhaling, exhaling and retention of breath. Pranayam occupies central position in the Indian Yogic system and it is said that liberation of soul is achieved through proper pranayam and meditation. Modern medical science has shown unequivocally that Pranayam helps in toning the mind and body. Tomes have therefore been written on its beneficial effects on blood pressure and general well being of body and mind However the exact mechanism of how Pranayam helps in toning the body and mind has still remained a mystery. Recent researches have shown that nanoparticles (particle size of 1030 nanometers which are almost 10-20 times smaller than those emitted in cigarette smoke, can directly reach the brain through nose breathing and bypass the blood-brain-barrier (BBB). This process may throw some light on how Pranayam affects the mind and body. Medical researchers discovered for the first time in 1941 that small amounts of fine particles that were inhaled through nose could be lodged in the brain by breaching BBB. However this field of research remained dormant till 1990s when scientists, alarmed by rising environmental pollution, visited the early research and started discovering the harmful affects of toxin invasion of brain through breathing. Today rapidly growing research shows that a small part of the air we breathe through our nostrils goes directly to the brain via the olfactory lobe and the rest (major portion) goes to the lungs supplying the necessary oxygen to the blood. Thus the inhaling breath affects both the mind and the body directly. Moreover the air we breathe has direct impact on our brain. Scientists have also found out that
breathing through one nostril affects the create diseases in the people residing in part of the brain on that side, and thus these buildings. Exposing them to plenty the practice of inhaling through one of sunlight and fresh air has brought nostril during Pranayam is to stimulate down the incidence of disease drastically. that side of the brain and not for cleaning Thus it is possible that the toxins in the the nostril as explained by experts in brain can be detoxified by inhaling free Pranayam. Similarly deep slow breathing radicals. Recently scientists have also allows enough time for the nanoparticles found out that good deep sleep helps in or Pran to pass through the BBB and flushing out the toxins from the brain. into the brain. Since deep sleep is like meditation hence This has alarming implications for detoxification through Pranayam, good modern living since the inhaled pollution sleep and meditation can be a basis of from household and automobile smoke, healthy brain. In the moundust and general tains the proporindustrial Modern medical science tion of UV rays environment has shown unequivocally in sunlight is has the ability higher than in the to directly go that Pranayam helps in plains and with to the brain toning the mind and body. higher altitude and affect the and less pollution nervous system. Tomes have therefore been the creation of Incidences of written on its beneficial free radicals also increased cancer, increases. Thus dement ia , effects on blood pressure mountain sojourn A l z hei mer ’s and general well being of has always been disease, etc., have body and mind recommended for been attributed improving health. partly to the Probably that toxin invasion could also be a reason why Rishis and Yoof the brain caused by pollution. This gis went to mountains for meditation and could also be a possible reason why practicing Yoga. secondhand smoke is far more dangerous One of the most important part of than smoking itself since the exhaled breathing is smell. It is perhaps our most smoke particles go to the brain directly. memory-evocating sense. The smell It has also been shown by the scientists signals from the nose go directly to the that though the pollutants are most of limbic system-the seat of emotions. Thus the time flushed out of the lungs by the smells evoke deep emotional responses immune system, the toxic particles in the and memories. brain go on accumulating. Nevertheless Studies have also shown that if Pranayam is practiced in clean and fragrance can change moods and open-air environment daily then it can influence judgment. That could possibly negate the problems of modern life. A be the reason why throughout the ages, possible mechanism is explained below. humans have always had a love affair with It has also been known for quite flowers and their fragrance. Beautiful some time now that antibiotics-resistant flowers are not only balm to our eyes but bacteria get neutralized with fresh air their fragrance is food for our soul. No and plenty of sunlight. Researchers are wonder fragrance and perfume is a 30finding that the enclosed environment of 35 billion dollars strong industry today. hospitals and offices with air conditioning Use of mood enhancing incense has been and artificial air breeds bacteria which
Success is not what we take it to be BY J P Vaswani
mentally and emotionally. All his millions could not make him happy. Every one of us wants to be successful. Rockefeller turned a new leaf. He Though we move along different stopped accumulating wealth, and began pathways of life, we are all in search of to give away his wealth. Thus was born success. Each one wants to be successful the Rockefeller Foundation, which in his or her sphere of activity. sponsors and supports education and A girl met me the other day and medical care throughout the world. John said, “During your absence from Pune, Rockfeller re-wrote and re-defined the my wedding will take place. I want you meaning of success for himself. to remember me on that day and pray Some people equate success with for me, so that I may be successful in power and position. A fond mother said my new phase of life.” to me that her son had achieved Yet another day, I received success in life at the young age a long distance call from a of 23. He had been appointed student in America. She was as the managing director of a about to appear for her final large industrial concern. But examinations. “Do pray for me a few days later, I heard that that I may be successful in my the young man was rude to his examinations and show brilliant colleagues and unpopular with results!” she said to me. his workers; that he had a foul Everyone wants to be temper; and that he had fallen THINK successful in life. But there are a victim to the two vices of few who know the elements of gambling and drinking. Would success, the factors that go to build you describe this young man as being up success. Today, success is being successful? confounded with making money, Many of us tend to equate success with amassing millions and billions. with visible material acquisitions. John D. Rockefeller was such a There was a young woman who wore multimillionaire, to whom success did expensive clothes and diamond jewels; not bring happiness. His biographer her handbag was stuffed with currency tells us that by the time Rockefeller notes, she drove about in a Mercedes. was 53, his life was a wreck. He was Everyone agreed that she was indeed the richest man in the world and yet he a woman who had achieved success in was miserable! He was sick –physically, life. But when this young woman met
me, she said to me with tear-filled eyes, “I am one of the unhappiest women on earth. My husband is constantly running after other women and pays no attention to me.” Would you call this young women successful? What is the definition of success? What is true success? I believe that true success is in some way or the other, related to inner happiness and peace of mind. It has been rightly said that if you lose your wealth, you lose but little. If you lose your health, you lose something. But, if you have lost your peace of mind, you have lost everything! Outer things, external achievements, are not the yardsticks for success. Power, prestige, position, social influence, higher degrees awarded by universities — all these are outer things. They only touch the fringe of life, they don’t enter the depths within. A man may have all this, and yet he may be intellectually barren; he may be emotionally unbalanced, spiritually sterile. Would you call such a man successful? What then, is success all about? I would define success as the ability to be happy and make others happy; the ability to love and be loved; the ability to remain in peaceful harmony with oneself, with those around you and with God’s cosmic laws.
used in religious practices in almost all societies through immemorial times. Thus the clean crisp mountain air with a whiff of pleasant smell from flowers literally evokes the abode of gods since Pranayam in such an environment provides the mechanism for detoxifying and cleaning the brain for better meditation and hence liberation. Even in our daily life, we can do Pranayam in open and clean air. Scientists are also using Pranayam pathway for developing brain drug delivery systems through the nasal sprays so that it can breach the BBB and go directly to the brain. I believe that is how homeopathic medicines also work. Generally homeopathic medicines are given in the form of small globules which a patient is supposed to suck. Through sucking of pills a small part of the medicine reaches the brain via the olfactory lobe. This helps the brain to trigger the mechanism by which body releases chemicals to fight the disease. That is why the best way to administer the homeopathic medicines is to spray the liquid directly on the tongue. This allows rapid transfer of the particle mist to the brain via the olfactory lobe. Also homeopathic medicines are supposed to be taken half an hour before or after food consumption so that the food smells do not interfere with the aroma of medicine. Another interesting aspect of homeopathic medicines is that their potency increases with increasing dilution. There are conflicting reports on why this happens. I feel that increased dilution of medicine allows the BBB to be breached with relative ease resulting in its enhanced effect in the brain. Thus Pranayam acts like enhanced homeopathy where the free radicals from clean air help detoxify the brain and body for healthy living. (The writer is director, Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute, Phaltan. He may be reached at anilrajvanshi@gmail.com)
Limericks of the week BY C Ravindranath
Limericks When calamity strikes man We should do what we can Humans are the same So what’s in a name Call it India - or Pakistan Ads tell us what is right Dark’s an ungainly sight It’s not the skin But what’s within That really needs to be white One makes way for the next That’s how it goes in our text To celebrate the season We don’t need reason It’s enough to have a pretext.
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
PUNE
An era of unpredictability? P 15
“Cyber threats pose one of the greatest national security dangers that the United States faces, ranging from vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure to identity theft from credit card information.” —Josh Earnest, Press Secretary, White House
China is set to become the world’s largest market for the incipient space tourism industry BY CAO LI
journeys offered by XCOR Aerospace, a company based in Mojave, California, BEIJING: One night in June, Sheng that plans to begin operating suborbital Tianxing made good on his name, fl ights late next year. The tours went on which translated literally means ‘sky sale in China in December, two years travel’. With a single click online, he after the company began selling them paid $100,000, about a third of his elsewhere, and one in 10 of all bookings annual income, for a seat on a rocket have been by Chinese citizens, that will carry him into space. according to Dexo Travel, the BeijingCome 2016, if all goes as planned, based sales agent in China for the trips. Sheng, 41, a tea trader from the The sales reflect late-blooming southeastern Chinese interest in space travel in province of Zhejiang, China, which celebrated will spend up to six the successful landing minutes floating 103 of a lunar rover in kilometres above the December, four decades Earth as one of the after the United States first civilians aboard a accomplished the commercially operated same feat. The notion fl ight beyond the planet’s of travelling amid the atmosphere. stars has captivated a “I’ve always wanted segment of the Chinese to go into space,” he said public just as it once recently, recalling that fascinated Americans - Sheng he got hooked on space who were riveted by Neil fi lms and science fiction Armstrong’s first steps as a boy growing up in on the moon. But unlike a mountain village. “I’ve that earlier generation, always wondered if Armstrong did the Chinese have the option of booking actually walk on the moon. I’d like to a trip themselves - and many have the have a look myself.” money to pay for it. A half-century ago, bemoaning his “There are wealthy people nation’s backwardness, Mao Zedong everywhere in the world, but there said that China could not launch a are not so many wealthy people who potato into space. Now, well-to-do also dream of going into space,” said Chinese business people are lining up Alex Tang, chief executive of XCOR for one-hour voyages to the cosmos, Aerospace’s Asia operation. China, and tour operators say China is set to he said, had both. In a survey this become the world’s largest market for year of more than 200 Chinese luxury the incipient space tourism industry. travellers by the Shanghai-based Already, more than 30 mainland research firm Hurun, about 7 per cent Chinese have purchased or made down said they hoped to visit space within payments of 50 per cent on tickets for the next three years.
QILAI SHEN/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Wealthy Chinese lining up to blast off
“I’ve always wondered if Armstrong did actually walk on the moon.”
Sheng Tianxing, an entrepreneur who purchased a $100,000 ticket for a seat on a rocket that will carry him into space, at a tea trader’s ship in Xinchang, China, Sept. 5, 2014. Well-to-do Chinese business people are lining up for one-hour voyages to the cosmos, and tour operators say China is set to become the world’s largest market for the fledgling space tourism industry
Tang attributed the Chinese passion for space travel to the recent successes of the nation’s space programme. “Many want to go to space like Yang Liwei,” he said, referring to the astronaut who circled the Earth in 2003 and came home a national hero for bringing China into the ranks of
Ebola delivers a cruel blow to economies BY ADAM NOSSITER
DAKAR, Senegal: Airlines have cancelled their fl ights to the countries most affected. Prices of staple goods are going up, and food supplies are dwindling. Border posts are being closed, foreign workers are going home and national growth rates are projected to plummet. Ebola - the reality and the hysteria over it - is having a serious economic impact on Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, three nations already at the bottom of global economic and social indicators. Aggravating both the financial and social consequences, these countries and their frightened African neighbours are enacting concentric circles of quarantines, cutting off neighborhoods, regions and even whole nations. International medical authorities have warned against such practices, arguing that they will worsen suffering and deprivation, and do little to stop the spread of the disease. But many African nations have gone ahead anyway, sealing borders, barring entry to residents of the affected countries and barring their airlines from flying to those countries. Senegal has even refused to allow humanitarian flights with urgently needed supplies and medical personnel to take off from Dakar, the West African hub for international aid agencies. South Africa and Kenya, two of the continent’s economic heavyweights, have restricted entry to people coming from the Ebola zone. For the worst-hit countries, “isolating and stigmatising them and making it difficult to transport supplies, personnel and other resources” can only make things worse, the World Health Organisation’s regional director for Africa, Luis Gomes Sambo, said at a meeting in Ghana recently. For three nations that have only recently emerged from decades of war and political upheaval, Ebola has dealt a hard blow. “After a decade of conflict, we were set to restore the economy to its prewar status,” Amara Konneh, Liberia’s finance minister, said in an interview. “This outbreak is dealing a serious blow to all of our efforts.
This is the biggest crisis we have faced since the end of our civil war.” With sections of Liberia and Sierra Leone under quarantine and the borders Senegal and Guinea sealed, the movement of goods has slowed. National budgets are under strain, health care expenditures are rising, government revenues are dropping and agricultural production, especially in Sierra Leone, has been hurt. South Africa is barring entry to non-South Africans who have been in the affected countries, and Kenya and Senegal are practicing similar measures. “With the main harvest now at risk and trade and movements of goods severely restricted, food insecurity is poised to intensify in the weeks and months to come,” the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s regional representative for Africa, Bukar Tijani, said in a statement. The United Nations warned that the price of cassava, a staple starch, increased 150 per cent in Monrovia, the Liberian capital. In Sierra Leone, rice, fish, palm oil and other basics have all risen in price, according to the country’s finance ministry. Months into the epidemic, World Bank officials said they were still working out the epidemic’s economic impact in light of a World Health Organisation estimate of 20,000 potential Ebola cases. In Liberia, health care expenditures will now account for 25 per cent of the government’s annual budget because of Ebola, instead of 8 per cent, said the country’s finance minister. In Sierra Leone, where the country’s main agricultural region has been hardest hit, the finance ministry wrote of the “devastating impact of the disease” on the country’s economy, predicting a 4 percent drop in growth. In Kenema, population 600,000, the major city in Sierra Leone’s Ebola zone, the market stalls are still full of goods and produce, but it is unclear how much of the produce, on which the rest of the country depends, is flowing out. There is a “shortage of basic food items in the markets, especially in the urban areas,” the finance ministry said. © New York Times News Service
South Africa and Kenya have restricted entry to people coming from the Ebola zone
books and fi lms like ‘Gravity’, a hit in China, they long for the transcendent experience of gazing upon Earth from space, Zhang said. After Tong Jingling, a 40-yearold banker, booked a ticket in April, she started getting invitations from businesses to be their spokeswoman,
© New York Times News Service
Making sense of touch compute
Advances in haptics and kinematics, the study of motion control in jointed bodies, are essential if robots are ever to collaborate with humans in hoped-for roles BY JOHN MARKOFF
JASON HENRY/THE NEW YORK TIMES
In Liberia, health care expenditures will now account for 25 per cent of the government’s annual budget because of Ebola, instead of 8 per cent
space-faring nations. Zhang Yong, chief executive of Dexo Travel, described the people booking seats as business executives and entrepreneurs who already have luxury homes and cars and are turning their sights beyond earthly objects. Twothirds are male, he said. Influenced by
she said. One company asked her to conduct medical experiments while in space. Tong, a graduate of Beihang University, formerly known as the Beijing Institute of Aeronautics, has capitalised on the attention by trying to launch several crowd-funded ventures. One would arrange weddings in space. Another would produce a reality television show in which contestants compete for a ticket for space travel. An investment of 100 renminbi ($16) gets you a T-shirt that says, “I want to go up into space” in Chinese. The Chinese are coming a bit late to space tourism. The first civilian space tour was in 2001, when the American billionaire Dennis Tito joined a Russian space mission and flew to the International Space Station. He spent $20 million and underwent months of training. Since then, six other civilians have made the same trip. But companies are now selling suborbital trips to altitudes just beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, at prices that put the dream of space travel within the reach of wealthy Chinese. After long delays caused by technical and safety issues, XCOR Aerospace and Virgin Galactic, founded by the British entrepreneur Richard Branson, say they are planning fl ights next year. XCOR Aerospace’s Lynx shuttle uses different engines that do not appear to raise the same concerns. A $95,000 ticket with XCOR buys a fl ight late next year to an altitude of about 61 kilometers - what the company calls “the edge of space” while a $100,000 ticket will take a passenger beyond the atmosphere in 2016. Each fl ight carries one passenger, who must undergo medical screening and training.
STANFORD, California: In factories and warehouses, robots routinely outdo humans in strength and precision. Artificial intelligence software can drive cars, beat grandmasters at chess and leave “Jeopardy!” champions in the dust. But machines still lack a critical element that will keep them from eclipsing most human capabilities anytime soon: a welldeveloped sense of touch. Consider Dr Nikolas Blevins, a head and neck surgeon at Stanford Health Care, who routinely performs ear operations requiring that he shave away bone deftly enough to leave an inner surface as thin as the membrane in an eggshell. Blevins is collaborating with roboticists J Kenneth Salisbury and Sonny Chan on designing software that will make it possible to rehearse these operations before performing them. The programme blends X-ray and Dr Nikolas Blevins, a head and neck surgeon at Stanford Health Care, and Hollin Calloway, a thirdmagnetic resonance imaging data to create a year resident, use haptic technology, which allows surgeons to practice with 3D software at Stanford vivid three-dimensional model of the inner University Hospital in Palo Alto, California ear, allowing the surgeon to practice drilling away bone, to take a visual tour of the patient’s skull and to virtually “feel” subtle differences even has a name: Moravec’s paradox, after of organs that allow them to sense pressure, in cartilage, bone and soft tissue. Yet no robotics pioneer Hans Moravec, who wrote sheer forces, temperature and vibrations matter how thorough or refined, the software in 1988, “It is comparatively easy to make with remarkable precision. (And German provides only the roughest approximation of computers exhibit adult-level performance researchers have shown that raccoons have Blevins’ sensitive touch. on intelligence tests or playing evolved the animal world’s most sophisticated “Being able to do virtual checkers, and difficult or brain functions to process touch impulses in surgery, you really need impossible to give them the the dark.) to have haptics,” he said, skills of a 1-year-old when Research suggests that our sense of referring to the technology it comes to perception and touch is actually several orders of magnitude that makes it possible to mimic mobility.” finer than previously believed. Last fall, for the sensations of touch in a Advances in haptics and example, Swedish scientists reported in the computer simulation. kinematics, the study of motion journal Nature that dynamic human touch The software’s limitations control in jointed bodies, are - for example, when a finger slides across a typify those of robotics, in essential if robots are ever surface - could distinguish ridges no higher which researchers lag in to collaborate with humans than 13 nanometers. designing machines to perform in hoped-for roles like food Much research is focusing on vision tasks that humans routinely do service worker, medical orderly, and its role in touch. The newest da Vinci instinctively. Since the first office secretary and health care Xi, a surgery system developed by Intuitive - Dr Nikolas Blevins robotic arm was designed assistant. Surgical Inc., uses high-resolution 3-D at the Stanford Artificial “It just takes time, and cameras to enable doctors to perform delicate Intelligence Laboratory in it’s more complicated,” Ken operations remotely, manipulating tiny the 1960s, robots have learned to perform Goldberg, a roboticist at the University of surgical instruments. The company focused repetitive factory work, but they can barely California, Berkeley, said of such advances. on giving surgeons better vision, because the open a door, pick themselves up if they fall, “Humans are really good at this, and they necessary touch for operating on soft tissue pull a coin out of a pocket or twirl a pencil. have millions of years of evolution.” like organs is still beyond the capability of The correlation between highly evolved Touch is a much more complicated sense haptics technology. artificial intelligence and physical ineptness than one might think. Humans have an array © 2014 New York Times News Service
“Being able to do virtual surgery, you really need to have haptic.”
MONEY MATT ER S “A new set of investors are showing interest in mid and small cap stocks. They are not deterred by current high valuations as they are willing to take a 5 and 7 year perspective on these firms.” — Amit Rathi, managing director, Anand Rathi Securities Legality of health insurance processing company suspect: Experts CHENNAI: The promotion of Health Insurance TPA of India Ltd. by five government-owned insurers to act as a captive health insurance claims processing agency has led to questions about the legality of the investment by insurers. But the insurers are not forthcoming in answering them. According to Health Insurance TPA’s website, the company is a joint venture of public sector non-life insurers - Oriental Insurance, National Insurance, New India Assurance, United India Insurance, and General Insurance Corporation of India. “Section 27 B (5) of the Insurance Act prohibits an insurer from investing more than 10 percent of his assets or 10 percent of the subscribed share capital of the company whichever is less,” D. Varadarajan, supreme court advocate specialising in company/competition/ insurance laws told IANS over phone from New Delhi. Varadarajan also wondered whether the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) had given its nod to the five insurers to incorporate Health Insurance TPA of India. If IRDA had given a sanction, then how was that given as the law is clear on this aspect, he said. Speaking to IANS earlier, G. Srinivasan, chairmancum-managing director of New India Assurance, said GIC will hold five percent in the proposed Rs.200 crore equity capital and the balance 95 percent will be shared equally between the four primary insurers. Currently, Health Insurance TPA has a paid-up capital of Rs.10 crore. Going by the provision of the Insurance Act, it is clear that the floating of a joint venture company by the five insurers is ultra vires, Varadarajan said. “Perhaps the public sector insurers might have obtained an approval from the regulator to breach the 10 percent cap mentioned in the Act,” K.K. Srinivasan, former IRDA member, told IANS. Both he and Varadarajan categorically said that the provisions of the Insurance Act cannot be relaxed by regulations or circulats or guidelines or specific orders by IRDA. They said as per law insurers cannot float claims processing company or any other intermediary company even for purely of captive purpose. According to Varadarajan, the provisions of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 mainly deals with the merger of 106 insurers to form the four general insurers and is not connected with the issue on hand. He said IRDA will be restrained and constrained to heed to the request of government owned non-life insurers to grant licence to Health Insurance TPA. According to him, if the four insurers recruit required experts and start processing health insurance claims in-house then there will not be an issue. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered a probe by its director general against General Insurers’(Public Sector) Association of India (GIPSA) and other public sector non-life insurers for alleged anticompetitive practices. IANS
PUNE
Are you a smart investor?
What is the ideal profile of a smart saver and investor? Check out where you stand BY DEBASHIS BASU Over the past 20 years, the Indian financial market has made tremendous strides. New products, like mutual funds and unit-linked insurance plans, have proliferated. We now have electronic systems for trading, clearing and settlement and depository that are better than those in many other countries. With rising market volumes, the turnover in the cash segment of the stock market has been increasing over the past 20 years. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have poured in billions into the market. In spite of these favourable factors, there has been a decline in the number of retail investors in the market between 1990 and 2009. It is not that there are no buyers. The plethora of financial products is designed to target a large and expanding population. With rising prosperity, the large Indian middle class is increasingly saving more money. But the new business of an essential product, like life insurance, in a country like India with a huge young population, has stalled; broking companies are making meagre profits; and, in 2013, only `1.82 lakh crore were mobilised by all mutual funds put together. Just as there is no dearth of financial products or customers, there is no shortfall of people helping customers to understand these products or make them buy. Millions of people are engaged in information (media) and transaction (distributors, advisors, brokers, wealth managers)
in popularising and pushing these products. And, yet, customers seem unconvinced. Why is this so? Our research has helped us diagnose the reason for this situation: wrong buying and wrong selling. Some 700 savers and investors have responded to a 24-question survey that covered virtually every crucial issue that savers have to deal with. Here are the results of one of the most sophisticated online surveys. I. Savings: Products & objectives Often, planning your investments is simple and involves taking two steps. One, correcting for the past, in case you have made financial mistakes; and, two, planning safely and smartly for the future. As for correcting your past mistakes, all you need to do is ask three basic questions: • Am I saving enough of my income? • Am I invested in the right financial products? • Have I saved up enough of money, so far, in the right way? Given the high rate of inflation, we feel one must save at least 15 per cent of one’s income. There are at least 16 different publicly-available product categories for a saver to choose from, spread over six primary product groups: fi xed-income, gold, real estate, insurance, stocks, mutual funds. There are over 3,000 actively traded stocks; over 250 diversified equity mutual funds, hundreds of debt mutual funds, over 100 life insurance products and portfolio management
schemes, in addition to fi xed deposits, savings accounts, and so on. It is confusing to decide whether to invest in any of these and how much to save and invest. We need to invest in only the very few products that we need, depending on our age and dependents. II. Expected risk/return As expected, bank FDs are very popular (67.1 per cent). As many as 21.3 per cent of our respondents are investing in tax-free bonds, a number that should have been higher. Interestingly, 25 per cent are saving in real estate (other than own home) and 24.9 per cent in debt mutual funds, both of which demand analysis and regular monitoring. In short, knowledge of the risk of each product, returns and what it ideally delivers is a must. III. Retirement Most of us, typically, don’t know how much to save for retirement, especially since people are living
longer. Thanks to rising longevity, you should hope to live for at least 20-25 years after retirement which means that you have to plan for those many years of expenses. Many experts say that after retirement your expenses would come down only by about 20 per cent - 30 per cent because, while some expenses would be cut, others would rise. But how much savings are needed so that you can get an investment income that is equivalent to 70 per cent-80 per cent of your current expenses—and this for 25 years? This is why the one thing that everybody—from financial planners to personal finance experts, to market intermediaries—agrees on is this: start saving as much as possible, as early as possible and put your money in assets that grow more than inflation, over time. IV. Buying process/opinion about intermediaries One of the reasons why financial products disappoint is because buyers d o not do enough of homework and rely on company
salesmen, distributors, relationship managers, financial advisors, financial planners and agents who are ready to pitch something or the other (depending on the commissions they can make!) at you. When asked about the source of information they depended on before buying a financial product, 53.1% respondents replied that it was their own research. V. Profi le of respondents Who are these savvy people who have responded to our survey? Some 91 per cent were male, 31 per cent each between 20-35 years and 36-45 years and 25 per cent were between 46-60 years. What are their biggest concerns? Some 316 people identified saving for retirement as their biggest concern. Finding the right investment products to grow their savings was a major concern for 235 respondents and proper allocation of investments to deliver optimal returns was the main concern for 234 respondents. In describing their financial situation, 37.1% respondents felt that they were trying to save regularly with no specific goal and 27.6% respondents were working hard towards a financial goal. So, this is the profi le of the smart investor, captured in our path-breaking survey. If is this not your profi le, try to align with it now. You will be safe and smart. By the way, you will find this profi le diametrically opposed to those figuring in the dumb advertisements of mutual funds and insurance products. @moneylife
Max Bupa revamps “Heartbeat” Sensex, Nifty in a mediclaim Product correction mode With a reduction in the waiting period for PEDs and a reduction in the senior citizen’s copay, Max Bupa has improved ‘Heatbeat’
Max Bupa has launched the new version of Heartbeat with flexibility in sum insured for individuals and families ranging from Rs2 lakh to Rs1 crore, coverage for pre-existing diseases (PED) with waiting period of two years, down from four years and option to enhance up to 50% sum insured on renewal irrespective of claim history. The product has comprehensive features which come at a price. Max Bupa has introduced the option of tapering co-pay, which provides customers above 60, with reducing and subsequently zero copayment on continuous renewal. The
product has co-pay of 20% for the insured of a g e 65 years or more. It means the insurer will pay only 80% of the hospital bill. With the new feature of reducing co-
Nifty is headed for further short-term decline BY MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM
pay above the age of 65 years, the reducing co-pay starts at 20% and reduces by 5% for each continuous year of cover. For example, if a customer has a continuous coverage of three years prior to commencement of 65th year of age, then the co-pay applicable at the age of 65 shall be 5% and 66th year onwards co-pay shall be nil. @moneylife
In an interactive session at Moneylife Foundation, advocate Bapoo Malcolm explained the practical aspects of making a will Through a Will, we offer specific instructions about what has to be done with movable and immovable properties after our death. As simple as it sounds, there are several misconceptions and many are left confused with the legalities, while preparing a Will. Having conducted many sessions on making a Will in the past, Moneylife Foundation conducted yet another seminar on ‘How to write your own Will’ at the request of the Foundation members. Like the other events, this event too, received an overwhelming response. Bapoo Malcolm, advocate, Bombay High Court, and the speaker for the event, covered issues related to wills, like registration, litigation possibilities, witnesses, executors, intestate problems and adoption. He also discussed types of wills, including privileged wills, joint wills and holographic wills. Who can prepare a Will? Mr
SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
“We do have a global economy that is looking for growth and turns in the business cycle and India is providing that. I don’t think we could be thinking about the end of bull-run soon.” — Jim Walker, managing director, Asianomics
‘Make a Will that is clear, concise & specific’ BY MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY
Malcolm, a well experienced lawyer in instructions about what has to be done both civil and criminal matters, said, “A with the movable and immovable Will can be made by any person who is properties you own and the property not a minor and who is of sound mind. you might acquire in future. It would You need two witnesses, preferably be best if it reads like a balance sheet. independent of each Just specify the property other. The Will must and the person.” A Will list all the immovable should be legible and and movable properties clear to understand. you own, and who you There appear to be wish to will them to after several misconceptions your death.” Remember, about the making of however, that you can a Will. One was that only bequeath what a Will needs to be belongs to you and what registered. Malcolm is self-earned; otherwise said, “The government the distribution is does want to encourage governed by various people to make Wills, Succession Acts. so they haven’t made it - BAPOO MALCOLM Explaining the compulsory to register a simplicity of creating a Will. You can even make Will, Malcolm said, “A a Will on a serviette. Will is a simple document to be written So long as the basic requirements are in simple language. Preferably, avoid fulfilled, the Will is legal. Registration legalese. You simply have to give specific is a grey area, mainly because if you then
“A Will is a simple document to be written in simple language.”
wish to make a second Will, you may not have the time to register it. If you realise the day you die that a relative is useless, you may not be able register this second Will. Then, does the unregistered Will have more value than the registered one? An unregistered Will could easily be lost; however, registration takes care of the safety issue. At least, if it is registered, you know that it is always in some government ward.” A Will needs to be clear and concise, leaving no room for misinterpretation. “A Will would be interpreted according to the word of the law, which may not assign the same meaning as you intended.” Malcolm spoke of the basic components of a Will as well as terms such as testator, executor, codicil, testamentary guardian and a detailed discussion on probate of a Will. He covered issues related to Wills, like registration, litigation possibilities, witnesses, executors, intestate problems. @moneylife
In Tuesday’s closing report, we had mentioned that if the NSE’s CNX Nifty heads below 8,130, we would see a deeper short-term decline. On Wednesday, for the major part of the session the NSE’s 50-share index traded below this level. The benchmark closed in the negative for the second consecutive session after trading in a narrow range. In line with most of the other Asian indices the Indian benchmark also moved lower on concern that China’s growth is slowing and speculation that US interest rates will rise sooner than estimated. S&P BSE Sensex opened at 27,231 while CNX Nifty opened at 8,136. The Sensex moved in the range of 27,018 and 27,251 and closed at 27,057 (down 208 points or 0.76%). Nifty moved between 8,082 and 8,136 and closed at 8,094 (down 59 points or 0.72%). The NSE recorded a volume of 98.98 crore shares. India VIX rose 1.35% to close at 12.9300. Except for Media (2.23%), Realty (0.71%) and Smallcap (0.34%) all the other indices on the NSE closed in the negative. The top five losers were FMCG (1.56%), CPSE (1.28%), IT (1.15%), Energy (1.10%) and Nifty Junior (0.99%). Of the 50 stocks on the Nifty, 17 ended in the green. The top five
gainers were IDFC (2.57%), ICICI Bank (2.02%), Sesa Sterlite (1.88%), Power Grid (1.83%) and DLF (1.64%). The top five losers were Cairn (2.53%), BPCL (2.30%), Hero MotoCorp (2.24%), Coal India (2.10%) and ITC (1.95%). Of the 1,620 companies on the NSE, 886 companies closed in the green, 686 companies closed in the red while 48 companies closed flat. Trade Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is not considering an immediate gold import duty cut despite the current account deficit coming down. The government had raised the import duty on gold in 2013 to 10%. Among other news, Sitharaman said India will ask China to set up manufacturing units for exports as it seeks to restore economic momentum and create jobs. The government is also mulling dual usage of SEZ land to help developers earn faster returns. A decision on modification of MAT and dividend distribution tax is on the cards to encourage SEZs, said Sitharaman. Sesa Sterlite (1.62%) was the top gainer in the Sensex 30 pack. ITC (1.85%) was among the top two losers in the Sensex 30 stock. Suzlon Energy (9.93%) was the top gainer in ‘A’ group on the BSE. It recently informed that it has approved the allotment of 27,03,85,303 equity shares of Rs2 each on conversion of 69,409 bonds worth USD 69,409,000, at a conversion price of Rs15.46 per equity share. @moneylife
SPORTS
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
PUNE
“ Davis Cup is not about rankings or who has won the Slams. It is a team game but usually it boils down to recognising the big points and playing smart tennis.” — Olympian tennis player Leander Paes
Signposts Chandhok set for Formula E debut BEIJING: Twenty drivers, including India’s Karun Chandhok, representing 10 teams will kick-start the historic FIA Formula E championship, the world’s first fully-electric racing series, when the 270bhp machines will run on a purpose-built circuit around the iconic Bird’s Nest stadium that was build for the 2012 Olympics on Sunday. The 30-year-old Chandhok, only the second Indian after Narain Karthikeyan to race in Formula One, will be driving for Mahindra Racing Formula E team with Brazilian Bruno Senna, also a former F1 racer, as his partner. The grid is brimming with ex-F1 drivers besides two female participants in Italy’s Michela Cerruti and Britain’s Katherine Legge, one of the FIA’s women in Motorsport Ambassadors.
Another Rs.1 crore cheque for Sania HYDERABAD: Telangana government presented Rs.1 crore to tennis star Sania Mirza for training and to meet other expenses to participate in upcoming Japan and China open tennis tournaments. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao presented the cheque to her. This has made Sania richer by Rs.2 crore in less than two months. The chief minister had presented her Rs.1 crore cheque before she left for the US Open in July. The Hyderabadi along with her Brazilian partner Bruno Soares last week won mixed doubles title at the US Open. On her return to the city, she dedicated her victory to Telangana. The Telangana government in July appointed the tennis star as Telangana’s brand ambassador.
“ It is very tragic that everybody watching the film had no idea who Mary Kom was and that she was a five-time world champion before we announced the film. ” — Actor Priyanka Chopra
An era of unpredictability? 2014 saw four different Grand slam winners in one year BY RASHI KAKKAR 2014 has been an interesting year for men’s Tennis. Stan Wawrinka won the first grand slam of the year and Marin Cilic won the last. With Nadal and Djokovic wining the other two, 2014 saw four different Grand slam winners in one year. The last time this happened was two years back in 2012 but the four men were - Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer. The past decade has been characterized by the prolonged dominance of initially the top 3 – Federer, Nadal and Djokovic and then subsequently Murray entering the club to turn it into the ‘Big four.’ And that is why what happened on Saturday, shocked the tennis world. For most tennis fans
around the world it turned from a ‘Super Saturday’ into a ‘Shocking Saturday.’ It was the day when David overpowered Goliath. If Nishikori beating Djokovic came as a surprise then Cilic straight set win over Federer shook the entire Tennis world. This could not be brushed aside as just another ‘upset’ where the underdog got lucky. The script was altered twice in the same night. Could it be a signal of an emerging pattern? This US Open 2014 final was the first grand slam since 2005 to not feature any of the top 4. That has been the kind of impact the top 4 have had on the game. They created a glass ceiling of sorts. It was like they were playing at a different level. Even before a grand slam began it was safe to put your money on these four. And it is for these reasons that this US Open final between Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic has in the words of Simon Briggs of The telegraph ‘infl icted the heaviest blow yet on the hegemony of the Big Four.’ They ensured that they constantly kept pushing themselves to become better. They elevated the status of the game and turned a lot of causal watchers to passionate fans. They
Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori (L)
created fandoms almost on the lines of the kind of support that exists for football clubs. So do these two wins usher in a dawn of a new order in men’s tennis? Have the tennis worlds tectonic plates
shifted enough to reshape this world going forward? I cannot say because one event is not enough to take that call. We will have to wait till next year this time to decide whether a permanent change has emerged. All I know right
now is that on 6th September two of my favorite athletes lost but my favorite sport won. After all, doesn’t watching a game become a lot more fun when there are no favorites? (credit: Firstpost)
India can surprise Serbia minus Djokovic: Zeeshan BY SANTOSH RAO New Delhi: India's Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali says India's chances of a surprise victory in the World Group play-off against Serbia have gone up with World No.1 tennis player Novak Djokovic pulling out. If India win this tie, they will be back in the elite World Group. Djokovic decided to skip the event scheduled to take place in Bangalore
Sep 12-14, citing fatigue after his shock defeat to Japan's Kei Nishikori in the US Open semifinal. Serbia's non-playing captain Bogdan Obradovic confirmed that Djokovic would not be going over to India because of fatigue and also to be with his wife Jelena as they are expecting their first child. "Djokovic's had created so much excitement all around, there was such a buzz," Zeeshan told
IANS from Bangalore. "This is the right kind of preparation for the team and the morale is high and everyone is excited about the tie. We can spring a big surprise." Though India's chances would have suffered had Djokovic made himself available, Zeeshan Ali feels that top ranked players need to come to the country for the sport to get a boost. "It would be great for the sport in this country if top world class players
come here and play. It generates more interest in young tennis aspirants and creates a different kind of excitement. You get to see them live instead of watching them on TV and that can be very highly inspiring for the enthusiasts," said the former Davis Cupper and Asian Games gold medallist. The Indian coach, whose father Akhtar Ali also played Davis Cup and coached the India side, is happy
with the team's preparation and is not too concerned with India's top singles player Somdev Devvarman's down slide in the ATP rankings. Somdev, who won the singles and the men's doubles gold at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in China, has slipped to 143 on the ATP charts from a healthy 100 on return to the circuit after missing the entire 2013 following a shoulder surgery. – IANS
Raina tops the class; Kohli brings up the rear Suresh Raina (9/10) ODI : 160 runs (avg 53.33) wickets 4 (economy 4.68) T20I: 25 runs
After the Test series debacle the visitors needed a spark for revival and that spark was provided by Raina. A scintillating 75-ball hundred in the second ODI at Cardiff set the tone. It was one of the best ODI innings by an India batsman outside Asia. He kept the runs down with the ball, picked up wickets, and was a live wire in the field, diving around and pouching brilliant catches. There was no surprise when he was named the Man of the Series in the ODIs.
A Rahane (8.5/10) ODI : 192 runs (avg 48) T20I: 8 runs
(7.5/10) ODI : wickets 5 (26.80 avg; economy rate 4.32) Bhuvneshwar churned out overs after overs in Tests. It was clearly visible that he was jaded but still, he bowled his heart out in the ODIs. He kept the pressure in the initial overs with disciplined bowling. He kept it tight which helped the bowlers to get the wickets from the other end. He bowled a wonderful spell of 8-3-14-2 in the fourth ODI which laid the platform for a win. He ended up with the best economy rate of 4.32 (bowlers with more than 10 overs) in the ODI series.
After losing the Test series to England in an abject fashion, India bounced back to win the one-day series comprehensively before narrowly losing the oneoff T20 International. Here is our report card on each India player who took part in the limited-overs legs of the tour.
M Shami (8/10) ODI : 8 wickets (economy rate 4.67) T20I: 3 wickets
After a disappointing performance in the Test series, Shami bounced back in the limited overs by finishing as the highest wicket-taker in the ODI series. Death bowling has been India’s perennial problem but Shami provided a glimmer of hope with accurate yorkers. That said, he still needs to become more consistent. In the T20I, those yorkers turned into low full tosses, which were hammered all over the park.
A Rayudu (8/10) ODI : 117 runs (avg 117) T20I: 3 runs
Rayudu did not find a place in the starting eleven in the second ODI and it was only after Rohit Sharma’s injury that he got his chance. He grabbed it with both hands and hit half-centuries in the two innings that he batted. The striking aspect was the maturity he showed and the calmness with which he played coming to the crease in tricky situations. He was agile in the field and even chipped in with a wicket with his part-timers.
R Ashwin
Karn Sharma
Rohit Sharma
Mohit Sharma
Virat Kohli
(7.5/10)
(7/10)
(5/10)
(4/10)
(2/10)
ODI : wickets 1 (economy 7; avg 28)
ODI : wickets 7 (24.85 avg; economy rate 4.44) T20I: 0 wickets
B Kumar
India suffered a blow after the second ODI when Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the rest of the tour due to an injury. This forced Rahane to bat as the make-shift opener. It’s difficult to adjust when the batting position keeps shuffling but Rahane showed that he can adjust to any position and that too quickly. He impressed with his technique against the moving ball and played some beautiful strokes.
Ashwin finished as the jointsecond highest wicket-taker of the ODI series. He kept Eoin Morgan, possibly England’s best player of spin, in check throughout the ODIs. The offspinner was also able to choke choked the England batsmen in the middle overs, creating the kind of pressure that Dhoni demands from his bowlers. The impressive thing was Ashwin didn’t try to overdo things and took wickets with the stock offbreak. He finished with best economy rate.
R Jadeja (7.5/10) ODI : 108 runs (avg 108) wickets 7 (economy 4.77 ) T20I: 7 runs, wicket 1 Ravindra Jadeja underlined his importance as an allrounder in the series as he had a decent run with the bat and ball. He was the joint-second highest wicket-taker of the ODI series and just like Ashwin, maintained a stranglehold over the England batsmen in the middle overs. He was brilliant in the Batting Power Plays as well as the death overs. He fought a lone battle and played a defiant innings of 87 from 68 balls in the fifth and final ODI, which India lost.
Karn Sharma made an impressive debut in the T20Is, when every other Indian bowler was taken to the cleaners. In his first three overs, Sharma conceded just 11 runs and scalped the wicket of the in-form Joe Root. He was impressive with his variations. He went for 17 runs off his last over but still ended up as India’s most economical bowler. He can be handy with the bat too and is one for the future.
MS Dhoni (6/10) ODI : 81 runs (avg 40.50) T20I: 27 runs, 150 strike-rate It was a complete different MS Dhoni that we saw in the limited overs. He did show grit with the bat in the Tests but in the limited overs, he added a new dimension. He was energetic behind the stumps, affected some smart stumpings, constantly ran up to the bowlers and fielders to have a word of encouragement. But in the T20I, he copped a lot a criticism when he didn’t farm the strike with Ambati Rayudu in the last over with 17 needed off six balls.
ODI : 52 runs (avg 52) 59.77 strike-rate
ODI : wickets 0 (economy 3.88) T20I: wicket 1, 39 avg
ODI : 54 runs (avg 18) 70.12 strike-rate T20I: 66 runs, 66 avg
Rohit played a crucial knock of 52 in the 2nd ODI at Cardiff. Being put into bat under difficult conditions, India lost the wickets of Dhawan and Kohli early but then Rohit took over the reins and added 91 runs for the third wicket with Rahane, which pulled India out of troubled waters. He went on to score 52 from 87 balls. Unfortunately, he suffered a broken finger while fielding and was ruled out for the rest of the tour.
Mohit played just two ODIs before an injury in the third ODI ruled him out of the series. He bowled with discipline in the second ODI at Cardiff but bowled just three overs in Nottingham. He was taken to the cleaners in the T20I, however. With the Haryana pacer playing in patches, there is not much we can decipher from this series.
Kohli’s disastrous Test series was followed by a poor ODI series. No one expected him to go through such a lean patch. He scored just 54 runs from four innings at an average of 18 in the ODI series. He continued to commit the same mistakes, pushing at deliveries outside off and nicking them. He struck some form on the last day with a fluent 66 off 41 balls in the T20I. He is too good a player not to bounce back from this disappointment but he would like to forget that this tour ever happened.
S Dhawan (5/10) ODI : 155 runs (avg 51.66) 91.17 strike-rate T20I: 33 runs, 33 avg After a poor Test series, much was expected of Dhawan in the shorter format of the game. But he didn’t have the best of times in the limited overs either. Apart from the one innings at Edgbaston, he didn’t contribute much. Often, he did not get the momentum going at the start which built pressure on the other batsmen. He looked good but only in patches and India would hope that he gets back to his best before the World Cup.
Umesh Yadav (4/10) ODI : wickets 1 (economy 7.66; 46 avg) Umesh Yadav played just a single match in the limited overs international. He was brought in for the fifth and final ODI where he impressed with his pace but fluffed his lengths. He went for 46 runs from six overs and managed to pick up just one wicket, when he hurried Alex Hales into a pull shot. His pace can be a good weapon on the pitches of Australia and New Zealand. India should give him more playing time and groom him for the World Cup.
(credit: Firstpost)
SPORTS
Signposts Vishwajeet Memorial tennis from today Vishwajeet Memorial Trophy men’s open AITA tennis tournament, organised by Pune Metropolitian District Tennis Association will be held at Shiv Chhatrapati sports complex in Balewadi from today. The tournament offers a total prize money of Rs50,000 along with trophies. For details, contact, tournament director Pravin Zite on 9922819876.
Five IMs for open rating chess tourney PUNE: Five International Masters including IM MS Thejkumar (2439) of Karnataka, IM Swapnil Dhopade (2423) and IM Sameer Kathmale (2311) of Maharashtra, IM Himanshu Sharma (2421) from Haryana and IM Rahul Sangma (2301) of Railways will be seen in action at the Shri Maheshwaranand Saraswati Memorial All India Open Fide Rating Chess Tournament to be held at Manohar Mangal Karyalaya from September 13. This tournament is organised by Buddhibal Kreeda Trust and co-sponsored by Sujanil Chemo Industries and Pravin Masalewale. A total of 234 players from all over India have registered for this tournament making it one of the strongest tournaments in the city.
Stag India Cup table tennis tournament PUNE: Masters Group will conduct Stag India Cup veteran table tennis tournament at Shiv Chhatrapati sports complex in Balewadi from September 26. The tournament offers a total prize money of Rs 5 lakh. The categories in this event are men’s and women’s singles (35 +, 40 +, 50 +, 60 +, 70 +) and men’s doubles (40 +, 50 +). The last date of registration is September 15. For details contact tournament director Bhushan Thakur (9561770004).
Amrinder and Haokip in the Indian squad PUNE: Pune FC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh and striker Thongkhosiem Haokip have been named in the final 20-member Indian Under-23 squad for the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. Amrinder and Haokip have been part of the preparatory camp for the games since July. Both become the first ever Peninsula Pune FC Academy (PPFCA) graduates to represent India at the Asian Games.
SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
PUNE
“I can confirm that I have now been notified by the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK that it is their intention to lay charges against me Sep 25 for perjury.” — Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
“I took up this challenge because boxing had gone down after the federation got suspended in 2012. For the future, I promise a transparent administrative structure.” — Newly elected Boxing India president Sandeep Jajodia
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY
“Playing in bigger age group is quite challenging as the players are stronger and fitter.”
Set for the
BIG LEAGUE
- Arman Darukhanwala
Mumbai’s Arman Darukhanwala is getting set for a bigger challemge
BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis.ashish PUNE: Mumbai’s 12-year-old Arman Darukhanwala thrashed his opponent Aryan Naik of Goa in the Kirloskar Pune Open Junior National Ranking squash tournament at Poona Club. In the boy’s under-13 pre-quarterfinals, the Mumbai lad chose not to be aggressive from the beginning. Instead he was patient and first gauged his opponent’s weaknesses. And then he
went on to exploit them efficiently, winning the match with a clinical finish. “This is the right way of playing. He (Arman) changed his strategy in the later course of the game and his mind was clear and knew exactly what his doing,” said Arman’s father Murtaza, who kept a close eye on his ward, during his game on Thursday. Arman, a standard VI student of Campion School, Cooperage, Mumbai, was ranked fifth in the under-11
City to witness top snooker stars in action TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly PUNE: Top Indian snooker players including Pankaj Advani, Kamal Chawla amd Alok Kumar will be seen n action in the final leg of the Indian Open qualifier, at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana, Pune from September 15. Sixteen qualifiers from the four qualifying events, held in various states across India, will pit their skills against the top eight ranked players of the country, to decide which six players will get wild cards in the Indian Open World ranking snooker tournament to be held at the Grand Hyatt, Kalina,
Mumbai, from October 13. The players are slotted into six groups, with four players in each group. They will play in the round robin format (best of 7 frames) and two from each group will qualify for the knock-out. Top eight players: Pankaj Advani, Kamal Chawla, Brijesh Damani, Dharminder Lilly, Faizal Khan, Sundeep Gulati, Laxman Rawat, Shivam Arora; Qualifiers from Delhi: Anuj Uppal, Alok Kumar, Varun Madan, Sumit Talwar. Indore: Manan Chandra, Rajat Kaneja, Rafat Habib, Pushpinder Singh. Chennai: J Varun Kumar, R Girish, Vijay Nichani, Neeraj Kumar.
segment at the nationa l level. This was his first tournament after graduating to the under-13 age group. “Playing in bigger age group is quite challenging. What I normally do is, wait for opponent’s mistakes. But, that wouldn’t be possible here. The players are stronger and fitter and I need to take extra efforts to exploit their weakness,” said Arman. However, Arman’s challenge ended when he went down to third seed R Kishor Arvind of Tamil Nadu in the
pre-uarterfinals. But he was happy enough with his performance. “I would have played better. But this is just a beginning. There is still a lot more to do. My aim would be learn from my mistakes and perform better next time. I am preparing for the national tournament to be held in Chennai next month, and this tournament has turned out to be a good learning experience for me,” he said. Murtaza, who runs a business in Mumbai, is fond of squash and started
off young Arman with practice sessions. The junior was larhely inspired by his father and took up the racquet when he was just five. He soon excelled at the sport and won a couple of club level tournaments in Mumbai. Currently he is training with Rohan More at CCI Club. “We haven’t decided about his future in this game. Right now we want him to enjoy the game,” said Murtaza. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com
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H EA RD.
Limbu-mirchi for the neighbour Ajmal’s ban is another blow to Pakistan’s hopes of attaining former glory MALAY DESAI Late last month, off-spinner Saeed Ajmal flew to Brisbane to have his bowling action assessed by biomechanics. Due to that he missed two one-dayers in Sri Lanka, a series that Pa k ista n eventually lost. He might as well have extended his trip Down Under, as he was later suspended by the ICC, which stated that his bowling arm bent over the permitted 15 degrees, which amounted to ‘chucking’. Pakistan have not won a Test series since early 2012, haven’t played at home since 2009 because of the terror threat and unimportant as it may seem, do not get to participate in the Indian Premier League. Ajmal’s ban is another body blow to the team as he has been the most successful bowler in the world over the past five years, if we consider his wickets tally in all three formats. (A famous wicket he didn’t take was
that of Sachin Tendulkar in the 2011 World Cup semi-final, but if Ajmal was bowling with this action, his delivery was void anyway?) A fiercely competitive, winning Pakistan team not only makes for entertaining television, it also uplifts the sport. Fans in the 90s know of Imran Khan’s regality, Miandad’s antics, Akram’s swing and Akhtar’s fury. Obvious legends apart, Pakistan gave us everyday heroes such as Basit Ali and Ejaz Ahmed, who would invoke fear in our poor Manoj Prabhakar and would still appreciate when bowlers foxed him. We also hated the guts of Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar, especially when the latter nearly made a double century much before rules were tweaked to favour the batsmen. Incidentally, Saqlain Mushtaq, who bowled doosras before they became cool, may soon help Ajmal to ‘correct’ his action. Much like Pakistan’s governments in the past decade, their team has degenerated too. After Inzamam-ulHaq, the classy Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan anchored the troubled team, while Shahid Afridi gave spurts of outstanding performances in-between his retirements and
comebacks. The ‘long-lasting hero’ list probably ends there, and it has been up to the talented Misbah-ul-Haq to steady the ship while being under the perennial guillotine of the PCB. There are rays of hope though, for Umar Akmal reminds us of the talents of the yore (although he is many points down on the aggression meter), and Karachi boy Fawad Alam must be called Pakistan’s ‘Sir Jadeja’ with his flashy batting and orthodox spin. The problem is, Alam is already nearing 29 years of age, Ajmal is almost 37 and captain Misbah is over 40. Whatever happened to Pakistan’s famous supply line of ‘young talents right from the streets’, is a dark subject. Pakistan will begin their World Cup campaign in around five months, returning where they’d last won it 22 years ago. The team was in disarray then as well, before Imran Khan bonded them into a unit that pulled off a stunning victory. Much as we’d like Dhoni to safeguard his trophy, let’s hope Pakistan revive themselves and hopefully meet us in the final. For as Peter Oborne said in his book Wounded Tiger, ‘(Cricket) is part of Pakistan’s history and also its future. It is magical and marvellous.’
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