Salaam Bahrain 2021

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JANUARY 2021 - VOLUME 12, ISSUE 10

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PRAVASI BHARATIYA SAMMAN 2021

BABURAJAN WINS HEARTS & HONOUR

INDIA REPUBLIC DAY FOCUS n THE WORLD'S THIRST FOR INDIAN & CEYLON CHAI

Republic Day Greetings

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Note from the Chairman This time last year, we could barely hear the ominous rumble of the virus as it made its sure-footed march across the world. We were still breaking our newlyminted 2020 resolutions and looking with hope towards the rest of the year.

2021 was a completely different story and what matters is how we face the future. Both Bahrain and India have shown grit and foresight in tackling the pandemic. Bahrain’s leaders have brought compassion and scientific vision to bear upon the task of protecting the residents here. Whether through its reaching healthcare to citizens and residents or economic support to businesses, Bahrain has worked decisively and swiftly to contain the traumatic aftermath of the crisis.

In India, the government has used immense planning to tackle the management of a health crisis like no other. As in most democracies, the solutions have had to be fed to the people through equal parts of cajoling and threats of repercussions so that lives can be saved. If Bahrain has impressed with the universality of its COVID care, then India has emerged as a leader in research and manufacture of the ultimate weapon against the pandemic – the vaccine. It is a success story that Indians should be rightfully proud of.

Even as we complain about a year lost, we must see the positive side: both countries have emerged stronger and because of the large number of Indians in the Kingdom, the governments have worked together to defeat this problem. It has brought us closer and made us understand how intertwined our fates are. Going forward, this awareness will shape our common destinies and deepen our friendship so that we can enrich our lives.

I wish all our Indian readers a promising Republic Day! Capt. Mahmood Al Mahmood

Congratulating all Indians on the

72

nd

Republic Day January 26

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Highlights January 2021

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• COVER STORY

REPUBLIC DAY SPECIAL CELEBRATING 71ST REPUBLIC DAY

BABURAJAN WINS HEARTS AND HONOUR The technocrat-entrepreneur and philanthropist has been awarded for his extraordinary accomplishments with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2020.

NEWSMAKER TRACEY BURROWS

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‘How Ayurveda and Yoga eased my Covid recovery’

FASHION Raising the online fashion bar

• Message from Ambassador Piyush Srivastava

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• Changing India-Bahrain Ties

Prominent voices of the Indian community on the island speak about the warm ties and changing business equation between the two countries

• India-Bahrain: A Partnership for progress India has shed its image in gulf from a supplier of cheap labour to a prominent partner in enhancing business, technology, banking and healthcare sectors among others.

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As winter draws to a long close and gives way to spring in Bahrain, why not upgrade to the saree?

- Thyrocare supports Bahrain's medicare success

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- KIMSHEALTH Group

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- UNEECO Promotes Joint

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- AL Hilal Sets Community

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Expansion

Tech Progress

..PLUS MANY MORE STORIES PARTY PICTURES

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Happy Republic Day

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Republic Day Greetings to the people of India from

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HEALTH

A shot in the (world’s) arm While many countries were debating the hows and whys of a COVID-19 vaccine, India swiftly emerged as one of the most efficient mass manufacturer of the shot.

By SONORITA CHAUHAN India's ambitious vaccination drive is an impressive study of planning and logistics. But it is also more than just that. Armed with a sophisticated manufacturing infrastructure and a robust scientific and medical community, India immediately took the fight against the COVID-19 virus up by several notches by emerging as potentially the largest vaccine provider in the world. By doing so, the country has decisively moved away from its image of a 'jugaad' nation to a strategic hub for the very latest in world-class medical innovation and technology.

Contributing to 60-70 per cent of world's vaccines, India is the largest vaccine supplier in the world and this strategically puts India in the position to be one of the biggest centres for the manufacture and supply of COVID vaccines. This will also aid India in its own vaccination drive as it already has a well-established domestic network of suppliers putting it ahead in the race to have the most vaccinated population in the world.

India, on 4 January, approved emergency use of two vaccines, one developed by Oxford University and U.K.-based drugmaker AstraZeneca, and another by Indian company Bharat Biotech.

Cargo planes flew 16.5 million shots to different Indian cities by the second week of January.

When it comes to the actual vaccination process, India already

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has a vast, established network under its Universal Immunisation Programme, which inoculates about 55 million people per year.

PM Modi has also suggested that the country can draw from its experience of organising the world's largest democratic elections, adopting a whole of society approach that involves the participation of states, districts, civil society, citizens and experts.

Indian authorities hope to give shots to 300 million people, roughly the population of the U.S and several times more than its existing programme, which targets 26 million infants. The recipients include 30 million doctors, nurses and other frontline workers, to be followed by 270 million people who are either over 50 or have illnesses that make them vulnerable to COVID-19.

Vaccine diplomacy

According to a research study conducted by Fitch Solutions, there are likely to be three types of economies in Asia in 2021.

Countries that can possibly vaccinate most of their people in priority groups like elderly population and the vulnerable health workers by June, those nations who can do so by September and a third group of economies that will take longer. India is happily placed in the first group, says the Fitch Solutions report.

PM Modi knows this very well and has already offered to 'protect the world' with India's two coronavirus vaccines Covaxin and Covishield.

“The world is watching how India conducts the globe’s biggest vaccination programme,” he said, addressing the 16th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention on January 9.

The next day at a virtual interaction with Chief Ministers, Modi announced that four more vaccines are on the way making India the `pharmacy of the world.’

It comes as no surprise then as many countries have requested India for the vaccines either on a government-to-government basis or by directly placing orders with the vaccine makers.

Apart from its neighbours (not including Pakistan) India has received requests from Brazil, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, South Africa. All these countries have made official announcements seeking the vaccine from India.

India however has placed its neighbours and key partners on the priority list.

Myanmar is the first country to receive 1.5million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on 22 January (at the time of going to press) with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan and Maldives to follow.

India's vaccine diplomacy in South Asia is a smart move as it also pushes back against the Chinese dominance growing in the region.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, said his company is currently producing 50 to 60 million doses of Covishield per month, and production will be scaled up to 100 million doses a month after January or February.

"I think everybody is aware the Ministry of Health wants 300 to 400 million doses by July 2021, so we're trying to get to that target," he said at a news conference last month.

A family business started by Poonawalla's father 50 years ago to bring cheaper vaccines to the masses, the Serum Institute of India is aiming to produce hundreds of millions of coronavirus vaccines for not only India, but also other developing countries.

But Poonawalla has made it clear that his company will focus on immunising India first before sending the vaccines overseas.

"It's very important we take care of our country first, then

go on to COVAX after that and then other bilateral deals with countries. So I've kept it in that priority," Poonawalla said in an interview with CNBC-TV 18 last month, according to Reuters.

(Salaam Bahrain carried an extensive article on SII and the Poonawalla family in its August 2020 issue)

Challenges

Inoculating one of the largest populations in the world comes with similar-sized challenges. India is a complex land with large swathes of difficult terrain, logistics and supply chain management issues and maintaining the integrity of that supply chain, posing monumental challenges. From the icy-cold regions of Kashmir, to the wet lands of Meghalaya, to the arid and hot Rajasthan, far-to-reach villages in the interiors of Karnataka or Bengal, the

landforms of India pose a unique challenge for the drive.

India’s Universal Immunisation Programme inoculates more than 26 million newborns and 29 million pregnant women annually against diseases such as polio, measles and hepatitis B, and over 9 million immunisation sessions are held across India every year, according to WHO. "We do have the advantage of having run a very large universal immunisation programme across this country," said professor K. Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India.

"To some extent our health system is fairly well geared up."

But vaccinating 55 million people in a year is still a far cry from SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2020

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the target of 300 million in just eight months.

The country currently has 239,000 vaccinators under the Universal Immunisation Program, but fewer than 65% of them will be deployed to administer coronavirus vaccines, to avoid too much disruption to the routine vaccinations, according to Rajesh Bhushan, the health secretary.

He said the central government is in collaboration with states to arrange additional vaccinators, but did not reveal how many more staff will be added.

"To get adequate work force of people to administer the injections, monitor the side effects, and then ensure that people come back for the second injection as well -- I think that is going to be the challenge that we have to meet," Reddy said.

The fact that the COVID-19 vaccination has to be administered twice with a fortnight’s gap calls for 600 million needles and the paraphernalia of vials and syringes to match proper disposal of this toxic waste will be a tricky problem requiring an innovative solution. Manufacturers are racing against time to increase syringe supplies. Rajiv Nath, managing director of Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices, said the company was producing 560 million pieces of syringe per annum as of June.

"Currently we are making around 700 million pieces per annum capacity and we plan to increase the production rate to a billion pieces per annum capacity by the second quarter of next year," he said.

About 15 per cent of vaccines are wasted every year due to broken supply chains, this according to experts is another major challenge that will be thrown up.

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A digital platform, the Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) system, will be rolled out to track enlisted participants and the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines.

Then there is the human factor – many Indians, like people across the world, are reluctant to be the first to try out vaccines despite the fact that it has been established that the quicker a highly dense population especially those at high risk is immunised, the better it is.

Financing the world's largest inoculation drives is yet another very complex issue. According to an estimate by Serum India report, this could cost Indian government up to Rs 80,000 crores this year along with buying and distributing vaccines to everyone in the country, next year.

Cold snap

This is how Serum India plans to transport first batches of its vaccine: a specially enabled cold chain network in airports, aircraft and warehouses is being used to reach the doses, first to regional hubs and then to 41 identified locations.

The vaccines were transported in trucks, specially fitted with temperature-controlled storage that will keep the doses intact.

These trucks are filled with door sensors to check the inside temperature, which can drop to minus 25 Celsius if required. The trucks even give information on how many times the door was opened.

At the airport, 'Cool Dollies' or mobile refrigeration units for airside transportation, are used to load the cargo in aircraft.

From Pune, SpiceJet, Air India and GoAir have already flown these vaccines to their next destinations,

HEALTH

The government is also ramping up its stocks of cold chain storage equipment such as walk-in coolers and freezers, deep freezers and ice-lined refrigerators. At present, the country has more than 80,000 pieces of cold chain equipment at about 29,000 locations, which can store enough Covid-19 vaccines for the first 30 million frontline workers, Bhushan said.

Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech, the manufacturer of COVAX, had said at an event in late 2020 that, "Thus far, we have had the ability to supply vaccines with temperatures of about 4° C and as low as -20°C. Some vaccines can be stored at about 2-8°C, but some require really cold temperatures of about -80°C. This is a real big challenge when we are transporting them to say Africa or South America.”

The pharma manufacturing hubs of Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Mumbai will be at the heart of this challenging supply chain, Ella said.

“The biggest exercise thus far handled was administering vaccines to 125 million children, each with five doses. But now we are talking about covering seven billion people,” he explained.

More than 35 million doses of various COVID-19 vaccines have

been administered around the world, according to the University of Oxford.

While the majority of the COVID-19 vaccine doses have already been snapped up by wealthy countries, COVAX, a U.N.backed project to supply shots to developing parts of the world, has found itself short of vaccines, money and logistical help.

As a result, the World Health Organisation’s chief scientist, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, warned this week that it is highly unlikely that herd immunity — which would require at least 70% of the globe to be vaccinated — will be achieved this year.

“Even if it happens in a couple of pockets, in a few countries, it’s not going to protect people across the world,” she said.

Reddy said after the first phase of 300 million people are vaccinated, experts can better assess how much of a threat the virus remains and then decide on how many more people will need to be inoculated.

"This is an evolving epidemic. And our response will have to be adaptive even in terms of deciding how many and how soon we'll be vaccinated." he said.

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COVER STORY

Baburajan wins hearts and honour

A dazzling technocrat-entrepreneur, K.G. Baburajan believes in inclusive development and delivering excellence and has helped to build bridges between India and Bahrain with his community work.

By MEERA RAVI The day after being honoured with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the highest civilian award for a non-resident Indian by the government of India, K.G. Baburajan was back in his office, discussing project reports with his team of engineers and graciously receiving the congratulations of family and friends from all over the world. His office and home were a garden of flower bouquets from well-wishers and the phones were ringing off the hook but the man at the centre of all the admiration was his usual calm and gentle self – unchanged and smiling.

That is the key to his success and the essential quality which characterises Baburajan. Like the bridges and towering buildings that he has helped to build and which have changed the modern landscape of Bahrain, Baburajan radiates a reassuring solidity that makes people trust his assessment, whether it be the foundation plans for a historic bridge like the Saudi-Bahrain Causeway or his promise to help a community cause.

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Equal enthusiasm

Baburajan was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2021 for his service to the community. A well-known benefactor, the causes he has supported are varied and his help is always generous and full of good-will. Whether it is help to build the impressive Diamond Jubilee premises of the Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam (where a hall is named after him) or a small annex to a community prayer hall, whether it is help for a group organising a cultural programme in Bahrain or building homes for the homeless in India, he approaches every opportunity to help with the same sincerity and enthusiasm. For him, there is no big or small project, whether at work or in his community service. Each task or appeal for help is given the same serious consideration and attention to detail and this illuminates his engagement beyond the professionalism or the compassion which he brings to the work or the contribution in question.

“Shri Baburajan is well-known for his philanthropy and service to the community in Bahrain and in India and it is a matter of pride to the Indian community in Bahrain that he has been honoured with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman. The work and philanthropy of community benefactors like Shri Baburajan forms the backbone of the welfare and well-being initiatives undertaken by us all. I congratulate him and wish him more success in the days ahead.”

Ambassador Piyush Srivastava Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Bahrain “I am honoured to have been chosen for the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman – living in a different land far from our India, every opportunity to help the community whether here or back home, is a chance that I see as a way to strengthen my connection with my motherland,” he told Salaam Bahrain, immediately after the award was announced, “The award also brings with it additional responsibility because it sets a benchmark for us and we have to live up to the values which it represents. I accept it with all humility and joy.”

A native of Eraviperoor in Kerala’s Alappuzha District, Baburajan was born into a humble family – his father Sri K. K. Divakaran was a school teacher and mother Smt. Bharathy was a home-maker. In the early 1980s, armed with degrees in Chemistry and in Civil Engineering and a dream to make it big, Baburajan joined Al Hoty Stanger Ltd. In Saudi Arabia.

Integrity

As luck would have it, the young man was assigned early in his career to work on the Bahrain-Saudi Causeway Project from start to finish, and proceeded to set up base in Bahrain. To be involved with such a mammoth project so early in his career meant that Baburajan assumed immense responsibility for quality control and was one of the people who helped to define the technical integrity of the historic project.

The King Fahad Saudi-Bahrain Causeway was completed in 1986 and became a symbol of the deep ties of brotherly warmth between the two Kingdoms. It also deepened the social and

cultural ties between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and changed the economic history of Bahrain. For Baburajan, the project represented the start of a career in which he won respect as an authority on the design of foundations of multi-storey buildings, marine structures, caissons, jetties, roads, bridges, ports, power stations, refineries, smelters and became the final word in the field of geotechnical site investigation, both offshore and onshore.

He went on to be acknowledged as a specialist in the geotechnical investigation, quality control testing, destructive and non-destructive methods of assessment and evaluation of the condition of civil structures, design of pile foundation and choice of various foundation options to suit the projects by giving importance to the particular site conditions.

Today, he is regarded as the technical expert to the courts in Bahrain on various civil engineering related problems like building collapses, disputes between clients, consultants, contractors and suppliers. He is the only Indian member of the US-based International Accreditation Service, tasked with accreditation of calibration and testing laboratories worldwide and a part of this prestigious scientific body’s Accreditation and Technical Evaluation Committee.

From technical genius to entrepreneur was an inevitable move and since 1992, Baburajan has helmed a group of engineering service companies that are part of shaping the modern economic and architectural history of the region. The years that followed saw the establishment of a string of companies in the region -

Bahrain's community leaders with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman winner on January 9

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

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I have known Baburajan since 1982 when he came to Bahrain as a young man. Those were exciting days for engineering in the Kingdom because so many new developments required new ways of approaching projects. What made Baburajan a trailblazer was his appetite for knowledge. He was always eager to learn and make a new project succeed. That is why while others got the regular jobs, he attracted major ones like a 50-storey building when there were no skyscrapers in Bahrain or bridges that changed the way we lived.

Of course I have left my engineering days behind now but when we were working together, I used to meet Baburajan almost everyday and he introduced me to the joy of a typical Kerala breakfast! He is a great mentor too and I know that anybody who wants to learn something new or rise in engineering circles could be assured of support from him – so I am very happy that his commitment to the community has been recognised by the government of India. Congratulations, my friend.

Dr. Jameel Alawi Senior Legal Advisor Economic Development Board - Bahrain Qatar Engineering Laboratories W.L.L. in Doha, Gulf Engineering Laboratories in Sohar, Sultanate of Oman, a Foreign Branch of Qatar Engineering Laboratories in Bahrain, and Quality Piling and Construction Company in Bahrain (QPCC).

Delivering excellence

They represent an aspect of Baburajan’s character that belies his calm and gentle demeanour. As an entrepreneur, he is obviously a fiercely focused and competitive technocrat and a leader who is able to motivate his team to deliver the best results consistently. The companies

which he founded are today part of BKG Holdings, the umbrella organisation of all the companies he has set up in Bahrain, Qatar and Oman and of which he is Chairman and Managing Director.

Throughout his rise to the top, Baburajan has shown an uncanny knack in the selection of manpower, predominantly from his own country, providing them with specialised training, and has been fair and ethical in his treatment of his people.

Currently, he is putting his weight behind a Research Centre on Quality Improvement in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala to study practices to enhance the effectiveness of products and processes

based on locally available material resources.

When the call for help is sounded, Baburajan is always one of the first to answer with instinctive generosity – the help usually comes with no strings attached and with an open heart. Few people know that during the devastating floods which destroyed lives in Kerala in 2018, he quietly supported the state government with a contribution of Rs. 25 lakhs in addition to personal charity to individuals. In the Rajapalayam forest range of Tamil Nadu, Baburajan is seen as a saviour of the tribal population of Ayyanar Kovil whom he provided with

Baburajan's business acumen and community service has won him admiration and accolades from Kairali TV and the Sivagiri Mutt

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the basic necessities of food, shelter and medical care. He has helped build homes for the homeless in Kerala and is a generous patron of cultural and sporting events.

Recognition has followed him because of his contribution to social causes - the BKS Outstanding Bahrain Business Icon Award (2017), the Kairali Business Excellence Award (2017) presented by the Chief Minister of Kerala and the Lifetime Achievement Award conferred by the Sivagiri Mutt in Varkala. The Bahrain During the devastating 2018 Kerala floods, Baburajan quietly donated Rs. 25 lakhs to the Chief Minister of Kerala for relief operations Keraleeya Samajam has honored him by naming one of its Community Halls as the Ira.” he smiled, “I think we can all look daughter Dr. Remya who is a radiologist K.G. Baburajan Hall. forward to a less turbulent future now based in Dubai with husband Dr. Abin For showing exemplary commitment that the virus can be tamed with the Vijayan. Perhaps the one time that towards education and charity during his vaccine. Bahrain is at the forefront of the Baburajan allowed the world to glimpse life, and succeeding in advancing the management of the pandemic and I am his love for colour and drama was at the interests of the community as a whole, he full of admiration and gratitude to the celebrated wedding of his daughter which also received the GOPIO (Global leaders and government of the Kingdom was a much talked-about YouTube Organization for People of Indian Origin) for their approach which is so full of good sensation for its Bollywood-inspired Bahrain appreciation award. sense and compassion.” glamour and style.

Common good He concludes, “Development, whether “2021 has started well for us – not only Through all the praise and honours, personal or of a company or a community, have I been singled out for this award, but Baburajan remains unruffled and still the has to be inclusive and is rooted in team my wife and I are soon expecting a simple technocrat that he enjoys being. work. You have to work together for a promotion as second time grandparents Married to architect Dilrani Gopal, the common good and deliver excellence to my daughter who will deliver in couple have two children, son Rajath who consistently in order to leave footprints February. My son Rajath and his wife Dr. has followed in his illustrious parents’ on the sands of time.”

Aishwarya have a three year old baby girl, footsteps and become an engineer and

“The news of K G Baburajan winning the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award this year has been welcomed by the entire Indian diaspora in Bahrain with great pleasure and enthusiasm. To me, it is like the coveted recognition coming to my own family for the second time, since I received the same award in 2012. Having known him since 1975, when both of us joined the College of Engineering, Trivandrum in the same batch for our under graduate studies, I have watched him grow from an engineering student to a technocrat businessman of repute who has always shown uncompromising social commitment. Having gotten involved in most of the landmark constructions in Bahrain, he has earned the unique distinction of being the last word in geotechnical consultancy and construction solutions in the island. A case study in Indian success in the Middle East to be emulated by upcoming businessmen, Baburajan is known for his humbleness, truthfulness and modesty. His wife, architect Dilrani, son Rajath, daughter Dr Ramya and their spouses also belong to the same tribe of Good Samaritans.”

P.V. Radhakrishnan Pillai Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award winner (2012) President, Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam

HAP RAIN C TER OF T h B AH

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राजदू त

भारत का राजदूतावास, बहरोन Embassy of India, Bahrain

Ambassador MESSAGE

January 21, 2021

On the occasion of the 72nd Republic Day of India, I convey warm greetings and felicitations to all members of Indian community and friends of India in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

During the last year, the global community has faced the major health challenge of our times - the Covid-19 pandemic. Both India and Bahrain have successfully dealt with the pandemic.

In line with Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision and Government of India’s flagship programme of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India)’, India has, a few days back, undertaken the world’s largest vaccination drive by rolling out two ‘made-in-India’ vaccines, COVISHIELD and COVAXIN. In the first phase, 30 million health and frontline workers are being vaccinated. This number will increase to a staggering 300 million in the second phase of our vaccination. As a trusted and dependable partner, despite the huge domestic demand, India is committed to supply the quality and affordable vaccines to friendly countries in this time of crisis. During the launch of India’s vaccination drive on 16th January 2021, Prime Minister Modi said, “We are committed that India’s vaccines, our production capacity, serve the interest of the whole humanity”. India is, because of its 20

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

राजदू त

Ambassador

भारत का राजदूतावास, बहरोन Embassy of India, Bahrain

strengths in the biopharmaceutical and vaccines domains, one of the major centres in the transnational efforts to counter the pandemic.

Our two countries have had excellent collaboration in dealing with Covid-19 pandemic - be it the support of the Government of Bahrain for the Indian community, our ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, the ‘Air Bubble’ arrangement between the two countries for facilitating travel of people of both sides, or supply of medicines and paramedics to the Kingdom by India.

This is in line with the deep-rooted civilisational and close ties between India and Bahrain, which have been further expanded and diversified in recent years. The regular high level political interaction and exchanges continued even during pandemic period. His Majesty the King and Hon’ble Prime Minister of India held a telephonic conversation in April 2020. Hon’ble External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar visited the Kingdom on 24-25 November 2020 to personally convey Government of India’s condolences on the sad demise of the HRH former Prime Minister of Bahrain, and to discuss and review various aspects of our bilateral cooperation in diverse sectors and regional and multilateral matters of mutual interest. We are looking forward to welcoming H.E. the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani for the next meeting of India-Bahrain High Joint Commission in New Delhi.

The vibrant and dynamic Indian community in Bahrain constitute a key link in our bilateral relations. With their professionalism and high standards of work ethics, they have made a name for themselves in Bahrain, and made significant contribution to the economic development of the Kingdom. This year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award given by the Government of India to Mr. Baburajan for his distinguished community service in Bahrain is testimony to this.

I take this opportunity to convey our gratitude to the Leadership and the Government of Bahrain for ensuring the well-being, safety and security of the Indian community in Bahrain, and their exceptional care and support to the community in the difficult times of Covid-19 pandemic.

I am confident that the deep bonds of friendship and close cooperation between our two countries would grow from strength to strength for the mutual benefit of our two countries and peoples.

(Piyush Srivastava)

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JANUARY

HAPPY INDIAN REPUBLIC DAY

Jaishankar visit underscores warm Indo-Bahraini ties

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Bahrain in November last year and held talks on bilateral issues as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest with his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

The minister met Crown Prince and Prime Minister HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and thanked him and the leaders of Bahrain for taking special care of the Indian diaspora during the coronavirus crisis. The minister, whose maiden visit to the Kingdom came immediately after the passing away of the late PM HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman, also conveyed condolences on behalf of the government and people of India to the Bahraini leaders.

The Embassy arranged a virtual meeting with the community representatives and despite a hectic schedule, Jaishankar also made the time to visit the Srinathji temple in Manama.

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R-DAY VOICES

“The Bahrain-India partnership will redefine the coming decade” - Mohammed Dadabhai, Chairman & MD of the Dadabhai Group & Former Chairman of the Bahrain India Society

“The Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of India share an ancient friendship – but the beauty of the relationship is that it is evolving constantly in the context of modern developments. This brings a dynamism to it.

“Even over the past thirty or so years, the demographic profile of the Indian and Bahraini communities that work together has changed. The business rules in Bahrain have become simpler and more business-friendly and India itself has transformed into a powerhouse economy. I believe that Bahrain should step up its engagement with India and both countries must actively explore ways of working together for their mutual benefit.

On the occasion of the 72nd Republic Day of India, I believe we must reflect on how each of us can take forward the BahrainIndia narrative. One example of the resilience and strength of both countries is the way that they handled 2020 and the COVID-19 crisis. Although vastly different in scale, both countries used their size and numbers to best effect – Bahrain with its very effective tracing, testing and treatment strategy and its humane

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SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

approach which ensured that no resident or citizen was left unprotected. This was the result of the directive of HM the King and the close guidance of Crown Prince and PM, HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. We have been ahead of the curve in the fight against the virus – while much bigger countries are still working out their vaccination policy, Bahrain has already crossed the halfway mark in administering them and our leaders, ministers and decisionmakers – starting from HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa - have shown the way by taking the first shots.

In India, the government under PM Modi has been remarkably proactive and the fact that India is the centre of the largest vaccine drive from manufacture to administering, is the key to the country’s success.

I believe that in 2021, we can start a new chapter in Bahrain-India relations with the emphasis on technology and business so that we align our growth to the key drivers of the millennium.”

“Our countries have gone from strength to strength as the relationship grows to match mutual ambitions.”

- Abdulrahman Juma, Chairman & MD of UNEECO Group of Companies, Member of the Board of Bahrain India Society. Awarded Business Icon for the year 2019 by Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam Bahrain and India, for hundreds of years, have shared a warm relationship of commerce and culture that was close and a source of business growth. The shift has been very clear in the past couple of decades as India moved swiftly into new areas of technology and expertise. In the past, Bahrain and the GCC - even the whole MENA region, I would say - owed a lot to Indian doctors, nurses and teachers who brought healthcare and education to this part of the world. Then the ‘seventies saw the manpower boom from India. From the ‘eighties onward, definitely, we have seen more Indian technology powering our progress.

Today, whether it is Indian electrical and electronic equipment or fintech software, India brings great value to the partnership with Bahrain. Bahrain too has played a significant role in enriching the relationship and the inclusive vision of development espoused by our leadership has made Indians feel welcome in the Kingdom.

We have all gone through a difficult year facing an unprecedented pandemic which challenged us. I do believe that a unified front between countries is a key to unlocking the future. The coming decade will see India make giant strides on the world stage as the R&D and technology of the country serves mankind. It is amazing to see India rise to the occasion in the production of the maximum number of COVID-19 vaccine doses! Bahrain too has an expanding talent pool of sharp scientific minds and technical opportunities. We should collaborate and ensure that both countries can serve a common cause of progress and peace in the coming years.

I wish all my Indian friends a very happy 72nd Republic Day. SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

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January

the editorial team P.O. Box 50650, Arad, Kingdom of Bahrain Licensed by the Ministry of Information Publication Licence no : GASB 740

Chairman Mahmood Al Mahmood Chief Editor Ahdeya Ahmed

“Bahrain’s COVID-19 care of all residents reinforces its one-world approach” - Dr. Kishore Mathur, Managing Director of Al Amin Group, A well-known businessman and community leader, Dr. Mathur is known for his caring management style and his contribution to Indo-Bahraini understanding.

Managing Director P.K. Ravi Editor Meera Ravi Contributors Digital Consultant: Sonorita Chauhan Advertorial support: Nishita Kapoor Maharaja Features Pvt. Ltd. Designer Mind Storm Media Photography Jomon Marketing P.R.M. Marketing Consultancy w.l.l Advertising Sales Contact: +973 3668 4011 advts.sb@gmail.com Published by Al Ayam Publishing Promoted by Ajyal Consultations w.l.l Advertising / Editorial / Circulation Enquiries +973 3668 4011 e-mail: salaam.bahrain@gmail.com advts.sb@gmail.com

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The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publisher and Editor. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, the publisher & editor cannot accept legal responsibility for any error, content or omissions.

26

“On the occasion of India’s 72nd Republic Day, the community in Bahrain looks back at a period that was challenging globally but which saw us all emerge stronger. The government of India reached out to us on these foreign shores with the Vande Bharat flights for homeward bound Indians. The embassy of India really did a tremendous job in coordinating support and the many community leaders, clubs etc. worked together to create a safety net for Indians in need.

The vision of harmony and one-family spirit of Bahrain was underscored by the leadership of this Kingdom which ensured that every resident, whether expatriate or national, had equal and effective access against COVID-19 support – whether tests or treatment or vaccines. That is a great tribute to the wisdom

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

of Bahrain’s leaders and the inclusive nature of the Kingdom’s progress.

We also look forward to 2021 when we can contribute to strengthening ties between India and Bahrain. India has become a technologically strong player on the global stage and has so much to offer its long-time trading and development partner, Bahrain. Whether fintech or transfer of knowledge in healthcare, SME development, banking or I.T. development and even space research, India has the ideas and the skills to support Bahrain. Let us work together with our Bahraini brothers and sisters to prepare for the next stage in the two countries’ pathway of friendship.”

R-DAY VOICES

“2021 is a time to consolidate the lessons learnt from the past year. It brings hope and renewal.”

- VK Rajasekharan Pillai, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awardee (2017), Chairman & MD of National Group of Companies A patriotic occasion such as Republic Day is always special for all Indians. For expatriates, it takes on even more meaning because we are living and working so far from our homeland that every connection is to be cherished and strengthened. It is particularly easy to do so from the GCC where countries like Bahrain are less than four hours away from our India and share historic and warm ties.

When our lives are changed by challenges that we face personally and which our country faces as well, we all come together to meet these head-on. 2020 was one such year. Both India and Bahrain faced the crisis of the pandemic with the rest of the world and I must say we Bahrain-based NRIs were very lucky that we had the support of both countries in facing the difficult times. The Indian government mobilised its vast support network for us overseas Indians with the Vande Bharat flights and within India, different states approached the pandemic with varied action plans.

In Bahrain, our Crown Prince and PM, HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa personally monitored every stage of the fight against COVID-19 and the Kingdom has been very successful in controlling the health crisis because of his vision and the superb response of the government. Whether in terms of public health or economic support, Bahrain has ensured that the Kingdom’s inclusive and harmonious approach underpins the whole process and every resident is made a stakeholder in this fight. This has put Bahrain right in front as a model for how the pandemic can be overcome and checked without disrupting business or society too drastically. The Bahrain government set a shining benchmark by making available the COVID-19 vaccine free of cost to every resident and India has embarked on one of the most impressive vaccination manufacturing and delivery drives.

I must use this occasion to thank my Janmabhoomi India and my Karmabhoomi Bahrain for giving me not one but two countries to love and to serve.

On the occasion of the 72nd Indian Republic Day, I wish my fellow-Indians peace, prosperity and success in 2021.

Jai Hind!

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

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R-DAY VOICES

“Indo-Bahraini relations have seen a valuable organic shift in the past five decades and Indian technology plays a major role in the Kingdom’s progress today.”

- Raj Damani, Chairman Bahrain-India Society What began as trading ties 5000 years ago during the Dilmun civilisation, led to India emerging as a major source of manpower in the 1970s. As Bahrain and the GCC developed in the light of the oil boom, there was a gradual shift from general commodities trading to more specialised engineering goods. This was the first stage in the move in Indo-Bahrain business relations from valuable labour supplier to technology trading partner.

Today, one can also see the footprint in Bahrain, of the reputed global Indian IT industry which was born in the ‘80s - companies such as TCS, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, to name a few, are already working as IT consultants and software developers for Bahrain government agencies and the Fintech industry, financial institutions and private companies. In 2019, eight new Indian companies have invested in Bahrain’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

Bahrain’s National Space Science Agency also inked an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to collaborate in realising the Kingdom’s space aspirations.

This shift in relationship from being a major manpower supplier and a general trading partner to that of a technological partner in Bahrain’s next phase of growth will greatly enhance the image of India and Indians in the eye of the Bahraini business community and the layman.

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What makes Bahrain such a welcoming base for expatriates is the government’s emphasis on an even-handed approach towards all communities. For example, as a non-Bahraini industrialist/investor in Bahrain for over 4 decades, to see the non-discriminatory $11.3 billion COVID-19 stimulus package to support businesses from Tamkeen, government bodies like EWA, LMRA, banks, etc under the instructions of the Bahraini leadership, has been unparallel and a saviour for most businesses.

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

The way the vaccine campaign has been rolled out free to all the residents of Bahrain is a feather in Bahrain’s cap.

On behalf of Bahrain India Society, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bahrain’s leadership for their proactive, universal hands-on approach, in guiding Bahrain safely through this pandemic.

“COVID-19 pandemic binds communities and nations revealing a truly altruistic world” - Reena Sreedhar, Honorary President Indian Ladies Association “An unprecedented year impacting the entire human race, has left mankind humbled at the sheer insignificance of our very own existence. However, as they say: Disaster and crises bring out the best in us and we know that the year gone by stands testimony to this statement.

The joyous occasion of India’s 72nd Republic Day would be the ideal time to review and reflect on the year gone by. Although an extremely challenging year for all of us, the year saw us rise above the challenges, devise new approach to sustain. We also saw great communities and nations coming together for a greater cause of human preservation.

Being inducted, to head one of the oldest expatriates’ ladyies' association

during the most volatile of time was not a cake walk. Being always at the forefront in reaching out to the community, we at Indian Ladies Association soldiered on to support the needy, despite the limited funds and various other difficulties posed by the pandemic. A determined ILA, continued throughout the year by donating face masks, sanitisers, spreading awareness, distributing dry rations, mufflers, caps to those who were really impacted by the pandemic. ILA prides itself in supporting the 'Feena Khair' drive of the Bahraini Government and also could provide free tickets to many lady passengers who were desperate to return to India in various chartered and Vande Bharath flights. Many students from low economic background were provided laptops for their online classes.

ILA even continued its “Sneha classes (for children with special needs) online. The support of the Indian Embassy to ILA and the community in general was commendable during the year.

The purchase of “Sneha cards (assisted artwork cards by Sneha children) by the Indian Ambassador and other embassy officials offered a great deal of motivation to the members.

To keep the members connected and cheerful, various events were organised online. The presence of ILA’s patron Mrs. Monika Srivastava, the wife of the Indian Ambassador in our online events, brought a lot of cheer.

The various efforts of the Bahraini government in dealing with the pandemic like the availability of 'Feena Khair' support, the vaccination drive, the free covid tests, extension of visas, the dissemination of information in various languages, without any discrimination between the citizens and residents deserves special applause.

This truly reflects the harmony, inclusion and wise leadership of this great island which is our home away from home.

Indian Ladies Association wishes all readers of Salaam Bahrain a very Happy Indian Republic Day !"

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

29

COMMUNITY

Accounting for a bright future Ambitious roster showcases potential of CAs in Bahrain’s progress Bahrain Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (BCICAI), elected a new Committee for 202021 under the leadership of CA Ajaykumar Chettuvetty who along with 10 Executive Committee members took over on 1st August 2020. The team selected a theme The Executive Committee, led by CA Ajaykumar "Log Into The Future" going by which various Minister of Industry, Commerce and seminars and events were conducted.

Tourism and attended by more than 350 Some of the major events were: members from different parts of the • BCICAI obtained approval for a CA world. The event was inaugurated by host Examination centre in Bahrain with the first of dignitaries which included India’s Exams conducted in November/December Ambassador to Bahrain Piyush Srivastava, 2020 in coordination with Indian Embassy Hasan Alghannami, Representative of the and Bahrain Institute of Banking and Minister Zayed R.Alzayani, Jamal Fakhro, Finance (BIBF). This was complemented by Managing Partner of KPMG, CA Atul a career counselling for students of Indian Gupta, President ICAI, Abbas Al Radhi, schools as well as support with CA Exam Chairman of Bahrain Accountants preparations.

Association (BAA) and CA Nihar • BCICAI set up a virtual studio to Jambusaria, Vice President of ICAI. host its technical events for members • The eminent speakers at the including its flagship event, the 12th Annual conference included Viswanathan Anand International Conference which was held (Five-time World Chess Champion), CA under the patronage of Zayed R.Alzayani,

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TN Manoharan (Past President of ICAI and Ex-Chairman of Canara Bank), Aruchalam Muruganandam (Social Entrepreneur), Social Worker Dr Malvika Iyer (Bilateral amputee and bomb-blast survivor), Dr Arjun Vaidya (CEO of Dr Vaidya’s New Age Ayurveda), Richard Threlfall (Partner, KPMG International) and CA Gaurav Jain (Executive Director, Grant Thornton India).

• To mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri BCICAI members did a recreation of the Dandi March where 81 members covered a total distance of 386 km. A unique image of Mahatma Gandhi was created with tiled images of members who participated in it. Other activities included a quiz, drawing workshop and virtual visit to Gandhi’s Ashram in Sevagram.

• BCICAI was also involved in various CSR activities like Blood Donation camps, Breast Cancer Awareness Programme, arranging for tickets for stranded expatriates in Bahrain through ICRF, donation to ICAI Relief Fund and Feena Khair as well as family activities for members.

YOUNGISTAN

New Horizon makes a mark Teachers and students are winners

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way education was imparted, the world over. The impact was felt in Bahrain too and at New Horizon School, there was a 360-degree paradigm shift in how teaching was carried out and knowledge imparted.

“Almost overnight we came up with new solutions to engage and motivate our students as we migrated to online teaching. The NHS faculty with the constant guidance and motivation from our Chairman, Dr. Varghese Kurian, Chairman Al-Namal Group and VKL Holdings soared to new heights even in these challenging times,” said Acting Principal Leena Verma.

Under the guidance of the new management and encouragement of the Acting Principal Leena Verma, the teachers and students of NHS have broken all previous records and have made their mark in Bahrain, India and across the GCC by gathering accolades in academic and non-academic activities such as art & craft, limerick poetry, storytelling, reading aloud and voice-overs. Three experienced teachers were felicitated by the Ambassador of India to Bahrain, Piyush Srivastava on Teachers Day. " At NHS, we believe in initially taking small steps before the giant

leap! From teaching online to hosting our first ever Virtual Investiture Ceremony to online examinations, we have delved into augmented teaching, online assemblies, online exhibitions and more....

We still have a long way to go. We are sure that we can continue to soar high as we ‘Level up’.

ADMISSIONS OPEN FROM KINDERGARTEN TO GRADE 6 FOR THE NEW ACADEMIC YEAR 2021-'22

REPUBLIC DAY GREETINGS! “I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination”.

-Jimmy Dean Suquayya Branch (KINDERGARTEN) Suquayya Avenue - Behind Manama Auctions, Contact: Tel: +973 17262139 | Fax: +973 17259512 Jannusan Branch (GRADE 1 TO GRADE 6) - Building No. 921, Road No. 431, Block No. 504, Jannusan Avenue, Close to Jannusan Roundabout, Kingdom of Bahrain | P.B. No. 21780 Contact: Tel. : 00973 17595372 | Fax : 00973 17595374 | Email: thenhs.bahrain@gmail.com , principalnhsbahrain@gmail.com

For Admission Enquiries Contact ONLY Jannusan Branch 1759 5372 | Timings between 8:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m. www.nhsbahrain.com SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

31

INDIA-BAHRAIN: A PROGRESSIVE PARTNERSHIP

India supports Bahrain’s medical success Besides hospitals and medical expertise, Thyrocare, a renowned diagnostics service is helping to change the speed and efficiency of Bahrain’s healthcare delivery.

By MEERA RAVI

I

n May 2014, Thyrocare, a medical diagnostics chain from India set up base in Bahrain, bringing a promise of efficient and swift laboratory services at half the usual cost. The company is India's first and finest automated diagnostic centre and the amazing climb to success of founder-chairman Dr. A. Velumani from the son of a poor landless farmer to successful scientistentrepreneur is the stuff of corporate fairy tales.

Thyrocare Gulf Laboratories today operates across the GCC. Their mission is to keep their patients' needs as the top-most priority and deliver them the right results at the earliest. In Dr. Velumani (left) & Akshay Jain short, Thyrocare is highly competitive in the medical Thyrocare Gulf w.l.l. in supporting the industry as it is well-equipped with the government of Bahrain and also in the Gulf latest technology. This emphasis on quality against the COVID -19 Pandemic? diagnostics was a main reason that Akshay Jain: I am proud to state that Thyrocare Gulf in Bahrain became one of Thyrocare is the only CAP (college of the first laboratories to achieve American pathologist) and ISO 15189 international recognition through the accredited laboratory in the Kingdom of renowned CAP (College of American Bahrain. We would like to thank the Pathologists) & ISO 15189. CAP is a leadership of the kingdom of Bahrain for certification that proves excellence in the reposing their trust in Thyrocare by giving it practice of pathology and laboratory the approval to join the fight against medicines.

COVID-19. Till date we have done over With the pandemic changing the delivery 100,000 test in the region and 40K in models of healthcare globally, organisations Bahrain alone. Globally Thyrocare, under like Thyrocare are actually at the cutting leadership of Dr A Velumani, has done edge of this change. Salaam Bahrain spoke more than 1M+ COVID tests. to Dr. Velumani and Thyrocare Gulf CEO SB: How would you say Thyrocare’s Akshay Jain about how the company India experience shaped its role in the represents a new technological partnership Gulf? (The breadth of expertise, technical between Bahrain and India. skills…)

SB: What has been the role of Dr. Velumani: Thyrocare India has a

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SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

rich experience of 25 years and handling millions of tests every year. Thyrocare was the first private lab in India to be approved by the government of India to start COVID testing. In India we had scaled up from 500 tests a day to 20,000 tests a day in just 6 months and this scalability helped in making our Bahrain and Oman laboratories up in minimum time period.

As the workloads grew these trained professionals trained the other staff to perform these tests so that our pool of expertise kept growing to meet an unprecedented challenge. This was also possible as our people are well motivated and know that we take the maximum precautions and care required to perform these tests.

Akshay Jain: Most importantly at the beginning of the pandemic, it is this expertise that helped us to leverage our

relationships with the vendors to prioritise the equipment and supplies and also get the best rates for our GCC labs in record time. It is important to mention that we already had trained technical manpower in all the geographies we operate to start this testing immediately with in-depth, online training from our parent Mumbai lab.

SB: Going forward, do you think the work of diagnostics service providers will increase in the healthcare mix?

Akshay Jain: Diagnostics already forms almost 33% of the healthcare mix.

Going forward as newer technologies become more affordable (Genetics) this will lead to more personalised medicine rather than one size fits all approach currently. It is important to mention that World will witness, post Covid a Healthcare 2.0 which will be totally new from Healthcare 1.0 which collapsed on arrival of COVID. Our chairman says Thyrocare 2.0 will also be seen to cater to the needs of new healthcare needs.

SB: How do you feel healthcare will change in the coming decade and how will India play a role in the Gulf region as a medical technology partner?

Dr. Velumani: The world is already waking up to India’s contribution towards healthcare. Some are calling it the

pharmacy to the world with India contributing almost 50% market share.

Indian doctors and nurses have been important pillars of most geographies be it GCC, US, UK etc. The pandemic has also made global leaders realise the importance of India’s contribution in manufacturing of vaccines. Earlier the perception was that since Indian products were cost effective, they were of poor quality. Now everyone is realising that India has been producing quality products and services at unmatched pricing due to the volumes available in Indian markets.

India is already a global leader in IT industry and as a result of the pandemic all work life has changed and so has healthcare. So India will play a very important role in the coming decade in healthcare in the following areas A. Manufacturing of Medicines B. Manufacturing of Vaccines C. Manufacturing of other medical products D. Skilled Manpower E. IT services wrt healthcare automation F. AI in Healthcare G. Genomics and Personalised medicine.

Our umbilical cord with the parent brand helps us to get the best of India, at cheapest cost at fastest modes.

SB: (to Akshay Jain) As a healthcare industry professional can you give us your (i.e. Thyrocare’s) views on the Kingdom of Bahrain’s handling of the pandemic threat.

Akshay Jain: I think Bahrain has handled the pandemic efficiently, compared to the struggling western world. We would like to congratulate the leadership of the kingdom for the same and for their timely action and strategies on how to handle the health crisis tactfully. Bahrain is one among the few countries which didn’t impose and lockdown/curfew or close its borders. The government has managed to keep the rates of testing per million among the highest globally, kept the deaths per million the lowest. The financial stimulus provided as a percentage of the GDP was among the highest.

Above all, making sure everyone got tested and treated free of cost is an amazing effort. Now they are among the top 3 countries globally as a percentage of population vaccinated. I don’t think many countries globally can claim to have done so well on so many fronts in the pandemic.

It shows focus and such a careful management of resources and political will to deliver the best care to the people.

- With inputs from Nishita Kapoor

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

33

REPUBLIC DAY SPECIAL - HISTORY

Anthem to India’s strength and beauty Little known facts about the ‘Jana Gana Mana’, India’s National Anthem

By ADITI NAGAPPA

E

very Indian has felt it – that lump in the throat, that rush of deep feeling for one’s motherland and sense of one-ness with all fellow Indians – it happens when one hears the beloved national anthem describing the beauty of India and set to an appropriately martial tune. Although the first tentative steps towards making ‘Jana Gana Mana’ the National Anthem of India took place only in 1919, the song was first heard as a Bengali invocation ‘Bharata Bhagya Bidhataa’ on December 27, 1911 on the second day of the annual session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta. Again, in 1912, the song was performed by Sarala Devi Chaudhurani, Tagore's niece, along with the group of school students, in front of prominent Congress members like Bishan Narayan Dhar, Indian National Congress President, and Ambika Charan Majumdar.

Yet it remained largely confined to the pages of the Arya Samaj journal, 'Tatva Bodha Prakasika', of which Gurudev Tagore was the editor. In 1919, the bard himself led a group of students at the Besant Theosophical College of Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh who sang out 'Jaya hei, Jaya hei' in unison, a song that reverberated across the campus. Margaret Cousins, then vice-principal of the college, also an expert in European music and wife of Irish poet James Cousins, requested Tagore to create an English translation of the song and set down the musical notation to the national anthem, which is followed only when the song is sung in the original slow rendition style.

At that time it was called the "Morning Song of India". Tagore’s original score and translation is today displayed in the archives of the college in Madanapalle and the English song is sung till today as the morning prayer at the college.

Born in exile

From college assembly song to national anthem of a nation of 1.2 billion people, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ traversed a fascinating path. It was adopted as the school song of The Doon School, Dehradun in 1935. It was first selected as national anthem by Subhas Chandra Bose while he was in Germany. On the occasion of the founding meeting of the German-Indian Society on 11 September 1942 in the Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was played for the first time by the Hamburg Radio Symphony Orchestra as the national anthem of an independent India.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose went to Germany in April 1941 and setup the Free India Centre. The Free India Centre also had a Flag, which was similar to the present day Indian tricolour but with a Springing Tiger in the centre. Netaji also introduced “Jai Hind” as an Indian form of addressing each other. The only thing missing was a National Anthem.

Netaji called a meeting and discussed several options and ultimately decided that ‘Jana Gana Mana’ should be the National Anthem of Free India. There were no notations available, so Dr. Ambika Majumdar, who was well-versed in musical notations, adapted the notations to the song and another Indian, Dr.

Gurudev Tagore wrote the lyrics and composed the 'Jana Gana Mana' but it was Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose who conferred upon it the status of national anthem

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SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

Mukherjee played it on the piano for Netaji’s approval. The final version was then given to Dr. Eigel Kruettge, the Conductor of the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg, who made some minor changes to the notation for the orchestra. This is the version that is valid today.

N.G. Ganpulay, a close associate of Netaji and an active member of the Free India Centre, recorded the performance on tape. After his death, this tape was handed over to All India Radio, which broadcast a programme in 1980 called “National Anthem born in Exile”.

In 1945, the song was heard in the film Humrahi as a peppy patriotic song. The song’s moment of glory finally came in 1950 when the Indian Constituent Assembly assembled for the first time as a

sovereign body on 14 August 1947, midnight and the session closed with a unanimous performance of ‘Jana Gana Mana’. The members of the Indian Delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations held at New York in 1947 gave a recording of ‘Jana Gana Mana’ as the country's national anthem, which was produced in Singapore. The UN Orchestra, then played the anthem along with the National Anthems of other participating countries. This was very much appreciated by all those who were present.

The delegation came back to India in the third week of January and reported the success of the song to Jawaharlal Nehru and his cabinet colleagues. Since 26 January was approaching fast and no alternative National Anthem had been found, it was

Anthem trivia - Contrary to popular belief, 'Jana Gana Mana' is not a Sanskrit verse but composed in a literary register of the Bengali language called sadhu bhasa, which is heavily sanskritised. The song has been written almost entirely using nouns that also can function as verbs.

- The Indian National Anthem is sung in the raga Gaud Sarang. It is believed that the National Anthem of India is in raga Bilaval, but the melody has a 'tivra Madhyama svara' which marks it as raga Gaud Sarang.

- Yes, there is also a Hindi version of the anthem.

Although he was instrumental in choosing 'Jana Gana Mana' as the Qaumi Tarana (National Anthem) of the Provisional Government of Free India in Singapore Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose did not like the fact that the song was in Sanskritized Bengali and commissioned a free translation in Hindustani. The translation, 'Subh Sukh Chain', was written by Capt.

Abid Ali, and its score composed by Ram Singh Thakur.

It is s considered a Hindi version of the national anthem of India, 'Jana Gana Mana' though its meaning varies from the latter and it is therefore not a true translation.

decided that ‘Jana Gana Mana’ hould be made the National Anthem on 26 January 1950.

As the national anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ is played or sung on various occasions. The approximate duration of the full version of the national anthem of India is 52 seconds and 20 seconds for shorter version. Instructions have been issued from time to time about the correct versions of the anthem, the occasions on which these are to be played or sung, and about the need for paying respect to the anthem by observance of proper decorum on such occasions. The substance of these instructions has been embodied in the information sheet issued by the government of India for general information and guidance.

Closeup of Tagore's translation in his own handwriting

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37

REPUBLIC DAY SPECIAL - HISTORY

Controversial

When the composition was first sung in 1911, the British Indian press reported that Tagore had composed it as a welcome song in honour of Emperor George V. "When the proceedings of the Indian National Congress began on Wednesday 27 December 1911, a Bengali song in welcome of the Emperor was sung. A resolution welcoming the Emperor and Empress was also adopted unanimously." reported the newspaper ‘Indian’.

However, Tagore vigorously denied the charge. Even the report of the annual session of the Indian National Congress of December 1911 stated this difference: "On the first day of 28th annual session of the Congress, proceedings started after singing Vande Mataram. On the second day the work began after singing a patriotic song

by Babu Rabindranath Tagore. Messages from well-wishers were then read and a resolution was passed expressing loyalty to King George V. Afterwards the song composed for welcoming King George V and Queen Mary was sung."

Clearly, the confusion arose in the British Indian press since a different song, "Badshah Humara" written in Hindi by Rambhuj Chaudhary, was sung on the same occasion in praise of the monarch.

On 10 November 1937, Tagore wrote a letter to Pulin Bihari Sen about the controversy. That letter in Bengali can be found in Tagore's biography Rabindrajibani, volume II page 339 by Prabhatkumar Mukherjee. "A certain high official in His Majesty's service, who was also my friend, had requested that I write a song of felicitation towards the Emperor. The request simply amazed me. It caused a great stir in my heart. In response to that great mental turmoil, I pronounced the victory in ‘Jana Gana Mana’ of that Bhagya Bidhata [ed. God of Destiny] of India who has from age after age held steadfast the reins of India's chariot through rise and fall, through the straight path and the curved.

That Lord of Destiny, that Reader of the Collective Mind of India, that Perennial

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The hut in Madanapalle - Andhra Pradesh - 'Jana Gana Mana' was first sung by Tagore and desciples here

Guide, could never be George V, George VI, or any other George. Even my official friend understood this about the song.

After all, even if his admiration for the crown was excessive, he was not lacking in simple common sense."

Again in his letter of 19 March 1939, Tagore writes: "I should only insult myself if I cared to answer those who consider me capable of such unbounded stupidity as to sing in praise of George the Fourth or George the Fifth as the Eternal Charioteer leading the pilgrims on their journey through countless ages of the timeless history of mankind." (Purvasa, Phalgun, 1354) However, his clarifications on the controversy came only after the death of Emperor George V in 1936, as Tagore himself didn't want to contradict it during the lifetime of the Emperor. Further, Tagore accepted the Knighthood on 3 June on the birthday of Emperor George V in 1915 for his poetry and songs. The Knighthood was bestowed to Tagore on the wish of Emperor George V, who was made to believe that the song ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was composed eulogising the Emperor.

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest against the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.

Another controversy in recent times is about joining in the singing of the national anthem when it is played. Again, the answer is no one needs to compulsorily join the singing. In July 1985 in the state of Kerala, some of the Jehovah's Witnesses children were expelled from school under the instructions of Deputy Inspector of Schools for having refused to sing the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’, as it was against the tenets of the religious group Jehovah’s Winesses, which states that only God should be worshipped.

On August 11, 1986, the Supreme Court directed the respondent authorities to readmit the children into the school.

The decision went on to add: " We may at once say that there is no provisions of law which obliges anyone to sing the National Anthem nor do we think that it is disrespectful to the National Anthem if a person who stands up respectfully, when the National Anthem is sung, and does not join the singing. Our tradition teaches tolerance, our philosophy preaches

tolerance, our Constitution practices tolerance, let us not dilute it"

Composer confusion

‘Jana Gana Mana’ was taken over as the National Anthem by the Azad Hind Government (Provisional Government of Free India) on 21st October 1943. Head of the Indian National Army's music division, Captain Singh was best known for his rousing classic, 'Qadam qadam barhai ja khushi ke geet gai ja'. He says it was Netaji who decided to make ’Jana Gana Mana’ India's national anthem and asked

him to compose an appropriate score in 1943. Ram Singh stated in 1997. "It was sometime in 1943 in Rangoon, when Netaji called me over to say that a national anthem in Hindi was required for the provisional government of the Indian National Army. ’Jana Gana Mana’ was in Bengali, so Abid Hasan and another person got together to translate it. Subsequently, it was given to me and I set it to music."

But Netaji's nephew, Dr. Sisir Bose stated that the original score was by Gurudev Tagore as shown by the display in Besant College, Madanapalle, where Tagaore

stayed in 1919. Sisir Bose says that Captain Singh had composed the score of a Hindi song, ‘Sukh chain ki varsha barse bharat bhagya hai jaga’ a Hindi translation of 'Jana Gana Mana' and, similar to the national anthem. Dr. Bose says the song was composed because Netaji wanted to make 'Jana Gana Mana' a martial tune, that INA soldiers could march to, like 'Qadam barhai ja'. Had the INA been successful in battle, Dr. Bose said Captain Singh's composition would have been adopted as the National Anthem.

SALAAM SOCIETY

Neelanjana launches yoga handbook Courageous Neelanjana Bharadwaj transformed her life by refusing to take no for an answer. When doctors told her she may have to give up her packed fitness routine because of illness, she took up yoga and immediately connected to the mind-body tranquillity and the physical reboot it offered. Today the busy certified teacher and columnist has published a Yoga Handbook that lays out in simple

terms the best way to practice this life-affirming science.

Neelanjana’s book is illustrated clearly and comes with step-by-step instructions. It was launched at a quiet ceremony attended by yoga enthusiasts including Abbas and Adel Mousawi, both practitioners of the Indian fitness science. You can purchase the book on Amazon as well.

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

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SALAAM SOCIETY

Kunal-Minash get hitched It was grand entry into 2021 for the Kewalram and Bablani families as childhood sweethearts Kunal Kewalram and Minash Bablani got married in early January at the Sofitel hotel in Bahrain. The COVID-conscious families ensured that the wedding was a small family affair with only 100 people in attendance.

As the photographs show, it's not the size of the wedding but the 'josh' of the guests and family that makes any occasion memorable!

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UNEECO – Unifying Bahrain and India technologically

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ne of the beacons shining a light on Bahraini-India technological partnership is the UNEECO Group (Universal Electro- Engineering Company).

Established in 1976 by the visionary Abdulrahman Juma, the group includes five other companies; 'Awal Electric,' 'Bahrain Computer Support Centre,' 'Maritronics,' 'Technical Protection Engineering' and 'Unique Power Switchgears W.L.L..' UNEECO Group of companies are the market leaders in providing electrical and electronic engineering solutions in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Established in 1976, UNEECO,the parent company of UNEECO Group of Companies, represents numerous

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prestigious and world famous manufacturers enabling them to extend their services in the areas of electrical and electronics engineering.

UNEECO supply products and equipments from their reputed principals who have proven reliability and in-house expertise to manufacture state of the art high quality products for optimum performance. What began as a small company with 36 employees is today a thriving centre of technical excellence with 165 employees and a multi-million dinar turnover. Trusted for their topquality work, UNEECO is entrusted with complex projects not only by Bahrain's Electricity and Water Board but also by other ministries and high profile clients.

The company is a Platinum category certified panel builder for Schneider

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

Electric with a state-of-the-art factory in BIIP (Bahrain International Investment Park), Hidd.

UNEECO is associated with many global partners in the field of electrical and electronics engineering and its work meets the highest international standards and practices.

UNEECO assemble Power Control Centres, Motor Control Centres, Main Switch Boards, Sub-Main Switch Boards, Final Distribution Boards, Pump Control

INDIA-BAHRAIN: A PROGRESSIVE PARTNERSHIP Panels, Control Desks and Alarm Anunciator Panels. All these switchboards are assembled under the consistent quality supervision and control.

As an ISO 9001:2015 certified company, UNEECO is also the leading supplier of 11kV Switchgear, Ring Main Units, Transformer, Low Voltage Fuse Boards, package substation, Joints and Termination Kits, etc.

The company also represents 'Rocket

Battery' under 'Bahrain Computer Support Centre'.

Unique Power Switchgears W. L.L are authorised Low Voltage Panel Builders for L&T by Schneider Electric India Pvt Ltd. Furthermore, they represent M/S Modutec India Pvt Ltd an Enclosure Manufacturing Company in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

UNEECO not only provides excellent working facilities for its expats, but it also

Mega Mart to open in Alsayah Square

provides them with the health benefits like their health insurance, not only in Bahrain but also in their home countries.

This proves that UNEECO treats their employees as their assets.

In 2019, the Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam, the largest and one of the oldest Indian clubs conferred upon Abdulrahman Juma, the title of Business Icon, in recognition of his visionary business success.

RETAIL THERAPY

Mega Mart, one of Bahrain's leading supermarkets and the sole distributor of UK - based Tesco products in the Kingdom is scheduled to open Alsayah Square, Muharraq, in the first half of 2021 offering residents and visitors with an impressive assortment of local and international products as well as produce at a competitive price Alsayah Square is a unique medical and commercial complex located in the heart of Busaiteen.

Designed as a full-service supermarket, the 1500 sq.m., Mega Mart will be the group’s first store in Busaiteen and the largest in the area, offering visitors a wide range of supermarket essentials including a selection of food stations offering freshly cut fruits, assorted salads, The inauguration of Mega Mart in BFH added value to the retail leader's Bahrain footprint juices and baked goods satisfying the busy lifestyles of families and working professionals.

Combined with accessibility and ample parking, Alsayah Square’s partnership with Mega Mart will not only prove to provide convenience to visitors but will also make the complex a community destination.

Commenting on the partnership, a senior member of Alsayah Square’s management stated, “At the time of the opening, Mega Mart will be one of the largest supermarkets in Busaiteen effectively meeting a longstanding requirement of the area. A family favourite amongst many, we are excited to welcome customers who we believe will be delighted to learn that Alsayah Square has been developed keeping in mind their needs and demands.”

Alsayah Square is located in Busaiteen in close proximity to the King Hamad Hospital and Royal College for Surgeons in Ireland. The project is 100,000 sq. ft. in size and will feature international restaurants, cafes, a supermarket, medical complex and more.

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

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presents NEWSMAKER OF THE MONTH Supported by

Ayurveda and Yoga eased my Covid recovery British expat Tracey Burrows says these ancient Indian sciences helped to ease her from the dreaded COVID-19 into full health. She tells readers how they too can follow basic guidelines.

By SONORITA CHAUHAN

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racey Burrows, a British expat in Bahrain is a certified yoga instructor and Ayurvedic health coach and runs her own studio – Om Yoga. The in-demand Yoga teacher firmly believes in the healing power of Ayurveda. So much so, that when she contracted the dreaded COVID-19 virus she put her learnings of Yoga and Ayurveda to good use to help her body heal faster and soothe some of the most common symptoms of the disease. While modern medicines did their work, Tracy used Ayurveda to help her body fight the disease by recognising the needs of her body and using her knowledge effectively.

SB: How was it fighting the COVID 19?

Tracey: It was a surreal experience. My husband and I contracted the virus together and both of us were isolating together at home.

Our compound is quite beautiful and green and we would spend the days in our sunny garden with nothing to do. The beauty and tranquillity of our surroundings was a contrast to what was happening internally, physically to us.

Each day was different you didn’t know whether you're going to wake up in the middle of the night not able to breathe or if you are going to be feeling better in the morning. How you feel, changes from one day to the next. And I found this external peace and quiet a contrast with the underlying anxiety of not knowing what is going to happen next and not being fully in control.

SB: You have recently spoken about how Yoga and Ayurveda helped you in fighting the virus - what made you turn to Ayurveda?

Tracey: I turned to Ayurveda because it's what I know. I work with Ayurveda, I am a yoga teacher and wellness coach for women.

I have my own system which is based on the lifestyle habits and principles of Ayurveda call ‘dincharya’, so for me it made perfect sense to turn to Ayurveda at a time when my body was under attack.

I came across Ayurveda completely by accident in India. I was staying in a small ashram in Kerala seven years ago, that is where I met my teacher. I was doing some yoga training and a ‘vaidya’ visited the ashram to see some patients. I was lucky enough to interact with him. It was a fascinating experience that made me

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SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

curious about Ayurveda. Six months later, I went back to the ashram in Kerala to do my first ever Ayurvedic training which was a foundational course in very traditional Ayurveda and have been in training ever since.

SB: You spoke about a special ‘Kadha’ recipe that you found soothing - what was in it and how did you use it and what did it do for you?

Tracey: Three times a day, every day, I made some ‘Kadha’, which is a recipe that is used in India for any type of cough or sore throat.

My recipe consists of cinnamon, holy tulsi, dried ginger, black pepper, lime and sultanas. This is the recipe that I used, there are variations of the recipes that can be tried.

I found it very soothing and comforting, so I would have it three times a day. First I would steam with it, then drink it and finally gargle with it. It was really good for my sore throat - very

comforting and very grounding. The black pepper and ginger warm the throat and cinnamon balances the blood sugar. It was a very comforting thing to drink and great for steaming and keeping the nasal passages clear.

SB: You’ve spoken about how difficult to string together a sentence or a coherent thought - what in Ayurveda helped you with that?

Tracey: Yes, that was quite interesting and I wouldn't say there was anything specific I took from Ayurveda. But I use a lot of basil oil. I am a big fan of basil oil, it's one of those things that is always there in my toolbox. It brings back some lovely memories of my ashram in Kerala where my teacher would never walk past a holy tulsi bush without plucking a leaf and putting it behind his ear. He says that the oil from the leaf goes directly to the skin. Basil is known to help clear the mind and help with concentration so that something I did. I diffused it in the house and rubbed it on my temples and at the back of my neck and that helped me to clear the mind and with concentration as well.

SB: You also found comfort in Abhyanga or self-massage - take us through that experience and what oils you used?

Tracey: I am a really big fan of abhyanga, I really love it. It is a part of my daily and weekly routine and I practice it anyway not just because I had covid-19. The oils were plain, not essential oils. Since it is the cold season in Bahrain, I used sesame oil as it is warming. It is also nourishing and penetrates nicely into the skin. I would heat it up and spend a good 15 or 20 minutes every morning just massage in the oil into my joints. I would keep the oil on and allow it to seep into my skin and into my scalp to stimulate lymphatic flow to the brain.

There's something very grounding about abhyanga. I know it is a big part of Indian tradition but it isn't a part of the Western tradition. So I had to learn to incorporate into my life to my daily life. Ayurveda places such a large importance on the lymphatic

system and rightly so as it helps our body to eliminate toxins. So giving myself the extra time this 15-20 minutes every morning was helping my body to do the work that needed to get done when I was sick.

SB: We have heard that the digestive system is impacted while the body fights COVID 19, and you have said you turned to Sattvik foods - what was your experience? At the same time, do tell us how to sift the right from wrong when it comes to the non-sattvic foods such as garlic and onion which many people avoid. Does Ayurveda also prescribe avoiding these foods?

Tracey: I was very conscious about the way that I was eating because our body has a very finite amount of energy to do the things that need to get done in a day. Digestion requires a lot of energy, so it is best to eat the most nutrient-dense in the middle of the day and light food in the morning and evening for the ease of digestion. What I was basically doing was allowing the body to use most of its energy to find to fight the virus as opposed to concentrate on digestion. To reduce inflammation I ate a lot of sattvik food - fresh fruits and vegetables, nothing processed, no leftovers. I cooked fresh every day, I ate nothing frozen or processed, no refined sugars, baked goods, dairy, caffeine or nonvegetarian food either. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen every day and I loved that.

Specifically, in terms of onions and garlic and food that would be considered stimulating, they have the time and place. During the time I was ill, I was very keen to bring my body back into a state of alkalinity and if you look at the sattvik food and alkaline food list, it is the pretty much identical, only a couple of things are different. I do have onion and garlic on my list but only at the times that it is appropriate. Also, it differs from person to person, season to season a- it is different for every person. This is the beauty of Ayurveda, it isn’t a one-size-fits-all so I wouldn't advise anyone to have or not have onions and garlic. For me at that time sattvik food, fresh food

NEWSMAKER OF THE MONTH was appropriate to help me reduce inflammation and that is what I based my diet on.

SB: COVID 19 also affects you emotionally, how did Yoga help you with that?

Tracey: Yoga really helped me as it was an emotional time for me. There was a lot of fear, uncertainty, unpredictable and anxiety. In times like these, I turn to yogic breathing. These practices are amazing and it’s scientifically proven that certain breathing techniques will move your physiology move you out of the stress response and move you to a relaxation response.

Every morning when I woke up before I even put my feet on the ground the first thing I would do is sit up in bed and do some breathing practice. I repeated this in the evening and a couple of times during the day. As for Yoga asanas themselves, there were signs of inflammation was my joints and is not something I normally experience so I just felt what my body really needed at that time was to stretch. To keep the circulation going, to keep our lives

moving and make sure the toxins are being eliminated from the body. So I did some very gentle and slow stretches.

SB: As a Yoga practitioner, how did yoga help you in the fight against the virus, what poses or asanas did you try and which were most beneficial?

Tracey: For me it has to be the Surya Namaskar, it's my favourite yoga asana. I would wake up every morning and do three very slow, very gentle rounds of Surya Namaskar. I would hold the poses and stretches for as long as possible so I could feel the blood flow.

It was very comforting and grounding. It gave me the feeling of having a little bit of control and also that it was really nourishing like I was nurturing myself. Doing rather than just being, not just sitting in the dark and waiting to find out what was going to happen. I was doing the best I could do for myself. When I went back to my normal daily routine life I wanted to make sure I came out of it as healthy and fit as I could be and that really helped.

‘Spectra 2020’ art contest winners announced In a challlenging year, the Indian Community Relief Fund (ICRF) made a huge effort to continue its unbroken tradition of an annual year-end art carnival for charity by organising the 12th Faber-Castell ‘Spectra 2020’ annual art carnival online.

More than 300 children from 15 schools in Bahrain participated in the art competition. In addition, there was a competition for adults group (18 years and above) as well. A calendar with the winning paintings was later released by Indian Ambassador Piyush Srivastava. As part of the ceremony W V Raman, former Indian cricketer & coach of National Women’s Cricket Team gave a talk on ‘Energise your Minds’. Participants were divided into four age groups - five to eight years, eight to eleven years, eleven to thirteen years and fourteen to eighteen years. Top 3 winners from each group were awarded trophies and certificates.

The title sponsor of the event was Faber Castell, which has been supporting this event from its inception in 2009. Net proceeds from the competition are going towards a Family Welfare Fund to provide relief to support the families of deceased Indian labourers drawing wages below BD100 per month. This year's event was sponsored by Faber Castelle Bahrain; Al Namal Group; Lulu Group, Al Noor International School; Mohammed Ahmed Company; BKG Holding; VINS Technology; State Bank of India; Al Hilal Hospital; LIC International; Mohammed Jalal and Sons; CA Chapter Bahrain; Bahrain Financing Company; P Haridas and Sons; Amad Group; Palace Electronics; Indian Delights Restaurant; Shifa Al Jazeera Hospital; J A Zayani and Sons along with many individual donors.

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SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

INDIA-BAHRAIN: A PROGRESSIVE PARTNERSHIP

KIMSHEALTH Hospital opens in Umm Al Hassam

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The new facility makes KIMSHEALTH the largest private healthcare provider in the Kingdom he Kingdom of Bahrain’s leading healthcare provider, KIMSHEALTH, has announced the soft launch of its latest medical facility – KIMSHEALTH Hospital in Umm Al Hassam. With this hospital, KIMSHEALTH has become the largest provider in the country’s private healthcare space with two hospitals and four medical centers.

The launch of KIMSHEALTH Hospital represents KIMSHEALTH’s promise to deliver value based care, which is quality care at an affordable price. The hospital allows greater accessibility to healthcare, increases the geographical reach of KIMSHEALTH and brings its services closer to the people of the Kingdom of

Bahrain.

The KIMSHEALTH Hospital is located in the residential area of Umm Al Hassam and is just 400 meters away from the existing KIMSHEALTH Medical Center, on the old Asian School premises. KIMSHEALTH Hospital is designed to provide – inpatient and outpatient services, operating rooms, maternity, pharmacy, laboratory, radiology and emergency services. Some of the specialties the Hospital will be providing include – General Practice, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics, Or thopedics, ENT, Ophthalmology, Urology, Dermatology & Cosmetology, Cardiology, Dentistry, Physiotherapy and many more.

In addition to the new doctors and

additional specialities that will be added to the hospital, the existing doctors from KIMSHEALTH Medical Center will be available at the hospital. This will ensure continuity of care for existing patients especially those who need to undergo surgeries or require inpatient care.

KIMSHEALTH Hospital will excel in patient experience with new and big space and better parking amenities.

Dr. M. I. Sahadulla, Group Chairman & Managing Director at KIMSHEALTH thanked Kingdom of Bahrain’s leadership, Ministry of Health and National Health Regulatory Authority for their continued guidance and suppor t towards achieving the national goals for good health. Dr. Sahadulla reiterated KIMSHEALTH’s new Mission - to provide high quality cost effective care with cour tesy,

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

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FASHION compassion and competence. In order for the organization to uphold its vision which is to be a leading healthcare organization of excellence that transforms lives through exceptional care, KIMSHEALTH plans to expand its presence in communities to best serve the people of Bahrain.

“Over the years, KIMSHEALTH has earned an exemplary reputation for its quality of service, care and affordability. The new KIMSHEALTH Hospital will provide communities and existing patients of KIMSHEALTH Medical Center seamless access to all of our new services,” said Dr. Sahadulla.

Explaining the impor tance of the IndoBahraini par tnership, Ahmed Jawahery, Chairman – KIMSHEALTH Medical Center and President – Royal Bahrain Hospital, said: “KIMSHEALTH Hospital aims to cater to the affordable segment of the society and will offer a wide number of services. Also, KIMSHEALTH is an example of perfect IndoBahraini par tnership that has grown beyond Bahrain, serving the other GCC countries, namely – Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.” Dr. Sheriff M. Sahadulla, Group Chief Executive Officer at KIMSHEALTH, stated: “KIMSHEALTH’s objective is to offer a wide variety of services covering the entire spectrum of healthcare delivery to the patient. Thus, KIMSHEALTH will be providing primary, inpatient, rehabilitation and postdischarge care at home.”

Jacob Thomas, Executive Director – Operations & Projects (GCC) at KIMSHEALTH said: “KIMSHEALTH has been serving Bahrainis and expatriates in the Kingdom since 2004. This is our fifth facility after – Royal Bahrain Hospital, KIMSHEALTH Medical Center’s in Umm Al Hassam, Muharraq and Askar. We are also looking forward to the launch of new RBH Medical Center in Saar/Janabiyah.

For more information about KIMSHEALTH Hospital, Umm Al Hassam and to book appointments please call: +973 1782 2123 or email: enquiry@kimshealth.bh

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Diff'rent drapes for diff'rent shapes Bahrain based saree enthusiasts, all members of the global online Saree Speak group, experimented with the six yards, coming up with contemporary drapes that flaunted new fashion norms. Working in small groups to maintain pandemic rules, they met online and shared some style tips with the world.

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

INDIA-BAHRAIN: A PROGRESSIVE PARTNERSHIP

Al Hilal continues yeoman community service

A

l Hilal healthcare group is one of the most established healthcare provider s which has made a name for itself by br inging Indian exper ts in healthcare management and deliver y to Bahr ain. It is one of the lar gest oper ator s in its field in Bahr ain with a hospital in Muhar r aq and multi-speciality medical centres in Manama, Riffa, Salmabad and Askar. They have big plans for expansion with units being planned in Saar, Hamad Town & Hidd.

2020 has been a challenging time for most frontline wor ker s and with immunisation, 2021 will be different.

Salaam Bahrain spoke to Dr. Shar ath Chandr an, CEO of Al Hilal hospital on how their response has shaped Al Hilal and its future plan SB: How did 2020 and the pandemic shape Al Hilal's role as one of the lar gest community healthcare provider s?

Dr Sharath Chandran: 2020 has challenged ever y individual across the globe in a cer tain fashion. We had our share of challenges and hardships we had challenges with respect to reduced manpower, extended wor king hour s, unavailability of protective gear, emotionally weak wor kforce due to health and financial repercussions to their family member s back in their home countr y.

We had to deal with suppor ting the existing wor kforce including

“ Today Al Hilal is the only healthcare provider in the Kingdom to provide private isolation facilities with medical support to Covid-19 infected people ” - Dr. Sharath Chandran, CEO doctor s and nur ses with all kind of protective gear to handle the pandemic . We created specialised accommodations as per zones and wor kgroups so that there are 'microbubble' wor kgroups.

We went ahead and provided accommodation for our suppor t ser vice team which are usually outsourced so that they don't go

and get associated beyond the bubble that was created. I can proudly say that all the employees who got affected by Covid-19 vir us at Al Hilal were isolated in pr ivate isolation facilities free of cost - this is something that we are proud of.

The directive from the board of director s was ver y clear : that ever y employee who gets infected at the

wor kplace will be provided with the best possible suppor t system that included free medication, food, medical ser vices etc .

We are the only healthcare provider, I repeat, the only healthcare provider in the Kingdom who had par tnered with ver y lar ge cor por ate or ganisations and set up a pr ivate isolation facility as per standards and protocols set up by the Covid-19 task force at NHRA and the ministr y of health.

Today, when I look back at how the last 11 months and how the pandemic has changed our lives, I can see that Al Hilal has definitely made an impact in the healthcare space of Bahr ain by managing 3000 individuals who were infected by the Covid-19 vir us.

Isolation facilities managed by Al Hilal has dischar ged more than 3000 individuals. Today as we speak, Al Hilal is the only healthcare provider in the Kingdom to provide pr ivate isolation facilities with medical suppor t to Covid-19 infected people .

SB: In your opinion what will the trends of 2021 be like in healthcare deliver y? For example , telemedicine , more use of AI in medical processes etc . And how is Al Hilal poised for these trends?

Dr Sharath Chandran: Histor ically the gap between accepting new technology and sticking to tr aditional has always been because the human thought process' resistance to change .

Healthcare deliver y models and health care systems are no different.

I would say, the pandemic has pushed us to come out of our comfor t zone . A year ago, I am sure most of us would have prefer red to physically go and meet a doctor, today we think whether there is a

need to physically go or is it better to have a vir tual discussion with my family doctor instead.

Telemedicine existed ear lier as well however the whole ecosystem of living in this pandemic er a has fast-tr acked the penetr ation of telemedicine as a pr actice .

Healthcare today is it a deflection point, acceptance to technology and the tr ust in ar tificial intelligence and machine lear ning is probably at the highest point r ight now.

Cer tain capital spends in healthcare which were pushed to reduce spending, have been fasttr acked. Today our customer wants to book an appointment through different means, it could be WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagr am.

They want to have instant responses. We need to be responsive , if not, we will surely be ir relevant.

Al Hilal has made cer tain str ategic investments to make sure the patient care deliver y is a seamless exper ience across all it's br anches.

We have upgr aded our IT Infr astr ucture , launched video consultation modules, automated feedback engines to name a few technological additions.

We look forward to having a fully electronic patient data management system to be implemented in 2021 wherein the patient's data is owned by the patient himself, the individual should be able to own his per sonal medical data and the same to be available on his mobile at any time .

We will be adding 2 more facilities in 2021 to reiter ate Al Hilal healthcare group's ethos of being Available , Accessible and Affordable .

of the NHRA and health author ities in the whole management of this health emer gency?

Dr Sharath Chandran: The Bahr ain Covid 19 task force under the leader ship of HRH the Crown Pr ince and the Pr ime Minister Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa has been outstanding in the way the pandemic has been managed.

The Task Force team, Ministr y of Health under the leader ship of the honour able Health Minister Dr. Faeqa bint Saeed Al Saleh and Dr. Mar iam Al Jalahma, the CEO of National Health Regulator y Author ity has been extremely hands-on in managing this pandemic .

I have had per sonal instances where Dr. Mar iam Al Jalahma would be available for decisions at midnight. I can be quite candid when I say, I don't think anywhere in the wor ld will we have leader s who walk the talk, like the leader s we have in Bahr ain. The clinicians of public hospitals and of the makeshift Covid ICU have been on their toes round the clock. I am in total awe of the commitment provided by all member s of the Ministr y of Health and NHRA. Today, when we speak about managing the pandemic , cer tain other Ministr ies too have been unsung heroes in this fight against the pandemic . As Al Hilal had the honour of managing pr ivate isolation facilities, we had to closely inter act with LMRA and Ministr y of Inter ior as well as the National Ambulance team.

The impact they have had in this fight definitely deser ves a huge appreciation.

SB: What would you like to say about the Kingdom of Bahr ain's response to COVID-19 and the role SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

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SALAAM SOCIETY

Bahrain mountaineer relives Everest climb through debut book

Bahrain resident Madhu Sarda yesterday launched her debut book ‘Everest In My Heart’, an account of her adventurous and gruelling climb to the Everest Base Camp as the only lady in Michelin Chef Vineet Bhatia’s team. The charity climb, undertaken in 2017, was the first mountaineering adventure for Madhu. The book was launched officially by journalist and Salaam Bahrain editor, Meera Ravi who presented the first copy to the First Secretary of the Nepal Embassy, Damodar Dahal. Other dignitaries who also received the books from the author were media personality and Alrawi books co-founder Hala Sulaiman and the Honorary Chairman of the Bahrain India Society, Raj Damani and his wife Shubha.

“Although from Nepal, I had not dreamed of climbing Mount Everest before I came to Bahrain and this difficult trip has whetted my appetite for more mountaineering,” Madhu told a select audience at the book launch at Jashanmal’s bookstore in City Centre, “I am now training to launch a series of climbing journeys of the seven tallest summits in the world.”

The book is available at Jashanmal’’s as well as on Amazon on https://www.amazon.com/Himalayan-Girl-Trek-Fine-Dining/dp/1728648165

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Shipra throws birthday bash Vivacious Shipra Passi gathered her friends for an outdoor birthday party at Florence Restaurant and the ladies managed to rock the Block 338 even when observing all pandemic rules! A great time was had by all.

The Management, Staff and Students of Bahrain Indian School (BIS) Wishes all Indians a

Happy Republic Day Admissions Open 2021-22

P.O.Box : 31595,Budaiya,Kingdom of Bahrain.

Ph: +973 17598000, +973 32327655 Fax: +973 17598080 Email: info@bhavansbahrain.com www.bhavansbahrain.com SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

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IN THE NEWS

Rescue Mission Extraordinaire

Like most things India undertakes, the Vande Bharat Mission was the world’s largest repatriation mission and flew nearly 4.5 million people back home from different parts of the world.

T

here is no worse feeling than being stranded in a foreign land when all around you the pandemic is causing mayhem.

People were distressed and felt vulnerable being unable to travel to the safety of their motherland and family as COVID-19 led to grounded flights and sealed borders early last year and an expectancy that life must pretty much come to a standstill. However, that is not how it works, bir ths and deaths, continued as did loss of livelihood and the inability to survive in a foreign country – that’s when, on May 6, 2020, India began the world’s largest repatriation mission to bring home its citizens in distress.

Now in its 9th phase, announced on 1 Jan 2021, the Vande Bharat mission will

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have repatriated nearly 4.5 million people from across the world, according to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

In phase 9 alone, 1495 international flights from 24 countries have repatriated 280,000 passengers in January alone.

In Bahrain, many Indians chose to return home and were helped by a network of community volunteers and clubs. The 105 year-old non-profit social club Indian Club and the 74-year old Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam was at the forefront of helping the repatriation effor t.

"Being a responsible social club in Bahrain, we are committed to extend our full suppor t to our NRIs residing in this country. During the pandemic, we suppor ted our fellow citizens, by providing facilities to arrange char tered repatriation flights, to their respective

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domiciles. We successfully arranged to char ter more than 20 repatriation flights and have helped to repatriate more than 3500 fellow citizens to India. For this noble purpose, we have brought various associations, travel agents, and social groups, of our diverse communities into Indian Club umbrella," said Stalin Joseph, President, The Indian Club "We also provided thousands of food grain kits, arranged free medical aids to those in need. Our volunteers have identified the needy and reached them to offer suppor t. This pandemic came with its own challenges. Due to the lockdown, lot of our fellow citizens have lost their jobs and due to the severe financial crunch they were extremely desperate to go back home. Due to this a huge crowd used to gather at our premises. Our biggest challenge was

managing these huge crowd with strict adherence to the Covid-19 protocols.

“Apar t from this we also had to adhere to the passenger selection priorities provided by the Indian Embassy and prepare the passenger list accordingly and get the approval from the concerned government authorities.

The frequently changing state to state Covid-19 quarantine protocol and managing landing permission approvals were tough to manage.”

He added, "Due to ignorance or desperation, lot of travel related documents issues of these passengers (like passpor t expiry, legal clearances, etc.) were noticed at the last moment and volunteers and associations worked relentlessly to sor t these issues out and facilitate their travel. Then there was sourcing clearance for bed-ridden medical cases due to the airlines and legal formalities. To facilitate with this noble task, we had to manage various associations, social groups of our diverse communities under one roof during this pandemic time.

We would like to extend our hear t full thanks to all the associations, travel

Air India role

Almost 93% of the Vande Bharat flights were operated by Air India.

At fir st the lists for repatriation were prepared in conjunction with the Indian Embassies abroad and anyone who wanted to be repatriated needed to contact the embassy but as mission progressed from phase to phase this was eventually scrapped and tickets could be booked via travel agents and online from the Air India website .

In Bahrain, the Vande Bharat Mission star ted with Air India Express commencing operations in May 2020 and Air India star ting operations in June 2020. Ashish Kumar, countr y manager Air India and Air India Express Bahrain, was new to the Kingdom when the lockdown was announced. “I took charge of the station on 20 Febr uar y 2020, and lockdown (in India) was announced on 20 March. We're were all speculating then, that it (the onset of the pandemic) was just a temporar y measure and things would return to normalcy soon. Never in the wildest dreams had anyone thought that the situation would be so protracted.

“I had previously wor ked in various functions at the headquar ter s, and also underwent a brief training/orientation before coming to Bahrain. But the challenges we faced (once the pandemic hit) were unprecedented, and one couldn't have either anticipated or trained for it. The entire team of Air India learnt as we went along, encountering a different problem or two on a daily basis.”

The current operations are under the ‘Air Bubble’ arrangement, between the Govt. of India and Kingdom of Bahrain. “Our fir st Air Bubble flight operated on 13 September 2020. As of 21 Januar y 2021, Air India has operated 78 flights while Air India Express has flown 129 Flights and both had announced their schedule till MAR 2021, with AI operating 4 flights/week and Air India express operating 3 flights/week. So far Air India has carried 11000+ passenger s whilst Air India Express has transpor ted 22000+ passenger s.

The Vande Bharat Mission is an operation of an enormous scale , being carried (by the Govt of India) on a global level. Ashish Kumar said that the Bahrain segment wouldn't have been possible if not for the suppor t of the Bahrain Government Authorities, especially the Bahrain Civil Aviation Affair s (BC AA), Ministr y of Foreign Affair s (MoFA) and various Airpor t Operations' Agencies.

“We'd also like to express our gratitude to the Embassy of India, Bahrain, whose role was invaluable and utter ly critical. They extended their whole hear ted suppor t to the Vande Bharat Mission, which has made this operation a roaring success. We recently achieved a milestone of our 200th Flight from Bahrain, which is a huge achievement considering the humble beginning of the operations.”

He added, “The experience of the whole operation has been extremely satisfying and utter ly rewarding. Air India has always risen to the occasion, to help our fellow Indians, however dire the circumstances. This was an oppor tunity for us to give back and ser ve the Nation, and contribute in whatever way possible . I'd also take this oppor tunity to make a mention of the tremendous effor t the entire team of Air India has put in, and would like to thank each one of them per sonally, as it's the people at the ground level who bear the br unt of the daily str uggles, and continue in an unflinching manner. Kudos to their effor t”, said Ashish Kumar.

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Indian Club and community volunteers at the Bahrain Airport, helping travellers during the Vande Bharat mission

agents, volunteers, Indian Club Members, Indian Executive Committee and our Club Staff for their sincere effor ts," added Stalin Joseph.

Bahrain Keraleeya Samajan , one of the oldest and vibrant expat community in Bahrain was also at the forefront helping stranded fellow Indians during the pandemic. BKS President P Radhakrishnan Pillai had told the media that BKS had managed to arrange nine char tered flight during the pandemic period which helped repatriate more than 1050 Indians during this crisis period before the air bubble agreement between

India and Bahrain. They had made arrangements with various airlines to accomplish this objective. Apar t from this, BKS took the initiative of providing dry rations, other basic amenities and financial suppor t to labourers and other Indians who had not been paid or suffered severe financial difficulties during the pandemic. Indeed, BKS President Radhakrishnan Pillai was even awarded the Karma Jyoti award for his service to needy expats during the pandemic.

THE NAVAL ROUTE Repatriation was also planned by the Indian Navy planned Operation Samudra Setu, which was launched on 05 May culminated after successfully bringing 3,992 Indian citizens back to their homeland by sea. Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa (Landing Platform Dock), and Airavat, Shardul and Magar (Landing Ship Tanks) participated in this operation which lasted over 55 days and involved traversing more than 23,000 kilometres by sea.

The COVID19- pandemic has had significant impact on ships and seafarers due to the compact environment and forced ventilation systems on-board ships. It was in these trying times and difficult conditions that the Indian Navy took up the challenge to evacuate our distressed citizens from overseas.

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Stalin Joseph, President, The Indian Club

Ashish Kumar, country manager Air India and Air India Express Bahrain

Indian Club food grain distribution to the needy expats during the panademic

Raising the online fashion bar

FASHION

Who says office sartorial ideas have dried up now that we have all been Zooming for a year? The online meetings have given rise to what the savvy dressconscious exec has taken to coyly calling ‘upper wear fashion’. It just means that the part of your body which is visible on camera is formally dressed while the hidden bits – your lower body – is casually clad. Careful fashionistas may invest in brand-name athleisure even for this but the majority opt for Gucci blouses and ‘jammies or yoga pants.

Ah, but when formally meeting colleagues, nothing works like a smart and stylish look.

And this is where the saree comes in. Increasingly, Indian career women are opting for the saree as the office outfit of choice, especially as they get closer to the CEO chair. As winter draws to a long close and gives way to spring in Bahrain, why not upgrade to the saree?

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1

Remember these six rules:

Non-crushable fabric like silk or silk cotton works best.

A great border, a visual element that pops up like an elaborate embroidery or weave will help your outfit to be an attention-getter.

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Invest in a statement blouse or mix and match with a modern crop top. But the cardinal rule is not to wear anything you would not wear to your brick-and-glass office – you have to treat every official online meeting as a gathering in a conference room. So hold the halter neck and the low scoop neck and opt for a more conservative and formal style.

Texture can win you great fashion points. A linen saree paired with a raw silk blouse or a velvet blouse with a cotton or silk saree can look amazing.

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Pick your colours carefully. If you choose a busy pattern for the saree, go for a solid colour blouse. And do stay within a certain framework of craft – an ajrakh saree would probably pair well with a khun blouse but look like a traffic jam with a kalamkari jacket. Unlike in a regular room, too much colour or pattern in an online meeting room frame can be distracting.

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If you are going to be seated and not moving around, you can experiment with your saree drape – maybe pair your saree with skinny jeans or velvet narrow pants “below the camera line”. However, if you will be seen head-to-toe on camera, stay formal. Most online meetings are recorded and your one awkward image can live on forever.

Jewellery is great but keep it stylish, not blingy.

Remember your meeting mates will get an eyeful of you on camera and you don’t want to distract them with too many baubles. If you plan to wear large ear-rings, tone down the necklace and vice-versa.

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HISTORY

The Drama behind the First Indian Presidential Election in 1950 A ring-side view of the politics and personality clashes that changed the course of modern Indian history.

By K.R.N. SWAMY

O

n January 26th 1950, the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad presided over the very first Republic Day celebrations. In a book "Nehru: A Troubled Legacy", published in June 2015 by former intelligence officer RNP Singh, the author states "Nehru had resorted to desperate measures to prevent Prasad from occupying the position of President..."

This brings to the foreground the high drama behind the very first Presidential elections of the Indian Republic.

If left to Nehru, according to Singh, the first Prime Minister of India, Dr. Prasad might not have occupied that august post and it would have Dr. Rajendra Prasad taking oath as the first President of India as his rival to the post, Rajaji watches as free India’s been the other giant of the Indian first Indian Governor General Freedom movement – C. Rajagopalachari- affectionately known as Rajaji.

1939 Jabalpur session after Subhas Chandra Bose left. He worked immensely to heal the The part played by these two titans of rift caused between Bose and Gandhi and to lessen the effect on the party and the Indian Freedom movement Dr. Prasad and freedom struggle. He was incarcerated for three years for his role in the Quit India Rajaji, in pre/post -Independent India had Movement which started on August 8, 1942. In 1947, he became the president of the INC been spectacular. Dr. Rajendra Prasad has for the third time after Acharya Kriplani resigned. been called the St. Paul among the disciples Skirmishes of the Mahatma, due to his innate Rajaji was called by the Mahatma himself as “my conscience keeper”. In fact, many gentleness and humility. In 1921, he gave prominent Indians thought, that Rajaji, ten years younger than Gandhiji would eventually up the lucrative law practice to follow succeed him to lead the freedom movement in India. But the Mahatma realised, that the Gandhiji. After the 1934 Bihar earthquake, Indian masses wanted a more charismatic figure to lead them, once Freedom is gained and he collected a fund of Rs 38 lacs, thrice of stated that “After my death, it will be Jawaharlal Nehru who would inherit my mantle and what the the Viceroy could gather and not Rajaji.” equivalent to 380 crores of rupees in 2015 The year 1942 saw many skirmishes between Gandhiji and his conscience-keeper. Rajaji (the year of the book’s publication), if you had always felt, that the demand of Jinnah for a separate state was like that of the Pandavas consider the price of gold. He presided asking Dhritarashtra for their own portion of the Kuru Empire and he never hesitated to over the 1934 Bombay session of Indian declare his opinion. So much so, that there were black flags and demonstrations, whenever National Congress and then again the SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

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President Rajendra Prasad riding the ceremonial coach to the very first Republic Day parade in 1950

he visited metropolitan cities of India.

In the case of Cripps Mission of 1942, he alone among the Congress leaders, saw that unless, even the limited freedom suggested by the British was taken up, the nation would ultimately lose. Further he felt that the British, under the overwhelming threat of a Nazi conquest of the world, would not hesitate to crush any fresh struggles for Indian freedom, as long as the World War II was on. As such he resigned from the Congress and kept away from the 1942 “Do or Die Movement� known as the August Revolution led by the Mahatma.

He protested against the Congress policy of resigning in 1942, from the ministries then ruling in seven out of the eleven British Indian Provinces, as he felt that it would make Congress lose the advantage of being the Ruling Party in any future elections. The Indian National Congress chose to ignore this warning and archives in India & Britain show that this wrong step by the Congress resulted in Muslim League, helped by the British, gaining strength as a political party, leading to eventual partition.

History proved that Rajaji was right on all counts. Even, later, under his Rajaji Plan, which proposed a sort of Pakistan without the Central government being different,

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The public lining the streets near Connaught Place to watch the parade

Rajaji tried to save Indian unity. But by then, Jinnah had scented victory and could not be deviated from his goal of Pakistan.

Traditionalist

By contrast, Rajendra Prasad never questioned, what the Mahatma said and was an uncompromising Gandhian, following his leader in letter and spirit.

When in 1949 the crucial decision had to be taken, to decide who would be the first President of India, Rajaji was the first Indian Governor General of India, having taken over from Lord Mountbatten in June 1948

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and Dr. Rajendra Prasad had successfully completed his tenure as the President of the Indian Constituent Assembly giving Republican India its Constitution.

To add more piquancy to the matter, Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian Prime Minister wanted Rajaji to be the President, while Sardar Patel the Deputy Prime Minister wanted Rajendra Prasad to have the honour. And no two individuals differed as widely in outlook as Rajen Babu and Rajaji.

Working with Rajaji as the Governor General of India, Nehru found that his

HISTORY Rajendra Prasad should be the president. Nor had he and Nehru concurred that Rajaji should be their choice. When this letter landed on his table, Nehru found that he had hit a dead end. He had been dishonest and he had been caught.

In his book, Singh writes, "Anxious to extricate himself from the mess, he chose the only option open to him - to accept his folly. He also did not want the situation to get out of hand and, therefore, sat down at midnight to draft his response to Prasad." He said he was distressed to read Rajendra Prasad's letter and said it seemed that he (Prasad) had misjudged him and even Patel. He then confessed: 'Vallabhbhai (Patel), in any event, has nothing to do with what I wrote to you. I wrote entirely at my instance without any reference to Vallabhbhai or consultation with him."

Nehru realised that this episode had completely exposed him in the eyes of Patel and Prasad.

He wrote to Sardar Patel as well in which he expressed surprise at the tone and content of Prasad's letter. He then cleverly shifted the burden of sorting this mess out on to Sardar Patel, saying, 'It is for you to deal with the situation now".

Sardar’s say

Dr. Rajendra Prasad

crystal clear thinking, analysis of political situations, lively mind and abundance of wit and humour, a great help. In one of his books, Nehru had remarked “Rajaji’s brilliant intellect, selfless character and penetrating powers of analysis was a tremendous asset". Nehru found Rajendra Prasad more of a traditionalist and felt that it would be a handicap to work with him.

On September 10, 1949, Nehru wrote to Rajendra Prasad that he (Nehru) and Sardar Patel had decided that "the safest and best course" would be to have C Rajagopalachari as the first President of India. Since this ran contrary to his understanding of the situation, including the opinion of Sardar Patel and most members of the Constituent Assembly, Rajendra Prasad expressed the next day his deep disappointment and hurt at the way Nehru had dealt with him.

In his reply to Nehru on September 11, Prasad did not mince words. He told Nehru that given his standing in the party, he clearly deserved to be treated better.

Rajendra Prasad marked a copy of this letter to Sardar Patel, who was in Bombay (now Mumbai) that day.

Caught out

By then Patel had decided on Rajendra Prasad being the first President of India. Once he decided on a thing he would not relent.

Shocked at the controversy, Rajendra Prasad told Sardar Patel, that if becoming the first President of India meant that he had to contest against Rajaji, he would not agree. By then, Nehru found, that although he was the Prime Minister of India, when it came to party matters, Sardar Patel was the final referee. When Rajaji heard of this turn of events, he was distressed and told Nehru that he was withdrawing his earlier decision to accept the nomination and Nehru reluctantly agreed .

But the matter did not end there. Rajaji had a nagging query. For over 30 years, he and Sardar Patel had been together in the freedom struggle and their practical vision on administering India had coincided, rather than with Nehru's utopian ideas. Why did the great Sardar oppose his candidacy?

Finally, one of Rajaji’s emissaries met the Iron Man of India and Sardar Patel directly came to the subject. To paraphrase his words “I agree, that there cannot be a more eminent candidate for this honour of being the first President of India, than Rajaji. But I can never forgive him for walking out of the 1942 “Do or Die” Movement. As a General of our Freedom Army, Rajaji had every right to disagree with our Supremo Mahatma Gandhi. But once the call was given, it is not left to any leader, however eminent he might be-to state that he is quitting the Freedom struggle. You can tell Rajaji, this guilt I hold against him and for this reason I would not support his candidacy!” (by arrangement with Maharaja Features)

Patel was surprised to learn of the contents of Nehru's letter because he and Nehru had never discussed whether Rajaji or SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

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CUISINE

Hue and chai over a cuppa Two neighbouring countries have brewed wealth from a leaf that is believed to have originated in China. India and Sri Lanka are now bringing new methods to their industry.

By ADITI NAGAPPA Nothing symbolises China like tea does – indeed, the Chinese tradition of tea-drinking gave the world exquisite chinaware and flavours that carry exotic Chinese names like Oolong and Qihong. Now, in an unusual turn, China, the world’s largest tea exporter, has emerged as the fastest-growing ‘new market’ for Sri Lanka, exporting 11.8 million kilograms of tea in 2019, to become one of Sri Lanka’s most important tea markets. The Chinese tea drinker is interested in the traditional Orthodox black tea which the increasing number of Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka have developed a taste for. Sri Lanka now supplies 29% of the 35 million kilograms that China imports, according

to a report published by Xinhua News Service.

Demand for Ceylon tea is driven by the popularity of milk tea, a creamy blend that requires a stout base tea for which greens won’t do.

“All this time China was not a major buyer of Ceylon Black Tea as it produces its own high-end green tea,” said Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Lucille Wijewardena. “Sri Lanka imports green tea from China which we re-export to other countries. For us fortunately, in China, the younger population has started drinking black tea with milk. So now over the next five years Sri Lanka sees a lot of potential in China.” Even after Sri Lanka became independent in

Elephants move through tea plantations in Munnar, Kerala. Sustainable, ecological and animal-friendly tea-growing is now encouraged and just like dolphin-friendly tuna catch, many teas now have elephant-friendly labels

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A sepia photo of tea estate workers with members of the first Ceylonese broking firm John Brothers & Co. (established in 1876) at the first public Colombo tea auction took place in 1883

1948 and officially adopted its new name in 1972, the old moniker ‘Ceylon’ stayed as a recognisable brand for its tea.

Accidental brew

Anil Cooke, CEO of Asia Siyaka, one of Sri Lanka’s major tea brokers in Colombo, attributes China’s

renewed interest to the “winning combination” of Sri Lanka’s varied micro climatic conditions; extensive plantings of old Chinese cultivars, and a tradition of making orthodox black tea that is largely unchanged for more than 150 years Tea and rubber have made large contributions to Sri

KASHMIRI KEHWA Kashmiri ‘kehwa’ tea is confusing – it is traditionally made with green tea leaves but is known for its unique pink colour.

With a fragrance of cinnamon and cardamom, it has little bites of pistachio flakes floating in it.

Try not to add too much milk to your Kashmiri chai. Remember that the Kashmiri tea with less milk has more intense Kashmiri tea flavour and warmth. Kashmiri tea has very low-caffeine like other green tea compared to black tea.

So it doesn’t hinder your sleep like black tea or chai. It is quite nutritious and rich with milk, cream, nuts and spices.

In authentic Kashmiri tea, salt is added and it is called noon chai. In Kashmir, where temperature drops below zero degree, cream and butter is added along with powdered dry fruits in the tea. This makes this tea ideal for winters as it is filling and body warming.

INGREDIENTS • • • •

4 cups water 2 tsp. green tea ¼ tsp. soda bicarbonate (optional) ¼ tsp. salt

• • • •

1 cup milk 2 tsp sugar ¼ tsp. green cardamom (Chhoti Ilaichi) powder ½ tsp chopped pistachio

PREPARATION 1. In a wide based skillet, take water, Kashmiri tea leaves, salt and cardamom, cinnamon.

2. Bring it boil and let it boil for a minute. Now add baking soda if you are not planning to boil for long.

3. Cook more till you get deep red color and water is reduced to half. (20-30 minutes) 4. Add ice cold water in boiling hot tea. Mix well for 1 minute.

5. Kehwa is ready. You can strain, cool and store in fridge for 3-4 days and add milk when ready to serve.

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Celebrating a commercial heritage – tea contributes nearly US$ one billion to the Sri Lankan exchequer. This 2017 stamp bears the image of James Taylor who planted the first crop in 1867

Lankan economy. Tea smallholders contribute 70 per cent of Sri Lanka's total tea production. Almost 5% of the population of Sri Lanka work in the billiondollar tea industry, picking leaves on the mountain slopes and processing the tea in plantation factories.

Sri Lanka’s tea industry employs 2 million in a population of 22 million and relies on 400,000 farmers.

The industry annually earns $1.5 billion in foreign exchange.

Yet, the massive industry was an accident caused by a fungal growth called coffee rust which destroyed the country’s thriving coffee plantations in 1824. Desperate to recoup losses, plantation owners experimented with tea - in 1867, James Taylor (later known as the ‘father of Ceylon’s tea industry’) established 21 acres in Field No. 7 at the Loolecondera estate in Kandy. A working tea factory was set up there in 1872, including a rolling machine of his own design. That year the first sale of 23lbs of tea was sent to England. By 1888, the acreage of tea in Ceylon exceeded what had previously been coffee plantations.

As the tea industry in Ceylon grew, larger companies started taking over the smallholder farms throughout the island. Sir Thomas Lipton was among those who started snapping up plantations to build his empire.

His favorite was among them was the picturesque Dambatenne. The tea Lipton made in Ceylon was

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sold with the slogan, 'Direct from the tea gardens to the teapot'. His development of a consistent tea brand would change the face of the market for years to come.

The Sri Lankan tea industry is today the fourth largest tea producer in the world, third-largest in terms of area planted. While commodity tea represents the majority of production there, specialty tea is also a growing niche market. Besides the booming Middle Eastern market, Sri Lanka also supplies Iran and Iraq.

Foremost among the country’s tea trading partners are also Turkey, Russia, China, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

A different green

Among the world’s producing countries Sri Lanka stands alone as a supplier of environmentally friendly tea. Prohibitions against the use of pesticides, the limited use of herbicides and reliance on sustainable land practices combine to make the tea uniquely appealing to export markets.

In 2019 Sri Lanka announced a $50 million global promotional campaign as part of efforts to double exports of bulk and value-added tea. The Tea Board has set a target of $3.5 billion in tea exports by 2030 and overall tea production of 350 million kilograms.

The campaign initially targeted Russia but shifted attention to China by 2020.

CUISINE Sri Lanka exports 97% of its tea, earning $1 billion in foreign exchange dollars annually, but production volumes are down and export revenue flat for the past four years. Private sector executives and government officials agree that change is necessary. Exporting larger and larger quantities of tea, even at relatively high commodity prices, is not generating enough return on Sri Lanka’s massive investment. The transition from commodity supplier to better quality and full-service value addition will take time.

Private stakeholders, including associations of tea planters, tea factory owners, tea traders, and tea smallholders, are working on a separate five-year development plan that takes into consideration various challenges such as global tea market trends and competitor capabilities when formulating the master plan.

Perhaps one of the biggest single determining factors in the change seen in tea plantation technology is the use of Global Positioning System (GPS). For example, certifying the land and releasing the subsidies crucial to funding the modernization efforts depends on quick and accurate measurements of the cultivated land area. This process was previously done manually,

and it involved a lot of manpower and re-checking of inaccurate measurements. With the introduction of GPS, the time needed to measure one hectare of tea plant has gone from one hour to 15−20 minutes, with much fewer errors – thus accelerating the land certification and subsidy disbursement processes.

GPS technology is also playing a role in maintaining and even improving tea quality.

The data it provides are invaluable for climate change analysis, flood modelling, and identification of soil erosion, along with pest and disease control and monitoring of the overall planting progress. Together, these techniques have helped reduce the tea tree replanting period from over 30 months to less than 24 months, In 2020, the COVID-19 crisis was actually good for the global tea industry as the loss of chai shop sales was compensated by rising at-home consumption.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) estimates global tea consumption increased by a “modest” 1.5% in 2020, “but that will pick up pace in 2021-22 growing by 2.8% and 3.5% respectively.”

Sri Lanka’s teas are today mainly sold as blends.

Specialty teas have grown in popularity. The expectations of consumers in the Middle East and Russia, Iran, North America and Asia and the concerns of customers seeking sustainable, certified tea matters far more to success in 2050 than the demands of traditional trading partners.

Indian flavours

19th Century Indian Colonial Silver repousse three-piece tea set, comprising of teapot, sugar bowl and cream jug, each body is beautifully chased and repousse' decorated depicting Hindu gods and goddesses in a landscape, handles and the teapot's spout are modelled like elephant's heads, figural jug's spout.

Hallmarked with P. Orr & Sons marks, acid tested shows a 900+ silver standard, it dates to 1870-80

Across the straits, Sri Lankan tea clinks cups with India, the world’s second largest tea producer. The main tea-growing regions are in the Northeast (including Assam) and in north Bengal (Darjeeling district and the Dooars region). Tea is also grown on a large scale in the Nilgiris in south India.

The country is home to a wide variety of teas, including CTC tea, orthodox tea, green tea and organic tea. Unlike many other teas producing and exporting nations, India has a manufacturing base for both CTC and orthodox tea in addition to green tea. India offers highSALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2021

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Tea sommeliers help to identify and curate rare teas and undergo intensive training

quality specialty teas, such as Darjeeling, Assam Orthodox and the high-range Nilgiris, which have a distinctive aroma, strength, colour and flavour.

As of 2019, India was the second largest tea producer in the world, producing over a billion kilos of tea per year, with exports alone valued at close to US$800 million in 2019. The tea industry is one of the largest employers in India, with more than a million people. India is one of the world’s largest consumers of tea, with about three-fourths of the country’s total produce consumed locally. Indian tea is among the finest in the world owing to strong geographical indications, heavy investment in tea processing units, continuous innovation, augmented product mix and strategic market expansion.

Poli-tea-cal

For over a century since 1837, when the first plantation was established in eastern Assam’s Chabua region, tea companies have sworn by the orthodox (withered, rolled and dried) tea. This was before most estates switched to the granular crush, tear and curl or CTC tea in the 1960s as mass production became the byword.

In the 1950s, an amendment to the Tea Marketing (Control) Order paved the way for small farmers to take up tea cultivation. Assam today has some 1.72

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lakh small tea growers, who the Tea Board of India defines as persons with tea cultivation of up to 25 acres. Spread across 89,948 hectares, these small tea gardens produced 1,023.23 million kilos of green tea leaves in 2019, which was 51.04% of Assam’s tea output that year.

Of course there is also politics in the mix. In the Nilgiris, small tea growers (STGs) came up during the rupee-rouble trade of the 1980s, which everyone blames for pushing producers to produce inferior tea. The Soviet Union had a voracious appetite for black teas from India and wasn’t picky about quality. The governments incentivized small farmers to switch to tea, and many tea factories giving up orthodox tea production for CTC. The focus was on quantity, and quality took a back seat. When the USSR disbanded in 1991, Indian tea lost a market, its monopoly, and faced competition from Sri Lanka, Kenya, and even Vietnam.

In the blame game, it must be noted that Russia has redeemed itself as one of the biggest importers of Indian tea, at 46 million kgs in 2019, only recently losing top spot to Iran.

In 2018, the Tea Board of India commissioned Deloitte Consulting to assess tea production and study domestic consumption patterns.

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The study indicated that the domestic preference had increased for packaged tea (especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities), and for green tea. This was seen as a market opportunity.

Domestic consumption is high at 80% compared to exports, but per capita consumption remains low at 750g (Source: ITA); it’s almost 2,000g in the UK and about 1,500g in Iran. The study also showed that tea is consumed in 88% of Indian households, with overall penetration of 96%, but relatively little is consumed outside the home.

Tea veteran Indi Khanna says, “We have a large domestic market. We are relying on the domestic market. Internationally, we are up against Kenya for CTC and Sri Lanka for orthodox tea.”

In 2013, trustea was launched as an India-centric tea certification code for sustainability, whose partners include HUL, TGBL, and Wagh Bakri, the top three tea packers in the country. The onus has been on packers to sell sustainable tea, and trustea’s mandate addresses various sustainability factors, including

labor welfare, soil health, and tea production quality.

Says Rajesh Bhuyan, trustea’s Director, “HUL and TGBL are moving towards 100% sustainable tea in a year or two.” So far, trustea has worked with estates and BLFs to influence change but hopes to move toward retail in 2020.

Another program is Trinitea, a support program for small tea growers created by the sustainability organization Solidarid and the producers’ body, Indian Tea Association.

One person who changed the industry’s standards was award-winning Canadian farm specialist Peggy Carswell, who transformed the lives of many Assamese tea farmers by inspiring them to use organic and sustainable farming techniques.

“Peggy catalysed the organic small tea movement that began specialising in hand-crafted green and orthodox black teas. We learnt that quality, colour and flavour of tea matters more than the volume of production,” says Gobin Hazarika, whose plantation in Lakhimpur district became the first organic small tea garden to celebrate its silver jubilee last year.

How tea is made - from plant to cup The plucking and processing of tea is a painstaking manual process. Tea buds must be picked by hand every seven to 14 days, before the leaves grow too tough. This means the working location can change from day to day, depending on where the buds need to be collected.

The tea leaves are gathered in tarpaulin bags, which are lighter than the traditional wicker baskets that were once used.

Altitude affects the flavour of the tea, with higher altitudes producing a more delicately flavoured crop. This is more highly valued than the robustly flavoured tea produced at lower elevations. The fresh tea leaves are taken to a factory near the plantation for processing 'Withering' is the first step, requiring the blowing of dry air to extract moisture from the leaf, which gives it a pliable texture.

A batch of 18kg of fresh leaves can yield 5kg of tea after it has been processed in plantation factories. A rolling machine then twists the withered leaves and begins the fermentation process, which starts to develop the distinctive flavour.

The machinery used in the tea processing is often up to 100 years old.

Finished tea is separated by leaf size, and packaged in bulk bags to be sent for auction.

MASALA CHAI SPREAD

This lickety recipe is from Tea Sommelier Daniela Titium’s awesome tea blog TeaCachai.com and gets its character from a base of CTC Assam black tea and a snap of ginger.

You can use any Masala Chai blend, in loose-leaf or tea bag format, as long as it’s not a concentrate. You get good readymade Masala Chai powder at Indian stores. The base is cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper and cloves. Every recipe has different ratios of these and other additional spices might be added according to each recipe/brand.

Cooking Tips Make sure you keep an eye on the pot at all times while you’re cooking. If you don’t stir constantly, the milk will start to burn on the edges and it will get darker and harder. You want to avoid this but if the milk burns a bit, keep stirring and don’t worry because you will strain the mixture at the end and these bits will be discarded.

Also, make sure you follow the boiling time precisely until the mixture has thickened and you see larger bubbles moving and popping slowly. We don’t want the spread to be too runny but keep in mind that it will get even thicker once cooled.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 tbsp loose leaf masala chai or 3 teabags

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

PREPARATION 1. In a pot, combine milk and masala chai in loose leaf & spices format or teabags and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to minimum and let steep for 7 minutes.

2. Strain leaves and spices or remove teabags. Bring milk back to the pot, add heavy cream, condensed milk and sugar and increase the heat a bit.

3. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat to simmer whisking constantly. Watch the edges because the milk will start to burn and turn dark so keep whisking and scraping the edges. If it gets too thick around the edges, remove those bits from the pot. It is ok to see bubbles on the edges of the pot but keep stirring constantly.

4. The spread is ready after 25-30 minutes or so when it’s thickened, becomes darker and larger bubbles start to appear and move slowly all over. When you insert a spoon, the back will be coated and it will drip slowly like caramel.

5. Strain and pour into a glass container. Let cool completely before refrigerating.

6. Refrigerate immediately and use within 7-10 days.

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“Specialty tea, in fact, has been driving the small tea growers, but there’s a long way to go,” says Borkakoty, whose project has yielded Truedips, a patent-pending technology that compresses whole leaves that unfurl to their original shape when dipped in boiling water.

Along with the organic base, tea growers have added colour to keep their hold on the specialty tea market.

Some others upgraded to boutique gardens with special care for bushes, with an eye on the type of tea to be produced. And as the popularity of tea as a health drink rose, boutique blenders began offering a range of regular and experimental blends.

One of the first off the block was Rakhi Dutta Saikia, who owns a 99-hectare organic tea garden in Golaghat district. In 2017, she added a new colour, yellow, to Assam’s tea repository. “I rummaged through Chinese literature to produce the yellow tea, one of the rarest, highly-prized brews also known as royal tea because more than 1,000 years ago only the royalty of the Chinese Tang dynasty drank it,” she says.

Before her, some planters went back to the 10thcentury Song dynasty in China to churn out white tea made from the buds of the tea plant. White tea yields a pale yellow colour when brewed. Donyi Polo Tea Estate in Arunachal Pradesh also began producing yellow tea and followed it up with purple tea, known better as a Kenyan variety. In October 2018, a small consignment of purple tea — rich in the anthocyanins that lend blueberries their purplish colour — sold for ₹24,501 a kilo at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre.

“The purple tea plants were found in a forested area in the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh a few years ago. It is mild and there is no astringency.

Around 10,000 purple tea leaves are needed to make a kilo of purple tea,” says the estate’s senior manager Manoj Kumar.

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Blender’s pride

Blenders took specialty teas to the next level with designer concoctions. Among the wackiest is Guwahati-based Ranjit Baruah’s Aromica Tea, which has come up with 32 packaged blends and twice as many variations served at Just Tea, a tea cafe in Guwahati. “I started off with five blends from the regular ones such as green tea with peppermint and spearmint and lemongrass ginger green tea.

Specialties such as Blue Tea and Blooming Tea were later added,” he says.

Blue Tea, yielding a blue beverage, is a blend of organic green tea, butterfly pea flower and some Indian herbs and spices. Blooming Tea — a ball of white tea, jasmine, lily and globe amaranth — lifts the mood with a beautiful floral display in hot water, says Baruah.

With the demand for tea as an immunity booster increasing post-pandemic, blenders have also been catering to a new craze for designer or customised teas, where tea lovers set their own rules for a cup according to the taste, aroma and colour they want.

“Designer tea is customised to the customer’s palate,” says Baruah. One such is the Chocolate Orange Tea, a blend of orthodox golden-tipped leaves, orange peels, chocolate chips and rose. “Designer teas will each have a customised label and will be exclusive to one client,” he says.

Indeed, these exotic teas may well become the future of the brew that started life as the common chai.

CHINESE TEA LEAF EGGS Chinese tea leaf eggs are eggs steeped in a tea-infused liquid. Tea leaf eggs are marbled in appearance and flavourful. Although the special fermented Pu'er (or pu-erh) tea of the Yunnan Province is preferred for the process, you can use regular loose leaf black tea or regular tea bags also. In the context of traditional Chinese tea production terminology, fermentation refers to microbial fermentation, and is typically applied after the tea leaves have been sufficiently dried and rolled.

INGREDIENTS • • • • •

12 eggs 4 cups water 6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce 3 tablespoons Chinese pu-erh tea leaf 1 stick cinnamon

• • • •

1 star anise 3 cloves 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder 1 teaspoon sugar

PREPARATION 1. Add 4 cups of water to a medium pot and gently drop in the eggs. Make sure the water covers the eggs. Bring the water to boil on high heat. Boil for about 10 minutes or so to make sure the eggs are cooked.

2. Transfer the hard-boiled eggs out of the hot boiling water and rinse them with cold water. Using the back of a teaspoon, gently tap the eggshell to crack the shell. Return the eggs to the water and add in the remaining ingredients.

3. Bring the tea mixture to a boil and immediately turn the heat to low. Simmer for 2 hours (the longer the simmering, the better the taste). Add more water if needed. Serve immediately or leave the tea eggs in the mixture overnight to further develop the colour and flavour.

4. For serving, dip the Chinese tea leaf eggs with a little soy sauce, but they are flavourful without any additional condiments.

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EDITOR'S VIEW

On January 23, India celebrated Parakram Divas on the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, one of the most charismatic leaders of the freedom struggle. As with many things about the narrative of Netaji, the revival of his life story in the mosaic of India’s fight for independence is not without controversy – however, we need to look beyond that and understand what this means as part of the larger picture. Simply put, it shows that India, as a nation, is looking beyond the immediate strait-laced telling of how our country won its freedom and the story is being enriched by the emergence of so many nuanced characters and new angles to the account.

As a schoolgirl, I remember a patriotic function presided over by a local freedom fighter. Listening to the speaker introduce him, we were stunned to know that he had spent almost as much time in jail as Gandhi and for the same reasons. Why then, we wondered, had we not heard of him before? It is a conundrum that is even more relevant in these Kardashian-esque times, when one can rack up a following of millions simply by inviting guests to one’s social media-driven glass house.

But acknowledging the role of more and more people in the vast and fascinating story of how a modern nation was forged in the fire of determination, sacrifice and courage can only strengthen our future.

When we see how many lives it took to secure our tomorrows, we will not take our democracy lightly.

Republic Day is so different from August 15. While one celebrates the liberation of India, the other recognises the framework of rights and responsibilities that come with self-determination. Together, both serve to remind us of the beauty and value of our experiment with democracy. Like most beautiful things, democracy is at once strong and fragile. Strong because it empowers us all and touches our lives with the ability to live to our fullest potential; and fragile because it needs constant, unblinking nurturing, protection from the sloth of smug over-confidence, the laziness of unquestioning acceptance and yes, a willingness to make room for change. That is what illuminated the minds of the women and men who poured so much intellectual energy and vigour into the writing of the Constitution of India.

We have been entrusted with growing the experience of democracy and keeping the flame alive. Like all the heroines and heroes known and unknown, who fought for our country, we should be unafraid to question because what takes us forward is the unwillingness to accept the status quo. As for the question of acknowledgement, fame is but a glittering chimera – see how long it took Bose to finally get his own day in the firmament of Indian patriotism!

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