Aug 2015

I N D I A S P O R A S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

WH ERE HAS VA ASTU DISAPPEARED ?

I am regular reader of your magazine. As always content is ver y good. This time you introduced an ar ticle on Incredible India. This is really ver y good But I miss Vaastu in your magazine I have always read the Vaastu par t regularly, but this time round I could not f ind it in your magazine It’s disappointing Please do continue with Vaastu and star t publishing the column once again. Sh i v k ap o or, U S A , Ne e tu G o e l , Mu mb ai ,

G I V E MO R E M AT TE R I N H I N D I

As a regular reader of your magazine, I would like to request you to please increase the number of pages in Hindi. Even Diaspora from India yearn for good quality reading material in Hindi If you will take my suggestions, you could simply add

more pages it will also give your magazine the he it definitely needs and present Hindi culture through the use of short stories, poetry, festivals and melas etc. Hoping to see more content in Hindi in your magazine in the future

R ahu l Pau l, D el hi

WO R K O N W E B S I T E

I w a s g oi n g t h rou g h y ou r w e b s it e a n d f i n d t h at it l o o k s q u it e ord i n a r y My t h ou g ht i s t h at y ou r t e a m d o e s n ot p ay mu c h att e nt i on t o t h e l o o k a n d f e e l , but on l y up l o a d s t h e l at e s t i s s u e at t h e re g u l a r t i m e A l s o y ou r pre s e n c e on s o c i a l m e d i a i s n ot a s a g g re s s i v e a s it ou g ht t o b e , g i v e n t o d ay ' s f re n z y on s o c i a l m e d i a a n d s o c i a l n e t w or k i n g s it e s . Jat i n S h a r m a , Mau r it iu s ( A l m o s t s a m e s e n t i m e n t s a l s o c a m e f r om Ru b y Me h t a n i , Sy d n e y , D r. S . K h a n , S au d i A r a bi a & R a m a K r i s h n a n , D u b a i

INSIDE

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LET US FOLLOW AN ‘EXTR AORDI NARY H UM AN BEI NG’

ly c ame and went, and a long w it h it Indi a lost one of its ext raordinar y human b eings, 83-ye ar old s cient ist-ac ademici an-missi le man and for merpresident Prof. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen “A P J” Abdul Kalam on the 27th of July this year Punjab lived through a veritable deja vu last month on 27 July, as a clutch of terror elements, ostensibly infiltrating f rom across the b order, sought to wreak havoc at Gurdaspur. On the parliamentar y front, the monsoon session which started on July 21 has so far proven to be a washout, with absolutely no legislative work getting done till date.

Ju

Modi’s July 6-13 eight-day visit to Central Asia was India’s first since those countries attained indep endence At Ufa, s ome 1,300 km f rom Mos cow in the Republic of Bashkortostan, the PM reconnected with his BRICS peers Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Africa’s Jacob Zuma.

Coming to this current issue of NRI Achievers, our Cover Feature is, simply put, an obituar y to an extraordinar y human being of India, Prof Kalam Nothing more, nothing less Our staple diaspora outreach continues in Dossier, Indian Achievers profiles for a change a government official and administrator who has been making a remarkable difference to the people of his borough. Realpolitik takes an in-depth look at OROP, or ‘ one rank one pension.’ Heritage explores the origins of ancient games that are being continuously being played in India since times ancient Travelogue is back, Silver Screen brings you an inter view with Ajay Devgan, while News Scan, Business Buzz, PSU Buzz, Metaphysical Musings & Cineppets news are all ver y much there along with a photoessay on ‘Varanasi’ for your interesting reading. We do strive to reach out to you more and more by progressively and continuously evolving our columns, features and content to be in synch with reader preferences. While some feedback has been constructive, we do get some rants now and then Pray bear with us, any transition needs to be more in the nature of a slow dissolve rather than be a brusque cut-to-cut. Meanwhile, we want to continue hearing more from you do keep writing to us your views, posting on social media, and reaching us with your own content. Have ver y warm greetings on Independence day of his month on August 15

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FAMILY FIRMS CROWNED WINNERS

On Friday, 10 July 2015, over 300 family business guests descended upon Shakespeare’s Globe in London for the 6th annual Red Ribbon Awards – celebrating the achievements of Britain’s finest family-run businesses Aer months of searching, inter viewing and filming, 11 family firms were crowned the winners of UK’s most prestigious family business accolade out of over 3 million firms Rami Ranger MBE, Chairman of Sun Mark was crowned winner of the Corbett Keeling ‘Lifetime Achievement’ Award Mr Ranger was abroad and his award was collected on his behalf by his daughter, Reena.

INDIA INC INVESTS US$ 15 BN, CREATES 91,000 JOBS

Senator John Cornyn of Texas, US, boasts that his state is the top recipient of Indian investment: “As you might have heard, we like being number one, ” he preens “We are coming aer you, Texas!” calls out California Congressman Ami Bera, surprised that his state did not make the top five FDI destinations for Indian firms, though it does rank second in job creation by India Inc A score of US lawmakers thanked Indian companies and invited India Inc to do more at an event where the Confederation of Indian Industry and audit firm Grant ornton released a report showing India-based companies having invested US$ 15 billion and having created 91,000 jobs across the US

NRIs CAN NOW INVEST IN NATIONAL PENSION SYSTEM

LULU GROUP ACQUIRES GREAT SCOTLAND YARD

Hypermarkets operator Lulu Group International has paid £110 million for Great Scotland Yard in London, as the company expands into hotel development. It plans to turn the former headquarters of the Metropolitan Police (between 1829 and 1890) into a luxur y hotel. e property is close to 10 Downing Street and Trafalgar Square e deal includes an adjoining listed Victorian townhouse that would be designed as an entertainment suite for the hotel “Future growth markets for us in the hospitality sector include Britain, Middle East, India and South East Asia,” said a Lulu spokesman. “Since we are now firmly established in the retail sector, we want to diversif y into hospitality as these two are complementar y. ” e 233-room hotel at Great Scotland Yard is expected to open in the first quarter of 2017.

Non-resident Indians can now invest in India's National Pension System to get a social security cover, pension regulator PFRDA's chairman Hemant Contractor has announced e government is also likely to come out with a clarification on FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) guidelines soon to facilitate NRIs to invest in the NPS. “ere was some ambiguity about whether to add NPS as an eligible investment by NRIs. So, we took up the matter with RBI and recently they have given this clarification that NPS like insurance and mutual funds could also be eligible investments for them," Contractor clarified.

M ASER ATI RE-ENTERS I N DIA

Aer a ver y forgett able first st int here when it managed to sell barely 10 cars in little over a year, Italian luxur y car maker Mas erat i has now announce d its re ent r y into t he Indian market, wit h plans to launch models priced up to INR 2.2 crore and a t arget to s el l in double dig its e ach ye ar e comp any, p ar t of t he Fiat

C hr ysler g roup, had first entere d India t hroug h an inter me diar y in 2011 is st int was shor t live d and ende d in 2012 is t ime round t he comp any is going it a lone, wit h plans to imp or t and s el l cars t hroug h app ointe d de a lers. “We made a few mistakes the last time and wanted to be sure about our partners this time ”

ADIDAS TO OPEN OWN STORES IN INDIA

R ATAN TATA I NVESTS I N OL A

R atan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata S ons, has investe d an undis clos e d amount into taxi aggregator Ola, in his personal capacity Tata has made a string of personal investments in various startups over the past year, which include online marketplace Snap de a l, mobi le payments firm Paytm, online furniture ret ai ler Urb an L adder, auto p or t a l CarDekho com and online jeweller y retailer Bluestone. Earlier this year, he had also acquired a stake in Chinese smartphone-ma ker X iaomi. “ is is a huge endors ement f rom one of t he most resp e c te d business le aders of our t imes,” s aid Bhavish Ag gar wa l, CEO and cofounder of Ola. Ola recently raised US$ 400 million in a series E round of funding led by Russian investment firm DST Glob a l Singap ore ’ s GIC, Jap an ’ s S ob an k Group, Tiger Glob a l, Ste ad vie w C apit a l and US’ Accel Par t ners are among Ola’s other investors.

Global spor tswear and equipment major Adidas is all set to roll out a fully-owned chain in the countr y, nearly three years aer India allowed 100% FDI in single-brand retail, with Germany head-quar tered Adidas filing an application with the Department of Industrial Polic y and Promotion (DIPP) on July 13. Adidas, which competes with the likes of Nike and Puma, already has stores in India through franchisees, and if the company ’ s application is approved, it is

f ree to open fully-owned flagship stores, giving it more control over its business e company, which clocked a global sales of 14 billion Euros in 2014, has confirmed its intent to enter India via a 100% whollyowned unit “It is our desire and strategic intent to bring to India world-class large retail formats.” e C ompany, which purchased Reebok for US$ 3 8 billion in 2005, however, plans to setup its wholly-owned stores in India only for the Adidas brand.

AI RTEL BECOMES WORLD’S 3RD-L ARGEST MOBI LE OPER ATOR

Bhar ti Air tel has become the third-largest mobile operator in the world with 303 mi l lion subs cr ib ers, according to t he World C el lu l ar Infor mat ion S er v ice. Wit h telecom operations in 20 countries across South Asia and Africa, Airtel still has China Mobile and Vodafone ahead of it, while it pips China Unicom with 299 09 million subscribers and America Movil with 274.14 subscribers. “I want to thank our employees and our business par tners for supp or t ing us t hings wi l l on ly get br ig hter f rom he re on , ” s ai d Mitt a l, C hai r man of Bhar t i Ai r tel, i n a statement to media

NTP C P L A N N I N G 3 , 0 0 0 MW C A PAC IT Y A D D ITI O N S AT TA LC H E R

State-owned NTPC has said Talcher in Odisha will become a power hub with the PSU planning around 3,000 MW of capacity addition there “Recently I was in Odisha and the Chief Minister wanted that we should do expansion in Talcher. We have two stations there. One is a Super ermal Power station and one is Talcher ermal Power Station,” NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Ar up Roy Choudhur y told repor ters in the national capital

ONGC TO I NVEST I N R 41,678 CRORE TO BOOST OUTPUT

S t a t e - o w n e d O N G C ( T h e O i l a n d N a t u r a l G a s C o r p o r a t i o n ) w i l l i n v e s t I N R 4 1 , 6 7 8 c r o r e f o r b r i n g i n g t o p r o d u c t i o n n e w e r o i l a n d g a s f i e l d s a n d r e d e v e l o p i n g a g i n g f i e l d s a s i t l o o k s t o b o o s t o u t p u t T h e c o mp a ny, w h i c h p ro d u c e d 2 5 9 4 m i ll i o n t o n n e s o f c r u d e o i l a n d 2 3 5 2 b i l l i o n c u b i c m e t e r s o f g a s i n 2 0 1 4 - 1 5 , i s b o o s t i n g i nv e s t m e n t t o r e v e r s e t h e d e c l i n i n g t r e n d i n o u t p u t at t h e b u l k o f i t s o l d a n d a g i n g f i e l d s . “O N G C w i l l i nv e s t I N R 2 4 , 1 8 8 c r o r e i n d e v e l o p m e nt o f s i x p r o je c t s b o t h o n t h e e a s t a n d w e s t c o a s t . A n o t h e r I N R 1 7 , 4 9 0 c r o r e w i l l b e s p e n t o n r e d e v e l o p i n g i t s p r i m e Mu m b a i H i g h f i e l d s , a s w e l l a s He e r a S o u t h He e r a f i e l d s i n t h e w e s t e r n o f f s h o r e ” , a t o p c o mp a ny o ff i c i a l s h a r e d w i t h t h e m e d i a

B h a r a t h e a v y E l e c t r i c a l s L i m i t e d ( B H E L ) , h a s b e e n s t re t c h i n g i t s w i n g s g l o b a l l y, m a k i n g i t s m a r k i n a n e w e r a o f i n c l u s i v e g r o w t h a n d c o - o p e r a t i o n i n t h e r e g i o n . To s t a r t w i t h , t h e I n d i a n m e g a c o r p j u s t r e c e nt l y c o m m i s s i o n e d s u c c e s s f u l l y t h e 5 0 0 M W K o s t i T h e r m a l Po w e r S t a t i o n i n S u d a n , w h i c h t o d a y i s t h e c o u n t r y ’ s l a r g e s t p o w e r p l a n t B H E L e x e c u t e d t h e p r o j e c t o n E n g i -

n e e r i n g , P r o c u r e m e n t a n d C o n s t r u c t i o n ( E P C ) b a s i s , h a v i n g d e s i g n e d , m a n u f a c t u r e d , s u p p l i e d a n d i n s t a l l e d t h e c o m p l e t e p o w e r p r o j e c t ( 4 u n i t s o f 1 2 5 M W e a c h ) i nc l u d i n g a l l a s s o c i a t e d c i v i l w o r k s . T h e c o mp a n y h a s a l s o c o n s t r u c t e d a c a n a l f r o m t h e W h i t e N i l e R i v e r t o s u p p l y w a t e r f o r t h e p r o j e c t , w h i c h w a s f u n d e d b y G o I ’ s U S $ 3 5 0 m i l l i o n L i n e o f C r e d i t

MMTC PLANS TO IMPORT LNG

St at e - ow n e d B h a r at Pe t ro l e u m C or p or at i on L i m it e d ( B P C L ) , d e c l a re d re c e nt l y t h at it h a s r a i s e d U S $ 5 0 0 m i l l i on t h rou g h f i x e d - r at e u n s e c u re d n ot e s t o f u n d it s c apit a l e x p e n d it u re . “BP C L has l au nche d an issu e of U S $ 5 0 0 m i l l i on f i xe d - r ate u ns e c u re d n ot e s du e 2 0 2 5 , w h i c h w e re pr i c e d on Apr i l 2 9 , ” t h e comp any s aid in a BSE f i ling The 10-ye ar notes wi l l b e ar a f ixe d i nte re s t of 4 p e rc e nt w it h i nte re s t p ay abl e s e m i - an nu a l ly, t he c omp any a d d e d. BP C L s ai d t hat t he note s w i l l b e l iste d on t he Si ng ap ore St o c k E x c h a n g e a n d t h e pro c e e d s w i l l b e u s e d for c apit a l e x p e n d itu re s pu rp o s e s Share s of BP C L we re t r a d i ng at I N R 7 7 6 . 9 0 api e c e, up 2 . 8 1 p e rc e nt on t he B omb ay Sto ck E xchange.

e Metals & Minerals Trading C or poration of India (MMTC) now plans to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the spot market to meet fuel demand of a fertilizer plant, according to the staterun megalith’s CMD Ved Prakash. MMTC wants to capitalize on international gas prices halving to about US$ 7-8 per million BTU (British ermal Unit) and import LNG in ships at spot or current rates “LNG prices were ruling at US$ 18-20 now it is quite economical for the fertilizer industr y, ” says Ved Prakash. “A fertilizer company, to whom we were supplying potash, had approached us for arranging LNG.

A

PROF. A P J ABDU L K AL A M

“Bharat has lost a Ratna, but the light f rom this je wel w ill g uide us towards A P J Abdul Kalam’s dream destination India as a knowledge superpower, in the first rank of nations. For him, the counter point to pover ty was the wealth of knowledge, in both its scientific and spir itual manifestations. As a hero of our defence prog ramme, he shied hor iz on s; and a s a s ee r of the spir it, he sought to liberate doctr ine f rom the nar row confines of par ti s an te n sion to the tran s ce nde ntal space of harmony. His profound idealism was secure because it rested on a foundation of realism

… He took little f rom the world, and gave all he could to s ociet y. A man of deep faith, he epitomised the three g reat v ir tues of our civ ilisation: dama s elf-restraint; dana s acr ifice; and daya compa ssion … He wanted India to leap out of the underde veloped trough and eliminate the curse of pover ty through inclusive economic g row th. Wi s ely, he sug gested politician s spe nd only 30% of their time on politics, and 70% on de velopme nt … Kalamji s aw poetr y in a tree, and e ne rg y that could be har ness ed in wate r, w ind and sun. We should lear n to look at our world through his e yes, and w ith the same missionar y z eal … He s aw the f uture, and showed the way. As I entered the room where his body lay in state yeste rday, I noticed the painting at the entrance that depicted a fe w lines f rom an inspirational book he w rote for childre n, ‘Ig nited Minds’. e good that he did w ill not be inter red w ith his bones, because his children w ill preser ve hi s me mor y throug h the ir lives and work, and g i it to their children.”

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

AN EXTRAORDINARY HUM AN BEI NG

rof. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen “A P J” Abdul Kalam, engineer-scientist-technolog y administrator-former president is no more India’s ‘missile-man’, we see in social media today, has his detractors as is evident f rom social media postings today, who aer his passing hasten to tell us that he wasn’t really a scientist, but a mere engineer and that too probably not a ver y good one. It may be true that he was just a simple engineer and not one of those who boast a whole string of academic degrees longer than their own shadows at sundown But let’s today take all that with a whole fistful of salt. In contrast to all that his detractors might aver, he was indeed without question an extraordinar y human being Humble and down-to-earth in his erudition, and an unassuming personality aptly has he earned the sobriquet ‘people’s president.’

ough Prof. Kalam ultimately excused himself from the presidential contest for a second term in year 2012, his brief presence in the race brought up a quintessential coffee table question: “Would Kalam have won in a direct presidential election?” In our view moot on two counts he was apolitical to the last, never having addressed any political gathering, so there is no telling what impact he might make in an election. Secondly, the most gatherings he did address during his lifetime as technologist-statesman were institutional ones urban-centric events confined within the cocoons of what were ‘developed’ islands in Indian science, technolog y, industr y and the economy in general.

But then in retrospect, if we also observe how the selfsame Prof Kalam reigned supreme when addressing large public functions aer his presidency with his affable command and charm, especially audi-

ences full of young Indians, he does impress. O has he been successful in taming screaming audiences within the blink of an eye and get them to take a collective pledges to ser ve the nation, repeating sentence by sentence aer him and cheering ever y pause in his speech with gusto. at too was quintessential Prof Kalam So difficult to answer that question, no?

ere is no gainsaying that Prof Kalam’s life too is as true a rags-to-riches stor y as can be, that of a poor tamil muslim son of a boatman, who strove to be an aerospace engineer and went on to become the chief scientific advisor to the prime minister of India and, eventually, made it to the presidential office. A tamil maraikayar muslim f rom a pious background, he was more likely to quote from the ancient Tamil classic irukkural than from Rumi or Iqbal He was a pretty good amateur musician on the r udra veena too an instrument in the Carnatic classical tradition, and was as equally versed with the Bhag vad Gita as with the Quran Sharif A development fanatic, futurist and a strong believer in nuclear power both for energ y and for strategic deterrence, he justified India building weapons of mass destr uction his take was: “ strength respects strength”

Prof Kalam apropos does have a vast constituency all across India, for whom he finds greater acceptance as a technocrat, philosopher and statesman than as any leader of a minority community His background and political affiliation, broad and counter-intuitive, counts more for them As an aside, it is indeed worth mentioning here that Prof. Kalam was twice nominated in the past for the ‘MT V Youth Icon of the Year’ Award!

All those ruminations apart, Prof Kalam was indeed an extraordinar y man and an exemplary soul, who lived by a strict set of

rules he had setup for himself … . Well versed in Sanskrit, he prefered to call himself a ‘brahmachari’ rather than a bachelor as ‘bachelor’ meant just an unmarried man, while the Sanskrit word imputed nuances and meanings much much more in tune with his world-view and work-ethos. us, true to ‘brahmacharita’, Prof. Kalam remained wedded to the goals and aspirations he strived for with a passion akin to zealotry, remained a staunch vegetarian all his life, and lived a life that had all the hallmarks of a evolved ascetic whose needs were spartan and minimal, while his goals and targets received all his concentration, focus and indomitable effort

In order to know Prof. Kalam the man better, we felt it is well worth our while to take a peek into a fragment of his journey from Rameshwaram to new Delhi and so invite you, the reader, to walk with Prof Kalam as he himself walked down memory lane. Here be excerpts from his autobiography, where he narrates in his own words a seminal event of his life as a young lad:

THE B OAT

“

… the sea was an important part of our lives its tides, the lapping of the waves, the sound of trains passing on the Pamban bridge, the birds that always circled the town and the salt in the air are sights and sounds that will always remain etched in my memories … .

“Almost ever y household had connections with the sea, as fishermen or as boat owners My father, too operated a ferr y that took people back and forth between Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi, 22 kilometres away. I still remember the time

when he got the idea for this, and how we built that boat. R ameswaram has, since antiquity, been an impor tant pilgrimage destination people visiting our town go to Dhanushkodi as part of their pilgrimage. A bath at Sagara-Sangam there … the confluence of the Bay of B engal and the Indian Ocean is considered sacred My father, looking to supplement his not ver y substantial income, decided to start a ferr y business. He started building the boat we needed for this, all by himself initially, right there on the seashore.

“Watching the boat come to life from pieces of wood and metal was perhaps my first introduction to the world of engineering … long pieces of wood were cut into the required shape, dried, smoothened and

then joined together. Many years later, in my work, I would learn how to make rockets and missiles Complex mathematics and scientific research would be the bedrock of those engineering mar vels But that boat coming up on the seashore, which would take pilgrims and fishermen back and forth who is to say it was not as important or momentous in our lives then?

“e building of the boat brought my cousin Ahmed Jalalluddin into my life, who joined my father to help build the boat. He recognised the inherent desire in me to learn and question, and was always there to lend a patient ear and give words of advice He could read and write English, and spoke to me about scientists and inventions, literature and medicine. Walking with him in

the streets of Rameswaram, or by the seaside, or by our boat as it took shape, my mind began to form ideas and ambitions e boat business was a great success

“And so the years went by My school, teachers, Jalalluddin and others taught me so many things. But the boat and the people who sailed in it were no less important en one day, disaster struck I still remember the night of that terrible cyclone vividly. e wind had picked up speed for days, till it became a howling gale. It screamed and whistled in our ears and pulled and hacked at the trees or anything that stood in its way Soon, a torrential rain started We retreated into our houses there was no electricity in those days, and the lamps barely managed to stay alive. In

that flickering darkness, with the wind working itself into a frenzy, the sound of the rain lashing down outside, we huddled together and waited for the night to pass the next morning we saw the unbelievable destruction … trees, houses, plantations uprooted and devastated. Roads had disappeared under the water and debris blown in by winds that had come in at speeds of over 100 miles an hour But the worst news of all was the one that hit us like a punch to the stomach. Our boat had been washed away ... Now, when I think of that day, I realise that perhaps my father had known this would happen the night before in the light of the morning, seeing his drawn face and the worries lining his eyes, I tried to gather my thoughts. In my mind I mourned our lost ferry boat fiercely “Yet, my father’s stoicism saw us through this crisis too In time another boat came, and business resumed. Pilgrims and tourists returned. e temple and the mosque filled with worshippers and the markets bustled with men and women, buying and selling once more Cyclones and storms struck us again and again. I even learnt to sleep through them. Many years later, in 1964, when I was no longer living in R ameswaram, a massive cyclone struck is time, it carried away a part of the landmass of Dhanushkodi A train that was on Pamban Bridge was washed away, with many pilgrims inside. It altered the geography of the area, and Dhanushkodi became a ghost town, never to recover its former character Even today, skeletal remnants of buildings jut out of the sands there as monuments to the 1964 cyclone. My father lost his ferr y once more in that storm

“When I struggled to give shape to the satellite launch vehicle (SLV) rocket, or the Prithvi and Agni missiles, when countdowns and takeoffs were disr upted, and

rain came down on our launch sites situated by the sea in umba and Chandipur, I always remembered the look on my father’s face the day aer the storm It was an acknowledgement of the power of nature, of knowing what it means to live by the sea and wrest your living from it. Of knowing that there is a larger force out there that can cr ush our ambitions and plans in the blink of an eye, and that the only way to sur vive is to face our troubles and rebuild our life … .

FIRST JOB AT THE AGE OF EIGHT

“I was born in the year 1931. When I was about eight, World War II broke out. Britain declared war on Nazi Germany, and despite the INC ’ s opposition, India too as a British colony was involved in the war Daily life, however, remained fairly unaffected initially, particularly for us in the southern tip of the countr y. Rameswaram in the 1940s was a sleepy little town that came alive with the arrival of pilgrims e town was dominated by the temple, though there was a mosque and a church too. Ever yone went about their

way fairly peacefully, and other than the normal altercations that break out in any town or village e only source of information about the outside world was the newspaper. e agenc y that distributed newspapers was run by my cousin Samsuddin. Along with Jalalluddin, he was a big influence in my early life ough he could read and write, Samsuddin was not well travelled, nor highly educated Yet he had such affection for me and encouraged me in so many ways that he became a guiding light for me To me they were adults who could reach out beyond the narrow confines of their daily lives and businesses and see the larger world.

“Samsuddin’s newspaper distribution agency was the only one in Rameswaram. ere were about a thousand literate people in the town, and he delivered newspapers to all of them e papers carried news about the Independence movement that was heading towards a crescendo at the time ese news items would be read and discussed with great gusto with ever yone else ere would also be news from the war front, about Hitler and the Nazi army. Of course, there were many mun-

dane matters too, like astrological references or bullion rates, which were consulted with utmost interest e Tamil paper, Dinamani, was the most popular of all these papers

“ e papers reached R ameswaram by morning train and were kept at the station. From there, they were to be collected and sent to the subscribers However, as World War II raged, we no longer remained isolated … . It affected my life and the newspaper deliver y in a strange new way. e British government had placed a number of sanctions and rations on goods something like a state of emergency now prevailed our large family felt the difficulties acutely. Food, clothes, the needs of the babies of the household, all became difficult to procure and provide for In our family, there were five sons and daughters, as well as my father’s brothers’ families My grandmother and mother had to stretch ever y resource to the utmost to keep ever yone fed, clothed and in good health.

“As the difficulties of the war started affecting us, Samsuddin came up with a proposal that excited and delighted me tremendously. A fallout of war time was that the rail stop at R ameswaram station had been done away with What would happen to our papers then? How were they to be collected and distributed to the people of the town who were looking forward to their daily dose of news? Samsuddin found a way the papers would be kept ready in large bundles As the train chugged down the R ameswaramDhanushkodi track, they would be flung out onto the platform. And that is where I came in Samsuddin ordered me the enjoyable job of catching these bundles of papers being thrown f rom the moving train and then taking them around town for distribution! My enthusiasm knew no bounds. I was only eight, but I was going

to contribute in a meaningful way to the household income!

“ my new job had to be fitted into my regular routine my studies and school had to continue as before, and the deliver y business had to b e accommo date d amidst all these activities Among my siblings and cousins, I had shown an e arly apt itude for mat hemat ics S o my fat her had arranged for me to take tuitions from our mat hemat ics te acher. Howe ver, my teacher had a condition that I, along with the four other students whom he had accepted, need to reach his home at dawn aer having t a ken a b at h S o for a ye ar, w hich was t he durat ion of t he tuit ion, I started my day while it was still dark outside, with my mother shaking me awake She hers elf wou ld have r is en b efore me and got my b at h re ady She wou ld t hen help me bathe and send me on my way to my teacher’s home. ere I would study for an hour and return by 5 am. By then my fat her would b e re ady to t ake me to the Arabic School nearby, where I learnt the Quran Sharif

“Aer my lesson on the Quran Sharif was over, I would sprint away to the railway station ere I would wait, hopping f rom one leg to the other, eyes and ears keenly open for signs of the oncoming train. Sur prisingly, unlike most trains these days, the Madras-Dhanushkodi Mail

was rarely delayed! S oon, the engine smoke would be visible in the distance e horn would be tooted loudly and, with a thunderous roar, the train would pass through the station. I had worked out the best spot from which to keep an eye out for the flying newspaper bundles Like clockwork, they would be tossed out on to the platform e train would then huff and puff away, Samsuddin’s person in the train would wave out to me and as the train receded, its whistle growing faint, my job would begin

“I would pick the bundles, divide them up into batches according to the neighbourhoods where the papers had to be distributed and off I went. For about an hour I tore around Rameswaram, delivering papers to ever yone Many would be waiting for me, and there would always be a friendly word or two. Some would tell me fondly to hurr y back home so I would not be late for school! I think most enjoyed being handed their papers by a cheerful eight-year-old Our town being on the east coast, by the time my work was over at 8 am, the sun would be high up in the sky. Now I would head back home, where my mother would wait with breakfast A simple meal would be ser ved, but how hungr y I was usually! My mother made sure I ate ever y morsel before sending me out to school. But my work did not end there. In

the evening, aer school was over, I would do the rounds of Samsuddin’s newspaper customers again, collecting their dues from them en I would meet him, so he could work out the accounts of the day.

“At that time, sitting somewhere near the sea, with the breeze blowing in, Jalalluddin or Samsuddin would finally open up the day’s paper All of us would pore over the black type of the Dinamani. One of them would read aloud the news items, and slowly the larger outside world would enter our consciousness Gandhi, C ongress, Hitler, Periyar EV Ramasamy, their words and exhortations would hang in the evening air … . Maybe, I thought to myself, one day I would go to the big cities like Madras, B ombay and Calcutta What would I say if I ever got to meet people like Gandhi and Nehr u? But such thoughts

were soon interrupted by the calls of my playmates, and then for dinner ere was homework to be done, and even an eightyear-old has only that much energ y to spend. By 9 pm I would be fast asleep, as the next day more studies and the life of a working man lay in store all over again “is routine continued for about a year

In that one year of running around with the papers, I learnt that to be a working man meant you had to be up and ready to face the day, whatever else may happen. Homework, tuition, prayers, all carried on, but the Madras-Dhanushkodi Mail would not wait for me I had to be present at the station at the correct time and at the correct point to catch the bundles as they came flying in. It was also a most enjoyable time and I loved ever y moment of it, notwithstanding the intense tiredness ever y night My mother

oen fretted at my taking up this additional work and the toll it was taking on me, but I shook my head and smiled at her Knowing that my earnings were somehow helping us all, and that she was secretly proud of me for having taken on the role of a working man at the age of eight kept me going with a smile ”

In June 2012, when Prof Kalam posted an of f icial statement that cleared the air and ended all speculation that he will not take par t in the presidential election, he w rote a l i ne to t han k h is fol l owe rs : “It only ref lects their love and af fection for me and the aspiration of the people I am re a l ly ove r w hel me d by t h is supp or t” O ver w helming inde e d it is … may haps t he life-j our ne y of Avu l Pa k ir Jainu l abdeen “A P J” Abdul Kalam is in large par t a re f l e c t i on of a me t amor pho s i ng subc ont i ne nt i n w h i ch ou r s el f - v i e w s and worl dv i e w s a l i ke are to d ay ge tt i ng reforged in the crucible of an emerging new histor y and an e ven ne wer economic of interdependences

A

Chakravarthi Suchindran

e writer is an technocrat who dabbles in journalism print & broadcast photography & creative visual ar ts

May Prof. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen

“A P J” Abdul Kalam’s soul rest in peace

TH E JOU RN EY OF NAREN DR A R AVAL FROM PRIESTHOOD TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Gujarati businessman Narendra Raval was recently awarded recog nition as Kenya’s foremost entrepreneur, w ith the confer r ing upon him of Kenya’s highest honour. His story is eminently wor th recording in the annals of our ‘Dossier’ sec tion, as it i s bound to inspire countless indian s who today aspire to move out into the w ide world and stake their claim to establish successful businesses on a global s cale. NRI Achie vers br ing s you thi s v ig nette of a profile for our readers ...

Narendra R aval, a steel tycoon, is one of Kenya’s most successful entrepreneurs He is the founder of the Devki Group, a US$ 650 million Kenyan conglomerate that manufactures steel products, roofing sheets and cement His peers in Kenya know him as “Guru ” With a personal net worth of some US$ 400 million, the 53-year old Gujarati steel tycoon is one of the wealthiest businessmen in Kenya today. e Kenyan government had recently awarded recognition to his contributions to the Kenyan economy and conferred upon him one of its highest titles, the ‘Elder of the Burning Spear.’ R aval, though, is known more for his benevolence than his riches.

Just a couple of years ago in 2012, this propensity for benevolence won him UK’s philanthropy award, conferred upon him by the then Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at 10 Downing Street. “Indians are honest,

hardworking and loyal qualities that have potential to make success of a person anywhere in the world,” avers Raval

Hailing f rom a small town called Maathak in Surendranagar, Gujarat, R aval told Indian media when he was in Ahmedabad recently to attend a social engagement and recruitment drive, that he has, in his recently executed will, pledged half of his yearly profits amounting to about INR 250 crore per annum for under taking interventions in the domains of education, nutrition and health in Kenya and the rest of Af rica aer his death “I am deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa, and I believe that wealth ought to be considered a trust for the whole society and as trustees, we should use it for the benefit of society ”

Like many other Gujarati immigrants of that time, Raval a Hindu Brahmin, vended

his way to Kenya almost 37 years ago as a teenager to begin his first overseas assignment as an assistant priest in the Swaminarayan temple at Kisumu, a commercial city in western Kenya O ver time, he got married and gave up his priestly calling. Post marriage in 1982, he took up a job at a hardware shop in Nairobi, and by 1990 he had his own shop in the Gikomba market “My wife Neeta and I toiled 18 hours a day. Life was tough,” says Raval. In 1992, the R avals forayed into the roofing and fencing solutions business with the help of a US$ 70,000 loan at same year they set up a small steel rolling mill near the Athi River, a time when there were ver y few such mills in Kenya. is entrepreneurial initiative has today snow balled into the Devki Group, a conglomerate that employs more than 4,000 people, with more than 98% of the staff harking f rom local Kenyan and African origin. It is today the largest building materials company in East and Central Africa, with four steel plants and two cement companies in Kenya, not to mention a strong presence in Ethiopia, Uganda and Congo that produce 7 5 lakh tonnes of steel per annum.

Raval, now a Kenyan citizen and one of it’s wealthiest with a personal fortune estimated at US$ 400 Million by Forbes, is

also one of the country’s most devoted philanthropists, spending millions annually on scholarships for destitute children, rehabilitating schools and installing borewells in the water-star ved villages of Kenya. Narendra Raval, through his pragmatic business ideologies and philanthropy, aims to transform the once-hostile perception of Africans about Indian businessmen Here are some excerpts that set our Raval’s world view, garnered from the international media:

A while ago, Raval had turned down an offer from Africa’s richest man, who had approached him to completely buy out one of his Devki Group companies the National C ement C ompany. R aval refused, saying no: “I said no because it is my family business He first offered to buy me out completely and then when I said no, he asked if I would be interested in selling a significant stake in the business, but I also had to turn him down. I want to keep the business within the family.” But just a few more months ago, Raval had acquesied to part with some equity in the NCC to the IFC (international Finance Corporation): “Yes. e IFC likes our cor porate governance and they had been monitoring us for a while We were at a stage where we were raising additional funding to take the

company to the next level and so we discussed with them. We only wanted a longterm loan, but they were ver y impressed with our company, and so they said they were not only interested in giving us a loan like a commercial bank, but they wanted to be a par t of the company. S o they requested for a minority stake we got US$ 70 million from them US$ 55 million in debt and US$ 15 million in equity

Asked to narrate the stor y of the journey that took him from priesthood to becoming a steel tycoon, he reminisces: “I was born in 1962 A Hindu brahmin, I belong to the priestly caste, and at a ver y young age, I was working as a temple assistant in the Swaminarayan temple in Gujarat. In 1978, I was offered an opportunity to travel to Kenya and ser ve in a temple at Kisumu, and being a young man eager to travel, I took the oppor tunity As a teenager, my temple allowance of Ksh 2,500 a month (about US$ 50 at the time) proved to be a sumptuous amount, and more than enough to meet my basic needs food and shelter ”

“As time went on, there was family pressure on me to get married and start a family. So I got married in 1982, to a medical doctor from ika Of course, once you get married you are not allowed to ser ve in the temple, and so I had to leave my priestly calling. When I le the temple, I had to find a means of earning to keep body and soul together, and in 1982 I took up a job at a hardware shop and steel mill in Nairobi While I was at the job, I was saving my income and learning all I could In 1990, when the owners closed the company, I got a small place in Gikomba market in Nairobi, where I started a small hardware shop that I had christened Steel Center I ran the business with my wife As the business started picking up, I saw an opportunity for manufacturing moderately-priced

roofing and fencing solutions. I went to the bank and discussed my plans with them, they gave me a loan and supported me In 1992 I put up a small steel rolling mill on Athi River Back then, there were only one or two steel rolling mills in Kenya, so it was like a monopoly. e prices for steel bars, roofing sheets and other products were just ridiculous and beyond the reach of most Kenyans, so many people couldn’t afford to build homes. I wanted to change this.”

“It was not easy. At the time it was difficult because as a startup, we had little ca flow Also, the big steel companies were a ways intimidating us, trying to kill our bus ness We had come into the business with plan to provide high quality products at a fordable prices and make small margin But the competition strove to frustrate us whenever we sold a product for US$ 1 they would sell the same for US$ 9 B e cause they were bigger and always pur chased large volumes, they could negotiat with suppliers to get raw materials cheape and still make a profit, selling at a price lower than ours We couldn’t compete with them Within 6 months, I was almost on my knees. No one was buying our products because they could get it at a cheaper price from our competitors We had tons and tons of raw materials and finished products just taking up space in our warehouse. It was a nightmare.”

“It was difficult; I could not pay my workers. I had about 60 of them at the time But they were ver y understanding ey said to me: “Guru, don’t worr y We know the problem We will work for you; don’t give us a full salar y- just give us enough to run our house. Give us the rest when you ’ ve made money You may ask how come my workers were so nice to me

I used to directly work with my workers in the factor y. We were a small company so I didn’t have time to be the boss and

spend the whole day in a fancy office. I was working with them operating machiner y, getting my hands dirty ever y day My wife used to drive the tr uck and deliver our products to clients So we interacted a lot with our workers on an informal level, talking about family, spor ts and other things We never for once saw them as workers, we were family And in that spirit, they were ver y accommodating and understanding. ey all stayed with us even in those dark times.”

ing at Devki Group to this day, and we ’ ve sent many of their children to school and in some cases even their kids are working with us today So we are one big family”

“ e key to our success has been unstinting hard work. Hard work plays a crucial role. But I’m also a spiritual man. I believe God helps people But if you work hard and you persevere and remain good to people, the Universe will definitely reward you. Do not cheat your customers always give them good quality products at good prices. at has seen me hrough thick and thin ”

As fate would have it, soon aer those sixth months, steel prices started to skyrocket. It went double within a few weeks. Now, prices from US$ 300 per ton went to US$ 600 a ton within a month And we had tons of raw materials and finished products which we had been unable to sell We had acquired at cheaper prices. So I sold my stock, made a very good profit and paid all our employees We paid our loans to the banks and we still had lots of money in our reser ves enough to compete favorably with the bigger guys. ose early employees were the best. Many of them are still work-

Now that he has got a lot of money, ne wonders how his spending will hape. Asked about this, he had this to y : “I bought a helicopter for my ersonal use and business S o I took me of the orphan kids I’ve adopted Athi River about 56 of them e st par t of having wealth is giving it ay. at’s how I spend money eading it as widely as possible and por ting people We suppor t thouds of people When our employees retiring, we finance them to star t r own businesses. One of our former loyees who retired f rom here now a trading business that buys more US$ 1 million worth of goods from us ever y year We r un many or phanages and many schools in the most remote and vulnerable places of Kenya. We provide the children with food ever y day, and we pay school fees for many more students We’ve seen so many poor students who are intelligent but can’t afford to pay school fees, and when you look at the sums of money involved, there are ver y small mounts like US$ 50 for a term So we step in, and we do this for so many schools mostly in poor rural communities ere’s no better way to spend money than to use it to enrich the lives of those around you. ” A

Iwas born to a simple farming family in village Tajpur, Dist Mathura, UP Aer completing school, I chose to go for higher education at the Veterinar y College, Mathura I obtained my B.VS c & AH, M.VS c, and my Ph.D all from Agra University. I was fortunate enough to have been awarded a Gold Medal and the University Medal for my academic diligence

“

“In 1967 I joined the Department of Physiology at the University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales as a Research Fellow and retired from there in 2000 as a Professor and the Head of the Department During my working span of over three decades at the University of New England, I got the opportunity to make some significant contributions through my teaching and my research I have to my credit some 144 research papers published in refereed scientific journals, and a book on the “Red Blood C ells of Domestic Mammals” that continues to be a valuable reference book in the field even today

“I also managed to remain active in many other aspects of the University community life, being a member of several committees including the Equal Opportunites C ommittee, the Academic Promotions C ommittee, the Post Graduate Committee, the University Standing Committee and the Academic Board. Aer retirement in 2000, I moved to Sydney where

our children were now based, and was appointed a Honorar y Associate in the School of Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney in 2001, where I continue to hold that position and provide guidance to Post Graduate students there.

“My wife is a retired teacher, son is an Ophthalmic Surgeon and Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales, and our daughter is a Dermatologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney.”

Dr. Nihal Singh Agar found inactivity aer retirement abhorrent, and found a solution for it by literally

plunging himself into community life and ser vice to the Diaspora. His passion for social and community ser vice str uck a chord with the Indian community down under, propelling him into numerous leadership roles even as his involvement got deeper and deeper. To star t with, he became one of the founder members of the Sri Venkateswara Temple Association is Association has the credit of building the first ever Hindu temple in Australia 1985, characterised by its traditional Indian architecture in Helensburgh near Sydney e temple remains the nation’s largest, visited annually by thousands of Hindus and non-Hindus alike, and is an

AN INSPIRING JOURNEY

PROF. N I HAL SI NGH AGAR

Septagenerian Professor Nihal Singh Agar, orig inally an UP-ite from mathura who settled dow n under in Australia, is a multifaceted personality who takes joy in rendering community service post his retirement f rom Academia. NRI Achie vers reached out to him to piece together this brief profile of the mild professor for our readers. We are sure many would take inspiration from his journey and doings

integral part of the local as well as the regional community.

He also took up a founder membership of the Ganesh Visarjan Committee, which coordinates the major annual festival at the Hindu temple in Helensburgh. is holy occasion brings together over two dozen different religious, cultural and linguistic groups that reflect the diversity of the Australian Indian community, and again draws thousands to celebrations at the temple precinct.

Soon enough, his acumen in managing temple and community affairs saw him taking up the mantle of the founder presidentship of the Vishwa Hindu Parisad of Australia (VHPA), and he ser ved in this position from 1989-2005. VHPA was originally formed with a view to teach Hindu scriptures in public schools, celebrate Hindu religious festivals and hold annual family camps Today, the organisation has branches in almost each state in Australia.

Dr. Agar, who though an Australian for all practical purposes, always had his heart and soul in India, and that love for the homeland saw him setting up the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of Australia (EVFA ) in 2004 as it’s Founder President. Interventions that started with the sponsorship of 35 Ekal schools then in 2004, have today expanded to extending EVFA sponsorship to about 800 schools in Tribal and remote rural areas of India. Dr. Agar relinquished his presedentship in 2009 to take up the responsibility for Chairing the Hindu Council of Australia (HCA), of which he remains the Chairman to date HCA lends a united voice for the followers of Hindu traditions living in Australia. It organizes, supports and promotes peaceful and non-partisan activities for a better understanding of Hindu traditions, philosophy and culture

It is the recognized representative of the Hindu community as a whole, dealing with all levels of Australian government Local, State and Federal. e Council also engages in religious and community-oriented activities It celebrates Deepavali in Sydney and at State and Federal Parliaments

Dr Nihal Agar is also a member of the Australian Partnership of Religious Organisations since 2012, a committee that comprises representatives of major faith bodies as well as national-level multicultural and interfaith community organisations e NSW government, recognising his dynamism and dedication to Indian community affairs, has nominated him to be on the Indian Ministerial Consultative Committee Set up in 2011 by NSW Government, this committee has 12 members from the Indian community. As the Chairman of its Education Sub-committee in 2012, Dr. Agar was responsible for the submissions to provide facilities for Hindi language

teaching in NSW Primary schools Another key committee, the Sub-Continent Ministerial Consultative Committee, also has Dr. Agar as the Federal Government nominee. is committee was set up in 2012 to provide a valuable means of communication between senior Government ministers and Indian Sub-Continent community leaders

D r. Ag a r i s on e of t h e 1 0 m e m b e r s d r aw n f rom S out h As i a n c om mu n it y l e a d e r s a c ro s s Au s t r a l i a P rof Ni h a l Agar is a founder President of the Hindu E du c at i on a n d Cu lt u re C e nt re a s w e l l T h e C e nt re , of f i c i a l l y l au n c h e d i n 2 0 1 2 , h o l d s t h e m a n d at e t o up h o l d , pre s e r v e a n d prom ot e c ore - v a lu e s of hu m a n it y a n d a d d re s s g row i n g re l ig i ou s , s o c i a l a n d c u lt u r a l n e e d s of t h e pre s e nt as wel l as t he f utu re ge ne r at i ons of Hi n du s i n Au s t r a l i a . E s t a b l i s h e d i n Sy d n e y, it w or k s f or i nt e r- f a it h a n d i nt e r- c u lt u r a l h a r m ony a n d p e a c e w it h i n t he w i d e r c om mu n it y

Dr Nihal Singh Agar’s multidimensional approach to community work, and his active involvement in the various interfacing organisations that seek to promote harmonious multiculturalism led to the Australian Government awarding him the ‘Order of Australia’ (AM) for “significant ser vice to the Hindu Community in Australia, to the fostering of cross-cultural cooperation and networking, and to medical education ”

NRI Achievers Bureau (With input from Dr APS Narvar, socio-legal activist)

Ex Deputy PM Devilal & Ex. Railway Minister at Prof ’ s. home 

e y al s o s er ve thos e who only stand and wait. Whate ver the or ig inal sig nificance of this line from John Milton’s poem “On His Blindness”, it has taken on an entirely new meaning for retired s oldiers, s ailors and air men of the Indian Ar med Forces. Aer hav ing ser ved the countr y gallantly and loyally, our men in uniform have been waiting patiently for the past 25 years for a rational pension reg ime. But aer years of standing and waiting in vain, in mid-June this year they decided to sit-in on an indefinite relay hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, the national capital Delhi’s desig nated venue for public protest. Raman Swamy pens his thoughts for the readers of NRI Achievers ...

Three weeks into their relay fast, the ex-ser vicemen have now received morale-boosting suppor t f rom India’s most known anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, who had shaken up the countr y three years ago with his fastunto-death Within hours of Anna’s announcement that he will consider joining the relay hunger strike, the Government swung into action, with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar losing no time to assure ex-ser vicemen that their long-standing demand for One-R ank-One-Pension (OROP) would soon be met. “ ere will be good news soon ” were his exact words.

ere were no premature celebrations. e relay hunger strike was not called off e battle-scarred men in uniform know better than taking verbal assurances at face value as successive governments in the past had made similar promises. And sure enough, even weeks aer Parrikar’s pledge, the veterans were still waiting for the good news “Why is the government taking so much time ?” they ask. “If the matter has been cleared by all the departments, then what is coming in the way of OROP being implemented ?” Observers say there is good reason for the vets to be skeptical During the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign BJP

ON E-R AN K-ON E-PENSION TH E LONG WAIT

had promised that implementation of OROP was top priority. Since then, its Ministers have periodically reiterated their government’s commitment but it is only aer Anna Hazare’s letter to the PM demanding immediate implementation and his hint that he intends to join the street level agitation that fresh promises are being made that the matter would be resolved soon

e crux of the problem is that pensions of retired armed forces personnel is based on Pay Commission recommendations in force at the time of their retirement. If implemented, the OROP formula would ensure that all retirees with the same rank and length of ser vice would get the same pension irrespective of when they retire. At present, those who retired before 2006, the year of the last Pay Commission, actually receive much less than even their juniors who retired aer that year us, a Havildar (NCO) who retired earlier with over 20 years of ser vice may receive less pension than a soldier who retired later with only 15 years of ser vice As an example for the officer cadre, the pension of a post-2012 retiree Colonel was INR 35,841, whereas a pre-2006 retiree Major General’s pension was INR 26,700. ese disparities are grossly unfair because the soldier is retired compulsorily at an age depending upon his rank, and his pension is fixed upon the pay according to the Pay Commission in force at retirement.

ere is more than meets the eye to the foot dragging over OROP Unlike civilians, veterans of the Army, Navy and Air Force normally refrain from going public on issues regarding their own rights and entitlements, given their years of ser vice in a strict disciplinarian environment under the Armed Forces Acts of Parliament, which expressly deny them the fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression. However, they seem to have now

reached the end of their tether. Delay tactics of politicians and bureaucrats over the years have pushed them to the limits of their endurance, patience and tolerance

e demand for One-R ank-One-Pension was first raised a quarter centur y ago in the 1980s. Nothing moved until the C ongress par ty promised OROP in its 2004 poll manifesto, but the UPA government rejected the demand in December 2008. In protest, Veterans returned over 22,000 gallantr y, war and ser vice medals to the President of India, along with symbolically signing a letter in 2009 with their own blood Since then, under the banner of the Indian Ex-Ser vicemen’s Movement (IESM), veterans have been periodically taking delegations to the Ministr y of Defence, writing letters to the Prime Minister and Defence Minister, and holding peaceful and dignified rallies and public demonstrations.

In 2013, the Standing Committee of Parliament on Defence studied and accepted the concept and definition of OROP It was part of the UPA budget in Februar y 2014 and was reflected in an executive order to that effect the same month, but saw no fur-

ther action with imminent general elections looming ahead During the poll campaign, Narendra Modi, then the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, made a firm promise at a Veterans’ R ally at Rewari in Har yana, that if elected to office he would ensure implementation of OROP. Aer the BJP-NDA government came to power, OROP was mentioned in the budget speech in July 2014, and the Minister of State for Defence confirmed it in the Rajya Sabha last December. Again, in March this year, during Modi’s visit to frontline troops on the Siachen glacier, he reiterated his solemn assurance that the OROP demand would be fulfilled. More than four months have passed since, but still nothing concrete has surfaced. Nobody seems to know why the government is hesitant to take the final leap and fix a time-frame for implementation

e core issue is that Armed Forces veterans who have retired earlier receive much less pension than those who retired more recently Many outside the militar y argue that there is nothing special about this aberration similar situations happen in other government jobs too. So why are

the Veterans making such a fuss, they ask. To answer this perfectly valid question one needs to take note of some little-known facts concerning the militar y, at least in so far as ser vice, retirement and pension are concerned. Only a detailed examination of the problem can lend clarity.

Firstly, Armed Forces personnel are compulsorily retired at early ages, and retirement age depends upon rank Early retirement is unavoidable if we are to “keep our armies young. ” Jawans not promoted to NCO or JCO ranks retire aer just 15 to 17 years of service when aged 35 to 37 years ose promoted as NCOs or JCOs retire at age 45 to 47 years Retirement age for Officers is connected with rank as well 50 for Major, 52 for Lt Colonel, 54 for Colonel, 56 for Brigadier, 58 for Maj General, 60 for Lt General, and 62 for a full General, noting that promotions are pincered between performance and severely limited vacancies given the rigid pyramidal rank structure. at is why, of all Armed Forces retirees, soldiers constitute about 90%

Secondly, a soldier who was retired, say, in 1986 would receive pension on the basis of his salar y according to the Fourth Pay Commission, while the pension of a soldier who was retired aer the Sixth Pay C ommission (20 years later) would be considerably higher because successive Pay Commissions fix salaries according to the rising cost indices.

irdly, compulsor y retirement aer just 15-17 years of ser vice at age 35 years means a soldier is effectively denied salar y earnings of 25 years which other government employees (including police forces) receive as they retire at age 60. With negligible scope for lateral entr y into government ser vice even for soldiers who retire without disability attributable to militar y ser vice, he is forced to seek employment to supplement his meagre pension at a

time when his family and other commitments are just beginning to spiral. is, along with lower pension of earlier retirees, is a combination that makes for near-destitution of a soldier who has ser ved in hard conditions defending the nation. For comparison, a CRPF policeman retires at 57 years age, and CRPF authorities are pressing for retirement age to be increased to 60 years

Fourthly, there are huge differences in militar y officer cadre vis-a-vis IAS and IPS. C onsider the rank of Maj Gen, to which only 0 8% officers get elevated to aer about 30 years of ser vice, due to the command-control-discipline rank structure of the army. e equivalent rank in the IAS is a Joint S ecretar y ( JS), which 100% of IAS cadres attain aer merely 18 years of ser vice, and about 80% of IPS cadre aer 20 years It is this glaring unfairness in parity in addition to early retirement age which is at the root of the OROP demand. Further, and even more unfairly, the Jawan is equated with a Class D government employee ere has been much discussion regarding what OROP would cost the exchequer. Many have argued it would be unaffordable, and further that other government ser vants would also start demanding OROP if a precedent is set However Army veterans maintain that OROP cannot be withheld from them just because some others whose conditions of ser vice and promotions are entirely different, also demand OROP According to available information, on 17th Februar y this year, the MoD sent the OROP final proposal for INR 8,300 crores to the Finance Ministr y. Adding this INR 8,300 crores to the existing INR 43,000 crores of Defence pensions will take the total up to INR 51,300 crores per annum, which is clearly not as unaffordable as is being claimed. Veterans

argue that when the BJP-NDA budget could allow INR 5.72 lakh crores as “ revenue foregone” to provide concessions on corporate tax, commercial tax and customs duties to business houses for one year, hesitating at spending less than one-tenth of it on soldiers who have given the best years of their lives for the nation’s defence was a deliberate slight indeed

e PM recently made a remark that OROP was not clearly defined. is has aroused doubts among veterans whether the IAS Lobby had sown this doubt in Modi’s mind, and this suspicion gains credence indeed given the composition of successive Central Pay Commissions and also the manner of functioning of the MoD’s Depar tment of Ex-S er vicemen’s Welfare Truth is that a large section of the civilian public, including legislators, are ignorant of soldiers’ tough working conditions early retirement, non-family stations and long separations, continual life-threatening stressful scenarios, risks on-the-ground and in-the-field, high casualty rates, strict disciplinar y regime under militar y law, denial of fundamental rights, yada yada. e bigger tragedy is that most civilians are not even interested in knowing, let alone understanding

All this could change if Anna Hazare, an ex-ser viceman himself who spent 15 years as an Army driver and miraculously survived two close shaves with death during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, actually joins the hunger strike at Jantar Mantar e Vets are keeping their fingers crossed, with many looking for ward to the long wait being finally over, and some even hoping against hope that the PM will announce OROP implementation on Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort

e author is a veteran journalist, political commentator & satirist.

“LETS’ TU RN PROB LEMS

I NTO OPPORTU N ITI ES”

DR . RAVINDRA PASTOR, IAS

S o far in our s eg ment ‘Indian Achie vers, ’ we had focu s ed only upon compatriots from the business communit y, like entrepreneurs, academician s tur ned bu sinessmen, cor porate head honchos and the like. i s month though, we take a break from this tradition of sor ts that we s eem to have s et, to look at pers ona who has made life meaning ful for millions through gover nment s er v ice. In thi s piece, we turn the focus to governance and rural development, and feature an Indian Administrative S er v ice officer who has dedicated hi s life to improv ing the lives of people he i s to gover n. Pres enting to you Dr. Rav indra Pastor of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, whos e for te i s, simply put, the upliment of the less pr iv ileged through extending to them social entrepreneurship de velopment, mentor ing, motivational speaking, reg ional and micro le vel planning, r ural bu siness de velopment, r ural marketing, skill de velopment, organi sing job fairs & placements, nur tur ing producer companies/cooperatives, creating ac tiv it y bas ed SHGs, micro-finance and ag r ibusiness development …

When our editorial team met him at Ujjain, where he is the Divisional C ommissioner, and asked him to put into a nutshell what he has come to be, he was pithy with words in describing himself: “I am just another simple civil ser vant who has been working for the last 34 years with the Government of Madhya Pradesh I have made rural development and micro-level planning, entrepreneurship development, rural marketing, sustainable development and integrated natural resource management my primar y areas of interest, as this is where a civil administration can render its best ser vice to its populace ”

True to his description, he has indeed been an administrator par excellence, and has been the recipient of many an accolade for his path-breaking work For instance, Dr Pastor, while working as the Rewa Commissioner, was conferred the World Bank’s prestigious South Asia Vice-Presi-

dent Team Award for District Poverty Initiatives Programme (DPIP), for outstanding work in anti-pover ty programmes while he was the Project C oordinator of the DPIP ere are many such citations that are possible, which we skip mentioning here, as almost all of them are already in the public domain and the internet is your friend So seek them out !

Dr Pastor is a bit of an unusual civil servant, whose demeanour, body language and actions go starkly against the stereotypical image of a sarkari babu that prevails in the minds and visualisations of an amorphous public Unusual in the sense that he takes his tasks ver y seriously indeed, and goes about his work with full dedication, firmly rooted in his belief that there exists no better platform in India for doing positive work for society than from within the government

We asked Dr. Pastor to tell us how come he got into the fields he is today passionate

about. His reply was as succinct and terse as his earlier responses: “It was in fact a carr y-over from my childhood the wish to work for r ural development, skill enhancement and rural micro management S een in retrospect, it gives me immense satisfaction. I will explain it to you with the example of Tulsi Das ji When he was writing out the Ramayana, someone asked him for whom he was writing it Tulsi Das ji said I write it for myself … but if anyone benefits out of reading, it isn’t really any of my concern … . S o in exactly the same way, I am doing what I passionately feel about in the rural sector, as it gives me great satisfaction doing these tasks I have set for myself well. And yes, if people are benefiting, it is ‘ sone pe suhaga’.”

“I have also worked stead fastedly for the development of opportunities for poor, uneducated village ladies To turn them into earning hands, I had kick started a scheme called ‘Akshar Agarbatti’ in the Panna

district of MP. Under this scheme, we ultimately managed generate sustainable employment for more than 42000 women Even today, if you go there you will find thousands of women earning their livelihoods from this activity.”

ere is another side to Ravindra Pastor that his hobbies, other creative activities and his non-domain work tell us about He has over time, evolved as a writer and poet, a script-writer, film director, editor and actor. He is also keen to connect with the youth, and takes time out to go to institutions of higher learning, where his inspiring lectures motivate tomorrow’s leaders of India

His prolific writing habit has seen many of his articles being published in almost all major newspapers and magazines of Madhya Pradesh His writings, reached to news agencies by his friends also have seen publication worldwide On the film-making front, his much acclaimed documentar y on the elections, called ‘SAHUJI CHALE CHUNAV KARANE’ was one in which he has written the script and acted

Dr Pastor, as the Divisional C ommissioner for Ujjain, helms the administrative team set up by the state government to

ready the city and execute all preparations for the 2016 Kumbh, called Simhasth. Ujjain is one of the four hosts for the Kumbh Mela, due to its location, its ‘kark rekha’ prior to Greenwich becoming the prime meridian, 0° passed through Ujjain. Even today all Indian ‘panchang’ (almanacs) continue to consider Ujjain as 0° deshantar e Great Simhasth Kumbh Mela event is based on the celestial line-up of planets and the signs of the zodiac, which occurs ever y 12 years. Simhastha is the great bathing festival of Ujjain. It is celebrated in a c ycle of twelve years when Jupiter enters the Leo sign of the zodiac, known as Simha R ashi C eremonial bathing in the holy waters of Kshipra begins with the full moon day of the Chaitra month and continues throughout the succeeding month of Vaishakh, culminating on tenth full moon day

At Ujjain, this will begin from 22nd April and end on the 21st of May, 2016. With estimations suggesting that around 5 crore people will converge on Ujjain during this month long Mela next year, the government of Madhya Pradesh has chosen to start gearing up for the event starting right away, and Dr. Pastor, as the Divisional

Commissioner, is squarely in charge.

“We are aware of the magnitude of the event, and accordingly we have already started preparing ever ything We have demarcated approx 3500 hectares of land, with a budget of INR 2500 cr. At any given time, we will ensure that around 20 lakh people can stay, in reasonable comfor t. CCTV cameras, proper transport, eateries, toilets, bathrooms, hospitals, water plants, temporar y police stations, electrification, 45,000 dug-pit toilets and 1000 bio toilets, etc., are in the reckoning. We would like people to know that we are taking care of each and ever ything Almost 8 km long Ghats are being developed Work on widening of roads, building of flyovers, enhancing security, availability of volunteers, etc. is all in full swing. We are also taking ever y possible care that no untoward incidence happens and ever ything goes peacefully”

Rajeev Gupta

e author is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years of experience

Had been associated with many Electronic Channels before star ting NRI Achievers magazine.

DR. PASTOR, WHILE WORKING AS THE REWA COMMISSIONER, WAS CONFERRED THE WORLD BANK’S PRESTIGIOUS SOUTH ASIA VICE-PRESIDENT TEAM AWARD FOR DISTRICT POVERTY INITIATIVES PROGRAMME (DPIP), FOR OUTSTANDING WORK IN ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAMMES WHILE HE WAS THE PROJECT COORDINATOR OF THE DPIP

Rajeev Tyagi

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CHATU R ANGA, CHAU PER AU R PACH EESI

We have g row n up play ing Chess, Snakes & Ladders (Chutes & Ladders) and Ludo. Have you ever wondered how these games came to existence? We tend to take common items for g ranted, even when we are aware that ever y item in our day-to-day life has some reason for its existence. I have been working on these subjects for over a decade now, and I realise that if we dig deeper into our lifestyle, we w ill learn some eye-popping facts. And if thes e fac ts are ar ranged and ar rayed properly for study, the y can surely help u s live healthy and wonder ful lives. Our subject this month is about three of the most common board games of the world.

CHATURANGA AKA CHESS

Chess is considered to be the most sold board game in the world. It is said to have originated as Chaturanga in the Gupta Empire before 6th century “Chatur” mean four and “Anga” means part Chaturanga thus means the 4 divisions, namely infantry, cavalry, elephantry and chariotry. ese forms are represented by modern day Pawn,

Knight, Bishop (earlier elephant) and rook (earlier Chariot) respectively e Chaturanga is also said to have come from an earlier game of the Kushan Empire (50 BCE –200 CE), from the region we now know as Afghanistan Chaturanga was commonly pronounced as ‘Chatarang’ by the Persians who took it to their native land. When the Arabs overran Persia, they started pro-

nouncing it ‘Shataranj’ due to the lack of ‘Ch’ and ‘ ang ’ sounds/syllables in Arabic e word ‘Shah’ (Persian for King) was being used for ‘Check’ and ‘Shah-Maat’ (King is Helpless) was used to denote ‘Checkmate’ e Words Shatranj, Shah, Sheh, Sheh-Maat are still used in areas the Persians once ruled, or wherever languages derived from Arabic or Persian are spoken,

including India. Chaturanga travelled to Europe and name transformations kept happening North African moors pronounced Shataranj as Shaterej, which in Spanish became Acedrex, Axedrez and Ajedrez. Let’s have a look at this game ’ s journey in meme-space …

Chatur + Anga = Chaturanga (India), Shataranj (Persian), Shaterej (Af rican), Acederex/Axedrex/Ajedrez (Spanish), Xadrez (Por tuguese), and Z atrikion (Greek). In Europe: Shaah/Shahi (Persian for King), Scacc(h)i (Latin), Scacchi (Italian), Escacs (Catalan), Echecs (French), S chaken (Dutch), S chach (German), Szachy (Polish), Šahs (L atvian), Skak (Danish), Sjakk (Nor wegian), S chack (Swedish), Šakki (Finnish), Šah (S outh Salvic languages), Sakk (Hungarian), and Shah-Mati (Russian) From the names commonly used in Europe, the modern day derivative ‘Chess’ was established. While the board games that have been recovered f rom excavations in MohenjoDaro and Harappa were having 100 or more squares, the later-period boards were Ashtapada (Eight sections as in modern day Chess – 8 x 8 squares).

I propose to soon come up with a detailed ar ticle on Chess, explaining the journey and how the ancient pieces and rules were transformed to the new ones But for now, let’s talk about other common games that all of us as kids loved.

GYAN CHAUPER AKA SNAKES & L ADDERS

India's ancient education system was evolved and developed enough to teach pupils using scientific devices. One of the important philosophies in Hindu and Jaina traditions is ‘Moksha’ (Salvation) It revolves around the contrast of Karma (Destiny) and Kaama (Desire). Ladders represent virtues like generosity, faith and

humility, with which you get chances to elevate yourself. e snakes on other hand are vices or ‘Kaama’ or desires like lust, anger or crimes e top of the board in ancient India was covered with images of God and angels, while the rest of the borders consisted mainly of worldly elements like people, animals and flora. e Moral of the game was that by doing good deeds, one attains Moksha and reaches heaven faster, whereas with vices, one tends to fall back and is mired in the cycle of rebirth. is gave this game its name ‘Moksha Pattam’. e jain version became popular with name ‘Gyaan Chauper’ In Telugu this game is known as Vaikunthapalli (Vaikunth = heaven, pali = dice board) or Paramapada Sopana Patam (Ladder to Salvation).

Chauper literally means a board or setting Another game that became more popular by the name Chauper was also known as Chauser is game had a prominent role in the epic of Mahabharta, where the Pandavas lost ever ything to Kauravas, including their wife, in the game of Chausar Typically, this form of Chauper

is a betting game, where you put money and material on stake. Some claim that Chauser is the predecessor of Chess, which is wrong Actually, Chauser was adopted by commoners, who turned it into Pacheesi

PACHEESI AKA LUD O

Pacheesi is the cheaper version of Chauper/Chauser While the Chauser was played with real money, this was played with sea shells (Kaudis), the unofficial currency of ancient times. is game became popular amongst poor people since the beginning of Common Era is game is also depicted in the caves of Ajanta Games played with dice were popular since the Harappan times. Vedic texts mention of the design and usage of various dice Pacheesi literally translates to ‘ game of twenty-five’ In Pacheesi, the highest bid was of getting a 5 on dice, which was valued at 25 (Pachees).

Mughal Emperor Akbar was so fond of Chausar, that he had a huge setup built in the cour tyard of his palace at Fatehpur Sikri He deployed peasants to act as pawns His game has been depicted beautifully in his autobiography ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ by Abu Fazl, his minister and friend.

e Cross and Circle is a board game design used for R ace Games across the globe Another version of the Cross and Circle is Cruciform, which is the based on the pattern of Pacheesi. Cross-Circle and Cruciform date back to 3500 B C. It is also associated with the times of King Bharata of ancient India

E ach game derived f rom this design had a message associated with it. Next time, when you play one, do remember the underlying message

A

Vikramjit Singh Rooprai

e writer is a self-made IT entrepreneur, who is also a passionate heritage & history buff.

K AREENA K APOOR ALL SET TO COME OUT I N H ER M ARY AVATAR

s f l at s u r pr i s i ng h e r p e e rs . Kare e n a Kap o or i s a l l s e t to c om e out i n h e r s e x y av at ar a s Mar y, s h ot by Kar an Ma l h ot r a for B ROT HE R S T h e s ong “Mar y S au Ta k a Te r i Hai” i s a l l s e t to b e t h e n e x t C h i k n i C h am e l i Kar an Ma l h ot r a s ay s t h at h e an d Kar an b ot h fe lt t h at Kare e n a wou l d b e g re at for t h e nu mb e r. In AG N E E PAT H t h e s ong c am e at a ve r y c r u c i a l s t a ge an d t h i s t i m e a s we l l i n B ROT H E R S it w i l l c om e at a c r uc i a l m om e nt i n t h e f i l m . We w i l l ge t to s e e on ly Si d d h ar t h Ma l h ot r a i n t h e s ong w h i l e A k s h ay won’t b e s e e n i n t h e f r am e T h e d i re c tor f u r t h e r s ay s t h at h e c an’t re ve a l m ore ab out t h e s ong a s it c om e s at a c r u c i a l m om e nt of t h e f i l m

M ANOJ BA J PAYEE IS VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT GREAT CI N EM A

Ma n oj B aj p ay e e h a s t a k e n a s t e p t ow a rd s prom ot i n g c i n e m a , by g e t t i n g a ss o c i at e d w it h a u n i q u e on l i n e p or t a l w h i c h i s s o l e l y d e d i c at e d t o t h e c l a s s i c c u lt m ov i e s , d o c u m e nt a r i e s a n d s h or t f i l m s of In d i a n c i n e m a i n a l l l a n g u a g e s Ma n oj i s k n ow n f or h i s u n c onv e nt i on a l c h oi c e s of f i l m s a n d h a s a lw ay s g i v e n a c h a n c e t o e m e r g i n g t a l e nt s by w or ki n g i n t h e i r m ov i e s n ow g i v e s t h e m a c h a n c e t o g row f u r t h e r.

B H USHAN KUM AR SIGNS TWO-FI LM DEAL WITH REMO D’SOUZA

R e m o D’ S o u z a , o n e o f t o d ay ' s m o s t s o u g ht a f t e r c h o r e o g r ap h e r s a n d n ow a d i r e c t o r, i s mu c h i n d e m a n d n ow a f t e r h i s r e c e nt r e l e a s e A B C D 2 B hu s h a n Ku m a r h a s s i g n e d a t w o - f i l m d e a l w i t h h i m R e m o a n d B hu s h a n h av e e a r l i e r w o r k e d t og e t h e r d u r i n g t h e p o p - a l b u m d ay s a n d a r e k e e n t o b e w o r k i n g o n a f u l l - f l e d g e d f i l m f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e B hu s h a n , w h o l ov e s e x p e ri m e nt i n g w i t h d i f f e r e nt g e n r e s o f c i n e m a , i s k e e n t o e x p l o r e m o r e w i t h R e m o. B o t h o f t h e m a r e y e t t o f i n a l i z e o n t h e s c r i p t f o r t h e t w o f i l m s t h o u g h

DILWALE SET TO RELEASE ON 18TH DECEMBER

Re d C hi l lies Enter t ainments Pr ivate Ltd & Rohit Shetty

Pro duc t ions’ f i lm DILWALE is s et to rele as e on 18t h D ecemb er 2015. The f i lm is c ur rent ly b eing shot in Bu lgar ia and has lo cke d into t he C hr ist mas we ekend for its g rand rele as e Wit h Sha hr u k h K han and Rohit Shetty coming b ack for t he s e cond t ime af ter C hennai E xpress, DILWALE has a lre ady cre ate d t he much ne e de d buzz and is one of t he most ant icip ate d f i lms of t he ye ar. Dire c te d by Rohit Shetty, DILWALE is a fami ly enter t ainer st ar r ing Kaj ol, Sha hr u k h K han, Var un Dhawan and Kr it i Sanon S o get re ady for ye ar-end celebrat ions wit h Di lwa le

Bureau T h e a c t re s s re c ord e d t h e s ong i n 2 0 m i nute

A

“ YOU NG ACTORS TODAY EVEN DON’T KNOW H I N DI”

Jy ot i Ve nk ate sh , o ur b o l ly w o o d m av e n , b ut to nh o l e d Aj ay D e v g n , t h e inte n s e a c to r of Hin di c i n e m a t o el i c it p it hy re s p o n s e s f ro m hi m ab o ut h o w h e m ak e s it a p o i nt n o t t o b e c o m e t h e charac te r he play s in a f ilm, be fore or af te r the take. NRI Achie ve rs br ing s you e x ce r pts of that conve rs ation Jyoti Ve nkatesh had w ith the ac tor rece ntly …

How would you describe your role in DRISHYAM ?

In DRISHYAM, I play a simple run-ofthe-mill common man e film is all about what extent a normal human being will go to defend his beloved family, when he is pushed into a corner by circumstances that are just beyond his control Is it true that in this movie yours is not an action-packed role as is the norm ?

The guy I play in DRISHYAM is mentally strong and beats the system with his brand of intelligence A lot of people who have s e en t he r ushes of t he f i lm tel l me that earlier as well I have acted in many f i lms w here I have not had an ac t ion packed role, like in Prakash Jha’s GANGA

JAL 2, R amgopal Varma’s COMPANY. How confident are you about the prospects of the film at the box office ?

e film boasts of a fabulous and amazing script by Joseph, who had directed the original Malayalam version starring Mohanlal in the lead role played by me. Such films may not open with great collections, but thanks to word of mouth they oen do well at the box office

Did you make it a point to see the orig inal version to see how Mohanlal or Kamal Haasan had acted in them ?

I didn’t see either the Malayalam original DRISHYAM or the Tamil version PAPANASAM because one feels pressurized only if one feels that one is competing with ei-

ther Mohanlal or Kamal Haasan. Maybe if a lesser and weaker actor had acted in the original version, I may have liked to see the film just to know what not to do Mohanlal and Kamal Haasan are seasoned thespians who have been around for four decades or more. You mean to say that you were not scared of being compared with them.

ere is absolutely no question of being compared with either Mohanlal or for that matter Kamal Haasan because they are ver y versatile actors.

Why did you not ask Jeetu Joseph, who had directed the orig inal Malayalam as well as the Tamil versions to direct this Hindi version ?

It was entirely a call taken by Viacom to

ask Nishikant Kamat to direct the Hindi version. ough it was for the first time that I was acting with Nishikant, I was happy that I was in safe hands as Nishi has the kind of sensibility one needs to helm a project like DRISHYAM. In fact, the Hindi remake is a tribute to the original director Jeetu Joseph. Did you cancel dates you had committed for your own directorial venture SHIVAAY in order to act in DRISHYAM?

I didn’t cancel the shooting of my own film SHIVAAY in order to act in DRISHYAM. It so happened that there were some technical glitches that compelled us to postpone the launch of SHIVAAY and when Viacom approached me to be part of DRISHYAM, I immediately agreed to do the film. What is the status of SHIVAAY?

SHIVAAY is slated for a 2016 release We unveiled the SHIVAAY poster to our audiences just to create an awareness of the project. And as far as SHIVAAY is concerned, we are working like in Hollywood, where people are not at all in a hurr y to release their films In what way is the Hindi remake different from the south versions ?

e Hindi remake is more urban unlike the original southern versions We have in fact trimmed the Hindi version by editing out all the superficial scenes from the originals to make it slicker and offer an enhanced drama to audiences. e Malayalam and Tamil versions were three hours long, the Hindi remake is just two and a half hours long For the f irst time Tabu and you are in the other side of the fence. How was the exper ience ?

Tabu is a childhood friend of mine and there is a certain comfort zone between us e role of the cop I played in SINGHAM or SINGHAM RETURNS is completely different from the role of the cop Tabu playing

in DRISHYAM Tabu today is also a more mature and intense actor than she used to be In DRISHYAM, Tabu is excellent as she plays a role which has many gray shades. How was your experience of working w ith a direction like Nishikant for the first time?

Nishikant is a director who is so sorted out and clear and not at all over the top Nishi knew exactly what he wanted from his actors. I do what I want to do on the sets aer I discuss the scene with my director and put forth my own point of view, because film-making is team work I do not like to do rehearsals. I read my lines twice, tr y to understand the meaning and

only then make it a point to face the camera If you are okay with the knowledge and know the meaning, it isn’t all that tough to do a film, though unfortunately the younger generation of actors today does not even know Hindi they are mostly conversant in English How did the character that you played in DRISHYAM drain you off as a person?

I do not at all become the character that I play in a film before the take or for that matter aer I give the take in front of the camera

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e writer is a well-known & established film critic.

The rock formation looks like a dinosaur

Photog raphy = Draw ing by light. I Embark upon thi s jour ne y as I time travel through Bhimbetka Rock Shelters and take a slight liberty of using the above-cited definition of ‘Photog raphy’ to suit this time travel ...

It was 793 years ago. I wanted to get away from the mundane fighting and hunting that my species was perpetually engaged in I took off in search of a quiet place that could provide an outlet to vent the artist in me

I walked up the hill and stood in front of the gravelly pathway that led to a cluster of rocks. ose rocks looked inviting. I slowly and purposefully strode down to the massive formation

I tr udged up and found myself at a vantage As I gazed down, I found the vast greens and browns of the plains below underlining the blue skies. Here’s when I spotted a giant tortoise. Careful obser vation revealed it to be yet another nature-craed rock-wonder that resembled a tortoise

e view did it for the ‘creative me ’ I decided that it was going to be my home for some time. As I ventured around the narrow burrows car ved by times in those sandstone rocks, I realised that those had turned into or tho-quar tzite I did not know then that this place would later be called Bhimbetka Rock Shelters

I placed my leather satchel on a ledge in a cave and pulled out my cleaver and axe. Suddenly, I heard the sibilant sound normally produced by a slithering snake. I threw my cleaver hard in the direction of the sound and heard the reptile slinking away

It will be dark soon I stepped out to scrounge around for some food. e trees were bent double with fruit. I took what I needed and prepared to retire. e connecting cavity between two caves seemed the best option as it gave me an alternate exit in case of danger I decided that will be my bedroom for some time

At the crack of dawn, the sunrays penetrated the cave opening and bathed me in a luminous glow. Aer lazing around for a while, I finally galvanised myself into action.

Morning routine, followed by a quick hunt and breakfast, and I was all set for my photography (or drawing by light) Caves would not get any light aer sunset; so my photography will have to happen when there was light !

I sur veyed the area and realised that many before me

As I arrived, I noticed these

ASI's own way of disfiguring the heritage

P h o t o s

had found similar inspiration here and had stopped by to create works of art over the centuries. e caves around had a plethora of paintings (or photographs, as I am wont to call them)

e colours used in these photographs were mostly white and red, though in some rare cases, yellow and green had also been used. I favoured the red colour. And that’s what I would be using e earth around provided enough ingredients for my paint requirements and the tree extracts made sure the paint would last. Collecting all I needed, I made my way to my chosen studio.

For the next few years, my routine was to get up, gather food, find a place in the cave cluster where I would do my photography or drawing, take breaks whenever I was thirsty and go across to the watering hole, work some more, and retire when light would fade or when I would feel tired, whichever was earlier

Soon enough, I found my work embracing that of my unknown ancestors from

fourteen millennia before me I was making sure that it must harmonise with the themes created by those before me. I stayed with depiction of lifestyle hunting, fighting, gathering, taming, riding, etc

Now I was old and could not paint any more I knew soon enough, a day would come when I may not get up any more. ese last few days, I went around admiring what I had created and embellishing those paintings that needed some more work

And one fine day, I slept I slept for a long time in fact, for 781 years. When I woke up, I realised I was still there except instead of walking, I had arrived in a car and instead of a cleaver and an axe, I was carr ying a 5D Mark III e rock formation seemed shaped like a dinosaur

Now, instead of using cave rock as the surface, I was using a silicon sensor, but the photographer in me still lived I did what a photographer must I shot the works of art I had created almost 8 centuries back.

I did that with a determination of shar-

ing my work with the world all over again.

I knew that by this time, this place was already a UNESCO World Heritage Site I also knew that this status had been bestowed upon it, as it was a site of continuous man-landscape interaction over many millennia almost 15 of them, actually.

Having reached here from Satpura, en route Sanchi, I realised this time around, I will be photographing not one, but two UNESCO heritage sites in a single day - a

marked departure from those times 8 centuries ago when I hung around this place for what seemed like a lifetime.

You could also be photographing here. You just need to car r y your camera, get to Bhopal by rail or by air, take a transport down to Bhimbetka, which is a mere 4 5 k i l ome te rs aw ay and sho ot to you r hear t’s content.

Do that sometime soon as some of these paintings are fading faster than the haze on the horizon And do so before ASI decides to fur ther sully them with their own brand of painting in black colour ostensibly to mark the cave shelter numbers Despite all their good intentions, it is likely that you would find it as unwelcome as I did, since it interferes with the sanctity of our age-old heritage.

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Ajay Sood

A giant tortoise carefully crafted by nature

Discovered a lot of intricate art

PROF A P J ABDUL KALAM October 15, 1931-July 27, 2015

Postal regd No. dn/297/2013-2015

Date of Publication: 5th of ever y Month

Date of Posting: 8th & 9th of ever y Month