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PUNE, AUGUST 23, 2014 | www.goldensparrow.com
CITY
Exploring higher reaches of Yoga was an obsession with him P3
SPORTS
PUNE’S PEOPLE WITH A PURPOSE
The victory cry is still a long shot P 16
Matrimonial portal for HIV+ve brings hope P2
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Eco-friendly Ganeshotsav takes root in Pune
Children emerge as the best agents of change in city BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL @ArchanaDahiwal The city’s children have emerged as the best agents of change when it comes to fostering respect for the environment and an eco-friendly approach to Ganeshotsav. Assisted by voluntary organisations, a number of schools in the city have been holding eco-friendly workshops to motivate children to celebrate Ganeshotsav at home. This would mean making their own Ganesh idols of “shadumati” (clay), painting it with natural colours and not using plastic, thermocol or other environmentally-hazardous materials in the decorations. Anything taught in schools is taken seriously by children and schools in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have been successful in motivating children in garbage segregation at home, wearing of helmets and obeying of traffic rules by family members. It is observed that often parents and elders in the family change for the better when children in the family point out what is right and demand change. For the last three years, Karvenagar
Schools, voluntary organisations, Ganesh Mandals and even some government bodies are helping strengthen the eco-friendly Ganeshotsav movement in the city (Special report on P 6) Twelve-year-old Oorja Joshi, a student of Abhinav English Medium School, painting the clay Ganesh idol made by her
As Nagpur Metro races ahead,
Irom Sharmila again arrested in Manipur Activist Irom Sharmila Chanu, who is on an indefinite fast in Manipur for nearly 14 years demanding repeal of a law giving sweeping powers to the armed forces to tackle terrorism, was again arrested on Friday, two days after she was released following a court order. The police arrived at the site of her protest in the morning and arrested her despite resistance from Sharmila, her mother and a few other supporters. Sharmila has been on an indefinite hunger strike since November 4, 2000, demanding repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) after the killing of 10 people allegedly by the paramilitary Assam Rifles, at Malom near the Imphal airport on November 2 in 2000. IANS
Pune awaits SPV
BY ASHOK BHAT @ashok_bhat
Even as the Pune Metro project is now set to be cleared next week by the Centre, the much needed mass transportation project is likely to face delays due to the absence of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) like the erstwhile PMRDA (Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority) which could have spearheaded the project. According to former PMRDA member Ujjwal Keskar, the Nagpur Metro project is expected to achieve faster progress than the Pune
project as Nagpur already has the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) which has undertaken to implement the Metro rail project. Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in Nagpur on Wednesday that the proposal for the Pune Metro was received from the Maharashtra government on Tuesday and would be cleared within four days. While the Modi government has given rapid clearances to the Pune and Nagpur projects with an eye on the forthcoming assembly polls, the Pune project, in the absence of a SPV is unlikely to
gather the speed that is needed. The state government will primarily have to take the lead in deciding to form an SPV at the earliest. The cost of the project will be borne by the central and state governments to the extent of 20% each, by the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations (5% each) and an external loan of 50%. The Congress is blaming the BJP for sidelining Pune and giving a favourable treatment to the Nagpur project. Naidu said the delay was from the Cong-NCP government in Maharashtra. enews.mediasurvices@gmail.com
Researchers have 92 per cent success in hacking into Gmail
WASHINGTON: A team of US engineers has developed a method that allows them to successfully hack into apps, including Gmail, up to 92
per cent of the time. They have identified a weakness believed to exist in Android, Windows and iOS mobile operating systems that could be used to obtain personal information from unsuspecting users. Researchers tested the method and found it was successful between 82 per cent and 92 per cent of the time on six of the seven popular apps they tested. Among the apps they easily hacked were Gmail, CHASE Bank and H&R Block. Amazon, with a 48 per cent success rate, was the only app they tested that was difficult to penetrate. Once a user downloads a bunch
of apps to his or her smartphone they are all running on the same shared infrastructure, or operating system. “The assumption has always been that apps cannot interfere with each other easily. We show that assumption is not correct and one app can in fact significantly impact another and result in harmful consequences for the user,” explained Zhiyun Qian, an assistant professor at University of California’s Riverside Bourns College of Engineering. The attack works by getting a user to download a seemingly benign, but actually malicious app, such as one for background wallpaper on a phone. Once that app is installed,
researchers were able to exploit a newly discovered public side channel - the shared memory statistics of a process, which can be accessed without any privileges. Shared memory is a common operating system feature to efficiently allow processes share data. Augmented with a few other side channels, the team showed that it was possible to fairly accurately track in real time which activity a victim app is in. “This method will work on other operating systems because they share a key feature researchers exploited in the Android system,” Qian noted. IANS
residents Dr Tejas and Dr Ashwini Joshi have been lovingly worshipping the Ganesh idol made by their 12-yearold daughter with her own hands. A student of the 7th standard at the Abhinav English Medium School, she was inspired after attending an idol making workshop at Art Yoga Foundation. This was where she learnt about the harm caused to the environment by the Plaster of Paris (PoP) Ganesh idols and toxic colours and the need to switch to clay, natural colours and simple, bio-degradable decorations. “She told us that rather than purchasing the idol from the market, it would be nice if we installed her ecofriendly idol. We liked her suggestion and for the last three years have not purchased idols from the market,” her father, Dr Joshi said. “Although the idol does not look as attractive as the ones made in the market, it is very special for us as it has been made by our daughter,” he said. “Every year we hold an idol making workshop for kids and conduct a meeting with parents to urge them to install the idols made by their children,” said Neeta Alate, a teacher from Bibwewadi. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
When astrologers failed the NarlikarDabholkar test P4
Vedic research institute awaits funds P5
PUNE
“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” - CG Jung RAHUL RAUT
Matrimonial portal for HIV+ve brings hope Deputy regional transport officer Anil Valiv’s initiative, PositiveSaathi, an online matrimonial portal for HIV+ve people, has facilitated over 1,000 nuptials
Friendly and calm demeanour and a positive approach define Anil Valiv, deputy regional transport officer, who has been conferred the Manthan South West India Award, for his eNGO PositiveSaathi. A man with a mission, Valiv is striving to make a difference in society with his undertaking. Valiv launched his website in October 2006, which helps HIV positive persons find life partners. The problems of HIV-infected people is very close to Valiv’s heart. In an interview to The Golden Sparrow on Saturday, he said, “A friend succumbed to the deadly disease in 2005. I saw him suffer for 16 years. Even his family had deserted him and when he died his father did not even attend his funeral. I could not relate to his pain and troubles, but I realised that people suffering from this infection are deserted by their own families, which is sad. Th is was one of the reasons that prompted me to start PositiveSaathi.” Valiv continued, “There was a young boy in Latur, who was HIVinfected and constantly being pressurised by his parents to get married. He gave his doctor an ultimatum that if he did not find him a HIV+ve girl, he would marry any girl and ruin her life. The doctor was very upset and got in touch with me. At that time I was conducting HIV awareness camps for truck drivers in Latur. We tried finding him a match but it was very difficult as details of these cases are never disclosed. Th is was when I realised the seriousness of this issue.” His next step was to research on the virus and to set-up an online portal that would work as a platform. “I learned the dynamics of using a website and other details from my friend. Initially, we received only 10 registrations per month. The fi rst six months saw about 100 registrations. Then with the support of like-minded people we touched 650 memberships. We don’t have the exact number of registrations as people delete their profi les once they find a partner. I am sure we have facilitated 1,000 marriages,” added Valiv. Since 2010, he has been conducting ‘melavas’ (get-togethers), where HIV+ve individuals meet prospective partners. He also conducts motivating and encouraging sessions that help patients strengthen their will to live. The future plan for the NGO is to start two programmes, sponsor a HIV+ve child and make a HIV+ve friend. “We all want to give back to society in one way or the other. I am
RAHUL RAUT
BY ANJALI SHETTY @shetty_anjali
Chhibber with stray canines at Magarpatta
Helping man’s best friend Col (Retd) Gaurav Chhibber, resident at Magarpatta City, facilitates stray dog sterilisation and vaccination with the help of the PMC BY ANJALI SHETTY @shetty_anjali Colonel (retd) Gaurav Chhibber used to be constantly concerned over the stray dog menace in the Magarpatta City locality where he lives. He was worried his pet Labrador ‘Zeo’ would get into ‘fights’ with the strays. Concern turned to care and now the retired Army man finds the time to feed and care for the neighbourhoods strays, feeling sorry for the plight of these unloved and uncared for creatures. Chhibber availed of premature retirement after serving in the Army for 25 years, and is now a transformational coach. In his spare time he undertakes the sterilisation/ vaccination of the numerous stray dogs in the Magarpatta vicinity. “Initially, I took up this project as a part of my curriculum for the Landmark Worldwide ‘Self Expression and Leadership’ course. I thought that I must do something about these strays,” said Chhibber, who brought the issue of strays to the notice of the Magarpatta Township administration. They organised a meeting of the township administration with dog owners and people who were keen to make a difference. “I realised that unless and until the municipal corporation is not made aware about the strays, sterilisation would never be done. After a telephone call to the sanitary inspector at the PMC Hadapsar ward, we came to know that the Magarpatta City Township has been placed under the Dhole Patil ward from the current year. I called up the sanitary inspector at the Dhole Patil ward, who took immediate action. The PMC
dog van was sent immediately. I accompanied the dog catchers to where the strays were. After two trips, six dogs were taken for sterilisation and vaccination to the Naidu Hospital facility,” he added. “There is a lack of awareness. People want strays to be taken away. But as per the laws, post sterilisation and vaccination, the dogs are to be released in the same place from where they were picked up, otherwise other strays move in,” Chhibber explained. Chhibber plans to hold an awareness drive for residents of Magarpatta City and other societies. “It is important to inform people not to trouble strays, as a dog bites only in self defence,” he said. He is against the current procedure of catching dogs with a net at the end of a rod. “Strays usually are found in the open. Approaching them is difficult and they run at the slightest sign of danger. Th is is their survival mechanism, just like wild animals. If one dog is caught, the rest of the pack disappears. So the PMC squad should have flexible timings as most strays are out in the early mornings, when people feed them. Later in the day, strays tend to hide in bushes and shrubs,” he added. Chhibber feels that it is the duty of every responsible citizen to contribute to making the urban neighbourhoods where one lives better in any aspect one can. “Owing to my pet dog, my attention gravitated towards the stray dogs in my area and I am just doing what I can to improve my locality and at the same time make things better for these owner-less animals. anjali.shetty@goldensparrow.com
“Post sterilisation the dogs are to be released in the same place from where they were picked up.”
Deputy regional transport officer Anil Valiv’s online portal helps the HIV+ve find suitable life partners
“We don’t have the exact number of registrations as people delete their profiles once they find a partner.” —Anil Valiv
trying to make these people’s lives easier and less lonely in whatever way possible,” Valiv said. He made it a point to answer calls and interact with registered members. “I have recently handed over over 90 per cent of the work to my friend Anand Shinde as I can’t concentrate on it 100 per cent,” concludes Valiv. anjali.shetty@goldensparrow.com
Rugna Mitra: Giving patients the solace of helpful company BY ASHOK BHAT @ashok_bhat “Service to humanity is service to God.” With this as its aim, Arogya Mandal was founded in the city as a voluntary organisation in 1914. Since then it has been providing a range of valuable services including the Rugna Mitra (Friends of Patients). For four years, Rugna Mitra has been providing a succour to those who are undergoing treatment at various city hospitals. Under this initiative, 22 senior citizens enrolled as volunteers who spend time with ailing people. When Arogya Mandal was founded in the early years of the 20th century, the city was a hotbed of political activity being home to leaders like Lokmanya Tilak and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar. Eminent doctors and citizens joined hands to guide and assist people in health and medicine related issues. One of the earliest initiatives of this organisation was undertaking vaccinations and regular medical check-ups of school children. “Right since its inception, we
have been appealing to citizens to give their time or fi nancial assistance to society,” says Mandal’s treasurer, Ravindra Shingnapurkar, who is an automobile engineer. One of the initiatives in recent years is the establishment of the ‘Rugna Mitra Counselling Centre’ at Sanjeevani Hospital, off Karve Road. Volunteers extend mental and moral support to those undergoing treatment. “Our volunteers do not interfere with the medical procedures or other formalities. However, they do provide support to the patients by being there with them especially in the testing times,” Shingnapurkar said. The volunteers visit hospital in the mornings and evenings; spend time with patients and their relatives and be of whatever help they can. Shingnapurkar feels that given the number of sick and ailing, today there is a need for more volunteers. Arogya Mandal conducts surveys, organises health checkup camps in the slums and also deals with women’s health and sex education by organising awareness and training
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Volunteers take time out to lend a helping hand to the sick and ailing in city hospitals
Illustrious History
Senior citizens and volunteers of Rugna Mitra
camps. The NGO is now training youth in the slums to provide medical assistance to the needy. They also plan
to organise fi rst aid training camps across the city. enews.mediasurvices@gmail.com
For details and services contact dial: 98228 47237 email: aarogyamandal@gmail.com
Arogya Mandal was established on June 7, 1914 in the backdrop of a plague epidemic in Pune by the great historians VK Rajwade, Datto Vaman Potdar, Dr Deshmukh and others. They felt the need to spread awareness about viral diseases and assist government to bring the epidemic under control. With the great courage, the Mandal’s volunteers undertook surveys of patients in different parts of the city and ran awareness campaigns through posters and loudspeakers. In 1935-36, this NGO initiated the health check-up of students of municipal schools. After Rajwade, Dr Ghaisas took up the responsibility. After him, his son Dr CG Ghaisas took the charge and continued to serve the society till 2009. After him, his son Madhav, a technocrat, came to the forefront to shoulder the responsibility of running this NGO, along with his friend Ravindra Shignapurkar.
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY PUNE
Tiny hands make paper mache idols at Bal Kalyan P6
The Deccan College was awarded the status of a deemed university by the HRD Ministry on March 5, 1990. It started functioning as a deemed university from June 1, 1994
Taking the proposed Metro rail project from paper to reality is the top priority of Kunal Kumar, who took charge as the Pune municipal commissioner recently. The new civic chief will focus on better traffic and garbage management. Kumar took Kunal Kumar the new office from additional commissioner Om Prakash Bakoriya. The municipal commissioner met Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials and discussed the Metro project. Information about securing loan for the project and its repayment will be forwarded to the Centre on an urgent basis. Keen on using technology for better governance, the civic chief hopes to accelerate the Metro project, besides addressing other pressing problems, including traffic congestion, water supply and distribution and solid waste management. He met the heads of departments and asked them to submit a note of important works taken up by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). He expressed happiness to get an opportunity to work in the city. The 38-year-old 1999 batch IAS officer is among the youngest municipal commissioners of the city. enews.mediasurvices@gmail.com
Yogacharya Iyengar went about his work silently and his devotion to yoga remained supreme BY ABHAY VAIDYA @vaidya_abhay One of the striking anecdotal accounts about Yogacharya Bellur Krishnamachar Sundaraja (BKS) Iyengar relates to how he never hesitated to use his feet to prod a student into correcting his or her posture during regular Yoga classes. Guruji, who conducted classes at his Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Model Colony, Shivajinagar, would fi rst give a demonstration of the asana he was trying to teach and explain every stretch and nuance to an assembled gathering of senior students. As the students took to doing the asanas, he would walk up and down to check on the postures of students and if he found that someone needed to get the posture right, he would press the person slightly on the forehead with his foot to get the head tilted back in the correct angle. As the account goes, Guruji’s ardent followers would feel immensely blessed at this spontaneous touch of the feet which was rather unusual. Apart from his regular students and followers, journalists and others who sought a meeting with him and witnessed his demonstrations of Yogic postures were left awe-struck by
Baba Kalyani honoured
Prakash Kardaley Memorial lecture Acclaimed journalist and the winner of BD Goenka Award, Chitra Subramaniam Duella, will speak on ‘Media, Society and Governance’ at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, off Senapati Bapat Road at 6 pm on August 6. The lecture will be part of the 7th Prakash Kardaley Memorial Lecture organised in memory and as a tribute to the late editor. Kardaley worked with The Indian Express for 40 years and was a fierce activist. Vinita Kamte, the author of bestseller ‘To the Last Bullet’, will be the chief guest.
SBI pensioners’ annual convention The State Bank of India (SBI) Pensioners’ Association will be organising the 40th state level annual convention at Harshal Hall off Karve Road from 10 am on August 27. Senior officers from the bank will address the problems of pensioners and have a separate session with the delegates. The programme will be followed by felicitation, awards and prize distribution.
The main hall of Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Model Colony, Shivajinagar that carries photographs of Guruji in various yogic postures - an inspiration to all the students
Sustained practice of Yoga began to show results and there was then no looking back. His early years were full of struggle even after he came to Pune to teach Yoga and earn a living out of it. He would also regularly travel to Bombay, now Mumbai, for this purpose. Over the years Guruji taught Yoga and continued his own sadhana (rigorous practice) to gain greater proficiency and refinement in what he already knew. He never thought that he knew everything about Yoga; in fact he felt that there was a lot waiting to be unearthed. Over the years, Guruji developed his own techniques and innovations which stand recognised today as ‘Iyengar Yoga’. Iyengar felt it necessary to record
his thoughts, observations, philosophy, approach and learnings from Yoga. Th is resulted in a series of popular books that he authored, the most famous being ‘Light on Yoga’, ‘Light on Pranayama’ and ‘Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali’. He was continuing to work on a book even in 2006, at age 88, when this journalist met him for a detailed interview. The most famous people who reached out to Guruji for instructions and training in Yoga included philosopher J Krishnamurti, social worker Jayaprakash Narayan, the Queen of Belgium and violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin, among many others. The Board of Control for Cricket in India was in regular touch with
him and top players, including Sachin Tendulkar, consulted him for relief from muscular or back-related disorders. Of and on politicians too would visit him to seek a cure for their ailments. Notwithstanding his towering stature, Guruji, his children and his institute never sought any publicity or demanded attention to their work. They went about their work silently and were, in fact, shy of glamour and media attention. Their devotion to Yoga remained supreme. In Guruji’s demise at age 95 in Pune on August 20, India has lost one of her great sons who will continue to inspire generations for years to come. abhay.vaidya@goldensparrow.com
‘He was ferocious as a lion and sharp as an eagle’
Signposts
Bharat Forge chairman and managing director Baba Kalyani was awarded the Doctor of Science honoris causa by Deakin University recently. The varsity’s deputy chancellor Peter Meehan Baba Kalyani presented the degree during a special ceremony organised in his honour at the University’s Waterfront Campus in Geelong, Australia.
his mastery on Yoga. To equate this ancient Indian system of mind-body synergy with other forms of ‘physical exercise’ would be quite pedestrian. An understatement, especially after listening to Iyengar, who, even in his nineties, was exploring the higher possibilities of Yoga that were completely in the realm of the mind and consciousness. Th is was what fascinated him in the last years of his life, and this was what he spoke about to those who met him for interviews or discussions. One of his favourite spots for such discussions was the small library in the basement of the institute where he would sit at a table and discuss over coffee as researchers and others browsed through books and magazines and went about their research. Adjoining the institute where classes are held on different floors, was his residence, on the same campus. Even in his advanced age, Guruji would amaze one and all with his erect spine and inspiring physique. He was mentally sharp and alert and could engage one in discussions. Gentle in his interactions, he was demanding and authoritative when it came to the practice of Yoga. When asked about his introduction to Yoga, Guruji would relate how he was a weak and sickly teenager at his village in Bellur, Karnataka, and how he was introduced to Yoga by his brother-in-law as a remedy to get better.
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
BY ASHOK BHAT @ashok_bhat
BY PRACHI BARI @prachibari “Live with laughter and accept death as it comes,” are Guruji’s words his Japanese disciple Saori Miyazawa fondly recalls. Saori who lives in Belgium, teaches Yoga to the Japanese community there. She was fortunate to be able to spend time with Guruji in his final days. “He was not
well but that did not deter him from asking about the class progress,” she said. She was at the prayer meeting held in the main hall where Guruji taught his students. Among a group of disciples from South Africa was Gundrun Von Wimmersperg, who had been studying Yoga with Guruji for a very long time. “He changed my life, and gave me a purpose in life and also means to earn my livelihood as I was struggling as a single mother,” she recalls.
Carla Rech, a senior teacher, remains indebted to Guruji who gave her and others “a sense of life and made us help others find their way.” Elaine Banister, a junior teacher, described BKS Iyenar as a ferocious young lion and sharp as an eagle. “He was a lovely young man and in his old age he was wise and gentle. The way he talked was so powerful and now we find the same force with Geetaji, his daughter.” prachibari@gmail.com
Man Friday will miss Guruji One of the people who is going to miss Guruji the most is Pandurang Rao, who manages the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. “Guruji was my father’s friend when they were both bachelors. I joined Guruji to learn Yoga when I was 19. There was always a remark made by many, Guruji could not live without Panduji,” he smiles reminiscing. “I was always there for him and knew what he wanted. He left me with so many qualities...Guruji was known for punctuality and his elephant memory even though he was old,” he said.
Prison dept adopts logo to promote jail industry
With this issue
BY GITESH SHELKE @gitesh_shelke The Maharashtra prison department has adopted a logo, Ma Ka, denoting ‘Maharashtra Karagriha’ which will be used to identify articles manufactured by prison inmates. Inmates of Yerawada Central Jail and other prisons in the state manufacture a variety of goods, including handloom, footwear, paper fi les, besides bakery and agricultural products. Bedsheets, linen, towels etc are made at the handloom unit, fi les at the paper unit, doors, grills and furniture at the fabrication unit. All these along with the bakery products will carry the new logo and brand name. Over 1.17 lakh inmates are lodged in the nine central prisons, one women’s jail, five open prisons and 28 jails in the state. Many are awaiting trials, but only convicts are employed in
the jail industry. Additional director general of police (prisons) Meeran Chaddha Borwankar said that a review of the jail industry found that it has become stagnant. “We discussed different issues related to the jail industry with the state department of industry and decided to carry out an audit,” she said. A team visited Tihar jail to study the jail industry. “We
found that the jail industry in Maharashtra produces quality products. Hence, we decided to have a separate brand name. To market our products, we will participate in exhibitions,” Borwankar said. Falguni Gokhale, who has designed the logo for free, said, “Th is is just a step to promote jail products.” gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
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Fourplay
S PAGE EW I V
In the issue ON TH EI N
Kunal Kumar will focus on traffic, garbage mgmt
Exploring higher reaches of Yoga was an obsession with him
ON TH ER E
Metro is new civic chief’s top priority
COEP students get the EVM power P7
ON T HE TO
AUGUST 23, 2014
Bollywood inspires
PAGE GE UL D
Family treats
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
Exploring the path of love is not the same as being a flirt P8
Signposts ‘Yuva Prerana’ motivates youth to join Armed Forces Lakshya Foundation, working towards bridging gap between Indian Army and civilians, had recently organised a programme ‘Yuva Prerana’ at Ganesh Kala Krida. The aim of ‘Yuva Prerana’ is to inspire the youth to join the Indian Armed Forces. This was the second edition of this programme. As a part of this programme, a book titled ‘A Salute to our Heroes’, comprising 10 stories of Kargil heroes, was released in the presence of Anuradha Prabudesai of Lakshya Foundation, Lt. Gen. KT Parnaik, Air Marshall Bhushan Gokhale, Lt Gen Dr DB Shekatkar and Gurunath Prabhudesai. The Lakshya Foundation was founded by Anuradha Prabhudesai in 2009.
Knee check-up and treatment camp
English-Marathi Translation course The Marathi Department of the Modern College of Science and Arts will start an English-Marathi translation course from September 1. The course is aimed at generating interest in translation within the participants along with generating work opportunities. Admission is open for all. For more details, contact Snehal Taware on 9423643131.
I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” - Rabindranath Tagore
A smart and futuristic car care solution P9
When astrologers failed the Narlikar-Dabholkar test
The eminent astrophysicist and the late rationalist had teamed up in 2008 to devise a test for astrologers. 51 astrologers participated in this test and failed to establish the accuracy of astrological predictions BY ASHOK BHAT @ashok_bhat
right; however, despite their best effort, they failed. The scientists and rationalists then appealed that if India was to progress truly with the help of science and technology, it was necessary to accept that astrology does not have any scientific basis and then focus all our energies on our own efforts to achieve results. The first person account of this experiment has been related by Prof. Narlikar in his article in Lokmat dated August 17, 2014. enews.mediasurvices@gmail.com
The scientists and rationalists then appealed that if India was to progress truly with the help of science and technology, it was necessary to accept that astrology does not have any scientific basis
Astrologers, as a tribe, don’t hesitate to make predictions about anything and everything, ranging from the fate of marriages to the fate of nations and more. They also seek to predict election results, and in fact, many astrologers failed to make accurate predictions about the recent Lok Sabha elections. In 2008, eminent astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar and the late superstition eradication crusader Narendra Dabholkar came together and posed a challenge to astrologers, giving them an opportunity to prove the merit of their ability to make predictions. Retired scientist and statistician Porf. Sudhakar Kunte also joined them and designed the test for astrologers. Based on the time, date and place of birth, the birthcharts of 200 children were prepared with half the children being above average in intelligence and the other half being mentally challenged. Professional astrologers were then asked to study the birthcharts (kundali) and correctly identify children who were normal and mentally challenged. The birthcharts of 40 children were randomly selected and sent to astrologers who agreed to participate in this challenge. It was statistically established that astrologers who managed to achieve a score of 28 and above out of 40 would have succeeded in establishing astrology as a science. A total of 51 astrologers and one institute devoted to astrology participated in this exercise.
of correct predictions was 24 out of 40. Two astrologers achieved a score of 22 while not a single astrologer could achieve the minimum passing score- 28. The average success rate of predictions was 17.5 which was below
the halfway mark. Even if a coin was tossed to decide on the matter, the results would have been better, according to Prof. Narlikar. The astrologers and the astrological institute had put their entire knowledge base to prove that they were
Dr Jayant Narlikar
Dabholkar murder still a mystery BY GITESH SHELKE @gitesh_shelke
The unsolved murder of the founder president of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), Dr Narendra Dabholkar, has been a most talked about and discussed issue. On the morning of August 20, 2013, two unidentified persons shot dead Dabholkar at point-blank range near Vitthal Ramji Shinde near Omkareshwar temple. The spot is very close to the Shaniwar Peth police chowky (about 10 metres). Despite a ‘naka-bandi’ operation, the assailants managed to flee. The city police tried their utmost to nab the assailants, but in vain. Th is has sparked a wave of criticism. Later, the Thane police arrested two suspects in connection with the murder - Vikas Khandelwal and
THE RESULTS When the analysis poured in, it was found that the highest number
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
The Rotary Club of Pune University has organised a knee-treatment camp under the guidance of Prosthetist and Orthotist Consultant of PNR Society, Jamnagar Vijay Kumar Naik on August 23 and 24 at Sharman Hall, Prabhat Road, Lane no. 7, opp New Front, between 9.30 am and 1.30 pm. For more details, contact the office-bearers of Club, president Dileep Paranjpye at 9850969772; secretary Sharang Pandye at 9823054740 or treasurer Pradeep Patil at 9422081900
PUNE
Rallies and programmes marked the first death anniversary of the founder president of MANS, Dr Narendra Dabholkar. He was shot dead on Aug 20 last year
Manish Nagori, both residents of Kolhapur in Mumbra, Thane. It was claimed that they had supplied arms to the assailants of Dr Dabholkar. The
ballistic report and arms seized from the duo also matched. In one of the hearings, Khandelwal and Nagori told the court that the
State Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) authorities offered them money to claim responsibility for the murder. Eventually, the two were let off due to the lack of evidence and the mystery of Dabholkar’s murder remaines unanswered. The police faced severe criticism after it was reported by a newsmagazine that the then city police commissioner Gulabrao Pol took recourse to a séance in an attempt to detect the killers. Within a few days of this, Khandelwal and his advocate submitted a notice to the police, protesting the use of superstitious methods for the investigations on the basis of which he was arrested, demanding action against the investigating team. Khandelwal also claimed that a ‘tantric’ had visited him when he was in police custody. gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Focus on ‘Gross National Happiness’: Pratibha Patil
Former president Pratibhatai Patil felicitating Dr Prakash Amte and Dr Mandakini Amte with Yogiraj Bhushan Award
TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly
“Today, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Gross National Product (GNP) have become the criteria to decide the development of any nation. But in a small country like Bhutan, criteria of development based on its Gross National Happiness (GNH) and this is what every country should follow,” former president Pratibhatai Patil said. She was speaking as chief guest at a function and an annual general body meeting of Yogiraj Credit Co-operative Society. On this occasion Dr Prakash Amte and Dr Mandakini Amte were
presented with the prestigious Yogiraj Bhushan Award that includes a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, Puneri Pagdi and a memento. A purse of Rs 25000 was also given to Sindhutai Sapakal’s Mamta Bal Sadan. Dr Prakash Amte recounted how they reached to dense forest of Bhramaragad- Hemalkasa and worked for nearly three to four decades before winning the trust of the Madia –Gond tribals. “Everything is not bad in our society; we ought to feel charged by the sensitivity and good work of the people around us,” Dr Amte said. Devisingh Shekhawat, Mayor of PCMC Mahini Lande, MLA Vilas Lande, MLA Bhimrao Tapkir,
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R 11 LAKH TO LOK BIRADARI Society chairman, Gyaneshwar Tapakir informed that a financial assistance of Rs 11 lakh would be given to the NGO Lok Biradari every year. editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
‘No rape, no female foeticide among tribals’ Dr Amte said that in all his years he spent there there were no incidents of rape or female foeticide among tribals. “Even their homes are not locked, there are no incidents of theft. Women have a tremendous respect in tribal community and we all should learn from this and never again call tribals illiterate or backward,” he said.
editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
‘We wear designer perfumes but our civic sense is rotten’ Pune faces the threat of serious garbagerelated problems. We, as citizens, have failed to respect the basic rules and have treated this city as a garbage dump. We always blame the authorities, but what is happening in our city is the simple apathy of the people who live here. Homes and offices are kept clean but we ignore simple rules when it comes to city matters. The city will take care of you only if you take care of your city. We often blame lack of education but it is very common to see students of elite schools and technology institutions treating the roads and sidewalks as personal garbage containers. This indicates a clear lack of values. This monsoon will perhaps prove to be the smelliest one as garbage mixed with sewage and a dash of excreta greets us wherever we go. Hygiene habits have to change from
within and without this it is meaningless to call ourselves educated. This city of schools and colleges could possibly become the dirtiest city in India. Pune needs a master plan for hygiene, more public toilets and washrooms. Cities are not about fancy homes, designer malls and office spaces. We have to look within ourselves and change our very actions. Our lazy behaviour is going to rebound on us. We blame stray dogs for attacking us but we are responsible for attracting the very same animals to our dirty neighbourhoods. It is said that education makes a man aware of what is right and wrong, but this clearly seems to be a misconception. We may wear clean clothes and use designer perfumes but our city civic sense is filthy and rotten. - Miss P Chirukandan (Gets prize for best letter)
We are surrounded by superstitions
I appreciate the eminent scientist Dr Vijay Bhatkar’s views on planchette, superstitions and spiritualism (article reference). He rightly says that till the truth is fully established, search and research for the same must be continued. Science is a non-stop process for making discoveries and arriving at solutions. We are surrounded by superstitions... No. 13 is supposed to be unlucky… I was born on the 13th, but haven’t been unlucky. A black cat crossing your path is considered bad luck. Many years ago, a black cat crossed THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 9, 2014
PUNE
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
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chairman of the society Gyaneshwar Tapkir, co-chairman of Krishna Nagar Branch Krishna Raikar, actor Rahul Solapurkar, former Pune police commissioner Gulabrao Pol were present on occasion. Others who were felicitated included chairman of Indian Wrestling Federation Balasaheb Landge, Kavita Navandar, Sheetal Mahajan, Ramdas Murkute for Agro Tourism.
“Scientists must have an open mind”
Dr Vijay Bhatkar is credited with leading the team that created India’s first supercomputer in 1991. A recipient of the Padma Shri, Dr Bhatkar, as Chancellor of India International Multiversity, is currently engaged in research into the synthesis of science and spirituality. He spoke extensively to The Golden Sparrow on Saturday editor Abhay Vaidya on issues relating to the planchette / séance controversy, on science, spiritualism and superstition and his enormous respect for Dr Narendra Dabholkar. Excerpts from the interview...
Dr Bhatkar, your recent comment about planchette and the Pune Police has created the perception that you support superstitious practices. What do you have to say about that? I was both amused and disturbed by this because I was speaking in a different context altogether. There was a function for the release of a book titled Journey of the Soul: Life after Death by Dr Medha Khasagiwale and translated by my friend, the famous neurosurgeon Dr Deepak Ranade. Dr Ranade requested that I should release this book along with Mr Prataprao Pawar and there were many intellectuals attending this function. I was commenting on this subject and how interesting it was and while commenting on various issues like the soul, death, life after death, paranormal phenomenon, I said one of the subjects also covered in this book was planchette, which has become a very interesting subject for everyone today. I did not refer to the police or anyone by name. In Marathi, what I said was: “Planchette baddal lihina kinwa planchette cha wapar karna he itka wavga nahi ahe. (To write about planchette or to practice it is not so wrong.) The reason being that the use of paranormal phenomenon or ESP — not planchette — has been going on for a long time by the world’s well-known intelligence and counter-intelligence agencies like the FBI, CIA, Scotland Yard, KGB...I made this statement and went on to discuss the issue of death and life after death. This was a small part of my talk and after the lecture a journalist asked me innocuously, Planchette is used by the police, is that right?” I said that I didn’t know what planchette is but I know that it is extensively used. He picked that point and turned it into news, stating that I support the practice of planchette. This was picked up by other media organisations and I was just asked one question repeatedly, “Do you believe in planchette or not?” I felt that my views were distorted. Then there were TV debates in which I did not participate. We must recognise the fact that science itself is a belief system based on certain postulations which I can either prove or disprove based on assumptions on which I construct the edifice of science. Even, people like Einstein or Niels Bohr raised questions and science took a different direction. For a long time we believed that the world was flat. But when Copernicus questioned that belief and said that planets revolves around the Sun and
into pieces, which is what happened with the creation of Bangladesh. After the controversy, many thoughtful and intelligent people called me, saying they had positive experiences of planchette. So do I support planchette? What I will say is that extrasensory perception (ESP) and paranormal phenomena are being used widely by intelligence and counter-intelligence and well-known agencies of the world. I won’t say whether I support it or not. If you were asked, does planchette work? What would be your answer? Is there evidence? I do not have evidence because I never tired it. I would also not like to try it. I have seen a lot of material in favour and against planchettes on the Web. But I do not have any evidence. But do we have evidence about ESP? Yes, I have evidence about ESP in many wonderful ways, what I call spiritual ways. What kind of evidence is this? For example, evidence of prayers being answered; evidence of sankalps being fulfilled which was not possible in any circumstancesit may be a coincidence. I have many personal experiences of such powers and perceptions which may be called ESP. The question is, is personal experience an instrument (praman); evidence of knowledge? So this takes us to the point has our science reached a level where we are able to understand ESP and other such phenomenon? What do you call evidence of knowledge? One, evidence is direct perception — what I see, hear, smell, touch, taste — these are five instruments of knowledge which we call evidence of knowledge. Is that perception always correct? Because I see doesn’t mean that that is the truth. For example, I see a thing to be flat, but later we find that it is not true. The sky looks blue, you see a rainbow or a mirage — there are many examples of optical illusion.
“Science has never claimed finality. It will keep on discovering. Do extra-sensory perceptions exist? I do not know. My attempt will be to find out.”
Planchette and the Pune Police
BY GITESH SHELKE
The Pune city or Pune rural police resorting to planchette (invoking spirits) is unheard of. The recent report about planchette being advocated by former city police commissioner Gulabrao Pol is the first instance where the police have tried to invoke the spirit of Dr Narendra Dabholkar, the anti-superstition crusader, in an attempt to identify the culprits responsible for his murder. However, prayers and promises (navas) to the gods seems to be common among the police. Dabholkar was slain by two unidentified assailants on the
not the Earth, a paradigm shift happened. So specifically with what happened in Pune where the Pune Police conducted a séance to investigate the murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar, do you support such methods used by the police to investigate this murder? I do not know whether planchette works or not. I do not know, I cannot say it is wrong. I cannot deny it because I have never done planchette myself. As a scientist I will never say that it does not exist. I have seen on the Internet that many people do it. Pandit Vasantrao Gadgil (Sanskrit scholar) was in the audience and he told me some time back that they used to do planchettes. They did a planchette when Pakistan was created and he wanted to find out what was the future of Pakistan and he did a planchette and called the ghost of Jinnah. According to him, a spirit came and said that Pakistan will be broken
— to abide by the truth. So by definition it cannot be “andh”- blind. I admire his work and I felt that the Andhashraddha Nirmulan bill must be passed. So when Dr Dabholkar was murdered, the first thing I said was that the greatest tribute to him would be to bestow this year’s Maharashtra Bhushan award on him. I also admire the work of the Andhrashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (ANIS) because they are dedicated to the cause of removing wrong beliefs. When the Bill draft came, I said it requires deeper study and wide consultation should be done, with the warkari sampradaya for example, because they were opposing. Many spiritual leaders and others whom I respect were opposing it. I said the bill should be sent for wide consultation and modified and the government did that. I would say it’s not the final draft but a good draft. If you were asked to distinguish between science and superstition, how would you distinguish the two? Science must be based on evidence. But there are many truths that are beyond sensory evidences. In that sense there will always be a thin line. For example, Dr Mashelkar (eminent scientist) was asked at a Goa conference, “Do you believe in God?” He said ‘yes’. Now what is the evidence that there is God? If I am asked do I go to the temple? Do I pray? I will say ‘yes’. I have no evidence too. As per Indian shastras (ancient writings on spiritualism), there are six evidences that were discussed — direct perception, inference or logic, “shabda”- the word held by someone in high esteem like Dnyaneshwar or Shankaracharya — this has been given the highest importance; analogical knowledge; innovation; the principle of absence. Then there are two secondary evidences — validity — customs and traditions which we follow though we don’t know their full meaning and possibility of things occurring, on which the entire science of fuzzy logic and probability has been developed. Science is a vast topic but we are taught it is based on only two things — direct perception and inference. Indian shastras teach the larger perspective of science. Coming back to the question, how would you tell the common man that this is science and this superstition, ‘believe in this and don’t believe in this’. I will use the instruments of knowledge to arrive at a conclusion. In the existing knowledge that we have, would you agree that planchette is a superstition? I will not say that right now. Because I have not tired, observed or initiated. I have to conduct research to find out whether it is true or not. What, according to you, is superstition? If I were to say ‘This is superstition, don’t do this’ what would you say? I would say do not indulge in animal sacrifice, sometimes even children are sacrificed! They say they do it to propitiate God and this should be absolutely discouraged. Religious rituals done with an ulterior motive (is superstition). Even science being used for wrong purposes such as female foeticide. All wrong uses of science and religion is wrong. How would you react to the Rs 21 lakh challenge by the Maharashtra Andhrashraddha Nirmulan Samiti asking you to prove the scientific basis for planchette? Faith and blind faith are not static issues. Our knowledge is continuously evolving. So shraddha and andhashraddha should be continuously researched and should not be based on someone’s whims and fancies. This can go to any extent. Tomorrow you will question the construction of temples. There should be an evolution of our views too. The
bridge opposite Omkareshwar temple, on the morning of August 20, 2013. The post mortem revealsed that four bullets of the killers had found their mark. Former Inspector General of Police S M Mushriff told this newspaper that he had not heard of planchette during his career. “If there are temples or dargahs on police station premises, it is absolutely wrong and these should be removed, for a free and fair detection of crimes,” he said. Another senior retired police officer also said that this was the first time he had heard of planchette used by the police.
Direct perception is an evidence of knowledge which may not always be true. Inference based on logic is an evidence of knowledge, even as there are many layers of logic and logic itself is based on postulates. These are based on assumptions which can be questioned and as soon as some assumptions are proved wrong, the whole thing changes. Basically, everything is questionable and that is what Einstein did when he brought space and time together. Nobody had thought of the Theory of Relativity and the whole world was shaken. What do you feel is the significance of Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s work in superstition eradication and the exploitation of people? I admire and acclaim his work. I did have a dialogue with him on the definition of shraddha. “Shraddha (faith) according to me is Sat Dha-Satya cha dharan karna
ANIS should use their 21 lakh rupees for that. Instead of challenging me like this, they should use the money in this way, if they have Rs 21 lakh (laughs). They should use it for research into sharaddha and andha shraddha . There is ambiguity about it. A single sentence answer from you: If the police decide to do this planchette again to investigate into a murder, what would you say? If they do it in a controlled condition, if they are satisfied that there is no other way... When there is no way, they may do it under controlled conditions.
GHOSTS & ESP
L: Women have been tortured in the name of being possessed by ghosts- something that Dr. Dabholkar fought against, (Photo credit: Creative commons on Flick.com) R: Journalism student Morley Chalmers has his telepathic powers tested by Dr. W. E. Mann of Western’s Sociology Department, USA. Extra Sensory Perception or ESP was seen as a form of quackery by most scientists, but Professor Mann unperturbed by this attitude compared ESP to the study of hypnosis which he said at one time was regarded as a hoax both by scientists and the general public. Photo credit: www.redicecreations.com
‘I disagree with Dr. Bhatkar’s stand’
Arvind Gupta, Science educator:
I do not believe in superstitions. There are many things about which scientists still know little and are still groping. Understanding comes slowly as new instruments and techniques are designed and more research takes place. Science is the only true way of investigating natural phenomenon. Rest are all speculations with no basis in the objective world. I do not think the Pune Police should have resorted to planchette as a method of investigation. They are medieval and unscientific. I D disagree with Dr. Bhatkar’s stand on using planchette as a method of investigations. (Dr. Abhay Bang, Dr RA Mashelkar and Professor Jayant Narlikar were among those approached for their comments but were unavailable for various reasons.)
Is it a valid method of investigation? I don’t know right now. But I can tell you that it is being used worldwide by various agencies. Even when the Malaysian plane (MH17) was lost and there was no clue, many people with psychic capabilities were approached to give clues and they made many sketches. It may be done as a parallel resort, but what importance should be given should be left to the wise people. For example, if my child was lost in a yatra in Dehu and there is no clue; everyone is desperate. And if someone suggests let’s do planchette, is it wrong? If your child is lost, whatever be your station in life, you will do this. I am not a scientist if I don’t have an open mind.
Scientific spirit is absent in such scientists: Anil Awachat- social worker and pioneering de-addiction activist
ARVIND GUPTA
ANIL AWCHAT
There is no scientific basis of planchette. There is no proof of souls etc. Kabir das and Tukaram are saints and have said that when a person dies, he’s gone Planchette is humbug. It is very sad that Bhatkar has endorsed planchette. Indian scientists are confused and live in two worlds. Some scientists I know follow people like Satya Sai Baba who produce things from the air. How do they accept it? A scientist knows scientific discipline and must prove what he believes. Planchette must be proved if he (Bhatkar) believes in it. There is no scientific spirit in such scientists. Scientific spirit must be applied in every sphere of life. As told to Ritu Goyal Harish
Not against religion
August 20 will mark Dr Dabholkar’s first death anniversary
abhay.vaidya@goldensparrow.com
Planchettes, séances and Dr Dabholkar’s murder
Planchettes and seances are used to communicate with the spirits of the dead. They were in the news in Pune after it came to light that the Pune Police authorised a series of seances to communicate with the spirit of the late Dr Narendra Dabholkar, to obtain clues to the identities of his murderers. The case remains unsolved to date. The news of the police using these means has raised public furore, it being ironic that superstitious practices were used to investigate an anti-superstition crusader’s murder.
TGS NEWS SERVICE
Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s battle was not against religion but against superstition and all the exploitation done by promoting superstitious practices. Shot while he was on his morning walk, on August 20 on Omkareshwar Bridge in Pune, Dabholkar felt deeply betrayed by Maharashtra’s politicians, who had failed to table the long-pending anti-black magic and superstition bill in the state assembly. That happened swiftly enough after his death. He felt sad about the selfserving lot of politicians in a state like Maharashtra, which had seen an uninterrupted string of social reformers over 150 years, beginning with ‘Lok Hitawadi’ Gopal Hari Deshmukh, till 1933, the year when Prabodhankar Thackeray died.
A doctor by training, Dabholkar hailed from Satara where he ran a clinic till 1982, after which he founded and devoted himself fully to the superstition eradication movement, the Maharashtra Andhashradda Nirmulan Samiti. He served as the editor of the Marathi weekly Sadhana founded by the legendary Marathi writer, late Sane Guruji. An accomplished orator, Dabholkar during his many campaigns and tours throughout Maharashtra, sought to spread awareness about the destructive and illogical aspects of superstitions practices. Although hated and criticised by orthodox Hindu groups for denouncing rituals, Dabholkar repeatedly maintained that he respected all religions, but was against superstition. He pointed out forcefully and poignantly how superstitious practices hurt the poorest of the poor in rural Maharashtra.
my path as I was going for my job interview. Well, I got the job and worked there for seven years. So to believe or not to believe is a personal choice. - Urmilla Ramrakhiani
Enjoy reading this newspaper I have been reading your weekly for the past four weeks and am fascinated by its widespread coverage of subjects and issues. “LIFE” is just awesome! I liked the article “In the mood” by Anjali Shetty in the “Life” issue of August 9. It was very helpful for a creative person like me. I strongly believe that (as suggested in the article) maintaining a mood board at the place where we spend most of our time will help “awaken” us. It will reflect positivity and keep our hopes, passion, art, wisdom and thoughts on
the “desktop of our mind”. Loads of best wishes. - Rohan Dinde
Write to Us Letters to the Editor may be emailed to editor_tgs@goldensparrow. com or mailed to Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt Ltd, 1641 Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411030. The Best Letter of the Week will receive a special gift from Venus Traders, Pune’s finest stationery departmental.
CITY
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
PUNE
The Aga Khan Palace was built in 1892 by Sultan Mahommed Shah, Aga Khan III. It was donated to India by Prince Karim El Husseni, Aga Khan IV, in 1969.
Is your child going to the right school? P 10
It’s not about Kashmir: Like UPA, PM Modi is on the wrong track with Pakistan P 11
Vedic Sanshodhan Mandal has for long been involved in research on the Vedas and Avesta
BY PRACHI BARI @prachibari The Vedic Sanshodhan Mandal at Gultekdi that has for long been involved in research into the Vedas and Avesta, the holy scriptures of Zoroastrians, has been forced to discontinue its course on Avesta, due to the lack of funds and qualified teachers. According to the Institute’s director Bhagyalata Pataskar, the course was discontinued two years ago. She said that eminent scholars such as late Dr MA Mehendale and Ervad Dr Rooyintan P Peer lectured students on the Avesta in the past. While a scholar from the UK has expressed a desire to revive the Avesta course, the institute is awaiting funds from a French benefactor. Apart from paying the French scholar, the funds would also be used to restart the project on an Avesta dictionary, she said. Established in 1928, the Vedic Sanshodhan Mandal seeks to publish research on Vedic texts and Vedic rituals. The building on Tilak Road also houses a museum of sacrificial utensils. Corrections and clarifications
“Every time we study the Vedic texts, we come across references about the rituals. Unless and until we see the ritual, no one will be able to understand the contents and reference of the theory or description,” says Pataskar, director of the Vedic Sanshodhan Mandal. For a better understanding, the institute has established a museum that displays the articles/utensils/objects that were used in Vedic Yajnas or religious fires. The Museum of Yajna Upkarna houses very interesting artefacts like arnimantha (Instruments to churn fire), Juhu (instruments to offer actual oblitation into fire), edapatra (an instrument to serve the remnant of obligation to the priest), models of fire altars like Alaja chiti, Rath chakra chiti, kurma chiti etc. Besides one can also see upa (stack to be erected in the yajna pandal), and rajasandi (a chair for Som). The museum has 17,000 manuscripts related to the Vedas and Vedic rituals. One interesting aspect of this museum is the display of instruments used for Yasna rituals, which belong to the Parsi community.
“We decided to study Avesta because there is a very close/intimate relationship between the Rigveda and Avesta, the scriptures of Parsis. According to a theory of IndoEuropean linguistics, Rigveda and Avesta are siblings belonging to the Indo Iranian family. Thus we have linguistic, philosophical, ritualistic relationship between the two texts,” she said. With this notion, the Mandal decided to study Avesta in 1951. Study of Avesta is complimentary to Vedic studies so we established a department of Avesta. So far we have published the Devnagari edition of Avesta as well as Gatha Zarathrustacha Ani Yasna Haptanhaiti, Avesta reader and the four sacred prayers of Avesta. The idea was to support our knowledge of Vedas and to revive the age old relationship with the Parsis. In the Avesta display, one gets to see Afarganyu that holds ever burning fire, Hawani (metal mortar), Navasura – tasta (a kind of sieve with nine holes) and Mahrue, (pedestals) to hold Barsom (metal wires) sticks, cups for
Diaspina Ghosh’s Arangetram performance was held at Tilak Smarak Mandir under the guidance of Guru Mythili Raghavan, director of Academy of Indian Dances recently. Her performance included ‘Parashakti’ (power of Goddess Shankari). An Arangetram is a graduation ceremony that denotes the attainment of certain skills
in the stories featured in this edition. Send us the correct answers at contest.tgs@gmail.com and be one of the three lucky winners to receive gift coupons.
4. Who is the founder of CarIQ.com? 5. Which college has blogger Madhuri Singh completed her MBA from? 6. Who is the lyricist of Priyanka Chopra starrer Mary Kom? 7. Which new restaurant has taken the place of Savera on FC Road? 8. Which recipe and trick did Monisha Merchant learn from her mother-in-law? 9. Which wada do the Biniwales belong to? 10. What does fashion designer Seema Singh always carry with her?
Contest Contest# #9 8 winners winners
1. Vasant 1. Ravinder PalkarKumar 2. Sushila 2. Urmilla Melwani Ramrakhiani
left behind. What one experiences here is that the society earlier was very peaceful and integrated and yet very active and balanced. The effort is to study the values system that gave them a balanced life. To scholars and research students, it certainly is a unique place for their studies and research. prachibari@gmail.com A TGS MARKETING INITIATIVE
Dear Readers, The Golden Sparrow on Saturday has invited Pune’s immensely talented advertising and creative fraternity to participate in a Social Message Creatives initiative. The objective of these creatives
No. 10 nswers to the following 10 A questions are embedded
3. Who heads the Papertells institute at Shivajinagar?
Jaothra (holy water). Yasna is a portion from the Avesta scriptures of which are 72 chapters. Each chapter is called ‘Ha’ and while performing the rituals, the priest recites the portion which is Yasna. Incidentally the performance as well as the scripture is called Yasna. There are guided tours on request to take you around and explain the Vedic Yajna which takes you in a world
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2. Who initiated the ecofriendly project at Bal Kalyan Sanstha
The institute has established a museum that displays the articles/utensils/ objects that were used in Vedic Yajnas or religious fires. (Right) Bhagyalata Pataskar
POISE AND POSTURE
The Parsi New Year Navroz was wrongly termed in the article ‘Parsi population is growing in the city, says Panchayat’ in our edition dated August 15. The error is deeply regretted. — Editor
1. Which incident prompted deputy RTO Anil Valiv to launch positivesaathi. com?
RAHUL RAUT
Vedic research institute awaits funds
Book traces journey of successful enterprises TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly
“An entrepreneur is faced with decision and choice everyday,” said Kiran Bhat, one of the authors of the book No Holy Cows in Business: 9 principles for entrepreneurs, released on Thursday. Co-authored by Shekhar Seshan, this book deals with business, success and failure; business as a medium to contribute to society and other related issues. Bhat said the book is based on her experiences. Starting a brand new enterprise is a difficult task, she said, adding that the book is a sort of guide to help beginners scale faster in their business. The book documents the journeys of Symphony, Vadilal and other successful firms. SV Joshi, founder and chairperson of Nichrome who was the chief guest at
Kiran (left) and Shekhar’s book deals with business, success and failure
the function said, “The book will make you think about becoming a champion”. Anand Deshpande, chairman of Persistent System, Ashwini Deshpande founder and principal designer of Elephant Design and publisher Bharat Agarwal were the guests of honour. editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
Steps to promote helmet use BY GITESH SHELKE @@gitesh_shelke To promote the use of helmet amongst two-wheeler riders, the city traffic police are roping in commercial establishments to provide parking concessions. The parking lots of malls, cinema halls, hotels and other big offices are generally occupied by two-wheelers. City police commissioner Satish Mathur rued the flouting of traffic rules in
the city known as the state’s cultural capital. “People do not care for traffic safety measures and equipment,” he said, adding, “Riders even refuse to listen to the traffic police and avoid paying fines. The authorities have launched surprise checks on helmet use,” he said. To encourage the use of helmets, Mathur said, “If the parking fee is Rs 10, these commercial establishments can charge Rs 5 from helmet users.” gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
is to encourage and promote social causes including green initiatives, water conservation, girl child protection, national integration, communal harmony and road safety. Eligible entries will be carried in our edition every Saturday till No-
vember 15 and presented collectively in a public exhibition in that month. The campaign by Quiksel is against smoking. The artwork below is prepared by team Quiksel under the leadership of Prakash Bang, the CEO of the firm.
MAKE YOUR
DEATH
LESS PAINFUL DON’T SMOKE Smoking kills. But unfortunately death is not sudden. Before calling it a day, your body will work hard to bear the pain of tarred arteries, charred lungs, choked throat and blistered mouth. The pain then starts moving down affecting the liver, stomach, pancreas and sadly, the reproductive organs. The lucky ones die quickly. The rest lead a painful life.
Created by Quiksel Communications Social Awareness: 16 x 25 cm
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
Eco-friendly Ganeshotsav
takes root in Pune
Schools, voluntary organisations, mandals and even some government bodies are helping strengthen the eco-friendly Ganeshotsav movement in the city
Shree Ganesh Kala Kendra chants ‘Mission Go Green’
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
Paper products to welcome god of wisdom
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
SGKK volunteers spread awareness about clay idols and its religious and scientific reasons to those who visits the stalls
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
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
Kids make papier mache idols at Bal Kalyan
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
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
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
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.
Celebrating with children and spreading the green message BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL @ArchanaDahiwal
ANJALI SHETTY @shetty_anjali
How to identify an eco-friendly idol
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
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
Dhol-tasha groups beat festive theme Police may ban playing of tol to check noise level 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.”
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
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
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
ED UCATION
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
PUNE
“The Narendra Modi government should help private universities tap global higher education markets in the same way the British Council helps British universities recruit international students. —Sushma Paul Berlia, chancellor of Apeejay Stya University
Signposts Amte supports earn and learn education
“Energy, education and science-based development are the three domains I would like to remain engaged with. I believe that progress in these domains is linked to dissemination of ideas, exchange of views, broad-based discussion and sharing of good efforts.” —Anil Kakodkar, nuclear scientist
COEP students get the EVM power The need to reduce paper use during college polls led faculty to give students the idea to develop it
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Social worker Prakash Amte said that adopting a system of education for self reliance will help students to face the challenges of globalisation. Speaking on the occasion of the successful completion of the fifth batch of ‘earn and learn scheme’ of Yashaswi Institute of Technology, he said that the country needs an ‘earn and learn’ educational system. Amte presented a gold medal and certificate to the meritorious students of this scheme. Amte was presented with `1 lakh for the Lok Biradari project.
CARE ER
National seminar on homoeopathy The new inventions and innovative methods of treatment in homoeopathy will be presented at the one day national seminar ‘Mega Homoeocon 2014’ to be organised by Homeopathic Doctors Anyay Nivaran Sangharsh Samiti at Annabhau Sathe Rang Mandir, Padmavati on August 31. Around 65,000 homoeopathy doctors are practicing in Maharashtra and the government has approved allopathy treatment. Dr Yogesh Sehgal from Delhi will deliver a keynote address at the event. For details contact 7620909991 / 9422059377.
Certificate course in practical astrology The Aastronomica Club will hold a certificate course in practical astrology from August 23. The four-day study will take place at NMV High School for Girls, between 6.15 pm and 8.15 pm. For details contact Amit Purandare on 9822393872.
The gurukul’s students learn basic education, public speaking, manners and yoga
Kaka’s life is devoted to educating poor kids BY MANASI SARAF JOSHI @GargiManasi
COEP students showing the electronic voting machines developed by them to the director Dr Anil D Sahasrabudhe (second from left) and faculty SS Ohol (left) at the college’s robot study room
BY MANASI SARAF JOSHI @GargiManasi The third year students of College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) have successfully designed electronic voting machines (EVM) for the college elections held on August 8. Speaking to The Golden Sparrow on Saturday, Shivraj Wabale, a BTech student and joint secretary of the students association, said, “Our faculty came up with the idea, and we decided to work on the project. The error-free machine is the result of our six-month effort.” Faculty member SS Ohol said that a lot of paper was used for the polls. The idea of an EVM came up to reduce paper usage.
The college has a ‘Robot Study Circle’, where students learn process automation. “Th is EVM machine is the best example of process automation,” said Ohol. The machine stores data even if it is tampered with or damaged. “The challenge was to have two or three posts (buttons) unlike in the government machine, where the election is conducted for just one post. Similarly, making the machine flexible and generalised was also a difficult task,” he said. “The machine can record the fi rst and last voting and there is no scope of double voting,” said Shivraj, adding that the college provided the students with materials and components needed to build the machine.
“About 3,500 students are eligible for elections,” said Om Naik, a third year BTech student. Shivraj said that the machine has a capacity to record 65,000 votes in one session. “We made four machines and tested them several times before actually using them,” he said. Sarang Zunzare, an alumnus who guided the students, said that the EVMs have a rechargeable battery that works for up to four hours. Ohol said that the poll results were out within half an hour. The students are now planning to develop their own biometric machine to record the attendance of voters during the next year’s polls. manasisaraf@gmail.com
Madhusudan Shirodkar gave up on a working life to set up the Veer Savarkar Gurukul at Boravili in Vadgaon Maval, where he devoted himself to educate and groom deprived and underpriviledged children. Now, at the age of 75, Shirodkar, fondly Madhusudan known as Kaka, Shirodkar feels that he was destined for this mission. Born and brought up in Mapusa Goa, he did his MA in philosophy and worked as a librarian at Ruparel College and St Xavier’s in Mumbai. He has always been conscious of a bigger cause that awaited him in the future. After nine years, he quit the job and decided to educate the underpriviledged. He came to Pune, leaving behind his five siblings and parents.
Greatly influenced by RSS, he decided to remain single and devote his life for the education of the needy. He set up a gurukul in Vadgaonsheri, before he was forced to shift the centre to Boravili in Vadgaon Maval. “I don’t think I have done a very great work. I have always felt concerned for those who have no access to education and live in ignorance. I wanted to start a school and I did that. I never asked for help and grants from the government or NGOs,” he said. Shirodkar inspired people to donate to the cause. Today many of his students are employed and lead a respectable life. “I faced immense challenges finding students and persuading their parents to send them to the school,” he said. Apart from basic education, Shirodkar also groomed his young wards in social etiquette, diction and Yoga, along with instilled in them sound moral values. Now, owing to failing health, Kaka has been forced to curtail his work with the gurukul. manasisaraf@gmail.com
Professor pens his struggles, passion for teaching BY MANASI SARAF JOSHI @GargiManasi Struggle has been a constant in the life of 51-year-old Suvasish Mukhopadhyay, who always wanted to be a teacher. Although, he was interested in English literature, Mukhopadhyay studied civil engineering, and that was where his struggle began. In his semi-autobiographical book ‘The Rise of the Setting Sun’, Mukhopadhyay says that every person has a purpose in life. Achieving the goals is easy for some and for others, immensely difficult.
“I was deeply influenced by one of my cousins, who persuaded me to take up civil engineering,” said Mukhopadhyay, who lost his mother when he was 12. “My mother always urged me to learn English and mathematics, all other subjects will come to you naturally. So when my cousin persuaded me to take up civil engineering, I did so,” he said. But it was not what he liked, but
he managed to complete his degree. He did his masters in hydraulics but refused lucrative jobs, choosing to become a teacher instead. His character is represented reflected in the book by Animesh, and his cousin by Abir. Their friendship blossomed before the duo settled in different cities in 1990. Their love remained the same, even as they hardly ever meet
after that. The book also talks about his father’s love for English literature. The character Animesh was influenced by the books of Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare and other novelists, who became his friends from age four. His fi rst book was published in 1992 and since then he has authored nine books. He spent five years on the current book. A government employee, he decided to make this book a semi-autobiographical. “Many incidents did took place in my life, but I have coloured a few with fiction,”
Pursuing My Career
I want to become a bank officer The student of commerce loved to solve numerical puzzles from childhood BY VIPIN SINGH Numerical puzzles have interested me from a very young age. I used to spend hours solving them. I think it all started when my mother asked me to calculate the expenditure that we incurred in buying household stuff. Whenever she went shopping for grocery or vegetables, I used to accompany her and keep a tab on the money we spent. I maintained a copy where I used to jot down all the particulars. At the end of the month if I could save `50, it was a great achievement for me. My f a t h e r was transferred out of Pune when I was
“Saving is my second nature. I would rather save than spend.” in Class X. He entrusted me with the task of handling my mother’s and brother’s expenses. I became an expert in handling money. Saving is my second nature. I would rather save than spend. At the Army Public School, mathematics was my favourite subject and I scored over 90 per cent in exams. I already knew that I wanted to become a banker. So my best alternative was to pursue BCom with specialisation in banking.
After Class XII, I took admission at Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce on Senapati Bapat Road. To know more about banking, I have taken accountancy, international banking, mercantile law, direct and indirect taxes as my subjects. I have secured more than 80 per cent and above in my college exams. After graduating from Symbiosis next year, I will appear for bank probationary exams in India and abroad. I have also joined a coaching institute to help me prepare for CAT, SNAP, GMAT and Bank PO exams. Every bank has entrance exams but if an aspirant clears the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) test, the candidate can be recruited by 19 nationalised banks across the country. My main aim is to get placed in a nationalised bank in the country. (As told to Barnalee Handique)
he said. The 292-page book has 11 chapters, divided into two parts. Part A talks about his childhood and boyhood, and the other part about his life as a student and his career. The book is priced at `300. Mentioning his wife Asmita’s support, Mukhopadhyay has always been engrossed in his work, but his wife who was critical of his work and encouraged him to write. manasisaraf@gmail.com
Life’s Lessons
Develop these habits in your 20s At the end of the day, all of us have the same amount of time to achieve our most cherished goals - be they personal or professional. Good habits play a vital role in helping us achieve more in the time available. What are some of the best habits that we need to develop? Gregory Ciotti, founder of the blog Sparring Mind, lists the following seven most popular habits that people would like to develop: 1) exercise more 2) read 3) floss 4) sleep by midnight 5) eat breakfast 6) save money 7) eat more fruits and vegetables. Exercising is one of the hardest habits. The solution is to keep trying various options till you find a routine that works. Keeping a track of the number of days you exercise in a week also helps you remain honest with yourself. If you don’t read and keep yourself well-informed, what’s the difference between you and an illiterate? This is not too difficult a habit to form and all one has to do is get started by reading for at least 30 minutes a day and a little longer over
the weekends. As you age, the importance of oral hygiene increases significantly. Flossing is a good habit to develop. Use your creativity to get yourself to floss daily, one way or the other. In Ciotti’s words, “getting quality sleep is incredibly important to our well-being”. The best way to get a good night’s sleep is to be busy all day; develop a sleeping schedule, hit the bed at the appointed hour and avoid caffeine, alcohol, and cigarettes. Breakfast is an important habit for good health and well-being. Experts call it the most important meal of the day. The least that we should do is eating a fruit before getting down to other things. Saving money is an incredibly important habit which cannot be over-emphasised. Get assistance from friends/well-wishers or experts to develop a strategy to save optimally. This is among the habits that could last you for a lifetime! editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
RE LATIONSHIPS “...if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you, life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important.” —David Rockefeller, Philanthropist
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
PUNE
“One reason why children end up eating junk food is that working parents are hard-pressed for time. They depend on ready-to-eat packaged food or fast food.” - Bhakti Samant, Sr Dietician, Kokilaben Hospital, Mumbai
Exploring the path of love is The Way Forward not the same as being a flirt There is so much that With Compassion & Hope
Once you fall in love and experience the togetherness with someone, you tend to get used to that ‘fulfilling togetherness’
‘Love on the rebound’ is a phenomenon that happens very fast and often in an impulsive manner. When two lovers part after a rather long and strong courtship, they find themselves stranded on the path of life and a kind of void that is difficult to fill. That’s the time when they’re emotionally most vulnerable and are susceptible to falling in love with someone who approaches them first. In this kind of love, the individual doesn’t matter. What matters the most is the failed arrogance and hurt ego of two individuals who want to prove that despite separation, they’re still in demand. “Every love affair is self-enhancing and the break-up is lowering that selfimportance,” wrote George Gershwin. The lowered self-esteem following a break-off wants to restore its lost importance, and it longs for yet another love affair to forget the sad memories of the earlier one. This happens very quickly. Bipasha Basu was in love with Dino Morea and immediately after their separation, John Abraham came into her life and when they too parted, John found someone who was not from tinseltown. Love is a very peculiar emotion. Once you fall in love and experience the togetherness with someone, you tend to get used to that ‘fulfilling togetherness’. So after parting ways, the empty heart yearns to be filled up. Though separated lovers often say that now they’re bored with love or the very word love exasperates them because of the not-so-pleasant experience of the previous one, the emptiness is there and that vacuum needs to be filled up. Nature abhors a vacuum. So, it does conspire to fill the empty space. It’s been often observed that those who separated from their companions,
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
ians (pic for representational purpose onlye)
BY Sumit Paul
we can give others
In the journey of life, no one lover or love affair can teach you all the existential aspects of life and of an individual. Every one has his/her limitations
either immediately fall in love with someone who comes first or they plunge themselves into a welter of activities just to forget and tide over the lost love. Love is the manifestation of super ego (Id as coined by Sigmund Freud and immortalised by Jayshankar Prasad as Ida in his finest Chhayavadi epic ‘Kamayani’). It gets hurt when this super-ego fails to get its due. Existentially speaking, we never
fall in love with the other person or any one in life. When we love someone, we love a part of ourselves. We’re all narcissists. We continuously explore ourselves through the other person. When that exploration ends with the other person as he/she added whatever could be added to your idea of love, separation is bound to happen and you crave for another person for further fulfilment. In the journey of life, no one
lover or love affair can teach you all the existential aspects of life and of an individual. Every one has his/ her limitations. So new people keep coming and going after their contributions come to an end. When someone says that s/he been with an individual for so many years (sans marriage), there must be something grossly wrong with both as they’ve stopped growing in love and that’s the reason, they’re (still) together! Grow out of one love to embrace the next in queue. You’re not being a flirt but an existentialist, wanting the answers to the queries love and life have thrown up so tantalisingly. Deal with them.
When we love someone, we love a part of ourselves
The Selfie Obsession
Arguably the most poignant of diary writers ever, Anne Frank is quoted to have said, “No one has ever become poor by giving.” Protagonists of the attitudinal healing movement aver that giving and receiving are one, in the sense, you cannot give without getting something in return. The act of giving has been extolled by the scriptures of various lands and our own mythology is replete with tales of supreme sacrifices. There is the story of Raja Shibi who gave himself to the eagle to save a dove. Then there is the weasel who mocks at Yudhishtira for his ‘great’ Ashwamedha Yagnya, proving it was worth less than the ashes of the cooking fire of a poor but charitable Brahmin. A South Indian king is stated to have left his chariot in the jungle when he found after his siesta that a creeper had entwined itself on one of the chariot posts. In fact, so rich is our culture that by habit, we tell a beggar, “Please forgive me, I have nothing to give you,” words that used to be spoken from the heart when people really had nothing to give. This used to be the land where guests were akin to Gods. Now however, in Shakespearean words, “What a fall has there been, my countrymen!” Each of these tales – and there are many more – speak of the sublime act of giving. Not one of the givers ever expected anything in return. That would have been barter or trade.
No gift is too small if it brings joy, succour or a smile on another’s face
Rahul Raut
‘Educate kids against cyber attacks’ Kolkata: Information security experts have called for teaching children to keep themselves safe while using social networks to tackle incidents of cyber bullying and revenge porn involving children. Unauthorised access by hackers to photographs and videos uploaded by youngsters on online platforms are giving rise to cyber bullying cases. Another threat is of revenge porn where sexually explicit content is released without consent to embarrass or shame an individual. “Children use laptops, tabs these days at an early age. If there is a Trojan
virus in a system which has a webcam, then hackers can get in and snap unauthorised pictures via the camera. “Children are extremely vulnerable and proper awareness needs to be provided. For this, schools and colleges need to address the problem,” Sandeep Sengupta, co-founder and director, Indian School of Ethical Hacking, said. He said 73 per cent of kids under 13 have access to the Internet these days making them potential targets for cyber criminals. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ICT 2014 organised by the Confederation of Indian
Industry. Echoing the same, officials of Kolkata Police’s cyber crime department said most cases they come across are related to fake social network profiles and morphed pictures. Sumanjt Roy, deputy commissioner (detective department II) highlighted how the police conducts workshops across schools and colleges in the city to inform youngsters about the perils of information misuse. “We are focusing on girls’ schools and women’s colleges as they are one of the most vulnerable groups related to such crimes,” he said. IANS
(The writer is a multi-faceted personality who believes in responding with compassion and hope to the difficult situations in life.)
No child’s play: Online bullying, a growing worry By Aparajita Gupta
All cheers... A ‘gang of girls’ at Fergusson College posing for a group selfie - the latest fad among youngsters
They gave for the joy of giving – a feeling unmatched by any other act. To many, even life itself was worth losing for this joy of the moment – the moment of giving. The quantum is immaterial but the intention is. No gift is too small if it brings joy, succour or a smile on another’s face. The gift does not have to be material either. One of my friends says the most valuable gift he can give is time, for time given is given forever. He volunteers for an old age home and an orphanage while doing a job and looking after his family. Not all of us can be Albert Schweitzers or Mahatma Gandhis. Each one of us however, has infinite capacity to give, in so many telling ways. Even a smile given to a neighbour or a stranger is a gift that gets repaid the moment it is given. My friend Darryl Britto, a consultant psychiatrist in the UK says we can give only what we have. We cannot give what we don’t have – be it material or feelings. What would we want to give others – love, compassion, kindness and sympathy or hatred, sorrow, anger and irritation? The choice is ours.
New Delhi: Exposure to the cyber world may have helped children expand their mental horizons but it has many downsides, the latest being cyber bullying. A concerned government and industry stakeholders are now taking steps to spread awareness and educate people to stop this turning into another modern-age malaise. “Child bullying is becoming bigger with every passing day. Earlier such bullying was restricted to the classrooms and playgrounds only, but things have changed and the whole digital world is a playground now. Those small instances of ‘making fun’ in schools take a bigger proportion in the digital form and thus have a lot of negative impact on the child’s psychology,” Ritesh Chopra, country manager - sales, India, Norton by Symantec told IANS. The government has also swung into action. Telecommunications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently told parliament that the government has implemented the Information Security Education Awareness (ISEA), programme including those conducted by Confederation of Indian Industry, Internet & Mobile Association of India and Data Security Council of India for security awareness and training in the area of information security. “A website (secureyourpc.in) for children, home users and elderly is available for safeguarding their computer systems and learning the risks on Internet,” Prasad told the parliamentarians in reply to a question.
“Children often tend to share personal information on social network sites.” - Ritesh Chopra
The government response came following a survey done by cyber space information protection expert Symantec that about 18 per cent of children have said they have been victim of bullying on the Internet. The sample size of the survey was 203 children. “They tend to spend more time on devices. Children often tend to share personal information on social network sites that may invite bigger troubles.” “Like if they are going for vacation, they share it on their social networking sites, which means they are letting the entire world know that the house will remain empty,” Chopra said, adding that, “Just like you lock your doors at
night, one should also log out of all the social media sites when they are not in use.” Citing examples of cyber bullying, he said there are many incidents when a child has taken photograph of a peer’s report card, who failed in a few subjects and posted that on social network sites. “This eventually had a lot of negative impact on the psychology of the kid who failed,” he said. Mentioning the measures they were taking, Chopra said the first was spreading awareness about the issue among the people. “We have gone to various schools to spread this awareness and also attended parents-teachers meetings to make them aware of the behavioural changes of the kids. 84 per cent of parents in India did not feel that their child was being bullied online,” he said. According to a recent study by the industry body, ASSOCHAM, despite the government’s strict norms to prohibit children under 13 from joining social networking site, nearly 73 per cent of children,aged 8-13, in Tier-I and II cities are using Facebook and other social networking sites, which can lead to negative outcomes such as cyber bullying and online sexual abuse. Chopra noted that many children use their parents’ mobile phones and laptops to access Internet. According to McAfee’s Tweens & Technology Report 2013, Indian tweens (kids aged between 8 to 12 years) are using between three to four devices that can be Internet enabled. Around 53 per cent of online tweens are online daily between one to three hours. IANS
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY PUNE
“We started out doing various things but over the years, realised our strength lies in the bulk SMS space. Today, we are in a good position and understand what B2B customer needs.” —Aniketh Jain, co-founder, Solutions Infini
Signposts Half-day Seminar on tax audit
Meet on plastics in med applications Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) and Indian Plastic Institute, Pune Chapter, will be holding an evening session on ‘Plastics in medical applications’ at MCCIA at 6 pm on August 25. Plastics are fulfilling a number of critical roles in a variety of medical applications. Indian industries are entering into a new set of medical applications to set up polymer industry for manufacture of all types of medical systems. The session is specially organised to discuss the opportunities available for MSMEs in medical applications.
Workshop on using Cloud Computing Cloud Computing is the buzzword today. It helps companies to optimise their costs of IT infrastructure and manage their operations in an effective way. Cloud computing offers interesting opportunities for IT SMEs to develop several applications useful to the users. The introductory session covers basics of Cloud Computing and some of the most popular Amazon Web Services. The event will begin at Shekhar Natu Training Hall, MCCIA, Senapati Bapat Road Pune from 4 pm on August 27.
A smart and futuristic car care solution Sagar Apte has launched a novel car care enterprise that has hardware, software and a mobile app rolled into it BY ANJALI SHETTY @shetty_anjali Maintaining a car would be infinitely easier if the owner was reminded of service schedules and directed to the location of the service centre. It was this thought that led the young Puneite Sagar Apte to explore the possibility of establishing a business that helps owners manage their vehicles like never before. Apte’s innovative service, CarIQ.com, launched in May 2013, enables his clients to adhere to an immaculate schedule regarding maintenance of their cars. “With the CarIQ SmartPlug, owners can remotely manage, monitor, and interact with their vehicle,” said this computer engineer, who also has a MBA (marketing) degree and a diploma in electronics. “The CarlQ software turns your vehicle into a smart car that does an assessment of the car’s condition, reviews the driving patterns, and sends notifications to alert owners on critical errors,” he said. Apte has more than 16 years of experience across diverse domains such as product management, sales, support, operations, and marketing. As the founder CEO, he is responsible for the sales, operations and marketing aspects of the business. In its nascent stage, CarIQ aims to build value services around its platform. Getting car owners on the platform is just a first step. For the company, the Pune market has been important for its very strong mix of tech and automobile lovers. The company opened up for pre-orders in
May last year and had to stop taking pre-orders when it touched 250 plus orders in three weeks. “The response has been overwhelming. Every start-up journey has challenges (some call them difficulties) and at CarIQ , we love them. Building a hardware product that involves automotive technology, embedded software technology and mobile app capabilities, that too in India, is quite wide to address,” he said. With Pune being an automotive hub, a lot of help and feedback poured in from people, including those working in automobile workshops. As a Pune-based company, Apte and his team love to meet people over coffee to understand what they would like to see in cars. “Being a local company, we want to work with the auto enthusiasts directly to bring more attention to our city. As a company, we want to
CarIQ supports • • • • • • • • • • •
Technical problems with your car Service alerts Battery monitor and health ‘Headlight On’ warning Location information Statistics sharing on Facebook and Twitter Towing alerts Crash alert Over-speeding alerts Rash driving identification Personalised tips for driving (based on your driving pattern
A warehouse for start-ups in Bangalore BANGALORE: Karnataka has set up a warehouse for start-ups in this tech hub in partnership with IT industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) to mentor, nurture and fund technology entrepreneurs, an official said on Tuesday. “The fi rst-ever ‘Start-Up Warehouse NextGen’ in India has been set up with the state government investing `5 crore to incubate new companies in six months across industry verticals,” state IT secretary Srivatsa Krishna told reporters. Located in Diamond District in the city centre, the 50,000-square feet warehouse can house over 100 start-ups with a dozen employees
T-Hub will be India’s biggest incubation centre
The Hyderabad facility will be spread over 80,000 sq ft and can accommodate 400 start-ups HYDERABAD: India’s biggest incubation hub will be launched in Hyderabad by the year-end or early next year, Telangana’s information technology minister K Tarakarama Rao said on Wednesday. T-Hub, as the incubation centre will be known, is coming up at IIIT campus. The facility will be spread over 80,000 square feet and can accommodate 400 start-ups. The first phase will be ready by year-end or January-February next year and he claimed that this itself will be India’s biggest incubation hub. The Telangana government is developing the hub in collaboration with International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad, Indian School of Business (ISB) and NALSAR University of Law. The minister said ISB would provide business mentoring, IIIT technology mentoring, while NALSAR would help in intellectual property and related areas. Talking to reporters while announcing ‘The August Fest’, the country’s biggest seed fund event, the minister said that under the second phase the government would build a standalone facility. With three lakh sq ft areas, it can accommodate 1,500 companies. “We plan to bring all start-up
get local people to help us build our next set of features,” he said. The CarIQ ecosystem addresses not just bits of the problem such as vehicle tracking or road safety. It is a larger play between car owners and all the service providers such as workshops, insurance, breakdown assistance, safety, and a lot more. The company sees the world as its market and has already applied for a patent while continuing to build its intellectual property portfolio. anjali.shetty@ goldensparrow.com
RAHUL RAUT
Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) will be holding a half-day seminar on tax audit that will focus on the law relating to tax audit, compilation of particulars for an audit, disallowances flowing from tax audit, and suggestions to avoid penalties for non–compliance. MCCIA chairman (direct taxation committee) CA Chandrashekhar V Chitale will guide the participants. The event will organised at Lakaki Hall, MCCIA, Tilak Road between 10 am and 1 am on August 23. Contact Kiran Joshi at 25709182, 25709000, or email kiranj@mcciapune.com/ ashokb@mcciapune.com for details.
“We all dream, some during the day and some during the night, but people who dream during the day are powerful, for it is they who can change the scenario of the world.” — US Moinuddin, author and educationist
“Through the incubation centre, we want to give a platform to the youth who have innovative ideas.” — K Tarakarama Rao programmes under one roof,” he said. The proposed hub will ensure infrastructure, support services and funds for the start-ups. “Through the incubation centre, we want to give a platform to the youth who have innovative ideas. We don’t want aspiring and budding entrepreneurs to be bogged down with the legal, accounting, office space management, mentoring support and funding,” he said.
With the vision to make Hyderabad start-ups capital, the government plans to attract angel investors and venture capitalists to Hyderabad through investment meets. As a precursor to the T-Hub, the city will host ‘The August Fest’ on August 30 and 31. Billed as the biggest ever startup festival around creativity and entrepreneurship, the second edition is expected to attract 1,500 start-ups and more than 100 investors, VCs and others from across India. The minister said 100 start-ups would pitch for funding and 25 would get instant funding at the one of its kind event, which will bring TiE Hyderabad, Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA), NASSCOM and IIIT on one platform. “With crawls, talks, pitches, instant funding, fi lms, music, fashion and more, it is going to be an unforgettable experience for the participants,” said Suresh Perugu of Eat, Sleep, Drink (ESD) Startups, a non-profit organisation, which came out with the idea of ‘The August Fest’ last year to help start-ups. The first edition last year had attracted 500 start-ups. This year many organisations and the Telangana government have come forward to support the event. IANS
in each of them. “It will provide co-working space on payper-use daily/weekly basis for entrepreneurs and a well-equipped community events space, an IoT (Internet of Th ings) lab, a design lab, a mobile experience lab and hotelling office space for investors,” Krishna said. When ready by this year-end, it will be one of the largest multi-disciplinary technology incubation facilities in Asia and the largest across India’s top five metros. It will also have the country’s fi rst Hackcelerator, a combination of a Hackthon and an Accelerator. “The Hackcelerator will function as a mind lab for about 500 whizkids to churn out ideas and
incubate start-ups, with Nasscom and global and Indian IT majors partnering the programme.” “Bangalore has emerged as the world’s second largest technology hub after Silicon Valley in the US with its rich and diverse talent pool, ideal eco-system consisting of 400-plus research and design and innovation centres and a proactive government support,” state information technology (IT), biotech, science and technology minister SR Patil said. The state government and Nasscom had on a pilot basis set up a facility in the same place a year ago where 28 start-ups were incubated with about 100 jobs for $1 million (`6 crore). Six of these are serving the global market. (IANS)
Leveraging analytics and branding for food business
START-UP MENTOR
AUGUST 23, 2014
Vishwas Mahajan
For the last one year I have been running a speciality ‘Maharashtrian Cuisine’ restaurant in Dubai. I expected the response to be overwhelming. Can you suggest any changes? - Sachin Deshmukh As a matter of fact I had an opportunity of visiting your restaurant and eating there during my last visit to Dubai. Here are some of the suggestions I have: Market analysis: Understand the 1necessary market. I hope you have done the homework to check that there
is enough market for the restaurant serving ‘Speciality Maharashtrian Cuisine’ that your restaurant promises to serve. A way to find that out is to use the population of people who would like to eat this cuisine in the city of Dubai and nearby areas. In management parlance you would call this exercise Market Analysis to find out the TAM (Total Available Market) and SAM (Segmented Addressable Market). Th is will give you understanding of the eating habits and spending patterns of your target customers.
Location, location and location: 2 There are certain businesses where the location does not matter, while for certain other businesses, it becomes the most important factor.
This feature is a collaboration between The Golden Sparrow on Saturday and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the world’s largest non-profit network of entrepreneurs. For additional questions about your entrepreneurial challenges, write to mentoring@pune.tie.org
If you were running, say, a customer support call centre, location may not matter as much, as long as you have telecommunication facilities and basic infrastructure. However, in the restaurant business location is one of the most important elements. A good location ensures that there is a footfall of casual and impromptu visitors to your restaurant. When I went to your restaurant I found that it is not in a location where there is an unintended footfall. It is, in fact, where people have to go looking for your restaurant. It is possible that the rents and cost in high street may be expensive and you choose to be at this location. I feel you should look at a more opportune location for this restaurant. Customer analytics and changes 3 to menu: Some businessmen think that usage of analytics is only for large
businesses, telecom companies and banks. Not true. You can leverage the power of data to analyse the customers that have eaten at your restaurant over the last year. I noticed that you have installed point of sale terminal or a cash register that collects information about which are the dishes customers are ordering for the purpose of billing. I recommend that you analyse this data over the last year. You will find out those dishes that the customers are ordering
frequently from your restaurant and those that customers are not ordering. You will be able to effect appropriate menu changes based on this insight. In the same context, I suggest you look at common items that are found in other Punjabi restaurants such as Chicken Tikka Masala or Sarsoka Saag. These do not fit your description of ‘Maharashtrian’ cuisine and your customers do not come to your restaurant to taste these. The other point is that the customer makes up a perception of the overall pricing or quality of your restaurant based on these ‘benchmark’ dishes. These do nothing to attract the kind of customers you want. Finally, branding : It is extremely 4 important for any customer service business to create its brand ad market
itself. I found that the knowledge of the restaurant is missing, even in your target market. So creating awareness by reaching out to these customers will help increase footfall. Social media marketing is altogether a different subject, but that is another tool with which you have to spread word around. Please consider some of these suggestions as you are looking at making efforts to revive your restaurant in this market. Vishwas Mahajan, president of TiE Pune Chapter, answers real life questions of entrepreneurs
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
Courageous of Modi to talk of toilets P 12
Dread lingers in Ebola-hit village P 13
The first email was sent in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson to himself. He doesn’t remember what it said
City Blogger Of The Week
TECH GURU
Is your child going to the right school?
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
How to select a school for your child? How good is the school where your children are already studying? Madhurie Singh’s blog seeks to answer such questions from parents. Anjali Shetty asks her the inspiration behind the blog and more RAHUL RAUT
TGS NEWS SERVICE @shetty_anjali Moving to a new city and wondering which school to admit your kid in? Or wondering if the fees charged by the present school are fair? The blog madhuriesingh.com is the place where you might fi nd your answers. Launched in 2009 by software engineer Madhurie Singh, the blog aims at bridging the gap between parents and schools.The journey started with Madhurie moving to Mumbai and later Pune from Australia in 2001. “I was suffering from a medical condition and every time I looked up online I only found westerners write about it. So, I fi rst started writing about my symptoms, conditions and precautions from an Indian perspective. I received feedback and within a few months people started asking for opinions and suggestions on the topic,” said Madhurie, who bought a domain name in 2009 and started writing on education. An MBA degree holder from Fore school of management, New Delhi,the blog on education just happened by chance, she says. “My elder son Shaurya was three and faced security issues in the playschool. I took up the matter on mouthshut. com and overnight I had 100 comments. Parents facing a similar issue had commented on how the school was not being attentive enough. The playschool got back to me after a few days and apologised for the negligence,” said Madhurie, who got her children admitted to another school.
“I was then contacted for ways to get admission to better schools and how to go about the procedures. That is when I took to reviewing schools and their services. I don’t go by what people think about the school but person-
EXCERPT FROM MADHURIE’S BLOG Madhurie to students: 1. Failure is never an option 2. Playing so much sports never left me any time to fall into any bad habit 3. Being an autodidact or learning everything on my own is the best school 4. Lead by example and follow the leader 5. Respect everyone’s effort 6. Give my best always and every time by managing time effectively 7. Practice and hard work is the only way to be perfect 8. Perseverance is the key to survival 9. Be responsible and own up for the goof ups 10. Win and be grounded at the same time, accept failures graciously
ally visit and observe every school. I normally inform the school that I am doing so. I also provide them solutions. There is no point in just cribbing about things. One should be able to go out and change it too,” said Madhurie, who is busy building content for her next venture schoolkhojo. com. Th is website plans to include every minute detail about a school right from whether the school uses handwash or bar soap to canteen details. Her blog gives advice and makes suggestions to parents to take the right call while choosing a school. Earlier she would do it on a one-on-one basis but now she’s available on the Internet. “People would call me throughout the day asking me about schools especially when they were shifting to Pune. Then came a time when people wanted to know of schools outside Pune. That is when I started looking at Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai. My blog was created out of need. It was never an idea or a well-thought process,” she says. Her husband Manish has been her support throughout. “My family has been patient and supportive, especially because there are no fi xed timings of writing a blog. Also, earlier parents would call me just about at any time, things have streamlined now,” says Madhurie. anjali.shetty@goldensparrow.com
New software that prevents cyber attacks
Scientists at the German institute have developed the software that they claim can thwart western intelligence agencies To prevent cyber attack software from capturing vulnerable servers, scientists have developed a free defence software that can inhibit the identification of systems by such programmes. “TCP Stealth is a free software that requires particular system and computer expertise, for example, use of the GNU/ Linux operating system. In order to make broader usage possible in the future, the software will need further development,” said scientists from the Technische Uni-
versitat Munchen (TUM) in Germany. Port scanners are programmes that search the internet for systems that exhibit potential vulnerabilities. According to a report published in Heise Online, Hacienda is one such port scanning programme. The report says that this programme is being put into service by the “Five Eyes” - a federation of the secret services of the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
“The goal is to identify as many servers as possible in other countries that can be remotely controlled,” explained Christian Grothoff, the research group leader at the TUM’s chair for network architectures and services. The free software is based on the following concept: There exists a number that is only known to the client computer and the server. On the basis of this number, a secret token is generated, which is transmitted while building the initial connec-
tion with the server. If the token is incorrect, the system simply does not answer and the service appears to be dead. “While similar defensive measures are already known, the protection capabilities of the new software are higher than that of extant techniques,” Grothoff added. A verification code is also sent while building the initial connection. The server can then use this to detect whether or not it has received the correct data, the study concluded. IANS
The journey of the Honey Bee Network Anil Gupta got together indigenous entrepreneurs whose ingenuity, hidden by poverty, could change people’s lives. He speaks about the Honey Bee Network 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 India is one of those countries where people living in the remotest of hinterlands, solve their problems through their own genius without any outside help. The government is unaware of the potential hidden in them which makes them richer in their intellect. With this, business professor and innovation advocate, Anil Gupta, began his Ted Talk ‘India’s hidden hotbeds of invention’ in May 2010. Gupta launched the Honey Bee Network and began searching the country with colleagues, finding a plethora of inventions that were created out of necessity. Since 1988, the network’s database of original inventions has touched over 12,000. Gupta started his journey in Bangladesh in 1985-86 where he advised the government and the research council on ways to help scientists work on lands, fields of the poor, and on methods to develop research technologies based on the knowledge of people.
“I returned to India in 1986, after being tremendously invigorated by the knowledge and creativity that I had found in that country, which had 60 per cent landlessness but amazing creativity. I started looking at my own work: The work that I had done for the
last 10 years, almost every time, had instances of knowledge that people had shared,” he said. Gupta was paid in dollars as a consultant. On his filing IT returns, he said, “I often asked myself — Is there a line in my return that shows how much of this income has gone to the people whose knowledge has made it possible? Was it because I’m brilliant that I’m getting this reward, or because of the revolution?” Gupta realised that somewhere he too had been an exploiter like landlords and moneylenders. “The majority of the people from whom I learned didn’t know English. I was talking about social justice, and here I was, a professional who was pursuing the most unjust act — of taking knowledge from the people, making them anonymous, getting rent from that knowledge by sharing it and doing consultancy, writing papers and publishing them in the papers, getting invited to the conferences, getting consultancies and whatever have you,” he said.
PUNE
And one day, on his way back home, Gupta saw a honey bee and it occurred to him that if he could only be like the honey bee, life would be wonderful. “What does a honey bee do? It pollinates, takes nectar from the flower, pollinates another flower, cross-pollinates. And when it takes the nectar, the flowers don’t feel shortchanged. In fact, they invite the honey bees through their colours, and the bees don’t keep all the honey for themselves. Thus the three guiding principles of the Honey Bee Network are that we learn something from people it must be shared with them in their language. They must not remain anonymous,” he said. Honey Bee Network builds upon the resource in which poor people are rich. It gives an identity to the anonymous people who get in touch with the network. “It is a voluntary organisation that has tried to map the minds of millions of Indians and other parts of the world who are creative. And it all begins with curiosity,” he said. ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com
Hacked? What, why and how In the last TechGuru column, I had written about secure passwords. A rather worried reader then wrote in to ask if there was a way to understand if his PC had been hacked. So today’s column is all about hacking, the preventive/curative measures to be deployed, and some of the software available to thwart malicious programmers. Here I shall limit myself to the PC and discuss the sphere of smartphones in a future column. “Hacking” in the tech world is also known as ‘cracking’, when someone uses a code or software to break into a computer database or email accounts without consent. It could be a disgruntled boyfriend wanting to find out what his “Ex” is up to, or an online bank robber wanting your cash – the reasons could be many. Here are some warning signs you need to watch out for to understand whether your computer has been hacked. It includes a mix of browser/software/hardware related issues. 1. If you are being re-directed to a totally different website when you click on a link, there’s something fishy. 2. Beware of random popups. If you, for example, constantly keep getting an anti-virus message other than the one you have installed, do not, I repeat, do not click on the link or even the X tab. That’s a sure-shot way of compromising your system. 3. If you find that any of your passwords have changed, once again, something’s wrong. 4. If you realise there is an unknown software installed on your PC, again, you have been compromised. 5. If you find your anti-virus programme or Task Manager or Registry Editor disabled suddenly, and you cannot get them to re-start, that spells trouble with a capital “T”. 6. If your mouse suddenly starts exhibiting a mind of its own, don’t panic, it may just be a glitch. If it persists, that’s a sure sign someone else is controlling your PC. Help, I have been hacked! Here’s what to do: A fake anti-virus warning message means you need to immediately shut down your computer, after saving your work. Re-start your machine in the “Safe Mode, No Networking”, mode and try to uninstall the newly installed software from the “Uninstall software” tab. Do a complete anti-virus scan. If your online password has changed suddenly, change the password of that account immediately. Alert friends and colleagues who may have received some fake emails. Most likely, you may have become a victim of a phishing scam. Trojans, malicious bits of code are getting sophisticated with each passing day. These come disguised as innocent downloads. In case you suspect that your computer has a Trojan installed, you should first run your own anti-virus program to sniff it out. To check whether your email has been compromised, there are some free online programmes such as haveibeenpwned. com and PwnedList.com available. The first line of defence against cracking is your anti-virus programme. The best in the world are available in India. Kaspersky, McAfee, Norton, AVG, Avast, and our very own Pune company, Quick Heal (www.quickheal. com). The Avast Premium is available for approx. Rs 1,799 at http://bit. ly/1kKTD0W Kaspersky has just introduced the Kaspersky PURE 3.0 for Rs 1,955 for your home PC. ( http://bit. ly/YjfqCY ) Then there is McAfee total protection package costing Rs 2,270, which also claims to be effective against online threats- http://bit.ly/ VvXXoX Besides anti-virus software, there are firms, too, offering round-the-clock anti-hackers service. Like Delhi-based DigiMan ( http://bit.ly/1sMCAyu) (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).
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
PUNE
Right moves by the central bank to help savers P 14
Population issues have gone off the political radar altogether. As a result, India’s population will overtake China’s by 2028. - SY Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India
It’s not about Kashmir: Like UPA, PM Modi is on the wrong track with Pakistan by R Jagannathan The on-off nature of talks with Pakistan shows how poorly we have strategised on the issue. This time the talks are off because the Pakistani high commission in Delhi talked to the separatist Hurriyat leaders. The next time it could be something else. The problem is we are not sure why we are talking to Pakistan at all (For public consumption? For making our position on issues clear to the other side?). And we are not sure why we break off talks (any passing incident will do). I am sure the talks will resume within the next 12 months, but once more we won’t know why we are doing it. Narendra Modi is on the same wrong track as the UPA on Pakistan. India has always been poor in defining its strategic focus. The problem is we know our end-goal (which is to get Pakistan to at least accept the part of Kashmir we currently hold as ours, even if they don’t return the parts they hold). But we don’t know - or pretend
ians
Even if we were to hand over Kashmir to them on a platter, the enmity will not end
not to know — what they want. We are permanently in denial about their unholy intentions. We think they want Kashmir — but this is mostly wrong. Even if we were to hand over Kashmir to them on a platter the enmity will not end. When your self-definition is that you are an Islamic state created to defend Islam and to defeat the “Hindu state” called India (never mind if they call themselves “secular”), it cannot be about Kashmir at all. The “and” in italics in the previous statement is important, for there are many Islamic states that do not define themselves in antagonism to India (though some do in antagonism to Israel). But Pakistan surely does. We should never forget that. Western analysts are only now figuring this out. One of them is Christine Fair, an expert in south Asian strategic affairs. Her book Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War ought to be worth a read for all strategic thinkers in India and the West. (I haven’t read it, but have understood
India has always been poor in defining its strategic focus
Is prime minister Narendra Modi on the same wrong track as the UPA on Pakistan? Only time will tell
what she wants to say). In an interview to The Times of India recently, Fair puts it bluntly: “Pakistan is an ideological state. The Kashmir issue is not causal, it’s symptomatic. If there were to be any kind of negotiation on Kashmir that gives up any inch of territory, it is not going to fix the situation.”
There, what could be clearer? It is not something we don’t know in our heart of hearts, but we are eager to deny this to placate our unthinking peaceniks and “Aman ki Aashaa” propagandists, and for fear of offending our minorities back home. But even if politicians hesitate to speak openly about this reality, surely they can
calibrate diplomacy and strategy from a sharper understanding of this truth about the Pakistani state? One lie we are fond of telling ourselves is that the Pakistani army is different from the Pakistani government (or state) and both are different from the Pakistani people, who are “just like us.” All these presumptions are wrong. First, the Pakistani army is the Pakistani state. So what applies to the Pakistani army applies to the state. The mere fact that elections are held to create civilian governments means little if it is the Pakistani army that ultimately decides policy towards India and the world. Christine Fair found that jihad is central to the Pakistani army’s strategic culture: “The use of jihad is a way to make it seem as if everything the Pakistani army does is Islamically justified.” If jihad is the army’s policy, it is the policy of the Pakistani state too. Second, the Pakistani people are not always different from the state and the army. The question to ask is which Pakistani people are we talking about? There is surely an educated urban elite and upper middle class that we can bond with. But there are two other civilian forces we can’t ignore. One is the hardcore Islamist/Jihadist groups (the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the LeT, the JeM, etc) that hold sway in large parts of the country, including its vast tribal areas in the north-west. These “people” are even more anti-Indian than the army. Then there are the feudal
powers that are closely aligned with the army. Pakistan is a crony-feudal state. The problem is most Pakistanis find it difficult to acknowledge that their country was born with a “genetic defect” — a phrase that is not mine, but of veteran Pakistani journalist Babar Ayaz who wrote an eye-opening book on What’s Wrong With Pakistan? Ayaz says Muslims in India, after 650 years of rule in which they never thought of themselves as a separate nation, suddenly work up around 1857 to the fact that they may be a relative minority in a democratic polity of the future. We should encourage people-topeople talks so that the constituency for peace grows in Pakistan. But we should be under no illusion that this is going to happen anytime soon – perhaps not in the lifetime of the current generation. As Christine Fair notes, Pakistan is setting up a “civilisational” conflict with India, and such conflicts are not shortterm ones. This means we should forget about a deal on Kashmir whatsoever. Fair herself dismisses ideas of a “grand bargain” on Kashmir as “rubbish.” We need a 100-year strategy to counter Pakistan, not an on-off response mechanism to Pakistani provocations. The Modi government should stay clear of grand theatrical gestures and focus on long-term strategy with respect to Pakistan. (By special arrangement with Firstpost.com)
Goa CM bans Ram Sene: Bold new BJP? Debate gay rights, add to manifesto, says Mumbai leader PR act or political pressure? by Vishwas Waghmode Seeking a new, nuanced position on homosexuality among his party men, BJP Member of the Legislative Council and president of the Mumbai unit of the BJP Ashish Shelar has shocked many in his party by stating that he supports demands for protection of gay rights, though he is Ashish Shelar not really promoting gay sex. Given that it’s an issue affecting a community of nearly four crore people in India, Shelar’s comments have been widely welcomed, reflecting a fresh position in the BJP that has otherwise held a mostly conservative view on the subject. In fact, soon after the Supreme Court ruling upholding Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that bans gay sex, then BJP president Rajnath Singh had welcomed the SC decision, stating that gay sex was ‘unnatural’ and could not be supported. Shelar says, “Singh had said that he does
not support the promotion of gay sex. But, cannot ignore something that affects a large promotion and protection are two different number of people in the country,” added things. I am talking about Shelar, who enjoys the support protecting their rights for of large sections of upscale resolving the issue practically. Bandra and Khar. Shelar has So, in this regard, my views been preparing to contest the are the same as that of Singh. upcoming Assembly election As far as the party’s view is from Bandra and has also been concerned, the party president spending his MLC funds for will take a call on it. As a BJP projects in the locality, said a leader, I am insisting that we BJP leader. must have a national debate on Shelar further said that he an issue on which a community would take the issue forward - Ashish Shelar of four crore people has been with the party’s state and raising its voice for some time.” central leadership and also Shelar, 42, is a resident of Bandra with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi (W) in suburban Mumbai and is a lawyer requesting for a national debate on the issue by profession. He was twice elected as a in Parliament. Asked if he is politicising corporator from 2002 to 20012. In 2009, the issue in view of the upcoming Assembly Shelar lost the Assembly election from the elections, he was dismissive, saying he has Bandra constituency to Congress MLA Baba no political agenda behind his comments. “I Siddiqui by a narrow margin of 1500 votes. don’t want to politicize the issue but want to He was elected MLC a couple of years back. resolve it practically. So, I am for legalizing “There should be a national debate on the gay sex. I will ask for a discussion on the the issue. There is a very large number of issue in the party’s state executive council to people who have been campaigning against decide whether it should be part of the party’s Section 377. One needs to look at the issue election campaign,” Shelar added. on humanitarian grounds. I think Parliament (Copyright: Firstpost.com)
“One needs to look at the issue on humanitarian grounds.”
Thanks to low sex ratio, 600-year-old tradition done away with by Pardeep Singh
GURGAON: For a state known to ban marriages within the same ‘gotra’ (clan), a community in Haryana’s Gurgaon district has been forced to abandon a 600-yearold tradition of brotherhood within the community and allow such marriages. The tradition has taken a break mainly because of rampant female foeticides leading to a skewed sex ratio of 879 girls for every 1,000 males, making Haryana the worst among Indian states in this aspect. The country’s sex ratio improved to 943 in the 2011 Census against 933 females per 1,000 males in the 2001 census. The Jat Khap Panchayat (community council) of Jaurasi-Fatehpur village near Taoru, some 32 km from here, recently decided to put an end to the ban on marrying children within same village and brought the proposal to Gurgaon Gaon village recently.
Jaurasi-Fatehpur holds ‘Chaudhar’ (leadership) of 12 villages while Gurgaon Gaon enjoys this status in 18 villages. “Jaurasi village, later extended and established as Fatehpur village, had brotherhood relations with Gurgaon Gaon, Basai, Dhanwapur, Garauli Kalan, Garauli Khurd and Kadipur for over 600 years,” Atalvir Kataria, a panchayat leader, told IANS. Marriages were not allowed among these villages. “The panchayat of 25 villages was held recently and it decided to lift the ban. Now Jaurasi-Fatehpur and other six villages can marry their youth in each other’s communities,” Kataria said. “The low ratio of females in the region was one of the main reasons behind lifting the ban,” social worker Raj Nirbhik told IANS. The majority of Jat families in the region preferred to marry their youth in and around Gurgaon district and avoided Rohtak,
Jind, Sirsa and other districts. “People have relationships in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh too, but Gurgaon, Jhajjar and Delhi are given preference,” Nirbhik said. Marriages between five Gotras including own, mother’s, grandmother’s (Dadi and Nani) were not allowed earlier, but now the situation has changed. Some marriages are now being allowed by the communities. “This step will make things better,” Abhay Kumar, a youth from one of the villages in Gurgaon district, told IANS. The sex ratio in Gurgaon district is the worst in Haryana only 854 females against 1,000 males. The state government recently honoured Wazirpur and Bhora Kalan villages in Gurgaon for better sex ratios of 1,046 and 947. The village panchayats were rewarded Rs.100,000 and Rs.50,000 respectively. Both villages are dominated by the Rajput community. (Pardeep Singh can be contacted at pardeepsinghrao@gmail.com)
minister, but I think even an anpadh man would do a better job, I will ask him to table documents in the Over the last few weeks, the BJP-led government in House today,” Congress MLA Alexio Reginaldo Goa has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, told Firstpost. be it Goa’s deputy CM Francis D’Souza’s “all Reacting to the ban, a furious Mukthalik told Indians are originally Hindus” or Minister Sudin local daily O Herald that he would approach the RSS Dhavalikar’s comments against women wearing against Parrikar as his move was unconstitutional. bikinis on Goa’s beaches. “This has been done at the behest of the Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar assured Nigerian and pub mafia. Anti-nationals are allowed the state Assembly that the to come in the state but government will ban righta patriot is banned. The wing fundamentalist group Sri Sene will approach a court Ram Sene and that it would to get the ban lifted so that not be allowed to set up office it can start activities here,” in the state. Is the Parrikar he told PTI, adding, “I am government buckling under sure I will get justice.” pressure? The BJP, welcoming According to Independent the move by Parrikar, MLA Vijai Sardesai, who has said Pramod Muthalik led the Opposition in the state has not been banned at Manohar Parrikar assembly, Parrikar’s move to ban Pramod Muthalik an individual level and that the Sri Ram Sene in the state was it was a ban only on the a mere eyewash and its larger aim organisation. “He is free was to polarise voters in the state. to enter the state for his individual “They are all from the same work, we have not banned him parivar. They are trying to polarise from entering the state... it’s the the voters. Pramod Muthalik is organisation that has been banned,” being given way more importance Vinay Tendulkar, state BJP president, than he deserves for his credibility. told Firstpost. His criticism of Parrikar is just to In fact, in June this year, the fool Goans,” Sardesai said, adding state BJP unit categorically stated that “Goa has always had communal that the party would not allow the harmony and such moves of late were organisation to be banned as the only to disturb the social fabric.” Constitution allows anyone to set up The BJP-government’s move to office anywhere in the country. officially ban the group came after its Party leader Wilfred Mesquita - John Fernandes leader Pramod Muthalik announced had said: “We will not ban Sri Ram that he will begin operations in the Sene from entering the state. We tourist-friendly state. There were can’t ban it unless the organisation is also inputs from intelligence agencies, according to found to be involved in activities against the law.” Parrikar, claiming that there could be a threat to But now Tendulkar says that the sudden change the social fabric of the state. “I had asked police to in position by the BJP came after inputs from the prepare a report and it was sent to the collector to Collectorate that Ram Sene could pose a threat to ban the entry of Shri Ram Sene in the state. We the minorities in the state. have banned Shri Ram Sene,” Parrikar said. On Muthalik’s remarks that the BJP was The Congress, however, is not impressed appeasing Christians in the state, Tendulkar said by Parrikar’s move. Speaking to Firstpost, party that the BJP-government was secular and that no president John Fernandes said instead of a statesection of society would be treated specially. imposed ban, Muthalik should be detained under the Parrikar’s decision to ban the Ram Sene from National Security Act for trying to divide the country entering the state would only make sense once on communal lines. “Where is the order stating that authorities actually take action against such elements Ram Sene has been banned? Until we see the order who pose a threat to the communal harmony of the on paper, we will not accept it... this government is state -- or else it will remain a purely symbolic move famous for its U-turns, we have seen the same with aimed at curtailing PR damage to the state. the junket issue during the World Cup,” Congress While the Opposition has dismissed it as a spokesperson Durgadas Kamat told Firstpost. mere eyewash, the BJP government will have to do The Congress will also demand in the House a lot more if it is serious about curtailing any such that Parrikar table papers supporting his claim that moral policing organisations, be it the Ram Sene, the government has indeed banned the organisation. or even Parrikar’s own ministers, from making such “We cannot trust this man... He is an IIT chief (Copyright: Firstpost.com) provocative remarks. by Aaron Pereira
“Muthalik should be detained under the National Security Act.”
TH E EDIT PAGE “It is through the alignment of the body that I discovered the alignment of my mind, self, and intelligence.” - Yogacharya BKS Iyengar
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
PUNE
Editor’s pick
Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, a true ‘Bharat Ratna’ In our hearts and minds, Yogacharya BKS Iyengar is already a Bharat Ratna, a great jewel of India, a distinguished cultural ambassador of this land, making all of us proud of his good life and high achievements. Born in Bellur, Karnataka on December 14, 1918, it was only when he was around 15 that he discovered Yoga, taught to him by his brother-in-law, a famed yoga teacher himself. The young Iyengar was advised to do various asanas as a means to improve his health. From that point on, there was no looking back for the next eight decades, although there was considerable struggle in the early years. He came to Pune to teach yoga and earn a livelihood and these were difficult years. The Yogacharya had some qualities that all of us need to be conscious of. His life teaches us the enormous capabilities of the ancient science of Yoga that nourishes the body and strengthens the mind
while giving us a healthy life. In this land of Yoga, it is a paradox that so many people use expensive antiageing, wrinkle-removing, skin repair creams and cosmetics. Guruji’s life highlighted the need to understand and practice Yoga and benefit from it to the greatest possible extent. The Yogacharya was the most renowned teacher of Yoga. And yet, in his own estimation, he was always a student. He never stopped learning. Right till the very end he was engrossed in exploring the higher reaches of Yoga. His obsession in the later years of his life was to discover the hidden truths of this discipline, especially in the realm of the mind and consciousness. While being a great teacher, the Yogacharya had the humility of a student, right to the point of death at age 95. A stickler for punctuality- that enviable quality which is missing in most Indians- Iyengar took his art and craft seriously: He was demanding of himself and others. At the same time he was gentle and humble as a person. Unlike many so-called gurus, the Yogacharya was content and never sought fame, publicity or high office. He never sought to be in the news and focused on his work alone. He was happy with whatever came his way and never hankered for recognition. His entire focus was his work. Guruji has left us a legacy that is sure to inspire Yoga students for ages to come.
Encouraging children and the youth as agents of change It is a matter of great promise that India today is a country of young people. We are familiar with the oftrepeated statistics that 54 per cent of the nation’s 1.2 billion people are less than 24 years old. Th is means that there is a great opportunity to bring about change in India: fi rst and foremost a change in our mindsets to begin with. As reported earlier, a number of schools and voluntary organisations in Pune are doing a wonderful job of encouraging children to embrace eco-friendly ways of celebrating Ganeshotsav. For a number of years now, schools and NGOs have been organising workshops for making Ganesh idols of shadumati (clay). These idols of a small size are then painted with natural colours and placed on a pedestal decorated with cardboard, paper and other bio-degradable materials instead of the all-familiar and highly polluting thermocol. When such idols are immersed in the river there is no damage to the environment. Many families even immerse the idols in a bucket of water and pour the water to the trees at home or in the neighbourhood. Every single celebration of this kind means that much less pollution of our rivers and water bodies with
Plaster of Paris and toxic colours. Th is newspaper salutes such children and their families, the schools and NGOs who have been encouraging this trend. On a similar note, it is commendable that the Pune Police recently undertook a drive to felicitate collegians who regularly used the helmet for greater safety while riding their two-wheelers. The police must continue with such felicitation while not relenting on penalising defaulters and violators of the law. Young people do not come with the baggage of the past: Thus, they are easily convinced of the divisive and destructive character of caste and communal considerations. As a nation that boasts of unity in diversity, India needs to encourage inter-caste and inter-communal alliances and respect for all communities. It is easier to convince the young not to believe in superstitions; not to be greedy and demand dowry during marriage and not to litter on the streets but to carry their garbage to the nearest bin. Convincing children and young adults to change and adopt a progressive mindset would be the easiest way to bring about the desired change in India. Indeed, all of us can be a part of this movement.
Every eco-friendly celebration of this kind means that much less pollution of our rivers and water bodies
Vol-1* lssue No.: 10 Printed and Published by: Shrikant Honnavarkar on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Printed at Diligent Media Corporation Ltd, Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai. Published at Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. 1641, Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411 030, Tel: 020-2432 4332/33. Editor: Abhay Vaidya (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867)
Cartoon by: Keshav in The Hindu
Courageous of Modi to talk of toilets BY SAEED NAQVI Prime minister Narendra Modi’s courageous elaboration in his maiden Independence Day speech, on the nation’s need to build toilets had in it a touch of Acharya Vinoba Bhave. It also brought back a Devi Lal story. During a visit to China, Devi Lal, then India’s agricultural minister, made a great impression on the Chinese leadership by his knowledge of things agricultural. Even though he had been invited to study Chinese agriculture, his hosts found his observations and queries so insightful that they took him to more and more places so that they too could learn from his asides. On one field trip, Devi Lal, the tallest Jat from Haryana, towering above his Chinese counterpart in every sense of the term, stood on a piece of high ground, put his hands on his hips, and began to survey a mega farm. The Chinese waited for his pearls of wisdom. Devi Lal leaned over and whispered something in the Indian ambassador’s ear that made the emissary, an expert Mandarin speaker, turn pale, then white as a sheet. Devi Lal had whispered a simple question. “Kisaan tatti kahan kartay hain?” (Where do the peasants shit?) The Chinese, prolific spitters off the main highways, do, nevertheless, have a sense of delicacy about the theme Devi Lal had touched upon. In the dictionary of his mind, the ambassador translated “shit” into “nitrogenous waste matter” for which expression he found a suitably ornate word in Mandarin. When he communicated the query to the Chinese agriculture minister, he froze and blinked and blinked and shook his head like a sage who had seen light. Devi Lal had spotted the biggest gap in Chinese agricul-
Prime minister Narendra Modi’s courageous elaboration in his maiden Independence Day speech on the nation’s need to build toilets had in it a touch of Acharya Vinoba Bhave
ture: want of adequate toilet arrangements for peasants. I have embellished this Devi Lal yarn with a purpose. Middle class squeamishness sometimes obviates scrutiny of basic issues. It was courageous of Narendra Modi to have dwelt on the absence of toilets in the countryside and on the shame of our unclean cities. He touched on numerous other themes. When even our Gods and Goddesses are manufactured in China, it is time someone spoke of reviving Indian manufacture. That is an idea whose revival will take time. Toilets for rural households and cleanliness in cities is a revolution the Modi government can start tomorrow. Let us not talk about Gujarat which is probably much better off in this regard than Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Let him begin with the National Capital Region where, by Modi’s own definition, he is still an outsider. Before staleness sets in, let him appoint an official in his own office with a strict mandate: in six months to a year, the official must have in his hand a comprehensive blue-
print for toilets for Delhi’s villages and the hundreds of thousands of pavement dwellers. Nobody knows where they go for their ablutions. Also, there must be a plan for the removal of garbage dumps. Let this official be a regular member of the Indian Administrative Service. Try giving him a suitable job description, say, Secretary Toilets. My guess is that he will bolt the service, go back to his village and arrange a hundred havans to get this Rahu out of Ketu in the quickest possible time. If he happens to be a Muslim, Deoband will launch an agitation. Alright, for national tranquility, let us call him Officer on Special Duty (OSD). Let this OSD begin his inquiries by visiting important hotels, hospitals, major multi-storeyed blocks and seek out the managements to show him the toilets on the premises. He will discover that those manning these facilities are six inches shorter and a few shades darker than other management cadre on the premises. They are not even on the rolls of these outfits. They cannot be. How can a toilet cleaner be
Life and death: Drop the past each moment BY OSHO
being cannot be without death. So the fi rst thing is a clear understanding of Death is already happening. Whether what we mean by death. you face it or not, whether you look at Death is an absolutely necessary it or not, it is already there. It is just process for life to be. It is not the enlike breathing. When a child is born, emy, it is the friend. And it is not there he inhales. He breathes in for the fi rst somewhere in the future, it is here, time. That is the beginning of life. And now. It is not going to happen, it has when one day he becomes old, dies, he been always happening. Since you have will exhale. been here it has been with you. Death always happens with With each exhalation it hapexhalation and birth with inhapens — a little death, a small lation. But exhalation and inhadeath — but because of fear we lation are happening continuhave put it in the future. ously. With each inhalation you The mind always tries to are born; with each exhalation avoid things which it cannot you die. comprehend, and death is one So the fi rst thing to underof the most incomprehensible stand is that death is not some- THINK mysteries. There are only three where in the future, waiting for mysteries: life, death and love. you, as it has been always pictured. It All these three are beyond mind. is part of life; it is an ongoing processSo mind takes life for granted; not in the future, here, now. then there is no need to inquire. That is Life and death are two aspects of a way of avoiding. You never think, you existence, simultaneously happening never meditate on life; you have simply together. accepted it, taken it for granted. It is a Ordinarily, you have been taught tremendous mystery. You are alive, but to think of death as being against don’t think that you have known life. life. Death is not against life — life is For death, mind plays another not possible without death. Death is trick: it postpones it. To accept it here the very ground on which life exists. and now would be a constant worry, so Death and life are like two wings: the the mind puts it somewhere in the fubird cannot fly with one wing, and the ture — then there is no hurry. When it
comes, we will see. And for love, mind has created substitutes which are not love. Sometimes you call your possessiveness your love; sometimes you call your attachment your love; sometimes you call your domination your love — these are ego games. Love has nothing to do with them. In fact, because of these games, love is not possible. Between life and death, between the two banks of life and death, flows the river of love. And that is possible only for a person who does not take life for granted, who moves deep into the quality of being alive and becomes existential, authentic. Love is for the person who accepts death here and now and does not postpone it. Then between these two a beautiful phenomenon arises: the river of love. Life and death are like two banks. The possibility is there for the river of love to flow, but it is only a possibility. You will have to materialise it. Life and death are there, but love has to be materialised — that is the goal of being a human. Unless love materialises, you have missed — you have missed the whole point of being. (Osho, Ancient Music in the Pines Talk #8)
promoted as a lobby manager, for example. How can he even dream to ever become a Food and Beverages manager? Garbage dumps, thousands of them around the city, cannot be removed for similar reasons. Rag pickers employed to load the garbage trucks have found a market, heaven knows where, for the scrap they pick from the garbage bins parked in these dumps. A chain of interests has developed around each one of these. They have become sources of livelihood. Outside of India I have seen men and women find privacy behind the sand dunes in, for example, the Sahara desert. The picture cannot be very different in the sandier part of the Thar Desert. Within an hour of daybreak, every particle evaporates in the sharp “shams” or sun. In Europe, at least up to the 18th century, ablutions were a taboo. Wolfgang Mozart and his brothers died young of ailments from lack of washing. In Andalusia, on the other hand, a culture of Hamams and libraries prevailed since the arrival of the “Moors” in the 8th century. In fact one of the charges during the Spanish Inquisition after 1492 was quite extraordinary: “He Bathes”. This history has something to do with the culture of toilet paper introduced by the British in the colonies even where, otherwise, plenty of water was available. A tropical country needs ablutions for minimal hygiene. It required considerable self belief for Modi to dwell on the theme at such length on such an occasion. (A senior commentator on diplomatic and political affairs, Saeed Naqvi can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com. The views expressed are personal.) -Indo-Asian News Service
Limericks of the week BY C RAVINDRANATH
There’s handi at the top, like honey But a few like me, find it funny In the crowd and the noise There’s not a single voice That says the bottom line is money With yet another loss It’s clear who’s the boss Followers of cricket Are on a sticky wicket With hopes gone - for a toss! It is always very nice To have good neighbourly ties But then Will it happen when One talks - and the other defies?
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
PUNE
20-20 vision of Test cricket P 16
“Affected countries should conduct exit screening of all persons at international airports, seaports and major land crossings, for unexplained febrile illness consistent with potential Ebola infection.” —World Health Organisation on spread of deadly Ebola virus
After seeing so many deaths, the villagers now want to abondon the place BY ADAM NOSSITER NJALA NGIEMA, Sierra Leone: The signs of a deadly struggle remain: Scattered around the houses of the Ebola dead lie empty pill packages, their plastic casings punched through. Nearby in the mud are used packets of oral rehydration salts. The pills did not work and the hurried trip to the hospital, if there was one, came too late. Inside house after house, Ebola has claimed its victims: Here, 10 people died; over there, four, including three children. A few yards away, an old man lives alone, his wife now dead. In another, seven people are dead, the village teacher said. In a long low house nearby, 16 died, all from the same family. Outside yet another, two tiny girls, one age 6 and her sister 7, sit pensively in front, their parents gone. And there are more. “So many,” said Sheku Jaya, the 35-year-old village teacher, clutching his little daughter’s hand. “We lost too many people.” Here in the nation most afflicted by Ebola, in the hardest-hit part of the country, this may well be the most devastated village, local and
international officials say. At least 61 people have died here, out of a population of perhaps 500. Njala Ngiema, a mud-brick community of rice and cassava farmers deep in the forest, is quiet now. “We wanted to abandon this village,” Jaya said. There are still people here, but the village appears frozen. Inside the darkened houses, the scant belongings of the victims - ragged clothing, sandals, a rare radio - sit untouched weeks later. No new cases have surfaced here in nearly a month, but fear that the deadly virus still lurks has kept everything in place. Nothing appears to have moved since the deadly tide swept through. The Sierra Leone government, desperate to contain an epidemic that has claimed more than 300 lives in this nation alone, has effectively cordoned off this part of the country, deploying troops and setting up roadblocks in the hardest-hit areas. Two districts here in the east - an area with about 1 million people - were put under quarantine by the government, shutting down much of the traffic on the muddy road cutting through the Ebola zone. Tommy Trenchard/The New York Times
Nancy Jayah walks past the home of Foday Ansumana Konneh, who reportedly lost family members to Ebola, in the village of Njala Giema, Sierra Leone, August 9, 2014. A World Health Organisation panel of ethicists will meet to discuss the use of experimental treatments — never before used on humans — on patients in West Africa
Now, a region roughly the size of Jamaica has been cut off from the rest of the country because of the roadblocks, warned a local leader, paramount chief David Keili-Coomber - raising worries that if the epidemic does not decimate the region, a subsequent shortage of food, trade and supplies will. “Our fear now is that closing these roads risks having more people die of malnutrition and even starvation than by Ebola,” Keili-Coomber said in an email message. “Every week, we get one or two new villages with infections,” said Anja Wolz, the Doctors Without Borders’ physician who was running the organisation’s treatment center outside the town of Kailahun. “It is a disaster.” The government quarantine came too late for Njala Ngiema, where the scourge’s mark is everywhere along the wide muddy road that runs through the palm-fringed village. In front of a house where five people died hang a pair of blue trousers, untouched since Ebola passed through. “People are afraid; we asked them to burn them,” James Baion, a teacher from the area who is helping to organize an Ebola response on behalf of local officials. The sheet on Abbah’s bed is still rumpled and the pillow still askew. Poking out from the simple wood bed frame are his sandals. “He refused to go to the hospital. He was afraid to go,” said Baion. After Abbah died he was found in a sitting position at the edge of his bed, hunched over, his head bowed down. So many of the farmers have died that the residents said this year’s planting season is not likely to occur. “This farming season, we can’t do any work,” said Jaya, the teacher. “We have lost too many people.” In Bonbom, at least 24 are dead, along with 12 in Bendima, and 61 in Daru, a town of about 6,000 up the road from here, said the paramount chief in Daru, Musa Ngombu-kla Kallon II, ticking off the
New to the archaeologist’s tool kit: The Drone
Medical workers put on protective suits before entering the isolation area of the MSF Ebola treatment centre in Kailahun, Sierra Leone, August 8, 2014
towns where his subjects have died. presenting a common risk of infection. “Some villages are deserted,” the Even at the Doctor’s Without chief said. In Sierra Borders treatment Leone, the paramount center outside Kailahun, chief, a powerful semithe doctors say they are elected position, upholds not keeping pace with customary laws and the epidemic. collects some taxes. “I think we are two “People got scared,” he steps behind,” Wolz said. “They ran away.” said. “We are still Kallon himself lost discovering villages” his wife and daughter. where Ebola victims are His wife, taking care dying at home, rather of the initial case in the than in isolation, risking town, an infected nurse, new infections. told her husband: “Don’t The standard worry. Keep cool.” protocols for containing - Anja Wolz At the nurse’s burial, the disease - isolating everybody wanted to each patient, tracking “touch in abundance” the corpse, Kallon the people they came in contact with, said, even dressing the deceased’s hair. and monitoring all of those people Infected corpses are highly infectious, for weeks to see if they develop
“We are still discovering villages where Ebola victims are dying at home.”
any symptoms - seems an almost insurmountable task across the four West African nations that have reported cases so far: Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria. As of August 19, the death toll stood at 1,229 out of a reported 2,240 cases. International officials have said there were at least 500 contacts to trace just from the city in Guinea where the outbreak was first identified in March, and the World Health Organisation says it will need to send hundreds of additional health workers to the region to try to contain the epidemic. Wolz said the outbreak would not end this year. “Everybody sends experts,” she said. “They sit in offices and go to meetings. We need people to go into the field.” © 2014 New York Times News Service
Kidneys for sale: Brokers lure desperate patients
Transplant brokers in Israel maintain that they operate legally and do not directly help clients buy organs By Kevin Sack
Aldo Watanave operates a drone taking pictures of Cerro Chepen, an archaeological site above Chepen, Peru Peru’s cultural ministry has launched a drone air force to map, monitor and safeguard the country’s archaeological treasures
The drones can address the problem, quickly and cheaply, by providing bird’s-eye views of ruins that can be converted into three-dimensional images and highly detailed maps. The maps are then used to legally register the protected boundaries of sites, a kind of landmarking that can be cited in court to prevent development or to punish those who damage ruins by building anyway. “While various scholars are utilising drones in their individual investigations, no other country is systematically using drones to manage and protect their sites,” said Lawrence Coben, founder of the Sustainable Preservation Initiative, a nonprofit organisation providing economic opportunities to poor communities in which archaeological sites are located. © 2014 New York Times News Service
RAMAT GAN, Israel: Aside from the six-figure price tag, what was striking was just how easy it was for Ophira Dorin to buy a kidney. Two years ago, as she faced the dispiriting prospect of spending years on dialysis, Dorin set out to find an organ broker who could help her bypass Israel’s lengthy transplant waitlist. Only 36, she had a promising job at a software company and dreams of building a family. For five years, Dorin had managed her kidney disease by controlling her diet, but it had gradually overrun her resistance. Unable to find a matching donor among family and friends, she faced a daily battle against nausea, exhaustion and depression. A broker who trades in human organs might seem a difficult thing to find. But Dorin’s mother began making inquiries around the hospital where she worked, and in short order the family came up with three names: Avigad Sandler, a former insurance agent long suspected of trafficking; Boris Volfman, a young Ukrainian émigré and Sandler protégé; and Yaacov Dayan, a wily businessman with interests in real estate and marketing. The men were, The New York Times learned during an investigation of the global organ trade, among the central operators in Israel’s irrepressible underground kidney market. For years, they have pocketed enormous sums for arranging overseas transplants for patients who are paired with foreign donors, court filings and government documents show. The brokers maintain they operate legally and do not directly help clients buy organs. Dodging international condemnation and tightening enforcement, they have nimbly shifted operations across the globe when any one destination closes its doors.
Rina Castelnuovo/The New York Times
CHEPÉN, Peru: A small remote-controlled helicopter buzzed over ancient hilltop ruins here, snapping hundreds of photographs. Below, stone walls built more than a thousand years ago by the Moche civilisation gave way to a grid of adobe walls put up only recently by what officials said were land speculators. “This site is threatened on every side,” said Luis Jaime Castillo Butters, Peru’s vice minister of cultural heritage as he piloted the drone aircraft. Archaeologists around the world, who have long relied on the classic tools of their profession, like the trowel and the plumb bob, are now turning to the modern technology of drones to defend and explore endangered sites. And perhaps nowhere is the shift happening as swiftly as in Peru, where Castillo has created a drone air force to map, monitor and safeguard his country’s ancient treasures. Drones mark “a before and after in archaeology,” said Castillo, who is also a prominent archaeologist and one of a dozen experts who will outline the use of drones at a conference in San Francisco next year. In remote northwestern New Mexico, archaeologists are using drones outfitted with thermal-imaging cameras to track the walls and passages of a 1,000-year-old Chaco Canyon settlement, now buried beneath the dirt. In the Middle East, researchers have employed them to guard against looting. “Aerial survey at the site is allowing for the identification of new looting pits and determinations of whether any of the looter’s holes had been revisited,” said Morag Kersel, an archaeologist from DePaul University in Chicago who is part of a team using drones in Jordan and Israel. Peru, with its stunning concentration of archaeological riches, is suddenly fertile ground to try out this new technology. The country is becoming a research hot spot as archaeologists in the Middle East and elsewhere find their work interrupted by unrest. But in Peru they encounter another kind of conflict. Here they struggle to protect the country’s archaeological heritage from squatters and land traffickers, who often secure property through fraud or political connections to profit from rising land values. Experts say hundreds, perhaps thousands of ancient sites are endangered by such encroachment.
Meridith Kohut/The New York Times
By WILLIAM NEUMAN and RALPH BLUMENTHAL
Tommy Trenchard/The New York Times
Dread lingers in Ebola-hit village
Ophira Dorin, who turned to Israel’s underground kidney market and ultimately travelled to Costa Rica for a transplant, in Jerusalem, in April of 2014. Israeli brokers pocket enormous sums and maintain their legality while nimbly shifting operations around the globe as needed
The supply of transplantable organs is estimated by the World Health Organisation to meet no more than a tenth of the need. Although there is no reliable data, experts say thousands of patients most likely receive illicit transplants abroad each year. The vast marketplace includes the United States, where federal prosecutors in New Jersey won the first conviction for illegal brokering in 2011. But a Times analysis of major trafficking cases since 2000 suggests that Israelis have played a disproportionate role. That is in part because of religious strictures regarding death and desecration that have kept deceased donation rates so low that some patients feel they must turn elsewhere. “When someone needs an
organ transplant, they’ll do everything in their power,” said Meir Broder, a top legal adviser to Israel’s Ministry of Health. That desperation was evident in the workings of the transplant tourism pipeline that delivered Dorin and other foreign patients to Costa Rica from 2009 to 2012. The Costa Rican government is not sure how many foreigners received suspicious transplants there. But The Times identified 11 patients - six Israelis, three Greeks and two US residents who travelled to San José for transplants using kidneys obtained from locals. Two other Israelis who were located brought donors from Israel with them for procedures that most likely would not have been approved in their own country. The network was built by a cast that included high-rolling Israeli brokers, a prominent Costa Rican nephrologist and middlemen who recruited donors from the driver’s seat of a taxi and the front counter of a pizzeria. In interviews and documents, four Israeli patients or sources close to them identified Dayan, known as Koby, as their conduit to Costa Rica. The scandal prompted the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly to pass a law in March that toughens the restrictions on trafficking, holds doctors accountable for illicit procedures and establishes a national wait-list system. In Israel, the State Attorney’s Office declined to discuss the status of a tax-fraud case against Dayan. There are no formal charges against Sandler, Volfman and their associates, but the office continues to investigate with the intention of seeking indictments. “It is clear to us that these people sold their bodies for pennies,” Meir Arenfeld, a police superintendent, said of the donors. © 2014 New York Times News Service
MONEY MATT ER S “I am visiting every state concerning my departments, energy, coal, new and renewable energy, to work with the states for progress.” - Piyush Goyal, Union minister
Signposts SEBI: Firm board decisions to be shared in 15 minutes Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Tuesday proposed that listed companies should intimate the stock exchanges, within 15 minutes of closure of board meets, on decisions taken on dividends, financial results, cash bonus, share buy back, fund raising, issue of bonus shares and others. To have a better disclosure regime, SEBI has come out with a discussion paper on which comments are invited by September 12.
FIIs buy `1,183.12 cr in local equity markets Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have become net-buyers in the Indian equities market which touched a record high on Tuesday. Data with the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought `1,183.12 crore or $193.77 million in the local equity markets. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs), including banks, development finance institutions (DFIs), insurance and mutual funds, sold net stocks worth `263.37 crore.
Volkswagen to start diesel engine assembly soon German automobile company Volkswagen on Tuesday said it will commence production of diesel engines at its plant located in Chakan, near Pune, with the start of engine assembly line and full-fledged enginetesting facility at the plant. “With this, we take a significant leap towards enhancing our localisation in India,” said Mahesh Kodumudi, group chief representative, Volkswagen Group India and president and managing director, Volkswagen India.
AUGUST 23, 2014
RBI is working with the government at enhancing financial literacy and “strengthening the customer grievance redressal mechanism”
BY MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM At a recent public lecture, RBI governor, Dr Raghuram Rajan, said that workable financial inclusion requires products that “should be easy to access at low transactions cost” with a minimal regulatory burden. “Simplicity and reliability,” he said, “would be key,” and bank accounts could be more easily opened by providing only current address proof, including makeshift dwellings. He also said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would nudge banks to offer a simple suite of products based on the principle that “what one thinks one is paying for is what one should get, without hidden clauses or opt-outs to trip one up.” A consumer charter of rights was in the works and RBI was working with the government at enhancing financial literacy and “strengthening the customer grievance redressal mechanism.” It was also looking to “expand supervision, market intelligence, and coordination with law and order to reduce the proliferation of fly-by-night operators.” In effect, Dr
The Consumer Protection Code on customer charter of rights includes the right to privacy that will ensure that customer’s credit data is not shared without their permission, especially with telemarketers.
Rajan is promising achche din (good times) to savers. The Consumer Protection Code on customer charter of rights has been tightened over two months of discussions. Its latest version incorporates the following rights: The right to equality will ensure that a customer is not discriminated against on the grounds of age, caste, religion, etc. Where an earlier version of the Code did not allow one consumer group to be favoured over another in selling, pricing and distribution of products and services, this has been modified to allow insurance products to be tailored to different age groups and health conditions.
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“The Indian e-commerce companies should establish a business model that is profitable in the short to long run. That is very important for survival.” - Saurabh Srivastava
Right moves by the central bank to help savers
The right to suitability of products requires banks to ensure that financial products offered to consumers are based on an assessment of the needs, financial circumstances and understanding of the consumer. This is bound to tame the reckless misselling by relationship managers. The right to fair treatment, transparency, fair dealing and responsible marketing is a comprehensive clause. This will ensure that not only are financial terms clearly enunciated, but products are free of coercive contractual conditions and misleading representations. It also says that “financial services providers cannot threaten the customer with physical harm, exert undue influence,
Nifty may give up some gains over the next few sessions BY MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM
or engage in blatant harassment.” The right to privacy will ensure that customer’s credit data is not shared without their permission, especially with telemarketers. The right to grievance redress has been substantially improved. It allows banks to be held responsible for the sale (or mis-selling) of thirdparty products as well and will require bankers to spell out the customers’ right to compensation for mistakes, lapses in conduct and non-performance or delays. The earlier draft had only outlined the escalation process to the banking ombudsman. A curious omission in the new version is the elimination of the right to choice. This would have stopped mortgage companies and auto-loan providers from bundling insurance products at a higher cost. But, to be fair, other clauses of the Code can still protect a consumer who rejects such bundling. The revised version has also dropped the right to special protection for poor and vulnerable customers. The key to the Code’s effectiveness, of course, is its proper implementation. There is no point in framing a bunch of rights, if consumers, especially those who are new to formal banking, have no way of representing themselves or fighting to have their grievance redressed. What may help is a realisation in RBI that there is a nonadversarial role for consumer protection organisations in ensuring that a charter of rights translates into reality. @moneylife
After opening in a highly upbeat mood, the indices soon started moving lower on Tuesday. This was followed by the indices moving in a narrow range for the remaining session. Positive data from the US and UK helped the positive momentum on the benchmark to continue. S&P BSE Sensex opened at 26,483 and immediately hit its life time high at 26,531, while the CNX Nifty opened at 7,901 and hit its all-time high at 7,919. Both the indices hit its daily low at 26,388 and 7,881. The benchmark again managed to close at its new alltime high at 26,421 (up 30 points or 0.11 per cent) and 7,898 (up 23 points or 0.30 per cent). The NSE recorded a volume of 89.28 crore shares. India VIX rose 2.98 per cent to close at 13.9050. Except for Service (0.06 per cent), Finance (0.18 per cent) and IT (0.51 per cent) all other indices on the NSE closed in the positive. The top five gainers were Auto (2.46 per cent), Realty (1.57 per cent), Smallcap (1.42 per cent), PSE (1.15 per cent) and Consumption (1.13 per cent). Of the 50 stocks on the Nifty, 37 ended in the green. The top five gainers were BPCL (3.93 per cent), M&M (3.77 per cent), Tata Motors (3.33 per cent), Bajaj Auto (3.30 per cent) and IndusInd Bank (3.23 per cent). The top five losers were HDFC (2.49 per cent), TCS (1.99 per cent), Hindalco (1.02 per cent), Sun Pharma (1.00 per cent) and HDFC Bank (0.99 per cent). Of the 1,600 companies on the NSE, 933 companies closed in the green, 600 companies closed in the red while 67 companies closed flat. @moneylife
Investment through P-Notes falls to $34 billion in July
Till a few yrs ago, participatory notes used to account for more than 50% of the total FII investments, but their share has fallen after SEBI tightened norms BY MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM Investments into Indian shares through participatory notes (P-Notes) in July dropped to `2.08 lakh crore (about $34 billion) after hitting over six-year high in the preceding month. This also marks the first decline since April. According to the data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the total value of P-Note investments in Indian markets (equity, debt and derivatives) declined to `2.08 lakh crore at the end of July from `2.24 lakh crore in June, the highest level in more than six years. The June figure marked the highest
Medical technology can be $50 bn industry by 2025: CII The $6.3 billion medical technology industry in India has the potential to expand to $50 billion by 2025 if it receives the appropriate policy support, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said.
Global consumer confidence
India takes top spot: Nielsen NEW DELHI: India has touched the top spot in consumer confidence among the 60 countries measured in Nielsen’s Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions in the second quarter (April-June) of 2014. The country’s ranking increased seven index points to 128, surpassing the 123 logged by Indonesia, which previously held the top spot for five consecutive quarters. The Nielsen consumer confidence index measures perceptions of job prospects, personal finances and immediate spending intentions. Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism, respectively. “Consumers in India have indicated increased levels of confidence in the second quarter when the country’s general elections were taking place in the country,” said Piyush Mathur, president, Nielsen India. “This buoyancy is yet to translate into increased consumption across sectors. Despite the ongoing inflationary trend and expectations of a
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY
128
100
The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index
poor monsoon, consumers are likely to open their purse strings as we head into the festive season in response to savvy marketing stimulus,” he added. India’s job sentiment improved 20 percentage points from the third quarter of 2013, as 83 per cent of Indian consumers said they feel optimistic about future prospects, the survey revealed.
According to the Nielsen findings, global consumer confidence increased one index point to 97 in the second quarter, marking the highest level since the first quarter of 2007. This forward momentum comes after a stagnant 2013, when confidence was stubbornly stuck at 94 for three out of four quarters, Nielsen said. Confidence was highest in the AsiaPacific region, which held steady from the first quarter with a score of 106, whereas North America (103) and Europe (77) reported consumer confidence increases of three and two points, respectively, from the first quarter. Among other Asia-Pacific countries, while confidence increased in the Philippines (120) and Malaysia (93), China held steady for a third consecutive quarter at 111. “In China, per capita spending continues to grow with the increase of disposable income and as the government transforms the country’s investment-driven growth strategy to one that is consumption led,” said Yan Xuan, president of Nielsen Greater China. IANS
investments into Indian shares through P-Notes since May 2008, when the cumulative value of such investments stood at `2.35 lakh crore. P-Notes are mostly used by overseas high net-worth individuals (HNIs), hedge funds and other foreign institutions, allow them to invest in Indian markets through registered foreign institutional investors (FIIs), while saving on time and costs associated with direct registration. However, investment into the equity market via P-Notes had been rising in the past few months and analyst attributed the surge to hopes of investors from a stable government.
It shot up in May post general election results, primarily on the new government’s promise to revive economic growth and the momentum continued in June. However, it slipped in July. Besides, the value of P-Notes issued with derivatives as underlying stood at `1.6 lakh crore as on 30 June 2014. The quantum of FII investments through P-Notes grew to 12 per cent in June from 11.7 per cent in the previous month. Till a few years ago, P-Notes used to account for more than 50 per cent of the total FII investments, but their share has fallen after SEBI tightened
the disclosure norms and other regulations for such investments. P-Notes have been accounting for mostly 15 per cent - 20 per cent of total FII holdings in India since 2009, while it used to be much higher — in the range of 25-40 per cent — in 2008. It was as high as over 50 per cent at the peak of Indian stock market bull run during a few months in 2007. FIIs, the key drivers of Indian markets, pumped in a net amount of over `13,000 crore ($2.2 billion) last month, while they poured in a net `23,000 crore ($3.8 billion) in the debt market in July, the data from SEBI shows. @moneylife
Investors use debt schemes mainly for tax benefits: online survey results Moneylife’s online survey on debt mutual funds shows that 65% of the respondents said they invested in these schemes to take advantage of the tax benefit BY MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM Moneylife conducted an online survey about how investors viewed Fixed Maturity Plans and Debt Schemes before and after Budget 2014. The focus of the survey was to gauge the views of savers—whether they still find debt mutual fund schemes attractive or not—after the Budget imposed taxes. Out of the 700 responses from members and subscribers, only 527 gave valid responses; the rest either did not invest in mutual funds (MFs) at all or did not complete the questionnaire. We have considered these 527 responses as the sample. Of these, 89 per cent invest in equity schemes and as many as 458 (or 87 per cent) invest in non-equity schemes like debt schemes, leading us to conclude that a high percentage of mutual fund investors would be impacted by the change in tax norms. Based on their responses, many of them showed that they were knowledgeable about their tax management. Over 85 per cent were
Did you invest in non-equity schemes to take advantage of these tax benefits?
Yes
68.66% Not sure
No
25.15%
6.19%
aware of the tax advantage enjoyed by FMPs, debt schemes and other nonequity schemes over traditional fi xedincome products, before the Budget. As many as 65 per cent said they invested in these schemes to take advantage of the tax benefit. Our survey showed that investors use non-equity schemes mainly to avail of the tax benefits. The taxation of FMPs and debt
funds has not been raised. Earlier, it was 10 per cent without indexation or 20 per cent with indexation, whichever is lower. Now, it is only the latter. A significant percentage of respondents hold units of liquid and debt schemes for a period of one year to three years. As many as 42 per cent of the participants invest in liquid schemes for less than a year and an equal number hold investments in liquid schemes for a period between one year and three years. Just around 13 per cent hold such investments for over three years. Similarly, just about 20 per cent hold debt schemes for over three years, while around 70 per cent stay invested between one year to three years. When asked if they would invest in FMPs or debt schemes for period less than a year, as many as 65 per cent said they would not; 20 per cent were not sure. If Investors pull money out from FMPs and Debt Schemes where will they put this money? As many as 41 per cent said that they would choose banks FDs. @moneylife
SPORTS
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
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“In India, so much importance is given to the Ranji Trophy that it is difficult to take out the Test cricket from the blood of every aspiring cricketer.” - U-19 World Cup skipper Unmukt Chand
“I have been flattered by Tendulkar’s knowledge of soccer, his ideas about the game, and eagerness to know more about it.” - Former India international footballer IM Vijayan UNI
Indian coaches have burnt their bridges BY VETURI SRIVATSA
20-20ofvision Test cricket BY VETURI SRIVATSA
Signposts ‘Fletcher has not been sidelined’
Mohun Bagan stands by EB
to be their favourite whipping boys, arranging tours at short notice, and now they have found the West Indies. The Caribbean team was here last October to celebrate Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement and they will be here again in two months, this time to soothe Indian feelings and to help them forget their England nightmare and tell the world that they have recovered well enough to take on Australia. How the Indian players wish
yet they didn’t play their best spinner. Also how could you drop Shikhar Dhawan at Old Trafford just when he was finding his feet though, scoring 31 out of an opening stand of 40 and 37 at Southampton, unless for sentimental reasons to play a senior colleague Gautam Gambhir for having brought him on the tour? How can a team that depends on its bowlers to get runs and also bowl the opposition out twice prosper? On this tour you didn’t have a
‘End ban on basketball We see beginning of change in players with turbans’ world football: Hitzfeld BY ARUN KUMAR WASHINGTON: A coalition of US lawmakers Tuesday urged the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to end its discriminatory policy against Sikh basketball players who wear turbans, an important article of their faith. In a letter to FIBA president Yvan Mainini, 21 Congress members led by Democrat Ami Bera, the lone IndianAmerican Congressman and Joe Crowley, a former chair of the India caucus, took up cudgels on behalf of the Sikh players. Expressing concern about “recent reports indicating that Sikhs are not able to participate in FIBA games while wearing a turban, which is essential to their faith”, the lawmakers sought a “change in this discriminatory policy”. COURTESY SINGH21.COM
KOLKATA: On a day when one of its top officials was arrested by the CBI in connection with the multi-crorerupee Saradha chit fund scam, city soccer outfit East Bengal (EB) got the backing of arch rivals Mohun Bagan. A top Bagan official said the prestigious club cannot be held liable for the wrongdoing of an individual. “The club can’t be made liable. It is individual liability. Why should the club take the liability fo an individual?” said Mohun Bagan general secretary Anjan Mitra, hours after the investigating agency arrested EB’s key official Debabrata Sarkar. Mitra said East Bengal was a nearly 100-year-old club. “If somebody has done any mischief by taking the name of the club, then there is law to deal with it,” he added.
India’s Test players look like the youngsters who got hooked on junk food, not knowing the real taste of the spread of a festival feast
Rahul Dravid to give heart to the team mates like he tried to do four years ago scoring three hundreds to give some respectability to the totals. All that we got to hear is the deficiencies in front-foot and backfoot play with temperament thrown in. Yes, you can’t be experimenting with your slip catchers in England. Again in Twenty20 you have no use for slip-catchers so how do you find specialists in Tests. One thing is for sure, Gambhir’s intensity is best left for Kolkata Knight Riders and Rohit Sharma continues to be exasperating. After spending almost an hour-and-half at the wicket and scoring 28, he can’t be getting out the way he did, that too to Moeen Ali, England’s spinning find. The sad truth is he will score so heavily on India pitches he will force his way back in. Someone should drill into him that he should go in with uncluttered mind and iron out technical glitches. That is if the selectors still have time for him. India made one point clear -- that they are a side for the shorter versions. They did not bat 50 overs in four innings and they were in such a tearing hurry to catch up with Twenty20 Champions League that they played nine overs more than 20 in their last Test innings. - IANS
“There is no evidence showing that a turban has been dangerous during basketball games or other popular sports events,” they wrote. “In fact, there are many examples of Sikhs who have safely competed in basketball at many levels with their articles of faith intact.” Other sports leagues, such as Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), also allow athletes wearing turbans to participate, the lawmakers noted. In July, two Sikh players were told by referees that they must remove their turbans if they were to play in FIBA’s Asia Cup as they were in violation of a FIBA rule stating “Players shall not wear equipment (objects) that may cause injury to other players”. - IANS
BERLIN: German football legend Ottmar Hitzfeld has seen it all. Considered one of the most successful coaches of the modern era, he announced his retirement after leading Switzerland to the round of 16 in the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Hitzfeld won the Champions League twice in 1997 and 2001 when in charge of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, respectively. Only five football coaches (Ernst Happel, Carlo Ancelotti, Jupp Heynckes and Jose Mourinho) won the Champions League with two clubs. The recently retired Hitzfeld won the German league championship on seven occasions and was the head coach of the Swiss national team from 2008-2014. Football has opened up new markets around the globe to football clubs. How do you see markets like the one in China? Football is a sport for millions around the world - just look at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In nearly every country we have a growing number of football fans. All the big clubs have discovered that football now enjoys intensive global interest. And China in particular with its fundamental experience in sports and its resources is an interesting market with great potential. But it’s not only the big clubs that have to do a lot of work. A solid, clear structure in a country is necessary to develop football. Some scientists are predicting that
IANS
LONDON: Former India captain Ravi Shastri, who has been appointed the team director for the ODI series against England, said his role would be to oversee the team, but added that chief coach Duncan Fletcher has not been sidelined. “My role is to oversee everything. All of them report to me,” Shastri was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. Asked if Fletcher has been sidelined Shastri said: “Absolutely not. He stays as the head coach. And these two (Bangar and Arun) will be his assistants. I am there to oversee.”
they could change their game as quickly as some of us, the media, could in hindsight with 20-20 vision. How easy it is to roll out adjectives, epithets and pour scorn at a team that shows little stomach for a fight. Victory is always historic and great and defeat is shameful. Even if one has to show some sympathy, how can the Indian thinktank explain Sri Lanka beating England on the strength of their spin just before India got there. India took two spinners whose batting credentials may have weighed in their favour and
What exactly is the role of Ravi Shastri, the new director of cricket operations of the Indian team now in England to complete a tortuous tour playing five one-dayers and a Twenty20 game after losing the five-Test series 1-3? It is not the role of the former India all-rounder but the designation that tells a story. Does this mean the job of a coach is handed back to an Indian after one of Indian icons started talking the language of the present dispensation of swadeshi (Indian) and swabhiman (Pride)? No overseas coach has been appointed without consulting the two heavyweights of Indian cricket, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri. Both have been closely associated with the Indian cricket board in some capacity or other for close to two decades. In fact, they were part of an interview board to select one overseas coach. In Fletcher’s case, Shastri is diplomatic and Gavaskar makes no bones about his utter dislike for the man, hinting his appointment was for commercial reasons and the appointment of Indians is for cricket reasons! The board officials in private make it clear that the bowling and fielding coaches are as good as out and that Fletcher has been politely told to suffer the humiliation of reporting to Shastri. The board, which has always thought the Indian Premier League (IPL) the best thing to have happened to Indian cricket and players, has all of a sudden found the Indian support staff from IPL as good as any in the world! One season of good work in the IPL fetched Bangar the job of assistant coach and his fielding coach at King XI Punjab R. Sridhar the same work with the Indian team. Arun is the new bowling coach. Now everyone is finding virtues in the coaching styles of the three men. Arun and Sridhar were BCCI employees as part of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) staff till it was disbanded last month. At least one
IANS
Ask any player anywhere in the world and he will say, Test cricket is the ultimate. But today - though he may not openly admit it - he knows in his heart that his Twenty20 performance is far more important. It may sound nonsensical yet the aspiring cricketer has started believing that the easiest way to get into the limelight is through the shortest format of the game. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and most of his team mates may not accept that Twenty20 cricket has started hurting their Test status. People will still hail Dhoni as the captain who won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup, the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy besides manipulating India to the No 1 position in Test cricket. India’s Test players look like the youngsters who got hooked on junk food, not knowing the real taste of the spread of a festival feast. They have mostly been brought up on Twenty20 stuff and they are struggling to come to grips with the delicacies of Test cricket. Any diplomatic explanation for India’s abysmal performance will not serve the purpose. We have to accept that this is their strength now and it is not good enough to
consistently perform at least overseas. See the disparity between tough sides and the weak. England lost their fi rst Test against India on their last tour here and bounced back to take the series 2-1 whereas India took a 1-0 lead and then disintegrated to allow England to come back with a vengeance to make it a no-contest winning 3-1. There is a message for India in the steamrolling. Play your Test cricket mostly on your cart-tracks back home and be happy mauling the opposition. There was a time when Sri Lanka used
aspirant, Lal Chand Rajput, India A coach, is sulking for ignoring his claims. The same board, god knows on whose advice, sacked Venkatesh Prasad as bowling coach and found Robin Singh not good enough to be the fielding coach, allowing overseas coaches to install their own support staff in key positions. It is essential to remember here that it was the senior players who complained to the board about the uselessness of Indian coaches, saying they only kept telling what they did in their time and telling them to buck up before entering the field and patting them on return. In one case, the players went to the board chief to get the coach sacked because he behaved like a hostel warden. It is these senior players who suggested the names of overseas coaches, too. As its Man Friday, Shastri will not rock Dhoni’s boat for obvious reasons. In any case, Dhoni will surely be leading the side to defend the World Cup India won under his captaincy in 2011 in India. One need not be surprised if the team fails to return with the cup on pitches the Indians dislike because of their bounce and pace. Fletcher’s fate is not in the hands of Shastri but what Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman think if the two are to join the team management as widely speculated. What if India win the World Cup? Then Fletcher might say goodbye to Indian cricket like Gary Kirsten did four years ago. - IANS
future football players won’t be specialists for defending or scoring goals like today. They say football players of the future have to able to do everything? I don’t know how quick things will move in that way. But we might see the beginning of that change today. Right and left backs have to be playmakers already, defenders can’t be only defenders any more, they need to be able to drive the game forward. Even the education of footballers has changed into that direction. Now that Lahm, Klose and Mertesacker have retired from the German team, will we see a generation change in the German team? A change of generations is going too far, in my opinion. But as far as Lahm is concerned, I would have loved to have seen him continue in international football. As for Mertesacker, his decision was a surprise too. Klose is 36 years old and wants to concentrate
on his club career. Generally, I can understand that players have second thoughts due to the many games they have to play with their clubs. After the World Cup, the Germans are seen as the trendsetters in global football. Of course everybody now tries to do it the German way. It was the same with Spanish football after they for years won all important titles. Spain was the trendsetter then. Now it is Germany setting the benchmarks. For years Germany played a very offensive style of football - now they have strengthened the defense on top and were extremely flexible in their game. Generally Germany has lots of exciting youngsters coming through - they can leave their mark in the new era. I am happy for German football that coach Joachim Loew will continue in charge. His road with the German team is not finished yet. How do you see the future of the Swiss team? You had a fundamental change of players too - there are many players with foreign roots? The Swiss team will get better and better - they are not at their peak yet. As you mentioned we have a lot of well-coached young players - many already play a vital role in their clubs all over Europe. I’ m sure we will see more games like the one we did against Argentina, which was a very tight game that proved Swiss football is on the right track.” - IANS
SPORTS “ I was aiming for a better ranking which would have given me an easier draw, but I was ranked around 20s when the draw was made and that explains the tough draw.” — Shuttler Parupalli Kashyap
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2014
PUNE
“We are extremely excited and hope the Indian Super League will provide the dose of much-needed visibility to Indian Football.” — Kushal Das, AIFF general secretary
Pune, the home of badminton, has several national champions, however not bred any world beaters yet BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis.ashish PUNE: Pune, known as the birthplace of badminton (Poona Game) has been a bastion of the sport, right from the beginning. The city has not only produced several nationallevel shuttlers over the years, but it has also been a regular venue for many top class tournaments. The game, before 1981, was played mainly at Poona Club and a few other centres like Hirabaug and Maharashtra Mandal. Post 1981, a substantial growth was recorded, when Pune District Metropolitan Badminton Association (PDMBA) built their multi-equipped badminton complex at Shivajinagar. Th is complex was inaugurated with hosting the prestigious Indian Masters Open. Since then it has been a training centre for star players like Rajiv Bagga, Uday Pawar, Hemant Hardikar (four-time national champion), Manjusha Pawangadkar ,Trupti Murgude, Aditi Mutatkar and Sayali Gokhale (two-time national champion). And as of today, over 500 shuttlers train at PDMBA. “For the beginners, PDMBA has started their coaching programme, under which certified coaches are training kids in different pockets of the city. Areas like Sarasbaug, Laxmi Krida Mandir, MIT, Yashashree Society, Bharat Kunj Colony,
Signposts Rutuja wins state open chess tourney PUNE: Rutuja Bakshi of Aurangabad won the Maharashtra State Open Women Selection FIDE Rating Chess Tournament held at PYC Hindu Gymkhana recently. Though she lost to Saloni in the last round, she remained at the top of the table with six points. She was followed by Parnali Dharia of Mumbai, Saloni Sapale (Pune), Dhanashree Pandit (Mumbai), Samiksha Patil (Raigad) and Khushi Khandelwal (Mumbai) with five points each. Parnali and Saloni were finished second and third respectively.
Karnataka High School and Sinhagad Road have one or two badminton courts. Numerically speaking, around 7000-8000 players are actively playing on 100 courts spread all over the city,” said PDMBA secretary Uday Sane. The association also faces the task of giving these kids with an opportunity to showcase their talents. So apart from state and district championships, the association has been conducting inter-club leagues and inter-school tournaments every year. Right from the oldest tournaments like Sushant Chipalkatti memorial, VV Natu all-India ranking, Old Monk and Haweli Taluka, to the recently started Maharashtra Badminton League, the city hosts around 37 tournaments. “The city has gained a good reputation in a technical field too. Thanks to PDMBA vice president Girish Natu’s incentives, now half of the Indian officials who officiate in international level tournaments come from Pune. Th is is a big achievement,” added Sane.
Need of the hour
“The city’s badminton scenario is doing well, but we need to propagate it further. We have always had national champions among girls, but very few among boys. Normally, boys tend to perform well at the junior level and then they are more likely to retort to academics. Therefore it is necessary
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
The victory cry is still a long shot
Remembering history As per the records, the game was first played by few British soldiers, in 1870, in the Ammunition Factory at Khadki. These British soldiers started playing the game on their return from Gloucestershire County. The Duke of Beaufort from the town of badminton helped promote this game. Hence it was named ‘Badminton’ to remember his contribution. “It’s our responsibility to build a monument or a museum near the birthplace of the game. At least we should have a chowk named as badminton chowk with a beautiful sculpture of badminton shuttle to indicate that the game was originated here. We have approached several officers, and are waiting for a response. I urge to the corporate groups to come forward for this cause, ” said Sane.
Nikhi Kanetkar Badminton Academy Players during a warm-up session at Balewadi
to supervise and train them and see that they achieve something before they turn 14-15 at the national level. That might convince their parents to let their child consider the sport as a career option,” said Olympian Nikhil Kanetkar, whose NKBA academy based in Balewadi contributes to city’s reputation as a badminton hub. Emphasising on physical fitness,
PFC signs three new players PUNE: Pune Football Club has completed the signings of defenders Raju Yumnam and Jessel Carneiro along with midfielder Snehashis Chakraborty for the 2014-15 season. While Raju joins Pune FC from Churchill Brothers, Snehashis comes in from United SC and Jessel joins from Dempo SC. The trio thus become the first Indian players to be signed under coach Karim Bencherifa. “We have been monitoring the progress of Raju and Snehashis for a couple of years now and we are glad to have finally signed them. Jessel is an exciting young player who has done very well in the Goa league in the last couple of seasons. He has trained with the team for a couple of weeks now and
we believe he has the potential of being a really good player for us,” said Pune FC operations head Chirag Tanna. Snehashis, 25, is an experienced pro in the Indian circuit. In 200708, the Bengali medio represented United SC senior side before moving to Mohun Bagan in 2009-10. At Bagan, Snehashis played for two seasons under Bencherifa. Raju, also 25, began his professional career with the Goan side in 2011. His consistent performances over the years saw him make the left back position his own. He also played a crucial role in Churchill’s campaign in the AFC Cup in 2013 and 2014 before bringing his three-year association with the Goans to an end.
he said, “We don’t have a culture like that of Hyderabad. Here, even the parents are lethargic when it comes to insinuating physical fitness of their wards. One must realise that he/she won’t be able to perform if fitness is ignored.” Echoing the Olympian, Sane said, “The game is changing fast. Skills are not enough now. Physical fitness is
an essential part of the training. Thus for the last 2-3 years we have been running fitness awareness campaigns for the players.” He also stressed the government’s role in overall development. “Andhra Pradesh is a classic example. In the last 8-10 years, they have invested around 500-600 crores to build stadiums and develop the
sports infrastructure. Steps like reservation in jobs for sportspersons and incentives for players have put Andhra Pradesh prominently on the sports map of India. That’s not the case with Maharashtra. Though the goverment is taking few steps, to create the world beaters from city, we still have a long way to go,” said Sane. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com
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Open letter from MS Dhoni A jaded visiting captain takes time off tour to write back home BY MALAY DESAI @malayD From: msdhoni@lastmanstanding.com To: <Ranchi Family> CC:<Chennai Family> BCC: ravishastri@newboss.com Dear Ma-Papa, Sakshi and gai-bachhre, Pranaam from vilayat. I know you’ll be shocked to see this letter, for I haven’t written any since the 2011 England tour. But this time around, I bear good news. We have made a drastic improvement in our performance compared to the 0-4 battering of the last tour – we have lost the test series 1-3. Okay, jokes apart, truth is that if 2011’s eight test losses were as painful as watching Himmatwala over and over again, this series has been like watching Humshakals – you don’t know who the joke is on, after a while. I am so sore, jaded and frustrated that I’ve asked Virat to type out this mail. Honestly, it started off well. We drew the fi rst game (on a pitch that seemed like it was imported from Nagpur) and won the second at Lord’s (Ishant got his name up the Honours Board next to Ajit Agarkar’s. Sachin dadu who’d come to watch that day
left early for some reason). But then I had forgotten that in-form pacers in England are like rave parties in Mumbai – they can stop abruptly and you end up paying heavily. Sakshi, here are three words I thought I’d never say to you in this lifetime – I missed Ishant. Papa, I know you’ve been reading articles diagnosing our test failures, but let me tell you the real reason – our boys have collectively developed ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, where the Hyperactivity stands for the dozens of one-day and T20 games we play back home. One of its symptoms is that batsmen lose focus on an innings that goes beyond 20 overs. No kidding, I’m going to show these stats to our new family doctor Ravi Shastri: in our last five test innings, we scored 733 runs in all. Guess the number of runs we’ve scored in our last five T20 internationals? Surprise surprise –736! Well, of course, I’ve worked hard, applied myself and fought this disorder, and despite some zoned out moments
toward the end when I imagined a blur of the Ranchi University Ground, the Oval dressing room, some cheerleaders and Srini Uncle, I think I did well. In many innings, I watched batsmen get out at the other end like Mallya uncle has been seeing money fly out of his coffers. Waise, the boys are happy (Virat types this with a frown) that the Board has swirled into action after the disastrous series loss and has enlightened us on another cause – not the inability to play swing on bouncy pitches, not the temperament that doesn’t last beyond two tests, but the distractions of wives and girlfriends on tour. Such astute insights are exactly what we need from them at this punctured juncture of our careers. Chalo, have a team meet now with Mr Shastri who’s going to give us tips on how to manage hangovers. of innings defeats. Let’s see what the doctor’s ordered. Sab ko pyaar. Well of course, Aapka Mahi. PS: I’ll find someone to write you a letter during the Australia tour this winter, but in case I don’t, read this again.
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