The Golden Sparrow on Saturday 13/12/2014

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PUNE, DECEMBER 13, 2014 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

TGS LIFE

The many facets of urban phobias

NETIZENS

Abhay Jere: Nurturing the spirit of innovation through blogs P6

On Indian roads, give highest priority to safety

All employers including top firms like Wipro, IBM, Infosys and Zensar need to guarantee the safety of their women employees while on the road. Firms and industry associations must also share their ‘best practices’ on radio cab safety RAHUL RAUT

11 CAB SERVICES IN PUNE According to Regional Transport Office (RTO), Pune, there are 11 companies providing cab services in Pune, each with a fleet ranging from 20 to 350 cabs. These include Travel Time, Wings Travel, Meru, Easy Ride, Taxi for Sure, Rent a Car, International Travel, Girikand Travel, T Cabs, Ola Cab & Uber Women continue to feel insecure while traveling in radio cabs across the country

BY ABHAY VAIDYA AND ISHANI BOSE @vaidya_abhay & @ishani_bose “Women who take a cab will be afraid until they reach their destination.”

This was the observation of a two-member bench of the Bombay High Court in September 2012, while upholding the death penalty on the two murders-rapists of a Wipro BPO employee, in Pune, in 2007.

On November 1, 2007, Jyoti Kumari Chaudhary (22), was raped and brutally killed by Purushottam Borate, the driver of a car hired by her firm, and his friend Pradeep Kokade.

“This case has had a deep impact on society,” the Bombay High Court had then observed and the judges had proposed to make recommendations for guidelines for women working on night shifts. Seven years after that incident, women continue to feel insecure with reports of rapes and murders of

women employees by cab drivers.

The latest incident involves a 26-year-old woman working for an MNC, who was allegedly raped by the driver of the US-based Uber radio cab service in Delhi. The young woman told the police that she was returning home from Gurgaon on December 5, when she dozed off in the taxi. When she woke up she found the vehicle parked in a secluded part of the capital, where she was raped by the driver. The cab did not have a GPS tracking device and the company had not conducted a background check on the driver.

This poor quality of service and security offered by a USbased firm is clearly indicative of the lax rules, regulations and policing in the country. Even after a number of rapes and murders of women by cab drivers across the country, the regulatory and monitoring system for taxis continues to be unsatisfactory, allowing drivers with ulterior motives to take advantage of their passengers.

Contd on p10

YOUR RADIO CAB SAFETY CHECKLIST • The Cab must be registered with the RTO and police • Drivers must have a valid ID card • Cab must have a panic button/ alarm system and GPS system in store • Women must also switch on their GPS system • Download the SOS—Stay safe application on phone • Women should also carry pepper spray • Employers must ensure that routes of all women associates are pre-disclosed and mapped in advance

RAHUL RAUT

Chandni Chowk Chaos has a solution The acute chaos and congestion at Chandni Chowk can be addressed effectively through some simple interventions by the Pune Municipal Corporation says city-based traffic planner and consultant Pratapsingh Bhonsle . See Spotlight on P 8-9

SPORTS

Five things expected from Pune Marathon P 16

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

Classical music helps connect to my inner self P4

Media houses have lost credibility: Kuldip Nayar P7

PUNE

“If we manage to create social pressure, then we can agitate on any issue in the country.”

— Anna Hazare, social activist

Lighting up blind children’s world with stories

The Kahani Project uses technology, Internet, IT and crowdsourcing to help needy visually impaired kids get access to children stories in audio formats

BY PRACHI BARI @prachibari Finding his corporate job meaningless and with plans to quit, Ajay Dasgupta hit upon an idea when he was 34-years-old. And the Kahani Project took its fi rst breath on Children’s Day (November 14) in 2012.

“I quickly bounced it off some friends, who liked it and the project was born in the winter of 2012. The ‘Dialogue in the Dark’ experience in Singapore and the work we did for disability inclusion in my previous fi rm helped me reach the decision. (Dialogue in the Dark Singapore aims to raise awareness and facilitate inclusion of marginalised people.

Their vision of social integration goes beyond just helping the blind. According to the social enterprise, in the darkness, one can no longer see differences of race, class, and religion).

“India has the largest population of visually challenged in the world.

A significant proportion of this populace is pre-teen. The number of Braille books available is very less and the pre-dominant media format of our age is visual (TV and Internet),” Dasgupta said.

The Kahani Project sets out to bring parity in accessibility to media (stories)

The Mission

to those children who are outside the reach of mass media. Technology acts as the key enabler here.

The power of crowdsourcing, audio, mp3 and mp3 devices come together to bridge this gap.

Dasgupta roped in his friends Monika Pathak, Sonia and Sneha Malani, Ashok Pakhare and Udhav Kumar for the project. “We believe that listening to stories is a fundamental right of every child, and stories in digital audio format can be made more accessible and available to children of all age groups, nationalities and disabilities. The Kahani Project aims to crowdsource audio stories and distribute them either through website or mp3 players given to visually challenged children in various institutes,” he said.

“The Kahani Project started with one simple objective. How can one ensure that a visually challenged child has access to as many stories as any child growing in an urban/semi-urban set-up in India. We have broadened the reach to include children from slums, children of marginalised communities and school kids. We work extensively with the Door Step School, storytelling circles and communities,” Monika Pathak said.

The project brings together

Crowdsourcing: Storytellers record stories at home or during our storythons and that becomes part of our free online audio library Storytelling: Children listen to these stories either through a speaker system, through storytellers or through mp3 players Website and social media: Social media is the project’s single biggest source of gaining popularity and spreading the message.

Manthan Award

The project’s aim is to make stories from India and abroad freely available to children

Four women have been feeding, caring and sterilising strays in their Pimple-Saudagar neighbourhood for six years

Kahani Project has broadened its reach to include children from slums, children of marginalised communities and school kids

technology, Internet, media, storytellers and storytelling to solve the challenge of accessibility and inclusion.

“Stories of an award-winning Marathi writer and activist (Dr Anil Awachat) are made accessible for the fi rst time to visually challenged children. An IT professional and endurance athlete lends her voice to the memorable fairy tales written by

Marathi writer (GA Kulkarni). A schoolteacher in Australia uses the story of ‘Kabuliwala’ to discuss culture, people and perceptions in his class.

A schoolteacher of Indian origin in the US who speaks Marathi records a story that reaches the children huddled together around an audio booth in Pune, and the parents of an eight-year-old girl, who are settled in the US, contact the project for a

source of connecting their child to India and the stories they had heard in their childhood. The project has made all this happen,” Dasgupta said. The project’s aim is simple: Set stories free so that children from across India and the world can access them easily.

“Listening rather than seeing improves the ability to focus, builds attention and improves listening skills.

The child is also free to imagine the

characters rather than see them. The diversity of this imagination is very crucial and critical for our society or else we land up with all the stereotypes we have to deal with - every mouse should not be Mickey Mouse. Stories also transfer values and a strong sense of ethics. We do a lot of value-based stories. Another area of interest is tactile stories through a variety of mediums like touch, sound, visual aids and play,” he said. prachibari@gmail.com

National Society for Clean Cities has been striving to keep cities clean for the past 34 years

me during my morning walks. These poor creatures are often found at the receiving end of people’s anger. I feel pity when children pelt stones at them,” Neelam said.

According to her, the dogs just need food. “It is my best investment. People waste food but don’t bother to feed the strays. The stray issue is common in cities only as villagers offer food to dogs in rural areas,” she said.

Giving Sable company in her noble effort is 54-year-old Vimala Rawat and her 30-year-old daughter Swati Rawat, who is a techie; Radhika Singh and Sunita Vijay. They daily feed the stray dogs in the evening and at night.

“Poor creatures. They have no water and no food, nobody feeds them outside,” Swati said.

These women faced residents’ wrath and threats while doing their service to the animals. They told their neighbourhood that these strays actually guard the locality. Their humane efforts have led the committee members of Roseland housing society to appeal to the residents to contribute to building shelters for stray dogs. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Neelam Sable feeds the stray dogs in her neighbourhood every morning

www.thekahaniproject.org editor@thekahaniproject.com Telephone: 9860097212

BY RITU GOYAL HARISH @ritugh “I wish people would not let ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ remain a one day effort and continue to work towards keeping our cities clean,” says Sheila Christian, National Society for Clean Cities (NSCC), Pune, vice president and a solid waste management evangelist for over three decades.

The NGO has been in the forefront of ‘Clean Your City’ campaign for more than 34 years, and their initiative got a sweeping acceptance when prime minister Narendra Modi picked up a broom to launch the nationwide cleanliness drive on Gandhi Jayanti this year.

Many schools, colleges, commercial establishments, government offices and social bodies have now taken up various cleanliness campaigns.

“Once again we would like to underline the need to make cleanliness an integral part of our lives. It is the duty of every member to sensitise the community and whosoever we come into contact with can be active participants and torchbearers of this Abhiyan. It is our collective responsibility to keep our surroundings clean and litter-free,” she said.

It is her observation that every city and town in the country can be litter-free if the authorities know how to dispose their waste. “The biggest problem is that we don’t know how to dispose our waste properly. A city like Pune is struggling and landfi lls are not a solution” she said. She hopes that the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan team can provide our bursting towns and cities a solution to the problem of garbage.

According to her, a citizen can contribute at an individual level in the following ways: 1. The first step to keeping the city clean is to understand that cleanliness must become a way of life 2. Citizens must use public utilities

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

For the last six years these women in Pimple Saudagar devote hours of their time to make sure that stray dogs in their neighbourhood are fed, cared and sterilised. Chilled mornings and cold nights have not stopped them from coming on the streets for these animals.

The day for Neelam Sable, 53, who settled at Roseland Residency Cooperative Housing Society in Pimple Saudagar in 2008, begins early morning. The homemaker puts dog food, chicken, eggs, rice, water, paper dishes and newspapers in her car and hits the streets at 4.30 am and second round at 8 am.

Waiting eagerly for her, the strays rush to greet her when she blows the horn of her car. Neelam prepares food late at night for the strays. She spreads newspapers on the floor and puts food on them in rows. Dogs and puppies emerge out of nowhere!

“I started giving food to stray dogs that used to come at our house gate while I was feeding my pets. It became a daily routine and they used to follow

Contact details

Do not reduce ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ to a one day affair!

Showering puppy love on stray dogs

BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL @ArchanaDahiwal

Out of the 400 nominations for Manthan Award South Pacific 2014. The Kahani Project won in the category of e-localisation for the year 2014.

Empowering citizens National Society for Clean Cities - Pune (NSCC) is a registered body established in 1978. Their main aim is to guide citizens to empower themselves when it comes to asking for their rights and thereby to stimulate local activities. Under the guidance and aegis of the NSCC core group, mohalla committees were set up to pursue issues that affect localities at a micro level.

The issues include those like environment and pollution control, vermiculture, waste separation and management, slum development and healthcare, literacy and civic awareness, encroachments and unauthorized structures, violations and misuse of land and floor space index, traffic problems and congestion.

NSCC Initiatives

Citizen-activist Sheila Christian says that every city and town in the country can be litter-free if the authorities know how to dispose city waste

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with utmost care. Spitting on buses or on the streets, throwing garbage out of cars, urinating in the open must be strictly avoided Everyone keeps their homes clean, but it is necessary to ensure daily cleaning of our workplaces Citizens must stop throwing garbage on the streets. If garbage pick-up is an issue, they must contact the Pune Municipal Corporation or their local mohalla committee to find a solution It is important to realise the importance of segregating garbage to ensure its proper disposal. Every citizen must adopt the three-way segregation system (wet, dry & e-waste)

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Citizens must come forward to adopt vermicomposting as a system to avoid giving wet waste to the PMC, thereby reducing the burden on them and ensuring a clean city Participate towards making Pune a dumpster-free city. Stop throwing garbage in public dumpsters Conscious citizens can arrange awareness drives, puppet shows for children, drawing competitions, slogan competitions, to spread the message of cleanliness Citizens can join their mohalla committees and help in sanitation surveys, awareness building and monitoring of the garbage system in the city

NSCC was in the forefront when the biodiversity park campaign was launched in the city in 2010. The organisation has been advocating effective Solid Waste Management (SWM) for the city for more than two decades and has been working in tandem with the PMC to help streamline the process. The mohalla committees associated with the organisation spearheaded awareness drives for voter identity cards.

Contact details Contact president Satish Khot on 937 122 1142 and vice-president Sheila Christian on 988 110 0270 for details.

10. Sensitise hawkers, vendors and shopkeepers on how important it is to keep the surroundings clean and the importance of hygiene ritugoyalharish@gmail.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

PUNE

The Sant Dnyaneshwar Samadhi Mandir at Alandi was built at the spot where the 13th century poet-saint, took living samadhi over 700 years ago.

The Samadhi structure was built in 1492 by a devotee, Ambekar Deshpande from Purandar.

Revamping India’s education system P5

Khan Academy brings classroom model online P6

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

Citizen groups demand priority for footpaths Vivek Kharwadkar, additional city engineer,PMC Footpaths are dug to install service lines. Then they are not restored properly and left damaged. The urban street design guidelines must be incorporated immediately.

Sarang Awad, DCP (traffic) The Pune Municipal Corporation has turned a blind eye to rampant footpath encroachments in various parts of the city. (Above) Encroachment in front of a new temple at Bhau Patil road in Bopodi and (left) autorickshaws occupying the footpath on Ganeshkhind Road

Public meeting convened by Sajag Nagrik Manch on December 7 expressed concern over footpath encroachment, their absence in prime areas and vehicle-centric policies

BY YASH DAIV @yash009 The speakers at the open discussion organised by Sajag Nagrik Manch (SNM) expressed deep concern over the absence of a policy for pedestrians and a change in mentality with regard to the vehicle-centric planning of the PMC. They underlined that the initiatives undertaken by the civic authorities have been ‘personality’ based and do not address the concerns and challenges faced by pedestrians.

City activists Jugal Rathi of PMP Pravasi Manch, SNM president Vivek Velankar, additional city engineer Vivek Kharwadkar, Parisar founder Sujit Patwardhan, Pedestrians First president Prashant Inamdar and deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Sarang Awad spoke at the public meet.

“The mentality wherein roads are conventionally built and maintained for vehicles must change. Pedestrians should

Pedestrian unfriendly The Indian Roads Congress (IRC) and National Urban Transport Policy give top priority to pedestrians in planning of roads, followed by cyclists, public transport and private vehicles.

Experts say that the existing discontinued pedestrian ways or cycle tracks and footpath encroachments are clear indication of pedestrians being at the bottom of the priority list of PMC.

exert their rights in cases of violation and encroachment,” said Inamdar, adding that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has constructed 12 urinals and illegal temples on the footpaths.

The discussion panel observed that people are unaware of their rights as pedestrians and every road must

The footpath on ITI Road in Aundh is an example of good work by PMC

TGS Quiz Contest

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No. 26

nswers to the following 10 questions are embedded in the stories featured in this edition. Send us the correct answers at contest.tgs@gmail.com and be one of the three lucky winners to receive gift coupons.

1. Which are the two committees that give top priority to the pedestrians on the roads, followed by cyclists, public transport and then finally private vehicles, while planning the roads?

2. In which country does Alberto Cairo run seven orthopaedic centres for the International Committee of the Red Cross?

3. Abhay Jere is the associate vice president of which company?

4. What kind of cakes, does Nicole Rutnagar specialise in making?

5. In which area of the city, are four women animal lovers feeding, caring and sterilising the stray animals?

6. When and Where is David Guetta going to perform for the second time in Pune?

7.

What is the name of ProducerDirector Bankim Jain’s debut film?

8. Which famous Gond artist committed suicide in 2001?

9.

Which are the Parsi winter menus mentioned in our Indulge page this week?

10. Name the five phobias featured in this edition?

Contest # 25 winners Roshan Kulkarni

essentially have footpaths. The speakers suggested that sensitising the staff concerned on footpath maintenance could curb encroachment.

“Every motorist should remember that he or she is a pedestrian first.

Individual effort is as important as the initiatives carried out by the governmental,” said Kharwadkar.

Rathi said that over 50 lakh private vehicles (38 lakhs in the city and 12 lakhs in Pimpri-Chinchwad) ply on city roads every day, and footpaths are casualty for road widening to accommodate the growing traffic. “As against over five lakh traffic offences related to motorists, authorities have registered only 1,000 cases filed by pedestrians,” Rathi said.

Patwardhan attributed this disturbed ratio to road capacity and vehicular presence. He suggested that vehicles should be banned in pedestrian-heavy areas like Tulsi Baug.

“Zebra crossings have been reduced to a pitiable state, as if their existence does not matter. Its repair still looks like a long shot,” said Rathi.

The audience strongly opined against the signals made for pedestrians and demanded proper signal synchronisation. The signals that go on for 10-15 seconds end up creating more problems for pedestrian crossing. Citing Karve Road and Garware College Chowk as examples of improper synchronisations, the participants suggested that there should be an audio signal for blind pedestrians. yashdaiv@gmail.com

PMC drafting guidelines for better footpaths

BY ASHOK BHAT @ashok_bhat Additional city engineer Vivek Kharwadkar said that the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) guidelines are not mandatory. He said that PMC is planning an Urban Street Design Guidelines (USDG) prepared by VK Architects Group following a survey covering 20,000 people from all walks of life. The survey showed that citizens would prefer walking, cycling or using public transport instead of using their vehicles.

FINDINGS: At present, only 3.7 per cent people said they prefer walking. If provided with good footpaths, 11 per cent people agreed to use them. The percentage of cycle users is as low as 1.9 per cent but 13 per cent agreed to cycle regularly if proper cycle tracks and parking lots are in place. The percentage of four wheeler users reaching 32 and every alternate person using a two wheeler underlines the city’s poor public transport service. Better public transport will see 32 per cent people using the facility.

IDEAL ROAD:The guidelines

suggest that an ideal road should be 21 metres wide with nine metres on both the sides dedicated to multi utility corridor. There should be two lanes of three metres each on either side of road for traffic.

PRESENT ROAD POSITION: Fifty-nine per cent of the roads are 7.5 to 12 metres in length. Only 15 per cent are 30 to 60 metres wide.

Twenty-six per cent roads are 15-24 metres wide.

NO PLAN FOR PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS Once known as the city of bicycles, Pune is now jammed with vehicles.

PMC has development plans for the city which include comprehensive mobility plan for traffic, policy for parking of private vehicles and policy for roadside hawkers. The Environmental Status Report (ESR) shows the ignorance towards zero pollution elements which would result out of increase in the number of pedestrians and cyclists. Sadly, no authority has planned anything keeping in mind the interests of pedestrians and cyclists. ashokbhat21@gmail.com

The zebra crossing enforcements are being done. Now we are turning towards footpaths. With an extensive study of signal timings, we will implement proper synchronisation to facilitate safe road crossing. Just like we did the underpasses and foot-overbridge, an advisory board for footpath maintenance is set up.

Vivek Velankar, president, Sajag Nagrik Manch Footpath encroachment is rampant. Whenever a road is being constructed or maintained, heaps of cement, sand or debris are dumped on footpaths. The police have ignored the footpaths completely.

Prashant Inamdar, president, Pedestrians First Not even 5 per cent of the promises made during the elections have been fulfilled when it comes to construction and maintenance of footpaths. Why can’t they be maintained like a tar road? Besides, when a tar road is being rebuilt, there are diversions made over the footpath.

Pedestrian safety is at risk in such cases.

Sujit Patwardhan, founder, Parisar Our traffic policy is vehicle centric. It was none other than PS Pasricha, former director general of police of Maharashtra, who had said that in road planning, the primary importance must be given to pedestrians followed by cyclists, public transport and private vehicles.

Humming Auld Lung Syne, 60 years later

Joint Service Wing ( JSW) of NDA celebrated their Diamond Jubilee Reunion

“We are here to recapture those days, the shared elation and anxieties.”

BY REUBEN PAUL @ReubenPPaul Seventeen-year-olds joining the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 1952 had just one thing on their mind: A dream and fire in their belly to achieve something! Going on eighty but wanting to be eighteen, coursemates of the 9th Joint Services Wing (JSW) of NDA and the affiliated courses, celebrated their Diamond Jubilee Reunion (60th) on December 9, 10 and 11. The 9th course was the last one to pass out of Clement Town, Dehradun.

Lieutenant General (retd) GL Bakshi, PVSM, who is currently the president of the 9th JSW affiliated courses association said, “We are deeply in the sense of gratitude to our services institution like the NDA which give their wholehearted support and encouragement to such nostalgic and emotional ‘get togethers’ attended by the elders.”

The coursemates of the 9th JSW comprise all ranks, from Major to Lt Gen, and include a former Governor. But what binds them are the relationships forged years ago when they learned the rudiments of the military profession the hard way.

“We have gathered here to recall our peccadilloes and faux pas in the hope that we can reclaim the vigour and verve

- Vijay Summanwar

Veterans of three wars now stand strong in their 80s, the last JSW course from Dehradhun

of the old days, no matter for how short a while. We have gathered here to wallow in nostalgia, to recall memories of those who departed—sadly, 49 of us. We are also here to thank the NDA which made us, our teachers, and each other for keeping company all these years,” said Colonel (retd) Vijay Summanwar, one of the organisers of the reunion.

Some parted in glory, winning decorations for valour; among them the late Major Mahinder Singh Chaudhary,

late Major Bhaskar Roye, late Maj Gen RK Suri, and late RD Rozario and some others. The veterans have seen the 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars.

Said Air Marshal (retd) KDK Lewis, recipient of a number of medals for valour, “On this occasion it is befitting for us to express appreciation for the concept of jointmanship propounded by the Prime Minister, Pandit Nehru; to facilitate JSW, NDA for converting the concept

into training and so aptly preparing us for military life and to honour and remember our fallen comrades.”

The retired soldiers recalled their early years when they were set to join the 9th course as young, perplexed cadets, still in their teens. They were soon herded into military vehicles that were left over from World War II that had ‘just’ ended seven years earlier. The lot of youngsters arrived at ‘Clement Town’ that had earlier housed prisoners of war. Now,

the old ‘camp’ had been turned into the JSW. The single storey barracks were of temporary specifications. Cadets were crowded four to six in ‘cabins’ in these barracks. The ‘Lahore Sheds’ doubled up as messes: open cubicles with half shutters served as bathrooms and toilets.

After two years of rigorous training, in December 1954, the cadets passed out to the tunes of the ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

Now in December 2014, 60 years after they had stepped out of the makeshift barracks that had been a wing of the NDA then, they return for the Diamond Jubilee of their ‘Passing out’.

“We are here to recapture ‘those days’, the shared elation and anxieties, latent ambitions, the thrills of getting better of each other, small and big, the need for a second breakfast, the dread of the drill square, and the sheer exasperation with mathematics—not many care to remember the ‘iota’ or sine hyperbolic for that matter. But we do recall those teachers with great fondness,” said Summanwar. reubenpaul94@gmail.com Related story on page 7

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

Defeating fatalistic approach to life P11

I believe that the power of wealth is in giving it away. We have to transform the pursuit of ‘more’ to the fulfillment of ‘better for all of us’.

P13

— Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus, Infosys

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PIC BY ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR & RAHUL RAUT

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Back to a Burmese prison by choice

PUNE

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Music magic at Sawai fest TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly The 62nd Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav that opened on Thursday, December 11, continued its long and rich tradition of excellence, offering an Indian classical music experience of the highest and supremely creative calibre. As in previous years, the 2014 edition also evoked an overwhelming response from classical music aficionados, the

audience comprising listeners of all ages, not just from the city but a significant number of followers from across the country and overseas.

The highlights of day I, was the debut performance by classical vocalist of the city, Saniya Patankar. “This is my first at Sawai and I am grateful for the opportunity to perform at this legendary classical music festival,” said Patankar.

Photographer Sateesh Pak-

nikar has set up an exhibition at the venue, with pictures that capture the essence of the Sawai Gandharva over the course of time.

On Saturday, December 13, taking to the Sawai stage will be Manju Mehta on sitar, vocalist Shrinivas Joshi, and a special performance by the Dhrupad Sanch.

Sunday, December 14 will feature Ustad Bahauddin Dagar on rudra veena, and a vocal recital by Dr Prabha Atre. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

‘Classical music helps me connect to my inner self ’ Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar was conferred the Vatsalabai Joshi Award by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal, organisers of the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav. She was presented with a memento and `51,000.

Endowed with a rich resonant voice, Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar is an eminent disciple of Gana Saraswati Kishori Amonkar of the Jaipur Atrauli Gharana and late Pandit Vasantrao Kulkarni of the Agra Gwalior Gharana.

Ankalikar-Tikekar is regarded as one of the premier vocalists of the current generation. She is known for performing a seamless blend of the vocal styles of various gharanas.

Ankalikar-Tikekar said, “I love singing thumris and ghazals as well. I won a gold medal at an All India Radio competition, I have sung thumris for movie soundtracks, and have also sung bhakti sangeet and bhavgeet. But what I enjoy the most is Raag Sangeet. Because classical music is very innovative and imaginative. In ghazal and bhavgeet, there is a lyricist and composer but in Raag Sangeet, I am the composer and I am the singer.”

About receiving the award, AnkalikarTikekar said, “It really feels great, that I am

receiving an award in the name of Vatsalabai at the Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav, It’s a great honour. Anna (Pandit Bhimsen Joshi) is like God to every Indian classical musician.

Vatsalabai was with him all along the way; she witnessed Anna’s journey; she was part of it and hence it feels great to receive this award.

Vatsalabai was herself a good singer, who learnt from Bhimsenji, so an award in her name is an honour. “I have sung at the Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav five or six times,” she said.

Anklikar-Tikekar sang at Sawai for the first time in 1983. She was 20 years old then. “Anna invited me to sing at Sawai. I was supposed to sing at 9 pm. Those days we did not have the 10 pm deadline. I decided to sing the Raag Nand. I was getting ready at 7.30 pm, when I got a call from the organisers that I was to sing at midnight. I had to thus change my plan.

I thought of Raag Bageshri, because I was to perform in front of such a large audience for the first time. In the end, I decided on Raag Jog Kauns at 3 am. It was a memorable experience.

The audience, and even Anna applauded my performance,” she said Anklikar-Tikekar relates to music on a very inner, spiritual dimension. “I feel Aarti is the one who wants to be connected to Aarti herself and the medium is music, so when I sing, I really am connected to myself, I call it aatmashodh,”

1. Pandit Shivkumar Sharma 2. Saniya Patankar 3. A young girl looks through the generation photo collection by Sateesh Pankikar 4. Pandit Jasraj 5. Diwakar & Prabhakar Kashyap 6. Pandit Vijay Ghate 7. The unveiling of Sawai’s photography exhibition

‘Jatra has helped 3,000 rural women’

Aarti Ankalikar-Tikekar received Vatsalabai Joshi at Sawai fest

BY PRACHI BARI @prachibari

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Sunanda Pawar says Bhimthadi Jatra has turned into mass movement

BY PRACHI BARI @prachibari

she says. She feels that audiences have changed in the last few years. “Twenty-five, 30 years ago, audiences were very knowledgeable. They understood raag sangeet. Now the audience is simply kaansen. It would be wonderful if the youth take interest in music not just because it is manoranjan, but because it is atmaranjan,” Anklikar-Tikekar said. prachibari@gmail.com

crowd. This year the stalls have been allotted to groups that are new or those who have shown an interest in learning new things. This year, Sunanda Pawar is a trustee of the Agricultural there are 290 stalls, including 65 crafts stalls, 81 Development Trust, Baramati. Shy yet focused, packaging products, and food stalls, which are Pawar’s unique endeavour, Bhimthadi Jatra, the biggest attraction of the Jatra. There are 42 provides a platform for rural self-help groups vegetarian and 42 non-vegetarian food stalls.

(SHGs). In its ninth year, what began Six months before the Jatra, with just a handful of SHGs, has now the Trust began training SHGs in blossomed into a mass movement, their region. The fair also provides The Bhimthadi Jatra that Pawar a glimpse into the traditional, rural launched in 2006, now has no less than and cultural art forms like Gondhali, 256 stalls; involves 510 SHGs, and Bharud, Nandi, Vasudev and Pingala gets over three lakh visitors. “In 2006, and enables visitors to reconnect with there was an overwhelming response their roots and inform and educate from the people, and thousands turned the new generation. up. It was the beginning of the Jatra, This year more than 3,000 and we had experts educating women women across Maharashtra have participants about sales, packing, Sunanda Pawar come together through the Jatra. The quality and other aspects. We wanted objective of Bhimthadi Jatra is to to revive Indian cultural traditions and create a bridge between the women the Agricultural Department Trust of Baramati of the SHGs and their prospective clients. The took the initiative,” Pawar said.

‘Jithe Gaon Tithe Vyavasay’ theme entails Since then the Jatra has gone from strength women getting together, and creating products to strength, enabling 85 women to set up their that will prosperity for the villages they live in. own businesses.When it started with 250 odd So far ten villages have benefited from the Jatra. stalls, the aim was to provide a platform for The Jatra concept is reflected in fairs such as women who were learning how to run their Punawadi held in PCMC, Tapthadi, Maval Jatra businesses. Over time, there were as many as 600 and Chopda in Jalgaon. stalls, but then it became difficult to control the prachibari@gmail.com

Letters to the Editor TGS is interactive Our newspaper is interactive and you are welcome to write in to our various segments: • Letters to the Editor email: editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com; editor_tgs@gmail.com By post: The Editor, The Golden Sparrow on Saturday, 1641 Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411030, (Best letter gets a weekly prize) • Articles for the Relationships page: relationships@goldensparrow.com, relationships.tgs@gmail.com • The Way Forward with Compassion & Hope: wayforward@goldensparrow.com • Want to become an entrepreneur? For mentoring advice, write to our associates: mentoring@pune.tie.org • Get weekly events listed: listings.tgslife@gmail.com

editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com

Our religious identities are simply accidents of birth

U n i o n minister S u s h m a S w a r a j wants the Gita to be declared as the national b o o k (rasht r iy a granth). I’m not at all surprised to read this bizarre piece of news. We’re living in dangerously religious times and are craving for a religious identity.

A section of the Hindus are screaming to assert their Hindu identity. Muslims are trying to make their presence felt in a not-so-delightful manner. Christians are also trying tooth and nail to make their presence felt from a religious perspective. Other religions and their followers are also trying to draw

attention in a distasteful fashion.

It’s a rat-race and a mad scramble.

Why don’t we understand one simple and universal fact that all our so disant identities are accidental? The Hindus, who are suddenly proud of being Hindus, could have been Muslims if born into Muslim households and vice versa.We never chose the country we now feel proud of. It’s all uncertain and iff y.

The problem with mankind is that it’s descended into extreme pettiness. We’re now devolved rather than evolved. It’s all the more ironic because in this age of Internet and easy access to all sorts of knowledge, we’ve become all the more regressive and our backwardness manifests itself through imbecile proclamations of religious identities.

- Sumit Paul (Gets prize for best letter)

Honour 26/11 victims by improving internal security

Saying that we salute the “will” of Mumbai which was up and running barely 24 hours after the ghastly 26/11 attack is actually equal to mocking them.

It is not their “will”, but their compulsion and helplessness: If people don’t go to work then they won’t be able to earn a living. And if they don’t use the so-called “lifeline” (local trains) of Mumbai, then what options do they have?

If we really want to pay a tribute to all those who lost their lives in saving ‘Maximum City’ then our debate must be around the mechanisms which have been put in place after 26/11 attack. Why is the NATGRID (National Intelligence Grid) still a ‘work in progress?

Those who opposed the National Counter Terrorism Centre should be

exposed. The Union Home ministry needs to pay greater attention to internal security.Perhaps, India needs to establish a separate internal security ministry with departments in every state. Other steps like establishing NCTC with one unique number to call on and installation of CCTV in important public spots in cities would also be required.

— Shanmugam Mudaliar

Sitara Devi, a great Indian

Sitara Devi (08 Nov 1920 - 25 Nov 2014), who left us at age 94 was the dancing legend born as Dhanlakshmi (Dhanno) in Calcutta. She was an exponent of the classical Indian dance form Kathak and helped introduce it in Bollywood. She established her expertise in the Kathak style for six decades and was known as ‘ Kathak Goddess ‘. Rabindranath Tagore also

described her as a ‘Nritya Samragini ‘ ( an empress of dance).

—Vijay Dattatray Patil

Write to Us Letters to the Editor may be emailed to editor_tgs@goldensparrow. com or mailed to Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt Ltd, 1641 Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411030.

The Best Letter of the Week will receive a special gift from Venus Traders, Pune’s finest stationery departmental.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY PUNE

Pune has 35 engineering colleges, which is highest in the world in given city. Savitribai Phule Pune University has 57 Engineering colleges affiliated to it over all, which is highest in the world.

—www.globalmarathi.com

Signposts Website launched for a musical show Farmaishein, the theme based live musical shows based on audience’s selection of songs, launched its website on December 6. Musicians Vivek Paranjape and Pravin Gokhale inaugurated the website. Through this website the audience will be able to select their songs for the singers who will perform in the upcoming show on December 24.

This time Shankar Jaikishan’s songs are up for selection. The show will take place at Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagriha from 9:30 pm onwards.

CHILDREN’S DAY COMPETITION RESULTS

Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi recieved the Nobel Prize on Dec 10

The results of the TGS Children’s Day competition will be declared in the December 27th edition of the newspaper. A total of 731 entries which included 463 drawings, 174 essays and 94 poems were received in response to the competition announced by TGS on the occasion of Children’s Day. ‘Child Labour’ was the theme for the contest.

P 12

Revamping India’s education system

The recent report presented by the Observer Research Foundation, highlights the need for recruiting 10 million skilled teachers in India over the next ten years

BY ISHANI BOSE @ishani_bose “In India, the number of students pursuing higher education is expected to rise up to 100 million over the coming decade.

This projects demands recruiting of at Leena Chandran least 10 million Wadia skilled teachers in Indian colleges and universities,” said Leena Chandran Wadia, a senior fellow at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), while presenting their latest report titled ‘Manifesto for India’s future’, at a conclave on science education in India, on November 20, at the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), Pune.

The conclave was organised by Pune International Centre (PIC) with the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune and ORF, Mumbai. Eminent scientist and chancellor of Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) and President of PIC, Raghunath

Mashelkar, chaired the discussion IISER director KN Ganesh, renowned mathematician Mangala Narlikar, and Weikfield managing director Mukesh Malhotra, along with education and industry officials were present.

The report by ORF, based on the tertiary science education in India, was prepared after surveying 30 colleges and interviewing 75 concerned people from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. The report is aimed at fortifying the education system in colleges, which grooms an erudite work force which could contribute to scientific advancements and sustainable economic development.

About the need for engineering research in India, Wadia said that the country’s future is inextricably linked to this. “While the quality of research is not bad, it is not quickly converted to technology or product,” she said.

Ganesh said that the quality of faculty must never be compromised.

“In India, education is treated as a business and KN Ganesh takes place at a

International Sufi Shattari Workshop to be held on Dec 15 TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly Sufi wisdom has found relevance in all ages and more so in the current era where people are disconnected with oneself and are resorting to violent unlawful and unhappy means to achieve what they want.

In times of this global insanity, Sufi wisdom can be of great help in healing the society and spreading peace, happiness and harmony among the people by generating awareness about it. Th is is what is felt by the members of the Sufi Gafoorsha Durgah Trust,who will be organising the International Sufi Shattari Workshop on Monday, December 15.

The workshop will be divided into two sessions. While the fi rst session will be held at Vivanta by Taj Blue Diamond from 9am to 11am, the second session will be held at the Tilak Ayurvedic College, Rasta Peth, Daruwala Pool, from 3pm to 6pm. “It

requires is understanding and practicing the ‘Unity of Oneness’ from the heart and not from the mind. The workshop will have Shattaris (members of the Sufi mystical order (tariqah) that originated in Persia), from different countries attend the workshop,” said Sayyed Sufi Saeed, Khalifa Sajjada Nasheen of the Sufi Gafoorsha Durgah Trust.

Shattari silsila (noble spiritual lineage) derives its name from its founder Shaikh Sirajuddin Abdulla Shattar (1406). True to its name Shattari mode is a rapid and quick form of a Sufi mystical order (Tariqat) and system of spiritual practices.

Shattari claim to hold the key to the secret meanings and mysteries of ‘Holy Koran’ and possesses veiled knowledge of ‘Harf-e-Muqatiyat’ (secret alphabets). It is prohibited to disclose this ‘Bar-e-Amanat’ (a trusted confidential deposit) of Hazrat Ali (kar) and Prophet Mohammed (sal). “All this talk, turmoil, noise movement is outside the veil. Within

the veil is silence and peace. Tap this potential for peace; surrender to nothingness which is very useful in meditation. Experience your true wealth of radiance, joy and permanent bliss, which is here and right now,” he said.

SHATTARI INDUCTION PROGRAMME. A systematic Induction programme is prepared for those desiring to enter Shattari silsila as Mureed and Khalifa.

The applicants has to go through two to three levels of personal interviews by senior Sufis, who will assess their genuine need and capability, and recommend them to the Pir(master) for his decision. Induction programme is conducted once a year preferably at Sufi Shattari centre, at the headquarter, Pune on the occasion of Urs. A Shijra, identity card, photographs of Sufi masters, and Khilafatnama are duly signed by witnesses and concerned authorities. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Anna Joshi made a mark with organisational skills

BY PRACHI BARI @prachibari Bharatiya Janata Party’s former Member of Parliament L a x m a n Sonopant Joshi (80) popularly known as Anna, who passed away on December 10 at Ratna Anna Joshi M e m o r i a l Hospital after a prolonged illness, was known for organisational abilities and leadership qualities.

Outgoing and friendly, Anna had a Masters in Science degree from the

University of Poona.

Anna was ever a friend to those who came to him in need, always forthcoming with his time and assistance. He was an enthusiastic participant at events and gave advice to those who asked for it .

Anna won the 1991 Lok Sabha election from the Pune constituency, the first BJP MP to be elected from the city. He had served as member of the Maharashtra state legislature for three terms, and also served as deputy speaker of the state Legislative Assembly. He was elected to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha in 1982 and 1986.

Anna’s popularity in his constituency and elsewhere was always in evidence, especially so when he won the Lok Sabha election against Congressman Vitthal Gadgil in

Swachh Bharat needs an Anand

western Maharashtra Anna had taken the lead in resolving the traffic problems of Pune, proposing a ring road and thrived for a better infrastructure in the city.

He was elected to the Pune Municipal Corporation thrice, from Shukrawar Peth, and also served as deputy mayor. He also was elected thrice as MLA. Anna was also the chairman of the Maharashtra Khadi Gramodyog Mahamandal.

He was detained for 18 months under MISA during the Emergency.

Anna had caused shock waves by staging a rebellion during Gopinath Munde’s rule. But such was his popularity, that the party left no stone unturned to bring Anna back into the party fold. prachibari@gmail.com

ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR

DECEMBER 13, 2014

philanthropic level. People, in western countries propagate an institution through chains and grants,” he said. The lack of research in engineering and medicine in India has been ignored by the university system, Wadia Mangala Narlikar pointed out.

Narlikar said that education at the school level needed to improve first in order to bring about any kind of improvement at higher levels. “Traditionally, students in India are taught to be obedient, since their school days. We don’t teach them to think independently,” she said.

Mashelkar said that while everyone acknowledges that the country’s science education needs to change, one must ponder more on ‘how’ to make these changes happen rather than ‘what’ changes need to be seen. “We need to concentrate on changing the primary education system.

Observation, analysis and synthesis are key factors of any education system and sadly our system lacks these,” he said. ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com

Nine thinsg to be beware about online shopping P 14

City to host India’s 1st intl bubble fest

International artists to feature on the city stage in the festival scheduled for December 21

Samsam Bubbleman will attempt his tenth Guinness record during the event

BY ISHANI BOSE @ishani_bose Pune will be hosting the International Bubble Carnival this year. The festival is being held for the first time in India, will feature international bubble artists showcase the art of blowing huge, colourful bubbles by means of a simple tools. Being presented by Meraki Events, the carnival will be held on December 21 in twos sessions, from 10 am to 6pm and 7pm to 10 pm.

Meraki Events partner Swati Patil said, “These experienced and very talented bubbleogists from all over the world will showcase a number of bubble making tricks.”.

Samsam Bubbleman, who is known as the superstar of the world of bubbles, will be participating in the event. Samsam who has already found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records nine times, will be attempting to create another world record at this carnival. The event will also include a special entertainment show in the evening, featuring dance and music performances and a fashion show. The carnival will include workshops, where the bubblogists will teach the visitors some techniques to make different bubbles.

The entry fee for the day Rs 250 and Rs 500 for two sessions. ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

Gone with the BJP wind P 10

DRM gives programmers, musicians and movie artists some remote control over how people can install, listen to, view, and duplicate their digital files.

— www.netforbeginners.com

Bring in the clowns P 15

Nurturing the spirit of innovation through blogs Manasi Saraf Joshi @GargiManasi

Rahul Raut

Blogging is a communications mechanism that allows one to write and publish anything, from anywhere, and have it be immediately available to billions of people all around the world.

Persistent Systems associate vicepresident Abhay Jere uses his blogs to showcase Indian innovations and innovators to the world. Abhay, who has been blogging consistently since 2010, is mainly focusing on promoting innovation in society, and creating role models for youngsters.

In a conversation with The Golden Sparrow on Saturday, Abhay said, “In 2006, when I was in the United States of America, I was writing a lot and interacting with many people through my website, which within a short span of time became famous. My website used to focus particularly on science, to help budding young scientists and

professionals know more about research and science.”

Abhay used to receive 400 to 500 emails a day, and within a month, the site had thousands of hits. “For four years, I tried my best to cope up with mail and the constant pressure to write more. The pressure was too much as I had to juggle between my job and personal responsibilities,” he said. The aim behind the website was to help youngsters decide on a career and where to pursue it. “I had no one to help me choose my career. I felt the least I could do was provide youth with the necessary insight, through my website,” he said.

A b h a y

Abhay Jere

provided material for the young professionals/ scientists who visited his site, by updating journals, publications and other literature, on his website.

However, when he started getting queries regarding salaries and other related matters, he was disappointed.

“I realised that a majority of these people were not keen on science. And since then the website has been

Abhay Jere makes use of blogging as a platform to introduce young, talented individuals who are capable of thinking out of the box

youngsters, who could think out of the box.

That is what motivated him to start writing a blog. Before that, he had been writing for a number of magazines, journals and newspapers. “I was writing about Indian innovators, as I realised that there were hardly any role models for youngsters in society. There is too much negativity in our society. There are people who can think out of the box and they need to be nurtured and motivated,” he said.

Abhay started scouting for innovations and innovators. He read online reports, followed the print media, to find people who were attempting to solve problems of this nation. “I came across 4,500 innovators, of whom I zeroed in on 120 individuals with 140 innovations,” he said.

Abhay has discovered 250 innovators, who he wants to introduce to the world at large, through his blog posts. His blogs are bilingual --- while he writes in English, he also gets the blogs translated into Marathi.

“I take a day to write my blog, although lately I have become a little slow,” he said.

About the kind of blogs he reads, he said, “I get very little time to see the trends or what blogging is all about.

But I like reading sociopolitical blogs,” he said.

Interestingly, he was the first Indian to write about the Ebola disease, in 2006.

Abhay credits the success of his blogs to Anand Deshpande, the CEO of his company. “He is my mentor.

Without his support, cooperation and motivation, I wouldn’t have had attained the success I have done in blogging,” he said.

Abhay has also formed a company, which he plans to register under the Companies Act. “The name of the company is i4c (inter institutional inclusive innovation consortia), as I want to make these innovators, who I write about as entrepreneurs, job creators and role models of society,” he said.

“I came across 4,500 innovators of which I chose 120 individuals with 140 innovations”

dormant,” he said.

When Abhay joined Persistent Systems in 2010, he developed an interest in guiding extraordinary

Online French film fest available for free viewing in India The fifth edition of MyFrenchFilmFestival 2015, an online French film fest, will be available for free viewing in India on all connected devices on the web, mobiles and tablets from Jan 16 to Feb 16, 2015.

Organised by UniFrance Films, the festival brings the best of French cinema to Indian moviegoers and filmmakers.

Movies like “How I Came To Hate Math”, “The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears” and “Hippocrate” will be shown.

The festival will be available to viewers in India on video on demand platform www.halfticket.tv. Indian users can also download the specialised app HALFTICKET TV

from the Google Play stores for Android devices. Similarly, Apple device users can also get the app via iTunes from the date of the festival.

Isabelle Giordano, general director, Unifrance, said in a statement: “Between the first and fourth editions of the festival, we have seen a fair amount of traffic on from Indian users accessing the festivals site, underlining the interest in French Films among Indian cinema lovers.

“This time, as we look forward to bringing another round of the best films from new French directors, we wanted to make the festival accessible to internet users across India,

and hence tied up with HalfTicket.tv to stream the festival,” she added.

Jagdish Rajpurohit, founder of HalfTicket.tv said that the new-age Indian cinema lover wants to experience movies from across the globe.

“This viewer would love to see new content from French cinema, but so far the movies never came to India. With our tie-up to get MyFrenchFilmFestival to India free for Indian users, we aim to begin offering them international movies at their convenience,” he added.

— IANS

Khan Academy brings classroom model online Salman Khan spoke about what makes his academy different from traditional schools TED is a global platform where people from different fields come together and speak for 18 minutes or less about their respective disciplines. It was started in 1984 by a non-profit organisation called Sapling Foundation, under the slogan — Ideas worth sharing. Initially it organised conferences where matters related to technology, design and entertainment merged, but today it includes varied topics such as business, photography, art, science and the like.

Ishani Bose @ishani_bose At the time when Salman Khan shared his observation of establishing free and world class education, accessible to anyone and everyone living across the globe , at the TED Global Conference 2011, he took the education world by storm. As he spoke about Khan Academy--a carefully structured series of educational videos offering complete curricula in math and, now, other subjects--he showed how the power of interactive online exercises brought about a change in the way people perceived education.

The Khan Academy produces online courses that provide instructional and step by step videos and exercises. Khan spoke about the not for profit Academy’s aspiring work to change the education system and help people in the developing world gain access to top notch instructors and lessons.

He shows the power of interactive exercises and calls for teachers to consider flipping the traditional classroom script -give students video lectures to watch at home and do “homework” in the classroom with the teacher available to help.

An analyst at a hedge fund in Boston, Khan was tutoring his cousins in New Orleans, remotely. He started putting the first YouTube videos up casually, just as a supplement for his cousins, that might give them the adequate practice and exposure.

But as soon as he put up those videos, a bunch of interesting things happened.

“The first was the feedback from my

PUNE

cousins. They told me that they preferred me on YouTube than in person. At first, it’s very unintuitive, but when you actually think about it from their point of view, it makes sense. If they have to review something that they should have learned a couple of weeks ago, or maybe a couple of years ago, they don’t have to be embarrassed and ask their cousin.

They can just watch those videos,” he said.

Khan also started getting comments, letters and all sorts of feedback from random people from around the globe. “One of the comments that I received on a calculus video read, ‘First time I smiled doing a derivative.’

This mechanism was clearly helping people.

This tool also helped my 12 year-old autistic son who had a terrible time with math,” he said.

One very important and effective feature of this model is that it removed the one-sizefits-all lecture pattern that one often finds in the classroom.

Once he built the Khan Academy, he quit his job and turned into a not-for-profit organization. He then started pondering about ways to take it to the next level. “The ones I started working on were much more primitive. This is a more competent version of it. But the paradigm here is, we’ll generate as many questions as you need until you get that concept, until you get 10 in a row. And the Khan Academy videos are there. You get hints, the actual steps for that problem, if you don’t know how to do it. We at Khan Academy, encourage you to experiment and fail so that your own,” he said. ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com

In The Tech world Intel powered Google Glass introduces a new version Intel powered Google Glass has come up with a new version which is slimmer and sleeker than its previous version. The device’s exteriors includes a textured area to the touch-sensitive side panel where nonvoice interactions are performed. Google glass is likely to be unveiled next year. A sleeker version of Google Glass is described by the Google patent that should still garner a lot of public attention.

Google Glass is currently available for $1,500. Glass presents information in a smartphone-like hands-free format. Those wearing the device can communicate with the Internet via natural language voice commands.

Modi, Mukesh Ambani lead Yahoo India’s 2014 search list Yahoo India said in its 2014 Year in Review (YIR) report that while Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani led the list of finance newsmakers, Narendra Modi led the political top 10 list.

Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley also featured in the list. The Year in Review was prepared on the basis of the users’ daily search habits and an editorial selection of what they read, recommended and shared most on Yahoo in India. The year’s list also included Apple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Infosys CEO and managing director Vishal Sikka. While Mukesh Ambani made a second appearance at the No.1 spot, he was followed

by Tata Group boss Cyrus Mistry and Gautam Adani, chief of the Adani Group of Industries, occupying the top three spots.

Ace Cricketers M.S. Dhoni and Virat Kohli, also appeared in the list along with Sachin Tendulkar who wielded a pen this year for his much talked about and long awaited autobiography.

CISCO to partner with ILFS Tech to build smart ecosystem IT Companies Cisco and ILFS Technologies are likely to partner with each other to develop solutions for digital infrastructure and smart cities in India. The announcement was made at the India Summit 2014 in Bengaluru. The partnership aims to produce solutions for better traffic management public safety and e-governance. The collaboration will amalgamate Cisco’s Internet of Everything will ITL’s vision of infrastructure development in India. The collaboration will also focus on delivering core infrastructure, creating a smart ecosystem and service delivery -

Pirate Bay shut down over copyright violations The Pirate Bay a famous file-sharing website, has been shut down all over the world succeeding a police raid on the company’s Stockholm, Sweden premises and the confiscation of its servers and other equipments. Paul Pintér, police national coordinator for IP enforcement, indicated the incessant violations of copyright law by the website as the prime reason behind the website ban.

Following the arrest of the last of the website’s four co-founders on the Thailand-Laos border on November 3 and Google Play’s clampdown on a number of apps related to The Pirate Bay, the police undertook the raid.

Barack Obama to become the first Prez to write a Java Code In an event that encourages students to try one hour of programming to see if it interests them, President Barack Obama cracked a few lines of algorithm as part of the Hour Code and became the first president to write JavaScript in the history of The United States of America. Apparently,the President of America wrote a small code that generated a small square on the screen.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

PUNE

Though PMC brought private land under reservation, it hasn’t raised a finger to secure it. Most of the area is encroached by slums and private constructions” — Subhash Jagtap, leader NCP, in the house.

“If a crime like the Delhi incident occurs in a city cab, the aggregator will be held equally responsible. We will lodge an FIR naming the firm CEO, chairman and general manager as co-accused.”

—State transport commissioner Mahesh Zagade

Media houses have lost credibility: Kuldip Nayar

Sitarist Sameep wins award

The artist has held almost 700 concerts all over the world TGS NEWS NETWORK @TGSWeekly

Veteran journalist says the media is not being objective while reporting on the prime minister RAHUL RAUT

Social organisation Sarhad presented the 11th Sant Namdeo National Award, 2014, to veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar recently.

Also seen are (Second from left) Bharat Desadla, chairman of the Welcome Committee of 88th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan; (second from right) Sarhad founder Sanjay Nahar and (extreme right) Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mandal chief Madhavi Vaidya. Senior journalist Vijay Kuvalekar and Sarpanch Harbans Singh also attended the event

TGS NEWS SERVICE @TGSWeekly Without naming prime minister Narendra Modi, veteran journalist and author Kuldip Nayar expressed deep disappointment with the Indian media stating that the media had become completely subservient to this one man who was dominating the affairs of the country.

“Only one man is dominating the news these days,” he said, adding

that the media in the last few months had failed to voice the issues of the common man.

Nayar was speaking after receiving the 11th Sant Namdeo National Award, 2014 instituted by the well-known organisation Sarhad. This organisation for the last many decades, has been working for the welfare of the strife-hit people in border areas of the country and striving to establish strong bonds between them and the people of Pune.

Introduced in the year 2000, this

They relived their ‘good old days’ at Passing Our Parade ’14

BY REUBEN PAUL @ReubenPPaul To mark the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the 27th course of NDA and the Passing Out Parade (POP) of 127th course, the Chief of the Army Staff General Dalbir Singh Suhag released the First Day Cover issued by the Army Postal Service, on the lawns of the Salaria Square, National Defence Academy (NDA), on November 28.

Among the distinguished gathering were past alumni of the NDA. The 27th course of NDA celebrated its Golden Jubilee on December 2, 3 and 4. “With our arrival at Kirkee station, the signature ‘katori haircut’ and the multitude of front rolls, the ‘exclusive club’ of 27th NDA was born,” said Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Kiran Vaze.

Lieutenant General (Retd) Vijay Kumar Jetley, who commanded the United Nations Mission, Operation Khukri at Sierra Leone in 2000, reminisced about how his training at the NDA. “I was a Cadet Sergeant Major in my sixth term which was the last semester. I was known as the ‘terror’. When it’s time to leave the NDA, we have Squadron Socials. After the formalities, we have six days between the POP (Passing Out Parade) where the sixth-termers become first-termers, empowering the juniors with the privilege of punishing the seniors. Everybody gunned for me that day, thrashing me black and blue.

I would have broken my back hadn’t my juniors protected me. Years later when

I became a Brigadier posted at the Defence Services Officers Institute in Delhi, Colonel (Retd) KP Singh asked me if I was the same CSM Jetley from NDA. He turned out to be one of the first-termers whom I did not recognise.

I later spent an evening with him and other fellow officers remembering our time at the Academy.”

Jetley also talked about how he could depend on former NDA officers, any time. “In Sierra Leone, I had command over Nigerian and Ghanaian troops, British SAS and Indian Mechanised Infantry Unit but I always relied on NDA officers. In thick and thin, one can always count on the NDA!” Major General (Retd) Manmohan Baidwan, one of the organisers of the get-together said, “Out of 263 members of the 27th course, nearly 120 officers and their wives and 20 widows turned up for the Golden Jubilee celebration. About 75 have passed away. Our only foreign member from Nepal, Aryal Durga Nath who is now a Lt Gen Retd, went on to become Vice Chief of the Nepalese Army.”

D e p u t y Commandant, Major General Ashok Ambre SM in his address to the alumni, lauded their efforts to reconnect and rekindle their former bonhomie and camaraderie.

He mentioned a drop in the Sainik School entries at NDA to 18 per cent, that was more than 50 per cent till the 1980s. He however stressed on how the academy after 60 years is still focused in turning out gentlemen warriors. reubenpaul94@gmail.com

Lt Gen (retd) Jetley said how he could depend on former NDA officers, any time

IN THE

NEWS

The ‘Maharashtra Kala Upasak Award 2014’ was awarded to sitarist Sameep Kulkarni recently. The award is given for the exceptional contribution towards the cultural activities and for doing almost 700 concerts all over the world.

The award was given by senior writer Ramchandra Dekhane at the function organised by non-profit organisation Sukhakarta Foundation. The award, constituted by the Foundation, was presented at the function held at Annabhau Sathe Theatre in Bibwewadi.

Sameep is born in a family of musicians and educationists. His father is a violinist (disciple of Ustad Faiyyaz Khan) and mathematician; sister, a professional classical singer; mother has learnt classical music from Ustad Sayeeduddin Dagar, and aunt is a trained classical singer (disciple of Pt

Senior writer Ramchandra Dekhane presented the ‘Maharashtra Kala Upasak Award 2014’ to sitarist Sameep Kulkarni (right) recently

Catch up with developments in Pune as the week comes to a close

Shaniwarwada sound-light show to resume The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to resume the famous Sound and Light show at Shaniwarwada. The show at the historic wada gave visitors an unique oppurtunity to go down memory lane of the glorious Maratha history. The show was launched in 2000 and had been a major tourist attraction. PMC has decided to now upgrade the show.

The show will be relaunched in the next couple of months and the timing of the show will be between 7.15pm and 8.10 pm and the next show will be from 8.15pm and 9.10 pm.

New initiative at Prana centre Prana, the world’s first homeopathy-Yoga centre at Pune and The other Song – International Academy of Advanced Homoeopathy, Mumbai, have announced their Dr Rajan Sankaran collaboration to offer advanced homeopathic education from the Prana centre. Headed by homeopath Dr Rajan Sankaran, ‘The Other Song’ is a homoeopathy centre that integrates holistic patient care, extensive research and in-depth clinical training.

Shakespeare film fest begins Pune International Centre (PIC) in collaboration with National Film Archive of India (NFAI) celebrated the 450th birth anniversary of the greatest playwright William Shakespeare with a four-day fi lm festival ‘Timeless Shakespeare’. Th is fi lm festival began with the screening of the inaugural fi lm Hamlet (1948). The ten awardwinning fi lms screened during the

RAHUL RAUT

NDA 27th course alumni celebrate Golden Jubilee

award is bestowed on Punjabis who have helped strengthen ties between Punjab and Maharashtra. It is named after Sant Namdeo, a 13th century poet-saint from Maharashtra who is venerated in Sikhism as he spent many years in Punjab and is believed to have died there in village Ghunam.

Nayar in his speech said that “the winds have changed in the country in the last few months and the media had decided to flow with the wind”. He described this change as “a sad trend”

and said the media was following a man without thinking about the society’s interests.

He said issues that were important to the common man stood neglected in the process. “The earlier times were different; journalists have fought against the ruling government even during the emergency,” he said.

Nayar also expressed disappointment with the politicians of the day. He said he had worked closely with leaders like the late prime minister, Lal Bahadur Shashtri, who inspired one and all with his simplicity. “Show me one politician now who lives such a simple life,” he asked.

He said journalists must never lose their independent voice and must always dissect policy initiatives objectively. “The media should always stand by the victims and the common people,” he added.

Sarhad founder Sanjay Nahar in his speech said Sant Namdeo had undertaken various social reforms in Punjab and his name appears in the holy texts of the Sikh religion. The award is given to people from Punjab who have made an outstanding contribution to society. “This award brings the two states closer to each other,” he said.

Senior journalist Vijay Kuvalekar, Bharat Desadla chairman of the Welcome Committee of 88th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, Ghuman in Punjab, villagers from Ghuman, led by Sarpanch Harbans Singh were present at the event. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Kishori Amonkar).

Sameep also plays electric sitar by putting the electronic pick up on it and attaching electronic processor and amplifier. He takes out sound effects like ‘chorus, distortion, delay, chords and compression’ using the processor.

The sitarist has the special quality of playing the instrument with ‘transposing the scale’. He plays sitar with ‘Gayaki Anga’. For him, ‘bending techniques’ come with ease while playing. He plays ‘Gandhar Pancham type’ sitar which was invented by Ustad Vilayat Khan.

“The award was given towards my contribution in the music field, 690 concerts and efforts to keep alive and spread Indian Classical Music in the world. I thank my parents, my gurus Ustad Usman Khan and Ustad Shahid Parvez, my sister/singer Saniya Patankar. This gives me more energy to continue with the good work,” he said. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com

Osho birth anniversary celebrations took at place Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Memorial Hall on December 11. No celebrations were held at the Osho Commune in Koregaon Park

festival were from India, UK, USA, Australia, Russia, Japan and one coproduction of Spain-French-Swiss.

Films like Henry V and Hamlet, Shakespeare in Love, ShakespeareWallah as well as the famous Romeo + Juliet, Kurosawa’s masterpieces Throne of Blood and Ran and Vishal Bharadwaj’s Maqbool were screened. Besides the fi lms, scriptwriting workshop was also held.

Teacher to attend Vienna meet Vidya Valley School’s science teacher Seema Sharma, who has been actively working in the fields of renewable energy resources and energy conservation, has become the only Asian and fi rst ever Indian teacher to be selected for the Geosciences Information for Teachers (GIFT) workshop organised by the European Geosciences Union. It will be the fi rst time that anybody outside European Union (EU) nations will be a part of GIFT. The workshop, to be held in Vienna, Austria in April 2015, mainly aims at sharing scientific information between researchers and the teaching community. It is also a platform

for both primary and high-school teachers to upgrade their knowledge in the subject by interacting with scientists, who would be presenting their ongoing work.

4th short film festival in the city M a r a t h i C h it r a p a t Pariwar, AK fi lms and Green Chillies organised the 4th short fi lm festival from December 13 in the city at National Film Archives of India (NFAI), Kothrud. Films from 28 countries like America, Russia, England, Chile, Brazil have sent their entries. A total of 130 short fi lms were screened. Th is festival was inaugurated by producer Anil Kakade, Indian Motion Picture Producer’s Association (IMPAA) director Vikas Patil, with the presence of Akhil bharitya Marathi Chitrapat members. A total of ten awards for best short fi lm, director, cinematographer, script, concept will be announced at the end of the festival

on December 17. The fi lm festival had received 442 fi lms from 32 countries and they selected 130 fi lms.

Shikarpur gets Rotary award The prestigious Rotary Foundation Citation meritorious service for 2014 was presented by Rotary International President Gary Huang to Dr Deepak Shikarpur in a ceremony recently. Rotary Foundation Citation meritorious service is a global recognition bestowed upon a few select individuals undertaking path-breaking community service. He is a member of Academic Council of Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU), chairman of Computer Literacy Committee of MCCIA and has served as District Governor of Rotary District 3131 in 2013-14.

Mona Advertising gets a new logo

Mona advertising, one of city’s oldest advertising a g e n c i e s , Rahul Shiledar under went a complete makeover on December 6. The company unveiled the logo and the website of managing director Rahul Shiledar. Former speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Dilip Walse Patil inaugurated the website. Devendra Shah, Chairman, Parag Milk Foods Pvt Ltd, was present. Dinekar Shiledar, chairman and mentor of the company, spoke on the occasion.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY

PUNE

DECEMBER 13, 2014

PUNE

Chandni Chowk Chaos has a solution Transport minister Gadkari needs to intervene

BY ASHOK BHAT @ashok_bhat

Former corporator Murlidhar Mohol has submitted a solution plan to address the traffic chaos at Chandni Chowk to the then municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak in 2013. Mohol said that the solution has been suggested by Krishnae Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, the architect firm that had designed the grade separator of Sancheti Hospital Chowk. “As there are four roads that face heavy traffic, we visited the spot along with a team of engineers and studied the traffic before preparing the solution plan. I discussed the issue with PMC additional city engineer (traffic planning) Shrinivas Bonala and the latter asked his engineers to draw a solution plan for Chandni Chowk traffic,” Mohol said.

He said that the chaos at Chandni Chowk is due to city roads and national highway meeting and passing at the junction. There are some issues that need to be resolved after meeting transport minister Nitin Gadkari as it involves the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) that covers the national highway. “We have suggested three different solutions at three spots, including tunnel, grade separator

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In a detailed coverage last week, The Golden Sparrow on Saturday highlighted the poor traffic management and the high degree of traffic indiscipline at Chandni Chowk, one of the major junctions in the city. This chowk has witnessed a number of accidents, small and big, including the death of a mother and her daughter in 2011.

Following special coverage in this newspaper on December 6, a TGS team accompanied highly qualified traffic planner and consultant Pratapsingh Bhonsle to Chandni Chowk. After examining the situation with TGS, Bhonsle offered cost-effective solutions that could be easily implemented by the PMC for better traffic planning at this junction in western Pune.

An expert on traffic-related issues, Bhonsle has had field experience in the US. In Pune, he has been working closely with the Pune Traffic Police to improve traffic management in the city while his firm Global Traffic Solutions provides consultancy to a number of cities in Western and Gulf countries.

Here are his suggestions for ending the chaos at Chandni Chowk: 1) Provide safe access for pedestrians: This chowk is witness to traffic converging from a number of roads from the National Defence Academy, Kothrud, Bavdhan, Paud, Ved Bhavan service road and the Katraj –

Dehu Road bypass. It is also a pickup and drop point for inter-state bus passengers. In spite of this, no thought has been given to providing safe access for pedestrians. What it needs are two foot overbridges, a footpath and neatly marked zebra crossings.

2) Provide good signages: Since a number of roads converge and crisscross at this chowk, there is a need for good signages and direction board in multiple languages to guide motorists to their destinations.

3) Channelise traffic with barricades: Provide well-barricaded channels to ensure traffic discipline as vehicles move from Bavdhan towards Paud, NDA or the road descending towards Kothrud. Similarly, extend the length of the road divider near Chandni Chowk bridge to prevent one-way violation and short cuts by motorists.

4) Provide better lighting at chowk: Poor illumination at Chandni Chowk can be addressed by providing high mast lamps at three spots: a) Paud road bus stop, b) at the junction leading toward steeply descending road towards Kothrud and c) at the intersection of Paud road – NDA road.

5) Traffic island: Introduce a traffic Island at NDA Road – Bhugaon (Paud road) junction would help better traffic diversion and management instead of the chaos presently. gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com

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Civic administration should put in place the steps cited by Pratapsingh Bhonsle for effective traffic management

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Planner suggests ways to ease traffic congestion

DECEMB

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A footpath is needed at the spot at Chandni Chowk as heavy vehicular movement leaves less space for pedestrians who have to risk their lives

PUNE,

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FOOTPATH VITAL:

This dangerous stretch on the Dehu Road-Katraj bypass needs a pedestrain crossing as it sees high traffic

By Gitesh Shelke @gitesh_shelke

The present divider at the Bavdhan road stretch at Chandni Chowk should be extended towards the steeply descending road to Kothrud for better degree of channelisation and traffic control. The photographs show the chaos that can be eased by extending the divider

FILE PHO TO

EXTENSION OF DIVIDER:

2 Going from Mulshi – Paud to Hinjewadi, Pimpri, Mumbai As the road level of highway and Mulshi – Paud road is different at one spot, a Murlidhar Mohol grade separator and a right way diversion will ease traffic. Hence, the traffic going towards Mumbai can enter the highway without passing through Chandni Chowk. Land acquisition is needed for the purpose.

3. Going from Paud Road – Kothrud and Kolhapur towards Mulshi-Paud A traffic tunnel will ease the traffic passing through the stretch. ashok.bhat21@gmail.com

Solutions…

1. Going from Bavdhan- Mulshi to Paud Road, Kothrud and Kolhapur: The traffic from Bavdhan, Mulshi and the highway meet at one spot. A grade separator box for traffic entering from the Mumbai highway to Pune city from Kothrud area will avoid this bottleneck. Vehicles from Bavdhan and Mulshi will use the separator without entering the city. The traffic from Bavdhan and Mulshi going towards Hinjewadi, Pimpri and Mumbai will touch the highway using the present circular road.

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A family risking their lives while crossing the road at Chandni Chowk junction

FOOT OVERBRIDGE NEEDED

and diversions from Paud Road traffic to Hinjewadi, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Mumbai.

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PICS Aniruddha Rajandekar & RAhul raut

The acute chaos and congestion at Chandni Chowk can be addressed effectively through some simple interventions by the Pune Municipal Corporation. City-based traffic planner and consultant Pratapsingh Bhonsle offers suggestions after a spot visit with a TGS Team

WRONG WAY ENTRY:

to take short as People prefer road as well cuts on Paud located above the on the bridge Many said and the bypass. inconvenient 30 one-way is just the rule for they breach meters.

SOLUTION:

monitoring Proper police avoid such to is required notice boards incidents. Also, boards are and direction the motorists required to guide avoid no entry.

K: NEXT WEE PART II

WHAT DONE

NEEDS TO BE 13 issue of in December Sparrow The Golden on Saturday

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

An Italian in Kabul, providing some relief to lives impaired P 13

PUNE

“India and Russia encourage use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. We are working on 20 nuclear power plant units for India. We had constructive talks on a whole gamut of issues.”

-Vladimir Putin, Russian president

Contd from p1

In such a situation, it is best for women in India to avoid travelling long distances at night, unless they are assured and reassured that the taxi they are travelling in and the taxi driver are both safe and reliable.

Why should employees risk their safety by travelling at night for the sake of their companies? It is best that employees do their travelling during the day and not travel long distances at night, also because India has the worst record in the world when it comes to road accidents.

If women have to travel alone in a cab at night, they should travel only by those cabs which have a GPS-linked panic button near the rear seat and ensure that all other precautions have been taken.

A number of women employees in Pune told The Golden Sparrow on Saturday that they feel safe when their organisations assume responsibility for their safety.

Thirty-five-year old Bhawna Mohan, a senior project manager with Tech Mahindra, uses the cab service provided by her office, to commute from home to office and back.

Even while visiting office branches in different parts of the city, Bhawna makes

sure she travels in the office cab.

“The cabs which are deployed by my office are registered ones and have gone through the different necessary verification processes. Ideally, before getting into the cab, I verify about the drivers and the car details available with the travel desk of our office. As a safety measure, the GPS system is on in the cab and I also keep the GPS tracking device on in my cell phone. My husband keeps a tab on it too,” she said.

Bhawna also urges women to check that the GPS and the alarm system (panic button) in the cab are switched on before travelling.

“Personally, I feel that women should also arm themselves with a pepper spray or any spray that will help to ward off an intruder,” Bhawna said, adding that these are her ideal checklist before she hails any cab in the city.

Amruta Ranjit Todkar, an employee of Aptara, a digital content, learning and performance-based company, lives in Sinhagad and uses the office cab on a daily basis to travel to and from her office.

“As my office is situated in Phursungi, I need to travel almost 20km one way. Our office has tied up with some cab companies. These cabs are the

Why should employees risk their safety by travelling at night for the sake of their companies?

best mode of transport for me, especially when I have the early morning or late night shift. Before coming to pick us up, the company sends us the name and number of the driver. I make sure to check the ID of the driver, before I enter the cab,” she said, adding that there is also a panic button system installed in each cab. Amruta, however, feels that there should always be an escort sent by the company along with women passengers, especially during early morning and late night shifts.

“Also, the cabs provide door-to-door service only during the early morning and late night shifts. Otherwise they leave us till a particular landmark, which is about 2-3 km away from the house. They should ensure that door-to-door service must be provided every time as untoward incidents can happen any time,” she said.

Even companies, on their part, are employing stringent measures to ensure women safety and security in cabs.

At Zensar Technologies, every office cab is registered with the police and every driver has an ID car that is registered with the organisation. “The cabs travel on predefined routes and the duty manager, Admin, is updated after every drop. At Zensar, if a woman associate is required to work beyond normal working hours, a pick up and drop facility is organized by her respective manger, who is notified once she reaches home. The routes of all women associates are pre-disclosed and mapped in advance and no deviation from the route is made.

“An admin associate appointed as duty manager is available on call to all

IANS

On roads, give high priority to personal safety PUNE POLICE INITIATIVE The Pune Police, on December 9, held a meeting of private radio cab operators in the city, against the backdrop of the Delhi rape incident. The meeting was addressed by police commissioner Satish Mathur, who asked the cab service providers to comply with the rules and take the following steps: • • • •

gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com

The director of global taxi company Uber (Delhi and national capital region) Gagan Bhatia at the Delhi Commission for Women office to appear before the commission in connection with the rape of a 25-year-old working woman by one of the drivers of the cab company

associates in case of any assistance,” said Prameel Kalive, senior vice president and location head, Pune, Zensar Technologies. Most routes are worked out in such a manner that a woman associate is not the first one to be picked up or the last one to be dropped.

Zensar Technologies, on its part, also maintains daily track sheet of the women employees who commute late in the evening, with all the relevant details being ensured and reviewed by the Admin team on a daily basis. “All our cars have GPS systems installed and we also make sure that no woman associate

Gone with the BJP wind Has PM Modi’s govt dumped the Devyani Khobragade issue?

is alone on any floor during the night shift,” Kalive said.

City-based IT firm Extentia has come up with an SOS--Stay Safe mobile application, which received the runnerup Manthan Award.

This application turns Android smart phones into discreet personal safety devices. Using revolutionary technology, users are able to request assistance in an emergency situation with almost no effort. All one needs to do is install that app and shake the phone discreetly, or by clicking the power button three times in succession. It will send an automatic

text message/SMS and/or an email to the user’s contacts with a name and a voice recording. The user’s exact location, battery level of the phone, and the like are sent at regular intervals to provide real time GPS tracking for the user’s location. Messages are sent unnoticeably — without the user having to even look at the device and any ordinary phone can receive messages from this app. “As we continue to witness rising crime against women, the SOS Stay Safe demonstrates the power of technology when an individual is confronted with a personal emergency,” said Umeed Kothavala, CEO, Extentia.

(With input from Barnalee Handique) abhay.vaidya@goldensparrow.com and ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com

Get ready for a spate of reconversion drives in UP After Agra, it’s Aligarh, and other places could follow

BY FP STAFF Exactly a year ago, mainstream and social media, woke up to and consequently went blind with rage over the following piece of news: a young Indian diplomat had been arrested by the police in New York, handcuffed and escorted away from her children’s school and then strip searched in jail.

The incident involving 32-year-old Devyani Khobragade cooked up such a storm that not only rained on the former UPA government’s otherwise pleasant relations with the Obama government, it also stoked nationalistic passions wildly before the crucial elections this year.

However, much has changed in the last year and Khobragade went from being someone who had the entire country up in arms on behalf of her to someone who has a vigilance probe against her and doesn’t even have the government rallying behind her anymore.

A report on The Times of India, points out how the recent upswing in the IndiaUS relations has just one casualty and that is Khobragade. The paper quotes Khobragade as saying, “This year has been extremely challenging and traumatic for me. Not only do I now have a criminal case on me based on false charges and an arrest warrant in a foreign country, this has had severe repercussion for my family which is now divided between India and the US. In addition to this personal cost, it has also affected my professional career.”

The report adds how the India-US relations have witnessed a slew of changes including the provision for selected diplomats to take maids with them on an A-2 visa.

When the Khobragade issue broke last year, just a few months before the general elections, it was the perfect issue for the BJP to pounce on and take the UPA to the cleaners. Sensing that the BJP might do exactly that, the UPAII also launched an aggressive anti-US campaign by rescinding the special privileges of US diplomats, slamming American schools etc.

The BJP, then busy fanning deep nationalistic sentiments to whitewash its formerly communal image indulged in all sorts of jingoism while speaking on the issue. BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had then told the Parliament, “Somewhere or the other we are not taking the

Appoint drivers with smart driving licenses Install a proper feedback system whereby passengers can complain against drivers who are drunk or misbehave Verification of drivers must be done once in three years Pay special attention to ‘vulnerable passengers’ such as children, women or the elderly

BY RATAN MANI LAL

When the Khobragade issue broke last year, just a few months before the general elections, it was the perfect issue for the BJP to pounce on and take the UPA to the cleaners.

matter seriously. Whether it is America pointed out my mainstream media and or any other country it is necessary for others that the US had decided to be India to explain that we will do the same exceptionally harsh with her, with no with you.” apparent reason. While India was willing However, soon after the Modi to relax the implementation of some of its sarkar’s anointment, the Khobragade laws in many cases, it went to an extreme issue seems to have been put on the with Khobragade, treating her like a back-burner indefinitely by the party’s suspected terrorist. government. The TOI Firstpost’s editorreport suggests that in-chief R Jagannathan the Modi government had pointed out: “Our is in no mood to botch general assumption that up India-US relations the US law enforcers are over Khobragade and merely doing their duty have been told to stay is rubbish. If alleged calm on the issue until violation of US visa New York prosecutor laws by Infosys can be Preet Bharara’s term ends settled with a fine, why two years from now. couldn’t the US have It is evident that PM done so for Khobragade?

Modi - whose biggest Or is a woman diplomat - Devyani Khobragade achievement till now, fair game for US law arguably, has been the enforcers? Indians are the several foreign jaunts he has been on, most gullible goops in the world when presumably oiling India’s relations with it comes to discerning the difference the countries - is in no mood to let between an honest effort to implement Khobragade come in the way of India’s the law and using laws to project power relations with US, a big ticket investor. and blackmail other countries.”

During Khobragade’s arrest, it was Senior editor Sandip Roy had noted

“The false accusations against me has affected my family.”

in an article: “However, when it comes to these matters of equality before the law, the United States is very much the emperor who has no clothes. It really has little ground to adopt its tone of high moral dudgeon.”

These opinions were echoed by most in the country and the BJP, then sitting in the Opposition, had slammed the UPA for going soft on the US and not taking them to the cleaners. However, recent reports suggested that Khobragade has been ticked off by the ministry of external affairs recently for talking to the media about her travails. Sources said she could get a “rap on the knuckles” even as the ministry was examining other aspects of her case in the US. PM Modi clearly needs the US stamp of approval if he has to realise any of the lofty promises he made in the run up to the elections. Now that he is on the right path, with President Obama being the first US president ever to be a guest at the Republic Day parade, he will definitely not let Khobragade spoil his game.

By special arrangement with firstpost.com

along with their identity papers.

While some of the participants LUCKNOW: The issue of reconversion said they were told it was an Aadhar – or ghar wapasi - as the proponents card registration camp, some others, of the exercise would like to call it, is including elderly Muslim men, said they likely to keep western Uttar Pradesh on knew beforehand that it was a meeting the boil for the rest of this year. After organised by the Manch to reconvert Agra, the Bajrang Dal and the Hindu them to Hinduism.

Jagaran Manch are planning a similar The organisers also said that they campaign in Aligarh on Christmas will be given new Hindu names and a day. The overt communal nature of the crash course in Hindu rituals for about a exercise is expected to have political month. After the ceremony which quickly repercussions too. attracted a big crowd, photographers and Although the Bharatiya Janata mediapersons, the participants were Party does not officially endorse such hastily taken away by the organisers. campaigns, one of its firebrand MPs, Following an uproar and protests by Mahant Adityanath of Gorakhpur better Muslim groups the next day, the Sadar known as Yogi Adityanath, has been Bazaar police lodged a case against the actively involved in such campaigns for Manch and its convener Kishore Balmiki, many years. who is a member of the Dalit community Such campaigns are quite well-known himself. In the FIR it has been alleged in remote tribal areas of Chhattisgarh, that the organisers had promised the Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand but participants they would be given a BPL rather infrequent in Uttar card and a small plot of Pradesh. These involve a land after they came back shuddhi hawan to ‘cleanse’ into the Hindu fold. the converts and bring On Wednesday, them back into the Hindu many Muslim social and fold amid chanting of religious organisations some shlokas. took out a protest march In Aligarh a similar on the streets starting camp was held in August from Man Tola locality. when more than 70 A local cleric, Mufti individuals, who had Abdul Khubeb Rumi, reportedly converted to condemned the exercise Christianity more than saying the organisers had two decades ago, were - Samajwadi Party spokesman “tricked” the participants reconverted to Hinduism. into adopting Hinduism All of them belonged to by saying they will be the Balmiki (Dalit) caste. given a BPL card, land The Hindu Jagran Manch has already and money. While he said these families announced a programme to be held in would continue to be Muslim despite Aligarh again, this time on Christmas, their conversion because there was no to bring converted Christians back to need for a re-entry into Islam, another Hinduism again. cleric Maulana Muddassir said they In the Agra incident, about 100 were “neither Hindus nor Muslims” and people mostly belonging to the Dalit will have to go through the conversion community and economically weaker procession once again if they wanted to section, had allegedly been “re-converted” remain Muslims. The UP government to Hinduism after they participated in has also taken a serious view of the Agra a shuddhi hawan on 8 December. The incident and announced an alert in all ‘ritual’ of the hawan was held in the districts to check any such incident. compound of a makeshift temple in the “Forced conversions are illegal and Muslim dominated Sadar Bazar locality action will be taken against such elements of Agra. More than 200 Muslim and regardless of which religion they belong mostly slum-dwelling rag-pickers of the to,” said a Samajwadi Party spokesman.

Firstpost.com area had been asked to attend the camp

“Forced conversions are illegal and action will be taken.”

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

PUNE

“The events space in India is quickly transitioning online.

This offers a huge opportunity for a tailored offering of Indian design with Silicon Valley merchandising and marketing.”

—Kittu Kolluri, general partner, NEA

Defeating fatalistic approach to life

Signposts Rs 10,000 crore fund for start-ups In a bid to promote innovation and development of country’s start-ups, the central government’s department of electronics and information technology is planning to set up a Rs 10,000 crore fund. According to electronics and information Secretary RS Sharma, his department is coming up with an “Electronics Development Fund” and looking at collaborations with venture capitalists (VC) post which it will identify the start-up companies where the fund will be given. “We will look to pick-up between 15 to 20 per cent stake in some of the VCs,” Sharma told at Infocomm 2014. IANS

Startup Village at Madhya Pradesh The Madhya Pradesh government has initiated discussions with the Kochi-based startup village in Kerala. A state delegation led by M Selvendran, managing director, Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation, held talks with the Startup Village officials in Kochi on December 6.

The delegation members checked the facilities being offered to start-ups. “We are very impressed by the functioning of the Startup Village and exploring the possibility of setting up a similar facility in Madhya Pradesh. We plan to seek support from the management and the technical team of the village to devise a strategy to build a similar incubator,” said Selvendran. IANS

START-UP MENTOR

Many great start-ups come through Zone Startups India (Ryersons Accelerator Program in Mumbai). We are launching a fund to help rapidly advance these start-ups. It shows we have established a strong network in India.”

—Matt Saunders, President of Ryerson Futures Inc.

Amol Naikawadi established Indus Health Plus to promote preventive healthcare service in society YASH DAIV @yash009

Preventive healthcare

In 2000, preventive healthcare sounded like unnecessary expenditure.

Amol Naikawadi, joint managing director, Indus Health Plus, a practicing chartered accountant then, was initiated into this domain after he lost his father-in-law to cancer. It raised the fundamental question, as to why few diseases were detected late and why people ignored the ailment until it turned fatal. “A simple and cost-effective solution to this dilemma was preventive healthcare,” he said.

With an investment of Rs 50 lakh, Naikawadi got down the path to change the fatalistic approach of the society with the establishment of Indus Health Plus, a preventive healthcare facility.

Naikawadi had interacted with speciality doctors before investing into the relatively new sphere. “I convinced these doctors to help me deliver the health-care packages that I had designed after rigorous consultation,” he said.

Being from a non-medico background was a hurdle in establishing the health facility. “Doubts regarding the authenticity of medical reports would have possibly come-up had I not rested these services with the doctor,” said Naikawadi.

The next challenge was to generate awareness. The fi rst set of clients came from family and friends. He introduced them to preventive healthcare at get-togethers. “It involved a great personal effort. I roamed

Preventive healthcare consists of measures taken for disease prevention, as opposed to disease treatment. The person is screened for ailments such as high blood pressure or diabetes and is scrutinized for probable risks, such as high cholesterol and obesity. Counseling against alcohol abuse and tips to quit smoking is a large part of healthcare services.

Indus Health Plus helpline The preventive healthcare service has a 120 seated call centre. The helpline guides the caller regarding the concept of prophylaxis (preventive medicine) and solve their queries regarding the tests. They also offer pre and post check-up counseling.

The helpline can be reached at 0-90490-22222.

“I roamed around conducting free sessions about preventive healthcare.”

around, hosting seminars, conducting sessions in company boardrooms.

That is how the awareness level increased,” he said.

A decade later, the enterprise is on a fi rmer footing. “The person who visits us may or may not be a patient. He/she might be a completely healthy person with a family history of a disease like diabetes. People have understood the importance of preventive healthcare,” he said. He is focused on giving a complete experience to the client. “A person should be able to do all the tests

under one roof, in a single day,” he said.

The facility has packages for individuals to family ranging from Rs 21,000 to Rs 60,000. The facility located at Deep Bangla Chowk, model colony, provides anything from a simple haemogram to an electroencephalogram (EEG). An individual can customise the tests from the package.

With the 2012 allocation of tax benefits for preventive healthcare under section 80 D, Naikawadi looks forward to preventive healthcare

becoming an integral part of routine check-ups. “Early detection could undo the fatalistic approach. And eventually preventive healthcare could be a potential solution to the expenditure that results out of palliative care,” he said. Palliative care is given to a patient who is in the last stage of his or her illness. It includes easing the symptoms and offering the necessary support.

Today, Indus Health Plus has 4.75 lakh families availing the preventive healthcare services. The

Small firms can Ornate in design, rich in taste retain good talent smartly Nicole Rutnagar bakes one-of-a-kind cakes in the city

BY BARNALEE HANDIQUE @barnalee

Vishwas Mahajan

company expects a turnover of Rs 150 crore by 2016. However, Naikawadi feels that his actual success lies in the altered perception towards preventive healthcare. “99 per cent of my clients believe that prevention is better than cure. In the remaning cases we educate the family members on the importance of these tests for the person who is reluctant,” he said.

Naikawadi’s future plans includes taking Indus Health Plus to the remotest part of the countries. yashdaiv@gmail.com

This feature is a collaboration between The Golden Sparrow on Saturday and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the world’s largest non-profit network of entrepreneurs. For additional questions about your entrepreneurial challenges, write to mentoring@pune.tie.org

I started a marketing research advisory few years back after a stint in a top tier consulting company. However, I am having difficulties retaining people that are trained in our company. They are grabbed by large companies and I am perpetually fighting the talent battle.

Please advice.

-R. Narayan Your current predicament: Based on what we discussed, I have summarised the predicament of your business as follows: a. You hire smart freshers to join your company b. You spend considerable time in training them and getting them ready to be consultants. c. Your competition looks at these people who are trained, they grab them by offering higher salaries. d. You are back to the ‘hiring-training’ routine, which is a distraction.

Th is problem is faced by many smaller companies and you will need to accept this talent retention as an integral part of business dynamics. Here are some ideas to help you address it.

1. Choose the people with right mind-set: You can use tools to assess short and long term goals of your potential team members.

There are some people who will want to use your fi rm as a stepping stone and look for opportunity in larger companies. However, you will be able to find people who have entrepreneurial traits, people who are comfortable with role ambiguity that exists in smaller fi rms. They are willing to work in the smaller organisation in an exchange for larger role or responsibility. Look for these people when you hire.

There are psychometric tools available to help you make these assessments. Use them so that you can assess the personality profi le of

the potential team member before you hire.

2. Generous non-monetary (and monetary) incentives for team members who stick around : One of the consulting companies that I know, offers big titles to their employees, although that employee may not be of that stature. The founder of the fi rm offered a title of ‘founding director’ to the fi rst five members of the team. Now, this is not merely a title but the founder made an effort to include these people in organisation’s decision making although there is no equity share at this point of the time. However, just the fact that a very good title offered by this company creates a feeling of belonging and importance. Also large competitors are not able to match these kind of titles. It is unlikely that somebody will leave a title of founding director and go and work as an associate. There can be several creative incentives that you can build on.

3. Constant communication with the team : As a small company, you have to continuously sell. Not only to the customers, but also to your internal employees. You have to contentiously tell them about the vision of the company, what is it that you are doing differently and make sure that they buy into it.

4. Stock option plans: ESOPS are good way to create a sense of ownership. If you set aside a portion of equity as ESOPs, it creates a process for people in the team to have a vested interest in the long term growth. I admit that not all employees will value this but if you hire the right kind of people, this is a good tool.

There is no magic answer to retaining trained people in a small organisation but some of the things that I shared with you may help you reduce some of the turnover and build a stronger foundation for your growth.

Vishwas Mahajan, president of TiE Pune Chapter, answers real life questions of entrepreneurs.

Kalyani Nagar resident Nicole Rutnagar’s love for baking began 20 years ago when she was helping her mother and grandmother in their wedding planning business. She used to handle the decorations, rehearsals and planning of menu, and their firm was called ‘Family Firm’. The trio also baked designer wedding cakes.

“The primary requirement for one to stand out in this business is to keep a tab on the current trends like style, colours and themes. It is also important to fulfi l the wedding couple’s preferences. We minutely plan every detail of the event,” she said.

With a desire to channelise her culinary skills, she quit the family business in 1994 at the age of 25 to launch a home-based baking enterprise.

She started gifting cakes to her friends and family on birthdays, anniversaries and other festive occasions.

With no formal training but loads of experience, her scrumptious cakes were appreciated, especially the icing decorations. She came up with all those impossibly realistic looking 3D cakes and fondant creations for every occasion. Apart from getting orders from corporate houses, Nicole’s cakes were the main attractions at weddings, anniversaries and other festive occasions across the city. Starting her business with personal savings as initial investment, she now gets orders for 3 to 4 cakes in a week. Word of mouth publicity usually ropes in clients for these home bakers.

Her philosophy is simple: make every cake taste as good as it looks and make it look fantastic. Designer, artisan, regular, sugar-free, fresh fruit gateau and cupcakes are her speciality.

“It takes 3-4 days to bake and complete the art work. One day for baking and three days for decoration.

Couture cakes are designer cakes made from fresh ingredients and decorated by hand. The artisan variety is healthy cakes like carrot cakes, date and walnut. 3D cakes are sculpted and labour intensive. It is a normal cake with three-dimensional art work on top. The shelf life of cakes is 3-4 days and needs to be refrigerated.

The price of my cakes starts from Rs 80(cupcakes) and goes up according to weight and decoration,” she said.

The variety of ingredients required for baking cakes are sourced from abroad.

“Each cake of mine is different from the other in taste and decoration. I order ingredients like colours, essence, and decorations online and sometimes it is quite time-consuming,” she said.

Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: If you have set your heart on something, do it. As time passes and your interest develops, you will improvise your skill. barnalee.handique@goldensparrow.com

TH E EDIT PAGE

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

PUNE

Editor’s pick “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”

—Friedrich Nietzsche

Make Pune pedestrian-centric Civic activism in Pune to demand good footpaths and pedestrian facilities has not been in vain. The persistent demand for better footpaths has been acknowledged by enlightened, citizenfriendly municipal commissioners in the past who have provided a positive thrust to the Pune Municipal Corporation’s policies and programmes for pedestrians.

It was after a determined agitation by the Aundh Vikas Mandal and the residents of Aundh that the broad footpaths and walkway were constructed, instead of further widening ITI Road.

We see good footpaths on JM Road, portions of Apte Road, Ganeshkhind Road, and on portions of Sus Road, for which the PMC and its civil engineers deserve to be complimented.

However, as was noted during the public meeting organised by the Sajag Nagrik Manch recently, most of the PMC initiatives have been “personality-driven” by responsible and proactive civic commissioners, and have not taken shape as a matter of policy.

There is a crying need for good footpaths especially on the roads which have heavy footfalls. These are primarily the roads in the central part of the city, near bus stands, railway stations and important traffic junctions.

Given the absence of mass transportation and an efficient public

bus service in Pune, almost everyone is forced to commute by personal vehicles, thus contributing to the traffic congestion chaos and pollution that we are all familiar with. The PMC, its traffic planners and engineers have been responding to this crisis by widening roads and constructing flyovers and sacrificing footpaths and pedestrian facilities without batting an eyelid.

Consequently, the citizens are forced to walk on the roads and footpathsif they exist remain neglected and encroached upon by vendors, shop extensions, illegal temple structures and in at least a dozen cases by public urinals constructed by the PMC itself!

The citizen-activists rightly urged for greater sensitization among the ward officers of the PMC on the issue of footpaths and the needs of pedestrians.

The PMC, its commissioners and officers from top to bottom should consciously make Pune pedestriancentric and not vehicle-centric as has been the policy so far. Th is spirit of change will not only be welcomed by the people of Pune but will also be hailed across the country as a model that needs to be emulated.

Th is newspaper stands committed to the cause of better footpaths and facilities for pedestrians and extends its fullest support to all initiatives in this direction. @tgsweekly editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com

Rape and road safety in India

Given the fact that India has the highest number of road accidents, Indian roads are the unsafest in the world. They are all the more unsafe for women who are required to travel alone at night in taxis on account of work.

The recent rape of a 26-year-old woman who was commuting in a radio cab in Delhi speaks volumes about the state of affairs in the country. The woman was travelling in a cab operated by the US multinational Uber. The fact that this was an American fi rm, the least that was expected was that it would have high safety and operational standards. However, that was not the case. The cab did not have GPS system; it was not registered and the driver’s papers were also not in order.

If this is the laxity with which such cabs are operating in the country, it is only prudent that the citizens,

especially women, take the highest precautions while entering a cab alone.

Ideally, work-related travel should be avoided at night by both men and women. It is better to travel during the day and when outstation, book in a hotel rather than take the highway.

A large number of drivers are not only careless and overworked with fatigue; but they are also unreliable as is the common experience.

If night travel in a cab is unavoidable, then ensure that the driver is carrying an identity card, a smart card license and is well-mannered and that the cab is equipped with a GPS tracking system which is working and a panic/alarm button near the rear seat.

These are the minimum conditions that any cab service provider needs to comply with. In the interest of their own safety, women should travel in a cab only if all of this is in place.

Vol-1* lssue No.: 26 Printed and Published by: PRI – Media Services Private Limited CIN: U22222MH2012PTC232006 on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. CIN:U22200PN2014PTC151382 Printed at Diligent Media Corporation Ltd., Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai.

Published at Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. 1641, Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411 030, Tel: 020-2432 4332/33.

Editor: Abhay Vaidya (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867)

Courtesy: sangrea.net

Swachh Bharat needs an Anand

BY ANIMESH BANERJEE During his first Independence Day speech on August 15, prime minister Narendra Modi gave a clarion call for a nationwide cleanliness drive, emphasising the imperative of cleanliness in our lives and its role in improving the overall health and hygiene of the nation. In order to make it more inclusive and driven by citizens, he invited several leaders, celebrities and noted citizens to participate in pushing this movement further in their regions of influence.

The initiative has evoked high levels of adhesion among the general public. However, some sections of society have raised doubts on the likely success of such a gargantuan project.

Such scepticism manifests itself out of past failures of similar attempts launched by successive governments since independence.

Consider programmes in the recent past like the Central Rural Sanitation Programme (1986-99), the Total Sanitation Campaign (1999-2012) and the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (2012 till 2022), all of which failed to create any credible impact.

Experts believe the most challenging aspect of the present cleanliness drive will be its propagation among the urban poor and rural societies, in general, in the country.

They argue that the single largest impediment to the programme’s success is to make it work among the constituencies where most dwellings are missing even the basic provision for sanitation and hygiene.

In contrast, urban societies fare comparatively better due to some access to drainage and piped water systems and toilets. However, the municipal delivery systems are in general ineffective and riddled with political interference and corruption. It is, therefore, unlikely that the existing public delivery practices can address the enormity of the mission for

The Anand cooperative model is the most appropriate for managing the Swachh Bharat movement

Swachh Bharat.

The objectives of Swachh Bharat as set forth by the urban development ministry can be classified into three baskets. The first relates to waste management and linked practices (converting insanitary toilets to flush toilets, no manual scavenging, 100 per cent collection and scientific disposal).

The second concerns structural issues (strengthening of local bodies to design, execute and operate systems and enable private sector participation).

The third relates to behavioural change (eliminate open defecation, building awareness and change in sanitation habits).

Considering the need to engage with citizens and a need for the change to come from within, a bottom-up grassroots development model will be most appropriate for managing the Swachh Bharat movement.

I am inclined to believe that despite certain limitations, the Anand cooperative model is perhaps the most successful one for social change

that has achieved greatest grassroots empowerment when compared to the available alternatives. The model drives sustenance through inbuilt extension and motivation modules that can be suitably modified for any form of social engineering.

In the spirit of a co-operative movement I would consider the model in building community toilets besides incentivising the local community to take ownership of their upkeep.

Central toilets in the short and medium term would reduce the cost of establishing a network of sewage pipes across the village and minimize collection efforts. The modern community toilets, once established, would not only make the whole community aware of the necessities of cleanliness, hygiene and health but also encourage the community to abstain from open defecating.

The entire awareness campaign can be managed along similar lines as the extension workers have done in propagating the dairy cooperative

Transcending pain of death

BY ANIL K RAJVANSHI

Advanced Yogis claim to have developed a mechanism of blocking Since the soul clings to the body, the pain from reaching the brain through shedding of lifetime memories at the Kundalini Yoga. Kundalini is a very time of death is painful. That is the ancient Indian Yoga system, whose reason the Indian yogic system stresses practitioners believe that there is energy the liberation of soul so that the painful (could be cerebrospinal fluid) which is cycle of birth and death is stopped. coiled like a female serpent and lies at Yogis also believe that reduction or the base of the spinal chord. elimination of pain would remove the Kundalini Yoga helps to remove fear of death. One of the major aims the sense organ inputs to the brain from of yoga therefore is to make the body various parts of the body and hence can and mind powerful enough to reduce or make the mind completely detached remove pain completely. from the body. In medicine the pain Why is there pain and what is blockers do the same. For those of us its purpose? Pain and pleasure are who cannot be yogis of high order, how complimentary and are part of can we lead our life so that it is life. They are the attributes of happy and death is painless and the body. The intense physical is welcomed more like a friend pain probably is an outcome of when it comes? the body trying to repair itself The whole basis of life is and requires very intense brain to have continuous happiness concentration for it. All other and joy and that is possible with sensory inputs or other thoughts a very healthy body in a very are blocked by the pain sensation. world. The self can THINK hospitable This concentrated thought only enjoy and be happy with a might help the brain to heal the body (preferably a human body) body. This is also the mechanism where since it provides anchor to it and allows single pointed concentration helps the making and breaking of memories. in memory removal. Pain therefore One of the keys to happiness could be one of the key mechanisms of is reduction and complete removal removing or modifying memory. Any of greed. Greed creates tremendous intense experience can do the same. For confl icts and all round unhappiness. example intense pleasure of love for a Removal of greed can be achieved by chosen deity is the genesis of Bhakti cultivating a healthy body and nimble Yoga. brain via Sanyam. The nimble brain

has a tremendous processing power and hence a small amount of data is processed very efficiently to gain useful information. This helps the mind to “get satisfied” easily and helps in satiating the desire so that the person can move on. This is the major step in greed reduction.

Also there should be an excellent confl ict resolution mechanism developed internally. Deep down we should honestly evaluate our actions and should be able to live with them in peace. This act can help in freeing the mind from psychological knots, which can take up a major portion of the memory. Removal of these knots may help make the mind calm and fit for deep thought. The final word on this subject therefore belongs to Patanjali who says, “Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness towards the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous and indifference towards the wicked”.

Making this world a better and more hospitable place can also help in calmness of mind and internal happiness. This will help us fulfi ll both our physical and emotional needs and can help all humans to live a very full and happy life. For most of us this planet is the only home we have. © Anil K Rajvanshi anilrajvanshi@gmail.com

movement. Once established in this manner, it will be easier to demonstrate to the communities the importance of a modern toilet as a proper place for defecating.

It is my opinion that we can learn from the Anand model (Anand is famous for pioneering India’s milk revolution), and follow it to ensure the waste management practices are modern and scientific, so that the waste can then be processed for value added multiple applications. A modern and progressive waste management industry in India will definitely remove the stigma associated with the waste collection process. Global models for waste management are moving towards zero waste and there is a strong interest in waste-to-energy, with many private companies investing in the domain.

The co-operative approach could potentially create micro-energy plants through the bio waste and drive other aspects of social change especially in the rural areas.

As more people see their neighbours and relatives associate with cleaner and more hygienic practices, they too will embrace them and make them a regular practice.

The single biggest learning from the Anand model is that empowering local communities and creating an incentive for them to work together drives long lasting social change.

Having been associated with the replication of the Anand model across the country, I am confident that a similar pattern can be used to ensure the success of the Swachh Bharat initiative. I look forward to the success of this initiative, which is not only brave but long due.

(Animesh Banerjee is a former executive director of the National Dairy Development Board, president of the Indian Dairy Association and advisor on public policies. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at banerjeeanimesh@rediffmail.com)

Limericks of the week

BY C RAVINDRANATH

Brave soldiers killed Innocent lives stilled To tolerate terror Is indeed an error Is this what God willed?

Ministers show their clout By the nonsense they spout Mouth open, foot in Is no longer a sin As they continue to shout!

Godmen of questionable fame And rapists give us a name If this is the way With morals astray Ours is a country of shame.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

PUNE

With selections from The New York Times

“I don’t know why people have divided the whole world into two groups, west and east.

Education is neither eastern nor western. Education is education and it’s the right of every human being.”

— Malala Yousafzai, Noble Peace Prize winner and activist for female education.

A bright start but a dull finish P 15

An Italian in Kabul, providing some relief to lives impaired

BY ROD NORDLAND KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - “I have to tell you a story,” said Alberto Cairo, the irrepressible Italian administrator who runs seven orthopaedic centres in Afghanistan for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Cairo sat down to talk, but he is never still for long. In front of him on the low table in his unpretentious office was a vase full of fresh chrysanthemums. In the course of his brief story a lot of other things would happen in his office, but for a short while, he gazed at the flowers.

“Earlier this year my brother died,” he said. “Not really my brother but my friend, like a brother to me. I was so sad, I was two months in Italy.”

One of his senior staff members came in, an Afghan man. He faced an internal review by the International Committee of the Red Cross, known as ICRC, after Afghan women on the staff complained that he had made inappropriate comments. The man told Cairo that he wanted the women to withdraw the complaint. Cairo suggested that he apologise to them; he said he had nothing to apologize for.

“Do what you feel you have to,” Cairo said, a little annoyed.

The staff member is disabled, like more than 90 per cent of the 280 workers at the Kabul Orthopaedic Centre.

(Originally called the Hospital for War Surgery, the centre now treats civilians, too.) For the past 27 years, the warwounded and amputees have come to the centre for treatment, and have sometimes ended up staying on for jobs there as well.

“My brother, my friend - his name was Sergio Silvestris - his birthday was a few days ago,” Cairo continued. “If I were in Italy, I would visit his grave on that day, and I know exactly what kind of flowers he would have wanted. Crisantemi. I don’t know the word in English.” He gestures at the chrysanthemums on the table. “Yellow were his favorite. I know they are flowers associated with death,

BRYAN DENTON/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Alberto Cairo runs seven orthopeadic centres in Afghanistan for the International Committee of the Red Cross, and he could not feel more useful

Afghans played basketball at an indoor gym on the grounds of the Kabul Orthopaedic Centre, where Cairo has worked for 25 years.

but he liked them even when he was alive.” One of the centre’s expatriate employees came into the office. No one ever seems to knock.

It was Verbena Bottini, a fellow Italian, who needed to use Cairo’s microwave to heat up her lunch. She is from a town called Verbania on the shore of Lago Maggiore, in northern Italy. By coincidence, Cairo has a place on the

opposite shore of that lake where he goes on his occasional breaks from Kabul. He says he needs to see water after the dusty aridity of Afghanistan.

“Isn’t that extraordinary?” Cairo said. “And she’s Verbena from Verbania.

Imagine.” Bottini laughed.

They have a lot more in common.

Both began their careers as aid workers in southern Sudan. Both are

trained physiotherapists who came to the ICRC in Kabul and stayed past their intended one-year tour.

Bottini is on her second tour. “I love it,” she said.

Cairo, 62, is still on his first, which began 25 years ago in 1989. He grew up in Turin and then moved to Milan and originally, he had trained as a lawyer, but never practiced. Instead, he decided to

pursue a degree in physiotherapy so he could do relief work. He continued: “So on Sergio’s birthday, November 19, one of the Afghan staff comes in my office.”

It was one of the welders. Cairo is famous for building the orthopaedic centre into a self-sufficient facility where most of the prostheses, wheelchairs and other devices are made from local materials in the center’s workshops. They

not only cost a fraction of foreign-made ones, but are also high in quality, and the work provides jobs to disabled people.

“And this man had these flowers, from his garden. He said in Dari, ‘I thought you might need these,’ and gave them to me. Now, this man had never come to my office before, knew nothing about Sergio, and not only that, I have never seen these flowers in Afghanistan before. Crisantemi are very common in Italy, but never in Afghanistan.”

His friend, Silvestris, was creative director for Italian jewellery maker Pomellato.

Cairo recalled how Silvestris had once organised a celebrity charity affair that raised $800,000 for the Kabul Orthopaedic Centre.

The phone rang, and Cairo took the call, speaking in fluent Dari. He then leapt up and threw the window open, shouting to someone outside. Then he made another 60-second phone call in Dari, and people soon began filling his office.

“Why have you stayed in Afghanistan for so long?” he asked a visitor suddenly.

“I ask because it is a question people always ask me. For me it’s that the work makes so many people happy: You feel useful; you will never be able to achieve as much anywhere else.”

Under his stewardship, the ICRC centers have expanded to provide those who are disabled not just artificial limbs and physical rehabilitation, but also social reintegration, including job training, microfinance loans and education. In 2010, Cairo was reportedly a finalist for the Nobel Peace Prize.

“You really have to come back for the next tournament,” he said, full of enthusiasm again. The centre has a gym with a full-size basketball court, and wheelchair teams from the seven centres compete in the tournament, with Cairo as one of the referees.

“It’s incredible,” he said.

Cairo is fond of saying that when disabled men take the court to play, they actually seem to fly. © 2014 New York Times News Service

A village has what all of Italy wants: Internet Back to a Burmese

BY GAIA PIANIGIANI SAVOIA, ITALY - This rural hilltop village, where a 17th-century fortress is a reminder of how residents warded off invaders for hundreds of years, might seem the last place in Italy to find a wireless Internet connection.

After all, roughly a third of Italians have never used the Internet at all - one of the lowest rates in Europe. Residents can recall providers laughing over the phone at their request for an Internet hookup, or the perplexed look of technicians upon arriving in Verrua Savoia, where just 1,500 residents live in dozens of small settlements spread over nearly 32 kilometres of valleys and steep hillsides in northern Italy.

Even so, some here believed they had the right to join the digital world, to pay their bills, do their banking or make a doctor’s appointment online.

One was Daniele Trinchero, a professor at the nearby Polytechnic University of Turin, who helped set up a nonprofit association that started recently and that offers fellow citizens what both the state and telecommunications companies have so far failed to deliver. The group may be the first of its kind in Italy.

Over eight years, he and his team have built a radio link with parts scavenged from computers and provided city hall with several routers to distribute the Internet to five access points. The access points, perched on peaks, direct the signal to homes with cheap receivers on their roofs or balconies.

“It’s simply necessary,” said the Reverend Corrado Cotti, 84, the parish priest, a former editor of the local paper and one of the pioneers of the experiment. “Print made communication easier,” he said. “But with the Internet, words fly.”

Well, sometimes.

Italy’s tardy embrace of the digital age looms as perhaps one of the nation’s most pressing, if unresolved, problems. In the 1990s, the leading

Daniele Trinchero, centre, a professor at Polytechnic University of Turin, adjusted an antenna that is part of the Internet network in Verrua Savoia.

telecom company was privatised, shifting the responsibility for connecting Italy from public to private hands. But Italy is a country where about half the land is mountainous, where the signal does not travel easily and where installing fibre optic cable is costly.

After years of unkept promises, the government of Italy’s youngest prime minister ever, Matteo Renzi, 39, is trying to put “digital first,” starting

SWITZERLAND

FRANCE

ITALY Verrua Savoia Turin PIEDMONT

80 miles

Mediterranean Sea

with a plan to invest more than 6 billion euros ($7.25 billion) in ultrafast broadband connections.

But for now, the country lives with a yawning digital - and cultural - divide that has left behind not only large swaths of Italians, but also Italy itself from much of the rest of Europe and the United States.

Italy has one of the lowest rates of ultrabroadband connection per household in Europe - half as many as, say, neighboring Switzerland. Only 10 per cent of Italy’s primary schools have a broadband connection.

Trinchero’s project started as an experiment.

Over the last eight years, he and his team have built and maintained the network and addressed residents’ problems and complaints with the 19-megabit speed of their connection, which other Italians in central areas would consider a miracle. The university experiment officially ends December 31, and the association of local residents, called “Without Wires, Without Borders,” has already begun to take over.

“We trust you - you do what you need to do,” Ginevro, the former mayor, told Trinchero. “But you make sure we still have a performing Internet. We are not giving it up. It is ours now.” © 2014 New York Times News Service

prison by choice

BY THOMAS FULLER YANGON, MYANMAR - When he looks back on his years as a political prisoner, U Htein Lin thinks of a dark and damp place, of being blindfolded and beaten by guards, the meatless watery soup and the black plastic bucket that served as a toilet. And yet now, as a free man, something draws him back.

A decade after he was freed, Htein Lin has twice returned to prison to help teach a 10-day Buddhist meditation course, an undertaking that on one occasion led to an unplanned encounter with one of his former jailers.

He says he volunteered for the courses as a sort of civic duty; meditation helped him survive his own incarceration, and he wanted to pass on that skill to prisoners and guards taking the course.

But also - and this is a point he says many people will probably not readily understand - he wanted to reconnect with a sense of confinement. As an artist, prison was where he produced some of his best work.

“I see my life, the ups and downs, and think it’s like a story,” he said recently. “I look back and the downs are part of the story, too.

This is the reason I wanted to go back.”

Htein Lin was sentenced by the military government for helping organise a prodemocracy protest, a common reason the paranoid junta used to lock up people.

But unlike most political prisoners, Htein Lin emerged from more than six years of detention with something to show for it.

While still in prison, he managed to produce and smuggle out around 300 paintings and sculptures. Some were sent to the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, which archives art related to Burmese history.

Old prison uniforms were his canvases, and syringes and the flint wheels of cigarette lighters served as paint brushes. In vibrant colors, he painted abstract images of mangled,

MINZAYAR/THE NEW YORK TIMES

ALESSANDRO GRASSANI/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Italy has one of the lowest rates of Internet usage in Europe, but a professor’s experiment is proving that wireless connection can make a difference in one hilltop village

U Htein Lin, at his home in Yangon, Myanmar, says he made some of his best artwork in prison.

emaciated prisoners, crenelated walls, locks and haunted faces. He sculpted bars of soap into the likenesses of prisoners crammed into cells. “I was completely cut off from art critics and an audience,” he said in an interview at his apartment in Yangon. “I just did what I wanted. In the cell I found freedom. It was the most important time in my art career.”

It is not unusual for former political prisoners to have complex and ambivalent feelings about their days in detention.

“Only people who have been in prison can understand these feelings,” said U Win Htein, a member of Parliament who spent 14 years as a political prisoner. Like veterans of a bloody war, former prisoners have a sort of kinship, a common understanding of a common painful journey. Htein Lin’s role in the course was paradoxical for a former prisoner: to make sure the guards were silent. The prisoner had become the enforcer. He surveyed the room and met eyes with U Ko Ko Naing, one of his former guards.

“He recognized me,” Htein Lin said. “I said, yes, I am here. I am helping you. But I would be very happy if you could follow my instructions.”

2014 New York Times News Service

MONEY MATT ER S “The story in India is a relatively stronger story. They have a clear view of what they want to accomplish. They realise it takes work and takes detailed plans and implementation.”

— Brian Moynihan, chairman & chief executive of Bank of America

Signpost Equity MFs: Net inflow of `4,963 cr in Nov Equity mutual fund sales crossed the `10,000 crore once again in November 2014, touching `10,947 crore. With redemptions amounting to `5,984 crore, net inflows into equity mutual funds totalled `4,963 crore for the month. This was the first time in six months that net inflows were below the `5,000 crore mark. Over the 11-month period, from January 2014 to November 2014, equity mutual funds recorded a net inflow of `42,907 crore. In the same period last year, the equity funds reported a net outflow of `11,284 crore.

Aadhaar not must for PF transactions Labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya clarified that Aadhaar number is not mandatory for provident fund transactions. Submission of Aadhaar number details by subscribers is not mandatory for any provident fund (PF) transaction, the Parliament was informed. “No Madam,” Dattatreya said in written reply to Lok Sabha on a query whether the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has made it mandatory to submit Aadhaar number details of employees for any PF transition.

India’s current account deficit touches $10.1bn India’s current account deficit widened to $10.1 billion for the quarter ended September 31, 2014, data released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed. According to the central bank, the net difference between inflows and outflows of foreign currencies also known as the current account showed a deficit that widened by 2.1 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) from 1.2 per cent in the corresponding quarter of last year. “India’s current account deficit (CAD) increased to $10.1 billion (2.1 per cent of GDP) in Q2 of 2014-15 from $7.8 billion (1.7 per cent of GDP) in the preceding quarter and $5.2 billion (1.2 per cent of GDP) in Q2 of 2013-14,” the RBI said.

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

PUNE

“The Indian Trade Portal will make available data for exporters and importers at one place, in a user friendly manner and this will contribute to ease of doing business for trade and industry.”

— Nirmala Sitharaman, commerce minister

Nine things to beware about online shopping

E-commerce covered under Consumer Protection Act, says Danve

As sales volume of online shopping is increasing so are delayed delivery, sub-standard products and hidden charges

BY YOGESH SAPKALE With increased use of Internet through mobile applications, several online shopping portals like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon are holding sales frequently. Despite some technical ‘disasters’, all these companies managed to reach ever-greater sales volumes on their special offer days. Unfortunately, a few issues have started cropping up, which have the potential to derail or slow down the online shopping juggernaut.

Two of the most immediate issues that online shopping portals need to pay heed to, are timely delivery and product quality.

HIDDEN CHARGES: This is one of the most common reasons that customers feel cheated. And they are justified in feeling so. There are several products sold online where the cost of delivery is hidden.

Again, this is not limited to online portals.

Indiatimes Shopping regularly uses a smaller font size to mention delivery charges. The advertisement published by Indiatimes Shopping in its group newspapers, shows fancy products at dirt-cheap prices.

However, the asterix besides the price goes on to say that, the shipping charges will be additional.

DELIVERY: Most of the items bought online are expected to reach the customer within a specified period. However, there are no standard delivery times.

For example, Flipkart and one of its sellers WS Retail have a delivery period of three-four days for regular customers (those who have not subscribed to their express delivery service). However, a “privileged customer” may get the same product next day without paying any extra charge. This is fine.

And when the seller fails to deliver the product within the specified time, Flipkart compensates the privileged customers for the delay. However, what if somebody has ordered a product to be given as a gift, let’s say on a birthday or other such events?

How would Flipkart deal with the repercussions on people’s plans if delivery is delayed in such cases?

In short, whichever company wants to grow big in the online shopping space, needs to pay attention to logistics and timely deliveries.

CREDIBILITY OF SELLER: With online portals adopting stricter policies for empanelling sellers, the issue of being duped has now reduced considerably. Yet, there are some sellers who do not offer to deliver products bought online, to each and every location. The seller rating system does not offer much help in these matters.

CUSTOMER SERVICE: Although all three online portals mentioned above take customer service seriously, it still leaves a lot to be desired. For example, the tone and query handling of the customer service representatives is more like a machine. They have yet to become humans while answering queries from customers. All of us have faced a barrage of unsolicited commercial communications (spam calls) from the machine like tone of the caller from call centres.

UNCLEAR TERMS & CONDITIONS: Unfortunately, when it comes to terms and conditions, they are often at the end of the page in a smaller font size. In this, the online portals follow their offline cousins. This is an important point to keep in mind, especially if you are buying a wearable product like shoes, trousers, or salwar-kameez. If there were any issue with size or fitting, you would end up facing and explaining the issue to the customer support, who may deliver a blow using the same terms and conditions that you were not aware of. So, better check all the terms and conditions before buying such products.

REFUNDS: Actually, the customer hopes to get automated refund if he cancels the order. However, it turns out that the procedures are much more complicated and the customers have to follow it up several times. One way to get rid of this issue is by giving cash on delivery. However, not every seller offers this facility. In case the customer has paid beforehand and then wants refund or cancels the order, then all online portals need to follow the example of IRCTC. When you cancel a railway ticket, IRCTC automatically refunds the money to the same account from where it was received, after deducting some charges. Why can’t online shopping follow this same model?

NOTE: This delivery delays are not limited to online shopping portals. This is same with shopping malls and big retailers like Reliance Digital, e-Zone, Vijay Sales and Chroma.

SUBSTANDARD PRODUCTS: I remember purchasing several products from eBay a few years back. However, one of the issues with it at the time was that most of the ‘impressive’ looking products were actually sub-standard, re-furbished products and cheap knock-offs or ‘Chinese’ items as we like to call them in India. The situation is not too different these days, an image of a pair of shoes, goggles, watches or earrings may look very attractive online, but when you get the delivery, the actual product may not be that ‘rosy’. Or the quality of the product may not even be worth the money you paid.

more. Won’t the buyer simply walk to his next-door shop and buy it for just `95 or even lesser amount?

Most of the time, shipping cost is at `299 or `399 or `499 depending upon the product.

DELIVERY CHARGES MAY BE MORE: This is one of the most egregious fleecing techniques used by some retailers. This happens most often when you buy products worth less than `500. An example from Flipkart is the Eveready DL Torches that are sold for `95, as against the MRP of `100. However, the buyer will have to pay `40 for delivery. This means, the torch will cost the buyer `140 or a whopping 47 per cent

USERFRIENDLY MOBILE APPS: I tried my hand at the mobile apps from all three, Snapdeal, Flipkart and Amazon. However, none is up to the mark and lacks in several fields. For example, try searching ‘trekking shoes’. You will get all results for trek and shoes but the products are mostly not trekking shoes. In November, Chinese online retail giant Alibaba pulled in sales worth a whopping $9.3 billion on its annual Single’s Day event, making it the world’s biggest online retail shopping day. Alibaba shipped 278 million orders and 43 per cent of them were placed from mobile devices. This shows why online shopping portals need to have a user-friendly mobile app. @moneylife.in

MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM E-commerce will be covered under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, and the central government will not face any loss in indirect tax revenue due to expansion of online retail business, the Parliament was informed recently.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs Raosaheb Patil Danve said, “E-commerce operations are already covered under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986”.

He was replying to a query whether there is any proposal to bring e-commerce operations under the Consumer Protection Law in view of complaints of cheating and other malpractices by such companies.

Danve said trading of goods by e-commerce does not attract levy of service tax.

“Goods which are imported, manufactured are cleared on payment of duty of customs, central excise, as the case may be, at the time of import, clearance from the factory.

“Therefore, as far as the Central Government is concerned, there is no loss to indirect tax revenue due to expansion of e-commerce,” Danve said.

The Consumer Protection Act provides for better protection of consumers interest. Under the law, consumer forums have been set up for the settlement of disputes.

To further strengthen this law, the government is planning to introduce amendments to the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 1986 in the ongoing Winter session of Parliament. @moneylife.in

Banks cutting deposit rates. Why? Emotional intelligence When RBI increases rate, banks immediately jump to increase lending rates. However, when there is no change in RBI’s policy for the past 12 months, why banks are regularly reducing interest rates on deposits?

MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM In yet another example of cartelisation, three leading banks in India have cut interest rates on term deposits that too when there is no change in the monetary policy rates for the past 12 months. Last time, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased interest rate in December 2013. It has remained at 8 per cent since then. Even earlier this week the central bank kept all key rates unchanged in its fifth bi-monthly policy. When there is no change in monetary policy rate, why are the banks cutting interest rates on deposits? Since they are not cutting rates for lending, why are depositors being ‘penalised’ as happens each time?

Last month, State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, announced a steep 1 per cent cut for short-term deposits up to `1 crore maturing in seven to 45 days to 5 per cent. In the September quarter, SBI reduced rates thrice, twice in September alone, on retail deposits. As if this was not enough, the state-run lender on Friday cut interest rates on longterm deposits by 0.25 per cent.

INTEREST ON TERM DEPOSITS

INTEREST ON TERM LOAN SBI said that the interest rates for deposits of one year and above would be reduced by 25 basis points or 0.25 per cent per annum.

While the rates for deposits of one year to less than three years and three years to less than five years are reduced from 8.75 per cent to 8.50 per cent, for deposits of five years and above, the new rate would be 8.25 per cent against 8.5 per cent at present.

When the state-run lender takes lead in cutting interest rates, why should private banks not follow the suit? Few days back, ICICI Bank, the largest private sector lender, cut its deposit rate

offering in the 390-days to twoyear buckets by 0.25 per cent to 8.75 per cent, according to its website. HDFC Bank too, cut its retail deposit rates by 0.25 per cent-0.50 per cent in the 46-days to under-one year bucket.

Banks are citing easy liquidity and slow credit off take as main reasons for cutting interest rates on deposits. However, this is nothing but blatant misuse by banks of floating rate policies and ‘free hand regime’ allowed by the RBI. When interest rates rise, banks immediately step in to increase their spread, but fail to pass on the benefits to customers

when the situation is reversed.

Over the past year, RBI has repeatedly exhorted banks to treat customers fairly (TCF) through various public statements, meetings and circulars. However, this is clearly not enough.

While moral suasion may have worked in a closed economy, the freedom to fi x charges and the formation of an informal pricing cartel through the Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) seems to have weakened RBI’s ability to compel good behaviour.

Commenting on the monetary policy, Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairperson of State bank of India, said, “The RBI assertion of a possible change in monetary policy stance next year is a clear vindication and acknowledgement of a benign inflation regime. In fact, by advancing the inflation target of 6 per cent to March 2015, RBI has now set out a clear message of the reversal of the rate cycle, sooner than later. With oil prices at historic lows, a stable exchange rate and strong capital inflows, the feel good factor is here to stay.”

Well, if the feel good factor is here to stay, then why savers are being punished? @moneylife.in

and investing

Know and manage your emotions, to be a better investor, says a new study MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM Successful investing is not just about understanding businesses or financial data. The better you can understand and manage your emotions, the more likely you are to take good investment decisions. Behavioural analysis, the world over, has proven that investors are subject to emotional biases. The most obvious manifestation is they buy as the market hits all-time highs and sell when the market crashes — a phenomenon we, in India, have witnessed over the past decade.

From 2005 to 2007, Indian investors flocked to the market without being aware of the risk.

The financial crisis that followed shocked investors and huge redemptions followed.

It wasn’t until 2014, when the market started hitting new alltime highs, and the media hype that followed, that investors began to start putting money again in equities and mutual funds. Would investors with a high emotional intelligence be able to drown out all the noise and hype about the market and invest sensibly?

It’s tough. Over the past 10 years, the Sensex has returned 17.26 per cent; but how many retail investors have been able to achieve this return? Statistical models are devoid of emotional decision-making. Humans are not. You can’t

simulate what it feels like to be patient and exercise your will power.

A recent academic research, titled “Emotional Intelligence and risk taking in investment decision-making” by a group of researchers from the University of Padova (Italy), concluded that individuals with high emotional intelligence (EI) are more able to manage stress and peer relations.

Other studies have found that participants with high EI made significantly better decisions in a social gambling task compared with those who have EI. The results of the study demonstrated that participants with higher EI are consistently more likely to invest compared with participants with lower EI. Investing behaviour is influenced by individual differences in perceiving and managing emotions.

On the flip side, people with high EI invested more often, regardless of the positive or negative expected value of the task. They are more likely to take risks even when this may not be the most advantageous strategy. Thus, people with high EI may engage in excessive trading and could be penalised by the high turnover of its portfolios.

There are plenty of intelligent participants in the financial markets, but all do not focus on their EI. This is what truly sets successful investors apart. @moneylife.in

Many of the participants in the financial markets do not focus on their EI

SPORTS

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

PUNE

“By spending that whole time by Hughe’s family side, just the strength and courage Michael Clarke has showed to us, that is unbelievable. He must be mentally drained.”

— Australian batsman Steve Smith

“We are proud of Jammu and Kashmir Ranji team. This historic victory will go a long way in inspiring the youth of J&K to reach for new frontiers and to conquer new heights.”

— Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah

Signposts Chelsea beat Sporting Lisbon 3-1 London: Chelsea wrapped up their UEFA Champions League group stage by beating Sporting Lisbon 3-1 at home. Cesc Fabregas put Chelsea ahead in the eighth minute with a penalty after Filipe Luis was fouled

by Ricardo Esgaio inside the box.

German international Andre Schurrle made it 2-0 eight minutes later with a low right-foot strike. Jonathan Silva pulled one goal back for Sporting in the 50th minute before John Mikel Obi sealed the victory.

J&K upset 40-time champions Mumbai Mumbai: Jammu and Kashmir continued their rapid rise in the domestic circuit, notching up a stunning fourwicket triumph over 40-time champions Mumbai with more than a session to spare in their Group A Ranji Trophy cricket opener at the Wankhede Stadium. Chasing a modest target of 237 and commencing at their overnight 58 for one, J&K kept composure despite losing five more wickets to reach the target 73 minutes after lunch on the fourth and final day. Ram Dayal and Umar Nazir were the chief destroyers for J&K as they scalped five and four wickets each respectively.

Button and Alonso to drive for McLaren Woking: McLaren announced twotime Formula One champion Fernando Alonso as their second driver alongside Jenson Button for the 2015 season. Driver Kevin Magnussen dropped to reserve driver for the British team. The 22-year-old Magnussen was dropped after one season and will now be the test and reserve driver.

Button, who won the drivers’ title in 2009 with Brawn, heads into his sixth year with McLaren and 16th year in F1 making him the most experienced driver on the grid.

Bring on the clowns The International Premier Tennis League is a circus that will ruin tennis, some of the sports fans believe

by Ajaz Ashraf

Finally, the circus has left the city of Delhi.

The name of the circus: International Premier Tennis League (IPTL). Who were the jokers, you want to know. The answer: the spectators.

It was one big ride that the spectators were taken for, exploited for their weakness for tamasha, for their fondness to see stars in flesh and blood, for their knack of reducing every moment to mimic a slice from a masala Bollywood film.

They walked in numbers far beyond the numbers a Davis Cup match attracts, unaware that they were perhaps guinea pigs for tennis organisers and TV channel bosses. Many of them returned disappointed from the IPTL matches, but these are still early days. They are oblivious of the possible grand plan to alter the pleasure principle which has had them relish the sport of tennis over all these decades.

The reason for the disappointment of spectators, camouflaged behind indiscriminate screaming and vacuous sighs, lay in the wide chasm between the reality of IPTL tennis and the reality of television. We wanted the former greats, such as Pete Sampras, to play in accordance to our memory created through years of watching international tennis on TV. Unfortunately, as we all discovered, memory doesn’t age with time.

Remember the incredible serve-andvolley game of Sampras, tongue hanging out, those awesome crawling back from imminent defeat to victory, the seven Wimbledon titles he won, perpetually wrapped in the aura of invincibility that his opponents found forbidding. And so as he stood at the baseline of the court in Delhi’s indoor stadium, dressed in black, with spectators screaming, we settled for a walk down memory lane, believing it would be warm and romantic.

It was worse than watching a rock star whom you had first heard in school, and whose concert at 60 plus you are still

player’s corner

By Barnalee Handique @barnalee

PUNE: City-based squash player Arman Jindal has been a regular member in the national circuit. The 14-year-old has also participated in the Junior Squash Cup in Germany and Dutch Junior Open this year.

However, the Mercedes-Benz International School student is not satisfied with his performance and is determined to better it next time.

“I reached quarterfinals in the national champions in Indore and Chennai. It was a good performance, but that’s not enough for me. I have to practice hard and work on my skills,” said Arman.

“I realised during the match against Chaitnaya Shah that was more experienced and had good strength and speed. I realised how much I needed to improve in this segment,” he added.

Talking about his experience in the foreign tournaments, he said, “My performance was good in these matches and I was ranked 20 in the world junior.

Unfortunately during the championship in Holland, I suffered a lower back injury, which kept me out of tournaments for some months.”

At first glance, Arman looks like a typical student, except for the fact that he is an established squash player.

Currently in the XIIth grade, Arman was introduced to squash two years back.

He said, “From the time I got introduced to squash, I have been completly facinated. I’ve always felt comfortable being on a squash court, like that’s where I belong. I know it’s not as big as tennis but it’s a great game,” Ranked 10 in India juniors, Arman trains with coach Deepak Moolani at the Residency Club.

“I love squash because of the speed at which it is played. I also enjoy the individual aspect. It is completely up to you to win, and there is no one else to blame if you lose.

There are many skills required to play the game.

One needs to be excellent in

pulled to out of fidelity to your memory.

The rock star can lip-sync his old songs.

Tennis doesn’t provide that option – the serve must not crash into the net, the rallies can’t be faked. Your memory of Sampras was soon transformed into nightmare, unable as he was to produce the aces he could at will in another time, which is what you remember of him from having watched his matches on TV for years.

It seems the IPTL wants to undo the tennis as we know it today, infuse it with the predictability TV czars are comfortable with But the IPTL wasn’t just about parading the superannuated superstars.

It was also about getting into the circus ring those who straddle the tennis world of today – Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, for instance they were IPTL’s USP to woo us Indians, our chance to watch in action, in flesh and blood, the stars who have been heroes of many an epic battle. You couldn’t possibly miss out on them, could you?

They laughed and kidded around, but the intensity seemed simulated but for the one match in which they were pitted against each other.

But watching the Federer-Djokovic match was akin to reading an abridged version of a classic. No, it was, in fact,

Arman Jindal

athletics and requires good hand-eye coordination and work ethics,” he said.

“Usually, there are 68 to 128 squash players in a draw, so one has to be in his very best physical condition.

To achieve the top slot in squash, I think talent and hard work have to be equal and parallel to each other. I can’t just be more talented or skilful than I am a hard worker.

I believe that to stay on top in squash, which is such a physically and mentally demanding game, you have to find that fine balance as much as you can. That’s what I’m trying to achieve now. I’m trying not to overdo it with squash so that I can leave enough room for my fitness and vice versa,” he said.

“My sessions are in the morning, before I leave for school and later in the evening. I’ve always thought it’s a quality thing rather than quantity. There has been a revolution recently around fitness and conditioning that doesn’t focus on training for several hours a day. Rather, it’s about how affective you can be in the time you’re training, even if it’s just for one hour. Also, I’m really interested in nutrition and physical fitness conditioning so I read about that a lot and I base by squash and fitness sessions on the latest information,” added Arman.

He also said that preventing injuryis also important.

“Squash players are very much susceptible to hamstring injuries, so I always take care to focus on this area. A lot of players take care of their quadriceps but no one really pays attention to their hamstrings or to the ratio of strength training that they should be doing to balance these muscles,” said Arman, who is currently preparing for the Matunga Gymkhana Junior Squash Open to be held in February next year. barnalee.handique @goldensparrow.com

more like a Google preview of a book, a few pages to read for free, to provide you a glimpse into the author’s talent and his or her sweep. However, unlike the Google previews, you had to pay for the IPTL matches or call people influential enough to provide you passes.

Tennis is a popular spectator sport, draws large crowds, as we have seen so often on our TV. But TV viewership of the sport is in no way comparable to its popularity. The reason is that tennis isn’t time-bound – you can start the first match of the day on time, but you can never predict when it would end, in an hour or three, thus making it impossible to provide a precise schedule for the next one of the day This unpredictability has an exciting charm for the spectator on the ground. He or she, quite obviously, is more interested in grueling battles across the net: the longer the game the more engrossing it is likely to be. The future, the other scheduled matches, are postponed. The present is riveting to him or her. And when the future arrives, when two other players take their positions on the court, the spectator hopes for yet another prolonged battle.

But such a structure isn’t tailored to lure the couch-potato. TV watching is built into the daily routine – a certain number of hours in the evening, after returning from office, or on holidays. In those few hours nobody is interested in gazing at two unknown faces slug out on the screen. The couch-potato is looking for heroes who can substitute those in soaps.

But he or she has to wait for a Federer vs Djokovic match because lowly ranked players are unable to go in for the kill.

Soon, it is time for bed, for the customary six-eight hours of sleep to negotiate the idiosyncrasies of the boss next day.

IPTL is a circus, most likely mounted for TV, to hook couch-potatoes to the idiot box’s version of tennis.

(With special arrangement by Firstpost)

Actor Akshay Kumar with Indian Aces player Roger Federer during an IPTL match at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Arena in New Delhi

Maharashtra start Ranji season with a dull draw TGS News Service @TGSWeekly PUNE: Last year’s runner-up team Maharashtra wasted an opportunity to start the Ranji season with full points.

The team playing in favourable home conditions at MCA stadium in Gahunje, Pune failed to take advantage of a weak Odisha side and garnered just three points after the four-

day match ended in a dull draw. The only highpoint of the match was Shrikant Mundhe’s overall performance. The medium pacer took five wickets and contributed an unbeaten 82, with eight boundaries and two hits over the fence. His timely knock helped the hosts to post the first innings lead, thus securing three points.

Earlier, in the absence of key batsman Kedar Jadhav, opener Harshad Khadiwale (83)

gave Maharashtra a good start with a 137-run partnership with Chirag Khurana (54).

Maharashtra had responded with 371, after Odisha were bowled out for 311 in their first innings. On the fourth day, Natraj Behera, who had made 66 in the first-innings, topscored for Odisha with a knock of 74 that came off 189 balls. Maharashtra’s Akshay Darekar was the best bowler on last day claiming 3 wickets while giving away 32 in 19 overs.

A bright start but a dull finish

FC Pune City finish with an ‘underperformers’ tag in the Indian Super League TGS News Service @TGSWeekly

PUNE: Co-owned FC Pune City, the Pune franchise seemed to be set to make waves in the inaugural season of the Indian Super League. Co-owned by the Wadhwa Group and Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan, the club was linked with ACF Fiorentina, a Seria A

Action during match between FC Pune City (center) and Kerala Blasters

club from Italy, and was seeking Italian football expertise to improve certain facets of their game.

The club also availed of guidance by Franco Colomba, who has rich experience, having trained clubs like Napoli, Reggina and Livorno.

The team also features an array of stars like former Juventus striker David Trezeguet, twotime Super League ‘Greek Footballer Of The Year’ award winner Konstantinos Katsouranis, winner of the Polish professional league with the Wisła Kraków team, MacPherlin Dudu Omagbemi, and Lenny Rodrigues, who was the I-League’s Player Of The Year in 2012.

Despite all the firepower and advantages,

the team was unable to perform to its potential when it needed to. After a demoralizing 0-5 humiliation by FC Mumbai, the Pune side fought back into the reckoning, with some sparkling performances against FC Goa and Mumbai, in the return leg. However, a 0-1 loss against FC Delhi Dynamos, followed by another narrow failure against Kerala Blasters in the last league match, put paid to their prospects of making it to the knock-out round.

With just four wins in 14 games, along with four draws and six defeats, the Pune side finished sixth with 16 points, and joined the roster of other underperforming city teams, in other sports leagues.

Coach Colomba said that his side played an excellent brand of football, but were unable to deliver the finishing touch, which ultimately cost them a semifinal berth.

“As a coach, I am satisfied with team’s performance. They did a good job and showed an excellent competitive spirit. However, we couldn’t score goals when needed. Playing a good tactical game is important, but it is more important to score goals. We didn’t, and so we lost,” said Colombo, after their 0-1 loss against Kerala Blasters in Kochi.

The Italian confessed to being distraught at his side bowing out of the competition in its final stages.

“Football is like that. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I really appreciate how we played, not only in this match but in the last game too. The technical staff, my players and I are really sad but we have to be proud of the way we played,” he said.

SPORTS “The team played excellently in the game. The boys fought hard to make it to the semifinal. I am happy that they continue with their good performance.”

— Indian hockey team coach Roelant Oltmans

THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 13, 2014

PUNE

“Watching the umpires and everyone converge just highlighted something we need to move past. It’s a Test match. It’s tough cricket out there, you want people getting on with it.”

— Former Australian spinner Greg Matthews

Rahul Raut

Five things expected from

By Ashish Phadnis @phadnis_ashish PUNE: The 29th edition of the Pune International Marathon (PIM) was way better than the previous editions. The rescheduling of the timing, change in route and the use of technology proved a boon for the organisers, eliminating much of the chaos seen in previous years. However, there is still a long way to go for the PIM. As Punekars are constantly becoming more aware of the benefits of physical fitness, they are also more forthcoming in extending support for such a high caliber running event.

But in turn, they also expect better administration, better facilities and a positive approach from the organisers. If the PIM is to ascend to the next level, the organisers should lend an ear to what enthusiast Punekars want.

Better administration Along with full and half marathons, several other events like the 10k, wheelchair, junior and charity run are conducted every year. However, the organisers seem to focus entirely on the full and half marathons and especially the foreign athletes. The other athletes are generally ignored for the most part and their grouse about inferior treatment is almost unanimous. The organisers and crowd management teams must bear in mind that the event is only finished

Signposts Fort Marathon on December 28 Pune’s Sagarmatha Giryarohan Sanstha will conduct a unique running event, Fort Marathon in the proximity of Lohagad and Visapur forts, near Malavali on December 28. The event will be held in four categories – open (all men), open (mix), amateurs (all men) and open (mix). It is a team event and each team includes two participants. The open category winner will receive Rs 10,000 while the winning team in amateurs segment will get Rs 7,000. The last date of registration is December 21. For details contact Sagarmatha office on 9423524251.

Berlin team win chess scholarship The Berlin team, coached by Abhishek Kelkar won the Symbiosis Spa organised Scholarship Chess tournament recently. The team of Meenakshi Bhoite, Pruthu Deshpande, Sarang Ponkshe and Harshit Raja proved better than second placed Sicilian team and third placed Grunfeld team.

Alekhine team finished fourth. Meanwhile, Aditya Samant (U-8), Manas Pandit (U-10), Aryan Shah (U-12), Ved Bhatwadekar (U-14) and Pranav Jagtap (U-16) emerged winners in respective categories in rapid chess tournament. The tournament was sponsored by National Eggs Coordination Committee (NECC). The top 16 upcoming players from city were divided into four groups, namely, Alekhine, Berlin, Grunfeld and Sicilian.

City’s four players WGM Esha Karavade, Abhishek Kelkar, WGM Soumya Swaminathan and WGM Swati Ghate worked as coaches for each team.

the marathon and can’t wait for the event to get over. The more impatient find it ridiculous to stop traffic for the sake of a few athletes, and try to make their way despite being stopped by the police and volunteers.

The organisers should consider alternate routes in the city, where the traffic volume is lower. The roads on the outskirts of the city could be a viable option. But the roads should be wellmaintained and without potholes.

when the last runner has crossed the finish line, and not when the lead bunch of runners have crossed over. Most importantly the organisers should not make the runners stand at the starting point for hours together but ensure their comfort and well-being before the start.

Better track route The marathon route in Pune is considered to be quite challenging.

With several ups and downs and U-turns, it certainly is not monotonous.

However, there is still lot of room for improvement. A major part of the route comprises of the busiest roads in the city.

Gone are the days when the Punekars came out to watch the event and cheer the runners. Nowadays, the average Punekar is distressed by being held up by

Better traffic management As mentioned earlier, the biggest problem for the PIM organisers is regulating and controlling traffic during event. Even the elite runners in the full marathon can’t evade the traffic chaos.

It has proved to be a big problem every year and it seems that the organisers do not learn from their mistakes. They must involve more citizens, more volunteers and appoint them at the key spots on the route. It is seen that only the front runners get the attention from the volunteers, while the rest of the runners have to manage on their own, weaving through hordes of two-wheelers, autos and heavy vehicles.

Better facilities How popular an event is depends on the facilities the organisers provide.

At the best marathons in the world, like

the Boston Marathon, the organisers provide all the necessary facilities, including rest rooms at the start and finish points, portable toilet blocks en route, parking areas, pickup points and transportation from finish line to starting point. The organisers are also responsible for cleaning up the route after the event. The PIM organisers leave a lot to be desired in comparison, but should at least provide maps with details on road closures, which roads to use, where to park, and how to arrive at the start on race day.

Water and energy drink points must be manned and stocked till the last runner passes. This year, several runners complained that they were not provided drinking water and they were forced to buy water bottles from road-side shops at double the rate. To attract more runners, the organisers must cater to the runners’ needs.

Ashish phadnis

Pune Marathon

Better use of technology The PIM organisers claim that they use the latest technology, but it’s not enough. Most marathons in India today use timing bib. But beyond that there should be a mobile app which will provide all the necessary information to the athletes. Most of the marathon events in the country have their own android apps to help the participants. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com

GCPL start with a bang

Indo Tech Warriors take on Suvir Riders in junior final; 8 Bazigers and Kasturi Tridents enter quarterfinals TGS News Service @TGSWeekly PUNE: The Garden City Premier League Cricket (GCLC) tournament started with a bang on Saturday (Dec 6). The enthusiasm of all residents, sponsors and team players was at its peak. The opening ceremony started with a welcome of the team owners along with their captains and players who walked down the red carpet on to the stage with their team songs playing in the background. The sponsors were greeted with some lively dance and song performances by Aditya Garden City kids.

This was followed by a scintillating fireworks display.

The arena was jam packed with all sports enthusiasts to witness the exhibition match for senior citizens, which ended in a nail biting super over finish.

In the senior’s category, 8 Bazigers and Kasturi Tridents owned by Hemant Chhatre and Mrs. Latkar respectively qualified for the quarterfinals from Group A. 8 Bazigers topped

the table with four points. First they defeated Kasturi Trident by seven wickets, thanks to heroic performance by Abhinav Katkam. Later, they scripted a three-wicket win over Warje Warriors.

Ajay Ramgol was adjudged as the man of the match. Kasturi Trident pulled out a 25-run win over Warje Warriors to book their place in the last eight.

Meanwhile, in the junior’s section, Indo Tech Warriors will take on Suvir Riders in the final on December 14. Indo Tech Warriors, guided by Kushal Naik scripted a narrow onerun victory over Indus Warriors in their first match. Later they defeated Sachin Dodke Yuva Manch by 10 runs. Chaitnya and Ruturaj were the key players for the winning team in these two matches.

On the other hand, Rohit Mangrule led Suvir Riders to a 15-run win over Tohid Dhadakebaz.

Rohit once again played a major role for the team in their one-run win over My Friend Ganesha.

The remaining matches in the seniors and women’s category will be played on December 13-

14 at Aditya Garden City, Warje.

Results: (senior) Indus Warriors (57) bt Indo Tech Warriors (44) by 13 runs; MoM - Yogesh Godbole; 8 Bazigars (27) bt Kasturi Trident (26) by seven wickets; MoM - Abhinav Katkam, Mrugesh Laser Lions (37) bt Investa Challengers (26) by 11 runs; MoM - Mrugesh Lanjekar, Pouncing ProFive Peshwas (24) bt Sachin Dodke Yuva Manch (23) by two wickets; MoM - Narahari Raidurg, Kasturi Trident (45) bt Warje Warriors (20) by 25 runs, MoM – Nagesh, Indus Warriors (94) bt AVI’s Achiever (30) by 64 runs; MoM Preshit Bagade, Investa Challengers (28) bt PGS Warriors (23) by one wicket; MoM – Samadhan, Jawk Tigers (42) bt Pouncing ProFive Peshwas (41) by four wickets; MoM - Harshad Raje, 8 Bazigars (33) bt Warje Warriors (28), MoM - Ajay Ramgol.

(Junior) Indo Tech Warriors (14) bt Indus Warriors by one run, MoM – Chaitanya, Suvir Riders (31) bt Tohid Dhadakebaz (16) by 15 runs; MoM - Rohit Mangrule, Indo Tech Warriors (25) bt Sachin Dodke Yuva Manch (15) by 10 runs; MoM – Ruturaj, Suvir Riders (19) bt My Friend Ganesha (18) by one run, MoM - Rohit Mangrule, Tohid Dhadakebaz (21) bt My Friend Ganesha (20) by five wickets; MoM – Yash.

PFC kick off campaign against Mumbai FC today TGS News Service @TGSWeekly PUNE: Pune FC will open their Under-19 I-League campaign against arch rivals Mumbai FC at the Pune FC training pitches in Mamurdi today. With the competition following a similar format like the previous edition, two-time former champions Pune FC have been placed in the

Maharashtra zone along with local side DSK Shivajians and Mumbai’s Kenkre FC, PIFA Colaba FC along with Mumbai FC. It will be the fifth tournament of the season for Pune FC and having played in four different all-India open tournaments since the start of the season, the youngsters will be confident ahead of the opener on Saturday.

Before the competition gets underway, Coach

Naushad Moosa said, “We played a total of four all-India open tournaments in and outside Pune where we came up against stronger and bigger opponents. As a Coach, it helped me analyse our weaknesses and strengths which helps us a lot ahead of the U19 I-League.”

The zonal rounds will be played in a homeand-away format with top-two teams qualifying for the final round.

Goveas, Plipuech lift ITF junior tennis titles TGS News Service @TGSWeekly PUNE: India’s Aryan Goveas and Thailand’s Plobrung Plipuech lifted the boys’ and the girls’ singles titles at the Gadre-MSLTA ITF Junior Tennis Championships at Shiv Chhatrapati sports complex in Balewadi recently.

In the boys final, fifth seed Goveas toppled top seed Jay Clarke of Great Britain 7-6(6), 6-3 in an hour and 45 minutes, while second seed Plipuech defeated compatriot Tamachan Momkoonthod 7-5, 6-4 to lift the girls title.

Goveas served six aces in the match and broke the Briton in the second game of the second set after winning the first set in the tie break. Goveas played brilliantly from the baseline hitting a series of winners at the hard serving Clarke.

It was the second win a row for the Mumbai-based Goveas, whose ranking will move into around 180 in the world. It was a bad day for Clarke as he along with his Syrian doubles partner Kareem Allaff also went down 6-2,6-3 to the Indian pair of Vashisht Cheruku and Sahil Deshmukh.

In the girls’ singles final, Plipuech broke her rival in the 12th game of the first set and the ninth game of the second set to win against top seed Momkoonthod 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 47 minutes.

The girls’ doubles final was won by Huang HsiangWei of Chinese Taipei and Zeel Desai of India, who edged out the pair of Briton Georgina Axon and India’s Vasanti Shinde 6-3, 6-3 (10-6).

Results (Boys): Singles: Aryan Goveas (Ind,5) bt Jay Clarke (GBR,1) 7-6(6), 6-3.

Doubles: Vasisht Cheruku/Sahil Deshmukh (Ind) bt Jay Clarke (GBR) / Kareem Allaf (SYR) 6-2, 6-3.

Girls: Singles: Plobrung Plipuch (THA,2) bt Tamachan Momkoonthod (THA,1) 7-5, 6-4.

Doubles: Huang Hsiang-Wei (TPE)/Zeel Desai (Ind) bt Georgina Axon (GBR)/Vasanti Shinde (Ind) 6-3, 6-3(10-6).