January 2020 Republic Day Issue

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JANUARY 2020 - VOLUME 12, ISSUE 7

we speak your language

Nazia Mustafa celebrates Indian fashion heritage

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January

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Note from the Chairman The pressure on students to excel is a strong one in Asian cultures. So much so, that Indian PM Narendra Modi himself dedicated his popular radio chat show recently to advising students on how to manage expectations of parents and teachers and also handle failure, transforming it as a stepping stone to future success.

We, in the Arab world, are luckily not as obsessed with our children getting the top rank in class. Sure we also pressurise our kids but our demands are more social than academic. We expect our children to behave in a certain way, follow certain traditions and the golden rule of obeying and respecting elders is often emphasised with the same zeal that Asian parents reserve for academic success.

Just recently, I watched Greta Thunberg fearlessly addressing world leaders at Davos about the urgent need to protect our environment. The passion of the young people who are activists alongside Greta made me wonder how correct we were in insisting on our old values. When we insist so vociferously that our children should respect elders, will we ever empower them to think on their own and argue with so much vigour for their cause? Malala Yousufzai was a mere teenager stood up to terrorists and gave voice to her vision of women’s right to be educated – if she had been bound by the restrictions of not raising her voice for her own beliefs and individuality, would we have heard her and the thousands of young girls whom she spoke up for? And by stuffing rote lessons down their throat in search of the golden 100% are Asian parents not stifling the curiosity in their children which leads to many failures, for sure – but also, several discoveries? Are we really preparing our next generation for their future?

I often catch myself being of the older generation and bemoaning that my children and grandkids spend so much time on their devices – just like my parents argued that we were glued to TV! Well, each generation has a favourite ‘mistake’ with which to castigate the new gen. But we must adapt even our expectations to their fast-changing world.

The key to future success of freedom to explore the world, to check out new ways of achieving success and testing ideas. All that is constant really, are the timeless values of goodness, humility, honesty and faith in God. Capt. Mahmood Al Mahmood

Chairman Mahmood Al Mahmood Chief Editor Ahdeya Ahmed Managing Director P.K. Ravi Editor Meera Ravi Contributors • Hina Asar • Maharaja Features Pvt. Ltd. Designer • Mind Storm Media Photography • Jomon • Sajid Butt Marketing Advertising Sales Contact: +973 3668 4011/ 1772 0797 advts.sb@gmail.com Published by Al Ayam Publishing Promoted by Ajyal Consultations w.l.l Advertising / Editorial / Circulation Enquiries +973 3668 4011 +973 1772 0797 e-mail: salaam.bahrain@gmail.com advts.sb@gmail.com Copyright Reserved.

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we speak your language

Highlights January 2020

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• OUR COVER FOCUS

REPUBLIC DAY Message from Ambassador A.K. Sinha

TRENDING NOW – VESTIRE’s Nazia Mustafa The curator of high fashion keeps a sharp eye on what’s in and what can enhance fashion uniqueness at her boutique.

As he bids farewell to Bahrain, Ambassador Sinha looks at BahrainIndia ties and the milestones during his tenure

A shrinking India

God and the Indian Constitution

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A timely essay on the Indian Constitution, the spirit in which it was shaped and written and the people who poured their passion and patriotism into it.

FASHION NEWS Sabya for H&M

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Kolkata designer Sabyasachi will work his inspired Indian magic on clothing and accessories for H&M around the world.

..PLUS BOLLYWOOD GUPSHUP PARTY PICTURES

follow and like us on 8

/SalaamBahrain

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Experts say geological changes will mean the whole of the Indian subcontinent will move into mountains surrounding China in 250 million years.

HEALTH To vape or not to vape

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One of the world’s largest tobacco dealers has presented a white paper on smokeless tobacco and invested millions into research on its use. But the bottom line remains: stay away from the smoke!

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CUISINE Around Asia On A Snackboard

HERITAGE Chugging into the 21st century Millions of NRI kids will never enjoy the thrill of an Indian rail journey with its attendant noise, colour and ..smells. But this network of steel which stitches India together is being modernized fast.

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With winter comes the nibble attacks. We look at how Indian companies are chasing new recipes and packaging for traditional snacks and give you a feast of Asian snack recipes.

Bahrain Chapter of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (Affiliated to Bahrain Accountants Association)

CONQUERING NEW FRONTIERS

Wishing all Indians

HAPPY st

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Annual Sponsors

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CULTURE

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'Meluha' casts spell in India, Bahrain hirty artists from Bahrain and a talented technical team cast their spell on the audiences in Bahrain and in India with the dance drama 'Meluha' . The feather in the Bahrain production’s cap was performing on the Soorya Annual Stage & Film Festival at the Tagore Theater in Thiruvananthapuram.

The concept, screen play, choreography and direction of this dance drama is done by Bahrain-based Vidya Srikumar. Producer Vinod Das lavished the show with care, bringing grand aesthetic production values to bear on its final look. Most striking was the excellent use of the LED backdrop to change and create moods with lightning shifts in backdrop.

Smitha Vinod shone as Devayani, bringing a unique maturity and polish to her character. Neethu J. as Sathi was lovely but perhaps, given her importance to the story, she could have been portrayed as a stronger, more self-reliant character. Music direction by the talented Palakkad Sriram scored high especially with background atmospherics. The songs of 'Meluha' are written by L.R. Sampath and the creative direction is done by Achu Arun Raj, who has taken lead in the creation of many shows in Bahrain.

The dubbing artists Biju M, Satheesh, Ram Gopal Menon, Hridya

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Suresh, Soumya Krishnaprasad and Sheeja Natarajan, literally lived the characters while doing their roles exquisitely. Kshetra provided the beautiful costumes apt for the roles.

Productions such as 'Meluha' are a sign of the maturing theatre scene in Bahrain and pave the way for a new gen of performers who excel in bringing alive their art form. The production will, in all likelihood, be presented in the GCC countries, Europe (including London), Malaysia, Singapore and Australia under the Soorya banner.

The lead dancers, Smitha Vinod as Devayani, Neethu Janardhanan as Sathi, Malavika Suresh as Nandhi, Ashbin Alin as Shiva, Jebin as Bhadran, Jojo as Darapathi, Suryaprakash as Daksha presented impressive dance performances. Dinesh Mavoor and Hailesh contributed immensely to the simple yet elegant stage designs, while Biju Hari gave the finest visual supports. Effective lighting support came from Vishnu.

The adventurous dancing acrobatics in the higher spaces by artists trained by Vijith Vikram stunned the audience. Lalitha Dharmaraj and Sanovar executed the make-up works for 'Meluha'. Kapil Ranji Thamban worked as the sound designer and the sound was controlled by Pradeep Thalayil. Rafeeq Unus, the Soorya Middle East representative served as the event coordinator and Ahana Vishnu as the stage coordinator.

COVER STORY

Searching for identity in every stitch

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In 2020, individuality will be the focus of the fashion world, says fashion curator NAZIA MUSTAFA azia Mustafa is a fashionista with a purpose. The svelte owner of Moda Vestire, a Multi-Brand boutique that showcases leading designers from the subcontinent and the Arab world, she has a passion for hand-embroidered and meticulously sewn clothing that is cut with an eye for timeless fashion.

“I grew up seeing my mother carefully assemble her wardrobe and work with weavers, embroiderers and tailors back home in India even though we lived abroad. She had impeccable taste and I think my fondness for intricate chikankari, gota patti work, mukaish embellishments and the unique sequined embroidery of Utter Pradesh and Bihar stems from these childhood memories,” she says.

The Moda Vestire collection caters to a discerning clientele of stylish women and specializes in fusion handcrafted designer wear featuring the trendy labels of top Indian-Pak designers like Natasha Kamal, Ahilaya, stylish accessories designer label Pink Potli, Vipul Shah, Jewellery by Rahul Luthra under his label Rabta, the jewellery of designer Hamna Amir and also trending Bahraini designer like Hessa Al-Mannai and Jordanian designer Reem Dahbour.

Nazia has created a unique fashion universe which she says resonates with women in Bahrain.

“Bahraini women and expats in Bahrain are very fashion-aware. They understand cut and intricacy and don’t mind paying top dinar for really good heirloom pieces. And that’s where Moda Vestire steps in.” she explains, “We specialize in women’s wear SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2020

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because our whole fashion universe at Moda Vestire is aimed at making women comfortable and exclusive so that they can explore themselves through fashion, find their identity through these exquisite clothes which represent the finest of young Indian, Arab and subcontinent designers and through their patronage, support the craftsmen and women who are repositories of these heritage arts in India and the subcontinent.”

Bespoke style

Moda Vestire also offers a bespoke service ‘Vestire Design’ with its own atelier so that clients can customise trendy styles to their own preference and size.

This Spring-Summer, Nazia says blue will be the on-trend colour and also predicts a spike in detailing such as chikankari and handembroidery.

“Really fashionable people want to see something unique which makes a statement. Of course, nothing does that better than individually embroidered or printed clothes.”

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“Really fashionable people want to see something unique which makes a statement. Of course, nothing does that better than individually embroidered or printed clothes.”

To set the pace for accessories, Nazia will be promoting the statement jewellery of the hugely talented Shikha Jindal whose brand ‘Riana Jewellery’ channels the grand designs of royal Rajasthan-inspired jewellery into accessible, modern and stunning jewels. The Riana jewellery collection offers spellbinding options in

anklets and bracelets, ear rings, head pieces, necklaces, bangles, maangtika, rakhi and nose rings.

For attractive ethnic and wedding looks, you can be sure to get your pick from the designer’s jewellery collection. You can combine them with ethnic wear and complete your look to wear a jaw dropping ensemble.

Accessorizing Riana designer jewellery with beautiful ethnic ensembles will only enhance and add to the gorgeousness of your final look.

The Riana jewellery line as well as selected couture pieces from the Moda Vestire collection will be shown off at an exclusive expected fashion event on February 22.

“I would like to hear from all fashionistas – do feel free to drop in at Moda Vestire in the mezzanine level of the Al Murjan Centre in Juffair or visit us online and leave comments,” coos Nazia.

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ART

When Madhu does a Miranda

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ahrain artist Madhu Sarda calls it the opportunity of a lifetime. The muralist and painter of Mandala art and exquisite Madhubani folk art, was commissioned to ‘do up’ Pier 14, a rooftop lounge in the Best Western Plus, The Olive, Bahrain and the brief was to draw inspiration from cartoonist Mario Miranda’s expressive art. The talented artist worked upto four hours a day with acrylic colours as her medium and the bold strokes have brought alive the walls of Pier 14.

Filled with bulgy-eyed, expressive characters typical of Mario Miranda’s style, the walls feature everything from buxom women selling fish, walking dogs and berating sheepish men to boatloads of

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people setting sail on what looks like an overcrowded picnic. “ I have done special murals based on mandala art before for the Bahrain psychiatric Hospital and the Abu Saiba Boys School as well as in the Art for Autism project at the BFH,” she said, “This one was such a playful treat to execute but it was also a challenge because I had to stay true to the Miranda style and the Pier 14 ambience.”

Madhu’s work has been praised by the Health Minister Faeqa Al Saleh and Ministry of Education officials.

“I must thank my mentor, the Bahraini artist Mohammed Taha, who took the time to introduce me to earlier art opportunities,” Madhu said, “Now, having travelled from murals to Miranda, I feel there is so much more to explore in Bahrain’s art scene!”

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Dadabhai hosts farewell for Ambassador Sinha Mohammed Dadabhai, well-known businessman and former Chairman of the Bahrain India Society, held a farewell party at his residence for outgoing Ambassador Alok Kumar Sinha and his wife Mamta. The party was attended by diplomats, Shura Council members, businessmen and movers and shakers of the community.

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Greetings on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day of India 26th January 2020

a special focus

Ambassador Message on 71st Republic Day

On the occasion of 71st Republic Day of India, I extend my warm greetings and best wishes to the members of Indian Community and friends of India in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

In the year 2019, India was one of the fastest growing major economy with its GDP crossing US $ 2.6 trillion, making India the 7th largest economy in the world. The policies, reforms and initiatives undertaken by the Government of India in recent years viz. Transparent and simplified tax policies, successful implementation of GST, FDI reforms, Make in India, Digital India, Startup India, Skill India etc. have all contributed to the economic growth and development. India jumped 14 spots to reach 63rd place in the World Bank 2020 Ease of Doing Business ranking and achieved 52nd rank in the Global Innovation Index 2019. The target is to position India among the top 25 countries of the Global Innovation Index and taking the culture of innovation to the center-stage. The achievements are not limited to economic sphere but have transcended to the area of space technology with India emerging as one of the world leaders in space technology application. The endeavor is to achieve the vision of making India a US 5$ trillion economy by 2025.

The year 2019 also witnessed the historic milestone in the India-Bahrain relations with the first-ever visit of an Indian Prime Minister to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The modern relations between India and Bahrain, the road map of which was set during the historic visit of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa AlKhalifa to India in 2014, experienced a fresh impetus with the visit of Indian Prime Minister to the Kingdom. The visit also provided an opportunity for taking the relationship to a higher pedestal, with the identification of new areas of cooperation viz. High Tech, space technology, Fintech, Counter-terrorism etc. Trade and Investment ties between the two countries have been consistently growing over the years, with bilateral trade reaching US 1$bn and companies like Investcorp venturing into India for investment.

The economic reforms undertaken by the Governments of both the countries would further strengthen the commercial and investment ties between India and Bahrain.

The foundation of historic and civilizational ties between India and Bahrain is trade and people-to-people contact and the Indian community remains an important component of the bilateral relations between the two countries. I thank the leadership of Bahrain for ensuring the well-being, safety and security of the large Indian community in Bahrain, the contribution of which to the growth and development of both, India and Bahrain, have been publicly acknowledged by the leadership of the two countries.

I conclude by wishing growth, development and prosperity of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the friendly people of Bahrain.

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YEH MERA INDIA

A Shrinking India

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Shifting tectonic plates and rising river and sea levels are reshaping the contours of India discovers Thomasina Rodericks wo hundred million years from now, there would be no India, as the country is shrinking by 2 cms every year, says a joint study by the Dehradun based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology and University of California, Berkeley. A new analysis of satellite data has revealed, the exact precision with which, India is shedding size as it pushes northward against the Himalayas, like the edge of a thick carpet crumpling against a wall.

“Imagine measuring the straight line between India’s southern and northern tips (Kanyakumari to Himalayas) and one would see the distance decreasing by 2 cm every year” explained geophysicist, Parmesh Banerjee of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology. He adds “This means, after 200 million years, there would be no India, only a vast mountain range along the southern coast of China that’s the fate of all continents”.

When India became a Republic on January 26th 1950, we had inherited an area as much as 3,287,263 square kilometres (with the addition of 492 sq.kms of French Indian colonies in 1956 and 4,305 sq.kms of Portuguese colonies in India in 1961). If measured today, the area will be much less even if we add the area of Sikkim (7,096 sq.km), which acceded in 1975 to India.

Messy boundary

In September 2011 Indian concluded an agreement with Bangladesh for the exchange of enclaves (left over by the partition of 1947) . The area of Indian enclaves on Bangladeshi territory is nearly 70 square kilometres; Bangladesh’s enclaves in India add up to 28 square kilometres.

The agreed transfer simplifies the messy

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250 MILLION YEARS IN THE FUTURE The continents are in constant motion: Tectonic plates crash together and break apart, creating new crust while old crust is pulled below the surface. The process shrinks and widens oceans, uplifts mountain ranges, and rearranges landmasses. In about 250 million years a new supercontinent, Pangaea Proxima, will form.

In this artist’s impression of a map 250 years into the future, only a vestige of the Atlantic Ocean remains as landmasses are joined together into a new supercontinent. New high mountains mark the sites of massive collisions.

SOURCE: National Geographic Magazine

boundary, but means a 40-squarekilometre net loss for India.

With satellite photography, world geographical area calculations have taken a turn for better. But, satellite or no satellite, the Indian Government has failed in the past 70 years to keep a clear watch over the interests of India over our borders. The cartographic diminution being waged against India is not limited to China (42,735 sq.kms) and Pakistan (78,114 sq.kms). India has had problems from the United Nations itself, and surprisingly enough from the Survey Departments of the Government of India.

A few years ago, questions were raised in the Indian Parliament, that the Survey of India maps of India showed the area of the Indian Union to be 20,480 sq.kms miles

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less than the actual area. It was stated by the spokesman of the Department that the ‘fall in area’ was due to better methods of survey and that the earlier figures were based on rough estimates. He further claimed that the actual difference between earlier and later figures were only a discrepancy of 1,436 sq.kms or only about 0.4% with respect to the total area.

He also pointed out that similar discrepancies had occurred even in advanced countries like Canada, the USA and Australia. In the case of Australia there being a fall of 8,192 sq.kms between the earlier and later surveys.

U.N. Demographic Year Books of pre2012 vintage go one step further and by showing the state of Kashmir and Jammu outside Indian territory, decrease the area

From balmy Indira Point, where a lone lighthouse marks India’s Southernmost tip to the hostile and rugged Siachin Glacier, the world’s highest battleground and the forested tribal terrain of Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeast, India sprawls through a myriad eco-systems, geographic topography.

of India by 222,236 sq.kms. The Government of India states that it had received no replies to its formal protests.

India has taken to marking, such U.N. maps as not conforming to Indian approval!

A map of India with co-ordinates

Water woes

To these border problems is added one of meandering rivers. The border between India and neighbouring countries is determined on the international practice of the middle of the rivers being the demarcating line. But where it suits its interest, Pakistan insists that the southern (Indian) bank of the river be the border (as in the case of the rivers in the Rann of

Kutch).When the river changes its course, the boundary also has to change with the river and in the case of Punjab, India finds that Pakistan is building many spurs in its side of the river bank to ensure that the Indian side is eroded.

India has also started taking counter measures.

One historic case was the strip of land in the Indo-Pakistan border, where the mortal remains of the great martyr Bhagat Singh was cremated in the 1930’s.

As a result of the Ravi river floods, the hallowed soil has changed its nationality.

There is another grim factor as shown by the following figures of the Geological survey of India. Since 1947, a staggering 34% of Indian land mass is affected by salinization; and 58% has been affected by water logging and erosion since 1997. At this rate, experts say that by 2047 – just 27 years on, salinization and water logging will affect 80% of India’s land.

Researchers at the school of Oceanographic studies, Jadavpur University , say coastal Bengal will lose a

large chunk of land to the sea. Their findings show the current rate at which sea is rising, and given the absence of administrative initiatives towards controlling this environmental disaster, 15 per cent of land mass of the threatened islands in the deltaic Sunderbans area would be part of the sea by the end of 2020.

On the plus side, India has launched a $12 million project to expand its maritime boundary on the east and west coasts.

It has initiated extensive surveys to collect scientific and multi channel seismic data to substantiate its claim to continental shelf stretching to 350 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of territorial sea is measured.

Under the UN convention on the law of the sea, each state can normally exercise sovereignty only 12 nautical miles from its territorial waters. This means that in case India succeeds in its efforts to substantiate its claim to further continental shelf, its sovereignty will instead extend to 350 nautical miles and any trading or naval vessel planning to pass within this radius may have to seek India’s prior permission.

The project will also entitle New Delhi to lay claim to seabed areas many times beyond its present two million square kilometere exclusive economic zone.

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Bahrain builds on wedding success

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Lavish Indian weddings have been the cornerstone of the BTEA’s ‘destination wedding’ success n November and December 2019 alone, Bahrain hosted eight Indian weddings, where approximately 3,000 guests attended from both Bahrain and from around the world, 2,400 of which flew in via the Kingdom’s National Carrier, Gulf Air. These weddings, which were all organized by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), which coordinated the wedding itself, planning and logistics with local vendors; directly contributed 5.5 million USD into the national economy.

The success of promoting Bahrain as a location to celebrate special occasions has encouraged families from a wide assortment of countries, but especially India, to choose Bahrain as their preferred wedding and milestone party destination.

The BTEA’s strategic efforts in this regard

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comes in line with its strategic aim of boosting the Kingdom’s position as a leading tourism destination for parties and weddings, and placing Bahrain on the world map of Island destination weddings.

Commenting on the occasion, Chief Executive Officer of BTEA, Nader Al Moayyed, said, “We are incredibly proud of

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BTEA’s achievements and their success in enhancing the Kingdom’s position as a leading destination to hosting weddings and other celebrations, and are delighted to announce that Bahrain will be hosting even more weddings in the coming months. This comes as a result of the tourism sector’s advanced infrastructure which boasts 4 and 5 star hotels, in addition to dedicated F&B and entertainment sectors, as well as an abundance of event management companies with vast capabilities to create unique wedding concepts catering to client’s varied interests and tastes.”

He added, “BTEA aims to encourage soon-to-weds to choose the Kingdom of Bahrain as their location for their destination weddings by playing a pivotal role in providing the necessary support to facilitate the organization process from A

SALAAM SOCIETY to Z, which includes effectively coordinating between formal and semi-formal entities to ensure they work as an integrated team, in addition to providing logistical support to suppliers and specialists in the field, such as Gulf Air to ease the travel arrangements for their guests.”

BTEA is continually working towards establishing the Kingdom of Bahrain as a leading destination for wedding and other celebrations, and actualizing the Kingdom’s potential as a leading island wedding destination of choice by showcasing its advanced tourism facilities and infrastructure and unique combination of modern city life with leading hotels and world class restaurants nestled alongside old historical sites and landmarks.

Water & light shows for 2020 weddings According to Dubai-based Lebanese designer Mohamed Ghayad, water and laser light shows will be a trendy mustinclude in 2020 for dramatic weddings.

“In 2020, we will see a greater demand for water and light shows to entertain guests,” he said.

Ghayad was a speaker at a global wedding designers’ event which brought together the most important and influential figures in the world of designing and organising ultra-luxury weddings. He represented his company, Le Mariage, which has a large portfolio with over 50 royal wedding ceremonies across the world. One of the biggest weddings the company managed last year was the wedding of Akash Ambani, son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, to Shloka Mehta, daughter of Indian businessman Russell Mehta. During the conference, Ghayad spoke to attendees about how to elevate the entire experience by adding elements that are specially made for the ceremony. He added that such designs require a period of at least six months to prepare and complete the various elements, after which a further three weeks are required to place the elements inside the designated venue.

The Ambani-Mehta ceremony, which cost over 300 million dollars, was attended by prominent celebrities, businesspeople, and politicians. It made global headlines and was talked about on social media for weeks. For the extraordinary three-day event, Le Mariage completed the designs in Dubai and moved everything to Mumbai to decorate five giant halls which the family had built for the purpose over an area of 18 thousand square metres. There were

reception halls, another for dancing shows, and a large hall for the wedding rituals. More than 1.5 million of the finest roses in the world were used, and the halls were illuminated with the latest lighting technologies and decorated with dazzling water shows and fountains.

Home to many royal families, top businessmen and celebrities, Dubai is one of the most unique and robust events markets, especially for weddings, noted a top wedding designer.

“The Dubai market is very strong because there are many royal families who invite hundreds of guests while investing millions into the designs of their weddings,” said Lebanese designer founder of Le Mariage, a Dubai-based events and wedding planning company which has organised extraordinary wedding parties worth millions of dollars around the world. “The best designs and luxury weddings in the world come from Dubai,” he said. The event was also attended by American actor and prominent designer, Preston Bailey to discuss the latest trends in the industry. Preston Bailey is known for his extraordinary ability to transform spaces into theatrical environments using the most cutting-edge technologies. He was named one of the Best Wedding Planners in 2018 by Vogue Magazine and was featured as one of the 7 Top Celebrity Wedding Planners by Instyle.

“The conference highlighted the latest wedding trends, and participants included prominent designers from different regions,” said Ghayad, representing Le Mariage as one of the main speakers at the event.

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Ambassador Sinha & Mamta bid farewell to memorable Bahrain posting

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or Ambassador Alok Kumar Sinha and his wife Mamta, their Bahrain posting, which ends this January will be memorable for official as well as personal reasons. Not only has it been a busy term in office for the Ambassador with many official visits and over a dozen agreements signed, the couple will also remember Bahrain as the venue for the wedding of their daughter and many other personal milestones.

Under Ambassador Sinha’s supervision, the much-awaited Indian Embassy in Seef was completed and inaugurated and stands tall and majestic in its sandstone coloured glory. With spacious grounds and interiors, it is truly a cultural haven and networking space for the community, as well as an efficient centre for all services. The embassy inauguration was a grand affair in July 2018 when the late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj flew down to preside over the opening. It was her last visit to Bahrain.

Undoubtedly, the jewel in the crown of achievements for Ambassador Sinha was the historic visit to Bahrain of PM Modi in August 2019. Crammed with impressive community and State interactions, this first-ever visit of an Indian PM to Bahrain will always be remembered and Ambassador Sinha’s name linked to it.

The relationship between Bahrain and India also changed in texture during Ambassador Sinha’s tenure, with Bahrain looking to India for support to train and prepare for its space programme and for other technological advances. India also participated actively in the prestigious Bahrain Air Show, making a mark as a designer and manufacturer of sturdy helicopters for military and other uses. From

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being a supplier of muscle power through its skilled and semiskilled blue-collar workers, India has now become a respected technological and knowledge partner.

Bahrain, in fact, received a lot of limelight as the Kingdom welcomed the Who’s Who of the Indian government during Ambassador Sinha’s four-and-a-half years here. We saw then Home Minister Rajnath Singh visiting in April 2016, then EAM Sushma Swaraj visiting multiple times and then of course PM Modi with an impressive delegation of officials.

“I leave with a deep sense of satisfaction and Mamta and I would like to thank the community for the support and affection that they always extended to us,” Ambassador Sinha said.

The historic visit of PM Modi to Bahrain

Visit by then Home Minister Rajnath Singh

Inauguration of the new Embassy premises by the Forteign Ministers of India and Bahrain

Milestones during Ambassador Sinha's tenure Grand and active celebrations of Yoga Day every year

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SALAAM SOCIETY

Dhiresh & Ami tie the knot

Dhiresh (son of Bahrain residents Meena and Kant Bhatia) and Ami Gandhi got married amidst family and friends in a ceremony at the Diplomat. The Texas-based couple returned to groom Dhiresh's childhood home for the ceremony that saw guests from all over the world flying in.

corp.uaeexchange.com/bhr

IN THE NEWS

India’s cartographic revolution

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A growing awareness of e-commerce needs and potential land revenue gains is transforming cartographic data research and availability, notes SIMAR MEHTA-DATAR s e-commerce deliveries whiz through Indian streets at the rate of 5 million-plus packages every day in 2020, they are forcing a redo and digital update of the map of India nearly 200 years after George Everest’s survey. Besides boosting accuracy of e-commerce transactions, a McKinsey report states that more accurate land records and maps will stem the current 1.3% loss in GDP annually from poor land records which are restricting sale and development of land. This amounts to $34.45 billion each year. Land disputes inevitably clog up an already overburdened court system.

The World Bank’s annual ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings says that despite rapid improvements on several other counts, India languishes at 154th in the world on the “registering property” metric.

So, nearly two centuries after the entire length and breadth of India was first mapped by cartographer George Everest, the country’s oldest scientific organization, the Survey of India(SOI), has embarked on a mission to update India’s mapping technology.

Spatial secrecy

India’s mapping needs have, for long, been viewed through the colonial prism of security and secrecy. In the 1950s, a newly independent country opened up two series of maps—the open series for public use at 1:50,000 scale and defence series maps, which are meant exclusively for security agencies. The question is: will India view the humble map as a public good that should be freely available? And will the secrecy around spatial data make way for a plan like the one unveiled by the UK, whose SOI-equivalent, the Ordnance

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Survey, announced in 2018 to make taxpayer-funded digital maps freely available for businesses and citizens?

While the defence services remain the core client of government-generated data, the demands of the fast-growing commercial sector have been largely ignored. “Only whatever SOI thinks is not classified is shared with the public because they are not really looking to address (the) everyday needs of people,” says Naveen Francis, an open street mapper from Kerala, “The process of getting a useable official map is incredibly tedious. Everything in India is copyrighted or licensed and that’s where the problem lies in terms of data sharing.”

Francis was actively involved in creating maps for Kerala during the 2018 flood relief effort.

“Each government department, be it IT or SOI, have their own map data, which they do not readily share with individuals. And they usually share it in PDF format which is not readily usable,” he adds.

A highly accurate, free-to-use map layer of the country which is available in the public domain can be a game changer. In its absence, every private entity and state government has an in-house mapping effort.

Flipkart, for example, uses machine learning to convert addresses into sub-regions, which are essentially neighbourhood names suggested by field executives. A national base map layer will, thus, limit the need for multiple parallel efforts and transform everything from disaster relief to delivery of goods.

An early map of India – circa 1888

Boosting land revenue

SOI’s plan is to develop a high-resolution 1:500 Geoid model of the country. That essentially means 1 cm on the map will represent 500 cm on the ground, which is roughly equivalent to showing the boundaries of each house.

Like the decades-old revenue maps, these maps would show the details of village boundaries, canals, agriculture field limits and roads, with a high accuracy of 10 cm, which is critical for land records. Compare this with the present topographical maps available in

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Over 5 million e-commerce deliveries per day are making accurate maps of streets and locations mandatory ownership records,” says Gireesh Kumar. “But based on our survey, the government gave ownership cards to citizens, which allows them to buy/sell that land and even take loans.

A modern satellite image-generated map of India This could transform the public domain, which are at a scale of economy, because the government will also 1:50,000. get fixed revenue, which was not coming in The project has already begun in three till now.” states—Haryana, Maharashtra and The move could also bring greater Karnataka— and about 300 drones are transparency into land acquisition expected to be roped in. The deadline: processes and could potentially help deal 2021. with encroachments across cities, especially “For the first time, we will know the those on government land. exact boundaries of the land,” said Lt The lack of a reliable mapping service General Girish Kumar, surveyor general of led to emergence of an open-street India. “Today, people have mapping movement in the country in early their khasra (survey) number, but have no 2007, when youngsters armed with GPS idea where this khasra (survey) number is sensors and internet began mapping their located. This will enable them to check local areas using the Wikipedia-like usertheir land boundaries and ownership generated ‘OpenStreetMap’ (OSM). online, rather than depending on the Says pioneer Arun Ganesh, a Chennai patwari. It will (also) facilitate the registry engineer who was among the first few in and transfer processes.”

India to actively lead this volunteer project, Till now, the limited efforts to improve “Our basic understanding of maps is India’s maps have largely focused on urban limited to Google Maps, mostly through areas, where most businesses generate Uber/Ola or delivery apps. But, as a nation, their revenue, and swathes of rural areas we cannot be dependent on other have remained unmapped, especially the countries for our mapping data. Other abadi (habitation) areas in a village, which countries like the UK have made giant have traditionally not been seen as a leaps in making this data open.” source of revenue and, till date, have no OSM is a collaborative volunteer project formal address system. to create crowdsourced editable maps that “We carried out a pilot project in can be freely used and shared by anybody Maharashtra last year and realized that under an open licence. Since they are most people living in abadi areas have no freely accessible, they are particularly

attractive to startups who shift from Google Maps in order to cut down costs.

In response to this vibrant open mapping community that had begun to develop in India, the government’s mapping agency, in 2018, also opened itself to crowdsourcing through a mobile app called “SAHYOG”.

SOI also launched web portals to improve access to digital maps.

3-D data needs

The Indian government has also begun to realize a pressing internal need for good spatial data. While we may rely on Google to help us navigate across cities and states, the data may not prove very helpful for governments across the country when they have to plan an infrastructure project or build a new railway line. The new survey will solve that problem.

SOI’s plan also involves creating a complete 3-D model of cities, which would include details about the altitude above sea level of each point—an important input for planning a city’s drainage profile. When integrated with weather forecast, this could help India Meteorological Department to provide impact-based forecasts ahead of severe rainfall events.

“It is the biggest challenge because there is no proper and accurate data on height.

Once we have a 3-D model of the city, we can plan our drainage also, especially when there is a threat of inundation in the near future due to a changing climate scenario.

Also, tomorrow, if autonomous vehicles are to be introduced in the country, they

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IN THE NEWS would need a high level of accuracy, which can come from these maps,” says Girish Kumar.

As a preliminary step towards achieving these diverse goals, SOI has established about 2,500 ground control points that are uniformly distributed throughout the country, whose standardized coordinates (latitudelongitude) are known. But to provide online positioning with the desired accuracy, SOI would set up an additional 700-1,000 continuously operating GPS reference stations, at a distance of 50-60km from each other. Then, professionally operated drones would cover the remaining gaps.

For now, the plan is to make the data public, and charge a small for commercial use. “Earlier, we used to sell the data. Now, we are going to make it available for everyone through map APIs (application programming interfaces),” says Kumar.

For a long time, India’s business ecosystem heavily relied on Google Maps. But with the company capitalizing on its near monopoly in the market with hefty charges, which were increased further in 2018, businesses are now increasingly scrambling to find alternatives.

Building a private mapping business in India, however, comes with high barriers and huge upfront investments.

A tourist map listing New Delhi’s ancient attractions Nonetheless, a few indigenous companies,including MapmyIndia, have been attempting to fill the void left by the absence of usable publicly-funded maps. private sector companies must be “We began creating digital maps of the country 25 years ago,” says Rohan Verma, chief incentivized to invest in improving official executive officer of MapmyIndia. “It began with Coke, which wanted to mark its distributor spatial data. territory clearly on a digital map when it was trying to expand in the Indian market.”

Caught amid this jumble of competing Nothing much has changed since those early days in the shadow of India’s liberalization, interests and policy failures is the Indian says Verma. Public maps are still of poor quality, forcing businesses to find private hacks. citizen. Come 2021, after an estimated Rs Which is why SOI has increasingly come under pressure to release its data. “Data is an 500 crore is spent on a mammoth asset. So, it is not just a question of transparency, because it can also lead to new revenue mapping exercise, will things materially generating strategies (for the government),” says Anant Maringanti, director of Hyderabad change for him/her? Will land records Urban Lab Foundation, an interdisciplinary research and action initiative based in improve?

Hyderabad.

Much will depend on whether SOI For long, the government has looked at this data purely through a political/security lens keeps its promise of making the data and public institutions do not know how to hold on to these assets and release them usable and publicly available. Businesses strategically in order to earn royalty for the exchequer, he says. Geospatial data can are already beginning to make plans. transform governments, businesses, and communities for the better, says Maringanti and “Spatial data is a gold mine and we need adds that this is an area of policymaking which has just not taken off in India. this,” says Vishal Agarwal, a GIS (geographic information systems) expert Citizen interests from Mumbai and founder of startup “The urban landscape sees hundreds of changes every day--roads, businesses, Spatial Ideas. One measure of the extent restaurants, ATMs--and maps need to be updated daily, or they lose value. This is where of India’s still-nascent promise of Google is far ahead,” says Prasanto K. Roy, a tech policy consultant, and a former vice liberalisation may be in the maps that president at IT industry association Nasscom. ultimately tumble out of government There are also serious issues with India’s official mapping policy, he says and adds that control in 2021.

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MOTORING

Parents drop ball when not watched

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A new survey by INFINITI Middle East shows that a troubling percentage of parents are careless about road safety for kids early half of all parents in the UAE admit to breaking road safety rules if they feel that they are not being monitored on the road, a new survey by INFINITI Middle East has revealed. As many as 44% of parents surveyed across the Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon) admitted to illegal on-road behaviours, with 18% saying they were most likely to break traffic rules if there were no cameras in place. 16% admitted to dangerous driving when there was no way of being monitored, and 10% when there was no police in sight.

In Kuwait, only 78% of parents said they require children to wear a seatbelt in the car, meaning 22% of parents surveyed do not enforce child safety measures whilst on the roads. The highest reason cited by

parents (54%) for not enforcing children to wear seatbelts, was that they were perfectly safe in the back seat without them, closely followed by they were not necessary on short trips (46%).

The survey is part of a major new road

safety awareness campaign launched by INFINITI Middle East, promoting the safety of children in vehicles. Called ‘Eyes on You’, the campaign sheds light on parent’s on-

road behaviours and the impact these have on their children.

Nearly half of all respondents (43%) said they were most likely to break traffic rules when they are in a hurry, and 40% admitted to making phone calls or checking social media while driving with children.

When asked which negative on-road behaviours they believed children were most likely to mimic as adults, over half (53%) of parents agreed it was not wearing seatbelts.

“The ‘Eyes on You’ road safety campaign aims for families to prioritise safe driving habits, especially with their children, as soon as they sit behind the wheel. These survey results are a reminder to parents that their bad on-road behaviour does not go unnoticed and is, in fact, being witnessed and eventually mimicked by the most important audience imaginable, their children.” said Markus Leithe, Managing Director, Middle East, INFINITI.

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SALAAM SOCIETY

Rafi melodies find new voice in Bahrain Charity concert marks National Day and raises funds The Lions Club of Riffa organized a musical tribute, ‘Jazba E Hum Nawa 2019’ in honour of the legendary singer Mohammad Rafi and also to mark Bahrain’s 48th National Day. The musical event was presented by Shrikant Narayan, eminent musician from Mumbai, India and was ably supported by children from the Indian School. Firoz Ahmed (Grand Son- in- Law) and Tasneem Firoz (Grand-daughter of Mohamad Rafi) graced the occassion. The event was convened by Lion Khusheed Alam and an audience of more than 300 people attended the event to be mesmerized by the songs presented by Mr. Shrikant Narayan. The event was supported by many organizatons from Bahrain and the proceeds will be used to fund the Club’s activities during the year.

The Lions Club of Riffa is a not-for-profit organization whose services are dedicated to the community through its voluntary activities towards social causes. We are a part of the international movement of Lionism, which has laid its first community service club in 1917 in the United States of America and has since grown to 45,000 clubs enrolling 1.8 million members across 187 countries and earning recognition from the United Nations.

YOUNGISTAN

R-Day at NMS-DPS The New Millennium School – DPS Bahrain, celebrated the “71st Republic Day” of India with special assemblies arranged in the school campus on 19th and 20th January, 2020.

The special assemblies conducted by the junior and senior section of the school, witnessed the spirit of brotherhood of India and Bahrain through songs, dances, speeches and skits. Students were made to take a pledge to instill the need of preserving the culture and rich heritage of the motherland India as well of the kingdom. The whole campus reverberated with patriotic fervour and enthusiasm and was bedecked in the colours of the Tiranga.

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COMMUNITY

Of God and the Indian Constitution

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One of the earliest arguments over the Constitution of India, was whether it should include reference to the Almighty.The results were surprising, says K.R.N. SWAMY

n this Republic Day on 26 January 2020, the Constitution of India would be completing 70 years and stepping into its 71st year as a guiding document of the Republic. As we contemplate on its history, it is poignant to realize, that our founding fathers, in their decision to ensure secularism as our basic national policy, even decided to avoid mentioning God in the Constitution.

During the framing of our Constitution there was animated debate about reference to God in the Constitution. H V Kamath moved an amendment for inclusion of the words ‘In the name of God’ at the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution. Another member, Thanu Pillai, whilst declaring that he was a staunch believer in God, opposed the amendment, because that would amount to compulsion in the matter of faith and a man should have a right to believe in God or not, according to the Constitution.

he belonged to Kamrup where the goddess Kamakhya is worshipped and that as a member of the Sakthi cult, invoking the name of God alone would be against his faith and “If we bring in the name of God at all, we should bring in the name of the Goddess also !” This evoked laughter which did not amuse the President of the Constituent Assembly, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, who admonished members that “‘It is bad as it is, that we have brought in the name of God in our discussion. We should not become

include the word ‘secular’ in the Preamble but again there was no mention of God. Kamath would have been horrified and predicted doom for our country.

Historic date

The Constitution is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties, of the government and spells out the fundamental rights, directive principles and duties of citizens. Passed by the Constituent Assembly on November 26,

‘Not God alone’

Members of the original Constituent Assembly with PM Nehru Pandit Kunzru felt that Kamath’s amendment was inconsistent flippant about it”. with the Preamble which promises liberty Kamath’s amendment was negatived, which of thought, expression, belief , faith and led him to bemoan “ This Sir is a black day worship to everyone. in our annals. God save India.”

Another member , Shri Rohini Kumar In 1976, the Constitution was amended to Chaudhuri opposed, because

1949, signed on January 24 1950, it came into effect on January 26, 1950. India celebrates the adoption of the constitution on January 26 each year as Republic Day. The date 26 January was chosen to

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Dr. Ambedkar is widely considered the chief architect of Indian Constitution

coincide with and commemorate the first Declaration of Independence on that date in 1930. It declares the Union of India to be a sovereign, democratic republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty. The words ‘socialist’, ‘secular’ and ‘integrity’ and to promote among them all, the word ‘Fraternity’ were added to the definition in 1976 by constitutional amendment.

It is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world, containing 395 articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 94 amendments for a total of 117,369 words in the English language version.

Besides the English version, there is an official Hindi translation.

After coming into effect, the Constitution replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India.

Being the supreme law of the country, every law enacted by the government must conform to the Constitution. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, as chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, was the Chief Architect of Indian Constitution.

It was drafted by the Constituent Assembly with 389 members, who were elected by the elected members of the provincial

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assemblies. Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Nalini Ranjan Ghosh were some important figures in the Assembly. There were more than 30 members of the scheduled castes.

Frank Anthony represented the AngloIndian community, and the Parsis were represented by H. P. Modi and R. K. Sidhwa.

The Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians. Prominent jurists like Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Benegal Narsing Rau, K.M. Munshi, and Ganesh Mavlanker were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur were important women members.

The first president of the Constituent Assembly on its inauguration, was Dr. Sachidanand Sinha as the seniormost member, and later, Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly. The members of the Constituent Assembly met for the first time in the year 1947 on December 9.

The Assembly met, in sessions open to

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public, for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution. After many deliberations andsome modifications, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on 24 January, 1950.

Two days later, the Constitution of India became the law, and in its current form, consists of a preamble, 22 parts containing 448 articles, 12 schedules, 5 appendices and over 103amendments to date.

Well-preserved Well over seventy years after Independence, a high-security cell in the sprawling state-of-the-art Parliament Library in New Delhi treasures the first copy of the Republic’s most precious book -- The Constitution. Not the small version of the lengthy document, the first copy of the Constitution like the lofty ideals of its creators, is much larger than usual.

Embellished with beautiful calligraphy and pictures capturing mythical scenes from the Ramayana and historic moments like Mahatma Gandhi leading the Dandi March, the first draft of the Constitution was not

COMMUNITY

like the closely typed pocketbook it is today. Bound in rich blue, the original copy has been preserved in collaboration with the Getty Conservation Institute of the United States and the National Physical Laboratory, India in 1994, and the first copy, conserved in a hermetically sealed nitrogen-filled display case. will be safe for the next 200 years or more.

Right from the easily recognisable signature of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the firm hand of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the original copy bears the seal of

approval of all the architects of the Constitution. Starting with Nehru and ending with the founder of the NehruGandhi dynasty, Feroze Gandhi, the precious document has a rich folklore hidden behind the signatures. The first signature was actually supposed to be that of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, who was the President of the Constituent Assembly. But after the Constitution was adopted, Pandit Nehru was so excited, that he signed first and Dr. Prasad had to scrawl his name right next to it!

Those were friendly and idealistic times – nobody trolled Nehru for his excitement and Dr. Prasad himself was not unduly concerned. Would that the gentle and allembracing spirit of our Constitution is revived to inspire us all!

SONY’s Master TV launch

BUSINESS

Ashrafs Bahrain, the agents for Sony launched the new Z9G 8K LED and A9G 4K OLED televisions which represent state-of-the-art technology and picture quality Part of Sony’s MASTER Series TVs, the prices range from BD 23,999 for the Z9G 98-inch 8K LED TV to BD 1,399 for the A9G 65-inch 4K OLED TV. The name MASTER Series is given only to the very best Sony TVs and provides premium picture quality, colour, contrast, and clarity similar to that of a professional-grade monitor. The MASTER Series TVs also feature Netflix Calibrated Mode and IMAX Enhanced to further ensure that content is delivered as intended.

The launch was attended by Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, Social Programmes & Society Affairs Director, Capital Governorate, Amal Almoayyed, Executive Director, Ashrafs, Hideki Ito, Ambassador of Japan to Bahrain, Takakiyo Fujita, Managing Director, SONY Middle East and Jobin Joejoe, Sales Director, Sony Middle East as well as top management of Ashrafs and the Almoayyed Group.

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HERITAGE

Chugging into the 21st century A whole generation of NRI kids are growing up without experiencing the magic of rail travel.

KALYAN NAMBIAR dedicates this travelogue to them.

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Indian Railways began its journey as a lifeline of the national transport grid in April 1853. On 16 April, India’s very first passenger train set out on a 34 kilometre journey from Bombay (now Mumbai) to Thane, carrying 400 people. In the 167 years since then, the railway network in India has grown to become one of the world’s largest, covering over 151,000 km of tracks and ferrying about 24 million people every day.

While railway fans like to wax romantic about travelling all over India by rail, the fact is that Indian Railways is a creaky behemoth that stays on track despite massive neglect and lack of upgrading. But

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the system itself is inextricably connected to the story of India. So much so that Google in 2018, celebrated the rich history and heritage of Indian Railways with over 100 online exhibitions. Besides featuring scenic routes and historic events, this project, designed in partnership with the Indian ministry of railways, tells the lesserknown stories of the people who keep the trains running. These range from the trackmen and keymen to the pioneering women who’ve become signal engineers and rail managers in an overwhelmingly male-dominated industry.

Here are some interesting facts about Indian Railways: 1. Indian Railways started its service 161 years ago on 16 April 1853 when the

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first passenger train was run over a stretch of 33 kilometres from Mumbai to Thane. The train with 14 railway carriages and three engines named Sahib, Sindh and Sultan, carrying around 400 guests, left Bori Bunder at 3:30 p.m. that day. It was declared a public holiday then.

2. Nationalised in 1951, Indian Railways is today the largest rail network in Asia and the world’s second largest network operated under a single management. It has 121,407 km of track length (March 2017 figures). It runs 12,617 passenger trains to carry over 23 million passengers daily – equivalent to moving the entire population of Australia – connecting more than 7,172 stations.

3. Indian Railways runs more than 7,421 freight trains carrying 3 million tonnes (MT) of freight every day. It has entered a select club of railways that includes China, Russia and USA in carrying more than one billion tons of freight annually. Indian Railways has over 239,281 freight wagons, 59,713 passenger coaches and 9,549 locomotives.

4. A separate budget for the Railways has its genesis in the recommendations of the 10-member Acworth Committee in 1920-21, headed by British railway economist William Acworth. Following his report, the railway finances of India were separated from the general government finances in 1924.

5. In the post-Independence era, railways accounted for 75% of public transport and 90% of freight. Hence, the need for a separate budget. Today, in contrast, the share has reduced to 15% and 30%.

6. The first live telecast of the railway budget took place on 24 March 1994. Lalu

Royapuram railway station is a railway station at Royapuram, on the Chennai Beach– Arakkonam section of the Chennai Suburban Railway network in Chennai, India. It is the oldest railway station currently operatinal in India (the two older stations, one being Thane Station, are no longer operational) and the first railway station of South India. The first train of South India started operating in June 1856 from Royapuram railway station.

The station also remained the headquarters of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway till 1922, when the headquarters was shifted to Egmore.Since the original structures of Bombay and Thane stations no longer exist, Royapuram station remains the oldest railway station in the entire subcontinent.

Owing to lack of maintenance, Royapuram railway station building was degraded to a dilapidated condition over the decades. In 2005, the building was refurbished at an estimated cost of 3.5 million and was re-opened to the public on 2 October 2005 by the then union minister of state for railways, Velu. It is the oldest surviving railway station structures of the Indian Railways,as well as the Indian subcontinent.

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HERITAGE

Interior of 'Palace on Wheels' , considered among the most luxirious trains in the world

Prasad Yadav, who remained Railway Minister from 2004 to May 2009 presented the railway budget six times in a row.

7. In 2000, Mamata Banerjee, who is the current Chief Minister of West Bengal, became the first woman Railway Minister.

In 2002, she also became the first female railway minister to present the railway budget. Additionally, she holds the record of being the only woman who presented the railway budget for two different governments in the centre (NDA and UPA).

8. In 2017, India’s fastest train has successfully completed a trial run at 160 km per hour. In a few months, with the rollout of the first semi-high speed train, passengers will be able to travel between Delhi and Agra in just 90 minutes, cutting the journey time by 30 minutes.

9. The New Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi is currently the fastest train on the Indian Railways network. It reaches a maximum speed of 150 kmph on the FaridabadAgra section.

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10. The Metupalayam-Ooty Nilgiri Passenger train, which runs at an average speed of 10 kmph, is the slowest train.

11. Ghum railway station of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is the highest railway station in India. It is situated at an altitude of 2,258 metres (7,407 ft). The place is the home of the Ghum Monastery and the Batasia Loop, a bend of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

12. The New Delhi Railway Station has secured a place in the Guinness Book of Records for having the world’s largest Route Relay Interlocking System. This system is put to use where multiple tracks are interlocked. It helps divert train movements during periods of high traffic volumes.

13. With over 1.4 million employees on its rolls, Indian Railways is the world's seventh largest employer after the US Department of Defence, the Chinese Army, Wal-Mart, China National Petroleum, State Grid of China and British Health Service, according to The Economist.

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14. Women account for just up to 7% of Indian Railways’ workforce, but one of the exhibitions highlights the untold stories of the pioneers among them. For instance there are M Kalavathy, one of the first female signal engineers, who was from the 1981 batch of railways aspirants, and Mona Srivastava, from the 1998 batch, who became the first woman to join the Indian Railway service of engineers. Another delightful exhibition introduces viewers to Ms Valli, a singing ticket checker on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway who regales tourists and commuters with Indian classical songs.

15. Vande Bharat Express , also known as Train 18, is an Indian semi-high speed intercity electric multiple unit. It was designed and built by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Perambur, Chennai under the Indian government's Make in India initiative over a span of 18 months.

At the original price, it is estimated to be 40% cheaper than a similar train imported from Europe. The train was launched on 15 February 2019, by which

PM Modi flags off 'Vande Bharat' indiginiously built train that plies between New Delhi and Bhopal

date a second unit will have been produced and readied for service. The service was named 'Vande Bharat Express' on 27 January 2019.

16. The renovated platform at Gorakhpur Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh has become the world's longest, measuring 1,366 meter. Until recently, Kharagpur in West Bengal was the longest platform at 1,072 meter, followed

by State Street Center subway station in Chicago at 1,067meter.

17. Indian Railways is building the world’s highest railway bridge-five times the height of Qutub Minar and 35 meters taller than Eiffel Tower. It will come up over the Chenab river on the under construction rail link to the Kashmir Valley. The bridge will rise 359 meters over the Chenab on the UdhampurSrinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project.

Currently, the world’s tallest rail bridge runs over France’s Tarn river.

18. Indian Railways’ longest tunnel is Pir Panjal that links Kashmir Valley with Banihal in Jammu. It runs for a distance of

over 11.2 km. The train with the longest route is Vivek Express. Running between Dibrugarh and Kanyakumari, it covers 4,286 km in around 82 hours and 30 minutes.

19. Toilets were introduced on Indian Railways in 1909, more than half a century after the start of operations.

Indian Railways started computerized reservation in New Delhi in 1986.

20. The Indian Railways has now started displaying reserved charts online.

Passengers can now access information on vacant, booked and partially booked train berths after preparation of the reservation chart. The first reservation chart will be put up about 4 hours before the departure of the train while the second chart can be viewed online 30 minutes before the train departs. The second chart will show the changes in the seat allocations. The new feature will be available on both the web and mobile version of the IRCTC e-ticket booking platform. This new interface will give the

layout of nine classes used in the reserved trains of the Indian Railways and more than 120 different coach layouts have been incorporated.

21. The station with the shortest name is Ib in Odisha.

22. Venkatanarasimharajuvariipeta is the station with the longest name (29 letters). This is sometimes spelled with 'Sri' prefixed.

23. Four sites of Indian Railways have been declared as “World Heritage sites” by the UNESCO. These are Darjeeling, Himalayan Railway inscribed in 1999, Mumbai CST Building inscribed in 2004, Neelgiri Mountain Railways inscribed in 2005 and Kalka-Shimla Railways inscribed in 2008.

24. The Fairy Queen, plying between New Delhi and Alwar in Rajasthan, is the oldest functioning steam engine in the world. It has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records and has also received the Heritage Award from the International Tourist Bureau, Berlin.

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Sabya signs up with H&M

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fter collaborating with the likes of French luxury fashion house Balmain and Italian luxury fashion company Versace, Swedish fast-fashion retailer Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) on Tuesday announced its first Indian collaboration with designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. The designer, under his label Sabyasachi, is known for the use of Indian textiles in the construction of modern silhouettes.

Launching on 16 April, the collaboration themed ‘Wanderlust’ will present hand-crafted and eclectic travel pieces, the retailer said.

“At H&M, we are thrilled to announce our collaboration with iconic Indian designer Sabyasachi, known for his dynamic use of indigenous crafts and textiles -- a language so stunning, that it permanently altered the fashion and design landscape of the country,“ said Ella Soccorsi, concept designer at collaborations & special collections, H&M. H&M, which entered India in 2015, reported sales of `1,108.2 crore in the year ended 30 November, 2018. The retailer currently operates a total of 46 stores across the country.

The Sabyasachi x H&M collection will offer both apparels and accessories for men and women. The collection will be available in all H&M stores in India as well as selected H&M flagship stores around

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FASHION

the world and online on HM.com and Myntra.

“I’m happy to announce the collaboration with H&M, as it gives us the opportunity to spread the Sabyasachi aesthetic to a wider audience in India and worldwide. Having done couture for the majority of my career, it is very exciting to bring that finesse of craft to ‘ready-to-wear’ and create whimsical and fluid silhouettes that bring relaxed sophistication to everyday life,“ said designer Sabyasachi.

Taking cues from India’s rich textile, craft and history, the collection will be a mix of modern and traditional silhouettes tilting towards athleisure. A key highlight of this collection will be Indian textile and print traditions brought to life by the Sabyasachi Art Foundation founded by the designer.

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FASHION

A solar spot with Saree Speak Those wonderful ladies at Saree Speak Bahrain have done it again! This time, led by Pradnya Subandh and Sunanda Gaikwad, the members of the online Saree Speak group met up in real-life to celebrate the Maharashtrian women’s festival of Haldi-Kumkum.

The celebration coincides with Makara Sankranti, when the Sun God Surya is worshipped and thanked for the warming solar rays that dispel winter blues. Ladies are feted and married women are offered auspicious

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turmeric and vermillion.

The organisers pulled out all stops to give the gathering a truly Marathi feel, with traditional games and songs and authentic Maharashtrian festive cuisine.

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2020

41

HEALTH

To vape or not to vape?

A

Majority of People Want Governments to Do More to Reduce Smoking Rates, According to a New Global Survey from Philip Morris International s more and more countries debate the possibility of banning vaping and non-smoke tobacco

products, Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI), one of the largest purveyors of tobacco products in the world, has released a new white paper titled, ‘Unsmoke Your Mind: Pragmatic Answers to Tough Questions for a Smoke-Free Future’. Based on an independent survey—commissioned by PMI and conducted by Povaddo among 17,251 adults aged 21-74 across 14 countries— the paper examines public opinions of the regulatory, scientific and corporate landscape as PMI focuses on advancing smoke-free products to replace cigarettes as soon as possible.

Nearly 9 in 10 respondents (87 percent) agreed that “when developing regulations, governments, regulators and public health bodies should consider the current science relating to e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products.” Further underscoring support for scientific substantiation in this category is the fact that 89 percent of respondents agreed that “before introducing e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products to consumers, manufacturers must conduct robust scientific assessments on their products.”

While it is best to quit tobacco and nicotine altogether or never to start using them, the reality is that there are millions of adult smokers who would otherwise continue smoking in the absence of a better alternative. Science and technology have now created these better alternatives, and these men and women should have access to them. Denying them access to these science-based better products means

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they will continue to smoke.

As smoke-free alternatives are increasingly in the headlines, the Unsmoke Your Mind white paper explores challenging questions the public has about the role of these products today.

Breathe in

Globally, nine out of ten people have no choice but to breathe polluted air every day.Whether it’s exhaust fumes from traffic, industrial emissions, cooking vapors, haze from burning trees and stubble, dust clouds whipped up by winds or microplastics, everybody has experience of air pollution.

Recently, scientists have discovered that the situation may be even more dire than we’d feared, with potential links to brain cancer.

No wonder that in a 2018 global survey commissioned by PMI, respondents rated air pollution as the most important public health issue requiring government time and resources. The World Health Organization (WHO) agrees, ranking air pollution, together with climate change, as the greatest threat to global health. It’s also

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2020

worth noting that nearly one in five respondents (19 percent) said they consider it “not very important” or “not important at all” that the government address the issue of smoking. The lower ranking of smoking on this list as an issue the government should address is at odds with the actual impact of cigarette-related diseases. It may be that people feel current government initiatives in this area are sufficient, not being aware of the large numbers of people who continue to smoke.

Globally, the prevalence of smoking has fallen significantly in recent decades, although progress has not been evenly distributed across geographies and populations. One consequence of these overall reduced rates is that nonsmokers are less likely to have regular social contact with smokers. Smoking has been banned from enclosed public places in many countries, so nonsmokers are much less often exposed to cigarettes against their will. At the same time, smokers are more aware that their smoking bothers

Ultimately, the fight to reduce smoking can only be won by following a three-point message board: • If you don’t smoke, don’t start.

• If you smoke, quit.

• If you don’t quit, change.

nonsmokers, so they go outside to smoke or to a separate area. And, as the zeitgeist has shifted against smoking, it has also become increasingly less common to see it in movies and TV shows.

Denormalised

In many communities in many countries, it could be argued that smoking has been “denormalised.” The net effect of all this is that smoking has become a background issue for growing numbers of nonsmokers.

In countries where smoking in public places is restricted or banned, nonsmokers are rarely if ever exposed to cigarette smoke for more than a moment on the odd occasion. For people old enough to remember when smoking was a social norm, the change has been huge.

Nonsmokers can ride public transportation and go to bars and restaurants knowing that there will be no cigarette smoke. They won’t come home with their hair and clothes smelling of other people’s smoke.

Consequently, for many nonsmokers the hazards of cigarettes are now other people’s problem. It’s not their concern.

And they may well have concluded that smoking is well in hand as a public health issue. Out of sight, out of mind.

The reality is far different. While the percentage of particular populations smoking is declining, globally the number of smokers overall has increased due to population growth. And even in countries where antismoking initiatives have had a big impact, there are still many smokers.

For example, in the U.K., after years of consistent reductions, 14.7 percent of the population were smokers in 2018, which equates to around 7.2 million people. In the U.S., cigarette smoking has fallen to its lowest point in recorded history, but around 34.3 million people still smoke.

Even at current rates of progress, it will take many more years to reduce these percentages to low single figures.

Unsmoke message

Trust in combustible cigarettes was breached decades ago, when the medical evidence established that the use of these products carries inherent and serious health risks. Everyone now knows that

cigarettes are harmful and addictive. And so whatever level of trust smokers have in their preferred cigarette brands has to do not with long-term safety, but with taste, consistency or some other factor. The inherent dangers are known. This context is different for smoke-free alternatives— which, though a better choice than continued smoking, are not risk-free 38 and contain nicotine, which is addictive. For most people—the nonsmoker majorities in most countries—smoke-free alternatives such as e-cigarettes were not a top-ofmind issue until quite recently. Headlines stemming from the recent incidents of vaping-related lung illnesses in the U.S. have given more people reason to pay attention to e-cigarettes and to question these products’ safety and trustworthiness, even if they’re not a product they would use themselves.

Ultimately, the fight to reduce smoking can only be won by following a three-point message board: • If you don’t smoke, don’t start.

• If you smoke, quit.

• If you don’t quit, change.

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Premjith takes Bahrain sky-high

U

ndoubtedly one of Bahrain’s finest photographers and a passionate star-gazer, Premjith Narayan has raised the bar literally sky-high for talented ‘amateurs’ in the Kingdom. One of his photos capturing the speed and adrenaline of the Formula One 2019 for Salaam Bahrain magazine has been

chosen by photographic equipment maker Canon’s dedicated magazine as the best photo of the motor sporting event.

More recently, Premjith set up his equipment and proceeded to capture a breathtaking series of photos of the Annular Solar eclipse (partial) in all its glory over Bahrain skies on 26 December 2019.

This time, the photo has been chosen as Image of the Month by BBC Astronomy magazine. “Sky at Night” chose the Annular Solar Eclipse from Bahrain for publication in the forthcoming issue of March 2020.

“This will be a great honour as the selection was done with respect to other photos from global contributors,” Premjith said, “Apart from the details of the camera and the settings, BBC requested alongwith the publication brief words of practical advice to readers about taking an image like this - how to capture solar events, what gears are essential etc..

Following up on this success, Premjith has also signed a contract recently with National Geographic Partners, llc (“Ngp”) to use the photograph of the Annular Solar eclipse for their forthcoming project “Big Book of WOW” which will have a print-run of more than 50,000 copies.

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YOUNGISTAN

Giving students the FIITJEE advantage FIITJEE enjoys a strong footing in the preparation and selections for prestigious competitive and scholastic examinations conducted in India and abroad to the likes of IITJEE, International Olympiads, SAT, NTSE, KVPY and AP. It is a trendsetter in introducing various unique programs and services like Integrated Programs, AITS, CPPs, Quizzes, Archives, and simulated exams and now its unique online digital testing system myPat (www.mypat.in) Realising the need in the Middle East (where a good chunk of aspiring students used to relocate to India to prepare for different competitive examinations) FIITJEE launched its first overseas venture in this beautiful Kingdom in the year 2008. Ever since, hundreds of students have taken the FIITJEE advantage training and many of them qualified IIT JEE, bagged perfect SAT and AP scores and are well placed in IITs, NITs and other prestigious colleges in India and Abroad. Many of its students have already graduated and are currently employed with blue chip companies like Microsoft, Oracle, Citibank, Exxon etc. FIITJEE can proudly claim to have raised the bar of excellence for CBSE students over these years in regard to their enhanced analytical skills, comprehension, school and board examinations scores and their selections through fierce competition. FIITJEE students are also doing extremely well in non-academic and extra-curricular activities like MUNs and World Scholar Cups apart from bringing laurels in Bahrain based on Science and Mathematics related competitions.

Highlights and advantages of FIITJEE: • An experienced team of faculties known for producing results.

• Innovative learning and testing mechanisms.

• Thoroughly researched and exhaustive study material • Options to choose subjects -Physics/ Chemistry or Mathematics Programs variants: • Evening & Weekend • Integrated/ Classroom • Crash Courses (for Boards & entrance exams) For details and enrollments please call +973 36543868, 36041561 or write to us at bahrain.classes@fiitjee.com FIITJEE takes this opportunity to wish all the residents of Bahrain a very happy 2020.

Indian weightlifter inspires ISB students Inspiring and motivating students for higher achievements in sports, Majiziya Bhanu, the 23-year-old Indian professional weightlifter interacted with the Indian School students. Majiziya recently won a gold medal in the 56 kg senior women’s open category at the World Powerlifting Championship held in Russia for the second year in a row. She came to limelight when she won the Miss Kerala title at the Mr Kerala competition in 2018 organised by the Sports Council of Kerala, making her the only hijab-clad woman to win the prize. ‘ In the initial days, men used to stare at me as I had my hijab on. But soon they realised that I was as serious as them in my workouts. Then all the eyes disappeared’, Majiziya said. ‘I wear a hijab and I am proud of it as it’s my identity. I felt special and unique when I was on stage wearing one. I want to let the world know that the hijab is never an obstacle for a woman who wants to achieve the impossible. It’s not just a piece of cloth, it offers strength and dignity’, she said.

Majiziya Bhanu has won several medals in national and international level competitions in powerlifting and arm-wrestling ever since she entered the field in 2016. She was awarded the ‘best lifter’ prize at the World Powerlifting Championship held in Russia in which she won gold at the 56 kg senior women’s category and the deadlift category. She is a final-year BDS student at the Mahe Institute of Dental Sciences.

Indian School's Executive Committee led by Chairman Prince S Natarajan, and the Vice-Principals attended the reception.

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CULTURE

Ambitious local comedy draws crowds

The third production of local theatre group Khwabgaah was a comedy Zill-e-Tabahi set in the court of Emperor Akbar and based on the legendary love story of Salim and the courtesan Anarkali. Only, this one, with its preoccupation with glass palaces that the Emperor cannot afford and plots to raise money through trading with the English who don’t turn up, had a happier ending.

Sumptuous sets, superb marketing and a full house made it a happy ending for the organisers too!

Kudos to writer-director Anupam Kinger who is the creative fount behind this and other Khwabgaah productions.

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DINING OUT

DESI SPICE brings out the best in homely cooking

Set in a green garden space, Desi Spice is a well-established Indian restaurant just off the main New Zinj Road (you go past the Salmaniya signal and take a turn opposite Nasser Pharmacy) and serves a fabulous array of hearty meals as well as delectable tongue-tickling chaat preparations.

In winter, you can sample some authentic stuffed parantha – the all-time favourites of aloo, gobi, paneer are available and served with a simple raita and pickle that do not overshadow the taste. Or, if you feel inclined, drop in for a thali lunch on a weekday – with a variety of curries and daal as well as a choice of vegetarian and meat options, you will find the meal filling and tasty in the old-fashioned sense.

Because of its garden setting the restaurant attracts families and children are welcome.

However, despite the busy crowd, it is a spotlessly clean place and filled with the warm aroma of Indian spices and curry. The pani puri is very popular and the assortment of subzi offer a tasty accompaniment to the flakiest, softest and freshest bread basket.

The management has great plans for future expansion with another branch at a location away from Manama. They will very soon open their doors for ladies’ parties in the morning hours.

Meanwhile, drop in and get a bite of the most delicious action in Manama!

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CUISINE

An Asian snack smorgasbord

While big players vie for a multi-billion dollar snacks market, ADITI NAGAPPA strings together some Asian snack treats when the winter cold gets to you!

The winter chills awaken the ‘nibblehunger’ in us all and we find ourselves reaching for in-between-meal snacks more often than before. Inevitably these are deep-fried and positively radiating calories.

As celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor sadly told me once, “We Indians talk salad but eat samosa!”

Well, who are we to fight the trend, hey?

But instead of always chomping on Indian snacks, we have taken a culinary tour of Asian streets and kitchens to come up with unusual tastes and recipes from different countries to put a punch into your snacking.

Snack foods are increasingly wellpackaged these days and travel around the world in NRI luggage. Blogger Radhika Nair writes, “When I travel back from Kerala, my bags are typically loaded with banana chips, roasted coconut powder, tender mangoes in brine and at least a packet of the finest Telicherry pepper. A Tamilian’s bags might reveal appalam, murukku and a host of masala mixes; a Bihari will definitely carry sattu. Ask anyone living away from their state of origin what they miss about ‘home’ and chances are you will get a list of food specialities.”

‘Bhujia in our blood’

Processed and packaged snacks are a multi-millon dollar business the world over and Asian snacks have adapted well to the trend. Indian bhujia kings Haldiram’s, Bikanerwala and Bhikaji , three brands owned by three Agarwal families, all from Bikaner, sold savoury snacks worth 1$ billion in calendar 2018,

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cornering over a quarter of India’s overall packaged snacks market and more than half the desi namkeen segment.

So, what helped the Agarwal community from the western state of Rajasthan outpace companies such as “Bhujia business is in our blood and we have been doing it for 80 years. With the entire family involved, there is a higher sense of brand ownership, which no company professional can match,” said Kamal Agarwal, 45, a fourth generation member of the Haldiram founding family, “Decision making is fast and we understand the pulse of the market in terms of consumer taste.”

Traditional snacks now account for more than half

the market with both multinationals and homegrown companies pushing namkeen into the hinterland with attractive packaging and pricing. In the past few years, branded namkeen varieties such as dal, chivra, bhujia and nuts have been increasing their contribution within the overall snacks market worth Rs 27,500 crore. Experts feel brands from Bikanervala have been cashing in on this changing taste with a firstmover advantage.

But it is not just North India snacks that have hit the home run. Increasingly, food manufacturers are discovering an untapped and hungry snack food market in the South for traditional Southern munchies. South Indian treats like murukku and seedai have also been successfully packaged by companies like MTR and sold. Now, PepsiCo has entered the market and its potato wafer brand Lays will be adding to a long list of traditional snacks right from murukku

to banana chips to tapioca chips amongst others.

They will also have to compete with makers who has mastered the needs of the market for years.

Local appeal

Pepsi claims that their products have been received well in this market. They have recently launched Kurkure Masala Munch with gingelly oil which is the most used oil in South India. The American food and beverage company has managed to identify a sweet spot common across the five states.

Meanwhile, the lure of street food is still strong even though consumers are demanding more hygiene and better quality ingredients. In Bahrain, of course, our wait is shorter because the Ministry of Health has strict rules in place for food handlers and restaurant premises.

If you still want to try out a home-prepared snack, choose from our exotic Asian snack recipes and give it a stir(fry)!

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CUISINE

BURMA

BAYA KYAW

Split peas fritters, very similar to Indian masala vada INGREDIENTS

1 cup or 225 grams (approx.) yellow split peas

¼ tsp. paprika or chilli powder, depending

1 chopped red chilli or 2 green ones.

2 tbsp. water for grinding the peas.

¼ tsp. turmeric powder

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp. salt

Handful fresh coriander leaves chopped

on your spice tolerance

Oil for deep frying

PREPARATION 1. Wash and soak yellow split peas overnight or up to 7-8 hours.

2. Transfer the dal to colander and drain the water. Take ½ of the peas in a food processor and coarsely pulse it. Set aside in a bowl.

3. Take the remaining split peas in the processor bowl, add chopped chillies and process it until smooth. Add some water if required.

4. Transfer ground paste to the bowl of coarsely pulsed peas, add onion, cilantro, salt, chilli powder/paprika, coriander leaves and mix everything together.

5. Heat oil in a pan to deep fry the fritters.

6. Using a teaspoon scoop out some mixture. Using another teaspoon shape the mixture to an oval shape.

7. Drop in hot oil and fry for 2-4 minutes on medium flame until golden brown. You can fry 6-8 fritters at a time in each batch.

8. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Serve warm with coriander chutney or sour chilli-tamarind dip.

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KOREA

NOKDUJEON -KOREAN STYLE A mung bean pancake very similar to the North Indian Chilla or Andhra Pesaretu.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups dried peeled and split mung beans* yields about 4 cups soaked

225 gms sukju namul (mung bean sprouts)

225 gms grams kimchi

6 - 8 scallions

110 gms ground red meat

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp sesame oil

salt

1. Rinse and soak the mung beans in water for 3 - 4 hours. Drain.

vegetable oil for pan frying

2. Meanwhile, cook the mung bean sprouts in boiling water for about 2

PREPARATION

minutes (you can skip this blanching if preferred). Rinse in cold water to stop

DIPPING SAUCE

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp vinegar (or to taste)

2 tbsp water

Pinch of black pepper

Pinch of dried red chilli flakes - optional

cooking. Drain and gently squeeze out excess water.

3. Thinly slice the kimchi and scallions. In a large bowl, combine the kimchi, bean sprouts, scallions, meat, soy sauce, sesame oil and garlic. Mix well.

4. In a blender, grind 2 cups of the soaked beans in ¾ cup of cold water with ½ teaspoon of salt until it has a coarse, sandlike consistency.

5. Add to the vegetable and meat mixture. Repeat with the remaining beans.

Gently mix the mung bean batter until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

6. Heat 2 tablespoons or more of oil – be generous here - in a non-stick pan over medium to medium high heat. Ladle the mixture into the pan and spread it evenly into a thin round shape, about the size of your palm.

7. Cook until the bottom is golden brown (2 - 3 minutes), and turn it over, adding more oil. Press it down with a spatula, and cook for another 2- 3 minutes. Repeat the process with the rest of the mixture.

8. Serve hot off the pan with the dipping sauce.

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CUISINE

SRI LANKA

STUFFED BEEF ROTI

A hearty snack that is easy to make and can be adapted to vegetarian or vegan diets by using paneer or tofu.

INGREDIENTS Godhamba Roti

500 g / 1 lb flour 1 cup warm water 1 ½ tsp salt

Oil to coat

Curried Beef Filling

500 g / 1 lb ground beef 10 oz potatoes boiled and peeled and at room temp.

2 tsp curry powder 1 jalapeno chopped 1/ 3 red onion finely chopped 3 tbsp tomato ketchup 2 garlic cloves chopped ¾ cup frozen peas thawed ½ tsp cayenne pepper optional Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION For the Godhamba Roti 1. Combine all the ingredients (except oil) in a mixer bowl and knead for 6 - 10 minutes until soft and smooth.

2. Portion out to 16 dough balls for regular sized stuffed roti.

3. Coat each dough ball with oil and place it on a well-oiled tray in one layer. Make sure the dough balls are not touching each other as they can stick together easily.

4. Cover and leave them to rest for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Curried Beef Filling 1. Heat a nonstick pan with 1 tbsp of oil.

2. Add the onions, garlic and jalapeno (or green chilli pepper) and saute until softened.

3. Add the curry powder, cayenne pepper and saute for just a few seconds.

4. Add the ground beef, a generous pinch of salt, and tomato ketchup. Cook while stirring, until the beef is cooked through and separated.

Make sure the moisture in ground beef is cooked out completely. Add the peas and cook until the peas are heated though and cooked.

5. Season to taste.

6. Let the filling cool slightly and add the potatoes. Gently crush the potatoes into the filling and mix through. Having small chunks of potatoes in the filling is preferred, so you don’t have to mash it all the way.

7. Taste and season again, if needed.

8. Let the filling cool completely.

Making Beef Roti

1. Roll out one large dough ball and cut it in half for two mini stuffed rotis, or just one large regular stuffed roti.

2. Place 1 dough ball on a flat, smooth and clean surface. Use oiled hands to flatten out the dough ball to a fairly thin round sheet (cut in half if you want to make mini stuffed rotis). Place a generous amount of filling in the middle of the roti (2 generous tablespoons for mini stuffed roti). To make it easier, shape the filling to the same shape you want your roti to be.

3. Wrap the roti around the filling to form the shape you prefer. Squares and rolls are the easiest. Make sure you wrap the filling by stretching the roti around itself to double wrap and the filling is properly sealed in.

4. Place the prepared rotis on an oiled plate until you are ready to cook them.

5. Heat a griddle or a nonstick pan to medium high heat. Lightly oil the surface with a pastry brush.

6. When the surface is nice and hot, place the stuffed roti on the griddle a few minutes per side until the roti is cooked and turns golden brown and crispy. Make sure all the sides of the roti are cooked.

7. Serve warm with spicy chili sauce or tomato ketchup or yogurt raita.

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55

CUISINE

INDONESIA

INDONESIAN CHICKEN WINGS INGREDIENTS

• 1 kilo and 400 grams chicken wings, separated at the joint • 1 cup tamarind paste • 1 tbsp. ground coriander • 1 tbsp. ground turmeric • 1⁄2 tsp. cayenne • 10 candlenuts or unsalted macadamia nuts • 6 small shallots, peeled • 4 cloves garlic, peeled

• 2 stalks lemongrass, white parts only, trimmed and thinly sliced • 1 (2”) piece galangal or ginger, peeled and thinly sliced • Kosher salt, to taste • 2 cups unsweetened coconut water • 2 bay leaves • Peanut oil, for frying

PREPARATION 1. Purée tamarind paste, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, candlenuts, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, and salt in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and add wings; toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap; chill overnight.

2. Transfer wings and marinade to a 6-qt. saucepan. Add coconut water and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook until chicken is cooked through, 40–45 minutes. Drain wings; pat dry using paper towels.

3. Wipe pan clean; heat 2” oil until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°. Working in batches, fry wings until browned and crisp, 1–2 minutes.

Transfer to paper towels to drain.

4. Serve hot with sweet chilli sauce

INDIA

INSTANT SOOJI VADA INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup rava/semolina • 3/4 cup slightly sour yoghurt • 2 tbsp coriander, leaves, finely chopped • 1 inch ginger, diced • 1 green chili, finely chopped • 3 tbsp onion, finely chopped • 5 Curry leaves, chopped roughly • Fat pinch of asafetida powder • Salt to taste • Oil for frying

PREPARATION 1. Sieve the semolina and add all the chopped ingredients, salt and asafetida. Mix well.

2. Add the yoghurt and mix till a soft, semi-solid dough is formed. The dough should be granular and less solid than paratha dough but not liquid either.

3. Cover with a lid and rest for 25 minutes.

4. Grease hands and take a lemon sized portion of the dough. Flatten and poke a hole in the middle. Since hand is greased, it will slide easily into oil. If you find this difficult,

FUSION

BABY CORN PEPPER FRY INGREDIENTS

• 20 baby corns • 1/2 of a medium capsicum, chopped • 4-5 sprigs (25-30 leaves) curry leaves • 10-12 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and cut lengthwise • Crushed pepper, to taste • Salt to taste • Oil for deep frying

FOR THE BATTER

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour (maida) • 1/4 cup cornflour (cornstarch) • 1/4 cup + 1 or 2 tablespoons water • Salt to taste

PREPARATION 1. Wash the babycorn and trim the end. Cut into 3 parts each (or into desired size). Transfer into a pressure cooker, add approx 1 cup water and salt to taste and cook till one whistle. Let the cooker cool down before opening it. Drain off the water (you can use it to flavour soups or as stock for pulaos etc). Keep aside 2. In a small bowl prepare the batter by mixing the flours, salt and the 1/4 cup of water and a little extra to achieve a loose batter (should be slightly thinner than podi/pakora batter so add water little by little and test).

3. Heat oil for deep frying and when it is ready (hot but not smoking), dip the pre cooked baby corn pieces in the prepared batter till they are well coated and release them gently into the oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes or till they turn slightly golden. Remove onto an absorbent kitchen tissue to drain off excess oil.

4. In a frying pan or kadhai heat some oil and fry the curry leaves and chopped garlic till the garlic turns golden brown. Take care not to fry beyond this point as the garlic will burn and taste bitter 5. Add the chopped capsicum and fry till the raw smell goes away and the pieces look slightly translucent 6. Add the fried babycorn and sprinkle the crushed pepper and salt to take 7. Serve hot as a starter or side dish

cut a sandwich bag and use the smooth plastic surface to pat out vada shapes.

5. Heat oil to a little over medium hot. Over a medium flame, slip in the vada two or three at a time and fry till golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towel and serve hot with coconut chutney. *Tip: Always watch the heat of the oil and keep adjusting flame. If oil gets too hot, the vada will come out dark and hard. If not hot enough, the vada will soak up too much oil.

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57

CUISINE

FUSION

CRAB RANGOON INGREDIENTS

• 225 gms block cream cheese • 225 gms fresh or canned crab meat (drained and flaked) • 1 teaspoon red onion (chopped) • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce • 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce • Black pepper (to taste) • 1 green onion (finely sliced) • 1 large clove garlic (smashed, peeled, and finely minced) • 1 package wonton wrappers • Salt to taste • 1 small bowl water • Oil (for deep frying)

PREPARATION 1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Combine the cream cheese and crab meat in a medium-sized mixing bowl. One ingredient at a time, mix in the red onion, Worcestershire, soy sauce, black pepper, green onion, and garlic. Combine thoroughly and set aside.

3. On a flat surface, lay out a wonton wrapper at an angle so it forms a diamond (not a square). Wet the edges of the wrapper by dipping your finger in the water in the bowl and wiping the edges of the wonton.

4. Add 1 teaspoon of filling to the middle of the wonton.

5. Carefully bring up the four points of the wrapper so they all meet in the middle but do not touch each other yet. Gently press the sides against the filling and then adhere all of the edges together so a point forms on top. The dumpling should be a four-sided triangle with a bottom. Make sure there are no air bubbles by carefully pushing the sides toward each other.

6. Keep the completed crab rangoon covered with a damp kitchen or paper towel to keep them from drying out while preparing the remainder of the dumplings.

7. Heat a wok and add enough oil for deep frying. When the oil is hot and ready, carefully slide in the crab rangoon, taking care not to overcrowd the wok. Deep-fry until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning once. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate and drain. Cook remaining crab rangoon.

8. Serve hot with sweet and sour sauce

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THAILAND

FLUFFY COCONUT PANCAKES

This sweet treat is quick to whip up and makes a great after-school snack.

INGREDIENTS

1 can (14 ounces) and 1/3 cup coconut milk ½ cup coconut (unsweetened shredded) 2 eggs 1 ½ tbsps sugar (granulated) 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter (melted) Optional: 1 teaspoon coconut flavoring 1 cup all-purpose flour 3 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt

½ cup oil for frying

¼ cup table syrup (maple syrup works perfectly)

PREPARATION 1. In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the can of coconut milk with the shredded coconut. Set aside.

2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sugar then melted butter, and whisk again until light and fluffy.

3. Add the egg mixture to the coconut milk mixture, stirring well to combine. Also, add the coconut flavoring (if using).

4. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

5. Now add the wet coconut-egg mixture to the dry flour mixture, stirring well to combine.

6. Heat a frying pan or flat-bottomed wok with a heavy base over high heat for 30 seconds.

Reduce heat to medium for another 30 seconds. Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl around, then ladle about 1/4 cup pancake batter (for large pancakes) into the middle of the pan. Jiggle the pan a little or tilt to spread the batter out (if needed).

7. When surface around is covered with bubbles, flip and cook the other side. Always add more oil when frying the next batch, or it may stick. Also, you may need to lower the heat as you go, or the pan might become too hot and burn your pancakes before they're cooked. Medium-low heat is best once your pan is good and hot.

8. Stack pancakes and sprinkle with grated coconut. Pour over the syrup and serve hot.

Making the Coconut Syrup Simply combine the coconut milk and syrup, stirring well. Adjust the flavors by adding more coconut milk or more syrup depending on your taste preferences.

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PHILIPPINES

EASY PINOY PANCIT BIHON

INGREDIENTS • 250 grams cooked rice vermicelli noodles (bihon) • ¼ cup vegetable oil, for cooking • 2 fillets boneless chicken thigh, sliced thinly • 200 grams large shrimp, peeled and deveined • 1 Chinese chorizo, sliced thinly on the bias • 1/2 cup fish balls, assorted, sliced into thin rounds

• 1 onion, peeled and chopped • 2 to 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced • 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced thinly on the bias • 1 small cabbage, shredded • 1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth • 1/4 cup soy sauce • 2 tbsps green onion, snipped • Sliced, hard-boiled eggs for garnish

Preparation

1. Soak bihon noodles in cold water for around 30 minutes and drain well.

2. In a wide skillet or wok, heat half the oil. Add chicken, stirring regularly, and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes or until they start to brown. Add shrimp and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until they start to change color. Set aside.

3. Wipe down wok or skillet and add more oil as needed. Cook chorizo slices, stirring regularly, until they start to brown. Add fish balls. Set aside.

4. Use the same wok to cook onions and garlic until limp. Add carrots and cook for about 30 seconds. Add cabbage. Return chicken, chorizo, fish balls, and shrimp to wok. Toss and stir until vegetables are tender yet crisp.

5. Add noodles. Pour in chicken stock in half cup increments. Pour in soy sauce. Gently toss and stir, adding more liquid as needed, until noodles have expanded yet are still firm to the bite and liquid is absorbed.

6. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with snipped green onions and hard-boiled egg slices. Serve with a squeeze of calamansi or Philippines lime.

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CUISINE

FUSION

AVOCADO EGG ROLLS with Tamarind-Cashew Sauce INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes • 4 ripe avocados (chopped) • 1/4 cup cilantro (minced) • 1/3 cup diced red onion • 1 tablespoon lime juice • 1 teaspoon salt • 20 egg roll wrappers • Vegetable oil (for frying)

For the Tamarind Cashew Sauce • 4 teaspoons white vinegar • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar • 1 tablespoon lime juice • 1 tablespoon sugar • 1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric • 1 teaspoon cumin

• 2 green onions • 2 cloves garlic • 1/2 cup cashews or almonds • 2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes. Toss with the chopped avocado, onion, cilantro, salt, and lime juice in a large bowl.

2. Turn the egg roll wrappers on an angle, so that the corner is facing you. Place one to two tablespoons of filling towards the center of the wrapper. Brush the edges of the wrapper with water.You can use a pastry brush or your finger.

3. Fold the corner over the filling tightly. Start rolling the egg roll in the same direction and fold in the two side corners as you roll. Keep the wrapper tight around the filling. Continue rolling until the filling is completely enclosed in the wrapper. Set it aside on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue filling wrappers until you run out of filling.

4. Pour oil into a pot to a 2-inch depth and heat to 350 F. Add three or four rolls to the hot oil at a time. Cook for three to four minutes or until golden brown.

5. Remove the egg rolls from the oil and allow them to drain on a paper towel lined plate.

For the Dipping Sauce

1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor till velvety yet slightly grainy.

2. Cut the egg rolls diagonally and serve with the sauce and serve.

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YOUNGISTAN

NMS- DPS scholars excel in International Olympiad The New Millennium School, DPS Bahrain continued its tradition of excellence in International Olympiad exams in the recently declared results of the Economics and Commerce International Olympiad, conducted by the International Olympiad Foundation.

The meritorious students made the alma mater proud by winning 6 Gold Medals, 4 Silver Medals and 4 Bronze Medals and 14 Scholar Badges.

The school also received 2 Gold Plated Shields for its excelling performance. Special Memento was presented to Arun Kuumar Sharma, Principal NMS-DPS Bahrain, as a mark of gratitude for his consistent support and guidance.

The Chairman, Dr.Ravi Pillai, Managing Director, Geetha Pillai and Principal, Arun Kuumar Sharma appreciated the laudable achievement and expressed their gratitude to the teachers and parents for guiding the students throughout.

71st Republic Day Greetings from The Management, Principal, Teachers & the Students

NEW MILLENNIUM SCHOOL - DPS ‘Where young minds flourish’

BUILDING 399, ROAD 3009, BLOCK 330, BUGHAZAL, MANAMA, KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN TEL. : 1727 2700 | FAX: 1727 5151 | EMAIL: nmsedu@nmsedu.bh

www.nms.edu.bh

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BUSINESS

Helping customers fulfil their financial aspirations With the opening of its latest Sitra branch, UAE Exchange has taken its services closer to customers, with an expanding footprint The relationship between India and Bahrain dates back centuries, and even today, the two countries enjoy healthy bilateral political, economic and cultural relations. The bond has deepened with the first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the Kingdom in August 2019 that set the stage for stronger bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

According to the last World Bank report, India was the highest recipient of remittances at $79 billion in 2018. One of the drivers for this is stronger outflows from some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Bahrain which has around 350,000 Indian nationals who comprise a third of the Kingdom’s total population.

For seamless, convenient and secure movement of money across geographical borders, customers turn to one of Bahrain’s leading money transfer, foreign exchange and payments solutions brand, UAE Exchange. With forty years of global experience in the remittance and payments sector, UAE Exchange continues to be a frontrunner when it comes to offering multi-channel financial products and services to customers in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

UAE Exchange enables customers to realise their financial aspirations through a diverse range of omnichannel financial services such as money transfer, foreign currency exchange and bill payments for multiple services like credit card, mobile and the internet. The brand’s customer-centric approach leads its innovation strategy and facilitates exceptional customer experiences that combine convenience, speed and value. The brand has also received the prestigious ISO 9001:2008 certification, exemplifying its

commitment to unparalleled service to its customers. A long with online and digital solutions, UAE Exchange currently has 11 branches conveniently located across the Kingdom and serves customers with secure and simplified onestop financial services and solutions attuned to their schedule and lifestyle.

Beyond the business, giving back to the community is part of UAE Exchange’s ethos.

Over the years, the brand has organised various social and cultural initiatives for the Indian community to thank and reward its valued customers and to build connected communities that thrive.

On the occasion of India’s 71st Republic Day, UAE Exchange salutes the spirit of India and extends warm wishes to her citizens.

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2020

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SALAAM SOCIETY

Pongalo-Pongal by Bharathi Association The Tamil harvest festival of Pongal evokes strong emotional sentiments among the Tamilians in Bahrain. The Bharathi Association pulled out all stops to make this a memorable festive celebration, flying in popular singers Raja King, Guru Ayyadurai and Faridha for an evening concert of folk and film music. There was a morning function with the traditional boiling of new grain in clay pots and recreation of rural games. Guests in the crisp veshti and jibba and glowing silks added to the atmosphere of joy.

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CELEB CHAKKAR

What’s on Ranbir’s plate?

Like most of us, stars aren’t too fond of their veggies and it is the duty of their private chefs to devise innovative ways to dress and disguise vegetables into dishes that match their exacting taste standards and also caloric requirements.

Take the challenge of keeping Ranbir Kapoor well-fed but lean, for instance. That’s the job of the star’s private chef Harsh Dixit who has travelled with him from Bulgaria to Manali with the actor for the shooting of his forthcoming magnum opus, Brahmastra.

Ranbir told Dixit about his dislike for zucchini, thyme and broccoli, and his fondness for all things meat when he signed him on. “I knew that if I had to feed him veggies, I would have to juice it, include it in a curry, like pumpkin gravy, or pound them into tikkis. As long as the vegetable is not visible, he will have it,” he says.

Armed with essential ingredients and equipment, these travelling chefs operate out of hotel kitchens, BNBs with kitchenettes, and sometimes, even portable ‘vanity kitchens’ to ensure their pampered clients get a hot and healthy meal fresh from the pan.

“If an actor is on a diet, it’s difficult for him or her to follow it, when shooting abroad or even outside the city,” says Dixit, who began his career in the kitchen of a popular Chinese restaurant in Bandra. “But having a chef, who is in tune with the taste and caloric requirements of a star, to tag along, just makes life much easier.”

Dixit recalls the time when he managed to get Kapoor to dig into a vegetable in a dish that traditionally doesn’t require it. “I couldn’t source squid for seafood paella once, so I skinned snake gourd, and cut it into squid-like rings,” he says.

“The vegetable soaked up so much flavour from the chorizo and paprika, the natural taste of parval was gone.” And even though he informed Ranbir about the cheat substitute, he actually loved it.

Dixit believes in tracking calories and feels “knowledge of food science is critical to creating a nutrient-rich menu”.

“On certain days, Ranbir wants his sarson da saag, palak paneer and chhole bhature. But going by his diet, he knows that he’s only allowed two rotis and 200 gm of sarson da saag, and perhaps a chicken tikka to meet the protein requirement,” says Dixit, adding that Ranbir’s saag of choice is doused with only 10 ml of ghee — “just the right amount for his body”.

“He also loves pork belly but I can’t serve that every day.

I may offer him a tenderloin instead, which has a lesser fat percentage,” says Dixit, who also caters for Akkineni Nagarjuna.

So today, a Hindi film actor’s entourage not only comprises staff to manage hair and make-up on set, but also a personal chef to look after the diet. The star meal plans can set one back by anywhere between Rs three lakh and six lakh a month.

Dixit is aware of the crucial role he plays.

“A lot of people help a star look the way they do,” he says.

“We’re just one of them.”

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CELEB CHAKKAR

FOCUS

Taapsee Pannu’s expense list Expressive and unconventional, Taapsee Pannu today rules the marqee in Bollywood. But when she was working in Telugu cinema, Taapsee’s choice of roles was far less adventurous. In fact, she freely admits that the bottom line was paisa, paisa and more paisa. She worked with big heroes, producers and directors even if the roles were insignificant because it gave her access to a fat pay packet.

Taapsee admits she aimed for financial security because she wanted to comfort her father’s initial scepticism about her career choice.

“It was a big thing for me to earn money, sustain and be stable.

My father, who also handles my finances, had drawn up a monthly expenditure sheet. If I spent anything more, or earned anything less than a certain amount, he had warned me that I would not be able to manage.”

The golden bank balance figure was reached in 2015 and “I realised that the fear goes away, and you become powerful in the true sense. Then you stop making wrong decisions for the sake of money.”

Her lifestyle, she says, continues to have “regular middle-class traits”. The only extravagance she indulges in, which is a world apart from the life she lived with her parents, is to “travel a lot and stay in good hotels in different countries… that’s where my money goes. Otherwise, it’s all basic,” she says.

Taapsee is no cardboard heroine. Her ability to multi-task and take on different roles can also be seen in her career points. She runs a wedding planning startup The Wedding Factory with her sister Shagun, and co-owns the Pune 7 Aces franchise in the Premier Badminton League. The squad, which included ace Spaniard Carolina Marin in the previous edition, has players like Chirag Shetty, Chris Adcock and Hendra Setiawan after its latest round of auctions.

With her public image of a strong, independent, fun, yet responsible woman, she has also struck gold in the ad worls, commanding over 1.5 crores per brand endorsement. Taapsee’s image endears the actor to an entire product category of brands targeted at young females, including personal care, fitness and technology, say experts. Her portfolio of endorsements widened to 12 last year, and includes brands like Honda, Bajaj NoMarks, Horlicks Woman, Garnier Color Naturals, Melange by Lifestyle, Coverfox, Panasonic and GOQii. Today Taapsee is among the Top 30 endorsers in the country.

According to film critic Anna MM Vetticad, Pannu’s success across

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When star kids work together India’s three largest film industries— Kollywood (Tamil), Tollywood (Telugu) and Bollywood—distinguishes her from most of her contemporaries, female and male, who play leads in mainstream cinema. “Her pan-India presence—when combined with her glamorous looks, her willingness to take on potentially risky cinema, her off-screen outspokenness, and her hunger for solid roles at a time when a small but significant number of Indian filmmakers are challenging patriarchal norms—has seen her push boundaries down a path that is uniquely her own,” she says.

For Taapsee, her career objective and legacy is expressed in simpler terms: “If people take my characters home with them when they step out of the movie hall, I’ll consider it a job well done.”

Well, it is the age of star kids in Malayalam Cinema too. And since these kids hang out with each other as children, how does it affect a working relationship? One person who can answer that is Kalyani Priyadarshan, daughter of director Priyadarshan. The lissome actress is one of the select few who have acted with Dulquer Salmaan (in the upcoming Varane Avashyamund) and Pranav Mohanlal (in Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham).

“I grew up with Pranav. He and I have been best friends for the longest time.

In fact, I introduce him to people as my cousin,” Kalyani says, “We used to spend our holidays together.

So, working with Appu was really comfortable and easy. I never went in expecting anything new, because I already knew him so well.”

But working with Dulquer was an opposite experience, she says. “The first words he ever said to me was on the day of this film’s pooja and it was, ‘Finally, we meet’. That was the first time we were properly meeting. I have never interacted with him before. There might have been a chance that we have seen each other in a film wedding or function as kids. I have known his wife (Amal Sufiya) but Dulquer was never part of my circle. I am close to acha’s friends’ kids. So, it was really nice meeting him and getting to know him.”

CELEB CHAKKAR

When the Bengalis turned Raj Kapoor down The world often thinks all Indian movies come out of the Bollywood film-making factory. The rich regional cinema industry often contributes to Hindi cinema but is not acknowledged enough. Here’s a snippet about the time two iconic Bengali movie personalities turned down a global Hindi movie mogul – and continued to carve out their own cinematic destiny!

The first incident refers to Satyajit Ray who was preparing to make the cult classic Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne but was struggling to find a financier. He had then gone to attend Raj Kapoor’s daughter’s wedding. There, Raj Kapoor assured him that he would finance the film, provided Ray directed his son Randhir Kapoor’s first film.

However, a young producer in Kolkata, Asim Dutta, later convinced Satyajit Ray there was no need to make the film with such conditions attached as he was willing to produce it.

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1969) is a fantasy adventure involving the titular characters and inspired by a story written by Satyajit Ray’s grandfather Upendra Kishor Roychoudhary. Interestingly, he made this film following a request from his son Sandip Ray, who went on to become a national award winning director himself.

The other Bengali cinema star who turned down The Great Showman was Suchitra Sen. The diva was a box office star and known to be moody and used to take her decisions guided by her mood of the moment.

The Bengali matinee queen refused Kapoor’s offer because she actually didn’t like the ’filmi’ way he approached her for a role. It is believed Raj Kapoor dramatically knelt down on the floor with a bouquet in his hand and offered the film role to the popular Bengali actress.

"Why should a man bow down before a woman like this?" Sen had reportedly asked her close ones after politely refusing Raj Kapoor.

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QUOTE OF THE

MONTH

Even heroes face age issues When it comes to actors, there is nothing called yesteryear, current or veteran. Actors, at the end of the day, are actors with talent.The audience is ready to accept us if different stories are presented to them. People do look at us and know how we have maintained ourselves and how we perform.We look at marketability instead of taking challenges in terms of good scripts.This is something that the industry should collectively think about. If a film is entertaining and has something for the audience, it will definitely be a grosser.

That’s sixty-five year old Tamil star Sarathkumar who’s poised for a comeback even though he says he did not go away. The handsome actor will start 2020 with two Mani Ratnam projects: Vaanam Kottatum starring his talented wife Radhika as heroine and the Tamil literary masterpiece, Ponniyin Selvan, written by Kalki. "(The industry) should start thinking about actors like Amitabh Bachchan in Piku and Pink. You see Clint Eastwood still making movies and people still want to watch him." he added.

Well, well, well! So ageing heroes also face the same problems as older women leading ladies. Except that they come to the problem when they are past sixty.

Heroines hit the wall when they turn forty – and that is if they are ‘wellpreserved’ and super-successful.

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CELEB CHAKKAR

Ultimate tribute to Vijay, Ajith This is the ultimate fan tribute! If the whole world is celebrating SuperNova Rajinikanth’s Darbar and your favourite star Vijay or Ajith do not have a movie release, what do you do? Just start a hashtag celebrating a past hit! That’s what fans of Vijay and Ajith have done – they totally ignored Darbar and started trending #6YearsOfPongalWinnerJilla and #1YrOfKWTopGrosserVISWASAM on social media as they shared best scenes and memorable moments from these films of Vijay and Ajith on Twitter.

Jilla is a 2014 box office topper while Vishwasam is a 2019 Pongal release which did the impossible to beat Rajini’s Petta and become the biggest Tamil box office grosser.

This round to Ajith, we think. If Vijay fans have to go as far back as 2014 to find a reason to celebrate their star!

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Tamannah clears jobless talk When Tamannah grabbed the limelight in Baahubali as the love-interest warrior princess, everybody waited for her to hit the top. But since the iconic movie, the actress has not really had a hit and her accepting item songs has set rumour mills spinning.

But the Telugu and Tamil movie hottie dismissed rumours saying, "The most bizarre piece of news I read recently was that I was out of employment! There are other stories too, of me not having a bright future in Bollywood versus Tollywood. Just to clear the air, I'm working 365 days in a year and hence I can't shuffle between multiple industries."

Tamanna added, "The entertainment world is a highly competitive platform and there's some new talent springing up every second day, so the key is to find your place and polish it every single day. For me, it is only about acting and not about the industry."

Hmm..we think the lady protests a bit too much!

Sexist headline demeans actress Shraddha Really? Is this the 21st century? Why is a leading English-language newspaper screaming a sexist headline like ‘Shraddha (Das) to play prostitute in family drama film’? Do you ever see headlines like ‘Rajini plays criminal’ when that is what he does in blockbusters like Baasha?

So many top heroines have made their mark in movies by essaying the role of sex-workers: Kareena in Chameli, Sharmila Tagore in Amar Prem and in Mausam, Zeenat Aman in Manoranjan. It seems unfair to make an actress playing the role a matter of headline-grabbing importance After the titillating headline, the story tamely avers that “Shraddha plays Jagapati Babu’s love interest in the film. Jagapati Babu plays an industrialist who heads a huge company that manufactures condoms.

He hires prostitutes to feature in all the commercials for his products, which is when he meets Shraddha, and the duo gradually fall in love.”

But here’s a twist: the article continues – “Although, she plays a prostitute, she will be portrayed as an emotional girl and will be shown donning Indian attire.”

Wow! Talk about sanitising the headline!

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EDITOR'S VIEW

2020 began on a rather dismal note. The controversy over Deepika Padukone’s decision to visit JNU to express solidarity with students, who had been attacked, drew blood from a wide spectrum of people – politicians, professional trolls online and fellow actors. Was the film’s limping box office returns a result of the heroine-producer’s perceived political stance or did the public just find the story of the survival of an acid attack victim too grim to sit through?

It is politically incorrect to say so but the fact is we will sit through two hours of a Kabir Singh with its misogynist action and glorifying of substance abuse and stalking only because the hero and heroine are eye candy. A story of courage and an indomitable spirit as told in Chhapaak is difficult to watch because very early on, the lovely protagonist has her face disfigured. And sadly, in films as much as in real life, we react better to good looks. Remember that Amrita Rao- Shahid Kapoor film, Vivaah, in which the heroine suffers terrible burns all over her body when saving her cousin from a house fire but her face is miraculously untouched? That movie was a monster hit. We came out of the theatre crying buckets and full of sappy admiration for the hero who ‘accepted’ his scarred wife and the heroine who risked all to save her cousin.

As a friend pointed out unabashedly, “We go to the movies to be entertained – why spend 2 hours watching a heroine with a terribly scarred face?” She added, self-righteously, “Mind you, I would readily donate to the rehabilitation of acid attack victims but spending two hours watching the story of the victim is a difficult commitment to make.”

Ah yes. Chequebook charity. And in this day and age, when we are all hungry for the topical sound byte, the meaningless visual on social media, this is such an easy thing to give in to. Much more difficult to give time and effort to change things. Where were all these opponents of Deepika’s action when she faced the trauma of the Karni Sena’s threats during the run-up to Padmavat? Did Ajay Devgn or Juhi Chawla or Smriti Irani feel compelled to defend her when this loony fringe asked for her head and put a bounty on it?

When bombarded by an ever-changing information landscape and details that range from broad-based and sweeping brush strokes to granular microdetails, it is natural that we also change our stance in matters. However, the over-riding factor must always be one’s own value-system, the touchstone that should shape our responses to the world.

In a world striving for collective correction of attitudes and situations, a world where people are seeking tolerance and compassion to one another, the individual and her/his reaction is the final arbiter of the end result. Every individual matters, every one of us is a flag-bearer for a better world order.

And that, dear reader is what we must remember on this Indian Republic Day when we celebrate one of the most inspiring Constitutions to govern the democratic world.

Jaya He!

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