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ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Pune’s water situation improves City dams need additional 10 TMC water to tide over crisis BY ASHOK BHAT @ashok_bhat
APSHINGE:
The great village of brave soldiers Two days from today, July 28, 2014, will mark the centenary of the First World War, also known as the Great War, that ushered in a new epoch in world politics. The history of that war is intertwined with a small, remote village in Satara district. TGS Special Report p13 This medallion was presented by the Queen of England after the First World War to the next of kin of all British and Empire service personnel who were killed in the war. Sepoy Khashaba Powar’s medallion has been placed by his family at their place of worship
Signposts India to have 4 new central universities
SRINAGAR: Indian Army chief General Bikram Singh on Friday paid tributes to the martyrs of 1999 Kargil War in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh region on the occasion of 15th Vijay Diwas. He said the army is alert and has been deployed effectively on the borders to defend the integrity and the sovereignty of the country. “Let me assure you, the army is deployed on the borders to defend the integrity and the sovereignty of the country,” General Singh told reporters
after the wreath laying ceremony at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass town of Kargil district. The chief of the Indian Army said ceasefire violations by Pakistan have been taking place regularly on the Line of Control (LoC) in the state, but assured that the army has been effectively responding to those violations. “They violate the ceasefire every week and every month, but the army has been taking effective steps to respond to those,” he said. Contd on p 10 IANS
NEW DELHI: The government has decided to set up four new central universities in the country, parliament was told early this week. “The ministry of human resource development (HRD) has decided to set up four new central universities, viz. one Central Tribal University each in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, one central university in Andhra Pradesh and Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Bihar,” HRD Minister Smriti Irani said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. At present, there are 40 central universities under the purview of the ministry.
Army chief pays tributes to Kargil War martyrs
Indian-American convicted in stock scheme WASHINGTON: An Indian-American CEO of two publicly-traded companies has been convicted for paying kickbacks in return for purchases of his companies’ stocks, a media report said. Shailesh Shah, 48, of California pleaded guilty before a US district judge to two counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud Monday, The Boston Globe reported. Shah will be sentenced in October and could face up to 20 years in prison for each count and a $250,000 fine. Shah was the president and CEO of SOHM and Costas, both based out of California. He was accused of paying kickbacks to an investment fund representative in exchange for buying stock in the two companies. The fund representative was, in fact, an undercover FBI agent working on an investigation into fraud in the market for penny stocks, the report said. Penny stocks are less heavily regulated than stocks that trade on major exchanges such as the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange.
Chief of Army Staff General Bikram Singh paying homage to martyrs at the Infantry War Memorial during his farewell visit to the Infantry School, Mhow in Indore recently
Rainfall in July has brought some relief to the citizens of Pune and the civic administration. However, to be able to ensure regular water supply without cuts in the coming weeks and months, the dams supplying water to Pune will need to build up an additional 10 TMC (thousand million cubic feet of water) storage. While the Khadakwasla dam has reached its storage capacity of 1.98 TMC, the situation in the Panshet, Varasgaon and Temghar dams would be crucial not just for Pune city but also for smaller towns downstream like Daund and Indapur, which depend on these dams for their water supply. To fulfi l this demand, a total of 20 TMC water will be required, of which storage of 10 TMC has been achieved. This was underlined by the officials of the Irrigation Department during a meeting convened at the civic headquarters by mayor Chanchala Kodre on Thursday. Those present at this meeting included municipal commissioner Vilas Deshmukh, city engineer Prashant Waghmare, water supply chief V. G. Kulkarni, standing committee chairman Bapusaheb Karne and top party representatives. During the meeting the civic ad-
`2,200 cr project for water augmentation The PMC’s Water Supply Department has proposed a `2,200 crore project to replace the network of old, leaking and damaged water and drainage lines. A Draft Project Report (DPR) is scheduled to be placed before the City Improvement Committee next week, BJP’s group leader in PMC, Ganesh Bidkar told TGS. The project would be financed through the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The project will drastically curtail water wastage.
ministration took a review of the rainfall and water storage status at the Khadakwasla, Panshet, Varasgaon and Temghar dams which supply water to the city. The Khadakwasla dam has water storage to its full capacity of 1.98 TMC. The irrigation department therefore decided to release some water from this dam into the Mutha river. The PMC also decided to withdraw the alternate day water supply plan and release water once a day from this dam. Contd on p 10
What is going wrong with road safety in India? Telangana school bus accident resulting in the death of 19 students is part of a larger tragedy that demands immediate attention BY PRIYANKA NEW DELHI: India not only has the dubious distinction of having one of the worst road accident records in the world, but these are taking more and more young lives, particularly of school children. Road accidents have left nearly 70 children dead and many injured since the start of 2013, a NGO has said. More than 60 students were also injured in 11 accidents spread over seven states since January 2013 till July this year. In all instances, the victims were travelling in school buses which were either hit by other vehicles or trains or rolled down mountain slopes. According to NGO Save Life Foundation, which works for road safety, the accidents took place in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Telangana. In one of the worst disasters, 19 stu-
dents were killed and some 20 injured when their school bus was rammed by a speeding train at an unmanned rail-road crossing in Telangana Thursday. The dead included the school bus driver. Although the number of school children is a minuscule part of the total number of Indians dying daily on the roads, activists say most accidents are avoidable. Piyush Tewari, founder and president of Save Life Foundation, said holding an adult “accountable for safety of children while on the move” and having child safety laws would act as deterrents. Two accidents this year injured 12 school students. The first took place May 12 in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, injuring two students. Ten students were injured in adjoining Noida April 29 when their school bus was hit by a state-run bus. Three children died when their
school bus collided with a truck at Malkapur in Maharashtra on January 10 this year. According to the foundation, all the accidents involving school buses in 2013 led to deaths. Six students lost their lives on the Solapur-Dhule highway while on an excursion in Maharashtra on December 7, 2013. In an accident in Tamil Nadu’s Pudukottai district in June 2013, a mini van collided with a bus, killing seven school children. Another seven children died when their bus fell into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district in April 2013. In July last year, 11 students were killed and 20 injured when their bus hit a truck in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district.
Emerge as creative leaders: Kalam to IIM students SHILLONG: Former president APJ Abdul Kalam has urged students of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Shillong to emerge as creative leaders to bring about the required change in the country. “I want to see all of you as creative leaders to bring about the required change,” Kalam said, while delivering a lecture “Dimensions of National Development” at the prestigious B-school on Thursday. The “missile man”, as Kalam is also known due to his background in aerospace engineering and his role in India’s
indigenous missile development, is one of the visiting faculty members in IIMShillong. Kalam spoke about the challenges that India and the world were facing and emphasised the role of leadership to tackle these issues and develop possible solutions to ensure socio-economic development. He said the key requirement for achieving a distinctive profi le for the nation was by creating sustainable enterprise-driven models at the rural level. Kalam urged the students to emulate a development model to bring
urban amenities to rural areas. “Providing Urban amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) is one such system which I suggest will help in providing opportunities through cooperative working of resource and social entrepreneur in the rural areas,” he said. “PURA is the creation of physical, electronic, knowledge connectivities leading to electronic connectivity of rural regions. With this combined and planned intervention of infrastructure, digital technology, information and enterprise, we can select a cluster of about 20 to 50 villages, which share core
competencies and empower those using local enterprise. This would enable our country to grow by shared efforts and overcome the challenges faced by the society,” he said. Charting out a link between creative leadership and economic development, the former president emphasised the importance of the role that change in leadership would play for ensuring success. He also accentuated on the role of integrity among leaders for sustained success and development of the society. (IANS)
Contd on p 10
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
Pune’s special bond with the North-east P4
“I think that any wealth creates a sense of trusteeship... it is characteristic of the new generation which has created wealth to have some amount of responsibility for it.” – Azim Premji
‘The city’s population has grown 75 per cent in 10 yrs’ P5
Saving the girl child
IT professional Girish Lad had developed the Active Tracker to prevent female foeticide
A smile of contentment greets you before the customary handshake when you meet Girish Lad. The 39-yearold electronic graduate has written a positive chapter on eradication of female foeticide using the prevalent tools of information technology (IT) and e-governance. With an approach to be the catalyst to bring a change in society rather than criticising the ‘system’, Girish calls on the youth to be the ‘change makers’. After completing his MBA from the ICFAI institute at Pune in 1998, the city has been his home for 13 years. ‘Save the Baby Girl’, ‘Silent Observer’, ‘Active Tracker’ and ‘A system and method for curbing the female feticide’ are some of the innovative solutions that have been developed by ‘Magnum Opus IT Consulting Pvt Ltd’, the firm founded by Girish in 2004. The success of these applications can be gauged from the fact that Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and six districts of Maharashtra are its beneficiaries. Talking about his pet project ‘Save Daughter Movement’ (www. savethebabygirl.com), Girish said, “The sudden drop in female ratio has started affecting the social structure and it will take 20 years to bring back the balance. Even the educated think that ‘sons are an asset and daughters are a liability’. Kolhapur, the richest district, has reported the lowest female ratio and has almost 251 registered sonography centres. On the contrary, tribal districts like Gadchiroli has only two sonography centres and high female ratio. Girish carried out an extensive study of illegal sex determination, abortion and falling child sex ratio while developing the computer software. He found that extensive misuse of technology such as sonography machines to easily identify the sex of the foetus has become a common technique and also an unethical practice for doctors and radiologists to earn easy money The implementation of Preconception and Pre-natal diagnostic technique Act 1994 (PCPNDT) led Kolhapur to use the software for the first time. The potential to save the life of a girl child with the help of IT was realised and noticed when the ratio of boys and girls went up from
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL @ArchanaDahiwal
foodgrain supply, kerosene supply, disaster management, E-Chavadi, computerised 7-12, land records management, Lok Sabha and assembly polls of 2009, district police and Maharashtra sports department. To expand his work, Girish established an NGO ‘The Rising India Research Foundation’. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
Awards and accolades • Appreciation from former president APJ Abdul Kalam, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Nasscom Foundation • E-India Award • Manthon award • M-Billionth award • Times of India Social Impact award,
1000:839 (2001 census) to 1000:880 in the district. The web-based software solution connects all centres and collects daily data as per the PCPNDT Act. The government authorities can access this portal through secured login and can automatically generate various reports from time to time. To make the solution more foolproof, Magnum Opus recorded every sonography test through the Silent Observer (SIOB) device connected to the ultrasound machine externally through cables
“Instead of cursing the authorities and uselessly discussing the social ills again and again, we should try to find answers. My study on government functioning gave the conclusion that offices lack IT facility and no one comes forward to offer assistance because of their complex nature comprising rules and regulations. I decided to work in e-governance for this social cause,” he said. The result and service-oriented solutions offered by Girish’s firm cover illegal sex determination,
Every girl born in this hospital gets a celebration BY QUAID NAJMI
Active Tracker
Girish Lad carried out an extensive study of illegal sex determination, abortion and falling child sex ratio while developing the ‘Save the Baby Girl’ software
PUNE
• Rajeev Gandhi Maharashtra IT award
Taluka boy shines Completing his schooling in Marathi medium from Sir DM Petit High School, Sangamner did not stop him from doing a bachelor of electronic science from the same town. He owes his inspiration and success to his family, especially his late mother. He strongly desires greater gender equality in the family and workplace.
The son of a labourer, Adinath (now, 67), and domestic worker Sindu PUNE: The (now, 60) Rakh who qualified as a peace in Pune’s medico in 2001, set up a roaring private Hadapsar area practice, simultaneously completed his was suddenly gynaecology specialisation and went shattered by a ahead with his pet plans from day one man banging which was the birth anniversary of social away at a steel reformer Savitribai Phule (Jan. 3, 2007). plate with a stick Hailing from a very poor family in and ward boys and Solapur, his parents migrated to Pune nurses running on in search of work. As Rakh was good Dr Ganesh Rakh the street offering in academics, he secured scholarships “congratulations” in school and college till his medical and offering local degree. peda sweets to people on the streets. “It is now my turn to repay society,” The commotion was created by Rakh said. the staff of the Medicare Hospital to “Initially, nobody supported me. celebrate the birth of a female child. Later, my senior gynaecologist, Dr The people at Hadapsar are familiar Iqbal Shaikh, waived off charges for any with Medicare Hospital’s revolutionary female child’s delivery. Then followed policy of free delivery for all females my two paediatric surgeons, Anil born there, propounded by its founder Chavan and Santosh Shind,” Rakh said. and owner, Dr Ganesh Soon, the entire Rakh. hospital staff joined in “We provide all and did not complain women free delivery, if their salaries were whether normal or delayed occasionally as complicated, and postit was for a noble cause, delivery care - for every Rakh explained. girl child born here, In another major since 2007. Till date, we initiative by August 15, have supervised the birth Rakh will open a 15-bed - Dr GANESH RAKH of around 270 females neo-natal intensive care here,” a proud Rakh, 39, unit (NICU) - also free told IANS. for all female infants born premature or Terming it as his “solitary campaign with serious problems. (in India) to prevent female foeticide For the past year, Rakh has been and empower women right from birth a frequent traveller to remote places by fighting gender bias and prejudices”, in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Rakh said the hospital gives such free Punjab and Haryana for advising deliveries despite incurring a loss of an hospitals how to take up the cause. average of `10,000 for a normal delivery “During the (2014) Lok Sabha and around `25,000 for complicated elections, in a small town in Haryana, I cases requiring surgery. was shocked to see the local men ready to “In fact, many affluent families even vote for any party which could get them offer money, but we direct them to help married! Most were in their late 30s and out the poorest women like labourers 40s and still bachelors; the effects of not and domestic workers so they can avail protecting the female child in the past of three months’ maternal leave without were now evident,” Rakh said. bothering about work. Like other “Nowadays, sex tests are carried out women are given three or six months through simple blood tests, conducted post-delivery bed rest - don’t the poor in the privacy of people’s homes after six women also deserve the same privilege?” weeks pregnancy, by the local pathology Rakh asked. lab. The authorities are sleeping over When he started the hospital in this,” Rakh said. However, Rakh, 2007, after availing of loans from friends supported to the hilt by his father and and relatives, most people, including his helped by his wife Trupti and their family members, ridiculed his plans. sole daughter Tanisha, vow to continue “If you don’t charge for female child’s the struggle - till society equally treats deliveries, how will you repay your `1 the birth of a male or female child. crore loans,” aghast lenders demanded. (IANS)
“It is now my turn to repay society.”
Conserving water is a way of life for Anand Panse BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL @ArchanaDahiwal Even as the Pune and PimpriChinchwad municipal corporations have announced water cuts in face of deficit rainfall this season, here is the inspiring example of Nigdi resident Anand Panse who very consciously believes in the judicious use of water. “Water is a precious resource that belongs to everyone and therefore we all have the responsibility of conserving it and using it with care. Just because we can afford to pay a high water bill does not mean that we have the right to waste water,” says Panse, the Sector 27, Nigdi-Pradhikaran resident who lives with his family in a bungalow spread over 3,000 sq ft. The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) charges Rs 2.50 per 1,000 litres of water and the quarterly average of Panse’s water bill reads mere Rs 46, the lowest in Nidgi where the charge showing on water bills range from Rs 500 to Rs 3,000. All it requires to stop wasting water is a mindset change, says the 60-yearold retired mechanical engineer from Bajaj Auto Ltd.
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Using water judiciously ought to be a habit and not an on-and-off activity depending on the vagaries of the monsoon, says the 60-year-old Nigdi resident
Panse said, “We are experiencing water shortage for the fi rst time in 30 years.” HOW TO USE WATER CAREFULLY Panse changed underground pipelines that were nearly 15 years old and tried to place it in straight direction as water flow reduces when pipes have curves. He used simple taps to avoid water leakage By using buckets to water plants and wash vehicles, Panse saves water by not attaching rubber pipes directly to taps for this purpose. The overhead water tanks of Panse’s bungalow has half-ball cock to regulate flow. The family never store water, except for drinking purpose, and always take half glass of water when thirsty. “People think that water could be wasted because they pay for it,” said Panse, who is spreading water conservation in schools and society through Pimpri-Chinchwad Citizen Forum. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
Mindset change needed • Ninety per cent residents can avoid excessive water use in Pimpri-Chinchwad by adopting simple steps and change their attitude towards this useful resource. • The residents in twin town use 300 litre per capita per day (LPCD) water even as the government prescribed norm is 135 LPCD. • Extra water consumption is reported from Nigdi, Akurdi Pradhikaran, Pimple Gurav, Pimple Saudagar, Chikhali, Moshi, Ravet and Thergaon areas. • The government norm of 135 LPCD comprises drinking (5 litre), cooking (5 litre), bathing (20 litre), washing clothes (30 litre), washing utensils (10 litre), toilet (20 litre) and 45 litre for other purposes. • According to the civic officials, the consumption of water is high in NigdiPradhikaran area because of residents’ lifestyle and maids misuse water in suburb areas. Some housing societies have been provided with separate car washing passages, said PCMC executive engineer Praveen Ladkhat.
Anand Panse flanked by his father Krishnaji and wife Snehal use water judiciously throughout the day
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
PUNE
“The magnificent Red Synagogue (Lal Deval) with its clock tower is perhaps the only synagogue in the world to be built like a church. - Samita Gupta’s Glimpses of Pune’s Heritage - A Mosaic
‘Online admission system is a success’ P7
‘Blogging has given me friends, taken me places’ P6
Congress in search of leaders in its own bastion BY ASHOK BHAT @ashok_bhat Following a big blow in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress in Maharashtra has embarked on a damage control exercise in view of the forthcoming state assembly elections after three months or so. The party has begun organising regional level meetings. The recent one in Pune for western Maharashtra followed the regional meetings in Vidharba and Marathwada, with leaders in attendance hailing from its traditional bastion in Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Solapur and Pune districts. Western Maharashtra has been the traditional stronghold of the Congress over the last five decades with stalwarts like the late Yashwantrao Chavan and Vasantdada Patil providing decisive leadership to the party, not just in the region but also leading the state and playing a role at the Centre. The co-operatives movement which grew and flourished under them through sugar factories, co-operative credit societies, milk co-operatives and district banks formed the basis of their well-entrenched network. Th is not only helped control the rural economy but also strengthened the party and its rank and fi le while keeping other rival parties at bay. Thus, for decades together, the Congress ruled fi rmly in Western Maharashtra, not allowing any room for rivals. In 1999, after Sharad Pawar was
member of Satara’s erstwhile royal family, Udayan Raje Bhosale and the dominant politician from Solapur district, Vijaysingh Mohite Patil won from their home turf. In Kolhapur, prominent politician-businessman Mahadevrao Mahadik’s son Munna Mahadik won the fourth seat on NCP’s ticket, ensuring a face-saving victory for Pawar in western Maharashtra. In the 1977 post-Emergency tsunami of the Janata Party, the Congress managed to win just two seats in Maharashtra, of which one was in the tribal belt of Nandubar and the other was Sangli. In the recent Lok Sabah elections, however, the BJP snatched both these seats from the Congress. The Congress thus stands virtually wiped out from western Maharashtra because of a serious leadership vacuum in the cooperative movement. Prominent leaders like Patangrao Kadam and others are essential district-level leaders who can manage their own assembly segments and nothing more than that. In the last 15, years they have not succeeded in emerging as leaders of the masses in the sugar belt. Barring chief minister Prithviraj Chavan who does not have a mass base, Congress leaders are unwilling to take on Sharad Pawar. Thus, the time has now come for the Congress to search for a leader in its own bastion and protect its turf from further erosion. enews.mediasurvices@gmail.com
The Maharashtra State Congress Committee held a ‘Sankalp Melawa’- gathering of leaders and party workers from western Maharashtra to prepare resolutely for the forthcoming state assembly polls in Maharashtra. Top leaders of the party were present (from left) Sushil Kumar Shinde, AICC Maharashtra incharge Mohan Prakash, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, state Congress president Manikrao Thakre, Patangrao Kadam, Satej Patil and Harshavardhan Patil among others.
expelled from the Congress over his opposition to party president Sonia Gandhi’s bid for the prime ministership, he established the Nationalist Congress Party even as the co-operative movement continued to be foundations of his party at the grassroots. Given Pawar’s enormous popularity, his sway over the co-
operative institution continued without much difficulty while robbing the Congress of this portion of its base in Western Maharashtra. Th is weakened the Congress in western Maharashtra and, with NCP’s poor performance in the elections, also failed to provide much succour to the NCP. Western Maharashtra accounts for RAHUL RAUT
SUNSHINE SMILES
10 Lok Sabha seats of which four rest with Pune, two each with Kolhapur and Solapur and one each in Sangli and SAtara. Of these 10 seats, the Congress couldn’t retain even a single seat in the last Lok Saha polls while NCP bagged four. Of the four, NCP president Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule,
Moshi to become new real estate hot spot
The students of Balshikshan School at Mayur Colony were happy to see a sunny day after continuous rains for the past few days and bouts of flu had prevented some of them from attending classes.
offered to private developers to build commercial and residential projects. The convention centre will generate huge white-collar employment and the demand for quality housing around it will rise significantly, he said. He said, “This convention centre is going to be a game-changer not only for the industrial belt in PimpriChinchwad but also for Pune as it will be one of Asia’s biggest industrial convention centres.”
The opening of Pune International Exhibition and Convention Centre (PIECC) at Moshi will turn the suburb into a major hub for automobile conventions, transforming the area into one of the most important property investment destinations in Maharashtra, said Credai-Pune Metro vice president Anil Pharande. The chairman of Pharande Spaces, a leading construction and development firm that concentrates on township properties in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pharande also observed that the rise in realty price will be more pronounced than even Hinjewadi IT park in the twin town. Pharande Spaces launched its ‘Woodsville’ township opposite PIECC at Moshi. A significant part of the land adjacent to PIECC will be
No. 6
nswers to the following 10 A questions are embedded in the stories featured in this edition. Send us the correct answers at contest.tgs@gmail.com and be one of the three lucky winners to receive gift coupons.
1. What is the name of the firm founded by IT professional, Girish Lad in 2004, that has developed some innovative solutions to curb female foeticide? 2.To which country did fashion blogger June Biswas win an all expenses paid trip after having won a blogging competition? 3. What are the portable toilets, offered by Pune-based social enterprise, 3s India---Sarplast Enterprise, made of? 4. From which institute did fashion designer, Vriti Jatia, pursue fashion designing? 5. What is the common surname of the men who participated in the wars from the Apshinge village, and which clan do they belong to? 6. Which international master did Pune’s chess player, Abhimanyu Puranik beat in the last round of under-19 national tournament?
Convention centre will be game-changer BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL @ArchanaDahiwal
TGS Quiz Contest
RESIDENTIAL MARKET Moshi is preferred by end users over investors and has an increasing demand for 1BHK houses. 1BHK flats are in the range of around `20 lakh and 2BHK is around `41 lakh. According to real estate experts, property rate in this area is `3,500-4,000/sqft and appreciation rate is 13-15% per annum. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
7. What is the name of the American author, who has written actor-director and producer Radhika Chaudhari’s short film, A family of Clowns? 8. Who initiated classical vocalist Priyadarshini Kulkarni in performance oriented training? 9. Who is the director of the Marathi film, Kapus Kondyachi Goshta and which award did it bag recently? 10. Which three books are Professor Mohini Khot’s favourite?
Contest # 4 winners Sunil Tarachand Melwani
City police receive first complaint under Nirbhaya Abhiyan initiative
this continued for long. It was traumatic for both the girls,” he said. Under the Nirbhaya Abhiyan
programme, the city police introduced a complaint drop box for female students. As per plan, the complaint boxes have been
gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
Polo up
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Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IV) Manoj Patil (left) looking at the drop box that has been installed at city schools
installed under the supervision of the School Vigilance Committee, to prevent sexual abuse of children and bring such cases to light. Introduced by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IV) Manoj Patil, this scheme will be started in public and private schools under Zone IV. “The drop boxes for students from Class 8 to 12 will be installed in 126 public and private schools,” he said, adding that even household abuse complaints could be written down by the girls and dropped in the boxes,” he added. Patil said that girls should come forward and lodge their complaints in their own handwriting and the police will take action on it. “If the nature of the offence is serious, a First Information Report (FIR) will be registered against the concerned person, even if he is a family member,” he added. It is hoped that the students will report cases of sexual abuse as they find it difficult to speak freely with their parents.
ON TH ET O
The Pune Police which had recently introduced a Complaint Drop Box in schools for girl students in schools have registered the first complaint received under the Mundhwa police station. The father of a 16-year-old girl student from a school in Ghorpadi was booked for allegedly molesting his daughter. A team of police officials visited to the school to discuss the Nirbhaya Abhiyan programme with the school authorities, when the incident came to light. The policemen recorded her statement and requested the victim’s mother (42 years) to lodge a complaint with the police. Senior police Inspector Janmohammed Pathan of Mundhwa police station, told this newspaper that the father was molesting both his daughters aged 16 and 20, who had no means to approach the police. “Their father used to misbehave with them and used to molest them at home and
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
BY GITESH SHELKE @gitesh_shelke
With this issue
Where’s the Kick?
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Theme Treats
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
The binding power of empathy P8
Signposts 19th European Film Festival held in city The 19th European Film Festival was held in Pune on July 18, at the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) with the involvement of four partner institutes, Alliance Francaise de Pune, Goethe Institute, NFAI and the British Council. Representatives of all the institutes spoke about films and how they play a role in bringing countries together. The festival opened with the British comedy Killing Bono. To commemorate the 19th year of the festival, a total of 19 films, including many award-winning films, were screened in the festival that continued till July 23.
Freedom fighters’ get-together To celebrate the 60th anniversary of liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese rule, Dadra Nagar Haveli Mukti Sangram Samiti has planned a get-together of freedom fighters on August 2, from 12 noon to 2pm, in front of Mrutyunjay temple on Karve Road, Kothrud. President of the organisation, Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare, former Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale, newly elected MP Anil Shirole, ex MP Pradeep Ravat and former corporator Rajan Kachi will be present at the event.
Neela Ghoda art fest at Pimpri-Chinchwad The first art festival of PimpriChinchwad, ‘Neela Ghoda’ will be held from August 15 to 21, at Madhukarraoji Pavle Kaladalan (Astitva Mall), Sant Tukaram Vyapar Sankul, Nigdi Chowk, Pradhikaran, Nigdi. The festival will showcase paintings, photographs, caricatures, sculptures, modern arts, landscape paintings, performing arts, music and dance performances etc by different artistes. Those interested can contact Sanjay Singalwar on 9403628032 or email at sanjusingalwar@yahoo.com or Amol on 9225632615.
Miracles Academy’s short film festival Miracles Academy of Arts and Media Pvt Ltd run by writer/director, Pramod Prabhalkar and actress/ singer, Madhurani Gokhale-Prabhulkar, will be organising a ‘Short Film Festival’ on July 27, at New Karnatak High School, near Mehandale Garage, Erandwane. Noted film director Sanchit Vartak and executive producer (programming) of Star Pravah, Mandar Karanjalkar will also be present at the event.
“National anthem, national currency, national teams - still, we won’t marry our children outside our state. How can this intolerance be good for our country?” —Chetan Bhagat
‘Turn a problem into an opportunity’ P9
Pune’s special bond with the North-east A lot can be done to strengthen the special bond that Pune has with the North-east, says Barnalee Handique TGS NEWS SERVICE @barnalee While touring in Kohima and the remote district of Wokha in Nagaland a few years ago, a Pune journalist was wonderstruck when so many Nagas spoke warmly about Pune. For many a local Naga, not just in Kohima but in the villages of Wokha and Mokokchung districts, memories of Pune came flooding back with references to the colleges of Pune, the prominent roads, localities and eateries such as Vaishali and Roopali. Pune holds a special place for them and pune city in return, has lots of scope to strengthen its bonds with the far-off North-east. Education is the single biggest reason why people from the north-eastern states come to Pune. Having taken a liking for the city, many stay back after securing a job. This was what brought Vaswati Hazarika, an undergrad student from the Symbiosis School of Economics to Pune. “Although there are reputed institutes in Assam, the atmosphere there has not been too congenial. Plus, exposure is better here.” Richard Barooah, VP, business operations, RIMC- the international hospitality chain, says, “The confluence of education, culture, history and sports was one of the main reasons that made me move from Mumbai to Pune.
“The girl students of our institute can avail of the Sharmila Irom Scholarship.” Moreover, the air about the city is very infectious that allows me to work and chill at the same time.” NGOs like the Asomi Organisation, Northeast Community Organisation, Pune and Sarhad are working for the Northeast communities in the city. Rajib Borkataki, who heads the Asomi Organisation with the help of his colleagues, organises many cultural activities like ‘Bihu’ (Spring festival), Northeast festival (in collaboration with Heinrich Boell Foundation, Khublei and Zuban books) Republic Day function
Remembering Rafi, an immortal legend BY COLONEL RAMESH DAVESAR (RETD) The legendary Bollywood singer Mohammed Rafi ruled the film industry for nearly four decades, before leaving this world on July 31, 1980. He was born on Mohd. Rafi December 24, 1924 in Kotla Sultan Singh in Amritsar, Punjab. He came into the limelight at the age of 13 during a programme organised for KL Sehgal at Lahore and subsequently with the latter’s guidance and help, Rafi made a foray into the film industry in 1941, with a song in a Punjabi film. He never looked back and came out with memorable songs one after another. In 1976/77, songs from movies like, Laila Majnu, Amar Akbar Anthony, Dharamveer and Hum Kissi Se Kam Nahin won him both the National and the Filmfare awards.
Our newspaper is interactive and you are welcome to write in to our various segments: • Letters to the Editor, email: editor_tgs@ goldensparrow.com; editor_tgs@gmail.com by post: The Editor, The Golden Sparrow on Saturday, 16411 Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411030, (Best letter gets a weekly prize) • Articles for the Relationships page relationships@ goldensparrow.com, relationships.tgs@gmail.com • The Way Forward with compassion & hope wayforward@ goldensparrow.com, wayforward@gmail.com • Want to become an entrepreneur? For mentoring advice, write to our associates: mentoring@pune.tie.org • Get weekly events listed: listings.tgslife@gmail.com
—Sanjay Nahar, founder of SARHAD NGO
Women performing at the Spring Festival organised by Asomi Organisation at Bombay Sappers, Kirkee
He sang play-back for all leading stars of the time from Dilip Kumar to Rishi Kapoor, Raj Kapoor in movies like Andaz and Do Ustad and Dev Anand in Guide, Kala Pani, Kala Bazar, Sarhad, Tere Ghar Ke Saamne, Baat Ek Raat Ki, Jewel Th ief and Hum Dono. His supremacy was finally acknowledged during a poll conducted by Outlook - a weekly magazine in 2010, which adjudged him the ‘Best Male Playback Singer’. Having rendered over 28,000 songs in 11 languages, he remains second only to Lata Mangeshkar. Manna Dey had once said, “Rafi is better singer than me and no one can come close to him.” The film industry should institute an award in his memory. t and should also confer ‘a life-time achievement’ award posthumously. There cannot be more fitting tribute to Rafi than instituting the State Award by his native state, Punjab to budding artistes. If Pakistan can confer ‘the heritage status’ to Dilip Kumar’s ancestral house in Peshawar, why not our government extend the same gesture to Rafi?
and other such programmes. On the other hand, Rock Lungleng, the moving force behind the NOEP, regularly organises presentations, cultural events and football matches for the Northeast students in the city. The NGO Sarhad, which is focusing on students from Kashmir and the Northeast, has 15 students from the northeast at its school at Katraj. Sanjay Nahar, the founder of Sarhad, says, “This school and college were established with the purpose of providing education to these students. The girl students of the
institute can avail of the ‘Sharmila Irom scholarship’. The NGO also organises numerous cultural and social activities. Every month, under the special programme ‘Call of Brahmaputra’, talks, presentations and seminars are held. One factor influencing migration is the disturbance in the region. Says educationist Dr Triveni G Mathur, “This region is still developing. The erupting ethnic struggle hasn’t been brought under control. The education sector is suffering. Due to the ethnic strife, the people have suffered the consequences. The
Northeastern states have been lagging behind economically and in all other spheres.” She feels that there should be a vision, a blueprint for development and economic growth in states. barnalee.handique@goldensparrow.com
Prominent NGOs
Asomi Oganisation Rajib Borkataki-9822295801 Northeast Communities Organisation Rock Lungleng-9970966590 SARHAD Sanjay Nahar -9421656666
Wallet stolen? It could be here
Pune stn, IMD campus and Mutha river bed are places where stolen wallets are dumped BY GITESH SHELKE @geteesh_shelke Certain spots in the city are uncannily getting known for finding stolen wallets minus cash and credit cards. The owners, if lucky, may find important documents like PAN card, driving licence and voter card in it. Strangely, pickpockets have been dumping stolen wallets at some regular spots in the city. Wallets, new and old, scattered in large numbers can be found in the open behind the cabin of Central Railways on platform 6 at Pune Junction. Wallet lifters striking the six bus stops at India Meteorological Department (IMD), Shimla Office Chowk, throw the wallets over the compound wall of the Observatory building. One can find discarded wallets even in the IMD campus. IMD staffers have stopped being good Samaritans and informing owners as they would be accused of having pocketed the cash or cards. “Now if we find a PAN card or driving licence in any of these wallets, we just put it in a post box. We do not make any effort to
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trace the owners,” an IMD staffer said. An open area near the canal on Satara road near Swargate is another spot to find stolen wallets. Pickpockets target PMPML and State Transport (ST) bus commuters in the area and discard the wallets after taking the cash and other valuables. The Mutha river bed located opposite PMC headquarters is another favourite spot. Inspector Abhay Parmar of Government Railway Police (GRP), Pune Station, admitted to a rising numbers of pickpocketing but said he was unaware of the spot where
stolen wallets were discarded on platform 6. “We register complaints of pickpocketing in trains and on platforms daily. GRP combs the station regularly to nab the culprits and I don’t know that they throw the wallets behind the cabin. People generally lose PAN cards and driving licences and lodge complaints to make duplicates,” he said. Inspector Seema Mehandale of Shivajinagar police station said, “It’s not about loss of cash but victims generally grieve for documents,” she said. gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
When saying ‘no’ empowers women... With reference to your article ‘When saying “no” empowers women’ in the issue of July 12, we find that the subjugation and exploitation of brides happening time and again in spite of considerable awareness. One way to deal with this is to engage in ‘direct interaction’ with the entire family. Situations like daughter-inlaw’ should have her food only after everyone eats should be discussed with the family of the prospective inlaws at the time of deciding marriage and not just with the prospective husband. Th is way, the young girl who is about to get married and her own family would get an idea of what kind of family she is marrying into. If needed, a legal contract can also be signed duly mentioning the terms and conditions of the marriage. At the same time the girl’s parents should restrict their interference once she is married. I personally feel frank and direct interaction with the entire family will solve such problems. Although the signing of a contract before marriage is a new concept, it
will help the marriage run smoothly in the long run. - C V Narayanan
All praise for Indian cricket team
Indian fans had to wait for 28 long years to see their cricket team win the ICC World Cup in 2011. Now the same happened at Lord’s, when India won a Test match exactly after 28 years. Earlier, it was in 1986 when they beat the English team. There are some more striking similarities between the past and the present victory. That time it was Chetan Sharma, who was instrumental in India’s victory and now it’s Ishant Sharma. In 1986, Mumbai (then Bombay) player Dilip Vengsarkar was a centurion, while this time it was Ajinkya Rahane, again a Mumbai player, who scored a century. In 1986, Roger Binny was part of Indian cricket team and this time, his son Stauart Binny, is playing for India. -Mani L Panse
Good budget analysis in TGS
We always assume budgets are about shock value and path-breaking ideas. The budget this year may not have seemed flashy and prompted many a
human to condemn it. Making a budget for the house and for the country is not exactly the same concept. Running a country as diverse as India needs analytical minds who can have a vision for India. Budgets in the past were looked at election influenced ideas and many a time the budget did not have a path. We cannot print money at will and this is why we need a budget that is about getting ahead. India has a complex social structure and is not easy to please. We are a nation of cribbers and rarely actually appreciate good budgets. We are good at hoarding wealth and dodging taxes. If we are averse to paying taxes, why do we condemn budgets. TGS on Saturday did a great job at trying to interpret a complicated budget and this needs to be appreciated by the readers. If we think budgets are just figures then we can be erring in judgment. India cannot jump the gun and expect to catch up with China. China had a different structure and has made progress that we in India seem to lack in. Budgets with the right intention will always be welcomed. We
cry when onion prices go up but are happy paying Rs 300 for a multiplex ticket. Th is contradiction of thoughts creates turbulence. Here’s hoping that this budget is the start of a new revolution in finance ideas. - Sunil Melwani (Melwani gets the prize for best letter of the week)
Write to Us Letters to the Editor may be emailed to editor_tgs@goldensparrow. com or mailed to Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt Ltd, 1641 Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411030. The Best Letter of the Week will receive a special gift from Venus Traders, Pune’s finest stationery departmental.
CITY
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
PUNE
Peru Gate, a locality in Sadashiv Peth, is believed to have derived its name from a Gate erected in honour of French General Peron, a commander in the army of Mahadji Shinde
Lesson from Katju: Let’s stop fooling ourselves about ‘honest’ Manmohan
Study of organic crops finds fewer pesticides and more anti-oxidants
P 10
P 11
‘City’s population has grown 75 per cent in 10 years’
Signposts
Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner Rajeev Jadhav shares plans to improve twin town’s infrastructure and road connectivity BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL @ArchanaDahiwal
CoEP team shines at formula racing Team Octane Racing, the entry representing the College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP), claimed third place at the Student Formula SAE India 2014. The racing competition was organised by the Society of Automotive Engineers India (SAE India) at the Madras Motorsports Race Track (MMRT) at Chennai from July 17 to 30. Team Octane won the ‘Second Best Overall Trophy’ in the formula 1 style racing competition and bagged third position in the endurance race and fuel economy category. Over 85 colleges from across the country took part in the national event. The winner received a trophy and Rs 1 lakh. The award is given to a team based on design evaluation of sub systems like suspension, steering, aerodynamics.
Korade joins Karnataka varsity University of Pune’s (UoP) English professor Bajarang Korade has been appointed as the member of Board of Studies of English at Karnataka University. Korade has worked as member of Board of Studies for Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Swami Ramanand Teerth University of Nanded, Sant Gadgebaba Amarawati University and Goa University. He was also a representative of UGC in different institutes, besides being the co–ordinator of Lokshahir AnnaBhau Sathe Chair from Pune University.
Nurses’ indefinite strike from Aug 5 Nurses working in government hospitals have decided to go on an indefinite strike from August 5 over their pending demands. The decision was taken at the executive council meeting of Maharashtra Government Nurses Federation held in the first week of July in the city. The federation has demanded thet nurses on contract be accommodated in regular service, cancellation of transfers made for administrative reasons, filling of vacant posts and formation of a separate ministerial department for nursing service and education.
Good infrastructure and keeping the city clean are the two top priorities for Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner Rajeev Jadhav. The civic chief ’s focus, after taking charge five months ago, is to have a holistic approach towards the uniformed, balanced and equitable development of the city. Jadhav said, “The population of Pimpri-Chinchwad is around 21 lakh and the growth has been nearly been 75 per cent in the past decade. The expanding city needs proper infrastructure such as better road connectivity, mass transport and civic amenities without disturbing the twin town’s green cover and other environment issues.” Leading by example, Jadhav conducted a special monsoon cleaning campaign and was himself part of the team that took part in the drive that covered the military plots. Over 12 tonnes of garbage was collected from
Jadhav himself took part in the special monsoon cleaning drive held recently
Kiwale route will connect to the expressway.” Jadhav is also keen on the implementation and completion of the second phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Mission (JNNURM) in the city. “The water scarcity issue will be resolved soon. We have implemented the round-the-clock water supply plan on an experimental basis at Nigdi and Chinchwad and the results are positive. We plan to cover the city soon under this project. The civic body is also making efforts to lift water from Bhama and Askhed dam,” he said. Talking about the controversial Pavana pipeline project, Jadhav said that there has not been any progress and the government officials will soon be holding a special meeting on this issue. About the lack of parking spaces in the growing city, he said, “We are surveying the existing parking spots and plan to develop additional parking spaces in the city.” archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
5 foreign students get ‘leave India’ notice British national jumps FRB scans academic records, college attendance of those who stay in Pune on student visa parole in 1993, disappears BY GITESH SHELKE @gitesh_shelke
Not attending college classes regularly has left five foreign students in the city being issued a ‘leave India’ notice by the foreigners’ registration branch (FRB) of the city police since January 1. Another foreign student was issued this notice after the police received news of his misbehaviour with a girl. The police had last year issued directions to all private and state governed universities and its affi liated educational centres to submit monthly and yearly attendance reports of foreign students to the FRB. These students’ academic performance was also evaluated by the police following the directives from Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Deputy commissioner of police (FRB) Sanjay Patil said that two students from Iran and Turkmenistan each and one from Yemen have been issued the notice, and they have been deported to respective countries between January 1, 2014 and May 31, 2014. Citing the importance of foreign students asked to maintain an attendance of minimum 70 per cent, Patil said, “If they are not reporting to the college or attending classes, what are they doing? Many foreign students are found to be involved in illegal activities and the mandatory attendance will help us curb such unlawful cases.” The five foreign students recorded only 30 per cent attendance and failed to provide satisfactory answers to policemen on their absence from colleges. A student from Afghanistan
was given the notice after he teased a girl student at Koregaon Park in February. After receiving the complaint, the Koregaon Park police scrutinised the academic record of the foreigner before issuing the ‘leave India’ notice. Students from Arab, Gulf, North Africa and neighbouring countries pursue higher education in Pune and stay in the city for three to five years on student visas. The police have fi led cases against foreign students for their alleged involvement in illegal activities. Some foreigners visit India on student visas but do not secure any college admission or register with the city police but indulge in unlawful acts. gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
HONDA MOBILIO LAUNCHED Honda’s latest offering, the seven-seater Mobilio car in the luxury segment, was launched at the Deccan Honda showroom at Satara Road recently. (From left) The directors and senior officials of the showroom Vrishab Bafna, Ajay Bafna, Ravi Diwan, Abhay Bafna, Satish Bafna, Sanjay Bafna, Hemant Bafna and Shreyans Bafna were present at the ceremony
Have You Been To…
Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum BY ANJALI SHETTY @shetty_anjali The late Dr DG Kelkar, Padma Shri, dedicated his life to art and artifacts. It is Kelkar’s extraordinary love and passion that holds together the one-man collection at the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, Bajirao Road. Named in the memory of his son who died young, the museum recently fitted LED lights not only provide better lighting but also give a ‘green touch’. Artifacts are on display on the six floors of the museum. The most interesting among the displays are the Mastani Mahal, the collection of musical instruments, 19th century kitchen ware, arms and armoury and wooden objects. If you are short on time, then do not forget to purchase the 25 minute DVD that has the complete story of the museum which you can learn from the comfort of your home.
open plots in the cleanliness drive, launched in all the wards of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). Around 175 civic staff, including officers from the health department and zonal ward officials, took part in the drive. Jadhav’s intention of keeping the twin town clean can be seen from the fact that he has passed an order to levy a fine of `2,000 to `5000 for dumping waste in empty plots. The civic administration has also started a tree plantation drive at gairan (grazing) lands at Talwade and Punawale to increase the green belt of twin town. Understanding the importance of improving the road network, Jadhav said, “The city already has good roads and my focus is to extend better connectivity covering the entire city. We have identified a few blockages that need immediate attention. Roads will be made at a higher level to smoothen traffic. Our road connectivity network has got the much needed boost as the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS)
which include special post cards, greeting cards, coffee mugs, posters, canvas prints of select paintings and books about the museum. anjali.shetty@goldensparrow.com
Artifacts are on display on the six floors of the museum
Sudhanva Ranade, Kelkar’s grandson and the museum director has been putting the efforts to enhance the aesthetics, look and feel of the premises. The back office functioning has improved over the years, from a single typewriter to documenting and digitisation. Although short on resources, the management has brought about a qualitative change at the museum, making it an important tourist
destinations in the city. According to Ranade, the management is keen to collaborate with business houses to execute small projects which would raise the museum’s standards and benefit the public. Do not miss… The museum holds over 21,000 artifacts. Not to be missed is the collection of musical instruments, arms and armour. The museum’s souvenir shop has interesting items
How to reach: Located in the crowded inner city of Pune at 1377-78, Natu Baug, off. Bajirao Road, Shukrawar Peth, the easiest and quickest way to reach the museum is by autorickshaw from Pune Station or Swargate. Timings: 9.30am-5.30pm, throughout the year except on Republic Day, Independence Day and Anant Chaturdashi when the museum is closed. Entry fee: Nominal entry fees of `10 for children below 12 years, `30 for adults above 12 years; `200 for foreigners (adults) and `50 for foreigners (children).
BY GITESH SHELKE @gitesh_shelke
The past: A British national was sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder that took place in the late 1970s and is lodged in Yerwada Central Prison. His 15-day parole was accepted by revenue officials in 1993, and he disappeared. The present: The prison administration lodges a complaint against him under Section 224 (Resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of Indian Penal Code (1860) in 2013, after a gap of 20 years. The reality: Despite registering an offence about a year ago, the fi le is gathering dust at the Bund Garden police station. Over 23 such cases
have been registered in the city after additional director general of police (prisons) Meeran Chadha Borwankar decided to register offences against parole jumpers. Brain Pitsman Simon was convicted in a murder case in 1980. He was in prison till 1993 and managed to get parole. One Patric Simon, who was staying at a lodge at Pune Station had stood guarantor for him for the parole. But now the Bund Garden police station officials say, “We do not know where to trace him.” Assistant commissioner of police (Cantonment) Atmacharan Shinde said instructions have been given to issue Look out Circular (LoC) notice for Simon. gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
Drop the ‘I-me-myself ’ syndrome and show concern for others P8
10 ways to save on mediclaim P 14
Google paid $1.65 billion to purchase Youtube on October 9, 2006, although they had an in house product called Google Video.
City Blogger Of The Week
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
‘Blogging has given me friends, taken me places’
Fashion blogger June Biswas’s styling tips have been a hit among college students and young professionals. Her blog, ‘junewantsitall’ provides simple and realistic fashion advice BY ANJALI SHETTY @shetty_anjali “Hi, my name is June, but I was born in May!” is how fashion blogger June Biswas starts a conversation. A free-spirited cat-lover with a personal style of glam, boho, edgy and crazy, June’s journey online has been exciting and interesting. An avid reader of blog and features online, June decided to document her ideas in 2008. “I started blogging when I was pursuing my graduation from Symbiosis College. I used to read and follow fashion blogs. During that time, I decided to start documenting my ideas and interests with the world,” says June, who comes from an Army background and has lived all over India. Qualified with an MBA in ma rketing, J u n e , who has spent a
substantial 10 years in Pune works in social media. Her blog ‘junewantsitall’ has recorded about 3.5 lakh views but what really gets June up and going is that she has made a lot of friends from around the world. “The blog has given me some very close friends despite the fact that we’ve never met in person. On a professional front, it’s fantastic because I get to work with numerous international brands who regularly approach me for collaborations,” says June. She believes that the high of being a blogger is when people actually walk up to you and tell you that they read your blog or recognise you as a blogger. “It’s even better when publications feature you and write about you as it is very encouraging. Unlike most fashion blogs, I don’t do outfit posts very frequently. I love writing so my blog is a mix of my thoughts about fashion, beauty, lifestyle and of course, shopping.” Her blog has links to various images and immediate suggestions, does this help in the popularity of it? “Yes, it definitely helps to link to other stories and sites as, in the end of the day, someone out there wants to read a blogger’s opinions and experiences. At the same time, it also acts as goodwill since we bloggers promote products
and sites which appeal to us.” Sharing her experience she adds,”Blogging has been a very interesting journey for me as a person because I would blog occasionally during my day job in a corporate firm in Mumbai when I was approached by a well known international high street brand for a collaboration, completely out of the blue. Within a few months, I was invited to attend and cover Lakme Fashion Week. Fast forward to a year and I won a blogging contest along with an all expenses paid trip to Dubai where I attended the Splash fashion show. So yes, blogging has taken me places.” June finds inspiration just about every where. “Right from the Internet to movies I watch, to books/ magazines I read to things I see on the street. Blogging is a wonderful platform to express yourself and you never know where it might just take you. There is no right time as such, once can start a blog any day irrespective of how old you are,” she says. There is another side to June too. When she is not obsessing about fashion and shopping, you can find her wearing nerdy glasses playing video games and tinkering with computers! anjali.shetty@goldensparrow.com
App to save precious data Smartphones to drive future cars Here comes an app that can help you save your precious smartphone data even if it is lost or destroyed. The app called “PicAway”, uploads all content from a smartphone to “the Cloud” - internet based storage that is accessible by multiple devices immediately without saving it on the actual device itself. The new feature replaces camera interface with a working browser. It gives an impression as if the user is surfing the net while he/she can upload pictures directly to the Cloud if stuck in
tricky situations. “We want to empower users with the ability to take photos and videos without the fear of those photos and videos being deleted, removed and/or lost,” app codeveloper Pedram Afshar from Australian firm 5.5 Degrees was quoted as saying. By uploading the photos directly to the cloud, the app ensures that there are no missed opportunities as there is no question of “No Storage” message being popped up, reports added. IANS
Luxury car, Bentley has come up with a slick remote control to configure seats
Hold on to that steering. Cars of the future are set to get rid of traditional controls like buttons and switches and have a touchscreen smartphone for your driving comfort and overall safety. Back-seat passengers will have the touchscreen to control automotive accessories such as airconditioning, infotainment and navigation. Th is will not distract drivers, media reports said. Towards this, luxury car maker Bentley has come up with a slick
remote control which whirrs up from the rear of the centre console. The device, the size of a cigarette packet, is fitted with a touch-screen. It manages audiovisual equipments like twin TV screens, a navigation system, a stereo and even a fridge. The remote also allows passengers to configure the seats and adjust interior temperature. Th is kind of control will soon pass on to cheaper cars, reports added. For example, the new
Volkswagen Passat will have an app that owners can download on a tablet. Using the car’s Wi-Fi, the tablet will let passengers surf the internet as well as interact with the infotainment system. Audi has gone a step further. It has come up with an Audi-brand tablet: a 10.2-inch display introduced as a remote control for a range of vehicle functions. The tablet gives occupants access to the web, media and navigation systems, reports added. IANS
How great Leaders inspire action “There are leaders and there are those who lead. Leaders hold a position of power or authority, but those who lead inspire us. Whether they’re individuals or organizations, we follow those who lead, not because we have to, but because we want to. We follow those who lead, not for them, but for ourselves.” In an enlightening talk, Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action explores how leaders inspire cooperation, trust and change. Fascinated by the leaders who make impact in the world, companies and politicians with the capacity to inspire, Sinek has discovered some remarkable patterns in how they think, act and communicate. He calls it the Golden Circle, “a naturally occurring pattern, grounded in the biology of human decision making, that explains why we are inspired by some people, leaders, messages and organizations over others.” He talks about why Apple Inc. is a computer company with a difference and makes a very compelling argument to prove his point. “If Apple were like everyone else, a
WHAT ARE TED TALKS? great computers. Want to buy one?” “What it proves to us is that people don’t buy what you do; people buy why you do it” says Sinek. He uses the analogy of Martin Luther King to say, “In the summer of 1963, 250,000 people showed up on the mall in Washington to hear Dr. King speak. They sent out no invitations, and there was no website to check the date.” And yet, 250,000 people turned up. Sinek goes on to explain how Dr King had a gift that made him tell people what needed to change in America. “He went around and
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 add a kick to your smartphone battery BY SORAB GHASWALLA There’s this joke going around on the Internet: I used to have a mobile phone whose battery used to last seven days. Yup, I am talking about a phone that I owned several years ago when phones were, well, just phones used only for making calls. Grabbed your attention, didn’t I? Smartphone owners today can only dream of a batterylife of seven days. Sorab Ghaswalla Most mobile devices’ bats drain out in a day. I saw a graphic on Facebook the other day which depicted the three things that today’s teenagers were extremely nervous of: Call dropping, slow Internet connection and their devices running out of power. So, that’s that. I shall first list out some common tricks you could deploy to save battery life, and also to eke out every ounce of potential juice from it, irrespective of the phone you own. Then, I shall give you a lowdown on power banks. General tips: 1. Dim the screen, dummy. That’s right. Most of you do not know this but a simple thing like turning down the brightness of your smartphone screen helpssave battery life. And, no auto-brightness, please. Don’t be lazy, set your screen brightness manually to lowest setting (not always the thumb rule, though for some phones like the latest iPhone).Also, set your screen to turn off after a minute of inactivity. 2. Apps make your battery snap. They are the biggest battery drainers. Not only will excessive usage of apps drain out the power, not shutting them down in the correct fashion means they continue to run in the background. Bet you didn’t know that? Same with radios. Turn off the radio when you done, whether it’s Bluetooth, WiFi, whatever. Android, iOS and Windows phones each have different ways of shutting down apps in the background, so read up your manual. 3. App updates and software updates are friends. Many a time, they contain power management updates, so don’t give their downloading a miss. 4. Here’s more: If your phone has an AMOLED screen, use a dark colour background since such screens only light up coloured pixels. The black pixels remain unlit, so logic dictates that the more black pixels on your screen, the less use of battery. 5. Vibrators are better off on massagers, and some such. Get your phone unhooked from the vibration mode. Power banks A power bank acts as a second battery for your phone or doubles up as an external charger. You need to charge it outside your phone, using the latter’s charger or a USB port. When your mobile has drained out, plug in the power bank, and voila, it comes back to life. The power bank business in India, though relatively new, is growing by the day. There are power banks, and then some. Each has its own positives, negatives, phone compatibility issues, price range; then there are branded ones, the ‘Made in China’ ones, and the generic ones. You need to do a whole lot of homework before buying one. These gadgets cost anything between Rs 350 to as much as Rs 4000.
• The Samsung 600 mAh power bank EB-PG900BWEGIN. Available on HomeShop 18 for approx. Rs 2869.
told people what he believed. “I believe, I believe, I believe,” he told people. And people who believed what he believed took his cause, and they made it their own” says Sinek. According to Sinek, all the great and inspiring leaders and organizations in the world (whether it’s Apple, Martin Luther King or the Wright brothers) all think, act and communicate the exact same way. “And it’s the complete opposite to everyone else. All I did was codify it, and it’s probably the world’s simplest idea.” https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_ how_great_leaders_inspire_action
marketing message from them might sound like this: “We make great computers. They’re beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. Want to buy one?” And that’s how most of us communicate. It’s uninspiring. Here’s how Apple actually communicates. “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make
TGS Tech Guru
Power banks update
British author, Simon Sinek, has a straightforward but powerful prototype for inspirational leadership, all beginning with a simple question ‘Why?’ Ritu Goyal Harish presents a synopsis of his presentation at a Ted Global Conference. BY RITU GOYAL HARISH @ritugh
PUNE
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 nonprofit 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.
• Eveready UM 22 Power Bank for Smartphones. Available on Flipkart for approx. Rs 899. • Croma 2600 mah Power Bank.Available at Chroma Retail for approx. Rs 990. Some tips before you buy one: 1. Check what’s called the Real Capacity of the power bank. Mostly found in branded ones. The generic type has what is called as Marking Capacity. The difference: The first gives you the true picture of the charge it can deliver to your phone, the second over-promises but under-delivers. 2. Go in for Li-Polymer batteries, though slightly expensive. They are safer, more durable and have a low dis(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, Startups 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).
ED UCATION
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
PUNE
“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.” — Rabindranath Tagore
Signposts Admission for IGNOU courses The last date for submission of application forms for admissions in Indira Gandhi National Open University for the new academic year is July 31, with a late fee of `300. Further information regarding admissions can be obtained from the common prospectus available at the university website www.ignou.ac.in. The MA degree programme in women’s and gender studies has been on offer from July 2013 session through the School of Gender & Development Studies (SOGDS) at the university.
Ex-UoP staffer gets award Gangadhar Jangamwad, the retired public relations officer of University of Pune, has been awarded by the Global Society for Health & EducaGangadhar tional Growth, Jangamwad New Delhi, for his outstanding contribution in the field of education. Jangamwad is presently running a hostel for students and is the recipient of many awards.
Seminar on Union Budget Department of Economics, Banking, Accountancy and Costing of the Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce has organised a seminar on Union Budget 2014. Well-known tax consultant and National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) executive vice-president Chandrashekhar Tilak, Central Depository Services Ltd (CDSL) head (investor education) Chandrashekhar Thakur and consultant economist and Symbiosis faculty Manasi Phadke will be sharing their analysis and views on the Budget at the seminar that will begin from 11.15 am at Symbiosis Vishwabhavan Auditorium on July 28.
CARE ER
“Education can and should do much influence social, moral and intellectual discovery by stimulating critical attitudes of thought in the young.” — George Bernard Shaw
‘Online admission system is a success’ Deputy director of education Suman Shinde finds Mumbai more open to change in the education field as compared to Pune TGS NEWS SERVICE @GargiManasi
have still not got the colleges of their choice in spite going through the proper channel? There were a few hiccups that caused anxiety among parents and students, but for such cases we had kept the off-line admission round wherein the students can present their case and get admission to the college as per the merit and cut-off. Although it was claimed that the students came from the right channel, many had not fi lled the correct options and ignored the cutoff and merit list. There was some confusion in Mumbai when the online system was introduced as the students, parents and colleges were not accustomed to fi lling in the preferences. However, this was not the case with Pune students. In what way is the online system better than CAP? With technology being the key word in today’s world, it was imperative to adopt the online system for admission to junior colleges as engineering and other colleges have already adapted it. The online system saves time as parents get to know about the college, admission schedule, cut-off marks, intake capacity and other details at the click of a mouse. It also helped us keep the system transparent. We had created groups on WhatsApp for the media, CAP members and the Maharashtra
After successfully implementing the online admission system for standard XI in the city and partly in Mumbai despite facing flip-flops and hurdles, deputy director of education Suman Shinde will be retiring in September this year. Even as the new system has scored over the 18-year-old centralised admission process (CAP), questions are raised regarding its continuance. Shinde speaks to Manasi Saraf Joshi about the new initiative. Excerpts from the interview: Pune is now the second city in the state to adopt the online system. How was the initial response from colleges to this new initiative? There were apprehensions as many did not want a change to CAP. The Mumbai plan was a gradual success but Pune was different as the student strength is around 68,000 as compared to the former’s over 2.25 lakh. We started taking workshops for school and college principals and awareness lectures for parents and students from January itself. We also published a booklet on admission and its process and distributed in schools in May. With these initiatives, I believe we had quite a successful inning. There was criticism from all quarters over the shortcomings of the system as over 5,000 students
Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL). We had given contact details of our 85 officers who participated in CAP and these 85 helpline helped students and parents. How online system was a success? Out of the 67,665 seats for standard XI in the city, 60,825 were considered for the centralised system, and 68% got the college of their choice in the first five preferences. For example, a girl from Sangvi gave her first preference to a prominent city college without considering the cut-off of the college and her own marks. If she was denied admission then it is not the fault of the system. We had taken the student data from the state board and displayed the first merit list on June 28 and, by July 15, colleges began their new semester, as against the old system when colleges would start classes from the first week of August. This system is more efficient and saves time. How was your overall experience while implementing this system in Pune and Mumbai? As I said earlier, the scene in both the cities was different. Pune had less number of students and seats as compared to Mumbai. The people in the capital are ready to accept the change, but Puneites fight over issues and what they consider as their right. The overall experience was good. manasisaraf@gmail.com
MCCIA initiative to bridge the growing academia-industry gap TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly
To bridge the growing academic-industry gap, the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) and its operational partners Arthtech Knowledge and Involute Institute of Technical Training have launched a skill development initiative ‘Kaushalya Sanwardhan’ on Wednesday. The project will cover developing skilled manpower, especially for small and medium scale industries, and enhance the employability of youth graduating out of various colleges. “The problem is not with job availability but the quality of graduates being churned out of colleges every year. Not everyone is employable worthy, one of the main reasons behind the high rate of unemployment in the country. MCCIA aims at improving the skills of the already employed ‘unskilled’ workers as well as fresh technical graduates, diploma holders, graduates from other disciplines and school dropouts,” said
MCCIA president SK Jain. The chamber and its operational partners will be providing short term skill enhancement programmes mainly in technical and commercial areas. The technical programme will include topics such as autonomous maintenance and industrial control techniques, while the commercial programme will include EMPACT for employable accountants that will train them in business accounting, EMPHR for employable HR and administrative executives and techno management that will grant training to graduate engineers by providing managerial skills to convert them into technomanagers and technopreneurs. The courses are likely to begin from August 16 and will be offered at Navalmal Firodia Excellence Centre of the Chamber (Bhosari), MCCIA on Tilak Road. The initiative will also be taken to the MCCIA Centre in Ahmednagar. The class size is expected to be not more than 25-30 students. editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
MCCIA president SK Jain giving the details of the skill development initiative ‘Kaushalya Sanwardhan’
Pursuing My Career
‘Only sincerity and passion will bring success’ Sound designer Kartik Kulkarni’s life revolves around music and he loves to tune in to the world of beats and rhythm
Life has become demanding in the globalised economy and young professionals need to demonstrate a high degree of competency to grow professionally. What are the essential skills that they would require in their workplace? Here’s what experts have to say:
BY KARTIK KULKARNI While pursuing my Bachelor in Commerce, I’d never thought that I would be part of the media and entertainment industry and follow my passion for sound some day. Since childhood, I loved music, and developed a fondness for tabla. While playing percussion for my college band, exposure to various microphones, consoles and other gears led me to develop an interest for the technical aspect of sound and music. At the same time, various sounds associated with different characters in fi lms, especially sci-fi ones, made me fall in love with the world of sound. After graduation, I joined the School of Audio Engineering (SAE), Chennai and completed diplomas in audio engineering and recording arts, before shifting base to Mumbai. I freelanced as a sound engineer for over two years and worked on advertisements, mobile games and music. I also taught at SAE, Mumbai for a year and a half. As I always wanted to become a sound designer, I did my diploma in sound design for visual media from Vancouver Film School in Canada, one of the world’s best fi lm schools of sound design. A sound designer designs or creates specific sound effects for any form of visual media, and designs and edits all the sounds in a movie except the music. For instance, the robotic sounds one hears in movies like ‘Transformers’ or ‘Wall-E’ have been recorded and designed by sound designers. After coming back to Mumbai from Canada, I have been working as a sound designer for fi lms and advertisements. International fi lms like Downward (USA), When the Ocean Met the Sky (Canada),
Life’s Lessons Essential skills for today’s young professionals
Leadership: Someone who is 1control knowledgeable, sensible, can take of a situation and deliver results. To be a good leader, one has to fi rst be a good follower and work under good leaders and mentors.
Critical Th inking: Th is is 2 the ability to think through complicated situations and work-
international and Indian advertisements such as UAB FC Barcelona Cards, Sachin Silver coin TVC, Mak BPCL Lubricants, Fevistik are some of the projects that I have worked on as a sound designer/editor. I have uploaded my body of work on website www. kartikkulkarni.com for prospective clients. My advice to those who want to pursue a career in this field is to have immense passion for sound, patience, humility and ability to work hard. You should be ready to think out of the box and absorb things like a sponge, as there are different styles of
working and the technology keeps on evolving. Your attitude matters the most as this industry is very welcoming to people who can work as a team keeping egos aside. Also, always go in for formal training, as you need to thoroughly grasp the nuances of the art and technology, which will enable you to implement it better. Networking is another key mantra, as meeting other professionals will help you get more work and learn a lot. Most importantly, have fun as it is one of the few careers where you can make a living by playing around with equipment and designing cool sounds.
related problems. Develop a systematic approach; gather all the facts, talk to people with experience before arriving at a decision. Practice the art of critical thinking on a regular basis.
Communication: Become a 3 good communicator which means you also need to become a
good listener fi rst. The ability to speak clearly and coherently, the ability to persuade others to one’s point of view; an openness of mind and a willingness to share ideas are all part of good communication.
Collaboration: Working in 4 teams is essential for success and one needs to collaborate with others on big projects. Always be a good team player which is an asset that will help you in your career.
Productivity and 5 Accountability: A good worker is productive and accountable. S/he
does the tasks assigned diligently, delivers on time, and is responsible and dependable.
Innovation: A key word in 6 the 21st century environment. Are you innovative in the way you do things? Is there a better way to do things? People have great expectations from the youth today.
Techno-savvy: Being adept 7 with technology comes easily to the young today. How can technology make our work easier and simpler? Good use of technology can bring speed to the tasks you undertake.
Global Citizenship: Developing 8 a respect for other cultures is an essential skill in today’s globalized economy. Show sensitivity towards one and all; especially towards those from other cultures.
RE LATIONSHIPS
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
PUNE
“Two people are connected at the heart, and it doesn’t matter what you do, or who you are; there are no boundaries if two people are destined to be together.” — Julia Roberts
“For love to blossom in relationship, there needs to be longing and longing needs a little space. If you don’t allow longing, then love does not grow. So, give them some space and take some space yourself.” — Sri Sri Ravishankar
The binding power of empathy Love yourself... and
We all need to develop this trait to turn this world into a heaven for all creatures, not just for human beings
June 2013 and every country extended its help. When Guatemala in Central America was devastated by a massive earthquake in 1976, the entire world rushed to its rescue. Latur earthquake in September 1993 brought the world together in helping the victims. Even India’s arch rival Pakistan helped unconditionally, sending plastic tents, a team of doctors and quilts. This is the quintessence of empathy. It brings all and sundry together and makes the discrete nations and people come under one roof, forgetting all ostensible differences, discrimination and distinctions of country, class, creed and caste. Empathy eclipses all hatred and bad-blood. We’re all bound up with each other through a palpably deep bonding and all hearts
“A truly empathic heart sees no wrong in anyone and anybody.”
Accept people rather than judge
Drop the ‘I-me-myself ’ syndrome and show concern for others 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)
It is really fun meeting different kinds of people. We get to learn so much from them so why form opinions about them? We should just put a full stop to the drama and start a new line of enjoyment. Until and unless you’re prefect you can’t judge others. Nobody is perfect. A real person is known by his virtues and vices. Stars cannot shine without darkness. Accept your partner and appreciate his or her good qualities and you will soon realise that you not only have a gemstone but the precious diamond!
lends evenness to one’s vision and augments its ambit. The crucified Jesus could forgive those who nailed him to the ‘cross’ because he had love and empathy even for them. Gandhiji’s son Devilal requested the government of India to pardon Nathuram Godse and Narayan Dattatrey Apte because to hang them would be incongruous with his great father’s legacy of peace and forgiveness. That they were ultimately hanged is inconsequential. The man who hit Buddha with a stone, was ashamed when Buddha compassionately said that the ‘poor man’ had to exert extra energy to throw a stone!! Even 27 years of solitary confinement in a far away and isolated Robben island couldn’t embitter the great African leader the late Dr Nelson Mandela, because his heart was aware of just one quality: Forgiving empathy. We all need to develop this trait to turn this world into a heaven for all creatures, not just for human beings.
The Way Forward
Instead of being judgmental, appreciate the good qualities in those around you. Life will then become all the more beautiful, says Yogita Nagpal
Relationship is a string held by both sides and if anyone leaves one end, then the other gets hurt. Mother Teresa had said, “By judging someone else you are judging yourself.” We don’t know what the other person’s journey is all about so how can we judge them? We should accept the other person as s/he is rather than tag them. Being judgmental not only spoils the relationship; it also narrows our mind. Just let the other person be. We all have a different music of life with different rhythm; different melody and different lyrics. Just enjoy that music!
throb like one when this greatest quality reigns supreme. Empathy is a common thread. It’s a streak of divine light that passes through every individual and moves every heart. Hindi poet and Chhayavaadi exponent Sumitranandan Pant aptly said, “Sahmarmita ka deep jalta hai har hriday mein/ Iski lau se jagmagati hai maanavta” (the candle of empathy is in every heart/ Its flame brightens the mankind). The ultimate aim of all philosophies, ideologies and spirituality is to develop a sensitive heart for having a world without hatred, jealousy, prejudice and bitterness. A truly empathic heart sees no wrong in anyone and anybody. Empathy endows an individual with a sense of egalitarianism. It
Is it necessary to be valued by someone or demand love from our life partner? We expect our loved ones to be attentive to us, and when they fail we just blame them. We blame our destiny and find hundreds of reasons to justify our thinking. Why make your life miserable just because you don’t get the approval of someone you crave? When we start loving ourselves there is no compulsion in our mind to be loved or been valued by someone else. Dear friends, start loving yourself like never before. We feel bad when someone neglects us, or becomes less attentive towards us. Do not give much importance to such friends. Start loving yourself. Pamper yourself with love, respect, confidence; learn new things. No one has stopped you from doing that except yourself. You can learn a lot of things that can boost your confidence. Keep yourself updated, learn new languages, new skills and hundreds of things that
interest you. When we are in love, we are open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves, in all our glory and imperfections. Do not take it to heart if no one cares for your feelings; if you’re alone for shopping, or if no one’s there to share a pizza with you or join you for a movie. Learn to enjoy your own company; just experience it and at the end of the day you’ll feel happy about yourself. We can’t force anyone to like us and we don’t have the right to someone else’s life - be it our parents, children or spouse. But we definitely have a complete right on ourselves, so just enjoy that right and enjoy this godgiven gift of life. When we shower love and compassion on ourselves, we make ourselves attractive to others. Just try it and experience it. So friends, get up and give yourself a tight hug, right now. Stop what you’re doing, wrap your arms around yourself and just hug yourself. Appreciate what you have and what you are doing. Life is a great blessing, just enjoy it, dear friends.
“All of us suffer from a chronic social illness,” my friend once told me. “It is called ‘lack of concern for others.’ You see it everywhere – in politics, on the roads, in the work place and even in the family. How many of us even bother to find out how their spouses have spent their day? The moment I come home, I either have to listen to a litany of woes or I’m insensitive to her situation and only hanker for my cup of tea. It is the ‘I-me-myself ’ syndrome. Most of the time, we are not bothered about others.” I think he has a point. ‘No man is an island’ is something we understand logically but often fail to apply emotionally. Aren’t we all interdependent? Who among us grows his own food, makes his own clothes and builds his house with his hands? Yet, do we even think of them – their feelings, their travails and tribulations? They do exist, but in some obscure corner of our minds, as non-entities. They are not part of our daily lives. We take them for granted. I’m not a fussy eater. I quietly finish whatever is put on my plate. Therefore, I was taken aback when one day, my wife suddenly announced, “I don’t even know why I bother to cook for you.” “What did I do,” I exclaimed. “I have never once complained about your cooking.” “That’s exactly the point,” she replied. “If something’s good, you don’t say it’s good. If there’s less or more salt, you don’t say so. Why should I cook for you?” As usual, she was right. I had not appreciated or even acknowledged her efforts. I had taken her for granted. Her efforts had gone unrecognied. In legal parlance, they say “Justice must not only be done – it must appear to be done.” Loving someone has little value unless
IANS
Ramkrishna Paramhans and Swami Vivekananda were passing through a village. It was an extremely hot day. Suddenly, Ramkrishna saw a parrot fall from a tree because of the heat. Ramkrishna rushed to the bird and gave it water to drink. He sat there till the bird felt better and flew away. This is empathy or sahmarmita/bhavnaatmak sahbhaagita in Sanskrit/Hindi and Marathi. It’s even greater than compassion and is the crown of finest human attributes. It’s said that all languages have three most beautiful words: mother, love and empathy. In fact, the words ‘mother’ and ‘love’ already have ‘empathy’ in them. Empathy is the most sublime human attribute, because this very quality binds the human beings together, irrespective of caste, class, colour and creed. Empathy is universal oneness. The great Marathi poet Vishnu Vaaman Shirwadkar ‘Kusumagraj’ called empathy, ‘Vishwa bandhutvache pahile ani shevatche sopaan’ (The first and last step to universal brotherhood). All other great qualities like forgiveness, sympathy, compassion and fellowfeeling flow from one common source: Empathy. It was empathy that drove the American president Abraham Lincoln to feel for the Afro-American slaves and vowed to abolish slavery. He succeeded because empathy finally triumphs against all odds. A heart brimful with empathy doesn’t just feel for the fellow human beings. It feels for all that has been created by nature or call it god if you think so. Seeing a disciple kick a stone in frustration, Buddha, the embodiment of compassionate empathy, told him not to do that because even a ‘non-living’ stone deserves compassion from those, who have this in their hearts! This is the ultimate example of empathy. The whole world prayed for the safety of the pilgrims in Uttarakhand when cloudbursts created a havoc in
BY PIYUSHA OMKAR BHALGAT
IANS
BY SUMIT PAUL
see the difference
Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik condemns rape of a 6-year-old in Bangalore through his art on Puri beach in Odisha
it is expressed in words or acts. I was as guilty as anyone. I had not shown my concern for her. How many times do we jump signals or stop on zebra crossings? Do we show concern for others? Does it always have to be a ‘dog eat dog’ attitude or a ‘first come first served, devil take the hindmost’ approach? Can we be sensitive to the feelings of others just as we want them to be sensitive to our feelings? An innocent child is raped in a
school. There is an outcry and public indignation and ire is directed at the police. Were they responsible for the crime? Are they not overburdened and overworked? Are all cops corrupt that we vilify them? Is the police commissioner’s transfer a solution? Let us look within. When my son passes disparaging remarks or whistles at a girl, do I condone it as a ‘matter of age’? Is that not a crime as well? How many of us make him realise his misdemeanour and apologise?
You may or may not but I believe that change begins with the self. If I wait for others and others do the same, we are not moving forward. The way forward is with compassion and hope. We shall deal with compassion later. Can we at least make a start by showing concern for others? (The writer is a multi-faceted personality who believes in responding with compassion and hope to the difficult situations in life.)
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY PUNE
I really believe that entrepreneurship is about being able to face failure, manage failure and succeed after failing.” —Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Signposts City-based kPoint Technologies wins Zinnov Award City-based kPoint Technologies has won an award in the ‘Startup Beacon’ category at the Zinnov Awards, 2014, Bangalore. The Zinnov Awards are hosted annually at the Zinnov conference, ‘Confluence’. The awards recognise and celebrate individuals and organisations that have inspired and contributed to the growth of the R&D industry and are being held for the fifth year in 2014. Dr Shridhar Shukla, MD, kPoint Technologies, said, “At kPoint, our focus is to make training and communication more effective through the use of videos. With kPoint, enterprise video usage gets democratised and learning can be crowd sourced from all parts of an organisation.”
July 31 deadline for applying to MCCIA awards The last date for applying for the prestigious awards instituted by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries & Agriculture (MCCIA) is July 31. These annual awards include the BG Deshmukh award for CSR, GS Parkhe industrial merit award and the RJ Rathi Award for Pollution Control. For more details visit www.mcciapune.com/award.aspx
‘Leadership secrets’ seminar on Aug 1 The MCCIA has organised a seminar on ‘Secrets of Leadership Success’ from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm on August 1. This seminar will provide insights into responsibilities of a leader, the solution to problems, the right attitude, the roles you must take up in different situations and the motivational tools. The seminar will be conducted by Atul Bapat, founder and CEO of CATS Academy India (P) Ltd. Bapat has over 23 years of experience in reputed MNCs like Mercedes-Benz, Bosch, SKF etc. For more details and registration, visit MCCIA website: www.mcciapune.com.
‘Turn a problem into an opportunity’
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management graduate Rajeev Kher is now a successful entrepreneur with his own firm, 3s India - Sarplast Enterprise. Kher is focused on addressing India’s pressing sanitation problem. Ishani Bose traces his journey TGS NEWS SERVICE @ishani_bose India’s abysmally poor hygiene and sanitation scenario is a business opportunity that can not just generate profits but do a lot of social good in the process. One person who believes this is Rajeev Kher, managing director and founder, 3s India - Sarplast Enterprise, India’s premiere portable sanitation brand. The social enterprise was founded in 1999 and since then has been providing portable sanitation products, waste management solutions, and cleaning services. “I always had an entrepreneurial bent of mind and wanted to do something creative, innovative; something that had scale, a social impact and which was not seasonal. That’s when I thought to myself, why not toilets,” said Kher, an MBA graduate from the Symbiosis Institute of The Business Management, Pune. What motivated him further was the advice from one of his teachers. “I remember one of my professors in business school telling me, ‘If there is a problem, turn it into an opportunity. And so I thought of tapping into this market.” Kher was first introduced to the idea of portable toilets during his internship in the US. “I saw that the portable toilets there were clean, hygienic and providing good facilities to the people. On the contrary, in India there were few public toilets on the streets, which were unhygienic and lacked every sense of design. So when I came up with the concept in India and started giving out
portable toilets for events, we started grabbing a lot of attention,” he said. Kher identified large public gatherings and construction sites as his first targets. “We reached out to the construction industry and proved to them how productive it would be to have a portable toilet as against a built-in toilet. It would save time for labourers, who would otherwise have to go to the end of the property to relieve themselves. And not just toilets, we also started providing toilet cleaning facilities for them because they are our assets that need to be kept clean. Gradually, that’s how the business started scaling,” he added. 3s India - Sarplast Enterprise today offers portable toilets made from polyethylene or high quality plastic. While the high density polyethylene shell comes from the US, the interiors are manufactured in the Pune-based factory itself. “We are not a toilet selling company. We provide toilets, which we ourselves manufacture to our highest specifications. We give it out to our customers and provide services to clean them as well, which involves washing of the toilets and evacuation of the waste,” says Kher. Starting from Pune, the company has now expanded business in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa, Delhi, Cochin, Ahmedabad and Nashik. It has been providing its toilets at a number of events, such as weddings,
The beginning... Rajeev Kher started 3s India - Sarplast Enterprise as a partnership company, with his father in 1999. Until 2006, it was a partnership company, but then he realised that he wanted to start a manufacturing company separately as well. Hence, he merged the two companies and turned into a private limited company. In 2009, the company got private equity from Avishkar, which is one of India’s leading impact funds. It helped Kher scale up the business. In 2013, the company also got funding from Responsibility, a Zurich-based fund, that invested in it. 3s India - Sarplast Enterprise is 30 per cent private equity owned and the rest is owned by Kher and the others in the company. His father continues to be a shareholder in the company.
SWAPNIL SONAWANE
For Vriti Jatia, her work is her passion. Her clothing line, she started in 2010, brought her fame in the world of fashion designing
four years. Her collection comprises Indian, Western and Indo-western clothes with prices ranging from Rs 3,500 to Rs 25,000. “I also customise clothes according to customers’ preferences and of course,
the price then differs according to their specifications,” Vriti says. Over the years she has garnered a good clientele through the number of exhibitions she has been a part of. “I’m always on the
Rajeev Kher’s innovative solutions, including portable toilet (left), have helped to address the acute problem of sanitation in some parts of India
Start-up Mentor
27-year-old Vriti Jatia has pursued her passion for fashion designing. She speaks about her clothing line and more in a tete-a-tete with Ishani Bose
Discovering your passion is one thing, pursuing it as a career is another. And those who decide to follow their passion have no regrets. Th is is exactly what fashion designer Vriti Jatia feels. For Vriti, her work is her passion. Having graduated in literature and even dabbled in journalism, she knew her calling was yet to come. Fashion, says Vriti, was something she was always interested in. “I was never formally introduced to the world of fashion. Since childhood, my mother and I had been designing our own clothes,” says Vriti. Discovering her real passion, she decided to take the plunge and start her own clothing line. “After all, it is something I love doing,” says the young entrepreneur. Vriti completed her course in fashion designing from FAD International in 2010, after which she started her own clothing line. Vriti has emerged as the new face on the fashion block in the city in just
social gatherings, marathons, etc. Recently, it also provided its toilets in Alandi and Pandharpur for the Palkhi. “We had a successful experience and people were very impressed by our products and the level of hygiene we helped maintain this time. The rate of open defecation also went down drastically thanks to our products. Next, we will be taking up a bigger challenge and stationing our products along the Palkhi route,” says Kher. He wants to expand his business by making his products available in every town and city in India and work in conjunction with the government to create policies and standardisation. This would help create better levels of hygiene and sanitation. “I peg the total portable sanitation industry’s potential in India to be about 20-25 billion dollars provided the government creates standardisation and legislation for the importance of temporary sanitation,” says Rajeev Kher. He feels that the government needs to work in conjunction with people who understand the urgency of this situation. “While everything else in the country has undergone a change over the years, sadly, the sanitation aspect has remained the same,” he said. He is convinced that public toilets in India need to change, like everything else. ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com
“I peg the industry’s potential to be about 2025 bn dollars provided the govt creates legislation to stress the importance of sanitation.”
Born to be a fashionista TGS NEWS SERVICE @ishani_bose
“We all were courageous in the starting moments, few of us stayed courageous till the final moments and the world called them successful.” -Amit Kalantri, author
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
JULY 26, 2014
move, as being a part of a number of exhibitions, held across the country requires me to travel constantly. On an average, I participate in 20-25 exhibitions in a year. I have no complaints as these exhibitions are the perfect opportunity to reach out to the market at large. Th is helps in building a strong client base over the years,” she says. Th is young fashion designer retails her apparels to stores in Mumbai and Kolhapur, and is planning to expand to metros like Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore in the near future. Ask her how it feels to run a business at such a young age and she quips, “It is very different from a regular 9 am to 5 pm job. It’s a different struggle altogether. I can never disconnect myself from it. Even if I’m holidaying, it’s always on the back of my mind. But, I believe, if you do what you like, it is always enjoyable. Perhaps, that is why, despite my hectic and erratic work schedule, I love my work and that is what matters.” ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com
Is your product critical to customers?
This feature is a collaboration between The Golden Sparrow on Saturday and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the world’s largest non-profit network of entrepreneurs. For additional questions about your entrepreneurial challenges, write to mentoring@pune.tie.org
I have built this collaboration platform that helps all the stakeholders of product ecosystem to come together online and collaborate. What next? - Mahesh Raghunathan Thanks for taking the time to discuss with me your product idea and asking for the way forward. Let me answer this by talking about some hard decisions that entrepreneurs Vishwas Mahajan have to make while deciding what they want to build and the depth or breadth they should consider going into in their chosen area.
1
Evaluate your product idea dispassionately: The question to ask is ‘Whether the product I am building is a ‘vitamin’ or ‘medicine’ for your customer’s business. This is another way to ask if your product is ‘nice to have’ or ‘must have’. If you are creating a ‘medicine’ i.e. something that will solve a problem for your customer, then it’s a good position to be in. If it’s a ‘vitamin’ or something that is not a ‘must’ but will bring
in incremental benefit, you should take a breath and reassess whether the concept still holds your initial level of enthusiasm. Do you believe your product or service is critical to potential customers and not just one they’ll simply appreciate. Many entrepreneurs are too close to their topic to realise where they really are on the user adoption curve. While you may hope that the jump from what Geoffrey Moore describes as ‘innovators’ and ‘early adopters’ to the ‘early majority’ is short, it rarely works that way. (Customer types and ‘crossing the chasm’ in another article ) of ‘Nice to Have’ 2Implications products in B2B and B2C space: For enterprise or B2B the
implication is long sales cycles, pressure on pricing, inability to identify the key stakeholder or sponsor within the customer organisation who can champion the sale, etc. Even if you are able to make a sale, the adoption challenges and change of people may pose threat to continual of the product usage in the customer organisation. For consumer or B2B where users don’t pay for the product, the ‘must
have’ bar might be set a bit lower than for paid products, but it’s still a significant hurdle for the early majority to spend their time (even if it doesn’t cost money) on something new of which the benefits aren’t obvious, easy, or quick to grasp. assessment of your product 3 My space: Mahesh, my assessment of your product is that it falls in ‘nice
to have’ or ‘vitamin’ category. So this may pose challenges for you to scale your business, even after your signing up early customers. You were not able to convince me of the criticality of the product need or articulate the specific problem you will be able to solve.
advice: I would ask you to 4 My validate this with a few customers, so you can make appropriate
changes to your product features or value proposition. You should also have a frank conversation with your co-founders and assess if there is a better idea for your team to work on... So, pivot early if necessary.
Vishwas Mahajan, president of TiE Pune Chapter, answers real life questions of entrepreneurs
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
Kick-start with fame and shame P 15
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“I want to assure you as chief of the army staff that the Indian Army is deployed at the border and has the capability to protect India’s sovereignty and integrity,” Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh said to media while paying tribute to the martyrs of 1999 Kargil War.
Uddhav must act Katju’s lesson: Let’s stop fooling ourselves about ‘honest’ Manmohan firmly against Vichare BY R JAGANNATHAN
The belated loquaciousness of retired Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju over the appointment of a “corrupt judge” in the Madras High Court has at least one big virtue: it forces us to re-evaluate all the lies we have been told, or the ones we have been telling ourselves, about the benign nature of the Sonia GandhiManmohan Singh partnership in 10 years of UPA misrule. The biggest untruth we wanted to believe in was this one: that Manmohan Singh was an honest man caught in the tentacles of coalition dharma (or rather adharma) and that he was single-handedly trying to keep the flag of economic reforms and probity flying in difficult circumstances. So we dismissed all evidence pointing to the contrary, which showed his tacit, if not explicit, permission for corruption. In the 2G, Coalgate and CWG scams, we blamed others and assumed that Singh was forced to look the other way. Comrade Katju’s dirty-linen washing act tells us otherwise. It now appears that Manmohan Singh openly batted for a corrupt judge, now identified as the late S Ashok Kumar. In a letter dated 17 June 2005, according to The Times of India, the PMO sent a note to the law ministry about this corrupt judge. The note said, “The Prime Minister has directed that clarifications be sought by the ministry of law and justice as to why the names of Justice S Ashok Kumar and Justice NR Kannadasan have not been recommended (for confi rmation as additional judge). The proposal be resubmitted (to the collegium) with the clarification”. Now, this is no sin of omission or about Singh looking the other way
when bad things happened. Th is was Manmohan Singh’s direct handiwork a sin of commission in asking a reluctant judiciary to extend the services of a corrupt judge. Th is is evident from then Chief Justice RC Lahoti’s note, which, inter alia, said: “…While the opinion of the collegium is clear....however in view of the sensitivity in the perception of the government, the matter can be postponed for being further enquired into. Justice S Ashok Kumar may be given an extension for a reasonable time as additional judge.” (Italics ours). A prime minister piles on political pressure through the law minister HR Bhardwaj, and the judiciary bends to serve him. In this case Manmohan Singh’s hand clearly was the one that fi red the gun, and not merely the shoulder from which someone else did the fi ring. The obfuscating assumption that Singh was forced to do things despite his ‘honest’ inclinations is clearly one we must question. Singh was not forced to write this letter. Even if his party boss wanted him to do this, he could have asked the law minister, the ever-willing-tooblige Bhardwaj, a Gandhi family loyalist, to do the dirty work himself. Th is would have given the PM
plausible deniability. But the PM did it all himself and Bhardwaj became the emissary. The unravelling of the ‘honest PM’ claim helps us debunk a second and related lie: that Sonia Gandhi spurned the prime ministership because she did not lust after power. In fact, we now know that she not only wielded full power despite being only a party head, but wielding it was possible only with Manmohan Singh as PM. The projection of Singh as the honest saint was what enabled her to consolidate power and get everything she wanted done without anyone raising a note of protest. If we hark back to every scam, every dubious move of the government, and especially the ones the Dynasty was directly interested in, Congress spokespersons always pointed to Manmohan Singh’s spotless record to debunk charges that the UPA was encouraging corruption. When allegations of corruption were flying thick and fast against M a n m oh a n S i n g h ’s government in the heat of the Anna movement, S o n i a defended Singh: “… The manner in which Opposition and some a nt i-Cong ress elements are,
Pune’s water situation improves of 10 TMC has been achieved. It is hoped that rainfall during August and September will cover the shortfall of July. Rainfall in the next two months would therefore be crucial for the city in terms of meeting its water requirement post-monsoon. GPRS to be installed on water tankers The PMC has decided to install the radio-tracking GPRS devices on its own
What is going wrong with road safety in India? Contd from p 1 Another school bus-truck collision in Jalandhar in Punjab March 4, 2013, left 11 children dead. These figures indicate how grave the issue of child safety was in India, said Tewari. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 20 children under the age of 14 years, die daily in road accidents in India. The nearly 70 deaths between January 2013 and July 2014 are of school students. Still, India has no child safety laws, Tewari said. Under child safety laws, children should be provided helmets and seat belts, and an adult should be posted on all school buses to supervise them and check errant drivers. A RTI-based study by the foundation found that deaths while going to schools rose in 2012 by 39.25 per cent. School buses should be put in a special class of vehicles, like an ambulance, said Tewari. “School buses are com-
mercial vehicles, which means a truck driver can drive a school bus,” Tewari told IANS. Special category would bring in three distinct benefits. “First, it will ensure that there is a strong procedure to check on the licensing,” Tewari said. “Second, the drivers will be required to undergo training and will have to renew their licence each year. “Third, there will be certain safety standards such as seat belts, low floor buses in place,” he said. Tewari wants those neglecting the safety of children while commuting to be subjected to severe penalties. India has only about one percent of the world’s vehicles but accounts for 10 percent of the world’s road accidents. According to Save Life Foundation, there is a road accident death in India every four minutes and about 380 deaths occur every day, equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing daily. IANS
and hired fleet of 185 water tankers to prevent the illegal trade in water. During water scarcity in previous years, tanker owners have drawn water from PMC supply stations and have sold it to the highest bidder illegally. To prevent this black marketing of water in times of scarcity, the PMC will install the GPRS system from this year to track the movement of water tankers, head of PMC’s water supply department VG Kulkarni said.
Army chief pays tributes to Kargil War martyrs Contd from p 1 General Singh, who is retiring July 31, said the central government is committed to fulfi l the aspirations of the army. On being asked why the army’s veterans who had participated in the Kargil confl ict in 1999 were absent at the function, the chief said: “These invitations go out from formation commanders and not from the army headquarters.” “You can ask formation commanders about this, but let me assure you that everyone of those who fought the war here in 1999 is proud of the soldiers who laid down their lives in the service of the country.” Every year July 26 the Indian Army observes Vijay Divas to commemorate the sacrifices of its soldiers and also celebrate the victory during the 60-day long Kargil War.
The high-handedness of 11 Shiv Sena MPs while protesting against the quality of food served at the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi appears to have boomeranged, for video reports showed them in rather poor light. They were clearly seen force-feeding a catering staff member. That the staffer turned out to be a Muslim only compounded problems for the party, as the incident also took a mildly communal colour. “It is not a communal issue. The whole idea that he was targetted because he was a Muslim man is wrong. Let’s not make it communal in the holy month of Ramadan. Let’s not see it as an attack on a community. The Shiv Sena MP in question should apologise for his behaviour,” BJP member Aizaj Ilmi told CNN-IBN during a panel discussion. The BJP leader, however, did not agree that senior ministers from the BJP including the prime minister should apologise for the incident as the Shiv Sena is a part of the government. “You cannot paint the entire government because of an act by an individual. If required, the Maharashtra resident commissioner should fi le a police case under section 506 for intimidation,” Ilmi said. However, Padma Shri awardee and theatre personality Amir Raza Hussain, formerly with the BJP, believed there was some element of communalism in the incident, though he found more fault with the BJP.
“The poll campaign was itself violent and divisive. The BJP remained quiet when the Pune techie died recently. I am surprised that India bought the acche din story so easily. The BJP should hang its head in shame,” he said. Not sparing the Shiv Sena either, Hussain said, “This is disgusting behaviour when you force feed a person whether he is Hindu, Muslim, politician or not... How can we expect these people to frame laws? Why should you go back repeatedly to the Maharashtra Sadan if you don’t like the food and force feed a poor guy? Delhi has thousands of eateries that are cheap and expensive.” “It is not at all surprising to see this kind of behaviour of Shiv Sena given their fundamental communal mindset. The resident commissioner should fi le a complaint at the police station against 11 Shiv Sena MPs. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar should give a statement in Parliament. There has to be a hard closure and it can come only through the courts. But we will not allow the matter to close softly as well,” said Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar. Senior journalist Anil Dharkar felt that the transition from Balasaheb Thackeray’s leadership to Uddhav Thackeray’s gentler style has not made much difference to the party. “From all account Uddhav Thackeray is a civilised man but he failed to reprimand his MPs. He made a wishy washy statement trying to protect his MPs,” Dharker said. (Copyright: Firstpost.com)
Padma Shri awardee Amir Raza Hussain believes there was some element of communalism in the incident
Does Vardhan have the political will to take on corrupt docs? BY PALLAVI POLANKI It took a sting operation by a TV channel on doctors accepting commissions of up to 50 per cent on scans and routine pathological tests from private laboratories and diagnostic centres for health minister Harsh Vardhan to “accept that the patient/ consumer of the medical economy needs protection from such nefarious practices”. Speaking in Parliament recently on the doctor-laboratory nexus exposed by the sting operation, Vardhan, a doctor himself, said it had prompted him to write to the Medical Council of India (MCI) “pointing out that the practice of accepting commissions is in clear violation of MCI’s Code of Ethics”. He added that the ministry felt that it was “time to check the retrogressive tendencies that have crept into sectors of the medical economy” and “to bring under some degree of oversight the trade practices” employed by labs and diagnostic centres. “This is an old practice. It has been going on for ages in India. Everybody knows about it. The minister is quite wellknown for making statements without following them up. If he is really going to follow it up with concrete steps, he needs to create a regulatory mechanism for medical institutions in the country. It is not as if only diagnostic centres are doing it. Hospitals are also doing it,” says Amar Jesani, editor, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. In a significant acknowledgment of what lies at the core of the rot that has set into India’s health sector, Vardhan told
IANS
Contd from p 1 The other three dams are yet to get water to their capacity. They have achieved a collective storage of 8.21 TMC which is about 30% of their collective capacity. The situation in these dams would be crucial in the coming weeks as Pune and smaller towns downstream are dependent on them for their water supply. To fulfil this demand, a total of 20 TMC water would be required of which storage
BY FP POLITICS
as part of a conspiracy, levelling baseless allegations against the prime minister, the UPA government, the party and some of our colleagues, is a matter of regret.” Last year, with elections in sight, Sonia defended Singh even when her own son Rahul insulted him by calling the ordinance to protect convicted legislators from disqualification as “nonsense.” By putting up Singh as mascot, the UPA government could allow all the scams to take place, including the coal blocks allocation scam in which Singh himself was the minister in charge. The third lie was debunked earlier this year, when the widespread belief that there was a dual power structure agreed between Sonia and Manmohan. Manmohan Singh’s former media advisor Sanjaya Baru, in his book The Accidental Prime Minister, quoted Singh himself as admitting that there was only one power centre - Sonia Gandhi. Singh told Baru: “I have to come to terms with this. There cannot be two centres of power. That creates confusion. I have to accept that the party president is the centre of power.” The victims of this prime ministerial accident were the citizens of the country, once the easy growth years of UPA-1 got over. The larger point is this: since it is nobody’s case that Manmohan Singh was a simpleton who had no idea he was being used by the dynasty for their own dubious political purposes, it follows that he was complicit in many of the sins of commission and omission committed during his watch. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde were one and the same person. We have to stop telling ourselves lies about what honest Manmohan Singh was all about. (By special arrangement with Firstpost.com)
Parliament that “the laissez faire spirit that dominates this business in India works to the disadvantage of the consumer and needs correction”. Not exactly music to the ears of corporate hospital chains notorious for the exorbitant rates they charge for medical tests and equipment and to five-star private hospitals that make no secret of their policy of “incentives to doctors” in return for referrals. Jesani explains why the healthcare market in India has come to be so exploitative. “The fundamental problem is that when you allow markets to determine where the health services are going to be, then they will only go to areas where people have the purchasing power. You will find that the doctor-population ratio in rich urban areas is very high compared
to poorer or rural areas or in small towns. Doctors and hospitals are part of the business,” says Jesani. So what does the health minister need to do to end this sort of profiteering by doctors and hospitals at the expense of patients? “What he has to do is to bring the market of healthcare under control. If you have an open market without any regulation, where the price of the healthcare is not regulated at all, he won’t be able to abolish such practices.They have to go for price control or price regulation, they have create a mechanism for people to make complaints. They will either have to come up with a separate law or in the existing law create ways to address this… The only way to regulate prices is good costing,” says Jesani. (Copyright: Firstpost.com)
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
PUNE
India has voted in favour of United Nations Human Rights Council resolution for a probe on Israel’s offensive in Gaza. The resolution titled ‘Ensuring Respect for international law in The Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jersusalem’ saw 29 countries voting in favour of resolution.
Apshinge: The great village of brave soldiers P 13
By KENNETH CHANG
Adding fuel to the debates over the merits of organic food, a comprehensive review of earlier studies found substantially higher levels of antioxidants and lower levels of pesticides in organic fruits, vegetables and grains compared with conventionally grown produce. “It shows very clearly how you grow your food has an impact,” said Carlo Leifert, a professor of ecological agriculture at Newcastle University in England, who led the research. “If you buy organic fruits and vegetables, you can be sure you have, on average, a higher amount of antioxidants at the same calorie level.” However, the full findings, to be published in the British Journal of Nutrition, stop short of claiming that eating organic produce will lead to better health. “We are not making health claims based on this study, because we can’t,” Leifert said. The study, he said, is insufficient “to say organic food is definitely healthier for you, and it doesn’t tell you anything about how much of a health impact switching to organic food could have.” Still, the authors note that other studies have suggested some of the antioxidants have been linked to a lower risk of cancer and other diseases. The conclusions in the new report run counter to those of a similar analysis published two years ago by Stanford scientists, who found few differences in the nutritional content of organic and conventionally grown foods. Those scientists said the small differences that did exist were unlikely to influence the health of the people who chose to buy
Paul O Boisvert / NYT
Study of organic crops finds fewer pesticides and more anti-oxidants
A review of earlier studies found significant differences between organic and conventionally grown produce
organic foods, which are usually more expensive. The Stanford study, like the new study, did find pesticide residues were several times higher on conventionally grown fruits and vegetables, but played down the significance, because even the higher levels were largely below safety limits. Organic farming, by and large, eliminates the use of conventional chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Those practices offer ecological benefits like healthier soils but produce less bountiful harvests. What is disputed, vociferously, is
whether organic fruits and vegetables provide a nutritional lift. Many naysayers regard organic as a marketing ploy to charge higher prices. “The other argument would be, if you just eat a little bit more fruits and vegetables, you’re going to get more nutrients,” said Alan D Dangour, a researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dangour led a review published in 2009 that found no significant nutritional differences between conventional and organic foods. Such differences are difficult to discern, because other factors that can
vary widely from place to place and year to year, like the weather, also influence the nutrients. Even if differences exist, it is unclear whether they would affect consumer health. In the new study, an international team of scientists did not conduct any laboratory or field work of their own. Instead, they compiled a database from 343 previously published studies and performed a statistical procedure known as a meta-analysis, which attempts to ferret robust bits of information from studies of varying designs and quality. Some of the studies reported many
Probing brain, trying to aid memory
BY NICOLA CLARK
Jessica Kourkounis/The New York Times
TOULOUSE, FRANCE: Inside a 75-hectare assembly hall in this quiet corner of southwestern France, a dozen of Airbus’ best-selling wide-body jets stand in various stages of construction. Each station is a hive of activity as 1,800 mechanics, working in two daily shifts, churn out 10 or so of the twin-engine A330s each month, from components flown in from Airbus sites in France, Britain, Germany and Spain. Through the unfinished windows of empty green fuselages wafts a muffled mix of European pop tunes accompanied by the rhythmic pulse and swoosh of automated welding machines. Over the last two decades, nearly 1,100 finished A330s have emerged from this building, their tails bearing the logos of more than 100 airlines from 40 countries. But with the advent of a new generation of lightweight, carbon-fiber wide-bodies like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus’ own A350-XWB, which is expected later this year, the A330 is starting to show its age. So Airbus is poised to move forward with a major, multibillion-dollar plan to design and execute an upgrade for the A330, people close to the deliberations said. The management of Airbus has spent at least six months deliberating whether to revamp the A330 or simply let the plane glide into retirement while the company spends its time and money producing and marketing newer aircraft.
Dakota Smith travelled to Philadelphia from Virginia to have her epileptic seizures treated while a series of tests were run
“A decade ago, only a handful of centres had the expertise to perform such real-time experiments in the context of first-rate surgery,” said Michael Kahana, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania and the recipient of one of the new contracts granted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. “Today, there are dozens of them, and more on the way; this area is suddenly hot.” Since the 1950s, surgeons worked by instinct and experience, stimulating points on the brain’s surface, guided by the patient. Yet in people like Ralph, they need not only to map the brain’s surface but to sound its depths. They made punctures in the top of his skull and threaded 11 probes deep into his medial temporal lobes, near an area called the hippocampus, about level with the ear. The hippocampus is the very seat of memory formation, and its importance emerged from the study of an epilepsy patient
Experts also worry about the possible side effects of directly tampering with memory
whose procedure went famously awry. Henry Molaison, known worldwide as HM, had severe seizures until a surgeon removed the hippocampus from both hemispheres of his brain in 1953. After the electrodes were implanted in Ralph’s brain, doctors recorded the momentto-moment firing of tens of thousands of his neurons as he played memory games on the laptop. Later, they teased out discrete signals from the static that corresponded to specific mental actions during the laptop game, like recognising a landmark in a virtual city. “These readings are of great clinical value; the results help us not only ask basic questions about brain function but guide our decisions about what to do in this case - Ralph’s case,” said Dr Ashwini Sharan, his surgeon at Thomas Jefferson. Is further surgery - to cut out the seizure source - too risky? Or is there another way to correct the problem? The prospect of an answer to the second question is what attracted Defense Department officials. More than 270,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have received a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury, or TBI. © 2014 New York Times News Service
The study stops short of claiming that eating organic produce will lead to better health
While the A330 continues to generate around 40 per cent of Airbus’ civilian aircraft profits, new orders for the plane have slowed significantly in recent years. Airbus’ current backlog of unfilled orders for the A330 amounts to just 250 planes. While that is equivalent to about two years of production at current rates, it is only a small fraction of the current industryaverage backlog of more than eight years. Airbus and Boeing have order books already overstuffed with demand for their latest single-aisle jets, as well as new fuel-sipping wide-bodies that promise operating-cost savings of up to 15 per cent over older models. But with the wait times to receive new planes now stretching to more than six years, airlines have been slower to reach for their checkbooks. Despite an improving global economy and a stronger earnings outlook - airlines worldwide expect combined profits of $18 billion this year, up from nearly $11 billion last year - the number of orders is expected to slow. Boeing has won orders for more than 250 of the planes, known as the 777X, which are expected to enter service beginning in 2020. A number of top customers - including Delta Air Lines and the Malaysian-based low-cost carrier AirAsia X, as well as major jet-leasing companies like the Los Angeles-based Air Lease Corp. - have expressed keen interest in an upgraded A330, particularly if the planes can be delivered sooner than rival models. © 2014 New York Times News Service
Ulrich Lebeuf for The New York Times
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: The man in the hospital bed was playing video games on a laptop, absorbed and relaxed despite the bustle of scientists on all sides and the electrodes threaded through his skull and deep into his brain. “OK, that’s enough,” he told doctors after more than an hour. “All those memory tests, it’s exhausting.” The man, Ralph, a health care worker who asked that his last name be omitted for privacy, has severe epilepsy; and the operation to find the source of his seizures had provided researchers an exquisite opportunity to study the biology of memory. The US Department of Defense announced a $40 million investment in what has become the fastest moving branch of neuroscience: direct brain recording. Two centres, one at the University of Pennsylvania and the other at the University of California, Los Angeles, won contracts to develop brain implants for memory deficits. Their aim is to develop new treatments for traumatic brain injury, the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Its most devastating symptom is the blunting of memory and reasoning. Scientists have found in preliminary studies that they can sharpen some kinds of memory by directly recording, and stimulating, circuits deep in the brain. Unlike brain imaging, direct brain recording allows scientists to conduct experiments while listening to the brain’s internal dialogue in real time, using epilepsy patients like Ralph or people with Parkinson’s disease as active collaborators. The technique has provided the clearest picture yet of how neural circuits function, and raised hopes of new therapies for depression and anxiety as well as cognitive problems. But experts also worry about the possible side effects of directly tampering with memory.
pesticides, plants would produce more antioxidants, many of which serve as defenses against pests and disease. The study also found that organically produced foods, particularly grains, contain lower levels of cadmium, a toxic metal that sometimes contaminates conventional fertilisers. Benbrook said the researchers were surprised by that finding; there was no difference in other toxic metals like mercury and lead. Even with the differences and the indications that some anti-oxidants are beneficial, nutrition experts said the “So what?” question had yet to be answered. “After that, everything is speculative,” said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. “It’s a really hard question to answer.” Nestle said she buys organic foods because she believes they are better for the environment and wants to avoid pesticides. “If they are also more nutritious, that’s a bonus,” she said. “How significant a bonus? Hard to say.” She continued: “There is no reason to think that organic foods would be less nutritious than conventional industrial crops. Some studies in the past have found them to have more of some nutrients. Other studies have not. This one looked at more studies and has better statistics.” © 2014 New York Times News Service
A multi-billion-dollar question for Airbus and its A330
US is developing treatments for traumatic brain injury, the signature wound of Iraq and Afghanistan wars BY BENEDICT CAREY
measurements, some only a few. Some included several crops grown over multiple years, while others looked at only a few samples. But if done properly, the results of a meta-analysis can be greater than the average of its parts. Overall, organic crops contained 17 per cent more antioxidants than conventionally grown crops, the new study found. For some classes of antioxidants, the difference was larger. A group of compounds known as flavanones, for example, was 69 per cent higher in the organic produce. (At very high quantities, as in some supplements, some antioxidants have been shown to be harmful, but the levels in organic produce were not nearly that high.) The researchers said they analysed the data in several different ways, and each time the general results remained robust. The study cost $429,000, which came from the European Union and the Sheepdrove Trust, a British charity that supports organic farming research. The scientists said the money came with no strings, and their research passed the rigor of scientific peer review for publication. Charles M Benbrook, a professor at Washington State University and another author of the paper, said this analysis improved on earlier reviews, in part because it incorporated recent new studies. The findings fit with the expectation that without
The plane might get new engines that would reduce its fuel consumption
TH E EDIT PAGE
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
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Editor’s pick
“As revolutionaries well know, if you want to change the mentality of a country... you drive the tanks straight to the nerve centre of the body politic, the news HQ.” - Alain de Botton
Guide for dummies: It’s easy to grab headlines in India The more outlandish, provocative and communally-coloured an act or a statement, the easier it is to grab headlines in India, especially on the powerful news television. From time to time, the entire journalistic bandwagon in India, including senior scribes, editors and popular anchors throw their intelligence and discretion to the winds. Instead of applying thought and good sense, they prefer to go after that juicy piece of news which has the potential of getting them maximum eyeballs. It is not just Sunny Leone who wants attention and eyeballs. Thursday was an illuminating day in Indian journalism. On a day when a train-bus accident killed 19 children on their way to school in Medak district near Hyderabad, our news channels were obsessed with something more sensational, exciting and, if one may add, idiotic. Rather unusually, it was a problem of plenty for the news channels which had to grapple with so much on their plate: an inconsequential Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA’s statement in the Goa state assembly that Prime Minister Modi could make India “a Hindu Rashtra” with “support from all of us”; a BJP MLA’s criticism of Sania Mirza as “Pakistan’s daughterin-law” and the followup on a Shiv Sena MP’s crass assault and attempt to force-feed a Maharashtra Sadan canteen supervisor in Delhi. The active propellant in this bomb of a news item was the fact that he happened to a fasting Muslim. All the three acts and statements are crass, condemnable, an assault on the dignity of the people involved and the sensibilities of our nation. The agents provocateurs ought to be slapped under the minor laws of assault and disturbing peace under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Nothing more than that. Instead, the national media spent hours of prime time on these nobodies and their brainless actions with detailed reportage, reactions, analysis and debates on their pronouncements. Was so much time and attention on these news items warranted? Shouldn’t the media have paid much more attention to the death of the school children in the train-bus accident in Medak and related issues of road and rail safety in the country? Or spent greater time in the continuing saga of lack of fi re safety in Mumbai’s high-rises which unnecessarily cost the life of a 30-year-old fi reman? In the media’s reckoning, deaths and accidents are a daily occurrence in India and so they do not force us out of our seats in the same manner that a sensationalist, juicy bit of HinduMuslim news development can do. Like politicians, even B-grade
By Vaijnath Dulange
Gordimer on apartheid & SA’s transition actors are well aware of the media’s penchant for excitement and sensationalism and use this knowledge effectively to find a place in the national spotlight. We still remember Poonam Pandey who made it to the top headlines of newspapers and television by promising to strip in public if the Indian team won the 2011 cricket World Cup. Like her, Sunny Leone and the irrepressible Rakhi Sawant are smart enough to instinctively use the Dummies Guide to grab news headlines in India, which in itself is an open book, not requiring much intelligence to grasp. Since the BJP is in power with none other than the much-hounded Narendra Modi as prime minister, at least two things should be expected: Like in the case of fundamentalist and provocative Muslim leaders under the Congress, their counterparts in the Hindutva parivar will now seek to be assertive. These would include irritants on the fringes like the Bajrang Dal and the Sri Ram Sena or politicians from the mainstream BJP or the Shiv Sena. Someone may call for steps to finally make India a “Hindu Rashtra”; call Sania Mirza an anti-national; assault and force-feed a canteen worker- who happened to be a fasting Muslim- in the orchestrated glare of TV cameras or demand a ban on bikinis on Goa beaches. These people are essentially playing out on an agenda which is to deliberately stoke the fires of communal passions and assert their Hindutva identity. But should the media also display a proportional lack of intelligence by playing into their hands and turning their antics into national headlines; debates and learned commentaries of the day? There is no reason for the Modi government to get distracted and play into the hands of the media and waste time in reacting to deliberate provocation. The Modi government has been elected with a mandate to improve the national economy, bring jobs for the youth and provide the nation with better infrastructure and governance. It has promised to be efficient, deliver results and take effective steps to combat corruption. Under no circumstances should it deflect its attention from this course.
The more outlandish, provocative and communallycoloured an act or a statement, the easier it is to grab headlines in India, especially on TV.
Vol-1* lssue No.: 6 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)
BY SAEED NAQVI The world was in ideological transition when I met Nadine Gordimer in her bungalow in a Johannesburg suburb. Nelson Mandela had been released that very month after 27 years in the “White Man’s prison”. Earlier, the Soviet Union had collapsed. Wild victory celebrations across South Africa did not seem to touch her in quite the same way as it did other members of the African National Congress (ANC). “I am overjoyed,” she said, but didn’t look it. There was a silent school which thought too many compromises had been made with the White establishment. When I met Gavin Relly, Chairman of Anglo-American mining giant, he was openly critical of the ANC’s economic vision. And he was a hovering presence. In that hyphenated entity called the South African Communist Party and the ANC, there were some skeptics. In the first flush of Mandela’s release was Joe Slovo, an extraordinary Jewish intellectual, like Gordimer. He was commander of the ANC’s armed wing and a long time leader of the Communist party. He died in 1995 and at the memorial meeting in Sweto I saw Mandela and Nadine Gordimer together, tears rolling down their cheeks. Her spontaneous hospitality, organising canapés to go with drinks, was a function of her curiosity. I was the first “Indian-Indian” in her house. How does one explain this “Indian-Indian” bit? Well, Indians were not allowed to travel to South Africa until apartheid was officially lifted. In the ministry of external affairs, the joint secretary dealing with Africa, Arundhati Ghosh, was as excited about Mandela’s release as I was. Rather than wait for apartheid to
be officially lifted, she thought it would be only fitting for an Indian journalist to be in South Africa in time for Mandela’s release. So she helped me overcome passport and visa complications. This is how I happened to be the fi rst “Indian-Indian” in the Gordimer house. South African Indians came in two streams. The fi rst ship, Truro, docked in Natal in 1860 with the indentured Indian. Then, until 1911, 262 vessels set sail from Madras (Chennai) and 122 from Calcutta (Kolkata), to Natal, with Durban as the growing metropolis. The second stream were merchants from Surat, an overwhelming majority of whom were Muslims. Leaders of this group like Baba Abdullah and Mohammad Cachalia developed an urgent need for a trained barrister to fight some of their cases. They did not look for religious affinity. They looked for a fellow Gujarati. That is how Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi landed in Natal in 1893 as a lawyer for fellow Gujaratis. Children of these Gujaratis, educated in the finest Western universities, formed the backbone of South African resistance. Gordimer had all these facts on her fingertips. But much of this was history. The current African Indians she knew were “comrades”, in leadership positions of the ANC. It was a remarkable feature of Nelson Mandela’s fi rst cabinet that eleven of its members were of Indian origin. Other than Jay Naidoo and
Mac Maharaj, there were nine Muslims and a Parsee in the cabinet. “You have noticed a fact that has probably never occurred to Mandela.” In the ANCCommunist struggle “they were only comrades”. Ahmad Kathrada was the minister in Mandela’s office. Later, Essop Pahad replaced him during Thabo Mbeki’s presidency. Both had long years ago stayed in Ajoy Bhavan, CPI’s Delhi headquarters because of their old Communist affi liations. She was aware of the paradox that Mandela was released only after the Soviet Union collapsed. In the course of her Jawaharlal Nehru memorial lecture in New Delhi in November 1995 on “Our Century”, she said as much: “The fall of communism and the end of colonialism were both linked in contradictory ways.” The collapse of the Soviet Union enfeebled the internal struggle in South Africa to such an extent that there was nothing to fear in the ANC-Communist combination, both in the country and externally, in strategic terms, particularly after the White regime had put away all the nuclear assets. F.W. De Klerk found in Mandela “a man I can trust”, exactly as Margaret Thatcher discovered Mikhail Gorbachev as “a man I can do business with”. There must have been considerable give and take in both instances, she thought. She spent a long time lamenting the fact that V.S. Naipaul had taken to travelogues
It was a remarkable feature of Nelson Mandela’s first cabinet that eleven of its members were of Indian origin.
Cellular basis of yogic exercises BY ANIL K RAJVANSHI
stress at cellular level is as important and prevalent as the chemical process. Yogic exercises are normally done to Scientists have also discovered tone the body and the nervous system. that though the cells in human body Yogic exercises come under Hath Yoga are subjected to mechanical stress system which is one of the eight limbs and strain in every part of body, of ‘Ashtang Yoga’ as enunciated in their native environment exerts the Patanjali Yoga sutras. Hath Yogis have maximum effect on their growth believed that the body toning is a result and development. For example, a cell of nerve stretching. Th is belief may stressed in a certain way will not convert have scientific basis. into a nerve cell if it’s near a bone. The Recently scientists have discovered chances of it becoming a bone cell are that cells in human body change higher because of the physical and depending on how they are chemical environment of the stretched. They have shown that existing bone structure. if you pull a stem cell in one way Th is could be the basis of it starts developing into a brain Yogic asanas which in their cell; stretch it in other ways and innumerable forms affect a muscle or a bone cell results! and tone very specifically the And the most far reaching nervous system of different parts consequence of this stretching of body. Some like Pranayama, is for cancer cells. Change their Nauli (gut wrenching), Sheersh mechanical stress and they start THINK Asana (head stand) and behaving like normal cells! focusing the eyes to the center The yogic exercises of stretching of forehead in meditation, affect the the nerves and toning the nervous deep nervous system and could help system that ultimately affect the cells in rejuvenating the body. Production mechanically can therefore affect the of healthy cells is the most important body in a very positive way at the aspect of rejuvenation of body. cellular level. For example in the dhyana asana Till now the biological and of focusing the eyes on the centre of medical community believed that forehead, the optic nerve gets stretched whenever they wanted to know why by about 1-1.5 mm. Th is stretching a cell behaved in a certain manner, may help stimulate the pituitary gland they needed only to identify the genes, since the optic nerve passes very close proteins and other chemical processes to it before reaching the visual cortex and pathways for the answers. The at the back of the brain. The pituitary Biological community considers gland is the master gland of the body chemical processes to be of paramount and its secretions help in maintaining importance. However in nature all the harmony of other endocrine the forces are taken into account for glands. Besides it secretes the oxytocin a system’s evolution and mechanical hormone (also called happiness
hormone) and almost all the sexual chemicals. Besides the Yogic exercises, general exercise regime of running, walking or aerobic exercises may also help in the cell rejuvenation. The “high” that people, who do regular exercises, get could not only be because of the secretion of chemicals by the brain but also because of the cell stretching. Similarly the deep muscle massage may also help in the stretching of cells. But it should be done properly otherwise cells may convert into other and harmful cells. For example scientists have also found that prior to formation of invasive tumors, the cellular matrix surrounding the regular cells became stiffer. Th is stiffening could be the result of physical or emotional stress. Thus the change in “micro-environment” of cells with stress may be conducive to cancer formation. Scientists believe that one of the ways of curing cancer could be physical manipulation of this ‘microenvironment’. Yogic asanas may help in this process. Th is could also be the reason why he yoga practitioners have always suggested that some of the difficult Yogic asanas affecting the deep nervous system should be done under the supervision of experienced yoga teachers, so that the cells are stretched in a proper manner. © Anil K Rajvanshi (An abridged version of the essay ‘What is Wisdom?’ first published in 1957.)
Nadine Gordimer
and that he would not write novels any more. “What a waste of a great imagination!” She threw up her hands. Nadine Gordimer, a remarkable chronicler of life in apartheid, left behind many insightful observations. During her India visit she was invited to stay in the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai where she received a note that Governor P.C. Alexander expected her for tea in the garden. A surprise awaited her when she turned up. “I walked towards the governor and his wife, expecting to be greeted. I kept walking towards them: they would neither greet me nor rise to receive me. I then realised that he was following, to the last syllable, some antiquated rule of the Raj - Governors don’t rise to receive commoners.” “Those who impose colonialism, quite as much as those who accept it, over a period of time, get addicted to colonialism’s trappings and fi xtures.” She put her head back and laughed. (A senior commentator on political and diplomatic affairs, Saeed Naqvi can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com. The views expressed are personal.)
Limericks of the week BY C RAVINDRANATH
Ukraine, Palestine
Whether Ukraine or Palestine We’re saddened by what we’ve seen Futile is strife Needless loss of life And for better times, we all are keen.
Justice Delayed
Some denied while some defied Waiting for justice, many even died What were the fears That made him wait years? Justice delayed - is justice denied.
Price to Pay
Some got caught; some escaped This is how things are shaped Whenever it’s done It’s not just one But the whole country that’s raped
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
PUNE
APSHINGE: The great village of brave soldiers The centenary of WWI, two days from today on July 28, 2014, will be a proud event for a remote Satara village. TGS photojournalist Aniruddha Rajandekar reports... As a child I always dreamt of being a part of the Indian Army. But sadly that dream remained unfulfilled as I fell short of the required standards of physical fitness. A professional assignment in 2002 took me to the remote village of Apshinge in Satara district reviving my fascination for the men in the armed forces, their exemplary courage and patriotism. Apshinge is a legendary village of brave warriors. At least one member of every family from this village has either served in the armed forces in the past or the present — a tradition that runs down from the 17th century.
Forty-six villagers from here participated in the First World War and 14 of them lost their lives. Some of the survivors took part in World War II. Their sons and grandsons fought in subsequent wars and battles while serving the Indian armed forces. As recently as 2007, a brave, 26-years-old youth from this village, Vijay Nikam, died while patrolling with the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir. Today, this village has around 2,000 exservice men. I returned to this village seven years later to take a closer look. Every family had a captivating story to share
Infantry unit lined up for parade with Band Platoon on extreme left. British officers seen in pith helmets.
and I decided to document these stories of courage and sacrifice in a book with pictures as a part of the centenary commemoration of WWI. Sadly, in
supported me in this project, and the villagers. They shared their stories, records, citations and honours. While speaking to the villagers it
“Every family in the village had a captivating story to share about the great war.”
dawned on me that the British Indian Army and the two Great Wars were critical in shaping the Indian Army as we know it today. The British rulers actually brought us together as a nation or else our princely states would have continued fighting each other with their individual armies.
spite of the great contribution of the villagers, Apshinge is still mired in poverty. Brigadier (retd) Mohan Nikam, a resident of the village,
How to reach Apshinge Apshinge is 124 km from Pune, on the Mumbai-Bangalore Highway (NH4). After 10 km from Satara City towards Kolhapur, take left turn from Borgaon village. The Apshinge village is connected to Borgaon through a narrow tar road (distance 4 km).
Apshinge’s military tradition Also known popularly as ‘Military Apshinge’, this nondescript village is tucked away in a remote part of Satara district. In spite of the daily struggle to eke out a living, Apshinge has the unique history depicting the valour of its young men that very few can match. For four centuries this village has been sending its bravehearts to the battlefield. They have brought home several laurels and this village also has the distinction of producing innumerable Army officers, some rising to the rank of Major General. Apshinge’s gallant saga can be traced back to era of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the 17th century. Bereft of fertile agricultural land, the men from this village preferred to join the militia rather than earn a livelihood as farmers. This not only brought income but also a sense of dignity among the villagers. The youth grew up hearing tales of bravery from their fathers and grandfathers and were attracted to this career. Many soldiers won different awards in various battles
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motivated their s u c c e e d i n g generations to join the Armed Forces and thus the tradition was set. Even today, ex-ser v icemen from this village motivate youngsters to make a career in the
Above: A certificate from HE George RJ to Havildar Dhondi Nikam on his discharge due to injury. Left: Soldiers from Apshinge. Sitting (L to R): Chandrarao Powar, Ganapat Powar, Dada Patil Standing (L to R): Antu Vithu Nikam, Antu Rau Nikam
Subhedar Piraji Patlujiís medal for Recruiting during the Great War
boys and girls of the village have represented the state and the country in national and international sports.
If there is one person who was instrumental in inspiring villagers to join the troops, it was Balubuva alias Baloba Nikam, a soldier in Chhatrapati Shivaji’s army. Balubuva is almost worshipped like any other deity in Apshinge village. Legend has it that Balubuva was employed in the troop of the Muslim rulers during the 17th century. On returning to his village after retiring from the king’s forces, Balubuva would spend time under Banyan tree in the village square, chanting the name of God. He would tell the children playing around the tree to join the troops if they wanted to play real games. Many took his advice to heart and after Balubuva’s death, these soldiers paid homage to him by constructing a small temple and installing his padukas (symbolic footwear) as a mark of respect. This temple exists even today featuring the padukas and idols of Goddess Laxmi and Lord Narayan.
The Nikams of Apshinge
In Apshinge, Nikam is a common surname of the men who participated in the wars. The others families, who migrated to the village, gradually got inspired by the valour of the Nikams and also started taking part in the wars. They fought both before and after Independence. They were motivated by Nikam families who carried this tradition forward since the 17th century. The families with Nikam surnames originally belong to Suryavanshi clan of North India. Gradually during the course of battles they migrated and settled in Apshinge. inspire even today.
Women no less than men in bravery During World War I when the men of the village were busy in the battle, the onus of protecting the village from dacoits and anti-socials fell on the women of Apshinge. The women folk got together and established posts at various locations on the outskirts of the village and manned them zealously. They were experts in using catapults. On their request the British government had ensured that any outsider could visit the village only after getting written permission from the local Borgaon Police station, situated 2 km from Apshinge. These women also discharged other duties like carrying out cremations. The bravery of the women was evident from the fact that despite knowing that i n nu m e r a bl e male members of the villages had died during wars and battles, they still preferred to marry soldiers. They even accompanied their husbands to the battle camps. One such courageous women who has left a mark was Saraswati Ramrao Nikam. Saraswati accompanied her husband Colonel Ramrao Nikam to NEFA and remained there during the Chinese invasion in 1962. She stayed in the military camp at the foothills of the Himalayas while Ramrao was in the field area. The well-known
The legend of Balubuva
continued in World War II and in the subsequent wars including the ones against China (1962), Pakistan (1965 &1971), the operations in Sri Lanka (1983) and the Kargil War of 1983. Since there are some other villagers with a similar name, this one is popular as ‘Military Apshinge’ in keeping with its rich tradition. Many
For four centuries this village has been sending its bravehearts to the battlefield Armed Forces and help them in physical activities like boxing, wrestling and running. As many as 46 of its men fought valiantly in World War I, 14 of who died fighting. This tradition
Apshinge’s contribution to the British India WWI effort is unparalleled as there is no evidence of any other Indian village, which contributed in such a major way. Almost all physically fit youth and men from the village took part in the war either in combat or noncombat duties. In recognition of this contribution, the British Government facilitated the development of the village through various schemes in the pre-Independence era.
Another legend - Patloji Hari Nikam
Patloji Hari Nikam’s brave fight against the dacoits during the 1860s, is among the legends here. He lived in the village during the 1860s when villagers were fearful of the terror unleashed by dacoits who used to attack the villages for food grains, cattle, valuables and even take away young women. Most of the villages fell prey to these raids. Apshinge was also a victim of the attacks. Fed up of this constant threat, Patloji Hari Nikam, along with a group of villagers, decided to fight back. They repulsed the attack successfully but one of the dacoits, who had hid behind a temple fired at him from his a homemade pistol and Patloji got seriously injured in the conflict. Later the villagers carried him to the ‘Bhairoba’ temple but unfortunately he succumbed to his injuries. The villagers then informed the British administration about the incident and the bravery of Patloji Nikam. As a mark of appreciation the British government awarded him Sanad (citation) giving him a piece of land. The Sanad presently rests with his great great grandson Ramkrishna Narayan Nikam who resides in Apshinge. The tale underlines the fighting spirit of the villagers.
Above: Saraswati Ramrao Nikam leading the Mahila Brigade (women in Army). Women during the military training after 1962 Chinese invasion. Below: Great War Victory medals of Subhedar Sakharam Sawala Nikam
Marathi poet GD Madgulkar, who visited the village after the 1962 war was awestruck when he met Saraswati. Asked if she was afraid while staying back in the camp, Saraswati had replied, “Afraid of what? Death? That can come even when you are at home.” This brave woman got all the adult women from the village together and encouraged them to undergo defence training which was imparted by retired army soldiers in Apshinge. A Mahila Brigade (women’s army) was thus formed after training in drill and shooting. This was to make the women capable of protecting the village while all the young men from the village were on the battlefield. It was for the first time that the women of Apshinge, who were till then just known for their moral strength, became active and independent. There are moving examples of how mothers and wives of soldiers supported each other when their husbands went missing or died on the battlefield.
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Other Brave Soldiers
Khashaba Powar: No 4120 Sepoy Khasaba Powar was posted in the 1st Battalion of 103 Maratha Light Infantry of the British Indian Army during World War I. Khashaba Powar died of bullet injury while fighting in Turkey on September 28, 1915. Queen Victoria despatched a condolence letter to Manubai Powar, mother of late Khashaba, and also sent a Royal insignia. Ganpat Nagu Powar: No 2820 Sepoy Ganpat Nagu Powar of 117th Mahratta Light Infantry fought in WW I and was awarded three medals for his bravery in Baluchistan and Turkey. Separated from his unit and caught in a siege during an expedition, he managed to hide and find a way to rejoin his unit. Ganpat’s son Rajaram served in the
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CRPF while Anandrao served in Bombay Engineering Group (BEG). Rajaram’s son Vijay served in Armoured Corps. Dattatray’s children Aarti and Sharad too are preparing to join the defence services. Sharad is preparing to join BEG. Govind Hanagu Jadhav No 2966, Havildar Govind Hanagu Jadhav 1/103rd Mahratta Light Infantry joined the Army during WW I and actively participated in the war. His younger brother Dnyanu Hanagu Jadhav also joined the same unit during the war. During the course of the battle, Govind was deployed with his unit in a defensive position and was held prisoner by the enemy. They cut his index finger. After some time he was discharged as he was unable to use a weapon because of loss of his index finger. He returned to Apshinge and was rewarded by the British government for his gallantry with the Sanad of 2.5 acres near Apshinge. Both his sons joined the Indian Army. One of them, Naib Subhedar Tanaji Jadhav is presently residing at Apshinge as a pensioner. Dnyanu Hanagu Jadhav: 103rd Mahratta Light Infantry Dnyanu Jadhav, younger brother of Govind Jadhav also joined the army during WW I.
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Looking ahead... Apparently, impressed by the heroics of the villagers the British India government laid the foundation stone for the development of the village by providing power supply and even setting up a school. In honour of the enormous contribution of the village in the two World Wars, the British erected a Victory Pillar in 1945. The village was
even provided with an assembly hall and godown by the British government. In 1945, the corner stone for the first school in the village was laid by the then Governor of Bombay Lord Colville. It was one of very few villages to have electricity supply network along with street lights since 1945. The soldiers who returned from the wars
During one of the battles Dnyanu was deployed in a defensive position. The enemy attacked their position with greater strength. Realizing that they would be massacred Dnyanu used his presence of mind. He fooled the enemy to show that they were in huge numbers. He ran shouting from bunker to bunker and thus misled the enemy. Due to this the attack was delayed and subsequently Dnyanu along with his colleagues managed to withdraw from the position. He was awarded a Sanad with 2.5 acres of land. His is one of the families of Apshinge which has the unique honour of having four generations in the army. Subhedar Piraji Patloji Nikam Subhedar Piraji Nikam, 12th Bombay Infantry served in the British Indian Army during 1873 to 1894. When the World War I started in 1914 the British Army fell short of manpower to supplement the casualties in the war. As Apshinge was famous for its contribution to the Army, the British tapped soldiers from this village. Subhedar Piraji Patluji Nikam was then recalled by the British Indian Army for war
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were rehabilitated and were trained in modern techniques of farming by the British India government. They had even planned to provide good medical facilities but soon India became independent and these plans could not be implemented. Ironically after 1947 the pace of development slackened due to various reasons. Since Independence the village has remained neglected despite the fact that the families have continued with the tradition of sending their young men to
duties and was reappointed on 19th February 1916. He was provided with a horse and other amenities. Subhedar Piraji is also remembered in Apshinge for drawing up an exhaustive list of all the soldiers from the village, dead and alive. Subhedar Piraji’s three grandsons joined the Indian Army. Rau Nana Nikam Lance Naik Rau Nana Nikam, 105th Mahratta Light Infantry, was the son of Jamedar Nana Bahirji Nikam of 105th Mahratta Light Infantry and also the nephew of Subhedar Piraji Patloji Nikam. He also joined 105th Mahratta Light Infantry in World War I and fought in Mesopotamia. Vithabai Gopala Nikam, aunt of Rau Nikam wrote an application to the commanding officer of 105th Mahratta Light Infantry post Mesopotamia to discharge Rau Nikam immediately. The commanding office replied to Vithabai on 18th January, 1918, stating that nothing could be done as Rau Nikam had been captured by the enemy. Later it was reported that he was killed in action in Mesopotamia during the war.
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the battlefield. Even the basic amenities and proper sanitation facilities and infrastructure are lacking. Now the village is looking forward to support from the government to make Apshinge a prominent centre for training to join the armed forces. The dream of the villagers now is to develop a centre for training of soldiers at the village. Considering the proximity of the villagers to the armed forces, it is natural that they want the village to be an important destination of activities related to the defence forces.
MONEY MATT ER S “There is no point comparing tax rates in India with that of France or other parts of Europe where there is no growth.” - Adi Godrej
Signposts Reforms push hikes foreign equity cap in insurance In a major push to reforms, India on Thursday decided to hike the foreign equity cap in insurance to 49 per cent, in a move that can potentially push the penetration of this social security net from under 5 per cent at present. The management control, however, will remain with Indian promoters once the relevant bill for the foreign equity hike is approved by parliament, officials said. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi gave its nod to hike the foreign direct investment limit from the present 26 per cent. A senior government official said the overseas investments in the insurance sector would be allowed through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) route. (IANS)
TCS market cap crosses `5 lakh crore The market cap of the Tata group IT company stood at `5.07 lakh crore. TCS is followed by staterun ONGC at `3.48 lakh crore, RIL at `3.31 lakh crore, ITC at `2.78 lakh crore and Coal India at `2.43 lakh crore. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Wednesday attained a market valuation of over `5 lakh crore for the first time, helped by a rally in the stock. The market capitalisation (m-cap) of TCS surged to `5.07 lakh crore, the highest for the company since its listing in 2004. In dollar terms, TCS’ market valuation rose to $83 billion. Interestingly, TCS’s current market capitalisation is higher than the combined valuation of Infosys (`1.90 lakh crore), HCL Technologies (`1.08 lakh crore), Wipro (`1.40 lakh crore) and Tech Mahindra (`50,416.95 crore). @moneylife
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
“ You constantly have people telling you managing a home and a career is really difficult, are you sure you want to do this?” - Naina Lal Kidwai
To save more, take a peek at your future self
Fortnightly Market View
Time for caution
The budget may have postponed a quick economic revival. Time for investors to be cautious BY DEBASHIS BASU Last fortnight, I pointed out that the market-players are showing a deep faith in Modi sarkar and don’t want to see the impediments coming in the budget. Indeed, the budget turned out to be a damper for most people. For me, it was a major disappointment; but more about that later. Investors were surprised, and bewildered, leading to a quick sell-off. The Nifty, which crossed 7,800 on July 8, two days before the Union Budget, slid to 7,585, the day before the budget and went down further to 7,422 after the budget. A rally in the week following the budget pushed it back to around 7,650. I had suggested that I am merely describing the market mood, not supporting a wildly bullish stance. I was wondering whether the market is over-optimistic about the economic benefits that could accrue over the next six months and translate into higher corporate earnings. The budget, in fact, has turned me distinctly cautious. Economic sluggishness will continue for some more time. This budget has done nothing to address the basic problem of the Indian economy — excessive government spending, wastage and inefficiency that needs to be covered by increasing taxes. The budget continues with the spending schemes of the earlier government. It also expands such schemes and includes creating a new scheme such as setting up a `10,000-crore fund for venture capital to emerging entrepreneurs. Keeping all this waste intact, this budget is betting on a 25per cent increase in revenue from indirect taxes, such as excise and service tax, when,
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Most of us don’t save enough, or save too little, too late. How can we be induced to change? BY MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM Ask any person under 30 about retirement planning and most would say that they would like to retire with enough money, but they don’t work towards it. Many simply don’t save enough, or save too little, too late. Experts say that some of the biggest barriers to saving up are psychological. Jason Zweig, financial journalist and neuroeconomist, in his blog, explains that “estimating what you will want 30 or 40 years from now is almost impossible. You don’t know your future desires, because you don’t know your future self. What will you want or need when you are 65 or 70 or 80 or older?” Therefore, he says that it isn’t surprising that the young, typically, don’t want to save for their retirement, since it feels as if that stage of life will be lived by someone else. And when you save money today on behalf of your remote future self, you deprive your immediate present self of cash you could use right now. How does one get around this? A project conducted by seven professors at Stanford University found that young people tend to save more for retirement when shown a virtual glimpse of what they will look like when they are old. “In four studies, participants interacted with realistic computer renderings of their future selves using immersive virtual reality hardware and interactive decision aids. In all cases, those who interacted with virtual future selves exhibited an increased tendency to accept later monetary rewards over immediate ones,” the research study titled “Increasing Saving Behaviour through Age-Progressed Renderings of
the Future Self ” stated. In the experiment, the image was digitally altered to make the participants look 68 or 70 years old. By enabling young adults to see themselves as they will be when they are old, virtual reality technology can transform their urge to spend today into a willingness to save for tomorrow. Half the people in the study saw a version of their older selves while the rest saw a virtual version of their current selves. Hal Hershfield says researchers prompted people to chat while gazing at their image, posing questions like, “Where are you from? Where did you grow up? What are your likes, dislikes, passions, hobbies?” Some participants were asked to talk about the similarities they shared with the image of their future self. Later, participants were asked a series of questions about finances and retirement. Those who saw their elderly avatars reported they would save twice as much as those who didn’t. In another, students averaging 21 years of age viewed later avatars of themselves that smiled when they saved more and frowned when they saved less. Those whose avatars were morphed to retirement age said they would save 30 per cent more than those whose avatars weren’t aged. Many may be aware that physical appearance affects one’s attitude, emotions and behaviour. The same thing happens in virtual reality, when you become this person with a different body or face. Experiments have shown that if you see yourself virtually in a good-looking avatar, you are likely to become more sociable. Thus, if you would take a look at your future aged self, you would tend to save more. @moneylife
Those shown their virtual aged self said they would save 30 per cent more than others
there is still no clear sign of an economic turnaround. Secondly, high inflation is leading to low disposable incomes, keeping private consumption subdued. This government’s assumption is the same as that of the previous one: while keeping the barriers to doing business in India the same, hope that businessmen will cough up more money for the government to throw around. For believers, the government’s move to create an ‘Expenditure Commission’ to identify wasteful expenditure may appear like a good move. As for us, we will wait for better clues. This means that the economy is left to heal by itself, for now. Unless there are dramatic post-budget announcements, this government continues where UPA government left off. This does not mean that the market
The Budget continues with the spending schemes of the earlier governments
will decline sharply, having run up too fast, too soon, on hopes. It means that the market has just entered a long period of churn during which there may not be any significant advancement. Besides, several investors may not share my pessimism and continue to be impressed by the obvious commitment and dedication of Narendra Modi. I had mentioned last fortnight that Mr Modi would get a long rope from the market. This continues. Markets go up on corporate earnings. Given the composition of the Sensex, corporate earnings will be better in this and the coming quarter. Based on that alone, I reiterate my earlier reading of the market. This market does remain a buy-on-the-dips market. However, given the bloated and directionless budget Arun Jaitley, the finance minister, has served, the dips of disappointment may be deeper than I had anticipated. By special arrangement with moneylife.in
Deposit Rules 2014 10 ways to save on mediclaim and real estate deposit schemes Senior citizen There is no perfect mediclaim product or health insurer. Here is an invaluable guide, based on cases from Moneylife Foundation’s helpline BY RAJ PRADHAN
BY NIVEDITA SHANKAR
The recent hype regarding the termination of jewellery instalment schemes and the newspaper advertisements put out in this regard, have made people realise that the concept of ‘deposit’ which was not taken seriously under Companies Act, 1956, can no longer be applied loosely. Th is is particularly for companies which offer instalment schemes and in turn promise ‘returns’ whether in cash or kind at a later date. You may read a detailed article on this subject here. How do the Deposit Rules, 2014 affect real estate developers? As per the provisions of Deposit Rules, 2014, ‘deposit’ means funding a liability. Th is may either be typical money to money transactions, like a loan or issue of debentures or purchase of any goods or service, which is identified at the time of entering into an agreement itself. Looking at the provisions of Deposit Rules 2014, the following provisions are pertinent for real estate developers: Advance for supply of goods or providing of services, wherein the advance is appropriated within a period of 365 days from the date of acceptance of such advance (rule 2(xii)(a)). Reading this rule, the requirement to appropriate may immediately prompt one to say that real estate projects are subject to procedural delays and hence, appropriation within 365 days may not be possible at all. For this, one needs to understand the meaning of ‘appropriation’. In general parlance ‘appropriation’ means allocation or pre-identification.
Physical delivery of goods may happen at a later date. In real estate transactions, the purchaser and the promoter enter into an agreement, whereby the property to be purchased is pre-identified and the amount of consideration is also predecided. The agreement referred to is of course an agreement for sale of the pre-identified property. Advance received in connection with a property under an agreement or arrangement, provided that such advance is adjusted against the property in accordance with the terms of agreement or arrangement (rule 2(xii) (b)). The very reason for introducing stringent provisions in relation to deposits, including penal provisions, is to only make them cautious. (Nivedita Shankar is working as a senior associate with Vinod Kothari & Company) @moneylife
Nitin Desai (name changed) is a 45-year-old engineer who is covered by corporate mediclaim. He has not explored retail mediclaim for himself and his family as it was considered as ‘expense’. Recently, his wife developed a knee ailment. It turned out to be a wake-up call. What if the ailment requires knee-cap surgery in future? What will be the cost of knee-cap surgery? What if the insurance cover is not adequate for it? These were the thoughts that raced through Desai’s mind as he contemplated buying health insurance at the earliest. Generally, health insurance is sought only at the first sign of a health issue. But, by then, the ailment becomes a ‘pre-existing disease’ (PED) for which most mediclaim products impose a waiting period of four years to cover. If the ailment is serious, the insurer will refuse to underwrite it under the garb of ‘right to underwrite’. As it is, certain health procedures, like hernia, cataract, kidney stone removal, knee-cap surgery and so on, have specific waiting periods (of two to four years) even if they are not a PED. The lesson: buy health insurance when you are healthy so that you would have crossed all the waiting periods. Moreover, there will be a lower chance of any dispute over the medical condition not declared during the proposal stage. If you are healthy while buying health insurance, you have every chance to win any frivolous claims rejection dispute. The key is to have continuity in the health insurance cover or to use portability, in case you are not happy with the existing insurer. Never move to a new insurer without portability even if there is no PED. You do not want to restart the waiting
periods for specific procedures. The main issue today for mediclaim products is the fear of claims rejection or partial settlement which has led to a deep distrust about the system. Customers are worried about getting a raw deal from the insurer. Mediclaim usually covers hospitalisation which is for more than 24 hours for a procedure or treatment of ailment, sickness or injury. It covers specific outpatient procedures. Moneylife Foundation’s Insurance Helpline receives cases of hospitalisation claims rejected on the ground that “Current hospitalisation is only for investigation and is not succeeded by an active line of treatment; hence, claim is repudiated as per policy terms and conditions.” It means that mediclaim is limited in scope and, only if your claim fulfi ls all its conditions, you will be paid; else, you will have to bear the expenses. If so, does it really make sense to buy mediclaim? If you are rich, you do not need it. If you are poor, you may not need it as you may be covered under some government scheme. But, the middle-class has nowhere to go. One such customer was rethinking about continuation of mediclaim for his parents aged 70 and 75 years. The premium with New India Assurance was over `30,000 for a `3 lakh cover for each. Does it make sense to keep the premium in bank fi xed deposits (FD)
premium hike over 75 pc is a violation
and build a corpus for healthcare costs? It certainly helps to save for medical expenses simply because mediclaim is not going to cover everything. But, can you disregard mediclaim totally? The idea of putting money in FD for medical needs is fine, but it cannot replace mediclaim. The simple reason is that there can be claims every year and, hence, just saving a fi xed amount is not enough. For example, chemotherapy and dialysis entail recurring expenses which can go on for a long term. Your sum insured for mediclaim policy will be restarted with each policy year. So, a policy of `3 lakh cover can potentially pay `3 lakh every year till you die! Also, the last few days of human life can lead to a ballooning of medical expenses. You would not want your family members to have the
Generally, health insurance is sought only at the first sign of a health issue
burden of paying off the hospital bills after you die. It is a matter of dignity too. Mediclaim is a necessary evil. You can take prudent steps to ensure that you get value for your money. If you want everything under the sun to be covered, you will have to pay dearly for it. Read on, to know the different ways to tackle your ballooning insurance costs and to ensure that your cover continues uninterrupted. Consumers are grappling with the mediclaim selection process. Is there a reverse approach while selecting mediclaim such that you get better value for your money? After all, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Not everyone can afford expensive mediclaim and not everyone wants to go to a five-star hospital for treatment. Portability allows you to change insurers and get credit for the time spent with the existing insurer towards PED and other waiting periods. Senior citizen premium hike over 75 per cent is a violation. Our new initiative, Moneylife Smart Savers, and Moneylife Foundation’s Insurance Helpline gets numerous queries related to buying mediclaim. @moneylife
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 26, 2014
PUNE
SPORTS
“We worked for 18 hours in cold, rains, and in very tough conditions. It was team effort and I am happy that Mary was overwhelmed and cried after watching the film.” - Actor Priyanka Chopra
Signposts Delhi HC to hear plea on BCCI NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Wednesday agreed to hear a plea seeking to declare the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as a national sports body. “The petition is either to convert the BCCI into a national sport federation (NSF) or create an NSF for cricket. The question is whether it (NSF) is needed to be declared,” said a division bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and RS Endlaw. The court’s direction came as the central government said it cannot ‘govern or guide’ the BCCI. The court also rejected the contention raised by BCCI that the issue raised in the plea was already being heard by the Supreme Court, where the Justice Mudgal committee had submitted it report.
I am an Indian: Sania Mirza HYDERABAD: Tennis star Sania Mirza Thursday insisted she was an Indian and will ‘remain an Indian until the end,’ after a BJP leader attacked the Telangana Sania Mirza government for naming her the state’s ambassador. “I’m an Indian, who will remain an Indian until the end of my life. My family belongs to Hyderabad for more than a century and I strongly condemn any attempts by any person to brand me an outsider,” Mirza said. Her statement came a day after Telangana BJP leader K Laxman accused the state government of appointing Mirza its brand ambassador and giving her a grant.
“Tyson gets just one year ban because of cooperating, I think it sends a bad message that you can dope, but if you cooperate with us, we’ll reduce the sentence.” - Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt
Kick-start with fame and shame Weightlifters and judokas put India in fourth place, while para-powerlifter S Choudhary fails dope test in the Commonwealth Games GLASGOW: India’s woman power was to the fore on the opening day of the Commonwealth Games here Thursday when the gritty weightlifters accounted for a gold and silver and female judokas added another silver and a bronze to make it a day to remember. Then there was a bureaucratic goofup to dim the sheen of the metal when it was revealed that a para powerlifter was sent back home after he failed an out-ofcompetition drug test last month. The result was conveyed to him here and he quietly left Glasgow. With two gold, three silver and two bronze, India is now fourth in the medals tally behind England, Australia and hosts Scotland. India put their name in the medal board for the current games with Manipuri girls Sanjita Khumukcham and Mirabai Chanu Saikhom winning the gold and silver, respectively, in the women’s 48kg category of weightlifting competitions at the Clyde Auditorium. Sanjita had a total lift of 173 kg while Mirabai managed a haul of 170kg. Judoka Shushila Likmabam brought more cheers by bagging a silver in the final of the women’s -48kg category. She lost to Kimberley Renicks, who took the first gold for hosts Scotland. Judoka Navjot Chana then finished second to England’s Ashley McKenzie by losing the final bout of the men’s 60kg category at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC). Kalpana Thoudam won the bronze in the women’s -52kg category as she beat Christianne Legentil of Mauritius. Christianne picked up three penalties while Thoudam had two. But for the Asian powerhouse, the double delight from the weightlifting arena provided the biggest success. In snatch, the 20-year-old Sanjita
had three good lifts in her three attempts of 72kg, 75kg and 77kg. She survived a scare in her first attempt, 92kg, in the clean and jerk when she failed to lift the weight and the bar almost missed her shin bone. But in her next two attempts she lifted 92kg and 96kg with ease. Mirabai lifted 72kg in her first attempt in the snatch but then failed in her next attempt for 75kg. The 19-yearold, however, succeeded in lifting 75kg in her third attempt which was a good lift. She had two good lifts of 92kg and 95kg in the clean and jerk but failed in her last attempt for 98kg. Sanjita’s eyes turned moist as the tricolour was hoisted and the national anthem played out for the first time in the Games. Chana, who is employed with Punjab Police, beat South African Daniel Le Grange in the semi-finals while Shushila got the better of Australian Chloe Rayner in the semi-final of the women’s 48kg category. However, it was the end of road for Manjeet Nandal, who lost his men’s 66kg quarter-final bout to English Colin Oates. Meerut girl Shivani lost her round of 16 match in the 57kg category as she picked up three consecutive shidos against Canada’s Jessica Kimklait. Indian shuttlers also started their campaign thrashing Ghana 5-0 in
Women’s doubles defending champions Ashwini Ponnappa (back) and Jwala Gutta who surprised all to clinch the gold four years ago will be eyeing similar performance
juice in the pitch has oozed out; that, too, to convincingly close out a match. This is precisely what unfolded in Ishant posting his career-best figures of seven for 74 and India recording only their second win in a Test match at Lord’s - home of cricket - in 82 years. The gap between the two successes is 28 years. The last time India achieved this was under Kapil Dev, who led India to their most emphatic victory in England till date, 2-0 in a three-Test series, which could well have been a brown-wash had the final encounter at Edgbaston, Birmingham not been interrupted by rain. Since his Test debut against Bangladesh in 2007, the Delhi pace bowler hasn’t quite set the Yamuna on fire. He has undoubtedly had his purple patches; but he has over this period clearly lost pace, without mastering the skill to swing the ball. Admittedly,
injuries have plagued his development. Ishant passed through a bleak phase after his impressive showing in the West Indies in the spring of 2011 and briefly in the early part of the tour of England thereafter. More recently, he started indicating signs of a comeback with six scalps apiece in the first innings at Johannesburg and Wellington over the winter; but couldn’t finish the job in either series. He still isn’t doing much with the ball. He, with his height, bangs it in on the seam, bowls off-cutters or just angles it in. But he has of late improved his accuracy; and in the decisive performance on Monday, aimed it short and straight to reap dividends. As the most experienced medium pacer in the Indian squad, he needed to lead the attack. With his latest exhibition he has established he is capable of doing so and thus come of age. IANS
PUNE: Pune’s 28-day racing season began on the right track in many ways on Thursday. The Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) has spent Rs 3 crore for re-laying the track that has been re-laid and multi-layered to convert it into a monsoon track. “We have taken care of the minute details,” said RWITC chairman Vivek Jain. The work of laying the six-layered track with proper cambering began in November 2013 and was completed a couple of months back. Fresh irrigation pipelines have been installed at the course. The other renovations include refurbishing the spanking new VIP lounge, improved signages and electronic display boards, besides
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T 17 15 10 7 4 3
Group B of the mixed team event at the Emirates Arena. They next face Uganda later in the day. In squash, Joshna Chinappa made it to the Round of 16 in the women’s category while her compatriots Anaka Alankamony and Mahesh Mangaonkar lost their matches in the Round of 32. But landing the country into disrepute, para-powerlifter Sachin Choudhary had to be pulled out of the Games and sent back home for failing a drug test conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) last month. Choudhary quietly left Glasgow for India citing his father’s ill-health even as his doping report was made public. He was tested out of competition. PCI secretary general J. Chandrasekhar told IANS that Choudhary has indeed failed a dope test and the national body was seriously taking up the issue. IANS
RIDE IT HARD
Pilots Viktor Rempel and Vernon Rempel, of the 4wd Jaton Racing SL team, take part in the fist leg of the Guarani Challenge of the Dakar Series, in the Paraguari department, 200km away from Asuncion, Paraguay.
an added dimension and is sponsored by RWITC’s biggest contributor, the UB Group, with 2.1 million in added money. The race would be the run on the last Sunday of September. The prize money is highest in India of all monsoon races which take place at Mysore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. Over 20 races, including the Pune Derby and Indian St. Leger will carry a minimum prize of Rs 1 million. The minimum prize money for Grade 3 races has shot up to Rs 1.5 million and Rs 2 million in Grade 2.
This year’s 28-day racing season is packed with sponsored races, high prize money and much more
carving out 6,000 sq ft for the fi rst enclosure for audience. The judge’s box will also be moved higher, closer to the private boxes, giving ample viewing space for Vivek Jain members near the winning post. A large LED screen will also be placed across the track. “The prize money payout is expected at about Rs 11.5 crore, and probably the highest for a monsoon racing centre in India. The performance incentive payable to owners at 30 per cent is now also payable to fourth placed horses. The payout will be over Rs 2 crore on the enhanced stakes sanctioned
S 7 3 3 3 1 0
Badminton: (men): P Kashyap, K Srikanth, RMV Gurusaidutt; (women): PV Sindhu, PC Thulasi, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa Boxing: (64 kg) Manoj Kumar, (52 kg) Shiva Thapa, (49 kg) Devendro Singh, (75 kg) Vijender Singh Hockey: India vs Scotland (men) Shooting: 10m air pistol men’s qualification (Prakash Nanjappa, Om Prakash), 25m pistol women’s qualification (Rahi Sarnobat, Anisa Sayyed)
Pune race course is sprinting into big league BY BARNALEE HANDIQUE @ barnalee
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Indian athletes in action on Saturday (July 26)
Ishant Sharma comes of age LONDON: He was a teenager when Greg Chappell, then the India coach, wanted to summon him as a replacement towards the tail end of India’s 2006-07 tour of South Africa. This did not happen. He was a teenager when Greg Chappell, then the India coach, wanted to summon him as a replacement towards the tail end of India’s 200607 tour of South Africa. This did not happen. But the promise the tall and lanky Ishant Sharma displayed when he famously rendered such a torrid time to the then Australian captain Ricky Ponting and master batsman at Perth a year later had, perhaps, not entirely been fulfilled until now. Every five wicket haul in Test cricket is creditable. It is probably worth that much more if a quicker bowler registers this on relatively unhelpful fourth innings conditions, when the
Country England Australia Scotland India Canada New Zealand
The cross-section monsoon track is six layers with proper cambering
last year. The RWITC remains most appreciative of its contributors and partners who add a special dimension to the sport,” said Jain. Among the other races, the ‘Nanoli Stud Pune Derby’ and the ‘Signature Premier Indian St Leger’ will continue as Pune’s Grade 1 races. The Pune Derby has become synonymous with
Nanoli Stud who would be sponsoring Western India’s fi rst classic for the new crop for the record 18 years in a row. The Dhunjibhoy family will, as, always, sponsor the Sprint Million on the same day, as an added bonus. The Derby weekend will also feature the popular Oktoberfest for the fi fth year. The Indian St. Leger will give
For those on the move Log on to RWITC.com, the RWITC mobile application, to know about the race updates and check the newsletter ‘Hoofprint’ for details. The club plans to start online lifestyle portal RWITC.tv that will feature live streams of all races, social events and CSR activities.
Stage set for South Rally CHENNAI: A 29-car grid, headed by championship leader Gaurav Gill (codriver Musa Sherif) of Team Mahindra Adventure, will feature in the AVT Premium South India Rally, the third round of the Indian Rally Championship commencing here Saturday after a ceremonial flag-off Friday. The three Special Stages, that will be run thrice, are located in Sriperumbudur, about 35 km from the city and given the fast and flowing terrain, the two-day event promises a lot of action. On both days, the Spectator Special Stage will also be run on the MMRT race track where the rally will start and finish. Reigning Asia-Pacific Rally Champion (APRC) Gill, driving a Mahindra XUV500, has opened a huge lead in the championship after victories in Nashik and Coimbatore, for a tally of 77 points with teammate Sunny Sidhu (PVS Murthy) in second at 36. The situation in the 1600 Cup class is also tight with Aniruddha Ranganekar (Nitin Jacob) on 61 and Adith KC (Harish KN) on 60.
SPORTS “Wales will be seen full of enthusiasm but will probably play with a strong defensive mindset. The ability to create opportunities from congestion will be our major task.” - India’s chief hockey coach Terry Walsh
Bajaj Allianz, PFC join hands
PUNE
“Been a great journey which started as a 15-year-old at the games and have 8 Commonwealth medals so far. So friends, pray and wish me some luck.” - Olympics gold medalist Abhinav Bindra
Ashish Phadnis @phadnis.ashish PUNE: The recently concluded National Junior Under-19 Chess championship in Pune was clearly dominated by Kerala and Tamil Nadu, but Pune players also made their presence felt in this elite tournament. Maharashtra had featured the highest entries of 56 (boys and girls) including four girls and seven boys from Pune. However, the most impressive was candidate master Abhimanyu Puranik. The 16-year-old had a shaky start in the initial rounds and managed to grab just two points in four matches. However, he bounced back well and earned six in the last seven rounds, which included a spectacular win over International Master Karthikeyan Murali in the last round. “Abhimanyu is still in sub-junior category, and therefore finishing joint third in the Under-19 age group is definitely an achievement. He even had a satisfactory performance in the in the World Youth Championship held in Sepetember in Durben, South Africa,” said Abhimanyu’s coach Jayant Gokhale. Abhimanyu is now preparing for the World Junior Championship to be held in Pune later this year and is getting seasoned player GM Abhijeet Kunte’s help. “We have requested Abhijeet to work upon Abhimanyu’s opening game preparations and the GM is
City tennis players get felicitated PUNE: Deccan Gymkhana felicitated tennis stars Shivani Ingale and Siddhant Banthia for their recent achievements. Both players are top ranked at the national level and train with Kedar Shah at Deccan Gymkhana. The Deccan Gymkhana management team comprised of tennis secretary Mukund Joshi, general secretary Santosh Gokhale and finance secretary Amol Gupte, felicitated the players. The Gymkhana also announced a scholarship of Rs 25,000 each for the players. On the occasion, Siddharth Mayur of RBS Sporsethix and Gurunath Chillal of Parampara Foods also announced monthly scholarship of Rs 15,000 for a year for Shivani.
Aniruddha Rajandekar
Abhimanyu Puranik and Saloni Sapale shine, but miss good chances in National Under-19 chess tournament held last week
PUNE: Pune Football Club and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited have entered into a partnership for the 2014-15 season. The partnership revolves around adding value to budding talent shortlisted during the selection trials of the Bajaj Allianz Junior Football Camp. The Pune FC training pitches in Mamurdi will play host to the annual Bajaj Allianz Junior Football Camp 2014, including the three-day trial, city finals and the zonal final matches. The partnership extends further with a two-month residential scholarship for the two best youngsters.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu players dominated the under-19 national chess tournament, but Pune’s candidate master Abhimanyu Puranik (inset) came up with a brilliant performance
sharing the knowledge with him,” added Gokhale. Other participants from the city were Roshan Rangarajan, Mohit Shenji, Pruthu Deshpande, Vallabh Kavi, Nikhil Dixit and Atharva Godbole. It was Atharva who managed to get in top 20 after he finished joint
Aniruddha Rajandekar
Divya, Martand clinch titles in state ranking table tennis tournament PUNE: Pune’s Martand Biniwale emerged victorious with an easy 11-9, 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 win over Mumbai’s Aman Balgu in the 2nd State Ranking table tennis tournament at Shiv Chhatrapati sports complex in Balewadi on Friday. In the men’s final, top seed Biniwale faced little opposition in beating second seeded Balgu. In contrast, Divya Deshpande dropped one game in her 13-11, 11-7, 8-11, 117, 11-8 win over Senhora Dsouza in women singles final. Sixth seed Senhora had caused an upset by beating Pune’s third seed Devika Bhide in the quarterfinals but failed to put up a similar performance
JULY 26, 2014
City players put up a good show
Signposts
TGs News Service @TGSWeekly
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY
against former Pune player Divya. Devika, who was seeded fourth in the youth category, went down to Thane’s Shruti Amrute in the quarterfinals. Results (all finals): Boys (cadet) Dev Shroff (MSD) bt Hrishikesh Malhotra (MSD) 11-5, 12-10, 11-2; (sub-junior) Shaurya Pednekar(MSD) bt Ashwin Subramanian (MSD) 11-7, 11-5, 11-3, 11-7; (men) Martand Biniwale (PNA) bt Aman Balgu (MSD) 11-9, 11-7, 11-5, 11-4; Girls (cadet) Diya Chitale (MSD) bt Vidhi Shah (MSD) 11-6, 11-8, 11-7; (sub-junior) Payal Bohra (MSD) bt Srushti Haleangadi (MSD) 11-4, 11-3, 5-11, 6-11, 10-12, 11-5, 115; (women) Divya Deshpande (MSD) vs Senhora Dsouza 13-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8. editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
seventh (overall 17th ) with 7.5 points each. However, he needs to work hard to qualify for the World Juniors. “His current rating is 1920 and needs to get past 2000 mark. He still has three more months to improve his ranking,” said his father and Pune District Chess Circle (PDCC)
secretary Niranjan Godbole. Talking about the tournament, Godbole said, “Overall our players put up a good show, but we were expecting better performance considering the home conditions.” Among the girls, Pune’s Saloni Sapale finished 15th, while Akankshka
Hagwane was placed 18th. “Saloni missed a few opportunities against high rated opponents in the initial rounds. If she could have turned those into wins, it would have helped her in gaining confidence and tempo. However, considering her academic exams that were going simultaneously, we are happy with her performance,” said Saloni’s coach Prathamesh Mokal. Saloni had won a silver medal in the World Amateur Chess Tournament held in Singapore few months back. Meanwhile, according to Akankshka’s coach Gokhale, she needs to work hard on her preparations. “She should play more and more matches and should get accustomed to with the match temperament. She wasn’t much behind in technical department, was lacking confidence,” said Gokhale. However, she can still qualify for the World Juniors, if she maintains her ranking. “Now she is just above 1800 rating, which is sufficient to qualify, but our strategy is to play as many matches she can before the mega event. Our immediate target would be National B Selection tournament to be held in August in Pune,” added Gokhle. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com
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H EARD.
Which sport are you made for?
Why aptitude tests for sports must be made mainstream, just like in academics By MALAY DESAI @malayD The 20th Commonwealth Games began last week, and I found ample coverage of it, not surprisingly, in the British media. Among the features floating on the interwebs, I chanced upon a quiz. Now let it be known that I have liked quizzes such as ‘What Game of Thrones/F.R.I.E.N.D.S./Mahabharat character are you?’ as much as Inzamam-ul-Haq has liked running. But this one seemed different (it was on BBC for a change), for it asked, ‘Which sport are you made for?’ Sports scientists can be the world’s most interesting professionals, and the ones at Loughborough University who have designed this quiz have certainly scored. Asking users to rate themselves on strength, agility, pain tolerance, team spirit, communication and more,
the test later suggests top three sports the user is ‘most suited’ for- of course, from the CWG sports - and why. The last time I took an aptitude test was after 10th standard (it cutely suggested I take up a writing career, not knowing I didn’t have a full brain then to protest against my father who ‘suggested’ taking up Commerce.) Then, apart from selection trials and college sports days, there were no opportunities for me to know which sport I was good at. (In other words, which noncricket sport could really get me somewhere). I’m sure most people my age weren’t aware that an aptitude test could be for decisions other than academics too. It’s the case in most parts of India – there are hardly any initiatives by state governments or sports ministries to test, guide and nurture future sportsmen. There are a handful of private institutions doing this, but the lack of a culture where one is not aware of one’s innate sporting abilities to make a career out of, is worrisome. Young men aspire to take up hockey, football and kabaddi as career options, but look closely, majority of them are
from the lower strata, eyeing a stable income from resulting jobs in sectors such as Railways, Services, Defence or Banking. That said, one state is an exception here, and it happens to be the unofficial sporting capital of India, Haryana. Its ‘Sport & Physical Aptitude Test’ (SPAT) is in its fifth edition now and is pretty much a model for other states. It holds a battery of seven tests that assess the physical fitness of a student before pointing a reliable finger to a career in sport or otherwise. And why must this (a programme undertaken by the outfit Play For India) be made mandatory for all states? The simple answer is that this would create an assembly line of informed, motivated and most importantly, fit athletes. Besides, this could well help India in not leading the world in diabetes, blood pressure and hypertension. I will wind up with two fun facts: Nauru, a tiny island in Oceania with a population of 9,322 wins more ‘Commonwealth Games medals per head’ than India. And secondly, my quiz result showed hockey and squash. Better late than never.
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