First Things First

PAGES: 16+16 (TGS LIFE) | PRICE: `5
PUNE, AUGUST 15, 2014 | www.goldensparrow.com
Team TGS wishes its readers a Happy Independence Day
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
First
Things
First
What does being responsible
to the nation mean to you?
We can do something for our country
only when we first strengthen
ourselves within. Change without
follows change within.
See Spotlight, p13
Determined to bring about a change in the country, the youth of today, are prepared to carry forward the baton of a brighter
tomorrow with enthusiasm and fervour.
Helpline launch to
mark 1st Dabholkar
death anniversary
Modi not to address
US Congress
TGS NEWS SERVICE
The Maharashtra Andhashrddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) will launch a
24x7 helpline to reach out to citizens
and victims of various superstitions,
cheating, mental depression and those
needing urgent assistance, on August
20, 2014, the fi rst death anniversary
of the Samiti’s founder Dr Narendra
Dabholkar.
Speaking to The Golden Sparrow on
Saturday, MANS state executive president Avinash Patil said the helpline
(cellphone number) will be released on
that day. Cases of cheating, superstitious practices, black magic remedies
will be addressed on the helpline.
Since MANS volunteers are also
equipped to deal with mental depression, such issues would also be addressed. Wherever necessary, police
complaints would be fi led, he said.
Contd on p 10
BY ARUN KUMAR
WA S H I N G TON:
Prime
minister Narendra Modi will
not be addressing
the US Congress
when he comes
calling September
end for a summit
with
President
Narendra Modi
Barack Obama.
W i t h
lawmakers keen to get away from
Washington ahead of the November
Congressional
elections,
the
Republican Speaker of the US House
of Representatives, John Boehner has
sent a ‘welcome but’ invitation to Modi.
In a July 30 letter, Boehner told
Modi that he was writing to him “for
the purpose of making you aware of
the interest that exists in the US House
of Representatives in inviting you to
address a Joint Meeting of Congress at
some future date.”
“If not for the unpredictability of
the House schedule in late September
of this year, an invitation for you to
address a Joint Meeting during your
upcoming trip to the United States
would have been extended,” he wrote.
“I would be very interested in
exploring with you the possibility of a
visit to the United States Capitol and an
address to a Joint Meeting of Congress
should your travels bring you back to
our country in the months and years
ahead,” Boehner added.
The last two Indian prime
ministers, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and
Manmohan Singh, both addressed
a joint session of the two chambers,
viewed as the highest honour Congress
can bestow on a foreign head of state.
Contd on p 10
Kabaddi revival spells
hope for Pravin Newale
The 31-year-old international player had given up on the game four years ago
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
BY ASHISH PHADNIS
@phadnis_ashish
PUNE: Kabaddi is truly among the national games of India as
are kho-kho and wrestling. The accomplished players have been
mostly confined to village akhadas, who never dreamt that this
game would one day bring money, glamour and fame their way.
With the launch of Pro Kabaddi league, this traditional
game has overnight shot into the limelight. Call it a modern
makeover with level-ground, matted indoor stadiums and bright
lights. The new found revival has also attracted veteran Pravin
Newale, who had given up the game four years ago.
The 31-year-old international player had quit the game, after
failing to make it to the Indian squad for the Asian Games in
2010. But, thanks to the league, this player is back in action with
Puneri Paltan.
Though, the team’s performance has lacked finesse and
grit, Newale has impressed spectators with his acrobatic moves
and swift raids. His skills have caught the eye of the technical
committee and he has even claimed the man of the match
honours. He has even gained popularity on the social media,
and fans have dedicated a Facebook page to him.
Contd on p 10
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY
AUGUST 15, 2014
Enabling disabled
children to sit
on their own
P 11
PUNE
At whatever level we are at we are
changing the balance of power in
favor of the poor and women. One
step is enough. Step by step.
– Ela Bhat, social reformer
PMC mops up
`32 cr from illegal
constructions
P5
Celebrating Ganeshotsav, the positive way
Pune’s foremost Ganapati mandal, the
Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati
Trust, has been playing a valuable role
in promoting eco-friendly celebrations
during the annual Ganeshotsav festivities.
The trust has also been undertaking
various social initiatives financed by
the offerings in cash and kind made by
the devout to the city’s most popular
Dagdusheth Ganapati.
It was 28 years ago that the trust
organised a competition among the
various Ganapati mandals in the city to
select the best themes and decorations of
the year. Some years ago, it initiated the
eco-friendly Ganeshotsav competition
among housing societies in the city.
Every year, the trust give away prizes
to housing societies who celebrate the
festival in the best eco-friendly manner
during the preceding year. The top prizes
this year went to Subhashnagar Housing
Society at Sadashiv Peth, Vanaz Pariwar
from Paud Road area and Gulmohar
Housing Society at Dhankawdi. The
three societies were awarded `10,000
each. Nine other societies were also
given prizes under other categories at a
function presided over by Pune police
commissioner Satish Mathur recently.
The Trust’s treasurer Mahesh
Suryawanshi said that the idol of
Dagdusheth Ganapati during the
festival is made from eco-friendly clay
called ‘Shadumati’. Given the negative
trends that had been influencing this
festival in the past, the Trust’s founder
president Tatyasaheb Godse and his
colleague discussed the issue with
eminent citizens and decided to follow
certain norms.
They also decided to stage a
competition among mandals. The ecofriendly Ganeshotsav contest is one such
initiative that was proposed by the late
superstition eradication crusader Dr
The beginning...
The celebrations associated with Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati has
a rich history of 122 years. In 1893, Dagdusheth Halwai, a sweetmart
vendor, installed an idol of Ganesha (Bahulichya Haudacha Ganapati)
and started celebrating the festival. After two years, Dagdusheth handed
over the responsibility of holding the festival to a panel. Late Pratap
Baburao Godse, popularly known as Tatyasaheb, founded the Shrimant
Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Trust in 1968 by installing a new idol of clay
and was the president of the trust for over 40 years. In 1984, Yatyasaheb
Godase built a small temple for the idol near Faraskhana police station
and the temple became a famous spot for devotees. Tatyasaheb
launched many philanthropic works from temple offerings. The Trust
holds many cultural events and is involved in social service, like running
free ambulance service in Pune city, night schools and distributing school
uniforms and educational materials for needy children, constructing
orphanages and old age homes besides opening an ITI for rural youth
in Kondhwa. The temple trust’s Gyanvardhan Abhiyan covers the
educational responsibility of 500 children and takes care of patients
admitted to Sasoon hospital.
Pune police commissioner Satish Mathur (centre) felicitated the women members of Hind Tarun Mandal of Main Street in Camp
for coming first in a competition organised by Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Trust during the Ganeshotsav in 2013. Pune
mayor Chanchala Kodre also attended the function held at Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch on Tuesday
Narendra Dabholkar. This contest is
open to housing societies from Pune and
Pimpri-Chinchwad, Suryawanshi said.
The contest carries a total of Rs 1.30
lakh in prizes and the basic criterion is
to hold the festival in an eco-friendly
manner. Strict adherence to the rules
laid down by the civic body are taken
into account, such as segregation of wet
and dry garbage, rainwater harvesting,
use of solar system and installation of a
satisfactory security arrangement.
Suryawanshi said that the social
initiative has been accepted by about
150 housing societies in and around
Pune city and over 100 in the PimpriChinchwad area in the past four years.
Spreading social message
Prakalpa Society at Kothrud has
installed a solar power lighting system
from the funds collected during the
Ganeshotsav in the past three years.
Society, Suvarna Nagari, Manasi
Apartment and Shri Ram Society
have installed solid waste management
systems that are maintained by residents.
[email protected]
The Trust has been providing food to 1,200 patients of Sassoon
Hospital since September 2013. It also provides free ambulance
service to patients. The trust has spent `4 crore to renovate the
women and children’s wards, and operation theatres. It is also
providing free medical treatment to the underprivileged at the
hospital. Maharashtra is the first state in the country to have a
private trust supporting a government hospital in such a large
scale. Financial support was provided by the trust for cleaning
of the dam reservoir at Pingory in Purandar taluka in May 2013. It
also funds for the e-learning facility for schools in villages, holds
farmer training camps, projects promoting plantations on hill
top/hill slopes near dam backwaters. The trust plans to promote
agri tourism and generate employment in Pingory village.
If one had just two adjectives to best
describe Anjali Tara Babanrao Pawar,
they would have to be spunky and
assiduous. Forthright, a fighter and
‘someone with soul’ would be the other
words that exemplify the woman who has
made it her life’s mission to fight injustice.
As a young and
spirited
student
of
social work, Pawar was
quick to recognise that
she couldn’t bear to see
injustice around her.
She grew up seeing
her father fight for the
farmers’ rights.
Today, she primarily
works in the field of
child sexual abuse (CSA)
and child trafficking.
Both are interlinked to
a large extent. Having
uncovered the horrors of
child trafficking through
adoption centres, she
is working relentlessly to expose those
involved in these heinous crimes since the
time she took the mission eight years ago.
“Adoption has been an age-old
concept and people used to adopt children
from their own families in the olden
days. But children are sold nowadays
under the guise of ‘child protection’
by changing their name, identity and
nationality,” she said.
Pawar started the NGO Against
Child Trafficking (ACT) in 2008 with
a Bulgarian national and an adopted
Indian, and has helped 34 children
reunite with their biological parents in the
past six years.
ACT has found that in international
adoption, most children are either stolen
or kidnapped. “Children are commodities.
They have a price tag.
There is a demand from
Europe, the US and
Australia, and people
in India are ready to sell
them. Indian children
are sold for a whopping
5,000 USD and adoption
centres across India are
involved,” she said.
She recounts the
horror tale of an elderly
woman in Satara whose
two
grand-daughters
were kidnapped. The
police refused to register a case and eventually
Pawar found that they
have been sent to Madrid, Spain by an
adoption centre.
“The names and identities of
the girls have been changed and the
adoptive parents are refusing to cooperate to return them. The police
personnel have told the grandmother that
they (the girls) are in a better place. ‘Why
do you want them back? You are after
Pawar
believes that
international
adoption
should be
the last
resort for
children
Giving kids home, happiness, hope
From five children in 2005, Nachiket Balgram provides shelter to over 100 today
ARCHANA DAHIWAL
@ArchanaDahiwal
Anjali Tara Babanrao Pawar has helped 34
children reunite with their biological parents
BY RITU GOYAL HARISH
@ritugh
According to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the city’s Lohegaon
airport sees an average of 9,200 passengers every day. As the crowded
airport does not have an ambulance facility, the officials asked the
Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Trust for providing the service. A proposal
was forwarded to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). AAI approved the
proposal and the temple trust started the 24x7 free ambulance service
from July 2014.
The Trust’s initiatives
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
A strong voice
against
adoption rackets
Ganga Dham Co-op Housing Society
at Market Yard is planning to install
a rainwater harvesting system. The
residents of Sarita Vihar Society use
the water supplied by Pune Municipal
Corporation (PMC) only for drinking
and has a borewell for other purposes.
The members of Daisy Daffodil Housing
Society on Sinhagad Road belong to
different states following different
religious traditions, but celebrate the
festivals together. They also collect
foodgrains every month and donate it to
NGOs working for orphanages and the
underprivileged.
The Natraj Co-op Housing Society
on Sinhagad Road is providing special
assistance to the elders and lonely people.
Many prize-winning societies
like Subhashnagar Colony, Vanaz
Pariwar, Gulmohar Society, Shri
Sadashiv Society, Pandurang Colony,
Nrisihsaraswati Society, Vidya Sagar
24x7 free ambulance service at airport
all just a vegetable vendor’ they ask her,”
Pawar said.
“If I steal your phone, I will be caught.
But if I steal your child, no one can catch
me or even find your child,” Pawar said.
Pawar believes that international
adoption should be the last resort
and children should be given quality
institutional care in their own country.
“The Indian government must be
punished for abandoning these children.
Many of them suffer grievous sexual abuse
at the hands of the adoptive father, brothers
and relatives,” she said pointing to a case
from Ambernath where the girl, now 30
years old, is grappling deep psychological
scars due to the abuse she faced. With
India having no treaty with most countries,
children once adopted cannot be returned
to their biological parents.
“Children’s issues don’t get any
attention even internationally,” she said
questioning the logic of women and child
development minister Maneka Gandhi
stating that international adoptions
must go up.
In exposing the murkier side of child
adoption, Pawar has been attacked,
beaten and assaulted. Her mother wants
her to be safe because ‘only if you’re alive
you can do good work’.
But Pawar is unfazed. “I can’t see
injustice,” she said.
Yes, ‘fearless’ is the adjective we forgot
to mention at the beginning to describe her.
[email protected]
Giving deprived children hope
and changing this world, is what
underlines
Nachiket
Balgram’s
mission. The orphanage near Akurdi
railway station is home to 100
destitute children.
The Balgram provides a homelike environment to children till they
turn 18.
Rahul Smruti Manav Seva
Pratishthan started the orphanage with five children, including
four found at Daund railway station, in 2001. The Trust’s founder
president is 75-year-old Bhagchandra Bramhecha, a scientist who was
working with National Chemical
Laboratory (NCL).
Bramhecha is fondly called
‘Bapuji’ by the 100 children in the
age group of 3-5 years who now stay
at the Balgram’s three branches at
Akurdi, Kamshet and Kolhapur.
“We want every child to
become independent and confident.
Our focus is on character
building. As they are young, we
have to nurture them tenderly with
love and affection. They are our
future,” he said.
Regarding
their
education,
Bramhecha said, “About 25 boys
and girls are leading a decent life
after completing education from
our centre. One student is doing
a master’s degree in social work
after getting a distinction in MA
Sociology and is also working with
a reputed fi rm. Another student
completed
his
graduation
in
psychology. These grown-ups are
role models for the younger ones
in Nachiket. The girls are given
technical vocational courses.”
He said that these initiatives are
a small step towards changing the
society.
The children at the centre include
those who have lost their parents
in the Mandhar Devi stampede in
five energy levels (Panch kosh) and
2005 and sons and daughters of jail
comprises yoga, gymnastic exercises,
inmates.
meditation, Surya Namaskar and
The orphanage
prayers,”
Bramhecha
is managed by six
said.
women,
including
The trust invites
a house mother,
professionals
for
three managers and
teaching various arts,
supervisory
staff.
vocational training and
They live with the
spiritual guidance. The
children.
Social
girls are given selforganisations
and
defense training. A cow
personalities extend
shed at the Balgram
assistance to the
helps teach children
Balgram.
how to take care of
The
Balgram
animals and for dairy
had adopted a valuerequirements.
based primary school - BHAGCHANDRA BRAMHECHA
Corporates
and
concept.
well-wishers
extend
“The day begins
assistance to Nachiket
from 5 am and 10 pm is bedtime. Each
Balgram, which plans to build an
hour is programmed and monitored.
orphanage and an old age home
The daily routine is based on the
under one roof.
ancient concept of development of
[email protected]
“As they
are young,
we have
to nurture
them with
love and
affection.”
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
BY ASHOK BHAT
@ashok_bhat
RAHUL RAUT
Housing societies that follow eco-friendly norms during the festival have been winning prizes in the contest started by Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Trust 28 years ago
Bhagchandra Bramhecha (centre) is fondly called ‘Bapuji’ by the children staying
at the Balgram
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY
AUGUST 15, 2014
Ekla Chalo
Re… Walk
alone
P8
Signposts
Bhupen Hazarika
Award 2014
Eco-friendly Ganesha
workshop
Muktangan Exploratory Science Centre is holding an eco-friendly Ganesha workshop at the Senapati Bapat
Road branch at 3 pm on August 16.
This workshop will highlight why
one should use ‘Shadu’ and where it
comes from. Participants will be educated on why the idol should not be
immersed in water. It is open for students of Class V and above and will
cost `450 which will include material
and method of teaching. For information call at 25677962/ 25677645.
Students tie rakhis
to soldiers
The students of Class II of Sadhu
Vaswani International School (Pradhikaran, Pimpri) went to the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Khadki to
tie rakhis to the war injured soldiers
and war veterans. With their little
hands, they also gave coconut sweets
(karanji) to them. Col R K Mukherjee, head of the Rehab Centre, said,
“These soldiers don’t need sympathy
for their injuries.
They are proud that they did
something for the nation.” Principal of
Sadhu Vaswani International School,
Aarti Patil said, “Even though our kids
are small, I am sure when they grow
up, they will remember this visit and
will also realise the importance of
these soldier.” Dada JP Vaswani, who
is recovering from illness, expressed
his happiness about the kid’s gesture
and said, “Their words are simple and
flow out of the hearts which know no
manipulations.”
Parsi population is growing in
the city, says Panchayat
Parsis enjoy a quiet life, they love their culture and are striving to keep it alive
BY PRACHI BARI
@prachibari
Parsi Panchayats push for resurgence
The Parsi Panchayat in Mumbai as well as Pune are also
Pune has seen a considerably rise in the
now pushing for Parsi resurgence of going back to the
number of Parsis in the last five years.
roots. The Parsi Community is now split in Mumbai with
The number of Parsis in Pune has crossed
Orthodox Parsis and the unconventional ones who have
the 10,000 mark and the Poona Parsee
married out of the community. The orthodox Parsis
Panchayat is expecting more people to
are now pushing for an exclusive world view that a
migrate here.
Parsee should marry within the community and follow
Yezdi Mehta recalls Pune been the
the tradition. The committee members are making a
place for him right since he was 7 years
conscious attempt to indoctrinate the youth by holding
old. “My parents came from a small
get – togethers and facilitating the community.
village near Surat where there was no
But the Poona Parsi Panchayat official states that they
proper education and Pune was the only
have always been advocating the Parsi community to
place he knew that offered a boarding
marry within the community and has also been holding
school in JN Petit school, thus I only
classes for teaching the young about their religion.
know Pune as my place where I belong.
“We also take care of our community by giving them
There have been vast changes in the Pune
facilities like housing blocks. We provide education
then and now but this is the city which
loans to deserving students and also help the senior
educated me and also where I found my
citizens with medical loans but it is not enough.
wife, who is also a Parsi,” he said.
Although we have housing of 232 flats, we still need
“Parsis lead a very quiet life. We
more housing blocks and hoping to build more. We also
are a community who enjoys living life,
run a hostel for students (boys) in camp and also give
eating and being happy. We are a very
out a monthly dole for the poor in our community. But
minuscule community which keeps to
what we need is a old age home to provide for the many
its own and we don’t like to interfere
single senior citizens as well if we could build a hospital
much,” states Nilufer Mehta, his wife.
or have a tie-up with one¸ it would help the growing
They were at the oldest Agiary in Rasta
number of Parsees making Pune their residence,” stated
Peth, Sardar Sorabjee Ratanjee Patel
an official.
Parsi families in the city are all set to to celebrate their New Year, Pateti . (From left) Er. Jimmy Udwadia,
Daremaher, which is 167 years old. The
Er. Kekiratansha Kotwal, Nilufer Kotwal and Kashmira Bhadha
family observes the ‘Muktad’ which lasts
for 10 days.
“Muktad are the ruvans or souls
priest of the Agairy.
brown gravy). Then in the evening, the
For Kotwal, it was retirement and
Pune. It is close to Mumbai and many
of the departed visit the Earth. It is
The 10th day, the Muktad which
community also stages a play which is
being close to his grandchildren that
Parsis from railway families have found
considered the duty of their living kin
means Pateti, is also a day of repentance,
followed by a lavish dinner. We Parsis
made him leave Navsari and come to
Pune to be the right city to live in.
to welcome and honour them
it’s the day which changes every
love our food, and love to eat and be
Pune and he is happy about his decision.
Doctor said that many Parsi women
by the observance of various
four years, after which is our
happy,” explains Mehta.
Kashmira Badha shifted to Pune
are far more independent than the
ceremonies. Each departed
New Year. Many people
“Did you know that there are three
from Mumbai to take care of her ailing
conventional societies. “Parsis are not
soul has his/her individual
wrongly wish us Pateti
more Agiarys in Pune? asks Er. Jimmy
parents in 1996. “It was a choice that
quite programmed to follow the rite of
vase, which may be a
Mubarak which is
M Udwadia, adding “but we are the
I made and never regretted it. We are
passage of a job and marriage. Besides
simple copper one or an
wrong,” he explains.
oldest Agairy followed by Jamshetji
still following our customs and religious
we are very minuscule community and
elaborately carved silver
In a typical Parsi
Jeejibhoy Agairy opposite JJ Garden,
prayers here. We hold get-togethers and
finding the right person, equally well
Parsi New Year,
one. Families book tables
household, there is a
Kadmin Shahenshahi Anjuman Agairy
visit family and friends just the way we
educated as a way bit difficult. Parsi
Pateti
is
on
at their respective Fire
rangoli in the courtyard
which is on Sachapir street and The Petit
used to in Mumbai. Here we have three
women are seen to be more enterprising
Aug
18
Temples, where these vases
or walkway, toran at the
Dadgha at the Petit school.”
Parsi colonies, namely Adheshir Baug,
but now days a lot of youth of both sexes
are kept, filled with fresh well
entrance, flowers and diva
Udwadia feels that Pune has a centre
Nana Path Parsi Colony and Lullanagar
are doing well be it art, music, and not
water that is changed daily. For,
inside the house. “We then go to
charmand so many Parsis have settled
Parsi Colony.”
really following the conventional job
it is in this water that the souls reside
the fire temple to pray and then settle for
down here. “Most of them are from
Hutokshi Doctor shifted from
set up of holding a government jobs or
during their ten-day earthly sojourn,”
a good lunch of yellow daal and white
Gujarat and Mumbai and Pune offered
Mumbai to Pune some years ago. She
banking jobs,” she said.
explained Er. Kekiratansha Kotwal,
rice with fish or prawns Pattiya (a thick
a good living space for many.”
too came to look after her parents in
[email protected]
A new gem from Audi’s stable
The luxury car manufacturer launches compact, sporty and progressive Audi A3 Sedan
Leading luxury car manufacturer Audi
has launched its A3 Sedan, the first
compact luxury sedan to be introduced
in India, on Tuesday. Adjudged the
World Car of the Year 2014, the Audi
A3 Sedan is packaged into a youthful
design, visionary technology and
luxurious performance. Setting a new
benchmarks in the compact luxury
“Janawani’s initiative of getting people together for
a voluntary forum for Pune is noteworthy. It has
truly become the voice of the people with a sense of
responsibility and long term commitment.”
- Kiran Kalamdani, architect
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
The prestigious Bhupen Hajarika
Award, presented by Sarhad, will be
awarded to Samudra Gupta Kashyap in Pune. The award is given to a
person from the North East who has
rendered an outstanding work at the
national and the international level
since 2012. The award consists of
`51,000, a memento and a certificate.
Budding
scientists
display their skills
at science expo
P7
car segment, the vehicle is priced at
`23,95,000 (ex-showroom Pune).
“In line with our customer-centric
approach, we decided to launch the
sedan version of the Audi A3 which
is a segment up from the compact
luxury hatchback.
Sporty, stylish
and path-breaking, the Audi A3
Sedan showcases Audi’s ‘Vorsprung
durch Technik (advancement through
technology)’ in every single aspect,
especially in the areas of design,
ultra-lightweight technology, efficient
drivetrains, high-end multimedia
and infotainment systems. We are
confident that the Audi A3 Sedan is
the right product at the right time and
will set new benchmarks,” said Audi
India head Joe King. 2014 has been
a year of many firsts for Audi. Audi
India completed their best-ever annual
sales (10,002) and financial-year sales
(10,126).
Audi began the year with the
introduction of the most powerful Audi
model from its product range - Audi
RS 7 Sportback. Audi also introduced
the new Audi A8 L in May 2014.
Audi also inaugurated the country’s
largest
pre-owned
luxury
car
showroom, ‘Audi Approved: plus’ in
Gurgaon in April. Audi India plans to
expand its network to 40 dealerships by
the end of 2014.
Kapil Pashankar and Pooja Chopra at the launch of Audi A3 Sedan in the city on Tuesday
Letters to the Editor
TGS is
interactive
đƫ !00!./ƫ0+ƫ0$!ƫ %0+.Čƫ
email: editor_tgs@
goldensparrow.com;
[email protected]
by post: The Editor, The
Golden Sparrow on Saturday,
16411 Madhav Heritage, Tilak
Road, Pune-411030, (Best
letter gets a weekly prize)
đƫ .0%(!/ƫ"+.ƫ0$!ƫ!(0%+*/$%,/ƫ
page relationships@
goldensparrow.com,
[email protected]
đƫ $!ƫ5ƫ+.3. ƫ3%0$ƫ
compassion & hope
wayforward@
goldensparrow.com
đƫ *0ƫ0+ƫ!+)!ƫ*ƫ
entrepreneur? For mentoring
advice, write to our associates:
[email protected]
đƫ !0ƫ3!!'(5ƫ!2!*0/ƫ(%/0! čƫ
[email protected]
[email protected]
Education must drive growth and innovation
y Friday.
The initiative by the corporate sector to
directly reach out to rural India needs
to be appreciated. This connect is about
setting the individual free and making
the nation head into the future.
The education system may look
compact but we are seeing more
and more wastage of student hours.
The book-based system is producing
graduates like a conveyor belt system
but many of them simply lack in basic
skills. Education is wasted if one just
gains knowledge but still lacks the basic
skills to use the same. School students
are getting very high percentages but
then find the going tough at higher
levels. By giving students the chance
to develop skills at a young age, we are
setting a trend that will liberate the
socio-economic divide. We have many
engineering students but innovative
progress is lacking. Countries like
China and Japan encourage the
thinking mind that is innovative.
A lot of brilliant minds in India get
wasted because they get trapped in an
education of rote learning.
Teachers and the industry have
to come together to create a world of
constructive education. The ability to
think and analyze should be encouraged
.We are now heading into a new zone of
technical expertise.
If our minds can migrate outside
India and do well then we seriously need
to do a rethink. We need to hold back
our best minds to create an India that
can actually think on its own and not just
ape already established concepts. True
independence is when the freedom is
used and the liberty of a thinking mind
is encouraged.
- PKV Chirukandan
(Gets prize for best letter)
Rakhi celebrations
The idea of a single girl child tying a
rakhi to her mother/sister is interesting
given the changes happening all round
in Indian society (As India changes,
so does Rakshabandhan, TGS, Aug.
9). At the same time such children can
experience the love of a brother by tying
rakhi to children in an orphanage or in
the neighbourhood. For instance I have a
g
nment
ntly
blitzkrieg, with on an image-building
the idea for
the publicity
p ,
was
and will maintain the number one
state
its numero
if we are voted
back to power.” uno status
Contd on p
10
As India ch
an
Rakshaband ges, so does
han
RAHUL RAUT
Our newspaper is interactive and
you are welcome to write in to
our various segments:
PUNE
Today siste
rs
and sing
le
children
hav
found way e
enjoy the s to
festival
“Disha was
three when
up to me
she walked
and asked,
‘Di,
we have a
Disha Deshmuk
brother? Everyonwhy don’t
h has been
playschool
tying rakhi
e in her
had
to her sister
on Rakshab shared their celebrati
Durva (left)
ons
andan and
for the last
BY ANJAL
five years
she was feeling
left out. Th
I SHETT
at is when
I said, ‘I am
to protect
@shetty_anjali Y
those many
here
you and am
Disha Deshmu
siblings who
no less than
kh, a standard
about not having
do not fret brother.’ So, since
can’t wait
a
V student
that year
a brother.
for
been religious
ties a rakhi
she has
the day when Sunday, August 10.
ly tying me
to her elder She instead Durva,
It is Tradition
a rakhi,” said
she
a
sister
will
third
put on her
dress, make-up
Durva.
ally, Rakshab
year
new
andan is a
What Disha BCom student.
and most
receive a gift
festival
importantly, that celebrates the love
of her
and bond between festival is that loves most about this
brothers and
“DurvaThis Rakshab choice.
sisters. But
gift of my
di gets
today
changed
andan, Disha
is among found as sisters and single things have birthday choice. I mean it’s me a
not
children have
or a special
novel ways
occasion but my
to celebrate
get to unwrap
I still
the festival.
a gift.”
Contd on p
10
son but no daughter
and I formally adopted a daughter out
of mutual affection, without any legal
proceedings. This father-daughter
relationship which started sometime in
1996 still continues although she is in
Mumbai
- C V Narayanan
We must develop a
scientific temperament
The Goden Sparrow on Saturday
(Aug 9) deserves lavish compliments
on carrying Science Vs Superstition
debate in its latest issue. We all need to
develop a scientific temperament and
an urge to see things beyond the veneer
of ostensible appearance, blind faith,
religion, god (primitive minds’ biggest
concoction) and all that supernatural
jazz. Most of us are morbidly irrational
and superstitious to the core. We believe
in blatant religious balderdash and are
deeply fearful of hither-to unexplained
phenomena.
Even a scientific organisation
like ISRO (Indian Space Research
Organisation) unfailingly breaks a
coconut and performs a grand pooja
prior to every space expedition. This
underlines the deep-seated irrationality
of even our top-notch space scientists.
If they’re so gullible, it stands to
reason that the masses will be even more
credulous. I’m not at all surprised to read
Dr Vijay Bhatkar’s nebulous ideas about
seances, Ouija boards and other such
obscure things we’re all so inextricably
bound up with.
We’re dove-tailed to superstitions
and shibboleths. When ‘forwardthinking’ newspapers (even yours) carry
regular astro-columns and tarrot-card
readings, how can we expect to develop
a clear and scientific thinking that
has no room for all this garbage? In a
nutshell, our society is still steeped in
obscurantism and is saddled with all
sorts of unfounded beliefs. This is indeed
alarming and needs severe jolts to come
out of its superstitious slumber.
— Sumit Paul
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
AUGUST 15, 2014
When love
is tested on
the web...
P8
How the 30:10 rule could
help you manage your
personal finance better
P 14
Twitter is available in more than
25 languages, including right-toleft languages like Arabic, Farsi,
Hebrew and Urdu
City Blogger Of The Week
TECH GURU
For the love of food & everything gastronomic
BY SORAB GHASWALLA
This is an interactive column. Like today, every
week, we will be replying to technology and
internet related queries sent in by readers. You
may email your questions with the subject line
‘Tech Guru query’ to [email protected]
Blogger Sahil Khan speaks to Ishani Bose about his love for food and his app and blog dishoomit
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
TGS NEWS SERVICE
@ishani_bose
If you’re a food connoisseur, then Sahil Khan
is a name you must have come across. Having run the online food magazine called The
Tossed Salad for nearly five years, Khan is
quite an established name in Pune’s food circuit.
Last November he co-founded a restaurant
search and rating application called dishoomit,
with Hrishikesh Rajpathak, that continues to enable
him to write about his favourite topic--food, on blog.
dishoomit.com.
“All through my schooling years in Saudi, followed by junior college days in Lucknow, I was used
to eating simple yet delicious home- made food. It
was only after I moved to Pune that I started missing
that food and was on the lookout for places which
were affordable and served quality. Around that time
I also started getting a lot of queries from friends
regarding interesting places to dine. I had written a
lot of food reviews during the Th e Tossed Salad days,
but the information wasn’t structured properly to go
back and refer them. That’s when the need to have an
application like dishoomit was felt,” Sahil said.
While the application, allows one to search for
the restaurant that serves, say for instance biryani,
and rate it as well, his blog consists of food reviews,
chef ’s interviews and other food-related news that
complement the idea behind the app. “I can express
myself best with food. I had always wanted to run
my own magazine since college days. Though I never
got a chance to do that in those days, I fulfi lled my
dream through Th e Tossed Salad for five years. As I
travelled along the years from one place to another, my understanding of food evolved. And being a
foodie at heart, if there was anything I could write
confidently about, it was about food. Perhaps that
is why, even after the closure of The Tossed Salad, I
continued to write about the topic that is close to my
heart, in my blog,” he said.
As the app is still in its nascent stage, Sahil and
his partner are not earning any remuneration out
of it. However, this does not deter them from continuing with their pursuit of making food related
information available to the patrons. “As the app is
still in its initial stage, we haven’t started earning
anything out of it. But that is not going to affect
me. I write about food because I’m passionate about
it. That’s something I did even when I used to write
for Th e Tossed Salad. I did not earn anything out of
it for five years. I had volunteers writing for me too
but I couldn’t pay them anything,” he said. Over the
years, Sahil has been earning a living by being a freelance designer.
Sahil and his partner are planning to expand
dishoomit’s business and operations to Mumbai as
well. “Mumbai has a great food and lifestlyle market. We are looking to tap into that soon,” he said
before signing off.
[email protected]
Social media to ensure consumer rights
Posting a consumer complaint or endorsing a product on social media can generate impact, says Ishani Bose
TGS NEWS SERVICE
@ishani_bose
Social media has changed the communication dynamics between corporations
and consumers. Communication today
between customers and companies about reviews, complaints, compliments
or a company’s social or environmental record – is often animated, emotional, and
highly visible.
The frustrating phone calls to company call centres can be bypassed by prompt
and precise posts on social platforms such
as Facebook and Twitter. The high visibility of these online posts- especially if
they are complaints- often compel companies to give quick responses and address
consumer grievances.
The manner in which international
passenger and businessman Hasan Syed
used Twitter and forced British Airways
to apologise and make amends for his
father’s lost luggage, made international news in September 2013. According
to the BBC report, angry with the way
the airlines was treating his father’s lost
luggage, Syed spent $1,000 for a promotional tweet with the message “Don’t fl y
@BritishAirways. Their customer service
is horrendous”.
Such was the impact of the paid, high
visibility tweet that British Airways contacted him and offered an apology. They
also ran a tweet that said, “@HVSVN
Sorry for the delay in responding, our
twitter feed is open 0900-1700 GMT.
Please DM your baggage ref and we’ll
look into this.”
In Pune, a 27-year-old journalist used
social media effectively after her online
order of Rs. 314 was not delivered by McDonald’s. The company fi rst ignored the
complaint. But the moment it was tweeted and re-tweeted by others, McDonald’s
sent an online apology and promised to
make amends
Ahil Amar, a former social media
strategist with a leading automobile fi rm
in India, says, “It is necessary for companies to respond. Even if the matter
requires time to be resolved, just a tweet
saying ‘We’ll look into the matter’ speaks
volumes. At least by doing so, they are
able to give the customer the satisfaction
of being heard and save the fi rm from getting negative publicity.”
Nainesh Chavda, an advertising accounts executive with WAT Consult believes that today companies come up with
various strategies to deal with customer
grievances and improve brand image. Once
Nainesh and his friends had been to Bombay Blues for dinner and were dissatisfied
with the quality of food and service. He
wrote about his experience on Facebook
and many of his friends and friend’s friends
liked the post, commented on it and shared
it. “The post got so popular that someone
from Bombay Blues got in touch with me,
apologising for the poor service and food
and offered my friends and me a complimentary dinner. Th at’s how paranoid they
got about the post,” he said.
Aroona Nafday, advocate and convenor of Consumer Empowerment Centre,
said that the question is not about having
social networking sites to get grievances
solved but to be extremely careful before
purchasing anything, especially online.
“It is good that youngsters and others are becoming proactive regarding
consumer rights and using the social media but that has still not dealt with the
problem completely. People still don’t
tend to research well before purchasing
products or utilising services. Th ey tend to
give in to peer pressure and later regret,”
she said. Her view is that it is necessary to
lodge a written complaint with the consumer court.
[email protected]
East vs West: The myths that mystify
Indian leadership consultant, mythologist and author, Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik looks at business and contemporary life through the lens of mythology
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
Everyone tries to search for meaning in
their lives. In the 2009 Ted Talk titled
East vs West, Indian physician turned
leadership consultant, mythologist and
author, Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik, suggests
the audience to try a technique that their
ancestors would often do — which is
to fi nd life lessons in myth, rituals and
shared stories. Th rough his engaging
talk, Pattanaik gives an awe-inspiring
speech about the myths of India and the
West and showcases ways in which these
two fundamentally distinct sets of beliefs
lead people to persistently misconceive
one another.
Pattanaik narrates the famous
Ganesha and Kartik story where the two
brothers decided to go on a race, three
times around the world. While Kartik
leapt on his peacock and fl ew around the
continents, mountains and oceans, Ganesha merely went around his parents, referring to them as his world. “If you understand the difference between ‘the world’
and ‘my world,’ you understand the difference between logos and mythos. ‘Th e
world’ is objective, logical, universal, factual, scientific. ‘My world’ is subjective.
It’s emotional. It’s personal. It’s perceptions, thoughts, feelings, dreams. It’s the
myth that we live in,” says Pattanaik
He stated that ‘the world’ refers to
how the world functions in general —
how the sun rises, how living things are
born, where as ‘my world’ asks questions
like ‘Why the sun rises? Why we were
born?’ “Every culture is trying to understand itself: “Why do we exist?” And
every culture comes up with its own understanding of life, its own customized
version of mythology,” he says.
Culture is a reaction to nature,
Pattnaik states, and this understanding of
our ancestors is transmitted from generation to generation in the form of stories,
symbols and rituals, which are always indifferent to rationality. Thus, different
people have a different understanding of
PUNE
the world. He narrates the story of Alexander the Great and the gymnosophist
from India, who both felt the other was a
fool, for pursuing the paths they did. The
difference in their viewpoints, Pattanaik
feels, rests in the subjective truth that
lies in their respective mythologies. Th at,
Pattanaik states holds true even when it
comes to the mythology of business.
“If Alexander’s and gymnosophist’s
respective beliefs influenced their behavior, then it was bound to influence
the businesses they were in. Business is
the result of how the market behaves and
how the organisation behaves. And if you
look at cultures around the world, all you
have to do is understand the mythology
and you will see how they behave and how
they do business,” Pattanaik explains.
http: //www.ted .com /talk s /devdutt_
pattanaik
[email protected]
Password, password on
the wall, which is the
strongest of `em of all?
There used to be a line from an old song that went, “Oh,
those Russians.” The same lament was heard recently when
a security firm revealed that about a dozen Russian teen
hackers had gotten away with 1.2 billion passwords. Given
that just over half the world’s total population of about 7
billion is “connected”, 1.2 billion compromised passwords is
BIG. If true, Russia’s “Dirty Dozen” just landed a solid punch
in the on-going war of hackers versus digital security.
Which brings me to the question posed by one of TGS
readers – how to make passwords hacker-proof? Well,
there’s no such thing. Surprised? Don’t be. Cross-confirm
with any cybersecurity expert.
Our lives are increasingly going digital – we buy, sell, transact, bank, gossip, network, plugin, download, upload and
chat using the Internet, all of which requires a login. Passwords have inexorably become part of our lives.
Remembering passwords is easier said than done. Your
“memory laziness” is what every hacker banks on. While
cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated, ordinary
Netizens continue to use the same simple passwords like,
“12345”, or #password”. Passwords, unfortunately, are still
viewed as an annoyance to be dispensed quickly.Think of
the last time you were asked to generate a password, and
then think of the amount of time you spent making up one.
Bet it was not more than 60 seconds?
Advisory: Take everything about passwords seriously.
While you need to get it right once, hackers have to keep
trying for success, so the odds are in your favour. Here are
some ways of creating a strong password:
1. Passwords are not members of your family. Don`t make
them around your birth date, your wife’s name, your pet,
whatever. Keep it impersonal, buddy.
2. For heaven’s sake, do not take the easy route. No
“111111” or “55555”. If you were to see the lists of hacked
passwords released regularly by anti-virus firms, you will
be surprised at the tameness of some of the passwords.
The easy ones are the first things that hackers go for – the
cherry pickings.
3. Don`t use the same passwords across accounts.
4. Learn to segregate your accounts into low, medium
and high security categories. A blog you occasionally visit
requires a low-grade password, your online wire transfer
needs the highest class.
5. Use a combination of words, symbols, numbers, upper
and lower case while generating a password. Security experts believe a password between 12 and 15 characters
makes it tough to crack.
6. Change passwords frequently.
Largely, the world of passwords has two aspects – generation and management. Generators are software that create
keywords randomly. My advice, if you must go in for the
free ones, is to use open source security tools.
More crucial though are the password management solutions. These are platforms where you can store all your
passwords under one account. The much-touted ones are
Last Pass and KeePass. All that you have to worry about is
remembering the master password that unlocks this vault.
Dangerous to keep all your eggs in one basket? These
businesses are fairly successful so obviously many in the
world trust them.I would say do some research and go in
for the best. Some features to look out for: leading-edge
encryption and multi-factor authentication features.
In the Indian market, there’s
an app, the Enpass Password Manager & Information
Keeper,available for Windowsbased mobiles for Rs 260
(http://bit.ly/XbJbp4).
A few months ago, the Zoho
Vault password manager Android free app was launched in
India (http://bit.ly/XbJikp).
From the anti-virus guys, there’s
the Kaspersky Password Management software (http://bit.
ly/1ug2085).
There are even password protected pendrives available in
the Indian market(call for quote)
(http://bit.ly/1mAWG77).
For enterprise, there’s a product called Privileged Password
Manager from Dell Corp (call for
quote) (http://dell.to/1rfU4Pe).
(Sorab Ghaswalla is a former old-world journalist who now
wears many hats, entrepreneur, Internet consultant, Online
Marketer, new media and technology journalist, and the
Editor/publisher of four sites of his own, all related to the
Internet, smartphones, start-ups and the Internet of things.
You may find him at www.newagecontentservices.com)
(Disclaimer: The Tech Guru column is more in the nature of a reader-initiated, advisory feature. Readers
are urged to check or confirm for themselves the features of all hardware/software mentioned here before making a purchase. Prices quoted are indicative
and not final, and subject to availability of product/
service. This newspaper nor this column shall, in any
way, be liable for any physical, personal or monetary
damage/losses arising out of advice given herein).
ED UCATION
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY
AUGUST 15, 2014
PUNE
CARE ER
The reason why we don’t make it to the top tier of global universities
is because we don’t have enough presence in the research domain.”
-Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon Chairperson & Managing
Director
Signposts
City techie to
represent Pune at
World Economic
Forum meet
Young innovators enthral
audience at Orchid School
The school held educational and interactive sessions to mark 10th anniversary
BY PRACHI BARI
@prachibari
Young innovator from Dombivili, Karan
Chaphekar, enthralled the audience at
the Orchid School auditorium through
his presentation on KC Bots, on the
occasion of the innovators’ conclave —
Youngistaani, organised by The Orchid
School on August 9, as a part of school’s
10th Foundation Day celebration.
Chaphekar’s innovation, a 3-D
printer, can print 3-D models out of
real plastic using the riprap method.
His innovative model left the young
audience and their teachers in awe.
“Small events change your life forever,
whether you realise it or not,” said
Chaphekar, whose life got completely
changed, when his grandfather showed
him a broken toy car whose motor was
still in a working condition, thus giving
RAHUL RAUT
City techie Devendra Jani is among
350 young change makers selected
from around the world, who will represent Pune at a
conference at the
World Economic
Forum headquarters in Geneva.
This
year’s
meeting will be
held from August
21 to 25 and will
involve high-level
stakeholders,
country-level representations to the
UN, Global Agenda Councils, Young
Global Leaders Network, Schwab
Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and Strategic Partners.
The Annual Curator Meeting, organised by the Global Shapers Community will provide an opportunity
for the next generation of curators
to exchange views on best practices
on relevant issues, share insights with
World Economic Forum colleagues
on varied regional issues and pressing
world challenges, and provide an opportunity for curators to create local
impact in the host city of Geneva by
serving the local community.
“I am excited to be part of the conference where we can meet youths
from across the globes that are instrumental to improve the state of local
community. I hope to bring back and
spread knowledge to help the young
Shapers in Pune make greater impact
through our projects,” said Jani. Devendra is a software professional and
an active volunteer at Amdocs India.
He has been involved in social work
for nine years and a volunteer in multiple organisations. He started his IT career with Infosys Technologies in 2005
and volunteered with Infy Foundation
under corporate social responsibility.
He is a curator at Global Shapers
Pune Hub which is working on various projects to bring positive impact
in Pune city. He, along with other
Shapers, has started ‘Right to Walk’
campaign in Pune on January 26,
2014. This camping aims to sensitise
people and encourage them to follow
traffic rules.
“Seek the right mentors,
co-workers who can help
you achieve excellence.”
-Harry Paul, author & motivational speaker
Young innovator Karan Chaphekar explaining the working of his 3D printer to the
audience during innovators’ conclave- Youngistaani organised by The Orchid School
wings to his imagination and turning
them into reality. Anup Tapadia, an
innovator from Pune, who is studying
for his PhD at University of California,
‘Skill-based learning is important’
BY BARNALEE HANDIQUE
@barnalee
“Today’s students have a clear sense of
what they want. They have dreams and
they try to realise their dreams regardless
of what the world thinks of them. For
this a need-based education system
has to be introduced in schools,” said
Sadhana Parasharji, head, Innovation
and Research, CBSE (Central Board of
Secondary Education).
She was speaking at an
educational conference, ‘Education
for Future, Educating the Future
— Future Speaks’, at The Orchid
School. She stressed that importance
should be given to skill-based learning
and the gap between the students
and the teachers should be bridged.
Other prominent speaker Ganesh
Natarajan, CEO, Zensar said,
“What sets today’s youngsters apart
is their ability to get their message
across. As parents and teachers we
should give importance on the 3C’s
— collobration, communication and
cynicism. Opportunities are there and
we have to grab it, cynicism should be
completely isolated.”
Lakshmi Kumar, director of
Pradnya Niketan Education Society
and The Orchid School, said, “As an
educational institute we need to reflect
upon our role in the society, the type
of education we are imparting to the
students and whether it is relevant in
today’s world.”
[email protected]
San Diego, also shared his journey using
science, technology and creativity to set
up Touchmagix.
Addressing the students, renowned
psychiatrist and actor, Dr Mohan
Agashe said, “All you need is conviction,”
adding, “innovation should come from
the beginning, learning never stops and
after your formative years, only if you
can retain your capacity to learn, then
you live longer.” Citing the example of
‘3-Idiots’, Dr Agashe said that it is an
essay on education which reminds us
that ‘it is good to be a student for we are
allowed to make mistakes’. “Learning
is a continuous process and one should
never stop it,” he added.
In his key-note address, Dr Vineet
Joshi, Chairman of CBSE stressed on
the need for individuals to be hardworking, realise their passions, become
keen observers and learn to identify
opportunities and to be able to use ideas
aptly in relation to different contexts. A
book titled ‘The Past is the Prologue of
the Future’, an inexhaustible collection
of narratives, anecdotes, images, visuals
and memories of the Orchid School, was
also released on the occasion.
[email protected]
61,000 seats lie vacant
in state engg colleges
BY MANASI SARAF JOSHI
@ritugh
This year too as many as 61,243 seats
remained vacant in engineering colleges
across various engineering branches.
Students preferring other vocational
courses and lack of planning on part of
All India Council of Technical Education
(AICTE) could be blamed for it.
Although, the top officials were not
ready to accept the flaws in the admission
process, the officials confirmed with The
Golden Sparrow on Saturday that there
were many shortcomings in Common
Admission Process (CAP).
The officials on condition of
anonymity said, “like last year this
year too there was clash between the
CAP dates and IIT’s and NIIT’s
admission procedure. This adversely
affected the top merit students
who preferred IIT’s or NIIT’s over
engineering colleges as they had
to confirm their admission first in
engineering colleges”, they said.
Once their seats were confirmed in
IIT’s or NIIT’’s they would cancel their
admission in engineering colleges and
this forced the process to go upto second
and third round even in top government
engineering colleges”, they added.
The engineering colleges started on
August 1 this year, yet the entire process
has not completed due to high number of
vacancies in various engineering colleges
across the state.
If one reason is about the lack of
planning, many students find a short
cut to engineering colleges by getting
admitted for the diploma courses to avoid
JEE entrance test. Once they complete
diploma course, they can seek direct
admission to second year engineering
course. This helps them to avoid the
difficult JEE test besides the tedious
CAP rounds,” said prof. NT Khare from
city engineering college.
Another reason for large number of
vacant seats was no control of AICTE
over new engineering colleges coming
up. SK Mahajan, chairman AICTE
had said that AICTE cannot stop a
new engineering college to open if it has
fulfilled all the norms.
There are 365 engineering colleges
with a total intake capacity of 1.57 lakh
this year. Out of which CAP received
only 95,000 applications for engineering
and technology seats.
[email protected]
Vacant seats across the state
Pune University: 17,879
Babasaheb Ambedkar university,
Aurangabad: 4,492
Gondwana university: 964
Mumbai university: 6,180
North Maharashtra University: 2,157
Nagpur University: 10,510
SRP Marathwada University,
Nanded: 1,990
Sant Gadgebaba Amaravati University: 5,825
Shivaji university, Kolhapur: 4,543
Solapur university: 3,785
Budding scientists display their skills at science expo
100 years of teaching
German in India
BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL
@ArchanaDahiwal
German section of the Foreign Languages Department of University of
Pune is celebrating 100 years of German teaching in Pune and India. As
a part of the centenary celebrations,
a series of German films showcasing 100 years of German Cinema
will be screened from August 13 and
August 19, at FTII from 4 pm onwards. The screening of these films
is jointly organised by Max Mueller
Bhavan, Pune, FTII and the German
Department.
The science project by the students
of City Pride School, Nigdi, won the
merit certificate and was also selected
for the national level at the regionallevel CBSE Science Exhibition recently
at DAV Public School, Panvel. The
project titled, Energy Conversation
and Alarming Railway Light through
Vibration, showed how the vibrations
from railway tracks could be converted
into energy by the Indian Railways.
There were 186 projects and 78
schools participated and only five
projects were selected under the title
City Pride School students’ The Energy Conversation and alarming railway light
through vibration’ project’ won merit certificate in the regional level CBSC science
exhibition held recently at DAV public school at Panvel. (From left) Ved Khandekar
(standard VIII), Anish Deshpande (standard VI), Sahil Tongaonkar (standard IX)
‘Energy’. The project was presented
by the Ved Khandekar (Class VIII)
and Sahil Tongoankar (Class IX). In
addition to it, Anish Deshpande (Class
VII) was the youngest participant,
who presented the working model of
‘Chimney Control Smoke Pollution’
with clear concept and working
principle with applications. The school
teacher Vincy Anthony guided these
children.
Ved who earlier won the state level
title in science exhibition of ‘Young
Budding Scientists’ for his solar car
model, said, “We used simple things
like toy train with tracks. We modified
it with switch and solar pane, battery to
present it as a working model. Through
this project we wanted to show that
vibrations can used for the effective
functioning of train.” The students
focused on presentation as it’s a new
concept for railway transport. Anish,
who is youngest in the competition,
also won the state-level Young
Budding Scientist competition earlier.
Explaining his project, Anish said,
“To show the working model of how
Chimney Control Smoke Pollution, I
used battery, metal net, wire, switch box
etc. It took me two months to complete
the project.”
[email protected]
Pursuing My Career
Life’s Lessons
I want to specialise in Japanese Law
Solo performer or
team leader?
With Indo-Japan relations on the upswing, it will be an ideal career for me
BY SHREYAS ATRE
I have had an interest in Japanese
language
since
childhood
because of the environment
at my home. My father,
Shrikant, who is a Japanese
language
interpreter,
used to have a numerous
Japanese
visitors,
so
meeting Japanese people
was not new to me. My
father and my family
were elated when I scored
100 on 100 in Japanese
language in Class XII
exam held this year.
I took up Japanese language
because I wanted to pursue the
career of Law in Japan. I have
known Indo-Japan relations
from past 10 years and
is also aware of the fact
that due to the deteriorating ChinaJapan relations, Japan will make India
as its next focus. So there will naturally
be a requirement of legal experts on
both sides. But unfortunately, there
are still no Indians who have studied
Japanese Law. And this is why I think
that taking up the legal profession in
Japan might be ideal for me. This way
I can act as a bridge between the two
countries and help in advancement of
Indo-Japan relations.
My father is the one who encouraged
me to take up Japanese language.
I won the JENESYS 2.0 scholarship
in April 2014, which was a dream
come true for me. I have dreamt of
Japan since childhood and even
travelled alone when I was just 12
years old to meet my father when
he was working there. During the
scholarship to understand culture and
interact with Japanese youth, I also had
the opportunity to deliver a speech.
It was an exhilarating experience. It
was a welcome speech to the chief
guests in Yonezawa. I have also given
a presentation on India - Japan cross
culture differences in Tokyo during the
same programme.
But if Vinay Sathe, HOD (Japanese)
at Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth
had not helped me with his valuable
guidance and training, I would not have
achieved this level of command in this
language, so I am forever in his debt as
my guide and teacher.
Although, I am currently studying
First Year Law at Sinhagad Law
College, I am also pursuing my studies
in Japanese with a special advanced
diploma course in Japanese at Tilak
Maharashtra Vidyapeeth. I have already
started studying legal terminology in
Japanese on my own.
(As told to Prachi Bari)
Would you like to achieve excellence
in your chosen field by working as a
solo performer? Or would you like to
make a difference by leading a team?
Writers, scientists, sports person
musicians, actors are people who
achieve excellence at an individual
level. They are of course required to
work in a team, but the success they
achieve is more of an individual nature.
Whereas,
business
leaders,
politicians, heads of governments,
heads of institutions and social
workers are people who not only
have extraordinary qualities but are
primarily team leaders. They lead large
numbers of people to achieve big goals.
We can excel in either roles, as per
our nature and it is good to identify
where we perform best- as individuals
or as team leaders.
If you are focused on individual
performance, then the qualities you
need are a high degree of discipline,
creativity, innovation, hard work and
above average intelligence. You need
to be ambitious and self-motivated too,
with an ability to chart your own path.
To succeed as a team leader, you
need a fair degree of the qualities
mentioned above and more: the ability
to delegate, good communication
skills, the ability to manage a team of
people with different temperaments
and competency levels, the ability to
inspire and motivate and the ability to
create a vision and plan a strategy to
achieve that vision.
It is far more difficult to lead
people than to work individually and
therefore leaders are always in high
demand in all professions.
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY
AUGUST 15, 2014
PUNE
“Given the increased focus on products, the Indian start-up
community now more than ever before requires a hawk eyed focus
on delivering world class experiences to people around the world.”
– Ashwini Asokan, user experience strategist
MCCIA to hold
workshop on
mistake proofing
Programme on
lean manufacturing
competitiveness
The ministry of micro, small and medium industries has launched up-scaled
and revised version of the Lean Manufacturing Competitiveness Scheme in
order to help and handhold the small
scale manufacturing units to enhance
productivity and profitability. MCCIA
under the first phase of the nationwide scheme has completed four mini
clusters and helped 40 small scale
companies to excel. The workshop
will be held at MCCIA Trade Towers at
4 pm on August 20.
Short-term courses
offered under skill
devp initiative
MCCIA has launched a skill development initiative ‘Kaushalya Sanwardhan’. The project will endeavour to
improve the skills of unskilled, already
employed as well as fresh graduates,
diploma holders and undergraduates.
The two three-month courses EMPACT for accountants and EMPHR for
HR professionals will begin from August 16 from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm. Contact Veda Kulkarni 25709000 or email
[email protected] for details.
Padmaja Lakhe has found a way to turn passion into a business enterprise
BY PRACHI BARI
@prachibari
She still teaches mathematics and
engineering but her passion for painting has inspired to her business enterprise ‘Bhilla’, now a household name in
interiors.
Padmaja Lakhe’s handcrafted
half shades, silk neckties, stoles and
saris, are seen at different places —
from Pune’s Sawai Gandharva Sangeet
Mahostav to Ahmedabad’s women entrepreneur show.
Of the pieces that adorn the walls
of her studio, her favourite features a
group of whooping cranes. “This painting was my fastest selling art piece. I
sold 500 pieces,” she said.
“Though I was an engineer and
academic by profession, I was always
an artist at heart. P u r s uing the art form
as a mere hobby
ensures its demise
in your life by your
own hands. By converting it into a passion and subsequently into a profession
ensures its survival
and continued importance. This thought
propelled me towards
achieving this goal, and
‘Bhila’ as a brand was
born,” she said.
Bhila stands for
the initials of my family
name, Bhide-Lakhe. “I was
fortunate to learn art at a young age
but it was my husband who backed my
idea and pushed me to pursue and follow my dream, hence the name Bhila,”
she said.
Padmaja started her business
on
October 25, 2012. I started
with 25 lamps, now I have made more
than 1,000 lamps.
Bhila designs feature ethnicity and
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
The Mahratta Chamber of Commerce
Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA)
has organised a daylong workshop on
‘Poka Yoke — Gateway to World-Class
Quality’ at the Navalmal Firodia Hall,
MCCIA Trade Tower, Senapati Bapat
Road from 10 am to 5 om on August
19. Behind Poka Yoke (mistake proofing) is the conviction that to produce
even a single defective product is not
acceptable. Shigeo Shingo, the founder of Poka Yoke (mistake proofing;
originally called as Baka Yoke - fool
proofing) realised the limitations of
statistical techniques and devised this
tool to achieve zero defect quality.
For details, visit MCCIA website.
‘I learned from books
and mistakes’
The designs of Padmaja Lakhe’s half shades (left) and other works deal with ethnicity and mélange of new and old
a mélange of new and
old. “Indian folk art
always fascinated me. Its
earthiness and strong expression always fuels my imagination. I was always fascinated by
Madhubani style of painting and this
art style provides me with the variety
in motifs and a vast canvass for expression,” she says.
“It began as a very experimental
(and dangerous) attempt to paint the
only significant wall in my drawing
room. But the experiment served as an
excellent portfolio and ushered in wide
Why MSME start-ups fail often?
The absence of hand holding at every step, essential for business success, is proving to be a bane
BY VIVEK SHARMA
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs) play a critical role in the
economic growth in India. Apart from
being the second largest contributor
in the employment generation in the
country, they play a key role in gross
domestic product (GDP) growth and
foreign exchange earnings. India UnInc
(a term used by Prof R Vaidyanathan),
in spite of being the backbone of the
economy, continues to suffer from several
issues, which hinders its growth. While
financing remains a big constraint,
with most of the MSMEs left to
themselves to mobilise funds for
business needs, the biggest problem
that MSMEs face today is the lack
of hand holding mechanism for a
start up business in India.
Starting a business is a big
challenge in India. Most of the
people associate the challenge
of starting a business to the
availability of capital.
While funding is a
pre-requisite to run a
business, the matter does
not end here. There are three critical
steps that a small business unit will have
to take. The first is a set of approvals
required to start the business, followed
by production of goods and services and
the last stage is marketing or selling
of goods. Most of the small start-up
businesses have no clue about this threestage process apart from managing the
challenge of managing funds.
Let us look at the first step. A
business unit needs a set of approvals
before it starts functioning. The approval
ranges from obtaining a no-pollution
certificate for registration with tax
authorities to obtaining a no-objection
certificate from the fire department,
wherever applicable. For instance, not
many entrepreneurs know that if they
start a business involving household
electrical appliances, an approval from
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) would
be required. Even a non-polluting unit
would need to file an application with
relevant pollution department and
obtain an acknowledgment.
A small business unit, in order
to avail benefits of various schemes
offered by the government needs
to be registered with the District
Industries Center (DIC). This
registration is obtained by submitting
a Entrepreneurs Memorandum (EM1 & EM-2). Since many MSMEs
may not understand the significance
of this, they may miss out on
the benefits provided by the
government.
Typically
EM-I
registration
is required for for
industrial land, credit
and
pollution
clearance.
EM-2 is required for eligibility for
marketing support, raw material,
assistance under industrial / MSME
policies such as VAT reimbursement,
capital investment subsidy and interest
subsidy. Unfortunately, most of the
MSMEs remain unregistered in India
and fail to become eligible for these
benefits.
After a business unit has been set up
and is ready for production or providing
services, the problem for MSMEs is
not over. There can be cost over-runs
causing businesses to run out of money
and fail. There is a complete absence of
understanding on lean manufacturing
for MSMEs. MSMEs have limited
bargaining powers and along with cost
escalation, the viability of the business
becomes questionable. One simple
example of cost escalation could be
management of heating, ventilation and
air conditioning, which can add to its
power supply bills.
The biggest support is required at
the time of sales. Lack of awareness
about the right market place, where
goods can be offered for sale is one of the
biggest challenges that MSMEs face. In
spite of the government coming out with
plans such as purchase preference policy,
MSMEs find it difficult to sell their
products. There is an online portal which
National Small Industries Corp (NSIC)
is providing to sell products but such
schemes are not very effective. MSMEs
often fail to realise the significance of
branding their products and at best end
up becoming a supplier of raw material
for large corporations.
The most significant point in the
entire cycle of MSMEs business is its
growth from micro to small to medium
and to large entities. In this growth
path, the first stage is very critical. This
phase of successful launch of business
can take it further to take off stage. Till
the stage of take off, capital is as critical
as hand holding for MSMEs.
(Vivek Sharma has worked for 17
years in the stock market, debt market
and banking. He is a post graduate in
Economics and MBA in Finance. He
writes on personal finance and economics
and is invited as an expert on personal
finance shows.)
@moneylife
variety of ideas from all directions. The
final outcome was a compact, usable
and elegant product with reasonable
commercial viability. The half shade,
sold faster and overnight, I was an entrepreneur,” she says.
She is inspired by artists and craftsmen from remote parts of India.
Initially Padmaja faced a lot of opposition from her family.
“After I got a few wheels moving,
I finally caught their attention.
Now we all represent a single united
front,” she says.
Her dream is to establish Bhila as
a handicraft clothing/home décor line
the world over.
Padmaja is part of the Amhi
Udyogini, a group started by
MCCIA
ex-chairperson
Meenal
Mohadikar that promotes women entrepreneurship.
She believes that it is not a
person but a team that makes a brand
such as Fab India, Good Earth and
Happy India.
“I am my own mentor. I learned
from books and my mistakes,” she says.
[email protected]
Kerala to seek
more fund to
fuel start-ups
KOCHI: Kerala will formulate a proposal and submit it to the central government to get funds from the `10,000
crore corpus allocated in the 2014-15
budget to support start-ups, said a senior state official.
State industries and IT secretary
PH Kurian said a comprehensive plan
will be drafted to get sufficient funds
from the Centre to fuel the growth of
the star-tup ecosystem in the state.
Participating in a panel discussion
titled ‘How the budget allocation can
be utilised for fuelling the growth of
the start-up ecosystem in Kerala’ at
Start-up Village here, he said that apart
from providing 2GB free Internet connectivity to the area, the government
will soon provide 100 startup boxes to
the young entrepreneurs in the state.
“The new building coming up
in Startup Village, with a built up
space of two lakh sq ft, will be completed soon and it will have around
1,000 young entrepreneurs working
from it,” he said.
Infosys co-founder and Startup
Village chief mentor Kris Gopalakrishnan said the Start-up Village
at Kalamassery was a unique model
and provided the right ambience for
youngsters to grow which was not the
case some decades ago.
“Today, there is technology
and government to help youngsters
who are willing to start a business.
One only needs to put in their imagination to make the business successful.
It is an amazing time in India to start
a business as you have the right talent
and market available within the country,” he added.
Extending all support to Startup Village, Choice Group founder
Jose Thomas said that the incubator
had evolved as a role model for other
states to follow.
Impressed by the performance of
the country’s fi rst PPP model incubator, he handed a cheque for `2.5 million to Start-up Village chairman Sanjay Vijayakumar on the occasion.
Bringing in his two decades of
experience from Silicon Valley,
Envestnet Group president Babu
Sivadasan said for a venture to be successful, startups must focus on products, employees and clients and not
just money.
IANS
Dilemma over pricing
START-UP
MENTOR
Signposts
“Disability is the
inability to
see ability”
- Vikas Khanna, celebrity chef
Vishwas Mahajan
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 [email protected]
I am about to launch an online consumer
focused service and I am trying to create
a pricing model. On one hand people are
suggesting it to be offered it free, but at the
same time I would like to build a revenue
model. Please advise.
- Manmeet Duggal
Online service being offered free
has almost become a norm. Users have
gotten used to free usage of search
engine, email software and much more.
Lot of applications are also available
with their free version, either the
downloadable app or on the web. So let’s
discuss a couple of options as we look at
your dilemma.
Multi-platform Model
Your point about creating a business
model is very pertinent here. It is
important to understand that although
the user is not paying for the service,
someone else is paying for it. This is
typically called multi-platform revenue
model. In this, the user of the service
does not necessarily pay and it is funded
through some other payers.
Examples of these are many.
Although the search and the mail
functionality and the most of the
functionality of Google is available
free to the user, the advertisers are the
ones who pays for that. So Google is the
extremely successful business because
the advertisers are able to fund. You
will notice this same thing in several
different businesses. Take the example
of newspapers. We all know that the
cost of the paper, printing and the
distribution of a newspaper is far higher
than `3 or `5 that it costs us. The
answer, again, is the advertiser.
How does this relate to your
business? It is important to assess if
your business has potential of being
supported through non-users who
could be sponsors, advertisers or any
group of business that are able to give
you the funds to run your business. Are
you are able to give them access to your
customer base that your service will
attract. Will you will be able to locate
stakeholders other than users who will
be willing to pay you?
Freemium Model
The second option is freemium
model. Many softwares are available
free for the basic functionality and
for a fee as you go higher up at the
functionality. In the online model,
freemium has gained lots of currency.
There are several ways you can restrict
the users who are using it for free,
a. This could be limited by the
features, i.e. some kind of light
version of software which doesn’t
include features that more advance
users will benefit or
b. capacity limited , which means you
could restrict the size of database,
the number of files one can upload
etc.
c. It could be based on numbers of
users or seats. For example, up to
five users would be free or
d. It could be some kind of customer
class for example educational users
get free access to many software
which are otherwise very expensive
or
e. It could base on some kind
of support you want to offer,
for example this free version
will not come with support or
implementation or
f. It could be only based on time, like
30 /90 days free version.
You need to keep in mind that free
is meant to attract people to use and to
find value so that they can upgrade to
a paid version. It is very common that
over 95 per cent of the users are free but
the 5 per cent that pay actually make up
for the revenue of the companies.
So in your particular product, check
if freemium model cam work.
There are more different variations
on how you can price your online
services and these are just a few of
these. It may also pay to look at what
competition is doing.
Vishwas Mahajan, president of TiE Pune
Chapter, answers real life questions
of entrepreneurs